Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. You'd know it if I did. Trust me. Also, this is unbeta'd, so any mistakes are my own.

Warnings: AU, supernatural(?), slash/yaoi/shaounen-ai in later chapters, probably OOCness

Pairings: A ton. Roxas/Axel is the main focus though. Other pairings will be noted on a chapter by chapter basis.

A/N: Mostly just wanted to see other people's thoughts on this. I've got it all planned out and negative feedback certainly won't stop me from writing it, but this is my first posted KH fic and I guess I'm just a bit insecure about it. XP Updates will be sporadic, I'll warn you now. I've got it planned out, but I'm exceptionally good at convincing myself to procrastinate, so the actual writing may go pretty slowly. I'm rather susceptible to the guilt card, though, so leaving reviews to the effect of "Can't wait for the next chapter!" or "Update soon!" may actually get me to write more and faster, so feel free to try.

Prologue

"Hold on, Roxas! The healer will be here really soon. Don't let go of my hand, alright?"

Roxas blinked blearily up at the blur that had replaced his twin brother's face. "Sora…"

Something squeezed his hand. "I'm right here," Sora's voice answered. "Just hold on a little bit longer. You're going to be alright. The healer will know what to do. Okay?"

His voice wasn't feeling up to being used again, so Roxas simply nodded, groaning when it made everything tilt. Dimly, he wondered what had happened. One minute, he'd been out feeding the chocobos and Sora was teasing him and the next… Well, he was sure he'd blacked out at some point, because how else would he have gone from upright and mobile to prone and curled on what felt like his bed?

The blackness was starting to narrow his vision and Roxas weakly clutched at his brother's hand. The steady stream of words coming from above him gave him something to focus on and that kept the darkness at bay. How long he lay there, mind and body reeling from whatever was happening, he had no idea.

Finally, though, the healer arrived.

"Up here," he heard someone—it sounded like Kairi—say. Sora's grip tightened momentarily and then another presence settled next to the bed.

"What happened?" the healer asked. She moved things around as she waited for the answer, momentarily laying a cool hand on Roxas' brow, then lightly touching his face, chest and sides.

"He was out feeding the chocobos," he heard Sora explain. "Everything was fine until he suddenly gasped and went white as a ghost. Then he just kind of folded and fell. I brought him up here and sent Kairi to get you. Do you know what's wrong with him?"

There was a tense silence, but Roxas was more concerned with staying awake to hear the healer's reply. The darkness was starting to close in again and he was inclined to let it, seeing as his vision had already blurred everything beyond true recognition, anyway.

The healer sighed. "No, I'm afraid this is outside of my realm of expertise. Nothing seems to be wrong with him physically. Girl—Kairi, wasn't it?—go fetch Namine."

"The witch?" Kairi gasped. "What can she do?"

"If there's nothing wrong with this boy physically, as I've determined, then it must be something else and Namine knows much about paranormal afflictions. Now, go, child! Before he worsens."

Kairi clattered out of the loft and Roxas' eyes started to drift shut.

"Don't worry, Roxas," Sora was saying, hand still entwined in his twin's. "You'll be fine. Just hold on…"

But Roxas had already let go and he fell into the darkness, eyes closing on the blurred colors. Just before he lost consciousness, though, he saw something, but just for an instant.

A pale wisp of emerald flame, the distinct shape of wings against it and a burst of red…

Then he was gone.

~*~

Namine sat back from her inspection of Roxas and frowned slightly into the middle-distance. "This is serious," she said softly. Sora leaned forward.

"Serious? What do you mean, serious?"

Kairi and Riku, both close friends of the twins, listened intently from their spots on either side of Sora.

Namine nodded, turning away from the comatose boy to gather the few things she'd brought. "Serious enough that unless something is done, he will die," she said. The three friends gasped.

"Die?" Kairi repeated, sending a concerned glance at Roxas.

Riku frowned, silver hair swaying a bit as he turned to look at his friends. "What can be done about it?" he said at length, turning his attention back to the witch.

Namine stood, tossing pale strands of hair back over her shoulder. "I do not know the specifics, but what your friend is suffering from is referred to as the Yearning." Riku's frown deepened while Kairi and Sora simply looked confused. The witch sighed. "It is a dragon sickness."

"Dragons? What do dragons have to do with Roxas? We've never even seen one," Sora said. Namine and Riku shook their heads.

"It does not matter," the witch started to explain. "Dragons are unique creatures in that they require a partner in order to live. At a certain part of their development, they suffer the Yearning. Its purpose is to drive them to their intended mate, their soul-mate, so to speak. For the most part this means another dragon."

"But not always," Riku interrupted, expression troubled as he looked at Roxas' form. Namine turned to regard him.

"You have seen this before."

Riku glanced at her, but made no effort to dispute her words.

Kairi looked between them for a moment. "Riku…" Aqua eyes cut her off as Riku shifted.

"It was a long time ago, before I came here," he said softly. "My older brother…He always wanted to travel, never showed any interest in staying home and following in Da's footsteps. He fell sick when he was seventeen. I was only ten at the time. For a week, we worried over him, wondering if he'd ever wake up. Then the dragon came…" He drifted off, lost in the memory.

After a moment, he shook himself and brought himself back to the present. "My brother woke up and didn't even look at us. All he cared about was the dragon. He said goodbye, the dragon flew off with him and we never saw him again."

Sora's eyes were wide. "Never? You mean, Roxas is going to go away forever, too?"

Riku shrugged. "I don't know. My brother never came back, but I don't know about other people."

They all looked at Namine. The witch shook her head. "I have never actually witnessed someone suffering from the Yearning. All of my knowledge is from studying and listening to tales. But I do know one thing and that is that if this dragon cannot find Roxas within a certain period of time, both will die."

"How long?" Kairi said, conscious off Sora's pensive look and Riku's closed-off expression.

Again, Namine shook her head and shrugged helplessly. "I do not know. At least a week, if it is the same for all dragons. And it is not guaranteed that the dragon will be able to find him. Creatures such as they have not been sighted within the kingdom's borders for well over a century and they did not come near it often before that."

Sora stood up, suddenly determined. "Well, if it can't find us, we'll go find it and bring it back. I'm not letting Roxas die without making an effort to save him."

His friends shared an affectionate look behind his back, long used to the way the brunette would throw himself whole-heartedly into solving whatever dilemma presented itself. Namine looked uneasy, however.

"It would not be easy," she cautioned. "You would have to travel far to find someone who knew enough about dragons to give you any idea of where to look, let alone actually find the dragon itself. Are you certain you want to risk such a dangerous endeavor?"

Sora hesitated, then nodded firmly. "Yeah. We can't do anything else, anyway and I refuse to just sit by and let him die."

Kairi and Riku echoed his nod, wanting to help both of their friends.

Namine sighed. "Very well. The least I can do is point you in the right direction," she said. "You need to go up to the castle and talk to the magician there, Donald. He will know who you will need to find in order to learn more about the dragons."

Sora bounced forward, drawing the witch into an impromptu hug. "Thank you so much! Excited, he scrambled down out of the loft and the remaining three could hear him moving around the larger room downstairs.

Smiling at the astonished witch, Kairi excused herself and followed her friend at a more sedate pace. Riku watched until she disappeared from sight, then looked back to Namine and Roxas.

Shaking herself, Namine composed herself and frowned down at the blond lying comatose on the bedding. She sighed again. "I did not truly believe it was possible," she murmured, eyes focused on Roxas. "For a human to suffer such a thing."

Riku nodded. "Yes. It's abnormal," he said softly. "At least we know what it is. With my brother…" He paused, then shook his head. "We never knew if the next hour would be his last and he lay like the grave itself." Standing abruptly, he turned to leave. "I should go help pack."

Namine nodded and glanced after him as he descended from the loft. Once he was gone, she turned back to Roxas and hesitantly reached out to stroke his forehead. "I am not sure your brother and his friends will succeed," she told him. "But I can't help but hope that they will."

~*~

Sora turned and waved once more, Namine lifting her hand as well. She had agreed to watch over Roxas until they returned, as well as the house and chocobos the twins owned.

It was sure to be a long and often boring task, but she felt compelled to help in their endeavor. After all, she'd been the one to bring the bad news about Roxas' condition.

She watched until the group of three was out of sight before she turned and went inside.