So now I've gotten 2 requests to continue this, I'm gonna commit. But be forewarned: it might all end up leaving the tragedy scale and turning into crack, which I hope doesn't happen, but I never know what random idea will spew into my brain next.

So, this is my first published fanfic EVER and I realise that was terrible grammar but I don't care, this is my author's note and I get to be crazy. Blame it on me being the newb. Yeah, 1st chapter's dedicated to Kaida Shade (the child of Xigbar) and Schemilix de Morte for their unwaveringly crack-headed friendship and support, and this next one is for Ten-Second-Tom, my first ever reviewer and Riku-Aura777 for being the first to add this story to their alerts list. Now, on with the angst-fluff.

The dreams of yesterday,

Fall out of my soul,

Shattering like glass,

On the cold, hard floor.

Oh, my weeping angel,

Sing.

Roxas strode along the streets of Twilight Town, wondering where Hayner and Pence had gotten to, knowing exactly where Olette was due to her being ill in bed with the flu and so bunged up she couldn't talk properly. He sighed and absently kicked the pebbles, making little puffs of dust swirl around his ankles. Glancing at the sky he noted the peculiar absence of rain that had started almost two months before. And showed no signs of letting up now. He sighed again, a little forlornly. He liked the rain. He loved the coolness, the freshness of it against his skin as he stood in a downpour. Cold showers weren't quite the same. Hot ones even less so. Raising his head again, he stared around him, inhaling the dusty, dry air. A shadow flickered at the corner of his vision but when he looked it was gone.

Axel glanced at himself in the mirror. He looked terrible. Red, puffy eyes, drooping hair in need of a wash, crumpled slightly-damp coat. All in all he wasn't quite his usual awesomely badass self today, he decided. Sighing, he unzipped his coat and took it off, removing his boots and pants so he stood in the middle of the bathroom in his boxers, looking like the bedraggled wreck he felt. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to coax some spike back into it, but it steadfastly refused, leaving him looking like a puppy with its ears down in sorrow. He growled frustratedly, tugging at it. Everyone could tell his mood by the state of his hair. If he was happy or excited, it was, though he hated the description, bouncy and full of life, whereas if he was down, it lay flatter and seemed to lose a few shades, even though that was technically impossible. He wearily yanked open the shower door and twisted the silvery knob that sent water bucketing out of the shower head. He usually had it verging on scalding anyway, but he deliberately cranked it up so it left red, burning marks on his pale skin. He needed the pain to distract himself from the worse one where his heart should be.

Marluxia glanced around the room, ignoring Xemnas' drone- sorry, speech, on the matter of Ursula's disobedience in Atlantica. He absently stared at the faces of his fellow Organisation members. Xigbar was glaring daggers at whatever object he held in his hands, Luxord was shuffling his pack of cards over and over again, Larxene was grinning evilly at a large insect before her, probably some relative, Marluxia thought in passing. The others were all as bored as he was; Vexen carefully measuring out a venomous green liquid that pulsed disgustingly; Xaldin playing with a miniature tornado, Lexaeus was staring off into space, Zexion was glaring maliciously at Demyx, who was air-guitaring to one of his favourite songs and Saix was the only one paying any attention at all, gazing at Xemnas. Though Marluxia suspected the eager listening was only a front, as his eyes were glassed over and he kept blinking very slowly. At last he glanced somewhat nervously at Axel, who was completely collapsed in his chair, brooding silently about something. Or a certain someone. And Marluxia knew that no good would come of it.

Finally, Xemnas finished his talk and selected Xigbar and Larxene to go and sort the octosquid-witch out. Sighing, Marluxia rose and hurried over to Axel, ignoring Xemnas' generalised question,

"Where is Number Thirteen today?" Luckily Demyx, the cluelessly happy creature, answered before anyone else could.

"I think he's feeling a bit icky this morning, Superior – his door's locked!" Marluxia cringed inwardly at that, able to hear Xemnas' sigh before it came.

"You seem to forget we have the use of Dark Portals, Number Nine."

"Yeah, but… I kinda thought it would be rude to go in without asking and he didn't answer..." Demyx's face fell and he trailed off. Marluxia felt a brief moment of pity for him before Xemnas simply rolled his eyes and disappeared.

"Axel-" he began, but then the redhead simply conjured a Dark Portal and left. "Gods above and below, he's gonna follow him." He swore.

"Follow who?" Demyx asked curiously, tilting his head to one side. "Xemnas?"

"No…" Marluxia ground his teeth in frustration, knowing he should report Roxas' absence as soon as possible, but unwilling to until Axel had at least had a chance to bring him back unnoticed. "Don't worry about it."

"But-" Demyx started

"No. Look, I'll tell you later, ok? Axel's going through a hard time right now." Demyx looked about to object again, but wisely chose to shut his mouth.

"Ok." he nodded, a flicker of understanding running through his eyes. Marluxia felt something inside him tremble with fear. Then it passed and he flashed Demyx a quick smile before scurrying away to his flowers. They always calmed him down.

Axel had not-so-patiently endured the mind-numbingly, bone-achingly, skull-splittingly boring and tedious dronefest of Xemnas' and now he severely wanted to burn something. Anything. Preferably alive. That meant Demyx, usually, but he felt a trace of guilt for taking out the brunt of his wrath on him yesterday. Marluxia would have been his obvious second choice, but having cried on the guy's shoulder for the better part of six hours last night, he was definitely off the cards too. Cards… his thoughts flickered briefly to Luxord, but dismissed that idea as certain suicide. That guy had to be doing… something with Xigbar. And that gun-toting madman was just plain nasty. He quickly crossed Saix off his list too, though how the hell he'd ever gotten on there in the first place he didn't know. Eventually he sighed and leaned back against the red brick wall he happened to be standing beside. He half-covered his eyes with his hand, closing them and just letting the pain that shouldn't have existed wash over him, too weary to even cry.

Roxas wandered absently along the dusty road, the shadow he'd seen long since forgotten. He caught sight of someone up ahead, but knew there was no way it could be Hayner or Pence. Neither of them really came down to this part of town. He didn't even know why he was there, but felt too dispassionate to wonder why.

Axel sucked in a breath and pinched the bridge of his nose, screwing up his eyes tightly before opening them to discover where he was. He bit his lip and sighed frustratedly. He'd been going for somewhere a little less open than a main street in downtown Twilight Town. Great… Just bloody great. I aim for Pumpkin Land and end up the one place I want to avoid like the plague. Ah, shoot. He pulled himself away from the wall and brushed the red dust off the back of his coat. He sighed again and glanced around, finally the anger and hurt inside shut off into a little box inside his head, where they couldn't reach him… so much. Still hurt, though. Probably because Twilight Town was 'their' place. He felt every muscle in his body tense, like he was going to explode, before forcing it all down, compressing all that anger into a small area just below his ribcage, knowing that it was only going to tie itself in knots that night. But he didn't care. Anything was better than that horrible, lost feeling.

Roxas saw a flash of red up ahead and, without knowing why, burst into a run. He had just crested the top of the steep road when he saw caught sight of a swirling black… thing, in the middle of the sidewalk, and an extremely tall, lanky human with a girlish figure and hair the colour of a traffic light (the red ones, not those greeny-orangy types) step into it and disappear along with whatever it was. Whatthe hell was that?

I brush away your tears,

Why won't you look at me?

I know I am nothing,

Have nothing for you,

But I have a heart, too.


A/N: Yay first time I've done that! Used the liney-thing, I mean. I know, I get obsessed with trivia... Anyhoo, hope you liked this chapter (hopefully you liked the first one too...). Nevertheless, please review; it pleases the rabid hugging flying monsters I keep beneath my desk. Oh, and a plushie of your favourite Organisation XIII member is yours if you review. Please specify... Oh, and I'm hoping to upload the next chapter sometime before February. Probably will have it finished in a few days and forget it, knowing me. Also, am starting a new akuroku fic 'Suicide Bomber' soon. Anyway, I'll love you and leave you ^^.

*(Wow, I think I managed to get most terms for 'boring' all in that one sentence… Overkill possibly)