Well here it is after an extremely long delay, chapter 2! Sorry it took so long, but school, work, cosplay, and homework just caught up with me. Actually right now I should be doing homework but I really want to post this soon so I decided homework could wait for an hour or two.

Thanks to my two lovely reviewers: CoffeeAndRiku and RoxasTheGuineapig, you guys rock! If it weren't for you I probably would've never gotten around to posting this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, and thanks sooo much for making me have to remember that fact, bunch of jerks! sobs

still sniffling This story is shounen-ai Boy/boy and will contain, at some point, a lemon scene, thought I would warn you now.

Well like always, read and review, it's a big help!

Note: This story was not edited, sorry, there might be alot of typos and places where it just doesn't make sense, my apologies, but until I have time to edit, this will just have to do.

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Chapter 2: Drive Gauge

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At the labs

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"Well now, this could be a problem." A tall man in a long black cloak stood in the mist of three other caped figures, surrounded the clutter and wreckage that was once the labs of Shinra.

"See to this mess at once, and don't let me down." The man turned to face one of the others.

The figure flinched, obviously shocked by something, "But Sir!"

"What is it number 4?" The man's voice was sharp, almost as if he wasn't used to being questioned on his orders. The second figure shrank back, taking a more submissive tone.

"He betrayed you, shouldn't he...die?" The last part was uttered, barely audible.

The man laughed, "You don't want him for your research Vexen?"

Vexen gasped, "You would allow that? But I thought..." Vexen was cut off before he could finish.

"No, not yet, but soon, he just wasn't thinking. Number 12 will see to it that he remembers his place here." The man turned facing the feminine figure, "What say you, want to teach him who's in charge?"

"Very well, but don't blame me if he gets a scratch on his pretty little face."

The man sniggered, "Just try not to break my toy, Larxene." Turning he lifted a hand, summoning a dark sphere, "This meeting is over, get back to work." And with that he disappeared followed shortly by Larxene, leaving Vexen and the last cloaked figure alone.

Silenced reigned for a short period as neither was sure what to say about the new orders. Finally Vexen turned to face the face the last figure, "I don't like this, it's not right."

The figured laughed, his voice deep and ruff, "And here I thought you loved your lab rats." An evil sneer presided on his scared face.

"Most assuredly my old friend," Vexen looked at him cautiously, "but he is getting out of hand. If they find out, we are all doomed. And I'm not dying for his arrogancy."

"Well said Vexen, so how do we stop him?"

Vexen smirked, "Xigbar, do you remember her?" Xigbar gave him a look that said it all, "You're evil, you know that right?" Vexen laughed at his plan, "This is going to start the war."

Xigbar smirked, "How pleasant, it's been years."

Vexen smiled up at him before disappearing.

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back in Riku's room

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Axel carefully placed Riku into bed tugging of his shoes and coat. Riku cracked an eye open, looking up at him and whining slightly in protest at the sudden lack of body warmth.

Axel sighed before giving in and climbing into bed beside him, pulling Riku into a tight embrace and kissing his forehead, "Get some sleep. I'll wake you in a few hours."

Riku leaned into the embrace murmuring into his chest, "Thanks...Axel." A sad almost forlorn smile crossed Axel's lips, something wasn't right and he had a feeling that Demyx was somehow involved.

But he couldn't leave Riku alone right now, which left him little choice in the matter than to wait for Riku to fall asleep and then try and sneak out. Sighing Axel shifted to get more comfortable, 'Demyx, please be okay..' were his last thoughts as sleep over took him.

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Elsewhere at the waterfalls

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Demyx sat alone, high above the ground on one of the many floating rocks, looking like a kicked puppy.

He had followed Axel and Riku back to the dorm but had made up an excuse so he wouldn't have to stay, he had chickened out when Riku awoke.

The white haired boy was not in the least bit friendly towards him. Riku rarely even spoke to Demyx, let alone acknowledge his presence. And as scarred as Demyx was of Shinra's wrath, he was more frightened by Riku, hence he had taken his chances and braved facing his punishment for interfering.

He had chosen the water falls so he would at least hold an advantage in the fight, yes fight, Demyx wasn't about to roll over and take a beating for saving Axel. And he wasn't about to let Shinra hurt Axel, no matter what they threatened him with.

Demyx frowned, feeling the surge of dark power as a dark portal opened near by. Well, at least he didn't have to wait long. Demyx smirked, 'Show Time,' his giddy nature taking full control of his senses, all his worry and doubts quickly vanished.

A tall lean figure in a long black trench coat stepped out from the portal, clearly pissed at the task of having to deal with him. "Finally! Where the hell have you been!? You're gonna pay double for making me have to search for you!" A smirk spread over the cloaked figures exposed features, "you've been a bad little boy, haven't you brat? Boss thinks you owe him an apology," Larxene threw back her hood, a sneer plastered on her once pretty face, making her features venomous. "Now be a good li'l brat and come back with me and you might get off easy."

Demyx shuddered; no way in hell he was going to the boss, that sick bastard would probably just rape him anyway, again. Demyx tapped a thoughtful finger to his lips, wondering just how mad the boss really was, he obviously hadn't expected Demyx to just sit back and allow this to happen, but…'.just how much had he been able to foresee?'

"Come on!" Larxene's voice was growing impatient and demanding, the harsh tone bringing Demyx out of his thoughts. "Get up!" She snarled.

But Demyx merely ignored her, staring off at the cliffs. Her powers trumpt his for sure, but if he could get her angery - which wasn't that hard to do- and to act rashly, then he just might stand a chance. And it seemed to be working, she was getting angrier and her voice was growing shriller by the second as she continued to scream at him to apologize for ignoring her.

"That does it! She stomped, overly irate, "I don't care what he says, I'll break you into pieces and haul your ass back!" Her voice calmed a bit and took on a smug sound, "we can always have her put you back together."

A shiver ran up and down his spine at the thought of the mentioned girl. 'That's not possible,' Demyx thought to himself, 'She can't still be alive, can she?' A sense of sudden horror ran through his mind, 'if she is back, then…..oh no! Axel!'

A shrill cackling brought him back to reality just as Larxene powered up for an attack, summoning little yellow streaks of lightening to her readied weapons. All the while Demyx still didn't move.

The skies blackened and thunder roared though the clouds, as lightning rained down from the sky all around them. Eventually it began to focus in on her hand daggers, creating a shinny little orb of pure energy.

"Eat this brat!" Larxene flung the ball of lightning at him, and it impacted, a flash of bright light erupting from the focus point and immediately engulfing the entire ravine.

After what seemed like forever for Larxene, the light faded and there, sitting unscathed the exact same spot was Demyx. Larxene starred dumbfounded, until she spotted a small ripple run through his features, then another until SPLASH! Demyx's form turned into a puddle of water on the cold hard stone.

"What the HELL!!!!" Larxene screamed.

Elsewhere, high above the waterfalls, Demyx hopped and bounced about playing wildly on his sitar, laughing like a maniac at his own cleverness.

Several water clones dances about him as he played, moving with the notes and morphing with the change in tones.

As the last note was struck, Demyx collapsed to the ground, the clones once again returning to their watery form on the rocky surface without his powers controlling them.

Demyx was breathing heavily, mostly from using his powers at full force twice in one day, 'that can't be good for my body.' Demyx murmured to himself, still trying to catch his breath.

A small smirk graced his delicate features as Larxene's screaming curses reached his ears, she really was too easy to trick, so caught up in herself to pay attention to the little details. A loud crash of thunder sounded below, as evidence of Larxene's lingering anger and presence.

Demyx slummed down wearily behind a rock pile to wait out her anger, she would eventually give up, once she demolished everything in site. And besides, his body really wasn't for another accidental encounter, should he try to sneak away and get caught; he needed time to replenish his energy.

His mind slowly giving way to the exhaustion that persistently pulled at his eyelids until they slid shut. Heaving a sigh, Demyx let sleep take him.

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Elsewhere, on another world

Bright blue eyes gazed out of the dirtied windows of a beat up old Chevy as it bounced and bumped along the dirt roads of an unfamiliar land. The young blonde was lost in thought as was evident since he was paying no attention to the person in the front seat who was trying to hold a conversation with him.

Letting go was so hard, and changing from what he had once had to this new life that was so meticulously designed out for him was beyond unbearable and trying to go back to the way things were was impossible….

Sighing, he pulled his coat tighter around himself for protection, as if the coat itself could protect him from his reality. He felt so stuck between his past and his soon to be future that was threatening to overtake him at any moment. He wanted to scream out at the top of his lungs and …..

But he couldn't. He had to be strong, he couldn't worry his brother, Sora was having a hard enough time adjusting to being an orphan, and if he fell apart too, it would crush Sora.

It was hard enough not seeing Sora's bright smile, but when Sora cried, God, he just wanted to crawl away and die.

"Roxas?" A quiet whisper broke through his concentration bringing him back to reality, "Hm?"

" What's wrong?" Sora mumbled back, Roxas forced his features to look as normal as possible, "Are you nervous? It'll be okay, you'll see." Sora reached across the back seat and took his brothers hand, pulling him across the distance into a small hug, "Tifa's really nice and Cloud can be a little stotic, but Denzel and the others like us, it'll be a home again….Roxas.." Sora rattled on, trying to comfort his twin brother.

Sora knew Roxas wasn't thrilled about living at an orphanage with strangers, but it was better than sleeping on the streets, like they had been.

Roxas forced a small smile to reassure Sora that he understood, and that he was okay, but as soon he turned his back to look out the window again. 'Life isn't fair.' Roxas mussed bitterly.

Three months ago, he was living happily with his father and mother and Sora on Destiny Island, then one day when he came home from school, their house was burned to the ground and his parents had died in the fire. After that everything went down hill. None of their relatives wanted them, so they had bounced from home to home, until the last people they stayed with abused them, so they had run away. And damn it all if they hadn't been fine on their own.

Roxas frowned, if it hadn't been for that stupid social worker, they would have never been caught. After living in a orphanage for a few weeks, they had met Tifa who volunteered to take them in to her home in Midgar. It was a quaint place and they had visited several times during the transition to make sure they would fit in and all. Everyone there was nice enough, but it just wasn't home, and Roxas despised the fact that Sora was already referring to it as such.

Tears welded up in his eyes as he fought to keep them from poring over, a lump forming in his throat as he held back the sobs that pushed fiercely at his mouth, trying to escape. Roxas huffed and pushed himself further back in his seat, as if it could push away his ugly past. He closed his eyes, and closed out everything around him, letting himself go, hoping that when he awoke, this would all be just a bad dream. 'Please," Roxas whispered to no one in particular, 'let me wake up.' A single tear escaped, sliding down his cheek. "Please."

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Back at the waterfalls

Demyx awoke with a start, jumping up and frantically searching for the source of the dark sphere that had nearly taken his head off but moments ago. "Who's there dammit!"

"Well how cold of you," an icy voice casually replied from the shadows, "is that anyway to greet an old friend?" A black hooded figure stepped out of the shadows calmly in spite of Demyx's flaming green eyed glare that could have melted the glaciers.

Demyx's mouth dropped at the site of the man, "Zexion?" Demyx voice raised about 3 octaves from the shock.

"At least you remember my name," the hooded figure took a few steps forward before reaching up and removing his hood, revealing gorgeous bluish purple hair that was tossled about his head covering one eye.

Demyx gasped, he was breath taking, even more so than the last time he had seen him, was that even possible? He could even have been mistaken for a girl, and actually had been, the first time Demyx had met him- yes Demyx wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box.

Demyx stumbled forward and grabbed his shoulders, still trying to form words, "You're here! Oh my god! I haven't seen you in years!" He laughed, hugging him tightly, that is until his brain caught up with his excitement, "Wait," Demyx pulled back suddenly and stared at Zexion in the eyes, well, one eye to be exact. "Why are you here?!" He demanded.

Zexion merely sneered at his friend, "You've been reckless again Demyx, HE sent me to remind you of your objective. You do remember, don't you? Or should I tell you?" Zexion pressed, fully aware of how uncomfortable Demyx was on this subject.

"I know why, but….its so hard." Demyx dropped is head, staring intently at his feet, "To see him in such pain, he's so confused and I am the reason why!" He glanced up at Zexion but immediately turned his gaze away, "I'm using him, and its killing him."

Demyx's eyes welled up with tears and he looked at Zexion for an answer.

"You don't have a choice, its your job." Zexion's voice softened a little, almost like the way Demyx remembered it from his past, "don't blame yourself, what HE orders is law." Zexion's hand came up and cupped Demyx's cheek, "You're not a bad person, Demy, you have the purest heart out of all of us."

Demyx scoffed, "Sure, like any of us have hearts, my soul is as black as hell."

Zexion scowled at the dark tone in Demyx's voice, "NO! That's him talking! Not you!" Zexion growled, calming himself when he saw the fear in Demyx's eyes, "You're hands aren't stained with blood yet, I won't let them corrupt you."

Demy smiled sadly, "Thanks," hugging Zexion, he buried his face into his chest, "I missed you." Demyx mumbled barely audible. A small smile graced Zexion's pale lips, "I am sorry, I missed you too, Demy."

Demyx glanced up but the magic of the moment was broken when he noticed it was already dark out, "Shit!" Demyx pulled out of the embrace, "I gotta get back, Axel's waiting!" At the mention of his name, Demyx's eyes fell away from Zexion's in shame.

Zexion lifted his chin so they were eye to eye, "It's okay," Zexion reassured chuckling at Demyx's childish behavior, "its your job, I'll be back to see you, so go on, get your work done."

Immense relief washed over Demyx's face, unbelievably glad that Zexion understood. Demyx leaned in kissing Zexion lightly on the lips, and bounding off quickly so Zexion couldn't catch him. "I'll be back later, so wait for me!"

Zexion stood still slightly shocked as he watched his little ball of light and energy race off, a smile gracing his elegant features, "Silly brat."

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In Riku's room

Riku tossed violently about tangling his limbs in the sheets, which only made him thrash harder. He was sweating profusely, his hair damp and sticking to his face and neck, his breath coming is desperate gasps.

He was having a nightmare again, the same one that had been plaguing him since Vexen had started the more intense experiments. Oddly enough, the nightmare wasn't from memories but somehow he felt a sense of nostalgia every time.

It always started out the same; in the dream he would be standing on a bent tree trunk, on some sort of tropical island. On the tree was a strange star shaped fruit that shown brightly in the topical sun, drawing him to it, but just as he would reach for it, the star would shoot up in the sky, moments later falling towards the sea.

As if that wasn't weird enough, as the star plummeted down it would pass the setting sun, but just as it dropped into the rays, the star would turn brown. Unfortunately that's as far as he ever got in the dream, before waking up in a cold sweat, just like this time.

Riku sighed, pulling himself into a sitting position, annoyed and desperately tired but trying to sleep when he was sticky from sweating would prove impossible. Deciding a quick shower would be the best solution, he made for the edge of the bed, but gasped in shock as a long lanky arm wrapped about his midsection and pulled him back into bed.

"no….Riku…" Axel mumbled incoherently in his sleep.

Riku couldn't help but smile down at his friends antics, thoroughly impressed by Axel's talent for sleep talking. An evil smirk spread on Riku's face, 'Wonder what I could get you to admit to?' Riku sighed, as much fun as blackmailing Axel would be, a shower was more important…for the moment.

Riku pried Axel's arm off and gently slid off the bed, placing a chaste kiss on the red heads lips, "Be back in a minute."

Axel mumbled something but Riku didn't worry about translating it, Axel was still out of it, so what ever it was, was more than likely gibberish. And besides, the only thing currently on Riku's mind was a much needed shower…well bath is more like it but Riku would never dare use that word, it was much too feminine.

Riku shut the bathroom door quietly as not to disturb the slumbering redhead, thought the light spilling out into the bedroom was sufficient enough to do the job. As the door shut and the last rays of light were blackened out, Axel stirred awake. And once the shower water sounded, he popped his eyes open and hopped out of bed running to the bedroom door, pausing momentarily at the door, "Sorry Riku." Axel swung open the door but froze at as he nearly tripped over the small figure huddles on the floor near the door, it almost look like the person had been listening in on them, Axel's temper flared, "Who the hell are you?"

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And cut! That's all for now, sorry but its really late here and I have a lot of homework to finish.

Anyways, thanks everyone for reading this story, sorry that it took me so long to update, but I promise to start working on my stories again really soon and have updates within the next few months.

As always reviews are welcome and very helpful in motivating me to write. Also I would like to mention that I have several pre story outlines written for this series, one is a pre story of how Demyx and Zexion met and the other two are still a secret for now. Anyway, I already have two chapters written for it and will post them soon.

Thanks again and have a lovely day!

KitsuneNoThrill