A/N: So, it's been about four months since I updated this story. Sorry. School and life got in the way, as well as trying to figure out just where I want to go with it. It keeps trying to direct me to different areas, so I keep trying to change my mind. x3 On another note, thank you to those that Favorited and reviewed, it means so much to me.3

Warnings: Swearing in this chapter. Also, this is an un-beta'd chapter as well, so let me know of any huge mistakes.

Pairings: ZexionxDemyx, AxelxRoxas, RikuxSora, and possibly, more I haven't decided. One thing you need to understand is that these couples are not set in stone, as for who 'tops'. Things like that tend not to work that way in real life, and they won't work that way in this story. Hell, it may be quite awhile before we see any couple like action at all. It will come though, just give it time.

Disclaimer: I don't own. Never will.

" Screw you, and screw your damn amnesia!" - Ansem Retort

The creature leapt, as soon as it was within range, and Demyx did the only thing that came to mind at that particular moment. He flinched, arms coming up to protect his face and head. He expected to feel agony, the feeling of teeth tearing into his body and bleeding him dry. However, that was not the case at all. Instead, what he heard was a strangled yelp and the sound of something entering something else.

The lanky teen slowly lowered his arms, staring, at the sight before him. Riku, the new kid who he really didn't care for all that much, stood in front of him, over the body of the monster. In one hand, he held a sword looking thing. It was weird, it looked almost like a bat wing, except for the structure was blue and the membrane a bright red, a smaller feathered wing sprouted off part of the blade there was a chain coming off the end of it, in a shape that looked oddly like a heart charm. Black liquid dripped off the blade, and the creature seemed to dissipate into nothing. The silverette turned back to the stunned teens, a grim look on his face.

" I think we're a little late to beat them here."

Demyx, however, decided to focus on something else, other than that fact and what the other teen was saying.

" What the hell is that thing you're holding?"

Riku blinked, looking down at the sword like object, with something like bitter amusement.

" Way to Dawn. My keyblade."

Axel snorted, clearly disbelieving.

" I'm sorry, your what?"

The bizarre weapon disappeared in an oddly subtle flash of light. Demyx looked at Axel who seemed a little on edge about the whole thing.

" My keyblade. "

" What the fuck is a keyblade?"

Riku made a frustrated sound, and pushed his bangs out of his face, only for them to fall back into his line of sight.

" Look, how badly do you want to find Roxas? We can stand here discussing my weapon, or find him."

Demyx grit his teeth, resisting the urge to give in and break down and scream in Riku's face. Nodding once Demyx turned back to the school, the heated winds that were blowing towards him tugged at his hair, it was probably messed up by now. Riku stepped up, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder he walked past him, letting it slide off. He stared at the school for a long moment, before another long and piercing cry echoed from within the building.

" Shit."

The teen turned his back to the building, giving him an outlined look as he eyed them speculatively. With a resigned sigh he took out his cell phone, walking past them, the way he'd come.

" I seriously doubt anyone living is still there. I also don't think Roxas would just lay down and die, so don't worry Demyx. I'm going to make a few calls, come on, we're going to my place. It's safer there, much safer. "

Axel half turned to watch him go, glancing at his other friend and back at Riku's retreating back.

" And if we don't?"

The teen kept walking, but he shrugged once.

" Then you die. Like everyone else."

Axel shut his mouth with a snap. Riku had stopped to look back at them, expectant. Axel grabbed Demyx's shoulder before carefully guiding his shell shocked friend away from the sight of the school burning to the ground. The two followed Riku, who walked quickly by not so fast as he'd lose them. One his phone he searched through his contacts, trying to find the one he wanted. Finding it, he pressed the button and put the phone to his ear.

" Sora. They're here. No, looks like a lost cause. I'm sure. Yeah. Uh-huh. Do we have passenger room? Good. Two. Hey, before you go, have you heard of anyone else picking up survivors? Mhm. Okay. You know it. Bye, Sora."

Axel glanced at the blond next to him who seemed shell shocked, and would stop every couple of steps to look back. He could relate to his friend. To go and find his family, that sounded like a great idea, but then again, by the way the sounds of horror were spreading, he didn't think he'd make the trip back home in one piece. The most he could do was call them, try to warn them ahead of time. By time they got to Demyx's car, surprisingly unscratched, Riku took the keys from the limp hand of Demyx, and got in the driver's seat. Axel got Demyx into the car, sliding in after him. Riku used the sidewalk as well as any form of shortcut to get back to the diner, laying on the horn, trying to get people out of his way. Axel finally felt like he could open his mouth without becoming sick.

" So, what's the plan?"

Riku looked at them in the rear view mirror, a smirk, tinged with bitterness touched his face again.

" Heh. Friend of mine is going to pick us up at my house, take us somewhere safe. "

He paused a moment, gaze softening.

" Demyx. I really did mean what I said. Roxas is a tough guy, I know he's fine. "

The blonde snorted, shaking his head. He was trying not to think about what it meant to lose his little brother in such a way. Lost. That word didn't seem to fit. Being lost meant you could find them again, that they would one day come back, where you could hug them, and make sure they were okay. Death, was much more continuous. There was no 'coming back'. Once you were gone, you were gone, no if's, and's ,or but's. As they drove, he could feel something like horror welling in his chest, and the desire to scream choking him. How could they just assume that Roxas was either dead, or gone? They needed to look for him, and look for him properly. That was his little brother, damn it!

Demyx glanced at his friend, with shocked and blank eyes. Axel was trying to get anyone one the phone. His brother wasn't answering, and neither were his parents. The situation was getting worse, the longer things went on. How would they ever recover from this kind of thing? They couldn't, very simply. They would die, and the world would try to destroy these things. What were they anyway?

" Riku, what the hell are those things?"

Riku, meanwhile was swearing as he swerved through the roads, desperate to beat the chaos back to safety. As he muttered under his breath, he glanced in the review mirror, his response a simple word. " Heartless."

" What the hell is a heartless, exactly?"

As the junky car smashed back onto the road from the sidewalk again, Riku simply replied with a distracted, " I'll tell you later."

When Riku had said that someone was going to be picking them up at his house, Demyx, was admittedly a little worried, which was reasonable, when it came down to what had happened in the past couple of hours. You know, with the whole world going down the crapper? Yes, that. Therefore, it was understandable that both Demyx and Axel were more than a little reluctant to get out of Riku's fancy little car. Especially when the teen had pulled into the drive of a beautiful, manicured lawned, aged red brick building. Demyx felt his stress-o-meter go up a couple of more clicks. At that setting, he'd have a head full of gray hair by tomorrow. Great, just what he wanted at 18 years of age.

Now, while it wasn't surprising that neither the blonde nor the red head wanted out of the car, it was a little surprising that Riku didn't move, other than to lean his head back against the head rest of the car. After a few moments though, he did remove the seat-belt, before twisting around to look at his two shell shocked surviving passengers.

" Guys, we're here. We need to get out, and get going. Not much is going to make those bastards stop. "

All he got for his gentle words were blank looks and slow blinks. Shit. With an aggravated sound, he took it up a notch. Oh, how he hated newbies, especially those he had known before this all started.

" Get the hell out of the car, now, or so help me I will leave you two here to be lost as well!"

If it was the frustration in his voice, or the volume, he wasn't sure, but the two teens did as he said, and got out of the car, warily, casting quick and frightened glances around. Riku got out the car, slamming it shut behind him, and resisted the urge to arm himself with his 'blade again. They were attracted to the power of it, and leading them to himself was not a move he wanted to make right now, not while he was having to guard these two. Teal eyes raked around the area, feeling uneasy with so many hiding places around. He'd of preferred to be out in the open, to a neighborhood. Beggars couldn't be choosers, though.

" Keep an eye on the sky."

With that, the silverette turned and jogged into the garage, leaving them there to stare at vacant streets, and glance at the sky every now and then. What had they gotten themselves into, exactly? Demyx was staring at his phone, as if begging it to ring and give him news that would just make his day. Axel, on the other hand, was looking around, warily, not completely easy with the constant quiet of the rather lovely, upper class neighborhood. Trying to fight the unease that stole over him, he crossed his arms over the gray shirt he wore, keeping his sharp green eyes on the world around the house. He wasn't a coward, but he wasn't a hero, not by any sort of standard. He'd rather live than be a hero.

Demyx, however, was punching numbers on the cell phone, begging, praying that his parents or little brother would just pick up the phone. The first couple of messages he left were okay, but his frustration was getting the better of him. He could tell. By the end of his sixth message, he was ready to just throw the damn phone, or scream. Whichever came first. Finally, the blonde put the phone away, one hand locked into his carefully styled hair tugging on the locks in frustration. It was Axel who broke the silence, even as Demyx slid down the side of the car, sitting on the pavement.

" Why the sky? "

Blue eyes looked at the red head. What?

" Huh?"

An annoyed sound.

" He told us to keep an eye on the sky, Dem. Why?"

A sigh.

" Dunno. "

From Demyx's guess, it'd have to of been at least half an hour before Riku came back out, carrying a duffle bag, which he dropped between the other two teens. There was something different about him, as if he were, more than what he was. He seemed more confident, as if he were in charge of all of this. With a once over, Riku felt his mouth tighten. This was not how he would of chosen to let them know that something bigger was out there. Damn it, wasn't this why they came here in the first place? They couldn't even stop a single attack. They were next to useless. Taking a calming breath, he came back to now. He had to help these two out. He hadn't meant to make friends, or at least good acquaintances, but you had to make your cover story convincing. He just hadn't expected himself to have to save their asses. Sora was wearing off on him.

The thought of the brunette crossed his mind, and he looked to the sky himself. Where was he? It didn't take that long to get here, he should know. Then again, Sora wasn't the most directionally capable person out there. Still, they rest of the crew should be able to get them here.

His musing was interrupted by the sounds of screams. His head whipped around so fast, he was surprised he didn't get whiplash. A woman, a housewife more like it, was running down the street, holding her toddler, who looked limp in her arms. Already they'd made it this far? Damn, damn, damn, they were moving fast now. Behind her, there were bound to be more people, but what circled around the corner of the woman's house was not human. The canine looking freak, a heartless, bounded after her, it's yellow eyes intent on her. If he didn't know any better he'd thought it was smiling. Axel and Demyx were watching as well, horror on Demyx's face, shock on Axel's. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, that was only a few seconds, Axel stepped forward.

" We have to help her, it'll kill her!"

A grimace.

" I know. "

When Riku didn't move, Axel whirled on him, anger over riding the fear.

" Aren't you going to do something?"

" No. We can't save them all, Axel."

A growl, almost feral came from the red head, and after a second of deliberation, whirled around the car, racing for the woman and the monster.

" Shit, Axel!" Demyx charged after him, and Riku could feel his head starting to hurt. Why couldn't these two just do things like normal people? Like, what he said for starters? When Riku whirled around the car, charging after the two, knowing this wouldn't, couldn't end well. Axel had intervened in the monster's path, and it had slowed to a stop, a hundred feet from the other two teens. It stood, drool dripping from exposed fangs and a forked tongue. With a hiss, it charged the red head.

When it hit him, Axel hadn't quite expected the thing to feel as if it were made from steel. The sound of teeth snapping inches from his face was terrifying, and the sounds it made were not canine. Axel was expecting it to get to him, sink it's teeth into his throat, and kill him then and there. Not Demyx to hit it with a bat, that he'd gotten from someone's front yard. The monster was distracted, and whirled on him. Demyx reared back, to strike it again, but this time, it caught the bat with it's fangs, puncturing the aluminum bat easily. The beast shook it's head, and Demyx lost his grip, and went rolling after losing his balance.

Demyx knew his had some scrapes, but the fact that he was about to be killed seemed sort of more important. The 'heartless' jumped at him, intent on ending him, when all of a sudden, it yelped, and was dropped back to the ground. In it's side was a the key blade, and after a moment, it stopped struggling, and disappeared. What made Demyx really stare, was the bright pink, glowing, heart that came from it, and then floated into nothing in the sky. What the hell was that. Riku stood, there, where the beast had been. With a sigh, he helped Demyx up, and the two went over to Axel, who still hadn't moved.

The wind was whipping around them, and the sky was more of a darkened, dingy grey brown color. Like a tornado was trying to whip into the world.

" Damn it's getting windy."

A grunt.

" Yeah, that may not be a bad thing."

Demyx cocked and eyebrow.

" How so? "

" Well-"

Axel, however, decided to break in at this point. The dazed red head was staring, at the sky, shocked beyond all reason. What he was seeing, did not make any form of sense, and he just wished he'd wake up from this stupid ass dream now. Slowly, he raised on arm, pointing straight up.

The other two looked up, and while Demyx's mouth dropped, Riku smirked.

" About damn time. "

Above them, coming through the cloud layer, was the underside of a massive ship. The metal was a tan in color, and massive spot lights, easily ten feet across, rotated, throwing light over the ground, over them. Riku chuckled, and pulled Axel up.

" Yeah, that's our ride. "

" Our..what?"

Demyx was stunned. How the hell were they going to get up there. More importantly , how was Riku friends with aliens. Did that mean he was one? Oh, God! He'd been friends with an alien, that was so very, very creepy. The sound of Riku's phone ringing brought him back.

" Hey. Yeah, it's us. Wanna let us in? I'll fill you in. "

Let us in? Demyx felt a sense of dread bloom in his stomach. He didn't want to be transported anywhere, even to safety! A rope, fell down from the sky, less then three feet away from him, and Demyx yelped, jerking away from the metal cables with foot plates. What the hell? Weren't space ships supposed to have transport thingies?

Riku chuckled again, motioning for Demyx and Axel first. Axel was the first to step forward, to climb the ladder. Oh, shit was so fucked today. Demyx stared at Riku, not quite sure who the other teen was anymore. Riku put a hand on his shoulder, giving him an easy smile.

" Breath Dem. It'll be fine. "

One of the haunting screams of the monsters echoed through, and sound of approaching chaos wasn't far behind.

" If you start climbing, like, right now. "

That was all Demyx needed to hear. Reluctantly, the teen started the long climb to safety.

When Roxas woke up, the first thing that registered in his sleep addled mind, was that he was staring himself in the face. The same blue eyes, the same blond hair, and the same fair complexion. Roxas felt his own eyes widen in shock, and he tried to scramble backwards, and the rough metal below him dug into his skin, and his over all weakness led to him simply collapsing back onto the ground. The face that he had thought was his split into a smile, and the laugh that came from it, sounded nothing like his own.

" Haha, it's okay, chill, chill!"

Roxas froze, not quite sure what to expect next. The last thing he remembered was tripping over some idiot's back pack, a foot, and then blissful nothing. How the hell did he end up, well, where ever the hell he was? The other blonde, his double, straightened, still holding out a pacifying set of hands, even as his laugh died. The sound of feet on metal caught both of their attention, and the standing blonde twisted to look.

" Terra!"

Roxas didn't have to see his face to know there was a smile to go with the word. The person who had come through the door, was tall, and rather broad shouldered. His spiky, brown hair had nothing on his own, but still. The brunette spared a quick smile for his friend, before turning to Roxas, who was still staring, feeling more and more like he was still dreaming.

" You're awake. Good."

Roxas, were he in any other state than what he was, would have bristled at the tone of the other male.

"Terra, at least try to be nice."

A crossing of arms.

" I thought I was. Anyway, after you're done settling him in, I need your help in the control room."

A quick nod.

" Sure thing. "

Then, those blue eyes were back on him, and a smile was back, less than what it was before.

" I'm Ven, by the way. "

" Roxas. "

He couldn't help the returning smile as he grasped the hand that had been lowered to help him up. Taking it, he grunted as he was hefted to his feet, taking a moment to try and steady himself.

Ven was just about his height, and it was more than a little creepy to see himself act so very, unlike himself. Ven however, seemed oblivious to the whole scrutiny, or if he was aware, he didn't mind it.

" Come on Roxas, I'll show you to where you're staying until we meet up with everyone again. You can get some sleep, you lucky dog. "

Despite the fact that he had a feeling he wouldn't be getting much sleep, he followed his doppelganger.

Terra, as it was known well, didn't like strangers. The blonde that Ven had been leaning over made him uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friend, but, this other kid, looked just like him. It was uncanny.

Still, now wasn't the time to ponder things he had no control over. The door opened to the control room, and he turned to look over his shoulder. Aqua merely gave him a swift smile before closing the door behind her.

" I thought you were supposed to be resting?"

" I guess I've been hanging out with you and Ven too long. I couldn't, not with all this stuff going on. Besides, I am supposed to be in charge here. "

" Ha, since when?"

The blue haired woman gave him a sharp look, though a smile twisted her lips, even as she sat in one of the chairs in the room.

" Where's Ven?"

A sharp pause, debating.

" Taking care of a guest. "

" A guest?"

Terra took a moment to glance at the instruments that told him just how things were going. He could feel her eyes burning a hole into him, making the hair on the back of his neck prickle.

" Yeah. Ven found him, when we were trying to find anyone. It's strange though, he looks just like-"

" Aqua!"

Both turned to look towards the door, and Aqua matched Ven, grin for grin.

" Ven. "

A look of happiness and disbelieving joy had planted itself on his face, and within a few seconds, he had crossed the room, to stand before the two older members of the crew.

" I though you were ordered to rest?"

Terra couldn't stiffle the chuckle.

" Apparently we're wearing off on her, Ven. "

Ven tilted his head, confused at his friend.

" I got bored of just sitting and sleeping, I decided to stretch my legs."

Comprehension dawned on him, and he nodded, the smile slipping to a smirk.

" So you decided to ignore orders and come see what's up, huh? "

" Can you blame me?"

The three friends shared a laugh, before returning to the control station that was the deck of the ship. Their job wasn't easy, and for the past few days, it had just been two of the three. It was a relief to see that their friend had woken up, especially after they had been told the chance was slim.

Roxas looked around the room he was 'borrowing'. It was a modest little room with a bed and a dresser, but nothing more than that. There were a few personal things that told him that he was borrowing a room that belonged to someone else.

The teen walked over to the bed, running a hand over the comforter, before sitting down with a sigh. The teen kicked off his shoes, before falling backwards on the bed, which really, wasn't all that uncomfortable.

The ceiling was nothing more than a stretch of gray metal that the ship had been made of. Blue eyes went unfocused as he let his memories wash over him. What had those things been?

He could still hear the terrified screams of his classmates in his ears, and the smell of something rotting, and fire. Then, the sound of a wild call that had sounded too close for comfort. He remembered running, running as fast as he could, as hard as he could. But how did he lose consciousness? He, he couldn't remember. He knew he tripped and he'd been kicked, but it felt like there was something more to it than that. With a frustrated sound, he threw an arm over his eyes.

This sucked. This meant he'd possibly never graduate high school, never go to college, and what about his parents, and Demyx? Demyx! Roxas sat up sharply, wincing as his tired body protested that sudden movement. Oh crap! His brother was an idiot, there was no telling what trouble he would get into! If he went back to the school, then he could truly be alone in the world.

Not to mention Axel. He was a perv and took far too much enjoyment out of trying to get into his pants, but he was a good friend to those that were considered 'his'. God, if the bean pole got himself killed, Roxas would beat the shit out of him. With that thought in mind, he forced the angry tears out of his eyes, eyeing the door he'd more or less been pushed through.

With that, he got off the bed, abandoning his shoes for the moment, and made short work of walking towards the door, which opened as he approached. The hallway was empty, so he felt more than a tad uneasy sneaking down the metal corridor. Of the rooms he checked, none held a living person, but he did find a bathroom, a storage room, and what looked like a gym of sorts, kinda.

The last door he opened turned out to be an elevator, which he stepped into with more than a little trepidation. The buttons were in a strange looking language, and Roxas felt his eyes adopt a look he'd seen on Dem's when the older blonde was faced with a situation that he was uncomfortable with. Round and wide, Roxas tentatively pressed one of the buttons that looked mildly important. With a simple 'ding', the elevator moved to the requested level.

A beeping on the control panel disrupted the conversation the three friends. It was Terra who spun in the chair to look first, making a confused sound at what he was seeing.

" What is it, Terra?"

Aqua came to stand next to him, looking over his shoulder at the console. She stiffened, head tilting slightly at the news. Someone was using the elevator on the ship.

" I thought that the ship ran on biometrics."

Terra glanced at her with a shrug.

" It does. "

Ven, never to be left out of anything for long, quickly joined them, curiosity guiding him rather than sense when he saw it. All three stood there, watching as the elevator went up and up, carrying it's passenger to the floor required.

You see, their ship was state of the art. Not just anyone could access the elevator, which made keeping the kid on the quarter's level simple and a good idea. He shouldn't of been able to do that. With an aggravated sound, Terra reached out to hit the emergency stop button, only to be stopped be Ven.

"What the-? Ven, we can't just let him wander around and get into stuff. If he can access the elevator, then he can access just about everything."

"Yeah, I know, but there's no harm in at least seeing where he's going, is there?"

Terra gave the teen a sharp glare but let the elevator continue on it's way, merrily. With a swift movement of his hand, he brought up the camera that was on the elevator, and the image of Ven's doppelganger popped up, showing them just what he was up to.

Aqua gasped, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. The boy on the elevator, he looked just like Ven! How was that possible?

"Ven, he looks just like you!"

Her voice was soft, but still obviously stunned. Ven nodded looking at her, with a slight smile.

"Yeah, he does. His name is Roxas."

A snort that belonged to Terra, and the blonde looked to see his friend giving him a flat look.

" I don't care what his name is, he shouldn't be able to do what he's doing!"

Ven rolled his eyes. Leave it to Terra to get worked up over something that probably wasn't a big deal as he thought it was. He thought himself a good judge of character, and well, Roxas didn't seem like a bad person. Why couldn't Terra just trust him for once on this?

The elevator, stopped on the command deck, which, ironically, was the level they were on. All three froze, looking at one another before turning to the elevator that opened to the room in which they were standing. The doors hissed open, and Roxas walked out, looking more than a little stunned.

The viewing window that stretched out much like a windshield showed stars, a background to a planet. Roxas had paid attention enough in class to realize that the planet was his. What he didn't understand, was why, exactly, it looked as if it were cracking. Great red, jagged cracks were appearing on the world, and what looked like a massive, living cloud seemed to be attached to it, tendrils wrapping around it.

"What, what is that? "

He hadn't taken time to look at the other people in the room. His eyes were still locked onto the scene before him.

" It's a heartless cloud. Attacking the planet. I'm so sorry. It was your home, wasn't it? "

Roxas nodded, walking closer, placing a hand on the cold glass window, stunned into sheer silence and disbelief. How, how could this happen? Things like this just didn't happen, it wasn't possible.

"H-how?"

A frustrated sigh from Terra, and the brunette went back to the control board, sliding what were supposed to be used as protective shields over the viewing window, a bit like scales they over lapped and blocked the view.

"We don't know. The good news is that you're safe. I suppose that's good news. "

Terra had seen a lot of survivors in since he'd been made a crew member of the ship. Well, okay, his fair share of people and he'd seen reactions vary from shocked and sad to shocked and angry, to shocked and happy. He didn't expect this case to be any different. What he got, however, was the chair he was sitting in to spin around, and came face to face with a very angry Roxas, who had a hand on either side of the chair arms, glaring into the brunette's face.

" My family was down there! You saved me and left them?"

Ven tried to grab Roxas away, but there was no need. Terra stood, and Roxas took a step back, if only to be able to glare up into the taller man's face, his own anger not abating in the slightest.

" Saving you was an unfortunate order! We were trying to meet up with another crew, and Ven just had to save you, right before you were killed! You should be grateful we didn't let your scrawny ass get slaughtered like the rest of that pathetic planet!"

He hadn't realized he was yelling until he shrugged off a calming hand on his shoulder. What a rude little brat, who didn't have the manners to at least be thankful he was still alive. Accusing them of letting people die. They didn't let people die, but they'd learned a long time ago from someone dear to all three that you couldn't save everyone, not every time. Unfortunately, Roxas was never one to back down, and instead of walking away, he yelled back.

" Grateful? What am I supposed to do now? I don't have a high school diploma, I don't have family, I don't have a fucking world, apparently! What do expect me to do? I'm stuck here with you people who I don't even know!"

Angry tears were in cerulean eyes and Terra felt a moment of softness, and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, only to be stopped by Ven, who was standing behind the blonde teen. Ven's own eyes were sad as well. He knew what it was like to lose his home, and while the tears were disappearing in his doppelganger's eyes, the pain wasn't going away.

"It's okay Roxas. I know what it's like to lose a home and family. I bet it would help if we introduced ourselves properly, huh?"

Roxas rolled his eyes, but bit his tongue denying it, no need to offend people even more. His father was right, he really did have their mother's temper. Instead of replying with something hurtful, he just nodded, feeling the tension head ache pound dully behind his eyes.

Ven grinned, and removed his hand, pointing to all three of them in turn.

"I'm Ventus, Ven, that's Terra, and that's Aqua. We're the crew of The Stormfall."

At the blank stare, Ven chuckled and motioned around them.

" The Stormfall is the ship you're currently in. "

The light of recognition went on and he looked around with a new awe. A real space ship. And not one of the rocket designs that they had back home. After a moment though, he turned his curious look on Ven again.

"Why The Stormfall?"

It was Terra who answered.

"Because Aqua thought it sounded like a good name at the time. Plus, she's older than both Ven and me, so she thought it gave her the right. Ven and I also didn't have anything better. At the time."

Ven laughed at Aqua's almost indignant look she had.

" You get used to it though. "

Roxas nodded, perhaps these guys weren't as bad as they seemed. Terra, was it? Terra seemed a little grumpy, but no where near as bad as Saix. He could handle him, no problem. The woman seemed nice too, in fact, she reminded him a lot of Namine.

Namine. His best friend back home, outside of their usual gang, and Larxene's little sister.

"Wait, you said you all were going to meet up with another crew. That implies another ship, is that true? "

He looked at all three in turn, hope blooming his chest, despite the desire to crush it. If you didn't have high expectations or hope, you couldn't be crushed in the long run.

" Yep. We lost radio contact with them, so that means they're near the surface. They're the crew of Destiny's Embrace. Sad thing about that name is that it wasn't chosen by a girl."

Terra seemed to cringe while he said these words, as if he couldn't imagine a worse name for a ship. Aqua rolled her eyes and waved him off, behind his back, while Ven snickered. Terra ignored them, and Roxas was vaguely reminded of the friends he'd lost.

"Destiny's Embrace, this is Stormfall, do you read me, over?"

There was silence.

"Destiny's Embrace, this is Stormfall, do you read me, over?"

Silence, though Terra seemed to get even more frustrated with the silence that was crackling over the waves. Slamming his hands on the consol, he stood, and practically snarled into the radio.

" Sora, where the fuck are you? You're supposed to be piloting the damn ship, you can't take a nap whenever you feel like it!"

The voice that crackled over the radio made Roxas want to laugh at the amount of reproach that was in it.

" You don't have to swear, Terra. Riku sent up a mayday, so I went to save his ass, again might I add. We're clear and good to go. Over."

Terra seemed to relax, sitting again, closing his eyes briefly.

" Thanks for letting us know ahead of time, Squirt. Be ready to jump in fifteen. Stormfall, over and out."

"Hey! Don't call me that! And rodger that Stormfall, Destiny's Embrace over and out."

Terra sighed and started the process of getting the ship ready to jump. It was therefore quite a surprise to Roxas when he found himself being guided to the elevator by Aqua, who had an easy grip on his shoulder.

"Sorry, Roxas, but crew only. Just hit the third button on the second row, it'll take you to the residence level. Seriously, get some sleep. You'll need it. We'll wake you up when we get home, okay?"

Roxas could only nod dumbly as he was guided into the elevator. He felt like he was having to fight to stay awake, and by the yawn that felt like it should of cracked his jaw, he was losing. He pressed the button and nodded at Ven who gave him a two finger salute, and Aqua a quick smile.

When he was gone, Aqua turned a questioning look on Ven who was regarding her with an amused yet exasperated look. She crossed her arms at him.

"What?"

"Did you really find it necessary to spell him?"

" You saw him, he wasn't going to go without an argument. At least now he'll actually get some sleep."

Ven opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut short by their third friend.

"You know guys, it'd be nice if there were two other members of my crew helping me get this rust bucket ready to kick off,"

" Oh, hush up Terra!"

Ven couldn't help but laugh, and went to his station, to do his part. A jump was a magical thing, crossing massive amounts of space in a short amount of time, and he could already feel his bed calling him.

A/N: I hope it was worth the wait. In the good news, you got to see Roxas was alive. In the bad, less of Demyx and Axel. You'll live, I'm sure. Let me know if you liked it, or not, any suggestions or ideas will be taken into consideration. If you want to see something in the story, tell me and I'll see about putting it in. Think I'm making someone OoC, let me know. Just nothing that will crush me soul. That means, use your manners people, they don't hurt as bad. x3 Well, until next time lovies!

- C.C