Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Hey guys, I'm back! I finally have inspiration again and it's all thanks to my co writer for this fanfiction; invaderhoruzongreen. Everyone, please check out her page and have fun reading this story. Things are going to start getting thicker, and this is my first suspense/mystery fic. Hopefully it turns out awesome. Enjoy!

*Two Years Later*

Axel's life had always been pretty calm despite volunteering at the sanctuary, but a few days after the blazing heat of summer came around his first year that all changed. Remembering back to the first day of the intricate game, the redhead thought of how clever the enemy had been. The whole ordeal to him had been like a round of chess; nothing but a game of guessing and predicting the moves of your opponent only to ultimately have something you never expected come your way.

But then again, he'd always considered himself a good chess player.

.o.O.o.

Ring ring ring rin- "What the hell do you want Saix? It's 3 in the morning and I'm trying to sleep." Axel demanded sleepily as he answered his phone, wishing he could just ignore his boss.

"There's been a report of an abandoned lion cub in your area." Saix said emotionlessly.

Axel yawned. "So? Get one of the rescuers to do it." He grumbled, eyes half open.

"We can't. Everyone is busy. That's why we're calling you. You're the closest to the site and you've had some training in rescues." Saix explained, his patience running thin. He had better things to deal with than a whining volunteer.

The redhead sighed. "Alright, I'll do it. Where's the cub?" He asked as he climbed out of bed and got dressed.

"Traverse Ave. There was a rockslide and the lion is stuck under the rubble."

"Thanks, I'll be there as soon as I can." Axel hung up and rushed into his best friend's room, shaking him roughly until he woke up.

Demyx rolled over and groaned, "What do you want? I'm sleeping here."

Axel yanked the blanket off of the blond, causing him to curl up in an attempt to regain the lost heat. "I'm being sent on a rescue and I need your help."

As soon as the words left his mouth Demyx was up and dressed in a flash. He always love helping out with the sanctuary when he could, and now was one of those rare times. Both boys hoped in Axel's car and began speeding towards the sight.

Normally, the vehicles they used for rescues had the same rights as a regular ambulance; they could speed and not get pulled over and other cars had to let them pass. However, because he didn't own one he was forced to drive the speed limit, taking almost twenty minutes to reach Traverse Ave.

"Come on!" Axel cried as he jumped out of the car, heading towards the large pile of rubble on the side of the road.

When Saix said avalanche he wasn't kidding; there were rocks everywhere. It looked as if half of the mountain collapsed. The pyro scanned the pile for a lion cub, barely noticing a brown paw sticking out from underneath the rubble.

Axel turned towards Demyx, who was running over to help him and yelled, "Here!"

Turning back to the rocks, he began to unbury the cub, being sure to not let the remaining boulders fall back into the space he was creating. Soon their muscles were protesting from the effort, though they'd barely made a dent.

Both boys heard the faintest mewl come from the cub, the small sound becoming their motivation. A painfully long time later they managed to uncover the baby lion, and Axel took off his sweater and wrapped it around the cub before picking it up carefully.

He and Demyx ran back to the car and Axel climbed in the passenger side, Demyx in the driver's side. As the car pulled away from the side of the road Axel inspected the cub. It was golden with brown paws and a white muzzle. It's left shoulder had a large laceration that was gushing blood and it's right hind leg appeared broken.

"Demyx, hit the gas!" Axel yelled anxiously, pressurizing the cut in an attempt to slow the bleeding. If they didn't get to the sanctuary, now the cub would die.

"But what if we get caught by the cops?!" His friend protested, hesitant to do as the pyro said.

Axel ground his teeth. "I could care less if I went to jail! Get us to the animal sanctuary now!"

Without another word Demyx floored it, speeding down the road back the way they'd came. Within ten minutes they came screeching to a halt in front of the building. Forgetting about the car both boys ran inside, Demyx finding one of the doctors while Axel ran to the OR.

Axel laid the cub down on a metal table and quickly set up an it before sticking the lion with the needle, barely getting a response. Just then Zexion rushed in, ready to get to work. Unfortunately, while Zexion fixed up the cub Axel and Demyx could do nothing to help.

Knowing their job was done, the boys drove home to try and sleep for a bit before morning. For Axel however, this was a fruitless task.

All he could think of was the look of pure pain on the cub's face. Because of his past with lion cubs he was convinced the poor thing wouldn't live, but at least he gave it a chance. He'd done his job, and now it was out of his hands.

And that was exactly what was bothering him. The unexplainable guilt of not being able to help in someone's time of need, even after doing everything in his power to save it's life. He was itching for morning, for an answer.

Did the cub make it through the night?

That was Axel's final thought before he drifted off to sleep.

Okay, this chapter's done! I cut it off here for the suspense. The next part should be out tomorrow, so don't worry! This is gonna be an awesome story!