I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix/Disney.

So, you might have noticed that there are characters listed in the properties now. They're going to change for every new chapter to display who's showcased in the latest oneshot.

Setting: End of KH: Days

Waking

"All those hearts that I've captured . . . Kingdom Hearts. . . Set them free."

It was that which echoed in Roxas' mind as he tore through neoshadow after neoshadow. His keyblades were a blur, moving in accordance to his thoughts in a deadly dance, never stopping, never hesitating. Rain poured down around him, the occasional bolt of lightning outlining the silhouettes of his deadly foes. One by one, they lunged. One by one, they perished.

Mist rose, not the kind that a rainstorm would bring, but a black, inky mist: the lifeblood of slain heartless. His blades moved so quickly that it yanked the mist forth to fill its wake, so that every place it filled was an echo of his fight. And even as the battleground grew darker and the dark mist invaded his nose, he did not stop.

I'll make them pay, Xion.

He repeated that name again and again in his head, clinging to it with all his might. He didn't care what she claimed, he would not forget. She was his friend, and he was hers. And once he was done fulfilling her last wish, once everyone paid for what they had done to her, he would go to the tower again and –

Static.

No. He shook his head. Her name is Xion. Her name is Xion. Her name is –

Thunder crashed. He ripped through the last neoshadow just as a figure was illuminated on a building high above. An unknown, wearing a black cloak just like his, hood drawn.

Roxas clenched his jaw.

They fought, and he was so close, so very, very close to winning. He brought the other boy – that Riku – to his knees, and even as Riku claimed Xion was destined to be forgotten, he hung onto the picture of her face because he would not, he could not ever forget –

Riku was shrouded by darkness. A giant heartless reached out, grabbed Roxas by the neck. He was lifted high into the air, unable to breathe, Xion pleading in his mind.

No, it can't end here! he thought.

The grip around his neck tightened.

Xion, I'm so sorry, I can't . . .

Darkness.

Riku panted for breath. Finally, it was over. Sora's nobody had put up a much harder fight than he would have predicted. But it was over now. He had the nobody, and that meant that soon, Sora would reawaken . . .

A blazing disc zipped by his face, nearly severing his head from his body.

Just half a yard away, his black hood having fallen to his shoulders, Axel held his other chakram, prepared to attack. So fired up was the man that steam literally rose from his body, water droplets hissing and popping.

"Let him go!" Axel shouted.

There was no time to explain. A wall of fire erupted between Riku and his prey, warding him back, and by the time he broke through it, Axel already had Roxas slung over his shoulder.

"No!" Riku cried. He charged forwards, bringing his keyblade up for a massive swing, his dark guardian sinking into the ground so it could appear in a surprise attack . . .

With one snap of his fingers, Axel was gone.

And Roxas was gone with him.

"Come on, Roxas. Beddy-time is over."

But despite Axel's words and the slap to his face, Roxas refused to wake.

Axel sighed, holding his head in his hands. He was in his room, Roxas lying on his bed. The boy didn't seem to be that badly injured. He seemed unharmed except for the bruises around his neck. Maybe this was something to do with him reintegrating with Xion. Yeah, Axel knew what had happened, had known it was going to happen, and hadn't been able to do a damn thing about it.

He'd lost Xi . . . that girl, but at least he'd been able to save Roxas.

"What am I going to do ?" Axel said. "You know, the entire Organization is after you."

"It's a good thing you found him then, Eight."

Axel immediately leapt to his feet, positioning himself as to shield Roxas from Saïx's cold stare. Great. Just fricking great. Out of all the people in the entire organization, it had to be him. The only way it could be worse was if the superior himself came –

Shit.

It wasn't just Saïx. Xemnas was standing right behind him. He easily swept his powerful lieutenant out of the way, his gaze seeming to bore straight through Axel's flesh to the boy beyond. Xemnas looked at Saïx, remarking, "The boy has two keyblades. How is this possible?"

Saïx blinked. "I do not know, Superior."

Xemnas nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps Sora has had a greater influence on his nobody than we anticipated. That could be why Thirteen has been behaving so poorly."

Axel couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was Xemnas offering Roxas an excuse?

"Yeah," Axel said, struggling with all his might to keep his tone casual, "he was talking an awful lot about that girl – Kairi, I think? – before he ran off. Kept saying something about wanting to find her."

"Hmm." Saïx crossed his arms. "What now, then?"

"Take him to the laboratory," Xemnas ordered. "We shall run some tests there."

"Whoa, hold on a second!" As Saïx moved to grab Roxas, Axel moved to block him. "What kind of tests? I mean, we can't have him maimed or anything. Otherwise, we won't have a keyblade master anymore."

"You need not worry about that," Xemnas said. "Now, stand aside, Eight."

Axel hesitated. What in Hades did he do now? If he stood his ground, he would be killed. If he didn't . . .

Xemnas spoke. "Axel, I understand your concerns. I will tell you that I have no more wish to deprive the Organization of a keyblade wielder than you do. Now, stand aside."

Axel didn't know how tense he had been until he exhaled. "Sure thing, Superior."

He stepped aside, and allowed Saïx access.

Roxas was screaming.

Axel ripped the covers off his bed, and teleported to the laboratory before they hit the ground. What he saw was Roxas strapped to a table, and not just Xemnas standing there, but Xigbar and Xaldin as well. They all looked up at his entrance, Xemnas the only one appearing unsurprised.

"If I were you, Axel, I would go to bed," Xigbar said, teeth bared in an awful grin. "I hear old Scar-Face has a real interesting mission lined up for you tomorrow."

"What the hell are you doing?" Axel shouted, hand swiping through the air. "I can hear you all the way from my room."

"It is none of your concern, Eight," Xemnas said. He was still leaning over Roxas.

"It is when you're destroying our only means of creating Kingdom Hearts!" Though Axel tried to sound strong and composed, his voice broke at the last few words as Roxas cried out. Xemnas was doing something around his chest, as if he was going after Roxas' nonexistent heart. What was going on?

Roxas bucked violently, and Axel automatically started forward to help him. Xaldin blocked his way, cloak flaring, puffing out his chest as if he were still a guard back at Radiant Garden. Axel screeched to a stop, locking glares with the older man.

And Roxas yelped. Axel's heart – his physical one – thumped loudly. They were going to kill the kid if this kept going, and they couldn't do that. He'd just lost . . . her and he couldn't lose Roxas, too . . .

Something flickered in his chest, something painful and tight.

"Are you listening to this?" he shouted at Xemnas. "Roxas isn't just hurt; he's dying! Who's going to build your Kingdom Hearts now?"

To address Xemnas with a tone like that, he might as well have bathed in barbecue sauce and then danced in front of a starving dragon. But it had to be done. Xemnas, the guy was obsessed with Kingdom Hearts. He wouldn't let Roxas die.

"As I told you before," Xemnas said, "the Organization will not be without a keyblade wielder."

He heard the underlying meaning. Xemnas had a replacement in mind.

"Now," Xigbar said, walking away from Roxas and towards Axel, "why don't you get yourself back to -?"

It all happened at once. Axel summoned flames, used them to fling both Xigbar and Xaldin out of the way, leapt forwards and reached for Roxas. If he could just touch him, they could teleport and . . .

An icy-cold hand closed over Axel's throat.

Eyes blazing with rage, Xemnas lifted him high into the air. He looked upon the struggling nobody with a derisive sneer, hissing, "I will not lose him again."

Axel had a moment of confusion, then was tossed across the room. Before he could move, lances impaled his arms and legs, pinning them. He shouted in pain, gasping for breath, the crux of his mind still focused on Roxas. Xemnas hovered over Roxas again, continuing whatever vile experiments had the boy screaming before.

Axel gasped, "Roxas . . ."

Before his death, it was not fear or anger Axel knew, but bewilderment. For in his dying moments, he heard Xemnas shout, "I have success!"

And Xemnas had sounded excited.

He woke up, cold and alone. He was in a giant white room, empty save for him and the throne he sat upon.

He yawned and stretched his arms. Wow, it felt like he hadn't moved for a long time. He hopped off the throne, wriggling his toes. Where was everyone?

There was a door in the room, with a magical barrier over it. But when he touched it, the barrier dissipated, just like that. Weird.

He opened the door, revealing a man. He was tall, much taller than him, with tanned skin, gold eyes and bright white hair. He gasped, unable to believe it. He knew this man.

"Terra . . .?"

The white-haired Terra smirked. "Welcome back, Ventus."

Then Xemnas and Ven rescued Aqua, Xemnas tricked the two of them into building Kingdom Hearts, and Xemnas absorbed its power and took over the worlds. Then everyone lived horribly ever after!

By the way, has anyone been having difficulty changing the title of a chapter?