A/N: Hope is a character that I was inspired to create. Thanks to one of my awesome reviewers, who gave me all the details about her... that person inspired me. I have ideas behind her, so I hope you read and enjoy this chapter. ^^ Review please!

This is my longest chapter so far. Woot! ^^

Oh, and any errors, I am sorry about. I'm typing in Wordpad and there's no spell check or anything... heh. :P

Disclaimer: Don't own KH, don't own any of the characters, and I don't own Axel's spikey red hair... sigh. Also, I don't profit from this fanfic. So... yah! Go and read, my faithful readers! lol ^^

((Axel POV))

My hand covered my sore shoulder automatically, and I winced. It wasn't better yet. The two males in front of me looked over with concern in their eyes, and I raised my eyebrows; to which, both looked away, returning to their huffy moods.

"Come on!" I said impatiently. I'd been over this with them what felt like a hundred times. It was so frustrating. They wouldn't listen. No, they would listen, but they wouldn't comply. THAT was the annoying part. And, they knew I was right. I felt like punching them both, but since I had a very prominent weak spot, I had decided against it.

"No Axel," Zexion said, staring peircingly at me. He'd done it so many times now that I didn't flinch anymore. Demyx... I didn't really know what his opinion was. But, it was clear he didn't trust me very much, after that incident a day ago with that girl, Brianna. Besides, he was being logical, I guess. I mean, I would definitely trust my boyfriend over some guy who I'd found next to a girl's unconscious body, covered in blood.

"You know we have to leave. Why don't you believe me?" I hissed at the pair. There were several other people close to our table, and I didn't really trust any of them. Considering I was almost killed a night ago... "We do believe you Axel," Demyx said, sounding hesitant, "but, this is our home." He crossed his arms and stared at me with his bright blue eyes.

"Yeah, and your home happens to be overrun by crazy, superpowered killers, and you're just going to sit there and let them get to you?" I crossed my own arms, grimacing at the twang of pain from my bandaged shoulder, and then looking away from my table. Brianna was sitting over the other side of the room, nursing a few injuries of her own. I had to admit, I did feel a bit guilty about hurting her... the image of her trying to bash my head in made me clench my jaw; I take all the previous sentence back.

"Fine. If you two aren't going to speak," I said, standing up, "then I'm leaving on my own. Goodbye."

Just like last time I had decided to leave, neither of them said a word to me. And this time, I didn't feel slightly strange about leaving. I was angry. For all I cared, Brianna could kick them both someplace REALLY hard. "Ugh," I mumbled when I reached my door. It was locked. Damn it! I didn't want to go back to Demyx and ask for the key. I scanned the hall, and deciding that the coast was clear, and I let a small flame tickle my fingertips.

I wrinkled my nose as the burning smell hit my nostrils, but I did my best to ignore it. "Finally..." I muttered to myself, as the metal around the lock melted away. I twisted the doorknob and the door swung open. I was a genius.

My duffel bag lay at the end of my unmade bed, just where I'd left it. I grabbed it and swung it over my healthy shoulder, and turned to leave, clicking the door shut behind me as I went.

"Argh!" I cried out, sinking to my knees as someone squeezed my painful shoulder. "Brianna..." I huffed angrily. What was it with this girl and me? Ugh. Actually, I don't even want to know what was going through her mind.

"Axel," Brianna smiled, her lips pulling up into a menacing grin. Her dark eyes sparkled as she stared into my green eyes. I hated her so much. "Axel?" Uh oh. Demyx stood just behind Brianna, and he was staring at her in shock, unsure what to do. Zexion was standing by his side, looking equally as shocked, but he hid it better than Demyx.

"Hey!" Brianna squeaked, sounding for a moment, like the girl she was supposed to be, and not the killer she was. I successfully thrust her backwards and she collided with the wall. If I had strength like she did, that wall would be supporting a very large hole. "Get your crap!" I yelled at Zexion and Demyx, who were still staring at the scene playing out before them. Zexion opened his mouth to reply, but Brianna knocked me onto my stomach. Whatever he'd said, I'd missed.

"Go!" I yelled, "We're getting out of here now!" Demyx was still staring at me, horror-struck, and if this was a normal situation, I would have sighed and hit him over the head. Instead, I did nothing to him, and got back onto my feet, turning to face Brianna, who was rubbing at her arm where I'd hit her.

"I swear I'll kill you this time," she snarled, turning all animalistic again. I really didn't understand why people had to swear to something, or make a promise before they tried to kill somebody. It was beyond me. I didn't say anything, and faced off with a very angry, very strong, Brianna. I had to buy time for Demyx and Zexion to get their stuff, and get out. Then I'd follow. Right after I'd stopped Brianna.

Determination flared in my eyes as Brianna kicked out at me again, and a sense of deja vu hit me. This time, I caught her foot with both hands, and let the hottest fire I could muster flow through my fingers. Brianna screamed at the top of her lungs, and I grinned, satisfied that I could hurt her the same way she'd injured me.

"Axel!" It was Demyx. I made the mistake of turning to glance at him, that was when I went flying into a wall. My shoulder screamed in agony. "Leave him alone!" Demyx yelled, just as Zexion came out of his room. They were both carrying duffle bags, similar to mine. Brianna let out a scream, and she froze on the spot.

"What have you done to me?" She hissed, glaring hatred and venom at me. I stared at her dumbly. What had I done? That was when I noticed her feet. They were frozen to the floor, engulfed in ice. Demyx, that was a smart move.

"Come on, she can't follow us now," I said, wincing as I turned to Zexion and Demyx. They looked at me for a moment, then nodded. I collected my bag, which was lying abandoned on the floor, and we all dashed outside; to freedom.

Somewhere unknown~

"Huh?" Riku swung around to examine the hall he'd just walked through. He was in an abandoned school. Looks like the situation at hand had become worse already. This had to stop. "Who's there?" He called out to no one. A typical cliche. He sighed, ploughing on.

Why was he even in this school anyway? For protection. It would get dark soon, and the people who'd received the injections, which were all children aged fourteen to nineteen, might be outside, looking for trouble. Or, just people weaker than them to dominate. He'd heard that some people received special abilities after they'd had the injecton. He wasn't sure if he had an ability. If he had, he was yet to discover it.

"Hello there." Riku froze. A girl's voice. She sounded younger than him. "Where are you?" He called bravely, jumping as the girl appeared in front of him. The first thing he noticed about her, was her eyes. Were they blue, or green? He couldn't place them.

"Well, are you going to introduce yourself or not?" The girl asked, crossing her arms. Although she was shorter than Riku, there was something about her that made you want to stay on her good side. He decided to follow his instincts. "I'm Riku," he sighed, scratching his neck uncomfortably.

"I'm Hope!" She grinned, her demeanor changing immediately. She tucked some midnight hair behind her ear, and Riku put his hands in his pockets uncomfortably. How was he to figure out if she was one of these crazy people who'd been injected with the serum?

"I bet you're here looking for somewhere to stay, right? I'll show you a good spot." Before Riku could protest, Hope had grabbed his hand with her pale one, and was pulling him along behind her. She didn't seem crazy... he thought. If she was, she would've attacked him by now, right?

"How old are you?" Riku asked randomly. He wanted to find out more about her, at least. It would be a start. "Fourteen," Hope answered, turning back to look at him. "Why? Do you want to know all about me so you can decide whether I'm a crazy one or not?" She laughed then, and Riku sighed. Maybe he'd been wrong about her... but it was still best to keep his guard up.

Hope sighed, letting his hand go. "I used to live with my dad," she said. Riku walked behind her, listening. "I had a sibling, he was a few years older than me. Both of us had the injection. He went mad. He..." Hope trailed off, and glanced at Riku, pain in her eyes. "He killed my dad, and then tried to kill me, but I managed to run away. I figured he'd never think to look in a school." She scoffed, coming to a halt.

Riku was silent, taking in her story. Could she be lying? He doubted it. The pain she'd shown looked real. He sighed. "Where was this place you were taking me?" He asked, looking up and down the hall they'd walked through.

"Right in front of us you dork," she said, pushing open a door. Inside it was a gym. "You have to be mad. It's so open!" Riku looked in disbelievingly, and Hope shook her head. "It's perfect," she countered, pointing to the stack of gym mats in the corner. "We can sleep on those, and if anyone finds us, we're able to make an escape. There're three doors in here, and it's an open space, so we could run anywhere." Hope crossed her arms triumphantly, and Riku sighed, knowing she was right.

"Okay, fine."

Both teens made their way over to the mats, and they pulled two down onto the floor, parallel to each other. Riku dumped his bag on the ground and groaned, "I wish I brought some food," he mumbled miserably. Hope shrugged. She hadn't anything either. Only the black dress she was wearing. She didn't even have shoes.

"Well, I guess we can count out eating tonight," Riku muttered, lying down on the mat. He had to admit, it was fairly comfortable. He only wished he hadn't had that stupid injection. Then he'd be at home, with Roxas, Cloud, Leon and Sora. Only one day, and he was missing them already.

Beside him Hope was already asleep, and he sighed. Somehow he'd gained a travelling partner. Now he not only had to look after himself, but after her too. After all, he was three years older than she was. Riku sighed, and closed his eyes, hoping to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

At Cloud's house~

"I can't stand this," Sora muttered in frustration. Riku was selfish enough to go off on his own. Why hadn't he asked Sora to go with him? The answer? He was an idiot. Dumb Riku thought he could find the cure on his own. He thought he was the only one suffering. Wrong. Sora wondered how Riku could be so brainless. It wasn't like it was safe out there either. There had been constant reports of people's children running amok, either killing or injuring people.

"Sora," Roxas mumbled, throwing a pillow at his twin. Sora dodged it, and Roxas sighed, stretching out on his bed. In truth, he didn't really care about Riku, but he hated seeing his brother like this.

"I'm going after him," Sora said out of the blue. Roxas shot up into a sitting position. "You're not going anywhere," he growled. He was not going to let his brother go after Riku. No way. Every teen out there would see him as potential bait, and as far as Roxas knew, neither of them had a so-called ability to protect them. Roxas jumped to his feet and snatched Sora's bag away.

"Roxas!" Sora whined, making a grab for his bag. Roxas jumped quickly out of his reach, and Sora crossed his arms over his chest. "Is this you saying that you're coming too?"

Roxas's face twisted into an expression of thought and confusion. Honestly, he'd never really thought about going out there as well... but if his brother was going to, and there was no way of stopping him, then Roxas would surely go along as well. "Fine," he sighed, throwing Sora's bag at him. It hit Sora full in the face, and he toppled over and landed awkwardly on his bed. Roxas grinned, packing his own things.

"But I have no clue how we're going to get passed Cloud and Leon," Sora mumbled. Roxas grinned. He did.

Axel, Demyx and Zexion~

((Axel POV))

Okay. This was weird. There was no one. When we exited the orphanage, there was literally no one in sight. True, it was almost dark, but you'd think there'd be at least a couple of cars around... nope. Nothing.

"Axel?" Demyx waved a hand in front of my face, and I jumped, coming out of my imagination, and back to the real world. "Zexion says he can't see anyone," Demyx said, glancing around himself.

"How's Zexy's vision different to either of ours?" I said sarcastically. Zexion shot me a nasty look at the use of his nickname. "He can create illusions. Surely he can tell what's real and what exists around here," Demyx answered proudly. I stared at the pair, dumbstruck. Since when did Zexion have an ability??

"When I woke up, I discovered it," Zexion said simply, answering my question before I could voice it. I shrugged, instantly regretting it. My shoulder cried out in annoyance, and I bit my lip to prevent a hiss from escaping my mouth. Demyx looked up at the sky. "You know, I reckon we should find some shelter. It's getting pretty dark..." he trailed off into silence, and I sighed, knowing he was right.

"Where do you want to go, then?" I asked. I didn't care where we stayed, but I knew we had to go left if we wanted to get to the middle of town. Demyx pointed to a nearby shop. I followed Zexion and Demyx until we reached the door, and we all stopped, standing in front of it. The pair looked to me. "What?" I asked, suddenly confused.

"Can you open it?" Demyx asked hesitantly. I sighed. There was a lock on the door, but would an alarm go off if I did? Would the police come and take us away? I scoffed at my sudden train of thought. Since when had I been worried about the cops? "Yeah, whatever..." I muttered striding over to the door and lying my hand on the metal around the lock.

Demyx and Zexion watched, fascinated, as the metal melted from under my hand, and when I was satisfied, I pulled back, and kicked against the door with my foot. It swung open easily, and we all filed inside, eager to get into somewhere sheltered.

"Whoa." I spun to face Demyx, and I caught what he was looking at. The shelves. There was nothing on them. Everything was clear. There were a few discarded objects thrown here and there, but apart from that, everything else was gone. "What do you think happened?" Demyx whispered, not removing his gaze from the empty shelves. I sighed, taking a seat on the carpet, making sure I was out of view from the doorway.

"Think about it," I said sarcastically, closing my eyes. "All the teens in the town have been injected with this serum. Then, some of them start going crazy. I think they had the right idea. Closing everything and jumping town..." I muttered, yawning and letting my duffle bag slip off my shoulder.

Zexion muttered something, but I didn't catch it. Sleep pounced upon me so quickly, that I didn't even notice Demyx sitting down beside me.

School~

"Hnn," Riku mumbled as he rolled over. Light was filtering in through the high gym windows. He opened his eyes sleepily, and spotted Hope. What made him do a double take, was the ball. She was bouncing it loudly, and the sound was reverbrating throughout the entire gym.

"She shoots...!" Hope called, not noticing that Riku was awake and sitting, watching her. She flung the ball into the air, and it went sailing through the basketball hoop at her end of the gym. "She scores!" Hope shouted triumphantly, throwing her arms in the air and taking a bow to an imaginary crowd. Riku sighed and stood up. "Where'd you get the ball?" He asked, his voice echoing across the gym to where Hope stood with her back to him.

At the sound of Riku's voice, she swung around. Even from where he was, Riku could see that she was embarrassed that she'd been caught, playing in her imaginary world. "Uh, the equipment room was open," she said, pointing to a small room to Riku's right. He hadn't noticed it before now. The doors were indeed ajar. Riku made his way over to the open doors, and peered inside. Sadly, there was only sports equipment. What was he expecting? Food?

"Wanna play a game?" Hope asked from next to him. Riku jumped, and stared down at her. Was she joking? "Uh... I don't have time for a game," Riku said, turning back to the mats. Panic washed over him for a second. His bag was gone.

"Hmm, what will I do with this then?" Hope asked. She was standing several metres away from Riku, swinging his bag and looking at it with confusion. Riku clenched his teeth. "Give it back, Hope," he said, extending a hand. She looked at it without interest.

"No, I don't think I will. I'm hungry, bored, and someone who is perfect to play a game with has just refused me. So, I think, that if you win, and catch me, then you can have your bag back." Hope jumped gracefully to her feet, and Riku seethed, taking a couple of long strides towards her. "Wait!" Hope yelled, and Riku stopped in surprise. "All you have to do is tag me, and I'll give you your bag back. Lets begin!" She grinned, slinging the bag over her shoulder, and taking a stance.

"I don't want to play games with you, Hope," Riku said, running towards her. Hope jumped easily to the side, and Riku's outstretched hand grasped at nothing. "Got to be quicker than that, Riku," Hope teased, winking at her opponent. Riku clenched his jaw together. I don't have time for this! He screamed in his head, lunging at Hope a couple more times. She was younger than him, yes, but she was quicker on her feet.

"I give up," Riku said moodily. He turned away from the grinning girl, and back to the mats, crossing his arms. He spotted the ball that Hope had been playing with, and suddenly felt a rush of anger towards it. Swinging his foot back, he pushed all the energy he had into it, and kicked the ball. It went sailing over the mats, and collided with the wall, but what splattered against the hard surface, was not the ball.

"What the hell did you do?" Hope asked in incredulty. Riku stared at the wall, dumbstruck, and Hope dropped his bag at his feet, and rushed over to the splattered wall. "Cool..." She muttered, extending a finger towards the substance. She wiped a finger along the wall, examined it, and before Riku could pull her back, she stuck her finger in her mouth.

"Are you insane?" Riku yelled, rushing forwards and yanking Hope back from the wall. She was still sucking her finger, and she was staring at the wall in awe. "That tastes really yummy," she said suddenly, looking up at Riku. Her eyes glittered blue and green. "It tastes like a milkshake."

Riku's jaw hung open, and he snapped his mouth shut, letting go of Hope. As soon as his grasp was no longer holding her back, she ran, not to the wall, as Riku thought she would, but into the sports equipment room. She appeared again before him with a tennis ball, and boldly, she strode up and handed it to him.

"I want a hamburger," she demanded. Riku looked at her for a moment to see if she was joking, but she wasn't. Everything about her was serious. "What do you want me to do about it?" He asked, and she pointed to the ball in his hand. "Do the same thing to that, as you did to that," she said, pointing over at the milk splattered wall. Riku looked from Hope, to the wall, to the tennis ball in his hand.

He didn't have a clue what he was doing, but like Hope, he was starving, and there was no way he could survive long enough to find the cure, in other words, destroy the tower that was admitting a signal, without eating. He stared intently at the ball, and thought of the hamburger that Hope desired. He wished, with everything he had, that this would work.

Roxas and Sora~

"Roxas, what are you doing?" Sora whispered. Roxas waved a hand, shushing him. The two had escaped the house, leaving a note behind for Cloud and Leon when they woke up, telling them where they'd gone. No doubt they'd both be furious, but what could they do? Roxas only hoped that they would stay at home. Maybe call the cops or something. He'd written in the note not to follow them, but he never knew.

Sora nudged his brother, and Roxas scowled at him. The pair of them were hiding behind a corner, watching this group of three people. After watching them for a few hours, Roxas had decided to ambush them, and try and get as much information out of them as he could. He'd told Sora of his plan, but Sora didn't agree with him. What if they were crazy? What if they had abilities?

Roxas had pushed that all aside. Seeing Sora deteriorating at the absence of Riku was doing his head in. He hated to see his brother like this, and he was determined to make Sora happy.

"Sora, any second now..." Roxas muttered in a voice that was barely audible. The group of three were coming closer, and they looked pretty out of place. One silver haired, with his fringe covering one of his eyes, the other next to him, had blonde-ish hair in a mullet, who Roxas thought looked the most normal person in the group, and the third was walking in front of the pair. He was tall, carrying a bag like the other two, and his hair was a fiery red.

"Go Sora," Roxas said under his breath, jumping out from behind the corner at the same time as his brother. Roxas took on the red haired male, while Sora grabbed the other two. The three weren't expecting an ambush, and they didn't have their defenses up, so Sora and Roxas took them down easily.

((Axel POV))

Bloody brats. They jumped us. I hissed as I felt one of them poke at my shoulder, and when he heard me hiss, he chuckled. I wanted so badly to tear him off me and wack him. Just once, at least. He deserved a black eye. The other male, that looked like his twin, had taken Demyx and Zexion down on his own. We should've expected this. And, I thought, we shouldn't have travelled in daylight. We were stupid. Now, we were most likely going to be killed by these two guys. Damn needles. Whoever invented them, I hoped they were dead. Maybe being tortured. Either way...

"Hey." Great. One was talking to me. I grunted. "If you so much as try to touch us, we won't hesitate to kill you. We only want information." Wait a second. Could this mean that they weren't turned crazy?

"What's your name?" I bit out, my shoulder burning with agony. The male sitting on my back lessened the weight he was inflicting, as if he was hesitating. "Roxas," he said carefully. The name seemed familiar. Roxas, Roxas... I knew it. A memory clicked. It had to be a couple of years ago now, but him and his brother accidentally got on the wrong side of some druggies. Sora. I remembered now.

"Is your brother Sora?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't hurt me. The pain in my shoulder was bad enough. I remembered how protective he was of his brother. He'd fought off several men to protect Sora. That was when I'd stepped in to help. He didn't look like he could take much more, then. He was bruised and bloody, but the men he'd fought were all unconscious. He was good.

The weight on top of me shifted, and I screamed out in pain as Roxas squeezed me shoulder. "Axel? You know these guys?" Demyx asked from somewhere behind me. His voice sounded slightly strained. Maybe he was being sat on also.

"Axel? Is that your name?" Roxas sounded careful, and the weight disappeared from on top of me, as well as the squeezing sensation from my shoulder. I gasped at the sudden relief, getting to my feet. "Yeah..." I breathed, getting my balance and trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder. By the feel of it, Roxas had made it worse. It was most likely bleeding again.

"Argh! What the hell did you do to me!?" Sora yelled, glaring at Demyx. Demyx looked tired, but triumphant. Zexion was free too, and Sora was frozen to the wall, his hands above his head.

"What did you do to my brother?" Roxas growled at me. His bright blue eyes were filled with utter hatred. "Hey, I did nothing!" I said innocently, staring at Demyx, who was standing in front of Zexion and glaring at Sora. Zexion was supporting a swollen lip. Note to self. Never mess with Zexion, or Demyx will kill me.

"Dem, I'm going to let him go," I said, stumbling slightly over to where Sora was frozen to the wall. Demyx stared at me for a moment, and then sighed, dropping his protective stance. He turned to examine Zexion, while I moved to Sora. Roxas stood, uncertain of whether he should lunge at me, or watch. I extended a hand towards Sora, and as my fingers came into contact with it, the ice melted.

Roxas looked on, dumbstruck, while Sora stared at me in awe. When he was free, I clasped my shoulder, and sat down on the footpath. My shoulder was stinging, and I clenched my teeth. "We've heard that people have abilities..." Roxas said, "But we've never actually seen it for ourselves until now."

"Good for you," I muttered sarcastically. "Now leave us alone or I'll burn you to a crisp," I threatened, confirming my words by holding my hand out, letting the flames dance on my palm. Sora looked at me slightly fearfully, but Roxas showed none at all.

"Actually, we'd like to join your group," he said bravely. I stared at him in shock. So did his brother. So, this wasn't what he was expecting, then? A change of plans eh? "Fine," I hissed. The hiss directed more at the pain my shoulder was expressing, rather than at the twins in front of me. Either way, they both flinched.

Hours later~

"Sorry about that," Roxas said for the hundredth time. I frowned. I'd already told him he didn't need to apologise. We'd been travelling for ages now, and he'd asked me questions, all the while saying sorry about my shoulder. I didn't care. If he had a healing ability or something, then I would care. But he didn't, so I had to cope with the pain.

"I think we should stop soon," I heard Demyx say from behind me. Sora seconded the idea. I sighed, beginning my search for a suitable place to stay. "Over there would be good," Zexion said, pointing over to a school. I stared. It was definitely a school. It was like the orphanage, but bigger and more sophisticated.

"Fine," I said, and everyone filed through the open doors. The fact that it was open couldn't be good. It meant that someone had been here before us. I sincerely hoped there was no one else inside.

"Look!" Sora squealed. We were in a gym. It was a huge room; two basketball courts wide. There were mats stacked in the corner. My eyes widened at the sight before me.

"Riku must've been here!" Sora said excitedly. Who the hell was Riku?

Zexion and Demyx didn't stand around like we did. They walked straight over to a mat and pulled it down. Altogether, there were five mats. Unfortunately, two were covered in what looked like food scraps, and they were unusable. I sighed. I'd have to share with either Roxas or Sora. Unless they shared... but by the look on Roxas's face, I didn't think he was going to be sharing anytime soon.

"Sora, you're on your own. There is no way I'm going to be pulverised by you when you decide to do whatever it is when you sleep." Roxas sounded tired, and Sora nodded, looking partially embarrassed.

"Fine," I sighed. "Looks like I'm sharing with you Roxas, but be careful of my arm." I pointed to my left arm, and he nodded, pulling two mats down, sliding one to his brother. The mats weren't big enough for two people. I only noticed this after I'd laid down. Because of this, I virtually had to hug Roxas to me. Strangely, I didn't seem to mind the closeness. I fell asleep to the sound of Roxas's snoring.

A/N: Heh, I hope you enjoyed it! I had so much fun writing this! I almost couldn't stop. lol XP Well, please review, and I need two more people to give me ideas for two different characters. (not KH characters... any name) Even if you just tell me a name. Preferably nothing too common, like Bob or something. I'm horrible when it comes to thinking of names, so any suggestions I would greatly appreciate! Thankyou so much!

If anyone still wants to be part of the story, then let me know before I start writing the next couple of chapters! XD I don't know if you'll last as long as Hope will, heh, but I promise you'll be in there!! ^^

Oh, and it's my birthday on the 12th of May! Whooo! XD