Ah, another chapter hot off the keyboard. It's been a stressful week balancing work, play, and rehearsal crap but I've managed to pull this together for your enjoyment…or possibly not your enjoyment, I don't know how this one will go over. My next goal however is to complete the first chapter of my new story (the RikuSora one I mentioned before) so progress on this story will be temporarily paused for the next couple of days as I finish up.

Thank you guys so much for continuing to read! We're almost to chapter 10 and how many more chapters are there? I have no idea! I believe a story will 'end' when it 'ends' even though in my head it will continue to play on long and loud.

This chapter is relatively short compared to others because it ends just where I want it to and I'd hate myself if I squeezed out more writings when my creativity has been poured out already into this. So for now I leave you with this and hope you enjoy it!


Chapter 9

Aftermath

'Relax, I'm trying to help.'

'I'm not going to hurt you.'

'What's your name?'

'You're in this mess because of us…Let me make it up to you.'

Roxas sighed unevenly and rolled over, reaching his arm out but when his hand only touched air he stirred from his dream, "…Axel?" he mumbled as he opened his eyes and looked at the open space on the bed. As he woke up to his surroundings though he realized just where he was and he sat up quickly and looked around the pirate's room. When did he get back on the ship? "Axel," he called again, getting out of bed and heading for the bathroom to see if he was there. He wasn't, but upon leaving the bed Roxas realized that they were out of the Halloween Town border as he was wearing the same clothes he'd fallen asleep in before crossing the border into the island area.

He was bothered though by Axel's absence and he tried to think back to what had happened. There was the king…and then Axel punched him and led Roxas out of the ballroom…and then there were gunshots and screams, people stampeding past them running for their lives…Axel asked if he was okay and then…After that Roxas couldn't remember anything and it was scary to not know. "Axel…where are you?" he mumbled to himself, wondering what had happened to him.


Riku, Namine, Zexion, and Luxord waited silently on deck even after all the other pirates had retreated to their rooms for the night. It had been almost a full day now since the attack on the island and their departure, and almost just as long since Axel had been dragged from his room into the captain's. They all knew why he was there but they didn't know how he'd come out.

Last night, Axel never showed up to help them fight. They hadn't been ordered to fight, but the painful warning the captain spread through the curse prior to the start of the attack was enough to make everyone obey but him. "What do you think happened?" everyone had wanted to ask that question but Namine was the first to voice it. Nobody knew the answer though and it only made the following silence more and more uncomfortable.

And hour later the door opened to the captain's cabin and the captain came out, dragging Axel behind him by the back of his hair. The pirates on deck immediately stood at attention as usual for the captain, but they all were paying more attention to the horribly bleeding pirate and the trail of blood he left behind.

The captain was mad, that was more than obvious as he dropped Axel next to his comrades and continued walking towards the stairs leading below deck. As soon as his back was turned the other pirates swooped down at Axel, trying to see if he was okay. He was breathing but cut and bleeding badly, familiar cuts too and Zexion was the first to notice the cuts were the outlines of his patches in Halloween Town while he was a rag doll.

Axel pushed himself up and Zexion put his arm around his shoulder to help stable him. Axel grabbed Riku's wrist though and pulled him closer, hissing into his ear, "Stop him…if he doesn't see…the mark…"

Riku looked mad but nodded and stood up, hurrying over to the side of the ship and jumping off. Now, a normal person would have assumed he'd plunged to a watery grave, however they were pirates and this was Riku; one of the most infamous grease men on the seas. He fell two levels and landed on the windowsill of Axel's room, pulling the window open and climbing through.

Roxas panicked when he heard him, jumping and dropping the book he was reading, "Riku? What are you…" his voice trailed off when he saw the blood on his wrist from where Axel had grabbed him and the look of displease on his face.

"Your neck," Riku said curtly, "Tilt your neck and make sure he sees that-" he was cut off by the sound of the door being flung open, quickly turning to see the captain in all his fury.

Roxas froze when he saw Xemnas in the doorway but the captain seemed more distracted by the fact Riku was there and with the wave of a hand he was thrown across the room, skidding across the floor and into the wall. Roxas ran over to see if he was okay but the captain grabbed his arm, pulling him back roughly and Roxas instantly shut his eyes. Before Xemnas could do anything though he saw the mark on his neck Axel had left quite some time ago. It was faint but still there and Xemnas growled as he shoved Roxas away, not pursuing him but it was obvious he wanted to slaughter him.

Roxas took several steps back, terrified of the captain as he literally snarled, "How dare you….How dare you interfere with my plans!?!" His voice grew louder and he put a hand behind the dresser, flipping it over through his rage. There was a bone chilling shatter of glass and both Riku and Roxas cringed; the bottles in the bottom dresser had been broken in the fall and red liquid was seeping out from under the dresser.

The captain noticed immediately and narrowed his glare at Riku who quickly looked away. The captain obviously had a strong dislike for him but he turned his anger back to Roxas instead, "He can't protect you forever boy. And when that day comes, I'll make you pay," he snarled, glaring at him for a moment longer before storming out of the room.

Roxas was petrified and as soon as Xemnas was gone his knees gave out and he collapsed to the floor, just staring at the doorway. Riku however got to his feet, his shoulder sore from hitting the wall so hard but he ignored it and came over to the dresser, kneeling down and running his fingertips through the blood. He could feel the shards of glass and dirt mixed in with it. It was all ruined.

"Riku? Are you okay?" Roxas asked, remembering how he'd been thrown across the room by an invisible force, "What happened?" Riku obviously was not happy and it wasn't just because of the blood spill. Axel had been critically wounded because of Roxas and without a word he stood up and left the room, leaving Roxas to himself.

Roxas realized he was mad and he looked to the ground, blaming himself. A few seconds later though he stood up, and idea in his head and he pushed over the dresser onto it's side with some effort and pulling open the bottom drawer. It was a mess of blood and glass, but there was one bottle that had been spared and Roxas smiled a little. He pulled out the bottle and wiped it clean with a towel on the floor before hurrying out of the room.

"Riku!" he called, catching him just as he was going up the stairs. His mood obviously hadn't changed and Roxas meekly handed him what he'd found, "…I'm sorry."

Riku just stared at him for a few minutes. The boy didn't even know what he was sorry for, he just knew he'd done wrong and Riku could see it; he was oblivious to what had happened and obviously hadn't meant to hurt Axel. Roxas was a good kid, he was just caught up in the wrong things and he honestly felt bad for him, "Thanks," he finally said and Roxas smiled. Upon seeing the smile though Riku remembered something and searched his jacket pockets, finally pulling out a letter and handing it to Roxas, "From Sora."

Roxas was a bit surprised that Riku had been allowed to see his brother when he wasn't…then again Riku probably wasn't allowed, he'd just done so. Roxas took it with a smile though, accepting the fact they were in love and that meant they'd do what it took to be together, "How is he?"

"Fine now…he was a pretty big mess before the party. Your brother was really trying hard to find you," Riku told him, thinking back fondly to the night even if he didn't get to spend more than a few hours with Sora.

Roxas figured as much but he hadn't been asking about his brother, "I meant Axel. He wasn't in bed when I woke up." Riku's smile vanished and Roxas' did as well when he saw that, "Riku?"

Riku didn't answer right away and much to his relief Zexion came down the stairs and broke the conversation, "Riku, Luxord needs your help, Axel's…" he stopped when he saw Roxas further down the stairs. Riku nodded and continued up the stairs, Zexion looking to him then to Roxas and back to Riku before following him up the stairs onto deck. Something was wrong and Roxas was worried, quickly following the two up the stairs and all the way up to the deck. Immediately he saw the blood trailing from the captain's cabin to where Axel was dragged, his worry turning to panic and he followed closely at Zexion and Riku's heels to the room on the opposite side of the deck as the captain's cabin.

The lights were on inside the room and when Zexion opened the door Roxas saw a white room, one bed against one wall and another against the other wall. There was a table by the door with tons of papers and charts on top of it, a medicine cabinet on the wall above it with all sorts of bottles inside. Cabinets lined the back wall, storing all equipment Luxord could ever need though he was using quite a lot right now with Namine shuffling him the things he asked for.

Axel was lying in one of the beds, his shirt on the ground revealing the cuts strategically made in the places of the patches. One large patch around his upper right arm, a smaller patch covering his left elbow and forearm, another large patch over his heart and more across his torso. Luxord was working quickly, having already cleaned and wrapped the patch around his neck and nearly finished doing the same for the cut around his upper right arm. Axel had lost a lot of blood and had passed out because of it shortly after Riku had left, putting a fire behind Luxord's work.

Luxord looked over briefly when he heard the door open, spotting the three but only acknowledging them with, "Riku, Axel's blood type?"

"AB," he answered without second though.

Luxord didn't question him confidence, "And who else has that on this ship?"

"Demyx," it was a short list due to the rarity of the blood type, "And I've got some in me too."

Luxord snapped his fingers, "Namine, go get Demyx." He couldn't use Riku because his mix of all types wouldn't work well in Axel's system.

"He's still in shock, Xigbar wont let anyone near him," Zexion informed him, already having tried to visit Demyx earlier upon their return to the ship and he was turned away.

"I have AB," Roxas spoke up and they all looked at him for a few minutes, hesitant but Roxas wasn't at all, "Let me help!" he said, his voice rising and Luxord nodded before returning to work. Roxas sat down at the foot of the bed and said nothing for the next several minutes as Namine drew his blood. By the time she was done so was Luxord with Axel's arms and Zexion sat behind Axel to prop him up so Luxord could wrap his torso.

Over the next several minutes Roxas sat on the other bed with Namine and Riku while Luxord finished wrapping his torso. Fortunately the patches on Axel's legs had been spared the torture done to his upper half, simply because he could still be useful if he could move; that was the way of the crew. He finished and hooked him up to an IV of Roxas' blood before turning to the others, "That's all I can do. He'll be fine when he wakes up, sore but he'll live and like always those should heal in about a week." That was when Roxas learned that the curse they were living under sped up the pirate's recovery time greatly, but he was just relieved to hear Axel would be okay.

One by one they left, all except for Roxas who decided to wait for him to wake up so he could take him back to bed. One hour, two, and Roxas' eyes were having trouble staying open, finally lying back to rest his eyes. When he slumped over into the bed he heard the crinkle of paper and remembered the letter Riku had given him, waking up quickly and pulling it out to read. Tearing open the envelope and pulling out the paper, plain and bearing no seal or letterhead of their family crest meaning Sora had written it without the knowledge of the court.

Roxas

My dear brother, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that you're alive and well though I wish I could have seen you. If only you knew how hard I've been looking for you, and yet it's because of my efforts that I was unable to see you. Fret not; I know about Xaldin and I will cut ties with him before the week is out. Riku tells me you're doing fine though and being protected so I feel better, but he also said it will be a few months at the least before you'd be able to return. As reluctant as I am at the news, I would rather wait and see you home safe than rush it and risk your safety. As I write this I am planning my return to Destiny Island to rule as the king I am supposed to be even though I will continue to think about you and your whereabouts until you return. If ever you need anything or are in trouble don't hesitate to go to Riku, he won't bite (haha, bad vampire joke) and he's assured me he'll keep an eye on you. Please be careful though, I miss you terribly and don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you.

Love, your brother,

Sora

Roxas didn't realize he was crying by the time he'd reached the last line until a tear on his cheek hit the paper he was holding, staining a small area. Sora, his brother, he missed him and longed to be home again but it was so far away it was almost unbearable.

"Roxas…"

Roxas immediately stopped crying and looked up from the letter at Axel. His eyes were open and he was watching him, "Why are you crying?"

Roxas quickly folded the letter back up and put it in his pocket, wiping off his tears and standing up, "I'm not crying," he said with a smile. Axel shook his head and started to sit up, his body was sore and stiff though and he felt the tug on his arm from the IV still attached. Roxas quickly came over and tried to help him back down, "Hey, don't push yourself."

Axel noticed the band around his forearm though from where Namine had drawn his blood and he looked up at the IV, almost empty now, then back to Roxas who realized what he'd figured out and looked away. To attempt to be unfazed Roxas carefully pulled the IV needle out and stopped it, but much to his surprise as soon as his arm was free of the IV Axel reached out and wrapped it around Roxas' waist. He hugged Roxas close to him, burying his face in his chest, "Thank you."

Roxas was frozen, not sure how to react but he brought a hand up to rest in Axel's hair with a smile, "You're welcome." Roxas still didn't know what had caused all this though, the events after the gunshots at the party a complete blank to him, "…What happened to you?"

Axel let go of Roxas and slouched against the wall, "High punishment from the captain."

Roxas hadn't figured that, assuming the wounds were from the fight at the palace, "For what? What did you do?"

Axel merely grinned and laughed a bit in his throat, "Absolutely nothing… nothing at all…And that's what triggered all this. You blacked out and I brought you back here instead of fighting with the others."

Roxas paled noticeably, mortified and his eyes fell to the floor, "…So this is…my fault?"

"That's probably what everyone's going to think…it's not though. I just couldn't leave you there," Axel said simply, not bothered by it all though he soon noticed Roxas was crying and he quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"You got hurt because of me," Roxas said with a shaky breath, quickly wiping away his tears, "If it wasn't for me you'd be fine."

Axel reached out and pulled Roxas' shirt so he sat down on the bed beside him, "I'm okay though, and you are too, so don't cry…or else."

Roxas was trying not to cry like he was told, "Or else what?"

"Or else I'll make you sleep in the hallway," Axel said, hugging him around the shoulders with one arm and a grin. Roxas felt better and threw his arms around Axel, unintentionally making the redhead yelp in pain and Roxas immediately let go, "Sorry!"

"Geeze Roxas, I'm not even back to my room yet and you're already trying to kill me," Axel said, rolling his eyes and nudging him out of bed.

Roxas laughed, smiling more and apologizing, "Sorry…I'm just glad you're okay."


Sora wandered around the room, looking to make sure he'd grabbed everything that belonged to him out of the room and it had been taken downstairs to his car. The morning after the party was a bleak one but he found himself enjoying it, distracted by the fond memories from last night. Smiling to himself he brought a hand up to the base of his neck, his fingertips grazing over the bite mark and a happy sigh escaping his lips.

It was the sound of the door opening that brought him back to his surroundings and he looked over to the entryway, spotting Xaldin but saying nothing. "The ship is ready down at the marina. I gave the captain our course."

Sora shut his briefcase and looked quite solemn now, remembering what he'd been told about him and knowing what he had to do, "I'm going back to Destiny Island." Xaldin showed no sign of change, which came as a bit of a surprise to Sora though he hid it while adding, "And I no longer need your assistance." Xaldin still showed no sign of change and Sora took hold of his suitcase before heading for the door.

"And your brother?"

Sora felt confident in saying, "He'll return to me."

"This change doesn't have anything to do with last night, does it?"

Sora looked back but as soon as he did Xaldin's fist collided hard against the side of his head, sending Sora to the floor easily. He could taste blood in his mouth but quickly turned back to Xaldin, his head throbbing just as quickly as his heart. "So, which ones are helping him?" he demanded, drawing a gun out of his jacket and pointing it down at him.

Sora kept his mouth shut, narrowing his eyes at him and freezing under the gun. Xaldin could tell he wasn't going to talk, so he decided to pry answers out of him, "That bite on your neck means at least one of them is involved, and I can only imagine what the captain will do when he hears you're fooling around with one of his men." Sora paled noticeably when he heard that and Xaldin cackled, making him feel worse and his hand went up to cover the mark Riku had left.

"Now then your highness, unless you have any other names I think you've outlived your purpose," Xaldin said, closing the gap between his finger and the trigger.

"Wait…" Xaldin stopped momentarily when Sora spoke up, "…He mentioned someone else."

Impatiently Xaldin demanded, "I want a name." There was a shot as Xaldin pulled the trigger and Sora hissed in pain as the hot bullet pierced through his shoulder, making him hunch over and his hand quickly clasped over the wound, "He didn't say a name!" Sora quickly said, not looking up again.

Xaldin laughed a bit but Sora still didn't face him, "How perfect. With those dental molds switched, you'll look like just another victim of the 'king.'" Sora didn't understand, not aware that Riku was responsible for the massacre and that the king had been framed for it all.

Sora smirked a little to himself though, face still hidden, "There's just one problem with that plan." Before Xaldin could figure out what he meant there was a shot from a loaded revolver Sora had pulled out of his jacked while he was hunched over supposedly nursing his shoulder. As Xaldin fell, the shot to his skull killing him immediately, Sora stood up and said, "I'm not going to let you cause any trouble for him."


Phew, all done. It's been ages since I've updated this quick! Has anyone checked recently to see if the apocalypse is drawing near? Haha, I kid, I kid. Please let me know what you thought though as I greatly love you all for your opinions, and I wish you all the best in all the world.

Your loving bohemian, Mad-TopHat-Ter