The city got darker and darker as the two Nobodies walked onward to their destination at a vigorous pace in their race against the sun. The day's nonstop journey was starting to show in them as the fatigue set in. Both of them being Nobodies meant they had increased stamina in comparison of the average adult but even with that on their side the day was taking its toll.

The taller of two also kept looking at his phone and after every concessive look started walking faster and faster as the stress settled in deeper.

"How much farther till we get there?" Roxas asked irritably as he wiped the growing sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He didn't want the first day he had escaped to end in failure at the hands of the Heartless.

Axel looked at his phone and then at the sky, which had gone almost completely dark aside from the last few streaks of purple, and started walking to the point that he was almost running. As his shoes hit the pavement he answered quickly "It's going to be close, we don't have much time and the bunker is about five blocks away from where we're at. I don't think we have a choice, Roxas we got to start running or were not going to make it before night hits."

Roxas nodded precisely and started to run after Axel, his legs ached in protest but he kept up the steady pace as the deserted buildings leered over them. Out of the corner of his eye Roxas could have sworn that he saw some shadows shift unnaturally but every time he pivoted his head to get a better look there was nothing to be seen. His tennis shoes thudded against the road as they ran and he was unhappily reminded of how many other times he was forced to run for hours on end.

He thought he should have been in better shape but the accumulation of so much stress and the wear and tear of the day's events we're dragging him down like chains.

Shaking his head in an effort to physically stop the memories from resurfacing, Roxas continued to run and kept his eyes trained ahead as the stitch in his side developed.

They were about two blocks away from the bunker when they first heard the high pitch keening sound. It reverberated inside his eardrum and immediately he was flooded with memories of when he first heard it on that fateful day, they day his whole world fell apart.

Gritting his teeth, he kept running trying not to let the panic that was engulfing his body get the better him. He had to stay strong, nothing could get to him.

Roxas saw Axel whip his heard around as they charged forward in an effort to locate the source of the noise while Roxas did the same.

They turned the corner at break neck speed and what they saw brought them to a skidding stop. Ahead of them was a force of Heartless racing towards them as the sweeping shadow engulfed the streets as the last signs of the sun disappeared. They were pouring out of the shadows of every possible angle of alleyways and every other place imaginable as they caught the scent of fresh meat, the sound of beating hearts calling to them.

The blackness that emanated from them swirled in the air as they writhed about and their yellow glowing eyes bobbed up and down with fervor.

"Damnit!" Axel swore as pulled Roxas back with him and turned around to run but even without looking he knew more Heartless were coming encouraged by the calls of their brethren. "Ok, plan C Roxas, follow me."

Roxas followed him even as his head tried in vain to catch up with what his eyes were relaying to him as Axel ran up to a building on their left that looked to be furniture store that was about twenty floors high named 'Cecil's Furniture!' As Axel went to work on the door that seemed to be glued shut Roxas watched as the events unfolded before his eyes.

The Heartless were slowly picking up speed and closing the gap between them and not only were they coming from the original side, they were coming from all over closing all possible escape routes besides the store.

"Fuck this." With a raised hand Axel summoned two chakrams and swung them down at the door with such force it sent it flying forward barely attached to its hinges allowing entry.

Only hesitating enough to grab Roxas' arm, Axel ran in swinging the blond forward so he could pivot around and close the door in a futile effort to slow the mob down. A slamming noise was heard as the Heartless ran into the door, their claws scrabbling at every wall trying to get in, it was only a matter of time before the door would give way. Luckily for Axel and Roxas the windows of the building had been boarded up long ago and were strong enough to withstand the assault, for now.

"That won't hold for long, move some furniture to reinforce it!" Roxas turned to his left and pushed a bureau while Axel pushed a cedar bookcase obstructing the door to the best of their abilities. Axel noticed a stairwell and motioned Roxas to hurry and follow him even as the roar of the Heartless grew.

"That won't hold them for long we got to get higher up on this building if we have any hopes of escape." Axel yelled back as they ran up the stairs. The sounds of the continued battering on the door spurned them faster as the adrenaline that was coursing spiked to an all time high.

"Couldn't we have just found a back entry?" Roxas cried as all his military training seemed to be washed away as they stumbled up the flight of steps.

"And get mauled by Heartless once we exit, no thanks!" Axel rebutted back practically snarling.

"Do you even have a plan?" Roxas yelled back as they ran up even more stairs to get the higher floors. The thought that they might die here in a rundown building after he had come so far was not going to happen.

"Does it look like I have one? I'm making this shit up as I go along so hurry up!" Axel yelled back equally angry as his cool seemed to break. For the first time since he met him, Roxas saw the cool demeanor of Axel falter but just for a second as resolve quickly replaced it. Axel wasn't going to give up without a fight as well.

It wasn't long before they burst out of the last door that lead to the roof where the night sky greeted them as crescent moon dangled from above.

Axel looked around, trying to find a building that was in jumping distance or a fire escape but saw no openings as if the very building was conspiring against him. The facts dawned upon them that thy were up on a twenty floor building with the only way down blocked by Heartless. He supposed they were lucky that it was too high up for the Heartless to navigate to climb the walls but with the Heartless coming up the stairwell this wasn't the most comforting thought.

"Ok, new plan we're going to have to-" Axel was cut off by the purely horrifying sound of the Heartless that had finally reached the door marked by their snarling and the sound of the claws ripping into the wood. A series of scrapes appeared in result as claws broke their way through to rip through the material as if it was merely wallpaper. It wasn't going to take long for them to burst through like a homecoming football team.

Roxas summoned his keyblade and got into attack mode while Axel summoned his chakrams in a burst of flame. The roof was about average size at least to Roxas eyes so they at least had some room to maneuver if it was necessary. It was all Roxas could do not to widen his eyes and feel like a small child in the face of overwhelming odds.

"Wait for it-" Before Axel could finish the sentence the door was finally smashed open and slew of Heartless emerged pouring out, they were in such a mad rush they were jostling each other out of the way and crawling over one another and even a few were knocked over the sides of the building to fall to their deaths. They scampered forward and launched their assault with haste as blackness emanated from them dripped from their elongated mouths and malformed limbs.

Roxas let out a yell as the Heartless bombarded him from all sides without any sort of mercy in their eyes. His keyblade whipped around as he dodged blows and smacked the Heartless down around him doing his best to keep them away from him.

This was the first time Roxas had seen Heartless this close up before for at the institute all he had seen were pictures that were taken from far away. Up close they were more terrifying then he could ever have imagined.

The blackness that surrounded them obscured their human features but from what he could see was not human at all. The bodies had transformed into husks that might have once been human and now bore the looks of something out of a H.P. Lovecraft story.

His keyblade swiped right through them without seeming to hit anything but every time he scored a hit, bouts of gushing blackness was his reward. It stung his eyes but he didn't relent on his onslaught and neither did they as Roxas did his best to sink into battle mod and now really think about what was happening.

Their teeth and claws fought to get a piece of him but he was faster than them thanks to thousands of hours he spent sparing with Sephiroth and took them down before they could hit him. The yellow eyes bore into him as more and more swarmed in to replace the ones he felled making it seem like it was never going to end.

As he fought Roxas caught bits of pieces of what Axel was up to so he knew that he was ok as well but he didn't know for how long they could last. After a while of fighting Roxas started to notice that slowly but surely they were being pushed to the edge of the building despite their best efforts. Roxas tried to notify Axel but every time he started to a Heartless jumped on him or came at him from the side.

Then, before he could do anything to stop it, they were at the edge of the building with only a three foot barrier to prevent them from falling. The city's streets loomed below in a menacing matter as heartless swarmed the building like bee's on a full hive. Axel and Roxas were four feet apart from each other but in this situation, it might as well have been miles as neither could reach one another to help so if one of them fell there was little the other could do.

Axel was growing tired with each swing or throw he took and he had no longer had the strength to use his fire and to top it all off his attacks were getting sloppy. He noticed that Roxas was starting to slow as well and with their back against the edge, it wasn't looking well. Axel contemplated using the last of his strength in a last ditch effort but before he could think more on it, a huge Heartless slammed its way through the top floor door, breaking it open in the process.

Axels' mouth dropped open in surprise at the scale of it for it was easily twice the size of a normal Heartless and twice as contorted. This breach in his attention was all the Heartless needed and the rushed him one more time.

Roxas only slightly noticed the entrance of the huge Heartless when he heard an angry cry and when he turned to investigate Axel was gone, having fallen off the edge as the Heartless rushed him. Some were so excited they had barreled over the edge as well in the hope of a heart.

"AXEL!" Roxas screamed with fear hinged on his voice.

This couldn't be happening, this can't be happening screamed in Roxas' head.

Dropping his keyblade, Roxas rapidly turned with his hand reaching out in a futile attempt to catch the Axel. A claw ripped into his arm and dragged down from his bicep to his elbow ripping sinew and muscle in the process but with his adrenaline pumping, Roxas barely noticed and without thinking, he flung himself over the edge of the building. A few Heartless tumbled after him as they tried to converge on him but only found empty space where he once stood.

The wind whipped through his hair as he dropped towards the ground as he outstretched his arm towards Axel. He narrowed his eyes and focused on one thought, he wasn't going to let this seemingly stranger of a man die, no matter the cost.

The ground rushed up towards him but before they could meet Roxas caught up with Axel and barreled into him while latching his one good arm around Axels' stomach. At the same time he used the last reserves of his strength and unfurled his wings with all his might and in the process, his sweatshirt and shirt were ripped open in the back as his powerful wings pushed through them to meet the air.

His wings caught the air almost immediately and pulled them up making the descent a much more manageable speed but terrifying fast all the same. With a grunt, Roxas shifted his wings so they were no longer heading towards the buildings across the street and instead were gliding down the road instead.

Dimly, in the back of his mind, Roxas felt like an airplane landing on a strip.

The ground was still coming towards them and Roxas saw Axel had woken from his daze and seemed to be preparing to land by readying his legs but Roxas could only guess at the expression the man must have on his face at the wild turn of events the night had taken.

Keeping his eyes strained on the closing ground, Roxas thought quickly about how to go about this as he had never landed before while carrying someone, heck he had hardly landed by himself. When they neared the ground, he let go of Axel and pulled his wings back hard in an attempt to land somewhat gracefully. It didn't work all that well for he stumbled backwards and fell but the attempt made was there.

Axel didn't fare all that better for he fell over as well but to his credit he wasn't on the ground for long. Shaking himself out of his stupor he hauled the dazed blond up and pulled him forward away from the Heartless that were starting to stream down the sides of the building towards them.

The huge heartless was nowhere to be seen but Roxas wasn't complaining in the least.

"The emergency bunker is too far away now," Axel gasped with effort, "Our only chance is to head towards the headquarters now."

The stitch in Roxas's side was threatening to rip his body in half as the two ran on their last dregs of strength. Roxas had reached his limit a long time ago, and would have passed out long ago if he were still at the institute but the thought of being ripped to shreds by the darkness was enough for him to keep going. Ahead of him Roxas could see a tall building that loomed over them that was illuminated by the full moon that hung in the cloudless sky.

As their breaths caught in their throat and their skin perspired, a ratchet of pain snapped in Roxas's head.

"C'mon on, Not now!" Roxas hissed under his breath as one of his hands clutched at his head whilst he stumbled onward to the best of his ability. Another stab caused a hitch in his stride as Roxas saw a flurry of pictures flow like a movie before his eyes. The pictures were nonsensical but he could've swore he saw a large building, cloaked people, and a girl in white but most importantly he saw himself doing something that gave him an idea.

Without thinking, Roxas whipped around to face the hoard of Heartless slathering towards them at an increasing speed.

"What the fuck Roxas?" Axel yelled ahead of him but Roxas remained where he was. The keening noise was higher than ever, magnified by the Heartless' excitement. Their claws scratched the tar leaving tears in the pavement and the road coated in blackness that wouldn't disappear until the sun touched it.

Roxas felt time slow down as he imitated what he saw in his head, driving his palms down onto the road as a yell was ripped from his throat. Light sheared into his eyes causing him wince as a wall of light erupted from the ground and flew towards the Heartless, leaving the road untouched except to scorch the blackness seared into it. The Heartless squealed in pain and agony as the ones in front were incinerated immediately. The ones farther back were driven backwards by the panicked mob as the light singed them.

Roxas didn't wait to see what would happen next.

A bit woozy, he ran by Axel and pulled on his arm to get him moving as he had done for Roxas so many times before. The light died down after a good while and the remaining which Heartless picked up their pace in an attempt to regain their ground but not before the fleeing party had gotten a good ways away.

The looming building was growing bigger as they got closer and closer giving the two Nobodies hope they would actually survive the night and see the morning.

Unfortunately they were losing ground to the Heartless for with each step they took the Heartless leaped two more. Both of them were panting and straining for each breath as the Heartless relentless assault went unstrained. Roxas looked back once and saw the Heartless were about to be on them.

"HIYAHH!" A high pitch voice yelled and a huge shurikan waved by Roxas head and slammed into the Heartless pursuing them. The person who threw the shurikan flipped over their heads and caught it on its return trip before letting it go again. A grunt to his other side revealed a man slamming a blade into the ground and releasing an outpour of energy that shredded the Heartless and in the process halted the rampaged crowd that was threatening to overwhelm them.

Axel turned around to help the two mystery people by somehow summoning his wheels of fire and throwing them into the fray with a look of 'I am not going to die tonight' etched on his face. The fire erupted from them and sliced into the darkness with deadly efficiency and lit up the Heartless as they died. Roxas was hesitant to join the combat; his whole body ached and as he stood his legs trembled from exhaustion.

He didn't have to debate extensive length of time before he noticed the Heartless receding under the pressure of the three people and it wasn't long before they had disappeared into the shadows that they once came. Roxas closed his eyes for a brief moment and felt his wings droop visibly as is heart slowed down.

Axel let out a sigh of relief. "Heh, thanks for that Squall even though I bet I could have handled it all on my own." Axel remarked with false bravado as his body showed quite the opposite.

The man that he had spoken to, Squall was it, turned around revealing a man who looked to be in his mid twenties with shoulder length brown hair and an ensemble of black and white. He walked forward dismissing the blade that was in his hands but not before Roxas noted that it looked like a combination of a gun hybridized with a blade.

"Whhattt, you only thank him! Don't forget he spit in my food!" Roxas attention was shifted from Squall unto a short black haired woman who seemed to have drank just a bit too much coffee. Axel and Squall responded to this outburst with blank looks on their faces before turning their attention to the matter at hand.

"We better continue the conversation inside." Squall said calmly glancing at Roxas with blatant stare before heading off in the direction of the tall building. Following close behind, the group went after Squall. Roxas stared up at the lofty building as he gathered himself together.

It looked to be about forty stories high and from the looks of it, it used to be a hotel in its prime before the explosion.

Setting his expression of one that was determination, he went into the door the others had gone into on the side of the building. He emerged into what looked like a service hallway that had various parts of machinery that a wait staff of the hotel would likely utilize. He saw Axel and the others enter a door on his right, he noticed that Axel and Squall were talking to each other with mixed expressions.

Walking along to catch up with them he saw counter measures set up in case anyone broke into that door to get into the rest of the building. Tables and other various objects were upturned to make makeshift barriers and behind them they had various guns to emphasize the importance of holding this room.

Walking into the door he entered yet another room but this one was noticeably brighter and a lot less dank. Here the group had spread out and were leaning or standing around various objects that the room housed.

"Have a seat Roxas; we have to have a talk." Squall said with a tone of steel in his voice.

Roxas held back a glare but instead locked eyes with the man to show he wasn't going to back down under intimidation, bringing in his wings tight against his back he sat down and felt relief run down his legs as he let them rest. The moment was ruined as he felt a stab of pain in his arm and upon looking at it, he noticed blood still flowing freely and bits of dark gooey substance cloaked the edge.

"Can you at least let us fix his arm before you scar the poor kid for life?" Axel interjected with his arms crossed, he looked pissed off to Roxas as he leaned against the wall looking exhausted but not backing down. Squall stared at Axel a while before he held his head with one hand and he motioned to the black haired girl.

"Yuffie, go get Aerith while I talk to the kid," Squall sighed.

The Yuffie girl let exhaled loudly with a look of annoyance on her face as she turned on her heels and exited out a door on Squalls left side. The room grew silent once again but Roxas kept his guard up at all times. Roxas didn't relent though as he did his best to sit up straighter under the harsh conditions that was his body, but not quailing under the gaze.

"We could use him and you know it Leon, you saw what he did out there." Axel said lowly as he looked at Squall from the corners of his eyes making him look more dangerous that Roxas thought he was capable of.

Ignoring what Axel said, Squall turned to the red head and asked simply "You said you had the package, can I see it."

Axel rolled his eyes visibly and handed Leon his backpack. Peering in, Squall pulled out a folded piece of paper and a bottle of liquid that looked familiar but before Roxas could get a better look Squall stuffed the objects back into the bag and put it down by his feet.

"So this is the new kid." Roxas looked up from the bag to see a warm smile that was directed at him by a woman in a pink dress. She walked over briskly tutting in the process at the damage on Roxas arm.

"Yuffie said it was bad but I am surprised at the extent," She said as she opened the first aid kit she carried, not even acknowledging the wings. "Luckily for us, it doesn't look deep enough to warrant the need of stitches," Aerith added at the end of her inspection.

As Aerith looked him over Axel and Squall were having a conversation to low for him to hear but they looked ready to exchange blows by the look of it. This thought was interrupted by a hiss of pain that erupted between his clenched teeth as he felt a stinging liquid flow into the wound.

"Sorry about that, but this is the only thing that reduces the chance of infection down to almost nonexistent." Aerith comforted as she dabbed the stinging goo onto the slice on his arm. Grimacing through the pain Roxas looked up once more at the arguing pair.

"Look, I know it's a risk but he has the same weapon as that annoying kid, ugh I can never remember his name." Axel said as he punctuated his words with hand movements until at the end he was rubbing his head in thought trying to remember the kid's name.

"I guess you don't have it memorized." Squall said dryly looking exasperated. Axel didn't bother with an acknowledgement to that remark.

"The keyblade that's it, he uses it to, and then when we were running away from them before you showed up he stopped and slammed his hands in the ground and all this light erupted from the ground. It was insane." Axel decreed before lowering his voice and adding, "He came from the institute but I think we can trust him.

Leon looked over, interest showing in his eyes for the first time that night. "Institute? All right I'll go get him and he can decide."

"Thank you." Axel said curtly as Leon left the room. His face swiveled to meet Roxas where his face showed a hint of a smile. "Don't worry blondie, were not going to turn you out."

Roxas didn't say anything back as Axel settled into the chair by him and Aerith hummed a small tune as her small swift hands quickly patched up another soon to be scar on the blonds marred body. Roxas didn't know how he should feel as he sat surrounded by strangers. The fact they might think he was an enemy made him bristle but nothing they could do would contain him.

"I've never seen a Nobody with wings before, can you fly?" Yuffie asked attempt to break the silence.

Before Roxas could answer Axel was already speaking, "Ah you should have seen it girl, here we were stuck up on this building, nowhere to go, when I topple over the edge, Roxas here he…" Roxas having lived the story tuned it out as he tried to ignore the pain from his arm and body. He was exhausted to the point of collapsing but he would be damned if he blacked out in a room full of possible dangers.

Axel being nearby helped alleviate this worry but even then he didn't know if he could fully trust the man along with that Squall guy who gave Roxas a bad feeling. His thoughts wandered to what happened on the road, had he really done that. All that light had come from him?

Letting out a small groan he stuffed his face in his hand that was attached to the uninjured limb.

"All done, you did wonderfully, thank you for being the model patient." Aerith said as the same warm smile coated his face as she gently patted Roxas on his uninjured shoulder in a motherly sort of way. Roxas looked up at her and for the first time in a long while he felt like a little kid and this time not in a frightened way. He struggled until a smile showed on his face to show he appreciated the gesture but it felt awkward.

As she was putting the supplies away, Axel was reliving the story to an excited Yuffie, and a blond kid was feeling more confused than ever, the door that Squall had disappeared through burst open with a loud crack. Heads turned towards it to witness a tall blonde spiky haired individual clothed in black rush into the room with a look of unbelief etched on his face.

Roxas stood up abruptly despite his fatigue, mirroring the expression that the other blond displayed as his brain attempted to process the information his eyes were relaying.

It couldn't be, could it?

He took a tentative step forward unsure if this was real or he had died when the Heartless swarmed or better yet he was sleeping still safe in his bed four months earlier.

"Uh, Cloud, are you ok." Yuffie whispered unsure of what was occurring.

For the first time since his parents had died, Roxas felt his face screw up as a wave of emotion engulfed his battered form.

His brother took the last two steps forward and engulfed him in an embrace.


I wrote this chapter two different times with different outcomes, but I gotta say this is probably the better one, has much more action. Remember to review because I work faster and with a skip in my step when I recieve one.