See? lotsa chapters. theres still more to come.

I felt bile rise in my throat as I realized that the doll she was hold wasn't a doll at all, but instead was a chunk of flesh. Human flesh. Axel made a noise beside me, and I guessed he had realized this fact as well.

The girl stepped forward, stepping into the light of a large window, and she grinned at us, teeth stained red as she swallowed. Dropping the hunk of flesh, she moved forwards with a slow, stalking gait, and Axel and I backed up, ready for the attack.

But neither of us anticipated for what happened next.

A small voice emanated from the girl, gravelly and thick.

"Help... me…."

I shivered at the torn quality of the voice, the words in complete contrast with the appearance and actions of the girl. My thoughts spun. What was wrong with her? Or was she perfectly fine and just trying to get our guard down?

Her eyes locked with mine, a pleading look in the glowing red irises. I frowned, glancing over at Axel. "What's with her eyes?" Axel shook his head.

"Dunno. Probably possessed or something. I've never seen this before." He crouched down, battle ready, and the girl screeched as his chakrams burst into flames. They rushed at each other, and I could help but stand to the side, enthralled by their fast-paced duel. Sparks flew as her bare hand caught one of the blades of a chakram, and I realized something was affecting her body, making it as hard as steel, maybe harder. She yanked on the weapon, and he stumbled off balance, right in to the path of her claw-like nails. He narrowly avoided them, rolling to the floor and coming up a few feet away.

"Roxas!" he called, and I snapped to attention. "A little help here?"

I nodded, and warily stepped towards the girl, who was now snarling in my direction. I decided to make the first move and surged forward, Oblivion swinging along a trajectory to her neck.

She stopped the blade just shy of her skin, and pushed it back. I spun with the momentum, coming around with another attack, which she also blocked in the nick of time. She started to go on the offensive now, and her hand raked towards my face. I ducked, and as I rolled to the side, I felt a heat surge above me. Knowing if I stood up at that moment, I would get my head taken off by a flaming chakram, I stayed low until the second spiked wheel spun over me. She had caught the first, but as she moved to grab the second out of the air before it hit her, I rose, surging towards her, Keyblade once again poised to strike. She hesitated in her choice of which to defend against, and she staggered away a second later with a long cut along her cheekbone. I stood my ground, not following her retreat. I felt Axel's presence behind me as he spoke.

"Use your magic now that she's weakened a bit."

I nodded, and focused all my energy into Oblivion's blade. It stared to vibrate, glowing a deep black, and black crawled along the metal. I stayed still, eyes straight ahead at the girl until I felt like I couldn't hold it back any longer. Pointing the Keyblade's tip towards my opponent, I released the dark magic, pure blackness exploding out from around the blade and honing in on the girl, who disappeared in a mass of blackness.

When it cleared, she was on one knee, breathing heavily. I looked over at Axel, grinning in triumph. I had done it. I had used magic in a real battle and had severely injured the enemy. He grinned back, and was reaching out a hand to ruffle my hair when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

A pain exploded in my chest as I turned towards to girl, who was no longer on her knees. Instead, she was now colliding into me with the weight of a freight train, and I was slammed into the wall, the plaster cracking from the impact. She looked into my eyes and grinned, and suddenly the burning in my chest got worse. Something imploded, and my vision blacked out for a second. I could feel Oblivion slip from my grasp, and then I was filled with the sensation of being lifted up and being tossed through the air, before the impact of slamming into the ground like deadweight registered in my brain. I could feel a wetness seeping out from my chest, and inched my head down to look at my chest.

I didn't even have the strength to retch at the sight. There were five large punctured in my upper torso, each the size of a swollen finger. I could feel my heart struggling to keep a beat, and I was sure at least one of my lungs had collapsed. My vision dimmed, and I heard Axel shouting my name through the fog, before his cry being cut short.

I could see his limp body collapsing to the ground and a pool of blood expanding from his chest.

Suddenly, a new pain surfaced, and I felt a large pair of claw-like hands clamp around my throat. My airway was crushed, and what little breath I had been able to draw before suddenly vanished. My vision continued to dim, blackening around the edges. Then something strange happened.

"Call me! Call me now, Roxas!"

A woman's voice echoed through my head, rising above the incessant ringing of my ears.

"Roxas! Call me to you!"

Who was that? The only girl I remember being in the Organization was Larxene, and she wasn't on this mission – and besides, it wasn't her voice, it sounded too pure and sweet, if not a little urgent.

"Roxas!"

I opened my eyes, not really seeing anything, and willed my eyes to focus on the splash of white behind the figure of the little girl, still with her hand around my throat. As I concentrated, my vision cleared slightly, and I was able to make out the silhouette of a woman, glowing a transparent white, bright as the sun. She was stretching an arm out towards me, and in my confused semi-conscious state, I reached out to meet her halfway.

As soon as the tip of my finger touched hers, I felt a warmth flow into my body, and all the pain disappeared, as well as the weight of the girl on my neck. Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I knew that my eyes were no longer their sea blue, but rather a light blue, so light it was almost a glowing white. I don't know how I knew this, I just did.

I stood up, legs not the least bit shaky, despite my wounds and the blood loss. I looked towards the girl, who was now cowering by the wall, snarling, her lips and teeth still dripping blood. I turned away from her, focusing my attention on Axel's limp body in the middle of the hall. I felt a faint twinge of anger towards the girl for what she had done, but it quickly melted away, and I returned my attention to the girl.

I my hand, and my body began glowing, much like my eyes, and I materialized Oathkeeper subconsciously, then pointed it at the cowering girl. The light flowed out in a continuous stream, an instinctive attack – my mind was void of almost every thought.

The Light flowed towards the girl swathed in black and blood, the glowing tendrils engulfing her tiny body. The light tightened around her frame, hiding her from sight, then exploded outwards. As the last of the light died away, her small body sank to the ground unconscious. I noticed that her black dress was now white, and the blackened veins that had been spreading out along her skin were gone. Her hair fell to one side, flowing over her shoulder in small blonde waves. Her hands were no longer were encased with the large talon-like black substance, and were once again petite, with perfectly sculpted nails.

I walked over to her, curious about her transformation, and I could feel the light fading from me. Strangely, my wounds had healed, so I found myself still able to breathe as I knelt next to her unconscious form. I moved her hair slightly, revealing the res necklace, which I undid the clasp to before palming the gem. I could feel the power surging through me, just like Axel said it would.

Axel. I whipped around, and my eyes closed on Axel's still form, the pool of blood beneath him still growing. There were five large punctures in his chest, just like I had received. My heart leapt to my throat as I rushed to his side.

"Axel! Axel, wake up!" My coat was getting soaked from his blood, but I didn't care. My voice caught, and I fought back a sob as I touched his chest, gently laying my hand over the injuries.

An idea formed in my head as I became aware of the Heart still clenched in my fist. I placed the small red stone on top of Axel's chest, next to the worst of his wounds, and I called upon Oathkeeper's power. It had kept me alive somehow, so it should work the same for Axel, I thought.

At first, nothing happened, and I felt tears sting my eyes, threatening to spill over. Then, I felt a heat form over my hands, and they started glowing, a white light mixing with the stone's red. Seconds later, although it felt like ages, Axel's breathing started up again, although it was rough, and his eyes opened. They widened in shock as they took in my face, and he reached a hand up to my cheek. "Your eyes…"

I looked away, the light dying down. Pulling my hands away, I put the Heart in my pocket. I could feel my eyes change, the normal blue returning.

Axel struggled into a sitting position, and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Huh… they're normal again. What was that? What happened?" I shook my head. To be honest, I had no clue.

"I have the heart. Should we find the others now, or help the girl first?"

Axel looked over at the girl, surprised. "What happened when I was out? And why does she look… human... again?" I realized he didn't know just how close to death he had come, and decided not to tell him that bit. "Something with Oathkeeper's attack… it was like it cleansed her or something. Like she was possessed, and it exorcised her." Axel nodded, then got up, making his way to the girl. He picked her up, cradling her small body bridal-style, then walked down the hall to the stairs. I followed, glad to leave the blood-stained hallway behind.

As we got to the bottom of the stairs, Luxord and Demyx appeared around the corner, Demyx crying out in surprise.

"Oh my god, what happened to you? And who's the girl?" He gestured to out bloodsoaked and slightly ripped cloaks, then to the girl in Axel's arms.

Axel explained to them everything that had happened, except for how I had defeated her, at which point he looked at me for explanation. I just shrugged. I didn't really know anything more that he did, everything that had happened still made no sense.

I handed Luxord the Heart, and we made our way out the front door – since there was no need to sneak around anymore, considering the owners of the house were probably the bloody chunks of human upstairs. Which made us figure that the young girl was in fact Naminé, the owner's daughter.

When we reached the van, Zexion practically flew out of the vehicle. "What happened? I lost all contact, all visuals!"

Luxord looked grim. "Demon interference, I'm guessing." He walked over to the driver's side and hopped in, and Demyx followed suit, getting into the passenger seat. Axel hopped in back, still holding the girl, and I was right behind him – until I was pulled into a tight hug by Zexion.

"Please… try not to get into so much trouble next time…" He trailed off, then continued quietly, "I know you're still angry with me, but I really don't want to lose my only friend." I could feel the young man trembling slightly, and I reached up to put my hand on his upper back, returning the embrace. Immediately, he backed up, a light in his eyes that I hadn't seen in a while, and I knew he was happy I had forgiven him.

Our friendship now fixed, we jumped into the van, shutting the door behind us. As I settled down, Axel spoke, a hint of laughter in his voice.

"So, how was your first mission, Roxy?"