Roxas stared up at the large Entrance Gates that blocked the way up to the Mansion. He stared through the wrought iron bars and saw the large driveway creeping up the hill.

Was he having a dream about his home?

Roxas put his hands up, his fingers wrapping around the cold steel. He couldn't help but feel that this seemed…off. Something seemed different about it.

He pushed against the Gates and they swung in silently. Roxas walked up the drive, the sounds of his feet crunching up the gravel.

Everything else around him was dead silent. The trees were stiff and silent, there were no breeze or chitter of animals. A stark contrast of grey surrounded him, shadows flickering around him.

Roxas walked up the driveway; he looked around at the scenery around him. He realized there were lines and lines of trees lining the drive. There were stones lined up the dirt drive and there were recent signs of horse activity, hoof-prints sunk into the soft earth.

Roxas paused at the end of the drive where it elongated and rounded off in a circle. He recognized that as the current day carport.

However, the House was…not his House.

He recognized his House in the midst of it. The very center of the building, but what got him was that there were two wings joining onto the main building. An East and West Wind, lined with tiny windows added with iron bars decorating the eerie building.

When was this? What…Year was this?

Roxas jumped violently when through the silence, he heard a loud, piercing scream of pain echo throughout the area.

Through one of the tiny barred windows, Roxas saw a shadow appear before two arms thrust through the bars and he saw a face appear. Two dark eyes stared blankly at him before his voice screamed out again "HELP ME!"

Roxas skittered back several steps, feeling the fright hammer through his chest. This dream was quickly turning into a nightmare. He had to wake up.

The crazed face of the man suddenly disappeared, but his voice screamed out again "HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

Was this the Twilight Hill Psychiatric Hospital?

Roxas felt a shiver run up his spine; he looked around the grey foliage before he pinched the flesh on his arm.

Nothing happened.

He had the urge just to turn around and walk back down that driveway. However, he found his feet unwilling to do what he wanted to. He began to walk towards the building, the fear and the uncertainty building steadily in his chest. His bare feet scuffed against the gravel as his mind fought with his body.

The front garden was completely bare; flowers had long lived and died. The garden bed full of dirt.

The Fountain was covered in algae, small growths growing off the angel on the top. The water had been choked with weeds and the water had been slowed to a slow trickle. The terrace was void, the Gazebo no-where in sight.

Roxas walked up the front stairs and through the front doors, wrought with bars as well, other than that, they hadn't changed. He didn't open it; he simply drifted through the wood of the door and looked around the cavernous entrance hall.

A large Reception Area greeted him. A curved horseshoe shaped desk sat in the middle.

Two women were writing papers, talking and muttering to each other.

A large door to his left was shut off with locks and looking through the small glass window in the center of the door, Roxas saw a long corridor shut off, glowing with an eerie blue light. It was not the area that he knew to be the kitchen, the stairs were still in the corner leading upstairs, they hadn't changed.

Off to the right was closed off with a solid wall with a wooden door closed off with numerous locks.

Roxas turned and saw the bustle of nurses come down the stairs, one was laughing.

"Did you hear about that patient? Screaming out the way he did, how sad. But I cannot help but laugh."

"You wouldn't want to work with the one I have to help" one mumbled "Nothing seems to work on him."

Roxas frowned; did they always openly bag out their patients?

Little did he know, the nightmare was only just beginning.

Roxas followed the Nurses to the Reception Desk, they picked up papers and went their own and went their separate ways.

Roxas followed one Lady who went to the door on the right; she unlocked it and walked down the hallway.

There were lines of white doors with little signs with names and numbers on the front. From behind the doors, came moaning, crying, and the occasional ear-splitting scream. The nurses and Doctors must have been deaf, to ignore these cries of help.

They past the mess hall where people were seated, Roxas floating along like an apparition after the nurse. People walked through him, people who were muttering incoherently and some who were smacking their foreheads as they walked.

Roxas had to remember that this had been a hospital that held the mentally insane and unstable.

The nurse strode to the end of the hall and up a flight of stairs, she turned left and down past a floor of dormitories for those who weren't considered crazy. Then she walked up another set of stairs and to a small floor consisted of two rooms.

Roxas floated after her, unhindered when she shut the door in front of him. He floated through, his nose crinkling in horror and disgust when he saw a patient laid out on a steel bed. Four nurses around him.

The one he had followed put her papers down and took up a spot on the legs under direction from the Doctor standing at the patients head.

They opened the patient's mouth, stuck a cylindrical object into his mouth, and gelled his temples with a jelly like substance. Then they wrapped a band around his head with numerous wires dangling from it.

"Electroconvulsive Therapy, Session One" the Doctor said, reaching out to a large machine connected to the wall.

He flicked the switch and Roxas watched with horror, as the patient spasmd. His legs and arms went stiff before his whole body went into a violent seizure. The Nurses struggled to hold him down as he thrashed on the bed.

They were sending electric convulsions right to his brain without anesthetic or any type of pain relief.

The patient eyes rolled in his head and Roxas saw his whole body trembling and spasming under the severe shock he was receiving.

Roxas stumbled back in horror, he fell back through the wall and he made a dash back towards the stairs. He needed to go back to where it was safe; he didn't want to be here.

He ran through the halls and into the Reception Area. His one intention burned clearly on his mind, he was going to get out of that building.

But as he ran towards the doors, he flung his arms out and was ready to throw himself at them so they would open.

But to Roxas' horror, as he leapt to the door, with fear clogging his throat. He simply passed right through the doors and he found himself in a long white corridor. His mind flickered before he realized that this must have been the main corridor where in the present, his family's bedrooms would be.

But the Corridor seemed longer and more eerie.

Hesitating once, Roxas strode forward and crept past the first room that would be Sora's room in the present.

This time, it clearly looked like a room that belonged in a Mental Asylum. The wallpaper was a sickly shade of pale green and the fluoro light flickered ominously. A steel bound bed and a bedside table were the only pieces of furniture in the whole room.

Much like downstairs, at the end of the corridor, it branched off either to the left or right. Rooms decorating the whole length of it. It was a stark white, no other colour visible in the cold blue lights.

At the end of the corridor, there were a few steps before it reached a large door with the large golden plate that read XEMNAS.

This was the original Silhouette that the others had feared.

The blonde stopped in the hall and the door swung open to reveal a man with long silver hair and piercing amber eyes. He looked forward and Roxas saw the glowing white pupils flash once as he strode by.

He looked down to some papers he held in his hand and walked forward. Roxas nearly died of fright when he thought that Xemnas was walking towards him.

But the man stopped in front of the door that Roxas was in front of. He instantly recognised it as his room, wait, it was his room in the future.

This was Axel's room.

Roxas went forward in front of Xemnas and peeked in. He saw Axel pacing his room, the large window was open and Roxas saw the adjoining east wing. The balcony didn't exist; there were bars on this window as well.

Axel looked up at Xemnas, his face falling.

He seemed pale and dark rings shadowed his eyes. He was still a human.

He looked incredibly ill and fragile, he trembled like a leaf and his vivid red hair was dull, frizzy and limp.

He stopped dead in his tracks with his eyes dark. Xemnas looked up from the papers and said in a smooth, dark, monotonous voice, "Axel, how are you feeling?"

Axel replied in a shaky and raspy voice, "You know I'm not getting any better, the medications you claim that will help will make it worse."

Xemnas frowned heavily, contorting his entire face, but only for an instant. It quickly diminished and he said in a deathly voice,

"You know that you will suffer and die Axel."

Axel turned his back on Xemnas and said dismissively "Nobody would care anyway, I'm insignificant in what will come."

Roxas found himself almost gravitating towards the failing, human Axel and felt all his feelings of guilt return to him. He really hurt Axel.

He brushed the coursed rugged skin of his ravaged bite mark and then found himself reaching for Axel's hand.

It ghosted right through his and Roxas saw Xemnas' eyes flicker briefly in his direction and felt fear rip through him. He couldn't see him could he?

He jerked his hand away and took a step back just as Axel snarled at Xemnas, "Just leave me be, or are you going to kill me as well?"

Xemnas clenched the papers he had in his hand crumpling them and Axel turned away from him and went to walk back out to the balcony. Roxas went to follow and there was a low growl that came from Xemnas' mouth, "Don't you dare turn your back on me Axel!"

Axel snorted and replied in a smartass voice, "Oh watch me Xemnas."

Roxas paused at the door and nearly cried out in horror as Xemnas seemed to almost glide to Axel, he moved that fast and he wrenched the red head back around and spoke in a dead voice, emotionless now.

"You're coming with me Axel."

Axel struggled and Roxas found himself yelling uselessly, "Let him go, let him go!" He raced forward and went to hit Xemnas, ghost or dream or not. Axel was going to be killed and Roxas just reacted on instinct, not even thinking on what he was doing.

Maybe the shock would wake him up.

He stopped abruptly when his fists came down hard on Xemnas' arm and he connected with solid flesh. His hands didn't ghost through them.

Roxas jerked back staring at the malicious amber eyes of the silver haired Silhouette and then back to the sunken eyes of Axel who had ceased trying to fight.

He was ill and there was not much he could do about it.

Xemnas continued to pull him out the door, not even realising that he had been hit in the slightest. But Roxas was terrified now, why was Xemnas solid in this dream?

He stood there dumbfounded and watched the two go out of the door and down the hall. He blinked his eyes several times, then darted forward and skidded out into the hallway.

Out in the hall, Roxas saw more people scuttle aside as Xemnas wrenched Axel down the hall, he opened the door to his office and threw Axel inside and said in a low venomous voice, "Keep him in there until I get back."

Xemnas disappeared down the eastern hall and Roxas exclaimed out in shock when he heard voices behind him say roughly.

"He's gotten Axel now; I knew he would target him."

The blonde spun around and saw Zexion and the other Silhouette Xigbar come marching down the hall.

They were already dead, black spouted from their bodies and curled around the other unsuspecting patients watching the scene before them. Zexion passed right through Roxas and the two walked to the door and peered in.

"Typical" Xigbar retorted pulling away.

"Got his dog to watch him."

Zexion placed his hand over his chin and said in a doleful voice, "Saix needs to go, without Saix, Xemnas wouldn't have half of the power he has."

Xigbar nodded his one yellow eye gleaming. "Saix is his ticket to get to us, the mongrel can hunt anyone of us down, wrenches us back here and the imbecile Xemnas uses Saix's dirty blood to contaminate us."

He walked to the closest door and pushed it shut with a powerful crash. Roxas could feel the reverberations on the floor under his feet.

Xigbar finished with a furious voice, "Turning us into the demons we are, abominations."

Zexion dropped his hand and said in his monotonous voice, "Hush Xigbar, let's leave before Xemnas or Saix comes out and pulls us apart." The two Silhouettes turned heel, walked back down the hallway, right past a frozen Roxas again, and turned right into a wall, disappearing in a haze of black smoke.

Roxas gulped and then turned his attention back to the door. He didn't want to particularly go into that office; firstly, it was Xemnas' office.

Secondly, Saix, the Silhouette that Roxas feared most was in there.

Thirdly, Axel was in there and Roxas fought with the surge of anger and guilt. He fought with the feeling to be near the red head.

It was consuming him, it was probably worse than the burning scar. It was like a thick steel cord was drawing Roxas in, drawing him to Axel.

With each heavy step, Roxas found himself nearing closer and closer to the door. He walked through the door and froze immediately when he saw Saix hovering over Axel, teeth bared. Roxas looked back down to the black clad fingers or claws he should properly say were coated in blood.

Axel was groaning on the floor and there were five puncture wounds on the back of his shoulder. Blood ran down his back staining the clothes he wore and he choked and sputtered as Saix snarled above him.

Roxas covered his mouth, thinking Saix would hear him if he made a noise. Fright bought tears to his eyes and he jumped when Saix looked up abruptly, his bright yellow eyes looking right through Roxas.

He didn't have the red X across his face yet, so he must receive that later on in the future. Roxas spun around when the door swung inward and he saw Xemnas stride in. He shut the door behind him and Saix let go of a bloody Axel and stood back with his head down. Hiding his hands behind his back.

Xemnas stared down at Saix and then barked at him to come closer.

Saix refused to make eye contact with Xemnas but he shuffled closer. Xemnas reached out, grabbed Saix around the arm, and pulled him closer. He lifted up the sleeve of the black cloak and Roxas dropped his hand and quickly made his way to the human Axel's side.

Axel still lied there on the ground, but he kept a critical eye on Xemnas and Saix. He didn't have the view Roxas had though.

Roxas bent his head down and whispered in Axel's ear, "It will be ok Axel, don't fight it; I will be here for you."

Axel stirred on the floor groaning and shaking in the silent terror that had consumed him. Feeling the guilt and the fright that plagued him from the inside out, Roxas reached out and placed his hands either side of Axel's face.

When Axel jerked up, his eyes large with terror was when Roxas craned his head around and seen Xemnas brandish a long needle seemingly from nowhere.

He also saw the shadow that flickered across Saix's face before the blue haired man held out his arm and pulled his black sleeve up. His pale skin was blotched with many dark and unhealthy colours; it almost seemed to ripple when Xemnas stepped towards him.

Xemnas plunged the needle deep into Saix's arm and he drew out solid black blood. Saix flinched slightly but his face remained expressionless, he didn't say anything. He never made eye contact with Xemnas.

Withdrawing the needle, Xemnas flicked it and then looked back to the figure of Axel. Roxas dropped closer and was almost hugging Axels head and Xemnas leant closer and plunged the needle right into Axel's arm.

Axel let out a strangled yell, he squirmed on the floor and tried to knock the needle out and Roxas groaned and glared up at the glowing face of Xemnas.

Axel jerked violently and that was there Xemnas withdrew the needle and Roxas saw it was empty. He closed his eyes tightly and Axel cried out again his body simply sluicing right through Roxas'.

There was another agonised yell and with shock, Roxas realised that he was being pulled away. Away from the office.

He glanced around in shock and tried to fight against the force and the last thing he saw was Xemnas laughing over a pained Axel and Saix watching the scene avidly.

Then everything went dark.

The light had a silver tinge to it when Roxas came to and realized where he was.

He was lying sprawled out on the floor in the corridor he had been in previously. Xemnas' office sat at the end of the corridor and the door to Axel's room was locked and had two wooden boards across it.

Through the tiny window in between the doors, the moonlight came in giving the surroundings an almost ethereal feel.

Hauling himself up to his feet, Roxas swallowed his heart and made his careful way back towards Xemnas' office. But before he stuck his face in the small glass in the middle of the door, his attention was drawn down the corridor of the East Wing.

He froze in terror when he saw a figure sitting on a small wooden chair against the wall. In the silver light, blonde hair gleamed and the skin seemed to glow with opalescent light. A young girl was sitting on the chair humming away under her breath kicking her feet.

She wasn't aware of Roxas' presence; her gaze was fixated on the ground. Roxas deemed it safe to start creeping down the corridor to investigate what was happening. Again, he froze when a gust of warm air enveloped him. With a sharp intake of breath, Roxas saw the eerie and black, misty figure of Axel pass him.

"Axel", he breathed and he hurried after the black clad cloak, Axel strode right to the end of the hallway in front of a door and Roxas saw the girl gasp and glance up.

Her eyes were pure azure that could rival Roxas' sapphire.

Axel placed a black gloved hand on the door; he paused briefly before his jade eyes locked on the young girl before him. "He is coming; you have to get out of this building."

The girl drew her legs up to her chest, her eyes wide with terror. Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"L-Larxene" was all she muttered through her shock.

At the name, Axel hissed and bared his teeth at the door. Blackness poured out of the small glass window on the door and the figure of Saix manifested in front of Axel.

Even though the red head had a good head of height above Saix, the blue haired man had an aura of savagery that outrivaled Axel's.

"They're innocent!" Axel shouted, "Why target a young woman dying of tuberculosis? You are still trying to target me by hurting innocents?"

Roxas fell against the wall hugging himself cursing slightly when Axel jumped forward and tackled Saix to the ground. The poor girl was terrified and she watched the fight before her, Roxas only felt sick.

A black hole appeared after the snarls broke out. Xemnas arrived watching the two Silhouettes fighting. His eyes were mad. Roxas gaped; the silver haired man pulled both Saix and Axel up by his hands.

He stood Saix up who instantly looked down and Roxas saw the blood trickling down the blue haired Silhouettes face. He looked up briefly and that confirmed Roxas' thought.

The red X was still incredibly raw.

Xemnas threw Axel clear across the hall and Roxas ran over to Axel and urged him, saying in his ear. "Come on Axel, don't give up."

More spark appeared in the green eyes of Axel and he sprung to his feet as Xemnas loomed above the blonde haired girl who gazed up at him fearfully.

"Axel," Roxas cried and Axel's eyes flickered down before the flames erupted from his gloves and he hurled a large flame ball at the turned back of Xemnas.

It hit him accurately and Xemnas let out a roar of pain. With the girl momentarily forgotten, Xemnas turned back to Axel with his mouth turned up into a savage snarl.

"I have had enough of you."

He held out his hand and clenched his fist, drawing Axel in like a magnet. Axel struggled against the invisible grip and Roxas staggered up, "No! Axel, go, get away."

It was if Axel could hear him and the air in the hallway shimmered gold.

Xemnas snarled and yanked Axel closer to him. "No you don't," he rasped and out of his peripheral vision Roxas saw jet black spike morphing from his arm, protruding out from the sleeve that Xemnas wore.

Black liquid ran down the putrid claw and Roxas shouted out in horror as the older Silhouette plunged the claw right through Axel's chest.

Axel was impaled on the claw and a silent scream showed on his incredibly white face. His jade eyes seemed to melt out of his head and Xemnas pushed the body off his claw and flicked it of any blood before spitting down at Axel, "You will live in pain, Axel. That is your punishment. I don't care how long I have to wait, I will get the person I need, and you won't save them… Because you don't have your heart to care!"

Axel was bleeding badly and Roxas dropped to his knees, his hand went through Axel's shoulder.

Axel disappeared in a burst of flames and Roxas shouted hysterically, "No, no, Axel, come back."

He didn't hear Xemnas exclaim roughly to Saix, giving commands.

He looked up however when the door banged open and Saix appeared holding the incredibly small and frail body of a blonde haired girl.

Then it hit Roxas, these were the sisters that were the last to die.

In 1910

Roxas heaved up to his feet and saw Saix brush past him with the older girl. Xemnas stayed behind.

The young girl only gaped before her eyes narrowed. A piercing shriek escaped her lips and it was ear splitting even for Roxas. He covered his ears trying to stop the ringing in his ears.

She got off the chair and tried to run away from Xemnas, he grabbed her arm and she fought against him. Her legs seemed to give way from underneath her; she fell to the floor with Xemnas still holding her arm.

Then without even picking her up, Xemnas simply dragged her small body across the floor behind him. The young girl passed out, but as they made their way past Roxas. The blonde was able to see that the girls eyes were still open. They were dull and lifeless and the blue was fading to black.

Xemnas paused briefly but and he stopped looking down at the floor beside him.

Roxas felt the fear constrict in his chest and Xemnas leant down slightly his eyes piercing Roxas own terrified eyes.

The blonde cringed back in fear, his sapphire eyes going wide as Xemnas snarled, "Don't think you can hide from me, you won't stay protected forever."