Remember.

It was dark and gloomy; the pitter-patter of rain pelted dully against the roof...the roof of what?

There were windows. Windows to his left, windows to his right, windows behind him, windows in front. The glass was dotted with rain; when he tried to peer outside there was nothing but murky darkness.

Two lights in the distance captured his attention; he swerved around in his seat and noticed they were getting bigger. Closer. There was a point where he was so close to the twin lights that he was afraid he'd be engulfed by them.

Screaming. Someone, no - more than one person. It sounded a little high-pitched for an adult - a child? Children were screaming. The lights were getting bigger-

"Whoa!" Roxas woke up with a start; bolting straight out of bed with his eyes flashing lividly and his body drenched in sweat. His shirt was sticking to his skin and he pulled it off in frustration. He swung his legs over the mattress to sit on the edge of his bed, and he rested his elbows on his thighs and leaned his head into his palms, frustratingly running his fingers through his sweat-matted hair. His body was aching and heavy from exhaustion, and his eyes burned for some reason.

This was the fifth time he had that dream in the past week, and each time he had it he only grew more and more confused. What the heck was his brain trying to tell him? He was shaking his head the entire way to the bathroom; he took a quick shower and dressed into some fresh clothes before rushing down to the kitchen for some breakfast.

"Hey," Sora greeted his brother; he was sitting at the table with Xion, "Sleep at all?"

"Of course not," Roxas shook his head, "But I had that weird dream again so maybe I was, but I'm still tired-" He groaned as he forced himself into a chair, "-I don't even know anymore; I'm so confused."

"You really need to get this stuff checked out," Xion suggested, "It's not normal."

"Are you implying that I should get checked into the psych ward?" Roxas' voice was edgy, and his sister's eyes widened.

"No, no! Geez, I don't think you're crazy or anything - I just think that you need some help, that's all. Maybe some sleeping medication will help."

"It might help me to sleep but it won't help me figure out what this stupid dream means," The blond grumbled as he reached for the milk, "It's been bothering me for awhile now - all I can see are these two lights coming in my direction, and then the second before I wake up I hear people screaming. Do any of you have any idea what this means?"

"No," Sora raised an eyebrow, "But I agree with Xion - get it checked out."

"I don't need to get it checked out," Roxas muttered stubbornly, "I just...I just need sleep."

Xion and Sora exchanged looks of concern. "Whatever you say." The raven-haired girl sighed.

As always school dragged on, and Roxas drove his siblings home before heading over to the psych ward for his volunteer work.

"Hey," Sora placed his hand on the door but did not close it yet, "Don't forget about tomorrow - movies, eight o'clock!"

"Yeah, yeah," Roxas waved his hand distractedly, "I remember."

"See you later, Roxas." Xion waved as he shifted gears.

As he drove all he could think about were those strange twin lights; he was so indulged in his thoughts that he almost ran through three red lights and a stop sign.

"What's bothering you now?" Axel smirked as Roxas moved to sit in between him and the musician; Naminé wasn't at her usual seat today, but that was to be expected.

"I had that same dream again - y'know, the one with the lights," The blond shook his head and leaned forward to rest his arms on the desk, "I'm getting this lingering feeling that everything's slowly starting to not make sense anymore."

"We get that a lot around here." Larxene simpered, and Axel and Demyx chuckled in unison.

"Are you sure you don't wanna tell Ansem about it? He might be able to help, y'know." The musician suggested, but Roxas shook his head.

"He's just gonna keep telling me the same thing - it's stress, or whatever." He ruffled his hair and sighed. "There's more important things to worry about right now, anyway - Naminé, for instance. I still have to tell Ansem about what happened yesterday."

"I heard she's still kinda catatonic," The pyromaniac explained concernedly, "She won't stop saying those same words over and over again, and she hasn't slept yet - they've been trying to inject her with that sleeping stuff but she's moving around too much, even with the restraints on."

"Daddy didn't know," Roxas repeated her cryptic words from yesterday and shook his head, "What could she mean by that?"

"Her old man's got some kind of problem, obviously," Larxene rolled her eyes, "So I'm guessing this Kairi chick is dead."

"Yeah," Demyx agreed, but he was frowning at the same time, "And judging from the picture Naminé painted their family wasn't a very happy one."

"She said something about her parents fighting when her and Kairi got home from school," Axel added, "And something about how there was someone's blood everywhere - her blood." He frowned and scratched his head. "I think the fight went too far and their dad ended up killing their mom."

"Yeah, that's what I thought too," Roxas' frown deepened, "And obviously anyone would be traumatized from seeing their mom getting beaten to death by their dad."

"Kairi probably wanted to try and calm their father down," The musician pointed out, "But she knew there was a possibility of getting seriously hurt or even killed, so for her safety she told Naminé to leave."

The blonde sadist scoffed. "So what you're trying to say is that their dad has some kind of anger management problem, and that it had gotten so bad he couldn't control himself and ended up killing both their mom and Kairi without even realizing it?"

The youngest blond shrugged. "It kinda makes sense, doesn't it?"

"So Naminé did what her sister told her to do and left the house, but she peeked in through the window and witnessed their dad kill Kairi. I guess after that she finally left the house to make a run for it." Demyx scratched his head in confusion. "She had to be running for a very long time to lose her sandals, but what could've caused her to be covered in dirt?"

Axel leaned back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. "Easy -she must've gotten scuffed up from all that running, and c'mon - if you saw your raging, uncontrollable dad beating your mom and sister to death would you be able to concentrate?"

"Of course not," The musician frowned, "And I guess there's the possibility she feels guilty for the death of her sister, her only friend - the only person who cared for her at the time. Add that on top of the fact she witnessed the deaths of her mom and sister by the hands of her dad and we've practically solved the mystery as to why she is the way she is."

Larxene let out a low whistle. "Talk about your inner demons."

The youngest in the group swallowed hard and brushed his fingers through his messy blond spikes. "So she remembered after all this time...she just chose not to say anything about it."

"Of course she wouldn't want to say anything about it," The pyromaniac countered, "All these years of being neglected and not cared for properly, and then watching your dad kill your mom and sister - it's enough to drive anyone insane."

"What a sad story." Demyx shook his head dismally.

"Roxas?" A deep voice erupted from the door; Xehanort was standing by the doorframe, "Ansem would like to have a few words with you in his office."

"Oh-" The boy stood up and dusted off his jeans. He turned towards his friends. "-uh, I guess I'll see you guys later." He jogged towards the door and followed the doctor down the many hallways. "Er, do you know why Ansem wants to see me?"

"I'm pretty sure you know why," Xehanort smirked, "What other reason is there?" They stopped in front of the usual dark-wooded door and gestured towards it. "He's right inside."

"Ah, Roxas," Ansem greeted him kindly once he stepped inside, "I've been anxious to see you."

"So have I, now that I think about it," The blond fidgeted in his chair, "So I guess you heard about what happened yesterday?"

"I did, actually," Ansem frowned, "And though it was very informative I can't say it was uplifting."

"I know what you mean." Roxas sighed and rumpled his hair. "So what are we gonna do now that the mystery's practically solved?"

"It's not entirely solved, Roxas," The older man reminded him, "Remember, we still have no idea where her father is, or if he's even alive. It's possible he could've had a mental condition of his own, but we're not sure of that yet. We don't even know much about their family history besides the fact their parents had a rocky marriage and they neglected one of their daughters while favouring the other. We need more information."

"But I don't want to keep prying Naminé," The blond boy frowned, "I feel like I'm hurting her with every new bit of information that she gives me, and I can't stand to see her in so much pain. We already know why she is the way she is - why can't we just leave it at that and focus on her recovery?"

"Because the problem won't be solved until all of the stones are overturned, and the police would want to know the fate of her sister and mother and the whereabouts of her father." Ansem insisted, "I know it's hard, Roxas, but it is also necessary."

"It was, but it isn't anymore." The blond muttered through gritted teeth; his hands were clenching the armrests of the chair so tightly his knuckles were whitening and the tendons were strained against his skin. "Why can't you see past all the statistics, patient profiles and medicine bottles and realize Naminé is an actual person with thoughts and feelings, and not just an interesting puzzle you're rushing to piece together?"

"Roxas, I understand how frustrated you must feel right now but I'm telling you there's no other way - Naminé is our only source of information, the only key we have to ensure that she makes a full recovery. If further interrogation is needed, then it will be done."

"Then count me out of it," The boy spat as he abruptly stood up from his seat, "I'm sick of hurting her for you."

"Roxas, wait-" But he was already halfway down the hallway, storming past Zexion's desk and out into the parking lot. He jabbed his key into the ignition and started the engine; as he pulled out of the space he could feel the dull throb of a headache thumping at the back of his head, and he groaned and paused for a minute to rub his temples. When he closed his eyes he saw the faintest glimpse of two bright lights, and he twitched; he opened his eyes and shook his head frantically before driving out of the parking lot.

As he drove home the image of the flashing twin lights would blink in and out of his vision, distracting him from the road. He was a little wary of driving on the freeway when he kept having these random hallucinations, but he managed to make it home safe. By the time he stumbled out of his car and onto his driveway the lights were flashing at a faster rate; he could hardly see the small path leading to his front door.

"Roxas? You're home already, honey?" He could faintly hear his mother's voice calling out to him as he tumbled into the main foyer. "Are you alright?"

"Ngh - yeah," He managed to utter, "I...I just have a real bad headache."

"You better get some rest then." He forced out a tired 'okay' and made way for the stairs; the lights and the blackness was slowly taking over his vision, and he feared he was going the wrong way.

When he reached the second floor he could hear screaming, the same screaming from his odd dreams. Roxas grunted in pain as he barreled into his room, collapsing on the floor in a heap and crawling towards his bed. Sweat trickled down his temples and he could feel the pinpoint pain stabbing the back of his head and eyes as he forced his heavy body onto the mattress, grunting again as he shifted his weight on his arms. Where was Sora and Xion when he needed them?

He pressed his flaming cheek against the cool fabric of his pillow, and in an instant the pain began to ebb away. The screaming died down, and his heart rate slowed to a normal pace. He sighed into the sheets and blacked out for the rest of the evening.

When Roxas woke the next morning he felt like he was in the wrong place, even though he was sitting on his bed, in his room. He still felt disorientated after he showered and changed, and he was oddly quiet on the drive to school. Sora and Xion tried talking to him but he rarely spoke, and when he did he would always give them one-word answers.

"You better not be like this later tonight when we go to the movies," Xion raised an eyebrow when he dropped them home after school, "You know we're counting on you to be there!"

"Y-yeah," The blond muttered distractedly, "Don't worry, I'll be there. I promised I would."

"That's the most I've ever heard you speak today," Sora smirked, "Well, I guess we'll see you later tonight - don't forget to call!"

"Later." Roxas groaned and shook his head before reversing out of the driveway. The strange, unattached feeling had been hovering over him the entire day and he didn't know why he was feeling like this in the first place. He felt like the hands holding the steering wheel weren't his; he felt like the thoughts running through his head were somebody else's. Ironically enough he felt like he was still dreaming.

The moment the blond walked into the front foyer of the mental hospital Axel burst out of a random room and quickly made his way over to him. "Thank God you're here."

Roxas' eyes widened. "What happened to her?"

"She was sleeping, apparently," Axel explained hurriedly as they rushed down the different hallways, "Then she started talking again. She was thrashing around so much they had to restrain her - she was having some sort of nightmare."

"Did they sedate her?"

"No - she's moving around too much for them to put the needle in, and she obviously won't swallow anything. A bunch of people are in her room right now trying to calm her down, but nothing's working."

It looked like he was going to have to ditch his siblings tonight - Sora wasn't going to be very happy. "Ugh, why do I have the feeling that this is my fault?"

"How the hell is it your fault? You weren't the one that attacked and killed her sister." After riding the elevator up a couple floors they ran down another hallway; Naminé's frenzied screaming could be heard from the opposite side, and it chilled Roxas to the bone.

"Roxas-" Ansem sighed in relief once the blond and the redhead reached the doorway to Naminé's room, "-please, you need to calm her down-"

"I'm on it." The boy pushed past the pyromaniac and the psychiatrist and found a few nurses pinning Naminé's legs and arms down to the bed; the poor blonde was writhing uncomfortably underneath them and her terrified eyes were glistening with tears.

"L-let me go-" She shrieked, "Get away from me - let me out!" She grunted and strained her neck; the veins were popping out against the flushed skin, "Kairi, K-Kairi - where's Kairi - l-let go of me, please! I have to get out of here, she said I have to go someplace safe-"

"Naminé," Roxas finally approached her bedside and hesitantly reached for her; when she twitched violently he immediately drew his hand back, "Naminé, look at me - it's me, Roxas-"

"G-get away! All of you," The blonde growled, "Get away from her...get a-away from my sister! Don't...don't hurt her…"

The boy gulped and reached for her again, pressing his palm against her forehead. "Kairi's not here, Naminé. It's just me, Roxas. You know who I am, right?"

The girl's eyes grew wide with fear. "K-Kairi? Where is she? Why isn't she here? She's here, she's here - you're lying! I know you are!" With an incredible burst of strength she managed to leap away from the nurses, springing on top of Roxas and sending him to the cold linoleum floor. He gasped in shock as her small hands reached towards his neck. "Tell me - where's my sister? Tell me where she is! I know you know!"

"Naminé!" Axel exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing? That's Roxas you're trying to kill!"

"N-Naminé," Roxas choked; he tried to pry her hands off of his neck but the strength channeling from her small body was surprisingly difficult to diffuse and he was still weak from lack of sleep. Axel, Ansem and the nurses grabbed the girl's shoulders and tried to pull her off of him but it was no use, "I-I don't...d-don't know where your sister i-is - p-please-"

"Let go, Naminé," Ansem instructed sternly, "You're going to kill him if you go on like this."

"Liar!" Her voice was shrill, "Y-you...you're lying!" Her head glanced around the room, giving Roxas, Axel, Ansem and each of the nurses a nasty glare, "Don't you dare lie to me! I know you know where my sister is!" Her eyes narrowed and she tightened her hands around the blond boy's neck, cutting off his air supply, "Y-you know where Kairi is, you know...the wrong one...the wrong one died…it should've been me, it should've been me..."

She was alternating between moods now; she shifted in between angry and revengeful to grieving and regretful. With a combined effort from Axel, Ansem and the nurses Roxas managed to push Naminé off of him; he coughed violently as he forced the air back into his system.

The small blonde girl stopped shouting and crumpled into Axel's arms. She was heaving and sweating uncontrollably. "He...he killed the wrong one…" She was mumbling the same words as she began to cry again, "I-it should've been me, it should've been me..."

Axel carried her over to the bed and laid her down gently, pushing the sweaty bangs away from her glazed eyes. "It's okay, Naminé, shh…"

"Needle, now." Ansem ordered, and a nurse pressed a clear syringe into his palm. He pushed the tip into the girl's arm and sighed when he noticed her pale blue eyes fluttering to a close. When she was fast asleep he relaxed his shoulders and disposed of the syringe. He turned towards Roxas, who was still trying to catch his breath. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah," He approached the bedside and sat on the edge, reaching for Naminé's hand and lacing their fingers together, "I'll be alright."

"You're not going to stay here, are you?" Axel raised an eyebrow, "She tried to kill you, Roxas! There's no telling what she'll think of you when she wakes up!"

"He's right, Roxas," Ansem agreed, "It's best you leave."

"No," The boy's eyes narrowed, "I'm not going anywhere."

"This isn't advisable, Roxas," The older blond's voice hardened, "But I'm not going to force you. Just be sure to inform your mother that you'll be staying for the night." He sighed and shook his head before leaving the room.

"Heh, you really like this girl don't you?" Axel smirked and crossed his arms as the younger boy blushed a violent red, "I mean, she tried to strangle you to death and now look - you're still holding her hand! Talk about tough love."

"She needs me, Axel - I'm not going to leave her when she's having episodes like these," The blond shook his head, "I don't think the best way to treat a schizophrenic attack is to just stab them with a needle and wait 'till they're knocked out; what I really think they need is just someone to talk to." He sighed and squeezed the unconscious girl's hand. "If I only knew her when she still went to my school." He let go of her hand and reached into his pocket for his phone. "I need to call my mom and my brother - can you stay here for a bit?"

The redhead nodded and took his place; Roxas stood outside the door and dialed his home number. He was relieved when his mother said she was okay with it, just as long as he returned home the next morning. Now for the hard part - calling Sora.

He gulped as he held the phone to his ear; his heartbeat thudded loudly as he listened to the dial tone. It rang once, twice...seven times…

Odd - he wasn't picking up. He decided to try Xion's phone. After nine rings he concluded she wasn't picking up either. He frowned and stared at the blinking screen for a minute before pocketing his phone; maybe they were too angry with him...wait, wouldn't that make things even worse when he came home tomorrow morning?

"Ugh," He moaned to no one in particular as he walked back into Naminé's room. He gave Axel a thankful pat on the shoulder, "I can take over from here - you go get some rest."

"Nah," The pyromaniac smirked and moved to sit against the wall, "I think I'll join in on this little slumber party, if you don't mind."

"Won't the nurses get mad?"

"Psh, like they're gonna do anything to a guy like me, and what if Naminé suddenly wakes up and tries to kill you again?"

"Point taken," Roxas climbed into bed beside the sleeping girl and hesitantly wrapped one arm around her waist; to his relief she sighed against him and rolled on her side so she could hug him back, "She's acting like herself already." He smiled down at her, and he heard Axel snickering in the background.

"Only you, Roxas. Only you."

He didn't remember exactly when he fell asleep, but he knew it happened for sure because the last thing he remembered was the shampoo-scent of Naminé's hair, the sound of her even breathing and the warmth of her body against his.

"Roxas." The voice was faint and familiar, but he assumed he was dreaming so he decided to ignore it.

"Roxas." The voice called again.

"Roxas!"

"Huh..." The blond woke up with a start, careful not to move too much in case he woke Naminé. He rubbed his eyes and squinted through the darkness; he caught a silhouette by the doorway...a silhouette with uncontrollably spiky hair. "S-Sora?" Roxas spluttered incredulously, "What...what are you doing here? How did you even - did you take Mom's car?"

His brother ignored his questions and stalked into the room, flicked the light switch on and menacingly approached the bed; his eyes were burning with hatred and his hands were clenched into tight fists by his sides, "So you're back here again, huh? Back with your Naminé-" He scoffed at the blonde on the bed before glancing over at the sleeping redhead slumped against the wall, "-and your other friends? People who are more important to you than your own family?"

"Sora, you're taking this too seriously," Roxas growled as he gently unwound his arms from around Naminé to stand up, "Didn't Xion explain to you how I need to finish up these hours to graduate? I don't exactly have a lot of time left and I need to put in as many hours as I can so I can get them done faster-"

"Both you and I know very well that even when you're finished with your stupid hours you'll be coming back anyway!" Sora yelled, "You've grown so attached to these...these freaks-"

"Don't call them that!" Roxas hissed; he grabbed his brother by the front of the shirt and dragged him out of the room, closing the door behind him. "What the hell's gotten into you lately, Sora? You're acting so...so clingy!"

"It's not my fault you decided to run off and become friends with people who are out of their minds!" The brunet snapped, "When are you gonna come back, Roxas?" His voice faltered and his eyes softened, and Roxas felt guilt pushing against his ribcage, "When are you gonna come back to reality? When are you going to remember?"

The guilt vanished with his brother's second-last sentence. "Reality?" Roxas let a dry laugh escape his lips, "You're acting as if Naminé and the others don't exist! Well, Sora, sorry to break it to you but they do, and what's most important to me right now is that Naminé needs me to stay with her in order to recover-"

It was Sora's turn to laugh sarcastically. "I knew Naminé was behind all of this - leave it to a girl to take your own brother away from you!" He shook his head in disappointed. "You really don't remember anything at all, do you?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Sora, you're acting stupid. Can you please just go home and we'll solve this later? This isn't exactly the bes-"

He was interrupted by a fist to the jaw; Sora punched him, and he punched him hard. The blond was sent stumbling back into Naminé's room with stars flickering in and out of his eyes. Sora stormed inside with his fist wound back, ready for another punch.

"W-what the hell, Sora-" Roxas scrambled back onto his feet; without even thinking he charged forward, grabbing his brother by the waist and ramming him into the wall. The loud crashing noise caused the two sleeping patients to wake up; Naminé bolted upwards from bed and Axel jerked awake.

"What...what the-" The pyromaniac rubbed his eyes and blinked rapidly at the fighting brothers, "-Roxas, what's going on-"

"C-can you give me a hand?" He had his brother pinned against the wall, "My brother's being a jackass!"

"L-let go of me-" Sora knocked his fist into the blond's face, hitting him square in the nose. Roxas stumbled back again; blood was trickling down his nostrils.

"Dammit-" He swung his fist into the brunet's cheek and the fight resumed; Sora kneed his brother in the gut and the blond doubled over, giving him the chance to grab his spiky blond hair. "Ow, Sora, what the hell-" Roxas struggled as the brunet dragged him towards the doorway. He reached upwards to pry his brother's hands away from his hair but whenever he got too close Sora jerked around a little, pulling at his blond spikes and it would be so painful Roxas would have to drop his hands.

"Roxas?" Naminé was clutching the sheets to her chest; her eyes were wide with fear.

"Stop it - you're s-scaring her-" Roxas grimaced, but Sora didn't listen.

"If you're so desperate to stay in a hospital I'll be glad to assist you!" He pulled the blond out of the room, down the hall and over to the staircase.

"No!" Roxas heard Axel shout before Sora wound back and tossed his brother down the stairs. He rolled down the hard steps, grunting and groaning as he felt his bones collide with the metal and linoleum. He landed on the floor with a sickening thud; he was probably sporting a few bruises, but luckily his bones still felt intact. He heard the other residents on the floor coming out of their rooms to see what was going on, and he cursed under his breath.

"Roxas!" He heard Naminé shout just as Sora's footsteps came thudding down the stairs; he felt his brother's hand on his hair again and he lifted him up to throw him against the wall.

"S-Sora-" Roxas spluttered; the blood running down his nose was staining his shirt, "Why are you d-doing this-"

His brother slapped him with the back of his hand; the blond's head twisted to the side from the impact. "Shut up."

"This isn't funny…" Axel muttered from the floor above as Sora grabbed the blond by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to drag him down a few more flights of stairs. Through his blurred vision Roxas could see the white-clad bodies of patients staring at him as he was hauled further and further away from them; he tried to search for a mane of red hair or a small blonde girl but everything was so distorted…

After what seemed like forever Sora opened the main doors and Roxas felt the rush of cool night air sweeping over his injured body; the concrete scraped him through his clothes and he cringed in pain.

"Sora!" A female voice shouted; Roxas knew who it was - Xion. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm doing what you told me to do," He heard his brunet brother reply nonchalantly, "I'm bringing him home."

"You didn't have to beat him to a pulp!"

"Just unlock the freaking car."

Roxas attempted to reach upwards again. "X-Xion…" He croaked, but his pleas were cut short when Sora punched him again. He spat out blood and glared up at his brother. "W-what the hell are you doing-"

"Shut up!" He pulled the passenger seat open and tossed Roxas inside.

"Roxas-" He felt Xion's small hand on his cheek, "-are you okay?"

"Ngh…" He groaned, "I-I've had better days-"

"Get in the back, Xion." He heard Sora slam the door to the driver's seat shut.

"Why are you being so difficult, Sora?" Their sister cried, "Don't you understand - he needs to be here! Naminé and the others need his help - he's their only friend!"

"You don't get it either, do you?" The brunet spat, "Don't tell me you're starting to forget too! How can you, anyway?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Roxas asked; he tried turning his head to face his brother but his neck was too sore from his tumble down the stairs.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Sora leaned over to open the glove compartment; he began to rifle through the things in there, and Roxas squinted through the gloominess to see what he was looking for.

"Sora, you really have to stop," Xion's voice was begging now, "You're going too far - SORA, NO!"

The brunet whipped around so quickly Roxas didn't have time to register what he was holding in his hand; whatever it was, he used it to hit the blond against the side of the head, knocking him out cold.

The last thing he saw before blacking out completely were a set of twin lights in the murky blackness of the night.

--

A/N: I know, I know - Sora's gotten way out of character, but he has a reason. Trust me. If you were in his situation I think you'd do the same.