Searching

by Sandfire Kat

Recovery. Noun. A return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength. But it is much easier said than done. Recovery isn't a path paved out in front of you. It's an obstacle, it's a challenge. It's a fight and a struggle. It's impossible. Adjective. Not able to occur, exist, or be done. And faced with such a task, Sora begins to realize that he escaped one prison for another.

11. Chapter 11

He was sick and tired of…well, just of things in general. And it was understandable; it wasn't like such a mindset was uncalled for. And there wasn't really a better way to put it all, either. He was just tired of getting stuck in these ruts. He was tired of all the false hopes, and the fighting, and the never-ending sense of anxiety that seemed to weigh on his chest like bricks. He was tired of seeing everyone around him upset, and he was tired of the frustration that burned underneath his skin for every waking moment. He was tired of always trying, and never being able to stop. He was tired of all the indecision, and second-guessing himself, and he was certainly tired of never being able to stop or rest.

All in all, Axel was getting tired of this situation, and all the confusion and other things that it brought with it. He was looking for an end to it. He guessed everyone was; or at least that was what everyone was attempting to do. He thought that once Sora had gotten healed, that would at least take away some of the pressure that had been on them for all this time. And yet here he was, separated from Sora now, and trying to take on a horde of Heartless as well as some huge enemy he had never seen prior to this very moment.

That wasn't taking into consideration the odd and alarming things that the monster had been saying before. Thinking back to it now, the irritation that stemmed from that idea was just fuel to make his arms move faster and with more strength behind their blows. He could hardly believe that, after all this time, he was still unable to decipher this stupid puzzle that was in front of him. 'They told me it would be funny!' 'They told me you were nothin' like you used to be!' It was like every time they thought they were starting to get a hold of things, someone came along and mixed up all the pieces of their puzzle, and added in about a thousand more pieces.

And he wasn't about to forget the most important aspect of the conversation.

'You control the Heartless?'

'We all do!'

It was enough to make him groan aloud, and he probably would have turned to flop uselessly down on the ground, had it not been for the fact that his attention was once again wrenched straight forward. The Heartless were still everywhere around him. Right— he had to deal with this infestation, and then the source of it all afterwards. If somehow Oogie could control the Heartless, and if somehow there were others like him out there, then maybe it would make sense that there were just so many Heartless around nowadays. Or…at least, it would help to explain one aspect of the whole thing.

Currently, there were about fifty around him. Or, at least, that was the rough estimate he got just by surveying them all at once. It wasn't an exact number, but he had enough practice to put faith in the idea that it couldn't be too far off. He had no idea how much he had plowed through so far. His arms were certainly heavy enough to show the exertion needed for quite a few. But he didn't have the luxury of keeping his head up on his shoulders; he had to keep a wary eye out for Oogie at the same time he was facing off with the smaller enemies.

Axel swept one arm forward, watching with a cold stare as three more Heartless were incinerated by a wall of fire. He huffed out an exhale of air, whirling around to try and pinpoint that obnoxious sack. His eyes did find him quickly— if it wasn't for the darkness that seemed to hang permanently around this entire world, the feat would have been accomplished instantaneously. But when he did find his other target, he saw that Oogie was already facing him, and quickly rubbing his hands together.

"Have some of this!" the sack cried, throwing out his arms and conjuring brightly-glowing dice that immediately careened straight for Axel. He tensed and spat out a curse underneath his breath. He skittered backwards and nearly fell right on his back, but in doing so, he managed to barely dodge the things before they could smack into him. He felt a small sense of triumph in his quick thinking, and a smirk started to fold over his face. But he realized that Oogie was still laughing like a hyena, and, after looking in between him and the dice with a puzzled expression, Axel stiffened like a board.

From the holes in the dice, snake-like Heartless shot out into view, their eyes smoldering and bright as they lunged straight for the Nobody. Immediately at their hissing, Axel let out a screech of shock. One of the serpents sliced him in the arm, but he quickly managed to whirl around and slice it through with the point of his Chakram. He wasted no time before he did the same with all the others, watching with an expression of both relief and annoyance as they melted away into wisps of shadows.

There was a disgusted noise from Oogie, who was clearly more than disappointed at the fact that his attack had been beaten so easily. Axel was never one to care though, and suddenly, still standing in the middle of this throng of Heartless, Axel's nerves began to get to him. Sora had left ages ago, it felt like. Was it just because he didn't like to lose track of his friend, that it felt so long? Was it because fighting these enemies over and over just made the time seem to drag? Or had it really been a long time since he had seen Sora turn and sprint for the woods?

What had happened? Had Sora reached her? Was he talking to her? But…but why had she run away in the first place? And…and what had she even been doing here? The last time Axel had seen her, it was more than clear that he would never have been able to—

But it was her. It had been. He had seen her vividly from where he had stood. Sora had wrenched his attention back over his shoulder, and he had seen her. His friend, who he had gradually had to come to terms with the fact he would never see again what felt like lifetimes ago. She had been standing there, the hood of her cloak pulled down so that he could see her face. Her short black hair, and her bright blue eyes that were already soft with laughter and mischief, just like they had always gotten— especially when she had been with Roxas. She had been standing there as if she had her whole life; as if there was nothing wrong with such a thing. And as soon as Axel had turned his stare over to her, she had grinned toothily before turning and starting back into the woods.

He had screamed at Sora to go after her. In terms of stamina, Axel stood more of a chance against a fight of this caliber. But now, standing there dumbly, he wondered whether or not he had made such a good decision. Sora hadn't come back yet— not with her. He was out there, potentially with someone that Axel had missed dearly— someone that Axel had called a best friend, and someone that had meant as much to him as Roxas had. Someone that meant as much to him as Sora did now. The idea of not being able to see her when she was so close was enough to make his mouth run completely dry.

He was stuck here, when all he really wanted to do was turn around and run as fast as he could after the two of them.

So, looking around at the remaining crowd and finding that it was at least a kind of manageable number, Axel went completely still and took in slow breath. He closed his eyes and ducked his head down low to his chest, his arms flying out at his sides, and his Chakrams spinning out of his hands to suspend in the air around him. He growled low in the back of his throat and watched the Heartless around him through narrowed eyes, and past his weapons— both of which were beginning to spin and whirl around him. In the back of his mind, he was frantically making sure that he was keeping himself in check. That with this attack he wouldn't expend too much energy and get too depleted to carry on.

But at the same time, he was bent on making this the final blow needed.

He had to keep in mind what was really important. And that was Sora. And her.

So he let out a cry that ripped out from the very bottom of his lungs. And in doing so, and looking up, Axel poured forward as much fire and brimstone as he possibly could and pointed all of it instead at the enemies that were circling him. Sure enough, his vision went completely orange and white at the flames that surged ahead. He could feel his energy shoot out along with it, and he had to grit his teeth against the taxing sensation so that he could stay level-headed.

He watched the fire expel from his reservoir and pour over each and every Heartless that was around him. Beneath the wave of exhaustion that always come over him whenever he pushed things this much, he could feel a sharp sting to satisfaction as each and every being fizzled into nothing as soon as his spell touched them. He waited to make sure that the flames would do the bare minimum of the job that was required— he couldn't get depleted of all his total energy. It was risky enough to put himself forward to do this much. He had to control it...

He gritted his teeth, struggling to reel himself in and make the flames around him die down. He had to, before it got too far, and he couldn't stop it. Trying to yank his magic back before it was all used, a distressed groan wriggled its way out of his throat. It was like trying to plug up a million holes that were gushing out with water. Focus…he needed to focus. He's done it before. Always during last resorts, and it was never easier. He just needed to concentrate…

Fire is unexpected; it can be a raging thing of heat. And sometimes it can be just the opposite.

…Why are you telling me this?

Sora. He had to get to Sora— he had to make sure that he was alright. At the thought, Axel's eyes snapped open, and he forced down a sharp inhale. He forced the inferno to recoil and fold backwards, putting his mind over the stress and fatigue it caused, and gathering it all back from where it had come from. And when the feat was successfully accomplished, and when he sagged to the side and tried to catch himself, he was instantly met with a swarm of tiredness. All of his energy felt like it drained directly out of him, and he was almost too sapped to keep from capsizing.

Puffing for air, and feeling hollow as he did, Axel turned to look over the aftermath. The whole town was charred over and singed, it looked like. Even in the darkness of the night, he could tell that there was a new blackness that now marred the buildings and the pavement. He could have almost scrounged up a sense of guilt at the mess he had single-handedly created, if it wasn't for the fact that he still had an enemy to focus on. Though the clearing was now wiped completely of Heartless, which was something of a large relief, Oogie was still standing off to the side.

Somehow, the fat thing had managed to avoid the crux of his attack. The fact almost made him angry enough to have the strength to do it again. But he held himself back, watching instead as Oogie hopped around wildly, trying to bat away the flames that had managed to catch on to his sack. The threads that were holding him together had started to burn away, and Axel watched coldly as the monster struggled to pat away the smoldering before it could do any more damage. Still, it had caused a few holes to burn through his cloth, and they were quickly developing, unless he smacked them away.

Axel's nose wrinkled with distaste as he realized that worms and bugs of all kinds were leaking out of the holes bored there by the embers. Oogie was trying to plug the gaps up wildly, swinging back and forth with the effort. But he was clearly having a difficult time in doing so. Axel took the moment of panic to stop and catch his breath— recovering, while he had the open chance. Oogie Boogie was dancing and whirling around in the effort to stop himself up. It would almost be funny, if Axel wasn't so irritated. As it was, he just stared daggers his way, waiting for him to make some kind of move.

When he did manage to get most of himself held together, and when he shifted into a position that was least likely to cause major outflow, Oogie's head snapped back up towards Axel. A scowl was twisted over his face as he glowered over in his direction. It was clear that he was more than furious and set-aside. Axel was willing to give him that much. He didn't think he'd like it very much if someone set him on fire. And sure enough, when Oogie spoke, the tone of voice in each separate word was fit to kill. "You stupid sidekick!" he roared out furiously. "I wasn't even aimin' for you!"

Axel's glare only sharpened with defensiveness. "If you want to hurt Sora, you've got to go through me, go it memorized?" he snapped. But before Oogie even had the chance to reply, he went on gruffly. "Nobody is going to hurt a single hair on his head. Not my friend."

Oogie let out a harsh scoff. "Don't think we don't know it," he growled. "But I wouldn't go and think you're so high and mighty." He started to fall into that same cackling laughs— laughter that seemed to grow stronger with each passing, ominous word. "You're nothing but a thorn in our sides! We've got bigger and better things comin' strong! Things so big, that little welp with the Keyblade won't know what hit him upside the head!"

Axel immediately started to advance, gritting his teeth together tightly in anger. "Don't you dare insult him!" he screamed, his voice immediately raising to be ear-splitting. "He's ten million times the person you could ever be!" The anger that stemmed out from this insult was enough to cram him with renewed energy, and he willed his Chakrams back into his hands, starting to make a move so that he could split open the stupid thing from top to bottom. But he was stopped dead in his tracks before he had the chance to do anything of the sort.

Oogie grinned. A wide, nasty grin that stretched from one side of his face to the other. He let out a laugh that seemed to echo and bounce off the stones of Halloween Town, and before Axel could get close enough to deal the final blow, he declared: "You might think so!" After those four words, Axel was met with a hefty blow to the back of the head— one that sent him sprawling down to the ground with a grunt of agony. His head spun open impact, and he felt nausea immediately twist his stomach into a thick knot.

It took a moment for him to collect himself enough to spin around and look at who had hit him. And at the same time, plan out the correct way to properly take their head off. He was anticipating pretty much anything. Another monster, another huge Heartless, or even another swarm that he would be forced to take care of. He was prepared to spring forward and handle whatever would be behind him. But what he was not prepared for was for there to be…absolutely nothing.

All that was behind him was the now-charred area that he had first walked into with Sora was felt like a month ago, now. There was absolutely nothing behind him— nothing that could have caused him to pitch forward the way he had. Or nothing to serve as the source of the pain that was now throbbing directly behind his eyes. His fists curled down into the brick underneath him, which was still a little hot, and he turned quickly to look back at Oogie, a sharp demand already prepared at the tip of his tongue.

But there was nothing in front of him, either. Axel stopped short, his eyes growing huge and round as his face fell. Where Oogie had been standing just a second ago, was now just thin air. A few bugs were still scattered around on the floor, but that was it. He cursed softly underneath his breath, his forehead creasing as he turned and looked all around him. To the left, to the right, and then back behind him all over again. There was absolutely nothing. Surely, taking someone like Oogie into account, even if he tried to make a fast run away, it would probably take five minutes of floundering for him to get two steps in one direction!

But he was gone. Just out of thin air. Exactly like whatever had struck Axel.

He sat there reeling for half a second, trying to wrap his mind around whatever was happening. He tried to decide whether or not he had technically won whatever had just transpired, and he tried to get his mind around every weird thing that Oogie Boogie had said. Hardly any of it made actual sense, really. It just made him even more befuddled as to what was actually going on. And where had he fled so quickly? Was it because he was wounded too much to continue fighting? Maybe if there was a trail of bugs, Axel could follow it and find him before he could get away. That way maybe Axel would be able to take care of a problem before it came out to be a bigger issue.

There wasn't anything to follow though. He was gone.

Where had he gone? There was a real threat that had been right in front of him! Where else could he have…?

Axel's stomach dropped out from underneath him. His eyes widened, and his face lost about ninety percent of its color. Sora. Sora— he went go and find Sora. That was who his real target was, right!? The instant that the thought crossed his mind, he was up on his feet. He turned on the beat and broke out into a sprint with little to no warning, not even thinking about the exhaustion that was still dragging at his limbs and making his body feel like one huge weight. He didn't have time to pause, or even hesitate. He had to find Sora, before something else did— before someone else did. By this point, he had been gone for quite some time. What had kept him occupied?

He ran ahead, not held back by a single trace of the misgiving he had shown before in respect to the shaded woods. Now, he just weaved urgently through the headstones he passed, and the only sound of cracking twigs he was aware of was when his own feet snapped them in half. His fear and anxiousness only made him go quicker, and his eyes combed the area around him with a certain degree of desperation. Gasping in air between every hurried stride, he started to scream out at the top of his lungs. "Sora!? Sora, where are you!? Sora!?"

He would wait for a reply. And he would never get one.

Only silence met his calls, and bit by slow bit, he could feel his nerves begin to fray and tear apart. Where was he!? He ran all the way past the tree that had that weird door shaped like a Christmas tree. He passed other doors of that like nature— odd inscriptions he didn't really care all that much to wonder why they were there. He slowed just briefly, glancing around to all the other doors and stopping only to wonder whether or not it was possible that Sora had gone inside one of them. Maybe the chase had taken him into one of them? Maybe Axel was making a mistake in choosing to ignore them?

But he shook his head and pushed on. If he still could not find Sora after going through these entire woods, then he would start going back to check whether or not his friend had gone through any of those things. Until then… "Sora!" he screeched, falling back into his sprint as he continued to tear through the woods. There seemed to be nothing but those same bare, crooked trees, and the same dry foliage around him. It stretched on for ages— he was starting to fear that he would get lost. "Sora! Tell me where you are! Sora!?"

There was still nothing in reply, and he was starting to dread the worst. There was no doubt his voice carried far enough to be heard, right!? Why wasn't he answering!? Everything that Axel had tried to leave behind him in coming here was beginning to intrude on him all over again. The worries, and the fears and the horrible sensations that something truly had gone wrong. What if he found Sora, but Oogie had already gotten to him? What if the magic that had cured him had suddenly and inexplicably worn off while he had been running, and he was somewhere in these woods just bleeding out?

What was he going to tell Riku? How was he supposed to face Kairi, who he had just started to actually get along with, and admit to her that he was the reason this had happened? That he was the reason that Sora was gone, and that he had suffered and that now he was never going to be able to come back? How would he be able to face anyone? With each stacking question and worry, Axel's steps got faster, and his voice grew to be even more higher-pitched. "Sora!" By this point, his voice was beginning to bend and give out underneath the volume of his screams. "Sora, tell me where you are!"

Woods. There was nothing but woods. Nothing but woods, and branches, and gravestones, and in the back of his mind, Axel was already constructing the mental image of a brand new gravestone. One that would bore the name of someone who did not, and never will have, deserved what had happened to him, and what was still continuing to happen. He thought of Kairi coming to visit the stupid headstone because that was all that was left. Because Axel was too incompetent to keep his friend safe. Because Axel was too rash to think about the person he owed so much to before he yelled at him to go after the person he had thought he had seen. Because—

Axel broke out of a line of forest, only to stumble into a new clearing. It wasn't very big— just a circle that was a few yards around from its center that was framed by these arching trunks. The middle was filled with mostly leaves, which must have fallen who-knows-when, considering there were no leaves whatsoever on any of these trees. But, half-running, half-falling into that clearing, Axel was knocked over the head all over again— but this time, he was knocked over the head with sheer relief. He was relieved, that he could hardly hold back a yell of delight at the simple sight of what was in front of him.

Sora. Sora was there. He was alone, and at Axel's shout of reprieve, he didn't rouse at all. Rather, he was completely motionless. But he was there, and for what Axel could see, he was completely unharmed. So a smile spread itself quickly over his face, and he rushed forward the last few steps it took to be able to reach him. Partly from exhaustion, partly because he just wanted to be on the other's level, the Nobody dropped down to be in front of Sora. His knees hit the ground with a dull thud, and he hunched over a little bit so that he could try and catch Sora's gaze.

"There you are!" he gasped, finding that air was a little hard to come by at this point. "I was calling for you everywhere!" Now that the relief and happiness had worn off, it was time for the irritation to rear its head. "What the heck were you thinking!?" He paused, puffing a little bit, as he waited for Sora to reply. He didn't. He was staring down at the ground with eyes bigger than the moon that was hanging up overhead. Axel's forehead creased, his eyebrows knitting together in puzzlement. Cautiously now, he leaned a little bit closer. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" he snapped. "What are you doing?"

Sora reached out slowly towards the leaves that were littering the ground below him. Axel did not fail to notice that both his hands were shaking. He started to mumble something underneath his breath. Unable to hear him, Axel was forced to bend forward and put his ear closer to his friend's mouth, which was hardly moving to begin with. "Don't you see it? It's here— it's here…it's right here, but I can't tell…"

"Sora!? What are you talking about!?" Axel demanded.

He looked terrified. "It's back but it's not it's not back I can't look at it but I can't stop I don't know what to do I don't know what to do…" Lightly, his arms were pushing forward so that his hands could run in through the leaves. He was carding through each individual one, clearing a space so that they could see the ground that was underneath. Just as softly, if not softer, he continued to ramble. "I don't know what to do I don't know where he went I need help it's back it's here and I can't do anything about it where's the door I can't get out there's no way out I'm stuck and I can't get out there are no windows and there are no doors I have to find a way out but there is no way out…"

"Sora!" Axel lashed out and grabbed onto his shoulders with a vice grip. Roughly, and not thinking twice about it, he started to shake Sora as hard as he possibly could. The other was like putty in his hands, jerking forward and then backwards, with his head still hanging down to watch the floor. His arms still moved robotically to shift aside the dead things below. He didn't even rouse really, at the jarring motions. It was like he wasn't even aware of them.

Axel growled under his breath and continued, raising his voice to be even louder. "Sora!" he snapped, grabbing his friend's chin and forcing him to look up and meet his gaze. He realized with a jolt of shock that Sora's eyes were glazed and shadowed over. And there was no spark of recognition there, even when Axel looked at him. He was still mumbling to himself, but Axel tried not to pay attention. "Sora! Where did she go!?" He spoke slowly, pausing just a little bit in between each word so that he could somehow let Sora understand him more clearly. "Where did Xion go!? You followed her, right!?"

Axel's grip on his chin faltered, and Sora's head immediately dropped so he could look back at the ground. His fuzzy eyes went every which way, and it was like he hadn't heard a single word that Axel had shouted. Starting to panic, Axel withdrew just enough to look all around him, his eyes combing the forest for any sign of his friend. Of that stare that reminded him so much of someone else's, and that smile that always made the day seem to go by a little easier back in the Organization. His friend, he was looking for someone he had once called his best friend.

He had seen her, he was sure of it. He had sent Sora after her. He had watched her turn and leave.

So what had happened in the time that Sora had been gone!?

He turned back front, biting down hard on his lower lip as he waited just a little bit longer. But Sora's focus was still trained entirely on what was below them. He was still mumbling to himself, and he was still shaking. His eyes were still stretched wide with shock. He looked like he was watching someone die horribly in front of him, when all Axel saw was plain old forest floor. There was nothing special about it; there was nothing alarming there, or cautionary.

Oogie Boogie's words echoed in the back of his head.

Look who's all washed up now.

No. He refused to believe it. He refused to let it happen. Axel sucked in a harsh breath and let out his friend's name in a scream that was louder than all the rest combined. It shook the forest from its roots to its treetops, and all the while, he shook him again, this time more vigorous. "Sora! Snap out of it!" Drawing the line when he still only seemed to be aware of what was under the leaves, Axel grimaced quickly before grabbing hold of Sora's arm and drawing forward the smallest amount of magic he was willing to chance with him.

A spark of orange came through his palm, and he watched tensely for Sora's reaction, so that he would know the precise moment in which to stop. But even as he felt the fire spread out to wrap around his friend's skin, Sora was still oblivious. Axel's face creased over in pain as he kept the fire there and did not instantly wrench his hand backwards, like he would have wanted. The dull glow from his palm got bigger and brighter— slowly, because he was already kicking himself for the agony that he would inflict with the burn.

He was just beginning to think that maybe it was better for him to just revert to smacking Sora across the face, Axel stiffened with the realization that intelligence was gradually leaking back into his eyes. The dullness and the grogginess that had been clouding his vision was being blown clear, and after a few more seconds, Sora jerked upright, his head snapping up and his eyes blinking rapidly. Axel was already pulling away by the time Sora woke up enough to let out an earsplitting shriek of shock and pain.

At his scream, Axel immediately extinguished the fire in a snap, yanking his hands away from Sora just to be absolutely sure that he wouldn't harm him even more. Once the pain reached Sora, so did full-blown coherence. He gasped sharply, and the air scraped down his lungs in a way that made it sound more like a yelp of agony that anything else. His head whipped down quickly to look at his arm, which was already bright red and swelling up with harsh welts. As his friend gasped shallowly in and out, Axel reached back into his pockets, wondering whether or not they had a potion to spare for the burn.

But to his surprise, before he could try and find a remedy for the injury, it was already forgotten about. Sora went from looking down at himself in alarm, to whipping around to face Axel. He stiffened at the look that was on his face— every single feature was alight with fear and desperation. There wasn't even a trace of pain from what had just been inflicted on him; it was like it had just completely slipped his mind. As if it wasn't some third degree burn that had been etched down into his skin.

"Axel!" He flinched at the sheer volume that was hurled at his face. He opened his mouth to try and reply, but Sora wasn't in the mood for pausing, it seemed. He continued on in a rush, every single inch of his face currently crammed to the brim with horror. "Axel, we've got to run! We have to get out of here! B-But I can't get out! Show me the way out! Get me out of here, please!" He was reaching out now. Axel was more concerned about the wound— as Sora was trying to grope forward and pull himself closer, he was just trying to somehow grab hold of his arm and make sure that he didn't make himself worse by flinging it against him. If it hurt now, Axel had no idea what it would feel like if Sora accidentally smacked his arm against his stomach.

"Sora, stop it," he growled, trying to keep his voice calm. But at the same time, he couldn't ignore his own nerves spiking in puzzlement, or worry. Sora was still half-crazed, it looked like. He was still fumbling around, trying to do who knows what. "Sora!" Trying to make sure that he didn't grab hold of his burn, Axel locked his hands around his wrists instead, forcing his arms to a standstill with a small tug. "Sora, look at me!" He was winded and scrambled, like he had just been spun around a million times and was told to take off running in one direction. Even when he looked up at Axel, it was clear that he was not paying attention to whatever he was saying.

Axel's eyes narrowed, and he shook Sora's wrists a bit, to demand his attention. "Listen to me, you've got to calm down! There's nowhere to get out of! We're still at Halloween Town! What in the world is the matter with you!? I was looking for you everywhere, and I was calling for you! You completely ignored me! And now—" He broke off, realizing that Sora wasn't listening in the slightest. He leaned a little closer, trying to make sense of what the heck was going on. "Sora, you need to calm down! You're really starting to freak me—"

His head was whirling around now, from side to side. Axel waited for him to come back to himself. Surely once he saw the woods around him – the woods that they have been seeing for the past couple hours now – he would realize that he was just really confused? But when he looked at what was around him, he just got more panicked. "No, it was— it was right here! It was all back! I was back there! I was— I was terrified! I couldn't—" He turned and looked down at the ground. His eyes were wide, and he jerked his arms away from Axel, just so that he could go right on back to scrambling as fast as he could. His hands flew everywhere, throwing up the leaves that were still in front of them with wild urgency.

Axel simply watched, finding that it was easier. Or maybe that was just a better excuse instead of he was just way too floored to do anything. Sora, on the other hand, was doing nothing but moving. He was shaking his head now, quickly as he tossed aside dead pile after dead pile. "It was right here! The— the floor!" he gasped. "When you moved the leaves, it was— it was right here! The floor of the castle, it was underneath the leaves! The more you moved aside— the more you moved aside, the more you could see it!"

Axel's expression slowly changed. From confusion and bemusement, to severe sorrow.

Sora saw this. He was not one to miss such a change in expression— not this specific change, which he had seen what felt like millions of times now. "No, no, you have to trust me!" Sora pleaded, his voice much higher-pitched now. He shifted over to grab at Axel again, getting more and more worked up now that he realized he was losing contact with the one person he could really trust. "Axel, you have to trust me! I was sitting here, and— and then I looked up, and I was— I was back inside the Organization's castle! I-I know that it sounds weird, but that's where I was! I-I couldn't get out! I tried calling for you, but—"

Axel was already shaking his head. Sora trailed off, unable to finish it as his eyes rounded out dejectedly. "Sora, that's not right," he said. His voice was noticeable in how it had turned soft. It was almost gentle now, and the idea was enough to lance a cold sting of horror inside of Sora's heart. But he continued on, despite his friend's obvious distress. "I came over here, and you were staring off into space. You were pushing all the leaves aside, mumbling to yourself about how you couldn't get out." He reached over to put one hand down on his shoulder. Sora looked down at it as if it was some kind of leech. "But you were sitting right here. You didn't go anywhere. You weren't inside that place. You were just—"

"No!" He was angry with this cry. Axel drew away, but he did so with a regretful sigh. A sigh that conveyed a sense of: 'What am I going to do with you?' And that didn't make Sora handle himself any better at all. "No, I was there! I was— I could see it! It was right in front of me— I was trapped! You have to believe me! I wasn't right here, I was— I was back there! I was back there, Axel! I was back there!" He fell silent for a second, breathing a little heavily as he waited for Axel to say something. It didn't come, and so he rushed on ahead. "You don't believe me…" This one was barely a murmur.

"Look." It was hardly a sigh. "Calm down. You're upset. And I get that, alright? You're…" He couldn't bring himself to finish. He closed his eyes for just a few moments, to try and gather himself. When he looked back over at Sora, he tried to put together one last attempt. "Look, what happened to Xion?" Sora's eyes flickered over with a little bit of anxiety at the question. He tilted his head to the side and pressed on. "The girl you chased from the square?" he prompted. "I told you to go after her— what happened? Where did she go?"

"'The girl?'" Sora echoed, the two words hollow enough to catch rain. His jaw hung slightly ajar, and Axel could see him struggling to form some kind of thought. Axel raised his eyebrows, simply waiting. There wasn't much else he could do, really. Was she somewhere over the rise? Had she fled off somewhere? Did he see where she'd gone— maybe he could find her! The thought was enough to set him on-edge, and he was almost fit to shake Sora all over again just so he would reply faster. When the reply did come, it was less than satisfactory, though. It was just a mumble; a skip in the record's track. "'The…the girl?'"

"The girl! From the square!" Axel couldn't keep his voice from sharpening. He instantly regretted it with a small little wince, but he just swept along. "She had big blue eyes, and she had short black hair! She was standing there, and then she turned and ran off into the woods, and you were following her! You were right behind her, weren't you?" He turned and scanned the clearing one last time. In the back of his throat, he let out a frustrated growl. "Did you lose track of her? Is she— could you point me somewhere so that I could find her? I can leave and be right back before—"

"There wasn't a girl though."

Axel jerked a little bit. His forehead creased over. "What?" he asked. "What…what do you mean there wasn't a girl?"

Sora looked just as stricken, though. "There wasn't a girl. I chased someone in a cloak— a cloak like yours. Their— their hood was up, I couldn't see their face." Axel looked at him like he was speaking some foreign language. Something that went in one ear and completely out the other, just because it made no sense whatsoever. Because it didn't, really. He might as well have been. Sora wilted a little bit underneath the stare, but he struggled to make his point. "I chased after them the entire time. I never saw their face, and I never…I only got close enough to see them really, when they stopped here. And it wasn't a girl, Axel. It was…it was…"

Impatience made him short. Something he'd probably regret later. "Sora, what are you talking about? I clearly—"

"It was Xaldin."

He might as well have slapped him upside the face, really. He leaned backwards, increasing the distance between them. Sora went rigid at the movement, and instantly moved to try and fix himself. "I know that— but Axel, you've got to listen to me. You've got to really listen to me! I was here, and I saw them, and they took down their hood, and it was him! And his lance was all…it was all covered with blood, and he ran at me, but when I looked again, he was gone, and that was when the leaves started to move and I could see the floor, and— and you don't believe me, but I'm trying my best to explain it! There wasn't a girl, and it wasn't…I don't know what else to say!" His last few words trailed off into something akin to a nervous laugh. Like he was trying to make light of a situation, when really, that was just making it worse. Somehow, he had a knack for that recently.

Axel was silent. He was silent for what felt like years, to both of them, as he just took to staring blankly at his friend. He didn't make a move to say anything; he just tried to digest what had been given to him. But eventually, he couldn't stomach it anymore. He sighed slowly through his nose, and hung his head down. A distressed noise rose up in the back of Sora's throat at the motion, and it seemed like he was about to rush on and try some other tactic of explanation.

He had to stop him before he could stumble on any longer than he already had.

"Sora…just stop. Okay? Stop for one second and please just take a breath." He was trying to soothe him. But it was clear that he was probably doing the exact opposite in the process. "You're upset. And you're scared, and…and I understand that, but…" He grimaced and barely held back a loud huff of frustration. Sora was watching him with the expression of a deer that was caught in some headlights, watching on-edge for what was going to come next.

What he got was less than satisfactory.

"We shouldn't have come."

Sora recoiled. His eyes widened, and his fingers dug down into the dirt in complete shock. "W-What?" he croaked. He tried to collect himself. He tried to hold himself together. You're blowing this. You're ruining everything. This is your last chance, and it's going out the window. "What do you mean? We have to— we have to find Merlin. You told me that we would do this." Axel was looking away now. He couldn't even meet Sora's gaze. So he was left to drag himself along. "What do you mean?" Nothing. Desperate, he repeated a little louder: "Axel, what do you mean?"

"Sora, we've got to go back." There wasn't apology to it. Or at least, Axel was trying not to let apology seep through his tone. He was trying to be firm, and he was trying to be final with it. Because it was clear now that this was a bad idea, and that Sora wasn't prepared for any of this. It wasn't all that surprising, either, if he stopped to think about it. Seeing an old villain, and hearing what he had to say about him that struck too close to home— that was too much for Sora. He was seeing things, and he was getting confused and panicked. He was still showing signs of trauma and stress. The things that Merlin had started out this recovery process warning against.

He'd thought that this would be the best thing to possibly happen to Sora. He thought that if Sora got out here, and if he felt the expansiveness of all the worlds, and if he could feel that sense of triumph earned from killing Heartless, then everything would be better. Maybe not at first, but it would get there. Yet here they were. Here Sora was, seeing things and mumbling incoherently under his breath. He didn't need to be out here; being out here was just dragging everything back up and forcing it underneath his nose. No— they needed to leave. They needed to leave, and they needed to do it now.

Sora was winded with the six words. It took away any breath or rationale he had, and he was left to just stare at Axel. Meeting the stare came out to be much more difficult than Axel had first anticipated, too. He had to force himself not to duck away from the look that was aimed in his direction. Because Sora looked completely double-crossed, like he had been betrayed. And it was a harder thing to stomach, with the understanding that that was exactly what had happened here.

"You…" Sora blanched, trying to piece it all together. Going by the way he was wilting ever so slowly, it was clear that he was making the right sort of progress. "You told me that…you— you said that—"

"I know what I said," Axel interrupted, looking down at the ground now. "But you're just…it's too much for you. And some part of me knew that going in, but mostly I just thought it would be okay. But I think we really just need to go back and find your friends again. They can help you." Sora closed his mouth slowly. He didn't say anything. He just stared at Axel with an expression impossible to read. Regretfully, he stood up, reaching down and offering his friend a hand, should he choose to accept it. "Come on. We'll just go back. We can't stay out here; not like this."

Sora was still silent. Eventually, his hands shifted to curl down hard on his knees. His jaw locked backwards, and there was a sense of finality that rested down behind his stare. Like the last pin dropping to where it needed to go. Axel grimaced a little bit and tried to say something that could possibly make it better. That exact 'something' wasn't really on the tip of his tongue as it was though, so Sora beat him to the punch. "Fine." It was choked, and it was small. It gave off a kind of anger. Or maybe the better word was resignation. He turned away from his friend, who he had trusted to stick with him, and just repeated himself. "Fine."

Axel made one last attempt. "It's for the best, Sora." He lowered his voice for his next words, even though there wasn't much point to it. They were the only ones in the clearing, and with that last attack, Axel was sure that they had just a little bit more time before more Heartless came around. "There was no floor. You were right here this entire time." Sora was still refusing to turn his head. "And Sora…I killed Xaldin. I made sure of it." A long pause. Then: "Alright? Sora, he's gone. He won't—"

Sora pushed himself up to his feet without a single hesitation. Axel grimaced and ducked a bit, merely watching as his friend started in the direction that they had come. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. I don't need to be treated like a kid. I know. I know that happened. I got it."

Axel followed suit and stood. He sounded strained with his small: "Sora…"

He whirled around quickly. His blue eyes were like chips of ice now, and Axel stilled underneath their stare. He tried to stop himself before the comparison could be made, but seeing that heated, angry stare was always enough to send his mind back into a tailspin. Where he could see that same exact look, but directed from someone else entirely. Someone who, especially by the end, was always shooting him those daggers. The look that definitely seemed to hurt worse than any kind of attack could.

"I trusted you."

He started out angry. Angry was always much easier— much more feasible. But it was never as easy to hang on to as it was to latch on. The front was quickly forced to crumble down and break. It cracked in long thin lines, and in between those cracks, that sorrow was allowed to seep through and show itself. Axel tried not to notice, and instead focus on reaching up and rubbing at his forehead. "I can't go back yet. I can't. I have…I have to do this first." When his friend didn't say anything, he just tried again. "I need to figure this out. I need to figure everything out. I just…I can't go back yet. I thought you understood that."

It was all Axel could do to say rather shortly: "It's just too much for you right now."

He drew back. He seemed offended. And Axel couldn't really blame him. "You left," he reminded him. Axel sighed and shook his head, but Sora didn't care. Not at the moment, anyway. "You left to figure things out, and I let you go. I didn't want you to, but I let you. Now you won't do the same for me? When I—?"

"It's not up for discussion! Alright?" Axel finally exploded. "We're going back, and that's how it's got to be!" He regretted yelling almost as soon as he started. So when he went on, he made a genuine effort make sure that his voice was gentler. "We'll come back out later. Maybe when you…when you get your head back on your shoulders, but I just can't be responsible for whatever—"

He couldn't get to the end of his sentence. Before he had the chance, there was a sudden scream. It was far away, but it was loud, and it caused both of their heads to whip around simultaneously. Axel looked more pained by the noise of distress, while Sora was instantly slapped upside the head with concern. After the scream, there was the sounds of more muffled yells. Signs of a fight somewhere beyond the trees that were around them. So Axel wasn't surprised when Sora immediately called his Keyblade forward and made a move to start running.

The Nobody held back a groan of frustration and rushed out to grab hold of Sora's shoulder. He wrenched him around, and met his stubborn look with his own short one. Struggling to drive his message through, he spoke his words very slowly. "Sora. Whatever is happening. I'm sure it can be figured out without you." Sora's shoulders drooped down low. "You've tried. You've tried harder than anyone else out here. But the worlds can find some way to go on without your help."

"That's just the problem, though," Sora pressed weakly. "They shouldn't have to."

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

He needed to start getting a dollar every time he caved.

It was a serious problem right now, and he was willing to go through an intervention.

They were both running as fast as they could. Looking over at Sora every so often, Axel could clearly see that he was still distracted, and that something was bothering him. But despite the look that was on his face, his steps were sure and swift— not hesitant at all. He kept up pace with Axel, which was impressive, given how little experience he had gotten in terms of stamina recently. His steps were unfaltering as they ran through the woods, dodging trees and skirting around every roadblock in their way. It was almost sad to note such a thing.

To know that he was still trying, this hard.

They ran until the trees began to thin out, and the woods weren't nearly as deep. They ran until they could begin to see what was on the other side of the forest, where headstones stood looming like people, simply loitering because they didn't know what else to do. But as soon as the graveyard came into view, the two of them skidded to a stop. Surprise flared across both of their faces, at exactly the same time. The scream had been too far away to register clearly and associate a face along with it. But now both of them were a little stunned they had been that deaf.

It was Yuffie. Yuffie and Leon. At the sight of them, Sora's harsh determination was just a little bit weakened. It was replaced instead with the sense of doubt he'd been trying to stifle this entire time. Neither he nor Axel made a move to get out of the cover of the trees— both for their own reasons, of course. But they watched intently. Yuffie and Leon were fighting off a clump of Heartless that was slowly building up on top of itself. Axel noticed the number with a sense of unease; it was almost as many as he had faced in his fight with Oogie Boogie. He could only wonder how long it would take them to notice that Sora was here. They were drawn to the Keyblade after all. Yuffie and Leon were just in the way.

That was…if there was even a pattern to the Heartless anymore.

He sobered a little bit with that thought.

Yuffie must have been the one to cry out. She looked more than frustrated as she hopped and flipped out of the way. Exertion and exhaustion was rampant in her features, and with every throw of her ninja stars. Leon was more than capable, with his huge sword. One swing, and he could comb aside whatever group of Heartless were in front of him. He was currently trying to help out Yuffie, shuffling to the side and trying to offer her some kind of relief. Stubborn as she was, Yuffie was trying her best to right the distance and hold her own. It wasn't clear how long they had been fighting, or if they have been fighting before this. But she wasn't nearly as good as she usually was. Her timing was off, as were her steps, and the ninja let out a harsh scream of irritation when a Soldier flashed by and left a gash down her arm.

Sora turned and looked over at Axel. "We have to help them."

Axel could have jumped for joy. Maybe if it happened like this, he wouldn't feel as guilty. They would see Sora, and they would see how he held himself— how bad he still was. Or if they didn't pick up on it, Axel could tell them. But whatever way it was divided up or split, there would be an endgame. And that endgame would be what was best for Sora. Sending him back to Merlin's. Somewhere he could sit and clear his head and maybe get better before it got any worse. "I agree," he replied. "We should—"

"We've got you!" Again, the pair were completely in sync when they turned and followed the noise with their heads. And again, they were both completely caught off-guard. From town, three figures were racing towards the two in trouble. Two of them, Axel could not mistake. The other…well, they were probably for Sora to recognize. The group was led initially by a skeleton that seemed to be about ten feet tall, and angry enough to take down an entire village of Heartless. Which, coincidentally, was near the number that was here.

Who made up the back was clearer to Axel. They weren't nearly as strange-looking. It was just a normal, slim red-headed girl. And she was accompanied by a much taller figure that towered over her, in comparison. Axel could tell by Sora's stiffen that he recognized them just as much as he did.

It was Riku and Kairi.

Kairi had been the one to yell. Her blue eyes were wide and frantic as she brought up the very rear of the party. By Axel's judgement, she looked ten times as exhausted as Yuffie was. Whenever he'd gone out with the whole group back at Hollow Bastian, her fighting skills were never anything all that spectacular. In fact, the longer they were forced to fight, the more he would glance over in her direction, just to make sure that she was okay. Now, it was clear that this whole ordeal was taking its toll on her. She could hardly keep up with Riku, who was just a few steps ahead of her. The way she was holding her weapon gave off the vibe that it was getting heavier and heavier in her hands.

At least there one thing was clear. Hard-headed stubbornness was just as prominent inside of her as it was inside of Sora.

Riku and the skeleton were the first to jump into the fray. Riku did pause long enough to throw back one more look at Kairi, but he couldn't hesitate for too much longer before he dashed to Yuffie's side. Leon was relieved for the help, and even more so when the skeleton launched a fireball attack towards where he was fighting, to take off some of his numbers. Kairi hung back for a little bit, hunching over and putting her hands down on her knees so that she could gasp in and out, trying to catch her breath.

Whether or not Sora was even aware of it, Axel saw that he took a small step forward.

With Riku adding some strength to their side – because he never seemed to run out of it in any way, shape, or form – the battle should be quickly won over. Much faster than Leon and Yuffie would have been able to accomplish on their own, at least. But Axel watched in complete silence, his eyes only narrowed as he tried to keep track of the numbers. Riku killed one, and then Yuffie sliced through hers. But then one snapped into appearance by Leon, and another sprang out of nowhere to launch at the skeleton. Leon killed that one, but Kairi yelped in surprise when another crawled out of the ground at her feet.

He kept track of each progress, and then each setback. And slowly, his expression grew angrier and angrier. It hadn't always been like this. Not for this amount of time. What had changed? It was the question that had cropped up to him every day since the ordeal came to be. But still, he couldn't track down an answer. He leaned over and was ready to hiss something into Sora's ear. To see whether or not he was realizing the correlation just as much as Axel was. But he wasn't even aware of him. He was looking instead straight over at Kairi. His eyes were wide and intense, and he watched as she hoisted her Keyblade up towards her oncoming attackers.

He mumbled something under his breath, which was barely understandable.

Axel leaned closer. "What?" he hissed.

He said it again, a little louder. But it was still lost on Axel.

"What?" he demanded.

Kairi swung her blade and caused a few to disappear. Her eyes lit up with accomplishment at the achievement, and her face broke out into a smile. She repeated the motion again and again, finding that this was where her success was most easily found. But Axel watched with a small frown as she stumbled, swinging too hard for one of her blows and nearly falling. She caught herself, only to find that her balance was thrown off and she just tipped over to her other side. The moment was small, and it was hardly noticeable. But in the heat of the battle, it was enough to earn her a slice on her hand, which was met with a high-pitched squeal of pain.

Sora repeated himself now, this time loud enough to be heard. "She hasn't gotten any training yet."

He looked in between the two now, his expression a little off-put. But he attempted to be bright when he replied. "Well…you never had any training, either."

Sora said nothing. He watched now, worry eating up all of his features as he watched Kairi fight. None of the others were paying any attention to her by now. They had caught onto the fact that for every one they did away with, another would pop up somewhere else. Leon and Riku were attempting to move even faster, while the skeleton was making his fire attacks more wide-spread. Yuffie was throwing three or four ninja stars at a time now— Axel couldn't stifle how impressed he was at the fact that she could throw and catch them all.

By this point, he was starting to regret expending nearly all of his energy with his last big magical attack. That, coupled with the fact that he had sprinted both to Sora and then all the way back with him, he was lucky he had the willpower to even keep standing. The only thing that he would be able to do if he burst out of there was throw his Chakrams, without the assistance of any flame. He wasn't sure how well Sora was holding up in terms of strength, either. He had been so malnourished, and he had just finished days of barely moving. Now it was suddenly up to him to try and keep up with everything that was happening. He had to be aching all over by now, and completely sapped of anything.

But at the same time, Axel knew that even if that was the case, Sora would never admit to it.

Sora took another step forward. It dragged against the soil, almost like he was scuffing the ground more than he was advancing. Kairi hopped backwards a few steps, her eyes huge as she narrowed avoided a rather deadly blow from a Mega-Shadow. It was clear by the look on her face that she hadn't met one before like this. There was alarm and fright in her expression, but she refused to call out for any sort of help. Instead, she just held tighter to her weapon and continued to dip and dive and duck. Sora's eyes flickered wildly in between Riku and Kairi. He was waiting for something. Even though Axel had a faint idea what it might be, he couldn't be sure.

Reluctantly, Sora got himself to step backwards. He turned and looked over at Axel, seeming urgent. His lips moved, but whatever words he might have gotten out were too quiet to be heard. Axel made a face and leaned forward a little bit, to try and make some sense of whatever he was trying to get across. But even when Sora raised his voice just slightly, it was still lost on him. He drew backwards and began to reply, when his gaze was sidetracked. When his eyes were dragged back over to the side, and a sense of dread began to flood into them.

Sora turned too with the change in expression. He froze over in fright as well.

Kairi was still handling the Heartless that were gravitating over to her, now. With her and Riku both having Keyblades, most of the attention was focused solely on them. She was doing a pretty good job with what she was dealt, too. Axel could almost be impressed, had it not been for the huge Large Body that was barreling straight for her. It was more like waddling, considering its gargantuan size, but it was fast nonetheless. Kairi jerked in shock at its appearance, and a look of complete confusion smacked itself across her face.

She lifted her Keyblade up and put forward a hefty swing— one that looked like it contained as much strength as she could possibly cram into a blow. But once the end of her blade hit the Heartless' stomach, it immediately just bounced off and caused her to keel backwards. She barely caught herself, though she did so with a frightened squeak. She bit down on her lower lip and tried again, scrapping together as much as she could with this swing. Again, she was left to stumble back. This time, the effort was so strong that she did trip and fall onto her back.

Axel's eyes widened. "She doesn't know to hit it in the back," he whispered, looking at her in alarm. Sora didn't reply. So he just went on. "She really hasn't had any training at all." Again, he was left to wonder whether or not he had any more strength to try and help. He didn't— his legs were trembling just from the task of holding himself up by this point. He was seriously debating sitting down just to offer himself some kind of break. His Chakrams— they wouldn't be able to spring to life with fire, but they would be better than nothing.

Kairi was winded for a second, her eyes wide as she tried to recollect herself. Seeing its chance, the Large Body started to rumble over, raising its arms towards the sky as it readied itself to bring them down smashing on her head. Around the scene of action, the other Heartless were twitching and writhing in excitement for what was to come.

That was where Axel drew the line. He resolved himself to bursting forward, and his hands clenched at his side to will them forward.

But that was when he glanced to the side, and realized that Sora wasn't there.

That he wasn't the only person that knew where to draw the line.

Sora burst out from the tree line, his Keyblade snapping into his hand as he held on tightly to it. Despite the weariness that had been dragging behind him up until this point, Sora ran so fast for Kairi that he was basically a blur. He skirted around most of the meaningless Heartless— the 'small fries' as Leon called them upon their first meeting. A few of them, he swiped through as he went by, but mostly he just focused on getting to Kairi. She was still winded, but had gathered herself enough by now. With a grimace of exhaustion, she was dragging her Keyblade up in the effort to guard herself from the incoming slam. Sora growled in the back of his throat as he realized that she was going much too slow. She wouldn't be able to be fast enough.

Someone might have screamed off to the side. Someone might have called his name in shock or disbelief, but it went right over Sora's head. He just focused on Kairi. Kairi— he had to reach her before it was too late. Before she got hit. Before she got hurt. She was going to get hurt. He had to reach her; he just had to. So he pushed himself to run faster than he had ever run before, and to get there before that Heartless could move a single inch more.

Kairi had realized that she would not guard herself correctly. She had tuned and flinched hard, squeezing her eyes shut and bracing herself for whatever was about to ram right into her. They had potions— she knew that. The exact number was lost on her, but she could probably be spared one, right? She wasn't sure. All she knew was that this next thing was going to hurt and, and she would have to stomach it. Just like Riku and Sora could take a hit, she had to learn how to do the same.

But the blow didn't come. Kairi stiffened; her eyes snapped open and immediately filled with shock. Right before the Large Body could make its contact, Sora threw himself in between the two. His keyblade whipped up, and he deftly blocked the attack, leaving the Heartless to be the one stumbling backwards this time. Kairi stared at Sora with an open mouth; she was torn between being completely overjoyed, and being completely confused.

He purposefully did not turn and look at her. He just shifted his hold on his keyblade instead and dug his heels down into the ground. He had faced dozens of these before. They were much more formidable than any regular Shadow or Soldier, but they were still just annoying to deal with. Holding his keyblade in just the right angle, Sora swept quickly to the side, catching the Heartless on its side and pulling it along with him. This way, it was left to spin awkwardly, exposing its back, where its weak spot was.

Without wasting a second, Sora caught himself back into balance and sprung forward, his tired arms following pure muscle memory to rain down attacks on the Heartless. The anger he held for the thing in its attempt to harm Kairi was enough to banish some of his weariness, and give fuel to burn off from. His eyes narrowed into slits, and his jaw locked backwards as he parried and slashed. The Heartless buckled immediately underneath the strain, and it only encouraged Sora to keep going.

And he did, unfalteringly, until the Heartless dissolved entirely vanished on the spot. By now, Kairi had scrambled to her feet. Though she still looked completely floored, as soon as the Large Body disappeared, she reached over to try and grab Sora's shoulder. But before she could, another Heartless lashed out at her, and as it caught on her ankle, she was forced to whirl around before it could harm her any more. She took in a shivering breath, and she started to drag up her Keyblade, finding that her exhaustion was not so easily overcome.

Thankfully, there was a second surprising appearance to help her out. Axel had rushed out of their hiding place as well, hot on Sora's tail. He sprinted out and caught the Heartless before it could make another move, his Chakram doing well as a sharp end, if nothing else. He was used to it being a little bit more lethal, but he was willing to swallow this one for now.

Sora turned, realizing that Axel had given himself up as well. Maybe it wasn't the right word. But now it was certain that there was no going back. That things were permanent now, and everyone was aware that they had found them. Sora could feel his plan to separate himself from his friends until he was ready already dissolving, just like the Large Body had. Kairi started to whirl back around to look at him, and so he quickly turned away to assess everything that was around them.

It looked like there were even more Heartless than when they first started. He closed his eyes tightly and felt a wave of frustration and severe anger flood through him. It was just impossible. All of this was impossible, and he was right in the middle of it. He had finally gotten out, and he had finally gotten better, and he was going to be forced to go back to Merlin's house once Axel told them what had happened. And that was just the point. Sora had no idea what had happened. Axel didn't either, he just opted to think the worst about it all.

It wasn't something wrong with him. Right?

It had all actually been there. Right?

Right?

Everyone had a breaking point, and this one was his. He felt a wave of anger swell inside of his chest, and the grip on his Keyblade tightened even more. He glanced over to see that the small spurt of motivation that Axel had managed to drag up to himself was slowly running out. When he swung his arms out to try and catch fleeing enemies, they lacked any real strength or backbone. It was more like his arms were made out of rubber, and could therefore do next to nothing. Sora almost risked a glance back to see how Riku and the others were doing— whether or not they were faring any better.

But he decided at the last second to just disregard it all. He knew that after this, he wouldn't need to be energized anymore. He was going straight back to Merlin's house, if anyone but him had a say in what was going to happen. So he straightened up from his defensive stance, and pointed his Keyblade up straight towards the sky. He relied on every ounce of energy he could possibly pool forward, and raised his voice in a shout that was barbed with force and even something akin to anger. "Thunder!"

Instantaneously, the ground shook and trembled as a loud crack of thunder ripped over the graveyard. The air grew tense and electrified, and no sooner, streaks of white-hot lightning ran down in harsh, jagged lines. The strikes arched and branched out, slicing through every Heartless in proximity and causing them to disappear completely in a puff of darkness. Sora fought to keep not only his hold on his own weapon as it shook with the magic, but also to keep his own footing. It was never advised to use magic in too big of spurts; it was the one thing that Merlin would always lecture him over nearly every time they saw each other. But the situation needed such a huge spell, and it wasn't like Sora was having to save up for anything else.

He figured it was fine to expel whatever he could.

All the same, he could feel his energy gush out of him in waves. He fought the urge to stumble or slouch over and try to catch himself. Any movement at all, or any sidetrack in focus, and the spell would be cut short. He just gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes against the sensation and waited until the enchantment was finished. Until the flashes of white began to curtail and then fade altogether. Until the ear-shattering thunder relaxed back into silence, and until Sora found that he had nothing at all left to put into the conjure.

Once he did run out of strength to see it through, his Keyblade disappeared, and his arms fell back limp to his side. His head hung down low, and he found that he was left with a light sheen of sweat over his forehead. His breathing was shaking and a little haywire, and he had to focus to make sure that his knees did not buckle. But he looked up and felt a smug sense of satisfaction at the fact that the clearing of the graveyard was now empty. There was nothing left in the wake of the thunderstorm he had crafted— at least he had accomplished that much. But at the same time, he could remember now why he never just did this all the time. Really, it was amazing that he didn't get sick right on the spot.

At first, there was silence. Just people getting over the shock of the powerful spell. Sora was more known for his physical fighting skills; not his magic ones. But every once in a while, if the conditions were all right, he could pull out something pretty impressive. This case just happened to fit perfectly. The silence stretched on for so long, though, that Sora was starting to fear he had accidentally used too much for his magic, and he had accidentally hit the others in the process of it all.

But something heavy slammed into his back, and he knew that it was not the case. He knew that he couldn't stay upright with the weight either— he was far too weakened. So he fell to the ground like dead weight, and tried not to get too winded when he slammed to the ground. Scraping together enough power to put his hands down on the ground and turn himself over, he found himself looking straight up at Yuffie, who had followed him down to the ground and was now planting herself on top of him.

Her eyes were probably big enough to fill half her face. Going by her expression, he wasn't sure whether or not she was going to scream out of rage, or astonishment. He was hoping for the latter, and once she started yelling, he was fairly certain that it was. "What the heck!" she screeched, turning and looking down at Sora in frank disbelief. "You're— you're okay! You're perfectly fine, and— and we've been looking everywhere for you! I cannot believe it, what's even happening!?"

"Your knee is on my stomach," Sora wheezed.

"But I don't understand!" Yuffie shrieked. "You were hurt! You could hardly walk! And now you're— you don't have a scratch on you! What happened!?"

Leon rushed over, and, to Sora's relief, batted her off of the younger so that he could breathe. "Get off him, Yuffie, c'mon." She flopped over to lay down on her side, looking awfully put-out with the rejection. Hurriedly, Leon leaned over and grabbed onto Sora's hand, pulling him up into a sitting position and instantly scanning over him with severe worry. "Sora, are you alright?" The question was habit now, because it was clear that he was perfectly alright. Too alright to even make sense.

He waited for that worry to make its tidal wave appearance, but instead, he was met with relief as Leon's lips only twitched upwards in a slow smile. "Well, look at that," he mused. He sat back a little bit, still looking him from head to toe. "Should have known if we just gave you some time, you'd figure something out." Sora grinned, the happiness over being treated normal for a change enough to banish every worry he had holed away. For now, at least. "But wouldn't you know it…"

Axel had resorted to sitting down on the ground by this point. He and Sora were sapped completely; you could see it in their faces. But now he was pushing himself back up, trying to ignore the way his body screamed at him to stop as he dragged towards the others. "We— we got some help from one of Sora's friends." Leon roused at this and turned to look back at the Nobody. His eyebrows shot up, but there was also something in his gaze that said: 'Why didn't we think of that?' "She fixed him. He's completely fine. We've just been—"

"You'd better have a really good reason that you didn't come straight back to Merlin's!" Sora flinched and looked away at the yell. He didn't exactly have the stomach to face the person head-on. To Axel's credit, though, he managed it. He turned, already more than sobered, but clearly braced for what was inevitably to come. He did basically kidnap Sora, after all. And that would be— well, technically speaking, that is, the second time such a thing had occurred. Usually by this point, you were jailed for life or something. Depending on the court.

Riku stopped just a yard away from them. His expression was changing every second, it seemed. When he looked over in Sora's direction, it was pleasantly shocked. When it flickered back over to Axel, it was still broiling with anger. Then both of them were guilt. But then when he looked over to Sora, it was confused. And then Axel was back to indignation. Whether that was because he was angry about Axel going behind his back, or because he was just remorseful that he did not take that leap of faith, had yet to be determined.

Axel grimaced wearily. "I realize that you're angry, and honestly, I would probably be angry at me too. I just saw a chance, and decided to take it, because our backs were to a wall, and there wasn't much else that could have gotten worse." When Riku still didn't look satisfied, Axel went on in a rush. "It all worked out, though! You can't tell me any different! We went to Hercules, and he got this— this goddess of healing to help Sora. He was—" He broke off for a second, then backtracked, deciding that he would just gloss over the details. "She fixed him entirely. Since then he's been fighting Heartless like it's nobody's business, but I guess you saw that, I'm probably just rambling because—" He puffed, hunching over and putting his hands on his knees. He shook his head. "Wow. I'm tired," he wheezed.

Riku looked over at Sora. He was currently being helped up by Leon, who still acted cautious with his touch, as if he didn't want to hurt him. "I thought potions didn't work," Riku said. The anger was gradually melting from his stare, though; he just looked at Sora as if he couldn't believe it. There was a hint of happiness that was hanging in the very back of his stare, but he was too wary to believe in it just yet. Because after all, just a few hours ago, Sora was nearly dead. Here he was now, having just wiped out a whole crowd of Heartless.

"Guess Merlin didn't think of using a god," Axel replied, wincing as he straightened up again. "But then again, I'm not into that kind of stuff either."

Yuffie sprang up to her feet. She put her hands on her hips, blowing out her cheeks for a second before: "You worried everyone, you know that right? We thought you two had vanished off the face of every world in existence." She glanced between the two, and instantly picked up on the slightly guilty look that flickered over Sora's face. This only seemed to spark another topic of conversation for her, because she instantly snapped to attention. "And what about you in the first place, Sora?" she demanded, whirling around to give him her undivided attention. He stiffened, taking himself away from Leon, who noticed his discomfort at once. "What was with that note? Aerith found it, she was so worried! What were you thinking? You could have died, don't you realize that? And we were so worried when you didn't come back! Why didn't—"

Sora was cringing away from each and every pry. He started to open his mouth, struggling to scrape together some kind of response. But before he could, thanks to whatever person was in charge up there, they were interrupted. Jack Skellington pushed his way forward, breaking the tense moment as he so often had the acquired skill of doing. "Sora, thank goodness you're here!"

Instantly, he turned to focus on him instead. Yuffie wilted a little bit at the obvious refusal to speak to her. For a second, she looked like she was going to ask her question again. But she closed her mouth after a second, fuming to herself as she took a backseat to what else had to come forward. She made a mental note not to leave the question sitting idle, though. She was sure that nobody else was going to forget either, and uptake the chore if they so had to. Aerith would be demanding the exact same thing once they got back.

Jack went on quickly, overworked, it seemed. But they all were, so he just had to join the club. "That no good Oogie Boogie is back! And he's stronger than ever, it seems! He's got those Heartless around every corner, wreaking havoc! Just the other day, they completely destroyed the newest project I was working on for this year's Halloween!" He waved his hand dismissively, though— something that was entirely uncalled for, given that Jack was never the person to let things like this go. Typically, 'projects' for holidays – Halloween or Christmas – was all he cared about. Apparently not right now, though. "But it's gotten worse every day. I don't even like it when Sally is outside anymore— they've started attacking anyone and everyone, and they're much stronger than before." His eyes rounded out just a little bit. In a sense of desperation. "They've been hurting people. They've hurt her. And I just know that Oogie won't stop there! Not this time!"

Sora completely forgot how tired he was. He even forgot how the others were still looking at him in shock. He was silent for a second, just to absorb the knowledge that had been given. From what he had seen, certainly, these Heartless were forces to be reckoned with. The fact that Jack looked so concerned with safety and not with holidays was enough to drive the point home, though. He blinked and glanced down at the ground, his forehead creasing over a little bit. 'They've hurt her.' Against better judgement, Sora found his gaze drawn to the side, where Kairi was standing.

She didn't look like she knew what to do. She was hugging herself tightly, and her blue eyes were huge, and just a little pained. When Sora looked over at her, and their gazes met, she bit down hard on her lower lip, her expression almost impossible to decipher. Sora's forehead creased just a little bit. There was a pit of sorrow in his stomach; one that tied him into knots and made it hard to focus on what was in front of him. Bu he did manage to drag his eyes back to Jack, he gave a small nod. "Yeah. We'll help."

Leon and Yuffie stepped forward at the same time. And at the same time, they refused the notion.

"No we can't," Yuffie snapped.

Over her, Leon said: "Sora, that's not something we can do right now."

Sora turned, surprised that they would be the ones to refute him. Certainly, they seemed disheartened. Yuffie was the first to speak up. "We can't do anything right now. First things first is we have to reconvene with the others. They're still out looking for you, Sora, they're still really worried." When he looked like he was going to argue, she kept up. "It was just luck that Kairi and Riku were here. We've got to get the others together to tell them that you're safe." Her eyes flickered over him, and a touch of a smile ghosted over her face. "And now that you're healed…well, this changes our whole game plan!"

"No it doesn't," Axel interjected. Everyone turned to look at him, and Sora was noticeably angered at once. He was well aware of his friend's hot stare— he maintained eye contact with him for about two seconds before he continued. "We can't keep going. Well…Sora can't keep going." Riku's eyes narrowed, and Axel turned to acknowledge him especially. "You were right, I think. I think…I think you were right when you said that he wasn't ready." This was barely a mumble, but the others heard it anyway. Sora stiffened, but he disregarded it. "It's been too much."

Sora scowled. "Axel." It was only one word, but it was flat enough to get his point across.

Axel flashed him a regretful look. "Sora, you know that I want you to succeed, it's just—"

Riku was looking in between them in confusion. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong!" Sora replied, his voice accidentally raising into a sharp yell. The group was left to quiet under the weight of his snap. Awkwardness and pity made the air about ten times heavier. Even Jack seemed a little dubious at the boy's attitude. He was never one to yell— not to friends. Sora regretted it, but he wasn't about to give up without a fight. He looked at the others, from each one, with a certain degree of desperation. "Listen, have you guys seen anything weird?" he demanded. He was only met with blank stares. So he took in a quick breath and went on. "Something that…something that just doesn't make sense, and then you blink, and it's gone?"

Kairi took a small step forward. She made a move as if she was about to reach over to touch him, but she pulled back at the last second. Instead, she just shook her head, looking confused. "No, none of us have," she said. Softly, like they were trying to keep a secret. When really, it was all starting to get out into the open now. "Why? Is that…is that happening to you?"

Sora was open-mouthed. He was lost. He turned and looked over to Riku. An old habit. He was looking for help, or for some kind of reassurance. Riku didn't look like himself anymore, and so it had been ages since Sora had been able to feel that same closeness the two had shared ever since they had been little kids. But now, he was turning to him for support, and it more than apparent that Riku might as well have been slapped with the look. "Riku?" Sora asked, his voice a bit smaller. "You know what I mean…right?"

Riku only seemed worried though. And there was enough sorrow and guilt there as well, to fill an entire ocean. He rasped: "You're seeing things?"

Sora's shoulders went slack. His last hope was shot through, and it left him with nothing. Nothing, of course, but the idea that he was crazy. He was seeing things that nobody else could, and that nobody else could make sense of. It didn't sit right with him; of course it didn't, though. It wasn't because he knew that something was wrong with the notion. It was just because he was hoping that there would be. "Y-Yeah, but…" Words failed him. They did that a lot these days. It was like trying to find something in the dark. He was groping for something, but it always seemed to be just out of arm's reach. "But it's not…like that…"

Silence reigned for a while, as the friends just stared at one another. There was sadness in the gazes that were exchanged, and there was also confusion. But it was mostly sadness. Axel was the first to speak up, and he did so with a hard edge to his tone. "Where's Merlin? Have you guys found him yet? That was what Sora was trying to do, we just kind of got…sidetracked." He shrugged. "Maybe…I dunno, maybe he'd be able to help."

Yuffie looked downcast. "If anyone's found them, we wouldn't know. Last I knew, it was the same. He's just…gone."

Leon seemed to be falling into step right behind Axel. "We should get back." The way he was looking at Sora was enough to set the other's skin crawling, so he tried not to look at it. Or at least focus on it too much. "We can figure out what to do from there, but we really should leave." Sora tried to object. One final time, at least. But Leon was already turning over to Jack, who looked just as put-out. "I'm sorry. I wish we could help. But right now, we have to do something."

Jack looked over at Sora. He was more than alarmed. "Sora?" he prompted.

It seemed like everyone was putting forward these final attempts. However much in vain they all were.

Sora fought the urge to look away. It took all he had inside of him to hold the other's stare level. "I'll come back," he promised weakly. "I just…don't think that…" I don't think I would be the help you need right now. "I don't think that it will take too long," he amended lamely. "So…so don't worry. It'll be fine." Axel grew to look guiltier and guiltier as the exchange went on. "I'll be back. I promise."

Jack was unenthused. "What do I do about Oogie while you're gone?"

Sora offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You're the Pumpkin King," he dignified. Sure enough, there was a degree of change in Jack's eyes. A sense of confidence that came back bit by bit. "You're the best at dealing with these problems. He's got nothing on you."

He perked. "You're right!" he declared. "I've got to keep my town safe! There's no one else for the job, anyway! We'll be waiting for you here, Sora! Your help is always appreciated!" It never really took a lot to comfort Jack. But still, Sora felt hollow, despite the other's inflated attitude. He watched Jack turn and head away, back towards the town. A sullen frown was weighed over his face, and his heart felt like it was twenty times heavier than it usually was.

He waited for the weight to lift. He waited to feel the comfort as well, like he usually did whenever he was able to help someone. Or at the very least, he tried to tell himself the same thing. You're the Keyblade Bearer. You're the best at dealing with these problems. You've got all of this. It's got nothing on you.

But it did nothing to help.

In fact, with how fake it sounded, it just made him feel worse.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

He trudged through Hollow Bastian, his head a little bit ducked as he tracked the pavement underneath his shoes. Yuffie and Leon were up front and leading; with the rushed pace they had set, they were nearly back to Merlin's house. Axel was trailing behind, still trying to gather strength back after his magic spell. Sora was dragging even further, though. Part of it was because he was too bone-tired to move keep up, and the other part was just because this was the last direction he wanted to be walking.

Funny, how he had come so far in terms of physical recovery, and he was still going to end up right back where he was before.

Riku and Kairi were flanking him. Kairi was wringing her hands together with nervousness, while Riku kept glancing his way when he thought he wasn't looking. They had been walking like this throughout the entirety of the town. Though Sora's feet dragged, he was doing better than he thought he would in terms of swallowing what he actually wanted, and going back to Merlin's. But the closer they got, the worse it felt. He felt like a kid that was being dragged away from a fun party where all their friends had been. Except, in reality, it was something much graver than that.

They were just rounding the last corner it would take to get back to the small cottage, when Sora slowed to a stop. The others continued to walk for a second, but they stopped and turned back when they realized that Sora had come to standstill. His forehead creased in pain, and he just stared at the pavement, allowing the swell of disappointment to eat at him. Riku glanced back at the group ahead. "We'll catch up," he said. "Go on ahead."

Yuffie and Leon followed orders after they exchanged a saddened look. Axel hesitated for a little bit longer, deflated as he looked at his friend. But he got the message just as much, and he turned around and started away, too. Eventually, it was just Riku and Kairi that were left over. The three friends were silent for a long stretch of time. Awkwardly and depressingly so. After a while, Riku spoke up a tad reluctantly. "It's not anything that…you did wrong, Sora. It's not your fault." Sora closed his eyes in frustration, but just turned away. He wasn't in the mood to fight aloud right now. He just reached up and ran a hand glumly through his hair.

Kairi burst out from where she stood. "Sora, I'm sorry." He perked at the heartfelt apology. He turned over and realized with a jolt of shock that her eyes were raw with emotion. "I'm sorry that you've felt so out of it recently, and I know this isn't helping, but I really, really hope you know that I didn't ever want to be the reason you feel like that." She paused, trying to gather herself as best she could. "Because you're the last person in the world that deserves to feel this way, and…and I didn't want to replace you with my Keyblade. Because I can't replace you. Nobody can. So please don't think that you're any less important with all of this."

It all kind of poured out of her in the moment. It was just because she had been thinking about what to say to Sora ever since he had left. But she could tell that she was doing a pretty poor job in explaining herself. She closed her eyes briefly before taking in a deep breath and starting over. "You just…I want to help you. We want to help you." She glanced over at Riku with this. "We want you to be happy, and we want to be part of the reason that you are. Like we used to be. You know? A lot's changed since then, but that doesn't have to. You know?"

Sora looked at her for a long moment, completely silent. Eventually, he managed a reply. "I know." A small pause. Then: "I just can't help but want everything to be back the way it was."

Kairi reached over, grabbing his hand in an earnest fashion. "It can," she promised quickly. "And until it can, we'll be with you every step of the way."

Riku spoke up from where he stood. "You're not alone, Sora. Not when you have us."

He looked from one to the other. He'd finally found them after all this time, and up until now, he had somehow still felt far away. There was a reason it had felt that way, of course. And those reasons were still prominent; they hadn't disappeared. But…still. It almost brought him back to the days where all they had to do was loiter around on the beach and listen to the sound of the waves. Where their biggest problem was whether or not they could find something fun to pass the time with.

Kairi realized that she was still holding onto his hand, and that now, he was holding onto hers. She flushed red with embarrassment, and drew her shoulders a bit closer in. She tilted her head a little bit to the side, and the way she was looking at him, Sora wondered whether or not she was trying her best to memorize every detail on his face. "I thought we were never going to find you again," she confessed softly.

He stared at her just as steadily. And just as quietly, he admitted: "I didn't want you to find me. Not yet."

She was understandably upset. But Riku was the one to step forward. He seemed strained. Seeing his friend – specifically Sora – this upset was different, and harrowing. "Why?" he asked. However, the way he asked, it almost seemed like he didn't want the answer. "Was it because of something we did?"

Sora started to say something. He started to open his mouth and cram out something that caused his stomach to clench and his head to swim with nausea. He was about to reply, that was, before his eyes caught onto something. A figure that was standing down the passageway, completely motionless and staring at him. He turned around, his eyes widening and horror slicing into his heart.

Only a few short yards away, stood a hooded figure. It was that same Organization cloak, and that same chilling aura that Sora had seen more than just a few times now. And just like all those other times, the person just stood there, their hidden gaze burning a hole through the young boy. They made absolutely no advance. It wasn't like the time in the forest. But they were there all the same, and their hands were clasped tightly behind their back, as if they were waiting for something to happen.

He went rigid, and Kairi immediately picked up on the distress. She held a little bit tighter to his hand, and she took a step forward. "Sora?" she asked. "Sora, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

He looked over at her quickly, and his eyes immediately shone a little bit brighter. Yes…yes! "Look!" he yelled, grabbing tighter to her hand and spinning her around towards the hooded figure. She stumbled a little bit and squeaked, but she regained her balance by tugging on Sora. She righted herself and looked down the way he aimed her. Riku did the same, and Sora felt his heart soar as their eyes found home with the unknown person. Slowly, Riku's expression was melting into confusion. And Kairi was looking quickly in between Sora and the person. "You see them!" Sora gasped. "That person in the cloak! I told you!"

The pair was silent.

Kairi spoke up first, her blue eyes still resting on the figure. "I don't…I don't see anything, Sora."

He jerked, his eyes widening immediately. "W-What!?" he asked. He looked down the pavement to check, but the person was still there. Still standing, like a statue. His stomach dropped out from under him. "You're…you're looking right at them!"

Riku looked at Sora. His confusion was slowly shifting to thought. "There's…nothing down there."

Sora wilted. "But…but you're looking right at them…they're…they're right there…"

The person turned and started to walk away. Slowly, as if they weren't in any rush. Sora just watched lamely as they turned the corner and disappeared from view. He had no idea where they were going. But the more important aspect of it all was that he had no idea why Riku and Kairi were unable to see them. They had looked right at them. Their eyes had fallen right where the person had been standing. And yet…they didn't even blink. What did that mean? What did that mean? Was he…he was…was he going—?

Kairi turned back to look at him. He could see his own fears reflected in her, and that just made it all the more worse. But when she did speak, she was trying her best to be reassuring. "Don't worry about it," she willed him. "We'll figure it out. We'll figure it all out. Together. We'll stick together from now on."

Sora stared at her with a slightly open mouth. He turned to look at Riku as well. But there wasn't an answer in either of their faces. Only the question that he himself was afraid to get out. But it came out anyway, bursting forward just because he could not keep it in any longer. "Am I okay?"

Riku's expression flashed over in pain, but he continued to glance from Sora, to the spot that had been completely empty, still trying to make sense of it.

Kairi immediately bit down on her lower lip. Her eyes began to water, but she smiled quickly. "You're always okay," she replied. Ducking forward, she let go of Sora's hand just to wrap her arms tightly around his middle. She buried her head away into his shoulder, and clung fast.

Sora was able to move against the shock that was chilling him to the bone.

But it was only to embrace Kairi just as tightly, and to help hold himself together by holding fast to her.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"It's workin' like a charm!" he chortled, throwing his head back as he fell into obnoxious laughter. "I never thought somethin' like this would be this funny!" He turned and looked upwards, the effort of seeing the other causing his head to touch his back. "Ya certainly know what you're doin' up there! But you're just lucky I'm so great at controllin' those Heartless! That's the hard part!"

He didn't wait for a reply; by this point, he was more than certain he wouldn't be given one. "You think you could pick up the slack, though? We need to get more of this show on the road! We've got people to see, and things to do! Or…at least, I do! But don't go forgettin' what I did for ya!" He rushed to add this last part. He had to make sure this guy knew exactly what this was about. He wasn't planning on losing power all over again, like last time. Now, he was going to be in charge of all this. Nobody else was.

He could see the other scowl down at him, and he was quick to amend. "But that's not sayin' nothin'! We just got more to do is all! If ya stick with the plan, we'll have everything we've ever wanted. And the faster that goes— well, I don't think I gotta tell ya what happens from there!" He roared that same laugh again. He couldn't help it. It was all completely hilarious to him. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them furiously, as if he was about to dig into some amazing meal. But no— for once, it was something better than that. "You'll get all ya wanted and more! And I'll get the same thing!"

The other let out a growl at the declaration. Not one of anger, but of impatience and hunger. A hunger that had been festering for years now. Their eyes were shining with the anger that had been bottled up, and the rage that was waiting to be unleashed. At his side, his hand clenched into a tight fist, and his teeth gnashed together in harsh contempt.

The person who had spoken up first noticed each of these factors, and he was immediately caught with a large wave of satisfaction. His eyes narrowed into mischievous slits, and an ugly smile sprawled over his face. Inside, he felt a sense of something akin to giddiness. He was like a little kid on Christmas morning, looking at something and realizing that there was untapped potential in anything and everything. Because there was anything to be had, at this point. For him, at least.

He swung around and began to stalk away, unable to wipe his smile off his face.

And as he went, and started to call the Heartless up towards him, that was all he could reflect upon.

Anything.

They were close to getting rid of that stupid brat.

And from then on, they could have anything.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

A/N: Why is this 22 pages long? Why is it 20,000 words long? How did it come this far? How did I reach this point in life?

The world will never know.

I start college in about a week, and I'm not sure how much time that will swallow up for me. But I will keep all of my stories in mind, and I'm super excited to write more for this story in particular, as well as one other. So when it comes to updates, I'll probably end up sagging back into the ten review minimum rule that helped me during school. So reviews will help me out a bunch now. I hope you guys will understand, and be patient with me as I try to collect myself. It doesn't help that I'm already stressing out.

Every chapter, the answer to everything will get clearer and clearer. Maybe a few of you already have guesses as to what's going on. I apologize for any typos or errors, as well— I would be glad to fix anything I possibly could. I've just been working on this chapter for about a week now, and it's midnight. So I am very tired. And…yup! I hope you like this extra long chapter! It certainly took me much longer than I thought it would to get this out. I didn't exactly mean to let it get this long haha.

Let me know what you think!