Roxas had been removed from the white room the second DiZ saw Axel's status. He was wheeled out on his bed, goosenecking to get a look at the redhead behind him. After a few minutes of interrogating Vexen, who was responsible for getting Roxas to his room, turned out to be useless, Roxas kept his mouth shut the entire trip down the hall and remained silent until Vexen left and Xion barged in. She appeared as her default, silent and indifferent, but Roxas saw right through the mask.

"Don't worry," he said gently, watching her sit on the edge of his hospital bed, "He'll be alright."

"I'm not so sure."

"Why not? Shadowhunters are tough."

"Yeah. Tough, not immortal."

That, Roxas couldn't counter. He mindlessly let his eyes sweep the room: plain, unfurnished, with a windowsill of deep blue matching the comforter on the twin bed. Just outside, Roxas could see the streets below, an ordinary nightlife that wasn't so palpable anymore. Unaware, Roxas took Xion's hand for comfort. The gesture made them both jump, and Roxas quickly took his hand back. Awkwardness settled in. Roxas fought it off by asking, "So, do you think Axel's like this because of the demons in the Institute?"

"Maybe…" Xion spoke as though her mind was elsewhere. Roxas smiled, eyes tired. He remembered all the times Xion would lose herself to her dreamscape, even in the most dire of times. At least Xion hadn't changed, "Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Axel took me back to our… old house, to get my sketchpad."

It took a minute for Roxas to register what she just said, then, angrily, "Xion, that was dangerous. It was against the law."

"I know."

"Xion," an exasperated sigh, "Where is it?"

"I hid it in between the mattresses of my bed."

"Good. You can't let anyone else see it. Did Axel tell anyone?"

"I don't think so."

She still wasn't looking at him. There seemed to be nothing Xion focused on, just simply staring ahead with bland eyes. Roxas tried to be as firm as possible when he took her face in his hands and made sure she was paying attention, "Promise me you will never tell anyone. Swear on the Angel."

"The Angel?" Xion perked up, "You want me to make an oath?"

"That's how serious I am, Xion! I don't want you getting punished. The Nephilim don't take to rulebreakers as easily as mundanes do."

Mundanes. Humans. He's already starting to talk like them. Like us.

"Please, Xion."

"... Fine. I swear by the Angel that I will never tell anyone I went to our old house."

Roxas let her go, "Thank you."

Stars had overpowered the setting sun by the time Roxas fell asleep. Xion stayed with him, since there wasn't anywhere else she particularly wanted to be. It nagged her that she couldn't check on Axel, and it astounded her how much she cared. The only others Xion ever took to besides Roxas were his parents. Not only was it strange to Xion, but it was also slightly exciting. Making new friends was something she'd never done before. Then, the words resurfaced in her memory. It was Riku who told her:

"Every Shadowhunter has lost someone precious to them. If they haven't, it's only a matter of time."

But then Kairi came back with, "Yeah, we're gonna die. It's inevitable, but it will never, ever, be in vain."

On one hand, making friends might prove to be groundless in this world. On the other, it was the same in the human world. Death was unavoidable one way or another. Allies were great to have anyway. Xion mulled over this for a while, pausing only to stroke Roxas's hair. The boy mumbled something in his slumber, nuzzling into Xion's hand. It made her smile, and Xion stopped pondering the meaning of life and reminded herself that no matter what, she'd have Roxas.

"It's not a good idea to tie yourself down to one person."

Axel… you can't mean… No. It's not going to happen. Roxas will always be there.

"But - - " Xion caught herself saying it aloud before a knock came on Roxas's door. Cautiously, as to not disturb Roxas, Xion got up and answered the call.

Standing on the other side of the threshold was Sora, Riku, and Kairi. The three had changed into street clothes once more, each wearing a similar serious face, though Sora's faltered with concern. He was the one who opened his mouth, "We need to talk."

Xion straightened, hardened, "About?"

"What he means is, we have something we'd like to ask you." Kairi ammended.

"'We' as in 'you and Sora'," Riku gruffed, glancing down the hallway, "I think this is a horrible idea."

Kairi slapped Riku in the arm. He rubbed it, mumbling about said horrible idea. To this, Kairi simply rolled her eyes and asked, "Can we come in? No one else needs to hear about this."

Xion stepped aside to let them in, and closed the door behind her, "Alright, explain."

"See…" Sora sat on the windowsill next to Kairi, while Riku leaned against the adjacent wall, "DiZ said we weren't going to tell the Clave about the demon sighting, so that means we're on our own."

"So?"

"So, DiZ might keep us out of the picture. We haven't really finished training yet, the one of us that's closest to it is Riku, and he still has a year or two left to go."

Riku huffed, but didn't say anything in remarks to his incomplete training.

"Which is why we've decided to do something by ourselves without telling DiZ. It's against the rules, but we think it can help. The only ones who are allowed out in the field are DiZ, Leonhart, Yuffie, Iceshield, and Foxway, but he's locked up. Maybe we'll be allowed guard duty, but that's it."

"I don't understand."

Kairi took the wheel, "We're going to do some snooping around."

"Where?"

"Downworlder territory."

"... And that's illegal?"

"Well," Riku pushed himself off the wall and crossed his arms, "We could try visiting places like Glitter Pups and Downworlder hang-outs. That would be fine with the law. Trouble is, most Downworlders keep to themselves. They resent us. If any of the lower ones in a clan or pack actually know something, I doubt they'd tell us."

"So we're going to their strongholds to find the leaders." Sora cut in.

"You're trespassing, then."

Riku scoffed, "It's not as simple as that. Trespassers are seen as automatic felons, and are treated as such."

"Meaning?"

"You become targets for werewolf mauling, vampire feeding, warlock vexing, and fairy seducing."

Sora piped up, "Fairies kinda do that anyway."

The half-Fay Shadowhunter gave his parabatai a look that said "keep your trap shut."

"But yeah," Kairi said after whacking the boys on the head, "Coming with us means putting yourself in the line of fire. We'll do our best to protect you - - "

"We will?"

Riku earned an extra whack, " - - but we can't make any promises."

Their proposition was a questionable one. While there was the matter of getting in trouble, there was also the probability it'd help their case. But, Roxas did just tell her not to break any more rules. It wasn't safe in the slightest. Xion considered what it'd be like to have her blood drawn or her flesh ripped apart. Then again, what if Nephilim penalizing was just as horrid?

"Will it help Roxas?"

The three by the window exchanged faces, leaving Sora to answer, "In the long run, yes."

"I'll do it."

When the four left the room, Xion lingered only to brush aside Roxas's bangs and kiss his forehead, whisper "I'm sorry", and then close the door with Roxas obliviously dreaming.

"Sit tight, kid. My replacement will be on its way soon."

"A guard abandoning his post," Saïx mused, "Something must have happened."

Squall grunted, donning his jacket, "I wouldn't get my hopes up."

"Won't you enlighten me? Old student to older teacher?"

"I'm thirty eight, smart-ass."

He did get Squall to chuckle. It was only last year that Saïx graduated at eighteen and stopped receiving lessons from him. The two never really shared that traditional "teacher-student" bond, however, something a little more.

After the incident with Axel's family, he had nowhere to go except an Institute of his choosing. It was selected at random, and was by most standards the farthest he could get from his birthplace, the hidden country Idris that served as the Nephilim's homeland. Idris was impossible to reach by accident; one had to use a portal formed from special runes to get there. Axel swore he'd never use a portal, and left Idris permanently to move into one of the hundreds of Institutes across the globe. He received training from Squall, who had gotten Axel to somewhat stabilize from the trauma. A few weeks later, Saïx arrived because he'd told his family that he made Axel his parabatai, and they didn't want to deal with Saïx if he went insane from the process. Saïx cast aside any and all relationships to be there for Axel. That's where Squall came into play.

Saïx trained with Axel for years, letting Squall become sort of a father figure to them. Squall would come whenever Saïx called for him, when Axel had an attack. The man would drop everything and hold Axel, while Saïx held Axel's hand, and they would stay with him until he could breath again. Of course, this came to an end when Axel discovered the "fearless" rune. At this point, his walls came up. Axel stopped talking to Squall, and pushed everyone in the Institute away, including Saïx.

Then that Xion and Roxas came and fixed… no, not fixed. Saïx folded his hands under his chin, Perhaps Axel will always be broken.

"I'm sorry," Squall sighed, "I'm not allowed to really tell you."

"Just give me something. You know as well as I that I didn't do this."

"Maybe not… Look."

Squall came up to the bars, put a hand on them, "You guys were the closest thing I had for sons. Now? I don't know. You've both changed. I don't know what goes on in your head anymore. Axel doesn't even look me in the eye during lessons. We're not so close that I feel I need to tell you things."

"We were once."

Squall opened his mouth and closed it, another sigh, "It's Axel."

"Axel?"

"He had an attack."

He hasn't had one in years. "Now, of all times?" How come I didn't feel it?

"Yeah. Stormguild needed him for tonight, but he's down, so I have to take his place."

No one could take his place. " I see. Is he alright?"

"Don't know. Ah, it's time. Later, kid."

The door to the upstairs had creaked open. Out walked Squall, casting a doubtful peak at Saïx, and in walked DiZ. Everyone had perceived DiZ as the rock, the one who wouldn't be swayed no matter what. Very few could tell when he was upset; whenever he was, it was slight, and well-hidden. DiZ was to be a leader, not a friend. The perfect stone everyone could hang on to in times of distress. Right now, Saïx thought it was plain that he was weathering. DiZ tripping over his cape like that was unheard of. The best of Shadowhunters, which he was, were agile and swift as felines, always surefooted and never stumbling.

Are the demons getting to him?

"Foxway," DiZ nodded as a way of greeting.

"Stormguild."

"I trust Leonhart kept a good eye on you?"

"Yes. Fell asleep only twice."

DiZ snorted, his version of a laugh. The man gave no response, while Saïx let his eyes rest on him. He sat in the chair in such a way that was relaxed, but still demanded respect. DiZ had that effect. No one new impoliteness around him. The fact that Saïx tried telling a joke, and got an amused reaction, meant DiZ was truly exhausted.

The Clave isn't helping us. He's doing this all by himself. It hasn't been a week, and he's already so tired. Is it demonic magic, stress, fatigue? Wonder if he's going to call on anyone for help…

Probably not. Stormguild most likely sent Leonhart up to join a search party so he could get some rest. I should have seen this before. Wait, what about Axel? The newbies? The students? Are they helping too? I can't just ask him…

"Feeling alright, Foxway?"

"Yes…?" Why?

On that thought, Saïx felt a burning at the back of his throat. His lungs filled, and the red liquid came shooting through his clenched teeth. Everything warped in and out of focus. Saïx began coughing hard enough to fall off the cot, blood dribbling down his chin and spewing in droplets onto the floor.

"Stormguild… DiZ," Saïx's throat was raspy, "Help!"

In the instant before Saïx's mind slipped into numbness, he could see clearly. Outside his cage, DiZ was openly observing Saïx's weak figure. Saïx felt a twinge of disbelief as he realized that DiZ was smiling.