Axel

That. Fucking. Hurt.

Vexen put me on oxygen right away, then dragged me over to the X-ray table without bothering with any sort of pain relief. I would have really, really loved for him to just put me under - I didn't know how I could still breathe. I felt like my right lung was just collapsing like a popped balloon. I think eventually I just passed out from how much it hurt, or not being able to get enough air in.

I was a little surprised when I woke up. Just because I woke up. I was a little more surprised to discover I could breathe without wanting to curl up and die from the pain. Don't get me wrong, it still hurt, but it no longer felt lethal. The tube stuck into my chest under my arm was an even bigger surprise than that - not only did it freak me out, I had no idea what purpose it could be serving.

"Axel - thank Kingdom Hearts, you're awake - what the hell happened?"

All I could do was shake my head. "Rox...I'd hoped someone could tell me. Because it fucking hurt." I had a really strong sense of deja vu for some reason - kind of like waking up after the accident, except with friendlier company than Vexen. And I had less idea what was going on. I had no idea how nice it was to breathe before. Being able to breathe without being in incredible agony - that was fantastic. I might have mentioned that before, but hell, I'd been afraid I wouldn't keep breathing for too much longer. Sure I was still on oxygen, but I was breathing. Breathing was great. Breathing was awesome.

All of a sudden, Demyx half-ran, half-fell through the door, sporting a beautiful shiner. "Axel - you're awake - thank Kingdom Hearts - I was so worried -"

Now, so was I. "How long have I been out?"

Roxas checked the wall clock. "About an hour and a half."

"Good...I was scared for a second...thought I'd been sleeping as long as Demyx...speaking of which, where'd you pick up the black eye from?" Demyx carefully examined the wall - I'd kind of figured he'd be reluctant to provide a straight answer. The surprise came in when Roxas started carefully examining the opposite wall. "...Rox, don't tell me you punched him out..."

"Maaaybe." That from Demyx.

Roxas scratched his head. "He was composing, and I really needed to get his attention," he muttered.

"Well, granted, socking him in the eye might be the only way to get his attention while he's composing..." I felt a sharp twinge in my chest, and I was afraid whatever just happened was going to start all over again, but it went away immediately. "Damn...anyway - Rox, don't punch Demyx, got it memorized?"

"Are you all right?" Demyx asked.

"...It beats the hell out of me, but I'm a hell of a lot better than I was."

Roxas reached over and ruffled my hair - revenge for many, many past incidences, or it would have been, if my hair had been longer than about a quarter-inch. "I hope so. You scared the hell out of us. And your head feels sort of like sandpaper."

I just turned and stared at him for a few seconds. Then I grabbed him by the collar and gave him a noogie.

AN: See, collapsed lungs aren't all that difficult to fix...

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, got it memorized?