-.Good Morning Sunshine.-

.Chapter Six.

.lightening never strikes in the same place twice.

-x-x-x

"Axel…" said Sally in happy tones, tugging a brush roughly through her hair, making it crackle. There wasn't any point in it anyway – her hair was already as straight as a number of various straight objects. "You look like shit," she said in her lovely big-sister way, towering over the poor boy who was lying in a very awkward position on the couch, exhausted from all the bad dreams and a day serving ice-cream to annoying brats. He just wanted to go to sleep – he didn't care if it was 3:43 in the afternoon and the sun was still up, blinding everybody (very merrily) with ultraviolet rays.

"What?" he grunted, feeling like taking a pillow or some other squishy object and blotting out all unnecessary noise his sister was making. Why was it that nobody would ever let him get any sleep? Why did fate mock him so? Why was Sally so annoying? Nobody knew and probably never would.

"I'm going out," she said brightly, and Axel made some sort of weird noise that was meant to signify he was glad she actually had a social life. "To a party. With Jack and Emily," she said. All her friends were scary, even to Axel. Jack – her boyfriend – had the skin complexion of a vampire and dark, hollow eyes that looked like those on a skull. And he was as tall and thin as a stick. And Emily appeared to be basing her 'cool' and 'retro' image on a spoiled piece of meat left out in the sun too long crossed with something dead that one finds dug up in a cemetery. And Sally could look scary sometimes too, with all those stitches along her arms from when she fell out of the window somehow and had to go to hospital. He wondered who would want to invite them to their party. Maybe somebody who was blind.

"Good for you," he mumbled into the couch, feeling a little like that piece of spoiled meat left out in the sun too long. Natural light was bad and he just wanted to curl up and die in some dark cave and never be seen of again. He blamed Kairi for everything – she and Demyx were the ones who devised the evil scheme to make him work in the ice cream parlour. And he hadn't been having those nightmares until he met Roxas. Stupid boy. Although he couldn't be mad at him – he had offered to help him today.

"So don't answer the door to strangers or go on a mad killing rampage," she trilled in happy tones, tugging at the hem of her shirt which declared she was from a place called 'Halloweentown'. Wherever the hell that was.

"I'm not a kid, Sally," he moaned.

"You're still fifteen, and I'm the big responsible sister and if something goes wrong then our parents will have my head on a silver platter," she said, now starting to apply another layer of lipstick without the aid of a mirror. She managed to do it reasonably well.

There a long silence, as Sally said goodbye and left to join the company of the Jack and Emily. Axel moaned, as he closed his eyes. Sally knew their parents didn't really care about them. If he died they'd probably just wonder what happened to the weird kid, and then decide Axel didn't exist at all and it was the cat that died instead.

Not that they had a cat.

o.x.o

"And from the southern island at the tip of the archipelago violent winds are blowing in coupled tumultuous rain showers and thunder storms. It is advised everybody stays at home this night. The storms will be above the island in a matter of hours," came the monotonous voice of the guy in the bad shirt on the television. Rikku sniffed, she wasn't planning on going out anyway.

Her phone lay abandoned on the side, which was something that only happened once every millennium, as for once she wasn't rotting her brain with Yuna or Paine's voices. She was talking to Tidus, who was actually awake, sitting next to her. It was a rare sight – as rare a dodo flapping past the window would have been. Or flapping past the giant hole in the wall that had been there a grand total of one day and was already infuriating everybody.

"This is boring," moaned Rikku, not caring about the bad choice of clothes the guy had on – it was tragic – and the stuff he was spewing out in his boring voice was putting Tidus to sleep. Again. She sighed, and picked up the remote, switching it to some Spanish game-show. She sighed – even this piece of crap was better than the boring old man reading the news. The news was only interesting if somebody had died lately or something had exploded. When the oil rig had smashed against the beach oozing black liquid everything, that had been something worth talking about. And the seagulls were never the same again. Half of the seagull population dead so they didn't deafen everybody with caws every five seconds – oh it had been happy, happy days.

Roxas yawned, making his way down the stairs. He hadn't been having a very good day, but none of his days were very good. His mind was still twisted into some giant knot from the discovery he'd made yesterday and then when he ran into Sora after work with Kairi he had wanted to shout at him that they were related, which obviously was not a very subtle approach to telling him the information. He had to ask Rikku about it – he had to. Or else he was going to go crazy and he'd be locked up in a mental house for the rest of his years and he'd never see Axel and his stupid hat again. Not that he cared, obviously.

He walked through the door into the living room, trying his best to resist the temptation of jumping through the hole. He would probably just catch his foot on it and bring the whole house down in a pile of rubble.

"Hello, Roxas," greeted Rikku merrily in a typical Rikku way, the sounds of laughter and somebody screaming in Spanish whilst being dumped in custard backing up her voice. Tidus' eyes remained glued to the screen in pure horror, wondering what the hell television had turned into whilst he'd been asleep. It wasn't normal.

"Hello, mum and … Tidus?" asked Roxas, eyes moving back to the blonde-haired man on the couch next to Rikku. Everybody in his family had blonde hair, except for … Sora. Alright, that was it, he had to ask her what was going on, he couldn't keep it all inside or he'd burst like the balloons at Naminé's birthday party. Olette had been very frightened.

"Yeah, I'm awake for once," said the man who wasn't dad but said he was in his unfortunate voice. It wasn't his fault that some higher power had decided to give him such a … girly … talking … manner. "Rikku, can you please change the channel, this stuff is rotting my mind… How about the Blitzball?"

"No," said Rikku. "When you're awake all you do is watch Blitzball. I want to broaden your understanding of the Spanish culture," she said, indicating the T.V that was glowing with bright colours as some guy was assaulted by a giant mouse trap.

"What, all Spanish people have stupid voices and walk around in outfits consisting of custard and mouse traps?" asked Tidus, making Rikku laugh. She was probably thinking of what a stupid voice he had. Well, Roxas was.

Before he'd seen the photo album, he'd always figured that even though he barely knew Tidus – who was like a vampire, always shying from the light and coming out in darkness – he guessed that because he was his dad he'd just have to love him. Despite his tacky clothing and bad voice. But now he'd figured out there was no real reason for him to love him… He didn't. He always thought of Tidus more as a big brother (or a big baby) anyway.

"I have to talk to you," said Roxas, with a note of seriousness in his voice, but it was hard to sound serious. Some guy in the Spanish show had just been attacked by a man in an asparagus costume. Roxas wondered if the producer was on crack when he invented the 'lovely' show. Naminé probably would have liked it if she weren't at Olette's house for a little girly sleepover.

"What about?" asked Tidus, happy to have an excuse to press the 'mute' button on the remote control. Rikku looked a little annoyed, and seemed to be thinking of phoning Yuna and Paine to tell them Tidus didn't like Spanish shows and Roxas had 'issues'.

"Well, you know when Naminé drew on the wall yesterday?" he asked uncertainly, prompting a nod from Rikku. "Well, I went to go and find the stuff to remove it from the wall, and I found this locked cabinet in the bathroom downstairs." Rikku went through several emotions all at once – shock, horror and despair. Tidus looked blank, flipping through teletext for news on the Blitzball tournament between Destiny Islands and Hollow Bastion. "I thought it was locked so Naminé couldn't get to the chemicals, and I kicked it several times and the drawer came open…" Rikku scowled, a look that obviously said 'I knew I should have put it somewhere safer'. Tidus looked angry because Destiny Islands had lost the game. "And I found all these photos and … I know. About Sora."

"Sora? Sounds like a girly name to me…" said Tidus, who was obviously oblivious to the whole thing. Rikku glared at him and hit him over the head – she had chosen that name and she thought 'Sora' was a very pretty name. Despite the fact it was for a girl…

"Oh…" said Rikku softly, ignoring the angry glares Tidus was shooting her. She could hit hard. "So … You know … Have you told Sora?" she asked softly, averting her gaze from her son and looking down to the floor. It was a very welcoming, comforting sort of floor that she could drown her troubles in. "I told … Cloud not to tell him about it. It would upset you two too much."

Yes. It did scare Roxas, because Sora was a bubble-head with a mind full of fluff and biscuit crumbs. And that Rikku had managed to hide it from her whole family for so long.

"So that's why you never told me…" he said softly. Tidus now looked vaguely interested in the conversation. Probably because he hoped it would somehow end up to be about him because he wanted to feel important and wanted. Sometimes Naminé acted like she didn't even know him and Roxas … Roxas acted like he didn't want to know him.

"Yeah… And that, well, I was too sad to talk about it," she said in a quiet voice. A quiet voice was not something Rikku used often. Her green eyes seemed to well up with tears that threatened to roll down her face in a small waterfall. "So I decided to move on with my life … And try to forget. I still had you, and that's all that mattered. Then I met Tidus…" Tidus smiled. It was good to be important in a vast and complex story. "And I gave you his last name, because I didn't want you to realise, because then you'd know…"

"Why didn't you just burn all the memories, then?" asked Roxas. His mother's logic was a scary thing. She didn't even seem to have any logic. Maybe that why Sora was such a scatterbrain. He was like her – his mother.

"Because that was the only way I could really look at Sora and realise he was my son…" she said softly. "And if you know… Well… Maybe you better go and tell him. It would be best if he knew…"

Roxas nodded. It didn't take long to walk to Sora's house. He couldn't just tell him on the phone. That would be too heartless.

x.o.x

Footsteps echoed around the small alley as Sally and her scary emo friends walked around in a group, people walking past in the street quickening their step as they passed them. It was knowledge that gangs of children were believed to be evil to their elders and betters, and any one of them could be carrying a knife ready to kill defenceless old women and young children. And most of the people were hurrying, anyway – there was a large storm brewing, it was obvious from the sound of thunder claps far off into the distance. And storms on Destiny Islands could be lethal – almost everybody knew about what happened all those years ago. It was displayed all over the papers – that poor girl who got hit by lightening. Her parents were distraught and moved away from the island to start a new life, and slowly people forgot her name. She just became an 'incident' had happened in the island's history and nobody really cared anymore.

"Do you think it's wise to be out when there's a storm?" asked Sally hesitantly. She had always been the smart one of the group. Jack always acted rashly and did whatever he wanted – memories of him trying to beat up a bully at school known as 'Ooogie Boogie' came to mind. And Emily was just an emo who didn't seem to mind if she died anymore after her boyfriend Victor split up with her. And at times like this Sally knew she was the only smart person left on earth.

"Come on, Sally, Zexion's house is only a block away, we're nearly there," said Jack, shaking his skeletal head. "You can't be afraid of a little bit of rain, can you?"

Emily made a face, as she brushed down her outfit that was now slightly damp. She was always a dramatic person and her attire seemed to consist of a bridal gown, for reasons Sally couldn't fathom. It was too hard to try to bother to crack the rubix cube that was her mind. You couldn't align all the colours.

"No, of course I'm not," she said, raising her arms defensively. She guessed it was just a motherly instinct she got after looking after Axel for so long – sure, the occasional babysitter that had been hired by their parents had tried to help when they were younger, but Sally was the one who took care of him most. She figured she just didn't want her two friends to get hurt, either. It had been her who had to endure Emily crying swimming pools after Victor broke up with her, it was her everybody turned to when they had a crisis. It was mildly annoying, actually.

"Good, that means there's nothing to complain about," said Emily with a small smile. Sally wondered idly if her hair really was dark blue or if it was dyed. Although she didn't think you could get blue dye.

Jack nodded, and they continued on their merry way, Sally glancing up at the sky wordily every few seconds, counting how apart each thunderbolt was.

o.x.o

Roxas made his way along the street, rain falling around him, making a pretty 'tinkle, drip splosh' symphony as they hit the pavement. His heart was beating at a rapid pace – he was going to go out and completely destroy Sora's life. But Sora was so carefree he probably wouldn't mind that much … No, he would mind, he wasn't that stupid. And what if Riku or Kairi was with him? Then he wouldn't be able to tell him. And Cloud would throw him from the house if he heard Roxas trying to warp the poor boy's mind. Everything was confusing, like a code he couldn't crack.

He knew he shouldn't be walking outside in the storm, and he just wanted to get it all over with. He started to jog to get to his destination quicker, blonde hair becoming plastered to his head like it was some sort of helmet. It wasn't a look Roxas would ever encourage in the fashion magazines. It would receive a lot of angry complaints that it looked very, very bad.

The sky seemed to be changing colours, deep crimson and blue and then black, again and again. Red, almost like blood.

He felt uneasy, as the thunder came closer and closer, until his over-active imagination could feel it slamming into him, making it hard to breathe. It must be all the running he was doing. His heart pounded uncomfortably in his rib cage. He just wanted to turn back and go home. And even if he did reach Sora's house, he would just be the bearer of bad news. He didn't want to ruin Sora's life. He wished he had been heartless enough to tell him over the phone, with Rikku backing him up so Sora would know it was the truth.

Trainers hit the ground, as he skidded around a corner and almost collided with three teenagers, slipping on the wet ground. He made a graceful descent and landed with a dull 'thunk' on his backside.

Sally and her two friends turned around to see the stupid boy sat there on the pavement. Well, he'd almost knocked them over, he should feel uncomfortable from the glares they were giving him, he should shiver as he found himself under their radar. She hoped he would catch a cold and die. And then she thought Dear God, I've been listening to Emily and Jack too much. He's just a kid.

"Are you alright?" she asked, trying to smooth out any annoyed look from her face. Roxas sneezed miserably in reply and took the hand the girl was offering to help him up, nearly falling back again. Yes. When he got older he would have to pursue a career as a ballet dancer, with slick moves like that.

"Sally, why are you bothering with the kid?" asked the girl who looked like a hunk of dead meat that the cat dragged in, wearing none other than a sort of bridal style dress, the fool. On a rainy afternoon like this.

And then her name snagged in his brain. He'd heard of somebody called Sally before. He knew that name… It was… Axel's sister. Axel's sister was called Sally, she had told him her name over the phone when it was obvious she'd wished Roxas would die from her snippy tone.

And his thoughts were interrupted by a loud crack. The storm was directly over them, and the news reported had been right – it was stupid to attempt to go outside in weather like this. Destiny Islands' storms were vicious, and they always seem to try to pick off one child at a time. Like that nameless girl that everybody had forgotten, the storm had decided Sally would fit that role.

There was a scream, and her crumpled body hit the ground.

Roxas stared at her, feeling the static in the air. The lightning bolt could have hit him. He could have been the one lying on the ground instead of Sally. All his mind could come up with was: "Fuck…"

x.o.x

Axel moaned, as the sound a phone ringing woke him up like a clap of thunder. Or maybe the phone was ringing and there was also thunder, he didn't really know, his mind still chewed up with lack of sleep. He'd had those nightmares again. About that little girl… He couldn't remember her name. Those were the annoying parts of it. He'd remember exactly what she looked like, how her voice sounded, but couldn't figure out what her name was.

He rolled over and fell off the couch in a heap of limbs, crawling to the phone that was buried under a mountain of junk – reminding him of the fact the house really needed cleaning – and picked up.

"Hello?" he asked, yawning slightly. He was always sleepy – he must have been cursed by some God or something. Or maybe he could blame Kairi for that as well – everything else was her fault.

"Axel… Something bad's happened," said the familiar voice at the end of line, distorted by all the static in the air from the storm. It wouldn't be long before it managed to take the power out. Axel hated storms – his nightmares had been reminding him of the fact that in his childhood something had happened to make him terrified of lightning. He whimpered slightly as another loud thunderclap started up outside.

"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to figure out who was speaking. It was … Roxas! Roxas, that's who was speaking. "Wait … How did you get my number? I never told it to you…"

He could hear the sigh at the end of the line. "Kairi or Demyx must have dropped a piece of paper with it on at the fountain. But that's not the point," he said in urgent tones.

Axel then recognised whose phone Roxas was calling him on, from the number flashing on the screen. It was Emily's – Sally told him the numbers of her friends so if they rang up when she was gone he'd know to answer the phone. "Why are you using Emily's phone? Don't you have one?"

"Arrggghhh!" cried Roxas in frustration. "Naminé dropped it in the fish tank, but anyway…"

"Who's Naminé?" asked Axel, trying to blot out the sounds of the thunder in the background. He didn't like thunder and it didn't like him. Bad memories, bad memories.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" roared Roxas on the other end of the phone. "Axel, Sally's been hit by lightening and she's badly hurt! You have to go to local hospital, she's there! We called for an ambulance, the hospital people want to see a member of her family. Come now!"

"Oh my God…"

It was at that moment that Emily's phone gave a dying beep from lack of battery power and turned off.

-x-x-x-

A/N: Gasp. Cliffhanger. Will Sally die? Who was that girl Axel's having nightmares about? Will Sora ever learn he's Roxas' twin? Will Emily's phone get re-charged? Do you think there are massive plot holes in this? Does Marluxia ever appear? Will they ever make a game called Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom of Hearts or Kingdom Heartless? Find out in the next update! Hahaha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Please review! I'll love everybody who does! If you review you get a … CIRCLE! Just imagine that, folks! Four reviews for an up-date, pwease?