Nightmares

I do not own Kingdom Hearts. It is the property of Square Enix and the Walt Disney Studios. This is a creative work that I do not profit off of in any way.

Hello and welcome, my dear readers! Consider this latest vignette a companion to "Dreams."

Axel is in the Keyblade Graveyard. Xemnas has Sora and Kairi trapped in those icky bindings that are sapping their energy. And Saix…Isa…Saix…he has gone Berserk. Channeling the power of the moon, he is far stronger, but has far less restraint. Axel cannot afford any mistakes. Sure, there is nobody who can axe Axel, but Sora and Kairi are another story.

And it isn't just them. He also has to worry about Roxas and Xion…he's only just gotten them back. He's lost them both, due to that bastard Xemnas, but here they are now. His family is together again. And they are fighting, for the first time in far too long. Roxas even has his classic two Keyblades. And Xion…he'd forgotten her entirely. As if she'd never existed. But she does exist. As real as he is.

They have to fight. They have to get Sora and Kairi back. Man, rescuing Sora was becoming old hat for Axel, but all the better. If he did it once, he can do it again.

"Watch your friends fade away into nothing!" Xemnas shouts and then Saix charges them. Axel responds with his Keyblade, changing it into chakrams. It's funny. The last time Axel and Saix fought, it was over Kairi. Axel had been trying to rescue her from the Organization's clutches.

Man, history really liked repeating itself. Chakram meets claymore and neither he nor Saix yield even a teeny bit.

Xemnas sent out more of those icky nothingness bindings but Roxas and Xion were able to get away from them. Good, good.

They run and Xemnas follows. But the spell binding Sora and Kairi doesn't give, and it's hurting them. Xemnas isn't going to consciously let them go, so Axel is going to have to kill him. That's going to break the spell.

"Roxas, Xion…let's take what's—augh!"

He stood still a second too long. That's all it took for Xemnas to close the distance and slice his back with his Etheral Blade. Axel drops like a sack of potatoes. Roxas and Xion cry out and try to fight but then Saix slams down his claymore knocking them to the ground. Axel tries to get to them, but Xemnas steps in front of him again.

"I told you to wait your turn, also-ran…" Xemnas says. "First…the puppet."

He summoned his Etheral Blade and…he stabs Xion in the leg, burning her knee so she can't run, can't walk, can't crawl. She screams.

"Axel! Help me! It hurts!"

No…he couldn't let it happen. Not again…not his sweet little Xion…Axel raises a hand, but Saix slams his claymore down on Axel's wrist. Axel feels bones break.

"Augggggh!" Roxas shouts as Xemnas takes his blades and slices the heads off of Roxas's Keyblades. Desperately, he swings his Keyblade only for Xemnas to dodge effortlessly. He teleports and then…sticks a blade through Roxas's chest.

No! No! No! No!

Roxas and Xion were down. Roxas and Xion were dying. Xemnas was taking his time with it, that sicko. He waved his hands again, and those awful plasma bullets appeared. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. The same attack that had beaten Axel…Xemnas was going to use it on his kiddos.

"Relish the hurt in the heart you cling so tight to, traitor!"

"Axel, help us!"

There were so many flashing bullets of plasma striking them from every angle. First, they scream. Then, they cry. Axel could smell burning flesh and fabric. He had to get to them. His hand doesn't work anymore but that's not a problem, so long as he can get to them. They need him.

But there's so many explosions as the plasma hits Roxas and Xion, Axel can't see them. Finally, the explosions cease…but Roxas and Xion aren't there. Just two little black robes, and smoke's rising from them. No…

"AXEL!"

Kairi. And Sora. Axel can't fail them. Not like he failed Roxas and Xion. No…no…no…Kairi and Sora are still trapped in Xemnas's icky bindings. And they don't look good at all. Gaunt and haggard and their hair is limp…

Sora…he's fading away. He's dissolving. He's turning into dust.

"Axel…" Kairi's barely conscious. And then it isn't Xemnas or Saix who's with her. It's Master Xehanort. He cackles as he summons his big, ugly Keyblade and slices Kairi through the spine. And she shatters…

xxxx

Axel woke up in a cold sweat. He didn't get nightmares often but when he did…ohh, they tended to be doozies.

The Graveyard. Roxas and Xion dying. Sora and Kairi dying. But that wasn't what happened.

Axel ran his hands against his face and through his hair. He took a deep breath and then a second one. He felt his heartbeat slowly return to what was almost normal. Okay…okay…he wasn't in the Graveyard. He was in his room. His room in Twilight Town. In the house he owned (!), in Twilight Town. Axel licked his lips. They felt very dry.

He needed a drink of water. A nice drink of cold water. That would hit the spot. And then he'd go back to bed.

Axel walked slowly to the bathroom. There was no hurry. It wasn't going anywhere. A drink of water, splash some on his face. Maybe run a little through his hair—some of the spikes were sticking up funny.

Axel blinked in surprise. Wait a second, why was the bathroom door closed? He felt a knot forming in his stomach. Cautiously, Axel cracked the door open.

There was a small figure, crouched in a ball, backed into the corner of the bathroom. Shaking…with fear, maybe? A black t-shirt and grey pajama pants. Short, black hair and bare feet. Xion.

"Kiddo?"

Xion looked up, her face streaked with tears. Her shoulders trembled. The knot in Axel's stomach tightened.

"Xion?"

Xion's lip quivered and she gave a small sob. She pressed her head against her knees and her sobs became more ragged.

Axel covered the distance between them in three steps and scooped Xion up. He pressed her to his chest and Xion's sobs became harsher.

"Easy, easy…" Axel whispered. "It's alright, Xion. You're safe."

"I'm sorry…" Xion cried. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"You didn't wake me up, sweetheart," Axel said. He rarely used pet names other than "kiddo," but sometimes, you needed something more affectionate. "Honey, it's okay."

"It isn't…I hurt you," Xion said. "In the Graveyard…I hurt you and Kairi…"

"Is that what your nightmare was about?"

Xion nodded and her eyes filled with tears again. Oh boy…what was he going to do?

There was a knock on the bathroom door. Axel turned his head. Roxas was standing there. His hair was an absolute mess…not that it wasn't always, but this was way more messier than usual. And his eyes were haunted and red…he'd been crying too.

Two kiddos with nightmares? Okay, this was more than the bathroom could handle—there wasn't room for all three of them anyway.

"Everybody on the couch."

xxxx

The three of them sat on the couch in the living room. Xion had brought her blanket from her room, and Axel had found a quilt from the linen closet big enough to cover all of them. In a change from their usual seating arrangement, Axel sat in the middle, with Roxas and Xion on either side. He had an arm around Xion's shoulders, holding her close. He had his other arm pressed gently to Roxas's back. Roxas was breathing deeply, slowly.

"Another dream about him," Roxas said quietly. "I dreamed that Sora was killed by Xehanort…at Kingdom Hearts."

"I dreamed about the Graveyard," Xion mumbled. "About fighting Axel and Kairi. And…fighting Roxas, that last day…"

Axel tightened his hug around both the kiddos. So many nightmares…man, sometimes it seemed they'd never get free of their pasts.

"They're just dreams, guys…" Axel said, remembering something he'd read in a parenting magazine a few weeks before, when Roxas and Xion had had dental appointments. "They're not real. They can't hurt you."

"Xehanort hurt Sora in his dreams," Xion said. "Back before you got your Keyblade?"

"Um, yeah, but that was Xehanort," Axel said. "He cheated. And he was a messed up…jerk. But he's gone now. He can't hurt you and he can't hurt Sora and he can't hurt Kairi."

"Yeah…" Roxas said. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I'm right," Axel said. "He's toast. And I'm here to take down anything that would try to really get you. So…it's late, guys. Really late. Let's try and get some sleep."

"Do we have to go back up to our room?" Xion asked. "It's comfy here."

Oh, right. Xion liked being comfy. And she liked to cuddle. Maybe it was because she was the smallest, or because she was the only girl, or maybe Vexen had secretly made her part koala, but Xion liked to hug and cuddle and snuggle.

"Sure thing, kiddo," Axel said. He raised his head to ruffle her hair and then patted her gently on the back, as she tried to position herself so that she could lie down. Xion eventually decided to use Axel's lap for a pillow.

"You're so bony," Xion mumbled. A minute later, she was fast asleep.

Roxas wasn't half so cuddly as Xion, or at least he was more reluctant to admit it. But the grateful way he smiled at Axel…he was going to enjoy this too.

With Roxas pressed against his chest and Xion snuggled in his lap, Axel found himself much more at peace.

Roxas and Xion were here. Roxas and Xion were alive. Roxas snored and Xion giggled in her sleep. This wasn't a nightmare. This was real life. And it was better than anything Axel could have ever have dreamed.

Told ya it was a companion to "Dreams." Ironically, this one was actually written first.

Thank you for reading my dear, dear readers. Leave a comment if you're so inclined! I appreciate each and every one of you!