XLVI.

I wake up, cold, shaking, sore and beyond tired. I fight the twitching spams that course through my body, but cannot stop the jolting in my belly. I feel as though I have been electrocuted, recalling the time Larxene inflicted her element upon me in Castle Oblivion. I'm starving, so hungry yet so nauseous all at once.

Seriously, how the fuck is it so cold in here?

I open my eyes and am instantly met to the sight of red stained sheets. So fucking red. My stomach lurches and I jerk upward. A garbage can appears in front of me as I vomit into it. Gripping the edges with white knuckles, I draw in a shaky breath. My eyes flick up to the person holding out the garbage can.

"Luxord." I breathe his name, resisting the urge to hug him. He's not doing this out of the sheer kindness in his heart. He never doesn't have a motive. But to be honest, right now, that is fine. I feel barely alive, scarcely human. I notice beneath me that the sheets are stiff, hardened by blood that is still flowing freely from me.

"Easy, love." He urges. I laugh, weakly.

"Am I dead?" I ask, pulling away from the trash can, which he promptly sets down.

"Nearly." He nods. "But alas, the Nocturne has been doing his damndest to keep you alive." I don't see any Elixirs, like I had in Shibuya, but there are plenty of empty vials of potions, scattered across the room. My room, I realize, or rather, the one I had shared with Axel for so very long. Without his presence warming me, it feels like an icebox.

"And you?" I ask. He makes a face, a very slight pout.

"I suppose perhaps a combination of things has led me here." He confesses. "I fear Xemnas is no longer sane. I'm certain you've already noticed, a large amount of these missions we have been sent on have ceased to make sense. No longer are we driven to complete Kingdom Hearts. Everything seems a ploy to irritate Sora further or a desperate attempt to torment Roxas. Even I can see past the game and understand that there is no logic involved in these decisions. Only impulse. You were the final straw. I suppose."

"You suppose?" I ask. "You made me kill someone just so you could tell Xemnas and Saix that I was capable of and had already committed murder."

"Yes." He nods, looking just shy of miserable as he looks me over in the bed. I'm so afraid to asses the damage on myself, and yet, I know I need to. I spent my youth stitching up Amaya and Del, learning to mend broken bones and disinfect wounds. Demyx is trying, I'm sure, but I'm the one who is going to get myself nursed sufficiently back to health. "I suppose an apology is more than in order." Luxord says. I look into his eyes and could cry. Demyx walks through the door and the levy breaks. I cry, not loudly, not violently, but tears stream down my cheeks as I am overwhelmed by how thankful I am for these two. My friends, my allies, the ones who consistently find their way back to my side, through everything.

"I'm sorry." I mutter, wiping my eyes. "How fucking embarrassing." And I can tell I'm not the only one mildly uncomfortable by such a display of emotions. Demyx turns to Luxord casting him a very strange glance. Conflicted in the extreme, worried, stressed almost, I would say. There is something that is revving his anxiety into high gear.

"It's okay." Demyx says, with a wave of his hand, though he looks one step away from hyperventilating. "It's good to see that you're up."

"How long have I been out?" I ask.

"Almost a week." Luxord confesses. Strange, I have an odd moment of déjà vu, recalling someone else who slept for weeks on end, but the memory seems too far out of reach. The fog creeps in and I am too tired to search through it.

"Fuck." I sigh.

"Indeed." Luxord agrees.

"And this shit is still bleeding?" I ask. Part of one of my arms still doesn't have feeling in it. The other arm and one of my legs still appear to be leaking blood. My head hurts, my middle is still unbelievably sore.

"Hey, be happy you're awake." Demyx insists. "Your bones mended pretty easily with the potions. Only one of your ribs gave us issues, and your nose is gonna be a little swollen for another day or two, probably. The blood loss isn't great, but it's slowed down a lot." He sounds so optimistic, but through his gritted teeth, I don't believe a word of his smile. I make a face.

"You have any needle and thread?" I ask. Both sets of eyes—his and Luxord's—widen.

"What is it you intend to do, love?" He asks. I roll my eyes.

"Stitch myself up." I say.

"I would highly discourage that." Luxord says.

"Rueki, you don't get it. It's a good thing you've been out cold for a week. Xemnas comes and checks on you every day, and every day that you're passed out, you get away from…another interrogation." Demyx trails off. I think I might be sick again, but knowing there is nothing left in my stomach, I force myself to keep the contents down. Dry heaving once was more than enough.

"Dammit." I choke, trying to keep the scene from replaying in my head. Saix, bashing my face into the throne, yanking my hair back, slapping me, kicking me, stomping on me, stabbing me, beating me and beating me and beating me, past what I could take. I grip the sheets and my body rattles, spasming with panic.

"Hey! Come on, Rueki, stay with us." Demyx tries, and I do, but the tears start again.

"Fuck." I say. "Fuck, shit, damn." I sputter.

"Our thoughts exactly. In fact, I would highly encourage you to pretend to be incapacitated again today." Luxord says. I shake my head.

"I can't…" I struggle to form words, trying to push back the replay that wants to start up in my head. More nightmares. More fucking nightmares is what this is going to cause, dammit. "I can't go through that again. He will kill me this time, the only reason he didn't was because you walked in." My eyes stray to Demyx, who takes a seat at the foot of the bed, wringing his hands, anxiously.

"Yeah, and I've already received my punishment for that. The last thing you need is to be in my shoes, huh?" Demyx looks to Luxord, eyebrow raised.

"I have suggested, you should leave, Nocturne. There is nothing left for you here." Luxord says. I look between the two of them thoroughly annoyed. Why can nobody here talk straight?

"And go where? Axel's gonna be hunted forever. We all know I'm a lot less sneaky than he is. I'll be found and killed in a week. At least this way I can tell myself that this was my choice." Demyx sighs.

"Even you are not naïve enough to believe that." Luxord insists. Demyx shrugs.

"Makes it a lot easier to keep my mask on if I'm the idiot everyone wants me to be." Demyx offers, and this is my snapping point.

"What the fuck are you guys talking about, how did you get punished for saving me?" I ask, leaning forward a little, though my body aches miserably. Demyx and Luxord exchange uneasy looks. Demyx pouts a bit.

"I uh… What were the words again?" Demyx mutters. "Interrupted a very serious interrogation and got in the way of justice being served to a traitor. So, in order to redeem myself, well, basically I'm supposed to intercept Sora in Hollow Bastion. I was told if I can't pull Roxas from him or kill him, then I'd be labeled a traitor and would be turned into a Dusk." My heart drops. I reach out for Demyx's hand but remember myself. He isn't Roxas, the gesture wouldn't be the same and I doubt it would bring him any comfort, friend or not.

"Are you fucking kidding?" I ask. "I thought we just decided that Sora is good for the cause and that we just want Roxas to take control of him, not get him back altogether."

"As I said, these missions no longer make sense." Luxord reminds me.

"It's not just that, these missions are suicide." I say. "Roxas isn't coming out of Sora. If he was going to, he would've when he saw me in Hollow Bastion." And perhaps it's selfish to believe so, but I know I'm right. The bond Roxas and I had was only second to his bond with Axel, seeing me 'in danger' would've drawn the Key Of Destiny out if anything could.

"Not to mention that I can't beat Sora in a fight to the death. I'm not dumb enough to think I can." Demyx insists.

"You're not dumb at all." I say, flatly. I know he isn't looking for flattery or trying to feel sorry for himself. But I mean what I say. My friend, the person who saved me, he may be utterly unambitious and for the most part, a pacifist, but he is not dumb.

"Well, Xemnas seems to have decided I'm useless. I'd rather fade than become a Dusk." Demyx says. I look to Luxord, who is looking down at the sheets, expression distraught but otherwise, unreadable. I wonder if this is the first time in his nonexistence, that he has questioned things, that guilt has crept at the edges of his being. I wonder what he regrets more, getting close to Demyx and I, or standing by and allowing all of this to happen, under the guise of 'strictly business'? Does he feel like a bad Nobody or a bad friend? I think I know which, but I am also certain there is no room left in my heart for hope. No, I have to do something. About Demyx, about myself, about Axel.

"There's gotta be something we can do." I say, looking between IX and X, though neither of them can meet my eye.

"He isn't wrong, Rueki. One does not simply abandon the Organization without consequence. They will find him. Leaving is only a temporary solution that will prolong the inevitable." Luxord says, I shake my head, blinking back more stupid tears.

"Dammit." I say. "What the fuck has this place become?"

"As I have said, I do not believe the Superior is…in his right mind anymore. Quite the contrary, I believe he has gone quite mad." Luxord reminds me.

"Look…" This is a risky move, a hell of a gamble in the words of Luxord, but maybe, for the first time, I am in a position where this could be received well. "There's something that I've been thinking about for a while, Roxas and I were trying to—"

"Love, I would highly discourage finishing that statement. What you're insinuating ends in death." He says. My eyes widen in shock at how quickly he caught on.

"Why? If it's the three of us—"

"Do you truly believe that the three of us are equipped to take down not only Xemnas, but Saix as well?" He asks. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, I can't get the sight of my own blood, against the white floor of the throne room out of my head. I don't want to die there, I don't want to die before I see Axel one more time… But what could he come back to? He's a traitor, the Organization wants him out of their ranks. Who knows if he could even get back here to take me with him, to wherever he may be. Not that it matters where he is now, I'd go anywhere, with or without him to try to escape this nightmare.

"I'm going to die the next time they find me awake, Lux. I cannot beat Saix, not while he's got the moon on his side." I remind him. Luxord nods, gravely.

"Yes." He says softly, already aware. I chew on my lip.

"I don't want to die." There's a soft desperation in my whisper. Demyx's eyes flick to mine, then to Luxord's, then back to mine again.

"I'll take you with me." He says, finally. My eyes go wide.

"What?" Is he really suggesting what I think he is? My friend, who is sweet but an unambitious coward? Is he really intending to be my savior?

"I'll take you to Hollow Bastion with me." Demyx offers. "You're right, you're gonna die here, and maybe you'll die there, but you're from Hollow Bastion, right? Maybe someone there will remember you and take you in." Highwind, I think. Cid Highwind. If he's alive, he'll remember me and even if he doesn't, I can make him remember. I have a few memories of him, I can remind him of our past. And then there was the girl I was friends with, Yufa, Yuki, whatever. Not that I know what she looks like, but maybe if I ask around, she'll remember me. Maybe I can find shelter, hide. I doubt Saix expects me to go back to my past, to find shelter in my friends and family that I'm not supposed to remember.

"Now there's an idea." Luxord breathes, as though the very thought has stopped him in his tracks. "Love, this might be your safest bet."

"What about you though? Won't you get in trouble for letting us both get away?" I ask. He shrugs.

"A gamble I'm willing to take. I'm perhaps the only one, besides your beau, better suited to keep a secret from the higher ups. They trust my word, I'll give them no reason not to, I'll feign ignorance. After all, why would I, one without a heart, trouble myself with a girl marked for execution?" I have to admit, it makes sense, but there is something he is struggling with as he speaks, a burden behind it that he is unwilling to bear.

"You're not telling me something." I say. He looks to Demyx.

"Come on, just tell her." Demyx insists.

"Do I even need to explain to you how very deadly that could be for her? How easily they will be able to track her, if she knows? The sheer amount of dark energy…"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" I ask. The two men exchange glances and I shake my head. "Probably the same big secret Axel's been keeping from me since I almost died in Shibuya." Luxord blinks at me in utter shock as he pieces my words together.

"Fascinating, as I'm sure the story of your near death in Shibuya is…I do believe you're right. When I brought it to the attention of the Superior, he seemed to already know." Luxord says.

"Dammit, does everyone fucking know but me?" I ask.

"She deserves to know." Demyx presses.

"And are you willing to be the death of her when she finds out? I am quite certain that will be the outcome, are you not?" Luxord asks. Demyx sighs.

"You're probably right." Demyx concedes, and much as I want him to just spit it out, one thought really bites into me, with all of its might. I do not want to die. No matter the cost. Even if it means I have to be in the dark on this for a little longer.

"So, we're doing this?" I ask. "You're really taking me with you?" I ask. Demyx nods.

"Hey, I'm just a dead man, what do I have to lose?" I know he means it as a joke, but my heart shatters. I reach out to hug him, he laughs, nervously and draws away quickly. "Oh, come on, Rueki, you're gonna get blood all over me."

Hollow Bastion is somehow more vibrant and simultaneously, more bleak than I recall. Beautiful, dark, charming and stony. I cannot decide whether the sweetness of the small shops and shacks of homes are enough to outweigh the blinking security system and overwhelming sense of uneasiness that creeps in with every single step.

So, this is my home.

"Demyx…" I whisper my friend's name. I touch the crook of his elbow only minutes after we touch down in the world. He offers me a weak smile. It's been three days since I woke, feigning sleep each time Xemnas came to check in on me. My injuries are completely closed up, though I am still a little sore. "Thank you."

He's speechless. He opens up his mouth once, twice and then sighs, finally bowing his head.

"Run, Rueki." He urges. I feel tears start to spring up. I think to try to hug him, but I know, if I do, that I will fall apart right here and now. I nod, wiping away a stray tear.

Wind whips past me as I take off into a full sprint. As it cards back through my hair, I notice there's a chill in the air. My limbs haven't been this exposed in so very long, under the cover of the black trench coat, I have been safe, but held down. Now, for the first time in over a year, I am free, only held down by the weight of my weapons belt, my skimpy clothes, and Survivor on my arm. I laugh, uncomfortably, and then hysterically as I run, tears streaming fully down my cheeks. Heartless appear and I cut them down with the slash of Survivor because I want to. Nobodies appear and not because I called upon them. I throw grenades, watching them go up in smoke, and I laugh. I'm free. I'm free. I'm fucking free.

I'm falling over myself. I have no idea where I'm going. Against the harshness of the wind, my scars look angry and red, and I don't care. I'm catching my breath, on the edge of everything, my head thrown back, my eyes closed when I hear my name.

"Rueki." I'm hallucinating I'm almost certain. No. No. No way. No way in fuck is my luck going to pan out like this. In the wake of the constant shitstorm, the incessant misery, such luck doesn't seem possible. I freeze where I stand, righting my stance, my hands balled into fists.

"This isn't real." I choke out, my voice wet and heavy, my throat tightening at the emotions that I know will follow. I touch the bare skin of my leg, feeling the icy touch of my own hand. This feels real. My shoulders tremble.

"This is real, sweetheart." His voice promises and I turn, slowly, so afraid that this illusion will crumble the second I turn. But there he is. Spikey red hair, vibrant emerald eyes. High cheekbones, tall and lanky as all hell. My heart feels as though it wants to climb up my throat. My eyes burn. "What are you doing here?" But there is no accusation in his tone, only gratefulness. Excitement. He takes a step closer to me but I am paralyzed, still unwilling to believe this. He closes the distance between us and brushes searing hot, gloved fingertips against the newly formed scars on my skin. This is real. He is here.

Axel. My Axel.

I throw my arms around his neck and leap into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist. Tears pour, I'm a bawling hysterical mess, but he makes up for the disastrous state I'm in by clutching me desperately and pressing his lips to mine. I can't breathe. Neither can he. We paw at each other, trying to touch, taste, memorize every ounce of each other. I swipe my fingers up his back, he rubs my legs. I run my hands up his scalp, feeling the hardened gel in his hair, his hands slip up my back, up underneath the hem of my shirt. I try with every ounce of who I am to take in as much of him as I possibly can.

"I've missed you so much." I gasp, sucking in a breath. He mashes his lips back down onto mine, effectively silencing me. His mouth is wet and greedy, and mine meets him back with equal anxiety. I grab handfuls of his hair and sigh against him. His hands run over the thick, knotted scar on my forearm, in the spot where I can no longer feel. He hesitates. He draws away from me and takes a breath, eyes wide and mortified.

"Rueki…" I revel in how he says my name. It sounds nothing shy of heaven, though I know he is certainly in hell, looking me over. His thumb traces the scar as his eyes dart to it. "Rueki…fuck…what happened to…"

"Saix." I say. And that is all I need to. His arms go limp, I climb down from where I hang off of him. Once my feet both on the ground, he shoves me back, still gripping the tops of my arms so that he has a better angle to look me over. I feel exposed, vulnerable in the extreme, but he is relentless, grabbing my arms, crouching down to look over my legs, spinning me around to examine my back. His hands pat my sides and I wince, the soreness of my now mended ribs still smarts something awful.

I can sense the horrification in his touch.

His hands fall away from me. I turn now, looking at him with anxious eyes. He touches the side of my face with his hand. The warmth is so deliciously overwhelming.

"Fuck." He whispers.

"It's done." I say flatly, but I can see him igniting.

"How the fuck did he do this to you?" He roars. I flinch, taking a step back from him.

"He would've killed me if it weren't for Demyx." I murmur.

"Demyx?" He asks.

"He walked in on Xemnas and Saix's 'interrogation'. They wanted to know where you were and I had nothing for them." I say. "Axel, I can't think about that right now or I am going to lose my fucking mind." I am blatantly honest with him, completely opening up the door to my heart, right here and now for him. I know what I can handle right now, and it is only to revel in this reunion. The past needs to be the past. The weight of it will crush me if I let it. Not that I have forgiven Saix, Xemnas, any of them. Certainly not, my hatred would burn me up from the inside out if I let it. My fear would paralyze me, turning me into a mess of panic. I could crumble right here and now, so very easily. I know the only way I can survive is to bury this. It won't last long, but a temporary fix is better than nothing. I need him to love me so hard, in every single way, that I forget even my own fucking name. Reality cannot exist right now. Just me. Just him.

"I'm going to kill him, Rueki." He whispers. "He was my fucking friend and he did this to you?"

"He's not your friend anymore." I say, flatly. "You fucking knew that, Axel." I can't get over how delicious his name tastes on my lips.

"He can't get away with this, Rueks." He insists.

"He already fucking has. The time for changing things is done. Demyx is going to die here, if he's not already dead. Luxord knows he's not far from the chopping block. The missions Xemnas is giving out are suicide missions, but Demyx sprung me free. We've got to take this chance and get the fuck out of here." I press.

"Sora's going to be coming soon." Axel says.

"I don't give a quarter of a shit." I say.

"Sweetheart, I fucked up, I've got to warn the kid." Axel confesses. "I kidnapped Kairi and…Saix got ahold of her." My stomach drops. I think I'm going to be sick.

"That girl is going to die." I choke.

"She won't." Axel tries. And I know he's right, Saix's vendetta against me is personal, but all I can think is that this girl has just stumbled into the gates of hell because of my boyfriend.

"Why would you not come back for me? Why couldn't you just—"

"Baby, I didn't know…I thought we'd have more time. I didn't think that they…that he…" He is so at a loss for words, and I can see any sort of stability that he has, crumbling beneath his eyes. Don't. Don't, fucking don't cry or I will. "I just…"

But before he can tell me what he 'just', Sora comes sprinting over, eyes wide as he runs straight past us. Seriously, what the fuck? With adrenaline pumping through my veins, I'm about ready to turn on him and start screaming, but I am stopped as Donald, Goofy go barreling after him.

They head straight to the edge of the cliff and as I turn to look, my stomach drops. There, across the Great Maw, is a castle. And at the edge of it, stands Xemnas. I grasp Axel's coat with a white knuckled grip.

"No." I whisper. "No, no, no." I shake my head, because this cannot be happening. I cannot take this. I can't—

I need to push this all down. I just want so badly to forget.

"Your majesty!" Donald cries out, and it is then, that I notice a giant mouse standing opposite Xemnas, hands clenched into fists in pure determination.

"Xehanort." The mouse accuses. Wait, what? Why am I not surprised that Xemnas is a fake name? Why the hell not? Nothing about this monster is genuine. He is exactly as I have suspected, a madman. A demon.

"How long has it been since I abandoned that name." Xemnas booms and somehow, his eyes find their way to me, where I clutch Axel desperately. A smirk curls at the edges of his lips, and fuck, I think I am going to be sick.

"Out with it, Nobody! Where's Kairi! Where's Riku?" Sora snaps, Keyblade materializing in his hands. There's a hatred in his voice, a type of desperation I haven't heard since Castle Oblivion when, Axel threatened Naminé. And now…Xemnas is threatening Kairi. My heart could break for the boy. Even without the empathy link, pouring Sora's raw emotions into my mind, I get it. I fucking get it. And if I hadn't let Axel go and kidnap her…

No. This one isn't on me.

I will not take responsibility for this. I'm not a fucking masochist and I am not a member of Organization XIII. Axel doesn't have Kairi, Saix does. This isn't our fault. I look to the Superior as he confronts the mouse, with hatred in my eyes. I am in no state to fight, but I sure hope Sora makes him suffer.

"I know nothing of any Kairi. As for Riku, perhaps you should ask your King." Xemnas taunts. I want to tell Sora not to listen, that Xemnas is a lying sack of shit, but Axel seems to have other ideas. He draws me closer, arms wrapping around my waist, shifting so that my back is to his chest.

Sora looks desperately between Xemnas and the mouse, who finally shouts "Stop!"

Xemnas opens up a portal and retreats into it, like the fucking pathetic bastard he is, only able to make a move when he has Saix there to do the heavy lifting for him. The fucking coward. The mouse, however, is the opposite of cowardly. Without hesitation, he charges in after Xemnas, just as the portal closes up.

"He's gone…" Sora mutters, and with shaky knees, he hits the ground. This is it, this is the boy's limit, his Achilles heel. His weakness. A pretty girl with red hair. I look to my own absolutely beautiful redhead, and I don't fault Sora for a moment. I would crumble without Axel. I already have. For all of my might, my determination, the fire inside of me, he makes me feel strong. He makes me feel alive. He makes me feel like me.

Goofy crouches down to Sora's level and sets a hand on his shoulder. Donald sighs and goes to reach to Sora as well, but suddenly, something strikes him. I don't know quite what, but it gives him pause and he turns to where Axel and I stand, eyes suddenly going wide.

"Rueki!"

"What?" Sora suddenly is on his feet. His eyes are the size of saucers as he turns around and regards me, covered in white scars that crisscross all over my limbs. As I clutch Axel, I realize how bad this look, but my lover simply sets a hand on my waist, protective, compassionate, determined to keep me at his side.

"Way to fall right into their trap." Axel sighs, looking truly disappointed as his green eyes fall on Sora. The Keybearer blinks stupidly at him, looking between me and Axel, unsure of whether or not he should come to my rescue. A quick brush of the empathy link tells me that he wonders who is responsible for the scars that decorate my skin. "C'mon, it's a setup by Orgaization XIII. All those Heartless you just fought? That was exactly what Xemnas wanted you to do. That's his big master plan." Though I don't get why that's so bad, but something in Axel's tone is utterly defiant. Fuck Xemnas, fuck the Organization and fuck their plan. Hearts can't be the end all, be all, and I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I'd rather have him without a heart for the rest of forever, than have to go back and beg Xemnas and Saix for forgiveness.

"Xemnas?" Donald asks.

"That fucking cunt that the mouse called Xehanort." I hiss.

"Is he the one who took you hostage?" Sora asks me, in a voice like I am made of glass and will shatter if he speaks too loudly. This pisses me off beyond compare and I tear away from Axel, stomping closer to him.

"That was a fucking act, kid. That was the only way Axel and I got here alive." I throw my hands up and Sora blinks at my suddenly aggressive gesture. I look at him, look into his incredibly blue eyes and for a moment, I swear I see Roxas staring back at me. "Thanks, by the way. I waited for you outside his throne room. He'd be dead right now if you didn't get your dumb ass kidnapped." I take a step toward him and poke him straight in the forehead.

"I don't know what you're—"

"Not you. Roxas, if you're in there, what the fuck, man?" I snap, hands balling into fists. "I tried, you have no idea how hard I tried."

"Rueki…are you okay?" Sora asks, and I could scream. Instead I pinch my eyes shut and suck in a breath. My body is in overdrive, teetering dangerously on the edge of crumbling, thanks to everything that has happened in the past two weeks. No one will let me pretend this isn't happening. Axel wants to fight back, Sora wants to check on me and I just want to crawl into a hole and pretend that I'm someone else. My emotions start boiling to a head and I turn around, back to Axel.

"Just, say your peace and let's get the fuck out of here." I grumble.

"Rueks…" Axel murmurs.

"Don't act like you're her friend." Donald squawks.

"Dude, Axel and I have been together for like ever." I wave a hand at him.

"But…what about Del?" Sora asks.

"I'm not doing this again." I mumble. Goofy seems to be the only one capable of staying on topic and accepting that I'm not budging on this. You know your life has hit rock bottom when Goofy is the voice of reason.

"Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?" He asks.

"Man, you're slow." Axel sighs as I turn back to face the trio, substantially closer to Axel than I was before. "Every Heartless slain with the Keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after."

"So, what are you guys gonna do with the hearts?" Donald asks, looking between the two of us.

"I'm not telling." Axel snorts.

"Tell us!" Is Donald's very logical counter.

"Oh my fuck, we're being decent enough to warn you, just go with this and maybe you can get your friend back from—"

"Axel…" Sora breathes, looking at the man standing beside me. "Saix said you took Kairi."

"Bingo." Axel says, rolling his eyes, his tone dripping in sarcasm, but I don't think he understands the gravity of how Sora cares for her.

"Where is Kairi? Please, just tell me!" Sora begs and my eyes go wide. Axel sucks in a shaky breath the second he realizes just how much this is killing Sora. This isn't a good friend of the boy's. It isn't a silly crush. This girl is his everything,

"Look..." Axel starts.

"Axel wasn't supposed to lose her. She wasn't supposed to get hurt." I mutter.

"I'm sorry." Axel says, though I don't know if to me or Sora.

"You…lost her?" Tears start to prick at the corners of Sora's eyes, but before I can even start to apologize, before I can even say that we've got to team up to save her, a portal opens and Saix walks through. His eyes find me instantly.

"So, you're still alive." He seethes.

"Shit." Axel chokes at the same time I say "fuck." We look to each other, he grabs my hand and in the split second it takes for Saix to reach out, Axel and I teleport away. I have never been so thankful to feel that jolting sensation rip at my stomach.