Chapter Seven: Relapse and Memory's Phantom

Disclaimer: just roll all of my previous disclaimers into one, and you pretty much have the one for this chapter. Convenient.

Author's Notes: FEELING THE STING OF REVIEWER NEGLECT. Well.. since none of you care (I am talking to someone, aren't I? sob) let's just discuss this chapter vaguely. The mission happens. This chapter encompasses an entire day. Donald and Goofy wake up, oh my! BUT REALLY, MORE REVIEWS OR I'M NOT WRITING THIS ANYMORE. C'MON YOU LOVELY PEOPLE, SPEAK TO ME!

Addressing Reviewers:

PirateCaptainBo: Thanks! Your enthusiasm is inspiring.. or.. it was five chapters ago. C'mon, did the story lose your interest or something? Speak to me!

Riku-Stalker: Wow! Gee.. um.. thank you very much. Wow. Um. Wow. Thank you! I appreciate your reviews a lot! (they're really nice). Yeah, Demyx doesn't seem like too much of a villain. As far as the chemical thing goes.. the mystery you've addressed is actually the whole point! Yay perceptive reviewer!

YinYangWhiteTiger: Thanks a bunch for your faithfulness. I don't think I'll be killing off Donald or Goofy. So, no worries! Glad you like the pairing.

"Maleficent?" Sora breathed the words in intense curiosity. His face radiated heart wrenching innocence.

Leon felt a peculiar sensation of familiarity. It did not ease.

"What are ya gonna do?" Axel spun around in a show of arrogance. "What possibilities, am I right? Will you shoot us

or will you stab us to death?" The chakram spun at his sides. Carelessly he allowed small flares to fire at Squall Leonheart. The embers danced harmlessly around his feet.

Leon remained in a brutally still stance. "I'll impale you."

"Would you?" Sora and Axel had said it simultaneously, but the inflections in their voices were paradoxical. Axel's words dripped
out haphazardly and condescendingly. Sora's voice hissed out with shock and hurt.

Leon was disarmed by Sora's voice. "Why.. why did you say it that way."

Axel's eyes narrowed.

"I.. but.. Leon. Why would you do that to me?"

"S-Sora?"

Axel's stomach lurched. He felt dangerously sick.

"Yeah?"

"Sora.. who are you?" Leon rubbed his forehead. A chakram bounced off of his loosely gripped gunblade as a warning. The fire singed
his fingers. Axel looked furious. "Sora, we need to go." Leon regained his threatened stance. He was perfectly willing to kill this man, buthe was still so confused.

"No! Why do we know each other's names?" It did not sound accusatory, but it was more inquisitive of Sora than Axel would have liked. "I wouldn't know, and apparently he doesn't know either." Leon had to grudgingly agree. He could not explain it.

"Is he one of the things I forgot, Axel?"

"No. He has nothing to do with you."

"How do we know each other's names?!" Leon and Sora seemed impervious to Axel's desperation.

"Sora we need to go! We're expected back now!"

"But why. I.. the door to light. Does he have something to do with the door to light?" Sora was entranced. Sora seemed to be asking
Leon all of these questions through Axel, which was the most unintentionally cruel thing he could have done. Axel would rather be doing
just about anything than this.

"Sora, I don't know what you're talking about." Axel was in panic.

"Neither do I." Leon looked skeptical about all of this.

The feeling from Axel's dream was rising in his chest. His heart was breaking. What heart? Where was it? How could it feel so needy?The phantom heart bloomed inside of him like a venom. Axel was then summoned. At the most critical moment, the pull of darkness drew him back to the organization without Sora. He had to suddenly swallow all of his pain in preparation for seeing the superior, but still panicked screams rang out through his brain. His treasure was lost. It was lost. It was lost.

Xemnas' voice seeped out of the new reality. "DiZ has Roxas, and he is going to try to use him against us. Inadvisable, but still something we should prepare Sora for."

His calloused gaze swept gently over Axel. "Where is Sora?"

Mentioning Roxas made controlling himself much more difficult. "Back at Hollow Bastion," he cried out in desperation.

Xemnas' eyes narrowed."You should have been on time, and then I wouldn't have summoned you."

"I'm sorry. We ran into a little trouble."

"Oh?"

"Some resident of the new Hollow Bastion. He stopped us, and.. I should really go back and make sure nothing is going wrong. He must be scared."

Xemnas raised an eyebrow. "You may go, but you must start preparing Sora for Roxas as soon as possible."

Axel nodded, and quietly passed back into the corridor. Once he was away from Xemnas he released his seething soul. His crying echoed maddeningly in the darkness. "DAMN YOU ROXAS. I HATE YOU!" He was torn between wanted to sprint back into Hollow Bastion, and waiting in the gentle darkness venting his fury. He was too proud to be so sad in front of anyone else. The sound of his anguish might have destroyed him. It sounded like something tender dying.

Leon had acted on irrational instinct. He grabbed Sora's hand, and ran back to the others. He came panting up to Aerith. "What is her name?"

Aerith looked confused. "Leon, what are you doing? Who's this."

"Ae.."

Leon's eyes widened. This was maddening. What was going on? "Say it Sora! Say it!"

"Sora?" Aerith's eyebrows furrowed.

"It's Aerith, isn't it?"

Leon was stunned.

Aerith smiled warmly. "Oh, why yes it is. Have we met?"

"I don't think so," came Leon's voice. "I'm fairly certain I've never met him either.. but we knew eachother's names. It's too bizarre."

Yuffie appeared out of nowhere. "I thought I knew a Sora once," she chirped. "Oh.. well.. it must have been a different one. I've never seen him before." Yuffie surveyed Sora calmly. "Never."

Leon was deflating. "Look.. we need to hide him until I've sorted this out."

"Hide me?" Sora looked like he was about to disagree.

"Wouldn't you like to find out why we seem to all know you're name, and vice versa? I don't think you're friend is going to let you figure it out. You're safer hiding here with us. C'mon.. I think you'll be okay here." He ran off through the districts towards Merlin's house with a vice-like grip on Sora's hand. Sora was not struggling. "Wait for me Leon!" Yuffie sprinted after them. Aerith stood rooted to the spot. Her seemingly vacant mind buzzed with wisdom. "I think we must know him. Something paranormal is affecting us all." She rubbed her chin straining for the answer to this all.

A furious Axel appeared storming towards the inner districts. "You there, stop! Why are you here? Um.. state your business." A whirlwind of flame tossed

Aerith around like a doll. She fell overburdened with the weight of life compromised. She didn't have the strength to move. Axel pounced on here. One of his chakram tickled her throat. "Where is Sora?"

Aerith didn't want to die. "He's been taken to Merlin's house. I.. I.." she struggled to point. Axel leapt from her side and disappeared into a corridor. Aerith wanted to run and warn the others, but her body forced her to lay there broken.

Sora looked cautiously around his shoulder as he followed Leon's quick steps. He was worried being seperated from Axel and regretted letting these strangers take him deeper into Hollow Bastion. "This is Merlin's house. Merlin is a legendary wizard who may have some answers for you." Leon ushered him inside. Yuffie closed the door behind the three of them. "Ah hello Leon, Yuffie, and.. who is this?"

Axel appeared yards away from Merlin's front door, but he wasn't sure which house belonged to the wizard.

"I'm afraid I just don't have anything to tell you. Strange as it may be, I do not beleive we've ever met, although you do have an mystical air about you. It seems almost as though you once knew magic." Merlin gave Sora a sympathetic smile.

"Well.. I've forgotten a lot. So all of this I guess doesn't mean anything." Sora looked disappointed. He was so eager to.. remember? Why did he feel like there was so much more to his story. Obviously he wasn't much older than when Destiny Island had been swept away. Maybe he hadn't forgotten very much after all.

As Sora drew this conclusion, Axel burst through the front door. "Sora!" Axel looked scared. "We really need to go." Leon wanted very badly to protest, and to detain them both, but before he could act on this impulse Axel and Sora were already fading away into some bizarre dark tunnel. "STOP!" No side could see the other, and they were efficiently separated.

Cid burst onto the scene with Aerith bouncing in his arms. "Don't worry! She's definitely alive, but she needs help."

Axel's grip on Sora was possesive and shaky. Sora nuzzled against Axel's chin. "Sorry Axel.. I thought they could tell me something about what I've forgotten.. but there wasn't anything there. They were just a bunch of strangers.." Axel choked back brittle sobs. It was day two and everything had been nearly ruined. They weren't building fast enough. Outside forces were already building to take Sora away. They were building to take Sora back to the ugliness of truth. He hated truth. This lie was beautiful, and no reality or absolute truth could suffice. He would not let Sora go so easily. At least.. who was he kidding? Making that sort of a resolve when he just let Sora go very easily. He was almost angry with Xemnas for doing this. Everything could have been ruined. Had Xemnas lost his mind. They remained in the darkness much longer then they would have normally. Sora buried himself in the heaviness and warmth of Axel. His face scraped up Axel's sharp jawline to kiss his ear. Sora's throat pressed into Axel's cheek, and Axel's hands relaxed around Sora's back. "I didn't mean to run away or anything. I was almost afraid I wouldn't be able to get back to you." Sora's hot breath made Axel's ears burn.

"I didn't mean to leave you their either." It came out sounding desperate. His stomach flipped. Now that they had returned to him.. he was so governed by feeling it was almost horrible. But he clung to those feelings. The noxious frost that had gripped his chest thawed. He could have sworn that the breath that stretched past his lips was cold as though he were expelling some internal winter.

Sora rubbed his torso mindlessly against Axel's. "You're so warm." He relished the friction. He wished that the thin barriers of fabric were missing.

Axel was still a little too stunned to reciprocate most of this, but he allowed Sora to do whatever he wanted, and Sora seemed contented to handle all of the interaction.

Axel felt like he had loved Sora for a long time. This wasn't so strange as Sora was nearly the same person as Roxas. Axel hardly noticed that Sora was on his knees. Sora had worked up Axel's undershirt and dipped his tounge into Axel's navel. It was on a list of things Sora had wanted to do since he had seen Axel in the shower, and

this seemed one of the safer ideas. Axel's torso spasmed for a moment, but relaxed. Sora nipped at the walls around the navel. Axel giggled in a nervous voice. Sora then impulsively rubbed his cheek against Axel's abdominal muscles. He pressed his face into them as hard as he could. He nearly winded Axel who found half of his fingers wound tightly in Sora's hair, and the other half smoothing the skin on Sora's left shoulder. He absent-mindedly stretched the collar of Sora's shirt. Sora slid up to Axel's pectorals, and his mouth reached for Axel's left nipple. Axel's shirt slid down over Sora's head. He found this ridiculously cute.

The hurricane of toxic emotions from before subsided so swiftly. Sora was an antidote for them all. Sora sucked on the hardened nipple, and his hands slid down the waist of Axel's jeans. His hands smoothed around Axel's cheeks and squeezed. Axel was a little taken aback, and his erection slid down his thigh as it grew. Sora was trying to seduce him, and he was doing it expertly. "Sora, no.. c'mon. Not yet." He relectantly grabbed Sora's wrists and pulled Sora's hands out from.. a very comfortable spot.

"Axel." The way his own name came off of another man's lips made his phantom heart flutter. Was it a man's lips? A boy's? Was he himself just a boy?

Axel waited for Sora to follow with something. He had the appearance of wanting to say something.

"I want something from you really bad.. but I don't know what it is. I just want." Sora was wanting. He was affected by Axel. But Axel was a nobody. He was nothing. Axel had never felt so powerful before.

"I want something from you too, but we both are going to have to wait a while." He said this with a slight reluctance.

"Okay Axel. I trust you." He trusted Axel. Beautiful. The rest of the day, with Sora's first mission out of the way, went flawlessly.

"RIKU," quacked Donald. "Riku, where's the king! We thought you were with him when we closed the door!" It had taken DiZ, Namine, and Riku half an hour to convince Donald and Goofy that Sora was missing and that Riku was not Ansem.

"Gawrsh.. we've lost the King and Sora." Goofy frowned.

"Now that you know our situation, I just wanted to say that it's wonderful meeting you both." Namine heartily shook both of their hands.

"Well.. I figure that if Sora's our friend, and Kairi is Sora's friend, and Sora's friends are our friends, and you're Kairi's sister, and Kairi's close relatives are our friends.. that.. um." Goofy paused in confusion.

"THAT NAMINE IS OUR FRIEND," Donald shouted impatiently.

"Uh.. Right!" Goofy chuckled.

DiZ had made Namine convince them that Kairi was her sister. It would be a sufficient story for the time being. He didn't want to overload them with information too soon.

"Donald.. Goofy.. would you be willing to bring Sora back to my Manor? We need him to destroy Organization Thirteen."

Donald nodded excitedly, and Goofy saluted DiZ. "Of course. If you really are an old friend of the king, then you must be on the side of light!" Donald was satisfied with his own logic.

"Besides, if you're Namine's friend then we can definitely trust you. The only thing Jiminy found in his journal was a short entry to thank Namine. Oh, by the way.. Thanks Namine! A'hyuck." Goofy shook her hand once more. "Now lets see. Donald, what did we do with the gummi ship."

DiZ spoke up. "I have your gummi ship waiting at Yen Sid's castle. He's a powerful and wise wizard. I have arranged for you to arrive there by train, but you'll need to be quick to make it there on time. I've left further instructions with Yen Sid. I've left your planned route to the organization's headquarters with him as well. He will be a friend to you."

Goofy and Donald nodded aggreably, and then sprinted out of the manor towards the train station. The train station had been the only thing DiZ hadn't ruined in his efforts to drive Roxas towards the manor. He wouldn't be surprised if Roxas were hiding there out of fear and confusion. DiZ hadn't been very straightforward in retrieving Roxas, and for some reason he hadn't made Riku bring him here either. He wanted it to be Roxas' choice to come here.. even if all of the other choices were eliminated. He wouldn't be surprised if Goofy and Donald ran into Roxas.

"Oh, DiZ.. did you tell them how to get to the train station?" Namine watched them run off with concern.

"They hardly gave me the chance, but they shouldn't need directions. The train station is about all their is left of this Twilight Town. I'm just surprised they never asked us about the memory pods. I hope we haven't overburdened them with all of this knowledge."

"Knowledge isn't a burden. Ignorance is a burden." Riku hadn't said anything until now.

"Oh? I thought ignorance was bliss."

"The longer you wait in ignorance, the more of your memories are tarnished by knowledge. Epiphany ruins everything that comes before it. It is always best to cast off ignorance as quickly as possible."

"Ah, but what if you remain in ignorance forever. You are never burdened by knowledge and your entire life is romance."

"No one remains ignorant." Least of all Sora.

Author's Notes: End day two, amirite?