Once again, I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter; HoneybeeX and kingdomheartslover13. not a lot, but thank you none the less. I really appreciate it, and hope to see more!

I hope to get even more reviews as I get further into the story.

Chapter 3

As we stepped out of the portal, we found ourselves in Halloween Town; a creepy place where the citizens are just as freaky, if not freakier, than even the local cemetery. There were always tons of heartless here, making it one of the prime locations for heart retrieval.

I took a quick glance down at the little blonde standing next to me. He really did look terrible, and after that whole head injury thing, I was looking for any excuse to send him home.

Roxas must've felt my eyes on him, because he looked up with a stern expression and growled, "Okay, how many times am I going to have to tell you I'm fine before you actually believe me?"

"After you get the color back in your face, and once your injury heals; that's when I'll believe you," I said with a tender smirk, patting him on the back.

The blonde shook his head dismissively and turned away, "You're an idiot sometimes, you know that?" He muttered something else under his breath and wealked away.

I'm just worried about you. Is that such a bad thing?

I sighed and began following him down the path leading outside of town. Why was he so adamant about staying at a distance? It's not like I was tying him to a sick bed and force feeding him medicine. The least he could do is let me worry about him without clawing my eyes out.

(Roxas POV)

I was not in the mood to listen to Axel prattle on with his questions regarding my well being. It was hard enough trying to maintain my equilibrium and keep from puking everywhere to deal with the overly concerned redhead at the moment. Thankfully it wasn't nearly as bad as earlier, and I was able to put on a convincing facade. In fact, I may actually be able to even kill a few heartless.

The path lead to a dead and barren forest; no signs of life anywhere. Even the trees were bone dry. This was one of the prime locations for heartless to hang out, and I wanted to get this over with quickly.

"Come on, Ax," I called behind me, rather annoyed with how slow the older male was being, "If you don't keep up, we'll be here all day."

Suddenly, another of those all too familiar chills ran down my spine. In a quick flash of light I summoned my keyblade, tensing for battle. The action made my head spin slightly, but I shook it off trying to focus all my attention on the invisible enemy. They were here, I just couldn't tell where. My brain was too foggy for me to get an accurate read on their location, and it was pissing me off.

"Roxas, behind you!"

I turned at the sound of Axel's warning, but not nearly quick enough. The next thing I knew, I was desperately trying to pick myself up off the ground; a sharp pain coursing through my side from where the heartless' claws tore through flesh. Unfortunately, I was making absolutely no progress. My arms would buckle underneath me every time; there was no way in hell I was getting back up. All I could do was watch hopelessly as the heartless stalked toward me, poised to strike. I braced myself as they lunged at me, tightly shutting my eyes so I wouldn't have to watch as they ripped me open with their claws.

When no pain came, I hesitantly cracked an eyelid to find Axel guarding me protectively. The dark creatures had drawn back, but were preparing another attack. Not even bothering to bat an eyelash, Axel summoned an enormous wall of flames to shield us. The attack instantly vaporized the unsuspecting creatures, reducing them to little more than charcoal. Any remaining heartless fled immediately, leaving the redhead and I alone in the quiet wilderness.

"Rox, are you okay?" the older male rushed to my side and knelt down beside me. It looked as though he were debating on whether or not to touch me the way he held his hands tentatively in the air above me.

"Yeah, just a scratch," I replied, "I should be okay." I clutched at the wound as blood dripped to the forest floor. It was pretty deep, but it was nothing I couldn't handle.

As the red head helped me to my feet, I was suddenly overcome with an intense dizziness. My vision turned white, and it felt as though the world was yanked out from underneath me. I could feel myself falling, as well as the redhead's grip on my body tightening. That was the very last thing I remembered from that night; the rest was merely a blur.

(Axel POV)

Luckily I managed to catch him before he fell, and held him close to my body. He clung to my coat to try and keep from toppling over as he began to sway from side to side.

"I don't feel so good," the little blonde muttered incoherently.

"Dammit," I growled, lifting him bridal style, "We need to get you back home."

"But, what about the mission?"

"Screw the mission!" Roxas jumped slightly at my outburst, "I'd much rather have Saix pissed at me than having to explain your death to Xemnas." He didn't protest; simply snuggled closer to my body.

I cursed at myself as I trudged through the forest back to the portal. I'd completely spaced opening a new one before I picked Roxas up, and the last thing I was going to do was set him down. That meant my hands were occupied so opening a new passageway was impossible, and it was at least a twenty minute hike back to the one we came through.

"A-Axel," Roxas whispered, his voice shaky, "I-I'm c-c-cold." I stopped for a moment and glanced down at him. The little guy was shivering and clinging desperately to my body for warmth. What made this situation unusual was that he normally complained about my abnormally high body temperature, and would try to pull away from me because he got so hot. Not only that, but his face was drenched in sweat. Curious, I touched the back of my hand to his forehead, then pulled away and started walking again; this time at a much faster pace.

He gazed up at me with confused, half-lided azure eyes as I tried to hold him further from my body, "Axel?" The blonde tried to pull me closer, but was far too weak for his attempt to have any affect.

"I'm sorry, Rox," I huffed as I finally made it to the entrance of the town, "but you're burning up. I can't let you get any warmer, no matter how cold you think you are." Roxas simply grasped at my sleeve, still shivering and trying to pull my body closer to his. His fever was screwing with his internal thermometer, making him believe he was freezing when in reality his temperature was spiking to dangerously high levels.

"Thank God!" I sighed in relief as we finally came to the portal. Wasting no time, I rushed through, still cradling Roxas in my arms from a distance.

When we reappeared, we were standing in Vexen's lab. The scientist was huddled over some test tubes and beakers; each containing bright, colorful liquids. He didn't acknowledge us as we entered, so he was obviously unaware of our presence.

"Vexen!" I yelled, a little annoyed with the older male. The sound of my voice caused him to jump; the action soon followed by the sound of three or four test tubes shattering.

He grasped at the edge of the table angrily and, without turning around, growled, "What is it, Axel?"

"I need you to take a look at Roxas," I almost ordered, "There's something seriously wrong with him. He needs help, ASAP." By this time, the blonde's face had paled to a ghostly white, and he was grasping at his chest.

Vexen casually sauntered over and examined him closely, then turned on his heel and opened another portal. "Take him to the medical ward and I'll treat him there," he sighed.

I nodded and followed him into the darkness. The hospital section of the castle was rather cramped, and consisted of only three beds. However, there was a large assortment of rather expensive looking machinery.

Vexen wandered into the back room; probably to get some sort of medical utensil; leaving Roxas and I alone. I delicately placed the small blonde in one of the beds at the end and knelt down next to him. His trembling had become much more violent, and his eyes were clamped tightly shut. The panting had also grown much heavier than it had been earlier.

"Roxas?" I whispered, brushing his face with the back of my hand. He whimpered in response and tightened his grip on his chest. Blood from his earlier injury had also begun to pool underneath him, only serving to add to the little blonde's problems. A moment later, Vexen returned carrying a needle filled with some sort of fluid. "What's that?" I asked as he embedded it into Roxas' arm. Almost instantly, the small blonde relaxed and his body went limp.

"A rather powerful sedative," Vexen replied simply and rolled Roxas over onto his back. He quickly retrieved a tiny flashlight from his pocket, then lifted one of Roxas' eyelids and flashed it in his eye. "Hm," he pondered, storing the light back in his coat, "His pupils are dilated." I gazed at the doctor expectantly, hoping to get an explanation for the little blonde's illness. The older male gave a quick glance in my direction, then did a double take. "You can go now," he urged in annoyance, shooing me away. I snorted and reluctantly took my leave, knowing full well that nothing would get done until I left.

Sorry it's such a short chapter

I promise the next one will be much longer, cause I'll have to keep writing until I find a good place to stop which there won't be for another 10 pages in my notebook. So, again, sorry.

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