Hello people of fanfiction. Sorry I didn't update sooner. If you live in the US, then you probably heard about the fire in Boulder, Colorado. Yeah, my house is about a mile from the actual flames, so we had to be evacuated for a little while. But I'm back, and I've finished chapter 7!

Anyway, I wanna give a special thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: BlendInTheDarkness, HoneybeeX, Christina E. Lupin, Xian Ke, themusicalmuffin, kingdomheartslover13, and Cipher-of-Will. All of you made this chapter possible.

Please review, and in turn I will continue to write more chapters. Oh, and by the way, this is where the story starts getting interesting :D

Chapter 7

(Axel POV)

Days passed for what seemed like an eternity. In reality it was only about a week, but, hey, what do I know?

Roxas seemed surprisingly healthy for someone supposedly terminally ill. I mean, aside from his occasional 'episodes', he was in fairly decent condition. In fact, he seemed to pretty much be back to his normal self. To prove my point, the little guy was currently chastising me for being too openly affectionate.

Ah, it's nice to have the old Roxas back.

"Axel."

"What?"

"I've told you twice now, get your hands off my ass."

"Hey, it's not my fault your succulent buns are so tantalizing."

SMACK!

I whimpered and rubbed the back of my now throbbing head. He's a feisty little thing, that's for sure. The stinging lump on the back of my head was proof enough of that and damn did it hurt somethin' awful.

"You're so mean to me, Roxy. I compliment you on your adorable little ass, and what do you do? You hit me. Now I don't think that makes for a healthy relationship, Roxy-poo."

The ruffled little blonde crossed his arms in a huff. "Well maybe if you kept your hands to yourself once in a while, you pedo-leech, maybe I wouldn't have to knock some sense into you. You're lucky you still have both your arms and legs."

"Now, now Roxy," I waggled my finger, "Violence is never the answer. Perhaps you could try talking things out, or maybe even try writing a strongly worded letter, you know, like a civilized person."

SMACK!

Ow, okay, that one hurt a little more. Not only did he hit me, he even had the nerve to snigger a bit at the pain he caused me. Oh, he will pay dearly.

Before the little rat even had time to protest, I took his chin between my thumb and index finger and captured his soft, rosy pink lips in my own in a passionate kiss. He wriggled a bit at first, but once I skillfully slipped my tongue passed his lips and into his mouth, he succumbed to the kiss. I could feel his arms wrap around my neck and take fistfuls of my hair as he pulled me closer, deepening the kiss. The moist cavern that was his mouth was hot and welcoming, and his tongue wormed its way around my own in enthusiastic greeting. His taste was so sweet, almost like strawberries and spring water. I was always curious as to how he always managed to taste like that, but I didn't complain. I loved his taste.

Eventually we pulled away; a string of saliva trailing from our lips. We stayed about an inch away from the other's face, just enough so that the tips of our noses barely touched, and gazed into each other's eyes. I'd almost forgotten how beautiful his glorious sapphires were, and I couldn't help but be entranced by them.

His warm breath tickled my cheeks, halfway snapping me from my trance. "Your eyes are beautiful," I breathed, then pressed my lips to his forehead. I laughed as his eyes widened and his face flushed a deep red. He was simply adorable, and he was mine. Nothing would take him from me.

"Hey Axel?"

"Yes my love?" I delicately traced my long fingers along his cherry red cheek. He shivered slightly under my touch, and I grinned to myself internally.

"You're overstepping my restrictions on PDA. You're just lucky no one was around to see that or I would've had to cut your dick off." I knew he meant to sound threatening, but with how shaky and nervous his voice was. It didn't sound too convincing.

I chuckled and raised my hands defensively as I gave the little guy his space. Sometimes I wish he could be a little less self conscious, but that's just the type of person he was, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

With a soft sigh and an annoyed huff we continued down the now darkening path. It was odd to get an assignment here during sunset, and by the look of things, maybe even night as well. That was very strange indeed. In fact, it was probably putting me a little more on edge than necessary. Either that…or something was watching us from the shadows, and I had a sneaking suspicion as to what that 'something' might be.

"They're watchin us," I muttered lowly. I could feel my entire body tense with anticipation, and I was just waiting for them to make a move. Roxas nodded. "You sure you're up for this? You did just get out of the hospital after all."

"I'll be fine." His voice was reassuring, if only for the fact it had been just as low and serious as mine had been. Bright sapphire darted around the darkness from my peripheral vision.

Suddenly, Roxas gasped and slowly crouched down to his knees, clutching his chest. "Shit, Rox you okay?" I knelt beside him and placed a supporting on his back. Damn, this is not the time for this, I growled to myself. He tried to answer, but all that escaped him was an agonized whine. This wasn't good.

The shadows shifted on the street and buildings. They were starting to make their move. I stood protectively over my little love, and in a burst of fire my chakrams appeared at my sides. I glared into the darkness, almost daring them to attack.

Unfortunately for me, they called my bluff. All at once, dozens of heartless emerged from the ground and poured from the walls, drenching the entire alleyway in inky darkness. There was too many for us to handle by ourselves, especially since Roxas wasn't getting up anytime soon.

"Shit," I snarled under my breath. What the fuck am I supposed to do?

At the moment, there was only one thing I could do. Fight. I lunged at the sinister creatures, slashing at them with all my might. With everything I gave, it would seem like I would have at least made some progress. But no matter how many I destroyed, even more appeared in their place. I wasn't getting anywhere!

"Dammit." I leapt back and glared at the thousands of heartless now surrounding us. There was no way we were going to get out of this alive. It was now or never. I had one attack I knew could destroy all of them, but it came at a cost. Oh well, if it meant giving Roxas a bit more time, then I was willing to sacrifice my very existence for him. Roxas is my everything; he's the heart I've been trying so hard to obtain; I wasn't going to allow him to loose his life for something like this.

I took a battle stance and absentmindedly twirled my chakrams in my hands. This was it. Goodbye Roxas. Just as I was about to leap back in, a familiar figure leapt in front of me. His golden hair sparkled in the moonlight, contrasting against the darkness. Panic swept over me. He couldn't handle a fight like this in his condition, even if he had recovered from his pain spell.

"Roxas! What the hell do you think you're doing! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

He didn't even make a move to look in my direction, and kept his back to me. In a bright flash his keyblade appeared in his left hand, though it looked strangely more like a sword than a keyblade. I always thought he was right handed, the thought quickly passed through my head as I watched in awe. His stance was so strange; tense, yet somehow it held an air of ease and calm, as if he didn't care. It was like he was silently challenging them. The heartless were all too willing to oblige. In one mass, they all lunged at the keybearer, claws barred and glistening in the moonlight.

"ROXAS, NO!" I screamed and reached out to him. No, he can't die, he just can't.

However, what I saw next completely knocked me for a loop. In what appeared to be a single fluid motion, the thousands of heartless that had just seemed to keep coming were all slain. Not a single one remained. I could have sworn it was a trick of the mind, or something like that, if it had not been for the hundreds of hearts ascending into the sky, only to be captured by darkness and sent to become part of Kingdom Hearts.

"Wha-What the…Roxas, wha-…What was that?" I stammered helplessly as I tried to make sense of the situation.

Roxas' back was still to me. It was as though he hadn't even moved a single muscle the entire time. He didn't answer, and continued to stare off into the distance, allowing his blade to vanish in the same flash of light from which it had appeared. I took a hesitant step toward the smaller male, reaching out to him. Suddenly, his head dropped against his chest, and he brought his hands up to cradle his face. Out of nowhere, he started laughing. It was a low, almost inaudible sound that chilled me to the bone. It seemed to permeate the entire town despite how quiet it was, and echoed off the walls. Gradually, the cold and soulless laughter became louder and louder until the blonde was throwing his head back howling manically like some deranged psychopath.

I had never truly been scared of anything in my entire life. But this, this scared the ever loving shit outta me. It was absolutely terrifying, and I could feel every hair on my body standing on end. I wanted nothing more than for it to stop.

Almost as if he could hear my silent pleas, the laughter ceased and his hands dropped back to his sides. He stared off into the distance just as before, though I couldn't see his face, and I didn't think I wanted to.

"H-H-Hey, R-Roxas?" My voice was painfully shaky, despite how hard I was trying to hide my fear. At this rate I felt as though I might shake out of my own skin with how badly I was trembling. When he didn't respond, I took a step closer to the blonde, then another, until I was standing right behind him. I hesitantly extended my arm ever so slightly; my fingers just barely grazing his shoulder, when he whipped around to face me.

I nearly leaped out of my skin at the horrifying sight before me, and ended up jumping a few feet back. His eyes weren't the same deep azure I had fallen in love with, instead they were some sort of inhuman aquamarine that seemed to glow of their own accord. The pupils were merely slits, like some sort of feral cat's eyes. They held no emotion other than pure blood lust and some disturbingly sick sense of amusement. Other than that, they were cold, lifeless glass orbs.

What appeared to be a scowl marred his features, but it quickly turned into a malicious sneer. He chuckled again, forcing another shiver up my spine and goose bumps on my paled flesh. This had to be some sort of fucked up nightmare or something. It couldn't be real, it just couldn't.

I swallowed hard and tried once again to approach him. "R-Ro-"

"He's coming."

My voice caught in my throat and I nearly choked on my own words. His voice was so ethereal, and definitely not something from this plane of reality. It reverberated off the buildings and seemed to percolate my very being like some infectious disease. The sound alone made my skin crawl.

"Wha-what?"

"The reunion. The reunion is almost upon us. Soon…very soon, he shall return, and everything will come into fruition. You should join us, Axel."

Again, the blonde threw his head back in crazed, maniacal laughter. His right hand moved to cover his face, and he began to stumble backwards from the sheer force. He gradually backed himself against the side of a building and collapsed, still entranced in his laughing fit. This was not Roxas. This thing before me wasn't even human. I had to bring him back. I couldn't stand seeing him like this.

I rushed over to where he sat with his back against the wall. He didn't seem aware of my presence as he continued to cackle like a madman, while holding his face. Tears had begun to stream down his pale face, and his eyes were clamped tightly shut.

I couldn't take it anymore. I took firm hold of the hysterical blonde's shoulders and shook him roughly. "ROXAS! SNAP OUT OF IT DAMMIT! YOU'RE SCARING THE SHIT OUTTA ME! WAKE UP!" I couldn't even start wondering if maybe what I was doing wasn't exactly too good for his health, seeing as he was practically dying a few minutes ago. But at the moment, the thought didn't even cross my mind. All I wanted was to get my Roxas back.

That seemed to do it. With a sharp intake of breath, Roxas' eyes shot open, revealing a pool of deep, glorious blue; oh and how beautiful that sight was. He blinked a couple times, then let out a pained groan brought his hands back up to cradle his face.

"Roxas!" I cried and practically jumped onto him, embracing him in a crushing embrace. "My God, Roxas, I thought I'd lost you forever! If you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you! Oh Roxas!"

I was far too caught up in my own bliss filled universe to notice the muffled growls beneath me. Finally one cry caught my attention.

"AXEL, GET OFFA ME!"

"Oh, whoops. Sorry Rox." I grinned with pure pleasure as I released the fuming little blonde from my grasp. As soon as I pulled away, he gasped for air with wide eyes, then narrowed them in a glare.

"You big idiot! What were you trying to do, kill me? I couldn't breathe in there!" he ranted. I know he was supposed to be intimidating, but I always found that the angrier he got, the cuter he became. One of the many reasons I mess with him. Roxas sighed and rubbed the base of his spine from when he collapsed against the wall. "And what the hell d'ya mean you thought you lost me forever? I didn't go any…wait…where did the heartless go? Weren't there like thousands of them?"

I stared at him completely unbelieving as he glanced around the alleyway; attempting to locate the missing heartless he destroyed.

"You mean you don't remember what happened?"

His attention snapped back to me, and he huffed in annoyance. "And what exactly is it I'm supposed to be remembering?"

"Dude, you were fucking possessed!" I cried, jumping to my feet, throwing my arms in the air and nearly scaring the life out of Roxas. "Your eyes turned this freaky bluish green, and they were all glowy. Then you decide somethin' is just fuckin hilarious and you start laughing like some deranged, psychopath murderer, nearly scarin the ever-loving crap outta me. Not content with that, you start goin' on about some reunion shit or whatever in this creepy ass voice that made you sound like some fucking ghost or somethin'. You nearly gave me a heart attack, and I don't even have a heart!" By the end of my rant, I panting like a dog and Roxas was staring at me wide-eyed.

He blinked a bit and shook his head, almost as if I'd made him dizzy. He was probably questioning my sanity right now, but before I could defend myself, he asked, "Are you serious?"

"Yes I am fucking serious!" I yelled, throwing my arms into the air once again before letting them drop limply back to my sides.

There was a pause as we stared at each other; Roxas still wide eyed, and me trying to recover from my rant. It seemed like hours before Roxas spoke again, this time in a low, shaky voice. "D-Do ya think…maybe…we should go back to Midgar?" he chocked.

This time it was my turn to be taken aback. "Why the hell would you want to go back there? Last time you went you came back practically dying." Okay, not practically, but I still don't think it's the right time to tell him. He's got enough to worry about with this.

"Well…maybe Cloud or someone will know. I mean, don't you think this has something to do with the geostigma?" Roxas had a good point. If anything these people would be the only ones who could possibly tell us what the hell is going on. An illness is one thing, but a possession is on an entirely different level of seriousness. "I don't think it would hurt to go see what they know."

There was another pause before I nodded. "You're right. It wouldn't hurt to go ask 'em." I turned and summoned a passageway through the darkness. Before entering however, I chuckled to myself a bit causing Roxas to arch a suspicious golden eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" he asked with the tilt of a head.

I gave him my trademark grin and mussed his fluffy blonde spikes. "Nothin'. Just surprised you actually believed me. I didn't take you to be someone to believe in something as freaky as possession. I thought for sure you were gonna call me an idiot or stupid jackass; something along those lines."

Roxas pouted and turned away, the faintest of blushes spread on his face. "Well, Zexion gave me a book on ghosts once and there was an entire chapter on possession. Gave me nightmares for about a week straight."

"You believe in ghosts?" I asked slack jawed. Again, something I never would've guessed about my precious little Roxy. He always seemed so level headed. Ghosts was not something I expected would be in his list of rational concepts.

The blush instantly grew three shades darker, and his shoulders hunched up like he was a turtle trying to hide in its shell. "Yes," he mumbled faintly. I laughed warmly and kissed his forehead.

"You're just too cute," I chuckled, then took his hand in my own, "Come on, let's go probe these guys for information."

The little blonde growled a little, then chuckled and willingly followed me into the darkness.