Author's note: Thinking of new levels is going to be the end of me xD If you guys have any ideas for a scenery, challenge etc, feel free to share :D

As always the parts in italics (expect for the a/n of course) are Roxas' thoughts.

Anyway, here's the next chapter. Namine decides to show up; Roxas, Axel and Demyx take on level 4 and 5 and Zexion makes a small appearance.

Abyss

Chapter 3 – Drowning Angel

A little blonde girl was calmly drawing in her sketchbook. If you would've looked over her shoulder, you could've seen the beautiful image of a lake. The girl grabbed a purple pencil and started colouring the jewels lying on the bottom of the lake.

The room was silent save for the sound of pencils softly brushing over paper.

Big blue eyes were focused on the paper but there was a distinctive sadness hidden beneath them. Hidden far deeper than the jewels in the depths of the imaginary lake.

The little girl just kept on drawing…

"Wake up, sleepy head!"

Roxas was not amused when he was woken up by a very energetic Demyx. Of course he's a morning person. Dragging himself out of bed, the blonde saw Axel making breakfast. After muttering a 'good morning' he dropped his head on the kitchen table with a thud.

"Mornin', Roxie. Did you sleep well?" The redhead asked. The answer seemed obvious as the blonde was pretty much falling back asleep on the table.

"Not enough sleep," Roxas mumbled. His dreams had been filled with clowns, flesh-eating butterflies and chilling purple eyes. He had been tempted to just crawl into the redhead's bed for comfort but had managed to resist the urge. He wasn't sure if he would be able to keep it up though. They had all shared the same room, with Axel's bed only inches from his own.

Trying to keep his mind off his nightly horrors, Roxas asked, "What are the next two levels like?"

"The fourth level is in a church. It's quite a heavenly experience," answered Axel mockingly. "Your sword skills will come in handy. That's really all you need to know."

Roxas didn't feel like he was going to like that level. "What about the fifth one?"

Demyx stopped attacking his breakfast for a second to answer with huge smile on his face. "The fifth level has a beautiful forest with a large lake. We need to dive up the jewels on the bottom of it." The mohawk-haired man closed his eyes as if to picture the view and looked like if he was in pure bliss. Roxas blinked at the sight and looked to Axel for an explanation.

"Demyx likes swimming," Axel deadpanned. It sounded like quite an understatement.

"Just diving it up? That sounds easy," Roxas said. "There's a catch isn't there?" Axel just nodded before he took another bite out of his breakfast. "Aren't you going to tell me what it is?" The blonde asked when the tattooed man made no attempt to speak.

The redhead sighed, "We'll have time for a Q&A when we get there. Let's just enjoy breakfast for now."

After the trio had finished eating breakfast, taking showers and were now lounging a bit on the couch, a computer voice rang through the room. Scaring the hell out of Roxas, as usual. And while Axel and Demyx were cracking up over the blonde's 'masculine' squeal, the voice played its message.

"Good morning, subjects VIII, IX and XIII." The lights went off and on, revealing a bare room with a staircase. "You will now advance towards Level 4."

After ascending the stairs, they stood outside an abandoned church. It looked ancient and almost all the windows were broken, yet it still maintained an impressive presence. With a sigh, Axel turned to Roxas and said, "Okay, once we step in here, just grab the nearest candlestick you can find. They're very tall." The redhead looked Roxas over. "Heh, they're probably taller than you. They make good weapons."

After blinking in surprise at the strange order, Roxas nodded and the trio entered the church.

Light filtered through the broken windows, giving the church an ethereal atmosphere. A huge organ filled the room. It looked in perfect shape, which was weird considering the church had seemed abandoned. There were statues everywhere. The marble sculptures had immense wings and were dressed in some kind of warrior outfit. They looked like a cross between angels and warrior goddesses. Every part of them was carved in great detail, making them look almost real.

A little too real, as Roxas was going to find out.

The moment the trio stepped into the church, the organ started playing a tune, all on its own. The music seemed to awaken the dozen of statues scattered throughout the room. Lazily, all the sculptures stretched their huge wings before looking menacingly at the three young men before them. Axel and Roxas each quickly grabbed the nearest life-sized candlesticks they could find. And then the warrior angels began their attack.

"You could have been a bit more specific, you know!" Roxas grounded out as he used the candlestick to block one of the statues' attack. Like mentioning that freaky statues were going to attack us.

Axel didn't get the chance to make a witty reply as Demyx had sneaked his way over the organ and began to match the melody, which the instrument had begun playing on its own. After a few false notes, the musician matched it perfectly and the statues stopped moving.

"Great going, Dem." The redhead didn't keep his eyes of the now motionless statues as he spoke to Roxas, "The statues remain frozen as long as Demyx matches the melody. In the meantime we need to find the correct key." Which was going to be quite a problem seeing that all the angels were wearing a key, strapped around their waist with a simple rope.

"A fake key turns to dust the moment you touch it. However, reaching for one lowers your defence and if Demyx plays a false note…" Axel didn't need to finish his sentence. One false note and the statues would be able to move again. Capable of attacking their momentary lowered guard.

Both had turned four fake keys to dust, when the organ suddenly changed to another melody. Demyx wasn't able to keep up so fast and the statues regained their mobility.

Surprised by the sudden movement, Roxas could only dive to the side as one of the angel-like statues aimed for his head. He'd evaded the attack, but had lost his weapon. The angel quickly moved in for another strike but was broken to pieces by a very infuriated Axel.

"I told you to keep your guard up, damn it!" The redhead yelled. Roxas would've felt mad at being yelled at if he hadn't noticed the anxious concern crossed across Axel's features. Scrambling up from the ground, he grabbed the fallen candlestick and fended off more attacks.

Luckily, Demyx could match the new melody after a few minutes and the sculptures became frozen again. Another four keys were turned to dust, before Roxas was holding the correct key.

"Where's the key lock?" The blonde asked. He put the key in one of his pockets to keep both his hands usable for attack.

"On the other side of the orga-" Axel was cut off when the organ began another new melody. Ready this time, both prepared themselves for more attacks. But this time one of the angels focused his gaze on the unsuspecting musician.

Unable to move forward to help because of the other statues blocking their path, Roxas could only yell a warning, "Demyx! Look out!"

Demyx turned around, startled. The angel moved in for the kill, but the mohawked man grabbed one of the stones littered on the floor and hit the angel full in the face. Scattering it to pieces. "I still got it," he said with a wide grin. "Throw me the key, Roxas!"

Roxas was still shocked by the counterattack of the man he had deemed harmless, but dug up the key from his pockets and threw it to Demyx.

Demyx caught the key easily and moved to the left side of the organ, fitting it in the keyhole. Grabbing some more rocks, he threw them at the winged statues, with surprising accuracy. This way Axel and Roxas could reach the new opening without being overwhelmed by the sculptures.

All three of them passed through the opening into a new room.

It was another bland waiting room.

"Congratulations. You have passed Level 4." The computer played its mandatory message. Not scaring the life out of Roxas for the first time.

The blonde was too busy feeling embarrassed about underestimating Demyx. I thought he wouldn't be able to even lift those stones. Let alone throw them for meters with perfect aim. He looked at the musician who was now wearing a very big smile. In sharp contrast to a certain redhead, who seemed to be sulking. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I hate water." "I love water."

The two sentences were said at the same time and Roxas couldn't keep himself from laughing slightly. Axel and Demyx both looked like little children. One very happy kid, and one very disgruntled brat.

"Are you laughing at us, Roxie?" Axel said with a pout. He put his hand on Roxas' head and messed up his hair. "That's not very nice." He couldn't keep himself from grinning along though. The blonde looked so cute when he was trying to suppress his laughter. The poor thing really didn't smile enough.

The computer finished its message in the meantime. "You may now continue to Level 5." A stairwell reaching to the new level appeared.

Demyx pretty much bounced up the stairs, happily humming a song. Axel and Roxas followed at a more mellow pace.

The newest room was indeed a forest with a huge lake. It was a sparkling and mesmerizing sight. The scenery was stuck in a permanent night time, with the moon and stars looking down on the forest. A blue hue filled the air as there were blue glittering diamonds everywhere; in the water, on the leaves and flowers. Red jewel orbs were scattered on the bottom of the lake. The ruby colour was in stark contrast with the blue scenery.

The entire forest was silent. The water was still and not a single animal could be seen or heard. Everything was tranquil. The sight left Roxas speechless as he watched in awe. Blue eyes sparkling like the diamonds scattered throughout the forest.

And then Demyx dove into the water with a huge splash. So much for tranquillity.

"There are ten orbs in the lake, of which five are the ones we need," Axel had apparently decided it was time for some explanations. "If you grab the correct orb then you can just swim up to the surface and bring it on land. But if you pick the wrong one…" As the redhead had droned on, Demyx had grabbed one of the orbs. But as soon as he had, the orb lost its ruby colour and turned blue. "…Well, just watch and see."

Suddenly the temperature in the room dove down. At the same time, the lake's liquid surface turned to ice.

Trapping Demyx underneath it.

Roxas started running towards the lake to save the swimmer, but Axel grabbed his wrist and held him back. "The surface will return to normal in three minutes," Axel explained when the blonde glared at him. "Demyx is an experienced diver. Three minutes is easy for him, so don't worry."

Relieved, the blue-eyed blonde let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. And yes, after three minutes the surface returned to normal and Demyx swam back to shore.

"So who's next?" The now drenched man asked.

If he likes this so much, then can't he just go again? Axel made Roxas feel the man had to be some kind of mind reader when he told Roxas, "If the same person is wrong, twice in a row, then the lake stays frozen for three times as long. So if one of us makes a mistake, then we alternate." He looked at the water in distaste, as he muttered, "I love fire, not water, damn it."

"I'll do it," Roxas said with determination. "Three minutes isn't that long, right?"

Axel eyed him uncertainly. "Are you sure?," he asked. "I can do it, if you want." But Roxas shook his head and started walking towards the lake.

I need to do something back. Axel has already saved me countless of times in just two days. The blonde dove into the water and swam towards the nearest red orb. Hesitantly he grabbed the round jewel, but when nothing happened, he quickly swam back to the shore.

Demyx ran up to him and cheered, "Great job, Roxas." Then he asked, "Do you want me to go again? You can keep swimming until you make a mistake, but-"

Axel cut him off sharply, "You swim, Demyx." Roxas looked at him, feeling hurt. Does he think I can't handle it? "Don't give me that look, Roxie. Three minutes is longer than you think." The blonde didn't look convinced. "Hey, I just want to make sure you're alright. Is it a crime to care about you?" Big blue eyes widened at that reply.

"I, uh..uhh," Roxas wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply to that. Especially when Axel's green eyes were looking at him so intensely. He could feel his face heat up as a blush covered his cheeks.

The moment was broken by Demyx giggling at them, "So when's the wedding?"

Roxas could only make a strangled noise at the comment, but Axel smirked as he said, "Roxie, would look good in a dress, eh?" The blush wasn't going anywhere with the redhead talking like that, so the blonde quickly punched the mocking man on the shoulder with a glare. Chuckling silently, Axel took pity on the flustered boy and motioned for Demyx to start swimming.

Demyx got three more orbs, before he lost again. This time, Axel decided to face the water. Only to lose as well. He looked like a drowned cat when he finally got out of the water. Pretty much hissed like one too. I should probably take pity on him, but he looks so funny. Haha.

"Will Demyx go again now?" Roxas asked, trying to suppress his laughter.

Axel sighed, "No can do. We switched because if a person takes two turns after losing the first, he faces triple penalty, right?" Roxas nodded. "Well, if the next person also chooses a wrong orb, then both swimmers will face a triple length of 'frozen' time."

"You mean, that if either you or Demyx dive again, you'll be stuck for nine minutes if you pick wrong again?" Roxas asked. They both nodded. "Okay, then I'll go. We have four orbs, and have chosen three wrong ones. That means there are still three possibilities left."

The redhead didn't look happy about it, but agreed. Demyx might be good, but nine minutes would be pushing it, even for him.

Roxas took a deep breath before he dove in. The last three orbs were the most far away; he could feel himself running slightly out of breath when he had almost reached one of the orbs. I'll just take another breath, before touching the orb. But, when he moved to reach to surface, the lake suddenly froze over. Trapping him underwater.

"Roxas!" Axel called out. "Damn, he didn't know that if you try to surface before touching a orb, it also freezes over." He pushed his fist into the nearest tree. "We should've told him!"

"If he grasps the right orb, then he can surface again," Demyx tried hopefully. Axel just gave him a fearful look, one that clearly said 'and if he doesn't?'.

The blonde had already picked up on Demyx's train of thought and was quickly swimming towards hopefully the right orb. When the surface had suddenly frozen over, Roxas had been so surprised that he had opened his mouth, letting the water in and his breath out. He needed air desperately.

He touched the orb, hoping to whatever god out there, it would be the right one. No such luck. The orb lost its red shine, showing it was a wrong one. I can't last another three minutes!

The boy swam back to the ice, pounding on it in a desperate attempt to break it. But it wouldn't budge. Roxas felt pain shoot throughout his body as it screamed out for air. Softly, he could hear hammering from the surface as Axel and Demyx were pounding on the ice from the other side to try and free the blonde. But the noise sounded distant as Roxas could feel himself slip out of consciousness. I'm drowning…dying…

Slowly his vision was going dark, but out of the blue he saw a little blonde girl appear in the water. She wasn't getting wet, but was just floating there. Then the girl showed him a sketch; on the paper was a lake, a frozen-over lake. Then she swept her black pencil above the drawn ice, making it look like it had cracked. Her blue eyes smiled softly at him before strong arms pulled him out of the water.

"Roxas! Breathe, damn it! Breathe!" Roxas distantly registered Axel yelling at him as he coughed up what seemed litres of water. He wasn't sure if it was water or tears on his cheeks, his whole body hurt so much that he just wanted to curl up in a ball and sob. Neither Demyx or Axel would allow that though as they pulled him into a sitting position, forcing him to look at two very frightened faces.

"Are you alright? Can you breathe properly?" Demyx asked anxiously. Roxas could only nod as he gulped up the air his body was screaming for. Axel was softly rubbing his back, looking equally worried.

"Demyx, get the last orb and fit them together to release the key," Axel said. "No way we're going to do this all over again." Demyx nodded and dove through one of the cracked parts to reach the orb.

The redhead cupped Roxas' cheek as he looked at him, eyes serious. Once he was certain the blonde was going to be alright, he pinched him in his cheek and said, "You're lucky we could break the ice in time. Any longer and you would've…" Axel couldn't finish the sentence.

"Didn't you see her?" Roxas asked with a raspy voice. She broke the ice. Not you or Demyx. It didn't make any sense, but nothing in this place did.

"See who?" Axel asked with a confused look in his eyes.

"That blonde girl. She was holding a drawing of this place and-" The blonde was caught in a coughing fit before he could finish his sentence.

Rubbing his back again, Axel just looked at Roxas with a soft gaze. "There wasn't anyone, you probably made her up because of the lack of oxygen."

The drenched boy wanted to argue that statement, but realized it wouldn't do any good. A girl appearing underwater, totally dry, and cracking the ice by just drawing a crack? No, Axel wouldn't believe that. He shouldn't believe it either, but he knew she had been there.

"Okay, I got the key," Demyx said as he walked back towards Axel and Roxas. He still looked very worried.

Roxas sighed as he said, "I'm alright, Demyx. Stop worrying." He tried to stand up, but Axel wouldn't allow it. In one sweep, he folded Roxas in his arm, bridal-style. "Put me down!" Roxas commanded, looking very flustered. Axel just gave him a disbelieving look.

"If you think you're walking anywhere right now, then you're mistaken." His tone didn't leave any room for argument.

Demyx piped in, "Like we said before, after finishing level five you can rest whenever you finish one level." He turned the key into the lock that was hidden in one of the trees.

"Welcome to the second Rest Room, Roxie," Axel said after entering the new room with Roxas in his arms.

The new Rest Room was a lot more inviting than the first one. A small television was centred in the living room, surrounded by comfy couches. It had a kitchen filled with delicious food instead of just bread and water. And the bathroom had a warm bath, which the freezing blonde was going to use.

The trio weren't the only ones in the room though. A short man with dark blue hair slated over his right eye sat comfortably on one of the couches with a book in his hands. His one visible eye looked at them as they entered the new room.

"Zexy!" Demyx cried out as he tried to hug the smaller man. But the man just closed his book and hit Demyx lightly with it on the head.

"Don't call me that," He calmly reprimanded. Demyx just pouted, whining about how mean 'Zexy' was.

The way everyone just ignored Demyx's whining, Roxas felt that this had to be some kind of routine. The blue-haired man focused his attention to the blonde and Roxas realised he was still in Axel's arms. Well, this is awkward…

Axel decided to break the silence –the musician's whining didn't seem to count since it was ignored– and said, "Roxie, meet Zexion. Zexion meet Roxas, our latest cute addition."

After scrutinizing Roxas under his stare, Zexion gave a curt nod. Then he said, "You should probably get him in the bath, if you don't want him to get a cold." The blonde was shivering uncontrollably by now. The water in the lake had been really cold.

"Always the smart one, eh?" Axel replied, then he carried Roxas over to the bathroom. Carefully putting Roxas down on the tiles of the bathroom, the redhead moved to prepare a hot bath. The blonde could only sit there and watch, his limbs felt frozen. After laying out some towels, Axel turned to the shivering boy and smiled encouragingly. Then his smile turned to a devious smirk. "Time to get you of those wet clothes, Roxie."

What!? Roxas felt some heat return to his face as he blushed fiercely. "I c-can do t-that mys-self, Axel-l," he stuttered out, teeth clapping by the cold.

"No, you can't. You can hardly move your body, Roxie," Axel replied. His smirked widened, before he continued, "Don't worry, Roxie. I won't molest you." A pause. "Much." The redhead then calmly proceeded to strip Roxas down to his boxers. Warm hands pausing on the blonde's skin longer than necessary.

Then there was knock on the door, freeing Roxas of the redhead's smouldering gaze and Demyx appeared to hand over a pair of pyjama's. Axel handed the musician Roxas' clothes for Demyx to hang up to dry.

Turning back to Roxas, the redhead picked up the flustered blonde and placed him on the edge of the warm bath. "You can ditch that last piece of clothing yourself, Roxie," He winked. "Enjoy your bath." And with that he left the room. Leaving Roxas to slowly warm up again. Though his face really didn't need any more heating.

After having the feeling return to his limbs, Roxas got out of the bath, dried off and tried on the pyjamas Demyx had brought him. They were far too big. The pants wouldn't even stay up; his hips were too narrow. With a sigh, the blonde decided to ditch the pants and just wear the shirt. It was so long that it almost came to his knees anyway.

He wanted to enter the living room, when he overheard the other three in the middle of a conversation.

"Why did you drop so low, Zexy? Last time I saw you, you were above level ten," Demyx asked.

When the blue-haired man made no move to answer, Axel cut in, "You failed on purpose, right? To join Dem here." He grinned at the slight twitch that Zexion gave at his comment. Then the smaller man just sneered back.

"Like you have a right to talk. You were at level seventeen, but returned to level one to save the new kid," Zexion said. "You've never failed a level to save someone before, Axel."

The redhead didn't seem to have a reply and just turned his head away. Roxas felt his stomach make a pleasant twist at that new information. He was so close to the twentieth level, but chose to save me instead?

Demyx interrupted Roxas' musings when noticed the blonde standing near the door and said, "Hey, Roxas. Did you enjoy your bath?"

Before Roxas could reply though, Axel looked him over, "What happened to your pants, blondie?" That infamous smirk of his had worked its way up his lips again at the sight. The blonde really looked adorable with fluffy towel-dried hair and an overgrown shirt. Especially when he blushed at the inquiry.

"They wouldn't stay up," Roxas muttered, feeling embarrassed. The redhead chuckled at the reply.

Zexion cut in, "You should get to sleep. To allow your body to recover and stay warm under the blankets." Axel nodded and led the blonde to one of the bedrooms.

"We won't all have to sleep in the same room anymore. There are only two-persons bedrooms now." The redhead smiled down at Roxas. "We'll share rooms if that's okay with you."

"That's fine", Roxas replied as he stepped into the bedroom. As long as I can resist crawling into your bed after more nightmares…

Axel's smile broadened slightly at the reply. "I'll join you in a minute. Wouldn't want to risk waking the others." Roxas looked questionably at the redhead when he said 'others'. "Marluxia, Larxene and Xaldin are here too, but they're already asleep. You'll see them in the morning," he explained.

The blonde crawled under the warm covers of his bed when Axel left and closed his eyes. He wasn't allowed to sleep peacefully though, minutes later he awoke from a nightmare. Shivering, Roxas looked to his left and saw Axel, in bed, staring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head.

"Can't sleep, blondie?" The redhead asked. He turned his head to look Roxas in the eye but the latter turned his head away. With a sigh, he said, "You're probably still cold, right? Just come over here." He motioned with his finger for the blonde to join him in the bed.

Both knew the cold was just an excuse, but Roxas gratefully joined Axel in the bed. Feeling a lot more secure when one lanky arm came to rest on his waist.

"Just sleep," Axel muttered as he drew the blonde a little closer. Roxas' eyes fluttered closed on their own in a matter of seconds.

Day 1463.

Subjects VIII, IX and XIII have passed Level 4 and 5.
Subject II has failed at Level 17. II has been relocated to Level 15.
Subject VI has failed at Level 10. VI has been relocated to Level 5.
Subject XI has failed at Level 7. XI has been relocated to Level 5.
Subject XII has failed at Level 7. XII has been relocated to Level 5.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Level 5 seems to have malfunctioned. The lake will have to be reconstructed.

Current Level of subjects:
I – 16
II – 15
III – 9
IV – 14
V – 19
VI – 5
VII – 16
VIII – 5
IX – 5
X – 17
XI – 5
XII – 5
XIII - 5

Author's note: Yay, cuddling :D now I'll feel less bad for almost drowning poor Roxie.

If any of you played Final Fantasy X, then imagine the fifth level to look like Macalania Forest's lake. That's where I borrowed (read: stole) my inspiration from ;D

Next chapter Axel, Roxas, Demyx and Zexion will take on level 6 together. Filled with stalking dolls ;D
(Marluxia and Larxene will also take on level 6, but there are 3 different possibilities now, remember? They'll join Axel and Roxas in level 7, while Demy and Zexy go on their own then.)

Please review.