'Nother chapter y'all. Hahaha. There's kind of a time lapse between the last chapter and this one, because I didn't feel like writing seven months' worth of filler. You should be thanking me. No one likes filler.

Anyway, what's with the complete and total lack of reviews? Come on, people, get with the program. Sheesh.

(Insert disclaimer here.) Lol. Enjoy.

It was nearly two in the morning, but Bruixe couldn't sleep.

She'd gotten used to the emptiness of the room without Larxene, but the castle as a whole still felt empty. Out of fourteen, only nine remained.

"One, two, three, seven, eight, nine, ten, thirteen, fourteen," she whispered to herself. "You'd think we'd get new numbers."

She closed her eyes in the hopes of sleep, but gave up in a minute or two. It was no use. She shoved herself out of bed. "Might as well do something," she muttered.

She threw on a cloak and left the castle. Something about it just didn't feel right.

It was raining in the Dark City, pattering gently off the cobblestones. Around her shadows swarmed, and she called forth two of her Rogue Nobodies to flank her, keeping the Heartless away.

Bruixe walked for a few minutes, accompanied only by the strange step-step-click step-step-click of her Rogues, before she heard voices.

"Your mind's made up?"

Axel.

What is he doing out here at this time of night?

She dismissed her Rogues, creeping forward silently to peek her head around the corner of the alley she was in. Axel leaned against a building wall, watching Roxas pace in front of him. Roxas, too? What's going on?

"Why did the Keyblade choose me?" Roxas wondered aloud. "I have to know."

"You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel yelled angrily. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"

Roxas looked at the ground. "No one would miss me."

"That's not true," Axel said quietly. "I would."

Bruixe stepped around the corner. "Me too," she said simply, crossing over to the younger boy.

He looked at her sadly. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," she shrugged. "Now I know why. Roxas… you're leaving us?"

He nodded. "I can't stay. Organization XIII… I have a feeling we're headed the wrong way. I don't want to stick around for this."

"Xemnas will never let you get away," Axel argued.

"What the big guy doesn't know won't hurt him," Bruixe told him. "He won't even know Roxas is gone until the weekly meeting. He's got a three-day head start."

Roxas blinked. "You're letting me go?"

"No!" Axel said firmly. "Bruixe – the four of us are supposed to be in Twilight Town in seven hours. What if someone realizes there are only three of us?"

"It's none of our business if Roxas stays or goes," she maintained.

"Until we get in trouble for letting him go," he reminded her.

Bruixe gave him a long look, silver eyes ice-cold. "Never figured you for such a coward, hotcakes," she said coolly.

Little sparks ignited in the air around Axel's head.

"Enough," Roxas sighed. "Axel. I'm leaving now. You can fight me if you want, but conscious or not, you will let me out of this city."

Axel opened his mouth as if to argue, but thought better of it. Green eyes looked at the ground. "Whatever," he said sadly. "Roxas… be careful."

"Same goes for you two," the blonde told them. "If Xemnas catches you…"

"Like I said, he doesn't have to know we were here," Bruixe scoffed. "Take care, kiddo. We'll cover you."

"Thanks," he said sincerely, then turned and ran.

Bruixe and Axel watched him go, not saying a word. Finally Bruixe started back for the castle.

"Wait up," Axel told her, falling into step beside her. "Big words, kiddo, but you know Xemnas will be onto him by tomorrow night."

"Maybe," Bruixe admitted. "But at least he's got a head start. A day is a long time. He could go anywhere. Xemnas doesn't have the time to waste looking for him."

"That's what you think," Axel muttered.

"You think I'm wrong?"

"You don't know Xemnas like I do," he said darkly. "If he can't capture Roxas, he'll have him killed. And he'll send someone from the Organization to do it. Maybe even one of us."

Bruixe shrugged. "Like I'd kill Roxas. And you wouldn't, either."

Again Axel shook his head. "You don't know," he repeated. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

She was about to make a snide remark, but the worry on his face was no joke. Bruixe shrugged. "Well, someone ought to warn Waterboy," she told him. "Someone like you. I'm going back to bed."

"We should get our stories straight," Axel suggested. "What if someone asks us?"

Bruixe shrugged. "We were never here. Roxas had never been entirely loyal to the Organization. It won't be a surprise he's left."

"But would he leave without telling us?"

"By the looks of it, he meant to leave without telling us," she pointed out. "I know he didn't mean to tell me. And did he tell you, or did you catch him?"

"I followed him," the redhead admitted.

"See? Of course it'll be believable."

Axel looked at the ground.

"What's wrong?" Bruixe wanted to know.

"It's just… life without Roxas again," Axel said sadly. "When he showed up, I was… well, not glad, I guess, but… I wasn't alone anymore. Now –"

"Well, you've got me," Bruixe told him.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"One more thing," Bruixe said. "If Xemnas finds out Roxas is gone – has been gone – he'll want to know why we didn't tell him. Why we didn't report. We'll be guilty by association."

Axel frowned. "Didn't think of that."

"Well, I am the brains of this operation," she said snidely.

"Ha ha."

"It's got to be us," Bruixe realized. "We have to turn him in."

"Are you nuts?" Axel yelled.

"No," she replied. "I didn't mean this instant, idiot. I mean in the morning. We'll play it like Roxas just never showed up to meet in Demyx's room. We wait awhile, thinking he just overslept, right? Then we send someone to check his room. Like you. You realize he's not here, we report it, Xemnas gets pissed, but Roxas gets a good, I don't know, eight, nine hours head start? It's the best we can do."

Axel thought about it a moment before he nodded. "You're right," he admitted reluctantly. "We can buy him time, but not much. I'll go tell Demyx –"

"No, don't," she decided. "Let him find out when Roxas 'doesn't show' tomorrow. That way it's more believable." She had learned her lesson in the Eternal Kingdom – the fewer people that knew a secret, the better the secret was kept. "Watch him squirm for a while. It could be entertaining."

Axel grinned. "That's my girl. Go get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yes, sir," she said, giving a mock salute, and trotted off to her room.