Disclaimer: Honest, I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Just this story, people, that's all…(And I wish I could say Roxas was mine too…)

Chain of Hearts, Chapter 15: World That Never Was (part 4) By Nagori Kirashi

Alright, I'll admit it, quite gladly, actually; this chapter was horrible to write. Not because it wasn't fun as a writer, but as a sworn Kingdom Hearts fan and as one of the gabillions of people who look up to Sora and his oh-so-many friends, I found it an incredibly depressing part of my storyline to follow through with. I'd redo it, every last sentence of it, but… Well, at least it starts out okay.

-,-,-,-

Riku, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Hayner, Roxas and Sora all set out to fight. Kairi and Naminé stood by, moving out of the way whenever possible and nearly jumping with excitement and hope as they watched things unravel.

Roxas was just leaping at Luxford's back as the gambler was trying to ward off Riku when suddenly the blonde Keyblade weilder was knocked against the wall and held there. He could hear a deep voice whisper coldly in his ear.

"Damn you again, Roxas! Playtime is over," Saïx's voice said. Before Roxas had a time to return a comeback or come up with a strategy, he lurched forward painfully and found a deep yell escape him as pain seared through his back and along his neck. He barely had the strength to reach behind him and pull free the same knife that had been held up to his throat moments before. While he held the blood-stained knife in his slightly trembling hand, staring at it woefully as he gasped through clenched teeth, he could hear Saïx laughing deeply at him, a quiet aknowlegement of his own amusement.

"Not so high and mighty now, are we, Roxas," Saïx sneered.

As the tall leader laughed again, Roxas could feel his fists closing, and the hand that still held Saïx's knife in front of himself began to close so tightly that more blood seeped through his fingers. Roxas didn't seem to notice, only using the sight of blood and the feel of pain to simulate his anger even more.

Feeling his other side's fury, Sora turned around just in time to see Roxas let out a cry of anger and plunge the gory weapon back into Saïx.

It did no good. The gash leaked darkness as much as it did anything, and in just moments the blackness seeping from it slowly began to weave together and heal the wound. Roxas stepped back, his face spooked, and Saïx grinned once more.

"It's going to take more than that if you want to beat me," he said to Roxas, who continued to back away as the berzerkish Claymore's shape took form in Saïx's hands.

When the young Keybearer backed into something, he was so edgy from the leader's threats that the one he backed into nearly suffered an instant injury from both Roxas' Keyblades at once.

Riku had managed to block it, however, his own Keyblade turned and defending himself from Roxas as fast as the attack itself had come, even if from behind. The taller friend only looked back at him before saying, "Don't let him scare you. You can do it, Roxas."

Roxas nodded as Riku turned back into battle, then thought, 'Help me, Sora,' as he also turned back to face his enemy once more. As soon as he did, Saïx was already leaping at him. Stumbling backwards, he choked back a startled yell as he aimed blindly.

Suddenly Sora's Keyblade struck loudly with Saïx's weapon, blocking the rabid attacks from Roxas.

"Thanks," the blond said loudly, and Sora only nodded as his eyes remained locked with the gleaming stare of their enemy.

As Roxas leaped past Sora, knocking Saïx away from them, Sora could see the deep stab low to one side of his friend's back. Just looking at it, noticing it was there, sent a horrid pain on fire inside his own back. Instead of stalling to catch his breath, he clenched his teeth and joined Roxas.

Axel was beginning to not be able to take it all. He was about to run, escape from it all, when suddenly he could hear Roxas yell his name in the background.

"You gonna help us or not?" Roxas yelled to him in the midst of an attack.

"Yeah," Axel exclaimed deeply, nodding at Roxas and clencing his fists in excitement as if he had been waiting for an invitation and had been simply too afraid to ask.

Now he had been.

Suddenly the walls were lined with fire, causing the room to glow a fiery crimson. The slates that weren't already red began to glisten with a scarlet flicker, and Larxene swore viciously when her shoulder was seared by the flames. Axel threw his arms next to him, and in another burst of fire, two sharp chakrams appeared in Axel's expert grasp. It was a glimpse from the past as he used his hands to twirl the weapons around him in a whirl of heat and flame. Then there was nothing that could stop him as he lept into battle.

"This is for you guys," he yelled to Roxas in particular, and with a mischievous smile, he flung the two huge weapons forward.

In the meantime, seeing that the two main guests were distracted by the strongest of them, Marluxia along with Xigbar were taking on Hayner, trying to gang up on him but finding he could dodge all their attacks. The gleam in his eye, similar to Saïx's, was causing an uneasy edge to form on the tips of their consciousness.

Suddenly, growing frusterated from the constant attacks, Hayner let out his true fighter side, and it seemed like no matter how many attacks Xigbar actually hit him with, nothing could stop him. Marluxia was slightly horrified as the boy began to tear apart his ally, and finally he stepped back to find one of the weaker of the captives to deal with first, leaving Xigbar to fend for himself.

Naminé had been hiding in the corner when she noticed a younger member with blue hair standing aside slyly. Every now and then he would glance at her and Kairi as if keeping an eye on them. He looked about Riku's age, and though she had to admit he was quite attractive, he also frightened her by the way he continuously kept looking over. The fight didn't seem to interest him at all.

Feeling braver than usual thanks to her friends as they fought in front of her, Naminé ran over to him and shoved him. It was barely enough to make him stumble.

"What's the matter, you don't have a weapon," he said to her calmly, turning to her and barely even aknowledging her "attack".

"I might ask the same," Naminé dared him, but he laughed.

Suddenly he was growing, changing. After a moment, Naminé was standing in front of a quite large and slender black and red dragon that matched the flames on the walls to an eerie precision. Its grin reminded her of the same smile that Zexion had given her moments ago. Kairi had already backed somewhat farther away.

"Naminé!" Roxas yelled, turning. "Get away from Zexion—!"

He was cut off as Saïx's weapon clashed with his own.

"Roxas!" Naminé gasped, stepping forward as she watched her hero be knocked against the ground. At least he was able to defend himself, though, and when she turned around she realized this. As Naminé had stepped forward, she'd barely missed an attack from her own problem, which was still Zexion. Now as she watched, the great sleek creature was weaving its body in a circle to take another hit at the girl.

For some reason, it felt as if she weren't looking at Zexion as she stared at its eyes. It didn't seem real, more like he were hiding from her vision by hiding behind the mirage of something else.

It seemed cowardly, yet at the same time she felt sickly afraid.

Rather than aiming for a deadly jawful like it had looked like it would, though, it began to round her towards Kairi, backing them both together in the same corner. They were trapped between it and the corner, and though the flames lining the wall touched it, the huge dragon didn't seem bothered, nor did the flames leave any scorch-marks, thanks to its already darkened color.

"You two're staying over here, out of the way," it hissed to them in nearly the same voice that Zexion used. It still felt as if they were looking through him, as if the dragon was a fake image for Zexion to veil behind, yet somehow at the same time it didn't.

"…Coward, hiding behind whatever you call that," Naminé finally dared.

"Oh, you don't say," it replied darkly, and suddenly whatever it was Naminé felt she was looking through disappeared to reveal the dragon's naked true form, which looked so much like a Heartless, yet at the same time so much worse; with glazed blue eyes and a form so dark that it was barely distinguishable against even itself. Both she and Kairi nearly fainted into eachother's arms, managing not to scream but each hyperventilating in their own way.

After a long moment Zexion allowed himself to change back, and with a shoulder turned to them, he glanced over continuously to make sure neither tried anything. Something about him seemed to be telling them he'd be needing them later. Kairi and Naminé looked at eachother with expressions of horror that seemed to take the place of last words, then took eachother's hand as if this would help to keep them from being separated in harm's way.

At least they were safe from the rest of the gruesome fight that was taking place.

The fight continued to wage on. The friends each fought their own enemy at the moment with the exception of a helping hand now and then. Somehow Marluxia had gotten pitted against Hayner again. The ones who worked together the most were Sora and Roxas.

The two were like no other team.

"Sora!" Roxas yelled suddenly. In the middle of one of the boys' combo attacks that happened to be one of the most effective attacks either of them had ever dealt, Roxas had been knocked backwards after it was done, landing directly on top of the same spot where Xaldin had fallen. His two Keyblades landed on the ground nearby, and before he got up he held out his arms next to his sides so they reappeared in his hands.

But he wasn't in time to block Saïx's attack.

"ROXAS!!" Sora yelled, both their eyes wide as Sora could somehow feel the attack like it were being driven into him at the same time. A moment of blood came, and Saïx lifted his weapon to glare down at his work. Sora felt in as much pain as his other side did, and he slowly came down to his knees, kneeling over next to where Roxas still lie.

His sapphire blue eyes were fading.

"Sora, my…Keyblades," he managed to say, not wanting to put Sora in danger by stalling him with more depressing words. Roxas held his two weapons up slightly, and suddenly they disappeared and reappeared into Sora's hands in place of the one he had been holding in front of him like he were blaming it. Despite the pain and shock in his and Sora's eyes, Roxas' face still showed mostly determination. "…I'll still be with you, don't forget."

"No, no," Sora pleaded. Tears were coming into his own cerulean eyes as he gazed into his reflection's face.

Saïx still stood nearby, savoring the moment more than ever. Naminé was seen in the background as she turned and screamed Roxas' name, yet she was restrained by Zexion as if she were nothing.

Then Roxas' head rested on the floor, his eyes closing as he let out a final agonized gasp. The worst pain Sora had ever felt in his life was the moment he reached out to put a hand on his wounded other and felt only a whisp of tainted air as he disappeared.

Roxas was gone, only his two Keyblades and the memories remaining.

By this time Sora could already feel the tears streaming down his face; from fury, pain, and sadness. He had really lost part of himself. The Keyblader squeezed his eyes shut and grit his teeth, hanging his head towards the floor while tightening his fists until they shook.

"Sora, there's still a way to bring him back," Riku yelled while holding his Keyblade in front of himself to defend from an attack. "But not if you lose. And keep his memory close; he's still there, I promise! C'mon Sora, don't let it get to you!"

Sora could hear a soft growing noise above him, and eventually he realized it was Saïx's laughter.

Riku was right. He had to fight.

Saïx could almost feel the success inside of him. If he had a heart he would have felt it completely. This was the moment he had been waiting for, and he carefully positioned the sharp claymore above Sora, who still knelt in front of him with a bowed head.

Just as he put all his force into striking, however, he was blocked by both Roxas' Keyblades, now grasped in Sora's hands.

Saïx frowned, recognizing the weapons, yet he showed no other sign of being intimidated.

Just like his blonde side always had, Sora held Oblivion in his right hand, and Oathkeeper in his left. He gripped the handles of both firmly while he crossed them over his head, blockng Saïx's weapon before it could hit him. The physical pain he'd been feeling when Roxas had been struck down was gone now, along with what he now considered to be the minor pain he'd felt when his other side had received the back wound. Along with the injuries, it seemed, some of his feelings were gone as well, as if all that mattered was rage. It never even occurred to him that it should have been the other way around.

This time when he fought, it was different than he'd ever fought anyone before. Though he was without the help of his friends, who continued to hold back the rest of the Organization and keep them from attacking him, Sora had the strength that Roxas had given him by sharing the two Keyblades with him, and he was using them to the fullest of strength, filtering his rage through his fighting. Even the way he fought was different, with more grace and impossible maneuvers added. Although these Keyblades technically weren't his, they felt natural, like Roxas was still there controlling them instead of him.

Still, Sora knew he wasn't.

'No, don't think that way,' Sora reminded himself. 'I can't think that way. Gotta think…positive.'

Biting his lip so hard he tasted blood, he managed to force Roxas' face from his head. He had to concentrate; he hadn't fought with two Keyblades in a long time, and although he could feel Roxas' strength in the weapons he now used, Sora couldn't help but feel slower.

As they continued to fight, he watched as Saïx aimed an attack at him, yet he stood his ground, listening to his stalker's words.

"You know you're done for," he mocked the shorter boy standing before him as he prepared to close in. "You've no one else to turn to if you lose. Your friends, they're too busy. And Roxas was half your strength. You're all alone right now, Sora."

"I'll never be alone, never!" Sora said almost furiously. "Too bad you can't say the same!!"

As Saïx swung his huge weapon at him, everything becoming slower in Sora's mind as if to give him time to think. Sora tossed Oblivion in the air above him while leaping above Saïx's weapon by doing a backflip. As the claymore was beneath his back, still moving at a speed too fast for those watching, he began to spin himself around in midair, holding out the Keyblade he still held so that both struck Saïx's own weapon from his hands loudly. Still feeling as if life was in slow motion and before the Claymore had even fallen from Saïx's hands onto the floor, he continued to twirl around, releasing Oathkeeper directly at Saïx. Sora immediately did another turn before he landed to catch Oblivion, still twirling above him in the air as it fell. He used its momentum as he caught it to swing himself around a last time, his footing firm and perfectly timed while releasing the last Keyblade he still held onto so it too flew at Saïx.

Both attacks struck his enemy hard before returning to his hands, causing the leader to stall even before he could glance around for his dropped weapon. Sora used it to his advantage, catching the Keyblades in his hand. Somehow using a stealth skill that only the previous owner of the two Keyblades could have pulled off, Sora was suddenly standing behind Saïx. He then crossed the Keyblades into a wide X that he quickly positioned around Saïx himself, then rapidly tore the two weapons outward along the necks so that the great new Superior was nearly torn in half.

When Saïx doubled forward, his back was left exposed, and Sora braced both of his Keyblades together to form an even stronger weapon, which he lodged directly through where Saïx's heart would have been.

Moments later Sora stood, holding Oblivion in his right hand and Oathkeeper in his left, and watching with a stubborn look of hatred on his face as Saïx began to sink to the ground.

The leader looked up at him on his knees.

"Why…do you still fight? Why don't you just give up?" Saïx asked him, and when he was this close Sora could see that Saïx's eyes were blank, no matter what expression his face took on. "You've lost so much, yet still…"

"If you had a heart you'd understand," Sora said, his face burning as he remembered the image of Roxas disappearing.

Then Saïx cringed loudly after Sora lunged forward for the final attack, letting his breath out as a wheeze. By the time he had slowly sunk forward onto the ground, he had both of Roxas' Keyblades stuck in him. Sora made no move for a moment, and then his emotions began to return. As if to remind him the tears that followed were not without reason, both Oblivion and Oathkeeper disappeared before he could withdraw them. Instead when he held out his hand his Kingdom Keyblade appeared.

Saïx was defeated…but Sora felt no victory.

Only emptiness.

His victory had come at a price, and that price was part of himself.

"C'mon, Sora, you gotta help us out!" Donald yelled from the background, healing Hayner's arm as he stood nearby grasping it. "We can't take these guys without you, you know that!"

Yet they could have managed, because upon seeing their leader's defeat, one by one the remaining members slowly disbanded from the room. Of those who never made it out of the room again there was Xigbar, who had not survived after Hayner's rabid attack, as well as Xaldin and obviously Saïx. Sora made sure that Lexaeus never got a chance to leave the room either before Sora got to him, yet by the time the massive giant was overwhelmed by Sora and his friends to the point where he could no longer last and finally disappeared forever, Sora was also on his knees.

After a moment as they stood or kneeled around in the silence that was broken only by them catching their breath, they realized Kairi and Naminé weren't there.

"No, did they…?" Riku began, glancing around the room as if hoping Kairi and Naminé were just hiding. They found nothing of the two girls.

Sora barely paid attention. Kairi, at least, was still alive.

And he'd be damned if he'd let them hurt her.

But at the moment Sora just continued to sit on his knees, now bowing his head over the last spot where he'd seen his other half. The one who shared the same existence, the same heart as him. It had always been comforting to him, closing his eyes and feeling someone else's joy. Roxas had been another part of himself, one who didn't have a heart, so somehow they'd learned to share the one they did have. Whenever Roxas felt anything, his emotions were drawn from Sora's own, making Sora smile when he was sad just because Roxas smiled first, or reminding him not to be afraid every time he could feel the blonde's often fearless determination that matched his own only before a fight.

Now that other voice in his head was gone, there was no "other presence" to remind him what happiness felt like. The memories of a time before were washing all around him like the blue ocean waves the two boys had once listened to together on Destiny Islands, barely more than a few weeks ago now.

He wondered if he would ever be able to sit on his island again and look at the blue ocean without imagining the same color fade from his other self's eyes.

'Why did this happen?' he thought as another tear washed over the bloody cut on his cheek. Its sting only added to the pain his heart already felt. He looked up, and for just a second his heart cried out happily as he thought he saw Roxas sitting in front of him, smiling.

Yet the image seemed to disappear, fade from his mind as much as it did his eyes, and he couldn't take it any more. Not even Kairi was there to comfort him. Sora broke down.

Riku, Donald, and Goofy came over. Hayner and the king both hung back, not really feeling like it was their place to join them. Sora hadn't cried like this since the day he'd found Riku, and even then couldn't compare.

At least then he had found someone, not lost them.

"Sora," Riku said softly, kneeling next to him and placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. A feeling of guilt came over him for letting things get this bad for Sora, yet all he could do right now was try to talk to him. "About Roxas, I'm…"

They heard him sniff and rub his eyes with the back of his hand, but when Sora looked up, they could see he was smiling. He held his eyes shut to hide the gleam of sadness in them, but wet tears were still gleaming on his battered cheeks softly.

Riku could almost feel his heart collapse at the sight. Sora was like no one else he could imagine. Even now, when Riku was sure there must have been dangerous thoughts running through Sora's mind, he wasn't showing it, was afraid they would worry about him. He could only imagine what it would be like to lose part of himself like Sora had.

It couldn't have been too different than how it had felt for Riku to be separated from Sora on the other side of the Door to Darkness a year ago, he thought. Then again, maybe it really was worse.

"We did it, you guys," Sora said in a voice that barely shook. "We stopped them!"

"Sora," Mickey said, coming over next. He turned to Riku to tell him instead. "Riku, we can still bring back Roxas—"

"What?!" Sora cried, swinging himself around so fast that it took him a moment to realize the reason he couldn't find the king was because he had knocked him several feet away. Sora smiled an embarrassed apology, but the king was laughing. Then he became serious again.

"To bring him back, you gotta destroy his plaque over there," the shortest of them all said, pointing in the direction of Roxas' small monument. "That's how they were brought back last time."

Sora's heart panged when he looked over and saw that the one dedicated to Roxas was now glowing red.

The fighter wasted no time. He jumped up with Keyblade in hand and ran towards the flat slate. As soon as he got there, he swung his Keyblade into it as hard as he could.

He was incredibly dismayed when all that happened from his efforts was the result of a small glowing chip appearing in it while both he and his Keyblade were bounced backwards. When he landed on the floor, he stared over at Mickey as if waiting for an explanation as to how the heck he was supposed to exactly go through with even denting the stone slab, not to mention breaking it full-on.

Mickey was over talking to Riku, however, and he didn't notice.

"Riku, I have to go back now, I'm sorry," the king was saying.

"What…?" Riku looked puzzled. "What do you mean, 'go back'?"

"This isn't my war anymore, Riku," the mousey figure said. "I came here to help Sora and Roxas from being defeated, to stop the Organization from bringing back Xehanort's Nobody. Even though Roxas is gone, I know I don't have to worry about you any more on your mission to save Kairi."

"But—"

"Your mission, Riku," Mickey said, stopping the tall young adult before he could continue. "Not mine. I know you'll find Kairi. And besides," he said, turning to Donald and Goofy who now hung their heads but looked up when Mickey did, "you'll have those two. I'm needed back at my castle…It's not easy ruling every world, you know."

"Yeah, but…" Riku sighed and forced a small smile. He looked so much different than he did when Mickey had first found him; so much older, and all grown up. "I guess you're right, ruling every world? I prefer ruling Destiny Islands, thank you."

He made a joke, Riku thought, even at a time like this. Maybe he didn't always need the king by his side after all.

"You'll be fine," King Mickey seemed to comfort. "Now I'll see you guys later, and I'm sure those two girls will be with you when I do, positive."

"…And Roxas?" Sora added, and felt sadly comforted by the nod he received.

Riku sat silent for a moment, his eyes gazing downward. Then, enough to make Goofy "Aww" and Donald tap his foot, Riku grabbed King Mickey in a last hug.

"Get home safetly," he said after setting him down again. The king smiled up at him.

"You too, Riku," he replied, then looked around. "…All of you."

Then the small king bounded out of the room at a quick pace Sora was sure was only reachable for him because of the critter he took after. Sora rolled his head backwards on his neck, looking at all that remained of his other half over his shoulder. The memorial still glowed, and its color reminded him more of blood than anything.

"Don't worry, we'll come back for him," Riku said, looking at Sora's strangely blank face. "…As soon as possible, I promise."

"I guess I can trust your word on that," Sora said almost reluctantly.

He was the last one to leave the room. After he left, the room was empty, and light reflected softly off of the good luck charm Sora had always carried with him from Kairi as it now lay quietly on top of what was basically Roxas' grave.

-,-,-

Falling…

Roxas could feel himself falling downward, yet he couldn't look down. The same feeling that had filled him the day he'd fallen off the clock tower in Twilight Town filled him inside now, but otherwise he felt empty. Even of fear.

'What's happening to me? Is this…really what it's like?'

He didn't bother to close his eyes, because only black filled every direction. Roxas realized he had never truly seen black; he had seen lighter shades of it that were brightened by the sun or his own mild blindness from living in the mere presence of light. Right now, every direction made midnight seem like broad day.

It felt so empty, just like him as he continued to fall. When he tried to reach Sora, feel his heart as if it were beating in his own chest, he could feel nothing. Not even the sadness he was sure Sora must be feeling. Then again, maybe he wasn't.

For some reason he wasn't bothered by this thought or any others…Not even when he tried to imagine Sora's face but found it was growing blurry.

He closed his eyes and breathed in the empty air as everything continued to fade.

'Sora, Naminé…where are you…?'

-,-,-

They were walking along one of the heavily-lit white corridors, Riku in the lead, and no one was saying anything. Donald and Goofy kept glancing back at Sora with worried faces, but he still hung his head and said nothing. Hayner joined the lonely brunette in trailing behind and hanging his head in silence. No one seemed to notice yet that Sora was no longer wearing his necklace, nor could they know that it was now back where Roxas' grave was.

Riku was heard sighing as if to himself, "Why can't they just leave us alone? I mean, wasn't…that enough? They just had to go take Kairi, didn't they?"

"And Naminé, too," Goofy added, holding one finger in the air.

"I'm glad it's not over," Sora was heard saying darkly. He kicked the ground in front of him as if trying to trip himself. "…Because when I find what's left of them, when I see their faces, they're going to be apologizing; to me, to Kairi and Naminé, and to Roxas."

Sora fell into silence again, and Riku was about to sink back in line to comfort his friend.

Just then they saw a deeply red-headed figure disappear around one corner. Noticing it, they exchanged glances, deciding through eye-contact to go check it out.

By the time they got there, Axel was leaning his back against the corner with one arm resting on his knee and his head lowered. For someone without a heart, they had to admit he looked miserable.

"Hey," he said to them, looking up with a dismayed expression. When he saw Sora appear from behind the group, he just looked at him for a moment, then said in a quiet voice; "You're…really all that's left of him."

Hayner frowned somewhat uncomfortably, remembering the day he'd seen Axel fight Roxas. Maybe he really hadn't meant any harm, Hayner thought, or even if Axel did, then maybe now he was different. That's what he would have liked to think, but still Hayner wasn't sure.

"You fought great back there," Sora only replied in a soft voice that showed he meant it. "I guess I should thank you. I'm sure…Roxas would thank you too."

"Why's it matter anyway?!" Axel said irritably, standing and taking a small step towards Sora. Then they watched uneasily as he crossed his arms and turned his back to them, leaning against the wall on one shoulder. "He's still gone. Sayonara, hastala vista. One dead Nobody."

Axel sighed.

"I understand how you feel," Riku said. His soft grayish blue hair was a solid contrast against Axel's flaming hairdo. "Really—"

"Yeah, how could you?" Axel said, turning with a slightly angered and hurt expression.

"You do have feelings, don't you?" Donald said in his awkward voice, stepping forward and startling Sora.

"Yeah, gawrsh, like right now ya look pretty sad to me," Goofy agreed. Sora looked at Goofy as he spoke, then turned and nodded vigorously in agreement at Axel. "Don'cha got any feelings right now? Don'cha even feel a bit sad?"

"Come to think of it," Axel said, his voice becoming calm as he leaned his back against the wall and put a hand on his chin, "…I can't say I do. Roxas was the one who made me ever feel like I did, to be honest. That's why I fought for him; without that kid around, life just…doesn't feel worth it."

"Is that so?" Riku said, his eyebrow raising just slightly as he saw another opportunity. "Why don't you help us out, then? Maybe when we find Kairi and Naminé we can find a way to bring Roxas back."

"Wow…do you really think you can do that?" Axel asked avidly, and even Hayner smiled when he saw the look on Axel's face. "All for helping a couple of cuties? Man, I'd help you guys out anyway—what're we waiting for?"

"Calm down, I miss him too—ACK!!" Sora nearly choked when Axel hugged him briefly, lifting him off his feet. The new party member, he noticed, was actually hot to the touch, and when Sora was released again his skin burned tenderly as he shivered in what now felt like the cold air. The Keyblader brushed himself off, ignoring the weak burning sensation.

"Alright, what're we waiting for?" Hayner asked. He didn't seem at all tired suddenly, and the rest of the group shared his excitement. Hayner didn't know what he would do when this adventure was over and they were all back in his uneventful little Twilight Town.

If they ever made it back together.

-,-,-

Both Kairi and Naminé stood together closely in the large room. They were somewhere else in the castle, it seemed, with three of the members there talking on the other side of the room. The two girls were backed against the wall, holding eachother's hand while too afraid to turn their heads away from the group nearby.

Kairi was not surprised that the one they called Luxford was there, and gathering Naminé's thoughts, she found her blonde twin wasn't surprised to see a certain blue-haired shapeshifter there either. The third of them they barely recognized, but they had gathered it must at least start with a "V", and Kairi knew him as the one who had taken her from the Radiant Garden the last time she had been waiting there for Sora.

"They're going to come for you, you fools," the third one said to the two members that the girls both knew.

"Will you bugger off already?" Luxford said, his voice somehow not agitated. He was shuffling a small gray deck of cards in his hands . "Roxas is gone, and Sora won't stand a chance against us. He's too hurt, anyway."

"That is no reason to go running off with the princess and her Nobody," Vexen said, then warned, "and don't think you can stop him just because he just got done fighting Saïx. He has his friends to heal his injuries, so by the time he gets here—"

"There's more than one kind of hurt," Zexion interrupted, then waved his hand and caused a portal to appear behind the third one as if saving him the energy. The member glared at Zexion, then walked indignantly through the portal, somewhere else.

Kairi and Naminé had taken about ten steps towards the door when Luxford and Zexion turned and looked at them. Then the two men's eyes met, and they suddenly began to go at eachother.

"I get them first, alright?" Zexion seemed to threaten.

"I wouldn't bet on it," the other one said right back, making himself taller—not that he needed to. He was already.

"Oh, but you know you can't resist," Zexion said in a quiet, taunting voice as he suddenly straightened himself so he was surprisingly close to Luxford's height. Kairi wondered if he could make himself taller with his shape-changing ablility. "Don't lie, I know how much you can't resist gambling, not to mention losing."

"I do not like to lose," Luxford said in an indignant and somewhat offended tone.

"No, but you do anyway." Zexion said. Then he grinned and tilted his head slightly at Luxford as if laughing at him with mere expression. Luxford growled to himself quietly, then finally disappeared with a look that could kill. Right before he did, he made sure to flip Zexion off first and sneer something about not caring anyway.

The sixth member was left with a smirk of victory on his face, then turned when he heard Kairi.

"What are you…going to do with us?" she asked submissively. Both her and Naminé wore similar expressions on their faces, yet somehow the fear in the girls' eyes was only managing to turn the younger member on.

"Don't worry, ladies, we can play later," he said as if to comfort them. His eyes did no such thing. "First I have to take care of the little heroes. You know how it works; first things first."

Naminé stepped forward boldly. Ever since she'd seen her Roxas disappear, she felt lost, yet at the same time she felt as if it was her turn to be the brave one. Kairi took her own step backwards with a look of surprise as Naminé practically sneered the best she could, "You can't touch us—Sora'll stop you and you know it. He'll finish you, just like he's done to all the others."

Kairi felt slightly tense, and her heart gave a sharp pound. She could feel Naminé wasn't angry, but upset for what she had witnessed earlier. What had upset Kairi herself the most was not Roxas' defeat, but the look on poor Sora's face when it had happened. Right now Naminé's sad feelings for Roxas seemed to be filling her as well, though Kairi wasn't sure why.

Zexion began to slowly walk towards them. Naminé took an uneasy step backwards, lowering herself somewhat submissively, yet she still held her ground.

"Even if he finishes me, as you say," Zexion said, an odd sort of grin on his face, "you can bet that I won't be like the others, who left no more than a memory behind."

Naminé tried to huff out her chest slightly yet succeeded in only a shaky sigh.

Kairi was about to put one of her hands on Naminé's shoulders, but the already upset girl somehow shrugged it away before it had even touched her. That's when Kairi noticed the blonde was holding a pencil behind her back in her right hand. She had no idea how long she'd been holding it, but already knowing every habit of her other self, she wondered if Naminé had even realized she'd been keeping it on her either. Then again, she might have found it somewhere; incredibly unlikely, yet so were a lot of things in this world where unlikely things tended to happen anyway.

"Roxas will come back," she said, now trying to convince herself more than Zexion. The pencil twirled slowly between her fingers as she held it behind her back. Zexion paused, bowing his head and smirking upon seeing her face. Finally, with her distress catching a final wind, she took a huge step forward and jabbed the pencil at him. By this time Kairi's face also reflected the feelings her once-hidden "dark side" was now displaying.

As unaccustomed to battle as Naminé was, though, as soon as the pencil managed to make a small gauge in his Zexion's arm she grew rigid. She withdrew the little bit of pencil that had actually done damage before she let the pencil slip from her hands onto the floor with an eerie echo of taps. Naminé began to back away nervously, and Kairi felt no hesitation to go from mysteriously angry back to the familiar array of emotions she was used to, including fear.

Zexion's grin raised itself on his face slightly as he gave them both a look that seemed to tease them about what he'd already known.

Then Naminé took another step back, and Zexion stuck his tongue out of his mouth slightly as he half-grinned darkly, biting his tongue on purpose with a sharp bloody tooth he revealed in the corner of his smile so that blood leaked slowly down his pale chin.

Naminé covered her mouth, which was hanging open in fearful silence. Her eyes shook as hard as Kairi's.

"Go ahead, scream if you want to," he told her, and her eyes were shaking as she continuously gasped and backed farther away. "But nobody's coming to save you. Not even Roxas."

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