Like everyone else, Riku sat in the stew of his thoughts and emotions. Yet no tears were dropping yet, he only sat on his couch letting everything fight within him. His loyalty killing him from the inside over the betrayal of his friendship. The thoughts of everything that's happened with him and Namine only intensifying the painful sensation in his stomach. So it took him by surprise when his cell phone buzzed with a text message. Reaching over, he had some slight relief seeing it was Xion. Reading the message off the screen he scrolled over and hit call, a moment later she answering.

"Riku"

"Xion..." he said in a tired voice, Xion rolled her eyes on the other end.

"God did no one get any sleep last night?"

"Everything okay?" He asked

"Can you please come over to Axel's house?"

"What? No i… Xion Roxas is there and…"

"And he's not going to hurt you, look me and Axel need help and I need you so we can help Roxas okay?" She asked, Riku hesitating.

"Xion I don't know… I… haven't I done enough already?"

"Riku this is no time to go all pity party on me. Listen to me" she said stressing on her words. "I need you. We all need you. What's happened yesterday doesn't matter, what we do today does. Now either get off your ass so we can fix this, or stay on it and let everyone think less of you" she said hanging on her last word as Riku took in a breath. The pain in chest was unbearable, but it would've killed him if he did just stay. He sighed as he got up.

"I hate you" he said tiredly and humorously. "I'll be right over" if he could've seen the smile on her face when he said that.

Then at Kari's house…

Demyx and Larxene had arrived not too long after Xion asked them to go. They found the key easy enough, and entered slow.

"Namine" Larxene called out

"Nami?" Demyx called out as they walked into the living room, the couch a little tossed around but the place looking fairly in order. Demyx looked over to the hallway, figuring Namine must be in her room. "Stay here" he asked Larxene, she looking at him in question.

"Why?"

"Because when was the last time you saw her?" he asked

"Castle oblivion…" she trailed off before nodding in response. "Okay good point, I'll go… wait or something" she said starting for the kitchen as Demyx began for Namine's room. He braced for whatever would be on the other end, in the back of his mind he imagined the worst case scenario of Namine looking god awful and hurt. The best case scenario was just that as well, yet he imagined her still looking like the kind shy girl she had always seemed to him. Opening the door he saw the mush of comforter, orderly pillows, and slow breathing girl on the bed.

"Nami?" Demyx asked from the doorway, Namine not moving to respond. "Namine?" he called again, and again nothing. "I'm uh… I'm coming in" he said receiving the same none response from her. Making his way to the bed he sat towards the end, catching the briefest glimpse of her face. Redder than Axel and looking more pained than he had been through Luxor's rage at him a month ago. "Namine… look before I start you gotta tell me you're at least listening or can hear me please. Just move or pipe up or… I don't know anything" he said, again receiving that same nothing as an answer. Demyx was trying his best not to get frustrated but she was not making it easy. "Okay fine… be like that." He said as he looked back at her face again, keeping his gaze there. "I want you to know that. I know, everything" The little nudge he felt come from Namine when he said that almost made him jump. Then seeing her face move slightly away from him made him try to stifle a little chuckle. "It's okay Nami" he said, turning his body toward her seeing her try to bury her head in her comforter. The words would not come Demyx, no matter how hard he wished he could say something to make her feel better. Instead, he opted to just stay on her bed and watch her, as Xion had just asked him to do. The occasional nudge from Namine's feet telling him she was still breathing somewhere in that mash of bed she was keeping close to her head.

Back at Axel's house…

Riku stumbled into Axel's house, causing him to audibly address how bad he looked.

"Sheesh man you look half dead" Axel said as Riku choose to ignore the comment and just rubbed his eyes. Xion entered the room when he did and looked just as surprised at Riku's tired appearance as Axel did. "Hi" Riku said as Xion stepped over to him.

"Hey" she said, Riku looking a little uncomfortable. "We… got him locked down he's not going to hurt anyone"

"You tied him up?"

"No…"

"She froze him up" Axel said, shocking Riku.

"What?"

"THANK YOU Axel" she yelled at him before turning her attention back to Riku. "Riku he needs to talk this out, or have some sense knocked into him. Or both, the thing is right now he's a little unstable and…"

"That doesn't justify us holding him against his will"

"Well what would you have us do? Let him go?" Xion asked, impatient.

"Was he hurting anyone?"

"He lashed out at me when I tried to talk to him, so yes he was" Axel quipped back.

"Riku please, we have to fix this quick. The longer we let Roxas be mad at everything the bigger chance that things won't change or get better. So please help me, I'm going to need you" Xion said bluntly as Riku still looked unsure, these extremes just didn't sit right with him. Seeing his still uncertain face, Xion let out the big guns "Riku, if we don't help Namine is going to be miserable. And there'll be nothing that any of us can do to help her and you know it." She could see the pained look on his face when he mentioned her. No, he didn't want her miserable. Everything he had done or said since she told him she was pregnant was to try and keep her from being sad or scarred of what was happening. Reluctantly, he took in a breath and conceded

"Okay you win" Riku said, Xion lightly smirking making Riku irritated. "Tell me what you want me to do?"

"We're going to talk to him and you're going to chip in to try and sort this out okay?"

"Not a great plan" He said as Xion rolled her eyes.

"The plan is to talk it out, just help us do that" she said, almost threateningly. Either because of his tired body or because Xion just had that persuasive attitude about herself, Riku nodded.

"Alright… let's do this" Riku said, Xion then lead him to Roxas' room with Axel. Roxas had calmed a bit but, he still looked like hell. When he saw Riku enter the room, his face did scowl but he didn't attack. Best guess as to why was all the ice on him. Everyone took seat somewhere in his room before Xion began.

"Roxas… you're going to listen okay?" she asked, he looking disinterested. Xion let out a frustrated sigh before looking to Riku. "Talk to him". Riku sighed before he started to speak, the normal confidence in his voice absent.

"Roxas… I… I was just trying to help Namine. I didn't how to react to everything going and I just… we couldn't tell you" every word pained him to say, and Roxas' finite anger striking gaze was just rubbing salt in the wound. "I just Roxas I was only trying to be a good friend and I didn't know how to…" He stopped on his word and let out a frustrated breath. The words, they weren't coming to him. All he did was try to be a good friend, that's all he had done. Xion saw him having trouble and began for him to lend a hand on his shoulder for support. But he wouldn't allow it and got up "I'm sorry I can't do this"

"Riku"

"No" He told Xion as he summoned his keyblade and aimed it at Roxas quick. "Fire" a blitz of small flames brisked around Roxas then dismissed quick, freeing him from the ice onto his soaked bed.

"Riku!" Xion yelled at him as he started away. Xion looked to Roxas to see he didn't even flinch when he had freed him, he just layed on his bed breathing, eyes dead as roadkill. Xion looked to Axel, who gestured her to go run after Riku. Which she did, she ran after him to the front door to see him in his armor. "Riku!" she yelled again as he threw out his keyblade and formed his glider. Hoping on, he didn't even look back as he flew off. Xion had finally had it, when he left her eyes view, she curled up fists and let out the loudest yell she possibly could before her voice gave out.