a/n: apparently i made people cry last chapter. oops?
oh well, the deaths had to start somewhere!
a-far-off-memory
"Roxas!" Naminé gasped, reaching out to catch him as he tilted backwards. A grunt escaped her as she was forced to support his full weight, at which point Riku helped her to lower him to the ground.
"Did he just faint?" Riku questioned, eyes wide.
Slowly, Naminé nodded. "I don't understand why—" Suddenly, it hit her. "His pills! He didn't take his iron pills!"
Riku swore loudly and began digging through Roxas' pockets, while Naminé gently began slapping his cheeks.
"C'mon, Rox, you can't do this right now..." she whispered, sighing as she continued to slap his cheeks.
A soft groan left the blond boy. Slowly, his bright blue eyes fluttered open, wheeling around for a moment before focusing on Naminé. "Nami...?" He tried to sit up.
"Don't try and sit up just yet," she said gently, nudging him back down.
"What happened?" he slurred, glancing around.
"You fainted," replied Riku with a sigh. "You didn't take your iron pills today, did you?"
Roxas groaned. "I forgot."
"Do you have them with you?" asked Naminé, concern in her clear blue eyes.
He slowly shook his head. "I think they're in my bag downstairs, unless I forgot them at home...or maybe I gave them to Axel..." he responded, reaching up to rub his face. "Help me sit up?"
Riku reached down and grasped him by the shoulders, gently pulling him into a sitting position. Roxas leaned heavily on him, taking deep breaths.
"We need to go and find those, Rox," the blonde girl said firmly, laying a hand on his cheek. "You need to be at top strength."
"I'll be fine," he told her, shaking his head. "We need to focus on finding the others. I've gone without my pills before—I probably fainted from the stress or something. We just need to keep going."
"Roxas..." Riku sighed.
"I'm fine," Roxas repeated firmly, shaking Riku off and standing. He swayed a little but quickly righted himself, holding his head high.
Riku and Naminé shared an exasperated look before standing as well. "Whatever you say, Rox," Riku muttered, heading toward the open door.
"Just don't push yourself," Naminé told him, voice soft. "We can't do this without you."
They all headed through the door and into the hallway. As they were about to continue searching the floor, they heard a loud plea.
"Guys? Anyone...? We need help!"
Riku's brows shot up. "Is that...?"
"Demyx," Roxas finished, eyes wide. Then, louder, he called, "Demyx? Where are you?"
"Down the stairs!" Demyx answered, sounding relieved.
"Come on!" Naminé exclaimed, heading toward the stairs.
Demyx ran from the room as fast as he could with Zexion still unconscious in his arms. He worried for Axel—he hadn't wanted to leave, but he'd been so scared, and Zexion was injured...plus, Axel had told him to leave. He tried to let that comfort him, but when he heard the yell come from the room they'd been in, he froze.
"Oh, no..." he breathed, green eyes glancing around in fright. "Oh, what am I gonna do?" He reached up and nervously ran a hand through his hair, not caring that his careful style woyld get messed up. All he could focus on was Axel's scream...
He wandered around with Zexion in his arms until he stumbled upon the foyer. It was devoid of everyone, but he'd sort of expected that from that Xemnas dude's words. It only served to make him panic, however, when he realized how utterly alone he was.
"I wish you'd just wake up, Zexy..." he mumbled, glancing down at his boyfriend's face.
"No! Kairi!"
He jumped at the voice, eyes going impossibly wide. It was faint, but he was sure of one thing—it was Sora. And judging by the sound of it, something had happened to Kairi...
Don'tpanicdon'tpanicdon'tpanic, he chanted internally, glancing around. He didn't know where the sound came from, and he had no idea where to go or what to do...
"Guys? Anyone...? We need help!" he called, desperately trying to keep the panic that was bubbling up within him out of his voice. He wandered out by the stairs, holding Zexion tightly.
"Demyx?" The tall blond nearly wept at the sound of Roxas' voice. "Where are you?"
"Down the stairs!" His relief was plain in his voice. Zexion could get some help, and he wouldn't have to be alone anymore!
He heard their footsteps and looked up, finding two blonds and a tall silver-haired boy making their way down. Demyx adjusted his grip on Zexion to pull the first person in for a hug, which happened to be Riku.
"Thank god, I thought I'd never find anyone," he breathed, clutching his taller friend tightly.
"Where's Axel?" Roxas questioned, fear in his eyes.
Demyx pulled away from Riku, head lowered. "He told me to take Zexion and run. I...I don't know what happened after that."
Roxas paled significantly, swaying slightly. He looked like he was going to be sick as Naminé reached out to steady him, reaching down to take his hand.
"Oh, and Naminé?" Demyx began, biting his lip.
"Yes?" the blonde girl inquired, swallowing visibly.
"I don't know what happened, but...when I was wandering around, I heard Sora yell Kairi's name. He sounded panicked. I just...I thought you should know. I don't know where the sound came from though..."
Naminé stiffened, eyes going wide. "Are you...are you sure you heard her name?"
Demyx nodded, sighing. "Sorry, Nams. I thought you should know...just in case..."
Naminé closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. Roxas wrapped his arms around her, looking as if he was about to cry.
Finally, Riku sighed. "What happened to Zexion?" he asked, crossing his arns.
"I don't really know...he musta been pushed through one of those portal thingys, Axel and I were...we found hin unconscious when we landed," he replied, reaching up to stroke his boyfriend's cheek. "He hasn't woken up at all."
"Let's bring him into the foyer and lay him down, then. It's safe in there, I think," Riku murmured.
Nodding, Demyx followed Riku in. Naminé and Roxas trailed silently behind them, still holding on to each other.
Once in the foyer, Demyx gently set Zexion on the couch. "He'd have a fit right now if he was awake," he commented with a chuckle.
A small smile pulled at Riku's mouth. "He would. Oh well, he'd just have to deal with it." He turned to Naminé. "Can you do this, Nams?"
Taking a deep breath, the blonde girl nodded. "Grab me the first aid kit."
Riku knelt down and picked up the first-aid kit, opening it and holding it for Naminé. She reached in and pulled out alcohol wipes, ripping one open and starting to dab at the cut at Zexion's hairline.
She'd been doing that for a moment before Zexion groaned and shifted, deep blue eyes cracking open.
"Zexy," Demyx breathed, taking both of his hands and squeezing gently. "Oh, Zexion, I was so worried..."
"Why is my head burning? And throbbing? What exactly happened?" the slate-haired teen questioned, looking around.
"I think you fell and hit your head," Demyx answered, sighing. "You were bleeding, Axel and I were so worried."
Zexion's brow furrowed. "Where is Axel?" He began pushing himself into a sitting position, wincing as he did so. Both Naminé and Demyx both helped him until he sat up straight, his hand gingerly touching his head.
Demyx looked down, green eyes sad. "Well, we were all pushed through that portal thingy...and then this silver-haired guy appeared. His name was Xemnas or something. He told us that we had to play a game—survive the night, and be found by those three." He jerked his head toward Roxas, Naminé and Riku before continuing. "Apparently, if we all make it here before sunrise, we can leave. Well, Axel got lippy with him and lunged for him, you know him...and then Xemnas grabbed him by the throat. He told me to grab you and run...and I did. Then I heard him scream a minute later, and I don't know if he's okay..."
"That stupid idiot..." Roxas whispered, sinking down into the nearesr chair and burying his face in his hands. "Can't he ever keep his mouth shut?"
"Demyx, where is the room that you ended up in?" Naminé questioned, head slightly tilted.
"I guess I could take you there..." the tall blond replied, scratching the back of his neck. "But what if he's—"
"We need to know, Dem," Riku cut him off, sighing.
Slowly, Demyx nodded. "But Zexy stays here. And someone needs to stay with him."
"Roxas," Naminé said immediately.
Roxas looked up, eyes narrowed. "Why me? I need to see if he's okay!"
"Because if he isn't okay, then you'll have to live with that image forever. Do you really want to see your boyfriend like that?" Riku asked, eyebrow raised.
"But...but he's your best friend. Won't that bother you?" Roxas protested weakly, sagging.
"It will, but I'm a little tougher than you, Rox. I'll deal with it. But you love him, and it'll haunt you forever if you see him dead. I know I wouldn't want to see Sora dead," he replied solemnly, aqua eyes soft. "Just stay with Zexion, we'll be right back."
Finally, Roxas nodded. "Be safe, you guys."
"You too," Demyx told him. He then leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Zexion's lips, lingering only for a moment before pulling away. "I love you, Zexion."
Surprising everyone, Zexion opened his arms and pulled Demyx into the tightest hug he could muster. "I love you too, you big oaf. You'd better come back to me..."
Green eyes soft, Demyx placed a kiss on his shoulder. "I will, don't worry."
Demyx let go, offering a smile. Riku laid a hand on his arm, jerking his head toward the doorway.
"We'll be back in a few minutes...hopefully with one more person," Naminé said with a sigh, running a hand through her pale blonde hair.
Roxas moved to sit beside Zexion, grabbing the first aid kit. "I'll bandage Zexion up while we wait."
Nodding, the three left, with Demyx in the lead. He led them down several hallways before stopping in front of a door, taking a deep breath.
"This is the room," he announced, raking a hand through his hair. "What if he's...y'know..."
"Then we'll just have to deal with it and focus on getting ourselves out of here," replied Riku in a sad tone. "We can't let anything stop us, not even that..." He laid a hand on the doorknob, meeting both sets of eyes. "So are you two ready?"
Both blonds slowly nodded. Taking a deep breath, Riku turned the handle and nudged the door open quietly. When it was fully open, Naminé gasped.
"Axel?"
a/n: oooh, suspense!
is he dead? hmm? i'm not telling, you'll have to wait until the next chapter! and we do find out about another death...but the question is, is it him? c;
i may update again later. because yolo.
afom out~