Disclaimer: I don't own KHII...

Note: I actually finished this chapter and then for some reason I thought I'd already posted it…

Chapter Seven

His eyes opened heavily, the room spinning around him as he tried to sit up. A hand forced him back down again and a distant chuckle could be heard above him. He shoved the hand away and a violent growl broke through his lips. He stopped for a moment as confusion swept over him.

Was that his voice?

"How do you feel Axel?"

He didn't recognize the voice, and looked up with unfocused eyes to glare at the woman leaning over him. Her voice was far from musical, and as she reached for him again he pushed her back harshly and threw himself to his feet. This proved to be a mistake, as his head pounded angrily and the floor spun up to meet him again. That laugh pierced through his senses once again and he felt like he was going to throw up if it didn't stop.

"Axel?"

It was a man's voice now and he looked up.

Why did they keep calling him that? Was that his name?

"…What?" He mumbled in a broken voice, a voice he knew he should have recognized as being his own. This just added to the furious confusion he felt in his head and he lashed out again as a pair of strong arms forced him to his feet.

"Calm down, it'll pass." The voice boomed in his ear and he glared up at the man defiantly. He shoved the man back several steps and took some satisfaction in the look of surprise on his face.

"Axel, my name is Xaldin. I've known you for a very long time, though I know you don't remember." He said calmly, relaxing again to watch him brace himself against a wall.

Xaldin? That seemed familiar, though the hint of a memory filled him with a sense of dread. He didn't like these people, he couldn't remember why or how he knew them, but he didn't want anything to do with them.

"This is Larxene." Xaldin said gently, motioning behind him to where the blonde woman stood grinning. She stepped forward slowly and he imagined the look in her eyes was supposed to be calming.

"Axel, don't you remember me? We used to be such good friends. We all fought the keyblade master together…" Her voice trailed off and he caught the hint of disappointment in her eyes. She held out a hand to him carefully.

"You really don't remember anything at all? The keyblade master…" Her voice broke with a gentle sob and Xaldin's hand fell on her shoulder comfortingly.

"He killed you, we worked so hard to bring you back…" A tear traced down her cheek and she reached out to him again, her fingertips brushing along his arm.

A deep growl resonated in his chest and he glared sharply as her as flames leapt up to bite at her. She drew her hand back quickly and her eyes widened in shock.

"Stay the fuck away from me." Axel hissed, not even questioning where the flames had come from or why they didn't burn him. He moved along the wall until he reached the door, then opened it without turning his back on them.

They didn't seem to be following him, but he kept glancing around warily. He didn't know if there was anyone else he should be watching out for, and his eyes darted around him in near panic.

He must have wandered the long corridors and rooms for hours, never feeling tired. He still felt just as alarmed as when he'd woken up in the arms of someone he immediately hated, and the very thought made him move a bit faster.

He was starting to think this castle didn't have any exits when he came around a corner and his feet stopped so fast he nearly tripped over himself. There was a massive hole in the ceiling high above him, and bright sunlight filtered down onto a beautiful garden. Various flowers and roses were laid out carefully, and a small stream bubbled from a broken pipe across the room. Thick grass covered the floor anywhere there weren't flowers. He imagined it must have been a ballroom at some point, and watched in amazement as a breeze whispered in through the hole in the ceiling. But all of this wasn't what make his blood run cold; it was the girl resting comfortably in the grass thirty feet away.

She moved slowly, lowering her sketch pad and letting her gaze wander up to meet him. Her eyes were dead, there was no recognition or emotion whatsoever, and after a moment she looked down again and continued drawing.

He found this deeply unsettling somehow, and forced himself to move closer to her.

"You…" His voice was deep and defensive, though she didn't seem to notice.

"I know you." he said simply. he paused in front of her, waiting a moment to see if she would react. She didn't, and he couldn't help but feel stupid.

"What's your name?" He was harsher this time, and she looked up again. Her face was pale and sullen, and she emanated a deep sense of misery.

"Namine."

A blonde girl sitting in the same position, only this time laughter sang from her lips and her eyes shone with the intensity of the sun. The very image sent shivers down his spine, and she flashed him a joyful smile.

His breath caught in his throat at the sudden memory that found it's way into his mind. His hands flew up to his head and he let out a deep growl of frustration.

"I know you! Why can't I remember it?!" He shouted angrily. Her eyes betrayed no emotion and he felt the fury die at her lack of reaction.

A hand fell heavily on his shoulder and he jumped back several steps. A thin man with mousy brown hair grinned at him, and he felt that sickness rise up inside him again.

"Namine doesn't talk much. Don't worry, it happens sometimes. She'll be perfectly fine when she gets her heart back." He said simply, that false smile of reassurance poisoning the air around them.

Axel drew back several steps in confusion.

"What? Get her heart back?" He mumbled quietly. The man laughed slowly and nodded.

"I must say, Axel, we've never had a former Nobody regain their heart then become a Nobody again, so I can't really say what's happening to you. I'm sure it can't be healthy. I can run some tests if you'd like, try to find a way to get your memory back? I've never seen such amnesia before, it really is quite amazing." He drawled. Axel sneered subconsciously and continued stepping back.

"Uh, no thanks…" He said slowly, ready to run once again. But the man didn't advance at all, instead, he moved slowly over to Namine and crouched down in the grass beside her.

"Why don't you run along to your room, Namine? It'll be nice and quiet there."

She nodded slowly and Axel watched as she got to her feet in a daze and wandered away down the hall.

"That's disgusting. What did you do to her?" Axel hissed at the man. He seemed surprised at this, and got to his feet defensively.

"What? You mean you remember Namine? I had the understanding your memory was wiped clean." The man put a thoughtful hand to his chin and Axel forced back the growl.

"I remember enough to know this isn't how she normally is. What did you do to her?" He demanded it now and the other man simply grinned and shrugged.

"There wasn't much that needed to be done. After all she's been through, she was in shambles the moment we found her." He laughed then, and Axel found himself leaping at the man with his hands outstretched.

He darted away easily, but not before a burst of flame singed away a lock of hair. He frowned slightly and sighed.

"We're really going to have to work on that temper if you're to be of any use at all…" He mumbled.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Axel shouted, launching himself at the man again. This time, two circular weapons seemed to emerge from midair, and he found himself grabbing them instinctively. Without a second thought, he threw one so quickly it swirled in a flaming blur, whistling past its target and returning to Axel's hand once again. He stood there in surprise for a moment before he realize he hadn't missed, and the man gasped and fell to his knees in surprise. A grim laugh escaped his lips.

"So powerful so quickly, it's really quite impressive." He mumbled. Axel growled again and raised the vaguely familiar weapons above his head.

"Axel, that's quite enough."

He turned in surprise when he heard the voice behind him. Larxene was standing several feet away with her arms crossed, giving him a stern look. He dropped his arms and the weapons disappeared in a swirl of flame, leaving his fists balled at his sides in anger.

"Come on, I'll tell you what's going on since these morons are busy having fun." She said quickly, turning and walking away down the hall.

Axel hesitated for a moment before giving in and following her lead.

x:X:x

He had barely heard a word Larxene had said, he simply nodded and muttered replies occasionally. It seemed like she wasn't paying him much more attention. After hearing her side of the story about the "nobodies" and that evil keyblade wielder Sora, he couldn't help but want to laugh. It wasn't hard to see she was lying, and she was bad at it. He wanted the real story, and it was getting painfully obvious he wasn't going to find it here. The moment she dismissed him to explode the castle on his own, he practically ran from her presence. She had said it was to get to know the others better, but he caught the look of deep hatred in her eyes. She just wanted him to get away from her, now that her superiors weren't watching them.

Of course, the first thing he did was try to find Namine.

She was walking down a hallway when he nearly ran into her. Her babysitter was nowhere to be seen, and he quickly took her by the arm and began to lead her away. She didn't complain, but every time he looked into her face her eyes were unnaturally unfocused and glazed. He pulled her along for a while until he found an empty room at the end of a long hallway and pushed her inside.

There were several long windows on one wall looking out at the dark evening clouds. Three matching couches sat in the middle of the room, and a shelf of books covered the wall by the door. Other than that, the room was empty, and the only light filtered in from the dark clouds outside. Namine hesitated for a moment before moving over and taking a seat staring directly out the window.

Axel watched her for several minutes, he wasn't sure what to do. He still didn't know exactly who she was, or why he felt so compelled to find out. Larxene had said something about how he and Namine had never really been friends, and that unlike other Nobodies, she developed strange powers instead of gaining physical strength. She said there was something wrong with Namine now, something the keyblade wielder had done that made her this way.

Axel couldn't help but feel that most of what he had heard today was a manipulative lie.

"Namine?"

She looked up at the sound of her name, but her eyes didn't hardly move and she stared blankly at him. He gulped back the nauseous feeling that rose up in his chest.

"Do you know who I am?"

Her head tilted slightly to the left and he thought he saw her eyes try to focus, but it was gone and she quickly looked away.

"Your name is Axel." She sighed.

He almost rolled his eyes, then shook his head and held up his hands.

"No, I mean… Other than that, do you remember me at all? Have we met before?" He knew he might be pressing her a bit, but he felt a deep sense of urgency. Almost as if the object of his life was now finding out why she was so important. Now that he thought of it, maybe it was.

She looked off into the distance and he watched as a look of concentration crossed his face. For a moment, it looked as if she was going to cry, and she inhaled sharply.

"You were wearing a white button-down shirt…" She mumbled, and for the first time her eyes actually focused on him, and she looked terrified.

Axel smiled. "You did know me. We were friends, weren't we? Do you remember anything else?"

Namine got to her feet and walked over to the window. He watched her press her hands against the glass as she stared out at the storm clouds now blanketing the horizon. Then she sighed deeply and Axel was by her side.

"Marluxia… He said the keyblade wielder wants to kill me. He said he's evil, and wants us all to die. We're unnatural creatures, and the keyblade wielder is coming here to rid the universe of us." She held her breath and closed her eyes, and for some reason Axel suddenly found himself leaning much too close to her. He stepped back slightly and thought for a moment.

"I don't think it's true. I think they've been lying to both of us." He said softly. She looked up at him and he could see how jumbled her thoughts were. There was so much more damage there than some boy with a keyblade could possibly have caused…

"They said you have a very strange power… I was wondering what it is?" Axel said carefully. Namine's eyes trailed off into the sunset again and she nodded.

"I'm connected to Sora. I can see into his heart, I can change his memories. Marluxia keeps telling me he's evil and we have to stop him, but I can see right into his heart." Her voice trembled slightly, and he reached out a comforting hand to touch her shoulder.

"He's so scared, he keeps thinking about the same girl. He doesn't know where she is, but she's gone and he's so worried about her…" Her voice broke slightly and Axel's eyes widened in surprise.

"So our evil enemy isn't even focused on us? He's worried about a girl? Who is she?" He asked quickly.

"Her name is Kairi. He keeps thinking it over and over." She sighed heavily and Axel jumped in surprise when she leaned into him and put her face in his chest.

"I don't know what to do… Marluxia keeps telling me if I don't stop him and make him forget, he's going to find me. He wants me to change his memories, but I can't help but feel like it's really wrong, and that Marluxia is the one that we should be worried about. He makes me watch him all day and tell him what's happening, and it's the same thing every time he asks. Sora just worries about that girl and keeps thinking of a man dressed like a Nobody. He keeps wondering if he's the one that took her, and where he might be." Axel patted her back lightly as she shook her head in misery. After several long minutes of silence, he finally decided to change the subject.

"Do you remember anything else?" He asked quietly. To his surprise, she looked up at him with a small smile.

"Sora thought of you today." She said softly. Axel stared down at her in shock.

"Me? He knows who I am?" He muttered. Namine nodded.

"That girl that's missing, he thinks about how much she must have loved you. And he wonders if you loved her, too." She smiled gently and Axel just stared back at her.

"What?" He never expected to get so much information from her, everything was such a shock he didn't even know how to react. Namine just smiled up at him.

"Is there anything else? Does he remember me from before?" He asked quickly. Her smile faded and she sighed.

"I can only see what he's thinking at the time, if I want to see older memories he's going to have to think of them." She said in an exhausted voice. Axel's face fell slightly.

"…Are you sure?" He asked in a soft voice. Namine's face lit up with a sharp glare.

"I don't see you mastering your powers the week after you got them…" She murmured darkly. He nodded and stepped back.

"Alright, fair enough. I suppose I should let you go before Marluxia notices you're missing." He turned back to the door and started to walk away, until Namine's hand tugged lightly at his cloak.

"Axel? Do you remember anything about me?" She asked in a small voice. She looked up at him hopefully, and he tried to think. Then he blushed.

"Maybe we should save that for another time…" He said quietly. She looked confused, but he opened the door and vanished into the hall before she could stop him.

End of Chapter Seven