Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, I tried super hard to get this one out by the time school started again. I was but also wasn't looking forward to writing this chapter. It's sad but that what I think makes it so good. I wish I didn't have to do this, but I gotta make the story go by the book. Enjoy!

Oh and I was reading my older chapters and I realize that I like putting a lot of paragraphs. I'm looking at what I've written so far for this chapter and like it's only ever two lines before I skip a line. Heehee. Well I also don't indent, but skipping lines should signify a new paragraph and I like it that way.

PS the title of this chapter came from the last chapter in Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities titled 'the footsteps die out forever'. I had to read it for summer reading. And I just now realized the resemblance between that book and my story name. Heehee, I'm a smart cookie. Enjoy!

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I stepped into the portal behind Sora. The cool atmosphere of the Dark Realm lingered on my exposed skin as I passed through. The blinding light of the entrance to the Realm was dying out ahead; Sora had just walked out of sight. I followed but was suddenly stopped as I found I could no longer walk into the realm; I was stuck at the end of the light with an invisible barrier separating me from the others.

"Sora! Sora! Come back!" I called as he continued to walk forward after his comrades, thinking I was at his heels. He turned around and, after seeing me several yards behind him, dashed over.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I—I'm stuck. I can't through into the Realm," I said placing my fingers against the barrier as if it was a thin window between us.

He placed his fingers on it too, mirroring me. "Why?" he said.

I thought for a moment. This couldn't be good. "Sora, you have to get out of here!" I said sternly.

"What?" he said pulling back.

"It's gotta be Xemnas. He's blocked me from getting into the Realm of Darkness."

"Why?" he said. "Why's he doing that?"

"Something bad. He's obviously angry. Maybe he found out I left the Organization and now he's trying to stop me from doing something—helping you, maybe. I'm stuck in Twilight Town. You have to go on to my world. Here, I'll summon you a portal," I said holding out my hand. Nothing happened. "Uh-oh," I said.

"Uh-oh? What do you mean 'uh-oh?'" he said. "You can't create a portal?"

"This definitely isn't good…." I said. Xemnas is planning something—but what? Why did he trap me here? What didn't he want me to do? "Sora! Behind you!" I said pointing over his shoulder.

Sora spun around summoning his keyblade. Nobodies had suddenly started appearing and were engaging in combat with Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey. Sora turned and looked at me. "I'll be right back, I promise," he said before zooming off to destroy a Dusk.

I watched, wishing I could just get free and fight too. The Nobodies were slowly being killed but more and more seamed to appear as the others died. I need to help them. I held my hand out. I may not be able to summon a portal but I should be able to summon my Nobodies to help. A dozen or so of my hybrid Nobodies appeared and looked at me with curious faces. "Go help Sora!" I ordered pointing to the brunette. The turned and glided off. Yes! Suddenly, they began to attack Sora. No! "No! You stupid Nobodies! Help! Not attack!" I yelled. Damnit.

Suddenly I saw fire erupt out of nowhere and a circular weapon decapitated a Dusk that was about to attack Sora from behind. A tall, skinny redhead jumped into the battle. Axel! I opened my mouth to yell his name but I stopped. The invisible barrier separating us began to fog over and my vision was obscured. My voice must have not been able to get through either because I kept screaming their names but neither responded. I tried to listen but the only voices I could hear seemed to be just mumbles.

My vision through the barrier was getting worse and worse with each passing second, until I was sure no one on the other side could see me standing there. Axel, Sora, the others, and the constantly appearing Nobodies were just semi-blurry figures jumping around fighting each other. Like many times before in my life, I was stuck to watch as my friends fought without me, and I not having any idea what was to happen.

Axel was on the ground talking to Sora. After a narrow miss of being seriously attacked by a Dusk, the two began to fight together. Their efforts seemed hopeless as hundreds of Dusks continued to appear. I wish I could see what was happening properly. The last thing I saw was Sora and Axel standing back-to-back, surrounded by Nobodies. After that, everything was too blurry to see.

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Axel leaped into the air. He stretched his arms out to his sides, his weapons floating just out of the reach of his fingers. The weapons began to spin and circle around him as fire appeared on Axel's body. The heat became more and more intense as the flames on his cloak grew bigger and angrier. The redhead pulled his arms in and then quickly stretched them back out. As he did this, his weapons shot out and there was a huge eruption of fire.

There was a blinding light and everyone had to shield their eyes. As it died away, Sora opened his eyes to see that the hundreds of Nobodies were all gone. "Whoa…" he said. He turned to look for the person who had just saved his life. He found him lying on the ground several feet away.

He dashed over as the last flames speckling Axel faded away. Sora bent down on one knee by his side. "You're—you're fading away…" he said, his hand poised a few inches above the injured boy's chest. Small, black flecks were slowly creeping up through the air and off of Axel's body.

"Heh, that's what happens when one of us puts our entire being into one attack," the redhead responded, acting as though he wasn't slowly dying. He laughed again. "Not that Nobodies actually have beings, right?"

Sora simply stared into the deep green eyes of the boy that just sacrificed himself for a complete stranger wondering why he had did it.

"Anyway, off topic. Go, Sora…go find Kairi," Axel said looking away from Sora's dark blue orbs. "Sorry for what I did to her. Tell Raene that too, would ya?"

"When we get to them, you can tell both yourself," Sora said, making Axel think that Raene was still in the Nobodies' world.

"My heart just wouldn't be in it, Sora; haven't got one." He laughed lightly. "I think I'll pass."

"Axel. What were you trying to do…by kidnapping Kairi…what would that have done?" Sora asked.

"I wanted to see my friends again," he replied. "All of them. I wanted things to go back to normal. I thought that if I had Kairi I would be able to get Naminé back and Raene wouldn't have to disappear. And I thought that if you came to save Kairi, I could get Roxas back too."

Sora was confused. He had no idea what Kairi and himself had to do with saving Roxas and Naminé. He knew that Kairi had something to do with Raene but he decided not to ask the redhead about the other two.

"Those three were the only ones I really liked. They all made me feel like I had a heart again. What's funny is…you make me feel the same way," he said smiling.

Sora smiled back to but that action seemed to spark something in Axel. It was the same smile as Roxas and it only made Axel feel worse. The smiled disappeared from his face. "Kairi is in the Nobodies' castle dungeon. Go save her," he said. Axel raised his hand with great effort and summoned a portal for Sora.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. You think you could do me a huge favor?" Axel asked resting his hand at his side again.

"Anything," Sora replied.

"You mind telling Raene I'm sorry…for everything; she'll understand?" Axel said. "And Sora, reach in my pocket right here," he said pointing with his eyes to his side. Sora did and pulled out a scroll tied with blood-red ribbon. "Give that to her. Tell her that I miss her and I'm sorry, ok?"

"Got it. Anything else you want me to tell her?" Sora said holding the scroll close to his heart.

Axel smiled. "Yeah. Tell her that…that…" Axel, not having a heart, didn't quite know how to express the emotion he felt inside him. "You know all the feelings you have for Kairi?"

Sora blushed but not enough to be noticed. "Yes," he answered quietly with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"The feeling that you'd do anything for her. You'd give up your life, your soul…your heart to make sure she was safe."

Sora nodded.

"You'd turn to darkness and you'd fight countless enemies and travel across the worlds, away from you friends and family, just to save her?"

"Yes…" Sora said sadly. Axel's words reminded Sora of all the worry and sadness he felt when he and Kairi had been separated.

"That's how I feel about Raene. I want her to know that I'd do all those things for her…and that…well…just tell her that all the feelings you have for Kairi are the same as how I feel about her." Axel didn't exactly know all the emotions in Sora's heart, and didn't quite understand what he was telling Sora to tell Raene. "OK, Sora? Can you do that for me?" He said smiling sadly.

"Sure—Of course," he replied trying to put on his happiest smile, failing miserably as tears built up behind his eyes.

"Thanks, Roxas," Axel said.

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Damnit! What was happening? It had been several minutes of silence and blindness. I couldn't see what was going on past the foggy barrier and couldn't hear what anybody was saying.

I waited patiently, if it was possible, until something happened. A patch of fog seemed to fade away slowly, revealing a view to the other side. Slowly but surely the entire barrier began to become transparent. As a spot before my eyes faded away I made out the shapes of five figures. One was laying on the ground, one by side and the other three standing off to the side, watching.

As the barrier became more and more transparent, I realized that the figure on the floor was Axel. I stopped breathing as it suddenly dawned on me that something was definitely wrong.

I waited, almost jumping with fear until the barrier disappeared. Axel had summoned a portal with a lot of effort, I could tell. As soon as the barrier cleared I pushed against it and it broke. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me towards him.

As I ran closer I noticed that little black specks were slowing floating upward from Axel's body. If I had a heart, it would have stopped beating at that moment. Ferocious tears began to build up behind my eyes I as I tried to fun faster. "AXEL!" I yelled.

No one had seemed to notice I was there until I screamed. Axel turned his head, resting his cheek on the ground. At first he looked confused to see me there. He reached his hand out, hovering it over the ground, as if he were reaching out to something about to disappear. Then he smiled as he mouthed my name. I quickly slowed to a stop, kneeled and reached my arms out to pull him into my arms. But as soon as my fingers were about to graze his cloak, he vanished in a mix of blackness and flames.

I didn't move for several minutes. My hands fell to my sides and I closed my eyes holding in the tears. I tried to slow my breathing and think about something else—anything that would keep my mind off him. Nothing worked. Every time my mind rested on something else, his face appeared behind my closed eyelids.

I attempted to remain calm as long as possible. He wasn't gone. He was right there next to me; he'd always be there by my side. A hand landed softly on my shoulder. My hopes lifted for a second, that is, until I noticed it was the finger-cutoff glove of Sora's hand. And with that, my hope faded away along with my best friend.

A whimper sounded from deep inside myself and the hand squeezed slightly on my shoulder. I shuddered as the realization came crashing down on me like a thousand friends' deaths. A pathetic sob escaped my lips as I let the tears begin to fall from my dark sapphire eyes.

Sora's lips appeared next to my ear. "It's okay…" he said.

I pushed his hand off my shoulder and turned from him. Axel…my best friend…my last friend…was gone forever and I never got to say good-bye. I didn't even get to touch him one last time. No more hugs, no more smiles, no more late nights of sitting and talking, no more memories to reflect upon with him. My life, as I knew it was over. I wanted to die right then. I didn't want to fight anymore; I didn't want to move, I just wanted Kairi to appear here, take all of my Light and let it be done.

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Ok guys, a friend cough (Akito) cough said that I should leave it here. I was having a debate whether I should continue on but, alas it ends with a cliffhanger. Well, not a big one. He's dead…sadly…but that's that. Next chapter will have that mysterious letter from Axel in it and the return to The World That Never Was. (false yay) That only means more death…god I hate killing people…sorry for my babbling. Hope you enjoyed this one. Review please, I miss some of your reviews people. Thanks to you who review every chapter, it makes my day. I've made a goal that I'm gonna have a fanart of Raene done by the end of this story. (I think it'll have that music box from Axel in it) oh and I'm gonna have a chapter at the end that's completely credits—thanks to people, fanfic soundtrack, fanart links, reasons for like everything in the story. Hope you guys will read that too, but we don't have to worry about that for a while. Thanks again for reading.

Sarah