As she slept, Sora kept a constant watch on Kairi. She had eaten and had begun to recover well. He brushed his knuckles against her face longingly. She whispered something in her sleep, and tears ran down her face. A loud bang on the door woke her up in a cold sweat. Sora kissed her forehead to calm her down and walked to the door.

"Hello?"

Two men, one with a young face and gray-silver hair, with two silver eyes to match, and the other with a crazed grin, his fiery red bangs covering his one green eye. The other one was rolled over to the back of his head.

"The name's Axel and my partner here is Zexion. Do you know a young lady by the name of Kairi? She's our friend and we really need to see her." The red head said, smiling.

"Yeah! She's right in here!" Sora said happily, gesturing to the fragile woman on his couch.

Zexion stepped inside first, shaking his head, and mentally face-palming at how gullible people are now-a-days. He bent down and brushed Kairi's face.

"Go away, Sora," she mumbled.

"It's not Sora."

Kairi's violet eyes met a sea of silver, and her eyes widened in shock. She glanced at Axel, who was holding a knife to Sora's neck. Zexion quietly kissed her hand. "You're coming with us."

"Why?"

Zexion pulled the blanket off of her. He rolled up her pants, and on her right leg, a scar that looked like a snake wrapped around it, starting from her ankle and slithering all the way up to her mid-thigh. Closer observation would reveal it was a king cobra, bearing his fangs at his victim.

"Do you remember how you got that?" Axel asked, grinning insanely.

Terra rubbed his face with his hands. "Why don't you just kill me now," he muttered, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, Riku began convulsing. Sputtering blood, the crimson liquid dribbling down his pale lips seemed to mix with his salty tears and incoherent gurgling. The doctors rushed everyone out of the room, and Terra saw the same thing happening to Xion. She was literally choking on her own blood. It pained him to watch her struggle and angered him to agree to helplessness.

"Doctor-lady! Is there any way I can help my sister?"

She didn't seem to hear him; she was too busy trying to help her patients. She pushed the two teens into a large room, and she disappeared from his sight.

"Crud."

Roxas held Namine in his arms to try and stop her bawling. He cradled her and spoke softly in her ear.

"Wanna go home, so you can sleep?"

She nodded, sniffling.

He led her out the door, climbed one of Terra's horses and rode off.

Terra plopped into one of the nearby chairs and dozed off. He dreamt he was falling into a pit of darkness, it swallowing him whole. Then everything stopped.

He was within a hospital, apparently the same one, holding a baby girl in his arms. She yawned, her tannish, pinkish face scrunching up. A few minutes later, a nurse handed him another child, a little boy, and asked for a name. Then everything disappeared. He was now in the woods, crouching in a tree, a teenage Aqua frowning. He heard footsteps, and shrunk farther into the shadowy branches. This scene seemed familiar, a vague memory. It fell away from him again, and Terra woke up in a cold sweat, his heart thundering in his chest and echoing in his ears.

Namine shook her head. "You can't come past castle doors, Roxas. It's Father's rules."

"I don't care for his rules, Nami. I'm here to protect you. And I can't do that from out here, can I?"

"Shuddup. Still can't come in."

"Then I guess I'll wait out here."

She reached up and ruffled his hair, sighing. "Stop making that face."

"What face?" He smirked.

"That face! That face you make when you don't get what you want."

"Still don't know what you're talking about."

Namine pouted, and turned around to walk inside. She grinned, yelling behind her as she walked in, "Stop staring at my butt, Roxas!"

"Nah, I like it too much."

"Shuddup." And the door shut.

Suddenly, about five hours later, an ear-piercing scream, coming from inside the castle, made Roxas jump. He ran inside, trying to see what was going on. His thoughts were flickering like a candle's flame, his mind in overdrive.

"Namine!"

The muffled scream of his name sent him clambering up the marble stairs, tripping his way to the top. His blood went cold as he heard a man's voice.

"It's not gonna hurt, sweetie. It'll only take a second."

As he got closer to one of the doors, he could hear Namine crying. He kicked the door down.

A man with silvery eyes and gray-silver hair was holding Namine close to his chest on the floor, his hands dripping with some sort of liquid and what looked like blood. Roxas pulled Namine away from him, and watched as the man stood up, grasping a needle.

"It seems he won't let me use this, huh, Nami?" The man said, sweeping his silvery bangs out of his face.

"Stay away from her." Roxas growled dangerously.

"The name is Zexion, dear Roxas. Little Namine knows me, don't you, Nami?"

"Stop calling me that!" She yelled, stepping away from her protector.

"Now you've made your mistake." Within seconds, Zexion came behind Namine, hitting her pressure point, and grabbing her and literally flying out the window. He had grown blackish-blue wings and taken off, leaving Roxas to stand there like an idiot, gaping at the broken glass.

"How is she?" Axel wiped his hands on the back of his jeans, walking into the room his favorite people were.

"I gave them both the same dose, so they should be out for a while. How are you, Axel?" The young woman placed the sedatives back into her fridge and smiled at her old friend.

"Well enough, Larxene."

"Still looking for that girl? The one that did that to your eye?"

"Do you even have to ask, Xenie?" He said, smiling sadly. He scratched his red hair, and then reached to tug her blonde ponytail. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yup!" She grinned. "Love you, too, Axel!"

He leaned to kiss her, and her bluish yellow eyes closed and followed suit. Zexion came into the room.

"Ahem! Axel, Larxene!" He barked.

Larxene jumped. "Jeez, Zexy!"

"Don't call me that."

"Why? I think it suits you. Right, Axel?"

Axel nodded, while trying to hold back his laughter.

Zexion sent them both a death glare. "Shut up, you worthless woman."

"Watch it, Zexion. You and I both know she is necessary to this operation." Axel snapped.

"You and I both know I have the power to wipe the both of you out whenever I please." He retaliated harshly.

Axel continued to glare at him, Larxene whispering to him that she'll talk to him later. She quickly, quietly shuffled out of the room as the tension rose.

"What is it? Why do you not like her?"

"It is because I only care about the mission."

"Bullshit." Axel's eye color got darker as Zexion stepped closer, trying to see what he'd do.

Axel clenched his fists, and raised one up to strike Zexion.

Zexion just continued to stare deeply into the pool of dark, menacing green. Cold hands clasped around his neck, the burning sensation of lack of oxygen in his lungs. The burning continued, and Zexion realized Axel was conjuring Firen in his hands.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Zexion had continued to stare into Axel's eye, not even cringing in pain. Axel squeezed harder.

"Why won't you die!" He yelled, his eye watering from the smoke. His hands were covered in fiery blood, already burning past Zexion's jugular.

"I am immortal," he croaked.

Axel froze, recovered, and changed from fire to electricity. Zexion began spazzing, jerking and flailing, but still stared into his partner's eye, lifeless oceans of silver clashing with an enraged pool of dark green. He almost looked dead, save for the fact that he kept blinking. Axel threw him against the wall and stared at the floor.

"...I'm still—" Zexion put his hands to his neck, and realized he felt bone. His bone and burnt flesh; the remains of his throat in his palms. When he talked, nothing was there to vibrate. So how did he create noise? Was it the gods?

Annoyed, Axel stormed out, muttering something about getting a beer.

Aqua stared at her hands. She shall watch him suffer underneath her death grip. This meant no weapons. She swore to it.

Lunging at Xehanort, Aqua broke into her fastest sprint to tackle him to the floor. He grabbed her neck once they went down. Choking, she quickly wrapped a leg around his arm, bending it just so, causing her to enjoy the sickening snap it produced. She quickly back flipped away from him as he got up and lumbered toward him. Aqua grunted as her threw her against the wall.

"C'mon, Xehanort," she taunted, getting up from her crouching position, "That your best?"

She failed to realize him sliding over the bed and reaching into the drawer.

"Not at all, dearest," He snapped, while pulling out a shot gun twice his arm-length. The impossibly large weapon glinted, as if it were saying to her, 'Run. Now.'

He pulled the trigger, and she dodged it, running out of the room. She needed more space. It would give her an advantage.

She ran up the stairs to her attic, and realized he didn't follow her.

"Adele!" She ran back down franticly, to see Xehanort pointing the gun at the little girl's head.

"If you move, she dies."

Adele began sobbing.

"Xehanort," Aqua dropped to her knees, "Please, Xehanort. Don't do this. She's your daughter. Our daughter! Wouldn't you have even a fragment of a heart not to kill her?"

"Guess not," he said, loading the gun.

Aqua's distressed tears were followed by anger. She wouldn't be able to save her baby girl if she tried. Standing back up, she made her decision without any second thought.

"Xehanort."

His head snapped up to stare into her forest green eyes, brimming with tears and determination.

"Let her go, and keep me."

"Or maybe I let her go, and kill you."

"I can take any punishment you give." She couldn't look at Adele; she'd start crying.

He smiled maliciously. "This," he aimed at her shoulder and pulled the trigger, "is for breaking my arm."

Her knees hit the floor.

"This one," he pulled the trigger at her leg, "is for having an affair behind my back. And this bullet for planning to bear his children," he shot at her womb, and by then she was crumpled on the floor, clutching her stomach.

Adele watched in abject horror.

"This last bullet is to put you out of your misery."

The bang that erupted startled the birds outside the cottage. Especially Aqua's favorite, a new breed, the Sapphire-Winged Songbird. The little birds congregated in a tree farther away from the house, and they began to sing loud, high-pitched, sad notes. The sound was crisp and clear, and it echoed through the trees, matching the sweetest notes on new violin.

AAAAAAAND! that's it. for nowww...! love you guys! and review for da saphy! and tiredgirl! where'd you go! why arent all my old peoples reviewin! yall gave up on me?

how dare you! jk. love yall!

-Saphira!