So it begins.

What was happening?

She felt terrible pain beyond mortal reasoning – striking, piercing, burning, raping pain beyond imagining. Memories were bits and pieces, like photographs flung into the air, gently flowing down, a blur of years gone by.

"You will always be my sunrise."

She had been running – running – running on the planet of Halloween. He – a boy – something – a sun

"Run away!"

And then, heavy footsteps, a scream – her scream – and something hit her

Then the pain came.

It was scathing, erupting, a scalding explosion of everything. And from it, She was freed.

"Tsuki!" A boy laughed. "It's good to see you again! Even though you failed to protect the poor Mitsuka, like you'd said you would… but then, when Lady Hinode puts her mind to it, nothing stops her…"

"Hinode is my angel!"

Hinode… Hinode…

Mitsuka awoke finally. She had slept, on and off in eternal slumber, for so long now. The last time she had awoken was when she'd saved her brother's life. She missed Sai – no, Saix – so much. Here she sat, in her white prison.

Where was she?

"Good morning, sleepy head." Someone whispered.

Groaning, Mitsuka rolled over from her spot on the floor. By the doorway stood a boy.

He was small, his clothes baggy, his looked pure annoyance. Blonde bed head hair caressed his pale face, and black eyes looked Mitsuka over.

"I'm here to take you to the throne room." The boy said, walking up to her and pulling her up by her sleeve. Dragging her behind, Mitsuka stayed silent.

As they walked, they strode up the steps and threw the Proof of Existence. As Mitsuka walked by, she saw two people sleeping. Recently, her memories had been horribly jumbled, her brother her only sure memory, but one of them seemed familiar. One was a red headed boy, asleep on his stomach. The other was a girl with dark hair, a girl in chains.

As she was pulled along and up the stairs, Mitsuka quietly gasped at the sight of the girl unconscious.

"Tsuki?"

Saix leapt up in bed. He was covered in sweat breathing hard and worried. The dream he had just had he was sure wasn't a dream, but actually what was really happening to his sister! Where was Mitsuka? Was she really in the Castle that Never Was?

With a sigh, Saix rubbed his temples. He had slept horribly all night, tossing and turning and having nightmares.

But what he awoke to was worse than anything else.

Xigbar sat up in his bed, out from under the sheets, and yawned. "Good morning." He sighed sleepily.

Demyx arose on the other side, clutching one of the pillows, and unconsciously scooting closer to Saix. "Ten more minutes, mommy…" Demyx muttered.

Saix screamed and shoved Demyx out of his bed, and found the boy was in his pajamas – a baby blue button up shirt and boxers. Xigbar stepped out of bed before Saix got the chance to shove him out – the older man was only in his boxers – and yawned again.

"WHATTHEHELLAREYOUFOOLSDOINGINMYBED!" Saix screeched, leaping up on his bed.

"Wazzat?" Demyx was on the floor, still sleeping, when he heard Saix and sat up sleepily, as if it were normal to wake up to screaming and be on the floor.

"You were having nightmares last night. And I saw on Oprah yesterday that children sleep through nightmares easier with parents nearby." Xigbar explained with a yawn.

"YOU are NOT my FATHER!" Saix shouted.

"I'm glad we agree on that." Xigbar began as he pulled on his pants. Demyx sat up, pulling Saix's blanket off the bed – and in doing so, flipped Saix onto his bum – and then curled up on the floor, drifting back to sleep. "But we – Demyx and I – thought you would sleep easier with company. Besides, your shouts kept waking us up." Xigbar slipped on his jacket.

"You – you – you two – I –" Saix stuttered angrily.

"Wake up, Nocturne." Xigbar demanded gently. Demyx moaned. Xigbar sighed and bent down, pulling on the blanket that the boy was attached to. Demyx only clung to it harder, and Xigbar ended up shaking the thing to try and get him off. It wasn't working.

"I'm going to need therapy." Saix murmured ruefully.

"Okay, everyone, in exactly ONE HOUR" Xigbar called in his surfer dude accent. "We shall be leaving to go kick ass."

"Yeah!" Cid cheered.

"Whooho!" Xaldin cried. Many other happy jeers erupted. Xigbar cleared his throat.

"UNTIL THEN" He started again. "Leon has decided that our excitement will cause too much trouble in the city. Thus… he's locked us in the Gummi hangar."

"WHOOHO!" Sora cheered. Everyone else watched him as he acted like an idiot. Once he realized he was the only one cheering, he wondered if he wasn't supposed to cheer. Luxord pulled him back down into his chair.

"So…" Xigbar pulled something out of his back pocket. "LET'S PLAY GO FISH!" He cried happily.

"NO!" Xaldin screeched, everyone around him covering their ears.

From away, Leon watched. He laughed. And deep down, he knew…

Maybe not all of them would come back.

The stars will cry


The blackest tears tonight

"Are you ready?" Auron questioned, stepping up to the tall man from behind.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Xemnas sighed. Auron nodded.

"Then let's begin."

Sora turned to see Xemnas step into the hangar, followed by Auron and Leon. Everyone was in the hangar now. Sora reached out and held to Kairi's hand tight. Kairi, blushing slightly, looked up to him.

"Thank you." She whispered. Sora realized she was nervous, too.

This was different from any other adventure. This time, the bad guys were good, the good guy was in trouble, and they didn't even really know who the bad guy was.

Was there a bad guy in this one?

"This time…" Sora whispered to no one. "There is no good and evil. There is desperate against desperate. Dying against living. Wounded on wounded."

Riku looked to his friend and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"We don't have to kill them – just save Axel. Cheer up a little, alright?" Riku chimed. Sora nodded.

"Yeah – I'm acting like Saix." The three shared a laugh; from a few feet away, Saix scowled playfully. But the scowl broke into a smile.

"Alright, everyone." Auron demanded attention. "We shall split into two teams. Some will stay here, as backup and a link between us and Radiant Garden. We've decided to let Leon lead a team, and Xemnas lead another. They will choose who stays and who goes."

Leon stepped up.

"Those who stay are coming with me. I'll name you." Sora hoped he wouldn't be called. He was nervous sure, but he wanted to fight!

"Larxene." The blonde cringed, but sighed in defeat and stepped up to Leon with pride. When she passed Xemnas, she placed a strong hand on his shoulder. The man nodded at her emotionlessly, and though both wore cold masks, they could read each others eyes. Larxene walked on and stood behind Leon.

"Luxord." The gambler nodded and stepped up to Larxene, flashing both Leon and Xemnas a smile.

"Aerith and Vexen." Aerith stepped up easily, but Vexen looked shocked. Xemnas smirked.

"Sorry". Leon smiled. "Ariel's orders." With a sigh, Vexen walked up dejectedly.

"Rikku and Paine, Zexion and Demyx." The two girls walked up, Zexion trailing behind. Demyx looked stunned.

"Come on, nine". Xemnas said. Demyx held pain and sadness in his eyes.

I though I would be useful for a change.

"Demyx?" Xigbar asked. The boy shook his head.

"Nothing." And with that, he stepped up to Leon's group.

"Kairi." The red head growled. Namine placed a hand on her shoulder.

"If I go, I'll make sure Sora and Riku stay in line." She comforted. Sighing sadly, Kairi nodded and joined the group.

"Sora." The brunette did an anime fall.

"COME ON!" He cried. Xemnas smirked; Leon laughed.

"Those were Kairi's orders." The red head smiled.

"You just need to keep an eye on the silver haired one." Kairi told Namine. Riku smirked.

"Which silver haired one?" Namine implored playfully. Kairi looked around. There really were a lot of silver haired people.

"All of them". Kairi laughed, and she and Sora stepped up to Leon.

"Lastly, Vincent, Donald, Laxaeus, and Cloud. The rest are on Xemnas' team." Cloud stood and strode to Leon, and Laxaeus went as well.

That left Xigbar, Roxas, Yuna, Riku, Namine, Xaldin, Goofy, Marluxia, Tifa, Saix, Yuffie, Xemnas, and Cid to drive the ship. The rest would be back up. And of course, Auron was going, too.

"Now that that settled, everyone, prepare yourselves and board the ship." Auron said, turning and walking towards Cid, who was entering the room and running towards them. Leon and Xemnas went to join the two.

Demyx sighed, pushing some hair out of his eyes.

"What's wrong, Demyx?" Kairi asked. The boy sighed.

"I was hoping I could actually be useful this time." He complained sadly. Kairi nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing." The two sighed together.

"Come on, men." Leon cried. Larxene glared. "And women." He corrected himself.

"We'd better go." Demyx sighed. Kairi's eyes flashed.

"Yes… we'd better go." The boy looked down to her curiously. She was smirking.

"Hey!" Someone cried.

Mari and Tidu, the two children Kairi and Namine had saved, raced into the room. The people of Radiant Garden had happily accepted the young teens, and they were now official residents. At the moment, they were living with Aerith.

"Hey!" Namine replied. Mari ran over to her, and Tidu sauntered quietly up to Auron.

"It's been a long time." Auron greeted. Tidu nodded. He seemed to be in his own little world.

"Who… who is she?" He asked, finally looking up and gazing into Auron's deep eyes. The man knew who he was talking about even before Tidu looked across the room to Yuna.

"One day you will know. Until then, know this… she will be important to you." Tidu looked back to Auron with curiosity. The man smirked fatherly and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "You'll know one day."

With a sigh, Tidu nodded.

Kairi saw the commotion and pulled on Demyx's sleeve.

"Come on!" She whispered. "Let's go!" As Kairi ran towards the doorway that lead out, pulling Demyx behind, the boy asked. "Go where?"

Kairi smirked. "A gummi ship!"

Xemnas watched them, and he knew what they would attempt. And for some reason, he made no move to stop them.


And this is the moment that I live for


I can smell the ocean air

"Good luck." Sora called back to Riku as he followed his group out of the room. Riku waved nonchalantly.

"See ya, kid!" Xigbar cried to Sora as he put his hand on Riku's shoulder. Riku smirked.

A while back, Xigbar doing this would've bothered him. He would not have liked or trusted any of the organization members.

How did things change so quickly?


And here I am


Pouring my heart onto these rooftops

"Let's go." Xemnas muttered, gaining everyone's attention. They began piling onto the Gummi ship.

Namine took one last look back to the hangar when she walked on.

"Princess?" Yuna asked, placing a motherly hand on Namine's shoulder. The blonde sighed contently and nodded.

"I'm coming." She spoke softly. With a concerned look, Yuna walked inside.

"This is the end." Namine said softly.

And with that, she walked in.

All the memories assaulted her mind…


Just a ghost to the world


That's exactly


Exactly what I need

All the memories…

Leon continued for him. "Eleven dead souls have been resurrected, to be given a new chance at life." Sora's eyes lit up.

"Like Auron was? That's not so bad? What's the problem? Err… the eleven problems?"

"Dearheavenlyfatherwhoartinheavenhallowedbythyna – AHH!" Xaldin screeched, leaping up from his prayer position underneath the table as it was cut in half sharply by a large sword. He dodged Tifa's fist as it careened toward him, and he ducked under Goofy's shield as he ran into the closet at the end of the hallway and slammed it shut.

Goofy's shield began banging against the closet door as Xaldin pressed his back against the back. Someone pinched his arm. Turning, Xaldin saw Marluxia hiding next to him, sweating profusely and glowering at the whirlwind lancer.

"This is my hiding spot, I had it first!" Marluxia screeched angrily. Xaldin glowered.

"We're on the same side! Share it!" He demanded, hitting the pink-haired man lightly.

From up here the city lights burn

Like a thousand miles of fire

"It's his birthday!" She muttered angrily.

"Who's?" Riku pondered.

"His!" Yuffie whispered, nodding towards the street. A certain person whom I'm not going to name because I am evil walked by. Riku's eyes went wide.

"His?"

And I'm here to sing this anthem

Of our dying day

"She'll be fine. But you're in for one hell of a nine months!" Vexen blinked.

It took a second to sink in. He was a scientist – he knew what 'nine months' meant. But when it was being applied to him, it took a while to works its way into his brain.

"WHAT?"

For a second I wish the tide

Would swallow every inch of this city

"He's dying." Mokuba looked pale. Xigbar was even paler, his usually mischievous grin gone.

"Who?" His voice was barely audible. Demyx didn't hear it, but he said who anyway.

"Xemnas."

As you gasp for air tonight

I'd scream this song right in your face

If you were here

"DEMYX YOU FOOLHARDY HERO!"

Marluxia couldn't watch as the boy lost elevation and plummeted towards the falling duo, being pelted by rocks.

Yuna was trying really hard to breath. But blood was rushing to her brain, and fear was seizing her like it never had. Sora was limp in her arms; she couldn't feel his chest moving.

I swear I won't miss a beat

Cause I never

Never have before

"Mansex!" Xaldin cried. "Mansex!" He lifted a trashcan lid and looked under it. "Mansex?"

"Oh, manny, manny, Mansex!" Xigbar called, yodeling. "Come out, wherever you are!"

Walking down a hallway, Xaldin and Xigbar peered out from a corner.

"Mansex?" Xaldin whispered.

There were three people in the hall. One was Leon, arms folded, acting cold as usual. The other was Aerith, kind, and sweet, but tired as well.

The third had silver hair, tanned skin, and reddish eyes.

"Whoa." Xaldin and Xigbar spoke at the same time, looking at each other.

"He's practically Xehanort all over again!" Xaldin muttered. Xigbar looked back at his old friend.

Xaldin smiled.

From up here the city lights burn

Like a thousand miles of fire

"I cried for you! I cried for you, damn it! And, what the hell, here you are, alive, just… just standing there! I… I…" Xigbar choked up, a single tear falling down his face.

And I'm here to sing this anthem

Of our dying day

"Namine?" Xaldin asked. The girl looked up to the nobody beside her.

"I never thought it would turn out this way. Who would've thought the nobodies would be given a chance?" Xaldin smiled.

"Someone thought of it. And now it's our turn to save her." He nodded determinedly.

"Everyone, buckle up, we're taking off to kick some ass! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Xigbar cheered from the front seat. Marluxia groaned.

"When are they going to learn not to let the Freeshooter into the Driver's seat?" He complained angrily.

Of our dying day

Of our dying day

Of our dying

"Demyx! Number nine! Dork! Idiot! Mullet Boy!" Someone was calling repeatedly and rushed for Demyx, who was a bit annoyed at the insults. Frowning playfully, Demyx looked over the railing to see Marluxia, surprisingly.

"Didn't you go back to the castle, Flower boy?" Marluxia pretended he didn't hear.

"Yes, I did. Now, I've returned, with news!" He grinned, flashing a wade of papers in his hands. "There's to be a race-"

"And we've front row seats!"

For a second I wish the tide

Would swallow every inch of this city

"Do what? It's a dragon!"

"You fought Xemnas' dragon, fight this one!" Cloud answered.

"That was a dark being; this is a real, live, fucking DRAGON!"

"WE GET IT, IT'S A DRAGON!" Everyone but Sora shouted very angrily. Sora huffed.


And you gasp for air tonight!

And speaking of that, who's your friend?" Tifa asked looking to Inuyasha.

The white haired man had been standing dumb founded for quite a while. He seemed shocked and very confused. Sora laughed at the dumb look on his face.

"That's Inuyasha. We kind of… picked him up." Sora chuckled nervously.

From up here the city lights burn

"RIKU, YOU MORON! PUT ME DOWN!"

Riku went down the front steps with Sora fighting him, as he had thrown the smaller boy over his shoulder. Sitting at the end of the staircase was Luxord, Xigbar, and Xaldin, who grinned at the sight.

"Dun dun dundun, dun dun dundun, dun dun dundun dun dundun dun dundun!" Xigbar and Xaldin cheered, with fake batty eyes, while Luxord cracked up. Riku grinned to them and waved like he was a King with his princess, about ready to crack up himself.

Like a thousand miles of fire

The voices went away the white filled everything, and a sound of "beep"…. "beep"…. "beep"… filled the air until it became a continuous never ending sound underneath a someone's screams of agony.

"XEMNAS!"

And I'm here to sing this anthem

"Forgive me?" Cloud asked. Eyes tear stained, Riku turned.

"For being weak."

Of our dying day

From up here the city lights burn

"This is great, the bad guy comes, and Saix and Marluxia are sleeping on the job!" Sora complained. Demyx groaned.

"I WANT TO LIVE!" He begged. Sora kicked his shin.

"Calm down, we can still beat it!" Sora told the mullet boy. Demyx whimpered, but he brought his sitar out, prepared to fight.

The gigantic thing took a step forward, shaking the ground. Demyx created a shield of water around Saix and Marluxia, and then stepped forward to Sora.

"How do you know you can do this?" Demyx asked quietly. "What if something goes wrong?" Sora looked down for a moment, thinking.

"I don't know if I can. And something could go wrong; I guess something already has." He joked, nodding back to Saix and Marluxia. "But I have to keep going. I can't give up now. Not when there's so much on the line and so much to gain."

Like a thousand miles of fire

And I'm here to sing this anthem

The being began writing his name in her palm. Tifa recited the letters the person wrote.

"V." She began. "I. N. C. E. N. T."

Tifa was shaking, trembling, barely able to contain herself. It couldn't be!

"V. A. L. E. N. T. I. N. E." Tifa took in a sob. "Vincent Valentine." The being closed her palm and placed his hand around hers.

Of our dying day

Before anyone could protest, a loud poof was heard, and smoke filled the room. When it cleared… the situation was too horridly, profoundly vile to imagine.

Marluxia was wearing a very small, pink ballerina outfit.

Demyx was a hard rocker with a Mohawk instead of a mullet. He looked like the only person who wasn't angry, but amazed.

Vexen was wearing a clown suit, complete with a red nose. Laughing, Ariel reached up and squeezed it, earning an "Onk" from the object. She broke out into fits of giggles in her maid outfit. Vexen was content, even though he was annoyed, since the maid dress was rather… skimpy.

Roxas, who was now groggily awake, was wearing Namine's dress.

Yuffie was in a goth outfit, and Luxord was a pirate right out of "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Saix was dressed like "Legolas" from "Lord of the Rings", and boy, was he pissed.

Riku was in Sephiroth's clothing. He looked amazed too.

Zexion was dressed like an Emo, make up and all.

Cloud was not only disturbed at the sight of Riku, but was dressed like a Japanese schoolgirl and was now at Xigbar's throat. Xigbar was dressed like a gangsta.

From up here the city lights burn

And so, without saying anything, as to not give anyone warning, Xigbar swooped down on Paine's lips.

"Holy crap." Sora muttered, in awe of the older man's slick style. In seconds, Paine was kissing him back.

"Dude." Riku groaned. "No way." Luxord sighed sadly.

"He always gets the chicks."

Like a thousand miles of fire

"You killed him, didn't you?" Sora asked. Sephiroth stood at the edge of the Dark Depths, bleeding profusely.

"No." Sephiroth muttered. "He killed himself." Sora blinked.

And I'm here to sing this anthem

"Lord… Xemnas?" Marluxia backed up. The man nodded, as if answering his question, and then walked him by. Marluxia was a bit in shock. How was he supposed to act? What was he supposed to do?

"Lord." He called out before Xemnas left. He paused, looking behind him. "I apologize. For everything I did. And… thank you. For what you did for me."

Of our dying day

"Nah. Too tired. Besides…" Cloud laughed. "That's a sort of… family thing. The family of the Organization XIII." Leon, who was now standing next to the blonde, laughed.

"Sora's an Organization member?" Leon chuckled, looking to the pile of boys. As Sora and Xigbar and Roxas pulled each others clothes and punched and kicked and laughed, Cloud sighed contently with a smile.

"Yes, I believe he is."

Our dying day

"You are respected ever more than you know." Xemnas' eyes grew wide and he turned to her. But when he turned back, she was gone. The hall was empty.

With a serene smile, he continued on.

Of our dying!

"The souls were once dangerous, but they've been stripped of most of their powers, not all, and they've also been put on a sort of leash. One you can control, Kairi." Kairi stood as Leon's gaze fell on her. "They will not hurt anyone, but…" Cid, who had not been participating in the conversation, had closed the door to the room and was now repeatedly banging his head against it, a bland look on his face. The group's conversation died down awkwardly as all of them slowly turned to look at the blonde. Cid didn't notice. With an awkward "ahem" Leon turned back to the group.

"Maybe I should just show you." The three threw apprehensive looks at each other, Kairi being curious; she could somehow control this "leash"? Riku was the most apprehensive; Protective thoughts were passing through his mind as he stepped towards Leon and ahead of his friends, to be the first in the line of fire. Sora was simply baffled. What was so bad about these spirits?

Leon turned and walked down the steps, the trio, and Yuffie in tow. Yuffie stopped at the end of the stairs, as she knew what was going on. With an apprehensive look back at Yuffie, Sora gulped and pushed gently ahead of Kairi, next to Riku.

Leon placed his hand on the door handle. Sora looked up to him and after he and Riku exchanged glances, nodded.

The door swung open.

"Namine?" Roxas asked. The girl looked up to Roxas' smiling face. "Come on! We're there already!" Coming out of her reverie, Namine nodded and took Roxas' outstretched hand. The two strode out into the sunlight of Twilight Town.

The last to leave the ship was Xemnas. With a sigh of contentment, he watched the others ahead of him – and remembered the secret danger they were about to face soon. And with a smile, he knew they would succeed. After all, they were no ordinary group of humans and dark beings and all sorts. They were the oddest team in the history of the universe, but perhaps…

"Lord Ansem?" A young Xehanort asked. The older man looked down to the young apprentice with love. "Sir… may I ask you something?"

The older man chuckled. "You've already asked me, but you may ask another." Xehanort nodded.

"What… if the physical heartbeat keeps the body alive, what does the emotional heartbeat do? What is it?"

Xemnas strode down off in ship in his reverie.

Ansem smiled. "A fine question. Many different people could see it as many different things, but perhaps…"

"Superior!" Xigbar called. "Come on!" The silver haired man nodded and sauntered up to his awaiting group nonchalantly.

"Perhaps emotions have a heart that dances to the beat of the soul." Xehanort thought it over as Ansem looked over his bookshelves.

With one last look back at the setting sun, Xemnas sighed and walked on.

"I think…" Xehanort began quietly as he strode to the door to leave. "The emotional heart beats like the sun and moon. Feeling happy, feeling sad… feeling anger, feeling pride… shifts like night and day."

"You brood too much." Xigbar told Xemnas with a grin, patting the man's shoulder. Xemnas glared at him playfully.

The Heart dances with the Sun and Moon.

(Anthem of Our Dying Day does not belong to me.)

An excerpt from the sequel to Axelerate!

"So, yousea juse… wanderin' the universe likesa lone pilgrim when yousea gots a home to go ta?" The drunken man blabbered. Even though what he spoke barely made sense, the man who he was speaking too made sense of it. Both were drunk, but the speaker was the worst, and the other sat taking in his words. He sobered up immediately.

"You're right." He whispered. "I'm out here looking for the past, when I'm leaving my future behind." With a sigh, the man emptied his wallet onto the passing waiter's tray. "Keep the change." He muttered, practically jogging to the door.

"Wheresya goin, stranger?" The drunken man asked the man leaving the bar. The brunette man opened the door with a grin.

"I'm going home!" Leon cried with enthusiasm he didn't usually show slamming the door open and rushing out into the snow.