A/N: Yup, so this chapter was somewhat interesting to write, so I hope you enjoy!

"Ow…"

"It'll only hurt just a bit, ok? I promise it won't be anymore than that." Hope said, continuing to push Axel's coat off slowly and carefully, wincing slightly herself each time he gave a small hiss of pain.

"Don't you have anything to make the pain go away?"

Hope gave him a sympathetic smile, "Unfortunately, no." She pushed the coat off and let it fall to the ground as Axel remained seated on the bench. They had managed to trudge all the way up to Sunset Hill. "Ok, lift your arms up a bit so I can take off your shirt." Hope said, watching as Axel lifted up his arms a bit. She grabbed the hem of his shirt and gently began to pull it up, careful to not cause Axel anymore pain. She grimaced when she saw the condition he was in. He was cut up and bruised somewhat from the fight with Roxas, his back being in the worse condition. "Geez, Axel, you'd think you'd be more careful…."

"I was careful. Not my fault that Key-boy thought it would be fun to beat me…" Axel grumbled. "OWWW!"

"Sorry!"

"OW!"

"Stop squirming around, Axel." Hope quietly commanded, continuing to dab at the open cuts with a small rag that had been soaked in rubbing alcohol.

"But it stings! OWWW! Hope, stop!" Axel exclaimed, trying to push her away.

Hope sighed, "Axel, I can't make it feel better if you don't let me help you."

"Then help me by not using that stuff. It stings."

"Because it's rubbing alcohol! It's supposed to sting to show that it's actually working."

"But it hurts!" Axel exclaimed. Hope rolled her eyes at him, moving to dab at the cuts again, only to have Axel grab her arm. "Stop!"

"Fine. If you won't let me disinfect your cuts, then what do you want me to do?"

Axel smirked, casting cure on himself. "Let me do it myself."

"Axel, you had cure magic on you this whole time, and you didn't bother to help yourself?"

"Well, you were being so nice…But I still don't feel better."

"What's the matter now?"

"I hurt."

"Where?"

"Here." Axel said, pointing to his forehead. Hope sighed, leaning forward and pressing a soft little kiss to it. "And here." Axel said, pointing to his cheek. Hope pecked his cheek quickly. He smiled at her before pecking her lips, and allowing her to stand up.

Hope walked over to stare out at Sunset Terrace, watching as the train drove by on the tracks, smiling as the breeze softly blew wisps of her hair around. She clasped her hands behind her back, and glanced over at Axel, giving him a soft smile. She turned around, and her smile fell as she felt a small pang inside of her chest. Slowly, she turned around to stare at Axel. "What's gonna happen to us now?"

Axel frowned slightly, standing up. He opened his mouth to speak, only to have someone else speak instead. "We can either stay here and act like nothing has happened, or we can just go on and help Sora."

"Namine!" Hope exclaimed as she saw Namine and the hooded figure standing side by side. Namine moved to sit on the bench, sketch book in hand.

Axel frowned, bending slightly and placing his hands on the fence, staring out at the town. "He's gone…" Hope frowned sadly, closing her eyes. Axel was talking about her favorite little blonde. "Looks like there's nothing else for us here."

"But where will we go? We don't have a lot options to run to…" Hope mumbled sadly.

Axel glanced over at Namine. "You don't have any place to go, do you? And you don't have anywhere to go back to, right? Such things don't exist to Nobodies like us."

"That's right. There is no place for me. But still…I have some places I want to go…I have some people I want to see."

"Yeah, same here." Axel said in agreement, turning to glance over at Hope, who had her back facing everyone. "What about you, Hope?"

"I guess….I have to keep on running."

"I still don't understand why you have to. What is it that Xemnas wants from you?"

Hope sighed. "The light that my heart holds is something that Xemnas see's as a weapon of sorts. I'm not quite sure what weapon that exactly is, but I figure it can't be good. So, I'll keep running and fighting. I have places I wanna go, and people I'd like to see as well. One person in particular." Hope explained, looking over at Namine and giving her a slight smile. "How long has he been around, Namine?"

"….We found him in the woods a couple months earlier. Ever since then, I've been taking care of him." Namine explained, looking over to the hooded figure, nodding her head. The man opened a portal, and out walked a young child with a familiar face. Immediately, he ran over to Hope, who was practically sobbing as she lifted him up and held him close.

"I'm back, momma."

Hope smiled a tearful smile, hugging the child closer to her instinctively. "I know, Ienzo…I know."

Axel smiled at the reunion, before Namine spoke up to him. "Axel…take Hope with you and go wherever the two of you need to go to. And take Ienzo with you."

Axel nodded his head. "Right." He opened up a dark portal, letting Namine run through it first. He turned to the hooded figure and nodded slightly, while Hope gave him a smile.

"Thanks…Riku."

Ienzo waved. "Bye-bye, Wiku!"

With those last words said, the two adults and the 5 year old disappeared through the portal, marking the beginning of the long journey ahead of them.

"And Nami taught me how to draw a heart, a star, and a puppy!" Ienzo exclaimed as Hope carried him on her back, Axel walking beside them. Currently, they were just entering Hollow Bastion, their home world.

"That sounds like it was a lot of fun."

"It was! Hey, we're home! See, it's the castle!" Ienzo exclaimed, pointing up at the now crumbling castle.

Axel frowned slightly as he felt something was a bit off. "Hey, you two go on and head into town. I gotta check something out…"

"But…" Hope began, stopping when she realized he was already walking away. She and Ienzo continued on and into town, stopping when a familiar voice called out her name.

"H-Hope?….Hope, is it….is that really you?"

Hope turned to glance at whoever had spoken her name, her eyes widening slightly when she saw the person. "Aerith…"

A/N: Ienzo is back! YAYZ! So, she has bumped into someone from her past *GASP*! What will happen? Find out next chapter! LATER TATERS!