It feels nice to be able to write this again. So many stories to work on, though! I have like 5 of them to work on. xDx I'm crazy, but they'll all get finished. Eventually.

This chapter...used to be different. A lot different. If you ever read the old one, I feel sorry for you. It was handled sloppily, and I like this version a lot better. Yes, Roxas is a major jerk. Yes, he's slightly OOC. He's also slightly crazy. Also I love how different the writing is. The first few segments I barely touched, and they were written months ago. And then you get to the last two segments, which I re-wrote from scratch, and it's like...BLAM. I can't believe I let so many typos slip by. I got a lot better at editing, though! :D Yay!

Man, is it just me, or is this chapter...batshit crazy, for lack of a better term? Ugh, I should stop rambling. Enjoy, and please please please leave a review, even if it's "oh this sucks." I'd love to hear your thoughts about this. I'm willing to answer any and all questions you may have. :3

0 X 0 X 0

The Gray Area was unusually quiet. All of the members had been sent off on their mission for the day – except for Axel. Saix stood in his normal place, sorting the papers in his arm with a cold, detached air. Axel lounged on the couch, trying his best not to drift off into sleep.

"Axel, I need to ask you something." Saix's words broke the comfortable silence, jolting Axel out of his half-nap. He yawned, and started to stretch; not to bother Saix, but to honestly stretch his tired muscles.

"What is it?"

Saix fingered through his papers, pulling one out. "Did you see Roxas yesterday? He never reported in after his mission," he told him, the paper fluttering uselessly at his side. Axel eyed it with concern, wondering why he had pulled it out in the first place.

"I didn't see him. What, you think he ran away or something?" Axel joked, snorting in amusement. Like Roxas would ever leave the Organization. What reason would he have to?

Saix remained silent, and a foreboding realization set upon Axel; he actually did think that Roxas ran away. "I thought that maybe he might have forgotten to check in. But nobody has seen him since yesterday morning." Saix explained, sounding almost bored. Axel tried not to let himself get irritated over Saix's tone. Roxas wasn't just some machine that they could use until he broke, no matter what Xemnas thought. Both Roxas and Xion were people, and they were so much more than just heart collectors. They were people.

"Anyway, I have your mission for today," Saix commented, steering the subject in an entirely different direction. He read off the paper, completely ignoring Axel's confused expression. "There's been some odd activity in Disney Town. There was some disturbance, and the Queen's army has been called in. I want you to find out threatened her enough to make her use her troops."

"Got it," Axel said, trying to keep his nervousness hidden with a cheesy grin. This was bad, whatever it was. He could tell. Saix opened a dark corridor for him, waiting with barely veiled impatience. Axel gave him a -hopefully- convincing grin as he snatched the paper and stepped inside.

0 X 0 X 0 X

Disney Town was usually such a lively, happy place, but when Axel exited the dark corridor, he found himself in a ghost town. It was like all joy had abandoned the town. There were no children playing in the street, no people lazily enjoying snacks outside of restaurants. The usual whirr of the go-karts was absent, leaving him in an unsettling silence.

He set off towards the castle, hoping that he'd be able to eavesdrop on someone. He quickly found out that the soldiers were already making their way through the town in small groups. He hid in the shadows, silently cursing his coat for standing out so brightly against the colorful scenery.

From what Saix's report said, he expected the entire army to be out patrolling the streets, but after a bit of recon, there were only five separate groups of four walking around. The Queen was with one; the soldiers in that squad were dressed more intricately, with elaborate weapons at their side.

Axel decided to follow the Queen's group. He stalked behind them, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. It was like the time that he and Roxas had been watching that big cat-guy who had been poking around Agrabah. They had to run several times, due to their target's habit of suddenly turning around. However, following someone alone was much simpler, thankfully.

After following them for several minutes, a few of the guards started up a conversation with the Queen. "Your Highness, what exactly are we looking for that's so dangerous?"

The Queen sighed, regret flowing through her voice. "It's a boy."

"A boy?" Another asked, thoroughly confused.

"A boy. He was nice enough, until..." She grew quiet and hung her head. When she spoke again, her voice was trembling. "Something was wrong with him...something that I've never seen before. His expression terrified me. He was just a lost, confused boy, yet he was so broken and twisted..." She trailed off, unable to speak.

"But why do you need us?" One of the guards piped up.

"Because...I can't face him myself. He could be extremely dangerous, and I just want to bring him back to the castle without causing too much of a struggle. Maybe there we could figure out what's wrong."

"So that's why you ordered the entire town to stay inside today." A guard said.

The Queen nodded. "I believe he's in the same place. We should find him soon."

Was it...no, it couldn't be. They couldn't be talking about Roxas, yet something inside of Axel tried to convince him that they were. Giving into the voice, he kept following the group, trying to look ahead for any sight of Roxas. He needed to find his friend before they did.

The group walked slowly; the Queen allowed her guards to look down and check each and every alleyway. Axel couldn't take it anymore. They were just too slow. He went through a dark corridor, coming out a few yards in front of them, hidden from their view by a large building.

He sped through the town, checking all of the main streets. If Roxas was still in Disney Town and not somewhere else, he would be in plain sight. The boy would be too wrapped up in something or other to move.

Axel was right. In the middle of a smaller street, a little ways off the main path through Disney Town, was Roxas. His coat was next to him, splayed out like a corpse. The boy was wearing new, odd clothes...that somehow felt familiar. He had seen those before. Somewhere, so far away he couldn't reach the memory.

He was on the ground, occasionally twitching in a fitful sleep. There were dull brown marks etched across the ground, sharply contrasting with the colorful sidewalk. Axel walked closer to the boy, crouching down and scratching at the marks with his finger. It was...blood. There was blood on the ground.

He looked over the sleeping boy, gently rolling him onto his back to to check him for injuries. There weren't any visible ones, and the clothes were in perfect condition. They were only a little big on him...

...Axel then realized that it didn't look like Roxas was breathing. He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from panicking. He pressed his hand against the boy's chest, sighing in relief at the feeling of his chest slowly rising and falling from underneath his hand.

Below Roxas's steady breathing, Axel thought he felt something. He took his glove off, then rested his hand against the boy's chest again. The feel of the fabric -probably cotton, he guessed- against his fingers was alien after not taking his gloves off after so long.

His thoughts were interrupted by a steady beat underneath his fingers. There was no mistaking it – he was feeling a heartbeat. Roxas's heartbeat. "How? Why? But...I thought..." He shook his head. They had to get out of there first.

He heard the sound of footsteps a little ways away, but he didn't see the guards just yet. He opened a corridor, then scooped up Roxas in his arms and left.

When the guards came, they saw the dried blood on the ground, and the coat splayed out on the ground: the only signs that the boy was ever there.

0 X 0 X 0 X

Pain. Pain harsh and brutal like ripping and tearing through flesh and fire burning his skin away and the screaming and laughter and pain pain pain

He's begging, in a hoarse voice that he knows is his own but the pain strangles it away and it doesn't stop even though he begs and pleads and cries but the tears only burn his eyes and melt his skin like liquid fire

He can feel the ripping and the pain and it doesn't stop but it'll never stop puppets don't get free will and the strings pull him along and pull his jaw until he can't scream and now he can only hear laughter cruel and harsh and mocking just like the pain make it stop make it stop can't break free can't escape not ever WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GO

"Roxas! Roxas, wake up!"

Roxas was shaken awake, jostled until he came back into consciousness. He blearily blinked his eyes open, but kept them half-shut until his eyes adjusted to the blinding whiteness that surrounded him.

Once he finally regained his sight, he looked around, and instantly his eyes darted to a shock of red hair just a little ways away from him.

"It...it was just a nightmare..." He muttered quietly, shuddering at the ghostly touches of his dream. "...right?" He looked to Axel for reassurance, who could only give him a somber smile.

"Yeah. It was just a nightmare," he said, reaching out to ruffle Roxas's hair.

Fingers in his scalp, grabbing and yanking and pulled and screaming and yelling and more laughter, rich with evil and puppet strings that forced him to stay still even though he didn't want this please stop please leave DON'T TOUCH ME

Roxas heard screaming. He didn't realize he was the one screaming until Axel came back into his view, murmuring soft words of comfort, but staying at arm's length away from him.

He took several long, shuddering breaths, and tried to regain his composure. He was on the floor now, and the blanket had entangled itself around his legs like a cocoon. I-I don't know what happened..." Roxas muttered, trying to push away the panic and fear still racing through him. "Something's wrong with me, Axel."

Axel's expression darkened, and he refused to meet Roxas's eyes. It was the same look he got time after time, whenever he was hiding something... The redhead scratched the back of his head. Another sign that he was hiding something.

"Axel." Roxas's voice wavered, but his face was stern and set, unwilling to budge. "What are you hiding?" He demanded, trying to conceal his weaknesses with a sharp edge.

Axel sighed, still refusing to look at him. "Rox, you're right. Something is wrong with you." He stayed still, and Roxas waited for him to continue. "Were you scared in that nightmare? Did you feel fear?"

The blond nodded slowly. "Yeah...fear, and panic..." He trailed off, but quietly added, "and pain..." at the end. Axel's expression changed to something distant and unreadable for a brief second. He finally turned to face him, a small smirk settled firmly onto his face. It wasn't a real one, though. It was only a facade.

"Well, I expected the pain." He joked, but Roxas didn't react at all, so his mood sobered. "Roxas, you're not supposed to be able to feel the other two. Nobodies can't feel, remember?"

"Regular Nobodies can't feel. Normal Nobodies can't feel," Roxas countered, drawing his knees to his chest. "I'm a special Nobody, remember?" His lips turned upward in a smirk, full of bitterness and memories of all the lies he had been spoon-fed.

"I..." Axel trailed off, shaking his head. It was odd, Roxas thought, to see Axel so somber and serious. Usually he could at least crack a joke, but his last attempt had failed. "Are you sure you're even a Nobody? Because...you have one thing that the rest of us don't."

"A heart." Axel stared at him in shock. "Yeah, but it's not mine. I have to give it back." He couldn't keep Ven's heart. Sure, he could feel and all, and he could use it, but it wasn't his. He didn't deserve it. Ven did.

After a few moments, Axel managed to regain some of his composure. "What are you talking about? You have a heart that's not yours? Are you-" he cut himself off, but Roxas could tell what he was going to say. It was painfully obvious – so obvious, even an idiot like him could tell.

"Crazy? Yeah, I think I am." Roxas's voice had lost any hint of compassion it had, leaving a cold, bitter shell behind. He sneered. "You don't understand, do you? I don't understand either, but that's normal, isn't it? I'm just an oblivious idiot. A puppet. A tool."

"No, you're not!" Roxas glared at him, quieting the older member instantly.

"You're lying again, aren't you?" Axel opened his mouth to protest, but Roxas stood up and left his room. He paused in the doorway and gave one final look back at Axel. He felt a harsh sting at being so cruel, but Axel deserved it. He was a liar. A jerk. He didn't understand – he'd never understand. "You always say you're my friend, but I've learned something. Friend's don't lie to each other."

He left Axel sitting there, ignoring the sting of his words as he walked down the hall. He looked up above him, and he could have swore he saw little strings dangling down from the ceiling, gleaming like spider's silk.

These strings were going to be ripped off. He didn't want to be a puppet anymore.

0 X 0 X 0 X

The holes were getting bigger. Namine was afraid to touch them, but she was pretty sure that the holes were big enough for her to stick her foot through.

It wasn't a good sign.

At first, she thought that maybe the wall itself was crumbling, and on the other side, she could see Twilight Town or maybe another room in the mansion. But eventually curiosity got the best of her.

She slipped out of her chair, making sure to set her sketchbook and her crayons on the table. She stopped in front of the crumbling wall, and crouched down until she was eye level with one of the holes.

A strange, alien light came from it. She reached out to touch it, but something deep inside of her warned against it. She wasn't supposed to – that was a place that she didn't belong in.

She sat there for several minutes, trying to see through the glow, only to fail. With a soft sigh, Namine stood up and returned to her chair, her hands in her lap. "Something bad is going to happen..." She whispered. "And I don't think I can stop it."

Defeated, she decided to try to take her mind off of the issue. She grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to the page with her newest drawing on it.

It wasn't of Kairi and Sora, like she had expected, but of Kairi and Roxas. She didn't realize it until she had finished, but the picture was probably one of the best she had ever drawn. One of the best, and one of the most terrifying.

Roxas looked straight at her, eyes wide with fear and confusion. It was as if the drawing spoke to her, telling her this isn't right over and over, in a hushed, panicked whisper. She couldn't see Kairi's face, but something about the girl seemed happy – filled with false hope.

She wanted...no, she needed to show Roxas the picture and ask if it meant anything to him when he stopped by to talk to her, but he hadn't. Ever since they had met in this universe, he stopped by every single day, but yesterday, he never came. It looked like it was going to be that way today as well, since it was getting late and he still hadn't arrived.

She wanted to go look for him, but she didn't know where to start. He could still be at the castle, but she was afraid to look. Afraid that he wouldn't be there. If anyone besides Axel or Xion caught her there, the results wouldn't be good. And if DiZ found out about her sneaking out...she shuddered at the thought.

So she settled down into her seat, flipped to a new page, and started to draw a new picture. For now, it was all she could do.