A/N- I don't own Kingdom Hearts

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Chapter 4- "I've got you"

Get up.

Roxas' eyes darted open. The world around him had changed. He was no longer in a dirty corridor about to become mincemeat by a Heartless. All around him light shimmered in the sky over a dark earth, until they met together in a glowing sun that rose over the horizon. "Get up, Sora" echoed the voice of a boy, "or is that all you've got to show?"

Roxas jumped up in anger. "You think I'm done so easily?" he roared to the emptiness. His voice carried on in echoes, bouncing off in the empty landscape. "Cmon Sora, you know you can do better than this!" cut in the voice of a girl, echoing across the expanses of light. "Sora, take this, it's my lucky charm, be sure to bring it back to me." The sky seemed to glow. "Sora," cut in the boy's voice, "take care of her…" Across the sunset, the dark ground pulsated underneath his feet.

The sun began to glow, some parts of it darkness of oblivion, some parts too blinding to behold; yet light and darkness here refused to mix. "Take these…" chimed their voices in unison. Before Roxas' eyes, two keyblades formed from the radiating sun; one of pure darkness, one of pure light.

"Hey, Sora…" called out the boy's voice, though it sounded shy and lonely, "I hope we can meet again…"

Roxas nodded to himself silently. He stared down the Heartless Creature, staring coldly into its pale, bestial eyes. "You're going to die, creature" he stated ruthlessly, "Right here, right now…" With an excited cry, the beast charged forward, and swiped forward. One of the concrete pillars was completely obliterated where the impact was. There was no trace of Roxas. The beast looked around confusedly "Over here!" shouted Roxas, soaring high above its head. Swooping down like a hawk, he plunged his two Keyblades into the head of the creature, piercing both of its eyes.

Enraged, it began to swing wildly. Roxas grinned triumphantly. He had single-handedly disabled this monster, this thing that had dispatched Axel so easily. What a joke. Tendons snapped as the destructive power of the dark Keyblade, christened Oblivion, swooped silently through the air in a slow dance with the light Keyblade, Oathkeeper as they wreaked havoc on the beast's form.

Within seconds, the creature was blind, weakened, and a legal paraplegic with the disability of all four limbs, with one still functioning, albeit pinned to the concrete by Oathkeeper. He stood before the head of the creature, ready to deliver the final blow. In a last act of desperation, the beast opened it's mouth, preparing a devastating energy blast. Roxas was about to dodge it when a single thought occurred to him: Axel was right behind him. If Roxas dodged, the blast would surely kill Axel. Hesitating, Roxas barely had enough time to raise his defenses to weaken the blast.

As the dust settled, Roxas barely stood on his feet, reeling like a drunkard. With a mighty pull, the Heartless wrenched the pristine white keyblade from the ground, which vanished in a flare of white light. Arm now freed, the Heartless swept its mighty arm down upon Roxas' teetering form, slamming him hard into the concrete. Roxas struggled to regain his balance. "Move…" he commanded to himself. Thrusting its hand out, the Heartless grabbed the young boy and raised him into the air, tightening its powerful fingers with every passing second.

Roxas could barely breathe. "No…" he whispered with the little air he had left, "…not like this…"

In answer to his prayers, a brilliant wall of flame engulfed the creature, inciting a howl that burst pipelines and sent splotches of color wavering across Roxas' vision. The heavenly flames reached higher and higher, burning away at the Heartless until it evaporated into a cloud of black mist and ash.

With the only thing holding him in the air gone, Roxas plunged downwards through the hot air. As he prepared to feel the bite of the cold concrete, a set of strong, lanky arms caught him. "Are you ok, partner?" grunted Axel, who struggling to keep his balance, "If I had known you were that good, I would have let you take this guy on from the start." With a surprising gentleness, he let Roxas to the floor, making sure that the boy's wounds moved as little as possible.

Things took a turn for the worse. Roxas began to wheeze, his entire body heaving as he coughed up blood. Axel's voice sounded fainter than it should have been. His entire body was numb, the smell of blood filled his nostrils, slowly gagging and suffocating him. Darkness ate away at the edge of his vision, while dots of white and black spun madly across like a carousel gone wild. Axel looked down at him, alarm overflowing from his emerald eyes. "Roxas! Roxas!" he shouted, trying to revive him by shaking him. "Axel…" the other mumbled, trying desperately to move his hand, weaker than an infant from the womb.

A look of utmost compassion and worry crossed over his face. "Roxas," he whispered , placing his open palms on the boy's chest, "…don't quit on me now…" He summoned the most powerful magic he had at his disposal, and with a green flash cast a Cura spell. Instantly, the regenerative affects of the magic popped the bones back into place, knitted the cuts, and wiped the bruises away like a stain on porcelain.

Roxas slowly opened his eyes, trying to realize what happened. He stared weakly back at his partner, now savior. "Axel…why…how…" he groaned, groping for wounds where there were none.

Axel smiled back at him. "Get some rest, you'll need it to recover from the damage…" Grunting, he hefted Roxas into his arms. "Let's go, partner…"

As he warped out of the tunnel, he turned to look down at Roxas' peaceful face. He was already asleep.