A.N – Oh my gosh, she's back! Teehee, I'll just leave you to this long overdue update! A little more explanation can be found at the end.

Dedication – This chapter is for Night-the-Dragon who sweetly asked if I was still writing the story. This got me back into the right mindset to slowly begin writing this again, even though I was struggling through my last bits of uni work at the time. So, thank you very much Hun. I know I missed the beginning of May by a long way! XD

Disclaimer – Since I ignored them for so long, the characters decided they didn't want me as their new mummy and scuttled back to their REAL parents! ;P

Axel had been corralled into a room buried deep under the roots of their home tree. The queen had been involved and Axel could not disobey her orders when combined by the pleadings of the nest mother, the female who had cared for him in his youth. The room had been especially designed to withstand the magicks of those fae who called forth potentially destructive forces. In this room, Larxene had perfected her skills. Axel himself was familiar with it having spent months after he discovered his gift trying to learn to control his temper. And if not his temper, at least the way in which it manifested the fire magicks he controlled.

By this point, however, Axel did not care over much about control. He wanted to go to Roxas, to bring his delicate light back to the nest where he could keep him safe and warm. And hold him; Axel had never gone a day without some kind of physical contact with his mate. It was bad enough that his body felt hollow and pain-filled, that his spirit was calling out to its other half; but the rest of him missed Roxas too. He hated not being able to look into the eyes of his beloved, his fingers itched to touch and stroke through blond spikes of hair, his arms wanted to wrap around the smaller male's body, he wanted to hear his voice and immerse himself in Roxas' scent. It made him sad that he could not. It made him furious that he was not being permitted to rectify the issue.

"We're not going to be able to keep him long, are we?" the nest's queen questioned, watching the tall male fling gouts of vibrant flame around the room – she was standing behind the magickly enhanced stone door which had a spell that allowed those on the outside to see into the room. Beside her, Xion sighed.

"No. I'm actually surprised he listened to you, your highness. Axel hasn't had to spend any more than half a day from Roxas since the first moment he held him. I think he's hurting, and he's angry that he isn't there to help Roxas. He knows that Riku will have to care for Sora more because he's his mate, and because of the eggs."

"We shall have to hope the rain stops quickly." Was the queen's response as she left.

In the shelter of the hollow space within the tree trunk, Sora and Roxas were sleeping like two squirrel kits curled up together for warmth and comfort. Riku had positioned himself in the entrance to their temporary nest. He was tired, the stress of travelling with his egg laden mate followed by the emotional trauma of dealing with Roxas' anguish had taken their toll of the silvery haired faery. However, he was still awake, even after the twins had been sleeping for five hours. The rain didn't show any sign of dying down and Riku was working on something. He needed to finish it before something bad happened, be that either Axel or Roxas escaping their current safety to pursue the other. Riku had never really thought of the extent of his magicks. He didn't know what he could get his shadows to do other than the simple carrying and occasional act of bluffing a predator into thinking they were in danger. But somehow, Riku needed to get message to the nest, to let them know that he and the twins were safe. Since he had no paper, and knew his shadows were not able to keep what they carried dry, Riku needed to figure out a way to give his puppets the power of speech.

It was difficult to do. First Riku needed to think of what happened physically when he himself spoke, he understood that something in his throat vibrated and his mouth and tongue moved...his teeth probably helped to shape some letters. The puppets had their own measure of cognitive ability, they had the desire to please their master and follow his will, but they really were made of shadow; Riku suspected that his magick was the only reason that they had the ability to interact with physical objects and he'd never noticed them do so other than to retrieve something for him. In order to give the shadow the ability to speak, he had to make it at least partially physical, real and there. Touchable. There had to be a way to give his shadow puppets more bulk.

Hours passed and Riku became more and more tired, more concerned about Axel and worried about Roxas waking up. The rain wasn't as hard as it had been, but was still heavy enough to make flight impossible.

Axel hadn't paused in his furious flame flinging. If anything, the male's anger and concern had only helped to heighten the heat of the fire he conjured. It swirled around the room almost seeming to take on the shape of flickering fae forms, long wings trailing as they leapt and spun about the room crackling their excitement. Axel sat at the centre of the maelstrom, knees drawn to his chest, vibrant green eyes narrowed maliciously at the door.

He ached. His chest hurt, like some vital aspect of himself had been ripped away. Even immersed in fire as he was, Axel could still feel the warmth that pinpointed the exact direction in which his mate lay. Roxas. Axel wanted to be with him. What if he was freezing right now and only Axel could keep him warm?

Warm...Roxas...must...Fire, Hotter...faster...

Axel's head slowly lifted as the sprites dancing around him began to glow blue and then white as they moved faster, bounding higher and higher until their ribbon-like wings lifted them into the air. The blue and white flickering light gave the room an eerie atmosphere, and had anyone happened to glance within at that particular moment, the grin on Axel's face was bound to have given them nightmares.

After hours of remaining sat in the same position, Axel's joints ached as he moved to stand, but he ignored them. He knew that these friendly little fire children were showing him a way to reach Roxas even if it were raining still. He simply had to figure out the logistics of flying whilst surrounded by that much flame, and also see if his little fire sprites could be summoned on command. Then, if he could convince Larxene to feed him, he could use that energy to swipe one of her charms as a failsafe and hopefully escape. He needed Roxas. Roxas needed him. And Axel wasn't about to let any female part him from his mate.

Dawn had come and gone unnoticed by the three Fae nestled in their meagre shelter. The heavy black clouds had only allowed the barest of light travel through, throwing the world into stifling shadow rather than pitch black. The elder of the three had not slept. He thought now that his newest puppet, waifish and wispy looking, would be able to talk. He eyed it through a sleepy haze, his eyes bloodshot and red, ringed with deep purple hollows. Riku's head ached abominably, but he was determined to send his messenger out into the rain with its message.

The messenger was modelled after the image Eric had drawn of Riku. It was much more slender, with unnaturally elongated fingers and its toes gave the impression that they were webbed, but its gray and black wings were feathered with tatters of shadow. The shadow angel had the usual big, luminescent yellow eyes, but this one had a mouth. Not a slit or something filled with many serrated teeth, but a normal looking mouth with two thin lips and a black, snakelike tongue. The puppet waited to receive its message. It wanted to speak very badly, but did not have words of its own. It was to act as a relay, passing its master's words to a recipient and, if requested to do so, to carry a message back in return. Simple thoughts filled its mind, expressed in hazy images and desires. Its main desire was to be given a task, to finally ease the thrumming it felt in its throat and tongue by giving it purpose. Speaking was what the new shadow was made to do, and it felt the desire to do so very strongly.

Unfortunately, the shadow's master was worn out, his chin hit his chest as the nights work and heavy thought finally pulled him into slumber. The shadow shifted from side to side in its position blocking the entrance to the shelter. The master had not given the message, therefore it had no purpose and the buzzing sensation in its mouth and throat only grew steadily more difficult to ignore.

Riku was awoken a few hours later when Roxas landed unceremoniously in his lap. The silver haired male stirred and blinked up at Roxas. The younger of the two glared right back, his expression a mixture of anger and hurt. He had been trying to carefully step over Riku's sleeping form, intent on leaving their shelter, when a shadowy form rose out of the puddle of darkness in the entrance and startled him into falling.

"Why? Do you not trust me; did you really feel the need to set a guard?" Roxas exploded, waking his twin up. He ignored the fact that Riku would indeed have been correct in not trusting him considering Roxas was trying to escape.

"Roxas! No, I didn't leave it there to guard the entrance...oh goodness! I fell asleep!"

"Don't lie to me! You left it there, hiding, to stop us from leaving. How stupid can you be! You know how scared of them Sora gets!"

The brunet in question had startled at the first sight of the new shadow, huddling under his blanket with widened eyes. However, the sight of the angel wings, tattered though they were, had relaxed him.

"It's a messenger, isn't it Riku?" Sora asked softly. His mate turned to him, a surprised expression melting into a warm smile.

"Yes, I created it last night; it is to carry a message to the nest."

"What message?" Roxas asked, eyes both wary and excited.

"Well, we need more blankets and food...some firewood would be good if they could wrap it against the rain. And, of course, to let Axel know you're ok. The shadow will be able to bring us a message back." Riku explained, smiling at how Roxas seemed to melt a little, relaxing at the idea of knowing Axel was ok, and that Axel would know Roxas was safe. The rain had to stop soon; no way could it prolong this heavy downpour for more than a day or three. No cloud was that big.

Armed with instructions and its very first message, the messenger shadow left the shelter and slid into the rain. It was surrounded by the shadow puppets, their antenna twitching as they swarmed about the messenger's feet. They liked the weather, enjoyed the lack of light as they ventured around in the daytime. Sunlight didn't tend to harm the shadows, but they didn't particularly like it. The messenger was pleased to be on its first mission, glad that the master had laid his trust in the shadow's talent. It was to enter the nest and ask to speak with Xion or the queen. After relaying the message, it would offer to take the words of theses females, and the male Axel back to the master.

The group of shadows moved quickly through the woods, the three male faeries had been quite close to the nest when they'd been forced to stop. There wasn't that far to travel, though with the egg-bearing male in the group, it would have taken them at least three times as long as it would the shadows. The moved swiftly, movements disjointed and yet elegant. They were almost within sight of the nest when a painfully, blinding white light flared up and startled the shadows. They flinched, melting into the darkest hollows in trees and beneath bushes that they could find, hiding themselves away from the bright light. Humans were bound to panic at the sight of shadow creatures with glowing yellow eyes, and only a human could create such a fierce light.

After the brightness had passed, fading swiftly, the shadows hastened to the nest. The messenger paused, allowing the puppets to melt into their shapeless forms and attach themselves to the tattered shadows of its wings. Then, moving inside the nest, it hurried to find a faery to aid its search, asking softly for 'the queen' or 'Xion' please.

It felt fantastic to finally speak; the vibrations of its voice soothed the irritating, almost painful buzzing in its throat. The messenger found the timbre of its voice pleasant. It was soft and low, murmuring like the babbling of a brook or the wind through the trees. Yet it was clear and resonant. It definitely drew a lot of attention, and soon enough, the messenger had gathered a gaggle of female fae, all whispering about it from a distance.

It did not take long for the messenger to be ushered into a mostly empty room. No one knew how to react to it, but offered honey cakes and hazelnut tea regardless. The shadow took the offerings politely, but placed them on a nearby table. It stood in the centre of the room and waited quietly, shifting its heavy wings slightly as the extra weight of the puppets weighed them down. It felt slightly anxious; it wanted to carry out its mission well. Luckily, two females entered and the shadow messenger could identify one as being its master's sister. It tilted its head to one side.

"Xion? Your Highness?" it asked, just to make certain that its message would be delivered to the correct people.

After Riku's new shadow creature had delivered its message, informing the two females of the safety of Riku, Sora and Roxas before requesting supplies be sent back with the messenger and attendant puppets and finally expressing its ability to carry the words of the queen, Xion and Axel back to the stranded faeries, the messenger fell silent. It stood still in the centre of the room, watching as the females spoke. Xion left to gather what her brother had requested as the queen tried to decide how much Axel should be told.

The male had calmed down eventually. He'd even asked Larxene if she could make him his favourite, spicy meal. The queen was glad that the fire magick filled faery had seen reasoning, but a faint concern tugged at her thoughts. Axel never had been the one to give up on something he was passionate about.

So, the queen was not particularly surprised when, after a number of helpful faeries had bought supplies for the males, Xion burst into the room and shrilled out a panicked, "Axel's gone!"

A.N – I'm very sorry for taking so very long to update. University got to me and although I still enjoy reading KH fics, I haven't had chance to play the games and all interest in this story fizzled away. But I did promise that I wouldn't leave it unfinished and I know that I have at least one reader still waiting for an update, so here you go.

I expect that there will be between 2 and 4 more chapters left and I will try my hardest to have them done before September.

I hope that you'll forgive me and that this chapter's an OK one after my long silence.

Dreamy xxx