Riku scanned the vacant horizon. Surely it shouldn't have been this hard to find twelve men and one boy in a place full of nothing but arid and windswept soil dotted with scars in the earth and plateaus the size of skyscrapers. Not to mention hiding in the thick swaths of abandoned Keyblades impaled into the ground was impossible to hide in due to sheer numbers of makeshift graves from the last Keyblade War clustered together.

He looked behind him, "Roxas-"

"I've told you, we've been too apart." Roxas sighed, "Me and Sora aren't as close anymore. I can't guide you."

Riku silently questioned Ventus, who only shrugged. "I feel pain." He said cryptically, "But that could be anything here." His eyes began looking for Sora, "Memories, bits and pieces of the war, or maybe even Sora, but I can't differentiate those feelings."

Kairi anxiously flipped her Keyblade around, "It shouldn't be this hard to find him..." She trailed off as she tossed it into the air like a baton and caught it. Shortly after she drew it to her chest like it was a teddy bear. Riku felt his insides twist with the worry she displayed.

He sighed and trudged forward some more, "Well, he's gotta be here. We find Xehanort, we find Sora."

The others followed without a word. It was hard to deny that logic when Sora gave himself up to the organization of darkness right before their eyes.

Occasionally Ventus would try and lighten the dismal mood, but found that even his light couldn't bear the weight of the darkness of worry and uncertainty. Roxas made zero effort in any form of levity, only scowling and muttering under his breath empty threats in case they found Sora possessed or worse. Kairi stuck to Riku like glue, silent and clinging.

"So..." Riku said after awhile, "What do you guys think King Mickey's thinking of with Yen Sid and Master Aqua?"

"I hope it's good enough to out-gambit Xehanort." Kairi said hesitantly, "From what I've heard that's really hard though..."

Ventus folded his arms even as he walked, "Yeah, it is. Him knowing all of us really well doesn't help much."

"He's a manipulative b-"

"Roxas, language." Riku cut him off.

Roxas scratched the back of his head, "Fine, fine. He's a manipulative jerk. You happy now?"

Riku nodded. He then stopped, catching his party off guard, "... What was that noise?"

Kairi tilted her head, "What noi-"

Ventus suddenly shushed her, his gaze intense and focused as he whispered, "On the wind..."

Nothing but silence and the wind rushing past them. As they listened, another sound entered the mix; crying. It was too warped and faint to tell who was its owner, but the keening intonation was unmistakable.

Kairi turned to Riku, "Someone's hurt..."

Riku nodded, "Let's hope it's one of the bad guys."

Ventus seemed to agree, but he whispered, "But what if it's-" he clammed up when Riku glared at him.

Riku then shouldered his Keyblade, "Come on, it should be this way." He waved his hand behind him, "You guys stay back. If I get caught, they don't have a use for me. You're all a different story." He didn't pay attention to the back flank, expecting the others to take care of themselves and realize when he needed to stop or scout further ahead-

Riku stopped. The others did too, with slight question, but eventually they decided it was because Riku had gotten to the edge of a cliff and wanted a decent vantage point.

Riku held his hand back, "No one come forward." His voice had the slightest crack, the barest warble of fear. Kairi recognized that voice. It was when Riku was genuinely upset. Afraid at the very core of his being and trying to hide it.

She began walking forward, "Riku?"

Riku turned to her and pushed her back, "Kairi I said no one is coming forward!" His voice was still strained, but now it was quiet. His expression was taut and barely restraining things like anger and horror.

She shoved past him, "Riku-"

Riku had to rapidly grab Kairi and cover her mouth before she screamed. At this point Roxas and Ven exchanged a glance, then nodded and walked forward themselves. Ventus had to stop himself from screaming at the sight, and Roxas- being conditioned to horrible things -could only stare numbly.

Oh, they had found Sora alright. He was far from okay.

Sora was chained against a cliff side, arms spread out and legs dangling. Every breath he took looked labored, and that wasn't getting into his unsealed wounds that let his life drip out drop by drop to the parched ground beneath him. His head was bowed with a crown mockingly placed on it. A message was written behind him in what looked like his own blood- "Savior of the Thirteen Darknesses" -alongside a pair of wings of the same dark reddish brown color.

The sight was sickeningly derisive.

Kairi was so busy trying to comprehend what she was seeing that the glowing blade suddenly stabbing itself inches from Sora's neck caused her to jump. Sora barely flinched; his hands curled ever so slightly, his head swayed away with another heavy breath. Alive, just barely.

"Come on Xemnas, we're not gonna break him if we go soft."

Ventus dropped down and crawled to the edge, "No way. That's not-" he banged his fist against the grounding frustration when he realized that, yes, the very man who had taunted him in this very world so long ago was standing in charge of this torture.

Xigbar loaded his arrowguns, "I know we're not supposed to kill him," he took aim, "but hey, nothing a potion or two can't fix." Sora cried out for just a moment when two bullets embedded themselves and his hands against the rock behind him. While our heroes stared in disgust and horror, Xigbar twirled his arrowguns proudly, "As long as Mr. Sunshine realizes the darkness is a much better option."

Kairi almost threw herself off the cliff to get to Sora, but Riku only wrapped himself tighter around her, "No, no we can't go down there-" Kairi strained even harder, her cries muffled but distinctly Sora's name.

After what had been a tense set of moments, Sora's fingers shakily wrapped themselves around the bolt of energy in his palms, and he began pulling them out. There as a slight smell of something burning, and smoke or steam coming off of his hands. When he was done, his hands limply fell over and did nothing to staunch the new bleeding.

Roxas suddenly grabbed his collar, shoved into his mouth, and bit down. He couldn't stand this. He couldn't STAND seeing the boy who had given up so much for him going through these inhumane acts. The worst of it was that he knew he had to wait until Sora was left alone before saving him from this perdition. There was no way they could take on Xemnas and Xigbar together. He turned away and stormed off. He began beating his hands on his head while trying to stop himself from going absolutely ballistic.

Everyone else watched as Xigbar approached Sora, "So, kiddo, you ready?" He grabbed Sora's chin and flipped his head up while sneering in a bad imitation, "Oh yes! Yes I'd give anything to be like you guys!" What followed- Xigbar cackling and Sora remaining stiller than ever -made it all worse.

"Xigbar," came a slow drone, "Keep in mind we are supposed to be keeping him alive."

Xigbar waved his hand, "Come on, Xemnas, he's still good." He held up Sora's head again, "Go on, tell our lovely friend you're still alive."

Kairi buckled at the sight of Sora looking so utterly broken. Tears were forming more and more stains among his blood streaked face, his smile was utterly gone from his eyes, and there was only a broken nod to signify he was still alive.

Xigbar threw his hands out as if to display how proud he was of keeping Sora going without killing him, "And there you have it!" He backed off from Sora and Xemnas approached and pulled his sword back out, "He's not dead yet and I bet he's gonna break soon."

Xemnas idly inspected his ethereal blade, asking Sora, "So, do you believe you have enough constitution left to be a worthy vessel?" When Sora didn't answer, he held his sword close to his neck, "Well?"

Sora's voice was barely heard, "...no."

Riku finally let himself drop to the ground. Sora never sounded like that. His voice never cracked with tears like that. He- in all his years -had never sounded like he wanted to die so badly. Riku felt Ven grab his hand and hold it tight, "Just a little longer, we just gotta wait a little longer..."

Xemnas turned his blade to pommel first and slapped Sora with it. Xemnas's deriding words would have been decent enough if he sounded angry, but the same cold and composed drone came out and made them so much worse, "We have beaten you within an inch of your life and you still have not chosen to submit? After all this work, all this horror, and you still think there is a light at the end of this?"

Sora howled as Xemnas drove his blade into his leg. The man turned away, disappearing into darkness, "I do hope you very well expire in misery. You are unfit to even be the weakest of us."

Xigbar scoffed after Xemnas had vanished, "Always been a bit of a drama queen, eh Saïx?"

Roxas suddenly turned around, his already grim look turning murderous. Ven and Riku craned their necks, trying to see if the blue haired man was indeed a part of this monstrosity, but soon found themselves trying to hold Roxas back as he began charging in blind wrath.

Saïx had the same serious and bored countenance he'd always worn, idly wiping his bloodied claymore, "If you say so." He swung it around a bit, as if humoring the idea of letting the blade slice away at Sora again.

Xigbar turned to Sora again, "A little ironic, isn't it?" Kairi suddenly felt her blood freeze; Sora was not moving. Xigbar continued, "Xemnas was the one getting on our case for killing him and yet he's the one who probably did it." Xigbar left, "I'm not stickin' around to get chewed up and spat out by the old man. Sora's all yours moony."

Saïx glared at Xigbar as the man left in his own puff of darkness, then slowly approached Sora. He held out his claymore and let a spike lift Sora's head, tilting his own as he searched for the barest flickers of life. Sora's eyes were unfocused, and the left half of his face was starting to swell and discolor from a bruise.

But there was breathing. There was life.

"You're utterly pitiful," Saïx began, "but I suppose you lasting this long deserves some admiration." Sora's expression flickered with pain as Saïx pressed his claymore deeper in, "You've lost a little more than two liters of blood, I wouldn't press any hope on you surviving."

Saïx drew in closer, "How did you do It?" He grabbed the blade still rammed into Sora and pulled it out ruthlessly, ignoring the screech of agony and readying it next to his claymore as a deadly scissor hold against Sora's neck, "How did you last so long? Don't hold back from me, you're a dead man as I speak."

Sora took a few hitching breaths, understanding that he was at an edge. He then said softly, "...my...friends..."

With those words Saïx scowled, then drove both of the blades right into Sora's chest. Sora didn't scream. He only coughed as blood began falling from his mouth. He could only stare ahead blankly as Saïx left him without a single word.

It took a few moments for Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Ven to realize that their window had come.

Kairi was the first, standing and rapidly finding a way down the cliff, "Sora?! SORA?!"

Roxas followed right after, gouging his Keyblade into the rock and using it as a tool to climb down with, "HEY! HOLD ON!"

Ven flat out jumped down, using a Aero spell to slow his descent, "Oh my god, oh my god!"

Riku climbed down about half the way before jumping, but was definitely the first to get to Sora, "Hang in there! Hang in there I'm right here!" It took him a moment to steel himself against the sight of all the blood and gore in person, but soon Riku wrapped his hands around the handles of the swords lodged in Sora's chest, "H-hold on buddy I'm right here! I-I just gotta take these out so I can fix you up-" he winced when Sora groaned.

He saw Kairi, who shakily held her hands to her tears, "Oh, what did they do to you?!"

Riku took a shaky breath, then said firmly, "Kairi, I'm taking these out, think you can patch him up when they're gone?" Kairi shakily nodded. Roxas and Ventus arrived right next to Riku, clamoring together words of apology and encouragement and sheer panic until Riku told them both, "Clam down and help me get these out!"

They looked at him like he was crazy. Riku then explained his plan, and soon the three boys had their backs into pulling out the swords. Sora was screaming in pain, begging them to stop and not understanding these were his friends coming to rescue him. It took Riku everything he had not to stop his plan, and even more to squeak out to Kairi the signal to heal Sora up when the blades were finally dislodged.

While he held Xemnas's ethereal blade and Saïx's claymore in his bloodied hands, Roxas and Ventus cut Sora down from the chains, catching him while he cried and gulped at air.

Ven was the one who settled them both on the ground, gently laying Sora in his lap and trying to soothe him, "Sora, Sora shh... Shh, it's me, it's me, I'm here, and no one's hurting you anymore...!"

Sora wept out gibberish before finally sobbing, "They were right! They were all right! Ansem was right everything begins in darkness and it all ends that way-"

"Sora, no!" Kairi cried, kneeling next to him and cupping his cheek, "No! No no no, Ansem was wrong! That's not how it is-"

"There is no light!" Sora yelled again, his tears beginning anew, "There is no light at the end of this dark tunnel! Nothing but darkness and light is just an illusion!" He couldn't voice any more of it, repeating bits and pieces of his tearful and insane mantra.

Ventus quietly brushed aside Sora's bangs in a calming gesture, "Sora, come on, you know what's right."

Sora shook his head, his eyes starting to close into sleep as the trauma caught up with him, "I-I don't know what's right anymore..."

Kairi, Riku, Roxas, and Ventus looked at each other as they realized that Sora had been completely broken.

FUN FACT this is actually a rewrite of Chapter 24 "Saved" from my KH3 fanfic (which actually in retrospect is really horrible). I was looking for something to prove to a friend of mine I knew how to write dark things and I looked at it, barfed a little, and decided to give it a rewrite (like, complete take it out of the story and just write the thing again rewrite) and I figured why not post it up here to compare writing talent from late 2012 to now AKA 2014.

And the title really has no significance I just kinda went for something symbolic that sounded neat.