Riku walked out of the airship with the others. He looked around the island, sighing when he realized that it was going to be a long journey on foot. They had already run into some of Xehanort's demons on their way here and it had caused some damage to Cid's airship, which the Captain was not happy about. So Cid and Vincent decided to stay behind to watch over the repairs of the Shera.

"This is where the Fountain of Youth is?" Cloud asked the girls.

Kairi nodded. "Yes. This used to be the home of many mermaids back then…but when humans and demons learned of the fountain, mermaids were being hunted for their tears. All of the mermaids in the world are gone…except us."

"And if you don't mate with another mermaid, your race will die out, right?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes," Xion replied. "But two of our friends mated with each other, Vanitas and Ventus. Vanitas is Sora's fraternal twin brother, older than him by twenty minutes. And Ven is Roxas' older identical twin brother. Zack said he'd rather drop dead than mate with Kairi since me and her are the same age and she's like a younger sister to him too. And Squall said he would never even consider looking at us since we're a lot younger than him."

Riku felt a little guilty that he'd pretty taken Sora away from them. He knew Sora would've made a great parent and a good husband to any girl, but he was too selfish to let the mermaid boy go. "Sorry…for taking Sora," he apologized.

Kairi waved him off and laughed. "Don't worry, Riku. We're not mad. We're actually happy that Sora has you. He and Roxas always looked alone after their brothers mated, but even Xion and I knew we weren't meant to be with them."

"But still…the mermaids might go extinct," he said.

"That's not something for you to worry about," Xion told him as they began walking. "Who knows, maybe there are another group of mermaids out there and we just don't know about them. Either way, the heart wants what the heart wants. And Sora's heart obviously wants you."

They walked further into the jungle, seeing a few pools here and there with corpses of mermaids tied to stakes near them. All the men couldn't help but wince at the thought of the agonizing pain these mermaids went through, even Sephiroth. Riku didn't even want to imagine Sora being held like that. "How many pools like these are on this island?" Genesis asked.

"A lot," Kairi replied, keeping her features stoic. "Being half in the water and half out like that will dry us out. It's not enough water for us to live while in our mermaid form. My parents…died like this. According to Angeal."

Genesis frowned at the mention of his old friend. "I can see why he hid this secret from me for as long as he did. He didn't want to risk having you children suffer this cruel fate."

"I don't even think this can be considered cruel," Sephiroth mused. "This is more like barbaric."

"Now you know why he hid it from you," Xion said as she walked further.

Genesis sighed as they continued walking. "Yes, I do. Such an honorable oaf," he said.

They walked further up ahead towards some pools and saw Angeal and the others waiting for them. Riku ran to Sora, kneeling down next to the pool. "Are you okay?"

Sora nodded and smiled up at him. "Yeah, we ran into a few of Xehanort's monsters, but we managed to fight them off. So that shows that he's definitely here." He pushed himself up and gave Riku a peck on the lips. "We just stopped here so we could make sure you were on the right path."

"We have to go now," Angeal said. "The sooner we hurry the better."

"Be careful. Xehanort knows that you're underwater and might have more demons waiting for you. If it becomes too much, swim to the surface or swim back to the airship," Sephiroth told them.

Riku leaned down and gave Sora a peck on the lips. "Be careful, Sora."

The young mermaid boy smiled. "You too."

All of the mermaids went back underwater and began swimming to where the Fountain of Youth was. Zack looked around, seeing no demons and that it felt…eerily quiet. "Hey, guys. Don't you think it's a little too quiet right now?"

Angeal looked around, seeing nothing but the vast ocean around them and frowned. It was indeed very odd that they hadn't run into any of Xehanort's demons now that they were getting closer. He would think that the old man would've had more demons guarding their path. "Everyone, be on guard. There's no telling if he has demons hiding somewhere." As soon as he finished saying that, Xehanort's demons appeared and attacked. He dodged the first demon and grabbed his sword and slashed at the other demons that attacked him. He could hear Zack and the others fighting behind, knowing that more demons must've appeared from behind.

"SORA!" Leon shouted as he killed two demons. He saw a lot of demons gather around his cousin and attacked him all at once. His cousin didn't stand a chance or have any hope in escaping. The demons trapped him in a net and began swimming away. Squall didn't even hesitate and began swimming after them, slashing all demons that were in his way.

"Leon, don't!" Angeal shouted to him and tried to swim after him, but Zack stopped him. "Zack let me go! They'll be-"

"And we'll be dead too if we go after them!" Zack raised his voice, keeping a firm hand on him. "We're no good if we get captured too. Let's hurry up and get there before he does! There are more demons coming." He gave his mentor a small push toward their destination. As much as he wanted to go after Leon and Sora, he knew he and Angeal would only end up getting captured and then there wouldn't be anyone to stop Xehanort.

Xehanort turned around when he heard his demon from underwater return. He was quite surprised when they not only brought him one mermaid, but two mermaids. One looked about Roxas' age while the other one was obviously older. The older mermaid was hissing and struggling in the net that held him captive while the younger one was doing the same, but only struggling whenever one of the demons got too close to him.

"Well, this is quite a surprise," he mused as he walked toward them. He knelt down next to the younger mermaid and stroked his hair as the mermaid hissed and bared his fangs at him. The boy was quite beautiful like this and full of fight. It would be a great pleasure to break that spirit and keep the boy around as a slave. He'd thought about doing the same to Roxas, but the blonde boy was far too stubborn and not worth the effort. For goodness sake, he rather let Xehanort kill the man he had feelings for instead of giving him a damn tear. "You seem to be worth keeping…"

Immediately, Sora stopped struggling and looked at the old man with wide eyes. Keep him? As a slave? Sora felt his heart drop at hearing that and wondered what exactly the man would keep him for. He wasn't that much of an idiot and knew there were various types of slaves. And he feared that Xehanort would use him for…he shook his head and tried to bite the man's hand but the net prevented him from moving around too much.

"Let him go!" Leon shouted at the old man.

Xehanort ignored his outburst and stood up, looking at both of them. "Do either of you cry Dark Crystals?"

Both mermaids looked baffled at the question and looked at each other then back him. "How are we supposed to know? We don't cry," Squall growled.

"I see…well I have no choice but to see if I can break his spirit," Xehanort said mostly to himself. He looked at the demons holding Leon and nodded to them. "Take the net off and hold him up. Make sure the bottom of his fin stays in the water."

Sora looked with wide eyes as the demons holding Leon did as they were ordered and yelped when the demons holding him down suddenly pulled the net off of him and took him out of the water. He sat up and watched as Xehanort circled around Leon.

The old man looked over at him and gave a small smile. "Where can I find the one who cries the Dark Crystals?" he asked Sora.

The young mermaid shook his head. "I-I don't know. None of us have ever cried so we don't know."

"Fine, then tell me how to get tears out of you," he demanded.

"Don't tell him anything, Sora," Leon ordered.

Sora bit at his lower lip to keep from talking. He had a bad feeling about what Xehanort was going to do to make him or Leon talk. "I don't know. I really don't…"

Xehanort grabbed a scale on Leon's fin and ripped it off. Leon's eyes went wide at the pain shooting through his body. The nerves in a mermaid's fin made it very sensitive whenever a scale was ripped off or stabbed. If he had his human legs, it would've felt like Xehanort was skinning him. A small amount of blood began oozing out of the place where the scale was ripped off, but the older mermaid kept himself from crying out in pain.

"No! Stop!" Sora begged. He flinched as Xehanort ripped three more scales from Leon's fin and tried to look away, but one of the demons holding him in place forced him to watch.

Leon closed his eyes as he felt another two scales get ripped off. He wasn't going to scream and give this old man the satisfaction of hearing him. Another four scales were ripped and he could feel the blood dripping down his fin. He could only wonder what his human legs would look like.

The younger mermaid watched as Xehanort continued to rip scales slowly from his cousin's fin. When Xehanort managed to rip five off at once did Leon make a choking sound, almost as if he was trying to keep himself from shouting in pain. Then Xehanort ordered one of his monsters that looked like it vines with thorns for arms to whip at Leon. The monster began whipping it's arms at Leon's back and his fin. Its thorns would sometimes get caught on a scale and it would be ripped when the monster brought its arm back. Leon didn't scream or make any loud noises, but he was grunting rather quietly with each hit. But Sora couldn't bear to see the pain on his face. He knew his cousin was in a lot of pain. "Please! Please stop it! Even if you make me cry, it won't turn into a crystal!" he shouted.

Xehanort immediately stopped and looked at him. "Pardon?" He walked over to Sora and forced the boy to look up at him. "What did you say?"

"Don't tell him anything, Sora…," Leon managed to say.

Sora ignored him and glared at Xehanort. "The crystals only appear when we cry out of joy…that's why no one has ever been able to get something out of a mermaid."

"So that's why nothing happened when Roxas cried when he and Axel slept together…," Xehanort mused, remember seeing a few tears fall when the two had sex. He figured it was because Axel had kissed them away before they could change, but now he knew the real reason. "And that's why all of you are trained to never cry no matter what. Correct?" He saw the boy narrow his eyes at him and knew he had his answer.

"Where's Roxas?" Sora growled.

Xehanort grinned and looked around the area. "It's a good thing I healed him then…"

"What did you do to Roxas!?" Sora yelled at him.

Xehanort walked away from him and stood near another pool that was close by. "Yes, yes. I will be able to get my tear and I have the perfect sacrifice to give me immortality." He glanced over at Leon and smirked. "Yes, he'll do. And I can keep the younger one for myself. Roxas would've sufficed, but he's not worth the trouble. The brown-haired one is more innocent and will be easier to break."

Sora didn't like the sounds of that even though he had no idea what he was talking about…and this didn't sound good for any of them.

He woke up face down in the dirt and groaned. A part of him wondered how long he was there then he realized that he should've been dead. He looked down at his chest and saw the scar where he was stabbed…but how was he alive? Didn't Xehanort stab him in the heart? He remembered feeling the sharp pain as the blade easily went into his chest.

"Roxas…," he whispered and remembered that Roxas was still tied up. He looked down at the trail where it was obvious that he was dragged here. Maybe this same trail would lead him back to the pool where Roxas was at. He shakily got to his feet and began following the trail. He remembered it being day time when they got to the pools and now it was night…

Was Roxas still alive? How long does it take for a mermaid to dry out? Was he even still at the same pool? Or did someone manage to rescue him? A lot of questions were on his mind, but he had to make sure for himself.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking, but it felt like an eternity to him. When he finally saw a head of spiky blonde hair, his heart stopped.

Roxas was still tied to the post and appeared to be sleeping…at least that's what Axel was hoping he was doing. He ran over to him and knelt down, cupping his face. "Roxas? Roxas! Wake up! Open your eyes!"

Roxas opened his eyes slowly and looked up to where the voice came from. He swore this person sounded just like Axel? Was it Reno? Had he and the others managed to find him? He looked right into a pair of acidic green eyes and gasped. "A-Axel?"

Axel grinned down at him and began untying him from his restraints. "Yeah, it's me."

The blonde-haired mermaid turned around to face him, resting his hands on the edge of the pool and looked up at his lover in shock. "But how? I thought you were dead. Xehanort stabbed you. I saw him do it."

"I don't know," Axel admitted. "But I'm glad I'm not dead. Otherwise I'd never get to see your angelic face again."

Roxas laughed at that, not even feeling the tears in his eyes. "I'm so glad you're okay. But you have to hurry and get out of here. You should've gone to get help."

"And risk you dying? Not a chance," Axel said firmly, cupping his cheek again and pressed their foreheads together. "You still owe me a date…"

Roxas smiled at that and that's when it happened.

A tear fell down his cheek…

Then, before he or Axel could react, he was snatched away from the redhead and brought to the edge of the pool while someone held something against his cheek. The tear fell onto the object and glowed, transforming into a crystal.

"This isn't a Dark Crystal…," Xehanort muttered as he looked at the object. "It's nothing like it…could it be? Could this be the legendary jewel? The Orichalcum?" He gave Roxas a pat on the head. "Good job, boy. You've finally managed to make me happy."

"Let him go!" Axel shouted. "You got your damn tear, now let him go!"

Xehanort looked at him then looked at Roxas, who was in complete shock at crystal now in Xehanort's hands. He looked at his demons holding Axel. "Take him with us and tie that one back to the post. We leave him here with his people."

"NO! Roxas!" Axel struggled to get away, but to no avail. He was very weak from being dead earlier and he barely had any strength. "Roxas!"

Roxas struggled as well, but he couldn't get free either. The demons tied him facing the post this time and watched as Xehanort and his demons walked away without even glancing back at him. Axel continued to struggle and try to get free, but it was no use. Roxas closed his eyes and felt tears of frustration fall. He couldn't believe that he let himself get caught like that.

"Roxas!" a voice shouted.

He looked up and saw…"Sora?"

It was definitely Sora. There was no one else who could have spiky brown hair like that, or big blue eyes like his. Sora was staring at him. His hands were tied behind him and he was naked as well, but Roxas wasn't even fazed by that. Next to him was his cousin, Squall, or Leon as he preferred to go by. He looked worse than his cousin. Roxas could see that a lot of pieces of his skin were missing on his legs, like someone had skinned him. "Roxas," Leon said. The demon holding him pushed him towards the path Xehanort was walking and the two of them had no choice but to go.

Roxas watched them until they were no longer in sight and sighed to himself. Now he knew no one was going to be able to save him. He knew Xehanort would probably kill them so they couldn't save him themselves or tell anybody else where he was.

He was going to die a slow and rather painful death…

Alright! Finally got this chapter out! Sorry again for taking a long time. Been distracted by playing Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. I have to admit that it's pretty good. I was satisfied with the storyline and ending. I think it's a good way for the trilogy to end. If you played the game, what are your thoughts on it?

Updates will be a little faster this time, I swear! Next chapter is halfway written and hopefully I can get it up within two weeks. I do have two other stories I'm working on also, so if you're a fan of Supernatural check out my story A Heart for the Hunter. Or if you're a Yugioh fan, check out Dragon Soul: The Dragon King.

So…that's it. Next chapter coming up soon!

By the way, forgive if there are any mistakes made. I will fix it soon, I'm just too tired right now. XD