Disclaimer: Don't own KH.

This is a total AU so no Keyblades or anything. Eventual MPreg. Never listen to a siren song or meet their gaze for long.

Chapter 1

He hid at the back like always, curled in on himself. He wanted to go home…but he barely remembered what that had been like. He remembered the cries of triumph, rough hands pulling and pushing him, days trapped in a tiny space until he'd been dumped into a larger cage but still a cage. He couldn't see, couldn't make a sound…all he could do was hope for the torment to end.

He sensed movement beyond his prison, heard the distorted sounds of their speech. It had taken years, but he'd taught himself to understand a lot of it, there were less punishments when he did what they wanted. He felt the vibration from a tap on the front of the glass and uncurled, swimming around the rock to float in front of where the tap had bee, head lowered, arms spread slightly, on display for whatever they wished.

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Sora followed his Uncle down the stairs, deep underground, shivering at all of the cold metal in the hall which opened out into…a lab? An aquarium? What was it all for? He hadn't seen the man in years, knew his Mum had had a falling out with him, but he had asked him to come when he'd heard he was in the area and he was family. He'd just gone weird after his Dad had been killed by a pod of Sirens, well, that was what Sora had been told, it had happened before he was even born.

His Dad had been a sailor, they'd lived on the beach…till he'd died. Then Mum had packed up and moved inland despite being seven and a half months pregnant. It was why he'd ended up being born early, in fact it was Uncle Vexen who had saved them both. Still, that didn't stop him from being…creepy.

He could understand a lab, he was a scientist, but an aquarium after the way Dad died? Sora was basically the only family member who'd get within five miles of the sea. He lived on a beach even! He had done since his Mum passed, unable to stay away from the sea. He didn't fear the sea or those who dwelled under the waves, but he did respect them. Besides, his beach was nowhere near Siren territory.

The lab was full of equipment he didn't recognise, science had never been his thing despite the family trying to pressure him. He was too much of a free spirit though to spend his days locked in a lab. His uncle approached the tank so Sora followed him, it was big and yet…there were no fish. He felt a sinking feeling growing in his stomach and wanted to run but he couldn't. His uncle tapped the glass and Sora saw movement. His jaw literally dropped as he took in the floating form…a Siren…and then he gagged, barely keeping from being sick. The poor thing was blindfolded and gagged, obviously to ensure it could not ensnare anyone but such cruelty…

"Uncle?"

"The prize of my research, proof these monsters can be made safe, trained, and even used to further science. The discoveries I've made with this specimen alone!"

Well, at least he knew there was only one. "I don't…" Sora shook his head, horrified. "This is inhumane!"

"It's not human Sora! These creatures killed your Father, kill hundreds every year! You're lucky you've survived with the risks you take."

"I can't hate any being for doing as its nature commands," Sora whispered, seeing the long silver hair moving in the current, wondering if…he?...could hear them and even if could, did he understand.

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That voice was new, younger? What would it want from him? He fought down a shudder of fear. New was never good, new hurt.

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Sora caught the slight movement and swallowed; he knew what a fear reaction looked like.

"Come, see the results, then you'll understand."

He let himself be led away, forcing himself to listen without screaming or hitting the crazed man. That wouldn't do any good.

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There'd been nothing? But they were gone. He slowly sank back down into his hiding spot, trying to sleep. Why? Why couldn't he just let go, die, loose his mind, anything. Tears fell invisibly from covered eyes. He'd tried so many times in the early days to remove the bindings but they refused to move, needing something human to do so.

He didn't know how long he'd been there, years, but he feared that his time was coming ever closer. What would happen to him then? Would he drown? Would they know the signs and pull him out, let him breath the free air above the surface, let him feel something other than the water and walls of his tank? Maybe it would be best for him to drown, there was no way they would allow him to do as biology would demand, unless they had a way to do it with those cold metal…machines. Maybe he would die soon.

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Sora slipped through the dark lab, the only light from the tank. He walked quietly towards it, searching the water, seeing a few strands of silver floating at the back. He didn't want to scare him or anything but he gently tapped the glass to get his attention if he was awake. At least, he was assuming the Siren was male due to the lack of development, then again it could be a girl who just hadn't hit Siren puberty or something.

He watched as the Siren swam to the front, just hanging there as if…as if for inspection. "Can you hear me?" he asked softly but there was no reaction. "I…this is wrong, you shouldn't be locked up like this. But could you even survive in the ocean now?"

That was a potentially fatal flaw in the plan he'd begun working on. He could take him home, the beach was on a secluded cove, it should be safe enough for him to learn. And have him right on his doorstep if he decided on revenge, still there may be no other way. There was a cave on the cove too, the perfect place for him to stay until his eyes could adjust to natural light, unless…no surely his Uncle wouldn't have gone that far?

Sora looked around, finding a way up to the top of the tank, picking the lock easily enough to open the hatch. He put his hand in the cool water, splashing lightly, and the silver head lifted up towards him, the Siren slowly swimming up, and Sora could tell he was scared. It seemed silly considering he could pull Sora in and drown him with one tug.

"It's okay," he whispered, "I'm not going to hurt you." Even if the Siren could understand him, what reason would he have to believe him? Sora leant in a little more, fingers brushing skin under the water, and the Siren stayed utterly still. What had they done to him to make him so…timid...accepting of anything they did?

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Warm fingers brushed his face and he wanted to dive, to get away, but he'd be punished if he moved. It was the new one, back when Riku was usually left alone. What did he want from him? He didn't believe the human when it said it wouldn't hurt him, they all hurt him. But there was no cold metal or harsh voices, nothing he was used to, just warm fingers stroking just above the blindfold.

"What have they done to you?" the human asked softly, but there was something in his voice he'd never heard from the others.

Nothing else happened just the gentle touch and Riku found the fear slowly fading for the first time in years, his body relaxing. No! He couldn't trust this…it was a trick, a new test...he pressed into the touch, pleading sounds trapped in his throat, unable to see the soft smile on the face of the one touching him. When the fingers moved lower, gently tugging without any pain, he obeyed, breaking the surface, feeling the air on his face. Fingers traced along the blindfold, searching, and he tensed.

"Shh, it's okay, I just need to see how all of this is kept on so I know what tools I'll need to get it off," the human said, voice different above water, but still…soft. He thought male but it wasn't like it mattered.

Wait…what? Why would they remove them? Had new ones, worse ones, been made? He shook at the thought, and then froze, he'd have felt that! But there was no punishment, no pain.

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Sora felt the Siren shake before freezing and had the sick feeling he thought he meant to remove them to replace them with something worse. The device over his mouth at least allowed him to breath and eat, but somehow it was keeping him silent. It had to hurt though since it was metal at least in parts.

"You can understand me," he whispered, moving his hand away from the blindfold to gently stroke through wet silver hair. "I promise, I won't hurt you. If I'd known what he was doing…but I didn't, I haven't seen him for years. This is wrong, you're way too young to have been involved in my Dad's death and even if you were, this is torture."

Sora felt sick when he even began to wonder how young he'd been when captured. Did he have a family out there somewhere? Or had they all been killed when he was taken?

"My name's Sora, and I'm going to get you out of here," he promised. "It'll take some time, so just hold on. I'll come back for you." Maybe he was crazy, maybe he should just put him out of his misery but…he couldn't, and there was no Siren magic at play to make him help him, his Uncle had seen to that. "I have to go now," he didn't want to leave him alone but there was no other choice. He watched the Siren sink back down to the bottom before relocking the tank and slipping out of the lab.

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Had that really happened? Had a human promised to help him? No, he couldn't trust it, him…Sora. But…he wanted to. He shook his head, it was too dangerous to believe he was telling the truth because if he did then it would break him when it turned out to be a trick. But…wouldn't it be easier to be broken?

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Kairi stared at Sora in shocked disbelief, not sure which part had caused it – his Uncle's actions…or Sora's insane plan. The thought of any being locked up liked that was horrible…but to free a Siren? There was no way for it to be totally safe, as soon as the blindfold and gag came off, he could turn on them and there'd be nothing they could do.

"I promised Kairi, I can't leave him there. He was so scared of me, that I'd hurt him…" and there were the lethal puppy eyes.

She sighed. "Alright, I'll help, but we're gonna have to call Tidus too," she warned.

Sora was lucky he hadn't been caught by his Uncle when he went back to the lab, they would be in there longer which meant they needed someone to circumvent any security. And if Tidus came, then Wakka probably would as well, giving them more muscle. They'd have to get the Siren out of the big tank and into the travel one and they didn't know how much he'd be able to help or if he'd be too weak or even too scared to try. The idea of a Siren scared of humans was amazing but also…sad.

As much as Sora wanted to go now, they had to take their time, who knew what the madman and those working with him would do if they were caught? No, they had to play it smart and plan things out.

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He did his best to ignore the pain, to hold still as metal things dug into the scales of his tail. Sora hadn't come back, was that good or bad? At least he hadn't spoken that Riku could hear. Maybe he was out there, laughing at how easy it had been to have him calm and docile under his touch. Maybe he'd tried to help and gotten caught…

He thrashed wildly, screaming silently in pain, unable to help it as fire coursed through his body. Make it stop!

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Tidus opened up his computer, typing quickly. "I'm in," he whispered, "security is mine," he reported.

"Great, let us know if we get company," Sora murmured over the headset.

"Will do," he promised. He shifted in his seat to get comfortable, the truck had been parked out of sight of the house, and he was making sure the security systems wouldn't pick it up. They still had to get the tank to the truck and that was when they'd be most likely to be spotted, he couldn't stop someone looking out the window. All he could do was watch on the cameras as the others entered the lab.

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Sora moved into the lab, flashlight moving over the silent equipment, seeing the dim light coming from the tank across the room. Why bother lighting it when they kept him blind? Then again it probably made it easier to see him. He could hear Kairi and Wakka breathing as they moved to where the floorplan Tidus had hacked said the equipment was kept while Sora made for the tank, climbing up to remove the lock and open the hatch.

He plunged his hand into the water, splashing softly. "Hey, it's okay, it's me, Sora," he called. "Come on, I'm here to get you out, please."

He spotted movement then, the Siren slowly rising, holding himself as if for display.

"No, no, you don't need to do that," he called gently. He stretched his hand further to try and reach him. "It's okay, do you remember me? I won't hurt you. Please come here."

The Siren approached although whether because it believed him or because it feared punishment for disobedience Sora didn't know.

"That's it," he gently touched his face like he had last time. "There we go, you're okay. It's time to leave, I have some friends and we're going to move you into the little tank. It's cramped I know, but it's the only way to transport you. We're going to take you back to the ocean, a protected cove where you can recover. If your eyes are undamaged under there, you should be able to slowly readjust to light," he knew he might just be making noise to the Siren, but if he could understand then he didn't want him to be confused.

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He was back, he'd come back. Why? He held back at first but then he was told to come closer, and he obeyed, feeling the same gentle touch as last time. He didn't understand everything the human…Sora…was saying. Time to leave…ocean…

He kept talking and Riku found himself relaxing again as the hand gently stroked his face before moving into his hair. He trembled, pressing into the touch, unable to stop himself.

"You're going to be okay."

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Sora felt him tremble but then he was pressing into his touch so Sora kept it up, just whispering words he hoped would offer comfort. He heard a rattling noise and looked over, seeing Wakka and Kairi moving a trolley with the tank loaded on it, water sloshing inside.

"Ready," Wakka gave him a thumbs up.

"Right." Sora turned back to the Siren. "I need you to come to the surface," he told him. He watched the incredible tail moving but something seemed different to the last time he was there. It could wait, for now they needed to get him into the small tank. Sora shifted around on the top and then reached in again, looping his arm around his back, under his arms. "Okay I need you to push up and I'll pull, I want to try and keep you clear of the edge, don't want to scrape your skin or scales," he explained. "Can you nod your head if you understand?"

The Siren was tense but hadn't tried to pull away from his arm, and then ever so slowly the silver head tipped forward a bit, and Sora grinned.

"Good, that's good. I'm going to count to three, and on three you push up. One…two…" Sora braced himself to take what he guessed would be more than his own bodyweight. "Three." He pulled and he felt the Siren surge upward, getting his other arm around him to pull. Water splashed up, soaking him but he kept his grip, surprised by the height the Siren got behind his push when he hadn't dived to gather speed or anything. He was panting as he got him onto the edge, like he was sitting, seeing his chest heaving.

"Easy, deep, slow breaths," he coached, supporting the cool body, feeling him shaking. "it's okay, I've got you," he promised.

Seeing him out of the water…he was beautiful…and Sora realised what was wrong with his tail…he felt sick as he saw the chunk torn out of it. Would that heal on its own or would he always have a missing piece? It was sealed over at least, and Sora knew Sirens were famous for being able to heal but that kind of wound? He was skinny, probably because he couldn't swim enough to build proper muscle and who knew what they were feeding him. He was longer than Sora was tall, thanks to the tail, but he didn't look very heavy which would make it easier to move him.

"You got him?" Wakka called, and Sora felt the Siren tense.

"Easy, that's my friend, he won't hurt you either," Sora explained. "Yeah, he's out. I'm going to have to try and lower him down to you."

"Just be careful," Kairi warned.

It took ages but eventually Wakka had the Siren safely in the tank, although unsealed for the moment. Sora relocked the tank just to mess with their heads and clambered down, moving over to carefully take a clawed hand in his. "We've got to seal this, so the water won't splash out. I'll be right beside you the whole way."

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Riku was terrified, lying as still as he could in the confined space. He felt the vibration of a human gently touch the glass on and off, Sora? He could feel the tank being moved, having to move a hand to brace himself as it tipped briefly.

"Sorry," the distorted voice came through, Sora! He really was still there. "Another bump coming up."

He felt his head bang slightly against the tank and then it settled, lying flat on something.

"Okay, it's going to be noisy from now on but I'm right here, if it gets too much hit the glass and we'll stop as soon as we can. This is the only way to get you away from here."

Noisy? And then sounds he dimly remembered from after he was caught assaulted his ears and he almost thrashed, barely managing to control the reaction.

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It was a relief when Wakka finally parked at the end of the road that led to his home. Five days in the truck had not been fun at all. The poor Siren had obviously been totally overwhelmed and terrified the whole time; they'd had to stop several times more than they had planned. He gently placed his hand to the tank, seeing the pale chest heaving as the Siren panted, that could not be good for his health.

"It's okay, we're here now, no more noise like that," he promised. Since they'd stopped, he opened the tank and reached in to stroke matted silver hair.

"Let's get the tank out of the truck, everyone grab a corner," Wakka said as he opened up the back.

"Got to close it up for a bit, then it'll be opened for good," he promised, closing the tank. It wasn't like they could use a trolley across the sand, so Sora and Kairi pushed the tank to the edge of the truck, letting Wakka and Tidus grab the edges when close enough. Even with four of them, it was heavy and walking on sand wasn't easy, but they eventually made it to the cave without anyone getting hurt or dropping it, though they were all panting.

"Sora…" Kairi looked at him, and he shook his head.

"You guys have done enough; this is my crazy risk to take."

"But Sora," Wakka started.

"No guys, if anything happens…you've got families," he pointed out. "I'll call, promise." And if he didn't then they'd know the Siren had repaid him with death for saving him. His Uncle didn't know where he lived thankfully and they wouldn't tell even if the man knew enough to track his childhood friends.

He watched the truck drive away; they'd dump it somewhere where it couldn't be tracked to any of them before heading home. He went back into the cave and opened the tank, gently slipping his arm under the Siren's shoulders to help him sit up, seeing his nose twitch at the scent sea air.

"Told you I'd bring you to the ocean," he whispered. "I'm going to lift you out, there's a ledge just in the water where you can sit while I work on getting this stuff off of you," he explained, other arm going under his tail. "Put your arms around my shoulders to help stabilise yourself." He told him, and hesitant hands moved up, sliding over his shirt until they reached his shoulders, holding on. He lifted, staggering slightly, but then he walked over to the pool and lowered him in.

"It's not really deep here, we're in a cave and there's a section that leads out to the cove for when you're ready. I just need to grab my tools and then I'll get that stuff off you." He didn't say what he was thinking then though, 'please don't eat me'.

TBC…