I think I low key think of Thrice's song "The Long Defeat" as a theme for this fic (And maybe KH in general, lol), and personally, Vanitas's character song (That's not absolute angst) as Demon Hunter's "Praise the Void." But those are just my personal thoughts.

TW: War time/Battle trauma, recalling bad debilitating injury, and recalling dead bodies of various ages/death.

I woke up in the trash and got adopted by the local trio.
xXx-xXx-awaken-xXx-xXx

Vanitas had eventually pulled away from him, slammed his door shut, and locked it with his Keyblade. Now Merlin was sitting at the table with a number of questions he couldn't ask.

It was horribly silent in his little apartment. Small from the outside, big pocket dimension to make it even bigger on the inside.

Haha.

He buried his face into his hands with a helpless sigh as he brought his fingers to run through his wispy white hair.

As if raising a boy into Knighthood and into the role of King had not been difficult enough. Or girl, depending on the dimension timeline you were playing around with.

Oh, he knew what he'd gotten himself into. He'd known that Vanitas came from darkness, and all things dark associated with it had to be expected.

However, it was now too close to home. If what Vanitas said was true, then no wonder Lauriam had reacted to him, as well as Elrena, if he could make his guesses. He had to applaud Lauriam's restraint if he knew, honestly.

There was a knock on the door and Merlin tiredly called out, "It's open, come in."

Naminé peaked her head in hesitantly before taking her first steps inside. She was quickly followed by an interested Kairi and Ventus, as well as Roxas and Xion. Merlin raised an eyebrow and belatedly realized he hadn't replaced his disguise as the old Wizard the other four were familiar with.

Oh well. The milk was spilled ages ago.

Ventus blinked, "...Merlin?"

The Wizard pushed himself up before stepping away from the table as they all took off their shoes at the door, "Good evening, children." He felt so tired and old despite the youth of his face.

Ventus scratched his head, confused before shrugging and accepting it, "...Is Vanitas here?"

"He is."

Naminé gently closed the front door and the welcoming purples, red, and oranges of evening disappeared from enticing the young-old Wizard to step outside, get some fresh air, and maybe go off-World for a day or two.

That wouldn't be fair to Vanitas.

Ventus shuffled in uncertainty while Kairi stepped forward and asked, "Would it be alright if the four of us stayed the night here, with you, Vanitas, and Naminé?"

Merlin blinked, "Yes, that's fine." He'd have to create more rooms.

Kairi grinned, "Thank you, Merlin."

The Wizard nodded, "You're welcome, dear."

Xion tilted her head, "Is this what you really look like?"

Merlin rubbed his head awkwardly, "Depending on the World and who I speak with, yes. This is my true appearance." Mostly.

Xion nodded, "Is it illusion Magic?"

Merlin paused, thought that over, before clearing his throat, "It's… rather complicated. I'm not exactly at liberty to explain the situation I've placed myself in." Xion immediately looked struck, as if she'd asked something she shouldn't have and he waved his hands frantically to pacify her, "No no, dear. It's alright. No harm done, Xion."

Xion accepted that, "O-okay."

Merlin sighed silently and took out his wand, twirling it lazily to create (and in Kairi's case, re-create) their bedrooms. Doors labeled with their names appeared, and Merlin turned to Naminé, "Your room has been prepared, but I wasn't expecting so many guests, or else I would have waited to place it."

Naminé smiled, "It's alright, Merlin."

Merlin nodded absently, slightly distracted with his ward's life crisis.

Ventus looked down the hall, "...Did Vanitas lock himself away?"

Merlin turned to him, "Unfortunately. However, I will let him have his space."

Naminé stared down the hall as well, "...What's going on?" She looked at the Wizard, "I'm… I'm confused, Merlin."

Merlin cleared his throat nervously, "He came back rather distraught. What were you kids doing today? -Oh! His upset is more with himself and his memories than anything."

Ventus frowned, "...We met Lea, Isa, Elrena, Lauriam, and Skuld in front of Le Grand Bistro when we came back from Destiny Islands."

Merlin hummed and crossed his arms, tapping his wand against his shoulder absently, "...I see."

Naminé frowned, "Did he tell you anything?"

Merlin was silent for a long moment, "Well. He mentioned a dark incident with Lauriam's sister, and lamented the fact he had begun to remember the past. He's… confused about some things in general as well."

Naminé's eyes widened, and she pulled out her sketchbook. She placed it on the nearby table and began to flip through it. She paused on a page with the girl dressed in white with orange pigtails. She'd drawn the girl's image both from Vanitas and Lauriam's Memories. She lifted the sketch and showed it to them all, "...Ven, do you know her at a-'' She paused as Ventus's eyes went wide and his pallor turned terribly pale. He was frozen in place and a cold sweat had clearly broken out on his skin.

Kairi gently placed her hand on Ventus's shoulder, "...You recognize her, Ven?"

Ventus had to struggle to breathe, honestly. "Y-yeah. It's… She's… Strelitzia."

Merlin looked at the girl's image. While somewhat crude due to Naminé's art style, he could easily fill in the finer details. "She's Lauriam's sister?" Ventus nodded silently as the Wizard continued. "I see. So this is the girl." He gently took the sketchbook from Naminé's hands after silently asking with his eyes to do so. He absently flipped through the pages, finding the girl's image once again from another session.

"Ventus, what happened with her?"

Ventus swallowed painfully as his voice went hoarse, "I... The darkness used me as a scapegoat and struck her down, so I could have one of the Rule Books. I didn't know that I wasn't supposed to be a Union Leader, and that Master Ava…" He felt weak and sick, "That Master Ava hadn't chosen me for that Role." He hugged his arms, his knuckles white as he clasped them, "Brain was… kind enough, to make me realize the truth. He'd known from the start, but because of my nature, I think he was trying to figure out what happened in his own way." He smiled bitterly as tears gathered and slowly fell from his eyes, "Well. I remembered, and that's when the darkness revealed to us all that they'd used me as a physical shield. Manipulated my wish for friends to murder Lauriam's missing sister, I guess."

Merlin frowned, "Vanitas told me it was him who murdered Strelitzia."

Ventus sniffed and wiped his eyes, "Well. If he's the darkness I sealed in my Heart, the one that used me and struck her down, then yeah. It was him. But I was there. Too naïve and blind to actually acknowledge what was going on in front of me. I know it has something to do with the illusions darkness can Cast to Blind people, but…" He let out a shuddering breath, "I did nothing to help her, and just scooped up The Book like darkness told me to, right off the floor next to her still warm body." He covered his face as he spoke brokenly, muffled, "I might not have struck her myself, but what I did… what I allowed to happen in front of me. I'm just as guilty as he is."

Merlin hurt for these children. Ventus and Vanitas both had been through too much for their young years. Perhaps one might say Vanitas deserved his suffering for his sins, but it was enough now. He had died not once, but twice for his transgressions, and he had been tortured and made to live an inhumane life for four years.

Was that not enough for the Worlds?

Continuing to make these boys suffer would never revive the long-dead girl.

Yes, they perhaps needed to confront Lauriam and receive his judgement so that they could close that door, but other than that, Merlin simply wanted these boys to live good lives.

Just like all of the other Wielders presently living.

They all had their innocence stripped away by one man and his many incarnations, all for the sake of summoning Kingdom Hearts.

To have another foolish Keyblade War.

They should be allowed to have joys and happiness. To have wonder and innocence in their lives.

Kairi shuffled and slowly pulled away from Ventus, "Did Vanitas mention anything else?"

Merlin looked them all over before pausing on Roxas, "Ah… you two. You scuffled with him in front of Sora's mother?"

Roxas blinked before blushing, "Uh-! I kind of." He rubbed the back of his head bashfully, "I kind punched him in the nose. I sort of forgot who started it, but we uhm… we definitely had a physical fight at home."

Xion smiled, "So Sora's house is home now?"

Roxas scowled at her, embarrassed, "Wh-Y-Xion!"

Xion giggled as she grasped his hand and squeezed it comfortingly. "I'm sure Sora'd be happy, along with Tsuyu and Araide."

Roxas pouted before he mumbled, "...What about you, Xion?"

Xion blinked, "What do you mean?"

"...Where do you consider home to be?"

Xion's eyes widened before she blushed heavily. She swallowed and glanced away from him, "I'm just happy to be on whatever World you or Axel are."

Merlin raised an eyebrow at that, while Naminé and Kairi gave each other conspiratorial looks. Xion noticed them and pouted as Merlin cleared his throat. "Well then children, I think we should all take a good long rest tonight." He yawned absently before bowing slightly, "Good night."

They all chimed in together, "Good night, Merlin."

Merlin smiled slightly and waved them off as he placed Naminé's sketchbook back into her care.

xXx-xXx-awaken-xXx-xXx

Sora was laying on the couch, freshly cleaned as he stared at his left hand and flexed it. He closed his eyes and held that hand close to his chest as he relished in the Memory of the vision Vanitas had granted him.

Them, really, as his brother had held Kairi close to himself.

He could feel her as if it were him in Vanitas's place.

His Heart ached as he missed all of his friends.

Kairi said Riku had managed to find his way here, to Quadratum, to look for me.

Sora slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

He needed to tell Ava to see if she could find Riku.

The door slammed open, startling him as he abruptly sat up in response to the racket. Ava was gasping at the door as she leaned against it to catch her breath, soaked through as he took in her disheveled appearance. Shoulder blade length wavy milkshake pink hair fell out from under her hood as she slowly pushed herself up to look at him tiredly. Bright violet eyes caught his as she stumbled into the house, "Sora!"

His feet met the carpet, "Ava, what's going on?"

Ava glanced around before moving swiftly into her room, a trail of dripping wet behind her, "We've gotta help!"

Sora rubbed his head, "Uh…"

Ava popped back out of her room with her Fox Mask and shoved it into his head. He squawked as she made two slits in his hood with Aero Magic for the ears and pulled it over his head.

She looked him over frantically before nodding and grasping his hand. "Let's go! Quickly!"

Sora stumbled as he slipped into his shoes at the front door, "W-wait, but Ava no one can see-!" He paused as he made eye contact with one of the neighbors in the hall.

The woman was surprised, "Miss Velier, who is that boy?"

Ava chuckled lightly as she tried to move quickly, "A family friend from out of town, gotta go! Please find shelter since there's a Gigas attack!"

The woman shouted in surprise and quickly let herself into her home with haste.

Sora could barely catch his bearings, "H-how is this possible?"

Ava began to run and slowly released his hand. Sora ran beside her, and she summoned her Vulpes Keyblade. He took her queue and summoned Kingdom Key. He noted in the glass as they passed that the colors of the Fox Mask had changed, what was lavender was now red, grey now white, and silver now black, and the eyes were now blue.

Ava was a little out of breath, "A little illusion Magic mixed in with the usual Magic I use to make things usable or edible for you. I can't really explain it well!"

Sora nodded and swapped out his Keychain for Oblivion. "Got it. So, the Gigas are attacking?"

Ava nodded, "Yes! Are you familiar with them at all, and how they attack?"

Sora grinned, "Yup! Well, I think so anyway! I can even pilot them when needed!"

Ava gave him a surprised quick glance, "Really? How is that possible?"

Sora rubbed the back of his head, "I uhm, y'know, I first piloted Gigas toys, and then when I got thrown into that video game I ended up being able to just pilot empty ones."

Ava stared at him confused before slowly nodding, "...The Worlds are fascinating."

Sora laughed halfheartedly, "Yeah, they sure are." He looked around, "So where are we going?" It was getting hard to run with the amount of people who were freaking out on the street and seeking shelter.

Ava pointed northwest, "Over that way!"

Sora saw something explode in the distance and frowned, "Got it!" He activated Flowmotion and scaled a few stories of the closest building before leaping across the street to the next spot he could Flowmotion off of. Ava gaped at the ability before activating something of her own to leap and jump- nearly fly really, to the next spot.

Ava was a little more bound to gravity than he was, admittedly, "What sort of ability is that!?"

"Huh? Uuuh, it's Flowmotion!"

"Where did you learn to use it?"

Sora had to think for a moment, "...The Sleeping Worlds."

Ava nodded before grabbing him, "Help me move that way as well."

Sora nearly slipped, but nodded and scooped her up before launching off the building. She was surprised at how much lighter he was in this particular state. She could feel a particular sort of Magic being utilized, "You can just activate this freely?"

Sora pursed his lips, "There are rules I guess, since not every surface is something I can launch off of or stick to. However, buildings or cliff faces are usually fair game."

Ava hummed, "I see." She'd have to try and figure it out. She'd never been to a Sleeping World.

Sora jumped off of another building near their destination and freefell. Ava wasn't particularly afraid, but the way he was free falling made her stomach jump into her throat, and she instinctively grabbed onto him, "Sora!"

Sora laughed and at the last moment swung himself sideways and slammed his Keyblade into the ground, somehow flipped the both of them, and then landed on his feet as if they hadn't fallen multiple stories down. He set her down, and she clung onto him for a moment as she tried to readjust from the rush of adrenaline, "Sora, that's- You gotta be more careful!" She was breathless.

Sora chuckled as he slowly got her to release her painful white fingered grip on his shoulders, "I wouldn't let you get hurt, Ava."

Ava shook her head and gripped the handle of Vulpes before turning towards the military group stationed before them. A particular group of five were the centerpiece of the commotion as Sora took them in.

Two men beside a familiar face that made Sora flinch, a woman in military gear, and a man with short blond hair and-

Sora squinted, "Luxord?!"

The man reacted and made note of him, raising an eyebrow before laughing heartily, "Well, if it isn't the Keyblade Hero!" He clapped black gloved hands, his black tailored suit soaked through like the rest of them. The center-placed young man, Yozora, also took note of him as Ava and Sora slowly moved closer to the singled out blond.

Sora rubbed the back of his head, not at all used to the mask that Ava had placed on him. It was strange how he could so easily see the world around him, despite the fact that it should be mostly covered, "It's- it's really you, Luxord?"

Luxord chuckled and held out his fist in greeting, "It's Lodur, but yes. It's most certainly me, Sora."

Sora shouldn't have felt this happy, seeing someone who had previously been his enemy but… he was familiar, and Luxord had had a particular charm about him that made him likeable. He bumped his fist against Lodur's in greeting.

Sora'd have to ask Roxas how the man had treated him in the Organization.

Lodur placed a hand under his chin and tilted his head, "Interesting that you have Master Ava's mask though."

Ava's face warmed in panic, "It's complicated! You wouldn't be able to-" She grimaced. Should she really talk about that?

Yozora stepped forward to the masked teen, "Sora. It's been a while."

Ava was struck while Sora took a quarter step back, "Uh, uhm. Yeah. It has."

Ava frowned, "You've met the Prince, Sora?"

Sora froze, looked at her in shock, before turning to Yozora and leaping back a step in surprise, "The Prince!?"

Yozora sighed and turned to Ava, "So you could see him as well?"

Ava pulled Vulpes close to her chest, "Yes. You too?"

Yozora shrugged mildly, "I thought he was just a lost soul of the dead." He turned and began to walk towards the front lines with his weapon pulled out. His right and left hand men, Magia and Aegis, gave a nod in greeting before following their Prince.

Sora was stunned, he looked to Lodur somewhat dazed, "...You guys need help?"

Lodur laughed lightly, "Unfortunately this is a bit more than our dear Prince can handle. I heard some things from Young Xehanort's reports about Toy Box. You can pilot Gigas when given the chance?"

Sora nodded, "Hopefully it works similarly, but yeah!"

Lodur turned, "Then we'll be needing your help. We have one unmanned Gigas available if you're ready. This is a battle between men and machine Sora. It's very different from Heartless and Nobodies. There are real people, and you may see dead men." He gave Sora a searching look, "If you cannot bear it, please do not hesitate to retreat. This nation isn't yours to destroy yourself over."

Sora swallowed hard. He gripped his Keyblade tightly, "Neither were all of the Worlds I saved, who's Hearts I locked to keep from falling. The Worlds I saved from being swallowed by the darkness. I didn't have to save them- I was the only one who could."

Lodur's eyes softened, "Still. The way men die from real machinery and weapons-"

Sora breathed out shakily, "I live in a fishing port town, Lodur. I've seen… really bad injuries sailors suffer who've come home without limbs. Who had to have emergency amputations with simple spears since that's all that was available out in the ocean. I've seen people die after suffering for days from infections. I get it."

It wasn't something they talked about a whole lot, but he'd seen plenty enough. Sometimes he'd even seen the retrieved bodies of drowning victims. Their World was so small, so of course he knew the names of the deceased.

He passed their house every day on the way to school after all.

Lodur sighed and nodded, "Don't overdo it."

Sora nodded, "Okay." He looked out towards the oncoming invasion, swallowed, and ran towards the Gigas that had been retrieved. The guards around it were shocked and ready to fire at him, but he easily leaped and landed as usual in the cockpit.

It was time.

xXx-xXx-awaken-xXx-xXx

Sora stood on the shoulder of his collapsed Gigas, a blue one, with his hand laid against its head. He watched the slowly rising sun of greys, oranges, and mist. The breeze wasn't refreshing either, as gasoline and other questionable scents reached him there.

He was tired, and he knew this was the sort of hurt Lodur was concerned over, but he had felt this before.

He remembered second grade when that one kid was dragged out onto the beach-

Sora swallowed hard as nausea struck him.

He would be fine. He was alive.

He would see his friends again.

Sora desperately hoped these people wouldn't ask for his help again.

He was free to say no, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to deny helping others.

Ava landed gently on the shoulder of the Gigas next to him. He could feel the warmth of her body, and he was somewhat comforted by the fact that they were at least alive. "...Sora?"

He turned to her slightly with a tiny smile, "Yeah?" He felt hollow inside.

Ava was giving him a searching look. She was clearly feeling guilt for having dragged him out into this, and he supposed it'd be harder to guess his reaction since half of his face was covered by her mask. She reached out towards him, blood, dirt, and rain covering the both of them as she clasped his hand gently, "We can go home now."

Sora nodded absently, "I don't have to make any reports?"

Ava smiled uneasily, "I asked that you not be mentioned. Yozora agreed- you can't be found unless it's through me anyway, so my report is just as good as yours."

Sora nodded again, his fingers slowly going numb from the coolness of the outdoors.

It'd only been a short while since he'd been stuck outside.

He couldn't help but inquire, "So you figured out how to pilot a Gigas?"

Ava sighed softly as she tugged his hand, both of them activating Flowmotion to make their fall to the ground gentle and easy. She simply pulled him along, and he let her due to how tired he was. "Yup. Watching you made me realize that Keyblade Wielders really are versatile weapons."

Sora swallowed dryly, "...I've never thought of myself as a weapon."

Ava clasped his hand more tightly, "We are. I suppose The Master of Master's wouldn't really like me to say it, but we truly are weapons. Weapons of the Worlds. Weapons of the Heart. Our Keyblades are born from the strength of our Hearts… and they can break, just like our bodies. They're simply extensions of our hopes and dreams. Our will and strength. They amplify our natural abilities multiple times over- so much so that we're nearly fantastical." Ava looked at him sadly, "I won't ask you to help again. You truly turned the tide of this fight, and I'm so grateful… but neither of us can stay here for much longer. Our help will disbalance this World the more we help."

Sora nodded, "...You're right." It was true, he could fight for so much longer than the average person. Piloting Gigas wasn't a simple task. It took skill and strength, and for him, and maybe the both of them, it was entirely too easy.

Sora gasped lightly as he suddenly remembered Kairi's words, "Ava!" The Foreteller nearly jumped at his abrupt excitement as he smiled at her, "Kairi said Riku came to find me here, and might be in Quadratum!"

Ava's eyes widened, "Really?"

Sora nodded enthusiastically before slowly slumping, "Yeah! But… I can't really look around for him. Not like this."

Ava sighed gently, "Tell me what he looks like."

Sora rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "Uuuh… kind of like Yozora, actually."

Ava blinked, "...Really?"

Sora nodded, "Not as tall, and he's got some yellow on his shoulders, and blue pants- last I knew, but uhm. Other than the aqua-green eyes? Same hair and build, really."

Ava gaped at him for a moment before laughing, "That's crazy!"

Sora suddenly remembered his Gummi phone, released her hand, and started to scramble for it, "I've got a picture!"

Ava watched him pull out his strange electronic and flip through it before he turned it to show to her. She gently took the Gummi phone from him and took in the image presented to her, "...You're right. He really does look like the Prince."

Sora laughed lightly, "I bet if people can see him, and confuse him for Yozora, he's gonna be super confused."

Ava smiled as she handed back his phone, "That's true… though, if he has one of those devices, why don't you try calling him?"

Sora's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, "Wh-That's a GREAT idea Ava! I didn't even think of that!" He tilted the phone this way and that and Ava got the distinct feeling she knew why he hadn't.

"Y...You don't know how to use that, do you?"

Sora paused as his face turned red, "Wwwwweeellllll~, Jiminy kind of… helped me with it. A lot. All the time, really." He laughed helplessly.

Ava shook her head with a big smile on her face before taking his hand again and tugging him along, "Let's get some food, clean up, and figure that out later after sleeping, okay?"

Sora nodded, "Okay." He yawned, "I wonder how the others are doing?"

Ava tilted her head, "The others?"

Sora clammed up before relaxing, "All of my friends I left behind... I wonder how they're all doing. If they managed to…" He trailed off, "If they've figured out how to live, after everything."

Ava hummed gently and paused near a bakery, "Well, hopefully with any luck, you'll be able to find that out sooner than later."

Sora nodded, and Ava turned to him as she pointed towards the pastries inside, "I'll be right back."

Sora let her go and allowed himself to lean against the brickwork next to the large open window. He shivered and bowed his head.

He might've managed to keep himself from being too heavily harmed by only killing a few people directly out of self defense, but it was still distressing. He knew he had made it easy for the military he was working with to finish the rest he hadn't off.

His shoulders ached as he recalled being shot by Clayton. The man's rifle hadn't been as fancy as the ones used in Quadratum, but it could still hurt and kill.

Donald had barely been able to fix his Cure/Potion mistake of healing it over, as the Magician had needed to cut his skin back open to remove the bullet from poisoning him.

When Sora'd asked how he'd known about that, Donald gave him a helplessly sympathetic look with a shrug and simply stated, "The War."

Sora didn't ask anymore questions after that. That was one of the first times he'd seen Donald haunted, and he never wanted to witness that again.

He wondered if he was sporting the same look, now.

A hot cup was pressed gently against his right arm by a gloved hand, "Here."

Sora blinked and absently went to take it from the stranger. He grasped it with numb shaky fingers and held tight as he looked up to thank them and nearly dropped the cup.

Riku smiled down at him, two more cups in a holder in his free hand, "Long night?"

Sora swallowed. Was he hallucinating? It couldn't be that simple! "...Uh huh."

Riku shifted the holder in front of him as he joined Sora against the wall, "You know our Gummi phones have trackers in them, right?"

Sora felt his voice die out, "Not really."

Riku chuckled faintly, "You were always bad with electronics."

Sora felt tears gather in his eyes as the chime of the bakery's door went off and Ava stepped back outside. "That's true."

Ava paused, looking between the two boys at her angle as Riku looked at her and greeted her with a small nod and a pleasant look on his face.

Ava was completely baffled, "Are you... Riku?"

Riku pushed off from the wall and offered her a warm cup as well, "Yeah."

Ava shakily took the cup in almost as much disbelief as Sora and held it tight. She looked between the two boys while Riku took the final third cup and tossed out the holder. Ava was unsure of herself before she huffed, "Well then. Let's all get to my place and warm up, away from this annoying mist."

Riku chuckled softly, and coaxed Sora off the wall with a friendly nudge as the shorter teen yelped. Sora froze, indecisive of who he should go to, looking between Ava and Riku before she held out her hand and grabbed his free one, "If he passes out, you'll catch him, right?"

Riku hummed as he thought about teasing his friend before deciding the time wasn't right and smiled, "Of course."

Ava nodded and led the two boys alongside her. Sora was feeling somewhat delirious and hysterical on the inside as he couldn't help but ask, "Riku, how long have you been in Quadratum?"

Riku tilted his head as he took a generous sip before responding, "About three weeks, maybe? Maybe more than that. I've kind of lost track."

Sora's chest constricted, "But, if you have a way to track me with the Gummi phone-"

Riku gave him a distressed look, "Sora." The brunette nodded slightly at the cut off as Riku continued, "You only appeared on the tracker last night. I was watching the battle, but didn't feel like I should interfere. I threw a few spells here and there when the fight got too close, but honestly? That other silver haired guy freaks me out."

Sora snorted, "Yozora? Yozora freaks you out?!"

Riku flushed lightly and rubbed his head, "...He looks like me and it's creepy."

Sora laughed, trying to not slosh his coffee as he finally took a moment to drink some of it to try to feel a little more alive.

'I thought he was just a lost soul of the dead.'

Yozora's words haunted him. Could the Prince see dead people?

Sora shuddered at the implication.

The simple walk made the trip longer than necessary, considering how exhausted they were, but somehow Sora felt less stressed out by the time they returned to Ava's apartment. Sora nearly collapsed in the doorway, and Riku couldn't help but feel tired himself, after having searched frantically (and occasionally fought) for as long as he had.

Not that it was anything new for either of them, but still. It was tiresome.

Ava set the bakery on the table, "I'm gonna go set up the bath and go first. I gotta call in to work to let them know I'll be an hour late so I can get some sleep."

Sora balked as he took off her mask, "But Ava! You should really just call off!"

Ava smiled at him, "I know, but-" She paused when she saw Riku's expression of distress. "...Can you not see him anymore, Riku?"

Riku swallowed as he felt cold creep in, "N-no! He just- disappeared!"

Sora felt his heart sink as he tried to grab Riku's arm and slipped right through him.

He felt something inside break at that.

Ava quickly went to Sora's side and grabbed him, "Just wear my mask, Sora, it's okay. It's fine."

Sora looked up at her helplessly, "But, what does that mean?! Am I… am I actually dead?!"

Ava felt stricken as she plopped her mask back onto him somewhat forcefully, "I don't know, and I won't say anything that isn't one hundred percent true. I refuse to do that to either of you." She didn't want him to break!

Sora shivered and clung onto her as he felt warmth gather in his eyes. He didn't want to wear a mask, but if it was the only way Riku could see and interact with him, then he'd have to.

He just wanted everything to be normal again!

Sora felt his strength give out as black encroached his vision. He didn't remember saying it, but Ava and Riku heard him softly cry, "Please don't let me die, not like this."

Not for having saved the people he cared for.

There was nothing but darkness as he continued to sink ever deeper into the abyss.

He'd lost. There was nothing left of him. His unending pain. His continuous hatred for all living things.

Pieces of him fell away as he sunk deeper and deeper.

Why was he even here? Why did he have to exist like this?

What had been his purpose, before he'd been split away from [...]?

The Memories from Before were jumbled and broken shadows. There had been others.

He was the only one here now.

You're sad too, huh?

There was nothing here. He simply floated downwards into nothingness.

Can't you hear me?

Oh. That stupid tiny Heart was reaching out to him again. The one that'd given him his face.

You're all broken.

He knew it. With every shattered piece of him that fell away, he knew he was broken.

I'll fix you up! I'm good at fixing things! Dad said I should build models to get better at it!

He was so very tired of everything.

He felt tiny hands wrap around what might be his Heart, or whatever he supposed was left of his pitiful shadow of an existence.

…Do you not want to be fixed?

Why did he care? No one else ever had.

That's sad, you know. Everyone has someone out there who cares for them.

Not me.

Then I'll care! I'll put you back together, so rest easy now, just like the other shiny light!

...I don't have light.

The child giggled as the boy's face was dimly illuminated, his compassion visible even in this deep darkness.

Of course you do! Otherwise I never would have found you here in the Deep!

You Dove this far just to get me?

Yeah! You seemed really sad, and like you wanted someone to save you! So I came!

...That was foolish, to Deep Dive like this without knowing what you're doing.

Not that he should care, no, he really shouldn't. He should be happy this dumb Child of Light was this stupid.

It's okay. Now go to sleep so I can fix you, and one day

I'll Open the Door.

xXx-xXx-awaken-xXx-xXx

A/N: The formatting at the end somehow got seriously messed up on the FFnet upload. It's fixed, and hopefully it stays fixed. I just don't get why it basically scrambled the formatting.

I didn't actually expect to bring Riku into this chapter, but he just showed up and here we are. I also didn't plan for it to get so dark on Sora's side, lol. I know how to make the boys suffer, I guess.

The scene I cut out of Sora and Ava may remain cut, since I incorporated part of it here (and in a way that was more satisfactory- Ava's appearance), as well as how Sora can "become real again within Quadratum." I may still implement the other half of the idea with a different method, but as things are, I'm pleased enough.

Please R&R!