pOh my freaking god, people! I'm so sorry about the EXTREMELY long wait for the eighth chapter. I've been so busy with practice and tutoring, I haven't been on the computer in three months! AH! But, here it is! I hope you like enjoy it, it's a little darker than usual but it'll do fine! p pSilver and Cold pRiku slid down the rocks of the Secret Place, yawning, too awake to fall asleep, but too tired to give a shit. He couldn't fall sleep these days, too much in his to bother with sleeping. Every time his head hit the pillow, thoughts of Navi would shoot through his brain; if he closed his eyes, he could remember her running towards him or the time he was scared to death of losing her, but he still fell asleep, watching her beautiful face. pIt had been two weeks since she had disappeared, leaving the island to help fight off something he and Sora almost died to try and stop, but it wasn't like he could complain. She was helping, helping her brother; helping the worlds that remained clueless of the Heartless's return. Riku's head lulled on the jagged rocks; why did she have to leave him just when he finally understood everything? pEven Riku himself couldn't explain what he was feeling, what emotions he had run through him when he thought of Navi. Did he love her? He couldn't, he had only known her for a month or so; but Kairi's romance prodded into his head, what about that love at first site shit that she was constantly swooning about whenever she felt like boasting about Sora. pIt was hard to say, hell, he was only 16; did he really find love in the term one month? Who the hell knew? He didn't want to look into the dreams he was having when he did manage sleep; they were mostly images of Navi dying on a battle field, her screaming in pain. This was too much pressure for a teenager to fucking handle! A slow breeze wafted through the tunnel, chilling him; the others were worried about him. They were worried about the significant weight loss, and the permanent dark circles that were imprinted under his eyes. pThe hard, quick pad of feet on sand brought him back to his senses, his tired blue green eyes watching warily at the entrance of the Secret Place. Sora's head popped in, frantic and worried; Riku scratched his head, it was one in the morning, what the hell was Sora doing up? "Riku, you might wanna see this." His voice had an edge to it, a nervous type of edge. pRiku closed his eyes, "whatever." His dull, flat voice scared himself shitless. He raised himself off the ground, determined not to let himself be the type of person who let themselves die. Sora waited patiently for him and when he finally reached him, he grasped the silver haired boy's arm and took off into a heavy sprint, dragging Riku with him. He let himself be pulled, maybe this was something important. Whatever it was, it would get him off his ass and make him do something to distract him from his own mind. pSora pulled him from the tunnel, moving so fast he almost hit Riku's head on the stone wall before he could duck. The island was relitively dark, except for a small bobbing light held on Paopu Island. He squinted his eyes in the dark and he came to realize that Kairi was holding a lantern as she was perched on top of the Paopu tree. What he didn't realize though was that the water, normally a black in the night, was lit as if it was light out, the aquamarine glow shining up onto the island. pWhat the hell? Sora leaped onto the top of the hut, pulling Riku with him and he ran to Kairi, his actions nearly histerical. Riku frowned, and tried to jog towards them, but his tired, aching body refused to let him. Kairi jumped off the tree and held out the lantern over the bridge, allowing the light to shine over the water; he glared down over the tree once he got there, the bottom of the ocean visible. p"We figured you would know something about it," The red head stated, setting the light down. Riku shook his head, and walked over to where the ladder descended down to the water. "Turn the light off," He told Kairi. pWith the light off, it really didn't make a difference; the waters glow lit up the island, and Riku climbed down the ladder, easing himself into the water. He was basked in an aquamarine glow, the ripples of the calm waves showing in the light upon his body. He did have to admit that the water was slightly colder than usual, but he couldn't guess on why. Reaching out his hand, he touched the water, sending ripples out towards the sea; what was causing this glow? pWhere the ripple ended, a small series of bubbles rose to the surface. He edged back against the ladder, Jesus Christ, something was definently not right. No way, dip shit, his mind yelled at him. The small series of bubbles became larger, until they stretched towards where Riku stood, ready to bolt and they frothed over his arms, a strange tingling running through his body. p"Riku, get out of there!" He heard Sora yell. Shaking his head violently, the boy stayed in the water, until a dark figure appeared under the surface where the bubbles first started. Gripping the ladder behind him tightly, Riku put his foot on one the pegs, ready to shoot up and run; the figure became more defined under water, until the boy saw a hand shoot from the water. pHoly shit, he knew that glove. . .It was Cloud! The blonde's body rose form the surface, pulling a person with him, where he was soon followed by Yuffie, Squall, and Aerith. He peeled from the ladder, running towards them, splashing his way until he had grabbed onto Aerith's arm. Riku gave a loud scream when he felt the skin beneath his palm shift and come off of her arm. Aerith grunted, and leaned onto Riku, the silver haired boy careful not to touch any skin on her. pEven though he couldn't see their faces or their conditions, he knew that they were all equally injured, and he noted with a strangled gasp that the person Cloud was carrying was none other than Navi. She was so close to the light, he could see her body, numb and dark as her expressionless eyes stared into space. He wanted so bad to touch her, to hold her and get rid of what was wrong, but he had a feeling this was going to be harder than he thought. pYet what amazed Riku the most was that none of them were wet; not even a drop of the ocean water had soaked onto their skin. They all dragged onto the main road, and Sora and Kairi ran over, the small red head catching Yuffie as she stumbled lightly. Since the salty ocean smell was gone, a sickening, thick smell lingered in the cool air; it was the smell of blood, sweat, and burnt flesh. Kairi made a small whimper as Yuffie's skin fell onto her hands, her herself looking as if she was going to be either be sick or faint, or maybe even both. pCloud and Squall never stopped though, they dragged and limped a head towards Navi's house, carrying the small girl in Cloud's arms. Riku swore that he saw a trail of blood leaving a darker stain on the sand, not sure if it was coming from Squall nor Cloud. Was the battle over? Did they win? Did they lose? What didn't they heal themselves if they were so wounded? pThey had reached their house, Cloud kicking the door open, the wooden door swinging off of its hinges. He entered the house, and walked back to Navi's room, disappearing into the darkness. When RIku had finally gotten Aerith in and over the broken door, he set her gingerly on the couch, and turned on the light. pHe and Sora shrieked in horror while Kairi fainted on the door, Yuffie tumbling onto the cold tile floor. Aerith and Yuffie were both covered in burn marks, their skin almost black and irritated, falling from their muscles and bones, for they looked as if they had died and came back to the Earth after a few years of decomposing. Squall was scratched pretty bad, a large gash on his back leaking large pools of blood onto the carpet, though he looked the most healthy out of them all. He healed Aerith and Yuffie, the green glow emitting through their bodies, wiping away the blackness and pulling their skin back to where it belonged. pAfter healing himself, the sick process of his skin coming together, he had shrugged off his leather bomber jacket and walked quickly through the kitchen and towards Navi's room. Riku blinked, too stunned to move when he realized, shit, Navi! He followed Squall's form down the hall, turning into Navi's room; Cloud's body blocked Navi from his view. In the orange glow of the lamp, Cloud's face was black with dirt, and in the patches of skin that weren't covered where scratches and burn welts. pHe stepped into the room, brushing past Cloud and he laid his eyes on Navi's almost mangled form. There were large gashes of cuts everywhere on her lithe body, her clothes ripped to shreds, while each cut was bleeding and soaking onto the white sheets of the bed, yet the largest gash was over her chest, pumping blood form her body, and the skin around it a deep purple, no doubt from poisoning. The right side of her face and arm was black and sticky looking from Heartless blood, and her wide green eyes solid, holding no emotion as they just stared, never moving. pOut of the corner of his aqua eyes, a soft blue light emitted, reaching for Cloud as he healed. Then, to his horror, Navi began to convulse, a throaty series of coughs coming from her chest as blood splattered out of her mouth. He quickly knelt down beside her, and bit his lip, what was he supposed to do? Her eyes never stopped staring. pThe seizures stopped abruptly, and she slumped back onto the bed, still and quiet. Riku's eyes welled and he began to panic, "Is she" He couldn't finish the sentence as he turned to Squall and Cloud. Her brother looked on the verge of a breakdown, "She might as well be." He turned on his heals and left the room. pRiku whimpered, a small sob rising out of his throat, and he looked pleadingly at Squall. "She's in a Dead Coma," Squall stated, easing down on his knees, "I'm going to try and do as much as I can." His own voice was shaky and worried. The boy nodded and sat back on the floor, pulling his knees up to his chest. He's going to try the best he can, everything will be fine; I hope.