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The Gummi Ship lurched as its captain fell on the controls, shivering uncontrollably. Riku was at his friend's side in an instant.

"Sora, what's wrong? Did you get sick from being tortured too long?"

The hero shook his head and hissed, "No. it's Roxas. Something is…wrong with my Nobody. Something so strong it's affecting me, too."

Riku's nose wrinkled suddenly. He knew this smell—the smell that seemed to be leaking from his friend's pores. The odor Ansem Seeker of Darkness/Xehanort's Heartless reeked of and an odor he rarely smelled on Sora. It was so strong now, the reason for the stench, that the younger boy was on the floor writhing in pain and holding his spikey-haired head, groaning.

"The smell of Darkness. Sora…you reek of Darkness. This can only mean one thing. Your Nobody has fallen into Darkness. Roxas betrayed each and every one ofus!"

"NO!" A chakram barely missed Riku as Axel's enraged tone cut through the cockpit's empty air.

"Roxas turned his back on the organization but he would never betray his friends let alone himself! Roxas is playing double agent. Yes he fell into Darkness just now but so what? We Nobodies are Denizens of Darkness. We wield its power like we do our own weapons and travel the Corridors without fear, conquering the Heartless effortlessly because we can—we have no hearts to lose to the shadows."

Riku gestured to the crouched hero of the Keyblade, his tone matching the growl of the pyrokinetic,

"But Sora does! In case you haven't noticed, what happens to Roxas also affects Sora. I thought the connection had been cut by Malefisent but obviously Roxas retied the lines when he 'helped' Sora earlier. That wasn't an act of kindness. It was an act of betrayal!"

Axel turned away angry and saddened, his tone hard as he murmured,

"You think you know so much about Darkness, Riku, yet you remain as ignorant as those without experience. What Roxas did to Sora may be what is causing his takeover by the same power you smell on Sora now. The Darkness cannot taint a Nobody…unless it has help."

"MALEFISCENT!"

"That's right. What happened was that while Sora was being eaten alive by the witch's poison, Roxas stepped in and drained him dry of the Dark Touch. He absorbed the power into his own being. Now normally you would eject the poison right? Roxas didn't know how and it began to make him fade away but the Keybearer, being who he is, threw a line to Roxas and rebuilt their connection. This saved Roxas from fading completely but the poison now is stuck inside Roxas, and is now driving him insane. Keyboy! You have to realize that Roxas isn't doing this of his own free will, he's a VICTIM not the enemy! I feel him, Sora. He's fighting hard against the witch but he's losing!"

Sora barely heard Axel pleading over the rushing in his head and the turmoil in his mind. However the redhead's tone got through enough for him to realize that his Nobody needed him and fast. The young Keybearer lifted his hand to the console.

"Chip….Dale….set a course for….the Castle…..and hurry! We need…..we need Help."

"Aye Aye Skipper!"

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"Goofy! Goofy WAKE UP! We've got trouble!"

The dopey dog rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and stared blankly at the court magician.

"Trouble? What kinda trouble Donald?"

"It's Sora! Sora needs us! Come on!"

Hearing that, the head knight got up and ran with the mage to the throne room of Disney Castle. Sora was there alright but he looked like he was about to fall over. King Mickey was distressed, as was Queen Minnie. Donald approached the Keybearer, who was being supported by Riku, and gave Sora a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Don't worry Sora, we'll help you."

The boy grinned weakly.

"Thanks, Donald….Goofy. I knew I could count on you guys!"

King Mickey pulled Riku aside, the older boy handing Sora to Goofy and bending down to hear what his friend had to say. The King spoke in a worried tone, pointing to Sora and shaking his head.

"I don't like the looks of this, Riku."

"I don't like the smell, your Majesty—I mean, Mickey."

"Hmm, I can definitely agree with ya there. Sora's light is in danger of goin' out. The Darkness—"

"It's getting stronger. The stench coming from him…its styfling. I don't care what Axel said, Roxas betrayed us!"

Mickey shook his head,

"No, Riku, he didn't wich is why I'm so worried."

"I don't understand."

"Riku…..Sora's Darkness…is his own."

The answer dropped on Riku like a ton of bricks.

"ANTIFORM!"

Mickey shook his head again,

"Nope. Antiform is Sora's Heartless. It's what was left over after his heart was restored. This is far more dangerous. Malefiscent has awoken pure Darkness in Sora, and because of his strong heart, Sora is refusing to give in. So the Darkness is snuffin' out the Light."

Riku looked at his friend, now understanding Mickey's saddened concern. Sora was leaning fully on the tall head knight, grinning for his friends' sakes but the smile didn't reach his eyes. The blue orbs were clouded with mental exhaustion and the lids kept drooping as if being pulled down by weights. His face was ashen, and he looked as if a feather could topple him.

Riku hung his head and clenched his fists, trying to hold back angry, disparing tears

"It's killing him. The Darkness can't have Sora's Heart so its sucking the Light and life outta him. Sora's dying!"

The King put a sympathetic hand on the silver-haired boy's shoulder,

"Yup"

"Does…..he know?"

"I hate to tell you this but, yeah. He's known ever since he collapsed in the Gummi Ship. The only things keepin' the Darkness at bay are Roxas and the support of his friends. That's part of the reason he came here."

Riku gave a small smile.

"Of course. What better friends to get support from than the two friends who accompanied him on his previous journeys."

"Are ya jealous?"

"Hehehe of course not. Those days are past. Besides…look at himm he looks better already!"

Sora was indeed looking better, but Mickey's brow furrowed and he appeared more distressed than ever.

"Sora is taking Goofy and Donald's Light to replace his own. It won't last for long before he'll have to do it again and the more he does it, the more he will become dependent on that Light. He's already fed off of Kairi's love and look what happened ta her."

"Kairi!"

The girl looked at him with a somewhat vacant stare before falling to the ground. Sora chuckled and caught her. As soon as they made contact, the girl visibly got weaker and Sora straightened up. He fell and she caught him, and they both went down giggling

"Does Sora know he's doing this?"

"Of course not Riku. You know Sora would never do anything ta harm his friends. It's best if we don't tell him either. The very concept would be very hard on him."

"Yeah you're right. It would break his heart."

Riku nearly fell 0ver as Axel shoved his way out of his being, concern and worry etching his tone as he addressed the King.

"Hey, what about Roxas? If the Keyboy dies Roxas goes with him, right? We can't let that happen! We have to save both of them or neither will survive!"

Mickey smiled kindly at the Flurry of Dancing Flames, his tone lighter as he told both Riku and Axel his news.

"Actually, Axel, Roxas is the other thing keepin' Sora from the Darkness. As long as his Nobody stays vigilant, there is hope for Sora."

Riku panicked again,

"But Mickey….Roxas hasn't stayed vigilant! He's been taken over by Maleficent and is now her puppet!"

King Mickey chuckled,

"Riku do you want to know a secret about Roxas? He is connected to Sora's Antiform just like he is connected to Sora. Roxas is a denizen of Darkness but he cannot be harmed nor consumed by Darkness because any taint gets absorbed by Antiform. Roxas is safe, Axel, don'tcha worry!"

"I worry." Axel said under his breath, "Boy do I worry. Something doesn't smell quite right."

TBC