AN/ Head's up! There are a couple of fun posts in the "ch184" tag on my personal tumblr! You should check it out!

Alsooooooooo if you missed it there was a Slightly Important crossover over in Can't Escape! (ch62-65) You don't have to read it, but I highly suggest reading ch65 because Vexen character development. (Also ASASch58 is CEch65 from Riku's POV for those curious.)

Chapter 184: Desperate Darkness

Approximately a half-hour earlier…

He staggered when he stepped into Neverland.

Sora was here.

It was like air had filled his lungs again—like he could finally breathe after weeks of drowning. He stood there for a long while, hands pressed against his chest, letting the feeling fill him. And then he clasped his hands together, like this was a physical thing, and he never ever intended on letting go of it again.

There was still… one problem, though.

There was no pulsing at the back of his mind. The connection between him and Sora had not been restored. That witch was still blocking it. Oh and she would pay.

He closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses. He knew she was here. Her presence was like a blot of ink on the light of any world. And she was… east of—

His heart leapt in his chest. His eyes flew open. That was Sora. Briefly, fleetingly, he'd cross the range of his Shadow's senses. His Shadow had to take quite a few breaths to steady himself. Sora was north of him. Moving fast. But he wasn't too far… and it wouldn't be too hard to catch up to him. And…

"No," he told himself, sternly. "It won't matter if I find him. Our connection won't be restored—not while that witch still has a hold on him. I need to break her hold first…"

Besides, there was no telling how long Maleficent would stay put. Sora couldn't be… too hardto find a second time. Not that it'd matter. No. Once he'd dealt with Maleficent, their connection would be restored, and Sora would be his again.

The thought made him a little giddy.

xxx

"You!" he shouted. "I want to know what you've done with Sora!"

Maleficent didn't turn to him. Didn't even look up. She just continued talking to whoever she was with—from the way she spoke to him, he was likely one of her lackeys. Or… her only lackey? Whatever. Sora's Shadow couldn't afford to care too much about that.

He just wanted her to listen to him.

And he'd be so furious if they were on damn different planes of existence. But she was darkness. That should've been enough. She should've been able to hear him.

Which meant she was just ignoring him.

He chucked a spell at her—it felt a little like Dark Blizzaga, not that he was paying much attention to what he was throwing. So long as it got her attention.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

She didn't turn this time, either. The spell he'd thrown seemed to just hit her in the back and bounce off. Fine then. He bent down, picked up a rock about the size of his palm, and took aim.

"I said I'm talking to you!" he shouted, chucking the rock at her. It her in the back of the head, and she froze. Her lackey ducked and cowered, clearly fearing her response.

And then the next thing Sora's Shadow knew, he was on the ground. Something had thrown him back. He was struggling to get up—to see what had thrown him—when he noticed that Maleficent was standing above him. She used the end of her staff to force him back to the ground, and then put a lot more weight into her staff than should've been possible, effectively pinning him there. It felt like there was a ton of bricks sitting on his chest.

He coughed, not that he was actually being crushed, but his lungs were sure acting like he was.

"What do you want, you pest?" Maleficent asked, glaring down at him, disgust in her eyes.

"I want Sora back!" he screamed, struggling to get up. He knew it was pointless, but he wasn't just gonna lie here and take this either.

"Oh?" Maleficent smirked. "I wasn't aware that he belonged to you."

She infuriated him. That smirk on her face. The way she pretended like she didn't know what he was talking about. The way she was pinning him down and the way she'd taken Sora from him. He wanted to wring her neck and choke the life out of her—and he would've, had he been able to get up.

"I'm his Shadow and you're doing my job!" he shrieked, still struggling to squirm away from her.

"Your 'job'?" Now she laughed. "And what would that be?"

"Dragging Sora into darkness."

"From the looks of things, it doesn't seem like you've done so well with this 'job' of yours."

There was a glint in her eyes. He wanted to punch her in the jaw.

"Yeah, because I haven't been able to get to Sora! You've had him! And I—ngh!"

She rammed her staff against his chest, and jolts went through his entire body at the impact. That was going to bruise. If he could bruise.

"I do not know why you're complaining," Maleficent said, sounding too pleased with herself. "I am merely doing what you've failed to."

"Failed!?" Just who did she think she was? "I haven't failed. I- I have a method and- and you're ruining every—nrghh!"

His words were lost with another cry of pain. She'd hit him again, much harder this time.

"Quiet!" she commanded, voice booming, all amusement lost from it. "You low-life piece of light-stained scum! Do you think I do not know what you are? What you are supposed to be? But it seems to me-" She jabbed him again. Right in the heart. "—that something has gone awry. It's no wonder you can't do your 'job'. You shouldn't even exist anymore!"

"Maybe if you- hadn't cut me off- from- from Sora!" he gasped. It was a struggle to get the words out. His chest was throbbing, and the rest of his body didn't feel too great either. "Maybe I- maybe I would—hngg!"

She hit him again.

"You are weak, you are foolish, you are foul," she hissed. "Do you think I cannot sense how you've been tainted?"

His blood ran cold.

"I- I'm not!" he choked.

He wasn't tainted. He- he couldn't be!

"You reek of light," Maleficent spat. "And yet you claim to be a shadow? Claim to belong to the darkness? You are not worth such a thing! It sickens me to look at you!" She twisted her staff, grinding it against his chest. "And if you truly wish that Sora be drowned in the deepest darkness, as you so claim, then you should leave that 'job' to me. I do not think you are capable of it. I do not think you ever were."

And then she released him—though she whacked him in the chin before pulling her staff away. He pushed himself up, ready to launch himself at her, tackle her to the ground, force her to take back those words—

But she was gone.

He slowly flopped back into the grass, his body aching. It was fortunate that he couldn't bleed—it meant he shouldn't have any bruises—but that didn't mean the pain was going to ease up any time soon.

"Just who does she think he is?" he muttered, angrily. "Telling me I can't do my own damn job? Telling me I'm not capable? She'll pay for that! I would've had her—I would've killed her. She's just too coward to fight me!"

He laughed at that thought. It made him feel better. She was cowardly. Only a coward would pin someone to the ground like that only to spit lies at them. If she believed what she'd said, she would've let him attack her—a light-stained scum wouldn't be able to do much damage, after all.

"I'm not light-stained," he mumbled. "Not tainted. I'm as dark as they come. As dark as they get…"

His heart—that damn heart—thudded in his chest, defiantly.

Darkness—Shadows like him—didn't have hearts. They were just glorified Heartless. The lack of a heart was basically a requirement. But why did he have one?

"I shouldn't."

He pressed his hand against his chest. What he'd give to rip this heart out. Feed it to the Heartless. His fingers slowly curled, and he pressed into his shirt, form flickering, until his hand—black as any Heartless—passed through his chest. He closed his fingers around his heart, throwing his head back, closing his eyes, taking deep breaths.

He could rip it out. Though there was no telling what exactly would happen if he did…

He squeezed. Bit his lip. Took a deep breath—

Sora.

He sat up, letting go of his heart.

How'd he forgotten?

Sora was still here!

What was he doing sitting around and moping for? The fact that he hadn't exactly freed Sora from Maleficent wasn't any excuse. Sora was here. If he found Sora—snatched him away before Maleficent could call him to her again…

He was on his feet, taking off at a dead run, reaching out with his senses to figure out where Sora was. Sora was… west of here. Thankfully his Shadow only had to adjust course slightly. He'd just flash over to Sora—or at least closer—but he was afraid of letting Sora leaving his senses for even a second.

What if he lost him again for good?

"That witch is gonna pay, Sora," he said between breaths, sprinting forward, as fast as he possibly could. "She's gonna pay for taking you away from me. For keeping you from me. For the things she said to me! She's gonna—"

An inkblot of darkness fell across his senses, obscuring Sora. He stumbled. Fell to the ground. It was like the air had been sucked from his lungs, and he was drowning again.

Sora was gone.

Maleficent had taken him.

Sora's Shadow clutched himself tightly, breathing hard, not that it helped. Nothing helped. Sora was gone. Sora was gone and he was empty—and damn did he hate this feeling. He wasn't sure if he could stand it much longer. Not for another two weeks, which was likely how long it was going to take before he'd find Sora again.

He slowly rolled over onto his back, looking up at the sky, watching the clouds roll past. His body was aching again, but it was nothing compared to how his heart ached. Nothing compared to the emptiness that flooded him, making him want to wretch.

When had he become so dependent on Sora?

When had the mere thing of being on separate worlds begun to affect him so?

And why in the worlds did he feel like he was incomplete?

He hated it. He hated all of it. He hated being empty. He hated being dependent—especially on Sora. He hated Sora for it. Hated Sora for not being here, for not being able to escape Maleficent himself. He hated Maleficent for even needing him. For even thinking that she was supposed to plunge Sora into darkness.

He hated Maleficent for calling him weak. For saying he was incapable of doing his job. For hitting him. For taking Sora. For everything.

"When I see you next, I'll dig my hand into your chest and rip out your heart myself," he muttered.