Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy.

Author's Note: This isn't Midgar. I did take some ideas from Midgar, but this is Kingdom Hearts. There is no Midgar. There are some ideas - mainly one - that's similar to something in FF, but I assure you it's not unique to that game. Actually on a second thought as I look at the idea, Miranda from Serenity comes to mind. Anyway.

Beta: Thanks to chiiaroscuro for being my beta, even while she's so busy!

Chapter 23

Magical exhaustion was, supposedly, easily fixed. Some rest and he was supposed to be all better. Except when Sora woke up over a day later and asked how Riku was, rest was out of the question. He spent the day pacing his room - mostly because he wasn't allowed out of it until they were sure he could walk without stumbling. As he learned after a few circuits of pacing this wasn't yet true.

Kairi slipped in after he had been left his lunch, smiling at him in understanding sympathy. "Not the most fun thing, magical exhaustion. You have it better than I did. I kept trying to use my magic, making it worse."

"Kairi," he whined, not caring about his own problem. He wanted to know more important things. "Riku... They said he was poisoned?"

He waited anxiously with bated breath as Kairi's eyes shifted away. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Sorry? About what?" For a moment, he was panicked - but Roxas mentally was calming him. Or insulting him, he wasn't quite sure which, but there was a pointed comment about the bracelet either way and he glanced down, breath rushing out in relief. There was a lot of yellow, and it had shades of nearly black yellow that made him worried. He had never seen it so dark before.

"If I had learned Esuna before this... If I hadn't gone to learn spells I thought were more useful, I could have healed him already," Kairi said quietly and he stared a moment in surprise, his worry about Riku compounded with worry for Kairi. He took a step forward and pulled her quickly into a hug.

"He'll be okay. It's not your fault, we couldn't have known there were Heartless with poison now. I think... It's kind of obvious there are new kinds. We've never been poisoned before, Kairi. I've fallen into acid, but that's about... what?" He shifted at her strange look, trying not to flush. She had been in his heart at the time - didn't she remember?

"I'm surprised you're not rushing off to see him now that I'm here," she said slowly. He blinked, letting it sink in - and then grinned.

Despite how weak he still felt he was out the door in seconds, sneaking across the floor. Kairi was whispering as they did on what had been happening. "Irvine and Vincent have been traveling to what looks like the better part of the city - all the shiny buildings to the west? - trying to see if there are any antidotes left. They call it the Steel Death. Not sure why, but I'm guessing we should avoid that part of the city. Everything's dead anyway."

He looked at her in shock, to see her face sad and sympathetic and he wondered with a chill if this was what Cloud had meant - he had said his world was dead, thanks to Sephiroth. And... They had met people, but though everything looked like it was working, and felt like it was working... But maybe there was no one running it. "Sephiroth did this."

"Yes, he... I'll explain later. Let's just go see Riku." Kairi lapsed into silence and he followed obediently. Both froze as they came closer to a set of stairs - Sora hadn't even known he was on the second floor - and voices drifted up.

"They're special, Irvine. Anyone can see that. Three kids who just suddenly show up and fight Heartless with those strange blades? And the magic around them? There's destiny there." The woman's voice was firm and Sora inched closer, just knowing they were talking about him and his friends.

Irvine's voice was clear and sharp as they went closer to the railing and glanced down. "You said it Rinoa - three kids. They're teenagers. And they're powerful, but we can't just let them go without saying anything. If they have a destiny then they need help, because we all know that destiny sucks. They'll get screwed over in the end."

"I'm not saying we shouldn't help them! I'm just saying when the boy heals if they want to leave we have to let them! We can't keep them here! They're from another world - who knows how many people they could save!" The woman sounded peevish; as if this was an argument they'd had many times already. Sora didn't understand it at all - they both wanted to help but in different ways. Why not let them choose? They weren't children, no matter what Irvine said.

"And I don't want to find out they got themselves killed using some new technique so they didn't even realize they were injured! Because that's what happened! They lost themselves in whatever that was and only Sora seemed to realize there were negative effects!" He fell silent and then sighed. "I know they can take care of themselves, and they have to. But I don't like seeing another group of kids running off to their deaths because they think they have to. I talked to Kairi and they're learning magic at a rate I haven't seen since... Actually, I don't think I've ever seen it. I just think... They should be living their lives. Not having control over forces that can destroy them. Sora exhausted himself, but he used more magic in a span of a few minutes to kill most people from exhaustion. Especially kids."

"They aren't orphans or children needing to be kept here for their own safety," Rinoa returned softly. "All we can do is guide them a little. What does Vincent say?"

"Vince never says much, but he and Barret seem to agree - they think we should have just left them in the street." Irvine sounded angry and Kairi was tugging on his arm now but Sora leaned over more to get a glimpse of Irvine, his cowboy hat tossed to one side and long hair loose. Sora blinked at how handsome he looked and jerked back at the thought.

"They say that, but they're soft at heart. They wouldn't have done it. Vincent... I'm surprised he isn't suggesting..." The voices trailed off into incoherent mumbles as Kairi dragged him down the hallway. Over boards that creaked under her feet and made no sounds under his. He smiled sheepishly at her dirty look and went in front, throwing looks over his shoulder to see her intent on the way he stepped and walked. She was quieter, much quieter than most people... But she still wasn't silent yet. She would get it though; Kairi was as determined as they were.

He didn't want to dwell on the conversation, feeling his lip curl out into a pout. They weren't children. Leon had never treated him like a child - not really. He understood their destiny and let them be, doing what he could to help. It had never occurred what it must look like to adults who didn't know about the Keyblades or what they were doing - or to adults who didn't care about destiny.

It didn't matter either - Sora knew, with an almost sick feeling sometimes, that there were few normal people that could give them a challenge, never mind beat them. He was only too glad when Kairi indicated a door, partly open already.

He peeked inside first; not touching the door until he was sure no one was in there. Only then did he pull Kairi inside and shut the door with a click behind them. "How's he been doing?"

"Fighting. They say he's slowly getting better, and he won't die from it, but he could be weeks recovering at best, without an antidote. No one knows what other permanent effects it might even have. Very few survive it without an antidote, they said," Kairi said, her voice hushed.

Sora walked over to the bed, pulling Kairi with him until he could stare at Riku's too-still frame. He was paler than Sora had ever seen him. He reached out a hand and almost snatched it back at the burning heat enveloping his boyfriend's body. Instead he pressed his hand down, smoothing hair from his face and biting his lip until he tasted blood. It still didn't distract him from the sudden feeling of helplessness and guilt. "There's nothing we can do?"

"It's an antidote or nothing. No one knows magic here. Not anymore - everyone who did, everyone who had magic in their veins... had it pulled out of them. The shock... Most just died right there, or lost the will to live when all their magic was pulled out of them." There was a note of horror in Kairi's voice as she recited facts they must have told her. He was surprised there was anyone left alive, if that was the case - the magic in the air sunk into him, calling to him, telling him despite his exhaustion a little magic was always a good thing... But he knew better than to listen.

"Why didn't they...?" He looked over his shoulder, eyes facing the direction of where the stairs had been, and the people beneath it.

"Never used magic in their life, or never had enough of the products that contained undiluted magical substances for it to affect them. Not much anyway - I managed to get Rinoa to tell me that Vincent nearly did die. She has no idea how Irvine kept him from it, none of them do. And talkative as he is... Irvine doesn't talk about anything important." He didn't have to look to know there was frustrated furrow on her forehead, but he did anyway, grinning at her clenched teeth, furrowed brow and fisted hands.

"They don't have to tell us everything," Sora pointed out. If Irvine didn't want to talk about something in the past, as long as it had no bearing on the situation, Sora was fine with it. He didn't need to know everyone's secrets to know Irvine and Vincent were good guys.

"No, I guess not. I'm just used to people being more accommodating towards us, I guess. Even on Atlantis, they were pretty open about their hostilities. And everyone else was usually a friend of yours. These are strangers that aren't telling us a thing. It just feels... weird." She shifted where she stood next to him and he hesitantly put an arm around her. She leaned into him gratefully and he sighed in relief, shifting her closer. Her eyes were on Riku again now, and he had to wonder if her mind had really been on the people downstairs.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be here to help watch over him before this," Sora said quietly, hugging her close. Despite the fact he had been told Riku was getting better, there was too much heat beneath his hand that was still on Riku's face. Despite whatever Irvine said when he found them, he didn't plan on moving from this room until he was better – and only then to search for an antidote. It was unnatural for Riku to be sitting so still.

"If you had tried to come see him before I would have dragged you back to bed," she said pointedly. "A full day asleep – I don't even want to know how you got yourself that exhausted."

"Says the girl who collapsed trying to heal me not that long ago," he said reasonably. "Plus... it's hard to notice how low my reserves are in Final Form. Changing itself takes a lot out, but returns so much energy... it's amazing. But... I don't think we should do it very often."

He felt her stiffen a little and looked down at her seriously – and was a little surprised at how much farther down it was becoming. He would never be as tall as Riku would be – but it was still a shock to realize he was still growing. But not quite enough of one to deter him from continuing doggedly, "You two react weird to Final Form. It's good in an emergency and to keep Anti Form away... but Riku didn't even notice he was injured. And you... I could feel it Kairi. I could feel both of you and neither of you would have cared about anything if we could have just stayed that way. I... It is tempting, to me too. But we aren't ourselves like that."

"Is it so wrong to want a connection to you two forever?" Kairi asked, her voice barely audible. He smiled at her wistfully.

That wasn't the problem at all, and he groped for the words that would explain it. He wasn't even sure exactly how he had known, even while a part of him had reveled in that deeper connection to them. How wrong it was. It was Roxas' brief touch on his mind that made him understand. "I'd love a permanent connection to you guys – but not at the cost of losing our identity. Some of us have fought too hard to keep it."

His own eyes strayed to Riku, remembering him wearing Xehanort's face, but it was Roxas' he was really thinking of, the Nobody struggling between completion and identity. The Nobody's pleased happiness at his acknowledgement – and agreement – of his fight to stay separate was a warm strength that made it easier to not apologize at Kairi's stricken look.

"I'm sorry. I didn't even think about what Riku would have gone through... But he was reaching for it too..." She trailed off, eyeing Riku – and then her head whipped around and he could almost see the quiet voice in her head pointing out Riku hadn't been the only one to fight for his identity – not when Riku would have gladly lost it for his friends. "Roxas? You're talking about Roxas. And Riku but mostly... Sora, they are supposed to be one with us. I'm not even sure this separation with have with them is natural. Especially when... When Naminé seems to not only be convinced but accepting of the fact she'll fade."

Sora tensed and for a horrible moment had a twisted image of Roxas fading, that space in their heart and mind all gone, and no voice struggling to be heard, that struggle that had become so smooth and easy, but separate and he felt Roxas own panic grow and Sora jerked back a little from Kairi. "Roxas won't fade!"

"Maybe not," Kairi said sadly, agreeing and confusing both he and Roxas. "But... It makes sense. That you two could fight something that seemed so natural, like our thoughts joining in Final Form. And I have to apologize. It strained your magic some to keep us separated, didn't it? That's what took most of your energy, not just overusing the spells."

He shrugged helplessly at her searching gaze. "There's nothing to apologize for – I don't really remember what cost me all that energy. It was kind of one draining thing after another, you know? Physically, mentally, magically – I just needed rest. Not like Riku."

Both their gazes went back to Riku and they went quiet, contemplating their sleeping friend. Sora knew it couldn't be long before they let him move around a bit more. He would keep watch on Riku for a day, maybe two, until they were convinced he was healthy. It would allow Kairi to go off and do her own exploring. He trusted her by herself, she wasn't as foolish as he or Riku. Then when they were convinced he was fine, they would switch.

Right now, as he casually pulled himself and Kairi to sit on the edge of the bed, he pretended that they weren't right and that just simply standing hadn't tired him so. It was a bit harder to lie to himself when Kairi slipped off the bed and slipped covers over him as he curled up beside Riku, his breathing already evening out. A little more sleep couldn't hurt.

Riku had barely woken, and most of it had been fever dreams. Rinoa put on a pretty smile and told him Riku was getting better and Sora smiled back in relief and pretended he believed her when Riku's fever hadn't changed a bit. It hadn't gone up – but it hadn't gone down. He noticed both Vincent and Irvine were conspicuously silent on the subject and the man Barret... Well, Sora didn't know what to think of the man with a gun attached to the stump of his arm.

The first thing he did when he was declared as healthy as he was going to get was go find Kairi. That led to quite a shock and he watched with wide, admiring eyes as the girl went into battle in efficient movements that still seemed a lot more graceful for all her less experience than he or Riku's. Maybe it was the efficiency – she wasn't prone to the same larger swings as he was with all his strength behind them. It was closer to Riku's, but she didn't have as much stabbing – it was mostly just slashes, quick and deadly.

He pondered stepping in – but when something crackled around her hands and then her body he stayed put, eyes white as white power seemed to flow around her in a wave, crumbling outward – and then suddenly dropping off, just fading as Kairi's knees seemed to buckle. All the Heartless around were destroyed – but he wouldn't have noticed if there was one around somewhere as he raced to Kairi's side, swinging a supporting arm around her to keep her standing.

"I still can't get that to work right," she cried out in frustration as she stood, not exhausted like he had feared, just having dropped from the sudden loss of energy. He had to frown at her exclamation and tilted his head, looking down at her. He let her lean on him, pleased that she trusted him enough to completely relax. It wouldn't have been such a surprise months ago – but she was more than capable of taking care of herself now. It didn't mean Sora didn't want to do it for her sometimes.

Once she was standing on her own and not leaning so bad he asked, "What was that?"

Her eyes darted to him – and then away, sliding to the side. He ducked his head down to look her straight in the eyes, not liking the nervous way her hands gripped Radiant Spirit. "Kairi?"

"Remember on my birthday? There's one present I've still been trying to learn," she said, her voice soft and hesitant. It took him a moment to remember what present she was talking about – he didn't think it was Cloud's animal trusting present. He stiffened slowly, and tried not to apologize when she stepped away from him. "It is powerful, Sora."

"It's also from Sephiroth," he muttered, looking around at the world they were in, the empty buildings, the skyscrapers that formed, huge offices and factories and who knew what else. "He did this."

"I know what he did. And I know how he did it. And... this didn't do it. Not by itself. He amplified it thousands of times more and mixed it with two other spells. Please Sora – I need to do this. It's powerful enough that it could make our battles ten times easier." She stared at him, her eyes so wide and earnest that he couldn't help it. He smiled at her, grudging but true and she grinned in delight.

"I guess I have no real say in what you do anyway. You could never use it the way he did anyway. You don't have the darkness he did... But how do you know that he used it at all, Kairi?" he asked, feeling that he needed to know the answer. It was important somehow.

"I asked Irvine. He was... so close to it, Sora. Actually tried to shoot Sephiroth out of the sky. Climbed to the tallest building, stood on the roof, and tried to shoot him down. He saw it all. What Sephiroth did... He altered the spells. Used the buried parts of them that make them work and warped them into something new. Holy, to cleanse. Meteor, for judgment, and Ultima... Ultima is pure magic. It has no element – it's just magic. Meteor seeks its enemies, and even the normal one can hit multiple enemies. Sephiroth had it hit anything that had a trace of Ultima in it – he warped them together. Anyone who had magic in their blood... but that wouldn't kill everyone with magic. No, meteor sought them out, but it didn't even get time to touch them, it wasn't the part that... cleansed the magic from their blood. Holy made them pure." Throughout the explanation, Kairi stared at the ground. Sora was stunned – that's what Sephiroth had done? It was horrible... and there was a bit of it that was like an art form. He didn't want to think it, but it was true. To balance them so perfectly and amplify them without losing that balance – Ultima seeking out its own, Meteor locking on and Holy cleansing – it was like an art. A horrible, deadly art and Sora felt sick.

"It can't do that now, right?" he asked, staring off to the side, where there had before been Heartless... before they were cleansed.

"No. It normally cleanses darkness. It can hurt other things; because almost everything has a bit of darkness in them, but it can't... do what Sephiroth did with it. Take the magic out of us." She tried a small smile. "I wouldn't be using it otherwise. I would never risk you like that."

He stared at her for that, tilting his head. "What do you mean?"

She gave a bigger smile at that, light coming back into her eyes. "Sora, you're the most magical of us. I'm getting there, but... it's so effortless for you. If you weren't so good with your Keyblades, I'd say you should spend all your time on magic. Even if you are geared toward battle magic."

He shrugged, grinning back at her, and nearly flushing at the praise. "It's not so effortless with Curaga and defensive magic. You're learning a lot faster with Cura than I did – you're nearly at Curaga yourself and I wouldn't be surprised if you can go a step past that. You and Riku... I just picked up the spells, you two are the ones who are clever with them."

"We're clever with them before battle. During battle? Not quite so much. During fights, I just... fight. Smaller ones it's easier but in the big battles, I'm not quite so clever." She looked so downcast, but he couldn't help but laugh.

"Kairi, all of us lose our heads when we're fighting for our lives. You're better than you think." He began to walk, aimless on where to go and she started beside him, smiling at him.

"Thank you," she said simply, and he knew the conversation was over. The lapsed into comfortable silence, but his eyes continued to drift over to one section of the city. Many buildings had fallen down against each other. Irvine liked to try and call the city the City of Graves, but Sora didn't think it was true – except for that part. If there was one part of the city that could be called truly dead, it was the section marked by North River Street, what had once been home to the greatest scientific minds of planet, or so he had been told.

"Come on, the house is this way," Kairi said and he jerked his eyes away from the buildings to meet her steady gaze. With one last glance back, he turned back toward the house where Riku lay unconscious. A niggling idea was forming in the back of his mind, but he didn't want to do anything foolish.

Fortunately, Sora's idea of foolish wasn't quite the same as everyone else's and the fact that anyone would have called him crazy for attempting the most unstable part of the city didn't even occur to Sora as he stood at the intersection of North River and another smaller street. If there were an antidote anywhere, it would be in one of these buildings. He had looked quickly through the books in Irvine's house to see what one might look like. That had been yesterday, and he hadn't been able to get away before just an hour ago.

Breathing deep, he stepped into the street, firmly telling himself that the street wasn't unsteady, that was his imagination – it was only the buildings that were unsteady.

'Unless even the ground beneath the streets is falling apart,' Roxas suddenly suggested, obviously amused. Sora scowled, but his step steadied and he strode toward the tallest building. He would start there first.

'This is probably a bad idea. There might be nothing there. You know Riku will heal eventually,' Roxas said. The Nobody didn't really seem to disapprove – more as if he was trying to distract Sora from thinking about it too much. There was a sulky flare of denial, but Sora grinned anyway. He appreciated the effort, and tried to convey that. "I doubt Riku wants to be stuck in that bed forever. And I need something to do too. It's boring in the house!"

'I'll remember you say that when we're dead,' Roxas responded and Sora stepped into the building. He shouldn't have been so surprised to see the torn apart walls, the ceiling that was mostly caved in and evidence that the building was only kept up because it was leaning against another and slowly crushing it beneath it's weight. It was a depressing thought.

'Then don't think it. Just start looking,' Roxas said sharply, and Sora grinned.

"Bossy," he grumbled, but went further into the building to begin his search.

Sora had actually found multiple bottles of what could be antidotes. However, he kept looking because some of them looked different and he wanted to know he had the right one. As he went further up the stairs, a memory of a conversation flew by, but it was elusive and he was too focused to try and catch it. Something told him that it would end up being important, but he didn't have the time.

Near the top of the building, he avoided a sagging spot on the floor, Keyblade in hand. To his dismay, he had found that beasts from outside the city had snuck into the uninhabited parts and they were a little vicious. Some he had fended off, but a few he had to kill. They didn't drop munny, but one had swallowed a bottle that was miraculously unharmed. He didn't know what was in the bottle, but he had dropped it into his pockets with the rest of them. His pockets were quickly filling up.

There were other things of interest in the building. Mostly it had seemed to be a testing facility for potions and healing items and all sorts of magical liquids that were put in bottles but he had found an odd room or two here and there that he wasn't sure if they were someone's hobby room or an office. The one filled with guns had reminded him or Irvine and Vincent and he had carefully had to choose what looked like the best weapons out of the bunch for them. Fortunately they had labels and seemed to be going from worst to best, of various types of guns. Sora had seen theirs enough to know what they looked like and that was it.

He had to find a bag for them and other objects he found lying around. There was a room that had books on magical theory, mostly in relation to their work on potions and antidotes. Considering his own ambitions of the future, he had selected a few of those to bring with him. Picking up random little objects like this led to him having both pockets full of bottles and carrying a bag around with him. He left it on the sturdiest part of the floor he could find when he ventured into new territory, but he knew he should be hurrying more than he was. The closer he climbed to the top of the building, the more unstable it looked.

The bottom of the building had been relatively fine, but on the top floor, there were broken windows, broken support beams, and ceiling that either had or were in the process of caving in. 'I think we have enough antidotes.'

Roxas had said that before. Sora had agreed before. The fact was, neither Nobody or Somebody really had the will to leave just yet. Away from their friends, the need to explore had taken over, and there wasn't anyone to tell them to stop. No one but Roxas, but his heart wasn't in it. Literally, considering Sora was his heart and was intent on just finishing one more room. "C'mon Roxas – We're almost done! And we can give the extras to Irvine and the kids!"

'We can, but I don't think anything new will be up here – What's that?' Sora's eyes had nearly moved over the dark little part of the hallway as he stepped out of an empty room. Or mostly empty room. There had been a desk and chairs, and an open window letting the rain in. It was beginning to storm outside, which didn't make Sora want to go back through the streets any more than it usually would. The building was sheltered enough that if he didn't want to get the antidote to Riku once he had collected them all, he would have stayed and waited out the storm.

Sora studied the corner for a moment before picking up the bag of items with a cheerful, "Let's find out!"

Roxas snorted quietly in his mind, but he wasn't objecting as Sora stepped into the shadows and found a stairwell. Darker than the others had been, he did pause before climbing it – but the worst they had found were beasts so far and the odd small group of Heartless that had tracked them there. So up they went.

'Didn't Kairi mention Irvine climbing this building? It is the tallest.' Roxas sudden reminder was what had been bothering Sora and he stopped, hand lingering on the doorway he had found at the top of the stairs. There was no floor above this, so... This was the roof. The roof where Irvine had stood to attempt to shoot down Sephiroth, to little effect. He opened the door and stepped through, ducking his head against the stormy wind and moving forward. He dropped the bag by the door as he explored. It was a large roof – and in the middle of it there was a weighted down box. There was some kind of electronic locking device on it – and of course, where there was a lock, he had a key.

Ultima glowed with light as it normally did when it was pointed at a lock, and the box opened half an inch. He didn't dismiss the Keyblade, too wary about what he would find in a box at the top of the tallest building, obviously hidden here for some purpose – but he didn't know what the purpose was. Stepping closer, he was wary of a trap, but curiosity overrode it as he used the tip of the Keyblade to flip it open.

Inside were four pieces of paper. Two sat square in the middle of the box, while the other two sat on the right, both held down by bottles. He didn't know what was in the bottles, but the pieces of paper looked awfully familiar. There was a space left in the left side as if there would have been two more pieces of paper. He crouched down and somehow wasn't surprised when on the top of the one in the middle, the word Ultima was written in elegant script. And beneath it – directions, written in a similar style to what he had seen on Sephiroth's gift to Kairi. And if that one was Ultima – he looked to the right nd somehow the word sent a chill down his spine, slithering as the word Meteor stared up at him. All three of the spells that had destroyed so much of this world had been written in this box.

'You could lock it back up. It's unlikely anyone could find it – or leave it here in the storm. Surely the rain will destroy it. Leave it alone, Sora,' Roxas urged, fighting against his own as well as Sora's strange urge to reach out and take them both, tuck Meteor into his pockets and read Ultima, read the words on the two small pages.

"Look – the rain doesn't even touch them. There's some kind of spell on them. Or – no, there's something more than that. I don't think it's magic – maybe the ink and paper is waterproof?" Curiosity urged him forward, just to touch it and he wanted to obey Roxas' urge to leave it alone, but somehow his fingers were moving the bottles, tucking them into his pockets. The wind almost took Ultima as he folded up meteor and placed it in with the bottled but hands fast from battle snatched one – and the wind began to take the other.

With a frustrated cry he leapt after it, neared the edge of the building – and another hand caught the paper, one with a longer reach than him. Another hand pulled him back and he took a step away from the edge to steady himself before looking up into crimson eyes. Nervously, he brushed a hand to the back of his neck, scratching there as if that could get rid of the nerves. "Uh... Hi Vincent."

Silently, Vincent handed over the piece of paper. "You should not have unlocked it."

He gave him a confused look, tilting his head. "Why did you give it back then?"

"Better you than someone else," the man replied coolly, and he frowned at the intense gaze Vincent was giving him but then shrugged it off. Sure, it made him squirm a bit inside, but he was holding one of the spells that had nearly destroyed this world – and the man in front of him.

"So, uh, how did – " Sora was cut off by a sudden beeping noise from the box. He whirled around, eyes wide, and had a sudden sense of dread brought on by Roxas screeching, 'I told you to leave it alone!'

"This area will self-destruct in one minute. Have a pleasant death." For a moment, Sora hoped that it had said day – but the voice coming out of it was a familiar smooth male voice and Sora reminded himself to go punch Sephiroth next time they stopped in Radiant Garden. After that, however, instinct took over.

Running side by side with Vincent for a few steps, he managed to snag his bag before jumping off the roof– or really, running off the roof. He was glad of the tilt of the building, just enough that it wasn't vertical, which didn't matter so much to him – but Vincent didn't have his gliding abilities. Using Wisdom Form had taught him how to run faster and he took Vincent with him not as he ran toward the street and the way he had come in – but toward a building just across the main street.

He glanced at the man by his side, who was watching him briefly and both their gazes flicked to the building before back to each other. He hoped he saw understanding there – because he had a few moments to tie the bag to his shoulder before his feet hit the building and he remembered The World That Never Was and the feeling of weightlessness, that he could do anything. He couldn't quite do that here – but with help from two Keyblades and indentations between each floor of the building, he could repeat some of the effects. Jumping, running for a few paces, jumping again, and somehow Vincent was just running, straight up as if gravity affected him even less than Sora.

They reached the top and Sora knew he would be feeling that later, doing things he was pretty sure he shouldn't be able to, even if it was mostly just jumping and flipping upward, grabbing a purchase wherever he could on the way up. His muscles ached and burned but he couldn't stop because now he was running to the edge again and jumping with Vincent, trusting that the man knew his own abilities and would keep up well enough.

He hit the next roof and went into a roll to keep his speed, coming up straight back into a run, heading at an angle to reach a lower roof instead of an even higher one. He swore he could hear something rumbling as he was in midair and he crashed into the next roof as it seemed to jump. Then he really had to run, sending on last desperate look toward the man in the red cloak before putting every last bit of speed on. Something hot was beneath them, like a billowing fire spell – a bomb, a lot of bombs, he didn't know which, all going off and suddenly he wasn't jumping roof to roof but jumping onto flying pieces of wreckage, onto falling buildings, onto anything as he kept a Potion in one hand and a Keyblade in the other – one to heal him in sudden desperate bouts of fire, the other to either give him leverage or defend him from flying pieces of red-hot metal.

Something hot and red hit from behind and he screamed even as he reached desperately for the Potion, half pouring it and half drinking it as his skin tried to burn away. But even that moment where he had fallen to what had once been the side of the building was too long. Everything under him was burning, melting and he leapt forward, only to see fire, everywhere. Desperately, he called Blizzaga a he tried to jump through it – but metal hit his legs and he fell through a wall of a building, into red and orange death.

He tried Reflect, or Blizzaga, or anything, but metal fell onto him as well as around him and he had the sudden knowledge he was about to die – when a hand pulled him up and dropped a Potion into his mouth – not that it mattered much in the heat, but it gave him a few extra seconds as Vincent growled, "Change! That Silver Form!"

He shook his head, gasping, "They aren't here!" but reached anyway, reached for power, any power and had a sinking feeling as he realized none of them could save him – nothing that he wanted. But something else leapt toward him eagerly, and he wanted to jerk back, but it was too hot, and he was burning – and darkness took him.

The one next to him was not His, but he was not enemy and there was a part of Sora that recognized debts, and the man did not looked horrified, simply resigned as fire came to eat them, was eating them – and Sora was silent, yellow eyes studying crimson before suddenly his black claws threw the red man over his back and leapt – metal, hot or not, ripped easily beneath him and he tore through the buildings, up other red hot ones.

It burned at him, and he wanted to kill it, but fire could not be killed. He wanted something to rend to tear, but the only way to beat this was something he could do as easily – he could run, ignoring the heat, ignoring the metal that came toward them. He was a blur of motion, and his feet left the ground for longer moments than should be possible – it was nearly flying, what he did, but it was fast, and if that was the way to destroy his enemy, then he would be fast.

Shots echoed overhead – there was a weapon near him and he ran faster, it taking moments to realize the one he owed debt to was to blame, protecting him. Perhaps he was something that belonged to him after all. Only his others protected him so well – only they were allowed to. Something cool and green poured into him when he did once fall, his speed still taking them forward, and onto ground that felt strange beneath his claws, but not red, not hurting him and he turned and fixed yellow eyes on the red man, the urge to find something to tear and rend too great to ignore now.

Was he His? It was what made him hesitate, claws ready, but instincts confused. A debt was owed and repaid – if he wasn't His, then he would now be destroyed. Crimsons eyes stared at him, and when the voice spoke, it was not His, not something that tugged at a part of him sheltered in light beneath the dark. If it was not His, it was something to be destroyed – especially when it had a faint hint of darkness beneath its skin.

He leapt, and the man's eyes widened, a gun came forward, and he dodged midair, curling around the man's form before he could blink, claws wanting to rip and tear. He did, ripping into skin amidst struggles he ignored, red liquid pouring out where he expected darkness. Shots fired and he dodged with that eerie silence before tackling the man again, determined to destroy. Suddenly another shot fired and he was jerked off, something scratching him, pushing him and his head snapped to the side to see a new enemy, a longer gun in his hand. Enemies were everywhere and he could have purred at the battle that was to follow – until something His screamed, "Sora! Stop!"

That made him pause for a moment, but the enemy was there still and he leapt again – until something gold hit him. He stopped, keening at the sudden betrayal and staring at the red girl that was His – until she hesitated, and pulled him close.

Safe – this was safety, being with his and Sora relaxed, darkness seeping away to let the light part unfurl. The first thing when his mind was full of truth and not just what was his and what was not, was Roxas yelling, 'We could have killed them!'

He shuddered against Kairi, closing blue eyes and burying his head in her neck. She was hugging him close and he returned the favor, murmuring, "I hate Anti Form."

"Me too. Glad we were already looking for you. Doesn't... Vincent is a friend, you've never... I mean, you attacked the soldiers on Atlantis but never a friend before." He could hear the quiet worry in her voice and hugged her tighter.

"He smelled a bit like darkness to me. And the only one I allow that on like that is... Well, us. Riku and me, not you. You never smell like darkness." He didn't really want to let go, because letting go meant facing Vincent and Irvine and he really didn't want to do that.

Except he had to because Kairi was pushing him away as she said, "I'm glad," and he forced his eyes toward the pair of men, Irvine still looking as if he was ready to shoot – and Vincent despite recently healed wounds and cloak and most of what clothes hadn't been burned ripped with claw marks, looked no different, just the tiniest bit quizzical. If anything, he looked a little more open than he usually did.

Irvine eyed him with a wary look as he asked, "What the fuck was that, kid?"

"Everyone has darkness. Mine just gets to come out and play a bit differently," he said, trying for weak humor to match the shaky smile on his face. To his surprise, Irvine actually smiled back, eyes sliding back over to Vincent in some strange shared joke.

"Everyone has problems," Vincent said smoothly, and just like that they were moving away and Sora glanced back, eyes widening to see the hazy sky, smoke and fire filling the space where North River and the surrounding streets had been. He could feel the memory of burns - and a few remaining ones, most light, as well as a mark on his side where a bullet would have been. It still throbbed, a distant reminder of Anti Form, but he didn't heal it, not yet.

Molten gold and yellow and orange lived where the streets had been, the rain and wind not even fazing them. The ground seemed to boil as he watched and he remembered falling, burning up under red hot metal, sure that he was about to die. Somehow, the bag around his shoulders had survived, if singed. Maybe it, like so much else had been fire proof enough to survive. His clothes had handled it well enough, but they had some damage themselves – he would need to do a lot of cleaning and sewing before wearing them again.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he was surprised to look to his side and see Vincent, rain having flattened his hair down until it stuck to his back and chest. "Come. It's done now."

Reluctantly, he turned away, but before Vincent could walk away he said, "Thank you, for saving me."

There was a glitter that could have been amusement in his eyes. "Neither of us was going to get out alive by ourselves. Self preservation prompted me to help you."

"Right," Sora said, unsure if the man simply didn't know how to say "You're Welcome" or if he felt a need to explain away heroic actions. "Still... the reason doesn't matter. You still saved my life."

Vincent blinked, then inclined his head and walked away. Sora was betting on the side of no longer remembering how to say "You're Welcome".

Half of the bottles he had turned out to be antidotes that would work, another quarter various other kinds of antidotes to other sicknesses. Rinoa thanked him profusely, giving him both a hug and a kiss on both cheeks that made him blush. Since then she had been treating him much as she did the children, thankfully with a bit more maturity. He had been anxious to give the antidote to Riku – but he didn't wake up immediately and it had been Rinoa to take him to the side.

"The antidote means he's no longer having to fight the poison, but he still will need rest to recover. All three of you heal wonderfully. He'll wake up before you know it, okay?" She smiled a sad, wistful smile that he didn't understand but he nodded, grateful for the explanation. He didn't expect her to clear her throat and continue, "Irvine... told me some of what happened. Not all, because Vincent's not the most talkative person in the world. Do you... need any help?"

His mind flashed back to that argument he had heard that first time out of his room in this house. He had to wonder if Irvine was still so adamant about them staying now. He shook his head, hearing Roxas sigh in his mind. "I'm fine. It doesn't happen often. I needed more power and Anti Form was the only part of me that had it."

"And for that power comes a price?" Her smile was still sad, but resigned and understanding. "As long as you're both alive, the price is worth it."

He resisted the urge to point out that he had actually tried to kill Vincent, Roxas soothing it away this time. 'Don't – she knows, Irvine must have told her. Don't think about it – it wasn't your fault. He would be dead if you hadn't used Anti Form, accidentally or not. Everyone's alive – be happy.'

He wanted to – but he couldn't yet. So he smiled at Rinoa and head downstairs, leaning against a doorway to watch the children. It was easier to remember to be happy in the face of such unrestrained joy. Quistis was looking sulky as she tried to order the four boys and Marlene about and the only one who even tried to pay attention was Kiros, but even he was quickly pulled into a scuffle as Zell and Denzel's friendly scuffle moved to include him and Marlene giggled with Zidane as the child waved his hands in some extravagant story.

It was Zidane who saw him first and the bright eyes widened before narrowing with a certain gleam that Sora was all too familiar with. "The enemy troops! Get him!"

In an instant, five children dove for him. He could have easily side stepped, but instead stepped inside to meet their dive, pretending to stagger. "Oh no! I'm under attack!"

With a theatrical groan he let himself fall, closing his eyes. "I've been killed! Tell the general I tried! There were just too many!"

"Your message will never make it back! We will carve you up and eat you up!" Zidane's screech was met with contemplative silence and Sora let one eye open to a slit, watching as Marlene's face screwed up with disgust and Kiros stared at Zidane with a raised eyebrow.

"We're not cannibals! We treat the enemy dead with honor!" Quistis announced, as regal as a queen and Sora grinned and lay there to let them argue about the proper way to deal with an enemy corpse. Marlene was nestled by his side, Zell on his other with Denzel slipping off his chest and he opened his eyes to gaze at them as they watched their friends argue. He remembered only vaguely being so small and innocent – everything had been a game then.

He missed it, in a way. But he had found new games as he grew older. And as long as Kairi and Riku were alongside him, he would be happy.

Curled up on Riku's bed, it was easy to feel when a hand reached up and brushed his hair. This time, it wasn't Kairi's, or Rinoa's, or even Vincent who had done it once when he had been nearly fully asleep. They all thought he was asleep when they did it. This hand though, was familiar in ways none of the adults were and he blinked sleepy blue eyes up into aquamarine ones, a smile quirking on lips that had been too unmoving for too long.

He must have stared too long because Riku's brow furrowed in concern, and his mouth opened to ask a question. Sora didn't give him a chance, stretching out and pulling his head up even with Riku's in a second. His lips met Riku's clumsily for a moment as they both shifted, scrambling for better positions until they lay facing each other and Sora had an arm around Riku's back and up into his hair, pulling him closer.

After a long kiss that left him wanting more, Riku was able to get in his question. "How long?"

"Few days. Nearly a week," he muttered and moved in for another kiss which Riku seemed pleased enough to get.

They broke apart when Riku pushed him back and looked thoughtful. "I think I'm hungry."

"You have been sleeping most of the time," Sora said agreeably and was moving – but a hand snaked out and dragged him back. He was surprised to see the mischief in Riku's eyes. He was still weak, he had to be recovering – but he didn't protest when Riku drew him back down.

"Food can wait. It wasn't the hunger I was talking about," Riku purred and Sora laughed, kissed him deeply – and then ducked out of his embrace much to Riku's obvious disappointment by the groan he gave.

Sora was already getting new clothes out for Riku. "If I can wait, so can you. C'mon, lean on me and I'll help you into the shower. For cleaning."

He had to look away from Riku's face as the boy smirked at him, because he was so happy to see him awake that every change of expression made Sora want to kiss him. So long his expression had remained unchanged or in fever dreams, screwed up in fear that Sora trembled in relief. Riku was better – he was going to be fine.

That was all he needed to be happy.

End Chapter 23.

Apologies for the long wait everyone, however RL and my muse conspired against me.