Chapter 3!

Gakupo had never run so fast in his life. He took the stairs 4 and 5 at a time, his heartbeat racing in his ears. Another scream split the air and Gakupo doubled his speed. Don't worry, Len, I'm coming...! The lobby was in sight, and with an irate growl, Gakupo jumped the rail, falling through the hole created by the spiral staircase that started at the third floor. People were crowding around, mechanics, security guards, and random by-standers hustling to see what had happened. Gakupo shoved past them, to where the elevator doors were being seen to by what the samurai could only assume was the head mechanic.

"Move." He snarled, grabbing the back of the man's shirt and pushing him aside. The doors were jammed, repeatedly trying to open but never moving. Gakupo thrust his hands through the gap, years of training with swords paying off as he wrenched the doors apart, his heart failing at the sight that greeted him. Just a foot from reaching the ground, the elevator was suspended, Len lying broken and bleeding on the floor. "Len," he rasped, lunging forward. "Len, Len, Len..." There was blood-so much blood. It pooled around the teen's body, making him nearly unrecognizable. His hair was matted with the dark, sticky liquid, his clothes slowly absorbing it and dying everything red. Gakupo heard the sirens, but he ignored them, crawling in to scoop the small boy into his arms. Len's tiny frame was limp in his gentle embrace, and his arms hung at an awkward angle.

"Oh, Len..." He exhaled quietly, brushing his blood-soaked bangs from his unnaturally pale face.

"Sir, we need to get him to the hospital. We need to get him to the hospital now."

"Don't touch him," Gakupo growled, "Don't fucking touch him."

"G-Gakupo, you have to let them take him to the hospital. You have to let him go." Kaito was beside him, trying to pull him away from Len's broken body.

"No," he shook his head. "No, I have to stay with him."

"You have to let him go," Kaito repeated sympathetically. His eyes were wide, as if he were in shock, their hues edged with regret. "Gakupo, you have to let him go so they can help him."

It took Kaito and 2 other paramedics (and half of the building's security staff) to restrain Gakupo as they pried Len out of his arms. They carried him on a stretcher to the ambulance, which was parked nearly on the sidewalk just outside the building's doors.

"I have to stay with him," Gakupo shrugged Kaito's hands away, but the bluenette only shook his head again.

"No, Gakupo. You have to let them do their jobs."

For a long moment, Gakupo glared down into Kaito's dark blue eyes, his own violet hues seething with fury. As Kaito gazed calmly back—as if he were the older man in this situation, and not Gakupo—reality began to sink in. Slowly, Gakupo stepped back, shrugging away the hands of the security staff, who stepped back cautiously, if not reluctantly.

"One of us should call Rin." The samurai murmured finally, lifting his eyes again to stare solemnly out the front doors, where the ambulance had disappeared mere minutes ago.

"I'll take care of it." Kaito followed the other man's gaze for a short moment, before shuddering, as if he too was still seeing the image of Len's body lying broken on the elevator floor.

"...okay." Gakupo felt a tremble go down his own spine, looking down and feeling his heart constrict as he caught sight of the dark crimson liquid that stained the front of his clothes. Blood... He clenched his fists, closing his eyes tight as he tried to block the echo of Len's chilling scream from his ears-the sight of his small form lying in a pool of his own blood. Len's blood... "I'm going to the hospital."

Kaito's eyes widened sightly as his gaze shot up to watch Gakupo striding towards the entrance. "Wh-What? Like that? Gakupo, they're going to think you've murdered someone...!"

"And?" The samurai turned an icy look over his shoulder, trying not to wince visibly as the tips of his long violet hair, sticky and wet from trailing the puddle in the elevator, slid back into its original place down his back.

"You need to at least go ch-Oh! Rin, Rin I'm so sorry..."

Gakupo ground his teeth together. Don't apologize like he's dead... With a slight shake of his head, he turned sharply and continued out the door, his keys already jingling in his hand. Don't worry Len... I'm coming.

Darkness. Sirens. Voices. Screams. Not theirs-no, that voice was his... wasn't it? Or was it someone else's?

I don't know... The sensation of the ground lurching away beneath him sent a stab of panic and pain through Len's chest. No... The darkness around him was never-ending, and the fear within him was growing to match it. I don't... I don't know anymore...

Somewhere, something was beeping. Every tiny blip was like an icepick piercing through his head, forcing a whimper from Len's dry throat as he squeezed his eyes more tightly shut. Make it stop... It persisted, shattering his skull from the inside out. There was a light pinch in his arm, and everything washed away—the pain, the beeping, his loud breathing—dissolving everything and cloaking him in the very same blanket of darkness and the feeling of falling up into the sky. Only in the nightmares that haunted his unconscious mind it was not the sky that greeted him at the end of his journey. Only a sickening crunch and searing pain.

The beep was back, more quiet than before. Instead of an icepick, it was a dull throb that wasn't any better or worse than his previous headache. The beep wasn't alone. There was something else. Something quiet, and gentle. What is it...? It was muted and muffled, as if underwater and far away. Why does it hurt so badly...? He wanted to open his eyes—so maybe he could at least see the source of the unnerving beep slowly ticking away at his sanity—but it was hard. Harder than it should have been.

"I think he's regaining consciousness."

But I don't want to wake up... I'm so tired...

"He is?"

"I think so."

"I'll go get the others!"

"Shh..."

"Right, sorry."

Something clicked, once, then again. A door...? Len didn't want to open his eyes to check. I just want to sleep...

Unfortunately, he couldn't sink back into the darkness. His mind was suddenly aware—especially of the pain searing through his body.

"Mr. Kagamine? Can you hear me?"

I don't want to... Len opened his mouth, but his throat failed him. He swallowed hard, trying to find his voice. "Yes..." He finally rasped.

"Can you open your eyes dear?"

I don't... He took a deep breath, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. I don't want to...

"Mr. Kagamine, don't you want to see your friends? They're coming in to see you right now."

Friends...? He searched for a moment, in the darkness he had been lost in as he slept, for the friends the woman was speaking of.

But I don't... He took another deep breath, gathering his strength, reaching for the light that was surely trying to pierce the protection of his eyelids. Slowly, as the door clicked again, Len's eyes fluttered open. The light was blinding at first, sending a fresh stab of pain through the boy's head. The bed he was laying in, he realized, was tilted, forcing him to sit up at least a little bit. As he blinked the clinging fog away from his eyes, he was greeted by the still-fuzzy sight of people—a room full of quiet, though smiling, people. One of them, standing the closest to him, had short blonde hair, and tears streaming steadily down her face.

"Oh, Len..." She sobbed softly, stepping closer and gently wrapping her arms around the tops of his shoulders. "I'm so glad you're okay... I'm so glad..."

Len felt himself tense in her caring embrace, a flash of panic freezing him as he tried to put a name to the face tucked against his shoulder. Another girl stepped forward—this one with long green hair, tied in two ponytails on the sides of her head.

"Len-kun?" She cooed softly, her eyes filling with slight confusion. It was obvious to see she had been crying as well, though she had put on a "strong" face. "Are you alright?"

"I don't..." The boy couldn't find the words he was looking for, his eyes flicking from face to face, distress swelling in his chest. A girl with short brown hair—a boy with blue hair and matching eyes—another girl with long pink hair... He shook his head, the steady throb in his head intensifying. "I'm sorry," he mumbled quietly, averting his gaze. The expectations in their eyes were slowly filling him with dread, making it hard for him to find his voice again. "I'm sorry... I don't..." Again, hopelessly, he shook his head. "I don't know you..."

Ohhhh myyyyy goooodneeesssss I am sooooo sorry this took so long Dx Thank-you so much for reading and reviewing you beautiful and/or handsome people3 I will definitely be updating this one more frequently now, I promise! Let me know what you thought of this chapter^^