Chapter 4:

Blind

A/N: So that last chapter may have been a little bit confusing and out of nowhere but everything will start to make more sense as we go. This time I wanted focus on Zack and Aerith a little bit more since they seem to have been neglected in terms of character development.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any characters used therein. The character Will does belong to me however.

Warnings: Blood, Gore, Violence (duh), Sexual Situations, Sex (Possibly), Offensive Language, Nudity, Torture, Objectionable Political Views, Rape (Implied) and Dark Humor.

Pairings: Zack Fair x Aerith Gainsborough. That's it for now.

Summary: The group continues to make their way to the compound and encounters some new company. Sora and Aerith are both wounded terribly.

Special Thanks: CrystalMeltdown for your review of the last chapter and Jade-Eyed-Jinchuriki for your support.

The air clung heavily to Zack's skin. He stared out across the ridges and forest in a northerly direction searching for any obstacles. It was noon and the sun beared down on him unforgivingly. It was hot but he'd been in much hotter climates before so he wasn't bothered by it very much. His companions and particularly Riku and Aerith were not nearly as unaffected by the heat. They trudged along staggering. Every so often one of them would collapse in a heap requiring the others to swiftly render aid. The first time had nearly seen Aerith fall down a sheer cliff at lest two hundred feet tall. That was eight days ago.

Zack signaled for the others to follow, he'd taken to scouting by himself since Sora was in no condition to do so. Since his gallant rescue of Riku he'd become severely ill; regularly vomiting and gagging on excessive mucous. The last three nights had seen him bolt upright from sleep shrieking at the top of his lungs while a cold sweat drenched his clothing. He would regularly hallucinate and fall into a fit of rambling that could last for hours. Riku was his constant companion and though Sora was bad off Riku was worse.

The silverette had become deathly ill the second day after the nuclear bomb was detonated. It appeared to be a cold buy as Aerith said his immune system wasn't fighting back properly and he was quickly becoming worse. He had a high fever all the time, his muscles ached and his head throbbed constantly. His vision blurred and he could barley coordinate himself so going over the rough terrain was a slow and very dangerous process. The loss of Riku's pack had also seen the loss of his medication. Aerith had told Zack that the boy was on medications though not which ones. Zack was reminded of someone he knew a lifetime ago who seemed perfectly healthy but was in fact very ill.

The radiation affected Aerith the most. She began losing her hair the third day and her vision on the fifth. She kept close to the others fearing falling or worse. Though she could no longer personally render aid she was more than capable of talking them through how to stitch the nastier gashes and clean wounds. Riku had been the first to receive a serious wound, a tumbling rock left his right hand fairly mangled. All his fingers had to be set and multiple and it was then wrapped to the best of their ability. It had swollen up to about the twice it's normal size and turned a shade of purple reminiscent of grapes. Luckily the swelling was going down and he was able to gingerly use his hand more often.

Zack himself felt the radiation start to have an affect on him the fifth day. He'd gotten horribly sick. In truth the entire group had stayed in their makeshift camp that day praying that nothing discovered them. A small band of minotaurs had and that led to a fight since there was no way they could have outrun them. Zack had gotten a deep cut on his right thigh from a minotaur sword, it wasn't infected and was healing quite well at this point but the encounter left Zack thinking about how odd it all was. Not that they were becoming sick, that was to be expected. Not even the fact that they had run out of food and water supplies, they had in fact only had a four day supply of each and with Riku losing his pack, the equation was changed drastically. What bothered Zack was how Will seemed to be entirely unaffected by any of it.

Will seemed impervious to the radiation, never vomiting or complaining of dizziness. Anytime he would fall or get hit by something he was back to his feet as if nothing had happened. Then there was the fact that even though they were supposed to take shifts through the night it was Will who stayed up all night guarding them. There was no way he rested during the day, they were on the move. Too many coincidences came together in Zack's mind and he became suspicious of his friend. He was the only one who wasn't nursing some kind of injury or illness and to top it off he would disappear and the reappear a while later with a couple of rabbits, squirrels, birds of all sorts and some water. No one ever heard him shoot at anything and he never said that there were any threats in the area when he did this.

"Careful, the ground's loose here." Zack heaved. Faintly the others nodded. Slowly they started down the hillside. They clung to branches, rocks and stumps to avoid slipping. It was a dangerously slow pace and the screeches of harpies and minotaur roars could be heard not far off. Zack felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, it wasn't that he was afraid himself, it was more of the fact that there was absolutely no way they could handle another fight in the state they were in. It was as if the creatures could detect when they were at their weakest and chose that moment to strike.

"You want me to scout?" Will asked, voice hoarse with dehydration. His beard had thickened in the past week and he was thinner, they all were to some extent, but Will looked as though he'd lost a good twenty pounds. Zack stopped to catch his breath for a few moments, intentionally ignoring the question. Will was already by his side lingering a couple feet away. The rest of the group clambered slowly toward them, inching along like snails.

"No, I don't." Zack spat angrily.

"Fine."

"Wha'd ya mean 'fine'?"

"No reason to argue. You'll just waste you strength."

"Yeah and you got a whole lot to spare."

"Yeah, I do."

"And you ain't affected by the radiation."

"Don't seem to be."

"How would you explain that?"

"Coincidence."

"There's no such thing. You're up to something."

"You're delusional."

"You been takin' off and gettin' favors from the enemy to save your bitch-ass?!" Zack shouted even though he hadn't intended to. The others heard and stopped too stunned to continue downhill and not wanting to get in the middle of a fight between the two males. Will tried to shrug off Zack's accusation, but a brazen right hook had Will ducking and delivering a shot to Zack's ribs. Doubling over the exhausted and sick Ranger doubled over and were it not for Will quickly grabbing his pack he would have rolled downhill.

"I've been takin' off to help your sorry ass. You, and them are way too sick and tired to try and go huntin' or fetchin' water. You know that. Time to get your shit together Ranger and start gettin' with the program. We ain't in Iraq or Afghanistan. We're in the Apocalypse and we don't have time to stand around bitchin' about where or how we get the shit we need, either we live or we die."

"We're already dead. If the fuckin' zombies, minos and harpies don't get us then the radiation and diseases will. Only a matter of time."

"Maybe. But I know one thing, giving up right when shit gets tough is pathetic. If you ain't in it for the long haul then there was no reason for you to come in the first place. Life's as much about how you live as how you die." Will shot back furiously. Shoving past Zack, Will took the point position for the group. Zack lingered for a moment realizing that he had let his insecurities escalate and cloud his judgement. He had to remember that Will was not Sephiroth, he wouldn't turn on his friend for personal gain.

Aerith came to Zack's side having been guided down by Riku and Sora. They stood in a tense silence for a short time before the began their way downhill. Zack hand in hand with his fiancé made his way down to where Will sat on a stump looking down a the small creek that cut it's way through the bottom of the small valley they were heading to. Riku and Sora held each other upright as they worked their way down, it had been apparent to everyone that Will wasn't weakening like they were and in fact he was becoming stronger and faster and the swiftness that he'd made it to the bottom with only added another confirmation to that.

'I don't know what's going on, but I don't like it.' Sora thought darkly to himself. The pair collapsed at the bottom about ten feet from where Will sat. Aerith and Zack managed to sit down without incident but it was painfully clear that none of them could go any further in the condition they were in. Zack removed his boots and found his feet were covered in blisters that had ruptured some time ago, staining his socks with a mixture of yellow-clear fluid and blood. Aerith itched at small rashes that were on her arms and face. Riku and Sora both had small cuts and scrapes all over from plants, rocks and fighting. Fortunately, their injuries were not compounding out of control thus far, but it would only be a matter of time.

'I gotta do something.' Will thought grimly. He wasn't looking at his friends, rather he stared at the creek, thinking very hard. He knew who he had to see in order to save everyone but it would have to wait until they were all asleep or there could be very dire consequence. Zack glared at Will's back and silently wished that the blonde would fall in the creek and drown. It may have been the radiation driving Zack's thoughts or it may have been some kind of jealousy, either way in those tense moments Zack decided he would kill Will when the opportunity presented itself.

Night had come slowly for Will. He had managed to get everyone a little further. They crossed the creek and went into the cover of the forest. It had fallen to Will to build a makeshift lean-to for the group to rest in as well as cleaning and cooking the three rabbits he killed. The others had fallen into an uneasy rest and Will knew from the prickling feeling that ran up and down his spine that they would soon make a turn for the worse. Knowing there was no time to waste Will made a circle of stones around their small camp and hung up some scrawled symbols he kept in his pack. A few prayers and the sprinkling of a liquid on each person's forehead and Will was done and raced into the forest.

"Why do you run knight of Fenrir?" A voice sounded behind Will as he leapt over a fallen log. Whipping around he couldn't see anyone but he knew that things were never as they seemed. Will placed his hands together.

"Reveal yourself." Will said. At first it did nothing. Concentrating harder and repeating himself he began to feel an energy near him. Slowly, bit by bit, a tall man in shining armor with a red cape appeared. He wore a helm that was conical and had metal eagle's jutting from either side. He had a long black beard and one bright blue eye. He towered over Will at least 6 feet 8 inches tall. The longsword at his hip remained sheathed but the figure's right hand gravitated toward its hilt menacingly.

"Lord Odin. You are not who I was expecting." Will bowed his head in respect. Odin let out a hearty laugh and patted Will on the shoulder. He directed the blond to walk with him.

"No. I am not. However, I can be of assistance." Odin began.

"I would be in your debt, wise one."

"There's no need for that nonsense. One of my knights is in danger. I cannot simply watch him waste away."

"I appreciate your concern, my lord." An owl swooped down and landed on Odin's shoulder. The bearded man gently petted its beak with a finger and listened to it hoot quietly. Will remained quiet knowing that being disrespectful to a guardian could be very dangerous. A pair of wolves, large and silver flanked Will and Odin. A pair of ravens came from the sky and landed. One on Odin's left shoulder and one on Will's right.

"You know I cannot intervene directly." Will nodded quietly at that.

"I can teach you to make a remedy that can cure the ails of your friends. It will take time and effort on your part. Have you the ingredients the message told you of?"

"Yes. What is the final ingredient?"

"You must claim the eye of a cyclope. Once that is done you must bleed."

"Bleed?"

"Your heart-blood is the key to the mixture. It will be painful and could drive you mad...well madder than you are presently." Odin instructed. Will halted, deep in thought. Dare he risk his life for his friends? Would he survive, and if he did would he go insane? Many questions flashed through the blond's mind. He was brought to the event not long ago where Sora disregarded his own safety for Riku. The matter was settled.

"What are we waiting for?" Will spoke sternly. Odin smiled broadly.

"You. That reminds me...you cannot kill a cyclope with a gun. Take my sword." Odin removed the sheathed sword from his belt. Holding the weapon in his hand Will felt the ancient power course through the metal. It was chiefly a black metal with silver inlays. There were different runic inscriptions on the blade and cross guard. The pommel was circular and had a peculiar white gem inlaid, like an eye. It was a double edged sword with a blade of roughly three feet. It was much too light to be made of steel.

"What is this made of?" Will asked in wonderment.

"A metal know as adamant or mythril to some. Its true name would take hours to pronounce in the english tongue. The sword's name is Bak'frelm, the Kingmaker." Odin looked sternly at the blonde before him.

"Then the prophecy is all true?" Will bowed his head.

"It is. You will be king. Those other two shall be among your vassals. Look to them for guidance. They will help you rule well."

"I don't want any of this."

"It is beyond your choice."

"And what of freewill?"

"You've the will to either succeed where hundreds of others have failed or become just like them. This time though there will be no avoiding the end. We will either be victorious or defeated. The final battle is at hand and ere the end of your days you will choose to side with Ioth or with Mother. The choice is yours. That is your freewill." Odin shot angrily. Will nodded meekly. Odin glared down.

"A warrior is unafraid of their fate. Be strong. Now come." Odin barked. Will followed along. They looped back to the camp where Will discarded his rifle and pack. Then began the long stalk to locate a cyclope. It wasn't long before they found a set of tracks, massive indentations in the soft soil, at least as long a Will was tall. Creeping low to the ground the pair made their way ever closer to the beast, careful not to alert it, cyclopes had very keen hearing.

"Strike swift and with might. Wrench the eye from its skull and it will perish swiftly." Odin instructed when they came to a clearing where a giant humanoid creature plodded along. It was twenty feet high and powerfully built. It carried a tree that it had ripped from the earth as a club. Its one eye, a milky golden color, scanned for anything it might take pleasure in crushing. It smelled horribly, much like rotting animal carcasses. It looked away for a brief moment.

Like a typhoon Will struck. He covered the distance before the cyclope could turn to react. Bak'frelm cut deep into the thick cyclope flesh as Will slashed at its legs. Dropping to one knee the creature nearly crushed the blond warrior. Thrusting upward into the cyclope's genitalis caused the creature to rear up and bellow painfully. Darting away quickly Will narrowly avoided being stepped on. A flurry of swings with the club left a large section of the forest splintered and broken.

Panting and drenched in foul cyclope blood Will rushed in again. This time though the cyclope was swifter and snatched Will up like a doll. Squeezing with fury the creature attempted to crush the stocky blond. Using all of his strength Will was able to resist and find an opening. Furious he drove the sword deep into the cyclope's hand. Twisting to increase its agony, Will worked his way free. Slashing and climbing up the cyclope's arm Will came to its shoulder where he hacked deeply into its neck. With a single mighty swing Will severed the creature's spine and much of its flesh.

Gurgling the cyclope bellowed one final time and tried to keep its head on. The remaining flesh tore and the head tumbled to the ground. Its body with Will still atop it crumpled to the ground a moment later, twitching violently. The fall left Will breathless and he looked down at his broken ankle. Grunting Will set the bone with his bare hands and forced the limb to heal even though he was dangerously low on energy. Odin stood above laughing.

"Did that amuse you?" Will spat dropping any semblance of formality.

"Yes. I've never seen anyone kill a cyclope like that. Now get the eye before the harpies do." Rising Will limped his way over to the cyclope head and using both arms, dug deep into the socket on either side of the eye and began pulling. Using his legs to push of the cyclope's face Will finally coaxed the eye loose and promptly tumbled onto his back. The eye was massive about the size of a beach ball.

"Now we can begin." Odin spoke and conjured a large black pot and a fire. Will brought the eye over and they began making the remedy.

Back at camp arrows whizzed through the air and knocked the symbols from the trees. In only a few seconds all were on the ground an useless. The ground bubbled and moved as if a giant worm was beneath it. The stone circle was dispersed. Creeping in quietly a troop of minotaurs and zombies made their way into the camp along with the cloaked figure. The air hung with tension and the group did not stir as they were taken one by one. Aerith first, then Zack and Riku. Only Sora remained. By chance one of the minotaurs stumbled on a small stone and fell dropping its axe. It sounded, earsplitting, on the armor of one of its comrades. This broke the sleep of the three males and immediately there was a fight.

Dashing away the mino that had Aerith ran along with two companions. Zack and Riku worked their way free from the grips of their captors and Sora snatched a long dagger from a pack by him and drove it into one of the minotaurs faces. Screeches, bellows and shouts echoed in the forest. After a short time the last of the zombies fell. The three males went over themselves examining the slashes, bites and clawed wounds that covered their bodies.

"Aeirth!" Zack shouted in realization. Not bothering to tend to their wounds the three gave chase. It was difficult with their compounding health issues and it was made worse by the night. They stumbled and fell often adding more bruises to their collections. It was only a short run before Zack could hear Aerith's pleads. She was shrieking as loud as she could and his heart filled with rage.

"Let her go!" Zack roared tackling one of the minotaurs. Sora and Riku had run out of ammunition and resorted using knives, the dagger and rocks to battle the creatures. It was a whirlwind of carnage. Blood, flesh and bone covered the trees, grass and rocks. Amid the confusion Riku could hear Aerith sob quietly and rushed to her side. A piercing scream emitted deep from his throat as an arrow tore through his back. Crawling Riku made it to Aerith's side and shushed her. Sora for his part was left to contend with four minotaurs wielding axes by himself. Zack was fighting another six alone. Sora's four rushed at him and he ducked down to avoid a broad swing. Nimbly he moved in an stabbed the first mino in the stomach earning him a backhand. Dizzily Sora rose to his feet and rolled in time to miss catching a blade to the head.

'What do I do?' Sora thought horrified. Instinctively he ran in between the four who blindly struck at him. He made sure to get close to them. The minotaurs were so fixated on Sora they didn't think twice about where they were swinging their axes and two were felled by their comrades. The remaining two stayed far enough back for Sora to not have to worry about their axes but they would rush at a moments notice. Quickly Sora grabbed a rock and threw it at the one on his left, striking it in the head. He rushed it and hamstrung it, and ducked away as the mino to the right swung, it took the wounded mino's head off. Sora came up clutching the dagger.

"Come on!" He challenged. The mino rushed and the two fought viciously neither backing down, each going for any opening that came. Unfortunately, Sora caught the butt of the axe in his left eye. Half his vision went black instantly and the remainder was stained crimson with blood. It seemed as though the end was near when a gunshot ended the fray. Zack stood next to Riku and Aerith clutching a pistol, it was his fiance's.

"You ok Sora?' Zack panted. They were bloodied and hurting but still they lived. Riku groaned quietly, trying to pull the arrow free from his back. Zack had to grab his hands to stop him. Sora walked shakily over to the rest of the group hand to his eye.

"Not really. I can't see outta my eye." Sora moaned. Zack looked to the brunette and had Sora remove his hand. The socket was chipped that much Zack could see plainly, his left cheek was broken and his eye was popped, oozing the fluids down his cheek. Zack shook his head.

"Your eye's gone. Grab a cloth or something and cover it. And help Riku." Zack tossed Sora a scrap of clothing. It was only now that Sora noticed that Aerith was nude and heavily bruised. She had fallen quiet and Zack wrapped her in what few garments he could scrounge together. He picked her up in his arms and started toward camp. Sora helped Riku to his feet and supported him as they made the slow journey back to camp in even worse condition. Riku coughed along the way, sending blood, phlegm and a milky white pus haphazardly through the air. Some landed on Sora's cheek but he paid no attention to it. They arrived finally with the sun just about to break over the mountains.

"Where is Will?!" Zack growled like a lion. He gently caressed Aerith's hair. Shaking Sora laid Riku down on his stomach, the arrow would have to come out sooner rather than later. Summoning his knowledge Sora broke the arrow and pushed it the rest of the way through his body. Riku whimpered, too pained to even scream. Blood poured out of the wound and Sora did his best to seal it with his little remaining energy, he wrapped it hoping it was all enough. The group fell into an exhausted silence. Riku and Aerith passed out quickly.

"He should have been here." Zack grumbled.

"Yeah."

"This is all his fault."

"We don't know that. Maybe he was ambushed too. Maybe they took him first."

"No. He left."

"C'mon you don't really believe that?"

"Yes I do. Look at Aerith. I can never forgive him for this."

"Look, he may have had a reason. It'd have to be a fuckin' good one, but maybe he has one."

"Enough of the maybe bullshit. Next time I see him. I'm shooting his ass."

Away from the camp Will laid his hands on the sword Odin gave him. The cauldron bubbled beneath. Sighing he recited the words Odin told him to and the sword glowed a gently green color. The next part was the most frightening. Will drove the blade into his chest striking his heart and watched as the blood dripped into the liquid. It turned a strange clear-blue color and emitted a red smoke for a few long seconds. Withdrawing the blade Will felt his chest knit together as if nothing had happened. Odin smiled and ladled the boiling liquid into five equal size, pear shape bottles and put corks in them.

"That wasn't so hard now was it?" Odin smirked.

"You're not the one that stabbed themself in the chest." Will spat angrily. It had been a painful experience and he did not wish to repeat it anytime soon. Odin handed him the bottles.

"Off you go." Odin shoved Will. Looking back there was nothing behind him. Will wasn't sure if the whole thing was just a hallucination, the bottles in his arms indicated differently. Tired beyond reason Will sluggishly made his way back to the camp. Navigating the rough terrain carefully and slowly, not wanting to accidently drop any of the bottles. It was midday already and it was terribly hot, sweat drenched the blond's t-shirt.

'This better work or I'm in serious trouble.' Will thought in amusement. He was certain that once his friends drank the liquid and were alleviated of their woes they would forgive his secrecy and understand that he was committed to their protection. A strong chill ran up Will's spine at that thought. It was like he was being held against a hot stove and the burning grew with each step he made to the camp. A dreadful feeling of foreboding hung over the stocky blond as he reached the camp.

"Hey guys..." Will trailed off noticing they were much more injured than when he left. He also noticed the missing stone circle and destroyed charms on the ground. Walking forward he laid a hand on Riku's head, he was the closest and felt for a fever. His skin was hot and Will guessed his temperature was about 105 degrees. He quickly shuffled through the bottles finding the one that was marked with Riku's name. Before he could do anything else a gunshot sounded and Will felt to the ground clutching his right shoulder. The rest of the group roused immediately. The bottles clattered to the ground with soft gong like sounds. Riku's landed in his lap.

"The fuck have you been?!" Zack roared rising to his feet. He was sweaty and pale and the wounds on his arms oozed pus indicating infection. He shakily clutched his pistol in both hands trying to get a better shot, Aerith kept grabbing at him distracting him. Sora moved toward the Ranger in an effort to diffuse the situation.

"Calm down, we don't know what happened." Sora pleaded.

"Yes we do! He left us to get fuckin' ambushed!"

"Zack...stop..."

"God dammit! Get out of the way Sora!"

"No. You put the gun down."

"Zack..."

"Stop it both of you!" Riku's voice forcefully broke the standoff. Zack and Sora looked at the silverette. He was standing tall no longer sweating uncontrollably. His various wounds had sealed up and were little more than white lines on his pale skin. Much of the color had returned to him as well, not fully but an enormous improvement. He didn't even limp when he walked to the two. He held out the empty bottle.

"What is that?" Zack asked in confusion.

"What Will brought."

"That kinda makes sense." Sora heaved and coughed. Ran back to where Will had fallen and collected the remaining bottles. He handed Sora his and then ran to Aerith and helped her drink hers. Zack reluctantly took the bottle with his name after watching the seemingly miraculous recovery of his companions. Quickly all their ailments, save Sora's eye, evaporated and in a short time they all began laughing at the recovery, jumping around and hugging each other.

"Where's Will?" Sora asked noticing the blond's absence. They all looked around quickly. They could see a blood trail leading from where he fell, it led downhill toward the sounds of minotaurs. About ten yards down the trail they could see Will's vest hanging on a tree. They gathered their belongings quickly, including Will's pack, rifle and vest. Will's pistol was on the ground next to the vest. It was apparent that he did not intend to come back.

'This is what I get for helping their asses!' Will thought furiously as he crashed through the brush and trees. It hadn't been difficult to determine what happened and he was sorry for what happened to Aerith in particular but to accuse him of being responsible when he'd be trying to save them all, that was a personal affront.

"Come on you sons of bitches!" Will shouted when he got close. The waist high grass only partially concealed the minotaur encampment. There must have been a thousand in the bottom of the valley. With Bak'frelm in hand Will met the rushing beasts. The carnage would be remembered by both sides for years after the fact. With anger and anguish in his heart Will fought like a mad man slashing wildly any that got close. It wasn't long before Will was struck in the right arm again fully rendering it useless. He switched hands and kept fighting. They struck his legs and left arm and finally he wound up on the ground, growling and panting. Blood streamed from his wounds but he still tried to fight.

"Hold you blades!" The cloaked figure barked as it appeared.

"I have a special punishment in mind for him." The voice was laced with a demonic satisfaction. The minotaurs grabbed Will and took him a short distance to a large oak tree. Bak'frelm was then forced through his chest and out his back. Gasping and gurgling Will spat curses at his enemies. A rope was attached to both sides of the sword and he was hoist in the air. Fighting back screams Will kept cursing them. Until the fire came he cursed them. Once the fire came he did scream.

"Hurry!" Zack bellowed as he ran carelessly down the side of the hill. The others were on his heels and though they were moving as fast as the could the distant screams of their comrade spurred them on faster. The minotaurs did not fight, rather they beat a hasty retreat. The cloaked figure gestured with its arm and melded into the forest. The crumpled bodies of some fifty minos littered the ground and they searched for Will among the dead.

"Oh my god." Riku spoke pointing to the burning figure dangling from the oak tree.

"Help him!" Zack shouted. They ran to the aid of their friend the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh filling their nostrils making them fight back nausea. Will had fallen silent but he still thrashed around with life. Riku felt a strange energy leave his hands as he got close the fire subsided and a thin sheet of ice coated Will's body. Riku forced himself to ignore the burning in his chest and the blood running from his ears. They cut Will loose and used some of their clothing as a tarp to keep him of the ground.

"He...lah..I..." Will babbled incoherently. They did his best to comfort him. Aerith in a panic didn't know where to even begin. Zack snatched the sword from Will's chest eliciting a pained moan. His charred flesh clung to the blade and peeled away from the wound. Surprisingly the heat had cauterized the wounds on his body.

"The bottle." Sora remembered. He grabbed the bottle from Will's pack where they put it and removed the cork. They had to tilt Will back to drink the liquid. Zack felt his flesh peel off his back. Soon the liquid began to have an affect Will's eyes become vibrant again and his burned flesh became hard and calloused. From head to toe Will was burned. The black and red skin he now had gave him a terrifying appearance. He groaned and breathed hoarsely. Zack removed himself from the next step of care. Peeling Will's melted clothes from his skin they began coating him with every bit of burn ointment they had and bandaging him top to bottom. They helped him shrug his way into a spare set of Zack's clothes, he was too slim now to fit into his own.

"I'm sorry Will." Zack bowed his head voice breaking.

"So am I." Will replied lethargically. Aerith had given him the most powerful painkillers she had on hand. They decided to remain in the minotaur camp that night. Will needed to rest and it was easier to defend. Zack, Sora and Aerith went around salvaging what they could and setting up traps and defenses. Riku let Will rest on his lap, he wasn't sure why but he felt that he needed to care for him, just as he did Sora. Any thoughts of love or sex had been quashed long ago for Riku but he realized that there was a certain charm to the loner that he liked, just as he liked Sora's recklessness and determination. Too many questions filled Riku's head and he found himself staring at the sky praying this would all end soon.

A/N: That took me a bit longer to write than I thought but I wanted to do as good of a job as I could. I hope you all liked it.