FFFFFUUUU. YOU GUYS. YOU ARE GOING TO BE THE DEATH OF ME.

It's 5 am.
I have a horrible cold.
I haven't slept because I was up writing this blasted chapter (sorry it wasn't up sooner, I was REALLY braindead).
and I'm probably going to be dead tired tomorrow.

.Thankyou.

Anyway, after that.

This chapter includes Vanitas (yes, he deserves a warning), some swearing (minor), general mindfeckery and slight blood/abuse. Yay!

Now I must sleep for two hours until my bus comes. -dies-

ENJOY!

Ven sat inside the mining caves, long after the dwarves had cleared out for the night.
At first they had wanted to stay with him, making sure that he was okay, but the seven of them were unable to get any reaction from him, as he was unwilling to talk at all.
They left behind a lantern so that he was not alone in the dark, and then headed out.

He stared up at the top of the mine, resting his head back against the hard stone, eyes dancing over the crystals glinting above him that the short-statured men could not reach. Why...
Why why why...
Why was all of this happening to him. Why had Terra and Aqua both been taken from him.

As he sat there and sat and sat, the coldness of the mine was starting to get to him, and his eyes started to blink closed, a wave of tiredness sweeping over him, and he yawned widely without meaning to.
The last things he saw was the flicker of something swooping past him, out to the exit of the cave. And then nothing.

When he next awoke, the air had gotten definitely colder, and he stood up stiffly, wondering how much time had passed since he'd fallen asleep. He stumbled out towards the exit, arms wrapped around himself, and had to pause for a few moments once he'd stepped out.

About an hour had passed, from what he'd been able to tell, but the sky was much darker.
Thick, dark-grey, almost black clouds swirled across the sky, and he glanced up at it, flinching when a droplet almost hit him in the eye.
Rain...
It almost never rained where he came from. Ven held out a hand, letting a few more drops fall onto his palm.
Oh well...it was just a little rain...
He had to move forward, he couldn't let insignificant things like the weather hold him back.

The dwarves were all heading into their little house as Ventus strode through the small clearing in the front, eyes fixed forward, not quite sure where he was heading. He just needed to keep going forward. Going forward and not looking back. Some of them turned to look at him, but the rain was starting to get heavier, so they just turned, assuming he knew where he was going and that he would be fine. Ven crossed the small footbridge across the stream, and kept running until he was deep into the woods, surrounded by darkened trees, the rain not quite going through them, so the rain was relatively dry.
He could stay there if he wished, to try and figure out just what the hell was happening to him, but no.
No.
He had to keep going.

The blonde leaned back against one of the trees, catching his breath, shaking his head to expell some of the rain droplets from it, and resting his head against the bark.
It was darker in here than beyond the tree-line, but that was somehow more peaceful.
The sound of rain was very faint here, and the smell of dirt and trees crept into his mind, flooding it with the odd scent.

He was suddenly jolted out of his half-sleep that he had slipped into when the tree's branches creaked, the entire tree shifting under him. Ven tried to spring away, his heart racing, but one of the roots ripped through the earth he'd been focusing so intently on earlier and wrapped around his ankle, sending him tumbling to the ground.
He let out a loud scream that was punctured by him smacking into the not-yet rain-soaked dirt, knocking all the air out of his lungs, making him break into a coughing fit.
The root pulled him up again, using an unpredictable strength and nearly flinging him into the air, keeping an almost too tight grip on his ankle, shaking him around like a ragdoll, before half-throwing him back to the ground, making him skid across the dirt, rocks scraping against his exposed skin.
Ven somersaulted out of the way before anything else could grab him again, and ran for the light at the edge of the forest, where he could see the rain starting to fall harder.

He burst out of the woods, slipping slightly on the rain-slicked ground, but managing to keep his footing. Ventus stood there for a few moments, panting, before walking forward a bit, re-crossing the footbridge, and towards the tree-stump that had an axe lodged in it.

Finally something that wouldn't attack him on contact.

Assumptions are great until they come back to bite you in the ass.

As he was running a hand over the handle of the axe, marveling at how good the crafting on it was, something struck him /hard/ in the back of the knees, causing him to topple forward onto the stump, smacking into it, and almost cutting himself on the axe's blade.

The snarky little laugh he had heard earlier in the haunted house echoed around him again and he froze, not daring to look back at who it was.
He knew that laugh.
And he had been an absolute idiot for not realizing it earlier.
"Vanitas."
It wasn't a question.

"Gooood boy, Ven~. Finally figured out it was me? I would have thought it was obvious, earlier. When we danced. You seemed all too eager. Did your little boytoy make you upset? I heard what he said."

Ven rolled over so that he was sitting against the stump.

"Vanitas, I am in no mood to deal with your shit right now, okay? I just want to find my friends."

A chuckle.

"And who's to say I don't know where your friends are, Venven?"

Ven froze, staring up at his other half, watching horror-struck as he melted his mask away, revealing his face and making his hair spring free.

"Give them back. Now."

"But where's the fun in that? You'll have to work for it. I don't like returning my playtoys to just anyone, you know."

"What did you do to them?"

"Ohhh..."

The black-haired boy slammed his metal-soled boot down onto the stump, and used the momentum to pull the axe free with little strain.
He hefted it in his hand, staring down at the way the rain struck the blade and slid off, only to be replaced by more and more drops as the rain kept falling faster.

"It's not a keyblade...but I guess it'll do for now."

"Do for wha-"

Ven was cut short as Vanitas brought the axe down forcefully next to his head, slicing off a few strands of his hair. Tears involuntarily flowed into his eyes, and he began to shake, causing the tears to cascade down his face.

Vanitas leaned forward, taking advantage of how shell-shocked the blonde was, and biting onto his lower lip, digging his teeth in, shifting them so they wore away at the skin.
A tiny droplet of blood slid down Ventus's chin, and his breath hitched, the sudden pain from teeth puncturing his lip not one he'd ever expected to feel, and was unsure wether to scream, cry or faint.

As his enemy pulled away, still holding the axe, his mind was still working furiously between the three options.

Vanitas looked up at the sky, where rain was coming down in droves, splashing all over his hair and face, and threw open his arms, laughing up to the heavens, mocking every single creature that resided in all the worlds. He glanced down at Ventus, not lowering his head.

He hoisted the axe high in the air, a manic grin sliding across his face.

And right before he brought the blade down, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky, casting an eerie light over the whole area.

The axe fell, along with Vanitas's whispered command of 'scream'.

And that was what Ven proceded to do, before passing out completely, his voice echoing all around the clearing, Vanitas shivering at the volume and despair that radiated from the blonde.

When he was unconscious, Vanitas waved his hand in the direction of the cabin, removing the barrier from around it so that the inhabitants could all hear their surroundings (not that it mattered, they were all asleep anyways), and bent down, scooping Ventus up into his arms, and flying off with him to the Mirage Arena, setting him down in the main area when they arrived.

He stood straight again, and walked off to find a place where he could observe the blonde from.

Now...to wait...

Tried to take the advice of some reviews I got suggesting that I space out my writing a bit more. Did this improve it any?

Hopefully tomorrow's chapter won't be so late. This time I've already got some ideas for what's going to happen in it. For this one I only had the ending planned out.
I do really apologize for this one not being as on time as I would have liked!

AND TO SOUPY/XEMNAS/XEMMY/SUPERIOR.

THANK YOU SO FREAKING MUCH FOR HELPING YOU WITH ALL THIS. I OWE YOU MY FIRSTBORN OR SOMETHING. (BUT I SHOULDN'T SAY THAT 'CAUSE AKU MIGHT GET MAD AT ME.)
I'LL DRAW/WRITE YOU SOME STUFF ONCE I'M FINISHED WRITING/UPLOADING THE REST OF THE CHAPTERS!

(Oh, and I'll probably be writing a LOT tomorrow night because of Sora coming to sleepover on Saturday and then Hetalia Day on Sunday. Just letting you know how much of an all-nighter you'll be pulling with me 8D. THANKYOUUU X3)