YES, CHAPTER 8 IS FINALLY OUT. I HAVEN'T ABANDONED THIS FIC XD
Sorry to all of my readers, I really really REALLY didn't intend to take so long on this.
There are a few added pairings in this chapter, but it's better that they remain a surprise until you get to that portion, so I will not be writing them up here.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER DOES GET A BIT DARKER THAN THE OTHERS.

Thankfully the streets in Radiant Garden's main plaza were a bit quieter than the previous worlds, if only for the lack of black-haired psychopaths.

There was a soft bustle of talk from the surrounding townspeople as Ven walked among them, looking around for a medicine shop. A soft smile crossed his face as he heard a familiar, slightly obnoxious sounding voice echo over from the next street over.

As he got closer he caught a glimpse of flaming red hair and ran faster.

"Lea!"

The other teen turned around, a huge grin on his face.

"Ven! Hey! Isa, get over here, Ven's back!"

The blue haired boy walked over slowly, staring with his usual slightly annoyed look at his best friend's enthusiasm. He looked over at Ven and raised a hand in welcome, not saying anything.

Lea pouted over at him at the lack of speech.

"Guuuh, Isaaaa, stop being so quiiiieeet."

"I'm only quiet because you annoy me..."

The redhead stuck his tongue out.

"Spoilsport."

Turning back to Ven, he grinned.

"Soooo, whatcha doin back here? Haven't seen you in a long time."

Ven stood there in silence for a few moments, debating how much to tell them.

"There's a crazy psychokiller out for my blood and my body and I'm hiding from him here."

They just stared at him for a while, and then looked at each other, Lea grinning, Isa with the same stock expression on his face.

Lea walked over and slung an arm around his shoulder, and began walking with him, gesturing for Isa to follow them.

"Y'didn't have to think up THAT crazy of a story, Ven, coulda just told us you wanted to see us."

As they walked off, Ven smiling softly, and Lea telling him all sort of outlandish stories about his and Isa's 'adventures' while he had been gone, Isa trailed behind, an off look on his face, eyebrows slanted almost unnoticably downwards, and he looked down at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact with the two that barely seemed to notice his presence.

A small, blue-haired boy sat on one of the ledges near the center of town, quietly licking at the ice cream he carried in his hand, kicking his feet back and forth, staring off into the distance, not really looking at anything in particular.

A taller man, rail thin and pale blonde, wearing a matching labcoat, stopped by to talk to him for a few minutes, getting small nods or shakes in return, as the boy appeared unable to speak.

He walked away again after a short while, glancing around just to make sure the area was safe, and soon headed out of sight.

There was a whooshing noise from behind the walls of one of the side streets, and red and black blended boots stepped softly towards the small boy from behind, and hands were thrown out, one arm around the boy's waist, clutching him close the the fabric of the bodysuit, and the other over his mouth, nearly covering his nose.

Vanitas walked away with the squirming boy, arms tight around him in order to prevent him from escaping.

When they had gotten a few blocks away, Vanitas slammed Ienzo into the wall, hurting him just enough to ensure that he would move as little as possible until he was done with him.

He looked up with eyes that were far too wise for his young age, the blue boring into Vanitas's gold ones, unnerving him. And in that single moment, Vanitas decided he hated blue eyes. In a rare act of kindness, he decided to spare the eye the boy could see out of better, but crushed him farther into the wall, scraping him across the stones.

"Can you talk, little boy?"

Ienzo just stared at him with that same knowing look, though his back was pressing painfully into the bricks of the wall. And then he slowly shook his head.

Vanitas reached forward, sliding his hands into the bangs that fell lazily over Ienzo's less exposed eye, gripping his hair and yanking it upwards, staring at the blueblueblue that shone back at him.

"Why do you hide your eye like that, there's nothing wrong with it."

And still there was silence from the other, which pushed Vanitas further and further towards his limit.

"I asked you a QUESTION, you pathetic little child!"

His harsh tone made Ienzo flinch, unwillingly, trying to shut his eyes, trying to get away the only way he could, the only way he knew how, by pretending the monsters didn't exist. The monsters under his bed weren't real. The monsters that took his mommy and daddy away were just figments of his imagination. The monster that stood in front of him, gripping his hair hard enough to nearly rip it out of his scalp, simply did not...could not...exist.

Vanitas slid his other hand across Ienzo's small face, fingertips brushing against his closed eyes, stopping on the usually concealed one, and tugging it open between two fingers, holding it like that.

"Tell me, little one..." he said softly, pleasantly. "Do you like nightmares?"

And the look of pure /terror/ that shot through that stunning blue was the only answer he needed.

He made sure that the wisps of hair were swept to the side, out of the way, and grinned viciously, taking his hand away from Ienzo's scalp, and, summoning a whorl of darkness around his finger, pressed it hard against his pupil, making sure the darkness seeped in, holding Ienzo against the wall firmly until it had completely dissolved into his eye.

If there had ever been a time Ienzo wished he could still talk, it would have been now, as he slid down the wall, screaming silently, entire body shuddering from the intense pain that shot through every nerve in his body, tears streaming down from his eyes. His hair fell back over the eye that Vanitas had touched, and as Ienzo opened both his eyes wide, the demons starting to eat into his mind, the blueblueblue that had once been there, glowed a horrific, shining black, only flecks of the deepest blue remaining.

Vanitas smirked, watching his prey writhe on the ground, and walked away down a side street, leaving him there to be mentally torn apart.

Isa leaned against the wall of one of the buildings in the shopping district, watching as his supposed best friend lay on the ground, chatting up a storm with Ventus.
He guessed he should be happy for Lea, happy that he had finally found someone that will answer back to his ramblings once in a while.

The redhead seemed a little overwhelming to Ven at the beginning, but once they'd gotten a steady stream of conversation going, they talked as though they were lifelong friends.

Ven's face had saddened slightly, and he looked to be mumbling something to Lea, who reached over to pat him on the shoulder, comforting him.

Isa let that pass, looking around at the surrounding buildings and shopkeepers, before glancing back to where the two of them lay.

A sharp pain shot through his heart, and he looked away quickly, tears of raw anger itching at the corners of his eyes.

Lea had let his arm trail down farther, and was now holding Ven's hand tightly in his own, without a single word of protest from the blonde.

"And I haven't been able to find them since..."
He finished, an ache building up in his throat.

Warm, strong fingers slid into his, and Ven looked down, seeing Lea's hand intertwined with his own.

"Don't worry, I'll be here for you."

"I couldn't get you involved..."

"Nonsense...you need me, I can feel it..."

And he pulled Ven close, pressing a light kiss to the top of his head, making the other boy flush softly.

Footsteps approached Isa, and he looked up, the bitterness all too apparent on his face.
There was something that felt...strangely trustworthy about the other person, even though they had yet to even say a single word to each other.

Little did he know, Vanitas was spreading waves of darkness, invisibly, all around them, pulling Isa in, making him feel safe and secure.

"It sucks, doesn't it."

Isa looked at him, questioningly.

"Wanting something you can't have."
He glared at the other, and looked away, towards the ground.

"What would you know about not having something..."

Vanitas reached over, tilting Isa's head up, and making him look to the side, towards Lea.

"You see the blonde over there? Ventus?"

Isa nodded slowly, not daring to take his eyes off of them in case something else happened.

"Well...I want him. And I'd be willing to do anything to make him mine. I'd rip apart anyone who stood in my way, and I'd force him to the ground and take him again and again and again until he's unable to think of anything except my name, and then I'd lock him away and keep him all to myself...for eternity. I know all about what it's like not have something I want."

The bluehaired boy watched him carefully now, warily.

"And you know what?"

A raised eyebrow was the answer he got in return.

"I can help you get what you want, as long as you help me get what I want as well."

And from that street, unnoticed by Lea and Ven, a flare of darkness spread out, enveloping Isa entirely, swallowing his scream.

When the screen faded, Vanitas was gone, having vanished partway through the process, and Isa was left gasping on the ground, eyes glowing gold, a warped x-shaped wound cut into his face, not bleeding only because the darkness that rippled across his skin prevented any blood from flowing.

Ven sat up slowly, wanting to leave to keep his friends safe, but at the same time...he didn't want to go...

It was rather...nice here...

Next to him Lea sat up as well, and then stood, reaching his hands out to help Ven to his feet.

"Lea...I...I have to go...I need to find my friends..."

The redhead stared at him sadly, hands still holding his.

"Do you really have to?"

'no...no...I don't want to...I don't want to leave you behind...I want...'

"Yes..."

He was stopped from saying anything else, because Lea tugged him forward, crushing their lips together, staying like that for only a few moments, before pulling back hurriedly.

"I...crap...Ven...I'm sorry...I...I gotta go..."

And he ran off, leaving Ven standing alone, face scarlet, mind spinning.

Isa grabbed Lea by the wrist as he ran past him, dragging him off across town, his sharpened nails leaving small gashes in the other's skin from how hard he was holding on.

"Isa? Dude, this really isn't a good time, I messed up big time back there and I need t-"

The blue-haired teen whipped around, eyes wild and teeth slowly pointing themselves into fangs, shoving Lea forward until he smacked his head against a doorway, and pressed himself up against him, claws digging into his hips, marking him further.

"Isa, let go, this isn't funny!"

"Shut up. Just SHUT UP, LEA. FOR ONCE WILL YOU SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH."

He leaned forward, sinking his teeth into the tender skin of Lea's neck, drawing blood, and lapping it up greedily, hungrily, like the animal he was slowly becoming.

Ven stopped suddenly, a loud shout of pain echoing through the air, distracting him from planning what to do next.

'Lea...?'

But that was all he had time to process before he caught sight of the black spikes that haunted him through all the worlds he'd traveled to so far.

"Run, Ven."

He started backing up, intending to do just that.

"RUN. Or I'll CATCH you."

And with that, Ven ran faster than he ever had before in his life, lungs /burning/ from lack of air, but still he ran, pushing and pushing himself, finally launching himself up into the air on his keyblade glider, rocketing off to the next world, hurt and fear and confusion all raging in his head, making it pound, tears streaming unwillingly down his face.

And done!
I will hopefully not take AS much time to finish chapter 9. That one, thankfully, has already been started, I just need to adjust a few things, and then continue writing.

Review, please?