How the idea that this wouldn't hurt got into his head, Sora had no clue. Sora was hurling towards the darkness at impossible speeds, falling into the unknown. He tried to stop himself, rise up, fight against the darkness that only pulled and only failed. His decent only increased in speed, moving faster and faster until, finally, he saw earth below him. He had one chance at this. If he did this too quickly, there wouldn't be enough force. If he did it too late… he'd be flatter than those pancakes he loved so much.

He summoned Kingdom Key, flattening himself out to try and slow his descent. He pulled the blade in front of him, the ground moving towards him faster than he would have liked. "WIND!" he shouted, magic bursting from the tip of his blade. The air shoved him back up. He shouted, his stomach still falling as he flew up. "Whoah!" He fell back down, much slower, but still fell, landing really hard on stone rubble.

He heard his already compromised armor crack, bits of metal flying from him as stone jabbed into him painfully. He wasn't able to register much else since his head snapped backwards and everything went dark. He really shouldn't have discarded his helmet when the Organization showed up. At the time, it seemed like a good idea. He could see his surroundings better and felt less hindered. It probably would have protected his head in this moment.

You should have remained in the security of darkness, boy.

Sora wasn't sure how long it had been since he fell. All he could recall was pain, which hadn't really gone away. Curling in on himself, still in the stone rubble, he held his head that ached, throbbed, and a ringing in his ears. His body aches were nothing compared to his head. He struggled to open his eyes and check his hand for blood. Nothing but the dirt and grips of battle. Good.

Sora groaned as he climbed out of the rubble, feeling for softer ground. Oh, man, that hurt. He was seeing double or maybe triple. Counting was difficult at the moment. He dragged his feet across cobblestone, his armor falling off of his body. When he finally saw dirt, he dropped to his knees, hand folding over his cracked skull.

"H-Heal!" he cried, putting all the strength he could muster into the spell. Instantly, cool relief washed over him. The pain faded, his vision righted itself, and he felt much more sturdy.

There, you were lost to us.

Sora stood up, observing his surroundings. Crumbling walls rose around a dilapidated castle. He couldn't see much beyond these walls. Above him, blacks, blues, and violets swirled, pulling in more worlds and debris. There were floating chunks of earth everywhere, each carrying a different piece of a world than the others.

Sora only now noticed the heaviness weighing him down. His heart felt like stone, trying to sink through his gut. He assessed himself, realizing just how dangerous it was to be exposed to this atmosphere. Darkness pressed upon him from all around, pulling the darkness in his heart to the surface. Dark tendrils rose from the shattered bits of armor, alarming the boy. There was no way to stop this. Not without armor to protect him.

He needed to find the Keyhole and fast. The darkness needed to be lifted from this place. But where would he even start? For all he knew, this place could be as endless as the Realm of Darkness. Maybe it would just be faster to try and find his friends? Then again, who knew if they had even defeated Xehanort's Heartless yet. Sora had no idea how long he had been out. Did they even land yet? That was the next step of the plan after all: Dive straight into the abyss and hope it was survivable.

Well, it was. Sort of. He wasn't dead yet.

Sora jumped, grabbing handholds to push himself up to the top of the wall. He didn't have the energy for flight, so climbing and jumping it was. He stood at the highest point of the stone remains, scanning his surrounding. He was atop a large piece of land. All around him were more chunks with more destroyed pieces of worlds, orbiting a black hole. Some pieces remained suspended and some orbited faster than others. The place he stood was one of the larger ones.

He stopped when he saw something flashing in the distance. He blinked a few times, tilting his head as he considered the spark of light that was so far away. There. That was where he would start. That light. He needed to reach it.

He summoned his glider, leaping onto it. He flew straight towards the light, keeping an eye out for his friends as he did. It was a long time before he saw any sign of life and even when he did, the beacon in the distance didn't seem to be getting any closer, which was a tad discouraging.

The heavy weight in his heart only got heavier the more he pressed on. Negative thoughts began to intrude; ones even the Realm of Darkness couldn't conjure up for him. What happened to his friends? Were they able to make it here safely? What if they did end up defeating Ansem, but did not survive the fall? What if the darkness swallowed them? What if they didn't land on the world fragments, like he did, but ended up falling into the black hole beneath? What was there?

Was he alone again?

The lack of creatures of darkness frightened him. If there weren't Heartless here, what did that mean?

As Sora felt panic wash over him, he noticed a movement ahead. He quickly zipped towards the tree he noticed whose branches were shaking. Leaves clung to the branches, black as ash and falling with each movement.

"Hello?" Sora called.

"WHOAH!" Someone fell through the branches, only barely catching himself before falling to the ground. The armored boy looked up as Sora grabbed him from the tree, setting him down carefully. Oh, thank goodness. He wasn't alone anymore!

Sora dismissed his glider, taking in his friend. Seeing him… didn't send relief washing over him like he'd hoped. Instead he felt… anger. It was his fault. Everything what went wrong was because of him. He had lost everything. His propose, his life, his entire being!

The seed had been sown long ago.

"Sora!" Ven cried, gripping Sora by the shoulders. Sora stepped back, conflicted. He knew Ven hadn't done anything to him. He knew Ven was one of the best friends he could ask for and would never hurt him. So… why did he think this of him?

He felt metal flash into his hand. "Ventus."

Ven jumped back, summoning his Keyblade. "Vanitas?"

It took Sora a moment to respond. He knew that wasn't his name. He knew he shouldn't answer to it, but… it felt right. And Sora… did not.

But Sora wasn't Vanitas. And the black and red blade in his hand was foreign to him and pulled forth nothing but anger and hatred. Void Gear. He had never summoned this one. It wasn't his to call so why was it in his hand now?

Sora shook his head. "Sora," he corrected. Ven relaxed, dismissing his blade. "But… for how much longer, I'm not sure."

"What happened?"

"The darkness," Sora clutched a hand over his chest. "It's suffocating my light. Without my armor for protection, it might just extinguish it."

Ven tapped his chin as he considered his friend. Sora picked off a loose piece of armor. He had hoped maybe the slight bit of protection might help slow down the affects of the darkness. Maybe it was. He was terrified to find out.

Ven stepped forward, pulling off more secure pieces. Sora tried to shove him off. "Hey! What are you—"

"You can use my armor." Ven offered, pushing Sora's hands out of the way to pull off the remains. "I don't have darkness for it to use against me, so, I should be alright. You need it more than I do." Ven dismissed his armor, pulling off the sleeve attachment. "Besides, it won't be a good thing if my darkness gets loose." He gave a wary grin. "You've got your darkness and mine to worry about. Double yikes. So, here."

Ven attached his armor to Sora's sleeve, slapping the button. In a flash, Sora felt the weight lift from his chest. He felt as if he could breathe. That relief he expected to have when he finally found someone washed over him, almost drowning him. Ven! Ven was safe! He was a bit roughed up, but he was alive!

Sora fell onto the other, hugging him tightly. Ven laughed, patting his back. "Better?"

"Much."

"Good, then you can stop talking like that. It's giving me the creeps."

"Like what?" Sora cleared his throat, not realizing his speech pattern had changed until Ven said something. His voice had deepened a few octaves and maybe there was an underlying threat seething under each syllable. "Oh." It wasn't that easy to shake off.

"So, uh," Ven shook himself out, looking around. "I don't really know where to go from here. I saw this light and maybe we should go that way?" He shrugged. "It might be the Keyhole."

"It's Kairi." Sora said, summoning his glider. He wasn't sure how he knew it, but… seeing Ven here meant that the others had to have landed, too.

"How do you figure?" Ven asked, following Sora's lead.

Sora shrugged. "Well… when we were in the Realm of Darkness, my light shone really bright compared to Aqua and DiZ's. That was how DiZ found me—he followed my light. And I think it's kind of the same. Since Kairi's heart doesn't have any darkness, hers shines like a lighthouse."

"Is that how you found me?" Ven laughed.

"No," Sora shook his head. "You only have a fragment of a heart, so, yours is… it's not the same." Sora chewed his lip. "So, uh, if your not with the others… what happened?"

As they flew straight towards the light, Ven explained what happened after Sora had been thrown into the vortex. They had defeated Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless and with his defeat, they were sucked into the vortex. When Kairi fell first, Aqua tried to grab himself and Riku, but Ven was dragged down too quickly. They had been separated. He was saved by summoning the winds to slow his descent, like Sora had and fell just as gracefully into one of the trees. When Sora found him, he was climbing one again, he was trying to get a baring on his surroundings.

"What do you suppose is down there?" Ven asked, nodding to the dark hole.

"I don't know," Sora chewed his lip. "Something… something really bad."

"Do you think it'll go away when we seal the Keyhole?"

"Maybe," Sora had no idea.

"So, I guess this isn't the Realm of Darkness, huh?"

"No, no, no, no!" Sora shook his head. "No way. This place is a million times worse!" He would have been relieved if they had fell into the Realm of Darkness. At least it was familiar. He knew how the Realm worked. He could probably even find his friends, no problem. Here, the darkness swallowed everything.

They kept on for what seemed like forever. The light never seemed to get any closer and Aqua and Riku were nowhere to be found. They had to see the light, too, right? Hopefully they would know to go towards it. They had to find Kairi before the darkness tried to devour her light, too. Would it even be able to touch her? Sora had no idea what kind of power a Princess of Heart could carry. He hoped a lot. He knew Kairi's heart was strong, but he couldn't help worrying.

"Sora?" The brunette could hear the blonde's voice had grown weaker. He was tired and maybe they should take a break soon. Sora grunted. "What exactly did Xehanort's Heartless tell you that got you so worked up?"

Sora's lips tightened. He didn't really want to talk about it. How what that man said got under his skin. How it was… because…

"Aw, nothing that important." Sora shrugged, forcing a cheerful tone. He wasn't sure it was fooling Ven. "He was just annoying me, so I wanted to end it quickly."

And now, this heart belongs to us.

Sora pulled in front of Ven, stopping the other. His complexion was growing paler. His color seemed to be fading and he struggled to breathe. Sora folded his arms, frowning. This wasn't good for Ven. His heart… If they didn't get him out of here soon, he'd…

"What?" Ven snorted. "Let's go."

"Let's take a break for a bit."

"What?" Ven laughed breathily. "Tired already?"

Sora snickered. "Yeah."

They touched down on a soft patch of land, withered grass crunching under their feet. Ven flopped back, arms above his head, gasping for air. Sora sat beside him, looking him over. What could they do? How could they protect Ven's heart from the darkness?

"Ven, do you know what's happening?" The look Ven gave him confirmed that he had no idea what Sora was talking about. Sora sighed, twisting to grab Ven's arms and pull him upright. Sitting in front of his friend, he grabbed him by the forearms, a gesture that felt way too familiar—like he had done it a thousand times before. "You're not tired, Ven. The battle didn't wear you out. The darkness is devouring your light."

"What are you talking about?"

"Open your heart to me." Sora offered a friendly smile that could not be seen behind his helmet. He needed Ven to trust him. "I'll show you."

Ven furrowed his brows, nodding as he closed his eyes. Sora closed his, opening the paths between their hearts. The connection was something he'd never done before, he was sure, but it came so naturally… Had he done this before? When had he become such an expert on the workings of the heart? Maybe it was just with Ven, since they had spent so long together.

Sora stood before Ventus, both in their usual clothes, not a scratch on them. They stood on a stained glass portrait of Ven, who slept peacefully before the Keyblade Graveyard. Sora turned in a circle, chewing his lip as he inspected the damage. Darkness ate away at the stained glass, the edges having already vanished. A dark cloud surrounded them, pulling away color from the glass, then the line, and finally the whole piece.

"With me, the darkness was being pulled forward, just pushing the light down." Sora explained, turning to Ven. "But, because you don't have darkness, it's just taking your light. Your heart. It's going to disappear if we stay here."

Ven, horrified, stepped closer to the dark cloud. The closer he got, the less color his presence held. Sora quickly grabbed him, pulling him back toward the center. The blonde turned to Sora, grinning. What did he have to smile about?

"Then what are we taking a break for?" Ven laughed. "Let's get out of here."

"At this rate…" Sora glanced around. The top blue wayfinder was gone and the Keyblade in his hand was nothing but a handle. Sora frowned at the blonde. "Take your armor back."

"No way!" Ven shook his head. "You need it more than I do. If the darkness in your heart gets out—"

Sora snorted, putting a hand on his hip. "There's no changing your mind, is there?" Why try fighting with him when he wouldn't listen? He had a track record for not following orders and sacrificing himself for the sake of others. If he wouldn't listen to Aqua or Terra, what made Sora think he'd listen to him?

Ven shook his head, smirking.

Sora opened his eyes; Ven's desaturated face still smirked as he pulled back, leaning on his hands. Sora folded his arms, thinking. "Hmm… hmm… hmm…" They couldn't just leave Ven like this, his heart wide open to attack. How could they protect him?

"Hey… maybe… I can stay with you again." Ven suggested in a quiet voice, looking up at the swirling sky above them. "Just until we get out of this place. If that's okay…"

"Yeah!" Sora snapped. "That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you come up with dumb ideas." Ven teased, play punching his shoulder.

"Hey!" Sora laughed, shoving him. "Maybe I won't let you in."

They settled, Sora grabbing Ven by the forearms again. Ven closed his eyes as Sora opened his heart. The blonde began to glow, his light traveling through his arms, into Sora's. The warm light settled in Sora's chest, the feeling of contentment and relief seeping into his bones. Ven fell forward as Sora caught him.

"Just for a little while," Sora assured him. "Just until you're strong enough to be on your own again."

Ventus

The smell of sea-salt filled his nostrils and sand gave way beneath his feet. The familiarity of Sora's heart felt like home. He turned to face the larger island getting the feeling something was just… off. Something here wasn't right and he couldn't exactly put his finger on it. The usually sparkling water of the ocean had turned gray, the sky that usual glowed with a sunset had grown dark.

"Ventus!" a unison of voices called his attention. He jumped, turning to the pair that ran across the bridge to the smaller islet he stood on. There was a tall man with shoulder-length navy hair and violet eyes that approached him first, putting a hand on his shoulder. A girl around his age stood in front of him, her brown hair pulled in a ponytail over her shoulder. Her green eyes scowled at him as she put her hands on her hips.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked. He knew these two well. He'd spent a lot of time with them, here, like he had with others over the years. Their names were just on the tip of his tongue… "Never mind!" she grabbed his hand. "We have to hide you before he realizes you're back."

"Too late." The voice sent a shiver down Ven's spine. He looked over his shoulder as the older man stood between them, his arms outstretched. The golden-eyed boy snickered, folding his arms. "Big mistake, Ventus. This heart's been corrupt by the darkness, giving me the strength I needed. And you've gotten weak."

"Why don't you just stay down, Vanitas?" The girl huffed.

"I've been waiting for the day I can finally escape this prison you all call refuge." Vanitas's hand stretched towards Ven. The man—Cullen!—stood in a defensive stance. The girl—Lyrica… that's right…—she summoned a Keyblade, shoving Ven behind her.

"When it's time to go, Ventus, you aren't leaving alone."

Ohay, look. My bby boy, Vanitas.

Anyway, I'm considering looking for a beta reader... someone who can catch the typos and grammar errors I miss when proof reading. Because that happened a lot. I'm also going to go through the old chapters and fix errors for possible new readers. : X