Chapter 29

"Gawrsh... It's like... everything here has been completely wiped away..." Goofy said dejectedly.

"But wouldn't that mean... Sora was wiped away too?" Kairi asked in panic.

"No! Sora wouldn't disappear so easily! He has to be around here somewhere! SORA! SORAAAA!" Donald screeched as loud as he could, his voice echoing across the empty expanse.

They had made their way to the site of the massive explosion that marked the end of the battle. Everyone believed that was where Sora had the final clash with Xehanort. Yet no trace of either of them could be found. In fact, it looked as though the entire landscape had been cleanly scooped away for several yards. The small search party was beginning to wonder if there even was anything left of Sora or Xehanort left to recover.

"If there's anything left to recover or not, I don't think we're gonna have any luck searching inside the perimeter. If anything survived that explosion, it would most likely have been thrown to the edge. We should split up and search around it." Mickey said.

XXXXXXXX

I'm beginning to wonder if it was the warmth from Kairi's body that restarted his heart? He was so cold when we found him.

The Keyblade Graveyard was a bitterly cold place, one completely devoid of light and life. That was what made the search for survivors such a pressing matter- injured or sick people could freeze to death in a matter of hours in such an environment.

Riku was declared to be in the beginnings of hypothermia as soon as he was brought to the Gummi ship. Aqua now sat propped up against a wall of the ship, the boy cradled in her arms, wrapped in many blankets. She resorted to holding him like this when he started shivering violently, trying to warm him with her body. It seemed to be working, Riku slowly began to relax in her arms, his breathing slow and even. Yet she noticed his condition was beginning to deteriorate. He was weakening, and Aqua could feel blood beginning to flow from the wound in his shoulder, soaking into the blankets he was wrapped in.

Don't tell me the cold was actually what kept him alive! He started bleeding like this as soon as he began to warm up! She quickly removed the blankets covering his upper body, exposing the bloody mess beneath.

"What sort of monster managed to mangle him like this! Curaga!" Aqua exclaimed as she worked to slow the bleeding, assessing the full extent of the damage. It was severe, and Aqua made the horrid realization that Riku might lose his arm.

She knew his ability to protect his friends meant the world to him, and if he lost the ability to fight, it was a fate worse than death to him.

"So..ra..." Riku sighed and muttered the name as Aqua managed to stabilize him again. She returned to the position she was in before, taking care to keep Riku in an upright position in case the wound started to bleed again.

"They're still looking for him... I wish I could tell you he's all right, but I just don't know..." Aqua said sadly, holding the boy closer to her and crying softly.

XXXXXXXX

"I wish I knew how Roxas was doing right now..." Lea muttered to himself, picking his way among the debris scattered around the perimeter of the crater formed by that strange explosion. He wasn't allowed to go with him- there wasn't enough room in the gummi ship, and all of it would be needed for the wounded and the healers treating them. He was told to go and search for more, which had ultimately led him to the site of the final clash, where they searched for Sora and anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the fallout of the explosion.

He kicked a twisted ribbon of metal aside, an object he speculated to be the remnants of a Keyblade, where it landed with a resounding clang some distance away. The sound triggered another to be made- closer, yet fainter. Lea could have sworn he heard someone let out a yelp.

Running to the source of the sound, he nearly overlooked it- a gloved hand protruding from beneath a pile of more twisted Keyblade remnants. Lea ran to it and began to throw every piece of metal he could move under his own power aside. He soon revealed the person buried below the debris. It was Sora, barely conscious and covered in blood and bruises.

"I found him, come quick! He's alive, but he's hurt!" Lea worked quickly to move as much of the debris as he could, but soon found out how serious the situation really was. Sora was being pinned down by several pieces of metal, several of which were impaling him.

Kairi and Donald were the first ones there, both at his side in seconds. Kairi gently lifted him so his head lay in her lap, stroking his soft brown spikes. Donald knelt beside him and clutched his hand.

"Oh my gosh!" Mickey exclaimed in alarm as he saw the boy for himself. He too knelt at his side and looked at him intently. "Sora? Can you hear me? Stay with me!" He motioned to Lea, leaving the others to look after Sora.

"We're never gonna be able to move him with those Keyblade remnants pinning him down like that. But we'd have to cut the protrusions and pull him off their remnants in order to free him of them. It's an extremely risky endeavor. Lea, I'd have more faith in the notion if we had better medical supplies. I'm asking you... can you use your Dark Corridor to teleport back to the Gummi ship and retrieve the things we need. And bring a sedative or painkiller with you if it's possible as well. The least we could do is make it easier on him if we're gonna subject him to something so barbaric."

Lea could only look back at the king sadly. "I'm afraid that's not possible right now. The Gummi ship was already near full capacity when I brought Roxas to them. They departed for Twilight Town shortly after I brought him. It's just not possible for me to accurately teleport onto a moving ship. What about Yen Sid's tower or Disney Castle? Do you think I could get the things we need from there?"

Mickey pondered the idea for a moment, then looked at Lea intently. "Can you handle travelling that far?"

Lea smirked. "I've done it to sneak off from training sessions several times before!"

Mickey scowled at him for the latest revelation, but quickly smiled back before reciting a list. "Well then... go to Disney Castle. Minnie should be able to help you find the things we need pretty quickly!" He paused, a look of alarm and sympathy crossing his face as Sora let out a pained outcry. Kairi was quick to comfort the boy, taking his hand and whispering soothingly in his ear. "Please hurry!" Mickey added. "He's suffering, it's obvious, and I don't know how much longer he'll be able to hold on for..."

End of Chapter 29