Deeper

Time flowed. The claymore was the barest inch from Dick's head when Jason crashed himself bodily into it. He moved faster than he ever had before, swiping his hand at X-Face's face. Strange. His arm didn't hurt anymore. Stunned, X-Face didn't have any time to block when Jason kicked out with his foot, blasting the bastard across the field and away from his family. He turned towards Xehanort, noting the smug looking grin on the man's face, and relishing it as it turned into a look of horror.

"What's wrong baldie?" His voice was strangely layered, as if two of him were talking at once. "Plans not turning out?" He raced across the clearing, All Blades slowly appearing in his grip.

Xehanort acted instantaneously, brandishing his own blade and tearing towards Jason. The first strike – fuelled by hatred on both sides – had so much force behind it that Jason's teeth rattled from the impact. Twisting himself away and pushing Xehanort's weapon back, Jason lifted up his second sword and thrust it at his opponent's face, who just barely had time to duck in turn. Then something shining caught Jason's eye and he jumped back with cat like reflexes, just avoiding a black knife that was now flying back to its hooded owners outstretched hand. So this fight wouldn't be a fair one after all.

Backing up slightly, Jason glared at the nine figures who, up until now, were merely observing, but were now all brandishing weapons or standing defensively. Instinctively, Jason moved back until he was positioned in front of his family. He would not let these bastards hurt his brothers, which he was sure they were after. Even at the thought of it, rage and hatred boiled up inside him, fuelled by the darkness which was sharing his body. He growled his hatred at his enemies and readied himself, clutching his swords until his knuckles turned white. He spared a single glance back at his brothers and friend. Dick was breathing shallowly and blood was oozing from his chest wounds, Tim was deathly still, and Damian seemed to be semi-conscious, violent shivers wracking his entire body. Sora was also obviously down for the count, his Keyblade lying idly by his side. Jason had to protect them! He refused to let them down. He was their only hope, at least until Batman returned.

Xehanort jerked his head in Red Hood's direction, apparently too annoyed for words, and at his command three of the nine figures stepped forward with Xehanort. Jason stiffened. He had no idea what these people's powers were, and finding it out by trial and error would be dangerous. But what other options did he have? He wished they would at least lower their hoods so he could get a look at their faces, maybe read their expressions and learn something. But they remained hidden and secretive.

Pointing his Keyblade towards Jason, Xehanort shot a freezing spell hurtling in his direction. Growling, Jason put up his swords in a crossed formation and sliced clear through the magic, reducing it to a cloud of sparkling vapour. Jason contemplated the four enemies moving ever closer. One of them lifted a gun like object while the other brandished the same knife Jason had dodged moments before. The last one didn't show any intention of attacking, simply walking closer with the others. So, they were trying for long range attacks. They knew that Jason had to stay put while they attacked him from far away, so as to not leave his family unprotected. Grimacing Jason raised his swords yet again. It was a big disadvantage. This fight would be on their terms, not his. But even now he could feel the power and energy of his darkness running through his veins. He had a chance, and that was something.

Suddenly Knife Man and Gun Guy attacked simultaneously, one shooting several bullets while the other threw their glinting weapon directly at him. Time seemed to move slowly as Hood realized that while the knife was hurtling right at his chest, the bullets were heading for Tim and Sora, the closest two to him. Cursing Jason ducked the knife and threw one sword to the right expertly, while dashing to the left and deflecting the bullets there. Miraculously he had managed to stop the attack, but the next second there were more shots and Jason automatically back flipped with amazing speed, landing next to Sora and picking up his limp body with one arm before seeming to fly to Tim's side. It was sheer luck that the two bullets aimed at Tim missed both Jason and the boy. He felt them as they flew by his head and shoulder. Leaning over Tim, Jason grabbed his other sword which was lying deserted next to Tim, and then scooped his brother up under his other arm. He needed to move fast, which was difficult as both Sora and Tim were moderately heavy. But his new strength helped him to jump backwards in response to three more bullets. He was just reveling in his amazing luck so far and the fact that the guy with the knife hadn't attacked again, when it hit him. Literally. Sharp pain lanced through his right shoulder and he staggered, nearly dropping Sora and Tim. He looked backwards quickly and saw the hilt of the small blade sticking out of his back. Idiot! How could he forget this guy could control the knife!? He had seen it happen!

Pushing himself further, Jason stopped by Dick and let his friend and brother drop to the ground lifelessly. It would be much more effective protecting them if they were all in one place. More shots rang through the air and Jason moved without thinking, blocking the bullets with lightning reflexes. He could hear the small projectiles as they were deflected off the strong metal in his swords. Xehanort took that moment to shoot a fire spell at Jason, who again blocked it. But this time he could feel the heat from the flames sear his skin, even as the fire dissipated into the air. His right arm drooped slightly which surprised him. He wasn't feeling any pain from his shoulder other than the initial entry. Could he be in shock or – a cascade of bullets and another fire spell came at him and he worked fast to deflect them – or was he not feeling the pain of his injuries for another reason? His darkness... was it blocking the pain for him? Even as he thought it, Jason knew it was true. He wasn't feeling pain, but that didn't mean his injuries couldn't still affect him.

Breathing heavily and refusing to take his eyes off of his enemies, Jason knew it was time to go on the offensive. He couldn't just hold out here, these guys would just keep shooting attacks at him until they weakened him enough to approach. But how could Jason take the initiative and bring the fight to them while in doing so protecting his brothers from harm? He was stuck. Stay here and be taken out slowly, or fight offensively and leave his family and friends unprotected. The man with the knife seemed to have more than one weapon, and threw another gleaming streak of dark metal at Jason, who deflected it feeling exhaustion start to creep in around the edges. He would have to leave and take the fight to them. It was the only way any of them would get out of this alive. Jason was just steeling himself to act when the final cloaked figure who stood by Xehanort finally moved. He took something from beneath his cloak, and threw it at Jason in the blink of an eye. Even with his increased speed, he barely got his swords up in time to deflect the object. But to Jason's surprise, he didn't feel it clash against the All Blades. Cautiously lowering his swords, watching as a small disk like object rotated slowly in front of him, seeming to levitate in midair. He only had a second to marvel at it before the object exploded violently. Jason couldn't breathe, couldn't react. He was flung backwards by the vicious explosion, hitting the ground and crying out with pain as the knife drove itself further into his flesh. The world was standing still as Jason tried and tried to catch his breath, but his lungs didn't seem to want to take in air. He couldn't hear anything except a high pitch ringing, though the sound of the blast was fresh in his mind. He blinked through watering eyes, trying to see something other than a blur of colours which was fading in and out, in and out. He couldn't think, he couldn't move. But he had to move. He had to get back up!

Why did he have to get up?

With an enormous effort, Jason rolled himself onto his stomach, and took in the smallest breath of air. It was a start at least. He blinked confusedly several more times before his vision began to refocus. His temporary loss of memories seemed to return with his sight. A cold sensation spread across his back, centered around the knife. Xehanort and the three cloaked figures were walking towards him...no, walking towards Dick, Tim, Damian, and Sora. Their eyes were glowing wickedly and their evil intentions seemed to radiate off of them.

"No" Jason whispered hoarsely as he watched them drawing nearer. He had lost. His family was going to die and it was all because he was too weak to protect them. "G-get away from them... Don't you dare touch them!"

Trembling Jason braced himself and tried to push up into a sitting position, but collapsed seconds later, feeling dizzy and sick with desperation. Panic stricken, he clenched his teeth and tried to pull himself towards his brothers with one hand, but it was no use. He was far too weak.

The four were stopping in front of his family now. Preparing themselves to eliminate some of the only things in the world Jason loved. Stop. This couldn't happen. It couldn't. The world grew cold, and he felt the darkness in his mind begin to overtake him. The darkness!

"Help me!" He yelled desperately, his heart pounding wildly in a fleeting last attempt.

Suddenly Jason found himself in that place again. It was black and quiet, and he was relieved to feel normal. His injuries wouldn't plague him here. A solitary figure – his darkness – stood in front of him, looking at Jason with those intelligent yellow eyes.

You are pushing yourself too far. it said

"I don't care."

You could die.

"I don't care."

The darkness blinked slowly, contemplating Jason.

They stood like that in silence for a while.

You should, it said finally.

"Look!" Jason snapped angrily. "My family, and my friend, they're gonna die out there unless I...we do something! I don't like the idea of pushing myself to far either. But the people I love... they're worth it."

For some reason, Jason felt fine admitting this – something he would never say normally – to his darkness. The figure in front of him was a part of him, and he knew it could understand what he said in a different way than his family. Admitting that he loved people felt good though, even if it was a bit too soft for his style.

His darkness stayed quite for what seemed like a long time, though time didn't seem to exist in this place.

I understand, it said finally.

Jason nodded solemnly. "So you can help me protect them?"

Yes, was all it said.

Suddenly, a ripple spread through the darkness. Jason's back burned and darkness descended on the stained glass, covering it again. His darkness spoke once more, but its voice seemed… off. I will help you.

And Jason was thrust back into reality.

His thoughts felt fuzzy. He knew it was dark outside, nothing but moonlight and the far off city to light his way, but everything seemed brighter. No, not brighter, he was just seeing through the darkness better. Everything was yellow, why was everything yellow? He slowly rotated his head, trying to get a better idea of his surroundings. There were people in front of him.

One of them, one not wearing a cloak, was raising a sword above one of the ones on the ground. The sword (bad, will hurt, stay away), was pointing directly at the crossed belts on the other's chest. There was a heart glowing in the smaller figure. He could see it flutter, wanted to take it for himself. The urge was overwhelming. A sharp pain in his head. A warning. Do not touch that heart. Save it. It was against every instinct he had, but if he didn't listen, the pain would continue. So he turned his gaze to the one holding the bad-sword. And lunged forward.

Blearily, Dick opened his eyes. Why did everything hurt? Well, not everything, but his chest definitely. Oh. There was purple things sticking out of it. Well, that explains that. Now, who was leaning against his leg?

Carefully, trying not to open his wounds further, he raised his head. Sora was against his leg, Tim was laying on the ground a foot away and Damian was just off to his left. None of them were awake and none of them looked too good. Especially Tim, who had Xehanort standing over him, Keyblade plunging down towards his chest. Dick panicked. He knew he would never make it in time, but he still grabbed a escrima stick out, ready to throw it at Xehanort's head.

Before he got his chance though, a wall of darkness slammed into Xehanort, knocking him far out of the way. Dick was still struggling to focus his eyes, so he couldn't quite see what it was that had attacked –

Oh no.

Oh no!

It might have been Jason. The build, the features, everything about it looked like Dick's little brother. Except for the black covering it from head to toe, the yellow eyes burning through the domino mask. Wisps of darkness curled off of his shoulders. He sank into a low battle stance, hands held out threateningly. Protectively?

One of the hooded figures in front of Jason(?) drew a gun, quickly aiming and firing it off at Damian. The bullets never hit their mark. Instead, they landed in the palm of Dark Jason. Slowly, he looked at the small rounds of glowing metal in his hand, then up at the one who had fired them. Faster than Dick could follow, he was behind the hooded guy, hand clear through his shoulder. He removed his arm, the guy falling to the ground, and turned towards the other hooded people.

He couldn't process this. How could Jason have gone dark so quickly? It had only been an hour, maybe two, since they'd been at the manor. He should have had at least another eight hours until something happened. What had happened since he'd been out? How –

Movement against his leg broke him out of his thoughts. "Sora? Are you awake?"

Sora looked up at Dick, almost as confused as Dick felt, and his eyes widened at the sight of him. "Di- Nightwing! You're hurt!"

Huh? Oh yeah, the purple things. "Don't worry about me, Robin and Red Robin needs it more."

Summoning his Keyblade, Sora gave off a very Damian-like snort. "Don't be stupid, you need it too. HEAL!" Green light descended on all of them. Dick winced as the purple things extracted themselves from his chest, flesh knitting together as they fell out. Tim's leg straightened itself, bone snapping into place. Based on the way the light lingered around his chest, he had a few broken ribs too. Steam rose off Damian as the ice melted, his colour slowly returning.

Feeling worlds better, Dick leapt up, eyes searching desperately for Dark Jason. He didn't really have to look far.

Halfway across the clearing, surrounded by badly injured, but still breathing, cloak-people, he stood, snarling at Xehanort, Ponytail Guy and Blue Hair as they opened a Dark Corridor and left. Once they were gone, he turned and stared at Dick. Just stared.

Sora followed Dick's gaze and frowned. "Why hasn't he attacked us yet?"

Starting, Dick looked down at Sora worriedly. "Should he be? I mean, that is still Hood, right? Red Hood would never hurt us." Except for the time when he had first come back. But that was when Jason didn't have a heart, and he had a heart now. Right?

Jason stopped looking at Dick, shifting his gaze to Sora. Or, more accurately, to the Keyblade Sora still held defensively. "He never would, but he's not himself right now." He shifted the Keyblade in his hand, and Jason flinched.

Suddenly, Jason vanished. Dick whirled, trying to find where his brother had gone, only to find him behind the group, a hand going through a Nobody's chest. As is dissipated, he vanished again, going back to his original spot. His stance was still very aggressive, despite Xehanort and buddies leaving, despite there being no Heartless or Nobodies left.

"Sora, do me a favour. Put away your Keyblade quick."

"What?! But if he attacks us-"

"Tt. Then we will hold him off while you resummon it. Obviously." Finally defrosted, Damian stood up, wiping excess moisture off of his suit.

Sora, after a moment's thought, complied. The effect was immediate and welcoming. Jason's posture relaxed, and he sank to the ground in a crouch. The harsh yellow of his eyes softened. Emboldened, Dick started forward. "Hood?" Quieter, he ventured, "Jay?" Slowly, calling out to Jason in a calm voice, as if he was dealing with a wild animal, Dick approached his brother. There was a moment of panic when Jason raised his arm, but he only rested it on his own head, face contorting in brief pain before relaxing again. Finally, Dick was kneeling in front of his brother. Jason seemed content to let him sit there, but when Dick opened his arms, to hug him, to try and make him better, Jason vanished.

"Whoa!" Tim's startled shout told Dick where Jason had gone. He was crouching, just as before, right next to Tim. Dick tried again, walking quicker this time. Jason allowed him to stand next to him, allowed him to touch him, but the moment Dick went to hug him, he vanished again.

Frustrated, Dick walked up to his brother and grabbed his hand, leading him back to the group. Jason complied. When they got there though, he got a pained expression on his face, and he lifted his free hand to his head again. Then it cleared, leaving Jason with a serene expression and Dick with a worried one.

"Why does he keep doing that?" Dick cried. "Why won't he let me hug him? What's going on?" The sound of the Batwing returning prevented Jason from answering. Not that he could have anyways.

Batman was not pleased to say the least, to find his sons covered in blood. When he caught sight of Jason he stiffened dangerously. Dick caught the Bat's eye and glanced quickly over at his younger brother, who was standing idly by Red Robin, almost like he was daydreaming.

"Report!" Batman demanded.

There was silence for a few seconds, as no one was really sure what happened.

Sora decided he better explain as he was the last one conscious, but the thought of talking directly to Batman while he had so much tension emanating off of him was a difficult concept.

"Well, after you left," he began, glancing over at his new friends, "these guys had already been taken out by the cloaked people. They were probably badly outnumbered."

Tim and Dick nodded slowly in affirmation while Damian merely crossed his arms and let of a signature "Tt."

"Ja- I mean, Red Hood was hurt too. His arm was bleeding. But he was still conscious. I jumped in to help him as soon as you left."

Batman nodded, so Sora continued.

"I started fighting Xehanort, and Hood went for the two cloaked figures fighting, Braig and Isa. Uh, the rest were just standing there watching us fight."

"Why is that?" Batman inquired.

Sora shrugged. "Dunno, but it was a good thing they didn't step in, or we wouldn't have had a chance. Anyway, I was pretty caught up in my fight with Xehanort, I was winning, his injuries weren't healed completely of course. A cure spell can only do so much."

Tim rubbed his head, and Dick his sore chest absentmindedly. Damian gave a small shudder.

"I was just about to disarm him when the other cloaked figures, the ones not doing anything, all attacked me at once. They shot some sort of darkness out of their hands, and... I can't really remember much after that. I guess I passed out. But Hood was still fighting. At least, I'm pretty sure he was."

Batman was silent, pondering all of this information. He gazed at some of the unconscious cloaked figures on the ground. Gesturing to them with a sweep of his hand he asked, "And how did this happen?"

This time Nightwing spoke. "I woke up first, and Sora, Red Robin, and Robin were all next to me. It was weird, like they were placed there or something."

"Yeah." Sora added. "I definitely wasn't right next to you when I passed out. Closer to Red Robin I think."

Batman looked thoughtful at this information. "Hmmm, so someone put you there in the time you were unconscious. Hood?"

"Guess so," Nightwing continued. "But as soon as I woke up, Xehanort was standing over Red Robin with his Keyblade raised, and he was gonna..."

Nightwing paled as Batman nodded his understanding.

"Anyway, Xehanort was just bringing down his sword when Hood crashed into him, except it wasn't the Hood from before. It was this one."

Nightwing placed a hand on Red Hood's shoulder and give him a little shake, the latter not responding. "Anyway, Sora healed us, Hood took out the rest of the hooded guys, and here we are."

Before anyone could say anything else, Tim gasped. "Jason! Guys, look at his back!"

Everyone glared over at the dark figure, who chose that moment to gaze at Batman and raise his hand slightly before jerking back and holding his hand to his head.

"That's another thing!" Nightwing said quickly. "There's something wrong with his head! He keeps doing that."

"Guys," Tim said, half annoyed, half scared. "There's a knife in his back! Look!"

They all moved to see what Tim was talking about as Jason grimaced and shook his head again.

"It is a deep wound." Damian said, as they glared at the hilt of the knife, half surrounded by dark vapour. "I am surprised he is still standing in this condition. It is admirable."

Dick frowned. "His arm was shot too. How can he be standing?"

"Red Hood, can you hear me?" Batman said clearly.

They all looked at Jason who didn't as much as twitch.

"Can you heal him Sora?" Asked Tim.

Sora looked doubtful. "Maybe, but I used so much magic healing us I don't know if it will work. If anything, I don't think I could produce a full cure spell."

"Do as much as you can." Batman commanded quickly.

Glancing nervously over at Jason, Sora nodded. "Alright, but someone needs to pull the knife out." Dick immediately stepped up, curling his fingers around the handle. Concentrating as much as he could, Sora lifted his Keyblade. The moment the knife left Jason's back he cried out, "Heal!"

Beads of light circled around the wound. Jason didn't even blink during the process, merely staring ahead blankly. He held the spell for as long as he could, but before the wound could entirely close, Sora fell to one knee breaking the spell.

"Sora!" Nightwing's and Red Robin's voices rang out.

"Sorry," the boy said in a small voice lowering his Keyblade. "That's all I can do."

"You did enough." Nightwing assured him, as he walked over to Sora and helped him up, despite wincing himself. "If it weren't for you I don't know how we would've survived that."

Sora smiled tiredly.

The next moment a strange rushing sound had everyone whirling around to see darkness swallow up the injured villains on the ground, leaving no evidence anyone had been there seconds before. Just as suddenly, without warning, Jason gave a great shudder and dropped lifelessly to the ground, darkness peeling off him as the shouts of surprise and alarm echoed above him.

Nightwing stared down at his brother, frozen in shock for a moment. The moment wore down quickly though, and his shock faded. Maybe now, Jason would let him heal him. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed Jason's shoulders and lifted him partially off the ground. But the moment he went to put his arms around him, Jason pushed him off. Still unconscious, he fell to the ground. Batman rushed past him, grabbing up his second son and carrying him to the Batwing, arms curled protectively around his shoulders.

Dick reeled, slightly confused, but mostly hurt. Why wouldn't Jason…? He closed his eyes, ignoring Tim's hand, trying to drag him to the Batwing. Jason would tell him if he woke up. When he woke up. Nodding, he stood and followed his family to the plane, knife still in his hand.

AN: Ah, another late chapter! I'm so sorry! Much less sorry about the horrible darkness thing going on here. Wow.

Alrighty, reviews to answer! To Guest 1, thank you for your review! Don't worry, this story will keep going for quite a while. We'll probably even finish it. Guest 2, posting schedule is Tuesdays and Fridays, normally in the morning, but very often late. Like today. And when I say morning, I mean my morning, which is fairly close to the west coast of Canada.

Next chapter, we have some more resting! Yay! And also some consequences of some other things. Consequences, then Bat-style resting, in that order.

Read and enjoy fellow readers!