Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 2

Vanitas couldn't help running his fingers through soft hair, he'd gone for over a decade without being able to touch anything. From his Master, it had only meant pain. In Sora's Heart, he'd been close to Ventus, but he knew his brother had been unaware of him, of anything until the Islands fell. It had been the threat of Darkness and Sora's desperate fear that had caused Ven to stir for the first time, to move instinctually to protect the boy.

Even if he could have, he wouldn't have helped Sora back then. Not that his help would have done much but draw the Darkness to Sora. But watching as Sora searched tirelessly for his friends, as he fought for every World, never giving in to despair… he hadn't been able to help it. When Sora had picked up that cursed Keyblade and plunged it into his own Heart, he'd felt Ventus ripped away but he had fought hard to stay with Sora, unable to help it. When the Princess had restored Sora, Vanitas had been surprised her Light hadn't weakened him or worse. But Ven had still been gone so Vanitas had focused everything on Sora, on making sure he survived the horror Ven's home had become, able to sense the presence of his body nearby but out of reach. He'd felt the witch messing with Sora's memories and done his best to protect them, he hadn't had much success.

He hadn't known how long Sora had slept after that as his memories were restored, he'd stayed close as he could to Sora's sleeping mind, had coaxed him into good dreams. He'd tried to make Sora aware of his presence but it hadn't worked, he'd been aware of him while asleep but not once he woke, that had hurt. But feeling Ventus return had been wonderful, even if a new Heart had come with him, it'd been small and young, worn out. But Vanitas had felt a kind of kinship with it, finding out about Roxas and his being a Nobody, he supposed that made sense. Nobodies, just like him, weren't really meant to exist. The girl he hadn't really been aware of, she'd sunk in so quickly and so deep.

The first time Sora had activated anti-form had been a shock, he'd had control of it, not total, but enough to keep him from harming allies and to focus on enemies instead. To get to fight and defend his brothers had been a very nice feeling. It'd been even better when Rage form had evolved, the feeling of a Keyblade in his hand again…

Sora was his now, just like Ven, maybe Roxas too though he'd have to meet him properly to decide that. Which meant he was going to heal and wake up and Vanitas would explain to him that he wasn't the same as the one Sora and Ven had faced in the Graveyard. He would have fought to stay by their sides unlike his past self who had been glad to fade away and return to the past.

He wasn't sure how he'd managed to appear with a physical body, Sora had stabbed his physical heart after all, and with a knife, not a Keyblade. Maybe he was simply fully healed and ready to be able to exist on his own? He didn't know, but the timing had been so close to being too late. He would never forget the sight of Sora crumpled against the wall, eyes closed, skin pale…he'd looked dead. He'd taken no mercy on his attackers and it'd felt good.

It'd been four days, and other than that first time, Sora had shown no signs of consciousness. He didn't know enough to know if that was good or bad, he'd never bothered learning about anatomy or healing, not when he wasn't really human himself, hadn't thought it'd matter once he had Ven merged. But Sora was breathing and Vani thought his colour was better than it had been. He would wake up eventually, he would.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Kairi stared at Riku, worried about him. It hurt, to think of Sora…gone forever. She loved him so much and knowing it was her fault, that he'd vanished because he'd come to save her…

Did Riku blame her? He'd been different since collapsing, closed off and distant. Aqua said it could be simple shock, that he'd get better with time, but they were all keeping an eye on him. Roxas was still unconscious, they'd all thought he was totally separate from Sora now but apparently not, and Lea was going crazy with stress…and the feat that Roxas would never wake or simply fade away.

She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. No one knew, but she could feel Sora's absence too, she'd been part of his Heart once too, if only for a few short months. Sometimes she wondered if that was why everyone thought they were this great love. She loved Sora, she did, but now she wondered if she'd loved him the way everyone, even her, had thought. She'd been nothing but a liability in the end, she'd managed to help keep him from fading like the rest when they'd been ripped Heart from body, but he'd been the one to fix it, to save everyone. He'd done so much, sacrificed so many times…and he never received anything but pain in return.

She hadn't realised that, not till Roxas and Ventus had let loose at Donald and Goofy, thought mostly Donald. Apparently, what had once been light-hearted joking and teasing had turned to continual put downs, and Sora had never had the best self-esteem for all he seemed eternally happy. That mess of an exam and Master Yen Sid… all the times her and Riku had been ripped from his side… her only hope now was that his death had been a peaceful one, painless and fast.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Vanitas frowned as he studied Sora, his upper body bare to the chill air of the room for the moment as Vanitas changed the bandages and checked the wound, casting another Cure. There was something…strange. He leant in closer, examining every inch of still too pale skin, though he was looking better than he had that night.

Cleaned of blood, which had not been fun, Vanitas found a small wound just beneath his throat, barely a scratch. But spreading out from it were veins of black under the skin. What the hell? He grabbed a cloth and dipped it in the bowl, wiping at the skin, but there was no change.

Okay, focus. He thought back to the fight, he'd just been so angry…and yes some of that was at Sora for deciding to kill himself…but Sora wouldn't do that without a very good reason, right? He'd recognised that though they looked human, they weren't…had one of them…they had, one had briefly been close to Sora during the fight. So what, they'd infected him with something? Something that scared Sora so much he'd tried to kill himself first…that…wasn't good.

He put his hand over the tiny wound…that hadn't healed even with multiple healing spells and while he sucked at them a cut that small was easy. He closed his eyes, reaching out with every other sense and then he blanched. No! No way! He snarled and poured power into his brother, Sora's body jolting on the mattress, breath hitching but not stopping thankfully. Whatever it was, it was spreading like a virus, heading for Heart and mind. The only Darkness in Sora should come from him and Roxas, nothing else, no outside source.

He traced every branch of the invader and sent tendrils of his own Darkness racing after it, feeling muscles tense in reaction, a soft whine of pain coming from Sora's still unconscious form. Whatever it was, it wasn't Darkness like he knew, that Sora had spent the last few years fighting, it was something different. Made sense, wherever they were was very far from everything they knew. He didn't know if he could stop it, remove it, or what would happen if he couldn't.

The idea of Sora becoming like those who had attacked him made Vanitas snarl, it would not happen!

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Riku sat on the ledge, not worried about the drop beneath him. He felt…cold, so cold, empty. If he had known this would happen one day, would he have still done what he had to protect Sora? He couldn't lie, he would have done it willingly, even knowing the consequences, because it was Sora.

He tried not to sleep because he no longer dreamed of anything, just a never-ending dark place. It wasn't restful or refreshing at all. But despite it all, he kept fighting, because that was what Sora would want. He would not give in to the Darkness again, it wouldn't stop the pain. The Darkness liked pain.

Riku's eyes focused as he detected a familiar scent, seeing the Heartless spawning on the ground below. He simply tipped forward off the ledge, freefalling towards them, Keyblade appearing.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He stumbled back from the approaching figure, taking in the strange dark coloured suit, the weird weapon…and blood red eyes. What was this thing? He looked around for help, but the warehouse was empty, the workers all gone home. "W..ww…hat do you want…" he stammered out in fear. He wasn't one of them, something new?

"Tell me about the creatures that hunt in the night, the ones that look human," it demanded, keeping to the shadows.

It wanted to know about…but everyone knew. Still, if it kept the thing from killing him then he'd tell it whatever it wanted to know.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Goofy watched as Donald worked with some of the other Castle mages, seeing that his Heart wasn't in it. They needed ever healer and magical fighter they could get at the moment but things just weren't the same anymore. Not since that message had arrived. Sora…the bright boy they had spent so long with…was dead. Not just far away and out of reach, but truly dead.

It hurt so much. He'd always believed the kid would just show up on their door with that grin, older, maybe even hurt, but bright and alive. Or Riku and Kairi would show up, having found him and brought him home. Then the three could move into the Castle. Mickey practically saw Riku as a son, and Sora was like a nephew to them. He'd been looking forward to Sora and Max meeting. But now…all those dreams were gone.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Vanitas sat beside Sora, gently lifting his head with one hand to carefully tip water into his mouth, massaging his throat to make him swallow. He'd kept from killing Sora's boss which he was proud of, knew it would make his brothers happy. What he'd learnt though… he'd managed to slow the spread, but not remove the infection. After his interrogation and then observation of the creatures, he thought he could deal with it now, but it would not be gentle.

He was making sure Sora had water regularly, humans needed that. Even he needed water occasionally, Heartless didn't though. But he had no way to give him food and some pointed questions of the man earlier indicated that Sora needed to eat or his body would grow weak. But none of that mattered if Vanitas couldn't stop the infection, he knew Sora would rather die than give in to it, he'd proven that very clearly by stabbing himself.

"This is going to hurt," he warned, trying to make his voice gentler than his normal tone. If Sora could hear him, he didn't want him to panic. "Don't fight me, brother. I'm trying to save you."

He summoned several Unversed for extra safety, not that he thought anything would get in after he had secured the small 'apartment', really it was a rundown room with no heating and barely safe water from a small sink. He hated the idea of Sora cowering in such a place, scared and alone. Maybe Xehanort deserved to be stuck in such conditions but not his brothers.

Vanitas didn't want to do it, didn't want to cause Sora more pain but…the veins had spread down his chest, towards the stab wound.

"Fight Sora, you fight this. You know Darkness doesn't mean evil, remember Riku," Vanitas whispered in Sora's ear. "Just keep breathing."

He placed one hand over the stab wound, the other over the cut, glancing up at Sora's still face, identical to his own. Vanitas took a deep breath and reached out for the Darkness he had placed to slow the infection, flooding even more in, ignoring the sounds coming weakly from Sora. He could not afford to be distracted; he didn't want to accidentally turn Sora into a Heartless by engulfing his Heart…would Sora form a new Nobody if that happened? He shook that thought off and refocused.

He took another breath and then dark fire burned through Sora, his body convulsing under Vanitas' hands.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

He hurt…he was so tired…what…he struggled to remember, to open his eyes…

"Even, get over here!" a familiar voice half yelled.

"Keep your voice down, what is…Roxas?" he knew that voice too…

"Roxas? Come on, open your eyes." Axel…Lea… he sounded…scared?

Ever so slowly, heavy eyelids lifted, the blurry figures slowly coming into focus.

"That's it, that's great," Lea was grinning, tears in his eyes, and Roxas felt his hand being squeezed.

He tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but he was so tired.

"Even?" Lea sounded scared again.

"Let him rest, Lea. That's he woken is a good sign…"

He didn't hear the rest.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Terra sat beside Ven, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, tugging him to lean against him. He'd never seen Ventus so washed out, even when he'd first arrived. They were all exhausted from the seemingly never-ending battles to keep the Worlds from falling and things had gotten worse since Riku and Roxas had collapsed. Riku had woken in a few days, but they'd only just gotten word that Roxas had woken briefly. He'd been sent to Radiant Garden, to those who knew the most about Replica bodies.

He knew Ventus carried a lot of guilt over Sora, for not spending time with him before the battle, but it's not like he'd known Sora would be taken from them. Then again, it had been a battle, any of them could have died.

Terra did his best to support Ven and Aqua, guilt over everything always lingering inside of him. Riku had warned him to not let it overwhelm him, not when Darkness still lingered inside of him. To think, the boy he had once hoped to come back and teach had become his teacher in some ways. If he hadn't bequeathed Riku as a child, would Xehanort have targeted him? Then again, Sora had already been in contact with Ventus, and then he took Ven's Heart into his own – likely enough to bring attention to the children eventually.

"Come on, you need to sleep," he finally murmured, urging Ven to his feet, steadying him when he swayed.

"Can't," Ventus mumbled.

"You can," he assured him, keeping his voice steady, not wanting Ventus to hear the worry.

He carefully guided him inside the castle and towards the hall where their rooms were. Aqua stepped into the hall, eyes narrowing in concern, and he shook his head. She sighed but nodded and retreated to her own room.

Terra pushed the door open and guided Ventus inside, sitting him on the edge of the bed to remove his shoes, jacket, belt, pauldron, anything that would be uncomfortable. He then stripped down himself and tugged Ventus into his arms, feeling Ventus shaking. He remembered when Ventus had first woken after being brought to them, how lost he'd been, but how he'd gravitated to Terra, how he'd sought comfort without really understanding. Ventus was the little brother he'd always wanted and it hurt to see him struggling the way he was.

As much as the idea of him being in basically a coma for a decade made Terra feel ill, he was also glad for it. Because Ventus was still his little brother, for all three of them it had been as if it'd only been days since they had been together, rather than years. If he'd been awake for that decade, he would have been so much older than them, so different…how would he have changed without them there?

"Sleep Ventus, I've got you," he whispered, and very slowly, Ventus relaxed, falling asleep.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Riku?" Mickey called, and the boy turned to him, Mickey fighting not to show his despair at the dead look in his eyes. Instead, he smiled gently at him and moved to walk beside him, Riku slowing to enable it.

"Mickey," Riku murmured dully, but there was a little more life there than he'd heard from the others.

"Minnie and my wedding anniversary is coming up. There's going to be a party, a way for everyone to have a rest, and we'd like you to come." Maybe it was silly to have a party when everything was so wrong, but Minnie had been right, they needed something to celebrate, some lightness.

Riku frowned slightly, and Mickey touched his hand.

"Please Riku, it would mean a lot to us for you to come. And you need to rest, no one can fight non-stop."

"I…" Riku sighed and nodded. "I'll come," he agreed, and Mickey smiled at him again, utterly relieved to see the ghost of a smile on pale lips.

He was very worried about Riku, he was so pale now, distant. He feared turning his back and finding the younger Master simply fading away to nothing. If only they had known what being Sora's Dream Eater would do to him, maybe they could have done something before Sora died.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Burning! Get it away! He couldn't move…couldn't…

"Easy Sora, almost done, just hold on brother."

That voice…and then suddenly the burn was gone, cold rushing in and he choked, gasping. There was pain in his throat and chest, so much pain…and then he was staring into bright red eyes.

"Sora? Can you hear me?"

He opened his mouth, trying to respond, but it felt like he was choking, trying to breath.

"Come on, breath Sora!"

And then he was pulled up, resting against someone, a hand braced against his chest. He coughed, gasping in air.

"That's it, keep breathing."

Cold…he was so cold…his teeth were chattering. Hands rubbed up and down his arms, trying to warm him. And then he was gagging, hearing someone swear distantly, something put under him as he vomited up…sludge.

"Should have seen that coming. Don't fight it, better your body purge it," the voice told him, but he struggled to make sense of it.

He slumped, so tired…cold…but the other was warmer and he whined when they went to lay him back down.

"Oh, okay, I've got you little brother."

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Vanitas grimaced but set the contents of the bin on fire rather than risk it infecting anything. He cradled Sora in his arms and it felt…strange. Different to just sitting beside him or even petting his hair. He could feel the cold of Sora's body and he knew that was not normal. He hadn't really been with it at all, he wasn't sure Sora had understood anything he said, but he had been awake. That had to be a good sign, right?

He shifted Sora's limp body carefully to get a look at his wounds, not happy with the sight of fresh blood on the bandages, probably from the force of the vomiting. Something Vanitas was well acquainted with from his early days of existence as separate from Ventus. He had thrown up a lot of Darkness back then, until he'd stabilised in form.

Sora obviously hadn't realised who he was, otherwise he wouldn't want to be held, no matter how cold he was. But he was also taking that as a good sign that he'd gotten the infection in time, cause the ones he'd seen wouldn't touch without fighting each other. But could Sora accept what Vanitas had done to save him?

TBC…

Pairing suggestions? No Sora with Ventus or Vanitas, they're brothers, same with Ven and Terra. Other than that, ideas?

As for where Sora and Vanitas are? No world in particular. But it's a dangerous world, with no magic, and creatures that come out at night. Some look human, some don't. some can infect people with what they are, others can't.