Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 8

He hit the ground on his back, scrambling to bring his gun back up, the man smirking as he levelled his own. He was going to get shot, again. And then all he could do was sate in shock as some strange, mutant, rabbit used its ears to take out the terrorist. What the hell?

"Deeks! Deeks answer me!"

"I'm here," he answered, "I'm good…though remind me to never eat from that new taco food truck again." He had to be hallucinating that thing, right?

And then he spotted a black-haired teen who smirked and waved, another teen with him shaking his head but shooting Marty a grin.

"You're welcome!" the brown haired one called and then they were gone.

He'd seen some weird things since becoming the LAPD liaison to NCIS but that? How was he meant to put that in his report?!

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Sora ducked behind a wall as something blew up. They'd landed in a war zone! A barrier formed around him, protecting him, and he nodded at Vani. They needed a few seconds to focus and then they could get out of there. A weird sound had him peeking over cover to see a man in brown robes blocking the shots with some kind of sword made of light! That was so…

And then Vanitas yanked him back down before one of the weird robot soldiers could shoot him. Oops.

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Kairi shifted nervously, more than ready to have left but Yen Sid just kept talking. She met Axel's eyes over Xion and Mickey's head, and he rolled them, making her bite her lip to keep from laughing.

They had tracked where Riku had been taken though getting there wasn't going to be easy. Somehow, he was in Traverse Town but suspended between the normal version…and the Sleeping World version. They were going to need powerful magic to breech it and find him.

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Merlin frowned and looked up at the stars, it wasn't possible and yet…for a second, he would swear he senses young Sora. But everyone agreed the boy had died, then again, how many times had those assumed dead either returned to life or simply been lost? They could really use his brand of optimism and knack for doing the impossible.

He had fortified Radiant Garden as best he could, but his best skills were with transformations and time, not fighting dream spirits.

He knew they were preparing to go after Riku and he had done what he could to aid them, adding his magic to the protections the fairies had placed on their equipment, giving them extra potions…but would it be enough? He didn't know the young man well, but he was very important to Sora. He was a powerful Keyblade Master in his own right and they needed his help desperately. And yet, they had no idea who or what they would find.

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Vanitas grabbed the woman and yanked her away from the crazy…corpse? What the hell was that thing? He sent a blast of Dark fire at it even as Sora hit it with an aero spell, creating a nice inferno and then they ran. They turned a corner to find two men and Vani tossed her at them. "Get out of here!" he yelled

"Where'd the kids come from?" the darker haired man asked.

"Who cares, run!" the other raised guns and opened fire, and Vanitas felt the Darkness of the creature approaching.

Fireproof, wonderful. Still, they ran with the group until they made it to the surface only to find a lot of unhappy men on horseback, talking about a creature able to end the world that apparently the group they'd first found had woken. One glance at Sora told him they'd be sticking around to help. But honestly…he didn't mind all that much. Helping people wasn't as bad as he once thought.

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Mickey ducked and then slashed with his Keyblade, taking out another Nightmare. They'd barely gotten through the portal before they were attacked and it hadn't let up. Somewhere in here, was Riku. There was no sign of the people both Sora and Riku had claimed to have met in the Sleeping version of the Town during their exam, so hopefully they were home, awake, and safe.

With the numbers against them, they couldn't split up to cover more ground either, which meant slowly fighting their way District to District until they found him. At this rate, it could take forever. And he was worried with every foe that the next would be Riku himself, eyes crimson.

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Sora grinned and ducked, spinning around, launching a blizzard spell at the robotic being, freezing it to the road. He could feel his magic buzzing away under his skin but more than that, he could feel it…home. They were almost home!

But first they had to help the good robots stop the bad ones from taking over the planet called Earth. Or from converting the local machines into more bad robots using that magical cube. Fighting robots wouldn't be so bad, even without a Keyblade, except these ones were huge! Bigger than a lot of buildings and they had big weapons too. He threw up a shaky barrier spell over the teen with the cube, blocking bullets, getting a startled look and then a thank you.

More Unversed spawned, moving to protect the people trying to get to safety but where was that when these beings could bring down the buildings?

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"RIKU!" Kairi screamed.

He was there, alive, she hoped. He floated limp within a ball of Darkness, eyes closed, hair drifting around his body. He looked…peaceful, except for the way his face would move and then his fingers twitch slightly. Dreaming? Fighting to wake up? Being tortured? At least it proved he was still alive.

"Riku!" she called again even as she ducked an attack, and she saw him twitch again, could he hear her?

"What is that thing?" Roxas yelled, sending pillars of Light into the fray.

"It looks like the orb Riku described Sora being kept in during the exam," the King called out.

"Of course it does, it is made of Nightmares," an unfamiliar voice answered as the Nightmares pulled back.

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Vanitas stared at the Corridor; this was it. Sora reached out and took his hand, fingers trembling slightly. He could feel Sora's excitement and also nervousness. It had been years, who knew what had happened in their absence. They had no idea where anyone would be and he was wary of opening a Corridor in the Land of Departure or Mysterious Tower. Radiant Garden might be the best bet, Sora had friends there in the defenders and the Castle staff knew him even if Sora didn't remember his first interactions with most of them.

"Ready?" Sora asked, and Vani squeezed his hand.

"Ready," he agreed, and then grabbed Sora as his knees buckled. "Sora?!"

"Riku," he whispered, clutching his chest. He looked up at Vanitas with tears in his eyes. "Something's really wrong."

Vanitas frowned but then looked at the Corridor. He let it collapse and then helped Sora to his feet. "You'll have to do this Sora, I can't find Riku like you can, we don't have a connection."

"But I've never…I don't know how," he stared at Vanitas, the red in his eyes a little more visible due to the strong emotions. He didn't deny having enough Darkness to do it, not now, not with Vanitas' Darkness in his veins.

"I'll talk you through it. Close your eyes." He'd never tried to teach someone else to open Corridors or even use Darkness before but it appeared it was an emergency. He also had to be careful, he didn't want Sora to start using the Darkness and fall to it like so many, it would be best if he only ever tapped the stuff that had been shared between them to save him. He didn't care much about anyone other than Sora and Ventus, maybe Roxas and Xion a bit since they'd all shared Sora's Heart, but Riku meant a lot to Sora.

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Ventus watched as Riku slumped to the ground as the Dark bubble dissolved from around him. He lay still, limp on the ground. The clothing he was wearing looked stained a mix of dark purple and black when Ven was pretty sure they'd been dressing him in light colours during his coma. His long hair was darker too, his skin pale, but Ven hadn't seen him in a while so the skin could be from being kept indoors unconscious for so long.

"Riku!" Mickey called, and Riku twitched slightly in response. "What have you done to him?"

That got a chuckle from the hooded figure, at least it wasn't an Organisation coat? Slowly, they pushed back the hood to reveal pale skin and crimson eyes, lank black hair falling down their back. Purple lips pulled back in a smile, revealing sharp fangs, and there was just something about him that was…off-putting.

He reached down and grabbed Riku by the hair, pulling him partially up, and Riku's eyes fluttered open, unfocused…and not their normal cyan but more of a dark purple, not red, not yet.

"Riku!" Kairi called, and glassy eyes flickered her way, but he was obviously not fully conscious.

"Do you know how long I've waited for this?" the stranger asked, their other hand moving to caress Riku's cheek. "Another human Dream Eater, to no longer be alone. But he had a tether, a human whose Dreams he could eat. Never thought to ask what would happen when they died, did you? What happens to a Dream Eater when there's no more dreams to Eat?" he crooned.

"Let him go," Kairi had her Keyblade in hand, and Ventus hoped she didn't do anything rash.

"To go back to an eternal sleep, to wither and die?"

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Sora stood in the Realm of Darkness with very little to protect besides his own and Vani's magic. The clothing they'd been gifted wouldn't stop such strong Darkness, only weak active magic. They travelled through it to get between Worlds but they'd never stopped, except this time they had to, the Corridor couldn't get to wherever Riku was, which probably wasn't a good sign. But something about it felt…familiar.

"Oh," he whispered as it hit him.

"Sora?"

"Riku's in the Sleeping Worlds…or sort of? Which means we need a portal…and I can't open one without a Keyblade," which he still hadn't managed to summon. It was frustrating, he'd been summoning one for years, he should be able to do it.

Vanitas looked at him, nodded, and summoned Void Gear, holding it out to him. "You've used Riku's and even Eraqus' Keyblades before."

Sora nodded and reached out for the Keyblade, feeling it react to him, since it was the one that bequeathed him? It felt strange but also so good and natural to hold one again. He gripped it with both hands and raised it, closing his eyes, reaching out with his Heart. Riku…where was he?

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Pale lips moved soundlessly, unnoticed by everyone. So…ra…

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Vanitas watched Sora hold his Keyblade, grinning as the area lit up, power building. And then a beam lanced out from the tip, piercing the air and forming a portal. He hadn't seen a lot of the exam, he'd been bored, and trying to remain hidden from the more conscious Heart that had taken up residence with them, Roxas. But…he was pretty sure that was a portal to the Sleeping Worlds.

"Ready?" He asked, and Sora nodded.

"Let's go."

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Kairi stared at Riku, seeing the dull confusion there. He must have been kept in that bubble since he was taken, kept asleep. He wasn't a Nightmare, not yet, which meant they had a chance to save him. His now purple eyes kept drifting to her, obviously recognising her in some way. "It's okay Riku, we're here," she called gently.

He made a noise, low in his throat, eyes rolling back slightly. One hand lifted towards his capture before dropping to his side limply. So, he was definitely aware to a point, did he realise he was being held hostage? They couldn't attack while his captor held him like that, there was too much risk they'd hit him.

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Mickey saw Riku try to move, taking it as a good sign. He hadn't been capable of that much when he'd collapsed at the party. But he was also a lot further along in becoming a Nightmare. But Kairi was mostly holding what attention he had on anything.

There had to be a way to get Riku away from…the other Dream Eater? How had they not heard about another human becoming a Dream Eater?

"Are you behind all of this?" he asked, if they could keep the stranger focused on them, then hopefully there'd be an opening.

TBC…

Crossovers are NCIS LA, Star Wars, The Mummy (Brendan Fraser version), and Transformers.

I know, it's short but there's still some stuff being worked out. Plus I'm trying to get my last paper for the trimester done.