The completed version of this story is on Archive of Our Own, under the same username and title.

A blast, the likes of which none of them had ever seen, shot from the man's palm. It filled the wide street and rushed towards them, obliterating all in its path, tearing lamp posts from the ground and shattering windows.

Riku turned his back to the blast and hugged Sora into his chest, trying to shield him with his body. It was all he could think of to try and protect him. Kairi ran forward and threw her arms wide, placing herself between the attack and them. She had no weapon, no way to access her magic, nothing at all to defend them with. As the raging darkness approached and threatened to engulf her she closed her eyes, hoping that whatever happened to her was enough to protect Riku and Sora.

She didn't know why it happened at this moment, but the memory of that day on the island came back to her. That day, one year ago, when they had all gathered on the beach, and he had disappeared. The very last time everyone had been together. All happy, safe, and together… for a little while at least. She thought about them together on their island, sitting on the tree with Sora.

Several streets away, Roxas and Xion stumbled to a halt, both clutching their chests in unison. A dimension and several worlds away, more people felt something in their hearts. Aqua and Terra stopped mid-conversation, distracted by a clenching in their chests. Outside, Ven gasped and doubled over in pain while he practised, as something he couldn't see stabbed at his heart.

Donald and Goofy, sitting at the top of Yen Sid's tower felt deep, powerful pangs in their chests and cried out, as Lea and Mickey felt their hearts shudder. In Radiant Garden tears appeared in Naminé's eyes and her heart ached, though she didn't know why. Riku was sure for a second that the blast must have hit them as agony racked his chest, like a lance had been driven directly through his heart.

All across the worlds each person Sora had once connected to felt something, from the tiniest twinge to the most terrifying leap, in their hearts. A spark of light flashed in Kairi's necklace.

For a moment, Sora felt Rage clawing at his insides and wondered if it was the only way.

But then a wave of cooling water seemed to wash over his body, passing through his veins and extinguishing the scorching flames of Rage beneath his skin. Spreading from the point where Riku's heart was pressed to his.

It felt like diving into the sea.

A wall of light sprung outwards from Kairi's chest, extending high into the sky and smashing into the buildings on either side, raining broken glass onto the street. It shone brightly as the dark blast collided with it. Balls of light, like stars, burst from it and flew back towards the robbed figure. Riku turned, unsure what was happening, and as he did so Sora was able to see past him. His eyelids were heavy, but he could see her.

See her surrounded by light. Standing between them and this monster. Protecting them.

He tried to reach out his hand, in his dazed state thinking if he could just reach out and touch her then he would be able to pull her back, away from the danger. He tried to call her name, but the last of his strength was leaving him. His eyes closed, and his hand fell back to the ground.

Riku could only stare and gape at the scene in front of him, unaware that Sora had lost consciousness in his arms. Kairi stood strong, holding this shield of light up until the onslaught was over. As the attack ended the light dissipated. Kairi fell to her hands and knees, her chest on fire, gasping as she tried to catch her breath. She didn't know how she had done what she just did, and neither did the robed man.

As she and Riku watched, he staggered backwards, panting as much as she was. The Keyblades' disappeared from behind him, returning to their owners. There was a long moment of oppressive silence before he snorted and laughed.

"Hah! Well… I guess you have some tricks up your sleeve then…"

Riku and Kairi could tell he was caught off guard by what had just happened, but they had no idea how terrified the man truly was. He straightened up and threw his hands theatrically into the air.

"Fine then, if you want him that badly you can have him!"

He glanced at the unconscious boy and sneered.

"Or at least what's left of him," and with that, he vanished.

They stared at the spot he had disappeared from for a moment before Riku found his voice again. "Kairi what... what was that?" He stuttered. She was preoccupied with the man's final words though and spun around.

"Sora!"

Riku followed her gaze and panic gripped him. Sora's eyes were closed. A small trickle of blood was leaking from the corner of his mouth, and as dark lightning sparked across him once again he remained still. Kairi climbed unsteadily to her feet and stumbled over, collapsing to her knees at Sora's side. Riku shook him gently. "Sora? Sora! Come on, wake up! Hey Sora!"

His breathing was rapid and shallow, and he gave no sign he had heard Riku. Kairi reached out a hand and placed it on his cheek, calling out to him as well. "Sora… please don't go."

Riku took a second to steady himself, he couldn't lose control right now. Sora was still alive, and he still had his heart. "We need to get him out of here, now."

As if on queue, they heard familiar voices calling and looked up to find Xion and Roxas running toward them, broken glass crunching beneath their boots. "Kairi! Riku! Are you OK? We saw a bunch of light and-"

Roxas stopped dead as Kairi turned and he saw past her, to Sora lying in Riku's arms. A small pool of blood had formed beneath him. "What-what happened?" Xion stammered.

"There's no time, we have to get to the portal. Roxas, help me with him."

They rushed forward to help them. Riku took off one of his gloves and handed it to Roxas. He held Sora's broken arm straight and Roxas wrapped the glove around the point where the bones seemed to be snapped. It wasn't much, but hopefully it would stop it from moving too much until it could be treated properly.

As they carefully lifted Sora onto Riku's back, Xion knelt down beside Kairi, who hadn't moved and was white as a sheet. "Are you all right?"

Kairi turned but didn't seem to see her, apparently in shock. Then she blinked and focussed. "Yeah... yeah, I'm OK. I'm... not sure if I can stand up though."

Her legs had turned to jelly, whatever she had managed to do to protect them seemed to have sucked all of her energy away. Xion cast Curaga, to give her some temporary energy, and helped her to her feet. "Put your arm over my shoulders if you need help, OK?"

"Thanks." Kairi gave her a weak smile, which Xion returned. Riku stood up, Sora's head and arms lying limply over his shoulders.

"Let's get out of here." They all nodded, and, with Roxas taking the lead and Xion bringing up the rear, quickly made their way back to the portal.

As they raced through the city Riku tried to run as smoothly as he could, not wanting to jolt Sora and cause him more suffering. Even so, as they finally approached the portal and he came to a sudden stop he heard a faint groan. Well, at least that meant he was still alive...

"We're almost there Sora, just try to stay awake. Stay with me."

Sora didn't respond. He was fading in and out of consciousness, unsure of what was happening around him, barely aware of anything other than an ache in his chest. His adrenaline was fading and he was gradually becoming more and more aware of the pain. He wanted nothing more than to slip away again and escape it.

"Stay with me Sora."

But he heard Riku's voice. He didn't know why he had to stay awake, but he tried to do what Riku said. Roxas opened the portal and they found themselves back in the Final World. The sudden bright light was intense. It stung Sora's eyes through his closed lids, and he winced.

"Stay with me Sora"

"Ri-" Sora tried to reply but his voice caught in his throat. He coughed and blood dripped onto Riku's chest. Riku wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his terror out of his tone but he tried.

"Just stay with me. Just stay with me."

He tried to focus on Riku's voice, using it to ignore the pain and stay awake.

"Just stay with me Sora. Just stay with me…"

The portal back to their world was close, and they soon found themselves in a place they all preferred to avoid, the Keyblade Graveyard. They boarded the nearby Gummi Ship, and Roxas and Xion took the controls. As they rushed to start the ship, Kairi helped Riku carefully lower Sora to the floor, lying him down with his head resting in her lap.

Riku's back was now soaked in blood, and the blood from Sora's head was rapidly staining Kairi's skirt. He was breathing fast and his eyes were shut, scrunched up in pain as he clutched his abdomen with his left hand. His right arm lay limply at his side; it seemed he didn't want, or maybe wasn't able, to move it. Along with the fresh wounds, his arms and shins were covered in partially healed cuts and bruises, most of which looked several days or weeks old. The worst was the line of black and blue encircling his neck, a bruise wrapped around his throat like a shadow of his necklace. Kairi tried to wipe some of the blood from his face.

He opened his eyes slowly and gazed up at her. She wasn't sure if he even realised she was there, his eyes looked so glazed and distant. The dark circles beneath them made it look like he hadn't slept in days. "Can you hear me?" she asked gently.

He furrowed his brow as though trying to focus. "Kairi?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"Yeah! It's me! Just hold on OK? You're going to be alright."

He couldn't make out what she was saying though, or any of the voices around him. It was all just a blur of sound. The Gummi ship's engine was revving up and Roxas and Xion were calling out to each other as they took off, planning their next move. Riku's face appeared above Sora as well.

"Riku?" His mouth was moving fast as he spoke to him, but his words were just as indistinct as Kairi's. Sora felt his throat start to close up, as though he was suddenly choking. His chest convulsed. Quickly realising what was happening, Kairi and Riku turned him on his side and he started coughing. Blood spattered the floor and dripped from his mouth. Each cough sent a sharp, searing pain through his ribs. The others were terrified, it hadn't occurred to them that he could be bleeding internally as well.

When they were sure it was over, and he wasn't going to choke on his own blood, they shifted him back into Kairi's lap. He opened his eyes and looked blearily up at them, barely conscious, not understanding what was happening around him. They tried talking to him again, but he wouldn't respond. He just stared at them both, blinking sluggishly through half-lidded eyes. The cuts on his chest and scalp were bleeding heavily, and his face was losing colour.

"We need to stop the bleeding…" Riku said, more to himself than anyone else, as he tried to think of what to do.

"Here!"

He turned and caught the red and white box Roxas had tossed over. "First aid kit, thought it might come in handy when we packed the ship." Riku nodded his thanks, glad at least one of them had been smart enough to think ahead. "There isn't much in it apart from bandages, but…" Roxas glanced at the blood smeared down Riku's back. "I guess that's a good thing…"

Aqua had insisted everyone learn some proper first aid since they couldn't always rely on magic, which Riku was sincerely grateful for right now. As he fumbled through the supplies Sora clenched his eyes shut again and hugged his chest. Kairi rubbed his arm soothingly. "It'll be alright Sora, you'll be fine soon." Riku handed her a piece of wound dressing and she pressed it firmly to the gash on Sora's head. He groaned and tried to turn his head away, but Riku quickly tied the dressing in place with a bandage as Kairi held it still. She took another piece of cloth and wiped more of the blood away from his mouth.

Riku carefully pulled Sora's hand away from his chest, tore the rest of his shirt open, and tried to wipe the blood away from the wound so he could examine it. It didn't seem to have gone deep enough to have hit anything major thank goodness, but it was still deep, and wide. Whatever had made the cut must have been jagged and vicious. At this rate, Sora would bleed out before they reached the tower.

He took the rest of the bandages and gauze out of the box and then hesitated, dreading what he was going to have to do. Sora must be in a great deal of pain already, and this would make it so much worse. He glanced up at Kairi, giving her a desperate and miserable look. She knew what he was thinking and that he wanted her to tell him there was another way, but she knew as well as he did that he had to do it if they wanted Sora to live.

He didn't have a choice.

She nodded sadly and tightened her grip around Sora's shoulders. Riku steeled himself, then pushed a wad of material hard into the deepest part of the cut. They both knew it was coming, but Sora's scream still pierced them.

He pushed against the ground with his feet, desperately trying to move away, and grabbed at Riku's hands with his left, trying to pull them away from him. But Riku's hands stayed steady as he grabbed more of the material and tried to pack the wound as quickly as he could.

"Arghhh, stop! Stop!" Sora yelled and clawed at Riku's hand. The agony in his stomach and chest was unbearable. Tears were running down Kairi's face now, and Riku heard Xion crying at the dashboard as the screaming continued. "No... stop... STOP!"

Kairi was hugging Sora tight and talking to him softly, trying desperately to comfort him. "It'll be over soon Sora, just hold on."

It took less than a minute to pack the cut, but it felt to Riku like an age. When he was finally finished, he took the last piece of dressing in one hand and pressed it down on top of the gash. With the other he took hold of Sora's left hand, holding it tight and away from the bandages, letting him grasp it as the pain continued. He let out a choked sob, hating himself for causing his friend so much pain.

But slowly, so slowly, Sora stopped struggling, his screams of pain replaced with rapid breathing through gritted teeth. Riku's hand was going numb from Sora clenching it. As the pain lessened and Sora adjusted to it, his grip began to ease.

At the Gummi ship dashboard, Xion continued quietly crying. Roxas had turned grey and was trying hard not to be sick. Now that the ship was quiet, he took out his Gummi phone and called the group at Yen Sid's tower.

While he spoke to them, Riku and Kairi tried to keep Sora conscious. His body had gone completely limp and his eyes were closed. Riku squeezed his hand. "You've got to stay awake Sora. I know it hurts, but you have to stay awake, please." Sora didn't say anything, he just kept panting shallowly. "Sora? Hey Sora!"

He was barely aware of anything except the burning in his chest. He knew people were talking but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He just felt so sore, so tired…

At the front of the ship, Roxas was speaking to Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Axel, who were waiting for them at Yen Sid's tower. "He's hurt bad and our magic isn't working. I don't even know if it could help right now. What do we do?"

They all racked their brains for several minutes, before Goofy was struck with an idea and turned to Donald. "Oh, I know! Hiro can help!"

"Oh yeah!" Donald exclaimed, before turning to the others triumphantly. "Leave it to Goofy and me! We'll be back soon!"

They both dashed out of the room without another word, leaving everyone else completely bewildered. Roxas ended the call, needing to focus on helping Xion deal with any Heartless ships they encountered.

Behind them Riku was becoming more and more frantic, yelling as his fear turned into frustration. "Come on Sora, say something!" The loud noise made Sora's head throb horribly and he groaned. The pain in his chest and head seemed to have brought some of his senses back. He slowly turned to face the sound and, after blinking hard for a few moments, recognised his two closest friends staring down at him.

"Sora? Can you hear me?" Kairi asked.

He swallowed, tasting blood in his mouth again, and gave a small nod. Riku and Kairi beamed. "All right, just keep your eyes on us then, you need to stay awake," Riku told him.

"I'm tired..." he said thickly. He didn't know if he could stay awake, and he didn't want to.

"I know, but Sora please, you just need to stay awake a little longer," Kairi implored.

He stared back into her eyes. She seemed so scared right now, so desperate. He swallowed again, trying to keep the blood clear from his throat, and nodded. "OK..."

Kairi smiled, tears running down her face. "I promise you can rest soon."

Sora's vision was still hazy and he couldn't make out anything beyond their faces, just colours and shapes. "Where… are we?" He murmured.

"We're on the Gummi Ship," Riku told him. "We're going to get you help, you'll be fine, OK?"

"Gummi… Ship?"

"Yeah, we'll be at Yen Sid's soon."

Sora's brow furrowed. They couldn't be on a Gummi Ship he thought, there was no way into this world from the other. There was no way a Gummi Ship could have reached it, not without him noticing at the very least. As he stared at Riku in confusion, his eyelids began to droop and a few more sparks flashed across his chest and face.

"Hey, stay with me!" Riku gave his hand another shake and he dragged his eyes open. "Just try and keep talking OK?"

He blinked a few more times, as Riku's face slipped in and out of focus. "Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"I can't feel… my arm."

"What?" He looked back at Sora's broken arm and his pathetic attempt at binding it with a glove.

"Why can't… I feel it…?"

Riku didn't have an answer, he wasn't sure if a break could cause numbness like that. "It's OK Sora, your arm's broken but we're going to get it fixed up." He didn't feel very confident in his own words, and he hated to think what extra damage being jostled around on his back might have done to the broken bones. But he tried to smile at Sora, and it seemed to be enough to placate him.

"We're going into the Nebula line now, we should be at the tower in about 10 minutes," Xion called back to them. They should be safe from Heartless while they were in the line, so Roxas hurried back to check on Sora.

"How's he doing?" He asked anxiously, sitting down beside Kairi.

Hearing another familiar voice Sora turned his head, trying to make out the new face. "Roxas?"

"Yeah," he smiled, relieved to hear Sora speaking. "It's good to see you Sora."

Sora smiled weakly, "You too."

Small red spots were starting to appear on the cloth Riku was holding down. "Roxas, are there any more bandages?"

"No, I only brought the one kit."

Sora turned back to Riku, looking worried. "Bandages? Riku… are you alright?"

"Huh?" Riku was confused.

"He's fine Sora. Don't worry, we're all fine." Sora looked up at Kairi as she spoke calmly and smiled at him. "None of us are hurt, we're all safe."

"Oh… that's good." He smiled and closed his eyes, looking relieved.

He has no idea what's going on anymore, Riku thought. That was a bad sign. A really bad sign.

Sora opened his eyes again and frowned, staring up at Roxas and Kairi. "But... where are we?" Riku and Kairi exchanged looks.

"We're on the Gummi Ship," Roxas replied.

"Gummi… ship?"

"Yeah, we're going to Yen Sid's tower Sora, remember?" Kairi asked.

"...what?" Sora didn't understand how they could possibly be on a Gummi ship. None of this made sense to him. He needed to get up and look around. He tried to push himself into a seated position but didn't get far.

"Sora don't try and move!" Roxas yelled and threw his hands up in front of Sora to try and stop him. Pins and needles shot down his previously numb arm and daggers seemed to stab at his chest. He cried out again as he slumped back.

"Hey, take it easy!" Riku yelled at him. Sora clenched his eyes shut and gripped Riku's hand tight. After a minute or so he began to relax and Kairi put her hand on his cheek, trying to calm him, as Riku massaged the back of his hand with his thumb.

"Just hold on OK?" Kairi pleaded with Sora, trying to smile through the tears. "Just a little bit longer. Try and keep talking."

He opened his eyes, and as he stared up at her his strained expression softened. Her bright blue eyes seemed so full of fear and anguish, and as he turned to Riku he saw the same in his. They were all together again... He didn't understand, why were they so sad? He tried to grin at them. "I missed you guys."

Riku looked surprised for a moment, then gave an achingly sad smile, while Kairi made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. "We missed you too," Riku told him.

Sora wanted to say something to stop Kairi crying, to stop Riku from looking so sad. But as he opened his mouth he found he couldn't speak anymore. It was as if his brain had forgotten how. His eyes began to slowly slide shut. Kairi gave him a gentle shake. "Sora please, please you have to stay awake."

He didn't think he could anymore though. His entire body felt drained and cold. His head was throbbing, but it was lying on something soft and warm…

"Just hold on Sora," Riku begged, giving his hand another squeeze.

Kairi was sobbing now. "Everything is going to be fine, you just have to stay awake Sora, please." But he was so tired. Everything hurt, but the pain seemed to somehow be fading. All he wanted was to sleep. "Just a little longer Sora."

He opened his eyes again and looked at her, desperately trying to do what she asked, wanting to do anything to make her and Riku smile again. But he couldn't do it. His eyes slid shut, and his hand went limp in Riku's.

"No! Sora! Sora! Open your eyes!" Kairi yelled, shaking him.

But this time he didn't wake up. Roxas quickly grabbed her shoulders to stop the shaking, not wanting her to accidentally hurt him.

"Please Sora… please…" She started sobbing and crumpled forward, hugging him close to her. Riku quickly checked Sora's pulse and nodded at a terrified looking Roxas, letting him know he was still alive. Roxas breathed a sigh of relief and took his hands off Kairi's shoulders, thinking it best to leave her be right now. He got up and rejoined Xion at the controls, hoping they were almost out of the line.

Riku stared sadly at Kairi as she held Sora's limp body close and cried into the crook of his neck. He looked down at his best friend, beaten, broken, covered in wounds both old and new, and felt a stab of guilt. He should have been there sooner, he should have figured out how to get to him sooner… He was more afraid now than he had ever been in his life.

He took Sora's hand in his again and squeezed, begging him silently to return the pressure. After all this time they had finally found him, and now he might have to lose him all over again.

Xion turned to look at the three of them, gathered together on the floor. "Almost there, just 5 more minutes…"

For the rest of the trip they sat in silence, the only sound Kairi's muffled sobs, and pleading for Sora to wake up.