CH 8: Broken Chain

After a lengthy, desperate struggle, stillness finally washed over The World That Never Was. Rain continued gently falling, and wind continued briskly blowing. Nature was ambivalent to the massive, light dust cloud faintly shrouding a large area and the events that just transpired within it.

A great distance away, Mickey, Donald, Roxas, and Terra all weakly flew forward toward the dust cloud, all of them taking heavy, winded breaths. Nobody looked at each other, all of their gazes remained locked forward. Despite not knowing, they all did that for the same reason. They were all afraid of what may have just happened.

No more than half a mile away, Lea rose to his feet, staring at the faint dust cloud before him. He thought back to a few seconds ago, where, in the blink of an eye, Namine and Shigaraki both disappeared, and a massive explosion erupted on the ground. Lea couldn't help but see that moment over and over. His mind went wild with possibilities, terrible fates happening to Namine, one after the other, a never ending line of them.

(There's no way this is real,) he pleaded. As he tried stepping forward, he winced in pain. He gripped his gut and lost his footing, leaning to his side and hitting a nearby wall. (Why? She needed me, and I let her down.) He squeezed his gut fiercely, clutching it and the fabric of his coat. (Damn it.)

At ground zero, floating within the dust cloud a few feet above the ground, Sora, Riku, Aqua, Xion, and Strelitzia all stared in horror at the sight before them. Namine flashed in their minds. Her soft, cute smile was cut through by Shigaraki snatching hold of her heart and decaying it to dust. She was still alive and well just moments ago, speaking to Riku, reassuring them all.

That reality already felt so distant.

(This can't be real,) Aqua pleaded as her eyes watered, (No… There's no way. Namine can't be…) She took a deep breath and kept a firm grip on her Keyblade. Holding it, her thoughts and body relaxed, and the water around her eyes retreated back in. "We can still beat him."

What followed Aqua's defiance… was silence. Seconds passed, but nobody spoke up with her. "Guys?" Her voice shook as she called out to her friends. Looking at them brought her little confidence. Xion and Strelitzia stared in shock at where Namine once was, their mouths hanging open and quivering.

Despair began setting in when she saw Riku. He was weeping, slouched over and swaying in the wind slightly. His back arched with each sob, and his voice sounded strained, tired from the intensity of his sobs. His hands were wrapped around his arms as if giving himself a hug. Unlike the rest of his body, they remained firm.

"We aren't done yet!" Riku, Xion, and Strelitzia all looked to Aqua, a fire lighting up her tight stare and grit teeth. "We can still beat this guy!"

"Do you ever shut up?"

Everyone snapped to attention, looking down at the spot where Namine once was. The spot where Tomura Shigaraki still stood. His skin and wounds were all being repaired before their eyes, regrowing in a grotesque, detailed manner. All burns and blisters were slowly returning to normal skin, and his exposed muscles and bones were slowly becoming covered once more. Most insultingly, the hole leading to his heart had already been sealed. "If that didn't work, do you really think you have anything else that will?"

Although his taunts were confident, Shigaraki was mentally, meticulously planning. (This is really bad. Namine's magic did a lot more damage than I thought.) He looked at his skin, watching Super Regen repair it. That right there was the problem. He could see it healing him. (Super Regen was working overtime because of her, and now it's functioning way slower from overworking itself. I can't afford to sustain much more damage, every attack will matter a lot more now.)

He smirked. (But they don't need to know that.)

"Don't listen to him," Aqua said to her friends, "he's bluffing. I saw the look in his eyes when Kairi used Stop. He's afraid of that and Ultima, and those are just the ones he knows about! This guy has no chance of beating us!"

"Then I guess you're the dumbest one here," Shigaraki continued. He placed a hand over what remained of his combat suit, pressing it and his arm against his waist, and slowly slid it up his body. As he moved it along himself, the combat suit began reforming, coming back good as new like a magician revealing fabric. "Well, the dumbest one left. Namine was the biggest idiot by far. She deserved to die."

He held his smirk while continuing to think. (If I hide the wounds, they might not notice my regen is slowing down. Just keep them thinking about Namine. Make them focus on her, and they shouldn't notice.)

Hearing Shigaraki's words, Riku's sobs slowed. His head began to hurt, pounding him for some reason. It all came suddenly, leaving him no time to understand it. He was just left with a constant banging, ringing that tore away at him. The one detail he could divine was that it grew worse as he stared at Shigaraki.

(…)

Riku tried to understand it.

(…)

But he could not think. He could only see what was before him.

(…)

He could only see…

(Shigaraki.)

Then, in a single, decisive moment of clarity, with a slight twitch of his eye and shirk of his mouth, he snapped.

Riku charged forward, blasting downward like a missile. "SHUT THE HELL UP!" He screamed with ferocious might. His advance was halted by a hand grabbing his, snapping Riku's head and legs forward as his body stopped in place. He floated in place, taking deep breaths as the hand remained latched onto him.

"Don't let him talk about her like that," he said with a cold, angered tone, his words directed to the one at his side but his glare locked on Shigaraki, "Namine was a wonderful person, and he stole her life from her for no good reason. How the hell can you-"

Riku's eyes drifted sideward, bringing his words to a halt. His mouth hung open slightly as he looked at the person who held his hand, stunned in silence. "S- Sora?" he muttered.

"Ah, come on." Riku's gaze snapped back to Shigaraki, who grinned at him wickedly. "Don't give me all the credit." Shigaraki kneeled down and pressed his hand against his waist, this time running it down a leg. That bottom half of his suit slowly reappeared, good as new. "I only got my hands on her because of you three."

Shigaraki pointed at Riku. "I was a little confused about it at first, but I noticed Cartoon Nezu stopped trying to murder me after you talked to him. Then after that, Namine was making me relive memories with Shigaraki, Izuku, and my friends to try changing my mind about all this. Pretty cheeky move, but she eventually gave up on that. Once she started destroying my heart again, I knew I had to kill her first."

Shigaraki smirked. "That was your fault, wasn't it? Man, talk about hypocrisy. You gonna flip flop on me forever or what?"

Riku sneered, gritting his teeth fiercely.

Shigaraki's finger shifted to someone else. "And let's not forget the greenhorn." Everyone's gaze followed, landing on Kairi, who was now a couple yards away from them. Her face was riddled with anguish, worry marks consuming her, eyes weak and watery, and her body trembling in fear. "Your little defiant speech about how you'd be useful gave me the vision that let me find her. I know I don't need to point this out, but man, that sure as hell backfired, didn't it?"

Shigaraki moved his hand over his other leg, restoring the final part of his combat suit. It was now good as new, as if it were fresh from the factory.

His finger landed on another person. "And most importantly, all of this circles back to you." Everyone again followed, their eyes landing on Sora. He had a frozen, thousand yard stare, his eyes wide and pupils small. He was motionless, not even appearing to be breathing. "You remember that this was all your idea, right? Everyone rallied behind you, thinking there was a good little boy inside me. All of your friends trusted you, and look at where that got you."

Shigaraki rose to his feet. "You get it now, don't you? This is just gonna happen again if you stay on this path. The longer you think you can make me a good person, the more of your friends are gonna wind up dead. How many more people can you bear to be responsible for, Sora? How many more of your friends need to die before this gets through your thick skull?"

Shigaraki held a tight glare on Sora, one the Guardian of Light did not reciprocate. Sora was still staring blankly forward, his eyes lacking color, deeply lost in thought.

"Just say it already…" Shigaraki inhaled, cocked his head back, then bellowed loudly, yellow air waves traveling from his mouth and consuming the six Guardians. "How many people have to die because of you?!"

The Guardians braced themselves as they were all pushed back. The "attack" ultimately didn't harm any of them, but hearing Shigaraki's question travel with the sound wave, echoing in the wind around them, made Sora's blood run cold.

He may be naive and cartoonishly optimistic, but he isn't stupid. Sora knew there was truth to Shigaraki's words. Had he never asked Namine to change course, then perhaps she would still be alive. That possibility, the what ifs… they haunted him.

Various scenarios flashed through Sora's mind. The idea of damaging Shigaraki's heart to the point of incapacitation, and being able to reason with him from there. The idea of never texting Mickey, or texting him to help Shigaraki. The idea of him convincing Riku, Namine, and Shigaraki while they were still talking.

"How could this happen?" Sora muttered dejectedly, "There was so much I could have done differently. So many things that could have stopped this." Sora pressed his teeth together as his eyes began to water. "But it's too late now. Namine… I'm so sorry."

Kairi was perhaps just as distraught, but something inside her was unable to watch Sora unravel. She found the strength to take a gulp and glide to Sora's side, and gently place a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe it's not too late. I know her heart is gone, but maybe the Power of Waking can still work. We don't know for certain, so maybe…"

Kairi's words came to a halt seeing Strelitzia looking back at her dejectedly. "I wanna believe that too, but we all know better than that. If your heart is taken, or even destroyed, your body can replace it. If your body is taken or destroyed, your heart can find a new one.

"But… if both are destroyed…" A single tear fell down her cheek. "That's it."

Silence consumed everyone. With those words, Kairi's brief stint of optimism came to a quick, decisive end. The gentle falling of rain against her skin could barely be called comforting, and the occasional gust of wind, blowing cold rain into her face, was not nearly as cold as the chill that traveled through her as Strelitzia's words sunk in.

"Are you guys seriously this dense?" Shigaraki's sharp taunt cut through the atmosphere. "Why is Namine's death the one that hits so hard? Does Yen Sid just not count cause you didn't see it happen? Well I hate to break it to you, but I could list off a lot of names right now."

He pulled off Beast's Cape from his neck. Most of it was burnt off, and the little that remained was charred with black spots. "Aladdin, Peter, Jack." Riku's frustration amplified as Shigaraki continued. "Hiro, Simba, Stitch." Kairi bit her lip and her eyes scrunched, as if trying to block out his words. "Ariel, Anna, Jack. Oh, there was another Jack. Sorry, I went through so many of you freaks, it's hard to remember."

His eyes pointed at Sora like knives as he placed a hand on the cape. "But I'm sure you remember this one, right? You two went through something special compared to the rest of those guys. I don't have details, but he felt more strongly about you than anyone else I met."

In a snappy, quick motion, he slid his hand down the cape, dragging it in the air above. The next moment, Beast's Cape was fully restored, flowing elegantly on high behind Shigaraki. "Stop wasting my time, and just tell me how many people I need to kill before you break!"

He donned the cape once more. Aside from some still healing skin, Shigaraki appeared as if he hadn't even been attacked once today. "It makes no difference to me, it's just a number. So how about you cut the silent treatment and give me an answer already?" A small, glowing light appeared over his chest, right where his heart resides. "You don't need to say much, just make sure you're talking to me."

All eyes landed on Sora. No one else dared speak to Shigaraki. Kairi, Aqua, Xion, and Strelitzia had bated, halted breaths as they watched Sora, who merely floated silently in place, just like them.

"Sora." Riku's firm, cold voice cut through the silence. Sora looked to his friend, seeing a torrent of hate directed at Shigaraki. His eyes were strained, blood veins taking over the whites of them, and he puffed with the strength of a train. "Stop letting him talk like that. It's pissing me off."

Sora paused, staring at Riku with a helpless, open mouth. But he soon closed it, floated to his friend, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know. I'm gonna tell him the truth. Please trust me, Riku. I know what I'm doing."

Riku took a few heavy breaths, steadily calming down. As he huffed, he looked at Shigaraki and noticed something he hadn't earlier. His health bar. Scan was showing it to everyone this whole time, but Riku only now noticed a certain detail.

(His regeneration… was it always acting so slowly?)

Seeing this, Riku took one final exhale, then nodded to Sora. With Riku's trust, Sora directed himself at Tomura Shigaraki.

"I've been wondering for a while about what you wanted from all of this. You told me you wanted something from me, that I'm exactly who you need right now, and I think I'm starting to get why now. You're afraid of who you really are."

Shigaraki's eye twitched as his Network light flared up.

"All of these declarations about not being able to change you, of this being who you really are. I know that those are all just lies. But your lies aren't fooling me, and I'm pretty sure they aren't even fooling yourself. Well, the last person you could fool is yourself. You already know exactly what you want, you're just afraid of admitting it."

"Oh yeah?!" Shigaraki shouted back, smashing a foot forward with wide, strained eyes as Network flared brightly. "Then what is it you think I want?!"

"You want me to help you."

All of Sora's friends gasped hearing such a bold declaration. Although he spoke surely of this, the sheer insanity of such a statement still left them reeling, unsure of how to process it.

"What are you saying?" The sole exception, however, was Riku. His eyes met his friends with a mix of confusion and blinding anger. "How could you still think he's worth it? Why are you not furious with him?"

All of Sora's friends had his undivided attention, startled by both his words and now Riku's intense anger. However, Sora never looked away from Shigaraki. As a result, he was the only one to see his shift in mood. After his Network light flared once again, he grimaced. His body slowly moved back on its own, and he covered his heart with a hand.

Sora smirked seeing his greatest hope confirmed. After confronting him with the truth, Tomura Shigaraki faltered.

"I'm not okay with what he's done," Sora told Riku, "I'd send myself to Quadratum as many times as it takes if it meant getting all our friends back. It hurts knowing I'll never see so many of them again." He paused. "But the thing that would hurt most of all, would be losing them all for nothing."

"Losing them… for nothing?" Kairi asked.

"That's right. I think that we'd be letting everyone down if we end this by destroying Tomura. To hurt others, even if they hurt you, will spread that hurt to them. And once your heart can't bear any more hurt, your darkness will take over, and you'll spread that hurt to others who don't deserve it."

Sora put a hand over his heart. "Despite the awful things he's done, I've got a feeling Tomura still has people that care about him. If we strike him down, we'll be hurting them just as much as we'd hurt him, and it might just hurt their hearts enough to hurt someone else. That cycle of pain… is so cruel."

Sora clutched his chest, grabbing hold of the spot over his heart. "That's why we have to stop it. If only one person in all the worlds can stop the spread of hurt, then I'll make sure that person is me." He smiled at Riku. "After all, I know how much it hurts to think you've lost a friend. I wouldn't want anyone else to go through that."

Sora's smile was just as much for himself as it was for Riku. His head was swirling and bubbling with pain just minutes ago. It seemed so difficult to wrangle back control of this horrible situation. Yet once he began to speak, the words simply flowed like a river. It was as if Sora was training his entire life for this moment, and put it all into glorious effect here and now.

"When are you gonna wake up, Sora?" Riku's words felt like a landslide covering that river. He spoke sternly while straining himself, as if trying to block off a breaking point. "Your hopefulness is inspiring, but right now it's just a weakness. This thing doesn't deserve any sympathy from anyone. You really think someone like that is capable of making friends?"

"Yes," Sora replied without hesitation, "Everyone has friends, or they want to have friends. No one can handle being alone forever."

"Well whether he can handle it or not isn't our problem, because he deserves to be alone. All he's done is destroy and kill. That's not gonna stop unless we bring an end to it."

Sora's eyes widened slightly, fear creeping into him. "Riku… What are you saying?"

Riku clenched a fist, straining his muscles. "I'm saying there's only one way we'll do right by everyone we've lost. We can't let him kill anyone else." His breaths were so strong they were visible, and veins appeared around his arm as he clutched his Keyblade.

"We have to kill this bastard. We have to."

Everyone looked at Riku with a variety of emotions. Xion, Strelitzia, and Kairi were all stunned, while Aqua seemed lost in thought.

But Sora did not panic. He steeled himself, tightening his gaze and firmly placing a hand on Riku's shoulder again. "Riku, don't forget our promise. He isn't beyond saving yet."

Riku froze, his gaze drifting into a dark, deep ocean. He wandered alone, unable to look at his friend for some time. Until he pursued his lips, and steeled his gaze. "I'm sorry." Riku pushed Sora's hand away. "But it's not worth it."

Sora felt the weight of all worlds pound into him hearing those words. This moment went on for eternity, it seemed like it would never end. He held back the creeping pain as it slowly tried to wriggle its way inside him. He tried maintained his composure, tried scrounging out another argument. Yet as he wracked his brain for something, anything, his mind failed him. He could only think of things he already said. It was almost as if…

"You guys done yet?" Shigaraki asked mockingly, "If you're talking about how to kill me, I think I deserve to be part of that conversation."

Riku seethed in anger. "Sora, you know we have to do this. He was past saving this whole time."

"That's not true," Sora denied, "He's still there, I can feel it. I'm just… we must be missing something. The reason he's doing all this. Xehanort stopped after telling us his reason, maybe Tomura will too."

Riku paused. Hearing Sora's words, his mind instinctively jumped to the memories Namine unearthed. The losses he endured, his dedication to protect his remaining allies, and the violent persecution he faced from "heroes". (That's right. I was so heated, I completely forgot about all that.)

Riku's eyes trailed off, and his mouth hung slightly cracked open. (Can we… really do this?) As he thought and thought, something small took Riku's attention. It was a feeling he couldn't shake, one that grew stronger and stronger. He found himself locking eyes with Shigaraki, and for a moment, saw a man standing over him. A man with a horribly disfigured face and a disgusting smile.

Faced with Shigaraki's darkness, Riku shuddered. "His reason… is to cause as much pain and suffering as possible. The desire to hurt and bring about ruin. That's all Namine saw inside his heart. Nothing else." Riku paused, then turned his gaze in Sora's direction. "I'm sorry, Sora. Just, please. Don't feel bad about this. It's not your fault."

(I don't feel good about this, but I have to do this,) Riku reassured himself, (I can't let you risk your life for him. No matter what it takes from me, I won't let him hurt you.)

"Maybe there is more." Everyone turned to Kairi, who had bright, hopeful eyes and an energetic tone. "Just because Namine only saw that, doesn't mean she saw everything. Riku, I get your concern, but don't you think Sora is onto something? We should listen to him."

"We can't, Kairi," Aqua cut in, "I'm sorry, to you and Sora, but we've never faced anything like this before. The only thing that kept me going in the Realm of Darkness was the hope that I could see Terra and Ven again. Without that, if I knew they were gone…" She clenched her hand shut. "I can't let that happen." She summoned her Keyblade and moved beside Riku, gaining a stalwart, serious expression. "Just one time. We don't need to kill anyone else after this. Only him."

Kairi's hope slowly left her realizing Aqua's stance on the matter. Hearing her master, someone she looked up to oppose her, left her reeling.

Xion summoned her keyblade. "I don't know if we need to kill him, but we still need to fight. We can all agree on that, right?" Strelitzia summoned hers too. "Right! He can't take out anyone else if he can't fight!"

Despite taking a neutral stance, Sora still felt a tinge of concern hearing their words. (They may not want to kill him, but fighting is going to agitate Tomura. I get it, I really do. They're all scared, and so am I, but I'm not going to give up.) Sora held his keyblade tightly and nervously grinned. (I know I can get through to Tomura, and if I have to get through to my friends to help him, then I'll gladly do that!)

Seeing Riku, Xion, Strelitzia, and especially Aqua readying themselves for an attack, Shigaraki stepped back. (Looks like he failed again. They really just won't listen to him now.) For a slight moment, he bent his legs down. (Too bad.)

With an explosive burst of energy, Shigaraki launched himself high into the sky, towering far above the Guardians. (My Heartless Manipulation and Regen may be running on fumes, but I'm not some one-trick pony. I think now's a good time to hit them with this again.)

The Guardians found themselves consumed by an all-encompassing fear spewing from Shigaraki. They felt their hearts come to a total halt, losing control of their bodies entirely. Xion, Strelitzia, and Aqua all fell to the ground, the first two laid sprawled out and shivering helplessly, while the Master stayed to her knees panting heavily.

(This again,) Sora thought, (It doesn't feel like darkness. It feels way worse… but, whatever it is…) He noticed Riku and Kairi, although tense like him, were still floating. (It's not as bad this time. We're resisting it.)

No more than half a mile away, Lea fell to the ground. Although no longer clutching his gut, he now shivered uncontrollably. "D- Damn it. Wh- What the hell is this? What the hell are we fighting?"

Miles and miles away, Goofy continued fighting Heartless, undeterred by the feeling. "Keep at it, Ventus! You're doing great!"

He saw Ventus swinging away at Heartless as he had been for some time. "Thanks. I could keep at it for a while. That's the least I could do for everyone."

Goofy nodded. "Same here, but hopefully this won't last much longer. Whatever Namine is doing to him, she should almost be done with Shigaraki by now."

Isa, who was also miles away, continued fighting, locked in combat with the Dark Inferno still. (I will do what I must, this creature will not regroup with that fiend. I'm sure Namine will put an end to this very soon.)

Within a quarter of a mile from Shigaraki, close enough to see him and their friends, Donald tried helping Roxas and Terra back to their feet. The two lay on the ground, unresponsive to Donald's assistance, struggling to take his hand but unable.

"Come on guys! We gotta keep moving!"

Neither Terra nor Roxas spoke, they couldn't even open their mouths. They just laid in the dirt, grunting and gritting their teeth.

"Donald." He turned to Mickey, who was trying to stand with the support of his keyblade. "Go help them. We're right behind you."

Donald hesitated for a moment before firmly nodding. He leapt into the air, gliding shakily for a bit before gaining his balance. He gave his friends one last glance before setting his sights forward.

(If he's still fighting, does that mean…?) Donald shuddered and placed a hand over his chest. (Namine…) He thought back to the giant dust cloud he saw earlier, and angrily scrunched his beak imagining what happened. (I'll make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else.)

With his eyes locked on the six Guardians before him, Shigaraki smirked. (I won't underestimate anyone again.) He extended his arms to his sides, the holes in his palms glowing red.

What happened next, could only be described as calamity. Hundreds upon hundreds of grey, inky portals appeared around Shigaraki, covering the sky in what resembled a disgusting tar.

Miles away, Goofy, Ven, and Isa all recoiled in shock seeing Heartless all around them get enveloped by a grey, inky substance, appearing out of their mouths and eyes before coating and consuming them. By all accounts, this was a good thing for them.

"Whatever it is, it's getting rid of the Heartless," Ven said, skepticism abound in his voice. Much like him, Goofy also appeared worried by this development. "I don't think it's getting rid of them. If I had to guess, it's transporting them."

As similar thoughts went through Isa's head, he was especially terrified seeing the ink consume the Dark Inferno. "No! You will not escape me!" Isa rushed at the beast and swung at it, but his attack simply brushed through open air. The Heartless was gone. (No! This is bad. There's only one location I assume they would go.)

The six Guardians all recoiled in fear seeing Heartless appearing from every inky portal blotching out the sky. The Dark Inferno and other notably powerful ones appeared beside Shigaraki, who glared unflinchingly at the Guardians. (I'll crush you all with every resource I've got!)

Heartless began free falling like rain drops by the hundreds, flailing their limbs about as if trying to break their falls. Some who could fly charged downward, but a select few stayed by Shigaraki's side.

Tomura landed on top of a Darkball, sitting on its head and crossing his arms. (Between this and them still reeling from my Omen of Death, they shouldn't be able to divert any forces to me. Now it's my battle again. I'm dictating the flow of events.) He smirked. (I don't need to jump back in till I spot an opening to kill someone.)

Although two of his stronger assets were close to exhaustion, Shigaraki's composure remained strong knowing he could hide behind his army of five thousand Heartless. Namine may have whittled him down, but he was fully prepared and able to do the same to those still currently alive.

Heartless upon Heartless fell to the ground, many of them splatting before reforming and getting back up. The majority focused their gaze on Strelitzia, Xion, and Aqua. The three, still reeling from Shigaraki's overwhelming aura, still couldn't rise no matter their efforts. (Come on, get up!) Aqua pleaded to herself, (I have to… keep fighting!)

Still on her knees clutching her keyblade, a legion of Heartless descended on her, brandishing claws and charging magic attacks. Aqua struggled, trying to move even at the last moment, but just couldn't. The horde unleashed a bevy of attacks at her, clouding her in debris and destruction.

Moments later, Kairi came flying out of that cloud with Aqua in her arms, both completely untouched. "Don't worry, Aqua, I've dealt with this before." She smirked. "It was pretty bad my first time too," she said with a bit of sass. At the same time, Sora grabbed Xion, and Riku grabbed Strelitzia. The three girls finally began taking heavy breaths, slowly recovering from the heart-crushing feeling.

"Everyone!" Sora shouted, "Let's go up! The grounded Heartless can't follow us that way." His friends did not hesitate, and all began ascending above the newly formed ocean. Heartless continued falling from on high toward them, and while dodging was more difficult due to carrying their friends, the three bobbed and weaved around the rainfall with little effort.

(Not making this easy, are you?) Shigaraki mused. (Well try all you want, but I'm the one shuffling the deck.) With the snap of a finger, several hundred more inky portals appeared around him. (I can draw whatever card I want!)

Once again, hundreds upon hundreds of Heartless flooded out from the mass of tar above them. (Dang it,) Riku spat, (There's no end to this. But… that tar they're coming out of, that's not how he was summoning them before. We've been dodging them easily, so I don't think it's making them stronger either. So then, why would he be-)

In the snap of a finger, Riku's eyes widened, overcome by a revelation. "He's getting weaker!" He boisterously shouted, "He's not summoning Heartless like normal, his regeneration is slowing down, and he isn't even fighting us! The clothes, the attitude, and now hiding behind the Heartless again. It was all just an act to hide that Namine hurt him a lot more than he bargained for!"

Riku firmly gripped his Keyblade as an intense fire lit his eyes. "Don't be afraid of him! We can beat him, and he knows that!"

Shigaraki seethed in frustration at that outburst. (Are you serious?! He can still tell my Regen is weakening?! What the hell, can these people see my health bar or some shit?!) He angrily puffed air out through his teeth. (To hell with it, no use playing coy on that front. I'll just have to make up the difference some other way.)

Riku's speech brought confidence out of his friends. Strelitzia and Xion smiled and their breathing slowed down. Aqua, meanwhile, with a pump from her fist, leapt free off Kairi's arms and flew beside her. "Riku makes a good point. If he really wanted to, Shigaraki could be attacking us with the Heartless." She gripped her Keyblade and locked eyes with Shigaraki. "Thanks, Riku! Now let's take him down together!"

Despite his friend's spirits strengthening, Sora only continued growing more nervous. (What am I gonna do? I need to do something, but I-)

As if he blinked, Sora noticed an odd change in his surroundings. Despite how hectic things were, something seemed to have shifted just now. He wasn't sure at first, but then it happened again. In a blink, something appeared directly beside him. His eyes, everyone's eyes, focused on it. From right under his nose, the Dark Inferno floated before him, its massive blunt blades wound back like a batter ready to swing.

"SORA!" A myriad of voices shouted, all unable to help him. Sora turned his back to the creature, holding Xion tightly as it slammed its two blades into him, sending them hurdling downward and erupting with a boom against the ground.

"Not good," Riku grimaced. He looked down at Strelitzia, who was still panting. "Please, Strelitzia, I need you. Fight it, please get up!" She moved her hand to his, but Riku saw pain in her eyes with every inch she took. "I'm trying," she muttered pitifully.

Riku grit his teeth. (Damn it, last time it just went away on its own. She seems to be fighting it, but at this rate…) Suddenly, he felt a cold, horrible feeling run down his spine. He felt a terrible presence watching him, one with murderous intent, and followed it back to the Dark Inferno. Its sights set on him, the Heartless blasted forward.

Riku took a defensive stance, hardening his body and firmly holding his Keyblade and Strelitzia in each hand. Ready for its assault, Kairi intervened, smacking the unaware Heartless away with a brutal bash to its head.

"You're not alone, Riku," she said smiling softly, "Don't ever think you are."

Riku, now panting, nodded. "Thank you, Kairi."

With a burst of speed, Aqua zoomed past the three, ascending up into the sky. "Take care of the Heartless here! Stay together and regroup with Sora!" she shouted.

For a moment, Riku appeared confused, but his eyes soon widened with fear. "Wait! Is she insane?! She's flying right for-"

"It's okay, Riku," Kairi said, "We can trust her, she knows what she's doing." Although Kairi sounded sure and Riku knew her skill was true, he still held his breath.

Their attention was snatched by a loud boom beneath them, and the rapidly approaching figure of the Dark Inferno. "Besides, we have our battle to worry about."

As Aqua dashed upward at breakneck speeds, her eyes focused on Tomura Shigaraki and a small, elite collection of Heartless surrounding him. (I know engaging him on my own is dangerous, but I can't afford to let him get the drop on us whenever he wants. I'll just have to end this quickly, by getting in close and hitting him with Graviza!)

As Shigaraki sat beside his squad of Heartless, he gave Aqua a sickening grin. (This ain't exactly ideal, but this is still what I wanted. Isolating the Time Stopper will make killing her way simpler.)

Shigaraki thought back to his earlier engagement with Sora, and how he survived despite taking 3 large missiles head on. (These guys all probably have superhuman durability, so Decay's really my only win condition. They could heal off pretty much anything else. In other words, I have to work my way within touching distance while avoiding her Time Stop somehow.)

(Then again, I'm the one with all the power here.) Shigaraki outstretched his hands, and once again summoned hundreds upon hundreds of grey, inky portals. "If you really think what you're doing is righteous, then I'll show you how I deal with heroes!"

Nearby a small crater surrounded by rubble, Sora watched over Xion. She didn't appear to be injured, but even while taking Sora's hand, she still failed to rise up. "Ow!" she said as she fell back on the ground. "I'm sorry, Sora. I just… can't do it yet."

"It's okay," Sora said before falling silent. The two remained frozen in this moment, wind washing over them in a gentle breeze, before Sora fell to his knees and hugged Xion. "You're still here… That's what matters."

Xion felt her heart stop hearing the pain in his voice. It was grueling to even hear, let alone imagine what his heart felt like. "Sora…" Despite it being a struggle, she now found the strength to gently take hold of his hand. "Don't feel bad. Nobody should have to deal with all this."

Sora's grip on her tightened. "But we are. We have to deal with this. I won't run away or stop trying to help him… but…" He gulped, trying to push down a vile feeling rising from within. "I wish I knew what to do…"

Rumbling grew underneath their feet. Closing in from an ever-shrinking distance was a massive horde of Heartless, charging forward like a battalion of soldiers. Dirt and stone was eviscerated beneath them, cracking and parting the ground below like an earthquake.

"Sora…" His attention snapped to Xion, who gave him a weak smile. "I didn't realize how much pain this was causing you. Don't worry about a thing, I'm with you."

Her words brought a soft smile to Sora. With a gentle exhale, he picked up Xion by the underarms, where they rose to their feet together. Xion continued leaning against Sora as they faced down the approaching wave. "We can do this." Sora nodded. "Yeah."

He paused for a moment. "Hey, Xion." He looked at her with a great smile. "Thank you." And of course, she smiled back.

Then, Sora's eyes darted rightward, narrowing a tad before widening immensely. Xion was confused, but couldn't ask a question before Sora began walking right toward the Heartless wave. The sight made her fearful, but with Sora by her side, she did not cower, and went forward with him.

Eventually, the two stopped. "So, what now?" Xion asked, watching as the wave grew ever closer. Sora responded by kneeling down, getting on one knee. Looking at his face, Sora didn't seem to care about the Heartless before him. Instead, his gaze was locked downward, at an object he now held in his hands.

Sora was holding a sketch pad.

Hey guys. Sorry it's been a while, working full time ain't super accommodating with regular chapter uploads. But yeah, again, haven't dropped the story, haven't lost half my head from a stray steel pipe, still chugging along even though it's painfully slowly. Hope you guys enjoyed seeing Namine die and Riku's mental stability shatter, there'll be plenty more on both of those fronts to come in time.

As far as time is concerned though, I believe Aqua will have that covered in spades next chapter... See ya then!