I LIVE! Guys, it's been insanity for me here. Last semester, I broke my laptop and had no way of getting one to continue my stuff, not to mention all the personal problems I had. But now that I've finished another semester, got to take a well-needed break and I got a new laptop, I can finally breathe again. So here's the first chapter of 2018! And, ya know, the continuation of The Heartless One.

Enjoy!

I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Corpse Bride.


Sora glared at Rei and stood his ground. "I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell everything. How you got us here, what you did to me, where we are, how you even know Rox-"

Rei exasperatedly groaned and rubbed at his temples, growing frustrated each passing moment. Sora wasn't going to let even some stranger walk all over him. Axel was watching the scene with pure amusement, making a drink without even watching what he was doing with his hands.

"Sora, I promise I can explain things to you, but just not this minute. Could you please stop being a difficult prat and follow me? The quicker you do, the quicker you can leave."

"But-!"

"I think you should hear him out, Sora. He may be a moron for taking you here, but he is trying help you." Axel spoke up, smiling as he held out a new mystery glass filled with cyan liquid. "Here. For the road."

Sora eyed the liquid, but took it, glancing suspiciously at the bartender before looking back to his blindfolded companion. Should he risk doing anything else with this man or would he be better off going off on his own?

"Come on. Stick close to me." Rei muttered, walking to the front doors.

Sora bit his lip and hesitated, rolling the possibilities in his head for a moment before throwing caution to the wind and downing the drink in one gulp and setting the glass on the countertop. He gave Axel a glare.

"If he makes me go through that painful process one more time, you'd better believe you're getting a visit from me."

Axel snorted as he snatched up the glass. "Alright then, Mr. Paranoid. When you come back, let me know how it went."

With a wink, he spun away and began to clean the glass, completely dismissing the brunet. Sora sighed and looked behind him to see Rei was waiting at the door, holding it open for him. Sora made his way out the door, immediately sucking in a breath at the outside world. The dark purples and blues, covering the dimly lit moon overhead. White and grey buildings were protruding from the ground, contrasting the sky easily and forming enormous shadows everywhere.

"Wha-"

"Yeah, it's really something to behold." Rei sighed, coming up beside the distraught male. "I still find it unsettling at times, too."

The two began to walk, Rei guiding them through the buildings and evading the shadows as best he could. Sora continued to stare at all he could, taking in the sights. It was impossible that they were back home in that city he lived in. They definitely weren't in a forest or any sort of abandoned house.

"Rei…where are we?" Sora breathed out.

"…I guess you can call it the Underworld, but we prefer to call it The Abyss."

It took a second to register. "…WHAT?!"

Rei winced at the appalled expression, but spoke his mind, regardless. "I know, that probably put me in a bad light. Not exactly something you would like to hear after everything, but I…" He took a deep breath. "Sora, understand that I didn't bring you here for no reason. I had good, valid reasons why and I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity that you gave me Above."

Sora froze mid-step. "You…you mean to tell me…I can't be dead! I'm not!"

Rei stopped and touched his shoulder. "Sora, you need to listen to me. I brought you here for a very important reason."

"Oh yeah? Then tell me why you murdered me and brought me down here!"

Rei flinched, but hardened his expression and tightened his grip on Sora's shoulder. "Sora, stop. You're just getting yourself worked up."

Sora, although he was shaking, shoved Rei away from him, taking a few steps back in disbelief. "You're lying, aren't you? You've kidnapped me and taken me to some foreign land and…and-"

"Sora, you need to calm down."

"NO! I can't be dead! I'm not!"

Rei stayed where he was, but still tried to use reason to get through to the terrified male. "Sora…I had to put the ring on you. I had to give you a Death Spell in order to get you here. I know I didn't go about it correctly, but…Roxas needs you."

The name of his brother snapped Sora out of his state, staring wide-eyed at the cloaked man. His mind was racing as he attempted to wrap this info around it, overwhelmed by all this. He raised his hand where the silver ring shone back at him, innocent as can be.

"…Roxas…he's here?"

"He's gotten ill here. It's just been getting worse."

Sora ran a finger over the silver design. "But he's dead. How can he be sick?"

"It's complicated…the Underworld isn't all we think it is."

"Then you'd better start explaining." Sora growled.

Rei stood there for a moment, silent and unmoving as Sora continued to stroke the silver ring. The tension between the two were thick and palpable. The silence pressed in on Sora's ears, leaving behind a ringing noise. He felt sick. And then, as if in slow motion, he began to pull the ring off of his finger.


Well, here we are. Things are going to get hectic.