The landscape flashed by. Lights of the nearby town cast a glow in the distance. The route the key bearers took stuck pretty close to the cliff edge before the land dropped into the sea. The clouds parted, illuminating the barren rocks before them. But even though they shined brightly, even the stars seemed to know something was going on. The waters below were choppy. Perhaps they too had an opinion about whatever the waves had seen. There were sounds of Heartless appearing but they were ignored. There wasn't much choice. The Spirits weren't going to stop for anything.

Sora and the others weren't aware until then just how quickly their Dream Eater friends could move. Obviously something was going on that was insanely urgent. Only nobody but Rachel and Bryan seemed to have any clue what that might be. Nobody even knew Rachel or Bryan could fly that fast. Maybe up until that point they didn't either. Of course the right motivator can make people capable of just about anything. The sibling Masters didn't get that much of a head start on the others and still they were keeping the lead and the considerable distance between them stayed pretty constant. Seger galloped in perfect pace with Bryan the entire time.

Sora and Kairi especially were having a hard time. The S-like motion in which Jewel swam made for a very bumpy ride when going this fast. It didn't help any there was virtually nothing to hold on to on a whale. She didn't even have a dorsal fin to cling to. Yeah, you could grip with your knees but she had smooth skin. You could grip so tight your thighs went numb and it still wouldn't have stopped you from slipping right off. Sora's knuckles practically glowed white in the starlight from holding onto Jewel's collar so tightly. If he lost his grip, both he and Kairi would go flying. No doubt the whale would realize she was missing something and retrieve them but falling off anything going that fast would really hurt. Even if they landed on pillows the impact wouldn't be fun. And there were rocks below.

Riku wasn't faring much better. He wasn't a complete stranger to horseback riding but this was a whole new level of insane. Not only was he riding bareback but he only had Fantasia's mane to hold onto while she galloped at unnatural speed. Everyone was too focused on hanging on for dear life to try and call ahead to Rachel and Bryan.

But at that point, it was hardly necessary. The miles were left in the dust. The Benbow Inn was a rapidly growing speck on the horizon. The landscape became more familiar. As they got closer…a worrisome sound met their ears.

Shouts. Cries. Commotion.

Something was going on. And by the sound of it, it wasn't anything good.

Wait…that glow. Every light at the inn was on. Whatever happened, did everyone know about it? Hold on, part of that glow in the distance wasn't coming from house lights. From a distance those lights looked either white or yellow. But there was something else too. The other glow cast more of an orange haze…fire! Was the Benbow Inn on fire? No. As they approached the orange glow was shining just beyond the inn. The shouting was much louder now and they could see black smoke rising. Everyone had been shaken from their beds and many of them were rushing about outside or looked like they were keeping their distance from something.

Just ahead Sora and the others could see Rachel and Bryan touch down and continue around the building at a full sprint. They would have been fine with doing the same but the Dream Eaters had no intention to slow down. With Rachel and Bryan on foot, the distance between them closed rapidly.

"Bryan!" It was Sarah. She cried out when she saw him. She looked panicked but also a bit relieved now that he arrived. "Quickly!" They disappeared around the corner of the inn.

A moment later the Spirits followed their masters footsteps and rounded the corner of the Benbow Inn that faced the docks. If it had been up to the key bearers, no doubt they would have stopped dead in their tracks at the terrible sight that greeted them.

It was the King.

The Sky King was on fire.