With the disappearance of Larxene and her Dragon, the thunderstorm had subsided, apparently being caused by the lightning the Dragon had harnessed, allowing them to continue further down into the depths despite growing darkness.
Roxas could see in the dark, not as clearly as Xion or Kamo could, but well enough. While he was partnered with Axel and thus unable to partner with any others, he was still capable of gaining some fewer benefits from other Wyverns, and a part of those Xion had granted him took form as another sight improvement. No matter how close they may have been, there was absolutely no way around the one partner rule. He and Axel were partnered until someone managed to kill both of them, or they just grew old together.
At times, Kamo flew further ahead, insisting on making sure it was safe for them. Xion started to fill him in on what he'd forgotten during those moments so no one else would end up wondering what they were talking about. It was unlikely that anyone who didn't remember or know would accept the truth in lieu of an explanation, least of all Kamo.
What he had apparently forgotten appeared to be any time involving her, as if something had just gone into his memories and removed her and only her. It was difficult to picture the white Wyvern beneath him as the human girl she described herself as.
As he listened, Roxas noted that their young Noble Dragon companion went against a lot of the things he knew about them – for example, most Noble Dragons were not as good at manoeuvring as their Wyvern cousins, but Kamo seemed to be able to pull of the same kinds of sharp turns that Xion could without a problem. He didn't appear to subscribe to the natural haughtiness that other Noble Dragons were widely reputed to have, but that may have been because of his young age and his more cosmopolitan Wyvern friends.
For all the odd differences though, there were many traits that fit perfectly. Young as he was, he was only slightly larger than Xion, with a wingspan that was not much bigger than Xion's own. Noble Dragons frequently grew much larger than Wyverns, so this was hardly remarkable. In time, he'd become much larger than her.
Like other Noble Dragons, his abilities were not as varied as Xion's, but those he did have were more powerful. Or they would eventually be, but again due to his age they had not fully developed yet. He was in many ways equal to Xion because of that.
Kamo emerged from the cloudbank below, wings locked in place to glide easily over and join them.
"You're not gonna believe this," he told them.
"Don't tell me we've reached the bottom already," Xion replied.
"Alright," he answered impudently, even managing the Draconic equivalent of a grin. "I won't."
They waited.
"Are you serious?" Roxas asked after a few moments. "We're finally there?"
"Sure are. Can't say it's much to look at, but we're definitely there. Wouldn't suggest trying to land though," he added to Xion.
"Abyssal creatures?" she guessed.
"Yep. Tons of 'em. But there's a huge gap between the bottom of the clouds and the ground, so we don't gotta worry about them unless they take off."
"Don't jinx us, Kamo," Xion warned, then they dipped down and into the final cloudbank. It seemed like an eternity later when they emerged into the open air. The ground below was one glowing mass to Roxas. Abyssal creatures showed up green instead of the usual orange living creatures did.
They seemed unconcerned by the sight of the two Dragons above, almost marching along the ground in the same direction as they were gliding above. What little landscape was visible beneath them was blighted, blackened rocks where nothing but fungus grew, and even then in ill green colours. The tide of creatures below stomped over them without care for them.
After a time, his eyes grew accustomed to the green glows and he was able to identify them. Heartless and Nobodies. There seemed to be no end to the variety in both, with all the kinds of Nobodies he'd heard of represented in the mass below, and at more kinds of Heartless than he'd ever seen before in either of his lives. Some of them looked like even Sora hadn't seen them. They ranged from a few that were even smaller than Shadows, to the towering Darksides and Behemoths. Emblem and Pureblood alike marched onward to whatever goal they had in mind.
"I'd hate to try to take on this many myself," Roxas said, awed at the sheer number.
"You're telling me?" Xion answered fervently. "I'd hate to do it even with help!"
"Don't be worrying about that," Kamo told her. "They're more interested in what's up ahead."
"Don't suppose you'd care to look for us, would you?" Roxas asked him.
"Sure thing. Be right back." He dived down low enough to freeze a few Heartless, then pulled up again with more speed behind him.
"Kamo has a crush on you, you know," Roxas murmured to Xion as he headed out of sight.
"You think I haven't noticed?" she replied. "It'd never work between us though. None of the other Dragons would ever accept it."
"That doesn't seem to bother him."
"And it doesn't me, but I don't really want to lose my friends there. Maybe they are all Wyverns except for Jack, but they're still my friends, and I don't want him to be the reason they all avoid me."
"The Noble Dragons I could understand," Roxas said. "But I think the Wyverns might understand, especially if you had me go along with it. Since I'm a Wyvern Master, they should be more inclined to listen to me, right?"
"I don't know Roxas, I really don't know. Whatever you do, you've got plenty of time to think on it – I'm not going to tell anyone, and Kamo... well, the others just shrug it off as being close friends. I'll be able to take you to Icicle Peak and back before you have to do anything."
"I guess. That brings up another question though. Unrelated, except to Icicle Peak, that is."
"You want to know what things are like on the other side of The Abyss, right?"
"Astonishing," Roxas replied with exaggerated surprise. "How do you manage it?"
"It's a gift," she shrugged, a movement that almost dislodged him. Once he'd ensured he had a good grip again, she continued, "I don't know myself. None of the Wyverns ever get allowed to make the whole crossing. Only the Noble Dragons that support the ships know, and they don't often talk about it."
"Inconvenient. I wonder if I could get Jack to have a word with them for me."
"Why not ask them yourself?"
"Are you kidding me? I can speak your Wyvern dialect of Draconic, and I can understand the Noble dialect, but speak it? Everything I know about it suggests they'd consider it insulting to be addressed in it."
"Look at Kamo," she pointed out. "A fair few of the other Noble Dragons back at the Crags are as open-minded as he as, at least when it comes to getting along. If the worst comes to it, all they'll do is refuse to talk to you."
Roxas grudgingly admitted she had a point, but was prevented from saying so by the return of Kamo. He said nothing, just led them ahead.
They flew over the leading edge of the Heartless and Nobodies and over a still blighted but empty landscape. After a long wait, he stopped, hovering in mid-air, then nodded ahead.
There was a second hoard of Abyssal creatures, entirely made up of the single unidentified kind. At its head was a human, or at least human-shaped figure, that was leading the hoard. He wore some kind of dark suit, and a reflective helmet that hid his face. In one hand he held a weapon that could have been a keyblade, with blue eyes, chains and gears comprising it. This figure paid them no attention at all, leading the creatures behind as if driven by a single overpowering thought.
"I think I get it," Roxas mused. "The Heartless and the Nobodies both desire Hearts, and attack those who have them. Those creatures have Hearts of some kind, so they're targets for attack. I'm guessing that they're too powerful for either Heartless or Nobodies to handle though, so they're attacking people higher up in The Abyss to turn them into more Heartless and Nobodies to supplement their forces."
"The question is, who's that guy?" Xion wondered. "And is he the reason those creatures are too much for the others?"
"You're missing a bigger question," Kamo told them. "And that is, if we take him out, what'll happen? If he's outta the picture, one side will destroy the other, and they'll stop fighting. So they won't be coming back up The Abyss."
"Guess again," Roxas replied. "You, me, Xion and everyone in Oldhollow Crags, not to mention any other settlements along the edge of The Abyss – they all have Hearts too. If the Nobodies and Heartless win, they'll turn on them next."
"What about these ones then? What if we help them?"
"I don't want to risk it. We don't know why they're attacking people crossing The Abyss, or for that matter anything about them."
"Why not ask him, Roxas? You're mostly human, if he's as human as he looks, he'll probably deal with you better than us."
"I guess you'd rather not mention he probably doesn't understand Draconic," Xion added.
"I'll give it a try," Roxas said dubiously. "But I'm not optimistic about this. I've got a bad feeling about it."
They flew back a ways so Xion could land without being in danger of either side, then Roxas dropped to the ground. Despite its rocky appearance, it was strangely soft and squidgy, often making rubbery squeaks as he trod on it.
When he eventually caught up with the stranger leading the other hoard, the stranger held up his free hand in a fist, causing the creatures behind to stop abruptly. He continued on to meet Roxas.
"Who're you?" he asked the stranger.
"Don't you remember?" the reply came.
"I've never seen you before in my life."
The stranger regarded him for a few moments, then tapped the side of his helmet. It retracted, leaving only a kind of metal guard along his jawline. The face in side looked almost exactly like Sora's, except with black hair and orange eyes.
Even so, it was similar enough that Roxas mistook him for Sora.
"I don't know anyone by that name," the stranger said. "But I do know you, Ventus."
"Ventus? What are you talking about, I'm Roxas."
The stranger looked puzzled, then said, "It seems we are both the victims of mistaken identity. My name is Vanitas."
"Right... introductions over then, what are they?" Roxas asked, pointing to the creatures behind Vanitas.
"The Unversed. A handful of fledgling emotions under my control. They gain their name from not being well-versed in their own existance. But we learn. Now tell me something, Roxas... why do you have scales on the inside of your arm, and why in two colours?"
Roxas glanced to them a moment himself, noting that nearly half of them were silver now.
"They're the permanent mark left on my from my partner Dragon. I don't know why they've split into two colours though. I'm hoping to find him so I can find out the answer myself."
"Down here? There are only two Dragons that have been down here. A yellow one, who was quickly engulfed and lost to the other creatures down here, and a black one that hasn't been seen for a while now."
"Noble Dragon?" he asked, a nasty suspicion forming. When Vanitas looked puzzled again, he briefly explained the differences between Dragons.
"Yes," he said at last. "I believe it was. Is that significant?"
"Just allow me one more question, please... those other creatures... I'm guessing when that black Dragon stopped showing up, they grew more aggressive?"
"Alright, now it's your turn to answer," Vanitas said, eyes narrowed. "Just how did you know that?"
"I think I might be responsible. There was a black Noble Dragon menacing my hometown. Except me and my partner defeated her. She ended up in a volcano, so I'm guessing she was liquidised or something."
"And when you defeated her, they stopped answering to her and were able to focus on me. Indeed it would seem you are responsible for this."
"Vanitas, what will you do with your... Unversed if you beat them?"
"I haven't decided yet," he answered. "I may decide to go hunt you down for causing this."
"If it wasn't for me though, you'd never have the chance to overpower them."
"True," he conceded. "But if you hadn't defeated the black Dragon, there would never have been any fighting between them or us. Both sides were content to prey on the people above who live too close to the edge of The Abyss."
"Whatever happens, I can't let either of you do that. I can't help you, Vanitas, and I'm not going to stand against you either. But I can't say the same for others. Sooner or later, someone's going to try to do something about you all."
"Then keep watch, Roxas. I may yet decide to come for you. Unless you want that to be now..." Vanitas trailed off, holding the free hand up again. The Unversed began to march onward again. Roxas prudently hurried back to Xion.
"Get back up to the Crags," he told her as he got back on. "Quickly too – we're right in the middle of an impending battle here."