Welcome to 'Fire', the next chapter of 'Angel's Heart'! Things are about to kick themselves into high gear, so I hope you're all ready! I'd like to share a helpful note concerning Eiri Uesugi, before we begin. He has adopted a pair of crescent moon daggers, therefore he has the fighting style of Talim. That character was featured within SC2 and SC3. If you aren't familiar with her or the 'Soul Calibur' series, let me just say that Eiri fights with incredible speed and rapid attacks.

Theme of 'Fire': Battle themes of Kingdom Hearts 2 OST

Fire was roaring within the confinement of the Anurynian Palace. Cries were rising toward the night air, filled with the blood chilling power of a thunderstorm. Footsteps were rapidly falling upon the darkened grounds, blades were clashing against claws, and eyes were meeting vicious songs of thirst. Dark forms were pouring throughout the kingdom, searching high and low for their fix of blood. However, their combatants weren't to be taken lightly; the remaining Anurynians within the palace were courageous fighters, ones that refused to be removed without a fight.

The center of the palace was the location of fiery activity. Roars were tearing themselves from the throats of demons, and the walls were swiftly drenching themselves in shelters. They seemed to be frightened of danger's thick coats, for their actions spoke louder than words. A child's fear was lingering within the sacred walls. Battle cries were reverberating off of them; they bounced about with the agility of balls, fervently laughing with malicious intent. Streams of blood were striking the blackened walls, but the owners of those streams were immune to pain. At the moment, they were completely oblivious to everything with the exception of the battlefire.

Eiri Uesugi's companions were within the center of the palace, exercising their newfound talents. Each of them were highly equipped with new battle skills; Hiroshi Nakano had the soul of an Anurynian Summoner, Ryuichi Sakuma was now a FireBlade Master, Claude K.Winchester had an upgraded pair of 'friends', Reiji was equipped with the abilities of a Solar Mage, and Suguru Fujisaki was in the role of an Anurynian Black Mage.

Two groups had been formed within the small team; the remaining members of Bad Luck were fighting as one team, with the support of Reiji. Ryuichi Sakuma and Tatsuha Uesugi, who had been given the soul of the High Priestess, were fighting as one unit, standing side-by-side with unfathomable power. When the battle began, all of them prevented Anurynians from falling into mortal danger; they removed all frightened Anurynians from harm, with the love of dutiful parents. As soon as they were removed from ferocious lines of fire, the battle rose to a fervent pitch; the entities of darkness carried themselves through the palace in the form of floods.

Time rushed by at the speed of light, fueled by desperate fear. It had the soul of a human being, who was being hunted by an unknown villain. Flames of vigorous devastation soared throughout the halls of the palace, radiant with the unshakable power of a lion. Several eternities struck the valiant warriors, but none of them were aware of time's presence. Both teams were near invincibility, for their bonds had been strengthened by their experiences within the dream pool. All of them felt as if they were tied by family bonds, and all of them were determined to support each other.

Thirty minutes elapsed within the battleground. Hiroshi found himself trapped within a corner, without any options upon his plate. Demons had him in the position of a forlorn kitten, and his condition wasn't making any improvements upon the situation. He was weary, for he had never performed such heavy duties before; summoning monsters was no easy task, especially not for an outsider. Holding upon an Epireon (an Anurynian monster) required a heavy amount of strength and concentration; only those with high endurance levels were able to endure the tasks.

His last monster, who had come from the depths of legend, was forced back into slumber due to his heavy exhaustion. His weariness wasn't uncommon; all novices within Summoner ranks were vulnerable to heavy doses of exhaustion. The demons that had him backed into a black corner were laughing him, jeering at him with the vibes of sadistic bullies. Fear was running throughout his eyes, for novices had very little options to choose from, and being an outsider didn't help much.

Seconds flew by, marked only by the vehement speed of sound. Claws made a lunge at him, which made him fear for the length of his life. The Summoner closed his eyes, pretty sure that his death was about to etch itself into time's stream...

Great...just great...I'm trapped...

A cry pierced his ears. It belonged to Suguru Fujisaki, who seemed to be nearby...

"HIROSHI!"

Fear caused his heartbeat to increase itself. Sweat formed itself upon his brow and fell from his heart in rivers, which caused him to shiver uncontrollably. There was no way out for him. He was trapped, trapped in a terminal situation. His heartbeat quickened, the claws came closer...

...a moment passed, which brought about immoderate relief.

A beam of golden fire pierced the night air, which signaled the arrival of a rescuer. An entity made a swift descent from the air, drenched in iridescent fire. The identity of the rescuer was unknown at the moment, but he created a dazzling entrance. He fell from the skies, carrying the splendor of a vigilant falcon, then descended upon the demons with frightened speed. His blades pierced the heart of Hiroshi's tormentor, then they shredded the other dark entities. In mere seconds, the Summoner was left alone with his savior.

"Ummm..."

Hiro looked upon the face of his rescuer, unable to recognize him. His heart told him that his savior was a close friend, but his physical appearance caused him to question his own sanity. The warrior was clothed in impressive black attire, which could have ignited a hunt throughout the streets of Japan. Crescent moon daggers were within his hands, ready for more action. His eyes were filled with intense fire, and both were covered in blankets of newborn strength. As soon his the warrior spoke to him, however, his identity became clear.

"You okay?"

Shock split through Hiro's heart and caused it to crack open.

"Yuki?"

Eiri Uesugi (who was no longer fond of his 'pen name') took one last look upon the shocked Summoner, then darted off into the fray. Lady Niha, who was on her way to becoming the Queen of Sovereign, had joined the fray as soon as he made his entrance; the sovereign was wreaking havoc upon her enemies with fiery power, wielding a spear. Both newcomers were tearing the dark ranks apart, but there seemed to be no end to them.

Minutes flew by without a trace. The expiration of twenty minutes brought about a flurry of frustration, and failed to bring about a shred of relief. Tatsuha Uesugi removed his brother from the receiving end of a hit, and took the hit himself. The contact created a heavy wound upon him, but he refused to let it bother him. However, his brother was not about to accept his noble act.

"What in the hell did you do that for?"

Tatsuha's eyes were on the dark entities, filled with fervent wildfire. Ryuichi was at his side, ready to give his life for him. In a short amount of time, the two of them had developed a passionate bond; unfortunately, current circumstances prevented them from carrying out passion. "I did it to protect you, bro." the priest said firmly, keeping his hands focused on his blade. He was the first sword-wielding priest of Anuryn, and was determined to make a good first impression.

"I don't think these guys are gonna let up on us! Who's in charge of this crap anyway!"

As of on cue, the dark entities brought their reign to a halt. Time froze itself upon the battleground; it was as if someone had pressed the 'pause' button on the predators. Confusion blossomed throughout the battlefield like spring water entering a flask, but that transformed itself into shock with the answer to Tatsuha's question.

"Why, I thought you would never ask! It's me, dear Tatsuha!"

Disbelief crashed into the priest's eyes like a thunderbolt. He exchanged glances with his brother, who evidently had failed to recognize him within an instant. The newborn warrior was apparently exhausted; his memories of Shuichi, and the verbal assaults of Deus, were tormenting him badly. The ringleader of the battle released his cheerful voice into the air, but his heart was FAR from pure.

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize me. I made quite an impression on your brother, you know."

Eiri's eyes widened in horror. Tatsuha's eyes widened in hatred.

The others were instantly immersed in severe confusion.

The priest released a loud cry of wrath, which caused Eiri's heart to freeze.

"YOU! YOU WERE THE ONE THAT SCREWED MY BROTHER!"

An entity dressed in a black cloak made an entrance within the cold air. He was a young man, one that was a few years older than Eiri, and possessed short brown hair. There was a sickening smile upon his face...one that made Tatsuha want to vomit. Eiri clasped a hand over his mouth in horror, feeling as if he were trapped within a nightmare.

"You can't be alive! I KILLED YOU!"

"I know you did, dear 'Yuki'. Fortunately, my dear pal Deus brought me back to life. That was pretty nice of him, eh?"

Reiji tossed the enraged Tatsuha a look of desperate confusion. The wrathful priest kept his eyes on the intruder, filled with overwhelming fury.

"That's 'Yuki Kitazawa', my brother's first lover. The two of them were pretty passionate about each other for a while, then things turned sour. That son of a bitch gathered his friends, gathered his friends and jumped him. They all took their turns riding on him...and then that bastard tried to kill him! My brother fought back and ended up the victor, but he came out with some SERIOUS trauma."

"About that..."

Yuki Kitazawa brought himself closer to Eiri Uesugi, who looked as if he were about to explode like a stack of dynamite. The initial shock had worn off; hatred was eating at him once again, in its full, inexplicable power.

"Listen, Yuki. I'm really, REALLY sorry about what happened between us. I really liked you!"

Eiri's heart struck another violent chord.

'Liked'?

"I'd really like to start over, you know. We could share a new life together! Forget about the shrimp you're after! Who needs that pony anyway? Why waste your time riding a worthless pony when you could ride something real?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back.

He had heard enough insults from Deus.

"Niha," the novelist said in a flash, his voice bearing vehement hatred. "take my friends out of here."

Those words were met with massive opposition.

"What? You can't-"

"Yuki, you can't be serious-"

"We can't leave you here-"

"Be reasonable, Eiri!"

"I'll be fine." was the prince's harsh response. His arms were outstretched in front of the group; he wanted to protect his beloved companions from his eternal enemy, and felt that it was his battle to deal with...alone.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be all right. This is my problem anyway. I need to take care of this. Alone."

Hiro looked into Eiri's face worriedly, bearing the gentleness of a fretful mother. "Are you sure?" he asked gently, unwilling to leave his best friend's lover behind. Eiri didn't remove his eyes from Kitazawa for a second.

"I'm sure. Niha, get them out of here!"

The remaining sovereign of Anuryn rushed his companions from the battlefield, even though none of them wanted to leave Eiri behind. Tatsuha Uesugi took one last at his brother...

...who was exhausted from...

...sorrow.

You don't know...how much I need you...how much I MISS you...

Damn everything, Shuichi...I just...

...want you BACK...