Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing within, save a couple ideas and possible OC's, but there's to freaking much to name so just go with that…

NU: Birth of the Seekers

Chapter 27: The Underworld

Normal Speech: "Yo…"

Normal Thoughts: 'Curiouser and Curiouser…'

Demon Speech: "Pathetic Ningen…"

Demon Thoughts: 'I hate this cage…'

Seeker Speech: [Time to Die…]

(?)

"Master wait up!" Ventus cried as he followed after his Master Xehanort across an odd world known as the "Broken Kingdom". Panting heavily, Ventus made it to his master's side as the old man strode forward, arms crossed behind his back. "What are we looking for?" Ventus questioned and Xehanort smiled before stroking his chin slowly.

"Information." Xehanort replied, eyes closed and Ventus gave him a sidelong glance as they traveled passed the ruins of what had once been a wall.

"What is this world?" Ventus questioned softly and Master Xehanort looked around before sighing. The world was a barren desolate place, all of its inhabitants long since scattered to the four winds, the buildings were torn apart, the streets were cracked and covered with the blood of the cities people, and finally, in the distance, Master Xehanort saw a crumbling Castle, within which was the information he'd been seeking.

"This, Ventus, is the remains of a forgotten world… now, not even a memory, it is fading and crumbling into dust." Master Xehanort replied softly, features falling as he saw the devastation brought to this world, his heart aching.

"Oh… what happened to its people master?" Ventus questioned and Xehanort sighed before looking to the sky, said sky being red as blood with black clouds hovering over them…

"No one truly knows what became of them Ventus, this world is forgotten and forbidden even to Key-Bearers. But, I must see what they found." Master-Xehanort replied while Ventus looked all around the silent world and shivered.

"Master, this place… makes me uneasy." Ventus said and Xehanort nodded his head silently before making his way down the street. Seeing his master leaving him, Ventus quickly followed after the old man. Trudging deeper and deeper into the city, Ventus saw more and more desolate ruins along their way to the strange floating castle.

"So many lives lost in search of its power… but how close did they truly get?" Master-Xehanort wondered to himself while looking around, Ventus looking at him questioningly in response. Blinking, the old man gave a weak smile before patting Ventus on the head as they walked up a ramp towards the Castle Gates. "Don't worry Ventus, everything will be just fine." Master-Xehanort assured and Ventus gave a weak grin as they stopped before the entrance to the castle…

"I've got bad feeling about this Master." Ventus stated and Master-Xehanort gave the blond haired youth a look.

"You're never supposed to say that Ventus, bad things always happen when you say that…" Master-Xehanort grumbled while rubbing his face and then looked down the hall and cupped his chin. Noticing the large grooves around some of the bricks in the floor, the long holes in the walls, as well as what looked like trap doors in the ceiling of the castle's entrance, Master-Xehanort nodded his head.

"So what's the plan Master?" Ventus questioned as Xehanort turned and walked behind him. Smirking, Master-Xehanort then kicked Ventus in the back, forcing the youth into the hall and onto one of the bricks. Instantly it was depressed and several sharp blades came swinging out of the walls towards him. Yelping, Ventus rolled out of the way, causing another brick to be depressed. The ceiling above the youth suddenly creaked and then fell away, Ventus screaming and lunging out of the way as a spiked platform fell to the ground where he had been.

Panting heavily with wide eyes Ventus rubbed his forehead while swiping some sweat from his brow, his second hand pushing down on another brick and making him pale dramatically. Looking around, Ventus saw several pipes jut out of the walls and ceiling and mentally cursed. Quickly forming his Keyblade, Ventus twisted, turned, and dodged several darts while blocking those he couldn't, all while still moving down the entrance hall. Hitting another Brick, Ventus yelled as a swinging blade on a pendulum came at him from the side.

Rolling backwards and then standing perfectly straight, Ventus watched as two swinging blades swished in front and behind him. Quickly moving out of the way of the swinging blade behind him, Ventus placed a hand on the wall and let out a relieved sigh… only to groan as the brick in the wall was depressed. Instantly, Ventus heard a sound and then yelped as he lunged forward, evading the walls as they slammed together where he had been only moments before. Hearing another sound, Ventus looked up and lunged forward, evading the ceiling as a heavy portion of it slammed into the ground behind him.

Panting heavily, Ventus looked all around for more traps, and then gaped as the walls opened up and two dragon statues suddenly loomed at his sides ominously. Screaming loudly, Ventus lunged out of the way as the dragons breathed fire out where he had been moments ago. Looking around once more and then breathing a sigh of relief when he found himself before another door, Ventus then turned and saw his Master whistling as he walked passed all the used traps.

"I knew this hall looked funny." Master-Xehanort said with a nod of his head while Ventus gaped as the man walked to the door and gave him a look. "Well don't just sit their Ventus, we still have things to do." Master-Xehanort reminded and Ventus felt his eye twitch before he gritted his teeth while Master-Xehanort walked away from him with an audible chuckle.

"MASTER!" Ventus roared while flipping back to his feet and glared at his master's back. "GET BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" Ventus roared while running after his aging master, a furious expression across his face…

(?)

Naruto slowly uttered a low groan before sitting up and placed a hand to his head. "Oi… another weird dream." He mumbled to himself before looking around, his eyes bolting open when he couldn't see any of the others. Cursing he quickly jumped onto his feet and stopped to gape when he saw WHERE he appeared to be… The entire world around him was a vast almost endless realm of fire and brimstone, souls fell from the heavens and into molten lava and bloody streams below, statues of demons and monsters were all around, the real demons and monsters visible in the distance along with a massive statue of the God of The Underworld, Lord Hades…

"Oi shit, did I land in hell or what?" Naruto muttered to himself before turning and looking around at what he guessed was the "Underworld". "Alright… so I'm on Kratos world again. But, if that's the case why am I down here and what happened to the tournament?" Naruto wondered to himself for a moment before he decided to look around for a bit. Walking down a long winding path through the Underworld, Naruto stopped and frowned when he saw a doorway.

"Please let the other's be that way." He mumbled to himself while running down a long path, only to slow down as several shades walked passed him. Walking beside of the shades, Naruto shivered slightly before crossing his arms and journeying towards a circular area. Looking around, Naruto cursed and jumped back as black skeletal arms then reached out of the ground and pulled the Shades into the ground…

"Okay, that was freaky, and this is definitely hell…" Naruto mused to himself with a slight shiver before looking around the circular area he'd found himself in. He then noticed a snake motif to the door before him and raised a brow for a moment. However, he then heard a sound and quickly rolled out of the way of a blade that nearly cleaved him in two. Quickly turning around, the blond haired youth's eyes widened upon seeing half-dead misshapen grey skinned being crawling out of the ground, garbed only partly in armor and clothing, with massive L shaped swords.

"Holy shit…" Naruto whispered before growling and pulled his keys from his back, only to stop and place them back. "Their already dead… I can't steal their souls or turn their hearts to Heartless if their already dead!" He grumbled before reaching into his coat and pulled out the Vorpal-Key and held it in both hands, strangely enough he was clearly forming into the same stance Sora was known to use. Growling and snarling the strange misshapen creatures stalked towards the blond as he took a single step back and dug his foot into the ground… a smirk crawling onto his features as his eyes suddenly turned a familiar bright amber gold…

"Now DIE!" He roared while lunging forward and swung the Vorpal-Key, slashing straight through the first creature and cutting it, its armor, and even its weapon in half. Grinning despite himself, Naruto turned the blade in his hands and turned, blocking an attack from a different creature, which he decided to call "Ghouls", and then twisted around and cut its legs out from under it before stabbing the Vorpal-Key into its head. Ripping it out of the creature, Naruto turned as several more Ghouls started to crawl out of the ground and grinned once more.

"Come Forward, my Shade!" Naruto ordered and the form of The Shade formed up behind him, Naruto's body flowing off of the ground as he held the Vorpal-Key in hand while the Ghouls stopped, clearly wary of the blond. "Surrounded… this place is saturated in Darkness…" Naruto mumbled with a grin as wisps of black energy began to crawl off of his body. Throwing his arms to the side Naruto then crouched back, the Shade narrowing its eyes as they then launched forward. Naruto quickly swung the Vorpal-Key, slicing through several of the Ghouls while The Shade quickly grabbed then lifted some off of the ground.

"Finish them." Naruto ordered darkly, leaning the Vorpal-Key over his shoulders just as Sora would and the Shade almost looked like it was grinning. Roaring out, the Shade then raised its arms into the air before slamming both Ghouls into the ground while more started to come out of the ground around them. Among this new group was a new type of ghoul, these being female with gold armor that barely even covered them, and what looked like bombs of some kind with slingshots.

"This should be interesting…" Naruto noted mostly to himself while the Shade narrowed its eyes onto the Ghouls. Raising a brow, Naruto found himself floating into the air while the Shades arms slammed into the ground. Instantly all light around Naruto and the Shade suddenly dimmed, a grin crawling onto Naruto's features as black energy started to swirl from the Shades submerged arms.

"SUBMIT!" The Shade cried out loudly as the energy suddenly shot up all around Naruto, impaling all of the Ghouls in one fell swoop. Whistling lightly Naruto then landed on a single spike of black energy, standing on it with one foot while his Vorpal-Key is still slung over his shoulders. Looking over the damage, Naruto then watches as the Ghouls start to vanish before The Shade removes its arms from the ground and floats back over to him.

"Not bad, though a little messy…" Naruto mused aloud only to stop and grit his teeth while clutching at his head with his free hand. "What… what's going on?" He wondered and the Shade groaned lightly as it faded back into his shadow. Groaning as well, Naruto fell to the ground, dropping the Vorpal-Key while his eyes slowly returned to their original azure hue. Looking around for a moment, Naruto then shook his head and reached out to take hold of his key once more.

"With so much raw Darkness around here… my powers must be going haywire. Not to mention my own darkness is getting stronger…" He mumbled to himself before watching as several more Shades suddenly walked passed him… Raising a brow, Naruto shivered as the specters moved on, then got back to his feet and turned to the doorway he'd seen earlier. Frowning as he looked up at it, Naruto looked around for a moment to make certain that nothing else was going to come out at him. Assure nothing was he then walked to the door and frowned when he noticed what kind it was.

The door was made oddly, it was made out of the circular walls around him, thus more than one person, or someone with superhuman strength, could possibly get the damn doors open. 'This might be a problem if I didn't have The Shade.' Naruto mused before closing his eyes and calling forth the creature from his Darkness. Instantly, the Shade's arms shot from behind Naruto and threw the door open easily. Opening his eyes while the Shade faded away, Naruto blinked when he saw Tira sitting down before him, her back turned to him.

"Stupid Dark-Portals… first I keep passing out and being a burden to Master because of them, and now they separate me from him!" Tira grumbled out before crossing her arms with a notable pout and Naruto shook his head. 'I swear I'll never understand that girl…' He thought to himself before clearing his throat and the brunette turned to look at him and smiled brightly. "Master!" The brunette cried happily before lunging into a hug and wrapping most of her limbs around him, Naruto groaning lightly as she did before looking around.

"Where are the other's Tira?" Naruto questioned and the brunette frowned in thought for a few moments before answering.

"I saw Axel and Larxene on the other side of a chasm earlier master, but I haven't seen Alice anywhere." Tira reported and Naruto grimaced lightly at the admission, that meant they'd have to get to Axel and Larxene and then that they'd have to find Alice ASAP before something else did…

"Do you think you can take me to Axel, Tira?" Naruto questioned and Tira instantly nodded her head with a happy smile… "And could you also maybe let me go?" Naruto then asked with a slight twitch and Tira blinked before hopping back and off of the blond haired teen. "Good, now lead me to Axel." Naruto then ordered while rubbing his temples and Tira happily grinned with a mock salute.

"Aye aye master!" She said and turned around walking through the doorway with Naruto behind her. Looking around, Naruto frowned deeply as he wondered what kind of hellish place they'd managed to find themselves in… only for both to stop at a deep ominous voice echoing out all around them.

"Well well well, who do we have here?" The voice wondered and Naruto instantly recognized Hades' voice… but it sounded, off… "The Seeker of Darkness, so nice to see you again. I hope you enjoy your stay here, after all, you're never going to be leaving!" The voice of Hades echoed out with a sinister laugh and Naruto turned to see it seemed to be coming from the giant statue of him.

"Hades?" The blond wondered to himself, only for the voice of the ruler of the Underworld to vanish.

"Something wrong Master?" Tira questioned and Naruto frowned while crossing his arms over his chest for a moment.

"Sort of… Hades didn't sound like himself…" Naruto mumbled while turning and walking further into the Underworld, Tira following after him.

"Maybe he's had a bad day." Tira offered in her usual, at least towards him, chipper tone and Naruto frowned slightly.

"He doesn't take me as the type to turn psychotic after a bad-day, Tira." Naruto stated and a strange look crossed Tira's face as she followed behind him.

"Oh you never know Master, I once met this weird clown who used to tell me that, "All it takes is one Bad Day to drive even the sanest man alive to lunacy!" Tira offered with a wide smile and Naruto blinked before turning to the brunette with a frown.

"And you listened to the clown?" He asked and the girl grinned widely.

"Well of course! He made so much sense." Tira said with a nod of her head and Naruto frowned while looking to the girl.

"Exactly how did he make sense Tira?" Naruto asked, though he could already tell he didn't want to know the answer.

"Oh, because he always killed people who were boring of course! And he understood 'The Plan'!" Tira whispered while looking around and Naruto blinked once more while staring at his servant.

"The Plan… why does that sound so familiar?" Naruto wondered while scratching his head for a moment and Tira grinned.

"Because it's true! The Plan is where everyone acts all serious and "Normal" but in truth all they are doing is hiding what they really are behind a façade!" Tira explained and Naruto frowned as he cupped his chin for a moment, now thinking about it. What was truly scary however was that made so much sense to him… he'd seen it himself after all. He'd seen how people acted one way in public, then acted like fools in private, he'd seen quirks people were deathly afraid of showing, and that they'd even call vile and disgusting in public!

"Yeah. The Clown also explained some more to me about these "Rules" that everyone follows. According to him, everyone follows the rules to act "Normal" so no one feels like a freak. But in truth everyone is a freak or weird in some way, it's not natural to hold it in and he wants to prove it to them!" Tira continued and Naruto frowned slightly before shrugging his shoulders, it wasn't his problem after all.

"Yeah well so long as that clown never bugs me I'll leave him be… what's his name anyways Tira?" Naruto questioned of his servant and the brunette grinned widely towards her master in response.

"WELL… I don't know his real name Master. But he called himself "The Joker" back when I met him." Tira replied and Naruto and found a shiver crawl up his spine, something about that name hit a little too close to home for some reason…

"And when did you meet him exactly?" Naruto questioned and Tira frowned in thought for a moment, as if trying to remember where she met "The Joker"…

"Back when our world was destroyed… or was it consumed… or purified… or something like that by the Soulless, Master. I landed on his world and spent a few weeks with him and his girlfriend Harley Quinn!" Tira reported with a wide wicked grin and Naruto blinked before looking over at her strangely.

"So where was Nightmare when this happened?" Naruto asked and Tira slumped down while they walked further into the Underworld.

"Master you should know, you came and picked me up remember." Tira replied and Naruto cleared his throat. After so long he'd forgotten Tira thought Soul-Blade was a fragment of Soul-Edge, thus she though he was it's host and it was in control… 'Just another reason for me to keep her on a very short leash…' The blond haired youth thought to himself while they came to a stop at a chasm and Naruto frowned while seeing a walk way opposite them. "That's where I saw Axel and Larxie, Master!" Tira reported and Naruto blinked and stared at Tira for a moment.

"Larxie?" He demanded incredulously and Tira shrugged her shoulders.

"Larxene is just such a mouthful, Master." She explained and Naruto snickered slightly before looking around for a way over to the other side. Then narrowed his eyes when he saw a series of large chains leading over head…

"Alright Tira, I think I know how we're going to be getting over." Naruto said and the girl looked at him expectantly. However, rather than answer, Naruto wrapped an arm around Tira and then reached back and threw his "Gears of Madness" keyblade forward before jumping onto it. Shifting his weight Naruto then flew up on it and along the chain over to the other side of the chasm…

(?)

Alice is currently passed out on the ground, though she is slowly coming out of it with a low groan. Reaching a hand up to her head, the Shadowed-Princess then slowly sat up and looked around through bleary eyes. Upon seeing the terrain and world she'd found herself in, Alice gasped and covered her mouth, clearly horrified. "Oh my! What is this dreadful place?" Alice wondered while looking around herself, a man walking towards her from behind her…

"It's known as Hades, or even The Underworld." A deep menacing voice supplied and Alice shivered before turning around and then widened her eyes. What she saw is a man, his skin pale as ash, a black goatee at his chin, a red spiral tattoo covering most of his body, while dressed in red clothes, with old brown leather pteruges hanging from his waist, and golden armor, a pair of dangerous looking blades sheathed on his back. "Now then girl, who are you?" The man demanded with a sneer and Alice took a step away from him before answering.

"I-I'm Alice Pleasance Liddell…" She replied and saw the man's amber eyes narrow onto her before he turned his back to her.

"A strange name." He noted while walking away and Alice gulped while slowly following after him.

"Excuse me sir?" She asked and Kratos frowned while turning to look at her from the corner of one eye. "Y-yes… um, might I enquire as to your name?" She asked and Kratos rolled his eyes while walking deeper into the Underworld.

"Kratos." He stated simply and Alice stopped and frowned at the odd name, only to yelp and follow after the ashen skinned man.

"Yes, well then, mister Kratos would you please help me locate my friends? I seem to have been separated from them…" Alice pleaded and Kratos frowned visibly, arms crossed and a dark look in his eye.

"The search for your friends is a heavy burden that I do not want nor need to carry." He replied and Alice stopped for a moment only to shake her head and quickly rush back after him.

"Please, but if I don't find my friends I fear that they shall leave this world without me!" Alice said and Kratos rolled his eyes, clearly not interested in helping the poor little lady. "Oh my… whatever am I to do?" Alice wondered as tears started to form at the corner of her eyes while Kratos walked away from her. "I suppose I should hope that Naruto will eventually manage to find me down here but…" Alice said to herself and Kratos stopped with a frown crossing over his features for a moment.

"Naruto… as in Uzumaki Naruto?" Kratos questioned while turning towards the girl and Alice blinked in his direction.

"The very same…" She replied then wiped at her eyes and looked to see an annoyed frown cross over Kratos' features. "Do you know him as well?" Alice questioned and Kratos grunted for a moment, then stopped in front of the auburn haired girl and glared at her.

"We've met…" Kratos admitted and then drummed his fingers on his left bicep for a moment. "He was my partner in a tournament, but when we Poseidon, Zeus decided it would be better to throw me into the Underworld rather than continue the tournaments." Kratos explained and Alice blinked before gasping, as THOSE names did sound VERY familiar to her.

"Y-You killed Poseidon? God of the seas himself?" Alice questioned, awed by the accomplishment and Kratos scoffed slightly.

"He was weak." Kratos growled out and then looked at Alice with a slim frown. "I'll help you find Naruto." Kratos then stated and walked off again, Alice blinking for a moment before quickly following after him.

"Oh, thank you sir, I am most relieved to be traveling with someone who knows the 'lay of the land' as it were. I am afraid that I am personally not used to world traveling and I must admit that it is begging to appear as quite the daunting prospect and…" Alice said only for Kratos to turn and cover her mouth with one hand, a deep scowl formed across his face as he glared at her heatedly.

"Firstly girl, I am only helping you because Naruto is a worthy ally. Second, I have neither a want nor need to help you and will gladly leave you to your death if you annoy me. Finally, stop talking." Kratos growled out and then turned on his heel to walk away, Alice blinked before crossing her arms with a pout…

'How utterly and unforgivably rude!' She thought to herself while following after the Ghost of Sparta regardless. 'Although, I suppose I do talk a bit too much sometimes. Really, its yet another quirk I fear I'll have to work on… hmm… what else… oh yes, the random bouts of psychotic behavior, I truly must work on those. It's not proper for a lady to go on mass killing sprees after all.' Alice thought to herself, unaware of the slightly demented look crossing her features as she did…

(Radiant Garden…)

Xigbar yawned as he walked behind Xehanort and smacked his lips for a moment. "So, what are we doing here again?" Xigbar wondered and Xehanort turned to look at him for a moment before turning around. Staying silent as they walked into a computer room, Xehanort made his way over to a computer. Pulling a disk from his Black-Cloak, he placed it into a slot on the computer before typing the word "Another" as the first password. Typing in six more passwords, Xehanort then retrieved the disk from the slot and turned to an open door at his side.

"I'm paying a visit to an old friend…" Xehanort replied simply and Xigbar grimaced, wondering just how far Terra and Master-Xehanort's personalities have been mixed together over the years.

"Oh is that all…" Xigbar mumbled as they walked into the Heartless Creation Chamber and stopped on a white symbol. Soon after a rectangle of light formed on the floor before a doorway suddenly opened on the ground before them, a downward ramp forming before them as well. "So that's where we're going…" Xigbar noted and Xehanort silently nodded his head, Xigbar frowning as a thought occurred to him.

"But what if somebody finds us while we're down there?" Xigbar questioned since the "Room of Repose", as they called it, was not exactly large enough, nor suitable, for a battle with those kids. Chuckling ominously, Xehanort reached a hand to the side, a black sphere of energy with wisps of Darkness rolling off of it appearing at his side, a purple version of the Gears-of-Madness S shaped charm lay within the center of the sphere as purple lightning arched over it.

"No one will make it into the room Braig… HE will make certain of that." Xehanort replied before making his way down the revealed ramp, Xigbar chuckling as he looked at the sphere of energy.

"So, you're calling in the big guns already then. This is going to be so sweet. Too bad I can't watch the fun." Xigbar mused before following after Xehanort as he wandered down the long spiral ramp behind his master. As they journeyed down the end of the first ramp, the "floor" sealed shut above them and the ramp vanished behind them. Walking down the spiral ramp took a far while, but soon enough they both came to another door and Xehanort and it quickly opened to reveal a familiar hall. Preparing to walk inside, Xigbar was stopped when Xehanort held out an arm and turned his head to him.

"You stay here, I'll visit my friend alone." Xehanort ordered and Xigbar shrugged while the man walked silently into the long hall. Reaching up, Xehanort then removed his hood, Darkness spiraling over his form to reveal his true youthful appearance. Walking to the door at the end of the hall, Xehanort waited for a moment as the door opened on its own before then walking into the room. Looking around and making his way to the throne in the center of the room, Xehanort sat down silently and looked to a familiar suit of armor as it lay in pieces before him.

"It's been a long time… my friend." Xehanort whispered while looking to the familiar armor with a soft expression forming across his features…

Meanwhile above, King-Mickey and Kairi landed on Radiant Garden, the king hopping out of the ship before helping Kairi out as well. "Welcome back to Radiant Garden Kairi." The King offered with a smile while Kairi looked around and breathed in for a moment.

"It's starting to look like how I remember it…" She admitted while gazing at the vast amount of repairs that Leon and his group had accomplished.

"Yeah, soon I bet it should be all fixed up." King-Mickey said with a smile while Kairi then grinned and ran over to Aerith when she saw her. Shaking his head, Mickey followed after Kairi before blinking in surprise when he saw Zack talking with Aerith with some Sea-Salt icecream in hand. 'He sure does look familiar…' Mickey thought to himself while Kairi tapped Aerith's back, the older girl turning and giving a soft smile to the younger girl.

"Kairi, it's been a while since I've seen you." Aerith stated and Kairi looked to Zack as he took a bite of his Ice-cream.

"Yeah… whose he Aerith? I don't think I've ever seen him around here before." Kairi questioned while looking at the black haired man and Aerith smiled slightly before turning to Zack.

"This is my boyfriend, Zack Fair, Zack, this is Kairi." Aerith introduced and Zack gave a grin to the girl.

"Nice to meet you." Zack offered with a slight wave then saw King-Mickey. "Well what do ya know, King-Mickey long time no see." Zack said upon seeing the mouse and Mickey frowned.

"Zack? But I though you died?" Mickey questioned of the man with a raised brow and Zack grinned nervously while looking around.

"Uh well… it's a long story." Zack offered and Mickey shrugged his shoulders, deciding it was better that he not ask what that meant. Before anymore of a conversation could begin, Leon ran towards them and slid to a halt. Behind the man, Sakura and Kakashi also slid to a halt, both gaping upon seeing King-Mickey.

"We've got a problem. Tron says someone just used Ansem's Computer to enter something called the "Room of Repose"." Leon stated and Zack raised a brow while King-Mickey frowned.

"Who was it then?" Mickey questioned and Leon scowled deeply.

"Did that giant mouse just… talk?" Sakura questioned in shock and Kakashi merely patted her head for a moment.

"Get used to this stuff Sakura, weird things are going to be common on other worlds." Kakashi advised while the other's ignored the off worlders as they focused on a slightly more important matter.

"Whoever they were, they destroyed the main security camera to the Computer. All we saw was two men in the same black-coats as Organization XIII." Leon replied and King-Mickey's frown deepened at the news.

"Right then, lets go find out what's going on then." Mickey agreed before rushing towards the castle, soon followed by Kairi, Leon, Zack and Aerith. Looking to one another, Sakura and Kakashi then followed after the Mouse and his group, none of them aware of the new danger lurking within the castle.

(Underworld…)

"Why is it we always seem to end up stuck together?" Axel wondered to himself while walking with Larxene, the said blond slapping him upside the head as he did. "Shit… what was that for?" Axel demanded of the woman and Larxene glared at him with a deep scowl across her face.

"You act like it's oh so bad to be around me, that's why." She stated before walking away from the red head and Axel grunted before forming his Chakrams… he could probably kill her with one swing if he timed it right… Growling he then put them away and crossed his arms with a deep scowl on his face. It wasn't worth the hell he'd probably get from Naruto, and especially from Tira since she liked Larxene. Following behind Larxene, Axel suddenly noticed something as they walked through a strange doorway they came into a massive room with a large man sitting with his back to them.

"What the…" Axel mumbled while the being turned towards them and both Axel and Larxene grimaced. The man was at the very least four times their own height, if not bigger, and highly muscular with deeply tanned rough skin, he also has long balding brown hair with a brown bead on his lower jaw, however one of his eyes is messed up, as was one side of his face entirely.

"What have we here, mortal visitors are something I've never had before…" The massive being noticed before leaning down, Larxene scowling, as he looked them both over for a moment. "Hmm… Higher Nobodies." He noticed while reaching up to fiddle with a ring he was wearing on his right hand.

"Who the hell are you body?" Larxene demanded and the giant tilted his head while looking at her for a moment.

"I am Hephaestus, God of the Forge." Hephaestus replied and Axel cursed under his breath before glaring at Larxene.

"Nice going, piss off a god why don't you!" He hissed at the blond and she glared right back at him, a deep scowl across her face.

"Yeah well how was I supposed to know he was a god?" She demanded of him furiously while Hephaestus merely watched them for a moment, then reached up and grabbed a stalactite, which he then used to carve away some grime from the ring he was wearing. As he did, Hephaestus watched the two higher-nobodies argue between one another with some small amount of amusement before sighing.

"Are you two quite done yet?" Hephaestus questioned and the two Nobodies quickly turned to look at him. "Good, cause I think we have more guests coming this way." Hephaestus noted while Naruto and Tira walked through the doorway, Hephaestus dropping the stalactite when he saw Tira. "The servant of Soul-Edge!" He said lowly and then saw Soul-Blade on Naruto's back and several gears started to turn inside his mind…

"Axel. Larxene. Have either of you seen Alice anywhere?" Naruto questioned while walking over to the two higher-Nobodies and saw them blink before Larxene cursed and started to rub her temples.

"Sadly no, guess the Dark-Corridor must've separated us from each other… oh yeah and this is Hephaestus, God of the Forge." Axel replied while motioning towards the massive giant behind him, Tira grinning as she saw him.

"Oh, its you." She said and Hephaestus winced at the look in her violet eyes. "The one who made that sword and shield for that bad mother that destroyed my master once…" Tira noted while her fingers itched to take hold of her ring-blade and Hephaestus winced while looking around. Technically, while he did make those, it was only on Zeus's orders and only because he wanted to stay in his good graces back then…

"That's enough of that Tira. We don't have time for you to hold a petty grudge." Naruto stated flatly, an annoyed look on his face, and Tira pouted while crossing her arms.

"Yes, Master." She said while Hephaestus raised a brow and then took a better look at Soul-Blade and the gears in his mind turned once more.

"Good. Now then Hephaestus, what happened to that Tournament that was being held last time I was here?" Naruto questioned of the God of the Forge and Hephaestus blinked before answering him, fiddling with the ring on his finger once again.

"Kratos decided he couldn't wait for the tournament and attacked Olympus. As a result Zeus canceled the tournament, deciding that any mortals that could defeat Kratos would be just as big a threat to him. And then he threw him down here last I heard and he's probably wandering around the depths trying to find a way back to the surface." Hephaestus explained while Naruto frowned at the news and then crossed his arms over his chest, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Looking at the blond, Hephaestus felt the gears in his mind turn yet again and fiddled with his ring absently… From what he could tell and see, that was a small version of Soul-Edge; it gave off the same power as the cursed sword, but obviously wasn't sentient and therefore couldn't control Naruto. Also, Tira seemed to have the impression it was Soul-Edge itself, thus served Naruto purely for the fact she thought he was nothing but a host for Soul-Edge…

Thankfully, Zeus had taken the precaution of dumping all the fragments of Soul-Edge into the Underworld, where Hades shoved them all to him. He had then taken the extra precaution of melting down those fragments, and then put them in a block of solid adamantine as a precaution. No one wanted Soul-Edge being reformed; neither god nor mortal wanted that cursed blade wandering around. Thus, once it was sealed into the block of adamantine, Hephaestus had thrown it into the deepest, darkest pits of Tartarus to remain for all times…

"Now then, Axel. Larxene. We need to move out and find Alice. Hopefully nothing has gotten its claws into her, but with how this place is I highly doubt she'd be able to defend herself for very long." Naruto stated and got nods of agreement from the others, also jarring Hephaestus out of his thoughts and back to the real world.

"Wait!" Hephaestus said and Naruto looked up to the giant of a man as he fiddled with the ring on his finger once more. "I would ask for you aide, Mortal. My daughter Pandora, Zeus keeps her locked away, I ask you to please free her for me." Hephaestus pleaded while moving towards them and Naruto frowned deeply.

"We don't have time to go on some epic-quest, Alice could be eaten or killed by something down here by the time we got finished." Naruto stated and Hephaestus fiddled with his ring once more while trying to think. It was probably true, and given that the blond was clearly the "Dark-Key-Bearer" that meant he'd probably be whisked away to another world before he could even reach Pandora even if he had agreed…

"Then… then could you please bring me the gold statues of my daughter around the Underworld?" Hephaestus pleaded and Naruto was about to refuse only for Axel to place a hand onto his shoulder.

"Why?" Axel questioned and Hephaestus bit his lip.

"I made them, to try and recreate my beautiful Pandora… but… but I could not, not without the Flame. But, she is still able to manifest her spirit through the statues. Bring them to me, so that I might at least see her again." Hephaestus pleaded and Axel looked to see a strange look on Larxene's face, and then ignored it while he turned around to face Naruto.

"Alright, how about you and Tira go looking for Alice while me and Larxene hunt down these statues." Axel offered the blond haired Seeker and Naruto gave Axel a look.

"Do you have any idea how long that'll take?" Naruto demanded, Hephaestus overhearing them decided maybe a little… incentive might get them to help him.

"I can offer you something if you aid me!" Hephaestus said quickly and Naruto frowned before looking up to the fallen god.

"Exactly what could you offer?" Naruto asked and Hephaestus looked around for a moment, thinking of what he could give to the blond that would even actually work off of their world…

"Anything, I'm not the… former God of the Forge for nothing. I can make you anything you want." Hephaestus replied and Naruto hummed in thought while rubbing his chin. A thought then came to the blond as he reached into his coat and pulled the charm that held Xion's memories and soul within it… 'He created his daughter… so… maybe he could make her a body.' Naruto thought to himself while tossing the charm into the air and then caught it before looking up to Hephaestus once more.

"Can you make a Body for this girl?" Naruto questioned while holding up the charm and Hephaestus leaned down and looked at the charm for a moment. Scrutinizing it for a few seconds he then drummed his fingers on the ground and grinned.

"Such a thing is a simple task. If even my beloved Aphrodite could even do that, it'll be but a simple task to make a body for her. The Heart on the other hand…" Hephaestus said with a nod then left hanging and Naruto ignored him, well aware of how hard it was to find or create a heart.

"Good… then that's what we want. Axel, hang onto this and bring all the statues back here. That way, you can have your friend back." Naruto stated while tossing the Last Wish over to Axel who looked at it and nodded his head. "Alright then, Tira, we're moving out to find Alice before something else does." Naruto stated and Hephaestus reached over and opened a pair of doors for the two, Naruto nodding towards the God of the Forge as he and Tira left threw it.

"Now then, where do we start?" Axel questioned and Hephaestus slammed a hand into a wall, breaking it open and leaving a doorway to the two.

"C'mon lets get this over with quickly." Larxene ordered and Axel grumbled under his breath as he followed after the blond. As they left as well Hephaestus couldn't help hoping that they would somehow manage to find the statue that his daughter could speak through…

(Castle Oblivion…)

Xine wandered deeper into the Castle, memories of his life passing before his eyes with each new room he walked into. Stopping for a moment, Xine sighed when he found yet another new card. "What is with this place?" Xine wondered as he walked to another room and held up the card, another memory suddenly blinding him before playing before his eyes…

Xine grunted as he was easily knocked back by Master Eraqus, panting slightly, Xine pushed himself to his feet and glared towards the man. "D-dammit…" Xine gritted out, his red eyes narrowed onto Eraqus before he crouched and then lunged forward with a roar. Swinging a sword at the man he watched as Eraqus evaded the swing before landing a punch to Xine's gut. Eyes going wide, Xine wrapped his arms around his waist while backing away from the man. Frowning, Master-Eraqus then lunged forward swinging his Keyblade up and knocking Xine off balance before twisting into a kick to Xine's ribs, sending him flying back into a wall.

Sighing, Eraqus shook his head while Andross and Xehanort watched from behind him. "We should stop this… Xine's already lost be he's too stubborn to admit it." Andross stated and Xehanort was silent as he watched Xine push himself back up, sweating and panting before gritting his teeth.

"Dammit… why… why can't I touch you?" Xine growled out while looking up towards Master-Eraqus, the Keyblade-Master merely closing his eyes.

"Your heart sways too easily. An unstable warrior like you could never wield the Keyblade." Master-Eraqus stated and Xine gritted his teeth, narrowing his red eyes Xine lunged at Eraqus once more. However he changed tactics, pulling apart his sword to form two short single edged blades he swung at Eraqus once more. The Keyblade-Master merely backed away from the swing with a frown as Xine continued to lash out with his blades, only for Eraqus to slam his fist into his gut once more. Backing up with wide eyes again, Xine was then pushed to the ground as Eraqus placed his foot onto his chest and pointed his keyblade towards Xine's face.

"You're not meant to wield the Keyblade, you should leave this place." Eraqus stated while Xine's eyes turned Golden-Amber as he gritted his teeth in rage.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Xine roared and swung his sword up, the blade suddenly growing in length. Seeing this, Eraqus quickly backed away from Xine quickly and took a stance. "Now I'll show you what I can really do… and that you should never underestimate me!" Xine growled out at the Master angrily as dark wisps started to form off of his body. Andross looked to Xine in shock while Master-Xehanort rubbed his chin for a moment, Master-Eraqus on the other hand narrowed his eyes on the youthful warrior.

"So, now your heart shows its true allegiance." Eraqus mused as Xine reared his sword back before thrusting it forward. The blade of his weapon came shooting forward, lengthening once more as Eraqus dodged out of the way. Growling low in his throat, Xine pulled the blade back to him as Eraqus lunged forward. Smirking despite himself, Xine formed a shield from his sword and held it up, blocking a surprised Eraqus before pushing him back. Lunging forward, Xine then formed his Shield into an Ax before swinging it at Eraqus.

Frowning, Eraqus moved back to evade the swing before lashing out with another swing. Gritting his teeth, Xine, formed a gauntlet from the Ax and used that to block Eraqus before suddenly grinning. Backing up Xine then slammed his arm into the ground, his gauntlet thinning as the metal started shooting out of the ground like spikes around Eraqus. The spikes then shot inwards at Master-Eraqus, the aging Keyblade master quickly jumping out of the prison before throwing his Keyblade, nailing Xine in the head and knocking him to the ground.

"Xine!" Andross called out while rushing over to his friends side, Eraqus frowning as he looked down at the warrior. Helping Xine sit up, Andross widened his eyes upon seeing a pair of amber-gold eyes looking hatefully towards Eraqus for a moment, before closing as Xine's head fell back his eyes returning to their original blood red color as he clung onto consciousness.

"His heart is too weak, it sways too Darkness too easily…" Eraqus stated while turning his back to Xine. "Andross, if you really wish to study the knowledge of the light, Master-Xehanort can lead you to the library… but your friend is not worthy to wield a Keyblade as he is now." Eraqus offered before wandering away, giving a look to Master-Xehanort as he passed him and went deeper into the castle. At these words, Xine felt his hands clench before his eyes closed and he fell into the grip of unconsciousness and static filled his vision…

Groaning, Xine fell into the next room while placing a hand to his head. "Ugh… did that really happen? And who's this, "Andross" guy supposed to be?" Xine wondered to himself before shaking his head and found another card on the ground. Picking it up, he slowly got back to his feet while steadying his movements. Walking over to another door, Xine bit his lip lightly before holding it up, the door opening with a bright flash of light as he did…

Xine sat on a pedestal outside of the Castle of the Land of Departure, his eyes focused on the moon in the distance. "So, how you holding up?" Andross questioned while walking to his friend and sitting down beside him.

"Stupid KeyBlade-Master… I would've beat him if it'd been a fair fight." Xine grumbled out under his breath and Andross pat his friend on the back before handing him a bar of sea-salt ice-cream. "Thanks…" Xine mumbled quietly while taking the ice-cream then munched on it while Andross did the same at his side. "How's your research going Andross? Find what you're looking for?" Xine questioned and Andross was silent for a moment before answering.

"I believe I've found some of what I'm seeking… but I still need more time before I can make any real conclusions." Andross replied while taking another bite of his sea-salt Ice-cream and chuckled. "Besides, the Keyblade is a weapon of light. If light can be channeld into a weapon, surely I'll be able to channel it for…" Andross started to say before shutting up as Master-Xehanort approached them.

"Ah, so here's where you two went. I've been worried Xine, you left in such a rush I'd almost assumed you were going to try and get off world without me." Master-Xehanort noted as he walked over to the youth and Xine scoffed.

"No Keyblade, even If I wanted two I couldn't get off this damn world…" Xine replied and Andross elbowed his friend in the ribs with a frown.

"I thought I told you to be nice…" Andross reprimanded and Xine merely mocked him for a moment before giving a look to Master-Xehanort.

"So what do you want you old fossil? In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to enjoy the scenery." Xine questioned and Master-Xehanort reached behind his back before pulling out a broadsword with a black blade.

"During your battle with Eraqus, I saw great potential in you. Perhaps not for a wielding a Keyblade, but to use this weapon and make it your own. Take this sword in hand Xine, use it as you would, and remember that all a Keyblade is is a weapon, a tool for a warrior, and that you can surpass any warrior with enough determination and skill." Master-Xehanort offered while stabbing the sword into the ground.

"All I saw was Darkness trying to consume my friend." Andross stated angrily and Master-Xehanort gave the man a glance before turning back to Xine.

"Perhaps that is what you saw Andross, but what about you Xine… what was it like?" Master-Xehanort questioned and Xine was silent for a moment before closing his eyes as he struggled for a way to explain it.

"It's… hard to say. I can't really remember much of what happened to me when the Darkness took over… just… just a lot of anger." Xine admitted and Master-Xehanort nodded his head before turning his back.

"Only one who can temper his heart to Darkness can use it without ill effect… perhaps with time, you could be such a person. And when you do, you'll realize that a Keyblade is still only a weapon, and that neither light nor Darkness truly matter." Master-Xehanort the mused aloud to himself and Andross scowled deeply.

"No way!" He stated while getting back to his feet, Xehanort turning his head to look at the young man. "Xine would never join with Darkness, it stole my home from me and it's done nothing but destroy whatever its come in contact with! Xine protects people he doesn't destroy them." Andross stated angrily and Master-Xehanort chuckled lightly for a moment while stroking his goatee.

"So you say…" He said to himself before turning around to face the young man. Andross was a tall, pale young man with long ivory white hair in a ponytail at the back of his head with his bangs framing his face, a trim goatee on the end of his chin with ice blue eyes glaring at Master-Xehanort. He was dressed in a pair of white pants with black silver lined knee length boots, a white long-sleeved shirt with "Silver-White" leather armor formed over it like a vest, over top this he wore a long white coat with black lining and a high collar. Chuckling at the "Black and White" ensemble, Xehanort turned his back to Andross once more.

"But you must also remember Andross, that no one truly knows what the future will bring…" Master-Xehanort added in ominously while Xine looks over to Andross as he scowled then crossed his arms over his chest, ice blue eyes narrowed on Xehanort…

Gritting his teeth, Xine fell to the floor within the doorway, hands on his head as the memories played before his eyes. "Shit… what's going on around here?" Xine wondered to himself while looking to the floor.

"Obviously the chains of memories in your heart are forming back together." A voice commented and Xine turned quickly and narrowed his eyes upon seeing a figure dressed in a brown cloak with X shaped straps over his torso.

"Who are you?" Xine demanded while forming his Soul-Eater before himself, the heartless that Axel had freed merely walking over to him.

"Do you remember nothing then? Problematic, though I suppose that I should've expected as much from you." The Heartless noted to itself before raising its arms and reaching into its hood to rub its chin.

"Hey, I asked you a question buddy. So be a good boy and tell me just who the hell are you?" Xine demanded of the Heartless and it chuckled lightly for a moment before waving one of its robed arms.

"Honestly Xine, you can't even remember me? That's so… typical of you humans. You gain a little power and forget all about your old friends." The Heartless mused aloud while Xine raised a brow towards the Heartless.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Xine questioned of the Heartless and it held its hand to the side, a Card held within it.

"It means, if you want to know, find me." The Heartless replied before throwing the card to Xine. Chuckling lightly, the Heartless then backed up into a Dark-Corridor while Xine looked to the card, what looked like a picture of Radiant Garden formed onto its face…

"Yeah, I think I will." Xine said to himself while turning and opening the next door, looking around in surprise when he found himself in a completely white hallway. Looking forward to a staircase, Xine walked forward and then up before pushing open another set of doors…

(Underworld…)

Naruto and Tira were wandering deeper and deeper into the Underworld, and still they hadn't seen much save the off couple of undead and monsters. Those of course they destroyed, but even then this place was practically empty of anything. "Master, where do you think Alice is?" Tira wondered and Naruto frowned while crossing his arms over his chest, eyes closed.

"She could be anywhere Tira. So we'll just have to keep our eyes open and hope we can find her." Naruto stated simply and Tira hummed before stretching out her limbs as they wandered deeper and deeper into the Underworld. However they soon entered into an open area and Naruto grunted as a red field of some kind suddenly rose up between them and freedom. "Shit… this can't be good." Naruto mumbled and pulled the Vorpal-Key back out as several Ghouls started to crawl out of the ground, Tira grinning insanely as she saw them.

"Oh goody, victims!" She said cheerfully before lunging at the ghouls with a swing of her ring-blade. Rolling his eyes at the girl's overenthusiastic attack, Naruto crouched down before lunging forward, slashing with the Vorpal-Key and tearing several of the creatures apart. Twirling the blade around in hand, Naruto then stabbed backwards and twisted the key in the gut of another Ghoul before swinging the weapon with both arms, cutting several more Ghouls in half.

"He he… Toys are most beautiful, right before they break!" Tira suddenly noted with a grin and then blinked as several more Ghouls started to rise out of the ground. "Lets play!" She said happily while lunging forward, rolling out of the way of a bomb and then lunged forward, swinging her ring-blade upwards and cutting the Ghoul in half. The girl then turned on her heel, bring her weapon around in a swing she sliced several more Ghouls in half while then twirling around, pirouetting in place and slicing several of the Ghouls into pieces.

However, as the two continue to tear into the Ghouls, several more bomb Ghouls start to set them up to the side. Setting them up at weak points around the cave, the Ghouls then light the bombs and lunge into the fray once more. Naruto notices the bombs as he cuts down another Ghoul and then curses as they are set off, knocking both him and Tira off of their feet. Naruto lands to the side only to curse as the floor gives way and he slides down into the darkness below. Groaning, Tira turns to see this and her eyes bolt wide open.

"Master!" She said while rushing towards the hole, only to slide to a halt when she saw how deep it was. Twitching, the girl's posture suddenly changed, her eyes twitched and she turned towards the remaining ghouls with hunched shoulders and posture. "I'm going to make you all suffer!" Tira hissed before lunging forward with a roar slashing out with her ring-blade wildly, uncaring of the wounds she was inflicting upon herself by doing so… just so long as these Ghouls stayed dead, she really didn't care how hurt she became…

Meanwhile at the bottom of the hole, Naruto groaned before sitting up and looked up with a grimace. "Great… now I'm stuck at the bottom of a hole… just my luck." He mumbled before getting back to his feet and looked around. "Well, I should probably keep looking for Alice, not to mention Tira." He mumbled before walking forward, into the depths of the Underworld. However, as he walked through a doorway, Hades laughter suddenly echoed out all around him.

"Now then mortal, its time for you to know true fear!" Hades uttered darkly while Naruto looked all around himself and found himself in some kind of an arena, the entire thing formed a massive circular field, an enormous statue of Hades in the back of the arena, a spinning white seal slowly rotating above him. Looking around, Naruto then dropped into a crouch as legions of Ghouls started to crawl out of the ground. "I will make you suffer for aiding that fiend Kratos!" The God of The Underworld uttered from what seemed like everywhere, the blond haired Seeker frowning as he looked at the numerous Undead.

"From what I remember Hades, that didn't really matter to you before!" Naruto called out and heard a malevolent laugh echo all around him.

"Too true, I don't know what foolishness got into me… but all I know now is hatred, hatred for you and Kratos for what you've done!" Hades roared out as the state of him in the back caught on fire and the Undead lunged at Naruto who quickly pulled out the Vorpal-Key and narrowed his eyes. 'All I know now is hatred… Hades… could it be he's somehow been possessed by Hatred?' Naruto wondered to himself while the Ghouls came at him swinging their swords. Growling, Naruto lunged forward, swinging the Vorpal-Key and slicing several of the Ghouls asunder while more rose up.

Sliding to a halt, Naruto reached into his coat and took hold of the red gem given to him in Silent-Hill. "Well… might as well find out what you do now." Naruto mumbled while throwing the gem into the air, twisted on his heel and shot a beam of energy from his Vorpal-Key and into the gem. "SUMMON!" He cried out and the gem exploded in a flash of light, knocking Naruto back. Looking around, Naruto noticed a strange mist start to roll in while a loud air-raid-siren started to blare out loudly. Looking around when he heard several thumps, Naruto then saw Pyramid head and cursed as the beast swung its Great-Knife, tearing through several of the Ghouls.

Rolling to the side, Naruto then watched as Red-Pyramid came from nearby, a spear held in its hand as it rushed forward with surprising speed. Red-Pyramid then stabbed its spear through four Ghouls, impaling them before lifting the spear up and then threw it once more, impaling a final Ghoul as it did. Moaning and groaning as he struggled with his helmet, Red-Pyramid then turned towards where some female Ghouls were starting to rise. Twitching and jerking before suddenly grabbing two of the Female Ghouls and dragged them off to the side…

'I really don't want to know what he's going to do to a female ghouls…' Naruto thought with a shiver while Pyramid head, twisted on one of his massive trunk like feet and swung his Great-Knife once more, ripping open several more Ghouls before turning on its heel again and slicing off the heads of another batch. Several Ghouls then tried to blind side Pyramid-Head from behind, only for the monster to groan out and fall back, crushing them under his own weight. Once it was over another siren blared out and Pyramid-Head began fading away, and upon checking Naruto also saw that Red-Pyramid was gone as well, the mists fading back with Pyramid-Head and Red-Pyramid.

However, Red-Pyramid had somehow pinned one of the Female-Ghouls onto a wall and then visibly gutted her. The other, seemed to have had its neck snapped and twisted around towards its back, with its legs splayed out for one reason or another… 'Okay… that thing has some serious issues it needs to work out.' Naruto thought to himself before turning around and lunging at the last few Ghouls, quickly swinging the Vorpal-Key, slicing them open and then landing in a low crouch as he looked around to make sure no more were going to rise out of the ground.

"Impressive." Hades noted, though a mocking chuckle echoed as he did. "However that was but a taste of the torment you and your allies will suffer!" Hades then uttered sinisterly while the white seal above the arena started to spin around faster and faster, three glowing spheres forming on it… "Now you shall face true Darkness!" The voice of Hades echoed once more as Naruto took a quick step back as a beam of light shot down from the center of the seal and slammed into the ground. Sparks of light flowed from it while Naruto narrowed his eyes and took a stance with the Vorpal-Key before a figure finally appeared…

The man was knelt down, his back turned to Naruto, and however his long silver hair was plainly visible. The man then slowly stood up and Naruto shivered as he looked towards him, a feeling of dread welling within him. Reaching in with one arm, the man then threw it outwards, a single black-feathered angel wing stretching from his right shoulder. As the man turned around, Naruto found his body shaking before he shook his head and grit his teeth while looking at the man.

He was tall and had a defined muscular build, he was also six feet tall at the very least; he had exceptionally long silver hair that was parted at his forehead to frame his face, his skin was disturbingly pale, and last he has a pair of demonic green eyes with slits for pupils, the large black angel wing on his right shoulder, and two more wings positioned between his coat and legs.

He is dressed in a pair of black leather pants, two belts were worn around his waist, a pair of knee high black combat boots worn over them with two noticeable bands holding them on tightly, his hands are covered in a pair of black gloves, and a long black coat covers most of his form with odd metal clasps over his wrists and red and black vestigial wings on his forearms, the edges of the coat formed like a bats wings, a red portion of it on the front, while two straps formed an X over his chest with metal pauldrons placed over his shoulders, a ridiculously long sword held at his hip.

Smirking, as he looked at Naruto, the man slowly reached to his hip and crouched down into a stance. Seeing this, Naruto took a stance as well, eyes narrowed onto the strange man dangerously. "Show me…" The man whispered while crouching lower for a brief moment, then launched forward. "Show me your power…" He stated while swinging his sword, Naruto blocking at the last second, his eyes wide as he's pushed back by the force of the man's swing. Cursing, Naruto then rolled out of the way as the man vanished and reappeared in a flash, swinging his blade and nearly taking his head off.

"Show me… your darkness." The man uttered sinisterly while Naruto came out of his roll and narrowed his eyes. Quickly putting the Vorpal-Key, Naruto reached back and pulled Dark-Heart and Soul-Blade free before taking a stance with them. Seeing this, the strange One-Winged-Angel merely chuckled before taking a lazy stance, hand poised to take hold of his sword's hilt while Naruto growled low in his throat then lunged forward with a roar, the man vanishing in a burst of feathers as Naruto tried to swipe into him…

(?)

A pair of Soulless march down a long hall when a figure peers out from behind a corner. Looking around, the figure quickly moves down the hall before ducking to the side and flipping out a window. Another Soulless walks by, not noticing the fingers in the windowsill as it passes by. The figure looks down for a moment, considering that as an escape route before shaking his head. Looking to the side, the figure nodded his head seeing several handholds. Inching his way to the side, the figure then scaled the side of an enormous castle, silver, gold, crystal, and white marble dominating its construction.

Pulling himself to look around when he made it to one of the battlements, the figure pulled himself and on top of it. Crouching down, the figure slowly made his way forward before looking out over the area. Noting the guards, the figure looked to his left arm and made a slight motion with his hand. Instantly a blade shot out and he quietly checked it before nodding his head as it vanished with an audible shunkt. Crawling over the battlements, the figure dropped down to another handhold before falling to the ground along the wall of the strange fortress.

Seeing a Paladin Class Soulless up ahead, the figure silently walked towards it before placing a hand over where it's mouth would be and using the blade under his left wrist to stab it in the neck. The paladin could only gurgle its final scream as the figure knelt down and laid it on the ground. It's body fading into nothingness the figure made his way across the wall before flipping over to the side. Using a line of handholds down the side of the wall, the figure stopped at a window as a Soulless looked outside. The Soulless remained unmoving for a moment before returning into the strange fortress.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the figure climbed down the length of the wall and made a light plop on the ground. Looking around, the figure ran away from the fortress, flipped over a fallen tree made of ivory stone, the figure landed in a crouch before turning his head to look at the Fortress. Watching it for a few moments to ensure no one noticed his escape, the figure rushed down the street away from the fortress and into a strange forest made of crystal, a moon of ivory stone shaped like a heart above the world, its light creating rainbows of color to form between each crystalline tree.

Sliding to a stop before an odd river of silver, the strange figure sat down and placed his hands into his head. "Man… what the hell is this place?" He wondered, and then looked around, surprised by the sound of his voice after so long of being silent. Shaking his head, the figure then looked at himself in the pool of silver "water" that ran the length of the river. Looking at himself, the figure reached a hand up and touched the "Mask" that covered his features

His athletically muscled body was completely covered in black, with a silver Soulless Crest bolted over his chest, his mask was also black with a Silver "Thieves' Cross" that was basically just a Y in shape bolted to his mask, a white shroud is thrown over his shoulders with a hood over his head with a silver cross as a broach, a bandoleer over his torso with pouches over it and a white shoulder guard on his left shoulder, an obsidian blue glass bladed "Ninjatou" on his back, ribbed silver armor over his waist that formed into his Soulless crest, a white loose belt around his waist with more pouches and a silver cross as his buckle, several throwing knives sheathed into it, silver Cross Moline's on his thighs like with most Soulless, segmented silver bands were formed around each of his shins, with segmented silver bands around his wrists and forearms as well with a silver Cross also placed on the underside of each arm… (Soulless: Infidel…)

"Man, I can barely tell its me now…" The Infidel said to himself while placing a hand onto his masked face. Hearing a crunch, the figure twitched his hands, a pair of blades shooting out of the crosses on his underarms silently. Quickly turning he stopped when he saw Angela standing there, arms crossed over her chest.

"Hmm… your just like him… though given what you've just been through, I shouldn't be so surprised that you'd attack someone who came up behind you." She noted mostly to herself and the Soulless tilted its head, his blades sliding back into the crosses on his underarms.

"I know that voice…" He whispered for a moment while Angela gave him a look, only her body-language spoke of the worry she was feeling however.

"I go to all the trouble to find you and all you can say is that? Do you have any idea just how many worlds and Heartless I've looked over to find you? And now I find out your not only NOT a Heartless, which is surprising, but on this world…" She asked him incredulously, only for him to lunge forward and wrap his arms around her.

"Kara-Chan, you really shouldn't worry yourself like that. It's not good for your skin." The Infidel quipped and she "Blinked" below her "Mask" while he lifted her into the air. "Of course, I knew it was you!" He exclaimed loudly with a laugh while she seemed to give him a look as he spun her around. "You have no idea just how happy I am to see you right now! I thought I'd lost everyone for a while there…" The Infidel admitted softly while holding the female Soulless close to himself. Instantly she wrapped her own arms around him and nuzzled her cheek into the nape of his neck.

"You won't loose me… our very hearts and souls are intertwined." Angela reminded the Infidel quietly and he chuckled softly.

"I wonder… is that why we're both like this now? Instead of being Heartless or Nobodies?" He questioned as he looked to the crest worn on their bodies and Angela shook her head.

"I don't know… I just woke up like this and all I knew was that I had to find you." She admitted and the Infidel chuckled once more before both looked to the silver river for a moment.

"We look like Angels from Hell…" He whispered and Angela looked to the silver water as her wing wrapped around their bodies… one thing Angela would never admit to, was that she enjoyed the feeling, and she was certain that the Infidel did as well…

"Or Demons from Heaven…" She suddenly said as she saw their forms and both turned back to one another a second later.

"Good thing I never put too much stock into appearances, ne?" The Infidel offered and Angela nodded her head before reaching down and holding up a familiar skull shaped mask. "Well what do you know, I guess something else from our world did survive." The Infidel mused aloud while taking the mask from Angela and then started looking at it for a moment.

"I found it on a world where a little girl was tormented by the people of her home town…" Angela admitted and the Infidel was silent as he turned to look towards her unblinkingly. "She was born with special powers. Many treated her like a monster, others like a saint, but… those that thought of her like a saint tried to use her to give birth to their "God"… her own mother was one of them, and she burned her daughter alive and forced her to stay alive in order to give birth to their god." Angela explained and the Infidel quietly placed the mask onto his belt.

"Kara-Chan, lets go, this world of light isn't meant for likes of us." The Infidel stated and Angela looked up at him and nodded her head.

"Oh. I forgot to mention, I met someone just like you on that world besides that girl." She then offered the other "Black-Soulless" and the Infidel tilted his head to one side, one of the arms of the Thieves' Cross on his mask tilting slightly upwards as he did.

"Really?" He asked skeptically and she chuckled.

"Hard-headed, reckless, and has a heart covered by Darkness… yet he still holds onto his one last bit of light. Oh yeah, and he's got the type of personality that grows on you… kind of like a fungus, but one you don't want to get rid of." She explained with a slight lilt of amusement in her tone and the Infidel hummed for a moment before chuckling lightly under his breath.

"Well, who was this guy? And, do I have to kick his ass or not?" The Infidel questioned of Angela and could feel the amusement coming from the girl.

"His name, is Uzumaki Naruto, former Shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, and now the Red-Seeker of Darkness…" Angela admitted and the Infidel was silent for a moment before laughing outright and shaking his head.

"Oh really? Well, then why don't we pay the kid a little visit, and say hi!" The Infidel offered and Angela gave him a look while removing her arms from his neck.

"And what pray tell will you call yourself when you meet him? Seeing as you're real name is a bit… unavailable at the moment." Angeal questioned of the Infidel and he took a mock thoughtful expression before nodding his head.

"I personally think that Zero has a rather nice ring to it." The newly dubbed Zero mused aloud and Angela rolled her eyes before wrapping an arm around one of his.

"Zero, why that name?" She asked and Zero leaned his head onto her own.

"Well… you can probably blame Giz for that, Kara-Chan." He replied softly before a familiar black bird made of energy encased the two Black-Soulless and shot out into the distant skies…

TBC…

AN: Yo, long time no see. Sorry for the delay but between work, and my other stories I sometimes find it hard to update consistently… not to mention I've gotten several new games recently for my PSP. MGS: Peace Walker, Little Big Planet, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Monster-Hunter: Freedom Unite… Yeah, those have kept me busy, but on the bright side, now I'll know a little more about Castlevania, and if I don't use it in this story… well… I could always try using it in another Crossover! Anyways, ciao my readers and reviewers!

Here's a list of Naruto's Keyblades thus far…

Dark-Heart: A Keyblade with the corrupting Powers of Darkness capable of creating Heartless from anyone cut by its blade. A lightweight Keyblade of the Realm of Darkness perfect for single handed use, due to its function, this weapon is useless against Heartless though is very effective against Somebodies and Soulless.

Soul-Blade: An inherently evil Keyblade with the power to devour souls. A surprisingly light keyblade well suited for singe or double-handed use, perfect for fighting Soulless or Somebodies, though it is all but useless against Heartless.

Gears of Madness: An old Keyblade that once belonged to the Apprentice of Master Xehanort. A Light weight Keyblade that unlike his other blades has the ability to destroy Heartless, though is useless against Unversed… (Changed…)

Vorpal-Key: A Keyblade forged from a shard of the Vorpal-sword, capable of cutting through anything, even a foot of solid steel. A heavy double handed Keyblade, requires two hands to use properly, useless against Heartless and Soulless, but perfect for use against Somebodies and Nobodies…