A voice reached Sora's ears, but it was garbled, distant and strange, as if someone was trying to speak under water. Touch registered as an echo – Sora's mind empathised with, rather than controlled, his body. But the touch brought relief, reduced some of the pressure and the pain behind Sora's eyes. Then he was floating, pressed against something warm and bigger than him. He felt safe enough to let his consciousness go.

He came to under a blue sky that stretched far from horizon to horizon. Sora gasped and fell off Riku's back. He landed in salty water. His limbs weren't responding and for a second, he worried he'd drown, but two hands grabbed his and pulled him upright. He breathed, head hung low, and didn't bother pushing wet bangs out of his eyes.

"Sora?" A hand pressed against his cheek and it was funny to Sora that he didn't have to look, he knew it was Riku. "Sora, talk to me. If there's brain damage-"

Sora laughed. "I wouldn't know." He was short of breath, like he'd been running.

There was a relieved sigh. "I'm so glad," Kairi said. "I thought you were dying."

"I feel like I have." Sora shook water out of his hair like a dog and straightened. He noticed the island where he and Riku had landed upon arrival in this world. It was so very close. "Are we... going to be okay?"

"That remains to be seen. C'mon." Riku grabbed Sora's wrist and pulled him towards the island.

Kairi splashed behind them. "Riku, all the people in the caves..."

"I can't do anything for them. You know this. I've barely managed to get the three of us this far."

Sora looked at the blood in Riku's hair. "That's mostly because you have shit luck."

They made it to the far side of the island and skulked in the shadows. Riku pulled out a small device, like a miniature tablet, and tapped at it rapidly. After a moment, he exhaled through his nose. "I got through. Hollow Bastion is responding and we're almost out of here."

Sora couldn't stop the grin if he wanted to. He was shaking with relief. "When will they pull as out?"

"In a couple of minutes, they just need to-"

Riku was interrupted by a long, hissing screech. A sudden wind flapped their hair and bent the trees above their heads almost parallel to the ground. The smile died on Sora's lips.

"Kairi, stay where you are." Riku was already scrambling into the bushes on the edge of the island.

Sora followed him without thinking. They manoeuvred themselves to a spot where they could watch the shore of the main island. And it was a sight to see.

A huge creature stood on the white sand. It had the shape of a lion, though its mane was made of tentacles and it beat its giant leathery wings, creating bigger and bigger waves. Smaller Dark Ones milled around its paws, and some got trampled for their trouble. The huge one seemed focused on the small island where Sora, Riku and Kairi were hiding.

"What is that thing?" Sora asked, barely more than a gasp.

Riku's mouth was twisted in an ugly grin. "You don't remember stepping on it in the cave? I wonder if it holds a grudge."

The Dark One took a step that shook the ground. Waves crashed against the small island. They only needed to get a little taller to wash over it.

Sora couldn't take his eyes off the creature. "We're done for, aren't we?"

"Maybe not." Another rumbling step spurred Riku into movement. He gestured for Sora to follow and scrambled to where Kairi was waiting. "Get up here," he told her.

Riku pulled them all out of the meagre cover the bushes and palm trees provided, and into plain sight in the middle of the small island. Then he pulled out his tabled and didn't look up even as the giant Dark One took another ground-shaking step.

Kairi was trembling. She grabbed Sora's hand, eyes glued to the monster. "What is that? Where are we going to run?"

She wasn't willing to give up yet. Sora found it encouraging. He squeezed her hand and tried on a grin. "It's one of the black creatures. And I don't think there's anywhere to run."

"You might be wrong," Riku murmured. "Hollow Bastion has our coordinates. So now it's a waiting game." He slipped his tablet back into a pocket and watched the approaching monster. "It's slow."

It was true. The Dark One seemed disorientated and shied away from sunlight. Each of its steps was ponderous and careful, but covered a good distance. The monster already towered over the small island.

"Not like it has to walk far," Sora said. "And the waves are a problem."

They crashed against the rocky side of the island and climbed over it, spraying Sora and the others right in the faces.

"If we end up fighting, we're so going to drown."

"Nah, we're not." Riku's blade appeared in his hand, startling a gasp from Kairi. "We'll have to climb the thing. See any paths, Sora?"

Sora squinted. "Up the front legs, except the tentacles are in the way. Uh. You could ride a tentacle."

Riku grimaced. "No, thank you. I'd rather go through its maw."

"What, really? You prefer to battle its tongue?"

Riku spared Sora a scathing glance. "I don't think I want to die here, if you'll be the one to tell the story."

Sora opened his mouth to reply, but Kairi's hand moved up his arm. Fingernails dug into his skin and he winced. "Ouch."

"What are you?" Kairi asked, fear strangling her to the point the she could only whisper. "How can you be joking at a time like this?"

The Dark One's shadow fell over the stretch of island to their left. The huge head bent low and fat droplets of water dripped from the ends of squirming tentacles.

Riku adopted a battle stance. "Don't move from this spot," he said, and charged, just as a huge paw crashed into the island.

Dirt and sand flew every which way. Sora pulled Kairi into a protective hug and covered his eyes. He blinked the dust away and watched Riku slash through the Dark One's paw. Riku twisted and swung upward next, cutting of a good metre off a tentacle. It wriggled wildly where it fell near Sora's right foot. He kicked it off the island with a shudder.

Another tentacle smacked Riku in the chest, forcing him back. He landed on light feet a step in front of Sora. Blood was trickling over his neck.

"Riku!" Kairi exclaimed.

Sora let her go and grabbed Riku's arms. "Okay, stop it now."

Riku licked his lips. "Can't." He did something that felt like and electric shock. Sora yelped and let go.

The Dark One seemed confused. It was tilting its head, trying to get a good look at its attacker. Eventually it laid its muzzle down on the island and opened its jaws. Sora felt cold dread wash over his bones. If Riku entered that maw he probably wouldn't be coming back out. Sora's blade materialised in his hand without a single conscious thought involved. The next second he was slashing at tentacles and a huge paw, moving like he'd never moved before. Relic guided him.

Sora registered Riku jumping onto the Dark One's nose and going for its eyes. It was a good strategy if Sora could keep distracting the monster. Problem was, he didn't have Riku's ability to feel when a tentacle was flying at him.

A rock whistled past him and sank into the mass of tentacles, then another. Sora risked a glance back and saw that Kairi was providing cover fire. It seemed to have the desired result – the tentacles flailed, searching for their assailant. They had to be some sort of feelers, Sora realised, not just extra appendages to smack things around. If that were so, hitting many at once should be very distracting.

Sora glanced up at where Riku had already gouged out one of the Dark One's eyes and was battling tentacles to get at the other.

The Dark One began to rise. No time like the present, Sora thought. He wasn't sure why he knew how to do it, he just did. Energy gathered somewhere around his shoulder, pulsing warmth. It slid down his arm, pooled in his blade. When he slashed at the tentacles, there was a burst of light, and the warmth in Sora's shoulder and arm disappeared. The Dark One shuddered.

He backed off, feeling disoriented. That was when he noticed it – a slow discolouration around the edges of his vision, the world blurring into sepia. It took Sora a moment to remember the strange connection between the Threshold and colours. He yelped.

"Riku! Get back here!"

Because that was how the world worked, Riku chose that moment to fall off the Dark One's snout and almost get smashed by its paw. Sora ran towards him. He wasn't sure how much time he had, or whether they'd have a second chance if they missed their ride. He didn't want to find out the hard way.

Sora slid to a halt by Riku's side, holding the blade up in a way that would offer no protection at all, except there was a dull explosion of wind, a muted thunderclap, and Sora didn't stop to analyse it. He grabbed Riku and dragged him over to where Kairi stood.

"It's okay," he managed to tell her, and then there was no air to breathe. Sora registered ear-popping pressure and the sensation of being pulled in every direction at once.

"I wasn't being serious," Cloud said.

Leon looked up at him from his crouch and couldn't help a soft chuckle at the man's confused frown. "It's all right if you only have good ideas when you don't mean to. I can work with that."

They were making slingshots. It was sheer coincidence that Traverse Town happened to have a huge rubber band factory – or something along these lines, anyway. Possibly conveyor belts, Leon hadn't paid attention.

The idea was to throw nets, wires, ropes – anything the flying Dark Ones might get tangled in, then take care of the creatures on the ground. The slingshots themselves were supposed to catch the fliers' attention, by shooting high and maybe hitting a Dark One or two. The main offensive force was stationed on rooftops with nets and ropes weighed by stones. There were also teams with wires stretched between building, and nets at the ready in case an incautious Dark One strayed too close to the ground. The walls had had to be temporarily abandoned – so high up, without cower, the people manning the cannons would be easy pickings.

Leon had a slingshot attached to a street lamp and a part of an iron bar in somebody's window. Its accuracy would be abysmal, but that wasn't the point. As long as they could annoy the fliers into coming in low, they would be able to bring them down.

Cloud was sitting on a crate with a gun in his lap. He looked entirely at home with it – it was Hollow Bastion make, modern enough to be familiar to Cloud.

"All right," Leon said, standing. He dusted off his hands. "Let's try it."

Cloud gave him an unreadable look. "This is a silly plan."

"You got a better one?"

"No."

"Then shut up and shoot."

Cloud heaved a put-upon sigh and stood. He aimed, released a volley of shots towards the sky. Two Dark Ones screeches and sped up their movements. Leon watched impatiently as they struggled to locate the source of their injury. Cloud pulled the trigger again. A Dark One appeared to notice him and dived.

Leon took his time aiming. He released a shot consisting of a length of chain and some random sturdy objects attached to it. He was amazed when he actually hit the Dark One. The creature didn't get entangled completely, but one of its back legs caught onto the chain, and the weight pulled the creature to the ground.

Cloud was there in an instant, swinging his giant blade. The Dark One barely managed a hiss as it died.

"I can't believe this worked," Cloud said, returning to his post. He brought the chain along.

"My only other option was trying to cause a storm," Leon said, loading his slingshot. "Which would probably kill me, not to mention the fact that no one wants to fight during a storm." He felt Cloud's gaze focus on him, but didn't look up.

"Would you do it? Would you die for this insignificant place?"

"Hey now. The people here deserve to live. Besides, the probability of me dying if I go all out is only about eighty percent with you here." I also feel responsible for your safety, Leon didn't add.

"Hmm." When Leon glanced at him, Cloud was tracing the gun with his fingers. "Is there a way to lower that figure?"

Leon blinked. They were having an awfully relaxed conversation, considering the fact that Dark Ones circled overhead. "Sure. Finish the bonding process and work up to a more symbiotic relationship."

"How?"

"We don't need to do anything. It comes with time."

Cloud looked strangely unhappy about that response. Leon shrugged and went back to work.

A/N:

I'm starting to think about discontinuing this fic. It's taking time away from my other, original project, ad it just hasn't been rewarding recently. I still have about ten more chapters written out, so I'd post those and only then put TDD on hiatus...

I don't know. I might change my mind. It's just important to me to keep my other projects moving without burning out, and this story isn't helping at the moment.