Good day to you all! Welcome to chapter 24 of Before: Kingdom Hearts!

So, time for a little IRL chat about something that's got me real nervous, but also real excited. I've probably talked about this before, but I've been in a… jeez, I think it's a year and half long process of research, planning and decision making to adopt a new pet, and… well, today's the day! I've got a lovely bird named Phoenix now, who is currently getting used to his new surroundings… by standing on a piece of spray millet instead of eating it…

Guess he's just silly like that.

Creativity: Well, he's had a couple of… scremmy moments, so he's acting a little more bird-like.

Author: True. He is settling in pretty well.

But before we get into story discussion, let's answer the reviews:

CeleneTheAngel: I wouldn't go back on Barkos' reaction to Ryo, but I probably would like to have spent more time establishing it. Oh well, first draft stuff. This is actually the first time I noticed the parallels between Elsa and Ryo's reactions to their magic blow-up. Might be something I should bookmark for later. As for how the group could take down Anguish and Wrath, I've already got that sorted out. Also, one thing I'm probably gonna do in future is explore Veris' role within the group. As for further emotional torment for Ryo... Let's just say I'm one evil S.O.B.

And that's all of the reviews from chapter 23! Thank you all for writing in!

So, last time, we finally got Ryo to get everything off his chest, he had a heated moment and now he's loose in an abandoned city that only he has any idea of how to navigate, leaving his friends aimlessly trying to locate him. And in our other perspective, we have Sora and Archive facing down a strange Darkside Heartless, whose physical appearance has Archive in some level of distress. So, which perspective are we following today?

Creativity: I'll answer that! We're sticking with Ryo's sequence of events this time!

Author: Indeed! We figured that it was probably best to wrap up Ryo's micro-arc (though that might be too aggrandizing a term) So, we're gonna wrap that up today before we return to Sora's perspective.

Also, I've been doing the numbers in my brain a bit, and this season could run longer than anticipated… again…

Sigh…

Well, I guess that's just more time to finish Twilight Blade and Resurgence. Those also need to be completed for what's coming next.

Creativity: But, we're getting ahead of ourselves! For now, It's time to begin chapter 24! But first, Discord password: 5RRcGwh

Author: Thank you, Creativity! And now… ahem… Allow us to proudly present chapter 24 of Before: Kingdom Hearts!

It was a quiet evening. The sky was dimming, and star would begin to appear within the hour. Ryo stared out into the horizon, lounging on a stone bench within a terrace. Sitting on and around the bench were five others.

It was peaceful. A light breeze ran past them, causing Ryo's black tunic to shuffle in the wind. He eased back in his seat as he gazed out at the sky. He wanted to remember this moment; here with his friends, enjoying the twilight.

"Hey, Ryo? Do you ever wonder… if maybe there's more out there?"

Ryo turned to look at Tempest, who was sitting on the ground with his bandaged feet outstretched in front of him. His sleeveless beige tunic rustled as he shifted to get more comfortable. Ryo considered the question.

"Honestly, I haven't really. We got everything we need right here. Why go elsewhere?" He replied. Shiori looked over at Tempest from her own seat on the grass, lightly brushing off a few stray leaves that had landed on her white and gold coat.

"Still feeling that 'call to adventure', huh?" She asked. Tempest grinned as he looked out into the distance.

"Well, why would I wanna stay here all my life? There's gotta be something more out there, doesn't there? Don't tell me you've never thought about getting out of here, Shiori." Tempest asked his friend. Shiori just shrugged.

"I mean, I've been curious, but never to the point of actually considering acting on my curiosity." Shiori replied.

"Besides, there's plenty to do here! Especially when we get into the Sanctum!" Phoenix declared confidently as she rose to her feet theatrically. Her red tunic and pants with gold vambraces and greaves were complimented by the twilight sky.

"We aren't in there yet, Phoenix. Don't assume you've won just yet." Lieth reminded Phoenix as she brushed a few stands of her dark blue hair behind her ear to keep them out of her eyes before she rested her bare feet back on the grass. Phoenix looked mildly incensed by the suggestion that they couldn't win.

"Oh, come on! We've been training like crazy! How could we not make it?" Phoenix argued before she summoned her halberd. The red and gold weapon gleamed in the orange light.

"With this mighty blade, I will battle my way to the top and claim my right to the knowledge of the Sanctum!" She announced dramatically, staring off into the distance. There was silence for all of about ten seconds before everyone burst into laughter, Phoenix included.

It was a great moment among friends…

It's too still here.

That was the one thought that kept flitting through Ryo's mind as he sat among the crumbling, gray stone that constituted just one of many abandoned structures within this once great city. He'd squeezed into this little corner not long after giving Veris the slip and had stuck there the whole time, cloak drawn, and one knee hugged to his chest as he looked at the ground sullenly.

He couldn't get the image out of his head. The energy he'd unleashed throwing his friends away, the looks of shock and fear in their eyes as they looked at him, then the silence that followed as he ran away. He thought he might have heard someone calling after him, but it was all blurry. All he'd known was that he had to get away from them, to run from what had happened.

"Stupid…" Ryo muttered to himself as he idly flicked away a small piece of rubble. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't run from it. He couldn't run away from his own powers, no more than he could run away from his own shadow.

"Figures… Just as my powers are starting to come back, I go and have an outburst that gets people hurt. As if I was three years old and had no grasp on what I was doing…" Ryo muttered bitterly as he picked up the rock and threw it, listening to it clatter as it bounced and rolled across the long damaged cobble of the roads. The act and the sound brought that thought back to him again.

This city was too still.

The air had sat in place for far too long, only disturbed when Ryo and the others had opened the passageway for the first time in… well, it had probably been centuries since this place was last disturbed. After all, why come back here after the Spring had been torn away, leaving an ugly, gaping wound in the center of the city.

This place was supposed to feel alive; There was supposed to be dueling in the sparring halls, study and debate within whatever the equivalent of the Sanctum was within this city was. There was supposed to be laughter and friendship. There was supposed to be flying, the warm air constantly stirring from the beating wings of the people who lived under the mountain.

But there wasn't. Now, it was all cold, dusty, dull and dead. Left to rot by cowards who couldn't face their own failures and instead left the world to die beneath the feet of the demons they created.

And at the end of their line was him. Trapped here after discovering the latest manifestation of their folly and trying to do something about it. Stripped of his strength and condemned to be chased by the ghosts of his people's sins while his returning strength harmed what remained of the life he'd tried to build on this world.

Was this his fate? To forever suffer for the sins of his people? To drift from place to place, pursued by monsters and the Dread King until he eventually could hold out no longer?

He didn't see much else for himself after he'd lost control like that. He'd gone so long without being able to summon so much as a handful of sparks without collapsing from exertion. His powers were returning to him too fast and near as he could tell, it was only happening when he was in a state of heightened emotion or he was literally about to die. Neither were particularly good to Ryo. The former was liable to end with him getting his friends or innocent bystanders hurt or worse, and the latter was also liable to only kick in when things were exceptionally bad, and by that point, it could easily be too late, and his powers wouldn't be of any use after the fact.

"I really can't win anymore, can I?" Ryo murmured as he closed his eyes, exhaling glumly before drawing his other leg up and to his chest, resting his right arm across his knees as he leaned back on the gray wall.

"You didn't give up before. Why start now?"

"What's left to hang on to?"

"You know the truth. You can do something about it."

"Yeah, right. Even if I had all my magic back, I'm still just one person. It took the combined efforts of hundreds, thousands of my people and Springs know how many humans to bring those two things down, and they didn't even finish the job! What could I possibly do?"

"You could learn. You have a great source of knowledge a few minutes walk away. Besides, you aren't alone."

"I'm the last person they should be around right now. I attract no end of trouble, I spent literally all the time I've known them lying to their faces and they know it, and then there was my little outburst earlier. Even if they wanted to be around, it's better if they aren't. For their own good."

"If you can't even convince yourself of that, how do you think you're going to convince them?"

"I'll leave."

"Like they'd let you do that if you even tried."

"I'm a hazard to their health."

"Even if that were true, do you think they'd care?"

"They should."

"There's a difference between 'should' and 'would'. Perhaps you should leave, but in the end, would you? Could you really bring yourself to abandon them here? Should you stop caring, and even if you should, would you?"

Ryo hated that voice in his head. That damned voice that had him cornered at every turn, even if it was all in his own head. You never could argue with yourself after all. Not really. No matter how hard you tried.

And that all left him back at the same place he'd started at; what was he supposed to do now?

He knew the truth about his people, his powers were seemingly on the mend and his friends new everything. He now knew the origins behind the monsters they'd fought all this time and he had a basic grasp of what was happening with this so-called 'Dread King'. What did he do with all of that? The answer was obvious. It had been staring him in the face for a while. Setting aside the numerous reasons why Ryo should, there was also more than one element of necessity to it. Ryo needed to put an end to this Dread King.

Ryo knew that the Dread King was hunting him and Veris for their magic. That much had been confirmed by their encounter with Leiptr and Ryo's own previous experience with the Dread King's servants. They also had a way to detect their magic, at least within a certain proximity. He was undoubtedly the bigger draw. Not only was his magic stronger, its elemental rarity would make it all the more enticing.

So, what should he do? Should he go forth on a solitary quest to seek out this Dread King and slay him in the name of penance for his people's misdeeds? Should he simply go on the run and attempt to lure the King's servants away from his friends? Should he seek to uncover as much of his people's lost knowledge as he can? The first and last would probably go well together. Someone who was seemingly in command of a horde of monsters derived from Anguish was obviously no pushover. He'd need all the help and power he could muster.

He'd need all the help he could muster.

"For… I literally cannot find a way to keep them out of this…" Ryo muttered to himself before he finally decided he'd had enough and needed to go on another walk. He peered out of his hiding place and looked around. He could see the flickering of a campfire not too far off. Far enough away that no one would hear him jumping down from his perch, but not so far away that he couldn't reach them in a few minutes.

How was he supposed to face them after this? All of this? After the lies he'd told, the danger he'd drawn them into, the harm he'd outright caused not a few hours ago. How did he go back to them?

"They'll forgive you. You know that. Why won't you forgive yourself?"

"Do I deserve it? After everything?"

"You've made mistakes. So has everyone. You've been obsessing over the monumental failures of your ancestors before you even learned what the specific nature of those failures were. What makes this so different? What makes your failures so special, especially in the face of those you learned of here?"

Ryo couldn't answer.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

Again, Ryo couldn't answer. He knew he should. The argument he'd been having with himself all pointed to one conclusion that he'd been desperately trying to avoid. That he would continue on with Veris, Garren and Barkos, wherever it might lead. It wasn't until now that he started to realize why he was so afraid of this. He'd failed them so many times already, in many different ways. He didn't want to do that again. They deserved better than that. They'd deserved better than that for a long time.

"So, will you learn from your mistakes or not? Like it or not, you four are all each other has. You have knowledge they need, and you can't defeat the Dread King without aid. He won't stop chasing you or Veris, and the others are even less likely to abandon Veris than they are you."

Ryo hated his own mind. It was impossible to argue with.

"Maybe I'm just going crazy after all this time. Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised by that." Ryo muttered as he slowly walked down the street, idly kicking at pebbles.

"What is keeping you away from them?"

"Oh, come on, I just got done with that…" Ryo muttered as he slammed his hand against his head.

"What's really keeping you away? You know of your doubts, but something else has kept you away, even from the beginning."

Ryo snarled angrily as he stalked down an alleyway.

"Oh, I don't know? Maybe it was the fact that I lost everything?! I lost my powers, I lost my sword, I lost my DAMN WINGS! Maybe I didn't want to 'rebuild' or 'move forward' after that!" Ryo ranted angrily. He hated the voice in his head! He hated all of this! He hated himself!

"It wasn't pain or loss that kept you at arms distance. You know that. What really kept you away?"

"I WAS AFRAID, OKAY!? THERE! I SAID IT! ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"

There was silence as Ryo just stood still, his fists were clenched and he was glaring at the ground, chest heaving in a mixture of anger, sadness and fear. He simply stood there, waiting for the voice continue. But it didn't. It was silent save for Ryo's breathing, which was slowly returning to normal. He just didn't have it anymore.

"I was afraid, okay? I… I'm still afraid…" He repeated. However, nothing came. There was no voice, no lecturing, no argument. Just silence.

"Someone say something…" Ryo murmured. But there was nothing. Complete and utter silence. And Ryo hated it. He hated the oppressive silence.

"You got what you wanted. I went and said it. Don't you have something else to say?" Ryo asked again, even though, deep down, he knew he wasn't going to get a response. Why would he? What else was there left to say?

He was afraid. He'd been afraid for well over two years. Afraid of it all happening again. He couldn't let it happen again.

"What do I do? I can't let it happen again… I can't lose everything again…" Ryo asked, hoping by some miracle he'd hear something, anything… But as it was before, there was nothing. He was alone with his thoughts, once more.

Then all of sudden, the silence was broken be shouting and a horribly familiar shriek, followed immediately by a deafening roar. Ryo's blood ran cold as the many possibilities of what could be happening ran through his mind.

"No no no no NO!" He shouted as he whirled around and start sprinting towards the cacophonic noise, yanking his sword from his back as dark wisps began to rise from his body as he ran desperately towards the sounds of battle. Dark energy began to slowly bleed out of Ryo's hand and into the sword, causing it to turn black, with the edge turning purple. Dark energy began to trail behind the weapon as Ryo began picking up speed before he leapt into the air, jumping from wall to wall before he reached the rooftops and began leaping across them. He could see jets of flame and arrows flying. He could hear Veris, Garren and Barkos shouting as they fought off their attacker, and the brief bursts of red energy were all Ryo needed to know exactly who the attacker was. Besides, he could see one of them already. It was the Wrath Golem again.

Without thinking, Ryo leapt into the air as dark energy began to gather around him, wrapping him in an ethereal dark aura, particularly around the blade of his sword. Arcs of energy began to travel along the blade as he reached the peak of his jump. Looking down, he could see the Veris, Garren and Barkos were backed into a corner. In addition to the Golem, there was a sizable contingent of imps, several hayans and even a few manticores mixed in.

They weren't going to hold against those numbers. Every other time they'd faced a horde this bad, they'd had backup or had some predetermined strategy that allowed them to claim victory. Not this time, though. Now they were boxed in, unprepared and losing ground fast.

By now, gravity had taken hold and Ryo was plummeting back towards the ground. He angled his sword downward and began channeling as much power into it as he could before he landed, driving his sword into the ground and causing several columns of dark energy to erupt around him that destroyed everyone one of the Wrath monsters. When the columns faded, Ryo turned his gaze from the stone beneath his feet to the remaining monsters, particularly the Golem with a wild snarl on his face. His eyes flashed as he pried his sword from the ground and held it in front of him, pointing it at the monsters.

"Get. Away. From them." He hissed before he flourished the blade and sank into a battle stance. His blade was held high behind him while his left arm was outstretched, bent slightly towards the ground. His dark aura surged around him before it settled. His body was now clad in a purple light that was framed by chaotic clouds of dark vapor.

"What…"

Ryo wasn't sure whose question it was and at the moment he didn't care. At the moment, all that mattered was destroying Wrath's horde before they could so much as breath on Veris, Garren or Barkos.

With a flash of his blade and eyes, Ryo shot forward like an arrow from a bow to rend Wrath's horde asunder.

And that's where we're ending it for today! Yeah, I thought the resolution was gonna be shorter, but apparently I can't win on that count. This felt like a more satisfying place to end it.

Creativity: Just wait until you tell them that you're nixing the KH staple of world travelling, at least for now.

Author: Urgh…

Yeah, that's something that came to me while I was writing this chapter. I'll go into more detail about it later, but the short version is that I can't fit it in real good right now, and looking back on my previous season, the world travel sections were easily the weakest part of the story, at least to me. And if I'm not happy with it as the writer, I don't know how you the readers could enjoy it that much.

Creativity: Like the boss said, we'll go more in-depth with chatter on the above stuff in chapter 25.

Author: Well, hopefully we'll be able to explain more in detail for why we're nixing the world-travel aspect of Ryo's story.

In the meantime, we're gonna call it here. Thanks for reading, please review, hope to see you on Discord and we'll see you next time!