A/N: Insert It's been 84 years here. I do apologise for the long wait. I've been a bit lazy recently when it comes to writing. Catching up with a lot of games, movies and TV shows admittedly didn't help things. But let's talk about something a bit more positive. Melody of Memory actually looks pretty cool! I've always felt the Yoko Shimomura's music has been one of my favorite, if not my favorite part of the series, and more Kairi backstory isn't a bad thing either. Anyway, let's get on with this story.

Chapter XXVIII

A Town Called Penance

There were not enough hands available with which to count the amount of times Larxene had considered giving up and abandoning the two people who had somehow thrown her into this crazy adventure. Well, one of them was responsible anyway. The other had simply thrown herself into the fray.

Well, to each their own, Larxene believed. She had no reason to carry the burdens and frustrations of others. She only had to look around her to see where that had gotten her. She was in the middle of nowhere—a dry, arid desert with not much else to see. The heat was just the worst. Her lips were as cracked as the individual hexagons on the ground. She was also thirsty. Incredibly so.

She sat on the ground and took off her boots, exposing her tights. The soles on her boots were starting to wear out. She could feel rocks grinding up against her heel. No moogle to repair them either. That was how even the slightest of tears to her coat on missions in the Organization had been repaired. She had made good use of that service too.

She scratched along the bridge of her nose and let her head hang up in resignation. If the beating heat took her now, she would probably not care. In truth, she didn't want to die here. She had much to do. A chance to live again should not be wasted. Yes, she had often shown a lack of interest during her Organization missions, but in reality she had only been pretending not to care. She was good at that.

In between the moments of action, she would usually observe all the small things that others would be doing, secretly building a list in her mind of the things she would do once she got her heart back. Buying handbags and figurines, the ball games and hitting each other with foam bats, eating amazing food, going to the theatre, the list went on. Well, scratch the first and second part. Larxene had never really been interested in the material stuff. Give her a good book any day of the week, and she wasn't really interested in all the up-in-your-face fighting either. The rest however? Give that to her any day of the week.

After wiggling her toes a bit, she reluctantly slipped her boots back on and stood up. She supposed the best way to cover a large part of the vista was to head to high ground. There weren't any particularly ginormous mountain ranges nearby but there were a few mesas spread about that would offer her a better view than from the ground.

"When I find that runt, he is so dead," Larxene snarled, as she headed towards the closest mesa.

It was about halfway to her destination when she heard voices—high-pitched ones at that, indicating that they were probably children. And all the way in the middle of nowhere? Now that was strange. She couldn't deny her disappointment in it not being Sora though. It just meant that her hands would not find their mark just yet. Maybe she could hope that the boy had just taken in a whole bunch of helium then. He seemed the type to do something like that.

The children were to her left, their backs turned to her as they walked. There were about four in total—three of them boys, one a girl. They were her answer to the question of whether any civilisation was close by.

"Hey, why do you have to be such a bunch of utter limp for brains? We can still turn back, you know?" the girl protested. She was following a little behind the boys.

"Hey, uh, any of you guys hear that? Ah, maybe it's just the wind," one of the boys said, pretending to look around.

"No, no I think you're right. I do hear something. Is that a baby I hear?" the second of the boys threw the girl a smarmy look. "You hear it too, Seth? It's going bwaaaah-bwaaaah-bwaaaah!"

The girl turned to look at Seth, the third in the group who had yet to say anything. "You think so too, don't you, Seth? This is stupid!"

The third boy seemed to do his best to avoid contact with the girl and instead scratched the nape of his neck. "I mean… maybe we should turn back. It's getting dark out anyway. We aren't going to have much luck finding that monster like this."

The second boy looked over to the first and made a face. "He's simping for her. You know, you could do a lot better, buddy."

"Really, simping? How edgy can you be?" Seth retorted, defensively.

"What's simping?" the girl asked.

"It means don't you have somewhere else to be? Like, doing make-up with the other girls? I hear that's all the rage among the young ones nowadays," the second boy said.

"Acting as if you aren't young, and besides, I'm not into that stuff," the girl said in a huff.

"Even more confounding why you're simping for her then, Seth-boy."

"Hey, shut it, Travis," Seth replied.

"Ugh, why do you guys always have to act like this when I'm around? Just be yourselves," the girl said.

Travis threw her a dirty look. "Gee, I wonder why, Elrena?"

"Don't call me that," the girl confronted him through gritted teeth.

Truth be told, Larxene hadn't been paying all that much attention to their conversation, at least until they had mentioned the girl's name. The same name as her. It was obviously a coincidence, but she couldn't pretend to think that fate wasn't somehow toying with her.

"Hey!" Larxene called after them as she approached.

"Oh shit! Did you snitch on us?" Travis accused Elrena.

"What the hell, Travis?" Elrena yelled.

"No one snitched on you, but since you mention it, I get the impression you kids aren't supposed to be out here. Where is here anyway?" Larxene asked.

"You're not going t-to tell our parents, are you?" the first boy asked. He was easily the tallest of the group, lanky and thin with wire framed glasses and dark curly hair. The girl, Elrena, would then be the tallest after him. She had fiery red hair and light freckles on her face.

"Depends on how I'm feeling. If you want to stay on my good side you can start by answering my questions," Larxene said.

"Oh, I like her," Elrena said, only for Travis and the first boy to slowly glare her way.

"They call this place Death Valley. Not exactly a name that attracts tourism," Seth said. He was slightly on the plumper side than the other kids, both in face and body. The boy named Travis was the shortest of the group with a long face, thin nose and a piercing glare that seemed suspicious of anything it laid eyes on. Larxene had met his kind before. They were the type to assert dominance as a way of compensating for something otherwise lacking.

"I never said I was a tourist. What are you kids doing all the way out here?" Larxene asked.

Elrena shook her head. "It's stupid, really. The kids back in town overhead the grownups talking about the Hunt being spotted- oh, the Hunt is supposed to be this really dangerous monster, by the way, but I'm sure it's all total BS. Anyway, these guys here decided they'd try and find the monster themselves and I'm really just here to make sure that their parents have children to come back to at the end of the day."

"No one asked you to," Travis grumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, not accepting help. Now who's the baby?" Elrena shot back. Travis threw her a look and was about to move in when Larxene cut the gap between them.

"Hey, hey! Both of you just sh- be quiet. This really isn't the weather for something like this right now. Actually, strike that. It's never the weather. You're all a bunch of idiots, but it's a good thing I don't care. I just want to know where the nearest town is and then I'll be on my way and you can feel free to get eaten by this monster or whatever it is you want."

"It's west of here." The first boy pointed in the direction. "Behind those mountains. A town called Penance. That's where we're from."

"Penance, huh? Your town got something that needs confessing?" Larxene asked. At the confused faces of the children however, she quickly added, "Never mind. Anyway, thanks. I'm off now. Don't do anything I wouldn't do now."

She dropped her wagging finger and almost snorted at the situation. In a way, she felt sorry for them. Because of her strict parents, she had never really been in the position to do things like stay at a friend's house or go on wacky adventures based on rumors she may have heard in town. Childhood had missed her.

She had begun walking in the direction of where the boy had pointed when she stopped. The chatter of the kids was behind her, slowly fading in volume. She looked back to them, and then back again at the mountains in the distance, and finally back at the children again.

She let out an annoyed huff and called out, "Hey! I'm coming with."

"Oh, er, that's okay, you really don't have to," Travis dismissed with hands in pockets.

"It's as your friend said. Stop being a baby and learn to accept help when it's given to you," Larxene said. "Besides, I can put off looking for them for a while. I'm not exactly in the best of moods right now."

"Them?" the first boy asked.

"Nothing. Well? Lead the way." Larxene nudged her head in the direction they were going. She may have missed out on her childhood but that didn't mean she had to abscond from her responsibilities as an adult either. It was part of the parcel of having the heart she had so desperately craved.

Sora and Aqua did not have to put up with the scorching heat for long. Their benefactor, Jacob Weathers had not lied to them in that regard. They soon reached a small town surrounded by mountains. Old, wooden buildings that were less than pleasant to look at lined the streets on either side with adults and children alike roaming around its dusty streets.

"Welcome to Penance. A quaint little town in the middle of nowhere, population two-hundred-eighty," Weathers said.

"How long have you lived here?" Aqua asked Weathers. Sora personally thought the better question was why he even lived here but he kept that one to himself out of respect.

"For as long as I can remember. My parents raised me in it. I was about four years old. I remember one day watching my father leave home. He wandered out into the Devil's Basin and never came back. My mother was left to raise me by herself. She tried her hardest, but she herself was not long for this world. Still, she raised me to the point where I could live and look after myself. Dickson!"

He stopped and tipped his hat to one of the town's citizens as they passed by. "Have the manifesto with you?"

"Right here. Managed to wrangle in two new cows and a couple of chickens. Mellie and Jack also brought in a nice harvest earlier today. Should be good for two weeks," Dickson replied. His eyes switched to Sora and Aqua. "What happened to needing to conserve our resources? They joining us?"

"They're just passing through. Found these guys out in Death Valley while I was doing the rounds."

Air escaped Dickson's pursed mouth as he raised a brow. "Yeah? Then sounds like they have a death wish. Glad you kids are alright. How'd you even end up out there?"

Aqua glanced at Sora quickly then said, "We're kind of just two silly kids who managed to get lost. Nothing exciting unfortunately."

Dickson seemed not entirely convinced by this. "If you somehow managed to find your way out in the middle of nowhere, I somehow doubt that but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. You taking them to your place, Jacob?"

Weathers nodded and handed the manifesto back to Dickson, bidding him farewell before gesturing for Sora and Aqua to follow.

Eventually they arrived at a log-sided cabin, Weathers opening the door and stepping aside to allow them in. Inside was far more comfortable and extravagant than it seemed on the outside, not in an excessive materialistic way, but just enough for it to feel like a proper home. Sitting on the sofa closest to them was a woman with long dark hair. As she turned around, Sora could see a baby cradled in her arms.

"I've brought guests, Namyra. A pair of kids who thought it'd be a good idea to wander into the desert," Jacob remarked.

"Hey, you make it sound like we go looking for trouble!" Sora cried.

"Well, you certainly don't look like you run from it either, am I wrong?"

"Er, well…" I kind of can't, was what Sora wanted to say, but the words never came. Instead he threw out a cheesy grin and scratched the back of his head.

"What's his name?" Aqua chose to change the subject, walking over to Namyra and the baby.

"Aaron. It means high mountain," Namyra said, gently rocking the baby back and forth.

Aqua smiled sweetly at the baby. "Well, hello, Aaron. That's a lovely name. Does that mean you have some high hopes for him then? Make it all the way to the top?"

Namyra chuckled and looked up at her. "He can do whatever he wants. Our job is just to guide him so that he doesn't make the mistakes his parents made."

"He can make any mistake he wants. Just not ours," Jacob agreed with a half-laugh.

"That's so sweet. And it's a nice name too. I'm Aqua and this is Sora."

"It's nice to meet you both. Aqua, huh? The only water in the desert," Namyra commented with a look of amusement.

"I'd hope not. I don't know about Sora but I'm quite thirsty at the moment," Aqua said, with a soft laugh.

"Yeah, my mouth's as dry as a desert," Sora agreed with an enthusiastic nod.

Moments later, Sora let out a quenched sigh as he held the glass of water out in front of him. Were it not for the fact that he was in the Weathers' presence, he would have sunken into the couch right there and then.

Aqua, of course, had a different priority in mind. "Thank you so much. Please, if there's any way we can repay you feel free to let us know."

"Oh there's no need. I don't think giving water to someone is something that should require that something be given in return," Namyra insisted with a sweet smile. "Although I suppose if you really do want to repay us, you can stay for dinner."

"Oh no, we couldn't! We wouldn't want to be a bother or anything," Aqua objected looking from Namyra to Jacob.

"Oh, nonsense. Stay! It's getting late out anyway and dinner's almost ready so you might as well," Namyra said, offering a small smile.

"Well whatever it smells great. What is it?" Sora asked.

The dish, they soon found out, was beef and vegetable casserole with mashed potatoes. Namyra had cooked enough for the four of them. A perfect combination of spices, meat, rich gravy, vegetables and creamy mash sent Sora to another world temporarily for as long as he held the taste in his mouth. Each bite taken was a heavenly experience.

"Mmm, so good! Is it weird to say I'd want you as my mom if it meant having your cooking every day?" Sora asked.

"I don't need more children. One is enough. And chew with your mouth closed," Jacob snapped to the hearty laughter of his wife and a giggle from Aqua.

The blue-haired teen looked over to Jacob. "Can I ask something? I mean, why so far away from everything else? I know it means a lot to you but I imagine that's still a big hassle compared to just living somewhere less secluded."

"To keep people like you two from wandering around the Devil's Basin." Jacob played around with his spoon for a bit before setting it down. "It isn't just that my parents have been living here. The truth is that the Weathers' stay on this land can be traced back a couple of generations. You could say we're guides, steering folks clear of the danger of the Hunt and other such creatures that have stalked these lands over the decades."

"So that wild Hunt that we saw… that wasn't a Heartless?" Sora asked.

"A Heartless?" Jacob asked.

A swift pain suddenly shot through Sora's ankle. Sora sucked in air through his clenched teeth and threw Aqua a quick look before looking back at Jacob. "N-never mind that! So… does that mean that thing has been here from the start? But why? What's so important here?"

Jacob nodded solemnly. "The Hunt believes they or it owns these lands, a conscious thought or not, I couldn't say. They scavenge the Devil's Basin, ever seeking to sink their teeth into their hunt, though I doubt even they know what their next prey is. At this point it's purely instinctual, devoid of any reason or thought. It is the rawest form of the joy and ecstasy felt in a hunt incarnate."

"They're a bunch of barbarians slaughtering for the fun of it," Namyra interjected. "You kids don't need to worry. It's not your problem. I do kind of wish the legends were true though."
"Legends?" Aqua repeated.

"The original protector of these lands. He was wandering about the desert, lost much like you, and on the brink of death, he came across another form of life at last. A snake. That snake offered him power and a second chance at life in exchange for being allowed to inhabit his body. Not ready to go out yet, he took the opportunity.

"Little did he know, the snake had other plans in mind. Obviously by this point you can assume it wasn't an ordinary snake. He's appeared in many a guise. They called him Mephisto-"

Sora almost choked on his food. Aqua reached out to rub his back as he coughed.

"Sora, are you okay?" Namyra asked, hastily standing up from her chair.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, just… water," Sora croaked. Aqua quickly poured him a glass from the pitcher and held it out to him. Quietly offering his thanks, he held the glass up to the light and poured its contents down his throat.

After a while when everything seemed all clear, Sora looked up at Jacob and Namyra. "So… what happened to him? The protector?"

"He was given a second chance at life. But he didn't stay in Mephisto's clutches for long, not when it meant his freedom was at stake. He rebelled the first chance he could and a long and cruel battle began. Mephisto was furious and vowed to make him suffer for as long as he lived.

"At the time, wild beasts stalked the valley. Mephisto would use his influence to manipulate them, changing their nature to one of evil. But, the spirit given by Mephisto that resided within the man took on the will of its inhabitant. He and his fiery steed would ride long into the night, leaving a blazing trail behind them as he sought to protect his wife and the community he had built over the years within a tiny portion of the valley. He became known to all who lived here as The Rider."

"That's…" Aqua glanced over at Sora worriedly but Sora ignored her stare, his eyes looking down at a meal half-eaten.

So Johnny hadn't even been the first. This had been going on for generations. Then, if Sora were to die or try and get rid of the power, would it simply find itself in someone else? That was something he couldn't allow, but nor did he want to live with this power forever either. Mephisto was the problem. Get rid of him and maybe, just maybe, the cycle could be broken. The only question was how.

There was a quick knock on the door just then. Jacob stood up and walked over, opening it and unleashing a cascade of clawing hands.

"Jacob, I can't find Travis anywhere. He should have been back home by now!"

"Same with my boy. What if they're all alone somewhere in Death Valley?"

"If your boy took Elrena with him and got her hurt in any way, I'll make sure your son wishes he were dead!"

"You lay your hands on my son and you'll wish you were dead!"

"Alright, alright, calm the hell down! How in the world did no one see them leaving? Have you checked around?" Jacob asked.

"Don't you think we would have mentioned it if we had?" a woman asked.

Jacob shook his head and looked over to Namyra before grabbing his coat from the rack and the gun propped up next to it. "Can't let me have a good dinner in peace because y'all don't know how to keep an eye on your children. I'll see what I can find."

"Can we come with?" One of the men asked.

"You can. Just don't ask me to protect you."

"We won't. I'll go grab my gun." But before he could leave however, Sora shot up from his chair.

"Wait. We'll go instead."

Jacob closed his eyes momentarily as if fatigued. "Listen, I'm not a babysitter. Sit down and eat your goddamn food."

"We can look after ourselves. Besides, I know you don't think we're just your everyday ordinary kids," Sora replied.

Aqua stood up alongside him and nodded. "Right. We'll bring your children back. The last thing we want to do is put more people in danger."

It must have been strange to these adults, hearing equally strange teens talk about taking the situation into their own hands as though they were the adults. Their faces all confirmed these thoughts.

"You sure about this?" Jacob finally asked.

"We wouldn't offer to if we weren't," was Sora's reply.

Larxene found it best to drown out the noise of swarming locusts, which is to say children, as she followed them towards a destination she felt was ultimately pointless. She didn't even need to tell them that. They were kids, no older than thirteen. Eventually they would get bored and decide to go home anyway and that would be that.

As the three boys— Seth, Travis and Ash, talked among themselves up ahead, the girl among them who shared the same name as her slowed down until she was walking side by side with the blonde.

"You doing okay?" Elrena, or Ellie as she preferred to be called, asked. It was strange. Larxene felt that she should have been the one to ask that question.

"Of course I am. I should be asking that to your brain-dead friends instead," Larxene said. She listened to the girl's small chuckle before further asking, "You don't like being called Elrena?"

Ellie shook her head. "It just sounds old-fashioned. My dad was the one who named me, after his grandmother."

"Well now I just feel old," Larxene remarked.

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"Don't worry about it," Larxene quickly dismissed and changed the subject. "So how long do you give it before those three get bored and give up?"

"Whenever they start feeling hungry. They bought potato chips but that won't keep them going, especially Travis. Dude has like two stomachs," Ellie remarked.

"Hey, ladies, pick up the pace! Chop chop!"

Larxene and Ellie looked ahead to see Travis facing them and clapping his hands before turning back around. Larxene slipped a kunai out from her pocket and aimed it carefully at Travis' head.

"What a dip. Where's the best place to make him squeal?" Larxene asked her companion. Ellie guffawed and as the boys looked back to them, Larxene quickly dropped her hand and looked off to the left as though she had discovered something interesting.

She sought to look back when she caught sight, or at least thought she did, of something in the distance, between the gaps in the mountains. It was quick, but for a moment something seemed to block out the rays of light emerging through.

"Something wrong?" Ellie asked her, following her gaze to the mountain range.

Larxene snapped out of her thought and frowned. "No, it… was probably nothing."

Probably just a flock of birds, was what came to mind. Whether she believed that was another story entirely.

The sun slowly sank below the peak of the mountains, basking the desert in an ephemeral orange. Shadows stretched out towards them and Larxene could feel the air getting cooler. They still had not yet found whatever it was they were looking for. Originally, she had believed that they would eventually give up, but perhaps she had given them too much credit. She was the one who was getting increasingly hungry and tired and if she knew herself well, that meant she was also getting increasingly moody and destructive. Best to bring them home before the real monster appeared.

She was about to speak her mind when she suddenly tensed up. It was like a jolt of electricity had shot through her body. Anxiously, she tilted her head upwards and her eyes widened at an incredible sight.

The clattering of hooves against invisible ground. The rattling of chains, the neighing of horses and the clambering of voice, one atop the other as they pressed their shadowy horses to pick up speed.

The kids looked up too. Ash was the first to speak, his mouth as slack-jawed as the rest. "Th-there it is. It's real."

"What the hell is that? A Heartless?" Larxene asked, watching as it rode above them.

"The adults call it the Hunt," Ellie said. It was like their heads were all on strings, marionettes being guided by the sight of a breathtaking terror.

Eventually one of them did snap out of their reverie. Travis hit Seth's arm with the back of his hand multiple times. "H-hey, get the camera out!"

"Er, right…" Seth quickly kneeled down and slid his backpack off. After a few seconds of rummaging its contents, he pulled out a small compact camera. Larxene watched as he fumbled with the device for several seconds and was not at all surprised therefore, when he eventually dropped the camera, its parts now sprawled across the ground.

"What the actual hell Seth? What'd you do that for?" Travis yelled.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I'm scared, okay? Can you blame me?" Seth asked.

"Well, now the other kids won't believe us when we say we saw it. Good job, Mr. Photographer."

"Well, if you think you could have done better maybe you should've taken it instead," Seth retaliated, adopting more of a confrontational tone.

"Cut it out guys. There's no point fighting over it." Ace came in the way between them before things could escalate. Just then, Larxene felt a tug on her clothing. She looked over at Ellie to see her pointing upwards.

Her eyes went back up, green eyes staring at the tangle of limbs storming towards them. "Shit…" She looked back down at the boys and yelled, "You three get behind me. Now!"

It took a few minutes for Sora to get adjusted to riding his first horse but soon enough, he was galloping along with Aqua and Jacob as though he had been doing so all his life. As they rode across the desert, Sora couldn't help but admire the lowly hanging sun against the horizon. The cirrus clouds in the sky appeared as though they were on fire.

"Jacob… are you sure we're headed in the right direction?" Aqua yelled over galloping hooves.

"I think I saw a dark cloud moving up ahead. We follow it, we might just find the children," Jacob said. "But besides that, just how exactly are you going to be helping out? You didn't even take a gun."

Sora brought his hand out and summoned the Keyblade into his hand before letting it disappear. Jacob's brow furrowed and he blinked. "Huh. Do I even want to know?"

"Not really. It's a long story," Aqua told him.

The mountain that they had traversed in between grew ever more distant. As they came across land with sharp hills and creases like crumpled bed sheets, they spotted the children dashing towards them and just beyond that, a dark cloud encircling the area.

"Do you know just how much trouble you're in?" Jacob asked as they reached him, Aqua and Sora.

"Th-there's another woman… back there!" the young girl cried, looking back to the strange cloud.

"Yeah, she was- was t-trying to hold it off f-f-for us," the glasses-wearing boy stammered.

Aqua and Sora exchanged looks before Aqua spoke up. "Jacob, keep these kids safe. We'll handle this."

"What? You're going to fight the Hunt by yourself? It's impossible. You'll be killed!" Jacob growled.

"Never put us and impossible in the same sentence. Come on, Sora," Aqua said. Sora took the reins of the bridle into his hands once again and followed Aqua towards the cloud.

Larxene leapt over a fissure splitting the ground and turned around to see the dark cloud of entangling human limbs flying towards her. Pulling out a few of her daggers, she crossed her arms, coating them in electricity before flinging them either side. A web of surging current stretched out before her, trapping the strange creature as it rammed into the net.

Larxene simply watched as her net worked its magic. She hadn't been aware of it until now, but her breathing was harsh and desperate. Her fingers felt numb from static build-up. When she looked down at her hands she could see burn marks on her fingers.

Then, the net broke, the cloud smashing through rendering all her effort for nought. Her fingers loosened around her knives, sending them falling from her digits. The air grew hot and heavy. Pounding hooves and baying winds that howled and whistled made her tense up.

In a last ditch effort, she reached forward with her hand and spread out her palm to discharge a blast of lightning, but the Hunt were already on her before she could do anything.

Like multiple knives piercing her skin, her body ached as she was lifted off her feet and hit the ground on her back. Her eyes opened in time to see the massive congregation heading down towards her once again. One final blow.

It was unusual for Larxene to feel helpless. There were not many times she could recount in her adult life where she had felt like this. She had made sure after becoming a Nobody to toughen up. That was the one good thing about becoming a new person—forgoing the identity of the old, pathetic self and turning a new leaf. Even as a somebody, Larxene considered the old her dead, but if she truly were then why was she feeling what a dead girl had felt all those years ago?

She summoned her knives back in between her fingers and was about to raise them upwards in a last ditch effort of survival. Contrary to what her body was telling her, she wasn't ready to give up and die just yet. She was not a coward.

And then her muscles relaxed. Fire trailed across the sky and struck the beast. Larxene turned her head slowly, to see the two people who she both wanted and did not want to see right now.

"Larxene? You were with those kids?" Sora asked, walking over to her. He held out his hand to her. Larxene simply stared at it as though it were the most repugnant thing on the planet.

Eventually, Sora got the message and withdrew his help. He looked over to Aqua who was keeping the Hunt at bay with a variety of magic. Shards of ice formed in the air, raining down and hitting some of the confused limbs.

"Take a breather. We've got your back," Sora said. He left Larxene's side without waiting for her response.

"I'll boost you up!" Aqua yelled as Sora ran back to her. She waved her Keyblade about in the air, forming fractal platforms of ice going up. Sora jumped from one to the next until he was at a similar altitude to the Hunt.

Sora chopped away as quickly as he could. One warrior after another slowly vanished, although it soon became clear that it was a vain effort. There were simply too many to count.

Sora was about to raise his Keyblade and try something different when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a long shaft, fletching and nock protruding out of his body. Slowly, hands trembling, he reached out to grab it when he was struck by another arrow, this one hitting his shoulder.

"SORA!" Aqua screamed as she watched Sora fall from the fractal platform. The ice dissipated as she lost her concentration. Images of Ven's frozen body falling from a mountain replayed in her mind. Shaking it off, Aqua ran forward and felt her body topple over as Sora landed on top of her.

Immediately she shot up and rolled Sora carefully onto the ground, giving him a look over. "No. Nonononono. Stay with me," Aqua said. Her eyes met Sora's pained ones. Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. She summoned her Keyblade and prepared to cure, only to look back and see the warring Hunt approaching them.

"I'll protect you," Aqua said to Sora quickly. She stood up and assumed her battle stance. Before she could move however, someone else moved in front of her. Jacob Weathers drifted in between Aqua and raised the sawed-off shotgun in his hand, pulling the trigger quickly. Almost as quickly, he pivoted on his heel and raised his other hand, revealing yet another shotgun. The sound of the second bullet rang out, the Hunt soon veering in another direction to avoid a direct hit.

"Do all you kids have a death wish nowadays?" Jacob snapped. He glanced back at them with his arms still trained in front of him.

"Must be something in the water."

Aqua and Jacob turned around to see Larxene stumbling over to them. Bruises and a bloody lip marred her face.

"Heh, well… wouldn't be surprised if there were," Jacob said. "We've got to get him back to town. I can't tend to him here. Can you carry him?"

"Hell no," Larxene replied, throwing him a dirty look.

"O-kay…" Jacob said, raising his brows at Aqua. "Well it should be a short walk back to the horses anyway. I think we should be able to fit two kids each on both your horses if you squeeze in tight. Sora'll be on mine-"

"Wait, hold on. Something's happening," Aqua said, slowly. Jacob and Larxene looked down to see red veins spreading out across Sora's face. His eyes were shut tight and beads of sweat were forming on his face.

"What's happening to him?" Jacob asked.

"Get back!" Aqua yelled, standing up and taking her own words at heart. They all watched as Sora's face began to melt away until all that was left was a flaming skull. Jacob's eyes widened and his lips trembled.

"No way…" Jacob said, breathlessly. His eyes followed Sora upwards as he stood, and then walked past him. His eyes darted over to Aqua, searching for answers, but he found none.

The Rider summoned the Keyblade into his hands, taking decisive, long steps as he approached the Hunt. As they neared one another, the Hunt also, strangely enough, began to slow down. As they came to a complete stop, one of its bodies detached itself from the mob. He wielded in his hands a battle axe.

"Demon, I insist you leave these lands at once! I am the king here, the leader of the Wild Hunt, as decreed by Lord Mephisto himself," the king roared. He had a braided beard, similar to that of a Viking.

"No, by all means, I insist you leave first. And when you do, give Mephisto a message from me— I will be your puppet no longer. Vengeance is coming," the Rider decreed.

"I see reason will not assuage you. Then the hunt is on," the king said. There was a mighty joyous roar behind him as the rest of the congregation cheered for the king's words… only to fall deafly silent as the king's head fell off from his neck and hit the ground.

"Your sentence? Execution," the rider said, retracting the fiery whip and turning it back into a Keyblade. He looked over to the rest of the Hunt, all equally somehow paler than usual. "And yours? No mercy as kind as that."

The Rider tossed the Keyblade into the air, hopping on as it transformed into his glider. The Rider encircled the hunters, gaining in speed with each pass around until a whirlwind of fire engulfed them both.

"This is… unbelievable…" Aqua could hear Jacob Weathers saying. She looked over to him as he took a few steps forward. "Hell is empty, and all the devils truly are here."

Aqua thought about those words as she stared at the towering inferno. She truly wished they were wrong. She had enough 'devils' to deal with as it was.

Soon enough, something did emerge from the towering flames. The Rider, seemingly unfazed by the fire, walked out from the flames unscathed. The flames gradually died down behind him, with any trace of the Hunt ceasing to exist.

"The protector of Penance has finally returned home. Just as the stories foretold," Jacob said.

"Protector, huh?" Larxene looked over to the Rider. She wasn't so sure about that. A thing like that couldn't protect, and if it meant to do so, it would be only through destruction. But as she locked eyes with the spirit of vengeance, she was struck with a terrible sensation, like she was in perpetual freefall. It was almost like something was desperately trying to escape her body. Was it fear? Was it looking back at her?

Larxene finally managed to blink. Her body unstiffened. The next thing she knew, the flames on the skull extinguished themselves and skin began to form. His face fully reformed, Sora offered them a brief smile and dropped on the spot.

A/N: A meaty chapter there to tide you over. Since Part I of Paved With Gold is done, this is pretty much my main focus now until it's complete. Next chapter, I know some of you were asking for more Kairi involvement in the story. Well ladies and gents, you're gonna get your wish. Christmas has come home early, Kairi will be getting her own chapter... which will be a full on musical! Is what I wish I could say but no. She's going to be fighting. Sorry to disappoint those who wanted the former.