Title- Bright New Dawn

Summary- Riku's first mission for the Organization- to recruit three powerful characters to the black-coats' cause, aided by Axel. But their enemies, both outside the Organization and inside, have different plans…

Disclaimer- I do not hold the rights to either Square or Disney. If I did, Kingdom Hearts- Chain of Memories would come out in Britain much sooner.

Rating- PG-13

Spoilers- Huge ones for Chain of Memories. You've been warned.

Bright New Dawn

Chapter Four- Across the River

Wherever he was, it was the height of summer. Riku shifted uncomfortably in his seat as the train sped out of a brief patch of shade into the sunshine, heat washing over him. Axel sat back, his feet up, seemingly unaffected by the blistering sun. Of course not, Riku thought, with just a hint of annoyance. His fighting style involves handling burning metal on a regular basis. This must be like the middle of winter to him.

The train was making its way down the side of a hill, its tracks bracketed with tall vines and spiny bushes. Through narrowed eyes, Riku could dimly make out the area they were passing through- there were taller hills, almost mountains, clustered around them, as overgrown with foliage as theirs seemed to be.

Suddenly, Axel stood up, looking towards the front of the train. "Get your stuff, Riku," he said, edging around the table. "We're stopping here for a few minutes."

Riku looked back at him, surprised. "What for?"

"Supplies," the red-haired man responded, ducking through the doorway that connected the engine to the cabin. Riku rolled his eyes.

He picked the Soul Eater up from the seat next to him, sliding it inside his open coat. He'd just zipped the jacket up when a loud screech came from beneath him, and the train ground to a halt, making the glasses in the cabinet judder. Riku grabbed hold of the windowpane, steadying himself.

"You got everything?" Axel asked, emerging back into the cabin.

"Axel, I don't have anything, except my weapon and the stuff in my pockets," Riku said, shooting him an irritated look.

"Good thing one of us packed for a mission, then," Axel replied, unfazed. "There's food in the bag next to you. Get a couple of cans for me, while you're at it."

Riku unzipped the black bag that Axel had brought with him. He reached in, looking bemused when he pulled out a small circular tin. "You expect us to eat this?"

"What, you've never seen canned food before?" Axel said, grinning. Riku shook his head.

Axel took the tin from Riku's hand. "We've got stacks of the stuff in the castle. There's a couple of worlds that we get it from. Stays fresh for years, if you're lucky."

He slid the jacket's hood over his head. "Any of them say 'pineapple' on?"

Riku rummaged for a few seconds, eventually pulling out a scratched and dented tin. "Here you go."

Axel pocketed it. Riku stood up, moving towards the door.

"Hey, Riku. Put your hood up," Axel called, his face shrouded in a shadow that seemed to come from within the cloak itself. Riku turned to him.

"Why? It's hot enough already wearing this damn thing."

"These coats don't just make us look cool and mysterious, Riku," Axel said. "These are one of Vexen's better inventions, before he went all mad-scientist on us." He walked forward. "They allow us to blend in with the people of this world. Unless they're expecting to see us, or stare at us for a good long time, we won't appear like we're dressed any different to how they are."

He pulled Riku's hood over his head. "It only works if you're completely covered, though. You'll just have to grin and bear it."

Grimacing, Riku pulled the door open. He'd thought it was hot inside the cabin, but outside the heat was nothing short of suffocating, feeling unpleasantly sticky as he dropped from the train. He rubbed his face, already beginning to sweat. "Hurry up, Axel!" he shouted.

Axel stepped off the train, landing on the rough, dusty soil. He slid the door closed. The train shimmered out of existence again… as, Riku noticed, did the tracks that it ran on. "This way!" Axel called, heading down the slope towards a distant building.

Riku followed him, thorns scratching at the bottom of his coat. "Where're we going?"

Axel pointed into the distance. "We're going flower-picking, Riku."

By the time they got to the bottom of the slope, Riku was sweltering, fighting an urge to take his jacket off. The temple was made from bright stone, mainly consisting of four high walls and a sloping roof, but there was a patch of mercifully cool shade inside the entrance, and Riku almost tripped over a stray stone as he ran towards it.

As he leant against the wall inside, gasping, he noticed a woman staring at him from the raised altar in the middle of the temple. She must have been seventy years old, but her eyes were the brightest and most alert Riku had seen in his life.

"Who are you?" she demanded, hobbling down the steps to meet him.

"Um…"

She looked at him, part curious, part angry. "I will ask you again. Who are you?"

"I'm Riku," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake.

"What makes you seek the oracle of the Pythia… Riku?" she asked, looking, bemused, at his raised hand. He dropped it.

"Um…"

"Well, actually," Axel said, sauntering through the doorway, "we're not so much here for your oracle." Out of the corner of his mouth, he whispered to Riku "She's the Pythia. Local wise woman. Do us a favour and act deferential."

The woman stepped towards him. "And who are you?" she asked, looking Axel up and down.

"My name is Pyrrhus, and my friend here is Therapon. Excuse him, he's a bit simple."

Riku glared at him.

"So you come here with no question. Why are you here?"

"We'd like your permission." He gestured towards the green-and-white bushes that grew outside the temple. "We need two sprigs of mistletoe from the temple at Delphi."

The Pythia looked at him, an eyebrow cocked. "So you plan to journey to the Underworld?"

"What?"

Riku whirled around. "The Underworld? As in, Hell? Where the demons live?"

"Please, Therapon, let the grown-ups talk for a few minutes." Axel favoured Riku with his sunniest smile before turning back to the Pythia. "Yes, we need payment to cross the river, and I've been led to believe that's the only way to get across without being, you know, dead."

"You are correct." The old woman turned away from them, heading back up the steps. "I hope that you are prepared to pay handsomely."

"I do everything handsomely," Axel replied, grinning. With a lazy flick of his wrist, he threw a leather pouch in the Pythia's direction. She caught it with a speed Riku hadn't imagined she was capable of, pulling out a handful of small, bright coins.

"This will be… barely sufficient, Pyrrhus." She nodded. "Take two sprigs of the mistletoe, and two only. And be careful- you may be able to buy Charon's amiability, but the rest of the Underworld's denizens are not so easy to placate."

"I guess I'll just have to rely on my winning personality, then," Axel said. He turned to go. "Therapon, come on. Places to go, demons to meet. Move."

"I'd like a discussion of the whole 'going to Hell' plan right about now, please." Riku edged down the steps backwards, looking at Axel. "When were you going to tell me about this?"

"If I'd told you, you'd have been too scared to go." Axel strode out into the sunshine. "Look, that place is the biggest receptacle of lost souls in all the worlds. We could fill all three positions from there alone, and still have plenty of choice."

Summoning one of his blades, he cut a small stem off the bush that grew around the temple. He threw it to Riku. "Keep that safe. It'll guarantee you safe passage across the Styx. Of course, I can't speak for your safety once you get across, but, hey, take things one step at a time."

He cut another one off, putting it into the pocket of his coat. "Now come on. We've got to get back to the train before some idiot goatherd stumbles into it."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Riku warned, tucking away his sprig of mistletoe.

Axel turned to him. "Riku, trust me."

I suppose I did ask for shade, Riku said, trudging down the rocky path. Lesson for today- be careful what you wish for.

The train had come to a halt in a mountain range, nestled between two crags. As soon as Axel had been assured that nobody was going to find an invisible train half-way up an uninhabited mountain, they'd begun to make their way down a steep, loose path towards the shore.

After a couple of hours' walking, the shore had tapered to a peninsula, leading towards a distant cave at the end of the path. The temperature seemed to drop as they approached, which came as something of a relief to Riku after having spent almost a day in the blazing sun. As they came to the lip of the cave, Riku saw that there was another path inside, one that led downwards into an impenetrable, inky blackness.

"Is that it?" Riku said, looking into the cave. Axel nodded.

With a complex gesture, he ignited a ball of fire in the palm of his hand. Riku edged backwards as Axel raised it into the air.

"This'll help light our way," he said, sliding down into the cave. Riku followed, becoming more anxious as the pair of them disappeared into the dark.

He didn't know how long they'd been walking for, but a few hours ago Axel had dispelled his light as blue torches began to appear at intervals, bolted firmly to the wall. The path had become stony, made of a dark, grainy rock that Riku didn't recognise. Once or twice, he thought he heard the beating of wings above him.

"So what happens when we get across the river?" he said. Axel looked at him, mildly surprised at the first words he'd said for an hour.

"Well, we're looking for Hades. You know Hades, right?"

An unpleasant, sallow face, sharp teeth and bright eyes, and constantly moving his hands as he talked… "Yeah, I've heard of him," Riku replied.

"He's our go-to guy. There's a bunch of legends about heroes who've taken people out of the Underworld without his permission, but they don't tend to end happily." Axel grinned. "No, we need to negotiate a deal with him."

"What have we got to offer him, then?" Riku asked.

"Don't worry, Riku, I've got it all under control."

Axel stopped, turning back to Riku. "We're close to the river now."

A watery light at the bottom of the tunnel marked the end of the path. They stepped out onto a rickety wooden platform, which- Riku noticed- was suspended over a river. Looking down into the water, he had just enough time to realise that the dim, floating shapes that moved in it were people, and then Axel dragged him towards the end of the pier.

A skeleton stood there, his bones darkened with age and the thick smoke that billowed around the cavern. Riku instinctively grabbed for the Soul Eater, but Axel caught him, glaring.

"That's Charon, you idiot. Attack him and you'll get the whole Underworld on us."

Riku looked distrustful, but loosened his grip on the sword. Axel walked towards the skeleton, reaching in his pocket for the sprig of mistletoe he'd taken from the temple. "We'd like to cross the river."

Charon enfolded the mistletoe in one bony hand, smiling in a way Riku didn't like. "It's been a while since mortals came down here. May I ask why you wish to cross?"

"We're looking to make a deal with your boss," Axel replied. "Riku, give him yours."

Riku handed over his stem of mistletoe, flinching when Charon's cold hand scraped along his.

"Your payment is accepted." Charon dropped down into his boat. "I will ferry you across the Styx."

"Sounds good." Axel lowered himself into the boat, with Riku following.

"Before you set out, know this," the skeleton said, raising an oar in his hands. "I cannot ferry you back. You will either leave with Hades' permission, or…" Charon smiled again. "Or not at all."

"Where are you taking us?" Riku asked, sitting back in the boat.

Charon turned to look at him, obviously sneering despite his lack of a face. "Hades has his castle in the mountains of Tartarus. I will take you as close as I can get you, and then the rest is up to you and your friend."

"Tartarus? Doesn't sound fun."

The boatman nodded. "It isn't. Tartarus is where the truly damned go, those who set themselves against the gods, or committed a sin so grievous that even Aphrodite could not contemplate forgiving them. Those who gave their souls to Hades end up in Tartarus, to suffer for their stupidity and their blindness."

Riku looked warily at Axel. "You weren't planning on making our souls part of this deal, were you?"

Axel shook his head. "I'm not that stupid, Riku."

The boat moved slowly past an endless plain of souls, grey and translucent, wandering with blank expressions. Riku stared into the mass, feeling scared and sad at the same time.

"Those aren't the ones we're looking for," Axel said, cutting into Riku's thoughts. "Not a single one of them would be able to do more than moan absently at enemies. Tartarus is where we'll find the real prizes, you mark my words."

"So your idea of ideal recruitment material is guys who've sinned so badly that they ended up in the worst area of Hell?" Riku asked, not taking his eyes off the ghosts.

"Where did you think we found Vorax?" Axel replied. Riku blinked, remembering the scarred man who had smirked at him in the castle's entrance hall.

I did not want to know that.

They got off the boat on a long, empty beach, the sand blackened and glistening. Riku waved goodbye to Charon, who saluted them mockingly and began to sail back into the smoke. He looked around at Tartarus, and immediately wished he hadn't.

Vast mountains of black rock jutted up from the land, disappearing into the choking clouds of smoke above, with tiny pinpricks of eerie blue light dotted across their slopes. Between the mountains, thousands of the blue flames congregated, burning in the still air. What struck him most was the absence of the screaming and crying he'd expected. Tartarus was nothing but flat, dead silence.

Axel began to walk up the beach towards the nearest of the mountains. Riku called after him. "What're you doing?"

"Hades' castle is between those two mountains, see?" Axel said, pointing. Riku could vaguely make out a large shape, looming above the fields of Tartarus, but nothing more than that.

Riku darted up the beach to where Axel was. "What're those blue lights?"

"They mark wherever a soul is. Each one has their own individual punishment, based on what they did to get sent down here. Ask Hades, and he might give you a tour of the more amusing ones."

Riku looked again, the landscape taking on a new horror. "There's got to be twenty thousand of them out there."

"Told you we had a lot to choose from." Axel started walking again. Riku shook his head, and followed.

After a few miles, Riku became aware that they were being watched. Looking up, he heard the beat of leathery wings above him on the slopes, and a scrabble of rock that might have been caused by something heavy taking off. He nudged Axel.

"I know," Axel muttered. "Just keep walking and hope they're not hungry."

"What are they?"

"Furies." Axel began to edge down the slope, towards a pool of water where a man, emaciated and pale, tried vainly to grasp the fruit that grew around him. Every time he tried, the vines pulled away from his reach. Riku stared for a few seconds, before closing his eyes and turning his head away.

"Demons?" he asked, moving to catch up with Axel.

"Not exactly. They live here, but they're not quite servants of Hades. They prey on people up on the surface, but only if they've killed a family member. Down here, however…" Axel looked meaningfully at Riku. "Try not to look tasty."

Riku gripped the Soul Eater. "So, am I allowed to attackthem?" he said sarcastically, looking at Axel.

"Just hope it doesn't come to that, okay?"

He looked again at Axel, this time more closely. He hadn't known the guy for long, it was true… but this was the first time he'd seen him afraid.

Riku turned his head. There was more than one wingbeat audible now, and a softer sound that he hoped wasn't chuckling. Almost unconsciously, he began to walk faster.

"What if we-"

An unearthly screech was all the warning Riku got before the monster swooped, slicing at what would have been his neck if he hadn't ducked in time. He spun around, unsheathing the Soul Eater.

There were three of them, huge and hideous, looking like nothing so much as winged dogs. The one that had attacked him swooped again, cutting at his face. Riku raised the Soul Eater, and it backed away, its beady eyes looking for an opening in his defence.

The other two were focusing their attention on Axel, who was standing still, weaponless. Summon your blades, you idiot! Riku thought, glancing back at the hovering Fury.

Suddenly one of the Furies dived at Axel, who brought his hand around in a circle, his weapon glaring white inside his hand. The dog-thing had misjudged its dive and didn't expect its opponent to be armed, and Axel's blade dug into its chest, spraying black blood on his coat. It screamed in pain, and the other one swooped at him, slicing into the red-haired man's back.

Riku moved to defend him, but his opponent chose this moment to attack, cutting at his unprotected hand. It only managed to scrape him before Riku pulled his hand away, but even that burned him, and he almost dropped the Soul Eater in sudden pain. With a couple of wild swipes, he drove it backwards, his scarred hand clenching involuntarily. The Fury snickered.

He leapt forward, bringing the Soul Eater down in an arc. The Fury wasn't quick enough, and Riku managed to catch it with the tip, slicing across its chest. It snarled, then lunged at him, biting into his upper arm.

The pain was unbearable, and Riku collapsed backwards, screaming and clutching at his arm. As he rolled, he felt the Fury's claws scrape along his neck, and he arched backwards, slicing blindly with his sword at where he thought his enemy should be. Nothing but air.

Nearby, Axel yelled as one of the Furies clawed at him. Riku tried to stand up, shakily, but his opponent cannoned into him, knocking him over again and re-igniting the agony in his arm. He couldn't see, and as the Fury gripped his chest with its sharp talons a black mist began to descend…

…and then he lashed out, feeling as if his arm was shattering into pieces as he loosed a lightning bolt at the Fury.

It caught his enemy square in the chest, sending jolts of electricity dancing through its body. The smell of burning hair woke Riku from his haze of pain, and he scrambled to his feet, looking from his arm to the twitching Fury and back again.

"What the… hell… just happened?" he croaked, as the two remaining Furies flew off, screeching. Axel struggled to one knee, grabbing his blades from where they had fallen.

"Remember I mentioned… the powers you'd inherited from Larxene?" he said, trying to get up. "That… that was one."

Riku looked down. There were channels running down his arm, raw and burnt, where the lightning had touched his skin. "I think I need… more practi…"

The black mist swam into his vision, and he dimly felt his legs give way as he fell into unconsciousness.

On his throne, eyes closed and with a connoisseur's smile on his face, Hades listened to the distant moans of the damned. He'd done a little re-organising in the last few months, raising the Elysian Fields to a level where they could be seen from the mountains of Tartarus, and he thought there was a little something extra in the suffering these last weeks, as the souls in his company were forced to stare, every moment, at the beautiful golden fields and trees full of blossom that were the reward for a virtuous existence. He relished these moments, when he could take a break from the hectic business of managing Hell and just simply enjoy life.

The problem was, they never lasted. His smile faded into a scowl as he heard the familiar patter of Panic's feet up the staircase. "This had better be good," he snarled, as the little demon skittered into his chamber.

"You wanted to be notified if anyone special crossed over the river, right?" Panic squeaked. Hades nodded, his mind beginning to work. Who's down here? If Charon's let in that lunk of a half-god again, I'll have his head on a stake…

"Who is it?" he asked, standing up. "God? Demon?" He grinned, toothily. "Another idiot hero down here to rescue his sweetie-pie from the evil Hades?"

"One of them's mortal, boss. The other we can't quite figure out." Panic scurried around to Hades' side. "We think he might be from another world, 'cause Charon says he doesn't feel like anyone he's ever met. They said they were coming here to make a deal with you…"

Hades liked to deal with people. He headed towards the staircase, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the wall. "Where are they now?"

"Um, they're collapsed. Had a run-in with the Furies not far from here. Do you want me to send someone to get them?"

"Yeah, do that. Send the new kid, he could do with some work." Hades looked out the window, overlooking twenty thousand souls all suffering in their own personal Hell. He smiled again.

I wonder what they want?

Author's Notes-

I'm a big fan of Greek mythology (perhaps that should read Greek geek) so writing this chapter was a lot easier than I'd expected. As regards the 'even Aphrodite couldn't forgive them' line, yes, I know she had a temper like every other god and goddess in the pantheon, but yelling at me about mythological inaccuracy in a chapter based on Disney's interpretation of Greek myths is a bit like re-arranging the furniture while the house is on fire.

'Pyrrhus' comes from the Greek for 'fire', and 'Therapon' basically means 'follower' or 'servant'. I thought that'd appeal to Axel's ego.

Since she plugged me… if you get a moment, check out Ginger Ninja's post-COM fic, 'Know Who I Am'. I'm assuming everyone reading this has no objection to reading massive Chain of Memories spoilers, and it really is good.

The information about what mortals have to pay Charon to get into the Underworld comes from Neil Gaiman's 'Sandman' series, which acts as a starter course in about ten different ancient religions as well as being brilliant and thought-provoking. Check that out, as well, if you haven't already.

JadeyTheKitty- Yes, that would be Yuna. So the umpteen references to her brown hair and giggly ways weren't too subtle, then. Thanks for the nice review- I like writing Kairi.

Ginger Ninja- No matter how I write it, Axel always seems to be almost-but-not-quite hitting on Riku. Guess that's just how he is.

Twilight Unknown- Organization names tend to be annoying. I almost called one of mine Xavier, before deciding it'd be difficult to call a character that without him owning a wheelchair and leading a gang of mutants. Thanks for the review, as always.

Next chapter- Axel and Hades negotiate, Riku begins to wonder what effect doing the Organization's dirty work is having on him, and Hades' 'new kid' turns out to be someone Riku recognises… or thinks he recognises. See you then.

Thanks for reading.