Apologies for the lack of a chapter last week. Got wrapped up in doing something for SoKai week. It was a lot of fun.

Anyways, we now return to our regularly scheduled fanfiction programming.

OOOOO
She Will Light The Way
Chapter Ten
An Absent Silhouette

To Sora, there was something incredibly perverse about his current attire.

The Organization's black cloak.

It was more than it just being the uniform of his enemy, the uniform of his captors and tormentors. No, it went beyond that. There was... a feeling, echoing within the depths of his heart. A feeling of familiarity. But he had never worn this before, right? He certainly hadn't seen one until the King had popped up in Twilight Town garbed in one. And, yet he couldn't shake this feeling. It was like the melancholy he had felt when he took the train to Yen Sid's tower, another one of these ghost feelings he kept having ever since he woke up...

"C'mon kiddo, get the lead out. I don't got all day."

Sora looked up. He had stopped dead in his tracks, absent mindedly examining and rubbing his current state of dress. Xigbar was looking back at him, motioning for him to get back to work.

Ever since Sora had exchanged his freedom for Kairi's (he flinched recalling the moment in question, his foolishness in trusting the Organization, Kairi's last words, and the reality of her final fate...), the Organization had put him right to work in harvesting hearts from the Heartless in order to construct their magnum opus, the artificial Kingdom Hearts. Everyday, he spent several hours being ushered to and from worlds via Corridor, accompanied by either Xigbar, Saix, or Luxord, slaying every Heartless that came across his path. While similar to what he had been doing with Donald and Goofy prior, but also incredibly hollow. Empty. He wasn't meeting new people, coming to the need of those waiting for a hero, or solving the personal problems of those he encountered.

Just Heartless, Heartless, Heartless.

Fight, fight, fight.

Currently, Sora found himself joined by Xigbar, traversing the snowy mountain ranged that dotted The Land of Dragons. As he saw ahead of him another spawning of various Heartless, Sora wanted to do nothing more than to bolt down the mountainside and find Mulan or Captain Shang or anyone. Find any kind of lifeline to pull him away from this nightmare and get back to fighting the good fight. To pay the Organization back for all they had done to him. For what they did to Kairi and Riku...

But, Sora couldn't do that. He couldn't risk being out of line, or else the Organization would-

Wait...

"I said 'hurry up'." Xigbar repeated, impatiently, as Sora remained anchored in place. "I'm not getting any younger over here. Chop, chop."

"You know, it's kinda funny." Sora said, looking up and staring down Xigbar. "I thought you guys had all the cards here, but, you don't do you? You can't do anything to me now that Riku and Kairi are... are gone..." Sora couldn't dare bring himself to actually think of his two best friends as "dead". Even if that was the reality, he was sure acknowledging it would destroy him. "So why should I listen to you guys, huh?" Sora struck a fighting stance, challenging the Nobody. "Why don't I just do what I always do and batter you jerks?" Xigbar's sole visible eye narrowed, as a sick smile formed on his lips.

"Y'know, gotta say I'm impressed." The Nobody let out a round of mock applause. "Didn't think you would figure that out so soon. You're not as dumb as you look, kid...

"But, you're forgetting one really important thing."

Xigbar fished a cue card out from his cloak – Sora remembered Demyx had once done the same thing, this must have just been standard operating procedure for the Organization, weirdly enough. Putting on a bit of a show, Xigbar mimed putting on glasses, cleared his throat, drawing out the tension and Sora's annoyance. That twisted look on his face had never vanished.

Reading aloud, he said, "'Yakumo Kido'. 'Sayaka Kido'. 'Ame Kido'. 'Fuuka Kida'."

Sora's heart dropped. "Th-that's my family..."

"Yup! Bet it's been a long time since you've since them. Hell, bet it's been a while since you've thought about them, seeing as how you're acting so stone cold, huh?" Xigbar chuckled darkly, wagging the cue card at Sora. "But anyways, where was I? Oh, yeah! If you fail to cooperate like a good little hostage, I have been instructed to pay your folks a little visit. I think it's only fair the fam gets a chance to learn about all the things you've been getting up to in the meantime, and they deserve to meet their son's chaperone. Oh, and yeah, and then I'm suppose to put each and everyone of them down. With prejudice."

A horrific wave of guilt and terror washed over Sora. He had never imagined the Organization would play such dirty pool. Then again, they had already stooped to such desperate levels before, why stop now?

"No! You can't!"

"Oh, but I can." Xigbar was clearly relishing this moment. Relishing in making his captive sweat and feel even more vulnerable and helpless. "It may be a bit lowdown and icky, but I got no problem getting my hands dirty. And, hey, if you're still so deadset on defying us even after I slaughter your whole family, well, there's a laundry list of friends and loved ones out there we can use as leverage to make you do our bidding.

"So, ask yourself Sora: How many bodies do you want piled at your feet before enough is enough?"

Sora's previous challenging stance had diminished and withered in the face of the threat. He had already lost Kairi and Riku. There's no way he could keep going if his parents or his sisters or any of his friends were hurt as a result of this. Of his decision. The deal had already led to so many innocents suffering, all because of his moment of weakness...

But I'm not going down without a fight. A spark of defiance still existed within Sora. I'm going to find a way out of this and fix everything. Without anyone else sacrificing themselves in the process.

Sora promised that to himself. To Kairi and Riku and the King and Donald and Goofy... wherever any of them were.

Summoning Kingdom Key, Sora stormed over to the gaggle of Heartless, but not before shooting a furious, vengeful look at Xigbar. The Nobody bared his teeth and sneered as Sora went to work.

"Yeah, yeah. It's always that same damn look from the three of you. Spare me and get back to work..."

As Sora went to do the deed (phantom gun to his head), suddenly, a Corridor of Darkness formed into existence further up the slope, drawing both the attention of the Key Bearer and his jailer. Never had two Organization members accompanied Sora, nor had another one come midway through to interrupt or join in, so this was more than an odd. Even more odd was when the summoner of the portal walked out, revealing a tall man dressed in a similar cloak to both Xigbar and Sora.

With the hood up, obscuring his identity.

"Xigbar!" The mysterious figure called out, in a deep voice that Sora knew he recognized, but couldn't quite identify who it belonged to. "Hand him over, before you lose the other eye."

"Well, well, look at this." Xigbar chuckled again, seemingly not taking anything seriously. "Tell me, which hole have you been lurking in this entire time?" The eye-patched Nobody had drawn both of his arrow guns, lazily swinging them in his fingers, holding them below his waist.

The invader drew up into a much more direct and purposeful fighting stance, holding some sort of sword in his right hand. Xigbar stood in between the stranger and Sora, making it so the boy had difficulty seeing exactly what he was wielding.

The mysterious figure began to approach. "Last warning. Hand Sora over or I wi-" Just as suddenly as he had appeared, the invader came to a halt, clutching at his chest, speech coming to an end in a strangled garble. Grunts now came from the man, as he fell to his knees in pain, his weapon sliding away from him over top the snow.

Now Sora could clear see the sword, too. To his great surprise, he recognized it instantly. It was Soul Eater! But that would mean... Wait! Does that mean this guy is-

Xigbar clicked his tongue in dismissal, now wagging one of his firearms in the face of the invader. "Now this is just such a sad sight, you know?" Taking aim – not at the figure, but at the mountains behind him – Xigbar unleashed a flurry of shots, empty the clip of one of his guns. The crystalline projectiles soared into the distance, detonating into faint explosion that echoed across the peaks. "After all that trouble you caused by taking Roxas from us, this is what you've been reduced to? Pathetic!" The Nobody stormed up to the man, still writhing in pain on the ground, and kicked him in the sternum, sending him flying back. "Guess you didn't quite expect your gambit to end up killing you. That's what you get for tapping into such a malignant darkness like the remnants of a Heartless. The remnants of his Heartless."

Xigbar conjured a swirling Dark Corridor opening near Sora.

In the background, if one focused hard enough, they could hear a low, rumbling sound. It was building, slowly and gradually.

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Sora shouted in protest, looking at the cloaked figure, who – despite everything – was still crawling towards him and his captor. "Who are you? Don't tell me, you can't be... are you -"

Sora's next words were gagged and muffled, as Xigbar clamped a gloved hand over his mouth.

"Nah, no more question, 'kay. We're done here, for the day." Xigbar then cast a glance over at the intruder, then at whatever was behind him. "And he's done. Period." The Nobody began to force the struggling Key Bearer towards the rift.

"Sora!" The man called out, in between drawing pained and labourious breaths, still pulling his being forward. "Sora! I'm not giving up! I'll save you, I promise, just like you saved me!"

"Dream on, pal! Take a look and see behind ya!"

Indeed, Xigbar's seemingly random and lackadaisical shots that sailed overhead the intruder were anything but. The explosions that rang out through the mountains just a little while ago had been more than enough to start a chain reaction in the area, as, rushing towards the position of three individuals dressed in identical black cloak, was a furious and unstoppable wave of snow and ice and stones. An avalanche.

The mysterious figure continued to struggle, to fight against his pain, to try and avoid the calamitous hazard, but it was futile. The agony coursing through his body was clearly to much for him to stand against. He was defeated.

Xigbar and Sora vanished through the black portal, as Riku was swept away in the crushing tide of snow.

-O-SWLTW-O-

The Kronus Kup was truly and well underway! Normally, the opening of a new cup or tournament in the Coliseum would be a joyous and celebratory thing, but when being hosted within the dark confines of the Underdrome... it was anything but. Gone was the glitz and glamour of competing for the favour of the Gods themselves, and instead was a hostile atmosphere within the ring – having once hosted cruel bloodbaths and horrific torture shows – and the stands holding hosts of ghouls and ghosts and other damned souls held in eternal imprisonment by the Lord of the Dead himself, all cruel and cajoling and out for blood – anything to distract them from their terrible fate.

The combined team of Hercules, Kairi, and the three Gullwings (both Rikku and Phil wanted to come up with a more cohesive name for the collective, but were shouted down and dismissed) began their effort to try and conquer the Kup, and could immediately see the Sisyphean task Hercules would have been faced with if he was alone. Not only was Hercules the only non-Heartless, non-Hades sponsored contestant, but the bracket was heavily skewed against him. A lop-sided bracket where most of the matches took place on only one end, which happened to feature Hades' archenemy, certainly made it seem like this tournament was less than legitimate, but clearly the Kup's host did not care and was just going for broke. And even beyond that, all of the match times made it so that Hercules would be fighting two or three matches consecutively, with little room for break in between.

To say he was thankful for the extra assistance would be an understatement.

Still, even with the presence of the Keyblade Warrior and the Gullwings, things did not go smoothly. Mostly due to Kairi's and Herc's waning confidence.

Kairi, as her attitude and how she held herself suggested, had regressed in combat. Hard. She was extremely hesitant, normally hanging back as everyone else rushed forward, and was over-thinking her moves and actions. What's more, she was making mistake, bountiful mistakes, amateurish mistakes, mistakes that she didn't even make in her first battles or in training. Kairi tripped and stumbled on her own two feet, or overswung the Keyblade in wide arcs, leaving herself vulnerable and open, or just fired spells haphazardly, not taking into account the form of the spell or what elements she was using. The girl actually hit a Heartless that was covered bright red all over with a Fire spell. Every warrior worth their salt knew you used ice or water elemental magic on things that were red!

Hercules, for his part, fared a bit better than the redheaded girl, having his semi-divine nature and years of experience to fall back on it, but it was apparent that the mighty warrior was in a funk, as well. Despite the raw power at this fingertips, as well as the ability to become invulnerable, the Coliseum champion fought awfully conservatively, circling the edge of the arena and only attacking when he could get his shots in. Herc also mostly focused on attacking smaller Heartless, stragglers that had broken off from the pack, in direct opposition to his reputation for tussling and wrestling with the biggest, baddest monsters he could find. The exhaustion that weighed heavily on his body, mind, and soul was dragging him down, and the gauntlet of matches wasn't helping to ail that.

It seemed that crumbling under the weight of their responsibilities left Kairi and Hercules more as liabilities than heroes, forcing the Gullwings to pick up the slack and deal with the majority of the workload. Fortunately, busting swarms of Heartless was a fairly routine feat for the trio, and they performed with aplomb as the team of five cruised through the various rounds and trials the Kronus Kup presented.

The team had just finished up another set of matches when they were returning to the waiting area they had decided up, to rest, recover, and discuss further strategy. There were only four more matches that stood between them and the so-called "Grand Finals" of the tournament, where they would have to face one final foe to claim victory. Already, the group could see a mile away they would end up clashing with Hades in that contest. They found Phil waiting for them, as they entered the area, but there was a definite and noticed absence, too.

"Phil, where's Meg?" Hercules asked, as soon as he caught the lack-of-sight of the sarcastic brunette.

The old trainer looked confused. "Whaddya mean? She left saying she wanted to meet up with you guys on your way back here. You should've ran right into each other." Immediately, a look of worry crossed the face of the young Demigod.

"Oh no... this is bad..."

"What's the matter, Hercules?" Kairi asked.

"I think... I think Meg has been kidnapped by Hades again." Herc clenched his teeth in anger and annoyance. "And all because I wasn't around to protect her. No, because I've been so weak and she's been so concerned about." The champion sighed, and hung his head in depression. "It's all my fault, again..."

"Man, talk about putting the weight of the world on your shoulders." Paine commented, while the others made attempts to console.

"Look, I'm sure she just wandered off to concession to grab a gyro or something." Rikku said, casually, before sidling up to Hercules, wiggling her fingers and her eyebrows in deep-seated interest. "And, I mean," Rikku began to walk her fingers up one of Herc's massive biceps, "maybe you can use this opportunity to get to know little old me a bit better...?"

Paine slapped the back of the blonde's head. Hard.

"OW!"

"You deserved it. Stop being a little creep."

"This is serious, you two." Yuna scolded her friends, before turning back to Hercules. "Are you sure that's what has happened? That Megara has been kidnapped?" The Demigod nodded.

"He's probably trying to stack the deck even further against us for the Finals. It wouldn't be the first time Hades has tried to use her to get to me."

The girls all nodded along in understanding, Kairi more glumly than the rest. She could sympathize with Megara's plight. Being used as a tool to hurt the people you love the most. A dead weight, designed to drag them down. Feeling useless and helpless.

Kairi shivered, holding onto herself to try and stop it, actions that didn't go wholly unnoticed.

Yuna looked over at Kairi's direction, seeing her briefly tremble, seeing her drop the pretense that she was doing okay, revealing the pain and frustration and fear the brave girl was desperately trying to keep in check. Yuna looked over at Kairi's direction, seeing her struggle with herself, and an idea formed.

"Rikku. Paine. I want you two to stay here and keep fighting with Hercules." Yuna ordered her cohorts, walking next to Kairi, and placing a hand on the girl's shoulders. "Kairi and I will go and find Megara."

Both Hercules and Kairi looked surprised by this announcement.

"No, I can't let you two." Herc protested. "I'll go with you. It's my fault in the first place, so I should be the one to rescue her."

"Whoa, whoa, easy there Champ." Phil cautioned, waving his arms wildly. "Don't go jumpin' into things without thinking, again. Spreading yourself this thin was what caused this whole mess in the first place." Hercules looked ashamed by that comment, and the satyr realized what he had said. "By that what, I mean is," Phil verbally backtracked, "if we're gonna be fighting Hades in the Finals, then we're gonna need you at a hundred percent! Especially the Gullchicks, here. Fighting a God and fighting some Heartless are two completely different things."

"It's 'Gullwings'. You ass." Paine corrected in a seething tone. In quick succession, she showed off a disparaging look at Phil, and then a questioning one at Yuna. "You sure about this?"

Yuna nodded, firmly. "We can't let Megara get hurt, nor let Hades use her to get to Hercules. Besides, it gives us a chance to look for the Blackheart Stone." Yuna winked at Paine and Rikku, a gesture that escaped Kairi's notice.

"Yuna, do you really think this is a good idea?" Kairi asked, nervously, standing behind the brunette and looking surprisingly small. "Bringing me along, I mean... It's not like I have a good recent track record of saving people, of helping those in need..." Before the redhead could say another word, Yuna clapped her hands around one of Kairi's, sealing it within her palms.

"It's like I told you Kairi, don't let your fear and anxiety control you, and have faith in yourself. In the good that you've already achieved."

Yuna smiled warmly at her friend, which Kairi returned with a halfhearted one of her own.

"If you two are gonna do this and get back in time for the Finals, you don't have time to waste." Urged Phil, who was examining a schedule for the remainder of the Kronus Kup. "Our next match is in forty-minutes, and the next four are all consecutive before the last match, so godspeed you two. All of them. All the Gods! All the speed!"

"Kairi. Thanks for doing this." Hercules offered, looking more bedraggled and defeated than ever before. It seemed Meg's kidnapping was working just as Hades' planned, inflicting even more of a toll on him. Did this happen to Sora when he learned that she had been kidnapped, Kairi wondered. Was she even more of a burden than she originally thought? "It seems no matter what happens, you Keyblade Masters are the ones to pull my butt out of the fire. You and Sora. I don't know if I can ever repay you..."

Kairi looked down, a mix of embarrassment from the compliment and shame from how she had been acting. The girl was straining herself trying to think of a response to that speech, something that would sound cool and heroic. Something that would make it seem like she was okay, that her spirit wasn't damaged and her courage torn to pieces.

Something Sora would say in a time like this.

Finally, Kairi said, "Save the 'thank yous' and reparations for when Meg is safe and sound, okay?"

And with that, Kairi and Yuna excused themselves, and ventured deeper into the darkness of Hades' domain.

-O-SWLTW-O-

Riku was utterly helpless. Barely conscious. Consumed by pain. Pain from within, the burning sensation of the remnants of Ansem destroying his very being. Pain from without, surrounded on all sides by hundreds – if not thousands – of pounds of freezing, crushing snow.

He couldn't move so much as an inch within the frozen prison.

Riku

Riku

"W-who...?" Riku barely managed to speak. He had to say the words through clenched teeth, unable to even move his jaw freely.

Why are you here

Why are you like that

What has happened to you

I chose you for a reason I thought you were better

Riku's head throbbed. He was delirious from the pain. That had to be the explanation. His injuries and his crippling internal pain were causing auditory hallucinations. That was the only explanation.

But then, images began to flash through Riku's head. And, as they did, the pain abated, very briefly.

Riku could see a man. Tall. Muscular. Brown hair. Dressed almost like a samurai.

A warrior.

A hero.

This wasn't a hallucination, as far as Riku could tell. These were memories, long buried within his heart.

The warrior had said some things to him. Made him take a vow. A promise. To protect.

To protect those closest to him.

What a joke that was...

And then, the man took out something. A weapon.

A Keyblade.

"Who are you..." He asked again

I thought you were better than me

I thought you would be able to avoid the same mistakes that I made

More images began to pop into Riku's mind's eye. Not memories this time. At least, as far as Riku could tell.

What he saw was a barren, blasted hellscape of a world. Canyons and valleys and peaks. And a field dotted with thousands upon thousands of discarded Keyblades...

Above all this, standing vigil, was someone or something wearing a suit of armour – all bronze and copper and gold – and wielding a Keyblade that suddenly seemed incredibly familiar to Riku...

"Help me... please..."

Come and find me Riku

And you will once more find the path you should be walking upon

Somehow, calling upon the last ounces of strength in his body, Riku managed to generate the opening of a Dark Corridor, slipping into the black expanse and escaping the icy confines he had been trapped in.

I will be waiting

-O-SWLTW-O-

Clearly, she and Yuna were heading down the right path, Kairi observed, as the further they probed the winding tunnels of the Underworld, the more Heartless appeared to harry and harass them.

Even though in her short career as a Keyblader, Kairi had already struck down dozens and dozens of Heartless, she was an old hand at this by now. And yet, every time more of these monsters appeared, their yellow eyes gazing malevolently at her, the redhead felt herself freezing up. All of her successes in the world seemed to vanish, rendering her failures in stark relief. Kairi could hear Yuna's screams echo in her head, remember Xaldin's taunts and threats, smell the sharp, iron scent of blood – hers and others – wafting into the air – and recall the horror of the moment she thought she was going to die. When battle broke out, a cocktail of negative emotion would stir inside – anger towards her enemies, frustration towards her failures, concern for her friends, fear for everyone – and it would all gather within and bind and paralyze her.

As Yuna instantly went on the offensive, time after time, Kairi hesitated, flinched, frightened, shied away, before mustering up the courage to join the clash. To try something and at least show the outside world she wasn't completely broken.

But that show couldn't be any further from the truth.

After dealing with yet another horde of Heartless – probably the fifth or sixth pack to show in the last twenty minutes – Yuna and Kairi took a small break to catch their breath and settle themselves. They might be on the right path, but there was still no telling how much longer they had till they found Megara.

Kairi was over in a corner and pacing back and forth, stuck in her own head, trying to relax herself and deal with the tumult of emotions that stormed through her heart, when Yuna asked her, "Kairi? Kairi, are you doing okay?"

"Hmm?" Kairi looked up, still lost in thought. "Did you say something?" Yuna repeated her question, to which Kairi replied by forcing herself to smile once more. "Why do you keep asking me that? The answer's the same, I'm fine Yuna. Totally, hundred percent, super-duper okay!" The redhead laughed slightly, trying to convince her friend. Trying to convince herself, too.

Yuna, however, had her doubts.

"Kairi... I know you're trying to put on a brave front for everyone, but it's okay to admit that you're not completely all right. It's okay to show fear and weakness, to ask for help from us. I think you'd be stronger for it." Yuna told her friend in a gentle tone, eyes lit empathetically. The brunette was still trying to coax Kairi out, slowly and softly, as oppose to berating her, forcing her to open up. It would be better, this way, Yuna told herself.

Kairi flinched, as Yuna continued to peel away at her facade. "Well, whatever... even if I am distressed and afraid – and I'm not, I'm totally okay, remember – what good would it do to admit it? What would happen if I spilled my guts and broke down?" Kairi had done enough crying and trembling the past few days. She was sick of it. Even if it was just an act, she wanted to seem brave and strong to everyone around her, even if it meant bottling her feelings up to the point of bursting.

Yuna only response was to smile sadly and approach the Keyblade wielding girl. Kairi herself looked confused, as her companion strode over to her position, and the confusion only grew when Yuna suddenly threw her arms over her, pulling her into a tight, firm hug. Kairi once more felt her body bunch up and tighten within Yuna's embrace, before it all went slack and loose. Her muscles relaxed and she exhaled for the first time in what felt like a day. If Yuna wasn't holding on to her, Kairi was certain she would have collapsed then and there.

"I-I... Yuna... I don't know if I can keep doing this..." Tears did not fall from Kairi's eyes. Maybe she physically had cried enough over the past little while. That for the time being, she was physically incapable of crying even more. "I think I've lost whatever fire or confidence I've had, and I don't know if I can ever get it back." Kairi took a shuddering breath, trying to settle herself. "I can't do this. I can't – I'm not Sora! Or Riku, or Paine, or you. I'm not strong enough!"

"You're wrong, Kairi." Yuna soothed the girl, gently rubbing herb back as the redhead furiously vented in a distressing outburst. "You're wrong on so many counts. Your fighting spirit is never truly lost, you can find it again. You've already done so much to show how strong you truly are, defeat or failure or otherwise." Yuna then pulled away slightly, making sure to lock eyes with Kairi. "And it doesn't matter that you're not us. Of course you're not. You're you. Remember what Paine said: Just be you."

"Being me isn't good enough, though, we've seen that! And I can't just be a better me, I -"

Yuna shushed Kairi into silence, holding her tight again. "I know you can't see it right now Kairi. You can only see yourself in comparison to others, or can only see your failures, but trust me, one day, you'll see what the rest of us see. Beneath the fear and lack of self-confidence, there's power. True, scintillating, unwavering strength.

"I keep telling you that I have faith in you, and there is a reason for that. I'm not a fool who places her faith in just anyone."

Kairi broke Yuna's grip, twisting and pushing away from brunette. "But I don't understand why you keep saying that! Why you keep your faith... I don't even believe you when you say that, Yuna!" Kairi ran her fingers through her hair and shied away once more, heading further down the path. "No one should have faith in me, because I'm not anyone's first choice. Hell, I'm the last choice! The only reason why I'm here is because we're all desperate and there's no other options. Sora's captured. Riku has vanished to god knows where. We're just stuck with me!"

Kairi's words echoed across the cavernous space, seemingly mocking her and confirming her fears and anxieties. The Princess of Heart breathed heavily, a ragged pace, as she looked to Yuna for a response. Looked towards her friend for something, either condemnation or alleviation, Kairi wasn't sure what she wanted out of Yuna.

Kairi wasn't sure what she wanted out of anything, anymore.

For her part, Yuna just patiently smiled at the girl and urged her to continue forward. "I hope you feel better after saying all that, Kairi, but we'll never solve our problems if we just stand around. You need to keep moving forward, to find those answers within you."

Whenever Kairi shared her feeling with the Gullwings, it felt like they always presented solutions that sounded too easy to be true. "Just be you", "Be better", or "Keep moving forward". It all sounded so simple, it couldn't possible be the case, could it? Was she just letting her fear and depression beating her, get the best of her, and prevent her from seeing the obvious solution?

Regardless, Kairi was beyond grateful at how patient everyone was acting. Thankful for Yuna's quiet grace and gentle manner, letting her vent and emote and release the storm that had been brewing within her. Thankful for her ability to discern the truth, and peer beyond Kairi's stubborn behaviour. When they had left Hollow Bastion, Kairi wasn't sure what to make of the Gullwings, but now, after only a little while, she was sure she couldn't have asked for better companions.

As the traveled further and further into the eerie darkness of the Underworld, they walked in silence and peace. No further Heartless attacks, for this little while, anyways. Kairi wanted to offer some show of gratitude towards Yuna during this period, a thank you or an apology or anything, but felt far too timid and nervous to do so. She was sure Yuna would just politely deflect anything she came up with, anyways.

So, with the in mind, Kairi went with a different line of attack.

"Yuna..." Kairi began with an unsteady voice, piercing the silence that cloaked the underground tunnels. Just a little bit ahead of them was the entrance way to another chamber, though they had no way of knowing if they were closing in on Megara or anything else. This entire journey had been blind. "Why exactly do you have such faith in me?" Yuna held a pair of fingers up to her lips.

"Well, Kairi. It has a lot to do with my past on Spira. When I was a Summoner on my Pilgrimage. You see-"

Yuna stopped when a figure emerged from the shadows beyond the next chamber.

A titanic, imposing figure, broadly built, with wide shoulders and a clearly muscular frame.

A figure wearing the black cloak of Organization XIII, hood up, obscuring their identity.

Kairi flinched, eyes as wide as the possibly could go, feeling her heart flutter and her whole body tremble. But, she still instinctively summoned Destiny's Embrace to her hand.

"We should turn back immediately. We're not prepared to handle this." Yuna cautioned in a sotto voice. Kairi gulped and nodded along.

But, as soon as the two girls pivotted on their feet to run away, back the other direction, the enigmatic Nobody struck. They slammed their foot against the ground, causing earthen spires to erupt from the ground, barring Yuna and Kairi access to the route they just came from.

They were trapped, with no way to move on but through their gigantic foe.

The Nobody summoned their weapon – a black and red tomahawk that was larger than the entirety of Kairi, but which the Nobody wielded easily with one hand – and swung it in a through the air, before bringing it down against the ground, shattering a fair portion of the stone into a panoply of jagged edges. The Nobody withdrew the colossal axe from the indentation, holding it above his head, causing the loose stone to rise with it, dozens of razor sharp jagged stones hovering in the air.

As the girls turned back around to face their foe, the rocks flew through the air, all of them seeking and homing in on Kairi. Once more, the Key Bearer flinched, froze up, a deer in the headlights look versus the hail of projectiles.

Yuna, however, was more than able to react and counter. The gunslinger dove towards Kairi, tackling her to the ground, as the stone spears sailed overhead and spiked into the barricade behind them.

Yuna conjured up a barrier over the girls, to prevent any follow-up attack from scoring a hit, as well as giving them time to recover. "Kairi, I know this is soon, far too soon..." Yuna said in a hurried, slightly panicked voice, as she helped the redhead stand up. "But we're going to have to fight. If you don't feel like you're up to this, stay behind me and stay safe, understood?"

Kairi nodded dimly, but she only half-heard Yuna's warnings. Instead, there was a different question on her mind. Kairi turned to face her assailant, who was patiently waiting for the barrier to fall.

"You're not Saix or Luxord or any of the others." She knew that much. The cloak obscured many things, but the body shape was way too different from any of the other Organization members she knew. "Who are you?" Kairi demanded.

To her surprise, the muscular, monstrous figure was hospitable to her request, doffing his hood to revel his face. Indeed, Kairi had never seen this Nobody before, a powerful looking male with extremely angular facial features, sharp cheekbones and nose, with a rigid, lantern jaw and chin. He had auburn hair that was partly slicked back, but sticking up in an array of messy spikes. Upon dropping the hood, he glared at Kairi, furrowing his heavy, thick brow.

"I am Lexaeus, Number V of Organization XIII. I have been brought back here personally by the Superior. My mission: to eliminate the Keyblade Master, you."

Kairi and Lexaeus exchanged glares, cagily waiting for the other to make the first strike. A whirling storm of emotion rumbled within the heart of the Keyblade Wielder.

On the one hand, she could feel the terror well up in the back of her throat, as the sight of the black cloak conjured memories of her encounter with Xaldin. Her party, her companions – her friends! - falling one by one to the monster. The blood, the pain, the screams – all of it. Not helped by the fact that Xaldin was the reason why she was in such a funk. So down on herself and her abilities. Derived of confidence. Strangled by her fear.

But, on the other hand, the Organization was the source of all of her pain. Not just hers, so many people had suffered because of the Nobodies. Sora and Riku. Beast and Belle. The realization filled her with such rage and bile that it blinded her reason, clouded her judgement, and almost blocked out all of her fear. Despite her limited abilities – whether one looked at it objectively or through a biased lens – Kairi wanted nothing more than to attack the Nobody, to unleash everything she got and work out the anxiety within her. To get revenge for herself and for her friends.

And then there's what Yuna had been saying to her. To find the answer she was looking for, she needed to keep moving forward.

Then let's take that first step. Kairi told herself, trying to calm her frayed nerves. Anger and determination aside, she was still massively afraid. Let's take a step right toward breaking this mountain down!

Kairi coated the length of her blade with a a water spell, increasing it's durability and sharpness. The moment she charged, Lexaeus countered the motion by firing out another hail of stones. With the spell boosting her Keyblade's powers, Kairi was easily able to slice through the rocket bullets in with ease, one fluid slash severing the projectiles in half.

With her path cleared, and Yuna providing cover fire from the rear, Kairi jumped into the air, intending to sail over and crash down on the Nobody with all of her might. Lexaeus planted his feet and wheeled up his tomahawk. With such a clear discrepancy in size and power, Kairi was going to need every advantage she could muster and summon just to handle the titanic enemy.

Unfortunately, even diving from upon high was enough to close the gap, as Lexaeus easily managed to block Kairi's descending slash with his tomahawk. Now that she was up close, Kairi got a good sense of just how big Lexaeus was, and just how absurdly large his weapon was, too. Hell, it made her Keyblade look like some kiddy toy in comparison.

Blades still locked, and Kairi still airborne, the earth elemental easily repelled Kairi with a mighty swing, batting her away and sending the redhead flying, sailing across the room and crashing into the wall, before collapsing to the ground, gasping for air.

That was such a stupid idea Kairi... She admonished herself, trying to ignore the throbbing sensation in her ribs and spine. Even if I were at a hundred percent, there's no way I could go toe-to-toe with a literal giant...

Yuna rushed over to the downed Key Bearer, standing guard as Lexaeus prepared for her next attack.

"Unlike some of my cohorts, I take no pleasure in inflicting grievous harm. I have no drive or desire to play with my food." Lexaeus once more held his weapon above his head, as his entire body rippled and glowed with violent and fierce red and black energy. "My power is pure and absolute! I'll finish the two of you quickly."

The Nobody slammed his weapon down onto the earth once more, hammering the ground, and causing the entirety of the cavern passage to shake and tremble. From the impact point, the earth splintered and fissured, deep cracks forming and spreading all along the floor, up the walls, and to the ceiling. Before long, gigantic chunks of rock began to fall from the ceiling and break off from the walls, plummeting to the earth and flattening everything in their path.

Very quickly, Yuna and Kairi grasped the danger they were in. Lexaeus was trying to bury them alive!

Yuna threw up another barrier spell to protect them from the stony rain, while Kairi scrabbled along the ground, trying to seek out an escape route. Her survival instincts had fully taken over, shunting every other feeling to the back of her brain.

The path that she and Yuna had used to come this far was currently blocked off by the spires Lexaeus created earlier. The entrance ahead of them was clear... save for the fact that the zone between the two spaces was currently a falling boulder deathtrap. Not to mention Lexaeus, who was slowly and methodically approaching the two girls, not content on letting his rock slide do all the work.

Kairi both stared down the colossal Nobody, and looked passed him, looking further down the path, towards the exit. Towards safety. Sure, Lexaeus seemed big and strong, but he certainly couldn't be that quick. If she and Yuna were light on their feet, they could circle around him, dodge the rocks, break free towards the next portion of the cavern, and then...

And then what?

Even if they managed to evade their assailant, the rocks would continue to fall, surely blocking off this room from the rest of the path. Kairi and Yuna would be trapped on the other side, with no way of making it back to the Underdrome. Hercules and Paine and Rikku would be forced to fend for themselves in the remainder of the tournament. She might not be able to return to her mission, forever sealed within the depths of the Underworld. But if they did retreat, they would do so empty handed. Without Megara. And who knows what had happened to her, what would happen to her if someone did arrive to rescue her...

Kairi looked over at Yuna, the whole of the brunette mage's body was trembling with the effort of blocking the cascading stones, rivulets of sweat drenching her forehead and neck. She wasn't going to last much longer.

Decision Time, Kairi. Now or never. She told herself, as her eyes flitted between the two exits and the lumbering form of Lexaeus.

"Yuna, please hold on for just a little while longer." Kairi told her friend, taking up her Keyblade... and turning to face the path they had come from – the path choked up and marred by stalagmites. Kairi fired out a series of blizzard spells, not chunks of ice but instead in the form magical bursts of frigid cold energy. Even in her rapid fire pace, the Key Bearer took care to hit as many spires as possible, to cover as much ground as possible, her magical blasts freezing anything they touched, coating the earth in a thick layer of ice.

"You will not escape me, girl!" Lexaeus bellowed from behind. "I will finish this, here and now!" The energy around the Nobody surged again, consuming all other illumination in the room, rendering everything in stark red-and-black shadows. Lexaeus himself seemed to sink and descend into the earth, the ground warping and splintering at his feet, as more fault lines began to form and spread through the room, the already existing ones widening and deepening.

The tremors worsened.

Yuna struggled and strained under the mounting pressure.

Lexaeus continued his advances, slowly and surely.

Kairi gnashed her teeth, as she sidestepped away to avoid more falling debris, her face the very picture of defiance and determination. "No! I won't let this happen. No one else is falling under my watch!" The tip of Destiny's Embrace lit up with arcane flame, as the girl hurled it underhand, the Keyblade spinning through the air, tumbling like a wheel, as the fire spread and covered the entirety of the weapon. The blazing discus streaked down the passage, flame and metal carving their way through the frozen stone, clearing a route for her and Yuna's escape.

"Yes! Come on, Yuna, we gotta hurry!"

Kairi seized her friend by the wrist and forcibly pulled her from her position, dispelling her barrier. Almost the entirety of the room was covered in debris and fallen stone, with more yet to come, forcing the girls to take very careful, gingerly steps over top the rocks, while also avoiding more and more of the rock slide.

"I told you there would be no escape!"

Looking over her shoulder, Kairi saw the hulking Nobody wind up, massive tomahawk held behind his back, before hurling the weapon. Despite it's huge bulk and size – and utter lack of a general aerodynamic shape – the weapon arced through the air at frightening speed, coming right for Kairi. Given it's weight, and Lexaeus's strength, she would surely be crushed if that made impact...

Kairi twisted her body, stood her ground, ready to try and deflect or block the attack or, failing that, use a spell to launch herself out of the way. Something. Anything to protect herself. Yuna had a different plan in mind.

Pushing the redhead back, Yuna took up her fighting stance, shotstaff held up in both hands, clearly ready to conjure another shield, despite the effort maintaining the last one took. It was all too evident that the magic gunslinger still hadn't fully recovered herself from the previous spell, but here she was, ready to protect and defend to the best of her abilities, again.

Throwing herself into the line of fire, instead of Kairi, again.

The Keyblade Warrior wanted to scream out in protest, but there was no time. The whirling dervish of death was right upon them.

Yuna summoned a barrier and braced herself for impact.

Suddenly, without warning, a red blur appeared from behind Lexaeus, racing across the room, darting across the rubble that had gathered across the ground, and easily traversing it's way through the length of the chamber. The blur settled and appeared before the girls, standing in between them and the spinning tomahawk – it was an older man with greying black hair, a singular scar running down his right eye, and dressed in a blood red haori robe, while wielding and overly-large, single edged zanbato sword.

With a single, titanic blow, the mysterious swordsman blocked and parried the thrown weapon, matching it's strength and weight and easily deflecting it, sending the weapon flying upwards into the ruined ceiling. Lexaeus glared at the intruder, while a Yuna was overtaken with an expression of shocked recognition.

"Impossible..."

However, sending the huge axe into the ceiling caused the rock slide to intensify and worsen even more, as the roof of the cavern and the paths beyond it began to breakdown and collapse, hastening the rock slide and destruction.

The stranger spared Yuna and Kairi a glance, revealing his hard, stern, rugged visage (Kairi could also see that he kept his left arm bent in the front portion of his robe, holding it up as if it were in a sling) before kicking Yuna in the stomach, sending her flying backward, bowling into Kairi, delivering the two out of the chamber and back the way they came.

The two tumbled to the ground, disentangling themselves as they rolled across the jagged and rough stone floor, more and more stones plummeting from the ruined roof. The entrance to the chamber that contained Lexaeus completely caved-in, barring the two from a return visit.

Despite all this, Yuna quickly gathered herself, standing back up, and rushing towards the sealed entrance, oblivious to the danger that was raining down around her. "Wait! Auron!"

"Yuna!" Kairi cried in turn, running after her friend, all too aware of the danger that they were in.

With a thunderous CRACK, a large portion of the ceiling broke away in the form of large, jagged stones, cascading down all over the area but, more importantly, right over top Yuna and where she was running to.

Thinking quicker than she ever had, Kairi created a stream of water from the tip of her Keyblade, flinging out towards Yuna. The lash snaked it's way towards her companion, wrapping around her midsection. Both hands on it's hilt, Kairi yanked back on her Keyblade with all the might her body could summon, reeling in the older girl.

Not expecting to be fished away in such a manner, Yuna offered no resistance to Kairi's makeshift whip, pulled through the air, and, once more, having her body collide with Kairi's, the two girls knocking each other over once more.

The stones continued to fall, as Kairi re-positioned herself, throwing Yuna to the ground, and covering the brunette with her own body, before throwing up a shimmering dome of light.

A tide of earth crashed down along the ground, burying everything and everyone.

Well, there's actually a whole lot happening in this chapter. We touched base with all three of our heroes and... yeah, it ain't going well for any of them for the time being.

-So, even though I don't really like the Organization and would prefer if they just went away forever, I am stuck with them regarding this story. That being the card I have been dealt, I will play it as strongly as possible. I find the use of the Organization members in both II and III very lackluster, with the Organization basically vanishing from the second half of the game in II, while in III, they just sort of pop in to trash talk Sora for a bit, before going away, not really having any impact on the game until the end. Because having your villains have no active role in the majority of the plot makes for engaging storytelling...?

Well, forget all that. This story will give them the presence they should have as the main villains, with (I believe) Twilight Town being the only "full" world Kairi visits that they do not appear and confront her on. But, wait, "Lexaeus is dead" you say. And that is correct. So, stay tuned for the answer to that one...

Beyond that, and all our surprising appearances this time around, please, tell me what you think, everyone! All input and thoughts are welcomed. More than welcomed! Because I am an incomplete being, much like a Nobody, where my heart is replaced by an empty void, all-consuming, that can only be filled by the validation of others.

...

Bye, everyone!

Until next time, let the light guide your path forward.