Chapter 13
Sora was in the wasteland again. He walked across it, trying to avoid the dark specks he knew to be the keyblade field…
He was beginning to realize there was no end to this god-forsaken wasteland. The entire world was an arid destert.
Sooooraaa…
Sora, startled, looked around. There had been no voice, but something was speaking right into his mind.
Sora…"Get out of my head!" Sora shouted to the empty world. He suddenly saw something appear once again on the horizon.
It was his enemy from before.
Sora…
"What do you WANT from me? WHO ARE YOU?" Sora screamed at the figure, beginning to run from it.
I? I am your antagonist. I want to see you suffer, Sora.
It began running after Sora. Rather than the slow chases Sora had endured before, it now gained an insane amount of distance with each of its strides. In a matter of moments, it was practically on top of Sora.
Sora turned around into an uppercut like an exploding bomb. He sailed back several feet, but his assailant caught him and punted him further and further towards the field.
It was not a balanced fight. Sora was savagely beaten by his enemy. It finally put its foot on his throat.
"Why…why are you doing this?" Sora gasped.
It's my fate. I'm going to kill you, Sora. You are the cause of Birth Through Sleep.
"What the hell is that? I've never even heard of this!" Sora said, every breath a struggle.
Birth Through Sleep. You know the power of memories. Dreams are as strong, if not stronger…and so your nightmares, and the nightmares of the worlds give birth to the chaos that is to come.
"Please…stop…"
I am your nightmare, Sora. I am your invincible enemy, and the tormentor that will loom in your every waking moment.
"No…" Sora suddenly grabbed the armored boot on his throat. "NO!"
Sora got up, and summoning the Keyblade, rushed at his enemy.
His attack was cut short when the apparition wrenched the keyblade from his hands and stabbed him.
Sora never saw the weapon going through his torso. He looked up at his enemy, beginning to choke on his blood. His attacker leaned down to Sora's level.
When your Birth Through Sleep comes to pass…I will come. And I will bear for you the gift of death.
The creature lowered its hood.
Sora awoke, a strangled gasp escaping him. He realized that he'd thrown up blood onto his sheets. He moved into a cross-legged position, still breathing heavily.
"What's happening to me?" He asked himself quietly.
He thought he saw his enemy standing in the room, but he soon realized it was just a shadow cast by the moonlight.
The next day, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy packed up the Highwind. As Riku had said, they should probably check on all the worlds and make sure everyone was OK.
The first stop would be Olympus Coliseum; Hercules' home. Sora had heard that Herc's revived strength had allowed him to rebuild the coliseum in record time. Still…Hades was always around the corner, and if there were people that could control heartless about, that meant he might be tempted to try something…
At that moment, in fact, the Lord of the Dead was entertaining two guests; the short man in a navy blue cloak, and a tall person, standing in a deep shadow.
"Okay. So…who are you guys?" The god asked, smoothing back the blue flame of his hair.
"We're representatives of the Remnant. I believe that you recall when I came here earlier?" The man in blue said. Hades thought for a moment.
"Oh yeah…you said if you came back, it meant that you had a deal for me…you said it was an offer I couldn't refuse?"
"I certainly hope that will be the case. We would appreciate your help in our move to bring the worlds under our dominion. However…I come here for a more short term bargain."
"I'm listening." Hades said, drumming his fingers on his throne's arm rests.
"I will need to 'borrow' one of your prisoners…" The man said. "In return for your aid and this little bit of help…we'll kill Hercules for you."
Hades was not known for his poker face; even if he'd been able to keep a straight face, the burst of blue flame let the man know he now had the god's full attention.
"You sure you can do that? I mean, he's taken just about everything I could throw at him…" The man in blue chuckled lightly.
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that…once he meets Titan here, you'll never have to worry about Hercules again." The man standing in the shadows walked out into the light. He was extremely tall and wide, and covered head to toe in armor that seemed to be carved stone. There was a large, glowing yellow eye in his helmet, but his face wasn't visible. The man called Titan cracked his knuckles. It was not a pleasant sound.
Hades was visibly impressed. "Okay. You got yourself a deal." He said, offering his hand to both of them. The two men shook it. The man in blue nodded to Titan, who turned and strode out of the Underworld.
"He'll probably be back soon…now…we have business to discuss." The man said.
Kairi's eyes slowly fluttered open. She sat up on her bed, and looked around the strange room she found herself in.
"Where...am I?",