A/N - So this chapter is a little shorter then I'd planned. I hit a bit of a block though and didn't want to leave people waiting for too long.

Also, because someone asked and I never got around to responding (sorry) I specified said in an earlier author's note that Heartless aren't allowed to manifest "naturally" in the Destiny universe by the Witness, so this one could only appear because someone caused it.

So with that said, Happy Reading, and hopefully I'll have the next part ready soon.

[UPDATE] - Sorry, midnight brain. Fixed some errors, probably not all.

King of the Sky

Chapter XVII

An Old Enemy

BOOM!

The terrified and pain filled shrieks of Fallen and Hive, echoed out after the massive inferno that enveloped the area, before dissipating.

In the wake of it all, stood Sora with Reefborn Key held up, pointed towards the epicenter of the fire spell he'd unleashed.

The Guardian lowered his weapon as he watched the Hive Thralls and Acolytes crumble to dust, while the only slightly singed, Fallen Dregs ran for their lives.

Lives which, unknowingly to them, had been prolonged, by Sora's intervention in their little turf-war with the Hive.

Sora looked around before giving a sigh and summoning his Ghost to his palm.

"So, any luck this time?" Sora asked, as his companion appeared and expanded his shell.

The Ghost took a few moments to finish his scanning, before retracting his shell and giving a digitized growl of frustration.

"No. The stupid signal jumped right as we got here, AGAIN" Chirithy said while giving a string of broken, digitized noises "I swear it's like someone's pranking us!" He continued with growing irritation.

Sora gave an irritated sigh of his own, as he dismissed his Keyblade and placed his hands on his hips. This was the fifth time the signal had jumped, right as they got close, so something was clearly messing with them. The constant attacks from The Hive and Fallen, weren't helping things ether.

Sora puffed his cheeks out in frustration as he bit back some scathing remarks. Or at least the kid friendly versions of them. Before he could voice his frustrations further though, an explosion rang out, along with the screams of Fallen.

"What now" Sora sighed, as he turned around to face whatever was coming at him this time. He froze up though and his breath caught in his throat, as he felt a familiar sensation of cold miasma flowing over him and attempting to sink into his bones.

Sora re-summoned his Keyblade and Chirithy, sensing it too, disappeared so Sora could move freely without leaving him behind.

And move he did, as he quickly ran to, and ascended a jagged cliff and perched himself on the pointed edge, as he looked back the way they came.

Sora's eye narrowed as he scanned the area for anything. His nerves buzzing in response to the more familiar Darkness he sensed drawing nearer.

BOOM!

An explosion of purple fire was the reward for Sora diligence, as he saw multiple Fallen, fleeing from the ravines and crags of the moon, while dark bolts of energy were fired after them.

"What's going on over there?" Chirithy wandered aloud.

"Trouble" Sora answered with a frown, as he leaped from his perch and ran towards the fighting.

As he got closer, he could more clearly make out the Dregs running in his direction, but unlike the others he'd fought so far, these ones weren't bearing weapons. They were running for their lives.

One was running right at him. Probably not even realizing Sora was there, if the Dreg's panicked movements and constant looking over it's shoulder was anything to go by.

The Dreg tripped over some old debris that had been covered in moon dust and Sora caught him before he hit the ground.

The Dreg jerked back in surprise and fear, but Sora held him steady.

"Whoa, calm down! What's going on?" Sora tried asking but the Dreg was too terrified to comprehend his words.

Not that it would have mattered, as Sora was too late in sensing what was quickly bounding towards them.

The next thing they knew, all three yelled and stared in horror, at the mechanical claw that had jabbed it's way through the Dreg's chest. No blood or gory hole was left though. Only a black void of Darkness, as the claw held a crystalline heart in it's grasp, before crushing it and pulling what was left of it back.

Sora jumped back as the Dreg collapsed and he saw the clockwork puppet monstrosity that had done the deed.

"What is that!" Chirithy screamed in horror at what he saw.

"Heartless!" Sora growled as he jumped at the monster, ready to dispatch it. The new breed of Heartless just contorted it's segmented body to avoid the attack, as it moved to the side.

The pirate themed Heartless brought it's swords around to strike, but Sora easily blocked it and retaliated with a swipe of his own, followed by a quickdraw from his Sunshot.

The Heartless stumbled backwards as Solar fire burned it. It's left arms falling away from it's body temporarily until it came back to it's senses. But by then Sora was already on top of it, plunging his Keyblade into it's chest and releasing the Heart trapped within.

Chirithy quickly appeared and watched the Heart fly away as the Heartless vanished.

"What the heck are these things doing here!? I Thought they only existed in that Station thingy and…why are you aiming at that dead body…" Chirithy trailed off as he noticed Sora pointing his gun at the body that was now sinking into a dark portal…

Wait…what… Chirithy thought dumbly. His eye widened though, as another Fallen Heartless, clawed it's way up into the Realm of Light.

"THAT'S HOW THEY'RE MADE!?" Chirithy yelled in horror, before being forced to hide as the new Heartless was joined by five smaller shadows, appearing around it.

Sora fired into them before they had the chance to move, before dashing in to quickly dispatch them with a wide arcing swing to the two on the right and a Solar grenade for the three on the left. He did have a little trouble with new one dodging his attacks though. It was a whole new breed of Heartless after all, but it still fell all the same, when Sora called down a thunder spell to stun it, before striking it down.

Sora then turned his attention to the three hit by his grenade, which had survived the attack and fired an ice spell at them in a shotgun pattern.

One survived by melding with the shadows, but the moment it rose back up, it found a Solar around in it's face, sending it's trapped Heart flying away with the others.

Sora took a quick moment scan the area for more Heartless before reloading his weapon and jumping up to perch on the lip of a nearby crater.

"I don't get it. We've never seen these guys before. Why are they here now?" Chirithy thought aloud as he appeared over Sora's shoulder.

Sora glanced down at his Reefborn Key for a moment "their drawn to the Light and anything that might be a threat to them, especially Keyblades. They probably followed me here…" Sora replied with a little guilt.

Chirithy hummed as he absorbed that information and while it did offer an explanation, it didn't entirely add up. After all, The Last City and all the scattered shards of the Traveler would be crawling with Heartless long ago if that were the only reason.

Chirithy was broken from his thoughts, when Sora stood up and turned in the direction of an explosion.

The two saw another Fallen, fighting off several Heartless and actually managing to keep them at bay, but not actually killing any of them.

"Why are they focusing so hard on him?" Chirithy pondered before vanishing as Sora took off after them. His weapon resting over his shoulder as he ran and spied the many Heartless between him and the large Dreg.

"He must have a strong Heart. The stronger someone's ability to fight off the Darkness, the Stronger the Heartless they become" Sora explained as he sprinted like a madman.

Chirithy might have commented on that, if not for horrifying realization of where they were headed.

They were headed straight for the entrance to the Hellmouth.