Ya'll are probably wondering where the Watcher is the whole time, aren't you? Well, here's your answer.

Enjoy.

The days had gone by in a flash, between preparing for the trip ahead, and doing some training in. The effects of Chaoseater ensures that the Horseman would not grow hungry or thirsty, due to its blessing of granting unlimited stamina to the user (if only to make sure the user can fight endlessly while under its control). Not like the Council would want their enforcers to be emaciated and become too weak to fulfill their duties.

…Speaking of…

War was certain that the two never noticed much, but the Watcher had been strangely absent the entire time. The effects of the binding seal the sprite had on him is still there, but it's nowhere in sight. He never sensed its presence, nor did it reveal itself.

As a precaution, War told Sora to never reveal himself as a Mystic to the Watcher. He isn't sure what the Watcher would do to the human, and what excuse the Council would have regarding the boy. Going through the barrier is one thing, but the Mystics were supposed to be gone from the world. He wouldn't put it past the Council to make the boy 'disappear' somehow, even if the boy had wished to return to the worlds to finish his own journey.

He was fortunate that the boy is quick to understand and agreed to keep it a secret. Though he had a spiteful look on his face at it.

Considering the two tend to argue most of the time, and the Watcher having a certain disdain for the boy, the Keyblade user took the opportunity to act spiteful towards the Watcher.

On the last day, Ulthane presented the boy with two sets of leather under armor for his arms and legs, the Maker having them made for the boy to protect him better. The boy, while grateful for the gift, tried to politely reject the offer until Ulthane firmly told the boy to put them on. His voice leaving no room for arguments.

As the Horseman adjusted his armor, and fixed up his cloak, he pulled the hood over his head, letting his eyes glow once more. He turned his head to look at the boy who made a face at the leather he's made to wear under his traveling clothes. "…I'm gonna be super warm wearing this," the boy muttered, pulling at the high collar of the shirt.

"You will be fine," War told him. "Grab your bag."

"Yessir," the boy nodded before War turned to leave. He led through the door and trudges down. He heard the door close behind him before smaller footsteps rushed to catch up to him.

The two walked in silence before entering the forge. The Maker seemed to be making one last adjustments before he nodded. "All right," the Maker announced, holding up the arm to War. "All fixed. Took a bit of work, but it should be like how it was before."

"We will see about that," War responded. He reached for his arm and carefully detached it. He heard the human make a strained, disgusted noise upon revealing the stump. He held it out for the Maker, who then attached it back to the piece. The Horseman grunted when he felt his nerves ignited, with the lights within the cracks glowing before they soon faded. Ulthane released the arm, allowing War to pull back to stare down at it. He managed to make it lift, looking over at it. He turned it palm side up to curl his fingers. He grunted, mildly impressed. The Maker did a good job repairing it. He made the skull light up, allowing him to mentally check the contents. Everything is in order and how it should be. He held up his other prosthetic to dismiss it, returning it into his pocket dimension.

"So…all good?" The boy asked the Horseman.

"Yes," the Horseman responded. "It is."

The boy smiled. "All right!" He cheered. Then noticed something. "Huh. You know, I just now noticed. I hadn't seen the Watcher in a while."

So he just noticed now? War isn't surprised though, but not in a bad way.

"Ah, right," Ulthane then spoke up, as if just remembering something. "I forgot to mention: there's a strange energy over that arm. I didn't want to fok it up any further and left it alone. It didn't seem to be harming it anyway."

The Horseman tiled his head. Energy? That is…interesting. He raised his arm to examine it again. He could make out a faint, blue chain that appeared over it. The moment he saw the chain, however, it clicked. He had seen the chain manifest before the Watcher went into it. He had thought it had fled into his arm for safety. But no, what really happened was…

War turned to the boy, holding up his hand to him. "Can you do something?" He asked the boy.

"Huh?" The boy blinked. "Uh…I dunno how I could help but…okay." The young human regarded it, humming. Finally, he just reached out. The chain materialized fully before he touched it. The moment he did, the chain 'cracked' and dissipated into energy.

The moment it happened, with the spores gone, a black and teal mist manifested before the Watcher emerged with a cry. "Huh!? What?!" It looked around frantically. "What happened? Where are we?"

The Horseman raised an eyebrow at this. So it was entirely unaware of what happened? Interesting. "At ease," he began, getting its attention. "I managed to defeat the Griever a while back, but I was forced to wait for about two weeks when Uriel damaged my arm."

"Wait, what?" he heard the boy squawk but ignored it.

The Watcher narrowed its six eyes at him. "You didn't go off on your own back to Samael?"

He noticed the Maker having a surprised look, but War didn't react. He would find out sooner or later anyway. The Horseman crossed his arms. "You and I both know that I need to deliver something to Samael. It's unwise to try to break a deal with him. You know this." He pointed out.

The Watcher made a grimace at that. After a moment, it grunted. "So long as we got what we need, fine," it conceded.

The Horseman nodded. Now for the other part. "Also…" he gestured to the human. "From this day forth, the human will be accompanying us for the remainer of our mission."

The Watcher did a double take. "What?! You cannot be serious!" The Horseman didn't answer, merely narrowing his eyes. The Watcher growled. "What is the meaning of this? What reason do you have of bringing that bag of meat," it points at the boy, who frowned in annoyance, "with us?!"

"Oi," Ulthane interjected. "The boy's goal happens to align with you lot. He needs to head to the tower to get home."

The Watcher turned to face him. "Oh, is that right?" it said, sarcastic. It turned to get up close to the boy's face. "You must be delusional to think that you could even get into the tower! Or even make it!" It mocked.

The boy made a face, before placed his hands onto his hips. "Well…" he drawled out, having a cheeky smile. "I managed to survive this long and got this far. I think I can handle what we'll face. And besides, you can finally get me to leave the world, you know? Aren't you happy to get rid of me soon?"

The Watcher was surprised before it let out a low growl. It backed away, pointing a finger at his face. "Don't get cocky just because you have a new bodyguard."

The smile was wiped from the boy's face, who had an affronted look. "Bodyguard? I don't need one!"

War had a bored expression as they argued yet again. Ulthane sidled up to him. "This what you had to deal with?" The Maker asked him lowly. The Horseman sighed. (A part of him is starting to regret his decision. Regrettably, he can't take it back now.)

The Horseman cleared his throat, making the two notice and the boy stood at attention. "If you two are done, we best be going."

"Yes sir!" The boy nodded.

The Watcher looked between the two. "What happened between you two?" It asked, suspicious.

"Nothing you don't need to concern yourself with," War responded. "The boy will pull his weight."

The boy turned to the Maker. "Well, I'll see you later, Ulthane."

"Ah, take care lad. Try not to get yourself killed."

The boy hummed. "…I'll try," he answered honestly.

The Horseman heard the Watcher groan to itself before it retreated into his arm. To think the boy had made it mentally exhausted. But at least their argument had ceased for now. As he turned, he leveled the Maker with a look before the two soon heads towards the exit.

Using the Treamer Gauntlet, the Horseman opened the doors, letting the boy slip through before he followed after, the doors slamming shut behind him. The boy grunted as he stretched a little. "Okay! Let's go."

They made a few paces forward until War stopped. His eyes narrowed a little.

(Perhaps, this is the perfect opportunity.)

He raised his head. "Boy," he called out, with the human looking back at him. "I believe there is something Ulthane wants to give me. Go on ahead, I'll met up with you at the Serpent Hole."

The boy blinked. "Uh…okay? What does he have?"

"I am not sure," he fibbed, "you know where to find it, do you not?"

The boy hummed, thinking. "That's the disc thing on the ground with the, uh, trinkets that hang around it, right?"

"Dias, but yes," The Horseman nodded.

"Oh, okay."

"I'll join up with you soon," the Horseman says.

"Well, okay then. See you soon," the boy says before he turned to head into the pipe.

Once he's certain the boy is gone, the Horseman turned towards the abode. He narrowed his eyes before heading off.

…He has a hammer to find.

~o~

Sora looked up to the trinkets hanging over him. He looked to the direction they seem to indicate. He gulped. As much as he trusted the Horseman, he's somewhat nervous to be around the likes of Vulgrim. The demon may had helped the two leave the Cathedral to get back into the city, but he had grown wary of a lot of demons to not fully trust them. While there's Dis, who is more pleasant, Vulgrim gave him the creeps. Especially with his first meeting with the demon merchant weeks ago. The demon had no business examining him when they met.

…Unless…hm.

The boy let out a sigh. He will have to bite the bullet and ask Vulgrim personally.

Cautiously, he approached the dias, looking around. "Hello?" He called out. "Um. Vulgrim? Are you here?"

It didn't seem like anyone is around. Though, he felt the chills up his spine. He isn't alone. Sora slowly backed himself to the wall, nearly pressing his back so that he wouldn't be ambushed that way. Openings cannot be trusted, and it's a death sentence to turn your back on the enemy. He carefully looked around the small cave, not sure what he was looking for really. Cautiously, he tried to peer out of the cave, for any demons.

After a moment, he heard a strange noise – that sounds like something gasping – followed by: "Well, if it isn't the young human."

Sora's skin crawled at the voice. Oh, he did NOT like the voice.

The boy slowly turned to see the demon floating over the dias. As gruesome as he remembers. Eyeing the cave opening, Sora moved to the side.

"Now what brings you here, child?" Vulgrim asked him, drumming his spindly fingers together. "You're rather resourceful for a human."

Sora tensed a little before exhaling. He's dealt with a lot of demons. He could do this. "Yeah," he hates how his voice cracks, clearing his throat. "Just…surviving." He looked to the merchant demon. Well, he's right here. May as well just…ask him. "Vulgrim, I gotta ask…" he began, but what he was about to say was cut off when purple flames appeared, with the two noticing, and emerging is Dis.

"All right got what we need for his request," Dis says to Vulgrim. For some reason, she has some webs on her. "Now we just gotta make the stuff."

"Ah, excellent," Vulgrim nodded, pleased. He soon gestured to the boy. "We have a guest."

Dis soon turned her head to the human. "Oh?" She stared for a moment before her expression brightened. "OH! It's you!"

Sora was just as surprised, but he smiled. "Dis! It's been a while!"

"It's been weeks," Dis responded. "Hadn't seen you in a while; how have you been?"

"Pretty good," Sora nodded. "Managed to get out safely."

"Yeah, I can see that," Dis nodded.

"I see that you two are acquainted," Vulgrim mused. "Good, that saves the introductions."

Sora nodded a little before he recalled something. "Oh, right. Vulgrim, I got a question. Uh…did you know what I am when we first met?" He looked around a little, peered out of the cave, and turned back to them. "…Me being a Mystic?" He asked lowly.

"But of course," Vulgrim nodded. "Not many could notice a little…" he drummed his fingers together, "something. Some beings are able to tell via sensing something about their soul." The demon floated about. "Very rare that ability. Every species has a unique aroma. Humans and Mystics," he got too close to Sora, making him lean back, tensing, "have very distinct scents."

Sora backed up a little. "Is…is that so?"

"But of course," Vulgrim confirmed. "I did not say anything out of respect. And if I am able to know, it's likely Samael also knows of your existence, as well as what you are."

Sora made a grimace. 'Wonderful,' he thought. That's just…great. So there's no possible way to 'hide' from the Second Prince.

"Right, we got that, and not all of us could tell," Dis says, waving it off. "But I gotta ask, what are you doing getting close to the Serpent Hole?"

The boy perked. "Oh! Well. I'm traveling with War now to get to the Black Tower."

The two demons stared at him in surprise. Dis let out a nervous laugh before asking, "You serious?"

"Yeah," the boy answered simply.

The two had befuddled looks. "Uh…are you, like…sure sure?" Dis asked him. "I mean…you're a human. The tower's got demons crawling in there, those loyal to the Destroyer!"

"I know," Sora responded. "But I'm heading there anyway. My ticket off this world lies in there. I hope you understand."

Vulgrim grunts. "You are rather brave. Perhaps foolishly so," he said, choosing his words carefully. "Though the path to the tower will be rather…dangerous."

"I'm aware," Sora nodded. "Well aware. But I'm going regardless."

Dis had her lower arms on her face, pulling her eyelids a little as she groaned. "Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?" she questioned.

Vulgrim leveled Sora with a gaze. "Regardless, we see you as an ally for being with the Horseman. But do not expect us to give you special treatment."

Sora noted it and gave a brief huffy look. "Guess that's fair…" he muttered, conceding. They are merchants at the end of the day. They need to make profit.

"Speaking of business," Dis suddenly spoke up, "how are things with that relic?"

Sora blinked, not knowing what she meant at first before his eyes widened a little as he understood. "Oh this?" He held up his right arm, showing the gauntlet. "Pretty great, actually! I turns out, I just need to use my thoughts to remove it."

"Ooooh…!" Vulgrim let out upon seeing it. "So this is a relic of the Mystics! I never thought to see it with my own eyes!"

Sora gave the demon the side eye before he lowered his arm to hold it behind him. He took a couple of steps away from the ghastly merchant.

Vulgrim didn't seem offended, shrugging it off. "Fair."

Sora returned his attention to Dis. "Anyways, I managed to copy a few weapons and learned to use them." He held up his right arm, and, after concentrating a bit, made a spear materialize from the blue magic energy. He twirled it around expertly before stamping the butt of the spear onto the ground. He made an expectant grunt, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Oh, how about that?" Dis mused, looking over at it. "You certainly got busy."

The boy deflated a little, but not too upset. He thought it was neat he could do this. With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed the energy. He hummed, looking at the gauntlet. "…Say, do you think there's more this thing could do?"

"So you want to see if there's anything more?" Dis asked him, intrigued.

"Yeah," nodded Sora.

The female demon beamed, clasping her hands. "Oh, kiddo, you have NO idea how pleased I am to hear that!"

Sora made a bit of a nervous chuckle. He sobered up, looking around. "Um…do we have enough room for this though?"

"That's okay, we can use my 'lab' within the Serpent Holes," Dis assured him.

The boy looked at her in surprise. "Really?" he asked for a moment.

"I mean, sure, it's mainly used for traversals, but we found a little 'nook' of sorts no one else could find that we use for our…well, private things," Dis assured him.

Vulgrim leveled Dis with an unamused look. "Dis. Do not reveal ALL of our secrets to someone new. At the moment, the only ones who knew of it are Samael, and two of the Four Horsemen."

"Well, my lab has the things we need," Dis points out to him. "We'll be done by the time the Horseman joins us."

"Is it really fine, though?" Sora inquired.

"Sure it is!" Dis assured him. She floated behind the boy and gently nudged him towards the dias. "All right, let's go!"

Sora let out a startled sound, as a vortex materialized on it. "H-Hey!" He yelped out before he was pushed in.

And emerged on the other side, staggering a little. He balanced on one foot, rolling his arms to avoid falling over and leaned back, standing on his feet. He did a full body shudder. "Don't like that…" he muttered. Now he remembers why he doesn't like going through it. He stood up straight with a grunt…and his eyes went wide in wonder at what lies before him.

He knew it's the realm where the pathways through the Serpent Holes lay…but now that he isn't just going through it, he fully took it all in. Everything around him is mist, with a turquoise-colored light in the void. In the distance, he could see floating islands. He could have sworn that one of them is a mountain far off. The boy looked to the edge of the island he's on before walking over. He got close to it, going on his knees to peer over the edge safely.

All he could see is…nothing.

A gaping abyss that extends so down, that the ambient light turns to darkness.

Sora looked around a little, before picking up a rock nearby. Dangling it over the edge, he releases it. He watched as it fell to the abyss until he couldn't see it anymore.

Oh yeah. It is…most certainly deep. And bottomless.

"Done marveling the bottomless pit?" Sora jumped when he heard Dis's rhetorical question, looking up to her as she floated next to him.

The boy quickly stood up. "Yeah, I'm done!"

"Hey, relax kid," Dis says to him. "I'm not mad. Just amused at how humans seem to marvel at a lot of stuff. But…what's the phrase? Curiosity kills the cat?"

Sora scratched his cheek. "Right…" He doesn't think he'll ever unsee the movie Yuffie showed him one time about parasitic aliens that implants babies into people, and they burst from the chest…

"Anyway, come along this way," Dis gestured to the boy to follow before she floated towards a direction. "Just mind your step."

The boy followed behind the female demon as they headed towards the stairs attached to the slab of land. He paused a bit to look around. It looked to be in the remains of a building of sorts, with broken walls and such. A part of him wondered if it was inhabited once. After a quick glance around, he resumed following Dis. He lowered his head to watch the stairs, not just out of instinct but…why did Dis say to watch his step? He soon found his answer when he bit back a gasp, managing to catch himself on the wall as his foot found nothing on the next step. Looking down, his eyes went wide upon seeing a gap before him. He let out a soft 'oh', staring in shock before he shook his head. He looked around a little before he found Dis a little further to his right. Fortunately, there's a small, floating platform between it and the path Dis went to. Nodding to himself, he took a couple of steps back…before he took off into a run. When he reached the edge, he jumped. Curling his legs in, he landed on the platform easily, and soon jumped again to get to the other side. He braced himself but still felt the jar. He slowly stood up and waited for the shock to pass before he soon hurried down the stairs.

Once he got there, he looked around a little. It's another 'room' of sorts with torches and other various light sources. In the middle of the room is a stone carving that seems to resemble Dis but not fully. He heard bubbling from a nearby cauldron, with it near a shelf lined with miscellaneous items. From books, vials, beakers, bottles, and the like.

The boy looked around a little curiously. It almost reminded him a little of Merlin's house in Radiant Garden, minus the computer. It almost felt like the world he was just on before crash landing on this one, but the Void doesn't have a warmth to it like some worlds did (like Twilight Town and his own homeworld).

Plus, he could have sworn he heard something…massive, moaning in the distance. The moan echoing towards here.

Sora is almost tempted to ask, but…decided not to.

After a curious look around, he quickly approached Dis, who was going around, getting things ready. He was able to recognize the pattern and placements of the items from last time. So he knew what was coming at least.

"So, this is your 'main' shop?" Sora asked Dis as she busied herself.

The demoness grunted a little. "Something like that," she answered. "But it's sort of our 'homebase' of sorts. We kept this around for a good while. A good place to make plans on what to sell and whatnot."

"Really?" Sora asked, tilting his head. She made a noise of confirmation to it. The boy placed his hands on his hips, looking up with a hum. A memory popped into his mind, and he felt curious about it. "So…you said before that you knew War back then, right?"

"Yeah, I did," Dis answered nonchalantly.

"Uh…did you hear about…what happened back then?" Sora asked her. "When the Pact – and I guess, stalemate between Heaven and Hell – was forged back then?"

Dis slowed to a stop at what she was doing after the boy finished his question. She glanced to him before sighing. "Well, not much," she said. "But…I heard that it was…grizzly. What had to be done. None of us saw it coming, really. But kid? At least take this from me: try not to make everyone's problem your own or get involved in such problems."

"But why?" the boy questioned.

"Well, I heard humans have empathy and all, but you really shouldn't for your own health – mental and otherwise," Dis advised him. "It isn't your problem. And knowing as little as possible among your clients makes you live longer."

Sora was about to protest but he stopped himself. And thought about it. He remembered that all merchants are just…different. Some do care about the satisfaction of their customers, and there are those that just wanted profits. In the case of demons like Vulgrim and Dis, they can't afford to know their clients. If they know too much, it would be off with their heads. And Dis had mentioned that demons tend to backstab each other for power. So the two cannot afford to get as involved as they did or play their cards right in order to survive longer.

But humans were no different. They could essentially do the same, if not worse, than demons. He had never met any person that is like the worst kind of demons, at least not yet, but he's certain he will meet someone like that one day.

Even so, he still wanted to help those he met. It may be due to his bleeding heart, but he couldn't just turn away from someone in need. Helping a Horseman would also help him, since they're both after the tower.

…Perhaps he shouldn't overthink this.

Sora just nodded to Dis. "So, uh, the same as before?" He asked her to change the subject. "The ritual?"

"Oh you bet your spikey hair," Dis responded. "Now, just get into the circle."

~o~

As he dragged the massive hammer behind him, he heard the Maker working away on something on his anvil. Perfect. Hefting the hammer over his shoulder, he soon managed to launch it forward. It smashed through the door, shattering it. It didn't graze the Maker, but it did catch his notice, before it smashed into the wall around his forge. Stalking through the collapsing wooden door, he saw the Maker visibly sigh. Almost as if he was expecting it, what's coming up. "You know, you could have knocked," Ulthane says to him, as pieces of the door finally fell onto the ground. "Though I suppose that isn't your way, is it?"

"Why are you here?" The Horseman questioned, getting to the point.

"Strange question, seein' how you're the one broke into MY house," Ulthane responded. He tried to return to working on something, but the Horseman isn't going to let him change the subject.

"You weren't always the 'Black Hammer'," War points out. "You huddle in exile – a hermit among tombstones." He does not know of the Maker's history, nor does he care. What the Maker's business is, is none of his concern. What IS his concern is what he addressed in his next question, "Why? What role did you play in this, Ulthane?"

War carefully watched the Maker's body language. Seeing his body sagging a little. "You know, what you're doin' is dirty. Making sure the lad's not around to see this, eh?"

The Horseman narrowed his eyes at the Maker's deflection. (And what did it matter if the boy is around or not? Knowing the young human, he would end up trying to make sure the two aren't fighting.)

"Ah, that reminds me," Ulthane spoke up, before he picks up the item from the anvil. It was almost small in the Maker's hand, but as the Horseman's eyes followed it, his eyebrows raised (very little) at the sight. "I've got something for you. A fair bit o' work, but…" the Maker held up a rather familiar, pure white revolver gun, "it's a bit dainty for me. It'll serve you better." The Maker tosses it towards the Horseman.

War caught the pistol when it turned just right for him to hold it properly and points the muzzle at the Maker. Ulthane didn't seem too surprised at having a gun pointed at him.

"You didn't answer my question, 'Old One'," the Horseman nearly growled.

"Maybe I like the scenery," Ulthane answered, "What's it to you? You asked for my help, and I gave it." He crouched, narrowing his eyes (not flinching even as War unwaveringly kept his aim at the Maker's head), "You go on bein' ungrateful, and I'm liable to get upset."

There is a standoff between the two. A clash of wills. One wanting answers and the other unwilling to talk.

War lightly pulled at the trigger. The barrel moved to another slot with the hammer clicking.

Ulthane pressed his face up against the muzzle, square between his eyes. "Do I look like I'm afraid o' death boy?" Asked Ulthane, calling out the Horseman's bluff.

And…after merely a second, War pushed the gun away from the Maker with the smallest of sighs. He knew he couldn't get answers out of the Maker that easily. As much as he wanted to kill him, something tells him that he would still need the Old One's help in the future.

But he will get to the bottom of this, one way or the other.

The Horseman turned to exit Ulthane's abode. Yet he looked over his shoulder to stare into the Maker's eyes. "It's not 'death' you should fear." With that line, the Red Rider left the abode proper.

The Red Rider pulled himself out of his memory of merely a few minutes ago, gazing down at the white gun. Having seen it a number of times, especially on a few missions with him, he recognized it as one of Strife's guns. Mercy and Redemption were an odd pair of guns his brother has. Differently shaped, and in different colors, one black and one white. One sleeker and looked more like a pistol and the other.

War never understood why Strife gave those names to the two guns. Both names were…ironic? Oxymoron? Yet, knowing what little history he knew of his brother's background, Strife had a reason for naming them the way he did.

Yet a part of him couldn't help but be exasperated, because the White Rider often has a terrible habit of losing his guns. It was usually Vulgrim who finds them, and he had to buy them back. On the other hand…

War checked over the gun. "What exactly happened to you, brother?" He muttered to himself.

Even if Strife has a bad habit of losing his guns, it wasn't always on purpose. It just happened. Though, the two guns are meant to be together. Why is Mercy in the hands of Ulthane? Where is Redemption?

"He helped us out, by posin' as a human," the Maker's words rang through his head. "He helped hold back the Demon horde, led by the Destroyer himself, to let Fury and the humans escape. He's probably out there somewhere."

Right…Ulthane himself said that Strife was helping them save as much humans as they could. Out of all of them, Strife is the best at glamour magic, making him perfect to sneak in through ranks relatively easily. His demonic parent are of the trickster variant, and often…mischievous. So it would make sense that Strife would use the magic to pose as a human. The only ones who could tell it's the Horseman right away are those who are able to perceive illusions, and those are rare enough already. Not all demons practice that magic, except for the VERY clever ones, and neither Horseman have that ability. No one could even tell it's Strife unless he's attacked.

(Strife worked as an assassin for another unit, slipping into other places to eliminate potential threats to them. Strife's very last mission involved killing an innocent mother, with her daughter witnessing it. He abandoned the dagger he used for that mission, and abandoned the unit, hoping to forget his past. Changed his name and everything, hiding his face behind a mask.

All of this he told him after what happened back then. And all he shared with his brother is the importance of the world he picked is to him, and why he slaughtered-)

(No, stop thinking about it.)

The Red Rider took a small moment to collect himself. He knows Strife can handle himself. Even if he doesn't have his guns on him, Strife has his sabers. He's resourceful. Perhaps at this moment, he's going around, having glamour magic up and causing trouble somewhere. But he didn't want to delude himself. He has to see with his own eyes that Strife is okay.

For now, he'll hold onto Mercy and make use of it. It'll be useful for the future.

And he is thankful that he took the time to learn how to use Strife's gun back then. They won't run out of ammo any time soon, but it'll be different if he comes across ammo for elemental shots.

Twirling the gun, he attached it onto his cummerbund, proceeding forward towards the Serpent Hole he spotted on his way to the Anvil's Ford.

When he arrived at the mouth of the cave, he heard someone emerging from the Serpent Hole. He stopped a few paces to peer in. He saw the boy with the two demons, with the boy stretching his limbs.

"Ah, so you've returned," Vulgrim said to the two.

"Yup," the boy chirped. He held up his right arm. "I can store a weapon in this now. A just in case kind of thing, really."

"Which is a little weird, considering you can make copies of the weapons you held," Dis remarked.

The boy hummed, thinking. "Yeah, that is true," the boy agreed. "But maybe I could…" he shrugged. "Surprise them?"

"Okay, how?" Dis challenged in a playful voice.

"Uh…" the boy let out.

The Horseman rolled his eyes before he entered fully. The boy is the first to notice him. "Oh, there you are!" He greeted, getting the other two's attention.

"Ah, welcome back, Horseman," Vulgrim greeted in a curt tone. "I must say, you've given the Griever something to cry about. Well done."

"Cease your flattery," War told him flatly. "You did not trouble my traveling companion, did you?"

"Not really," the boy spoke up. "Dis helped me out in upgrading this a bit more." He held up his right arm. "Not sure if it's useful or not," he added, sounding a little uncertain.

War grunted. "Horseman, you wound me," Vulgrim placed a clawed hand on his chest. "I would never endanger your new…" his eyes shifted to the boy, "companion."

At least the demon is smart enough to not endanger the human. …And smart enough to not say a thing, he thought, thinking back to Dis' mannerisms regarding certain topics.

Best not try to interrogate them himself for now.

"Then let us cut to the chase," War began, "we require a path to Samael's prison."

"To the Scalding Gallows, hm?" Vulgrim nodded. "Very well. I shall make a path." He turned to the dias. Speaking in something under his breath in Enochian, he made a glyph manifest before a 'hole' formed. "It is complete."

The boy peered in. "Aw cool," he says. "Thanks!"

War nodded curtly to the demon before the two entered through the hole. And soon returned into the Void.

The boy looked around, curious. "Huh. The path is different this time," he remarked.

"Vulgrim stated that the Void constantly changes," War explained. "The paths are never the same."

The boy looked to him, crossing his arms. "Huh. I guess that made sense." He nodded. "All right, let's get going!"

The two traversed the Void in silence, the pathways forming before them as they headed to the other end. The boy isn't looking around curiously as he did last time. Perhaps it was because Dis had taken him elsewhere in the Void herself. So his curiosity is sated, so that's good.

But once they approached the other exit, the Red Rider frowned.

Samael had waited two weeks. Although he considered having the boy stay put around the area, he had to rethink it. It's very likely the Second Prince knew of the boy's existence. And knew of what he is. Samael and the Deceiver have near omnipotent abilities to 'observe' what they wished to observe. He didn't know if Lucifer would ever attempt something with the boy. Even if he would keep the boy in his sights, perhaps it was for the best that the boy traveled with him after all. The Maker would likely perish if the boy stayed with him. The Demon Sovereign is already powerful enough, but he would use the boy to entice any demon to attack him to attain power, drawing all attention away from him.

The Deceiver is cunning, that much he could bitterly admit. Even if he kept his guard up…

The Horseman sighed silently to himself. He can't worry about it. But he has to inform the boy of the situation. "Wait," he called out. The boy turned his head to him, humming inquisitively. "When you first arrived at the gallows, did you see a platform suspended by chains?"

The boy blinked. He tilted his head, a finger under his chin in thought. He nodded. "Yeah. I think so. It felt…ominous."

All right, good. Makes it easier. "That is Samael's prison. Where we need to go."

The boy's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?" He asked. "But…why is he imprisoned?"

The Horseman has his guesses, but… "I would imagine some changes had happened during the one hundred years I was out of commission," War speculated. "Changes to Hell's societal structure. Samael is...WAS one of the masters of Hell. Though there are not a lot of rivals, there are other demons with ambitions to become powerful. And would try to overthrow others for said power. I've seen it myself a few times."

"Huh," the boy let out.

"I would not put it past Samael to try to regain his power once he has the chance," War said honestly. "But to the main topic. It is likely that Samael already know of your existence. And I am not certain of what will happen if you two were to meet."

The boy flattened his lips. He sighed. "Vulgrim said the same thing…" he muttered. "So…what am I supposed to do?"

The Horseman considered it. "…For now, wait by the entrance to the prison," he suggested after a moment. "I will deal with Samael for now."

The boy's eyes shifted, grunting. After a moment, he nodded. "Okay."

The darkness of his hood hid his frown. The boy really shouldn't trust him.

(No one gets hurt this way.)

War gestured to the portal, allowing the boy to go first before he followed after.

Arriving at the Scalding Gallows, he allowed the boy a moment to compose himself before he soon lead the way. His eyes shifted around a little. No sign of any demons – lesser ones at least, merely roaming around. He had half-expected there to be new ones that would arrive around the area. Either someone thought there was no need, or some other reason, he is not sure.

Soon enough, the duo arrived at the entrance to the platform. He glanced at the human, giving him the silent command to 'stay' before the Horseman walked across the bridge.

Sure enough, sitting at a perch is the Second Prince, patiently waiting. The Demon gave a slight smirk at the Horseman. "I was certain you had died a while ago," the demon said, in a slightly joking tone. "Glad that you are still alive."

The Horseman wasn't going to indulge the Second Prince's attempt to joke. He held up his left arm and materialized the heart. "It's done," he stated, as the Watcher emerged from his fake arm.

The smirk didn't fall from the demon's lips. Instead, he seemed rather pleased. The demon takes the heart from the Horseman. The Red Rider watched as the demon tore into the heart, devouring the power within. After he did, Samael suddenly asked, "Did you enjoy yourself? War and the Black Hammer, 'plucking pigeons'."

"You see a great many things from inside a prison, Samael," noted War.

"There's little you can keep from me Horseman," Samael answered, having the heart 'burn' away with his power, "once I have a mind to know it." He twists the hand upwards. "Speaking of." He snapped his claws.

A portal manifested, and tumbling out with a yelp, rolling onto his back, is the young Outsider.

Well, that's to be expected.

~o~

Sora groaned, pushing himself up, rubbing his head. He was leaning up against the wall of the prison outside one moment, and then he suddenly fell over. He was trying to figure out what happened until he heard:

"You've yet to introduce to me to your new 'friend'." The boy froze as he heard it. It was deep, guttural and it did not sound…human. Slowly, he turned his head to the source.

Towering over War himself is a massive demon. The skin is a deep red-orange color with a lighter orange in the middle, with a couple of markings on the left side. The left side is mostly armor covered with what seems like metal inserted into the upper left half of the body, with a pauldron, and some armor on the arm, alongside the right arm. The demon also has a 'cloak' and armor on the right hip, exposing the left leg to show a black hide-like armor. The cloth is long and black, flowing behind him, yet they did not cover the demon's feet, revealing claws. The demon has pronged horns going upwards, with spikes acting like sideburns and a beard. On his back are upside down leather wings. The demon's eyes are yellow with red sclera, but they seem to glow as well.

As if entirely on instinct, the boy's body moved up and away, in a defensive position.

Yet it seems it only amused the demon, who chuckled. "You were trained well, boy," the demon remarked.

Sora kept his distance, his eyes shifting between the demon and Horseman. If this is Samael's prison, then… "You must be Samael, aren't you?"

"And you are the Outsider that landed here a month ago," the demon responded. "I had noticed your arrival; accidental it may be."

Sora had a flat expression. "Gee, great," he says, sidling to be near the Horseman (frankly, the safest being to be near). "That's…wonderful."

Samael only seemed more amused at him. "You had mentioned earlier that you can 'see' things if you want to know it, do you not?" War then spoke up. "Then what can you tell me about Uriel?"

The boy noted it, his eyes glancing at the Horseman while the demon chuckled. "Oh, I thought the Horsemen were above such," he clasped his hands, "earthly pursuits."

"She believes I killed Abaddon," War elaborated, with Sora noticing it.

He thought back to what he had 'seen' when he first touched Uriel's hand. Seeing her memory. And soon thought back to the animosity he felt between the two. 'Was that why?' He asked himself. She thought War was responsible for her leader's death. But…it wasn't his fault, was it?

Sora pulled himself from his thoughts to hear Samael say, "The Hellguard worshiped their fallen lord and leader. And Uriel," he gave a bit of a snort, "some might say her admiration was less than professional. She will stop at nothing to punish the one responsible."

"I fought the demon who killed Abaddon," War says, before adding with a bit of venom in his voice, "And he will be punished."

Sora thought back to the massive demon that emerged from the lava and crushed the angel on its hand. Though from how the Horseman said that sentence (and of how he had clenched his left hand slightly)…something told Sora that it's…personal. "You do?" Sora asked him.

"You are referring to Straga," Samael stated to the Horseman. "Straga is the strongest of the Chosen. No doubt you'll face him again – he draws power from the spire and won't stand to be away from it for long. With all that I have taught you, you might even survive the reunion." The demon rolled his hand. "Speaking of…"

The demon suddenly held out his hand to the Watcher, who could only cry out as he was taken into a sphere, which shrunk. Sora couldn't stop the yelp of surprise at that.

"It's still alive," Samael informed them. "But it would not see nor hear what happens beyond it."

Sora blinked at the demon. Why would he do such a thing? (Even though a part of him didn't like the Watcher.)

It was War who spoke up, but it was not a question that passed his lips: "You once said that you had noticed his arrival. You also knew 'what' he is." After a moment, the Horseman adds, "A descendant of one, that is."

Samael smirked. "The boy IS one…but one needs a connection to even BE here. He wouldn't even pass through without that connection."

Sora tilted his head. What…does he mean by that?

Yet the Demon said nothing more, which had the Horseman let out an annoyed grunt.

"But you should know this," Samael then said, serious. "It would be a matter of time before the sprite figures out what the boy is." Sprite? Sora mentally parroted, "It will use what methods it has to curry the Council's favor. Even if the boy wishes to return home."

Sora looked between the two. "…You…made it sound like it's going to figure out a way to kill me."

(Behind him, the Horseman's fist slowly tightens.)

"The Watchers were created by the Council to act as their eyes and ears," Samael explained to him. "Little spies to keep an eye on who they wish to keep an eye on. But their information is rather…limited. Some wish to gain their freedom." He leans in towards the human, who backed away. "Through ANY means." The demon chuckled.

"I…don't like the sound of that," Sora managed, making a grimace.

"Is that all?" The Horseman, after a moment, questioned as if through gritted teeth.

"Not yet. I have a little something to teach," Samael says. "I am sure it will prove rather useful."

With a beat of his inverted wings, a dark aura is cast around them. Sora braced himself as he felt it push against him…but when he lowered his arms, the area had darkened considerably. Almost pitch black, with the only thing he could see is the platform. A startled, wordless gasp escaped his lips as the boy looked around.

"I can sense it, boy," he heard Samael's voice. The boy looked around. "Even if it is small, there is a darkness. And it grows ever stronger with the rage you felt, and a strong desire to live. That rage is wasted, being suppressed." He felt as if someone walked past him, but he couldn't see them. "But it can be used and channeled into something useful."

Sora looked around nervously. "What are you talking about?" he asked, wary.

He soon felt a clawed hand on his shoulder. Yet he couldn't move his head. "Think boy. Who is your more directed target of rage?" The demon sounds as if he is over his head. "Who was it that made you vengeful towards? Someone that is keeping you away?"

The boy stood in place, the words sinking in.

(Someone he is angry towards…someone that is keeping him away from…home.)

Unbidden, one person came directly to mind.

(The one who started it all, the one who had been the cause behind the scenes…)

Before his eyes, a familiar man appeared suddenly. Long silver hair, a black leather coat.

"What do you wish to do to them?" The demon's words slithered in. "Is this person not the reason you are not where you are meant to be?"

Staring long and hard at the man, he felt a familiar sensation. A burning in his chest. Memories and thoughts of the man, who he was once part of, flashed through his mind. He didn't notice that his own eyes began to narrow. His hands are clenched tightly.

"Beating him alone, would not make the rage go away," the demon adds. "You can, however, stop his movements for a time." He heard a curl of leather. "Think of rending thorns, holding him in place. Manifest the thorns, use them to bind them in place." The boy's eyes widened a little as the man started to move. "Make it so, with a flick of a wrist!"

He felt his teeth grinding as he clenched them. Bind? Sounds good. In fact, it sounds REALLY good!

The boy didn't think twice, channeling the energy into his right hand. Like some of his other magic, and admittedly he did it in a flourish, he held out his right hand at this target. To his surprise, there was a burst of what appears to be thorns and thorn stalks erupting from a well of energy under the man, digging into his skin. A guttural groan of pain came from the man. It didn't sound…human.

At once, the hand was lifted from his shoulder and the area brightened. The man blurred and morphed into a demon, that's now struggling to get out of its binds.

Sora staggered back in shock, almost not hearing Samael chuckling. "A natural talent," he mused.

The boy stared at what he had done in shock, before looking at his hand in horror.

He wasn't too out of it to be able to hear the Horseman demanding, "What did you do, Samael?"

"I merely taught him how to copy the most basic of demonic spells," answered Samael. "I am certain that the Demonic Thorns will serve you both well, into the future."

The boy flattened his lips. Would it? He asked himself. He…didn't want to think that.

He felt sick and wrong, though. How easily he listened to the demon to do this.

(Is he…really THIS weak-willed? To fall for a demon's words?)

Shuddering, he looked to the caught demon, before he used his magic to grab it and hurl it out of the platform. He turned to the two. "Okay, can we PLEASE move on?" He asked. "Where exactly is the third Chosen?"

If the two noticed the boy's desire to change the topic, they didn't react nor say a word about it, with Samael snorting. "Very well." He snapped his fingers, before the Watcher is freed from its prison.

The Watcher shook its head before casting a glare at Samael. "I swear if we did not have a partnership, I will…!"

"You will what, sprite?" Samael mocked it. "The Horseman needs a way into the spire, does he not?"

Sora walked over to the Horseman's side, gazing downward as he rubbed his arm. He felt the Horseman eyeing him for a moment before the feeling went away. "Speak, demon."

Samael's tone became serious as he said, "To the North is the beast known as the Stygian. The Stygian is King of the ancient worms that now plague the Ashlands." Sora raised his gaze, as the demon then adds, "It won't be easy. The worms grow well in such fertile ground."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Fertile?" War parroted.

"Uh…how, fertile, exactly?" Sora then asked.

"Fertile with death," Samael answered. "Decay."

Sora grimaced. "Right… 'ashlands'…" he muttered.

"Yes. All the land is covered in it. The ashes of the dead. But you may be in luck, Horseman. It seems that some fool demons have taken to capturing the worms for sport." Sora tilted his head, "And they hunt…other creatures as well. The strongest are made to fight in cruel arenas. The demons seek to tame the Stygian. Not knowing that within the monster, there beats a black Heart of the Chosen."

"How do the demons avoid the Ashworms?" War then questioned.

Sora looked up to him. "You made it sound as if they're fast or something."

"They are," War responded. "The bigger the size, the faster they are, to the point where even the smallest of demons could not avoid to run from them."

The boy looked perturbed, before trying to imagine the scenario. He usually sees regular worms being…kind of slow. But he had to remind himself that these are NOT ordinary worms. And oddly enough, it reminded him of one other movie he saw regarding something like that, but are receptive to sound…

"As for how they had managed to avoid them," Samael then spoke up, "Horseman, do you know of the Chronospheres?"

Sora blinked at that. 'Chronosphere'? He didn't have to ask this time, paying attention as the Horseman answered:

"A gift of The Old Ones. It is said that to master the Chronosphere is to master time itself. One could stop time, or even move it – forward and back."

"Really?" Sora asked, amazed. "So the demons have something like that?"

"Indeed, you are right, Horseman," Samael answered. "But no, human. None of the old masters exist, but the demons have learned to use them, to a lesser degree…" Samael soon gathered blue energy into his right hand. "I can grant you a basic understanding of the Chronospheres, Horseman." The Horseman, without question, accepts it into his left hand. The energies swirl around his hand. "It won't be much – perhaps just enough to avoid the worms."

"Perhaps?" The Horseman questioned in suspicion.

"Perhaps not," the demon added. "What in this life is certain, Horseman…?" The demon hedged closer, adding "Other than our word, of course?"

War let out a low growl, before he clenched his left hand, dismissing the power. "Fine." The Horseman then turned on his heel, heading to the exit.

Sora was gladly quick to follow the Horseman to get away from the demon. "Try not to be away for too long," he heard the demon say, directed more at the Horseman.

Said Horseman didn't respond. Sora willed himself to not look back to look at the Second Prince. He wanted to get away from the place as soon as possible.

Feeling an odd chill, Sora rubbed his arms.

Once they're off the platform and on asphalt, Sora felt like he could breathe easily. "Okay. So…north, right?" he asked. "There's where we gotta go next? You been there?"

"No," the Horseman answered bluntly.

"Right," Sora nodded. "Dumb question. Guess we'll start walking." He soon half jogged away to head to the most likely area to lead to their destination. After all, if there was a growth that lead to where Ulthane lived…

Sure enough, he found the blue crystal formation. He raps his knuckle against it to test its hardness. Sora gave a look around before he tried to smash it with his magic construct. Yet not a crack. Sora grunted, dismissing the magic. "Guess that's still not enough," he muttered, scratching his head with his left hand.

Though, now that he has a moment to himself, his eyes started to shift to the prison but stopped himself. He opted to look at his right hand instead, gazing at it with a silent look. He couldn't help but think back to what just happened.

The rage he had felt. The way he had mindlessly followed Samael's command…

He rubbed his thumb into the middle of his palm.

Should he…really use that ability Samael introduced him to?

Sure, it might sound useful but…he felt like he didn't really 'earn' it. He learned it because his emotions were taken advantage of. He…he didn't think of himself capable of that.

(Are you sure?)

He squeezed his hand.

(No. Not like this.)

He IS angry at Xehanort for being the cause of what happened to him and his friends, and to the worlds. That much is true. What's also true is that Maleficent and her group were harming the worlds before his Heartless stepped in. And though his Nobody is the leader of the Organization, each of the members made choices of their own wills to hurt other people. And for what? To get their hearts back?

Yet the anger and rage he felt. It…felt like his own. But…for some reason, it…isn't? He could never really explain it, really. He acted really aggressive towards when they first encountered each other. And up until Kairi ended up in their clutches, he had no real beef with them except for them messing with a couple of his friends (like Xaldin is messing with the Beast). But after that…yes, he realized he was childish back then, and did have some childish anger, but not once did he actually felt true hatred towards anyone. Anger and rage, but never hate.

He was angry at what Xehanort is doing, but he never truly hated him. Just…mad and infuriated at what they're doing. That's it. Never hate.

Never hate.

His ears picked up the heavy footsteps. Peeking over his shoulder, he saw it was War approaching. The boy lowered his hand, shifting his expression a little as he turned to War. "Hey, there you are," he greeted.

The Horseman regarded him for a moment before glancing to the crystal cluster. "This way will take us to the Ashlands."

Sora nodded. "Nice. So…" He was nudged back by War.

"Back away," the Horseman told him.

Sora noticed the gauntlet War used to open the stone doors while they were staying with Ulthane on his right arm. Glancing at the cluster, he had a good idea of what the Horseman is going to do. So he backed up as requested. The human watched as the Horseman draws his arm back, with blue energy gathering into it…before he throws a punch. A blast of blue energy erupted out, and upon impact with the cluster, they just shattered in an instant. The crystals clattered onto the ground, and a couple shot off outward. The upper part fell heavily onto the ground with a crash. Charging the gauntlet again, this time the Horseman smashed his fist onto the crystal, making it fly away.

A distant crash is heard after a moment.

As Sora stared in awe of this display, it further reminded the Keyblade bearer just how powerful the Horseman is. What would he be like if the Horseman were at full strength?

Sora could scarcely imagine it.

But the way is clear. Now they could proceed to their next destination.

The boy approached the Horseman's side, hands over the straps of his backpack. He felt the Horseman's eyes, turning his head to gaze back at him. A silent question asking him. The answer to the question, a simple nod.

The two soon turned as one and walked through the newly created opening.

The Ashlands await.

Some beings are dangerous, especially if they know how to use the emotions of people to work with them. Demons are no exception. They ARE the masters of manipulation after all.

In all honesty, I can't for the life of me ever recall when Sora had EVER genuinely hated someone. There is anger and rage, yes, but I never saw him hate someone before. I am not making him THAT out of character to suddenly start hating people for no reason. For the most part, the hate Sora would feel is from Roxas, and his Nobody isn't keen on merging with him fully any time soon. At least at this point, because Roxas didn't want to lose who he is. At the time, no one knew just how special the two are, in a lot of ways. Sora could 'feel' Roxas but never saw his memories, while Roxas just watched.

In fact, the whole situation with Kingdom Hearts is kind of hard to explain. And that's saying something, as the people of the Darksiders universe are supernatural in a way. On the other hand, some of the things a few of them had heard about, and what I put in, seemed ironically outrageous. Like, a man 'pulling' Keyblades from the hearts of people, basing them after the χ-blade to fight supernatural monsters of darkness that steals your 'mind' in the shape of a heart to make more, and the bodies of those people with a strong heart and will having their bodies reanimated, with a select few having humanoid forms, and those weapons being the only things that could destroy both to restore the person they were to normal? To them, THAT is strange. Just as it's strange for our favorite Keyblade boy to see the stuff on that world as 'strange'. But…different realities, different stuff.

Anyway, it didn't seem like people noticed so… there are some references shown here and there in the story thus far. The manga Dis has a couple of chapters ago is Made in Abyss. And the movies Sora thought of are Alien and Tremors respectively. I think the greatest sin of some places is that they don't have certain movies and such where they show specific lessons that could apply to certain situations. Like Jurassic Park. Why Jurassic Park? It has to do with science. People didn't stop to think on whether or not they SHOULD do something, rather than whether or not they COULD do it. It's this kind of hubris that caused situations like that happening. Though there would still be more references popping up. You just don't know what they'll be.

In any case, I watched a couple of videos of Darksiders Genesis to get some ideas – and frankly, while I COULD complain that War could have done SOME of that shit in the first game, I need to remind myself that the people who made the game are rather limited with technology back then. They also didn't have a concrete idea of what Fury and Strife would look like up until Darksiders 3, with Fury in a more…well, revealing outfit before the one she got, and their personalities aren't as fleshed out. For the story sake, the personalities would take THOUSANDS of years for them to be well rounded. On the topic of personality, let's get back to Sora. To be frank, Sora does have the right to be angry, and he could have chosen to hate his enemies too, but he didn't. I'm not saying he's incapable, but hate is a choice. And he's yet to have met someone he DOES hate. Like, genuinely hate someone. (And trust me, I got plans.)

Well, with that being said, the next chapter's gonna be a filler; I got something planned here, and I kind of want to ensure it would take a few days for the duo to arrive where they need to be. So leave a review and have a wonderful day (it's daytime somewhere).