Beings that live a long time often don't realize they have become desensitized, and just became accepting of what happened with them. Leading them to not comprehend 'why' those that hadn't wouldn't really 'understand' them. But that's with humans.

Other beings are just baffled on how other humans react to them.

(And to be frank, Sora isn't always aware of his ability of being an Empath. In this case…)

Enjoy.

Was it a bad idea to head down into the Hollows themselves to look for a boy and his oversized key? Was it just pure dumb luck that, when tracing the magic of said key in general, he ran into the last person he expected instead?

Ulthane wasn't sure WHAT to think. He certainly didn't expect…this. Yet here they are. In the caverns underneath the subway

When he had arrived there, with the intent to find the boy after doing his best to track him down – with tracing magic energy NOT a part of his repertoire – he was alarmed at first to see the Red Rider instead. Surprising still that in the Horseman's right hand is the very weapon he had been tracing. It could either mean that the Horseman had come across it and the boy is somewhere within the caverns, alone…or something happened. The Red Rider is notorious for ensuring the law is upheld, compared to the other three. And he can be the most brutal out of them when he dishes out his punishment. The Red Rider would not hesitate to punish the boy for the slight of being where he's not supposed to be. Even if the lad is a human.

The surprise was cut short when the Watcher points its finger at him. "You! What brings you here, Maker?!" It immediately started to question.

Said Maker furrowed his brows as he crossed his massive arms. "I should be asking you myself, stranger," he responded brusquely. "What were a pair o' you doing down here under the Hollows?"

The Red Rider narrowed his eyes before he moved the weapon to latch onto his back. "A series of…unfortunate events brought us down here," was a rather…vague answer.

Ulthane can't help but bark out a laugh. "I'll bet. Fallin' into the ravine with the lead pigeon after you. She seemed mighty convinced that you're one of the Horsemen. But I ain't convinced."

"I am who I claim to be," the Nephilim responded stonily.

Oh, he knows all right, but still, Ulthane gave a snort. "Right." He soon regarded the two. "So what are you two REALLY here for? It can't be for me."

He saw the way the Horseman's expression shifted to a thoughtful one before gazed back at the Maker. "I'm here for the Griever. Though it's possible I had encountered it already."

Ah, so they ARE after the Griever. He thought as much. "Oh you've GOT to be kidding me," the Watcher griped as it slouched.

"So you had a meeting with the Griever, didn't ya?" Ulthane asked them. "Well, Ah am pretty sure that it's still around somewhere. You just have to find it."

The Red Rider grunted. "So why are you here, Maker?" the Watcher repeated its previous question.

The Maker gave an 'ehh' as he shrugged. "I lost something down here a while back," he answered, rolling his hand a little. "Figured I could take the time to try to find it." Not really a lie but also not the truth as well. They don't have to know that.

The Red Rider regarded him for a moment before he began to walk off. As he passed, Ulthane's eyes shifted to the Keyblade attached to the Red Rider, next to Chaoseater.

"Though…" Ulthane began as he began to pace next to the Horseman. "It doesn't look like what I lost ain't down here. I may as well make my way back to my abode and try again."

"Don't you have your Maker trick to slip between 'dimensions'?" the Watcher inquired.

"That I do. But I'm not really the best at it. I only got enough for a couple of trips but that's it," Ulthane answered easily. THAT is the truth. He used it once before their 'contest' and again to arrive to where they are. "So it looks like I'm takin' the long way back."

"Do what you want," War said to him curtly. "The Griever is my target."

Ulthane made an 'all right' sound as he shrugged. "Suit yerself. We're both going in the same direction anyhow." He got an annoyed grunt as a response. "Well, it's not like I enjoy this as much as you do," Ulthane admits, "but I think we both know that we ain't fragile."

He noticed the Watcher narrowing its six eyes at him. "Then you better keep in your lane, Maker," it threatened before it went into the gauntlet.

Ulthane narrowed his eyes as well. Even though the other 'Watcher' with Fury was an imposter, he still doesn't trust it.

His eyes shifted back to the Keyblade attached to the Horseman's back. He isn't sure how to proceed regarding the weapon. He knows the Horseman knows what it is…just as the Horseman knew that he knew on what it is. And the Horseman is DARING him to ask about it. Having it shown on full display to the Maker. (At least, that's how he sees it.)

Tch, little brat.

Well, they don't have to talk. Whether they talk about THAT particular thing isn't entirely up to them, now is it?

He just needed to focus on finding the lad…

Because once he finds him, that boy is in for a scoldin' of a lifetime once he's sure the boy's safe.

~o~

In all of her years alive, Uriel had no idea humans are so…perplexing.

Yes, she did hear a lot of prejudice and derogatory words against mankind but…there are also a few that saw the Third Kingdom as a pitiful race, dragged into a conflict they didn't choose to be in.

Though, due to all of that, she never really…interacted with a human before. She never really knew that they could be kind and selfless, like this child.

All she could think about was protecting the young boy, putting her own quest for vengeance on hold to prioritize his safety. She couldn't count the number of times she had failed to rescue a human over the last one hundred years, due to being unable to find any survivors in time. The Hellguard and a handful of angels that arrived on Earth during the century to at least stave off the encroachment for as long as they could. The Seventh Legion had nearly been demolished in the first ten years, and from what she heard, the emergence of the Deadly Sins made matters worse for them. There were barely any of them left by the time the Deadly Sins were dealt with, and they are just now in hiding. Because of what happened on Earth one hundred years ago, the gate to the White City is closed to them to prevent the demons from reaching the First Kingdom.

And…it had been hard to lead the Hellguard at first after Abaddon's death. She had learned military etiquette, trained for most of her life to be able to fight the forces of Hell itself. She had worked her way up to try to be as high up in the Hellguard. She had admired Abaddon since she was young, as a powerful warrior who gained the trust of many in the White City. His dedication to the cause and to those under him. Though while the Elders do not look fondly towards him, the Hellguard will follow him to hell and back. But with Abaddon gone, she couldn't risk any of their lives. They are her brothers in arms. And yet she felt powerless when they did lose their lives.

She took the time to try to remember the names of those that had fallen over the years they were stranded on Earth. Some of them were old comrades she had got to know over the years. Others were young souls who were bright-eyed and inspired, like she was.

Whenever they had lost a member, they had to give a sendoff to the fallen.

Even those that had tried to help in the effort to stop the encroachment. Yet they too had fallen.

Yet despite everything she had heard about humanity, she did not perceive them as detestable or pitiful. Despite the many adversities they had faced, Humanity had shown themselves to be quite the resilient creatures. Yet they are still fragile creatures, dying so easily unlike demons and angels. Over the one hundred years they had spent on the world, they did what they could to search for survivors. Anyone that somehow survived. Yet they were unsuccessful.

Humanity may as well be well and truly extinct. The thought had pained her and had renewed her efforts to finish what Abaddon started.

That was, until she had met the child.

She brought herself out of her thoughts to look over at the boy in question, adjusting a pack over his shoulder a little as he looked around carefully. Cautiously, she corrected herself. Which is understandable. She had no idea how long the boy had fended for himself in this dangerous world. He reeked of blood, yet his outfit somehow has no tears at all. She felt small traces of magic over the garment, an arte she had heard of what Makers of the spiritual side are capable of. Or did he find himself a charm that had a protective spell over it? It would explain the odd barrier that had crashed into her and the Horseman during their brawl.

Though regardless of however long he had been fending for himself, she could wager a guess that he had encountered the Red Rider before. She nearly wanted to scoff on how aloof the Red Rider was, but she most certainly remembered just how goal oriented he was. Her very first encounter with him had her easily defeated by him, but instead of finishing her off, he simply left her to resume his given job at the time. She would not put it past War to figure he had a brief encounter but left the boy to his own devices.

Yet with how familiar the boy was with the Red Rider…

Uriel shook her head a little. Best not to think too much about it. She can't afford to get herself lost within her thoughts. She has to be vigilant.

"So, uh, Uriel, right?" The boy – Sora – suddenly spoke up as he looked to the angel. "I kind of got a couple of questions."

"What is it?" She responded.

The boy hummed, thinking a little. "So, uh…I kind of…seen you guys a while back," he began, "though I kind of wondered what you guys were doing on th- uh, Earth?"

She caught the flub of words. 'Th-' what? Hm, best not to worry about it for now.

Though the question itself…

She sighed softly, bracing herself for what would most likely be a…hard topic. "We were…stranded here, for the most part," she answered. "You were most likely born much later into this unforgiving world. And for that, I…" a glance at Sora's face, seeing his expression, had her say instead, "I'm sorry."

Sora blinked at her. "For what exactly?" He asked her.

"That we failed you and your kind that day," Uriel answered solemnly. She stopped walking to place a hand over her chest. "If we had been stronger or more prepared, none of this would have happened."

She felt the boy's eyes on her as she held her head in shame. She couldn't imagine the feelings he may had to the revelation that the Hellguard are to blame for the misfortune that had happened to the once beautiful realm. To be honest, he's justified to feel upset with her and the Hellguard. It was their fault alone for not being strong enough to stop the armies of hell when they invaded Earth. The only thing she blamed the Horseman for is the death of their leader. She was there that day, and she knew from the start that War had not started the premature end war. Yet why the accusation?

She raised her head, seeing Sora having a pensive expression, rubbing his chin a little. He raised his head to look at her. "By that day…do you mean the day when the… apocalypse occurred?"

"Yes, that's the one," Uriel nodded to confirm.

The boy gave her a curious look. "Um…if it's okay with you, can you…tell me what happened that day from your end?" She blinked in surprise at the request. "Again, if it's okay with you," he repeated. "I…" he had a guilty expression on his face, "don't want you to feel bad if and when it brings up bad memories."

Again, Uriel blinked. He was more concerned for HER feelings than his own? That is…very selfless.

She felt humbled by being in the presence of this young child. Though humans can be violent (like demons at times), but they also express kindness and selflessness towards others. And he had given that same level onto her as he would to perhaps his own kind.

(And she was once again reminded of how she felt ashamed that a part of her believed in what some people of other realms had described humans as.)

Though, as the young human desired it, she felt that it was only fair that he should at least know what happened that day.

"I…will do what I can to tell you that day," Uriel said to him softly.

Sora searched her face for a moment before he nodded. "All right," he said softly. He looked around before he sat down on a rock nearby, before giving her his rapt attention.

Uriel inhaled slowly before she exhaled through her mouth. "It all started one hundred years ago…" She began, recalling the memories to the forefront.

"That day, our leader Abaddon had told us that the Deceiver's army is preparing to attack Earth – they had broken the treaty and are aiming to take the Earth itself. We had readied ourselves and flew into battle. But there were many of them. There were even Greater Demons among them too. At some point, we began to lose our men to them."

"Suddenly, amidst the chaos of the battle…the Horseman War appeared. Abaddon was distracted by his appearance, and I defended him from other Demons. Though…all he did was stare at the Horseman. And the next thing we knew, a demon emerged…and killed him while he was distracted. We had no choice but to retreat with our leader gone."

Uriel opened her eyes, having her hand clenched to her chest. "Yet, the White City, where we angels live, closed its gates to us. In fear of the demons aiming their invasion to them next. For the past one hundred years, we had been fighting a losing battle to remove the Destroyer's army on Earth. We did what we could to survive. If only to one day wait for the Destroyer to be defeated so that we could return."

"…Wow," Sora said finally after a moment of silence. "That is…" He scratched his head, before running his fingers through his hair. "Okay. So…if I got this right, you guys were fighting against the Demons that had started their attack on Earth. But there was a lot and you nearly got overwhelmed." He held up a finger to think before he lowered it hum thoughtfully. He raised his head to look back at her. "I got a couple more questions but that could wait," he decided. He got up from his seat, stretching a little. "I got the gist of it at least."

"The gist?" Uriel asked him.

"Yeah. I guess it made sense why your Kingdom had to close its gates," Sora began before he looked to her. "But…they didn't have to strand you guys like that."

"It is what it is."

However, Sora's expression shifted into dismay. "But…don't you guys want to go home?"

Uriel considers the boy before her. Why would he be concerned for her? Though she will admit that some of them in the Hellguard and those stranded longed to return to the White City. Yet as things stand, so long as the Destroyer still has a claim over the Earth, the gates would remain closed to them. She could understand their frustration, but…

(She can't afford herself nor the others to lose hope.)

(It's the loss of hope that makes an angel 'fall' after all. And subject them to the corruption of demonic energy)

Uriel averted her gaze. "We can't."

The silence was deafening. But they can't dawdle forever. They need to keep going. She raised her head but was startled at the boy's new expression. A rather miserable look. Before she could ask about his well being, he suddenly exclaimed, "That's awful!"

"I…I'm sorry?" stuttered Uriel in confusion.

"Just…! That's not even fair to you guys at all!" exclaimed the boy. He threw his hands out. "I know what I said, but they should have let you guys at least go home! I…" Sora looked away, rubbing his arm. "I…don't know if you had families, but you guys got people that were worried about you, right? So…why didn't they just let you go home? Let the survivors go home?"

The boy seemed…agitated. But as Uriel regarded at him, trying to get a read on his body language…the boy suddenly shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized softly. "Let's keep going."

Uriel regarded him for a moment. "Are you…sure?"

"Yeah," responded Sora. In a tight voice. The hand around his arm squeezed it a little.

The angel looked at him at a loss for words. It…struck her that the boy was young. Not like an angel nor a demon. Humans live shorter lives compared to the rest of Creation. Yet while every living being in Creation can die, they lived longer compared to the human race. Yet while the young on both sides – no matter how they were born – angels and demons were brought up to fight in an endless war with each other until the forced stalemate after the Deceiver's sabotage on humanity. Yet this boy is halfway towards human adulthood.

Did he not deserve better?

Yet, comforting a human will not be an easy task. And trying to keep the hope and spirits up within the Hellguard was not…easy. Especially after Abaddon had fallen, after they were locked from the White City, and especially after the last couple of decades.

All she could do was just…take what the boy said at face value.

Unconsciously mimicking the boy's stance, Uriel softly said, "All right."

In silence, the two resumed their trek through the cavern.

~o~

A year…

An entire. Year.

Why is it that that fact had just sunk in for him?

No. Not sunk in. He had been trying to ignore that fact. Pushing it into the back of his mind in order to search for Riku and the King. Yet hearing about how the Hellguard weren't even able to return to their home after one hundred years…

(You didn't do what Riku requested. Because you weren't there, Kairi had been abducted.)

Sora clutched his arm tighter.

(You left behind the life you had. And for what, 'hero'?)

He tried to make his inhale as silently as he could through his teeth.

He NEEDS a distraction. Anything to keep the thoughts away.

After practically shoving the thoughts aside, he mulled over the information he just learned.

So…Uriel was there when the premature End War had started. And…from the sound of it, the Hellguard knew that War did not cause the End War, from the start. But…if that's the case, what's with the animosity towards him? At least, from what he had felt in that room. Is there a reason, or is there just animosity in general all people had towards the Four Horsemen? Maybe it had something to do with what happened to Abaddon? The death is probably an accident, but what caused Abaddon to be so distracted by War just… appearing?

Come to think of it…could this angel be the person War had mentioned that had died that might have known the truth?

Admittedly, back at the Cathedral, Sora had no idea why he was defending the Horseman. He had little to no evidence of what happened back then, as the Watcher had so lovingly pointed out. Though, since he had Uriel's account…

War said that heaven and hell were already at war when he had arrived on the Earth. Uriel said that Abaddon had discovered that this 'deceiver' guy had his army beginning their attack. That does confirm that War had arrived later when things were going down. For some reason Sora just…knew that War is at least an honest person. What reason would he have to lie after all?

Yet, as he thought more about it…there was something that struck him as odd.

How exactly did Abaddon even KNOW that the demons were going to attack? Do they…keep guards out to watch for activity? That would make sense…but hm…

He mentally reviewed what he learned…though now as he thought of it, she never DID answer why the Hellguard were after War. He's almost tempted to repeat the question from earlier but…somehow that may not bode well. Like…she probably saw how the two had interacted earlier. She would most certainly ask about that. And if the Hellguard are after War for one reason or another…oh boy.

Sora felt his stomach rumble. Oh, he hadn't ate in a while. But…he's starting to get sick of eating apples…when was the last time he ate some meat? He could kill for some fish, chicken, pork, beef…

His eyes trailed to the river.

Speaking of fish…

"Uh, hold on a bit," he said to Uriel before he looked around. Finding a spot where he could peer into the water, he found a suitable bank to stand on. After he felt that its solid enough, he soon peered into the water. His eyes shifted a bit, hoping to find something in the somewhat murky waters.

"What are you doing?" Uriel asked him with Sora jumping. He had to pinwheel his arms to keep his balance before Uriel caught him by the hood. She pulled him back to land effortlessly.

He exhaled in relief. "Thanks," he said to Uriel. He looked to the river. "I was wondering if there's any fish. I mean…sure, we're underground but…I'm getting tired of eating apples. It's been a while since I had fish." His eyes shifted around for any familiar shapes. Man what would he give to have tuna, red snapper, or cod or heck, even sea bream! Even regular fish found in the rivers in China sound great!

He noticed movement beside him to see that Uriel had stood beside him to peer into the water too. She hummed. "…I do not believe that we would find anything edible in this river," she reported.

Sora took note of that before he sighed, dejected. "Aw man…" he moaned. "I was hoping to find some fish…"

"I'm afraid we won't find anything edible here," said Uriel.

Sora stood straight up, having his hands behind his head. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." He soon perked as a thought occurred to him. "Hey, maybe I can find some fish above the ground! Hope there's bass!" At least he remembered how to prepare fish. One of the perks of living in a fishing village on a set of islands!

But where would he found seasoning, or even salt? He would need a knife too to cut them open…

Maybe he could ask Ulthane if he had any of those. He did help prepare some meals while he was living with the giant.

Though he wondered where Ulthane got the meat from…

A random thought popped into his head before he looked up at Uriel. "Hey, do Angels need to eat food?"

"Well, no," Uriel answered simply. "There's hardly a need for us to eat food or even drink."

Sora blinked in surprise at that. "Wait, really? Do you guys sleep?"

"Only when we need to rest, really. We angels hardly need any of that for energy."

The boy mulled over what he's been told. So…they don't eat…or…sleep? Really? That's…huh. In a way, that make a lot of sense. Why do they have the need to do any of that? But wait. What does that make Nephilim then? Do they need any of that themselves? He did see War sleep- wait, was the man actually asleep? Or just resting? Half of him has angel blood, but what about the demon half? With that in mind, he soon asked: "So…do demons eat?"

"I would imagine so," Uriel figured, sounding thoughtful. "I had heard that the Lords of Hell often fight against one another for power. The lesser ones often side with the strongest. Though…I heard ghastly rumors of some demons rising to power quickly is due to consuming human blood."

Sora flattened his lips after hearing the new information. That is…he gulped down a lump forming in his throat. So…humans are a delicacy for a reason…an instant power-up for demons if a lot of humans were eaten…

(How many were killed and consumed during the one hundred years that passed…?)

"Uh…those…ARE just rumors, right?" Sora asked Uriel nervously.

"Possibly," was Uriel's response. That…does not inspire confidence in him.

'I REALLY need to make sure I don't get eaten,' Sora quickly decided in his mind, making mental sweat-bullets. He had been doing well so far but…this time he can't afford to die against the demons. Any demon. "…Right," he said with his voice cracking. He had to clear his throat. "Right," he repeated with a clearer voice, "I guess we better get going then."

No response from the angel, but the two continued onwards.

After a while, they seem to have found a passage created by demons that lead upwards. Sora couldn't help but wonder what kind of tools the demons used in order to carve out the earth to create the passage. And where exactly did they get said tools. From his limited experience with demons and the one-time experience with Uriel, they just seem so…different. The demons seem to mostly use old timey weapons, like axes and such. He never seen ANY of them use technology at all. Just brute force and magic. The angels are similar in that regard – mostly with magic, really – but the equipment he saw Uriel have is a bit advanced. He's almost tempted to ask Uriel about it, but…

The more Sora had stayed on the world, the more he realized just how much he missed having Donald and Goofy around. During the flight in their Gummi Ship, and as they explored the world they visited, they chatted with each other. It was nonexistent at first, mostly because they were on a 'mission' and needed to focus. But after Deep Jungle, they started to open up with each other a little. Sora learned a little bit more about the two of them, their friends and even the King himself. Like an incident that happened that resulted in the King's half-brother going missing, resulting in King Mickey to be inspired to become stronger to protect his Kingdom. Sora didn't expect that the King had become a Keyblade user to do so.

In fact, after visiting their world a while ago, only then Sora learned a bit more about the King from Minnie and a few people in the town he managed to visit. His older half-brother, Oswald, was the true king, but an incident that…they seemed uncomfortable to speak about happened, resulting in Mickey becoming a king. About a little over a decade ago, he sought out his old master to become a Keyblade user. Donald and Goofy admitted that they had mostly forgotten about that incident, because they were busy with their own hectic lives. The people of their world age slower than anyone else, having different forms to allow them to be approachable. The last time he had seen Huey, Dewey and Louie when Radiant Garden came up, they had changed their clothing somewhat so that they don't match – a red polo t-shirt and cap for Huey, a blue shirt under a blue t-shirt for Dewey, and a green hoody for Louie. Their personalities were also different, with Huey being…well, a bit anxious but is pretty smart. Dewey had what is known as the middle child syndrome to try to make him stand out a bit more. Louie has Scrooge's business orientation but is also kind of lazy. Sora had also learned about Donald's twin sister, Della. She had gone on a big adventure since the triplets were eggs and hadn't been back since. It's only recently did she returned home – something about aliens on the moon or something? – had Donald been properly reunited with his sister. It had been during the visit and restoring the timeline did it fully sink in that everyone had forgotten them. But…as they noticed, it wasn't of their own will.

Just…they had a feeling they had forgotten something. Something that just…wasn't right to them. They…the people hadn't realized they had forgotten something, but noticed something was off. Like Donald's girlfriend not going near Donald's room or even entering it. She had no idea why, even though it felt as if it was an empty room. And yet she was unwilling to go into the room for some reason. It was about a week until they had woken up did the memories slowly trickle in. Della, Daisy and the triplets entered the room, suddenly remembering Donald at that moment.

So when he first saw Daisy, he was surprised to see her yelling at Donald for being gone for a year until she leaned onto him…crying. Just relieved that he came back at least. That also had Goofy rush off to check up on his son. Sora was just wondering around the castle for a while and seemed to have accidentally found him, his son and Goofy's girlfriend at the tail end of their own reunion, with the young lad Max holding his father close.

Seeing the two of them reuniting with their loved ones…made Sora feel really sad. And guilty. He couldn't imagine what his folks had felt when he had been gone for a whole year. Not to mention his friends. And Kairi…had they experienced the same thing Donald and Goofy's loved ones went through? Unwittingly forgetting him and then suddenly remembering him?

Why…or HOW did it happen?

(In the back of his mind, something is telling him that it was not an accident…)

Regardless, the two admitted to Sora that due to how hectic their lives were, from raising kids and their duties as the Court Mage and Captain of the Knights, they had forgotten that the King could use the Keyblade. It also seems like he was searching for something in this long decade. Some old friends who ended up in terrible fates…

The three of them had gotten very close ever since they woke up in Twilight Town. Donald was a veteran of a war that took place on their world and had been urged by some of his friends (gently) to seek counseling. Immensely helpful when they first came upon that destroyed village in the Land of Dragons. It was the very first time he had seen the effects of war. How people get caught up between two forces. He wasn't the only one stunned in horror by the sight. So were Mulan and a couple of others they got to know within the small army led by Captain Shang. They were singing a song on the way to where Shang's father was, but the jovial atmosphere was…cut down when they came upon the chilling sight of a destroyed and ravaged village, and a deafening silence that followed after seeing it. It wasn't even done by the Heartless. Sora had nightmares for the past couple of days after seeing the bodies of the fallen. And it was Donald who helped him through it, using his own experiences to help him.

Those two had been with him through thick and thin. By the gods he missed them.

He missed his home. His friends, his folks…

He missed the warm atmosphere of being around his friends – childhood or otherwise.

Just…why?

Why didn't he…?

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Uriel pull back on his hood again, pulling him back a little. "Ah-!" He barely let out before she silently shushed him. It was only then did his mind register that there was a small group of demons around. They seem to have something with them, looking over at it curiously.

Uriel pulled him back a little. "Minions and Phantom Guards…" she muttered. "Common soldiers for the demon army."

"…Those are common?" Sora whispered, incredulous.

"Minions are akin to the 'hounds'," Uriel silently informed him. "Phantom Guards were among the first of the transformed angels. They still have their wings but are now stunted and useless to them." Sora blinked and got a better look at the blue skinned demons with marks on their upper bodies. Sure enough, there were small, albeit torn wings on their backs.

"Huh…" he breathed out in surprise.

Uriel looked to him. "Stay here," she ordered him. "I'll take care of them." She didn't give him time to answer as she got out of the hiding area. In a blue light with small sparks of lightning, her sword materialized.

She raised her free hand to her face. Sora heard a small crackle of lightning and before he knew it, Uriel threw her fingers at them. A strong bolt of lightning shot out and it one of the Minions in the back, it's screech of agony had the other heads turned to it in shock. And just before it's body slumped to the ground, lifeless, Uriel quickly pounced.

Sora tried to keep his eyes on Uriel as she fought against the demons, barely keeping up with how fast she was going. She moved rather gracefully with no wings. He managed to catch her being able to use the movement of her strikes to not just parry the Phantom Guards' axes but to also allow her movement in order to use her legs to kick them away. Another Minion had been slain, much like the other one before it. A 'shing' is heard, a roar of pain before a limb flopped down near him with a wet splat. Sora jerked at that a little before he noticed something particular. In its hand – which has four fingers, thumb included – is…what appears to be a glove.

Not paying attention to Uriel's fight, Sora bent down over at the severed arm. Making a grimace, tentatively poked at the arm. Getting onto his knees, he curled his fingers around a much bigger appendage and gave a tug. Yet it still has a death grip even when it was cut off from the body. Furrowing his brows, Sora tugged at the finger a bit more, yet it wouldn't budge. Inhaling, he started to pull with all of his might…

A sickening crack is briefly heard, but the finger was finally moved…albeit, bent in a different way now. He flinched in revulsion but…he can't back down now. He grabbed the other finger. He tried not to wince as he broke the second finger. Inhaling lightly, he grabbed the third finger, trying to ignore the crack as he forcibly pulled it back. Hopefully…hopefully removing three of them is enough. The thumb isn't holding it at least. Grabbing the glove at the edge, he gave it a couple of tugs before it pulled free.

He then blinked down at it. It appears to be a…human sized. The hand part of it is made of a black leather, the top part of the fingers having pieces of metal to protect the fingers. The back of the hand has a plating that has it intricately shaped like…a face. Kind of a menacing one…it reminded him a bit like one of the faces etched onto War's weapon. The cuff of the glove…isn't exactly a cuff per say. It somewhat resembles those gauntlets knights wear, extending a little further from the wrist if anything.

Sora held it in both hands as he got a close examination of the odd glove. Carefully grabbing onto parts that didn't look sharp, he gave the material under it a couple of tugs. It seems to be rather sturdy, but he isn't sure what the leather is made of. What of the metal? What is IT made of? The boy was almost tempted to just…try it on the feel the inside, but…well, it's a very IFFY glove. He isn't sure if it's safe to wear or not. Plus, it looks too big to fit on his hand. The metal seemed to be 'nailed' onto the glove, after he gave some careful tugging on the metal.

His ears picked up on the fighting dying down and peered up from his hiding spot. He saw Uriel down to two Phantom Guards, with the others dead around her. Yeah, she most certainly got this. She doesn't need his help.

…ure about that…?

Sora's eyes rolled down to the glove. He didn't know why but they just did it on their own.

Wouldn't you want to help? It's what you do, isn't it?

He…he'd like to help but…

What are you waiting for then?

(I҉̨̭̮͉͒̀̑̕ w̵̡̫̩͚͛̈́̅͌͠ą̶̞͎̦͒̒͠s̶͎̬̯̠̥̿̚͢͞ ṁ̶̧̮̜͛̈̿͡a҉̛͔̬̲̾̓̚͢d҈͔̯̲͂̚͜͡e̴̢̙̥̤̱̅̐́̎͞ f҈͖͈͓̖̯͐̎̒̉͢͞o҉̛̜̭͕̖̦̾͑͜r҈̡̛̤̝̦̋͌̄̏͊ y̷̧̖̯͊̀̽͆͂͠ͅo̶͇͓҇̀̌͛͜u҈̢̞̜̟҇̍̅̊͋)

When he blinked, he was suddenly wearing the glove. The other glove he had is in his red bag held by the belts on his pants. Before he could react, the 'face' glowed red. A breathless cry escaped his lips as he fell onto his backside when he felt it 'clamp' onto his arm. He tried to get it off of him by trying to dig his thumb under the long cuff, yet to his horror he found that he couldn't. It was as if there was a clamp over it that made sure he couldn't remove it. He even tried to use his teeth to get it off from the tips instead. But the glove would not budge. In fact, the glove seems to be…shrinking?

"Sora? Sora what's wrong?" He barely registered Uriel's alarmed voice as he's now frantically trying to pull it off. He then saw Uriel quickly placed a firm hand on his shoulder to still him, while the other grabs his right forearm. After a moment of silence, she asked him lowly in a near dangerous tone, "What is this?" She looked up at him sharply. "You're wearing this?"

Sora couldn't help but curl away at the expression and tone she used. "I-It wasn't on purpose! I just…" He looked down at the odd glove/gauntlet before looking back at her. "I don't remember putting this on! I swear!"

As he spoke, the angel looked back down at the odd gear, trying her hand to pull it off. "…You cannot get this off?" Asked Uriel as she regarded it.

"No!" Sora shook his head.

She grunted, her brows furrowing. "…Very well, then we have no choice but to cut it off."

"Wait, what!?" Sora yelped out, panicking a lot when she called forth her sword again. "Wait a second! We can't cut off my arm! I need it!" He managed to yank his arm out from her grip to cradle it to his chest.

Uriel scowled, standing up. "Do not be stubborn, child! If it's of demon made, then who knows if it'll end up corrupting you! Your arm's the least of your worries!"

Sora regarded her before he gazed down at his arm. He wiggled his hand a little, surprised at how…smooth it felt on his skin under it. The texture felt nice. As he looked over at it…he found himself saying, "I don't think this is demon made." While the 'face' on the back of the hand looked…gruesome, he figured it may had just been a detail rather than just an actual face of a demon.

When he simply heard nothing but silence, he raised his head to Uriel. She had a slightly mistrustful look on her face as she stared at the armament before she slowly got to one knee. "May I see?" She requested as she held out her hand.

The boy had an uncertain look. His eyes shifted to the sword in her other hand still. As if noticing what he's looking at, Uriel plants it into the ground by her. Not really dismissing it but making sure it's within arm's reach in case something happens. Even with that, Sora's not entirely sure if he should just show his arm to her. However, as his eyes shifted back to her face, he could see that she was attempting to be patient with him. Reeling in her anger for a moment. Sora's eyes shifted to the armament. Now that he thought about it, she only reacted the way she did was because she thought this odd gauntlet was going to hurt him. Cutting off his arm was the only thing she could think of. At least, that's what he's rationalizing in his head.

But even with that rationalization, he's still feeling apprehensive. Yet, so far, she has done nothing but to keep him safe. Why would he place his trust into a Horseman like it was nothing, but not extend a similar trust to her? Even if she is an angel, surely she isn't as bad as them, right?

With that, he soon held out his right arm to her. She gently has her hand under his right forearm, gazing down at it. As if really taking it in. She traced her fingers over the 'face' that's just softly glowing now. "What is this?" She asked out loud. "Is this one of the Abomination weapons I heard about?"

"The what?" Sora blinked.

"I heard about them from Abaddon. An…incident occurred a long, long time ago regarding these world ending weapons." Wait, what!? She continued on, oblivious to his shocked expression. "They were made by the first-born Nephilim that allowed them to brutally attack and invade a world. Once that world had been entirely corrupted and stripped bare, they simply moved on to the next world and restarted the process all over again. It was through sheer luck that the weapons weren't used in the battle for Eden. They each have various effects depending on the weapon. Abaddon lost his right eye to one of those weapons during that incident. No one knows what became of them afterwards, nor of how they were created in the first place."

That is…well, that explains a few things. Though Sora initially WAS aghast at the annihilation of the Nephilim, if they had dangerous weapons like that…perhaps it was for the best that they were stopped. Were they even aware that they were killing worlds after using them? Then again, perhaps not, due to how War and the other Horsemen had grown wary of their actions…

Sora looked down at the gauntlet. "Do you…think it's one of those?" He asked her.

"Do you feel as if something is trying to take over your mind?" Uriel asked him.

"Wait, they can do that?" Sora asked in shock.

"Some would try to invade your mind," Uriel explained to him. "It would take an extremely strong amount of willpower and mental fortitude to resist them trying to take over."

Well that's-! Wait.

Sora sat there. Actually how does one even tell if something is trying to take control of you? He didn't feel any different. "…I don't feel anything different to be honest," he reported, repeating his thoughts vocally.

Uriel hummed. "I don't really feel any demonic energy from it…and yet it didn't seem alive too," she said, after tracing her fingers over it. "It just seem to be a normal glove, and they never make armor. Just weapons."

Once she removed her hand, Sora pulled his back to gaze down at it. "Then…what exactly is it?"

"I am not sure," answered Uriel, her voice uncertain. "It's best we keep an eye on it, however."

Sora gazed down at it with a dubious look. She's right, something's kind of…off about it. Slowly, he nodded. "Good idea," he agreed, lowering his arm. He stood up and looked over. The bodies of the demons haven't burned away or anything. They're just…there. Sora briefly wondered if it was something else that caused most of the demons to just turn into ash when they die. Then again, there were the angel corpses he found a while back. It may had something to do with who or what they're fighting then.

But yup. She didn't need his help.

Sora tore his eyes away from the massacre, looking up at her. "Well, let's get going."

Uriel stood up and pulled her sword free. "Right," she nodded, dismissing her sword in sparks of light.

The two soon resumed their trek, leaving the bodies behind. Sora snuck a glance to the odd gauntlet he wore now but looked back up to the path ahead.

(The gauntlet had blue lines forming on it, the color within the 'face' shifting from red/orange to a blue/white color.)

As much as I hated to make this ray of sunshine suffer like this…with all Sora had been through, trauma after trauma…

He battled a Darkside on what remains of his world and got sucked in. Saw a man literally had his heart stolen and became a Heartless. Learned that his home is gone, and the worst may had happened to his friends (like not wanting to accept that everything he had is gone and his folks are also gone). And oodles of other bits of trauma he had gone through. Makes me wonder if THAT is what Xehanort used to have Sora fall to a deep sleep as he did. The boy had C-PTSD and had been ignoring his own mental well being to help others. I know that the second Keyblade War gave practically no one any time at all to truly recover through their own traumas, but they could have at least afford that. Keyblades truly are a curse to those who wield them…

Apparently, the Abomination Vault took place a thousand years before the premature End War. But…that doesn't make sense? So Imma change it to a bit longer. The timeline for the Darksiders series had always been all over the place, so I changed the event to at least…five hundred years after Genesis. Death had to have a LOT of time trying to gather all of the weapons and put them into a vault. And then spent another long while making the wards AND protections until he did the smart thing and sent the vault to Oblivion. I dunno, what do you guys think? I may as well have the time period of that time vague as hell. Better this way.

On a final note, if you're wondering on what the glove/gauntlet is, I guess I can make a bit of a reveal. In this universe, there were two 'sets' of humans. The first has supernatural powers. The other is the set that we got in the Darksiders' world. What the demons found was a unique…well, let's say 'relic'. As for why it reacted to Sora like that…well, I'm sure you can slowly connect the dots with a couple of signs. But not everything is as it seems, at the same time. You'll see down the line.

Hope I did Uriel okay. Leave a review and see you whenever I upload a new chapter.