My personal head cannon about the Nephilim is that they can have features of either their angel parent or demon parent. In the case of the Four Horsemen, Death had his skin over his muscles, like a living embodiment of 'death' in a sense (not a lot of fat on him and such, practically almost skin and bone). Under the mask has high cheekbones, and…it doesn't appear he has ears, so he either learned to read lips or he's just capable of hearing SOMEHOW… actually, here: his demon trait are some fangs he has, and he does have ears, but they are ethereal, so they aren't easy to see. So there. But if there are ears and it's just hidden under all of that hair…well, I think it's neat that he would have some traces of ethereal magic to him.
Strife's has a short tail from his backside and his 'hair' are spikes as his demon traits. But the rest is angel as he is more humanoid and 'healthy' compared to Death.
Fury is more human looking but if there's an indication of angel and demon in her, she has a flame core under her chest armor with a part of her chest being see through, showing that 'energy source'.
War, meanwhile, is more angel – in the white hair and dark skin complexion – but has SOME demon traits: pointed ears, and parts of his body made of a tougher hide and some scales, like a dragon. He would have scars on his upper back as he would be born with stunted wings that had to be cut off.
So what head cannons do you guys have on the Nephilim?
Okay, my personal head cannon over, onto the chapter!
Sora looked around as they seemed to be around more familiar structures. "…I think we're near the surface," he announced.
Their ascension after meeting Dis had been relatively uneventful, thankfully. Sure it was a bummer that he couldn't test out the gauntlet – and admittedly, Sora didn't think he could use the weapons the demons had. He figured that Ulthane could use them however, so he kept them in his pack.
The path leading upwards had the inner workings of the earth mowed and carved out over time to make these paths. The pathways are uniquely made, having strange markings. Uriel had explained that they were magical wards to keep certain creatures out, while the demons dig into the very earth itself. Neither of them dared to let their curiosity take hold, as they would rather not be swarmed by demons they would chance upon. As for the wards etched onto the wall, it didn't leave much to the imagination on what the demons did not want to attract.
Soon enough, however, the two had stumbled upon the thick, metal rails from a thin entry way. Made in a way so that no one would notice until they got close to it. Or know what to look for.
"What makes you say that?" Uriel inquired.
"See those?" Sora pointed at the rails. "They let the trains run on them to get to a destination. I mostly saw ones that are above ground, but these are built underground to at least make room above. If we figure out which way leads up, then we'll be in a part of the subway that would lead above."
After he finished his explanation, Uriel tilted her head at the rails. "Ah. We don't require 'trains', as we could fly wherever. Humans seem to create their own modes of transportation."
"It's to get to our destination sooner," Sora explained. "Sure, we had horses and stuff back then, but cars are faster."
"The metal boxes with wheels on the ground?"
"Yeah, those," the boy nodded. He hummed. "So, do you guys have modes of transportation other than flying and riding on winged beasts?"
Uriel hummed, thinking. "I suppose you can say that" she began, "We have airships, but those are saved for when the End War occurs. The weapons are potent enough to cause lasting scars onto the surroundings, forever damaging them."
Sora looked to her curiously. "Were they ever used then?"
"Yes. From the veterans in the Hellguard, they were used against the Nephilim – yet they caused more damage onto a world than it did to them. Especially when the Nephilim had the Abominations." Sora gave a bit of a wince. With what he had recently learned about the Abomination weapons, he could hardly imagine the devastation both sides had brought onto each other. "Though, considering the power they have, the airships became reserved for the war machines the demons make."
"So, what's demon technology like?" Sora tilted his head.
"I would say that while they are NOT as advanced as we are," Uriel rubbed her chin, "yet they made up for it by making machines that are…practical. Lethal. I would not be surprised that they had various machines to carve out paths for colonies or to potentially gather resources."
Sora hummed at that, thinking. "I think I can see that. We saw the walls, and such carved out to make pathways."
"Indeed," Uriel agreed. "Humans appear to have done the same but…I can see that they did that to 'expand' their living space. Yet never to the extent the demons had done."
"I guess that's true," Sora scratched the back of his head with his left hand (something that he'll have to get used to soon enough). The places he had gone to while searching for his friends, and currently a way to where the Organization is located at, all of the worlds look drastically different from each other. A couple of them having their own wonders. The Land of the Dragons has fireworks and the amazing landscape. The Caribbean has Port Royal and a few other islands, even though all they had were massive ships. A beautiful oasis in the otherwise withered Pridelands. The wonderful sunset over the sleepy town of Twilight Town. Even the Space Paranoids has its own unique landscape within the data. He had lived on the islands for…basically his whole life until a year ago. He read about deserts, mountains, basically everything that he never saw with his own eyes. Things he could scarcely imagine.
But just as the worlds have so many wonderful things to them…there's also a darkness to them as well. The Underworld beneath Thebes and the coliseum, and the latter's later destruction. The desolation he had seen, both at the village they arrived at in the Land of the Dragons and of the Pridelands themselves, one caused by war and the other caused by overhunting and the dark energy that lingered over the land. What was once a beautiful town lay destroyed for nine years, with the damage still seen even after a year in Radiant Garden. A castle that fell under a terrible curse due to the actions of one young child at the Beast's Castle. And…this world.
It had its own beauty, with the green that's still living (and he had seen some wild animals), and yet its own darkness with the damage the premature apocalypse had wrought onto the world. He was once again reminded of what he had thought before he had met War. How the humans were entirely unprepared for the event, even though they eventually had a part in the End War. Uriel blamed herself for not stopping it and War was blamed for starting it. But he couldn't blame the two for the things that had happened. SOMETHING had happened, but Sora wasn't sure what it was though. He heard Uriel's account of the events, he just needed to hear War's account.
After that…well, they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.
Truthfully, he had no relation to the events, being an Outsider and all, but…well, he just can't leave it well enough alone, could he? Even though he barely knew the Horseman, he wanted to help him. He manages to at least help those he had just met, friends of friends, strangers or otherwise. A part of him felt that the Red Rider was innocent. He just needed proof. First though, he has to survive and make it out of the caverns/subway.
Baby steps.
Sora lowered his arm and looked both ways. "Um…which way do we go…?" He muttered with uncertainty. Honestly, it's hard to tell which way leads to the surface and which way leads deeper in. And depending on WHERE they are, it would take them a good while until they find their way. Too bad they don't have the means to swiftly check one way or have magic to detect which way is which. Wouldn't THAT be convenient…
"Hold a moment," he perked and turned to Uriel who soon pulled out something. It…seems to be a handheld device.
"Uh…what is that?" Sora asked her.
"It's a 'scanner' that gives rather detailed mapping of the area," Uriel answered/explained. "Since we're closer to the surface, it should be easier to use this to determine which way we should go."
Sora barely understood most of what she said. He decided that it was not worth asking her for details, lest it hurt his brain later. But…from the general gist of what she said…
"…So…it 'scans' around and tells us which way to go?" Sora asked.
"That's correct," Uriel nodded at him.
Sora blinked. "Oh." He paused a little before he beamed. "Well, that's swell!" He had his hands on his hips.
"I didn't know if it would be useful, to be honest," Uriel admitted as she gazed down at the device. "But I never thought it would come in handy for this moment."
"Well, uh…something about hindsight and stuff?" Sora shrugged.
Uriel grunted a bit at that before she walked to the middle of the long hall. She placed it in the center before a 'screen' manifested. Sora watched, transfixed as she managed to interact with it. Like she's 'typing' something on it.
It reminded him of how his folks had a computer that his mom uses for work. Apparently, an incident occurred when he was young, and he was practically banned from interacting with it. He barely remembered what it was, but he did recall that there was a drink he wanted, and it tipped over, getting the liquid all over the keyboard. He never had any interactions with them, and at school, the kids weren't allowed to do so until they entered high school. There was a class for that to get them ready but…well, an accident occurred, and he ended up with a broken toe. He missed an entire week of that class, having his toe heal up. It was as if the universe was against him using a computer at all for what he did back then. He didn't think karma was real.
(At this point, Riku should have been in high school, and he and Kairi should have been high schoolers too…)
Sora shook his head to shake away the thoughts, returning his focus to what Uriel was doing. Once she was done typing something in, she stood up and backed up a little. A small ball of light appeared over the device before a 'wave' of sorts covered the entire area. He looked down in surprise as the 'wave' went under him and covered the entirety of the walls. He turned back to see the 'wave' turn into a light to 'fall' back into the light.
"…Whoa…" he breathed out in awe as the light went into the device.
A few moments went by. Sora was about to ask Uriel if the device was broken before it soon showed…he supposes a 'hologram' of sorts appeared. Sora stared at that in awed surprise as Uriel approached it. Unable to help himself, he approached as well, filled with curiosity.
The angel let out a hum as she interacted with the hologram. It seems to have the entire subway shown in intricate detail. Sora inspected it up and down as he went around it, half tempted to reach out his hand. Giving into impulse he began to reach out to the hologram-
-only for it to be dismissed in a blink. "The way to the surface is this way," Uriel announced as she points to the path in the left-hand side. "It isn't that far, but we will need to take pathways to make our way up to the surface."
Sora blinked in surprise. "Wait, really?" He asked. She nodded in response. The boy beamed and made a fist bump. "All right! Finally! Mackerel, here I come!" He then softly added to himself, "If there are any."
"You seem…rather keen to having fish," Uriel remarked to him. Sora noted it and initially raising his right arm to scratch his cheek, he remembered the gauntlet before lowering it.
"Well, a while back, I had only just been eating apples," Sora explained. "It's been a while since I had some meat. Fish are a good source of protein and other stuff that's good for you." A different story entirely if people are allergic to fish (deathly or otherwise) and there are some poisonous ones that are inedible. A couple require someone having a license to deal with. Thinking of that, he soon adds, "Well, most fish. Some are poisonous."
"Is that so?" Uriel asked him.
"Yeah. Like scorpionfish, stone fish, lionfish, pufferfish, box jellyfish, candiru, electric eel, goliath tigerfish, great white shark and rabbitfish," Sora explained. "The only thing that can be eaten with special training is pufferfish."
"Special training?"
"The Fugu – or a type of pufferfish – has lethal amounts of the poison tetrodotoxin in its organs, especially the liver, the ovaries, eyes and skin. If prepared wrong and is eaten, it paralyzes the muscles. While the victim stays conscious, the poisoned victim will be unable to breathe and eventually die from asphyxiation. There's no antidote for fugu poison. The best you gotta do is support the respiratory and circulatory systems until the poison is metabolized and excreted by the victim's body."
After he explained the reason for the training, he saw Uriel having a blank expression on her face. Just before he asked her what's wrong, she spoke up first. "I…why would humans EAT that?" She questioned.
"Uh…" Sora droned out, thinking about…before he shrugged. "I don't know. I never tried it. But the meat's probably good for them to eat it. What I listed above? Not good for humans. Not sure with demons though." For all they know, the poison from the fish might not even bother them.
Uriel regarded him. "you seem…rather knowledgeable of this. Where were you from?"
Sora paused. Uh oh. Well, this is going to be awkward to explain…he can't just go and say that his world is a set of islands…and he can't bluff his way through this. His secret will be exposed, sooner or later. "Uh…does it matter?" He asked her. "I need to learn the stuff so that I wouldn't accidentally eat something I'm not supposed to eat." He held up his hands to the side, not really shrugging. "Does that make sense?"
Uriel grunted. "…I suppose it does," she conceded. "Some of the members of the Hellguard mentioned that the wildlife had managed to thrive. So it would not be unusual that maybe some marine life had also survived."
That is what Sora figured a well. It was a relief to him when he first caught some recognizable and edible fish. The area Ulthane lived around isn't really an ocean, so he couldn't get the fish he liked – like tuna – though he made do with what he CAN catch and manage to prepare. When he gets back home, he will find a tuna, or even a red snapper or any other fish, and have some. First though, he would have to get off of this world. When you have not been around what you had been used to all your life, you learn to appreciate it.
Still, it's heartening that even if humans are now apparently extinct, the wildlife are managing to survive. It…made him wonder just how big this world is. It must be MASSIVE. The city where the black, ominous tower is floating around is among the places hit the hardest. There's the rest of the planet that's more than likely untouched. And Sora couldn't afford to just go out and completely explore the planet! (Even though a part of him wanted to.)
Better not lose the topic at hand, which is having a way out now!
An excited smile spreads across his face, as he says, "Well, it's great that there's still life here. But, c'mon let's go! We can finally be out of here!"
He felt excited for not just him, but her too. The Hellguard are probably worried about her at this point. As she said, she can't afford them losing another leader. Pretty soon, they'll be out of this place. Though demons without standing, Sora was warily optimistic.
The boy soon regarded Uriel as she looked to him before a soft smile formed on her lips. "Yes. That is true," she responded, as if she couldn't help but share his excitement (and cautious hope). She gestured to the path. "Shall we?"
"Sure," Sora nodded before the two went down the path Uriel indicated.
It was a while later as they walked down the railroad that they found another railroad. "Oh! We're near the station!" Sora noticed. "It's where trains are usually stored or pass by each other quickly." He pumped himself. "Soon as we find the stairs and make our way up, it should be smooth sailing-" He was suddenly cut off when Uriel suddenly pulled him back.
Before a familiar claw pierced through the ceiling. Sora froze in shock at the sight of it, watching the claw as it scrapes around the ground. The claw easily went through the metal of the rails easily. Almost as if it was searching for something. They heard it make a roar of frustration before the claw was pulled back through the hole.
After staring in shock of a while, Sora slowly moved his head to stare up at Uriel in shock, as she just stared out with a tense expression. Seeing that claw filled Sora with dread. Because it only means that the Abyss Creature had managed to survive the flood. Uriel slowly turned her head to stare down to Sora before she held up a finger to her lips. Sora slowly nodded, before they walked around the hole cautiously. Sora raised his right hand to cover his mouth, just in case.
Which was admittedly the right thing to do so.
Sora jumped, stifling a startled cry as the claw crashed through the ceiling again, searching around for the two once more. They waited once more as it scrabbles furiously to search for its prey, until it retreats its claw back.
The two didn't exactly trust it well enough to figure that it would be gone at this point. After all, there is a tasty morsel that's also alive and has returned to its apparent lair. And the Angel accompanying him is just an appetizer for the main course.
Even if the creature is from the Abyss and is among the Chosen like Tiamat, Sora did not feel confident that the two could take on the massive bug as they are. It's one thing with Tiamat, because he fought against her with War's help. But even if he had a Keyblade, what exactly could he do against it on his own? (With the earlier bout playing fresh in his mind.) And the squad of Hellguard members he saw at the entrance had also apparently tried to take it on but failed.
The boy realized that they need War's help if they are to defeat this creature. Yet he isn't optimistic of Uriel and the Horseman working together if the animosity he sensed earlier was an indication. He can't hope to get the two to work together by force, even if they DO have a common enemy.
Their best hope is to evade the creature for as long as they can and find a way out of the subway. Yet, considering his track record so far…he is never that lucky.
After a good, long while, the two cautiously continued down the path. This time, keeping their ears open for any tall-tale signs of the Creature. It was the tensest event he had ever experienced. He had never felt this way before, a sense of dread that had seeped into his bones. That one wrong step would spell the end of him if he was not careful. And he did not want Uriel to endanger herself to protect him. She still had to return to the Hellguard.
He had thought back to the holes the monster had pierced through the ceiling, yet when he had suggested it, Uriel points out that it could ambush them if they had attempted to fly out. The two would be dead if it were to happen, shot down or otherwise. They basically have no choice BUT to continue on foot, hoping to find the exit and leave as quickly as possible.
There were times where they were nearly ambushed by the monster, when it suddenly burst from the wall, flailing it's limbs around to try to get them. There were conveniently placed passenger cars, which they used as a decoy to trick it. It took the combined effort between the two (mostly Uriel) to push it in the way of the beast. They had to back away as quickly as possible as it furiously tries to eat the car, only succeeding in blocking the hole.
They quickly hurried on, not wanting to get caught up in any other traps.
Sora wasn't sure how much more he could take. Jumping every time it made its entrance. He'll end up having a heart attack at this rate.
After getting away from that scene, Sora turned to Uriel. "Please tell me that we're close to a path leading up."
"I believe so," she answered. "But…" she had a grim look. "I think it's trying to deter us from leaving."
The boy looked down the path and back at her. "What…makes you say that?"
"The path a while back?" Uriel reminded him, "It's one of the ways that leads to the surface."
Sora felt his face fall in dismay. What? Is she serious? "…You're kidding…" he muttered. Her shaking her head grimly was the worst answer he got all day. He felt his heart drop to his stomach. He threads his fingers through his hair, not caring about the gauntlet snagging some of his hair and pulled a bit. He wants to scream.
This…this can't be happening! He felt he was about to go insane at this rate! Just…why, why why?!
(He can't break here; he can't afford to break!)
He inhaled through his clenched teeth, held his breath for ten seconds before he exhaled. He released his hair, before he muttered, "Is there another path out of here?"
When he didn't hear Uriel answer in a while, he raised his head, seeing a concerned expression on her face. He blinked at her, confused by her expression. Until his eyes widened a little. He must have worried her with how he had reacted to her words. More than likely scaring her.
"Oh," he muttered softly, lowering his gaze. He stared at nothing before he lowered his gaze to the ground. "I'm sorry," he apologized, feeling guilty. "I just…want to get out of here."
After a small moment of silence, Uriel finally said softly, "That is…understandable. We had been down here for too long." After a moment, she then suggests, "Perhaps…we should rest?"
Sora raised his head, protest forming in his throat, but he stopped himself. He mulled over past events leading to now. Did they actually REALLY rest, up until this point? All they did was walk, stealth walk and mostly stood around. But that's it. They didn't properly rest. At this point, they were running on fumes, and it didn't help his own emotional well-being as well. And who knows how long they've been down here in this godforsaken place. It may have been nighttime, for all he knew.
The boy slowly nodded. "Yeah. Good idea," he agreed softly. "Let's just…sit down somewhere."
With that, the two managed to find a small opening that the two could fit into. Sora slowly eased himself to sit down, exhaling. His whole body sagged, and his shoulders dropped. He never realized just how exhausted he was up until he sat down. He didn't feel this level of exhaustion, even when he traversed the Twilight Cathedral with War. Both times, there was an air of urgency that they needed to reach their destination. Yet Sora was sure that compared to the Cathedral and the Hollows, he wasn't as exhausted as he is now. He isn't sure what exactly changed. He hadn't used his magic in a while…perhaps that was it?
Or maybe, he thought as he lifted his hand to stare down at it, he didn't have the Keyblade on him. Yet that didn't make sense as well, since he can still get exhausted. He had practically fought through a thousand Heartless in Radiant Garden and had fought rather difficult opponents.
If it isn't either of them, then what is it that made him so exhausted?
…For some reason, his mind shifted to the 'flame' that he saw on his hand when that 'sword' killed that feline-like demon earlier in the day. He remembered becoming utterly exhausted after using it just once. No, not 'use' it. He never knew he had that power until that moment. Did he use another instance of that strange power? He racked his brain to think back to 'when' he had used it again. He couldn't think of anything after a few moments…but then he wondered on something that, very clearly, didn't make sense thus far. Like…how was he able to make that powerful of a blow to that creature that it caused a fissure that the four had fallen through? He had NEVER been capable of doing something like that. Especially since most of his power was sapped or locked away upon arriving to this world on accident.
It's a rather weird thing about him, to be honest. Whenever he learned something, he was able to do it perfectly after a couple of tries. Merlin had once said that he has a 'natural talent' to learn and utilize these things. Though once he had Drive Forms, his body had instinctively shifted into those forms when his life was in danger. It may be due to how he had often used some of them during their journey thus far. But the power that he had used since earlier…
For some reason, it felt SO natural that it was like…second nature to him. Why in the world is that?
What exactly IS this power he has?
He remembered a lesson with Merlin back then about magic. First time users of it ended up becoming exhausted, and he had to fight against enemies or use invigorative potions to restore his magic. But as they grow in experience, they can 'draw' in power in the air to slowly restore their magic, yet the process can be sped up with the same items as back then. Learning some skills or attaching a certain Keychain can add in the effects as well. It was the same with certain skills he had learned in the first journey, that was then shifted into one of his Drive forms.
So…going by that logic, it may be the same with that strange power. He felt more exhausted because he had never used it before. Ergo, it's the first time he ever used that power.
It still doesn't explain how or why he even has that power. The fact it felt so natural to him is what's scaring him.
The boy stopped his thoughts, sighing heavily. Thinking about all of this won't help him. It isn't like he would magically figure it all out. He has more things to worry about than to ponder where the strange power came from. He REALLY needs to get out of this place and find somewhere to actually breathe.
He raised his head to look up at Uriel. She seems just as exhausted herself. And no wonder since she has a human to protect. Sora felt a stab of guilt, that she's doing this to make sure he would be safe from demons. And he isn't really from this world. That is what made the guilt worse for him. He has no idea how long he could keep this going until she finds out the truth.
(And a part of him is scared of how she would react or what she might do when that truth comes out…)
The best he could do is help her get out of here. The Hellguard needs her.
If only War is here, and he takes care of that monster, it would be SO much easier… but mentally lamenting about it won't solve their problems.
Sora narrowed his eyes, shifting his face into a determined look before he slapped his cheeks a couple of times. He exhaled roughly before he checked himself. The exhaustion is going away, but this is just enough at least. He got up from his spot, turning to Uriel. "How are you holding up?" He asked her.
Uriel looked to him. She stared at him in confusion before noticing it. "Oh. You are asking if I am all right now?" Sora shifted his eyes little, pursing his lips (as if remembering that the angel is not familiar with Human sayings)…before they shifted back to her, nodding his head. "I am…managing," she answered carefully. "It's only for a little while longer."
"Yeah," Sora nodded softly. He lowered his head before he raised it to look at her. "…Sorry for how I reacted. It's just…" he rolled his hand a little before he sighed. "I just want to get out of here."
Uriel shook her head. "You already apologized for that," she said. "you have nothing to apologize for."
"I know," Sora responded. "But…I still want to apologize." He rubbed his arm. "I shouldn't have acted the way I did."
Uriel looked over at him. "To be honest, in a way, you cannot help that. In Human terms, you are still a child. You should not be going through this."
If was like his younger self, he would have taken offense to the 'child' comment. Yet…she isn't entirely wrong. Humans are probably 'children' to the rest of the people of this world. And in their standards, he is very, VERY young.
But what she said after, that he should not be going through this…
His eyes shifted. "Well, not everything could go your way," he said softly. If it had, perhaps things would have been different…
(No time to think about that now.)
He returned his focus to her. "Anyways…" he looked over at her, "I think we can stay here for about five more minutes."
Uriel noted it before shaking her head. "Don't worry about my own well-being. I will be all right."
"Uriel, we've been down here for…" Sora trailed off to think about it until he resumed, "however long it was. You spent most of the time protecting me. Even you gotta rest up. You aren't invincible. And besides…I don't want you to risk your safety for me, when you got the rest of the Hellguard to get back to."
The angel noted it before she had a pained expression. "I…" she nodded slightly. "Yes. You are right."
Relief filled Sora's body, sighing softly as he let his arms go slack. At least she's seeing reason. "Okay then," he said softly. "Let's take five."
After about five minutes, the exhaustion he felt had gone away, allowing the boy to stretch a bit. As he looked over to Uriel, he noticed that she looked a little better than she did a while ago. So the rest did her some good, it seems. She was also messing with the map, as if to determine which way they must go now. Finding alternate ways to get to the surface. As much as he wanted to take a look at the map himself, it's better if he let her be. Glancing over to the opening they slipped through, Sora peered out, looking in both directions for any demons.
"Try not to get too far," Uriel informed him, making him jump.
He looked back, slightly offended. "I'm not! I was keeping a look out for demons! I know better than to wonder out on my own in here."
Uriel's amber eyes rolled up to his. "Just as you knew better than to come in here?" she asked, yet her voice is teasing.
Sora clamped his mouth shut before he glanced away, using his left hand to scratch his cheek. "…Okay, yeah, you got me," he muttered with a bit of a blush on his cheeks.
A soft sound redirected his attention to Uriel, who had a soft smile, eyes closed, and a hand slightly raised to her mouth. He stared in surprise. Did she just…laugh? He didn't think they were capable of that. For the longest while, since he had been on this world, he had never seen anyone smile. Ever. At least…not like this. Out of mirth, happiness (the good kind)…they're either too serious or had issues he isn't aware of. Or perhaps, they couldn't afford to smile.
When he blinked, Uriel had a perplexed look. "What?"
"Huh?" he responded intelligently.
"Is there something on my face?" she asked him.
Oh, whoops. She caught him staring.
Sora shook his head. "no, not really," he answered honestly. He approached and leaned in a bit from the side. "So…any luck?"
Uriel returned her attention to the map. "I'm trying to see if we can take alternative paths. However, it would take us further away from this area as a result. The time it would take for us to reach there would be, in Human time, two weeks. By estimation."
Once the news sunk in, Sora sighed, slouching. Well, that figures. Even if he had some leftovers, he would end up running out of supplies before they could get out. He straightened out. "Any other…paths we could take?" he inquired, trying not to sound upset about it (though, surprisingly, he didn't feel upset at all this time. Just…tired).
Uriel didn't seem to take note of the tone (or lack thereof), squinting her eyes at the holographic map. Slowly, she said, "There is…one other path. It seems to be a secret passage, however."
That caught Sora's attention. "Really?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm not sure if it's Demon made but…there is a path that leads outside," she reported. Sora couldn't believe that there's actually another path to get out of here. He could be smiling and mentally jump for joy to FINALLY get out of the place…if the expression on her face kept him from doing so. A grim expression.
"…But?" He pressed.
She gave a sigh before she moved the map to show it…moving it downward. To show a large enough area. "Here."
Sora had a blank stare at it. Well. Great. Either walk for two weeks to get to an exit, where he might die of dehydration, starvation, or get mauled by a demon after being weakened by both…or head deeper into the Hollows in hopes of finding that secret passage, possibly running into that monster and MORE demons. Both options sound awful.
And yet…of the two, it's obvious which one is more suitable for their wants. …Even if one of them sucks.
"So…we either walk for two weeks…or we take our chances and head below…" Sora summed up the situation. He sighed. "Well, nothing to it. We have to go down."
Uriel's head swiveled to him with a shocked expression. "Are you certain?"
"Uriel let's be honest," Sora began with a frank tone, "if we take the first one, I'll be out of rations. I only have so few to eat, and I don't have enough water in my canteen to last me a while. And I can't force you to protect me forever. Going down below is our only option at this point. And if that monster is making sure we can't leave at all, I say that we have to go down."
Uriel stared at him for a while before she sighed. "I suppose…that is our only option," said she in a reluctant tone. She dismissed the map before standing up. "We've rested enough. Let's keep moving."
"Right," Sora nodded.
Uriel cautiously peered out, looking in all directions before she waved Sora out. The two cautiously walked out, making sure there were no surprises. Once they were sure the coast was clear, Uriel led the way with Sora trailing behind her.
Uriel had said to him that she had memorized the map, finding alternate paths that lead below that isn't barred by water. Apparently, nearly the entire subway had been flooded by water, and though she would have the means to hold her breath for a long while, apparently angels are NOT good swimmers. And Sora, unfortunately, does not have that luxury. He can swim pretty well (having grown up at the islands and all), he can't hold his breath for a long while. And he can't magically turn into a fishman like he did at Atlantica – via Donald's magic or his magic clothes.
Admittedly, he gave it a try before he first met War, quickly learning that his clothes doesn't automatically change him into a fishman. He was very lucky that the only thing that could hurt him underwater are demonic fish – a quick fling of magic thunder killed them at least (once he got out of the water – because magic lightning or not, he would rather not be electrocuted, thank you). That was how he learned that he couldn't utilize Drive Forms as well. So that was a day.
Back to it, with the pathways Uriel had managed to find and memorize, they can use those paths as shortcuts to get around. The paths were more than likely dug out by the Demons to make traversing around the subway easier, to later connect to the caverns below them.
Apparently, the Demons REALLY don't want to cross paths with the Abyssal Demon. From what he has seen thus far, he does NOT blame them.
Sora had no idea how long they had been walking now, carefully going through paths and taking care to avoid the Demons as much as possible, while making sure not to cross paths with the Abyss Monster. He had enough 'jump scares' for the day.
But Sora could tell that it's perhaps VERY late, because he felt a headache coming in. He hadn't ate in a while, and it's because his body is too alert that he hadn't passed out yet. Once he gets out, the first thing he'll do is find Ulthane, apologize to him for rushing off into this hellhole, and sleep for the night. Then raid his pantry for food. If Ulthane allows it that is.
As they progressed, however, Sora gave a cautious look around. It had been a while, yet they hadn't seen a scale nor hide of that monster. Not since that last encounter. With a delectable morsel still in the Hollows, it would have taken any other chance to attack them. This made him feel on edge. And glancing at Uriel at the corner of his eye, he could see that she was the same.
For all they know…they could be walking into a trap…
Soon enough, they arrived at a peculiar room. It appears to be a part of the station, but also has elements of outside as well. A part of the wall had stones covering it, and windows high up. From what Sora could see, faint traces of light managed to filter through. Not the brightness like the sun, but rather moonlight.
'Man…it must be REALLY late,' Sora thought after he stared up at the windows for a while. He turned his attention to the rest of the room. A suspiciously large hole could be seen on the other end of the room, the tunnel completely and utterly dark just at the entrance. Not even the light from the windows could pierce through it. Yet, it doesn't feel like a smart idea to go anywhere NEAR that tunnel.
Sora regarded the room, having a concerned expression. "Uh, Uriel?" he began after a bit of silence. "Is this…the right way?"
Uriel also looked around herself, clicking her tongue under her breath. "The alternate pathway is below us," she reported. "For some reason, there is a path that leads down to where we need to be."
At once, the two turned their heads to the suspicious hole. "Honestly…I don't trust that…" Sora stated, staring at it.
"Agreed," Uriel responded. "We'll need to find another way to get below."
"Sounds good to me," Sora agreed with a nod.
And yet, before they could even move they heard a pair of roars. Their heads swiftly turned to the source, seeing a pair of demons resembling the one that Sora had fought hours before. The feline-like Demons with horns.
"Oh come on!" Sora complained as the pair jumped down. "Can't you Demons give us a break?"
"They're Grappleclaws," Uriel informed him. "They are strong and yet…" her eyes narrowed. "They aren't attacking. Why is that?"
Sora, who had begun to back up, stopped when she had pointed it out. Their bodies are hunched, poised to attack and yet they didn't. They just…growled at them. Did they wander into their territory? Or…perhaps…to intimidate them? Why is that?
Before he began to ponder more about it, Uriel suddenly enveloped him into her arms and moved swiftly. He was about to voice his indignation of being tackled out of the blue like that, until his eyes soon locked onto something. It took a while for his brain to process and take in large, barbed tentacles. Flailing around as if searching for something. When Uriel moved to draw away, he also took notice of the Grappleclaws having jumped back from the hole. With all that had happened, it became apparent to Sora what had just happened.
It was Uriel who voiced them out, as she spat, "Demon scum…you attempt to sacrifice us to save your own lives?!"
"They tried to make us into bait to leave?!" Sora questioned in shock.
The roar of something larger is heard from the tunnel, informing the two of their new predicament. They had avoided the other demons thus far, but now they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The two are pinned, and with Sora's prior experience with the Grappleclaw, the big brutes are deceptively fast as they are strong. He knew in an instant that Uriel cannot face the two on her own, especially if she tries to protect him.
Another stab of guilt hit him. If he had stayed quietly around the entrance to the subway hours before, Uriel may not have been involved in the mess they are in now. Yet there is no guarantee that even Ulthane would be safe from both the Horseman and the Hellguard, when both learned that he had housed an Outsider. And War may more than likely force him to stay with the Maker as well.
The boy mentally shook his head to shake the thoughts away. This isn't the time to lament his past actions. They need to survive this fight somehow. Uriel can't hope to face the Grappleclaws on her own. And they may not have enough time to make their own exit or be quick enough to outmaneuver them to escape the way they came. There is no other choice BUT to fight. Yet the young human is without a weapon. He had used the other Demon's weapons on occasion after he had found he could only use blunt force with his Keyblade, but they are still rather heavy. If he had a lighter weapon…
Sora perked and his eyes shifted to the gauntlet on his right hand. He raised his head to Uriel. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have an 'extra' sword on you, would you?"
"Why the question?" Uriel asked him.
"Honestly, I had a weapon on me, but I lost it back there," Sora responded. "I mean, I defend myself when necessary. I know better than to take on those things, especially if they're bigger than I am."
"You are able to fight?" Uriel asked him, with a surprised look.
"uh…yeah," Sora nodded, giving a helpless shrug. "I kinda…forgot? To tell you? Or rather, there wasn't the 'right' time to tell you."
Uriel let out an exasperated huff at this. "Here." She soon hands him a simple looking sword. "It's a spare dagger I have." Sora looked at it incredulously. That's a dagger? Well, compared to people taller than him, that made sense…
Sora takes the weapon in his hands. It's a little heavy in his hands but…he will make do. He got into a stance, holding the sword in both hands and facing outwards. Not exactly his own, but he did remember seeing War use this stance. He doesn't know what will happen here, but…he gazed to the hole where the 'claws' were at, the claws having retracted when they found no mark. "Let's try not to get to close to that cave," he suggested. "But also," he turned his gaze to the Grappleclaws pacing before the two, "let's try not to get mauled to death by those guys too."
"I'm well aware," Uriel deadpanned. Then she asked in a serious tone, "but are you really able to fight?"
"Yeah," Sora nodded. "Mostly self-taught but…it's worked out for me so far."
Sure, he was trained a bit by Leon in how to use a sword more effectively, and there were bits of training from Riku's parents as well, but they were unofficial; but for the most part, he was entirely self-taught. And he never really had someone teach him how to use a Keyblade, yet it worked out well for him. For the most part. There was also a brief time where he, Donald and Goofy trained a little in Shang's army, where Sora learned how to use a pole for attack. He isn't good at hand-to-hand combat, nor archery but he was able to pick up how to use a polearm relatively quickly. Honestly, it was perhaps out of sheer luck that because the small army needed more people that no one questioned what a teenager and a pair of 'adults' were doing there in the first place. They were just conscripted into the army, no questions asked. (They still got kicked out anyway for knowing Mulan's actual gender. It would be a matter of time before they realize how old Sora is.)
But back to the matter at hand, he'll have to make sure not to get caught. He doesn't know how well the weapon can conduct with his magic, so he'll have to improvise.
~o~
When he checked the compass again, the arrow was still steady as last time, yet the head is turning orange. Which could only mean one thing: they're close.
Granted, they had been on the boy's trail for quite a while. Most of the time they had to make their own way to get through, with the Black Hammer using his hammer to create their own openings. Some of them are rather hard to see until they got closer to the openings and are relatively sized for at least a smaller Demon to slip through. With the marks etched onto the walls leading to them, they're to keep something massive away.
It didn't take much imagination to guess 'what' it is, however.
But after hours of walking, slaying demons and traversing the old subway, they are now close to their target.
Switching targets to the boy made the compass work a lot better compared to trying to find the Griever. It may either be the tunnels or some other factor he isn't seeing that made it difficult to locate the Chosen. And if his hunch is correct, the boy would likely encounter the Griever, as the boy is the only human around.
Mystic or not, it left a bitter taste in his mouth to try to use the boy as bait to bring the Chosen out. Even if it was beyond their control, he didn't want the young human to be used like this. He should have been more diligent about it.
(Funny of how his thoughts about the boy had changed due to a possibility of him being a Mystic. He knew the boy can handle himself, but if a demon were to get a taste of his blood or a bit of his soul energy…)
(No. This time it'll be different.)
War had to make the pathway this time using a focused power from Chaos form to melt a literal hole through the last wall and stepped through, not minding the molten metal having dripped onto his shoulder. He merely flicked it off before checking his compass. With the confirmation of where they need to go, the Horseman nodded to himself and dismissed it. "We should be near our destination by now," he reported.
"'Bout damn time," Ulthane huffed. "Been walking for hours."
"You could just leave," War pointed out to him.
"I would. But I have unfinished business here," the Maker responded.
War softly clicked his tongue under his breath. Why are Makers so stubborn…? Though, he suspected that the 'business' may actually be the same person they're looking for. The boy never mentioned anything about meeting a Maker. Then again, he supposed it was also his fault for not asking.
Though, if he knew the physiology of humans as well as he did – even if it's rusty – the boy is most likely at his limit at this time. Mystics may have supernatural powers, but they are still human at the end of the day. And he recalled that the boy did grow exhausted after the fight with Tiamat. It's easy to forget the limits of other beings when you have a weapon that grants endless stamina in exchange for causing carnage and bloodshed, especially with humans. The young human is likely exhausted at this point, where it would be easy for any Demon to get to him. Uriel did prove to be an interesting fight during their brawl as they fell into the ravine, yet even she has limits. The technology angels have in their arsenal required sunlight, and if her wings hadn't fully formed yet, she lost her aerial advantage.
If they pick up the pace now, they may be able to get to them in time. But he isn't going to cling to any false hopes that the boy would be unscathed or not into trouble at this point. The boy somehow finds himself into trouble every time.
"Fine," War turned to walk ahead.
Of course, the Maker chose that time to be talkative. "Oh, someone's in a hurry. Seems you have business of your own."
"I'm searching for the Griever," the Horseman answered steely. "What you do is none of my concern."
"Well, what the lady said got you in a hurry. Is it that important to keep away from the Destroyer?"
He is not going to let the Old One get under his skin. He just walked faster. Out of necessity. He ignored the Maker's vexed cry, focusing entirely on the path ahead. They need to hurry. They do not have time to waste in idle chit-chat.
And it was a good thing he did, because he soon heard roars belonging to a Grappleclaw Demon. Meaning, there's a pair. Not good. Those are enough trouble on their own, yet with two? If it were just him, he would handle them, depowered or not. But there is a human and an angel that WILL have trouble. Only the elite members of the Hellguard deal with stronger demons – Grappleclaws and the Traumas are among those – those of the commander and lieutenant ranks. Yet this is not an 'ordinary' circumstance at the moment.
Making use of his legs, he sprints down the way he heard the roars come from. He had gotten pretty far until he noticed an orange glow and quickly slowed himself down before he could crash into the demon barrier. He gave an annoyed scoff at it. Of course. It's never easy.
He kept himself calm, shifting his eyes over the barrier for at least a weakness. If there's one thing he knew about barriers, they often cover the more 'visible' openings in select places. He raised his head and around the hallway before he spotted a sizable vent. With merely a shrug, he stalked over and pried the covering off. Concentrating, he focused some of the Chaos energy into his limbs to allow him to bend the metal around him. Basically creating his own way through.
("Huh. You know with scales like these, you'd think you could use something from your heritage for other uses," she mused as she ran her fingers lightly over the scales on his shoulder blade. "Like a dragon, almost."
"I am not sure if I do have something akin to that."
"True." She laid down fully onto his back, "But it's the inside that counts, isn't it?")
He mentally shook off that memory, resuming focus on his objective. Using his ears, he used the sounds of the fight echoing through the vent to reach his destination. Seeing another covering, he kicked it down and emerged. He found himself at an elevated area, standing up to full height. Walking to the edge, he peered down. And saw that the two were doing their best to stay in the middle between the opening towards a tunnel and a pair of Grappleclaws. The horseman merely got down on his knee and observed the fight…if you could call it that. All the Grappleclaws were doing was trying to get to their blindside and swipe at them, forcing the two to dodge their respective opponent while also staying away from the tunnel.
The Red Rider narrowed his eyes at this. If one was a reckless novice, they would have seen this as a waste of a fight before jumping in to be a part of it. Yet if one took the time to observe the battle, they would have noticed something is…off.
For one, the Grappleclaws aren't actively attacking the two. A lot of Demons are driven by instinct, and lesser ones follow the command of those 'stronger' than them. Grappleclaws act as swift footed brutes, acting more feral than others. Yet here, they are just trying to get the two a little closer to the tunnel. Regarding the tunnel itself. It didn't seem as if it was made by the war machines Demons had made to carve out stone and such. There are those that are large, but this tunnel, from his standpoint, didn't have the marks of drills on the walls. Meaning, something massive is within the tunnel, and the Grappleclaw pair is trying to 'push' the two towards the opening. A threat so dire that they would try to sacrifice a human and an angel to save themselves.
Typical of Demons to use others and backstab each other for their own sake. And it always sickens him of how some of that blood runs through his veins. Angels are not entirely blameless themselves, with their arrogance and ignorance (and some took pride in their ignorance as well) – and only a select few are humble. A select few.
Seeing all he had to see, and getting the idea of the situation, the Horseman would have to apply a different strategy. He ignored Chaoseater's growls and hisses for the fight as he carefully made his way down to the ground floor. As silently as he could, he kept his eyes on the fight, carefully crouched down. He isn't going to draw Chaoseater. At least, not yet.
The boy appeared to have found a sword, using it to force the Demon back and keeping himself away from the tunnel. The boy used his smaller frame to dodge the strikes it would try to use against him, managing to slide under it when it lunged at him, before quickly getting up to dodge the tail as it swished about. It is getting agitated at its agile opponent. As the Horseman noted, though, the boy acted as if he had fought one previously. Which is…concerning. When and where?
He resumed his focus into the fight as the boy tensed at the next attack. However, he unfortunately got punished as it had feinted an attack to the right, making him move to roll to the side. The boy's eyes went wide at the realization as it soon struck him, open claws, to pin him down. The boy grunted as he was pinned, but his arms were still free. For some reason, the young human tried to physically pry the hand off of him. Panic can do that onto warriors at times, especially young ones.
The Grappleclaw pinning the human had it's back to the Horseman, so it wouldn't see him coming at all. He had to make sure it no longer had a grip on the boy before he could move.
The young human didn't try to call out to the angel as she was in her own battle. If she is ever distracted, even for a fraction of a moment, then it would spell the end for her too.
After a mere moment, the boy seemed to remember the weapon he had. As it was about to move upwards, he quickly grabbed the sword before he was held up into the air. Just as it was about to toss him away, he quickly slashed at its arm, making it roar and dropping him. He landed on his backside, wasting a few seconds to groan and rub his head.
A few seconds that the Horseman gladly takes, rushing forward and grabbing it by its tail. Using his immense strength, he spun it around a few times before he tosses it into the air. As it flailed about in the air, he drew Chaoseater and runs it through as it drops back down. He held his ground, even as blood sprayed a bit and spilled onto him. He soon 'tossed' it aside without a care, ignoring the weapon's cry for more bloodshed.
With one of the threats exterminated, he turned his head to gaze down at the human, who stared up at him in surprise. His clothes are crinkled a little, yet on his right hand is a gauntlet of sorts that has glowing blue eyes and a gaping maw.
Then he watched, fascinated, as the look in the boy's eyes turned from surprise to relief. "War!" He cried out happily. He bolted up and rushed at him.
Yet War automatically sidesteps, having the boy quickly stop in his tracks, flails his arms a little to regain his balance. The Nephilim plucks the back of his hood and helps him back on his feet.
Acting as if the flub-up never happened, the boy turned to the Horseman, saying, "Boy am I glad to see you! You're okay!"
War simply grunted, giving a slight nod.
The smile never left the human's face, as if truly happy to see him. The boy's expression changed before he looked back to the other fight Uriel is having with the Grappleclaw. The human turned fully his face shifted into a determined expression. War watched the young human's moves carefully, noting that the boy isn't recklessly rushing off to help her. Instead, he seemed to be contemplating something. The boy raised his right hand to rub his chin before glanced down at it.
"Oh yeah…" the boy muttered at the sight of it. He looked over at the sword he had accidentally dropped – which War could see clearly up close, seeing that it was a simple angelic dagger in case there is a need for a quick defense. The boy glanced down at the palm of his right hand, curling his fingers a couple of times. "All right," he reached down and picked up the dagger in his right hand, "let's hope this works…"
He transfers the weapon to his left hand before he holds out his right hand as if to reach out to something.
As War watched…he soon noted the gauntlet's eyes glowing. This time, the Horseman watched in stunned awe as blue energy – magic, a part of him recognized – emerged from the palm, before it soon shaped itself into a similar likeness to the angelic dagger. Not intricately designed as the other, but still in its likeness.
After a moment, the boy noticed the weapon construct in his hand. "All right, it worked!" He exclaimed, before he turned his gaze to the two fighters. He positioned himself…before as hard as he could, threw the construct at them.
As if by sheer stroke of luck, the sword had landed its mark, onto the side of the Grappleclaw, making it roar in pain. The angel noted it before she turned towards them. It took a moment for her to realize what happened before she turned back to her opponent. Soon enough, she swiftly and cleanly decapitated it.
Both bodies had burned up as the soul energy and the souls exited their bodies to be drawn towards the gem in his left hand.
Once the body was gone, the boy sighed heavily, falling to his knees. "Thank…goodness…" he muttered.
The Horseman regarded the young human before him. The boy is truly at his limit at this point. He could pass out at any moment. It would be beneficial if the boy left this subway as soon as possible. At the corner of his eye, the Watcher emerged from his left hand.
"Ugh…I was hoping that you would die at some point," the Watcher griped at the human.
"Shut…shut it," the boy panted.
War kneeled by the human. "Can you stand?" he asked.
The boy took a moment to respond with, "I…I think so."
The Horseman merely nodded before he stood up. In his peripheral vision, Uriel is watching them like a hawk. "You are at your limit," he said to the young human. He looked to Uriel, noting that she is on guard but ignoring it. "So are you."
Uriel had an affronted look. "I can keep going," she insisted.
The Red Rider's frown curled. Stubborn fool. "You two should not stay here for much longer," he told them. He gazed at the Watcher. "Make a waypoint for them to exit from. After, we can resume our business."
"And what was it that is so important that you need, Horseman?" Uriel questioned him.
"That is none of your business, angel," War responded curtly.
"Okay, okay!" The boy staggered to his feet and held up his hands at both of them. "Just stop. Stop!" He raised his head. "I just…want to leave this place. Okay? So can we just GO already? So can you save it for another time?"
"This is not your place, human," the Watcher spat at the human. "Just because you are an outsider does not mean you'll get your way."
The boy turned to the Watcher, agitated. "Can you NOT right now?!" He exclaimed. "I get that I'm a human, but I don't want me to be eaten or to have her," he gestured to Uriel, "killed!"
"Well, your bleeding heart has got you into trouble yet again," the Watcher retorted, glowering down at him. "Because of you, the Horseman is not focused on the mission he has to do!"
"It wasn't my fault that happened!" It was faint, but War noted 'sparks' around the boy as his face went into a grimace.
"oh, shifting blame aren't we?" The Watcher said blithely. "How typical. You humans just love to cast blame onto something else for your own mistakes. It must not have changed or it's the same outside, isn't it?" The 'sparks' are appearing in frequency, a soft blue in color.
(Something about this is disturbingly familiar.)
Something told him to step in between them before something happens. And yet before he could even speak up, the sprite soon adds, "Perhaps if you hadn't been around here, there would be no trouble!"
With an expression of absolute fury etched onto his face, the boy shouted, "You think I WANTED to be here?!" The Watcher didn't seem intimidated by the boy. "You think I WANTED to be here in this godforsaken place!? That I WANTED to be away from those I know and love?!" The sparks went about wildly, the Horseman nearly taking a step back from the ferocity that the sprite soon took note. "All I wanted was to leave and go home! But I don't even know if I can even GET there! With there being demons and some freakin' situations going on here! I didn't want to be here! I didn't come to this world by choice!" The boy's eyes glistened. "I was supposed to find my friends! I was supposed to go home!" he threads his fingers through his hair. "But I can't even do that because someone wanted to endanger everything and kept me away from everything! I just WANT to go HOME!"
The Horseman carefully watched the boy. He had been weighed by this much on his mental state? They need to de-escalate the situation, and yet the Red Rider is not equipped with that experience. "Boy, you need to calm down," he said to the human in a placating manner.
"I'm CALM!" The boy threw his arms out forcefully-
A strong force had him automatically brace himself, nearly skidding back. Yet he had felt a strange sensation course through his body. He blearily noted 'chains' around his left hand while the Watcher disappeared back into it (coward).
The sensation he had felt, however, made him feel…twitchy. He had felt so energized and almost like how he once was before being depowered. (And yet it also felt so wrong at the same time.)
Looking past his arms, he noticed the boy panting, with sparkling streaks on his cheeks with his left hand on his head. Behind him, Uriel had lowered her arms to stare at the human. Yet before anything else could be said, a voice boomed into the room.
"Oi! Lad!" All heads swiveled to the Maker as he soon rushed in.
"Wha- Ulthane?!" The boy yelped out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
The Maker had a stern look as he approached the human. "I should be asking YOU that pup!" He held up a finger in a scolding motion before picking up the human by the back of his hood to look at him at eye level. "Wot were you doing down here in the nest o demons?! You should have stayed hidden near the entrance! Not go INTO the nest! Ya have any idea how worried I was?!"
The boy dangled in the air but winced as he was scolded by the Maker. Once Ulthane was finished, the boy slouched, his expression shifting into guilt. "I…I'm sorry."
The Maker stared down at the human before sighing. "…'M glad yer safe, pup," the Black Hammer muttered to him.
After a moment of silence…
"You know him/each other?" Uriel and War questioned at the same time after staring at the two incredulously.
The Maker seemed to have noticed the two before he groaned. "Right. Cat's out of the bag, as the humans say…" he muttered before he sets the boy down. "But we shouldn't stay up here for long." He peered down at the boy. "Speaking of, why were you in here anyway?"
"Huh?" the boy uttered before he noticed something. "Oh, yeah! We were trying to find a secret passage that's under the room."
Ulthane's eyebrows shot up. "There? But that room's-" The entire room soon shook violently with them noticing. They heard a roar of a beast coming from the tunnel beside them, with all heads turning to look.
For some reason, the Horseman's head turned to gaze at the Keyblade on his back. An odd instinct is telling him to quickly pass the weapon to the boy. He did not question it, reaching behind him and threw it towards the boy.
It soon became quite apparent that he was right to trust in that instinct as something quick – nearly faster than his own eyes – whipped at the boy. A barrier formed around the boy, with the Keyblade between it and the object, a whip-like tongue, had wrapped around the barrier.
A bellow boomed out from the tunnel as the room shook in intensity before the tongue decided to lash around the room. The boy's distorted screams were heard as the barrier hit parts of the room. Dust fell around before there were earth cracking noises heard. The shadows over them is all the warning the three need before they jump away to dodge.
War rolled to his knee as he heard the parts of the ceiling land behind him with dust and dry dirt kicking up. Quickly looking around, he found that he was closer to the tunnel, yet he had no company. He turned his head to gaze at the sizable rock wall behind him, before he returned his back up to see the tongue soon pulling the barrier in, the screaming boy in tow.
He heard Ulthane curse something in his language before the Maker called out, "Get the boy back, stranger! Below leads to the Griever's lair!"
Ah. How oddly convenient.
War stood up straight. "Don't give me orders, Old One."
"A'right listen! You deal with the Griever, MAYBE I would believe you are who you say you are!"
At this point, he doesn't care if the Maker believes if he is the Red Rider or not. He looked back to the tunnel, sighing to himself.
"You always bring trouble, don't you?" He muttered to himself regarding the human before he sprinted off into the tunnel.
Regardless of what happens, the Griever awaits.
Sora is NOT fine. And listen, I know you guys are gonna harp on me for making him out of character here. But if you were in his shoes, had gone through the bullshit he had gone through in Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories and then II at this point, and THEN had to survive in this literal hellscape with monsters out to eat you, of course he's gonna be at his limit. The poor kid had the weight of the world on his shoulders and add in the fact that he could possibly get someone he just met killed trying to protect him would have that effect on him. He's just a kid with a heart too big for him, a very good kid that's a human. The Keyblading experience is surprisingly toxic, with the damage that happened with those who 'learned' from Scala. This may sound like I'm justifying how I'm making the kid suffer, trust me, you ain't seen nothing yet. He is at his wit's end, and he isn't sure if he's ever going to find a way off of this world. It isn't just him that isn't my victim, however. I love Sora, but you need to remember that he's just as flawed as anyone else. He's allowed to do that. He's allowed to be human. He may be too nice for his own good, but there's only so much stress he could take before he snaps. The guilt, the fear, the stress, what he felt is nearly taking its toll on him, mentally and emotionally. Donald and Goofy were his rock after the Islands fell (well, finding his friends was that at first until they bonded), and when they had to leave their loved ones behind to find Riku and the king. He's on a world were humans were discriminated against and met with ageless beings that had little to no interactions with humanity to understand just how fragile humanity is (except for a select few). I don't know if the humans were isolated on purpose to have everything else develop a bias towards them (like how the Watcher acted towards Sora, and previously Fury but hers is out of ignorance) but I can't help but feel as if a lot of people fell into a trap someone set up (looking at you, Lucifer).
At any rate, the next chapter is the boss fight with the Griever, but in my way.
And I really make out the Watcher as the absolute asshole, didn't I? To be frank, it's deserved (for those who had seen and played the game to the end).
As for certain monsters, I had no idea if it was the Griever trying to eat you that you need to use the train cars to get by, or just an older brood of it doing so. If so, then I have creative liberties. You can't stop me. I also wanted to add a few things that, while not apparent with Tiamat, I will bring out here to show the severity of how potent the Chosen are. Especially when their hearts are filled with Samael's power. I actually have plans for Silthia. -evil grin-
Speaking of, you'd think with enough time and practice - and with the headcannon I placed in about each of them - you'd think they could do something like this. Like War heating his own body up to warp the metal around him...or even use himself as a light source. I just think it's neat, and...well, monster physiology.
I also looked up that the Watcher and its species are also given their derogatory name: sprite. Which...is fitting.
Finally, I'm almost done with this arc. So leave a review and have a good day/night.
(Oh, lastly, I had to look up what is considered 'edible' in the fishing world, and what Sora listed are indeed poisonous/not safe to eat. In Japan, you need a license and the know how to cut open the fugo pufferfish. Otherwise, you'll end up accidentally killing someone. Or yourself. He lives in a tropical area, so I think he would know a thing or two of how to prepare a fish. Have I already mentioned that? Hm.)