Nexus: Heroes Will Rise

by tmb1112

Universal borders have been erased and beings from thousands of universes now live on the same world: Nexus. In the first Saga of Nexus, Awul was saved, but the mysteries of Nexus remain. Now our heroes sail across the sea to Aebrith to search for lost loved ones and save the world. MCs from DBZ, KH, Soul Eater, FT, Blue Exorcist, Bleach, 7DS, OP, Ben 10, SAO, HxH, and many more!

141. Nexus HWR 22-0 Sora and Cass Part 3

A/N Aaaand I'm back! I finished up my fanfic: Death, which had been my main focus of writing for the past 4 years. Now I'm splitting my time between writing new Nexus HWR chapters, and writing a novel. As I'm writing these works too, I'm starting up grad school on Monday. It's a 1 year long program to get my Master's degree. It's going to be pretty intense and difficult, but I am sure I'll have lots of time to write still while I'm here. Also... I have the next 4 chapters finished already, so I'll try to do some quick uploads this next week!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the media you recognize in this story that I got my proper nouns from.

Nexus HWR 22.0 Adventures of Sora and Cass Part 3: That's No God, That's An Alien!:

Somewhere in Android 17's territory, Sora walked away from a sailboat that headed down river away from the satisfied Keybearer. Sora walked westward now on the west side of the second longest river in the Androids' region, one he had spent the entire day around. The suns were setting in front of him and he just walked towards them over the tall grassy fields that looked pristine. The untouched land appeared available to be planted if any farmer would ever dare try to make it on their own out here. There was quite a lot of wildlife around though that they would need to be careful of. From what Sora had heard, Android 17 was pretty strict with his environmental laws above all others.

He heard shouting behind him and glanced over his shoulder before spinning and waving after the two young teenagers on the stern of the sailboat who were yelling his way and thanking him. The curly-haired boy and the redheaded girl next to him waved back while smiling that Sora had heard them even as they got farther away. Sora chuckled to himself as he watched them sail farther and around a bend that made them fade from view. He sighed in relief and even more satisfaction that those kids appreciated his help so much. Sora put both hands behind his head and interlocked them through his hair. "Hahhh," he sighed out a long breath.

Sora looked out into the sunsets again and started walking off to the west. His smile dropped a bit after a few seconds of walking. Sora's eyes shifted up to the sky above, then he lowered them back down to look straight ahead as he started speaking, "So Castiel, I know you can teleport and all that… but you don't always do that when you vanish, do you? I mean, you can also turn invisible, right? All this time you've been with me this week I figured you were going off and doing something else, and I'm sure you do do that, sometimes. But most of the time, you're still here. Aren't you?"

Sora's hands unclasped behind his head. They slid out of his hair and dropped down to his sides. His lip flinched on the right corner. His steps slowed and the spiky-haired boy moved his right hand to his chest that was pounding violently. "Ugh," Sora groaned. "I can tell, Cass," he whispered softer. Sora's eyes closed.

Behind Sora only ten feet away, Castiel opened his shaking right fist. The right sleeve of his trench coat moved and his angel blade slid down into his grasp. Castiel grabbed his weapon and glared at the back of Sora's head.

"I don't understand," Sora whispered. His eyes clenched even harder shut. His right hand curled harder into his shirt over his chest. "I know because I feel you here. I can feel that. And what I feel," Sora tilted his head to the right and pressed his temple into his shoulder. "What I feel… ahh," he gasped out.

Sora's left hand twitched. His Keyblade appeared and he spun around. Sora moved his right hand from his chest as fast as he could to the shaft of his Keyblade and used both hands to parry the angel blade that Castiel stabbed when the angel appeared behind him. Castiel's eyes bulged that Sora moved fast enough to block him, and then his huge eyes shook at the sight of the tears spilling down Sora's face. Those tears fell from eyes that had black wisps swirling around in the whites of them. "Why?" Sora whispered. His voice was full of pain. Sorrow covered his expression as he stared back at Castiel and confirmed his suspicions from the look on Castiel's face.

"My heart wouldn't hurt this much if someone was controlling you. If, this wasn't your decision," Sora gasped hoarsely. His chest ached and his hands shook on his Keyblade's hilt. If Castiel was pushing as hard as he was when he first tried to stab Sora in the back, he might have been able to knock Sora's Keyblade from his hands. The fact that Cass was no longer doing so confused Sora but continued to hurt him as he looked back into the eyes of his friend. "Why are you doing this, Cass? Why, are you trying to kill me?" Sora was baffled. The confusion alone was keeping him from falling into total despair at this moment. He needed some kind of explanation. He was even doing his best to ignore his own heart in the belief that maybe Castiel really was being controlled, again.

Castiel grit his teeth for a second but then pulled his angel blade fast and pushed his other hand into Sora's wavering Keyblade. "The Keyblade chose wrong," Castiel declared after pushing Sora's weapon in a way to open up the boy for another attack. Castiel jabbed forward while staring into Sora's eyes, "It needs a chance to choose another!"

---

Last Night

"Castiel."

Castiel did not sleep. He did not need it. The angel never tired, and so he never rested. Yet his eyes felt heavy and his eyelids drooped in a way he recognized. "Who, aww, are you?" He tried to question but slowed down and yawned during the attempt. His voice came out softer than he already meant it to be because of the sleeping boy in the room with him.

"A Goddess. One of many. I have been watching you…"

Castiel's eyes finally closed. He snapped them back open, but he was no longer in the room of an inn on a sky island that he and Sora had crashed in for the night. Instead he saw himself on a field of tall grass. A figure stood before him, but Castiel darted his gaze side to side first to catch his bearings due to suddenly being teleported away. "Where am I?" Castiel spun back to the person in front of him but then relaxed his expression as the figure hovered slightly off the ground and looked down into his eyes. "What, is this place?" Castiel corrected his previous question.

The figure before him wore a long white robe of silk with yellow highlights on the sashes. She had long gray hair that fell down to her feet. Her eyes were white, including her irises that had thin black circles around them just to separate the whites of her eyes and the thick white pupil-less irises. Her face was beautiful, smooth, with delicate features, yet she gave off an aura of power that made Castiel hold his tongue before asking any further questions. "This is not the real world, Castiel. I needed to speak with you somewhere we could be alone."

She spoke to him telepathically. Castiel could hear her voice in his head, yet her lips did not move. The hovering woman before him looked around the beautiful landscape which made Castiel glance around once more at it all. A river flowed off behind Castiel which he turned and looked at when the beautiful Goddess also stared its direction. She looked back to him, and he faced her, and she was basked in the glow from the sunsets behind her in what had to be the west in whatever this realm was. "Why have you brought me here?" Castiel asked her.

Her body glistened with white light. A halo emerged over her head and she floated a little higher before looking down sadly into his eyes. "What are you doing, Castiel?" Her voice was angelic. She stared down disapprovingly at the angel who lowered his own gaze and then averted it to the side. "You have to understand that Sora is wasting time. I know you can see it. I know."

Castiel frowned deeply and he nodded his head in response to the heavenly figure who had appeared before him. Her voice reverberated into his mind, "It's unfortunate, but Sora refuses to carry out his duties to protect the cosmos. He has no sense of urgency. No sense, of his responsibility as the Keybearer."

"That's not…" Castiel began. He paused though and thought back on the last day. On the last several days. What have we been doing? Simon. Android 17. Lordgenome. Even Dean. These are all just distractions. Kairi. The Keyhole. The Organization. Finding the other Keybearers. He should be focused on- Castiel's eyes bulged and he snapped his head up to stare into the eyes of the glowing Goddess before him who just said something that brought his thoughts to a hard stop.

"The Keyblade would reappear in the hands of another who may understand." Her meaning was not lost on the angel who stared back in shock at what was just said. "Sora is selfish. Lazy-"

"He's, trying a different way-"

"Castiel, I know you do not believe that," her voice spoke into his head, so convincingly that Castiel failed to make another retort. The angel thought of her counter and imagined all the doubts he had had. He relived the arguments with the teenager who was so distracted from his purpose. "He will allow this world to fall to the Darkness…"

Castiel's eyes started darting around again as the suns back behind the Goddess dropped below the horizon. The world got darker, and the grass lost its green color. The river stopped flowing behind him. Stars went out one by one in the sky high above, and the barrier flashed purple then got covered in cracks that branched and got larger. "The Gods can do nothing about it. It is beyond our power. You, Castiel, have chosen to stay below however."

Cass looked back to the Goddess whose sad eyes were resolute in what she was asking of him. Fire started to rise in different directions around Castiel. Pools of darkness swirled as well, and wisps of black steam came out of them and filled the air. "You stayed below. You have become one of them. Your will is not Heaven's will, and so you can do things without it being representative of the Gods. Things we could never order you to do. But something that you need to do in order to save us all."

"Sora hasn't failed yet," Castiel argued. "And, and he is just being cautious. Slow, but not because he does not mean to get to his duties, but fear of-"

"There is no time, unfortunately. No time at all." As she said it, the flames and darkness around the two of them got higher. Castiel felt a need to breathe like a human but could not inside of the maelstrom of fire and thickening black steam that surrounded them. This Goddess was the only thing glowing in the darkness. "Look around you, Castiel. Look and see what will become of this world if Sora continues on at this pace. At this rate…"

"Help!"

"LISA!"

"Mommy!"

Castiel spun while falling to his right knee and feeling his chest squeezing in pain. He looked through a gap in the flames and saw Dean pulling Lisa's son Ben back from the Heartless monsters that dragged his mother into the darkness. "Cass! Help!" Dean yelled for his friend.

"Dean," Castiel gasped his way. He reached a hand, but the fire rose on that side while dropping on another.

"See it all, Castiel. You must see it!"

When the flames rose up in the direction of Dean and Ben, he heard their screams added to Lisa's. His eyes shifted the other way to look through the fire that fell when other flames rose. Heaven, Castiel thought in horror. He watched it fall. "We cannot survive an encounter with the Darkness. Not while the Keybearer acts on his own. In his own interests. Wasting time… This is what will befall us."

The world around Castiel started to shatter apart. The angels and Gods falling from Heaven disappeared. He saw the stars vanishing altogether now. And then Castiel saw his own God. His Father. "Stop it, Castiel." Chuck faced the angel who leaned his head away. Castiel pulled back from God and pursed his lips in pain at the order. "Save us all." Chuck faded. Everything faded. The world was dark around him, but it was not nothingness that Castiel found himself in.

It was darkness.

Castiel's eyes snapped open again. He was back in the inn's room. Sora stood in front of him and was stretching his arms up over his head. He dropped them down and gave Castiel an interested look at the way his angel friend just jolted in his stood-up position. "Were you dreaming? I thought you didn't even sleep."

Sora started to get dressed but looked sideways towards the angel who hesitated for a couple of seconds after the question. He was even breathing heavily which caught Sora's attention, though the teenager just focused back on his friend's eyes when Castiel met his gaze in a serious way. "I can if I choose to," Castiel replied, lying to his traveling companion who rose his eyebrows in surprise then smiled at the idea of his friend's cool voluntary sleep power.

---

Eight Hours Later…

"I cannot believe you got it fixed," Nagasumi Michishio stared in awe at the ship anchored on the riverbank right in front of them. The motors just turned on and they heard cheering up from the bridge of the yacht. The captain cut the engines a few seconds after while calling down how they had to conserve gas, so he was going to open the sails which the large ship also had on retractable masts. Nagasumi just nodded back up at the captain whose nautical jargon went over his head, and he looked back at the spiky-haired teen on his side a couple of years older than him. "That magic is really something. How does it work?"

"Hehehe, that's a secret," Sora laughed and replied. He put his hands behind his head and interlocked his fingers, "But yeah, it really is something." He grinned while admiring his work on the ship that looked better than ever despite having been crashed and in terrible condition when they showed it to him not an hour before.

A pink-haired girl threw her palms up in the air in front of her. "'Brooklyn Unboxes the Keyblade!' Great title for a new video of mine. You know, once we get the internet up and running in this place." Brooklyn popped her hands with each word of the title for her video, but she dropped them down with a sigh when she reminded herself how the internet was still down.

"Sounds like a great video, superstar," Sora remarked back at the 16 year old.

She smiled and then added, "Really Sora, we can't thank you enough. We wish you could come with us."

"You're so cool," Dustin added.

"Yeah, I guess," Max admitted in agreement. "We owe you one… or five."

"Me? Nooo, I didn't do much," Sora retorted back. "You guys could've taken those Scorpius Rex, and the modified velociraptors, and the Mantah Corp robots without me…" Sora pursed his lips as he tried to keep a straight face instead of smiling at them.

"Hey, we were doing just fine before you…" Brooklyn pointed a finger at Sora's chest but then dropped it as her friends gave her skeptical looks. "Okay! Okay, maybe you're right. Me and Kenj' took them on before though and won. Isn't that right, Kenj?!" Brooklyn called back up towards the bridge of the yacht.

"We don't want to lose the wind! All of you get your butts onboard already," the captain called back down. Sora laughed as he ignored the question and was more focused on getting underway already, which Sora had to agree with was the right move.

Sora did pull out his Keyblade though for a second though and swing it up towards the bridge. "Hey Kenj,' take this!" A white captain's hat appeared out of thin air and dropped onto Kenji Kon's head.

"How did you-" Brooklyn started in shock. Sora gave her a confused look, and the girl who had seen Kenji wear a hat just like that one before on their own world just shook her head in disbelief that Sora did that without knowing about it beforehand.

"Nagasumi-kun. Are you coming?" A girl popped out of the river's surface and wondered over towards the teenage boy who spun his fiancé's way and ran towards her.

"Of course San! Let's do it!"

"Brooklyn! Come up here and help me with the sails."

"On it, Cap!" Brooklyn called back up to her boyfriend who she saluted too before racing for the ship.

The younger teenagers still with Sora looked at him hesitantly as they did not want to say goodbye. Sora could tell though and decided to let them get on their way already. He flashed the pair a grin and decided, Time for an epic exit. Sora leapt up and then kicked off the air in a double-jump. He spun around and glided across the entire river, wind pushing around him as he stuck out his arms like wings and flew off.

The oldest in the group who had been loading up the ship with supplies just stepped back out of the cabin when he saw Sora flying overhead. Steve Harrington cupped a hand over his eyes as he had to look into the sun for a second, and then he rose it higher and waved, "You going already, Sora? Too bad!"

"I'll see you all again," Sora called back down. "One day!"

Sora flipped onto his back and waved towards Steve himself but kept gliding away. He slowed for a second, but since he was gliding on his back he was facing the sky and got reminded of who was probably looking straight back down at him. "Sorry Cass," Sora said with a chuckle while flipping back over. He kept flying until he reached the opposite bank of the river and dropped down onto it.

Castiel stood on that bank of the river he had been waiting on for a while already. He was not in the sky looking down at Sora. He had been at the riverbank for over thirty minutes staring across the water at the boy who could not say goodbye to his new friends who he had spent the day with. Not twenty miles today, Castiel thought as Sora landed next to his invisible form. Sora had no idea how close the angel was as he started walking away from the river with a big smile on his face that only got bigger when Dustin and Max called out for him from the ship and he returned one final wave.

When Sora turned ahead again, Castiel noticed something. He noticed it and his eyes narrowed as he recognized the grassy field around him. Was this why I was already standing here? Was this why I was waiting? Castiel asked himself. If he had just come straight here… If he had just, hurried up today…

But that's not who he is. She is right. I hoped he would prove her wrong. I believed- no, I am not naive. I am not optimistic even. Why did I believe he might then? Because we are still moving southwest? Because, eventually, we may reach our destination? Whatever my reason was, I see he cannot be trusted. Even after he saved them?

He is good. Castiel stared at Sora's back as his companion walked the direction they were meant to go. The angel's heart was in turmoil, and his hands started shaking, and for some reason, Sora was slowing down. But many are good. That does not mean they can be Keybearers. That is a responsibility. A promise! Not to a few people, but to everyone. It must be. He does not treat it as such. And therefore, he must… die.

Sora felt him coming. The teen called out his companion before it came and sensed the approach. He reacted and blocked, but Castiel stared into the dark wisping eyes of his companion and pulled his weapon back again. "...It needs a chance to choose another! I cannot allow you to endanger the multiverse any longer, Sora." Castiel stabbed after pushing Sora's Keyblade away. A second Keyblade flashed to life though and Sora slashed upwards, knocking Castiel stumbling backwards from the force of the blow.

Sora clenched his eyes shut and rubbed his upper right arm across them to wipe away his tears. "I don't understand, Cass," Sora hissed. His voice came out scratchy. Black wisps came off of his shoulders. His eyes squinted open, but the color was draining entirely from them. They glowed white instead with black circles around them that spread and wisped off his face. Sora clenched his eyes shut again and shook his head around. "WHY?" He yelled, glaring out through his strange-looking eyes at the angel who glared back at the boy whose darkness was showing.

It isn't just about his pace, Castiel thought while watching his enemy. Clouds had rolled in above them. Unlike the dream where the sunsets cast a bright glow as the backdrop of the woman he had spoken to on this field the night before, Castiel only saw a veil of darkness around the one facing him now. Wind picked up, but whether it was Sora or Castiel causing it, neither of them could be sure.

Lightning branched out of the clouds. Ka-CRASH! Brrmmm… The sky cracked with the sound of thunder. A bolt of lightning flying behind Castiel illuminated the shadowy wings behind him that only appeared when that lightning flashed. His chin bowed and his eyes narrowed at the dark figure before him who turned his body side-face and pointed two Keyblades at the angel.

Castiel teleported to Sora's right side and stabbed. Sora spun around and slashed both Keyblades to parry back the angel whose eyes flashed white to match the look of Sora's. Castiel's whole body glowed bright white. The force of Castiel's stab made Sora skid backwards, but the boy flashed with a bright light after their collision too.

Sora floated off the ground adorned in a full set of white clothing. His pair of Keyblades spun around above his head on either side of his shoulders. He flashed two more to life that he drew in his hands and slashed towards Castiel from a distance, sending flying slashes at the angel who teleported twice and then flapped his shadowy wings that became visible in another flash of lightning.

Castiel pulled back and threw his angel blade up at Sora. One of Sora's floating Keyblades flew down and slashed into the angel blade that bounced away, straight back into Castiel's hand where the angel teleported to. Castiel then stabbed again at the enemy in his Final Form. Cass is going to kill me! Sora thought as he used his full strength in his strongest Drive Form to attack the angel who was one of the most powerful beings he had ever met.

"I don't know why you think-" Sora uncrossed his Keyblades that he just crossed to block a stab from Castiel. He uncrossed so hard that Castiel went flying back through the air. Sora pointed one of his Keyblades up in the air, and he called down fifty bolts of lightning that Castiel flapped his wings to weave in and out of at super speed. "I need to be stopped!" Sora continued yelling, his voice angry but still confused too. "I'm saving lives! Helping people! Is it that we're moving too slowly? Is that really, why you're doing this?!" Sora screamed, a pulse of darkness coming off of him.

Black colors seeped into the white clothes of his Final Form, but Sora shook his head around again to try and retain control despite the immense feelings of betrayal threatening to take over.

When he says it like that- no! He's wrong. The image of the Goddess speaking before him appeared in Castiel's mind. We have no time to waste. It is no small thing. "The end draws ever closer, Sora. You get distracted not because you solely wish to help all those you come across," Castiel's voice was low as he spoke across the gap between them in a sky that flashed bright with lightning once again. He called out over the thunder that boomed above them, "You are searching for these distractions! To allow yourself simple victories. Easy choices."

Sora grit his teeth and shook his head around. Darker wisps surrounded him though as Castiel spoke his mind and convinced Sora more fully that this was entirely the angel's own decision. He's been telling me this whole time. I never thought he'd turn on me for it. I thought he understood… I thought he accepted my decisions! Damn it. DAMN YOU! Sora's glowing white eyes snapped up and he snarled at the angel who pulled his angel blade back and flapped his wings to soar at the evil-looking figure facing him.

In a self-assured voice, Castiel yelled at the darkening creature, "You have told me yourself how difficult you find it! I know you do not wish to make these hard choices, but you have been hiding from them, Sora! Hiding from a world that needs its Keybearers. Hiding from the universe! Every day wasted, is another day closer to complete annihilation. And I cannot allow you to bring us to our destruction!"

The landscape below was the same as in his dream. It was getting darker every second, like the dream had gotten near the end as the Goddess showed him what would become of the world in the future. She was right, Castiel thought while he flew at the demonic form who snarled like a beast while covered in evil darkness. Sora's body shimmered in a light dimmer than it had been before the last time his clothes changed. His Final Form wore off, but he did not return to his usual clothing.

Sora fell into Anti-Form, though he continued to grasp onto his Keyblades. He was not in a true Drive Form any longer. The unintentional shift into this form was not due to an accident caused by attempting Drive and failing. This was purely emotion. Castiel could tell as well when he saw the darkness seeping down Sora's blackening hands onto the shafts of his contrastingly brightly-colored Keyblades. Was his Final Form even intended for me? Castiel wondered while flapping his wings harder then teleporting behind the boy who started slashing at him. He jammed his angel blade for the back of the teenager. Or did he just need his strongest power to hold back his own emotions? His own darkness.

I can't hold it back any longer, Sora missed his slash but kicked below him to jump off the air and over the stab he guessed Castiel was making at his back. Castiel was surprised as he had just teleported and did not think Sora could react so quickly. Sora had more experience in combat though. Fighting like this was not something Castiel was used to, while Sora had been fighting in such a way for years. Even in a dulled state as his emotions took over his mind, Sora's fighting instinct allowed him to predict the predictable angel's attack once again despite Castiel's speed.

Castiel missed and shifted his eyes up to the boy flipping backwards in the air above him. Sora spun and slashed his Keyblades down at the angel who saw the darkness seeping off them and felt a surge of fear at the realization that these were weapons that could even hurt a powerful creature like him that had so few weaknesses. Even without the darkness, his Keyblades would still be a danger to me. He cannot control the darkness. He needed to in order to become stronger, but he was afraid of that as well.

"We're moving too slowly." Castiel remembered a conversation the two of them had had not long ago.

"Hey! You're the one who said you didn't want to teleport me around. Abusing your 'angelic' powers and all-"

"You can teleport yourself, as you proved yesterday."

"It's not the same… I, I don't like using the darkness. I can't control it that well. Truthfully, I can feel that I'm not strong enough to fight it, Cass. It tries to control me instead, and without Kairi…"

"...It's better that I just don't try it."

You needed to try. You needed to face your fears. Of the darkness. Of the consequences of trying to rescue Kairi. Of the responsibility of being a Keybearer! All of it! That's why- that's why this has to be done! Castiel thought in frustration. His thoughts became more muddled near the end, and he had to yell at himself to remember why he was doing this as he stared into the pure white eyes that somehow still held emotion in them. He saw eyes which still looked so sad and betrayed, even while the rest of Sora looked like a monster.

"Sora, I wish-"

"RAAAAAA!" Sora's head snapped forward and his jaw looked to unhinge as he opened it so wide to scream like that. The air in front of Sora vibrated and the sound waves hit the angel who got knocked backwards. Sora rushed towards him, and Castiel tried to teleport behind Sora's back.

The air was darker around them. It was not just the shadows from the clouds above. The atmosphere itself had darkened. Darkness exuded off Sora's body and created a secondary black aura that spread so wide that Castiel was inside it and had not even noticed. He felt it though when he attempted to teleport. "What?" Castiel rose his angel blade and parried Sora's first swing of a darkened Keyblade, but the golden Three Wishes Keyblade that slashed sideways under it hit the angel and sent him flying across the air in pain.

Lightning crackled up above. It dropped out of the sky as the dark figure slashed his Keyblades forward. Castiel narrowed his eyes while righting himself in midair though. The lightning bolts froze, and then they shot forwards at the Keybearer who spun away from two of them but got hit by the next three and electrocuted by them. Castiel shot at the boy who he expected to be shocked and frozen in place for a few seconds, but Sora recovered quicker than that and shot back at the angel himself.

A couple of miles down river from where Sora and Castiel first clashed, Max reached down on the stern of the ship and grabbed the hand of her mermaid friend who she pulled from the increasingly rough waters. San Seto's fiancé rushed over to her and started drying her tail off so her legs would reappear, while everyone else just stared back off in the direction they came from. Max stood back up straight herself and shivered, crossing her arms and whispering, "What is happening?"

"Whatever it is," Dustin began. "It feels so, evil," he gulped and glanced at the girl at his side from his own world.

Max shook her head back quickly at him though and frowned. "Sora's back there though. Whatever's going on, he'll take care of it." She said so assuredly. Nagasumi, Dustin, San, and Steve who approached the younger kids on the stern all felt the same way.

Brooklyn heard Max's voice though and felt something else. She stared towards the dark sky behind them from up on the bridge with her own boyfriend who rushed to get their ship moving even faster away from it. Kenji had turned back on the motors to speed them up down the river. Brooklyn was not listening as he talked about what he was doing though. She stared into the dark clouds behind them and crossed her arms as shivers went down her spine. "Sora," Brooklyn whispered. "You're already there, aren't you? Do you need our help?"

Brooklyn closed her eyes and winced at the realization. We couldn't help him if we wanted to. Whatever it is he's fighting, it's- Brooklyn rose a hand up to her chest. Sweat covered her body. The shadows cast by the clouds were not the only thing making the air around them darker. None of them had noticed just like Castiel though. It had already encompassed them. They were inside of the black aura that shaded the atmosphere darker, and the rest of the young crew felt what Brooklyn already had. They realized what it was they were feeling too and why it was hurting their own chests.

"Sora," Dustin gasped while grabbing his shirt in front of his heart. "How?" He wondered at the feeling and the knowledge of what that feeling meant.

"I knew there was something about that kid," Steve started in a quiet voice. Thunder boomed from those clouds and more lightning shot out of them even farther away than the group going the opposite direction as a fight they could not see. "But there's nothing we can do to help him. He'll be fine. You all saw how much ass he kicked…"

None of the kids were convinced by Steve's encouragement though. Because they could feel it. They could feel him. Max bit down on her bottom lip as she imagined the feeling that Sora was making her feel. He's hurt. I can feel that much. I don't know how I can feel it, but I do!

Castiel stabbed his angel blade at the dark figure flying at him who slashed both Keyblades in at the same time at the angel. Both of Castiel's eyes flashed so brightly white that the dark creature's eyes had to slam shut for a second. It flinched. It kept swinging its Keyblades but missed both as Castiel turned sideways and flapped his near invisible wings that were much more visible when his eyes glowed like that. The dark creature with spiky hair squinted its glowing white eyes open and then snapped its head to the side. Sora twisted his body, and Castiel stabbed forward with his angel blade.

Sora was already slashing at him with his Keyblades again. Castiel stabbed faster than ever to complete the strike before Sora could counter. The teenager covered in darkness seemed to have a bad feeling and dropped his Keyblades to swing his arms in even quicker. Both of his hands shot to the stabbing angel blade and gripped on the weapon as it stabbed at him. Cuts ripped through the dark veil and blood dripped through the cracks in the dark fingers. Sora's white eyes clenched shut and the dark figure leaned over the top of the angel blade both of them were grabbing onto with shaking hands. "AHhh- RAAAhhhhhg gah- ahh AHH!"

"Sora!" Castiel yelled. His eyes bulged as did the white ones of the teenager in front of him. Castiel yanked back his blade and shot backwards through the air, panting and anxious after seeing the look in those white eyes after his shout. "Are you, alr-" Castiel stopped. What am I doing? He wondered it not at the overall actions he was in the middle of, but for asking if Sora was alright when he had already made up his mind. Or had he?

It's because of those shouts, Castiel reasoned with himself. He was gripping the blade so hard- that wasn't it. Those screams of pain weren't from his hands. It's not that kind of pain. Castiel's heart ached thinking of how he was the cause of a kind of pain much worse than the physical kind. He became so much more frustrated though as he looked at the monster that should have capitalized on his weakness and hesitation. Sora just floated there ahead of him, fewer black wisps coming off the boy in a part of the sky not as dark as it was seconds before.

Castiel's eyes darted around. He scanned the atmosphere around him that lost some of its dark shading.

Why… would he help me? Sora's mind recovered more of its conscious thoughts. Unless we are still friends! He shook his darkened head around and grit his teeth as he felt the darkness pushing back against him regaining control. Castiel is my friend! That's why he doesn't want to hurt me. We're still friends. My friends are my strength, and I didn't actually lose one. I'm not weakened! SO FIGHT BACK! Sora snapped open his blue eyes and glared angrily towards Castiel who just gripped his blade harder again but froze when he saw that glare back at him that held no hatred or rage in it. It was a different kind of anger that Castiel saw staring back at him.

"Whatever made you think you needed to do this, Cass," Sora shouted at his opponent hovering across from him. "It's not too late! You're my friend, and I don't want to fight you. We can work this out together. Can't we?!" Sora yelled at the angel who hesitated even more at the look of desperation in Sora's eyes that searched Cass' for a sign that he did not want to fight either.

"Castiel. What are you doing?"

Castiel heard a familiar voice in his mind that made him grip his angel blade harder once again. I cannot falter now.

"The darkness is powerful with him. You must be careful. If you fall, the Keyblade will never have a chance to pick anew." The atmosphere darkened again. Castiel spotted the Godly figure from his dream in the sky up above. She was the only thing that had a glow in this dark world though, as Heartless creatures started to appear all over the sky around Sora's blackened form. "Stop him, Castiel. Stop him now! I will move your fight somewhere safer to protect the humans in the area."

Sora's head spun around and he looked at the environment below in shock. Castiel was soaring through the air towards him, and Sora had to refocus fast and cross his Keyblades across his chest to block the angel blade Cass stabbed at him. Sparks flew as the two of them clashed their powerful weapons in air full of smoke from the burning magma pits below them. Where are we? Sora thought in confusion through the frustration and anger that made black lines of darkness start spreading in from the sides of his face again. "What's, happening?!" Sora snarled through bared teeth at his opponent who he suspected just teleported them both somewhere.

We're in an entirely different dimension, Castiel thought. Lightning shot out of the sky above them and slammed into Sora while the angel himself flashed bright white light. Where I can let loose more of my power.

The angel took his real form for a second. Sora's eyes clenched shut while he rose both hands quickly to his ears. "RaaaAAA!" Sora screamed as the blinding light and piercing noise of this incorporeal being slammed into him. He snapped his arms down and slashed at the thunderous form of energy that nearly reached him. The visible slashes that flew at Castiel had black wisps coming off of them. The angel got knocked back twice and dropped out of his light form and into his human vessel once more.

"Get up, Castiel! You must stop him!" Castiel shot out of the lava he fell into. His clothes were unburnt as he flew at the dark Keybearer who roared down at him and then dove while pointing both Keyblades at the angel. Cass could see the Goddess floating in the air with darkness shrouding her, while the whole dimension they were in started to look a lot more like Sora's body. The lava below was blackening as if the entire dimension was being infected by Sora's darkness. "Before the Guardian of Light turns to one of Darkness. Of Evil! Save us, Castiel! SAVE US!"

The dimension they were in switched again so they were in an icy tundra. Darkness immediately started filling this one too. Heartless monsters crawled out of dark puddles on the ice below Castiel. Arms of giant Darksides reached up from the cracks in the glacier he flew above. Their massive tentacle-covered heads emerged, while shadowy balls of fire dropped from the black clouds above that sparked with lightning and emitted such evil feelings that Cass could feel in his very soul.

It happened so much quicker to this dimension than the one before it. The speed of corruption spreading from Sora's body was escalating. I have to stop him now! Castiel thought. He felt his conviction return from when it faltered a minute ago. His translucent wings flapped and shot him straight at the dark Keybearer who ground his teeth but flew back at his opponent to defend himself.

Someone's controlling him! But they're not. I know they're not! Sora reminded himself of what he already knew in his heart. He parried off Castiel and saw the look in the angel's eyes so frustrated at him and determined to stop him here. That's really Cass. I've seen that look before. I didn't think- I didn't know he felt this strongly! "Why didn't you talk to me?!" Sora screamed out in anger. "We could have talked about this!"

"We did!" Castiel yelled back. Lightning flashed above their heads. Dark plumes exploded up from the surface below and rose on all sides of them. Castiel's eyes darted around at them all then snapped back onto the dark figure twisting in front of him in a horrifying way.

Sora's face scrunched up in confusion as Castiel darted his eyes around at the empty icy terrain they had been transported to. At least he brought us away from other people. But that means he's still a good guy. Cass is the good guy? So am I, the bad guy? Sora glanced down at his shaking dark hands. The steaming darkness thinned more as he tried pushing it down, but he ground his teeth as he spotted the movement at the top of his peripheral vision and saw Castiel soaring towards him once more.

The two clashed again and again. Their weapons clanked and pushed off with such force that sparks and shards of darkness and light shattered away on every collision. "Blizzard!" Sora pointed one Keyblade out at Castiel and fired a cold blast of magic. He threw his other Keyblade above the ice shards, and Castiel was hit in the chest as the spinning Keyblade flew right in the spot he dodged into.

Sora flipped and kicked off the air to shoot himself towards where Castiel was falling. He spun around and hit the angel, and again, and again in a spinning combo where he caught his second Keyblade and hit both of them into his friend's side. Sora twisted after the double-Keyblade blow into Castiel's right side, and he slammed down towards the ice that Castiel smashed into. A crater of ice formed in the glacier. Giant shards flew away and cracks split ravines in the icy landscape.

Sora dove down. He slammed into the ice not far from where Cass hit the ground. He looked through the falling shards of ice and saw the angel standing there though. Castiel glared straight back at Sora through the veil of darkness that surrounded everything around them, in his eyes. High above the angel who gripped his right hand furiously around his angel blade, the "Goddess" watching him lifted the left corner of her lips up. Her red third eye that Castiel had been unable to see was open on her forehead, and the angel below ground his teeth as illusions of dark creations filled even more of the world around him.

Wind rushed around Castiel as his body surrounded in a white holy light that seemed to him to burn away the darkness at his sides. His eyes lost the hesitation that Sora thought he had seen in them before, and the sense that he might be able to convince Castiel to stop this faded from Sora's mind. As that possibility faded, as his hope to not have to fight his friend left him, Sora's body fully surrounded in darkness once again. His face shrouded deeper in it. His panting breaths came from a mouth that glowed white just like his flaring eyes. He held one single Keyblade now while the claws on his other hand just sharpened and dripped black ooze off of them.

"I saw the darkness in you the day we met. I was blinded because that darkness saved my life." Castiel lifted his right arm and held his pointed blade out to his side. "I thank you for saving me from Lelouch. If you can still hear me, Sora. I am grateful." Castiel floated back off the ground. Lightning flashed in the sky. He moved so fast that he became a blur when his wings flapped behind him. The glow around his body cut through the wisping darkness coming out of the crack in the ice between him and Sora. The wisps became thicker and changed shape to become arms that had hands at the ends reaching for Castiel who still burned through them all with his holy light.

"Should we stop him?!"

"We cannot interfere!"

"Foolish Castiel. You should have reigned him in, Chuck."

"It is too late to do so. We can only watch. We can only, pray."

The Gods refraining from stepping in watched anxiously as the angel flew at the Keybearer with no restraint this time.

Sora flew forward as well. He threw the Keyblade in his right hand forward. Castiel slashed his blade across the front of his body and parried the Keyblade aside. Sora drew back his other arm and swung with his sharpened claws blurring at the speed he moved at. Castiel whipped back his arm that he had slashed across his body and then jabbed it forward.

Lightning flashed in the sky as Sora slashed his claw and Castiel jabbed his angel blade. Sqlch- Clink! The thrown Keyblade that Castiel had parried away landed on the ice through the shadows on Castiel's left side. The sound of the clinking Keyblade on the ice made him dart his eyes in that direction for a second. The dark tendrils on that side of him started to fade and sink back into the cracks in the ice sheet. Dark creations bubbled and fizzled before fading out of existence. His eyes shifted back down to his right hand held out in front of his body. He stared at the base of his angel blade, then ahead of that blade and at the chest of the dark figure in front of him, then up to the face of that dark creature.

The pitch black face of the teenager in front of him was impossible to read. His eyes were still glowing bright white and looked pure evil. His hair looked more like spikes of darkness coming off of his head, though the wiggling tendrils off of them were shrinking. The glow in the white eyes started to lose some brightness. Irises appeared in those eyes. The blue eyes staring back at Castiel shook sadly. Castiel's own irises were glowing white in the middle, small dots like pupils of bright white light that shone so brightly it was hard to tell the color of his eyes until that glow faded as well so both of the men were blue-eyed once again.

Castiel's intense eyes that had kept glowing longer than Sora's blinked a few times before his face flinched and pulled back a foot away. Castiel finally darted his eyes to his right side. He looked at his shoulder where he felt a weight, and he stared at the blackened left arm that was resting over his shoulder and wrapped around his back. He blinked again and recalled what happened in the flash of lightning where both of them moved so fast that there was no dodging or avoiding the other. In that moment he continued his thrust and jabbed his angel blade through Sora's chest, he imagined the slight movement of Sora's arm that pulled his claw away from Castiel's neck to go past him instead.

That claw that Sora slashed past his enemy lost the sharp tips to each finger. The softer fingers finally touched Castiel's back and rested gently on his trench coat while the angel shifted his own confused and shaking eyes back from Sora's arm to his face again. The darkness had already faded more from Sora's face so there were only webs of black lines cutting across his skin now. Each branch of the darkness cutting through his cheeks and over his forehead was thinning though. Each string of the web faded to nothing to reveal Sora's face underneath again.

His eyes were saddened, but his lips curled up slightly at the corners right before trails of blood dripped down from those corners. Tears welled in the corner of Sora's eyes as he stared back at Castiel. "I'm sorry," Sora whispered at the angel looking so confusedly back and then in horror too at the sound of Sora's apology.

He couldn't fight me, Castiel slowly pulled his arm back. He pulled his angel blade from Sora's chest but snapped his free hand forward and steadied Sora by the boy's right shoulder. Sora's left hand curled into Castiel's back as he nearly slipped down and fell. "Sora," Castiel started. He could not continue after saying the Keybearer's name, as he did not know what he could possibly say to him in this situation.

"Cass…" Sora's hand slipped off and his legs slid back. He dropped to his knees. Castiel's hand lost its grip on Sora's shoulder as all the boy's weight suddenly fell. He reached down but Sora collapsed from his knees to his stomach. No longer moving.

"Hahahaha…"

Castiel heard a voice that made his stomach tighten in anger. The voice itself infuriated him as he recognized who it belonged to. He felt confusion though when he realized that her voice was laughing aloud. What? Castiel turned to his left. He looked past a Keyblade on the ice that shimmered with gold and then broke apart into light shards. He turned and stared at a figure who floated down to his level while laughing straight at him. "You," Castiel started at the sight of the Goddess. She looks different.

The pale-skinned figure in a white robe before him had a third eye on her forehead that gave him chills. Two horns stuck out of her long gray hair and pointed inwards at each other. Her third red eye appeared vertical and had black patterns inside of it that he recognized after a second. Why did I assume she was really a Goddess? Castiel felt panic and clenched the angel blade in his right hand tighter. "Who are you?" Castiel demanded to know from the laughing "Goddess" before him. "What are you?!"

"I am a Goddess, like I told you," she replied. "My name is Kaguya. And you, Castiel, have just done me a great service." She lowered all the way to the ice but continued to float just over it as she hovered his way. Castiel ground his teeth in bridling anger different from where it stemmed a minute ago. At first he just felt infuriated to hear her voice when it was this Goddess who convinced him of the necessity to kill his friend, but the more he started to understand of what was happening here, the angrier he found himself getting.

Castiel backed up as she approached. She did not float to him though. Kaguya floated towards the body on the ice that she looked down at in pleasure before smirking back Castiel's way. Blood was pooling around the body from the hole in Sora's chest that was also visible on his back where his clothes were soaking through. "Removing the Keybearer will make it much easier for my husband to rise to the surface of this world. Satan," she specified towards Castiel which caused the angel to pull his head back with shock covering his face. "A Guardian of Light is dead, thanks to you. My husband will soon rule this world-"

"What did you do?!" Castiel yelled at her in rage.

"What did I do?" Kaguya questioned back. Her voice did not raise. She just stared towards the angel with her two white eyes and one red one as the angel ground his teeth back at her. "Nothing," she replied to him. "You are the one who killed Sora. You were simply doing Satan's bidding. An angel, killing his own Gods' hero. How ironic."

"I- I didn't…" Castiel's eyes darted to the blade in his right hand. He watched as a drop of blood fell off the point. "You," Castiel felt such self-hatred that he was disgusted, but his hatred shifted to someone else even more. His eyes rose in a way that made the woman's lips curl down at the corners. "Bitch-"

Without moving, Kaguya pulled Castiel towards her. All three of her eyes narrowed on the angel who shot off the ground as a powerful force pulled him towards the woman who reached her left hand out and ripped open a hole in reality. A black and purple fizzling portal in the air appeared that she reached her arm into and then pulled back out, holding a weapon that Castiel recognized and feared. "Heaven's Blade," she spoke while drawing it from the dimensional portal. Castiel snapped his angel blade forward and tried to block as the ground below him fell into nothingness. He was yanked towards her by some invisible force, but the entire world around him also pulled towards the world under her, sinking into itself like a tectonic plate sliding under another.

The ice dropped below as Castiel and the reality around him shot towards the woman who slashed her weapon at Castiel but then re-targeted his weapon in particular. CHH! The angel blade shattered. Shards of metal flew off, and Sora's blood speckled the shattering ice around them. Kaguya's other hand not on the angel blade snapped forward and she gripped Castiel by the throat with it. Her expression did not change much from the slightly aggravated look she gained when he was cursing her. "Do not blame me for this. You are the one who killed him. I simply, gave you a push."

She lifted back up the corners of her lips. The demon-looking Goddess smirked and added, "Though, I have been blocking your communication with Heaven. And perhaps a little more," she continued, and in the angel's peripherals he saw the world plunge into darkness again. He saw the atmosphere darken. Creatures of darkness rose from the cracks in the ice. Giant wisps of darkness emerged as Kaguya explained to him, "Genjutsu. Illusions to push you towards your destination."

Kaguya drew back the Heaven's Blade after making Castiel's face fall into a look of utter despair. He despaired in the realization that what he had seen that convinced him to follow through and kill Sora was all a lie. His eyes half-closed and stared down at the floor below his feet that dangled off the ground as Kaguya held him up by the neck. The monstress holding him up stabbed her divine weapon forward at the angel who no longer had a weapon of his own to defend with. "Castiel!"

A voice shouted behind the angel whose eyes snapped open wide only to see the Heaven's Blade already stabbing towards him. He knew that it was one of the few weapons that could work on a being like him. Whatever this creature was, it did not matter what her powers really were if she had that weapon which could kill even him. He heard a voice behind him though that made the total despair filling his whole body crack. The expression on Kaguya's face was astonished as well, but she continued to stab the blade forward-

Clank! A flying Keyblade slammed into the Heaven's Blade and parried it aside. Kaguya had to release her other hand as she almost got hit in that arm gripping Castiel by the neck. Castiel dropped and jumped backwards before falling to a knee. He fell on the left side of a spiky-haired figure who stepped forward with green light fading away from around his chest and back. "S-Sora?"

The hole in Sora's chest was closing while he glared at the true enemy before him who stared back in shock still at the sight of him. "How?" Kaguya demanded to know. "It's impossible. I know your heart stopped-"

"The heart is not just an organ. Riku and I, we've figured out what that really means," Sora responded to the astonished demon woman. She bit down after a second while glaring at the hole in Sora's chest then back up at the boy's confident and reassured expression no longer looking conflicted at all like it did during his fight with Castiel.

"Castiel," Sora spoke without taking his eyes off their enemy. "Let's take her down. Whoever she is, she's still really dangerous. I can tell that both of us need to fight her together."

"I… Sora, I stabbed you-" Castiel bit down and glared at the floor between them in shame. "I just- I just stabbed you. She wasn't controlling me. And you still, wouldn't attack me."

Sora did not answer for a second. His eyes stayed locked on Kaguya's while the figure facing them got a much more infuriated look on her face. Sora did not make eye contact directly with her either, keeping his eyes particularly off of that red one on her forehead. "At least you were being manipulated," Sora began in a soft voice. His expression was frustrated and even annoyed at himself for the answer he was giving. "But, to attack you voluntarily?" Sora wondered. The question sounded incredulous. The idea that he would do that when he knew that something had to be tricking Castiel into stabbing him, was unthinkable. Castiel's eyes bulged as the anger and frustration in Sora's voice sounded more from that Sora was even that close to hurting Castiel in the first place when he should have suspected trickery.

"I'm sorry I doubted you," Sora added.

It's why he said he can't go to Castle Oblivion, Castiel thought in surging guilt. He knew it the moment he realized that Sora had intentionally missed him on that final slash. He couldn't fight me, the same reason he can't fight Roxas. He can't fight his Nobody of his own free will while knowing that Roxas is fighting him against his own. It's the exact same!

"I stabbed you- it wasn't her. I made the choice- I stabbed you in the heart!" Castiel yelled with sweat on his face and a panicked look at what was happening right now. "I did that."

"That's right, Guardian," Kaguya started calling out. She floated up in the air with wind whipping around her and her hair expanding out behind her. Her hair waved around and made a full circle behind her twenty feet long in all directions. Her body started to glow while her infuriated eyes glared down at the Keybearer. Sora made his Kingdom Keyblade appear in his right hand then grabbed it with both hands and held it down to his right side while crouching his legs. He stood in a fighting stance and glared up at the witch who bellowed down, "You may have survived, but you are weakened after that blow and cannot hide it from me. I will finish you off."

"She's not wrong, Cass," Sora admitted. He was not panting, but that was an active decision to hide his need to breathe heavily. He was taking in deep breaths through his nose and secretly exhaling to hide his exhaustion, but he felt drained. Sora admitted it and then started panting out his mouth. He smiled after a few breaths though and flashed all his teeth at the false Goddess who glared back in fury at how bright Sora's expression looked. "Don't worry though," Sora added to his friend. "My heart is stronger than any blade. You didn't kill me. And I need your help. Stand up. Help me fight her, Castiel. Let's do this together!" Sora sprinted forward.

Sora ran forward and then jumped up into the air straight at Kaguya. Castiel felt weakened as well. He felt it more from his fight against Sora than the brief clash against Kaguya. Still, when she had her hand around his neck he had felt himself getting weaker as if the life had been draining from his body. Castiel's right knee trembled as he tried to get up off it and to his feet again. "FIGHT!"Castiel heard a voice in his head. A voice he could hear because Kaguya had stopped blocking Heaven's communication from this angel in the shock of seeing Sora stand back up behind him. Castiel heard his father's voice in his head, and he slammed both fists down into the ground.

"Get up, Castiel. Redeem yourself in this moment. Do not let Sora die for real!" Chuck yelled down at his angel who staggered onto both feet and wobbled for a second before snapping his gaze up with two glowing white pupils. Lightning flashed out of the clouds above that swirled thicker than they had in his whole fight against Sora. His wings spread wider and caused the two up above to dart their looks down for a second at the feeling of such a powerful force exuding from the angel.

A flash of light appeared in Castiel's right hand. His eyes shifted down for a second to see a new angel's blade in his grasp. His eyes widened slightly for a second just as Kaguya's did up above him. Both of them felt the difference in the weapon that looked very similar to his old blade but with a slight variation to it. "An archangel blade," Castiel whispered. The immense difference in power that this weapon held compared to the last that shattered against the enemy's Heaven's Blade filled the tired angel with renewed confidence. He snapped his glare up at Kaguya right before Sora slashed down a Keyblade at her back.

"Push."

"AHHHhhhhhh…" Sora flew off into the distance. She did not turn around, but Sora shot away so fast his voice faded a second after he got hit by the invisible force so powerful that nothing he could do could stop it.

Castiel appeared in the air in front of her. She vanished and appeared behind him.

They reappeared in the lava dimension, and then in a desert. Kaguya was stabbing towards Castiel where she appeared in front of him. He stabbed at her own back though, having teleported there himself. His blade went through her cloak, and then she turned into a boulder of molten rock in a puff of white smoke. Castiel blinked and the desert around them was gone, only an illusion as they were still in the volcanic dimension they had really been transported to.

Lightning dropped out of the sky on Kaguya's head when she tried stabbing Castiel in the moment he was ripping his archangel blade from the molten boulder. She barely flinched and just turned her head sideways and opened her mouth towards Sora. Kaguya pursed her lips close together and blew out a jet of flames, which rapidly expanded into a plume of fire a hundred meters wide. "Aero!" Sora surrounded in a swirling wind that pushed the flames away from his body. "BLIZZANDRA!"

Sora used up the last of his MP gauge. He fired off his strongest Blizzard magic so close to Kaguya that the air temperature dropped dramatically. Steam filled the air as the molten magma just below them cooled and hardened. Ice spikes melted from the lava and the flames of Kaguya's ninjutsu.

Sparks flew inside of the steam and smoke. The Heaven's Blade, Keyblade, and archangel blade clashed three dozen times in the next few seconds. Sora heard Kaguya teleporting behind him in the next second and he was still slashing down towards the woman who had yet to teleport there. She appeared behind him and was already stabbing, but his Drive Gauge had refilled. His clothes flashed and turned red. He spun faster and crossed both Keyblades in front of him, but she added a 'Push' into her attack right after the clank of their weapons colliding.

Sora slammed down into the magma. His Aero had worn off and he could not use another while in Valor Form as he had no access to his magic. He shot back out of the magma though and tossed himself a potion from his bag while Castiel clashed with Kaguya. Green light shimmered over the boy who glared back up at her but paused for a second as Castiel slashed again and again. Sora's burns were healed, but he needed more to keep up with the divine figures up above who kept teleporting and moving so fast that it was hard to keep up with. "Ether," Sora tossed himself another of his support items he kept on him, smiling as he was glad that he had Castiel to fight her for a moment and allow him this chance. Feels like fighting with Donald and Goofy by my side, Sora thought nostalgically. I always needed to step back and heal myself, since Donald would never do it!

Sora chuckled at the good memories. Power filled him even more. He bent his knees on the hardened volcanic rock he had landed on after emerging from under the lava. He shot up rapidly into the sky and spun around super fast while yelling, "MOVE!" Castiel knew that he was the one being shouted at and vanished while in the middle of pushing against Kaguya's blade himself.

The pressure she was pushing into Castiel made her swing forward for a moment as her momentum took her when he disappeared. Then Sora's flying slashes slammed into her and knocked her backwards in the air. He kicked off the sky behind him to race faster after her, slashing back and forth into her body to start a combo… his swings went straight through her to the confusion of the Keybearer. "Huh?" Sora looked behind him at the form of the woman that might be an illusion-

A cluster of her hair strands curled behind her and grabbed Sora by the leg. It whipped around and threw him down at Castiel when the angel was flying back up. Castiel swerved to avoid Sora, only for Sora to erupt in a mass of black flames that the boy screamed out in pain from inside of. "Sora!" Castiel yelled down as Sora fell while engulfed in Amaterasu. Cass glared back up and vanished in front of Kaguya's eyes. She lost focus on Sora after seeing that murderous look on the angel's face for a moment.

"Why is it that you fight me so ferociously?" Kaguya wondered. They disappeared and reappeared in a purple void somewhere that Castiel had never seen anything like before.

"You tricked me-" he yelled while stabbing towards her back.

"Did I?" Kaguya asked while pushing Castiel away so hard with ninjutsu that it knocked the air out of the angel who flipped backwards over and over before steadying himself. When he glared back towards where she just was facing away from him though, she was not there. Her voice continued speaking straight into his mind while he snapped his gaze back and forth in the swirling purple vortex of a dimension surrounding them. "Why was it so easy for me to convince you to kill Sora? Were you not already close to doing it yourself? It would have taken more than a little persuasion and some party tricks to make you completely change your mind."

"Shut… shut up," Castiel spoke angrily but in a voice lacking conviction. He glared around trying to find this infuriating figure who was making too much sense.

"You know that I am not wrong. You already feared the things I forced you to consider. You acted on feelings that were already there."

Castiel clenched his eyes shut. "Quiet, you," he demanded. His voice was cold. "I may have thought about those things but, but I-" he stopped himself. He could not continue this in any convincing way to himself after what he had done to Sora a few minutes ago. His expression hardened externally though while he continued what he was saying in his thoughts. I've thought those things for a while, yes. I didn't give up on him sooner despite that though, not because I believed that he was right when he would give his explanations. I still don't think he's doing this the right way. He's wrong to waste so much time like we did today! But I didn't give up on him sooner, and it had nothing to do with the reasoning or logic behind his actions.

There was no grand reason that kept me from accepting what she told me needed to be done last night. My hesitation. What would have kept me from acting if not for her illusions! It was simply that Sora was my friend. That's all it was. Castiel snapped his eyes open and stabbed to his right. CLANK! Kaguya reeled back as Castiel stabbed at her and she only barely got the Heaven's Blade up in time to parry. That was the reason why I believed in him. And I betrayed that friendship. I will make it up to him now!

He pushed hard against the witch whose arm bent in towards herself with the tip of his archangel blade coming close to her body. She pushed him off using her powers, but the sky flashed bright white and Castiel's huge wings could be seen behind him flapping the opposite direction to cut his momentum short. He flew back her way and the atmosphere blinked yellow. Reality around them changed again and again. The sky scrolled different colors as Kaguya herself vanished and appeared in various dimensions that Castiel chased her straight into. He appeared the instant she appeared.

She teleported to the sky over an ocean that felt to Castiel like the real world of Nexus once again. Her eyes darted around, then her Rinne Sharingan snapped up and she started to phase herself immaterial so that the diving angel would pass straight through her. A sense of sheer dread and panic filled her as he thrust with the archangel blade that she could tell would not pass through despite making herself immaterial. She looked into his eyes and Castiel flinched while stabbing his blade down. Snakes had ripped out of his skin all over his vessel's body, but it only caused a flinch to the angel who finished his stab but missed, though it did cut the genjutsu short.

Gravity intensified so much over Castiel's head that he found himself deep under the surface of the ocean in the same second. He blinked a few times then darted his glare up and flew out of the water. Kaguya had vanished though, and Castiel's eyes bulged before he teleported after her. "Oh no you don't," he growled while tackling the woman through the air as she rose an arm covered in lightning. She floated high above the land they had been at earlier where a form down on his knees did not seem to notice their reappearance.

Kaguya zapped the angel who clenched his teeth through the pain but had to release Kaguya a second later. He pushed off the demonic witch who glared at him in such a way that muscles in her face tensed and veins pulsed visibly around her eyes. She created a force so powerful that the clouds up above ripped apart and opened the sky. A circle in the dark clouds revealed a reddish-orange sky above dyed from the sunsets. Castiel's trench coat blew around but stayed on the angel who did not cross his arms to block. He just leaned his head forward and glared at the woman who pulled her own head back after a second when Castiel did not even react to her blow.

"Your angel blade may have been nothing to the Keybearer, but he will not survive being impaled by Heaven's Blade," Kaguya declared. "Move out of my way. Allow a new Keybearer to take his place."

"You already told me that you're doing this for Satan. Why would I-"

"My reasons are my own. You did not stab him for that," Kaguya countered the angel. "Our goals align. Consider what would happen if-"

Castiel spun around and stabbed. The invisible figure behind him was in the middle of raising her arms for one final stab. The shade that Castiel knew was approaching him thought that the angel was really distracted, because Castiel had just looked hesitantly at the colorful version of Kaguya that was now shaking and losing some of that color to her form. Her visible body turned gray and then melted behind him, while the invisible figure who Castiel had spun and stabbed reached both of her hands up to her chest. She dropped the Heaven's Blade to grip onto the archangel's blade with both hands.

"Y-You!" Her voice boomed into Castiel's face. He did not flinch. He did not pull back either. Both of her hands gripped onto the weapon that the powerful angel shoved into her chest, and then she gasped out as he pushed it farther in so the tip of the blade pierced out of her back. Her white cloak turned red around the weapon that she could not phase through. She could not teleport away from it. As much as she tried, her body just looked to glitch and vibrate before getting locked back into place where the blade was stuck inside of her. "S-Satan. I'm s-sorry. I f-failed you. Dearest…"

Castiel had a dark look in his eyes as he twisted the blade in Kaguya's chest. He stopped though at the sound of her pained voice that was not in agony from the blade inside her as much as it was due to her failure. Castiel looked into her white eyes and saw a small blue flicker deep inside them. A flicker of blue fire burned brighter and brighter as Kaguya's breath started to pick up and get louder. She gasped out in horror as the flames expanded, and Castiel ripped his blade from her chest quickly to put some distance between the two of them. Her body erupted into bright blue flames as Cass pulled away, and he winced as the heat got too close to him.

As quickly as it started, the blue fire faded away. Castiel opened back up his squinted eyes but saw nothing in front of him. Her body could not take it. Her talk of Satan was not misguided then. He was truly involved. Castiel glanced up towards the heavens above but lost sight of what he was looking towards when the clouds finished filling in the hole that Kaguya had created. Those clouds started thinning out a bit more though anyway. As Castiel himself took deep breaths and lowered his weapon, the sky began to clear.

Castiel snapped his head down. The thought of a boy engulfed in black fire flashed in his head. He appeared down on the ground level and ran towards the Keybearer down on his knees, but he slowed as Sora pushed off the floor and stood back up himself. Green light shimmered over the teenager who had used his magic to extinguish the ninjutsu. "I'm lucky Valor ran out when it did," Sora admitted through panting breaths. He shook his head around and winced, causing him to swing his Keyblade again and cast even more Cure on himself. "I might've actually burned up, before I could extinguish the flames, haha," Sora lifted his gaze after joking about it.

Castiel stared back at Sora in no mood for joking. His expression was dark. A cool breeze flew over the field and hit the two men staring at one another which caused their hair to wave like the blades of grass around them. Sora glanced down at his own chest where Castiel also stared to and at a hole in Sora's shirt. The panting teenager lifted a hand and brushed over the scar he saw that still looked tender despite having closed up.

The angel took a step closer to the boy who lifted his gaze once more back to his friend. Castiel reached a hand out and pressed two fingers onto Sora's forehead. A golden light shone for a second. Sora stopped panting and his eyes snapped open wide. He looked down at his chest and could no longer see the scar, and a bright smile spread on the Keybearer's face. "Thanks Cass-"

"No," Castiel replied. "I… do not deserve your gratitude right now," Castiel denied him. He stepped backwards then turned away from Sora. He stared over towards a tuft of grass pushed down by the weapon Kaguya had dropped. Castiel started towards it, and Sora had a bad feeling as he watched the angel walk off.

"It's not your fault," Sora began while jogging up on Castiel's left side. "Really!" Sora exclaimed when Castiel just shifted his gaze to the corners of his eyes and frowned deeper at the boy. "We need to talk about this. Of course we do! I get that... it wasn't entirely her. We can talk about those fears you have though that she manipulated you over."

"I do not deserve to travel with you," Castiel stated. He paused and turned his body fully when Sora opened his mouth right away to retort. Castiel glared so frustratedly at Sora for his attitude here, and Sora slowly closed his mouth and pulled his head back. Sora's lips twitched and then curved down at the corners as Castiel forced him to take this more seriously. "I was tricked. We can both accept that, but I almost killed you. I almost killed one of the Guardians of Light." Castiel glanced up towards the sky that Sora also rose his gaze to a second after in concern about who he was looking towards.

"They can't punish you over this! It all turned out okay- better than okay! You defeated the one trying to kill me," Sora reminded his angelic friend. "He did! You can't kill him over this!" Sora yelled up at the sky. He narrowed his gaze after calling that out. I mean it. I'll think of all of you as the bad guys if you do. You don't want that, Sora thought his warning at the Gods who he was worried might be too harsh on Castiel.

Castiel lowered his own eyes from the sky first to stare at Sora in shock that he would threaten Heaven to protect the one who almost killed him. I know that I do not deserve your friendship. Castiel bowed his head. He turned and walked over to the Heaven's Blade that he picked up off the ground.

"Castiel, wait," Sora begged his friend who he did not want to see go. "There's so much we need to do. Stay with me. You said you wanted to help me."

"I do," Castiel whispered. He lifted his bowed chin and stared off into the distant southwest where they could continue heading. He felt Sora's eyes boring into his back and knew the boy just wanted him to turn around and accept the offer to just let this go. "I must return to Heaven though," Castiel replied. Guilt and regret filled his heart. Sora winced as he could feel those emotions radiating off the divine being before him. "I cannot come with you any further. I can see that clearly."

Sora bowed his own head after a second. He could hear that there would be no changing Castiel's mind. "It'll be harder for me to do it on my own. Might take me, even longer," Sora admitted. He was telling the truth but also felt it was one last good shot at keeping Castiel there. Cass just bowed his head again though and then shook it. "Sorry," Sora whispered, as he knew he was making the angel worry for nothing if it did not change Castiel's mind.

Castiel's eyes were still open when his head bowed. He bit down in anger that Sora would threaten slowing down because of his absence. Then his bared teeth unclenched and Castiel's fingers loosened their grip on both his new archangel blade and the Heaven's Blade that he held in either hand. I can no longer travel with you, Sora. I do not trust myself. These weapons are a risk in my own hands while around you. I might be tricked into killing you again. Next time, I might succeed.

"Go to the Dungeon, Sora," Castiel said. He lifted his head and turned it sideways to stare back at Sora for a moment. "The bottom floor. Not the various underground dungeons where the Gods left openings to obtain powerful weapons from, or the dungeon towers with Djinn inside, but The Dungeon. I am sure you will find it. Not far from the Tower of Babel in Alvarez territory. The bottom floor of that Dungeon is where the Keyhole of Nexus resides."

"Castiel, wait-"

"Good luck, Keybearer."

"Cass!"

Castiel vanished. Sora had lifted his hand towards Castiel's back, and he held it out for a few seconds before dropping it back to his side. "Goodbye," Sora whispered sadly. He called me "Keybearer" so informally. Like we don't even know each other. That's not true, Cass. Sora closed his eyes. "Can you hear me, Castiel?" He wondered. Sora rose both hands in front of his chest and pressed his palms together. "I pray to you, angel of the Lord. Listen to my prayer…"

"I forgive you." Sora smiled brightly while his eyes stayed closed. "I bet you can still hear me. Even though you left. Dean seemed to think you had heard all of his prayers since he got here, and you didn't deny that you had. Even if you didn't help him. Even, if you won't help me anymore. I know you still hear me," Sora's tone turned sly and he smirked at the idea of it. "I forgive you, and I'll accept your help again whenever you want to come back. We're still friends, Castiel. Don't think it's that easy to break a friendship with me!" Sora opened his eyes back up and dropped his hands down again.

He looked all around the landscape that appeared surprisingly untouched despite the insane battle that just happened. "Hmm," Sora cracked his neck to either side then drew his Keyblade again. "I should pick up the pace. If this Dungeon is near the Tower of Babel, maybe I'll come see you there. Make sure you got my message," Sora hinted up at the sky that he better get an answer now or he might delay his journey even more. He humphed when he received no response, "Fine. I wanted to check out the Tower of Babel anyway."

Thor did tell me before that the Gods who chose to stay on Nexus are there. I was meaning to check it out. If they decided to stay down here to help, they might be much less cryptic than the Gods in Heaven. They'll give me all the information I'm looking for. Sora lifted his Keyblade up above his head. It glowed bright white, and he called out, "Summon!"

"Sifla!" A shining white light above him illuminated a large blue bird that flew out of the summoning. He had made a contract with the creature shortly after arriving on Aebrith, on their journey after leaving Dressrosa, when he, Riku, and Kairi had run off ahead one day from the rest of their friends. The Mountain Banshee flew down to the boy who swung his Keyblade again and turned his own skin blue while also make his hair much longer and braided at the bottom. Sora pet the bird that flew over to him and nuzzled its neck into the teenager who grew taller as well in his transformation. "That's a good girl. There we go," Sora grabbed the antennae from the creature's head and moved his own long ponytail towards it, syncing up with the animal before hopping onto its back.

"Told you I'd be calling on you. Thanks for coming." Sora pet the long neck of his new friend a few times and then leaned forward to ready himself for takeoff. "Let's go. Fly!" Sifla flew up into the air. Sora smiled as the wind pushed into his face while he led the summons in the direction he wanted to go. I'll have to switch off for Lugia once the summoning wears off. It'll take a while since we're not fighting or anything. It's the first time I've summoned Sifla though, so maybe it'll be shorter. Not sure.

Sora glanced to his right side. He imagined a flying orange creature much larger than his own, and then he pictured the green banshee that looked not much different from Sifla. He imagined the blue-skinned girl who had ridden that one when he and his friends first met these animals. Kairi, Sora thought. His smile dropped and his eyes focused back ahead of him. We were together last time. Can I go for her right now? I want her back so badly.

His heart yearned for something that was in the west where he was already flying. I could just keep going until I hit Organization lands… The Gods are probably watching me right now. They're waiting for me to do something. Sora's expression focused. His eyes narrowed ahead but shifted to the south. I need to get serious. No more distractions. I only gave myself a month, and I haven't done enough these past few days.

I need to save Nexus. I don't have the time I need. And I need so much more. So that leaves me one option. One thing I need to do before this month is up, no matter what. It'll stall the darkness. Slow it down. Give me the time I need to accomplish all my other goals! I can't leave it open any longer.

I need to close the Keyhole.

---

A/N Thanks for reading! I'll put a list below of where all the characters are from for those you didn't recognize. I suspect you knew a few of them. Let me know if you knew them all! Also, I'd love to hear your predictions for which group out of our Main Character core you think this chapter: 22 is going to focus on. Chapter 18 started with a Sora chapter then was the Natsu, Usopp, Franky, Sanji, and Riku arc. Chapter 20 started with a Sora chapter and then was all about Ben and Ichigo, and Supergirl. This time we get Sora chapter to start off... and who do you think will get the rest of chapter 22? Let me know in a comment below. Also any questions, other predictions, or comments about the story! Update again soon!

Camp Cretaceous: Brooklyn, Kenji, Mantah Corp, Scorpius Rex

Stranger Things: Max, Dustin, Steve

Seto no Hanayome (My Bride is a Mermaid): San Seto, Nagasumi

Naruto: Kaguya

Supernatural: Castiel, Chuck, Dean, Lisa, Ben

Stranger Things: Kairi, Sora, Riku

DBZ: Android 17

Gurren Lagann: Lordgenome

Magi: Djinn

Pokemon: Lugia

Avatar: Mountain Banshees

Smlluffy67 chapter 140 . Jun 30

IF do decide to put sonic in nexas then I suggest the idw comic version of the characters alot of people (myself included) have said that the idw story and characters are alot better than the games and it has great original characters that the games don't have that I think would be great to see interact with the characters already in nexas and Ian Flynn the head writer for the idw comics is also working on the story for sonic frontiers the next game in the series and I also want to recommend the idw sonic comics because they are amazing and a great read.

As someone who has not read/watched/played much Sonic, I cannot tell you what canon that I would take them from. Actually, I guess I can: The movies. If I put in Sonic and co, it'll be the characters from the recent movies and their canon. After all, that's the one I've actually seen and know of. Sonic was one of the first games I played back on the Sega Genesis too... but that was a long time ago. XD Back in the time of cartridge games. Glad you're still reading Nexus now that Death is done. Hope to get out some more new chapters in the next few days! Thanks for the continued support, and the review! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!