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!

152. Nexus HWR 24-0 The Top of the Tower

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the source material where I got proper nouns from for Nexus.

Nexus HWR 24.0 The Top of the Tower:

"You don't know either? …No, as Super Saiyan Gods, we were just told that the Keybearers are important in order to fix the worlds. They gave us access to the top floor of the Tower of Babel, but they didn't give us much access to information. As to why this world exists, or the messed-up world order, I don't know enough to give you the answers you're looking for."

Sora stared up from the crest of a hill that was still far below the height of the Godly structure before him. He stared up towards the top floor of that tower but could not see it from down here. White clouds were scattered around the sky, but they did bunch up around the top of the tower and make the top floors look almost intentionally angelic. I wonder if the sky always looks like that or if this is a coincidence with my arrival? Sora shrugged his shoulders then rolled his neck out. "Time to see that top floor Bardock told me about. I hope Thor's up there."

Sora jogged forward and jumped instead of running down the road on the other side of the hill. He spread his arms out and glided towards the Tower of Babel. "Cass also said the Dungeon is somewhere around here, but all I see is that town over there." Sora examined the town he looked into with interest. His heart raced and a bright smile spread over his face. "Hold on!" Sora exclaimed in recognition. He curved in midair and flew off towards Orario instead, putting his destination on hold once again at the familiar sensations he felt in his heart.

As he flew off into Orario though, Sora felt a twinge of guilt. In his mind flashed the sight of Castiel floating before him with an angel blade in hand. This is why we fought in the first place. I get distracted too easily. Alright! Sora quickly shook off the guilty look and smiled instead. I'll take it as a lesson then. Limit this to five minutes, then get back on task!

"No way I could not go see them though," Sora admitted and chuckled at the mere thought of being this close but ignoring the friends he spotted down below.

"Heads up!" Sora called out. He dropped to the ground between Usopp and Sanji who each leapt up in opposite directions away from the spiky-haired teen who appeared between them. "What's up guys?" Sora asked as Usopp fell to his butt and Sanji landed on his feet but still stumbled away.

"Sora!" A voice shouted out farther down the street. Sora turned and smiled towards the pink-haired mage who just skid on his heels around a corner onto this road. Natsu had followed his nose but snapped his head down and grinned at the Keybearer who lifted a hand to wave at him.

Sora's eyes widened in surprise as Natsu started running his way and his body became clearer. "Cure!" Sora spun back to Usopp and Sanji who he looked over closely before swinging his Keyblade at them too. Green light cast over the pirates who each took in deep breaths and let out long exhales of relief.

Sanji rolled his right shoulder out. "That's so much better," he admitted. Usopp and Natsu also shook out their limbs that had been sore for the past couple of days since Sylar kicked their asses.

Natsu ripped off the bandages on his arms and looked at the healed-up skin below them. Neither his injuries from Sylar or the ones he got fighting Future Rogue and his dragons remained. "Nice." The bandages burst into flames in his hand and turned to ash. "Thanks Sora. You're so handy!" Natsu walked up behind the Keybearer and smacked a hand down on Sora's shoulder so roughly that Sora hunched forward before turning sideways and raising his eyebrows high at Natsu's sharp-toothed smile. "What was up with that though, leaving us all behind to rush off on your own? Huhhh?"

"Yeah, Mr. Leader," Sanji agreed, lighting up a smoke and taking a puff that he blew out into Sora's face. "That wasn't very leader-y of you."

"Heh heh, are you sure about that? Where's your captain, Sanji?" Sora remarked back. He shrugged off Natsu's hand from his shoulder and then smirked more when he saw Usopp and Sanji share a look and grimace. Sanji sighed after a second as he accepted that the other leader he chose to follow was no more responsible. "Seriously though, is Luffy here? And everyone else?" Sora wondered and looked around the street for them.

Sora spotted two people behind Natsu who had been with the Dragon Slayer and jogged trying to keep up with him when Natsu suddenly ran off. The girls slowed down and looked closer at this new spiky-haired figure who they had yet to meet. "Another one?" Misaka muttered at the sight of the strange person. She had seen him flying down onto this street after Natsu started sniffing the air in the middle of their conversation with him. Misaka examined the boy then shifted her gaze to his weapon, "What is-"

"OOooh!" Ruby sped forward in a red blur that made Sora jump and then laugh as she popped up on his left side. "What is that? It has a key shape at the end! Don't tell me it's a real Keyblade? Ahh- Eeee!" Ruby's eyes sparkled and she pulled her cape up under her chin in a giddy way while bouncing up and down.

"Haha," Sora laughed at the excited girl before him. "New friends?" Sora wondered with a look to Natsu and the pirates again. It seemed like these girls knew his friends, so he stepped forward and turned his Keyblade over to show it off to the giddy girl whose shining eyes moved back and forth to follow it when Sora waved it around. "Shot in the dark, but you seem like you have quite the interest in weapons?" Sora guessed.

Ruby nodded her head quickly and then reached down to her waist. She pulled out a red metal device that Sora looked at interestedly before leaning back as Ruby pressed a button on the side of it. The button extended the top and bottom outwards to create a staff that then popped out at the top into a thick scythe that she spun around and showed off to the Keybearer. "This is Crescent Rose! I'll let you see mine if- if I could," she leaned forward on the balls of her feet then back on her heels. "Could I hold it?"

Sora looked back to his Keyblade in surprise. He cracked a small grin but then smiled back at Ruby and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not. That's a really cool weapon you have there." Sora held out his Keyblade while reaching his other hand out for the weapon Ruby handed him.

Ruby's jaw was dropped while Sora handed his Keyblade over. She couldn't believe he was just handing it over for her to see like this. Misaka rose an eyebrow while looking past the two of them and at Sora's other friends who each smirked as if in on some inside joke. What are they grinning about? Misaka's attention was taken off the group of them as Sora started twirling around Crescent Rose back in front of her.

Sora spun the weapon around his back and then tossed it up. He caught it and swung out to his right side, keeping his arm extended, then pulling back towards himself and doing another cool trick with it. "It's heavier than it looks," Sora admitted. "You're really strong-" Bang! "Whoa!" Sora stumbled backwards as he accidentally fired Ruby's scythe-gun. "It's a gun too?!" Sora lifted his gaze and let out a sigh of relief that his shot went into the ground not far from him. Some people on the street were giving him dirty looks though for the careless action, so he lowered the weapon and stopped swinging it around.

Ruby was still just holding the Keyblade in her outstretched hands. Her fingers wrapped delicately around it. "Yours is lighter than it seems. Or, is it heavy?" Ruby turned it over and stared in awe at the yellow hilted Kingdom Keyblade. "It's so cool. I've seen one before, but I've heard more rumors- Eep!" Ruby yelped and her hands grasped through the open air in front of her. Her fingers fell through the shards of light that dispersed when she tried to catch them.

"Ah- ah! Oh my God! I'm so sorry, I don't know what I did-" Ruby Rose was spinning her head around in panic as she lost Sora's Keyblade. She spun back to the spiky-haired boy who a light sparkled in front of though. "Oooooh," her eyes sparkled once more as Sora's free hand curled around his Keyblade's hilt.

Natsu's grin lowered. He saw that Ruby was still just impressed even after Sora played the same trick on her that he got all of them with at some point in time. "Hehe, sorry," Sora said to the girl whose weapon he tossed back to her. Ruby caught it and retracted the Crescent Rose, while Sora slashed his Keyblade to the side and let it disperse into light shards again. "Not everyone can wield the Keyblade," he explained.

Ruby's silver eyes just sparkled more at the idea of that. "So it's a super special weapon then?" She wondered.

"Yeah, it is," Sora replied while putting both hands behind his head and interlocking his fingers in a cocky way through his hair. "Oh wait! You say you've seen one before?" Sora had not paid much attention to it when she brought it up, as he knew a lot of people who could use the Keyblade. "Who did you see?" Sora asked. "I probably know them!"

"Uh, well, it was actually a Nobody who I saw wielding one," Ruby admitted.

"Then I definitely know them," Sora said and chuckled. He shook his head though when Ruby looked back at him in a questioning way, as he had been hoping to hear about someone else. Your Majesty, I need your help more than ever. Hopefully the Gods know where you are. Sora shifted his gaze back towards the Tower of Babel and got a more serious look on his face.

"Sora, what are you doing here?" Sanji wondered.

"And who are you?" Misaka added.

"Oh, sorry for not introducing myself," Sora looked back at the girls and regained his goofier expression than the intense one he only had for a second.

"Allow me, boss," Usopp cut Sora off before he could begin. He walked forward and dramatically threw an arm out towards Sora as if presenting him. "Misaka Mikoto. Ruby Rose. Meet our esteemed leader. Sora!"

Natsu loudly clapped his hands and then cupped his hands to his mouth. "Woo!"

Sora sweatdropped at the sarcastic tone in his friends' voices. I don't think any of these three voted for me, Sora thought with a glance back at the guys. Two of them had picked Luffy, while he recalled Natsu picking himself.

"He's your 'leader?'" Misaka wondered skeptically herself. Considering their tones, she thought this might just be a joke.

"Well he did lead the way by running off on his own from HQ," Sanji said. "The rest of us just followed his lead."

"No one's back there training?" Sora asked with a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face. He had already seen a few of his friends back in the Magic Kingdom, and now he found even more of them here. There goes my one plan as leader-

"Well Goku is, and a couple others," Natsu responded. "But yeah, the rest of us just ran off…" Natsu thought of someone else who ran off again even after running off with them the first time, and his lips curled down at the corners as he examined Sora's face. I should tell him. He probably doesn't know.

"Why did you run off all of a sudden?" Sanji asked. He pulled out his cigarette and dropped it to the floor to step on. I thought you went after Kairi-chwan all on your own. There's no way you did though. If you succeeded she'd be with you. If you tried and failed, you wouldn't be acting like this. "You better have a good reason," Sanji told him.

"I have some things I need to do," Sora replied. It was a vague response that did not satisfy Sanji at all. The pirate chef just narrowed his swirly eyebrows at the kid who was supposed to be leading them. "Speaking of, I only popped over here because I noticed you were in this town. I'm actually here for the Tower," Sora motioned with his head behind him for the Tower itself.

"You can go inside?" Misaka wondered.

"Yeah… why?" Sora questioned.

"Apparently most people can't get in," Natsu muttered, swinging his foot on the street below and kicking up some dirt in a pout.

"Oh. Yeah, I don't think that's a problem for me, haha," Sora scratched the back of his head with another sheepish laugh. He would not even be able to explain why that was, so he just hoped they wouldn't ask. To avoid that, he took a step back and turned more towards the Tower. "I'm sorry I left without saying anything guys. We all need this month though. I stick by that."

"Sora wait," Natsu started.

"Natsu, I really have to-"

"It's about Riku," Natsu interrupted before Sora could run off again.

Sora stopped and turned around to face his friends. Misaka and Ruby had also heard about this news from Yugo and Amalia on their way north. Usopp looked away in a guilty way while Sanji just darted him a dirty look. Then they both shifted their gazes back to Sora who Natsu stepped closer to before continuing with what they had heard about Riku in Vistarion. Sora's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped during the recollection of the news, so they could see that Sora had not heard about it yet.

"We think," Usopp began. He hesitated and gulped but then finished, "He might've been saving Ben? Because Ben left HQ too, so maybe he went to go get his Omnitrix back from Zeref. Yeah?"

Sora slowly nodded his own head. Riku, what are you doing? Taking on Zeref all by yourself? Rushing in with no plan… Sora pursed his lips. If you're acting like that, then it won't matter if I wait. You'll attack Castle Oblivion without me. Or- or are they right? Maybe they are! Ben was there, and you were being responsible. Yeah, that's got to be it.

Another bead of sweat rolled down Sora's face. But seriously, is no one taking this month to train?

"Thanks guys. I didn't know about that. It sounds like he made it out okay though, considering that bounty you mentioned. I'll see what I can find out." Sora took steps back again but paused before turning this time. "I've got to go. Just, be careful. I want all of us to meet at the end of this month for our next step. All of us, together."

"We won't get killed. So you don't either," Sanji said in a threatening tone. "That'd upset Kairi-chan too much when we go save her."

"It'd hurt her too much to hear that anyone was," Sora replied back with a smile, putting the weight on their shoulders too not to upset Kairi by dying. Sanji was just saying it about Sora, but his cheeks flushed red and a huge smile spread over the cook's face at the thought that Kairi would be so sad to hear something had happened to him.

"Then I will live!" Sanji proclaimed.

"Good! I'll see you guys in 24 days!" Sora called out and leapt up high in the air. He did a flip then glided off towards the Tower.

"Twenty-four?" Usopp muttered and rose his eyebrows. He counted off in his head and then tilted it to the side. "I guess it is. This week went by fast."

"Feels like it's been years," Natsu countered him.

Sora soared over the head of another friend of his who he waved down at without slowing down. "Hi Franky!" Franky lifted his head and blinked a few times in confusion at the familiarity of that voice. His eyes bulged out of his head at the glimpse of the spiky-haired boy who flew over the next row of buildings and disappeared from sight.

Franky rubbed his eyes wondering if he really just saw who he thought he saw. He shook his head around and chuckled. "Couldn't be."

"Who was that?" Numbuh 3 wondered to the cyborg next to her.

Franky looked down at the girl in a green hoodie for a few seconds with a blank look on his face, then he spun back around in shock with his metallic hair popping out into a giant afro as he did. "He was real?!"

Sora was still laughing to himself when he landed as he imagined Franky's reaction back in Orario. He flew all the way to the Tower of Babel though, where dozens of armored guards stood around the base of the building. They were checking people in and out, including two other members of Alpha who did not get in as easily as God Yato who had gone ahead of them.

Abarai Renji grumbled in frustration as he was held up outside the doors. He had gotten past the angelic guards in suits of silver armor quicker than his other companion, but he was still annoyed that he had to go in the front door. I'm a Gotei 13 captain. Revoking my damn privileges just because I stayed in the Resistance. Screw you, "Captain-Commander." Renji glared up at the Tower but then shifted a more annoyed look behind him as his white-haired younger comrade answered questions about his purpose here. Renji sighed, I would have been stuck outside waiting for Bell anyway.

Sora dropped down next to Renji who lifted his gaze a second before the boy dropped out of the air, just past all of the guards. Sora landed and brushed down his shirt of wrinkles that appeared during his flight. He shook out his arms and then put a hand up through his hair to attempt to look more presentable for the Gods. "Alright!" Sora clapped his hands together. "Time to see what the-"

"Halt!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Who are you? State your purpose!"

Sora held his hands up as bows and pikes aimed at him. He glanced around in confusion at all the hostility, while Renji just gawked at the idiot who had landed with such confidence past the line of guards and looked shocked that he was being confronted for it. "Oh! A-hem," Sora cleared his throat and then curled all but one finger from his right hand already lifted. He held up the one finger as if telling them to 'hold on,' then he opened that hand and summoned his Keyblade into his grasp. Sora smiled at the astonished looks on the holy guards' faces. "So, I'm good to go in, right?" Sora wondered.

A cocky look spread on Sora's face as the guards backed up from him. "Haha, this is cool." Sora dispelled his Keyblade and put his hands back behind his head in a confident way. He looked up the Tower that went higher than he could see from the base of it. "Alright. I'm going in now," he said. Glancing around once more to check if anyone would stop him and reassuring himself that he was good, Sora walked towards the rotating glass doors ahead of him. Sora pushed his hands out into the revolving doors and stepped into the first floor of the Tower of Babel.

"I'm good?" Bell wondered. The guards around him nodded their heads, losing interest in continuing the pointless interrogation of a Goddess' disciple who came here regularly. Each of them were far more interested in who just appeared at their Tower.

Bell was interested too though, and he motioned at Renji forward while jogging past his shinigami comrade. "Come on," Bell pushed onto the doors and headed in after that strange person. "Hey!" Sora stopped ahead of him and turned around to see one of those people from outside approaching fast. "You don't happen to be a part of Son Goku's group- you are!" Bell confirmed by the look on Sora's face that lit up at the question.

"Are you also traveling with Natsu and the others?" Sora wondered back. "Resistance?" Sora questioned, looking past Bell and to Renji now to see if both of them were.

"That's right. We're in Alpha Squad," Renji replied. His eyes were not on Sora's but down on his hands. "You have a Keyblade."

"I've heard a few of their members do," Bell said with a look back at Renji.

"Are you two Gods?" Sora wondered at the pair.

"No," Bell smiled and laughed while responding. "I mean-" he spun to Renji with wider eyes and then pulled back as Renji was frowning at him.

"Ah yeah, I mean death Gods count too," Sora joined in with Bell's reaction.

The way the two of them seemed to be humoring him made a bead of sweat drip down the side of Renji's face. He shook his head and just walked past the teenagers. "Let's get on the elevator, Bell."

"Ah, yeah. Well then-" Bell began saying his farewell to Sora, but Sora shook his head back at Bell for trying.

"I'm going up too. I don't know where the elevator is so… ah," Sora scratched the back of his head and laughed again as he looked past Renji and saw four elevators along the far wall from the entrance. The floor they had entered also went far to his left and right sides. There were long offices that stretched seemingly for miles in either direction and had tiny sprites and fairies working at each desk and station. People were hurrying around and some were flying about as they worked in this busy first floor that was far larger on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside.

Sora had been distracted by the strange physics-breaking layout of the floor after walking inside, so he had not noticed the completely normal-looking elevator doors straight ahead of him until Renji pointed them out. "I'm Sora by the way," Sora greeted the pair.

"Bell Cranel."

"Renji," Renji replied with just his first name.

The group of three got on an elevator together. Sora leaned forward in awe of the buttons and the keypad below them that Bell started typing into, changing the numbers that appeared before each button to the set that he needed. "Wow, there're a lot of floors," Sora mumbled. Even just the amount of buttons was shocking, but when he watched as Bell doubled that amount, he caught a glimpse of the subsets of floors that Bell went past while getting to the one he was searching for. "That many Gods decided to stay down here on Nexus with the rest of us?" Sora wondered at the other guys.

"Yes," Bell responded happily at the tone Sora had that sounded glad to see this. "My Goddess, Lady Hestia, is on the second floor but in the sixth plane where we'll stop first. That's where I'm getting off."

"And how about you? Where are you getting off?" Renji asked the spiky-haired teen who did not seem to know anything about the building he was in.

"The top floor," Sora responded.

Renji rose an eyebrow at him then started shaking his head. "It doesn't work like that." Sora gave him a confused look, though Renji hesitated himself too as he glanced at the top button that was not illuminated, though the one under it had been because Renji pressed it himself.

"See, I can't go up to the floor Renji picked. The elevator would lock if I tried it," Bell explained to Sora.

"And I can't go to the top floor," Renji added. "So I doubt you'd be able to…" Renji trailed off at the end as Sora's expression shifted apologetically back at the "God" who was apparently more limited than him. "Really? You think you'll be able to go to the top? Have you ever been here before?" Renji asked, already feeling like he knew the answer.

"Well no," Sora responded. "But the Gods told me to come to the top floor if I had any questions for them. And I have a ton of questions."

"The Gods? Answering questions?" Bell asked in shock.

"Is that so surprising?" Sora wondered back.

Ding!

The elevator reached Hestia's floor. Bell was still going to respond to Sora, but a figure whose face was obscured behind her giant bust flew into the elevator and slammed into the adventurer before he could say anything. "Bell-kun!" Hestia tackled Bell to the elevator floor and smothered him with her chest for a few seconds, causing Bell to gasp as he finally pulled his head out from under her to take a breath. "You idiot! Stupid Bell! Why haven't you come to see me lately?! Where have you been?" Hestia lifted her head up and frowned down at her household member whose eyes widened at the sad look on her face.

"Lady Hestia, I promise I come as much as I can," Bell swore to her. "It's not like it's very convenient to have to come deep into Alvarez territory to-"

"No excuses! Oh-" Hestia looked to her side and up at a person who she did not recognize, for a second. "Sora?" Hestia whispered in shock at the sight of him.

Renji was already surprised by Sora saying he had been called to the Tower by the Gods. The fact that this mortal was apparently going to get answers to questions that every single person on Nexus had for the Gods, only for all of them to be ignored, was beyond shocking. Still, Renji looked at Hestia in surprise as the short Goddess with long twintails stared in astonishment at the boy she quickly jumped up in front of and straightened herself out for.

"Lady Hestia," Sora bowed his head respectfully to who he figured was Bell's aforementioned Goddess. "I'm confused," Sora admitted. He glanced to Renji then back down at Hestia and Bell who stood up again next to her in the doorway of the elevator. "I thought the top floor of the Tower is where the Gods are. But this is your floor?" Sora looked past Hestia and into a lobby of a floor that had several desks in the middle with various species of creature sitting at them. There were also offices along the sides of the room, and Sora noticed one that had 'Hestia' written on a nameplate above its entrance.

His eyebrows rose up and Hestia shook her head, so his suspicion was confirmed. She pouted about it and looked away, so Bell smiled sheepishly but responded for her, "Lady Hestia actually shares this floor with six other Gods. There are hierarchies even among the Gods and, uh, Gods with more… influence, are at higher floors."

Nice save, Renji thought sarcastically at the boy who was already in the dog house by the sound of things.

Hestia frowned deeper but actually looked away more to hide a tiny smile she gained from hearing how delicately Bell described her position in an attempt not to hurt her feelings about it. Bell-kun's so cute! Hestia's cheeks turned red. She reached to her side and grabbed Bell by the arm. "Anyway Bell-kun! I need to check your stats. I am sure you have gotten much stronger again. Let's let the Keybearer get on his way."

"It was nice to meet you!" Sora called out and waved as Hestia dragged Bell towards her office, the elevators closing behind him.

Sora looked to his side and up at Renji after a second with a smirk on his face. Sora cupped a hand to his mouth and whispered, "I think his Goddess has a crush on him."

Renji sweatdropped. That's very obvious, he thought, but he just ignored it outwardly and did not respond to the immature teenager.

Sora reached forward and pressed the button above the one Renji had pressed before. "Phew," Sora said and chuckled as the top button glowed gold and showed that he would really be allowed up to the top. "That would have been embarrassing," he added, imagining a situation where he pressed it and nothing happened even after he had been so confident on his way up.

Back on the second floor that Bell got off on, Hestia pulled him through her office door and closed it behind him. The room in front of her expanded in all dimensions. Multiple levels of floors spread on the walls, and balconies popped out of them while translucent figures shimmered into full being. "Hey! Bell's back!" Hestia announced to her domain.

"So that's where you ran off to," Yamato Mikoto said in surprise. The dark-haired woman in a traditional kimono up from her workspace and removed the glasses she had on to do her work. Yamato knelt at a short desk in the middle of the first floor of the Hestia Familia household. The magical Goddess' room had transformed from a normal office into a traditional Japanese home with tatami mats and wooden walls with rice paper doors.

"Bell!" Welf called out from the balcony.

Bell looked up towards the voice and smiled to see that his best bud was at the Tower at the moment. "I didn't know if you'd be here," Bell said in pleasant surprise. "I was going to look for you in Orario after but-"

"Talk about armor later!" Hestia exclaimed. "I need to check your stats first. I can feel your body ready for an upgrade. Let me level you up, Bell-kun," Hestia pulled Bell towards her personal room, already tugging up at the hem of Bell's shirt under his steel breastplate. His cheeks turned red, and Yamato glanced away with a light chuckle herself as Hestia stripped him to get a good look at Bell's back that she needed to see for his upgrades.

On the floor above Hestia and Bell, and coincidentally in the same sixth plane of reality, another two members of Alpha had arrived without using the mortal elevator. Yukino leaned back in the soft desk chair on wheels that he spun around on aimlessly while playing with a handheld video game system. Daikoku watched over Yukino's shoulder for a moment then turned and frowned with his bangs shadowing over his eyes as he watched Yato spinning his Goddess around by the hands.

Yato had his eyes closed and was laughing with Kofuku who he spun around and around while they embraced in joyous laughter. "Ohh Koofi-bear!"

"Oh Yatti-chan!"

"Kufi!"

"Yacchi!"

Yato pulled Kofuku close and she stared up dreamily into his eyes. Both of their eyes sparkled as they flirted with one another in front of an increasingly annoyed Daikoku. Yukino rolled his eyes and just focused on his game. Others in the room were staring over though at Kofuku's area of what looked like an office full of cubicles, where her cubicle was pink and fancifully designed.

Daikoku noticed someone approaching out the corners of his eyes. "Oi Yato," Daikoku tried warning.

Yato leaned his head down though and wiggled his nose with Kofuku which made a big tick mark bulge on Daikoku's forehead. The big man smirked too as he already knew what was about to happen to Yato as he acted all lovey-dovey with Daikoku's own goddess. Idiot Yato, Daikoku thought.

Yukino lifted his head and he smiled brightly before losing it as he saw where the girl was staring. "Oh, uh, hi Hiyori!" Yukino called out loudly, getting Yato's attention and making his eyes bulge. Yato stared in sudden panic into Kofuku's eyes from where their heads were still pressed together.

Kofuku chuckled sheepishly and apologetically to her best friend who she messed around like this with too often. She enjoyed it so much though, and she just apologized, "Sorry Yacchi." She flashed a big grin at him and then scampered out of the way over to Daikoku who she leaned into so she could watch the drama unfold. Kofuku lifted her hands up in front of her mouth to hide her huge smile at the sight of Hiyori standing down the aisle from their cubicle, her eyebrows narrowed down angrily. The human girl's expression was easy to read as she glared back towards Yato.

"Ah! Hiyori?! You're actually here- Wait!" Yato started running but hit the corner of the cubicle and bounced off, falling onto the desk of the next God down who jumped up and transformed into a gorilla, beating his chest before picking Yato up by the back of his shirt. Yato leaned to his left and tried looking past the face of the angry gorilla God, calling out, "It's a misunderstanding! Hiyori! Yaaahhh!" Yato got thrown across the room by the God even more pissed that this insignificant delivery God was ignoring him.

"I tried warning him," Daikoku said to his shorter Goddess who just giggled more as Yato landed and started running around the room to chase after Hiyori where the girl ran off to.

"Maybe I should have warned him myself," Kofuku admitted. She put two fingers to the side of her mouth in a teasing 'V' shape and winked at Yukino who sighed at all the immature Gods he was surrounded by. Then the Sekki went back to playing a video game where he controlled a group of cartoon animals on an island, and he smiled while bashing the buttons to play a minigame.

"When did Hiyori even get here?" Yukino wondered without looking up from his game. "Yato told the rest of Alpha outside that she was here, but he was lying out his ass. Or he thought he was lying."

Daikoku frowned at the brat for the act of disrespect. He sighed though as a kid still was a kid, even if he had died and become a spirit. "We let her in since you two had already left when she came by."

"Hiyoriiii, listen! I didn't know you were here-"

"So what? That's how you two act when I'm not here? I'm not mad actually," Hiyori scoffed at herself for even reacting this way. Yato gasped though as this response was even worse than her anger and jealousy, and he grabbed at his chest as this was more painful.

A taller God with two curved horns sticking out of his viking helmet smirked to himself as Yato stumbled past his back begging for mercy from his human girlfriend. Loki turned back to the red-haired woman in front of him, also her world's Loki, though she wore a yellow dress unlike his long green and silver robe. "The Super Saiyan got one over me this time, sure. But he is yet to become a Super Saiyan God like his father before him. I would take 20 to 1 odds that he wouldn't stand a chance against even the Rogue."

"Oh ho ho, I'll take that action. I imagine they will meet in battle soon. Undyne!" The other Loki called out. She turned and motioned over with a wave at her office that her household member saw from through the windows. Undyne sighed and removed a pair of reading glasses before standing up from her desk and heading out to her Goddess. "Contact my bookie. We're making a gamble."

"You really want to take this bet?" Loki of Asgard questioned skeptically. "Turles is certainly far stronger than a non-God Saiyan."

"Maybe…" the shorter Loki said but smirked back at him as Undyne got out her cellphone and scrolled through the contacts for her Goddess' gambling-addiction-enabler. "But Son Goku escaped the War of the Saiyan Mountains. Evaded Meruem. I wouldn't put it past him to get vengeance for his father. What do you say? I'll put down, an enchanted flint-and-steel." She bounced her eyebrows at Loki a few times as she wondered if he would take the bait and offer something worth 20x as much as that.

"Of the Minecraftians?" Loki wondered. "That is a tall order," he admitted. But I have seen Son Goku's strength up close. He is strong, for a mortal, but his strength is nothing compared to a God's! "The ability to travel freely to any of the various mortal realms of Nexus beyond the usual ports. A power you know I do not possess," he added to the woman who smirked back at him.

"Do you have anything you could offer to top that?" She remarked back, which was a challenge in itself and one they both knew the other Loki could not let go.

"I do. Not that you will ever discover what it is," Loki said. He left it a mystery which for some reason made it sound more authentic to the woman and her subordinate who wondered what kind of powerful artifact Loki might be hiding from everyone. Loki of the Loki Famiglia smirked back at the grinning Loki of Asgard, and the two of them clasped each other's forearms as they made their bet. Then Loki grabbed her phone from Undyne and started off while rambling to her bookie about the deal she just made and that she wanted him to record. A handshake from another God was almost worth enough not to go through this formality… but it was another Loki, after all.

Meanwhile, Yato continued running around the floor and finally neared Hiyori after she slipped in and out of all the other Gods and Goddesses and their followers. They each knew Hiyori enough by now that they let her by easier than they did Yato who not many of them respected enough to bother moving aside for. Yato rounded a corner fast while calling out, "Hiyo- ah! Sorry, Crestia," Yato stumbled and just kept running but apologized over his shoulder to the short dark-haired woman in a black kimono who bowed in respect back to the God.

When Crestia Bell stood back up straight though, she did give the God a funny look before shaking her head and turning to get back out on the floor. She re-straightened the pile of papers she had in her hands and evened out the corners so the pile would look very presentable before she delivered it. Not everyone was just lounging about the tower after all, and Crestia hurried by the gambling and relaxing Gods towards another office next door to the one Undyne had been in. She had to spend the rest of her day in that office doing work as a God's assistant as well.

Back in the elevator heading up, Renji glanced once more back to the brown-haired teen at his side. Such a weird guy. Are the others who have Keyblades all like him?

Ding.

Renji nodded to the boy who smiled and nodded back at the shinigami. The elevator doors on the second-to-top floor slid open, and Renji stepped out but stopped right away at the sight of who was walking towards him. "Hey," Renji greeted. He looked down at the shorter girl and then glanced behind her for a second towards his former captain who continued his strides without pausing.

Byakuya Kuchiki did not acknowledge Renji beyond the first glance at him, and Renji did not say anything to him either. He did face the shorter Kuchiki though who continued walking after pausing herself upon Renji's entrance to the floor. "Vice Captain Rukia," Renji greeted the girl and one of his closest friends who coughed herself and then slightly bowed her head in respect to him.

"Captain Renji," Rukia replied. She said it all formally, but as she walked up and past him, the two shared a look and smiled at one another. She lowered that grin though as she approached the elevator to head off with Renji's old captain. The two stopped in surprise though before stepping through the open doors.

Sora put a hand up to stop them. "I'm actually going up," he told the pair outside the elevator.

"It's true," Renji added, as he was certain Byakuya was about to say something about it.

Byakuya just stared into the elevator in surprise though and muttered, "Sora?" He was surprised to see the boy there, but he nodded in understanding after a second of thinking about it. Byakuya just moved for the buttons instead while Rukia and Renji both looked at him in surprise now that he apparently recognized the kid in the elevator. Sora had also looked surprised himself that Byakuya knew him, but he was not that shocked after Hestia. He just shrugged and waved once more to Renji before the doors closed. Byakuya pressed the down arrow button and a different elevator opened up for them right away. "Come, Rukia."

"Hm," Rukia hummed affirmatively. She glanced back to Renji again though with a curious look. He made a motion that he would tell her later, though he shrugged with it as he did not know much himself to be able to explain.

Rukia and Byakuya got on the elevator that started to close behind them. She looked out though and past Renji's back towards the higher-ups of the Gotei 13 who frowned in Renji's direction as he approached them. Good luck, Renji. Rukia sighed once the doors closed and then frowned and glared away when she noticed her older brother staring to the side and down at the top of her head. "You could do more to get Leam to help the Resistance, you know?" Rukia said.

She spoke up suddenly and with her arms crossed while facing away from her brother. "Titus listens to you," she added before he could retort against what she just said. "You know he does."

"That is not our directive," he countered.

Rukia's eyes darkened. She grunted but said nothing else about it. Her eyes did shift back towards the roof of the elevator though and her friend she imagined having a tough conversation up there now. It's the directive some of us chose though, Rukia thought. She lifted the corners of her lips a bit in pride as she thought back on the red-haired man's decision he told her about right after the Gotei 13 changed its purpose.

You were ordered to leave the Resistance by the new Captain Commander after the last ones fell. You've always been good at ignoring orders though, Rukia chuckled to herself and then just walked out of the elevator first when they hit the first floor. "Goodbye, elder brother," Rukia had enough respect for Byakuya to tell him that. She was not his Vice Captain though, and she marched off ahead of the man who she just happened to have met with during their individual reports to command.

Renji faced another of the 13 squads' captains whose place was in the Tower of Babel. She was not the Captain Commander but was here while the leader of the Gotei 13 happened to be out at the moment. Renji glanced around then back at the black-haired woman whose long hair was tied into a braid that fell straight behind her back. "Captain Unohana."

"Captain Renji. How are you?" Unohana wondered back to the 5th Division's captain.

"Fine," Renji replied. He looked to the seat on the right side of the head of the table where another captain was sitting. The white-haired woman glared at Renji for his curt reply to her former captain. Isane Kotetsu, the leader of the Thirteenth Division, held her tongue though since Unohana just nodded back at him. Still with a smile on her face, Unohana did not appear fazed by Renji's attitude. Nor was she surprised by it considering she had been here on multiple occasions when he argued about his need to even come report in anymore in the first place. Usually he made those reports to the currently missing leader of their organization though. "The Captain Commander?" Renji wondered.

"Elsewhere," Unohana replied. Isane smirked as her boss replied with as curt and short a response as he gave to Unohana's question.

Renji frowned but then grunted and shrugged as he supposed he deserved that kind of attitude in response. He respected Unohana enough anyway to stand up straighter and clear his throat in a more serious way now. He had been prepared to give his report to a man he had much less respect for, and he reminded himself who he was talking to while Unohana stood there at the end of the table just ahead of him. "I have come to give my report," Renji reported in. She nodded back at him still smiling, and she motioned for him to go ahead.

The fifth person I've given these reports to on this world though, Renji thought after he started giving his regular report to the Captain Commander's temporary stand-in. The original didn't make it a year. Ukitake would sub in for him sometimes. Then Kyouraku took over. That lasted what? Three days? Still enough for us all to go swear allegiance. Act like everything was still okay. He told us we'd keep fighting for what the old man died for. Then went right on ahead after him. All three of them in not even a week.

Had Kyouraku just managed to last a little longer… Or if anyone else had been made the new Captain Commander after him! Renji frowned and paused giving his report to Unohana for a second. He stared at her more discerningly but then went on without saying anything of it. But you picked him, Renji thought while looking into Unohana's eyes. The old timers all went for it. He pulled us out of the war. Aizen accepted peace. You weren't going to stop me though. Peace? With Aizen? Not a chance.

A floor above the Thirteenth, Fourth, and Fifth Division Captains of the Gotei 13, the elevator finally reached its final and least-visited destination. The doors opened for the Keybearer who emerged from them to see a room with a table in it similar to the one he spotted on the floor below. This one was circular though unlike the long oval table that Unohana Retsu sat at the head of. There was no single head of this round table that was more packed than the nearly empty one downstairs too.

Many of the figures at the table stood up upon Sora's entrance to their floor. Others remained seated. Some watched him with great interest, others appeared nonchalant about his approach, some had respect in their eyes, and others looked to demand respect from him. It was a disorienting entrance to the boy who recognized all those looks and had no idea how to approach this table of Godly beings from so many different worlds who all appeared to have different opinions of him. Then Sora's face lit up though as he spotted one of the Gods who stepped away from the table and out of the way of a burlier figure who partially blocked him from Sora's view at first. "Thor! You're here!" Sora called out in surprise.

Thor chuckled at Sora's enthusiasm upon seeing him. They had only met the one time, but the way Sora sounded, it could be mistaken that they were long-time friends seeing each other for the first time in forever. Thor responded in kind to Sora's attitude, "It is good to see you, friend. I am glad you chose to visit."

"Thought I'd give this place a look," Sora interlocked his hands behind his head and walked up to the table. He looked around at the Gods and Goddesses. "I'm Sora. Nice to meet you all!" He greeted, bowing his head slightly in respect to the Godly figures who appeared to be waiting for him to do it, but not that far either as he did not want the ones looking at him with utmost respect to feel shameful for getting bowed to by the Keybearer. It was an awkward little half head-bow, but Sora grinned to himself while standing back up straight. You're nailing it, he hyped himself up.

"It is good to finally meet you as well," a blonde woman who retook her seat replied to him. She had stood with some others but only apparently to get a better look of him. She leaned back in her chair and lowered her risen eyebrows after getting a good feel of the boy. "Though I am unsure of what we could do to help you, Sora." He faced her and gave her a quizzical look, though he opened his mouth to ask the more important question to him at the moment. The Goddess rolled her eyes though and interrupted before he could, "My name is Artemis. Goddess of hunting, the moon… and chastity." Her eyes narrowed at the boy who chuckled and then tugged at his collar for a moment with a bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face.

"HAHAHA!" Thor bellowed out laughter at the teenager's expression.

"Ah-ahem," Gowasu cleared his throat. The yellow-skinned Kai with white hair sticking out of his head in a single plume gave Thor a serious look and then refaced Sora in a more respectful way. "Sora," Gowasu greeted. "You need not know each of our names. I know, a Keybearer like yourself must wish to be friends with all of us. You must focus on your missions though, not befriending the Gods."

Artemis nodded her head in agreement. Despite just giving her own introduction to the boy she knew was going to ask for it, they all knew that that would take forever if Sora wanted to know who each of the Gods were.

"Okay," Sora conceded. "I hope you can still help me out… and that we could still be friends, even if you want to skip introductions." Sora flashed a grin at his new Godly friends. "I like all of you anyway. Since you decided to come down here, right? To help out the world rather than staying in Heaven?" Sora wondered. He was not certain exactly how it all worked, but he was fairly sure he liked all of these Gods already just by the fact that they chose to come endure Nexus with the rest of them.

A few of the Gods darted looks up at the ceiling of their room. Nervous looks spread on a few faces. It sounded like Sora was criticizing the other Gods who had not decided to come down here. A few panicked or infuriated Gods opened their mouths to counter him for that insolent statement that criticized the Gods many of them considered as their own masters. Thor spoke up first while lifting a palm for the others to wait on their retorts, "Not everyone is a powerful God who could survive down here, Sora."

Sora looked at Thor curiously and nodded slowly as he had not thought of that. "Really?" He wondered.

"Yes," Thor replied.

"And even those of us who are most powerful do not answer to you!"

The ceiling lit up bright white and a booming voice blasted into the room. A few of the Gods and Sora flinched at the sound of that thunderous voice that just interrupted them. Sora winced and pulled his chin down to his chest for a second before glancing up into the white light in surprise. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to, imply anything like that. I get why you can't all interfere," Sora assured.

That voice is familiar? "Your confidence is encouraging…" Oh yeah! Is that one of the Originals? I feel like I remember that voice-

"Lord Zeus, I am sure he meant no disrespect," Gowasu began in Sora's defense.

"'Zeus?'" Sora wondered in surprise. "Oh! You're Hercules' dad-"

"Not the one you know," Zeus bellowed back down, though his voice was less thunderous this time. The bright white ceiling glow did not flash as brightly when he spoke this time either. "I was not disrespected by Sora's remarks either. Rather his disrespect was aimed at the other lower Gods up here who he criticizes without full knowledge of what they do."

"Well if I knew more, like if you had bothered to explain any of this to me," Sora started countering. He realized everyone else on the top floor of the Tower of Babel were gawking or glaring at him, mostly both. "Sorry… but it's true," he added after apologizing and cutting himself off. "Like how are you even talking to us right now? I thought you were all so separated from the world down here?" Sora wondered.

The ceiling lost its bright glow and dimmed back to return to its normal appearance. Sora sweatdropped as he figured he must have annoyed the Original too much and made Zeus leave. I thought he liked me, Sora shrugged at the thought and then glanced around to see if anyone else besides Zeus had an answer to that question.

"It's only in this top floor of the Tower that Gods can pass through easily," Thor responded. "This is the nexus point that- not Nexus, but a nexus as in a connection point between two places." Sora had looked confused for a second, but he nodded quickly to show he was all caught up. Thor went on, "It's the gateway. Only after coming up through the whole Tower of Babel can one reach the gateway to Heaven. And only if the Gods on the other side open it can one pass through. These precautions are vital. We must protect Heaven at all costs, and that includes protecting the other Godly beings. They are not all such powerful warriors like myself and many of the others who chose to descend to Nexus and join the mortals in their trials."

Sora kept nodding though his nodding was slowing down, and he was looking more and more confused. Thor finished with something that did make Sora's eyes bulge though, as the God said, "Not all Gods have great powers like the shinigami on the floor below, or your friend Castiel-"

"Cass!" Sora exclaimed as Thor brought him up. "Have you seen him?" Sora asked it and then got an even more worried look on his face at the harsh expression that formed on Thor's. "Tell me! He isn't answering any of my prayers."

"Sora, Castiel attempted to murder you," Thor said in a low voice. "He very nearly succeeded."

"He was being manipulated!" Sora called back. He snapped his head up to the ceiling and called out louder, "You can't blame him for that! Kaguya was super strong and-"

"Sora, they can hear you even if you don't scream," Artemis scolded the boy who was yelling at the ceiling as if being that loud would help the Gods in Heaven hear him better. "And no matter what you say, you aren't going to convince Gods that they're wrong. We're a very stubborn lot."

A chorus of agreement in nods and grumbles went around the table to Sora's dismay. "He's my friend. They better not hurt him," Sora said. His voice got softer but then louder again as he looked towards Artemis and straight in her eyes. "My friends are my power. If they hurt him because of me… I don't know." He was trying to be sneaky for a second and trick the Gods listening into releasing Cass, but he just felt too hurt talking about something bad happening to Castiel that it made it difficult for him to keep up that plan. "Just," Sora lifted his gaze to the ceiling again. "Don't punish him too badly. He was helping me out a lot. More than the rest of you combined ever have," Sora added to all the Gods who were punishing Castiel for harming him.

"He's the only reason I'm still alive," Sora reminded them. He thought back on the War of the Saiyan Mountains and how Castiel had gotten him and his friends out of there at the last second.

Thor Odinson nodded back at Sora. "I am sure they will take that into account in whatever punishment they hand down to him. But that is not for you to decide. Castiel returned on his own to receive punishment, as you well know." Sora bowed his head at what Thor told him. He already knew that but shook his head thinking about how unfair it was. "You have other reasons for coming here, yes?" Thor wondered, hinting at Sora to ask those other more pertinent questions now.

"I suppose," Sora mumbled. He sighed and clapped his hands on his cheeks. He squeezed tightly and pulled the corners of his lips up. "Happy face. Happy face," he repeated to himself and got a big grin back on his mug to show the Gods before him. They were confused at why he did it, as they had no knowledge of Donald and Goofy's primary condition for Sora traveling with them. Can't let myself get down. It's no fun having an adventure like that. Being all dark and brooding like Riku used to get, Sora laughed to himself at the thought, baffling the Gods at the kid's whole sudden demeanor shift.

"Alright! I guess I have a few questions. I hear the Dungeon is near here? Cass mentioned that he found the Keyhole at the bottom of it," Sora explained his reasoning for looking for it.

The Gods all seemed to know that already though. Sora rolled his eyes that no one had told him to instead let him figure it out on his own. Another reason he's way more helpful than any of you, Sora added to the list of things Castiel had helped him with.

"It is to the northeast," Thor responded. "Not far from here. It is an enormous endeavor to attempt to reach the bottom floor of the Dungeon, however." Sora rose his eyebrows and then leaned back as Thor went on, "A treacherous place. Adventurers from all over the world train inside and bring out valuable relics and resources from within. Many lose their lives in attempts as well. Reaching the Keyhole is no simple task."

"It never is," Sora replied with a sigh. Thor smiled again and then chuckled at Sora's knowing but exhausted response that showed a familiarity with the difficulty of reaching Keyholes. "One time I couldn't find the Keyhole in the Deep Jungle until I learned the meaning of friendship. That was a tough one," Sora shook his head with his eyes closed as he thought back on Tarzan, Jane, and the gorillas. He imagined the conflict he had with Donald and how they overcame it by the time they left that world. In the meantime, the Gods all stared blankly at the teenager and wondered if he was bullshitting them or not.

"Oh… well, this is more of a physical difficulty than a, difficulty of the heart," Thor responded.

Sora opened his eyes with a smile spreading further over his face at the way Thor described it. "Yeah, okay that makes sense."

Is that what they call, "speaking his language?" Gowasu wondered with a bead of sweat sliding down from his forehead that he wiped away with a handkerchief.

Sora scratched his chin for a few seconds but frowned after thinking it over. "If I don't even have Castiel to help me out, I don't think there's much of a chance of me making it to the bottom on my own," Sora admitted. "The way you're describing it, I'm sure really strong people from all over Nexus- people stronger than me, have tried and failed. I can't handle that right now on my own." I wonder if my friends will be willing to take a detour to the Dungeon with me after the month is over?

"That is true," Thor agreed with Sora's assessment. "King Mickey has tried on many occasions now and failed each time to break past the twenty-fifth floor."

"You've seen the King?!" Sora exclaimed. He suddenly remembered that was another of the questions he had for if he ever reached the Tower of Babel. "That's great. Where is His Majesty, if you know? You don't?" Sora's excitement replaced with disappointment just as fast when Thor shook his head back at him. The other Gods similarly shook their heads when Sora glanced around at them all.

"I don't understand. I can't tell if you're watching us at all times, or not watching anything at all. Taking part or staying out of it," Sora got frustrated in his confusion. He stared at Thor and pursed his lips, but then he wondered to the Thunder God, "Why didn't you just help King Mickey out when he went for the Keyhole?"

Thor hesitated for a moment. Sora's question was directed straight at him, and Thor gained a frustrated look of his own. "It's not that, I wouldn't want to-"

"Do you want to come with me?" Sora asked.

Thor's eyes grew wide as the Keybearer asked him that question. The ceiling turned white though and Thor frowned deeply, opening his mouth to speak first but getting cut off by the voice of his father. "It is your mission to seek out and seal the Keyhole, Keybearer. Not my son's."

"Your dad?" Sora wondered.

"Odin," Thor replied in a low and disgruntled voice. "And he does not speak for me," Thor announced in a louder voice that dimmed the ceiling. Sora's expression lit up, but Thor paused for a few seconds and saw disapproving glares around the room focused on him. "However," Thor continued and made Sora's expression drop just as quickly. "As much as I would like to assist you, Keybearer, I agree with the fundamental reasoning behind why our creators remain out of our affairs." Thor reminded Sora of what the Originals had told him about free will with just that explanation, and Sora understood but pursed his lips anyway and frowned back at Thor.

"You're not all-powerful though," Sora countered him.

"HAH! But I am extremely powerful," Thor retorted. "Far stronger than you. And you would be relying on my power, just as you would be leaning on Castiel as a crutch to get you through the Dungeon. Tell me," Thor's expression became more firm. "Do you believe you would have the strength to defeat the Darkness if you used Gods and angels just to get you to the Keyhole?" Sora's eyes grew wide again and the boy just stood there thinking about what Thor asked him for a minute.

What did I tell Android 17 and Lordgenome? What have I been saying all this time? I want to be a different kind of Keybearer. A better one! That journey doesn't start by getting help that none of the Keybearers before me ever had. That's cheating. And a cheater isn't going to be the best chance of stopping the Darkness… Kairi is. A Princess of Heart and a Keybearer.

"Perhaps it is my decision," Thor confessed. "I have free will. I could leave this Tower and join you in the Dungeon. Protect you when you are weak. Defeat your enemies if they are too strong for you. But for what reason do you close the Keyholes? For what reason do you seek this world's? Sora, I do not know the answer to these questions. Do you?"

Sora stared back into Thor's eyes for a few quiet seconds. "It always just, came naturally to me." Sora lifted his right hand and stared at it as the Keyblade appeared. The yellow hilt of his Kingdom Key emerged and Sora stared down the shaft to the key itself. He turned the blade over and wondered aloud, "You know, Thor? I'm not sure exactly why I need to seal it. To stem the spread of darkness? Or fight The Darkness? Or what. I'm not sure. I know it's important though. The Keyblade appears on its own when I'm close. It points itself to the Keyhole. And I trust the Keyblade," Sora added, smiling at his weapon that he slashed back and forth then let shatter into light shards. "It's never once led me astray."

"Then I will trust your judgement," Thor started.

"And I'll trust yours," Sora replied. "Maybe this is something I need to do myself. Or with my friends, but my mortal friends I guess." Sora shook his head around and then said, "I probably need Kairi by my side to do it. And unlike with the Keyhole, any help you can give there I will gladly take. No exceptions this time," Sora added. He tried to make himself sound more firm and serious with the Gods who should have already helped him with this.

"There is sadly nothing we can do for your fiancé, Sora," a red-faced Goddess replied.

A furry God sitting twice as tall as the two on either side of him grunted in agreement. "She is beyond our powers. The Organization utilizes the darkness. Our eyes do not even reach inside Castle Oblivion."

"Where do they reach?" Sora muttered. The Gods glared at him again but Sora just shook his head. "You don't know where King Mickey is. You can't see or help Kairi-"

"We are neither omniscients nor omnipotents," Artemis scolded Sora for his tone. "Do not mistake us for all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful deities."

"But we can help you in other ways," Thor added. "I hope we did not upset you with our lack of power, Sora. Or our inability- or unwillingness to assist you. You do understand that our worlds do not revolve around you, don't you?" Thor reminded him. It was a simple question, and yet Sora hesitated after hearing it and then opened his eyes wide and leaned back.

A look of shame covered his face and he turned away. "Sorry," Sora whispered. I've been acting so cocky! "I shouldn't have…" I flew in and marched up here and started yelling at them to help me like they should just because I am who I am. When did I get so demanding? They made me think I was the center of the universe, but that was the Originals. These are not those other Gods. Just like people, they're all different from each other. "I got carried away," Sora admitted in a softer voice.

"It's fine," Thor told him.

"We do not mean to upset you, Keybearer," Gowasu continued quickly.

"No one blames you for wanting the woman you love returned to you," Artemis said. Sora glanced back towards her and recalled the way she mentioned what she was Goddess of earlier, and he was surprised to hear her say such a thing. Artemis had lived long enough though to know love and what lost love felt like. Orion, she thought for a moment, before quickly making her face as stern as it was a moment before.

"We would like to help you with knowledge and wisdom. Answers, to questions that we know the answers to," Thor informed the boy. "We all tread a thin line. I used to interact much more in affairs all over this world. However I left nations weak and defenseless by protecting them over and over, and they were destroyed when I could not be there. I choose not to help you because I know what my coddling can do to those who I perceived as the 'weak' who needed my protection. But that does not mean I do not want you to have assistance in this upcoming trial of yours."

"So, you don't know where King Mickey is…" Sora was trying to figure out what Thor was hinting at him. "But King Mickey has tried reaching the bottom of the Dungeon many times. Is he there right now?" Sora asked.

Thor was nodding at first but stopped on Sora's question. You're on the right track. "He is not."

"Do you know where he is?" Sora asked.

Thor shook his head. "I am sorry, I am not sure. I have not seen him in some time." Sora glanced around the room, but none of the other Gods chimed in to say that they had the answer that Thor did not. A glance at the ceiling told him no help was coming from above either. "However," Thor went on, and Sora snapped his attention back to him. "The King's Castle is hidden in former Resistance territory."

"'Former?'" Sora wondered. And this was almost so easy, he thought to himself in slight disappointment that it was not still in Resistance lands.

Thor answered him, "They were unable to relocate when the Emperor took the western coast of southern Aebrith, north of the Great Wall."

Sora nodded along. He was starting to understand the geography and borders of Aebrith after all their time here. He had been across the Great Wall already, and they had crossed through the Emperor's territory after landing in Dressrosa. We even beat a few of their Lords.

"…His expansion and designation as a High Lord of the Cooperative did not affect the Disney Castle," Thor went on. The God reached down to his waistband and pulled out a rolled-up piece of parchment. Sora grinned as he realized that Thor was hoping to hand this to him once Sora asked the correct questions. "I have the position on this map marked," Thor informed the boy. "Memorize it, then destroy the map before entering the Emperor's domain. You should not risk it falling into the wrong hands."

Sora's eyes grew wider and he nodded in a more serious way. He understood why he needed to be careful here. Thor continued after seeing that nod, "The King's castle will not be out in the open. It is a few thousand miles past the border with the Resistance, deep behind hostile lines. You should start your search for King Mickey there. I cannot say that he will be there for sure, but I hope it will help you on your quest."

"It's a huge help, Thor," Sora assured his friend who he really wanted to know how grateful he felt. King Mickey might actually have more information for me than Thor. He always seemed so knowledgeable about all this Keyblade stuff, whereas even the Gods don't have any concrete answers for me. Thor doesn't even know what the Keyhole is. The entrance to a world's heart. Nexus' must be so corrupted already with how everything is here. Don't worry though, Thor. Everyone.

I'm going to seal it off. Protect the heart of Nexus from the darkness. And hopefully in doing so, I might be able to better hide this world from the capital 'D' Darkness too. Sora flashed a bright smile at the God who he took the map from. He slid the parchment into his bottomless bag and then thanked him. Mickey won't just know what we should do about the Keyhole and help me get to it- or maybe I'll be the one helping him seal it. Either way. But he'll also know more about the Seven Guardians that King Triton talked about. He might know where Donald and Goofy are! He's got the experience of the Dungeon already. He'll know what we should do to save Kairi!

"You must not draw attention to the castle when you visit," Thor reiterated to the teenager who appeared too eager to rush straight to his next destination. "I know you are having quite the journey right now, but take this slow. Do not lead the Sith to the Disney Castle. It is of the utmost importance that that place is protected."

Sora's eyebrows furled in confusion and he cocked his head to the side. "It is?"

Thor nodded again. Sora noticed in his peripherals all of the Gods looking serious and like they all knew what Thor meant by that. "Why?" Sora wondered.

Thor hesitated but then responded to Sora's annoyance, "It is better that you just see for yourself." Thor chuckled at Sora's frustrated look, and he explained, "You'll understand when you get there. I promise, it will all begin to make sense."

Sora hummed and then nodded back himself and interlocked his hands behind his head. He relaxed and looked around at all the various Gods at this high level of the Tower of Babel. "So," Sora began. He did not think he would get anywhere continuing his last line of questioning, but he did have one more important question on his mind before he could take off for the destination on the map. "I take it none of you are the Original, huh?"

"Excuse me?" Gowasu wondered curiously. A few of the others glanced at each other in confusion as well, only to shift their attentions to Thor whose eyes widened after a second in understanding of Sora's question.

Sora turned to Thor who knew what he meant. Sora remembered what the dark-haired Original who met them with Chuck in their "original" forms up in Heaven had said. "Every single Original, except for one, has remained in this realm above Heaven since arriving on Nexus. It had been so long since we last saw each other, and you do not know what it feels like to all be reunited after such a long time apart."

"There's one more Original who's not up in Heaven, right? Where are they?" Sora asked. Thor had an uneasy expression that confused Sora at the look of it. The boy gulped as it looked like Thor dreaded giving him this answer. "What?"

Meanwhile back down closer to the bottom of the Tower of Babel, Bell Cranel walked out of Lady Hestia's room with a proud look on his face. He was getting his tunic back on, and he swung his arms in circles after putting them through his shirt's sleeves. His arms moved so fast they looked like blurs. "Faster again?" Yamato wondered in amazement just by seeing how Bell was acting. "You progress seems limitless, as well as exponential."

"Before long you'll be the one they call 'The Strongest' in the Resistance," Welf agreed, stepping up behind Bell who rose his eyebrows and spun as he did not notice his armorer approaching behind him. Welf slammed a hand down on Bell's shoulder and made the shorter boy hunch forward for a second as he was surprised by the force Welf put into it. "Haha, well, maybe it'll take a few more upgrades," Welf joked after nearly making Bell stumble like that.

"Hah, hahah, I think it'll take quite a few more than that," Bell admitted. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly while thinking of Alpha Squad's leader. "But I do feel good about my progress. Thank you, Hestia-sama." Bell turned back and bowed to their Goddess who smirked and rubbed a finger under her nose in an even more proud way than Bell did.

Welf strengthened the squeeze on Bell's shoulder after Bell bowed to Hestia. He got the white-haired boy to turn back to him and notice that Welf's face looked a bit more serious all of a sudden. In Bell's peripherals he saw the others in Hestia's domain appearing the same way like they knew what Welf was thinking about. "What is it?" Bell asked in concern.

"You know, Lil' Lili and her Squad passed through Orario not too long ago," Welf told his best friend. As another member of her Familia, even Hestia had a worried look on her face for Liliruca Arde. "They were on their way to deploy farther north," Welf continued.

Bell started to smile before Welf could finish. The red-haired blacksmith gave Bell a curious look but then smiled brightly as the others' expressions lit up too. "Don't worry," Bell told his friend. "We're on our way to assist Lambda right now." Welf relaxed and started laughing, while Hestia sighed in relief and Yamato wiped some sweat from her forehead.

"That's great," Welf said. His shoulders noticeably slouched and the armorer only noticed how tense he had been lately in that moment as the weight left his shoulders. If Bell and his squad's going, I have nothing to worry about. "I should get down to Orario quickly," Welf mentioned, looking behind him over to Hestia as well who nodded at him that it was okay for him to go. He was part of her Familia but also had close ties with Hephaestus who was his previous Goddess and who had set him up working at a blacksmith down in the town below. They established a 60-40 split for profits, the majority going to Hephaestus rather than his own Familia, though he could not complain as he was given the same materials and inputs that other Hephaestus members got despite being an outsider now.

"You probably should. The others will be looking for you," Bell agreed. It was not only Bell's armor and weapons that were made by his best friend and fellow Familia member. Welf ran off to grab an upgraded red cloak for Ruby, as well as other gear that Bell's comrades had asked him to work on the last time they passed through the area. Bell called out after his friend, "Oh! I actually brought you some stuff to work with for our next armor sets."

"Haha- give me a break! Let me give you these sets before you start asking for new ones. You haven't even seen how great they are yet!" Welf shouted back from his room where he was gathering everything up.

"Oops- sorry," Bell apologized but then chuckled along with the girls who giggled at Welf's complaint. "But I think you'll be excited about it. We had quite a journey north and got in a lot of big fights. I've got some strong materials in a capsule for you. Kaneki- the acting leader of Alpha for now, wanted to use a capsule on one of the dragons we killed in this giant battle. He thought you'd be able to make it into some super powerful dragon scale armor-"

"And you didn't get any?!" Welf exclaimed with his head sticking back out of his doorway. Apparently he was already over the idea of Bell waiting a second before getting him started on new armor.

Bell shook his head no. He gained a thoughtful expression and started explaining the story of their battle with the dragons. His Familia all listened closely to the tale and got curious looks on their own faces as Bell recounted, "…Despite Natsu Dragneel being a 'Dragon Slayer,' he seemed to care very much for the brain-dead dragons that we killed who were under that 'Future' Rogue's control. Apparently Natsu's father was a dragon. Dismembering the dragons' bodies to use their scales for armor… did not seem a prudent suggestion at the time."

Welf sweatdropped but nodded his own head in agreement. He ducked back into his room to keep gathering the equipment quickly. He wanted to get Bell's team their gear as quick as possible so that they could get going after Lili.

Down in Orario's market, Cyborg Franky had his right hand up next to Numbuh 3's left shoulder. His red fingertips had popped open and there were tools sticking out of them. A screwdriver spun around and removed more screws to allow Franky to remove the prosthetic arm the girl had. She winced but nodded at Franky to keep on going, and the pirate chuckled to himself then pulled the arm away from the girl. "You're doing great, little lady. Sure are a tough one, huh? I wouldn't want to get on your bad side."

"Hehe, that's right!" Numbuh 3 giggled then agreed with him. "Are you sure you can upgrade my arm though?" She wondered curiously while leaning forward and looking around Franky's side. "Numbuh 2 is really good at stuff like this. I'd be surprised if you could make it even better." The two of them were at a blacksmith's smithy where the blacksmith their new friends were looking for was currently not there. Franky reached into his backpack and pulled out even more tools than just what he had hidden inside his own giant robot hands, and he flashed a grin at the girl who nodded excitedly to see that Franky was confident in his ability.

Behind where the two of them sat at an empty area of the forge and across the street, Numbuh 4 struggled in an arm-wrestling contest against the blond-haired man sitting across the table from him. Numbuh 4 smirked and grabbed his right hand with his left and used both to try and surprise Izayoi and suddenly push the older boy's hand down. Izayoi patted his free hand over his mouth though and yawned in a mock bored way while Numbuh 4 struggled. The extra hand apparently did not have any impact on the match.

Kaneki just watched the younger blond kid whose body shook harder and whose hair started to blow upwards. The kid's hair was styled in a bowl cut that kept his bangs blocking his scarred-up eyes most of the time. As wind pushed around Numbuh 4 though with the kid powering up a bit to try and push Izayoi's hand down, and still failing, Kaneki managed to see the boy's interesting eyes. He has a Rinnegan and a Sharingan. He does not even appear to know what they are though. Or at least, he has not managed to utilize their full power yet. How long ago did he obtain those eyes?

"Whoaaa. What is that?" Numbuh 3 asked in awe. She just stared as Franky lifted a hand that he covered in the liquid-y beige substance that had such a strange texture to it. Franky pressed his hand against one of his steel cheeks and then rubbed across that half of his face. He flattened out his hand and brushed up and down to even it out, and then he removed his hand and showed the girl next to him the amazing fake skin substance he just reapplied. Fighting Sylar had left him looking like quite a mess, and this was the first time he had a good forge to work in since that battle. "Fake skin?!" Numbuh 3 exclaimed. She looked back to her metal arm that Franky had removed, and she smiled wide at the idea of getting it to look more human. "I wonder if Numbuh 2 wants anything like this?"

Franky looked at her interestedly. "That other Numbuh friend of yours? He like us?"

"Much worse than me," Numbuh 3 replied with a shake of her head. "I don't know what happened after they left me in Dressrosa, but he looked as much cyborg as you, Franky…" Numbuh 3 was saying it just to explain who Numbuh 2 was. When she brought up how they left her in Dressrosa though, Franky noticed a change in her appearance. The way her expression shifted and her eyes lowered down made the older man's grow wide in understanding.

If little bro Timmy wasn't there to figure out what was going on, we would've left some people behind too. How long did her friends leave her there for? Such a young girl, and she fought and led the toys to victory. You're one hell of a super little lady!

Franky looked back to Numbuh 3's arm and focused on making it stronger. "I'll put some softer tissue over the steel so you don't bonk yourself in the head anymore," Franky told the girl who he could tell was not used to her friend's new arm and kept hitting herself on accident with it. "But I'm also adding a cannon inside the wrist. Be careful with the wrist launcher though," Franky explained as he worked so rapidly that Numbuh 3's eyes started spinning around and around. He opened panels and unscrewed and re-screwed parts apart and back together again.

Then he reached out and grabbed Numbuh 3, spinning her around on the forge stool and reattaching the girl's arm. "It shouldn't hurt now either when it connects," he added.

Numbuh 3's eyes bulged as she heard a click. She stared down at her left hand that she rose in front of her face and moved all the fingers of. "I didn't even feel it! Wow! So how do I use the wrist launcher-" Numbuh 3 pointed it across the street and tried to do it, not realizing just how good Franky was at this.

The second she attempted, the wrist cannon fired. Izayoi yanked Numbuh 4 backwards over the top of the table where the boy was still struggling to push his arm down. "Ah-Hey! No fair-whoaaa! AHH!" Numbuh 4 yelled as the explosion ripped apart the table they were just sitting at and destroyed their chairs too.

"I said careful!" Franky shouted.

"Eep!" Numbuh 3 pulled back her hand and then burst out into laughter as a singed Numbuh 4 got dropped on his butt in the middle of the road. "Hahahaha! Numbuh 4, I'm sorry- hahaha!"

"It doesn't sound like you're sorry!" He yelled back at the girl who he jumped on his feet and stormed over towards. Izayoi smirked and rose his eyebrows as Numbuh 4 pretended not to be annoyed by how much stronger he was to the point that the kid just moved straight on from that failed challenge of a contest of strength. "You nearly took my bloody head off! Watch where you're pointing that thing! What were you thinkin', giving her something like that? Huhh?" Numbuh 4 snapped at Franky.

Franky chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Well, now she knows how to use it. Don'tcha, little sis?"

"Yeah!" Kuki called out and spun back to Franky with a bright smile. "Thanks! And sorry, Numbuh 4," she said a little more seriously this time while turning to look back at her friend. Her eyes got wider and trembled a bit with her lip quivering, "I didn't mean to."

"Ahh forget it," he waved a hand at her and then spun with a humph. He crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath then reached a hand up and started fixing his hair he was sure got messed up by that explosion.

Numbuh 3 waited until he looked away before getting rid of her puppy dog eyes and smirking back at Franky. The cyborg held back his laughter as the girl did what she apparently knew would get Numbuh 4 to forgive her immediately.

"We're sorry," Kaneki started to a pair of merchants who were glaring over towards the cyborgs at the forge. Izayoi waved a hand to other blacksmiths and customers in the forge as well who came to check out what was going on. Kaneki frowned back over at Franky who was too distracted by the funny kids that he did not seem to care much about the collateral damage they did to the marketplace.

The Resistance needs to be cautious outside of our territory, and inside, Kaneki added to himself. Maintaining a good reputation and great relations with everyone we meet. Making people think highly of us. Not acting immaturely, like children… Kaneki got a bead of sweat on the side of his face and grimaced as he was staring at a couple of children right now. And a pirate. Children and pirates.

"That wrist launcher sure is dangerous though," Numbuh 3 started back to Franky who she spun back to on her stool again. "I almost took Numbuh 4's head off-"

"I would'a been fine!" Numbuh 4 snapped.

Franky hummed but then smiled and nodded at the young girl. "Don't worry, lassie," Franky started. He lifted a hand and Kuki nodded back at him, sticking her arm out again. She smiled brighter when he removed the arm without a touch of pain this time which she was still amazed at. "Here," he reached into his bag and pulled out more parts. "I'll adjust it a little here, and twist this there… There we go! Don't go firing it off again," he reminded her while reattaching her arm. "But the launcher will shoot canisters of knockout gas now."

"Couldn't have started with that one?" Numbuh 4 muttered over at the adult. Franky actually laughed apologetically this time and scratched the back of his head in admission that he probably should have done that.

Numbuh 3 jumped up and pointed her arm around while standing on top of the spinny stool. The others ducked or leaned away when she pointed her left hand at them, and Numbuh 3 just laughed at their reactions. "That's great!" She called out and dropped to her butt without firing anything this time. "I don't want to blow anyone up anyway! This sounds better," she told the cyborg who nodded back at the kid in understanding.

Numbuh 4 looked away and got a darker look to his face though. She doesn't? Of course she doesn't. She hasn't seen- she saw a lot! She had a tough time too… but she's been in Dressrosa all this time. She hasn't done anything that dark on this world. Nothing like what I've done… Wally turned his head and glanced over at her back with a softer look in his scary red and purple eyes. A determined expression formed on his face, And I'm not going to let you do that kind of stuff. I won't get us in the kind of situation where you ever feel like you have to. Where the hell is Goku? If he was with us right now, I'd feel a lot better about that.

Kaneki turned his head and looked down the road as he spotted red hair in the corner of his eyes. He lifted his right wrist and spoke into a communicator, summoning his squadmates to come to this part of Orario. Welf was jogging towards them, and Ken lifted his gaze over Welf's head and back towards the Tower itself. Hurry it up in there, guys. As soon as Welf re-equips us, we're getting under way.

In the top floor of the Tower of Babel, Sora dropped his jaw at the response Thor finally admitted to him. "Do not tell your friend Okumura about this," Gowasu chimed in. "Remember that this information you as a Keybearer are privy to is regarded as a secret."

"But… Satan?" Sora whispered back. He whispered because he struggled to find his voice. "I don't under- why?" Sora muttered. He looked up at the ceiling and wondered again after seeing no one in the room had a good answer for him. "Why?" Sora just repeated.

The ceiling slowly glowed white again. It became dim then brighter and then a voice spoke from it that Sora did not recognize. He assumed it was one of the Originals though as their soothing voice spoke in a medium pitch that he could not tell sounded more feminine or masculine. "Our brother is, unique. He was our older brother, and he was the strongest of us who actually managed to escape our original world to the new world we fled to."

"O-kayy," Sora responded slowly. "But he's Satan. Like, the devil. I don't understand." Sora could not wrap his head around this at all. "What new world are you talking about? This one?"

"We told you the story of how we left our world. We did not immediately scatter to our isolated universes though. For thousands of years we stayed at a second world. A new reality we fled to in hopes that the Darkness would not find it. We were wrong. As it got closer, we realized that we had to leave each other to spread our light so far across the cosmos that the Darkness would never be able to find us again."

"Satan was the last to make it to our second world though. We told you of the fall of Lucifer, of Sekhmet and Hades." Sora nodded along. He remembered how the Gods had described the loss of their older siblings who fought the Darkness while the rest of them escaped. "Satan was younger than them but older than us. He was the last to escape. The only one of us who fought the Darkness and managed to make it out. He is a survivor. We respect him above all else. So, we do not question why he enjoys playing the 'bad guy.' It is a fair question, Sora. We all choose to remain in Heaven with each other. He did not."

"Why-" Sora started asking it but stopped. He rubbed the side of his head and muttered, "Oh." The God had just told him that they did not know why.

"On that new world where we last saw each other before coming to Nexus, Satan already acted as the kind of Satan you know. It is why in our various universes just as many of us created Lucifers and Hades as we last remembered them, we all made our own versions of Satan. We created versions of our brother who we brought to this world. The War of the Satans occurred in Hell between all those versions and our older brother who conquered them all. He is the Satan of Nexus. The Original Satan."

"Satan is evil though," Sora began softly. "I mean, no disrespect to your brother," Sora added anxiously. "But demons are evil. Hell is, evil. Satan has so much power and he uses it for terrible things."

"But he does not use his Original powers," Sora was countered by the God above. He paused with his mouth open and then opened his eyes huge as he thought about that himself. "If Satan was as 'evil' as you claim, he could just end all of existence on Nexus in an instant. Or he could try, at least. We would try to stop him. He is the strongest of us though."

Sora closed his mouth but was still rattled to hear all of this. "You don't think, the Darkness changed him?" Sora asked nervously.

A few of the lower Gods in the top floor of the Tower with Sora darted their gazes up to the glowing ceiling themselves. He spoke the question that some of them had wondered themselves but did not dare ask aloud. The Original speaking to them responded though, "I confess that it was a concern we had. Some of us were suspicious after it found us a second time that maybe Satan had been corrupted and led it to us, but once again he was the first to fight against the Darkness to allow the rest of us a chance to escape. We escaped to separate universes that we lasted trillions of eons in before needing to come here. All thanks to Satan's protection."

Sora stood amazed and shocked by that revelation. That's the same Satan in Hell? What happened after Satan stayed to fight the Darkness to make him like he is now? "And you haven't been able to ask him about it? About why he acts as the devil, rather than as a God?"

A different Original's voice spoke up, female this time and in an icy tone Sora felt that he recognized, "We do not know. He came when the rest of us came to Nexus, but he was not interested in catching up with us. He decided not to spend his time with his brethren in Heaven."

"This was not unusual though," Zeus' bellowing voice cut in. "Unlike the majority of us, Satan had been taking an active role in his universe already. He had been doing so for so long that he was not going to stop now. He lived as a mortal, as a demon, and as one who impacted mortal decisions on a regular basis. Satan chooses to live as our creations do."

"W-" Sora cut himself off before even getting the word out this time. He had so many questions about this revelation but had already been told that the Originals really did not have a better explanation for him. Why though? Did he just think it would be too boring to sit around up in Heaven and talk while the rest of us endured our trials on Nexus? He makes our trials harder though! He's a menace! Is that- is he, testing us? Like he's trying to force his creations to be better by fighting against something so strong… No. That's stupid. Satan's a bad guy! Rin's been spending all this time hunting him. His brother got taken!

"…We tried telling him that we had all agreed to sit out. Satan is older than all of us though. We can't stop him. He declared that he was going to be the Satan of this world, and he created a Hell for all the demonic creations across the universe to be brought to. As well as for the sinners who died once they got to Nexus."

"Who were we to deny our older brother?"

Sora's eyes started growing wider again as these Gods spoke to him. He was slowly coming to an understanding based off what these Originals were telling him. The knowledge formed a huge lump in his throat that he could not swallow. The other anxious Gods on the floor with Sora had expressions that told him they already understood this truth and usually tried to just ignore it. They all kept the thought in the back of their minds and pretended that it did not bother them, but Sora saw how much it did by the way even Thor had a bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face.

Zeus spoke in a slower and deeper voice from above, "Satan is, the oldest and most powerful of us. He is the most respected of the Originals, regardless of his choices. On this world, in this realm, in all of reality… None are his equal."

Sora bowed his head. He stared with huge eyes at the floor between his feet. We can't beat that. He had promised his friends that he would help them all with their individual goals. He had made promises, and one of those promises was to a black-haired half-demon teenager who his heart clenched up for. Rin doesn't know. I can't tell him. All hope of saving his brother… Satan's a monster. I heard the stories of Astaroth. I know what demons can do. What they have done on this world. "He's a villain though," Sora whispered.

He rose his gaze back up. "Even knowing that he saved all your lives, I can't think of him as anything other than a villain."

"All of us do," Zeus admitted back to the astonished boy.

"It's why our own world's Satans turned out the way they did. All the devils of our worlds wound up being called Satan."

"In one way or another, all of us feel the same way about Satan. He's always the most terrifying thing on the worlds we create."

"And as much as we love our brother, sometimes… he terrifies even us."

Sora doubted the Originals would admit that about anything or anyone else. He recalled some of their prideful shouts at him back in Heaven. They were talking about another Original's power though, so he realized that their respect for their older brother actually outweighed their pride in their own strength. The fact that they'll say they're scared of him isn't as much them admitting to their fear, as it is them warning me about Satan.

That's what this is. Sora realized it and lowered his gaze from the ceiling that dimmed and went back to what it normally looked like. Sora curled his fists at his sides and grit his teeth in frustration for a moment. He seethed out a sharp exhale and then grabbed at his chest and tried to calm his heart rate down. "I'm fine, Thor," Sora shook his head and frowned at Thor when the more muscular man took a step towards him. Thor's eyes widened this time at the angered reaction from Sora that immediately replaced the anxious expression the Keybearer had a second ago.

They're watching me. They're watching all of us from up there. They may not intervene, but we're like a story that they're enjoying. Because of our free will. They have the ability to see everything. They can hear my thoughts, I'm sure. It doesn't matter though. I can't listen to them. I can't let them scare me off. Sora turned from Thor and then paused again. "Thank you. For all your help. For the map," Sora added. He glanced back and around at the Gods, then finished on Thor who he thanked for the map to King Mickey's castle.

Then he turned back to the elevator and regained the serious look on his face. I don't care. You might not want me to focus on it- I know you don't. You told me that fighting Meruem and all the other villains here was not that important. You said I needed to focus on the Darkness. So I get it. I get why you don't want me to go after Satan. Even though I promised Rin I'd help him save his brother. Even though I said that I'd help the Resistance, and that means taking on the High Lords. All of them, including Satan.

You weren't just telling me how strong Satan is because of your respect for your brother. You weren't just telling me all of that because you're afraid of him. You want me to be afraid of him too. You want me to give up on that goal that you don't think I could accomplish. Sora's frustration at the Gods' reasoning behind that whole speech overcame his fear that they had built up in him. I don't care if this Satan is the strongest Original or just another Satan from any of your worlds. It doesn't actually change what I need to do. I guess I am grateful for the information though. I wonder how many people on this world know that Satan is an Original? Probably not many. I shouldn't speak about it either.

I may not lose hope so easily, but telling others what I know wouldn't help anyone. It could only do harm. Don't worry, Rin. The task might be daunting, but I'll help you. It's a good thing I'll be coming with you when you go after Yukio. Sora smiled in momentary relief while he pressed the down arrow button next to the elevator doors. Now that I know about this, we'll be a lot more prepared when the time comes. I can't even imagine what would have happened had you gone after him by yourself.

---

Sora jumped high into the air outside of the Tower of Babel. He flipped himself and spread his arms out to the sides. The young man glided through the air with a troubled and thoughtful look on his face. So much information had been laid upon him in the past week. In the past hour alone he had learned so much, and yet he only felt like he was left with more questions than ever.

Sora glanced towards Orario as he glided off. He shook his head though. There was no time to go enjoy niceties with his friends and all their new friends. Sora kept gliding but did reach for his bag and pull out the map Thor gave him. He checked it for a moment and nodded in understanding. I've traveled the stars before. When I'm with Nami I don't bring it up, but I'm quite the navigator myself. Sora rolled back up the parchment and stuffed it into his pack.

He turned himself to the southwest and kicked the air behind him to speed up. Maybe I should call on one of my Pokemon to fly me? I could use the company. Or, maybe I should spend some time alone? I need to think through everything they just told me. Satan's an Original, and he's the same Satan as Rin's dad! Doesn't that make Rin part Original? Or is Satan not really his "father," but more like a… creator? I don't know. It all seems so confusing. Even when I get answers, they don't explain anything.

Sora's heart started racing. He was confused for a moment, because he did not feel like he was that worried that he would react like this. His eyes shot open wide though as he realized why his heart was reacting. Sora flipped over in midair and started plummeting out of the air while looking behind him. His lips curled up in a giant smile at the sight of who was flying towards him. "Riku!" Sora shouted.

"There you are," Riku stopped short right in front of Sora. The two of them fell the rest of the way to the ground. They were far enough from Orario that no one was nearby, but they could still see the top of the Tower behind them over the crest of a few grassy hills. "Been looking for you. You've gotten around this past week."

Sora's initial smile for seeing his friend dropped. It did for multiple reasons. One, he heard a tone in Riku's voice that he did not like one bit. The second reason was that what Riku just said echoed in his mind and made Sora frown. "So have you, I've heard." Riku frowned back seriously at Sora and did not answer what Sora was insinuating at. Sora pressed him though, "Why did you leave the others back there? If you were nearby, you should have rejoined them. You know they're over there in Orario, right?"

"That's not why I'm…" Riku's expression only got darker when Sora suggested he go join those others back in Orario. Riku glanced over his shoulder for a moment. Usopp, he thought. He still felt guilt, but he also just felt anger at the sharpshooter for what the man had said to him the last time they saw each other.

"They needed your help, you know?" Sora brought up. Riku turned back to his friend and opened his mouth but Sora continued before Riku could say whatever he was planning to. "They were all injured when I saw them. They fought someone really bad, but they said you weren't there. That you ran off to Vistarion and fought Zeref?" Sora frowned deeper when Riku's expression gave away that this was not just a rumor. "And Ben wasn't even there?!" Sora exclaimed, as that was the excuse some of the others tried to give for Riku's actions.

"If I could have gotten his Omnitrix back," Riku started. Then he stopped himself and frowned in an even more annoyed way that he was trying to defend his actions. "I don't need to explain this to you. I went after him because that was what I thought was the best move. And you know what I think the best move is right now?" Riku asked. His voice got harsher and he stepped that last step closer to Sora. He reached out and grabbed his shorter friend firmly by Sora's right shoulder. "We have to go save Kairi."

Sora's eyes grew wide again and started shaking at the intense look Riku was giving him. "Riku, we agreed that we can't-"

"You decided that," Riku cut him off. He dropped his hand from Sora's shoulder and said in a lower tone, "And I tried to accept it. I tried, to accept that we made you the leader and I should just listen to you. But I can't, Sora. She's our best friend. More than that, for you. I know how much you care for her."

Riku spoke softer to his friend but still in a stern voice showing how serious he was despite Sora's reluctant and anxious expression at what Riku was saying. His silver-haired friend spoke like nothing Sora could tell him was going to dissuade him, and panic started to rise quickly in Sora's chest as all of his concerns that he had been trying to put off came rushing back at once. "I want you to come with me, Sora. You should be there when we save her. You need to be there, and I don't know if I can take the Organization without you-"

"We can't! You're being stupid!" Sora swung an arm out to the side and yelled at his friend. Riku shook his head at that response, and Sora spoke quicker as he saw Riku completely denying what he said. "What about Noxagh? Huh? We would have to take on a Super Saiyan and-"

"And when did you become such a coward?" Riku snapped. Sora froze. His eyes bulged once again and trembled when Riku glared back into them. "A Super Saiyan?" He asked incredulously. "With everything you've seen and done? All the enemies you've fought and defeated? You really think I believe that you're so afraid of Gohan's newborn Nobody, that it's keeping you from going to save Kairi? Come on, Sora. You know I know you better than that."

"But- but…" Sora tried to say something else. He tried to gather his thoughts, but Riku turned away from him and stared off straight to the west rather than the southwest.

"I know where the Organization is keeping her. It reappeared here, Sora. C-"

"Castle Oblivion," Sora whispered.

Riku flinched, then he frowned deeper again and bowed his head a bit too. "So you knew? And you still haven't gone," his voice sounded disappointed.

Sora's eyes darted down Riku's back to his sides. His heart raced faster and faster as he saw Riku's hands balling into fists. "I came because I want your help, Sora," Riku began. "But you coming with me is not a prerequisite."

"You can't!" Sora exclaimed. "You know why we can't just rush in there. They have Roxas, Naminé, Axel! And they have Kairi! We already know they're using her as a hostage. The second we show up, what if they just hold a knife to her throat or something?!"

"That's not how the Organization does things," Riku growled. "And you know that! They had her before. Is that how things went?"

"Maybe they learned from their mistakes? Did you think about that? Are you thinking at all?!" Sora yelled. He ran up onto Riku's left side since his friend would not turn back to face him. He forced Riku to see his expression, and Sora frowned angrily at his friend for not listening to what he was saying. "What are you going to do when you get there and they send Roxas out to fight you? To stop you no matter what the cost? Huh?"

Riku opened his mouth but this time paused. He did not answer quickly enough, and Sora snapped, "Are you going to destroy him? Because he's protecting the one he loves? Is that what we are, Riku? Is that how low we've stooped, that that's supposed to be an acceptable loss to us?!"

"No! We'd find another way though," Riku snapped after spinning fully to Sora. He shook his head as he did not like the way Sora was making him sound. "But we can't just leave her there! I don't accept that that's the best option-"

"I have searched endlessly for a better option!" Sora called out in exasperation. "Castle Oblivion has so many dimensions in it though that no one is able to just save her for us. Not angels, not Gods, not magicians, not even Fairy Godparents! It doesn't work like that. We have to save her on our own, and if we can't do it without turning into monsters ourselves? Then we can't do it!"

"So you want to just leave her there?!" Riku yelled at Sora.

"It's not about what I want!" Sora shouted back. "I need a better plan. A plan where we don't give up being the heroes. We can't rush in there like we don't know that there are other hostages besides Kairi. You want to pretend like it's not our problem? Pretend like, she's all that matters… Riku, I love her. I know you love her too. But why are you doing this? Why, are you making this so difficult?" Sora clenched his eyes shut while shaking his head back and forth.

"Because she needs me," Riku responded. "If you won't save her, then she needs me-"

"No!" Sora snapped. His eyes opened and he glared in anger at Riku for that response. "You're wrong. Kairi's fine. I know that. You know that. They're keeping her safe. I told you to trust Axel and Roxas, because I do! But you can't just trust me?" Sora asked. His voice was desperate and he searched Riku's eyes for the trust he wished his best friend had in him. "You don't trust that I know what I'm talking about? Riku, you're going about this the wrong way. Kairi doesn't need your help. But there are people who do!"

"Those guys are fine without-" Riku started growling back.

"I'm not talking about them!" Sora exclaimed. He swung his right arm and motioned back towards Orario as he said it. "They managed. They were hurt, but they made it! I'm talking about Ben and Dash!" Sora shouted. He yelled it and took a few deep breaths, but then he spoke in a still loud but calmer voice. He had to make sure it got through Riku's thick head but also show that he was not just yelling this out emotionally but in a reasonable tone. "They need you more than anyone, Riku. They're your best friends."

"They're strong-"

"They're KIDS!" Sora screamed in Riku's face.

Riku pulled back. His demeanor from the second Sora saw him flinched. His expression filled with shock for a second at the fury in Sora's voice. He tried to stand back up straight in front of his friend who sounded so angry with him there. He's just trying to distract me from Kairi- Riku started to shift his attention past Sora and back to the west, but Sora moved so that Riku's eyes were stuck staring into his own. "They're kids," Sora repeated in a softer and sadder voice that made Riku flinch again.

Riku's expression did not return to the dark one after just a second this time. He stared back at Sora and repeated his friend's words in his head again. He thought about the two who Sora was referring to, and his eyes lowered to the floor for a second before shifting once to the south. "Are you sure they're still there?" Sora asked. "Everyone went running off in different directions. Ben and Dash might not be… What?"

"Ben, wasn't," Riku admitted. "He left on his own before us-"

"And you just let him?" Sora asked. He recalled Natsu saying that Ben ran off, but the fact that Riku did not even know where only proved Sora's concerns were well-founded.

"He was gone! I-" Riku stopped himself. "Ben doesn't need my help," he reminded both himself and told Sora. "I've trained Ben. Traveled with him before. He saved my life- he's saved it on multiple occasions! He's strong."

"And he's still, a kid," Sora whispered. "A kid who," Sora closed his eyes and then had to lift an arm and wipe them once. "Who has been through so much in such a short period of time. He-" Sora snapped his head back up and opened his reddened eyes to stare angrily at Riku with. The fact that Sora was crying for Ben's sake shook Riku and made him think of all those things Sora reminded him of. "He watched us all die," Sora gasped.

"You saw what that did to him. Right? You saw how badly it crushed him. He might have started to act like he was fine, but that's because he doesn't want anyone to think he's just a kid. Ben's so prideful- and I know you know that. I know you know him better than I do. So you had to have seen it! I wasn't even there…" Sora trailed off and his head bowed, his teeth clenching frustratedly. "And as upset as I was that you didn't go with Kairi when the group split up," he paused and bit down even harder. He glared back up at Riku and told him firmly, "Kairi's an adult. But Ben and Dash? Those two kids needed you. They needed you. Not Kairi. Not Natsu or Gray. They're your responsibility, Riku."

"If we get back to Pao someday and something happened to them, who would be the one to tell Gwen? Who would tell the Parrs? Do you think it would be Goku?" Sora wondered. Then he shook his head, "Because I think it's you. I think it's you who they trusted to take care of their families. Because those two kids look up to you more than anything."

Riku bit down so hard himself and started grinding his teeth. "They're fine," Riku hissed through his teeth. "Ben was hurt, but he found the strength to go save Timmy with the rest of us. I gave him the talk he needed when he needed to get out of that slump. I trust that he left HQ, just like you, because he had something important to do. I don't know what either of you have been doing since this month started, but-"

"You think he was fine just because he agreed to help save Timmy?" Sora whispered in disbelief. "Do you think, no matter how much Ben was hurting, that he wouldn't go help his friend?" Sora asked it of Riku like Riku was thinking so little of Ben to actually suggest that what he did helped out. Riku froze, and Sora asked him skeptically, "Are you actually patting yourself on the back for that? You think you gave him some pep talk and that was all he needed? He's a kid, and he got crucified! He got his Omnitrix stolen. He's out there right now, weaker than he's ever been on Nexus- and HE'S ALONE!"

"He's alone," Sora repeated. "Alone out there without his Omnitrix. And in a bad way. He looks up to you more than anything, so you're the one person he wants to see him like that the least. Maybe that's why you can't see it! Maybe that's why you don't notice that your own best friend is suffering like that. Maybe that's why you can't tell that Dash is either!" Sora's eyes started welling up with more tears. He tried to rub them away but couldn't this time. "You, you don't know-" Sora cut himself off. Dash told us not to say anything! I, I can't-

"I know that the war was hard," Riku started. He was still thinking more on what Sora just said about Ben, but at least in this case he was sure he knew better. "But Dash will get over it-"

"He won't!" Sora exclaimed, tears pouring down his face in a way that confused Riku even more now. "He won't," Sora whispered softer. "You're too impatient. You're looking for someone who doesn't need your help right now, when the two who need it the most are behind you. They desperately need your help, Riku. And you need to go save them. Protect them."

Riku hesitated but started shaking his head again. "You're wrong," he argued. "They are kids… Yeah, I get that. They're not much younger than we were when we started adventuring though." Sora bowed his head lower and closed his eyes. Frustration covered Sora's face while Riku just told him, "They've lived on this crazy world for years. They've become stronger on it."

"Maybe you think so, because you knew them back when they weren't as strong as they are now," Sora began. "So you compare the difference and see such great improvement! I know. I see how much they've changed just from when we fought Ansem. You're comparing the them now to them from two years ago. As far as they've come though, Riku, they're still children. Kids who you left alone. Kids who you know you're supposed to be protecting. Even if you already consider them equals."

Riku's eyes widened. Sora shook his head back at the taller man, "I get that. I get that you think of them as your friends and not these little kids you need to protect. So you don't think of it in this way. I need you to understand though, Riku. It's the same reason why we can't just rush in to save Kairi right now. You've gotten so cocky fighting Zeref and all his Spriggans, wanting to take on the whole Organization by yourself, that you don't realize that the reason we aren't doing it like that isn't because we aren't strong enough. It isn't because we can't physically do it right now. It's just that there's no way to do it while still protecting all our friends."

"That's the mission," Sora said. He even flashed a small smile, though it dropped as he saw Riku was only partially convinced. His friend was unsettled by Sora calling him out on getting too cocky. He did not like the idea that he was rushing into something that was going to get friends of theirs hurt. And he was mostly stuck thinking about the faces of two younger friends of his who he was struggling to believe really needed the help Sora claimed they did.

I was just with them. I would have been able to tell if something was off! Wouldn't I? I would be a shitty friend if I didn't… But I, kind of did. Dash had just come out of a warzone! Of course he was a bit- a bit? He looked disturbed. He was cracking jokes though. He, tried to shake off that funk. Just like Ben did. Was it just because I was watching? No! No… Right? No. No I was talking to them earlier this week. I would have known. Dash is still back at HQ, and Ben is fine! Sora just has me all mixed up-

"Riku," Sora started. His lips pursed but he knew what he had to say. It's better that I say it anyway. I shouldn't have kept this from you. "You're the only one who can help them. Help him," Sora corrected himself, as he was only talking about one person in particular here. "Dash doesn't need me or Goku. He needs your help. He-" Sora's voice got caught in his throat. He choked on it for a second while tears filled his eyes again. "You don't know what, what happened to him up there. In those mountains," Sora nodded his head off to the west where he knew the Saiyan Mountains to be.

"He was in the war-" Riku started, but Sora started shaking his head with his eyes clenching shut again. That reaction told Riku he actually had no idea why Dash had been acting the way he had been. "What? What happened?" Riku asked. He stepped closer to Sora and demanded, "What happened to Dash up there? What aren't you telling-"

"Ja-" Sora started but his voice caught again. "JackJack," Sora gasped. Riku froze. He stared confusedly into Sora's eyes and then stumbled backwards. It felt like a train just ran him over from the look in Sora's eyes as he spoke that name. Sora's face scrunched up and his head tilted backwards. "The Ant King he- he- h-he… ate-" Sora bit down. Then he shook his head around and gasp-whispered, "Right in front of Dash. It was horrible."

"Why- why didn't you tell me?!" Riku reached out and grabbed Sora by the collar.

Sora opened his mouth to respond but just shook his head with a semi-broken look of his own. "I… I wanted to, but Dash was so-" Sora closed his eyes tightly shut. "I should have," he just whispered. "I should have told you. Because then maybe you'd be with him right now. That was my mistake. I own that!" Sora snapped his eyes back open. He smacked off Riku's hand from his shirt and then scolded him, "Now you accept your mistakes."

Riku pulled his face back again. Sora stared sternly into his eyes in a focused and intense way that Riku rarely saw from his goofy friend. "I am not going to abandon the Nobodies who are relying on me to come up with a better way where we all survive. I'm not letting you go after Kairi, knowing that it will get Roxas, Axel, and Naminé hurt. We don't put our friends at risk just because we're getting frustrated." Sora said that and then pointed a finger at Riku's chest that the taller man leaned even farther away from. "I'll find that way where we all survive. Where we all make it out of there. You need to trust that I can figure that out. And while I handle this- while I deal with the Keyhole, and finding King Mickey, and the other Guardians!" Sora yelled exasperatedly, throwing his other hand up at his side and glaring at Riku for insinuating earlier that he was just being lazy. Riku's eyes shook more as Sora described just some of what he had been up to.

Sora took in a deep breath and then lowered the finger he was pointing at Riku's chest. "You have somewhere else you need to be. People who need you and who you aren't there for. Where is Ben? Where is Dash? They need you right now! That's, what you should be doing. Okay? Tell me you'll go help them. It's the best way you could spend this time we're all apart. Help them through the stuff they won't let anyone see they're struggling with. They won't let us see because they don't want to be looked at as the kids of the group. And we can't see it sometimes because they don't always act like it. But they are still kids. Prideful, powerful, amazing people… but still just kids."

"Okay, Riku? Can you do that?" Sora asked. He already knew the answer though and was smiling before Riku could respond.

"You're right," Riku said. His voice was soft and his head bowed when he said it. "I know you're right. You always are." Riku chuckled darkly under his breath. Dash, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't notice. I'm on my way. You too, Ben. We need to get back to our roots. Just the three of us again. Riku turned away. He was so focused on his new task that he missed Sora's expression breaking and a worried and scared look covering it. "Thanks, Sora," Riku said softly. When did you get so wise?

Am I? Sora asked himself. He did not say it aloud as he was fine with having Riku believe that. Am I always right? I… I don't believe that myself. I'm not sure. Sora watched Riku's back as his friend walked away, straight into a dark portal that opened up for Riku to slip through. The darkness dropped back to the ground and vanished, and Sora let his expression fully show the uncertainty on it. Castiel, Riku, Kaguya, all those Gods I just met at the top of the Tower, Thor, the Originals… They all think they know what I should do. But it's my choice to do things my own way!

It's my decision. I told the Originals that. Thor knows it. Lordgenome's story reminded me! I am my own person. I'm not just the next in the line of Keybearers. I have to be different. Make better decisions than the generations before me. People who the Keyblade trusted, and who I don't think were bad people, but who weren't good enough nonetheless! Sora turned and stared back off into the southwest. He had a destination to get to, and his fists balled in a much more certain way this time than when he first flew away from the Tower. My choice. That's what this has always been about. Choices. Is mine the right one? I don't know. But it's not what everyone's expecting, and maybe that alone is already a sign that it's better than the same-old same-old.

King Mickey. I hope you're there. I hope you have answers for me.

---

A/N Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sad scene here at the end as Sora tells Riku about what happened in the Saiyan Mountains. Sora also gives him a scolding and pushes Riku to going after Ben and Dash, while Sora searches out the Disney Castle apparently located in the Emperor's territory. Sora learns a bit from the Gods, though like usual they're very cryptic and don't help outright. We do learn about Satan though. When chapter 12 ended with the War of the Saiyan Mountains, Satan tried to possess Meruem's body. Meruem showed off the power of darkness though and resisted the possession, and then he called out Satan on being an Original. "Don't let me down... Original." Sora is just relieved that Rin hasn't run off already to go save Yukio on his own... Though we know better! XD What does it mean that Satan is an Original? The Gods try to keep Sora away from him with their warnings, but Sora knows they'll have to face off against him at some point. In the meantime, Natsu and friends, and Alpha Squad, are heading up to help out Lambda in their fight against Father... who we also saw Timmy, Izumo, and Nami heading off towards too. Lots of set-ups for our main characters heading into the next arcs. I know I said last time was the last time to guess what the next arc will be, but with this Sora chapter to start off Chapter 24, I guess we still don't know who this arc will be following. Last chance to guess (for real this time)! Review response time:

Limit-Breaking chapter 151 . Feb 24

Man that was a long response to my review lol.
Also poor lily, man is just trying his best in saving people and is going so far to help them, but what it amounts to is very little when there are no safe havens anymore.
Gajeel and lily sadly breaking off was definitely a big mistake since lily ended up the way he did with metal parts and stuff.
Also damn was not expecting to see tetsuo again in flashback of course but thankfully he saved Gohan's life.
But goes to show how brutal the world is in regards to all the fighting and animals attacking you non-stop for days to weeks.
Makes me wonder when things finally somewhat settled down, given that the farming life and making food would be quite difficult due to the ground being sturdy as hell and people having to worry about survival.
Hell makes me wonder when people started claiming lands for themselves, like did dressrosa get transported or did they simply renamed it dressrosa or when Goku name his land Pao and did Vegeta do farming lol.
Hell even a place like the magic kingdom sounds very interesting, just the idea of things getting claimed around that time of chaos just always sounds so interesting.
Either way now we see lily is all alone, sadly he's going to end up dead at this rate if he keeps this up.
Mine is gone who knows where, maka and soul also left, so it definitely must be difficult.
But fun stuff, the aragami was also a cool reference given how dangerous they are considered.
Either way I look forward to sora next chapter and see how It's going for him. And to the next story of adventure whether it's gray or Kirito and the others.

Haha well it was a long review with a lot to respond to! XD Lily is def having a hard time. Leaving Gajeel may have been a mistake, but he did make it back to Fairy Tail as we saw in the first chapter of Heroes Will Rise. He was in the flashback with Romeo when they found Mine and Wendy. So at least he's out there still trying to find Romeo when most everyone else has given up. Tetsuo shows up in a flashback. Always fun writing him! The early days on Nexus really were brutal. Not knowing how to fight the Aragami in the early days probably led to a lot of people dying, before the characters from the God Eater universe could get around and tell people about them. Anyway, glad it's got you thinking about a lot of stuff! Thanks for another review, and good guesses on who the next arc will follow. Wonder which you think is more likely of Gray or Kirito and the others?

Darugus chapter 151 . 7h ago

guessing the next story arc is either killua or luffy and rin

Nice predictions! Want to take a shot at which you think is most likely? Next chapter we'll know for sure... XD Thanks for the review! And thanks everyone again for reading. 'Til next time!