A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts

by Jebest4781

Venturing outside of the Heart of his Somebody, a Nobody enters a World where it's at the brink of self destruction. Will he be able to handle and survive the Game of Thrones. Rated M for language, violence, etc. Pairings hidden at current time. KHXGoT/ASoIaF CoWritten by free man writer. Cover Image by Carlos M. Please leave reviews.

37. Skyfall

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix, Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire or anything else. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Writing/Singing

"Foreign Language/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 37: Skyfall

Within the vast cosmos of the universe, many Worlds went on with their business. Each had its own story to tell. Most were contained while others bleed into others and affected them one way or another.

Such occurrences were rare within the Ocean of Worlds with the Lanes Between. They -however- became common in varying ways in the passing years, courtesy of the Heartless, the Nobodies and the Keybearers.

In recent times, it was due to the actions of Master Xehanort in his quest to obtain Kingdom Hearts. As a result, several events began unfolding.

Going back to the focus of things, something was drifting and soaring through the cosmos. One may think it was a Gummiship, either manned by people or of the Nobody and Heartless varieties. After all, they've traveled quite often through the Lanes Between for a while now.

In truth, this was a unique celestial object.

It went by several names: the Dragon's Tail, the Bleeding Star, the Red Messenger, the Red Harbinger and the Red Sword. But they were all well known as the Red Comet; a Volcryn.

It sails across the cosmos and runs past various worlds every several centuries before the cycle begins anew. To one particular World, it was seen by its residents a good number of times. The earliest recorded history, through old tales, was its appearance towards the end of the Long Night millenia ago with the birth of a particular individual. It was there, signaling the rise and fall of the Great Empire of the Dawn and the Valyria Empire respectively.

With its presence, great magic would awaken from its dormant slumber upon the World of Planetos. And with that, a new age would begin.

Part of this began when its presence was seen over in Essos. More specifically at the territory bordering the Dothraki Sea with the Red Wastes. It helped bring back dragons, which in turn would have a great ripple effect of magic more apparent.

Once it passes over Westeros, the Red Comet would move along and be on its merry way.

Except, it came to a slow halt.

Something was wrong.

It was no longer passing by this planet, it was -in fact- being drawn to it.

How or why this was possible would be revealed later.

-Inn at the Crossroads, Riverlands-

"At long last." Huffed a tired and slightly disheveled Tyrion Lannister, standing atop one of the notable hills that overlook the Inn at the Crossroads.

Around said Inn were a multitude of tents pitched up in the colors of his House with men patrolling the borders with horses.

It looked a bit picturesque to Tyrion, especially with the Red Comet in the sky.

The group saw it earlier and gave their own thoughts in the matter as they resumed their trek to safer territories.

"The hell is all this supposed to be?" Cloud Strife inquired, arms crossed with a raised brow at what may as well have been an army around the Inn.

"My father's doing, more than likely." Tyrion remarked, beginning to waddle down with his companions following suit. "He was never one for half measures when it came to displaying the strength of our House, be it subtle or grand."

"Sounds like he's compensating." The blue-eyed mercenary commented, getting a derisive snort from the Imp.

The Imp snorted at the comment, smirking up at Strife. "I find it hard to disagree with such notions."

Bronn and Red XIII were ever silent, simply observing their surroundings alongside the black feathered Chocobo.

Drawing closer to the camp, many Lannister soldiers began to notice them. At first, some wished to approach them and demand their intentions but spotting Tyrion leading this odd motley crew was enough to deter them.

Yet, as expected, Red XIII drew the greatest amount of attention, many Lannister guards and soldiers unsure as to who or what this creature was. The Lord Tyrion appeared unperturbed by this beast as were the other two humans accompanying the dwarf Lord.

Ironically, Jojo the Chocobo drew the least amount of attention… Somewhat.

Most called it a bizarre chicken, which, to be fair… would ruffle his feathers.

Regardless, this was already shaping out to be a strange day for many in the Lannister Camp.

As they drew closer to the entrance to the camp, Tyrion was quick to recognize the knight that appeared to be the head of the guards here as he had commanded a group of guards to head off to the western section of the camp.

It was noticeable with him bearing a shield depicting the sigil of a purple unicorn on a silver field.

"Ser Flement!" Tyrion called out to him.

The knight of House Brax heard his name called, turning over, and saw a familiar face of his liege family.

"Lord Tyrion! We feared you dead." He greeted him. He then eyed the odd group of individuals accompanying the dwarf. "These… companions of yours…"

"One is a hired sword, one is an escort." Tyrion then eyed Red XIII and Jojo the Chocobo. "The others are… comfort animals."

This got some looks in response. Nanaki and Jojo looked at one another to make sure they both heard the same thing. Bronn snorted, and Cloud rolled his eyes.

Clearing his throat, Tyrion continued on. "Tell me, where will I find my lord father?"

The knight shook his head at the query. "He is not here, lord. He rides to Casterly Rock or is there already as we speak."

"I see." Tyrion hummed to himself. "And you all?"

"We are only a fraction of men your brother leads, Lord Tyrion."

The Imp blinked in mild surprise but recovered. "And where is my brother? Head tent, I suppose."

"Not here, I'm afraid." Said another guard. "He and others are out taking care of the Heartless and Unversed as best as possible."

Reactions were received once hearing this.

Tyrion and his company passed blackened fields and burned homes on their way here. The Imp saw no bodies, but the air was full of carrion crows.

There had been fighting at these places, old or new, hard to tell how bad things were getting.

Half a league away from the Crossroads Inn, they had seen signs of barricades. Demolished and abandoned, making the group believed there had to be survivors further into some greater areas of commoner traffic.

"When have you last seen him?" The Imp inquired.

"Earlier this morning. Sought to get a good start on weeding out this darkened filth on the land."

"Pity." Said Cloud, slightly scoffing. "Thought I'd have a good chat with him again when hearing he's been here."

Tyrion looked back at Strife with the swordsman gazing down at the imp unflinchingly.

With a sigh, the Lannister Lord turned back to Ser Flement Brax, gesturing to him to grant him entry into the camp. A simple nod was all the knight did, stepping aside as Tyrion and his four companions entered the Lannister camp. Moments later, the Westerlander followed behind to get them familiarized with the present base of their operations.

Guards and other servants noticed Tyrion, quick to stop and bow in respect with the usual "my Lord" here and there.

Observing the large encampments, it had spread as far as possible. Better and better, showing the Lannisters could handle some issues as best as possible.

Nearing the infamous inn, Tyrion and the others couldn't wait to rest on good beds and have a decent meal in their bellies before heading out south to the capital. It was in decent condition, like always and like the humans of the company saw this place last. They remembered it being a bit better without a time of hardship thrusted upon the surrounding lands.

As they saw it, it was a small safe haven for the time being.

Getting into the Inn, the group sat down so they could rest. The tension in the air was present with current happenings, but it was lessened to a degree.

"Since we're back to any big form of civilization, is there any news you'd like to share with us, Ser Flement?" Tyrion asked.

The knight from Hornvale complied with the request. "There's quite a lot since you've been gone, my lord."

"Obviously." Muttered Bronn, who was soon given a cup of ale for him to drink by an inn worker. Right after, some platters of food were placed on the table for them all to have.

Tyrion snorted a little as he too was given a cup for himself to partake. Instead of ale like his fellow humans, Cloud wanted water just like Jojo and Nanaki were being given.

During his time away, the Imp of Lannister missed much information about the present state of the royal court and other forms of gossip throughout most of the kingdoms. He'd like to keep up as much as possible, a means of being in the know. Despite him not having "birds" like Varys and Baelish, Tyrion wanted to at least be prepared so he wouldn't be caught with his pants down and a cock up his arse.

The false accusations thrusted upon him were some such examples.

One thing that comes to mind during the trip down south pertains to betrothals.

He knew beforehand of Sansa Stark being his eldest nephew's betrothed before leaving Winterfell to see the Wall. What he didn't know, however, was of his niece's betrothal towards Roxas as it was revealed much later.

Tyrion's reaction was mixed upon learning of this detail.

Disbelief was one of them as the Imp didn't know Robert would enact such a thing without his wife's approval. In an odd way, he and Cersei had a common mindset of wanting Myrcella to have a good husband. So once coming down from his one emotion, Tyrion soon figured his sister must've had a hand in convincing her husband to make it happen; he wouldn't put it past her in such actions.

Happy, given Myrcella would be married off to a fine young man. His interactions with the Keybearer back at Winterfell had the dwarf judge him in a sense of character. Roxas is perhaps one of the most honorable and dedicated people the realm could ever have. So having the growing upstart being his niece's royal consort and future prince of the realm, the Imp couldn't think of anyone better.

And most of all, Tyrion was sad; all due to him not being there to congratulate his lovely niece on the announcement. One he will rectify once back at the capital.

Another which comes to mind pertains to what went on at the Hand's Tourney and what led up to it.

If anyone were to tell him months ago members of House Martell would visit the capital after all these years, the dwarf would've laughed in their face for the good joke. Such a thing would never happen after what occurred at the Sacking. Yet low and behold they came, all so they could see the infamous son of Ventus.

Gods that would be quite the experience to witness firsthand. Same with Cloud and Roxas slaying a Heartless dragon off the Blackwater Coast.

Aside from these factors, the one which was most prominent of all was the return of a long thought dead nightmare: Vanitas. With him came the death of Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane in more ways than one. First, he was converted by Vanitas into a monstrous Heartless and the second was due to the combined efforts of Cloud, Oberyn Martell, Thoros of Myr, and Beric Dondarrion.

Lastly is the present issue: the realm being on the brink of war.

It was unsettling to learn the kingdoms would be organizing and preparing to face off against a group of a dozen or so individuals. Such a thing -at first glance- is overkill in taking care of an assembled group of fighters. They weren't as big as sellsword companies based in Essos like the Second Sons, Stormcrows, the Golden Company or any pirate armada. Or a single individual with a large army at their beck and call like the Vulture Kings in Dorne or Drahar "The Crab Feeder" of the Stepstones. Their numbers were just more than a number of bandit groups or even the infamous Kingswood Brotherhood.

The reason why such a big army needed to be assembled was due to the fact that each member of this Organization XIII was just as strong and skilled or far more than Roxas and arguably Cloud.

And it is because of them -through Vanitas' extension and action- is what's causing all these issues in the realm with the Unversed and Heartless roaming about.

After what felt like forever, Ser Flement Brax spoke. "As you can see, much conflict is upon the land because of Vanitas' presence. Keeps have started to fall, one way or another." There was a troubled sigh that followed suit. "Disappearances of the commoners have increased with few bodies being recovered. Either by hiding and being taken in or being killed in the commotion. Several nobles have even perished in their keeps."

The Lannister Lord felt his heart clench slightly upon hearing this.

"Surely there's some relief effort." Tyrion stated, hoping to hear some amount of good news.

"In a manner, we are a relief effort." Flement grimly revealed, making the stout man deflate slightly.

"...That doesn't sound… well. Who else is there?"

"To our knowledge, the Keybearer Roxas and an assembly of a hundred fighters have been sent out to help."

"I doubt they'd be enough." Commented Cloud.

Tyrion nodded in agreement. "Have you reached out to any other Houses for further aid? What of the Vale? Or the North? The Twins? I still know my aunt Genna and her son -my cousin- still live there."

"If I know the Freys, they'll stay within their walls; regardless of their pleas for possible aid. The Late Walder would see to that." Cloud muttered aloud.

Ser Flement's face was telling, all but confirming to the Imp that there is no relief from the Twins anytime soon.

"Clearly doubt the Vale will help anytime soon with what happened at the Eyrie." Came Bronn's comment.

Tyrion cringed a little further at the reminder. He forgot such an issue would make things difficult for some time. Thus people in the Vale may not act until some issues are resolved. Only the gods will know when they'll settle.

"And the North, I feel they are unlikely to respond at all." Flement added on, sagging his shoulders slightly.

This left confusion for Tyrion and his companions when Ser Flement said this.

"Why not?"

"Few things. First is, 'em Northerners are already having enough issues with the refugees flooding through their borders. So that may impair them to a degree to send out possible aid."

"And the other?"

"Because Ned Stark has been named traitor to the realm and is imprisoned." Came the knight's blunt response.

That made things interesting in a really bad way while Tyrion was away.

Cloud's aura flared, eyes screaming bloody murder, making Bronn, Flement, Tyrion and others within the Inn shiver at his power.

"He's been declared aswhat?" Cloud asked with a glare. "Who in the FUCK let this happen?"

"What of Lewyn Martell?" Tyrion found himself asking, recalling that he was listed as some of the Martells that made their way to Kings Landing. "Shouldn't he-"

"Dead." Flement interrupted. "Slain for assisting the traitor."

Before the stout Lannister was able to verbalize any form of a response -one voicing his shocked thoughts- an intense pressure suddenly exploded around them. The Lannister men dining in the inn, its workers and perhaps an unknown number of others outside felt it. All froze where they stood and sat as a furious Cloud exhaled sharply, his hand grasping the wooden table and cracking the edges in the process.

Though it wasn't visible, the feeling of his power descended upon those within his vicinity like shackles that would have brought them down.

"...Excuse me?" It came as a whisper.

Cloud's voice was dangerous, blood chillingly cold with many guards close to soiling themselves had it not been for the unadulterated fear they had for doing quite literally anything in this man's presence.

"C-Cloud." Tyrion managed to croak out, feeling his entire body shudder. "Please, now is not the-"

The killing intent dissipated, the entire collective that had been caught in it almost all falling to the ground or collapsing onto the tables after the pressure simply vanished. Strife's posture relaxed but the glare directed at the son of Tywin would have killed lesser men.

Though he said nothing, the message was clear.

When the time came, he would have words with whoever caused this to happen.

Ser Flement winced -freshly affected by the invisible, overwhelming force- and was about to speak when Tyrion interrupted by asking his own question.

"How has that happened? I could never believe Robert would want his dear friend Ned locked up in the Black Cells much less even call him a traitor."

"Robert Baratheon is dead, slain by Vanitas in his own chambers. Your nephew reigns in King's Landing." Flement revealed.

That did take Tyrion aback. And he could guess what Bronn and Cloud's reactions were.

"Are… Gods." Tyrion dragged his hands down his face. "From one shitpile into another. Seven Hells. You're certain it was Vanitas that did this?"

"We are, my lord." Was the grave response.

The Lannister Lord could only sit back in his seat, an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion washing over him.

"Seven fucking hells… Joffrey ruling." The dwarf snorted moments later with the following mutter. "I believe it's more of my sister."

To a lot of people, Cersei had Joffrey's ear and did much to sway his thoughts to her liking.

Tyrion dreads to think what the realm would be with her ruling instead of a puppet.

Other thoughts crossed his mind at that moment.

He could only guess and imagine what his sister and her children -his niece and nephews- are like at this time.

Cersei is probably ecstatic about her being no longer bound to Robert by marriage. It was no secret in court that the king and queen had an unhealthy relationship. Though it may be hard to know how things are beyond such thoughts.

Tommen wasn't with the rest of his siblings, from what the dwarf learned from Cloud; thus he couldn't be there to help grieve properly. At best, it'll be a difficult process with him being under Tywin's gaze. All he could think was the innocent boy becoming emotionally stunted and awkward by the time he's done learning under his grandfather.

Joffrey must've been hurt deeply as he idolized his father. To his knowledge, he sought every means of earning Robert's approval… in his own way and so many efforts were wasted. For instance, cutting open Tommen's pregnant cat's belly and presenting the unborn kittens to the king. Boy, that would be a memory hard to forget on the results.

Myrcella must've been the worst of them all.

She perhaps had the most love for her father than her brothers and mother combined. Aside from the vast amount of time wasted whoring, hunting and drinking, Robert spent what precious time he had with his only true-born daughter. And all that time was worth it from what he observed and recollected.

Of course, this is more problematic with her betrothed to Roxas. The mighty, young warrior wasn't there to help her in her greatest time of need. To be there to properly grieve for her departed father. Instead, he was presently somewhere out here in the kingdoms hunting down her father's killer; which the Imp could not fault the boy for that.

"Any other news?" Tyrion wryly asked, hoping that there wasn't any further madness to be heard. "Something good perhaps? Or maybe you can indulge any gods of misfortune by announcing that the wall has fallen and the Reach has lost all its crops to a madman wielding Wildfire."

Flement had a strained smile. "Not at this time, my lord. But we're bound to get anything-"

"Then that's good enough for now." Said the Imp, soon drinking the rest of his cup. "Though do tell me, where does this company go next?"

Ser Flement blinked at the query. "I'm sorry. I don't understand."

"I don't expect the company of my dear brother to stay here at the Crossroads the entire time. You said you are all a relief effort, thus you'll continually mobilize all over these territories in the Riverlands. I merely wish to know where you seek to next."

"...Your brother Jamie will decide our next course of action-"

"I do find it strange he is actually in charge of this party."

Cloud's interruption caused some heads to turn to his spot in the room.

"Pardon?" Ser Flement said.

"He is a member of the Kingsguard, is he not?" Cloud rhetorically asked. "And he is leaving his post after attempting to harm the Hand of the King. Running to his Lord father, all before being sent out to help deal with the present infestation -with a Lannister army- in order to save face. An action not sanctioned by the Crown and the Small Council, only by the Warden of the West. Such action may raise questions and concerns."

"I do not understand what you're implying good ser-"

"I'm not a knight. I'm more of a sellsword as Bronn here."

Said man gave a small nod as he drank some more before getting some bread to eat.

"And I believe you do understand, but can't accept it like a normal person." Cloud tacked on, crossing his arms, a narrowed-eyed gaze directed at the knight.

Tyrion decided to intervene on behalf of one of his father's bannermen. "He's only following orders, Cloud. He can't exactly help it."

"I know, given he's following them like a soldier. But you need to realize your brother's actions can't be overlooked." The blonde wolf soon explained. "I talked to Ser Barristan and Lewyn Martell about the earlier parts before I left the capital to retrieve you, Tyrion. Such actions are frowned upon in the Kingsguard. And I can only imagine how problematic it is on the further details with it not ordered through proper means."

"...Well… can't argue with that." Tyrion said reluctantly.

Cloud continued on with his argument. "Lord Tywin still believes he still has power and sway over the Crown, but it's only so much. He is not Hand of the King, only a Warden."

"He funds the Crown-"

"With debt that was once owed to your father. Now everything is relatively in the black, as it should've been years ago if it weren't for Robert's vices and tourneys." Strife interrupted, giving the imp a pointed look.

Tyrion found himself frowning, squirming at all these counters. The imp honestly wasn't used to being able to have everything he says to be overturned so succinctly. His father usually did it but with a veneer of spite and disapproval.

Cloud's cold hard logic which somehow felt worse… ok, not that bad but he felt it.

The Imp could perhaps figure his father might have waved the Crown's debt to him if it was about Roxas marrying Myrcella. A naive thought that should be stricken away. Such a simple thing cannot be done to sway the Old Lion of the Rock. No, there had to be something else that he wasn't in the know of.

His mind was growing weary with all these issues swimming around. A clear sign Tyrion knew to hold off further discussions until he and the others were thoroughly rested.

"May I borrow a raven?" Asked the dwarf. "I wish to inform my father of my current state."

"Of course, my lord."

Ser Flement planned on sending a message to his liege lord anyway after this conversation. Might save him the trouble by letting Tyrion do it for him. It'll take perhaps a day or so to reach Tywin and vice versa on what further actions may be taken.

The Westerland knight left his liege lord's son alone with his companions so they may continue eating and resting without disturbance. Fetching some paper and ink for Tyrion to use.

With the group alone, they conversed a bit more and a tad more freely.

"Clearly there's more to this than what your father's knight is free to say." Spoke Nanaki for the first time prior to entering this encampment.

The Lannister released a small sigh, running a hand down his face. "You're not wrong, my furry friend."

"You have an idea of where this company will head next." Came the following statement.

Tyrion drummed his hands upon a nearby table. "If I know my father, which I do in most instances, he'd send this small army to Riverrun. A means of repayment for Lady Stark's actions against me."

"And the divergent instead of a straight path?"

"Like Cloud stated earlier, my father wants to "save face" as the saying goes. Fixing what reputation my brother perhaps has done while also cloaking his initial intentions. A Lannister always pays his debts."

Though he didn't say it right away, the thought of what occurred at the Vale may have repaid the Lannister Household tenfold with how Houses Arryn and Tully are greatly harmed due to the actions of Lysa Tully-Arryn and her secret -now revealed- lover Petyr Baelish.

"If I heard the stories right, I would've thought your Lord father would have the innkeeper killed or at the very least punished severely." Bronn contributed, taking a sip of his ale a moment later. "I mean, I was right here, seeing her try to stop Lady Stark, but-"

"I wouldn't put it past him." Tyrion exhaled. "A means of setting an example to others not in the know on not buggering with my House."

"It's probably him wanting to lessen the already existing issues." Stated Cloud. "The realms are slowly diving into the gutter with the Heartless and Unversed. If he had his men blindly kill everyone instead of helping them, then the situation would be far worse."

Bronn snorted. "With what I've seen so far, no shit."

Nanaki soon added his thoughts on the matter. "Sooner or later, people will fight back and overwhelm your House's forces."

"If they were smart and strong enough, not to mention determined." Said the dwarf. "But with this present issue, that won't happen for gods knows how long."

"Add in a few other factors such as hunger and anger then you'll get an outright revolt." Bronn brought up.

And leave it to Cloud to finish this off. "And to make it worse, have someone organize and wrap it up in a package before delivering it all to the one causing it. If not for the commoners, you'll get two uprisings from both the North and Dorne right away once word reaches them."

Tyrion said nothing as he continued eating and drinking, pondering ever more with the new factors for him to work in his mind.

If he had been more attentive, he would've noticed Cloud looking elsewhere with a narrowed glance. Either him thinking on where Jamie Lannister or Roxas was at respectively or something else entirely.

-A different time; a different place-

Inside the true Isle of Faces, a pair of teenagers with their small avian companion looked upon the two residents of this place. One was of the Children of the Forest. The other was a Velaryon who was long thought dead.

There was a blanket of caution covering Roxas and Tyene as they sat down to discuss… quite a number of things with their hosts. Primarily the one who apparently guided them here. As for Chocho, he was sitting on the Sand Snake's lap who was stroking his feathers as a means of calming herself down from some bits of anxiety welling inside.

"Where would you like to start?" Addam asks calmly to the pair.

Tyene spoke up first, given she had many questions wafting in her mind. "Honestly, I have no idea where to start. What does someone say to a man they long assumed dead or that magic isn't gone from Westeros as many have thought?"

"It's not really gone." Said Roxas. "It's dormant. Like it's hibernating."

"Correct." Said the Velaryon. "There are only a handful of places in this continent where magic is still prominent." He swept his one hand to their surroundings. "This is one such place."

"Another is the Wall."

Addam nodded. "Whereas the Wall is a created construct through the efforts of the Children of the Forest, First Men and others, the Isle is one of the last deeply magical places naturally formed in Westeros. I'm sure you two know the reason why."

Through their lessons and studies, Roxas and Tyene knew what Addam was referring to: The Andal Invasion. It caused a great many Children and First Men to be slain, weirwoods chopped down and burned. Anything and everything "unnatural" in the Andals' eyes were relatively uprooted and tossed away. Anyone who claimed to be a part of that magical and mystical first era were forced into hiding or relocated to safer lands; such as the North.

Why was it that the Andals had such arrogance about them while the First Men, boasting of an even prouder history, were generally down to earth, practical, humble, kind and loyal individuals? Why was it that people like the Starks and many other Northerners were overlooked and dismissed by Southerners simply because they were not as ornate or perhaps as eloquent?

"Ivy said this place was hidden during the Andal Invasion." Tyene stated, eying the Child of the Forest present in this meeting before focusing back to Addam. "How is it that you are here? It shouldn't be possible for you to be here."

"He was invited." Ivy revealed, earning looks from the teens. "The Old Gods allowed him entrance, much like they allowed you entrance here."

"Perhaps it's beyond the Old Gods as the World wanted you specifically to be here with your lady companion, Roxas." Addam added in. "And I wasn't the only one over the years. Granted I was the only Andal allowed to come here, but have you considered that those from the North have the chance to be here?"

Hearing this, Roxas was quick to voice a comment. "Think about it, Tyene. The Andals are more or less forbidden from coming here. They only came to the Isle that's topside, only getting a patch of land with trees and some rock formations. But Northerners may possibly get a different treatment."

"A good assumption." Says Ivy. "More or less a correct answer. Any Northerners who step onto the shore of the Isle above are given a better treatment. The amount of splendor they witness will reflect the devotion they hold for the Old Faith. Greenseers get a different treatment, regardless of their religious practice."

Thoughts plagued their minds when processing this. "But were there any who actually came here?"

"Only one, only due to him being invited in recent decades." Addam answered. "Ventus had an invitation, but never got the chance to accept due to circumstances."

"Then who came?"

"Howland Reed." Addam smirked a little when seeing their reactions. "Nice man. Very humble."

At the mention of the Lord of Greywater Watch, Roxas' mind flashed to a man he never met, yet it felt like he did.

"And… what happened then?"

"We talked about a number of things after he came down from his high of giddiness and reverence. And before you ask, no; he swore he'd never speak a word to anyone outside of his blood of his time here. So don't expect your lord Stark to know."

Feeling satisfied with the given responses, Tyene voiced something that had been on her mind not long ago.

"But why didn't the Children try to drive them out? If this place is as deeply magical as you claim, then why didn't they use that magic to dispel the invaders back then?" The Dornish girl looked towards Addam. "Your immortality is proof enough that whatever powers exist here would be strong enough to dispatch armies. The Andals were clearly a threat to this way of life. Why not do something about it?"

Both Ivy and Addam were quiet, making the Sand Snake wonder if she had been heard.

"There's probably a number of factors, Tyene." Spoke Roxas. "If they had the capabilities, they would have driven the Andals back, one way or another. We'd have a repeat of the flood that broke the bridge between Westeros and Essos; making the Stepstones and the southern borders of Dorne. If not a flood, then something much worse. Yet, something prevented the Children of the Forest and the First Men from taking proper action against their oppressors."

"Your lover is correct, Tyene." Said Addam. "There has been a loss. A loss that prevented the inhabitants of the Isle of Faces from harnessing the power they once had. And that loss has been prevalent for millenia. During that time, talk of magic has faded, disbelief has become prevalent and the memories of the past have long since gone dark. It was only through the presence of the Keybearers, the Unversed and Heartless did such things slowly return; one way or another."

There was confusion wafting over the two teenagers, prompting the Velaryon to speak. "Allow me to explain. But in order to do that, I must ask this: what do you know of the Long Night?"

A sense of seriousness was present in the Nobody whereas a sense of cold washed over the Dornish girl.

"I admit, I'd consider it a story to frighten children. Nothing more of what originated from the North. A mere fantastical nightmare" Said Tyene, soon stroking Chocho's feathers a whole lot more now to comfort her. "Yet these past weeks, witnessing genuine magic," her dark eyes glanced back at Ivy, "and seeing someone like her…"

"There is still much you don't know. Not even Roxas or your Red Priest in your company." Addam states. "Stories of the Long Night happened in a distant time in history where very few documents and recordings survived to recount certain events. Everything else is just mudded or hazy stories one tells in campfires, passed down from their ancestors. The South doesn't acknowledge the Others as anything more than a bedtime story. 'They do not exist,' they say. But that perspective -if retained- will be the doom of the South. Perhaps the doom of Westeros and the rest of the World."

A sense of dread began to blanket Tyene. Her petting the Chocobo no longer worked to calm her nerves as she reached to the side and grasped Roxas' hand.

"They exist then?" Tyene asks, even though she knows the answer already. "The Others?"

"They are real as those dark creatures you face now up above." Said the old Velaryon. "Granted the Others are a 'younger' darkness as opposed to the Heartless and Unversed, but still quite as dangerous."

"How do you know about them?" Roxas asks him. "You've apparently been down here for about two centuries."

"I have my ways." This got a bland look from the two teenagers, making Addam chortle a little. "I'm being honest about this."

"Then how?"

"I'm a Greenseer." Said their host. "But to be more honest, I'm an unnatural one."

"Unnatural?"

It was Ivy who spoke next. "There are very few humans who have the particular gift of seeing beyond their normal sight. Where it be from animals on a common stance to being granted rights to see through the weirwoods by the Old Gods. And their roots run deep in the World. In Addam's case, he was never born with the trait; only bestowed once he was brought here during the Dance of Dragons."

"The only way one becomes a faux Greenseer is essentially merging with a Great Weirwood."

"...When you say merging…"

"More or less becoming one with it."

"Then why-"

"-Am I not stationary with roots digging into my very body, among other visual traits to show my shackles?" Addam quickly said, earning quick confused looks from the pair. "I'm not being punished for my actions. Not abusing the gift granted to me. Thus I can cleave from the Great Weirwood here anytime I want." He saw the looks given to him by the young couple. "Getting back onto the matter at hand. Through my Greenseeing, I was able to see much of what has happened in the continent for some time now. Would've been more impossible without slumbering for years at a time if it weren't for the arrival of Ventus."

"Ventus? What's he got to do with… whatever you're implying?" Roxas muttered.

"His presence slowly awakened magic in the world." Addam revealed. "He did not know just how much of an impact he had in his short time here. His outside influence practically knocked the world into a drowsy state so magic slowly came back. Not a big push, but enough for me to properly see without consequences and exhaustion for long periods of time. How I saw stories played out and saw much to be caught up to speed. However, due to the circumstances of the Isle of Faces, my gifts are limited."

"Limited to what?"

"You can say I cannot do the forbidden practices of a Greenseer; not that I'm complaining."

"Lesser chances of displeasing the Old Gods." Ivy pipped in.

"Oh yes. I'd rather not be punished by the likes of them. Especially from here of all places." Before the teens could question anything, Addam went to a different topic. "Contrary to what you may think, my reasons for coming to the Isle of Faces had nothing to do with the Dance of Dragons."

Roxas raised an eyebrow whereas Tyene narrowed her eyes. Those who knew their history -or perhaps fabricated history- believed Addam Velaryon made the journey deep into the Riverlands to discover a means to end the Targaryen Civil War.

"Then why'd you come?" Tyene asked.

Instead of answering directly, Addam responded with another question. "What do you know of Daenys Targaryen?"

Roxas answered this time, recalling the texts and passages about her in the many history books he had read on Westeros. "A predominant, well-known member of House Targaryen. She was also known as Daenys the Dreamer, who foresaw the Doom of Valyria. So convinced of what her daughter proclaimed, Aenar Targaryen moved his entire family and holdings to Dragonstone with their dragons. He even convinced some others to come with him. Twelve years later, the Doom happened. As a result -as far as the World knows- the Targaryens, Velaryons and Celtigars are the only Valyrian houses to survive."

"Neatly surmised, Keybearer." Addam gave Roxas a small smile. "Daenys' dream was the only reason the Targaryens, Velaryons and Celtigars aren't lost to history like so many Valyrians. But there appear to be no other recorded members of House Targaryen having such dreams before... except for the ones written out."

Seeing the curiosity taking hold of them, Addam listed off several that came to mind. "King Viserys I dreamed of his heir on the Iron Throne, which led to the confusion that eventually led to the Dance. Queen Helaena -wife to King Aegon II- dreamed of many things while others around her thought she was not really there. Prince Daeron, brother of Aegon the 5th, foresaw Ser Duncan the Tall being the cause for his uncle, Prince Baelor, to die at Ashford. Daemon Blackfyre II was a dreamer. Not a good one, but had dragon dreams which had him see his older brothers die alongside their father die at the Red Grass Fields to him going to Whitewalls in seeing a dragon hatch from an egg along with Ser Duncan becoming a member of the Kingsguard."

"Ser Duncan the Tall did become its Lord Commander down the line." Roxas mutters aloud. "A coincidence?"

"But there was no dragon that hatched." Tyene adds in. "A dragon egg was taken, yes, but by Bryden Rivers' orders. And if there was a hatchling, Daemon would've had many turning to his side for support."

"Not a literal one, but a figurative one. Ser Duncan's squire, little Aegon "hatched" from his egg to become a more confident and outspoken member of his House. Something which later helped mold him further into the king he becomes. Back to the details of prophetic dreams, it was through this knowledge did it became theorized that not just a Targaryen could have them, but a Blackfyre." Addam stated.

"They were related, given the Blackfyres were the Targareyns' cadet branch. But why does this have to do with you?" Asked Tyene.

"He's implying it's not exclusive to one Valyrian line." Was Roxas' response before looking at the man before them. "Ain't that right?"

Addam nodded. "I experienced a dream myself. Several in fact. So vivid, strong and clear, I had to prepare for what's to come before coming here."

"Like with what?"

Answering in a different way, Addam reached into his pocket and pulled out what appeared to be some sort of trinket. He surprised Roxas by tossing it over to him, having the Nobody catch it for a better inspection.

In his hand was some necklace with the charm -at the size of his finger- shaped like an egg with scales on it. There was also an amethyst coloring to it bleeding into the natural steel. He soon feel an inviting, welcoming warmth coming from it.

"I had to go to Old Valyria, searching one of its temples to acquire that." Sensing the coming question. Addam answered. "Not some enchanted accessory like you and many of your friends and companions wear. It's a summoning charm."

"...To what?"

"Something which the people of Old Valyria worshiped as a god. Something that was placed at the highest among their pantheon."

Tyene and Roxas shared looks with each other as this was said.

"Being labeled as a god may be a bit of a stretch, but answer me this: did you think that Ifrit was some sort of divine being? Or even Leviathan?"

Roxas shook his head 'no'. "I know they are summoned from someplace, but never considered them as gods. They're just very powerful entities."

"You can say others think otherwise." Addam glanced at Tyene.

The Sand Snake noticed his look, nodding in confirmation. "When seeing Ifrit summoned at Riverrun earlier today, I didn't know how to process it. The power it wielded. And… I don't know how else to describe it." She then snorts. "Though I think Thoros almost shat himself."

"Beric too." Roxas chuckles. "Especially when both of them saw Leviathan being summoned in the sewers of Kings Landing."

Ending the bit of laughter between the couple, Roxas looked towards Addam. "Why give me this? Why not have used this during the Dance of Dragons to greatly turn the tide?"

"I clearly wanted to use it. On my way back from Old Valyria, I wondered how things would be if I could summon what was tied to the charm you hold now. I even prayed and sought for it to answer my call. It never came. Later realized it would never answer to anyone at all aside from the one it sought."

"You believe I'm the one?"

"I do. And you'll need its help."

"With what?"

"The coming darkness. Not just with the Heartless and Unversed, but also with the Others. It's in fact the reason why you were brought here. In order to tell a story many know."

The Keybearer and Sand Snake were very attentive now as they listened to Addam Velaryion speak.

"The gods were born long ago from Chaos. They spread out like dandelions to cover lands beyond our own. A good number came to this World before settling with their various roles. It was barren, but the intervention of R'hllor and the Old Gods -who came here first- brought life to it. They nurtured its residents for centuries, watching them grow and thrive."

What was being told was painting a pretty picture to Roxas and Tyene so far. For the Keybearer, he already knew gods existed due to him having previously met Hades while Sora had interacted with the God of the Underworld several times. Of course he wasn't going to blurt out this detail for obvious reasons.

Yet things took an odd turn with what they heard next.

"Gods they may be, yet they have proven themselves fools, every one." Addam said with tired seriousness. "The supplication of the Old Gods. The whimpering death of the Valyrians. The struggles of R'hllor. The sorrow of Mother Rhoyne. The avarice of the Seven-who-are-One. The slumbering of the Drowned One. Actions arguably worthy of their godly title. Whether they like it or not, they'll be felled by the mortals they seek sustenance from. Not because of a war of seeing which religion is right or wrong. But because of twisted and perverted beliefs. Festering and worsening like a plague from vermin. Most are best to not bother the residents of this world."

Hearing all this, the two teens glanced over to the Child of the Forest.

"I'm surprised you haven't taken offense to this, Ivy."

"I've long since accepted the fact that the Old Gods I've worshiped are not perfect. Even they are susceptible to mistakes." Ivy breathed out a tired sigh. "I've come to realize they grew arrogant as time went on. Letting life spread across its surface, thinking it would be easy to control and guide them for eternity with their influence."

"Their first great success was Ivy and her people who assisted them in nurturing Life, taking care of the Old Gods and their trees in repayment. But when Man came into their territory from Essos, things got complicated."

The Dornish girl was quick to know what was being referred to. "The war between the Children and the First Men, which was settled with the Pact and the Long Night."

"There's more to the war than what stories you've read and were told, Tyene Sand. The Children enacted rituals, hoping to drive the First Men away from their lands, to force them back across the sea. In time, they created something far worse than R'hllor and the Old Gods had anticipated. The amount of Life that had been taken by force, used in their rituals, had birthed an entity from Chaos which the other gods foolishly welcomed with open arms: a god of Death, Darkness and Ice."

A cold dread was felt in the vicinity. Roxas and Tyene looked at Ivy with varying reactions. Notably it was shock and surprise as realization began seeping in. But with Tyene, it was the added sense of fear and anger.

"It was you. You made them."

"We were at war with you humans. Being slaughtered. We had no other way to end it. We prayed to our gods, who ignored our pleas for help." Ivy lowered her head. "It was our mistake and greatest shame with what we brought onto the World. It'll forever haunt the rest of my people."

"The Great Other was guided by R'hllor and the Old Gods, but it was their mistake to overlook his growing strength from the sacrifices. It was too late for them to act when he created and claimed his Champion after one last sacrifice. The one referred to as the Night King and leader of the White Walkers."

"How… dangerous is he?" Tyene nervously asked.

"Very." Ivy said simply. "For centuries, the Night King built his forces, gathering the dead to serve as his personal army and the vanguard of the Great Other. Through his god, the Night King waged the Great Other's war against the living on this World."

"Back then, R'hllor and the Old Gods believed the Night King to be defeated in the War of the Dawn. Same with the Great Other, given his connection to him. However, it was confirmed by some members of the group aiding R'hllor's champion that they merely slumbered to heal, just as many gods have as millenia came and went. Their arrogance became their downfall."

"But how could they have known? Who was it that confirmed this?"

"Keybearers." Addam brought up, surprising Roxas and Tyene. "Keybearers were present back then. They helped the champion of R'hllor back then to drive the Night King back. But it wasn't enough."

"Why not?"

"The Great Other feasts upon the souls of mortals, collected by his champion and his Walkers." Ivy said, earning shivers of disturbance from the teens. "Their bodies hollow, allowing the Night King to possess them as extensions to his will for his master's desire. A means of evading possible defeat. The other gods were foolish to not notice until it was too late."

"Upon confirming the truth from the Keybearers' words, R'hllor and the Old Gods prepared. The Old Gods did their thing here in Westeros with the Wall, among other things. R'hllor spread his influence in Essos." Addam soon bore an annoyed scowl. "However, other gods began popping up and made things complicated."

"How so?"

"Conflicting practices and beliefs. Their worshippers waging war as a result. The Seven-who-are-One with their Andals never bothered to realize their actions, despite the warnings. And you know the rest with the Invasion."

"...What about the Valyrians?"

"Just like the Old Gods created the Children of the Forest, R'hllor helped start the Valyrians. Took many years of planning and influence on his part, but he got a people who may help turn the tide against the next war against the Great Other."

"Then the Doom happened." Roxas comments.

"Oh yes, the Doom. Them meddling with things caused the Valyrians their own downfall. Luckily, Daenys the Dreamer at least salvaged R'hllor's project. Of course moments after the Dance of Dragons made things more complicated with each generation to be salvaged."

"What about the other gods who reside on this World?" Asked Tyene.

"One may argue man abandoned the gods or the other way around. Most gods who took up residency on this world left, wanting to preserve themselves and find worship elsewhere. Others stayed for their own reasons. A fraction of them have died and gone back into Chaos. The rest, sleeping and awaiting for their reawakening."

This didn't really sit well with the Sand Snake all that well. She wanted to ask of Mother Rhoyne had a downward path, but withheld it. She held faith the goddess her ancestors worshiped, along with most residents of Dorne today, is perhaps sleeping and not dead.

Her thoughts were broken upon hearing Addam continue talking.

"The idea of us being made, to be used and set aside when the purpose is done never really set right with me." He admits, glancing over to Roxas. "Don't you feel the same way?"

The Keybearer registered the words. His existence reflects in his mind on what he went through in the Organization and by DiZ. "I do."

"There are the hands that made us," says Addam. "And then there are the hands that guide the hands." His gaze was somewhat distant now. "I accepted some notions first as I was merely doing my duty to my Queen during the Dance. Of course things got complicated as time went on, especially as I had my dreams." He exhales a sigh soon after. "Prophecies, such a problematic topic. You get controlled by it if you're obsessed with it. Blindly following it, believing you cannot fail, yet it ends up destroying themselves and those close to them. If you seek to avoid, prevent or divert it, only to have it fulfilled in the process. If too many learn of it, they'd seek to control it, seeking for more power and glory. Or in the most likely occurrence, they're misinterpreted, due to them seeing what they wanted to see; all because of ambition and biases. They'd often bite your prick off every time."

"That sounds like something Thoros would say. The last bit, I mean."

Tyene laughed at this with Roxas following whereas Addam merely smirked.

After the small bit of chuckles died down, Roxas looked at Addam with seriousness. "What must we do with this information?"

"You must help connect the continent again." Answered Addam. "Without that, this World will stand no chance. Not just against the Others, but the Darkness. It is what Aegon the Conqueror dreamed of and sought to achieve."

This got a look from Roxas and Tyene, having them wonder more about this particular detail.

"Is there anything else you want to part with us?" Asked Tyene.

"From the bleeding star, the world shall be broken and remade. Beliefs old and new shall rise from the coming fires and lurking darkness. It shall all happen from Harrenhal, where your intended target of this quest of yours shall await you."

"Are you sure about that?"

Addam spoke with stern seriousness. "Fate only binds you if you let it. Do what is necessary. Not because it's been written or foretold by seers or gods. We make our own destiny and follow our own path."

It was a good bit of advice given onto them. Something to think on when not fully focused on what was spoken about earlier.

"It was nice speaking with you, Addam." Said Roxas, rising from his seat with Tyene following. "Quite the… enlightening discussion."

"You're welcome, Keybearer." Said the old Velaryon. "Ivy will show you out. You'll find yourselves back to the Riverrun Godswood before you know it."

The two teens nodded as Ivy walked on ahead. Tyene was not far behind with Chocho in her arms. Roxas was about to follow when he halted in his step.

"One last thing." Addam looked to Roxas in curiosity. "Do you know where the Keyhole is located?"

"You believe I would know?"

"You're connected to the Great Weirwood here in the true Isle of Faces. You know of the World's history, among other things."

"That's true." Said the old Dragonseed. "With the Keyhole to this World, it's a little complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"It won't show up unless certain circumstances present themselves. Only then will it appear for a Keybearer to seal it up."

Roxas exhaled a sigh, fearing that this situation would happen in trying to find the Keyhole.

"Will you tell me when and where?"

"Unfortunately, I cannot."

"Can't or won't."

"Yes."

"That's not really an answer."

"Can be both, given circumstances."

This only served as a small annoyance for the Greater Nobody. He turned and sought to go after Tyene and Ivy when Addam spoke up. "I've gotten something else for you."

Turning back, Roxas saw Addam come over with a sheathed sword. Once handed over, Roxas gave it an expectation.

It was a greatsword with a red leather handle, gilded steel cross guard and a golden lion head as its pommel. Unsheathing the blade from the scabbard, Roxas saw the dark color of the steel and the rippling pattern in the metal.

The Greater Nobody voiced his recognition upon seeing the long-lost Lannister property, having heard Jamie speaking of it once before.

"Is this… is this Brightroar?"

"Found it in my search for the charm now in your possession."

Roxas stared at the blade in astonishment, looking over to the denizen of the Isle of Faces. "This is a Lannister sword. Why give it to me?"

"So it may be given to the one who'll need it most for what's to come." Said Addam. "One last piece of advice for you, Keybearer. I recommend you tell your compatriots the truth of who and what you really are, much like what you told of Ned Stark. Especially your lovers. Will save you a lot of trouble in the future."

Roxas gave a nod once sheathing back Brightroar. He already figured Addam knew some of his circumstances through his connection of his powers. He was about to walk away when he registered a particular sentence.

"Lovers?"

All Roxas got was a cheeky grin from the old Velaryon.

-The Present, Riverlands-

The party parted from Riverrun after seeing the funeral of the late Holster Tully, which took place the morning after their arrival. The ceremony occurred at the nearest point of the Trident River from the Tully Keep. A funeral rite to sail off a loved one down its waters before cremating them. A means of setting them off into the next life.

Many saw Edmure struggle to land the shot as he fired his fire-tipped arrow. Missing the first two times but barely making it on the third, setting the small raft aflame for ceremony rights.

Most in attendance believed the shots being missed was a sign from the gods, showing their disdain for what Holster Tully did in shaming their House. Others recalled a similar occurrence when Holster struggled to land his own shots when giving his father the funeral rights.

Whatever the case may be, Roxas and his party gave their condolences to the new Lord Paramount of the Riverlands before making their way to Harrenhal.

There were reports of Vanitas sighted in the territory, making Tyene and Roxas wonder if it was a coincidence to what Addam Velaryon proclaimed.

The discussions of what that previous night still lingered in their minds. The odd difficulty on how to digress everything they learned and then some. Not to mention how to address it to others in preparation for what's to come.

Some will be easier to convince, like Thoros as he's a part of the Red Religion; but more or less out of touch for years. Beric and the others that come to mind will be a bit more difficult as it'll shake and question their faith.

Regardless, they had an obligation to uphold.

With them relatively alone, Roxas and Tyene spoke to Beric and Thoros about what occurred at the true Isle of Faces. The two were essentially the captains of their company and needed to know first before the rest.

Suffice it to say, they were more or less floored. And they needed time to process the amount of reveals.

The two teens wondered how much worse it'll all go if they revealed all of this to the rest of the company. Only time will tell.

On their way to Harrenhal, Tyene had to be trained a whole lot more. Her having access to magic now, she needed to know how to work with it. Beric gave her pointers as he was in her shoes years ago when Thoros gave him the gift of magic. And she clearly tested it all out when combating against a number of Heartless and Unversed skirmishes.

It'll take a long while till he can reach the levels of the other practitioners of their hunting party. Until then, she was reveling in the sensations of using magic, no matter how minuscule the spells were.

Even during the training, she playfully requested him to lend over a Keyblade of his. Just for a moment, given she knew it'll return to him eventually. She commented on the weight it has, especially the metaphorical one. Prior to handing it back, she felt a warmth inside of her seemingly grow brighter in a way.

And speaking of Tyene, the particular, final request Addam told the Keybearer to do was hard to figure out. Him wanting Roxas to reveal his origins to the company. But more specifically to the Dornish girl who loves him dearly.

As much as the Keybearer wanted to tell them, he just didn't know how and when to do it.

It could perhaps be easier with the others, but he felt it would be hard with Tyene to begin with.

Was it cautious fear holding him back or something else?

When it came to the thought of "lovers", this got Roxas into a mental tussle. Addam implying that Sansa and Myrcella needed to know as well.

If only he could tell them so easily. Him being brave enough to enter such a conversation. Would they accept him? Possibly, more or less the same. Would they think differently of him? Clearly without a doubt. Same with their perspectives.

While such thoughts are easy to think of towards the company traveling with him to hunt down Vanitas, it is far different towards the ones who hold such affection towards him.

It would be so much easier without so much weighing on him right now. But would it be too late for such a talk?

The other factor that came to mind was Brightroar. The fact that he now possessed the lost Valyrian greatsword belonging to House Lannister was a strange reality after hearing about how badly the House of the Lions wished to possess a Valaryian steel sword of their own after losing Brightroar.

Only Tyene knows of him having it. And she was clearly surprised that Addam Velaryion possessed it for all this time. She mostly suggested they ransom it back to the Lannisters or perhaps gift it to Myrcella to get one over the other members of her family. Though the warning of having it given to the one who'll need it most for what's coming made her drop the matter. But the question of who would be its future wielder would linger on their minds for a while.

On the present day, they saw Harrenhal in the distance. Hard not to spot, given its size and appearance. And in the sky, the group saw a Red Comet.

"Whoa~ What is that?" Roxas asked, looking up at the streak of red in the sky.

"You don't see those every day." Tyene murmured, equally as enraptured and intrigued by the sight.

"Clearly. Though it is quite the sight." Beric remarked, arm resting on his pommel.

"It's an omen." Thoros spoke up, a rather solemn gaze in his eyes as it rested upon the Red Comet.

"For what?" Tyene asked.

"Can be left for a lot of interpretation. Much like the eclipses we've seen in the past."

"Stars don't fall for men." Said Thoros, taking a sip from his wineskin. "The Red Comet means one… maybe a few things."

"Like what?"

"Dragons."

"Dragons? They're all dead. Been like that for over a century."

"What about Leviathan?" Beric points out.

Before the conversation could continue, a Dusk appeared, startling a great number of the party.

"What the hell is that?"

"A Heartless? Unversed?"

"No. It doesn't look like one of 'em."

"I say we kill it now."

This is what some of the commotions were before some of the people at the front of the company dismounted and went to attack.

"Wait!"

That was until hearing No. XIII speak out.

"Roxas?" Tyene muttered.

In a quick blur, the sandy blond Nobody was in front of the party. He didn't have his Keyblades drawn, displaying that he didn't have any intention of harming the lesser Nobody.

"It works for me." He said aloud, earning many confused looks from the people working with him. Ignoring their reactions, Roxas looked at the Dusk and asked a question. "What's going on?"

Whilst the crowd behind him heard nothing, in an unspoken voice, the Dusk relayed its information to its master through its silence.

"Sire, Ned Stark sends words of distress and news from the capital…"

Upon hearing this, there was a clenching in Roxas' chest as the Dusk began to report on the goings-on of Kings Landing.

At this point, the onlookers whispered amongst themselves.

"Uh, what's going on?"

"They're just standing there."

"Are they… talking?"

As moments went on, the others could see the change of mood in Roxas' features being more worrisome and dire. However, if one could look into his blue eyes, a rising anger and sorrow were also showing.

"Thanks for telling me." He said in a neutral tone. "Inform the others to hold their ground. Keep the survivors safe. Survey the land. Await further instructions til I call upon one of you."

The Dusk nods before disappearing in a plumb of gray and white vapors.

With its silent absence, something was quick to fill in the space.

"Roxas?" Beric voices out of concern. "Is something the matter?"

He didn't answer right away. Only taking deep breaths while walking to a nearby tree. In a swift moment, he summoned Oblivion into his hand before bashing it into the bit of forestation. It quickly toppled down but it became many pieces before it reached the earth. Even then, he kept slamming his Keyblade into the debris, venting out much of his frustrations that had quickly boiled to the surface of what had laid dormant for several days now.

This came to an end when he felt hands around his arm, pulling him back. Looking back, Roxas saw it was Tyene.

"Roxas, what's got you so upset?" She worriedly asked, taking one of his hands.

He turned his hand, giving hers a slight squeeze. "Tyene… I'm so sorry."

"...What's wrong?"

It was in mere moments that Roxas spoke the first thing to come out of his mouth, which was related to her. She got a crossed look soon after.

"No." She responds out of disbelief. "This isn't something you can joke about."

"I'm not, Tyene-"

"Then why say that!?" She yells, grabbing his shoulders, her nails digging into the fabric.. "HE'S NOT GONE! GRUNKLE LEWYN IS NOT-"

Roxas hugged her close and tight. "I'm sorry." He whispered into Tyene's ear. "I'm so sorry."

It wasn't long before she began to cry.

"He can't be dead." Tyene wept into his shoulder. "Gods please, let this be a cruel joke."

Footsteps were soon heard as members of their company came up to them.

"What in Seven Hells is going on?" Asked Beric. "What's got her so upset?"

"And what was that creature we saw earlier?" Thoros blurts in.

It was at this point did Roxas explained a number of things to them. The Dusk Nobody was perhaps the easiest to speak about, of how they worked under him when he was a part of the Organization and still do today alongside the Samurai.

When that was out of the way, he informed the company what the Dusk reported.

He knew something bad was going to happen back in the capital and feared that those he held dear were in danger the moment he received news of Robert's death at the hands of Vanitas back at Riverrun. What he didn't expect was how it escalated.

There were various amounts of uproar from the Northerners and Dornish especially, of how Lewyn Martell was slain and Ned Stark imprisoned on false crimes. Such actions will not stand.

However, Roxas ends up voicing a passing hasty decision, which many were conflicted about.

"Roxas, of all the stunts and craziest shit." Tyene groaned out, wiping her dried tear streaks from her cheeks. "This has to be on the top… marching into the capital?!"

Thoros shook his head. "Either you got a strong set of balls or the most foolish lad to ever pull a stunt."

"Roxas, be reasonable." Said Beric. "Attacking a giant Heartless is one thing, but charging into the capital?! That's not just stupidity but insane!"

"What can I do? I can't do nothing and let this happen! Ned, Arya, Sansa! They're all in danger!" He may not be a prince anymore, obviously, it was Joffrey's doing since Myrcella would not have done so without asking him. With the princess in danger of being captured and Sansa, he didn't know why but he had to go back and save them, or stop Joffrey for good if there was no going back. "You should have known that the moment you met me. And we all know by now this was nothing but a trick set up by Vanitas to get me away from the capital."

"Roxas you have to admit, this is not something you can walk right up to the gate. They would have orders to capture you or those Heartless and Unversed would be after you." Tyene had to make him see reason and think this through.

"Even if you used that magic to send you all the way in, you find yourself in the castle, what then? Start fighting until the last Heartless, Unversed and soldiers loyal to the bastard prince are dead? Even though you must have limits but need to think." Tyene said to prevent him from doing anything reckless to save the Starks, and obviously to rescue the two who yearn for his love from danger. Much as she would do the same but knew it was foolish and suicidal, reasoning with her lover to think. Yet her Dornish blood boiled, wanting to enact vengeance for her Grunckle Lewyn. However, her Uncle Doran managed to instill in her a level of patience her father lacked. She needed to be smart about this in the present circumstance.

As much as he wanted to argue this, Roxas knew Tyene had a valid point. He can't just jump in without knowing the full situation that could also be another trap. If he had the ability to send them through the Corridor without harm it would have been easy but there are limits. Now he wished he could call his friends from Wallachia for their help, but he didn't know how things may go from there. He didn't even know where Trevor and Sypha were, only Alucard.

"Maybe you're right." Roxas sighed in reluctance to admit it, earning a grin from the Sand Snake. "But what am I supposed to do? Even with the Samurai I sent to help them protect the city, it won't be enough against him. And if the news is right, then Joffrey would no doubt have no right to take the throne when it should be Myrcella."

"The lad is right, she has already gained more love from the people than her brother. And so have you Roxas… your grace." Thoros added the last part with a grin.

Earning a few chuckles from the group, he gave an annoyed look and also towards Tyene who was ready to giggle. "Not a word." He was doing all he could to get over the shock that should Myrcella be crowned queen… that would make him king-consort, and uncertain if he would be ready for such responsibilities at his apparent age. But the look on his face to find out was somewhat amusing to others, especially Tyene for that matter to begin referring to him as 'your grace' for the humor.

She found his expression adorable when he was called 'prince', and obviously has to get over it by now. Wrapping her arms around him, she snuggled from behind and breathed into his ear. "Aww~ but you would make a fine king-consort, and certainly need a name for your future great house." Wrapping her arms around him and gave a peck on his neck. "I'd be certainly glad to be of assistance."

Roxas fought down the arousal slowly creeping up on him, courtesy of Tyene's actions. He thought back a bit on the one detail, not minding it at all but that part he did not think of with no last name given to him. "For one of the reasons I was against it is I might have thrown the kingdoms into a huge mess."

"Doubt that. The bastard prince beat ya to it." Thoros stated with a strained chuckle.

Beric could see why that was one of the reasons, many wanted the title for power but not see the full picture of ruling and leading a kingdom when you could gain allies and enemies everywhere. "That may be true, and also would no doubt call for your head. But perhaps we can use something they would never suspect once we return and form a plan in hopes of saving Lord Stark and his daughters."

"And someone has to watch your back along the way." Tyene said with a smug grin.

"And it's not just her." Thoros mumbled under his breath, those who heard him chuckled while the Sand Snake heard him but didn't care.

"When the kingdoms stand on a precipice, there will be people who will rise to drag others back from the brink. Happened many times before and will surely not be the last. Now, it's our turn to save the continent." Said Beric before looking towards Roxas. "You have a great burden. One which cannot be lifted all that easily."

"I know. Oblivion will not claim the likes of me all that easily."

The Lightning Lord wore a small smirk when hearing the response.

"But what do other people think?" Roxas questions offhandedly. "I don't think-"

"It doesn't matter what other people think." Beric quotes with a scoff. "Such a phrase dooms those who say and believe such rubbish." Beric looked at Roxas with even eyes. "A king who doesn't care and protect his people is no true king. The same applies to any lord or leader out there. You, however, do."

"I care about people." Roxas stated. "But King? I can never be King."

Time getting over to Harrenhal became a blur soon after. Seemed to be relatively quick.

The atmosphere was very bleak with dread encompassing the land with the blanketing overcast seemingly growing thicker and darker. Something to fit with the apparent curse placed on it since Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives burned King Harron Hoare and his House within the infamous keep's walls.

Many stories were told of Harrenhal since that very day. Practically whispers. How Mad Lady Danelle Lothston summoned a giant bat to kidnap children for her crockpots and use their blood for her baths. How fiery spirits still haunted the blackened towers. Sometimes men went to sleep in their beds and were found dead in the morning, all burnt up.

For generations, people believed the curse was merely a ghost tale. However, its horrors were apparently manifested by Vanitas at the tourney that took place here nearly twenty years ago.

Its grand, ruined state -a symbol of arrogance and cruelty- was heightened with how quiet it all was. Nearly a sound was heard in the air. No life seemed to be present, even from Harrentown.

"Where are the people?" Someone asked aloud.

"Fled, hopefully."

"If so, how long ago?"

"Perhaps when reports spread of the attacks. Them fleeing to the North like the rest."

"Quite the journey that must be."

"Dread to think what may await them along the way."

"I can imagine Lord and Lady Whent had recruited many of the men to add onto their preexisting forces."

Anything else about the topic soon died on the lips of many. For upon getting to the heart of Harrentown, they came upon a dreadful sight.

They saw so many people lying on the ground. Common folk, armed soldiers in both House Whent and Lannister colors and several other types of people.

The sight before them made the company very uneasy. Questions filled their minds when many dismounted their horses to inspect the bodies.

"They're dead. They're all dead." Spoke Beric in a quiet voice as he saw particular wounds on a Lannister captain.

"Not all of them."

Many people whirled to the source while drawing out their weapons. In an instant, many had frozen up in fear and anticipation as the man they had marched out to confront was now in front of them all.

There they saw Vanitas standing, garbed in his usual menacing attire save for one. His glass-domed helmet was off, revealing his features to them all. There they saw the bit of boredom being relieved and replaced with excitement.

"Took you long enough to find me." He drawls out. "I was getting rather bored waiting."

"This is too far, Vanitas." The blond Nobody said, gaze fierce and dangerous.

The black-haired Keybearer casually shrugged, looking out at his "work".

"Maybe, Roxas, but I've done things like this back in the Rebellion. My that takes me back." Vanitas says wistfully, a deadly grin forming on his face.

Beric spoke next, pointing his sword at the leader of the Unversed. "In the name of Queen Myrcella Baratheon, you are to be sentenced for your crimes upon the realm; you monster."

Vanitas snorts. "Sure. Not like I've gotten such warrants before." He waves off before looking towards Roxas, sensing something from the Greater Nobody. "You are more different now. Really different than we last battled."

The sandy-blond narrowed his eyes at the Sora-lookalike. "What are you on about?"

"I see a growing light in you. I swear you're becoming a Somebody." Muses Vanitas. "Then again, a very rare trait given your circumstances."

Roxas didn't know what Vanitas was talking about. All he could tell was him trying to get into his head by throwing him off.

However, one thing came to mind when recalling something.

"What did you mean by 'not all of them'?"

"Hmmm?"

Roxas glared at the dismissive tone. "You heard me."

Vanitas only rolled his eyes "There are some survivors of this massacre."

"Why?" Beric said, gripping his sword tightly.

"I have my reasons." The black-haired teen waved off the question.

"But how could you kill all these people?" Tyene demanded.

Vanitas quirks a brow, ignoring the Sand Snake and instead has his sickly golden eyes focused on No. XIII. He soon smirks a little. "You think I did all this by myself?" He says, throwing his arms at the massive amounts of bodies.

"Your Unversed, no doubt." Thoros spat out.

The teen scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "Nah. This ain't their work. A lot of this credit goes to a new friend of mine."

There was a moment of tense, nervous silence before Tyene shakily spoke on behalf of her group.

"...What friend?"

As this was asked, something began feeling suddenly off. A heat quickly rose from the cold. It spread like wildfire before quite literally, hot orange-red fires erupted everywhere nearly instantly.

Most people of the company quickly evaded getting burnt, others weren't so lucky as they caught aflame. Their compatriots being quick in putting out the flames seeking to kill them.

Regardless, the surprise action caught the group off guard as the flames surrounded them all while cutting many off from the rest.

Roxas' eyes darted about trying to find just where the source of these flames stemmed from, Keyblades in hand.

His immediate thoughts were on his friend Axel but last he checked, he had sacrificed himself and faded into the nothingness from which all Nobody's came from. So who could this be?

Their foe had the answer. "Always one for the theatrics, aren't you buddy?"

Upon Vanitas saying this aloud, someone made their approach to their location. While the sounds of boots were heard, there were the sounds of something or rather someone being dragged behind.

From the flames, many could see a dark figure approaching, having the company members on guard. It wasn't long from the agonizing seconds did the person revealed themselves to many in view.

Roxas had yet to assume his usual battle stance but still held his Keyblades tightly. He felt a cold sweat down his spine as he took a subconscious step back as his gaze met the one who was undoubtedly Vanitas' ally in this slaughter.

This tall person had long, silver hair that seemed to reach past his waist. His bangs were long which framed his pale face with these cold blue-green cat-like eyes. He wore a long black, leather coat with silver pauldrons, black combat boots, and black trousers. The top of his coat is open to reveal his chest with suspenders crisscrossing over the exposed flesh. His silver belt buckle has a wing motif in the center and black feathers hanging from it, which matched the silver bracelets he wore.

From there, Roxas saw the man's weapon held in his right hand. The greater Nobody somewhat recognized it as a two-handed, seven-foot long ōdachi, given his past research and of his Samurai Nobodies.

Yet it seemed far larger within the silver-haired man's possession.

He knew him.

His Somebody had fought him in the past and he was without question one of the scariest opponents Sora had ever fought.

And he was here in Westeros.

"Sephiroth." Roxas whispered in horror and fright.

Hearing his name, the One-Winged Angel turned his attention to the Keybearer.

It only took a moment but something within the swordsman clicked upon seeing the blue-eyed teen.

"You look so much like Sora." Was the first thing Cloud's nemesis said to him. His blue-green eyes gazed down at the weapons in Roxas' hands before focusing towards Vanitas. "You spoke true. He does wield two of them."

"And why would I lie about that?" Vanitas made a mock affronted tone. "I still find it interesting."

Sephiroth hummed as he gazed back at the sandy blonde's form. "I sense a great amount of power within you. I wonder… how is it you achieved a balance between Light and Darkness?"

This utterly confused many of Roxas' company while feeling quite cautious. The Keybearer, however, didn't voice a response.

It was at this point did Roxas and many others finally realized Sephiroth's left hand was preoccupied. In the hand's grasp held a man struggling for freedom.

Many had their jaws drop at the sight of a man renowned for his skill with a blade and to see him so battered and bloodied was a truly terrifying sight.

"Let Jamie go!" Roxas demanded, brandishing his Keyblades, now getting into his usual battle stance.

The silver-haired man raised another brow at the demand, lightly lifting Jamie up, the man in his grasp failing to free himself.

"Why should I?" Sephiroth said coolly.

"He's the queen's uncle." Beric spoke up.

Dondarrion found himself stepping back as Sephiroth turned his gaze on him. "And I should care, why?"

"How about you make us let him go." Vanitas says challengingly, summoning a plethora of Unversed to take Ser Jamie Lannister off Sephiroth's hands, the Lannister struggling in vain. He shot Roxas a pleading look with the teen Soon enough, the Heartless followed in joining the growing numbers.

Before anyone could respond, Vanitas disappeared from view. Next thing anyone knew, he knocked Roxas away with the Unversed leader following after him.

At that very moment, many grew alarmed as Roxas was sent away and now battled his nemesis. None was more worried than Tyene, who yelled out his name.

The Heartless and Unversed whirled around menacingly. They whipped about, slamming against the earth, narrowly missing some while hitting others in its wake. The fire beat all around with hot red wings as people of the company fled for safety.

While the rest of the company dealt with all these foes, Tyene, Beric and Thoros faced a foe who could be considered a whole other league with his mere presence alone.

"Hopefully you will entertain me far more than Ser Jamie did." Said Sephiroth, holding up Muramasa in his hands. "Show me your strength."

The hairs on the backs of their heads stood on end as they felt unadulterated fear washing over them.

With their training and fighting experience, they barely avoided the coming move from Sephiroth as he lunged and sped forward like a ballista bolt.

However, something made contact with them, as multiple flashes of light followed by sounds of metal meeting stone and wood were heard clashing and echoing about the burning area.

A moment later, a dozen or so gashes appeared all over Beric and Thoros, making them gasp in pain and drop to their knees or flail away. Tyene could only look on in abject shock and horror at what she just witnessed.

'What the hell was that?' She wildly screamed in her mind. Her heart practically leaped out of her chest.

What was that opening attack?

Who the hell is this man?

Her thoughts halted when she heard the steps coming towards her. The fright began welling up inside her in seeing Sephiroth walking over. Yet she fought hard to keep that down.

Quickly moving, she brought up her daggers to parry Sephiroth's thrust and blocked his slash from the side before being forced back. This would be far easier if Tyene had a sword on her.

She sought retaliation in getting in close with a series of quick slashes and cuts, yet Sephiroth lazily maneuvered from each and every one.

"Slow." Sephiroth effortlessly dodged a dagger jab. "Sloppy." He swayed away from the second and slashed out with one of his own the meet the third. "Sad." The coming blows she got in return made her arms quake in pain in blocking and parrying. "Here I thought you'd do well in living up to the potential as a Keybearer's companion."

"Shut up!" Tyene cried out defiantly but the fear in her voice made it tremble.

He batted her blades away before coming down with some slashes. She did her best to avoid them, but her flesh began being marred by Musamune. She did her best to fight back the coming yells of pain, yet it was hard to manage, letting out cries of agony as the injuries mounted. Next thing Tyene registered was her being kicked in the gut and sent tumbling away.

"You have darkness in you." Sephiroth tells her. "Whatever light you bear will-"

Whatever the One-Winged Angel sought to say next was halted. A blast met and exploded off of Sephiroth's head. He and Tyene looked back and saw a Chocobo fluttering about as it fired off another Chocofire blast.

Using Masamune, Sephiroth merely slashed the magical attack and smirked at the creature. "Isn't that adorable?"

From her spot, Tyene bore a frightful feeling as she saw the look on the man's face. It was all but confirmed as he moved to Chocho.

"Don't you touch him!" She roared aloud.

Dashing forward, the Sand Snake brought up her daggers to knock Musamune away before thrusting one hand forward and fired off a Blizzard from her palm. It struck Sephiroth in the chest, but hardly did a thing, the man actually looking at his chest in a clearly unimpressed manner. She then fired off another before getting relatively close to the golden Chocobo Chick.

Before attempting to protect Chocho, Tyene saw a Fire Blast striking Sephiroth from behind with a Thundra striking from above. Looking further back, she saw Beric and Thoros there, which had her bear a look of momentary relief. No doubt they took some Potions to quickly help get back onto their feet.

With their presence, despite being worse for wear, she had hoped they could at least survive.

The three fighters then went in with Chocho fluttering about to assist.

Lord Dondarrion got in first, his assault relentless but measured. There were no wide swings but very few openings from what Sephiroth observed. When a swing came down to his shoulder pauldron, Cloud's nemesis merely sidestepped rather quickly before having to avoid several flame-blanketed swings coming from Thoros from behind.

He caught Thoros' coming attack with his odachi, forcing the Red Priest back a step while he hopped back just out of reach when several magical attacks were sent his way from his other opponents. When Thoros came in, Sephiroth sidestepped his next blow and led him right into an opening he exploited. Casting Blizzard, he sent Thoros tumbling away with a frosted chill.

The One Winged Angel quickly blocked the coming strikes from Tyene and Beric as they were fighting him in tandem. The Westerosi natives sought to take him down while ganging up on him. Even Chocho coming in and blasting off Chocoflare in hopes of staggering him.

It didn't work.

Still wearing his smirk, Sephiroth used Masamune to redirect the blows the Lightning Lord had for him to end up hitting Tyene instead. The Sand Snake hissed in pain from the unintentional hits but didn't have much time to really register when she was kicked away by the silver-haired swordsman. At that instance, Chocho was struck by Sephiroth's Dark Thunder before batted away by the flat side of Masamune.

Mostly alone, Beric did what he could to keep up on this dance of death. Despite falling short, he gave it his all. A single mistake was something all it took to lose and perhaps die in this conflict.

He ended up making it. One which Sephiroth exploited.

Next thing Beric knew, a flash of steel encompassed his vision. Right after, his vision was obscured.

The Stormlander screamed in pain, feeling the loss of his right eye. Blood and cut eye matter seeping from the wound.

Before he could do anything about it, he was knocked away by Sephiroth and tumbled across the dirt.

It wasn't long before Beric registered Thoros at his side. A moment later, his lips made contact with a healing aide. Once the green glow subsided, the Lightning Lord saw it was a Hi-Potion. At this point, the Red Priest from Myr saw the blood stop pouring from Beric's empty eye socket.

"Are you-"

"Does it look like I'm alright?" Beric grits out, cutting off the obvious question, jabbing a thumb at his face. "Bastard took my eye!"

"Then we'll take one of his own." Thoros looks over, seeing Tyene and Chocho struggling against their foe. "If we're lucky."

Hoisting his friend back onto his feet, Thoros joined Beric in charging back into the fray.

During all this, Tyene was doing her very best to survive. More than ever, she had to prove to the others she could pull her weight against this monstrosity.

The task will be difficult, but it was needed to be sure they all survived this day.

They didn't wield Valyrian blades, only enchanted ones created by Moogles. Hopefully, they'll withstand the blows coming from Sephiroth.

Wasn't long before Tyene found an opening once Beric and Thoros came back in to assist her and Chocho. She swept right in with her daggers poised to kill.

"I'm not gonna fall here."

With the assistance of Thoros and Beric, Tyene lunged at Sephiroth.

"But you will." The Odachi wielder stated with cold certainty.

"You sure about that?" Tyene challenged, jumping at him.

He batted her blades away like they were merely nothing before sending out a dark magical blast to send her back.

"Let Darkness fall."

In a mere moment, the silver-haired swordsman lept high into the air. Angling himself, he aimed downward and jabbed his odachi into the ground. What happened next was a powerful explosion with purple light knocked everyone back as he performed his Hell's Gate technique. To add more pain onto them, Sephiroth cast Aeroga, sending a number of them back even farther.

As this all went on, the trio could hear the screams and yells as the battle waged on in Harrentown. Other members of their company continually battling the Unversed and Heartless. Gods could only know their present outcomes.

Nearby, a wagon jumped half a foot when Thoros dodged a blow from Sephiroth. The others battling him heard the steel crash through the old wood. An instant later came a crack as loud as thunder when Sephiroth swung Muramasa over and swiftly cleaved through several buildings all at once.

With how all this went, the trio of fighters felt they were in Hell and Sephiroth was their torturer as he played with them.

All this time, no matter how many times they attacked or went at him, Sephiroth didn't react or display even an ounce of effort. It was a sobering reality for them to experience someone whose skill eclipsed their own so profoundly.

They knew that their fight was on borrowed time, so long as they "entertained" the swordsman until he grew bored.

Which was why what came next was something that threw everyone off their guard.

*GROOOOAAAR*

The roar made everyone freeze. It wasn't a human one, that was for sure. And from the looks of it, this didn't come from the Heartless nor the Unversed. No, this roar was bestial in nature. A draconic one at that. And when they couldn't find it anywhere on the ground, they could only look up as the sound came from on high.

And upon seeing what was coming to the Harrentown in the skies above made many a man nearly shit themselves in disbelieve.

"HOLY FUCK!"

"IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?!"

"DRAGON!"

"IT'S A FUCKING DRAGON!"

Sephiroth had his attention on this newcomer and in an instant, the man was on guard.

"Leviathan." The man whispered, readying his Odachi.

Swooping in, Leviathan fired off a condensed water blast from his mighty maw. It struck Sephiroth, sending him flying away and crashing through several buildings in the process.

Moments later, two figures lept from Leviathan, all before the serpentine dragon disappeared in motes of light for a disappearing fanfare by the time the two made their respective landings on the earth below.

One had his boots meet a building's rooftop before coming down soon after. Padded feet followed suit.

Looking towards the arrivals, a sense of relief washed over Beric, Thoros and Tyene upon seeing a familiar face.

"Cloud." The Sand Snake said aloud, a large degree of tension evaporating from her being. She actually fell to her knees in relief.

"Beric, Thoros, Tyene." The blonde wolf greeted the three.

As this happened, Chocho fluttered over to greet Red XIII, who merely nodded in turn.

"I take it your job at the Vale is taken care of." Beric stated than asked, a wry, tired grin in place.

The blue-eyed swordsman nods. "It is. Tyrion's presently at the Crossroads with his father's men."

It was at this point did the trio of Westerosi natives noticed the other arrival. They were confused as to what the wolf-lion-like creature was.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Nanaki. You may refer to me as Red XIII." The quadruped greeted with a polite bow of his head.

The trio practically balked when this happened. "It can talk?!"

"He can." Red XIII says plainly as his gaze momentarily wanders about the fiery battleground. "Our arrival was quite timely."

Thoros was the first to snap out of his stupor though he still had his bug-eyed look directed at Nanaki. "Yes. Our asses are being handed to us by Vanitas' ally."

"Sephiroth."

"You know him?" Beric asked.

"We have history." Cloud plainly remarked, gesturing to himself and Red XIII. "He's been playing with you. Not really taking you seriously."

"No shit, Strife." Thoros cursed.

Ears twitched, having Nanaki focus his attention a bit more. "Here he comes."

Hearing the sentient animal's warning, the group quickly acted before seeing Sephiroth appear. Masamune was quickly blocked by Cloud's Fusion Sword with sparks flying a split instance later.

Holding his ground, the blonde wolf glared at his nemesis.

"Good to see you, Cloud." Came the "cordial" greeting from Strife's age-old adversary.

"Sephiroth." Was the blonde's response, a cold snarl appearing on his face.

"Glad our reunion has happened here."

Cloud pushes Sephiroth away before they begin their rematch in the fiery field. The clashing of their blades released sparks with the occasional shockwave of power from their blades.

"Seven Hells." Thoros grunted, pulling out his flask to take a swig of his drink. "We're outclassed and fucked beyond all reason."

Looking onward with his one eye, Beric moves his head to focus on Tyene.

"Tyene." She looked at the lightning lord. "Go. Find Roxas."

The Sand Snake blinked upon hearing this, looking back and forth between him and the two dueling swordsman. "But what about-"

"We'll be fine for now."

"With Cloud here, we'll stand a chance in surviving this day." Thoros adds in.

"Hopefully." Red XIII adds in.

Beric then looked around, recalling that they weren't the only ones that needed saving. "We still need to find Jamie Lannister."

Seeing Sephiroth was preoccupied by Cloud, Tyene gave the others a nod before leaving to find Roxas with Chocho flying beside her.

Earlier and elsewhere in the land, Roxas crashed and tumbled after Vanitas knocked him away from his comrades. He soon found himself closer to the Harrenhal keep once back onto his feet. Some distance away, he saw Vanitas land as he formed his glass-domed helmet back around his head.

No verbal response was given only action. Roxas made one large leap to quickly bridge the distance between them. He could only imagine the smirk behind Vanitas' glass domed helmet before shooting out his Keyblade to meet his opponent's own.

They clashed as the blonde tried an overhead, then a side swipe and finally a stab. All were blocked. Then came the counterattack with Vanitas' speed trying to overwhelm Roxas. The Greater Nobody was not deterred as they traded blows. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through him as they began to pick up a notch.

Their Keyblades met once more and the two strained against each other, pressing on with their respective attacks.

Ten blows were exchanged.

Then fifty.

Then a hundred.

Then two hundred.

The pair exchanged a series of attacks which took less than a minute. The staccato noise of clashing metal and the bright flashes of sparks gave the clearing a sense of unreality as the two awesome forces clashed. The pair were a literal blur of master Keybladeship, not even relenting for one second on their attacks.

It wasn't long before Roxas switched out Oathkeeper and Oblivion to Winter's Howl and immediately went into the Howling Wolf Formchange. The armor pieces snapped into place right before he charged right in to deliver a series of blows.

The black-haired Keybearer grunted out, feeling gashes form all over his body.

Retreating back, Vanitas grabbed a spear from a corpse before driving it towards Roxas. The blonde Keybearer brought up his foot to deflect it while he summoned his Vampire Killer Keyblade to slash at Vanitas, however, he used the attack to disengage. In response, Roxas counted on it as he attacked once more at his opponent who had overextended due to the hasty disengagement. With Roxas chasing him, Vanitas acquired another lance and threw it with strength and speed as if it was fired from a ballista. Roxas used his Form Change armor to cleave it in half before getting close.

Crashing into the infamous keep of the Riverlands, the two Keybearers kept up their fight. Left and right, they were destroying anything and everything around them to either use as a defense mechanism or as a means of offense. Walls, halls, rooms, ceilings, pillars, chambers, none of these areas were safe from the mounting destructive force that was their battle. Their fight soon resulted in them breaking into some tower.

Colliding towards a wall, the Unversed leader wrestled the Nobody before delivering a harsh elbow strike to the head. Mildly disoriented, Roxas was roughly grabbed and was thrown out of the nearby window.

Before Vanitas could recover, the wind in his chest was knocked out when he felt something coil around his midsection and was yanked off his feet. He saw the culprit being Roxas by using his Vampire Killer's Keywhip Form Change.

Making contact with the window, Vanitas was tugged once more and pried out. Instead of falling downward, it was more at an angle, given that Roxas dived and collided against him.

With his other hand, Roxas began bashing his clawed fist into the glass-helmed dome of Vanitas, cracks appearing after several strikes. Despite the pain and injuries he was receiving, the dark Keyblade wielder was unable to restrain the deranged laugh that escaped from him.

"Oh, I've most certainly been waiting for this." Vanitas declared with sadistic glee.

All Roxas did was punch his foe more and more until they crashed into the edge of Harrentown.

Rising back onto his feet, Roxas got his Keywhip momentarily unfurled from his opponent as he glared at him. "That was for Lewyn."

"I didn't kill the Martell." Said the Unversed leader, summoning Void Gear back into his hand as he stood. "That was all Joffrey."

"He'll be paying for what he did after I'm through with you." Roxas shot back.

Vanitas snorts. "Can't wait to see that happen. No, I'm serious."

Ignoring this, whirling about, Roxas launched his Keywhip right at Vanitas. Several strikes were blocked and parried, yet the Nobody was persistent in keeping up the assault.

One instance had the whip successfully wrap around Vanitas. Before the Unversed leader could free himself, he was yanked off his feet and hoisted into the air. He was sent back down with a powered fist crashing into his chest. Upon seeing Vanitas bouncing off the earth, Roxas dived down with his whip to give a hard smackdown with several downward and upward hits before whirling it around in a buzzsaw-like manner. After that, he frosted the earth with Blizzard before spinning himself like a top to have the Keywhip have a longer range.

Sinking into the earth with a dark portal, Vanitas warped away from the harsh onslaught. He popped up, unleashing a volley of Dark Firagas in the air. They were countered by the Light Firagas cast by Roxas from the earth. This happened several times over, with different cast spells of Dark Thundaga and Dark Blizzaga, in which Roxas was forced to use Aeroga to help maneuver away from or use Barrier to defend himself.

Once the small onslaught was over, Roxas had to quickly change Vampire Killer from its Combat Cross form back into its standard Keyblade appearance. A means of blocking Vanitas' Void Gear coming down on him. He sought to return the hit, but it went through him, revealing it was merely a magical construct. Roxas moved once more to block another strike from Vanitas. He retaliated once more, but the Unversed leader disappeared and attacked again and again from all sides. In the end, he unleashed dark arcs at the Greater Nobody, which exploded when they were blocked.

As the dust momentarily settled from around Roxas, he saw his opponent was missing.

A large Corridor of Darkness appeared in the scene. A familiar volley of clanking metal came from it. Moments later, Roxas saw Vanitas leap into the air and land on the summoned horde of Keyblades.

This gave the Nobody a sudden sense of Deja Vu, his vision flashing to a place that he had never been to but felt oh so familiar to him before shaking off this sudden memory that wasn't his own.

Seeing the controlled Keyblades once more, Roxas grits his teeth for what he's about to undergo.

Readying himself, Roxas witnessed Vanitas come barreling right towards him after some moments looping around the area.

"Dodge this!" Gleefully roared Vanitas.

The moment Vanitas lept away, the horde of ownerless Keyblades came crashing down. Roxas quickly brought up his arms and casted Barrier to block the incoming assault. Not a moment too soon as the defensive spell was bombarded hard with a mighty force.

"Writhe!"

A number of Keyblades were launched from the controlled metallic twister in the mix of Vanitas' conjured blasts. Roxas either dashed or rolled away, even blocked in some instances. The summoned blades from the Graveyard were soon scattered about in the fiery battlefield.

Magic coats one of Roxas' arms. Slamming the gauntlet down, a massive burst of Blizzaga jetted all over. When Vampire Killer came down as well, a greater burst of ice sprang out and heavily damaged Vanitas when he got in close. The end result was a large and thick ice formation jetting all over with a great many Keyblades falling all over.

Coming down from him enacting his Diamond Dust technique, Roxas whirled around and reformed his Keywhip to break apart the frozen structure.

Not letting up, Roxas focused a lot of power into his Formchange armor. his gauntlets glowed a bright purple color as they intensified with three gravity spheres appearing and condensed considerably.

Clenching his fists, Roxas casted Transcendence.

When the spheres broke, the area's sense of gravity began shifting about. Pieces of debris and a large amount of casted ice were spun and hurtled about. Even the summoned Keyblades were thrown into the mix. The gravitational pull caused it all to be flung in all directions. In the midst of all this, Vanitas was hit hard from all directions by the heavy bombardment before crashing into some ruined wall.

"That was for Ned." Roxas declared.

"He's not dead," Vanitas released a malicious laugh. "Not yet."

"Don't you dare!"

Getting onto his feet, Vanitas wore a hidden smile. "At his present rate, he won't last much longer. Same with your Princess and-"

"You will not touch them!"

"You're a dumbass. You know that?" Vanitas called out as he rotated his shoulders. "You think you could come to this World, have a life without drawing our attention? What a joke. Sooner or later, we would've found out and dragged your sorry ass into the coming War. You've got a part in it, just like me."

Vanitas disappeared from view, having Roxas quickly move to block a coming blow. Yet it was a feint from a conjured copy as the real came from behind.

"And now you'll live up to the consequences."

Knocking his opponent off his feet with Void Gear, Vanitas hit him once more with a point-blank blast of dark magic. It sent him flying into the air. Before Roxas could recover, the dark Keybearer began hitting him from all sides in rapid succession in a Blitz. Wasn't long before doing his variant of Sonic Blade, warping all about and thrusting Void Gear to and fro in rapid succession.

From him, a trio of dark fire tornadoes formed around the Dark Keyblader. They surrounded the dark Keybearer and harmed his opponent who was seeking to avoid the conjured flames. Vanitas then casted Dark Aura, once the tornadoes died out, upon stabbing Void Gear into the earth and unleashed a column of darkness that harshly harmed the Nobody. Before it ended, the column broke and exploded, sending Roxas hurtling back and colliding hard against a stone wall.

Roxas was knocked out, lying prone on the ground. Winter's Howl and Vampire Killer deformed and went back to their standard appearances as they clattered on the earth.

Looming over him, Vanitas "tsks".

"Such a disappointment."

A magical blast struck him from behind. He stumbled slightly from surprise but quickly recovered. Looking back, he saw Roxas' little Chocobo fluttering about and firing off what appeared to be a Chochoflare.

Batting away the casted spell, he barely registered another person coming right at him. Swirling over, he raised Void Gear to block the blow. There he saw his attacker was none other than Tyene, who harshly glared at him.

While he wasn't bothered by her in the slightest, what she wielded was a different matter.

It was a Keyblade.

The handle and neck are black, and the handle sports two protrusions on either side that curve upward. The guard is composed of two chartreuse spikes that curve downward. The teeth are also chartreuse and resemble the top half of the Nobody symbol, with two of the spikes being longer than the others and at a steeper angle. Its keychain token is a chartreuse color as well and has a shape similar to the handle, albeit squashed down.

Once observing the details of Missing Ache, Vanitas momentarily wondered if Tyene Sand was a Keybearer. However, he had to remind himself he had summoned hundreds of Keyblades here from the Graveyard. No doubt one of them would've been snatched up when they were lying about. Not to mention the coloration of Missing Ache was faded to a degree, signifying the lack of light inside of it.

"That doesn't belong to you." Vanitas said in a bored manner.

"Don't care." She spats out, gripping the handle tightly with both hands. "I'll use it to carve out your heart!"

Vanitas barks out a laugh, pridefully slapping his chest. "You'll find nothing there!"

The Sand Snake charged him. She moved fast enough. Missing Ache in hand, she clashed the Keyblade against the other. Enchanted steel rang on enchanted steel. No sooner was her first slash blocked than Tyene made another. Hard and fast the blows came from low to high, from right to left. And with each one Vanitas blocked, the sparks and sounds seemed to grow.

Much like how she faced Sephiroth, Vanitas wasn't taking her seriously.

However, as this went on, Vanitas could sense something peculiar with the Dornish girl. He didn't focus on it at first as she cast some spells from her hand right at him. But it became a bit more noticeable. Making him intrigued.

"Alright, I'll play." He taunts. "While Roxas is out for the count, how about you entertain me?"

Near the border of Harrenhal and its little town, another conflict went on. One was mostly observed by many of the company sent out by Ned Stark.

After the majority of their numbers reconvened and assisted each other, they couldn't help but glance at the spectacle happening over yonder. For they were witnessing Cloud Strife fending off against Vanitas' ally.

The blonde wolf jumped back, avoiding the array of Sephiroth's sword attacks. Wasn't long before steel met steel with Cloud resisting Sephiroth the entire time.

His entire body reacted on impulse with how intense this fight was becoming. Movements were fluid with instincts taking over when Sephiroth's sword came in close; prompting Cloud to block, parry and dodge everyone. He would then dart forward and deliver blows of his own, which Sephiroth would mirror his opponent's actions easily. Cloud's foe was no easy enemy for he knew what he was doing. The reach of his sword -Masamune- was ridiculously long, adding more to his strength and speed. With how much they clashed, sparks scattered and the air blasted away from their blades, adding more to their true dance of death as it all was affecting the surrounding ruins of Harrenhal. For each strike, swing, and stab was the occasional shattering of the ancient castle. It wasn't even possible, given their blades weren't touching the structure. It was only through the pressure and force that made it happen.

For those who were attentive to their particular bout from a safe distance could only gape. Their minds couldn't comprehend what it must be like. All they could do was imagine how this could be with their blades cleaving through the stone, wood, and steel of the centuries-long structure with utter ease.

And this didn't take into account how the fight went on with Roxas and Vanitas from what many observed from afar. For that could be at a fraction of the physical aspect Cloud and Sephiroth fight and focus more towards magic.

'This should be how songs of battle should truly be written when going beyond the fantasies of muses.' Was the relative thought of many within the assembled, yet spread out company.

Crashing through one of the many outer walls of Harrenhal, Cloud regained his bearings. He then sees Sephiroth flip into the ancient structure's opening before charging in. Their swords clashed, leaving sparks in their wake. Cloud retreats back with a leap into a corridor with Sephiroth in pursuit.

Blades sang in the empty castle keep. It went all over with the added destruction in the wake of Cloud and Sephiroth's battle.

"It's honestly been a while." Comments Sephiroth. "I wonder if you've gotten stronger."

"How about I show you." Cloud casually said, actually irritating his foe.

Sephiroth momentarily sneers, but flashes a bewitching smile.

Pushing Sephiroth back with his Fusion Sword, Cloud blasts him with Firaga which sends him through the upper floors. He hurtles right after him, rising through the levels as if he flew. Arriving at the top of the hole, Cloud looked around for any sign of Sephiroth. All he could see was another taking place in the distance from his place on the rooftop.

'Must be Roxas and Vanitas.' Cloud notes to himself.

Whatever coming thoughts he had were halted when he had to avoid being crushed by some falling debris.

Upon making his landing, Cloud had to quickly defend himself when Sephiroth made his appearance with a downward swing. Several more swings were delivered and repelled. Jumping momentarily, Cloud brought his Fusion Sword down and brought a deep gash into the keep's rooftop as a result of Sephiroth avoiding the blow.

Landing on the high ground, Sephiroth swiftly carved a huge chunk and had it topple over. Cloud leaps away to avoid the large debris but was met by his nemesis. They clashed their blades once more in the air before making a landing.

Ducking from a swing, Cloud retaliates with one of his own. Was soon forced to spin around and swerve from a coming thrust. Musamune's wielder leaps away, having Cloud go after him.

"Ever since our clash at Radiant Garden, ever since our separation, I had wondered how our next encounter would be." Sephiroth smirks as usual. "I even wondered what to gift you with our reunion."

He soon cleaves through part of Harrenhal and directs its fall to Cloud, who cleaves it in half. They met once more as they tumbled through the air. Shoving Cloud away, the silver-haired odachi wielder flew further and landed on one of the tower ramparts. Cloud, however, plunged his Fusion Sword further down and got on top of it before staring up above.

"Shall I give you despair?"

Cloud merely looks at Sephiroth with defiance. "You've already given me enough. How's about some originality for once?"

"Such a shame. Then I'll give you something else."

As this was said, the top half of the structure suddenly collapsed down towards them. It avoids the One-Winged Angel, but everything else comes tumbling towards the blonde wolf. Stepping on part of his Fusion Sword, Cloud separates the Hollow Blade from the rest. He drops down but grabs their handles before prying them out of the tower's surface. He jumps and begins cleaving through the debris left and right.

Cloud manages to deflect much before Sephiroth appears amidst the debris and attacks Cloud once more. The blonde swordsman is getting the worst of it but keeps coming back to attack with both Fusion Sword and Hollow Blade in hand.

Their collision soon has them meet back to the earth where the fire was consuming Harrentown.

Occurring at this time, with the assistance of Red XIII, Beric and Thoros were searching for Jamie Lannister.

The trio were maneuvering around the fiery landscape. No luck so far in finding the son of Tywin Lannister. However, they kept finding more of the company while fending off whatever Heartless and Unversed in their wake.

Eventually, they found him, held down by the beings of negative emotions.

Red XIII was able to get to him first, clawing at the Unversed holding him down. The two natives of this world came in a few moments later, cleaving through the Heartless guarding the Lannister.

Soon after, the member of the Kingsguard collapsed onto the ground. He was quickly turned over by Beric, where he and the others saw his battered and cut-up state a bit more clearly.

"I would've taken them." Jamie groans out, being hefted up by Beric.

"Sure you would have, Kingslayer." Says Thoros in good humor, holding his hand up to Jamie and casting Cura on the Lannister.

Feeling a brief sense of relief wash over him, Jamie looks at the Red Priest and gives a quick "thanks" when being fully brought onto his feet.

"Don't thank us yet, Lannister." Spoke Dondarrion.

"We're still in the midst of chaos." Says Nanaki, startling Jamie in the process.

Jamie was clearly baffled by seeing the talking red lion.

"You can talk?" The blond blandly said, mind not processing what he was looking at.

Nanaki gave Tywin's son a look. "Your brother had the same reaction."

That instantly changed the Lannister's tune, making the man step closer to Red XIII, the red-furred creature being unbothered by their proximity. "Tyrion? You were with him? Is he well?"

Nankin simply nodded. "Back at the Crossroads with your father's men. He is safe and sound."

Dozens of thoughts swiftly filled the Kingslayer's head soon after. But the main thing that mattered to the man was that his little brother was alive and well, alleviating a great degree of worry from his heart and soul.

This good feeling from Jamie was soon interrupted as the group soon heard the singing of blades in the air. It was growing louder by the second.

Bursting through a building, Cloud tumbled across the earth before coming up from a recovery roll. Sephiroth rushes in, knocking the blonde wolf off his feet before swinging in Muramasa. He then delivers a series of thrusts at his opponent which were being batted aside as much as Cloud could do. However, the blonde swordsman was struck hard in the gut with a harsh knee thrust. This has him rocketing away and crashing elsewhere.

Jamie had tensed up at the sight of Cloud, the memory of their last encounter in Kings Landing popping into mind but it dissipated a moment later upon seeing the silver-haired swordsman, someone he did not recognize.

Seeing all this, Beric soon comes to a decision.

"Keep an eye on Jamie and Cloud for me." He solemnly said.

It took a moment for Jamie, Thoros and Nanaki to register what Dondarrion said before realizing what he intended to do. It was too late to call him back as the Lightning Lord rushed forward.

At that moment, the One Winged Angel saw the new, yet returning challenger and accepted the coming assault.

Beric charged at Sephiroth as fast as his feet could take him. Flaming sword in hand, it clashed against the cold odachi. Long streams of fire trailing in its wake like ribbons. Steel rang on steel. Upon making the one slash, it was blocked, yet Beric didn't let up.

The silver-haired swordsman appeared to be nonplussed by the attacker as if gauging his skill with a blade. He seemed to hold his own but he knew that it would only take one strike to end this man. So it was time to show this man the distance in power they shared.

Sephiroth went in hard and fast in delivering many cuts. From low and high, from right and left. And each one Dondarrion received, he sought to repay such blows with his own with his flame-covered sword. Much effort he gave with each swing and thrust which left red and yellow ghosts to make its passage. Each move the Lightning Lord made fanned them and made them burn brighter with all he had from the magic inside him fueling it all. He'd do all he could while fighting within the cage of fire.

Sephiroth caught one blow with Masamune and held it there. Beric struggled to push it further in hopes of cutting out his opponent's eye. All he got in turn was a harsh backlash when pushed back.

Dondarrion moved to his right, but Sephiroth blocked him with a quick sidestep and drove him back the other way. Toward the flames which the Lightning Lord felt the heat at his back. He didn't need to look back with his one eye to see what was perhaps there.

He had fought his way back to his feet with a reckless counterattack. Not until Sephiroth retreated in pace did Beric seem to realize that he was about to fall into a trap.

Seeking to halt himself or stopping Sephiroth's attempt, Beric casted Thundaga to give him some space. It didn't seem to work as the One Winged Angel worked around it and drove Masamune right through his chest. More specifically the region where his heart resides.

A gasp emanates from Beric's throat. He could even hear another gasp from nearby, but couldn't tell from who.

"Nothing like watching the light leave one's own eyes." Sephiroth said with a calm serenity.

Prying his odachi from the Lightning Lord, he saw Beric slowly fold his knees. His body soon gave out. It tumbled to the ground as he began coughing out blood. The blood which the dirt now drank.

"BERIC!" Thoros cried out, his voice breaking at the sight of his friend falling to the ground.

Sephiroth glanced over as he walked away, seeing the Red Priest rush over to the crumbled Dondarrion. He uncorked a Mega-Potion from his side and poured it into Beric's mouth.

"No Potions will save him."

"You go to Hell." Thoros snarls. "You just go to all the hells on this God's forsaken World!"

Sephiroth merely snorts.

"I've been in Hell. Not all that impressive."

The silver-haired odachi wielder's attention soon shifted when he heard the nearby rubble shift. Soon after, he could see Cloud coming out of it with a look of determination on his features.

Leaving the deadman and the priest, Sephiroth stalks forward to meet his old adversary.

In the meantime, Jamie and Red XIII more or less rushed over to check on the state of things with Lord Dondarrion.

"Is he…" The latter asked yet the answer was already clear.

The former said nothing, not really wishing to say anything that may come across as disrespectful to the man who had just helped save his hide from the Unversed and Heartless. All Jamie did was mentally berate the man for such foolhardy bravery in the face of such an overwhelming opponent.

During all this, Thoros was having a whirlwind of inner turmoil.

For the longest time, he was never much for religion.

As the youngest of eight children, Thoros was handed over to the Red Temple in Myr. He never thought he'd become a priest instead of a warrior or a temple prostitute. It wasn't the path he would've chosen. He prayed the prayers and spoke the spells. He raided the kitchens and enjoyed the girls he brought to bed.

He did his best on his task when assigned to come to Westeros nearly twenty years ago. He conversed with Robert in an attempt to convert him to the Red Faith. Years passed and his sermons became less and less to the point of him becoming a joke, even after his participation in the Greyjoy Rebellion.

However, recent events made him question his faith. Rekindling it, one way or another.

The Heartless, the Unversed… the words Roxas and Tyene spoke of the true Isle of Faces.

That first night after hearing the claims, Thoros looked into a fire pit. He looked hard to see if R'hllor was indeed there in the flames. And for the first time in what felt like a lifetime of doubt and discarded faith… he heard the whispers. He saw powers slowly awakening across the continent and elsewhere in the World. Ones which were friendly, ones which weren't. More specifically ones that lay beyond the Wall.

It was there did he saw them.

If R'hllor was indeed real, so were the Great Other and his forces. This meant the next war for the Dawn was underway.

But all that didn't matter at this point in time. Back in the present, Thoros was close to weeping over the body of his now-deceased friend.

He damned Beric for his nobility and warrior spirit. He damned Sephiroth for killing him. And he damned his lack of faith and lack of strength to be able to fight alongside his friend or even at least have the decency to die with him.

With the roaring fires around them, all Thoros could do was only pray.

"Lord of Light. Heart of Fire. God of Flame and Shadow. I beseech thee." Beric says in High Valyrian. "Cast your light upon us. Bring back this man who has suffered. Don't let his flame be extinguished. Not just because he is one of the most honorable men I know in life, but because he is my friend."

The priest didn't know how long he held him. How long he was doing his best to keep the dead body warm. It was a futile effort, he knew this but he just couldn't-

*Badum*

The Red Priest froze. Thoros felt something… odd. Practically heard it. Could've been his desperate imagination with the heat of conflict happening all around.

*Badum*

No, he heard it. It made his eyes widen and focus on the man in his embrace. Him seeing feathers of fire -in bright, various colors- caressing the man's form. How they sunk into him. How purple sparks of life began dancing around the body.

*BADUM*

A gasp emanates from Beric's mouth.

"By the gods…"

"By the flames…"

While Thoros and Jamie were flabbergasted by what was witnessed, Nanaki merely had a different reaction.

"Welcome back." Red XIII greeted with a toothy grin.

Elsewhere, with a haggard breath, Tyene was dealing with Vanitas. She ordered Chocho to go back to Roxas and keep an eye on him. The little Chocobo relented, leaving her all alone against her present foe.

"Quite the little turn of fun I've had with you." Vanitas taunted.

All Tyene did in response was look at him in defiance.

"You are quite enjoyable." The Keybearer complimented her in his backhanded way, smirking at her struggling form. "For a human, at least."

The Sand Snake struggled to keep up. Even using Missing Ache to keep her steady. She felt exhaustion wash over her. Tyene knew that she was way in over her head.

Vanitas was beyond anything she had ever faced before. She, however, couldn't stop now. Not when her love was out for the count.

She nearly collapses to the earth. Yet a strong and gentle arm halted her fall.

"You sure took your sweet time." The black-haired Keybearer stated with a tinge of annoyance.

Hearing Vanitas say this, Tyene glanced up and saw that it was her love. A tired smile graces her lips as she reached with one hand to place it over his.

"Roxas." She lovingly said.

"Sorry I took so long." He said, gently helping her stand upright. "Chocho kept me company."

At the mention of the little Chocobo, Chocho fluttered near and landed beside them.

Reaching into his coat, Roxas pulled out a Mega-Potion and Hi-Ether and handed it to Tyene as Vanitas spoke. "She gave me a decent garnish of battle. Now give me a good course, Roxas."

With his Keyblades flashing back into his hand, Roxas stalked forward once seeing Tyene administer herself with the potion. Vanitas and Roxaas clashed a second later, once again becoming a flurry of indescribable movement.

Now that Tyene regained her bearings, she saw her beloved countering countless attacks with ones of his own, both Keyblade and magic towards Vanitas' own. The Sand Snake soon came in with the assistance of the one she borrowed from the dead alongside Chocho fluttering beside her. All the while, Vanitas laughs in a cocky manner.

"Give me more! This is all just feeding my pleasure!"

"You're a freak, you know that, right?" Roxas was unable to withhold such a comment.

With their battle resumed, they ended up taking their fight back closer to the Harrenhal keep.

The assault was relentless with the two lovers doing all they could to fend off against their adversary. Chocho blasted off whatever spells he could before fluttering away a safe distance before coming back for support.

Blasts of magic nearly went everywhere, destroying more of the land and nearby structures. The clanging of blades was met at every possible moment.

While not really attuned with the Keyblade in her possession, Tyene was quick to handle it. She had to learn how to use many weapons back home, yet she was more used to daggers and knives. This would take some time to get used to.

However, as the battle waged on, she felt something with the Keyblade in her possession. She didn't know how to explain it but… There was a resonating feeling she possessed in her chest, her heart. Like a connection slowly forming as it beckoned her. And while she hadn't noticed it, the coloration of Missing Ache was becoming livelier and looking different than before with each passing minute. Slowly, the rusted, worn out and damaged parts of the Keyblade began to fade away.

It was apparent that the connection when the various combos Tyene was delivering was unusual for her. With the unique lunges, uppercut swipes and downward slashes with a hilt thrust. Even when attacking -once jumping- she had used a downward slash followed by a spinning slash.

At one point, Roxas bashed Vanitas, sending him flying away. The Greater Nobody was quick to pursue him, leaving Tyene and Chocho in the dust.

Much to their frustration, the two had to play catch up.

Light eventually radiated off of Roxas. An instance later, he disappeared from view.

Next thing Vanitas knew, he was struck hard and was sent hurtling back. A second later, Roxas flashed behind the Unversed leader and struck him diagonally upwards. Hurtling towards the sky, Vanitas didn't see his opponent appearing above him. Raising both of his Keyblades overhead, two pillars of Light engulfed Oathkeeper and Oblivion before Roxas smashed them both down upon Vanitas.

As the Sora-look-alike was crashing down hard, he didn't see the various magical glyphs appear beneath Sora's Nobody. Swirling around both his Keyblades and combatants were pillars of light with the Nobody sigil stationed at their tops. They rapidly spun around their caster, smacking Vanitas all about as they seemed to become an utter blur.

Soon enough, the light congregating from the tips of Roxas' Keyblades reached their climax. With enough power behind it all, the Nobody let it loose as a streak of pure light shot directly toward the cloudy sky.

Reaching miles above the Harrenhal territory, the light broke apart and spread throughout the entirety of the land and then some. And in mere moments, the time of day seemingly shifted to the perpetual sunset.

Those of Roxas' company and allies along with Jamie and Sephiroth saw this occur and bore their own respective thoughts on the matter.

Back with Roxas, he let loose a volley of Light Firagas and orbs of light. They homed onto Vanitas' form, who rapidly sought to flee from the conjured projectiles. Even seeking to use a Corridor of Darkness, yet he was too slow on the act as they made contact hard.

Vanitas flailed from the light-based spells crashing and exploding upon impact. Before long, the pillars of light soon followed as they rapidly struck him from all sides. After that, Roxas appeared and performed a strengthened dual Strike-Raid before zooming out of the way when Vanitas sought retaliation. The attempt failed as he was assaulted once more by Roxas' Limit Break.

'Seems history loves to repeat itself.' Vanitas grits in thought as he crashes onto the earth.

"That was for Robert!" He heard Roxas say.

Getting back onto his feet, he cast Curaga onto himself before speaking aloud.

"You put him last." Vanitas noted, making Roxas pause.

"Huh?"

"Oh please, like you meant any of that for him of all people." Vanitas said with a sneer. "I did you a favor, getting rid of that fat slob of a king."

"He is still Myrcella's father." Roxas retorts.

"Yet you despise him for placing you in such predicaments. A means of making up for his actions with Ventus." Was the retort, Vanitas snorting at that. "Not that he ever could make up for it, that psycho killer. Least I'm honest about it."

A moment later, a blast sent Roxas away. Acting quickly, Oblivion dug into the earth, halting Roxas to come to an abrupt stop. He hoisted himself back up and saw Vanitas coming towards him.

Prying out his one Keyblade, Roxas threw both with much force and power behind it. Vanitas mirrored the same action having the opposing Keyblades collide.

*CLANG*

The moment they met in the air, there was a resounding ringing emanating from the blades. Like a massive clap of lightning echoing throughout the land.

Both recalled their blades back into their hands. Once present, both lept at each other and struck once more.

*CLAAAAAAANG*

This time, the clash was more impactful.

It was as if a crack was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire vicinity of Harrenhal and beyond.

For the sound was like the world seemed to break due to the powers of light, darkness and nothingness colliding.

An explosion occurred soon after, having the two Keybearers skid back considerably. As the light settled, they saw what they caused.

Jetting towards the perpetual sunset sky, a massive crack was formed in the very world. It appeared to be a massive lightning bolt, branching off everywhere and resembled an eldritch tree. Its power ruptured all about, yet was contained in a crystalized state. It radiated energies very foreign and alien to it as it reached towards the heavens.

"This feels… familiar." Vanitas commented in a far-off voice.

"What are you talking about?" Was the bewildered query.

"...Doesn't matter. Not now, anyway."

This all but confused the Greater Nobody. This sense of distraction would cost him. For when he focused back on Vanitas, he was no longer there.

From the sky, lightning danced across the clouds. Thunder boomed left and right.

In the center of it all, Vanitas floated there. With a single swing of Void Gear, Vanitas brought down a massive bolt of lightning down to Roxas.

The Greater Nobody finally notices what's happening. He dodged the incoming thunderclap from the sky by leaping away from the targeted spot. In its wake, the lightning bolt harshly broke down another part of Harrenhal.

As he sought to get away, Roxas saw the many Keyblades Vanitas brought here from the Graveyard. They suddenly appeared around the Nobody and began lighting up with dark sparks. It was as if they were beckoning a call. From the skies above, the call was answered with the lightning coming down hard.

"What?"

Pillars of Dark Thundaga were formed and encompassed the ownerless Keyblades. They were surrounding Roxas like a cage. Vanitas appeared soon after, using his own form of Flowmotion against the lightning pillars. Keeping up with the momentum, the Unversed leader used Sonic Blade to dash all over. The Dark Thundaga pillars were being bent more and more as this went on, having them expand to their limit. At their apex, they all exploded like a mighty bomb.

As Roxas fell from the explosion, Vanitas grabbed and slammed him down hard down below, breaking the tower's foundations and having it collapse in on itself. Before Roxas attempted to recover, he was met with a harsh take of Dark Maelstrom, with his opponent whirling like a tornado and carving right into him before bashing Void Gear into his midsection to send him rocketing to Harrenhal's lower levels.

From the rubble, Roxas struggled to get back up. He focuses on his Keyblades to switch over to Winter's Howl and Vampire Killer in order to return to their Formchanges. However, unlike previous times of them complying, something else occurred.

Sparks and vapors of black, white and gray began dancing along the lengths of his weapons. They were becoming more and more erratic as seconds passed by. Before Roxas knew it, a twisting Nothingness engulfed him as he screamed.

Vanitas, Tyene, Chocho and anyone remotely nearby stopped moving upon hearing the sound, wondering what was occurring.

For the Sand Snake, Chocobo, and the leader of the Unversed, they had a front-row seat to view the twisted energy surrounding Roxas. It formed a cocoon for several moments before dispersing revealing something in the blonde Keybearer's spot.

It resembled a smaller, altered version of a Twilight Thorn Nobody. The individual was in an off-white, full-body suit with what looked like a large zipper running from the collar all the way down. Large gray gloves covered their forearms and sported blade-like talons. The lower legs were thinner with their feet also being blade-like with two smaller blades on the sides for support. Their face was completely covered by an off-white helmet with the Nobody emblem in pure white on the front where the face would normally be. The only color present on this individual was its collar and connecting scarf. Said article of cloth was royal blue which went out and formed four long whips. The hair was present, but it was lengthened and jetted out from the back in a spiky manner. Not to mention it was platinum white.

"Roxas?" Tyene questioned aloud.

What the observers didn't realize, the one Keybearer did something that his Somebody had done in the past. Whereas Sora went into a Heartless state dubbed Anti-Form, Roxas went into his purer form as a Nobody dubbed Void-Form.

The transformed Greater Nobody stood motionless for a moment before regarding Chocho and Tyene before the helmeted Sora-look-alike. A moment later, Roxas' form twisted towards Vanitas, as if having no bones or internal structure.

The black-haired Keybearer felt his danger senses fire off on all cylinders as the transformed Roxas drew closer.

Taking no chances, Vanitas fired from his Keyblade as he backed away from the unusual Nobody. The Void-Form just twisted out of the way to avoid the blasts in a fashion similar to that of a Dusk. When he got close enough, the four whips on his scarf shot out and wrapped around Vanitas' arms and held them in place. Roxas' own then blurred as he slashed at his opponent with his claws. Vanitas grunted in pain before trying to retaliate with his Keyblade which was fluctuating in darkness The transformed Nobody twisted again, flowing between his opponent's legs appeared behind him. The whips pulled hard, having Vanitas flip and summersault before landing face-first rather hard.

While Vanitas struggled back onto his feet, Tyene watched in morbid fascination as Roxas brought his palms together pointing towards him. His hands erupted in a sphere of light which started shooting out bolts of black and white essences of Nothingness. The bolts twisted through the air as if alive as they honed in on their target. The Unversed leader was barely able to get out of his ensnarement and leap out of the way as the bolts struck his previous spot, causing small explosions of light.

Annoyed by what happened, Vanitas whirled Void Gear in the air, forming balls of ethereal darkness before firing right back at his opponent. In turn, Roxas twisted and turned, moving like a serpent, jumping from spot to spot with incredible speed and agility until he did something strange, he went over the edge of the tower's remains.

Curious, Vanitas and Tyene looked around to see where the transformed Nobody would pop up. That was until the whole section of the tower shifted, toppling onto its side.

Vanitas grunted, plunging his Keyblade into the tower as it swiftly turned out of nowhere. Tyene, however, screamed as she fell. She almost plummeted to her doom when Roxas' four royal blue scarf-whips appeared and wrapped around her before finding herself in a bridal carry.

The Dornish girl was stunned as she looked to see her love standing on the side of the ruined tower. Not upright, but sideright. Even Chocho was utterly confused while fluttering about.

Both then found themselves more ensnared by the scarf-whips as they were out of the way of what Roxas did next by creating a large sphere of Nothingness in his hands. Vanitas, seeing him, pried out his Void Gear, lept into the air, aimed his weapon, and focused. Three dark crystals then appeared and orbited around his Keyblade's teeth as black and blue magics were being gathered and compressed. Soon enough, Vanitas unleashed his Dark Cannon shotlock. The beam of dark blue energy went onward to strike the transformed Nobody, his Dornish lover and Chocobo companion.

Instead of throwing the sphere of Nothingness, a beam was shot out from it and collided with Vanitas' shotlock attack.

Whatever struggle one might have anticipated was completely subverted.

The void attack overwhelmed Vanitas' own, breaking through and colliding against the dark Keybearer. The force of it sent him flying away.

With the Unversed leader out of view, the changed Nobody took the Dornish girl and Chocobo to a safer location.

At the edge of the burning village of Harrentown, the transformed Roxas let go of the two he carried. Wasn't long before they approached him with levels of concern.

"Roxas?" Tyene asked tentatively. "Is that you?"

"Yes."

She heard his voice, but not in a general sense. It was like a whisper in her ear. It was also inhuman in the metallic, monotone manner with no emotion whatsoever.

"What happened?" She asked, reaching out to his face. Placing her hand on where his cheek would be, she felt… nothing. No warmth at all. Just a cold smoothness with no distinct texture or feel to identify anything. And there was no reaction from her love at the gesture. "What… are you?"

The transformed Nobody continued speaking in a tone and sound that made her feel very unpleasant. "Classification: A Greater Nobody. As for your earlier inquiry, No. XIII attempted to use a dual Form Change and failed. Due to damage sustained, he resulted into Void-Form."

Many thoughts swiftly ran through her mind. A Greater Nobody? Void-Form? However, only one thought stood predominantly.

"C-Can't you… he… change back?" She cracked up in saying.

Tyene desperately wanted her love back. Seeing him like this made her heart lurch. A waking nightmare of not seeing him again.

"Negative. No. XIII cannot return to standard Form until at least partially repaired. Until restoration, Roxas shall remain in Void-Form."

Before she could figure out what to do about this matter, she heard commotion drawing near.

Looking over, she saw much of her company rushing towards them. All were looking worse for wear. Amongst them, she saw Beric, Thoros, Red XIII and Jamie near the front.

"Tyene?" Beric said, looking between her and Void-Form Roxas.

"Why do you have a Keyblade?" Jamie questioned.

"I-"

"What the Hell is that? Where's Roxas?" Thoros spoke up, pointing at the transformed Nobody.

"This is Roxas." Tyene insisted. "He… transformed and stayed like this until he's healed."

There was a brief pause of uncertainty and confusion from the men before Jamie spoke on their behalf.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"It's… It's hard to explain." She managed to speak out. "Look. We just need to give him potions…"

A number of their party quickly offered up their Hi-Potions and Ethers to the transformed Nobody. Them believing it'll quickly alleviate his present affliction. The abnormal entity accepted them and absorbed them into himself. A means of consumption that was odd for the group to witness.

Moments later, something happened.

Energy wrapped around the unusual-looking Greater Nobody and in a moment later flashed away, revealing a fully restored Roxas. Said individual dropped to his knees, panting for breath.

"That… was weird." Were his first words.

He was soon enveloped by a warm embrace. He saw it was Tyene, who was nearly crying to see him return back to normal.

"Ain't this a touching sight." Said a mocking voice.

Many looked over and saw Vanitas standing there. Foregone was his glass doomed helmet, they saw the blood on his face, given the few cuts he received when his head covering was broken. His entire bodysuit was riddled with cuts and gashes and though he appeared to be standing strong, the keener eye was able to pick up on the moments of shakes and trembles from the being of Darkness.

"Quite the surprise you did there, Roxas."

Momentarily confused, Roxas tried to recall what Vanitas meant. All he got in turn was momentary flashes of memory of what occurred not so long ago.

"I'm surprised myself."

They all heard a scuffle nearby. Wasn't long before a pair of figures clashed upon the scene before separating and landing on their respective sides.

It was Cloud and Sephiroth.

"Had fun?" Vanitas says offhandedly to the man nearly beside him.

"I did." Said the Odachi wielder, eyes closed as he sheathed his blade. "Have you?"

Vanitas held a malicious smirk. "Most certainly."

Focusing back on the people in front of them, the pair saw the large company being on the defensive for whatever may come their way.

"I believe we've overstayed our welcome." Sephiroth stated, giving his Keyblade ally a pointed look that brokered room for no arguments.

The dark Keybearer exhales a playful sigh. "A shame. I was looking forward to some more action."

The Odachi master released a small hum, humoring the black-haired being of Darkness. "At the very least, we should leave a parting gift for their entertainment."

Raising his hand into the air, a large gust of darkened wind surrounded Sephiroth. The swirling mass shot towards the heavens.

It wasn't noticeable at first, but as seconds passed, an uneasy feeling swept over the land.

The sky began to darken. Looking upward, it was due to a manipulated overcast. Some briefly believed it was the effect of the perpetual sunset created earlier finally fading away.

No, it was due to a solar eclipse.

From the clear view of the sky, the sun became dark. This was due to the celestial moon orbiting the world moving in and blocking the light.

Except this was unnatural.

How it was so was simple. For in another placement in the sky was the actual moon faintly seen some placement away.

Not to mention the solar eclipse was more fierce in appearance with the sky bleeding into a haunting color.

"What did you do?" Roxas questions aloud.

Sephiroth only smiled.

Cloud was quick with realization. "You didn't."

"Strife, what's going on?" Jamie spoke up nervously.

"He's done something that's practically impossible to stop."

Opening a Corridor of Darkness, Vanitas and Sephiroth made their way inside. Though not before parting some brief words with the others.

"Farewell."

"Until we meet again."

A split moment later, before the others could stop them, the two adversaries disappeared from the scene.

"What is happening, Strife?" Jamie couldn't help but ask aloud.

"Sephiroth casted Meteor."

Many didn't quite understand what that meant.

"Uh, what?" Was the collective response.

"A dangerous spell." Nanaki says, drawing attention from many. "One which can be earth-shattering. And I do mean that quite literally."

To emphasize the point, they looked back up to the haunting sky. It wasn't long before someone amongst the assembled company pointed out a particular detail.

"Hey uh… where's the Red Comet?" Tyene abruptly asked, seeing that the red streak was no longer where it once was in the sky.

"You're looking right at it." Red XIII says aloud.

Dread soon filled nearly all. Realization hits them hard when they witness the celestial object growing larger and larger with each passing second in their respective views.

"Sephiroth… managed to pull the Red Comet…" Thoros shakily says with utter bewilderment.

A great amount of worry and panic quickly swept over those present on the scene. Some were worse than the rest.

Amongst them, Tyene held onto Roxas tight. She practically saw her life flash before her eyes as her end was quickly drawing near.

With the Greater Nobody, worry was present within him. He wanted to stop this but didn't know how. If he and the others were quick to react earlier, they could've stopped Sephiroth before he had the chance to fully cast it.

'Vanitas is right.' He thought with a hung head. 'I've got to live with the consequences with me being here. And now a World is about to practically die.'

He could save himself and a number of others and take them to a different world via Dark Corridor, yet it wouldn't be enough. Countless lives would be lost in the end.

If only he had a way to stop it…

"Do you seek power?"

Roxas' head snapped upward upon hearing the voice questioning him in his head. He looked around momentarily, wondering if it was a lesser Nobody calling out to him.

It wasn't.

He then felt a growing warmth around his neck. This wasn't Ifrit beaconing from his summon charm. Rather it was something else.

Fishing out the object, he saw it was the dragon egg charm he got from Addam Velaryion.

"Do you seek the power to protect these people?"

Though he wanted to ask just who it was that was speaking to him, Roxas didn't really have the time to question such an offer.

"Yes, I do. Please, grant me the strength necessary to save them." He spoke aloud to the summon charm or perhaps someone else.

As this was said, he drew in some confused looks from others nearby.

"Then you shall be blessed by the power of the Dragon. The one above all, from times long passed and nearly forgotten by those of this World."

Roxas felt his power being drawn out of him, flooding into the summon at a rapid pace. Despite his leather glove protecting him from heat, he felt a massive amount emanating from the object.

*CRACK* *RUMBLE* *CRAAAAAACK*

The Valyrian metal began to shake with cracks appearing along the surface with light breaching from them.

"Call out his name so he may serve by your side."

All he could do was speak out of instinct whilst taking the summoning charm off his neck. Once on his feet, Roxas thrusts it into the air.

"Come on out, Bahamut!"

Instead of falling back into his hand, the egg-shaped charm rocketed into the sky like a streak of light. It soon pierced the heavens and was swallowed up by the clouds as they sought to reform.

*CRAAAAAAAAAACK-BOOOOOM*

The cracks heard from the heavens became near deafening. A massive rumble was heard with a mighty roar following.

*GROOOOOOOOAAARRR*

Moments later, the clouded sky swiftly parted as a figure zoomed down earthward.

For a moment, Roxas thought it was an altered Dragoon Nobody due to its appearance, yet this creature wasn't.

The dragon was platinum silver, amethyst and black in coloration on its reptilian flesh and armored scales. The amethyst eyes glowed fiercely as it floated above many in an upright manner. Its claws and talons were sharp and so too were the fangs and horns. A mighty tail swished to and fro. And a pair of magnificent wings jetted out of its back.

In comparison, the dragon was perhaps half the size of Balerion the Black Dread.

"Huh, so this is who the Valyrians thought to be a god?" Roxas couldn't help but comment on it.

Bahamut roared, and the heavens quaked as a result.

Making a harsh landing, many observers quaked in their spots, not knowing what to do as a result. This was just beyond anything they could have ever expected to see today.

In the meantime, Roxas made his way to the mighty dragon.

Many were dumbfounded by what just happened. They witnessed a grand spectacle of the Keybearer summoning Bahamut before their very eyes and they were still having trouble rationalizing it all.

Cloud and Red XIII were more controlled by this factor but were curious about what would be done now with this unique summoning.

Tyene was the first to snap out of it when finally realized Roxas wasn't in her grasp.

"Roxas, wait!" She called out, rushing to him.

He halts in his step, looking over to the Dornish girl catching up to him. He saw her opening her mouth to voice her protest to him but he stopped her before she could speak.

"I'm sorry, Tyene, but I've got to stop this." He stated, briefly placing his hand on her cheek.

"But… But how?" She stammered out.

All Roxas could do was softly smile at her. "Trust me."

Not wanting to trust her words about to leave her mouth, all she could do was clamp down and nod.

Turning back, Roxas leaped into the air and landed on its back. Once getting comfortable, the Keybearer spoke out a command.

"Let's fly!"

Bahamut quickly acted, flapping its mighty wings and took flight. The gusts of wind in its wake nearly sent many off their feet and tumbling to the earth. The force of it did, however, kill off the flames surrounding Harrentown while adding more wreckage on Harrenhal.

It wasn't long before Dragon and Nobody were airborne.

Roxas kept his grip and held as tightly as possible as the wind howled around them. Bahamut flew hard and he flew fast, determined to reach the falling star as the world seemed smaller below.

Clouds whipped and became nonexistent as a sonic boom went off from Bahamut. A mighty trail of magic followed the dragon as it soared higher and faster. Its rider clenched hard to stay within his placement. Soon enough, more power was necessary to accomplish what was needed.

With his Keyblades out, he hooked onto the jetted spines of his dragon and began flooding his power through the connection.

The result could be considered visible from those down below.

The pathway to the falling star was like the sky was being set ablaze with the following scream it emanated. Soon, even the sky began ripping in the process, like a large tear exposing the starry cosmos behind it all.

Soon enough, the mighty dragon came to a stop as both he and his rider got close to their target.

The mighty beast was the first to act first. Opening his maw, Bahamut unleashed a powerful torrent of flames. It quickly made contact with the falling star and barely did anything to it. Things soon progressed further as the dragon's chest began to glow from several spots before the flames became larger and more powerful, resulting in it becoming Gigaflare.

However, that wasn't enough from what Roxas could see as the Red Comet more or less stopped progressing.

Assisting the dragon, he began transferring his magic through his bond. It soon made a visible change as arcs of purple lightning jetted off Bahamut's form. Soon enough, the flames grew far more intense than moments prior in both size and density, appearing something akin to being a jetstream of plasma. A visual sign of the mighty beast going one step further with his Terraflare.

Unclipping Oathkeeper and Oblivion from Bahamut, the Greater Nobody pointed his Keyblades at the Red Comet for one final push. Magic quickly gathered at their tips as Roxas kept utter focus. He felt a massive drain on his reserves and was growing weaker by the second, but he didn't care. He needed to save the World from the falling star.

Bahamut's wings began to brightly glow and grow as a result, which seemed to intensify with the massive arcs of lightning. So bright, it might as well appear from the earth below to be a second sun or shining star.

Magical glyphs and runes formed all around both the dragon and his rider. They rapidly grew and spun about as the combined spell was reaching their apex. One magical glyph, which was the largest of them all, began shrinking before appearing right before the Keybearer.

"This ends now!"

Like pulling a trigger, Roxas fired his spell into the glyph before him. A split second later, coming from the mighty dragon, Zettaflare was unleashed.

It was far more magnificent and devastating than one could ever imagine before in their lives. A brighter stream of light, practically blinding, struck the falling celestial object. The combined spellwork made contact with the Red Comet, pushing it back from its falling trajectory.

It would've gotten further and back into the deep recesses of space. However, Roxas and Bahamut only had enough power to shove the large comet into orbit. There were literal sounded quakes that occurred as a result before it settled in it's new place around the World.

Roxas, however, didn't really notice it as he was quickly going into a state of unconsciousness.

Feeling this happen from the bond, Bahamut began flying back down to the earth where the rest of the Keybearer's companions resided. Upon making his landing, Bahamut saw the many startled looks from the people below him.

Of course, they were more startled when they saw Roxas fall off the mighty dragon and make contact with the dirt.

Feet scrambled and made their way over to where Roxas lay. Some were quick to check to see if he was well.

At that moment, something unusual occurred with Bahamut.

Instead of disappearing in wisps of light or some exciting departing fanfare, Bahamut's form glowed… and shrank?

Bewilderment washed over many present and had to rub their exhausted eyes to see they weren't hallucinating even further.

No longer in an intimidating appearance, the dragon was now small and tiny as a hatchling… and was adorable.

Little Bahamut soon crawled over, climbed and cuddled with Roxas' unconscious form, screeching a little song the entire time.

For some weird feeling when Tyene glanced at Chocho, the chocobo looked… annoyed and crossed for some reason.

Too focused on the unusual dragon before them, the assembled group didn't realize what happened next until too late.

Lying on the ground, an arm was raised. Flashed in Roxas' hand was Oathkeeper. Light gathered towards the tip before shooting out and connecting with something in the sky, which glowed as brightly as the morning sun. A loud click was heard as it seemed to reverberate in the air. Before long, the light faded away as the Keyblade disappeared from Roxas' grasp just as his arm came back down.

Many questions filled the minds of those present. Arguably more towards those beyond the land of Harrenhal. It wouldn't be long before the whole World would see the long effects of what happened this day.

For it, the events of this World will never be the same again.

-End Chapter-

Void-Form: A representation of Roxas' true nature as a Greater Nobody. A defense mechanism when he's seriously wounded and/or in extreme danger when trying to use Formchange with his Keyblades. There are advantages and disadvantages to this Drive Form. He is very elastic and stretchy in different ways, much like many other lesser Nobodies; resulting in high evasion and defensive capabilities. However, he cannot use his own Keyblades and magic at all. Instead, he uses his claws, scarf-like whips and void based attacks along with other weapons. Not to mention he has poor durability and can be easily damaged. He cannot revert back to normal until recovering enough.

Abilities: Reversal Evade

Special Attacks: Void Sphere, Void Stance, Void Cannon

Limit Break: Twisted World. Reality becomes wonky within a limited area, forcing the targets into a position of confusion and near helplessness. This could be shifting the vicinity sideways to completely warping it. Once done, Roxas attacks with a massive Void Sphere or Cannon, hopefully wiping out his target.

Missing Ache: Tyene's standard Keyblade… for now.

AN:

So… a number of things.

It's been a long while, for starters.

A lot has happened on my end since I last updated this story.

For starters, it's clearly been a long while since working on this.

Clearly something was off, and I had to give myself some time. Kinda like before you take on a boss in a game you build up your levels and assign the right skill points… otherwise you are gonna get squashed like a bug in the first attempt…

In this particular case, it was needing to find the right material and timing to get the appropriate content to hopefully inspire me. Until then, I was in a rut with my job draining me considerably. A lot of it had depression hit me hard. I tried to alleviate this by catching up on books I have at home or trying to properly relax with music, audiobooks and/or cooking. Other than that, I've been focusing on other things; for instance helping out my friends -free man writer and BulletstormX- with Infinite Wars and Age of Remnant among other stories.

At some point, I really said to myself "enough was enough" and needed to finally get my butt into gear in writing this.

With all that out of the way, needed to bring up some stuff.

For starters on Addam Velaryon, I'm going more book route with him as opposed to what is being implied with HotD. Him being Laenor Velaryon, who faked his death and went to Essos with his lover. Only to come back to help take part of the Dance of Dragons on the insistence of others to ride Seasmoke with the cover story of being Corlys' bastard. While I like the idea done from the show, it clashes the one I have for him in my story here.

The bit of Tyene wielding a Keyblade… I could already tell many of you would be conflicted on the idea. The concept merely crossed my mind when working on the chapter and it just felt right in a way as I kept going on with it.

I mean, in KH2, we suddenly see Kairi wield a Keyblade… once Riku suddenly hands one over to her at the World that Never Was. It was really odd, suffice to say, but many people grew to accept it; more so in KH3. More so after seeing Kairi interacting with Aqua in KH: BbS to actually show a factor on how it was possible.

Same can be said with Axel/Lea, of him suddenly obtaining a Keyblade of his own near the end of Dream Drop Distance. Yes he went through the whole "blessing" ritual to see if he can be bestowed a Keyblade of his own before going into the Dream Worlds to help save Sora and company.

The idea somewhat lingered in a way. Having me wonder how to incorporate it with Tyene. Conditions needed to be met and all that.

So with her obtaining a Keyblade from the Graveyard, I had wondered not just which one would do but also of the concept. After all, the Keyblades of the departed more or less are husks wishing to be used again. Not to mention hoping to find a proper wielder after so long.

In KHUX, Missing Ache was a dark/speed type and it seemed appropriate with Tyene, given her nature. Not to mention, for those who had paid attention to the game cutscenes, Ventus wielded Missing Ache before acquiring Wayward Wind.

Aside from that, I have really wanted to bring Bahamut into the story for a long time.

It was brought up in KH1 that Bahamut was planned to be brought into the game as a summon. However, the idea was scrapped for numerous reasons. Yet the idea remained in the minds of many fans over the years, me included. And with this story, decided to use this chance in a very fun way.

With me bringing in some classic FF summons into the fray, Bahamut was in the midst of selections. So yeah, Roxas has the mighty Bahamut. That'll clearly be fun to see the reactions.

FMW: Jesus h, coming back to this one was a struggle. So, other than the writing block we were dealing with in this story, the problem for us really was that our minds were far ahead of this chapter. Especially for me where every line I worked on, my mind was on what is to come after. What we have been dying to get to for Season/Book 2 and all the craziness that season entails. But in that time, there's been a lot of discussions on our future plans in this story as well as looking to other franchises and source materials for greater inspiration for future events, fights, relationships, etc. in this story. But it's good to be back after so fucking long. Let's hope we can hammer out the rest of season 1 so we can finally get to season 2.

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!

R&R