Chasing Destiny

Down Under

"Man, I'm tired," you complain as you, Roxas, Cloud, Genesis, Leon, and Kairi finally make your way down the long, narrow staircase from the Coliseum leading down to the Underworld.

"Do you need to be carried?" Cloud asks with a small smile, and you shoot him a playful glare.

"I'm tired, too... We should be extra careful here. There might be some strange forces at play to discourage those who are still alive from entering the Underworld," Genesis explains.

"That sounds... awful," Roxas complains, kicking a rock out of the way.

It flies through the air, landing in the body of green water surrounding the platform where you're standing. The rock immediately turns into dust before sinking under the surface.

Note to self: don't touch the water.

"Let's get Meg as fast as we can. I really don't like this place," Leon notes as he starts to walk towards a gray door carved in the middle of a large rock ahead of you. He shoves open the door, marching through with his Gunblade raised protectively.

Your eyes immediately land on a man standing in the middle of the open room, which resembles a cave, fighting off a couple of Heartless. His clothes are all red, and the collar of his jacket is covering a part of the lower half of his face.

"Auron?!" Cloud calls out, and the man turns around.

"You guys know him?" you ask Leon as everyone else runs to his aid.

"He's a 1st class SOLDIER, too. He's stationed in this world to keep an eye on Hades," Leon replies as the two of you walk briskly towards the older man.

"Ohh..." you mutter. It makes sense; he looks like a really good fighter.

The man apparently named Auron slashes his sword through the last two Heartless, and they disappear into nothingness. Everyone gathers around him as he swings his sword over his shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" Auron asks gruffly.

"Apparently the Organization is here. Have you heard of anything?" Cloud asks.

"It's been pretty quiet... Just the usual Heartless," Auron replies. "New recruit?" he adds, nodding towards you.

"Yeah, I'm [Name]," you tell him, extending a hand.

He stiffly shakes it before turning back towards the guys.

"We also need to talk to Hades – he took a friend of ours down here, and we're not leaving without her," Leon tells Auron.

"I can lead you to Hades' chamber," Auron offers.