TRACES OF AFTERMATH [a kingdom hearts roleplay]

[Story Keeper]

~- Are you joking? -~

Arno caught a glimpse of the darkness swirling in the girl's eyes, and it bothered him. The cold sadness didn't fit this girl, she should be way more cheerful. Suddenly growing unsure with himself, he stepped back; too aware of the girl's eyes on him. Kicking the ground, he started chatting quickly, "Twilight Town seems like a nice place, it's nice and spacious so if you want to avoid someone you can. What do you think? Are you used to traveling to different worlds? Or am I mistaken?"

A strangled noise escaped him as Nico barreled into him, raising his arms to his head; Arno braced himself for impact as they collided with the ground. Glancing over at Nico, he saw the wild look in the older boy's eyes just as a blast appeared behind him. Peering around the clearing as well as he could, Arno sucked in a breath between clenched teeth as he caught sight of the lingering Heartless. Shadows and Invisibles, he recognized them from that night. Shrinking down a little, he tried to figure out how to go about this when he caught Nico's lips moving from the corner of his eye.

Turning his eyes to look at Nico, he narrowed his eyes as he read, "---usual formation? We've got Neo Shadows to deal with too."

Panic building in his chest, Arno nodded mutely and watched as Nico scrambled back to his feet; permitting Arno to get back to his feet. He watched Nico dash straight over to the far side of the courtyard, already attacking some Heartless. Looking over at the two girls that were present, Arno bit his bottom lip and called, "You two okay? Also, are you capable of fighting?"

Catching a glimpse of something sneaking up on the right, Arno back flipped away and pulled an obsidian dagger out. Landing on the ground, he crouched low and flung it at the Neo Shadow that had been approaching, sliding his hand back into the backpack that he wore, Arno pulled out his rope dagger and unfolded it. Dancing away from the Invisible closest to him, he watched the way it shift its grip on its sword and got ready to stab the ground with it. "I don't think so," Arno growled, whipping the rope dagger out, he smiled as it wrapped around the Heartless and tangled around its self.

He grabbed a hold of the rope and yanked on it, dragging the Heartless closer to him. He watched as the Heartless squirmed, trying to break free of his grip, he glanced over his shoulder to see if anything was sneaking up behind him. Spotting the Neo Shadow heading over to the girls, evidently trying to ambush them, Arno shouted, "Behind you!" Before he was forced to duck a strike from a Neo Shadow. Growling in frustration, ducked again and instinctively reached for his dagger; only to realize that the obsidian one he wanted wasn't within reach, instead it was over by the girls.

~- Change You Like A Remix -~

The portal swirled open in the First District, stepping out of it Ronin glanced around the familiar square. When was the last time that he had been here? Feeling a tingle spread across his skin, he turned his gaze toward the Second District, taking a step toward it he stopped as his eyes darted to the Accessory Shop. Sprinting over to one of the low walls, he dove so he was hiding behind it, only to glance up a moment later to see a cloaked figure call up a gateway and then disappear through it.

A hiss escaping from him, Ronin climbed back to his feet and started to head toward the Second District it again only to once more pause as the sound of fighting reached his ears from the Third District. Turning in the direction of it, he quickly crossed from the center of the First District over to the doors to the Third. Placing a hand on it, he felt the worn wood beneath his palm, and pushed it open to see that a group of kids was fighting against a Guard Armor. Staying back in the shadows, he leaned against the wall to watch the show, deciding that if he was needed he'd jump in; otherwise he wouldn't.

Watching as a man jumped in front of a girl, Ronin's eyes focused on the girl and noticed a couple of things right away. The first was that she was young and inexperienced, the second was that she held a keyblade in her hand. Choking at the sight of it, Ronin almost stepped forward to assist in the fight but then decided not to; returning to his position against the wall, he crossed his arms over his chest and watched the girl. He was extremely curious to see how she'd handle the keyblade, would she stack up to the legends of the others? Or would this girl fall short? one way to tell was to see how well she did in this fight.

~- We May Look Bad -~

Tora listened to what Sleif said, rising to her feet she followed along on the rooftops, watching the man below as he moved from one location to another. She didn't look behind her as something jumped up on the roof, she knew without a doubt that it was Hawthorne, the timbre wolf, that had jumped up to follow her from the ground. She heard a loud clang as something metallic started to move around. Eyes darting to the right, she spotted the Guard Armor Heartless at roughly the same time as Sleif.

Remembering the old stories about the Heartless not liking Nobodies, she kept her distance for the metallic titan. A quick glance down to the street told her that Sleif planned to follow it, and considering that she planned on tailing him, she was being forced to tail the Heartless. Sighing in annoyance, Tora started again with the shadowing, keeping just enough space between her and the man below so he didn't notice her. Jumping from one roof to the other, she noted that it seemed as if the Guard Armor was heading for the Third District. Growing intrigued at the determination of the creature, she felt something that she hadn't expected to feel ever since at least a few years ago.

Stumbling from the presence of the keyblade, Tora's mouth opened into the shape of a surprised O. Only for her surprised to be replaced by free when she saw one of the shingles slid loose. Biting back the desire to yip, she leapt forward and snatched the shingle back before it could fall to the ground. Pressing herself close to the roof, she peeked over the edge and sighed mentally when Sleif continued on his way. Following him again, she paused again as a familiar voice said, “He’s always acting strange! It’s why it’s so funny to mess with him!! Everything makes him so darn jumpy! But if anything he’s probably gone off to where all that noise was coming from…"

Peering over the edge, a grin spread across Tora's face as she saw Alexandra and Gnostos. Inching closer to the ledge, the Nobody sat down and grabbed a hold of it before she lowered herself to the ground. Waiting until she was closer to the ground, letting go of the ledge she dropped the rest of the way to the ground. Looking over to them, she approached the duo and asked, "What brings you two to this world?"

~- Questions, Assassins and Moogles -~

James listened to the conversation, and growing a little braver, he peeked around Juliet to look at the man; examining him still from the safety of his hiding spot. Although even then, James didn't remove the hood, feeling slightly safer with it concealing his face. He heard Juliet and Cyrus agree to travel with the man for a while, and James felt a rush of excitement course through him at that idea, but even then he felt skittish. After a few more moments, he felt his confidence fully return, and he quickly fell into step behind his sister.

Trailing a little bit behind them, he watched from beneath his hood as they talked, trying to piece things together about this man from what he said. A slight smile dancing across his face as he remembered a joke that he'd overheard at one point. Getting ready to flip the hood down mid step, he hesitated as the moogle from before, he believed the girl's name was Mogoni, fell into step next to him and said, "Hey! Sorry to frighten you back there, but I just overheard by accident, side-effects of being a moogle, ya know?"

He smiled at the apology and explanation, he didn't personally know about the moogle side-effects, he wasn't one after all. Opening his mouth to say as much, he paused as Mogoni continued cheerfully, gesturing to his hood as well, "Nice hood, by the way. It looks pretty cool, like an assassin or somethin'!"

A laugh escaping him, James flipped it down so his face was exposed again. "Yeah, it is nice and it does look cool. Cyrus had been a fan of Assassin's Creed before things went south, and I took a shine to the outfit so he joked I should dress up as an assassin for Halloween. Needless to say Juliet wasn't too thrilled when she realized I was a fan of the series, mainly because she thought Cyrus was being irresponsible by playing such an mature game around her younger brother." He shrugged at the knowledge and continued, "As for frightening me, it's okay. It's my fault for being so skittish, I guess that encounter with Cerberus is still bothering me. Although no, I don't know what it's like to have side effects of being a moogle. I'm not one after all." He said that last bit in a light-hearted teasing manner.

Glancing at Mogoni as they walked, he asked excitedly, "Although, how is it being a moogle? What do you guys do? I saw one at one point, and it wasn't too happy when I kinda sorta started poking it's pom-pom. What do you moogles do for fun? Is Gadele always that loud as he was back there?" Somehow James was able to keep his voice down, even as his eyes shined with excitement at the idea of getting some answers about moogles and what exactly it is that they do.

 

[Mason Stark]

It was no use! As Rena blocked the attack by the gauntlet, she was being pushed further and further back; soon, this stalemate was going to end and she was probably the one who would have to end it. Unfortunately, that moment came a little sooner than anticipated...

Girl, follow me! I can get us out of here, and you're too inexperienced with that weapon! You need to be protected so you can continue the... the good fight, yes! The boy will be fine, he can obviously handle himself, as can Theo and this stranger!

That guy again! Taken aback, Rena gave a quick glance up towards where the man was.

"H-huh?" she said, raising a brow.

In that moment, she had been distracted. And, in that moment...

Looking up, the gauntlet had backed up, allowing Rena to break free, and then slammed into the girl!

"Gah!!"

She was sent flying, crashing into a wall next to the First District's door. She slummed down, the Keyblade falling from her grip, and hissed as she hunched over.

Hey there, you and your friend alright?

In a daze, the girl looked up, "Huh...?"

There was a guy there, but he was completely different from anyone else who was here. He was standing between her and the Heartless, ready to fight as far as she could tell. Clutching her head, she hissed again as she put her hand on the floor, fighting to right herself.

"Y-Yeah, but I dunno... 'bout Derrick..."

She grabbed the Keyblade off of the ground, using it to push herself up to a stand. This Guard Armor thing had to be fifty times stronger than her, so, even though she was hit with a simple attack, it really took its toll on the girl.

The child stepped past the newcomer, clutching her Keyblade tight. Under her breath, she muttered, "I gotta... stop that thing..."

Call it stubbornness or something else, but Rena had this overwhelming sense that she had to fight this monster. Perhaps it had something to do with the Keyblade, or perhaps there was a more obvious reason: she had watched her world fall to pieces because of these damn things, and this Heartless was wreaking so much havoc across this town. If she had the power to do something, to stop these Heartless somehow, then she was going to try her best to do it.

Though, that was easier said than done...

Clutching the Keyblade tight, Rena raced back into the fight and, although she was unsure what she needed to do, she rushed in nonetheless.

"Ha!"

A slash cut across one of the hammerlegs, barely making a dent on the metallic armor, and another followed. Rena continued this pattern to the best of her ability.

 

[Ruby Rose]

The monstrous Guard Armor has been unleashed upon Traverse town, its thundering iron footsteps rang through the cramped Third District and was now making its way towards the First, where the most of the populace was. For such a considerably high-tier Heartless to emerge this early, must have been caused by such a massive anomaly from the darkness. Either that or someone with great power had summoned it.

From a distance of one of the high ledges of the Third Battle was taking place. A lone black raven seemed to monitor the commotion from above. Then as the youngsters entered the scene, the raven's eye lit of dark red and let out a single and very caw.

"Caawww!"

Soon the massive Heartless had met opposition, youngsters wielding from what it seemed to be, the fabled Keyblade. A bane of these monstrosities from the darkness- or is it?

Regardless, the trail of darkness of a high-tiered heartless like this is undeniable and significantly overwhelming to weak-willed fools. But enough to be worthy of notice of the strong.

From the Second District's rooftops. The creeping shadows of the bright moonlight; an accumulating black mass was formed from a puddle of shade. As the mass grew, it seemed to be "feeding" the shadows around it to become more and more profound. As the black mass grew into a significant size, it split in two, like a living cell and then began molding itselves into figures. It formed hands, feet, torso and finally a very unusual spherical head. The two figures seemed to assume a kneeling position.

As they materialized more, they donned a skeletal armor with a cutlass sheathed from their hips. They looked like Soldier Heartless, in size but they don't move as clumsy as them. And instead of knight-like armor, they don a skeletal armor, complete with bone-tipped claws. Their skull helm has a black bandana wrapped on it. The "mouths" of their skull helm and two beady, yellow orbs lit from their helm. These type of Heartless were called the Clatterjacks.

As both of them stood up, their Heartless emblem drew on the front of their bandana. But instead of a Heartless symbol, with the red-lined black heart with a thorned cross at the center, theirs was a black crossbones fashioned from the original symbol. And instead of a red thorn cross, it was bones.

*claka claka claka*

The two heartless made an audible clattering sound as their move and stretch their limbs. Sounded like two bones being rattled.

"Caaawww!!!"

The raven cawed again a second time. And the two Clatterjack heartless went into a prowling position. Then with a burst of speed, they sprang forth, jumping and vaulting through the infrastructure of the Second District like parkouring predators.

*claka claka*

These two heartless zoomed through the Second District and then finally arriving at the Third District rooftops. The red-eyed raven disappeared as the Clatterjacks arrived at the scene. Hiding in the shadows the two watched the scene from both opposite ends of the district. Acting as surveyors for... someone. Their yellow orbs fixated on the Guard Armor heartless and the keybladers that opposed it.

 

[sephiroth2]

-------------------------------------------

"Huh...?" Said the young girl, it coming out more of a dazed mumble more than anything else, yet still with the softness of her voice and the noise from the surrounding battles due to the Heartless’ separate parts, the Captain seemed to have no problem hearing Rena.

“Are you okay there, Little Lady?” Asked Sleif once again, the sudden swipe from one of the Guard Armor’s gauntlets managing to graze past Rena before the tall Captain could get there fully in time. While the heavy boots of the Heartless still floated above them, an act which if he hadn’t performed could have resulted in a very deadly problem for the young girl, the same gauntlet as before continued to hang around, the piece making sure not to get caught in the same weightless space that trapped the feet.

"Y-Yeah, but I dunno... 'bout Derrick..." At the mention of another, Sleif turned his head enough to see the collapsed body of a young boy, most likely around the same age group that the young woman was in.

“Right! Well tell you what, I’ll take care here and you…”

“I gotta... stop that thing..."

“Huh...Excuse me…?”

Sleif had begun to reach over his shoulder, his fingers grasping the handle of his weapon just before Rena spoke again, the young woman stepping past Sleif before taking on a fighting position against the much larger Heartless, even when in pieces.

Blinking at the sight before him, the Captain finally smiled, the sight of the brave, or even stubborn, little girl causing him to remember someone just like her. Releasing the grip of his handle Sleif took up a spot behind Rena, his arms at the ready as he watched the floating feet and still freely moving gauntlet.

“Alright then this is all you, Little Lady. Show this hunk of scrap who’s boss around here. Captain Destati is here to give you support.” Said Sleif, smiling as he watched Rena take a run up towards one of the floating Hammerlegs, giving it a strike across the metal surface, marking it in the process and prompting the young woman to keep at it.

With the faint purple haze around the feet now beginning to fade, Sleif readied himself for their fall, but soon found himself rolling out of the way from a familiar swipe of one of the gauntlets. Moving until his back faced Rena’s, the Captain watched the erratic movements from the clawed hand as it made its way closer through the air, and just when the time was right the Captain made his timed move, not with his weapon, but a sudden gloved punch right into the gauntlets palm.

The purple haze that erupted between Sleif’s hand and the Guard Armor’s palm seemed to have no trouble repelling the gauntlet back a bit, the piece of Heartless readying to strike back until it began to shake in midair, the piece soon clattering to the ground with an immense thud, the weight it now had cracking the ground slightly and making it now unable to move.

“That takes care of you for now...back to the Little Lady!”

Swinging back around towards Rena and the ‘floating’ Hammerlegs, the Captain barely managed to dodge once again, one of the feet slamming into the ground where Sleif had just been, and forcing the Captain back to Rena’s side.

“So...not something you see every day, huh?” Asked Sleif, a small chuckle and a smile as he looked down to Rena, his eyes not able to ignore the key-like weapon in her grasp.

“....that looks like...but I only know of him having one...well I’ll be…”

 

[Kingdomkeylight]

~♣A Rather Unsettling First Step♣~​

"Well this world is rather.. small," a man dressed with attire quite strange even compared to the pit stop world known as Traverse Town. A mechanical portal completely similar to Sleif Destati started to close behind him now leaving the worlds entrance to be the only thing behind the new traveler. Wearing a rain protecting poncho the figure definitely gave off a strange image as a more military like appearance was hidden under it. Combat boots started to click against the stone made plaza grounds as the male started to move forward. His haunting eyes started to observe everything around him as he looked for any signs of life... which did not seem to exist... at all. Right as he was about to pull something out of his pockets his bodily immediately shifted to the right as two bright lights shined off in the distance... that seemed oddly familiar. Taces didn't know why, but he was sure he had seen that sort of light before. He finished reaching for the device in his pocket which revealed to be a communication device with the exact same design as Sleif's... it was pretty damn clear these two were from the same world.

"I have arrived on Traverse Town... as Captain Destati stated... its pretty empty. Proceeding to rendezvous with the Captain before establishing a temporary base site," Taces spoke as he started to head towards the light source before a rather large collection of darkness behind him caused him to halt, and turn around to see what was happening. It was probably best to assume those two lights were the cause of a fight starting, and from the look of it the Heartless were involved... and loosing as a small army of Soldier heartless formed with a more pressing issue Guard Armor spinning its hands around itself.

"Heartless confirmed on this world... I'll get back with you command," Taces reported with a light sense of annoyance in his voice as he changed the dial on his device. As the heartless registered Taces rather calm presence the Soldier Heartless rattled their bodies as they charged right for him. "KOS-MOS please rid the cannon fodder for me," he whispered into the device.

"Affirmative," the rather loud feminine yet monotone voice was followed by sight of a shower of machine gun bullet obliterating the small army of Soldier from existence in a few mere seconds. The male lifted his head towards the rather silent Guard Armor that was trying to find the source of the attack which was eventually identified as a woman with a even stranger appearance then Taces on top of the roof of the Accessory shop holding a three barrel gatling gun. "Shall I eliminate the last one," KOS-MOS asked not at all caring that she had given away her position.

"I can handle it. Besides I want to gauge the heartless in this part of the universe," Taces responded surprisingly louder with his wispy voice. He turned back to the Guard armor as it seemed ready to avenge its fallen as it shot one of its hands right for Taces. With a simple stance Taces flung his left hand as a flurry of green ectoplasm bursted upon impact with the Guard armors hand as it was sent flying right into the wall near the First District-Third District door. "Disappointing... though that's a good thing I guess," Taces mumbled as he lazily dropped his left hand to his side revealing a purple oval shaped shield that had formed from the early burst of energy. The Guard Armor released a surprisingly load roar as with a unexpected surprise it head shot off into the guy as all of its body parts including the hands Taces had flung away started to spin around transforming as the body flipped itself upside down ending with the head touching back down with two very hostile eyes now directed at Taces. "...Well then that's new," Taces briefly spoke before jumping away from the more aggressive form as it threw all its limbs at him. The first hammerleg arm was easily dodged from the jump performed yet the gauntlet legs went for him at the same time forcing him to cartwheel forward as they smashed together where he use to be. Taces lifted his shield up in a defensive stance as the last Hammerleg arm shot straight forward not giving him enough time to dodge again as he took the attack head on. Upon impact a small vibration was barely visible as the shield, and owner withstood the attack.

"Shall I join the fight?"

"I have it handled KOS-MOS. Start scanning for Captain Destati's location he can't be to far away. I can vaguely sense him," Taces responded not in a rude manner, but clearly with a tone that said he was busy. Out stretch his right hand while his left held against the Hammerleg Arm. Closing his right fist summoned a second burst of green ectoplasm that formed into a darkly design claw fingered gauntlet. With a twist of his torso Taces shoved the heartless limb back as he dash forward delivering a punch that sent the Hammerleg Arm flying back even faster causing it to collide with the Opposite Armor's torso. As the Torso went crashing into the Traverse Towns world entrance door Taces started to move to his right as the Gauntlet Legs got back into the fight. With each close encounter sparks flew as heartless limbs clashed against Taces' shield.

"R Cannon," Taces immediately jumped at the sound of that before a rather large sphere blast annihilated one of the Gauntlet Legs into dust. With the blast causing the other one to hurtle around Taces jumped after it extending his right hand behind as a swirl of ectoplasm transformed each of his fingers into mid-sized scythe blades that once flung forward sliced the last Gauntlet Leg into six individual pieces that burst into clouds of darkness slowly fading away as Taces touched ground. With a questionable look direct at KOS-MOS, and her equally chilling red eyes he sighed seeming to cave in to some strange force.

"Would you like to join the fight KOS-MOS," his question was answered pretty easily as the woman jumped down landing next to him desummoned her gatling gun in a small flash of light all the while transforming her currently right hand cannon arm back into a actual hand. Though it didn't show it was probably easy to tell she was "happy". As she pulled out a combat knife a rather enraged Opposite armor appeared before them with its Hammerleg Arms swirling furiously around its torso.

"How may I be of assistance?"
.............................................................................................................................................................

~♠A World Surrounded By Nothing♠~​

A world of nothingness... such a surprisingly well compatible world to be discovered by a bunch of beings of nothingness. Such was the topic of ponder for the man currently leaning against the railings on top of the Castle That Never Was who in fact was also the current owner... technically. No not even that he was just borrowing it just like the world was simply borrowing him as a temporary resident in its empty neon lit streets. He watched from above on top the floating castle wondering why such a unique world seemed so empty of life much like himself... why were they blessed yet cursed at the same time. As these thoughts crossed Xanvas' mind he pondered at those he had found, and brought with him. What if he was wrong to do so? Would a better fate had found them had he just walked past them rather then offer them a chance to be whole again, and to arise to the top as the true rulers they were destined to be.

"No... they are destined for greatness... I am simply the man who needs to make them whole again," the words slipped out his mouth with a rather strong, and faithful ping of steel as the metal chains wrapped around his body moved against themselves as he took in a deep breath. Even if he didn't have a heart this was still a living body he was using it was just not as empty as the Dusk were. He still had his mind... yes that's all he needed to make things a reality. He had found the universes future saviors, and now all he had to do was make them complete again.


"The universe thinks its safe, but in truth a darkness much worse then they could ever imagine is slowly creeping about from all sides... if a ruler for Kingdom Hearts isn't decided soon... we will all perish." He continued to watch the empty world below with tired eyes... he had not slept in many a day. His planning was slowly starting to take a toll on him, but he would keep the course as those he had found were out, and about collect material and the intelligence he need to finish his plans. Things were starting to come together, and soon the heart crested moon in the sky would be put to the test.

"Let us hope that we are all ready for when it is time."

 

[Mason Stark]

Alright then this is all you, Little Lady. Show this hunk of scrap who’s boss around here. Captain Destati is here to give you support.

The statement caught Rena by surprise, to say the least. Someone was actually helping her? Not that anyone hadn't before; she just wasn't really used to it, that's all.

"U-umm..." she hesitated, her face flushing, "T-Thank you, Mister!"

As she went to continue fighting the monster, her thoughts quickly became focused on whether or not she had said that right. That was what you were supposed to do, right?

"Hmm?" she looked to the side really fast, then panicked.

"Ah!"

She threw up her weapon instinctively, shaking as she hid behind it, only to peek one eye open and realize that there was no point. The attack was blocked by Sleif!

Rena returned to fighting one of the hammerlegs, continuing the same hack-and-slash technique from before. As she did, she could hear the man pipe up, realizing that he had been forced next to her.

So...not something you see every day, huh?

"Uh-uh..." she shook her head, giving the man a quick glance, "It's kinda scarier than the ones I saw back home..."

The girl readied her weapon to attack once more, but suddenly, the sword started to glow, giving a quick flash before dying down.

"Hmm?" she blinked, looking at it curiously. She held it closer, focusing it on it intently. "...You can do that?"

In the middle of a big fight against a big scary monster, it seemed pretty odd that there was some kid standing there, talking to her sword. But apparently, it was saying something, although no one else could certainly hear it.

After a pause, suddenly, the girl's features lit up. She beamed.

"Yeahyeah, let's do that!" she nodded hastily. When the weapon started to glow, she held it back, focusing on the hammerleg that started to bounce around a little bit. Then, like throwing a baseball, she threw the sword forward and let it go. It spiraled and slashed at the hammerleg! Soon, it came back to the girl and she let it fly at the Heartless again, before the sword returned to its wielder. The attack was the same thing that she was doing before, although it was actually handy here!

As neat as the attack was, Rena couldn't bring herself to do it anymore and she nearly fell backwards once it reappeared in her grip. Although suddenly very tired from the attack, she grinned as she looked down at the Keyblade.

"Thanks..."

With that, she turned back to the fight at hand, rushing in and continuing the hack-and-slash attacks.

-------------------​

On the opposite side of the battlefield, the hooded figure was dealing with the other gauntlet and the torso itself.

"Ha!"

With a final blast, the gauntlet burst into pieces, warranting a big grin from the man under the shadow of his hood. That was gone and the others seemed to be taking care of the hammerlegs, so that just left the torso...

For a moment, he cast a quick glance over at Rena, the new Keyblade wielder, and watched as she struggled to take this damn thing down. It seemed like she had little to no idea how to fight, which was oft-putting, but the fact that she was at least trying said something about her tenacity. He would just have to wait and see over the course of this fight if this was even worth going after or not; but, hey, it's not everyday you find someone with a Keyblade!

The man stepped forward, getting ready to proceed to the next part of the fight, when he noticed the goggle-wearing dumbass who had so recklessly rushed after the Guard Armor and got his ass kicked because of it. He wasn't even sure why he gave this kid any notice at all (he seemed more obnoxious than anything), but the man's gaze set on the weapon lying next to him.

His eyes bugged.

'Are you f**king kidding me?! Another damn Keyblade?!' he thought, nearly facepalming when he did. 'How did this kid even get his hands on one of those -- he's too much of an idiot!'

That meant two Keyblades now... Well, the universe was apparently screaming at him to go after this whole thing, so he might as well take the chance at this point. All Aoi needed to do was get the two of them on his side. That would be easy, right?

"Oy, dipshit!" he snapped, glaring over at Derrick, "If you're done playing the dumbass hero, it might be a good idea to actually get up and do something!"

Boy, he was great at making first impressions.

Spinning the pistol over his palm, it suddenly reverted to a liquid-like state, floating over his hand until it reforged into a new weapon: a katana. The torso was much stronger than the gauntlets or hammerlegs, plus its defense was going to be much higher -- he would need a different weapon and tactic to take this thing on. Shooting bullets may have worked for the gauntlets, but they were going to bounce right off the torso.

His left hand started to glow with a red and orange aura, bits of energy rising up like flames. He grinned, pointing his hand like a gun at the floating torso.

"Firaga!"

A huge burst of fire slammed into the torso's side, and Aoi leapt forward, charging into battle with sword raised.

 

[HyperShadic]

Alexandra head was bowed as she was now internally debating whether or not to see if Gnost thought she was boring. Not that it bothered her, did it? No, not really, but it was still necessary to know just in case she needed to socialize with the residents of a world. She looked up to ask the male nobody her question when she heard a familiar voice.

What brings you two to this world?

“Ah, Tora, I just thought I would take a walk and ended up here,” Alexandra stated calmly, bowing her head in greeting. “You just missed Aoi and Rae,” she added crossing her arms and looking at the noises from the other district. Tilting her head in the general direction of the commotion she asked, “Do you happen to know what is going on over there? It sounds as though there is a battle going on.”

 

[Ruby Rose]

The two Clatterjack Heartless continue to survey the ongoing commotion. Heavily-observing the keybladers and other participants of the melee. And as the minutes went on, more and more participants gathered upon the commotion. Their yellow orbs blinked an changed its color from yellow to purple. The heartless' heads now sticking out of the ledges as they leaned closer.

Then from the other end of the Clatterjacks' vision, a mysterious dark figure, enveloped with a blanket of shadow, with her luminescent hair swaying through the cold breeze, sitting on a chair watched the event from her minion's eyes via a clairvoyant crystal ball. Remotely viewing it from where she was, distant from the world of Traverse town.

"Caaawww!"

The red-eyed raven flew to her shoulder, utterly watching the event to with its master. The dark figure lifted her hand and gently caressed the bird's cheek.

"To think it was dismissed as- a legend of old."

The figure began to speak, her attention beamed towards the two Keybladers. Her cold blue eyes illuminated from the dark. She watched the event as the moment unfolded, and these two individuals caught her utmost curiosity.

"Interesting- most interesting."

She breathed as the figure was fascinated to see the Keyblade in actual combat.

Back in Traverse Town, the two Clatterjacks keenly monitored the situation. Then from behind them, foreign shadows began accumulating. A puddle of shade crawled through the the pavement behind these heartless. Then from that puddle, formed rabid-looking Novashadows and Lance Warrior Heartless. The Clatterjack heartless felt the tinge of pressure from behind it, and looked around by spinning its head 180 degrees.

*claka claka!*

One of the Clatterjacks fell from the rooftop and into the full view of the crowd of the commotion below. The Clatterjack heartless landed safely on its feet, its purple orbs now focused on the intruding heartless composed of Novashadows and Lance Warriors. The other Clatterjack had no choice but to join its comrade. But as this heartless landed, it too was surrounded by enemy heartless.

*claka claka claka*

The two Clatterjacks were surrounded, their backs at the wall and seemingly defenseless. Much to the dismay of the enigma that was remotely viewing from their sights.

"Hmmm..."

Her brows slightly lowered, expressing a slight frustration. She rested her head on her knuckle and crossed her feet.

"How inconvenient."

Her eyes opened and her cold blue eyes emit a small glimmer.

"Exterminate the fledglings, but do not engage the participants of the battle."

She ordered the two Clatterjacks. The figure's eyes turned to her pet raven.

"Corvus."

With just a simple whim, the raven flew and disappeared from her shoulder and then reappeared on the Traverse Town Third District, to a high vantage point.

With their command issued, the Clatterjacks drew their bone cutlass and placed it on their mouths. Their purple orbs and aura began to emit a heavy murderous intent.

*claka claka claka claka*

With an audible chattering of bones, the heartless assumed a feral prowling stance as they prepare to engage the intruding heartless. They lunged forth and began man-handling the Novashadows on their own. They may be outnumbered but the sheer combat prowess of these Clatterjacks are as ferocious as two alpha predators; tearing the weaker heartless limb from limb with their bone claws and acrobatic swordplay. An unusual trait for even a Pureblood heartless to possess.

 

[Aphex]

That Hammerleg managed to cause a lot of issues for the boy, struggling to stand as his entire body ached from the impact he previously endured. That definitely wasn't the brightest idea he ever had but could you blame him? Derrick swore to himself that he would keep Traverse Town safe and sound no matter what the costs were. It was his first priority over anything else and upholding that promise was all that mattered to him.

Unaware of all of the commotion that surrounded him, he finally managed to stand on his own again, scooping up his Keyblade from the ground while in the process of doing so. Though, Derrick was greeted with a rather 'lovely' message...

"Oy, dipshit! If you're done playing the dumbass hero, it might be a good idea to actually get up and do something!"

Such kind words! Of course, Derrick was thinking sarcastically to himself though that little comment struck a nerve of his. However, the goggle-head noticed that the Guard Armor had been reduced to nothing but a torso which still caused a ruckus. But Derrick couldn't help but scoff when seeing the hooded figure's little attempt at a fireball.

"Please! Is that it?" he commented as that aura from before started to form within his palm once more.

"Dark Firaga!" shouted the teen, releasing a variation of the figure's spell except conjured up entirely out of darkness. Several were fired straight towards the Torso, exploding on impact in which the force of them sent it crashing into the wall behind it. But the use of this spell began to take a toll...

CLANG!

"Ngh!" Clutching onto his chest as Derrick dropped to a knee, panting heavily as pain surged through his entire body.

"Easy kiddo... relax..." he thought to himself, the Torso now spinning in place as if it were readying itself for another attack! Derrick on the other hand continued to struggle, the pain growing worse as both his hands pressed against the ground, a black blotch slithering up both his hands and up his arms. The slowly started to consume him, the boy attempting to fight against it but to no avail.

The downside of this Keyblade? All though it may seemed 'cool' to possess such a powerful weapon, it had its consequences. Granted the ability to use the darkness to how he sees fit, the more Derrick used its power, the more it made him susceptible to giving into the darkness. The boy had been trying his best to contain this form but still had yet to figure out a way to do so.

The Torso continued to spin, finally shooting out from the crater in the wall and headed straight towards Derrick. What happened next seemed pretty impossible to witness...

Arms shot forward, well, more like claws, latching onto the Torso and held it in place. The Torso continued to spin but within the boy's palms, the blotches fully consuming his entire figure as his now red gaze stared straight up at the Heartless.

This was it; this was the boy's Heartless form.

The Guard Armor's momentum now coming to a halt, Derrick's claws penetrated its chest plate and latched onto it tightly, lifting the entire Torso above his head and slamming it on the ground behind him. Freeing his claws from the armor, the Heartless hopped onto the downed enemy, whipping his claws back and forth almost like an animal! Chucks of the armor fell to the side, several gashes being made all over the Torso to the point the final piece finally disintegrated, Derrick landed on his feet when the onslaught was all over.

But he remained in the same spot... just standing there...

 

[Eternal Dream]

~- Offering -~

Jason's training was the main thing that allowed him to keep some semblance of his footing as the blonde went rushing past him. The boy could have at least had the decency to offer an apology, but all he did was offer the barest of rushed sorries before continuing on to wherever it was that he was so hellbent to reach.

The Aeronaut cadet shrugged his shoulders before continuing on his way, his eyes sliding across the buildings scattered around Twilight Town's tram common. Despite the circumstances behind the visit, Jason was thankful to be in Twilight Town. The world was one of those balanced perfectly between Light and Darkness, a balance that pleased to Twilight Wielder immensely. It was always such a peaceful place to visit as well, something that the young cadet felt he hadn't been able to get enough of recently.

Unfortunately, though, it seemed that there had been a spike in Heartless activity of late, which brought a spike in casualties as well. And with the death of a prominent swordswoman named Mami in recent weeks, Twilight Town had come under the Aeronaut Society's scrutiny. Jason was supposed to be gathering information from the locals while Lieutenant Commander Destati scouted out Heartless hot spots.

Jason stopped for a moment in the alley just off of the Sandlot. Tilting his head to the side, he listened harder, certain that he'd heard the softest clatter of gravel falling from the building behind him. Spinning on his heel, his eyes traveled to the rooftop just in time to see a form come falling toward him, the setting sun glinting off something at the shadow's wrist...

~- Release the Doves -~

There were enough people going at the Guard Armor that the Heartless was soon reduced to nothing but its torso and head. Even so, it didn't seem ready to give up, causing Roanoke to growl low in her throat and Colt to crouch further into the shadows. The wolf went at the thing again, but the Guard Armor performed a spinning attack, flinging the wolf against a nearby wall, causing Roanoke to yelp softly.

Colt nearly came out of hiding then, but the Guard Armor wasn't done. It kept spinning, going after a boy that had climbed to his feet moments before, only to go to his knees once more after sending a ton of black fire at the Heartless. Colt tensed, unable to help himself as he cried, "Look out!"

The boy on the ground stopped the Heartless in its tracks, tearing it apart in a few quick strikes. But Colt's insides turned to ice when he saw that the boy didn't seem human anymore. Now, he looked a lot like those little, scuttling Heartless, the Shadows. What happened? How could a human turn into one of those things?

Fear spread through Colt, and all he could think about was getting away from whatever thing that boy had turned into. Breaking from his hiding spot, Colt started running, not stopping his headlong run even when he heard a sharp yip from behind as Roanoke begged him to come back. A blind panic had set in, and all Colt could see was flames and bodies as his friends and family fell left and right...

Colt's racing feet carried him from the Third District into the First, and he only finally came to a halt when he saw the thing standing on the other side of the gate. It looked like the one that everyone had just been fighting, but flipped? His heart fluttering in his chest, Colt started shaking when the Heartless turned to face him. All the little boy could do was shake as he said, "No; just... just go away!"

 

[Mason Stark]

The gauntlets and hammerlegs were gone, leaving the torso to defeat. Rena raced over towards the remnants of the Heartless, the torso spinning like a dangerous, spinning top, and got ready to attack.

But there was no need. The torso burst into dust, an orb of light drifting up to the sky and disappearing out of sight. A little sense of excitement welled up inside of her, but it didn't last long.

"Hmm?"

She turned, narrowing her gaze. When the dust settled, there was something lingering behind...

The girl lowered her weapon to her side, keeping it close as if it were meant to offer some sort of comfort, and cautiously approached the lone figure. Something seemed eerie about this whole thing, yet she couldn't help but step closer.

"Derrick...?" she said, sounding hesitant. That seemed to be the only person over there now, so it had to be him... right?

But, the closer Rena got, the more she realized that something was amiss. She got a look at his red eyes and realized that something truly was wrong.

"What's that...?" her eyes bugged. What was that thing?

-------------------​

Please! Is that it?

Beneath his hood's shadow, he smirked, watching as the boy shot off a dark version of the familiar Firaga spell. The spell collided with the torso, causing it to be knocked back and it certainly did more damage than Aoi's attack.

He scoffed, "Cocky li'l--"

Ngh!

Blinking, the young man turned towards Derrick, watching as he collapsed to the ground in pain.

He really wanted to make some sort of sarcastic comment. He really did. But, somehow, it didn't seem like now was the time...

"The heck is wrong with you, kid?" he snapped, trying to sound like he cared although it came off more as a rude comment. Aoi couldn't do much to help, so he turned back to the fight at hand and got ready to attack with his sword.

But it ended up being a waste. In a flurry of events, suddenly, the Guard Armor was taken down, disintegrating into nothingness. He couldn't quite comprehend what happened, but all he knew was that Derrick was the one who took it down. Not bad, considering he had been so damn cocky and hard-headed before.

His katana melted and transformed into a knife, which he quickly pocketed into his coat pocket.

"Hey, color me impressed, kid! You're not so bad, after all--"

Derrick...?

He blinked, looking up.

"What the..." his eyes widened.

Rena was slowly approaching Derrick, as if she didn't quite know who or what he was at that moment. When Aoi looked up, he realized why.

"Oy! Back off!!"

Rushing forward, suddenly the man stood between Derrick and the rest of the group, throwing his arms in front of Rena before she took another step.

Taken aback by the stranger's sudden defense, Rena panicked, trying to push his arm away. "Wait, no! That's my friend!!"

He pushed Rena further back, ripping his knife out of his pocket, which had transformed back into its pistol state, and pointed it at the now-Heartless teenager.

"I really doubt he's your friend right now!" he snapped, glaring at the boy. He had never seen anything like this -- someone who can turn into a Heartless? He couldn't help but assume the worst, assuming that this thing wouldn't hesitate to kill them all; perhaps he was still aware of what was going on, maybe he was in control of this form or state or whatever, but he had to assume the worst.

Aoi turned to Derrick, still pointing his gun at him not with the intent to hurt him but to protect everyone else here, should it be necessary.

"Alright," he snapped, "what the f**k happened to you, punk? And don't you dare try to attack anyone!"

 

[Ruby Rose]

*claka claka claka*

The two Clatterjacks quickly disposed of the opposing heartless. It would be very rare for Heartless to attack its own kind, but these two were of a unique mold, not just spawned from the Darkness itself or evolved from Shadows consuming a heart. They sheathed their bone cutlass, just in time when the Guard Armor Heartless was defeated by the this boy named Derrick.

As the pieces of the defeated high-tiered heartless disintegrated to dust, the black dust began to reconstitute along with the defeated lesser fledgling heartless in the Third District. It began accumulating into the center of the district, through a swirling torrent of dust. The black dust materialized into a floating and beating black heart, emanating with malevolent shadows.

*claka claka!*

This was the Clatterjacks' queue. Together, the two heartless sprang forth into the center. One Clatterjack slid below the black heart and then the other, jumped to its shoulder, to launch itself towards the Black Heart, using its comrade as a leverage.

*claka claka*

The two heartless were now in the Keybladers' and the Nobody's line of sight. They put the Black Heart inside a jar and did a double take upon the youngsters one more time. Their purple eyes stared straight at them.

"Oh? The kid is being consumed... an astounding sight."

Commented the shrouded enigma as the Clatterjacks' vision was viewed from her clairvoyance crystal. She gave a seductive smirk as she slowly sat straight on her chair. With a wave of her hand, she snapped her fingers.

Then from above the Clatterjacks, formed a small dark portal. From the portal, emerged a massive ship anchor made of old steel and bones. The two Heartless began to approach the anchor as they prepare to leave.

 

[HyperShadic]

Theo was worried, John bolted after showing joy at the heartless appearing and with Rena being knocked around by the Guard Armor. The heartless really had two people to fight. And Theo was getting desperate. That was before a wolf and a man decided to help. That was great. Now they had enough people to properly fight it. . .

Then the guy destroyed a piece of it.

Well that made him feel somewhat weak. Then again the man probably had a weapon that was designed to penetrate armor, whilst his wasn’t. Even the kids were more able combatants and the other guy had a good mastery of some kind of magic. Theo was definitely the weak one when fighting the monster. Especially, now that the boy could use magic and the girl weaponized her little experiment from earlier. Not only magic, but the boy had a transformation and. . . . wait that was darkness radiating off of him. He had destroyed the heartless but now he was just standing there.

Derrick...?

Alright! What the f**k happened to you, punk? And don't you dare try to attack anyone!

Theo placed his sword back on his hip as he put a hand on the man’s gun to try to gently lower it. “Calm down, if he was going to attack us he would have done so already,” he said to the man.

Then the sky fell. Well not really the sky but a giant anchor from out of the blue . . . blackness of the sky. Pointing at the strange heartless he stated, “Blast them, not the boy. Girl, be careful and try to get through to him.”

 

[sephiroth2]

-------------------------------------------------------------------

The Guard Armor began to show more of its weakened state the longer the battle went on. With more of its appendages disappearing by the minute, the large Torso that remained throughout the fight started to become more erratic, its curved body allowing it to spin wildly around, trying to attack anything that came close. While the other fighters dealt with that, the Captain still stood by the young girl’s side, back to back as he kept watch on both the motionless gauntlet before him, and that of the now growing confidence from the Little Lady, her sudden skill at flinging the very key-like weapon like a boomerang at the Hammerlegs further impressing Sleif.

“Well now, that’s a neat trick!” Said Sleif out loud, the Captain smiling before he heard the familiar but faint rattling coming from ahead of himself.

Looking once more towards the gauntlet, the weight filled fingers now beginning to stir, the Captain made sure to give one last look back towards Rena, watching the girl happily exclaim as the Hammerlegs faded into dark wisps, before she ran on ahead to get in her own attacks against the remaining Torso.

“That just leaves you, huh?” Asked the Captain, his hand gripping once again the handle from over his shoulder, before in one swing, heft the large sword over his shoulder and head like it was nothing, and slicing through the gauntlet as it tried to give a final charge towards Sleif.

Just like the rest, it soon faded away back into the darkness, and as he rested the tip of the weapon against the stone clad ground the familiar burst and explosion of wind rushing through him was enough of a signal to tell Sleif that the Guard Armor was no more.

“Derrick...?”

“Alright! What the f**k happened to you, punk? And don't you dare try to attack anyone!”

“Calm down, if he was going to attack us he would have done so already,”

Bringing the weapon up and allowing its guard to rest safely against his shoulder, Sleif turned around to see the rest of the district and that of the now young man from before standing and darkness clinging tightly up along his arms.

Making his way towards the others, the Captain came to a stop by Rena, gently holding his hand back towards the young girl as he took another calm step to Derrick, his other hand stretched out to him just like Rena. With a dark glow coating his hand this time, Sleif momentarily closed his eyes before opening them to reveal a faint yellow tint over his usual blue.

And while he did not utter any kind of words, he still spoke out towards Derrick, like he would to other Heartless.

“...Can you hear me…? You’re Derrick...aren’t you? You’ve got someone here who’s worried about you...Rena...you should’ve seen her...fighting right there for you, you’re going to be so proud of her...you can stay in control...show Rena you can come back…”

The sound of something large and heavy striking the ground behind immediately caused the yellow glow of the Captain’s eyes to disappear, Sleif turning around quickly to see the strange mixture of metal and bone formed into the shape of an anchor, that was now latched to the ground near the centre of the District.

“Blast them, not the boy. Girl, be careful and try to get through to him.” Said Theo as he pointed towards the two bone clad Heartless, the Captain’s eyes glaring at them making a run for the anchor, a black heart in their grasp.

“It’s up to you again, Little Lady. He’s there, and you’re the one who’s going to bring him back. You need me, just call out!” And with that the Captain rushed around Rena, the large sword of his suddenly coating in the same purple glow as before, and with a large fling sent it flying through the air to strike and imbed itself into the ground near the anchor and Heartless, the glow very much still present.

Balling his fist fighter, the glow that surrounded his weapon and hand intensified, until a pulse of this energy stretched out around the area, taking in the anchor, the strange Heartless, and even a little more around them. The gravity soon welled up with the pulse, the stabbed sword continuing to pulse this energy outwards and greatly increasing the weight of those present in the field, except that of the Captain himself.

Though weaponless, Sleif began to approach the now slow moving Clatterjacks, the same purple haze that affected them now covering the Captain, and seemingly being the reason behind his apparent immunity to it, the tall man taking out the same strange communication device as before, aiming it towards the Clatterjacks as if scanning them.

----------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m just along for the trip...was told to check up on anything you and ‘Shreek’ found interesting...it’s sooooo booorrrriiiinnnggg when everyone’s out!” Said Gnostos, the small man swinging his seemingly boneless body back and forth in impatience , the dry, dirty, blonde hair of his still barely moving even with his wild swings forward and back.

“Do you happen to know what is going on over there? It sounds as though there is a battle going on.” Asked Alexandra, the much taller and imposing woman addressing Tora while Gnostos slowly seemed to find his own erratic movements more interesting, choosing to change direction usually mid swing, adding his arms to wave around like some kind of new game.

“Sounds pretty fun!! But too loud, means, too many people, and you heard what the boss said, got to keep watch for now…” It was at this that his wild swinging froze in place, before a loud sigh called out from him as he hung his body forward limply.

 

[Ruby Rose]

As the Clatterjacks was about to board the anchor back to their ship, they were taken by surprise by a sudden attack by the tall man accompanying the young keybladers. The shock wave of energy stunned them and slowed their movement, impeding them for who knows how long?

*claka--claka...*

The huge surge of energy pulsed through the sword then became a crushing gravitational field. The tremendous amounts of weight forced both of the Clatterjacks to be lied down flat, like being pressed unto the ground with a dozen bags of sand unable to retaliate due to the sheer power of the gravitational anomaly. If this keeps up, the two would be crushed. The Clatterjack Heartless that has the Black Heart held the item tight in its grasp, careful also not to break the jar that contains it.

The attacker then approached the two immobilized heartless, pulling out some strange contraption and pointed it at one of them.

*c-claka... claka*

The Clatterjack that has been approached by the tall man, spun its head 180 degrees whilst lying on its back. It's beady purple orbs glared at him like a spear through the soul.

*claka claka!*

The heartless let out an audible bone chatter. The two heartless suddenly shrunk into the shadows below and slipped out of the gravity field like a duo of startled newts. Then from above, emerging from the portal with the anchor, two more heartless but this time, these pair are much more massive than the Clatterjacks. The two heartless landed on their hinds, utterly slamming the ground with a big impact.

The two stood up and their visage easily towered over the man. They had a large round body covered in bone armor, they looked identical to the Large Armor Heartless except this one had a skeletal armor and massive gauntlets that is armed with huge bone claws. They also shared the same Black Crossbone heartless emblem as the Clatterjacks. They are the Bone Bruiser heartless.

The Bone Bruisers didn't waste any more time, they dug their claws through the ground and then with a massive physical strength, they unleashed a crawling fissure towards the party. One of the Bruisers then pummeled the bare ground with a tremor enough to trip an individual off-balance. The Clatterjacks wasted no time, they pounced on the Bone Bruisers' shoulders and the heartless then climbed the anchor as it was slowly lifted back to the dark portal from once it appeared.

 

[Eventua]

Traverse Town

​

As Jotin sat there, wooden boxes creaking under the strain of his pitiable weight, head held in his hands, he heard something. First was the loud clang - followed by the sparkling rush - of a powerful Heartless meeting its fate. Then came the sounds of calm... followed by the sound of another great crash, this time far louder. More like an explosion, or a great impact, than simply fallen, hollow armour against stone.

Looking upwards, he could see a great maelstrom of dark energy had poured forth with... was that the front of a ship? Yes, a...

A pirate ship.

Something in the back of his mind told him it was familiar, but he wasn't certain if that was from his time spent at Port Royal or... something else. Regardless, he knew Darkness when he saw it, and this was Darkness of the most terrible sort. The smell of Heartless filled his nose, and he eagerly licked his lips.

Heartless foreign to this pathetic town...?

The boxes creaked and screeched against the stone as he got to his feet, donning the goggles once more. Although the lenses were cracked and the sensors were giving him bizarrely vague or incomplete data, his Heart flared with excitement.

And yet... that way lay the Keyblade. He sat down again, fingers to chin, and pondered.

"To go near the Keyblade is a tight rope - it agitates the Darkness and attracts Heartless both numerous and powerful, but it makes actually studying them impossible and risks my own death."

He shook slightly as he looked back at the maelstrom. Such power, to last an eternity...

"...but surely, it... such Darkness, such Heartless, must be worth the risk...?"

He bit his lip, his whole body shaking. He was not one for bravado, but still...

"This is what I live for, isn't it...? To run away and continue mere ordinary research at a time like this is... quite unbecoming."

He licked his lips a second time, grabbed hold of his left hand with his right to stop it shaking, and then made his way through those old and ancient alleyways towards the edge of the Second District...

-----

Radiant Garden​

Mogoni smiled at the boy's laughter. There was no better feeling than the one she got from making people laugh and smile, she was sure - well, save possibly the taste of chocolate and raspberries. But that was the exception.

She excitedly smiled and nodded along as he explained his clothing, her smile not wavering even for a second as she honestly lost track of what he was talking about.

"Ahuh, cool!"

"Juliet wasn't too thrilled when she realized I was a fan of the series, mainly because she thought Cyrus was being irresponsible by playing such a mature game around her younger brother."

Mogoni gave a soft smile and shrugged, her vibrant eyes faltering slightly.

"Aww, bummer."

"As for frightening me, it's okay. It's my fault for being so skittish, I guess that encounter with Cerberus is still bothering me. Although no, I don't know what it's like to have side effects of being a moogle. I'm not one after all."

Mogoni gave a distinctly... uneasy, chuckle at his teasing.

It was at that point that it seemed like the floodgates had been opened. Jabbering away excitedly, he hammered her with endless questions about her 'moogle-ness' - "How is it being a moogle? What do you guys do? What do moogles do for fun?"

She paused and waited for his barrage to finish, her ears having slowly drifted down to cover her eyes as her smile got weaker.

"W-well, uh, kupo. It's, um..."

She gulped loudly before putting on a big smile.

"Well, uh, we can fly! I mean, I can't," she gestured to the wrinkled, tiny wings on her bag, eagerly flapping them to no avail in order to prove her point, "and we have these pom poms."

She cringed slightly as she gently tapped her own shriveled and clammy mucus-green pom pom. It made the distinctive sound of a wet tennis ball hitting concrete before lazily swinging backwards and forwards through the air like a sleepy, senile monkey in its tree.

"And, well, I go on adventures and stuff with Gadele! He does most of the fighting and big speeches and stuff, and I set up camp, drive the Gummi Ship - which is mine - and do all the repairs and mechanics and stuff. Oh, I do the haggling too. And for fun we, uh..."

She shrugged.

"Find neato strangers to talk to and help out, I guess."

Pausing, she smiled again, wider than before.

"Kupo."

 

[Lunarmaster54]

“Behind you!”

Hitomi’s reaction speed wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, not right now when she was distracted by every manner of guilt and cold and darkness, so when the warning was shouted out to her she didn’t even begin to move fast enough to dodge the oncoming strike from the Neo Shadow. The claws hurt, naturally, the force of the blow causing her to stumble and almost fall. The claws of a Neo Shadow were easily sharp enough to break skin but the coat Hitomi had on was spelled to protect against such strikes. The protection would stop the coat from ripping but if she was fighting something like say a Invisible the coat wouldn’t be much help.

The good thing about the strike was that it cleared the girl’s head a little. Instead of focusing on the bad stuff that had been weighing her down like cement shoes she could concentrate on something more important, something easier to handle. Heartless killing. Hitomi took a deep breath, reaching towards her magic and focusing it, coaxing it awake so it could do what she wanted it to do. She’d been taught that it was easiest to cast spells when your mind was calm and a sort of happy place was reached. Hitomi raised a her hands, one of them was clenched into a fist that she held near her chest and the other one curled around the handle of Candeloro.

“Speed.”

Her fist opened and bluish magic sprouted from her palm and quickly covered her for a moment like a veil before disappearing. She was feeling lighter, her body getting a floaty feeling that she loved. With her other hand she drew her blade from its sheathe, deciding that long sword mode was sufficient enough to deal with these heartless. When they had been learning from Mami all three of the girls had certain preferences when it came to how they wanted to fight. Sayaka preferred charging right in with a her weapons drawn and didn’t stop until she had smashed her foe into paste. She hadn’t taken well to Mami’s magic methods and had to learn how to cast spells a different way. Madoka on the other hand was the opposite. She had a bow that she had learned how to transfigure into a staff and used the staff to conduct interesting feats of magic with. Mami had gushed that she was born to be a mage and Madoka had of course blushed and denied any such thing. Hitomi liked to buff herself. Haste, Shell, Protect, Regen, being able to do things like that and fit a more supporting role had been Hitomi’s goal. But now she had to take a more active role she wouldn’t be using those buffs in a party scenario like she had wanted to do, no Hitomi would be using those buffs on herself to make sure she didn’t die or get knocked out. The haste spell would make sure she was a step ahead of the Neo Shadows. She’d been skulking around the tunnels of Twilight Town enough to know that for a fact.

Hitomi shot forward, slicing through the heartless in front of her. It wasn’t deep enough to kill it, but this heartless wasn’t her target. No Hitomi had been aiming for another heartless, a Neo Shadow that was close to the other girl who had come to save them. She moved fast, quick enough to take it by surprise as she buried her sword right in the center of it, piercing deep enough for the blow to be fatal. One shotting heartless wasn’t a very common occurrence for her, but the speed she was moving had strengthened her thrust enough to deal just enough damage to end it. Hitomi spun around on her heel, swinging Candeloro in a wide arc and slicing the other heartless she’d already hurt earlier through the middle and cutting it in half. The Neo Shadow faded away and Hitomi surveyed her surroundings, mind racing as she saw the rest of the people around her dealing with heartless. The heartless that she had summoned with her ridiculous negativity. Every scratch, every grunt of pain, any deaths that happened in this skirmish would be on her. All because she couldn’t keep it together..

“No.” Hitomi blinked hard and forced down those sorts of thoughts. Focus on the here and now. Think. This was a battle and she had to keep her mind on it. Think about something useful, like how the monsters seemed to keep spawning no matter how many the small group cut down. Now, what did that mean for them? What had she been taught about these things?

“G..Guys?” she called, voice wavering a little, “Every time one dies, another spawns, that means.. that means that there’s a boss and it’s nearby!”

 

[Aphex]

The boy was fidgety, twitching every now and then as that red gaze of his fixated on the floor.

"C'mon! Get a grip already!" Derrick thought angrily to himself, trying to refrain losing control of this form but it was the fact this form had a mind of its own. He may have been there mentally but having physical control ended up being the issue at hand.

“...Can you hear me…? You’re Derrick...aren’t you? You’ve got someone here who’s worried about you...Rena...you should’ve seen her...fighting right there for you, you’re going to be so proud of her...you can stay in control...show Rena you can come back…”

A voice had drawn out his attention, the Heartless peering at the tall man from over his shoulder, slowly pivoting in place to face him. He couldn't speak at all, not even a single word was said. He only stood there, that blank red gaze examining the man and the rest of the group that stood before him, head now tilting to the side almost as though Derrick couldn't recognize them.

But this little attempt at trying to bring him back ended abruptly, anchors spawning from dark portals now crashing into the ground around them. Derrick's eye snapped up at what appeared to be a ship, wisps of black radiating from his entire body which began to grow in size. He watched as the man fended off against the Clatterjacks but their backup ended up making an appearance, one causing the ground to sever in half and the other causing a tremor at the same time. It was all a diversion, a distraction just so the Clatterjacks could get away as the anchors slowly started to ascend.

The Heartless bolted straight towards one of the anchors, leaping right over the tremors as he latched onto the anchor itself and started to reel his arms back upon landing on the ground. This would cause a strain on the ship, attempting to stop it from leaving and also trying to cause it to come down for a rather hectic crash.

That aura grew much darker than before, the glow of his eyes also becoming a darker shade as the boy took a few steps back the more he tugged away at the anchor.

 

[Mason Stark]

[This song kinda fits in with this post? (At least for Rena's parts)]

Calm down, if he was going to attack us he would have done so already.

"Calm down?!" Aoi snapped, enraged that the man had the audacity to push his gun aside. (In that moment, he really considered pointing it at him, although it wouldn't have done anyone any good.) "Bullshit! Heartless are erratic and, if that kid's one of them, I'm pretty sure he's not got any sense left. He probably sees us as enemies, so we need to kill that thing no--!"

The man raised a brow, watching as the tall man, Sleif, stepped past him. He realized that the kid, Rena, was in tow.

Moments ago, Rena had been hiding behind Aoi, watching what was going on and trying to make sense of things as the enigma let his anger get the best of him, as he attempt to protect everyone else from the now-Heartless Derrick. How was he a Heartless, anyways? That couldn't have been normal, right? Could people usually turn into Heartless? She was so lost...

"Hmm?" She looked down, noticing that Sleif had held out his hand to her. Unsure whether she should actually take it or not, she raised her hand as if to do so, but followed behind the man.

Aoi caught this.

"The heck're you guys doing?" he snarled, now aiming his pistol back at the twitching Heartless kid.

Rena said nothing, watching as Sleif closed his eyes and his eyes started to glow. She grew more and more curious as she watched.

claka claka

With a small gasp, the girl looked back, discovering the strange Heartless covered in bones.

Blast them, not the boy. Girl, be careful and try to get through to him.

"Wait, what?" she questioned abruptly, in a way that seemed almost out of character of her. Theo wanted her to do what?

It’s up to you again, Little Lady. He’s there, and you’re the one who’s going to bring him back. You need me, just call out!

"Wait, Mister!" she called out, watching as Sleif took off to take care of the new Heartless. She had been lost before, but now she was completely disoriented by the sudden turn of events. Theo and Sleif said that she could bring him back out of that state!

But how was she supposed to do that? She barely knew Derrick. They were friends, sure, but she only called him that because he was the first person she met her; she was really unsure if that was mutual and started to question that in that moment. But, still, she didn't know much about him -- she knew his name, that Traverse Town was home, that he had a Keyblade like her, and now he could turn into some weird Heartless thing... Did that knowledge make her enough of a supposed friend to be able to help him?

Panicked, she looked up, watching as the two ran off to fight the Heartless, Aoi even following suit despite his urge to shoot the Heartless teen down. She looked back, finding herself a few feet from Derrick, close enough but just far enough away, yet she couldn't quite bring herself to look straight at him for some reason.

Her voice shook. "How'd I...?"

shish!

Derrick shot past her, rushing for the Heartless that had appeared.

"Wait! Derrick!!"

She stumbled after him, watching as the scene played out. She was caught behind it all, unsure if she was supposed to jump in and fight too or do something else entirely. With a panicked whimper, the young girl looked around frantically.

"What'd I do, what'd I do...?" she said, looking down at the Keyblade as if it had some sort of answer.

Boy, this was a lot of pressure. She didn't know what to do; she didn't even know if she could do anything at all!

The girl looked up, watching the fight as the Heartless were trying to get away on some sort of weird anchor.

There was no point in worrying about this stuff right now. It's not like she had any idea of how to fix it! But those Heartless were up to something, and everyone else was fighting them so...

clickclick!

Rena charged head first into the fight, readying her Keyblade. As the Bone Bruisers tried to make their exit, the girl raced in and fought to stop them. Swinging her Keyblade back and using the same trick as before, she shot the weapon at the Bruisers, hoping to stop at least one of them in their tracks temporarily.

 

[Ruby Rose]

As the Heartless crew was about to leave, something strong had snagged the anchor from ascending to the portal. The Bone Bruisers and Clatterjacks looked down to see the turning keyblader had grabbed the anchor and was now attempting to tug it to hopefully send the ship from the other side of the dark portal, crashing down to the earth.

The Heartless Crew then just beamed their purple orbs for eyes at the boy's fury. They would react or even retaliate, but the crew did nothing, they just glared at the him like they were watching the bare minimal effort this keyblader has been exerting. A futile effort.

Following that, the girl keyblader shot her weapon towards one of the Bone Bruisers, in attempt to take one of them out. The projectile straight jabbed at the Bone Bruiser's shoulder, like a toothpick through a fruit. However, due to the sheer resiliency of these large heartless, the Bone Bruiser just straight up picked it from its shoulder and flicked it aside. Such conventional attacks couldn't make them flinch.

The Heartless Crew then turned their sights back to the boy. The anchor then began to ascend again at a more quicker pace, the thing itself was now dragging the boy with it. And since the boy had touched the Anchor of the Stygian Ferryman...

The skeletal ornamentation on the anchor screeched to life, as multiple black vine tendrils began sprouting from the ornaments. The anchor itself is a twisted sentient being. These tendrils crept through the rusted steel frame of the anchor and wrapped itself upon the rampaging boy heartless. The anchor was now airborne and now ever so closer to the dark portal, if the boy doesn't break free, he's gonna get dragged into the unknown domain of captain herself.