Keyblade Wars

[KaigeTheRipper]

'This is bullshit...'

The door opened with a creak and the chime of a bell from above, also allowing the clatter of the rain outside to be momentarily unmuted. Seth took an instant to pull back his hood and wiped his soaking boots on the mat before heading to the booth --his booth-- which he promptly collapsed into, arms resting on the table and looking outside the large window, into the rain; as if he hadn't seen enough of it. He only had a minute or two of serene quiet before the sound of a plate hit the table (probably a BLT with hash browns), and--

"How's Sara?"

Silence. Seth didn't need to look up to look at her face, he could already hear the frown of concern in her voice.

"You did see her today... didn't you?"

Again, silence.

The voice let out a tired sigh, "What did the doctor say...?"

There was no avoiding this one. Seth knew that voice would hound him to the ends of the earth, to Hell and back to hear the answer to that question. Seth took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"It's terminal."

More silence. For a good while, the platter of the rain against the glass was the only thing that kept the silence from being painful.

"Seth..." Uncertainty was riddled in the voice. Had he not been so fatigued, Seth would've let out a bark of laughter. A cold, sad laugh, but still... "...How long?"

Seth shrugged, almost unbothered. "Weeks, a few months... Maybe a couple of years. I dunno, they didn't say anything definite."

The voice was at a loss for words to say. Well, not entirely... "You know, I wish you'd take all this a bit more seriously. I know it's hard, but what do you think Sara--"

"Doesn't matter, Dani." He finally looked up an met the voice's ("Dani's") gaze. There was a sense of emptiness in Seth's tone, which was matched by the look in his eyes. "We're born, we live, we die. When you get down to it, We're all pretty insignificant. Doesn't make sense to grieve over the inevitable..."

The waitress, 'Dani', shook her head and turned around, her back to Seth. "You know, you can be really cold sometimes..." With that, Dani left to return to her work. Though the place was very nearly deserted, she at least appeared to keep herself busy.

Seth let out a sigh and turned the dial on the cable radio stationed on the diner's table, returning his gaze to the perpetual downpour outside.

"~~increased sightings of Heartless reported, nearly four times greater than that compared to last month. Citizens are advised to travel in groups whenever possible, avoid reportedly infested and sealed-off areas, and listen to Aldra Group officials and officers for your own safety~~"

'This is bullshit...' Seth repeated to himself, now absently drawing himself to his food.

[Azulu]

Shadows were creeping across the lands, the orange sky taken over by black clouds. The once amazing plains of Thorondor were trampled and destroyed. Big craters in the ground, some still burning, filling the air with the smell of fire and blood. Bodies were lying everywhere, but all of them were… furs. And kneeling at one of them, a young male grey fox with amazing blue eyes staring at the darkened skies, was a woman. She was about the same age as the man, having the same deep blue eyes and her hair collored a bright green. A blade, a Key Blade, was clenched in her fist.

Fallon was crying for her lost brother.

She turned her head to the north, something caught her attention. Thunder rumbling. And in the distance, a moving crowd of Heartless. She looked down again, wiping her tears off with the back of her free hand, before soft drips of rain started to pour down on her and her brother. She moved her hand to the man’s face, and gently closed his eyes. With a deep sigh, she rose up from the ground and turned around, raising the Key Blade in her right hand at the waiting Heartless.
Lightning broke the darkness when she rushed at them.

“Aaarhg…”

Fallon awoke from her nightmare with a shout, blinking her eyes when a drop of rain splashed down on her nose. After looking around, she rubbed her face with both her hands and stood up, stretching out. Damnit, she hated it when she had another one of those dreams about her home planet Guyugara. Her armour was dark brown, the pants a little lighter than that. A simple belt with a handy pouch strapped on it held it up. A purple vertical stripe ran across both sides of her pants, matching the sleeveless shirt under her shoulder and neck armour.
She looked at the city down the hill she'd fallen asleep on, it’s windows just visible through the pouring rain. The big tree behind her stopped most of the cold wet weather, but still leaked some through. “Well, another day of travelling… might get something to eat before we head off.” She said, her voice sounding warm and friendly.
A soft bleep was heard when she ended her fraise, coming from the pouch. She opened it, and what came out looked a bit like a bug, it was only made out of metal, and it’s eyes were made out of small green lights. It moved the plates on its back, spreading a pair of insect wings and flew up, hanging in the air in front of Fallon at her eye height. Miraculously, it had a voice, but it sounded too mechanical and high to be… eh… realistic. “Head off? Don’t you want to look around some more? This world looks so nice, doesn’t have -too- much problems with the Heartless, and would suit you perfectly! Dispite the rain.” he said. It had no mouth, the sound seemed to come from under its belly, where a little speaker was hidden.
Fallon grinned, snatching him out of the air with her hand, pushing him back in the pouch. "Ah, okay... I suppose we can have a look in the village to have a drink..." She mumbled, then began to walk down the hill, into the rain.

A few moments later, she came dripping into the tavern. Her darkgrey ears perked up hearing the voices of the radio and the people inside. She looked around nervously, rubbing her grey fur. This all looked a lot like her home... and it made her uneasy and nervous.

[Shade Leshyr]

"Sing my blade! Sing of this war and all its beauty!" Screamed the fox as he swung his blade in a wide arc to split a heartless down the middle. He was crazed beyond insanity. Izaara felt so at home in the midst of battle, or rather, a part of him did. Even now his other voices argued, Kill them and be done with it, you're wasting time, "But what fun is that!? We're just getting started!!" Another voice, You're so cruel, they're only putting up a minimal resistance, very minimal "And that's my fault!? Next time they better take me a bit more serious!!"

One by one, the tiny force of heartless fell to Izaara's Fury, as he had come to call it. They were all there: Fury, Love, Fear, Joy, Hollow, Lonely, and Izaara himself. Fury was in full swing today, enraged by this mere token force. Even as the last threat fell, he howled at the trees around him, "ARE THERE NO MORE WITH THE COURAGE TO FACE ME!?" He was answered by silence and, with a huff, control was returned to Izaara. The change was almost visible as his eyelids drooped slightly, his mouth became a thin line, and his posture became relaxed, almost regal.

He put a hand into the pocket of his pants and withdrew a sealed envelope, "Good, you didn't damage it. Be far more careful next time you clumsy fool. We don't get paid if the package is opened." Fury responded with a slight grumble. Izaara raised his eyes to the path into the forest, into the sheer darkness that the trees created. Fear shuddered in his mind, M-maybe we should find another way around? Izaara shook his head, "No, we are to deliver it as fast as possible. The fastest way is through the forest.

One foot in front of the other, he entered the forest, the darkness closing in around him. Hollow gave a rare chuckle, This place is home for us. It is empty of normal life, only the heartless ever come here. Perhaps we should retire and end our days here... Izaara ignored him. Retirement was something he would never be able to live with...

[Duskmon]

There were two things that Rioo hated. One was the fact that he had no memory of where he was from or who he was besides his first name and last initial, the other was being chased down like a criminal. They were going to execute him. He ran into the forest trying to evade the police force. As soon as he was deep enough he glanced behind himself to make sure he was safe. The next thing he knew he ran into something hard but soft and was on the ground. He looked up at the man with intense fear.

[Iseeyouthere]

"Heya sis..."
"Baz!" cried out a young panther, rushing forward to hug her big brother.
"Ow..." groaned Baz.
"Oh sorry... Sorry.." Holly replied, stepping back.

Baz had just gotten back from fighting the darkness. Covered in brusies and scratch marks, he looked like a war torn soldier. His sleek, black fur was slightly stained with his own blood. The Heartless had continued to assault the town, but thankfully, it was not a full force like the ones that had destroyed the cities. Soon though, the entire planet would be consumed. For now, the defenders were holding them off until the last few hundred survivors could be evacuated.

"Why haven't you left?" Baz asked.
"I've told you before. I'm not leaving until you leave."
"It is too dangerous for you to stay here. The Heartless could overrun us at any moment. I want you out of here before that happens."
"I'm NOT leaving. You are the only family I have left!"

Baz sighed as he shared his sister's emotions. That was a gift and curse he had. He shared the emotions of others. If someone was sad, he was sad. If they were overjoy, he was too. Not magical in nature... Just the panther's lack of his own emotions made him copy others.
Looking around to change the topic, he noticed that his sister was the only one in the room.
"The children has been evacuated?"
"Yes. They were the first to go."
"Good..."

Sitting down, Baz enjoyed the peace and quiet. He needed the rest. On his back was a strange blade that looked like a key. The blade itself looked well designed for defence and gaurding, not so much attacking. He had no clue where it came from, but he knew it was attached to him somehow, mainly after he tried to rid of it and it just kept coming back.
Still... it proved to be a powerful weapon against the Heartless.
"Soon... We will be out of here."

[arinot]

Akira came back home dragging some big game.
The frozen haven glittered in front of him... but that wasn't where he was going...
No, he turned onto the dirty, unkempt, path to the right and ended up in a semi sheltered cove where many buildings made of wood and animal skin lay.
He dropped his game outside the house... and turned back to the path to check if his neighbor had gotten home...
And then he saw it...
The glimmering of the city had died down, and darkness began to overcome its peaks...

Before he knew it, the entire city had this darkness moving around, like ants on an anthill.
He rushed to meet the threat and then suddenly...

His knife became that key... sword... thing again.

but he paid it no heed. It seemed to work against these damn things, and if it did that, he was fine.



The first time he'd seen them was in a hunting trip. Back then, it was just one, and not that big... It attacked him. As he dodged, and finally attempted to strike back, the odd transformation happened.

Then suddenly, something inside gave, and his key appeared for the first time.
Over time, the dark things began showing up more and more. And it was around him too...


Now, he guessed, was the finale... And he'd defend his town long enough to get the others out of there.

[Buzzwolf]

The very air tore open with a roar as an armored figure dropped from the sky out of the hole in the very fabric of reality, landing in a heap after a failing to land on it's feet, and was down and tumbling before coming to a stop in the open ground facing the rain drenched sky. the figure simply lay there, unmoving. the quick rise and fall of her chest the only thing giving away that this figure was in fact, alive.

The rain pattered against the figures armor, sliding off the visor for what seemed like hours before the figure finally moved, and sat up with a jolt, wavered a moment, and fell back on her back with a groan. a lightning flash caused the armor to light for a mere moment, the matte black that made up most of the armor lt in a silluette as the red accenting and her visor nearly floressed in the sudden light. she sat up this time, slower, and rubbing the side of her head through what made up her helmet "Oww....goddamn rifts..." she looked around slowly attempting to get her bearings, and remember what had just happened. her HUD readouts fizzled in static, unable to tell her where, or when for that matter, she was. "Come on you piece of shit! where the fuck am I?!" she smacked the side of her helmet, causing a burst of static across it before the systems stablized, though still unable to tell her where and when she was, just a continous 'searching' icon "goddammit...this planet is supposed to have a temporal beacon on it!" she looked around her, "Speaking of where...where the hell is everyone else...?" this was supposed to be the aftermath retreat point! Naras had been lost to the darkness, this was where everyone was supposed to meet up once they got the hell outta dodge! "Don't tell me I'm the only one who got out!" it wasn't possible even! there were just too many of her own soldiers she'd seen make the jump before she had! she was supposed to have been the last one out! "Where the FUCK am I?!"

no more than a ten feet from the figure, a second rift formed, much cleaner and more elegant than the Armored figures had been. it also formed along the ground, and tore just over four feet up. a black furred figure strode through, on all fours, and standing at about four foot at the shoulder. at a glance it appeared to have a feline appearance to it. a pair of large black eyes, would flash in time with the lightning as it slipped through the rift, the rift already closing around it, finally slipping shut after the creatures long black tail flipped through. it immediately dropped down on it's haunches and watched the female warrior sitting before it. another flash would show off another difference it held from a common panther. it had neither a nose, nor a mouth. it's entire body was a stark black, merging almost seemlessly with the dark landscape if not for the glow the eyes produced with the slightest light, and what appeared to be some sort of a tattoo on it's left shoulder, edged in a glowing blue. not even it's fur picked up a sheen from the downpour coming down around it. the rain itself didn't even seem to actually be touching the creature, let alone getting it wet. the creature simply sat. and watched the frustrated warrior now stalking back and forth.

"Cyrax seven?" she looked around her again, pausing momentarily in her stalking to look around her again, before shaking her head and continuing her stalking "No no...far to primitive for Cyrax seven...Belax?" she barely paused before disregarding that one, chuckling a little to herself that she had even considered it "No way...maybe --" she stopped, her eyes falling on her audience, the two just stared at each other a moment, then "Gyros! You're alive!"

It's far harder to kill a Video than you might think, Miss Tikarra the 'voice', so to speak of the beast, came with a deep sense of calm control, almost as if what happened were something expected and accounted for, not to mention that it came in her own head. the 'Beast' bowed it's head slightly before the warrior as he, the voice being -quite- male, 'spoke' You seem rather troubled Miss Tikarra?

"Gyros...if you weren't a Video..." she could 'hear' what would equate to something of a grin. she sighed with a smile "Gyros, you have a better understanding of the fabric of reality and all that fun...Where the hell are we?"

The blue glow that surrounded the 'tattoo' on the beasts shoulder faded to a white glow I'm afraid that...I have no idea at the moment. the glow returned to a deep blue there do not seem to be any other Video in this timestream to 'balance' with there seemed to be some kind of hesitation in his voice

"Is there something else Gyros...?" Gyros was one rarely distracted, and the fact that this had drawn so much attention, made her very curious

there is something about this place...this timeline, Shira THAT caught her attention. Gyros -never- addressed her by first name....ever. There is a convergance happening here, like that I have not felt in many, many years....since long before I met you Shira that feeling of his 'smiling' was back, and he 'sighed' It is good to feel purpose once more what he meant by that, he left unexplained. and if she'd learned anything in all the years he'd followed her around, it was that asking when he hadn't explained, didn't do shit. especially not as he had already started to stride off there is civilization in this direction. It woud be best if you did not leave Destinys Edge behind. You will be in need of it soon enough

"Destiny's...edge...?" she looked down at her own armor. Destiny's Edge was a swords name. she didn't carry a sword, an ARC blade, maybe. but a physical sword? "I--" a flash of lightning illuminated the blade the beast spoke of. stuck deep into the ground behind where the beast had been sitting, was the blade. a very long, very thin pair of blades, seperated by less than an inch of jagged edged steel. it stood nearly as tall as her and was still stuck in the ground. the handle a rich black similar to the felinoids fur, with spikes and catches protecting the hilt "I...have a sword?" as she looked up, the felinoid was already striding away "Hey! Dammit Gyros! wait a sec would you?!" she grabbed the sword and dashed after him

[Elemancer Xeyomyth]

'...Hey'

The man was floating in darkness as he opened his eyes. Looking around he sees nothing but black, but he hears a voice call out to him.

'Hey.'

The man lifted his torso looking around for the voice.

'Now is not the time for sleep. get a move on or you'll never fulfill your purpose.'

He then felt like he was falling for a moment as he landed on solid ground with a confused look. He staggered slightly trying to stand.

'Go on...Start walking.'

He stood there and looked around for the voice then looked straight ahead of him

'Hurry now...Get going'

He began walking in the way he was facing after a couple minutes. The darkness quickly turned into a town and the man was in it's central area. He looked around very confused and startled at the sudden change in landscape. He the pulled into a full board run through the city in a blind sprint. Not paying attention to where he's going. He bumps into a sign falling onto his side. A fake but very well made keyblade falls off his backas he quickly gets up and continues running as a nearby girl picks up the blade. His sprint leads him into a opening where a very large heartless awaited. He fell onto his as he tried to halt his momentum to turn around and run away. the heartless fired a ball of light that exlodes at his feet sending him flying through the air. Landing near the girl who aprouched after his impact. The voice spoke once more.

'take it...use it to fight.'

The girl lift the blade to him and he took it looking at it curiously. He then took to his feet and began walking towards the monster pulling the large but heavy blade behind himself. Bursting into a sprint he charges at the beast. And with all his might he leapt into the air above the beasts head and slams the blade along it's forhead. As the blade breaks the monster turns into a glowing black orb. it's pulses sending the man flying. He slams into a tree as the orb lowers. It begins to grow into a shadow version of the man. as it lands it begins walking towards thee man with a grin on it's face.

"I've been waiting for you"

It cracks it's knuckles and back as it begins running towards the boy. The village people were in a complete panic trying to flee from the area. the creature grabs him by the throat and lifts him to a stand. He then gives a punch to the mans face. He chuckles and gives him a knee to the gut. The man cough as he hears the voice again.

'What are you doing...Fight back!'

The man looks at the creature and gives it a hard punch to its gut. He then lifts up bringing his arm up and then thrusting his fist, with the hilt of the blade still in his hand, into the temple of the creatures head. shattering the hilt the monster disperses as the man staggers forward. Nobody was around in his blurring feild of vision as he walked onward. he got halfway to the alley before collapsing. The creature appeared next to the man. He fights to stay conscious. The creature kicks him onto his back.

"How pathetic...You can't even bring forth the Keyblade your so broken"

The man looked up at the creature as it raised his arm, A blade appearing in his hand as he's about to deal a fatal blow. The voice echoes into his mind.

'Will the power forth...And it will come to you'

He lifted his hand reaching out to the creature. His vision blurred as the creature swung it's blade down onto the man. A Keyblade hilt appeared in and the mans eyes widened. He looked at it and rolled onto all fours. He leapted forward out of the way tumbling as he went. He got up and looked at the hilt as the voice explained.

'Trust it...and give it a swing.'

With that he looked up at the creature and rushed it. He gave it a swift Horizontal swing and the hole in the hilt erupted a blade of energy cutting the creature in half. It vanish with a smirk as the man falls to his knees the keyblade also vanishing. He breathes deeply looking around at the empty village.

[KaigeTheRipper]

A few moments later, she came dripping into the tavern. Her darkgrey ears perked up hearing the voices of the radio and the people inside. She looked around nervously, rubbing her grey fur. This all looked a lot like her home... and it made her uneasy and nervous.

Seth, leaving an empty dish on the table, dragged himself out of his seat and headed for the door, passing an oddly-clothed woman on his way. Seriously, she should put more on or she'll catch a cold. The weather outside is no laughing matter. Eh, let her mother deal with it, not like it matters to anyone else.

Seth gave the stranger a quick, polite nod of recognition as he passed her, then turning towards Dani while putting up his hood. "I'm going to check up on Sara, so don't wait for me."

Hearing this, the waitress closed her eyes and released a pained sigh. "You mean you haven't yet...?"

However, Seth was gone by the time she finished her question, the bell over the door dancing noisily from side to side proof of the man's departure. Dani pinched the bridge of her nose in clear frustration. Always the same... But enough of that.

"Is there anything I can get for you?" The waitress's attention shifted to the fox girl with the strange clothing, which did cause an eyebrow to raise a little... "Possibly a coat so you won't catch pneumonia...? You know what? Sit. I'm making you some soup."
**************************************************************************************************************************************************

=== Fifteen Minutes Later (cause I'm a lazy ass) ===

Seth stalked down the endless street, breath visible in the air and trench coat and hoodie thoroughly soaked. The city was crowded with skyscrapers to the point of becoming claustrophobic. This truly was a dismal city; within the perpetual deluge of rain, the only light source being a few building's windows, the countless florescent lamps lined along the streets, those Heartless's eyes, and--

"Oh fuck my life..."

[Buzzwolf]

This way...Quickly now the panther seemed to phase in and out as he darted between the trees as he lead her along watch your step please he hoped over what seemed to be a park bench cut out of the very trees around them, and carved in intricate detail to resemble what seemed to be a Koi fish and a Lily leaf to make up the back

"Where are we going Gyros?" she asked pointlessly. the felinoid wouldn't tell her anything, not until he was ready at least. "Dammit Gyros! Wait up would you! I can't phase in and out of reality to dodge--Gah!--Trees!" a low hanging branch hooked her as she vaulted the bench the felinoid had nimbly danced over moments before. the felinoid paused momentarily, looking back at her, before vanishing into the underbrush again. She batted the tree limb away with the sword, and found the limb falling on her, a clean cut where the sword had connected

Please do be careful with that...it's a good deal sharper than you are used to Gyros poked his head from around the side of a tree on the otherside of a path that lay crossing infront of the bench she lay sprawled on now do please hurry, our window will be closing shortly the felinoid started off again, this time following the path along

She pushed the branch off of her, taking a second to run a sensored finger over the cut the blade had made. it was perfect. she hadn't even felt the blade catch before it'd sliced clean through the branch! she turned and the felinoid was gone...again "Dammit Gyros!" she took off at a dash along the path, catching sight of his tail as he made a sharp left and vanished again, she followed suit a moment later, and barely caught herself as she found herself standing at the edge of a high-rise Skyscraper "....Holyshit!" she grabbed backwards and latched onto a tree branch as she frantically looked around for Gyros

It would seem you're losing your touch Miss Tikarra he was taunting her now, more than obviously taunting her. she was still looking around for where he was projecting from, searching along all the tops of the skyscrapers nearby Down here Miss Tikarra she looked down over the edge, and there, sitting on the wall as if it were the ground, was Gyros. You are qualified for an orbital drop, correct?

"Gyros..." she was kneeling at the edge and looking down, about to continue, but he interrupted her

please, we do not have much time. the window will be closed shortly. you must Jump. his tail flipped out and caught the vixens sword, easily slipping it from her distracted hand, and flipped it over the side of the building Now there was an edge to his voice that spoke a wary impatience. time was running out. but for what?

The sword, after tumbling for several stories, finally straitened out, and dropped like an arrow into the ground, imbedding itself halfway into the concrete and metal of the street below

and then she saw it. far below her, what had appeared to be simply a few out lights...was moving. "...Oh....fucking...hell.....The darkness is here too?! I thought we'd contained them to Naras?!" The Darkness. the beasts of shadow that had overrun Naras...these beast were more than just 'heartless' to them...they were the darkness that desired to snuff out the light

I had believed so as well...but it appears they have infected more of the timestream than we had previously believed. you need to dispel this before it has a chance to grow any bigger within these city walls, or we risk a total collapse of the city to The Darkness.

She launched herself from the edge of the building before Gyros had even had a chance to finish his thought and soaring downwards at mind-blowing speeds. Level after level of the skyscrapers tore by in a blur. but none of it mattered. all of her focus was on the darkness growing below her. She rotated in the air, orienting herself feet first and at the last possible moment, the pulse thrusters spaced across her suit flared to life, slowing her drop just enough that her suit could absorb the impact and keep her from breaking anything....well, anything that wasn't herself. her landing point had landed her square on one of the creatures of The Darkness. she hit it hard enough, that when he foot connected with it's head, it had splattered before it had even hit the ground, and sprayed everything around in the blackened goo of The Darkness. the ground spiderwebs under her collision, and she did a quick hop-skip to further deaden the energy from the impact and regain her balance. she immediately turned, bringing her fist around and tearing through one of the creatures as it approached her, splitting it in two and destroying most of it's midsection as a pulse thruster increased the impact.

not that it did much good. where there had been one large heartless, there were now two smaller ones trying to compose themselves from the remains Use your sword Miss Tikarra Gyros was already sitting ontop of a store front overhang watching the fight. she'd learned a long time ago, he couldn't fight. it wasn't allowed unless something was already altering the timestream. he was only allowed to step in to fix it, not solve it. but boy did she wish he could step in now. hell, she wished he could've stepped in when it came to Naras They never would've lost if he'd helped

"Well..?! Where'd it land?!" she looked around frantically, dodging a swipe from the creature, and returning it with a blow of her own

I believe it landed behind that poor man you splattered with the Darkness when you landed on it he motioned downward to where the man was standing...sprayed with the darkness castoff

She grimaced under her helmet. she'd completely missed the man standing there when she'd hit the Darkness, she started that way, only to be cut off by the creature as it slipped in between them Fuck she was on her own for the moment

I would suggest his voice projecting to the man covered in the dark goo, making sure that the man would be able to 'feel' the direction it was coming from so he could speak face to face that you take a few steps back if you do not wish that to happen again... the voice seemed to stop watching the armored vixen tear through another beast, only to have it get back up again, as though something had occurred to him Or... he continued ...You could draw your own blade and give her a much needed hand

[Shade Leshyr]

Izaara staggered back as a human slammed into him. His cold, dead eyes worked their way over the human, sizing him up as a threat, but was cut off as the authorities showed up. Each officer slammed to a dead stop in his or her tracks, sudden inhales from them showing they recognized him. The keyblade in his hands was one of the few things that gave him away, as well as the stare of a man who had died long ago.

Their leader stepped forward, quaking in his boots. Rumors were abound about this raving mad fox, none of them very good and quite a few proven, "W-we don't want any trouble, we only want this criminal.." He gulped at the unending stare he received as Izaara grabbed the human's arm and lifted him forcefully to his feet. Izaara shook his head at the officer, "You are a fool. You have no idea just where you are, do you," he saw the truth in their eyes, they knew, "or you're just complete idiots. This is Heartless territory, not the place for spineless puppets like you."

Inside, the mental battle was raging, his personalities split evenly on what to do. Half of them wanted to turn the silly human over, but the other half couldn't understand what this human could have done. It was a mystery worth investigating, but he had to deliver the letter in his pocket. Finally, he waved his hand in dismissal, "Leave, get out of this forest now. I am taking the human with me. He will either stay at my side and live, or run and be slain by Heartless, either way, it's not your concern anymore and unlike him, you will not have my protection and you will be consumed."

The officers made a mad dash in the opposite direction, both to be out of the forest and away from the deranged vulpine. Izaara lifted his keyblade to his shoulder and began walking off, barking, "Come."

[Duskmon]

Rioo listened and followed. After a minute he spoke up "You didn't have to save me. The heartless would have shown up and converted them soon enough. But thank you anyway." After that he was silent. There was something about him, as if something was missing

[Tiger Sora]

A slow thrum of the ceiling fan, the only constant thing ever in the bar. Except for Slavoc, who was toying with his glass of whiskey. 'The day I choose to become a mercenary. I certainly made the stupidest decision in my life'. Slav let out a long sigh and quit moving his glass in little circles. 'I really..... should of chose a better profession. I could of been a freighter captain'. Slav let out a short chuckle as the thought. 'Nah thats just as boring as this job'. He pulled up the glass and took back some of the whiskey. Slav set the glass down hard, spilling afew drops. 'Lets face it my kind are of no use anymore other than fighting bandits and pirates. Were a dying breed". Rubbing his cheek he realized he'd been drinking since this morning and he was thinking stupid thoughts. The two empty whiskey bottles on the bar top helped him notice too. "I'm drunk, crap". After minutes more on top the barstool, moping about his life, Slav laid his head atop his arms and fell asleep.

Eight hours latter. Slav awoke, his head smooshed against the bar. Groaning for the sake up waking up and the pain in his back, he wandered off to the bathroom. Stretching along the way to crack his joints. With the relieving done, his fur straightened and hair combed back. Slav headed back into the bar, but froze at the door frame. "What the fuck" the bar was completely empty. Not even the bartender was there anymore. Looking at the clock, it read ten pm. "This place should be full of miner's by now". Slav walked back to his stool, and leaned over to see into the back room "SAM". He got no response. "Whaaat the". He jumped back off the bar and turned around. His eyes widened as some black shadowy figure slowly crept it's way across the room. Instinctively he reached for his pistol, blowing it's head off. The shadowy figure fell backwards and through the floor, leaving a pile of black ooze. Quickly looking 360 around, no more threats seemed to be there. Turning back to... whatever he shot, Slav's breath caught.

Sitting atop a table was a large two-handed sheathed sword and some sort of shoulder piece with a note on it. Slav picked up the note (Put these on. I'd say you have about three minutes before more come. P.S. the blade goes on your back no your belt.). "Geese idiot, go figure". Not wanting to get killed by one of the shadows, Slav followed the notes vague instructions. "Least this job got more fun".

[Azulu]

Fallon looked up from rubbing her fur when the man passed her, blinking suprised with her big blue eyes. She smiled back at him before he went outside, and then turned her head to the waitress who was approaching her. "Oh, that would be great! Thank you!" She said happy.

A few moments later, she was sitting at a table, bend over a big damping bowl of chicken soup. "Mmmm... this smells great..." She mumbled, sniffing up the scents. She turned her head to the waitress as her hand reached for her pocket. "How much will the soup cost, ma'm?" She asked her, taking out her wallet and opening it. Aside from some stranger coins and small photos, there were a bigger ammount of this world's money in it. With the wallet came Ramsey, who took off into the air, staying airborn as he turned around. His greenish eyes blinked at the waitress. "I guess we won't be going as soon as we thought," He buzzed.

Fallon and Ramsey had only been on this planet for a short while, and soon, they would have planned to move on to the next. But they wouldn't be that lucky, that was for sure.

[Iseeyouthere]

"Sound the alarm! They are attacking again!"
"See you later sis." muttered Baz, hugging her as he left. Unequipping his strange weapon, he held it ready and ran with others to the front lines. The front lines themselves were nothing but a couple of sandbags and bits of brick or rubble. It all proved useless against the darkness, but it gave the others a sense of direction, such as where to fight in and where not to go.

In the distant, all that could be seen was inky darkness, with strange yellow dots emerging. The dots themselves were the eyes of humaniod creatures. Baz shuddered at what or who they once were. They attacked in waves, mixes of strange shadows and armoured wearing figures. Sometimes a big, fat one would come charging through. They were all mostly weak, but that concerned the others. If these were the weak ones... where were the stronger ones?

Baz swung his blade again and again at the darkness, but found himself mainly defending himself from their attacks. Strangely, he did a better job defending than attacking. Each time a creature of darkness took a swipe at him, he managed to defend himself rather well. But often, their attacks go through.

It continued for a few hours before the darkness crept away, leaving seven wounded and three dead.
"I don't get it... Its like they are following orders..." one of the militia said.
Baz shared his emotion of confusion and wonder. He too began to question what this darkness would do.