(( Holy crap I updated. Yeah, I know it's been a bit. College does that. I'll try to be a bit faster with my next one. ))

Hearts of Azeroth

Chapter Seven: The Bitter North

Hey, Sora. The boat's docked. Wake up.

Huh-wha'? Oh. I open my eyes, and roll right off of the hammock I was on, and onto the floor. Riku, the one who woke me up shakes his head. "Looking sharp, as ever." He grins, and pulls me up.

So far, after the Plaguelands… Riku and I went back to the cities we appeared in. We both took a factional representative of the Knights of the Ebon Blade. I took the death knight I was in charge of, Dagrun Steelbelly, to Stormwind. We went through Stormwind City to find the King, once more. The 'dwarf', as he called himself was pelted with awful things and yelled at the entire journey. It… was kind of freaky. They were saying things like… 'The Scourge wiped out my family'.

And there I was… taking one of them to be redeemed. I just hope Riku is right about what he said about being redeemed. And if I can accept Riku, I can accept the death knights. We took him to Varian, and I showed him the letter. He made a declaration about treating them just as any hero.

After that, he gave Dagrun and I orders to go to the docks, to set sail for Northrend. It seems we're going to be taking the fight to the Lich King. Still… it gives me chills to know we're facing him in his home turf. Even my Valor Form was shrugged off by him, and he was apparently on ground he was weak on.

Riku pokes my chest. "You okay? You zoned out." I blink my eyes.

"Heh, sorry." I say, scratching the back of my neck. "I've been doing a lot of thinking. This entire experience is still sinking in, y'know? Anyway, why are you on my boat? Have I been asleep that long?"

Riku laughs. "My boat was here for about an hour before yours. I didn't see you get off, so I'm making sure you get off." He pulls me along. "C'mon." He says. "We have to get briefed as to what exactly we're doing."

I walk with Riku, and… whoa. The 'Borean Tundra' I was told about… looks amazing. The blue ocean sparkles with the sun shining on it, the icebergs nearly blinding me as they reflected all the light they got. I turn around and see the still sort of under construction Valiance Keep. An inn, a keep, and a boat still being built. I look to the sky and see the yellow-ish auroras that streak across the sky as I just realize the nipping cold that starts to bite at me. Riku and I head into the inn, considerably warmer than the outside. Charles and Dagrun sit at one of the tables. Charles nods to me and invites us over.

"You finally wake up, Sora?" He grins, taking a swig of whatever's in his wooden mug. "The recruitment officer should let us know what our mission is. I've been told we have something to do here before heading to Dragonblight."

Riku nods. "Yeah. Until then…" He looks to the barmaid across from us. "Glass of water, please." He and I take a seat in the available chairs.

I scratch my head. "Any idea what we're in for?" I ask. The barmaid brings a glass of water and sets it in front of Riku. He takes a sip, and shrugs.

Dagrun looks to me. "Well. Ya' got undead aplenty, little fire-rat things, and the tension between the Alliance an' the Horde, an' whatever th' hell those things that started popping up, recently."

Riku nods. "That's why Gortek or Tatauwi aren't here. This is an Alliance establishment. He'd get killed, here."

A man with short black hair and mustache comes to our table and sits in the last seat. "Charles. 'Lo. I'm guessing these are your companions?"

The paladin strokes his brown beard and nods. "Aye. Sora, Riku, and Dagrun. The young men are the Keyblade people we spoke about. They're here about the Heartless and Nobodies we've started to see."

The black haired man nods and bows towards Riku and I. "Recruitment Officer Carven. It's nice to meet you both. Now. We have information from scouts about the enemies around here. We know that the Scourge are working with the new forces that have popped up in the Tundra. And a few of the greater scourge forces can control them."

Riku blinks, and takes another sip of his water. "So… that means Xehanort has contacted the undead. And most likely the Lich King."

The officer nods. "If this Xehanort controls these Heartless and Nobodies, that means we'll have to hunt him down, too. Though, with him working with the Lich King, I'm guessing where we can find one, we can find the other."

I shook my head. "Maybe. But Xehanort likes to work with trickery. He's subtle, and often has grand plans that account for everything. Often times in the past, we had to wait until he made a move or take the fight to him. And considering there's two armies with two leaders, we can't wait for him to make his move."

The officer looks to me and crosses his arms. "Which is why we will send you four, along with the… Horde… partners… to scout out the leader of the undead forces here."

Riku gulps the last of his water and sets the glass down on the table. "You point out where, and we can do just that."

Charles takes out his map, and slides it over to Carven. He takes out a pen and marks an 'X'. "This is where we think they're concentrated at. Our scryers believe this is the apex of the dark power in this area." Charles takes the map back, and stands.

"Let's go. We will meet up with our horde Cenarion and Ebon Blade partners, and head there. Tatauwi promised us something that would help us with any mass produced army. Hopefully it doesn't fall short of expectation." He says, as Riku, Dagrun, and I get up to leave.

We get outside as Riku tosses me a coat. "No sense fighting when you can't feel your arms." He smirks, and puts his on. The coat I put on is a dull grey cloth, lined with thick fur on the inside. …It does feel a lot better than being out here with short sleeves. I don't know how I stood the cold mountains in Mulan's world.

We head to the gryphon roost. Charles tosses the man with goggles a few coins. "Two gryphons." He says.

Charles and Dagrun hop on a gryphon. They both look back at us expectantly, as Riku hops on with the dwarf, and I hop on with Charles. They both make a running start, as I hold on tight. They take off in the air, soaring high above the keep. I look down to the exit, and see two gargoyles heading towards us. I hold out my arm and summon my Keyblade, and shout. "Blizzard!" As a bolt of ice flies out of my Keyblade to pierce one of the gargoyle's wings. The winged undead creature flails the one working appendage as it takes a long fall. Riku looks to me and summon his Keyblade as well. Riku throws his blade in a spinning motion, the blade being stuck through the chest of the monster, as it starts to fall as well. The Keyblade disappears and reappears into Riku's grip.

Charles looks to me with a brow quirked. "Thanks. You're surprising with how well you work in almost every situation."

I grin, and let my Keyblade disappear in a flash of light. "Thanks. If the enemy has everything, then so do I."

The gryphons start losing altitude as Charles and Dagrun find the spot to land in. Below, I see… a tank! That's sweet! I hope I get to ride in that.

Charles seems to groan, however. "What the hell did Tatauwi promise us?" He says, as both the gryphons touch down. We all hop off of our mounts, and walk towards Tatauwi and the orc. The tank they're standing next to looks somewhat rude, made out of wood, mostly. It's mostly a catapult you can drive…

A tank's a tank, okay? That's cool in itself. "So what's the tank for?" I ask.

The orc quirks a brow at me, as Tatauwi laughs. "What do you think it's for, my boy? It's for mowing down the undead. You should have seen the trip here." He says, smirking.

Riku shrugs. "So, I'm guessing you got the mission, too?" He asks, crossing his arms.

The orc nods. "Yes, Riku. We will obliterate the smaller undead. As there will be many in number, we decided a machine like this was necessary."

Charles nods. "Makes sense… Then Dagrun and I will get on our gryphons and rain both Light and blight on the larger undead." Charles looks to Riku and I. "You two will handle the Heartless and Nobodies. If what you say about them is true, then we'll need all your effort concentrated on them if we hope to get these numbers dwindling."

The orc crosses his arms. "And how do we know the Heartless and Nobodies won't just go for those who can't take care of them? Can they get their attention?"

Riku rests a hand on his hip. "They're always drawn to those who wield the Keyblade, it's one of the things we first learn as wielders. We're like a beacon."

I nod. "Sounds simple enough. So if we find this supposed leader, what should we do?"

Dagrun hefts his runeblade over his shoulder, grinning. "Then ya' take th' bastard down. That is, when the wee ones are at a bit more manageable level."

The tauren snorts. "Let's not charge in blindly, when we get to him. Scourge leaders are no pushovers. Even with the six of us, we'll need to see if we can stand a chance. Most likely, it will be when he is more alone."

I shrug. "At this point, the only way to find out is to get in there and see." I reach out and summon my Keyblade once more, now that I'm no longer holding on for dear life on a bird-lion. I look down to the ground. The snow isn't as thick, and I can even see dead grass. The hue is similar to… the grass in the Plaguelands. We're definitely near the Scourge.

Riku nudges my shoulder. "You ready? We're definitely near. Try and get as many Heartless as we can, because anything they kill will reform."

I nod, and rest my Keyblade over my shoulder. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Try not to use all your magic, by the way. I'm having the feeling we'll be facing more than just a bunch of grunts." I say.

The tank starts rolling once more, Dagrun and Charles give their gryphons a running start, soon leaping up into the air with speed. Riku and I make a jogging start in the direction of the decaying grass. Riku summons his Keyblade, raising it up and bursting into a sprint. "C'mon, we're lagging behind." He says.

I step my run up to a sprint alongside Riku, and soon enough, I see what they were referring to. Surrounding a large, circular stone slab is a huge army of Scourge, Heartless, and Nobody alike. In the middle of the stone slab is a large, floating skeleton creature in mage-like vestments. The others had already started their assault, a section of the army being crushed, burned, and rammed by the tank. A few of the giant flesh creatures were struck down by a joint effort by the men on the gryphons, bolts of Light and Dark slicing them down.

Riku jumps into the fray, and starts slicing away at the crowd of Shadows and Dusks, one after another fall to each swing of his Keyblade, dissolving and breaking down into vapor and releasing Hearts.

I raise my Keyblade, and start impaling the creatures, making sure to dodge the undead. I drive my blade through the crowd, covering more ground and driving myself deeper into the heart of the swarm. As I find myself in the middle of the swarm, turning to me, I start to encounter larger Heartless, Nobodies, and even Scourge. I take in a deep breath, and concentrate my will, my thoughts, and the bonds of those around me to create a burst of Light, once again taking on a Drive form. My clothes become enriched with a blue hue, with silver accents. My feet barely touch the ground as raw magic surrounds me, my Keyblade levitating with merely a thought in my hand. I raise the blade up and yell, "Firaga!" A whirl of flame surrounds me, the rows of the Heartless and Nobodies that circling me dissolving without so much as a whimper.

A few of the Snipers create a triangle to try to trap me, pointing their crossbows to lock on. I jump up as they shoot, letting the arrows of energy collide rather than hitting me. I yell, "Thundaga!" As lightning bolts strike from the sky down onto the three ranged Nobodies, creating another shield of flame to tear through the crowd, pointing my Keyblade and focusing my raw energy to shoot rapid bolts of magic to help thin the herd of smaller creatures of the Heart.

Riku, rather, spends his time dealing with the bigger ones. The Berserkers, the Large Bodies, he snakes around them to steal slice after slice. Taking advantage of their weak points and attack patterns to whittle their strength bit by bit. Soon, they fall before his blade as soon as the next ones surrounded him.

The gryphon riders kept working on the abominations and flesh giants. Hammers made of Light and pools of Darkness that left flesh to decay and crumble slowly took care of the large undead.

The tank driver, however decides to push for the center, to charge towards the still inactive leader of this army. As I circle the stone platform, still extinguishing both Heartless and Nobody alike I see not only the floating skeletal leader, but also the black hooded figure below them. That has to be someone with Xehanort, if not the man himself. I shout, "Blizzaga!" As large shards of ice shoot out and splinter among the army, each individual shard cutting through grunts and splitting apart as they head towards the new target.

The tank reaches the stone circle in the center, trying to ram both the skeletal magus and the hooded person. Both raise up a hand, the tank being blown away by chilled winds. The tauren and orc jump out of the tank and ready their weapons, running towards them. The Scourge wizard decides to slowly drift backward as the hooded person charges, summoning a massive claymore. The sword is jagged, but symmetrically so in that it mimics the sigil of the Nobodies throughout.

They're going up against Saïx?! This… this isn't good. He, and the rest of Organization XIII are supposed to be long gone. That is, unless they can come back like Xehanort.

The orc hefts his Runeblade and clashes blades with the Nobody. The death knight grits his teeth, his limbs are the one having to push their limits to keep up with the Nobody. The Tauren takes his mace, and mouths something, the weapon becoming imbued with the power of fire. He takes his shot and lands a hit on Saïx's shoulder, the berserker sent tumbling back, but recovering before anything could be followed up on.

Riku widens his eyes, and starts cutting his way through the monsters. I continue to shoot bolts of magic at the army, for the sake of not letting numbers overpower us.

The gryphon riders seem to be joining in, on the fight. I look up and see the Scourge's large constructs on the ground. Bolts of Light hit the ground; the resulting shockwaves pushing the Nobody back, as Riku finally reaches the area. He jumps up and readies his Keyblade for a strike, as Saïx lets out a blood curdling roar, as he seems to be enraging. His eyes glow, and he grows bestial fangs, and his claymore grows spikes made out of energy. He slams his Claymore on the ground, releasing a shockwave the knocks the combatants back to the edge of the stone circle. Riku is the first to recover, as I finally decide to rush towards the stone platform and grab his shoulder. "Leave him to me! Just take care of the rest of the army!" I yell.

Riku nods. "Yeah." Was all he could say as he turns and runs to the remaining Heartless, Nobodies, and smaller Scourge.

I take in a deep breath, pointing my Keyblade at Saïx. I start shooting bolts of magic at him in rapid succession while I glide along the stone's edge. I need to keep moving. I need to stay away from him. The berserker, however moves straight through the bolts while using his huge sword as a shield. He swings his claymore each time he nears me, the shockwave he unleashes something I can barely avoid.

The dwarf and human were sent crashing down quickly from their gryphons, trailing their descent is residues of frost magic. I widen my eyes as I see the large skeleton start to come into the fray. He throws barrages of frostbolts at the four Azerothian combatants on the circle. I raise my Keyblade and yell, "Reflega!" As a shield of translucent hexagons in the shape of a semi sphere absorbs the bolts and sends them right back. While I take note on how he absorbs them back into his body, I'm hit by the broad side of the claymore, caught off guard. I'm sent flying back and on the ground, tightening the grip on my Keyblade. Suddenly, my clothes lose their blue hue and my feet touch the ground once more. My Wisdom Form has run out of power, and at the worst time. I tighten my grip on my Keyblade, and Riku pats me on the shoulder.

"We can do this. We destroyed him once, and we can do it again." He says.

The berserker raises his giant sword, before lowering it on the ground, and opening a dark corridor. "Well. Now that I know what we're working with, I can go with a report on just how strong a force to employ. Goodbye, for now." He says, as he slowly backs into the dark portal.

The giant skeletal mage gives a bow, and slowly fades. "Yes. Give Tirion regards from Kel'Thuzad, and of course, the Lich King."

Charles gets up, and shakes his head. "That… I wasn't expecting to be overwhelmed by foul creatures of that caliber. Who was that person, alongside Kel'Thuzad?"

I nod, and rest my Keyblade over my shoulder. "That was Saïx, he's part of Organization XIII. He was supposed to be long gone, along with the rest of them."

Riku lets out an exhausted sounding sigh. "But if Xehanort is coming back, I imagine the rest of them will follow. We'll have to be on our toes. They're Nobodies, and strong ones at that."

The orc crosses his arms. "If those thin sticks of arms could hold back my sword, I imagine they have other things up their sleeve."

The dwarf snorts. "S'like muscle mass means nothin' in their world. Them and you Keybearin' kids."

The tauren speaks up. "Well. If we wish to make sure we know where they will strike, we will have to go back and give our reports. You people will go back to Valliance Keep. Hopefully we will meet at Dragonblight, to strike at Naxxramas."

Charles nods. "Of course. I've also got a report from one of the Argents from the Wyrmrest Tower. Apparently the Keybearers will be interested in this bit of news."

Riku quirks a brow, and speaks. "What is it?"

Charles looks to both of us. "Apparently the Aspect of Life has found another Keyblade bearer."

I widen my eyes. "Kairi?!" I exclaim, as Riku crosses his arms.

The paladin shook his head. "No. He didn't mention a 'Kairi'. Her name was… uh. Aqua."

Riku tilts his head. "Who?"

The dwarf waves a hand dismissively. "Och. We'll find out when we get there. But first, we'll have t' get there. C'mon. Back to the keep."

The paladin nods, as the two Horde members head the other way. "Winds be at your back." The tauren says in parting.

I look to Riku, as we start walking back, stepping over the massive pile of undead bodies that finally rest. "A new Keyblade wielder?"

Riku shrugs. "Maybe Mickey will be there to sort it all out."

I nod, and look to the path on front of me. The biting cold nips at me, with the rush of adrenaline fading and my sense no longer dulled. I stare at the aurora that lingers in the sky, the only sounds being plate boots and shoes treading on dead grass and snow.

I have a feeling we'll end up with more questions than answers, soon.