Chapter Seven, Part 1: The DeVoid
Sora and the others arrived at Radiant Garden a day after their intended arrival time. The trip would of taken no more than an hour, but things didn't go according to plan. It was thanks to Sora that the gang ended up in Halloween Town yesterday. He had no real explanation other than that his curiosity fired up and he couldn't help himself. Riku was angered by it and Kairi couldn't help but think that Sora looked funny trying to get Riku and Jason to believe his excuses.
Unfortunately, once they arrived at Halloween Town, the warp engine decided to screw up. And Jason, being the only one who knew anything about them, was left to repair it as best he could. It wasn't long before the group was back on course to Radiant Garden, but it had taken Jason nearly a day to fix it. And despite the effort he put into fixing it, the warp engine decided to act screwy once Radiant Garden came into sight.
Sora grinned sheepishly at his friends. "Well, don't blame me! Blame Chip and Dale, they're the ones who equipped it to the ship."
"But we would of been here yesterday, if it weren't for your "curiosity getting the better of you"." Riku scowled. "That only strengthens my decision to never let you pilot again."
"Aww, c'mon Riku!" Sora whined though he couldn't help but grin. "Its not like we crashed or anything! Just...the warp engine got overheated and it screwed up."
"Yeah...that's totally not your fault."
Jason seemed to keep his anger under control, but it was clear he was, in fact, mad at the Keyblade Master. "I'll stay behind and fix it. Leon and the others should be expecting you."
"They knew we were coming." Sora paled.
The Second-In-Command rolled his eyes and sighed. "Rebecca, go with them. Just to make sure they don't do anything stupid." He eyed Sora and Riku, and gave a quick glance to Kairi. Rebecca began to smile with pure joy before her brother continued. "From the stories I've heard, you three live to do stupid stunts."
"No comment there." Sora unbuckled himself. The others followed suit.
"Learn as much information as you can. We're going to need it." Jason said. "What ever is down there isn't any kind of Heartless or Nobody, so watch yourselves. Expect the un-expected."
"Yeah, thanks." Riku nodded. "We'll keep an eye out."
"I'm sure Leon and the others can tell us whats been going on." Sora added, giving a wave. "We'll be back soon."
Sora expected the Marketplace to be bustling with life. He had told Riku and Kairi stories of Uncle Scrooge's inventive ways; how he presented Sora with the Sea Salt Ice cream. Sora expected to see the old duck with some new flavor now. Even Kairi was giddy as they appeared behind one of the accessory shops, wanting nothing more than a nice bite of ice cream right now.
As soon as the group appeared, Rebecca broke into a sprint toward the edge of the walkway, where she could get a nice view of the entire Marketplace plaza. She half expected Heuy, Dewey, and Louie to be fussing over items. She hoped they remembered her from her last few visits over the past couple of months.
She came to an adrupt stop and her eyes widened as she laid eyes on the plaza down the stairs. Kairi took quick notice, while Sora was telling Riku about all the flavors Scrooge could of possibly came up with while he was away.
"Rebecca, whats wrong?" Kairi gave a soft giggle. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Rebecca pointed. "Heartless! They're attacking the duck family and that weird, floating thing." She was referring to the Moogle.
Kairi turned and saw that Uncle Scrooge and his nephews were surrounded by the Heartless. But they weren't screaming or yelling for help, Scrooge was too prideful for that. He had his cane raised and was swinging it wildly, shouting threats at the beady-eyed black creatures.
"Back! Get back! Steal my money, will you? I'll teach you a lesson!" Scrooge shouted, slamming his cane on the head of a Shadow.
"Sora! Heartless!" Kairi shouted, but Sora and Riku were already running past her. The two boys brandished their respective Keyblades and dove at the fray.
"Sora!" Huey exclaimed happily, as the Keyblade Master cut through two of the Heartless. Riku was covering the other end, easily pushing back the Heartless with quick thrusts and swipes.
"Get back guys, we'll handle this!" Sora pummeled one of the Shadows into the ground, where it dispersed into a black mist. A pink heart escaped its chest and fluttered into the air, disappearing a second later.
Riku and Sora made quick work of the Shadows, the lesser Heartless far from a match for either of the two. Uncle Scrooge and his nephews had retreated over to Kairi and Rebecca. The ducks cheered.
"Thanks Sora!" Dewey waved his hands so the Keyblade Master could see him.
"No problem!" Sora gave a heroic pose, only for Riku to tap him on the shoulder.
"Uh...Sora, there's more." Riku nodded toward the ground, only a few meters away, where NeoShadows were beginning to appear. They looked stronger, more sinister. Their bright yellow eyes seemed to bare right into the Keybearers, as if locking onto their hearts automatically.
More began to appear, slowly surrounding the two. They twitched with anticipation, making it hard to guess when they were going to attack. Riku didn't mind them, but Sora hated them. They were a lot faster than their lesser counterparts, which meant he had to put in some actual effort. Things just couldn't be easy this time around.
"Scrooge, you and your nephews go and get Leon! We might not be able to handle these things!" Sora called out. Uncle Scrooge mumbled something about his money and ran off with his nephews behind him.
"I don't think we'll need any help." Riku admitted.
Sora shrugged, gazing at his friend from the corner of his eye. "Yeah, well, its better than them getting their hearts ripped out by just standing there."
"True." Riku replied. "Hey, Kairi, time to put your training to the test! Rebecca, I've seen you in battle, you might as well join in. We can make this quick."
Kairi nodded and extended her right hand, her Roaring Petal blossoming into her hand on cue. She just had to smile at it; her very own Keyblade. She felt like one of the guys. "I'm coming!"
While Kairi charged in to help Sora and Riku, who had made the first move on the Heartless, Rebecca looked around frantically for a weapon of her own. She was better with just her hands, but she wouldn't do anything by punching a Heartless in the head with her tiny fist. And she needed something to defend herself with. That led her to the armory, she was sure no one would mind if she "borrowed" anything, just for this particular situation anyway. She grabbed her a round metal shield, two and a half feet in diameter. Its silver structure was layered with a green metal on the front, shaped like a castle.
Without hesitation, Rebecca ran into battle screaming her battle cry, and then bashed her first Heartless right upside the head. She gazed at it for a moment because it looked like it was sleeping now. Then she turned, shifting her shield flat and cutting through the mid-section of an approaching NeoShadow. She grinned in excitement.
"This is great!" She shouted.
Kairi had other thoughts on the matter. It wasn't as great as she thought it was going to be. Her short training match at Disney Castle, as well as her spar matches with Sora and Riku, kept her instincts on active, allowing her to dodge attacks she normally would be too scared to dodge. But the whole time, she was nervous, her hands shaking around the handle of her Keyblade.
Sora could see that Kairi wasn't having such a hot time. She looked pale with fright, but even he knew she could handle any NeoShadow on her own. He fought his way over to her side.
"Kairi, you're doing great!" Sora said, which was followed by a grunt and a swing of his Keyblade. He flashed a smile at her, but it didn't seem to help the Princess of Heart. "Just focus. Find your reason to fight. Once you do that, beating these things should come naturally!" That was all he could tell her as he had to push more of the NeoShadows back.
The princess had to think about what Sora said, and the middle of a battle wasn't a great place to think. However, she gave it thought, while bashing a NeoShadow upside the head.
A reason to fight? She had one, she knew that. She thought back to when Axel had appeared before her on the beach and she charged into the portal, just to find Sora. She remembered going into battle without a single weapon, just to make sure Sora was safe. She risked her life for him, just like he had done for her.
And with that, Kairi found new courage. It wasn't hard to find her reason, and it ignited her fighting flame bright. She slashed and swiped, and even dodge rolled a few times. She found herself bringing her Keyblade forward, aiming it, and concentration. First, her chest felt warm, then her arms, and finally her hands. Her Keyblade heated up and she knew it was ready.
"Fira!"
The fireball emerged from the tip of Roaring Petal and pierced right through a jumping NeoShadow, going through to smack another right in the face. Kairi gave herself a mental pat on the back for that one.
Way To Dawn entered the head of a NeoShadow and Riku tore it to the right, ripping through the Heartless' head. He planted his left foot and pushed back, throwing himself at a few more NeoShadows. He spun in the air and rotated his Keyblade rapidly around his fingers, cutting several down as they jumped for him. He hacked and slashed the rest in front of him. Turning sharp, he caught sight of an airborne NeoShadow in his peripheral.
"Not so fast." His left hand went up fast and he caught the NeoShadow by its head, bringing it down into the ground fast so that it would stun it. "Dark Firaga!" The purplish blue flame emerged from his hand and practically blasted the NeoShadow into pieces.
The battle seemed to go smoothly, with no other problems, aside from Kairi's self-doubt. Rebecca displayed a wild side that seemed to be fueled by the need to have fun than to actually win the battle. Kairi pushed her sword skills and spells to their limits, even though there was no need to. Riku began to ease up on his fighting, just to reserve strength. He knew that anyone could ambush them if they had the chance. And Sora found the inner need to show-off to Kairi, throwing his Keyblade in a couple of Strike Raids and using Explosion to take out several NeoShadows surrounding him.
The battle ended with, "Did you see that, Kairi?"
Kairi giggled at the spiky haired brunette. "Yes Sora, I saw it. You're really good."
Sora forced his chest out. "I'm better than good. I'm the best!"
"I can beat you." Riku said with a laugh. "What does that make me?"
"Hey! What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Sora snapped, to which Riku just laughed in return.
Rebecca just had to smile. Partially because Riku and Sora were so entertaining, but also because she was sure that she kicked some "serious booty" back there. She knew Jason would of been proud of her, if only he'd seen it.
Lowering her shield, Rebecca glanced up to the top of one of the shops. There, a misshaped figure seemed to be watching. It was hard to make out and it vanished so fast that Rebecca wasn't even sure she saw it.
"I've seen you take out Heartless a lot faster than that, Sora." Sora turned at the voice to see Leon clapping his hands. He was dressed in his usual black pants, black zipper shoes, black gloves and black coat, with a white undershirt and his Griever necklace around his neck. Hanging at his side was his trusty weapon, the Gunblade.
"Leon!" Sora grinned and headed over to his friend. "Well, we were kind of using them as a training match."
"You managed to get a few scrapes. You're getting careless." Leon pointed to Sora's arm, where there was a small scratch.
"Oh thats nothing." Sora shrugged it off as Riku, Kairi and Rebecca came over. "These are my friends that I was telling you about. Riku and Kairi. And this is-"
"Rebecca, I know." Rebecca smiled at the Restoration Committee leader. He turned to Kairi. "You're Kairi, huh? Princess of Radiant Garden."
Kairi nodded and felt something tug at her insides. She had forgotten she was a Princess of heart from this world, which was her first home before Destiny Islands. It made her feel like she should of been here, supporting those that fought to save this world. This was her home as well, she should be here to help them.
Leon gave her a reassured smile and looked over at Riku. "And you're Riku, the boy Sora searched high and low for."
Riku nodded. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Squall. I've heard a lot about you from Sora."
Leon flinched at his first name. "Please, just call me Leon. I hope Sora doesn't speak ill of me."
"Course not, Leon!" Sora grinned sheepishly.
Leon folded his arms and sighed as he grew serious. "We were expecting you all yesterday. Still, you made it. We can tell you about everything once we get back to Merlin's. C'mon."
"Wait, Mr. Leon." Rebecca raised her hand as if she were in a classroom, which got Leon's attention. "I...saw something a moment ago, I think. Up there." She pointed to the rooftops where she had seen the creature. Leon stared in that direction for a moment.
"One of them."
"Them?" Kairi asked.
"One of those creatures we were told about?" Sora asked.
Leon gave a nod. "Yeah, we'll explain what we can back at the house. So come on, Cid's waiting with Aerith and Merlin."
"Yuffie's not there?"
Leon shook his head as he started toward Merlin's. "Fortunately, she's out patroling."
Leon led the four out of the Marketplace and into the Borough, where Merlin's shabby little house was located. Though it didn't look like much, it served as the primary base for the Restoration Committee. The door was already flung open and Scrooge was heading toward the heroes with his nephews. Leon told him that it was safe, for now, and if anything else happened they could come back.
Sora was the first to enter Merlin's house, a goofy smile plastered on his face. "Hey everyone!"
Aerith, wearing her usual carmine pink and white top with her pink dress underneath, greeted the gang with her usual gentle smile. Cid spun around in his chair, wearing his usual white shirt, orange waist band, and blue baggy pants. He removed the tooth pick from his mouth and grinned. His goggles still sat on his forehead, just below his bright blond hair.
"Well, look who it is: Hero of Radiant Garden in the flesh." He said.
Aerith approached the group. "Welcome back, Sora." She took the time to look between Kairi and Riku. "And these must be the friends you were searching for."
Sora nodded. "Yeah. This is Riku, and thats Kairi."
The two waved respectively.
"And I've already met little Rebecca." Aerith smiled at the youngest of the group, who smiled right back. "I'm Aerith. Thats Cid at the computer."
"Oh, splendid!" The voice came from the far side of the room, where Merlin came into sight. He held a book in one hand and a wand in the other. He walked over, stroking his abnormally long beard. "You made it! I was beginning to think something bad had happened."
"Erm...well, we-" Sora rubbed the back of his head.
"We would of been here sooner, but we had some problems on the ship." Rebecca said, interrupting the Keybearer. "Sora problems."
Merlin laughed. "He never was any good with piloting Gummi Ships."
"I'm right here!" Sora blurted out.
"Ah, yes. Riku, Kairi, we've heard a lot about you." The sorcerer nodded to the two. "My name is Merlin, great and powerful wiz-"
Leon closed the door. "Merlin, how about we just explain whats been going on?"
"Yes, right! The Heartless-"
"You mean the Nobodies?" Aerith corrected.
"No, I'm quite sure they were Heartless." Merlin countered, trying to remember.
"King Mickey told us that no one was sure what they were." Riku spoke up.
"Thats right." Leon leaned back against the door and folded his arms. "I believe what Rebecca saw was one of those creatures."
"Did it have wings? A tail maybe?" Aerith asked. Rebecca could only shrug.
"I don't know," She replied. "I didn't really get a good look at it."
"I thought they were a problem." Kairi said, a bit of confusion in her voice. "We only saw Heartless. If Rebecca did see something, why didn't it attack us?"
Leon shrugged. "Not sure. The strange thing is: they tend to appear whenever Heartless appear. And while we deal with the Heartless, those creatures just sit by and watch us. They haven't attacked lately, but they have been known to."
"They just watch you guys?" Sora put on his thinking face, but it wasn't doing him any good. "That's...really weird."
"Its almost as if they were watching and waiting." Aerith pointed out.
"Waiting on what? Thats the question." Riku replied. "When did they start showing up?"
"Few months ago." Cid answered. "Outta nowhere too! Right after those men stopped by."
"What men?" Sora asked.
"Now that you think of it, it is strange..." Aerith said looking back at Cid. "I had forgotten all about them."
Sora exchanged glances with his friends. "Wait, what men?"
Leon shifted his feet, crossing one over the other. "A few months ago, a couple of guys stopped by. They looked like generals or something." He closed his eyes. "They didn't ask for anything and told us they were visiting. Being as how Radiant Garden has pretty much been quiet after your last visit, we assumed they were telling the truth."
"So they brought those things here?" Rebecca asked. "If those creatures suddenly started appearing after those men left, they had to be the ones to bring them here!"
"I agree with Rebecca, it has to be them." Kairi added.
"Even if it is, we don't know where those men are now. We can only take a look around and see whats bringing those creatures here." Riku implied.
Sora gave a nod of his head. "Maybe they share a connection with the Heartless and the Nobodies. If that's the case, we might be able to find something in Ansem's Study."
"Ansem's Study?" Riku had only heard of the place from the King, he had never been there. "Seems like the best place to look right now."
"Good." Leon went for the door handle. "I'll head back to the Marketplace, see if I can see where that thing has gone. You remember the way, right Sora?"
"Yeah, I remember." Sora said as Leon opened the door for them. "We'll let you know what we find."
With that, Sora, Riku, Kairi and Rebecca left Merlin's house and headed for the bailey.
The trip to the castle, Hollow Bastion, was filled with theories and hypothesise on what the mysterious creatures were. Sora was now quite confident that they were possibly a third generation creature just coming into light, much like the Nobodies after the Heartless. Riku kept his mind clear of that, not ready to truly focus on a single theory. Rebecca and Kairi sort of agreed that they were probably a new kind of Heartless or Nobody; they only hoped it was not a totally new threat.
Upon reaching the castle gates, Kairi found the place to be a bit nostalgic. She wasn't quite sure why, but she knew she had been there before. In fact, she knew she had been there before, she was the princess of this world after all.
They passed the postern, traveled through the corridors with only three altercations with the Heartless, and made it to Ansem's Study. The place looked just like it had before; destroyed. Broken glass lay on the floor, papers lay across the desk, boards filled with notes hung on the walls, and the DTD was still written on the wall nearly Xehanort's picture.
"This is Ansem's Study?" Riku asked, somewhat disappointed. "I thought Ansem the Wise would try to at least keep it clean."
"It was probably Xemnas who trashed the place." Sora said after some thought. While the others looked around, Sora went over to the left wall and placed his hand against it. The wall lit up and then vanished, revealing a hidden passage.
"Cool." Rebecca ran into the passage without hesitation and peered over the edge, down at the Heartless Manufacturer. "So this is what the King was talking about. This is where the Heartless were made!"
"Yeah," Sora nodded and kept walking until he reached the computer. He typed in a few commands and a password bar came up.
"I suppose you don't know the password." Riku came in, still looking the place over. Kairi and Rebecca followed.
"I do." Sora said with a smile. "Sora. Donald. Goofy."
The screen lit up. "Welcome Users"
"Hey Tron, its me. Sora."
Kairi shook her head. She knew Sora wasn't very bright when it came to computers, but she thought he at least knew not to give the computer a name and pretend to know it. She slapped her forehead.
"Sora, my friend!" Tron's voice rang out happily. "It certainly is a surprise to hear from you. I was told that you had returned home. I calculated there was a slim chance I'd see you again."
Kairi's eyes widened. "The computer actually has a personality?"
Sora laughed. "Yeah, Kairi. This can't be the weirdest thing you've seen."
"Yeah...thats true."
The spiky-haired Keybearer turned back to the screen. "Tron, we're friends. We were bound to meet again someday."
"Yes, it was either, how do you say, sooner or later. I'm happy that it is the latter."
"Sora," Riku got his friend's attention. "Ask him about the creatures in town."
"Oh right!" Sora gazed up at the screen. "Tron, we need to know about those creatures that started appearing in town a few months ago. Any information would be good."
"I'm sorry, Sora. I've scanned all of my user's files and I found nothing describing the beings in town. I'm sorry."
Rebecca lowered her head in defeat. "Aww! Just when things were getting hopeful!"
Riku gave a bitter laugh to that. "Things won't come to us this easily." He sighed. "I have a strange feeling that we're gonna be working this problem for a long time."
"Well, what do we do now?" Kairi questioned. "If Ansem doesn't know anything about this, where do we go from here?"
"The Land of Dragons." Sora answered as he turned around. "Thats where the other report came from. So, thats where we'll head to next. We're bound to find some answers there."
Though Riku wasn't so sure about that, Rebecca let out a hopeful cheer and Kairi could only agree with Sora. It wasn't good to feel doubtful at a time like this.
"Yeah! You're right, Sora!" Rebecca grinned. "Lets hurry!"
"Right. Tron, thanks anyway! I'll be back to see you soon!" Sora said as he waved to the computer and left with the others.
"If I stumble upon anything, I'll be sure to let the other users know."
Sora and the gang retreated back out of Ansem's Study and through the corridors, coming out at the lower side of the postern. With the four being in deep conversation about the creatures, they failed to notice something flying over head. A loud screech sounded as the creature neared them. Riku was the first to react.
"Get down!" He demanded. Everyone dropped just as the winged creature flew over them. "What was that!"
Sora pushed himself up. "C'mon, after it!" He ran around the edge of the postern before coming to the opening. There, hovering in the air, was a creature he had never seen.
The creature had large bat wings where its arms should of been, and the lower half of a monkey. Sharp talons clawed at the air under its feet and its silver green eyes seemed to hold such hatred and anger that Sora, himself, felt as if the creature hated him personally. Its face seemed to be a cross between a bat and a chimp, which wasn't very pretty. Its whole body was a tea green color, which almost made it seem like a Nobody.
"What is that!" Kairi shouted as she came to a sudden stop. The creature opened its mouth, its sharp teeth coming into view. It let out a screech which was more of an annoyance than anything.
Swinging his arm through the air, Sora brought his Kingdom Key to his hand. "A Nobody?"
"No, its that thing I saw before!" Rebecca said as she thought back to the battle. "I saw it when we first got here!"
"One of the creatures the King told us about." Riku implied.
The creature cried out once again and then flapped its wings, sending itself toward the heroes. Sora, whom already has his Keyblade ready, jumped into action and tried to bat the creature away. Unfortunately, the creature's target was him, its talons poised to attack, so Sora had to block with the Kingdom Key. He took a step forward and sent it back, where it flew into the air.
Behind him, Riku was instructing Kairi and Rebecca to safety. The winged being let out another cry and flew down towards Sora. The Keybearer pushed off his left foot and dove to the right, rolling as the creature passed by him. It wasn't very fast, but it kept its talons poised and he couldn't make a mistake of not taking the creature seriously.
The creature turned and came around for a return trip, but Sora thought it was best to stop it. He spun on his heel and pointed his Keyblade into the air.
"Thundaga!" The lightning spell shot down from above and hit the creature, causing it to stop in mid-air, its body going through shock. Sora lunged and attacked in a variety of swings, which ultimately put the creature on the ground. It dissolved into a silver mist and then it was gone. Sora lowered his Keyblade and sighed. It was a rather easy battle, but he was sure it would of been a bit tougher if there were more.
Riku and Kairi came over with Rebecca leading them. But before any of them could congratulate the Keybearer or say anything about how strange the creature was, the sound of clapping stopped them. The heroes turned around at the sound and found themselves staring at a man in a tan trench coat, brown slacks tucked into his black boots, and a golden chain mail. His slick brown hair and thin mustache gave away his identity.
"Colonel Mandero." Riku muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.
Mandero nodded, though he didn't seem very happy that he was remembered. "You Keyblade Wielders are hard to track down, that's for sure."
"You're the guy from the beach!" Sora exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Well," The man sighed and scratched his head. He really didn't want to be here. "If you remember, I have orders I have to follow. I have to bring you three back with me, even if it means by force."
"Bring us where, exactly?" Riku asked, raising one of his eyebrows in question.
"Come quietly and you'll find out. Its a pretty nice place." Mandero held out a hand, as if he wanted them to take it. "C'mon, I'd rather not fight."
Riku and Kairi brandished their Keyblades. "Yeah, well you're going to have to take us by force!" Kairi shouted, just as Rebecca brought her shield in front of her.
"Oh dear," Mandero placed his fingers on the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Please, just consider it. I'd rather bring you three back in one piece."
"We're not considering anything!" Rebecca cried out angrily.
The Colonel cocked his head. "No one's talking to you, squirt. I'd hate to have to discipline a kid."
"Why don't you just get out of here!" Sora demanded. "And tell who ever your boss is that he can come for us himself!"
"You really...really don't want that." Mandero sighed once again.
Suddenly, more of the strange creatures appeared in the air, hovering around the postern. They cried out and screamed, their eyes focused on all of those below.
Riku drew up his blade into an attacking position. "Its those creatures again."
"The DeVoid."
"What?" Kairi questioned as she turned to cover the rear.
"They're called the DeVoid." Mandero looked up to one. "I've never seen one in person before."
"The DeVoid?" Sora kept his guard up as he looked at the Soaring Imps around them.
Kairi glared back at Mandero. "What are they?"
"I don't quite know myself, but they don't look happy." Mandero frowned; he was going to get caught up in another mess.
"Obviously."
Mandero gave another shrug. "This is about to get out of hand...again." He said, more to himself than to the others. And with a sharp cry, the Flying Imps burst to life.
Sora and the others backed toward one another. The Keyblade's chosen brought his Keyblade forward. "Reflect!" The spell formed and bounced the Soaring Imps away. When the shield shattered, the four dove toward their new enemies. Sora closed the gap between himself and two of the creatures in one stride, hitting them quickly with fast blows. Unfortunately, his efforts did nothing to get rid of them and seemed to make them more irritated. Letting out several more screeches, the two Sora was busy with charged him one after another. Dodging the first was easy, but the second managed to claw him in his shoulder and send him rolling back. Sora only rebounded himself and prepared for another attack. Just like he thought, the Soaring Imps were going to be troublesome in groups.
While Sora had taken two for himself, three Soaring Imps had taken on Riku. They circled him, each taking a turn to swoop down and try their best to claw at Riku's head. It was practically a stalemate; they were not going to be able to hit Riku attacking one by one, and Riku could not take the chance of attacking when the others attacked right after. Still, sitting and doing nothing was not Riku's style.
As the three Soaring Imps began to replay their tactic, one of them coming out of the air to attack, Riku stepped forward in a spin. He avoided the Soaring Imp's claws and slammed the butt of his Keyblade into the DeVoid's back. That made it screech and flutter down to the ground, where it dealt with the pain. The others moved in once their brethren had been hit, but Riku was ready. Way To Dawn came forward in a quick slash, batting one of the remaining Soaring Imps into the other, which knocked both out of the air. Riku turned his attention to the first downed one, pointing his hand to fire a Dark Firaga before it could get back into the air. While it let out a painful screech from the burn, he charged and stabbed it through the back, forcing it to dissolve into a silvery mist.
"That leaves two more..." Riku said aloud to himself, ducking down to dodge one of the Soaring Imps. He knew these last two weren't going to be as easy. They were testing him, using their own brethren as a decoy.
Kairi felt her Keyblade heat up and a fireball emerged from its tip. The Soaring Imp dodged easily and dove toward her, forcing the princess to jump to the ground in order to dodge it's talons. She scrambled back to her feet just in time to block the Soaring Imp's next attack, which almost knocked her off of her feet. It screamed right in her face, causing her to wince at it's sharp voice. It broke away from Kairi's Keyblade and flew back into the air, in order to gather up speed for it's next attack. Kairi felt the heat in her chest began to burn as the Soaring Imp went for its return trip, where the princess dodged much easily this time. While it's back was turn, she turned and fired another Fira spell, which hit the creature's back. Kairi lunged at it quickly.
Rebecca had resorted to defense only by now. With her large shield, she didn't need to dodge the two Soaring Imps she had to deal with, only block. And with such an opprotunity, she knew she should use it to at least admire the looks of the creature, try to understand exactly what a DeVoid was. So far, she had learned that the Soaring Imps attacking with their talons out. Sometimes, if there was no distance, they would attack with their teeth, which was just as bad. They were fairly fast, but dodgable, and their talons were their primary weapon. When dealing with multiple Soaring Imps, timing was key since they worked together to attack.
Clang!
Rebecca was pushed back by the first Soaring Imp attacking. She locked onto the second, which was beginning its descent to attack. The first had its back turned for now, so it would not be able to assist its comrade. Rebecca was given the perfect chance, and she was about to take it.
She stepped forward, grabbing the left side of her shield with both hands. Holding it to her right, she took a jumping step, right toward her target, and swung the shield just like a bat, bypassing the claws.
BAM!
The Soaring Imp flew out of the air and crashed into the ground, while Rebecca returned to the ground with a triumphant smile. Another screech brought her back to the battle; she had forgotten about the first so quickly. She turned to confront it, but it was already too close to do anything. Just when things looked grim, a large shuriken cut it right in half and zipped right by, cleaving the head off of the Soaring Imp that Rebecca had beat to the ground. The shuriken turned in the air and flew to the edge of the postern, where Yuffie caught it. She was sporting her usual ninja gear, all black, with a goofy grin plastered on her face.
"That was a close one!" She said with a laugh.
"Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed, deflecting one of the two Soaring Imps away.
Yuffie flipped across the field, sending her large shuriken out in mid-flip. It darted through the air and hit yet another one of the Soaring Imps, before catching it upon landing. Now there were only four Soaring Imps left, the two Sora and Riku were fighting against.
Sora retreated to a safe distance and charged up a Thundaga spell, which managed to hit both of the Soaring Imps. Once the spell had stopped them in mid-air, Sora lunged at the closest one and pounded on it with various swings, before it fell to the ground and dispersed. The other Soaring Imp had shaken the shock off and was going for Sora's backside, but Sora was ready. Calling a Reflect spell, the Soaring Imp was thrown back in a daze, like it had before. The Keyblade's Chosen then followed it up with a Strike Raid, the Keyblade managing to hit it's mark right between the creature's eyes. It burst into a silvery mist and Sora's Keyblade returned to his hand, just as Riku finished up the final Soaring Imp.
"Thanks a lot, Yuffie!" Sora called as he dismissed his weapon. He headed over with Riku.
Yuffie lowered her large shuriken and grinned. "Not a problem at all! You guys looked like you needed a little help with those things. Its strange they attacked you like that though."
"That Mandero guy ordered them to attack us."
"Speaking of that guy, where is he?" Kairi asked, which resulted in everyone taking a look around.
"Probably decided to sneak away while he left those DeVoid to take care of us." Riku proposed.
Yuffie tilted her head. "..De..Void?"
"Those creatures." Sora answered rather quickly. "Yuffie, we have to get going. We have to tell Jason what happened and see if we can't figure out what's going on."
"I can do that. You'll come back, right?" Yuffie asked. "We'll need to know what's going on too."
Sora nodded. "Yeah. We'll let you know as soon as we do."
"Wait, where are we going?" Rebecca asked. "We don't have a destination."
"Yes we do." Sora said, as he headed off to have Jason teleport them up. "We're going to the Land of Dragons."
Zemblar Mining Cave...
"Outside light!"
"It's the end of the tunnel."
"Wait, you're never supposed to run to the light at the end of the tunnel!"
Ravu rolled her eyes and slapped Brandon on the back of the head. "We're not dead, you idiot."
"Fooled me." Greg was the first to reach the outside of the mining shaft, his eyes nearly closing as the sun's rays hit his face. He raised one of his arms to try and ease the light on his eyes. "Finally, we're out."
Leah, being the last one out, was staring at the map. She glanced up after a few moments. "Late afternoon? It shouldn't of taken us this long."
"How long were we in there?" Tami questioned. "Seems like forever."
"A day, at the most." Opalaisha answered, as she walked a little further.
"No thanks to Mr. Scott here..." Ravu murmured.
Brandon jumped back in surprise. "Me? It isn't my fault! You tried to take the lead, so that makes it your fault!"
"Oh! My fault! You and Greg were the two who thought they could get us to the end without a map in the first place!" Ravu retorted.
"Hey, don't put me in this!" Greg butted in. "You and Leah are the ones who thought bossing us around was gonna work! Who walks in a single-file line, trying to hold hands?"
"Psss...Greg...that was my hand." Brandon admitted in a whisper. "I was kinda scared..."
"Look, let's not argue about this." Leah started up. "We made it through safe-"
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" The three arguers shouted at Leah, cutting her off. Leah's eyebrow began to twitch with anger.
"What did-"
"Oh no, just come on." Tami grabbed Leah by the arm and pulled her along. "Let them duke it out. It happens all the time." She stopped once she reached Opalaisha, who had descended down a small slope. "So, we're in..."
"The town of Angril." Leah said, looking at the map again.
Opalaisha nodded. "Yeah, the port city overlooking Lake Avalon."
The ground suddenly shook and Greg came soaring by the three girls, face-planting into the ground. "...Ow.."
"AHHH! HOT! HOT!" Brandon darted by, his hands patting his butt in an attempt to put out the flames.
Leah glanced back to see Ravu smiling triumphantly. "They admitted that it was their fault." She said with a wide grin.
Greg raised his head from the ground, spitting out dirt. "We didn't admit anything!"
"WHAT?" Ravu roared. Greg jumped to his feet just in time; a Fire Spell crashed right into the ground where he had landed. The boy stuck out his tongue and then ran off to catch up with Brandon.
Tami, Leah and Opalaisha only shook their heads as Ravu sprinted by them in hot pursuit. The blonde then laughed. "You get used to it after a while."
The town of Angril was not a very large town, but one would argue due to the size of it's port. Ships would come from all over to transport goods back and forth. The lake that it overlooked, Avalon, was immensely large and could be confused with an ocean at first glance. It was connected to the grand sea in the south, which was how the ships entered and departed from Lake Avalon. Lying in the middle of the lake was the Island of Avalon, which marked the halfway mark to the royal city of Rambosa.
As Leah, Tami and Opalaisha entered the town, they could see Ravu yelling at Greg, while Brandon tried to soak his butt in the water without falling in completely. It was a funny scene to behold and laughter was soon coming from the three as they neared Greg, Ravu and Brandon.
Brandon scowled. "Not funny, man. I think I got a third degree burn on my butt." He pointed it at Ravu. "Kiss it and make it better, please?"
Ravu was only growing angrier, which was becoming evident to the group. It was Tami who stopped the pyromaniac from burning the rest of Brandon's lower torso; she stepped in and came up with a pitiful excuse to spare the boy...for now.
"Alright Tami, but just this once." Ravu had folded her arms across her chest, her anger leaving her fiery eyes. "But next time," She pointed her thumb across her neck and moved it from side to side, making a slicing sound to make it more dramatic. "He's gonna get burned."
Brandon gulped, he didn't like the way she said the word. "Won't happen again, Ravu!"
"Alright, alright. Enough with that." Greg began as he looked toward the lake. "First we need to find a boat, go to Avalon, then cross it and get to Tran-Titch Town on the other side."
"Triple T Town." Tami commented.
"Why don't we just take one boat all the way across?" Opalaisha asked, thinking it would save them more time.
Ravu glanced her way. "Doesn't work that way, as stupid as it sounds. You must go from Angril through Avalon, and then to Tran-Titch Town. Don't ask me why, because I personally think it's stupid."
"That is stupid." Leah added.
"Couldn't agree more." Greg said as they made their way toward one of the ships. From what he could see, none seemed to look like they were "Transporting" ships; ships that would take them across the lake to Avalon. "Looks like we'll have to look around."
"Let's not take too long." Leah said, walking at his side. "Those Rambosan goons could be right behind us."
"Point taken."
As the group began their treasure hunt for a boat that would get them across, the sun was lowering itself in the sky. It's golden rays lit up the lake water, making it shimmer and sparkle with beauty. Most of the group found themselves looking at it, instead of looking for a boat. Tami had stopped to stare at it for a moment; she actually got lost in her thoughts before Greg yelled for her to hurry up.
"The lake is that hypnotizing, Tami?" Ravu asked with a sly grin. "More hypnotizing than-"
Tami threw the girl a glare. "Shut up, Ravu." She hissed out.
"I don't blame her, look at it. It's gorgeous." Greg commented, oblivious to what the two girls were referring to.
"You know," Opalaisha passed a look to the lake. "There's an old story about Lake Avalon, a legend I guess you would say."
"Legend? I ain't never heard of no legend." Brandon said, trying hard to think back. "Or have I?"
"I have. I forgot where from though." Tami spoke up, her memory replaying how the story played. "If I remember correctly, it's more like a rumor that says there is a shrine at the bottom of Lake Avalon, somewhere."
"A shrine?" Greg asked, curious. The others were just as curious as he was, if not more.
Brandon was quick to ask another question. "Why'd they build a shrine underwater?"
Tami shook her head. "It wasn't always like that, Brandon. Like I said, this is all just a rumor, I'm not sure if it's true or not. But anyway, there was once a city built here, but it was destroyed or something. The only thing left was the shrine."
"Destroyed?" Now Leah was interested. "There's no sign of anything other than Avalon, how was it destroyed?"
Tami shrugged. "I don't know, probably by the war."
"War?" Brandon was definitely into the story now, he was walking backwards just to see Tami's expressions. "What war?"
"Between the Heilig, the family that occupied the city, and another race. But the war took place on some other world, not here." Tami explained. "Somehow, they ended up here and this is where they settled. The only reason I can think the city fell was that their enemies followed them and pushed them into extinction."
Brandon was quiet for a moment before saying, "So if I swim to the bottom, I can find some old shrine which probably holds ancient secrets?"
"If you look past the fact that it's a rumor, yeah." Leah commented. "Go right on ahead, dive right in." Her words were drenched in sarcasm.
"Don't do that just yet," Ravu nodded to the boat they were coming up on. "That's our ride."
The boat Ravu was referring to looked simply like a modern day tugboat, only more updated with the time. Although, it looked as though it had a bit more speed behind it's bulky exterior than most. The captain, who was standing outside of the ship on the dock, was an old senile-looking man with a cigarette in his mouth and his sailor cap flopped on his head.
"Seriously? This piece of crap." Greg said with a confused gaze.
"Hey, the guy looks like he's ready to set off on the open sea, he looks to be our best bet." Ravu said as she walked onto the dock and up to the old man. "Excuse me, sir. We-"
"Want a ride across the lake, right?" The old man said, after removing his cigarette and flicking the ash into the lake water below. He turned, his beady eyes examining Ravu and then the others behind her. "Ya'll together?"
Ravu glanced back and made eye contact with those behind, mentally counting all present. She turned back and gave a nod. "Yeah, all of us."
The man nodded to them and flicked the cigarette out into the water. "Fine. Name's Buck Wreckshire."
"Ravu Hiraki, sir." She pointed back at her friends. "Brandon, Leah, Greg, Tami and Opalaisha."
"Pleasure." Buck nodded as he adjusted his hat and boarded his ship. "Get on. All of ya."
Ravu led the group onto the ship and they all found spots to sit on the lower level, while Captain Buck went up to the bridge. The ship was quick to rumble to life, a siren blaring to announce the ship shipping off. It did not take long before the group of youngsters were watching the port of Angril fall farther and farther into the background. It was a relief to them that no Rambosan Knights had caught up or were in town when they were. At least, that's what they believed was the case; either that or they were just really lucky to be avoiding them.
"So what's your plan, Opalaisha?" Brandon was the one who asked the question, looking across at her. The young tan skinned female cast a questioning gaze at him. "I mean, you're coming along with us, right?"
Opalaisha looked out at the water. "Well...I have no business traveling with you all. I was going to go-"
"I think it's best you stay with us, now." Ravu interrupted her, making Opalaisha look her way. The other blue-haired female closed her fiery orange eyes. "You made a stand against a Rambosan officer. That, alone, puts you on their Wanted List. And you have blue hair, which not many people have, they'll be searching high and low for you."
"Ravu's right. It'd be wise for you to just stick with us." Leah added. "They'll be coming after your for helping us."
"I can simply go into hiding." Opalaisha countered.
Greg shook his head. "For a bit, yeah. But the King of Rambosa has an iron fist on this entire planet; they'd find you, eventually. You're better off with us." He shifted to a more comfortable position; leaning forward and staring right into her eyes. "Opalaisha...thank you, sincerely. You've been a major help to all of us, and I'm sorry we got you mixed up in all of this."
Opalaisha blinked as she stared at those she had met just recently. "It's quite alright. I didn't mind lending a hand. Besides," She paused and gave a small smile. "I don't mind standing up to this world's government if it's a troubling as it seems."
"You have no idea." Greg pushed himself up into a standing position after that. "I'm gonna go speak with the captain. The least we can do is get to know him." He said, heading toward the bridge. He paused and glanced back at Opalaisha. "And really, Opalaisha, thank you." He received a nod and continued onward to the bridge.
Brandon yawned. "I can't wait to get into one of those nice beds on Avalon Island." He stretched his arms and smiled.
"Wrong. There won't be sleeping on Avalon." Leah's words made Brandon frown almost instantly. "Do you ever try to think about what the enemy is thinking? About what moves would be obvious for them?"
The boy blinked. "...No."
Leah shook her head and gave a tired sigh, while Ravu smacked her forehead. "Thought so."
"Brandon, we can't stop on the island and rest. They're going to be expecting us to do that, if we haven't rested already." Ravu began. "I'm surprised we haven't ran into any soldiers yet."
"Let's not push our luck." Leah added.
Greg could smell cigarette smoke as he came into the bridge, where Buck was steering the ship. He opened the door and leaned against the door frame, folding his arms. "Hey, thanks a lot for this. For a minute, I wasn't sure we would be able to find a way across other than swimming."
Buck puffed on his cigarette, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Don't mention it. I know what it's like to be a youngster who needs a hand sometimes; I was in the same boat ma'self." He said. "Ya'll travelin' on foot? Where ya headed?"
"Yeah. We're going to Rambosa on foot." Greg told him. "We've got...business there."
"I won't dig no further into ya business." Buck said, putting the cigarette back into his mouth. "Where ya comin' from?"
Greg laughed, knowing just how crazy it was going to sound. "Ragnias City, sir."
Buck blew out some smoke in surprise, almost coughing. He removed it to talk. "You say you're walkin'? Ya'll must be nuts. Must be some important business."
"Something like that." Greg turned to place his back against the door frame. "It's important that we get there immediately."
"Then ought to be ridin' in somethin', not walkin'." Buck replied. "One of those land rover things, anythin' really." He began to chuckle. "Hell, flyin' probably the best route to take."
"Flying? Yeah, it sure beats walking. Anything other than walking beats walking." Greg admitted, before deciding to return some of the questions. "What about yourself, Mr. Wreckshire?"
"Oh I'm not headed anywhere, just out on the lake today." Buck said, blowing out a stream of smoke. "I'm an architect. An aerodynamic architect."
"Aerodynamic? So you actually build planes? Ships?" Greg asked.
"Somethin' like that." Buck returned, puffing some more on his cigarette. "Small lil' toys and such. Nothing too interestin'."
Greg thought for a moment how it would be to have a flying ship of his own. It would be pretty cool to have something like that in his name. He grinned to himself at the fun thought.
"Maybe you could let me see one next time we meet." Greg said with a laugh as he turned to go back to the others.
"Sure thing, kid."
Agent Engel sat quietly in a meeting room, staring out the window at the obsidian-black shores that met with Lake Avalon's water. The Island of Avalon was unique because of it's shores, which were black instead of the typical sandy brown. How? No one really knew, but it made Avalon popular among the world of Farplex. Whenever night fell on the Island of Avalon, the moon's rays would reflect off of the black grains of sand and give the shore a gleaming shine.
The Island of Avalon was truly a marvel to see. But tonight, it was different; Rambosan soldiers waltzed around on patrol outside. They passed through Agent Engel's line of sight outside of the window several times. She had been moved to Avalon yesterday, in preparation for the arrival of the Keyblade Wielders. She guessed that General Blazer anticipated that neither Ganboia nor Semaria would be able to stop the Keyblade Wielders and their group of friends. Instead of having Agent Engel waste her time in Zemblar or Angril Town, the General thought it best to pair Engel up with an officer of a higher rank and have them ambush the Keyblade Wielders on the Island of Avalon.
Reports had told the Rambosan squadron on Avalon that their targets had gained an ally at some point, another blue haired female. Agent Engel didn't by it for a second; it had to be an impersonator. And what was worse was that General Blazer was right, Ganboia had failed again at apprehending those troublesome Keyblade Wielders. That only made Engel angrier.
"Cocky asshole." Engel murmured to herself as she thought of the Lieutenant Colonel, as she rubbed her chest.
Engel's wound had healed quite nicely thanks to her own skills over the Cure spell. But it ached whenever she thought of the boy who had given it to her. Something did not sit right about that boy; no kid, no normal kid, should of been able to use a General-level technique with such ease. Better yet, no normal kid should of been able to use that kind of technique! He had to be hiding something; Engel refused to believe that the wound she was given was just by luck on the boy's behalf.
"Agent Engel," Engel failed to notice the Rambosan soldier come to her side, but his words grabbed her attention almost instantly and made her cast a glare towards him. "The Colonel wishes to see you for a brief overview of what is to come, ma'am."
Engel bit her lip with a bit of frustration. The Colonel was probably going to do nothing but bark more orders at her, orders she felt she didn't have to follow. Still, Engel got up with a nod. "Fine."
The Keyblade Wielder headed out of the room and towards the Colonel's temporary office. All the while, she thought of what kind of orders she'd have to follow. Not to mention that she hated the Colonel she had been designed to work with; no other Colonel was as serious as the one General Blazer had paired her with.
The door to the Colonel's room was already ajar, so all Engel did was push it open with a nudge of her foot. She pocketed her hands into her ice blue Capris as she stepped inside. "Colonel, you wanted to see me?"
Three characters stood within the room; two Rambosan soldiers and an enigma donning a lustrous suit of white armor. The enigma was obviously the Colonel, she was well known for wearing a suit of armor that defied the traditional colors of Rambosa.
"Agent Engel, come in." The Colonel waved her hand and dismissed the two soldiers in front of her. She waited for them to close the door to continue. "The Keyblade Wielders are to be arriving here shortly, as you know. I want you to keep an eye on them, but make sure you stay out of sight. Allow them to rest, if needed. The other soldiers will be dressed in civilian clothes to give them the impression that we haven't caught up to their trail yet."
Engel gave a nod of her head. "Understood, ma'am. But if you don't mind me asking," She narrowed her eyes in seriousness. "Just what will you be doing? Sitting here?"
Despite being ordered to follow the Colonel's orders, by no means was she frightened of her. She wasn't scared of anyone save a few. And this Colonel, the well known White Flicker, was no exception. Engel was the King's prodigy; there was no one that would ever frighten her...
The Colonel moved to pick up one of the documents on the desk, lifting it in front of her and looking over it. "I will be guarding the docks, since those Keyblade Wielders are bound to make it through whatever defense you plan on putting up. I'll be at the docks, waiting to correct yet another one of your mistakes, Agent Engel."
Engel glared and gritted her teeth together. "Just who do-"
"That will be all, Agent Engel. Please, leave me be. I'm sure you have a lot of work to do." The Colonel said. But Engel didn't move, she stayed and held her glare. The Colonel lifted her head. "You have something you want to add, Agent Engel?"
"Yeah, I do." Engel slammed her hands on the desk. "Let's get one thing straight, you're not the boss of me and I'm not scared of you like these other soldiers are. If you think you can boss me ar-"
"Agent Engel, watch who you're talking to." The Colonel interrupted Engel by standing up. "By orders of General Blazer, you ARE under my command, which means you have to follow my orders. To me, it doesn't matter what you do or not, but do not screw yet another assignment up. I don't have time for you and your foolish pride issues. The King may like you, but I don't. Raise your voice at me or go against my orders so far as to get in my way, and I'll kill you myself and tell my commanding officers you fell in battle. Now, do I make myself clear?"
Engel kept her glare. She opened her mouth to respond, but the Colonel didn't allow it.
"Good. Now, get out of my sight." The Colonel finished, sitting back down and picking the document back up.
Agent Engel decided to bite her tongue and keep herself from saying anything else. But she'd get the Colonel back, eventually. She turned around and exited the room, slamming the door after leaving.
"I think we're here." Brandon said, leaning over the edge of the boat to get a better view of the island they were coming toward.
Ravu frowned. "You think? Of course we're here."
"I've heard of Avalon's black sand, but-" Opalaisha got a look for herself. "I never believed it."
"Makes it a tourist attraction." Tami implied. "No one really knows why the sand is black."
"Could be because of that war that happened." Brandon said with a laugh.
Leah rolled her eyes. "That doesn't explain anything."
"Stupid." Ravu added.
Greg came down just as the boat came to a stop and docked. Buck soon followed, flicking his cigarette into the water in the process. Ravu stood and gave a small bow.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Wreckshire, sir. You were a ton of help." The fiery eyed girl stated.
Buck only nodded. "Don't mention it. Ya'll take care out there." He said, as the group began to move off of the ship.
The group of wanted teens headed right into the town on Avalon, which was a decent size, to get out of sight. The island was much larger than any one of them could of thought, with a small field and thicket of trees behind the town. Though the sand was strangely black, the island seem pretty much like a vacation resort-type island. That's the feeling the group was getting, thanks to the palm trees stationed around it.
"I like this place." Brandon spun on his heel as he took in the sights. "And I haven't seen any of those Rambosan dudes walking around."
"Me either..." Greg said, giving a look around. "Maybe they're searching the mines for us. If that's the case," He looked at the others. "We can use this time to get supplies."
Brandon grinned. "I TOTALLY agree."
"No, we can't." Leah quickly cut in. "Like Ravu said on the boat, they'll be expecting us to rest here. If we stay here, they're going to catch us." She glared at Greg and Brandon. "We can't stay here."
"I think it's a good idea if we do." Tami suggested. "We've been hiking through that mine for a whole day. The only break we got was sitting on that boat. You may have endurance, Leah, and you too, Ravu, but we need to rest."
Leah folded her arms and closed her eyes. "...I have a bad feeling about this."
"We won't be here for long." Greg said. "Just long enough for me to give Brandon a few tips with his sword and take a quick nap. I'm sure Tami wants to get a few things for us to use on the rest of the way to Rambosa, right?" He looked at the girl, who gave a nod.
"Greg, I know you." Ravu said, pointing at the boy she saw as a brother. "You can get side-tracked and lose track of time."
Greg laughed and held his hands up defensively. "I won't this time!"
"He's right, he won't." Tami said a bit sternly. "At some point, the ships will stop coming to Avalon. If we're too late to find one, then we'll be stuck here for the night. If that happens, we can count ourselves as being caught."
"...Opalaisha?" Leah threw a questioning look towards the said girl. "What do you think?"
Opalaisha shrugged. "I could go for a small nap. I believe it will do us all some good."
Leah and Ravu both let out a heavy sigh, before Leah nodded. "Fine...I guess we're staying." She then pointed to Greg and Brandon. "But if we get caught, the blame falls with you two!"
Greg and Brandon just exchanged stares before giving laughing nods to the girls.
Engel watched from the safety of the shadows, eyeing the group with an intense glare. She reached onto her person and pulled out a radio. "Agent Engel here. I've got a visual on the targets." She said through gritted teeth. "It seems they plan on resting here."
"Bad choice on their part." The Colonel's voice came back in response. "I'm shutting down the docks immediately."
