"Come on, you chicken wusses, keep up!"

Seifer Almasy was more excited than he had been in quite a while. As the self-proclaimed protector of Twilight Town, he was in theory responsible for investigating any and all threats and oddities that menaced his home. In a place like Twilight Town, however, Seifer was often frustrated to find that his services were simply not needed. There hadn't been a violent crime in the town for as long as most of the citizens could remember, and even petty thefts were few and far between. There had been a handful of disappearances recently, but there was nothing he could really do about that. Most days he and the Disciplinary Committee were left to channel their aggression on those who looked at them funny or ran a little too fast.

His boredom ended today. Seifer sprinted to the top of the ridge about a mile and a half into the forest, his long white jacket billowing behind him as he ran. It almost hurt to stop and look back, waiting for his friends to catch up. He pretended to yawn, resting his gunblade on his shoulder and watching the others impatiently.

A tall, muscular boy in an orange tank top and sweatpants, a willowy, blue-haired girl with one eye covered by her bangs, and a tiny, bundled-up figure with a zipper-mouthed hat had only just reached the bottom of the ridge. All three were armed and racing to catch up with the unofficial leader of their group. Rai, the strongest-looking one of the three, vaulted higher up the hill with a massive bo staff. He put on an annoyed burst of speed on landing. "I'm runnin' as fast as I can, y'know? I don't do cross-country!"

The girl, Fuu, kept pace with Rai, the large chakrams she wielded not slowing her down in the slightest. "Showoff," she muttered, and suddenly dove to the right. Vivi, the smallest of the three, had blasted himself higher up the hill with some well-placed wind magic, narrowly avoiding tackling Fuu to the ground. "Excuse me! Sorry! Seifer, wait up!" Vivi cried. He landed and bounced, hopping onward with the force of his spell.

The rest of the group finally caught up to Seifer at the top of the ridge, doubled over and catching their breath. Vivi flopped to the ground and had to be kicked back to a standing position by Seifer. "Look lively, gentlemen!"

"Female."

"Gentlemen and lady, whatever." Fuu nodded approvingly. Seifer pointed with his gunblade across the forest floor eighty feet below them. "Come on, I saw it fall just over this way!"

Rai crossed his massive arms skeptically. "Ya sure it's in this forest? Who says it didn't just fly right past us, y'know?"

Seifer rolled his eyes. "Someone slept in today. Did you not hear it hit the ground this morning? It was all anyone could talk about!"

Fuu shook her head. "You."

Rai and Vivi chuckled amongst themselves before a nasty glare from Seifer shut them both up. "Okay, maybe it's just me getting all worked up. That just proves it! Am I the only one who gets excited about anything these days?"

"Calm down, man! I get it. It ain't every day ya see a falling star, y'know?" Rai jogged up to the edge of the ridge, looking at the expanse of forest beyond. "See anything, Vivi?" Vivi hopped up onto Rai's shoulders to get a better view, scanning the trees for anything out of the ordinary. "Looks clear to me," the black mage reported. "Seifer, what did it look like?"

Seifer shrugged. "Beats me. It was on fire, that's all I know. You see any smoke?"

Vivi stood up on Rai's shoulders, grabbing his hair for balance. "Hey! Watch it, y'know?" yelled Rai.

The little wizard searched the forest, sweeping his bright yellow eyes across the pine trees, the mountains off in the distance, the waterfall at the other end of the forest. The sun hung in the same spot in the sky it always did, the light swallowed up by the forest canopy. "Seifer, I still don't see…wait, what's that?"

Vivi hopped onto the end of Rai's staff, squinting at a point on the horizon and nodding after a moment. "Yep. See there? There's not much smoke but you can see where it took down some trees!"

Seifer pumped his fist in victory. "Score! I told you something big was going down!"

Fuu stood up on her toes, shielding her visible eye from the eternal afternoon sun and scanning the trees. "Mansion?" she asked uncertainly.

"Huh?" Rai, Vivi and Seifer followed Fuu's gaze to about half a mile to the left of ground zero. Sure enough, they could just make out the roof of the Old Mansion among the trees.

Even the massive Rai shivered at the sight. "Man, that place gives me the creeps. I heard some weird stuff about it, y'know?" Vivi nodded, hopping off of Rai's staff and hiding behind his legs. "They say there's a guy in there that only eats hearts!"

"Say what?" Seifer rolled his eyes. "Vivi, what are you talking about? Have you been listening to that dumb old 'Seven Wonders of Twilight Town' story again?"

"I'm serious!" Vivi persisted, rocking back and forth on his heels nervously. "Mostly he catches forest animals – squirrels and deer and stuff – but if you get too close to the house you'll fall into one of his traps and he'll cut your heart out and eat it in front of you!"

The group went quiet for a moment as they watched the Old Mansion for any sign of activity – shadows in the broken windows, smoke rising from the chimney, or even someone on the roof laying animal skins out to dry.

A thought suddenly occurred to Seifer. "Wait. Do you know anyone who got caught by this guy?"

Vivi thought a moment. "Well, no…"

"Mm-hmm. And nobody who goes in the house ever comes out, right?" All eyes were on Vivi now, who was looking from Rai to Fuu and back for support. "I guess not…"

"Then tell me something, Vivi." Seifer gestured at the Old Mansion with his gunblade. "If nobody who's been there ever came back, how do you know what's in there?"

Fuu shook her head. "Ridiculous."

Vivi slumped miserably, the point of his hat flopping to cover the stitched-on eyes as if in shame. Before anyone could say anything else, a sharp CRACK ripped through the still forest air. Flocks of birds flew up from around the forest, sent fleeing by the sound or whatever had made it. Vivi jumped, grabbing his hat and pulling it down over his eyes; Fuu and Rai whirled, looking for the source of the noise. Only Seifer was unfazed. He strode forward, standing right on the edge of the ridge and glaring suspiciously at where the falling star had landed. There was a CRUNCH, followed by a rustling sound and a visible disturbance in the trees. Seconds later the forest was shaken by a THUD, which was quickly eaten up by the thickness of the forest.

Fuu's eye widened. "Tree," she whispered. Vivi peeked out from under his hat, ready to dive back into it. Rai shifted to a battle stance as if expecting whatever had just felled the tree to come screaming out of the woods at them. The hand that held Seifer's gunblade tightened on the grip as Seifer steeled himself for danger. "Stick together. This could be trouble." The four ran down the right side of the ridge, Seifer in the lead, as they prepared to meet Twilight Town's uninvited guest.


Hours earlier

Hangar 6, the Event Horizon

In orbit over Twilight Town

The Event Horizon was, in a word, colossal. Half a mile tall and three times as long, it resembled a skyscraper turned on its side and bristling with missile launchers and laser batteries. The bridge was nestled in a heavily fortified bunker toward the back of the ship; fully a quarter of the upper decks were devoted to the powerful Singularity Cannon. This was a weapon capable of creating a miniature black hole at its target, able to obliterate ships and settlements alike. Xigbar's flagship possessed eight massive hangars capable of holding everything from hundreds of fighters to several mid-size corvettes. It was in one of these hangars that six members of the Organization found themselves. The huge space was filled with rows and rows of Mu-class fighters and Null Bombers. Several hundred Dusks, Snipers and other lesser Nobodies were scurrying and teleporting back and forth between the ships and machinery, all assembling for battle and ready to fly on a moment's notice.

The thick steel blast doors on the fore side of the hangar slid open as Xigbar and Lexaeus entered. They were deep in conversation about the logistics of urban warfare, debating the town's demographics and the feasibility of a blockade. The two Nobodies continued talking right up until they drew close to a simple transport shuttle in the middle of the hangar. Xigbar held up a gloved hand for silence, and gestured at the craft. "This is what I was telling you about, Number V."

Lexaeus studied the transport, noting that it seemed to be rocking slightly. The windows were tinted almost black, and it was painted dark purple in contrast with the sterile silver color scheme of the rest of the Armada. The Silent Hero also noticed that the landing gear had been cut off. He was about to ask why when Xaldin portaled into the room, followed closely by Axel, Larxene and Marluxia. All of them unconsciously stopped about thirty feet from the transport ship, and Xigbar cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Everyone here? Good, let's get this show on the road. It's about 0800 hours their time." He pointed at Axel. "You there. Flamesilocks. You know the town the best out of any of us, correct?"

Axel cracked his knuckles and smiled. "I like to think so," he said. "Want me to go in first?"

"I like your initiative, kid," Xigbar replied. "At 1300 hours, take a hundred, hundred and twenty Assassins and sweep the underground for any townies. When you're sure there's nobody down there, radio me and get guard posts set up at all the entrances. Larxene?"

"Present," chirped the Savage Nymph.

"I'll need you to take a group about Axel's size and sweep the forest within a radius of one mile outside the town walls. Sweeps will be conducted daily at 1300 hours, expanding by a mile each day. Same time as Axel's search. Lexaeus?"

"Number II," Lexaeus acknowledged him.

"Central Station is the hub for all travel in and out of the city. Secure the clock tower and the plaza and make sure there's no trains entering or leaving. I want that station under lock and key by 1800 hours. Marluxia?"

"Sir."

"Go door to door and get every man, woman and child from Market Street to the Sandlot assembled in the Tram Common. We're all gathering there at 1500 hours to announce that Twilight Town is under new management. Xaldin and I are locking down Sunset Terrace and setting up a temporary command post. Headquarters is moving to the clock tower and the train station later in the week. Any questions?"

There was an uncomfortable silence as the rocking from the transport behind Xigbar continued, punctuated by muffled bangs against the inside. "Besides the obvious?" commented Marluxia dryly. Xigbar had been waiting for someone to bring it up. He looked back at the ship, pretended to be surprised, and turned back to the group. "What, this old thing?" he asked, smirking wickedly. He stepped aside to present whatever it was to the rest of the operatives. "Gentlemen," he began.

"And lady," Larxene reminded him.

"Whatever. I give you…the S.S. Bait-and-Switch!"

Nobody said anything or approached it; Xigbar glanced around for a volunteer or a victim, and smiled wider. "Come on, she won't bite if you don't let her." None of the group needed to hear that. Lexaeus's hands tensed as if preparing to summon his tomahawk, Axel circled the shuttle cautiously, and even Larxene seemed wary. Xaldin stayed where he was, studying the shuttle apprehensively; only Marluxia dared to approach it. "What are you all so worried about? Whatever's in there couldn't possibly –"

A Darkball Heartless hurled itself against the shuttle window, tilting the craft, roaring and snapping at Marluxia's hand hanging inches from the glass. Marluxia froze, then let his hand fall and turned to Xigbar. "Intriguing. Tell me, how long have you been planning this?"

"Since we first started preparing for the invasion," Xigbar stated, knocking on the side of the shuttle. "The hull is solid nothing-forged disruptor steel, so nothing teleports in or out. This thing's got a hundred or so Heartless brought back from sweep-and-clears, plus whatever Vexen was kind enough to donate." There was a loud CRASH from inside the shuttle, and it shuddered disconcertingly. Xaldin, tight-lipped, glared at it without blinking.

"I was under the impression that you had a shoot-on-sight policy with these things?" Marluxia asked, waving a hand at the shuttle.

"What's this about?" Axel asked, cutting to the heart of the matter. "Why, exactly, are we hoarding these things? I figured the whole point was to fight the Heartless, not keep 'em around." Lexaeus shook his head disapprovingly, keeping his distance from the shuttle. "We all know what this is, and I don't like it."

"What?" Axel pressed, facing each member in turn and chuckling anxiously. "What am I missing about the box of death in this room?"

"Just tell him, Xiggy," Larxene said sweetly, toying with a knife. "Don't make me crack it open and show him."

"Yes, Number II, explain yourself," Xaldin demanded, approaching Xigbar and clasping his hands in front of him, a false smile darkening his glare. "Why have you been collecting Heartless behind the Organization's back?"

"Thought you'd never ask!" said Xigbar cheerfully. "Let me answer your questions with a question – Axel, this one's yours. Right now, what's the biggest threat to existence?"

"Besides us?" Axel shrugged. "The Heartless, of course. What's your point?"

"All I'm saying is that some of the Twilighters – Yen Sid, for instance – have dealt with Heartless before. They'd be expecting an attack from the Heartless. I figure, why surprise them until we have to?"

It dawned on Axel that today had the potential to be far more difficult and violent. "So you're saying we send this –" He knocked on the shuttle, and something awful knocked back. "–planetside, and set it up as a Heartless attack. What's the point of making us look good and mopping it up? It's our world either way."

Xaldin jumped in before Xigbar could answer. "If only he knew how to do it without unnecessary risk."

"Unnecessary?" Xigbar scoffed. "More than three or four operatives on this mission is unnecessary. The sentient fighters are unnecessary. This-"

"Are you still worked up over that?" Xaldin retorted. "If it's that important to you, you can tell them yourself. Send them back ten light-years and see how they-"

"Xigbar is right," Marluxia chipped in. The generals stopped just short of a fistfight and turned to send a death glare and a smug smile in their subordinate's direction. "Go on, flower boy," Xigbar prompted, grinning dangerously. "Why am I right?"

Marluxia alternately watched the tension between Xigbar and Xaldin and the thankfully Heartless-proof window on the shuttle. "All war," he answered, "is based on deception. By defending the natives from the Heartless, we put the forces of light in a bind. On one hand, we're already heavily armed and expansionistic. Any fool can see that. We're also a potential ally in the eyes of anyone interested in defeating the Heartless. I'm assuming, of course, our goal is minimal bloodshed?" Before anyone could answer, a cool, mechanical female voice echoed over the ship's intercom.

"Attention all personnel: the Second Fleet will arrive at its destination in half an hour. The Second Fleet will enter orbit around Twilight Town at that time. Operatives of Organization XIII, please report immediately to the bridge. All lesser Nobodies to battle stations."

"Right on schedule," Xigbar noted, pulling a handful of earpieces from his sleeve. "Here are your communicators – these must be worn at all times. I can't stress enough how important it is to keep in touch. You will receive code names for use in the field the first time you fire 'em up."

Xaldin had already activated his; he frowned, and fixed Xigbar with a look of disbelief. "My code name is Sky Captain?"

This set off a round of laughter, prompting the others to activate their communicators as well. Results varied.

"What is this? Constant Gardener? I suppose it's appropriate, but…"

"What are you complaining about? I'm Short Circuit."

"At least none of you are Lumberjack."

"Hell yes! Burning Man!"

"And I'm Space Oddity. Remember these," Xigbar cautioned. "Never hurts to stay a step ahead of the opposition."

"Sounds like some teenage boy made these up," muttered Larxene.

Xigbar cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. "Been a while since my last good fight. Oh, that reminds me…" The Freeshooter withdrew a remote control from his sleeve, tapping a few buttons. There was a low hum as the repulsors on the Heartless shuttle lifted off the ground. A klaxon sounded, and the noise echoed off the walls of the hangar, mingling with the mechanical grinding of the outer blast doors sliding open to reveal a glowing blue force field. Twilight Town dominated the view beyond the force field; the green expanse of the world was dotted with the silver ships of the Second Fleet. The thrusters came online, sending the shuttle roaring across the hangar and through the force field, straight toward the planet below. The shuttle sailed through space, entering Twilight Town's atmosphere and creating a plume of fire in its wake.

"You heard the lady," Xigbar commanded. "Everyone report to the bridge. Operation Civil Dusk is a go."


Yes, I'm back. No, I cannot promise anything about my update schedule. That being said, hope you're enjoying it!

ZB