Of Keys and Hammers

by zcritic88

In a realm beyond, the Four Chaos has taken notice of a realm tied close to the heart. They squirmed into the darkness and sought to corrupt if to reach a prize beyond the light. Will the Light of Order, be able to repel this ancient evil?

63. Finding a Locked Path

At an early morning in Twilight Town, Olette was allowing Xion to rest by her in a park bench and recalled her story. "So through that, you bought Sora enough time to show up, and then you all took some time to site see. It must feel nice to know that help, really isn't that far away." The black haired girl closed her eyes. "Yeah, Roxas is definitely glad to see me again. My brother stayed at the other town to find the latest news, while Karla returned to the tunnel."

Olette found the mention of the witch peculiar. "Even after what she done to help you all? The people from that world, really are gloomy." Xion agreed and felt she heard something. "I kind of think all those people have had pretty hard lives." Olette saw a certain rich Duck showing a clearly new face a bit around town. "Now there isn't a bunch of things going on in this lazy town these days, so you'll have enough time to yourself and the locals."

The girl observed a knight in armor that had straps of red cloth and a collection of strange weapons, the knight found a tree to lean on and spoke. "Does it always glisten by the shore?"

Scrooge thought of it. "As far as I can recall, it's on the horizon between Light and Darkness to where the sky reflects it." He tapped his cane firmly. "Now don't just go day dreaming about ol Majula, find someone to make friends with ere, before I let you go back to the Bastion."

The knight flinched in shock on the order, like he did break out of his day dreaming. "Really? That took a lot of trust to make it possible, this one man had quite the dreadful tale." Scrooge knew who the knight was talking about. "I heard you talked him into opening up to you, that is no small accomplishment Baldred. They'll love to hear what you done for Ven," Baldred perked and felt ready to explore. "Certainly not during the morning. We've fought things that would make the youths look under their beds."

Scrooge nodded. "That's the spirit." He readied to leave. "I'll let you go to the train by Noon, take care, ya Knightly Monarch." With him gone, the Knight looked around to see the many districts, roads and signs making him dizzy.

He shook his head and saw a girl looking at him and another waking up, Xion gasped. "Baldred?! You're finally back?" She woke up and leaped at him for a laughing hug, the knight hugged back in a laugh. "Ha, ha! You've found better fortune than I!"

They let go and had a novels worth of stories to tell, Xion turned to Olette. "I can tell by watching you and Mr. Duck, that you're trip to save the worlds was kind of a rough one. Me and my brother had to travel through the Chasm itself to help Ken out of a bad spot. I came back by morning and thought I rest here while telling Olette the story." She introduced her. "She and her friends like to solve mysteries around the town."

The local could tell my the armor. "You're someone who isn't from around here. Xion and Ken told me about another knight from that world, one that they risked a lot to save." Baldred was flattered, tapped the back of his head and took in the gratitude. "I'm flattered, but if they told you, then I think you and you friends should end that discovery now." He exhaled. "Some old demons of mine reared their ugly hugs at the cusp of the venture."

Olette had her hands at her hips. "If it's because someone took advantage of your condition or tried to push you away because of that, then forget them! You're alive like the rest of us." The knight yelped. "You knew?!" The girl nodded. "None of you asked the be Undead and you act normal like the rest of us." She thought of it. "If you like, we can help you around the town so you won't get lost."

Baldred stepped back and stubbornly refused. "I can navigate civilization by myself. I've been in one long enough to know." He pointed at the less busy road with people leaving buildings. "That's a residence!" He pointed to one where it was busy and full of people socializing. "That holds something of entertainment." He pointed to the road with some rough looking teenagers. "That holds blood sports." and he pointed towards the road with neon lights and signs advertising things. "And that is a merchant trap. I have naught a coin to go into those."

Olette tilted her head forward. "Really? Then were did you get that armor? You stole it? I was told that the last knight that all those duds took them when he could... on an impulse." Baldred chuckled at the sly girl. "Ha, ha, ha! My weapon certainly was stolen, but I remember paying for the armor in a currency only the Undead can afford." He tilted forward to spoke her away. "Souls! The life force of all living things."

Olette wasn't scared of the intimidation. "I know your world was kill or be killed! Those souls are no good to the normal folk here and you don't need to do it anymore! So you're a hobo now?" Baldred was taken aback. "A what?!" Xion blinked and asked. "What's a hobo?"

The local girl answered. "A homeless person with no way of having a roof over their head and have to scrounge up money to get by. Us kids got time before then, but adults like him." She shook her head. "He's conscripted himself just to get those needs. Baldred, do you know enough of Mr. Scrooge by now?"

The knight nodded. "Oh I know, he's told me enough. He's kind, but his eye for profits mean that he won't just give something without any of us earning it or paying for it." He shrugged. "So if I want anything on my own, I'll have to earn my keep here too."

The local girl agreed. "Then you ought to find a job that your good at." Xion felt an idea spark. "Is there anyone else in the town that is trying to get by?" Olette opposed the idea. "Them? I don't think he should be involved with them. After everything they've done to attract Resira, they're having to work a lot harder compared to this guy." She pointed her thumb to the knight that guessed. "The lot that earned society rejecting them?"

The local girls felt a rather daunting smile under the knights helmet, Baldred decided. "I'll look for this Resira first, the path is riddled with endless obstacles, but if I can overcome them, they would too. For I too have wandered a dark path and found a Light stronger than before."

Olette's mouth dropped as Xion guessed. "The one that lead to fighting the Darklurker?" Baldred nodded and turned to the street of rough necks. "And when I overcame that, Grandahl gave me a chime attuned to the divine." He turned his head. "Has Karla been playing the role of a Dark Diver, Xion?" The black haired girl shivered. "I think she was, she helped me learn this one scary trick while my brother took the Darklurkers power as his own. We also learned about a safer way to travel between worlds if we can't find a gummie ship. Especially since the Darklurker is dead and only the travelers remain in there." The knight approved of that. "Conquer that power and the urge to use it, for it will lend aid when you need it most. I'll be back if they don't want me around."

He left with more confidence and Olette wanted to sit down. "He's already jumping into the deep end here too?" Xion didn't mind as she noticed a duo of boys arriving. "A lot sooner than last time. All he needed was some confidence, I think him finding those guys might be good for both himself and them."

Olette guessed so. "If it works, he'll have a better reason to stick around this town." Pence and Hayner saw Olette talking with no one, the blonde boy asked. "Who are you talking to?" The girl of the group had her hand out. "It's complicated, but we need to place our hands together, close our eyes and let our hearts see for us. Trust me on this one, she'll appreciate that this works."

Xion placed her hand in the pile as the boys wondered why and joined in. They closed their eyes and began to see a fourth among them, in a realization, they felt bewildered, opened their eyes to find that girl with them and let go. Hayner squeaked. "Ah! How long were you here?" Pence guessed. "The whole morning?" Xion winked. "Yep! The names Xion, you two must be Pence and Hayner?"

In the other end of the town, by a make shift hideout.

Isa looked at Lea with unusual worry, the more social of the group asked. "Something a lot bigger is going on and that crazy lady has the all the answers to what. Otherwise we wouldn't want to see each other again." The berzerker blinked at serious tone and gestured with his hand. "Do you see that now? The Fire fiend showing up nearly two weeks after those lunatics escalated a war and coincidentally, that nobody showed up to have us under her thumb."

They noticed Elrena arriving with a couple of decorative plush toys and chewing some bubble gum. "And then it got quiet for the rest of the day with those Guardians being out of sight and out of mind. Something tells me that when they beat Garland, we'll be back dealing with the stuff of fairy tales." Clank! Clank!

She turned around to find Lauriam arriving and having a conversation with something out of a fairy tale, a knight in armor that had his helmet off and revealing a blue eyed man with red hair and a red beard, the knight finished his story. "And then I used the power of that Orruks life force to learn the art of those toxins." He put the helmet back on as Lauriam counted his blessings. "I think I read about those kinds of Orruks before. It's hard to believe that they are related to those brutes, locked away in the databanks."

Elrena guessed. "They're not the ones that charge at you screaming." She stopped, took her gum out and pronounce in a deep voice. "Waaaaaagh?!" Lauriam saw the gang and dreaded the thought. "No, but they certainly believe in the Waagh! The Kruelboyz fight dirty and they enjoy getting under your skin... probably quite literally." Elrena cringed at the implications. "How more obvious can they get?" Isa answered. "Very and apparently, that kind of logic works with them." He asked. "Who is this?"

Lea asked. "Let's start with what over heard, what did he do with that to make... toxins?" The knight sparked his hand in a fire ball for a spell as Lauriam answered with admiration. "It is the art he has learned from his life in that world we heard of. When a powerful individual dies, they sometimes leave behind a soul, the essence of their life and the life they lived. This man, holds the power to take the soul and mold it into a weapon familiar with that life or a power that is tied to that life."

Lea became jealous in an instant and folded his arms to ask. "Are you that knight, that kid spoke of?! The one who taunt him all those fire spells?" The knight sighed. "No and I never heard of Jambert. Apparently he was the reason the Guardian's of Light knew that I existed."

Lauriam had his fingers under his chin. "And he took the chance to teach them a few of his skills once they rescued him from his hollowed state. Some of them took a venture into the Realms with him and now they've returned with a way to deal with our current problem. Gentlemen, this is Baldred." He directed them to the knight and the knight back to them. "Baldred, this is the gang." Baldred dismissed his flame and asked. "You all look reasonably sane."

Lea almost laughed to that. "You just entered a circus, pal! Name's Lea, I hope you got a good memory." The knight thought about that. "Well..." Elrena felt she heard enough. "My guess is that something strange happened to bring him out of the underworld and he's scrapped his bigger memories together. Otherwise he wouldn't have told Lauraim that detail." She greeted herself. "I'm Elrena, welcome to the club of outcasts." she popped her chewing gum back into her mouth as Isa introduced himself. "Isa. There are two others in this club that will be here shortly. A gambler named Dorlu and our chicken blood, Medy. You've met our... contact at the Bastion?" Baldred nodded. "I have, I've also heard of one other who comes here?"

The gang hesitated to speak of the person and saw someone appear from behind the knight, a black haired woman in military attire and in crutches that support her lack of an arm and a leg. The knight saw the shock and turned around. "Resira?"

The woman stopped her struggles and simply looked at him. "...That will do. So the Undead who've spoken tales of the Dark, have finally decided to spread his word here?" The knight almost jumped as the gang flinched to the word Dark. "How did you know of that?"

The woman smiled wide at him. "I've heard you spoken about your struggle to understand that and keep it with in the shadows where it belongs. All to find comfort and solace with in a purpose, to seek the True Light?" She leaned on one of her crutches and directed to the gang. "Blind zeal is not enough, for to be blind is to be easily deceived and be lead towards ruin! Cast aside the gold and gaze upon sky with your own eyes. What do you see?"

Baldred looked up and placed his hand over his visor. "Morning?" The preacher was pleased. "That, the sunset and the night, is all there is to see here." Her face quickly stilled. "You've passed, but be warned of the shadows, you've made yourself a great enemy towards the Seekers of Darkness." Isa promised the lady. "We've picked that up when you found out he's had that kind of tale and shared it with us. This isn't why you came though?"

Resira nodded. "Very soon, we will have pressing news that would justify... preparations for the Great War. You will be told about this and when you are, you will decide how you are going to do something about it. If the guardians of light have returned from a realm, similar to the Galaxy I called home... then they are enroute to seeking answers."

Elrena understood. "About the Forces of Chaos that existed over there? We all know this Archaon guy calls all the shots and that... could get bad if he's anything like Abaddon." Resira nodded. "Besting the Black Legion has only delayed the Chaos gods and I've heard of a borderline heretical solution, to halt them forever more." She had a look at Baldred. "That we will need both Light... and Darkness. Which among you, will tell me why this is a problem?"

Isa answered without hesitation. "Because the Forces of Darkness have already aligned themselves with those of Chaos and if we try to find another way, we'll be back where we started. Where you ended up in, Exrirsa."

The nobody hummed. "Very good. Even with our new friend here to provide company, his answer to the Darkness is no certainty." Baldred went to a wall to lean on and agreed. "None of it is, just that we need the Dark, to be human and what is human that hasn't come from the Dark?" Exrirsa answered. "To demand justice? To punish those who seek to do us evil? To put ourselves before others or to use our fears to drive us? To be without those feelings, is not natural."

Lea agreed to that. "And that is one of the many things the powers of Chaos are going to use against us all?" Lauraim snapped his fingers. "And those are the more positive drives that could easily exist with in the Light if it has gone a different path. The contradiction is what throws the worlds off balance and what is the opposite of an orderly balance?"

Exrirsa answered. "Chaos! Now you see, that another war is a certainty." She went to a nearby bench to sit down and exhaled. "Now, my sermons are done and my agents are gathering intelligence at their leisure. What is for today, now that the entrepreneur has returned?" Elrena gasped. "Just now? I think he would be busy worrying about this problem like the rest of us. But I heard of a super hero flick that is going to play today, if we got the cash."

Baldred sneezed a laugh as Lea snickered. "Or we can joke about being a bunch of hobos with nothing to do."

In the Castle that Never Was, in the Altar of Naught.

Xehanort and Vanitas finished opening a rift and allowing an Army of Chaos to spill over, a legion of mutants, madmen and rodents. The masked boy was impressed. "Wow, this is a spread."

Ahriman lead his newly acquired horde of Tzaangor and the Ogroid thaumaturge with the horned bird skull for a staff piece away from the bunch and opened a rift. "Zonir, you will find Ztardon's flock bellow in the living quarters. Ztardon, find Pete and have him report."

Vanitas clenched his fists as the Sorcerer turned to see Archaon and his steed fly out. THUD! Dorghar landed before the three and caused the sinister boy to twitch, Archaon jumped off and he spoke. "You've failed to contain the guardians from our ordeals and three of my men have not returned! What is the meaning of that?"

Vanitas spoke up with an unusual stutter. "That psychotic nun and that screw up kept tossing napalm on them and that was just the second loop!" Archaon was aware of that. "And they were under my orders to flank them. Clearly their technology and the nobodies merits proven too much. How did you fail in the third loop?"

Vanitas saw the sword glowing and answered. "I would have smashed that Realmgates starpiece if that screw up didn't show up in the third loop and took the thing on his mommy's orders. Somehow his escapades lead him into a dark zone that we picked up on."

The Everchosen pointed at him. "And where is he now?" The Dark Seeker answered. "Back with in the safety of the Guardians of Light. All that we succeeded in was enticement towards desperation, a project of mine proved to be rebellious." He gave a glare at Ahriman, who dismiss it. "That only means her heart has become much stronger. Clearly that means our... thirteenth candidate is beyond persuasion and unless he was in your dark hold when someone like Aqua or Sora arrived, then that means he's defied you."

Archaon nodded. "And that defiance would lead to crueler fall. Where did this dark zone, come from in the first place?" Xehanort pressed his fingers on his forehead. "That is the insanity, someone sent dark agent of theirs to lure him towards a tome of forbidden knowledge and he immediately presumed that was me." The Everchosen asked. "Now do you understand why we need to put that Daemon Prince in his place? If we do not, Be'lakor will undermine all of our plans... all of your plans." Vanitas shook his head and asked. "More than what we already do until there is something we can all agree on?"

Ahriman chuckled at him. "Do we need another one to break this warband?" Archaon laughed with the Sorcerer. "No." He asked Vanitas. "There is one way you can redeem yourself." He ordered. "You and Xehanort will come with me into the Realm of Darkness, we will slay this Daemon together, see what his machinations have wrought and learn how we can use that." He ordered Ahriman. "You shall open the way for us once you are prepared. Only a Sorcerer of Chaos can conduct the machinations for a safe arrival, long enough for the daemons to notice me!"

The Sorcerer tapped his staff. "I will conduct the ritual down bellow once I inform our allies of the greater war." He felt a head ache and raised four fingers. "It appears that our other competitor has unleashed four keys upon the worlds, the keys of Chaos." He tapped his staff to teleport away and left trio of darkness.

Xehanort vowed. "You will get yours one day, Ahriman." Archaon walked down the ledge. "Not so long as he remains loyal to us." He blew his horn and ordered his men to follow him into the castle, the Darkseeker and his creation were left alone. Vanitas shivered. "That's how this guy is able to keep all of them in line? He has his own plans as well." Xehanort agreed. "But he holds absolute dominion over Chaos, when we understand him, we will seize that dominion for ourselves."

Down bellow in a balcony.

Maleficent burst in green flames and screamed at Pete. "You what?!" The minion shivered. "Now, now. I... did run when I saw the war zone those guys were running into, but I found something that will keep me in the game." He snapped his finger to summon the mechanized, gas spewing, dinosaur like monster of a heartless. "Meet the newest member of our army of darkness." He raised his hands to announce. "Corperate Disaster!"

The heartless snorted smoke from its nostrils and Maleficent was half impressed. "I see that, and how would we know it won't fall like all the others you created?" Pete laughed at his plan. "That's just it, it won't. If we hit them where it hurts and get out of there like they normally do it, it will last a lot longer for us to do it again and in the meanwhile, cause some mayhem."

"Hmmm! Especially with the limited resources we have." Pete saw Ztardon and the Ogroid with him and waved. "Ya see. These guys know what I'm talking about." The Ogroid wasn't impressed by the monster. "With just one of these monsters? It seems you talk more than you achieve."

Pete grumbled as Maleficent agreed with the arrival. "This is going to end in another failure of his." The minion corrected her. "Oh not with the idea I came up with, to get more Heartless like this guy. You see, there is a particular darkness that looney talked about that we can use. It even turned that, holier than thou, crazy lady into a heartless that shook the kiddies core."

Maleficent's scowl lessened. "The evil with in hearts?" Pete nodded. "The more of a monster they are in the heart, the more of a monster these guys can become. It isn't just any run of mill darkness we've been using." Ztardon nodded. "And what was impressive then, feels small now?"

The witch agreed with him. "The heartless are like locusts, but the more powerful ones have always given the keybearers nothing but turmoil." The minion agreed. "And this, your nastiness, is the next big step to keep up with those Chaos guys." He smiled nervously at Ztardon and Zonir. "No offense." Zonir's eyes glowed and he growled. "Chose your next words carefully, or the offense will be taken."

Pete wasn't worried and explained. "Then you smarty pants, won't mind if you know where this one came from. I found this snow blown world in my travels that had a grim aura to it, see. It had a company that must have done something to cause it because they say so. I found this rich guy frozen stiff with all his money."

Zonir's growling stopped. "He sought comfort in his wealth?" Pete nodded. "And if he's rich, then that means he was a head of that company." He gave a wicked laugh. "Oh what ever he did, probably made him the richest dinosaur in the whole world. But it didn't save him in the end, all that money wouldn't fill the pit in his heart and it definitely didn't stop the cold from doing him in. Now that greed works for me. Eh, ha. Hwah, ha, ha, ha!" Zonir slowly laughed with him. "Hue, heh, heh, heh! That it does, are there... more like him out there?" Maleficent gasped at Pete and answered. "Yes, there are. Why Pete, that is diabolical."

The minion took that as a compliment. "So, all we got to do is fine more hearts like Corperate out there and then the worlds will be ours for the taking." Ztardon clapped fast and asked. "Do you know another world with a heart like that?"

Pete raised a finger, inhaled, stopped and exhaled, he put is finger down. "Well... no. The last one I know of got murked by Sora already and any others he met got on the chopping block." The Mistress of All evil waved her staff to order. "Then we need to find more!" "A scouting party is in order." Ztardon heard the chime of his masters voice. "But not without the knowing of the Everchosen?" Ahriman arrived and analyzed the big Heartless. "Oh he needs to know that Pete found a way to produce more effective monsters or he will have his head. But the freedom could bring us one step closer into taking this Castle back, all we need to do, is show him this and speak of this way."

Pete cringed. "You mean to tell me I have to talk to him?!" Ahriman nodded. "Precisely, if you have the spine to do that, then you truly have the ambition to be greater and for us to take you seriously." Maleficent gestured to Pete. "Go on then, get it over with so we can finally go." Pete took a deep breath, puffed his chest and ordered his creation. "Come on CD, we'z got to impress the big man."

The heartless growled and followed him to the arena, where Archaon looked down upon his warriors of Chaos, battling for supremacy. Pete readied to speak as the Everchosen did it for him. "You found a way to create stronger minions from the cut throat imbeciles that bring themselves before deaths door?"

Pete's chest deflated and he answered. "Y...yes, Mr. Everchosen... Sir." Archaon turned to find the Corperate Disaster and looked it in the yellow eyes, a pause was heard, the minion felt his heart beat at the unchanging expression of a horned helmet. "Heh, heh, heh." The Everchosen began to laugh, Pete felt his urge to laugh with him leave his lungs and he stepped back as the laughter became more unhinged, Archaon covered his face and kept laughing for what felt like four whole minutes that in turn, felt like hours, the Everchosen calmed down and ordered Pete. "Finally. Now get out of my site, your needed elsewhere."

The minion felt a whole world of solace and ran faster than he expected, the heartless followed him. Back in the balcony, the minion saw Ahriman looking at a watch and noticing him. Maleficent felt gratitude to something and asked. "Well, Pete, did you show him?" Pete exhaled and breathed heavily. "I did, phew that went a lot better than I expected." Ahriman agreed with him. "Now you won't have to worry about him again unless you want him to be your worry." He took his exit. "Consider this your free day. Ztardon, Zonir, we must prepare for the ritual."

The minions followed and Pete sat down. "I need to get out of this place." Maleficent had news for him. "I've been informed that Garland had sent something across the worlds, the Keybearer would certainly deal with that and they would be vulnerable for some... experimentation." Pete perked at his chance to escape. "That's the break I need, Heh, ha, ha, ha!"

At the Castle in the Land of Departure.

Ven finished recounting the events that transpired, with Aqua and Ana infuriated, Sora and Riku disgusted and the rest being afraid. "So the Slann sent the Endless Spells our way and we need to go find them when we get the chance. Garland caught Loru and the others to use them against us, so we need to watch out for any worlds that might be under attack again."

Mickey sighed. "Sounds like some of us need to visit Yen Sid, for his knowledge again. If strong magic like that is let out by now, it won't go unnoticed." Sora and Riku agreed with that as Halvek insist. "How's about I go there to show the orb, speak of the plan and give it a little time to recharge." He ordered the two boys. "Sora, Riku, you think that wizard has the materials we need to speed up the time?"

Riku doubted that as Sora scratched the back of his head. "I kind of want to check on Baldred. Why would Nagash do that to him?! How did that happen?!"

Riku closed his eyes, took a deep breath and answered. "Baldred is an undead, Sora. To a powerful necromancer, he is nothing but parts for him to use, when those parts didn't work like he wanted, he broke them."

Ana shook her head as Aqua looked like she wanted to hit a wall. "If he ever shows his face around these worlds, I'm going to end him." The Stormcast had her hand over Aqua's shoulder. "Lass, if you shake the status quo like that, the consequences would be enormous. He isn't going to come here and he doesn't have a way to try again."

Kairi agreed with that. "Someone like that, who only has hatred and greed in the void that a heart is suppose to lurk, isn't welcome here. So, if Sora, Riku and Halvek are going there, where else are we heading?"

Aqua wanted to lay down. "I'll be trying to find Baldred to say a few things to him once I get some time to myself. It's nothing that important. Ken, who are you going with?" The one armed boy felt quiet in his answer and got up, he held his prosthetic in place and looked hurt. "...Ana. Me and Kairi kind of went on a couple trips together already."

The Stormcast listened to the low tone and asked. "I'd be happy to come along, it isn't until it is someone you know and care about, that you invite dark thoughts." Ken nodded. "Yeah. How could anyone... go through that and stay okay?" He puffed his cheeks as Ven answered. "They don't, but as long as someone is there to help him up and as long as he has a purpose to get by, he'll keep going."

Ken's cheeks kept puffed and his mouth stayed close, he wanted to say something, yet feared of what else would come out. Mickey asked. "Do you want to get going as soon as possible?" Ken nodded and Ana asked. "Do you want to scream that onboard Bryn? I promise that what ever you have to say, will only be heard in the void of space and to someone who won't mind it." Ken took the lead, gave Ventus a hug, swallowed his dark words and whispered. "I'm sorry you had to see someone go through that. We're all glad that you made it out of that one."

Ven grew silent and let the youngest boy leave with the veteran of combat. Riku's heart skipped a beat. "Bryn is not going to like this." Kairi agreed. "No she isn't. I think, depending on where the lines lead, I might be safe by myself. I'll let you all know if I won't." The group allowed it and Kairi took off. "We'll get through this."

Ven and Stitch looked to each other and decided, the oldest boy asked. "We'll look for any of those guys and snap them out of it. A good adventure should help us get this out of our minds."

Aqua blinked. "Already? But you just got here." Ven nodded. "I know, but we'll be ready then." The Keyblade Master decided on allowing it, with more gone, Mickey asked Donald and Goofy. "I guess we should check the worlds that got attacked and ask if they seen anything." Donald saluted. "Good idea, your majesty." Goofy saluted with him. "We'll be done with this in a jiffy."

Sora and Riku were ready to take off as well, the spiky haired boy waved. "We'll see you at the tower, Aqua. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

Aqua breathed in and exhaled through her nostrils. "I will as soon as I scream." Riku cringed. "Master Aqua, you got to be a better example for your students." Halvek shrugged. "Eh, do you want to be around when that happens? I think she has better discipline to stop before she breaks something. When you gotta scream, you gotta scream."

Riku focused back on Aqua to find a stoic expression, warning him that he should leave. Halvek whistled. "And it looks like she's going to blow!" He tried to push the boys out. "Let's go, let's go already!" With Sora and Riku pushed out of the door, Halvek closed it behind them and tried to ask something, his question was interrupted by a muffled woman's.

"Wraaaaaagh!"

The trio paused and waited, the Duardin asked. "So, we're going sail to the scraps of land in this realm. How are we going to get to the wizards tower if it's that special?" Sora lead the way. "Normally, we just fly there, but we need to finish one thing in the place that is connected. So what kind of place do you live in?" Halvek smirked. "Well, if you asked, my people have lived in the skies of Chamon for ages, on top of Skyports." Riku guessed. "Giant airships that could make a metropolis?" He blinked. "Wow."

In the Lanes Between.

Kairi felt glad to be out of the castle and noticed four comets flying from somewhere, a twin tailed comet that looked like storm and fire, flew somewhere to the west of space. A glittering comet, flew to the far north west and a sea blue comet was flying somewhere close. She had her ship follow it and heard a beep from her monitor. A message from Brynhildr, labeled, urgent. She asked. "Do I need to hear this?"

Her ship beeped and the Princess groaned. "Fine." The message revealed Ana being on a left most chair, being taken aback by Ken screaming red. "He's threaten my life, peeved Mom off so much that she turns into a different person when he gets brought up, tried to hurt Ven of all people, because had happened to have a Keyblade and he's made Baldred go Hollow? Ana, do you know what that does?!"

The Stormcast nodded. "Ya told me lad and it's a fate I wouldn't wish on anyone." Ken pulled at his hair. "No one with a good heart, would ever wish that on anyone. That guy is just..evil." He panted and placed his hand over his heart. "I swear, if Nagash ever shows up here, especially when we are already dealing with the universe crashing down on us, I am going to kill him and make sure he burns." Ana cringed. "That would be difficult since he's a god of undeath and he keeps finding a way to come back." Ken nodded with his teeth gritting. "I know, that's why I'll do it again, and again and again until he stops coming back." He lost his breath and was in a haze. "I don't feel so good." He fell forward and collapsed. "I'm... okay... I'm okay." He pulled himself up and sat on one of the side seats. "It's hard to keep that bottled up, you know."

The Stormcast took her helmet off and smiled to him. "You would have gotten sick if you did." She noticed something and pointed on. "Is that a twin tailed comet?" Ken quickly turned. "That doesn't look natural." He looked at the screen and to the controllers. "Come on Bryn, we're following that."

Blip! The video ended and Kairi leaned on her chair, the thought of her rival unleashing some of the darkest, yet truthful words, she has heard, nearly broke her heart. "Little Bro..." The ship slowed down and the Princess looked to find the world of Destiny Island in the way of the blue comet. She gasped made impact with the worlds water and caused the world to be engulfed in a storm. She drew her keyblade and charged. "Look out trouble, here I come!"

Pew! She landed upon the shore of the island and felt a mighty storm blow against her face, the water ripples into a mighty, destructive tide, tearing through anything in it's way, from the boats, to the rafts, even the trees are not spared. She saw something swimming in the water and forming the tide as it passes, marked, by a black fin. The Princess focused on the fin, hovered and flung a barrage of pink lights.

PEW! PEW! PEW!

The fin sank in response, Kairi saw a ripple in the water, heading straight to her like a missile. She squeaked at a quickly escalating battle and rolled to the left. SPLASH! A large, long, flying shark like heartless, with yellow eyes, a mouth full of white, razor sharp teeth, flew at her to take a bite. CLACK! The bite missed and Kairi saw on the Heartless's belly, two harpoon launchers that resemble remoras, the remoras turned to her and fired, forcing the girl to jump back. The Harpoonlodon flew around its prey as the remoras reloaded, Kairi flung a flower of light and flew to the sharks side. SMACK! The shark enveloped its fins in razor ice and spun, Kairi back flipped mid air and raised her blade in the air. "Thunder!"

BZZT! PEW!

The shark was shocked, shook it's tail and sprinted after Kairi, the girl rolled to the right to dodge the ferocious bite and back flipped at the sound of the harpoons, she dashed to the shark and grabbed onto its dorsal fin. SMACK! PEW! She hit the beast on the back of the head, the shark thrashed to get her off and felt her grip tight, it saw the remains of a bridge from a large island, to a smaller one that had the scrapped remains of a crawler, it flew towards the wreckage and tilted sideways, the princess saw what was coming, hit the shark again and jumped off into the water.

SPLASH!

The Harpoonlodon swam around the smaller island, out of line of sight, yet Kairi knew it was coming for her. She found it difficult to kick and saw the water ripple towards her, she felt a skip of a beat and raised her blade. "Wind!"

WOOSH!

She blew herself out of the water and watched the shark emerged with a mouth full of water and realized it missed, it spun upside down, revealed its emblem and the remoras fired at the mid air princess, Kairi spun, shot lightning upon the belly and dived down at the shark's underbelly, keyblade first.

STAB!

She punctured the shark in the chest and felt it weakly thrashing, it flew to the larger island and crashed upon the sands. Flopping its tail to try to get Kairi off, the princess pulled and jumped off, she watched the heart release and the sharks body disappear. She took a deep breath and felt the wind just as strong. She turned to face the sea and realize. "What's causing all of this is in there?!" She grumbled and thought. "How am I suppose to swim that deep?"

Trickle!

She felt a light splash of water to her left and searched the direction, finding something washed a shore, it glittered in light. She approached and found a bundled up pile of purple fur, she was completely confused and piked it up, undoing the bundle and seeing flippers on the end. "This is not an ordinary seal suit." A voice in her head agreed. "It isn't, do you want to try it on?"

Kairi blushed at the thought and heard a branch fall, she turned and watched a fallen branch smack Sora's tree house. She grumbled and put her legs in the front opening, she pulled and saw it covered nearly her entire body. Glitter! Glitter! She saw a sparkle of light and felt the seal skin tightening, she felt her legs stiff and tried to move them.

Plop!

The lower half of the seal suit moved as one. The girl rolled on her stomach, wiggled her feet and felt them close together, she couldn't believe it. "This thing turned me into a seal!" Tap! She felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Namine with her head, neck, upper torso and arms human, yet her lower half is of a white furred seal. "You're close, now you can swim the sea and stop what is really causing these storms."

Kairi gasped and squeed. "No way! I'm a mermaid?!" She did her best to crawl to the shore and adapted to bouncing her lower body, she got to the water and saw her reflection, her upper half is completely unchanged save for the sea fur covering her chest. She clapped in excitement as Namine disappeared into her. "Good luck." Kairi slide into the water and gotten deep enough to where she could swim, she took her leisure in learning the movement of the seal and with keyblade in hand, focused on the current and swam to the source, the sea grew dark.

Three yellow lights were seen with in the deep dark, the Princess stopped and knew she was in danger. She lit her keyblade and shined it at the eyes, revealing a massive, purple sea serpent with a dark blue underbelly and the emblem of a heartless, with someone, riding on top of it. An elf in sea green armor and a cloak of a current. In one hand, he held a scepter, in another was a trident, he spoke something that flowed past the girls ears. "It is not safe, young one, turn back before the tide consumes you."

The girl posed for battle and asked. "Are you one of the four Garland kidnapped?" The sea serpent glared at her and slowly swam, the breeze answered. "That matters not, you are before an Aspect of the Sea and the Leviathan that will drown the world. Will you fight, knowing the odds against you?"

Kairi didn't care and waited for the Leviathan to make it's move. "This is my world and you don't want to do this." She saw a chain with a horned lock on the Aspect of the Sea. "I know, you don't want to do this." The breeze sighed. "But, I must. I am an Eidolon, you are a young human. If you will not turn back, then we will kill you."

The Leviathan sprinted after her, with a wide opened mouth, the girl dashed to the left, flipped and in mid swim, fired beams of light at the Heartless. The Eidolon aimed his trident and unleashed a whirlpool blast at her. Sending her flying into the void, the Leviathan turned and fired eye lasers at the girl, they made contact and stiffen her. It rushed after her again, Kairi glowed and flexed to force the paralysis off, she dived down to avoid the bite and darted upward to find the heartless emblem. PEW!

She harpooned the beasts heart and felt something turn, woosh. The Aspect of the Sea jumped off of the Heartless and rushed at her, Kairi was forced to pull and dived, she spun with her blade and formed a whirlpool of light, dealing significant damage to the Leviathan and flipping to her back to launch a pearl of light. The Eidolon swam in the way and formed a barrier to block it. The Leviathan dived down into the deep, Kairi knew of this trick and swam to the surface as fast as she could, she looked back to find the Leviathan rising beneath her and attempt to swallow her whole, she smirked, let loose a gust of water and used it to torpedo herself out of the water, flying high in the air, the Leviathan jumped out after her.

The Princess glowed in light and blew a raspberry. Pulse!

A golden light flashed and blinded the Leviathan, giving the Princess time to fling herself left and downward. SPLASH! The Leviathan splashed into the water confused as the Eidolon swam on its back and looked around, finding Kairi with a current of light. SWIPE! She unleashed it and sent the Leviathan rolling, it shook in a panic and sprinted into the Darkness. She knew the Eidolon is the source of the storm, if she doesn't free it, the storm with never end until everything is flooded. She swam after it.

At Yen Sids Tower.

The Wizard pressed his fingers together and smiled to the Kharadron with the void stone orb. "I see, it is used as a means to capture the endless spells?" Halvek nodded. "Capture it and put it in a bottle for the Aether Khemists to use, that has the potential to break the stone compared to this job. Breaking apart the fabric of the crystal so all the condensed energy will be unleashed and make his being easier to combat."

Sora had little idea what Halvek said save for the most important one. "By then, we'll beat him up before he gets to make that again." Riku had a text and let the group know. "And we got word that some comets flew from nowhere and impacted some worlds. Ven's heading towards one that looks like a jungle, but Kairi and Ken gave us dead air."

Sora didn't mind. "They must have been in a hurry." He explained to Yen Sid. "If these are the four we heard about, we just need to free them and they'll flush Garland's hideout in the open."

The wizard approved and stood up. "If that is the case, I believe I've sat idle long enough. Sora, Riku, once the way is revealed, you and the others will dive down into the heart of this chaos. I will join you and lend my aid." The boys gasped, Sora cheered. "Finally, we get to see you in action."

Halvek shrugged. "I wouldn't count it as that much of a blessing. Old age and paper work will bog ya down from adventures one day." Yen Sid asked the dwarf in a sly tone. "And I suppose you and your company is use to science and numbers to win the day?" Halvek nodded. "Yes. Is there anything you got to speed this up?"

The wizard shook his head. "No, but there is one who has the power of anti magic, that would halt the crystal spell indefinitely. He would be required for the spell." Riku groaned. "Baldred and his profound still? Yen Sid, you know that's dark magic."

The wizard agreed. "A magic that is a component for the spell. We would require someone who would manipulate the fabric of the hex and empower the orb, so it would not break. This can also prove an experiment to a theory."

Sora guessed. "That talk about Light and Darkness? I guess... this is one way to look for it." Riku agreed. "We won't be the ones using the darkness, while the light." he snapped his fingers as Halvek perked. "Is used in tether to a containment to make a prism out of the darkness. That will kick start its recharge, but it means we can only use the Voidstone orb once. It won't handle the nullification of its aether lines and to permanently sever it if the fight takes too long." He pointed to the door. "That's your excuse to check on the Undead and see where Scrooge left em. So what are you waiting for?"

The boys made it for the door as Sora answered. "Nothing now!"

The boys left and took the train to Twilight Town, with no one else to hear, the spiky haired asked rather scoldenly. "That was what Karla told you all?" Riku leaned on his seat. "It's so dumb, but it's the only thing that makes any sense to stop our bigger problem. The only way we can learn anything about how to use Darkness without it backfiring is to start from scratch, with the basics and learn it from people who aren't trying to kill us. If we got a bigger lead on a stronger source, it would make this go so much faster."

The train went across a rift and into Twilight Town as Sora whined. "Baldred nearly hollowed out because there are too many people that are out to get us. He's just going to get himself in danger when Xehanort finds out how many problems are in his heart." Riku agreed with him. "Because Baldred is too brave and stubborn to back down." The train door opened. "Let's see what he is doing first, then we will ask."

At the hideout.

Baldred was completely lost at spinning board Dorlu was playing as Medy practice a couple notes. The gambler finished. "And that is where the term, roulette came from." Elrena saw the blankness of the Undead and whispered. "I don't think he's getting it."

The Undead agreed. "This is getting us nowhere. This whole town is bristling with things to do and we're not partaking in any of them." Medy sighed. "Because we're all adults and we've might have scared some of the kids parents." Baldred groaned. "Arrrrgh! We should be taking this to the Bastion. Even some training for the next battle and the sound of gizmos are more fun than this." Exrirsa agreed. "Once a message is delivered, we will get started. A bored mind, attracts dark thoughts."

Medy asked. "Get started with what? A boot camp that will bring all of us together like one happy family?" The Adeptas Sororitas sharpened her eyes and had them glow like the sun, a fast moving smile spooked the chicken blood and he realized that was exactly what Exrirsa planned. He froze in terror and the woman asked. "You have worked together to save this town from a fire, three times over. You can work together again for something greater."

Elrena read a comic and agreed. "Not going to happen again, that was a one time thing." Baldred threw his arms. "A one time thing?! You speak like you'll betray each other over a simple short sword." Isa actually laughed. "Try less than that."

The Undead groaned and asked Exrirsa. "Take them, they need guidance." The Nobody's smile became more unhinged to the thought. "As soon as I find a reason to give them. They can be better than what they claim. When they learn discipline, are you going to give them meaningful company?"

Baldred grunted as Lauriam had a look at the Nobody's smile, blinked in shock and saw the face turned stoic, he tried to look away and found Sora and Riku rushing to the scene. "And that is you're reason to leave, right there."

"Baldred, what are you doing hanging out with these guys?!" The voice of Sora was like a melody to the undead's ears, Baldred turned his head to him. "I thought I make myself among the outcasts for some company. Munny is not my normal currency and I'm broke for anything else." He groaned. "Lady Resira certainly has plans for them, but what is so important to delay guidance?"

Riku cringed and saw Exrisa sleeping on the bench. "She is up to something." He yelled to the gang that knew the Nobody was acting beyond strange. "What ever she plans to scare you with, is something you brought upon yourselves."

Lea agreed with that. "Say it louder for the people in this town." Riku yelled. "Grrr! When you stop hating yourselves and each other and think about what's important, some actual change can happen between you guys." He turned around to take off. "Unreal. Baldred, we need your help to charge something up. Do you got a moment?"

The knight does. "At your call." He turned to the gang. "Don't go getting yourselves killed, there is potential." He took off with Riku as Sora shook his head, he left without much of a word. In a few minutes, Isa asked Exrisa. "We know your pretending to be asleep, are you just trying to toy with us." The Nobody woke up and answered. "Perhaps, but the truth in the matter would be better told from someone else. Then we can make this into... a game, until it stops being one." She stood up. "You give those without hope, some hope and they will better behave themselves when they find a purpose. That is what you need."

Back at the Tower.

Baldred looked upon three crowns that gave an old nostalgia, the void stone orb, the Navigator adjusting a device and to Yen Sid. "You wish me to empower this with a hex? Those things only take away, even if some of them give." The wizard nodded. "That is precisely why the orb needs your power, you and Karla shared your forbidden secret, yes?"

The knight figured that much. "We have. So this is going to be your first clue into finding a Dark strong enough for what you all need to do? The rule, of equivalent exchange."

Riku asked. "What we get from this, will require something else in return. No more, no less. For example, with the hex, void stone and Yen Sid's light, that is offered in exchange for someones power over the crystal?" Baldred shook his chime. "Yes, or the power of climax, that needs tremendous soul power to be as deadly as it is."

Sora gasped. "So that's why someone goes crazy when they use the Darkness?! They lose themselves? Like what happens when I use a drive and it causes... something in me to go wild?" Baldred nodded. "Yes, exactly. Or when I travel into the Dark Chasm of Old, I give an effigy that binds me to my humanity, for passage. How many users of Darkness, ignore this price and take a heavy toll? Or are willing to use innocent people for the payment."

Sora answered. "Too many, that's why we got to stop them when they show up." The knight smiled back and leaned. "I am ready, tell me when." Yen Sid raised his hands and caused a orb of stars to form, Halvek pressed a button and took the stars from the magical lines. "When I get these in, you'll make a null coating."

In the Lanes Between.

Ken and Ana looked from with in Bryn, at a world pelted by a thunder storm, one the boy was familiar with. "This really is Garland's next attack? Where it all started." Ana tightened her fist and vowed. "Hold on Loru, I'm coming."

Ken summoned Cadia's Light to his side and was ready to charge. "Operation; Let's Rescue That Jerk. Can commence." Ana coughed loudly. "Kendry, no one is allowed to say that about him, except for me."

Ken puffed his cheeks. "Come on, the way you talk about him, makes him sound like a heroic jerk that puts on a big show for you and the others." Ana summoned her Hammer Blade. "That is true, but this is my only chance to repay that gratitude." She yelled. "For Sigmar! HIYAAAAH!"

She charged as Ken charged with her. "FOR THE WORLDS!"

They charged into the light and found themselves in a dark cave with torches of white flame, yelling like a combined army. They realize they were not in the Colosseum of Olympus and were instead, in somewhere else. Somewhere foreboding and full of death. They stopped and heard their battle cries echo. The Stormcast stopped and guarded herself. "Ah, Gryphon droppings."

Ken opened his mouth for a sarcastic smile. "We just let everyone here know that we showed up. Woops!" He readied his keyblade like a rifle and took a step, a battle cry, echoed back. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The duo gasped. "Orruks?! Here?!" "ROAR!" The sound of a triple roar joined in the echo, they ran to the noise and found a large room with a battle ensuing, ten orruks, in brown leather clothes and cobbled together, red military armor scraps and marked in blue war paint, attempted to battle against a black, three headed dog. The Orruks had sharp weapons made of scrap metal and they were lead by a larger Orruk with more armor and a piston powered, mechanical, three pronged claw, the most surprising aspect though are the pistols. The Orruk ordered the boyz, that were being tossed around, nearly mauled and were doing a poor job in dodging fire balls that shot from two of the dogs, fanged mouths. The Orruk with the claw punched the dog and was body slammed into a wall, sending the Orruks into a panic, the Orruk was bloodied and he ordered. "Come on, runz for it! We got to get da boyz and give Cerby a wallop!" He dashed and the boyz followed in a collection of hollering, one in particular laughed. "Hwahahahaha! You'z don't got'z to tell me twice!"

Ken yelled. "Hey, get back here, we need answers!" Cerby, quickly turned to the duo and gave a combined roar, he leaped after the boy. Ana's wings glowed and she charged at the beast. POW! Cerby rolled back in a jolt of lightning and landed in a thud, the Stormcast flew back as Ken charged his shot. PEW! PEW! PEW! PEW! FLICK! FLICK! FLICK!

Laser beams pelted the beast and caused him to daze from the impact. Ana saw a platform and jumped, she taunted. "Over here, you overgrown pup!" Cerby shook off the daze in annoyance and focused on the boy that stood alone, Ken cringed. "I don't think he's listening to that." He twitched his fingers and flickered a ball of fire, he tried to throw it and pretended to slip, looking careless, Cerby sprinted after him. Ken switched his careless expression to one of mischief and he used his air magic to fly to the other platform, leaving Cerby to the fire orb that enlarged.

BOOM!

The middle head had a nose full of burning and howled in pain, the left head turned to see Ken land and make a dash to the door, Ana charged her hammer blade and hurled it at the left head, smashing it like a lightning bolt and calling it back. "Can't catch us, ya flea bag." She flew to the exit with Ken, finding pieces of an opened two part doorway, they reached the other side as Cerby recuperate and crouched to sprint. The duo pushed the two parts together and watched it close up. The boy formed a fire ball from the tip of his blade and jabbed it forward, sending a slow moving beam of energy past the door, he smirked as the dog tried to rush after him.

SHUT! BOOM!

Ana laughed heartily and tapped the boy in the back. "Oh, ho, ho, ho! You gave him a good one."

Ken laughed with her and playfully pressed his fist on her arm. "Ha, please. You smacked him even harder."

Ana shrugged. "Please, Kendry, Cerby was trying to ignore me for a weaker meal. Giving him some more heat than he can handle is entirely, your doing." The two stopped their laughing, the Stormcast lead with both hands holding her hammer. "Now let's find out what those Orruks are doing here and why they had those. This is suppose to be Olympus, you and I both seen the columns and the Colosseum."

Ken marched like a soldier. "This place is connected to that and that dog was not a nice one. Maybe this is something we can ask Sora or Riku about?" Ana gasped. "Or maybe we don't need that. This is the domain of Hades!"

Ken gasped. "The guy Sora beaten up three times over?" Ana shook her head. "No, we didn't get to fight him when we traveled to Olympus together. But he was causing trouble, while Archaon was laying siege." Ken joked as he and Ana reached a cross roads by a river, one going to a stairway to a stormy light, the other to deeper in the underworld. "That's awfully nice of you to save him from that guy. You think he would be a little grateful."

TINK! "HA!"

SLASH! "STAY DOWN, ALREADY!"

"OW! DAT HURT!"

"COME ON, SHE'S ONE SCRAWNY HUMMIE! KILLS HER!" The two heard fighting and the battle screams of a woman along with the Orruks.

Ana looked to the stairway and asked. "Kendry, do you think you should be the young hero?"

The boy blinked. "Did we make a deal for Mom and the others, that I shouldn't wander off alone?" The fighting became more urgent and Ana went to the exit. "We did, but you won't be alone and I don't want you to get into a fight with Loru, you won't be able to win even if I help you."

Ken saw the loophole. "But you can even if I don't help you? Alright." He flipped Cadia's Light like a spear. "Good luck Ana, let's stop this double whammy!" He and the warrior of storms dashed separate ways, deeper in the underworld was a cave way to an intense battle, Ken saw a horde of Orruks attempting to strike at a nimble, pink haired woman in a white vest, brown shorts and a short red cape. She switched between cutting an Orruk with her sword, folding the sword into a pistol to shoot an Orruk and giving one a round house kick. The large Orruk with a giant axe roared and tried to rush her head first.

"WAAAAAAGH!"

Ken activated his wind magic and charged the Orruk like a bullet, pouncing on him and stabbing him in the neck. KICK! The boy kicked the Orruk back, flipped and, while upside down in mid air, fired hot bullets upon the remaining horde, the woman saw where the attack came from and gritted her teeth at a child fighting. Ken flickered his blade to form light orbs and counted a group of four Orruks, he smiled and jumped to toss the orbs. "Sorry!" FLING! BOOM! The Orruks were peppered by light shrapnel, two fell over and two realized they were losing and tried to run, the woman sprinted at the runaways and cut them down, leaving the large Orruk to recover from the spear to the neck and seeing a boy noticing him. Ken held his blade like a rifle and aimed between the eyes, the Orruk cursed. "Oh come on, I ain't losing to no runt!"

PEW!

The Orruk was shot in the forehead, rolled his eyes back and fell face first. Ken felt a battle has ended and cheered. "That was quick, alright ma'am, the ways clear for you to-" She was missing, Ken looked ahead to find the woman going off with out him. "Hey, get back here!"

He followed her to a corner of the cave, where an Orruk with mechanical implants was putting together junk for a gun, the Orruk looked up to find the woman and gasped. "Ah! Knife gun! Knife gun!"

He aimed a pistol with a tube and a round bauble at its end at her and was given a quick slash, ending his life. Ken was close enough and yelled. "Hey, you're going the wrong way!"

The woman was forced to turn to the boy, revealing an uninterested, set of blue eyes, she hmph and pointed to the way Ken came from. "The way out is that way." The boy nodded and refused to budge. "This isn't saying much, but if these Orruks are able to make these kinds of weapons out of a dumpster, then you really don't want to fight them alone."

The woman agreed with him and knew he wasn't going to leave her alone. "It's all Ork junk to me anyways, I wouldn't lend them in a fake pawn shop, yet these things make a dozen of them that will shoot you dead."

Ken had his thumb to the way back. "And that's why you need to come with me, before more of them show up." The woman folded her arms, turned and tried keep going. "Thanks, but I'm not leaving here without some answers."

Ken kept being stubborn and followed her. "Like what? How you got here?" The woman answered. "Maybe, I don't remember any of these thugs sending me here and that bird brain knew something."

The boy blinked. "So that means your not dead. You really are going the wrong way." The woman heard faint stomping, lost her patience and asked. "How did you even get here in the first place?!" Ken answered as he felt the stomping coming close. "Brynhildr sent me and a friend elsewhere in the world. Here of all places."

"WAAAAAAGH!"

The two heard a mechanize sounding waaagh from behind, a mighty, blue mechanized walker, with a horizontal lens in the head, two giant, mechanical buzz saw claws and two flamethrowers bellow the arms, stomped in pursuit, it spotted the woman and laughed like a mentally impaired psychopath. "Dere is da humie! Oi, you owe me a scrapping after the mess ya made of the Meks!" The humies backed away and heard walking from behind, a trio of similarly built, can like walkers with white teeth markings, a buzz saw claw for each and what looks like mini guns, barreled after them. "Let'z get em!"

The boy and woman stood back to back against the walkers, the woman asked. "You're regretting following me now?" Ken summoned Firekeepers Wish alongside Cadia's Light. "No, I think I can take these cans out easily, can you distract big and stupid?"

The woman flipped her pistol into a sword. "Yeah. You're ready?" Ken sprinted after the cans on the que, the woman did the same and slide between the Deff machines legs, getting behind it and charging lightning for a slash in the rear gas tank. Ken shot at one of the cans, leaped and the sight of guns whirling and rapid fired fire balls, he focused on Firekeepers Wish and fired a super heated beam, melting through one of the cans and causing it to explode. He dived at the other with the two blades, sank them in and heard the can give a burning scream, the machine went limp and the remaining can turned around. "Not good, not good!"

It ran and Ken charged Cadia's Light and fired. PEW! The beam shot into a fuel tank. BOOM! The can exploded. He turned to find the Deff machine stunned from a shock, pressed both blades together and spun them like a boomerang of fire. "HEADS UP!"

FLING! Slash!

The boomerang scorched into the Deff machine, it yelled and charged after him. "You'ze call that burny?!" It raised its claws. "I showz you!" The flamethrowers sparked, Ken used his air magic to jump high and dodge the flames, he called his blades back, dismissed Firekeepers Wish and caused Cadias Light to shift form, into an overly large, laser sniper rifle. It reflected a light as Ken pulled the trigger.

PEEEEEW!

A heavy beam punctured the machine's cranium and caused it to short circuit, it twitched and thrashed it's claws in a panic. STAB! It was stabbed in the back by something electrical, the woman jumped on the machine, past it's exhaust pipes and slid off to it's front, cutting the machine into two. She rolled to where the boy was landing and felt the machine explode from behind. Ken landed with finesse and heard more of a Waaaagh. More orks were coming, Ken turned his head and saw how narrow the tunnel is, he aimed his cannon to the ceiling and changed his guns form to a missile launcher. "MOVE! I'LL MAKE A WALL!"

The woman cringed, dashed into the tunnel and watched the boy fire three missiles in the ceiling, the cave crumbled and large rocks fell, Ken changed the missile launcher back to a keyblade and jumped back to see the tunnel clogged. "Ha!"

He turned, was grabbed by the collar and was lifted to see the woman snarling mad at him. "Are you trying to get yourself killed down here?!" Ken squeaked. "Eep!" He growled. "Those Orks were going to swarm you if you didn't get the back up!" He struggled, broke free and formed a light grenade. "I'll just blow this open and we'll get out of here." CRUMBLE! CRUMBLE!

The woman advised against that with a pant. "That cave in is the only thing keeping these maniacs away from us."

Ken turned off the grenade as the woman remembered. "There's a path that can circle us around to the way out. Let's move." The boy held his keyblade like a rifle and saluted. "Ten, four. Miss!" The woman was impressed by the observant eye and the military like attitude. "What's your name, kid?"

The boy relaxed in his march. "Kendry, yours?" The woman relaxed as well and flipped her blade to a pistol. "Lightning, nice gun." Ken blushed. "It use to be one before it turned into a keyblade. You got a cool gunblade as well. So... what did you say about birds?"

Lightning felt it didn't hurt to answer and realized she and Ken reached a cavern with a green glow, on the far end were five Orks with giant cobbled together guns, she yelled. "Lootas! Take cover!" She and Ken found stalagmites in the left and right one of the lootas, with a giant cigar laughed. "Hwahahahaha! Dakka, dakka, dakka, dakka!"

The duo side left and right to avoid a plethora of bullets. Ken was panting in a panic as the bullets kept firing. "No..no...no... that's way too many shots!" He flipped Cadias light into a compressed orb of fire and ordered. "When I jump and toss this at them, you run after them and get into their face! I'll be right behind you!" Lightning nodded on the order Ken crawled up the stalagmite and yelled. "Hey! DAKKA THIS!"

FLING! He hurled the fire ball at the surprised lootas, one of them turned to shoot the fire ball. "OKAY! WAAAAAAGH!" He fired his gun at it and saw it kept moving, another loota felt the flame and dropped his cigar. "Dat a big boom!"

BOOM!

The fire ball made contact, exploded and caused two of the lootas to scatter on their stomachs, two danced in a burning fire and the fifth fell into the river of souls bellow, screaming towards his fate. Lightning dashed after the laying lootas as the dancing lootas collapsed, she cut one loota in the throat and flipped her sword into a pistol to shoot him in the head. Something jumped at her from plain sight, a purple Ork in a military cap, a strap worth of grenades and a piston powered claw. "Surprise!"

Fling! PUNCT! "YEEE" The Ork turned to find a boy dashing at him with a terrified, if determined expression on his face, Lightning fell on her rear and saw a gun like blade sticking out from the Kommandos back. It disappeared and reappeared into Ken's hand. The boy formed a fire ball in his free hand and hurled it. The kommando jumped out of the way and took a grenade, he saw the lava forming and laughed. "Ha! Nice trick, runty boi. Mine's bettah!"

He chucked the grenade at where the boy was dashing, Ken jumped off the path, onto a stalagmite, watched the grenade explode and leaped to the main pathway, blade first, he turned into a fire ball. The Kommando stepped back and watched the boy unleash a wave of fire, it scorched the Ork in the face and sent his hat flying, the Ork turned to find the hat blowing to a cross space and gasped. "Mai lucky hat!" He turned back to the boy and had his claw ready. "You'z ready to die?!"

He spoke in a deep, quiet. "Waagh!" And sprinted after Ken, the boy crawled out of the way of the metal claw, used his blade as a pole and fliped side ways to trip the Ork. Thud! The Kommando fell face first and felt someone on his back, he looked up to find a glow of orange light.

PLICK!

Lightning watched the Ork get shot into his skull and fall on his face. Ken jumped off and phewed. He flipped his blade back into a rifle position and helped Lightning get up. "Never thought I see a purple Ork just... show up."

Lightning stood up, had a feel of the orks skin and swiped to find stripes of green, she looked at her fingers to find purple paint. "No wonder, he's painted himself purple. I never seen a purple Ork before and... that was how he jumped us." The two continued their travels and Lightning went back to her topic. "I was looking for someone in a world that... could be far away from here. One that is ruled by one of the most twisted of bird people, I have met."

Ken felt that made sense as he took the Kommando's hat. "These Orks came from somewhere far away as well and not from that world. Take my word for it." Lightning was surprised by that. "If they didn't all get killed, then that world is asking for more problems from either them or the birds that control it."

Ken asked. "How, who?" Lightning answered. "They are called, the Skeksis, you do not want to meet them." The boy shrugged. "I fought worse. If you found Orks there as well, then how did they get here?" They found another cave way past the river of souls and were in a two path walk way, one leading to a dead end and to the sight of an Ork dressed as a doctor, having all kinds of syringes and scalpers, complimented by a mechanical claw design to dissect someone, he was patching up the last of five large, cybernetic Orks.

Lightning recoiled in fear as the Ork noticed her, gasped and giggled. 'Tee, hee, hee! It's the ummie with the kicks! I sai, you got me good with the knife to me skull!" Ken's mouth slowly dropped as he realized the Orks were already dead, the Ork danced like a child and stuck his tongue out. "Jokes on you! I made my skull super ard with metal!" He clapped and slapped the large Ork on the shoulder. "Oh, this means you'll elp me test my Cybork Nobz with a good fight."

The Ork Nob jolted awake and saw the humans. "UMMIES!" He was ready to leap at the two as the Ork doctor took a mallet and bonked him in the head. "Uh, uh! You's going to chop their limbs off!" He snickered. "I'z gets an excuse to make so many improvements!" Lightning looked to the other path and found a two part door. "Ken," The boy saw and whispered. "We need to run!" The two sprinted and the doctor gasped. "No, no, no! Stop em me Nobz, the squishy gubbins are getting away!"

The humans reached to the other side of the door and tried to close it, the Nobz charged on all fours as the door closed. SMASH! The duo were knocked off their rears and at the stairs leading down. They listened to the doctors hysterical crying and knew to keep going, Lightning calmed down and asked. "Before we get to fight any more of them, any reason why you called this Orks differently?"

Ken felt he was out of a war. "Yeah, in another realm, kind of like where the Orks came from, there are Greenskin brutes called the Orruks, they are just as mean but they are a little less crazy. These Orks came from a place that has nothing but war. Are these Orks already dead?"

Lightning nodded. "I had my own war against them," She looked back. "They are too stupid to notice that it's over for them." Ken exhaled. "Well... at least we know they're stuck here, forever." The two finished their descent down the stairs are found themselves in a blue canyon with pillars of white flame, a horde of scared goblins saw the humans, screamed and dashed to blue, scrapped together weapon platforms that look like larger versions of the strange pistol.

Ken's pupils dilated as the guns charged, Lightning was ready to dash to the right and circle around the gun as Ken burst into flames and leaped high, PEW! PEW! The guns shot super heated energy, missed and left the grots to realize their doom was above them. Ken hurled a fire ball down, curled into a ball and rolled down. The grot with a burned face screamed to one of the others. "Someone warn Rekktrasha, this ummie is cra-" BOOM!

Ken landed and unleashed a chaotic fire storm, it engulfed and incinerated both grot and machine alike, ruins were left behind, much to Lightning's horror, Ken stood up from his landing and saw the havoc he made. He stumbled, turned to her and looked like he was having flash backs. "Sorry, the last time I was in a place with these twists and turns, I was constantly in a spot where one wrong turn means I got to fight."

He breathed heavily in his stumble and Lightning wanted him to lean on her. "That's enough, I don't think they'll keep following us if they see-" In the next hall, a collective battle cry bellowed. "WAAAAAAAGH!" Ken lowered his keyblades down. "We're not! I got this." He dashed to danger and Lightning cringed. "Damn it!" She followed him into a deeper battlezone.

In a Jungle.

Ventus found it strange that he was once again, with in the confines of a jungle, at the very least, this one felt normal to where he would lean by a tree and sneak around, Stitch sniffed each other and rolled with in the flowers, the boy whispered. "Stitch, we're not here to sight see." He analyzed the Jungle. "We're definitely on the right track, this place would feel like home to that Skink."

Rustle! Rustle!

The alien heard rustling of the trees and looked above to find the branches twisting wild and becoming like gnarled talons, on top was a swarm of dark, yellow eyed lizard men, with an emblem of the heartless and small, dagger like claws. Stitch growled. "Heartless!" Ven drew his blade. "You got that right!" The lizards hissed, opened their mouths and shot out tiny daggers at the two. Stitch yelped and took cover behind a rock as Ven jumped from branch to branch to reach the lizards and unleashed a quick combo upon them, finding these heartless easy to beat, if hard to reach. The gnarled tree slowly reverted back upon the defeat of the final one, the boy jumped down and saw smoke in the distance. He and Stitch took chase by a river and saw another perpetrator, another heartless, one that resembles a bastilodon with dark blue scale plates, charging a beam and burning the shrubbery and vines. The trees looked to have open petals and glowed in the sunlight.

Ven swallowed as the tree fired a super heated beam at him and his partner.

PEW!

They dodged, but another patch of the jungle was on fire, the Solar Bastila turned quickly on the two and breathed out its beam. Stitch sprinted across the shrubs and pounced on the dinosaurs face, he covered it's eyes to blind it and give Ven the chance to slide to its underbelly and use his blade to give a swift cut. The heartless simply disperse and release its heart, yet the tree fired upon the duo still. They ran for it and made it to a lake, where they heard two people bickering like a couple.

"It's not natural and if nothings done, the whole jungle is going to become too dangerous for anyone besides those things." "So what are we going to do about it? Rough em up and get em outta town?"

Ven and Stitch kept hidden behind shrubbery and found who was arguing, a panther laying by the lake and watching the destruction and a sloth bear laying on the bushes on his back. The panther looked to the sloth bear in disagreement. "It's not that simple Baloo, the last time this happened, man from beyond this jungle came out of nowhere in silly disguises and tried to keep the order of the Jungle balanced, while keeping the order of beyond a secret from us." Baloo smacked his lips and stared at the sky, placing his claws on his belly. "Yeah, that was wacky Bagheera. Shouldn't we... you know, tell someone about this? Like the Colonel?"

Bagheera's face cringed. "And just how will Hathi and his elephants do anything to help? These heartless are beyond their jurisdiction." Baloo turned his head to rest as he thought about it. "Yeah, they kind of are." He noticed someone in the shrubbery, he saw the boy and his alien friend, looking at him. "Well, what do you know." He sat up as Bagheera looked to where Baloo was looking. "Our prayers got answered."

Bagheera saw what Baloo saw, placed his paw over his face and groaned. "Here we go again." Baloo stood up on all fours. "Come on Baggy, with that ol key there, the human can get these scale brained freaks out of here."

Stitch nodded and smiled to Ven, the boy scratched the back of his head. "I can, those things are dinosaurs and they really shouldn't be here now." Bagheera sighed. "Young man, would you please cut the silly act about the World Order and get to the point. Time is of the essence."

Ven shrugged. "I kind of knew that dumb rule wasn't going to work anymore." Baloo agreed as he let Stitch jump on his back. "Baggy figured it out last time and then our friends showed it to me once the gig was up. So what we gotta do this time?"

Ven looked up in the sky to find the source of the havoc in the far distance and pointed. "We need to find the one dinosaur that isn't a heartless and get him out of this evil control. That will stop the Heartless." Bagheera approved of that. "It won't be easy, but it sounds like the only chance we got, lead the way Man cub."

At Yen Sid's Tower.

Sora was intimidated stiff by Aqua's disapproval of a certain ritual as Riku explained quickly. "Master Aqua, this is the best way to get a quick charge on that orb as soon as possible!" Halvek pressed a couple buttons in the orbs mechanisms and watched the mixture of dark and stars mix together into a void of grey. "Now we wait a couple minutes for the formula to stabilize and we're good to go for one use." He looked to Aqua and to Yen Sid. "Should you tell her what the Undead told us, or should I?"

Aqua guessed. "It's how to actually use his hexes! I knew this was going to happen." The wizard agreed. "This knowledge, was a certainty. But we need to learn this for when we actually attempt the impossible." Baldred nodded to that and watched the concoction as he sat on his chair. "We debated on... disturbing implications." Riku agreed with him. "None of it, comes for free and to hell with anyone who says otherwise. There are too many loopholes that have been abused, time and time again." He asked Yen Sid. "Should I tell her about the bigger project?"

The wizard nodded and Aqua raised an eyebrow. "The last time we talked about this and how we need Darkness, we've talked about the whereabouts of the Dark Soul." Riku snapped his finger. "That is reflected on another thing we know. The X Blade and what became of the fragments." Sora blinked and gasped. "No way. That's where the light of a Princess's heart came from?" Riku nodded. "And along with the seven lights, came?" Sora answered. "Thirteen fragments of Darkness that became Hearts of pure darkness!"

Aqua believed that. "Thirteen, you say?" Riku asked Sora. "And how many members were in that Organization Xemnas made?" Baldred and Halvek tilted their heads in confusion, Yen Sid explained. "The nobody of Xehanort," The knight tapped his hands together. "So now we know where the number, thirteen came from. How obsessed is this man?"

Halvek asked back. "Are you talking rhetorically?" Baldred nodded as Aqua put together the puzzle. "No one knows what became of the Thirteen fragments, but Xehanort tried to take a short cut in place of the real thing. Using Vanitas and Ventus as the component, that was how Ven's heart broke as it did in the first place. For a Master of Darkness, he knew little of where to find the real deal."

Yen Sid nodded. "And darkened his heart beyond the light." The Keyblade Master clapped sharply. "And how are we going to find the real deal? By fooling with the very powers that we swore to fight against?"

Baldred took offense to the term. "It's not fooling around when we pay heed to it's dangers. If we keep those separated, nothing will be accomplished." Aqua looked at the knight, had a memory of a tale and hesitated to ask. "...Like what a certain king has tried, but by the time he found something, it was too late to make a difference?"

Baldred exhaled. "Vendrick, bestowed upon me, the power of a Monarch. Through the guidance of his brother, I sought to finish what he has started." He lowered his head. "...Like they, I failed." Sora asked.

"Wait, you became a King?!"

He felt embarrassed as the knight answered. "Yes... and I still failed." He lifted his head. "I do not wish for you to falter in this as I have, you still have time, but it is not infinite." Riku agreed with that. "That is why we are doing this, Master. What could we guess about a Heart of Darkness, that is able to contain that without succumbing to it?"

Aqua shrugged. "You got me. But besides Baldred, name one wielder of Darkness that has ever, helped us? Without wanting something in return?"

Yen Sid answered in approval to the thought. "At this rate, I believe these Fragments are beyond any reach we know. It is the nature of the Darkness, to hide away from the Light and live in shadows. If we blindly delve into the unknown, we will find ourselves as lost as countless others."

Riku nodded. "Like what nearly happened to me." He pointed to the window showing the starry sky. "Even if these hearts are like that. They are still, Dark Hearts, for all we know, those Fragments are lost with in all this Chaos and we are going to be stuck in another cycle. We need to look beyond the Light and Darkness if we are to bring the Dawn."

Baldred placed his hands together and advised. "We need to shed all the lies we tell ourselves and see the truth. The True Light and the True Dark." He chuckled. "We found one half, already. But we have yet to banish the illusions of the Dark."

Aqua asked out of concern. "Where did you learn this idea in the first place? From the King that gave you the crown? Or from this brother you spoke of?" Baldred answered immediately. "From the brother, an old flame who tried to break the cycle and has only succeeded in damning himself. The Scholar of the First Sin, of the Flame that damned my world. Aldia."

He shook his head, Sora felt the knowledge is an ill omen and asked. "What else did he say to you?" The knight's vision was consumed by the void stone orb. "Nothing that matters to us now. I thought that with the crowns gathered, I was bestowed a power that halted Hollowing. I found a way to break that Curse and in an attempt to halt it, I linked myself to the blasted Flame. With the Crown of Vendrick, I thought it would be enough to keep the Fire going and to end that Curse." Yen Sid was amazed by the power that was bestowed upon the knight. "Fascinating, and what of these?"

Baldred looked upon the three crowns with pride. "They were the three that allowed me to prove myself to be King. But, the fourth one, the Crown of Vendrick, is still out there. Longing for its wearing to let it rest." He sighed. "But it if that, did not halt the Curse. Then it is not the solution to our predicament."

Riku thought to sat down himself. "Which means that we have a stronger clue about where the Fragment of Darkness lies. But in order to do that, we need to get Garland, Archaon and Xehanort out of our way. Kairi and the others need to know about this." Aqua nodded. "This goes against everything my Master has taught me. But the only way we can be certain of anything, is to see two sides of the same coin." She smirked. "I owe Mickey an apology for doubting that theory."

Baldred looked forward to that. "But now, all this talking will do nothing to bring those sides together. If something is going on, you need to be out there." Halvek saw the grey stilled and picked his treasure up. "We do. We know where our partners have gone off to and when they gather, we'll be ready to strike at Garland. Should we... go find our guesses as to where he's hiding?"

Sora and Riku nodded and Aqua asked. "We all should go there, but Baldred, you need to stay with in the worlds. I've been hearing that you've set something in motion in your talk with Exrirsa. They could use your wisdom." She asked. "Sora, Riku, Halvek, get going. I need to have a couple words with Baldred, alone before I catch up with you."

The trio understood and left, the Keyblade Master smirked to the wizard. "So Garland was enough for you to show us what you can do? This would be fun." Yen Sid smiled back. "I may be retired in the way of the Keyblade, but must I sit idly any longer, while you fight battles that would require aid?"

Baldred stood up. "You don't have to, so why not," The three almost laughed to the good will of an adventure and said their farewells. Aqua guided Baldred out of the tower and to the train, the knight asked. "Ventus told you and the others about what happened?"

Aqua kept going. "Yes, you've done everything you could to protect him from that monster that controls the Realm of Death. Even going as far as to use the power of Climax and stand up to Nagash. You've even taught Ven how to use the power of the Miracles."

The knight became silent, the Keyblade Master asked him. "Did you regret any of that?" The knight shook his head. "I would do it even if I knew Nagash was going to make me go Hollow for opposing him. Even if I knew you would have been horrified by the power, Climax has. I would do it again, if I must." His breathing became something of a cry. "I couldn't even remember my name or how to speak. I was... nothing, all I saw was a heart that was losing someone dear... and I couldn't even say anything to stop that."

Aqua stopped. "You were lost. Between life and death... everything you could have wanted and had from your time out here... vanished the moment that Curse showed itself." She turned to him. "Is that why, despite everything that you are... and the kind of person you, the key hasn't come to you? You've gave everything for the people you loved... and you've done it again."

Baldred tried to answer, couldn't find his words and looked upon his hand. "It's all...because I'm Cursed to the Dark. When the Darkness was banished, we've became fleeting little things. Why did that happen?"

Aqua had no reason to justify it. "What ever it was, you done nothing to deserve it. For so long, we've been trying to live in the Light, that we're forgetting where the Darkness came from in the first place." She approached the knight and had her hands at his shoulders. "What ever that Light thinks of you, because of that Curse, isn't what we think of you, because of who you are." She looked him in the eyes. "You're our friend, to the very end." She hugged him, causing the knight to freeze.

She felt the knight having more questions in his mind and let go, she gave him a warriors smile. "Where we are heading soon, isn't something for you to come along with. You're better off out here, making sure the worlds stay safe while we're gone. Garland is a tall order and when we're done with him, we'll go back to that project."

The knight kept frozen, looked on in the horizon and back to Aqua. "I... think I know what I need to do. A band of lost souls are disorganized and the woman watching over them is wanting to scare them with a reason. I should go back to the Bastion and see what that is about, there has to be a better purpose than a fear of ancient horrors."

Aqua agreed with that. "They've helped protect two towns and even if they've done horrible things before. People can change. I'll be telling Wanda about an idea so she and her men won't have to stay around the castle. Especially since Halvek could help them with new ideas."

Baldred turned to the train. "Then we'll be off to our duties then!" He took off and left Aqua to armor up and flicker away. "Let's make that bright tomorrow."

At Thebes.

Ana stepped out of the underworld and watched the sky blacken. Thunder and comets pelted the cities bellow, people screamed and ran for their lives, she heard the sound of monsters and flew to the town square to find a massive, dark copper dragon with yellow eyes and a typical emblem, breathing a corrosive breath upon a brave warrior with a stone slab for a shield, he ducked for cover. He took a sword and readied to charge the dragons chest, Ana flew in sync and whistled as she form changed her Hammerblade into a lance. "Help's a coming Herc!"

SMASH!

The two demigods crashed into the copper dragons chest and rushed it to a building. PEW! The dragon disappeared and release a heart, Herc had his sword over his shoulder and appreciated the help. "Nice timing Ana! Want to guess what's happening?"

The Stormcast squinted her eyes to the sight of a golden dragon burning the gardens with a fire breath, a silver dragon flapping its wings to unleash a hail storm and a bronze dragon shooting lightning from its eyes in sync with the lightning bolts in the sky, Ana humored Herc. "Something arrived from the sky and brought the dragons wrath upon the city. I also reckon, due to the storm, that these people believe Zeus had something to do with that."

She heard a distant voice echo from Olympus. "It isn't me this time." Herc yelled back to the entity in the mountain. "I know Dad!" He saw a winged horse descend from the sky as Ana planned. "I can see you were handling that acid breather fine without me, if you could distract them, I will breach the heavens and take the fight to who is leading these things. He is an old friend of mine that needs to be freed from an evil demons control! If I can free him, then the three of us and Nightscale will destroy these Heartless."

Herc whistled. "Phew! Wow!" He got on his horse to a deal. "I'll do what I can to protect home. Show Garland the might of a hero." Ana felt a glow in moonlight and crackled in lightning, she faced upward, crouched and vowed. "Loru, this is for you!"

BOOM!

She ascended like a bolt of lightning and pierced the clouds, electricity danced around her in rhythm to thunder. PEW! She saw a comet aim for her, she rolled out of its way and saw more bombarding. WOOSH! WOOSH! She held her hammer blade with both hands and ascended faster and faster. She saw a light in the darkness and with a mighty gust, she pierced the storm and found who she expected. Nightscale flapped his wings in bitterness and Loru armed himself with his warhammer, upon his chest, was a horned lock binding him in chains that connected him to his steed. Loru asked, with control over his words. "So the time has come, Ana. You're finally going to show me the potential you were squandering for all these years."

Ana answered back, playfully. "No, not like this Loru." Her tone deepened. "I know, that lock is what is forcing you to do this. By the power of the key, I will free you from these chains. By the power of me heart, I will keep calling you back to Sigmar and to the path of justice. Do not hold back, Loru, when our hearts sing of this battle, I want all to hear it."

Loru smiled under his bindings and petted Nightscale to let him know. "And hear it they shall. Strike true Anatesis, Lady of the Hammerblade." He let loose a battle cry in sync with Ana. "FOR SIGMAR!" Nightscale roared and flew at Ana in fang and claw, the winged Stormcast charged back in kind with her blade radiating.