Chapter IV: The O.W.C.A. Initiative
Having followed Perry, Ushio eventually come to a large, reddish building. The fact that Heartless swarmed the outside seemed to denote it was the place they were looking for. Though, truth be told, that wasn't the only reason.
"OWCA Secret Headquarters. Pay no attention to this sign. Really, this is how you hide something?" Ushio dryly remarked. Receiving a response from Perry, she quickly refocused. "Right, we gotta help your allies. Let's go." she began to move towards the entrance. "Still, it's really not doing you guys any favors."
The crowd of Heartless seemed to be the same weaker variety as before though two bigger, more rotund ones flanked their sides.
Ushio charged the enemies. As the greenish blue platypus aided the girl, the simple Shadows quickly dissipated leaving the two Large Bodies. Ushio slashes at one, only to find the attack bouncing off the Heartless.
From the corner of her eyes, she spotted the other building up momentum. With only a second or two to spare, she braced herself and held her Keyblade to hold off the attack. Taking a moment, she thought of a possible plan.
"Hey Perry, distract them for a minute, okay?"
With a tip of his hat, Perry got the attention of the pair. Now that she had the heat taken off of her, Ushio ran behind the two and charged with her strength. Taking several hits apiece, the Large Bodies succumbed to the attack.
"Heh, easy." Ushio huffed.
Having cleared the opening, the brunette and secret agent entered the building.
"This place surprisingly doesn't seem that strange." Ushio remarked as they ran down the halls. "I expected a little different from how weird this wo-" she stopped short as she remembered the saying her father said about not fully discussing the outside worlds. "So, where's the area that we need to go to?"
Perry motioned the way as he lead the charge. Every once in a while, the pair would encounter small groups of Heartless that they would dispose of. After a bit, they at last came to the command room.
Opening the doors, the situation became clear. It seemed the ones that were under attack had taken cover in a nearby room as a group charged the entrance. The Heartless seemed mostly harmless besides three Satyrs seemingly leading them.
"Okay, looks like your allies are trapped in there. Just do what we've been doing and they'll be safe in no time. Now, let's go!"
—
"Now everything's set. At last, I can march on city hall and Roger will have no other option then to hand over the Tri-State Area to me!" Doofenshmirtz maniacally called out.
"Good, took you long enough to get this far." a female voice said. Stepping out of a portal, the black cloaked figure approached him.
"Geez, you just pop out of anywhere, huh?" Doofenshmirtz responded. "So, how exactly do you do that?"
"Now's not the time to be distracted. Remember your goal. Soon, you'll rule just as you wanted." she brought up.
"Yes, Yes! That's right." he remembered. "I'll take the big mass swirling ominously around the building. In the meantime, Norm, I need you to protect the Heartless-inator."
"Whatever you say, Dr. D." said a giant robot man, stepping out of the shadows.
"Well, I just came to check on you." the woman stated. "Now, let's see what that girl is up to."
—
"Hey, over here!" Ushio shouted out, conjuring her Keyblade.
Turning their attention towards the girl in pink, the mob of enemies began to swarm towards her. Once more, the weak Shadows were quickly dealt with. The Satyrs proved to be more of a challenge, however. The armor on them held up better under the slashes of Ushio.
"So it's not just the giant mass that's tough." Ushio panted.
One Satyr turned towards Ushio and charged her with all its might. She raised her Keyblade to block and despite making it in time, the force of the attack pushed her back. From her peripheral vision, she could spot the other two Heartless beginning to corner Perry. Dodging an incoming strike, she broke into a sprint across the room to aid the platypus. Ushio decided to use her own momentum to apply a harder swing at the first of two. In addition to the damage it had accrued earlier, this strike was enough to dispatch the foe.
"Looks like I got her just in time." said Ushio, settling in beside Perry.
With two enemies left, the fight was turning in their favor. Damage to them was minimal while the Satyrs had already gotten a beating. Comboing several swing together, the first went down before too long. Turning the flurry of blows to the next one, Ushio soon had it following suit.
"That's all of them." Ushio said, placing her hands behind her head. "Guess we better let your allies know they're safe."
—
"I must thank you for rescuing us from those shadowy creatures." said an older, mustachioed gentleman. He along with a younger, glasses wearing man had been the ones that were in danger. From what it seemed, every other agent had been deployed to the field when the Heartless attacked, leaving them to fend for themselves.
"Hey, I can't just leave people in danger." Ushio responded. "I'm just glad that everyone is safe and sound. Well, at least for now."
"Now that things are under control here, Agent P, I need you to report back to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated and destroy his newest Inator. And as for our new friend here, given your knowledge of these creatures, what would you say about join in the mission as a temporary agent." the gentleman stated.
"Of course." Ushio replied.
"Um, Major Monogram." interjected the man in glasses.
"What is it, Carl? I'm trying to brief them on the job." Major Monogram responded.
"It appears Doofenshmirtz is leading a horde of the creatures towards city hall. We've got some time, but this looks bad." Carl said.
"Then now is the perfect time to strike. We must stop Doofenshmirtz's newest scheme."
"Got it." Ushio nodded as Perry replied in agreement.
—
Upon leaving O.W.C.A. headquarters, Perry had brought out a hovercraft to take them back to their destination. Though Ushio accompanied him in it, she was well aware of the fact it wasn't intended for humans. As she sat scrunched over, their target came into view.
However, a sudden jolt rocked the hovercraft as they began to fall. Perry quickly deployed a parachute as he grabbed onto Ushio and the pair floated to the ground.
"Wow, that was a close one." Ushio sighed. "Just what was that?"
"Greetings." a voice called out.
Turning around, Ushio spotted the origin of the voice. Walking towards the pair was a black cloak clad person.
"Who are you?" Ushio asked while preparing to fight. Due to the last person she encountered wearing that uniform, she was apprehensive about the figure.
"I don't think you need to know all that just yet, but I will give you a little bit." Pulling down their hood, they reveal themselves to be a woman sporting mid length pink hair with two prominent bangs in the middle. "I'm someone who wants you to succeed with your goal. Stop those Heartless controlled by that buffoon."
"And why is it I'm getting untrustworthy vibes from you? You say all that and yet you don't tell everything when it could be helpful." Ushio replied.
"I'm hurt." the woman clenched her fist over her chest. "It's exactly like I said, I want you to succeed. That's why I'll get out of your way. I only came here to check up on you."
Ushio glared at the woman. It did appear she was telling the truth, but she could tell there was more she wasn't saying.
"Well, shouldn't you and your little animal friend head off? Don't want to delay any longer." the woman gestured.
Realizing she had a point, Ushio turned back towards her destination. She knew this was a more pressing concern, but she took note of the woman. Whoever she was, Ushio had no doubt she was a future enemy.