Chapter VII: Hearts

Working her way through the ship, Ushio found herself once again in the crowded hallways. As she reached an intersection, a grey humanoid wiggled its way around the corner. Finally getting her target, she summoned her Keyblade and readied for a fight. However, from around the other corner came a second figure, identical to the first. Standing at attention, two more, one from in front, one from behind, joined them.

"There's more." she muttered to herself. "And they came from…that's it. They must've been surveying the ship."

At that moment, the figures seemed to notice her as they approached her. The four stood in front of her, not doing anything.

"What the…"

"So you're the other stowaway." a voice said as a portal appeared.

"Another person in a black cloak? You guys really need to dress differently." Ushio stated as someone stepped out.

"Quite a quant cut at us. Though that means you've encountered some of us before." they spoke.

"Yeah, I've seen two of you before. Now how about you explain who exactly you are?" Ushio said.

"I suppose I'll elucidate." Taking off his hood, they revealed themself to be grey haired, older man with a mustache. "My dear Keyblade wielder, my name is Genex. You see, I represent a group known as the Neo Seekers. Much like you, we travel from world to world, looking for that which we seek to obtain."

"Wait, 'like you'? You know I'm not from here?" Ushio asked.

"Of course. Merely look at the inhabitants of this world. You stand out like a sore thumb." he gestured, his arms swinging wide. "Though, truth be told, our group has been monitoring you. We've been tracking the activities of the Keyblade wielders, though Ms. Ushio, you yourself were not a priority. The fact that you've bumped into two others is quite the lucky occurrence."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Why indeed. I suppose it's time we stepped out of the dark and into the light. Now then, I shall leave these Nobodies to you. There are other matters here that draw my interest."

With the man disappearing into a portal, the four Nobodies left behind started to go on the offensive. Flailing about, they swiped passed Ushio, the girl barely avoiding their swings. With these four Dusks pinning her down in this hallway, she unleashed her own attacks knowing that she'd have to deal with them to proceed.

A quick swing parried a swiping limb as she found herself on the offensive. Spinning around, her Keyblade impacted against one of the Dusk coming at her from behind. To her right, another slashed away causing her to dodge roll just short of a wall. While the hallways were nice and opened, it seemed the four were slowly trying to corner her. Realizing this, Ushio began a flurry of swings. With a solid hit to one in front, the Dusk disappeared. Now that there was an opening, she dashed ahead and turned to face them again.

Three enemies still stood in opposition to her, yet they'd suffered injuries. Ushio was thankful of her days spend training with her father and surrogate uncle. Even now, she was mindful of the advice she'd received. Had she not gotten word to watch out for multiple enemies, she knew this situation would turn out differently. The grey figures may have been simple foes, but they appeared more intelligent than the Heartless she'd previously encountered.

Blasting one Dusk with a simple Blizzard, it froze as Ushio swiped at the other two. Once more colliding, the attacks further weakened the two. Wiggling away to recover their momentum, she took the chance to dispatch the frozen adversary. With only two remaining, one decided to attack, only to end up being destroyed by the key wielding girl. The last one fared little better as she soon had it joining its friends.

Now alone in the hallways (as alone as you could be with countless people floating through the area now), Ushio thought about the man who'd commanded them. He'd just showed up, explained a few things and left. Yet, it was his last quote that she focused on. The fact that he'd had other interest onboard didn't seem good. She thought about what it could be. The ship was huge and filled to the brim with numerous things. Yet, certain little robots popped into her mind. She recalled the conversation that took place on the bridge. If he was looking to obtain things, could he have been the one who'd stolen the plant that EVE supposed contain. With a plan now in mind, she rushed off to find where WALL-E and EVE had gone.

Running down the halls, she eventually found herself in more of a maintenance appearing area. Working her way through the halls, she spotted a commotion up ahead. As she did, a nearby screen lit up as a computer spoke.

"Caution. Rogue robots."

Hearing this, Ushio walked over to the screen. The word 'CAUTION' accompanied an orangish picture taken that showed the familiar faces of WALL-E and EVE. While the picture made them appear slightly hostile, Ushio knew from her brief time with the little bot that something wasn't right.

As she started to take off again, a flood of robots flew past her. Turning her attention to them, the speed and numbers stopped her from getting a good look at who was in the crowd. Beginning to chase after them, two turrets appears and trained on her. Yet, these weapons appeared different from the machinery of before. With two blasts, she jumped out of the way as she spotted what was different about them. The two turrets may have tried to blend in, but there was no mistaking that the pair were actually Heartless.

With the two Pole Cannons firing on her, Ushio dodged the blasts as she ran at them. These two were just simple foes, but they impeded her way towards finding the robots she was looking for. As she wacked away at the two, they proved little more than distractions.

Working once more at trying to locate her target, Ushio spotted groups of rectangular robots with flashing lights chasing after a group of robots. Yet, none of them appeared to be the ones she was looking for. As she navigated the series of hallways, she found her losing track of where she was. It'd been some time now since she began her search and the unfamiliarity with the layout didn't help. With Ushio walking around trying to get her bearings, she found herself in another hallways, though this one had large windows that offered a grand view of space.

However, before she could take the sights in, a problem arose. All around her, little robots like creatures sprang up. They appeared to balance on a wheel, with two arms, a circular head, and stripes that lit up numerous colors from red to blue to green. As they readied themselves to fight, Ushio could only do the same. There was no avoiding this if she hoped to set herself straight and find those two.

The Magnum Loaders proved to be fast as they quickly dashed around the brunette. Swing as she might, Ushio could only get a few hits here and there. Yet, the fact that the group numbered ten proved their initial advantage. The creatures spun, slashing away at the surrounding area. She tried to dodged, but their numbers and area coverage resulted in a few hits on her. Brushing off the scratches, Ushio began to focus on one at a time. Keeping track of the others wheeling around, she brought her Keyblade down on one at a time, slowly but surely defeating them. With their numbers dwindling, the tide began to turn as they no longer had the area coverage they once had. Their hits were easier to dodge. Ushio's hits landed again and again as they fell. Eventually, the last one disappeared as the blade swung down on it.

Taking a brief respite, Ushio found herself gazing out the window into the beyond. There was a peaceful tranquility to the sight. As she continued to stare outward, a sight came into view.

Ushio didn't believe it at first. Out in the expanses of space, two figures came in and out of view. Spinning around gracefully, Ushio spotted the pair.

"Is that…WALL-E and EVE?"

The pair continued on as Ushio pressed herself against the window to observe them. The interplay between the two took on a majestic feel as Ushio continued to watch. Eventually, the pair faded from her line of view as she stepped back.

"That's was beautiful." she said to herself. "It was like they were…dancing."

—

Looking at the exterior of the ship from a window, Genex watched as two robots floated around.

"How interesting. I was right to observe these two. It appears they may have what it is I'm looking for."