C07
LOCATION: Bunker #2 of Organization XIII headquarters, The World That Never Was
DATE: Monday, November 26th 2X60
TIME: 1544 hours
"Who're you?"
Rhyme poses the question innocuously, but Sora swears he hears a hint of accusation. But Rhyme is the kindest person he knows. Even if she's eying Naminé a little suspiciously.
He's a little surprised that Naminé spoke up. For one, he didn't know she was an operator. Second, why's she here instead of LOD's frontline defense? And third…
Now that he looks again, he realizes Naminé is actually tiny. Given their squabbles so far, he'd mentally pictured her as a formidable foe. In reality, she's almost a head shorter than him.
Conscience-Kairi makes an ill-timed appearance, tutting under her breath. Why're you bullying this poor innocent girl?
Innocent? It's all a front! She's all blushes and sweet smiles, but then she'll turn around and try to feed you raw eggs! She's—she's—
"An OATS operator," Naminé states. "You need someone to guide you through the building, right? I can do that."
The hell is she saying?
"What's an OATS operator?" Rhyme asks the question on both their minds.
Naminé blinks, momentarily taken back. "Um. Operations and Tactical Support. The person who provides background support for field agents. I'm sure you have an equivalent?"
"That's a nice abbreviation, OATS." Rhyme tests the word out before turning towards Naminé. "So, who're you again?"
"I'm Naminé," she introduces herself, mainly to Rhyme but briefly meeting Sora's eyes as well. "I'm an OATS operator, and I can help Sora navigate the building."
He hadn't expected Naminé would be his saving grace. He's fed up with waiting around knowing there's something he can do. If Naminé's his ticket out, then so be it.
"C'mon, Rhyme!" Sora exclaims. "You're worried about me going at it blind, but she can walk me through the entire place. I'm just gonna take out the few stragglers that got through. I'll be fine."
"You'll trust a stranger with your life?"
Well, he hadn't thought about it that way. He has no idea how competent Naminé is as an operator—OATS person, whatever. The fact that she isn't on LOD's frontline defense is certainly a red flag. But he doesn't really need her help. He just wants to give Rhyme some peace of mind, then he can fend for himself out there against a few Heartless.
"We...know each other," Sora says hesitantly. It's not a lie per se, but it certainly glosses over things. "Look, you know LODers are crazy about their work ethic, so she's gotta be good at what she does. Anyways, it's not about us—we can do something to help. I don't want Tifa or the others to get hurt."
"You're almost as persistent as my brother," Rhyme mumbles—awh yeah, she's finally conceding! "Please, be safe and avoid taking risks. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Of course, Rhyme. You know me."
"From all the times I've fixed up your equipment? Yes, I know how reckless you are."
"Ack! I mean, Riku and Kairi go there a lot too!"
Rhyme summons the smile she uses when she knows she's won the argument. At least that's how Sora feels (and he's been the recipient of this sentiment more than once).
"I have a blueprint of the building, and the monitors will be useful," Naminé interrupts, already talking game plan. It's kind of shocking to see her in professional mode when all she's been till now is an annoying prankster with a strange sense of humor. Feeling the need to match her level of intensity, he pays close attention to what she's saying.
"I only briefly looked over the plans for your side of the building, but it's pretty symmetric with our side. This is where we are, and I assume HB picked this entry point to guard." She points at the exact spot Tifa and the other agents had set up defense. "The good thing is, from here, there's really only one hallway for Heartless to go through, and that leads straight to this intersection where you can intercept them."
Oh. That...actually makes a lot of sense. Sora's plan was just to head out and troll around until he finds the Heartless, but it'd be nice if he knew where they were coming from.
"How do you know they haven't gotten past this intersection already?" he asks.
"Well, it sounds like you're getting live updates, so I assume someone from your team would let you know when any get through."
"Three Heartless just slipped past!" Rhyme reports.
"Then I gotta get there now."
Sora hastily jumps to his feet, summoning his Keyblade and preparing to head out. Naminé steps towards him, hand outstretched with her palm face-up.
Is she asking for a high-five? It's a little out of character for Naminé the straightshooter. Nonetheless, Sora obliges and slaps down onto her palm.
"What the hell?"
Naminé glares at him before turning towards the ground. Sora watches as she picks something up and holds it towards him—oh, it's an earpiece. "Do you want to get hurt out there by yourself?"
Belatedly he realizes that from her perspective, it probably looked like he just slapped the earpiece out of her hands. But it'd be dumb if he told her he thought she was reaching for a high-five.
He grumbles a nonsense apology under his breath while putting in the earpiece.
Naminé huffs, retreating to the other side of the room and speaking into her mouthpiece. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear. Along with your heavy breathing."
"Was it hard thinking of that comeback? You looked constipated the whole time."
"Wha—did not!"
"Did too! You can't see your own face, so what do you know?"
"I—"
"Shouldn't you head out now?" Rhyme prompts. "Remember, no unnecessary risks. I think the plan makes sense, but if you get there after the Heartless, then come back. It's also a victory to know when to retreat."
"Okay, Rhyme, got it." Sheesh, the girl's bleeding heart has enough compassion for everyone in the entire HBRC. Sora's not even that close to her, but ever since she started tagging alongside her older brother when he first enlisted, Rhyme quickly became HBRC's unofficial mascot. Cause if push came to shove, Sora could've just barged out into the building without Rhyme's approval. But worrying Rhyme feels like disappointing the little sister he never had.
Plus, Conscience-Kairi would give him hell.
"You should go," Naminé's voice prompts.
Sora grins, ruffles Rhyme's beanie, and heads out.
It feels nice just opening the door leading out of the bunker. Carefully peering outside before dashing out, Sora heads down the hallway towards...
His...destination...
He remembers the intersection they'd just talked about, but his spatial awareness has always been subpar at best. He makes the first few turns confidently but then stops at a T-shaped intersection. Was it a left or right from here…?
"Are you lost?"
He jumps at Naminé's voice, almost forgetting she's on the other end. "What? No, what're you talking about? I mean, we just talked about this—why would I be lost?"
"Well, then why are you hanging out with the fire extinguisher?"
Sora spies said fire extinguisher from the corner of his eye and balks at her omnipresence. He then notices the CCTV camera and stares at it.
"It's like you're a creepy stalker."
"Well, excuse me for trying to keep you safe."
"If you keep scaring me, you're putting me into more danger."
"Well if you weren't a scaredy-cat jumping at everything we wouldn't have this problem."
"I'm not a scaredy cat!"
"Then stop tiptoeing around and turn left! And tell me where you are, cause I'm blind when you're not on the monitors."
"Stop barking orders, you're not my boss!"
He takes a left.
Dashing down the halls, he reaches the intersection as planned without a Heartless in sight. Are they on their way? A part of him can't help wonder—have they gotten past him already?
"I'm here," he mumbles so Naminé doesn't snap at him again.
"The intersection? Okay, I'd guess you have less than a minute before the Heartless turn up."
"You saw'em on a monitor?"
"What? No, based on when your colleague said they got through the first line of defense, and taking into account the average speed that Heartless travel, it's just timing."
Oh. That...does make sense. Not that he needs to tell her that.
"So I've got a minute?"
"Probably 30 seconds now."
It must be nice to have an internal time-keeping system. Well, it's nice he has Naminé for that.
A distant but familiar buzzing puts him on alert. Sora takes a deep breath to calm himself down. Peering around the corner, he sees three Heartless coming down the halls towards him.
"I see'em," he reports to Naminé as he waits patiently for them to come a little closer.
When they're about to round the corner, Sora jumps into action.
The first Heartless quickly goes down with an ambushed attack. The other two fall back, instantly on the defense, and Sora presses forward. The best defense is a good offense, after all. Using his Keyblade to parry a ferocious swipe, he knocks one creature back as the other leaps towards him with a shrill cry. Sora ducks and counters with a hastily conjured Blizzard to immobilize the enemy. He swings his Keyblade over to stab the Heartless, its body dissolving into black smoke.
The remaining Heartless makes a loud buzzing sound, as if distressed that its two comrades have fallen. Sora smirks, taking a step forward and aiming a Fire spell towards it. The Heartless screeches, surrounded by flames, and quickly goes down with a direct attack.
Three Heartless in less than five minutes? He'll take praise when it's due, thank you very much.
"Hey Naminé, I just dealt with them. Do you know if any more are coming?"
"..."
"Naminé?"
Why's she going radio-silent now? Isn't the point of having an operator so that she can provide backup 24/7?
"Sora? Fall back now!"
"What? What's going on?" Nonetheless, recognizing the urgency in Naminé's voice, he turns on his heel. Naminé rattles off an explanation as he dashes through the halls.
"Some Heartless got in the building from Land of Departure's side. You're vulnerable to a flank attack where you are. Also, if those Heartless find us in the bunker by any chance, we're sitting ducks without any decent Keyblade wielders."
"What? Why didn't anyone think to leave some people behind to guard the bunker?"
"Guess we were all focused on competing with the other world and putting everyone on the frontline," Naminé murmurs. "Anyways, your original route should be clear if you follow it back. You do remember it, right?"
"Of course I do!"
"Just checking. You know, when you pretend to know things, it doesn't help anyone.
"...it's a right from the fire extinguisher?"
"Right."
"Okay."
He finds his way back easily enough, see, Naminé? The route is indeed clear, and upon reaching the bunker, he takes a moment to catch his breath.
"You okay?" Naminé asks.
"Fine. I can handle three Heartless by myself."
"Well, I think we're expecting another 15."
What?
"15? What's wrong with LOD's defense? You guys let that many through?" Sora exclaims.
Naminé stares at him pointedly. "Ask your colleagues what happened, cause 10 are from HB's side."
He turns towards Rhyme with concern, wondering if something happened. The HBRC teams who came on this mission are all third years and above. Plus, Tifa's a captain at her own level. To let 10 Heartless through…?
"Without the defense system, everyone has to fight twice as hard," Rhyme explains. "Our teams are overwhelmed."
"15's gonna overwhelm us too," Sora remarks. "HBRC's policy is one agent can handle approximately 10 Heartless. Any more and I'm supposed to look for backup."
"We are the backup," Naminé points out.
"Not helping."
"Just saying." She sighs. "What're we gonna do then?"
Sora grimaces thinking of fighting 15 Heartless by himself. He's rarely had to fight Heartless without his teammates by his side. The thought is daunting, but when pushed in a corner, he sometimes get a flare of confidence thinking about defeating the odds.
Because what else can he do?
"We're gonna fight."
LOCATION: Bunker #2 of Organization XIII headquarters, The World That Never Was
DATE: Monday, November 26th 2X60
TIME: 1622 hours
"I'll say it again, the plan is to not fight."
Naminé scans the crowd and looks at Sora while repeating her words. "Do not fight."
"Jeez, alright, got it," he mumbles. It's obvious he's a little put off by the fact that, what, she's trying to protect their lives here? Honestly she's not a fan of the plan—her plan—but it's all she can think of to slap a band-aid on the situation for now.
"Let me summarize again. Dr. Hamada will lead Sora and I to the main security room so we can figure out where the Heartless are. Everyone else will stay here, and we'll contact you when it's safe. Rhyme, if you can, continue checking with LOD and HB to keep track of how many Heartless are in the building. Does that make sense?"
The involved parties nod their heads while everyone else scatters in the room. They'll be safe, right? Hiro had said they usually just wait out the invasions anyways. But now that it's part of her plan, Naminé feels responsible for guaranteeing the lives of everyone in the bunker.
And that's not a lot of pressure.
"Ready?"
Sora's voice breaks through her internal panic, and she forces herself to nod. "Yeah. Ready."
"Let's do this."
According to Hiro, the main security room of Organization XIII has access to all the CCTV cameras, which is their best shot at locating the Heartless in the building. Once there, Naminé figures she can keep an eye out on the scattered Heartless and maybe devise some plan to round them up. Or think of the best way to systematically eliminate them one by one. Though that would require more Keyblade wielders than Sora, meaning they'd have to wait till either side fights off the initial wave.
"Naminé!"
Naminé blinks, glancing up to see Sora shooting her a quizzical look.
"What, Sora?"
He visibly recoils, which makes Naminé feel bad for snapping at him. The situation has her stressed, and maybe she's overreacting a little.
"Stop daydreaming, the Heartless could be anywhere."
Naminé recognizes his point, tuning back into their surroundings. The halls of Organization XIII's headquarters are even more haunting now that they're completely deserted. A sudden bang sends Naminé into a frightened jolt as she presses herself against the wall.
"That's just the wind blowing a window shut," Hiro explains with a hint of judgment in his voice.
"I'm just a little alert when we're surrounded by the enemy," Naminé returns.
Slowly letting her heart rate fall back down to a normal pace, she takes a few deep breaths. She really isn't suited for fieldwork, especially when she lacks way too much information.
"Scaredy-cat," Sora smirks.
At this point, she's used to wanting to punch Sora. "That was a loud sound."
"Well, 'if you weren't jumping at everything,' we wouldn't be having this conversation," Sora says in a mocking tone, reminding Naminé what she'd said to him earlier.
Ah yes, perhaps she was getting a little too accustomed to the idea of Sora. This is a great reminder that she definitely still hates his guts.
They turn a corner, and Hiro tells them the elevator's at the end of the hall. Indeed, Naminé can see the doors from a distance. Sprinting to keep up with Sora's pace (curse her short legs), they're just a few feet from their destination when out of nowhere, Heartless drop into their line of sight.
"Dammit! Thought we were gonna get lucky," Sora curses, pointing his Keyblade at the pack.
Naminé inhales sharply. This is the first time she's seen a real Heartless—they're a lot bigger than she thought. Looking at their body of absolute darkness gives her the chills, like if she stares too long, she'll drown in the sight. Their beady eyes gleam, as if locked onto their targets.
Sora's Keyblade knocks away the closest one. He quickly moves to fend off the others, but that means he's up against five Heartless himself. He'd boasted about taking out three Heartless earlier, but he'd been alone and knew they were coming. This is a surprise attack, and more importantly, he has two people to protect.
"You said you can fight, right?" Naminé stammers at Hiro.
Hiro's eyes widen. "Um, I know the basics of Keyblades and some self-defense. I mean, everyone in Organization XIII does cause our world's not the safest, it's really nothing to brag about."
"Well, better than nothing! We just need to get to the elevator."
Hiro hastily nods, looking down at his hands. Naminé struggles with summoning hers, partially due to lack of experience, partially due to the constant distraction of the unfolding battle before her. As an OATS operator, she can always count on field agents being able to summon their Keyblades at a minute's notice, even under the most demanding circumstances. Now, as sweat trickles down her cheek, she realizes it's not as easy as it seems.
Finally, her Keyblade materializes in her hands. She hasn't needed it for awhile and takes a moment to appreciate her subconscious, or soul, or whatever crafts Keyblades, for the stylish design. Tightening her grip on her weapon, she looks towards her enemy.
Five Heartless. Sora can reasonably fight three by himself. That means she and Hiro have to fend for themselves against two Heartless. With their very basic Keyblade skills...they can do this. They have to.
"We're gonna run straight towards the elevator!" Naminé repeats, also to inform Sora of their plan. Hiro looks about as nervous as Naminé feels. She's never been in a real life Heartless encounter, and the pressure is suffocating.
But her mind hones in on the task: get to the elevator. Get to the elevator. Get to the elevator.
Drawing a deep breath, she takes off with a running start. The Heartless draw close—six feet, four feet, less than an arm's length…
One Heartless notices her and lunges forward. Its antennas buzz loudly as it approaches, ready to eat her whole. In one smooth motion, Sora blocks the attack and sends her a curt nod. Naminé gulps, continuing down the hall.
A searing pain runs through her lower leg, and she looks down to see a Heartless sinking its claws into her calf. The Heartless then grows lax and slips off. Looking up, Naminé realizes Hiro has knocked it off. She sends him an appreciative nod, which he stiffly returns. Her eyes trail from Hiro to a dark shadow behind him.
"LOOK OUT!" she cries.
She sees the Heartless lurking behind him, clawed hand raised. It's gonna attack Hiro. It's gonna kill him. She doesn't know what to think, but her body acts. Raising her Keyblade, she charges towards the Heartless.
One thought burns in her mind: I have to help him.
A bright light envelops her vision, and everything falls silent. When her sight refocuses, she sees the Heartless dissolve into black smoke.
A/N: The invasion proceeds! And per our summary, "in face of a new threat, Naminé and Sora will need to team up." AKA time to force these two knuckleheads to put aside their childish fight and get along! I already miss the lighthearted stuff ahaha but I tried to insert some here and there while the serious stuff unfolds.
If you've been enjoying the story so far, I'd love for you to leave a review and let me know what you think! I'm slowly catching up to the chapters I have prewritten so this fic may slow down a bit in the near future. But right now we're full speed ahead with Sora and Naminé's adventure!
