A/N
Sorry for the long wait; I've been working on this every chance I have down time while at work, and that's a rare thing where I work; Heh. I would also like to thank Cormag Ravenstaff and GIGGLINGGUMMYBEAR for their feedback and/or help on some parts of my story. So without further ado; here it is, Chapter 3 of my baby. Please review; I'd loved any feedback from anyone… as long as it's helpful and not pointlessly hurtful. Thank You.
Valiant Hearts III
Chapter 3
Assault on Sanctuary – Pushing Back the Tide
"What are our losses?"
The cold malevolent voice of the Superior broke the silence of the gathered members of Organization XIII in the meeting chamber in the Castle that Never Was.
Xemnas knew the losses were in fact heavy; he only wanted to know the exact amount lost to assess how much he would need to alter the plans that he had already set into motion.
"We lost a majority of our forces from the attacks brought on by the eidolons summoned by those sorceresses,"
Xaldin answered immediately to the Superior's question and explained the situation. He, like all the other members, sat in his white throne; all lower than the Superior's throne.
"Overall, our force's losses are over sixty three percent while the witch, and her Heartless lost most of their main force, nevertheless she still has ample amounts of Heartless in reserve in the Realm of Darkness to easily replenish her ranks."
After a slight pause, Xaldin lean forward on his through and made to continue on; he didn't get far.
"As for our forces, they will take a substantial amount of time to-"
The Superior's deep emotionless voice cut him off.
"Irrelevant. Our current forces will suffice for the time being and we continue as planned."
As silence fell over the chamber, all occupants in the room looked to the Superior, waiting for his order on what their next move would be, all except one.
Xemnas knew they had failed in their attempt on eradicating the vermin in Hollow Bastion, and the efforts of the experiment led by Xigbar were no longer an option.
The Girl was most likely destroyed during Celsius's rampage, if so than she was no longer a factor in their plans; but if she had survived the onslaught from Celsius…
Then perhaps she was still of use.
Looking down at the remaining members of Organization XIII; he had a decision to make. For this decision he was making, if successful would accelerate his plans immensely, and if it failed then it was only a simple loss in one of the many alternative paths to reach his goal.
Xemnas made his decision.
Looking down to the throne on his right sat Xigbar.
He sat with his elbow propped up on his seat and his chin resting on his knuckles while he appeared to be deep in though as he stared ahead at nothing.
He was disappointed that all his hard work was for nothing, and that he lost his greatest achievement and it was all thanks to those damn rat in Hollow Bastion. If they hadn't summoned Celsius then he could have to end result of all the work he'd in to the creation of the first artificial Nobody.
But now all his work was gone, taken by the ice and frost of Celsius, even if she had survived somehow he'd never know.
"Xigbar."
The emotionless voice of the Superior tore the Arrowgun wielder from his thoughts.
Looking up to see the cold narrowed gaze of the Superior looking down on him; he realized that he'd been caught musing to himself, Xigbar feared that there would be repercussions for ignore their leader's words.
A fear that proved right as Xemnas made a slight gesture with his hand in Xigbar's direction. For a moment nothing happened, and then Xigbar felt a searing pain pass through his right shoulder.
Grunting in pain, Xigbar grabbed at his shoulder, expecting to feel warm blood flowing from his shoulder. Only there was no slash going through his body, just the intense pain pulsing under his skin, as if there was a heated blade cutting clean through him.
It only lasted a moment, but I felt like an eternity before Xemnas gestured once more and the pain slowly began fading away.
Xemnas would not stand to be ignored by those beneath him. No matter how insignificant it may be.
Looking down at Xigbar; who now looked up at him, still cradling his right shoulder with his left hand, Xemnas continued on as if nothing had happened.
"Xigbar, you are to take a fraction of our forces back to the home of those bothersome pests and find the location of whatever rock those vermin hid themselves under and report back; and along with that being your main intent, you are to recover your experiment if at all possible. Is that understood?"
Still holding his pulsing shoulder, Xigbar bowed his head slightly and responded in a rather unsteady voice.
"Yes Superior, I will do as you command."
"Good."
Xemnas simply replied finally removing his gaze from Xigbar.
"You will leave immediately; and as for the rest of you-"
With that being said, Xigbar opened a portal of darkness just below his throne as he dropped into it.
Since the distance wasn't far, the trip was near instantaneous as he stepped out into one of the many corridors the Castle that Never Was; all the while feeling a buzz of excitement.
He was going to be able to salvage his work, all that effort was not for nothing, and all he had do was to retrieve the girl and find whatever rock those Rats from Hollow Bastion had scurried under and report back.
Even with the pain still fading from his throbbing shoulder, Xigbar had a wicked grin on his face as he went to prepare for his return trip to that retched world.
-Valiant Hearts III-
"Come on Naminé; I don't think Kairi is going to really care what we bring her to eat as long as its food."
Olette stood smirking just behind her blonde companion, holding a tray consisting of two steaming bowls of stew, a couple of apples and a piece of bread large enough to share between two people; all the while Naminé was still considering on what foods to bring for Kairi.
The blonde mage wanted to get Kairi something flavorful and filling but also warm to help keep up her body temperature.
She'd decided on stew with a couple of oranges and a few slices of bread when Olette decided to chime in about Kairi not caring what Naminé got her.
Looking back at the duel wielding Keyblader, who had a smirk on her face; Naminé narrowed her eyes on the brunette.
"She may not care; but I do, and she needs to eat the right things to make sure she recovers from being exposed to this enchanted atmosphere for as long as she was, and I'll make sure she gets everything she needs to recover completely."
Olette's smirk turned into a full-fledged smile.
"Ok, Ok, lets go. I'm sure Kairi is as hungry as we are, probably even more so then us actually. So come on."
Olette waited for Naminé to walk up next to her before turning around and began walking side by side with her girlfriend through the spaces between the many tents scattered throughout the caver of Sanctuary; making their way back to where they had parted ways Kairi.
After they had left the redhead with the medic to be examined, they both had made their way to the one of the many food tents that were distributed all around Sanctuary, mostly walking in silence after a bit of teasing from Olette; enjoying each other's company, and the fact that they found the girl they both love alive and well.
With that in mind, both girls continued maneuvering around the numerous tents along their path back to the area where they had left Kairi with the medic.
As they walked, they saw the many surviving citizens of Hollow Bastion who were now trying to settle down in their temporary homes. Most looked like they were shell-shocked or grief-stricken; while others appeared angry or enraged about the loss of their loved ones.
Olette could understand where that anger came from; when Kairi went missing, Olette was furious.
The fear of losing a loved one for good terrified the brunette, and what Olette fear, Olette fought, she was not one to sit idly by and hope that her fears wouldn't come to pass. She would do everything in her power to prevent them instead.
But finding Kairi and knowing that everyone she cared about was alive and safe brought on a wave of relief to the young brunette. However, seeing these people who've lost their loved ones brought a slight pang of guilt into Olette's heart; knowing that those dear to her were safe, while others around her, complete strangers, had lost those they loved.
But this was war.
People are going to die, and Olette knew this; and so did those who called Hollow Bastion home.
Pushing the feeling of guilt away, Olette huffed out a quiet sigh as she kept pace with Naminé; carrying her respective tray around the cluster of tents surrounding them.
All the while Naminé watched out of the corner of her eye as Olette seemed to be mentally struggling with herself as they walked, seemingly ending whatever conflict within herself in a small sigh.
The young mage could feel the mixed feelings in the air coming off the residence of Hollow Bastion; she could feel their sorrow, grief, anger, and rage. This atmosphere acted like a blanket, covering the once high-spirited people of Hollow Bastion with a feeling of loss and distress.
But there was something else there as well. Naminé could feel it.
There was an undertone of resolve hidden beneath all the emotion; an unsaid tenacity that the blonde mage had come to know from the people of Hollow Bastion.
Even after all the death and destruction that these people had endured, Naminé knew that they would come back even after this conflict.
The people of Hollow Bastion were nothing if not resilient.
But like all thing, it would take time to recover from such an ordeal; and seeing those that occupied the many tents on the path they walked… Naminé knew it would take a significant amount of time to be able to get over this kind of loss; and Naminé knew how lucky she was to know that the ones she loved were safe and still with her while others had lost so much.
But she knew it was pointless to dwell on such things.
If they didn't fight then they would have been wiped out completely long ago, and that would have left the other worlds out there to fend for them self's against the Heartless and leave the Organization to do as they pleased without any real resistance.
These losses were something they all had to live with, because as long Hollow Bastion survived then the Heart of All Worlds, Kingdom Hearts, would still have guardians to defend it and prevent the Darkness from consuming all worlds.
Naminé knew this, and that was but another reason for her to fight.
Looking at Olette as they walked only reminded the blond mage of her other reasons for why she chose to fight.
The same reason everyone here fought. To protect those they held dear from the forces of Darkness and those who aided the spread of Darkness.
And now Naminé was more determined than ever to defeat the Organization and protect her loved once.
With that in mind, Naminé continued onward with a more determined stride as she walked beside Olette to the medical tent that Kairi was being brought to for her checkup before they left to get food.
Like all the other tents, it was a bland shade of grey with its six post canopy, the only indication that it was a medical tent was the large red circled cross on either side of the twin canopy roof and the front flap leading into the tent itself.
Holding her tray with one hand, Olette used her free hand to pull back the tent flap to allow Naminé to enter first then followed the smaller girl into the cloth shelter.
Upon entering, Naminé and Olette saw the numerus types of medical equipment that were able to be transported here easily without needing any major power sources aside from the power provided by one of the many generators scattered throughout the cavern that made up there underground shelter to help power any priority equipment that was needed.
Another thing they both noticed was that the only occupant was the same medic that asked to examine Kairi for any injuries looking up at them when they entered. She seemed to be in the process of getting some of the medical equipment ready for use.
Both the blonde and brunette looked at each other in confusion. Eyebrows drawn together, Olette looked at the older woman.
"Has Kairi finished already?"
The medic replied with a huff of irritation.
"No miss. She told me to wait for her here, saying she needed to check something first not long after the two of you left to get those trays of food."
The woman crossed her arms looking at Naminé and Olette thoughtfully.
"Hmmm… Do you think you two could find her for me so I can check her for any lasting side effect from being exposed to this magical environment?"
Looking at Naminé, Olette thought for a moment and gave a small shrug.
The young mage simply smiled sweetly and nodded.
Turning back to the medic, who watched them expectantly, the dual-wielder sighed and gave a nod.
"Ok, we'll get her, but can we leave these trays here where it's a little warmer please? I'd hate to eat frozen breed."
To that the medic nodded and began to rummage through some of the boxes of medical supplies in the tent, eventually pulling out a thermal blanket.
With a raised eyebrow, Olette opened her mouth to ask what that was for when Naminé chimed in.
"Oh! What a wonderful idea."
She turns to Olette while setting her tray down on a clear table with an adorable smile on her face, causing the brunette to smile as well.
"Olette put your tray down and she can cover it with that heat blanket to keep them warm while we go get Kairi."
Smiling fondly at the smaller girl, Olette set her tray down next to Naminé's and the medic tossed the heat blanket over them to preserve the stews warmth then looked up at the two Keybladers.
"I appreciate this. Just bring her here and once I give her a quick check up you can all eat together."
Olette and Naminé both nodded before they walked out of the tent and looked around the general area for the familiar splash of red hair that the both of them have come to love.
After a moment of looking around and not seeing any sign of Kairi, Olette began to walk in the direction of where they had left Kairi after their return from the surface near Sanctuary's entrance.
Naminé, not missing a beat, walked right next to Olette, and after a moment the blonde wrapped her arm around the brunette's arm and clung to her as they walk.
Olette, not expecting this action at first, was put off balance for an instant but straightened up a bit before look at her girlfriend with a smirk on her face.
Naminé only smiled up at her as she kept pace with the taller girl and they continued walking together while looking for Kairi.
It was a short walk.
As they passed by a ruined building near the caver wall, Olette saw two figures together close against the wall; both appeared to be sitting facing each other. What really caught the brunette fighter's attention was the dark red hair of the person with their back to them. She knew that shade of red intimately.
But who was that other person? Olette mussed to herself.
Naminé saw where Olette was looking and her eyes lit up at the sight of Kairi, not noticing the slumped figure in front of the redhead.
As they moved closer to where Kairi knelt by the wall, none of them noticed the four silver figures that were fazing through the caver ceiling above all their heads.
The figures watched everything for a moment as they now accomplished both their objectives at once; having found the location of the survivors of this world and finding their designated primary target. Now their instructions if finding either target was to report back to their higher-ups.
If a Nobody could feel, they would have felt pleased with themselves, but they only felt the urge to follow the directives they were given from their betters.
A moment passed before the silver beings dutifully followed their orders and fazed back into the ceiling of the caver and returned to the surface of the world and back to the one leading them.
-Valiant Hearts III-
Xigbar stood over the frozen ruins of where he'd been forced to leave his greatest achievement to freeze and die.
Only She wasn't there.
No half-frozen, barely alive unconscious girl; no frozen body of what he worked so hard to create. There wasn't even a corps of the Keyblader that was to be the catalyst to bring his creation to life.
Did those Rats that inhabited this world taker them, did they recover her body or did they take her prisoner.
He needed to know what became of his creation.
He'd sent out groups of his Assassin's with the orders to report back if they found either the rock those pests had crawled under, or if they found his experiment.
It was only a matter of time before he got something from one of the many groups he had sent out.
As if fate itself was on his side, Xigbar felt the presence of his Assassins making their way just below the surface of the world. He could sense that they had accomplished part of their orders and were now returning to report their findings.
With their coming arrival, a spark of hope manifested in the snipers mind as he opened a portal of Darkness to meet his Nobodies halfway to him in the middle of the canyon.
Stepping through it and moving halfway across the canyon in an instant, Xigbar was about a hundred meters from his scouts, and that distance was quickly decreasing as the seconds ticked by.
The sniper waited with his arms crossed for his Nobodies to reach him.
After a moment the ground in front of Xigbar began to ripple and shift, as if the solid ground was made of liquid, then four silver figures rose out of the ground in front of him.
They were identical as all Nobodies were when it came to the type that they were formed to be.
Their bodies were skeletal in form, with their needle shaped heads that were down cast as they stood in front of the one who commands them.
There height was just below Xigbar's nose, but if they stood tall and to their full height, they would be nearly twice the height that they were already. Their arms were in the form of long tendrils covered in razor sharp blades, good for cutting into those that threaten the ones they serve.
Xigbar wasted no time in reaching into the minds of these husks and pulled the images of what they had found that triggered the protocol that was programed into them that had them return to him with information on their objectives.
The mental images of what they saw flowed into his mind.
He saw what looked to be an underground cavern full ruined building, tents around campfires, and occupying by the vermin that once inhabited the surface of this world.
How appropriate, these cockroaches literally fled underneath a rock. Now that he knew there location, he would report back to the Superior.
As Xigbar was about to withdraw from the mental link to his minions, but the Nobodies pressed for Xigbar to continue watching the images playing through his head.
Ignoring the Assassins urge to continue watching, Xigbar was about to disconnect his link to them anyway until he saw a small cluster of people by the wall of the cavern.
And this was clearly the point of interest to the Nobodies because the view of the shadowy figures closed in on them and cleared up; showing exactly who caught the attention of his spies.
At first, Xigbar only saw the two Keybladers that they didn't capture walking up to the wall, and then the third figure came into view and what he saw shocked him.
It was the redheaded Keyblade they captured and killed to bring his experiment to life was standing closest to the wall; and wearing one of Organization's coats no less.
How was she alive?
She died before they could finish the conversion between his experiment and the Keyblader. They had literally tore her soul and heart out of her; there was no possible way she could have survived that, they even confirmed she was dead after the failed attempt to awaken the Girl.
She was kneeling down in front of the last figure that seemed to be sitting against the wall, and as the view of the Assassins moved over to reveal Her…
This was it. This was exactly what he wanted to see.
She was there, She was alive and awake… But She was in the center of the Rat's nest…
She was there in that cavern; chained to the wall and ground around her as she looked at the redheaded Keyblader kneeling in front of her with a look of… familiarity.
How was that possible…?
Shaking his head of that irrelevant question, Xigbar need to focus on what was important.
He found Her and he needed to recover her if possible, those were his orders; but he was also ordered to report back when he found the location of the vermin's new hideout.
This was an issue. Both his orders conflicted with one another, clearly the thought of these Rats finding and apprehending his experiment hadn't been considered for his mission parameters… Or had they?
Was this a test set by Xemnas?
Xigbar knew that the Superior's every action had a reason behind it, giving him the order to recover the Girl 'if at all possible' were the orders after having to report back after discovering the location of the vermin's new location.
But there was the chance he was over thinking things and was making the wrong assumption.
Should he risking an assault on the enemy's new location in attempt to recover his experiment, risking possible consequences from the Superior if he is wrong about this mission being a test for himself, or should he cut his losses and report back his findings?
Taking a step back from the four Nobodies in front of him, Xigbar began to pace back and forth, creating a trail from where he walked to and from while he considered what to do for this situation.
He knew the enemies location, he knew the Girl's location; them being in the same place was irrelevant. He needed to get his creation out of the hands of those vermin before they damaged or ruined her in any way. He was ordered to recover her if at all possible, so that's what he was going to do.
Xigbar stopped his pacing and looked to his four Assassins before him and used a mental wave to call all the forces he had brought with him to his location.
He only had to wait a minute before a few hundred Nobodies began to amass around him.
Types ranging from more Assassins, to a dozen Berserkers, a few dozen Samurai, Dancer's, along with Husk's making up the bulk of his forces and the only high level Nobody he was able to bring was the ever shifting and moving Twilight Thorn that toward over his forces.
It wasn't much; but Xigbar would make do with this meager sized force to assault whatever sanctuary those Rats thought they've found.
He would recover Her, and he would continue her development for the Superior's plan; and he wouldn't wipe out those vermin, he would only moving to extract his precise experiment and pull back once she was recovered.
Once that was done he would report the location of the surviving force of what was once Hollow Bastion to the Superior.
As long as Xigbar managed to reclaim his experiment and leave those Rats alive with enough strength to put up enough resistance that if the Superior wanted to attack them with the intent of exterminating them that Xigbar should be in the clear in not looking like he'd disobeyed the Superior's direct orders.
This was risky, but Xigbar needed to recover the Girl, and that was "His" priority.
Looking to the forces accumulated before him, waiting unaffected by the freezing cold atmosphere around them; such perfect tools, always ready to obey and do as they were ordered.
That what Xigbar loved about these pathetic husks that were once people; until they're hearts were claimed by Darkness or taken by the Heartless leaving behind these shells of their former selves, such useful tools.
Spreading his arms out before him, Xigbar gave an order that the Nobodies have been waiting for; and if they good feel anything, they would have been pleased with the particular order.
"Prepare for battle, we are going to have some fun with the Rats of this world!"
With a wicked grin on his face, Xigbar began opening a portal of Darkness large enough for his forces to move through; the destination was a part of what was left of the town that resided directly over the caver that housed what remained of Hollow Bastion's forces.
He would strike them quick and clean, like any good sniper, before they even saw him coming.
It was slow going but his forces began moving through the gateway of Darkness and he would wait till all his forces were through, and once they were he would join them on the other side and begin his attack on those vermin's sanctuary.
With that same grin on his face, the needle gun user continued to watch his forces go into the portal.
Not even noticing the lone figure that hovered just overhead watching everything.
Flapping her wings to keep her aloft, Yuffie watched as the sliver legion moved through the portal for only a moment longer before she turned in midair in the direction of Hollow Bastion.
She needed to report this to Leon and warn everyone at Sanctuary.
It was only by sheer luck that she even discovered that wannabe pirate reject and the forces he brought with him when she thought about taking the long way back to Sanctuary by going passed the canyon just to test her wings better and have some fun flying around with no roof over her head.
Yuffie found that as long as she kept moving she was relatively warm even in the winter clothes she got from the same warehouse Naminé and Olette got their winter wear from.
The winged ninja was wearing a caramel colored coat that went down past her thighs, along with a pair of light brown leather gloves, and yellow scarf with a brown skullcap to top it off. Since she had wings now, Yuffie had to cut slits in the back of them so she could wear it properly, and it was a major hassle to put on with her wings flailing about trying to get them into the openings she'd made.
There was a surprising amount of clothes in that warehouse now that Yuffie thought about it. It was no wonder she Naminé and Olette managed to find such good quality clothes that matched them so easily; curtesy of Squall choosing to stock up on supplies before all this happened.
Then when Yuffie saw Olette wearing a brown trench coat with a pair of black leather gloves and a skullcap, her heart gave a flutter at how good the brunette looked; oddly adorable with the skullcap on over her head, but gruff looking thanks to the color of her attire and the battle weariness the dual-wielder had do to the continues battles she'd been through.
These thoughts brought an ache into the young ninja's heart; she really did miss Olette, but she knew it would take time for the brute of a girl to truly forgive her behavior back in Agrabah.
And Yuffie accepted that, she would just have to be patient.
With that in mind Yuffie continued her flight over Hollow Bastion to one of the hidden entrances to Old Hollow Bastion, than from there she would make her way to Sanctuary and hopefully be in time before that needle gun carrying bozo could execute his preemptive strike.
-Valiant Hearts III-
"Xion…"
Naminé paused to stand a couple feet behind Kairi when she heard the redheaded Keyblader whispered that name.
'Who's Xion?' The blonde mage wondered to herself.
Kairi didn't seem to notice her just yet, but Naminé took the moment to stop and look at what was in front of her rather than focusing all her attention on the girl she loves.
She finally noticed that Kairi was kneeling in front of another person. It was the same girl who had been found wandering the surface of Hollow Bastion, the girl who looked so much like Kairi that it was disturbing, and the very same girl that nearly killed Ashe and Basch had it not been for Olette using all her strength to knock her unconscious.
Naminé saw that Kairi had placed her hand on the girl's cheek and just seemed to be staring at her, not being able to see her face; Naminé wasn't able to see the small trail of tears going down her lover's face.
Olette was right behind Naminé and saw the same thing, she was extremely curious as to who this 'Xion' girl was, clearly the owner of that name was the chained girl; and why Kairi seemed to know the name of a girl who none of them had ever seen or heard of and who appeared out of nowhere and attacked their forces.
She knew she'd have to wait to get those answers, but she really wanted to get those answers soon, but she knew she'd have to wait.
Naminé also had similar questions as her brunette girlfriend, but knew to hold on to those questions for a better time. But at the moment, Naminé just wanted to be with both the girls she loves and be close to them.
With that in mind Naminé made her presence known.
"Kairi..."
Startled, Kairi dropped her hand and looked behind her to see both Naminé and Olette right behind her; watching her and giving Xion slight glances with a mixture of expressions going from worry, anxiety, to curiosity.
Seeing them, Kairi stood back up while wiping her tears away and turned to them fully.
"Hey guys… "
Kairi's voice, no matter how she tried to hide it, had a slight tremble to it from the amount of emotions she was trying to control after seeing her "Sister" her before her.
This did not go unnoticed by the two girls in front of her.
Naminé glanced between Kairi and the girl chained to the wall and ground with a concerned look on her face.
"Kairi, are you-"
The blonde mage began to ask Kairi if she was feeling okay, but was interrupted by a sudden tremor from the caver ceiling above their heads and along with it came a shower of dust and small fragments of stone.
All those in Sanctuary looked up as another tremor shook the large cavern once again.
Naminé and Olette looked up in confusion, as did most of Sanctuary's occupants. But a small minority knew what this was.
Kairi was included in that small number.
The redheaded Keyblader looked to her girlfriends then to her "sister", whom was also looking to the ceiling; but with the blank expression that she always carried.
She knew what was coming, and so did Leon, as was evident when she heard him shouting orders to his militia to prepare for combat and get all non-combatant to safety.
This got Kairi out of her sudden daze when adrenaline shot through her veins from the anticipation of a battle as she summoned her Oathkeeper.
She looked to Naminé and Olette, who now have summoned their Keyblades after hearing Leon's orders for combat preparations to commence.
"Dammit! Can we never catch a break?"
Olette's cursed as adjusted her eye patch before taking a defensive stance in front of Naminé and Kairi, vowing to protect them from any dangers to come.
Kairi looked from her girlfriends to her sister, she need to protect them, all of them. She will not allow any of them to fall into the same Darkness that had claimed her when she died.
In this, Kairi was determined to fight for; and give it her all.
"Olette! Naminé! Formation: Groundhog!"
Looking back at the tactician of their group; Both Naminé and Olette smiled at seeing their leader acting like her old self. Olette had been getting worried that if Kairi didn't come out of her funk that she'd have to take up the mantle, and she knew that in its self would have been a disaster.
"Well look whose back Naminé, our fearless leader that still hasn't changed that stupid name for this formation." Olette laughed, despite the situation, she was happy. Ever since they found Kairi and the others in Castle Hollow Bastion, the redhead didn't seem herself; but now she was back and looked more determined than ever.
"Oh shut up Olette! You couldn't think of anything better." Kairi pouts for a moment as another tremor shook the cavern and caused the redhead to look up again than back at the smirking brunette.
"Now get over her and get ready to fight." She then looked to the white clad mage, whom was smiling sweetly at the light-hearted bantering between her two girlfriends.
"Naminé I want you to use whatever defensive magic to help back us up, we'll protect you, and if you see any chance to take out groups of nobodies in one go, take it, but don't push yourself past your limit."
Still smiling at Kairi, Naminé nodded appreciatively at that last comment, showing that Kairi was concerned as always for the young magician to not overdue her use of her magic.
"I'll do what I can; you can count on me Kairi."
Naminé responded with a determined gaze that rivaled the redheaded warrior's as she moved to stand behind Kairi and next to the chained girl, who was watching them curiously as they prepared for the coming battle.
Still smirking Olette walked up next to Kairi and took up her defensive stance again beside the redhead.
Shaking her head at the brunette's antics at a serious time like this, Kairi looked around as the occupants of Sanctuary prepared for the coming attack.
While the quakes continued unabated; the militia of Hollow Bastion prepared to defend their Sanctuary to the end, they would not go down without a fight, no matter the odds stacked against them. Especially after the destruction and death these creatures had brought to their world, their home.
At that moment, Yuffie came flying through the entrance from Old Hollow Bastion as the tremors got louder and closer through the ceiling of Sanctuary. She took a brief moment to catch her breath and shake off the frost that clung to her from being on the surface before she looked around for Leon.
The ninja knew that the Organization's forces had begun their assault as they smashedd through the surface of Hollow Bastion directly above Sanctuary. She needed to inform Leon on the size and type of forces they were up against.
Yuffie finally spotted the leather clad swordsman coordinating the defenders positions and jobs in the most effective way with what resources he had. As if sensing her gaze on him, he looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with the winged girl as she makes her way towards him.
"Leon, I have information on the enemy's forces!" Yuffie shouted over a fairly loud quake that came with the first crack in the stone sky above, causing small chunks of stone to rain down upon the militia members that stood underneath it directly.
"What are we dealing with Yuffie!?" Leon shouted back as another shockwave shook Sanctuary, causing new cracks to form on the cavern ceiling and making the old ones expand and grow.
"They have a few hundred smaller types, mostly Dusk, Assassins and Dancers, but they also have about a dozen Berserkers, and even more Samurai types. But the biggest problem will be the big guy that that wannabe pirate brought with him." Yuffie explained as quickly as she could while more pieces of the ceiling came crashing down on the ground from the many fractures that continued to form.
"We'll deal with that when it appears, we'll need to deal with the small fries first and ensure the safety of any non-combatants first." Leon looked to the winged ninja next to him.
"I'll need you in the air, take out whatever you can from above when the fighting starts, and if you see any of our forces struggling in certain areas, I want you to reinforce them to where they can handle themselves and move on to any others in need."
Yuffie was impressed by Leon's ability to somehow manage to say all that in one breath and so fast without even turn purple from lack of oxygen.
"You have the most mobility here and we need to take advantage of that. When the battle begins, get up there and give them hell." The swordsman said with a slight grin as he pointed up towards the cracked stone sky.
With that said, Leon turned to the militia force he was coordinating with and began to relay altered instructions on their defenses. Seeing that, Yuffie took to the air, flying straight up and hovered in place, looking for a certain brunette from her higher-point of view.
The quakes and tremors continued to rock Sanctuary as whatever creature, mostly likely that big Nobody that scar face brought with him, persistently powered its way through the surface to get into the underground caver.
This was bad. Yuffie need to find Olette, she need to prote-
CRACK!
The ceiling finally gave way under the numerous attacks from above as a mass of gray flesh in the form of a fist, creating a large hole in the stone sky. Sending down a hail of rock and stone down upon the protectors of Sanctuary, some stones only being small debris and pelting the men and women of Hollow Bastion, and others being large chunks of rock that tumbled downward and crushed whatever it made contact with along its path of destruction.
This devastation elicited screams of terror as a few of the larger projectiles of stone landed where most of the civilians were located among the many tents and shacks they had taken up residence in.
"DAMMIT! RAID OF THE LION!"
That's all Yuffie heard before a figure in a brown coat came flying towards the mitten like hand that had created the breach.
Well… Yuffie found Olette.
Olette was pissed. She was tired of having to fight for even a moment of peace. She knew she was supposed to guard Naminé with Kairi when the battle began, but seeing those stones rain down and crush whatever poor soul had been in its path had caused the duel-wielder to snap!
Soaring toward the massive fist, Olette used her momentum from her jump to begin a rotation with her Keyblades, intending to cut that damn things hand clean off.
Just before contact, the hand retracted back into the hole it created; causing Olette to slam her Hero's Crest into one of the sides of the tunnel, her Keyblade embedded itself in the stone, leaving the brunette dangling from her grip on Hero's Crest.
Looking up into the newly made entrance into Sanctuary, Olette saw what was coming, a mass of Nobodies, a mere fraction in comparison to the massive legion that originally attacked Hollow Bastion, but enough to be considered a serious problem with their current forces.
Seeing the Warrior of Light, the Nobodies felt the strongest urge to consume her, to make her hollow as they were; they all rushed through the tunnel to consume the Warrior and all other beings in this cave, as they were ordered to.
Yuffie saw the silver mass of Nobodies barreling down on the brunette and began to dash forward to the girl she loves before the enemy was upon her.
Olette dematerialized her Keyblade and began to fall, hoping to avoid the onslaught that was less than ten meters away.
Damn, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
Olette had just finished that thought when something hit her in the back and carried her away just as the army of Nobodies exited the tunnel; they were then greeted by a massive barrage of bullets, fireballs, ice-spikes, thunderbolts, arrows from every direction, and to top it all off, a great lance of fire courtesy of Naminé, dealing an immense amount of damage to the Organizations forces.
Looking behind over her shoulder, Olette saw what, or rather who was carrying her bridle style.
Yuffie was huffing a bit as she carried the brunette back down to the surface while the barrage of magic, bullets, and arrows continued to effectively annihilate any Nobody that tried to enter through the tunnel.
"Yuffie… Where did-" Olette began.
"Shut up! That was way to reckless of you and you know it." Yuffie huffed out, tickling Olette's neck, before setting down near where Kairi and Naminé had watched their girlfriend's actions from.
What Olette didn't know was the young sorceress had begun summoning Ifrit's Lance the moment she finished saying 'Raid of the Lion' and was ready to protect her before the brunette even knew she was in danger.
Once the young ninja landed Olette squirmed a bit to get put down, trying to push down her embarrassment of; one, failing in her attack on the enemy and two, being carried away from danger by her ex-girlfriend bridle style in front of her current girlfriends.
Yuffie notices this, but refused to set her down just yet; this may be her last moment with her this close, and she'd at least take a chance before this battle begins or she may never get another chance.
Still squirming in Yuffie's arms, Olette turns to glare at her to be put down.
"Yuffie could you-" She froze as she felt a slow kiss on her cheek from the girl holding her. Olette's nose was filled with the ninja's scent, vanilla with a hint of caramel, and just as quick it had come, it was gone.
Olette just looked at Yuffie, slightly confused and slightly stunned for a moment before the winged girl set her down gave her a smile then took to the sky as the bombardment on the passageway made by the Nobodies began to waver, the Dusks and Assassins began to slip into Sanctuary and attack the militia on the ground.
Watching Yuffie fly away and into a group of Nobodies and began cutting them up with her oversized shuriken; this snapped the brawler out of her stunned stupor.
Shaking her head, Olette looked to where Kairi and Naminé stood about ten meters away in the same place Olette had left them. Only this time they were fighting a battle of their own.
Kairi stood in front of Naminé and the useless chained girl, taking down any Nobody attempting to get near her and those with her while the blonde mage fired spell after spell into any groups of Nobodies around them, and taking any chance to use curative magic on Kairi and other defensive spells to protect her.
Olette rushed back to them; regretting having ran off like that, leaving Kairi alone to defend Naminé alone.
As she moved to regroup with the others, a group of Dusks and Dancers moved to intercept her, but she wasn't having any of that.
When the Nobodies were only meters away and directly in front of her, Olette dashed forward and leapt into the air and began a rotation with her two Keyblades outstretched and with the momentum she came straight down into the group of Nobodies; cut into them with ease, her superior strength crushing them with little effort
Once she cut clean through that group of Nobodies, Olette had to deal with a bunch of stragglers that were foolishly attacking her either one at a time or in small groups of four as she continued to make her way to Kairi's side.
She crushed all opposition; and before long, Olette was back at Kairi's side and protecting Naminé.
"Welcome back lover-girl, do try not to leap across the cavern and risk your life please!" Kairi shouts to Olette as she sends a fireball into a small cluster of Dusks that were on their way towards them; successfully turning them into a puff of smoke, only to have them immediately replaced by another set of Nobodies.
"Gee thanks, and don't worry, I'll be more careful not to react without thinking next time!" Olette yells back with a slight blush on her face as she swung Circle of Life in a wide arc in front of her, taking out the two Assassins and a Dancer before throwing Hero's Crest into the chest of a nearby Berserker that was moving in their direction, embedding itself in the Nobodies chest before it shatter.
Recalling Hero's Crest back to her hand, Olette kept on the defensive with Kairi while Naminé supported with healing magic, and using destructive magic every now and then to take out clusters of enemies when she could.
What once was a place to take refuge was now just like the surface during the battle. Chaos. The smell of blood and dust and the screams of the suffering filled the air.
The smell of blood made Kairi sick more than ever while she tried to keep herself from vomiting as the smell reminded her of her death. But she needed to keep fighting, for Olette, Naminé, and for Xion. She would not let them be harmed.
Throughout Sanctuary Kairi's family fought their own battles for the ones they love.
Tifa and Aerith had been enjoying their meal together after they were treated for their injuries when the tremors began to shake Sanctuary.
Both Tifa and Aerith had been allowed to take Hi-Elixirs, these were reserved for only the best of their forces, to help them recover as quickly as possible in case they were needed for any coming battles.
It was quite effective and they were recovering quickly, most of Tifa's wounds were healed, and Aerith felt that a large portion of her magical energy had returned after she took the Hi-Elixir.
But as they ate their meals on the cot together in the medical tent; the tremors began, causing Tifa to become pissed off.
"DAMMIT! Can we not get a moments peace!" The martial artist shouted over the quakes from above to Aerith, whom sat right next to the raven haired woman.
"Tifa, I'm right next to you. There's no need to shout when I can hear you just fine if you talk normally." The sorceress scolded as another tremor shook Sanctuary.
Aerith stood up with Tifa and headed outside to be greeted by a shower of dust and stone as a gray fist punched through the cavern ceiling; sending large chunks of stone sailing into different parts of Sanctuary, and hearing the screams of terror from those that were injured from the hail of stone brought a rage into Tifa's being, and a sadness to Aerith's as more the loss of more lives.
Looking up at the now breached stone ceiling, both women saw a winged figure hovering a safe distance away from the newly made tunnel.
"Is that Yuffi-" Tifa began to ask, but was cut off by a very familiar shout from nearby.
"DAMMIT! RAID OF THE LION!"
Having not looked away from the breach, Tifa and Aerith saw a figure in brown go flying from somewhere on the ground straight toward the hand that made the hole in the ceiling in an attempt to attack it.
"Olette!" Tifa shouted as the massive hand retracted back into the tunnel and her student slammed into the tunnels inner walls and dangled in the open air from her Keyblade.
After Yuffie caught Olette and flew her back to the surface of Sanctuary, the barrage started as Nobodies tried to pour into the cavern and after the start of the onslaught of magic and other missile weapons began to falter and Nobodies began to enter Sanctuary and attack people on the ground Tifa and Aerith joined the fray.
Tifa took up defending her lover while Aerith guarded her with magic and destroyed any groupings of Nobodies at once whenever she could.
Tifa pounded anything that came at her and Aerith into the ground as they maneuvered themselves into a better defensive position near the caver wall.
"Praise to Lira, praise to Volt, I summon from thee the power of annihilation to destroy those that stand before me! Ramuh!" Aerith said as a bolt of lightning formed in her outstretched hand and raised it over head.
"Judgments Bolt!" The mage shouts as she lets loose the bolt in the direction of the breach in the ceiling, destroying everything in its path and slamming into the midst of the Nobodies that poured out of the tunnel and into Sanctuary.
This was going to be another hard pressed battle for sure. Tifa could tell just by the sheer number of enemies that kept coming; but she would not allow even a single molecule of one of these things to get anywhere near Aerith, This Tifa swore on her life.
With that in mind, the raven haired martial artist continues to fight and protect her lover.
Elsewhere, Leon had regrouped with Ashe, Basch and their forces near the breach as they set up a defensive line to try to hold off the bulk of the Nobodies that made it into the cavern.
With Ashe and Basch working in sync together and taking down Dusks, Dancers, Assassins, Samurai, and Berserkers with relative ease as they switch between defensive to offensive positions to adapt to whatever opponents they went up against.
Leon truly admired they're teamwork, and was very happy to have them at his back.
They held one front near the area around the breach while Leon led the other, and his forces were about to get overrun if he didn't get help soon.
As he expanded the blade of his gunblade and slashed a horizontally arc in front of destroying any Nobodies in front of him within six meters and followed up with a leap over the heads of the large group of enemies that followed after the first, right where he wanted them.
"BLASTZONE!" Leon shout as all his magic flows into his gunblade and a pillar of destructive light shoots out and obliterates everything it makes contact with, and when Leon swung the beam of light in a wide arc into the Nobodies that didn't know better to dodge rather than keep moving forward into oblivion, he managed to take out a majority of the Nobodies out with a single swing.
But that wasn't enough.
The silver beings just kept coming, and his forces didn't have much left in them, he needed help here.
As if to answer his thoughts, a wave of familiar energy in the form of a slash came out of nowhere and annihilated a massive amount of Nobodies in one go.
After the dust cleared, Leon's suspicions were only confirmed he sighted blond spikey hair and a sword nearly larger than the one who wielded it.
Cloud stood before the silver legion and merely scoffed at them, then looked at Leon.
"Are you truly having trouble with these weaklings Old Man?" Cloud asked with a smug expression.
"Oh by all means, do what you do best Runt; go hit something." Leon made a shooing motion to the blonde swordsman before drinking an ether potion to replenish his magic.
"Get over here Old Man and I'll show you how to crush these pathetic worms. You may learn something."
It was Leon's turn to scoff now.
"Ha, I doubt that; let's just do the crushing part shall we?" Leon stated as he stepped up next to the Cloud as a new mass of Nobodies formed and moved on their position.
"Loser buys the drinks tonight?" Leon asked his not so mutual friend, who only nodded as an answer.
Now it was down to the most skill and to see who got the most kills. This was a game they played many times.
"This should be interesting." Leon stated just as they both charged forward to crush their enemies.
Up in the air above Sanctuary, Yuffie was multitasking like no other.
She was cutting into groups of Assassin Nobodies like a hot knife through butter, looking for militia in need of 'Air' support, and she was contemplating the consequences of her actions earlier with Olette before the battle started.
Was she going to be mad at me? The ninja though as she threw her shuriken through a lone Assassin that tried to 'ninja' a ninja, but Yuffie could see through any stealth these sliver bastards could ever try.
Maybe she'll just brush off the cheek kiss like it was nothing? Yuffie pondered to herself as she say that the battle was going from bad to worse.
There were more Nobodies still pouring in, and the fighting had escalated too drastically.
They needed to figure out a way to seal the breach and stop the steady flow of enemies from getting into Sanctuary, either that or just wipe-out all of Organization XIII forces that were brought here with Ol'WannaBePirate jerk face. But that would take time and lives that needed to be protected.
"God dang it! What can we do?" Yuffie asked herself in frustration.
Suddenly an explosion caught the ninja's attention near the center of the cavern, so she banked in the explosions direction, and she wasn't at all surprised at what she found.
Yuffie found a large crater in an open area of the cavern that had no tents or buildings within a hundred meter radius, a testing ground that was set up by a specific explosive fanatic.
Said fanatic stood near the crater fighting groups of Samurais and Dancers
"Cid!" Yuffie shouted as she threw her shuriken at a cluster of Dancers, taking out three out of the five that were in that group, and then redirected her shuriken toward the group of four Samurai, she managed to take out two of them before she landed behind Cid.
"Howdy Yuf, mind help'n me with these here' bast'ards?" the old engineer yells over the sound of battle while he casually put a cigarette in his mouth and light it with his custom lighter, then proceeded to level his lance at the enemies around them.
"That why I'm here Bomb Man." Yuffie shout back while standing back to back with Cid, and at that moment her shuriken returns to her as she catches it out of the air, and take up her fighting stance.
More Nobodies began to appear around them, but these were small fries in comparison to the things she and Ol'Cid have fought before. This fight would be a piece of cake for the two of them; once Yuffie thinks that, as if on que, all the silver being charge the Ninja and Old Engineer.
Ok… maybe not… Yuffie thinks to herself before bracing for the fight.
Until everything five meters away from her and Cid explodes, incinerating every Nobody that had been previously charging them.
Turning around to look at Cid, Yuffie saw the smug look on his face… and the detonator in his hand. All that was left were scorch marks and the small amount of earth and rock that she and Cid stood on, everything around them was a crater.
"Gee, thanks for the warning Ya Old Coot!" Yuffie yelled at the older man as she rubbed at her ears as they range from the explosions; and Cid's response only enforced her idea of getting all and any explosive materials away from the old engineer.
"Huh? Wha'd Ya say?" Cid asked Yuffie while cupping his ear, as if that would help him hear her better.
Before she could answer, more Nobodies began to appear around them, again they were surrounded again, only this time there were not as many as there were before. If they all rush at one, they'd be manageable unlike before.
And as before, they all rush Yuffie and Cid, both of whom had taken up their usual fighting stance; one with a lance and a ton of bombs, and one with a giant shuriken and a ton of tricks up her sleeve.
Now this will defiantly be a piece of cake. Yuffie thinks as she swings her shuriken into the first Nobody to come within range.
As the battle raged on around her; the Girl was getting more and more aggravated and her instinct were going into overdrive as they continued to push her to eliminate all the threats around her but the chains holding her in place kept her from even standing, let alone fight.
She could only watch as the girls in front of her fought off wave after wave of enemies, until they noticeably starting to slow down as hunger and lack of rest began to take its toll on them the longer they went on.
The blonde girl next to her continued to cast spell after spell of… curative magic; at least that's what the information in the Girl's head informed her, that the incantations the blonde recited were spells of healing.
"Tree of the Infinite Forest send me your blessing."
Once Naminé finished the incantation; a green healing glow enveloped Kairi and Olette, relieving the two fighters of some of their pain and exhaustion as they continued to fight against the flood of Nobodies.
The Girl watched as the battle went on around her and the fighters of this world began to push back the sliver tide.
It was slow going, but the flow of Nobody's from the breach were beginning to dwindle to a trickle as the last of the Organization's forces entered Sanctuary.
Kairi took note of this as she cut through a line of Dusks with a horizontal slash after they attempted to rush past her to reach Naminé and Xion.
But before the vapors of the destroyed Dusks even cleared; there was another rush pass attempt by a mix of Dancers and Assassins and again Kairi cut into them, sending them into oblivion, and Kairi noticed that that wasn't the first time a cluster of Nobodies had tried to push passed brunette and red haired fighters to get to Naminé and Xion.
In fact, it was a regularly occurring action the Nobodies attempted throughout their fight with the Keybladers. It could've just been them trying to overwhelm the girls' position by flanking them, but Kairi had a foreboding feeling that there was another reason why they kept on try to slip passed the main defenders rather than focusing all their efforts on them to overpower them like they normally would.
Kairi considered their actions from now and compared it to their actions previously during the battling on the surface before Celsius covered the world in her power.
It was almost as if the Nobodies had a specific target and Kairi and Olette were merely in their way. If so, then what…or who was their target.
Kairi took that moment to glance back over her shoulder.
Naminé, who stood next to Xion, sent a fireball into a mixed cluster of Nobodies that were moving in their direction, causing the silver figures to scatter or be vaporized by the flaming projectile.
Although what caught Kairi's attention wasn't her girlfriend's magic attacks, but the blank stare her sister Xion was giving her. No emotion whatsoever showed on her face, however the only sign of feeling the chained girl gave off was her slight fidgeting against the chains that bound her in place.
Nevertheless, Xion stared directly at Kairi, watching her…
Is she what the Nobodies were after, were they after Xion.
As soon as that thought left Kairi's head; yet another tremor shook the walls of Sanctuary, causing Kairi to look up towards the breach. She expected another swarm of Nobodies to enter the cavern, but what did come through the breach was much worse than a swarm of Dusks, Dancers, and even Berserkers.
A thin Gray pillar shot out of the breach in the stone sky and hovered suspended in the air over Sanctuary.
Kairi watched, as did many others in Sanctuary, as the pillar began to expand and shift into a humanoid shape.
Moving like water, the pillar grew two mitten like arms, two greave like legs, wide sharp shoulders, and a head bearing the Organization's symbol wrapped in what looked like a scarf until the four tendrils that hung from its neck began to move and flow about behind the massive Nobody.
Once it was fully formed it began to shift its head back and forth, as if looking for something in Sanctuary.
Kairi watched as Nobody's head looked in their direction and stopped. It found it's target, and it was them.
The Nobody's whole body, rather than turning in the direction it's head was facing like a normal creature would, shifted entirely as if made of liquid and faced the same way it's head was looking before it surged forward in the Keybladers direction.
Twilight Thorn spotted its main objective.
Its orders we're to retrieve the cloaked doppelganger their Superior created and fall back immediately.
It's target lay chained down close to the back wall behind the warriors of light; the Keybladers; but they were irrelevant.
Twilight Thorn had its orders and it would carry them out to fulfill its master's plans.
And nothing would stop it from completing to its objective.
As the large Nobody closed the distance between them, Kairi looked over her shoulder for a brief moment; Xion still looked at her with the same blank expression as before; still nothing, no emotion whatsoever.
This may not be the sister she remembers, but Kairi was going to protect her… and after this fighting was over; she was going to find the Xion she knew within this shell of a girl. She had to be in there somewhere, and Kairi would find her.
Looking back at the approaching threat, a new surge of energy shot through Kairi's veins as she braced for the coming fight to protect both the girls she loved and her sister.