Chapter 4

"Rukia, what-"

"DUCK!" Riku pushed Ichigo to the ground as Rukia fired a beam of energy.

"What the hell is going on here?" stammered Ichigo.

"Nee-san! Stop!" yelled Kon. Rukia looked at everyone with blank eyes. Leon charged at her, but he was knocked back by a sword slash. A red-haired man appeared next to Rukia.

"Renji too!?" cried Ichigo. "Did that man sent them here!?"

"Vestus must be working for that other man you saw," said Cloud. "He must have wiped the memories of your friends, Ichigo. See the blank look on their face? I doubt that they can hear you. You have to fight them."

Ichigo understood the consequence of not fighting them. "Then let me take care of this. It is-"

"Your responsibility?" interrupted Sora. "We are in this together!"

"Donald, Goofy, Riku, Tiffa," yelled Leon, "We are running out of time. We have to arrive at my house soon-if Vestus is behind this, then he is already aware of my plan! Let's go!"

They did not want to leave their friends, but the situation at hand was complicated. The others left, leaving Sora, Ichigo, and Cloud against the two shinigami.

"I'll start," yelled Ichigo. "Follow my lead! Renji can extend his sword and Rukia can use ice and kidou-a type of magic that shinigami use. Be careful!"

Ichigo slashed at the two. They split up, heading up to enclose him. Sora intercepted Rukia, and hit her with the normal keyblade. I really wished that I could have used my previous keyblades, he wished as he parried three different strikes from his opponent. Cloud blocked Renji's hit, and repelled him to one of the buildings. He crashed there, but moved back at incredible speed. "Rikujokoro!"

Six beams of light headed straight for Cloud. Ichigo reflected the kidou with multiple slashes. "Seems like he brainwashed their powers too," realized Ichigo. "Renji couldn't fire kidou ever! How did he even do that?!"

Renji launched his sword at Ichigo. Ichigo sidestepped the attack and moved back from Renji. Cloud appeared behind Renji, and slashed at the man. Renji hit the ground and made a huge crack below him. Rukia yelled "Sajo Sabaku!", trapping Sora with chains of energy. She lunged forward at the other fighters and shouting "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!"

"Oh noooo..." sighed Ichigo as he saw the avalanche approaching him.

Meanwhile, Riku, Tiffa, Donald, Goofy, and Leon were fighting off countless nobodies, heartless, dream eaters, and unverses. Donald yelled "Fire!", burning a wave of heartless. Goofy unleashed energy from his shield to hit many of the nobodies. Riku slashed at the dream eaters and the unverses, showing off his skills as a Keyblade Master. Tiffa and Leon focused on taking out the extra enemies that appeared.

Hollows started to appear in the hundreds. Eventually, they were defeated, and then an odd group of nobodies showed up, clad in samurai get-up. These nobodies were an evolution from the original samurai nobody, but with more advanced sword skills, and a keyblade. They attacked the group with fury. Riku defeated five of them, but was knocked back by a red samurai.

"No!" yelled Leon, who was near Riku. However, the other powered-up samurai blocked his way. Leon watched as Riku was about to die. Then, though, he saw the light.

Back at the shinigami fights, Sora broke out of his bonds. "Firaga!" The fire blast hit Rukia in her back, knocking her unconscious, and stopping her attack. He grabbed her and moved her body to the sidelines. "Stay with her, Kon! Wait guys!" Sora shouted as he ran to them.

"Nee-san!" cried Kon. He felt shame at hiding during the battle, but he knew that Ichigo would have pushed him away from this area if he realized that his toy bear was here. Kon expanded, growing several feet tall, and found a device that he was looking for. "Time to remove your brainwashing!"

Renji got up, slashing at both Cloud and Ichigo. They dodged it, and countered with energy slashes. Renji jumps up, and then closes his eyes. Dark aura surrounded him as he attacked both of the men again, knocking them back hard. Ichigo fell near Renji, while Cloud fell farther away from the fight towards Sora. "Agggh!" cried Sora as he was bounced by the impact to the ground.

Renji pointed his sword at Ichigo, ready to end the fight fast. Ichigo was still dazed from the hit, and knew that he had to work fast. How can he hit his friend without killing him?!

"Hey, look, another ginger! Hell ya! Falcon PUNCH!"

Renji turned to a fist of fire and got punched over 50 feet away from the area, turning into a fiery comet. He exploded, creating a small crater of fire on the ground. Ichigo looked in shock, and stared at a green-eyed, red-haired, black-cloaked man wielding a keyblade.

"Axel!" yelled Sora.

"Well, Sora, you got soft," Axel replied. "By the way, orange-hair, don't hold back. You'll become weird and emo-well, more than you are now. Got it memorized?"

"Sure," grinned Ichigo.

Renji got up, clearly surprised about the man.

"Oh, your sword expands," commented Axel. "With your hair, it makes everyone draw the conclusion that you have a small dick. Got that memorized?"

The black aura around Renji intensified, and Renji lunged at Axel, who was grinning and laughing. "Burn, baby, burn!"

Back near Leon's house, Roxas suddenly appeared, killing the red samurai in one blow.

"Roxas!?" asked Riku, his eyes widening.

Roxas charged at the other samurai. He ducked, and a barrier of light and darkness surrounded him. "Disappear!" All the samurai disappeared in a flash.

"We have no time. Axel and I were working on our skills when we heard of the threat. We heard of Vestus's decisions, and we came here to save you guys. Hurry to the house!"

The group ran to the small house. Another magician was waiting there.

Riku looked perplexed. "Wait, I thought that you said-"

"Sorry for not telling." said Master Yen Sid. "I had to put Merlin in charge. I'm sure that you warriors know that I was suppose to be investigating some of the worlds. I am sorry to have left Merlin in my place in training you, but-"

"Merlin is just as qualified, Master," interjected Riku, "But there are much more important matters at hand, right?"

"Yes, Riku. I have found a way to repel that power which devoured the planets. Cid made a enchanted laser, with my powers, to repel the mist from the other universes and planets. I need more energy, so I need you fine warriors to stand here and help me."

"Yes sir!" yelled the group.

"I also need to discuss the actual problem...but everyone has to be hear. I heard about the shinigamis too, so I'll wait until they win."

"Let's hope that they would win," remarked the man behind Master Yen Sid. He looked tired, but was holding a wrench and an uplifting spirit.

"Cid, prepare to be amazed at these heroes."

Back to the shinigami fight, Renji found himself surrounded with flames. "Can't catch me, can ya?" taunted Axel.

Renji was still stumbling from the falcon punch on his face. Sora saw the opportunity, and roared "Valor form!" His coat turned red, and his muscles grew bigger. He gained another keyblade, a fire one like Axel's, and charged forward.

Sora moved insanely fast, kicking Renji up in the air. "Multiple comet smash attack!" he grunted. He hit him once, then moved to a random street pole.

In his time in the dream worlds, Sora was able to use the battlefield to gain leverage over his opponents. He used this experience, combined with the Valor strength, to hit Renji with more impact than the first hit. He repeated this step with the other poles until he was moving at extreme speeds. Then, he hovered above Renji. "Back to earth!" he roared, hitting Renji to the ground, leaving a crater around the man.

"Wait!" cried the enlarged Kon, who surprised everyone.

"Teddy? Geez, that's awkward," said Axel.

Kon bent over, pointing an device over Renji. Suddenly, his eyes were filled by light, and he woke up.

"What...happened...to me? I remember fighting dudes, and then..."

"We'll save the explaining for later. You and Rukia must go with us. We'll help you be safe," said Ichigo.

Sora reverted to normal, panting. "We have to go to Leon's house, right?"

"Follow me!" shouted Cloud.

Fifteen minutes later, they reached the house. "NEVER do that again," Sora warned to Cloud. Cloud blushed, muttering, "I just needed some movies."

"Look, man, fill those cravings later," said Axel. "Anyways, let's go in, guys!"

Master Yen Sid welcomed everyone to the house. "Everyone, we have activated a weapon. It worked, stopping the gray, devouring being from destroying planets, but now we have another issue. That blasted king is gathering all the citizens to fight against us tomorrow, so we need to rest tonight. I'll heal everyone right now. Curagara!"

Suddenly, everyone felt cured beyond relief. "Sorry about earlier," said Rukia. "I was under control of that monster king. The last thing I remembered was walking down to my office before being attacked by a cloaked man. He had black eyes, and he spoke some generic otaku stuff."

"What?" Ichigo asked his former mentor.

"Well," replied Renji, "I was there too. He just blinded us, saying stuff like, "The truth is hidden behind light and dark" and some other random crap. Then, I found out that we were taken to this Vestus. And then...well...we found you."

Ichigo realized that something else was happening here. However, he decided not to focus on it. He had an idea.

"I found this earlier," said Ichigo. "It was on the ground near Radiant Square. I listened to it. Hear it."

The device turned out to be a recorder. It went as the following:

"Sir, what is it that you need?"

"I, Vestus, want you to gather those pesky townsfolk tomorrow. It is time to show them my true plans."

"Sir, I highly advise against this act. They will not appreciate the power that you wield."

"Then they will suffer, Ukan. Are you wavering in you resolution?"

"No, but sir-"

"Don't forget that I have your dear girlfriend. Perhaps I will meet her there and-"

"NO! PLEASE! NO!"

"Then don't disappoint me."

The transmission ended with a buzz. The room was silent.

"We need stealth," said Roxas. "We will take this town back, even if it has to be by force. First, we have to approach this Ukan."

"He would be near Radiant Lab," said Cloud. "I know the guy. I can help him!"

"Go and persuade him with Leon and Tiffa to join our side," ordered Master Yen Sid. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku, you guys play the transmission tomorrow. Stir the crowd. Axel and Roxas, find Ukon's loved one, and any handy prisoner, and free them. Also, find some intelligence that we need. Everyone else, act as back ups to fight Vestus's forces. We will move in a few hours."

"Tea, anyone?" called Aerith. She and Yuffie brought tea and cookies for everyone.

"Alright, guys," proclaimed Yuffie, "Operation Overboard shall be executed in two hours flat! Rest up-it's time to counter!"