Search Party

By Kikofreako

Summary:

Sora's whereabouts are unknown, Kairi has some strange power, and what's up with this Blonde Haired Kid that's carrying around a set of Keyblades? Everything's spinning out of control as Donald, Goofy, the Destiny Islands crew and the FF crew are jammed together in efforts to find a certain brunette. SoraXKairi Some: Squiffie and SelphieXTidus.

Disclaimer:

I own nothing but Henchmen A and B, who will come to mug you if you steal them. Mwah ha ha ha.

The Random Quote of d00m:

"Hey, you want another donut?" -Henchman A

XxX

"Visual contact in about forty-five seconds." Donald stated, initiating the shuttle's landing program and leaning back to let it work.

Namine looked at Yuffie, whose face was creased with thought. "Hey. You okay?"

The ninja nodded. "It's just that last time we came here, everything was wrecked. We came back, and it still wasn't restored." That's why I still can't call Squall by his real name, Yuffie thought rebelliously but restrained herself from adding that comment. "So after about six months, it happened again. A meteor shower. So poof, we're back in Traverse Town again. I haven't seen it since." She trailed off. "Will it be restored, do you think? Or maybe not..."

"Whatever is there is there. It doesn't mean it can't be fixed." Namine said evasively, carefully steering clear of the oh-so-sensitive topic. Leon didn't miss her tone, however, and almost cracked. The blonde winced and turned back to the picture window of the cockpit.

"Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four...three...two...one..."

Confirmation.

Kairi inhaled sharply and clutched her head, the world suddenly spiraling and colors blending together in a melting pinwheel of pastel hues. Falling back, she stumbled against the dashboard and leaned against it, breathing heavily. "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no."

The sight filling the picture window spoke for the redhead. Coal-black vines of darkness snaked up the castle's granite walls, fanning out on the terra-cotta roofs and intertwining with themselves. Banisters and spokes between stairs were latticed with crisscrosses of spiderweb-like strands of shadow. It was so pungent in some places that flares shot up from within, black fading to purple before dissolving in the air. Smoke-like mist clung to the damp air and created a perfect environment for breeding Heartless, the mist shrouding the tops of the steeples and towers.

Dozens of Heartless prowled the terraces, every species from the lowly Shadow to the parading general of the courtyard- Kurt Ziza. Tiny Red Nocturnes, Blue Rhapsodies, Green Requiem, and Yellow Opera dotted the air, hovering sentries with a few Angel Stars thrown in the mix. Wyverns wheeled in the air high above, cackling shrieks ringing out through the open. The rest of the sky was cluttered with Battleships and Darkballs. On the ground, others formed a wide arc around the main door, the more powerful Invisibles and Large Bodies near the entrance and the weaker Gargoyles, White Knights, Soldiers, and Pirates near the fringes. About two hundred Search Ghosts and Wizards probed every nook and cranny, single mindedly refusing to let any creature breach the impenetrable walls.

"Donald!" Tyson yelled. "Get us off of here! This is insane!"

"I can't do anything! Once the landing program has started, you can't stop it! We're going to have to land!"

"You're kidding me!"

"No joke."

Valuable seconds ticked by as the Keyblade Master's thoughts raced at Mach 5. "Okay. Land and we'll have to try and get off with as little damage as possible." His fingers flew across the keyboard. "Coordinates 223, 143, 32, 6, 253." There was a hiss of interference, then the high-pitched screech as the computer connected. "Cloud? Aerith? Cid, are you there? It's Tyson, we're in big trouble man- come on, pick up!" He was almost screaming into the mike by now. They were now about a hundred yards from breaking the cloud cover that they had.

Selphie shoved him away, then took a deep breath. "CLOOOOUUUUDDD!" The screech was at such a high decibel level it would have beckoned dogs. "YOU IDIOT, PICK UP NOW OR WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIEEEEEE!"

"Fifty yards!" Goofy hollered. "Forty...thirty..."

Selphie continued shrieking into the microphone as the rest of the crew's eyes were glued onto the window. There was a deceivingly quiet whoosh as they ship broke through the last of the clouds.

Hundreds of thousands of beady yellow eyes fixed on the ship. Everything was pin quiet for a moment. Then the Search Ghosts glowed red, sounding the alarm.

XxX

Aerith leaned over, watching Cid work. "How's it coming?"

He grunted. "Just connecting the communications in." He screwed in the last bolt and threw the Phillips into some dim corner with a clang and the sound of falling boards. Aerith carefully switched the tab to "ON". The sound nearly blasted the pair through the wall and out into the street.

"----SOMEBODY PICK UP! WE'RE BEING FREAKIN' SURROUNDED BY FREAKIN' HEARTLESS AND IF SOMEONE DOSEN'T PICK UP NOW THEN EXCUSE MY FREAKIN' FRENCH BUT I-"

"Selphie!" Cid shouted. "Selphie...SELPHIE! WHAT IS GOING ON?"

"HELP US OH MY GOSH WE'RE GOING TO DIE WE'RE GOING TO DIE WE'RE GOING TO-"

There was a sound of someone shoving Selphie away from the mike. "Cid?"

"Tyson, kid. What in the heck was that crazy chick doing?"

You could hear her in the background, screaming over and over. "Nothing. Listen, we need backup pronto. This place is swarming with Heartless. Coordinates are 240, 314, 27, 3-"

The line went dead.

XxX

Tyson slowly tilted his chin upwards until he was staring straight into the sneering face of Marluxia. "I think that's more than enough, don't you?" With a flick of his wrist, he dislodged the long sickle blade from the dash which was now completely obliterated, long sheets of metal peeled back and curling in on themselves like an orange rind. Cid was going to have a fit. If he ever saw the ship again, that is.

"Now, are we going to make this easy, or are we going to have to do this the hard way?" Marluxia said patiently.

Leon sprang into action. "Scatter!" he yelled. Everyone shot out of the cockpit in different directions, a tinkling sound reverberating through the room as glass shattered.

Marluxia sighed melodramatically. "Why is it always the hard way?"

XxX

Aerith and Cid stared at the mike as it played back the cheery senders' code. "This message from Highwind #0328. To repeat this transmission, press 5. To delete this transmission, press 6. If no acknowledgment of this message is made in ten seconds, the message will replay."

Cid coughed. "Aerith, you wanna go get Cloud?"

XxX

Black silhouettes crossed the walls, the shadows of two black-hooded figures thrown around the room crazily. Several television sets were hung from the walls, security cameras pointed carefully at key points- the courtyard, High Tower, and of course the Keyblade Master. Not like he was going to do anything soon, though. For the last few weeks he had just sat. And sat. And then, sat some more. It was sorta freaky. The man on the right belched loudly.

"Hey, you want another donut?" He passed the box to Henchmen B, who took it and began rummaging around, taking a full twenty seconds to find the pastry of his choice. He took a huge bite of it, smacking his lips loudly and letting crumbs fall onto the table.

"I tell you what, this job's crap." he mumbled through the mouthful of sugary goodness, paying absolutely no attention to the monitors. "Hardly a perk and low salary. What do they think we are? I think they're just using us for grunt work."

"Once this Beyblade master is killed with the princess, we're golden. Plus, we have to work or way up. Just keep thinkin'- the higher up we move the closer we get to Kxerrix."

Henchmen A didn't bother to correct his cohort on the hideous mispronunciation of Sora's titlet, choosing instead to think of himself and the lustrous queen of darkness on a sunset cruise. "Yeah, that's sumthin' to keep you truckin', eh partner?" He grabbed another donut from the grubby cardboard package and bit into it, jelly oozing out the sides and falling onto the coarsely woven cloak.

"You know what keeps me trucking?" an unfamiliar voice asked. "Getting the satisfaction of kicking your black coated butts one at a time."

Henchman B spun around in the chair, sky blue eyes the last thing he saw before starts exploded and then curtains of inky darkness closed in.

XxX

Kairi vaulted from the top of the ship, hand stretching out to the lift above her. She felt a hard smack as her fingers hit payload, then gripped the platform with all her might as it swayed precariously. "I never could do a pull-up in gym..." she mumbled off-handedly. A Wyvern swooped down hard, screeching a battle cry. In one fluid movement, she whipped out the Keyblade and slashed downward, then the momentum behind the swing propelling her upward. She landed on the metal with a hard clang, wincing as she felt her spine bruise. "Heal." she whispered. Nothing.

"What the... heal!" Still nothing. She still had magic... "Oh no," she breathed. Marluxia had locked her spellcasting, a trick he apparently learned from Kurt Ziza. Or maybe something Kurt Ziza had learned from Marluxia. Didn't matter now. Kairi steeled her resolve and made a huge leap for the neighboring lift, legs spread like a hurdler. She cried out as a thunder spell singed her arm, leaving an angry red patch of skin it its wake. Okay, no spells. But we still have potions. Pawing around her pocket, she stared incredulously. Nothing, except for a few dust bunnies. What's going on?

"It doesn't feel very good to be left helpless, does it?" The all too familiar voice said smugly. Kairi turned to see Kxerrix hovering in the air behind her, yellow eyes glinting maliciously. "Congratulations. You made it to your final resting place." She gestured with an outstretched arm at the Heartless army that swarmed like a mass of black ants around the palisade. "Isn't it obvious? This last world- the one we had the most control over in the first place- is Heartless headquarters. And you," she laughed to herself at this, "you led them here. The one who is supposed to save the worlds from darkness will condemn all humanity to eternal shadows." She lowered her voice. "How does it feel? Knowing that you will be responsible for the deaths of thousands? Does it hurt?"

"I'm not afraid of you."

Kxerrix smirked. "That's the same thing Sora said. Ironic, isn't it?"

"No." Kairi said. "Not at all. He's here; I can sense it. We've made it. Now all we have to do is find Sora here, and we're golden. You're toasted." she spat.

The queen of darkness preened flamboyantly. "I don't think so. You're boxed in. Even if you could get Sora somehow, it wouldn't make a difference."

"You're wrong."

Kxerrix's eyes flashed dangerously. "I put it in simplest terms and you still don't understand? You are surrounded on every side by your worst enemy. You have no magic. No potions. Nothing. One critical hit and you will be in death's embrace."

Kairi stood tall, lifting her chin high. "I refuse to die." Her eyes narrowed. "I have something to fight for..." She took a battle stance on the lift. "And that's more than you'll ever have!" I sound like a hero in a cheesy movie, she thought off-handedly.

"Your ignorance will be your downfall." Kxerrix growled fiercely. "Spirit is nothing in a battle. There is only one thing that matters in a battle: who wins. Good and evil are irrelevant. The ends justify the means."

"Well, I MEAN to stop you right now, and bring some JUSTICE to this world!"

"Fine." She let the darkness converge around her. "Your death will be even more sweet a taste."

XxX

In a blur of events, Namine found herself up against a slab of ice , crouched up against Wakka. She wished more than ever that she carried some sort of weapon, anything. But no. She was the damsel in distress, just like always. "This blows," she muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, man, it does." Wakka said, grunting as he hurled the Blitzball at a Heartless at about a hundred miles per hour. "We gotta get to shelter. Know anywhere?"

Namine massaged her temples, trying to break past the wall of confusion and terror around her. "The library," she said finally. "We can use bookshelves to barricade the doors."

"Okay. On three we make a dash for the lift. Ready?" She gulped and nodded. "One...two...three!"

Namine sprinted with all her strength toward the lift, that wonderful beacon of heaven and all things good, the flashing golden light of freedom. Wakka pummeled the diamond shaped call with his Blitzball. "Quick!" he yelled. They both made a flying leap toward the platform, barely making it before the magic kicked in and buzzed them upward, away from the screaming Heartless snake pit below. Namine forced herself to start breathing normally again, then noticed how slowly the lift was moving.

"The magic," she groaned. "We don't have any magic!" That would explain it; the smallest trickle of emergency power was keeping the elevator running. At this rate, it would take them fifteen minutes to get to the top. They'd be carrion by then. "This is a problem."

"Yeah, it is."

Namine crossed her legs and closed her eyes tightly. Think, think, think! What can you do? What can you contribute, you idiot? Gah... I've got nothing. No weapon. Just this memory shuffling thing... that was it. Change the lead Wyvern's memory to believe they are allies- or even better, their leader- that should stall long enough to get to the top.

"Wakka," she said with an air of command. "I need to get that Wyvern over here."

He looked at her like she'd just grown an extra ear. "You want a Heartless over here?" Wakka asked incredulously.

"It's too hard to explain right now. Can you get it?"

As Wakka lured the creature to her, Namine gathered her wits about her. Peace, quiet, tranquility. Peace, quiet, tranquility. She opened her eyes slowly and stared into the Wyvern's beady black eyes. They were devoid of any emotion except for raw, fierce determination. Black like the cloak her cousin wore, black like the Oblivion, black like so many shadows and flitting secrets of the night. She hated black. Loathed it with every fiber of her being.

She slowly put her hands on the thing's head, feeling it twitch slightly as she probed into it's memories. Recoiling in her mind, she tried to sift past all the horrific images in this thing's brain- so much death, murder, pain. She saw through a Heartless' eyes how worlds were brutally slaughtered. A child's blood splattered a toy box, the mothers' tormented, bloodcurdling shrieks echoing like the banshees of hell. A village, reduced to broken timbers, splinters of wood sticking up into the sky sadly, like fallen sentries and testifying to the brutal cruelty that had taken place. An animal screech as Heartless mercilessly ripped through their prey. A vision of lowest hell, further than any being should sink, to the depths of appalling violence, blood, fear, death. Death screamed in this thing's psyche. It reeked of death, reeked of its mildewy stench, reeked of the destruction of hearts, reeked of the crimson tears that were shed with each and every movement this creature took. And it reeked with the disregard, the absolute brash indifference of every crime it had committed against humanity.

She released the Heartless, trembling uncontrollably. "Kill it." she whispered. Without a word, Wakka sent it to oblivion. The visions of death and decay haunted Namine's mind, screaming out at her, sending shafts of pain through her skull.

"Namine? Namine?" Wakka shook her shoulders, alarm evident on his face. "Namine! Say somethin'!"

But she continued to stare vacantly out into space, her knuckles white to match the ashen skin of her face. "We wait," she rasped. "They won't come back. Not yet."

She became aware of the salty tears soaking her jumper.

XxX

"Holler Bastion is a lot different than I remember," Goofy mumbled, feeling his hand tingle as the knight's standard issue shield took yet another blow. Tyson decided to take his word for it- this world was completely new to him, and frankly he wasn't having the greatest first impression. With a pinwheeling swing, his dual Keyblades sliced through two Soldiers like putty. Donald was not faring so well. As a mage, his main attacks were magical, and the newfound lock on magic was not the best thing that could have happened to him. In light of the current situation, Donald had abandoned his more magical wand and opted for Vioetta instead, and was currently smashing in the head of an Invisible.

"Where do we go?" Tyson yelled over the din. "We don't stand much of a chance here." No Aeroga was really irritating him.

"The library," Donald huffed. "We can take some shelter there."

Unconsciously, the three grew closer until their backs were touching. Goofy laughed. "Eh, this is just like old times, a hyuck. Me n' Sora n' Donald."

Tyson grinned. "Okay. Let's do this. These losers don't stand a chance."

XxX

Leon and Yuffie raced up the palisade, both panting heavily. "Got...any ideas?" Yuffie sputtered.

"Yeah, we wait until Cloud and Cid come. Then we can get the heck of this planet."

Yuffie stared at him contemptuously. "Yeah, and wait for Heartless to rip out our hearts by the seams? We need a plan."

"I don't see you offering any brilliant ideas!" Leon yelled, pushing open the door to the main hall.

Yuffie's retort died in her throat as the doors swung open easily, revealing the towering monster inside. Dark purple, toughened skin contrasted to the granite walls of the main room, the thing's massive bulk cutting off the entrances to the library or the lift stop. A shining horn threw the lights across the room, polychromatic shards of light dancing about the room and playing across the two's figures. Its tusks were like an elephant's gone wrong, long serrated ivory sprouting from its mouth and curling around for a length of nearly ten feet. Leon glanced over his shoulder and cursed inwardly as a group of Heartless cut off the back entrance, but went no further than the ornate rug in the entryway. Waiting for the Behemoth to finish them off, likely.

"Were these things always so huge, or has being surrounded by other Heartless made them grow?" Yuffie whispered in awe. Immediately, the thing picked up on her voice, sightless eyes rolling back as in one fluid motion, it lunged forward and scooped her up by the tusks, stuffing a scream back down in the ninja's throat as it threw her nearly thirty feet up into the flight above at Mach 5 into the wall. She hit with a sickening crunch and slid down, her body broken and motionless as a rag doll.

"YUFFIE!" Leon yelled. With prowess only achieved by years of practice, Lionheart drew his Gunblade, took a split second aim, and shot, the fiery ball exploding from the muzzle and straight into the mad Heartless' forehead. It howled in pain, the lighting rods of agony splitting its skull as it was forced onto its knees. If the Behemoth had been concentrating on anything other than the stars exploding in its vision, it would have noticed Leon's steel toed boots slamming onto the its back, then leave as he made a giant leap toward the second floor.

His gloved hands grabbed onto the banister, his body almost flying past in a manner similar to Yuffie's. In a sliding turn, he sprinted towards her limp body, crumpled on the rug. Leon quickly conducted an impersonal physical, analyzing the various scrapes. Her cheek was bruised, and she sported a few nasty-looking scrapes along her left arm where she had hit. Then his eyes hit her torso. Leon grimaced. A long streak of crimson stretched from about an inch below her bellybutton to about three inches from her jean top, curving leftward, most likely left from the saw-toothed tusks of the Behemoth. Blood pulsed from the would, quickly soaking the hand he was propping up the ninja with.

Working fast, Leon estimated he had about thirty seconds before the monster recovered. He shrugged off his jacket, thanking fate that Yuffie was unconscious. He unclasped one of his many belts and exhaled slowly. He hated this part. He rapidly wrapped the leather around her waist, then used the belt as a fastener, notching it as tight as it would go without crushing Yuffie's thin frame. Leon felt her gasp, blood trickling from her mouth, the pain taking her breath away. He turned his face away. Emotionless. This is not a good time, Lionheart.

The Behemoth's angry roar resounded through the hall. Carrying her bridal-style to minimize the shifting of the tourniquet, Lionheart sprinted for the closet exit- the lift stop.

XxX

Cid revved up the half-completed ship as Aerith strapped in, Cloud already in the co-pilot's seat and starting impassively at the stars above. "I'd make sure you're all buckled in tight. This isn't going to be a smooth ride."

Aerith pointed to a flashing red light. "Um... what does this mean?"

"Oh, that. You don't wanna know."

Aerith folded her arms across her chest. Cid sighed. "It means our weapons are offline."

Cloud gaped. "We have no weapons?"

"I didn't have time to install them."

"Great."

"We don't have time for this either," Aerith remarked, strapping herself in next to Cloud. "Let's go!"

Cid grinned. "That's what I like to hear." He flicked a switch; the engines started to roar as the ship's nose elevated until it was pointing straight at the midnight sky, speckled with a breathtaking dappling of stars across the sky's palette. "Next stop, Hollow Bastion!"

XxX

(Please excuse any poor grammar/spelling/any other errors as my privacy blocker is not letting me view this chapter in the Edit box.)

Well, I leave for Colorado tomorrow (Thursday!). I told you I'd get in an update before that. Anyways, we're in a huge rush right now at home; review replies will not be happening this chapter. Sorry! I will write a lot on the train, even more so because updating has evaporated every single chapter I've had written ahead except half of twelve. Yeesh. And one more thing: PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY SPOILERS IN YOUR REVIEWS. I am aware that Khinsider has posted the beginning and ending videos, but I DO NOT want any spoilers.

That said, I'd like to welcome a new staff member to my newly named C2, Oathkeepers. It's a SK paradise, even more so now with Tsuki Nezumi's fifty plus stories added. No excessive swearing or ratings above T. (Coughs and finishes advertising her C2)

Well, that purple button's still as shiny as ever. Do me a favor and click it. Love you all!

Akiko