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Chapter 5
Rookies

Any luck?" Leon looked over Cid's shoulder at the computer screen.

"Na," Cid answered, pounding at the keyboard, "I'm still clueless."

"What are you looking for, exactly?" Aerith asked, titling her head slightly.

Yuffie answered for him, "He's looking for any clues as to what could be controlling this darkness. It's kinda strange though, right?"

"Yeah," Leon answered, not taking his eyes from the computer.

There was a light tap on the door followed by a loud one. Yuffie ran to the door and pulled it open without hesitation.

Pleo threw up a hand and Axel walked right in. Deym was behind Axel and then, slowly, the soldiers followed.

"Pleo!" Yuffie ran past Axel and Deym and quickly captured Pleo in a hug.

"Hello to you, too," Axel mumbled, offended she had ran past him.

Aerith smirked, "Hello, Axel."

Yuffie turned around, "You're not that important." Axel pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

"Who are they?" Leon asked, walking over to the group.

"New recruits," Axel explained, "For a secret mission."

"And by "secret" he means the giant darkness that is going around and consuming worlds, which I'm sure you all are already aware of. And we are now here to inform you of all we know and ask you to join us too," Deym explained quickly, assuming they could fill in the gaps.

"We figured you'd be here soon," Leon nodded, "The King was just here with Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Bruixe. He beat you to it."

The door opened again and in walked Tifa with Could behind her.

"Hey," Tifa told them, slightly surprised.

"Did you two find anything?" Cid asked without turning from the computer.

"No," Tifa answered, her voice falling slightly, "Nothing."

Cloud stared at the soldiers, "Who are they?"

"Oh, right," Axel turned to the group of perplexed soldiers, "These guys are from a place called Sparr. We were able to save them before their world got taken. They're all part of the army so will be valuable when this turns into a war."

"When?" Leon looked at him, "It already is. People are already following the darkness, trying to fight it. Unsuccessfully, I might add."

"Anyway," Yuffie pointed to the soldiers, "Let's let them introduce themselves."

The team introduced themselves in the same way, explaining their experience and giving their name. Captain Baldric was last to answer, beginning his long speech of accomplishments.

Malcome spoke, for the first time in a long time, "That's enough, Winston."

Captain Baldric stared, his mouth still hanging open.

"Come off your high horse," Malcome's voice was not harsh, but he was serious.

"My high horse?" Captain Baldric repeated, "You should learn to hold your tongue when speaking to a superior officer, Captain."

"Have you heard anything they've said?" Malcome stood, looking Captain Baldric in the eye, "This is going to be a war. And these people we're with, they're on the right side. Stop pretending like you're so much better than them. They know much more about the current situation than you, Sir. And I would suggest you humble yourself and understand that you are not the most experienced or knowledgeable. That girl," he pointed at Pleo, "knows more than you. Can you not see that? Look in her eyes and tell me she's incompetent. Tell me she isn't in the right place; tell me she doesn't know more than you."

Captain Baldric didn't speak for a long moment, "I say this once more, Malcome. I am your superior. Hold. Your. Tongue."

Malcome shook his head, "We're not in Sparr anymore. We are not fighting for the Sparr army, we are fighting with their army. You hold no position of authority here, you're a rookie. You have no control over me."

Winston stared, speechless. He quickly turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. Jane quickly began to follow but Roam caught her arm.

"Let him calm down," he told her, "He'll be back."

Jane stared at the door, "But he's my Captain."

Roam glanced at Malcome and then to the others beyond his regiment, "He's not your captain here."

Roam understood what Malcome was saying. As he looked around the room he no longer saw a group of strangers. He saw soldiers who were trying to prepare themselves. And when he looked at Pleo, he no longer saw a fragile little girl. He saw a young woman who was pained by the idea of war. He had looked in her eyes and knew what Malcome had seen. She was not incompetent or lost. She knew where she was, who she was, and what she was fighting for. Roam saw that. And he now understood that he was not a strong soldier here, but a lost little boy.

"I apologize for our behavior," Malcome announced, "We're with you now."

"Excellent," Axel beamed, "Now let's get down to business."

"To defeat the Huns?"

A portal appeared, taking up most of the small room. Out of it stepped four people and also a small mouse with big ears.

Pleo was running instantly. She threw her arms around the first person she could reach. She hugged each person in turn, almost in tears.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi, Bruixe," she then turned to the mouse and bowed slightly, "Your Majesty. I've missed you all so much."

"It's been a long time," Riku nodded. Kairi and Sora both had goofy grins on their faces. Bruixe tossed a hand up to wave.

The four faces were incredibly familiar but different in so many ways. They were all older, taller. There were subtle differences in their faces and how they carried themselves. But they were all there and their personalities just as she had remembered.

The introductions of the soldiers and the key bearers were made quickly, now that the soldiers simply stated their name rather than their experience and standing.

"Can someone explain everything?" Kieran asked, "I mean, I feel lost."

"I can explain a few things," the King spoke, "It's been about a month since the key bearers and I left to do some research on the enemy. We couldn't find much, but we did follow the darkness. Whatever is controlling it is looking for something. We have reason to believe it's searching for Pleo. We found that the darkness doesn't only consume the world, it examines each heart. If it's not what it wants, the people are not harmed. They're taken to another world, one that is impossible for us to get to. It's too heavily guarded by darkness for us to get through. We were surprised the people were being sorted. This enemy isn't like any other we've had. It seems to value human life, if that's what you want to call it. It's strange and I'm unable to comprehend it."

"I'm tracking it now," Cid announced, turning from the computer, "It's moving toward Halloween Town now."

Sora stood up, "Let me go there real fast. I'll go get Jack before the world is gone. He'll be able to fight with us."

Axel stood up, "Come on, Key Kid," he tossed his arm out and created a portal, "Let's go get him."

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