Swiftwing
"Hey, Sora. Would you mind sparring with us?" Kirito asked Sora, who was sitting at the piloting chair with Donald and Goofy nearby.
"Sure. I'm game." Sora answered, hopping out of his chair.
"Good. I think you can help Yui with her swordplay." he suggested, "She's already been learning from me and Asuna, so I think she can learn some more from you."
"I've never taught anyone how to fight with a sword before." Sora noted, "I kinda self-taught myself back on the islands, while sparring with Riku. This'll be interesting to teach someone how to fight."
"You do have an unusual fighting style, but it suites you." Kirito replied, the two walking away, to the training room, "I still remember how you beat Asuna back in the tournament in Yusnaan. Honestly, that still is shocking."
"What? I don't see why it's so startling." Sora answered, wondering if he should take that as a compliment or an insult. They continued the conversation as the door closed behind them, leaving Donald and Goofy alone.
"What are we, chopped liver?!" Donald huffed angrily.
"You okay, Donald?" Goofy asked, "You kinda have been moody since the Battle Tower."
Donald hopped out of his chair as he squawked, "Those guys had been constantly overshadowing us, and we're just subjected to being 'extras'! We're always there to do cover fire, but never doing the winning! It's not fair that we constantly get knocked out of the way when those guys take the glory for everything!"
"Gee, do they?" Goofy asked, looking to the door anxiously, "I thought it was a team effort that we won those fights. We may not wield Keyblades, or do them Soul Burst stuff, or even are real Guardians of Light..." Everything Goofy pointed out they were not made Donald more irritated with each fact. "...But we still help them out in our own way, because we're friends and a team." Goofy finished.
"Why aren't you angry at this?!" Donald asked with a hot-headed attitude, "I get we don't use Keyblade or all that, but we gotta do more than contribute to the team. We gotta show we're not so useless as they make us out to be!"
"But Sora, Asuna, Kirito and the others never thought of us as 'useless'." Goofy argued.
Donald hopped back into his seat again as he declared, "The next world we go to, we'll go on our own to do something they won't be able to do! We'll show them we can accomplish things on our own without their help! Then they won't have to save our butts or reserve us to assistance for them!"
"If ya say so..." Goofy muttered, knowing that once Donald gets this heated up, there was no stopping him. After all, he is the duck with all the bad luck.
(Insert 'Adamas Amalee ver.', TV version)
Music intro
(Rushing through black darkness, glittering shards of light pass by. As music starts, the three main Keyblades suddenly shoot forward like shooting stars, circling around from a distance, then crossing one another, shining brightly, forming the logo of the series.)
I'm trying to understand it but it's making me numb
(Left half of Sora's serious face, the other half hidden by the teeth of his Kingdom Key.)
This swirl of karma leaving such a bitter taste on my tongue
(Right half of Asuna's determined face, the other half hidden by the Lambent Light's teeth.)
'Cause I know the pain and sorrow, it has only begun
(The upper half of Kirito's face, with glaring eyes, the lower half hidden by the Elucidator's teeth.)
Who-o-oa, Who-o-oa, Who-o-oa
(Flashing through the faces of each hero; Donald, Goofy, Yui, Mickey, Riku, Leafa, Kairi, Axel, and Kayaba.)
Now I'm surrounded by my enemies, but luck's on my side
(In the dusty fields of the Keyblade Graveyard, the camera pans around the circle of the six main heroes as they ready their weapons.)
So I shatter through the walls and change the course of the tide
(In the same field, the camera pans the opposite way around the six other heroes as they ready their weapons.)
Can't stop this surging fate like a volcano set to break, Take a breath until you're set to
(Allies of the multiple worlds they will or have visited pan across the screen, finally ending with the silhouettes of the four Lost Princesses of heart, with the one in the center opening her hands to reveal a bright light.)
face that voice of fear. That god of death that's always looking down on you
(Philia stands on a lone green hill, staring at a card with the picture of Castle Oblivion on it. She feels a hand behind her, and looks to see Flair and Hinata standing behind her, giving assuring smiles, with Tinkerbell coming out of her pocket, and Samson giving a thumbs up.)
"Do you believe yourself?" I won't stop til I've won
(Maleficent and Dr. Temna stand together, with Pete and Tears next to them, and a swarm of Heartless and shadowed foes ready to strike.)
A glimpse of that bright future that's just begun!
(Xehanort's maliciously smirking face appears, as he and fifteen others float together in a circle. Screen splits in half as half of Heartless Oberon and Gouxus take the screen, their eyes shining from yellow to violet.)
Shining like a diamond, The emotions in your heart reflect like crystal
(The six heroes team up together, taking down Heartless, Nobodies and Unversed that come across their path with their weapons, skills and magic.)
As we vow an oath that will ignite your light and mine - And we will rise!
(A Demon Tower nearly falls on top of the six, but they get away, with Kirito, Asuna and Sora in the air, performing Soul Bursts and Keyblade transformation, creating Cloud's Buster Sword, Asuna's SAO Lambent Light, and Sora's twin guns, unleashing a sword beam, ice spears, and magic shots as one.)
So many times I've gotten back on my feet to make it to this moment
(A group of dark energy orbs shoots down the trio from a cliff above, hitting them into the ground. The attack comes from Xehanort, Heartless Oberon, and Gouxus.)
It's time our prayer that's waiting in the dark. Is set free so light the spark and let it shine!
(Sora, Asuna and Kirito get back up on their feet, shaking off their injuries, and raising their Keyblades as they charge forward, beams of sunlight shining upon each of them as they all take a leap at the Organization XVI, with their friends, the other heroes, including Roxas, Xion, Recon, Terra, Aqua and Ven, joining them from behind.)
The alert signaled the team they arrived at the new world, and they saw the new world they were going to. The world was focused around an ocean side city, with a cliff right next to it, and what looked like an academy on top of it. They could also see a moon that looked broken in one part.
"What kind of world is this?" Sora asked.
"It looks pretty interesting, kuru." Candy noted.
"Let's see what Gretinal has to say." Asuna told the team, pulling up her holographic image for them.
"This place is the City of Vale, one of the many kingdoms throughout the world of Remnant." Gretinal explained, "Within the city is a school called Beacon Academy, home to young students around your age, trying to make it out as Huntsmen and Huntresses to fight the creatures of Grimm."
"Huntsmen and Huntresses?" Sora echoed, "That sounds pretty cool!"
"Creatures of Grimm?" Kirito echoed, "Didn't we already deal with a couple of grim Heartless before all this? The Grimm Ender-Sin and the Grim Guardianess?"
"The creatures of Grimm are very similar to Heartless." Gretinal explained, "They're soulless monsters who are attracted to negativity, and whose main goal is to destroy humanity."
"Yeah, they do sound like Heartless." Asuna muttered.
"Come on! We gotta take care of whatever mess is down there!" Donald told the team, making his way to the teleporter.
"You're in a rush to get things done." Kirito pointed out.
"You okay, Donald?" Sora asked, "You seem a little aggravated."
"Nothing!" the anthropomorphic duck huffed, "Come on, Goofy! Let's go down there!"
Goofy looked worried, before putting up a smile as he said, "Come on, fellas. Let's go down there and see if we can't find a Lost Princess down there."
"Sure. Every world has a chance, at this point." Asuna answered, and the rest of the team made their way to the teleporter, while Yui locked in the coordinates, hopped in after them, and they descended down.
When they arrive, they found themselves in an alleyway. They stepped out, and found themselves in a city square area. It was a simple place, with stairs all around that led down to the area itself, which wasn't that large, and contained some greenery, along with a stage that looked like they were recently showing something. People were wandering around here and there, thought they were faceless figures that looked more shadowy than normal, and even robotic-looking characters there.
"Pretty lively." Asuna noted, looking here and there.
"There are even robots around here!" Sora pointed out.
Kirito stepped forward and turned to the team, stating, "Okay, it look like there are no signs of Heartless as of yet. However, that doesn't mean there haven't been any sightings as of yet. Let's see if we can't gather some clues about the place."
"Great idea!" Sora answered, "Where should we-." He stopped as Donald and Goofy walked out of their party, going past Kirito, and out into the street. "Guys, where are you going?"
"Where do you think?!" Donald answered, "We're gonna find clues before any of you guys!"
"But you don't even know your way around the city." Asuna argued, "Just stay with us and-."
"Uh-uh! No way!" Donald squawked back, "We're not gonna be your backups this time around! We'll prove we can do what you guys can, and better! Come on, Goofy!" He stomped away, while Goofy watched him go.
"Goofy?" Sora looked to his friend.
"What's wrong with Donald, kuru?" Candy asked.
"Sorry, fellas. I think we should go on our own for a bit." Goofy told the team, "We'll catch ya later." He turned around and raced after Donald, leaving the remaining five behind.
"I don't get what's going on." Asuna noted, "Why is Donald feeling like they're backups?"
"It's not the first time Donald complained about something." Sora pointed out, "But something's really putting him off."
"Should we go after them?" Yui asked Sora. Everyone looked to the spiky-haired boy at this question.
He paused for a second, before answering, "I'm sure they'll be okay. We can trust them to take care of themselves until we reconvene."
"Then let's keep with the plan." Kirito told the team, "In fact, since Donald and Goofy did the same, let's split into teams, as well. Asuna, Candy and I can go to the Commercial District. Sora, you take care of Yui and go search for clues along the streets.
"Good call." Sora answered, "The city is pretty big. It would take longer if we stay together."
"We'll be counting on each of our teams to find something." Asuna told everyone, "Let's get to work!"
"Right (kuru)!" The others answered, and they divided up and made their way to different parts of the city.
Team Sora
Several minutes passed since they parted ways. Sora and Yui were walking together to see the area around, wondering if there was any disturbances involving the Heartless around here. However, there wasn't any luck. They did see something ahead that looked like a truck that was damaged from something impacting it.
"Did a Heartless do that?" Sora asked, looking, before answering, "Maybe not... Looks like the folks around here are doing okay."
"Sora?" Yui spoke up, "Do you think Donald and Goofy will be okay? I am worried that they might do something reckless. At least, Donald might."
"It's like I said; I trust those guys." Sora acknowledged, "Donald's hotheaded, but he knows what's the right thing to do. And Goofy is with him. They'll be okay for a bit."
"But it must be hard on you, since they are just off away from you, like this." Yui pointed out.
Sora stopped walking and looked down, noting, "I wouldn't like that I said I didn't worry about them. I'm also worried about them. And it's not like I don't get what they feel at times."
"What do you mean?" Yui asked.
Sora looked to Yui as he answered, "You guys are able to use Soul Bursts, which comes with all sorts of powers. You get connected with so many people in your hearts because of it. You can unleash those Soul Release powers for Donald, Goofy, and Candy. AND you guys are the only ones able to find the Lost Princesses of Heart. Meanwhile, I lost my Power of Waking, and I'm still not sure how to get it back. And I can't even use the Soul Drive like I did in the past."
"Sora..." Yui muttered, before getting angry with him as she argued, "You're not backup at all! You can transform your Keyblade to do all sorts of things! You can create those fun Attraction Flows. And you have the power to Summon allies to your side. You successfully led the defeats for so many opponents, including the one against Deku in the Battle Tower. And reminder that you were the one who remembered the clue to finding out Candy was the Lost Princess! You are just as important as everyone else here, including mama and papa."
"Right, sorry." Sora apologized, rubbing the back of his head, "I guess I got a little jealous."
"Sora, I'm more jealous of you and what you can do." Yui admitted, "You're such a shining beacon of hope for all of us."
"Thanks, Yui." Sora answered, "And thanks for the pep talk."
"I am a Mental Health Counseling Program. It's what I do." Yui answered with confidence. The two giggle at this statement, before continuing on. "By the way, I don't know if you told me, but how did you, Donald and Goofy meet?"
"Let's see…" Sora started, thinking back to around 2-3 years ago, "I lost my home to the Heartless, and fell into Traverse Town. It was there that I met Leon, Yuffie, Cid, and all the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee guys. As for Donald and Goofy, they sort of fell into my life. Literally. They got knocked from the sky and down onto me. After we defeated a Heartless, we decided to join together to search for my friends and King Mickey. And the rest is history."
"Yeah. You guys have a great chemistry." Yui acknowledged, "I can see why you three get along so well."
At this point, Sora had stopped as Yui was talking, and Yui stopped to looked to him. She saw the expression on his face that was concerned and confused. "What's wrong?" She asked.
"I feel like…something about that story doesn't feel right." Sora muttered, "I hadn't said it out loud before. But now…I feel like something is missing. No…someone else was there."
"Someone else?" Yui echoed, "But who?"
"I don't…" Sora muttered, before recalling the brief memory he had before, of the pile of hands he, Donald, Goofy shared to signify their newly-formed team. Another person added their hand to the pile. He remembered her face. It was…
His thoughts got cut off as they saw someone appear from the back alleyway, looking to be in a rush. She was about as young as Sora, with short black hair and silver eyes. Her attire was a long-sleeved gray top with a metal piece on her left shoulder and black bands on her wrist, a black and red pinafore over it with silver metal pieces and a rose-like design along the skirt. black stockings, black and red boots, a red cape that wrapped around her neck and went down her back, and a red and black weapon attacked to her back.
She looked about, as if she was looking for someone, before seeing the pair standing away from her. She raced over to them, calling out, "Excuse me! Did you see a girl anywhere around here?"
"A girl?" Sora asked, confused, "You mean besides you?"
"Oh, uh, right. I meant girl with orange hair, pink bow, overly-trusting, named Penny. That kind of girl." The two shook their heads in response to this, causing the young lady to sigh. "She must've already left, then." She sighed.
"Do you need help looking for her?" Yui asked, "We can help, if you want."
"Really? You'll do that?" she asked, looking at the pair.
"Sure. Not like we have anything better to do." Sora answered, leaning back on his hands, "I'm Sora, by the way."
"And my name is Yui." the younger of the duo greeted.
"Nice to meet you two. I'm Ruby Rose." the girl introduced herself, "So, are you partaking in the Vytal Festival?"
"Festival?" Sora echoed, not sure what she meant by that.
(Insert 'Red Like Roses Part II' of RWBY OST)
Just then, Heartless started to appear out of nowhere. What's more, they appeared to be Cyber Heartless, as it composed of Cyber Shadows, Vermillion Sambas with steel frames around their body, and Hunter Wolves, who were the only ones not Cyber Heartless.
"What the-?!" Ruby gasped, looking about, "Where did these Grimm come from?!"
"These aren't Grimm." Yui answered, summoning her tessen.
"Yeah. They're Heartless!" Sora answered, summoning his Favorite Deputy Keyblade, ready to fight. Ruby looked to the two, seeing them already prepared to fight, before grabbing her weapon behind her back, and transformed it right before the two's eyes into a large scythe. With everyone set to fight, they launched at their opponents.
Sora and Yui were able to handle the Cyber Heartless fine, with their powerful skills and magic. They were witnessing Ruby and her fighting, who looked rather skilled in combat. Despite the size of the weapon that was taller than her, she wielded the Crescent Rose as an expert, twirling and slicing the opponents with it. Not only that, but the weapon also turned out to be a gun, as it fired off shots from the blade end, used both for long range attacks and a means for momentum, whether it was for the swing of her weapon or to shoot herself forward at opponents. It took a bit, but the trio destroyed the Heartless.
(Song ends)
"Wow! That was so cool!" Ruby told the pair once the area was clear, "You guys are pretty strong, and you fight so differently from others I've seen. Are those your weapons?"
"Uh, yeah." Sora answered, a little taken aback at her enthusiasm. He held his weapon aloft as he stated, "This is my Keyblade."
"Wow, that looks..." She started, examining the weapon, before saying, "It's actually kinda bizarre. Pretty weird-looking for a weapon."
"Hey!" Sora argued as Yui giggle at this.
"I'm more impressed by you and that giant weapon of yours." Yui pointed at her weapon in hand.
"Oh, my Crescent Rose?" she asked, cuddling her weapon in her hands, "Thanks. I'm proud of it, myself. I made it as my Huntress weapon."
"You made that?" Yui asked.
"That's amazing!" Sora answered.
"You didn't make yours?" Ruby asked.
"Well, uh..." Sora wasn't sure how to answer her question, before dismissing the subject to try and pull up a different one, "That's beside the point. Have you heard anything about those monsters, the Heartless, that we were fighting before?"
"No. I'm just as surprised as you guys are about them." Ruby stated, looking at the scenery, "You said those monsters were called 'Heartless', and not 'Grimm'?"
"Yeah. The Heartless are bad news." Sora explained.
"Not only that, there were Cyber Heartless among them, too." Yui pointed out, "That means Tears might be here, as well."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not following all of this." Ruby stated.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Sora apologized, "We're actually looking for any signs of people who are controlling the Heartless. Guys in black coats, or maybe this lavender-haired girl with a black and purple attire."
"Sorry, I haven't heard about that." Ruby answered, "I'm actually investigating something myself. My team and I are investigating information on the White Fang, a man named Roman Torchwick and their activity."
"The White Fang?" Yui echoed, "Who are they?"
"They're a group of Faunus that have been causing terrorist attacks and robbing Dust from all over the place, and they seem to be targeting Vale. We're trying to find any clues as to what they are doing next."
Sora and Yui looked at one another, before the former said, "Well, I don't get it all, but I bet there is a connection to what we're looking for with what you're looking for."
"You think?" Yui asked.
"I'm just guessing." Sora answered, "So how about this; Let's help each other out. We can find out where the Heartless are coming from, while helping you find out what the White Fang are doing."
"You don't mind?!" Ruby asked, rather surprised.
"Sure. Our teams already spread out and looking for clues." Sora pointed out, "We're both dealing with bad guys, so there's no reason why we shouldn't work together."
"Sounds great! I'm all for it!" Ruby replied, "One of my team members, Weiss, should be back at the CCT Tower. She was gathering information there. Let's meet up with her."
"Great! You lead the way!" Sora told her, and the trio took off along the street towards their next destination.
Team Kirito
Meanwhile, Kirito, Asuna and Candy had made their way around the Commercial District, eventually finding themselves along the edge of the district, which was clearly shadier than the rest. They had been wandering around, asking about for some information from any promising source, but not getting any clues.
"I'm getting tired, kuru." Candy sighed, resting in Asuna's arms.
"We've been wandering around for a bit, Kirito." Asuna told him, "We're not getting any information anywhere."
"Your right. There's no info broker like Argo around here." Kirito pointed out, "If anything, we might have to find someone around town who knows what goes on."
"Not like we know anyone that convenient." Asuna argued. She then paused as she thought of something, before looking up at the sunset sky, muttering, "Kinda takes us back, doesn't it?"
"Takes us back?" Kirito echoed, stopping and looking to her, "What do you mean?"
"Back in SAO. I mean, the first SAO." Asuna recalled, "When we did partner up, we would go out looking for information about quests, or gather information about the bosses on each floor."
"Yeah, you're right." Kirito agreed, looking up at the sky, "Kinda feels like a distant memory with all that we've been on since we first wielded the Keyblade."
"I'd like to hear all about them, kuru." Candy answered.
"That's a lot of ground to cover." Asuna answered, "Though, this setting sun does give memories. Remember that incident where we thought Players were being killed in town, but that was just an elaborate plot they made?"
"Yeah, I remember that." Kirito recalled, "That was the first time I was introduced to your sandwiches. They were really good."
"Is food really the only thing you ever think about back during those times?" Asuna asked.
"No, I remember more than that!" Kirito defended, "I mean, we did start to get along after that. We were a bit prickly before that."
"I was trying to clear the game! What do you expect?" Asuna argued, before smiling as she muttered, "Though, I ended up getting the best sleep I had in a long time because of that. And all because you were protecting me."
"I just did what any decent person should have." Kirito answered, smiling at her, "I'm glad I did, though."
"Oh, stop! You're making me blush." Asuna answered, her cheeks indeed red from his words, "But we're getting off track. We should get to finding information."
"Hey, how about this place, kuru?" Candy asked, pointing to a sign next to a building above them. It had neon lighting with the name 'Junior's Club' glowing. "It seems like it should be fun with a name like 'Junior', kuru." Candy assured them.
"It is a club, so it might not be appropriate for someone as young as you." Asuna pointed out.
"Still, it might be a source of information." Kirito pointed out, "At least, I know Agil does help with info for us, too. Let's see if we can get info here."
"I don't even know if we're of age to go in there." his girlfriend argued.
"Only one way to find out." he answered, and went right through the front entrance. Asuna, hesitantly, followed behind them.
Inside the bar, the black outlines of their figures could be seen through the large sliding doors, with Kirito's black hair, Asuna's hazel hair, and Yui's yellow curls sticking out. The doors slid open as they entered through, walking onto the scene. They looked to the sides, seeing men in black and red suits nearby, with guns next to them as they were on security, with many others around the area. They had a flashing light dance floor, a DJ oddly in a bear suit above them, twin girls, with one in a white dress and bladed weapons on her heels, while the other had a red and black dress, and had claw weapons. There was a large bar at the other end with a middle-aged man with short black hair and facial hair, wearing a suit and tie look.
Candy was having second thoughts about entering into the place, while Kirito looked about, muttering, "So it's one of these kinds of joints. Reminds me of places in GGO."
"It feels kinda… dark and flashy, kuru…" Candy muttered, not sure if this was a good idea.
"Well, we came in here. What do you wanna do?" Asuna asked, looking to her boyfriend.
"Let's go to the bar. We should at least order something and see if they have information." With the idea set, they went over to the bar, trying to act like normal customers. Asuna whispered to Candy that she should probably be quiet and act like a doll, which she was use to back in her home world.
They approached the bar where the man was cleaning a glass, looking to the pair. "You two look a bit young to be here." He told the pair.
"We're of age." Kirito answered, "I'm almost nineteen."
"And I am nineteen." Asuna muttered, "We're here to get some drinks."
"Kind of old to be carrying a doll." the man told her, indicating Candy.
"I…I won it at an arcade." Asuna faked an explanation.
The man grunted, not completely convinced, before asking, "So what'll it be?"
Kirito and Asuna looked to the drink list, specifically at the non-alcoholic section. "I'll have the From Shadow." Kirito pointed to the drink.
"And I'll have the Red Like Roses." Asuna ordered.
"Comin' up." he told the pair, getting their drinks in a couple minutes, before serving to them, a red drink with a rose petal on top for Asuna, while a deep purple drink was given to Kirito. They gave their payment to him, and had a sip, which they both enjoyed.
"So, I can already guess you kids ain't here for just the drinks." he told the pair.
"You can tell?" Kirito asked.
"I run this establishment. And I know fresh faces with nosy personalities when I see it." He told them.
"So I take it your Junior?" Asuna asked the man, to which he nodded.
Kirito took another drink, before starting, "We're looking for some info. About monsters that have been popping up in town."
"You mean Grimm, or Faunus?" Junior asked.
"Neither. They're a whole different kind of creep." Kirito answered, "Black. Yellow-eyed. They might have heart symbols on them or not. All I know is they are unnatural here, and they get attracted by people with less than kind-hearted goals, if you know what I mean."
"I gotcha." Junior understood.
"So, got any info on those kinds of creatures?" Kirito asked, "Maybe some characters in black coats, or even this chick…" he pulled out his Gummiphone, and showed off the picture of Tears to him.
Junior looked to the girl, before looking to the pair, about to ask about the weird device, when he was suddenly stopped by his men closing up the doors to the club. "What are you idiots doing?!" he demanded, "It's not time to close up yet!"
"Junior, it's her! She's back!" "That blonde chick is coming this way!" The voices of the two guys were mixing in with one another, but before they could explain any further, there was an explosion, breaking the door open and sending the two guys flying. Asuna and Kirito turned and readied their weapons, prepared to fight a threat that was gonna take place. What they didn't expect was a girl close to their age appearing.
She had long blonde hair and purple eyes, and a physically fit figure. She had on a long, cream-colored, vest-like dress over a black cleavage-exposing top, a dark gray, raised-collar shrug with gold elbow cuffs over both, a black miniskirt, black stockings with garters, with a yellow, flame-like symbol on the outer sides of her thighs and studded knees, black boots with belt fasteners and white ribbon bows on the back, a belt around her hips holding a purple cloth piece attached to her left side, and she wore a purple necklace. She also had a pair of golden yellow bracelets around her arms.
"Guess who's back?!" She called out, waving her hands out in introduction to herself. Her introduction was called off by several of the men in the bar coming in with rifles pointing at her. The music of the place was going off beat, so the DJ turned it off and hid away. This did not please her, as she looked angry at the sudden hostility.
"Who is that?!" Asuna demanded, looking behind to see Junior had gone around the bar, looking a bit frantic.
"Nothing! Just a chick that we got off the wrong foot with!" Junior assured them, "Listen, just don't start any trouble with her. She's bad news!" He walked over as someone else appeared behind the blonde girl; a blue, spiky-haired boy with silver-framed, yellow-lens goggles on his forehead wearing a red cloak with a black fur collar, a white, folded-collar shirt underneath with a black tie, black fingerless gloves with metal pieces on his arm, blue jeans with black leather guards, and black shoes. He was wondering if these were the friends she was talking about.
"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot!" Junior stopped, getting through the crowd of his guards, putting up a smile as he frantically asked, "Blondie, you're here… Why?"
"You still owe me a drink." She answered, wandering to him, grabbing him by the arm, and dragging him to the bar. This left the blue-haired boy starstruck, before immediately trying to hit on the two armed girls, who walked away from him.
"She reminds me of Akane, kuru." Candy compared.
"She is certainly hot-headed." Asuna admitted, watching her dragging Junior to the bar, "But she doesn't seem to be bad. Just a little straight-forward."
"Okay, you know what I want." she told Junior, who rushed around the bar, "Strawberry Sunrise, no ice, and don't forget that little umbrella."
"You got it!" Junior answered, hastily making the drink and serving it to her.
"Alright. I need to get more info for you, and I bet you will have the answer." She started, "Something involving those goons Roman Torchwick hired from you."
"Hold it!" Kirito intervened, getting her attention, "We were here first, already asking for some information out of him. You should at least wait your turn."
Junior waved his hands to stop him as he said, "Hold on, hold on! I think you should stop before you…"
"It's okay. I got this." The girl stopped him, walking over to him.
"Kirito, stop it!" Asuna pleaded, "We weren't here to start any trouble!"
"But, she's butting in our investigation!" Kirito argued.
"Sorry, but our business with Junior is more important than what you got." the girl stated, getting in his face, "Kirito… was that she called you?"
"Yeah, that's my name." Kirito answered.
"Cool. I'm Yang." She introduced herself, looking at the Keyblade he had, "I take it you're a fighter?"
"Yeah. I'm confident in my skills." he answered.
She grinned as she turned to Junior, saying, "Better clear the dance floor. This boy and I will have a tussle. Winner gets to ask for their info first."
"H-Hey! Don't mess up my bar again!" Junior exclaimed, "I just got this place fixed up after what you did to it last time!"
"I will if he behaves." Yang assured him, before walking to the dance floor.
Kirito glared at her, before Asuna said, "Great. Looks like she also is quick to get into a fight like someone else I know."
"I didn't ask for it." Kirito defended, before looking to her, "Still, we need this info. Better fight her to get it first."
"Kirito!" Asuna cried as he walked onto the dance floor to face her in battle. She sighed as she saw him decide not to quit.
She went back to the barstool and sipped her drink, before the blue-haired boy wandered over to her, saying, "Hey. You come here often?"
Hearing the cheesy one-liner, and already irritated by her boyfriend's actions, she glared at him as she snapped, "I was only here with my boyfriend to get info, but you two showed up and made things worse!"
"Uh…sorry?" He apologized, feeling bad for what happened.
Kirito readied his Keyblade, while he watched Yang, who readied her fists as her bracelets activated, turning into gauntlets, with muzzles underneath the front pieces and a rotating ammo container around her wrist. "Interesting weapons you got there." Kirito acknowledged.
"I could say the same for you." Yang answered, "Never saw anyone fight with a key before."
"It's full of surprises." He assured her, before activating Flamestrike, igniting the blade in flames, before launching forward with it, while Yang pushed forward, unleashing a straight punch at him, their fight starting.
Team Donald
Near the warehouse district of town, Donald and Goofy were wandering about, looking around to see where they could find more info.
"Donald, you sure we'll find somethin' here?" Goofy asked.
"Of course we will!" Donald answered, stopping and turning to him, raising a hand and counting off, "The Heartless, the Organization, the Lost Princess, Tears. There has to be a clue about one of those things here! And we'll find them before THEY do!"
The two continued to march along, while Goofy started to think to himself, before asking, "Say, I just remembered somethin'."
"What is it?" Donald asked.
"You remember that story Kayaba mentioned a while back? The one about our first adventure with Sora?"
"Yeah, what of it?" the duck asked.
"I was just wonderin' about what he told us, about Philia?" Goofy wondered, "We remember seeing her before, and she did seem to know us. But we don't seem to remember anything about her. Wonder if she knows why?"
"We can save that for another time." Donald answered, pointing to somewhere far off, "Look ahead." He pointed off in the distance, where he saw a group of people walking towards an area. They all didn't look like normal human beings, as one of them had horns, one had a dog tail, and the other had markings on their face like a tiger. They looked to see a mark on the corner of a building. Goofy looked closer to see that it was a three-fingered claw mark. They took notice and pointed to an area ahead.
"Looks like they're goin' somewhere." Goofy noticed, the pair running to the marking that caught their interest. They looked to the marking, before looking to where the folks went to, seeing someone in a suit guiding them into a warehouse. "Gawrsh, do ya think it's just for VIPs only?" he asked Donald.
"I dunno. Let's find out!" Donald answered, marching forward, with Goofy following behind. They reached the man, who took one look at them, and immediately stated, "Let me guess; been ridiculed for who you are?"
"Well, um..." Goofy started.
"That's right!" Donald answered, feeling related to the topic.
"Here, take these." he told the pair, taking a pair of white mask that looked almost monster-like. They grabbed the masks, looking curiously at them, before the man ushered them into the warehouse. They marched on through, unaware of the pair that was approaching at the marked corner they were at before. One of them had messy blonde hair, blue eyes, a white, high-collared shirt that he had only buttoned on top, blue cargo pants with a silver belt and a chain, black and yellow sneakers, black fingerless gloves with red arm bracers, and a monkey-emblem pendant on a black chord. He also had a monkey tail sticking out his back.
The other was a girl with long black hair, a pair of cat ears sticking out, and yellow eyes. She wore a white V-neck, zip-up crop shirt with black hemming, a black, flame-like emblem on the sides, black pants with gray stripes on the sides, a cloth piece attached from hip to hip, black boots, and a black ribbon wrapped around her arms. She also had a sword in a sheath attached to her back.
"This is it." the girl noted, seeing the mark.
"You sure?" the boy asked, getting a glare from the girl, and added, "You know, I'm just gonna take your word for it." The two made their way to the man, got their approval and their masks, before making their way inside, watching as Donald and Goofy were instructed on where new recruits go. "I don't get it." the boy continued, looking at the mask, "If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?"
"The mask are a symbol." the girl answered, "Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters."
"Grimm masks. That's kinda dark." the boy muttered, smirking slightly at the sarcastic quote he made.
"So was the guy who started it." the girl responded, turning around and walking away, placing the mask over her eyes.
"Always sunshine and rainbows with you." the boy sighed, following behind.
Donald and Goofy were looking about, with their masks over their eyes, wondering what was going on. The room was divided up into two groups; the normal folk like them with masks over their eyes, and a group of people with matching uniforms and masks; black hoods, white vests with red canine-like symbols with claw marks on the back, black pants and boots. The warehouse was big, but in front was a stage with the same red canine symbol in the backdrop, with security all about the stage.
"Donald, I think we made the wrong choice." the dog whimpered, "Looks more like a gathering of bad guys."
"And we infiltrated it." Donald snickered, "We can get information the others can't get. Let's stay around and get it!"
The two looked about, seeing the boy and girl before pass by them, and follow behind them. They stood right behind them as they looked about, noticing one thing; not one person there was a normal human being. They all had some sort of animal trait. Now it made sense why they were able to get in so easily.
Just then, one of the guys in uniform, wearing a full mask, called out, "Thank you all for coming! For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce very special comrades of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for, for so long."
The people he was addressing stepped onto the stage. One of them was a man with orange hair with bangs swept aside to hide his right eye, and a black bowler cap with a red ribbon covering his top. He wore a white coat with gold buttons and a broad open collar, revealing the red underside, a black shirt underneath, a gray scarf wrapped around his throat, black pants, brown shoes sticking out underneath the pants legs, and long black gloves with black belts wrapped around it. He also had a cane on his person, with a red tipped bottom. The other person with him was someone Donald and Goofy recognized; Pete.
"Pete!" Donald and Goofy gasped, their voices barely audible from the sounds of the boos from the crowd around them, save the pair in front, who looked behind at them.
"Thank you, thank you! Please hold your applause." The man with Pete addressed everyone.
"Guess these folks don't like you, eh, Torchwick?" Pete stated.
From the backstage, there were a couple more characters coming onto the scene, and both of them were female. One of them was another character they recognized, which was Tears. The other was a short girl with hair that was brown on her left half and pink on her right half, with white streaks in it, and heterochromia eyes. Her attire was a white and pink jacket with coat tails, an open pink collar, a part of her cleavage exposed, a dark gray corset underneath, muddy brown pants with a black belt, knee-high white boots with brown soles and heels, black gloves, multiple beads wrapped around her neck, and she carried an umbrella on hand.
"What's a human doing here?" a female guest demanded.
"I'm glad you asked, dearie." Torchwick answered, not phased by the anger, "Now I'll be the first to admit: Humans are the WORST. Case in point." He saluted as he addressed himself, before continuing, "So I understand why you would love to see us all locked away, or better yet: killed! My cohorts can vouch for that, right, Pete?"
"Oh, yeah. Them chumps are the worst folks ever!" Pete agreed.
"More terrible than you folks realize." Tears sighed, flipping her hair as she exemplified herself in that statement.
"So, are they going somewhere with this, or..." the monkey-tailed boy whispered to the cat-eared girl.
"We might be in a little over our heads with this." Goofy told Donald, indicating the pair of villains they knew on the stage.
"But! Before the claws come out, I would like to mention the fact that you and us ALL have a common enemy." Torchwick addressed everyone, "The ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty rotten humans that run our kingdoms. Government. Military. Even the schools. They're all to blame for your lot in life." His words were met with cheers from the crowd, while the four infiltrators were looking about, realizing the words he was preaching were reaching their hearts.
"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with." Torchwick continued, "Fortunately, we're the best exterminators around. No offense to any rodents in the room."
"Yep. Cause we have these in our control!" Pete answered, spreading his arms out, as he summoned out groups of Heartless; Shadows, Large Bodies, and Air Soldiers onto the stage, half of them with cybernetic enhancements. Cyber Heartless. Donald and Goofy gulped as they realized they knew they were in trouble now.
The crowd panicked, the word 'Grimm' spoken out by some. "No need to panic, folks! These monsters are NOT Grimm, but something a bit more...tamable." Torchwick assured them.
"These creatures are called Heartless." Tears addressed the crowd, "It's thanks to your anger and rage that such creatures can come into existence. And thanks to that, they can be used to consume the humans that belittled you all. They can become more Heartless for us, growing more and more, forming an army that will destroy even the strongest the humans try to unleash!" This caused some to be hesitant, while others cheered at their sure victory they had.
"And just in case if you are a bit uncomfortable about these creatures, which I'm sure you are, we have other answers for dealing with those in power." Torchwick told the group, and with a snap of his finger, the backdrop behind him was pulled away, revealing something quite terrifying; a mechanical suit that was over twice the height of the man, fully armed and equipped with weaponry on its arms. This brought cheers from the crowd, now satisfied with the new weapon they had on hand, especially since it was given the additional marking of the red beast mark all other members had.
"Uh, that's a big robot..." the boy muttered.
"How did he get that?" the girl asked.
"Uh, oh." Donald muttered, with beads of sweat coming down his face.
"Now we definitely need the other fellas to help us." Goofy whimpered.
Team Sora
Sora, Ruby, and Yui were racing along the path to the giant tower that was called the CCT Tower, the Cross-Continental Transmit System that was designed for people to communicate to other continents in the world. Along the way, they dealt with some more Heartless, which the trio dealt with together. As it turned out, they learned a bit from Ruby, such as the form of ammunition she used for her weapon, called Dust. It wasn't like regular dust they were use to, but sort of like crystals. They were also introduced to a power Huntsmen and Huntresses had, called Semblances. Ruby had such a Semblance, where she became what looked like a red-cloaked comet, speeding around the field, leaving rose petals in her wake, as she avoided attacks, got in quickly on targets, and struck them with her scythe.
"Come on! Weiss should be up ahead, waiting for us!" Ruby told Sora and Yui.
"Wait up, Ruby!" Sora shouted, running after her.
They reached the tower, seeing the staircase that led up to the entrance, and saw people panicking as they ran away from Heartless and Cyber Heartless that were surrounding the place.
"Oh, no!" Yui shouted.
"We gotta stop them!" Sora called out, summoning out his Keyblade.
"Weiss!" Ruby called out, seeing a girl near the entrance to the tower. She had white hair tied in a ponytail, and light blue eyes. She wore a white one-piece coat that was buttoned up and had black cuffs, a pleated skirt with black-frilled trimming, white thigh-high boots with black heels, and frilled black stockings underneath. She was also wielding a silver rapier in one hand.
She raised a hand high as she summoned what looked like a icicle-shaped magic circle above her, sending ice shooting down at the Heartless around her, damaging some, destroying a couple, but they still continued for her.
"I got her!" Sora shouted, using his Airstepping, just as Ruby used her Speed Semblance, and the two raced to her, slashing the two closest Heartless, destroying them.
"About time you showed up, Ruby!" Weiss snapped.
"Hey, I got distracted!" the red-hooded girl argued.
"And who are you suppose to be?" Weiss asked the spiky-haired boy.
"I'm Sora. I'm here to help out!" he told her, as Yui sliced some Heartless out of the way, joining the other three. He switched up to his Ever After Keyblade, unleashing his max focus on the surrounding Heartless. "Shotlock: Spectral Rays!" he shouted, transforming his Keyblade into a staff, summoning out multiple reflectors in the air around him, before sending beams that shot all about, hitting the Heartless all about.
"Interesting trick you have there." Weiss noted, as Sora's weapon went back to normal, and took on a Cyber Gold Beat Heartless, using a Galestrike on it.
"Oh, these have some crazy Semblances." Ruby told her, and they went to work.
Weiss, as it turned out, was not only skilled at using her rapier, but was able to use a sort of magic circle power, which was called Glyphs. They ranged from white ones that were platforms and unleashed Blizzard-element attacks, to black glyphs that held an opponent in its place. She also used Dust to great efficiency, imbuing her weapon with elements to unleash Elemental Strike attacks.
Yui and Weiss were together at one point as a crowd of Heartless was in front of them. "You, little girl." Weiss addressed Yui, "I noticed you use Wind Dust in your attack earlier."
"Um, sure." Yui answered, "Want me to do it again?"
"If you would." she insisted. Yui did as she was told, unleashing a Yui Tornado, which got in the middle of the Heartless. Weiss then summoned a Glyph that turned it into an ice tornado that froze all that was in contact, while sending ice shards that hit all others.
"That was 'cool'!" Sora punned.
"Pun intended?" Ruby asked her, "Your like my sis." This made Sora chuckle.
Just then, the two saw the last of the Heartless come at them, and they felt their hearts in sync. "Sora, I have a plan!" Ruby called out.
"Let's go, Ruby!" Sora shouted, unleashing their Team Attack, which Ruby shouted, "Crimson Comet!" Ruby used her Semblance, grabbing Sora and sending them skyward. They came out of the attack, twisting their bodies as they turned around, facing the Heartless below, their weapons at the ready. Ruby then turned her scythe into gun mode, and Sora pointed his Keyblade with her weapon at the same target, shooting a light salvo which became a light blast shot that hit the opponents like a shooting star. They shot this attack together a few more times, before they finished up by descending, Ruby turning her gun back into scythe mode, holding the weapon behind her, while Sora grabbed ahold of the weapon. She shot the gun part, sending the pair flying down at the crowd. The moment they reached the ground, they spun their weapons together, sending a wave of light and rose petals that destroyed all the Heartless around them, ending the battle.
"Way to go, Ruby!" Sora cheered.
"Yeah! We did it!" she answered, and the pair high-fived one another. They turned as Weiss and Yui joined the pair. "Weiss, you okay?" Ruby asked.
"Of course. And the CCT Tower has been protected." she answered, looking to the two new faces, "I guess I should thank the pair of you for showing up and assisting in stopping those weird Grimm from damaging it."
"You're welcome." Yui answered, "And just to let you know, those were not Grimm. They were Heartless."
"Heartless?" Weiss echoed, looking at the area that was filled with them, "They certainly fit the title."
"Oh, right. These two are brand new friends of mine." Ruby introduced the pair, "This is Sora and Yui."
"Hey there." Sora waved to her, while Yui bowed.
"I'm Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company." the white-haired girl introduced herself, "So are you two competitors in the Vytal Festival?"
"Wish we were, but no." Sora answered, "We came to this town to stop the Heartless and to find out anyone who is able to control them."
"Those things can be controlled?" Weiss asked.
"Yeah. By people with darkness in their hearts." Yui answered.
"I figured it might be connected to what we're searching for." Ruby assumed, "Like the White Fang, and Roman Torchwick."
"I was able to gather up intel on every Dust shipment heist done by the White Fang recently." Weiss answered, holding up a white electronic device, which she revealed to be a form of tablet like the Gummiphone, only far less cumbersome, "We can use this and find out where they have been taking the Dust to."
"Sounds great!" Ruby answered, "I just hope Yang and Blake are doing well, too."
"My friends are also spread about, looking for info, too." Sora told them, "Maybe they found something. Hang on..." He pulled out his Gummiphone, and called up Asuna's number. She picked up, her face on screen.
"Sora, you okay?" She asked, as the sound of fighting was in the background, while Candy's hair appeared from below the screen.
"Asuna, we found some people who might know something about what we're looking for." Sora answered, hearing the fighting, "What's going on over there?"
"Are you fighting Heartless, too, mama?" Yui asked.
"No... Kirito's in a brawl right now." Asuna sighed, "Some girl showed up at this club we found, and their fighting for a right to get information."
Just then, Ruby heard one of voices screaming at Kirito before the sound of a shotgun could be heard. "That sounds like my sis, Yang! I recognize her voice and her weapon!"
"Sora, who is that?" Asuna asked.
"One of the people I mentioned." Sora answered, now realizing Kirito was facing a person that should be an ally, "Can you stop the fight? She's one of their allies!"
"Um, I'll try." Asuna answered, before the screen went blank.
"Why am I not surprised?" Weiss asked, shrugging as she shook her head. Ruby could only laugh innocently at the inconvenience her sister had set up.
Team Kirito
Back at Junior's Club, Asuna placed the Gummiphone away, before looking at the dance floor, which was damaged here and there, along with parts of the building from Kirito and Yang's fight. Turns out, she was a match for Kirito. She was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, keeping up with Kirito's swordplay. Not only that, but her gauntlets were much more impressive than they seemed, as they fired off kinetic shots from the muzzles in them, creating explosive punches or long range shots. She even used them as her way of projecting herself towards or away from Kirito. But Kirito was able to adapt and counter her, knocking her back a peg, though he changed to his Blackwrym Coat from his Second Form.
Asuna had just finished her drink, while Candy snuck some sips from Kirito's drink, as the boy that was with Yang, which Asuna learned his name was Neptune, got his own drink.. Junior was ducking behind his counter, trying to avoid the conflict. Asuna wondered why he didn't intervene, and he explained that he and his bodyguards tried to stop her before, and got totally wrecked by her.
The two stopped as they were panting, exhausted from the intense fight they were having. "Gotta admit, you're full of surprises." Yang admitted, noting the versatility in Kirito's movepool.
"Right back at ya." Kirito answered, "I've never seen weapons like that before. Almost wish I had something like that."
"Sorry~ My weapon are my own." she sung back to him, "If you want, I can give you a feel with a few more punches. Or you can move aside so I can get my info from Junior."
"Sorry. Not happening." Kirito answered, "We came here first for information, so we get our info first!"
"Kirito, you're now being childish." Asuna sighed, shaking her head. She closed her eyes, planning on a decision on how to intervene.
"Woah, what are those coming out of nowhere?" she heard Neptune ask.
"Heartless, kuru!" Candy exclaimed, causing Asuna to snap her eyes open. She looked to see Heartless appearing, surrounding the stage.
"Kirito!" Asuna shouted, but her boyfriend was way ahead of her. He noticed the Heartless appearing, and turned his attention to them.
"Whoa. Where did these come from?!" Yang demanded.
"Are those Grimm?!" Neptune asked, pulling out a gun, while Asuna whipped out her Keyblade, while Candy summoned out her magic fists.
"Heartless." Kirito growled, standing back to back with Yang, looking at the swarm, "Guess this answers one of my questions I had for the club owner."
Asuna and Candy leapt onto the stage, with Neptune not too far behind. Meanwhile, Junior and his henchman all ran away, with Junior exclaiming, "I've had enough of this! I'm closing up early today!" With that, he left the scene, leaving the five fighters alone with the Heartless.
(Insert 'I Burn' from RWBY OST)
With a silent agreement they should stop fighting and focus on the Heartless, Kirito and Yang looked to one another, nodded in understanding, before Yang ejected her empty ammunition, taking a fresh set from her satchels, throwing them up, and allowing them to fall into her weapons, refreshing her ammo. Meanwhile, Kirito shouted, "Soul Burst! Cloud Strife!" He summoned the power of the spiky-haired swordsman from his Keyblade before it transformed it into the Buster Sword, which he wielded at the ready.
"Soul Burst! Tifa Lockhart!" Asuna roared, summoning out the power of Cloud's significant other, transforming her Keyblade into gloves for combat. "And Soul Armament!" Asuna added, transforming her garments into Tifa's tight and freeform clothing. With everyone set, they launched at the Heartless.
The swarm consisted of Cyber Shadows, Cyber Soldiers, Large Bodies, Vermillion Samba, Cyber Gold Beats, and a new kind of Heartless, which looked bear-like, bipedal for the most part, with retractable claws that became twice and long when they went on the attack. They went from slashing to charging attacks, and when they were standing, had a durability of a Large Body.
Neptune's weapon was both an electric gun that he shot at the targets, as well as transforming into a trident form, swinging it around and striking down his targets. But other than that, he was not as useful in combat as Yang was, who was destroying the Heartless left and right, despite the battle she and Kirito just had. She and Kirito were even able to pull off a non-Team Attack combo move, where Kirito caught Yang with the flat of his Buster Sword, Yang bracing herself with her feet, before using her shotgun gauntlets to shoot herself off as he swung his blade, the combine force enough to send one of the bear Heartless flying clear across the room, destroying the DJ station in the process.
The black swordsman and Candy were partnered together with Neptune as Asuna, now in Advance Burst: Premium Hearts, suddenly back to back with Yang as the Heartless closed in on them. The two fist fighters looked to one another, smirking as they nodded as one, before starting their punching spree, leaping and ducking over and under one another, firing off their fire and, in Asuna's case, Ice moves together. Asuna even unleashed her Meteodive as she grabbed a Large Body, and performed a suplex with it on top of a Cyber Shadow, before Yang punched, making it fly into a group like it was a bowling ball.
"Nice one!" Yang told Asuna.
"You're not so bad yourself." Asuna replied, before going into a Meteor Crusher, leaping away from Yang at a Cyber Gold Beat, unleashing a flurry of punches before sending the Heartless into the ceiling with one final strike, destroying it. She turned to Yang as she saw a Soldier appear behind her, shouting, "Watch out!"
Yang turned and saw the Soldier appear, before doing a front roll to avoid its slashing claws. "Nice try, but not good enou..." Her voice trailed off as something caught her eye; a single blonde strand of hair had been shaved off her head by the Soldiers claws. "You..." she growled, her eyes suddenly turning red, before roaring, "...YOU ARE SO DEAD!" Her hair suddenly glowed and combusted, like it became flames. This made the heroes jump in shock and fear at her fuse being lit, as she shot forward and swung her fist so hard into the Soldier, it created an explosion that easily destroyed her target, sent the other Heartless flying and get knocked out, and shattered all the glass around the area, including the windows to the outside. The heroes braced themselves against it, Candy flying away as Neptune was knocked off stage from the shockwaves.
The area went silent, apart from the sounds of drinks spilling from the bar counter out of their broken glasses and bottles. Yang's eyes and hair went back to normal, before exhaling deeply from losing her cool. Kirito had dislodged his Buster Sword from the ground, reverting back to his normal weapon and clothes, while Asuna did the same, approaching Yang.
"That was...rather explosive." Asuna muttered.
"I didn't think you had THAT in you." Kirito argued, "I'm glad you didn't use that on me."
"It got me angry." Yang answered.
"That's an understatement." Kirito argued, "Why were you angry at it all of a sudden."
"Freakin' damaged my hair!" Yang barked, "I don't care who you are! You damage it, you die."
"I don't get it." Kirito muttered with a sweatdropped expression.
"I get it. But at the same time, it seemed excessive." Asuna responded.
"Well, whatever." Yang shrugged it off, looking about, "Looks like Junior's gone. No luck getting info from him anymore."
"At least we know the Heartless are around." Kirito muttered, "And there were the Cyber variant, too. That means Tears might be here, too."
As Neptune and Candy were regaining themselves, Asuna looked to Yang and said, "By the way, a friend of ours just called, and seemed to be with your sister. They're apparently working together."
"Oh! You have a friend with Ruby?" the blonde asked.
"Yep. Our friend Sora and our adopted daughter, Yui, are with her."
"Cool! Guess that means you guys are teaming up with us." Yang understood, "So, what did you need to ask Junior for?"
"We were gonna ask about any signs of the Heartless, but I guess we got our answer there." Kirito stated, looking at the scene, "Now we just need to find the ones controlling them. Could be Tears or Maleficent. Or maybe someone around here with darkness in their hearts."
"Darkness, huh?" Yang asked, "Well, those things remind me of Grimm a lot, so maybe they're connected to the White Fang or Torchwick. I was gonna ask Junior about where Torchwick took the hired goons he got from him, but that's not happening. Let's regroup with the others, and hopefully they got info."
"Yeah, sure." Neptune agreed, a little dazed, before shaking himself straight again, retaining his cool demeanor again.
"Can we tag along?" Kirito asked as they wandered their way back to the entrance.
"Only if you can keep up with my bike." Yang responded.
"I think we can manage." he answered.
"Did those two become friends or something?" Neptune asked Asuna.
"They're getting along fine now, kuru." Candy noted.
"I'm sure they're just kindred spirits." Asuna muttered, trying to reason her jealousy with Kirito being chummy with another girl, especially a good-looking one.
Team Donald
Back at the warehouse, after the reveal of the Heartless and the mech, Torchwick continued, "As some of you may have heard, this right here is Atlas's newest line of defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my employer, we managed to snag a few before they, uh, hit the shelves. Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine. But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I and my allies can provide you. Any questions?"
The crowd cheered at the power their group was given, and knew they could achieve even greater heights with what they had. Only Donald, Goofy, the cat-eared girl and the monkey-tailed boy in front of them weren't cheering along with them. "We should get outta here." "We should skedaddle." the girl and Goofy said at the same time. Their voices could be heard from one another, and they looked to each other, along with Donald and the monkey.
"You tryin' to get out of here?" the boy asked.
"These guys are bad news!" Donald answered, "We gotta stop them!"
"But we can't do it on our own. We need to tell the fellas about it, too." Goofy told him, who looked irritated that he had to rely on their help for this.
"Seems like you never meant to come in here to join up." the girl understood, as they heard one of the members call for new members to step up onto the stage. Several citizens came forward, wanting to join up to the group. The four of them stuck out a little bit as they were looking for a way out.
"Got any plans?" the boy asked.
"I'm thinking..." the girl answered.
"Can't we go back the way we came?" Goofy asked, looking behind them.
Just then, they noticed Pete and Torchwick together with Tears and the multi-colored hair girl. Torchwick was about to light a cigar when he saw the four of them. "Say, I am familiar with those two chumps over there!" Pete pointed to Donald and Goofy, "They ain't here to sign up with us!"
"Yeah, same with the two with them." Torchwick recognized the other pair.
"They see us!" the boy noted.
"Looks like we'll have to fight our way out!" Donald huffed, about ready to draw his weapon.
The girl saw the fuse box nearby, and noted, "Not if they can see us in the dark." She quick-drew her sword, mechanically transforming it into a gun mode, and fired a shot at the fuse box, killing the lights.
"Don't let them get away!" someone shouted.
"Sun! The window!" The girl shouted.
"Come on, you two!" the boy named Sun told Donald and Goofy. Together, they raced to the window, crashing through it, finding themselves outside in the evening sky, their masks gone.
They had landed on the ground when they found themselves surrounded by Heartless, causing the four to draw out their weapons, Sun pulling out two sticks from under his shirt, forming a quarterstaff with them. "Move!" Donald shouted, unleashing a Thunder spell off the bat, beofre everyone went to work.
The girl, which the pair learned her name was Blake, was quite proficient with her sword/gun weapon, even using her ribbon to make a sort of kusarigama weapon to swing about. She also had a strange power that allowed her to leave afterimages of herself to avoid attacks, countering straight afterwards. As for the boy, Sun, he was incredibly skilled with the quarterstaff, which transformed into a pair of nunchucks, with each 'stick' being a flintlock pistol, firing in rapid succession as he swung them around. Donald and Goofy were able to keep up with the pair as they took out the Heartless left and right, until there was nothing left.
They had just finished things up when they heard a machine starting up within the warehouse, and knew that was a bad sign. "Come on!" Blake told the boys, and they ran together down the street. The walls to the warehouse broke down as the mech they saw before had come to life, and was pursuing the group. Blake and Sun used their athleticism to get to the rooftops, while Donald and Goofy could barely get away from it.
Goofy then had an idea, and tossed his shield forward, making it grow larger through magic, and shouted, "Hop on, Donald!" The duck didn't think twice as he got on, with Goofy getting on after him. The pair turned to the mech, who kicked the shield, causing the pair to holler as they were sent flying along the streets, until they hit the ground, the shield sliding them along the pavement with no traction. They steered it with their bodies, while the mech pursued from behind.
"So you wouldn't happen to have, oh, I don't know, some sort of backup?!" Sun demanded.
"On it!" Blake answered, pulling out her phone-like device, ringing for the others.
At the CCT Tower, Ruby and Weiss got the phone call as they heard their teammate call out, "Everyone! If you can hear me, we need backup!" "Help!" Sun shouted right next to her.
"They got a robot! And it's really, really big!" Sun shouted.
"A robot?!" Sora and Yui gasped.
"Oh, I am not missing this!" Ruby stated.
The four heard the sounds of destruction from a distance, turning their heads to it. "I pretty sure that's where they are heading." Weiss noted.
"It's on the highway! Let's go!" Ruby told the team, and she led Weiss, Sora, and Yui towards their destination.
In front of Junior's bar, Yang had pulled out the phone as the five were listening together, hearing Sun shout, "The Torchwick guy's in it! But not like, it didn't eat him, he's controlling it or something!"
"Where are they?!" Kirito asked. His answer was given when Donald and Goofy, still sledding on the shield, flew by the street near them, screaming as Blake and Sun were running behind them, the mech in hot pursuit.
"Donald?! Goofy?!" Asuna gasped.
"I think that was them!" Neptune stated the obvious.
"Yeah, I got it!" Yang answered, revving her bike, turning to their new companions. "I'm going ahead. Try to keep up!" She did a donut with her bike, Neptune riding behind it, and took off after the hot pursuit.
"Kirito!" Asuna turned to him.
"Let's hope we're good with our Airstepping and parkour!" Kirito told her, before they went to the building via Airstepping, Candy holding onto Asuna, reaching the building. They saw the pathway the mech was taking, and they were making their way to the freeway, which they had a clear path to with the freeway above their heads. They concentrated and flew up their, reaching the cement wall and guardrails on the sides, using their magic to grind down them to catch up with them.
The three parties were coming together to deal with the big threat.
Next Time on Sword Art Kingdom III:
United Teams! Hot Pursuit of Villains!
Author's Note: The moment when Asuna in Tifa's Soul Burst & Yang fought together is a reference to the DEATH BATTLE of Tifa vs. Yang, the very episode that got me interested in watching RWBY in the first place.