Well, it sounds like SOPA is out of comission… for now. So that means that sites like FF are still alive, yay! Let's just watch out for PIPA. We're still going to do the disclaimer, though.

Mickey: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Dreamworks, or anything else! Now get off our backs, Congress."

!

Chapter 115: The Great Game

Tzekel-Khan was puzzled. This wasn't something that happened to him often, and it troubled him.

He was standing at the entrance to his temple, which was one of the highest buildings in the city, though it was mostly obscured by the thick plant life growing around it. He was standing with one of his men, observing the unorganized ball game occurring in the square below them.

It had been going on for about fifteen minutes. Lord Miguel and most of his staff were involved. The only ones who were just watching from the sidelines seemed to be Axel and Donald (the latter was nursing a few unusual bite injuries). What was more confusing was they were playing with Chief Tannabok and a group of a dozen or so children.

The high priest was holding a thick tome in his hand. It was open to a page depicting what he had been expecting of the gods. There was a large, bulky, armored figure with a blade in one hand. A scene of destruction was behind him.

Tzekel-Khan's gaze flicked continuously back and forth between the picture, and the innocent game below.

"Hmm... this is not what I expected." He looked curiously down at Miguel and his friends. "Perhaps Lord Tulio will enlighten me."

He set down the tome on a nearby table. He straightened his clothing, flattened his hair, and composed himself hurriedly. "How do I look?" He asked the man nearby, who happened to be one of the men who had first greeted the gods and their staff the next day.

"Oh, well uh... Oh, you look-"

"Oh shut up." Tzekel Khan left him, and began the walk to the gods' temple. He didn't realize that there were two Nobodies watching him from the shadows.

!

Moments before the high priest arrived in the gods' chamber, Tulio and Chel were wrapped in a would-be compromising situation.

The supposed 'god' was pinned to a pile of pillows by Chel, who was proceeding to kiss him all over, and tangling her fingers roughly in his hair. He was eager to return the favor, and for a while, they had absolutely no idea where they were.

"My Lord?" They suddenly heard Tzekel-Khan call from just outside the entrance, and their activities came to a screeching halt. "Hello?"

"The high priest!" Chel hissed, sounding horrified. She got off of Tulio, being careful to stay out of sight of the doorway, and slapped a palm to her forehead. "What's he going to think if he finds one of the gods like this with me?"

The still-dazed Tulio replied, "Eh... 'Lucky god?'"

As quickly as was humanly possible, Chel straightened his hair and clothing while Tzekel-Khan was still calling for him. The instant his gaze was off the entryway, she shoved him out from their hiding place, and he put on a bold show.

"Oh, Tzekel-Khan!" He greeted in a much different voice than he had used a moment ago. "What brings you here?"

"I humbly request an audience with you, my Lord." Tzekel-Khan said, bowing as usual.

"What can I do you for?" Tulio asked, as Chel worked her way around to the entrance to make it look as though she had just walked in.

"My Lord, I have just seen Lord Miguel and your staff out amongst the people."

"Really?" Tulio's eyes narrowed from anger.

"If I might be so bold as to offer some advice?" From behind the high priest, Chel was frantically making 'kill' gestures to get Tulio to turn down the offer.

He didn't notice, unfortunately. "Okay... Shoot."

Chel face-palmed herself as Tzekel-Khan cleared his throat. "My Lord, you are perfect."

Tulio smiled at the compliment. "Well, go on."

"But in your perfection, you cannot realize just how imperfect humans are." The high priest worked his way around Tulio to stand in the main chamber.

"Like snakes..." He waved his arms in an elaborate pattern through the air. The chamber darkened, and objects formed in the space before him. Glowing green snakes hissed and snapped at them as they floated in front of Tzekel-Khan. "Spineless, and slippery."

Tulio unconsciously backed away from the unsettling display of magic. He bumped into Chel, who grabbed his arm tightly.

"They are as untrustworthy as rats." Tzekel-Khan continued, demonstrating his point this time with the use of a bowl of fruit that had been sitting on a nearby table. He stood over it, and plucked one up.

With a wave of his hand, every one of them transformed into squeaking, dark-haired rats with glowing green eyes and rapidly flexing tails. All but the one he held in his hand leapt out of the bowl, and scattered around the room.

"...Stealing and cheating, with no remorse!" Tzekel-Khan lifted the one in his hand up to his mouth. For a revolting minute, it appeared he would bite into its flesh, but it turned back into the pear it had once been before he brought his teeth down.

He tossed the partially-eaten fruit aside, and lifted his arms into the air. "Spinning webs of lies," The chamber was entirely filled with incandescent, neon blue webs clinging to the walls, ceiling, and floor. Hundreds upon hundreds of glowing blue spiders crawled around them, and lowered themselves down on newly spun webs.

One landed in Tzekel-Khan's palm as he finished, "Like spiders!"

He crushed the massive arachnid in his fist, and finally Tulio had had enough.

"Stop it! That's disgusting..."

The high priest dismissed all of his impressive illusions with a wave of his arm, restoring the room to its previous appearance. "They're beyond disgusting!"

"Yeah, yeah, way beyond!"

"Then we're in agreement!" Tzekel-Khan exclaimed enthusiastically, approaching the younger man quickly. "I'll begin the necessary preparations immediately."

Tulio looked a little confused, and had backed up to the entrance with Chel just behind him. They were standing at the top of the stairway when Tzekel-Khan asked, "Now, would you prefer your victims bound to an alter, or would you prefer them free range?"

"Uh..."

"And will you be devouring their essence whole, or piece-by-piece?"

"Tzekley, you've lost me."

"My Lord, these people will not respect you if they do not fear you."

"And of course we'll make them fear us, by..."

"A sacrifice! As it is prophesied, the history of the Age of the Jaguar wil be written in..." He left the end of the sentence hanging in midair, waiting for Tulio to finish for him.

"Ink?"

"Blood!" Tzekel-Khan exclaimed, as if Tulio should have known that. Perhaps he didn't think he was being serious.

"Blood!" Tulio slapped his forehead and started ushering Chel back down the steps as he backed away from the high priest. "Blood, oh right! Of course. I should probably consult with my staff and Lord Miguel though first. This is very important stuff, and we should discuss the entire uh, blood... issue, right away! Excuse us, won't you?"

He hissed quickly to Chel, "Let's get out of here."

Tzekel-Khan watched them go, an immensely satisfied smile on his face. He actually wiped away a tear as he said, "Finally. We're connecting."

!

Sora kicked the ball over Riku and Miguel's heads, over toward Chief Tannabok. The big man jumped toward it. The ball struck his ample stomach, and it soared clear across the square toward Mickey.

The small king kicked it over to one of the kids (a boy about eight years old) who hit it with his head over to one of his friends. He hit it with his knees, and bounced it between his feet for a moment before kicking it over to Kairi.

She knocked it straight up with her feet, and head-butted it back to Sora, who elbowed it to Nehrut.

The Keyblade Master was having the time of his life. It had been a long time since he had just been able to unwind. The wedding at Agrabah, the ball at Adam's, and the Festival of Fools had certainly been fun, but they hadn't been quite like this. The simplicity of this little ball game was fun and relaxing simultaneously, and it was just what their party needed after nearly four months of adventuring.

Has it really been four months? Wow, I've completely lost track of the time.

The ball came flying back to him, and he bumped it into the air like a volleyball. Yuffie ran up from behind him, and pounded it across the square. Sora and Miguel ran to fetch it, only to stop short when Tulio appeared in front of them, looking very angry.

He was about to speak when the ball hit him on the head and bounced away.

While Sora found this funny, it did little to improve Tulio's mood. He glared at them and hissed, somehow putting a different kind of emphasis on every word, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Lying low." Miguel replied casually, not at all concerned that they had been caught.

Tulio made a move as if to strangle him, before stopping short. He composed himself and whispered hurriedly, "Look, change of plan. We need to grab what we can carry, and get out of here, now!"

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Because the high priest is nuts! He wants to-"

"This is unacceptable!" Tzekel-Khan's voice rang out all of a sudden, startling them. They had been so caught up in their talk that they hadn't noticed his arrival.

"Yeah, yeah! Like he said!" Tulio agreed, playing along with whatever it was Tzekel-Khan was doing.

"The gods should not be playing ball like this!" The high priest continued, picking up the ball that they had all been playing with.

"Well exactly!" Tulio agreed again, looking pointedly at Miguel and Sora.

!

"This is how the gods should play ball!" Tzekel-Khan continued a few minutes later, shouting to a huge, roaring crowd.

He, Tannabok, Miguel, Tulio, Sora, and Chel were standing on a court about the size of a modern basketball court. On three sides of it, there were three high, thick walls, on which the crowd was standing. A slightly temple-like building was at the head of the court. There were a few ornate seats there, along with two sets of stairs. The rest of their group was sitting on a bench at the base of this building. On the opposite side of this, there was a golden line drawn into the ground.

Tulio glared at Miguel, who flinched beneath his gaze.

"Well don't blame me-"

"I blame you." He turned away, brooding, and whispered to Chel. "What is the object of this game, pray tell?"

"You've gotta knock the ball through the hoop."

"What hoop?" Sora asked.

"That hoop." Chel answered grimly, pointing.

Sora followed her finger to the very top of one wall. Situated in the middle, was a small golden ring jutting out vertically from the side of it. The opening was just wide enough for a small ball like the one they had been using earlier to slide through.

"That's impossible! We're gonna lose!" Tulio hissed, gaping in horror at the hoop.

"Gods don't lose." Chel replied.

"Eh, I might be able to make a few shots." Sora said, casually. The other three looked at him as though he were crazy. He smiled. "You've clearly never seen me play Blitzball."

"What's Blitzball?" Miguel asked.

Sora was about to answer when Tzekel-Khan snapped his fingers once. Sora was cut short when the earth trembled slightly beneath their feet. Suddenly, there was a solid mass of muscle and black hair moving toward them at top speed.

Fifteen heavily-muscled men (some of whom Axel had beaten in sparring earlier that day) stopped before them. Each one wore identical clothing: blue-green cloth coverings below the waist, and red arm bands. They ran the height scale from short to very tall, though most of them were at least Miguel's height. The largest of the men was about as tall as Jack Skellington, but with about ten times the bulk.

"My Lords," Tzekel-Khan continued, "Chief Tannabok's warriors are the finest ball players in the city. Fifteen mere mortals... against two gods and a mystic."

As Sora was wondering why Tzekel-Khan was calling him a 'mystic' he heard Miguel and Tulio gulp loudly. The warriors thumped their chests with their fists, and ran to the opposite side of the court.

"I do realize it's a bit uneven, but I hope they will prove challenge enough to make the game... Interesting." Tzekel-Khan smiled at them. "Play ball!"

The audience cheered when he placed the ball at the three's feet. "Crush them into the dust." He said. "But enjoy it!" And he hurried to the temple area where Tannabok had taken his seat.

Sora looked over at his 'team', wishing that they could all be out here instead of just him. But, that would have rose a bit of suspicion, and made the game seem grossly unfair. Despite the fact that their situation was a bit dire, Kairi blew him a kiss for good luck.

He caught it, and then the earth started to shake again. He turned around, and saw the warriors running toward them.

None of them moved until the biggest one slid toward the ball, and drove his foot into it. Tulio threw himself backwards to keep from being struck with it, and the ball continued toward the bench. Goofy quickly brought up his shield to block the ball, which bounced back onto the court.

Everybody watched it roll to a stop by Sora's feet.

All was silent for a moment, until Tzekel-Khan spoke up. "Um, my Lords? Were you not supposed to put the ball into play?"

Tulio got to his feet. "Oh! No no no, uh, we were merely demonstrating the traditional... First-Avoidance maneuver."

"Ah... I've never heard of such a thing."

"Excuse me? Who invented this game?" Miguel asked.

"Why, the gods!" The high priest answered, chuckling, thinking that he was joking again. "Of course!"

"Yeah, Your Lordship, don't you remember?" Sora asked. "It was Saturday night, I was there, Axel was drunk, Tulio was discussing tornados with Zeus and you were hitting on Calypso?"

He could see their team trying hard not to laugh.

Tulio warned them both, "I'm telling you, don't push your luck with this guy." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder at Tzekel-Khan.

"But Tulio," Miguel replied casually, picking up the ball, and tossing it back and forth between his hands. "We're the gods! You're up Sora!"

He tossed the ball to the center of the court, and Sora was already in motion, attempting to beat the other players to it.

He was successful, and kicked the ball into the air, and slightly behind him toward Tulio. The man hit it up toward the hoop, only for it to hit the wall a few feet below it, and bounce toward one of the warriors.

This man hit it with his hip toward one of his team mates, who in turn hit it with his own hip right toward the hoop.

It soared completely through it, giving them their first point.

"Shoot." Sora muttered. These guys were good!

"I bet you can be better!" Roxas encouraged.

Let's see.

Sora ran toward where the ball had fallen, and arrived there a split second before three of his large opponents. He kicked it to Miguel, who kicked it to Tulio, who kicked it right back to Sora.

The Keybearer ran down the court, kicking the ball between his feet, and weaving around his slightly slower opponents. He kicked it at the hoop, and it barely passed through it.

The crowd cheered louder than before, and Sora exchanged quick high-fives with his team mates.

A warrior knocked the ball into the air, and head-butted it toward the hoop. It shot directly at it, and for a moment, it looked as though it would pass perfectly through it.

At the absolute last instant, the ball curved aside, missing the hoop completely, and landing at Miguel's feet. Sora looked at it curiously for a moment, and then looked over at Nehrut, on the bench.

The telepath had a small smirk on his face, and waved to the Keybearer casually. Sora laughed, thinking that this game was winnable after all.

The game continued for nearly an hour, and the sun was gradually lowering in the sky. The temple's shadow stopped about halfway into the court.

Sora, Miguel, and Tulio (and unofficially, Nehrut) had a significant lead over their warrior opponents. According to the golden bricks which were lined up along the temple steps, they were leading them at twenty-seven points to five.

Nehrut's subtle alterations of the ball's path had placed it in their possession for most of the game. And during the few times when the warriors had been able to hold onto the thing, they had usually missed the hoop completely.

They were dominating the game, and weren't afraid to push their luck a little. Every once in a while, they would see that their moves were very over-the-top, making them look even more impressive when the ball soared perfectly through the hoop.

Sora was basically running on auto-pilot, merely going through the motions of playing the game while Nehrut did the real work. He kicked the ball in the general direction of the hoop...

And missed by a mile.

Confused as to why Nehrut hadn't done anything, Sora looked toward the bench, to discover that Chel was the only one there, sitting next to a large wicker basket filled with extra balls. The rest of their group was missing.

!

A few minutes before this realization, something very unfortunate had happened.

Things had been proceeding smoothly, and none of the spectators nor members of the opposite team seemed to suspect anything. Though, if they did, they'd chalk it up to Miguel and Tulio's 'godly powers.'

As Tulio kneed the ball toward the hoop, Nehrut angled its course subtly toward it. It passed through, obviously, but then he felt a painful elbow in his ribs.

"What?" He asked Riku, who was next to him. Suddenly, he realized what was wrong. He could now sense creatures nearby, only seconds later than the silver-haired Keybearer. There were dozens of dark, simple-minded beings nearby, and closing in fast.

"Crap." A moment later, the rest of the team had been apprised of the situation.

"You think they'll be able to hang in there for a few minutes?" Yuffie asked, rising slowly to her feet.

"They're ahead by like twenty points, if we're quick, maybe." Axel said.

Quietly, the nine of them moved from the bench, creeping along the side of the court, toward one of the gaps between the court boundary walls. Everybody was too caught up in the excitement of the game to notice their departure.

The moment they were out of sight, they broke into runs up the vegetation-covered hills that sat just outside the court. No sooner had they reached the peak of the first one did they meet the Heartless.

They took a moment to note what Heartless were present. Not surprisingly, there were several Shadows and Neoshadows. There were a few of the Wild Dogs they met at the Pride Lands, plus several low-flying Dark Beaks, Rapid Thrusters, and Aerial Knockers. In addition to these, there were Wildcats.

These were roughly the size of jaguars (which brought unwelcome memories of Sabor to Donald and Goofy), with jet black skin dotted with red and gold. Their long, very sharp claws were blood red, and their gold eyes glowed malevolently. Their long tails coiled back and forth as they prowled slowly around to encircle the group.

They all brandished their weapons, and the moment the three Keyblades appeared in the hands of Riku, Kairi, and Mickey, the Heartless attacked.

Mickey rolled forward under a Wildcat that pounced at him. As it passed overhead, he slashed his blade across the Heartless' underbelly, carving it open from neck to lower stomach. The creature was already fading away by the time it hit the ground, and Mickey had already taken out two Shadows.

A bolt of Lightning shot through the trio of Neoshadows that had advanced toward him just afterword, and stunned a nearby Wild Dog. Donald ran past him, and drove the flaming head of his staff into the back of the dazed Heartless. He then dodged to the side to avoid a descending Aerial Knocker, and sent ice particles into its chest.

The Guardian shot past him, plowing into a Wildcat and driving it into a stone structure that had been positioned nearby. The impact didn't totally defeat it, but its follow-up blow to the head did.

Riku leapt onto this small structure, and took out three Rapid Thrusters in midair. A pair of Wild Dogs leapt up after him. One was caught by the throat Guardian, and got its neck snapped like a twig.

For the other, Riku held his blade high, "First Light's Fire!"

Way to Dawn was completely enveloped in coursing Dawn energy to the point where one couldn't even see the blade itself anymore. He swung it simply one time, and removed the head of the other Heartless before it had a chance to blink (if it had had eyelids).

The Keybearer leapt down, and cut into another four Heartless with his blazing blade before any of them could do anything about it. He leapt high over the battleground, and drove the blade completely through the back of a Wildcat.

Nehrut lifted a Neoshadow into the air, and threw it into the head of a Wild Dog. The smaller Heartless died on impact, and the larger one staggered. So, he grabbed hold of two Rapid Thrusters, and threw them at high speed into the creature, destroying all three. He spun around, twisting to the side as another came at him from behind.

With one swipe of his blade, he had taken off all four legs. As he did so, Bariss' sai flew through the air to stick into the chest of a nearby Aerial Knocker. It fell limp to the ground, and Nehrut mentally ripped it from its body, and threw it at a Shadow that was running at the aforementioned girl.

It speared into the ground, and she waved at him in thanks. She reclaimed her weapon, and slashed it across the face of a swooping Rapid Thruster. She back flipped over a Wildcat pouncing at her back, and landed directly on its shoulders.

She quickly coiled the end of her whip around its neck and pulled as hard as she could, snapping its neck.

Axel had both of his chakrams blazing with fire, and threw them at a pair of Wild Dogs that had coordinated their attacks to meet him at the same time. An admirable feat for Heartless, but it didn't work. One of the weapons beheaded one, at the same moment that the second sliced across the other's belly.

He leapt straight up, and set the area below him on fire, which was now occupied with a group of Shadows. Goofy ran through this area a moment later, smashing approaching Heartless away with his shield. When a Wildcat ran right at him, he jumped out of the way, and used the sharp edges of his shield to slash into its ribs multiple times before it could move again.

Yuffie appeared on its back, and drove one of her many kunai into the top of its skull. She vanished, and appeared on the opposite end of the conflict. She quickly dispatched a nearby Neoshadow, before sending her shuriken flying in an arc around the area, taking out a dozen of the flying Heartless before returning to her hand.

Kairi was taking a much different approach to the fighting. She maintained a look of intense concentration throughout most of the fight, and only now did she make a major move against their enemies.

She dismissed her Keyblade, and shot her hands out to her sides. Her hands glowed bright silver, and were obscured from view when two meter-long blades of Light shot from her fists.

"Blades of Heaven!" She shouted, her eyes glowing with silver Light.

She leapt into the air, spinning rapidly. The blades on her hands speared out at two Aerial Knockers that flew at her, tearing completely through them, and frying the Heartless that they hit afterword.

Shorter blades appeared in Kairi's hands before she touched the ground. Barely even pausing, she fired them again at another pair of Heartless, and still more blades replaced those.

Kairi never stopped moving. For the rest of their encounter (which became significantly short thanks to her) she moved fluidly around the battleground, shooting her Light blades at any Heartless that she caught sight of. She decimated their ranks in seconds, her blades shooting through any amount of space that wasn't occupied by a friend.

At last, her hands formed two longer blades, which she stabbed into the ground. All around her, small pillars of Light shot up from the ground beneath the Heartless. They speared into their bodies, with the pure energy of Light disintegrating their dark flesh immediately.

The fight ended with this final attack, and Kairi returned to her normal appearance. She gazed around the battleground with a satisfied smile, and was greeted by the appreciative, awed gazes of her team mates.

"So how long have you been able to do that?" Riku asked.

She shrugged, taking a few deep breaths. "Let's get back to the ga-"

Her eyes went wide, and she dove forward. In the space she had occupied a second before, there was a young man.

He had spiky blonde hair, and a black jacket. He carried a long spear in both hands, with the blade lodged into the ground where Kairi had stood. That blade would have speared completely through her had she not moved in time.

"Just missed." The newcomer muttered.

The rest of them quickly moved to surround him, weapons pointing inward toward him. Everything was still for a moment, before Axel's mouth fell open in disbelief. "Xyran?"

"Hey, Axel." He muttered, as though embarrassed.

"Gee, Axel. You know him?" Goofy asked. Now Axel was getting confused looks from the rest of the group.

"Yeah. Meet Xyran: former apprentice of Organization XIII. He left us before Roxas was even born." Now he looked Xyran in the eye. "Marluxia and Larxene said you were dead."

Xyran raised an eyebrow. "It was Marluxia and Larxene. You believed them?"

"Good point. So what, you were imprisoned or something?"

"Uh-huh. Serndask busted me out a little while ago." Xyran's face fell. "I'm now a part of the Brotherhood of the Dark, and I'm here for a Keybearer."

"You don't sound particularly happy about it." Nehrut observed.

"Well, I'm not. Though, how could I be?" He shrugged. "But I don't have much of a choice. I'd appreciate it if you all stood down, I don't want to hurt you."

Kairi found this very unusual. Was a Nobody –a natural enemy to Keyblade wielders and any of their allies- actually trying to be merciful? It was strange, but Kairi wasn't about to let that affect her answer.

She raised Destiny's Light in front of her. "Whatever you do, don't let him touch you!" Axel warned. "He copies powers. The last thing we need is another enemy with a Keyblade."

Xyran sighed. "I'm sorry about this. I really am." He raised his head. "Okay, Cossex."

A female voice came from the tree line that the warriors had yet to pass. "Mind Crush!"

Suddenly, everyone was on their knees, clutching at their heads. The inside of their heads were screaming with pain, and it felt as though their brains were trying to crack open their skulls from the inside.

Riku was on the ground, biting his lips to keep a scream locked behind them. Xyran stood over him, and Cossex emerged from the trees to join him. "I'm really sorry about this." Xyran said sincerely, raising his spear over his head. "I don't have a choice. I'll make it quick."

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

The two Nobodies turned, and discovered that Kairi was still standing, looking none the worse for wear.

Suddenly realizing that they were in danger, the two Nobodies fell into fighting positions. "How on earth are you still standing?"

Kairi shrugged. "Don't know. But I'm certainly not complaining."

She rushed at Cossex, bringing her Keyblade down toward her head. Cossex quickly parried the blow, and struck out at the younger woman's stomach, she missed.

And in striking back at the girl, her concentration of the 'Mind Crush' technique had broken.

Her other eight opponents were on their feet in an instant, and rushing in toward her and her partner. Amidst the flurry of weapons, she and Xyran had to rapidly retreat from the group into more open ground.

"Call in the backup." Xyran said.

Lesser Nobodies appeared in their midst. Present were Dusks and Creepers, but the majority of them were ones new to the other warriors.

The first of these were Elementalists. They were of average height, with silver bodies, and slightly dome-shaped heads. They had bulky forearms, and carried black and white scythe-like weapons in their hands. Their chests were marked with black Nobody emblems. The black blades they carried were either covered by fire, crackling electricity, or small clouds of frosty air.

The Soldier Nobodies were slightly taller than them. Their faces were covered by the black Nobody emblem. Their bulky chests had the appearance of being armored, with interlocking grey plates and shoulder guards. In their right hands were gleaming short swords with emblems on the pommel. She same held true for the shields strapped to their left arms.(1)

At a signal from their respective commanders, the Nobodies rushed into action.

Riku and Kairi leapt over them completely, running to engage Cossex and Xyran. Riku stabbed forward at Cossex's stomach. She used both of her weapons to pin his to the ground, and then leapt forward to finish him.

He ducked under the attack, and struck at her as she passed overhead. She was barely able to knock the attack aside, and land lightly on his other side. She twisted around, her blades slicing through the air toward his neck. Riku parried the blows, and slashed at her legs.

Cossex leapt backwards, and he followed her with another strike aimed for her head. She caught the strike, and smacked his blade to the side with both of hers.

Nehrut caught an advancing Creeper in half, and then lifted a Dusk into the air. He launched it head first at the nearest Soldier, which brought its shield up to protect itself from the living projectile. It then ran toward the telepath, nearly slicing him in half with its sword.

As it was, Nehrut parried the blow, and stabbed it through the chest. By the time he had withdrawn it, there were three Creepers swinging at him in the form of what might have been clubs. He ducked under the three blows, and cut them apart on his way back up.

Mickey was dealing with two Elementalists. One swung its weapon, sending a plume of fire at him, while the other one sent a few lightning bolts toward him. The King leapt as high into the air as he could, and felt the heat of the fire as it passed below him.

One bolt arced up toward him, but Kingdom Crown caught it, and redirected it harmlessly into the ground. He landed back on the ground directly in front of the first Elementalist, and cut it in half at the waist. He leapt over the fading remains, and drove his Keyblade into the other's chest.

Donald and Goofy had developed an unorthodox way of confronting the Soldier Nobodies. They would engage them the same way each time, with Goofy shielding them both from the attacks of its blade. Donald would wait until it lowered its own shield just slightly, and attack with a quick spell until it went down.

The end of Bariss' whip wrapped around the right wrist of a Soldier, and she gave it a firm pull toward her. The application of force was just enough to loosen the Nobody's grip on its weapon to the point where it fell to the ground.

She rushed in to finish it (cutting down an unlucky Dusk with the sharp edges of her shield as she did). She drew her sai, and aimed at its throat. It blocked the assault however, and pressed forward with its own shield, knocking her backwards, and making her lose her balance.

It loomed over her for a moment, before she lunged up at it with her sai, stabbing through the spot where its heart should have been.

Axel leapt over her as she got to her feet, removing the head of a Dusk with one swipe. Xonem appeared right on cue, cutting down an advancing Elementalist before it realized it was there.

About a dozen Assassins appeared in the area, and went to town against their Nobody counterparts. One's blade arm came within an inch of removing Xyran's head. As it was, he was able to duck out of its way, and score a hit on its side with one of Larxene's kunai.

He quickly swapped the kunai out for Marluxia's scythe, and used it to parry Kairi's overhand strike at his head. He stabbed at her stomach with his spear, only for his own attack to be parried with her Keyblade.

Xyran had to admit that he was pleasantly surprised. He had observed the girl for a short amount of time before she and her friends had engaged the Heartless, and she hadn't looked like anything particularly special. Granted, she was quite pretty, and seemed like a very nice person, but certainly not a fighter.

The Nobody realized how ludicrously far off he had been now. She fought beautifully, and with a passion that the greatest of warriors would envy. He had come within an inch of death several times at the end of her blade.

It almost happened again when Kairi sidestepped his lunge at her midsection, and sent her blade at his neck. Only a very hasty teleportation backwards saved him. He dismissed his melee weapons, and instead summoned Xigbar's guns to his hands.

He opened fire, and Kairi erected a Light shield directly in front of her. The bullets bounced harmlessly off, and dissipated a moment after they hit the ground. Kairi pointed her blade forward, and launched the shield at him.

Xyran stomped his foot, and a wall of solid earth shot up from the ground before him. Thinking this would be enough to hold off the approaching Light, he dismissed the guns, and summoned his spear back into his hands, gathering electricity to it to launch a counterattack.

One can imagine his surprise when the Light smashed completely through the rock and dirt barrier. First, the debris from the wall collapsed on top of him, but this was a small problem in comparison with the pure Light colliding with him, and sending him flying.

The electrical energy he had been collecting was released in the form of a single bolt of lightning which flew into a nearby tree. It nearly chopped it in half, sending splinters flying everywhere. Coincidentally, some of these spinters were sharp enough, and had enough force behind them, to shred some of the lesser Nobodies.

Xyran hit his head against a large rock, and everything went black.

Cossex, seeing her partner in danger, leapt away from the descending fist of Riku's Guardian, and vaulted over Mickey and an Assassin to get to his side. Before Kairi could get any closer to him to finish him off, she was there to block her path.

Most of the Soldiers and Elementalists rushed in to join her, forming a solid wall of Nobodies in between the two women. Cossex bent down, and hoisted Xyran over her shoulder.

All of them vanished through corridors of Darkness.

Each one of them were silent for nearly a minute, until Yuffie finally vocalized what everyone was thinking. "What just happened here?"

None of them could come up with a real answer.

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Hope you liked it!

1) Inspired by Shire Folk's design, as they're following his O.C.

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