Okay, so this was technically supposed to go up yesterday to keep with the promise of two chapters per month, but I thought we had another day in February. Whoops.
Max: "Anyway… Huge battle chapters! WOOOO!
WOOOO!
Max: "WOOOO!"
WOOOO!
Max: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Disney, or blah, blah, blah, you know the rest."
!
Chapter 128: The Defense of Radiant Garden
"C'mon old man!" Zell shouted to Cid, who was carrying a box of computer equipment under his arm, and a large spear in his other. "Time's a factor here!"
"I'm comin' I'm comin'! Get off my back!" Cid grumbled.
Zell and Luxord were waiting in an armored government car to transport Cid back to the castle. There, he'd be able to access the primary mainframe for the village's defenses, and better coordinate their guard of the city.
"You guys stay safe!" Riku shouted to them, rushing past their car into the one awaiting him. Yuffie, Sonic, and Maka were already waiting inside. He was relieved to discover that his ninja girlfriend wasn't the one at the wheel; Mr. Incredible was.
A similar line of armored vehicles was waiting nearby, ready to roll into motion to the west edge of town, closest to the advancing Heartless. Merlin and Yen Sid were absent. The two old wizards were staying in the house, going into what Riku understood to be a form of meditation that would aide warriors in battle. Aerith was back at Cetra Hospital, overseeing the safety of her various charges.
Riku waved at Nehrut and Bariss's car, which was closest to the car he was moving to. He hopped into the back seat, next to Yuffie.
He looked over at Maka, who had a large, heavy-looking scythe propped up next to her on the other side of the seat. It had a dull grey handle, and the blade had a spiked red and black pattern running down its length.
"Where's Soul?" He asked.
"Right here, genius." Soul's head suddenly appeared from the blade of the scythe, grinning at the shocked expressions on their faces. He laughed. "I never get tired of doing that."
"Ignore him." Maka said, pressing a hand to Soul's face, and shoving it back into the scythe. "He's under the impression that he's hilarious."
"Just when you think things can't get any weirder." Riku muttered to himself.
PJ leapt into the car, and sat next to Mr. Incredible. He had a large weapon sitting across his lap that bore a slight resemblance the blaster cannon that Jumba Jookiba had used against Heartless and Nobodies on Hawaii. It had a large strap, which allowed it to hang comfortably around his body. It looked like it could pack a punch.
"Roll out!" Came Leon's commanding voice over the sound of the idling engines of the cars. Riku spied him a few cars away with Rinoa and the 'Gaang' from the Kingdom of Elements.
The cars roared to life, and took off down the streets with Leon's in the lead. The only ones who weren't riding in them were Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx, who were gliding over the cars. They were easily keeping up with the vehicles below them, and even made an occasional loop over their heads.
"Show offs." Sonic said with a smirk, when Spyro barrel-rolled directly over his head.
"Oh yeah?" The dragon challenged. "What can you do?"
To Riku's surprise, the hedgehog leapt completely out of the car, and landed on both feet on the pavement beside it. Without falling behind at all, Sonic sprinted alongside the car, his feet a red blur beneath him. He never even broke a sweat.
"Of course, you realize that you're the one showing off, now." PJ commented, leaning slightly out of the vehicle.
"Shut up."
The convoy sped along the streets of Radiant Garden, which were all empty save for the occasional civilian rushing toward a shelter. It took Riku a few moments to recognize the fact that they weren't actually the only ones out and about.
The Tron 2.0s that he had briefly seen during their last trip to the world were speeding along the streets as well, moving in the same direction of the cars.
"What are they up to?" he wondered aloud.
The answer became clear when the convoy arrived at the gates a half miles outside of the walled city. The wall wasn't particularly high, and was apparently still under construction.
The cars passed through the gates two at a time, breaking out onto the landscape of blue rocks, marked by the occasional patch of trees that had only recently begun to grow. Assembled around the gate were a few dozen of the Tron 2.0s. Their slim, metallic hands had formed small cannons on them.
They barely moved, and were doubtlessly ready to defend the city gates.
The cars rolled to a stop, and their passengers left them. The handful of police officers who had accompanied them took control of the vehicles, readying their weapons systems should they be needed. Each one of the cops was wearing a thick, padded dark blue uniform over a set of body armor. They wore earpieces, and thick, black leather boots and gloves. Their weapons were fastened to their belts. The letters 'RGPD' were adorned on their backs.
"Chancellor." A tall, middle-aged man wearing a visor, police uniform and body armor said, approaching Leon and saluting. "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask again that you not participate in the assault yourself. If anything should happen to you-"
"Then Radiant Garden will have to get along just fine with Aerith as Chancellor." Leon said, before the man could finish. "I'm a better warrior than a politician, and I can serve my world best as a warrior right now."
"But sir-"
"I'll be fine. There are two Keybearers here, after all." Leon half-smiled. "To your position, Captain Andrei."
"Yes sir." The captain reluctantly obeyed Leon's orders, and climbed into the back seat of an armored car, which now had a gatling-gun-like attachment in the top. "Okay men! You know your objectives! Defend the city, and its people."
Leon saluted them, and each and every officer returned it in one crisp movement.
"Move out!" Mickey exclaimed, drawing Kingdom Crown.
The entire party rushed to the west, where Villain's Vale –and legions of Heartless- awaited them.
!
"Too easy." Syndrome commented, dryly.
He, Shego, and Randall stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the onrushing Heartless army. Looking through a pair of high-powered binoculars, he saw their enemies sprinting from the village gates to meet them.
"Alright, you know the plan." Shego said to her two partners. "Randall, the computer. Syndrome, the kids."
"On it." The two replied.
Syndrome ignited his boots, and took to the air. He cruised low over the rocky ground, in the direction of the village, with one goal in mind. At the same moment, Randall changed his coloration to perfectly match the landscape around him. A moment later, Shego heard him dart away, barely making any noise at all.
Shego sighed to herself, and took a seat. Her legs dangled over the side of the cliff. She pulled out a metal nail file, and started using it to sharpen the ends of her metal-tipped gloves.
"And now I play the waiting game."
!
Moments after meeting the Heartless, Radiant Garden's defenders had become separated from each other. But just because they were divided, didn't mean that they were weak.
Nearly ten minutes into the battle, Riku and Yuffie had somehow wound up fighting alongside Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Zuko. The seven of them were in a deep, narrow fissure with sheer rock walls on all sides. Heartless kept pouring in from the top, and dropping down to fight them.
The benders were magnificent. Each one of them (besides Sokka) utilized a specific element of nature in battle, releasing them in the form of complex-looking martial arts movements. These 'benders' didn't even need weapons. They fought with everything around them.
Zuko's fighting style was fast and aggressive. He punched, kicked, or leapt at the Heartless surrounding him. Blazing hot fire burst from his body with every movement, searing Heartless on contact, and scorching the rock around him. He was blindingly fast, and Riku could barely see his limbs moving before a great jet of fire flew at the Heartless.
Sokka –the only non-bender in their group- seemed to be something of a weapons-expert. Riku saw him using no less than three weapons during the course of the fighting. On many occasions, he threw a sharp, gleaming silver boomerang into the throng, where it sliced through the creatures for a surprisingly long time before returning to him. Also on his possession was a long, silver club with a blue stone set into the end. But more often than not, he wielded a thin, jet black sword against the Heartless. He was very adept at using it, and it cut through a Heartless with every swipe.
Little blind Toph sure didn't seem anything like a little blind girl at the moment. She fought with extreme confidence, and a brutally offensive technique. With lots of foot stamping and sliding movements, she manipulated the earth around her. Great pillars of rock burst from the ground, smashing into the Heartless from below, or crashing into them from other angles.
Katara had unsealed the pouches at her waist. It was revealed that she carried large amounts of water in each of them. However, it clearly wasn't for drinking. She was a water-bender. With graceful, flowing, circular moments, she used the water around her as a weapon against the Heartless. She formed it into whips, which cracked against the skin of the creatures. Otherwise, she launched small masses of it into them with the force of cannon balls.
Aang –wielding a long, wooden staff- seemed to be capable of using earth, water, and fire. But more often than any of these, he used the wind and air. With fast, strong, sweeping movements, he sent huge gusts of wind into the Heartless. He was fast, and agile, and graceful all at the same time.
Riku frequently saw the Avatar form spheres of swirling wind beneath his feet. He hopped up onto it, and stood on his toes. He shot all around the battlefield, blowing Heartless out of his path, and striking the closer ones down with his staff.
Riku had a hard time tearing his eyes from the beautiful spectacle, and nearly paid for it. An Armored Knight rushed from the throngs of Heartless, and leapt. Its sword arm nearly took his head off, and only a last-minute parry saved him. He flourished his blade, and cut the Heartless in half before it even touched the ground again.
A huge jet of flame flew past him, and Zuko was soon by his side. The two of them stood side by side among the Heartless, ready to lash out at a moment's notice.
"Do they always keep on coming like this?" Zuko asked.
"Only until they exhaust the numbers their leader sent. This could take a while."
"The sooner they go down, then the sooner we finish, I guess."
"That's the spirit." Riku brought his hands together. "Ray of Dawn!"
The thrust his hands forward, shooting a massive beam of Dawn forward, cutting a massive path through the hordes of creatures. At the same moment, Zuko raised his head, opening his mouth wide. A stream of blazing fire erupted from his mouth, incinerating four of the five Bookmasters that had been flying at him.
Only one managed to survive by raising its tome to defend itself. Before it could hope to counterattack, Yuffie's shuriken was spinning through its neck. It spun back to her hand, and she threw it at a pair of Surveillance Robots before they could fire onto Toph.
Interestingly, the girl didn't seem to have noticed them approaching her from behind. Yuffie leapt over to her.
"Didn't you see them?" She asked, cutting down a Soldier.
"What do you mean 'see?'" She replied, deadpan.
Yuffie mentally slapped herself. "Sorry."
"I can 'see' it if it's on the ground, not in the air. Watch my back."
"Can do."
Toph stamped her foot, and a wall of rock erupted from the ground before her. She slid her foot forward, sending the wall rushing forward, crushing all Heartless in its path. She thrust her hands forward, and the wall broke apart. She brought her hands apart, sending the rocky fragments flying into their ranks.
An Invisible, accompanied by five Rapid Thrusters swooped down toward the two girls. Yuffie threw her shuriken, cutting through the smaller Heartless. The Invisible touched down on the ground for a moment, its blade raised to strike the ninja down. But, since it was on the ground, Toph was now aware of its presence.
She turned, and sent a dagger-like piece of rock flying into its face before it could do anything.
A tidal wave suddenly rushed past the two, crushing Heartless beneath them. Katara rode on top of the water as though she were surfing without a board. She came to a stop on the other end of the fissure, and pulled the water back to herself, forming a bubble of swirling, churning water around her form.
Tentacle-like trails of water emerged from her bubble. Controlling them from inside the relative safety of her bubble, she lashed them against the Heartless, knocking them flat, or slicing completely through them.
A trio of Bookmasters descended from the sky, balls of fire hovering before their tomes. They launched these fireballs into Katara's bubble. They exploded against it, erupting into balls of steam on impact. Katara lost her concentration for a moment, and the bubble collapsed into a very large puddle around her.
Before the Heartless could fire again, Sokka had thrown his boomerang up at them. It sliced through the first one, and injured the other two. "Away from my sister!"
The Guardian flew after the other two Heartless, and smashed them together with its fists. It then shot down to the ground, driving a small group of Shadows into the ground. Riku flew after it, and sliced through a pair of nearby Neoshadows. He drove his Keyblade into the chest of an Armored Knight, and pulled it away quickly.
He twisted his blade around, and deflected the clawed attack of a Soldier. With another simple flick of the wrist, he beheaded it. A Morning Star launched itself into the air, angling toward the Keybearer with the intention of smashing him into the ground. Riku raised his blade.
But, he didn't need to. A massive gust of air blew the Heartless far, far away, sending it smashing into the ground a half-mile away.
Aang landed lightly next to Riku and his Guardian, staff in hand. The Avatar spun it over his head, and then made a sweeping motion with it. Heartless were launched high into the air with the force of the gale he had called up, and Riku picked several of them off while they were in midair with well-aimed blasts of Dawn.
"Not bad." Aang complimented, upon seeing the destruction of the Heartless.
"Not too bad yourself." Riku said.
!
Axel, Kim, Auron, Maka (holding Soul), and Sonic were fighting a few miles away from them, along a section of the Ravine Trail. This narrow stretch of rocky path cut off abruptly on either end, into a sheer vertical drop into the canyons below.
Every time that Maka swung the massive scythe that was Soul, the blade emitted a bright flash of blue light. She sliced cleanly through Heartless with every stroke, wielding the very heavy blade as though it weighed next to nothing. And she was as fast as she was strong, dodging, and leaping around the attacks of the creatures even as she destroyed them.
But where Maka was fast, Sonic was faster still. He was quite literally a blur, as he zipped back and forth around the area, striking Heartless down before they had any chance of touching him. He barely ever slowed down, even while faced with the prospect of taking a header over the side of the trail, and down over a hundred feet.
Axel stood back-to-back with Auron. "You know, last time I tried fighting against this many enemies, I ended up killing myself."
"Hm. I know what that feels like." Auron commented. "I hope to avoid it this time."
"Right back at ya."
A handful of Shadows and Neoshadows leapt at the two the moment these words were out of Axel's mouth. In one smooth movement, Axel and Auron traded places. Auron's massive katana shredded through the Heartless on his side, while Axel's chakrams did the same to those on the other side.
The two jumped forward. Axel spun in the air, the weapons in both of his hands burning, and setting the nearest Heartless alight, sometimes without even touching them directly. When he touched the ground, he tossed both of them forward, slicing through anything they touched.
Before they returned to his grasp, a Bookmaster sent a fireball down at him. Axel reached up, and caught it as though it were a mere baseball. He tossed it casually back at the Heartless, hitting it full in the face.
Sonic leapt over Axel's head, running at break-neck speed. In the air, he spun around in something of a circle, his fists and feet striking a small group of Rapid Thrusters who came foolishly close to him, and destroying them immediately.
The hedgehog literally hit the ground running, without slowing or stumbling in the slightest. He ran toward an Armored Knight, and grabbed its arm above its blade. He pulled the Heartless along with him, and shoved its blade into five Neoshadows, before throwing it into a Dark Ball which was rocketing toward him.
He stopped in front of a Large Body. It raised its hands, intending to smash Sonic into the ground. But before it could bring them crashing down, there was a horizontal slash of blue light. The Heartless' head fell from its neck, leaking black smoke.
When the rest of its body faded away, Maka was revealed to be standing there, holding Soul. She flashed Sonic a quick grin, and then spun around. With a single wide slash of the scythe that was also a human, she cut no less than a dozen Shadows in half. A small barrage of blasts from Surveillance Robots shot down at her.
She raised her blade, and blocked the shots. They splattered uselessly against the weapon. Maka spun her scythe over her head, and leapt into the air. She slashed at the hovering Heartless, and destroyed them instantly.
She landed back on the ground, and spun the large weapon around her body, cutting apart the nearest of the Heartless several times in about three seconds.
Kim leapt over her head, kicking an Invisible in the face before she touched the ground. She reached into a pouch on her belt, and withdrew a tiny black ball from inside. She threw it up into the air to strike the Invisible she had just kicked. It exploded upon contact with its skin, destroying it immediately.
She pulled more of the tiny explosives from her belt, and threw a fistful of them into the Heartless throng.
A series of small, but powerful explosions ripped into the creatures, shredding their dark flesh in an instant. She hadn't quite counted on the kick that they packed, and was just too close to one of them when it went off.
She was thrown about a foot backwards. This wasn't a particularly great distance, but there had been only six inches between her and the edge of the rocky path. At the cutoff point, she began to fall into the gorge.
Fortunately for her, a strong, weathered hand gripped her gloved one before she went too far. She looked up, and saw Auron's face. His sword was beside him, with its blade stuck roughly into the ground. He gripped her hand with his strong right arm.
Wordlessly, he pulled her back up. A Neoshadow leapt at his back, hoping to take him down while he was unarmed.
Unfortunately for it, Auron's sword was back in his hand the second he had released Kim. With a turn of his wrist, he beheaded it in midair.
Three Armored Knights struck at him at once, only to have their arm-blades pinned to the ground with Auron's own sword. He cut the three of them in half easily, and rolled forward through the space they had occupied as a Morning Star crashed down not two feet away.
Auron rolled smoothly to his feet, and smacked the big Heartless in its side with his blade. The semi-spherical Heartless was sent flying over the side of the pathway, and down into the deep gorge below, where it was crushed by the impact of its own fall.
!
Nehrut, Bariss, Train, Sven, Eve, Spyro, Cynder, and Sparx were fighting in a rocky section of the landscape, which sloped traitorously downward. It could best be described as a cliffside, which sloped at a forty-five degree angle, and was marked with loose rock all over it.
The terrain of this area was understandably a major disadvantage on their part. It was hard to take a step without worry of falling several feet. However, this didn't seem to bother the Heartless very much.
Even amidst the fighting, Nehrut had time to marvel at the abilities of their new allies.
Spyro flew over the main fighting, spewing flame from his mouth. This was to be expected from a dragon, but he also displayed other talents. Super-cooled ice particles burst from his mouth, freezing Heartless on impact. In addition to this, bolts of bluish, crackling electricity burst from his maw, destroying Heartless, and scorching the rock around them.
Cynder used similar techniques, but not elemental powers. Greenish energy spewed from her mouth, searing the Heartless below. It exploded against the ground, catching still more Heartless in its path, and destroying them instantly. Their friend Sparx flitted between the two, shouting his encouragement and advice.
Train was amazingly agile, and leapt among the rocks without any sign of slipping. His revolver was out, and firing repeatedly into the Heartless. Every shot destroyed at least one Heartless. The bullets had so much power behind them that some punched completely through the creatures.
His partner Sven was fighting with a briefcase. At least, it appeared to be a small, silver briefcase, which he held in his right hand. When he used it in battle, however, he held it in both hands, like a rifle. A stream of bullets poured out of the side, pouring into the Heartless. Nehrut couldn't determine whether the suitcase was the weapon, or if there was a gun inside it. Either way, he was impressed.
Eve, on the other hand, didn't use a weapon. She was a weapon.
The girl could transform her body into virtually anything that could be used in battle. In one moment, her entire forearm would transform into a sword blade, while the fingers on her other hand lengthened, and hardened into thin blades, as well. Other times, her fist transformed into the head of a hammer, or locks of her long hair became whips. At points, feathery, white angel wings burst from her back, allowing her flight.
Nehrut parried a blow from an Armored Knight, knocking it backwards a few steps. He casually turned around, and cut the head off of a charging Soldier, before cutting the first creature in half. A Large Body slid toward him, and the telepath stretched out his hand. The Heartless froze, and he shoved it down the cliffside, knocking it repeatedly against the rocks.
Spyro barrel-rolled over his head, spewing fire from his mouth into the Heartless ahead of him. Three Rapid Thrusters came toward him, but a quick burst of electricity took them out of the picture faster than anyone could blink. Two Dark Balls shot at the young dragon with the force of wrecking balls.
He shot below them when they approached. He twisted around in the air before they could, and fired a large ball of flame at them, which reduced them to wisps of smoke in the air in a half-second.
Cynder flew past him, directly toward a handful of Bookmasters and Rapid Thrusters shooting toward the two dragons. Crackling energy burst from her mouth, destroying them instantly. An Invisible shot toward her from below. She barely even paid it any attention as she lashed her tail out at it.
Her tail coiled tightly around its neck, and with a single tug, she snapped it in two.
Another small group of Rapid Thrusters flew toward her, though before she could do anything about them, a hail of bullets tore into the flying Heartless. Cynder looked down, and saw Sven flash her a quick thumbs-up. The end of his briefcase-weapon was smoking.
Sven turned the end of the case toward another group of Heartless making their way down the hill toward him. More bullets flew from the weapon, ripping into the creatures before they got too close. Still, more kept coming.
Sven pressed a few concealed buttons and switches on the underside of his case. He altered the way he carried the case just slightly. He held it against his side, and fired. Rather than the expected trail of bullets, a small mini-missile blasted from the case. It shot up the cliffside, and exploded against the belly of a Large Body.
The resulting explosion ripped off a chunk of the rock face, and sent a small avalanche of bluish rocks sliding down the side of the cliff. Several Heartless were crushed beneath the rocks. Eve was in the path of these rocks only briefly, before she took to the air on her wings.
She landed not far from Nehrut, and turned her two hands into meter-long blades. She waved her arms, and took the heads off of two Soldiers. She didn't slow down, and leapt farther up the side of the cliff, slicing through a few lesser Heartless as she moved up.
Possibly considering her the greatest threat, several Heartless leapt at her the moment she touched the ground there. Before their eyes, her hair took on a life of its own, transforming into a series of razor-sharp, blonde blades. They spun around her head, cutting down the attacking Heartless before they could come too close.
Nehrut gaped. Train landed next to him, and fired off a shot into the face of an Armored Knight. "And that's why you never judge on appearance."
Three Surveillance Robots approached them, and fired simultaneously. Three red bolts streaked down at Train. He lifted his gun, and smacked them aside instantly with one swift movement. He didn't even blink.
He raised the gun. Barely even aiming, he fired three times, striking each Heartless between their beady little eyes. He fired off the rest of his loaded rounds into the faces of two Dark Balls shooting down after them.
An Invisible streaked toward him, and he let it come, while he readied another few rounds. The Heartless aimed a ferocious chop at his neck, and he lifted his weapon. The Invisible's blade was stopped by the durable metal of the gun, and he threw it off of it. Train pointed the now-loaded gun at the Heartless' face, and fired three shots into it, point blank.
An Armored Knight sliced at his head, but Nehrut was already there to keep it away. He sliced the Heartless in half before the attack could hit home.
Bariss approached Nehrut, slashing her whip back and forth across the battleground, and destroying the hostile creatures with every swing. She pulled her sai from her belt, and threw it. For one wild instant, Nehrut thought it had been aimed at him, but then he realized that she intended for him to duck.
So, he did. And Rose Blade struck the face of the Large Body behind him that he hadn't realized was there. He jumped up, and ripped the blade free, tossing it casually back to Bariss.
"Thanks for that." He commented with a grin. "Save me one more time, and you get to keep me."
Bariss grinned slyly. "Oh, I look forward to that."
!
Slightly closer to the village, the line was being held by another group of warriors: Leon, Rinoa, Sulley, Mr. Incredible, Mickey, Max, PJ, and Mario. A handful of the officers from the Radiant Garden Police department were present, as well.
The cops were firing from cover, with thin rifles. These semi-automatic weapons launched narrow bullets from the barrels. These bullets burst open upon contact with a solid surface, releasing a burst of concentrated energy in a bright, electric-orange flash. A handful of Assassin Nobodies fought alongside them.
Mario tore across the battlefield, bashing the Heartless with surprising strength for one of his stature. He was quite fast and agile as well, considering his relatively short legs. Interestingly, he also jumped very high. He would land on top of the Heartless, and smash them into the ground. Quite often, this was all it took to take them out of the fight.
PJ's blaster cannon packed a greater punch than the ones carried by the RGPD officers' rifles, though it worked in a similar fashion. In addition to firing energy slugs into the enemies, it had separate attachments and functions to it. A simple adjustment could transform it into a grenade launcher. Explosive canisters about the size of one's fist could blow the Heartless to pieces.
Strapped to Rinoa's wrist was a projectile weapon called the Blaster Edge. This small device launched metal, boomerang-like projectiles from it. They resembled interlocking, razor-sharp angel wings, and were about eight inches in diameter. Despite her 'cute' appearance, Rinoa was deadly with it. The boomerangs whistled through the air, slicing through the Heartless from great distances, before returning to their position on her arm.
This small group was holding the line on a small, flat area a few miles outside of the village gates. This area was crucial to keeping the village of Radiant Garden safe, and the Heartless were giving it all they had to break through their guard and make it to the gates.
Fortunately, none of them had succeeded yet. But it wasn't for lack of trying.
"Show no mercy!" Leon prompted the cops, aiming his Gunblade into the throng of Heartless. He pulled the trigger at the pommel of the blade, beneath the sword section of it. Fireballs shot from the weapon, bursting against the skin of the Heartless, and taking away chunks of dark flesh.
PJ was crouched down beside him, firing rapidly into the Heartless. Two Morning Stars suddenly launched themselves into the air, angling their bodies to slam down onto the young man. Quickly, he changed the angle of his weapon, and pointed straight up at them. A flick of a switch and a pull of the trigger fired an explosive into the first of them.
It destroyed it instantly, but the other Heartless was still falling onto him. Mr. Incredible leapt toward it, and caught it easily before it slammed him into the ground. With a grunt, he twisted around, and threw it into its Heartless fellows, crushing the smaller ones underneath it.
Mickey and Max charged forward, their blades flashing. They sliced Heartless apart almost effortlessly, leaping and bounding across the battlefield. Not a single one of the creatures touched them.
One Invisible shot down from the sky, rocketing at Max like a cannon ball. The teenager dove to the side, leaving it to slash uselessly into the ground. With one powerful swing of his sword, he took its head off. Mickey leapt through the space it had occupied, and drove his blade into the chest of a Soldier.
He pulled his Keyblade free, and aimed the tip at a Morning Star rushing at him. He launched a ball of intense Light into its body. It exploded on contact, shredding the Heartless to pieces, and destroying those nearest it.
A pair of Armored Knights leapt from the detonation site, their blades raised to strike Max and Mickey in half. Mario leapt over their heads, directly at the Heartless. The bottom of his shoe connected with the face of one, sending it flipping backwards through the air. At the same moment, he grabbed its partner around the neck with his arm.
When he touched down, he twisted his arm hard, snapping the Heartless's neck. Two Shadows jumped at him, their claws extended. Mario clenched his fist, and smashed it into the face of the first one. As it faded away, he slipped to the side to avoid the attack of the other. He jumped into the air, and landed on top of its head, smashing it into the ground.
One of Rinoa's boomerangs whistled over the man's head, slicing through the air, and cutting the head of an approaching Bookmaster clean off. It cut deep into the flesh of several other Heartless before sliding neatly back into the device on her wrist.
Not pausing for even half a second, she launched another three of them into the Heartless. They flew in wide arcs across the battlefield, slicing into the creatures, losing next to no momentum even as the sharp blades cut into their bodies.
A Rapid Thruster was able to make it past those blades, and shot toward Rinoa's head. But, before she even had to raise a hand to defend herself, Sulley rushed forward. He snatched the small Heartless out of the air, and crushed it in his claw.
The monster roared, and charged into the Heartless like an angry bull, smashing them, or sending them flying with swipes of his massive paws. One Armored Knight he actually launched into the air with the narrow horns on his head.
The fighting went on like this for some time. This particular section of the battle remained poised in stalemate, until unlikely reinforcements arrived on the scene.
The sound of a few motorized vehicles gradually grew, until it was almost deafening. These vehicles soon came into sight of the combatants. There were two cars, and three motorcycle-like vehicles.
Those fools are seriously riding right into a combat zone?
Leon gazed at the approaching vehicles, recognizing one of the bike-drivers immediately. It was a young man, about seventeen or eighteen. He had a muscled, athletic body, with slightly tanned skin. He had jet black hair, which was slicked back into spikes that pointed slightly to the left side of his head. A small tuft of black hair on his chin was becoming a beard, and he had blazing green eyes. He wore a long, emerald jacket over a black muscle shirt, and blue jeans.
There was a girl sitting on the seat directly behind him. She had long, wavy golden hair, and bright ultramarine eyes. She wore a thin blue and green denim jacket which cut off at the elbows, over a light blue T-shirt. She wore blue jeans with buckles on the knees, which allowed them to change into shorts if desired.
This girl rose up in her seat, managing to keep her balance despite the high speed the motorcycle was travelling at. She held a bright green compound bow in her hands, which bore a pattern of vines on it. She produced a very sharp arrow from the quiver on her back, which almost resembled a fresh rose.
She took careful aim, and fired the arrow into the face of a Morning Star, which had launched itself so high into the air, that it was hard to see against the bright sun above. The arrow struck it right between the eyes, and it had turned to black smoke before it could have possibly caused any damage.
"Them again?" Rinoa muttered.
The vehicles rolled to a stop in front of the line that Leon, Rinoa, PJ, and the cops had formed. The riders went into action immediately, some of them falling behind the vehicles to fire from cover with rifles, bows, or similar weapons. The rest jumped from their seats, and charged into battle with more direct weapons. Most of them were teenagers and young adults.
"Crystal." Leon said, addressing the girl with the compound bow. She was firing from behind the cover of one of the cars, taking down a Heartless with every shot. Her partner on the motorcycle was now fighting Heartless with a thick, black broadsword. An emerald flame pattern was engraved into its side. He was ferocious in combat.
"Hello, Chancellor." Crystal greeted in a slightly cheerful voice which didn't actually suit the situation. She didn't entirely remove her attention from the combat, and continued firing into the mob of Heartless. "Good day for a nice friendly battle, huh?"
"We've been over this." Leon said, ignoring the humor.
"Maybe we could continue the old argument some other time?" She suggested. "This isn't a great time for any of us."
Acquiescing for the moment, Leon nodded. He vaulted over the car, holding his Gunblade high. He rushed back into the fighting, slashing quickly back and forth, and removing pieces of Heartless with every movement.
With the arrival of the new guys, the Heartless ranks broke, and in moments, they had retreated from that particular section of the battlefield. The cops and newcomers breathed a collective sigh of relief, and soon afterward began exchanging the usual comradely comments on the others' performance.
Leon walked directly toward the black-haired teenager. "Peter."
"Roy." He corrected, sheathing his sword to his belt.
"What are you doing?" Leon asked.
"Is that a trick question, or something?"
Leon wasn't amused. "This is an active combat zone. The order was given for all civilians to get to safety in the bunkers. It's for your own good."
"Funny, Chancellor..." Roy began. "You didn't seem to feel this way when the Heartless attacked last time. You know, before the police department was back up and running again?"
It was true enough. When Maleficent and Organization XIII had fashioned the Heartless invasion, Roy, Crystal, and their band of 'freedom fighters' had defended the village while Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the Restoration Committee were busy in the valleys. Afterword, they had also helped defend the people from the MCP's own attempt at domination.
They had received thanks from the Committee afterward, though had still been forced to keep their civilian status. Leon had claimed that they were too young to enter into any sort of military or police service, as most of them had been under eighteen at the time, and still were.
"I have told you this before, Peter." Leon continued, not acknowledging his preferred nickname. "We're grateful for your assistance, but you need to return to the shelter, or there will be consequences."
"Well, Chancellor, answer this question..." Roy said. "Are we vigilantes looking for some shared glory, or are we patriots who just want to do our part to help our world... You know, kind of like your Keybearer friend?"
There was a moment of tense silence. Leon looked at Roy, Rinoa looked at Crystal, the cops looked at the militia.
At last, Leon sighed in irritation. "As if age has anything to do with skill... You're with us. But you fill follow my orders to the letter."
Roy shot off a casual salute to Leon, grinning. "Happy to help, Chancellor."
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Concluding with a character inspired by a very good friend of mine! Hope you guys have enjoyed the first act of the Battle of Radiant Garden!
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