Velvet POV
Emerging from the corridor of darkness, the 4 of us arrived at our destination, Radiant Garden. We were somewhere near the center of the world. It seemed hushed, too quiet if you were to ask me. I had no idea what we were walking into. However, I suppose that was fitting for our line of work. Kept us on our toes I guess, though, to be honest. I wouldn't mind for some peace and quiet every now and again. Between Xemnas being missing and the increased activity with the Heartless, it was becoming more of a pain to deal with it.
"Velvet?" I could hear Luna calling out to me, breaking me out of my thoughts. I turned to look towards my comrades, no, companions. They were all watching me, I could sense a feeling of determination?
"Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking," I looked away from her piercing gaze, it was like her eyes were peering into my soul. I could feel my face getting warm and a weird ache in my chest. I really had no words to describe this feeling, but we had more important matters to deal with. "Be on guard, everyone, we have no idea what we are dealing with. Remember your training, and do not hesitate to make a strategic retreat if necessary. Dying out here will do us no favors." That speech seemed to rouse their determination and resolve, I just hope I could maintain this facade. At least until Xemnas was back where he belonged.
"Mash, Albedo, how about the two of you do some recon and scope out this area for any potential complications? Velvet and I will catch up with you guys in a sec." The two of them nodded in agreement and headed off to get a feel for the surroundings.
Luna walked up to me and whispered something into my ear, I could not make out what she had said, despite her being so close to me. The next thing I knew, I was back in that field of flowers, every time I found myself here, I felt a sense of tranquility, it was difficult to explain.
"Oh Lunar Lord, grant me the strength to overcome these trials, I know I am not worthy, but I beseech you. Give me the strength to do what I can not myself." I could hear her voice, but I could not see her. Looking across the field, all I saw was more flowers. But I could hear her voice.
"Luna? Where are you?" I called out to her and when I did, no sooner did she appear behind me. Her arms around my waist and her resting on my shoulders.
"Velvet, I just want you to know that I will not let anything happen to you, whatever is your facing, we can face it together. I mean…if you are okay with that." Of course, I was, is what I wanted to say, but I opened myself up before, and it led to nothing but pain and misery. But, I could not keep living this way. Luna, she has laid herself out for me, this field of flowers. I could tell this was not some magic trick. It was like I was in her heart, I guess if we had hearts, this was as close as we were going to get.
"Thank you, I know I am not the best at this kind of stuff, but you make me feel in a way that I can not really describe. It's just, I have not exactly had the best of experiences with this stuff. I guess I am a little rusty." I let out a forced laugh, god, I must sound like a sap. If I could feel anything, I am sure it would be embarrassment.
"It's okay Velvet, I understand," as she said that, I could feel her grip tightening, I wished we could just stay like this forever. Unfortunately, reality would have its way and this could not last forever. But, just a little longer, is that really too much to ask for?
Albedo POV
"Mash, do you sense that?" The two of us had been scoping out the surroundings to try to get a lead on that Nobody power source. However, it seemed to be a lot more complicated than the two of us anticipated.
"I believe we are getting closer, Senpai, just a little farther." That was reassuring, I wonder how those two are doing. I could tell that Velvet has had a lot on her mind. And it was very obvious that Luna was worried about her. We may not have hearts, but that does not mean we forget what those feelings were like. I just hope that they figure it out before it is too late, there is nothing worse than unspoken feelings. No matter how hollow they may be, I would not wish that kind of pain on anyone.
"Senpai? There is someone over there, and they definitely do not look like they are from around here." Turning my gaze in the direction Mash was pointing in, I could see what appeared to be an armored knight of some sort. I assumed the knight was female, despite that, she was no pushover. The knight was wearing a suit of full plate mail with a long black cape, the symbol of what, I assumed, was a form of Kingdom or Empire on the back in red. Her armor comprised of large curved plates around her hips and thighs, and a helmet with orb protrusions. She was wielding a dual-headed club with a longer, larger head on one end, both themed in an enigmatic arthropod-like design.
"Based on her appearance, I would concur, she does not seem as if she belongs in this world." The armored fellow seemed to be fighting off a growing number of Shadow Heartless.
"How do you know that she is a she?" Mash glanced over at me with a confused look. "Some things you just know as a woman, you will understand when you are older, Mash." I winked at her as I began my approach towards the combatants.
"That is what Master told me too…" Mash mumbled under her breath, chuckling. I reassured her that it was just a jest. "We do not have time to wait for Velvet and Luna, let's go." Mash simply nodded as the two of us summoned our weapons and prepared for battle.
"Mash, just like we trained, we got this!," Mash nodded as she ran ahead of me and then crouching placing her shield above her. Running towards her, I used the shield as a springboard, leaping into the air. Swinging my axe with all of my might, I could hear Mash yelling out to our soon-to-be comrade to get out of the way. But there was nowhere for her to go, It was too late for me to stop my attack, there was already too much momentum behind my strike. Mash, seeing this, leaped forward and jumped in front of our friend, using her shield to block the incoming force from the strike. My axe made contact with the ground, sending a massive shockwave all around me, wiping out the surrounding Shadows, while Mash dug her heels into the ground to protect the knight.
Unfortunately for us, that was only the first wave, as more Shadows appeared from the ground. Accompanied by Soldier Heartless as well. Lovely, I had been getting bored, time to dance. "Miss Knight, are you okay?" Mash asked the lady, while I did my best to keep the filthy monsters away from the two of them. "I am now thanks to you, I would ask what is going on, but we have more pressing issues to handle."
"I could not agree more, once we clear these Heartless out of the way, we can meet with Velvet and Luna, and they can explain everything to you." She simply nodded in response as I continued trying to cut a path.
"Well then, let's show these monsters they picked a fight with the wrong people," between the three of us we were able to cut through them in no time. Just low level Heartless, barely worth our time.
After that was said and done, I asked the knight what her name was, "My name is Drace, I am a Judge Magistrate, though, this place does not look like where I am from. I did not realize there were other worlds apart from my own." A judge, huh, never heard of Judges walking around looking like armored fortresses. Though she did say she was not from this world, that much was plain and obvious.
"So you are not a knight, then?" Mash asked, staring at her reflection in the woman's armor. "You can consider me to be a General or something of those lines." Judge Drace removed her helmet to reveal shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes to match. If I were to hazard a guess, it would seem like the two of you are not from this world either?" Very perceptive of her, though, I suppose Mash and I stuck out like a couple of sore thumbs. What with our black coats and my horns.
"You are correct, we are also not from this world, I imagine you have many more questions for us. But if I could, I would suggest we meet with our comrades before the Heartless comeback." The Judge simply nodded as we made our back to the original rendezvous point. Waiting for us were Luna and Velvet, both seemed to be in better spirits compared to when we first got here.
Velvet POV

"Hey Velvet, they're back, and it looks like they found the Nobody we were looking for as well," Following her gaze, I could see Albedo, Mash, and an armored woman, seemed like they succeeded in finding her.
"I apologize for leaving you guys hanging, took a little longer to finish things on our end," Albedo giggling as she walked up to me. I could feel my face starting to get warm again and looked away. Not wanting to embarrass myself in front of everyone.
"No worries Velvet, it was not a problem at all, just low level Heartless," that was reassuring at least. " This is Judge Magistrate Drace, she was whom we were looking for here." A judge, huh? Did not realize judges were so heavily armored.
"Please, you can just call me Drace, my title and status does not appear to mean much here. Besides, if it was not for the two of you, I am not sure if I had been able to make it through that ordeal." A humble Judge at that, worked for me either way.
"Wonderful, Drace it is," Albedo clapped her hands together, her eyes lighting up with a mischievous grin on her face. Another successful mission it seems, with the honorable judge, who brought our total to 6 members. Xemnas had told us that previously there were 13, before a boy and his friends all but wiped them all out. As hard as it was to believe, there was no denying the truth of his words. If there were others stronger than our fearless leader. Then we had to be prepared, we had no way of nothing if and when they would come back.
XxX
A/N: Finally an update, I know it has been a long time, but I intend to update this when I can, thanks for reading.