The voice of a familiar rogue of a woman came from the back of the boxcar, everyone's eyes shifted to this woman, a few eyes shifting more than they should. Shizuka looked to the entrance of the car, and then back to Rika. She had not seen her while entering, she must have used the same trick from yesterday, when she sneaked past Ace. Seeing the woman's face once again, Shizuka recalled the last words Rika spoke to her, they hadn't exactly parted on a positive note. Her shoulders slumped, and she sat back in her seat, silent.

Ace had a feeling Rika would return, if only for the assurance of munny. His attention focused to the disk she was brandishing like a trump card, there was no doubt in his mind that it was the data they had been after. She decided to greet Ace by insulting his plan, not that he minded so much, he wasn't in much of a mood to be cordial either. Besides, she was right, his plan was dangerous, he knew that. The moment they raided the Empire's storehouse things had been set into motion. If they didn't attack soon the Empire would likely fortify Hollow Bastion, and their chance would be gone.

Rika walked up to him and waved the disk in front of his face, she told him not to ask any questions, and focus on reevaluating his plan. Ace took the disk, and put it inside the computer. "You seem different." He said, typing away as he extracted the data on the disk. "In a good way." He added, his eyes fixed on the monitor before him. Ace was very perceptive, and while others may not have noticed, Ace could sense a light in her that had been absent before. While he was in the academy, his master had told him that this was often a sign of talent in wielders of the keyblade, he appreciated the complement at the time, but now it didn't seem to have much importance.

Meanwhile, Rika had turned to the rest of the rebels and made a short speech, introducing herself. It was quite the impressive address, however, Ace could't help but smirk. "Rika, you're with the good guys now, there's no need to threaten anyone's life. As long as you're fighting with us you'll have someone to watch your back." He said, then going back to the computer.

Cori then chimed in stating his own view of the situation. He was in agreement with Rika, for good reason. The idea of rushing into an unknown Empire facility with no knowledge of what was in store for them was hard to swallow. Rika's skills would make her perfect for the infiltration team, and she would likely do well on her own, however, for a mission this important another volunteer would be fitting, as Cori suggested.

Shizuka's ears perked up, and she looked between Cori and Rika. She wasn't often one to feel as though she needed to protect her pride, however, she wanted to prove to Rika that she wasn't a waste of space. She sat for a few seconds, wondering if she should volunteer. Stealth wasn't her best skill, if she messed up she might simply hold Rika back. Even still, she could't let a little apprehension keep her down, as she saw it, if she didn't try then nothing would change. She took a deep breath, and shot up from her seat. "I'll go!" She said, probably a little too loudly considering the last few seconds had been so quiet. She walked up to Rika, and shook her hand. "Nice to be working with you, partner." She said with a wide grin.

"...What the." Ace stared at the computer screen, which displayed the complete schematics to the factory. As expected, the layout of the first floor up to the very top of the spire of the building was detailed in full, the only thing off was that there appeared to be an elevator and stairway that only went down, but the layout of the lower floor was blank, clearly left that way on purpose. Ace moved the display to the the projector so everyone could see it, and stood up.

"It appears this place won't be as well guarded as I'd feared, the inner workings are complex, and claustrophobic, the halls are almost as tight as that of a submarine. There's no way a large force could be waiting for us inside, if they picked anyone to guard the place it would be a select few of their best soldiers. If we are going to get inside, we can't take too many people... We'll still split into two teams, the infiltration team's job will be to uncover what is hiding in the lower floors, taking the stairway. The other team will investigate the first floor, and the upper floors if need be." Ace pointed to a spot on the side of the building. "This is a docking area, however, since the factory is self sufficient it has never been used since the completion of the complex. We will enter from here, hopefully avoiding any patrols. Now, the assault team's objective has changed, judging by the data I've looked through, using a dark portal device will not be possible inside the factory, not once the infiltration team has gone down far enough. There appears to be a concentration of darkness preventing it. The assault team will enter behind the infiltration team and secure the area for a swift escape if need be, in case anything goes wrong. I will lead this team, Cori, you'll be apart of it as well, I can only take a few others, so if you think you're up for it you should say so now."

Her talents were cemented and it seemed no one was willing to argue otherwise, but the moment she had taken a seat beside Shizuka someone else had stood up. Rika looked to him, seeing through the androgynous features with ease thanks to her experience with both genders thoroughly over her years. Identifying targets as well as seducing them made the mystery of ‘man or woman’ a short one, and all that remained was listening to what he had bothered to say. Folding her arms and slowly crossing her right leg over her left, Rika was almost about to wink at him for his confidence in her up until he suggested that someone tag along with her. Her reaction was displeasure, stressed with a roll of the eyes at how one could start getting on her good side and ultimately put himself back on the path of irrelevance in her life. To think that she even offered a hint as to them not needing to pay her for her work, not even handing them that disc was enough to get any of these people to lay off. If she wanted money, she knew where to go, and sitting here with a bunch of children and some pretty boy wasn’t the place. Scoffing under her breath, Rika’s eyes moved from Coriander to Ace and quietly she muttered “Thanks for the confidence.” spitefully. There was no good in compliments if you simply went back to ‘I don’t trust you’ and the pointless back and forth was pissing her off. On the suggestion that she took someone with her, Rika expected Ace to have someone good in mind about this, but to her surprise and her fear Shizuka had raised her hand, prompting Rika to tighten her jaw.

Shizuka was capable of tossing steel beams around for the fun of it, and as far as stealth went there was almost no guarantee she’d be useful. Joint work was only good if you could count on someone to have some intelligence and tact, after the outburst Shizuka had earlier in front of ‘Pepper’, her confidence in her was shaky at best. ‘Come on Ace, say something!’ the blonde thought, not wanting to be the one to take away Shizuka’s overwhelming eagerness to, and this was just a guess, be useful. It was things like this that got people killed; working in stealth and subterfuge didn’t always take a heart of gold and if the time came, Rika didn’t believe Shizuka would kill to accomplish something too important to the rebel cause. As disappointing as his poorly thought out plan, Ace said nothing, and allowed Shizuka to do this unopposed. Putting on a false smile, Rika nodded her head at a casual pace, almost as if she wasn’t going to go out and kill someone tonight. This group had a poor means of handling assignments and just seemed to do things because crossing their fingers is the best way for them to get anything done; Ace was trying to be a leader, but he wasn’t a real one, only a fill-in for someone who should actually do more than give a half-assed speech about the Empire. In the back of her mind Rika was regretting this, yet at the same time she relished carrying this group of misfits. And then there was that Chinese girl…

“Need something?” Rika looked towards Lin, whose gaze hadn’t left her the entire time, much to the thief’s concern.

“N-no, I just think you’re really pretty and cool.” Lin smiled, hoping that her compliment would be meaningful. “And I like your name Miss Rika!”

‘...Okay, you're cute, I'll give you that’ Rika cleared her throat and shrugged her shoulders, a very slight blush on her cheeks. The wink that might’ve gone to Coriander had gone to the young girl instead. “Thanks, kid. What’s your name?”

“Lin! …Well, Meilin Xiao Yu, but my friends call me Lin. Would you …like to be friends?” Lin appeared very hopeful for this, wanting a strong role model to look up to in at least one aspect. If she couldn’t be as capable as Rika, she’d want to be as confident as her.

Rika had seen in her something she hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Admiration was directed to her, recognition for who she was, how she presented herself, and a strong desire to acquire some of those qualities. The girl had heart, but she needed to work on hiding her goals. Anyone with a strong ability to understand the human body and stare could tell what Lin might’ve been thinking right about now, and given her skills Rika suspected she was the only one to see it. There was potential to help guide her in a proper direction, lest Ace got her killed before she saw it. Before Rika could offer an answer, Ace had spoken up again, gathering the attention of both ladies. Things got serious once again.

The information unveiled was a boon and Rika believed her change of heart did indeed spare the lives of a lot of people within this little compartment tonight. The plan was better than simply ‘cross your fingers and pray everything works out’, but the nagging in the back of her head still told her to refuse Shizuka. Rika’s heart was read perfectly by Aeva, so only Aeva might understand how dangerous she felt it was to pair someone up with her; ‘Part of the process’ that woman might claim, but Shizuka was innocent, kind of a dork but sweet in her own way. If something went wrong in the past it was only her life on the line, Rika never had to watch someone else’s back, merely her own. She supposed it could be worse, at least she wouldn’t be staring at her ass the entire time this operation went on.

“I’ll go!” Lin’s hand shot up immediately, though silently wondering why Ace didn’t look to her for joining this team. He knew she wanted to prove herself and this was the opportunity, but she’d set aside her anxiety of being overlooked and only look forward to helping like she intended. Earlier with the robots was only a small demonstration of her ability, and it was her hope that this time she’d display true meritorious skill. Rika’s eyes wandered to Lin and she sat forward a little, eyes returning to Ace. She doubted his abilities as a leader and just minutes ago was preparing to throw them in a blender lacking concrete intelligence. He had no scouts, no reliable heavy hitters based on appearances, the final straw was that these girls beside her didn’t seem fit for fighting war. All her life she had gone it alone, taking the very best of her family’s abilities and wielding them for her own benefit. Tonight was meant to change that, though her opinions of those around her still remained low. Caring about people set you up for pain, Rika believed that tonight might end very painfully for everyone involved. The young woman didn’t believe in the abilities of any of these people, no matter how prepared they looked.

‘If anyone dies tonight, it better not be these two…’

A Few hours earlier

Crossing the buildings of the afternoon-lit Hollow Bastion, Cerden made little use of the rooftops as the distance he gained from one out of every five buildings he jumped from really made the trip a whole lot easier than if he were to just jump rooftop-to-rooftop. It was by this quickness that Cerden was easily able to the factory as he looked at it from the rooftop of a building approximately five miles away. As he did, Cerden had mixed feelings about seeing it. On one side, he was so close and he probably could take it, but there was no doubt that the factory had soldiers guarding it at all corners. There was just no way that he could do it alone. Taking one more moment to just look at it, Cerden knew he needed some assistance. As he made that decision, Cerden turned his back on the building. In the same moment that he did, he leaped away from the factory and continued to do so until the factory itself became a spec in his rear view.

By the time that Cerden had gotten away from the view of the factory, he found himself in what some would call the slums of Hollow Bastion. The district he was in looked rather run down and worse for ware. The buildings had wood nailed on them, paint wasn’t even present on some buildings, and the metal in the area was so rusted up that they were beyond repair. Cerden just walked through it, looking on both sides and the people sitting on the ground and on barrels just eyed him as if they wanted to start a fight with him. However, Cerden didn’t stare at a single individual long enough for a fight to be followed him. He just kept on walking. He turned a few corners and came to a house singled out from the rest. It was pretty run down as well. It wasn’t that big. It was probably trailer size, but perhaps a little smaller. The colors of the house seemed to be variant of a singular shade. Parts had brick red and other parts had shit brown. There were black and white bits.

While Cerden’s view was mainly on the house(if one could call it that), he did bring his crimson eyes to the cellar to the right of the trailer house. It was one that had a wood door concealing it and two metal handles. Cerden smiled as he saw it. He would then walk over to it, and bang the wood part with his right hand that was balled into a fist. He would bang it three times and made sure there was a loud bang. Cerden would just wait for a minute or so for there to be an answer, but there was no such thing. Cerden sighed and would bang the door of the cellar once more, this time a little harder, causing the thing to almost break. He would, once more, step back and wait for an answer, though this time his arms were crossed over his chest as he was slightly annoyed. As it was before, there was no answer. Now Cerden was growing impatient and quite frankly, a bit pissed off.

“Damn it, are you really going to make me wai--”

Before Cerden could finish, the doors plowed open with great force and out came the person who owned the trailer and all of its surroundings. The person who came out flipped with grace as this person’s long purple hair with salt and pepper tips landed in front of Cerden. The look on his face was one mixed of relief and slight disappointment. As Cerden smiled at the person in front of him, the violet-haired human grabbed their weapons and went at Cerden. This alarmed the white-haired man and he pulled out his Brother’s Requiem and defended himself as the two knives from his attacker went through the hollow holes of his short swords.

“Is that any way to greet your long lost love, Flora?” Cerden said smiling.

“Oh put a sock in it!” Flora snapped as she tried to force her knives into Cerden’s gut, but his strength was proving too much for her.

“Please, honey, don’t be like this.” Cerden said pleading with her.

“You have some nerve!” Flora roared, “Ten years and you don’t even drop a call or anything!?” Flora’s voice was getting louder and louder by the second.

“Please, you know I would have if I could have.” Cerden said trying to keep the knives from reaching his gut,

Flora’s face lit up with even more rage, but as she would try to step forward, Cerden would use her own momentum against her as her backside was to his front and his short swords to her throat. Flora gave a loud groan of defeat and Cerden let her go without hesitation. However, as she and he would put their weapons away, she whacked him in the face with a straight right punch. “That’s for calling me honey!” Flora said as she smiled down at the laid-out Cerden.

Holding his jaw, Cerden let out a slight moan of pain. “That hurt you know!” He said complaining.

“Oh suck it up, you big baby.” Flora said angrily.

Cerden sat up as he looked at Flora. The two of them exchanged looks. About a half of a minute, Cerden got up, brushing off any dirt that might have gotten on his body. As he stood on his feet, Cerden was going to speak, but before he could, Flora did it first. “Now tell me what you’re doing here? Ten years and you haven’t once came to me for a social visit.” Flora said.

Sighing, Cerden spoke. “I take it you’re aware of the Empire’s presence here?” Cerden said.

Flora nodded. “Mmm, yeah. I was in the square near their attacked storehouse and heard it from your beloved brother.” Flora chuckled slightly.

Cerden’s expression was anything but what Flora’s was. “Yeah, he’s full of shit.” Cerden said.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Flora said.

Cerden sighed again. The amount of seriousness in the air couldn’t even be dented by a razor-sharp sword cause there was so much of it. “I need your help.” Cerden said.

Flora looked at Cerden. Sure it’s been a decade since she’s even heard from him, and yet, as she heard him speak, there was a certain sadness to his voice. It resonated with her and she knew that he would only come to her if it were worst-case scenario. “Fine, but let’s talk about this inside.” Flora said as she guided Cerden into the cellar.

Cerden followed her lead and they went down the stairs. When they did, Flora snapped her fingers and swirls of magic consumed the air. All the swirls had fifty shades of grey, black, white, and purple, each responding to the rough textures of the walls. Even when the two of them arrived to the ground floor of the cellar, at first glance it was nothing to gloat about. However, as the magic would grace the walls, the ceiling, and the ground, something wonderful happened. Each ounce of magical energy revealed a room ten times the amount of its seven-square foot overall size. Revealed from the magic were computer screens that were directly across from the war table in the center of the room that had a projection of multiple worlds around. There were also cabinets behind a fully-transparent glass window that stood as tall as a seven-foot Large Body heartless. The floor was now of metal textiles and the walls had a succulent glass-like texture going about it.

Cerden smirked as he saw the once rundown room transformed into pretty much a war room. “I see someone’s been busy.” Cerden said, looking at the new improvements he remembers seeing in mere blueprints all those years ago.”

“Oh shut up.” Flora said, walking right on over to the War Table, waving her hand over the center which revealed Hollow Bastion in holographic form.

Cerden looked on and he just was simply amazed at how simple blueprints back in the day could become something so wonderful as the room and the War Table. Regardless of that, he had to focus. “Okay, so the factory is there.” He said pointing to it. “I need a way to get into it.” Cerden said.

Flora heard Cerden and she enlarged the Factory hologram. It would be the only thing in view and she would analyze the schematics. There were blueprints of its layout that included the floors initial designs, how many floors there were both above and below ground. It showed where the guards were going to be placed and there was even heat signatures of the soldiers at the very moment. Flora toyed and toyed with the rotations, but she saw no other entrance aside from the front one. “There seems to be no other way in other than the front entrance.”

“But that’s going to be heavily guarded.” Cerden said as he bit his thumb. “Isn’t there any other way?” Cerden asked.

“If there was, don’t you think I would have fou--” Just as she was going to finish that statement, Flora thought of something. “I wonder..” She would turn the hologram a few times, each different from the last and in seconds a new layout of it — an older version — appeared. “This seems to be an older blueprint of the version that’s here on Hollow Bastion.” Flora said. She looked and saw one area that could be another way in. “You see that there?” She asked Cerden.

“You mean that?” Cerden said as he too pointed to the same spot that Flora was, but as he did, their hands touched, which warranted a rather sexual-filled look from the both of them to each other.

Shaking her head, Flora got back to reality. “Yes, that one. It’s a side entrance that was supposed to be sealed off, but since this is an older blueprint, I doubt the soldiers will be there as much as they will be in other areas. That’s your way in.” Flora told him.

Cerden was thrilled to hear that from Flora. A rush of excitement took him over and his impulse took over as he gripped Flora by the waist and lifted her up, which garnered him a sound of surprise from her. However, as he lifted and spun around, she looked at him and him at her. For a moment, the once thought dead spark between them lit up for a few seconds and she almost was going to kiss him, but she resisted. Instead she cleared her throat and Cerden came back to planet Hollow Bastion. He set her down as turned away. She smiled as he did.

“Well, then I guess I’ll be seeing you later.” Cerden said as he prepared to leave.

“Wait!” She shouted. “You’re not going to go alone, are you?” She asked worryingly.

Cerden looked back. “That was the plan, yeah.” He said simplemindedly.

Flora stepped forward a few steps. “But you’ll die…” She said.

Cerden raised an eyebrow. “Are you actually worried about me?” He asked smirking.

She gasped and face turned red. “Ah, n-n-no. I just think it’ll be stupid of you to risk your life like that when you can have some help.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m coming with you.”

“YOu really do care.”

“Oh shut it! I’m only coming so you don’t die.” Flora said, denying that she still cares in that way for CerdenOf course I care, dummy. It was with that Cerden and Flora spent the hours preparing and he would tell her everything and they just waited until nightfall.

---

Present Time

Time definitely flew on by in Hollow Bastion. From the almost evening sunlight and blue skies with white clouds to the near black clouds and the glistening moonlight, Hollow Bastion now looks like a radiant, midnight garden from the sky and below. The stars just add to the sceneity that is the nighttime. Even if Hollow Bastion has evil folk such as the Empire among her streets, to those who have lived in it for so long enjoy the night time and all that she brings. To Cerden and Flora, who are stealthily making their way through the streets, they cannot enjoy the nightlife as most could. At least, not until The Empire’s Factory is long gone and out of commission. However, in order for that to happen, they must give their contributions to the cause.

Through the hours that Cerden and Flora prepared, Cerden told his ex-wife about the group known as the Unbound Hearts, as she already knew. They knew exactly what they were going to do and it was only minutes until they made their way through the side entrance — which was just a little more difficult to get through as the schematics made it out to be, but it mattered not. They were able to get through it and into the factory, which as compared to the hologram, seemed so much more…empty inside. Cerden just looked around and couldn’t believe that he was actually in, knowing that somewhere was Nomis.

Flora looked over at Cerden. “So, where do you think he’s at?” She asked him.

“My honest thought?” Cerden said, “The core room.”

“Why there?”

“Nomis loves to experiment and what better way to do that than with the core of the factory. “

“Fine then, let’s get going. Father Time will not wait for us forever.”

Cerden just nodded as he and Flora would head in the direction that the core room was at and they hoped they would be able to make it before Nomis did whatever he had planned.

There were enough casualties, there was more than enough damage. When Tyra Zhen had arrived on the scene that all but assured this detainment was successful, it saved the teen further ridicule. He soon passed out after breaking his arm in three places, as his face hit the cold ground, he was hobbled over, unconscious.

"Talk about ant-climactic...shame." Salforge let out a dull sigh, soon capturing the attention of the latest arrival. Meeting with a key blade near him, or at least thats what it looked like to the mercenary, he had an issue regarding personal space so he naturally swayed away from it instinctively. "Hey superstar, watch where you're pointing that probe of black death."

She inquired about him, the state of his heart seemed to be everyone's question. "It's complicated and personal, leave it there." as he retorted with an aversion, he turned to Ryoko whom had been fuming. At that point the teen reeled and turned over in his stead collapsing, unconscious. The mercenary lifted him and slung him over his shoulders. "Lets take him back for questioning."

Taking but a step, the ice cracked under the weight of Salforge's increased density, within moments, all three of them had vanished from the alley.

---

Later

---

"Talk?" Gavin inflected with genuine befuddlement. "About...?"

He took a time to process the question, it was a strong implication that Ryoko was doing her damnedest to stick. He had no "information" he was a freedom fighter on the other hand. Perhaps it was a show of the youth's pristine sense of duty. However, the prism locked away inside of him made sure that when he died, that was it. No zombie bullshit, no reincarnation, when your dead your pretty much nutrients for the earth, screw God or whatever the faith was.

"Oh, the assault charges? You two looked strong, I lost my self-control..." he sighed, twitching his right arm. Fragments of ice were seeping in between the ligament cracks attempting to force fuse his limbs. The prism was finally being useful, not at the speed he'd like, but wounds would heal in a matter of days. The process was crawl speed slow and gradual, Gavin had tamed his darkness to act in a subtle manner used for purposes other than aggression. Confiding in his noesis concealment was very loosely an issue here.

---

\\Salforge

---

It didn't take long for the day to draw near its end. The moon was out yet Hollow Bastion was still...so very black, things were cloaked within the night of a dimly lit moon. Most of what covered the floors, streets, and there arounds, were dimly cast shadows from buildings. Inside of the castle, the factory the mercenary lingered a bit. Tyra Zhen seemed to fit the description of a magnet with how she hovered over the mercenary. He got it, he was new, understandable, but perhaps it was a bit impulsive or downright too much to anticipate professionalism throughout each body in imperial forces.

'Lets not do this today. Or ever.' he thought, then rolling his eyes.

"Yeah? Tyra Zhen if I'm not mistaken? Could you try giving me some space? Food for thought." he came off brusque and sardonic, typical for those that spoke to him and he expressed his disinterest in this way where in some cultures, being insensitive was some how treated as being familiar with another human? Absurd, if you were going to be a certain way, it should mean one iteration of behavior is treated literally, not leaving someone else to guess at what it means. Salforge never left people to guess at him, saying it out right is something he did exceedingly well.

Hearing the sounds of gears spin and turn was a little more painstaking than it looked, hell...sounded even.

-------------------------------------------------------------

~~~~~~Hollow Bastion / Factory~~~~~~

Hallways that had been rather large and spacious the further one travelled higher through the structure, quickly shifted into tight fitting corridors once the visitor traversed deeper underground within the Factory. Worked on in time with the reconstruction of Bastion Castle itself, the foundations of the Factory were clearly much older than the top half led to believe. Pipes and vents lining the walls and ceiling of the small hallways gurgled with life, the puffs of steam only rarely appearing which the metal pipes, many of which criss-crossed and coiled around themselves in some places, seemed to constantly be busy, moving its liquid contents from one place to another.

The entire lower floors seemed to be one single machine, the pipe and vents working in time with the odd group of pistons and gears, further making the corridors even more claustrophobic. Though some of the pathways would veer and branch off, most likely to some other separate chambers throughout the numerous floors, for Nomis is seemed his focus was solely on a single, specific path, arriving on each new floor always ending with him taking another of the elevators down. With one of the more spacious, albeit oldest and most common looking, elevator reaching the bottom, the masked maids that stood waiting soon bowed their heads, before matching Nomis’ striding pace by his side.

“I trust my nephew has already begun?”

“Yes, Lord Nomis…the preparations are nearly complete…”

“Yes, Sir Clacverk…the preparations have been coming along well…”

It was at those words that the three figures left the main hallway, finally entering one of the lowest parts of the Factory, second only to the core room just beneath their feet. Though the machines that made up the room were clearly responsible for the processing of the Factory itself, the swirling dark colours just barely visibly through the single section of glass covered floor, revealed the pure chaotic force that was being kept in check underneath. As the core itself continued with its general operations below, the small team of cloaked figures were still ever busy, attaching large devices in various places throughout the room, all leading to a single small structure just above the ground where Nomis and a few others now stood.

“My Lord…preparations…completed…” Spoke one of the cloaked scientists, the slow shambling walk it gave as it made its way towards Nomis, was something all the others within the room shared, as was the laboured way they spoke, as if every word they said was just as difficult to get out as the last.

“Very well then. I will make the last changes needed. I do not want any mistakes.” The tone of Nomis’ voice was still that of an agitated rage, still slowly bubbling beneath the surface even after hours when it first appeared.

With the normal, tight grip on his cane, the man first glanced towards one of the large machines that hung off an edge along the second level railing. Reaching out with his free hand, the dark gears that made up the casing soon began to turn, building into a high speed and causing the small pistons to begin pumping pressure within it. It was only a matter of seconds until the other two devices, each one almost identical to the other, were quietly rumbling with the first machine, the pressure being built up inside them all soon reaching some kind of required level, as the tubes that connected the devices to the small structure in the middle soon started to force the thick dark liquid through it.

Soon the entire room was humming with the newly added machines, the structure which all seemed to lead into just as lively as the others, the central chamber spinning the see-through tubes it held, all while a new dark purple liquid was slowly being drip fed into them, the entire process taking a rather slow time to fill to completion. Though slow, the moment the first layer of tubes were filled and replaced by empty ones within the structure by the cloaked figures, it was one of the maids that immediately plucked one of the full vials from the others, offering it to Nomis who silently took and examined it.

Once compared side to side with the dark liquid that flowed through the pipes, that which now filled the tubes could easily be considered different if one didn’t see the entire process. Cracking the seal as the other maid returned to Nomis’ side with an ordinary looking bar of steel, the well-dressed man proceeded to pour the now hissing liquid along the shiny surface of the metal, watching it almost stick upon contact and slowly run down the sides like tar.

Clutching his hand as much as he could around the lump of steel and liquid that clung to it, it was only a matter of seconds for the metal to disappear in a small glowing display through the cracks of Nomis’ fingers. In the bar’s place, was now a long shard of metal, something that resembled the same substance of the gears that the man always created, though now with the same faint glow that the filled vials had.

Gently twisting it with his hand in order to see the jagged design it turned into, Nomis seemed to give no notice to his two maids that arrived with another of the cloaked scientists, his back soon revealed as the two masked women torn the cloak along his slumping back and showing the now paled skin and dark purple lines and growths that must have been growing beneath the skin for some time.

It wasn’t more than a couple seconds after this that Nomis suddenly jabbed the shard into the cloaked figure’s back, and though no sound of any kind of pain was heard, the figure did stumble away from Nomis and the others, although barely. The transformation was almost immediate. Growing to a clearly inhuman size, the once small hunched figure had been replaced by some kind of Heartless creature, its body covered in the familiar dark surface that all other pure versions had in common. With its long arms and torso it best resembled those of the Darkside variety, though a lot smaller in comparison. The biggest thing that made it rather unique though, was that of the wire-like frame that ran along its body, like that of an exo-skeleton of some sorts. The shard that was the cause of this rapid change was still present even afterwards, the dark metal frame eventually coiling around the creatures back before entangling itself around the shard like overgrowing vines.

Watching as the great beast hunched down towards himself, Nomis’ grip on the cane grew tighter as did his clenching teeth, showing this not having been the desired effect he wanted.

“Another failure…why must every attempt, never work?!!” Roared Nomis, the sheer rage coming from him causing the machines and those connected to them to shake and rumble, the vibrations running throughout multiple levels easily, all with that of the pain filled cries and whimpers of the newly created Heartless as it fell to its knees.
Glaring at the creature, Nomis’ anger seemed to lower at least for now, his gaze turning to the still running machines that continued to fill the new batches of vials.

“This can have some further use, I suppose…”

The meeting was over, and as of now the mission had begun. Everyone had left to get in position near the factory, however, while they were on their way Ace had exited the abandoned train tunnels and made his way to an old house. The building was the picture of the perfect suburban domicile, with a white picket fence, trimmed front yard, and vibrant green paint job. Ace walked along a smooth stone path up to the front door, and rapped it with his knuckles. The peep hole on the door lit up with a red glow, and a horizontal beam of light scanned him up and down like a barcode on a carton of milk. The door then opened on it's own, and once he stepped through, closed on it's own. The inside of the house was a far cry from the image presented by the outside. At first glance, one may believe they had walked right into the command center of a space program. Monitors and computers lined the entire far wall, and what appeared to be severs of some kind lined another. The floor was carpeted with wires, leaving one to wonder how anyone could manage walking through it without falling over constantly.

Sitting in a swiveling chair in the back of the room was a teenage girl, she had long green hair and pale skin. "Yo, DJ Acesto, what's up?" The girl greeted Ace with a grin the Cheshire Cat would cringe at. She was busily moving her fingers across a device on her arm, typing upon a holographic keyboard. Regardless of the fact she was typing on electronic images, the clicking of a physical keyboard could be heard mingling with the hum of the machinery. She had likely added the sound herself, if only because she enjoyed the sound.

"Chizuma..." Ace said, looking around the room. "I know I told you to try and make your home inconspicuous, but... you do realize that compared to how run down the other houses are it sticks out like a sore thumb?" He said, kicking a wire off the top of his shoe. Chizuma chuckled, as if he had just said a joke.

"As far as anyone knows this house is owned by a wealthy gummi block salesman, and with the connected proxy account making transactions across the worlds to fit that farce, I'm effectively incognito." She said, typing away. She rolled her chair over to a computer, somehow not falling over the minefield of wires on the ground. "You've come to see if the software is ready, right?" She hit a key on the computer's keyboard, and endless lines of coding filled the screen. "I heard about how Shizuka was attacked by heartless in broad daylight, which I found about as weird as you did. They usually only come out at night,and even then the Empire has them on leash. So Shizuka must have been found by a scouting Heartless of some kind..." Chizuma scratched her head, thinking. "That or she ran into a small tear in space that connected the realm of light to the realm of darkness, but the chances of that are less than 0.000001 percent."

"I'm pretty sure it's the former, that's why I asked you to find a way to prevent it from happening again." Ace said. "Have you?"
Chizuma's eyes seemed to gleam, and she grinned a toothy grin.

"Heh, just who the hell do you think I am? Of course I have." She adjusted an imaginary pair of glasses in a condescending manner, and hit the enter key on the computer. "I just upgraded every member of the Unbound Heart's communication badge. From now on, as long as they wear one, Heartless will not be able to find them."

Ace looked down at his badge, then back to Chizuma with a quizzical expression. "Umm, how?" He asked, prompting Chizuma to snicker like a Saturday morning cartoon villain.

"Well you see, contrary to what many people believe, the Heart isn't simply some magical object, it is grounded in scientific fact just like everything else. A little while ago I found out that the Heartless sense powerful Hearts via a certain wave the heart emits. It was only a matter of finding this wavelength, and creating my own wave signature to-"

"Nevermind, I get the gist of it, thanks, Chizuma." Ace said, cutting her off before she started rambling on for who knows how long. "I'll see you after the mission, take care."

_____

Under the cover of night, Shizuka and Rika were nearly invisible to the naked eye. The district that housed the Empire's factory was unpopulated, and unlit. The assault team was just behind them, hidden behind large bushes. In front of them, the loading bay of the factory was in view. Just as they suspected, it was unguarded, leaving the entrance wide open. "I'll be honest." Shizuka said to her partner Rika in a hushed tone. "I'm a little nervous, even if we can't be sensed by the Heartless there's no telling what's waiting for us inside there." She said. Ace had informed them of the upgrade Chizuma had applied to their badges, it was pivotal in allowing them to get in and out with as little trouble as possible. Shizuka took a deep breath. "But I'm ready, we've all been waiting for the moment we could finally strike back in a meaningful way. I won't slow you down, I promise. You lead and I'll follow."

It didn't take long for Ace to arrive, once he did they quickly made their way to the loading bay. Ace tried to open the garage, but it was locked. A quick swing of his blade cut the lock, and allowed him to pull it up. After everyone ducked inside, he followed suit and lowered it back down. It was eerily quiet inside the factory, the only sound that could be heard was steam running through pipes, and the distant grinding of gears.The air was stagnant, and smelled as damp as a rain forest. It was also dark, as if there was no need for lights to be on here. "Feels like an over sized metal coffin." Ace mumbled, stepping forward to the edge of a corner. "Rika, Shizuka, go on ahead, we'll cover your way back." Shizuka nodded, and waited to follow after Rika. "Lin, Cori, stick with me. We need to clear this floor first, if we see anyone or anything, we take it out, got it?"

Ace moved down the hall, making sure to make as little noise as possible. He reached another corner, and peeked around it. "Cerden?..." He saw the middle aged man with an unfamiliar woman, he turned back to Lin and Cori. "I don't know how, but that ex Empire soldier we met made it inside, and he's with some woman. We should avoid them, without one of our badges it's only a matter of time before Heartless find them, and we don't want to be there when that happens."

_____

"Just lost your cool, huh?" Ryoko rolled her eyes, and leaned down to Gavin's level. She grabbed the hair on his head, and looked him in the eyes. "You're here for a reason, someone like you doesn't just walk around with nothing to do. Now I'm only going to ask this once, why are you here in Hollow Bastion?" Ryoko's eyes looked hungry, she almost wanted Gavin to keep stringing her along, if only so she had an excuse to beat him within an inch of his life. Before Gavin could answer, there was a knock at the door to the room. Ryoko banged Gavin's head against the wall, and stood up. "Who in the hell..." The door opened, and a man in a black body suit walked in. He was carrying a lifeless man in his right hand.

"We found him just outside the factory, He appears to be dead, but-"

"So you dragged garbage down here? For crying out loud, you should be patrolling the factory, not bringing in random stiffs." Ryoko grabbed the still man by the cuff. His face was a mess, he looked as if he had just lost a fight against a truck. "...He isn't dead, he's just been knocked out. Get out, I'll figure out what to do with him." The suited man left the room, and Ryoko tossed the unconscious man to the ground. "Okay... nap times over." Biting the tip of her index finger, she let a drop of blood fall on his bare arm, it quickly drilled into him and entered his blood stream. "The pain should be enough to wake you up... any moment now..."

“WAKE UP!”

Minoru sat up suddenly, blinking the dots from his vision and the intense ringing in his ears. He looked down at his hands as the last bit of his memory slammed into his mind like the proverbial truck. Minoru expected his hands to be horribly scarred or burned but he looked perfectly fine.

Weird how his luck protected him in that regard.

Now, as for that voice… It felt familiar but it wasn’t the person he was looking for, that was for sure, it was someone else. The image of a young girl with long black hair and dark eyes glaring at him as she chewed a lollipop. Oh, great, someone else he can’t remember.

“Ugh, that really hurt,” Minoru muttered to himself as he rubbed his arms, again expecting to feel as if his entire body was on fire but he felt perfectly fine. Minoru blinked as he looked up, a woman was standing over him. She was pretty, Minoru figured, with long blue hair and scary icy-blue eyes, she stared at Minoru as if he were an interesting specimen.

“Oh.” Minoru said as he looked at the woman, wondering who she was. In fact, as he looked around the “room” he was in, he realized he didn’t exactly have a clue where he was. It was annoying collection of pipes as if a really excited plumber went overboard in helping out with designing this place.

Minoru’s extraordinary senses went into overload as he absorbed every detail of his surroundings. The pipes were new, almost brand new which means this building is either constantly in pristine condition or created recently, this correlates with the floor is clean much too clean for a place like this. Minoru placed his palms against the floor and felt subtle vibrations against it, like something churning in the innards of the building. Something is active here, that was for sure.

He examined the woman. Tall, pretty, but clearly not normal. A sort of power radiates from her body, something normal people won’t exude. All of this comes to one obvious conclusion.

This is Heaven! And this woman is an angel. Clearly, after Minoru was struck by the stray lightning bolt, and didn’t sustain much damage other than damage to his ears and central nervous system, he was killed and brought to Heaven. This woman, therefore, is an angel!

Minoru grinned almost naively as he put out his hand to shake with the woman’s. “Nice to meet you! I’m Min—“

Minoru doubled over, curling up in a fetal position, gripping his hand as he lurched and twitched in pain. “OWWWWWW!” He complained, rolling around as he held his wrist while fire burned through his nerves, feeling like his hand was being cut clean off. For thirty seconds or so, Minoru rolled around, groaning in pain then finally he awkwardly sat back up.

“Okay… So this isn’t Heaven then,” Minoru muttered. “Then…” Minoru gasped as the realization came to him, he pointed dramatically at the woman. “YOU’RE A BAD GUY!”

Minoru didn’t know much about his past, but he knew, for sure, that he wasn’t a fan of bad guys they just tended to be so… bad. But what could he do? This woman was strong after all! She could inflict damage on him… THROUGH TELEKINESIS.

Of course, what other explanation was there?

Still, Minoru laughed confidently and played with his dark hair the way a cool-guy protagonist would. “Enemy of Light, you have made a foolish decision facing me in battle. Since you’ve already shown me your telekinetic ability, I’ve already developed a counter to it! YOU MIGHT AS WELL GIVE UP NOW!”

Then, Minoru would jump up and face the terrible demon in epic battle for the fate of the world. He’s so damn cool he might even spit a few sick rhymes while he’s at it… At least, he would if his legs worked. Awkwardly, Minoru poked his leg and found he couldn’t feel the sensation of his finger. “SHIT!” he cursed as he punched his legs, he couldn’t feel anything!

The lightning strike! It must’ve screwed up his nervous system so badly he lost feeling in his legs! Still, cool guys don’t lose their cool. They don’t lose their cool no matter what… because he’s so damn cool.

“I don’t need my legs to defeat you, demon!” Minoru cried. “GIVE UP TO THE SIDE OF JUSTICE!”

There. He bluffed. Hopefully, this demon would be so intimidated by Minoru’s awesome might that she would commit seppuku right then and there to spare her the embarrassment.

Sitting on a rooftop munching on a bag of snacks sat a lone woman. The brisk wind fluttered her hair about as her legs dangled from the edge. Each gummy worm she threw higher than the last but each time she picked one from the bag, she squeezed them as if making them suffer. She giggled under her breath as she sat forward

" I'll be in so much trouble once everyone finds out i'm back....But it's not like i dont' have a reason!" She shrugged and flared her hair to the side.

" Of course i'll have a new set of orders i'll have to carry out...do i really want to do that?...hmmm.......this bores me now."

"Oh my god!!! Ahh!!"

A shriek came from the empty alleyway near her location. The noise was feminine in nature so at this time of night it could be one of two things, Robbery, or murder. Or something much more...perverse. She put away her snacks in her pouch and climbed across the rooftops. Leaping from roof to roof she came to the scene. Leaning over the edge she peered down and observed. A burly bald man was holding a woman's dress, or it seemed part of it.

"Oh ho! what do we have here"

The girl backed into a corner and held what remained of her clothes in tact, " Get the hell away you creep! He loomed closer to her with every step his mouth seemed to drool and his face turned more and more lifeless as if he was a rabid animal. Reaching his hairy arm forward before the moment of touch he fell to his knees. " Who the fuck!! he barked out as he turned around slowly.

Mikuru with her arms folded looked at him with a disappointing glare. " On your knees...now you filthy animal." The large man pulled out a short dagger as he stumbled to his feet. " Bitch you'll be mine too!" He lunged forward with the knife in hopes of a fatal stab. Leaping forward Mikuru ducked down slamming a forceful palm into his stomach causing him to lose all the air inside of his lungs. The girl against the wall shivered in fear as she looked on.

" Piece of shit pig!" She said with a grin on her face as she kicked the man down a few times and finally placing her Heel on his head. " You're pathetic...." Pushing him over she reached her hand over to the frightened girl. " I'm so sorry dear that i did not make it here sooner. Let's get you home." She escorted the woman home safely away from public eyes and left the pervert to rot in his own blood. she did not however kill him, that would take the fun out of it....

Flipping her hair she began making her way towards the castle. " It's good to be back"

Still a little heated with the final verdict of that briefing, Rika had been standing against a tree opposite the empire’s factory with her arms crossed, back nestled comfortably. Finding the irony amusing that these would-be industrial tyrants who ran on fear and intimidation would even bother leaving bushes and trees surrounding the factory, her mood had yet to improve in spite of it. The area was thick with tension; Ace had wandered off to ‘improve the odds’ that were stacked against them. That girl, Lin, was tucked away near that pretty-boy which left her with Shizuka alone. Shizuka had begun to converse with her and out of decency she broke her gaze from the night sky to focus on her new ‘partner’. Nervousness was anxiety and anxiety could slow you down, or lift you up. Rika didn’t want to take someone inexperienced in her level of stealth and assassination along because of this; Shizuka was sweet, but didn’t belong in a fight like this no matter how much her heart begged her to take action. The blonde didn’t know these people, and for good reason she honestly didn’t want to, but it was for good reason that she’d try.

“Maybe in your head you’re ready, Shizuka. Maybe even in your heart you think you’re prepared. That optimism you and Lin have, it shows me that you’re prepared to do good, even if you don’t understand what that really means for the world sometimes.” Murmured Rika. “My family goes back a long way, and we’ve killed countless to keep the world we live in running smoothly. I’m no stranger to watching the life leave a targets eyes, but you and Lin? You’re hardly ready for what a life or death battle is, let alone fighting an entire war.” The glow of her emerald eyes seemed to grow more intense the more she went on. Believing in comrades seemed an impossible task, counting on yourself was often the best bet you ever had in succeeding. Success and failure were ultimately determined by her decision making, her plan of attack, her consciousness. Counting on others wasn’t a concept she was used to; her anxiousness wasn’t about her ability to succeed, it was the odds that somewhere along the line someone on this ‘team’ was going to fail. “I want to be wrong about you people, so …show me you can do this and it’ll be a start for us.”

Ace’s return was uneventful, but at least that secret little ‘visit’ he made would make the job easier for the team itself. Those dark creatures Rika had scarcely encountered before were called ‘Heartless’ and prayed on people like them. They were tools for the Empire’s use and would be capable of detecting them based on something not even Rika knew how to hide, and wielding that mysterious blade earlier meant that her heart was worth something considerable to them. Things had begun to make sense as far as those creatures were concerned but there were obviously things she couldn’t find out from this gang. After this, another visit to her ‘employer’ might be ideal for her given she was carrying something considered ‘legend’. Ace got them inside, and the first thing Rika had noticed was how silent the place was. No real residual noise, at least on this level, which would lead anyone inexperienced to believe it was completely abandoned. The faintest of footsteps and whispers through the walls, the echo of careless weight against the concrete, all of it was reverberating through this place. The steam and gears of the place did well to drown it out, but you didn’t come as far as she did in the field of subtlety and not learn to listen. With Ace giving them the go ahead, Rika’s memory of the layout on that disc would be applied starting now. Shizuka just beside her, Rika had looked to her, eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Light as a feather, remember that. And keep up.” Her tone was deadly serious, implying she might punish Shizuka for even the stupidest of mistakes. Looking towards what composed of the assault team, Rika had noticed Lin giving her a thumbs up in luck, prompting Rika to wink at her in thanks before taking off down the narrow corridors to the west. It would be noted by Lin how silent she moved, and even straining her ears to try and listen for a footstep proved fruitless.

Lin’s biggest concern was maintaining her composure; doing well here meant she could do well anywhere, and she was determined not to fail her friends. That cool woman ran off with Shizuka, and with that part of the assignment underway the only job expected of them was to hold the area. Sticking closely to Ace and trying to mimic Rika’s ability to be quiet, he had peered around the corner and relayed to them information of importance. That rude man from before had been inside, accompanied by a woman he didn’t recognize. Lin crept up beside him and peered over to see for herself, and sure enough there they were, just standing there as though this was a safe place to be in. She only knew of one person in her life that could get away with something so reckless: Her big brother. Whatever purpose those two had here, it could either be of some good to the people of this world, or detrimental to it. After that rude man’s introduction in the site of death and destruction, Lin hadn’t believed in him being a good person, but if this was an opportunity to show that he was not a bad person then there wasn’t a better chance than this one. Ace suggested they avoid them and Lin was quick to nod in agreement not out of a grudge, but because they clearly had different objectives in mind. Cerden hadn’t proven himself a friend whatsoever, so playing it safe would be the better option.

Lin was about to ask what Coriander’s thoughts were on the stranger until her ears had perked, a new development reaching them. From a stray pipe behind them emitted a noise from just downstairs, a cry of what Lin believed to be intense distress. Someone was here that didn’t want to be here, and even worse was that it sounded like they were going to be tortured. A knot in her gut formed almost immediately; the mission was to stay here and secure the area for Rika and Shizuka, but she couldn’t just stand by knowing someone might need her help. Ace would understand, right?

“Someone’s in trouble, we have to go help them!” She whispered to the two in a hushed tone, hoping they were in agreement. Someone also had to remain behind to cover this floor and help clear it, but with that Cerden guy and the strange haired woman here they might be a big enough obstacle already. “I’ll go, I’ll be back!” without waiting for approval, Lin turned on her heel and began to quietly maneuver down the corridors to the east opposite Rika and Shizuka, hoping that she’d find a stairway. By some fortunate combination of both luck and instinct, she had managed to find a stairway. Some credit was also due to the man who was crying out so loudly, but she only hoped she wasn’t too late in her efforts. The next floor down was noticeably much damper, the humidity in the air due to the steam was likely to make the place much more unbearable for those who couldn’t handle warm temperatures like herself. The grinding of gears and the steam was also more intense down here, but she’d need to be thankful for the carelessness that went into maintaining this place, because without it she may not have heard the man suffering. Lin broke into a full sprint and listened hard for the source of the disturbance, gathering heat in her hands and concentrating with all her might to bring her staff to her. She had practiced many months to know how to establish a bond with her weapon, but she had never done it from such a distance. Still, its shape could be felt in her hands before it had fully formed. She underestimated the difficulty in both summoning it and looking for someone, and with a few corners taken she had stumbled across the location of the disturbance, but not before a near-collision with two guards stationed at the entryway. Skidding to a halt and gritting her teeth in a panic, Lin was able to come to a stop with her nose mere inches away from one of the guard’s backs, waving her arms backwards in a panic. The back of Ryoko was to her, but the man she was subjecting to pain would be the only one able to see how frantic her situation was.

“Hey, would you hit her?” Soldier A inquired to his buddy, watching Ryoko deal with that strange man they had found outside.

“What, Ryoko? I don’t know if you noticed but she’s pretty much the opposite of a stable, willing girl. Got control freak written all over her.” Soldier B responded, shrugging his shoulders.

“So you wouldn’t? I mean ignore the crazy.”

“How the hell do you ignore the crazy? It’s her middle name, and I mean did you see how she woke that idiot up?”

“It’d be worth it.”

Lin had managed to stumble backwards just a little, but ultimately remained undetected due to the factories ambient noise and the distraction that was the conversation about a ‘Ryoko’, who Lin determined was the one doing the torturing. They hadn’t noticed her yet, and now that she wasn’t moving anymore she could summon her staff from China. Quietly she began to focus her energy again, directing all her will into calling her weapon for battle. How did people make it look so easy? ‘Come on, come on…’

“Pfft, worth it? She’d slice you to bits.”

“Worth it.”

“She’d tie you down and blindfold you.”

“Worth it.”

“She’d probably kill you in the end.”

“…”

“…”

“Worth it.”

“Are you serious right now?” Soldier B couldn’t believe the desperation of A to the point death was a worthy consequence just to screw a crazy, yet strangely attractive girl like Ryoko. Shaking his head in disbelief and managing to continuously be oblivious to the comical hilarity that was Lin still trying to summon her weapon just behind him. Bringing two fingers up to his ear, he attempted to reach out to someone else in another location. “Duncan, upstairs all clear?”

~-~

Several bodies lie on the floor, weapons discarded and blood pooling beneath at least half. The corridors led up to two places they could have chosen, but Rika had opted for this one. The ‘elite’ of the Empire were no match for someone they couldn’t see or hear, and Rika had tasked Shizuka with staying out of sight until this was over with. In the fastest eight seconds she might ever witness, the small troop assigned to guard this place was dismantled and left bloody on the ground. Some might survive the wounds, incapacitation was the only priority. Shizuka’s presence prompted her to go easy on these punks and let them have a chance at living, but the wounds were deep enough to keep them struggling to survive in the crumpled heaps she left them. Letting out a low whistle to let Shizuka come out, Rika looked back at her. “Destroy their communicators, quickly.” She ordered, before returning her smooth gaze to the one man remaining, pinned to the wall just outside of the central elevator. “Now, where were we? Oh, that’s right, the core room …will this elevator take us—“

“Duncan-“ the soldier she had pinned with one of her Sai, bloodied from the other quickly executed comrades of his, dangerously close to slicing his throat had received a message. ”Upstairs all clear?”

Rika looked from his earpiece to Duncan, eyebrow raised in curiosity. The odds may not have been as poor as she initially expected; not only did she manage to keep the one guy alive that his comrades were reaching out to, but it seemed no one was aware of Ace and the others yet. So far, so good. “Yeah Duncan …is it all clear?” she mocked, inching her blade a little closer to his throat.

The poor bastard was allowed to slowly reach for his earpiece and pathetically mutter a response.

“All clear.”

~-~

“Geez, even the guys up top sound depressed. It’s like someone’s holding a blade to our throats.” Soldier B muttered, wondering what the hell was taking Ryoko so long with interrogating this guy. “So what do you think she’ll do with that guy?”

“Maybe NOT have him walk around this place all night for an attack that isn’t coming.” Soldier A replied, before shifting uncomfortably. Something felt off all of a sudden. “Hey, is it getting hot to you?”

“It’s always hot down here, and spoiler alert: It’s not getting any cooler until we’re outside.”

“I know that, but all of a sudden it just seems …really, really hot. Like I’m inches away from an open fire.”

“…Huh, now that you mention it I’m starting to get a little toasty too.”

“Wait …huh …it’s a little cooler now.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah, just a li—“A swift blow collided with the back of Soldier A’s head, and before Soldier B could respond a staff had collided against his forehead harshly. Both of these men fell from one preemptive strike of Lin’s staff, which she had struggled hard to summon this entire time. She had believed herself in trouble once the summoning brought warmth with it, but the two happened to be so oblivious that she was spared a confrontation that could go wrong. Not missing a beat, she charged forward and leaped, spinning around once and letting the frontal end of her staff collide towards the ground. An arc of flame launched itself from her staff and moved directly towards Ryoko’s back, Lin’s hope was to put an end to this in one strike, but she knew to prepare for the worst case scenario. That strange, strange man would be saved!

~-~

“Good job Dunc. So, save us some trouble, how do we get to the core?” Rika questioned, prompting Duncan to roll his eyes towards the elevator. Rika had a hard time believing it was really that easy, but she would play along if only because Shizuka could learn a valuable lesson. “That takes us straight down? No access code? No scanning hardware?”

“None, just …just choose the lowest level. That’ll take you there. Or …the stairs.”

“Oh, awesome, thanks.” Rika grinned.

“What the hell are you? No one can just vanish and reappear like that …none of us could even get a shot off in time.” Duncan managed to mutter, fearing his life would come to an end regardless of his aid.

Rika sucked in a bit of air and considered going into a long, prideful rant about who she is, how amazing she is, and telling Death that she sent him there. Then again he did help, and he didn’t struggle. All of that was made better by the fact he was totally checking her out even when his life was at risk, and for Rika that was pretty damn sexy. “No time for that. Night now.” She drew her blade away and allowed Duncan a little room to move his head, but thrust her elbow against his jaw. That force coupled with the head colliding with the back of the wall had knocked him out quickly and quietly. Letting him slide to the floor uselessly, Rika would draw his communicator and decide to place it in her own. Keeping tabs on the enemy was important, and this way she could speak for Duncan if anyone ever chimed in. Swiftly slicing the air with her Sai and allowing stray blood to scatter on the ground, it vanished in a small glow of light until needed once more. Rika looked to Shizuka.

“You know where the stairway is, take it. I’ll be right behind you, literally.” Rika stepped in the elevator and examined the control console, immediately coming across the proper button. It was a different color than the rest; others were blue, but this one was red, and if that wasn’t some sort of indication of how important the floor was then she didn’t know what is. Whether Shizuka trusted her or not, Rika believed in her own plan. They’d expect the elevator, but who’d expect the stairs. Taking a deep breath, Rika shooed Shizuka away and pressed the button. The doors closed and she had begun to descend into the unknown.

Gavin jerked and then some, held by his hair of all things. He yawned as he was starting to have a preference for being put to death by this point, he regretfully was a little too tenacious in putting himself in his predicament. The time of his arrival was piss poor, he didn't know what the time zone difference was leaving his family's dimension and ending up here. He'd only thought about his sister's further blasphemous dissent into the pits of the empire. Before prompted to give a reason, there burst forth a soldier with an unconscious body, presumably male, then confirmed to be male.

"And I thought I had bad luck today, reneging that assertion."

Though half in jest, it was true Gavin was an offworlder. As if to give Ryoko dots to connect, this empire had to have some basic premise of whoever their primary objective was. Usually there proposed a rag-tag team that was dominant in one area alone to defend a world. It seemed common in most novels he'd come across in this age. It always brought him back to his older sister...and how for personal reasons he was even here, in the claws of the faction she was supporting.

He refocused on the male that was brought in, he seemed rather exasperated and in a funk of his own. Gavin was paying close attention to the synchronization of his bodily gestures in combination with the words flowing from his mouth. He was by no means a pro-synographer, but telegraphing genuine vs. dishonest body gestures was how he justified and concealed blatant lies himself...and he was a damn pro at it. Faintly cutting a glance at his still very much broken right arm, he wasn't in any rush to "storm the fort" as they say. So he'd bide for Ryoko's amusement with this super reactive male.

"A valiant effort?" Gavin said, somewhat bewildered at watching him collapse. "You know, if you could release me, I just might be able to-" Gavin stopped mid sentence and then thought really hard about it. "-nevermind...Ryoko, you might as well chain him up too."

He released a heavy sigh, this must've been what it felt like waiting for the right one to come purge you from prison. A thought crossed Gavin's mind, he thought about his sister again...and it only thoroughly skewed his anger along further. If he didn't escape and he didn't do something about her, then this would only serve to anger him, and be marked as a disappointment by his family that she chose to distance herself from.

Under his lips, but with no sound, he mouthed her name. "_ _ _ _."

His eyes then narrowed, he stared menacingly at the floor before sliding down the wall and sitting down. Eventually going numb from the tugging suspension of his broken right arm. Soon, the door had opened and burst forth with an arc of heated volition. Gavin's mortal enemy at work it seemed, he grew colder and closed his eyes to hide in the darkness.

T'ethe Alla <----click
???? years ago

Loud crashes of sound had been piercing the silence that previously had given Tyra-Zhen comfort, the echo of first a shrill noise, then the roar of fire and light rushing around her body in a cyclone that rattled her down to her very soul. She winced, taking a deep breath before focusing her essence further outward. She'd taken some time to visit a place that held many memories, some were more liked than others, while some of these memories were a gateway to take Tyra back to a place and time when, she had still been a real person. It was a shame that nothing she had tried, was even a modicum of what had been needed, back then to save herself from the darkness. It was the simple things in life that could lead one astray, taking any individual down a path that, for all they knew, would end up as centuries worth of time spent getting back to the present. For the time being, dwelling on such things actually put Tyra back into a better mood than she was in.

In all the years that this peculiar world had been eroded by the chaotic energies washing against the edges of various other worlds, causing it to become very unstable, the sound of raw energy being fused into, and then diffused out from magical essence, had always been a sound which Tyra-Zhen had a disdain for. Even when her master had suffered a loss to the Dusk Titan, he and Tyra had come to this same area. Back then it seemed less potent. Now the sound was comparable to that of numerous dying beasts or some other combination of awful sounds, which nabbed at her focus, causing her to sweat even more profusely in the heat. "This noise...I hate it." Tyra looked beyond the edge of the spire she stood atop, her eyes piercing the thick white veil of magic bonded with energy, to the scorched plains below. She wiped the edge of her brow, blinking a few times at how ridiculous the action was to begin with. "I don't even remember the last time I sweated this much!!! This place sure has gotten much more dangerous than I remember it. I suppose that a person with Vagras, would enjoy being around here much more than I."

The person Tyra was referring to was a long time friend and Tyra’s master, that was well known in many places as, Vagras. This creature’s real name was Erebos Irving, he whom embraced the magic of the Black Luminous, thus turning Erebos from a mere mortal into a creature that was betwixt the concepts of both existence and non existence. It was he, that Tyra had come to this desolated world for. It was he, that Tyra knew would aid him in stitching the scattered pieces of the past back together.

Time was of the essence, even for a complete heartless like Tyra-Zhen, there were great risks involved, when one got too close to the very heart of a world. In a normal situation the world's heart would be at a calm, but where things had gone amuck, like the world Tyra was on, the heart of the world was in a deep turmoil. As Tyra weakened, she tried harder to ignore the grinding tone of the magic pillar encompassing most of her form, her two extra sets of angelic arms were braced, muscles bulging. She sighed deeply, Tyra hadn't held up the cores of any worlds in at least sixty years, she'd forgotten just how much of a task it could really be.

Another realization had been rapidly deduced by Tyra, one that she didn't want to admit, but knew was obvious if the comparison was made. She had gotten weaker since being cast unto Valhalla, many changes across many worlds had all affected how Tyra-Zhen existed. Chaos was brewing at every corner, more was to come in the near future, it was a cycle that Tyra and Erebos were far too familiar with. "If he's closer than I'm sensing, I might be worse off than I originally calculated..."

Tyra shook her head from side to side, bracing herself as the pillar started shaking violently, ripples of magic rocked Tyra-Zhen back and forth, she swayed a bit, but was able to keep a steady grip using all six of her arms. “Ugh, I can’t let go!!!" She groaned as the pressure from the core of the pillar surrounding her, began to start increasing at a faster pace, her eyes burned with a deep white sheen as two more arms sprouted, one on either side of Tyra’s body.

"MASTER EREBOS!!! HURRY UP BEFORE THIS ENTIRE WORLD COLLAPSES UPON US!!!"

"Light as a feather, got it." Shizuka whispered to Rika, nodding and following after her. As they made their way through the claustrophobic halls, her eyes gazed down to Rika's feet. As far as she could tell, the woman's feet were touching the metal flooring at the same pace as her own, however, Rika was not making a single sound. It was as if someone had hit the mute button on her, silencing any possible noise from her. As adapt as she was in the art of stealth, anyone with eyes and ears could tell that she was being slowed down by the presence of a partner.

Shizuka took a deep breath, and focused on altering her body's composition. She rubbed her thumb against her fingers, and recalled the sensation of something soft she had once held in her hands. An image of a plush moogle entered her mind, and as it did her fingers softened and bent backwards. She tried to apply the same texture to the rest of her body, but her memory was stunted by something. She was blocking out part of the memory, a pair of caring hands holding out the plush to her. She let out a sigh, finding herself loathing this process once more, if only she wasn't forced to always remember the exact moment she first touched something, she wouldn't have to keep seeing his face, wouldn't have to keep seeing things that reminded her of what was no more. The rest of her body and clothing took on the light, flexible texture, and her steps turned nearly silent. Rika could likely still hear her, though she was effectively silent against the noise of the factory.

Carefully making their way around a corner, Rika had spotted a group of soldiers in front of what looked to be an elevator. Before Shizuka could ask what they should do next, Rika told her to stay put while she handled them, and handle them she did. Rika moved swiftly and silently, taking out one solider after another, seemingly blinking out of her sight as she struck them down. Shizuka nearly had to pick up her jaw from the floor, she knew Rika was good, but what she did exceeded her expectations. A quiet whistle let her know to come out of hiding, Shizuka walked forward, stepping over bloodied bodies. A thought occurred to her, that this is what Rika had meant by being able to take a life so easily. She was able to look death in the eye without fear, and deal it out in the same turn. Shizuka had seen enough death to warrant it being an acquaintance, but it was not a friend. She had trained to become a keyblade master in the hopes of finding solutions to conflicts that did not involve lethal force, needless to say she had not found an answer yet.

Rika told her to destroy the communicators of the soldiers, and as Rika began interrogating the only standing solider she did just that. It wasn't pleasant pilfering things from dead or dying men, so she moved as quickly as she could, gathering the devices and crushing them in her hands using a metal grip. Tossing the scrap metal away, Shizuka watched the exchange between Rika and the man she had on the edge of her blade. She would have to admit to being a little nervous when the man was called for a check in, however, Rika stayed calm and handled it without issue. The man gave them the directions to the core room, and was knocked out by an elbow to the jaw. "Impressive." Shizuka said with a grin.

Rika told her to take the stairs, Shizuka wasn't too sure about splitting up, but she trusted her partner's judgement in the matter. Rika took the elevator to the floor below, and Shizuka was left alone to head into the depths of the factory.

_____

"What? Lin, hold o-." Ace let out a disgruntled sigh and followed after Lin. "Cori, let's go, we don't want to be near Cerden when the Heartless find him any....way." As if on cue, Ace heard the sound of claws scraping against the floor behind him, from the sound of it, a group of at least five Defender Heartless had found Cerden. "Yeah... Let's get the heck out of here."

He went off after the rouge assault team member, wondering what it was that she had heard. Their goal was to ensure a safe exit for Rika and Shizuka, but he had no qualms with saving someone if they were truly in duress. What he was not okay with was Lin trying to go off on her own. Besides the fact that she was a friend, they were a team, and they needed to operate as a single unit. He kept pace with Lin as she walked, however, she soon broke out into a sprint. Ace moved to rush after her, but a pipe released a stream of boiling steam that cut off his sight of her.. "Dammit..." Ace grumbled as he wiped sweat from his forehead. The factory's temperature as well as it's humidity rose the further they went down, it made it feel as if they were descending into the bowels of a living creature. Ace kept a hand on his blade, and walked through the halls, trying to find Lin.

_____

Ryoko backed away from the scrawny man she had just forced awake, astonished by his late reaction to the venom in his veins. The pain hit him like a sack of gummi blocks, and he began to writhe on the floor, groaning in agony. Ryoko was in no rush to help him, and spent the spare time until it wore off to check her nails. She kept them polished, and sharpened them to make it easier to draw her own blood, but she wondered if she should paint them a shade of violet, it would greatly complement her hair.

The man that she could only only refer to as 'Min' since his introduction was cut off, eventually sat forward, and began to ramble incessantly. She had been called quite a few things in her life, but no one had ever outright, plainly called her a 'bad guy.' Ryoko couldn't help but crack a grin, this man was amusing, at least. He tried to stand up, and attempted what she could only assume was a pathetic attack. But his legs seemed to numb, and refused to move. Ryoko's smirk spread into a wider grin, and she had to cover her mouth with her right hand. The small amount of blood she had forced into him couldn't have caused any level of paralysis, so she had to wonder how in the hell he had ended up in such a state.

Even with a pair of rubber legs, the man threatened her, calling her an enemy to the light, and spouting lines she expected from a cheap sentai show. Her hand couldn't contain the laughter that then erupted from her mouth.

"Good lord, is the newborn fawn here serious!?" She held her gut, going into a full on giggling fit. Her legs buckled, and she fell over to the floor, just then, a blaze of fire passed over her, and headed straight towards him.

Ryoko's giggling fit stopped, and she looked up to see the young girl that had just tried to fry her alive. "And then there's THIS!" She yelled, still on the floor, extending both her arms out at the Chinese girl in a hyperbolic manner. She stood up, and crossed her arms like a teacher disciplining a student. "Who the hell are you? And how the HELL did you get past the guards? I swear some people are just completely useless." Ryoko shook her head, upset that the Emperor had been right in expecting the Unbound Hearts to attack the factory.

She dug her nails into her wrists, and black blood pooled into her palms. "There wouldn't happen to be more of you brats here, would there?"

_____

Heading down the stairway on her own, Shizuka had decided to try and remain as covert as Rika was when she was leading. She hugged the edge of the rounded spiral stairway's wall, and quickly but quietly eased her way down. "Do do duh, buh da bah, dah-da bah bahhh." She mumbled a tune to herself, building up the drama of her rather mundane method of sneaking. She reached the bottom most floor of the factory, and pulled on the collar of her shirt. It was nearly as hot and humid as a sauna. Keeping close to the hall's wall, she peeked around a corner and saw the elevator that Rika had taken. A guard had walked up to it, rifle in hand and ready to fire. Shizuka figured Rika could handle one lone man, but a tugging in her gut told her to take care of the man anyhow. She turned the corner and dashed towards him, her softened feet letting her close the distance without alerting him. The moment her hands could reach him, she hardened her arms into steel and grabbed the man, placing a hand over his mouth, and the other on his back. She slammed him to the ground, the impact to his head rendering him unconscious. The elevator had not arrived yet, but she decided not to wait for it and instead headed towards a large door at the end of a hall.

The door was different from the rest in the building, it had a valve instead of a nob, and was made of a thick, black steel. Shizuka turned the valve, and steam poured out from the sides of the door. The metal slab swung open with a groan, as if it wished she had not bothered to open it. The room she stepped into was larger than she thought it would be, compared to the tight quarters elsewhere in the building, this room was the size of a ballroom. And yet, for as large as the room was, much of it's space was occupied by large black tubes and pipes, all of which converged onto a single object in the center of the room. A large glass tube lay diagonally on a pile of wires that were connected to the back. Shizuka moved closer to the tube to see what was inside, but whatever it was, was obscured by a swirling dense miasma of darkness. She moved even closer, and pressed her face against the glass to get a better look. For just a moment, the darkness let her see through to the tube, and what she saw inside shocked her. It was hard to see, but she knew for a fact that inside the tube she saw the face of a human being. Shizuka fell backwards onto her bottom, and backed away quickly.

After receiving the report from Ryoko and deciding upon her next course of action, Tyra-Zhen decided she was better off following around the mercenary. She didn’t know much about him, yet it was part of her job to ascertain as much information as possible about, ‘new’ additions to the empire’s forces. Tyra didn’t really care either way, she was aware now more than ever that, people died...often, and they could be replaced just as often. The only possible issue with Salforge was that he was in it for the money. With this in mind there was always the possibility that those of the Unbound Hearts might persuade him to switch sides. Tyra-Zhen didn’t think that would happen, but people could be tempted by just about anything.

Her mood had remained stable for the entirety of the time she spent with Salforge, Tyra-Zhen had thought of so many different inappropriate remarks, but instead kept her mouth shut. She had a lot more fun gazing at the man before her, completely visualizing how he looked completely naked. “Heh, space?? Sure I could give you that...but,” Tyra-Zhen turned to the mercenary, running her gloved hand up Salforge’s side, “I prefer your company.” She laughed, the sound vibrating out from her hood which began to fade away, bringing Tyra-Zhen’s face into view. She licked her lips and grinned at the man before her. Her hair was short cropped, having no set color, it billowed and changed hues as Tyra sighed.

“The facility has been breached," Tyra giggled, "I can sense too many essences that weren't here before,” this annoyed Tyra a lot, she should have stood guard outside the factory. If it weren’t for the idiot guards that had been placed around the perimeter of the factory, unneeded conflict might have been avoided. “I should go to investigate. Maybe I’ll find a worthy challenge, maybe not.” Tyra-Zhen’s gaze had never left Salforge. It was so intense, it could have been considered lecherous, full of desire and interest. “Or, I could wait a bit longer, we could always dance,” Tyra was being serious, she put out her hand and batted her eyelashes. "You had me at superstar."

Damn it, Lin. The words echoed haphazardly throughout Cori's mind. Ace's plan had gone over so well. Stealth was not the best part of Cori or many others repertoire yet they had infiltrated the factory as if they were ghosts. Unfortunately Lin's poor attempt of heroism could see the failure of such a plan. Rash emotions only brought a clear and present danger to the situation. Cori could not sit back and allow Lin to be killed for rushing off without the others. A pipe dropped from the ceiling, spilling steam. The obstruction blocked Ace from continuing but not Coriander as a small section above the pipe was open. Never stopping his forward momentum, Cori ascended through the air, utilizing his extreme flexibility and limber body to get through the small opening before the steam could fully cover the area. Once he landed, Cori kept moving at breakneck speed. No time to stop. Well that was until he met with an unexpected guest.

Almost the exact moment that he turned a corner, Cori's body was slammed into the wall. Cracks spread outward to show just how much force was used to restrain the swordsman. His eyes opened in wide surprise to the individual who held a blade of magic pressed against Cori's throat. "Oh little brother how you have grown? Still a princess." The man smirked, "Left the Empire for the Rebels? Who would have thought this would be your choice?" Cori grimaced before responding, "Why are you here, Alex? Will you kill me now?". The tension was so thick that you could grab it with a bare hand. "Death is not my plan." Alex let his brother touch the floor and he slowly backed away, "By the way that Lin girl ran that way and to the right. I'll be seeing you again soon, Princess." Coriander's body shook nervously as eyes stayed forever locked on his brother whilst beginning to continue the hunt for Lin.

Why was he here and what did he want? Images of the past blazed a trail in Cori's mind. He wanted to stay and find out Alex's thought process but, Lin's safety was far more important. Several minutes went by before a guard entered the very room that held Ryoko and Lin's altercation. "The Unbound Heart -------" In a show of brutality, a blade of pure yellow energy ripped through the man's chest with little resistance. Blood splashed forward from the wound following behind the blade as it aimed directly for Ryoko with no intent on harming Lin. If anything changed in that regard, the blade would immediately disperse upon touching Lin's skin even for a moment. From the doorway Coriander stood vigilant as if a beacon of light was shining upon him. "Let's see how much you've changed since I left, Ryoko."

Minoru’s first thought: COOL! The Chinese-looking girl from around the corner was focusing hard on something, if Minoru didn’t know any better he’d say she was constipated by the way she concentrated. But still, despite the girl’s young appearance, Minoru was instantly drawn to her, she was cool, a bit silly, yet obviously strong. For some reason, Lin reminded Minoru of someone. Lin looked like a girl he knew… with rainbow-dyed hair.

But so far, Ryoko hadn’t noticed her yet, so Minoru took that for his advantage. Though he didn’t have a particular joy in letting someone else fight for him, it was certainly preferably than to reveal her position by pointedly staring at her. Minoru looked back at Ryoko who was laughing like crazy because of his antics, although he was, himself, a bit off he knew for certain that it took a special brand of crazy to enjoy Minoru’s presence.

Just then, Lin decided to strike. Minoru almost cheered for the Chinese warrior… until Ryoko conveniently ducked as the arc of fire flew toward him. Minoru’s eyes widened and he let out a squeak as the flame crashed into him, enveloping him in tongues of fire. He heard Ryoko talk to the Chinese girl but he was still too busy being covered in fire to pay attention.

Minoru shut his eyes tightly and let out a scream… that abruptly stopped as the pain subsided. Minoru opened his eyes and looked around. He wasn’t in the Factory anymore. He was in a beautiful garden with a massive red oak tree right behind him. Minoru looked at his arms, expecting to see them charred or horribly scarred but he was fine, again, why was he okay?

Did he die this time? Probably but that death felt too… quick. Minoru expected a big theatrical showing of his death, not pain one moment then nothing the next.

“You aren’t dead idiot…”

Minoru looked up and noticed a glowing white/green… thing descending from the skies. He had the face of a mouse and a tiny bipedal body but his ears extended out from his head like two long scarves. Minoru instantly recognized who it was.

“Terriermon!” Minoru cried, grinning with delight. “You’re real?! OH, OH, is this a vision? Some sort of prophecy you’re giving me to indicate that I’m the One who has to stop Agent Smith? Or maybe I have to gather a rag-tag team of misfits in order to destroy the establishment! Or—“

Terriermon brandished a large baseball bat from thin air and smashed it over Minoru’s head, breaking the bat perfectly in two. Minoru writhed in pain as Terriermon unemotionally stared at him in perfect pain. Finally, after a few moments recuperating, Minoru sat up violently, glaring at Terriermon.

“What was that for?!” Minoru yelled. “That REALLY hurt!”

“Your voice was really annoying and I had the sudden urge to kill you,” Terriermon said with a friendly smile.

Minoru rubbed his aching head but his glare subsided. “Okay, so, who are you? Other than mean. And where am I?”

“I’m your conscience, of course,” Terriermon answered smugly. “And this place? It’s really hard to explain in a single RP post, so I’ll be dropping hints with every response.”

“Wait, I’d rather you just tell me straight-up,” Minoru complained. “The tension build-up is nice and all, but in terms of character growth—“

Terriermon slammed his broken bat into Minoru’s head again, this time completely shattering the instrument and making Minoru bleed from the top of his head. Despite the extensive injury, Minoru still sat up suddenly, yelling at Terriermon, “SERIOUSLY, ENOUGH WITH HITTING ME! What kind of conscience wants to kill the person they help?!”

“Anyways, we’ll only have a few moments before this ‘into-the-center-of-the-mind’ sequence gets old,” Terriermon interrupted. “So, I’m here to give you some advice.”

“Fine. What?”

Terriermon cleared his throat and pulled out a scroll from, well, thin air again, unfurled the paper and began reading, “Minoru, you need to survive. We can’t maintain this connection any longer, if you ever want to get home, survive.”

“Wait, what?” Minoru said, his head beginning to hurt but this time it wasn’t from his recent intimacy with the bat. It felt like some shadow in the back of his mind was burning with pain… the part of his mind that held his memories.

“No time to explain! You need to wake up,” Terriermon told him cheerfully. “I wish I could give you your full strength, but you’ll have to settle for the half-finished version.”

“Half-finished verison of what?!”

Terriermon smashed another bat into his face.

Minoru opened his eyes and the flames dispersed. He didn’t remember when he did so, but he was now standing up. Despite having recently been struck by lightning, attacked by a crazy woman, and set on fire, he looked perfectly fine. Even the injuries he suffered from the dude in his first post disappeared.

Then the other dude showed up. Again, the back of Minoru’s mind was buzzing with memories that should’ve been there but weren’t! Minoru glared at him, instantly reminded of some other androgynous guy who sexually harassed someone he really cared about.

“How will you fare now, Crazy Lady?” Minoru asked with such a cool voice that no doubt he impressed everyone within a 25 mile radius. “Now that you’ve awoken the Mad Magician!” Minoru put his hands up on his face in a sentai-inspired pose. “MUAHAH! THERE IS NO WAY YOU’RE COMING OUT OF THIS FIGHT ALIVE!”

There. He bluffed! Although Minoru wasn’t sure how he was healed from his injuries, he knew it wasn’t something he could grasp so easily. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to, maybe the new dude could throw himself at Ryoko and leave it at that. Minoru just wanted to thank the Chinese girl for her help, she didn’t have to jump in and risk her neck for him but he wouldn’t let that go in vain.

By the time the elevator had opened, Rika had let out a low whistle, eyes automatically locked onto the guard Shizuka had recently dealt with. Stepping out and looking ahead, Shizuka was engaged in opening a really crude door that seemed to contradict how ‘advanced’ this Empire was supposed to be. In a very casual manner she had stood over the fallen guard and looked to his communication device, strapped instead to his chest rather than the ear. She had vanished from thin air, but the device she eyed had raised itself as if manipulated by some poltergeist-related force, and was tossed to the ground before being crushed with much enthusiasm. With Rika reappearing just after the device was destroyed, she made her way after Shizuka, who was busy staring at some strange object in the middle of that room. The heat was ridiculous and nearly enough to make her fan herself, but what drew her attention other than the unnecessary amount of pipes and wires that came to one source was the fact Shizuka had fallen backwards out of surprise. Scooting away fearfully, Rika approached the glass tube herself and peered over it, left hand loosely on her hip. “What are you so spooked about?” she asked, moments later being met with the she same sight Shizuka did. “…Oh. You know I knew the Empire were scumbags but using a young woman to power this piece of shit complex? At least make it look nice.”

Rika’s approach to the situation was informal but in truth she was disgusted by the discovery. No trace of fear was evident on her face, only concentration in these gross temperatures. The core of these places were actual living beings, quite the opposite of advanced computer intelligences and power sources. There was a monitor and a thin little holographic keyboard right beside it, obvious tools to release the captive or probably help monitor some nonsense about power levels. Placing her right hand to it, she noted how hot it was, running it from top to bottom. The first instinct was letting the girl out, but she was part of a team now, and the situation wasn’t so dire that she didn’t make a call without them. “I see what’s going on here.” Rika began, looking back at Shizuka before turning around and sitting herself on the tube. “Let’s give ‘em a call.”

Retrieving her badge from within her jacket and unzipping the entire thing while she was busy, the blonde had begun to reach out to Ace until Rika had remembered something: Ace was very mediocre at making decisions. “Nope.” Quickly canceling it before it had the opportunity to trigger, Rika had not gone to the pretty boy, but instead the young Chinese girl Lin. She’d be blunt; that dick who buttered her up only to set Shizuka on her, and Ace for not stopping this from happening, still pissed her off a little. Shizuka was a sweet little dork but she hated decisions she got no say on, and because of that she’d make them regret the decision they made until a time came where she believed them even. “Come on sweetheart…” she mumbled, waiting.

~-~

Lin’s attack was avoided purely by chance, something she found great displeasure in witnessing. Any indication of defiance against Ryoko was turned into pure horror once Minoru had, in Lin’s eyes impossible, been unable to avoid the attack when he would have had the better chance between Ryoko and himself. The factors in her head ran off and she didn’t mean for them to, but she prided herself on control when it came to fighting. The boy collapsed in flames after a scream that caused Lin’s heart to stop, unable to do little more than process the fact she may have just severely injured the wrong person. Responding to Ryoko didn’t matter any longer; Lin found herself growing a little weak and queasy. Before an emotional overload of denial and pain hit her, the man had been dispersed of flames and shot right back up, apparently unharmed. He was healthy enough to shout out a chant against Ryoko, and this was just after a blade of light had torn past her and towards Ryoko. The girl looked over her shoulder, finding that man Coriander there. Upon closer investigation, it seems he had killed another man to get here, and looked entirely too proud after doing so. The true horror was what he said afterwards: Coriander was of the Empire once, and by that announcement was not only a liar, but also relished in violence like Cerden obviously did. Lin knew that Ace hadn’t known of this fact because he had refused Cerden because of his affiliation, and that was ignoring his lack of concern for the lives of others. That made Coriander no friend of hers, and likely not Ace or Shizuka’s once they knew.

Sidestepping out of the way, Lin was in a corner of the room, keeping her eye on both Coriander and Ryoko. She was essentially stuck in a room with a woman who’d want to torture her, and a man who had been lying to his comrades the entire time. To her, there was little to no difference. Her back was not going to be kept to any of them; whatever happiness she should’ve felt at that strange man being okay was completely overwritten by this new discovery. Ace hadn’t come, which means he was either still watching upstairs or was on the way. A vibration to her left thigh had alerted her to an incoming message, and retrieving it with a careful eye on the two in the room with her, she had opened the channel as she was taught. She hardly grasped the concept of talking from such a long distance, but Shizuka was helpful in showing her how to do it before they left. If only the people back in China could know things like this existed, but in her heart Lin enjoyed the traditional way of communication over this breakthrough in human convenience. “He-hello?” she whispered.

“Yo, Lin, it’s me. What’s going on?” Rika chimed in quite casually.

Lin was still looking between Ryoko and Coriander, staff in her right hand and idle, but the fire in her still heating up. “A man was in trouble and I went to help, but that’s not important right now. Coriander is – was with the Empire.”

Rika looked to Shizuka with mock surprise on her face, eyes gradually widening and mouth parting as if this was some huge revelation. Coriander was with the Empire? Oh no! “…Wait who’s that again?” Rika’s face readjusted to normal, as if the conversation had not been taking place neck deep in an enemy’s fortress.

“Coriander …the… the other one with us.”

“Oh, that guy? …OH, THAT GUY!?” Rika snapped, standing up and looking suddenly miffed. To think that the very guy who set her up out of a trust issue was in fact the guy who was with the Empire before, rather than her. The irony was not escaping her; she looked to Shizuka, wondering if she knew about this, but the look on her face told her a different story. Well, that pretty much confirmed that no one had known about this little detail right there. Ace wouldn’t have had any reason to keep this from them, so that effectively made Coriander the one who needed someone following him. “Hold on a minute, I’m calling Ace.” She warned Lin, dialing Ace back up again.

Lin awkwardly listened to some weird dialing tone as the deadlock continued. That strange man was back on his feet as though nothing had happened, and beyond the pair she could see someone was tied against the wall looking very weak and beaten. In her haste to save one man, she had been completely unaware of the presence of another who looked much worse off. Hoping that the man she hustled here to save before and Coriander would provide a better distraction than herself, the young girl ran to the other end of the room, keeping her eyes on Ryoko and Coriander, scowling at the former and expressing full disappointment in the latter. Once she had reached the man against the wall, she had carefully set down her staff and brought her hand to the shackle of his left arm and closed her fist around the chain. Rapidly generating heat to that first, she was hoping to weaken it enough to crush in one strike.

Ace had picked up, but before Lin could respond, Rika was ahead of her.

“Oh, hey Ace, how are you? We’re fine, everything’s fine down here. Say, did you know that that pretty boy was with the Empire before? So while you were busy doubting me, you had one of them right under your nose this entire time. Tell him how you know, Lin.” Rika had said quickly and firmly, making the situation very awkward for Lin to place herself in. Blinking a couple times and hoping this wasn’t going to get out of hand, she spoke into the badge.

“He …he ran in here and said ‘Let’s see how much you’ve changed since I left, Ryoko’ and—“

“You hear that Ace? So meanwhile Shizuka’s down here and of course she’s adorable in her own silly way, but you got that smug asshole up there with you. Remember when he told me that trust was hard these days? You remember that right?”

“I remember!” Lin chimed in with a little enthusiasm, surprising herself.

“Thank you Lin. See? Lin remembers, do YOU remember Ace? You didn’t trust the right one and now look at where we are. I’m down here finding out the core is actually a young woman and I call Lin to find that out. So the next time you give me shit, just remember that your so-called best pal She-man up there was with the enemy before--” Rika paused. “…Shizuka says hi Lin.”

Lin blinked and yanked the shackle that she was superheating, but wasn’t physically strong enough to do it with ease. She needed someone here to help, unless the man could do it himself. “Um …hi Shizuka.”

“She misses you.”

“I …miss her too.”

“Don’t worry you’ll see her in like …I don’t know, five, ten minutes? Depends on how bad things are gonna get when we let this girl out. For the record Ace, I hate you way more than I did before. Talk to you guys soon.” With a click, the three-way call had ended, leaving Lin stunned at the discovery Rika didn’t seem to be too surprised about. A woman was the core of this place? Pocketing her badge again, she placed her now free hand on the other chain that bound his right arm and heated it as well. Placing her left foot against the wall beside him, she tried to pry it off, but only succeeded in straining herself. It was no good, she didn’t have the physical strength to do this, and the chains weren’t hot enough yet to allow her the chance to do so. They were starting to glow red, indicating a point of weakness she created. Either this man could do it on his own, or she needed someone physically strong or good with a blade to slice through them.

“ACE!” Lin cried out in a panic. “I NEED YOU!” the facility was large, but if Ace was nearby then she hoped he would hear her plea and come running. He was good with a blade, and could free this man. If what Rika feared was true, then this facility might start acting weird without the core. People powering factories? It drew many questions, yet those answers would need to wait. Drawing confidence that maybe, just maybe, that strange man would cover her, Lin still tugged against the chains with the hopes of freeing the stranger.

~-~

“God, the nerve of those assholes. Shizuka, how can you stand that guy?” Rika shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes, placing the badge within her jacket’s inner pockets once again. Wandering over to the monitor and still very flustered with that little bit of news, she grit her teeth and grumbled to herself over the stupidity of the situation. Come back with the disc, have someone tag along with you. Be a former soldier of the Empire, you’re fine. The lack of investigation into the members of this group was laughable, and while she knew Ace wasn’t technically the real leader, she wondered what that man was doing sitting on his ass with all this going on. He was old, sure, but being a leader hardly recognized age. Either you were cut out for managing resources and lives, or you weren’t. After a very short period of searching, she found what she was looking for: Emergency shutdown procedure.

“When she gets out of here I’m thinking she’s going to be royally pissed, so get ready for anything.” Rika muttered to Shizuka, before entering the key and waiting to see what would come from her action.

The moment went on as Cerden and Flora were walking through the factory. Everything seemed quiet on the floor that they were on. Both would look at each other from time to time. The silence, while welcomed, was off in some aspects. The fact that they were met with no more resistance be it soldiers or high-ranking officials on-world. Another thing that made it seem a bit off was the fact that the alarm hadn’t gone off. Surely if something had happened, an alarm of some sort would be sounded off. That made Cerden wonder exactly if there was another force at work.

“Does it strike you a little off that nothing has happened?” Cerden asked Flora as he stopped.

“It does seem a little off, but it could be that this entire floor is clear of any Empire soldiers.” Flora said.

Cerden wanted to believe that Flora was right. Hell, maybe she was, but that still didn’t change the fact that no alarm went off. “Maybe you’re rig--” Just as Cerden was going to respond, he heard noises. He turned around and behind both him and Flora was a group of Defender Heartless, each with the intent to strike and kill. “Um, honey..”

“I thought I told you not to call me that!”

“Look..” Cerden tugged on Flora’s jacket and pointed.

“Oh..” Flora said, almost speechless.

As they both turned around, the Defender Heartless all lined up in a straight line and that was when Cerden and Flora noticed that there was about six of them and he could see that shadows were starting to rise. That gave the white-haired man the indication that behind the line of six Defenders were more ready to join the crop. They all just looked at Cerden and Flora as if waiting for them to make the first move. The duo exchanged a glance and both of them nodded to each other. It was like they were communicating telepathically as both turned their heads to face the Defender Heartless. Cerden would take out his twin short swords and Flora her two daggers.

As if it were on cue, both the duo of Flora and Cerden and the six Defender Heartless ran in for a collision. The two heartless on the far sides of the line took a frontal position and a their Dog Shields opened and shot out three fireballs each at the duo. Cerden jumped and as soon as he did, he was riding glass in spirals. Each line of the spiral would defend the six fireballs, to which didn’t even break a single piece of the glass. The distance that Cerden was able to get allowed him to get close to one of the Defender heartless and on the moment that he was able to get close, he sliced the air, and glass shards flew from the tip of his blade. The Defender Heartless, of course, raised their shields up and tried to defend, but the pure force of the shards proved to be too much for them and instantly they fell victim to Cerden’s power, which made only four of the six remaining. At least, for now that is.

While Cerden did his thing, Flora would take some of the spotlight as she came in from behind him, jumping over his head with Cerden looking overhead and being able to see Flora’s business. He smiled at that for a short while. Flora would then land on top of one of the Defender’s shieds. They were taken by surprise and Flora stuck one of her daggers into the heartless’ chest, causing it to fade to darkness. Right before it did, however, Flora jumped back and landed in front of Cerden. Not even wasting any time, Flora rushed forward, gripping her two daggers tightly. She would embrace her magical prowess and surround both with aeroga. The wind was spinning rapidly around her body and by result, her weapons so fast that any physical contact would cause harm to anyone, which was why Cerden stepped back. As she went for a right piercing motion, the wind would not only aid to the cutting potential of her blade, but due to the speed at which the wind was spinning, it would send a slight shockwave to the other two heartless nearby, causing them to be pushed away three feet. As for the one that her dagger hit, it would scream out in agony, and be sent back ten feet, hit the wall, and it faded into blackness.

The two remaining heartless were ready to strike as one faced Cerden and the other Flora and the latter two had their backs against each other. “Just like old times, wouldn’t you agree sweetie?” Cerden said smiling.

“If I remember correctly, last time we were surrounded by five-hundred times this amount.” Flora said.

Cerden laughed as he faced the heartless in front of him. “Let’s do this.”

“Whatever.”

Both rushed forward to their respective heartless. Each heartless would fire seven consecutive fireballs. Flora would counter it by using waterga, which would come in the form of a jet stream of water magic, to which shot right through the fire balls, reducing them to smoke, and drowned the poor thing into the wall until it was nothing but a memory. For Cerden, would dodge each fireball and with one arm, and one short sword, he knocked the heartless up in the air as he sweeped with the sword and his leg. As it was airborne, Cerden jumped up, and front flip-kicked it with his leg coated in magic-enforced glass, causing the heartless to hit the ground hard and it fading into darkness.

As he landed, Cerden looked at Flora smiling. “Like I said, just like old times.” Cerden said.

Flora smiled and laughed slightly. “And this time you didn’t almost die. Good job on that.” She said bluntly.

As they were about to celebrate, Cerden noticed something odd going on. “Um, honey..” Cerden said pointing. Flora looked on and saw several shadows rise up from the ground. There were multiple kinds of heartless’. Cerden saw Defenders, Invisibles, Large Bodies, Shadows, Neoshadows, and what seemed to be a miniature Darkside.

“Yeah, we should get out of here.” Flora suggested.

Simply nodding, Cerden and Flora jetted out of the floor they were on since the heartless had yet to see them. It was like they were in the process of emerging from the shadows, and hadn’t yet been aware of their pressence. Whatever the case, the duo would take the chance to get the hell out of dodge. They had other things to do, anyway. Hopefully they would make it in time or they would miss their only chance to see their son.

//Salforge [Just after Minoru wakes up]

Salforge had to admit, this was about more than just the ringing of the dinner bell. The Factory had gone into security alert, a breach made possible thanks to him and Ryoko casually stepping out for about an hour leaving the ever useless general and his nephew to play with their toys. It was fine, there wasn't a thing that got past him even if they managed to creep around the corner, through the ventilation systems, etc. Prior to their leaving to encounter that pesky Gavin, Salforge did code the entire factory. The intruders were now about to learn the meaning of "terror".

But before that

Salforge took a single step, and then another. He found himself doing a little jig with Tyra at this point, with as much as he watched other's movements doing a couple steps in to a rhythm wasn't too hard. At that point he'd sure she'd join in, this was purely for her amusement.

---

Gavin\\

---

Gavin was tired, he'd endured some erroneous torture prior to this outbreak of pure hell happening in the medium sized room. He was hardly paying attention to conversation at this point, as he'd been lost to the thought of his sister. Releasing an exhale, he could feel the heat again, and sure enough as his heavy eyes began to lift there was the woman he'd caught a glimpse of before, at the closest distance. Attempting to burn through the chain, she'd put it in a pretty malleable state.

There was no mistaking it, he'd come in contact with his polar opposite, chemistry crossed his mind then. The red haired youth's right arm was broken and he couldn't bend the limbs, but he had other options. "You're...saving me?" hardly a first word, but it was all he had inside his vault of thoughts. It then occurred to him, was this the group he'd been scouting out?

"You're doing great...I got it from here, just back up..." Gavin said giving her a moment or so as he drew upon the icy grip of his darkness.

As he attempted to his his left hand to pull himself up, his legs were bent against the wall, his back kept him balanced. His grip was bluish black, and freezing cold. Touching the left chain's heated area, he diffused the chain causing it to snap, then reached for the remaining ones, eventually freeing himself of all the shackles. As his right arm dropped down, he felt the tug, and it felt like an enflamed house. He rigorously clenched his teeth, gripping for his right arm and using all he had keeping him conscious from letting out a violent scream in pain.

"Damn...that really...REALLY hurts..." he whispered to the woman.

What they needed now was a secure escape route, as Gavin looked around, they practically had Ryoko surrounded. Gavin however was in no condition to be useful to the break out. "It's Gavin...in case you were wondering."

---

//Salforge [Present time]

---

He'd fooled around with Tyra for a few minutes or so, there was a breach reported and now the entire facility was on high alert.

"Ok, thats enough entertainment for one sitting. You go help Ryoko, i'm gonna head down to the core room. Off you go."

Salford placed his hand on her head, and within seconds she was being coded by his immovable blocks. Rapidly covering her, she was digitized and then scattered into automatons. She should invariably be popping in right outside the door to Gavin's chamber. Salforge let his hand float there for a moment before, he thought softly of Ciel and how she'd tuned him into a more humble "thing". The steel heart complied, prodding at his chest before restarting towards the factory's core room. He muttered only a word, "Haste..." with that, Salforge vanished in a blink leaving the dust as he curved through the factory.

As the effects waned down, he was suspended high above, suppressing his mass and volume (density) to a state where he was nearly that of a feather. He floated briefly in the air, before balancing himself on a floating block the size of a basketball. Racing across his skin, the blocks reflected his appearance to be empty, his sound quieted and the sounds of voices yelling over misplaced information within a group was heard. He had to admit, it felt like he'd done this before...or was this the other way around? Regardless, he hovered down without a sound to be heard and continued to do what he did best.

'One-thousand eyes. Blink.'

Standing atop the block still obscured from sight, the room began to butt forth floating material, reflective, but this time circular. They looked almost as if to be glass protrusions, objects even, yet they were singled layered blocks rapidly multiplying covering the room. Salforge sat down on his, it expanded as he moved to the position of comfort. He'd done this once before, used his blocks to diffuse the situation and set up multiple points to throw up detainment blocks. In truth, this was his intent of coating the factory from the beginning.

Soon he chose to remove his cloak and hovered above two women, he was slumped over, shoulders buffed and sat in silence. The CI located in his left eye, gleamed, as his red eyes flickered with the mark of his kind. He jumped off, falling slower than normal due to his change in mass. By about the time he stood up, and stomped with his right foot there was a tremor from that spot. Again, shifting the density in his leg as it was firmly planted.

Two women, he looked at them both, surely if these were different circumstances then sexual harassment would've been essential...as a jest naturally. The eyes circled around the entire room and followed everything, there was an input message on the console, at this point the mercenary had already determined the worst-case-scenario here. So he had to detain that entire room.

"Haste." he quickly drew his hand instantly, and began to purge yellow light generating at the tip of his finger pointed towards the machine.
"You might want to move. Decay."

A single point-sling from his finger, burst forward with yellow light. Aimed towards the core, the yellow light that purged only had one purpose at that point, it was to remove the core from the playing field and it had the power to do that. If they didn't throw something in the way, it'd punch through everything they'd been working on up until now. The empire had a policy, if they couldn't have it, better both sides loose it so it can't be used against them. That topic alone was moot, but now wasn't the time to delve deeper into the matter.

-------------------------------------------------------------

~~~~~~Hollow Bastion / Factory - Core Room Nexus~~~~~~

Smoothly the machines throughout the room ran, both those that seemed to blend in with walls themselves like some sort of twisted architecture and the newer, more eye catching, dark steel growths from their hanging positions. Though clearly different, all seemed to easily work in unison, the mismatch of gears and pistons being constantly driven with little explosive puffs of steam every now and then.

The first few cases had begun to leave the room, the contents of which seemed to amount as nothing more than a single layer of very small, and very fragile, crystal-like vials. The black coloured liquid sloshing around within their small space with every sway and step the tiny batch of cloaked figures made as they left the room to bring the cases up to the surface. Still, even with the now smaller group consisting of Nomis, his nephew Caleb, one part of the duo of maids, along with the handful of remaining hooded figures and their Heartless transformed brethren, things seemed to continue to run well, almost without the need for any sort of interference, just like the rest of the Factory.

At least that was the case, before the sight of the large gears beginning to slow down caught Nomis’ attention almost immediately. A clear sign for any kind of facility, or even simply that of a machine, the sight was that of some kind of lose in power. Though again it may not have warranted much in any other type of facility or machine, to see such a thing here, in a Factory of the Empire itself, it was something that needed to be seen to right away, before it could get any chance to become worse.

“This will not do…” Nomis said quietly to himself, still watching the large gears turn even as they began to slow down ever so slightly, it was clear the problem was spreading as the large pistons by the gears sides soon started to have a bit of trouble with their duty.

“Continue watching for any changes, Caleb. I will return once I’ve found the problem…” Said the man, turning his gaze for a few moments up towards his nephew before striding off with one of the cloaked scientists by his side, the two clearly leaving the large room as the nephew, sole maid and few scientists were left to continue monitoring the machines they had brought.

~~~~~~Hollow Bastion / Factory - Core Room Descent~~~~~~

The minute it had taken for the large elevator to reach down a single floor, even if that floor was the largest to house the core of the Factory, was still too long for Nomis to travel. A small journey that should have taken less than half the time was doubled on account of the dimming power making more appearances. Every time one would happen the machine would suddenly stop before needing a few seconds just to build up energy to start the process again mid-descent.

The annoyance grew so much that Nomis had clutched the railing of the lift and had begun to concentrate, but that was suddenly no longer needed the moment the power seemed to last long enough for the occupants to finally reach the bottom floor of the core.

As the large metal framed door was suitably pulled up, like one would have seen in the mines of old, the glasses wearing man stood within the elevator even as the hooded scientist walked out passed him, clearly uninterested in the unconscious body of the soldier and even that of the clearly crushed piece of equipment by their side on the ground.

“Typical…clearly they’re becoming more of an annoyance than I thought…” Nomis thought to himself as he took his time to follow in the shadow of the cloaked scientist, its own thoughts seemingly focused as it turned the corner, away from the second but main elevator of the Factory, and towards the opened metal vault door that led into the core itself. Each silent almost floating step made by the figure being replaced by the clank of metal against metal as Nomis followed with his cane.

Ace's frantic pace slowed in the middle of a hall. He could suddenly feel in full force the heat that pervaded the air, his mind had been focused on the mission, but for a moment he was pulled back to earth. Regardless of how nonchalant Rika was with the news, a troubling amount of information had been weighed on him, and he did not know what to handle first. He had never suspected that Cori was once a solider of the Empire, as far as he knew he was a trusted ally, always had been. He wasn't sure what to do with him, all he felt at the moment was frustration towards him. Ace took a breath, and focused on the other news that Rika had decided to glaze over in favor of berating him.

The core of the factory was a human being, a living human being. He wished he could be shocked at the Empire's depravity, but he was only further disgusted by the lengths at which they were willing to go for their own goals. A thought occurred to him, what would happen if they were to remove this person from whatever machine she was hooked up to? He could not pretend to understand how it worked, after all he did not even understand why she was there in the first place. However, he did understand that the forces of darkness were not something to be trifled with, and that's exactly what they were doing right now. He reached for his badge to call Rika back, but the screams of a girl stopped him, it was Lin calling for his help.

Thankfully he was on the same floor as her, and he was easily able to pinpoint which room she had yelled to him from. When he finally got to the room he quickly took in what was happening. Cori and Lin were here, as he had expected, however, there were three others here that were unfamiliar to him. Lin was beside a boy with red hair, there was a woman in the center of the room, and another man was off to the side. He had no idea who the two males were, but upon taking a closer look at her, he recognized the woman as Ryoko, an infamous member of the Empire. Judging by the body language of the young man, Ace could see that the only enemy here was Ryoko, and she was outnumbered severely.

"Another one, just how many of you brats got in here?" Ryoko scoffed. Ace ignored her, and turned to Cori.

"Why didn't you tell me you used to work for the Empire?" He asked. Ryoko, tired of being ignored, stepped towards him.

"The better question is why haven't you killed the traitorous bastard yet!? Also, again, how the HELL did you get in here?" Ryoko grumbled. She knew she was in a tight spot here, but she still knew what her mission was. She needed to protect the secret of this place. There were already multiple people in this room alone, there was no telling how far they had gotten down, some of them could already be... "Hey, where are the rest of you?" She demanded, Ace did not answer. "I asked you a questi-" Ryoko was suddenly staring down the edge of Ace's katana. He slowly turned his attention from Cori to Ryoko.

"I wasn't speaking to you, but if you want my attention so much, you have it. Cori, we will discuss this later, I hope you know that."

_____

Shizuka had stood to her feet, but she hardly felt okay. Her legs were shaking, and her mind was racing. Compared to Rika's calm demeanor she must have looked like a mess. "Cori's... what?" She hand waved the thought away. "Cori's one of us, that has to be a mistake. He wouldn't keep...something like that from us." Shizuka stammered, her eyes going back to the pod in which the young girl was kept. She watched as Rika initiated the emergency release. "You saw her face, didn't you? She looked like she was in pain... I hope she comes out of it okay." She said.

A voice spoke behind them, startled, Shizuka turned around. A man in armor was standing before them, how he got there, she had no clue. the man pointed towards the pod, and prepared to shoot something at it. "No!" Shizuka panicked, moving in front of the pod. She realized a little too late that moving into the path of an unknown attack wasn't the smartest thing to do, she only wanted to protect the pod, and the girl inside. With the yellow beam heading towards her, Shizuka hardened her foot into lead, and stomped the floor, a metal panel broke off and rose vertically into the path of the beam. She quickly turned around and rushed to the pod. The emergency sequence had been activated, but it required manual opening once the locks were released. Grabbing the side of the pod, Shizuka yanked it open an immediately regretted it.

A torrent of pitch black poured from the machine, quickly overwhelming Shizuka's senses and spreading throughout the entire factory, passing through the walls as if they weren't even there. She felt as if she had been thrown into a sea of ink, she couldn't see she could barely breath. There was a pressure on her like the weight of a gummi ship, she fell to her hands and knees, and struggled to not pass out. The Darkness was simply passing through her, and yet she could feel her heart buckling, rotting in the cavity of her chest.

Ten seconds passed, seconds that felt like hours of torture before it finally stopped without warning. The thick darkness was being drawn back into the pod, back into the girl that laid within. Her body shot upwards and fell out of the pod, her limbs stiff and twitching. Her hair was blue in color, and had grown out in the pod long enough that it was long enough to reach her feet, and was the only thing covering her nude body. The girl's body stood unnaturally as if she were a scarecrow, and she held her chest in agony. She was mumbling unintelligibly, her eyes darting around the room.

Shizuka stumbled to her feet, and gasped. Starting from her feet and the top of her head, the girl's entire body was being engulfed in dark. Her eyes turned bright yellow, her blue hair turned into black strands that hung in the air as if she were submerged in water. Her body convulsed, and she thrashed about the room, cutting through wires and pipes like a hot knife through butter. Eventually her entire body was had turned pitch black, and she stood still, her back to Shizuka and Rika.

Shizuka slowly approached her, noticing that for all of the darkness that must be inside her, she couldn't feel a hint of it from her. she reached out for her shoulder, but stopped when she heard the girl mumble in a distorted voice. "W-what?" Shizuka mumbled, not sure if she should feel worried, or frightened.

"Get... Away!" The girl screamed, knocking Shizuka away and into the side of a wall. The girl's scream was unbearable to the ears, reverberating throughout the entire building. Shizuka was fighting to stay conscious after banging her head against the metal wall, from her position on the ground she could see what looked like a corridor of darkness forming over the girl's head. It contracted and expanded wildly, before filling up all of her sight. Shizuka had never seen such a thing before, to simply open up a small corridor took an immense control over darkness, what this girl was doing was unfathomable.

Everything went dark, her body felt weightless, the next moment she opened her eyes she was somewhere else entirely.



Slums of Agrabah: Outskirts

Out on the sandy streets, a duo of men in shambled clothing ran out of a decrepit building. Their eyes were nearly popping out of their heads, and they were screaming out of the top of their lungs that there was a monster on the loose. Strangely enough, no one listened to the men. The sight of a couple of hobos ranting and raving was nothing new there in the slums.

Agrabah Market district

Shizuka was awoken by the sound of a busy crowd, and the glare of a blazing sun on her face. As she opened her eyes, she saw Ace standing by her.

"About time you woke up. Come on." He said, pulling her to her feet. She looked around, dazed and trying to tell where she was. "We're in Agrabah, I don't know how we got here, but I know for sure that's where we are right now. We visited this world while training, remember?" He looked to Shizuka, she let out a weak cough, and nodded her head.

"R-right, Ace, we need to find her."

"Don't play the pronoun game Shizuka, find who?"

"The girl that was in the pod, she was the core of the factory." Ace let out a sigh, and ruffled his hair.

"Dammit, I just knew something bad was gonna happen. Well, we'll look for her once we get settled, it looks like the others were sent here as well." Ace said, pointing towards Rika, Lin, Minoru, Gavin, and Cori.

Agrabah Palace

Sitting in a large extravagant library, Ryoko tapped her fingernails on the wooden table in front of her. Somehow, she and Salforge had been transported to Agrabah. She had landed in the royal palace, which was now under Empire control. She had placed a small compact mirror on the table, and was waiting for it to connect to a receiver. There was a click, and a channel opened.

"Ryoko, why are you bothering to call me?" A deep voice spoke, sending a shiver down her spine.

"W-well lord Emperor, the rebels have opened the factory core and let out the Princess of Heart."

"I know, I felt it, why are you calling me, instead of handling it?"

"I was hoping you could let me know how I am to find her, even the best tracker would not be able to sense even a hint of the darkness that is inside of her."

"She is no different from a common Heartless right now, Search for her, and you will find her, you are dismissed." The channel closed, and Ryoko let out an annoyed sigh.

"Salforge, we have our work cut out for us."