THomas had been in the process of dodging some of the small creatures when the warning was given by the man, but before he could answer he suddenly found himself rising into the air uncontrollably. Well, for him anyway. He didn't really have experience with the Float spell, so it took him a bit both to right himself and figure out how to move about. He sighed, but made no further of it. Then Reno performed his next trick, bringing the fires in the boiler up to a higher temperature, and a blue color, without even a second thought. At that point Thomas did slap his forehead with the palm of his hand, another sigh tearing free. "I don't think that will be a problem," he called back as he moved about in the air. "Oh. And my apologies for him. He has a habit of doing stuff without considering the consequences." Certainly unlike himself. At least there was someone else, who seemed the considerate type. It made up for being unnecessarily blamed. At the same time, he took it to mind to watch out for this Yubaba, whoever she was. Well, that matter as quickly over, he looked over to Reno. "Feel free to keep talking with your new friend," he said. "I'm gonna keep looking." With that he headed for the passage that had been revealed, determined to find the Sign and get this over with.

After saying her piece, A'mael chained up Ascot among the unconcious slaves, causing the now-magicless boy to begin to take stock of his situation. He was, as said, in a dark room, filled with the sweat of unwashed, unconcious men and women, a room deliberately built to be claustrophobic. Curiously, the dark-haired boy poked one of the slaves, trying to see if they were asleep due to drugs, or due to magic. It was drugs. Next was looking for improvised weapons; he was unable to find anything that can work as a lockpick or a shiv. And, without his magic, he could not access his Keyblade's Inventory. So, best to wait for a chance to escape... Outside This specific Cartel fortress was located in a pocket dimension located in the spaces between the worlds, detectable only through a device that detects dimenional anomalies, just like what Yuri Nakayama was holding. On observation, the young man would find the fortress to be bleak and forbidding, a medieval castle, but with 'modern' accourtments such as barbed wire, reinforced concrete bunkers, and AA Emplacements. All looked to be expensive, which was no suprise as, well, it was the Cartel. ~~~ Yuri Nakayama looked down at the device in his hands, a devilish grin on his face. Chuckling a little, he muttered to himself: "Yup, this seems to be the place all right. Geh heh heh, it's been a long time..." Pocketing the device, he thrust out his hand, and focused, as his keyblade popped into existence. It was intense, foreboding, a long blade that actually looked more like a weapon rather than a key. The shaggy blonde haired keyblade wielder began his approach towards the gated castle, ready for conflict with the group. The group he had heard so much about, had been so affected by, yet had never had confrontation with until now. He finally reached the wired gate which seperated him from the castle, and with a swift, heavy swing of his keyblade, it was cleaved apart, another one sealed the deal. Walking through the makeshift gap, swinging around his keyblade erratically, Yuri knew what was coming next, and would enjoy it. ~~~ Cartel Enforcers, using nearby barricades as their cover, began to fire their submachine guns and assault rifles at the Keyblader, while Snipers nestled in the gatehouse trained their fire on the interloper. Knowing how powerful the Keybladers were, the Cartel was going on a policy of no melee, only ranged engagement; use overwhelming force and 'dirty' tactics, such as poison gas, which was now being considered. Inside A'mael suddenly stormed in with a dozen guards all in Special Forces Armor; overkill for a 13-year old kid, but not overkill for a Keyblader. They unlocked Ascot's chains and dragged the boy brusuely to a hidden chamber with several cameras all around. A'mael then said, in an angry, vengeful tone: "So, one of your friends has found us earlier than expected; it matters not. We're going to have our fun with you, then throw the pieces of your body to our visitor to show him an example of what happens to those who try and take us on. Guards; STRIP HIM!" she shouted, and Ascot knew that, even though he was not going to win, he would still have to fight. And so, as the guards reached for him, the 13-year old ducked and rolled away, using his smaller size and faster speed to evade their grasping arms, trying to make his way to the farther corners of the chamber, where there was a door - "Golden Chains!" A'mael shouted, and chains of gold appeared out of thin air and made their way towards Ascot, who managed to weave, duck, and dodge them for several minutes, enough time for his magic to begin returning - - if not for the fact that the guards, prompted by their leader, joined the grab for him; the boy fought, using his elbows, fists, and legs in blows that would have downed a dozen unarmored adults, the keyword being unarmored. Despite this, the boy kept struggling, even as the guards fully removed his shirt, throwing it onto the floor, leaving him bare-chested... ~~~ Outside Yuri laughed as he swung his keyblade, skillfully manuvering it as he sliced at bullets, ducking and weaving to avoid those he couldn't deflect. Casting a firaga spell straight ahead of him, his red eyes seemed to glimmer, taking in all his surroundings. With a carefully timed Fire spell, he blasted at one of the snipers, and then another one, and another one, until the only ones left were the gunners he was steadily gaining on. Once he was close enough to strike, Yuri ducked down, suprising his attackers, swinging his blade horizontally as he did. It sliced through their legs with the same force that split a chained fence, and the attackers were helpless as they found themselves falling to the ground, still firing everywhere. A couple of bullets from the falling upper bodies nicked Yuri, and he grimaced slightly as they did. As insignificant as they were, they still stung a little. He shelved the pain for another time though, he had an important mission to fufill: He would destroy this guild of evil buisness folk, or whatever, and put an end to their erratic greed! Little did he know though, that he would find himself a new companion as well... Kicking through the suprisingly brittle wooden door that protected the castle's interior, Yuri blew throughout the castle, slicing anyone and anything in sight that held a weapon; his purging was too important to worry about any uneeded casualites. He could distantly hear alarms ringing everywhere, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in the high of battle. Minutes became seconds as Yuri destroyed all in his path, Fire Dashing around and igniting the ground behind him, passing rooms filled with prisoners as he did. Eventually, he reached a sturdy door, one that actually looked rather important. He swung his keyblade at the door, and it bounced off, obviously this was made from some strong stuff. Immediaty thinking he would have to attack with even more strength, he brought his keyblade back, focusing his energy, before swinging it forwards, shouting with as much energy as he could muster: "ZAAAAANTETSUUUKEN!!!!" And with that, an impossibly fast and powerful blow struck into the door, blowing it from it's hinges, revealing the room ahead. It would be only later that Yuri would realize he probably could have just unlocked it with his keyblade. Inside this room, he saw quite an odd scene, a robed female, who Yuri could recognize from her description as A'mael, a leader of the cartel, as well as 12 guards. What was really odd however, was the shirtless boy who was fighting with the guards, while A'mael yelled at them. Grinning at the shock painted on all the residents of the room's faces, he charged forward at A'mael, yelling out a rather cringeworthy taunt: "Sorry, AM I INTERRUPTING SOMETHING????" ~~~ "Damn you; damn you all!" shouted A'mael as during the distraction, Ascot finally had his magic, and Keyblade, return to him, allowing him to cast a swift Holy spell that knocked his captors unconcious, allowing the boy to pick up his shirt and undershirt and put them on once again. He then gazed at A'mael archly: "You have just officially pissed me off," he said, a little angrily, his reaction to almost being violated understated. A'mael took several steps back, then shouted: "GOLDEN MECH!" surrounding herself in a mass of liquid gold, which then reshaped itself into the form of a giant robotic suit that towered over the chamber. "Let's see how you deal with this!" the woman said while her minions began running off to evacuate the fortress, starting with food, then other vital supplies like medicine and weapons, then treasure, then finally their prisoners. "If you won't be my slaves, if you continue to oppose us," A'mael was angry now, "DIE!" she said as she aimed a giant punch at Yuri. ~~~ Yuri grinned at the attack, facing it head-on, extending his keyblade out, and as soon as it met the punch, he threw himself forward, doing a spin in the air as fire began to wrap around him. All of a sudden, he was a cart-wheel of flame, rising up the arm of the newly created mech, melting the metal slightly. When he reached the head, the flame fizzled out, and Yuri was left alone on top of the mech. letting out a fierce shout, he focused intensly on a powerful strike, chanelling as much power into it as he could; so much that his body began to take damage, blood spurting out from the bullet grazes. Then after the split second of preperation, he jumped backwards, swinging the keyblade down on the mech's back, slicing a gash in the mech, and even grazing A'mael, just a little. Teleporting just a little further away, to get out of reach of the golden monstrosity, Yuri coughed up a bit of blood. He glanced quickly at the boy who had been attacked, who now seemed to have a keyblade. What a stroke of luck. Coughing a little more, Yuri croaked out, "Hey, you! Help me take out this whench, then we can slaughter the rest of them later, mk?" With this said, he cast a quick heal spell, mending himself up a little bit, but the mech did so as well; the cut made in it's back already sealing up. The metal powers of A'mael were no joke, it would seem she wasn't just talk after all. ~~~ "Of course I will; you didn't have to ask!" shouted Ascot as he cast Haste on himself, then jumped up high, then used Ars Arcanum, allowing his Keyblade to glow with light as it impacted on the mech's chest, scoring deep gashes and melts as it slowly eroded A'mael's protection, revealing the woman who had been controlling the mech from a pocket of air. Before Ascot can move to strike, however, A'mael used a Golden Hammer to knock the boy back into the air, only for him to right himself up and glide, bursting into flames that didn't harm the lad as he did so. Smiling, Ascot headed for his opponent, dodging another Golden Hammer, and using Reflara to shield against a volley of bullets from A'mael's machine pistol. He crashed into her, forcing her to disperse the mech into golden particles, before A'mael righted herself, throwing a smoke bomb to her feet. A few seconds later, she disappeared, just like that. ~~~ "DAMNIT! WHAT WAS THAT!" Yuri, having just finished healing himself, yelled out in frustration. A'mael had slipped through his fingers, using cheap tactics to escape out of harm's way. It was frusturating, and Yuri took no measures to hide it. "COWARD! SCUM OF THE EARTH! FIGHT US LIKE SOMEONE WHO HAS SOME SHRED OF DIGNITY!" Throwing his keyblade at a wall in rage, he quickly summoend it back, and began to walk out the door. Quickly though, he turned to the key blade wielder, and said a few words before running out. "You. Keyblade kid. Meet me at the enterance. We should talk. Kill as many of these guys as you can on the way out, ok?" Not bothering to listen to a reply, Yuri bolted away, his keyblade already flailing around, creating a field of mass destruction immediatly in front of him. He would search for A'mael, or any other leftovers from the Cartel, cursing under his breath with increasing intensity as his search began to reveal itself to be fruitless. Practically foaming at the lips, Yuri eventually gave up, he had no choice, and go see what the deal was with the Keyblade wielding kid he seemed to have helped to free from A'mael. Eventually, he would make his way out to the doorway, greeted by the kid, and the bodies of the men he had defeated earlier. No need for it to be out anymore, Yuri raised his keyblade up, and it quickly vanished. His hands now free, Yuri stretched a little, before calling out to the keyblade wielder. "So, seems like you have a story to tell me. Spit it out."

"There is a lot of darkness here...hiding where it knows no one can see"said amaya looking around as she followed listening to rin speak. She kept next to belle as the elevator took them up to a much fancier area of the bathhouse "this one is much too greedy..."she added in a whispered before looking at belle before looking up At the ceiling for a few sexonds finding Joshua's darkness Amongst the other before nodding "yes let's go...we will be fine"she commented with a smile

((Part 2 of a Collab Post between Letter Bee and Yuri Nakayama))

"So, seems like you have a story to tell me. Spit it out."

"Well," spoke Ascot, "basically, I was part of a group going after the more immidiate threat, the Six Senses, whose lair can only be unlocked through the Signs of Zodiac. We went through a lot of worlds, finding Signs, fighting Heartless, and encountering minions of the enemy. But, then, on the way to Spirit World, our latest destination, I got kidnapped, A'mael did some evil gloating, then they and the Cartel, well...you saw what they were trying to do; good thing they didn't succeed." Ascot was relieved that the Cartel didn't go farther, that whatever traumatic event that could have happened was pre-empted. ~~~ Yuri stared ahead at the kid, who seemed to be a bit younger than him. He listened to the brief synopsis of the boy's example; although listening is a bit of a generous word to use to describe it. It was mostly Yuri looking at the kid and nodding, catching snippets of what was said. When the kid finally stopped talking, Yuri yawned a little, and began to speak. "Hmmm. Can't say it sounds particularly interesting. Some fetch quest for the Signs of Zodiac? Eh. The fighting sounds somewhat interesting though, and I assume that when you open their lair, you aren't going to sit down and have tea with them, right?" Yuri paused for a little bit, thinking about how he should go about the situation. A'mael was gone. There was no sense in staying here anymore, he would need to look for her again. It seemed though that this kid was important enough to the Cartel that they would straight up kidnap him. That would make him a target. Yuri wasn't dumb, he knew that if the kid wasn't able to defend himself this time, he'd still be fair game for another kidnapping. It wouldn't really leave him with too good a feeling if he just left the kid on his own, with the thought that he could be mugged again, without someone to save him. Also, if the kid was a beacon for the cartel, it would be good to stick around him so he could maybe capture any potential kidnappers, and get some new information, maybe even A'mael would show up again. Finally, although he shrugged it off, the mention of some group of some kind, the Six Senses, sounded interesting; if this kid, a keyblade wielder like himself, was in a group to take them out, surely they must be powerful and dangerous. And if that was the case, Yuri would be perfectly happy to fight them. His mind made up, Yuri began to speak once more. "Say... whatever your name is... How about this. The Cartel is probably gonna try targeting you again, and as evidinced by you being captured by them once, you might not get lucky a second time. How about I come with you to the Spirit World, lead you to your friends and everything, and maybe I could help with those Six Sense people or whatever. This was my big lead on the cartel, so now I'm back at square zero, if not for you, who drew them in. If I stick with you, we can both get some benefit out of it, what do you say?" ~~~ "Why not?" asked Ascot, "that's reasonable. Anyway, my name is Ascot Carver; nice to meet you. As for why I'm a beacon for the Cartel, well, I assume that they've taken an interest in my world, due to the fact that they've also enslaved several people from it -" Then, the boy froze. "Speaking of which, we should rescue the slaves they've taken; I know the dungeon they were in; that's where I was placed for a while." ~~~ Yuri raised his eyebrows a little when he heard the boy mention why the cartel was after him; the whole thing sounded similar to why HIS world was targeted, although it was for their resources, not their people. A shame though, he was sure the pompous pricks that lived in his villiage would have made fine slaves, their strength would certainly help them serve their masters. Oh well. Yuri tried not thinking about his villiage, he had pushed them away, just as they had done to him. Whatever had happened to them, it was no concern to him. When the boy mentioned the slaves, Yuri sighed a little. "Alright then, let's free them. Who knows, we might run into some leftover cartel members. That'd make the task a little more bearable." ~~~ Ascot smiled, and led the way in. And, sure enough, they did encounter several cartel members, a mixture of figures in body armor, as well as other people wearing hooded robes. Casting Haste upon himself and his new friend, the boy swiftly knocked the members he encountered unconcious for interrogation, before managing to bust his way into the dungeon, where more Cartel members, led by a striking figure wearing black, medieval-looking steel armor and carrying a whip, were trying to carry off the still-drugged slaves. "So, so sorry," spoke the boy, "but you're going to let my people go. That, or I'm going to hand you over to my friend here." The Black Knight, in response, drew a sword and charged Ascot who, in response, just managed to dodge, before launching a Fira the enemy's way, before launching a flurry of blows that pierced the armor in several places. "Now, my dear armored friend," Ascot said in a calm, cogenial tone, "tell your men to stand down, then tell me how you were transporting the slaves from my homeworld to this...place." This caused the Black Knight to grunt, before he finally gave the order for his shocked minions to surrender. Then, he spoke: "Gummi Ship; we have an entire shipyard full of them. So please, spare me!" "That depends on my friend's mood," the boy spoke coldly. "I dislike being forced to take a detour on my very important quest, as well as being a victim of an attempted...violation. So forgive me if I'm not nice right now. So..." he turned to Yuri - not that he knew his name yet - "what should we do with him?" ~~~ Yuri grinned. This was going to be fun. As soon as Ascot asked what to do with the guy, Yuri acted. Grabbing the armored fighter by his throat, Yuri ran forward, slamming him into the wall. An evil sneer on his face, Yuri would then begin his part of the interrogation. "Oh, don't think yer off the hook buddy. Me and you are going to have to have a little more of a talk. Where the hell did all of you run off to; you have a fleet of godamn Gummi Ships to escape on, surely you, who seem to be somewhat in charge, and taking these prisoners, know where they are going?" When he got nothing but choking noises from the man, Yuri remembered his hand was still wrapped tightly around the man's neck, and he released it, letting the man collpase to the ground, falling out of the imprint his body had left on the wall. Once the man had finished gasping for breath, he began to mumble incoherent words, to which Yuri promptly kicked the man in the side. "OUT WITH IT!" By now, the minions were starting to get a little restless, staying put didn't seem like it was going to save them from the maniac in front of them. While the armored man lay stuttering on the ground, Yuri frowned, and summoned forth his keyblade, throwing it at the nearest of the five minions in the room. It pierced into the man's chest, pushing him backwards, and skwering him into the wall. His companions shrunk back in horror, as Yuri turned towards them: "IF ANY OF YOU KNOW THE GODAMN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION THEY GET TO LEAVE ALIVE! ALL THE REST'LL BE KILLED! IF NONE OF YOU BASTARDS TALK I'LL KILL YOU ALL! TELL ME WHERE YER ALL FLEEING TO!" One of the remaining minions arms shakily rose up as he began to speak. Nearly in tears, the man cried out: "Th-the spirit world... we have a smaller base there... we were going to regroup there, and then try and go to one of our other bases... please... please don't kill me... I'm not ready to die yet..." A glint appeared in Yuri's red, merciless eyes, and he quickly rematerialized his keyblade in his hand, and proceeded to stab it through the man on the floor, before running forward and slicing the three who had stayed quiet in half. To the one who had spoken up, Yuri got close to him, shoving his face right up to the other guy's. "You. You spineless, quivering coward. Have some godamn conviction to yer cause if yer gonna do stuff like this. I'll let you live, because I keep my promises, but know that you sacrificed your comrades so you could save your pathetic life. Oh, and in case you don't remember -" Yuri swung his keyblade, slicing the man's left arm off. "-here's something to help you remember." As the man howled out in pain, Yuri walked over to Ascot and the slaves. He began to help break the chains that had shackled the slaves' feet, and cast heal on some of the particularly injured prisoners. Humming a little to himself, Yuri eventually turned to Ascot, and began to speak. "Well, all the more reason to go to the Spirit World now, yeah? Ha ha, this works out pretty conveniently." Once all the slaves were freed, Yuri and Ascot would try leading them to the ships, which was a bit of an ordeal due to the fading, but still present, druggy haze they were all in. Some who were completely incapacitated were carried on Yuri's back; he didn't particularly mind the extra weight. Once the prisoners were all loaded aboard a particularly large ship, Yuri lay back and sighed. "Well, Ascot, take us away." ~~~ The boy nodded, searching for the user's manual, which, thanks to the Keyblade's omni-translation function, can be easily read. He then piloted the ship back to his homeworld, after reviewing the files on each prisoner's capture. Thankfully, the former slaves were all from the same general region, which was a good thing. That said, though, as the rescuees shook off the effects of the drugs, Ascot had to explain to them, as best as he could, what had happened. "You were being taken to a faraway land," he had said, "and now we're bringing you back." And, that was that. Once the former prisoners had been restored to their homes, Ascot then said to Yuri: "So, what's your name? And shall we go to Spirit World now?" ~~~ Once the ordeal of returning the prisoners back to their original world was over, Ascot began to speak to Yuri. He quickly replied: "Yuri. Yuri Nakayama, that's my name. And yeah, I don't see why we shouldn't head over, all links seem to lead to it." Yawning, Yuri sat back into his seat and tried to get some rest; he was tired after the long day of fighting, despite how much fun it had all been. As he began to doze off, he called out to Ascot: "Hey... wake me up when we get there, ok?" ~~~ "All right," spoke the boy as he began to direct the ship towards Spirit World...

Belle heard Amaya say those words with a confident smile. She sure was happy about something. "You probably feel that he is nearby, right?" Belle said referring to Joshua with a smirk, not expecting anything less than a nod from Amaya as reply. They entered the room and could see am old woman, with a big head, blue dress and jewelry. The girls could see here restoring some things in the office, as if there had been some fight in here. But she digressed. Belle, followed by Amaya, walked towards her as the old woman, of whom they were told was Yubaba, took her position behind her desk again. "Hello miss Yubaba, me and my friend were hoping you could get us a job around the bathhouse for us." Yubaba narrowed her eyes and sniffed Belle and Amaya. Belle was feeling very uncomfortable, this wasn't really the thing she would expect... but then again they were in another world where they had other abilities. Maybe she sniffed them to verify that we were humans, just like Rin could sense that we were humans. "Ugh, more disgusting humans. I don't know if you girls are up to the task." "Well, I'm perfectly fine for whatever task you give me. I am strong, fast and I think that I'm friendly." Belle said giving a big smile and a thumbs up, something that hopefully would surprise Yubaba. "Well you seem confident enough to give a chance. And what about you young lady?" she asked Amaya.

Amaya looked towards belle before nodding in reply as she would say yes and continue a conversation, but she didnt know if there were unwanted ears. She walked with belle into yubaba's office as Amaya looked around from where she stood. She let belle do the talking before she responded to Yubaba's Question "I have great customer service and I been told I light up people's day with my positive personality when my shyness doesnt get in the way... I am loyal and I dont back talk...I am also very reliable."She commented keeping herself from hiding behind Belle.

Yubaba closed her eyes and sighed as she crossed her arms. "Well, I guess I can put you two somewhere at work here." she narrowed her eyes once again and looked very serious. "But you better not mess up things. Settle your work position downstairs." she said and pointed with her big, wrinkly and ring decorated finger, towards the exit of her office. Belle was glad, as it went smoother than she thought. As the two exited the chamber they made their way towards the elevator.

"Well, that could have gone a lot worse." Belle let out a big sigh of relief followed by a big grin. "By the way, didn't you say earlier that Joshua was close? I understand that he is looking around in the place, but did he also end up in Yubaba's office?" she asked Amaya as she could easily sense the presence of the boy.
---
As Thomas entered the bathhouse he could go various ways. The first three levels of the building were visible. At the first level were the bathing areas, the second level provided food for the customers and could be reached with the stairs as well. The third level also could be reached with the stairs and the following levels required the elevator to be used.

A young little girl with brown hair, wearing a pink uniform saw Thomas in the distance. Seeing as it was still day, the girl wondered what he was doing here. She ran towards Thomas. "S-sorry sir. But the bathhouse is still closed... or do you have an appointment with Yubaba?" she asked trying to do her job correctly.

"Remember Joshua blends in with the mass amount of darkness and since I know him by heart I can tell where he is and when he opens one of his corridors and just knowing Joshua he is much like a black panther, always sitting high in the shadows..if he was anywhere it would be her office if he was investigating...if I know him as well as I should unless four years apart really changed him more then it has already"she commented having to think "to find him you have to think like him is the best way to describe his habits and whereabouts" she commented

Joshua watched the brief meeting between Belle, Amaya and Yababa with a certain anxiety but he refrained from interfering. Luckily, nothing seemed to happen but she stayed where he was up in the rafters, not trusting the old woman. If she was planning to do anything to the two girls, he would likely try and start it now. And if she did, he would put his best effort into stopping it before it even happened.

However, if it turned out the girls were safe for the time being, he would have to explore this place more. The more of the layout he knew, the better.

The closed environs of the basement gave way to the more comfortable decor of the bathhouse itself, made to please the eye and certainly better looking than the roof of furnaces and boilers had. But then again, that was the whole point of the business, so it was very much not a surprise.

There were certainly many ways to go, which left him in a bit of a quandary as to where he should start to search for the Sign, or any indication as to where it might be, given that he didn't know where Belle, Amaya, or Joshua were in this place, and he didn't want to retread old ground and waste their time. It was something the other voice in his head would probably mock him about given the opportunity.

Now, why would I do that? Speak of the devil himself, his other self spoke up, sounds fairly amused with the situation.

Because you're you. Thomas replied sarcastically, managing to not roll his eyes in the process. A fairly good accomplishment, that.

Before he could go on, he was approached by one of the workers, a young girl with brown hair in a pink uniform, who seemed to be the more nervous type if he didn't miss his guess. Still, the mention of this Yubaba was interesting, since it was someone who might be able to help them.

"It's fine," he replied with a grin, putting on his confident, cocky exterior for her benefit in the process. "And no, I don't. I'm actually looking for something. Have you seen any strange guys in black cloaks around here recently?" There could be no harm in asking.

((Collab post between Yuri Nakayama and Letter Bee))

On the far side of Spirit World, lay what seemed to be an Oil Rig, except that instead of oil, it extracted what seemed to be a glowing mass of plasma; this was the fabled 'Spirit Energy' of the world. Not merely that, but this Oil Rig also doubled as a 'processing centre' for what Yokai were caught 'tresspassing' in the Rig, where said Yokai were vivisected for 'medicinal materials'.

It was a living travesty of all that was right in the Spirit World, and Ascot and Yuri were going to destroy it.

~~~

Yuri jolted awake as the gummi ship blasted into the Spirit World, and stared out the cockpit at the clunky machine that seemed to be far off into the distance. Yuri didn't know what it was, but something about it caught his attention, something about it made him feel sick to his stomach. Frowning, he turned to Ascot and began to speak.

"HEY! Ascot! What is that abomination? It's makin' me feel sick. It's not natural at all!"

He continued to scowl at the machine, and before Ascot had said anything yet, he would ask another question:

"Are we going to destroy it? Please tell me we are."

Again, he didn't know why he felt so adverse to it despite never seeing it before, or knowing what it was. Maybe it was his generally pugnacious attitude, maybe it was some sense of justice the majority of key blade weilders seemed to possess. Or maybe he was just a tinge crazy. Who knew.

~~~

"That..." spoke Ascot, "is my first sighting of an Oil Rig, basically a vast technological structure normally used to extract Crude Oil, a black fluid used for fuel, as well as the creation of materials called plastics. However, due to the fact that the ground beneath the Rig is glowing, it seems that Spirit Energy is being extracted instead, which, from what I know, is bad."

"Meaning that yes, we're going to destroy it. At the bottom of an Oil Rig are...containers called fuel tanks, which contain, well, Oil in a normal Rig, Spirit Energy in this one. Or," the boy had an ephiphany, "we can just drop bombs from the Gummi Ship; I checked; the vessel has a full stock of explosives."

~~~

Yuri stared at the Oil Rig, his eyes alight. It was interesting what the machine was meant to do, and yet so unethical. Yuri frowned at the thought of all the spirit energy being drained, before trying to put the thought aside, and focus on the destruction of the rig. The borderline insane grin back on his face, Yuri began to respond quickly to Ascot.

"Ah I see, blowing it up. That sounds fun! Great! Let's get on it!"

Leaning back in his chair, and putting his feet up on the control panel, he stared at Ascot.

"So, let's get on with it! I can't wait to see the whole damn thing up in flames!"

~~~

Ascot smiled, and began to steer the ship up, just above the Oil Rig. Said Oil Rig's 'managers' began hailing the craft, and Ascot, using a voice modulator, began assuring them that everything was all right, that this was merely Cartel Reinforcements...before dropping the first bombs onto the structure, surprising everyone below. Alarm Bells rang, evacuations were called, but one of the bombs reached the fuel tanks, and the entire building was blown, sky-high, causing a giant explosion that rocked the Gummi Ship, although thanks to its sturdy construction, it wasn't harmed.

"Mission accomplished, eh?" said Ascot to Yuri.

~~~

Yuri watched the whole thing, a little bored. The whole event had gone down less interestingly than he would have liked. It wasa simple act of deception, followed by a somewhat lackluster explosion. He wasn't even feeling like he had done anything! Five out of Ten in Yuri's book. Yawning, Yuri spun around in his chair. As he spun, he decided he should try and get to know Ascot, seeing as though he would be travelling with him for quite some time.

"So. Ascot. Tel me about yourself, and this group of keyblade crusaders of yours, and this evil enemy. What's the deal with it?"

Yuri placed his fist under his chin, and leaned down on it, trying to keep his red, piercing eyes on Ascot, a hard task to accomplish spinning around on a chair.

~~~

"Well, the Enemy is basically a group of...I don't know if they're extremists or just common criminals, but they want to literally change the worlds. And, by change the worlds, I don't mean just take over them, or change the way tribes or cities or civilizations work, but stuff like the structure of Magic, the substances that the worlds are made of, even the weather, that's what they want to change, for better or for worse, although I have good reason to think it's for worse. Basically, they want to wreck everything and make it anew, and we're here to stop the 'wreck everything' part."

"As for myself and my group, well, I come from a world where jungles and mountains were mixed, which in turn were home to two kinds of people, the Mountain Tribes, and the Coast Tribes. The Mountain Tribes were fair-skinned and, well, lived in the mountains and valleys, and the Coast Tribes were dark in appearance, and lived close to the sea. Although we were, well, warlike, we didn't fight with each other that much, but rather focused our energies on the monsters that inhabited the more inhospitable areas, as well as what Heartless and Nobodies appeared; we didn't know that only the Keyblade can kill them permanently."

"But, I lived in a tribe, or rather, a small settlement, that valued smarts as well as strength. And, well, I was born when my father, a Mountain Scholar, fell in love with a Coastal Warrior. And, well, we lived happily for a time, until, on a trip away, my birth parents died in an accident." Ascot then narrated the events of his biography, before continuing:

"After Disney Castle, I went on a journey beside Joshua, Thomas, and some others who were gone now, either dead or away. I was weak at first compared to them - heck, I'm weak even now, but in the end, I managed to carve out a place as the 'heart' of the team. Even so, though, I just recently discovered that I wasn't as good as I thought I'd become, and, well, my heart and mind are not as though as needed, but, all in all, this trip has made me a better person."

~~~

Yuri stared at Ascot, with intensity blazing in his eyes. There always was, no matter what he was doing. Even listening to long winded stories. From what Yuri could gather, these "bad guys" who Ascot and his gang were fighting were pretty much just freaks with a god complex, and actually were coming close to near divine power. Some intimidating stuff right there. Also, it seemed the boy knew the history of his people and thought Yuri cared, and then mentioned how his parents had died, and some other things about his life. Things Yuri didn't particularly care for. Then he mentioned his companions. Yuri caught the names Joshua and Thomas, all the rest of the talk was some mushy stuff about becoming a better person. Once Ascot was done, Yuri turned around in his chair, slowly clapping.

"Well done, nice story. If we're trading life stories, I'll tell you mine. I was born in a villiage in some forested world. I eventually left the tribe for personal reasons, and fended for myself in the woods. One day I woke up in Traverse Town, I was found, keyblade in hand, and got trained under King Mickey, and got good at fighting. When I got good enough to fend for myself I set off to find these cartel bastards; I forgot to say so but they destroyed my world or something, strip mines and whatnot. Lucky to be alive, I showed those fogies in the villiage who the true winner was I guess..."

He sighed, dropping a bit of the tension which he had been building up around him. Spinning around again in his chair, he sighed.

"But yeah, that's my story. Man, can it get any duller than this?"

~~~

"No, it's okay," said Ascot sincerely, "it wasn't that bad, and it did tell a lot," the boy can tell that Yuri was hiding something, but that was all right; all in its own time. "Anyway," said the boy, "sensors say that the other Keybladers are nearby, just over a close set of hills. I guess I'll have to introduce you, then."

When Thomas asked the girl if he had seen someone in a black coat she started thinking until she pointed her finger in the air. "Yes. A short girl with a black coat came in here earlier today. She said she was looking for people who wield a key...sword, no, Keyblade." she looked down to the ground before looking to Thomas again. "She left after that, I couldn't see her face or anything. But I could help you look for her, I need to be back before night time though, that is when the guests arrive." she explained.

----

Amaya and Belle entered the elevator to go down again, Yubaba watched them get in and go down. She closed the doors and locked them. "Boh, I'm going out for a little while. There is someone I need to speak to." the big-headed elderly witch said. "Be a good boy, mama loves you." she went to the balcony, wrapped her cloth around her and transformed into a crow before flying away.

The girls in the meantime had reached the lower floors again where they immediately were encountered by Lin who apparently was waiting for them. "So did you two get the job?" she asked.

"We sure did." Belle said giving a thumbs up and a playful smirk. Luckily everything was going according to plan. If they kept this up they would find the sign in no time and could move on to the next world. And unlike other worlds this one seemed rather peaceful compared to the other worlds. She couldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. "But shouldn't you be working Lin?" she teased her.

"Uhm, well, let's just say that most of the work is done. Besides I got you two uniforms, I knew you both would get in." Lin said and handed over the pink cloths. The uniforms were rather drab and boring in Belle's opinion, but that would be expected from such a place. They were in a bathhouse after all, and she didn't expect to wear kimono's while cleaning a dirty bathtub. "I guess we should change."

----

As expected Reno was still in the boiler room bothering Kamaji who working very hard to keep things running, to which Reno's talking only would irritate him. "Eey kid. That friend of you already left, shouldn't you follow him?" he said grumpy, hinting that Reno should probably go, not that Reno would probably understand that hint. Suddenly Kamaji went quiet and looked through a telescope that looked out over the bridge. On the other side of the bridge he saw a swarm of Heartless approaching the bathhouse.

"And just when Yubaba and Haku are gone." Kamaji sighed. "Hey kid, why don't you go out and fight some monsters. Night is going to fall soon and we don't want to frighten the guests with these monsters."

Well, it wasn't a guy, but Thomas was grateful to hear that this wasn't entirely a wild goose chase, and that one of their mysterious foes had been here after all. Now it was just a matter of finding the Sign in here, and he kept up a more or less happy attitude for the girl as she offered her assistance. Though, the fact that this person was apparently looking for Keybladers was a bit worrying. They would just have to hope that they could handle it.

"Thanks, it'd be a big help," he replied with a nod. She knew her way around this place better than him, so it would be more efficient to bring her along. Even if it was a slight blow to his ego and appearance as 'the hero'.

As the Gummi Ship approached the bathhouse, more sensors indicated a swarm of Heartless approaching the structure, causing Ascot to direct the ship there. Knowing that only the Keyblade can purify Heartless permanently, the boy, after setting the ship to levitate over the enemy swarm, conjured up his Keyblade Glider - without armor to make him look more badass, and swooped down at the horde, switching back to his normal blade and casting Haste on himself.

He analyzed the situation. A large swarm of Heartless, old-style Purebloods and Enblems, so nothing special. The terrain itself was flat and open, allowing them to use their numbers against him more effectively. But a Keyblade Wielder was a one-person army, and so Ascot, after taking a deep breath, conjured up Chocobo, got up on the beast, then, after his Keyblade lengthened to the size of a Cavalry Lance, charged the enemy army, the shock of his onslaught rolling back entire ranks of the foes and throwing back a large number of others.

"Well," spoke the boy, "that's new." In response to a few Red Nocturne's attempts at setting him on fire, Ascot used Reflara, turning their attempts back on them, before clearing more spaces with his Shotlock. It seemed now that although his abilities at dueling were still raw and untested, the young Paladin was great at clearing mooks.

"Yuri!" he shouted upwards to the Gummi Ship, "it seems as though we're running out of foes!"