"Pretty slim to none, I'd say." Leon said, providing an answer to Ashe's question, "Unfortunately, not quite everyone who loses their world ends up in Traverse Town. Sometimes there's the occasional exception that ends up elsewhere." Leon only knew this because he recalled Riku winding up in Hollow Bastion when Destiny Islands was swallowed up as opposed to Sora who ended up in Traverse Town instead. Besides, the idea of a two worlds that train their warriors identically? Way too much of a coincidence, and Leon had long since stopped believing in those.

The sight waiting for them in Third District was a surprising relief. Despite the battle against the Imperator taking place here, the district itself suffered no permanent damage and repairs would likely be fairly swift and easy. Even their friends who had fought here - Yuffie, Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa - though they looked a bit worn out from the battle were otherwise no worse for ware. Not everyone who fought an Imperator walked away in such good health. They were notoriously strong opponents, the Imperators, reportedly able to fell entire battalions with little effort.

"None of you look badly hurt," said Leon to his friends, "that's a relief. But I need you guys to stay on guard a while longer, in the meantime Ashe and I will head to Disney Castle and report what happened here. Well, it's best not to keep Her Majesty waiting, she tends to get worried easily. Let's go borrow a ship from a Cid head on out." Cid, Ashe would remember, was a mechanical expert and famed for his love of Gummi Ship design. Lately he'd been acting as the commander for the Traverse Town Fleet. Getting a ship from him was a simple enough matter and, within the hour, both Leon and Ashe would find themselves being welcomed into Disney Castle.


Even these times of conflict, Disney Castle never lost its color or liveliness. It's stretched up high and touched the sky with dark blue peaked roofs. But that was only the view from the Courtyard. Leon and Ashe's ship docked with the Gummi Ship bay located in the Castle sub-levels, so they'd have to go up a few stairs before the castle could be seen from the outside. But first, they were greeted by a friendly welcome. Queen Minnie herself had decided to personally greet the pair in fact. She was polite as always, offering a cordial bow as an initial greeting.

"I just received the report from Traverse Town," the Queen said, her high-pitched voice lowered to a softer tone due to sadness, "I do hope no one was hurt." Queen Minnie Mouse, as her name suggested, was a mouse. She was short, the tip of her large round ears only reaching about waist high next to Leon and Ashe. She wore her usual pink dress and a gold crown on her head. Ever since the King's disappearance all those years ago, Minnie had to rule in his place. She tried her best, but admittedly there were some days that even she felt overwhelmed by it all.

"Not this time, Your Majesty." Leon responded, offering a short but noticeable bow, "We managed to fend them off this time, but attacking a central world within the Alliance like that. They're definitely getting bolder."

"Oh dear. If the Empire continues to attack so brazenly, other worlds might be frightened into surrender. We simply cannot allow that. I'm glad you came Leon, do you remember when I sent Daisy to the Land of Dragons?"

"You said that was a diplomatic mission, right? Something about negotiating with their Emperor about joining us? Did something happen?"

"I don't know, and that is what worries me. Daisy and her bodyguard have been good about sending us status reports frequently, but we haven't received any word from them in nearly a week. Oh, I dread to think something might have happened to them."

"I was worried about that." Ashe said softly under her breath to Leon's response to her question. That meant that the man who fought like the warriors from her world, was a warrior from her world. Which one, she had no way of knowing. Either she would have to wait for him to attack this place again, or somehow go after him. Either way, she would tear that helmet from his head. Even if the truth was something that she wholeheartedly dreaded.

As the two of them walked to Third District, Ashe instinctively surveyed the damages around her. There was death and injury, as was to be expected. But the damages themselves weren't severe, they could be easily repaired. It looked like they hadn't lost anything that was too important either. With all the extra hands that they had around, it shouldn't take too long to get things up and running again.

Though it didn't show on her face, Ashe was relieved when she saw the others still alive, though a little worn out from the fighting. As she expected, Aerith immediately began fussing over the burns that Ashe had suffered during the battle. Despite the fact that Ashe wanted to get to Disney Castle and report quickly, she had learned not to argue with Aerith when it came to this sort of thing. So with a roll of her eyes, the warrior let Aerith cast some healing magic.

After that, Leon and Ashe went to go find Cid and borrow a Gummi Ship. Ashe wouldn't admit it, but she was nervous. She had never been on one of these ships before. Her first time leaving her own world was when the darkness swallowed it and she hadn't been away from Traverse Town since showing up there. Despite that, she showed none of her nerves as they boarded the Gummi Ship and headed off to Disney Castle.

Once they were on their way, Ashe found that her nerves had all but disappeared and instead found herself trying not stare wide eyed at what was around her. The endless expanse of black around her was eerie, but also somewhat comforting. The trip seemed to hardly take any time at all and soon they found themselves in Disney Castle.

When they arrived, Ashe found herself overwhelmed. The area that they landed in was covered in machinery, things that were very unfamiliar to the warrior, who's own world had no technology like this. The sight of Queen Minnie was sligtly startling as well, but she showed no signs of it. Ashe instead stood tall and alert, one hand on the hilt of her sword out of pure instinct. She stayed quiet as Leon and the Queen spoke.

Ashe only spoke up after hearing the Queen's worries about a possible diplomatic mission gone wrong. The warrior knelt down in front of the Queen, both as a show of respect and so that she could speak with the Queen face to face. "Your Majesty, if you wish to send more people to this Land of Dragons, I would like to volunteer to help. I hate to worry you, but if your diplomat is still alive, then time is of the essence." Ashe's reasons weren't entirely selfless for volunteering. She wanted to become more familiar with the other worlds out there. Not only that, but it meant that she could hunt now the masked man in the process.

"Oh? Well I don't know if..." the Queen's voice trailed off a bit. She wasn't expecting anyone to so readily volunteer, especially over what was admittedly just a bad feeling. It was also pretty apparent that the Queen didn't enjoy asking for such dangerous tasks of anyone, much less someone she'd only just met for the first time. Luckily for Ashe, Leon wasn't afraid to vouch for her.

"That might not be a bad idea." he admitted in a thoughtful tone, "She's still pretty unknown to the Empire, so I doubt they'd be expecting a move like that. Besides, if someone like me or one of the others in Traverse Town went, it'd probably just draw unwanted attention. At least this way our intentions can still stay relatively under the radar."

"Well," said the Queen, a smile reappearing on her face as she gently placed a hand on Ashe's shoulder, "if Leon trusts you, then so can I. If you really are willing, Ashe, then I'd like you go to the Land of Dragons and investigate what happened to Daisy. Oh, but you'll need a transport, won't you?" her face lit up a bit with an idea that came to her, "I think we may have just the vessel for the job. Would you please accompany me back into the Docking Area?" by that point the trio had made their out to the Courtyard so they would go back the way they came to reach the place the Queen mentioned.

"That's right," Leon said, pressing his palm to his forehead as if he'd forgotten something, "Ashe, you should know before you go: Sam was the one assigned to be Daisy's bodyguard." he was referring Samuel Drake, someone who - like Ashe herself - lost his his home to Heartless and found himself in Traverse Town. Not that the two of them were particularly close or anything but Leon did seem to recall them sparring with each other once or twice. Leon did wonder why Sam wasn't around when the Imperator attacked and now he remembered that this was the reason for that.

"I believe you were the one who recommended Sam to me when Daisy's mission came up, didn't you?" asked the Queen, thinking back to a week ago and recalling the details.

"That's right, I did. I believed he could handle it. Now I'm starting to worry something happened to him as well."

In the Docking Area, the Queen showed Ashe and Leon to a specific bay that was closed off to the general public. In fact only specific individuals were allowed in and the Queen had to vouch for Ashe and even Leon as well before the they were allowed through. Within the closed docking bay the space looked empty, "Here we are, this will be your vessel." the Queen said, even gesturing to what was otherwise an empty space, "Oh dear, I almost forgot. Um, turn off the cloaking field if you please!" with that request, a Gummi Ship appeared to shimmer into existence right before their very eyes, "This is the Talon. It was the last Gummi Ship design the King personally worked on before his disappearance. It's equipped with a cloaking device to keep it from showing up on radar and scanners, and its outside shell are made of special Gummi panels able to reflect light and render the ship virtually invisible. It's the perfect vessel for a covert mission."

The ship's hatch opened with a hiss and someone emerged from it. They looked male, based on their tall height and broad shoulders. As his form came fully into view, the person was revealed to be actually a humanoid bird - a pelican to be exact. He wore a reddish brown flight jacket, had what looked to be short red hair combed back so he could comfortably wear a pair of pilot goggles on his head. He wasn't alone, a mouse even smaller than the Queen seemed to be perched on the pilot's shoulder. She was tiny compared to the Queen, about the size of a chipmunk to be exact. She had long dirty blonde hair and light blue mechanic's jumpsuit, "Golly, we're sorry about the cloaking device being turned on, Your Majesty. I was just making sure it was fully operational." the mouse girl spoke, her voice high pitched but not quite as much as the Queen.

"It's alright," the Queen said with a nod, "Ashe, this is Launchpad McQuack and Gadget Hackwrench. Gadget has been following the King's plans for the ship and putting it together, and Launchpad has been acting as the test pilot during the development phase. Launchpad? Gadget? We'll be letting Ashe use the Talon to find and bring back Daisy. I'd like the two of you act as her supporting crew."

"Sure thing, Queen M." said the pelican, named Launchpad, "Don't worry Ashe, I can crash anything with an engine that moves. I'll have ya there and back again in a jiffy!" he said, not even seeming to notice that he used the word "crash" in place of the word "fly".

"Uh, Launchpad, you did it again." said Gadget, quick to correct her colleague, "Don't let his poor choice of words scare you. He really is a great pilot. Besides, I can fix anything he breaks no matter how bad the damage is. I promise you're in good hands. I built this ship from the ground up, I know it better than my own backyard!" she certainly sounded enthusiastic enough. Quite the eclectic crew this would make.

"Remember, Ashe: you're going to search for Sam and Daisy. Don't draw too much attention. If the Empire is there just observe them, don't try to take them on alone. Especially if one of the Imperators are there. I'd recommend looking for Sam first, he can help you search for Daisy and protect her on your way back here. Be careful, and good luck." Leon said with a nod, deciding to take his leave so he could return to Traverse Town.


"Who are these creatures to so brazenly attack my palace?" the words of China's Emperor sounded calm and collected, yet furious at the same time. He was old man, but full of wisdom. Currently the Imperial Palace was under attack by what seemed to be never ending wave of strange grey-colored creatures. The attacked began just as the Emperor had met with the Dignitary from Disney Castle: Daisy Duck.

Now the two of them were searching for a way to escape the palace along with Daisy's bodyguard, Samuel Drake. Sam was able to keep the grey creatures at bay for now, but deep down he knew he couldn't keep this up forever, "An excellent question, Your Excellency. Any ideas, Ms. Daisy?"

"I've never seen them before." Answered the Duck in question, "If they're Heartless then it must be some new type or something. But something tells me it's more complicated than that."

"In any case, we must find my Generals. Shang and Mulan will surely be able to lead us to safety." the Emperor sounded confident in his two protectors, or maybe he was simply worried for their safety? Either way neither of the two were anywhere nearby so unfortunately it would fall entirely to Sam to get everyone out of this danger.

"Another wave? You've got to be kidding me..." said Sam with a groan. All this fighting was becoming exhausting, but he couldn't just throw in the towel. The Queen, Leon, they were counting on him to make sure Daisy stayed safe and could complete her mission. Motioning for his charges to stay put, Sam darted forward with his Lightning Edge already drawn from its sheath. The grey creatures moved around in a very slinky nature. It actually made for more difficult targets to strike at. Still, Sam went into a slide across the palace floors as his blade sank into the head of the grey creature to kill. As the others began to crowd around Sam decided to try out a new tactic he'd been working on. He spun his body around, the blade of his Lightning Edge actually sparking with electricity as it sliced through the creatures around him. Some were destroyed outright, but the others appeared to be stuck in place, held there by electrical energy, "How do ya like that? Time for the clincher!" with a series of quick leaps, Sam jumped from one helpless enemy to other and finished each of them with a rapid succession of jump strikes. With no more enemies in site for the moment, Sam held up his mechanical arm squeezing the upper and forearm around his blade as he pulled it through with a metallic hiss. This action was always to ensure the blade was cleaned off before he returned it to the sheath holstered on his back.

But the sound of clapping and an unfamiliar voice sent a chill down Sam's voice, "Not bad, not bad. Fight fight fight." turning to face the source of the voice, Sam was horrified to find a cloaked individual holding a pair of wicked chakrams against the throats of Daisy and the Emperor. It was one of the Imperators, this one not bothering with his hood. He had bright green eyes, a pair of triangular marks under each of them. His hair was tall, spiky, and red like fire, "But it looks like you went and ignored your superiors here. Too bad for you, I guess."

"We'll see about that..." Sam's hand reached for the hilt of his Lightning Edge, but the Imperator's voice stopped him.

"Hold on now, don't do anything naughty or this job of mine might just get icky. Wouldn't want that, would you?" asked the Imperator as a portal of some kind opened up behind him, "Hate to grab and run like this, but I have to be somewhere. But hey, I'm not all bad. It's not like I'm leaving you without someone to play with. Bye-bye for now." he gave a wink as he pulled Daisy and the Emperor through the portal behind him.

Sam tried to run after them, but was too slow to reach the corridor before it closed, "You won't get away from me that easily! ...Huh?" Sam felt a presence behind him and managed to dive out of the way of someone's blade from behind, "Bring it on, Imperial Bastard!" the Lightning Edge was already drawn but then Sam caught sight of his new opponent. An Imperator, this one keeping their face under a hood. But that wasn't the shocking part. Their weapon... it was a black-colored Keyblade, "But that's-" he couldn't finish the thought because the Keyblade-wielding Imperator already went on the attack and lunged forward before Sam even had time to react to anything.

@NobodiesHero

It looked like the Queen didn't trust her. Ashe held nothing against her for that. If their positions were reversed, she wouldn't trust the strange, armed, woman she had just met. But Leon's trust in her made the situation easier. He vouched for her, coming up with a pretty good argument as to why it would be a good idea to send her. She didn't really agree with the idea, if that masked man was a warrior of Aumi, then the Empire knew plenty about her already. But if it meant she could do something more then wait for the Empire to attack again, then she wouldn't argue.

The Queen put a hand on her shoulder, Ashe tensed at the unfamiliar touch, but remained kneeling where she was. It looked like the Queen would trust her after all. At the prompt of the Queen, the warrior woman rose to her feet and began to follow. Leon informed her on the way of the indentity of the diplomat's bodyguard. It was Sam. It took her a moment to recall who Sam was. Weird mechanical arm, beautifully crafted sword, broke three of her fingers sparring once. He was a good fighter, if he couldn't protect the diplomat alone, then neither could she. Ashe hoped Sam was still alive, together they stood a chance.

They were led to a part of the area they had first entered the world in that was very off limits and protected. It took the Queen vouching for them both for them to get in there. At first, they were led to an area that was completely empty. Then at a word from the Queen, a Gummi Ship appeared out of nowhere. Ashe nervously took a step back and put a hand on the hilt of her longsword. Most of the Queen's explanation went entirely over Ashe's head, she had no idea what a cloaking device. The most she picked up was the name of the ship, which was the Talon.

Ashe took another step back when two people emerged from the ship that had just appeared. Well, she couldn't really call them people. One was some sort of bird man, the other was a mouse girl. Ashe was starting to regret volunteering for this mission, all of this was strange, new, and very uncomfortable. Her world didn't have anything like this. Things that talked and weren't human were usually really bad news, hunting and killed the moment they appeared. The scars on her back were from one such of those things. Even their names were strange.

The bird man, Launchpad apparently, was supposedly the pilot, while the mouse girl, Gadget, was in change of repairs. Strange as these two were, it sounded like she would be in good hands. Leon repeated her mission, and then was about to take his leave when Ashe suddenly grabbed his arm. She leaned in close, so that the Queen and her strange new companions couldn't hear. "If that masked man returns, and you guys happen to kill him, save the body will you? He... may be from the same world as me, and I want to see his face." As she spoke, the warrior's free hand brushed against the leather necklace she always wore.

With that taken care of, Ashe watched as Leon left. Then she followed Launchpad and Gadget into the Gummi Ship. Soon they were on their way. Ashe was quiet for a while, staring out the window of the ship, but eventually she spoke up to her companions. "Is there anything you can tell me about this Land of Dragons?"

It was Gadget who spoke up. "Not much. The place where we're going is called China. They've been at war with the Huns for a long time, before a warrior named Mulan killed their leader. They don't have any technology like we do, so they have no way of protecting against Gummi Ship assaults. That's part of the reason we wanted to make an alliance with them."

"I see." Ashe responded, returning her attention to the window. It sounded like she would be comfortable in the Land of Dragons, at least more so than being surrounded by so many strange things in Traverse Town. The warrior found herself worn out from the events of the day, the attack earlier, getting injured, then moving about non stop since then. She half dozed off, until a voice pulled her out of her nearly meditative state. "We're here!" Launchpad called out in a cheerful voice.

Ashe stepped out of the Gummi Ship into this unfamiliar world. They seemed to be on the outskirts of some sort of palace. She nodded to herself, she was looking for a diplomat who was talking to this world's Emperor, a palace would be a good place to start the search. She turned back to her companions. "Stay here and keep hidden. If I don't return within a day, assume the worst." With that, the warrior started walking toward the palace, a hand on the hilt of her sword as she did.

"Y'know, I see your mouth moving but all I hear is 'Blah blah blah science, blah blah blah mechanics'." Sam had a wide grin on his face, one Riley had nicknamed his troll face. It was also a grin Riley hated seeing, something about it just made want to punch Sam in the mouth. Sam quickly bent down and pulled Riley into a headlock and proceeded to noogie him mercilessly, "C'mon not everyone speaks egghead, Egghead!" Sam eventually showed pity and released his brother.

"Well if you didn't sleep in school maybe you'd speak a little egghead yourself!" Riley taunted, reaching for a wadded up sheet of paper and chucking it at Sam's face. Sam ducked and had Riley in another headlock, "Okay okay! Uncle! Uncle!" this got Sam to let go and the brothers started laughing at each other, "Alright alright..." said Riley between breathless laughs, "...just watch my presentation at the fair. You'll see what I'm cooking up then. Speaking of, you got the stuff loaded in the car right?"

"Yep." said Sam, turning Riley's wheelchair around and pushing him toward the open garage door, "All there. All that's left is the drive. Ready to dazzle the world?" as he was getting into the car, Sam felt like he'd left his own body. He watched himself get into the car and drive off with Riley. Sam silently gave chase but it felt like the universe itself was holding him back and forcing him to watch the accident play out in front of him. That was when he woke up.


"Ugh... feel like I crashed into a bus." Sam muttered as he painfully pushed himself to his feet. Something wasn't right, however. His left arm felt stiff and refused to move, "Great, bastard busted my arm. Okay, what's the damage?" rather than stand, Sam instead put himself into a sitting position with his legs crossed. He had to manually move the arm with his other one, but he held it up to look at it more closely.

"Son of a..." Sam's voice trailed off as he grumbled. The arm was pretty wrecked. Any more damage and it would have fallen out entirely. Thankfully Sam wasn't completely up the creek. Reaching back with his right hand, Sam removed the Lightning Edge from its holster, sheath and all. The sheath had a small storage compartment right next to the open end. Sam popped it open and emptied its contents into the palm of his unmoving mechanical hand. They were small objects, tiny black spheres with two oblong limbs each. The limbs twitched with movement, making the spheres move in turn.

Microbots. Or at least a variation of Microbots. These types were designed with the sole purpose of getting into small spaces within machines to perform repairs on the field. They wouldn't fix Sam's arm perfectly, but they would provide a temporary fix until he could take the thing apart and fix it more thoroughly later, "Looks like they work after all. Thanks... Hiro." the Microbots weren't Sam's creation, nor Riley's. Instead they were invented by Riley's friend, the same one who introduced Riley to the Institute and later helped Sam build his arm and sword.

When his arm could move again, Sam grabbed the Lightning Edge off of the palace floor and stood to his feet, "Now... to figure out how long I've been out for. I swear when I find that Imperator I'm gonna-" the sound of the front doors opening grabbed Sam's attention. Without thinking he pulled out the Lightning Edge and held it at the ready for whoever or whatever walked through those doors.

@NobodiesHero

Ashe stayed low. There was little cover between her and the gates to the palace, staying low was the only protection she had. She stayed alert and ready for anything. It was the sound that she found strange, there was nothing. It was eerily silent. That wasn't a good sign. She should be able to hear at least some sounds of life, but there was nothing. Either everyone was in hiding, or already dead.

The warrior approached the door, but made no move to open it yet. Instead, while keeping a hand on the hilt of her sword, she pressed an ear to the massive doors. Nothing, the doors were thick, made to keep things out, if anything was still inside, she couldn't hear it. Ashe let out a frustrated sigh, her only option was to go in blind. She drew her sword and held it in her defensive stance. Reaching forward, she pressed her palm against the door, opening it slowly.

She opened just enough to get through, slipping inside before closing it behind her. The first thing she saw, was someone with a weapon pointed at her. Ashe dropped into a fighting stance, ready to attack, before it registered in her mind who this was. Well, that was the first part of her mission down at least. "Sam." She said, relaxing from her stance, but still holding her blade. "We hadn't heard word from you in a week, the Queen sent me to check on things. What's going on? Where's the diplomat? And everyone else for that matter."

Sam lowered his blade, letting out an audible sigh of relief, "Ashe?" a fight right now would have been the worst possible scenario, given that the Microbots hadn't quite finished their work on his arm yet, "The Empire happened." was his response to all of her questions, "Imperators, two of them. They were controlling waves of these grey creatures. We were doing fine until the Imperators decided to butt in." by this point, Sam had wiped the blade of his sword on the prosthetic arm before returning it to the sheathe clipped to his back. He also started walking deeper into the palace, expecting Ashe would keep pace with him.

"We were under siege for days, so we couldn't get any messages out. Like I said, we were doing well enough against those grey things, but then those Imperator bastards decided to get involved personally. One of them got their hands on the Emperor and the Diplomat while I was too occupied with his grunts. By the time I tried to stop him, he had them at blade point and took them through one of those portal things they use. I tried to follow but then the Imperator's partner jumped me from behind. Took me completely off guard. Gah, that's right! That Imperator, the one that jumped me..." his voice trailed off briefly, as if he was still processing the information himself, "...he had a Keyblade, Ashe! A genuine Keyblade that he pulled out of thin air that nearly took my whole damn arm off! What's the deal? I thought Leon said only Sora could wield the Keyblade, so why does the Empire have it?"

"We gotta warn everyone about this." he told her, still walking without even realizing that he was leading them to the throne room, "But I have to check out the palace first, find whoever's still around, maybe even the Diplomat if we're lucky. I don't think it's been too long so who knows? The Imperators might not have taken them offworld, at least not yet." only then did he notice voices coming from the other side of the doors leading into the throne room, familiar voices at that, "Come on!" and without any other word Sam wasted no time and burst the doors open, practically kicking them in.

"Come on, Your Excellency. Is this so-called alliance worth all this trouble? Even now?" It was the red-haired Imperator, who had the Emperor shackled to his throne. Nearby, Daisy Duck - the Diplomat - was being held by a cage made of light energy of all things. And she was currently being guarded by the still-hooded Imperator, very likely the one Sam had described wielding the Keyblade earlier.

"Hah! Trouble, all right. Trouble that YOU cause!" that was Daisy, but she soon shut up when the red-head suddenly hurled a fiery chakram that slammed against the cage and bounced back to his hand.

"I don't remember inviting you to the debate, so why don't just pipe down and - Roxas, the doors!" Sam's sudden appearance got the Imperators' attention, and the one apparently named Roxas literally leaped into action, placing himself between the intruders and the Emperor's throne. And just like Sam said, Roxas summoned the Keyblade, though it didn't quite look like what Leon had often described. Instead it was almost entirely black in color, and seemed to just pulse with Darkness. As before, Roxas remained totally silent.

"Looks like we lucked out after all!" Sam told Ashe, drawing his Lightning Edge from its sheathe. On one hand, this was mildly terrifying. If what Leon said was any indication, the Keyblade was easily one of the most powerful weapons there is, and so facing one in battle was almost certainly going to be impossibly difficult. On the other hand, however, Sam had a score to settle with this Roxas character.

@NobodiesHero

Ashe swore under her breath as Sam started explaining what had happened. Her and Leon had a heck of a time against one Imperator, but there were possibly two of them here? The odds were not good, but Ashe didn't care, she had a mission to do, and she would complete it. She had fought and won under worse odds before. It was amazing how much pain and damage the human body could take when the mind connected to it was so stubborn, and so strong. All she needed to do was make sure there was enough life left in her afterwards to get to the Gummi Ship.

While Sam sheathed his blade, Ashe kept hers out and followed the other warrior as he led her through the palace. She listened as he continued to explain, quietly taking in all the information with a perfectly blank expression on her face. The only time that changed was when he mentioned the Keyblade. She hesitated in her steps, before continuing after him. "Sora is the only one who can wield the Keyblade that we knew of. Clearly we were wrong and there's at least one more." Ashe stated.

They were at another large set of doors when they both heard voices coming from behind it. Sam immediately burst through the doors very loudly, and Ashe nearly slapped a hand against her own forehead. There went any element of surprise they may have had. There were four people inside the throne room, none of which Ashe had ever seen before. She could gather that the duck inside the cage was probably the diplomat, and the old man chained to the throne was probably the Emperor. The other two were clearly Imperators, which made Ashe swear again.

The first Imperator was a young man with a shock of spiky red hair. The other was still hooded, but judging from the small stature was either young, or female. Ashe may have been tall, but most women were much shorter than she was. She towered over most of the other female warriors in her homeland. Ashe took a slight step back as the hooded one, Roxas apparently, leaped between them and the hostages, then proceeded to summon what must have been a Keyblade.

There were only two of them, dealing with two Imperators. This wasn't good. Ashe dropped into an offensive fighting stance. "If things get bad, you flee and I'll cover your escape. You have far more information than I do." Ashe ordered quietly so that Sam was the only one who heard. It was the smartest thing to do in this situation. Sam had been here longer, he knew what was going on. Ashe was a warrior from a land of warriors, she could keep these Imperators at bay long enough for Sam to escape. "There's a Gummi Ship waiting outside the gates to the palace."

"Right, but get to the Emperor if you can," Sam quietly responded, "I'll keep him focused on me." he was referring to the Imperator who stood before them. Without anymore words, Sam made a dash for his opponent, even putting his momentum into a Sliding Dash. Roxas was no slouch, easily ready for the attack and deflecting Sam's blade with his own. Now that he was close, Sam tried to strike at Roxas with a trio of jump slashes, but the Imperator parried them all. Only now did Roxas begin to return the attacks. The Keyblade was fast, its strikes like a black blur of motion with a razor sharp edge. Roxas slid past Sam with his first strike, but then his black Keyblade began to glow with Light. Whatever the light was, it was empowering his blade as Roxas went into a nearly unstoppable flurry of blows. Sam did his best to parry them, the Imperator was just too quick and so the last couple of blows struck true and Sam found himself off balance.

Meanwhile, the red-haired Imperator summoned weapons of his own: a pair of bladed wheels protruding spikes around the edges. The chakrams appeared in a blaze of fire, "Sorry kids, but I don't time to play with you." he said as a portal appeared behind him. He was planning to leave! To cover his escape, the Imperator threw one of his fiery chakrams into frey in Ashe's direction. On top of that, a trio of grey creatures appeared at the Imperator's side. Before he slipped through the portal, the Imperator spun his body around and let one of his chakrams slice open the Emperor's throat, "Don't waste time, Roxas, we've got other places to be after all! As for you two..." he offered a sly smirk, "...we'll leave you a parting gift, make it off this world alive and maybe then you'll be worth our time and effort." and he vanished through the portal.

Unfortunately it wasn't hard for Roxas to follow suit. He'd just knocked down Sam and so he was in a position to get away without any real resistance, and did so still without uttering a single word. Sam got to his feet and ran over to the Emperor. With Roxas gone, the cage of light vanished and Daisy was freed, "Your Excellency!" she also rushed to the Emperor's aid. But the wound was serious, the Emperor was already losing blood, and so only healing magic could save him. And unfortunately, none of them knew any healing magic. So it seemed the Emperor was quickly running out of time.

"Your ship!" Sam shouted to Ashe, "Does it have a medical bay?" the Talon did indeed have a medical bay, but no doctor to manage it. But maybe, if they could reach the ship fast enough, the Emperor could at least be stabilized.

@NobodiesHero

Ashe nodded and was only moments behind Sam as he started to move. Only her path wasn't taking her to Roxas, she was going straight at the red haired one and the Emperor. She didn't have time to put any focus on Sam and Roxas, she had to trust that he'd be able to handle himself until she could get the Emperor to safety. The diplomat should be safe for now, they seemed more interested in the Emperor right now, he was priority number one.

But before she could get there, the red haired one summoned his own weapons. Two flame wrapped chakram. He proceeded to fling one at her. Not wanting to deal with getting set on fire again today, instead of knocking it out of the way with her sword, Ashe rolled to the side. Unfortunately, that gave the red haired one enough time to slit the Emperor's throat. "No!" Ashe cried out. The two Imperator's disappeared into one of their portals shortly after that, but Ashe didn't even notice. She was making a beeline to the Emperor.

If the Imperator had stabbed the Emperor, then things would be over already, but they were lucky. Though a dangerous wound, he still had a chance. Especially when he had someone who knew how to keep people with serious injuries alive. Ashe grabbed the Emperor and gently lowered him to the ground. "I need you to focus on breathing, okay?" She said as she started pulling her shirt off. All that she was left in was her bindings to cover herself, but she didn't care. "I'm going to have to put pressure on this, just keep breathing, through your nose would be best."

Ashe tore the tails off her shirt, for later use, balled up the rest, and pressed it against the Emperor's throat. She put as much pressure on it as she dared, trying to stop the bleeding, while also letting the Emperor breath. When Sam asked about the medical bay, it took Ashe a moment to answer. "Yes, I think so. Sam, I need you get the ship as close as possible to here. I'm buying us time by doing this, but I need to keep pressure on the wound, I can't do that if we're carrying him. Miss diplomat, I need you to talk to him, keep him awake. That'll give him a better chance." Ashe had gone into full warrior mode, an expression even scarier than her usual fierce one was on her face right now.

"Right, the ship. I'm on it." Sam being the one to return to the ship wasn't exactly ideal. After all, he'd never seen the Talon before and if its cloaking field was on then that would make it even harder for him to find. But right now there was no other choice. Sam took off from the throne room and dashed out into the main hall, that would be fastest way back outside. Something the Imperator said was nagging at the back of his head, however. "Parting gift"? What could he have meant by that? It likely meant there was still trouble lurking somewhere, but it would have to wait for now. Sam burst through the main doors and found himself outside in the palace entryway. He heard some strange noises but Sam ignored them and bolted for the most open area he could find. If they had been anything like Daisy and himself, then it would be in one of the open town square areas that Ashe's ship would be waiting.

"Come on, Ashe, where the hell did you park? Ow!" Just as Sam wondered that, he practically collided with what felt like an invisible wall. As soon as he did, a Gummi Ship shimmered into view, "An invisible ship? Okay..." Sam banged his hand on the closed hatch hoping someone was still inside that could open it up. Sure enough, the hatch opened and a humanoid birdman greeted him, "You need to move the ship closer to the palace! The Emperor is in danger!" this only garnered a confused look in return.

"Huh? How do ya mean?" Launchpad asked, having no idea of what transpired within the palace.

"There's no time to explain! Ashe is with him, now, but we'll need the medical equipment on board to save him, just go!" Launchpad turned back around with a shrug. Despite not being privy to all the information, he wasn't about to ignore someone who needed help. But as Sam was about to climb up the entry ramp, a rumble from the ground caught his attention, "What the?" he heard those noises again, but this time they sounded a lot closer. Voices, people sounding like they were shouting to each other, but most importantly, was also the sound of swords and cannons. It was a battle coming from the city! Sam exited the ramp, deciding to let Launchpad fly on his own so he himself could investigate whatever was happening in the city.

There was quite a sight waiting for Sam when he got there. The creature was silvery-grey, just like the ones the Imperators commanded, but this one appeared to be special. For one thing, it was bigger, much bigger. It's body also appeared to be armored somewhat, evidenced by the sharp points on its shoulders and its hands looking like over-sized gauntlets. It bore the white mark of the Empire on its face, and a light blue scarf that split off into several tendrils spiked with spear-like tips, "I think I just figured out what what guy meant when he said he left a parting gift..." but thankfully the monster was not the only thing Sam saw. It was fighting a small group from the Chinese army, led by two familiar faces: Generals Shang and Mulan. Not one to leave his friends or allies in a pinch, Sam drew his sword so he could join the fray.

"Let it get a little closer..." Shang said, watching the hulking creature approach at a slow pace. After it took a couple more steps, he suddenly gestured to two of the soldiers crouching nearby on both sides, "...now! Fire the cannons!" both men used flint to light their fuses. The cannons they used were roughly rocket-launcher sized, held steady on the ground by a primitive tripod setup. They shot fireworks shaped like dragon heads that appeared to make a direct hit on the creature. They definitely made a show at the very least. But the creature stepped through the smoke nearly unfazed.

"Nothing's working! How do we stop that thing?" one of the men asked, a thin man named Ling. He put his sword up defensively when the creature raised its massive hand to strike. Luckily for Ling, that was right about when Sam finally got close enough to intervene. With as much speed and agility as he could muster, Sam dashed in front of Ling and actually took the blow with his mechanical arm. When the creature pulled its hand back Sam went on the attack, managing to get in a successful Binding Strike to temporarily stun the massive creature.

"Sam!" it was Shang, a look of relief on his face that quickly vanished as he asked his next question, "Where's the Emperor?"

"Throne room." Sam said, then continued, "But he's in danger, no time to explain. My friend is trying to help him now but the Emperor needs a doctor." that got all their attentions, and it was Mulan who responded first.

"The prisoners! Sam, we discovered where the Imperators took your ship's crew. We think they're being held in the palace dungeon, wasn't there a Doctor among them?" everyone knew they had to talk fast, the Binding Strike would wear off momentarily. But Mulan was correct, Daisy's ship did indeed have a Doctor, John Strongbear Sweet. If Sweet was still alive, then if anyone could save the Emperor it would definitely be him.

"Yao, take Ling and Chien-Po and get to the dungeon!" Shang ordered, "Find that Doctor and get him to the Emperor at all costs!"

"Come on!" Yao yelled to his two compatriots before the three took off for the Palace.

"Sam, I'm sorry, but I have to go to the Emperor!" and without any further warning Shang also darted for the palace. Mulan however, remained where she was and nodded to Sam before turning to face their monstrous opponent.

"I guess that leaves this thing to us, then?" Sam said, readying his sword as the Binding Strike finally wore off and the battle resumed.

@NobodiesHero

Ashe was in full warrior mode. Every nerve ending in her body was so alert that it almost felt like it was on fire. She knew exactly what was going on around her, despite the fact that her focus was entirely on the Emperor and keeping him alive. She heard the footsteps of someone running before they even arrived. Ashe looked up at the entrance and let out a low, bestial, growl as a man came running into the room. "General!" Daisy called out.

Ashe relaxed a bit, this was an ally. The admittedly handsome man came running up and knelt beside Ashe and the Emperor. He seemed a bit put off at the appearance of Ashe's mostly naked torso. "You're Sam's friend?" The man asked. Ashe nodded in return. "There's a doctor on the way." He finished.

It was only moments later that the ship arrived. Good, the doctor would be able to use that. One look inside and Ashe knew that she couldn't use anything in there. Their medical technology was far above what she was used to. All she could do right now was the same thing she had been doing. Buy the Emperor some time.

Thankfully, the doctor arrived quickly, along with several other people. Three men of varying heights and weights, dressed in same type of clothing as the handsome man who had arrived shortly before. The other man, who was clearly the doctor took one look at the Emperor, and immediately began to prepare things in the ship. "Bring him here! Lady, do not take your hands off the wound yet." The doctor ordered.

It was awkward, but between everyone, they were able to get the Emperor safely aboard the ship. Ashe was told to take her hands off the wound, so the doctor could work, which she did. She stood nearby a bit awkwardly. There were a lot of strangers around, and there was nothing she could do to help the Emperor anymore. So she stood there, half naked and covered in blood. The doctor glanced up from his work. "Judging from those scars, you're a warrior, right?" Ashe nodded in response. "The city is under attack. You'll do more good there than you would here."

Without a word, Ashe jumped out of the ship and took off out of the throne room. The other four and Daisy staying with the Emperor. Ashe had no idea where the city was, but it was easy enough to find. All she had to do was follow the sounds of battle. Even before she made it to the battle, she could see the enemy. That huge version of the white things that had been part of the attack on Traverse Town. Ashe increased her speed, drawing her sword as she went. It wasn't much longer before she found her way to where Sam and the others were fighting. "Is this the parting gift red hair was talking about? How nice." She called as she dropped into her battle stance.

It took just about all of Sam's skill and concentration to keep from getting skewered. He and Mulan had formed a rough plan of attack that involved aiming all of the remaining cannons at the big monster so that they could be set off as the battle progressed. That also meant that Sam had to keep the creature's attention on himself so that Mulan could move with at least some impunity. And so Sam tried to get in as many slices as he could with the Lightning Edge, but then the creature started shooting out the thorny tendrils in an attempt to turn Sam into a human shish kebab. Now Sam had to put all his focus into using his sword and metal arm to deflect the tendrils and keep from getting skewered.

When several tendrils converged into one spot Sam barely managed to side step it, but was relieved when that finally gave him a way to fight back. He quickly and lightly jumped up onto the mass of tendrils and dashed along them like a trail leading right to the monster's face. Sam made one more leap to avoid a swipe from the creature's arm and then put everything he had into a Blitz, translating into a trio of jump slashes across the monster's head before he returned to the ground with an almost stylish flip.

"Is this the parting gift red hair was talking about? How nice."

It was Ashe! There was no time to reply or ask about the Emperor, the large creature went on the attack again, this time aiming its thorny tendrils for both Sam and Ashe. With only half as many tendrils targeting him, Sam had a much easier time avoiding them, but was in for a shock when he went to deflect a tendril with his sword. That was the moment when he realized that the Lightning Edge had broken at some point during his last attack, the blade snapped off at the center point. The surprise from that was enough of an opening for the tendril to pierce his shoulder and then fling Sam to the ground. Even worse, Sam didn't look like he was conscious.

"Sam!" shouted Mulan, who had just finished aiming the last cannon, "Mushu, now!" suddenly one of the faraway cannons appeared to fire on its own. And then another, followed by another. For only a brief moment Mushu's small form came into view only to go back into hiding again. He appeared to be a red lizard of some kind. Then again, his apparent ability to light the cannons on his own meant that calling him a tiny dragon was likely a more accurate description.

"Yeah! Let's see how you like the taste of MY heat, baby!" the tiny dragon shouted from somewhere in a tone that didn't at all sound like any of the Chinese people that lived in this world.


Sam found himself knelt down in a peaceful place. The creature, and everyone for that matter, was no where to be found. He pushed himself to his feet, and Sam found himself at the center of a circular platform within what looked like an endless dark void. The platform itself appeared to glow with light, upon it a giant image of Sam facing one direction. Behind the picture's head with circles containing images of people Sam knew in San Fransokyo, namely his brother Rilely and friend Hiro Hamada. In the space in front of Sam's image were similar circles depicting his more recent friends, such as Leon and even Ashe.

Power is born in the Heart.

Sam looked around himself in surprise, but could see no one else in whatever this place was. He was still alone in here. And yet again he heard the voice.

But you have to give it form before you can truly fight.

As if on cue three objects appeared around Sam in flashes of light. A sword, with a golden hilt. A red and black shield bearing what looked like the symbol of Disney Castle on its front. A staff, with a blue carving of Disney Castle's insignia serving as the head piece. They floated above the floor, circling Sam within arm's reach.

The Warrior... The Guardian... The Mystic...
The paths are open, but only you can decide which road to walk.
Take your time... and choose.

Sam was still confused. What was this place? What were these objects in front of him? And just whose voice was he hearing? It wasn't a voice he had ever heard before, and yet... he couldn't help but trust it. Something in his gut told him to take the Shield, and so Sam reached out and grabbed the shield in his hands.

The Power of the Guardian... a shield to protect your precious friends and loved ones.

The platform suddenly trembled, and then the area became filled with blinding light. Or maybe it was just Sam beginning to regain his consciousness?

Don't be afraid...
...and don't forget...

Your friends are your true power...

@NobodiesHero

Ashe stared up at the giant creature with nothing but calm on her face. This was where her strengths were. These are the types of creatures that she fought in her home world, massive, dangerous, monsters. Though normally she fought them with at least her entire squad, sometimes multiple of them. With just her and Sam, things might be a little tougher. But she wasn't afraid, they would handle this. It had to have a weakness, all creatures did, even if it was just a small one.

The thorny tendrils started to attack both of them, and Ashe couldn't worry about Sam at the moment, she had to hope that he could handle this too. With a mixture of dodges, blocks, and slashes, Ashe skillfully moved around the tendrils unscathed. Sam apparently wasn't so lucky. Ashe heard a thump and someone crying out Sam's name. She turned to see him injured and unconscious on the ground. Ashe swore under her breath as the tendril attack started up again, some of them aiming for Sam's body. Ashe didn't even have to think.

The warrior woman moved between the tendrils and Sam. She stood her ground, blocking and slashing the tendrils with her blade rather than avoiding them. She would make sure that Sam didn't get further injured. She was able to deflect most of them, but not all. One was deflected so closely that the thorns still opened a cut on her face. Another caught her in the left side, with lightning fast reflexes, Ashe grabbed the tendril with her left hand and yanked it out. Earning her a few more cuts on her hand, but stopping the injury from being serious, it only managed to sink in a couple of inches.

Ashe was stuck. She couldn't let Sam get hurt, but if she was keeping the tendrils at bay she couldn't get him to safety either. She could even attack the creature from here, as she had no way of attacking long range. "If I make it out of this alive, I'm asking Aerith to teach me some magic." But first, she actually had to make it out alive. "Sam! Get off your ass, I can't protect you forever!" Ashe shouted, hoping that maybe she could get her injured companion to wake up. Even if it was just long enough for him to get himself out of danger.

The creature launched its tendrils once more. As they snaked their way toward Ashe and Sam's position, the creature added another attack to the mix, as silvery arcs of lightning shot from its bodies and also tried to converge on the duo. This might have been a rather devastating blow, fortunately for the two friends it was at this moment that Sam's eyes shot open and he instinctively raised his broken blade to deflect the attack. Except... it was no longer his sword that he held in his hand. As his arm swung, there came with it a flash of light and then from that light a new weapon appeared and easily deflected the tendrils, and even absorbed the lightning arcs. The weapon was mostly blue, but possessed dark grey and bright teal highlights. It also didn't quite look like a sword. It had a hand guard that encircled the entire hilt rather than just stick straight out. The tip of the blade had sharp points that protruded backwards. And finally a short, thin length of chain extended from the edge of the pommel and connected to some kind of emblem-shaped trinket. The flash of light, the strange design, and most of all... the keychain. There was no mistaking what Sam now held in his hand. It was a Keyblade!

"Is this what I think it is?" asked Sam, though he had little time for confusion. Acting on nothing but pure instinct, Sam jumped up and aimed the tip of his new weapon toward the creature. After a short charge, it fired off a salvo of small yellow orbs that spiraled away from the blade and then immediately homed in on the creature, colliding with it and appearing to damage it greatly. Once Sam's attack finished, his feet was back on the ground and he looked to Ashe with an expression of newfound confidence, "Looks like we finally got this thing on the ropes! C'mon, let's finish it off for good!" Despite having taken that nasty hit earlier, Sam didn't act worse for ware. Was it the Keyblade? Could the warmth of its light have given Sam more strength? In fact it seemed like the Keyblade's light was giving everyone around it a second wind.

With Keyblade in hand, Sam dashed forward. The Creature tried to swipe at him with one of its hands but Sam nimbly jumped over it. The second he was close enough he made a good leap and put everything he had into another Blitz, hacking at the creature's face with another trio of jump strikes. With this and whatever attack Ashe hit it with, the creature finally... finally... perished. It fell over, and seemed to melt into a pool of Darkness that then faded away into nothing. This battle appeared to be over.

@NobodiesHero

The tendril attack was starting again and Sam wasn't showing any signs of waking up. Ashe brought up her blade to block this round of attacks as the creature added in something new, lightning. Ashe couldn't dodge, not without Sam getting hurt. She would have to block the tendrils as best as she could, and take a hit from the lightning. This was going to hurt. But before anything could impact, there was a strange flash of light. The light was warm, and very familiar. Ashe had felt it once before, when her world had been swallowed by darkness. She had always thought that it had been that light that saved her. There was a surge of energy inside the warrior woman, as if the last day hadn't been nothing but pure chaos.

The tendrils and the lightning were deflected by the light. No, that wasn't right. Ashe turned to see Sam, laying there on the ground, eyes opened, holding up a weapon she had never seen before. She hadn't seen it before, but she knew what it was from the stories Leon and the others had told her. It was a Keyblade. Sam had a Keyblade? He seemed no worse for wear. He used another attack Ashe had never seen before, some sort of magic came out the front of his Keyblade, it seemed to do a lot of damage to the creature. It was time to finish it off.

Ashe was only moments behind Sam as he rushed forward. All she could think about was protecting him, protecting these townspeople, just as she had done on Aumi. Ashe felt that warm light again, but this time it felt a little different. The light was forming some sort of barrier around her, like a lightly blue tinged bubble. But this time, that warmth wasn't coming from Sam, it was coming from her. "Is this, magic? How am I using magic?" She had no more time to think as the creature tried to attack her. Ashe brought her blade up to deflect it, but it was blocked by the barrier instead. As she surged forward, leaping into the air to deliver a final blow, the barrier disappeared.

She sunk her blade into the creature one last time, and as her feet hit the ground once more, watched as the creature disappeared, defeated. Ashe released a breath and pressed a hand against her wounded side. "Sam has a Keyblade, I used magic. What the hell is going on here?" Things were a lot less hectic than they had been moments ago, but they weren't out of the woods yet. They were both bleeding, they had no idea if the Emperor had survived, and they still had to get home. Things weren't over quite yet. "If you had a Keyblade, why didn't you use it sooner?" Ashe asked, as she walked over to Sam.

"This is the first time I've ever seen of this..." Sam responded, holding the glowing Keyblade in front of him. Just as suddenly as it first appeared, it vanished with a flash of light. So the battle was over, and they could breathe a sigh of relief. But the troubles weren't quite over yet, there was still the Emperor. That had to be their next priority, "Let's just check on the Emperor for now. If we have to we'll transport him to Disney Castle where someone with healing magic can help him." he wiped the sweat from his forehead and then began to walk back in the direction of the ship.

"Hey Ashe... you think we'll have a better chance against the Empire now that we've got a Keyblade on our side?" Sam wasn't overly familiar with how the Keyblade was supposed to work, but from what he could tell they were some of the most powerful weapons one could wield. If that was true, then maybe his Keyblade could help turn the tide in the Alliance's favor? Wishful thinking, admittedly, but these days a little hope would be greatly appreciated.

Before they knew it, the trio found themselves before the Talon once again. It's hatch opened and Sweet - the doctor - greeted them, "About time you got back. He's stable, and best of all he's also conscious too. He's been wanting to talk to you so I wouldn't keep him waiting if I were you." it sounded like Sweet was able to save the Emperor after all. Good. That meant the would-be assassination attempt failed, and the Land of Dragons could still join the Alliance. Sweet led them inside and into the medical bay. The room was a bit small but they managed to all fit in.

"So the city is safe again..." the Emperor's voice was a bit low due to his own exhaustion, "...then you have performed a great service for my people. China is in your debt."

"He'll recover..." said Sweet, "...but I'd feel a lot better if we use one of those Cure Spell things to heal him faster."

"Aerith..." said Sam after a short glance toward Ashe, "...we'd have to bring the Emperor back with us to Disney Castle, but Aerith could help heal him, I'm sure of it."

"You want the Emperor to leave China? That's unheard of!" it was Shang, who had never left the Emperor's side in all of this.

"If visiting this Disney Castle will mean a speedier recovery... then I have no choice." said the Emperor with a sigh, "Just as well, I'd like to meet this Queen of theirs myself. Fa Mulan, did you complete the task I asked of you?"

"Yes Your Excellency. They're safe."

"Good. My three daughters will watch over China while I am away. I ask that you serve them as you would me."

Shang and Mulan couldn't exactly refuse, so they agreed with a bow and both left the ship. Within the hour, the Talon had left the Land of Dragons, but before it set course for Disney Castle, Daisy made contact with the Queen.

"I'm so relieved your safe." the Queen said, her face could be seen on the screen with Leon standing in behind her, "I'll prepare a place for a place for the Emperor once he arrives."

"I'll have Cid bring Aerith up here to help heal the Emperor." said Leon, "And if what you said about that Imperator wielding a Keyblade is true, then it sounds like we've got a tough time ahead of us."

"But I can summon a Keyblade, now too. That'll help, right?"

"Definitely, but if you try to fight him now, you won't stand a chance. You should keep trying to master that Keyblade first. Don't pick a fight that you may not be able to win." and with that, the transmission ended and the course was set for Disney Castle.

@NobodiesHero