The very next day, the Gummi Ship arrived over yet another version of Earth, only large portions of Europe were literally shrouded in Darkness. Tocsax, despite still being miffed at the people he himself had turned against him (slightly in Asher's case, almost violently in Ignitio's), spoke, "All right people, we're here. I'll make this simple," he brought up a holographic map with London, Berlin, and Moscow outlined in glowing white letters everyone can somehow understand thanks to the Keyblades' language-translation magic. "Those of you going to the Princess of Heart go to London, while those going after Hitler and Stalin go to Berlin and Moscow."

Tocsax turned towards the group, his eyes settling on Asher's face for one minute before shifting to Astus' and then saying, "As for me and the Master of Trickery, we will be going to seal the world's Keyhole - A Keyhole is a special entrance into the Heart of the World, which if left open will allow the Heartless to eat the World's Heart and doom it to being consumed by Darkness."

A frown, as Tocsax thought, Next world after this, I am going to need to retrieve the true Felix's Heartless, then have the Lucy use her Princess of Heart powers to restore him. Won't Psilvux like that? His frown then shifted to a small grin directed at nowhere.

"As for how we will get to our destinations..." Tocsax trailed off as he looked towards the group as they gathered in the Operations Room, then tapped the ground with his right foot, causing a hologram of a smaller Gummi Ship to appear. "This vessel has a hangar that contains an even smaller Gummi Ship for transportation purposes - This can go from Orbit, where we are now, to the atmosphere and thence to the ground. The Gummi Shuttle - Shuttle being one of our terms for for smaller ships - will go to London first and drop off the negotiation team, then Berlin, then Moscow. Any questions?"

A holographic map of the ship then opened up to indicate just where the hangar and the Gummi Shuttle was. More automatically-translated words indicated that said shuttle, though small, had a couple of Magitech guns, a missile pod, and an energy shield of vague strength, though nowhere near what Empress Maria can muster.

Tocsax waited for some questions, then said, "All right, everyone except Astus - Move out!"

BGM: To the Battlefield

"Very well then, we're ready to depart." A voice spoke from the door. Agni, Ignitio and Victor came in to confirm their presence and greet everyone. "G-Good morning, everyone! L-Let's do our very best out there!" Victor spoke. His voice was shaky, indicating that he was nervous, but he still did his best to sound brave. As for Ignitio, he stood quiet and looked at the command's room windo, ignoring every other presence in the room. "The three of us will go unarmored in order to negotiate better. The more humane we look, even with clothing not appropriate to the era, the better for the mission." Agni spoke. With that, Victor touched his pendant and Ignitio covered himself with even more miasma until his body was entirely dark. Victor went back into his normal form, wearing a white long shirt, casual jeans and social shoes. A black necktie also appeared and his pendant was still visible. Ignitio, however, became a little more eccentric: his hair and eyes kept the same, but his ears were covered by his hair. He also was wearing a gray shirt and jacket with shredded jeans and black boots. It looked pretty human. "Let us depart then. There is nothing else to be discussed here." Ignitio spoke. "Wait, we still need to see if someone else wishes to go with us-" Agni spoke, but Ignitio turned his back and began walking away. "... Good luck waiting for someone to follow us. I still hold to the opinion the three of us are more than enough. Any more hindrances will make us lose time." He responded, leaving the command room.

Agni sighed at his brother's lack of compassion and trust. Still, there was nothing to be done in his case. It's something he should decide on his own. "W-Well then, shall we go, Agni?" Victor asked. "I guess so... we'll be waiting a little more at the hangar. I wish the best of luck to everyone. Know that my prayers are for your success." Agni smiled at everyone and left with Victor to the hangar.

@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@MagusDream

"Hahaha, I think I can handle a little needle." Georgia said confidently.

---

She hadn't. She hadn't been able to handle it. It was a painful ordeal full of flinches and half-starts, but eventually she had managed to work up the nerve and hold still long enough for him to just do it.

She examined the thing in the mirror the next morning. She'd have to take care not to let mom and dad see this when she went home, they'd think she was falling into a world of corruption and vice. It didn't matter whether their blood was warm or cold, parents were parents wherever you went.

She had spent the night having her heart to heart with with Asher, studying the "true" history, and even managed to work in a quick chess game with Hirutila. She'd lost, but had been putting up a good fight until it came time to use the knights. She could never quite get a handle on the way those things moved.

Overall it hadn't been a very eventful night, and when the time came she had laid down as Snopes curled up beside her bed and drifted into a deep sleep. So when they were called down to ops to depart she was fully awake and raring to go.

Only to find that it was going to be a while. The Nazi extermination party was going last. She shook her head. "Hurry up and wait." She said ruefully as she followed after the bothers. "No need to rush there, edgemaster, we're all headed to the same place." She called out after Ignito. That dude reminded her of her own brother, and she couldn't help but grin. "Seriously though, good luck boys. Watch out for those black coats." She said to the other two.

@ShadowVentus
Occupied Paris, Ongoing World War Two

The first thing Zane noticed was that they were in Paris. He had been to a fair few incarnations of the city of lights over the years, though none quite so... Nazi. Ah great, one of those damn past worlds. Great, as if being around Chrongel hadn't fucked up his internal calander enough.

The second thing was the girl in his arms. Let's see, mild sleeping charm in the process of wearing off, mild hypothermia, albeit that is expected after being on the recieving end of le Bâtard et il neige magique, as well as the Inbetween. Hmm... mild exhaustion from overextending her magic too... might be best to find a place to hole up. Choosing one of the more abandoned buildings in the city, he laid the girl down on a sofa that hadn't been entirely destroyed, and began to meditate.

The first thing he found was his connection to the Inbetween had snapped, probably due to him forcing a leap. It was clear it was repairing itself, but until it did he was stuck in Nazi France. Casting his mind out he was quickly overwhelmed by elemental forces. There was a powerful light to the west, and potent darkness in the north. But the worst was the east, it seemed like one of the Hades Gods had taken residence. In the heavens he noted the presence of a paradox, a fusion of Heavenly Saint and Infershia, yet it was muted somehow, like the core of his being was lost. And... fuck, a being of the Moon element. Well, it's not like he was going to meet him... where was that evil laughter coming from?

Capella's eyes remained on the fallen man, every cell in her body eventually focusing on the magic that was now coating his body. She could feel her mind grow hazy, the edges of her vision beginning to blur and darken. Bowing out now wasn't an option, as the protective altar would disappear if she did. A deep frown tugged at her lips as she closed her eyes for a moment, hoping to regain some form of composure with the time she had. Unfortunately, the faint thud of another had Capella whip around, blonde and teal locks cradling her face in the process.

She...she couldn't believe it. She had to be seeing things...there was just no way. She remembered defeating him, injuring him gravely, body scorched and cut beyond recognition...but here he was, complete unscathed and as if their previous encounter never happened.
"H-How..." The star child could barely hide their fear, body shaking violently from the fear of having to fight him again and the stress that came from having to protect someone while doing it. His body screamed for her to stand and face Rago, but her mind was slow on the uptake, her Keyblade flashing into her hands. Unable to steel herself before Rago deemed it was time to fight, Capella brought her blade up defensively, hoping to block the strike from doing any critical damage. The flames coating the man's blade got warmer and warmer until a curtain of flames divided the two, wide teal colored eyes looking for the source of the fire; although it shouldn't have been hard to figure out who it was.

The smallest of smiles found its way on the blonde's face as Audry did seem honest about protecting her at least. Capella didn't have much time to breathe, as just when Rago moved away from her, a wave of Heartless replaced him. She couldn't quite decide if this was worse or not, but she had no choice but to act.
"Sorry, but we need higher ground." And with that, Capella pulled the man to a seated position, holding him up with one of her arms and one of her bent legs. Using her free hand, the star child drew in the air, a few dots followed by a few lines connecting them, the Cepheus constellation. Placing the glyph down on the man's lap, Capella braced herself, wings tensing in the process. "Alfirk!" Much like the altar, a transparent purple throne rose from the ground, the man seated properly on it while Capella was crouched on the arm. The throne rose a couple meters above the tallest Heartless before coming to a smooth stop.

Giving the man a hopefully comforting smile, Capella pushed off the throne, wings slowing her descent into the wave of Heartless, eyes shifting from teal to gold as she drew the Cepheus constellation again.
"Fireworks Galaxy!" This time, balls of light that exploded into sharp silver needles rained down from the glyphs and onto the unsuspecting crowd of Heartless.

Unable to move. Unable to even speak. All Ezra could do was watch. He knew, just as Shun did, that the Makai Armor's remaining time was miniscule at best. Knowing that fact did not make watching Shun's transformation any easier. Right before his eyes, Shun was gone. In his place was a monster, a beast of unnatural strength and power. And to make matters worse, the sheer rage and hatred of the Lost Soul Beast made it the perfect beacon to attract the Unversed into this world. As if there weren't enough problems. But Ezra could do nothing!

But, then he began to notice that he was no longer alone. Someone else moved to attack his captors other than the Lost Soul Beast. Two someones to be exact. Young women, probably within the same age range as himself. Who they were or what reasons they did this he did not know. If only he could warn them! The Lost Soul Beast would attack anyone that found themselves in its sights, even would-be allies such as these. But then, Ezra found himself staring stiffly at the visage of one of the girls. She'd come to him specifically and seemed to be guarding him while also trying to use her own magic on him. He was in no position to resist or protest.

But a man appeared soon after, and he brought with him a wave of black creatures. These were different, not like the Unversed, and Ezra had never seen them before. But the girl seemed to know what she was doing. She moved them to another position and used her own power to fight back the wave. In his mind Ezra was becoming increasingly furious. He needed to move! He needed to fight! His eyes began to show tiny movement, twitching and struggling to change expression. In those same moments, the tips of his fingers also began to twitch and struggle to move. Finally! The paralysis seemed to begin losing its hold on him!

BGM: The Key of Light

Shakily and forcibly, Ezra's right hand raised up. The light of the girl's magic had washed over him and was already washing the paralysis away. Then, a flash of Light and even some Darkness as well burst from his outstretched hand in order to produce his Keyblade, Blackened Soul. Then he finally shot up so he could sit upright, finally able to move. His gaze shifted over the girl whom he had been staring at for so long during his paralysis. Seeing her smile and offering a small nod of thanks.

"Keep... keep focusing on the creatures. I'll... make sure my brother's attention is on me." he pushed himself to his feet and pointed his Keyblade in the direction of the Lost Soul Beast to indicate him as the one he identified as his brother, "And... thank you." he tightened his grip on the Keyblade and made a dash forward.

BGM: Stand and Fight

Ezra cut down whatever Unversed or other creature got in his way as he seemed to make a b-line for the armored menace, "SHUN!" that got the Lost Soul Beast's attention. Ezra made a decisive opening attack, putting as much of his momentum and strength as he could into a slash that was aimed a the stomach area of his intended target. The Lost Soul Beast moved its heavy sword to take the blow like an improvised shield, only to suddenly return with a mighty swing of his own. Similarly, Ezra used his Keyblade to take the brunt of the swing, though the impact still knocked him back a fair few feet.

"Fine then..." Ezra's eyes glanced down at his Keyblade, which seemed to become a flash of Light and Darkness as if it were dismissed. But rather than vanish, the Keyblade actually broke apart, many of it's pieces scattering only to reassemble into a wicked whip-like weapon. With a spin of his body, Ezra brought his newly formed whip weapon around for a wide arcing swing that allowed him to strike at the Lost Soul Beast without getting within reach of the sword. Perhaps by keeping his distance he could minimize his chances of having to take another blow. But could the whip hit with enough force? Ezra had no idea. When the Lost Soul Beast began to run forward the Makai Priest had to think fast. He held out his armored hand, and it suddenly produced a large and powerful fireball that also seemed to be blackened by Darkness, "Dark Firaga!" the projectile shot forth and the Lost Soul Beast had to jump back in order to avoid getting caught by the blast. This put him at a distance again, and so Ezra could resume his previous strategy of preventing the Lost Soul Beast from getting too close.

Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

Why tepathically? Tocsax said to Astus. I can teach you a sobering spell - Esuna, a spell that works on all ailments - if needed. After all, we're practicing how you can affect the world without illusions, right?

There was a slight, almost imperceptible note of suspicion in his tone as Tocsax continued, Actually, I'll sober him up myself. He then looked for the Gummi Shuttle that Yuuta had supposedly hijacked in order to cast a quick 'Esuna' to lift his drunkenness. If needed, he'd open a Corridor of Darkness, cast the Esuna spell on Yuuta, and then say to Astus, Can we go close this world's Keyhole now?

London, England, Extended World War II

London, England, had seen better days. The Blitz had ended, then was replaced with V2 Rockets, which in turn were replaced by Heartless randomly appearing in London's lower-class districts and consuming people there until various Independent Keybladers came in and destroyed them permanently. In one of those places was a lone mechanics' shop that repaired bicycles, army vehicles, and ambulances - The latter were a common sight nowadays. The general mood was one of despair, as Vic can detect - A decade-long war did that.

Either way, Judah Ben Issac, a young man in a Trenchcoat, greeted the new arrivals with suspicion. Getting up but not yet revealing his Keyblade, the Jewish Exorcist spoke to Agni and his crew, "If you're here to get Munny from fighting Heartless, this is my turf. And if you're here because you are after Lucy..."

The Keyblade now appeared in his hand, blue and white like a Jewish Prayer Shawl. "Then you'd be spoiling for a fight."

Berlin, Germany, Extended World War II

Heartless patrolled the streets of Berlin, followed up by thier Nazi masters. Possessed Panzers and Tigers were part of those patrols, and it was clear the city was being fortified against a strike from an unknown enemy. Well, in the Keybladers' case, known. Either way, the plan was to assault the Reichstag building and kill Hitler by setting it on fire. Or just use conventional methods of assassination to get rid of the dictator.

Either way, this will be a hard mission even with the Gummi Shuttle's advanced weapons...

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Shoddy McCoy

Now Playing: Reverie

@Gentlemanvaultboy

Spending time with someone like Georgia was something Asher didn’t know he had needed. He was so humbled by her company that he paid no mind to the plethora of attempts that were made at piercing her ear. In fact, he found himself laughing at her reaction. “My my, to think you had boasted such confidence earlier.” He remarked.
Once the deed was done, he took a step back to admire his work, framing the now properly equipped earring with his fingers, smirking as he did so. “Not bad, if I do say so myself. Now then..I suppose it’s time for me to indulge you on what I wished to speak about.” He leaned against the wall, folding his left arm in front of his chest while placing his right hand on the brim of his hat, tugging at it slightly out of what might appear to be embarrassment. “When I had fallen unconscious...I had a dream. It was inhabited by this entity that took on the appearance of someone she claimed I hold dear to my heart…” Asher grips at his coat above where his heart is.
“That’s what she said, but, I didn’t recognize who she looked like. The only hint I could receive before being shocked awake by that dastard of a mage was a name...she said her name was Usagi..” He went silent, as if pondering just what kind of value that name had to him. He then shakes his head, as if to dismiss the thought. “No matter. It’s too soon to try and make sense of it all. Thank you for taking time to listen to me. If I recall anything else, I’ll be sure to report back to you.”
Shortly after Georgia departed, Asher simply collapses unto his bed, staring at the ceiling, trying his best to put his mind at ease. Just as he begins to feel his eyes grow heavy, while he could feel this warmth envelop his body, it coursing through him, as if lulling him into a further sleep. Just before he fully succumbs to this feeling, he hears the familiar voice of Usagi speak to him.
“The answers you seek lie within your comrades. Go forth, child of fortune, and forge these bonds. I’ll be with you..” The voice fades right as Asher finally gives in, letting sleep take him.

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

The Next Day
@MagusDream

Asher awoke bright and early that morning, feeling more refreshed than ever. He supposed he would have to thank Usagi the next time they met. After taking a mental note of that, the rogue began to go through his daily routine of making sure every piece of equipment he had on his person was in working order. Considering he used next to nothing in the past day, this check went by as fast as he anticipated it would. After taking care of that, he departed from his quarters, and made his way to the Operations Room, where Tocsax decided to give another debrief as to what his plan was for each initial party. It seems the Nobody planned on prioritizing a secure connection with their contact rather than fend off the forces led by Stalin and Hitler. It was a fair plan, Asher would give him that, but if this line of play was what he was aiming for, then time is of the essence. Asher quickly followed after the brotherly triad, wanting to board the Gummi Ship and get a move on already.

Hirtutila looked over the strange little contraption as Asher placed it into his hand. An earring? Yet it was capable of such feats? Why should it not, he thought to himself, it's not like anything should surprise him anymore. Accepting the small gift from Asher, he pondered over it for a bit more, before tossing such thoughts to the wind and placing the earring in his pocket for later. Piercing wouldn't be an issue. 20 years ago, a bit of a fad for earrings spread to Vandalia via Egypt, and a younger Hirutila was not immune to the peer pressure. Seemed like it id pay off in the end, this earring would be invaluable indeed.

Hirutila gave a small thank you to Asher, before turning his attention to Georgia as well. "If you're taking off, I better go get some sleep for the night," he uttered out, followed by a yawn, which the man tried to cover up. "I don't have your energy anymore". With that, he gave a quick bow and shuffled himself away. The old man was quick to scout out a moogle, to whom he inquired over the location of the bedrooms.

"Oh yes, kupo! The bedrooms are all set up just over that way and don't worry, as we told your younger companion, the pranks were already disarmed, kupo!"

Hirutila stared at the little animal with an expression that could only be described as a three-way mixture of confusion, disapproval, and relief all at once.

"Thank you, he spoke," once again shuffling out of the sight of the creature as he made his way to the room.

"But just a reminder, kupo! Tomorrow, Tocsax has informed us to ensure that everyone is present for his debriefing on the plan of attack, kupo! If you would like for one of us to wake you up, just let us know!"

"Oh," Hirutila spoke, unsure of how to take it. He was not that old, was he? Was the moogle implying that he could not wake up on time, or had Tocsax told them to do so out of a lack of faith in him? None the less, despite whatever reasoning was behind the creature's inquisition, he replied in the affirmative.

"Okay, Kupo! Be sure to get plenty of rest or tomorrow."

With that, the creature was gone, and Hirutila retreated into his new chamber.

---

A sigh of relief escaped from the old man's mouth as he reclined upon the bed. It had been so long since he had rested upon something other than loose hay over jagged prison stone. Hirutila began to remove the pieces of the armor he was given upon his arrival, unstrapping each component and laying it over in the corner of the room. With both the metaphorical and literal weight off his shoulders, the man began to pay some closer attention to the room. A small meal had been left, kept warm by some kind of magical force it would seem. Hirutila quickly took to devouring the food in such a fashion to put even Snopes to shame. Every flavor was held in his mind for what seemed like an eternity as he ate, returning to his bed satisfied and with a full stomach for the first time in years.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment

The words of the Buddha rang through his head as he relaxed. Despite what might come tomorrow, Hirutila took the current moments to enjoy himself. Before long, he was fast asleep.

---

Everything had been assembled for this moment.

Hirutila stood at the helm of the ship, sword drawn as he stared down the coastline. It was possible to see the collection of Egyptian soldiers gathering on the shores to face off with the pirates. The Egyptians were gathered in their formations, preparing for the assault, while Hirutila directed his men to begin the advance onto the shores. A previous battle had crippled their naval forces in Alexandria, and any retribution from their other naval divisions would not be able to arrive in time before the pirates had pillaged the city totally.

Egypt had brought this upon themselves when the Pharaoh ordered the raiding of their bases on Crete. He had picked a fight with the wrong pirates, as Hirutila and Rago were able to gather enough reinforcements and allied pirates to wage a full out war against Egypt. The Pharaoh stood firm against them, refusing all negotiations. Now the two forces met in the battlefield.

The two men had shown the power of their soldiers when they decimated the Alexandrian navy just a day earlier, while their own ships were left strong enough to press the attack on. Now, Hirutila lead the eastern division while Rago held command of the west. Rago encircled the harbor while Hirutila split his forces in half, sending a division of ships to attack the shores around the harbor, while Hirutila and his men entered into the heart of the city via the harbor to attack directly. The Egyptians had abandoned the Harbors defenses, simply retreating into the city and the shores to fight off whatever they could.

The pirate army was massive, its lines filled both by Hirutila and Rago's originally Corsican and Sardinian Vandal pirates, but also with men from the Saxons, Danes, Hausa, Fulani, Libyites, and with the fierce tribals of the Adriatic coast. Allied pirates also made their contribution, as the destruction of Alexandria would be complete by nightfall.

Hirutila made landfall, with his men firing off the cannons, spraying a dust of Gothic fire, that burned even as the waves of the harbor fell upon it. The Egyptians fled as the fire burned away their front lines, as Hirutila and his pirates departed the ship from the sides, landing beyond the flames and advancing like horns for a double-pronged attack on the Egyptians, trapping them between hostile enemies and uncontrolled fires upon the shores.

While Hirutila's men fought with their enemies, he kept a close eye on the shore, as Rago and his men began the attack on their shores.

All seemed to be going well, that was, until something raised its ugly head.

Over the hills, Hirutila caught sight of Egyptian reinforcements.

It was impossible, the Egyptians were caught off guard, there was no way they could have known, no way they could have advanced this far in such a short time.

It was like they had been expecting them.

The addition of Egyptian reinforcements and more allies, and the premature arrival of stronger Egyptian ships, and doom was spelled for the pirates. Bodies of the pirates were flung everywhere as the Egyptians surrounded them. Men riddled with holes as they were cut down by the spears of the phalanges as the encircled his division. Men fled the lines in terror, only to be cut down without mercy. As Hirutila went to try and recollect his army, he felt the sharp pain of a spear lodged into his chest, as he toppled from atop his horse into the dirt, before everything went black.

---

Hirutila was awoken by the sound of a moogle.

"Good morning, kupo! You had better get ready to make sure you're on time for the debriefing, kupo."

The man groaned, guess there was no time for meditation this morning.

As Hirutila listened to Tocsax's plan, but was caught off guard by one thing. The city, Berlin. Where there even cities that far north? Europe was a hellhole, full of savages who barely knew how to use wheels. The idea of those people being able to construct cities and modern technology was completely incomprehensible to him. He knew not to be surprised by anything, but there was only so far that he would be able to suspend his disbelief.

When Tocsax said that one of the groups would be going to Britain, Hirutila burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Britain!?" he said between his fits of laughter. "Oh, I don't envy you.".

Britain was the worst of places in the already savage continent of Europe. The people ran around hairy and naked, living in mud and straw houses and herding sheep and cattle. The men all had 7 or 8 wives, and they sacrificed children and prisoners of war to their gods in giant wicker men by setting the structure on fire. Or so he had been told, he had never actually once set foot on Britain. Though he imagined that even if the British here were different, they still had to be savages, same with the Germans they were about to meet. In his head, he imagined Europe as being just as backward and primitive as his own homeland. The people must be living out of metal shacks in villages. He would have to see. And with that, he boarded after the others, waiting for the arrival in Berlin.

---

It was absolutely necessary to be as vigilant as possible in these times. Two British soldiers, part of a division deployed to protect the little coastal town of Southend-on-Sea, were watching over the sea in the event of a naval invasion from the Germans. Though such an invasion had yet to happen, and in contrast to London, Southend-on-Sea saw more trouble from refugees from the rest of Britain, as well as Mainland Europe. Almost overnight the city had become full of Dutch and French speakers as well as those fleeing the chaos in the larger cities of the island, to the chagrin of the local inhabitants. Thus the usual fray was keeping the peace more than fighting Hitler's monsters.

The two men were drinking from a pack of beer and eating as they did their rounds.

"Hey, over there!" one of the soldiers shouted, pointing out a direction that his partner quickly turned to, binoculars in hand.

There, in the middle of the ocean, was a man upon some sort of raft, rowing his way to the shore.

The two men looked on in disbelief. Such a sight was not totally, uncommon, but the idea of it just being single person paddling his way to Britain on a shoddy raft that had them surprised. The soldiers seemed totally baffled as to where he could have come from.

"It's a black guy, looking like he came straight outta the bible, paddling in from the Dutch coast."

The soldiers drove up to meet with the man, as he arrived.

"You're safe now," one of the men told the stranger, "What's your name?"

"Zekaraya," he replied.

"I see, and what are you doing here? Where did you come from?"

The man ignored their question, instead, inquiring upon his own plans.

"How do I get to London?"

"London?" the two soldiers looked at each other, "You don't want to go to London, mate. The whole place is swarming with monsters. Safest place to be right now is here in Southend.

"I have a meeting," Zekaraya spoke, attempting to leave, only to be held in place by a soldier. He responded with a swing of his sword, taking the soldiers head clean off.

As the other went to attack, Zekaraya simply raised his hand, as the man combusted, burning in flames.

Zekaraya took a look around, noticing the vehicle in their possession. The angel had made him aware of these things. Rummaging through the soldiers' belongings, he came across the keys, commandeering their vehicle and making his way to London, to seek out his two targets.

---

The mixture of lightning and fire nipped at Audry's face as Rago pushed his blade harder against her own, the weapons coming dangerously close to her own face. Thinking quickly, Audry reached for her gun and fired a few shots into Rago's stomach with her free hand. The other stepped back, furious at the wounds, giving Audry time to position herself back. The opportunity gave her a chance to hurl a fireball of her own at the attacker. The spell connected, lighting the silken garment Rago wore on fire, as it burned away, revealing the man's chest and abdomen.

Audry looked on in surprise and horror as she saw the gunshots begin to close off, and the burns heal, as if by magic. Tendrils of blood whipped their way across the wounds, interlocking with themselves, as flesh grew over the mesh until the wound was as if it had never been there at all. Audry gritted her teeth, firing another bold of flames, however, Rago responded this time with a barrier, destroying the fireball as it crashed onto the ward.

In turn, he manifested a black orb before him, which exploded into a flurry of needles, all of which were directed at Audry. The girl held up a ward of her own, but the strength failed to stop at least some of the needles, which dug into her, prompting the young woman to drop her weapon and fall upon the ground. Rago jumped forward, swinging his blade upon her, however, the magicite instinctively threw up a barrier, which Rago slammed his blade against angrily, unable to break through. Audry felt the magical needles burn as they released a cocktail of poison into her body, leaving her in silent agony as she began to feel herself begin to fade out of consciousness. Audry managed to stand herself up, throwing the barrier off of her to meet Rago in battle again, blades welling up with electricity as she shot it at the swordsman, leaping into the air to attack as he toppled over.

The two blades met once more, as Rago forced the woman off of him with a casting of Aero. Audry cringed as she fell to he feet, the poisons increasing in intensity as she fought.

Rago smiled watching the girl slowly succumb to the poison. "You have the bug too, don't you. I can see it in your eyes." Rago taunted, pointing out his own eyes, that now glowed with the same sickly green as her own. "And yet you don't even know how to heal yourself with it yet?". Rago manifested another dark orb, this time, however, instead of breaking apart into needles, the orb simply coalesced into a single dark blade, that rushed forward at Audry, barely giving her enough time to escape, but grazing her off arm, leaving a deep, painful cut, that burned further with the poison it left on her wound.

Audry cried out in pain, as Rago continued to taunt her, "You can't heal, can't use any spell more complex than beginner magic, I bet you can't even teleport yet." he muttered, advancing towards the injured woman. But Rago wasn't completely right about that last one. As he came closer, Audry's blade disappeared in a flash of green light, in its place, a shotgun manifested. Audry may not have learned how to teleport herself and other large objects to specific locations, but she knew enough on how to make use of 'hammerspace'.

As Rago rose his arm to attack, Audry's eyes flashed out of the darkness as she perked up, and fired the gun into Rago. The shot, augmented with fire magic, cut a large hole into Rago's body, causing the man to fall back in agony, and as he tried to heal the wound, another was blown into him just under his shoulder. Audry stepped forward, firing another blast at his leg, directly into Rago's knee, leaving him unable to move back further. As she stepped forth to deliver the killing blow, Rago desperately waved his arm over himself, teleporting himself away from the battle.

At that moment, Audry caught sight of her allies, Capella and the would be sacrifice she had saved. Capella seemed to be taking care of the Heartless. The man was moving in to attack the giant beast that the army was trying to contain. She would give him a hand.

---

Malachi was gritting his teeth in anger as the Soldier's were unable to simply detain the creature. The army had sustained enough losses.

"That's it, we're pulling back immediately!" he shouted, as the creature was distracted by the arrival of another. "We've taken too many losses, we need to regroup in Sana'a. We'll prepare to return and take Mecca afterward." Malachi gave the order for the army to begin the return to their base, where they would take portals back to Sana'a, and then march onto Mecca once they had replaced their loses. The lost soul beast was fighting with Ezra, giving him just enough time to do so. Malachi gave the beacon for the Heartless to follow.

"Do not think you have won just yet, for you have simply made me aware of what you can do."

Abandoned House, Occupied Paris

Zane had performed a rudimentary search of the area after making sure the girl was asleep. He was, not for the first time, cursing the fact that healing was counted in Earth Magic making it near impossible for him to use as a Thunder Elemental. Fortunately, synthesis was deeply tied to Lightning Magic. Should be relatively simple to whip up a healing elixir.

He had started collecting the gemstones that dropped from the Heartless as trinkets, not noticing their use until one world where he actually had some downtime. They seemed to be refined essence of elements, possibly the remains of a person's innate magic. Not really his problem to decypher, but it did mean he didn't have to use the more esoteric ingredients that made up potions back home.

Thinking of that, he pulled out a pan and created a ring of lightning to act as the flame. He started by adding two Blaze Shards, to counter the effects of the chill, followed by a Power Stone and a Thunder Shard, for energy, followed by a Serenity Gem to bind the ingredients. It also helped that the Serenity gemstones promoted healing effects. He did want to study the materials more in depth, but surface level would do for now.

With a wave of his hand, his intent clear, he spoke the magic words; "Jinga Magiiro!" completing the synthesis. The resulting mixture was similar in look at smell to coffee, albiet bright orange. Having a test of the potion, he regarded it as acceptable. (Don't ask how he drank it with the mask on, some questions are best left unknown.) Of course, he probably should have remembered he was a Heavenly Saint with a much stronger constitution than a human. The potion he poured down the girl's throat was literally boiling hot.

@ShadowVentus

@MagusDream
Only to find that it was going to be a while. The Nazi extermination party was going last. She shook her head. "Hurry up and wait." She said ruefully as she followed after the bothers. "No need to rush there, edgemaster, we're all headed to the same place." She called out after Ignito. That dude reminded her of her own brother, and she couldn't help but grin. "Seriously though, good luck boys. Watch out for those black coats." She said to the other two.

"... What leaves me glad is that we are not going to the same mission. If I had to hear you call me 'edgemaster' again..." Ignitio spoke, as they reach the Gummi Shuttle. "Can you please be a good sport and say 'good luck' to the rest?" Agni questioned. "As if I cared about their lives at all." Ignitio answered, going inside the shuttle. "Just... ignore him. Don't let his attitute go over to your head, it's not worth it." Agni said to Georgia, extending it a little to the rest. Cooperation with Ignitio would be next to impossible.

When Tocsax said that one of the groups would be going to Britain, Hirutila burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Britain!?" he said between his fits of laughter. "Oh, I don't envy you.".

Britain was the worst of places in the already savage continent of Europe. The people ran around hairy and naked, living in mud and straw houses and herding sheep and cattle. The men all had 7 or 8 wives, and they sacrificed children and prisoners of war to their gods in giant wicker men by setting the structure on fire. Or so he had been told, he had never actually once set foot on Britain. Though he imagined that even if the British here were different, they still had to be savages, same with the Germans they were about to meet. In his head, he imagined Europe as being just as backward and primitive as his own homeland. The people must be living out of metal shacks in villages. He would have to see. And with that, he boarded after the others, waiting for the arrival in Berlin.

Victor found that weird. First, wasn't it England? Or rather, United Kingdom? Also, he had visited there with Agni before. It wasn't a bad place, it was common like everywhere else... expect for the part that England was separated from the Catholic Church. They've adopted another dogma nowhere near to the catholics, so they were a separated power. "But England is so nice! I like the atmosphere of England! They have some of the best harps on sale back in my world." Victor innocently commented to Hirutila. He forgot they came for different worlds so maybe his England wasn't the same as the one he knew.

The Next Day
@MagusDream

Asher awoke bright and early that morning, feeling more refreshed than ever. He supposed he would have to thank Usagi the next time they met. After taking a mental note of that, the rogue began to go through his daily routine of making sure every piece of equipment he had on his person was in working order. Considering he used next to nothing in the past day, this check went by as fast as he anticipated it would. After taking care of that, he departed from his quarters, and made his way to the Operations Room, where Tocsax decided to give another debrief as to what his plan was for each initial party. It seems the Nobody planned on prioritizing a secure connection with their contact rather than fend off the forces led by Stalin and Hitler. It was a fair plan, Asher would give him that, but if this line of play was what he was aiming for, then time is of the essence. Asher quickly followed after the brotherly triad, wanting to board the Gummi Ship and get a move on already.

They finally boarded the shuttle. Seeing as Asher was following them, Victor assumed he would come with them. "Hey, uh, Mister! Wait, I think you're younger than me... or are you older than me? Eh... uh... oh, I forgot what I was going to say...!" Victor started getting desperate. "Hehe. You mean to say that you're going to do your best, right? That applies to me as well." Agni spoke. "Y-Yeah! I-I'll try not to be useless!" Victor spoke, eager.

"Since we're all on this team together, a better introduction should be done on our part before we leave. My name is Agni Blackheart. In my world, I'm the Crown Prince of the Royal Sky Capital of Lizeria. It's a pleasure to work alongside all of you." Agni introduced himself. He felt as if it would be better to say their names before departing. "I-I'm Victor Blackheart! Um, I'm the Fourth Prince of Lizeria and Agni's brother! I can't do much, b-but I'll do my best!" He said. Then, they turned to Ignitio. "... Ignitio Blackheart. Third Prince." Ignitio spoke. "And...?" Agni fished for something else. "Get in my nerves or mess with my brothers and I'll kill you." He said, looking away. Victor looked at him scared and Agni couldn't hide his disappointment.

---

London, England, Extended World War II

London, England, had seen better days. The Blitz had ended, then was replaced with V2 Rockets, which in turn were replaced by Heartless randomly appearing in London's lower-class districts and consuming people there until various Independent Keybladers came in and destroyed them permanently. In one of those places was a lone mechanics' shop that repaired bicycles, army vehicles, and ambulances - The latter were a common sight nowadays. The general mood was one of despair, as Vic can detect - A decade-long war did that.

Either way, Judah Ben Issac, a young man in a Trenchcoat, greeted the new arrivals with suspicion. Getting up but not yet revealing his Keyblade, the Jewish Exorcist spoke to Agni and his crew, "If you're here to get Munny from fighting Heartless, this is my turf. And if you're here because you are after Lucy..."

The Keyblade now appeared in his hand, blue and white like a Jewish Prayer Shawl. "Then you'd be spoiling for a fight."

After being dropped out of the shuttle, they took a moment to look around before being interrupted by a young man. He seemed really suspicious, but the same thing could be said to them. He then summoned a Keyblade and pointed at them. "Gah!! H-H-He's going to attack us! He's going to attack us!" Victor said, trembling behind Agni. "Put that weapon away or else!!" Ignitio took his gunblade out and pointed at the young man. "You're not helping! Put that blade away at this instant!" Agni ordered him and Ignitio obeyed with a "tch".

"I'm sorry for my brother. We didn't come here to fight you, we came here to aid you and your people against the Heartless. Would you mind telling me your name, sir?" Agni asked.

@Gentlemanvaultboy@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Letter Bee

Georgia looked between Hirtula and Victor, cat like smile on her face from their opposite descriptions of great Britain. "I think I'll plop my assessment down in between y'alls: In my experience Britons are absolute madmen in the best possible way. They love swords, hate dragons, and don't know what the word fear means. All in all, pretty awesome."

Despite the danger of the mission she was actually feeling pretty good during the transport ride. It felt almost nostalgic, being dropped deep inside enemy territory. True, she had never been sent in as an assassin before but she had killed some evil guy while looking in on some unknown creature. She rationalized that this was just that flipped on its head: she'd get to see some new heartless strains and, as almost an afterthought, they'd kill Hitler.

Snopes curled up in the corner, stripped of his big harness in order to give him full range of movement if he needed. She wasn't worried about him. As much of a goofball as he was at leisure he knew when it was mission time. Even now she could see he wasn't really resting, his eyes cannily sweeping the room for danger from where his head resented on his forelimbs.

She looked up when the brothers introduced themselves. They were on to something. Who knew when everyone would be in one room like this again? With all the new arrivals she wasn't rightly sure who she'd told her name to already. May as well take advantage "I'm Georgia, Cryptozoologist. I discover creatures that don't exits. That's Snopes." She said, and jerked her thumb at Snopes who raised his head at the mention of his names. "He's my clever boy, been with me since I was a little girl, and probably the best partner you could ask for."

---

As the boy squad exited the ship over London she turned her thoughts to what. Asher had confided in her last night. She had never really been into the hippy-dippy "all things in the university connected in a kalidoscopic energy field" brand of psychic powers, but there was one thing she'd picked up: dreams were never really just dreams, especially if someone was communication with you in them. She knew from personal experiance, more than a few times she'd woken in a cold sweat when Indrid's grinning ghoulish face had popped into her head to relay some important information. So she took for granted that this "Usagi" girl was real. Whether or not she was really on their side was what was up for debate. She wanted to ask him if he'd had another dream, but decided against it. He'd told her that in confidence, and ambushing someone in front of other people was a good way to lose her only source of information on this new development.

Instead she turned to the task at hand as they approached Berlin. "All right, as stoked as I am about this I would really rather not go to war with the entire German army. So, how do we get in without them seeing us?"

@MagusDream@Nerevarine@ShadowVentus@Double@Shoddy McCoy

BGM: Good Morning

The sounds of knocking woke Vic from his name. He sat up on the bed and rubbed his eyes. As soon as he realized someone was knocking he jumped from the bed and quickly went to answer the door. When it opened, Vic didn't see anyone at first, at least not until he looked down and saw the Moogle looking up at him.

"Morning, kupo! We're here!" it seemed like the same Moogle Vic talked to earlier. Just as he was asked, he was coming to wake Vic, "Kupo, I think Tocsax wants to see everyone in the meeting room, better get over there, kupo!" the Moogle didn't stick around long, he probably had other duties to intend to. So Vic was left alone to his own devices for now.

He closed the door and retreated back into the room. Vic stood in front of the mirror and did his best to get rid of his bedhead hair. For a moment he sat down on the edge of the bed, but stood back up when he felt something pressed in his pocket. He pulled it out and smiled to himself. It was an old, worn baseball cap, red in color. Inside the cap was another object, flat and round, white in color and depicting a blue lightning bolt in the center. That's right, he remembered these. They were from home. His mind went back to the morning before the attacks started.

BGM: Love Theme

"You ready for school?" Mom asked, her warm smile filled with love and comfort, "Good. Dad's already left for work, so now it's your turn to get going." she watched Vic grab his bag and the brown lunch bag before he took off for the door. Without really thinking, she stopped him, "Hold on." she started rummaging through one of the drawers, "Now let's see here... ah!" she produced an old red baseball cap and gave it to Vic, "This used to be your Dad's. He always said it brought him luck, so maybe you can use it too?" she knelt down a bit and put the cap on the boy's head, "And this is from me." she presented a white badge that she pinned onto the cap, "It's a charm that'll help keep you safe. What do I mean?" she winked at him, "Well, you'll just have to keep it and see for yourself. Okay get going, Hun or you'll be late! Love you!" Vic waved back at her as he ran off to catch the bus.

BGM: With My Father-in-Law

"Hmm..." Vic stared at the cap for a long moment, before nodded to himself. He put the cap on his head, looking himself in the mirror to make sure it fit him right. As for the badge, he left it pinned to the cap, just like Mom had fixed it that morning. He didn't know if Mom was serious about the cap bringing Dad luck or the badge protecting him. It didn't matter either way, these were the last two things he had from home, and that alone was enough for them to mean the world to him. But even so, he supposed it wouldn't hurt to give them a try. Who knows? Maybe they would bring him some luck and protection? With one last smile to himself, Vic clenched his fist and nodded to himself in the mirror with determination. Then he left the room, having a meeting to get to and not wanting to be late.

BGM: SeeD

The briefing went well, or at least Vic thought it did. He wasn't accustomed to this sort of thing so all he could do was make assumptions. There was some introductions, though Vic stayed quiet. Talking to one person was hard enough, much less a whole room full of them. According to Tocsax, they were splitting into 3 teams. One team would go to Germany and defeat a man named Hitler, while another team would go to Russia and do the same to a man named Stalin. Vic had never heard of either men or the places, but the descriptions made them seem like exceptionally bad people. Finally, the third team was go to Britain and recruit the person Tocsax said was a "Princess of Heart" and her bodyguard. Well, the first two assignments seemed pretty frightening, and Vic always wanted to meet a Princess... so he filed himself into the third group. It also helped that Agni was in that group as well and he was one of the only people in the ship that Vic could feel any level of comfort around.

So he followed Agni and his brothers. They chatted a bit but the teams were quick to part ways afterward. Still keeping quiet and to himself, Vic found himself on the transport taking the third team to Britain. It was a short trip, so Vic found himself standing in London proper in what felt like no time at all.

But almost immediately, the team was set up and threatened by a stranger with a Keyblade. Another person who could summon one without the help of any friends? Now Vic was sure there was something he was missing in terms of how all of this worked, but he'd have to figure that out later. For now, the mission needed to be the primary. concern. Ignitio was quick to fire back with a threat of his own, but Agni and Victor seemed able enough to reel him in. As for Vic, he still didn't say anything. He did, however, glance nervously between the team and the stranger. He really hoped not to fight anyone, which was of course the fourth reason he chose this group over the other two. Their mission sounded like it had the least amount of fighting of the three.

"...Um..." Vic started, but shut himself up quickly. Never in his life did he ever feel so out of place than right now.

Golden eyes scoured the sea of darkness, the little needles of light she produced with the help of her glyph managing to keep most of the similar eyed monsters from overtaking anything. It was only when she saw the bout of movement that Capella looked over to the sacrifice, a sense of relief tugging a her features to see that he was okay. She wasn't quite expecting the Keyblade however, as she couldn't help but give him a very pleased smile. Although they had just met, she already felt some camaraderie with this man for sharing a similar weapon.

"Brother?" The star child repeated, following the other's Keyblade to the the beast still wrecking havoc on anything that got too close. "Th-That's your brother?" She managed to stutter out, brows furrowing as she looked between the two for any sort of resemblance. She had no reason to doubt the other, but s-still! The quick, but much appreciated, thanks was returned with a slight nod of her own, her free hand reinforcing one of her glyphs that happened to be losing power. Handling these little dark creatures would be easy for her, especially since she had some experience with them prior. She found her eyes moving between Audry and the man however, worried that both of their opponents would somehow get the slip on them.

The man was being thrown back by his brother, the former's attempts to get the later's attention were working out in his favor, but ironically enough putting him in the danger he expected. Confusion was written all over the star child's face when the sacrifice decided to withdraw his Keyblade. From what she saw, he didn't have an other weapon on him, so what was he planning to do? The blonde and teal haired girl found her jaw slaking at the sight of what she thought was his Keyblade disappearing, it instead shifting into a completely different weapon entirely; a whip of some sort? She'd never heard nor seen Keyblades having the ability to change forms back home, so this was definitely something she'd need to look into if the could get out of this in one piece...

Capella attention quickly moved back to Audry and a threat she knew firsthand would be problem. Audry and Rago traded blows of varying degrees, some connecting while others just barely missing. It looked as if Audry was steadily beating the man, had it not been for his wounds being healed by magic. Was that how he managed to survive before? But if that were the case, why hadn't he healed himself back then and come after her? She gritted her teeth knowing she couldn't go in and help the other since she was busy with these pesky monsters. She had a part to do in this, and if she left that task to aid another, it could prove disastrous in the long run, so Capella remained where she was, empowering her glyphs with the swing of her blade.

Before she knew it, the creatures that initially felt never ending began to retreat. Tired eyes following their path to Malachi, who was also taking his leave. Good, this was good. If he was leaving, that meant Rago was probably going with him. However, that still left that man's brother in their hands. Seeing as there was no time to really come up with a plan on her own, the young woman flew over to the two brothers, arriving at the same time Audry had. She didn't look too good, but with such a big threat in front of them, she'd have to wait.

Capella remained behind the man, unsure if he even wanted anyone else to help him or not. Regardless, she remained on standby, fingertips glowing in case she needed to act.

Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

"Well that was convenient."

Astus had just formed a psychic link between him and Yuuta. As soon as he did, however, his instincts caused him to lurch back. Yuuta wan't drunk anymore, he was unconscious. It would be safe to assume that he was safely sleeping in the shuttle. Learning from someone this skilled at spellcraft would only benefit the trickster god.

"Let us do what we must do. Afterwards, we can do nicer things, like sit down together and talk about the state of the Multiverse. Wouldn't you like that?"

Astus found himself smiling. So far, everything was going at his own pace. He hadn't sensed anyone else on the ship who could form psychic bonds like him (aside from that kid named Vic, though it didn't make that much of a difference, he had potential though). All he had to do was to determine which side of the conflict he would support. As for Yuuta, he wasn't worried at all. He'd watched him out of curiosity back then. It was amazing how he managed to survive on sheer luck and stupid determination.

---

Moscow, Soviet Russia, Ongoing World War II

Yuuta woke up in a luxury suite. There were Lazy Boy couches, woolen mats, and a chandelier that could eternally pay him out of debt. The only thing that seemed odd was the huge dent in one of the room's walls. His back was aching and the rest of his body refused to cooperate with him, but hey, things sure did take a turn for the better, didn't they? Yuuta walked over to the door, expecting it to open to a well-off subdivision where he could finally find peace.

What greeted him was an arrangement of demolished buildings bathed in fire. He looked back and realized that he had recklessly hopped on a Gummi Shuttle, which had crash-landed in the middle of a war-torn city.

He closed the door with a thud and tried to make sense of his surroundings. The unmistakable stench of blood strangled Yuuta's nose, triggering an unpleasant chain of memories. For a moment he wandered around aimlessly until a huge-bodied, wide-shouldered Russian man passed him by. He scrutinized Yuuta's face, from the squint of his eyes to the sharpness of his chin.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Yuuta Yuudai. Have I seen you somewhere?"

The giant Russian man raised his hand. Within seconds, Yuuta was surrounded by a group of smaller Russian men.

"We've got a Jap here, comrades! Lets rough him up!"

This confused Yuuta, who, easily being the least responsible of Tocsax's men, did not read up on Original History. "Hey, what's a Jap?"

"Don't play dumb, boy! From your name to your face, you're obviously a Jap!"

"Threaten me one more time and I'll rip your arms off and shove them up your ass."

The giant Russian clenched his fists, but before he could head off into his inevitable death an older Russian man signaled for him to stop and took out a propaganda leaflet with Emperor Hirohito's face on it. "If you're really not Japanese, then would you be okay with stepping on this poster?"

Yuuta went and stepped on it. This caused all of the Russian men to scream in shock.

"It can't be!", shouted one of them. "Damn, this spy's a really good one!", screamed another. The old man raised his hands up, signaling for everyone to be quiet. He then took a rifle out and with godlike accuracy honed from shooting Nazis while riding bobskis in the winter, shot a bullet that grazed Yuuta's cheek.

"Damn!"

"Guys, is "damn" a Japanese swear word?"

"Not quite, they say things like "baka" and "chikusho"."

"If that's the case, then he isn't a Jap." As the old man spoke, the other men came to realize the purpose of the tests that he'd been running on Yuuta and that Yuuta wasn't Japanese, despite having an uncanny resemblance to one. They put their weapons down and begrudgingly walked back to their makeshift dwellings, one of which was an abandoned tank. "Sorry young man", said the old man, "We just really need to be careful here. Those Nazis have recently gained a foothold in Moscow, we've seen those creatures that they employ storm the Kremlin. It all happened so quickly, we don't even know how."

"I don't understand half of what you just said."

"Are you some sort of caveman?"

"No. What I do understand is that this country or state or whatever it is is getting invaded. That Kremlin place seems really important, and the Nazis, wait, I think I know who they are!"

As soon as Yuuta finished, an army of Heartless came out of nowhere.

Gummi Ship Renovation's Might, Renovation

"I'm glad you're not offended," said Tocsax to Astus. "And as for the state of the Multiverse, sure."

He then opened a portal to where the Keyhole was, close to the volcano of Mount Etna, Sicily. Going through the Corridor of Darkness, Tocsax would chant a small, "Mass Protectga," to protect both him and Astus from what awaited beyond - Which was a group of two dozen soldiers in Power Armor, holding out strange weapons of polished metal that Tocsax would reveal to be, "Laser and Plasma Rifles, how droll if you think that'd affect me. By the way, I have a new friend," he gestured to Astus, "Who can detect the various soldiers in Chinese Stealth Suits that you no doubt plan to use to get behind me..."

London, England, Extended World War II

"My name is Judah ben Isaac," said the trenchcoated young man. "And if any of you sterotype me as a greedy miser because of my race and because I do need the Munny from Heartless to take care of myself and other poor people in the city, you will all suffer. As for 'helping' me against the Heartless, I will only allow that if you give me all Munny you earn from fighting with them or other foes."

He draws back his Keyblade but does not dispel it until he notices Vic's presence, after which he makes it vanish. Then, without a care in the world, he goes to the fourteen-year old and pats him on the head.

"Hey, kid, you these guy's apprentice?" His mood was shifting now, Vic can feel it. A few more moments and Judah's mood became friendlier as he looked at Agni and said, "All right, I trust you four now - Provisionally." Gesturing to a mechanic's shop a few feet behind him, he says, "That place is where I live - I provide security services to Lucille 'Lucy' Bolt, a person whom the Moogles Keep calling her a 'Princess of Heart' but I don't know why. I mean, she's kind even to Jews like me but she's not exactly high-class if you know what I mean..."

Judah leads them into the shop, where a young blonde woman, barely eighteen, was just repairing an Army truck. He then called out unless interrupted, "Hey, Lucy! We've got visitors!"

Berlin, Germany, Extended World War II

Berlin was most obviously not a city of metal shacks, but it was empty nonetheless except for Heartless and Nazis. The concrete buildings were filled with silence, with even rats, cockroaches, and other vermin completely gone from the area. As the Gummi Shuttle hovered over it, hopefully hidden in the clouds, all three Keyblade wielders would see anti-aircraft guns and patrols of flying Heartless - Air Soldiers, mostly. But it seemed they were not noticed yet - None of them had drawn their Keyblades, after all...

@Double@Gentlemanvaultboy@Ryteb Pymeroce@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine@Shoddy McCoy

Now Playing: We’d best prepare for combat, just to be safe

@MagusDream

Upon entering the aircraft alongside the brothers, Asher adorns his usual smile when Victor addresses him, followed by a general introduction by the trio. “Agni, Victor, and Ignitio Blackheart. I’ll be sure to get that memorized. As for me, well, you can refer to me as Inu, for now. May Lady Luck smile upon you as well. However, I think you’re more than covered with Ignitio at your side.” While he had no immediate reason to be suspicious of them, these siblings weren’t his first encounter with royalty. There were very few people in his world that had possessed that much power and were truly kind souls, so he could not help but feel the need to be cautious and give them his codename for now.

@Nerevarine@Gentlemanvaultboy

After bidding adieu to Team Royal, Asher turned to face Georgia and Hirutila as they were now overhead their destination. “If our goal is to seamlessly infiltrate the enemy, I suggest we do things my way and take a more stealthy approach. While quiet movements may be nigh impossible for our armor-wearing fellow here, we can at the very least avoid being detected by the Heartless so long as we avoid summoning our keyblades. As for the human targets..well, while I have no qualms eviscerating our quarry, there are some soldiers out there that aren’t doing this out of their own free will. If you have any doubts, confide in each other. You’ll know the right choice then.”



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now Playing: Memory

Location: ???

Amidst the deepest waves of sleep, Morgan plummeted ever further still, the darkness wrapping itself around her until suddenly, a flash of light emits beneath her. Upon her entering this light, her drowsiness begins to wear off. The memory of what had just transpired rush back to her, and cause her to immediately jolt up, only to find that she was sitting on the shore of a place that despite never being here before, felt all too familiar. The moon shines brightly amidst the vast sea laid out before her. The night sky was so clear that the stars could be seen reflecting against the water below.

“Greetings, milady.”

She gingerly turns her head towards the voice that spoke to her, greeted by a man dressed in a white coat, the hood shrouding his face. He smiles at how calm she is, approaching her at a normal pace.
“I’m impressed you’ve managed to maintain your wits. My name is Inari. As my guest here, on the Lunar Shores, it is my duty to attend any needs you may have. It has been quite some time since I’ve had someone here. However, that will not stop me from performing my job to the utmost extent.”

Morgan analyzes him as he speaks, trying to get a read as to what kind of person he is. Unfortunately, before she could begin asking her own set of questions, a sudden fiery pain began making its way through her body, starting at her throat, and surging towards her stomach. She clutched these areas, gasping in pain.

“Oh my, that’s a shame. It seems we will have to continue this another time. Farewell, Morgan. Do try to stay alive until then.” With those parting words, the world around her begins to distort, this pain ripping her from this dream-like state.

Location: Abandoned House, Occupied Paris

Now Playing: La Cloche

@Ryteb Pymeroce

Morgan’s eyes shot wide open within seconds of intaking Zane’s “potion”. She began to produce a sound akin to someone simultaneously gasping for air and crying out in pain.

“Whoever..did that...will pay…” She rasps out, clutching her throat as she desperately tries to regain her composure. Taking a look at her surroundings, her eyes fell upon the armored individual nearby, causing her to backpedal and back herself against the wall in a feeble attempt to put distance between her and this newfound stranger. “I suppose..this was your doing..” She remarked in between breaths.

[color=8dc73f][/color]Occupied Paris, Abandoned House

@ShadowVentus

"Oh right... you're human." Zane said, crushing one of the frost shards into a glass of water, "Sorry, I'm used to making potions for my partner. Fire Saints like the heat. Here, drink this, it should help your throat. Would offer you some honey, but it seems we're in a warzone."

Zane put the glass down, making sure to seem non-threatening... well, as much as you can while being clad in a suit of armour. Taking a seat in one of the non destroyed chairs, he began to explain.

"My name is Zane, I'm sort of an involuntary world hopper due to a bit of curse magic from a dark god. Jokes on him though, I ripped off his jaw. I've been stuck jumping between heartless invasions for nigh on six months now.
"I dropped in on your world to find one of the Black Coats attacking you. Those guys are freak'n evil. I think they wanted to turn you into a vessel of something or other, not sure of the details, but I took umbridge to that. I was forced to retreat by forcing the world hop early and dragging you with me. Sorry about that, the Inbetween is not a habitable place. Currently we're on a world about 500 years further ahead than yours... in Paris."

BGM: Satellite Café Terrace

"My name is Judah ben Isaac," said the trenchcoated young man. "And if any of you sterotype me as a greedy miser because of my race and because I do need the Munny from Heartless to take care of myself and other poor people in the city, you will all suffer. As for 'helping' me against the Heartless, I will only allow that if you give me all Munny you earn from fighting with them or other foes."

"I see. Well, it's a plesure. I'm Agni Blackheart and these are my brothers, Victor and Ignitio." Agni shortly presented themselves. "The last thing we want is to cause you trouble, so don't worry. As for the... munny, I don't think we'll need it. For now, at least. If we need to use it, it'll be out of necessity." He said. "H-He's not going to kill us... right?" Victor asked. "Warn me if he hurts you. He will see what is pain." Ignitio commented. "We're trying to make an alliance here, don't go making this worse for us, idiot!" Agni whispered.

But almost immediately, the team was set up and threatened by a stranger with a Keyblade. Another person who could summon one without the help of any friends? Now Vic was sure there was something he was missing in terms of how all of this worked, but he'd have to figure that out later. For now, the mission needed to be the primary. concern. Ignitio was quick to fire back with a threat of his own, but Agni and Victor seemed able enough to reel him in. As for Vic, he still didn't say anything. He did, however, glance nervously between the team and the stranger. He really hoped not to fight anyone, which was of course the fourth reason he chose this group over the other two. Their mission sounded like it had the least amount of fighting of the three.

"...Um..." Vic started, but shut himself up quickly. Never in his life did he ever feel so out of place than right now.

He draws back his Keyblade but does not dispel it until he notices Vic's presence, after which he makes it vanish. Then, without a care in the world, he goes to the fourteen-year old and pats him on the head.

"Hey, kid, you these guy's apprentice?" His mood was shifting now, Vic can feel it.

Agni giggled a little. "Hehe... as much as I would like to take him under my wing somehow, he's not my apprentice. He's Vic, a friend of mine." Agni said. "Wait, his name is Vic? *gasp* We share the same name! Or at least part of it!" Victor said, happy. "I think you two are quite similar. The only difference is that he's younger than you." Agni spoke. "I hardly find them to be equal. Victor is a prince and he is just... a human boy." Ignitio spoke. "Hey, human discrimination is wrong! I'm human too, you know. Stupid Ignitio..." Victor pouted. "W-What did I do now?!" He questioned.

Ignoring his older brother, Victor went towards Vic and leaned down a little to look directly at him. "Hi! My name's Victor, kinda like you! Can we be friends?"

A few more moments and Judah's mood became friendlier as he looked at Agni and said, "All right, I trust you four now - Provisionally." Gesturing to a mechanic's shop a few feet behind him, he says, "That place is where I live - I provide security services to Lucille 'Lucy' Bolt, a person whom the Moogles Keep calling her a 'Princess of Heart' but I don't know why. I mean, she's kind even to Jews like me but she's not exactly high-class if you know what I mean..."

They immediately found out the Princess of Heart they were looking for. However, Agni felt as if they needed to gain their trust before they could even (try to) explain the situation to Judah and Lucy. Still, he had to be honest with him about their duty. "I see. I don't understand much of the concept, but from what I gathered so far... I believe the term 'Princess of Heart' doesn't exactly mean royalty of wealth but royalty of spirit. Her nobility towards all might classify her as a Princess of Heart." He tried his best to explain. "Mr. Judah, I believe we should speak with you about what we came here for. If I'm to be honest, our mission has a slight concern to Ms. Lucille, so I believe we should talk in particular. As her guardian, you have the utmost right to know and honesty is fundamental in a conversation." Agni said.

Judah leads them into the shop, where a young blonde woman, barely eighteen, was just repairing an Army truck. He then called out unless interrupted, "Hey, Lucy! We've got visitors!"

As they were led to the shop, Judah called Lucy. As she came outside, Ignitio began to question again. "She... is the Princess of Heart?" Ignitio asked. "If we follow what Mr. Judah said, then yes." Agni said. "H-Hello, miss!" Victor greeted her.

"Trust me, there's no one down there you have to feel bad for." Georgia said, before turning and calling to the pilot. "Pull back and set us down somewhere outside the city. We're going it quiet."

---

As she stepped out into the cool night air of the German countryside Georgia she took a moment to just enjoy it. After all, it wasn't as though she'd never been deep in enemy territory looking to do something really inadvisable before. Snopes stood at her side, nose lifted in the air. A near constant snuffle sound came from it's nostrils. She looked down at him, watching his reaction intently. The raptor cocked it's head in confusion, and Georgia narrowed her eyes. "What do you smell boy? Smell?"

Snopes just shook his head from side to side, which got an eyebrow raise from her. He was confused, she could tell that, and as she listed she could get an idea why. There was no noise around here. No chirping of crickets or the croak of toads, the only thing rustling the grass and bushes being the breeze. "There's nothing." She said in slight shock. 'There are no animals around. There aren't even bugs."

She leaned down to her partner and took his head in her hands, trying to shake off the eerie feeling that had crept up her spine. "This is good." She said, unconvincingly. "Smells are just gonna stand out harder, won't they boy? You smell anything coming you tell us, right?"

Snopes growled lowly and batted the road twice with his tail in responds. That got a nod from Georgia, who stood back up. "He'll tell us if we're about to have company. We probably shouldn't approach from the road, but if we take our time we can find a spot that's unguarded to slip in."

@ShadowVentus@Nerevarine

Moscow, Soviet Russia, Ongoing World War II

The motley crew of Russian men was a mess. They scurried around, trying to find suitable positions to take aim at the Heartless, only to find out that those monsters were ridiculously sturdy. Antonov (that silly man who would've gotten his arms ripped off and shoved up his ass if not for elder Ramirov) had chosen to throw caution to the wind and shoot those beasts with his nifty submachine gun. He soon caught the attention of a Heartless soldier, who despite having been showered in lead, still managed to approach the giant Russian man. Antonov pulled out a combat knife and prepared himself for the inevitable struggle, only to see the Soldier get crudely ripped apart by the pseudo-Jap that he had interrogated earlier.

"Thank you for your assistance. My apologies for my rude behavior earlier."

"When did you start being so formal?"

"I have a major in Russian Literature. It got me nowhere."

The Soldiers kept on going, forcing the Russians to move further away and take cover in the ruins of demolished buildings. Yuuta didn't budge as he killed Heartless after Heartless in the most efficient way: punching them in the face. His hands were beginning to bleed, adding to the many shades of red that painted the burning city. He was used to this, though, there was a time when all he did was punch people in the face. Antonov ran out of a nearby tent with a wide grin on his face. "Comrades, man the machine guns!"

The deafening sound of machine gun fire filled the battlefield as the Heartless were eviscerated by smoking lead. A cluster of Heartless was blown apart by a riveting blast from the abandoned tank, now being manned by Ramirov. The Heartless were tough, however, and the Russians eventually ran out of ammo. The tents in which they stored their supplies were far away since they had to fall back. A cacophony of shouts accompanied the appearance of a Large Body Heartless.

"Quiet down! The battlefields already noisy enough."

"What do you think we should do then?" said Ramirov as he inched out of the tank.

"Watch."

The wind began to blow and the ground started to crack as every ounce of ki this hostile place could generously offer Yuuta rushed into his body. He felt his muscles twitch and his head ache as the struggled to keep up the stance he took to facilitate the entry of ki into his body. His body then began to move on its own, ignoring Yuuta's own will and forcing itself into another stance. He then put all of his focus into moving his body. His muscles violently scraped against each other like rusty cogs as he held his hands up to strike. In an instant, he thrust forward, giving the massive Heartless an equally massive punch to the face. The sheer impact of the punch sent the abandoned tank skidding away. Needless to say, the Heartless died. Yuuta wanted to scream in pain, but he kept himself quiet.

"What on the green face of Earth was that?"

"Magic."

The Russians regained their composure and started to move back to where they stared: the tents. Ramirov scuttled over to Yuuta. "My comrade, you've shown unsurpassed prowess in combat today. I am not one to seek help from strangers, but desperate times call for drastic measures. Yuuta, you've shown me that, in choosing to fight alongside us rather than flee, you value justice above all else. The Kremlin has been besieged, and our great leader Stalin may be dead by now. I need you to fight alongside us in the guerrilla movement that we will partake in."

Yuuta wanted to scoff at the line "great leader Stalin", but these burly men had helped him fight. He only had bad memories of war, but part of him missed having bonds with comrades forged in the fires of war. These men did not deserve his prior disrespect.

"I've got a better idea. Where's the Kremlin?"

Ramirov pointed to the Kremlin. Well, not exactly the Kremlin, but the direction in which one would find the Kremlin.

"Alright, I'm going to go there and do what I just did earlier to whoever started this." The Russian was about to warn him, but he was abruptly cut off. "I can actually do those explosive punches at a rate of three hundred per second. I can also punch even harder. I can punch at the force of, let's see, one of those atomic bomb thingies. I can pick up continents and throw them into space. God challenged me to an arm wrestling match once and I came out alive. All you should do is get out of here before those things eat you alive."

Yuuta was lying. The elder could sort of see that, but in good faith he nodded anyway.

The former child soldier then began the long and harrowing journey to the Kremlin. As he got nearer, the debris was replaced with pieces of charred corpses, then those pieces were replaced by charred corpses. The glaring red of fire and blood was everywhere in sight. The sight of such madness would've made a sane person turn back and walk away, but Yuuta had a mission to fulfill.

He stepped into the Kremlin, coming face to face with a demon sitting upon a throne of flesh and blood.

"Why hello there."

@Ryteb Pymeroce

---

Near Mount Etna, Sicily

Astus immediately went to work, putting the soldiers to sleep. Their armor was sturdy, but they had no protection against a direct mental assault. Most of the soldiers were simple people, in fact, one of them was considering having spring chicken for dinner. He felt some hostile presences nearby, but he didn't mind

"Now tell me, what are our teammates going to do? Could you also give me a quick rundown on them? Fun facts are encouraged."

@Letter Bee