Seeing that Hoshi was well on her way to safety, Aerith a one-eighty and faced down the incoming wave of Shadows stalking down the alley towards her. She planted herself firmly against their pressure, drawing her Wizarding Staff. She prepared to mount her offensive when a loud cry stole both her and the Heartless’ attention. In a shine of blue light, the charge of the Heartless seemed to slow, as if time itself were dragging. A large frame stood between her and the Shadows, turning to reveal the face of a… duck… with humanlike proportions.
“Damsel?” Aerith questioned with her trademark tone of sincerity. A blast behind the duck person took out one of the Heartless. The sluggish movement of the swarm had lifted, and their pace quickened back to normal. “Look out!” She sidestepped the duck. With a twirling flourish of her staff, she sent forth a Tempest, pushing the Heartless back, destroying the one at the head of the charge. She raised her staff, and on command, a bolt of lightning struck down, reducing a few of the Heartless to vapor.
“HIIIYAA!” Another voice erupted from the far end of the alley way. A massive, energy-infused throwing star struck a retreating Soldier Heartless to its immediate demise. Yuffie emerged from around the corner following her own attack. “Uh… We’re good here?” She looked around at the scene, darting between Aerith, the tall, broad-shouldered duck, and the short, blonde, canon-wielding person.
“Yeah.” Aerith said, nodding. “I’m Aerith,” she continued, turning to Launchpad. “And that’s Yuffie. And don’t worry, you won’t need to go around saving either of us. Right now we need to work on securing this District.” She looked at Leon and Yuffie. “Yuffie and I will clear out the gate to the First District. Can you two clear a path to the Gizmo shop?”
”Huff. Huff. Huff.
Whether it was the lack of sleep, the constant running, or both, Hoshi was finding it hard to breathe. Short inhales and forced exhales played her soundtrack as she cut down Heartless en route to the Third District. Yet somehow, she still managed to push herself with bursts of speed; the well of power within her was deeper than she’d have thought. In the distance behind her, she heard the battlecry from Launchpad, and a blast and explosion she guessed was Leon’s doing. But she didn’t turn back to look, much less return to their fight; Aerith had seemed capable enough, and had told her to get to safety anyways.
Single-minded on getting to the First District, she kicked open the doors to the Third, emerging onto a small terrace overlooking a neon-lit square. She stopped by the set of steps leading down to the square, and hunched forward, trying to claim enough air to continue pushing on. The strain on her lungs eased steadily, and pulled herself upright using her Keyblade as a crutch to aid the effort. She was still draining herself, but the respite, however brief, had given her the strength to push the last leg.
She turned to descend the steps, but stopped short when she heard a welcome, familiar voice from below.
She peaked over the ledge, and her face lit up in pure relief. “Levi!” She gasped out. At least one of her friends had made it; he had even gotten his own Keyblade. Hoshi vaulted over the ledge, and dashed toward the skirmish. She rushed forth, ignoring a pair of Soldier Heartless that knocked into each other as she sped between them. She swung her Keyblade hard into the backside of the large, rotund Heartless just as it set itself up to charge at Levi.
The Large Body stumbled forward a step and turned to face its new assailant. Hoshi wasted no time, winding up into a follow-up swing. Her Key connected, but bounced back like a ball off of a brick wall. Hoshi fell back, spinning about to slay the Soldiers from before in an awkward maneuver of opportunity. Regaining her ground she looked at the Large Body, which had started angrily stomping and flailing its arms. “Hey! I think its back is its weak spot!” Hoshi called around to Levi.
“Urgfh.” Leon’s feet scraped back as he blocked a hard strike from a Soldier. He followed quickly with a retaliatory strike, piercing through the Heartless with his Gunblade. He squeezed the trigger, sending a pulse through the blade that ripped through the Soldier, reducing it to particles. A pair of Shadows closed on him, but he stepped back, the two falling at his feet, and slew them with a downward slash. “Oh no you don’t!” He threw an open hand towards the side that Zack was working out of. A fireball shot through the air, melting away a Blue Rhapsody before it could send a Blizzard spell at his friend. “Got you!”
Suddenly, a force from his other side knocked him into the side of the Gummi ship. When he recovered, a Large Body glared down at him. “Looks like they have some heavy hitters this time… Zack! How’s the repair coming?” Leon struck the front of Large Body, falling back with the recoil. Making sure he had the Heartless’ attention, he circled away from the ship. He evaded a body slam from the Large Body, slashing away more Shadows before they could reach Zack. “Starting to get a bit hectic out here,” he added.
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