Disney Castle, General Quarters

 

“This is General Jason Schindler, Leader of what remains of the Light Armed Forces, signing out for what may be the last time.”

 

With a click and a sigh, Jason Schindler ended his personal diary to an electronic recorder that was in his hand. A red light blinked three times on the small handheld instrument before going dark, signalling the instrument’s offline status. Not a moment too soon, the war weary leader heard a knock on the bedroom door. “General?” the muffled voice informed, “You’re needed in the throne room.”

“I’ll be there, Snider.” He coolly replied back. Looking out beyond his rather cozy and luxurious bedroom through the ornate window, the general couldn’t help but feel conflicted at the sight of the azure blue sky. It looked comforting, but he knew better; beyond the sea of tranquil blue was a hostile place, and the thought of the ever encroaching darkness only made his heart sink just a little more. His anxiousness was reinforced as he witnessed a squadron of aircraft fly past, marking the end of one watch shift and the beginning of the next. I wonder what His Majesty has in mind to turn this tide of war?

 

Meanwhile… Out in the Courtyard of Disney Castle…

The large passenger doors of the angular transport ship hissed open as the craft made a gentle touchdown in the rather beautiful garden. The warm, bright sunlight flooded the compartment, illuminating the valuable cargo inside: People. But not just any people. No, this transport was special. Within the metallic walls of the ship were some of the remaining Forces finest warriors. They had stayed back at the frontlines, fighting tooth and nail to buy their comrades the time they needed to evacuate the desperate civilians off the falling worlds of Traverse Town and Radiant Garden. These people witnessed the atrocities of the darkness first hand; some were powerless to stop innocent lives being taken away in front of their eyes, others were simply too late. Whether the sights had affected these people remained to be seen, but it was clear that many would never be the same after the traumatic events that had transpired within the past three days. It is here that we find Captain Sean O’Malley, Keyblade Master Ohr, Lieutenant Mors, and Lieutenant Armis skirting the edge of the passenger compartment, and a platoon of soldiers standing right behind them. Every single one of the soldiers had a blank expression; none of them bothered talking to their superiors during their transit from the fallen worlds to the safe haven of the castle.

 

As the engines quieted into an a low, idling drone, a tall, well built man in what looked to be like keyblade armor approached the ship. His short, blonde hair glowed in the sunlight as the short blue cape that was attached to his left armored pauldron fluttered in the downdraft of the ship. “Welcome to the Castle!” the armored man saluted to the newcomers. His piercing green eyes were quietly assessing the veterans, checking for the tell-tale signs of lingering distress. “I’m looking for some specific individuals, directly from command. If there is a Captain O’Malley, Lieutenant Mors or Armis in this transport, proceed towards the briefing room. It’s down the hall over there, directly across the door that leads into the throne room.” He noticed Ohr’s outfit, and immediately recognized what he was. “Master, as a wielder of the keyblade, you’re needed in there as well.”

 

 

Elsewhere on the Castle Grounds...

The remnants of the 7th Radiant Garden Air Force Wing, Talon Squadron finished their aerial patrols around the castle. As a replacement flight took to the skies, Talon Squadron entered the Castle Hanger and taxied to their respective holding bay. As mechanics swarmed the still idling down aircrafts, it is here where Basilia is stationed, where her skills are vitally needed and put to effective use. A short time after the aircrafts had completely shut down, several marines entered the large, cavernous room. Their heads were turning everywhere, obviously searching for something as they combed the area. Some approached the mechanics that were scattered around the hanger bay, and after being pointed in the right direction, made a beeline towards Basilia. “Hey,” one of the marines greeted, “You’re Basilia right? You’re needed in the briefing room immediately. You can follow me if you don’t know where that is.”

Edited December 2, 201410 yr by Javelin434

Ohr filed out of the ship with the rest of the soldiers, his duffle with his few personal effects slung over his shoulder. He was considering which he wanted more, something hot to eat or a place to nap. He tried not to think about the sinking feeling he had started feeling when he and the rest of the soldiers were evaced off Radiant Garden. He had seen worlds lost before, but he considered the lives he helped save more important then land. But now, there was no where else to go. Disney Castle was it. If this place fell, that was going to be it for all the lives he had saved.

Groaning inwardly, Ohr pushed he fiftith analyzation of the situation aside in his mind. Confident that he'd be thinking of little else if he tried to nap now, he decided on trying to find some hot food.

"Master, as a wielder of the Keyblade, you're needed as well." Said from what looked like another Wielder.

Ohr paused for a moment, replaying the moments before he was addressed in his mind. O'Malley, Mors, and Armis. Interesting.

"Gotcha." Ohr responded, giving the armored man a two fingered salute with his free right hand.

While a little tired and hungry, Ohr perked up as he headed towards the throne room. Considering the situation, he doubted that this meaning would be a simple debrief. And he was more then ready to have something to do.

Seraphina turned from her work on the current aircraft and turned to the soldiers. Her cheek smeared with a bit of oil, beads of sweat going down her forehead due to the heat of the engines. She stood quiet for a few seconds, analyzing what they had just asked of her. “…the briefing room you say? Oh don’t tell me, we’re going to have tea and cookies while we discuss how this war is going to end up causing an economic crisis aren’t we?” Seraphina asked, her sarcasm all over in that sentence. Yup. They had found the right person. She turned to one of the buckets, spitting bitter tasting saliva into it before crossing her arms, in one hand holding a clipboard. “Though, I’ve never gone to a briefing room before. Now that I think of it I haven’t left this room in quite a while. When did I last sleep? I don’t think I’ve showered in a few days either.” To say she was a workaholic was little. She’d take any orders if it meant that it would give her son refuge in the safest place possible, the Disney Castle base. She bobbed her head back down as she turned to the marines. “Right, I think I can use some AC. Lead the way losers.” Seraphina said as she handed the clipboard over to one of the other engineers. She waved her hand at the marines, and followed them to the briefing room. “(If this brief has anything to do with my kid needing to ‘be sent to a normal refuge’ they’re going to get a thing or two from me.)” Just as she followed the Marines, her com ran up. She answered, “Juniper?” “Hey mom! Came to report in!” Her attitude drastically changed. “How’s my cutest and most precious wittle prince doing?”

Within the doors that our heroes were being directed towards lies the briefing room: An amphitheater-like area within the castle that was specifically outfitted for war. The semicircular, six-tiered seating arrangement were equidistant from a rather plain-looking, pristine white, waist-high circular platform that was at the center of the room. Standing around the platform were three individuals, all of whom were wearing the formal military outfit; complete with a thick officer’s belt that wrapped around their waist and looped over their right shoulder, and with their officer caps adorning their heads. The first one’s uniform was all black, save for the white dress shirt that was showing through the service jacket and the white belt strap, with a crimson, heavy duty looking braided cord loosely wrapped around the left shoulder. The second one’s uniform was all white, with a dark blue cord wrapping the left shoulder and a jet black cord on the right. The last one’s uniform was all dark blue, again save for the white dress shirt, and having a golden cord loosely wrapped around their left shoulder. The one in white was visibly distressed, with the others looking down at the blank white platform, frowning and respectfully keeping quiet.

 

It is in this room that we also find Sanya sitting in one of the seats; she had arrived early, thanks in part to the fact that she was on the castle grounds for a while before . More specifically, due to the nature of the current situation, the trio of formal military men had pulled her out of the brig for war crimes nobody would want to talk about. Aside from the girl, scattered around the seating area were heavily armored soldiers. Some were asleep, others were quietly talking to one another, and a serious looking soldier with short jet black hair and soothing deep green eyes was quietly cleaning his newly issued ASR-25 arrow-rifle.

 

“I… I can’t believe his majesty is asking us to do this.” The one in white finally stammered, balling one of his hands into a fist as it shook ever so slightly.

“We have no choice, General.” The one in blue sighed in response.

“It was bound to happen sooner or later, sir.” The one in black quietly added in. The trio of formally dressed military men quietly waited until everyone who was summoned to the room arrived and were properly seated...

 

Elsewhere... The jaded marines tasked with escorting Seraphina took no offense to the casual insults being hurtled by the technician; they had other things to worry about other than their ego. It was a short walk from the hanger bay to the door in question, and once they arrived, the marines quietly stood in the middle of the grand hallway and nodded at the door. "The briefing room is in there." one of then informed.

Behind the group, another marine came running up to them. "Guys!" he breathlessly exclaimed, "MP has finished their census on civilians. They're posting all the names in the Courtyard!"

As the speedy runner bolted off, the remaining two marines looked at one another, scared that their family member's names wouldn't be on the bulletin. But curiosity got the better of them as they slowly walked off, leaving Seraphina to enter the briefing room by herself.

Edited December 5, 201410 yr by Javelin434

Seraphina narrowed her eyes slightly at the announcement of the census. More civilian casualties. By the end of today more tears would be shed. "(By the end of this war, there won't be any generations left.)"Seraphina thought. She remembered her first loss, her father. They were able to bring his body back for a proper funeral at their home world. The next loss was her mother, younger sister and twin daughters. The world was swallowed whole by darkness. Not a single soul survived. Juniper had been brought with Seraphina and Romeo that day to be seen by a special doctor for Juniper's asthma, sparing him from the death. The three of them were a wreck that day. Next was her brother, who they couldn't even bring a body to bury, as it had been ravaged by the heartless. Only his dog tag. Last but not least was Romeo, her beloved husband. He was actually killed in a scouting mission when he was ambushed. The worse part was that she was meant to go on that mission, but Romeo insisted on taking her place. He was buried quickly with the rest in small marked graves. "Watch out for your health, dear. Always keep your inhaler with you. I've got to go. Bye." Seraphina talked as she hung up. Juniper, along with others, were training in case of emergency. They weren't soldiers, but they ran all around helping with what they could. "(I hope you didn't lose anyone.)"She thought, thinking for a moment of the worried marines. She would have to see how they were later. Entering the meeting room, she was surprised to see high ranking soldiers sitting around. She could tell by their uniforms. "(That's strange, I'm not usually invited to join any of these guys in meetings. Just the transportation and weaponry department.)" She shrugged off the thought, even as it peeked her curiosity. Clearing her throat, she waved lightly as she walked in. "Good evening, everyone."She said in a moderate tone. If anything she felt out of place, seeing how she was dirtied up from working on the vehicles compared to other's clean uniforms, but just as easily as before, she shrugged it off before walking around, finding the seat that had the tag with her name on it, and sitting down, laying back on the chair as she raised her boots and rested them against the desk in front of her rather comfortably.

Captain O'Malley strode through the doorway of the briefing room. Hmph, more angry officials. There seemed to be more and more of those every day. He nodded to the young woman already making herself comfortable in the room. He found himself a seat, and before taking it for himself, swung his axe off of it's resting place on his back, and leaned it upon the chair. Sitting with it on was absolutely terrible! Almost worse than a narwhal on a stormy day. Meanwhile, Ager and Milas walked through the halls, having gotten themselves lost. Ager walked calmly, hands wrapped behind his head. Milas on the other hand, walked with anger, like the hallway had made something personal. Ager yawned, and spoke up.

"How did we manage to lose that nice young private that was showing us the way to the briefing room?" 

"Did you forget already? You scared him off for a laugh." Milas replied.

"Oh yeah, that's right. I wish it had been funnier."

"So do I." 

They meandered around the hallways, attempting to find this elusive briefing room, until finally, they found the immaculate white room, with several people seated and present. Milas punched Ager in the arm.

"Oh! What the hell was that for!"

"Now we look bad! What if we don't get the mission for looking like imbeciles."

"Then I'll be very very sad. I doubt that would happen though. If they were looking for us then they already know that we're not exactly formal." And with that, Ager walked into the room, Milas following shortly after.

Sanya yawned and looked up, playing with her hair as she messed with her headphones. She looked at the new arrivals, eying them with a trained eye. Trailing Seraphina at first, the girl looked upon everyone, and soon enough closed her eyes to listen to her music. The last few inches of her hair turned rainbow colors to the beat of her music, making her seem like a walking rave. She mostly ignored everyone, but had two soldiers behind her. Their shoulder patches showed they were MPs, and probably there for a special reason.

 

Sanya yawned to herself, waiting for the meeting to start. This was boring already. She almost missed the brig - no, no, she actually didn't. She missed the warm bed and warm body she had shared a few weeks ago, but when you take the duty officer off duty, well, they get pissy.

No, General's daughter was left alone. No, had to be the duty officer. God, first Ice Queen Hartman being, well, the Ice Queen, then this?

Sanya sighed. Suicide missions. Why was her salvation offered in probably damnation?

Ohr walked into the briefing room and scanned the occupence. He had been guessing at what this meeting was for, and the way the brass was talking around the plateform put to rest some of the options. So, some sort of last offiensive? Probably one in a million chance. But that suited Ohr just fine. He planned to go out swinging, and if that swing was in the cause of ending the Heartless threat, that suit him just fine.

He picked a seat next to Captain O'Malley, dumped his duffle in it, then took the seat on the otherside of it from the Narwhal Hunter.

"What you think?" Ohr asked, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head. "'Once more into the Breach'?"

With everyone finally gathered in the briefing room, some more humorously than others, the three formally dressed military members turned to face the small seated crowd in the room. The lights in the room dimmed, and the pristine white circular table in the center of the room started to glow. “Good afternoon ladies and gentleman,” the one in white calmly started, “For those of you who are unfamiliar with me, I’m General Schindler, Supreme Leader of the Light Armed Forces. Before we get this briefing started, I personally wanted to say thank you to everyone in this room for your selfless actions on the battlefronts on the distant worlds thus far.” His determined blue eyes swept the room, glancing at everyone. His gratitude was genuine, and his confidence in the newly assembled company showed through a tiny smile on his face. “You’re the best that the Armed Forces have, and I'm sorry to say that we need you once more to carry out this new mission, ordered directly from his majesty himself.”

 

The tiny smile on the general’s face flattened out into a more serious look. “The three of us have collaborated on the best course of action to accomplish this impossible mission while maximizing our chances of winning and minimizing our chance of defeat. With that, I will be handing this briefing to your actual commander.”

 

WIth the end of Schindler’s opening announcement, the man in black and red stepped forward and faced the seated audience. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen!” he saluted, “Field Commander Jacob Snider here! Its nice to see some familiar faces!” Sadly, his slightly upbeat voice ended there as he cleared his throat and sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, seeing familiar faces when they belong to other worlds is not a very good sign. As you may have noticed with all the different world residents in this room, the situation is rather grim. We’re on our last leg and we’re running out of time.” Snider paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, before continuing. “The worlds of Destiny Islands and Twilight Town are overcrowded with refugees. Almost all available forces are stuck with military police duties as they try to maintain order and ration food and water. However, scholars have warned us that all food supplies are depleted, and even with the most stringent rationing measures, we’ll be able to sustain the current population for about three more weeks, and that’s an optimistic estimate. Couple that with the fact that it is only a matter of time before sanitation becomes an issue, well it’s not that hard to see that we have a crisis on our hands.”

 

Around the room, some of the soldiers were anxiously shuffling in their seats. “I’ve called you all here because you’re the best bet of accomplishing this crucial mission. We’ve been tasked with executing Operation Blind Cobra. The mission: retake Traverse Town.” The soldiers were looking at each other with fear, others with shock. “I know what you’re thinking, but we have no choice. The only remaining option aside from a last ditch offensive is to start losing people to starvation and disease.” The field commander audibly gulped; the idea that all the darkness had to do was deny any territory victory for the light in order to conquer the remaining worlds was a very depressing reality for the young leader. He took a deep breath before continuing, “With this crucial objective in mind, this is why all of you were summoned here.” Above the pristine white, circular platform, a holographic projection of Traverse Town flickered into view, floating ever so carelessly behind the commander. “For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Traverse Town is actually a sizable city that thankfully covers up only a quarter of the world. The rest is mainly empty lands that is perfect for agriculture, which necessitates the decision to strike this world first.”

 

At this point, the man in blue with the golden cord stepped forward to address everyone in the room. “Hello everyone,” he gruffly started, “Admiral Levi Chandler, Commander of the Navy reporting. As Snider has already said, we've been tasked with taking back Traverse Town. However, before we can even step foot onto the world, there is a major problem that needs to be addressed.” The holographic projection of Traverse Town started to shrink until it was about the size of a fist, and now revealed a massive armada of heartless vessels of various shapes and sizes surrounding the world. “This problem to be exact,” the admiral stated matter-of-factly, “but we have a quick and easy solution to that. Basilia, your task will be to retrofit several transports stationed here in the castle to penetrate this armada and give everyone in this room a straight shot to the world. As such, these transports will need to be fitted for speed, so feel free to dismantle some of the fighter crafts in the hanger for their engines. Oh, and since its your handiwork, you’ll be flying one of them onto the world. Master Ohr and Master Bishop, I am aware that your keyblades are capable of turning into gliders, but it is not anywhere near as fast as our slowest transports, and I would suggest both of you take a ride in one of them if only to punch through the armada. If all of you land safely and manage to complete your objectives on the world, I’ll be able to safely divert Task Forces Saber and Lancer from defense duties to take care of this nightmare and hopefully assist all of you.”

 

As the holographic projection zoomed into the city, Snider’s voice started to change ever so slightly; Anyone familiar with the officer knew this was the part where things got technical. “Alright, now for the ground operation. Traverse Town is divided up into five districts. Your objective is to secure and lock the keyhole that is located in the second district. For all of you in this room, your initial deployment zone will be the first district. Captain O’Malley, since you’re one of the best pilots in the Force, you, along with Basilia, will be flying a transport and need to land just outside the walls of the First District, since that is one of the few areas that can accommodate a transport the size of the one we have in the hanger. Once you’ve landed, from there, push the attack into Second District. Keyblade Master Ohr and Master Bishop, this is where both of you come in. After ringing the bell atop the Gizmo Shop three times, one of you will need to seal the keyhole in order to deny the heartless the chance to regenerate on the world. Once the keyhole is secured, Forces Saber and Lancer will commence their assault, with several specialized transport units dedicated to invading the Third, Fourth, and Fifth District. For the rest of you, once the keyhole is secured, your remaining objective will be to clear up the heartless infestation in the first and second district until the place is completely sanitized of heartless. Mors, Armis, your task will be to divert attention away from the keyblade masters as they attempt this highly critical objective.”

 

The officer then turned to ‘O Malley. “Captain, since you are not only the best pilot, but also familiar with water based heartless, you will be tasked with clearing out the waterways throughout the town, but we recommend doing that after  the keyhole is sealed. Start with the access point in the Alleyway by the Second District and work from there. Be advised, scouts have reported shortly before the loss of the world seeing ‘fat water pigs with long horns on their heads’ swimming there, and scholars are assuming they are heartless narwhals. We’re hoping you’ll be able to take care of them with ease.”

 

After addressing the pilot narwhal hunter, the commander turned his attention to Seraphina. "Basilia, aside from the task of penetrating the heartless armada with a retrofitted transport, you are also tasked with reactivating the defense network for the town. The headquarters for the system can be found within the walls that separate the First and Second District. It'll help ease the burden of combat on everyone, however this is not a mission critical objective. You are more than welcome to attempt it though."

 

General Schindler added in to the briefing. “To all of you in this room, don’t worry about the other districts; all you have to worry about is sealing that keyhole. If you fail, it would only be a matter of time before the heartless concentrates on all of you and wipe you out. I know what you’re all thinking: Why not do an orbital bombardment to weaken the heartless that are occupying the place first before our boots hit the ground? I wish it was that easy, but even if we were able to obliterate the armada in time to assist all of you, for the sake of humanitarian efforts and future sustainability of our population, it is imperative that collateral damage be kept to a minimum. This is a precision operation, with no leeway if one of you were to fall. With this in mind, I’ve assigned some of the best squads, armed with a new, experimental rifle, to accompany all of you.” With their reason of being in the room explained, all of the soldiers perked up a little. “Master Ohr and Master Bishop, since you're Keyblade Masters, I need the two of you to lead Nightwing Squad. They’re all keyblade initiates and need a master to guide and train them, but they’re are also proficient with the new rifles if things go bad. O’Malley, I’m assigning Aquarius Squad to you, since they’re accustomed to aquatic environments. Seraphina, since you’re more of a mechanic than a fighter and will be flying and landing on the world, Polaris and Firestorm Squad has been tasked with your defense. Armis and Mors, with your task as a distraction, I’ve assigned Spooky Squad to be under your command just in case any one of you decides to deviate from your task and need to directly help the others. They’re all there to help you, and if things take a turn for the worse, they’re all tasked with prioritizing your survival above all else, and for a good reason: You're all on your own until that keyhole is sealed.”

 

The general sighed quietly, praying that the lives of his best soldiers were in good hands. “If we win, not only will this solve our imminent crisis of overpopulation, but would also be the morale boost we all desperately need to rally everyone back into the ferocious fighting spirit shown at the beginning of this conflict. However, if this mission fails and we lose all of you, then this offensive will be the final nail in our collective coffin. The operation begins in eight hours, so rest up if needed. Basilia, you might want to get started on the transport modifications in the meantime. If there are no further questions, suit up and get ready. Best of luck, and may the light guide you to victory. Dismissed.”

 

Just as the briefing was being concluded, two soldiers opened the door and peeked in, directly eyeing the three high-ranking men. As the trio looked at the intruding soldiers, one of them waved a letter at the group. Snider walked over and took the paper from them, then quietly read the contents to himself. After a short while, the commander yelled in bewilderment, “You’re kidding right? We’re sending a bookworm to the frontlines too?!” “What?!” the other two commanders asked, just as shocked.

“Sager Marron has been assigned to this mission… Because he wants to join.”

“Oooooohhh…” Chandler giggled, “This will be interesting.”

 

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

On the occupied world of Traverse Town, it is here that we find Xoth. He was in the Third District, standing in the middle of the atrium. Around him, the floor was a sea of black, with thick, deep-purplish wisps of darkness emanating from it. The sky was dark, with the only illumination in the place being the few lights that were miraculously lit despite the abandoned and failing infrastructure. The place was eerily quiet, save for the gentle breeze blowing through the town.

Edited December 12, 201410 yr by Javelin434

Seraphina heard everything that they were told, and by the end of the meeting she remained in a slight state of shock. She sat and pondered for a while, wondering if she had heard it right. “(We’re finally going to take a step in recovering a world?...are they nuts? This is basically a suicidal mission!)” Seraphina thought. Sure, the Keyblade Wielders wouldn’t have much problems against the heartless. But those who didn’t wielded a keyblade would. However she agreed that they needed to start taking back territory. If it kept how they were going, with the lack of food and supplies, eventually cannibalism might would become a last resort. However that was only in a very extreme case. “…well then. I better get going.” Seraphina muttered as she stood up. Seems mother and son time would have to wait. “(It also appears I’ll be sharing seats with the captain. As long as he doesn’t crash the ship we should be fine!)” Seraphina thought to herself. She walked down from her seat, turning her gaze to the captain sitting in his seat. “I’ll ready the ship. If there’s anything extra that you would want on the ship, come and see me at the ship bay.” Seraphina said as she saluted the captain with the two finger salute and made her way to the ships.  She was quick to reach it there and saw the others engineers working with the aircrafts. In order to make these ships resistant she decided she would not only need the engines, but part of its attack mechanisms to add as well. She whistled, gaining the attention of a few comrades. “Listen up. We’re going to recycle these air crafts over here. I’ll need your help to extract the engines, and beams to attach to the major air crafts for the mission. We’re using every bit of these to make the other crafts strong enough to keep the crafts from reach in one piece. Let’s go.” Seraphina explained as she snapped her fingers at the end of her sentence, quickly walking over to one of the spare air crafts and starting to take out the useable parts along with the rest. “(Speed will mean nothing if the ship can’t take the hits of what we’ll be ramming. I'll also need to get myself my AI for the security system.)” Seraphina thought as she made a mental plan of what exactly they would use and where it would go. Leading on, the engines and other usable parts were removed and replaced. The engines were wired to give extra boosts to the ships. The extra scrap metal would be bent into a ram in front of the ships to push any enemies out of the way. The extra ammunition and weaponry would be re-attached to the ships and hopefully used to help the troops once they do land. Today would be a long, long, long day. She could feel it.

Ohr slowly stroked his beard as he listened to the briefing, a smile slowly forming on his face. The plan was rather desperate and insane, but doing nothing was worse. Only having two Keyblade Wielders for the mission was unfortunate, but with the losses the Light had been suffering, perhaps it was luck that there were any wielders left. He glanced over at Sanya Bishop. He only knew her in passing, so he wasn't sure how well they'd work as a team.

"Catch up in a bit." Ohr said to O'Malley.

Getting up, He walked over to Sanya, giving the two MPs behind her a nod.

"Every time I hear about you, you seem to be in trouble." He said as he sat down next to the other Keyblade Wielder. "What was it this time?"

With the assembled group of soldiers and heroes formally dismissed, the commanders seemed to loosen up just a little; all except for Commander Snider. After grumbling to himself for a few seconds over the fact that a bookworm has decided to join the fray, he slowly turned to face one of the squads in the audience. "Nightwing Squad, C'mere for a moment." he gestured, and the four young adults clad in keyblade armor responded quickly. They assembled in front of the commander, and the man with yellow trimmings on his armor gave a crisp salute. "Squad Reporting, sir!"

"Relax, Nightsparrow." Snider quietly replied, averting his gaze towards the ground. "There's something that I have to tell you. It’s regarding your friend..."

 

Meanwhile… At the Disney Castle Hanger

 

Around the hanger, soldiers and marines were briefing the many pilots on what was about to happen. Lining the perimeter of the immense hanger bay were mostly fighters and bombers, with several gunships for point defense. They were all the cream of the crop of airframes, and it comes as no surprise that these crown jewels of aircrafts would be stationed at Disney Castle. There was the Nosferatu, a gunship with more engine and fire power than any sane commander’s wet dream on an ideal day. There was also the wyvern, the flagship rapid response fighter craft that originated from Radiant Garden, whose trump card was maneuverability and ability to respond to any call anytime, anywhere within a reasonable timeframe. Finally, there was the Fenrir, the experimental aircraft that originated from Twilight Town whose special weapon just so happens to be a directed laser cannon system [The folks at R&D on the world swore it was for defense against the darkness...]

 

Sitting smack dab in the middle of the bay were three transports, all waiting to be retrofitted for the seemingly suicidal mission. As the mechanics turned their attention to Seraphina, the proud pilots who were being briefed by the marines on what the genius mechanic would do protested loudly at the new information. “She’s gonna do what to my ship?!?!” one of them screamed, “Why would anyone authorize frankensteining several transports for a stupid mission like that?!”

 

“It’s our last chance.” The marine calmly replied back, “Like it or not, it’s gonna happen. So if she’s looking at your ship and wants to dismantle it… Well I’m sorry.”

“Who authorized this?!”

“General Schindler, Commander Snider, and Admiral Chandler.”

“Well I’m gonna have a word with those three hotshots! I always knew top brass would always be out of touch with reality, but this is crossing the line!”

 

As the angry pilot stormed off with a crumpled briefing letter in his hands, The remaining soldiers tried their best to reason with the rest of the pilots. Some were happy with the idea, since having no aircraft to pilot meant that they no longer needed to worry about being called into action. Others were worried that the commanders had lost their marbles, and more still quietly fumed at the new directives. As the pilots were dismissed, one of them walked straight up to Basilia. “This had better be worth it,” the airwoman seethed, “I’m not liking the idea of being several aircrafts short if the damn heartless show up at our doorstep.” As the pilot walked away, one of the soldiers came up to her. “Basilia, Squad Leader Blaze reporting. My squad was assigned to you for this mission. Sorry about the commotion, but we had to let the pilots know about destroying some of their favorite toys.”

 

The Nosferatu:

 

The Wyvern:

 

The Fenrir:

 

Aaaaaaannnnnnnddd The Transports:

Edited December 19, 201410 yr by Javelin434

 Seraphina couldn’t help but to smirk a bit to the pilot’s reactions, especially those who were freaking out about it. Turning to Blaze, she spun a wrench in her hand. “No worries. It’s fun to see them complain over the ships than over the fact that if we don’t do this, they’re all going to be dead too.” Seraphina stopped the spinning and watched as the ships were carefully dismantled. “Tell them that if we make it back, I’ll fix their ships back to their original condition. Right now. We need to make sure the transport lasts five minutes into the atmosphere.” With that Seraphina went back to work. The ships were stripped of their metal outsides and used to reinforce the transports against hits. Every engine was added to increase the speeds. Every gun and weaponry inside of it was added for offense. Even the smallest things such as radars, seats, cockpit crystals and buttons were added to have soldiers sit, aim and shoot from different sides of the ship. “If we’re going to have someone take over where the ship is going, we’ll need a few soldiers to handle these extra guns. They will serve to shoot heartless out of the way and lessen the density of them on the ship.” Seraphina explained as she sat in one of the extra cockpits added and looked around. “It’s just like a fighter yet, except you don’t control where you go. You control what you shoot.” Seraphina crawled back out as she wiped sweat off her forehead. “(I really hope that this lasts until we can land.)” She wasn’t worried about dying. She was more concerned about leaving Juniper alone.

As the little boy run at the corridor towards to the briefing room, Marron manage to arrive but unfortunately,didn't get to hear the speeches that has been concluded just a moment ago. "Oh dear, looks like I miss the important speech!" Marron shocked,as he began to approach Commander Snider,where the only Commander was present. "Nice to meet you Commander! My name's Marron of the Little Sage,the one who assigned the mission from Radiant Garden. I'm really sorry about my late appearance..." Marron said as he bow to him with respect...

As the little sage entered the briefing room, the trio of commanders turned and, upon seeing who it was, immediately saluted. "I can't believe you're wanting to do this," Snider sighed as he dropped the formalities, "but I suppose one more wouldn't hurt. Don't worry sir, I'll get you briefed on this mission." As the ever faithful ground commander went over the battle plans, the other two generals were quietly talking to each other, trying to spot any holes in their battle strategies and suggesting ways to counteract them.

 

Several minutes passed, and now Marron was briefed on the entire operation. "Any questions, sir?" Snider asked, "If not, I would suggest taking this time to prepare for the invasion. You're gonna need it. We're all gonna need it."

 

---

Meanwhile... in the hanger...

 

Leader Blaze smirked at Seraphina's remark. "I highly doubt they'll believe you, but-" his sentence was interrupted by another squadmate of his.

"Blaze!" a soldier in white came running up to the leader, completely out of breath.

"Yes?"

"Sorry for not being... in the briefing room. Names of all surviving refugees were posted in the courtyard!"

He started to worry, and it showed on his face. "So... any good news?"

"I guess. Scorch and I found all our family member names. Etain is still searching for hers."

At this point, the leader gulped heavily and slowly turned to Seraphina. "if you'll excuse me ma'am, I'm gonna go check for my family." Before walking off, the squad leader addressed his second in command. "Phoenix, meet Seraphina. We've been tasked with her defense for this operation."

The soldier nodded in understanding. "Pleased to meet you, miss. I hope you know what you're doing with these transports. Since, ya know, we're gonna be riding these things in... 6 hours."

Seraphina gave a nod at Pheonix, before turning to the modifying transport, watching it being prepared for what has been considered a suicide mission. “I hope I know what I’m doing too. If I die in this, my son will be all alone.” Seraphina said, playing with her ring underneath her glove. He was all that was left for her, and she was all that was left for him. Either of them died, it would devastate the other. If it wasn’t for Juniper, Seraphina would’ve hung herself in her room, or simply put a bullet in her own head. “I’m doing what I can. I can’t promise that everyone who goes into this mission will return. I can’t promise that it will be a success. I can’t promise that we will be able to reclaim the world. But do know I’m doing my best.” Seraphina said, bluntly stating what she was thinking. She didn’t show it, but she was rather nervous about the whole thing. Every possible case scenario played in her mind over, and over, and over. "If you happen to see that narwhale captain, tell him to get over here to check if the captain's post within the ship is up to his standards." With that, she walked over to the transport, walking inside of it to assure that everything was in place and that the additional firing stations were properly added. Everything had to be perfect. A single screw up and they would all go down in darkness.

Miles glanced Ager.

"Get all that?" She asked him. He nodded. He had gotten it. He smiled a toothy grin at his old friend.

"We're gonna go kick some ass." He said.

"There was more to it than that." She pushed. He laughed.

"Okay, we're kicking ass on Traverse Town. That better?" He responded. She gave him a ghost of a grin, and stood up.

"Sure is." She sauntered her way out of the briefing room, heading somewhere. Ager had no clue. She was probably going to go do something productive with what could be her last day on a world that appreciated a good conversation. He sighed. Nearby, Captain O'Malley stood up. He gripped his Battleaxe, threw it into the air, and caught it again. He placed it on his back, and pulled his vest back into position. He glanced to Ager.

"You gonna sit around and let 'er run off like that kid?" He asked. Ager looked up to O'Malley, and gave a single laugh.

"I was planning on it. What, you gonna give me some sage advice from the old man of the op?" Ager asked in reply. O'Malley shook his head.

"Nah, this old man doesn't have much advice in the department you're headed into. This old pirate though," O'Malley began, digging around the inside of his coat. He pulled out an old brown bottle, with a cork in it. He slammed it down on Ager's table. "He has a drink for ya. Maybe it'll help ya change yer mind. If I were you, and I died t'morrow, I'd regret letting a piece o' ass like that get away." He said. Ager bolted to his feet, grabbing the collar of Sean's scarf.

"It ain't like that, Gramps." He growled. Captain O'Malley began to laugh.

"'Twas a joke matey! Just an old codger messing with a young un for the last time 'fore he lays his weary old head to rest." O'Malley protested, his voice sure, and still laughing a tad. Ager let him down. O'Malley brushed his coat off. "But, since ya reacted so strongly, then I suggest drinking ' some a' my courage tonic, and taking a long hard look at yerself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a replacement fer that bottle, and prepare meself for some of the narstiest creatures in this universe. Heartless narwhals. Has me shaking in me socks already." O'Malley said, as he walked away. Ager watched the pirate walk away, and sat back down in his seat. He grabbed the bottle and uncorked it. He gave it a sniff, shrugged, and drank some.

Seraphina gave a nod at Pheonix, before turning to the modifying transport, watching it being prepared for what has been considered a suicide mission. “I hope I know what I’m doing too. If I die in this, my son will be all alone.” Seraphina said, playing with her ring underneath her glove. He was all that was left for her, and she was all that was left for him. Either of them died, it would devastate the other. If it wasn’t for Juniper, Seraphina would’ve hung herself in her room, or simply put a bullet in her own head. “I’m doing what I can. I can’t promise that everyone who goes into this mission will return. I can’t promise that it will be a success. I can’t promise that we will be able to reclaim the world. But do know I’m doing my best.” Seraphina said, bluntly stating what she was thinking. She didn’t show it, but she was rather nervous about the whole thing. Every possible case scenario played in her mind over, and over, and over. "If you happen to see that narwhale captain, tell him to get over here to check if the captain's post within the ship is up to his standards." With that, she walked over to the transport, walking inside of it to assure that everything was in place and that the additional firing stations were properly added. Everything had to be perfect. A single screw up and they would all go down in darkness.

 

Miles glanced Ager."Get all that?" She asked him. He nodded. He had gotten it. He smiled a toothy grin at his old friend."We're gonna go kick some ass." He said."There was more to it than that." She pushed. He laughed."Okay, we're kicking ass on Traverse Town. That better?" He responded. She gave him a ghost of a grin, and stood up."Sure is." She sauntered her way out of the briefing room, heading somewhere. Ager had no clue. She was probably going to go do something productive with what could be her last day on a world that appreciated a good conversation. He sighed. Nearby, Captain O'Malley stood up. He gripped his Battleaxe, threw it into the air, and caught it again. He placed it on his back, and pulled his vest back into position. He glanced to Ager."You gonna sit around and let 'er run off like that kid?" He asked. Ager looked up to O'Malley, and gave a single laugh."I was planning on it. What, you gonna give me some sage advice from the old man of the op?" Ager asked in reply. O'Malley shook his head."Nah, this old man doesn't have much advice in the department you're headed into. This old pirate though," O'Malley began, digging around the inside of his coat. He pulled out an old brown bottle, with a cork in it. He slammed it down on Ager's table. "He has a drink for ya. Maybe it'll help ya change yer mind. If I were you, and I died t'morrow, I'd regret letting a piece o' ass like that get away." He said. Ager bolted to his feet, grabbing the collar of Sean's scarf."It ain't like that, Gramps." He growled. Captain O'Malley began to laugh."'Twas a joke matey! Just an old codger messing with a young un for the last time 'fore he lays his weary old head to rest." O'Malley protested, his voice sure, and still laughing a tad. Ager let him down. O'Malley brushed his coat off. "But, since ya reacted so strongly, then I suggest drinking ' some a' my courage tonic, and taking a long hard look at yerself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find a replacement fer that bottle, and prepare meself for some of the narstiest creatures in this universe. Heartless narwhals. Has me shaking in me socks already." O'Malley said, as he walked away. Ager watched the pirate walk away, and sat back down in his seat. He grabbed the bottle and uncorked it. He gave it a sniff, shrugged, and drank some.

Within the confines of the Disney Castle Hanger...

 

Despite the adept mechanic's sobering remark, Phoenix managed to keep a straight face. "Just do whatever you can, and ask the others if you need help." The fiery rifleman scanned the hanger and quickly noticed the angry pilots. "Don't worry about them. We'll keep them away from you if they get anymore frustrated." With Seraphina doing what she did best, Phoenix decided it was best to proactively prevent any mishaps from the pilots as he stood guard near the mechanic with his newly issued experimental rifle slung across his back and arms crossed.

 

It was a short while later that Leader Blaze and another squadmate reappeared. "Scorch reporting, ma'am!" the red-headed man saluted, "Sorry about not being here earlier. Had personal stuff to take care of." Blaze was smiling halfheartedly at his friend's introduction, his mind clearly on something else. "I hope the pilots haven't been much trouble for you."

 

Back at the briefing room...

 

Admiral Chandler and General Schindler weren't exactly impressed with Captain O'Malley's vulgar remark, nor Ager's fiery outburst. "I really hope this isn't a big mistake," the general addressed to Snider, "are you really sure about this selection of troopers?"

Snider sighed heavily before addressing his superior. "They're not good at first impressions, sir. But by golly can they fight. Isn't that what matters in the end?"

"Don't take this the wrong way Snider, but I really do want to see you live through this battle." 

"I didn't think you'd care, sir." The field commander sarcastically retorted.

"Well then. It's your funeral." the Admiral added before walking over to Ager. "Mind if I have a swig of that 'courage tonic?' Something like that sounds pretty useful right about now."

 

Following O'Malley were the four girls of Aquarius Squad. "Captain?" the leader known as Brooke calmly asked, "Is there anything you wish for us to do? If not, I wanted to ask if we can get some rest before the upcoming mission. We haven't slept in thirteen hours." Driving the point home, one of her squadmates yawned, and the other two visibly exhausted. "We just got off sentry patrols, sir."

 

[Depending on if the others are gonna posts, I might have to fast forward things a bit ]

Drops of oil covering her cheeks, Seraphina gave a nod. "They've behaved." She said, remarking on the pilot's attitudes. She closed the door to what she was working, sealing it tight before sighing. "...It's done." Seraphina said as she stood up. The transport had been transformed, technically. Seraphina started to explain. It had reinforced protection on all sides, all facing back in order to reduce friction. A bow was added to the front, assuring to slam any heartless out of the way first before they are able to make contact with the ship. There were now around five engines, providing enough power to move the ship rapidly while carrying it's capacity's worth in soldier weight. Small pods were added to the top sides, along with guns and firing equipment. Designated pilots would sit in these and shoot at any up coming threads, or shoot any leeching heartless off the ship. The entire first two floors of the ship were solely to hold soldiers. The third and last floor would be the control room. There were two huge doors on either side of the ship, that would only open with the designated code from the control room, allowing quick exits to the troops and avoiding having them cornered against the ship. When these would open it will serve as a slide for the soldiers of the first floor to exit, and the second floor's floors would quickly extend a slide of it's own, in an angle it would not interrupt the slide below, and would allow soldiers from the second floor to exit without a problem as well The only windows were the ones of the control room, and from the pods that would be used for offense. By the time Seraphina finished explaining what was added and how she planned for it to work, she felt a bit dizzy due to talking without a pause and quickly took a seat. She couldn't smoke in the hanger, due to the danger of having a spark set the place on fire. But she shrugged the urge off. "Hopefully it will do." Seraphina stated with a sigh.

With everyone finally gathered in the briefing room, some more humorously than others, the three formally dressed military members turned to face the small seated crowd in the room. The lights in the room dimmed, and the pristine white circular table in the center of the room started to glow. “Good afternoon ladies and gentleman,” the one in white calmly started, “For those of you who are unfamiliar with me, I’m General Schindler, Supreme Leader of the Light Armed Forces. Before we get this briefing started, I personally wanted to say thank you to everyone in this room for your selfless actions on the battlefronts on the distant worlds thus far.” His determined blue eyes swept the room, glancing at everyone. His gratitude was genuine, and his confidence in the newly assembled company showed through a tiny smile on his face. “You’re the best that the Armed Forces have, and I'm sorry to say that we need you once more to carry out this new mission, ordered directly from his majesty himself.”

 

The tiny smile on the general’s face flattened out into a more serious look. “The three of us have collaborated on the best course of action to accomplish this impossible mission while maximizing our chances of winning and minimizing our chance of defeat. With that, I will be handing this briefing to your actual commander.”

 

WIth the end of Schindler’s opening announcement, the man in black and red stepped forward and faced the seated audience. “Hello, ladies and gentlemen!” he saluted, “Field Commander Jacob Snider here! Its nice to see some familiar faces!” Sadly, his slightly upbeat voice ended there as he cleared his throat and sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, seeing familiar faces when they belong to other worlds is not a very good sign. As you may have noticed with all the different world residents in this room, the situation is rather grim. We’re on our last leg and we’re running out of time.” Snider paused for a moment to collect his thoughts, before continuing. “The worlds of Destiny Islands and Twilight Town are overcrowded with refugees. Almost all available forces are stuck with military police duties as they try to maintain order and ration food and water. However, scholars have warned us that all food supplies are depleted, and even with the most stringent rationing measures, we’ll be able to sustain the current population for about three more weeks, and that’s an optimistic estimate. Couple that with the fact that it is only a matter of time before sanitation becomes an issue, well it’s not that hard to see that we have a crisis on our hands.”

 

Around the room, some of the soldiers were anxiously shuffling in their seats. “I’ve called you all here because you’re the best bet of accomplishing this crucial mission. We’ve been tasked with executing Operation Blind Cobra. The mission: retake Traverse Town.” The soldiers were looking at each other with fear, others with shock. “I know what you’re thinking, but we have no choice. The only remaining option aside from a last ditch offensive is to start losing people to starvation and disease.” The field commander audibly gulped; the idea that all the darkness had to do was deny any territory victory for the light in order to conquer the remaining worlds was a very depressing reality for the young leader. He took a deep breath before continuing, “With this crucial objective in mind, this is why all of you were summoned here.” Above the pristine white, circular platform, a holographic projection of Traverse Town flickered into view, floating ever so carelessly behind the commander. “For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, Traverse Town is actually a sizable city that thankfully covers up only a quarter of the world. The rest is mainly empty lands that is perfect for agriculture, which necessitates the decision to strike this world first.”

 

At this point, the man in blue with the golden cord stepped forward to address everyone in the room. “Hello everyone,” he gruffly started, “Admiral Levi Chandler, Commander of the Navy reporting. As Snider has already said, we've been tasked with taking back Traverse Town. However, before we can even step foot onto the world, there is a major problem that needs to be addressed.” The holographic projection of Traverse Town started to shrink until it was about the size of a fist, and now revealed a massive armada of heartless vessels of various shapes and sizes surrounding the world. “This problem to be exact,” the admiral stated matter-of-factly, “but we have a quick and easy solution to that. Basilia, your task will be to retrofit several transports stationed here in the castle to penetrate this armada and give everyone in this room a straight shot to the world. As such, these transports will need to be fitted for speed, so feel free to dismantle some of the fighter crafts in the hanger for their engines. Oh, and since its your handiwork, you’ll be flying one of them onto the world. Master Ohr and Master Bishop, I am aware that your keyblades are capable of turning into gliders, but it is not anywhere near as fast as our slowest transports, and I would suggest both of you take a ride in one of them if only to punch through the armada. If all of you land safely and manage to complete your objectives on the world, I’ll be able to safely divert Task Forces Saber and Lancer from defense duties to take care of this nightmare and hopefully assist all of you.”

 

As the holographic projection zoomed into the city, Snider’s voice started to change ever so slightly; Anyone familiar with the officer knew this was the part where things got technical. “Alright, now for the ground operation. Traverse Town is divided up into five districts. Your objective is to secure and lock the keyhole that is located in the second district. For all of you in this room, your initial deployment zone will be the first district. Captain O’Malley, since you’re one of the best pilots in the Force, you, along with Basilia, will be flying a transport and need to land just outside the walls of the First District, since that is one of the few areas that can accommodate a transport the size of the one we have in the hanger. Once you’ve landed, from there, push the attack into Second District. Keyblade Master Ohr and Master Bishop, this is where both of you come in. After ringing the bell atop the Gizmo Shop three times, one of you will need to seal the keyhole in order to deny the heartless the chance to regenerate on the world. Once the keyhole is secured, Forces Saber and Lancer will commence their assault, with several specialized transport units dedicated to invading the Third, Fourth, and Fifth District. For the rest of you, once the keyhole is secured, your remaining objective will be to clear up the heartless infestation in the first and second district until the place is completely sanitized of heartless. Mors, Armis, your task will be to divert attention away from the keyblade masters as they attempt this highly critical objective.”

 

The officer then turned to ‘O Malley. “Captain, since you are not only the best pilot, but also familiar with water based heartless, you will be tasked with clearing out the waterways throughout the town, but we recommend doing that after  the keyhole is sealed. Start with the access point in the Alleyway by the Second District and work from there. Be advised, scouts have reported shortly before the loss of the world seeing ‘fat water pigs with long horns on their heads’ swimming there, and scholars are assuming they are heartless narwhals. We’re hoping you’ll be able to take care of them with ease.”

 

After addressing the pilot narwhal hunter, the commander turned his attention to Seraphina. "Basilia, aside from the task of penetrating the heartless armada with a retrofitted transport, you are also tasked with reactivating the defense network for the town. The headquarters for the system can be found within the walls that separate the First and Second District. It'll help ease the burden of combat on everyone, however this is not a mission critical objective. You are more than welcome to attempt it though."

 

General Schindler added in to the briefing. “To all of you in this room, don’t worry about the other districts; all you have to worry about is sealing that keyhole. If you fail, it would only be a matter of time before the heartless concentrates on all of you and wipe you out. I know what you’re all thinking: Why not do an orbital bombardment to weaken the heartless that are occupying the place first before our boots hit the ground? I wish it was that easy, but even if we were able to obliterate the armada in time to assist all of you, for the sake of humanitarian efforts and future sustainability of our population, it is imperative that collateral damage be kept to a minimum. This is a precision operation, with no leeway if one of you were to fall. With this in mind, I’ve assigned some of the best squads, armed with a new, experimental rifle, to accompany all of you.” With their reason of being in the room explained, all of the soldiers perked up a little. “Master Ohr and Master Bishop, since you're Keyblade Masters, I need the two of you to lead Nightwing Squad. They’re all keyblade initiates and need a master to guide and train them, but they’re are also proficient with the new rifles if things go bad. O’Malley, I’m assigning Aquarius Squad to you, since they’re accustomed to aquatic environments. Seraphina, since you’re more of a mechanic than a fighter and will be flying and landing on the world, Polaris and Firestorm Squad has been tasked with your defense. Armis and Mors, with your task as a distraction, I’ve assigned Spooky Squad to be under your command just in case any one of you decides to deviate from your task and need to directly help the others. They’re all there to help you, and if things take a turn for the worse, they’re all tasked with prioritizing your survival above all else, and for a good reason: You're all on your own until that keyhole is sealed.”

 

The general sighed quietly, praying that the lives of his best soldiers were in good hands. “If we win, not only will this solve our imminent crisis of overpopulation, but would also be the morale boost we all desperately need to rally everyone back into the ferocious fighting spirit shown at the beginning of this conflict. However, if this mission fails and we lose all of you, then this offensive will be the final nail in our collective coffin. The operation begins in eight hours, so rest up if needed. Basilia, you might want to get started on the transport modifications in the meantime. If there are no further questions, suit up and get ready. Best of luck, and may the light guide you to victory. Dismissed.”

 

Just as the briefing was being concluded, two soldiers opened the door and peeked in, directly eyeing the three high-ranking men. As the trio looked at the intruding soldiers, one of them waved a letter at the group. Snider walked over and took the paper from them, then quietly read the contents to himself. After a short while, the commander yelled in bewilderment, “You’re kidding right? We’re sending a bookworm to the frontlines too?!” “What?!” the other two commanders asked, just as shocked.

“Sager Marron has been assigned to this mission… Because he wants to join.”

“Oooooohhh…” Chandler giggled, “This will be interesting.”

 

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

On the occupied world of Traverse Town, it is here that we find Xoth. He was in the Third District, standing in the middle of the atrium. Around him, the floor was a sea of black, with thick, deep-purplish wisps of darkness emanating from it. The sky was dark, with the only illumination in the place being the few lights that were miraculously lit despite the abandoned and failing infrastructure. The place was eerily quiet, save for the gentle breeze blowing through the town.

Standing in the Third District of Traverse Town, was not Xoth, but his replacement. One Anthony Timon. Summoned by the forces of darkness after Xoth mysteriously spontaneously combusted, he was happy. Happy because he, Anthony Timon, the self-proclaimed greatest anti-mage there was, was finally getting a chance to prove himself. The breeze blew through his hair, as he laughed out loud. This chance made him feel oddly ecstatic. Although he was a bit grumpy at having to direct Heartless, he'd much rather just face whomsoever would dare to face him in combat. But he wouldn't complain. He summoned up a Crescendo, and spoke to it, "There's a larger large chance that there's an invasion force on the way. This being one of the most key worlds, of course. Now, I need you to summon some Defenders, and a large horde of neoshadows over at the first district gate, okay? Oh, and throw in an equal amount of Invisibles. That'll throw them for a loop, eh? And an about ten Angels." The Crescendo nodded its head vigorously as it bounced away. Anthony smiled as he watched it bounce away, with what he could almost describe as glee, if Heartless could feel such a thing. Still smiling, he summoned up his pole-arm and walked into the Second District. "If anyone wants to seal this Keyhole, they'll have to go through me," he muttered to himself. 

 

(Not very long, but here you go!)

There was a chuckle as Specialist Samantha Barnes walked into the briefing room and noticed the altercation going on.

"Well well, good to see we still got some fight in us." She comment with a smirk.

She walked up to the field commander, ripping off a mock salute.

"Sam Barnes here, just off healing up duty and volunteering for ass kicking duty, sir!" She barked in a imitation of a drill sergeant's yell.

She flashed Snider a smile.

"If you can use a first rate Agent and sniper who will obey orders with only a little bit of complaining." She continued in her normal voice.

[Disney Castle]

 

Upon hearing Sam’s rather loud introduction, Snider slowly turned to face the agent. Before he could utter the word “hello,” the doors that led to the briefing room were abruptly kicked in. “GENERAL!” a man who can be clearly identified as a pilot yelled as he stormed into the room, “What is the meaning of this mission and you authorizing the destruction of our aircrafts?!”

 

Snider’s eyes widened as he glanced over to the pilot, then back to Sam. “So long as I’m not on the receiving end of your sniper, then I suppo-”

“YOU!”

 

The ground commander turned just in time to see the pilot’s face as he tackled him to the wall. “Why is it that my squadron’s planes are being salvaged for your stupid operation?!” The commander took the opportunity to test the agent’s recovery progress. “Sam… Would you be so kind as to remove this pilot from me? If you can do so without hurting yourself, then you can come along for the mission.”

 

Meanwhile, back at the hanger…

 

Phoenix, Scorch, and Blaze quietly nodded their heads as Seraphina started explaining what she did to the transports. Most of the info flew over their heads; they were soldiers afterall, but fortunately some of the info made sense to them. “Since when do transports have floors?” Scorch remarked, “They’re ships, not skyscrapers with engines bolted onto them.”

“I think she meant sections,” Leader Blaze replied in response. “The extra firepower is appreciated, however. Just in case escorts can’t handle that freaking armada.” Phoenix was awestruck at the modifications. “Doors galore… That’s actually a good thing.”

 

At this moment, the fourth and final member of Firestorm Squad walked up and regrouped with the squad. “Sorry I was late.” her voice was a mere whisper amidst the noisy hanger. “Etain, reporting ma’am.” Blaze was obviously concerned about her, thanks to the obvious look on his face. “I hope I didn’t miss anything important.”

[At this point, I can’t describe anything notable for Traverse Town...]

Alex barely even had time to get a feel of tha place before he and the other keyblade wielders got called to the briefing room, where Alex stood quiet the entire time as the plan to take back traverse town was shown and his and the other's keyblade users's roles were briefed, he knew that this mission would be hard, but they had to succeed, otherwise everything they've done until now...all of his battles buying time for the forcer to evacuate the civilians from the worlds would be in vain, he wasn't going to let that happen, no matter what. the other keyblade wielders might have noticed his dark aura, faint and stable, he wasn't exactly comfortable being around everyone since he had darkness in him, he didn't really care either way, as he had given them no reason to attack him otherwise.

 

After the briefing ended, and the keyblade wielders were allowed to rest until the operation started, He he didn't leave the room, surely the captain had something more to say, he was quite eager to find someplace where he could relax, but he could wait until it was over, he could see the soldiers, almost all of them distraught by the announcement of the mission at hand, understandable, since this mission was pretty much the last stand of the force against the darkness.

Edited February 6, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

Alex barely even had time to get a feel of tha place before he and the other keyblade wielders got called to the briefing room, where Alex stood quiet the entire time as the plan to take back traverse town was shown and his and the other's keyblade users's roles were briefed, he knew that this mission would be hard, but they had to succeed, otherwise everything they've done until now...all of his battles buying time for the forcer to evacuate the civilians from the worlds would be in vain, he wasn't going to let that happen, no matter what. 

[by far the longest sentence I have ever seen...]

 

With Snider pinned by a pilot, Sam screaming at said Snider, and the soldiers following their respective Operatives, General Schindler and Admiral Chandler couldn't help but notice Alex's face; It seemed that Snider forgot to mention his role. Unfortunately for the wielder, the General immediately knew who he was and was quick to move closer to him. Snider's got a lot of guts calling this guy in. 

 

Upon reaching the keyblade wielder, the general got a little too close to the wielder's face. "Listen you," he seethed, keeping his voice low so the others around him couldn't hear, "I read your service record. I don’t like what I’m seeing, and I don’t like the idea of someone like you mingling with the best of my boys and girls. For the sake of your safety, I’m not assigning a squad to you, nor will I tell them of your ‘dark secret.’ You better keep it under control, because if any one of those soldiers sees you with dark powers," he started pointing around at all of the soldiers that were remaining in the room, "they’re not gonna hesitate to shoot at you, and the news will spread quickly. You better knock some sense into them fast, because I know them, and I know them well: They won't stop until you're gone, and not even Snider will be able to talk them into standing down. If you hurt any one of my precious soldiers in 'self-defense,' the gloves will come off, and I will call in orders for your immediate destruction. If you show any of your dark related powers and they see you.. Run. Run far away. Don't even think about hurting my boys and girls. Do I make myself clear, keyblader?”

Alex wasn't surprised by the general's actions towards him, he simply looked back at him with a normal expression, unphased as he the general then began speaking what would happen if anyone witnessed his darkness based powers during the mission he would be their target and not the heartless, even moreso should he end up hurting any one of them, he was used to these 'threats' and advices from others who knew about his secret, this wasn't exactly a surprise to him.

"Noted" he said in response to the general's question with a nod before looking at him "Since I won't be assigned a squad...what am I to do general?" he asked him, as long as the general kept his secret he wouldn't have any trouble, thats what he hoped anyway.

 

His master used to tell him that his dark powers must be used with care, for they may scare others, and bring more friends than foes, so he had to hide it and use it only as a last resort.

Edited February 6, 201510 yr by Scrapmaster

Alex wasn't surprised by the general's actions towards him, he simply looked back at him with a normal expression, unphased as he the general then began speaking what would happen if anyone witnessed his darkness based powers during the mission he would be their target and not the heartless...

 

 "Since I won't be assigned a squad...what am I to do general?"

General Schindler only nodded slowly in approval as Alex acknowledged his warning. "You are to follow Snider's orders, whatever they may be. If it wasn't for him nor for the fact we lost Radiant Garden, you'd be in a lab right now." He glanced over to the ground commander, saw his predicament, and sighed heavily. "Report to Snider, and see what he wants you to do. Dismissed, Keyblader." And with that, the General returned to his post at the front of the briefing room, but now the soldiers of Nightwing and Spooky Squad were curious what the general said as they looked at Alex for a brief moment, then resumed their conversations.

 

Meanwhile... Snider was still helplessly pinned on the wall with a rather angry pilot not letting him go, with Admiral Chandler looking on with amusement and General Schindler with disappointment. I almost feel bad for the guy... Almost.