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[Traverse Town::Third District::Alleyway]

Even Window's normal "hume" ears were able to pick up the heavy thudding of...something, hidden by the smoke. The ground began to rumble beneath his feet, and his body tensed, ready to jump--but how far? In the smoke, he couldn't tell where the walls were; he had to go by the feel of the air and the sounds, as dull as they were through the fog. Just as he was about to yell a command for the three of them to move, the man felt something oppressive just above his head, causing him to look up. The next thing he knew, several Heartless sprang out of the mists! Time seemed to slow down again as Window found himself caught between the attack from above and the unseen opponent in front. He fought down the panic. What were they going to do? He squeezed his eyes closed in that second time stood still, and all he could hear was the exiting breath from his body.

No. This couldn't be the end. Not when he had just arrived, this mysterious world from beyond the confines of his imagination. His fists clenched, tingling.

But a sudden whoosh of air made Window's hair stand up, and his eyes snapped open. Large star-like weapons cut through the Heartless and hovered above, but quickly disappeared into the mist once again. "Goodness gracious, what..?" Some more odd noises of...wind, maybe? crashed up and down the alley, and the rumbling stopped. The oncoming enemy was defeated? Had someone come to their rescue? Before Window could wonder futher, the smoke moved away and allowed the trio to see--but not that much further. It revealed a man...but he was no savior, as his words soon betrayed. Or was he? This world was throwing too much at him too fast, and there wasn't enough time for observation or adaptation. Who knew what kind of character he could be...

Nalo had sidled up closer to Window, but in order to talk to the stranger he stepped forward. "Yes, your help is much appreciated. I myself am new to the arts of defense and attack, knowing absolutely nothing. And I know nothing of this world or these creatures. Is this a test of some sort? Are you an instructor?" Part of this was Window playing dumb as he assesed the situation and the man in front of them who had fallen into a position of attack (how was Window supposed to defend himself without a weapon or battle knowledge?), but he was also partially curious. Was this a friend of some sort who was just trying to test their mettle? His first lesson in life had been to never assume anything, and he was not going to immediately set this stranger into the "enemy" category. But there was one more pressing but honest question: "Why have you saved us, and what do you hope to gain from this confrontation with inexperienced individuals, when you are clearly much more superior than us in skill?"

___[Traverse Town .:. Third District .:. Rooftops]

Vain watched cautiously from the rooftops, his eyes trained on the scene below. That guy with the shuriken... He knows what he's doing, yet he's acting like a fool. I wouldn't stand a chance if I stepped in right now, but I can't let him simply attack those who cannot defend themselves...

You're not going to get involved are you? Come on, you don't even know these people!

Vain reached back and gripped the Revblade in his infected hand, feeling a bit of relief as the burning darkness within flowed into his weapon. "Sorry, sword. It's not in my nature to let madmen attack the defenseless."




___[Traverse Town .:. Third District]

"That's it? That's your rebuttal? Well, why else would I attack the untrained? Everyone is born with a certain amount of skill... Those without skill don't need their hearts, and those with skill live to see another day. It'd be boring if the weak were still around by round two." The shuriken began to spin in his hands as the smoke started to swirl around the group. "So let's get this party started, yeah?" Masenko launched one of the shuriken at the group, a grin on his face until...

"Hoarfrost!" Vain dropped from the sky on top of the projectile, his blade enveloped in ice as he struck the shuriken to the ground. Can't hesitate. He rushed forward at Masenko, wind gathering around the Revblade as he let loose a flurry of Windslashes at his target. Can't allow him to think of a counter. The wind changed back to ice as Vain finally closed the gap between him and the Nobody. My only chance to to catch him while he's still-

Masenko burst into a cloud of smoke, reappearing a safe distance from Vain as he held his hands out in protest. "Whoa, whoa! Time out! Where'd you come from?"

He's toying with you.

I know. Vain seemed to blur past Masenko as he performed an Iai Blow, though the Demon of the Mist was capable of guarding in time. He's good to be able to so easily defend an all out assault while still confused.

You should be paying more attention to him.

Wha- Vain was suddenly sent flying by a kick, crashing to the ground just in front of Nalo and Window. However, he still held onto the Revblade... Though it didn't help make the situation any less confusing for anyone.

"You idiot, charging in like that! What was that going to accomplish?! Now's he's going to kill us both! Moron! If I had arms, I'd-" beat the hell out of you myself!

Vain sighed and quickly sheathed the Revblade, the loss of contact with his cutting his weapon's outburst short. He looked over his shoulder at the others, an apologetic look on his face as he said, "Forgive me, I was unable to finish him with the surprise attack. We may all very well die now."

Masenko rubbed the back of his neck, confused by Vain's sudden appearance. "Man, you kids just keep coming and comi-" He noticed Vain's face and weapon for the first time, immediately drawing a shroud of smoke over his own face. Whew, that was a close one... The demon pointed at Vain before shouting, "Hey, you! Runt! You're interrupting my fun! Beat it!"

Vain got to his feet before falling into a martial arts stance, Darkness emanating from his right hand as he said, "Do either of you know how to fight?"

Nalo was so relieved that another person had stepped in





Nalo stopped the intraplay with his mind and whispered to Window, "Stay back, hume. I have a bad feeling about this and I don't want you....I don't want you to get hurt." Nalo quickly turned away from his comrade for fear that Window might see that his dark brown skin had reddened with embarassment. "Let's have some fun..."

Nalo cracked his knuckles and stood next to Vain and flashed Masenko-Ma the largest grin he could muster.

[∫ ʋ ʓ ʋ ʁ ᾲ ɳ]
{You look like you fell down a tree and hit every possible branch on the way down.}

[Traverse Town :: Second District]

"Where do we even start searching?" Suzu questioned, she was on all fours, patting at the cobblestone where Sory stood just mere seconds ago. She finally leaned back to sit on her butt, baffled. How do you look for someone pulled through a dark hole in the ground? He could be anywhere! The dark portal looked similar to what they encountered earlier with the destruction of the first district... but was it the same people? What was going on? She looked briefly to Alexandria, then to the sky then back to the ground.

"Sory?!"

___[Traverse Town .:. Third District .:. Alley]

"Why do you kids have to make things so difficult?..." Masenko launched both shuriken at the group, prompting Vain to move forward, the speed and accuracy of his infected arm frightening even to him as he struck both weapons from the air, only to be met with a sudden mass of white. Masenko had summoned a large number of strange little white creatures, all of which reminiscent of Heartless and each one carrying with it a large shuriken.

"Tch... Dammit!" Vain grabbed the first one by the head, crushing it like an egg in his dark hand before drawing the Revblade and cleaving away at the strange creatures. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that the creatures were only a diversion.

Masenko rushed around Vain, his speed like some sort of demon as he flipped over Artemes, Nalo, and the Revblader. "Sorry, but it's only strategic to pick off the weakest first!" The Nobody's feet hit the ground and he was off like a rocket, the shuriken back in his hands as he swung at Window. "No rooms for weaklings on the battlefield! Survive or die!"

[Traverse Town::Third District::Alleyway]

Window silently cursed in his head (which was something he wasn't prone to do) as Artemis dashed forward, leaving Window exposed with the three fighters in front. Didn't they realize that it would have been wiser to be spread out in both the front and the back? It would be too crowded to have the three of them up in front attacking at the same time, and they might possibly get in each other's way. The ally was just too narrow. Normally, an arrow-like formation would have worked--assuming people couldn't float or jump several feet into the air and perform aerobatics. In this particular case, Window thought it would have been best to have one fighter bringing up the rear, just in case the attacker got to the other side...

...which he did.

Window had not been idly standing awestruck during this quick exchange of blows; he had been coiled like a spring, ready to move. It was almost like a game of Avoidance, when the opposing team tried to throw a ball at you. If you were hit, you were out. However, in this case, Window wasn't going to be just "out," but dead or seriously injured. But, if there was one thing Window was generally good at, it was observation, which became a useful tool when playing Avoidance since one had to predict the trajectory of the ball and dodge accordingly. He thought back to this childhood game during this moment as the enemy--yes, it seemed safe to call him that for now--vaulted over their heads to land not far from Window. Of course, when the enemy had begun his trajectory overhead, Window's body reacted by moving backwards into the comfort of his companions and further into the alley. But the opponent was so fast! He had barely any time to put a decent distance between him and the oncoming man. What was he going to do?

The only thing he could do with predictable accuracy: fall.

The man came so fast at Window that there was barely any time to think, and this seemed like the only reasonable solution. But by the time Window had thought this, the enemy was already swinging his weapon and just about to close the quiven* distance between them. He also thought it unfortunate that, if this didn't work, his final notion was going to be: Having to override my body's self-preservation impulses was going to be tricky. At the last possible second, Window threw his body backwards and slightly diagonally out of the path of the blade while taking a step, resulting in an ungainly landing onto the hard cobblestone. Ow. As he looked up, the opponent was still coming forward (no one could change their trajectory so quickly at that speed), almost stepping on Window, and Artemis soared on by to meet the attacker. It was a good thing Window had moved, because Artemis' own weapon might have caught Window on the tail end of the downswing. Really, they needed to mind the narrowness of the alley. But, hopefully, Nalo and the other boy now had a clear shot at the opponent with Window out of the way (if they weren't too busy with some of the white creatures). However, Window was also vulnerable on the ground, and Artemis and the enemy were about to match blades almost right above his head.

Solaris

Sorry...

...I'll be taking my leave now.

{Traverse Town : Third District: Merlin's House}

Listening to Merlin and Aerith tell the story about the Keyblade, Solaris couldn't help but ponder at this mystery. What kind of being could create such a powerful weapon? A power to be able to save the world or destroy it...how could one object hold so much power? This weapon seemed to be shrouded in mystery, with nobody really knowing what it was, how it came about, or what it's purpose seemed to be. Curious indeed...

And what was this Kingdom Hearts? The Heart of All Worlds...did that include destroyed worlds as well? Was the heart of his world inside of this Kingdom Hearts, even though the world had been destroyed by the Heartless? Solaris was drawn out of his pondering by Merlin's look however. Even to him it was obvious that the Keyblade Wielder had not yet appeared. However, if the Keyblade Wielder did appear...could he restore the broken worlds? Was that part of the power that this blade held? Or...should the wielder be of a darker nature...would there be any hope?

Putting aside the bit about entire wars of Keyblades for the moment, he moved onto the intriguing matter of False Keyblades. "But how do you forge such blades? They couldn't possibly have the power that the true ones possess. And...while you say that you do it in hopes that the...being that gives them out will bestow upon an apprentice a true Keyblade, what if the False Keyblades are an offense to them? Could it be that the reason why one has not appeared for so long is because False Keyblades are offending the maker? Also, who is this King Mickey?" He finished, ending with a question, but pondering more. So it takes strength of heart to possess a Keyblade...hmmm. How strange to have a weapon based on the strength of one's heart. Also...what kind of being is this Mickey? Merlin says a mouse...but perhaps mouse means something different on this world. Shaking his head in confusion, he failed to notice the rapid blinking of Youni's eyes.