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Hikari's eyes narrowed behind her black sunglasses as Mulan refused to move and then Alexander saying that they won't be going behind that door to the emperor and how he didn't want to hurt anyone. Casualties were inevitable. If Alexander wasn't going to help her, then she'll just have to take care of it herself. "Fine. Have it your way," she said and snapped her fingers. A large dragon Heartless appeared out of the sky, making a ground shaking roar and clapped its cymbals and headed straight for Lakayna. "Better hurry. Your friend might be in a bit of trouble," she warned.

Axel growled. "What's your problem!?" he yelled at the silver haired girl. He then looked at Sora. "Go get rid of that Heartless! I'll take care of Hikari!" he ordered, looking back at her and held his chakrams at the ready. "I think she wants more than just that statue," he said ominously.

Sora gasped at how Hikari was acting. Didn't she just help Lakayna?? He then looked at Axel as he told him to defeat that dragon Heartless. "Right! I think Riku's still out there; he can help me with it," he said and ran off in the opposite direction to fight the giant heartless.

((It's the Heartless boss you fight in that world, I just can't remember the name of it lol))

Mulan raced acros the palace grounds, praying that hikari didn't glance through the windows for a while yet, for when she did, she would clearly be able to see Mulan, though she wouldn't be able to see the statue as the chinese woman had turned her body so that it was shielding it from view. The female warrior raced through the ground, making her way to the courtyard. A sudden roar ripped the air, the sound loud enough to cause the ground to shake. Mulan fell over, but twisted so she fell on her back, the statue safe and falling against her chest. Leaping up to her feet she continued on and was surprised when Sora suddenly came flying out through a door, racing towards the courtyard as well. "Sora!" Mulan called out to him, slightly out of breath as she raced over to him.

"What's going on with Hikari?! What has she d-" Mulan's question died in her throat as she and Sora had come upon the courtyard where Lakayna fought. There, in the sky, was the dragon-like Heartless that she and Sora had defeated the last time he was here, about a year ago. The young chinese woman stared up at it in disbelief as it charged towards Lakayna. "No! We've got to get the statue to her! Look, I've got it but we have to connect them!" Mulan said, showing Sora the other half of the statue she'd managed to get out of the palace.

Thinking of you, wherever you are.

Kairi

Princess of Heart

As Kairi continued to watch Alexander and Hikari, waiting for them to make their move, Naminé walked forward summoning her Keybalde as she did. She told Hikari to stop, and that this wasn't her. She was right about that. Naminé walked over and stood by Kairi, and took up a stance that looked identical to the crimsonette's. Kairi looked at the petite blonde giving her a small smile and nodded. As she turned her attention back to the situation Lakayna's voice entered her mind (as well as Naminé's and Axel's for Kairi could feel the connection with them too) asking them what was taking so long. Kairi hated that her friend had to be the bait and that this was taking so long. "We're so sorry Lakayna," the Princess thought apologetically, "But I'm not exactly sure what's going on. Hikari turned on us. I think she wants the statue for herself for some reason. And I think Alexander is helping her. I promise we'll deal with this though and get the statue half."

Once the crimsonette had finished her though to Lakayna she turned her attention back to Alexander for he had begun to speak. He asked Mulan to go to the Emperor and ask him where the statue was, and if the Emperor told them where it truthfully was they'd leave the palace with it and harm no one else. He said if the female warrior or the Emperor refused he could not be held responsible for what Hikari would do. It sounded like Alexander didn't want to hurt anyone and Kairi was glad about that, but they couldn't give them the statue. Lakayna needed it, not Hikari. So Kairi stood her ground waiting to see what Mulan would do. The Protector of China gave an answer one would expect to hear from someone with that title. She told Alexander that she could not do that for it could risk putting the Emperor in harms way. She said that she could longer trust him for he had broken into the palace and most likely harmed the guards. Kairi could tell from her voice that Mulan didn't want to risk Emperor getting hurt.

The white haired boy responded back saying that no harm would come to the Emperor if Mulan would merely go and ask him where the statue was and that he had no intention of harming anyone else unless it was necessary. As for the other guards the worst he had done to them was knock a few unconscious because they had tried to kill him. From the sound of his voice Kairi believed him, but even so Hikari could not have the statue. Mulan would still have to refuse. But to mostly everyone's surprise, she didn't. The female warrior slipped behind her friends and opened the door, showing a face of shame before she slipped inside and closed the door behind her. The crimsonette couldn't believe it, that didn't seem like Mulan at all. Kairi thought for a moment and suddenly felt a little better. "Maybe she has something up her sleeve..." she thought to herself.

Kairi broke her thoughts as Alexander addressed her and Naminé saying that he meant no harm to any of them. He said he came to help but... he looked away from the Somebody and Nobody and let his sentence trail off. He then spoke again saying that as he told them before he would do what was necessary to get the statue, and he didn't want it to come to more violence but if they continued like this, he saw no other choice. Kairi was unsure of what to say but Naminé wasn't. She told him that they wanted the same thing, but now she was beginning to think it was for very different reasons and that this wasn't the way to earn their trust. The Princess nodded in agreement and said "Naminé's right. What use would you have for the statue?" Alexander looked at the ground as he answered Naminé telling her she was right in that this wasn't the way to do things, but none of them had trusted him or even hid their dislike for him. Hikari was the only one who accepted his help willingly and that meant something to him even though he didn't agree with her methods. That wasn't necessarily true though. When Kairi first met Alexander back in the cavern true she had been a little frightened of him, but she tried to hide her fear. And after everyone had questioned him Kairi was the one who said why don't they just stop and just give him a chance to prove himself.

Hikari who had remained silent most of the time had snapped her fingers and said "Have it your way." Kairi looked at her with a puzzled look then gasped as she heard a mighty roar, a roar that wasn't Lakayna's. The Princess looked up at the sky and saw a large dragon Heartless appear out of the sky and head straight for Lakayna. Hikari warned that they had better hurry for their friend might be in a bit of trouble. A little to the side of her, Kairi heard Axel yell to Hikairi "What's your problem!?" The red head took the words right out of Kairi's mouth. Axel then turned to Sora and told him to go get rid of the Heartless while he took care of Hikari. He looked at her and readied his chakrams. Sora looked to Axel and said "Right!" and that Riku could help him with it. He then ran outside to go fight the giant heartless. Alexander seemed to determine that Hikari had gone too far. He told her that she was wrong, and that he wasn't going to let her do this any longer. He asked her to please call off the Heartless. He didn't seem to want to fight, but he held his keyblade in a manner in which he could attack or defend in case he needed to.

Kairi, though somewhat interested in what would unfold there, took off after Sora. Last time Lakayna was in trouble back on the Islands, the crimsonette had come to late to help her. Kairi wasn't going to let that happen this time. The Princess ran out the front doors and caught up to the brunette in the courtyard, and to her surprise Mulan was with him. "How did you get here Mulan?" she asked the female warrior. The red head then saw she had the statue half in her hands. "The statue!" Kairi exclaimed. There was another roar and she looked up at Lakayna and the Heartless in the sky then back down to Sora. "I'm going to help you fight the Heartless," she told the Keybearer, "Lakayna is my friend and I'm going to help her!"

We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.

Naminé kept her brilliant blue eyes locked on Alexander, and was surprised when he was the one who looked away, his voice trailing off into nothing. He then turned back to her, asking what other way was there? He stated that Hikari was the only one who'd accepted his help willingly. Naminé's eyes widened in disbelief as she knew he was siding with Hikari. "Alexander, do you really believe what you say?" She asked. "How did you expect us to accept you? With open arms and fond words of welcome? Can you honestly tell me that we were all in the wrong, being wary of one who'd stepped out of darkness and simply stated that he wanted to help? After everything we've all been through can't you see why the darkness puts us on edge?" The petite blonde asked him, lowering her Keyblade even more so it pointed towards the ground.

And then Hikari summoned a heartless. A big one at that. Naminé's eyes flared in anger and Axel yelled at her. Alexander told Hikari to stop and that he wouldn't let her do this any longer. He asked her to call off the Heartless and held his Keyblade up to her. It appeared as though Alexander had had enough of this. Mulan had gone to the Emperor to ask about the statue some few moments before and Sora and Kairi ran off, leaving Naminé and Alexander with Hikari. The petite blonde walked up to the boy's side, not caring if he was going to turn on her or not. With her Keyblade still pointed to the ground, she stared into Hikari's eyes. "You're taking this too far. Hikari, what's happened to you?" Naminé asked in a quiet voice. "Whatever has control of you, you can defeat it. You're stronger than that..."

"I will," Lakayna replied to Kairi as she sent a stream of fire at the dragon-like Heartless, "When you guys get out here and kick this things butt so I have my hands free!"
Lakayna didn't mean to sound forceful or anything, but she was getting fed up with all these Heartless seeming to attack her. Why were they after her anyway? Did it have something to do with the statue?

Thinking of you, wherever you are.

Kairi

Princess of Heart

Kairi watched as Lakayna sent out a stream of fire at the Heartless. "Right," the Princess thought to Lakayna as she readied her Keyblade, preparing to jump onto the dragon Heartless's back if it flew down close enough to the ground. Her chance was coming up for the beast began descending from the sky. The dragon was now within her range so Kairi began to run to get the most out of her jump. But then something silver streaked past her, causing her to stop in surprise. It was Riku. He darted past her and jumped, latching onto the Heartless's leg. The creature then rose back up towards the sky.

The red head looked up towards the sky, watching the silvernette and the Heartless. Riku shouted something down to them, but Kairi couldn't make out what it was. The Heartless tried to shake Riku off so he plunged his Keyblade into its back for stability. This caused the Heartless to spin upside down through the sky as it tried to drop Riku, but the silvernette hung on tight. The Heartless finally straightened out and to Kairi's sudden realization aimed itself towards them.

The dragon Heartless dived down towards the courtyard. Kairi stood her ground waiting for the right moment. The Heartless drew closer and closer and finally, just before it seemed like the dragon would crash into them, the crimsonette jumped up and slashed her Keyblade across its face then landed on its head. The dragon Heartless roared in pain, and shook its head back and forth violently. Kairi managed to hang on by holding onto one of its large horns. Hoping that she had either blinded it or stunned it, the Princess quickly thought to her friend, "Lakayna see if you can get to Mulan now. Sora, Riku, and I will finish this thing."


We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.

Mulan's eyes were following the Heartless and she kept a steady hold of her sword with one hand, the other tucking the statue safely away in the tight belt of her uniform so it wouldn't slip out when she had to run or fight. She stood her ground as the Heartless descended towards them and one thought went through her head. 'If we beat it before, we can beat it again!' The female warrior took a step and prepared to launch herself at the beast, but a flash of silver beat her to it. At first, she thought it was Hikari and her dark eyes narrowed. But upon second glance, she realized it was the boy who looked like Hikari. Riku.

The Heartless went back into the sky but Mulan was looking at Lakayna now, ready to run when the dragoness landed. However, the Heratless lowered itself and begane to charge them. Mulan stood her ground beside Kairi and the crimsonette surprised her by slashing the Heartless' head and eye while also managing to jump on its head. The Heartless veered off, and Lakayna landed. Mulan glanced at Kairi and nodded in appreciation and admiration before turning about and racing across the courtyard. Hopefully, Kairi, Sora and Riku would keep the beast occupied, and Hikari wouldn't yet notice the statue half was gone. "Soldiers! Stand down!Mulan yelled, running full speed towards the dragon. The soldiers obeyed her command. Nothing was in her way and she was almost there. "Lakayna!"