[center][b]~Traverse Town, Third District~[/b]
[@Savo][@RyuShura][/center]

"Yes, of course!" Aerith didn't have a plan of her own, so she was content to follow with whatever Ambrose was cooking up. As he requested, she used the last of her reserves to put up a barrier on him, hopefully whatever he did would work since the flower girl would be too drained to provide any further aid after that last barrier.

"I'll draw his fire, just you watch!" Yuffie proclaimed, probably not the smartest thing in the world to announce one's battle plan aloud like that, but Yuffie followed through. The ninja cartwheeled away from the group and off to the side on her own. From the moment she was away, she started flinging out whatever was left of her shuriken supply in Vexen's direction. Whatever it took to destroy airborne projectiles and simultaneously keep Vexen focusing his attack in her direction. As a ninja, this was a strategy Yuffie was not used to, normally she would be launching a surprise attack while someone [i]else[/i] drew enemy fire. It sort of gave her a newfound appreciation for Leon, since he was usually the one fulfilling that role for her.

As for Vexen, he was preparing for his coup de grâce when some noise from a device he had on his person got his attention. It was his communicator speaker, producing an unfamiliar voice. Well, unfamiliar to everyone except for Vexen, "Pull out... Emperor... council!" those were the only words that the defenders could hear, thanks to Vexen's ice storm drowning out the rest of the message. Vexen himself seemed to hear and understand the message in its entirety, however.

"...I see." even as Ambrose's strike was coming his way, Vexen responded by surrounding himself with ice walls. They were put up hastily, so they weren't entirely strong and shattered easily enough. But by the time they did, Vexen was no longer present. The walls were a cover for his retreat, the Imperator seeming to have transported himself out of Traverse Town while hidden behind the ice barrier. In moments, all the ice shapes left behind in Vexen's wake shattered into particles of magic that dissipated in the air. The battle was over and Third District was quiet again.

"Y'all hear me down there? Empire's ships are turnin' tail up here. Looks like we won!" the voice could be clearly heard coming from communicators that both Aerith and Yuffie carried. It was Cid Highwind, who was in charge of the Gummi Ships defending Traverse Town from the Imperial Fleet. No doubt his ships had been busy keeping the Imperial Fleet from a full-on landing.

[center][b]~Traverse Town, First District~[/b]
[@NobodiesHero][/center]

"Like you, huh?" said Leon, his expression serious before revealing a brief smirk, "Then this should be pretty interesting." Ashe was on the move before Leon could say anything more. That was entirely like her, Ashe was always all too eager to get back in the fight. Where most fighters got weaker as a battle dragged on, Ashe only ever seemed to get stronger. That made her alright in Leon's book. It looked like she was only drawing the Masked Man's attention, though. Maybe this fight was draining her more than she was letting on? Either way, Leon had a decent idea what to do with this opportunity.

While Ashe made her move and the Masked Man was distracted, Leon held his Gunblade up close to his face and tightened his focus. Then he held the weapon out horizontally and it ignited with a hot blue energy that appeared to dramatically increase the size and length of the blade by several times. It was his signature skill, transforming his Revolver Gunblade into the much more powerful Lionheart. The weapon now ready, Leon made his move.

The Masked Man dodged the aerial attack easily enough by taking a small jump backwards. Between her injured left side and the usual telegraphed nature of such jump strikes, the attack hit only the pavement. Still oozing with Darkness, the Masked Man made no visible or audible response to Ashe's words. Instead he silently moved to make another lunge. But like the last, Leon once again got in the way. This time, Leon's weapon made a much more powerful strike that sent the Masked Man tumbling back to the ground before them.

When the Masked Man stood, this time his movements seemed... off. His staggers were rather... jerky in nature. Almost like some kind of machine with chinks in the cogs. The visor of his helmet was cracked, but not enough to reveal who it was behind that mask. Before the Masked Man could launch another assault, however, his visor seemed to light up somehow. It was a new set of orders from those who commanded him, and without any words or farewells he vanished into a portal known as a Corridor of Darkness. First District was safe once more.

"Y'all hear me down there?" Cid's voice, coming from Leon's communicator, "Empire's ships are turnin' tail up here. Looks like we won!"

The Lionheart's blue light died down, and the weapon looked like the Revolver once again, "Well, that's a relief." said Leon with an exasperated sigh, "Let's get the others," he said to Ashe, "we need to report what happened to the Queen." he was referring to Queen Minnie of Disney Castle, but this was the first time he would take Ashe with him to see her.

[center][b]~Marchen~[/b]
[@DangDude][/center]

When the fireball came, the Imperator held up his massive book, using as a shield to block the Fira spell for him. Between these two, and the two attacking from a distance in their vehicle, this was looking to be an annoyingly drawn out battle. Thankfully for him, though, a voice on his communication speaker interrupted his thoughts, "Zexion, the surrender is final. Report back, the Emperor demands us for another war council." it was an unfamiliar voice to his foes, but Zexion nodded his head as a dark portal opened up just behind him.

"My job here is finished. This battle is over now." and with that, he stepped through the portal without another word and it closed behind him.

"We... won?" asked PJ, the heavyset canine driving the vehicle as it came to a stop next to where Max and Mira stood.

"I dunno, man. He said his job was finished. Doesn't sound like a win to me." Max said between heavy breaths.

"There you guys are!" it was a new voice. Sounding like it was some kind of loudspeaker, mainly because it was. A ship descended down toward the village. It wasn't a large ship, but decently sized. Enough to transport the ground vehicle and a number of passengers at the very least. A hatch opened up, one large enough to the drive the vehicle through, "The Empire'll be blockading this world, we got maybe a few minutes tops to make ourselves scarce or we'll be caught!"

"What about the world?" asked Max.

"Sorry, Max, we're just one crew. There's nothing we can do..." the voice on the speaker sounded apologetic, but he wasn't wrong.

"This village! What about this village, then? It doesn't look very big, I'm sure we can fit everyone on board!"

After a hesitant silence the voice responded, "Alright, but you gotta be quick about it or there'll be a blockade in our way. I may be good but I'm not [i]that[/i] good." that confirmed that whoever the voice belonged to, they were the ship's pilot.

"Look, I know this probably all sounds strange," said Max to Mira, "but if you want yourself and this village to escape you've gotta help us get everyone on board so we can escape. I'll explain as much as I can on the way, I promise!" he didn't wait for a response and went about looking for as many villagers as he could gather. Soon enough the ship would be leaving the planet altogether and making its way to a place Max called Disney Castle.