[center][h3]A Knights Tale [/h3][/center]

Dan looked down at a world teemed with the dark. A simple suburban neighborhood, a street like any other in the united states, except this one played host to a strange parade. Those foreign shadows clanked about as they danced down the street, the little skittery one weaving in and out between them. The Heartless, dancing to the tune of a dark master.

The creature at the head of the procession creaked and groaned as it carried itself across the ground on six pointed metal legs. Its body was concealed under a ragged black cloth that was draped over it and undulated whenever it took a step. The things jaws and nose jutted out from under the cloth, unnaturally elongated and made from what looked like rusty old tin. It was like an old unwanted erector set had assembled itself into a spider, burst through its garbage bag, and developed a taste for human flesh. It wasn't a Heartless, but ever since the heartless had appeared they'd been drawn to these monsters. Every time a monster appeared nowadays the Heartless weren't far behind, assembling like sharks in freshly chummed water. 

Dan shook his head. It was bad enough when just the monster showed up. Maybe if they didn't spawn this crowd of followers there would be some noise in this neighborhood besides that things asphalt shattering footfalls. 

Well, there was one other noise. A soft whimper drew Dan away from the windows edge. He turned away from the parade and crawled on his belly across the navy blue, toy covered carpet, to the child hidden in the shadow of the dresser. She was barely 7 years old, still clad in pink pajamas and clinging to a stuffed dinosaur like it would vanish if she let go. She looked at him with pleading eyes. He crawled over and scrunched himself up next to her, and she switched her grip from the dino to him.

He'd found her here when he'd come to investigate a monster report, a single scream that drew him to this house and this room. Her name was Sara, her favorite color was red, she wanted to be an astronaut when she grew up, and so far as he could yell she was the only survivor. Normally there would be somebody with him she could be entrusted to while he dealt with the enemy, but thanks to the Heartless Paladins like him were spread a little thin these days. 

"It'll be okay." He said, his naturally soft voice being even harder to register while he whispered. he rested a hand on her head as she shook with every footfall the thing made. "We'll be able to leave in a minute. I know some nice police officers that'll get you all set up with a hot cocoa, a warm bed, and this time tomorrow this will all feel like a bad dream." He felt her nod against his arm. 

He didn't have the heart to tell her the bad dream would stay with her forever. What was more important was to get her to someplace safe. He couldn't assure her safety if he got into a fight with that many enemies. Better to just wait, seeing as the surrounding neighborhoods had been evacuated as soon as a Heartless warning was announced.  

That was the plan, anyway. No plan survives contact with the enemy.

A charming, heavily compressed guitar rift sounded throughout the empty. The girl looked up, recognition mixing with horror on her face. "Daddy's phone."

Dan had noticed a different noise though. He'd noticed that the footsteps had stopped. He sprang to his feet, grabbing the girl up in his arms and sprinting out the door. He felt the whole house shake as something impacted the room just down the hall, letting out a grating metallic scream. Dan turns the corner and jumped down the stairs, taking the entire stairwell at once, landing in the living room just as a pair of the clanking dancing shadows spun their way through the front bay window.  They looked surprised to see him, and leaped at him with those blood red nails of theirs.

Dan readjusted his hold on Sara, supporting her with one arm as he threw out his other. The key blade sprang into existence in his had as he felt the light building in his chest. He could feel music, beautiful and serene, building in his chest as a film of light covered him, Sara, and the blade. He lashed out, the spongy blade extending and sweeping the two Heartless into a wall. They shattered into black smoke on impact, but in the time that had taken the small shadows had crawled in and skittered towards him across the carpet. He stepped back as the shadow rose out of the ground to swipe at him, scattering it with the blade even as two more rose up to take its place.

He kept moving backwards, fending off the swipes and stabs of the creatures as he beat a fighting retreat to the kitchen and the door into the back yard. The claws that got through his defence were burned on his aura, flaking away even as they left cuts on his legs, his arms, his cheek, but the back  door was in reach now. Throwing the blade into the horde, scattering them like ninepin, he turned and yanked it open. 

Sara screamed. Right there in the doorway was that broken, erector set grin. From out of the things cloak extended a long metal arm with fingers like scissors. It pushed into the kitchen as Dan summons his blade back to his hand and brought it up to defend himself. It was the only thing that kept him from getting sliced apart as he was thrown across the room and cracked his back against the counter, catching himself on it with one arm and facing down the creature as it compressed itself in ways it should have been able to and fit an ugly through the door. It began advancing slowly, flanked by the Heartless, but didn't go in for the killing blow. Instead it shook and clattered, enjoying the feeling of having him up against the wall.

It raised up its hand, extending a singly finger. Dan redied to deflect some attack, but instead it just pointed at Sara. It flipped it's hand over, then made a "come here" gesture. Lastly, it bowed its head slightly and swept its hand toward the still open door. Dan got it immediately: give me the girl and you're free to go. It was mocking him, but it also had him dead to rights.

Dan looked downs at Sara, burying her head in his shoulder like a kid hiding under the blankets. He looked at the monster, the assembled yellow eyes and rusty teeth watching him intently, then to the sunlight streaming in through the door. He sighed, and the keyblade in his had vanished.

The creature opened its jaws, leaning forward eagerly. 

Then, Dan shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled something out. There was a bright flash of light in the palm of him hand, then Dan dropped what he had in the sink behind him and flipped on the hot water.

[hr]

From up above in the seat of his gum I ship, Mogsanto the moogle scanned the neighborhood for the boy he was supposed to find. He had a very important latter the deliver, and the nice police officers had indicated that the boy had passed through their checkpoint not nearly twenty minutes ago. From what he could see there was no sign of him though. There weren't even any Heartless he could see rhoming the streets.

Then, right near him, a house seemed to explode. It was red at least, and it scattered parts of the home all over the neighborhood, but it soon became clear that the red wasn't fire. It was some kind of creature. 

It looks like a tyrannosaurus Rex, but all red. Even the eyes, even the inside of the mouth, were all a bright color. It had something black in its mouth, something that was screaming like a buzzsaw and ripping at its cheeks with its claws. Heartless swarmed up its body, not really trying to tear at it so much as climb up to the head. Right there, at the top of the Rex's skulls, stood a boy with a little kid in one hand and a...Keyblade! 

The boy was able to maintain his balance as the Rex shook the black thing in its mouth, batting off any heartless that managed to get up to him for the time being. Mogsanto flew lower, sliding up next to the boy and opening up the cockpit. "Here! Here, Ku-"

He didn't even get to finish before Dan had thrown the kid to him, the moogle making a [i]Squeaky[/i] noise as he weight overwhelmed him and he was pushed off his chair. Dan followed, making the leap easily, and pulling her up. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, and the relief on his face was palpable. Then he turned to Mogsanto as he pulled himself off the floor. "My sincerest thanks for the assistance. I don't know if I could had lasted against a tide like that."

Indeed, the enter red body of the Rex had nearly entirely disappeared under a sea a black. It did find the time to give its prey one last chomp before swinging its head violently and throwing the spider creature through the remaining wall of the house. That proved to be the straw that broke the canal back for the poor structure, as the entire thing collapsed in on itself. 

Mogsanto pulled himself back up into the pilots chair as Dan knelt beside him. "I don't suppose I could trouble you to drop us at the police station?" He asked.

The moogle shook his head, before producing the letter and handing it to him. Dan regarded it curiously as the moogle turned the gummi ship around and headed back to the police cordon. As they flew off the Rex was rolling on the ground to they and get the Heartless off, but with its master getting farther and farther away it eventually dissolved. The heartless were left confused, sitting in a pile of foam and water.

[hr]

Dan read the letter as the police hurried Sara off to a waiting ambulance. That was one thing he could thank the Heartless for, he guessed. Everyone believed in monsters now. He saw Sara waving at him was she was lead away, and he gave a little wave back. Maybe with someone believing her she could someday come to terms with what had happed.

He looked back down at the letter. Around him moogles and cops were mobilizing, getting ready to go in and use the magic the moogles had taught them to sweep up the remaining heartless now that the nightmare monster leading them had been taken career of. 

It wasn't something that was working. No matter how hard they all fought the Heartless always came back. They swarmed out of the shadows, killed people, made them afraid. Stressed. Angry. More monsters were spawned, which drew in more Heartless, which caused more pain, which created more monsters, which drew in more Heartless. It was a spiral that would not end until the last one of them was dead. 

'All right. It's a quest, then." Dan said, standing up. "Or maybe even a crusade. I'll have to contact my superiors, make sure my responsibilities are covered while I'm gone." He thought for a moment. 'And I suppose if I'm goimg to be meeting other keyblade wielders..."

Three hours later Dan was being ferried off to Renovation, resolve in his heart, suitcase beside him, and a flat brown box resting on his knees.