traverse Town - Hotel - Blue Room Making her way sluggishly toward the hotel, Hoshi pondered on what Zac had just shown them. Her hand shook, and the faint outline of her Keyblade flared between her fingers for a split second. Locking the Hearts of Worlds seemed simple, but also difficult? Zac hadn't taught them any sort of spell or incantation; no ritual movements or other prep. Just point and it happens? Her head shook. She would have to will the Keyblade to work the way it was meant to... it would have to come from her Heart. Whether or not she'd be able to do it when it mattered was another question to be answered when the moment came. If it was willpower, then she... any of them... had more than enough to lock two worlds at a time.
She entered the Blue Room last. She pulled herself out of the black coat and folded it into a thick square, which she dropped at the far end of the room before setting herself on top of it. She fell back against the wall next to a door to an outside balcony and took in the room while she listened to the others discuss the plan. It was a quaint space, decorated in blue and silver accents, with a starry night theme; it reminded her of the nights spent on the beach around roaring bonfires. Her face broke a quick smile, and settled back into a tired neutrality as the conversation developed.
"No," she said, suddenly energized. She spoke more harshly than intended, looking hard at Lucian. "It needs to be me. I need to find Alias. It's my fault he's not here with us; if I had been quicker... or stronger... or both... but I wasn't, and I lost him. He's my best friend; he's kinda my responsibility. Besides, Lucian, you’re a prince, right? You shouldn’t have to worry about just one person. The worlds will need you more than they need me.” She tappered off at the end of her sentence as a crushing reality set in.
She looked at Zac, and asked, "we're gonna have to go our own ways to do this, aren't we?" She passed her eyes around the room to each of her friends. They had already gotten separated from Alias, and it was only by a stroke of luck that she hadn't landed somewhere completely different. If this was a goodbye, if they might not see each other for a while... "If we have to lock the worlds, then everyone with a Keyblade will need to go to a different world from each other.
Squall & Yuffie
Traverse Town - Hotel - Green RoomThe door to the Green Room swung open. Leon stepped through the threshold, closing the door securely behind him and propped his Gunblade against the wall nearby. Yuffie, who had been lying on the bed with her head hanging upside down over the edge, sat upright as her companion entered. Donald, Goofy, Max, and Daisy, had all, presumably, settled in and made themselves comfortable while Leon ran through the plan with Zac and Aerith. Leon stood in silence, leaning against the wall next to the door, leaving the others awaiting his first words.
“Guess I’ll just cut to the chase,” he said at last. “I… I mean, we, that is, Yuffie, Aerith, myself, and Cid over in the First District, all know the four of you were sent here by the King. Although…” he looked the foursome over, “I wasn’t expecting him to have sent this many emissaries… But, I won’t complain; there will be strength in numbers. The short of it is that Worlds are disappearing all over the place. Being swallowed by Darkness and the Heartless. And it’s only been getting worse over time. The best we’ve been able to do here is keep the Heartless from getting to the Heart of THIS world. But now, with that door locked, we can start focusing on saving others. So…”
“So?” Yuffie pressed after a few seconds.
“To that end, the Keybearers are gonna have to take the fight against the Darkness out into the Worlds beyond this one. There’s four here with us: Zac, Lucian, Levi, and Hoshi. And I’m told there’s a fifth that also didn’t make it here with them. The plan is, in theory, simple: the four of you, and the other two with Aerith right now, will need to accompany the Keybearers as they find and lock the Keyholes on other worlds. Call yourselves escorts, bodyguards… whatever suits you. The point being that it’ll be part of your duty to guide, support, and protect the Keybearers, especially the young ones, as they embark on this mission. I’d suggest that you convene with the other companions after we’re all up to speed to decide how you want to split up. As for myself, Aerith, and Yuffie, we’ll stay here with Cid and the Wizard Merlin, and maintain the situation.”
“This’ll be like our Home Base,” Yuffie chimed in. “If things get rough and you need rest, or you need to figure out the next step, you can come back here to regroup. Or, you know, if you’re just coming through and want to say hello.”
Leon nodded in agreement. “Just be sure to check in with us when you do, so we can exchange information; we get refugees by the day here, as well as occasional travelers like Zac, and they all bring news. We may also need you to come back here if things get too out of hand for us.”
Aerith
Traverse Town - Hotel - Red Room“... So that’s pretty much the idea,” Aerith said. She had just finished explaining to Leon and Launchpad what needed to be done. She looked kindly at the pair, not breaking her warmth. “Oh. And I almost forgot, one of the rumors we’ve heard, regarding the former leader of our home world… You see… our King, Ansem, invested a great deal of time studying the Heartless; how they behave, how they’re created. He compiled his findings into a formal report… we thought it was all lost to the Darkness along with our world, until…”
She reached over to a bedside table and presented a page with slightly faded, but still legible writing upon it. “Someone came through who recognized Ansem’s work, and left this with us. If you find any more pieces of Ansem’s research… please, bring it back to us; maybe, if we can get enough of his reports, we can figure out a way to stop the Heartless for good.” She set the page from Ansem’s Report back on the table. “Now, if you don’t have any questions, go next door into the Green Room; the other companions will be there; you can all discuss how you want to split up.”
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