Storyline Name: As the Keyblade Strikes
Creator(s): Meganekko and Sportsnutd
Forum: Free Form
Advanced or Relaxed: Relaxed
Plot Summary:
Welcome to As the Keyblade Strikes, a Sailor Moon/Kingdom Hearts crossover RPG!

An unknown Darkness has come and has been slowly consuming worlds across the universe. Along with the impending Darkness come the Heartless, shadowy creatures from an unknown dimension that do the Darkness's bidding. Their goal is to find the Ten Pure of Heart and use their hearts to open the Final Door to Kingdom Hearts, which will enable Darkness to take over all the universe.

Four of the Ten have already been captured: Princess Setsuna of the Caverns of Charon; Princess Michiru of Triton's Bay; Princess Haruka of Miranda, the Winged Isle; and Princess Hotaru of the Sleeping Wastes.

As for the remaining Six Pure of Heart, they've been having strange dreams. A voice has been calling them in their dreams, telling them to choose. In a hallowed room, before each dreamer are a Shield, Sword, and Rod. They are left to choose which they will be: a warrior, guardian, or mystic.

“As the weapon of the warrior, the Dream Sword focuses on strength and avoids defense, and if [the Wielder] chooses it, they will learn their offensive abilities at lower levels.”

“As the weapon of the guardian, the Dream Shield focuses on defense and avoids strength, and if [the Wielder] chooses it, they will learn their defensive abilities at lower levels.”

“As the weapon of the mystic, the Dream Rod focuses on MP and avoids AP, and if [the Wielder] chooses it, they will learn their magical abilities at lower levels.”

The Six each make their choices:
– Rei, Makoto, and Minako choose to be Warriors
– Ami and Mamoru choose to be Guardians
– Usagi chooses to be a Mystic

The day after their dreams, large dark clouds come over their homeworlds and a terrible storm strikes during the night. The Six awake and find their homes flooded with Heartless. Weaponless, they have no choice but to flee. They each find a portal and the voice they had heard in their dreams urges them to go through.

We join our heroes as they awaken in a foreign world called Traverse Town.

Details on any necessary information:
→ We will be using these amazing character & weapon designs by Nijuukoo/Erin Wong. We have asked and received permission to use them.

→ Worlds that are canon to Kingdom Hearts include: Traverse Town, Hollow Bastion, and End of the World.

→ Original Worlds include:
– Mariner's Landing, the world from which Ami hails from. It is primarily comprised of water with a large island at its center. The island is encased in fog and rain more often than not. Mariner Castle rests on the shoreline and is made of glittering azure stone.
– Aphrodite's Ascent, this mountainous world is the home of Minako. Magellan Castle is boasted to be one of the most beautiful castles ever built and sits at the precipice of the tallest mountain of its world.
– Silver Millennium, this small world of alabaster and crystal is Usagi’s homeworld. Outside of the beautiful kingdom, known as the Moon Kingdom, there is little to see on this world.
– Golden Elysion, the world in which Mamoru hails from. It is lush and green, with a golden palace encircled by a decorative rose garden (think like a miniature Versailles).
– Temple of Flames, this is a world of warriors, shrines, and sacred fire and is the world from which Rei comes. The two sacred shrines, Phobos and Deimos, sit prominently side by side.
– Jove's Stand, this thickly forested world is the home of Makoto. Only the twin towers of Io Castle, known as Astrapios (“lightninger”) and Brontios (“thunderer”), can be seen above the tall treeline.
– The Sleeping Wastes, looms before the growing Darkness. It is a ruinous planet that whispers of a once great kingdom. The remnants of Titan Castle, formerly a grand citadel, looks hauntingly beautiful in its ruin.
– Miranda, the Winged Isle, is a world that roams freely through space. It has no fixed location and can randomly appear anywhere. (Reminiscent to Monstro’s ability in Kingdom Hearts.)

→ Special Worlds include:
– Makaiju, a strange, stony world with a large alien tree rising from the craggy, dry ground. The tree's roots are vast and crawl over the landscape.
– Marzipan Castle, a world covered in clouds with a large, round castle floating in the clouds.
– Galactica Palace, sparse world with a large, gothic-styled castle standing proudly alone on its land. A crystal, known as the Garden Crystal, rests between its tallest spires.

Universe Need-to-Know Info:
→ The weapons of choice in this universe are called Keyblades wielded by their owners. There are a variety of Keyblades that hail from different worlds, but in this RP each character will keep their original Keyblades. List of Keyblades, which includes stats and effects.
→ There are monsters roaming around called Heartless. Their sizes and abilities vary. Here is a complete list of Heartless within the Kingdom Hearts universe.

Restrictions: Only the Inner Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen will be available for this RP.

Source(s): KHWiki and WikiMoon are my friends. <3

OOC Thread: Link

Member to Character List:
Usagi → Meganekko (Adopted by Sailor Mercury)
Ami → Sportsnutd
Rei  → Sailor Saturn
Makoto → Lyssarie
Minako → Sailor Mercury
Mamoru → Sailor Uranus

*Ami*

Ami had just finished reading two long books that she loved and was tired and went to go lay down and she fell asleep. The rain outside her home in Mariner's Landing was calming to her and made the rest easier. Now in dreamland..she heard the voice again that she had been hearing the past week... "Choose one to have.." 

In the room Ami stood and before her was a sword, shield and a rod. Ami didn't know what to think of it...besides it was the 4th time she had this dream..she then decided to walk over to the shield and she grabbed it, while the rod and sword disappeared. The voice then spoke again, "You..Ami Mizuno have chosen to be a Guardian. You will now wield the dream Shield." She then fell back to sleep.

I’VE BEEN HAVING THESE WEIRD THOUGHTS LATELY… LIKE IS ANY OF THIS FOR REAL OR NOT?

Usagi groaned as she opened her eyes. Things were blurry and dark at first, but as she laid there, her vision cleared. She had expected to see the shining, alabaster ceilings of the Moon Castle looming over her, but she was greeted by a wooden ceiling instead. Confused, Usagi sat up. The room was entirely unfamiliar. Nothing on Silver Millennium looked like this place. She felt a shiver creep up her spine and she gripped the coarse, heavy blankets laying over her. Where am I? she wondered, her blue eyes roaming the room. How did she get here?

Then it all came rushing back. The dreams about her destiny. The voice telling her that she must choose her weapon: the Rod, the Sword, or the Shield. She had chosen the Rod… Then the Heartless came the very next day… Had they known about her dreams? Why would they care? And then the portal appeared and the voice—that same voice from her dreams—telling her to go through it. And she did.

But she has been so panicked, she hasn't even thought… What had happened to everyone else? Were they safe? Was her mother safe? How could she have been so thoughtless to abandon them! But what could she have done? She had no weapon, no skills… An immense wave of guilt and self-loathing swept over her. Usagi blinked hard, fighting back the tears, but they still managed to squeeze out from her eyes and down her cheeks.

What am I going to do now? she thought helplessly.

Makoto awoke covered in sweat. The only sounds other than her breathing were the sides of the forest outside. What on earth had just happened? She walked over to the window and looked out.

She put her hand on her chin... she could still remember those echoing words.
"...being different... to be strong....freindship..." those were the answers she had given after picking up the sword.

Not able to sleep, she went outside to walk in the woods. That strange creature... was it real... just a dream. She couldn't shake that ominous feeling. She had no clue what was true or not anymore. It all felt so real.

Looking to the left, Makoto noticed a cave that wasn't there before. "That's odd.." she said, something pushing her to walk towards it.

Inside, she stopped in her tracks. A purple swirling vortex appeared on the cave's back wall. She couldn't hold on anymore, the void was pulling her closer. Grabbing onto the nearest tree, she looked at the void in horror. It was going to swallow her. She had no idea where it lead to, but she knew she couldn't hold on much longer.

Within moments Makoto was hurled towards the swirling vortex, and sucked inside. She landed hard, on a cobblestone walkway, and blacked out. The only thing she remembered seeing was something with the name "Cid".

Ami didn't get to get back to sleep. There suddenly was a lot of loud banging and thunder outside of her home then they appeared. Black creatures: some big some small and Ami screamed in terror. She tried to run to her door and after a few tries got outside. Suddenly in her mind a voice spoke, "Go to the cave and jump through the portal" This voice kept repeating and more and more it was urging her to do as it said. She ran until she found a cave and saw the portal. She toughened herself up the best she could and jumped through it... when she came out the other side she fell on her face and slowly got up then noticed another women lying on the ground. Not knowing who she was or where for that matter, Ami grabbed the other women and tried to pick her up to take her to the door in front of them..she couldn't..she wasn't strong enough but she was able to drag the girl to the wall of the building and sit her upright. She then ran over to the front door and pounded on it, "OPEN UP PLEASE!! there are two of us out here and were lost..PLEASE OPEN UP!!"

Her boots slammed into the cobblestones as she fell through the portal and stumbled down to her knees. She had tried to stop the momentum taking her through that cursed thing, but the deep vortex had opened for her, welcoming her with whispers. Once it had taken hold of her it didn't let go no matter how much Rei had struggled.

For a long moment, Rei couldn't move, body taut with stress and fear. And bright red anger, raging hot and fast inside of her.

Despite this, tears stung at her eyes as the frustration and helplessness of the situation caught up with her. She didn't know what those creatures of darkness had been. At first, Rei had thought they were part of a dream. Her dreams had been so realistic as of late, it didn't seem that strange a possibility. She almost expected to wake up with the Sword in her hand. Instead, she had awoken weaponless and powerless to help.  

This was no dream - not even a terrible nightmare. The destruction those creatures wreaked was too real. And the people... her people! They needed her help! No one wanted her help, and had instead pushed her back further into the temple. She needed to be protect, they claimed. To be kept as far away from the fighting as possible. She had been pushed into a guarded room with her grandfather, as the battle rang out around them. Her grandfather had argued with her, unflinching as she lashed out at him with venom in her voice. If you die, their sacrifices will have been in vain, he told her. There had been sadness in his voice, but the strength was resolute.

She couldn't remember how long they had been sequestered in that chamber, the miniature replicas of Phobos and Deimos staring back at her with judging eyes.

And then the creatures came again, pounding against the barred door in an attempt to get at its new targets. Grandfather had looked at her, and they nodded to one another as understanding swept through them wordlessly. They would go down fighting. Together.

Everything seemed to slow in that instance, and a strange glow filled the room. A portal, and the accompanying whispers inviting her to go through it. Stunned as she was, Rei hadn't noticed as Grandfather came up behind her and pushed her into its depthless void, only just seeing the calm and relieved expression on his face before the portal closed about her.

And now... she was in this forsaken place.

Damn him! Rei struck out a fist at the ground. She welcomed the pain for its distraction as more tears came unbidden to her eyes. Rei allowed herself a moment to grieve, for her home and for its people. And for her Grandfather. He was strong, but the years had sapped the agility from his bones. How could he have survived where all others had fallen?

Damn them all! They should have allowed her to help in the fight. She didn't know what she could have done without a weapon to aid her, no armor to shield her, but she would have fought with everything she had. She could have done something.

Rei forced herself to her feet at that thought, and began to take in her surroundings as painful emotions burned.

What now?

“Ah! You're awake!”

Usagi's head snapped up the moment she heard the voice. She looked around the room, but she didn't see anyone—just a dark cat sitting in the doorway. Usagi eyed the cat suspiciously. It hadn't just spoke, had it? But there didn't seem to be anyone else that the voice could have come from. Still, Usagi couldn't stop herself from saying, “Yes, I am!” in a loud voice—enough that she could clearly be heard outside the room.

“I'm glad to see that you're feeling better,” the cat answered with a smile. She stared in disbelief.

“You really can talk!” the blonde exclaimed, gawking as the cat padded into the room.

“Of course, I can!” the cat answered before bounding up onto the bed. “My name is Luna. And you are Usagi—is that right?”

“How… how did you know who I am?” Usagi asked cautiously. Could it be with those shadow creatures that had attacked Silver Millennium? It was almost black in color and it did have a strange crescent moon symbol on its forehead.

“The Voice* told us about you,” the cat explained.

Usagi's suspicion about the cat being a possible enemy melted at the mention of the Voice. “The Voice? You mean, the one I've been hearing in my dreams? The one that told me to go through the portal?” Usagi asked, her tone becoming a little shrill from excitement.

The cat only got a nod in before Usagi continued with her bombardment of questions. “What does she want with me? And who are these ‘others’ you mentioned?”

“You had the dream, didn't you? And you chose your weapon?” The cat saw the girl nod. “Well, then, the Voice wants you to fight the Heartless.”

“How in the world am I supposed to do that?!” the girl shouted, startling Luna. “I have no weapon—and I don't know how to fight,” she finished with a huff, hiding her guilt beneath her brief layer of anger. How could this Voice choose her to fight these monsters? She had to be the weakest person in Silver Millennium. She had no knowledge of warfare or any fighting skills of any kind!

OOC:

Makoto groaned as she came to, placing a hand on her head. "That landing was harder than expected." She got to her feet and looked around. She saw fluffy floating creatures with balls on their heads heading in many different directions. 

She sighed. She wondered what else was around this town. "Why couldn't that dream have meant something..." Makoto muttered to herself. She figured the sword would be useful since she was in an unknown place with not native creatures flying around everywhere. 

The echoes on the cobblestone were really the only sounds except for the random "Kupo" from one of the floating entities. She had no idea how to make any sense of this town. She noticed big castle style doors to her right and left, but she didn't want to go through without any knowledge of what could be behind them. Maybe she should try to find someone that was an actual human. 

She began her search, hoping it would turn up something.

The air was too cool here, Rei noted with distaste. There was no life in it at all, and it couldn't even begin to compare to the spicy heat she was used to back home. Rei took in a deep breath, and missed the familiar tingling on her nose and tongue.

Too quiet, as well. Rei frowned. No, that wasn't quite right. It wasn't exactly quiet here - she could detect the normal sounds of shopkeepers and patrons conversing, the sounds of footsteps and the clinking of cutlery against ceramic dishes. Although somewhat normal, gone was the backdrop of deep chanted singing that continued to thrum throughout her home, the notes a person could feel in their very bones.

Rei's anger bubbled hotter beneath the surface, and she took a moment to glare at everything that dared to look wrong and out of place. This wasn't where she wanted to be. This wasn't home.

And she hated it. She hated all of it, and she wanted to yell at each offensive thing - inanimate or not. From the weird cobblestones to the way the buildings had been constructed. Even the lamps lighting the area were wrong and terrible and she hated them especially in all their artificial mockery.

Rei took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly as she murmured to herself, "Phobos and Deimos, guide me." She could feel the strength and calm pooling into her from the simple prayer, and it helped clear her head.  

They, at least, were still with her.

Rei lifted her head and took a step forward. She didn't know where she was. She didn't know how to get back home. But she was smart, and capable. She'd find a way. Somehow.

Usagi's head was swimming. The Voice expected her to fight these monsters. But how was she to fight when she had no weapon? “All in good time” the cat had said with a knowing nod. It made Usagi think that even the cat didn't know how she was going to get a weapon.

Unable to sit there, listening to that cat any longer, Usagi got out of the bed and stated that she was going for a walk. Although part of her hoped this was all a crazy dream (those dreams did feel very real), she knew it wasn't. She needed time to think and take in everything she had just learned.

“Be careful while you're out,” the cat had said as she left. “There are Heartless here, too.”

Wonderful.

Usagi sighed and looked around at the town. In the distance she could see a large sign that read “District 2”. That must be where I am, she thought to herself. She hoped that the sign would help keep her from getting lost.

Usagi walked along the sidewalk, looking at the shops and houses that were squashed together alongside it. She had learned from the cat that the world she was on was called Traverse Town and it was a town to which the wanderers and the lost flocked. But for a town that looked so crowded with buildings, there certainly didn't seem to be a lot of people about.

Just as Usagi turned to go down some stairs, three Shadow Heartless and two Soldier Heartless appeared in front of her. Usagi screamed, turned around, and ran. The Heartless hot on her heels.

Cool blue eyes watched from a distance, her body pressed against the spire of a local building. The breeze toyed with the red ribbon in her hair, causing it to flutter like a restless butterfly against the blonde's head. She squinted slightly against the sun, watching the pigtailed young woman run between the buildings, with Heartless following her closely.

"Are you sure this is the right person, Artemis?" The voice that asked was calm and collected, despite the events unfolding below.

"Of course," came the reply from around her shoulders. A white cat nestled there against the similarly-white fur collar of her jacket, his blue eyes intent on the same target as hers. "The Voice wouldn't be wrong."

Minako nodded, her mouth a thin, hard line. That she knew to be true. Everything that she had been told had come to pass. The Keyblade. The Heartless. The mysterious threat she faced, trying to protect Aphrodite's Ascent. In a way, she had hoped it could have ended there, but this mission she had accepted stretched out across other worlds. Even that concept—other worlds—baffled her sometimes. Yet she could not deny that the portal had appeared exactly as predicted, and they had found themselves here, as they had been informed they would.

And this was the girl that had been spoken of.

Makoto sighed as she turned around, surprised she hadn't noticed the blue haired girl looking quite panicked before. She must have been too caught up in her own situation. She really didn't notice much when she came to except the fact that this wasn't home.

Makoto walked up to her "Are you from this town?" She asked, trying to stay calm as the girl looked rather timid. Who knows who she could be or what could happen, however. Ever since going through that portal in the cave she was on high alert.

"Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?" she asked, wondering if the same phenomenon that happened in the cave was also happening here. She was just trying to make sense of it all. On her homeland there were more forests than buildings, so this place was fairly intimidating.

Ami stopped panicking when she hear the other girls voice and turned around hugging her, "Oh good heavens your alright.." She let go and looked around, "My name is Ami and I live in Mariner's Landing..which is not where we are thats for sure..compared to my home everything is out of the ordinary."

The blonde’s efforts to outrun the Heartless were futile at best and as she ran only more Heartless appeared. Fear gripped her and the girl only proceeded to run faster until she had nowhere left to run. She had run herself into a corner and the Heartless—7 Shadows, 3 Soldiers, and 2 Large Armors—surrounded her.

A shrill cry escaped the girl’s mouth as soon as two Shadows collapsed into the ground. She watched as their shadowy forms crawled closer before rising up from the stone floor before her. Her heart raced and her eyes were wide. They came at her and the girl managed to dive clumsily out of the way.

“Help!” she screamed at last. “Somebody! Anybody!”

The stars shone brightly in this city without a daytime sky. His gaze loosened as he breathed slowly in, then out, feeling the cool breeze and just existing, letting go of everything but the mental hand that held the sea of questions at bay. He had an idea of what he was supposed to be doing, just not how to accomplish those goals, and while he was confident that patience would win out, he couldn't help the small, anxious voice that nagged at him that he could be doing something more. But then he was doing something more. His breath caught, eyes coming into focus at a newly darkened patch of sky, and he stood, carefully keeping his balance on the rooftop's edge, searching that region to reaffirm his observation.

Another star had gone out. 

He swallowed, his dominant gloved hand twitching once, his mind changing gears, glancing over towards District 1, where any new arrivals would be appearing. They'd need help, or an explanation at the very least. He'd tell --

A scream tore through the quiet streets and he jerked into a ready position, the scream sudden and somewhere beneath him. He sidestepped around to see better, jumping up to the taller rooftop beside, rushing forward to look over the edge just in time to see a girl with long blonde pigtails running away from the building with an armload of Heartless chasing her. So many?! He dashed after, shadowing her on the rooftop, considering his options, and with a twitch he opened his hand and called out with his heart and his Keyblade appeared. He gripped it tightly, confidently, and --

She turned towards a dead-end. 

New strategy. 

Two of the Heartless melted and phased towards her and she screamed again. She dodged just as he launched himself off the rooftop, flipping once to get his feet in position to kick off of the dead-end wall and, Keyblade ready, sliced at one of the Heartless pair as he hit the ground and rolled off the momentum. He spun up to his feet between the girl and the small hoarde, holding Enigmatic Rose before him in a defensive stance, his gaze sweeping back and forth over them to prepare a counter for their next strike.

Someone else should be coming soon - a scream that loud wouldn't be ignored - but, worst case scenario, he could distract them and lead them away. No matter what this girl did to deserve the attention of so many, the prospect of a Keyblade wielder should trump it. They'd follow him, she'd get to safety. The Hotel wasn't that far away.

If anyone had looked at her, they would have seen purpose in her stride. Each step had an intended destination that she would not stop in reaching.

In truth, Rei didn't know where her feet were taking her. All she knew was that she had to keep moving. Perhaps divine inspiration would strike her and tell her where to go. Rei gave another small prayer to Phobos and Deimos and kept walking.

A scream echoed and bounced around her, causing Rei to freeze in her steps. She frowned, pinpointing the direction that the scream had come from.

She couldn't quite place it, and for a moment, she almost wondered if she had imagined it.

With all of the strange whispers she'd been hearing of late, Rei couldn't completely rule out that possibility. Still as stone, she waited, just in case.

The screams became panicked words and Rei thanked Phobos and Deimos for their help.

For this was obviously the sign she'd been waiting for. This was where she needed to go. It was as clear as a written invitation.

Rei ran, any uncertainty swept away by fiery resolution. She kept running until she came upon a dead end. First she saw the girl, golden hair like a beacon, then the man protecting her.

Then, the creatures. Rei frowned, recognizing them instantly. They were the same creatures that attacked her home, and her people. Her grandfather. The flames of anger burned inside her and she scowled at them, daring them to attack, all as she looked around for something to fight with.

She wouldn't lose this chance for revenge.

She had summoned the Keyblade to her hand before she even heard the scream. The more they worked together, the more Adorabella became familiar and comforting. The golden weapon with highlights of pale, silvery-blue felt cool and evenly-weighted in her gloved hand. She felt Artemis shift his position around her neck, ready to stay with her when she started running. They were a team, after all. His presence kept her grounded and focused.

Her gaze had not left the blonde, but she didn't want to intercede on a whim. After all, if this was really the one she was waiting for, then she should be able to—

She hissed a curse under her breath when a dark-coated figure leaped from the skyline and entered the fray, facing off against the Heartless. Him. Minako pressed her lips together, eyes darkening, and remembered all the times their paths had crossed so far. He fought against the Heartless, so technically they were on the same side, but they didn't follow the same strategy. Whatever his objective was, she doubted it matched her own. She hadn't bothered to engage him and find out—and the more she watched him pull stunts like this, the less likely she was going to do so.

The blonde sighed, feeling like she had little option than to join in. Artemis clearly understood what she was doing, for he jumped from her shoulders just as she plunged down from the rooftops, blade swinging, ready to cleave through the Heartless below.

Usagi hadn’t thought that anyone would hear her. She didn’t know why. Traverse Town wasn’t a bustling place. It was strangely quiet. Now Usagi knew why—it was rampant with Heartless. Or maybe it was just her. She couldn’t say for sure, but she really hadn’t much time to think about it before he suddenly appeared. He bounded from the rooftops, ricocheting off the walls, and cut through one of the smaller Heartless, causing it to vanish. He stood between her and the others, the scent of roses wafting from him as a faint breeze passed through. Usagi stood behind him, breathless and staring, thankful that he wasn’t facing her because she knew she was gawking. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears, though she didn’t really know if it was because of her fear or the sudden appearance of the mysterious boy.

The Heartless that had lost its partner seemed to be evaluating the situation with the sudden appearance of the Keyblade wielder. Fortunately, it didn't need to think long before two other Shadows melted into the ground behind it and began to crawl over the cobblestones. The lone Heartless followed suit. One of the Large Armors¹ also stomped forward, preparing to jump and hopefully unbalance their newfound foe.

Usagi was too caught up in the hoard of Heartless that stood before her and her protector that she didn’t see the dark-haired girl in the distance—or the one that was flying down from the rooftops, much like the mystery man had. But a surprised shriek escaped the pigtailed girl’s mouth as the other blonde’s Keyblade came down on one of the Soldiers’ helmets with a hard clang.

Notes:

Ami was waiting on the girls response when she heard a scream or a shriek of what sounded like another girl and said, "Will you be ok by yourself, miss? I need to go...im sorry.." Ami then forgot to wait for the girls answer and ran off finding the screaming girl and some..others with items like hers and she ran into the side of one of the black creatures and swung her keyblade trying her best to hurt it or even distract it.

Color at the street pulled at his attention but it wasn't the girl he had expected to see, nor anyone else from the Traverse Town Protectors. He didn't recognize her - a new arrival, then, he mused, adjusting his grip on the Enigmatic Rose and shifting his weight slightly, keeping his guard up. Normally he would have yelled for a new arrival to go get help, but not this one - intense would hardly describe what he he saw in her expression and the way she held herself. Whoever she was she was definitely a fighter, and with this many of them he was happy to have her there. 

The lone heartless melted into the ground and fell in with another two that phased their way towards him - 

A streak of light interrupted the monotonous building facade beyond him and he set his jaw, glancing beyond the trio to better gauge and guard against how the heartless would react to her attack. He didn't care much for Minako, but she was exactly whom he wanted to see right now; Motoki and Naru could have handled themselves, but in this situation she was ally he needed. ... Even if they weren't exactly on good terms. Minako could take care of herself and destroy the Heartless, leaving him free to defend the civilian and focus on countering any that she couldn't keep busy. 

...Which could be up to nine of them but who was counting.

His eyes widened as he caught the slight crouch in the Large Armor as it lumbered forward, the dip indicative of a jump - a jump he couldn't move out of the way of with the girl behind him and one he couldn't counter from in front. A quick glance confirmed their escape route highly suspect with the three shadows moving in. The girl behind him screamed again, high pitched and sudden enough to make him flinch, and his heart pounded in response to her obvious fear. Plans came and went in an instant, but without knowing how the civilian would react he couldn't chance any of them.

"Minako!" he called, setting his feet to stay in place as best he could and bracing his keyblade with his other hand as he unleashed his Reflect spell to ward off the Large Armor's jump. Once the Large Armor landed, breaking the barrier and  and setting off the outward explosion, he'd grab the girl, jump the (hopefully stunned) Shadows and get out of the corner before the Armor could jump again. ...or Minako could help him by taking care of the Large Armor on the knockback from setting off the spell. She was like as not to do it, but despite how being in her debt again would make him feel, her help with the armor would give him enough breathing room to leave the civilian long enough to deal with the shadow Heartless for good, and that was worth it.

And if she ignored him, well, what else was new. 

The Large Armor jumped, but his reflect spell was ready. He braced.

The echoes of battle rang around her, calling up memories that pulled at her focus. She watched from the corner of her eye as a girl dressed in blue joined the fray, while another girl with golden hair dropped from the sky. She didn't have time to ponder that last one, as Rei put her full attention onto scanning the ground, looking for something to use as a weapon. Debris, loose lumber, anything.

Her mind cruelly replayed the final moments she spent home, the sounds surrounding her making those memories only stronger.

She would fight these creatures. They couldn't be allowed to ever hurt another person. Her need for revenge, to do something, burned ever bright.

A strange sensation heated the center of her clenched fist. A moment later, her hand gripped the pommel of a strange weapon. It reminded her of the weapons the three fighting were using.

It was warm to the touch, inviting. Though oddly shaped, it felt good in her hand. The runes prominent in the end of the blade were the same runes found etched in the statues of Phobos and Deimos back home.

She smiled then, and thanked them both once more.

Then she turned and found a dark creature to attack, swinging her new weapon with surprising ease.

Spoiler:

Internally, Minako groaned. Ever since he had arrived in Traverse Town, the guy with the Keyblade just had to keep getting in her way. It was so much harder to follow the instructions from Artemis and the Voice without attracting too much attention when someone walked around talking about weapons and magic and locking town, gathering civilians who couldn't even protect themselves into his cause. He didn't seem to realize that he jeopardized the temporary sanctuary that he and his friends relied on simply because he continued to introduce new people to it!

But regardless of her feelings about a dark-haired guy named Mamoru, she wasn't going to lose this important opportunity with the girl she had been waiting for all this time. Her keen blue eyes quickly observed his intention. She would engage the Large Armor that threatened him when she had a good shot to its back or side after the impact of Reflect. Her grip on Adorabella adjusted slightly, ready for battle.

The blonde leaped backwards after ricocheting off the helmet of the Heartless she had landed on, kicking her heels off the nearby wall, and realigned herself to fly forward, slicing at the venerable parts of the Large Armor when the opportunity arose.

Makoto's head was spinning. First she was safely at home, then she ended up here - wherever that was - and now she was running following the weird girl with blue hair. She had never heard of "Mariner's Landing," and this town itself was completely unfamiliar to her. Where was the familiar vivid green? Where was the fresh scent of flowers and trees? 

Despite all of her questions and confusions, Makoto decided her best way to get answers would be to follow the blue-haired girl towards the source of those screams. Someone needed help, and Makoto wasn't one to ignore such a cry. 

Makoto found herself in the midst of several ugly, black creatures who were attacking a group of unfamiliar people. Seeing the battle, Makoto felt her fingers twitch, itching to fight. There was a group of smaller enemies with some armor on their bodies - they wouldn't be too hard to fight. She sprinted forward, rearing back with her fist and swinging a hard punch at the first Soldier she reached. Her fist connected squarely - perfectly - with the creature's armor-less abdomen, and she smirked. That would knock the wind out of it, for sure.

But nothing happened. The creature seemed to almost cackle at her, further inciting Makoto's rage. She punched again, and again, but each time, nothing happened. 

"What the hell?!"

The massive body launched itself and landed heavily on his reflective shield and the magic burst outwards. Light and energy radiated away from him, knocking the armor back and directly into a flying streak of orange and yellow - 

Minako actually helped him? 

The Large Armor burst apart, Minako's Keyblade slicing neatly into its weaker sides, and Mamoru immediately turned and lunged, Enigmatic Rose arcing at the edge of his grip as he struck out at two of the three shadows that had attempted to flank them, his free arm stretched to cover the girl.

Usagi could only stand behind the boy,  suspended in her terror, but she quickly snapped out of her fright when she heard the boy call out to someone named Minako. The young blonde suddenly became aware that the boy and she weren't the only ones fighting the Heartless. There were four girls gathered there, all fighting Heartless. Who were these people? How did almost all of them seem to have those strange key-like weapons like the one the boy held?



The large Heartless vanished at the swipe of the other blonde's blade. The two small Heartless vanished as Mamoru's blade cut through them, leaving that lone Shadow alone again. The Shadow melted back into the cobblestones before the boy could swipe at it.

There were only 3 Shadows, 3 Soldiers, and 1 Large Armor left.

The Soldier that Minako had lept from had recovered from its disoriented state and charged forward at the dark-haired boy, its shining eyes set on the girl behind him.

The Shadow that Ami had swung at ducked, partially melted against the cobblestone before reforming and swiping its black, claw-like hands at her.

The Soldier that Rei had swiped at with her newfound weapon saw her just at the last second. Her blade connected with its armored breastplate and the creature stumbled backwards into the Shadow that stood behind it.

The Large Armor that Makoto punched only rumbled with laughter before bumping its belly out, bouncing the girl's pounding fists back each time. It's amusement, however, faded quickly. The large monster drew a large first back before swinging it as its assailant.

Certain that the Soldier had both the boy and the girl’s attention, the Shadow slithered over the stones, making a large circle around, trying to slip by the practiced fighter to get the girl that was now clinging to the sleeve of his extended arm.

Ami tried to hit a heartless and missed the creature then somehow to Ami's surprise melted into the cobblestone floor then swiped its claws at Ami hitting her in her stomach causing her to back up and bend over grabbing her stomach.."oh man..that hurts...I need to keep fighting..help everyone.."

Rei glared as the creature was able to deflect her attack, as if to reprimand it for daring to escape her. Its pale blank eyes glowed beneath the oddly shaped helmet and Rei found herself perturbed by the way it moved.

What are these things?

As it stumbled backwards, she took the opportunity to strike again, hoping to get past its defenses as it faltered.

She was more versed in wielding the katanas back home than this strange key-shaped blade, but it felt balanced in her hands, never too heavy or cumbersome despite its somewhat bulky design.

The warmth of the metal seemed to invite her in, wanting her to wield it. To fight with it.

And so she did. Rei struck out once more, aiming for the unprotected area of the creature, and putting all of her anger into the attack.

Minako moved like a whirlwind, her long hair merely a flash of gold as she kept up with the battle. The blue eyes switched from target to target, expertly slicing and slashing. She had fought enough of these to know their weak spots and avoid their protected areas, and most of the time they couldn't keep up with her superior speed. In a way... she liked fighting the Heartless. She missed her home, of course, and she hadn't exactly loathed her life before all of this... but the way the adrenaline coursed through her and the burn of her muscles didn't really fill her with dread. "Thrill" described it better.

Of course, she wasn't lost in these musings while she fought. Combat deserved all of her attention.

That's why she noticed the Shadow slinking around across the cobblestones. The one that got closer to the blonde girl, the one she had been waiting for. The chosen one.

"Look out!" Minako called, delivering a sideways slash to the Soldier in front of her, intended as a killing blow. She couldn't want to turn her back to it, but she would throw herself in front of the pigtailed girl if she had to. She had been waiting too long to lose her now.

Makoto was so furious that she almost - almost - didn't notice the fat creature pulling back for a punch. Her Jovian reflexes kicking in, Makoto dropped to the ground and rolled, coming up a few feet behind the enemy. It was immune to her physical attacks, so how could she beat it? She looked around her at some of the other girls who were fighting, noticing how some had a strange weapon in their hands. 

Suddenly, Makoto felt something in her hand, and when she looked down, there it was - her own...sword? It was odd - shaped like a key, but with a strange pattern that seemed to be a cross between flowers and lightning bolts. Her eyes widened as she ran her finger along the blade, feeling its sharp edge slice her skin. It was a lethal weapon, that was certain. 

But Makoto didn't use weapons. No one from Jove's Stand ever did. She was skilled in physical combat - one of the best in her world - but with weapons? She was far from being close to an amateur. If anyone from Jove's Stand saw her with this weapon in her hands, they would give her looks of disapproval and disgust. Weapons such as this one were clear signs of weakness. 

But that was in Jove's Stand. Not here. Things were...different here. Her instructors had always taught Makoto to mold with her environment, so maybe that was what she had to do. 

Clutching her keyblade tightly, Makoto let out a fierce battle cry before striking the large creature from behind.

@Sportsnutd
The Shadow seemed to study the blue-haired girl as she stumbled back. It was calculating, evaluating. It melted against the rocks, its form slithering over them. It tried to circle around as she stood doubled over. Quickly it reformed on her left, claws ready.

@Sailor Saturn
The Soldier's collision with the Shadow behind it brought the Shadow's attention off of the dark-haired boy and the girl he protected. It turned and studied the raven-haired girl that had sent the Soldier stumbling back into it. A silent agreement seemed to pass between the two monsters and the Shadow phased into the cobblestone while the Soldier charged forward towards Rei.

@Sailor Mercury
The Keyblade connected, but the Soldier had seen it coming. It hadn't been able to deflect the girl's attack, but it was still standing, a dark look in its shining eyes. Gripping its side with one gauntlet-covered hand, it charged towards her again.

@Lyssarie
The brunette's battle cry had given the monster too short of notice to realize where she had disappeared to. The creature vanished as her Keyblade connected with its side, disappearing in a gust of black smoke.