Towers of Destruction

[serpentoflore]

**From Copper Discovery (Middleton)**

Sarah's eyes opened, her body half over what looked to be a seat. The only thing that kept her in her current position was the strap she had managed to put on while the ship moved. She pushed herself up, looking around. The last thing she could remember was that nightmare...

Pulling one hand to her face, she adjusted her glasses. They had managed to stay on her face the entire ride, hanging dangerously from her nose. 'Am I still dreaming?' Putting her thumb and pointer finger together on her arm, she pinched. "It..." She wanted to cry at the realization. It wasn't a dream.

She focused on releasing the strap that held her body against the comfortable seat. Once she managed to do so, she noticed a pile of random items close to her location. Perhaps it there would be a map fro this 'nowhere' place she now was. She began to dig into the pile, feeling two pieces of paper underneath the pile. "These aren't maps..."

[The Heartless Army]

The girl had discovered two of the missing Keyblade Notes!

***KEYBLADE NOTES 2 & 3 ADDED TO THE RECORD!***

The screen that had Jumba on it smiled brightly and stated happily, "Am now Nowhere! Having nice day!" and then went blank and quiet. She was left all alone in this dark world, the Castle of Nowhere towering over the nicely landed ship, the destroyed heart-moon hanging over that.

Add to matters... the Diamond-scarred creature... was looking in the window!

[serpentoflore]

Sarah turned towards the screen, startled. She placed the pieces of paper in her clothing somewhere, making sure it wasn't going to fall out. Turning towards the window, she noted that one of the creatures had still managed to hang on. 'So that creature wasn't a dream either... I just hope there's somewhere to get away.' Going to the place she had found the opening, she pushed the button. She wasted no time in running out of the ship and towards the closest structure she could find. She didn't care where she went now, as long as that creature didn't attack her.

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]Shego... had this awkward sense of an expression, looking up toward the two that were with her: Beatrix and Acteur. The thief's gaze slowly raised to look up through the ballroom sky-window. One of her eyebrows shot up while the other stayed low, in a perplexed way, "Uhh..." she would start, her free hand, which did not hold the new Holographic Imager would point at that black spec, "Did anyone order a pizza?"

There was a light pause as she saw the ship descending. She had NO idea how to react to such a puzzling situation. Shego got up from her sitting position and dusted herself off before looking to the others, " Is that one of ours?? I feel Cuddles!"[/glow]

[Acteur de la Noir]

Acteur de la Noir--the high-ranking Heartless who had the gift of self-awareness, and had garbed himself in the flamboyant attire of a 17th-century nobleman, tilted his head to one side in a quizzical gesture as he considered the object of Shego's bafflement. While his features were hidden behind a porcelain actor's mask, any who knew this Heartless would know that this did more to accentuate his mood than to hide it--the wide crescent-moon gap of that fiendish smile was subject to change as the situation demanded; and the keen yellow eyes that peered though the mask's angular eye-holes glittered with a mischievous and diabolical wit all their own....much as they were right now.

Lifting a gloved hand to his hat as he looked out the ballroom's skylight, Acteur scratched his head in an exaggerated gesture of bafflement. "I must confess, this twist in the plot has even me surprised," the Heartless puppeteer mused. "But not for long, my dear...you said you felt Cuddles, oui? Perhaps my brethern can lend us an exposition..."

With that, Acteur's keen yellow eyes seemed to narrow to thin slits behind his mask--not out of any display of anger, but simply closing in concentration. Focusing his will, the Heartless performer spoke in the subtle, penumbral language of his kind--speech that could not be defined via sound of motion alone, though it often manifested as such to the perception of most other beings. Were Shego and Beatrix to listen closely, they might have discerned that Acteur was speaking into the void, using his ability to command his lesser kin in order to locate and contact the one Shadow which stood apart from all the rest--both in appearance and importance (to certain present company, at the very least).

After a few moments, the summons was apparently answered; with a satisfied hum, Acteur de la Noir lifted one hand and snapped his gloved fingers. The result was instantaneous--one of the faint shadows cast by one of the ballroom's pillars became completely dark, a current of dusky magic flowing through it as it became a "gateway," of sorts--not a true Corridor of Darkness, but a medium which only the Heartless could travel through. And from this darkness, a small, imp-like creature sprang forth--wiry and jet-black, its only noteworthy features were its twisted antennae and the glowing yellow orbs of its eyes...oh, and that diamond-shaped scar. But what truly made this little Shadow unique was that it had a name--to the green-and-black beauty nearby, it was known as "Cuddles."

As soon as it saw Shego, the tiny Heartless scampered straight for her and leaped up into her arms, almost seeming to purr as it nuzzled into her chest like a pet cat. Lifting its head to look about quizzically, it caught sight of Acteur and began to communicate, flicking its antennae and gesturing vaguely with its clawed fingers. Depending on their connection to the darkness--and thus, the language of its denizens--Shego and Beatrix would probably have caught such fragments as "fled world in ship," "only one," and "ran into tower." That...and one other phrase of interest. "Keyblade Notes."

The remark hit Acteur like a thunderclap. For a moment, the Heartless Puppeteer just stood there, staring at his smaller brethern as it curled up in Shego's arms. Then he abruptly swept a hand across his face, leaving the wide slash of his mouth turned upside down. "Oh dear," he fretted in a tone not entirely exaggerated. "This could be trouble, oh yes indeed..."

[General Beatrix]

***From The silent Ballroom***

[glow=red,2,300]A lot had happened within the past couple minutes; Shego had granted the good general with an object outfitted with both magic and technology specially designed in her world, an object which could grant her access to the her biggest question: what her "allies" were up to.

This eye-widening amazement, however, was soon shunted aside as Acteur and Shego decided it was time to split, and exit; she followed quickly, even managing to move ahead a little, since she knew her way around here. When they arrived at the towers, she looked around, and saw the ship.

Setting her open hand on the hilt of Save the Queen, she gritted her teeth as the light slightly burned her hand, yet another sign she was slowly crawling deeper into the darkness.

"I know not of this pizza, but did that creature just say 'Keyblade Notes'? Or am I just imagining things?" She slowly patted herself on the right breast once, tapping the outside of her jacket to feel if the items in her breast pocket interior were still there. When she found they were, she nodded. Later, she thought.

"Keyblade..." Reminiscing back to the old days, she thought of the former Wielders, but then shook the nasty thought away.

"You two, I'd suggest you prepare yourself for the worst; we know not who this intruder is." With that, Beatrix whipped out Save the Queen and held it defensively.[/glow]

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]"Buddy~"Shego sang, snuggling the warm creature. The thief, who seemed rather 'heartless' and sarcastic towards others, again showed a caring light towards the small creature known as "Cuddles". She would hold him tightly, missing the tiny thing while she was busy, wondering where he had been all this time!

"Fled world in ship...only one...." rang a small voice within her heart. A familiar voice she had heard only once or twice before, "...Keyblade Notes" was the last bit she was able to catch, and her eyes widened. At this, the thief rested the small shadow down, and set her hands aflame, starring at the ship with menacing eyes. Ever since that dream... that dreadful dream of having Cuddles taken away by such a weapon had made her unease.

She glanced over to Beatrix with a raised eyebrow, "Ok, good, well you know what that is, I'm guessing." she mumbled, turning her gaze to the noble heartless before asking, "So.... do we blow crud up and ask questions later or welcome whoever it is with opened arms?" - when she asked this, she simulated a bear hug with green covered plasma, "Cuz who ever decided to get on our turf is either suicidal, or just plain stupid... or... ignorants?" The thief blinked, cooling down her fiery green glow while thinking about it, "Or a mix of three-- yeah, actually, they can be a LOT of things now that I think about it. Recruits? Scout of the goody army.... Tourists...." [/glow]

[General Beatrix]

[glow=red,2,300]"I highly doubt tourists can make it to this world, due to the high prices of Gummi Ships...and you're right; it is most likely an enemy. But who knows? I assume we prepare for the worst, however, since your pet did mention Keyblade Notes."

She nodded, and slowly advanced, looking around the crash site. "Now, where is our guest?"[/glow]

[serpentoflore]

It took Sarah a moment to figure out that she had no pursuer at the moment. What had happened? What was going on? Why was there a spaceship of all things? There were too many questions for her to ask. Her mother and father were gone and she had no idea what had happened to them. Just looking at the creatures had created an indescribable fear inside her.

Continuing to walk, she realized that she was completely lost. In a place she didn't even know existed. She was probably in the worst place possible. She began to hum, anything to let her mind relax. She had to forget what was going on, even if it took away reality for a moment.

'Please...tell me what's going on! Someone...'

**entering Queen's Chamber**

[Atticus the Fallen]

Out of sight of the towers (ironic, considering the scale of the towers in relation to the much larger vessel), The Harbinger was settling into the bunker, returning from its little trip across the cosmos. Soon, its crew was prepping for cool-down and its Captain was well on his way.

"Beatrix, Shego, and Acteur. Come to me at once. The girl is here. Show her the best of treatment in my palace." the voice of the self-proclaimed Queen of the Night would echo in the halls, all the way up to the tip-tops of those towers. Then, just as suddenly as the voice's echo had finished reverberting off the walls... another voice joined it.

"It would seem our host is in need of your assistance..." Atticus whispered all around them, his voice dark and terrible, echoing but not from the reflection of soundwaves off the walls. He stood behind the quartet, his arms behind his back. He had apparently just FORMED of the shadows only seconds prior. "Best to not keep her waiting..." he said, stepping aside so they may reach the door.

Looking to each of them, he'd respond in a proper way. Shego he would not courtiously to, which included Cuddles in her arms. To Acteur he gave a subtle look that only the madcap performer might recognize. It meant "Talk to me later about something important." As for Beatrix... his hand reached out and grabbed her arm firmly, not harshly.

"One moment..." he whispered to her, allowing the others to do as they needed, but retaining her but only a moment. "I need to ask you something urgent..." he said, now looking to her with those dark... horrifying eyes that had driven sane men to the brink of madness and beyond. "About documents obtained in Alexandria..."

[General Beatrix]

[glow=red,2,300]They looked around for a while, but found no one. "They must have escaped," said the general, looking around once more. "Which means there are intruders loose in the--" She soon heard the voice of Maleficent ringing clear through her mind.

"Well, never mind. Her Majesty's located her." She grinned, standing now by Shego and Acteur. They were quiet for a while, so she pulled out the iPod mechanism Shego'd designed and stared at it, attempting to see how it was created. "Eh...let us proceed, then," she said.

Atticus' voice soon followed, and she jumped. Then he was there, right behind them.

"The Waltz!" she cried, as he grabbed her arm. She struggled and pulled back, shouting for him to unhand her.

When he brought up Alexandria she shook her head and backed up, releasing herself from the grip. Only she and the mage were here now, and she turned. "You know very well that I destroyed that place. What documents were there are long gone, save for some books I retrieved."

She wasn't stupid; she knew exactly what Atticus was looking for. It became even more obvious when he appeared right after hearing "Cuddles" speak of Keyblade Notes.

"So, you're looking for the notes?" She felt them still in her breast pocket and turned back to the waltz.[/glow]

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]Shego jumped a little at the sound of Maleficent's voice, and shrugged it off, "Geesh- people and surpris-AHHH!!" she jumped again, hearing Atticu's voice and his amazing appearing behind you trick. She flailed a little, and tensed her hands to have them appear as claws, her left eye twitching angrily, "DARN IT, ATTICUS- DONT... DO THAT!" she spat out, patting her chest so her heart would chillax, "JEEBUS on TOAST- ALL OF YOU!"

She flung her arms upward and left Atticus to talk to Beatrix, walking off to where Queeny was. Mumbling curse words under her incoherent breath. She was certain Acteur had left them to their privacy, and cuddles would be cheerfully following Shego, having missed her plenty.

*** Leaves to CHAMBER OF THE BLACK QUEEN *** [/glow]

[Atticus the Fallen]

The Dark One took notice of Shego's...annoyance, but could do little to assuage it. Besides, he had more important things to worry about at this moment. He looked to Beatrix as she struggled, and let go when she pulled away. He only needed to detain her a moment, after all.

"My apologies..." he whispered, his voice now confined to only this room. He tilted his head when she spoke. Waltz. He had been called it twice before. Little did this woman know. When she spoke again, he looked off. "Ah... so your memories of the great things you've done in our name have returned to you... That is good..."

He now turned, tapping his chest where the symbol lay. Heartless. "Yes. I seek the notes. I look only to protect my family... and they represent a risk that I cannot tolerate. You say that you destroyed everything... You are our General, so I will take you for your word, but let me make one point perfectly clear to you right now..."

Here, the dark creature stepped forward, his presence heavy on the air... as if being near him was enough to drown in darkness. He leaned in close, until the feathers outlining the neck of his coat brushed teasingly against the woman's cheek. His voice was low... coming only from him, and as such... it was a demonic rumble of a voice.

[glow=red,2,700]"If you turn on our family again... I will not hesitate to tear your still-beating heart from your chest... and turn you into one of the multitude of our kind that now reside in the other world... frightened and waiting for news of conquest so that our heroic soldiers can come home..."[/glow]

With that, he stepped out of her personal space once more. Instantly, that stuffy feeling would go away and the darkness that closed around her heart only momentarily would losen its grip enough for her to continue her work. He stepped aside for her, even bowed like a gentleman when he did.

"Maleficent awaits you. It would be unwise to rouse her temper..."

[General Beatrix]

[glow=red,2,300]Beatrix listened as he spoke, but backed up slightly when he finished. She trembled slightly, but caught herself, unwilling to show fear in the eyes of her apparent master's master.

"Very well, Black Waltz. I can assure you that I will not willingly betray this family. The thing is, my heart is...at odds right now, with itself. If you remember the last time."

She shrugged and turned on her heel, and proceeded into the castle, her hand over her heart, as well as the two neatly folded Keyblade Notes.

"..."

***Off to Chamber of the Black Queen***[/glow]

[MeadowSong]

[glow=Purple,2,300]***From the Chamber of the Black Queen***

Maleficent pushed open the magnificent door leading out to the high Towers of Destruction and surveyed the landing site. She grimaced, and furrowed her brow, her nose scrunching in disgust. She saw Atticus standing alone and stepped up to his side, both her raven and Faeries' Wrath in tow.

"So it seems we have a visitor...and such a bright one, in fact. I know not how she made it here, but I foresee...nothing good. There is Keyblade-worthy light in her, and that could pose a threat. I have Shego, Beatrix and Acteur watching over her right now. Where did you send Kefka, again? Traverse Town? Have you heard anything new yet regarding that?"

She took a couple more steps forward and inspected the mess more closely.

"Jafar has not yet recovered, so some of my plans must suffer a longer waiting period than I had hoped for...

"And Atticus," she intoned, turning to face the Heartless. "I wonder if you noticed the strange anomaly that occurs when both Beatrix and that other woman's blades come together? I am sending Beatrix back to her companions to study this a bit farther. With Shego's ingenuity, it will be much easier to keep tabs on them while off-world, and I find it to be refreshing to have some success shadowing so many failures."

She pulled a crystal out from her robes and held it up for Atticus to inspect. "A crystal, from the world of Ivalice. Should Beatrix' knightly companion cause too much trouble, we can send this--after it has recovered--after her. Apparently people crystallize after death in certain situations." She stared deep into the crystal, seeing the forlorn face of a woman destined to be queen inside. She cackled.

"I must admit, he might be incompetent in some respects, but he is very good at retrieving sufficient information."[/glow]