My Legacy lives on...

[Secondary Characters]

Poor Wall-E was caught up in all of it once again! When the Heartless attacked, he hid behind Oeilvert and converted to box mode, but when they began to really let the heroes have it, he tried to escape as best he could.

Suddenly, a dust cloud appeared! He was blinded, roving around at random and bumping into things (mostly heartless) with little whistles or woo's of surprise. He heard Oeilvert calling for his wand, so he drove over to where he last heard it, looking around.

"Maaashekk!" he called out, reaching into himself to produce the wand he had found earlier. He waved it about, accidentally setting off sparks in every direction, nailing Heartless by complete mistake! He screamed loudly, then sped by Oeilvert in panick, stopping only seconds to put the wand where it belonged (in the wizard's hand) before continuing his fleeing actions!

As he drove at random toward what was assumably the edge of the dustcloud, Wall-E was suddenly handed a shield and instructed to protect himself. "Whoah!" he called out, holding it over his face in suprise. With a shrug, he turned to leave, but slammed it into the head of an oncoming Shaman like a wrestler making use of a metal chair! He lifted it up to see what he had just done only to smash the head of a Living Bone sneaking up behind him. Another turn to see what happened, and he'd take down a NeoShadow, all without knowing he had done it!

Looking around at the three knocked-out heartless, Wall-E let out a soft "ooo...." and was about to drive off again when suddenly Culaki came rushing by! The displaced air hit the shield hard and Wall-E was dragged at a speed he wasn't expecting behind the Ronso like a sailboat! "WHOOOOOAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!" he screamed, zipping by both Abigail and Ellin as he did!

[Ellin Destroix]

Ellin twirled her sword carefully, either knocking the Shaman and Live Bone unconscious or injuring them without KILLING them. She could not take a life after all, at least not now. Suddenly there was a wave of mad rush! She turned to see what had happened, and noticed Abigail getting up, and the Ronso WAY ahead with Wall-E!

"BRAVE CONSTRUCT!" She cheered for the small robot before noticing Abigail wanted to travel forward as well. The darkest knight grinned widely and followed afterward, with a light blush in her cheeks, "YES! We must go and help the Ronso!"

The knight grew serious and held her sword up to call behind her, "BLACK SKY!" and again, a small meteor shower would hit the ground near the Heartless-- causing dirt and the likes to spike up in order to blind them, helping Beatrix and the Green Mage and bird escape! She turned and looked to the white mage, keeping up with her in every step... of course getting slightly held back by her heavy armor.

[The Brass Duke]

Sai had called for regroup, and both the Sorcerer from Oz and the decorated former general of Alexandria abandoned their individual battles with Heartless and gave chase to the Ronso, trusting his knowledge of this foreign world to guide them somewhere safe.

Brass, on the other hand, was close to Sai, still engaged in brutal combat with these darkness-enhanced beasts of burden and their primate masters. The duke cracked down hard his cane on another oncoming Shaman's head and reached down to strangle it, sending forth surge after surge of electricity into the monster's body.

"If you can, contact your compatriot inside the Colossus and inform him to provide us with some kind of cover. Even if he simply runs over the Heartless, it's still an advantage we cannot afford to ignore."

"That sounds a bit reckless, don't you think!?" cried out the Brass Duke, knowing full well of Cobalt's capabilities of running the castle alone. He suddenly shook his head and grunted, remembering that Sai was not aware of that and therefore given no privilege to Cobalt's uselessness in control.

"Anyway, he may have helped build it, bu--" he cursed himself beneath his breath and threw up his arm to his lips, and spoke into the iron manacle bolted to his wrist.

"Cobalt, inform Tin and Gallium that they are to set Colossus into motion; run these beasts down and ready all defense mechanisms! I want cannon-fire everywhere! We need help down here! I am off with these people since I can not grab a Cooler! You're in charge for now! I will periodically fire off a flare so you can follow! I am..."

Rare...

"I am counting on you!"

He turned tail and ran, motioning for Sai to get going, as well. "Well, come along! It was your idea, after all!"

And as he continued the large castle began convulsing, and next light flared from several opening spots on the towered legs, launching off missiles, bombs and other sorts of dangerous material what colored the battlefield in smoke and fire.

[Culaki]

Culaki hardly noticed the small box-bot following behind him, his rage was so great against the Heartless. He had beaten a substantial number of them, but his strength was waning. He felt the bloodlust fading, and his arms grew heavy. He fought to take each step, his legs feeling as though they were made of lead.

Saliva dripped from his mouth and the sudden shock from having suffered so many wounds caught up to him. He fell to one knee, fending off blows from a group of six or seven Heartless as they converged on him. The majority of the wounds were on his back and the soft tissue of his belly, and as such were extremely sensitive.

He growled softly, knowing that he had to keep fighting. He heard a roar of encouragement, and realized that his Ronso bretheren were fighting alongside him. With a surge of vigor, he got to his feet, not quite as able and agile as his comrades, but still able to wield the Lion's Pride semi-effectively.

After a time, however, even his strength for the massive and heavy weapon waned. It slipped from his grasp, stabbing into the ground and staying. It was then that he noticed the small robot alone, facing a Living Bone and its Shaman Master. He stumbled forward for several steps, then took off at a lazy run.

Slamming his shoulder into the Bone, it shattered and broke, dropping the Shaman to the floor. He grabbed it by its head and twisted violently, ending its existence as he turned to the robot and knelt down, looking straight into its large binocular-eyes.

"Culaki...needs...water...energy...fading...do you have...?" His words came out jumbled, but the basic meaning being that his thirst was intense. Culaki needed water, or something, to slake his thirst. He wasn't sure how much longer he could fight on at the risk of dehydration, much less with all of the dried blood caking his fur.

He'd lost much of his energy, and he looked around grimly. His people were still fighting tooth and nail, guarding his weapon and their position firmly. He heard a noise behind him, and grabbed the box-bot quickly, holding it up. A sharp ping sounded, and the claw of a Neo-Shadow crumbled against the shield.

Culaki growled a sigh of relief, patting Wall-E on the head gently as he expressed his gratitude. He knelt in front of the small robot, casting his eyes about, providing defensive cover should anything attack while he awaited for Wall-E's response on whether or not he had a bottle.

"You...are quite useful, Wall-E Big Eyes. Culaki...is grateful for your assistance..."

[Sai]

What came next, Sai did not anticipate. The raining fire from the Colossus was so widespread that it overtook both himself and Brass as they ran. Dodging the blasts was swiftly becoming more and more difficult, especially with Heartless in pursuit. Luckily, the monsters were more likely to get swept up in fire and chaos than they, but that didn't take away the extremely high probability of fatality.

Sai had to do something drastic... something he did NOT want to risk, but had no choice. Reaching over, he wrapped an arm around the other man's waist and held him close to his own side, his other hand reaching forward to summon a corridor of darkness.

"Cover your head and hold your breath..." Sai informed Brass, giving him only seconds to comply with the protection of his eyes, ears, and nose as well as to catch one gulp of air. These were not effective means of protection against the darkness, of course, but they certainly played a hand in minimizing the damage. Before Brass could ask anything more, Sai leapt with the man into the portal, closing it behind them instantly to prevent debris following behind.

They floated... like a celestial body in space, they glode through the inky black of the spaces between. It felt like hours, but in reality was but seconds. Light would flood all around them as a hole ripped open in time and space, unceremoniously dumping them right next to Culaki. Sai hit first, meaning Brass would land on top of him with all the weight of his armor.

A grunt of pain later, Sai would push the man off himself, reaching down to cradle a damaged leg. "..." Sai stared at it a moment, then let out a little exhale of annoyance. "I must stop falling from tall places... it always results in injury..." he muttered, then pointed his wand at it. "Heal."

He stood moments later, though with a slight limp. Mental note, upgrade this spell ASAP. Looking out over the plains, he saw the others approaching, Culaki and Wall-E close at hand. "Is this place protected?" he asked the Ronso without adeu.

[Secondary Characters]

Wall-E had finally slowed to a crawl after the breeze kicked up by Culaki finally died down. He sighed, dropping the shield to the ground (though his hands still held it) and let out a little sigh. "Woo..." he whistled, shaking his head in exhaustion of the crazy ride. Looking up, he saw Culaki knealing down in front of him, even if the much larger creature still towered over the small construct.

"Culaki...needs...water...energy...fading...do you have...?" said the big blue cat man, and Wall-E nodded, just about to let go of the shield before Culaki suddenly hefted him up and used him as... well... a SHIELD!

Wall-E didn't mind, though. He heard the pang of the metal doing its job, and felt a wave of relief that he wasn't just skewered! Once sat down, he heard Culaki's thanks, and whistled, putting the shield down properly before reaching inside to produce the last water bottle. "Ta~dahhh!" he sang lightly, handing it to Culaki.

Then suddenly, a corridor popped open and out came Sai and Brass! Wall-E let out a loud yelping scream before driving around behind Culaki to hide, startled by the sudden appearance. Then he saw who it was and pointed. "Ahhh... Sai. Dook," he observed, then slowly roved out, looking around to see if any monsters were coming. None. But he did see the others and eagerly waved to them, signalling where they were. "WHOOOO!!!" he called out, then suddenly froze in place.

All three gears had wound down.

[The Brass Duke]

"Cover your head and hold your breath..."

"Wha--!?"

Before he knew it the two of them--both Nobody and duke--went cascading like tumbling barrels into the Abyss, where Darkness thrived and beings of light were torn apart from the inside out. Following Sai's orders helped only slightly, but the Brass Duke felt an interior struggle with his heart; he could feel it beating much faster than normal, tugging away from himself as the darkspawn attempted to reach out and grab at it. Brass' eyes had set eyes on a Corridor only twice before, and both times were when he was meeting with Ansem--or, better yet--Xehanort. Little did many know that this duke was partly responsible for the chaos, himself. Funding his research, he, along with Sai and many others, they doomed the worlds.

When at last they fell from the Abyss Brass was relieved, but his heart still struggled against him and he could partially feel himself wanting to go back inside. What motivated those thoughts, he couldn't guess but he had to worry about the world around him, first.

"Oof!" Tumbling off the Nobody he staggered to rise to his feet and look around. Beatrix and Oeilvert were close to Abby and Ellin, and they were just arriving at this seemingly safe haven from the Heartless.

Standing, he brushed himself off and took a dramatic victory pose.

"Cobalt should be taking care of the beasts on the plains...for the moment, are we safe?"

She came to a dead halt once she saw that the others had stopped moving, and used her knees as support for her arms as she heaved, gagging on her dry throat. Running in an environment like this had taken its toll...and she began feeling worse.

"This...this is definitely not my day," she said between panting breaths. "Sai, Miss Ellin...Lady Abigail and Master Octavian. Is everyone alright? What about yourselves, Master Wall-E and Sir Culaki? It looks like we're safe for the most part. Your Grace...I truly hope you've got a plan."

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail had run alongside Beatrix, Oeilvert, and Ellin. She and the dark knight would be handling their left flank together while Beatrix was handling the right and Oeilvert using his spells cleared a path in front. The group worked as a combined team, making their way through the heartless easily while the Colossus fired up and began to distract the monsters properly.

They finally reached the clearing and like Beatrix, Abigail was exhausted and breathing heavily. She flopped onto her back under a shady tree and thirstily downed the last of the water in her bottle before dropping the plastic container next to her. "Ahhh..." she breathed, already feeling she'd endured a thousand days and nights without rest.

That's when she took the time to really look at the blackened sky. Granted the area was still hot as though the sun was still there, it still hung in the sky like a ghost, nothing but a ring of fire that held nothing of its former glory. Abigail sat up, her eyes staring before she tucked her knees under herself and brought herself to a praying position.

"Great Cosmos... bringer of light, of warmth, of love... With you by my side, I shall fear no shadow. With you by my side, I will know no sadness..." she whispered to herself, praying to a goddess that she herself was unsure was safe. A tear began to slide from her eye as she thought on this. What if Cosmos was injured? What if... she was NOT by their side right now?

Abigail crossed her arms to hold at herself a bit, shivering. "So much darkness..." she whispered, then looked to the others. "What are we going to do now? We're beaten... While we were busy just trying to figure out what happened to us, Chaos struck down our light... What hope is there when Cosmos herself is so damaged?"

[Ellin Destroix]

Reaching the clearing, Ellin finally brought herself to take a breather. She would hunch over until a bit of her armor would lock into place, and she didn't have to feel that heavy weight on her shoulders. "Whew... that was... amazing!" she whispered to herself, somewhat tired for once, "I don't think I remember ever being this tired, but I'm fine, Ms. Beatrix." she grinned to her, unlocking her armor and standing straight.

She watched them all, until her lavender hues set upon the White Mage again, who knell and began to pray. Ellin raised an eyebrow, and looked up at the dark sky, before looking at Abigail. The dark knight walked closer to her, and knell next to her, reaching to rest a claw-like hand over Abigail's own, "Ms. Abigail what is the matter?" she would ask normally, already at her strongest because of the darkness, "Is the dark bothering you?"

"What are we going to do now? We're beaten... While we were busy just trying to figure out what happened to us, Chaos struck down our light... What hope is there when Cosmos herself is so damaged?"

"Don't speak so out-of-faith of our dearest Cosmos!" she assured her, looking to the sky, "Sometimes the Gods do take breaks, but if She is in danger, maybe it is just a challenge for us!" she again rested her glowing eyes on those blue orbs of the mage, " ... so don't give up now-- because this could very well be a test to help Cosmos! We need to be stronger than ever!" she tried to assure her, "So... smile...ok?"

[Abigail Crescentlight]

When Ellin knealt next to Abigail, she looked to her and listened to the dark knight's words. She couldn't help but admire Ellin's optimism even in the face of impending ultimate darkness. She... was just amazed by the woman. When she finished her speech, Abigail would smile slightly and nod. With renewed courage, she stood up and looked at the sky once more.

"You're right... we do need to be our strongest now... I can't keep breaking down when things don't go our way..." She twirled her staff and slipped it into her bag of holding, nodding once more. "If Cosmos is injured, I'll heal her!" she said, pumping a fist enthusiastically. Turning to the others, she put her hands on her hips, seeming quite energetic now that she knew she had to show strength in these hard times. "Now then! What's our plan?"

[Ellin Destroix]

Ellin grinned happily when she saw Abigail smile once more, and stand with such enthusiasm. She stood after her, and also rested her hands on her hips, looking to Beatrix with curiosity... what was the plan?

"Darkness is great at all, but it can get rather cold and fast." She sighed, the blackest knight in her calming near Abigail, " I suggest we plan something at most haste-- so for now, what is most important to do? Culaki has been reunited with his Ronso clan, so we have to think of the next important step, right?"

[Sai]

Sai looked around him to the others. They had all gathered here, the group that was displaced by corridor, as well as the native and his guest. Clearing his throat, he began to suggest a course of action.

"Obviously, unless we get a ship, most of us here cannot use the Corridors without tax and that would leave you stranded..." he began, then pulled a few items out of his pocket (the new notes he gained and the heartsteele sample) in order to reach something older below them. Holding out a small gummi block, he continued.

"We have one, though it needs assembly, and quite frankly..." he looked to Culaki and Brass a bit, raising an eyebrow. "Even without newfound colleagues, it is too small to accomodate all. However, using this cockpit gummi and the communications module I currently have, I could set up a distress signal requesting that the Red Rose come collect the majority of the people here. This will also bring Daphne here, as I need to add this new knowledge to her current stockpile..." he waved the notes before moving on.

"Once we've re-united with the Rose, we can continue on our path. I suggest, with only four notes unaccounted for, we quickly seek them out. I have a sample of HeartSteele here, generously donated by the Brass Duke, which can be forged into a keyblade at the completion of our current task. Once we have crafted a Keyblade, we can take the fight to the Fallen... and end this at long last..."

A pause, then Sai added. "In the meantime, we need to brainstorm a method by which Kingdom Hearts can be repaired. The universe is out of balance, and needs to be restored..." Holding up his gummi piece, Sai tilted his head. "Shall I proceed with this course of action?"

[Shego]

[glow=green,2,800]** From A Whole New Show, Hyperspace **

Once Sai had finished speaking, a puddle of black smoke would form near him, and from it a familiar hand, and then the rest of the Heartless Thief would appear, using Sai as a ladder up to the surface- grabbing him a little by his pants as she whined a little, "Atticus Nobody numbed 2~!" she started, "Its really hard to corridor to your position when YOU corridor as well~"

Once Ms. Go was up and about, she flew circles around the man before sighing, " I had to climb up 200 feet to get to you, for some reason... anyways-- I was hoping you could help me-- I forgot what I was looking for again." she made a face, those green lights seeming bigger-- sad, "Shego is going to be so maaad, you have to help me! I'll do anything!" [/glow]

[Culaki]

Culaki gratefully accepted the bottle of water, quickly guzzling the contents in a matter of seconds. His body began to feel refreshed, and he could feel a slow, steady trickle of power as his MP continued to regenerate. The cuts on his body were dried, although some of the wounds might become serious later on.

He patted the small robot, thanking him for his generosity, and turned to regard the rest of the group, but stopped as he heard a slight winding sound, akin to something losing power after use. Wall-E had become entirely still, not moving in any way. That was when Culaki noticed the three large gears that protruded out from him.

Culaki twisted one experimentally, and blinked in surprise as a loud radio station came on, accompanied by some of the box-bot's tell-tale squawking speech. He then turned the other two gears all the way up as well, then stood up as the robot assumed (what he thought was normal) function.

He then turned and looked towards Sai as the man asked him if it was clear, then regarded the rest of the group as they came galloping forward and joined him and his comrades. His Ronso people were taking a bit of damage, but they were holding the heartless well. Culaki stood up, stretched, and winced as his injuries broke open, spilling a fresh coat of blood onto his fur.

He nodded towards Sai, keeping his weapon ready should a group of Heartless rush them on this small clearing. Using up a bit of his MP that had come back, Culaki directed a stream of water to appear in the air, then it broke off into several pieces, each piece depositing itself into a water bottle.

The pieces expanded and filled the bottles with fresh, cool water, and he nodded, satisfied that those ends were taken care of. He flopped down at the edge of where the group was gathered, turning to Sai and nodding.

"Yes, this area is clear. You have done well to lead your people thus far, Sai Blue-Hair. Culaki's Ronso speak highly of you."

He listened to the man speak of strange "gum-me" things and saw him take a block of the substance out of his pocket. He nodded, thinking that the best way for them to get aid was for Sai Blue-Hair to do anything that he could to help them out in their present situation.

"Culaki things it is a good idea to use the gum-me to make a signal to call for help."

He stretched once again, ignoring his leaking wounds, and slunk a few feet away from the group so that he could rinse his cuts with the liquid in his bottle. When he was finished bathing himself, he turned to Abigail, purring slightly as he requested healing.

"Culaki is in need of restoration. He would think it very kindly of you if you could bestow upon him the strange white magic that you used on Sai Blue-Hair..."

[General Beatrix]

"Once we've re-united with the Rose, we can continue on our path. I suggest, with only four notes unaccounted for, we quickly seek them out. I have a sample of HeartSteele here, generously donated by the Brass Duke, which can be forged into a keyblade at the completion of our current task. Once we have crafted a Keyblade, we can take the fight to the Fallen... and end this at long last..."

Keyblade..?

Beatrix touched her hand to the hilt of Save the Queen and tilted her head over to where Abby knelt, wheezing, herself. She scratched her chin for a moment before glancing back over to Sai and, before she could speak the foul Heartless of her adversary Shego appeared from an inky pool spawned from the Black Abyss.

Her sword ripped from its sheath the general directed its point towards both Nobody and Heartless, keeping her unblinking eyes at them.

" 'Atticus...Nobody...Number...' WHAT?" she called, and inched over to her fellow Sister of Light. "Atticus!?" She stared at them with a dumbfound expression, and then it hit her. "Am I so daft...Sai, though it may have seemed obvious to you, why did you not inform me..." Or had he? Was she losing it now? Could it have been her transition into darkness? She shook her head violently and turned her attention back to the Heartless.

"And what are you doing here? Why are you seeking out Sai? Are you...are you working together? I should have known..."

Confusion led her to begin shaking, her whole body shivering, the blade in her hands growing heavier.

"Well, now, isn't this a sight?" declared the duke, looking over Miss Go with mild interest. "Anyway, back to our other topic...yes, send a distress signal, and when Cobalt arrives we can work together on your gummi block...he's a great mechanic, and I am a fantastic...well, did you not see Colossus!? Ha!"