After the Battle [Open]

[Aqua]

Though Aqua hadn't been a part of the battle for long, she could see by the damage that had been done to the ground and buildings that it had been one hard fought. What looked to have once been a raised platform for performances was now little more than rubble decorating cracked and fractured earth beneath it. The various buildings that had no doubt once stood tall and walled off this area from the rest of the town had been felled in the chaos, only the smallest signs remaining that they'd once housed people, families, and businesses. But given the sight of this world's moon, the starless sky, and the wreckage more widespread than any one battle could hope to accomplish, she doubted this had been the first large Heartless to attack.

There was also the matter of how she'd been able to get here at all. It was rare - unheard of by her - for a World's Heart to just...give out the way this one's almost had and fall to the Darkness all on its own. Just what sort of terrible Darkness had caused this destruction? And more importantly, who had it brought to this dying World?

Blue orbs flickered to and fro, taking in the faces of the people she'd come across. The faces were unfamiliar, and after having spent so...long? Had it been long? The Realm of Darkness had no concept of time to it. Looking back, she could have been wandering for the longest thirty minutes of her life, or years could have passed her by in the blink of an eye. The concept that she'd been away for that long terrified her, truly. In fact, the last she'd seen of anyone in memory had been when Mickey had asked for her help protecting...

Riku.

He was older now. Much older than the young man she'd protected from a Hell Swarm in the Realm of Darkness, and older still than the little boy she'd crossed paths with on the island with star-fruit trees. A pain jabbed through her chest, aching in her Heart as she realized that so much time must have slipped through her fingers. Time that she could have used to make things right; to save Terra; to wake up Ven.

And yet, one thought more tugged on her Heart as she looked at the boy's face. Where was Sora?

And then there was the new Keyblade weilder - one whom she'd never met before. She had been under the impression that weilders were a rare breed, and Masters even rarer among them. However, the power and skill that the dark-haired girl had displayed in the final moments of the fight were commendable. Not just the potent magic that she'd slung around, but her physical ability with her Keyblade as well. Who had taught her? And for that matter, who had taught Riku?

One thing was clear. There was Darkness in him, just like there had been with Terra. And yet, somehow, he had it under his thumb. She wondered how long he'd struggled before he'd been able to do that, and prayed that he hadn't fallen in the process like Terra had.

But there was also one more element to consider. The orange haired man sprawled on the ground.

He was powerful. There was no doubting it. Maybe as powerful as a Keyblade weilder, though in a different way. Whatever technique he'd used to summon that Light had cost him, and he'd hardly been able to control the power either; the way it had burst outward in every direction whenever he used it was enough evidence of that. If there hadn't been a concentrated effort to shield the others, he may have even hurt one of them by mistake.

But despite the Light causing him harm, she sensed no Darkness in him. In fact, she sensed...nothing. Almost as if he wasn't even there to begin with. But that couldn't be right, could it?

There was no time to overthink it. She took a step back and out of the fading barrier around them, looking back and forth to catch the attention of the whole group.

"Hello," she greeted. "My name is Master Aqua. I'm not sure what's happened here, but I'd like to help in any way I can."


She looked down the unconscious, orange-haired man again, then over to the place where a spearhead and a single sword laid sticking out of the ground.

"Do you have a place where the injured can be treated? Where what's left of the dead can be put to rest?"


Hopefully, even in a hell like this, the people had that much.

[Marmadue]

Somehow they had done it. Marmadue didn't even quite have the time to understand exactly what they had done, his mind already racing to everything that was yet to be done. It had been hopeless, but now… Now they had hope, didn't they? A chance. No no, he was sure everything would have somehow turned out fine in the end no matter what, but uncharacteristically, he was actually feeling good for a moment! Twilight Town hadn't been destroyed when they got back, so that meant the beast hadn't been able to… Well, cause that much destruction yet. But they had to hurry.

And hurry they did. At least the girl they woke up, Xion, did. As soon as she knew where to go and what to do, she was out at such speeds there was no hope for someone like Marmadue to ever catch up. He tried. Oh did he ever try, but it didn't take long for the girl to disappear above the buildings. And no matter how much he wanted to go faster and keep on running, his body had different ideas. His nonexistent muscles in his legs didn't have the necessary strength to give him the burst he desperately needed, his lungs burned as he gasped for air.

What a time to realize just how out of shape he was!


The closer he got to the… Sandlot, as the people had called it, the more his heart sunk. While Twilight Town had been a mess before, now… So many of the buildings that used to be standing no longer were, replaced by rubble. The streets that had almost become familiar to him now buried and forcing him to take other paths. He certainly hoped people had managed to evacuate the areas before they…

That feeling of triumph was slowly but surely replaced by dread.

By the time the Yuke even managed to get to the clearing, whatever grand battle that had taken place was long over. The damage there was the worst, no questions asked. The destruction that had been caused in such a short amount of time was frightening – but the fact that they were able to stand here with no beast in sight meant it was a victory, right? That everything was fine? But the ones who had been in the eye of the storm…

"Came… As fast as– c-could!" Marmadue wheezed, his legs already feeling like jelly after all the running. They hurt, protesting and just wanting to collapse right underneath the creature's own weight. He could barely speak, barely breathe. Short, loud gasps, each a sting in his chest. A lingering taste of iron in his dry mouth wasn't a familiar friend.
"S-Seriously injured should… With h-haste… G-gh I'll… T-Try to heal," the Yuke coughed and spluttered as he doubled over, his hands on his knees. He doubted he could move right away, his vision already blurry and shaky.

They needed to focus on those who were on the verge of dying first! They had to gather everyone together!

[Maxwell Tendas]

The Sandlot was quiet and empty as the shattered moon cast its pale glow on the town. Signs of the recent battle with the Chaos Hide were everywhere: large footprints littered the ground, large scars criss-crossed the ground from various attacks, and all of the surrounding buildings were either severely damaged or almost totally destroyed. Now, however, all was calm and the Sandlot was empty...

...Except for a small glimmer of light where Max’s belongings laid on the ground. It was underneath what remained of the soldier’s spearhead, so small that it would very likely go unnoticed had it not begun building in intensity. It built slowly and silently until it was gleaming brightly enough to hurt when looked at directly. It continued brightening even more, not stopping until the entire Sandlot was filled with light.

It stayed that way for several long moments, bright and silent, until a blood curdling scream of pain seemingly came from the center of the light. The screaming continued as the light abruptly faded, leaving a brown haired man clad in leather and chainmail writhing on the ground, screaming in pain....

[Aku Summers]

Whatever had happened here was something no one outside of the weary people could simply ignore and Aku was one of the first to see just what in god's name had happened. The scene was not a pretty one; collapsed buildings, crying civilians, and injured people who looked like they had been through a natural disaster. This must have been the epicenter of it all then but whatever caused this mess was nowhere to be found. Could it have been...darn what were those creatures called again? Heartless? He could only deduce that if it had been one of them then it must be a boss character level of strong. "You know you don't have to keep screaming. Respawning isn't all that painful." Aku said as he caught the scene of a pair of weapons bursting into light and out came a man screaming and writhing on the ground. It was a wild, wild, guess but it seemed like a sort of respawning animation out of one of Yuuki's video games and being a tester of such a feature he figured he was the most qualified to calm the man down. "You were granted a continue, feel good about that alright?" He continued his odd soothing talk as he walked over to the man and gave his shoulder a reassuring rub before looking up at the strange...bird thing... "I believe this man needs some medical, or psychiatric, attention." xxx ◆ @[atb] ◆ lotsa noise that battle had

CODED BY REM OF WW

[Oswald]

It had been quite the battle, although Oswald didn't do much overall. However that wasn't really what he was focusing on, it was more on the fact that one of the 6 had been vaporized by one of the beams of darkness. It really put things into perspective for the toon, at least as in perspective it could be. But even then the shock of Maxwell suddenly popping back into existance screaming was enough to make him jump. Oswald didn't really know how to calm someone down so he looked around for someone to help, oh good Marmadue had came, maybe he could help.

"Hey, Marmadue, might want to check out the screaming person over here," Oswald practically yelled across the sandlot to tell him. Looking over himself he had some scratches, bruises, and definite burn marks but that could be mended. Unlike the surrounding buildings which seemed to have almost all collapsed into rubble. There seemed to be two newcomers though and the strange girl from the mansion. Approaching Aqua as she called herself Oswald looked her up and down, Another Keyblade Weilder, he thought, where were they all coming from? "Hey I'm Oswald, quick question what's with all you guys coming here now?" Rude, but to Oswald it was a legitimate question.

[Aqua]

Aqua looked left, and then right. Two new arrivals, each in such a short time after the defeat of the Chaos Hide, could only mean that the residents of the world were aware that the danger had passed. It left her ambivalent; happy that the danger had passed, yet sad that everyone seemed to be treating what she’d seen like it was commonplace.

Something was wrong with this world. Very wrong.

Before she’d flung herself into the Realm of Darkness in order to save Terra, Aqua thought she’d seen characters of all shapes and sizes. The assortment of people quickly gathering around her now, however, proved to her that she might never get used to what oddities other worlds could produce.

Almost on Xion’s coattails, a bird-legged creature clad in a golden helmet slid to a stop from his all-out sprint, and judging by his body language he seemed to have pushed himself to his limits to get here when he had. Almost immediately, he started sputtering about wanting to heal the wounded, but…

“Please, you don’t need to push yourself,” Aqua offered, placing a hand on the creature’s shoulder. “Despite the danger, it seems that most of your friends are okay. Honestly, it looks like he got the worst of it, and most of his wounds are self-inflicted.”


Aqua motioned to Jin’s unconscious body, still not sure what to make of the man. But one unconscious fighter who wasn’t bleeding and still had a steady rise and fall to his chest wasn’t anyone’s definition of a medical emergency.

Of course, as soon as Aqua had spoken the words a raucous scream came from the place she’d been looking at not a second ago. A brown-haired man clad in light armor had appeared from seemingly nowhere, and Aqua could only conclude that it was the one who had been killed by the beast.

Without a second thought, Aqua rushed to Max’s side. Even if he had appeared from the ether, that wasn’t a guarantee that he’d be completely uninjured. A dim, green light glinted across the surface of the Master’s Keeper as she prepared a healing spell – hopefully her reservations about treating Jin’s injuries with magic didn’t apply in this situation as well.

And then, as soon as the light appeared, it faded. Aqua breathed a sigh of relief, noting that Max seemed to be completely uninjured.

"Well,” she thought. “At least there weren’t any casualties.”

That was all they could ask for, she supposed. Sure, the fighters may have suffered some injuries, but nothing too severe had happened. They’d managed to work together; to stall the beast out until Xion could arrive and finish it off. Maybe that’s why people felt so comfortable approaching the scene.

And then there was the case of the boy with blue and red hair. Aqua didn’t think she’d ever seen those two colors together on hair before, and certainly not in such a strange style. What’s more, he was using all this strange jargon, and he looked to be the only one who understood it in the group.

Well, whatever he was saying, it at least sounded like an attempt to get their newly resurrected ally to calm down. Though maybe it wasn’t in the best words.

“That’s right,” Aqua attempted to translate. “Whatever happened to you before…It’s over now.”

And, even though she had her doubts about her next words, she said them anyway. She couldn’t afford to give up hope if she didn’t want these people to.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

Suddenly, from the side, the small, rabbit-like creature that had been present behind the barrier during Jin’s attack on the Chaos Hide and for Xion’s final attack against it spoke up. It was funny. If she squinted, he almost looked a little bit like Mickey.

You guys? What could he have meant by that? Did he mean keyblade wielders?

“The worlds are in danger,” Aqua responded. “Light is on the verge of being all but snuffed out, and it’s the responsibility of those that bare the keyblade to fight and prevent that from happening.”

It was true, though maybe not the reason everyone was here. Riku had received his keyblade from Terra, and if what she’d heard from the man who’d called himself Ansem had been true, Sora was out there with one as well. She knew in her Heart that their cause, at the very least, was a noble one. However, Xion was an unknown factor. She’d been the reason they were able to fight back against the Chaos Hide in the first place, but…

Images of Ven, brokenhearted and on the verge of giving up – of asking her and Terra to…To put an end to him – and of Terra, confessing that he’d been manipulated into fighting and defeating Master Eraqus before Xehanort struck the final blow flooded her mind.

Keyblade wielders weren’t always the most trustworthy sort.

“Please,” Aqua repeated. “We still need somewhere to take the injured; somewhere safe from the Heartless. Does anyone know where to find someplace like that? Do we have anyone who can search for wounded civilians?”

She looked around, hoping that Riku at least would be present to help her. He may not know her – they’d only ever crossed paths twice, and one of those he hadn’t even seen her – but she knew him, and she trusted he could be of help.

But whatever help he may have offered would have to be overlooked. He was gone. To where, Aqua didn’t know. He’d been injured during the battle, too. She hoped he was okay.

[Marmadue]

Marmadue kept trying to catch his breath as he felt a hand land on his shoulder, causing him to crane his neck and look up. It was… A young woman with blue hair, uninjured and… Reassuring him. She was someone he hadn't seen before, definitely not one of those he had seen group up to attack the creature that invaded Twilight Town. But she was so calm, perhaps because she could say that no one was seriously hurt. Could that be? Was it really true? That beast had been so frightening, the damage done to the town grave…

The Yuke's eyes flicked down, noticing the weapon in the woman's hand. That was… One of those giant keys. Another one? He didn't know where they had come from, but suddenly it seemed like they had a handful of those around! As mysterious as they were and despite how many questions Marmadue had, they had something more important to think about right now. As the woman motioned towards a certain person lying on the ground, he couldn't help but feel dread creeping up on him. It was… Jin. He certainly looked almost dead, so unmoving, but not completely. But his arm… What in heavens had happened! He had never seen anything like that! It didn't seem like any normal injury, and there wasn't even blood! Did that make it alright, somehow? He couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't going to be alright!

Yet before the Yuke could do anything, a scream pierced the air and forced him to flinch, his gaze directed towards the sound. He could have sworn that there hadn't been anyone where a man now writhed on the ground, seemingly in pain, but… Perhaps he had just missed it, his vision having been quite blurry after his long run. A young man with quite the wild hair he couldn't recognize was there beside him, though seemingly unhurt and looking like he was trying to calm down their screaming man. Oswald was there too, urging him to take a look. He didn't have to be told twice, rushing over with the blue-haired woman.

"M-Maxwell, sir!" Marmadue gasped once he could recognize who it was. Perhaps that was why he couldn't be quite as at ease as the others when approaching the man, as he knew him. Maxwell wasn't one to be just screaming for fun, but even as he knelt beside the man, he couldn't see any obvious injuries. But not all injuries were external – or physical. First he'd need to try to figure out where the issue was, straight from the source.
"P-Please ah, try to calm down and tell me what kind of assistance you require," he spoke as he tried to coax out an answer, focusing on Maxwell and his treatment for now.

He couldn't quite ignore everything happening around him however, the blue-haired woman exactly the kind of calm leadership they needed at the moment. There had to be more who had been injured, yes. They, they had to find them all and treat them!
"A-Ah, I have taken in injured refugees before this encounter, miss. Anyone in need of prolonged care could be taken there, j-just tell people to head for Marmadue's house," the Yuke spoke up, hardly as calm as the woman, but perhaps her presence made him able to form coherent thoughts. He couldn't say if it was any safer from the Heartless than rest of the town, but this far, he hadn't been attacked inside. And as one added extra perk, most knew where it was, many having received his healing – and if they couldn't recognize the name, that tall bird-looking helmet guy probably was descriptive enough.

But there was a short pause as Marmadue glanced down.
"I-I ah, don't know if there will be enough room for everyone, but we could start there. We could ah, definitely gather there and figure out a solution for extra space, if we lack the beds."

Some would be able to walk on their own and be on their way soon enough. Others would have to stay, and he could take in as many as his bedrolls could take. And those who couldn't walk would have to be carried. Who would do that? Well, was there really anyone else around except them? The Yuke glanced around. They would need some muscle…

[Aqua]

Even when Aqua was a child, she'd always had the protective instinct that had sparked Master Eraqus' initial interest in training her. When she saw someone hurt, she moved to act. It was second nature to her; instinct. So then why did she hesitate after Marmadue made the offer of using his home to treat the two wounded men?

The Realm of Darkness had no concept of time. She'd been there so long. A decade had blown past her like mist in the wind, but here she stood. Unchanged. Stagnant. Was this hesitation a side-affect of the time she'd spent there?

She shook her head. She couldn't let the issue compound onto herself. She needed to move. Now.

Marmadue was already checking on Maxwell - she thought that was the name he'd cried out to the screaming man. And, barring a miraculous awakening from the man at her feet, that meant she'd be left to carry the orange haired fighter. Everyone else would probably need to take their time sweeping the ruins of this city for more injured.

She crouched, waving a hand in front of Jin's face and taking in the extent of the damage he'd managed to do to himself.

These injuries were unlike anything she'd ever seen. It would be a lie to say that didn't frighten her. She'd patched up so many training wounds for Ven and Terra before, and then took that mastery of cure magic to new heights in her fight against the Unversed and the Heartless. Scratches, gouges, cuts, scrapes, burns, bruises, and all the other wounds magic could inflict were familiar things to her.

But this...?

Jin's right hand had completely fallen away, leaving nothing behind but the stark white bolts that crackled and danced at his wrist. Even from there, the skin of his arm had broken open to reveal the same ethereal white energy sitting where bone, tendon, and blood should have been. Did he have any of that, or was he really just lightning on the inside?

Moving her hand from his face to his arm, a feather-light touch against the wound sent sparks running up her fingertips. She recoiled, ripping her hand away from Jin's wounds with a small hiss of pain.

Whatever these scars were, she couldn't treat them. At least not here, and definitely not right now. So, bracing herself, she leaned Jin on his side and shot an arm around his back and picked him up on his left side where his injured arm wouldn't be touching her.

"For now," she started in response to the Yuke. "I'll take this one over there. He's a little unstable right now, and I mean that in more ways than one. If you could give me directions, that would be a lot of help."

Aqua looked left and right to the people still in the general area.

"Everyone, we still need to find out if there were any more injured in the battle. I'm trusting you to take care of it. I'll return shortly to lend a hand."

[Aku Summers]

Taken the scene at face value Akuma knew just standing around wasn't the best way to improve on the situation. But he was at quite a bit of a loss on what to do. Carrying the injured was probably the best course of action, especially since the armored...bird person, offered to lead them to a house where they could be cared for. A doctor perhaps? He didn't look dressed for the part really but since different worlds apparently existed perhaps different uniforms for different professions existed as well. Thinking about it clicked in his mind that he was started to get way off base and needed to refocus his efforts. "If you need an extra pair of hands I'm free. But what happened here exactly?" He asked as he walked over to the man who was once dead and screaming and helped him up to his feet by slinging an arm around his shoulder to lift him up. The guy was heavy. And Aku should probably stop playing so many games if he wanted some meat on his bones. So he struggled and hoped the other guy would at least put some effort on his part. "Where was it again? That house or whatever where we can store the wounded? xxx ◆ @[atb] ◆ lotsa noise that battle had

CODED BY REM OF WW

[Maxwell Tendas]

Pain, excruciating pain, was his existence for the moments after the light returned him to Twilight Town. It blocked out all thought or sense of place he might have otherwise had or been able to gain. It burned through his skin and flesh and into his very bones, as if his very marrow were on fire. He writhed on the ground, screaming from the intensity of it in a vain attempt to alleviate the pain.

You have paid the price, a voice reverberated in his mind as the pain, finally, began to lessen and recede from the rest of his body and focus itself in his head. He didn’t know what the voice was talking about, or where it came from, but he was glad for the respite. As he began to still himself somewhat and stopped screaming, his dulled senses began working again, feeding him information on the world around him.

The sudden touch on his shoulder brought him jarringly back to full awareness of the world around him. He aimed a punch with all his might at whoever had grabbed him as he shot to his feet. He crouched low as he stood, his head throbbing, his chest heaving, and his heart hammering in his chest as he slowly backed away from his assumed assailant. It was a man with blue and pink colored hair, and he wasn’t alone. There was a tall, strange feathery creature in some sort of armor nearby as well, stammering something out. However, he couldn’t understand the words for his heartbeat hammering in his ears. He stumbled backwards, losing his footing and landing hard on his back with a grunt. He lay there, eyes darting quickly around his surroundings to notice others there as well, none of them he recognized but one, inexplicably, he felt he should. After a few moments of panic, he began to calm some, though his breathing remained hurried and ragged. He stayed where he was on the ground and looked to the one he felt like he should recognize, a man with black hair.

“Where am I?” He finally said out loud, looking from the black-haired man to the others there again, “Who am I?”

[Mikhail Rutherford]

Those last minutes of battle had been a blur of activity.

Portals of darkness emerged in the immediate area, pouring hordes of Heartless into the fray. The sudden change in atmosphere was almost tangible – it was draining, heavy and cold. An accurate embodiment of dread, crystalized in a first barrage of dark shards Mikhail barely managed to dodge. He knew the scenario all too well, unfortunately. The end of this world was upon them. It was frustrating, to say the least. He’d actually believed they’d be able to save Twilight Town from its impending doom. He’d believed he’d be able to save it.

While seemingly futile under such circumstances, the man was just too stubborn to go down without a fight.

Just as he’d begun moving his platform back and away from the Chaos Hide, a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye made his heart drop.

Max.

“No. No. NO!” Desperation taking full control of his actions, Mikhail changed his course and began heading straight for the hydromancer’s location. It was probably a long shot, but if he kept his current pace and acceleration he’d be able to-

A sudden stop. Inertia.

Cold.

In his rushed and impulsive rescue attempt, the man had ignored a second wave of shards materializing in the area. This time, he wasn’t so lucky in avoiding their grasp. They first struck his platform, breaking off a large chunk of it and sending its rider to the ground. He swiftly moved to channel his energy to the soles of his feet, planning to elevate a replacement as soon as he touched the ground. The dark ice would catch sight of him, though, immobilizing him not long after. He was still a few feet away from the ground.

Mikhail looked up just in time to see his comrade obliterated by a laser.

He’d failed. He hadn’t been able to reach him.

One could argue this wasn’t the first time he acknowledged the man departing the land of the living. Max had a tendency to put himself in less than ideal situations and disappear for a couple of months before reemerging practically unharmed. But this was different. This was the first time he actually got to be there and see him die on the spot. Vaporized. Turned into nothing but ash and dust.

Tendas was arguably Mikhail’s best and oldest living friend at the time. “Losing” him was always hard, but this time he simply felt… empty. Numb. An internal void.

The pyromancer was practically unfazed by the blue haired keybearer’s opportune arrival. So appropriate of her to arrive now, so convenient of her to selectively shield others. Not Max, evidently. The Elonian would soon find himself freed from his cold prison and transported behind a barrier casted by the silver haired wielder and this newcomer, though he wasn’t exactly sure how or by whom. Not that he cared much for that information now.

The beast would be defeated by the arrival of yet another timely keybearer – this Xion the hydromancer had mentioned a few hours before. She made it seem so easy… so simple, as if the Chaos Hide were just cannon fodder in her eyes. Mikhail found it ironic in a dark, twisted way. It was a shame her grandiose skillset hadn’t been at their disposal either mere moments prior, right?

Introductions were made as the immediate darkness started to die down. There was some discussion regarding where the injured should be taken and treated, but aside from the familiar name being tossed here and there, the man remained rather absent from the conversation. He just… he just couldn’t bring himself to care. At least not right then, not with the event so fresh in his mind.

A scream.

Mikhail’s eyes swiftly found its source. A man laid on the ground, loudly groaning and writhing in pain. He knew this figure.

Bloody Anima, this had to be a joke.

“Out of the way,” His speech cold and threatening, Mikhail carved a path through the small group that had gathered in the area. He probably shoved a couple of people out of his way in the process. Once he was able to take a better look at the male, he confirmed his suspicions. It was Maxwell fucking Tendas, back from the grave for the umpteenth time. Rutherford would’ve punched him square in the face if he wasn’t looking pretty much like shit. “Move. All of you. Give him some space.”

The man’s demeanor changed as he turned to address his comrade. He seemed… confused, disoriented. It was almost as if he’d found himself in a strange place, surrounded by a band of armed strangers that could or could not be hostile.

Alert. Defensive. Cautious.

Mikhail was unaware of the circumstances surrounding this unorthodox resurrection, but there seemed to be a handful of side effects linked to it.

“Max,” he began, lifting his hands up to show he bore him no ill will nor intended to harm him. The pyromancer took a step toward the man, gauging his reaction before deciding whether to take another. Regardless, he continued to address him with a calm tone. “It’s alright. You’re alright. You’re safe. We’re in Twilight Town, remember? We were fighting this massive Heartless just a moment ago. You fucked that sucker up good, you know.”

Rutherford hoped the others would take a hint and let him handle the situation. At least for now.

[Marmadue]

"A-Ah!" Marmadue stammered in surprise as Maxwell lashed out, luckily far enough to not have been close enough to receive a punch – and whether or not their new ally with colorful hair had been as fortunate, that he couldn't say right away, too focused on Maxwell. He was obviously quite… Disoriented, to say the least. Whatever had happened, the Yuke hadn't been there to actually see it, and couldn't even begin to guess! At the very least, the man luckily only had a short burst of energy before… Quieting down. It couldn't exactly be called calming down, but no longer were they at danger of getting lashed at. Probably.
"Ah, careful," the Yuke did, however, warn the younger man with the interesting hairdo when he approached Maxwell. They saw what happened last time.

"M-Maxwell, sir," he tried again, but he wasn't quite sure if the man in question was still listening. His eyes scanned Maxwell's body, not finding any sign of what could be causing him such pain. He would need to hear that from the man himself. The Yuke kept silent for a moment during his quick inspection, about as lost as the man on the ground. Well, at least the man looked rather lost… And when he spoke, he certainly sounded lost as well. It was true, Maxwell definitely hadn't been in this place when Marmadue had ran in, so confusion about that seemed rather natural.

"Ah, that is–" he started when Maxwell wondered about where he was, still not seeming too worried. After all, it did seem like something had happened to cause him to be so disoriented. That is, he would have replied, if there hadn't been a rather sudden shove from behind that caused Marmadue to be pushed to the side slightly with a soft oof. Glancing behind him, it was… A man. A man he did not recognize, he thought – but perhaps he recognized Maxwell? And perhaps Maxwell recognized him. The Yuke's eyes flicked from one man to another, unsure of that answer. Maxwell had been in charge of finding and training combatants, after all.

But the real shocker was when Maxwell asked his second question.
"Oh. Oh dear," the Yuke seemed to be slightly taken aback when the man didn't even seem to know who he was himself! Amnesia? That… That wasn't good. Of course it might have very well been some temporary confusion that would clear later, but right now they did have to concentrate on the present! Maxwell needed answers. The newcomer was the one to quickly try to answer them – or at least, trying to help Maxwell remember.

Marmadue got back up on his feet, his gaze still alternating between the potential amnesiac and the man with dark hair. Was this surely fine? The newcomer certainly seemed like he wanted to take care of things, but he didn't even know the man…

A woman's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and worries, his body straightening as he grew more attentive of the outside world again. Ah! That was right. There was still so much else to worry about! Jin, for example, somehow looked even worse. His… Well, the Yuke could have sworn that there used to be a hand still attached to the man's wrist when he first arrived, but now… It didn't seem to be anywhere nearby. Not even on the ground. Instead, where one would have expected blood to drip out, sparks flew.
"I… I see," Marmadue gulped, definitely taking note of the whole unstable part as well.

…He did also come to the realization that most of the people gathered around him were unknown to him, so they might have been new or just… People who had never had the reason to go there.
"Ah… If you take your leave through that exit," the Yuke motioned with his hand towards an exit behind the woman,
"And then go around the curve and head downwards, you should be able to see a small two-story house nestled between taller ones. Ah, brown stone, green tile roof, rounded wooden door and ah, a boarded up display window. The door is unlocked, and there should be empty bedrolls on the floor," not like he had ever even found a key…

"…There ah, are stairs if you go past the door in the back to enter the storage room. In case you would like to go upstairs. There is another bed there I ah, cannot use. In case you would like some privacy, just… Grab some bedding first," Marmadue continued with his instructions. He did glance at the rabbit nearby. Oswald had never visited him, but it was possible he knew…
"If you think you might get lost, perhaps… Ah, Mister Oswald, you might be able to show her the way?" He asked, turning his gaze towards the rabbit. At the very least, the instructions should have made more sense to someone familiar with the town – and Oswald certainly was fast, so he could easily run there and back!

"I-I shall start around this area, with the largest concentration of toppled buildings. That to me seems like where we should be seeing the most of the injured. I just ah, might not be able to help if there is much heavy rubble in the way, so it would do good for anyone with more ah, strength to come back as soon as possible. If you see anyone who could help on the way, I would much appreciate requests for further assistance!"

[Oswald]

A lot of things had happened in the small amount of time where things could possibly happen. However amnesia is probably not something that Oswald might've guessed would happen to Maxwell. Here they were though, with the new one comforting and trying to find Max his memories. Just the normal, everyday, emotional rollercoaster. With Marmadue instructing the survivors to head to his house including the keyblade weilder. Aqua, was it?

However, Marmadue then turned to Oswald, himself and directed him to show the others the way to Marmadue's house. "Ah, uh, okay then," Oswald said then turned to Aqua, bowing, "Shall I show you the way?" Standing back up he pointed in the direction of the way with his ears. He then waited for her answer.

Almost directly after that Marmadue made an announcement asking for assistance for the square and then asking for help. "Oh, Marmadue, if you need help my cat can heal some, if you want me to summon it," as he said this he pulled the glowing stone out of his pocket in preperation for summoning it. He still hadn't figured out all the rules of the stone but hey it was a thing that he could do to help so why not offer it up.

[Aqua]

Before Aqua had even considered picking up Jin, a dismissive shove from her back caught her attention. When she turned to see whoever had brushed past her, she caught sight of the dark-haired man that had been behind her barrier after Jin's attack had ended and Xion had appeared to finish the fight.

Could they have been friends? This man and the other one he was running over to, that was. If that was the case, she could only imagine the anger he must feel towards her. After all, she'd been presented with a choice upon arriving to the battle. She could have chosen to save either Max or Jin, but Jin had been closer and was the focus of more attacks. At the time, she'd thought it was an objective decision.

Then again, she thought as images of a white-haired Terra flashed through her mind, perhaps there wasn't room for objective rationality when it came to friendships.

Even if things had worked out for the best in the end with everyone who'd entered the battle alive and accounted for, there had still been that moment of uncertainty. The moment where Jin had been ready to tear apart his body if it meant stopping that thing from killing anyone else. The moment where it must have seemed like she sacrificed Maxwell to save him. She knew first-hand that the wounds caused by those moments lingered and clung to the heart in ways that reason simply couldn't explain.

At the very least, she owed Maxwell and his friend an apology. She hadn't been strong enough to save everyone in this fight. No matter how selfish it sounded, it was her job as a keyblade wielder to fend off the Heartless in these situations. If she'd found her way out of the Dark sooner, they may not have even been in that situation to begin with.

After hoisting Jin up and supporting his weight against herself, Aqua turned to the boy with the technicolored hair. She was thankful that he was offering his help, but as for his question about what had happened here...

"I'm not sure," Aqua sighed. "I got here towards the end of it all. The only thing I can say is that a powerful Heartless was attacking, so we handled it as best we could. We may have very well stopped this world from falling to the Darkness, actually."

It was a startling thought that a world could linger on the edge of Light and Dark for so long. More startling than that was that it had managed to do so with just two keybearers to support it. How long had Xion and Riku even been here? And where had they gone to? The battle was over, but did that mean another one was waiting in the wings somewhere else?

She needed time. She needed to get her wits about her. She needed to adjust.

Maybe she would take Marmadue up on that offer of a bed at his home after all.

"I could use a guide," she nodded politely, shifting Jin on her shoulder as she began to move. "I'm new around here, and I'm sure that the others can get - Max, was it? - there safely."

Her gaze turned to Oswald, whose finger was hanging warily off into the distance. She offered the small creature a soft smile before looking out in the direction he was gesturing towards.

"All right, Oswald. If you'd like to take me there, I'd appreciate it."

[Maxwell Tendas]

His questions lingered in the air as he lay on his back, his eyes darting between all the anxious faces clustered around him. The crowded made him anxious. He pushed himself up into a sitting position as the black haired man pushed his way through the crowd and in response the amnesiac soldier shuffled backwards, still unsure on if he could trust any of those gathered around him. He was distrusting by nature, though, and so he chose not to take chances where he didn’t have to.

“Max,” the black haired man began, taking a step toward him. Before he could continue, he threw up a hand at the stranger, closed his eyes, and yelled “Stop!” As he did, a blinding flash of light came unbidden from his hand. So bright it was that it even hurt his eyes while they were closed, surely enough to blind anyone unsuspecting nearby who happened to be looking at him. He reopened his eyes, saw everyone blinded, and seized the opportunity. He bolted to his feet and started running. He stumbled briefly, going down to his hands and knees besides a black and silver sword. He grabbed it as he pushed himself back to his feet, dropping a small charred bird charm as he did, and ran as fast as he could, no doubt leaving the group in the Sandlot confused and trying to blink spots from their eyes.....