[Plot] Cimmerian [Complete]

[Axel]

He lifted his second chakram to finish the job, but before he could, a burst of light magic engulfed the heartless, turning it into a cloud of black dust.

There was hardly a moment to catch his breath, when all of a sudden they had another sentient visitor. Lea turned his attention to the approaching figure. In the darkness it was hard to make out much, but he could swear he recognized that voice. That sounded like -- !!

He could see the figure was being followed and quickly sent one wheel weapon right after the other toward the one who gave chase.

Xion let her attack fly, erasing all doubt in his mind that it could be anyone else. He, too, instinctively shielded his eyes as the Event Horizon flared. The enemy following her had been beaten, and they could all breathe a sigh of relief. "Xion!" he declared. There was confusion written over his face. "How are you here?" It wasn't the time to stop and chat, but he had a right to this question. He let his chakrams fall back to the nether.

For whatever reason, she already knew their objective; and that alone implied the gravity of their mission. Jade eyes slipped back to Marmadue and Asuka. "One of ours needs medical attention." He scratched the back of his head somewhere behind that sea of red hair. "I don't really feel good about it, but I think we ought to split up." He paused for a moment, considering their team build. "I think Era and Marmadue should escort her back." The brave fire wielder jabbed his chest with his thumb. "Leave the mission to me and Xion." His attention returned to Xion, perhaps for validation, or just to give the others their chance to voice their opinions. Other questions were swarming around in his mind, maybe he'd keep them there for now. While he thought it was fantastic she was alive and well, he'd wanted to know how; maybe she could regale him with a good story some time. At the clock tower, like old times. But for now they had to focus on the task before them.

There would be time after this to reminisce when the world wasn't holding its breath.

[Xion]

The high of battle was wearing off when the familiar voice caught her ear, and blue eyes widened in shock as she turned to face her old friend, just as shocked as she was to see him as he was her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Axel composed himself and looked to the one he pointed out, the familiar visage of Maramude a comfort. So they'd been doing fine while she was gone.

"I think Axel's right. If one of us is injured, we need to focus on that. I've seen what up ahead looks like, and it isn't pretty. Backup won't be here for a while, but I came back because I had a bad feeling. I'm worried Castle Oblivion may just be a distraction. We need to fight the Heartless, but the injured come first. It's too dangerous to proceed forward in these circumstances."

She put a hand on Maramude's shoulder, reassuringly.

"I know you're reliable, and I'm sure you can vouch for the others. Go back and get to safety, and we'll sweep this up and be back in no time. If anybody shows up from the other team, they need someone to tell them what's going on, so keep an eye out for them as well."

She stepped back, face determined and hardened in the stress, and addressed everyone else.

"I don't want you to think your fight has been for nothing, but this is a responsibility that falls to Axel and I. Get the injured to safety, and ensure the safety of everyone else. If things go south for us, we're going to need all hands on deck until Aqua and the others can return. Thank you all, truly."

With that, she turned and moved next to Axel, outstretching her fingers and coaxing the Kingdom Key from her heart once again. She gave her friend a side glance, and gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"Think you can keep up? It's been a while, I'm worried you might be rusty."

[Marmadue]

Marmadue's attention was focused on Axel and Xion, the two who seemed to have the best grasp of the situation. Earlier, splitting up hadn't been an option, as they didn't have the numbers for it, but now… Xion was in an entirely different league when it came to her abilities. Marmadue… Would only slow them down. He looked down at Asuka. Getting her to safety would be much easier if they turned back now. Still, the idea of leaving Axel and Xion alone to take care of all these monsters…

The hand placed on his shoulder made his gaze snap back up, now face to face with Xion. Such high praise of him was not what the Yuke had expected, his hand bashfully rubbing the back of his neck and the sopping wet feathers. It did work well enough for him to not be able to want to voice any concerns he had. They'd be fine. He was sure. He hoped he was right.
"…Very well. I ah, understand that a backup plan might be unnecessary, but preparations just in case would, ah, bring peace to my mind. Should there be a sign to ah, look out for, to know that you might require assistance?"

That was all Marmadue needed to hear before leaving. The other problem they had was more of a physical one: Asuka. She wasn't in good shape and it didn't look like her body was moving how she wanted it to. Axel could have carried her easily, but that was not going to work. Era was about the same size as the other girl – that wouldn't have been easy, either. Lorena looked like she might have carried someone as light as Asuka easily, but she needed both her arms to protect them…

…That left the Yuke. He was hardly a strong one, but luckily Asuka was small and light, and he himself was quite a lot bigger than her. He… Could probably do it. He might need to rest his arms every now and then on the way back, but he could probably handle it. Marmadue hoped so, as they had run out of options. He didn't dare to use any kind of magical aid, as he didn't want to risk triggering her condition!

All he could do was try to shift her into a position that was easy to carry, with some quiet apologies and awkward pushes and pulls. The return trip was going to be a long one.