(Only Adri, Shining, and KT in this one)[/size]

Spencer grunted as his shoulder hit the side of the cockpit of his Arwing, being knocked around by an explosion that came far to close for comfort.  Several controls and monitors sparked and smoked as more explosions rocked the Arwing.

Figures now would be the time some Heartless ships would pick him as a good target, when he was most out of practice.   Going three years of not being able to fly the ship had certainly left him rusty.

Either way, he had taken too much damage to go without landing for much longer.  Looked like there was a world not too far away...

The Blood Mage shook off his pursuers as best as he could, but they stopped the chase as soon as he neared the world anyways.  Might have had something to do with those trees getting really close.

Wait.
____________________________________________________

Meanwhile, four figures strode out of a great hall, which sat atop a massive hill.  Many other smaller houses sat around the hall, in varying places around the hill.  The four figures, an old man draped in white, a younger man with shaggy black hair, a fair-haired elf, and stocky dwarf walked towards the stables.  All around them was movement, people emptying their homes of supplies and the basic necessities for travel.  A man stood shouting, telling them only to bring what they needed, and that they would return.

The dwarf looked rather angry as they neared the stables.  "They flee to the mountains when they should stand and fight. Who will defend them if not their king?"

The young man looked down at the dwarf.  "He's only doing what he thinks is best for his people. Helm's Deep has saved them in the past."

As they walked into the stables, the old man turned towards his companions.  "There is no way out of that ravine. Theoden is walking into a trap. He thinks he's leading them to safety. What they will get is a massacre. Theoden has a strong will, but I fear for him. I fear for the survival of Rohan."  He turned towards the young man.

"He will need you before the end, Aragorn. The people of Rohan will need you.  The defenses [i]have[/i] to hold."

"They will hold."  The young man, Aragorn, replied.

The old man stroked a white horse respectfully, before mounting it.  "The Grey Pilgrim. That's what they used to call me. Three hundred lives of Men I've walked this earth, and now I have no time. With luck, my search will not be in vain.  Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east.  And... one more thing.  Some friends will be arriving to help quite soon, drawn by fate.  You know their type."

Before Aragorn could ask any questions, Gandalf the White kicked the horse and sped out of the stables and out of sight.
____________________________________________________

Spencer sighed as he stepped on the grass, the rolling hills in sight.  Somehow, he had managed to land just out of sight of a large town that was on a big hill.  He would say it was lucky, but  enough time spent in this universe makes you think otherwise.

The Arwing, still smoking slightly, lifted off the ground and into orbit, where it could safely auto-repair enough to get to Cid or some other mechanic.  It certainly didn't seem to help that those trees had seemed to actually [i]reach[/i] up and try to grab him when he flew past.

Or he was just being paranoid.

Anyways, with no food or drink other than Lyrium, the only place to go was that town.  Figuring he looked normal enough to be accepted, he began the long walk towards it.

====

At the outskirts of town, two beams of light streamed down towards the ground. There was a small flash when they landed; not bright enough to be noticed, but the impact still made an audible [i]thud[/i] against the ground. The lights then dimmed to reveal a young man with blue hair and blue and copper clothes, accompanied by a green-skinned and red-furred demon dog. Kalas, the Baten Kaitos protagonist, and Lucifer, the Hellhound from the Fire Emblem world, respectively.

Kalas, having fallen to his behind upon landing, shook his head before getting back to his feet, dusting himself off. "Well that was rough landing, eh Luce?"

Lucifer, shaking himself out, looked up to his master and barked once in response. Like the other Interferences, the two also had a bit of a crash landing here. The reason for them being...

[color=fuchsia][i]'Don't you think you could have looked out for those meteorites in the first place?'[/color]

'I was taking a nap; what did you expect me to do about that?'

[color=fuchsia]'Listening for the warning sign would have helped, as well as staying awake to navigate your way through.'[/color]

'Whatever; at least I'm still alive, right?'

[color=fuchsia]'That may be true, but can you please make sure to be careful next time?'[/color]

'Yeah yeah, I will Xel. No need to worry about me over that.'[/i]

With the couple talk ending there, Kalas took a look at his surroundings. He saw the town up ahead; from the looks, it seemed like he landed in some sort of fantasy world. Almost like the one world he woke up in...what was it called again? Ferel...something?

Well, it was better than another survival-horror world. However, there was one problem he figured might surface.

"I think you better wait out here, boy," Kalas said to the Mauthe Doog. "You might freak out the villagers here."

Though Lucifer gave a small whine, he still nodded in understanding before sitting back to wait patiently. That said, Kalas made his way towards the town, hoping to find something to do while the [i]White Dragon[/i] would get some repairs done. Maybe find other Interferences, or...some place to eat. He was getting hungry here.

====

The first person Spencer saw was just outside the gates, some weird blue-haired person.  Obviously didn't fit in with this world's setup.  He had some weird looking dog with him too.  Absentmindedly drinking a bottle of Lyrium, the mage approached Kalas.

"Gonna guess your an Interference, Blueberry."

Unfortunately for Kalas, that nickname will stick.  [i]Forever[/i].

Walking towards the gates, Spencer saw a flag stuck on a nearby bush.  Upon inspection, it bore a brown outline, a green background, and a great white horse in the center, standing on its hind legs as if about to charge.

Shrugging, he continued closer to the gates, which appeared to have no guards.  Odd, seeing as it was the middle of the day and there were clear stations for guards to stand.

He shrugged to himself.  At least nobody would bug him about walking in.

====

Kalas' eye twitched in response to the boy's nickname. "Blue...blueberry...?" [i]Why[/i] was it always the hair? He oughtta teach that kid some--

[i][color=fuchsia]'Oh please don't, Kalas. It's just a nickname.'[/i][/color]

Thankfully for Spencer, Xelha's voice had stopped Kalas from flying off the handle. Instead, he sighed and, with Lucifer waiting for him in the outskirts, walked after the boy. Catching up to him, he gave him a scowl and told him, "For the record, my name is Kalas. And before you make any funny comments, it means raven back in my world. So I suggest you shut your mouth before you regret it."

With that said, the swordsman walked through the gates and entered the town.

====

Spencer mostly ignored Kalas (as if he was going to call him by his actual [i]name[/i]), and headed through the gates himself, not noticing Joey yet.  As he walked, he noticed some people giving him strange looks.

Obviously, they did not fit in here.  As he walked, he bumped into a man with dark, shaggy hair; who wore worn travelling clothes.  The man looked at him strangely, before placing a hand on his shoulder to keep him from advancing.

"You clearly do not belong here.  I was warned about you and your friends' type.  I was told you were coming to help."

"Help?  I'm just here for some hospitality on my... travels.  If it's help you want, ask someone else."

The man smirked.  "Well, if it is hospitality that you want, we can certainly provide it.  I am certain King Theoden will welcome you and provide a meal for you to think over."

Motioning for the others to join them, the man led them towards the large hall at the top of the hill.  Spencer was hesitant at first, but no one was actively threatening him.  And he could use something to eat.

So he simply shrugged, and followed the man, not caring if the blue-haired guy followed.

====

When Joey passed him, Lucifer just gazed back with no expression on his face. His master said for him to wait for good reason, so he was going to wait until he was called for something.


Back with Kalas, he too was getting some looks from the villagers. He didn't really care too much; he was already used to not blending in thanks to his blue hair and choice of clothes. It was just that scrawny brat's nickname that really annoyed him, but whatever. That kid wasn't worth the trouble, so he wasn't going to let it bug him next time...at least, he was going to attempt to ignore him. While he was being stared at, however, he did have to tug at his cloak to make sure his winglet was well hidden. Even if he didn't care about the looks, he wasn't about to have anyone think of stealing one of his two prized possessions.

The Divine Child stopped in his tracks as he caught that obnoxious kid being stopped by the dark-haired man. Having nothing better to do, he listened in to see what was up. From the sounds of it, it looked like the man was the protagonist, or at least one of them. And someone already told him about them? Well, that saved all the trouble and explaining then. If that boy wasn't going to help, he might as well go ahead and do so. As mentioned, he had nothing better; plus, he was getting pretty hungry himself.

So Kalas walked after the man, calling to him, "Hey, if it's help ya want, I'm happy to oblige! Just as long as you share any loot you happen to find!"

====

The man smiled again as the others decided to join.  He disregarded the strange look of the others.  He had half expected it, really, if they were who suspected they were.

"We are well met.  I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, a Ranger of the North.  Come, I am sure king Theoden will appreciate your enthusiasm."

"Hey, free food first.  Then we'll talk."  Spencer replied, none too kindly.  Like the others, he had probably seen the films on [i]The Lord of the Rings[/i] trilogy, but nit having been a television or movie theater in three years, he could hardly even remember the basic plot, much less the characters.

Aragorn ignored Spencer's grumblings for the most part, and started back up the hill.

Soon, the group reached the great hall at the very top of the village, and were allowed entrance by the armored guards.  The inside was exactly as Aragorn had said it was, a large hall with several long tables.  These were pushed against the walls, however, and most of the remaining space was occupied by bustling people packing weapons and provisions.  The Ranger led them through the center, towards a wooden throne.

On the throne sat a man who looked to be at least in his fifties or sixties, with a trimmed beard, long, blonde hair, and blue eyes.  Upon his lap sat an ornate sword, with a golden hilt.

Aragorn bowed before the man.

"Who are these you bring before me, Aragorn?"  the king asked.

"Travellers, whom were brought by the wind of fate as Gandalf predicted."  Aragorn replied.  "Some are in want of your great hospitality."

The king nodded.  "Bring them some broth, as well as bread and cheese."  Several of the bustling people bowed, and went to prepare the food.  Theoden looked back to the group.  "I apologize, friends.  It is all we can spare at this time.  I suppose you'll want to hear of it as you eat?"

Spencer nodded.  "Might as well hear ya out, see if this is worth my time."  The mage sat at one of the tables, and Aragorn gestured for the others to do the same.

====

Kalas had to roll his eyes at Spencer's attitude. Though he knew he was just as bad, seeing the kid act like this really annoyed him, most likely because it hit home that he needed to shape up his own attitude. But nonetheless, he followed the man called Aragorn without a word. Unlike the others, being a Canon Internal, he had no idea about [i]The Lord of the Rings[/i] trilogy. Not like it mattered; it was still better than winding up in another place like Silent Hill or Fairport.

When making it to the throne, Kalas was a bit disappointed to hear what was all they had to spare. He was practically starving at this point, and meeting with royalty had him expecting a large banquet or something. Oh well; not everything could be like how it was in his world. He could deal with it for now. Though he did have to mutter a comment as he went to sit at one of the tables himself.

"This is just like the journey I went through before. Helping royalty who wouldn't do a thing to help themselves. Good times." He kept this comment to himself, not wanting to be the center of attention now. They had more important things to talk about here.

====

"I thank you, although there are no need for such pleasantries.  You are guests here."

Soon, those that had left to the kitchens returned with four wooden bowls of the soup, a wedge of cheese, and a loaf of bread.  Spencer, of course, was sure to at least get the first helping of bread before settling to listen to Theoden.

As soon as he was sure they were ready, the king of Rohan began his tale.

"Saruman the White, once a friend of Rohan, has turned against in favor of the Dark Lord.  He attacks our lands with the evil men of the East, Orcs and the Uruk-Hai abominations.  We are moving our people to Helm's Deep, a great fortress that has saved our people before.  We hope to be able to defend ourselves, but I admit that our numbers are few, and Saruman's great.  I do not wish to bring mere travelers into our war, but I must ask you help our people."

As the king explained the situation, Spencer ate, seemingly with little care for what Theoden had to say.  When he had finished, Spencer looked up from his bowl.

"I got nothing better going on, so I'll help out."

So saying, he went back to scarfing down what little food he was provided.

====

When the food was placed on the table, Kalas ripped off a piece of the bread, as well as a slice of cheese. He didn't eat these, however, instead placing them in his pack. They were for Lucifer, for when they were done with their business here.

As he instead drank the bowl of soup given to him, the Canon Internal listened to what the king had to say, in contrast to Spencer's actions. He didn't understand what most of this meant, but he got one thing out of it. Someone had turned against them in exchange for power, or so he thought was the case. Really, he hated the thought of it, as it reminded him of his own past actions. With that thought, he knew he couldn't let this one go. So, after the explanation was done, Kalas put his bowl back down on the table.

"Hey, you can count on us to help out," he said with a small smirk. "That's what we do here."

====

Both Theoden and Aragorn smiled when the four agreed to help.

"Good.  We go before nightfall.  Enjoy the last of your meal before we depart."  The king said, standing from his throne.  "I go to prepare."  With that, he left.

Spencer yawned, as if the entire thing bored him, and continued to chow down on what remained of the food.
______________________________________________________

"This is demeaning."  Spencer muttered several hours later, from the back of one of the knight's horses.  Apparently, some rider guys had been banished for whatever reason, leaving them with a shortage of horses to ride.  Thus, he was forced to share a horse with a knight.

The man he rode with tended to ignore his complaining, and wasn't much of a talker.  Not that he wanted to talk to him, or the other Interferences.

The mage just hoped there would be some action soon, before he was permanently bow-legged.

====

"Too bad for you, kid," Kalas said with a smirk, having chose to walk instead of sharing a horse. He had rode prancers (horses of his world) before, but he would rather strain his legs than have to share a ride with someone else. Not that he minded; he was used to walking long distances. Besides, he had his wings for whenever he needed them.

As they continued their way, Kalas tossed the piece of cheese he had saved back, to which Lucifer leapt over and caught it in his mouth. After the Mauthe Doog rejoined his master, the blue-haired protagonist had to explain to the knights that he was with him, and not some wild monster dog from this world. Though they had accepted the explanation, he still got more than a few looks. He didn't let that bother him, though; let them think what they want, he told himself.

"So, how much longer till we get there?" he asked. Not that he really expected that they'd reach their destination any sooner. He was just curious.

====

Ahead of the group, several other riders were passing a cliff, with Legolas, the Elf, standing on a hillock ahead of them.  Suddenly, the riders' horses became jittery, and one nearly threw off its rider.  One looked to the man next to him.

"What is it?  Hama?"

Hama looked back at the other man, Gamling, who replied, "I'm not sure."

Above them, a massive wolf slunk at the top of the cliff, the monster and its Orc rider preparing to pounce.  It ran straight down the cliff, and jumped on Hama, throwing him off of his horse and quickly killing him.  "Wargs!"  Gamling yelled, defending himself from the wolf-creature.  Legolas rushed to his aid, Aragorn swiftly following, and killed the Warg with a perfectly aimed arrow, and then the Orc with his Elvish knives.

"A scout!"  Legolas confirmed, as he ran up the hill ahead to see a multitude of other Warg riders coming their way.  Aragorn ran back to the main group, catching the king's attention.

"What is it?  What do you see?"  Theoden asked.

"Warg!"  Aragorn shouted, running to his own horse.  "We're under attack!"  The civilians began to panic, and Aragorn ordered them to turn back and run to safety.

"Finally, some action!"  Spencer said, the group being within earshot of the commotion.  The king gave the order for the riders to follow him ahead into the battle, and two came to pick up Kalas and Joey.  When they were safely mounted, they lined up behind the other horsemen and rode up the hill, where Legolas was firing arrows into the charging enemy.

"Hey, move over, will ya?"  Spencer said, pushing the soldier in front of him a little to the side.  He took his staff in his left hand, and pointed at the Wargs in front of him with his right hand.  Suddenly, lightning lept off of his fingertips, striking a Warg.  The electricity arced out to its rider, as well as another Warg, causing both to fall.

Spencer whooped in triumph.  Just before his rider clashed with an Orc, the movement causing the Blood Mage to lose is balance, and fall off of the horse, flat on his face.

====

Even though he didn't have a high impression of the Blood Mage, Kalas had to agree with his exclamation, giving a smirk. He was starting to get bored with all this walking. When a rider came to pick him up, he sighed and mounted the horse. Might as well, until they got to battle, anyway.

When they did, the young man decided that now was as good a time as any. Gripping the knight's shoulders for balance, he told him, "I can make my own way now," before his gray wing and metal winglet unfurled from under his cape. He then jumped off the horse, and flew his way into the fray, bringing out two Magnus cards that then brought out his sword and dagger. A few Wargs had come charging at him, their riders prepared to attack. But Kalas already had a trick up his sleeve.

[i][color=blue]"Sword Style: [b]Water Blade!"[/b][/i][/color]

He then slashed his water-coated sword forward, sending a blade formed of water at the Warg riders. The attack struck, knocking the Orcs off their Wargs and the wolf-like beasts knocked off their feet as well.

Another Warg began making its way towards Spencer as he fell off the horse. Before it could reach him, Lucifer came charging in, slamming himself into the Warg hard enough to throw off its rider. He then proceeded to pounce the monster, both the demon dog and the beast attempting to tear and shred at each other.

====

Spencer rolled over as Kalas' dog-thing attacked the Warg who had been trying to maul him.  He stood, and picked up his staff, preparing to weave another spell.  Several Warg riders were lined up perfectly for him, and Cone of Cold spell impaled them on icicles suddenly sprouting from the ground, and outright freezing others.  These were easily shattered with an attack from the blunt end of his staff.

Seeing another one of the beats charge at him, the Blood Mage used a Misdirection Hex on it, causing the rider to scrabble at its eyes and miss entirely, crashing into another Orc nearby.

Using another one of his Entropy spells, Spencer cast Sleep on a small group of enemies, causing most of them to fall unconscious right there and allowing some of the knights to easily dispatch them.

Overall, Spencer thought this fight was going fairly well, and would be over before long.  The Wargs and their Orc riders were dwindling.

Of course, this was before the Heartless showed up.

Appearing in from dark portals leaped a collection of Heartless, including two Living Bones being ridden by Shamans, three Armored Knights, and several of the standard Shadows and Soldiers.

Well, this was just [i]fantastic[/i].

The riders seemed surprised by the dark creatures as well, but attacked all the same.  Apparently, the Interferences' presence had allowed them the ability to fight the dark creatures.  Which was good, because there was no use in an army if they couldn't fight their enemy.

Spencer went back to the fight, and sent a Fireball spell at the newly formed Heartless, the ensuing explosion both harming them and scattering them.

====

Kalas had only one thing to say about the appearance of the Heartless.

"Aw, c'mooon."

Whining aside, after the Fireball spell had scattered the Heartless group, the Divine Child took the time to put away his reverse blade dagger and instead pulled out the Oblivion Keyblade, taking to dual-wielding with his sword and the oversized Key. A small, but noticeable vibration was felt from the Keyblade the minute it was drawn, like it were anticipating a Heartless fight for so long. He flew back into the fray, ignoring the will-o-wisps that now circled him, courtesy of a Shaman that got back to its monkey-like feet, and slashed through a few Soldiers and one Armored Knight. The latter took its fight with the winged hero, slashing its sword in a horizontal spin attack. Kalas held up his weapons to defend, taunting, "Is that all you got?"

It was right then that he felt a subconscious trigger, much like he did when he fought Anti-Luxord. He mentally activated it and, after boosting himself upwards, he swooped down, sword and Keyblade first, going through with the "Rising Sun" Reaction Command. The Armored Knight was taken down right away before the boy repeated this action twice more, taken out some of the smaller Heartless and knocking back a Shaman, and even a few of the remaining Orc riders.

In the meantime, Lucifer began to face down one of the two Living Bones the minute it got back its composure. Without a moment's hesitation, the Heartless leapt at the Mauthe Doog in an attempt to crush him under its feet. Lucifer quickly dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the shockwaves as its feet hit the ground, and then jumped onto its back. The minute the demon dog was on its back, the Living Bone started shaking and stomping around in an attempt to shake him off. Lucifer kept a firm grip long enough, clawing and snapping his jaws at every opportunity. However, he had been shaken off after doing some damage...right when the Living Bone crashed into its brethren, taking itself out and damaging the other greatly.

====

The remaining Living Bone roared in rage when its other crashed into it, the Shaman on top of it similarly enraged.  Of course, as his luck often went, they decided to charge at Spencer.  Thinking quickly, he used a Sleep spell on the area just ahead of where the Heartless was charging.  The spell only had a fifty percent chance of working, but the Living Bone fell 'unconscious' falling onto its side and crushing several small Heartless and Orcs.

The riders were picking off the last of the enemies, and the Orcs out of reach were retreating.

Spencer looked around the makeshift battlefield.  Bodies of Wargs and Orcs lay all over the place, but the corpses of the knights were also scattered about, although in less amounts.  Oddly, he noticed that the guy, Aragorn, who was always with that Elf and Dwarf had disappeared.  He didn't see his body around, either.  Weird, but it didn't really matter.

Uncorking a bottle of Lyrium and drinking from it, Spencer walked back to the group.  He could hear the excited chatter of the townspeople, and saw several point just over the next ridge, towards a large fortress.  He guessed that was Helm's Deep.

"Glad that's over."  The Blood Mage muttered.  They were almost there, and the sooner they got there the sooner he could get off this backwater world.

====

"Well, that was a disappointment," Kalas commented, his sword reverting back to its Magnus state and putting his Keyblade back against his chestplate strap in the back. "I was expecting more of a challenge than that."

Still, he was glad it was done for now. As he landed on the ground, his wing dismissed and his winglet rolling closed under his cape, he too looked over the battlefield, at the many corpses that covered it. If it had been any time before his main journey back home, the one-winged hero would have either start rummaging the corpses of the fallen knights, or not even give them a second glance. But now he knew better than that (plus, with Xelha watching him, she wouldn't be happy with that at all), so he instead frowned and lowered his head. This wasn't like him at all, but he might as well pay some respects.

After a long while, he heard Xelha's voice run through his mind, praying for those that had fallen, [i][color=fuchsia]'Find us, O Mighty Ocean...'[/color]

'...and forgive us.'[/i]

With that done, Kalas took a breath and stretched out. Might as well take a breather before they charged off into a big battle, or so the case seemed to be. He also noticed that Lucifer had run off again--oh wait, there he was, running up to his master now. The Mauthe Doog stopped before the blue-haired Canon Internal and hopped several times, barking as if to get his attention.

"What's the matter now, Luce?" Kalas asked, knowing from the last time that when the monster dog did this, he had either found something, or there was more trouble near. With the attention caught, Lucifer then turned and trotted off again. However, this time he had not trotted far off, as Kalas caught something ahead. Something shiny at that. He walked after the dog, and saw what it was that he had stopped by. Another Magnus container.

He knew what this meant.

"Way to go, boy!" Kalas said excitedly, to which Lucifer barked happily, his tail wagging. The Divine Child then kicked the device open, catching the Magnus card as it hovered right out. On the card was an image of a spiral of light, on a white background with the roman numeral VII at the bottom. Finding the next of his abilities was a lot quicker than expected.

"Only two left now..." the protagonist said to himself, storing the Magnus to the rest of his deck. "Then I'll be close to reaching my full power again..."

====

Spencer frowned at Joey when he asked where he had learned his magic.  Kirkwalls was an experience he tried to avoid discussing with others.

"None of your business."

He walked a little ways away, looking at the soldiers littering the ground.  Like Kalas, he too felt the urge to pick the bodies clean of any valuables (you'd be surprised what useful things a few thugs in Lowtown could drop), but suppressed the urge.  He wasn't in the mood to get in trouble with an army.  He doubted they had anything useful on them, anyways.

He walked over the hill towards Helm's Deep, a line of villagers already headed in that direction, and uncorked a bottle of Lyrium.  Such quick use of spells, even that few, had left him a bit drained, and the potion restored some of his Mana.

There was also the whole 'die without it' thing, too.
____________________________________________________

Upon arriving at the fortress, the Blood Mage was immediately led towards the hall at the very top.  On the way he saw food being rationed for the people, knights checking over the defenses, and other such activity.  He even saw that Elf talking to a lady about where Aragorn had gotten to.

He had fallen off the cliff during that battle.  Tough break.

Just before he entered the hall, he felt a tap on his waist.  Spencer looked down and behind him to see that Dwarf.

"Those creatures that appeared when the Wargs attacked.  They've been here before.  Right around the time your lot showed up too."

The Heartless had been here before?  Interferences too?  Well, that saved a whole lot of awkward explanations.

"That so?  They aren't much of a hassle."

"Aye.  Just don't go about bringing up suspicion, lad.  It wouldn't be too much a wager that people think they're with you."

"Yeah, well people can think what they want.  I'm just here 'till I can leave."

With that, Spencer walked towards the entrance of the hall.

====

Kalas followed closely after Spencer, Lucifer trotting along. The blue-haired hero was feeling pretty good after finding his seventh attack. Just a bit more adventuring to find the last two, and some work in training, and he felt he would reach the same level he was before he broke the bond with Crystal, his former Guardian Spirit. Thinking back on her, though, had him wondering how she was doing, wherever she was now.

[i][color=fuchsia]'I'm sure she's alright, Kalas. I miss her just as much as you do, but I know she would want us to keep looking forward.'[/i][/color]

Xelha's thoughts consoled him somewhat. It was different having to do things without having a Spirit's power and wisdom lent to him, but so far he has managed as an Interference on his own. He just had to keep it up before he can return home for good.

On to the matters of the present, however, Kalas had heard what the elf and the woman said about Aragorn. Hearing what happened to him made him flinch; even though they haven't really interacted with the world's residents beyond the usual, he still hated to hear that someone major might have died. He said before that he wanted no part of a world that had to make sacrifices in order to be saved, and he meant it even with all the other worlds in this multiverse.

It didn't help matters when he overheard the last statement from the Blood Mage. Kalas almost sent a glare his way, but did all he could to hold it back. That kid's attitude really got to him, mostly because it made him think too much of how he was before his main adventure. He hated having to be reminded of how bad he was before, and seeing the boy act like this kept getting under his skin.

It also didn't help that the boy was blonde, like Xelha and his dead brother Fee, was a mage like Xelha, and was near Fee's height before he was killed.

But, despite his personal feelings, he did all he could to not fly off the handle. They needed to get this over with, so until they were done with what they had to do, he'll have to tolerate him for a bit longer. So, clicking his tongue for Lucifer to keep up with him, Kalas followed Spencer to the entrance of the hall, ready to take care of what they had to here.

====

Spencer nodded in agreement with Shane.

"Beastboy's right.  Wouldn't want people hunting us down with stakes and torches.  They're pretty suspicious of us already, with the Heartless showin' up."

Naturally, he was more concerned with only himself, and less the world order, but the point was still valid.  The Blood Mage continued towards the hall, just as it began to start raining.  He entered the center of the stronghold, were there were people busy bustling about preparing to protect the people.  Spencer himself only yawned, and sat at a table.

Grumbling at the lack of available food, he uncorked another bottle of Lyrium, guzzling it.

He suddenly remembered something Shane said, and looked over to him.

"What'd you mean 'trouble's on the horizon'?"

Just then, there was a loud boom as the doors to the hall slammed open, revealing Aragorn.  He was wet, clothes were torn, and he sported several grizzly looking wounds that definitely couldn't have been comfortable.  The Range approached the king, and they began what seemed to be a grim discussion.  Luckily, Spencer was able to catch most of their conversation over the bustling of the hall.

"A great host, you say?"  Theoden asked.

"All lsengard is emptied."  Aragorn replied, grimly.

"How many?"

"Ten thousand strong at least."

Theoden turned and face Aragorn, his face showing disbelief.  "Ten [i]thousand[/i]?"

The Ranger nodded gravely.  "It is an army bred for a single purpose: To destroy the world of Men. They will be here by nightfall."  Theoden turned, and walked away angrily.

"Let them come!"

Spencer cringed at the number Aragorn named.  "Guess that answers that question..."

Ten thousand was a whole lot of Orcs to fight off, and now the Heartless were added to that mix too.

He could tell this was going to be a fun night already.

====

"Gee, thanks for spoiling the surprise before he suddenly shows up to save us or something," was all Kalas had to say on the matter, before Shane gave his lecture. He did have to agree about spouting things out of the blue drawing suspicion, though in his case, it was less to do with the world order and more with when he first learned of all the worlds being a part of a game, before he became an Interference. Though he calmed down about it since then (and even noted the hypocrisy in his own words when he yelled at his Guardian Spirit for it), he still wasn't too happy about the whole thing. No use mulling over it now, however.

Arriving at the center stronghold, Kalas looked around at the many people bustling about. If he was here before his own journey was finished, he would have called back to his previous words, "Castle may fall, nations may perish. It's none of my business." But as noted, he was no longer that man. He really felt like they had to help these people somehow, one way or another. And once again, he felt really tempted to call out on that mage brat for being so careless.

That was when the doors slammed open, revealing none other than Aragorn. If Joey had not spouted out that he was alive, his surprise and relief wouldn't have lessened. He did, however, catch in on the conversation he had with the king, if only to get his mind off of his personal annoyances.

What he heard made him widen his eyes and his jaw nearly drop. [i]Ten thousand[/i] Orcs? Including the Heartless?

...the shock had worn off quickly, however, and in its place was a wide, excited smirk. He didn't even let the overwhelming number start to worry him, as now he had a way to get stronger. Plus, this gave him an excuse to not only test his reobtained attacks, but to also try a different style of fighting.

Unconsciously, his wings once again unfurled from underneath his cape. Kalas looked down at his Mauthe Doog companion, who looked just as excited as he was. "We better get ourselves ready, Luce. It's gonna be one hell of a night."

====

Spencer turned towards Joey in a rage, his bottle of Lyrium spilling onto the floor.  He barred his staff across Joey's chest, and shoved him against a wall.  The Blood Mage wasn't particularly strong, but the staff was pinning Joey's arms, and would be enough to hold him still until he could get his point across.

"Don't you [i]dare[/i] threaten me."  The air around the two became static, as Spencer subconsciously drew up the will to cast a spell.  "If I say it's none of your business, it's [i]none of your damn business[/i]!"

He released the energy he had drawn up, and stepped back from Joey, releasing him.  The mage turned, and began to walk out of the hall, before looking back.

"And I am not one of those [i]things[/i]."

He stomped out of the hall, and out to stand on the outcropping fortress wall.  Aragorn watched the spectacle, and looked at Joey before exiting himself, leaving to go over the fortress' defenses with the king and his companions.  Before he did so, he turned to the others.

"You would do well to keep what allies you have."

And with that simple statement, he exited the hall.

====

Kalas would have left the hall to prepare himself for the huge battle. However, he had stopped when he heard Joey threaten Spencer, even call him a demon. Even though the blue-haired boy didn't have the highest opinion of the mage, this was going too far. He turned, about to tell off the idiot to leave the kid alone.

There was no need, as Spencer was right on top of that. Kalas blinked, honestly surprised by the sudden strength the Blood Mage was showing now. He stood back, however, not doing a thing to stop him, even telling Lucifer to stand back. The guy was asking for this and, he couldn't believe this, even he agreed with Spencer right now. Whatever happened in his life was his business, nothing more. And if he was a demon, he'd betray them beforehand.

It was only after Spencer left that Kalas gave one last scowl to Joey. He had no words to tell him now, the Blood Mage having said what was needed. He just glared, then turned to walk after Aragorn, Lucifer trotting next to him.

"Don't worry; I'm nothing like that moron," was all he said before he left the hall.

====

Spencer stood on top of the wall, leaning on his staff.  He was still somewhat tired from the amount of spellcasting he had done before, and exerting the strength on Joey had tired him further.  The mage drank another bottle of Lyrium, staring out at the landscape beyond the keep.

In the very far distance, he could see a tumultuous, black shape heading towards Helm's Deep.  Clearly, the Orcs marching their way towards them.  He gave his best Wizard's Scowl towards their direction, before looking down towards the entrance of the keep, which was a door at the end of a thing bridge, angling upwards from the land below.  It was good for a tactical position, as it would force the enemy to make themselves vulnerable by going up the bridge.  At least, it didn't seem that way.  There was no other entrance, and the wall was pretty damn thick.  Still, he wasn't quite sure what they were up against.  The person who led the Orcs, this Saruman, had to be a lot smarter than his minions.  It was possible that they could find some way through the wall.

And even then, with a force ten thousand strong, in comparison to their less than even a thousand, he wasn't sure this was a winnable battle.  There was always the chance they could be outlasted, but it hardly seemed likely.

For just a moment, Spencer considered leaving before the fight started.  It would be the smart thing to do, considering the odds.  If everyone else was so dead set on helping, he might as well save his own skin.  And he had no doubt his ship was repaired by now.

But being the smart thing to do didn't necessarily make it the [i]right[/i] thing to do.

As much of a jerkoff as he looked (and was, for that matter), the Blood Mage would stay.  Because as stupid as it was, it was the right thing to do; and if he wanted to believe there ever was any good in the Worlds, he had to.

So he stood fast atop the wall, waiting.

====

Kalas ignored what Joey yelled to them as he made it to the wall. Really, it was just an empty threat from someone who couldn't control his anger, meaning it really didn't matter to him. He was here to fight and hopefully protect as many world civilians as he could. Granted, with thousands of enemies, that would be hard to do. But at least he'll try.

On the top of the wall, where he too waited, he also saw the black shape heading their way. Soon enough, a large battle was about to erupt. Even with the thought of battling an army that basically outnumbered them, the thought of backing out never came to Kalas' mind once. While he had been depowered, he still took to account that he had faced stronger enemies before. Plus, when he was getting into it, he would never think of backing down from a fight.

[i]'Man...Savyna's starting to rub off on me. Even though she isn't here,'[/i] Kalas joked in thought. He expected a comment from Xelha, even a 'be careful' from her, but at the moment, there was no response from her. He guessed it might have been she was too worried to say anything. Even if she was, he was confident they'd make it out alive.

While he waited atop the wall, his wings flaring out once again, Kalas glanced to Spencer, almost surprised to see that he was still sticking around. Considering how he acted too much like how he was before, he almost expected him to suggest backing out. There was always something about meeting someone who reminded him of how he was that really got under his skin, though he didn't know why. He was trying to change, hell he had changed considerable; why should he let it bother him?

But, despite his personal issues and annoyances with the Blood Mage, the Divine Child really couldn't bring himself to really loathe the kid. Yeah, he didn't have the highest opinion, but he thought of him more as an annoying younger sibling that he never had. Sometimes he hated having an older brother instinct to look after those younger than him. Especially with that mage brat.

This didn't stop him from making a smart comment to him. He might have gotten a retort, but at this point, he didn't really care. "Better not die on us when they come, pipsqueak."

====

One could hear Spencer grinding his teeth at being called short, one of his greatest peeves, but was quick to retort.

"You treat me like I'm some sort of amateur.  Just concentrate on watching your own back, 'cause that hair might make you an easy target."

The sky began growing darker as the sun began to set, the wind picking up.  It had stopped raining a little while ago, but with the darkness of the sky, it was inevitable that it would come pouring down soon.

Behind them, Spencer could see women and toddlers being shuffled deeper into the stronghold, towards the caves, while men, even boys as young as early teenagers and old men were given weapons and armor by the more expert knights.

The Blood Mage sighed at the sight.  It was certainly looking grim for the home team.  A bunch of kids and old men against a horde of monsters didn't bode well for their chances of winning, and it didn't look like there was any Calvary showing up, either.

As more and more men became equipped, they began lining up on the wall, prepared for the battle.

====

Indeed, Kalas had heard the mage's grinding of his teeth. He smirked, glad to have one thing on the kid. Though he did have a twitch in his eye in response to the retort, he didn't fall back, instead following up with, "Don't worry, I expect them to come after me. Can't let anyone else get the most kills."

With that said, Kalas brought his sword out of its Magnus, resting the blade against his shoulder as he waited. As he did, he too saw the sight behind them, the women and toddlers being shuffled to safety, and the men, kids and elders, being prepared for the fight. The blue-haired hero had to frown at the sight; it wasn't like his world, where they had several armies on their side while he and his friends went to stop an evil god. He knew it was much harder in the worlds, but he really hated to see just how bad it was.

Still, there was no need to mull over it any further. They might have been low on numbers, and some people may die (a thought that honestly made him sick to his stomach). But they had Interferences on their side, and he knew they were stronger than all of the forces combined. They just needed to keep the thought that they would win, and he was sure they would.

====

Spencer merely smiled slightly at Kalas' reply.  He had to hand it to the bluenette, he certainly had a lot of fight in him.  In honesty, the Blood Mage was anxious for the fight to start.  With so many people involved, it wouldn't be like just any skirmish with Heartless, it would be massive, confusing, and hectic.  Luckily, he could try and just stand back, seeing as most of his spells had quite a range on them.

As the sky grew darker, the knights were mostly finished lining up on the wall.  By the time it was fully night, the men were all in their formations, and the Orcish army was no longer far off, individual fires could now be seen from torches.

Suddenly; there was a shout from further down the wall, followed by the sound of some sort of horn, causing Spencer to turn and look at the source of the commotion.

"Send for the king!  Open the gate!"

"Open the gate!"

The mage shoved his way through a small crowd, and saw practically an entire legion marching of Elves marching through the gates, all garbed in dark clothes and gilded helmets, bows on their backs.

"Typical," Spencer muttered.  "The Elves show up just in the nick of time."

He managed to see over some shoulders by standing on his toes, and saw what was apparently the Elves' leader greet Theoden.

"I bring word from Elrond of Rivendell. An alliance once existed between Elves and Men. Long ago we fought and died together.  We come to honor that allegiance."

The lead Elf noticed Aragorn, and the two shared one of those manly hugs, and he turned once more to the crowd.  "We are proud fight alongside Men once more."

Spencer rolled his eyes.  "Show-offs."

====

When the shouts and horn sounded out, Kalas just looked over the crowd to see what was going on (though he had to smirk slightly at Spencer having to get on his toes to look). Though to be honest, seeing the legion of Elves didn't have that much of an impact on the JRPG protagonist, having no idea what elves were. However, their pointed ears did have to make him think once again to his dead little brother, remembering that he had those same ears...

He shook his head before he could get in too deep into his past once more. That didn't matter right now; what mattered was that they had more help on their side, even though the mage didn't seem too keen on their help for some reason. Kalas just shrugged his shoulders; whatever it took to win, he felt they should take all the help they can get. Especially with a whole army coming their way.

At that thought, Kalas began tapping the blunt side of his sword against his shoulder in anticipation. It was starting to kill him just standing here waiting. He really hoped the fight would start soon...

====

The sun sank completely behind the horizons, and the rain started up again, much heavier than before. The heavy water drops caused Spencer's hair to droop and cling to the back of his head, and made his clothes feel heavy.  The soldiers stood armed on the battlements of keep, and along the top of the wall the Elves lined up.  All of those atop the wall watched in heavy anticipation as the Uruk-Hai finally came to a stop in front of Helm's Deep, what was evidently their captain standing on top of a rock on the ground.

Aragorn walked among the Elves near the top, shouting commands in a language Spencer didn't understand, probably this world's form of Elvish .

Nearby, Gimli the Dwarf hopped up and down in attempt to see over the wall.  "What's happening out there?"

Legolas, who stood next to him, smirked and replied, "Shall I describe it to you?  Or would you like me to fetch you a box?"

It made Spencer glad there was someone here shorter than him.

The Uruk-hai began stamping their spears on the ground together, beating their chests.  Aragorn took out his sword and wielded it in front of him. An old man suddenly lost his grip on his arrow, and the arrow shot straight into one of the creature's necks, oddly.  Aragorn holds his hand up and yelled a command in that language again as the Uruk-Hai fell to the ground.

The rest of the army began to roar in anger and outrage.  Their leader let out the command to attack, and they charged at Helm's Deep.  Aragorn let out the command to fire as the Uruk-Hai attack, and a hail of arrows fell into the mob bellow.

Spencer, meanwhile, held his hands to his side, flames to be seen building up in his palms.  He thrust his hand forward, and the Fireball spell into the army below.  Despite its explosive force, the spell hardly made a dent in the overwhelming force.

Suddenly, as the enemy reached the bottom of the walls, the brought up incredibly tall and sturdy ladders, which they began climbing up in force.  Many of the knights focused on pushing the ladders off, while more arrows flew into the army.

Spencer threw a Sleep spell at the nearest ladder, causing several of the topmost enemies to fall unconscious and plummet off, taking a few others with them.

====

As the Uruk-Hai came to a stop, Kalas smirked, glad that the fight as going to begin soon. Though the rain was bothering him, the heavy drops making his hair droop in his eyes, he still felt more than ready to take this army down, overwhelming numbers be damned. He took the time to pull out one of his special attack Magnus, charging it up as his sword glowed with a dark aura. He waited until the real attacks began before he would let it loose.

Soon enough, the Uruk-Hai charged and their army fired a hail of arrows at them. That's when Kalas flew just a bit in the air, and then slashed out in front of him, opening a dimension rift as he yelled out, [i][b]"Shadow Wings!"[/i][/b] A murder of spiritual ravens then flew out, attacking the mob just after Spencer sent out his Fireball spell. Though they hadn't done too much damage, only clawing out with their talons before they faded out, it was still enough to hold some of the enemies back for a bit.

And then came the ladders. The Divine Child had been about to help push some down...but then caught some rope lying about on the wall nearby. Immediately, an idea came to mind as the Baten Kaitos protagonist lowered himself back down to take a look. He picked the rope up to check its length; if he could work on it, then it could hopefully be enough to pull down some of the ladders at once. He just needed the time...

"Luce! Cover me!" Kalas yelled to his Mauthe Doog companion, whom had already started fighting off some of the enemies who came through. As he began to work on the rope, cutting and tying where he needed to, Lucifer ran by his side, snapping at anymore nearby enemies who managed to get up to the wall and came close.

It took a bit of time, as well as a few interruptions, but eventually Kalas had finished with his rope trap. He had only enough to cut it into three separate lassos tied together, with one part for him to hold on and pull. Though hopefully, it would be enough to hold the army back. Flying back into the rainy air, Kalas looked to Lucifer again and told him, "Keep holdin' 'em off, boy," before he flew off to tie the lassos to the ladders. The first he had to kick some of the enemies down before he tightened the rope around one end of the ladder. He quickly flew to the next, thankfully having a bit less trouble as he tied the next bit of rope to the ladder.

When he got to the third, however, one of the monsters had grabbed at his leg. He had been about to kick it off, but then more came, trying to drag him down. Though he had been struggling to get away, with him furiously beating his wings, it took more than that to really bring him down.

"Get..." Kalas began, reaching for another Magnus, different from his special attack ones, "your dirty hands..." His sword, still in his hand, was then surrounded by wind as he yelled out last, "OFF OF ME!"

And then he slashed out, an added wind blast knocking all of the enemies back down. With them out of the way, Kalas went back to the ladder, tying the last piece of rope to it. With all of that done, the half-winged boy grabbed the one loose part and flew back a ways, far enough for him to pull. And pull he did, his teeth grinding together as he yanked as hard as he could, the amount of enemies adding to the weight making it harder for him. But even then, with another yell, he gave one final tug, and with it, the three ladders came plummeting down, the enemies going down with them.

Even if it wasn't all the ladders, hopefully it would make things easier for the king's army and his fellow Interference allies.

====

Spencer ran along the wall to where the Uruk-Hai were more concentrated, knowing his larger area-of-effect spells would be useful there.  Along the way, he an Uruk-Hai that had just scaled a ladder and stood just on top of the wall after clmbing spotted the Blood Mage and attempted to maim him with its scimitar-like blade.  Unfortinately for the monster, it hadn't realized that Spencer would be both skilled with magic and his weapon of choice.   He blocked the sword with his staff, which, despite being made of wood, deflected the blow solidly.  Spencer spun the shaft of the weapon, so that the blade pointed at the Uruk-Hai, and drove it into its throat, where he saw a weak poin in its armor.  Although Spencer's lack of strength kept the blade from going all the way through, it did the job well enough.  The Uruk-Hai fell back and off the ladder, taking a few of its bretheren with it on the way down.

Several of the knights rushed up and began to push the ladder off, now that no Uruk-Hai would climb up at the last second and take them by surprise.  Spencer continued along the wall, until he saw the more densely packed section of the army assailing Helm's Deep.  They were in some sort of odd formation, parted in the middle.  The Mage didn't take much notice of this though, and looked over when he heard shouting from the dwarf.  Gimli yelled in Legaolas' direction, "Legolas!  Two already!"  He indicated a fallen Uruk-Hai at his feet.

"I'm on seventeen!"  Legolas yelled back, a small note of triumph in his voice.  Gimli sputtered about not letting any Elf beat him, and went back to fighting.  Spencer grinned, and yelled in a similar fashion to Kalas.

"See if you can beat my high-score, Blueberry!  I got five!"

The Blood Mage whipped around to see several Uruk-Hai coming in his direction, and zapped on with a Chain Lightning spell, the lightning arcing out to hit the other monsters behind it.

"Make that eight!"

That was when he heard shouting from Aragorn to shoot a specific Orc, and he turned to see one of the monsters on the ground dive into a tunnel at the walls base just tp the right and below him holding some sort of torch.

Everything went white as the explosion wracked the section of the wall into pieces, and the concussive force sent the Blood Mage up into the air and over the edge of the wall, falling towards the army below.

====

Kalas heard Spencer's shout, his eye twitching at the nickname once again. However, hearing to Blood Mage challenge him brought a cocky grin to his face. He was not about to let that kid hold a score over him like that, and so he gladly took upon it.

"Oh-ho-ho, it is on now, half-pint!"

With that, he flew straight towards a group of Uruk-Hai on the wall. They had begun to attack at once, but Kalas held both his sword and modified dagger to block them; some had already cut through to him, but he stood by the damage, having dealt with worse in the past. He then ducked low, and then sent an uppercut at one monster. In the next instant, he whipped around, slitting the next creature's throat with the dagger. He continued to hack and slash at the rest of the Uruk-Hai around him, taking the damage when they fought back. With each slash he gave, however, power began to slowly build up. Power that would let him use his special attacks however he can; this time, he decided to try using a different tactic. One that hadn't been used in over twenty years back on his world.

The Divine Child would have continued fighting back the enemies surrounding him now. However, Spencer's next shout to him brought his competitiveness up even more. He decided to make haste with this power-building, flying to the most enemy-filled part of the wall. He almost thought to go down to the monster on the ground, but he wasn't about to pull off something that stupid just to get where he wanted to. He continued his strategy there: hack and slash, dodge and block where he needed to, stand by the damage done to him. He felt the energy continue to build up, reaching certain 'levels'. It was almost too much for him to handle, probably a reason why this hadn't been used in two decades, but he continued to build it up as he kept fighting back, killing only a few Uruk-Hai in the process.

Surprisingly, it didn't take him too long to reach the highest power level he could get to. With that, he flew to the air once more, away from the attacking monsters, and closed his eyes. He reached deep within himself, to the energy built within...and then he released it full force.

[i]Burst.[/i]

His blue eyes snapped wide open, the sudden rush of power so immense that he almost couldn't grasp it. He practically lost all control as he flew right back into the fray, his sword held high and surrounded with flames that didn't die out in the rain. He then stabbed the blade into the floor, the sudden fire blow of his Flash Explosion attack sending a group of Uruk-Hai flying. Not a moment too soon, his signature weapon was encased in light, to which he spiraled across his enemies while slashing through them, gaining back some health with his recently obtained Fangs of Light. Wind came next, and he slashed below to form a small whirlwind with his Blue Storm. The cross-dimensional ravens from his Shadow Wings flying out once more, the illusory swords of his Dream Blade impaling a number of monsters enclosed together...a whole chain of special abilities that damaged many and killed a lot more of the Uruk-Hai than he normally would.

It was after this that the burst had died down completely. Kalas had limped over, worn out after pulling that stunt; he really felt it was worth it in the end. He looked up, grinning almost madly, about to yell to the Blood Mage that he had just outdone him in kills. However, the minute he looked in his direction, the explosion rang out all of a sudden. Kalas held his hands over him, both covering his eyes when everything went bright, and taking cover from the debris that came his way. He lowered them not a second later, and saw the sudden damage done to the wall. He would have made a comment on that...had he not also caught Spencer being blown over and falling to the army below.

An adrenalin rush immediately washed over in place of his weariness. He might not have gotten along with Spencer for all the time they spent on this world, but Kalas was not about to let anyone die in this fight. With just one boost of his single Wing of the Heart and his grandfather's winglet, the blue-haired Interference flew straight for the Blood Mage, diving down right after him. Just before the boy would be caught and most likely torn apart by the Uruk-Hai, Kalas had grabbed him by the ankle, catching him just inches away from a possible demise.

"You owe me for this, pipsqueak," Kalas told him as he flew back up to the wall, dropping the Blood Mage the minute reached it. He then gave a smirk and told him last, "Also, I just got fifteen of those things."

====

Spencer pinwheeled with his arms as he fell through the air, almost dropping his staff as he quickly descended to the ravenous army below, when he suddenly stopped.  Looking up, he saw Kalas gripping his ankle and carrying him back to the wall.  The Blood Mage had been about to say something when Kalas dropped him, but sputtered when he told his count.

"[i]Fifteen[/i]?!  Looks like I'll have to try a bit harder!"  He stood up, gripping his staff tightly, before looking back at the winged-boy.  "And... thanks, Blue-"  He corrected himself, just this once.  "[i]Kalas[/i]."  Pretending as if he hadn't actually just used the bluenette's actual name, he turned towards the newly made hole in the wall, seeing the Uruk-Hai pouring through the opening.  Some began pounding up the stairs to the top of the wall in their direction, overwhelming the soldiers with their sheer numbers.

Spencer scowled, and pointed at the advancing horde, preparing a Chain Lightning spell... only for absolutely nothing to happen.  Out of Mana, and no time to get out a bottle of Lyrium to restore it, with the Uruk-Hai so close.  That only left one option.  Spencer shook his arm so the sleeve fell down to his forearm, revealing a collection of cuts and fading scars from using the brand of magic that was his title.  He took the blade of his staff and made a fresh cut, drawing enough blood for the magic, but not so much as to be entirely dangerous.  He lowered his goggles over his eyes, just as they began glowing a deep crimson, and lines appeared all over his body, looking like veins.

With his Blood Magic active, Spencer drew the power of his own life force to create spells once more.  He aimed at the ever-closer Uruk-Hai, and a Hemorrhage spell flowed out of him, colored in black mist with red flecks inside, and surrounded the monsters.  Several keeled over then, the corruption causing their own blood to boil, but the rest kept coming.  A second spell, Blood Slave, took control of a single enemies' thoughts for only a little while, causing it to turn and attack its own allies, but was quickly mowed down.

Feeling already somewhat drained, Spencer used his One Foot In spell, drawing the life force of fallen knights and Uruk-Hai, and even some of the living creatures, to heal himself.  Then he began backing away as the monsters got a little too close for comfort, using a Cone of Cold to both impale some on large icicles that popped seemingly out of the very wall, and blocking off the remaining enemies for a short while.  However, he could already massive scimitars quickly chipping away at the ice.  Spencer kept backing away, but did so leaning on his staff and staggering a bit.

====

Kalas only gave another smirk when Spencer gave his thanks, as well as finally correcting himself on his name. "No prob, [i]Spence.[/i]" Also pretending that he hadn't used the mage's actual name, he too saw the growing numbers of the Uruk-Hai thanks to blowing a hole in the wall. He had to scowl; if only he had waited to pull his Magnus Power Burst stunt instead of using it for purely competitive purposes. Even with this many enemies now, it would take forever to build it back up and do it again.

In the middle of his thoughts, one monster began to creep up on him, ready to tear off his wing. Though Kalas had already felt this and was about to whip around to slit its throat, he wouldn't have to, as Lucifer, caked in blood after tearing into the enemies, had rushed in and headbutted the creature away from him. As the Mauthe Doog landed on his paws, the blue-haired boy turned to him with a small smirk. "Good to see you're still in the game, Luce."

Lucifer gave a bark in response before running off to fight off more of the Uruk-Hai. With that, Kalas flew in the air, about to get back into the fight himself, when he saw what had just become of Spencer, and the spells that he used. He did have to frown, as it was almost unsettling, but he shook his head. Whatever helped in this fight would, he told himself. Turning back to the rest of the monsters, Kalas put his dagger in his mouth, gripping it in between his teeth for now, and reached back to the Oblivion Keyblade.

Much like what happened back in Wonderland, everything changed with the Divine Child. The look in his eyes was once again the cold, determined look that they were the last time. In the next minute, he boosted high into the air. Just as quickly, as thunder sounded in the air, he dove down, spinning, both his sword and Keyblade held out in front of him. As he neared the ground, he then spread them out.

Many of the Uruk-Hai went flying. Others were killed right that instant, a few even decapitated.

====

As if on cue with Shane's shout, the call for retreat was sounded.  Men ran back towards the main gate of the keep, all the while doing their best to hold off the Uruks, if only for a short while longer.  Spencer, too, retreated, although slower than the knights.  The Uruk-Hai had broken through his wall of ice, and he was doing his best to slow them down.  A Fireball killed some and blew others over the wall, a Chain Lightning causing even more to fall.

Another One Foot In regained some more energy for the time being, but the Blood Mage was being drained fast.  Several more of the monsters fell as the lasting effects of his earlier Hemorrhage spell finally took its toll, but it still wasn't enough.  For all of Spencer's magical prowess, even that was not enough to hold of the multitude of Orcs.

Eventually, he backed up faster, and faster, until he simply turned and rand to the best of his ability back to the gate.  Luckily, the gate was still mostly intact, but the Uruks were quickly assaulting it with a massive battering ram.  Men stood, leaning on the wooden doors as the slammed again and again with the impact of the ram.  But even the sturdy gate had to fall eventually, and there were already holes in it.  Through one of these holes, Spencer saw Aragorn and Gimli jump across a wide gap (although it was more accurate to say Gimli was [i]thrown[/i]) and hold off the Uruk-Hai for a little while longer while Theoden gave the order to fall back to the keep.

Spencer rant after the soldiers, nearing the doors of the hall, and hoping the others were following.  As much as he may not have liked them, he didn't want them stuck out there with all the Orcs.

====

It was when the call for retreat had sounded that whatever had come onto Kalas had broken once again. He blinked, and would have gripped his head if they weren't full of weapons. It was just like before; grabbing the Key had made him lose control of himself, like he were possessed. But unlike the White Winged Darkness, this wasn't some malevolent force...could it have been the spirit of the Keyblade...?

Of course, there was no time for him to think over this. The numbers were now overwhelming them; despite telling himself that they would get through this, it seemed the truth was that they really wouldn't in the state they were in. As such, after putting his weapons away, he turned, about to fly after the retreating army...only for his single wing to suddenly disappear, the blue-haired boy now slumped over in exhaustion. You see, when people of his world still had their own Wings of the Heart, having them out for too long would have worn them out, and leave them without summoning their wings again until they regained their strength. As such, that fact wasn't different from the one-winged boy, who now did all he could to run, but found himself limping all the way.

Thankfully, he wasn't alone. Orcs would have closed in on him and tried to tear him apart, had Lucifer not come in to save his hide again. After tearing the face off one of the monsters and knocking down a few more, the Mauthe Doog came to his side again, barking.

"Hey Luce..." The weariness was clear in the young man's tone. "Can you...can you give me a push...or pull, whatever?"

Another bark, and Lucifer then grabbed the wrist of Kalas' left arm-guard in his teeth. He then bolted for the retreating army as fast as he could, heading for the doors to the hall, dragging his master along with him. In normal circumstances, Kalas would have yelled at the demon dog to slow down; as it was, he really needed the help until he regained his strength.

====

Just after the three ran (or in Kalas' case, were dragged) into the great hall, the soldiers shut the doors.  The Uruk-Hai were hot on their heels, but were stopped short by the heavy door, which was growing stronger as the men began barricading it.  However, the Uruks still had their large battering ram, and the door couldn't hold forever.

Spencer slumped against a wall, prepared to deactivate his Blood Magic, the usage of which was pushing his limits of exhaustion.  He hadn't used this much since... since that last fight with Meredith back in Kirkwall, when everything fell apart.  Spencer shook his mind of these depressing memories for the time being, and focused on the three that had made it inside.  Joey was the one that caught his attention, with the arrow wounds.

As quickly as he could move in his exhausted state, Spencer grabbed Joey's arm, examining.

"Arrow wounds... what'd you do, just stand in the way?"  The Blood Mage would have palmed his face, where his hands not occupied.  Spencer carefully looked over the wounds, but didn't touch the arrows.  "Don't take 'em out, it stops the bleeding and rips up the muscle, too.  You should only do that when you're ready to be healed."

Spencer looked to the others.  "Anyone got a potion?  This idiot needs it!"

Meanwhile, across from where Spencer was, Theoden watched as the men braced the doors for another impact.

"The fortress is taken. It is over."

Aragorn, who had been running with Legolas to add more barricades to the door, stopped at the king's words of defeat.

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it. They still defend it. They have [i]died [/i]defending it."  Cries and shouts of fear could be heard from the caverns just below, as the women and children heard the Uruk-Hai's attemtps to break in.

Aragorn looked back to Theoden, asking, "Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves?"  The man did not reply, only looking down at the floor in despair.  Aragorn asked again, more insistently.  "Is there no other way?"

One of the soldiers, Gamling, answered for the king.  "There is one passage. It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many."  Aragorn placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Tell the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance!"

Theoden simple seemed to ignore everything, murmuring to himself.  "So much death.  What can Men do against such reckless hate?"

There were more sounds of pounding on the door.  The Orcs were close to getting in.

====

By the time they reached the hall, Kalas had leaned against the wall to recover from his own exhaustion. As glad as he was to be able to keep flying while he was out in these worlds, he had almost forgotten why it was a bad idea to have them out for so long. As useful as it was, he had to leave a mental note not to risk it again next time. There was a reason why he and his friends had conserved their wings only for battle and few other occurrences during their journey.

Thankfully, it didn't take him too long to regain his strength. With one last breath, Kalas pushed away from the wall and stretched slightly. Of course, it was right then he heard Spencer's shouting for Joey needing a potion. He looked over and saw what the problem was. Arrow wounds...and he had them in the whole time. He knew that kid was downright insane at this point, but that was just ridiculous. Granted, it was better than ripping them out beforehand, but still. The blue-haired boy just sighed, pulling out a healing Magnus and walking over. Without warning, he just tore the arrows out, and then pressed the Magnus against Joey's arm right after, the healing light tending to the wounds.

"You know, at this point I'm beginning to wonder if you're crazy or downright stupid. Or both."

After he made the rude comment, he overheard the talk across from them, the screams from below, and the pounding on the large doors. Hearing it all made his stomach churn; he hated to think that they might have failed, but it seemed there was no other way. They needed a miracle from out of nowhere in order to get through this.

====

Spencer waved off Joey's offering, still finding himself not willing to trust the guy or anything he might give him.  And also possibly out of spite.  "Got my own."  He pulled out a similar bottle of light blue liquid, Lyrium, and drank from it, refreshing his energy a bit.  At Shane's statement, Spencer looked at him.

"Yeah, I've been in a situation like this."  The Blood Mage admitted.  He remembered when everything fell apart in Kirkwall, all the mages, the Champion, himself and Orsino had holed up in the Circle Tower, trying to hold off the Templars.  The Templars broke through, and then Orsino...

He chose to try and not remember what happened next.

"We lost."  Was his only answer.

Aragorn paused in thought, then looked at Theoden.  "Ride out with me." Theoden turned to look at him, curiously.  "Ride out and meet them."

Realization dawned in the king's eyes.  "For death and glory."

Aragorn nodded.  "For Rohan. For your people."  It was a suicidal tactic, but the only one remaining to them.  There was another loud sound from the door, this time accompanied by the crack of straining wood almost giving in.  They would ride out and fight them to the death.

Suddenly, Gimli pointed to the window.  "The sun is rising!"  Aragorn looked as well, and remembered Gandalf's words.

"[i]Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east.[/i]"

There was more pounding on the door, almost about to give.  Theoden and the remaining men donned their armor and mounted the few remaining horses.

Spencer saw the action, and heard the plan.  "A last stand, huh?"  He stood up from his seat, and jumped up on a horse, ironically with the same soldier from before, who had no objections to his joining.

"I saw if we go down, we go down fightin'!"

The door gave way, and the Uruk-Hai were mighty surprised when they were trampled by horses and beheaded by blades.

====

When Kalas heard the plan of action, and saw as the remaining soldiers donned their armors for a last stand, he took a moment to contemplate. He still didn't want to believe they would fail in this, but as it was, the odds were against them. They had to go for one last stand. He hated to think if any of them would go down like this, but...better to die trying than not try at all. At least his death would mean something this time.

As he stood, ready to join the army once more, he reached up and gripped Xelha's pendant, closing his eyes. [i]'Xelha...if I go down on this world...I'm sorry for not being by your side again...'[/i]

Like before, there was no response. Kalas didn't expect one, but the telepathic connection he had with her through the pendant let him know what she was feeling. She was terrified for his safety; for that, he just hoped they would come out alive. With that, not wanting to risk tiring himself out again, the Divine Child also jumped on the nearest horse alongside a soldier, pulling out his sword Magnus. He looked to Lucifer, the Mauthe Doog ready to charge into battle once more.

"Let's do this, buddy."

Right then, the door gave way, the army charging through. Kalas tossed his Magnus to the air then, the sword materializing in mid-air, and then came back down. He caught it by the hilt and slashed it out, joining in on the beheading of the Uruk-Hai. If this was their last stand, they'll do whatever they can until the end.

====

Spencer, despite his outwards attitude, did consider Joey's apology and offer to talk.  Of course, the only way he'd ever be able to take up the offer was if they lived through thus, which wasn't looking all that good at the moment, honestly.

As they rushed out of Helm's Deep, the Uruk-Hai lined on the bridge howled in rage and pain as they were mowed down by the soldiers and Interferences on horses.  The massive horn at the very top of the fortress sounded deep and loud as the charged.  They had the tactical advantage on the bridge with the horses, sure, but there still stood thousands of Uruks in front of the keep below.  The Blood Mage highly doubted they would even make it that far, but was suddenly surprised by a bright, white light coming from above the steep hill in front of Helm's Deep.

Gandalf was there, riding a horse as white as his own cloak, rearing up and looking down at them.  Suddenly, another rode up behind him, and rose his sword, suddenly surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of fresh mounted warriors.  Spencer stared at the light for a moment, then smiled.

"Guess there's a cavalry after all."

Gandalf and the men charged at the Uruk-Hai army below, and sent out another bright light as they drew close, blinding the enemy and catching them off-guard, allowing their defenses to be broken easily.

Spencer had to keep his jaw from hitting the ground in awe of the pure amounts of [i]energy [/i]sent out by the old guy in white.  The man was a wizard through and through, he could feel it, and most likely more powerful than the Blood Mage could [i]ever [/i]be.

Naturally, this was an excellent confidence booster for his opinion on the outcome of this battle.  The warriors rushed into the Uruk-Hai, massacring them as Spencer and the others came from the behind, adding to their own kill counts.  As the Orcs' numbers began to very suddenly and swiftly dwindled, they realized the desperation of their situation, and began running away, towards the forest.

"Victory!  We have victory!"  Theoden shouted, voice loud and joyful as he raised his sword in triumph.

====

Before the light had flashed, Kalas had done all that he could to help hold back the Uruk-Hai to their advantage. He sent more air blasts from his wind-powered sword, before switching to a flame-equip and burning the Orcs. However, no matter how much damage he added in, it still seemed it wasn't enough. Once again, the Divine Child cursed at himself for wasting his Burst stunt; it would have been more helpful here than earlier. Even if he could just fly into the horde to try again, it was too much of a risk for even someone as cocky as he was to even pull off.

Just before he could start thinking they failed again, that they really were going to die, he saw the light from above, and looked up to see the white wizard, along with the warriors alongside him. Kalas just gave a small smirk; as always in these kinds of worlds, they received help in the end. Though it shouldn't have been too surprising for him, his eyes did widen when he saw the magic the old man had sent out. His world had its share of light spells from magic-users, yet the way this wizard had used them...Kalas couldn't help but think that he had enough power to rival even the most powerful wizards of his world.

[i][color=fuchsia]'Incredible...'[/i][/color] Even Xelha had to admit such as he heard her thoughts in his mind; it seemed she had gotten over her worry for his safety now that they had a huge advantage.

With that, Kalas was able to get back into focus as they caught on. He summoned his wings once more, flying off the horse with his sword glowing white. He then charged in as a rush of Orcs started to come at him, about to pile onto him and tear at him at once.

[i][color=white]"Sword Style: Fangs of Light!"[/i][/color] But that wouldn't be the case as the winged boy spiraled upwards, slashing all the way through, killing some of the Orcs and throwing the rest back. It was right after this that the rest of the Uruk-Hai began to escape to the forest. Kalas landed on the ground, though not before his sword was tinted with darkness and he slashed forward, sending the elemental ravens to chase after them along the way.

"And stay out, you cowards!" Kalas shouted, dismissing his wings once again. He grinned as he heard Theoden's shout of triumph, relieved and glad to know that they had won. It looks like they hadn't come here to fail after all.

====

Spencer cut down a few more Uruk-Hai with magical blasts, but stopped as the entirety of the stragglers headed towards the forest (funny, he didn't really remember the treeline being so close), pursued by the mounted warriors Gandalf had brought into the fray.  Suddenly, their leader, Eomer, rode to a halt, calling his men to attention.

"Stay out of the forest! Keep away from the trees!"

The Blood Mage soon found out why this was so important as the Uruks fled into the trees; which began to shift and move.  There were gurgling screams coming from the forest, as well as sickening crunching sounds accompanying them.  Living, and apparently angry, trees.  Who knew.

Spencer jumped off of the horse he had been riding on with the knight, and gave the man a two-fingered salute, who nodded back, ever the stoic one.  He could see that the warriors had now gotten to the task of dragging the Uruk-Hai corpses into large piles, presumably to burn the bodies.

"That's gonna smell later..."  Spencer mumbled.

Meanwhile, Gimli the Dwarf sat atop a seemingly dead Uruk-Hai, his battle axe sticking from its skull.  Legolas approached him, cleaning his bow.  "Final count... forty-two."  He said, somewhat smugly.

"Forty-two? That's not bad for a pointy-eared Elvish princeling. I myself am sitting pretty on 43."  Gimli replied.  Suddenly, the Elf drew an arrow, and shot the Orc Gimli was sitting on.  "Forty-three."

"He was already dead!"  The Dwarf said, somewhat outraged.

"He was twitching."

"He was twitching because he's got my axe..."  he grabbed his axe, and tapped it, once again causing the Uruk-Hai to twitch.  "...embedded in his [i]nervous system[/i]!"

On a similar note, Spencer walked up to Kalas, and leaned on his staff while drinking from a bottle of Lyrium.  "Forty-nine.  Beat that, Blueberry."

====

Kalas saw the trees shifting and heard the screams and everything else from within. Though live trees weren't too surprising for him, he still had to wince. "Remind me never to go in there, then..."

With a sigh, the Divine Child reverted his sword back to a Magnus and put it away. He looked around at the scene, at the armored knights dragging the corpses of the Uruks to a pile, at the Dwarf and Elf at it again with the kill count. He had to smirk a bit, glad that they managed to survive through this.

[i]'And you really thought we'd die out there, Xel,'[/i] he thought to the Ice Queen.

Before he could receive a response from her, probably the typical 'I knew you'd make it through' despite her worries, along came Spencer with his announcing his own count, and that damn nickname again. Once again, his eye twitched; it bugged him enough when Lyude mocked his hair (to which he retorted back with the soldier's effeminate appearance), but from this kid...

[i][color=fuchsia]'Kalas, please don't get into this. It's silly enough.'[/i][/color]

Kalas just sighed again, calming himself slightly. He turned, about to give his own kill count, which was only 48, one off behind the Blood Mage, and admit defeat. However, right then, Lucifer came trotting up, an Orc's arm in his mouth. When the blue-haired hero caught this, he immediately pulled the arm out of the Mauthe Doog's mouth and held it up to show off.

"Forty-nine as well," Kalas said, giving another smirk. "Looks like it's a tie, runt."

If Lucifer could, he would have palmed his face, like Xelha was doing from all the way back in their world.

====

Spencer gaped at the Mauth Doog.  "That doesn't... for the love of..."  He let out a sigh of frustration.  Even though Joey had a point, Shane was right on the fact that Lucifer was technically on Kalas' team, making the kill count towards the winged boy.  Grumbling, the Blood Mage conceded.

"Fine.  We [i]both [/i]lost."

He's a bit of a glass-half-empty person.

Suddenly; the Blood Mage felt an odd, tingling sensation, and the odd sense of accomplishment, asides from the one he was already feeling from surviving battle.  He closed his eyes, and in his mind envisioned a new ability, an upgrade to a spell he already had.  Chain Lightning had now become Chain Reaction, and did more energy element damage as well as arcing more to do more damage.

"Level up."  That's what he always called them, at least.  "Nice.  Damn well deserve it after that, too."  He said, more to himself than anyone surrounding him.

Turning to survey the former battlefield, Spencer saw that the bodies were, quite literally, piling up.

"I think I'm gonna get outta here before it starts to reek of whatever those Uruk-things are made of."  He said, walking towards concealed spot around the side of the keep.  He stopped, suddenly remembering what the Trinity sibling had said earlier.

"If you really want to talk... find me later.  I'm not in the mood to deal with it now."

So saying, he turned towards the spot, calling down the Arwing.  It certainly looked beat up as it came down from the sky, mostly concealed by the surrounding mountainside and the wall of the keep.  At least, no one seemed to notice.  He assumed they were all busy setting corpses on fire, or whatever armies did after epic battles.

He hopped into the spacecraft, closing the cockpit window around him.  The Blood Mage took off once more to his travels, and oddly, a glowing Save Point appeared just where Spencer had been standing not a moment ago.  The Mage certainly hadn't created it.

Maybe the worlds had some odd sense of humor, who knew.  Regardless, Spencer was gone, and the short adventure over.

[size=1](And I'm out.  Everyone else, feel free to make your exits.) [/size]

====

Kalas just smirked as Spencer grudgingly acknowledged their tie. Even though the mage said they both lost, it was still something to hold over the guy's head for a while. He ignored his mumbling about leveling up as he tossed the arm back to the pile. When Spencer began to walk off, Kalas called behind his back.

"We both won, whether you like it or not! I'd say we're equals, but I'm not the one who looks like a twelve-year-old!"

[i][color=fuchsia]'...you can be a real idiot sometimes, you know that?'[/color]

'Like I care. I'm not about to lose to a half-pint smart-mouth who thinks he's better than everyone.'

[color=fuchsia]'Even though you were the same way?'[/color]

'...that's my point...'[/i]

Ending his couple's banter there, Kalas made his way to the Save Point that just appeared, Lucifer in tow. He gave a half-hearted wave towards Joey and Shane and said, "See ya later, losers." Though he meant that more to the shinigami than to the animal shape-shifter. He had no problems with the latter, but the former just irritated him to no end. Not like it really mattered anymore.

With that, the Divine Child and the Mauthe Doog stepped into the glowing circle and beamed up to the [i]White Dragon[/i], which was thankfully in better shape than before they dropped off. Off to new adventures.