The Keys of Time

[Alec Harrison]

"Ah, yes. Weapons." the Meddler said distastefully, "There. I'm armed. Are you satisfied?"

Alec sneered. How could he be so Doctor-like? Despite having a strong disliking for Sisilaya, at least she knew how to fight in a civilized manner.

"I think it will do, it surely is stylish. I'm sure we can get some materia-slots made into it so you can cast magic spells from it. I surely hope you're able to give a good whack with that thing, you're going to need it to beat down the Heartless.. or very stubborn rabbits."

Alec grimaced at the Pooh reference.
"Define Materia." he requested.

"I say we'd first go to the keyhole of this world and try to close it, I happen to know where it is. It's down the beach in a cave, tiny door there just enough for a child to fit through. Heartless will probably have flocked around it by now.."

Alec raised his weapons.
"The Heartless can be un-flocked." he replied.

(Hmm, when we get to whatever civilization there is, First said something about a market? Do you buy Materia? If so, Alec will cut to the "Black Market" and buy an Enemy Skill Meteria. )

[Flynn Delta]

Meanwhile in Twilight Town.....

Flynn awoke with a headache, not sure where he was, one thing was sure, he wasn't in his TARDIS
and he didn't look like him self, not entirely.
( spiltface.deviantart.com/art/Flynn-Kingdom-Hearts-Style-2-255948475 )

Ge gets up and looks around his TARDIS nowhere in site, at least he didn't think so, he was sometimes jealous that his TARDIS had a working chameleon, unlike The Doctor's. He begins to examine nearby objects to see if his TARDIS is has blended around somewhere nearby.

As he is about to jump into a barrel to check and see if he can find his TARDIS he is distracted by a voice.

"Hey weirdo! Looking for something?" Flynn turns to face the person who yelled.
"Actually, Yes I am"

"Get a loada this guy Seifer!"

[The 11th Doctor]

Christan walked down a corridor, following the sound of voices.

"...can be un-flocked."

What was going on? What could be un-flocked? Why was he all bulgy, and why was his hair spiky? Who were these people? He stopped, confused by the chorus of questions that raced through his mind.

He did the only thing he could. He stepped forward, fingers on his VM, ready to teleport out at the slightest sign of danger. "Hello. I'm Christan Christan Leerwell."

[The First Doctor]

"There are nature's laws, but the big difference is that what's up here," She tapped her temple "seems to be able to overwrite that. I have seen people jump abnormally high, a man with one wing flying in a straight line. And let's not forget your own hair seems to be defying gravity at the moment, Robin" She said with a laugh.

The Meddler steadfastly ignored the mirror in the console room. "I'm trying not to think about what my hair looks like, Sisi. Because if I acknowledge it, I'm concerned that the early 90's will demand it back."

Sisi eyed his cane, and Alec sneered at it. She folded her arms and tipped her head, smirking. "I think it will do, it surely is stylish. I'm sure we can get some materia-slots made into it so you can cast magic spells from it. I surely hope you're able to give a good whack with that thing, you're going to need it to beat down the Heartless.. or very stubborn rabbits." She let the question hang.

"I should be able to 'give a good whack'," he said, hefting it experimentally. "It's fire-blackened temporally-fixed nallwood, and the handle is a klein bottle containing a baby universe." He looked at it speculatively. "These 'materia' - they allow magic? If I hook up the 'materia slots' to the klein cage, could I energize the magic by drawing on the potential energy?" He was grinning wildly - and slightly madly - at the thought.

"I say we'd first go to the keyhole of this world and try to close it, I happen to know where it is. It's down the beach in a cave, tiny door there just enough for a child to fit through. Heartless will probably have flocked around it by now.."

Alec raised his weapons. "The Heartless can be un-flocked." he replied.

His face fell, again. "Ah, yes. The violence. Well, I suppose it isn't to be helped." And then he brightened again. "But there is a door between universes nearby? By all means, let us go and look at it." He rubbed his hands together gleefully, and opened the door. "By all means... who are you?"

There was an unfamiliar young man outside the door.

(OOC: Mild edit on how Christian shows up. Even in this parallel universe, I doubt a vortex manipulator is powerful enough to circumvent the defenses of a TARDIS.)

[Alec Harrison]

Alec had heard enough to know what he needed to know. He didn't need to stay and be introduced to this kid.
"Don't tell him me or the Djinn's name." he snapped at the Meddler.

He waked past Christian, resisting the urge to drop kick his premature little face. He snapped physically at Blue.
"C'mon." he huffed.

The Timelord made his way from the beach, trudging through the forest. He wouldn't have been aware if anyone besides Blue had been following him, and they very well might have. If they did, he ignored everything they said.

He stepped into the city*, which was mystical and filled with things Alec had only seen in his dreams. And kid's movies. He saw a merchant, set up in front of a building. It advertised Materia, that magic thing Sisilaya had been talking about.

"Arm yourself! Never be caught off guard by the Heartless!" the peddler chanted.

Alec walked over, placing his hands on the table.
"What have you got?" Alec croaked under his breath.

"I have paint Materia, extended limb Materia-"

"For combat." the Timelord corrected.

The merchant winked, pulling out an extra box conventiently under his table.
"This here- I call it the enemy skill, gives you your enemy's power if they hit you." the merchant bellowed a laugh, nearly shaking, "If you survive, that is."

Alec reached into his pockets.
"How much?" he asked.

"Oh, not much. $50 for the enemy skill, $100 for the element pack-"

"Which is?" Alec mused, forgetting his budget all together.

"Let me interest you in the advanced pack. It includes telekinesis, water, and thunder Materia."

Harrison grinned.
"I'll take those four."
-------

Alec Harrison spent his entire savings, four hundred dollars, on those four Materia. Now he needed Sisilaya to tell him a bit more...

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

The Meddler steadfastly ignored the mirror in the console room. "I'm trying not to think about what my hair looks like, Sisi. Because if I acknowledge it, I'm concerned that the early 90's will demand it back."

Sisi slid up beside him and pouted mockingly, running her fingers through his hair. "But it suits your personality so well Robin, I think it's starting to grow on me" She grinned and eyed his cane again as he explained what it actually was. Figures the Meddler wouldn't just have an ordinary cane. Everything he had in his possession seemed to extraordinary. Such a show off she chuckled to herself. She took a closer look at the cane.

"I'm not sure what you just said will actually work. Magic does not work from technology, it works from your willpower and soul so to say. It's generally centered around here" She patted his lower abdomen shortly, using some of her own healing energy to see if it would react. Indeed, something in his lower abdomen pulled slightly at the contact, he would be able to feel it too. "It's your exact center gravitational point, or that's what's said. Magic will harvest from that point because it's the most stable in the body. I'm not sure how Materia exactly works, but my theory is that it's some sort of filter that uses the energy from that focal point and transforms it into physical magic. When I heal my energy also comes from that center point, so that makes sense. But honestly, that Klein cage could do anything, it's just a matter of finding out really. I have no idea what it would do in this world."

She laughed at his obvious dislike of the violence. She was pretty sure it wouldn't last all that long.

"Don't make such a face, they're heartless. It's like kicking at Dalek's only most of them are less sturdy. They need to be exterminated regardless, or they will just consume and breed like no tomorrow and the problem with vanishing worlds will only become worse."

She looked at the door, a young man was there, she raised her eyebrow.

"It's not a door to another universe really, it's a door to the heart of this planet we're on. That door needs to be closed and locked again so the heartless stop nibbling on it. After that we'll get a navigation gummie.. sort of navigation block that you can install on the TARDIS that will show us the way to the other worlds."

She watched Alec live with a sneer on his face at the newcomer. "Such a kind chap he is" she said softly, more to herself really.

When he came back with a materia pack that certainly wasn't the free starter set she raised her brows in surprise "How did you get that? We don't have any munnie! You didn't steal it did you?"

If Alec paid with regular dollars it meant this world had been adapting to extraterrestrial life coming in, which meant this problem had been going on for a long time. She ran a hand through her hair and groaned, this was worse then expected.

"Did you get materia slots build in your weapon?" She eyed the pack and the small round colored gems that were the size of a marble. Condensed elemental magic.

[Flynn Delta]

Flynn was sent flying back after a heavy hit to the midsection from Seifer's Struggle bat.

"Alright, now that you have beaten me senseless, could you kindly tell me where I am?"

"You are really are stupid aren't you or did I just hit you too hard? You're in Twilight Town, where else would you be."

[The First Doctor]

The Meddler steadfastly ignored the mirror in the console room. "I'm trying not to think about what my hair looks like, Sisi. Because if I acknowledge it, I'm concerned that the early 90's will demand it back."

Sisi slid up beside him and pouted mockingly, running her fingers through his hair. "But it suits your personality so well Robin, I think it's starting to grow on me."

'Perhaps," he said with a sniff, "but the problem is that it's starting to grow on me."

She grinned and eyed his cane again as he explained what it actually was.

"I'm not sure what you just said will actually work. Magic does not work from technology, it works from your willpower and soul so to say. It's generally centered around here" She patted his lower abdomen shortly, using some of her own healing energy to see if it would react.

He jumped, just a little, at the sensation. "Uhm, all right," he said. "Magic works from the spleen. Got it." He paused. "Is it a secretion, or..."

"It's your exact center gravitational point, or that's what's said. Magic will harvest from that point because it's the most stable in the body. I'm not sure how Materia exactly works, but my theory is that it's some sort of filter that uses the energy from that focal point and transforms it into physical magic. When I heal my energy also comes from that center point, so that makes sense. But honestly, that Klein cage could do anything, it's just a matter of finding out really. I have no idea what it would do in this world."

He nodded, clearly not liking the ambiguities in the explanation. "All right," he said slowly, "My spleen serves as a lens to focus some sort of unknown energy from an unknown source through these 'materia' to produce physical effects. Got it." His eyes lit up. "Once we figure out how to go home - before we leave - I need to run a few tests. Try to narrow down the source and properties of the energy, try to analyze these materia to determine their composition, that sort of thing. I'll need a few..."

His voice slowed, and he looked concerned. "Wait, you don't think it's psychic in nature do you? That would be inconvenient."

She laughed at his obvious dislike of the violence. She was pretty sure it wouldn't last all that long. "Don't make such a face, they're heartless. It's like kicking at Dalek's only most of them are less sturdy. They need to be exterminated regardless, or they will just consume and breed like no tomorrow and the problem with vanishing worlds will only become worse."

The Meddler frowned thoughtfully at her words. "You said these... Heartless are manifestations of people who died after losing their hearts to darkness," he began. "Are they... souls, I guess the word would be? Ghosts? When they are destroyed, are vermin really all that are being destroyed? Or are they the emotionally shattered remnants of sentient minds, clinging to the last painful dregs of existance because even suffering is better than nonexistance?"

He gave her a long look, weighing his words. "There's a lot of blood on my hands Sisi. I've no desire to add more, not without good cause."

She looked at the door, a young man was there, she raised her eyebrow.

"It's not a door to another universe really, it's a door to the heart of this planet we're on. That door needs to be closed and locked again so the heartless stop nibbling on it. After that we'll get a navigation gummie.. sort of navigation block that you can install on the TARDIS that will show us the way to the other worlds."

"A door to the heart of this planet? I assume you mean that in a metaphorical sense and not a physical one?" He clapped his hands again, glee on his face. "I love this universe more and more! Imagine, a physical location for a metaphysical concept. I wonder what sort of physical laws such a place would have?" He paused, thinking. "I must fetch some equipment - I'll be right back, please offer our guest a drink."

With that he dashed from the room, missing Alec's departure completely. Alec had returned by the time he was back, a satchel slung over one shoulder.

"Did you get materia slots build in your weapon?" he heard Sisi ask while examining the contents of a package.

"Wait? Are you saying we have a materia crystal on board now?" He raced over to see it - them, it turned out - and stared with interest. Then he produced a complicated looking test tube-vice and a small drill. "Hand me one of those, would you? I'd like to get a core sample."

[The Master]

It had been less than ten minutes, but it felt as if the battle had gone on forever.

The individual Heartless weren't much one-on-one, Goofy knew. But there wasn't just one. They hurled themselves in waves of hundreds, supported by the Fat Bandits and the Nocturnes and such, trying to overwhelm the pair by sheer weight of numbers, to drag them down and storm the curtain walls before the defenders could complete their temporary repairs.

Ten minutes. Ten minutes that felt like an eternity. Ten minutes of freezing, burning flabby shadow fingers, ripping at his flesh and his sould. Ten minutes of frenzied action, fighting harder than he had ever fought before. Ten minutes that had cost him every megalixer and hi-potion he carried, that had required him to expend his lone phoenix down on Donald.

Like a hurricane, the battle had entered a temporary lull. The Heartless pulled back, and the Darkside commander was lumbering forward. Goofy took a deep breath, hefted his dull, tarnished shield.

Donald squawked something, angry and despairing all at once.

"Gawrsh," Goofy answered, "You sure said it, Donald."

Donald squawked and spluttered a reply.

"Yup, there sure are a lot of 'em," Goofy agreed.

A questioning squawk. He considered the duck's question.

"Whelp," he drawled as the Darkside loomed over them, "I reckon we'll just have to fight in the shade."

Donald raised his staff, knuckles white on the shaft, and his eyes burned with mana. He snickered.

And then, as the Darkside raised his hand, there was a whistling sound. Low and distant at first, it grew louder and closer. With a roar like thunder a figure in red and black struck the ground, hurling the massive Heartless backwards. "Sorry I'm late," said the figure in a high, clear voice, raising a key-shaped weapon in each hand, "I had a lot to do."

"Gawrsh," drawled Goofy, "It weren't nuthin', your Highness."

Donald squawked something that could have been "that's right".

The Darkside reared back up to its full height and gestured at the trio. A swirling orb of shadow began to form on its hand, and the armies of the Heartless swarmed forward once more.

Donald howled and squawked and sputtered, doing an angry little dance that culminated in a shrieked word that could have been "Meteo!" Flaming rocks began to rain from the heavens.

A friendly smile on his muzzle, Goofy stepped forward to flank his king. "Whelp, your Majesty," he asked, "How ya' wanna handle this?"

The King pointed at the Darkside with one Keyblade, and raised the other high over his head. "To me, my Mouseketeers!" he called in his high, clear voice, "For your lives! For your honor! For the Magic Kingdom!"

"FOR THE KINGDOM!" the Mousketeers roared with one voice, drawing their blades, "FOR KING MICKEY!" The plains shook with the thunder of their feet as they charged the enemy lines.

"Gawrsh, Mickey," Goofy commented, "No need fer all them. I was jus' gettin' warmed up."

Donald squawked something derisive, and then there was no time for words.

[The 11th Doctor]

(Ok, sure First)

Christan gazed inside of the large...thing. What he had ordinarily thought to be small was instead giant inside, with a large console in the middle. He stopped stared, and shakily entered. "Who are you people? How is this bigger on the inside? Where ARE we?"

Christan fingered his Vortex Manipulator, nervous again. "And why the heck does everything look like a Walt Disney movie?"

[Flynn Delta]

"Twilight Town, Ok..... What planet?" Flynn asked
'What do you mean, what planet? The planet shattered a long time ago, how hard did I hit you?"
"Shattered!?"

[Sisilaya Vulmecura]

He jumped, just a little, at the sensation. "Uhm, all right," he said. "Magic works from the spleen. Got it." He paused. "Is it a secretion, or..."

Sisi just rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she laughed softly. "Don't try to over analyse everything Robin, you'll literally kill the magic. Don't think," She got behind him and placed her her hand into the small of his back, directly behind his center point and drove some of her energy home in it. It exploded and mixed with his own energy and shortly broadened his senses to that of a strong empath, making him feel everything around him as physically like the sun's warmth on one's skin would be. The first thing to hit him was the presence of the TARDIS surrounding all around them them. He could actually feel her moods, ever switching so slightly, so complex in nature.

"Don't think, but feel." She whispered in his ear.

Then she took her hand away and everything dimmed back down to normal. Perhaps Robin would finally put two and two together on how she actually flew the TARDIS.

She turned to his last question at hand, what about the heartless. He had a point, but still, it was not enough. "They are the recesses, the darkness of one's heart after they lost it. Yes, they were a person once, but now they are parasites who only will consume till there is nothing left to consume. There is nothing that can save them, the process is irreversible since the physical body gets disintegrated and the lighter half gets consumed by the darkness. If we do no get rid of all the heartless, more will fall prey. So it''s either them, or people that still have a heart. I choose to protect the latter.

When he left and came back she had alreday been eyeing the materia Alec had brought in. She quickly grabbed Robin and pulled him back before he could damage the materia "He purchased that Robin, wait till you get your own!"

She turned to the door, placing her hands on her hips again.

"No I meant that in a completely physical sense, instead of a magma core these planets have a core of pure energy, the shape of a heart. It's that energy that feeds the planet to let everything grow and allows the planets to heal"

She gave both Alec and Robin a smile.

"We've chatted long enough, I think I''d better show you, Robin. Let's go. Don't forget to lock up behind you."

With that she strode out of the TARDIS, leading the way to the beach.

[The First Doctor]

Christan gazed inside of the large...thing. What he had ordinarily thought to be small was instead giant inside, with a large console in the middle. He stopped stared, and shakily entered. "Who are you people? How is this bigger on the inside? Where ARE we?"

"She's a TARDIS," the Medder yelled over his shoulder, "And she's bigger on the inside, because otherwise we'd never fit everything inside!"

He closed the door, not listening to the other question.

---

Sisi just rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she laughed softly. "Don't try to over analyse everything Robin, you'll literally kill the magic. Don't think," She got behind him and placed her her hand into the small of his back, directly behind his center point and drove some of her energy home in it. It exploded and mixed with his own energy and shortly broadened his senses to that of a strong empath, making him feel everything around him as physically like the sun's warmth on one's skin would be. The first thing to hit him was the presence of the TARDIS surrounding all around them them. He could actually feel her moods, ever switching so slightly, so complex in nature.

"Don't think, but feel." She whispered in his ear.

The Meddler felt Sisi's energies flowing into him, boosting the gain on his crippled telepathic senses. For a split second, he could sense the TARDIS around him again, aware of her presence in the same way he would be aware of the wind or the sunshine. And then it began to slip away, fracturing through the cracks in his noosphere, and empathic input flowed in from a thousand subtly different could-have-been timelines. He swayed, fighting for control and balance in a maelstrom of input and memories that never were...

...pulse under his fingers as his hands tightened the newcomer's throat...
...Alec's fingers on his cheek, soft...
...TARDIS, dead, empty, shadows crawling...

Dimly, he was aware that he had fallen to his knees. He clutched at his head, trying to shut the alien memories out.

...Sisi's laughter, her breath warm, tickling his ear...
..."C'mon, dad!" the young man called, laughing, "It's a whole new world! Let..."

"Warn... me..." he croaked out, "Warn me... before you... do that."

Kneeling on the floor, his natural telepathic senses once more muffled behind layers of obfuscation, he suddenly felt very alone.

---

"They are the recesses, the darkness of one's heart after they lost it. Yes, they were a person once, but now they are parasites who only will consume till there is nothing left to consume. There is nothing that can save them, the process is irreversible since the physical body gets disintegrated and the lighter half gets consumed by the darkness. If we do no get rid of all the heartless, more will fall prey. So it''s either them, or people that still have a heart. I choose to protect the latter."

He nodded. "All right," he said, "but it still sounds like something should be able to be done for them." He eyed his cane dubiously.

When he left and came back she had alreday been eyeing the materia Alec had brought in. She quickly grabbed Robin and pulled him back before he could damage the materia "He purchased that Robin, wait till you get your own!"

He started to protest, then stopped. "Of course. You're absolutly correct." He replaced the items in his satchel.

She turned to the door, placing her hands on her hips again.

"No I meant that in a completely physical sense, instead of a magma core these planets have a core of pure energy, the shape of a heart. It's that energy that feeds the planet to let everything grow and allows the planets to heal"

The Meddler's face went blank for a moment, and then he slapped his knee as he doubled over with laughtere. "I love this place!" he gasped. "Really!

And then he straightened up, suddenly, an expression of dawning realisation on his face. "I... have the most wonderful idea! Remind me to look into it, once we establish a way to return to our own universe."

She gave both Alec and Robin a smile.

"We've chatted long enough, I think I''d better show you, Robin. Let's go. Don't forget to lock up behind you."

With that she strode out of the TARDIS, leading the way to the beach.

He ushered the others out, and locked the door behind him. The sea breeze was warm, and the air was filled with the gentle sounds of surf and the croaking of sea birds. "Lead the way," he said, "I really want to see this 'keyhole'."

[Alec Harrison]

Alec first move was to aim his sonic screwdriver at the intruder's vortex manipulator, taking its capabilities away entirely.

Then he moved his finger to his lips, making a loud judging sound.
"Listen, he can drill holes into our weapons after we have a plan."

He sighed.
"I didn't steal these Materia. You may have no money, but I have a Djinn. It is a priority of mine to keep him out of the range of the Heartless."

Alec rembered Blue telling him that he was composed entirely of energy. If the Heartless got to him...

The Timelord didn't have many "friends," but Blue could be considered one of his closest. Not that he would ever know that, of course. Alec didn't want to seem too soft.

"Would either of you be willing to assist with this?" he looked between them, not very hoeful they would.

[Blue]

Blue had been under the impression that this wasn’t going to be too terrifying of an experience. The other members of the group had seemed to be all as cartoonish as he did. He sat next to Alec, panting slightly and wagging his tail quite happily. “You have a djinn?” a man asked, and Blue looked at him curiously. “Really? How do you control it? That’s it, right? Are they really related to the Daemons and the Sidhe, or are they an entirely different form of entity?” Blue immediately stopped wagging his tail and had subtly moved behind Alec.

And that had been the poor creature’s first clue that things in the not-so-distant future were not going to bode well for him.

“They just live to consume the energy of the worlds until there is nothing left.”

And that had been the second clue.

If these things – Heartless? Souless? – got near him, well… it’d be a feast. He was literally made only of energy. He was practically a never-ending supply of it.

That thought in mind – and the fact she decided to cheerfully go on about how they would eat things until there was nothing left – Blue wanted to cover his eyes with his paws. This wasn’t going to end well for him at all. If push came to shove, he doubted Alec would give a rat’s bother about shoving him off to those creepy-crawlies.

“…magic exists.”

The dog looked up, something close to a smug smirk on his face. Oh, as a Djinn he knew very well that all magic was a type of science – even if no other species beside his own (and those damnable smug genies) could understand it. And he knew very intuitively that their version of magic were things that the Djinn would roll their eyes at, deem as parlor tricks that only genies would use.

Which, he realized, was probably why people like genies more.


He was snapped from his thoughts by his master. “C’mon,” Alec growled.

Blue stood, tail between his legs as he followed dejectedly. His senses were heightened to an unbearable level. He growled and snarled at shadows, convinced that they were going to snatch his master from him. As Alec talked to the merchant, he sat regally down, teeth bared at the citizens of the crazy world. No one paid him much mind.

Maybe they were used to rabid attack dogs.

Not that he was rabid. Or pugnacious. Or a dog, for that matter. An idle foot lifted to his ear, scratching more out of habit than necessity.

The way back to the other man’s TARDIS was just as nerve-wracking for the Djinn. It passed with noticeably less snarling, but a lot more whining.

He lay down dejectedly on the beach as the group moved from the TARDIS. His life was ending. It was over. He could see the light! The light! It was close, oh—

“It is a priority of mine to keep him out of range the range of the Heartless. Would either of you be willing to assist with this?”

Blue lifted his head, deciding to end his melodrama. He bounced back to his feet, and sat next to his owner. “Thank you, Alec! You are very kind to me!” he chirped brightly, tail stirring a cloud of sand. “I am very frightened, but you are my first priority. I will not let them get you.”

He nuzzled his master’s leg gently, and stood to his feet. He looked between Sisi and the Meddler, looking much more lucid and less frightened out of his mind.