OD: Assignment Mission 1 [Oddities]

         Shax knew something was wrong in the second minute.
         In the first, he stepped out of the Dark Corridor, grimacing at the sudden wave of heat. Waving a hand to close the portal, he looked around, surveying the scene. He'd been to Agrabah before, but he wasn't particularly familiar with the place.
         He had appeared in a tiny alleyway off a main street. Ahead he could see merchant stalls, and people moving around. The cacophony was incredible, so he guessed it was some sort of market day.
         Supposedly there was an anti-Nobody attitude around here, Shax remembered. Pulling off his distinctive Organization coat, he stuffed it behind a pottery vase. Underneath he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants made of gray cotton. The scavenger uniform was made for the cold temperatures of Avipida, but the material was worn thin, and had never provided much warmth anyway. Besides, he reasoned, the long sleeves would protect him from the glare of the sun.
         He stepped out into the square, then stopped, overwhelmed by all the noise.  And the color. Shax had grown up in a world of black and white and gray, an almost empty city with scavengers lurking on the edges. This was a whole new world. The gray-haired Nobody stood still in the middle of it all, drinking it in.
         In the second minute, Darkness bloomed all over the square. A few people screamed, but most responded with the grim efficiency born of long practice. This was clearly a regular occurrence.
         Shax was in a field of flowers. Blizzard Plants, to be precise. He frowned in confusion. Blizzard Plants were unquestionably ice-type Heartless – what were they doing in a desert city like Agrabah? As if to prove his point, one of them spat a ball of ice at him. Stepping to one side, Shax reached for the catch on his wristblade, crouching.
         Then he froze – literally. Four balls of ice hit him simultaneously, encasing his feet and immobilizing him. He only hesitated for a moment before raising his hand. His weapon, after all, was giant matches, and it would only take a second to melt the ice.
         From what Zenothx has reported, Nobodies will not be welcomed during this time. He had already hidden his Organization coat – a weapon suddenly appearing in his hand would just blow his cover. Shax swore under his breath, watching the bobbing heads of the Blizzard Plants. He had never seen so many Heartless together in one place before.
         With the hot Agrabah sun beating down, it only took a few moments before the ice had melted sufficiently for him to break free. In that time he had noticed something odd about the Plants. They all seemed to be swaying in the same general direction, towards a merchant's stall on the far side of the square. There also seemed to be a general concentration of them in that area. It was almost as if there was something standing behind the stall, calling the Heartless to it…
         A fireball came soaring from the sky, landing in the midst of the Plants and detonating on impact. When the explosion cleared away, a good third of the Heartless were gone.
         There was a thud from behind him, as if someone had jumped off the roof of a nearby building. Shax turned to see a woman walking towards him. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a frizzy ponytail, and she wore some sort of uniform made of leather.
          "Heya. You looked like you needed some help." She grinned at him.
         Shax shrugged. "I guess."
         She stuck out her hand. "I'm Charlotte. Most people call me Char. Bet you can't guess why!" Glancing down at her hand, Shax saw it was black with smoke and scarred with burns. He recognized a fellow fire-lover. He shook her hand quickly.
          "What's your name?"
         Shax thought fast, realizing telling her his real name would identify him instantly as a Nobody. "I'm… Ash."
          "Nice to meet ya." Charlotte turned away. "Here, let me take care of these critters. Firaga!" On the last word, a fireball shot out of her upraised hand, quickly decimating the rest of the Heartless.
         Charlotte brushed her hands together. "There we go," she muttered under her breath, her friendly tone suddenly becoming bitter and revolted. "Filthy things."
          "The Heartless?" Shax asked, startled. On his world, the Heartless were feared, but tolerated in general. The other worlds had seemed to take a milder view towards them, a sort of "don't bother them and they won't bother us" attitude. He rarely encountered anyone that regarded them with true animosity.
          "Yeah," Charlotte's face was dark. "Freaks of nature. They don't belong."
         If Shax had any doubts about the worlds' current perspective, they were suddenly erased. If people were calling Heartless freaks of nature, then how much more wrong would Nobodies seem to them?
          "I guess so," he said carefully, his guard up. "But those seemed a bit… odd, didn't they? I mean, they seemed sort of… icy." Pretend you're human. Pretend you haven't been dealing with oddities for the last few months.
          "It's been weird lately," Charlotte agreed. "We've seen the Heartless appearing in groups a lot, like something's drawing them here."
         Shax blinked, wondering which "we" she was referring to. The people of Agrabah, maybe? "I saw something over there," he said, pointing. "When the Heartless appeared."
         Charlotte's eyes widened. "Really? We have to follow it!" She ran across the square. Shax followed her. His job was to find out what was causing these oddities, even if meant teaming up with such a strange person.
         When they reached the stall, there was nothing there. Yet Shax still had the feeling they were being watched. Charlotte looked at him, her brown eyes serious. "I think there's something here, Ash. You can feel it, can't you?"
          "Yes," he said shortly, fingering his hidden blade, eyes darting from side to side.
         People never look up. He had no idea where the thought came from, but immediately his head jerked up. And he saw it.
          "What the hell?"
         Charlotte caught his tone and looked up too, following his gaze. A single Hover Ghost was on the very edge of the nearest building, orange beam trained on both of them. Shax had encountered these Heartless before, and he had never seen one so… passive. Normally they never hesitated to attack, trying to grab him and rise into the air. Not to mention they were only found in Halloween Town.
         Charlotte backed up to the other wall. "Ash, get away from it. That's unnatural."
         Shax ignored her, standing perfectly still. Locking eyes with the Heartless, he waited for it to make a move. After a while, almost as if it had lost the staring contest, the Ghost turned abruptly and floated off. Instantly, Shax jumped, grabbing the top of the merchant's awning and swinging himself up. Charlotte was after him in a heartbeat.
         They ran along the rooftops, following the Heartless. Then there were no more rooftops to run along. Ahead of them was a palace with a high wall around it, and the open ground in front of it was packed. Dozens of yellow eyes turned upward toward them as the Hover Ghost floated down to join the masses. Shax saw Blizzard Plants, Bubble Beats, Creepworms, Neoshadows… the only thing the Heartless had in common was that they did not belong in Agrabah. And that they were all swarming around a central point.
         Shax stared at the center of the mob, trying to get a glimpse of what was attracting the Heartless. All he needed was one sight and he would consider this mission over. He would be able to get away from Charlotte and make his report. But no matter how hard he strained his eyes, there were simply too many Heartless. He turned to Charlotte, intending to ask her if she could see what it was, but he stood still at the sight of the expression on her face.
         Charlotte was staring at the Heartless, face twisted in disgust and ager. She looked unnerved, frightened, and vengeful all at the same time. Shax frowned, not used to seeing such violent emotion on anyone's face.
         Charlotte seemed to come to under his scrutiny. "Heya, Ash. Something wrong?"
          "I was just about to ask you that," Shax replied. "You looked… upset."
         Charlotte clenched her hands. "Of course I'm upset. All those… abominations. How could I not feel upset?" She turned to face Shax. "Why, what do you feel about them?"
         Nothing at all, Shax thought, but aloud he said, "I guess as long as they're not harming anyone…"
          "But they don't belong," Charlotte insisted, hands opening and closing. "How can you just-"
         Something was happening in the seething mass of Heartless. The clump grew denser, almost as if they were conferring. Then a squad of red Heartless broke from the group, flying upward towards Shax and Charlotte.
         She gripped his arm. "Those I do recognize: Scarlet Tangos. We have to go."
         Shax nodded. He had recognized them, of course, but never hurt to keep some of his knowledge to himself. Besides, Charlotte was right. Her fire magic wouldn't hurt the Heartless; in fact, it would heal them.
          "Come on, Ash!" Charlotte tugged at him, and then together they turned and ran. Alone, Shax might have tried to take them down, but he couldn't afford to reveal how comfortable he was with fighting Heartless.
         As they ran, something occurred to Shax. "Charlotte, do the other people on Agrabah feel like you do? About the Heartless, I mean?"
         Charlotte stopped, giving him an odd look. Too late, Shax realized his mistake. "You're not from around here, are you?" There seemed to be no aggression in her tone, though, so Shax figured it was safe to shake his head.
          "No."
          "Well…"Charlotte folded her arms, tapping a finger to her mouth. "Um… most of them are just afraid, I guess." Them, Shax realized. She said "them". For the first time he wondered if Charlotte might be hiding something herself.
          "They just don't get it," Charlotte continued. "How wrong a Heartless is."
         Shax looked down. He was quickly getting tired of her almost-fanatical monologue on the abnormality of Heartless. "I see," he said neutrally.
         Charlotte smiled. "Didn't you have Heartless on your world?" she asked playfully.
         Shax nodded but did not elaborate, unwilling to share any more than he had to. If his silence bothered Charlotte, she didn't show it. As they ran, she began to chatter about anything and everything. Shax kept an ear tuned in case she let slip any useful information, but somehow she manage to talk a lot without really saying anything at all.
         When they reached the plaza where they had met, Shax stopped. "I think we've lost the Heartless by now," he said slowly.
         Charlotte tossed her head. "Probably." She made no move to leave. Shax stood there, mind working furiously. How could he lose her so he could get his coat and head back to the Manor?
         Charlotte walked a little closer to him. "Hey… do you have a place to stay tonight?" she asked shyly. "I mean, being from out of town and all…"
          "Uh, yeah," Shax said, a bit too quickly. "Yeah, I do. Actually, I should be getting back."
          "What about the Heartless?" Charlotte said, her expression serious. "It's not safe."
         Shax bit his lip. He needed to get rid of her, and fast. Flicking the catch on his hidden blade, he let it shoot out between his fingers. He closed his hand around it and held it up, showing it to Charlotte. "I think I'll be able to take care of myself."
         Charlotte's eyes widened, but she didn't say anything. Shax turned and walked away, hoping desperately she wouldn't follow him. He heard only silence for a while, then footsteps walking away. Moving quickly, he yanked his coat out from where he had stashed it and shrugged it on. Raising his hand, he opened a portal and stepped through. As the swirling Darkness closed around him, he smiled. He'd completed the mission to the best of his ability, avoided being discovered for a Nobody, and even done the whole thing relatively quickly. And now he was going home.

Mission: PASS