Wanda
"The sooner the better."

*Ikazuchi said in response to Brad as he was the last to return to the room. He had stepped outside the tower when everyone was asked to leave for a moment and meditated on his thoughts, trying to grasp at anything that could work in their favor in this situation.*

"If Maleficent thinks she's so cunning and ahead of our game, she's likely trying to win the mental game. She *Knows* We know its a trap, so she likely expects us to take our time and prepare. We should still do so, but if we wait too long her defenses will only become more impenetrable. And if she gets impatient who knows what else she would do in the meantime. Likely attacking and destroying more worlds to coax us into another unwinnable situation."

*Preparation was good, but too much time spent on what-ifs wasn't going to change a thing. Ikazuchi pondered for a moment while considering the options, but with overhearing the new info about Icidro, he decided he would at least attempt to clear the air here while he had the chance.*

"Sir Icidro Arturo e Mondragon, I would like to apologize for offending you. I cannot change your mind, and I cannot deny that my own failure played a large part in Maleficent's ability to take control of the castle grounds. I do not wish for there to be any ill will between the two of us, so we can work together as allies the best we can."

*Ikazuchi bowed to Icidro, at least wanting to show as much respect as possible to the gentleman. His words were sincere, and his tone was less monotone than previously.*

"With that being said, I will not simply sit idly by and allow for my own mistakes to continue to pile up. If you need anything from me just ask."

*He said, returning from the bow.*
Lurlene
Icidro winces at Brad's latest catchphrase, but still yet says nothing. Instead of words, he turns his head to share with him a Look; Not that one, amigo.

"Even if that is the case, we need some time to prepare. All of us." Raising a hand, Icidro interrupts Ikazuchi for just that half moment, "We may have to push our time of mourning until later to focus on the now, but we _cannot_ go there as we are. Hurt, frail; Jafar has already seen to it to make us so. To go now would be to throw ourselves from one fire to the next"

Upon being addressed, however, Icidro's words stopper tight as he processes Ikazuchi's meaning, along with the following bow. His light smile falling from his face, Icidro regards the young man before shaking his head.

"Politeness dictates I accept your apology, and move on to keep this meeting productive." The Caballero states, his voice a far cry from the hollow monotone that Ikazuchi's rings— Even now, even with this sincerity leaking through.

"However, I must chide you, muchacho. Yes, _chide_ you. They say actions speak louder than words, no? However, I have found that *Self-important whining* Is rather loud on its own, enough to make a man's ears bleed; Whatever your age, you are _acting like a child._ Own your mistakes, yes, but do not parade the death of my world in front of me. You are one person— A _child_ at the time my world fell, and this Maleficent had brought with her _an army of Heartless."_

"You may be a Master's Apprentice, a Guardian of Light, or one of these so-called 'Zeroes,' but your actions alone are not so grand as you claim, so weighty. If you, personally, slew my Sage-King where he stood and opened the doors for this witch and her entourage, then, perhaps, I would believe that your 'failure' had directly had a hand in killing my people. If I am incorrect in my assumption, by all means correct me and I will acquiesce to your culpability, before striking you down where you stand."
** **

"If, however, you intend to absolve yourself of this _childish_ guilt you keep waving in my face like some badge of dishonor? Act, and prove yourself on the battlefield."

"That is all I need of you, Ikazuchi, nothing more."
Robert
*Dado's touched by the group's collective resolve, closing his eyes and breathing out a sigh of admiration. Prince Brad and Sir Icidro were strong. The blonde one, too. He would've at least hesitated, were the situation reversed, but... They're out here riding the storm. He gives them each a nod of respect.*

*Then, he hears Icidro's complete dismantling of Ikazuchi's, and by extension, his own mindset. But Toy Box was his fault! He was a local. He knew his way around. He should've helped more! He could've tried to find the-*

*He remembers. He didn't know what a keyhole was. He barely knew what a world's heart was. He was instructed to kill any large Emblem Heartless he saw, then to save Andy.*

*It's the Heartless' fault. But it's not just their fault. It's his. It has to be. He could've... He killed Andy, right? He failed to save him.*

*Failed to save him from the Heartless that killed him.*

*Dado grits his teeth, then files this thought process away for later.* "Sir Icidro's right, we need some time to prepare. Master Mod may have healed us all, but... Well, I need new glasses, for one. Now that everyone's here, whenever you're all ready, we should brainstorm. As Icidro mentioned, they know we know they know what we know, so all we can really do is make sure we're on the same page, then play optimally."

*He pulls up his notes on his phone, ready to start monologuing whenever he's given the green light.*
Wanda
"Childish, huh?"

*Perhaps Icidro was right. But then again, when was the last time Ika even felt like a child? Its been a nonstop battle ever since Kiki's invasion of destiny isles. Being called childish was... Oddly refreshing. It reminded him that he is actually just an individual, taking too much onto his plate. Would he have responded differently if he actually had all his emotions? He wasn't sure.*

"Right. I'll do my best."

*Cid served as a nice reality check for the boy.*

"I won't disagree that we need time to recuperate and prepare, I just think the sooner we go the better. We can't give Maleficent all the time in the world."

*He said, responding to Dado.*

"As for the battle plan, there's a few things I can share that will perhaps aid our assault. First of all, Inaxuma has likely been posted as an external guard. In my first encounter with him at Radiant Garden, he was a guard detail of Maleficent's, but since Sunset's betrayal, she has been by her side within the castle walls instead. Inaxuma can sense darkness and perhaps light from a great distance away, so it stands to reckon he would be assigned to look-out duty. But this does also bring up the second point, we need to separate Sunset and Maleficent. If the two can fight together they will likely overpower us."

*He nodded at Dado, as if giving him the go-ahead to go on his own rant.*
Elizabeth
"So what I'm hearing is he wouldn't be able to sense me? Hmm. Never thought being empty would actually be worth something." *She says with a "Huh. Neat." Kinda manner*
"So here's a question. What happens if we take out your other side? I feel like you probably can't beat him on your own since you two are mirror images of one another, no? So how about an ally to help you? Maybe mono e mono won't do anything but the more people there to fight him might."
Wanda
"That might work, but our options are limited. Even if you have the smallest shred of darkness in your heart, he can feed from it. Meaning you and myself are about the only ones who can take him on. As for the first part... There is no telling. Be what it may, it still needs to get done. At any cost; if taking him out means the worst for me, well, at least I can stop that dastard from destroying any more worlds."
Brandon
Furo once again took in the state of the group. Icidro put his honest feelings in the air and it seemed to shape up a majority of the Zeroes. He always had that charisma to him so it was no surprise, and it was good that he brought up his own stake in things. The mechanic had been hesitant on mentioning it without the knight's permission.

Still, he would rather things get moving as preparation mattered but they were still burning time.

"The discussion we just concluded has an idea on the table on how to proceed. While I typically agree that preparation is important, the other side are planners themselves. If we spend more than a day getting ourselves in order, then I also expect another attack to draw you lot out."

He motioned to the lady behind the desk with a hand.

"I think it fitting that the person who called the meeting get a chance to present the idea as well as the main goals of the operation."
Noreen
*Brad's shoulders sank at Icidro's dismissal. Well, they could afford to help out! Catchphrases were like, the second hardest thing to do! He put his frustration aside to watch Cid absolutely tear into Ikazuchi, and for Ikazuchi to... Accept? Huh. Ika earned a little more respect than Brad thought he deserved.*

*He nodded along with the conversation- expression hardening at Ikazuchi and Xion's exchange. Even a shred of darkness could spell the difference between victory and defeat, huh? He tightened his fist. Part of him wanted to rush out then and there, but no. They were recovering. They needed to prepare.*

*His eyes moved to Mod-gnik, awaiting her statement. His eyes passed over Furo, and he pondered... Just what had they talked about?*
John
"You all need adequate time to rest and prepare, but not too long. After this meeting, take no longer than several hours to prepare yourselves. If you need anything from me, I'll provide what I can. Now for the plan..."

*Mod still had the map she laid out for Furo and would enlarge it a bit.*

"Furo has pointed out to me that he and his friends might not be expected to appear at Hollow Bastion. From maleficent's perspective, they were just in a bad place at a bad time and likely won't be there to help. This also may apply to Eve, however it's less likely for her. We can take advantage of this. I propose you go in groups. One group, the ones who are more expected, go in first. While Maleficent and co are distracted, the second group can go in and make a separate push."

*The castle diagram moved and shifted around to show the different paths the groups should take. For the first group, it showed paths that would be direct but not as dangerous as the front door. For the second, it showed more sneaky paths that would likely have been more secured if not for the first group.*

"The first group needs to stay cautious, as they will know when you get there and will get into their positions. They will also possibly try to lure you into a specific area. For the second group, i'm certain once you get further into the castle, they will notice and their plan will begin ti fall apart, causing them to split their attentions. Likely one or two of them will have to disengage and deal with the second group. If possible, the second group can attempt to save the princesses. Even saving Fiora can help even the fight a little more. Lastly you all should have a way to contact each other during the mission. A Gummi Phone should do. This plan has many flaws, so I am open to suggestions to improve it and refine it. We need to decide a course if action quickly."
Robert
*Dado fiddles with his phone, changing his notes as he goes.* "Two teams... I didn't think of that. That's a good idea. I've got some specifics to add, though. Please listen carefully."

"So, our primary objective is to stop Maleficent's plan. Maleficent is collecting seven 'Princesses of Heart', which are... Pure of heart or something, for unknown purposes. Given that she sinks worlds into darkness, we assume those purposes aren't in anyone's best interest."

"We can stop Maleficent's plan by freeing the princesses she's captured. That should be our first objective. Both teams should consistently make their way wherever they think the princesses are being held.

"Our secondary objective is to eliminate Maleficent and her goons. On the way to free the princesses, if we see any of them, we kill them. The exception is Suke, who should be captured if possible."

"So, earlier, Master Mod forgot to mention that the machine makes Heartless using pre-existing Hearts. Basically, it turns people into Heartless." *He adds for the benefit of all but Xion, who he originally learned that nugget of information with, and Icidro, who assumed it.* "Tertiary objective: if anyone sees a big spooky machine, smash it. Sir Icidro, with your familiarity of this Sage-King's castle, you're best-suited to finding it. If you think your team can make a detour for it, then try that."

"Finally, our... Quartiary? Err, fourth objective, is to get Ika's friend, Suke, back. She's a friendly Heartless who's been possessed. Attacks aimed at her should be without a Keyblade, if possible. If we can manage to capture her, or beat the possession out of her, we'll have an extra ally."

"Now, onto specifics. Both we and our enemies have strength in numbers. Each team should stick together when possible and focus on one target at a time. If someone jumps in, we fight them too. If they retreat, we let them until our primary target is done."

_ _
*He turns to Ika and Xion.* "If you insult Inaxuma's ego, he immediately stops holding back. If you play it up, though, maybe you can do considerably more damage until he begins to fear defeat. If you see him, play up whatever knightly shit you can muster. Err... No offense, Sir Icidro. Compliment his form, techniques, call him a worthy opponent, yada yada. Delay phase 2 as long as possible. When he tries retreating, don't let him unless he's a secondary target."

"Although..." *He pushes up glassed that aren't there, then shakes his head.* "This would leave me entirely alone. As such, I propose Eve go with Team Bait, so that when that inevitability divides us, we still have *Some* Strength in numbers."

"If anyone else encounters Inaxuma, try to get out of there. Only Xion and Ika can fight him without buffing him. Hopefully Xion's enough to break their stalemate. Either way, that knocks Inaxuma off the board and leaves Bait Squad with two less mobile members."

"As noted earlier, Suke's possessed and has Dark Kingdom Key. Light Kingdom Key is physically strong and magically weak. It's possible the Dark one is too, so keep that in mind. If we can, we should aim to land the finishing blow with a non-Keyblade. If anyone doesn't have one, find the best weaponsmith you know and pay them double. As Ika noted earlier, if it's your life or hers, choose yours."

"If anyone encounters Sunset... Block high. And if she's tag-teaming with Maleficent, call for backup. If I'm there, I'll be able to split them up with my pocket dimension. I assume Sunset's the weaker of the two. I'll try and divy up the team so we have an advantage. Eve, if we're on our own, this probably means I take Maleficent and you take Sunset."

"It's possible Maleficent tries splitting us up through portals, like she did with Ika. If she shows up, everyone ignores the current target and designates her the new primary target. We can't have her running stage control and support."

_ _ 
"Regardless of how split up we get, we should stick to agreed-upon strategies and continue to focus on our objectives. If all groups are making their way towards the Princesses, we should meet up again. Make sure to keep in touch in between battles using your Gummiphones."

"Now, there is a 'worst case scenario' I thought of. If I had Maleficent's resources and was facing our group, I'd distract our group with a mob of Heartless, portal one of our members somewhere remote, have my top enforcers jump them, rinse and repeat as needed. If Maleficent ever portals *One* Person away, we should assume she's using this strategy."

"If she does, half of the remaining members should cover for the other half to escape. Escape group should use their keyblades to try and track down the missing member. 'May your Heart be your guiding key' and whatnot."

"Lastly," *His nose scrunches up as he reads his note. "This one's mainly for me, but... No one attack anyone here unless they attack you first. If I learn that Xion spent last night kicking puppies, I am not to slap her. That's exactly what Maleficent wants."

"Any thoughts?"
Elizabeth
"Group one, I assume consists of myself, Ika and Dado while group 2 consists of the other four? Furo, Brad, Icidro and Eve, if I recall properly? I-" *She cuts off at Dado's ramblings and goes silent before blinking and pointing at him* "Yeah. What he said. Also I do *Not* Kick puppies! I cuddle them instead!" *She says with mock indignance*
*She suddenly then appears in the air above and in front of Mod, a genuinely curious look on her face* "Also small... Completely unrelated question here... What do you know of Grand Magic? You're an immensely powerful mage, no? All I know of it is that it's known by only the strongest of mages and it's supposed to be the absolute strongest form of magic out there."
Dale
"I'd... Prefer team stealth actually. Yuffie willingly taught me several stealth techniques and I picked up a few things from Vincent through observation since he wasn't much for teaching. Regardless point is I feel I'd be better at stealth." *She holds up her right arm and jangles her bracelet a bunch* "Hear that? Yeah. That's because I *Want* To be heard. Note how none of you have heard it up to this point." *She lowers her arm now that her point was made*
Brandon
Furo... Needed a moment.

There was a lot to digest there and it was kind of... Well, he did not agree with all of it. 

He raised two fingers.

"Okay, saving the hostages and destroying the machine are cool. However, we are not your attack dogs and we are not actually with your group. So do not expect us to kill your enemies because you want or need them dead. And if your friend is possessed and putting us in aiming for our lives, do not expect us to take on unnecessary danger for your friendship."

He would play the bad guy on the heartless front. He did not want his friends being shackled down again knowing their own feelings.

He let all the battle stuff be and side-stepped the keyblade usage. He did not feel it would do his team any favors. Icidro more than likely was not in the right headspace to trust his emotions, and Brad has been off since they left the desert. Their team coordination would have to do the heavy lifting more than likely.

"I agree with Eve sticking with group one."

** **
He turned to the braggart to address her properly.

"The team springing the trap will need more bodies. If our side is actually able to maneuver around the place unseen then that is just more danger for the first group. I don't really know the people you mentioned, but you probably work really well with them. Your stealh means nothing if you aren't matching our pace. If one of us gets caught, everyone does. And I'm not suggesting you are slow."
Robert
*A small chuckle escapes Dado at Xion's retort. He then pays attention to Furo's words.*

"Right. I'm sorry. You three... I've already dragged you guys into too much of this shit. You're not attack dogs, you've got no obligation to kill anyone, and you've got no obligation to spare anyone." *He takes a breath.* "So, you three can ignore Objectives Two and Four."

"Eve, what if you used me as bait to ambush Maleficent's goons? That way, I would *Look* More like a free kill, and we could do more damage as a whole?"