Julie
*Brad's eyes lingered on the heart above them. As the vision clears from his mind, and his sight returns, he could only stare. Confused, awed, and a little peturbed. It was only when the darkness began to encroach upon that shimmering heart that he found the strength to move again. He echoed the man's motion with his own.* "Focus..." *He breathed, raising his Keyblade to the lingering aura. A finger-thin beam of light escapes his Keyblade, tearing into the fabric of reality, and opening a hole for the heart to escape through and into the Lanes Between.* "`Hollow Bastion`, huh..."

*His gaze falls, washing over the decimated shoreline before landing on CidohmysweethalelujahCID! Brad dashed over to his re-armored friend, ready to throw his arms around him. But the moment he comes close, the memory of golden eyes snaps back to him. Seeing Cid, soaked in inky shadow, tear himself a new mouth with which to scream from... Brad visibly wobbled, stopping just short, one hand in a warding gesture.*

"C-Cid... Are you okay?" *Brad asked tentatively, leaning towards his ally. But the trepidation in his voice was audible.*
Harry
*The Heart escapes from the Realm of Darkness, going someplace safe to heal. The portal remains steady and stable. It's not going anywhere anytime soon.*
Kathy
A groan answers Brad, before any coherent thought can be made after experiencing such a... Hallucination was the wrong word. An out of body experience felt more apt, even if he _was_ technically the one behind the wheel. It was a blur there at the end, a feeling more sensation than cognition. A rush, as something _else_ took over.

And, the cherry on top, _that memory._ Or, was it a dream?

Haggard, ragged breaths escape the knight's form from his spot knelt upon the ground, like coughing up water after having just been drowned. Dazed confusion flutters around Icidro's head like twittling canaries, as he looks up toward the blue in the sky, before Bradamante. His throat choked with with what could have been tears, Icidro laughs weakly at the absurdity, even as his ribs protest.

"Was that...? Here? What's— Weren't we followin' _your_ mem'ries, amigo?" His words slur, a splutter of question marks unsaid. His gaze turning upward, the knight regards the portal for a brief moment, then to his free hand. 

A particular keyblade appears in his grasp, answering the call. He could practically feel it sulking, wary like a scolded dog, before he holds it to his chest in a warm embrace. *'Welcome back, my old friend,'* The caballero all but says, before letting it fade back into his heart.

A full-bodied wince shudders over Icidro as he tries to stand, a hand wrapping around his abdoment to hold back the pain. The other claws its way toward Brad's arm, as he tries to steady himself. His helmet angles up, to finally make eye-contact. 

"... Did we win?"
Julie
*Cid was right. Hadn't they been following his memories? Or were his flashbacks unrelated? What had the Realm of Darkness willed them to see? Did that always happen when they killed a strong Heartless? He winces back a bit as Cid reaches towards him, clawed hands haunting his mind. But he forces himself forward, catching his dear friend for support. Brad's eyes meet his, and for a moment, something passes between them.*

"We won, amigo." *Brad smiled, squeezing Cid's wrist. But he was still trembling. He couldn't explain it, but what he'd seen shook him. He wasn't sure what to make of it. But he registered one thing, something had changed. His drive for answers was the only thing that helped him fight through his fear.*

*A distraction, however, he could do.* "H-Hey, uh, before we go. That X got totally obliterated, right? Wonder if there's any treasurestill." *He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, other hand still on Cid. He turned slightly, scanning the remains of the navy beach for any signs of loot amongst the rubble.*
Harry
*He sees a perfectly intact treasure chest next to some white sand. Did it dig itself up?*
Julie
"Aha!" *Brad twinkled, turning to Cid.* "Found it! Got enough strength ta open that bad boy?" *He squeezed Cid's shoulder, aiming him towards the treasure chest.*
Kathy
"Good. That's good!" Laughter falls from Cid as his grip on Brad squeezes for a moment, before the resulting pain from his ribs makes him reconsider— Opting for a smile, beneath his opaque helm. A question comes to Cid, and he makes to say it, but...

The distraction proves a tad too successful. He'll have to save it, for some time later.

As he's practically turned toward the chest by Brad, Icidro fights to keep from hurting something as his shoulders shake with restrained mirth; Instead, he opts to cant his head.

"And you don't? It's what you've been— Ah, but if you insist, I won't argue. Here, let me show you a trick I've learned." Icidro says, as Wayward Wind practically springs to answer his call.

He lightly taps the keyblade atop the chest's lid.
Harry
*The chest rumbles, then springs open, revealing...*

*60,000 Munny! And three Heartbinders!*

*Above it all, though, is a single painting of a black-haired man holding a baby next to a woman Icidro knows well. On its back is written "Thank you."*
Roland
All +1000 EXP pre-mults!
Julie
*Brad jumps as the chest pops open effortlessly. A prejudiced part of him wonders if that's Cid's dark power at work, but a more level-headed part immediately starts gushing at the huge pile of coins... And the picture.*

*Again, something tingles in his mind, but he pushes it aside. Somehow, this journey to find answers only left him with more questions. But one thing was for sure.*

"LOOKS LIKE WE'RE RICH, PIRATE BOY!" *Brad laughed, fully and heartily, finally relieved.*
Kathy
A wince far greater than any Icidro has made since standing up tenses Icidro, as if Brad's words had struck him like a knife to the heart. Hurt. Though his face is obscured, you know _exactly_ the kind of expression Icidro was wearing as he turns to look at his friend, and whine with all of the suffering befitting a boy his age.

"Bradamante! I'm a *Caballero!* Look here, I didn't—" Didn't have any idea that his father was a Pirate, Icidro doesn't end up saying when the words stop short. Leaving it at that, Icidro reaches into the chest to pull out one of the items, silent as he looks at the family in the painting. The begrudging glee that he had been sharing with Brad over the gold turns to something else entirely.

"I don't understand." He says after a moment, shaking his head, "Why would your heart lead us this way? Why was there a ship waiting to take us here, to him?"

"—Did you know my old man?" Throwing the idea out there, Icidro looks to Brad curiously, "Have you remembered anything like that, amigo?"
Julie
*Brad's eyebrows went up- not that they were particularly visible in the first place. He shook his head hesitantly.* "I don't know. Somethin' about that was familiar. I saw it, an'..." *He lifted his off-hand to hia head. After a moment, he shook himself more vigorously.*

"I don't think it was jus' my heart that called is 'ere. Ya lost yer home too, right?" *He squeezed Cid just a little tighter.* "Somethin' called us both 'ere. Somehow."

*He took a long pause, before he stepped towards the portal to the Lanes Between.*

"I think our journey is jus' gettin' started."