Before the two Keybearers could speak, Tendra had taken the liberty of using a fire-based scan ability on them. It was an ability Axeus had devised, realizing that Tendra's grasp of dragon fire could reach past simple attacks. Axeus used it as a way of testing the dragon boy's odd abilities. After the orb had finished scouting the Keybearers, it returned to Tendra, at which point the boy relayed the information gained to Axeus. As Tendra told him their height, weight, and age, among other menial details, Axeus simply nodded in affirmation. Perhaps dragon fire should be kept to attacks, he thought, as the scan ability didn't give him any information he couldn't have inferred for himself. Either way, Tendra's help was appreciated.

Axeus looked over the new arrivals as they reacted to his booming recognition of their arrival. The two were young, a boy and a girl, their auras starkly contrasting. The boy, who was first to act, rushed over to his throne and knelt before him.

[b]"Lord Axeus, Master of the Darkness, It's an honor to meet you.[/b] ...My name is Kotaro. Years ago, an apprentice of yours named Tamius Sabath disappeared from the face of the universe, suppposedly thought to be lost in battle. ...In truth, he landed upon my world, where I hospitalized and nursed him back to health. Until recently, Tamius lived in my village and we stayed by each other's side. ...But he went back into battle, and was quickly defeated by someone or something. ...I regret to say he passed away three weeks ago. With his last breath though, he granted me his power, and in his respect, I claimed his surname of Sabath. I have been searching the universe for a week to find you, and now that I have...I request to take his place at your side. ...I wish to be your apprentice, and learn from you what he could not."

Axeus's eyes widened. He got requests for apprenticeship relatively often from those within his faction. He usually relegated them to his Darkwatch, instead making use of them as a spy or scout, and having them train under a Captain. After all, so many of the trifling Keybearers were not worth bothering with. It wasn't since six years ago, when he had found and defeated the ambitious Tendra that he had felt someone was promising enough to be an apprentice of his. In Tendra's case, it was the interestingly unique dragon fire that caught the eye of the old Master... the boy himself, while foolish enough to try to attack Axeus, was groomed as a reliable underling in the years past.

Though he had felt the pang of destiny's call upon hearing of the two unknown arrivals, he couldn't have guessed the boy would be seeking apprenticeship. Axeus's mind slowly traveled backward, remembering his warrior Tamius that he had trained. As Kotaro explained, Axeus had thought him dead several years back; a difficult loss, to be sure, but not an impediment to his larger plan. Tamius was a strong fellow, both in body and heart; a staunch follower of the darkness. Why then, did he take a boy like this under his wing? Axeus scrutinized the young man in front of him. His speech, his body language, his heart which leaked light under a sheathe of darkness... they confused the Master, to say the very least. Had Tamius only put up with the boy because Kotaro had helped heal him? No, it couldn't be. Axeus had taught Tamius to never show mercy, not even to a friend. There must have been another reason. Axeus spent a long moment pondering, feeling out the boy's heart. Finally, Axeus smiled. There had been many with light in their hearts that came to him in the past. Each one had been snuffed of that light or killed. He had no reason to fear that this boy would turn out any differently.

"Kotaro, is it?" Axeus asked in a meandering tone. "And you say it was Tamius who trained you. A fine warrior. He once took down three different Keybearers at once, harnessing the power of darkness to the utmost extreme before collapsing after their deaths. It does not surprise me to hear that he had fallen in battle, as I suspected so long ago... the only difference was it was years later, after cultivating another... namely, you." Axeus then paused and looked to the other arrival, this time a girl. She was older than Kotaro, and held a much colder visage. She seemed to exude darkness from her very being, tendrils of it writhing outward at Tendra's intrusive scan, and at Kotaro's dramatic story. Once it was confirmed that no one else was planning on interrupting her, the raven-haired woman spoke.

[b]"I am Isadora of Otherverse, Master.[/b] I once knew a Key Bearer named Helena that fought alongside you in the battle with the World Eater--she told me many things about you.I have been searching [i]three years[/i] for you, and I suppose my journey has now come to an end. It would be an honor to become your apprentice as Helena wished."

Axeus again paused for a long moment, simply staring into Isadora's eyes, his face a mix of troubled, thoughtful, and inquisitive.

"Helena..." He nearly whispered, not breaking eye contact with the young woman. Axeus tried to remember back, all those years ago, to the battle on Ancient Desert... or Heroes' Requiem, perhaps he should say. The utter chaos, carnage, and destruction that was wreaked by the impossibly terrifying World Eater. However, on that day, he did not feel fear; no, he felt alive. The eternal steel of the Keyblade in his grip, the heat of the battlefield personified in sweat dripping from his brow, the pulsing of countless hearts in unison, fighting not for an ideal, but for very survival. He tried as best he could to pick through the memories, searching for the face he had known, the one who had been at his side during the battle. Yes, Helena. He remembered. They had not met before the battle, and yet, they fought together as if they were one. Upon the defeat of the World Eater, or rather, its imprisonment, Helena had joined Axeus on Old Bastion for a time. They became close, indulging in each other's company in ways that he remembered quite fondly. [i]Ah, the pleasures of youth,[/i] Axeus thought with an inward chuckle. However, when Axeus and the other Dark Keybearers were exiled from Old Bastion, Helena decided to part ways with him. She desired once again to see her homeworld of Otherverse. Nothing waited there for her, she said, when Axeus nearly pleaded for her to stay, but something called her that she could not ignore.

[i]"When the tides of destiny call, there is no choice but to heed them,"[/i] she had told him. With a tender kiss on the cheek, she departed. It was the last time Axeus had seen her. 

Part of Axeus wanted to ask about Helena, how she was doing, if she was still alive... but he knew those were questions for another time. He snapped back to the present, nodding solemnly at Isadora.

"Yes, I knew Helena," Axeus said, returning Isadora's devious smile. "Otherverse is a very far world... in fact, it's the farthest possible world from this one. Your journey must have been long and grueling. It is commendable that you made it this far, child." Axeus looked over the two once again, turning to Kotaro, then back to Isadora. Two young ones that he had never met before, both with connections to his past, both seeking to be his apprentices. Indeed, the tides of destiny were calling. [i]Isn't that right, Helena?[/i] "This is certainly an unexpe--"

A series of crashes followed by the doors to the throne room being thrown open interrupted the elderly master. A young woman in tattered black clothing, bruised and limping, came rushing through as quickly as she could with the injuries she had sustained.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Axeus growled, his fists curled on his stone armrests. 

"Ma... Master Axeus..." the woman sputtered through wheezing breaths. "A heartless... loose in the jungle... destroyed one of our outposts... consumed most of my squad..."

"A SINGLE Heartless?!"

"Had been eating... jungle beasts..." the woman coughed up a bit of blood, desperately trying to continue. "Please..." Axeus looked to the boy beside his throne.

"Tendra, I want you to go take care of that mess. [i]All[/i] of it... the remaining squad members included." The woman's eyes widened. Axeus stood from his throne and approached the woman, calmly, with a quick but steady pace. She fell to her knees, grasping her chest as Axeus stopped before her. He summoned his Keyblade.

"M-Master, please...!"

Axeus kicked the woman in the chest, hard, causing her to keel over and sputter more blood. He turned back to the two new arrivals, meeting their eyes with an impossibly cold stare.

"Know this," Axeus said. "If you come under my wing, there is no room for mistakes." He stabbed his Keyblade downward, impaling the woman. A truncated scream escaped her. He then turned the Keyblade, making an unlocking sound, as the woman dissipated into a pool of darkness and reformed into a shadowy form with yellow eyes. With a snap of the fingers, that too dissipated, leaving only trails of darkness in its wake. Axeus then unsummoned his Keyblade and turned back to Isadora and Kotaro.

"This is the life of a Keyblade wielder of my faction. Kill or be killed; succeed, or be removed. Ours is a world of fear, pain, and devotion. If you are to be my apprentices, I expect you to follow me without question..." Axeus paused, a small smile tickling his cheeks, as his tone became a bit lighter. "I sense greatness from both of you. When I first heard of your arrival on Fallen Jungle, I knew within my heart that you two would be important to me, to my destiny. For two young ones that I've never met, both with connections to my past, both wishing to be apprentices, to come to me the same day is unprecedented. I have no doubt that you two will be my finest apprentices. So, think of this test as more of a formality..." Axeus waved his hands in an outward motion, summoning two groups of three Neoshadows each. "Isadora, Kotaro, you have two options. Defeat these Heartless and prove to me that you are worthy...

... or die."

The two groups of Heartless lunged forward. One rushed at Kotaro, two of them flanking him, and one rushing down the center, its claws aiming for the boy's throat. The other group bounded toward Isadora, two jumping directly at her, one clawing at her chest and the other her legs as the third looked for an opening.

Axeus watched in anticipation...

[center]* * * * *[/center]

Somewhere near the temple, but still swathed in deep jungle, what was once an outpost tower sat in ruins. A swarm of Shadows danced to and fro, ripping down trees and jumping in hoards at the remaining Darkwatch. At the center of the mass, atop the destroyed building, stood a lion-like Heartless, a Darkwatch member underneath its claw. The menacing Heartless roared into the trees, challenging any who were strong enough to try to face it.