Tendra was silent as he watched the Lion like heartless, he did not answer anyone until he had a good grip on this beast, his eyes watched its every movement. This gave him an idea of how strong and fast it was. There was no Doubt in Tendra mind that this was indeed a boss like foe a commander if you will. He noticed how it avoid the fire and when the beast charge he quickly side step moving the last members of the Darkwatch out the way as well

This moment where the beast would have to gather itself after the charge, opened a window of rest which gave him time to quickly formulate a plan, he finally looked at the remaining darkwatch members and said "Do you have any firing or shooting towers left or at the very least any training in it? The beast hates fire, so you would need to use flames to slow it down or injury it. I'm not 100% certain Dragon Fire would have the same affect as normal fire but if you can at least slow it down, I should be able to kill it. Master will no doubt want something from it to study and I believe that tail tip would be perfect for Master to study, looks like concentrated darkness to me". He of coursemade sure to keep the Dark Watch Members out of the way if another attack came.

"Mercy? ...Yeah, there is such a thing in the darkness as Mercy. But the Darkness devours such concepts, giving nothing but scarce remains. ...Mercy isn't something you give away so easily, Mercy is like respect, it is earned, and once taken away to earn it back is a practically impossible feat. Give Mercy to those who deserve it, ...and the rest..."

Kotaro saw the two who weren't killed by the attack about to come at him, spinning around and around like tornadoes clearly attempting to go for rapidly scratching to tear him apart. But the third one got destroyed at least, so these two are the only ones left. That said though, the only thing he could do at the short amount of time to plan something out is to essentially jump out of the way again, this time backflipping in the hopes of his legs kicking the two that would come down...though it was just as possible to hit their claws and getting the back of his legs scratched up as a result. By now, unless they still had the momentum to keep on spinning, they should have landed. In which case, now was the time to make his next move before they attacked him again.

"The keyblade comes to me whenever I call for it, right? In that case, this should hopefully work." He thought. With the keyblade in his left hand, he quickly placed it near his right hip, then forced towards the left side in a horizontal motion, but right in the middle of it he let go of his keyblade and let it be thrown spinning at the left Neo-Shadow to cut it in half, then he attempted to summon it again into his hand.

Should it work, he would again wait for the last Neo-Shadow to make his move make the Keyblade appear in his hand while dodging the inevitable attempt to kill him by the Neo-Shadow, and parry his move via a diagonal slash from the bottom-left to the top-right.

Should the Keyblade fail to appear in his hand like he feared, Kotaro will simply proceed to dodge nonetheless and attempt to actually roundhouse kick the Neo-Shadow from the left side. Probably a bad move, certainly not a smart one, but without a keyblade it was the only option of defense.

Worse case scenario: Should the Keyblade fail to kill the second one, his only option against two heartless without a keyblade was to rush over to the Keyblade he threw, risking the giant probability of getting slashed to crap with those razor claws of theirs, and wait for them to make their move. Should the keyblade respond in this scenario, then all he could do is wait for them to again attempt striking at him, let them make the first move...No, remembering what Tamius said about Mercy, he can't do that. He would have to be the one to make the first move instead. As such, he would run towards them in an attempt to strike them both down one at a time with a few slashes each.

The instruction to eat now and worry about the news later came swiftly. Had it been anyone else, Kengo may very well have found that in itself to be suspicious. But this was not just anyone. This was his instructor, his foster father. So of course his word and judgement could always be trusted. As such, he obeyed the instruction and spoke no more of the matter, now paying his plate of breakfast more attention than before, as he was now fully eating it rather than just picking at it. But then...

"What kind of news cannot be shared with the public?"

It was Matilda, one of Kengo's fellow apprentices. She was seated nearby and obviously had also heard the conversation. She had asked, what was in Kengo's mind, the true million munny question. The very word "news", was supposed to be described as an update to current events, and was usually inseparable from the concept of "announcements", the sharing of said news with the general public. So what kind of news could not be defined as such? Naturally, only the most interesting sort of news, or the most suspicious, depending on how one looked at it. In fact, this whole thing could very well be some kind of scheme, a ploy to get the master alone for any number of reasons ranging from blackmail to assassination. Of course, that was the absolute worst case scenario, and the least likely one at that. With these thoughts, the young man just sighed with the realization that he was over-thinking this a bit, and went back to focusing on breakfast.

"I was just wondering...when will we be taking our Mark of Mastery exam?"

Kengo's eyebrow instinctively rose with intrigue at the sound of this question. The source, Iris, was seated nearby, seemingly oblivious to the previous topic of discussion. Kengo knew all too well what lay in store when the exam in question did eventually come. He'd read what they were like for previous Bearers, and from that he was able to surmise that it would be no easy task to complete, as some past Bearers needed to take it multiple times before finally passing and receiving the coveted mark in question. While he was rather confident in his own ability, even Kengo still admitted that there was still plenty of progress to be had yet, "What's wrong, Iris? You don't trust our Master to know when the time is right?" he asked in a teasing tone, now finding his plate to be empty and standing in order to take it to be washed later by whomever was assigned kitchen duty that day.

All the while, he still couldn't get these alleged wise men and their news out of his mind. What could possibly be so important or urgent that it needed to be kept secret? Or better yet, if it truly was so urgent as they claim, then why refuse to come to breakfast where the news could be shared at the earliest possibility, rather than waiting several hours? What if peoples' lives were in jeopardy? Then those few hours could mean the difference between their survival and their tragic death! Again, he realized he was over-thinking things again, now noticing that he was pinching the bridge of his nose in a stressed fashion. He immediately stopped upon this realization, and changed the subject to get his mind off of it, "So aside from the "important news", what else is on the agenda, today?"

For a few moments that followed, Lao found himself caught in the middle of a silence amongst his apprentices; he assumed that the business of the priests was leaving all of them perplexed. Even with this perspective, he did not raise the subject again, as all of them would know soon enough why things were being handled as they were. To shrug off further inquisition, he proceeded to busy himself with the eating of his breakfast, which, as usual, was a remarkable testament to the skilled chef and kitchen hands of Old Bastion, nodding in agreement to Iris' compliments.

He very nearly choked on a bite when the young student imposed a new question, one that even Lao was caught off guard by. Masking what he could of his surprise, the Master swallowed his food, took a gulp of juice and cleared his throat. "There's still a way to go until that day, Iris," he said, firmly but patiently. "The Mark of Mastery is one of the most sacred rites of he Keybearer, a passage that brings upon them full responsibility of the service to the worlds and their people.

"Even I cannot assess with certainty when a student will be ready. Trust me though: when the time comes that you are ready, I will see, and surely you will as well. For now, be patient and have faith. If you stay the course upon which I've set you, you will be ready soon enough." He eyed Matilda specifically before finishing with, "And I mean all of you."

He paused for a moment and reiterated his previous point. "Let us finish our meals. We will to meet with our guests, and then, we will begin the day with sparring practice. And I believe this was also a day I had scheduled for is to work on improving some of the castle's defenses."

Isadora's fifteen seconds of feeling proud of her efforts came to an abrupt end when the Heartless she thought she defeated seemingly rose from the dead. She hadn't noticed the misshapen pool of black begin to morph into the form of the shadowy being on the cold ground of the throne room when she grabbed her cape from the ground. The Heartless leapt towards her, arms once again stretching outwards towards her body with sharp black claws craving to break open her bare, translucent skin. If it had the intention of knocking her to the ground, it surely accomplished its task. The Neoshadow sent Isadora to the ground with a loud thud--its palms pressing into her chest as if it wanted her to shove her into the dimension from which it came. In that moment, her Keyblade was also knocked out of her hand and flung itself wildly across the ground.

She momentarily blanked out from being so caught off guard. Her back had come in contact with the ground first, then her cranium, knocking the wind out of her while turning her vision black for a few seconds. The Neoshadow looked into her eyes with its small beady own, bringing its phalanges together into the shape of a dagger and lifted one of its arms slowly as the other flailed, not knowing where it wanted to place it on her body. When Isadora caught her breath, she angrily reached out for its free arm and grabbed it, squeezing hard with brute force. She had been focusing too much on that arm to not have time to react to the Neoshadow's claw that was now shaped like a dagger, it bringing it down slowly across her chest. Its fingers were sharp, breaking into her skin forcefully and creating three openings above her armor. Blood trickled down her clothing and met in a river that now flowed between her breasts and settled near her stomach. This pain wasn't like any pain Isadora had felt before. It was a strange type of pain--as if someone took some odd type of acid and poured it into her tissues. Isadora did not make a sound, though--no. She knew Axeus was still watching, and she was not about to be a disappointment to him like the woman who came staggering in before.

Finally able to think clearly again, Isadora took the Neoshadow's weapon of an arm into another angry fist and shoved its arms above her face, glaring into its nonexistent soul through its yellow eyes. Her mind was now filling itself to the brim with rage, not wanting this thing to make a fool out of her. Using every muscle in her toned body, she threw the Heartless a few feet to the side of her and she quickly jumped up to her feet, summoning her Plagued Apostle in her right hand, gripping it so tightly that her knuckles gleamed white. The Neoshadow, too, rose to its clumsy looking feet, already charging towards her in attempt to bring her down once more.

The two opponents danced in battle for a few minutes, the Neoshadow now unable to lay an unnaturally long finger on her body. Isadora's chest shined from the blood that was still leaking out of her fresh wounds, but she ignored the odd pain. It burned, but her brain wasn't paying much attention to it. Her complete focus was defeating this Neoshadow--for good this time. Bored with this tango, Isadora spun around and leaped, the Heartless joining her in the air. With furrowed eyebrows, she connected her other hand to its neck when it was close enough and it squirmed like a worm fresh out of the soil. She fell to the ground with it, this time she being on top of it. She felt powerful, in control, and mighty. She brought her face close to its own and took her Keyblade, hovering it above its face. It couldn't move its legs because her own were pinning them down, and all it could do at this point was flail around its arms like whining lost child. She supposed it ran out of ideas now that the tables had turned. With a devilish grin, she brought it up quickly and brought it down into its skull just as fast, this time watching it dissolve into nothingness for good. A bit paranoid, she stared at the ground for a few moments just in case it decided to play another trick on her. As several seconds passed by, though, she mentally confirmed it was gone. She sighed a breath of both relief and uneasiness, hoping Axeus wouldn't be disappointed that she was careless and hadn't finished the job properly the first time around.

Pushing herself off the ground with tired arms, she stood up and glanced down at her chest, wincing slightly. The burning sensation had returned now that her mind was back on the world of Fallen Jungle. Although it stung, besides the wince, she tried her best to ignore the pain. A slight headache was also beginning to drill itself into the back of her head from her head colliding with the ground earlier. There was a good amount of blood that coated her chest, so she took the end of the inside of her black cape and did her best to wipe it away. However, with every wipe, new blood would trickle out. She closed her eyes tightly and re-opened them, choosing to simply ignore it for now and wait for it to heal on its own. Luckily, the slash wasn't too deep, so it should stop soon. At least this was the only battle wound she received, but would one wound be unacceptable for Axeus? She wondered this and lifted her eyes in his direction, unsure of his thoughts. She was upset with herself. She had to remind herself that she hadn't had any training prior to this experience, but still. She wanted to be perfect in his eyes like she was in Helena's. She didn't care about anyone else in this room.

Her head pounded in pain in a rhythmic pace with her rapid heartbeat from the exhausting, yet exhilarating battle.

The remainder of the morning's meal passed by neither incident nor conversation. Both Lao and his apprentices sat in almost total silence amid the cluttered sounds of surrounding talk from around the hall. Lao tuned most of the extraneous noise (and just about everything else) out, wrapping his thoughts on his more pressing concerns. The impending conferral with the priests weighed heavily on his mind and translated in his body through tension and labored-looking movements as he consumed his breakfast. Almost as heavy was the weight of where the day would go from the conferral; he might have to improvise if things ran too long with the wise men.

Without realizing it, he had hastily finished his meal. Still preoccupied with the matters at hand, his fork clan against his plate three times before he became aware that there was no food left on it. He rubbed his temple and threw his attention back to the hall and the people. His students in particular took the brunt of this attention. He had noticed it, albeit as glancing feelings, while he was eating: they were as troubled by the unknown news as he was, and, most of them, more anxious than he, to find out what that news was.

"The day isn't getting any longer I suppose," he said at last, breaking the silence. Sliding his seat back he came to a graceful, authoritative stand. Giving the hall a sweeping look around, he continued. "Breakfast is over. We're going to meet with the priests now." Leaving his plate and silverware in a bin for the castle's stewards, he proceeded out of the hall, retracing the steps he had walked that morning, returning to the corridor wherein his apprentices slept. A short way from that wing, he arrived where Victor had directed. Outside of the door he turned to his apprentices. "Be respectful of these men. They are, perhaps, of greater wisdom than my own. You are to speak to them as you might speak to me."

He turned back around and knocked on the door three times.

"Enter," as low voice replied. "We have left it unlocked."

Lao opened the door slowly into the room. As short as their stay had been, the priests had taken liberties with their decor: the lighting was kept low, the window blocked for an almost total darkness. The only light in the room came from candles placed around the room; each priest, three in number, had one by their bedside, with a set of nine set in a circle upon a round table in the center of the room. Around that table sat four chairs, three of which were placed on one side, and occupied by a trio of white-hooded figures. The fourth chair, to which Lao himself proceeded, sat on the side closest the door.

"Be seated," the figure in the middle instructed, nodding towards Lao.

"And close the door behind you," added the one on the right, pointing towards the apprentices as they entered.

"I thought we asked to speak with him in private." The figure on the left spoke, noticeably casting a gaze around at the apprentices.

"Worry not," Lao said, taking his seat as requested. "These young ones are my apprentices. I see this meeting as a valuable installment in their training."

The priests huddled together, murmuring to each other before the middle one looked up and responded. "Very well."

"So then." Lao pressed on, not wasting any further time. He leaned in just slightly, resting his arms upon the table. "Since that's cleared up, why have come here, and what news do you have for me?"

As the lion-like Heartless pounced at the group of Keybearers, Tendra reacted quickly, knocking the unwitting Darkwatch out of harm's way and dodging the beast's attack. The three scouts were thrown to the ground rather roughly. Elz hit the muddy earth with a tumble, turning over once or twice before regaining control of his movements. He plucked himself off of the ground, first planting a knee to support himself, then forcing himself onto his feet. They were still alive, but the three members of the Darkwatch were exhausted and sustained several injuries. How much longer they could fight was up to fate at this point. Tendra took only a moment of consideration before shouting a question to the Darkwatch.

"Do you have any firing or shooting towers left or at the very least any training in it? The beast hates fire, so you would need to use flames to slow it down or injury it. I'm not 100% certain Dragon Fire would have the same affect as normal fire but if you can at least slow it down, I should be able to kill it. Master will no doubt want something from it to study and I believe that tail tip would be perfect for Master to study, looks like concentrated darkness to me."

Elz thought for a moment but his hopeless expression spelled the answer clearly.

"I'm afraid our defenses were ransacked--" Elz said.

"Elz!" One of the other Darkwatch said, coughing roughly. "We don't know that yet. It could have just been a simple malfunction--"

"I checked them this morning! Are you telling me the cannons just randomly stopped working right before a rogue Heartless attack?!" Elz caught himself and tried to stay calm, once again turning to Tendra. "We don't have time. I'll support you with Fire spells to try to distract the beast, but that's the best I can do."

Just as Elz finished speaking, a roar once again resounded throughout the clearing at a deafening volume. The lion Heartless leaped into the air and shot downward toward Tendra at a blinding speed, its teeth and claws bared. Elz, not hesitating for a moment, shot a Fire spell at the beast. The incandescent orb slammed into the mane of the Heartless and caused its path of attack to be altered. The bestial Heartless landed next to Tendra, performing a 360 degree swipe with its claws before once again attempting to pounce on him, mouth open and aiming for the apprentice's head.

* * * * *

Axeus grinned as the battle continued, the struggle between conscious and unconscious darkness, the survival of the fittest playing out before his eyes. Next to being engaged in combat himself, watching two beings fight each other to the death was his favorite pastime. There was something visceral about bloodsport, knowing that with one misstep, one false move, one of the combatants could succumb; it entertained the old Master in a way he found indescribable. This was different from other times he might have watched a combat play out, however. He had hope in these young warriors... or, perhaps hope was not the right word. He had confidence in them. Though Axeus did not know why, he felt that they would not be like so many others who died during his test. As the fight went on, this gut instinct was proven correct.

As two of the Neoshadows spun toward Kotaro, he backflipped away from the attack at the last second. However, as the young boy suspected, the claws did indeed catch the back of his legs, sending ribbons of blood into the air as he finished his flip. Not taking heed of the wounds, Kotaro did something that made Axeus's expression turn into one of impressed shock. He flung his Keyblade at one of the Heartless, its blade impaling the thing's head and destroying it, before recalling the blade to his hand. The throw was shaky and the form lacking, but Kotaro had just used a very rudimentary version of a Strike Raid. Axeus put a hand to his chin. This boy was just a bag of surprises... he never knew what to expect.

As Kotaro predicted, during the blade-throwing maneuver, the last Neoshadow had rushed toward him, raising a claw to strike. As the Neoshadow brought down his dagger-like hands, Kotaro attempted a parry of the attack. However, with a split-second change of trajectory, the Neoshadow avoided the parry and slashed across Kotaro's chest, while the slash that was meant to parry the attack sunk into the Heartless's chest, destroying it with a cross-counter. Kotaro had defeated the Heartless, but sustained some injuries along the way.

Simultaneously, Isadora dealt with the crafty Heartless who had used her own cape as cover, leaping out once the cape was donned and slamming Isadora to the ground. With a sadistic motion, the Heartless slowly dug its claws across Isadora's chest, causing a rather painful-looking wound. Axeus watched as the girl barely grimaced, and didn't make a single sound. His head turned slightly, intrigued by this development. The girl showed an impressive tolerance to pain, or so it seemed. A slight smile graced his face. The girl's tenacity was an exciting development. Isadora, once again in control of herself, grabbed the monster and threw it off of her, jumping to her feet and summoning her Keyblade back to her. The two immediately engaged in a macabre waltz, a beautifully lethal choreography of swipes, slashes and stabs. Each strike the Heartless attempted was easily avoided, to Axeus's content surprise. Finally, Isadora made an attempt at a coup de grace, leaping into the air before clashing with the Heartless and dragging it back down to the earth by its neck.

Axeus saw Isadora's expression as she exerted complete control over the Heartless. Pinning it down so it couldn't move, Isadora put on a wild grin that made Axeus's heart swell. The expression reminded him of himself, and of Helena. For a moment he was overtaken by emotion, once again wanting to feel that complete dominance over another. He quickly snapped himself out of it. Instead of using her Keyblade, Axeus watched as Isadora simply slammed the Neoshadow onto the hard stone using only her own strength. The blow was strong enough to finish the Heartless, causing it to dissipate. Isadora picked herself up on shaky legs, looking to Axeus with a reserved expression, though he could feel the worry emanating from her. He locked eyes with her, smiling confidently, and gave her a single nod.

You passed.

"Well done, young warriors," Axeus said. "You have defeated the Heartless I summoned, and thus completed my trial. I will accept both of you as my newest apprentices." Axeus paused for a moment to allow the gravity of the situation to sink in. He then pointed at both of the apprentices' chests. "These wounds you have sustained are an important part of your training. Pain allows you to feel fear, anger, and hate. It is through pain that we achieve our goals, and through pain that we push ourselves further than we ever thought we could go..." as Axeus spoke, tendrils of darkness crept up the legs of Isadora and Kotaro. The cold, shadowy energy snaked up their thighs, to their stomach, and finally rested on their chest. Axeus slowly raised his hands and twisted them, causing the darkness to enter their wounds and blood to spurt out.

"Remember this pain, my apprentices. Remember the power it has over you, and use this power to control others. It is through pain that we will achieve our goals," he repeated, more deliberately this time. Axeus lowered his hands, causing the darkness to cease its icy assault and disappear into the temple floor. "Now, I'd like to speak with each of you individually, but first we will tend to your wounds." Axeus snapped his fingers, a cackle of black energy sparking between them, and within moments two Darkwatch members appeared in the temple room through corridors of darkness. Each went to one of the new apprentices. In a synchronized action, they simultaneously called out "Cure!" as a sparkling white energy enveloped the Isadora and Kotaro, starting from their toes and reaching their head in a blossoming flower. Their wounds were mostly healed by the magics, though the fatigue of the battle would likely linger. The two cloaked figures stepped back, awaiting new orders. Axeus turned to them.

"Fetch Veros for me," He commanded the cloaked Darkwatch. They each put an open hand- palm down and fingers together- over their heart, the official salute of the Darkwatch. Then the two quickly left to fulfill their simple mission. Axeus turned to Kotaro. "I must say, I am impressed, my boy. I'm not sure if you entirely grasp what you did during that fight. When you threw your Keyblade, you used a very rudimentary version of the ability referred to as Strike Raid. A simple but powerful technique, Strike Raid allows a Keybearer to attack from a distance by throwing their Keyblade in an arc with perfect accuracy. The applications are numerous, and the increased range granted by such an ability is a great boon to any warrior." Just as Axeus finished his sentence, Veros passed through the double doors of the throne room, having been close enough that the trip took only a minute or so. Without turning to regard her, Axeus continued. "Veros here will teach you the basics of the technique. I expect you to be able to perform it by morning," Axeus then turned to Veros. "Don't go easy on him." Veros's bright green eyes narrowed at the boy.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Master."

"Escort Kotaro to one of the training rooms," Axeus instructed. He then approached Kotaro and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Congratulations my boy, you are officially an apprentice of mine. I know you're probably tired from the battle, but stamina is just another area you need to refine. Back-to-back training like this will make it easier on you when you are in real combat, and the enemy isn't kind enough to give you a break. Now, go."

As the two left the throne room, Axeus turned to Isadora. A mixture of emotions flooded his body. He was impressed by her performance, her inky darkness was palatable and endearing, and the way she seemed to fight better when injured was most intriguing. At the same time, her connection to Helena confused him and reawakened what seemed like centuries-old sadness buried ever so deep within him. He went back to his throne, and motioned for her to follow. The stone in a half-circle around the throne was the same, spongy black that comprised his seat, stretching for about fifteen or twenty feet outward. As he sat, Axeus twisted his hand into a crooked claw, causing a pool of darkness to form a couple feet in front of him. The stone reacted to the darkness, forming another chair as Axeus shaped it with his hand gestures. He then beckoned for Isadora to sit.

"First of all, let me commend you, young lady," Axeus said. "You have shown great promise. The darkness inside you is deep, unforgiving, and reminds me of my own. When I look at you, I see limitless potential... which must have also been what she saw." Axeus paused for a moment, his face becoming serious and expressing a profound but soft sorrow. "Tell me. What became of Helena?"

* * * * *

As Veros escorted Kotaro to a nearby training room, she couldn't help but think of her poor luck. Not only did she have to retrieve the sorry little kid from the jungle with his tail between his legs, now she was his personal trainer. Wasn't this Axeus's job? Of course she would never question the master. She wasn't looking for an early death. She joined his Darkwatch, knowing full well what that entailed. She was very good at her job, and the most loyal captain he had. She didn't plan on changing that any time soon.

Still, when she looked back at Kotaro as they walked, she couldn't help but want to retch. The master saw something in him that she did not. Maybe she was being harsh on him, but she knew to trust her instincts and they told her that this boy was not to be trusted. Veros silently sighed. There was no use dwelling on those thoughts. The best thing to do would be to clear her mind of her preconceived notions and trust in her Master. After all, the child had just defeated three Neoshadows. When she first came she wouldn't have survived such a test; thankfully, Axeus still accepted her.

Who knows, she thought. Maybe the kid will surprise me. Might as well give him a chance.

They soon reached the training room, a medium-sized area with a circular hole in the roof that allowed sunshine to brighten the stone. Within it stood all manner of training equipment, from punching bags and dummies, to weight training and exercise equipment, to magical conductors that one could safely practice casting spells on. These conductors would likely be foreign to Kotaro's eyes. They were long, cylindrical objects made of what appeared to be a shiny metal. They were about four feet tall and only about a foot in diameter, and they seemed to radiate magical energy. Upon entering the room, Veros turned around and faced Kotaro, looking at him for the first time since she had seen him in the jungle.

"Kotaro, yes?" Veros asked. "As you already know my name is Veros. I will be instructing you on the proper use of the Strike Raid technique. As I understand, you were able to perform a basic version of Strike Raid in your fight, but it was not up to the master's standards. As I'm sure Master Axeus explained, this technique is crucial for extending the range of a Keybearer. By using it, your effective striking distance is more than tripled. To use this technique, you have to learn to control your Keyblade without touching it. Observe." Veros summoned her black, minimalist Keyblade and took a battle stance. She cocked her arm back and then flung it forward. Her Keyblade spun rapidly, flying to the farthest training dummy in the room, about thirty feet away from her. The Keyblade connected with it, hard, ripping the dummy in two and continuing its arc. It was only took about five seconds from the moment Veros threw her weapon for it to return to her hand.

"See," Veros said. "You don't recall the Keyblade to your hand. Instead, you throw it with utter precision and use your link with your weapon to subtly guide it back to you." Veros pointed at one of the closer training dummies, only about fifteen feet away.

"Your turn."

* * * * *

As Yaun Lao entered the room with his apprentices in tow, the three white-robed priests became apprehensive. This was not part of the agreement. Lao's reassurance was accepted, of course, but the priests would have to speak more carefully. Though they fully trusted in the seasoned Keyblade Master, youth has a way of being fickle, capricious; they could not fully trust the apprentices, at least, not yet.

"So then. Since that's cleared up, why have come here, and what news do you have for me?"

The robed figure in the middle grunted knowingly at Lao's question. Lao was not one to waste time, and it was for this reason that they had came to see him.

"Yes, Yaun Lao... the matters we have come to speak to you about are of grave importance," the middle priest began. "Old Bastion and indeed all of the Cluster is once again threatened. Surely you've heard the rumors of a darkness clawing at the edges of the cluster, of Keybearers journeying to the outer worlds and not being heard from again, of... creatures that have been showing up, killing, and leaving nothing but shadowy pools in their wake..."

"Heartless," the priest to the right added abruptly. "The menace of the dark that has been seen only rarely in the past fifty years, since the World Eater's defeat. Even before that, the darkness was thoroughly subjugated, and the nasty creatures weren't often seen. However, of late, reports have been coming in from many of the worlds, the Montresser Spaceport, the Lost Empire, even Snowfall Wastes of creatures with the form of a shadow and frightening, glowing eyes."

"You must know what this forebodes, Master Lao," the leftmost priest spoke. "The darkness... it is poised to strike again."

"Indeed," the middle priest said. "In addition, there are rumors of--" the priest stopped suddenly, his body freezing. The two other priests came in close, lightly grabbing his shoulders and making sure he was alright. "A vision," the priest in the middle muttered quietly, as the other two slowly returned to their relaxed positions. The priest in the middle drew back his hood, revealing an old, wrinkled face, with pale skin and a white beard. His cheekbones jutted out from his face and his brow seemed to be constantly furrowed, but his most prominent features were his milky white eyes. The man turned his head to the apprentices behind Lao with a profound expression.

"You... what are your names? Where are you from? How did you come to Old Bastion, and find Yaun Lao?"

Needless to say, Kotaro was shocked at the sheer speed of the Neo-Shadow as it dodged the Parry. He thought about dodging but unfortunately, his mind thinks faster then his body can react, and got his chest scratched and bleeding as a result. Fortunately the momentum of his blade was supported by gravity and struck it down anyways. When the battle was over, he took a deep breath and sighed, an act that was made somewhat uncomfortable thanks to the wounds on his chest. There were a few cuts on his leg as to be expected, holes in his black jeans that needed to now be sewn shut. But they weren't as bad as the ones on his chest so he chose to ignore it for now. He then noticed how Isadora gotten rid of her heartless group, and needless to say, was quite fascinated by her skill, and most especially the look in her eyes as she destroys her foes. The emotions she let out showed the difference between the two, making Kotaro almost envious of her...passion, for lack of a better word.

"Not one emotion reserved. Either she's really dedicated to the darkness, or she really hates these things." Kotaro thought. When they were both finished, he stood up straight looking at Axeus, He first stated that he accepted the two as his apprentices, to which Kotaro wanted to give thanks to him for, but figured words could irritate him as it did for that woman that led him here. As such, he simply nodded as his way of saying his thanks, before listening what could only be described as his first lecture to them both. A lecture about pain and what pain would create in the heart. When he met Tamius for the first time, he recalled him denying the treatment Kotaro would give him for pain. Throughout those days he just beared the pain as the injuries slowly healed.

"Find life in Misery...was this what he meant?" Kotaro asked, still not necessarily getting it. However, his thoughts were interrupted when the darkness crept into his wounds and created an unspeakable pain, enough to make him cough blood. He was caught off-guard, as it felt like an icicle pierced his chest. His ears still listened to Axeus as he tried to bear the pain as his friend bore his...easier said than done, far easier.

"Use the power, to control others... use pain, to control others...acheiving our goals...through pain?" Kotaro's noted these in his head, and now he was starting to understand, or at least he believes so. As the pain rushed through him, his mind was rushing with thoughts of logic, and agony, making it hard to keep track of them. When the darkness ceased its attack, Kotaro dropped to one knee, gasping for air as his head was still something of a mess, but it was starting to stabilize and come back together, one last aftershock of the nerves and those then stabilized as well. He slowly got up, and went back into position. The healing of cure actually was painful at first as the nerves and skin regenerated on the spot, but by the end he felt like he never got injured in the first place. As he listened to his master speak to him, he was amazed by what he said, though he didn't know what amazed him more: The fact that simply throwing a Keyblade is a technicque in of itself, or the fact that there was a better way of performing the act of throwing it. Maybe it was modesty thinking, but he didn't think it was as grand as that. After all, all he did was do the most sensical thing he could think of with a magic sword. He then heard that Captain Veros will be his teacher, immediately making him freeze up.

"...Oh dear, looks like it was a good thing to be learning about pain after all." He thought. He heard Axeus mention that he expected him to get this done by the morning, to which he nodded. For a moment, if only a moment, pride entered his thoughts. It was just a matter of learning how to throw properly, right? How hard could that possibly be? He then heard what Axeus said next. He recalled that people believed that apprentices of the dark were treated harsh, but at least his master was kind enough to explain to him the reason for that harshness. He gave a smile as he was dismissed and gave a salute.

"Yes Master. ...I won't let you down!" He said, that gentle smile on his face. He walked over and followed Veros as was told.

---

"Out of the frying pan...into the fire." He thought as he followed her to the training room. Needless to say, this was rotten luck for him as well. Of all the people he was sure Axeus had under his command, he made his personal trainer the one who clearly hates his guts the moment he stepped on to the planet. That said though, maybe that was the point. Dark Keyblade warriors are warriors above all else, warriors need harsh training to be prepared to fight like Axeus explained, and who is harsher than someone who hates your guts? They entered the Training room and...

"Wow..." He said with a smile of awe on his face. He was not expecting something like this. This place looked absolutely amazing, the sunlight giving a proper shine to it. Everything looked practically clean and new. There was only one thing here he knew nothing about though, those cylinders. Whatever those were they were heavily related to magic, shown by the energy they give out...Charge stations perhaps? No, that doesn't seem right. Before he could think on them any further though, in comes the voice of Veros verifying his name, to which he looks at her and give a quick nod.

"Not another word, Kotaro... You don't need to give her another reason to want to throw that keyblade of hers at you..." He thought. He then listened to her explanation of how Strike Raid works. Seeing it himself, he was quite amazed by the boomerang effect of the keyblade. It didn't occur to him to consider it being able to return to him, if only because boomerangs are bended the way they ae specifically for that purpose while keyblades are completely straight. Still, it's worth a try. He nodded to her as she claims it's his turn. Summoning his keyblade he looked at the dummy.

"A link with my weapon, ...requiring control over it. Got to focus..." He thought. He took a deep breath and sighed. When he was ready, he threw the Keyblade as he did before seeing it spin almost perpetually towards the dummy and indeed cleaving it in two. But now came the hard part as he tried to focus on calling it back to him, extending his hand out towards it, thinking that might help to control it, moving his hand a little to the right he noticed as the Keyblade started to change directions and steer towards the right. Then a little to the left. As he felt he was getting somewhat of the hang of this, he tried to figure out how to call it back to him. As if like a chain he pulled his left hand to his right side, hoping that would pull it back to him. Instead it pulled a hard right causing Paradise Sealed to smack right at a Magic Conductor before dropping to the floor.

"...Uhh...Well, At least I know how to steer it now. Now I just need to have it come back." Kotaro said, somewhat calm, or rather trying to keep calm since it's easy to believe Veros might have temptations to hide his corpse right about now.

"No tolerance for failure...Lets just hope beginner mistakes doesn't count as that." He thought.

Tendra growled as he heard that the defences were not working correctly and when Elz said He would help him with the beast. he simply nodded and when the beast charged at him and Elz alter it path he saw the beast spin round and leaped into the air avoiding its claw swipe and then landing on the beast back as he made dragon fire appear from his hand and began to run towards the tails while burning the beasts back before he leaped up and cut the tail tip off before once again setting fire to where the beasts tail tip used to be. Of course, Darker was trying to find weak points on the beast with the dragon fire scan ability.
(sorry its short, not feeling too well right now)

Iris nodded, balling his hands into fists with a somewhat frightened look. It was then that he calmed down, finished his meal, and went with his Master to meet with the Priests. When they had arrived, Isis wasted no time to be seated, after shutting the door behind the others. He was always nervous when it came to meeting new people, especially ones of 'higher status', but he remained calm. He watched Master Lao talking and waited patiently, keeping his hands on his knee's, and his eyes on the Master and Priests. Inside his mind, he thought, "I wonder when I will be ready for the Mark of Mastery...", but he was quick to brush this thought away when the Priest began to question him and the others.

Clearing his throat, Isis looked at them directly and smiled, "My name is Iris and I was born here on Old Bastion. I was taken to Master Lao by a robed figure...and ever since the Master has taken care of me." His smile kept, even if it was a little forced. The thought of what happened to his family was a bit much for him to say, but he tried his best to keep strong.

The nod from Axeus signified that she had not failed him, and she breathed a short sigh of relief. Considering how he acted towards the woman from before, and considering his dark demeanor, she had prepared herself to be treated as she was. However, this was not the case, and she was able to build herself back up again quickly. She couldn't expect herself, a new Keyblade wielder, to be perfect right away. That was foolish--no amount of confidence she had in herself would prove her to be even close to Axeus' level. She was going to have to work hard for her rightful place beside him, just as she had to work for her fruits in the slums of Otherverse. She would do it, though--she desired to become his favorite.

As her new master spoke of she and Kotaro's accomplishments, he pointed at their wounds, and a slight feeling of embarrassment came over her. Not only was the wound slightly deep, but it was in such an obvious area. She didn't glance over at the other boy since she wanted to give Axeus her full attention, but she figured he didn't come out so badly. She stretched out her fingers from their place beside her thighs and curled them into fists and then relaxed them as a cold, uneasy feeling began to slither up her body. She lowered her eyes to see dark tentacle-like arms of darkness make their way up from her feet to her chest, caressing the rest of her body softly. As they finally stopped near her chest, Axeus made quick movements with his hands and the tendrils moved again, this time much faster, and shot themselves directly into her wound, causing Isadora to squint, making sure not to make a sound as to appear weak. Dark crimson liquid spurted out of the wound, trickling in a tiny river down her arms and chest as the dark matter was absorbed into her body, as if the blackness itself was replacing the cells that pumped throughout her body.

"Remember this pain, my apprentices. Remember the power it has over you, and use this power to control others. It is through pain that we will achieve our goals."

Isadora lifted her eyes towards her master and nodded. Rather than ignoring the searing pain she felt in her chest, she embraced it, allowing her nerve endings to scream in pain. A warm, then chilling feeling came over her, and she loved it. The pain she had felt in the past and even from a few moments ago was different in comparison to this. This type of pain was moreso something she felt like she had needed for a long time. Her body welcomed it rather than rejected it. Her limbs relaxed as the pain pulsated through the veins as well as the darkness that entered her a few moments ago, making its way into her heart. She felt it rest there, locking itself away within the chambers with the intentions of making it its new home. Darkness was she and she was darkness.

Isadora lifted a bloody hand and rested it against her chest, feeling a strange sense of tranquility. Axeus' voice snapped her out of her thoughts, snapping his fingers as two Darkwatch members appeared almost suddenly. One went to stand in front of Kotaro as the other walked more briskly towards her, shouting Cure in synch with the other. A glittering white screen enveloped her body from the bottom up, wrapping itself around her body in a quick embrace. This energy felt refreshing and light--much different than what she felt before from the Darkness. She glanced down and watched her skin rapidly stitch itself back together around her wound, leaving behind no traces of the battle. She traced a finger over the spot as Axeus ordered the two members to leave and fetch another member named Veros to begin training with Kotaro. Isadora patiently waited for Axeus to probably summon someone else for her, but was surprised to see that wouldn't be the case. He silently walked towards his throne with an inquisitive expression on his face, motioning with a rough hand for her to follow, which sparked curiosity in Isadora's mind. He conjured a chair in front of his for her to sit in, and she did so without a word. She was surprised she didn't feel nervous considering it was only her that he wanted to speak to about something. It must have been due to the odd connection she felt with him and the dark aura he emitted nonstop, which made her feel comfortable. She sat down in the spongy black chair, crossing one long, slender leg over the other and placed her palms down on her thighs, looking up at Axeus. He began to speak of her potential and how she reminded him of himself, which boosted her ego tremendously. However, she knew her place, and kept her expression mellow as to show respect towards her master. She didn't expect what he said next to come up now, so soon after they had met.

"Tell me. What became of Helena?"

She glanced down at her hands that had begun smoothing themselves out on her legs and instantly stopped, annoyed by this nervous habit of hers. She had half-expected him to ask her about her prior beloved companion, but she figured the details wouldn't have to come out until much later. She lifted her eyes towards him once more and saw that within his glowing, strong amber eyes, the tiniest glint of pain reflected within them. Isadora knew he probably foolishly thought she was still alive somewhere, but she knew the harsh reality. She was almost afraid to tell him of Helena's fate considering she wasn't too familiar with his reaction to pain, but perhaps he sealed that emotion away long ago. She just didn't know. Regardless, she had to tell him. Isadora was no liar, after all. Painful or not, Axeus had a right to know considering Helena and he shared history from long ago. Curling her fingers in her lap, Isadora cleared her throat and spoke straight-forwardly, yet somewhat softly at the same time to Axeus.

"Master, I want to begin this with a warning to prepare yourself for the worst possible response to your question," she began, "I do not bear good news." Isadora uncrossed her legs and sat up straight, her back trembling from the previous battle. She felt a wave of tiredness rush over her body, and she ignored it to the best of her ability. "I lived with Helena for many years and we were never bothered by the Heartless. We bonded together in a small cave in the far outskirts of Otherverse. I had never felt that kind of a connection with anyone in my life aside from her..." Isadora paused, noticing that the correct words weren't coming to her as easily. She hadn't spoken about Helena in so long, and flashes of her final moments rushed into her brain and her chest burned. It hurt. It hurt to speak about the one person in her life that made her have a reason to keep going. Realizing that she had paused in her telling of what happened, she continued as to not upset Axeus. "However, one day as we were conversing as usual, a group of Neoshadows appeared at the mouth of the cave and since I had no training, she fought for me. She fought with the intention of doing everything she could to protect me even if it meant her life. After about a dozen magic spells, the swarm was defeated... but, Helena fell alongside them. She faded from this universe cradled in the arms that couldn't protect her... the arms of the useless girl who could only sit and watch."

Something fell on Isadora's hands. Wetness. She blinked a few times and realized that tears were rolling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away with the backs of her hands, not wanting Axeus to think of her as weak and useless as she had been to Helena. She promised her that she'd become a strong warrior, yet what kind of warrior cries over the dead? She couldn't bring her back--all she could do now was avenge her, but she couldn't ignore the burning rage and self-hatred well up inside her blackened heart.

In an instant, Time frozen over.

(I hope Kurai doesn't mind. As I told him, I HATE Time/Space powers just as much as he does, but personally this is a special exception, as I am simply using it to do what I have to to remove my character, all the while filling in the negative space said character leaves behind. In other words, Time/Space powers are good for special occasions like this, horrible for everything else.)

Appearing through the walls of the training room like ghosts were two humanoid silhouettes. The two could not possibly look anymore different than each other; one looking ancient and honorable like a samurai, wearing the robes albeit black ones of a to match the description and eyes glowing a bright red. The other one looking like a modern-day punk going by the points and angles extending from the second silhouette looking like a exterior of a jean jacket, his eyes glowing blue. They walked straight to Kotaro, ignoring Veros completely.

"...Yep, that's him alright. It's looking like he won't be coming back." the Blue-eyed shadow said.

"Then we proceed with Procedure Alpha. Remove all traces of his existence. That world, Tamius and all memories of him, everything." the Red eyed one said. With that, they extended their hand out and opened a portal to an unknown location. The blue-eyed one grabbed Kotaro's time-frozen state and threw him into the portal. The red-eyed one unsheathed a sword from his waist and used it to writing some kind of symbol in the air. The symbol exploded in a blast of light, erasing the world of Serenity Town from existence, and erasing with it the memory of Tamius and Kotaro from the minds of everyone who has witnessed him in his journey. The portal closed, and they themselves walked back into the shadows disappearing without a single trace of them being there.

As soon they left. Time melted back into motion, the only difference was that Kotaro was gone. Alas, no one would mind, or miss him, for no one would remember he even existed.

And so life goes on.

Several days prior to the current events...

The twin suns beat down mercilessly on the barren desert. The sand seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, an ocean that swallowed an age-old civilization, then froze in the form of endless dunes. Two feet stabbed into this gruel of ground rock. After a couple more trudging motions, the heavy-stepping fellow paused and looked upward, using an arm to shield his eyes from the sun. As he did, the hood of his cloak fell backward, revealing a head full of cherry red, spiky hair. His attire was typical of a traveler, simple but sturdy garments atop large hiking boots, all covered by a beat-up, patchwork cloak.

"Geez... not a single cloud in the damn sky," the man said. "I know this place used to be called Ancient Desert but come on..." The man continued slogging through the sand toward what looked like a ruined complex in the distance. All that seemed to be visible of it over a nearby dune were some Corinthian columns, worn and broken with age. As he walked, the man heard a soft reverberation coming from the sky. He once again turned to look upward. This time, his eyes widened and his mouth drooped a bit. What looked like a black dot from this distance began falling from the Second Sun, the prison of the World Eater.

"What the hell?" the man whispered. As the dot got closer and closer to the ground, the man began to see that the dot was in fact a person, falling to the dunes of Heroes' Requiem. The man, in a slight panic, began to run toward where the person would land. The person's trajectory wasn't too far off from the red-haired man, and as the falling person flew to the dunes, the red-haired man jumped to catch him. The red-haired man took the brunt of the impact and toppled over, rolling several times with the falling person in his arms. With a groan of pain, he lifted himself to a sitting position. There appeared to be a man in a suit of armor in his arms, though not like any armor he had seen. The red-haired man had no idea who this person was or what had just happened, but he knew what he had to do. He quickly changed his Keyblade into a Glider and put the armored man onto his back, speeding toward the nearby complex.

* * * * *

"My name is Iris and I was born here on Old Bastion. I was taken to Master Lao by a robed figure...and ever since the Master has taken care of me."

The middle priest continued to scrutinize Iris for several long minutes after the young apprentice's explanation. The priest could sense that there was something the boy was not telling him, some deep-seated source of anxiety and sorrow. However, past all those negative emotions, the priest felt a font of light in the boy brighter than he had seen in ages; this young man, Iris, was truly a kind soul, and would, in time, become a paragon of the light faction.

"Hrm, yes," the priest nodded slowly. "Iris. It is good to meet you. We sensed that Lao's new apprentice had a great potential within him, but never could we have foreseen the sort of light you are presenting to us... your heart is incredibly strong, young man. May you keep it that way. In the care of Lao, of course, there will be nothing to worry about," the priest once again paused. "This robed figure, however... I'm sure it was simply some good soul who knew of Lao, but their mention gives me pause. This is something I will have to look into. Iris, your destiny is greater than Old Bastion. In fact, it's as great a destiny as your Master. Lady Fate has a plan for you, and with a heart as strong as yours, I'm sure you'll be able to live up to her expectations." The priest on the right then spoke up.

"Back to the subject at hand," He stated forcefully. "We have been hearing rumors about the Heartless being controlled by Keybearers. They have not been substantiated yet, but many of the attacks seem to include details of black-cloaked figures, usually wielding a Keyblade, among the ranks of the darkness. What say you, Master Lao? Surely this is a problem that must be dealt with, but, admittedly, we are unsure how to proceed."

"And one last thing," The priest on the left said. "A couple days ago a strange phenomenon took place on Heroes' Requiem. According to a trusted scout and Keybearer named Ghave, a man fell from the Second Sun, gripping a Keyblade in his hand. We were unsure what to do with the boy, so we brought him here to you. In fact, he should be arriving any sec--" Shouting echoed through the hallways, interrupting the priest.

"Get your damn hands off of me! I told you we're going to see Lao, got that?!"

The door to the room in which Lao and the priests were seated suddenly burst open to reveal a raggedly-dressed man with bright red hair and another man following in a suit of armor. Behind them were at least half a dozen guards pointing spears and blades at them with angered looks on their faces. The middle priest sighed.

"Ghave... your superiors promised me you wouldn't make a scene."

"Well excuse me, old man, weren't you supposed to tell these dumb asses I was coming? Why are they all gearing up to kill me?" Ghave looked over his shoulder. "By the way, I could cut all of your weapons in half in like, two seconds. Put those things down before you hurt yourselves." The guards lowered their weapons a bit, but still looked to Lao and the priests for the okay. Ghave sighed and pushed the armored man into the room. "Here's your wonderboy. Introduce yourself, kid."

* * * * *

Veros blinked. She was in the training room. One of the dummies had been ripped in half. She remembered throwing a Strike Raid and destroying it, but...

Why was she here again?

"Oh well," Veros said. Must have come here in a fit of rage. Probably some stupid subordinate acting out of line. Yeah, that's it, I came here to blow off some steam. She threw another Strike Raid, nonchalantly destroying another dummy, then leaped after it on the return arc and flew into action, slicing, stabbing, and dodging her way through the training room. After a matter of moments, the room was a wreck. The dummies were shredded, the magical conduits were dented and smoking, and the rest of the equipment was either chopped to pieces or broken beyond repair.

"Whoops... I must have been really angry."

Veros left the room, feeling something was still missing, but brushing it off. For her, nothing of value was lost that day.

* * * * *

The lion-like Heartless roared in anger and agony as the flames licked across its back and its tail tip was sliced off. Obviously damaged, the beast lashed out and once again tried to strike at Tendra haphazardly. It then made a 180 degree turn and pounced on Elz. The young boy was taken by surprise and unable to react as the lion tackled him, pinning him on the ground and roaring loudly into Elz's face. The boy was struck with utter terror as he only managed to yell out one word:

"Tendra!!"

The lion brought a powerful claw down and rended the boy's chest, causing ribbons of blood to spurt from the wound. One more powerful strike and the boy was no longer. Elz faded into a pool of darkness as a pink heart lazily drifted into toward the sky. The other two members of the Darkwatch sat in petrified horror as they watched Elz's demise, unable to take either flight or fight. The beast then turned to Tendra once again as its mane began to stand on end and it inhaled powerfully. It then released an extremely powerful beam of energy barreling directly at Tendra, accompanied with a ferocious roar.

* * * * *

"Master, I want to begin this with a warning to prepare yourself for the worst possible response to your question...

...but, Helena fell alongside them. She faded from this universe cradled in the arms that couldn't protect her... the arms of the useless girl who could only sit and watch."

Axeus sat silent for a long moment, studying his new apprentice and pondering what she had told him. Part of him, a small, weak part that he had tried to lock away years ago had hoped that somewhere out in the cluster, Helena was still living; this new information broke that hope. He felt a twinge of pain. He missed her. Honestly and thoroughly, he missed Helena, the one woman he had ever connected to so wholly. She was gone now, and he would never feel that again. For a brief moment, his mind and heart entered a state of turmoil. The small piece of heart he had wanted to lock away threatened not only to break free, but to take over his senses, to throw him into a fit of rage the likes of which would likely see the temple demolished.

Then, his cool, calm darkness took back its rightful place.

Yes, Helena was dead, and his hope squashed. However, as Axeus saw it, that was simply one less weakness that he would have to burden. The loss of hope, the loss of compassion for his lover, it would make him stronger. Now he truly lived for no one but himself. No one...

... except for this girl.

Axeus came back to reality and saw Isadora was crying. Her loss was as great as his- no, greater. He had lost only a lover, where as she had lost a mother. Her circumstances were pitiful, but this girl was anything but. Isadora had already shown to Axeus her simply immense potential, her powerful initiative, and her devotion. Indeed, it was like a young Helena sat before him. Yet she had something that even Helena did not. What was it? Axeus tried to find the words to describe. She had vigor. She had life. Helena, after the legendary battle with the World Eater, had always felt empty to Axeus. She simply drifted through the cluster, eventually drifting away from Axeus as well. However, the way that Isadora described her made her sound unlike the Helena he once knew. Maybe this young girl had graced Helena with some of her vigor? To hear that Helena was fighting until her very last breath made Axeus well with joy. This woman, Isadora, she was truly a blessing. For once, Axeus thought of her as possibly more than just a stepping stone to fulfill his deeply laid and intricately woven plans. Maybe she would be more... maybe she would be great enough to stand beside him when the final steps of his plan fell into place.

Without a word, Axeus got up from his chair and walked over to Isadora. With an uncharacteristically gentle motion, Axeus took a hand and wiped away one of Isadora's tears.

"That is... regrettable, Isadora," Axeus said. "Your loss is one I share with you, but for you, the pain must be a dozen-fold," Axeus paused and took Isadora's chin, motioning her head so that they locked eyes. "Never forget this pain. It is as I told you, through pain we achieve power. This will be the greatest source of strength you will ever have the chance to draw on. Embrace it. Make it yours. With the darkness you harness from the death of Helena, you will become incredibly powerful... maybe even as powerful as I." Axeus removed his hand and took a step back. "That is all for today, as it is getting late. One of my Watch will show you to your sleeping quarters and bring you a meal. Rest now, for tomorrow we train... relentlessly." Axeus got back atop his throne, once again snapping to call forth one of his Darkwatch. A quiet, hooded figure stepped out from a corridor of darkness and gestured for Isadora to follow him.

Iris listened to the Priest with a bit of wonder in his eyes. What could he do that was such a great ordeal, he was only an Apprentice, and had only been with his Master for eleven years, not enough for him to fully realize his potential as a Keyblade Master. Silently, he thought about the robed figure, and clenched at his heart, filling a small bit of disturbance. Suddenly, the door busted open. Iris quickly jumped up in the excitement, his eyes averting to it quickly.

He watched the scene silently, keeping his hands at the ready in case of a fight broke out. Of course, this was not the case, and he began to settle down. Watching the red haired man and the knightly boy, he raised an eyebrow, inspecting the way he acted, talked, walked, anything that could give him a hint as to how he acted. Sighing out, he waited for the boy to introduce himself.

Alister stepped forward and looked back at his...well he wasn't sure what to call him. He had wanted to beat him in the face after he had came too and then he was grateful for his life being saved but then again he wanted to beat him in his face once again. The boy had no respect and no sense of knightly honor and from what Alister could tell this order was kind of knightly. "Excuse the interruption everyone I do apologize for it but it seems that my presence is something special but I don't see how." Alister remembered his home world and the ones from before but for some reason he had heard names that he had never heard before and other terms that he wasn't familiar with. "My name is Alister and I am an apprentice knight from Avalon..." He hung his head as he mentioned his world "...that was swallowed by darkness." He raised his hand and summoned the keyblade that he received from a voice that he heard as he fell earlier. "This was given to me as a weapon to help you I think. It is called Umbra Lux though I am not sure why." He dispersed his keyblade and left out the part about how the voice told him that his world might not return to the realm of the light but that he should never give in to darkness. "I wish to be of service to whoever is in charge and speak to him or her privately once this meeting has been concluded." Alister stepped back and settled himself out of the way so that the meeting could commence.

Tendra silent watched Elz demise before he smirked as he saw the beam coming at him. He pointed his sword and closed his eyes, before he leaped up avoided the beam and then he slamed his fists together and made 5 Dragon fire balls appear before he blasted them at the beasts eyes and claws. He then span round in the air and stab the beast in the back before he ran his blade though the beast back and sliced off the tails before he grab the tail and span it round to slam the beast hard in the head. By his judgement, the beast would end up killing the last two darkwatch members who were standing there like fools. This way he would complete his master extra objective that had been asked of him.

The silence in the frigid temple pecked at Isadora's skin following the last words to leave her dry lips. Axeus only sat in his throne, his eyes locked with her own cloudy amber crystals. She wasn't able to read his current expression; she imagined that the weight of her news sent his mind into a realm unbeknownst to her. She wanted to look away out of respect, but then again, she was curious. Although his expression did not change, she saw something within his own eyes. She watched something happen--something that glinted behind his stone cold face. It fascinated her. This master of darkness was feeling what she felt. A shiver ran down her spine and down her arms causing the fine hairs to stick up from their roots as she shared a silent moment with her master. In the darkness of their hearts and this temple, for a fleeting moment, they were connected over what was lost and couldn't be brought back.

Wetness again. Stop it, Isadora. You are strong. You can't bring her back. You are strong. Isadora broke eye contact with Axeus to stop the glistening tears from rolling down her weary face with a free hand, flicking them off the edge of her thumb and index finger onto the cracked stone floor. She inhaled for ten seconds and exhaled for an additional ten seconds, relaxing her form. Stop pitying yourself. Suddenly she didn't feel so sad anymore. She reverted to feeling nothing--that was how it should be. Lock away the useless emotions and lose the key in the process. Make room only for darkness. That was how it always was--it was enough to keep her mind stable. She glanced down to study her hands, opening them and clenching them shut tightly. These hands would be the hands to fight for Helena. The hands that would make Axeus proud to call her his Apprentice.

A new hand made contact with Isadora's face--Axeus' hand. As he wiped away a tear she managed to miss, Isadora looked up to her master, his eyes no longer lost in a faraway world, but found in hers.

"That is... regrettable, Isadora," Axeus said. "Your loss is one I share with you, but for you, the pain must be a dozen-fold."

She bit the inside of her lip. Don't.

"Never forget this pain. It is as I told you, through pain we achieve power. This will be the greatest source of strength you will ever have the chance to draw on. Embrace it. Make it yours. With the darkness you harness from the death of Helena, you will become incredibly powerful... maybe even as powerful as I."

"I won't forget it, Master Axeus," she said, her response coming out more like a whisper, to her displeasure.

"That is all for today, as it is getting late. One of my Watch will show you to your sleeping quarters and bring you a meal. Rest now, for tomorrow we train... relentlessly."

Axeus motioned for a member of his Watch to come over and guide Isadora to her quarters and turned away from her. She nodded silently and followed the hooded figure through a number of hallways shrouded in vines and dying flora. Between two broken columns was her room, and the mysterious person watched her as she entered, closing the door behind her. The place was somewhat small, but good enough for her. Considering she had been used to sleeping in the rotting chair of the disintegrating gummi ship, the floor of a cave, and various other undesirable places throughout her life, this room was a palace in comparison. Off to one side of the room was an oak desk and chair. For what reason she would require these, she didn't know. Tiny white flowers encased the legs of the desk and crept up the sides in a whimsical pattern and trailed up in a vine across the wall, leading to a graveyard of wilted pansies and cosmos in an opposite corner of the room. Life trailing into death. In another corner of the room was a bed made of wood. It was simple with a thin mattress atop the frame--it was all she needed and then some. She could have sworn she heard it whisper her name softly--perhaps she was just overtired. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed her face with her hands, letting her raven-colored locks fall gracefully past her ears. Axeus' words repeated themselves like a song on repeat: "With the darkness you harness from the death of Helena, you will become incredibly powerful... maybe even as powerful as I." She leaned back and stared at the ceiling, closing her eyes while listening to the steady stream of what sounded like a small river outside her fogged up window. As powerful than he? She felt assure of herself once more, her blood feeling warm while pulsating through her body. She let her exhausted body fall onto the mattress and curled up on her side while closing her eyes, her hands resting in front of her face in relaxed fists. I'll make those words come true.

Amid the rapid flow of events that followed the introductions, Lao had no chance to address the priests' concerns. A calm only settled into the room after Ghave burst in with a newly discovered Keybearer in tow.

The room stood in silence as the young man spoke. Lao listened, patient and attentive, to the new arrival's story; when they finished explaining themselves, the Master followed them to to the corner, calling for silence amongst Ghave, the priests, and the other apprentices. "Avalon, you say?" Lao nodded. "I've only ever heard tell of good things from there. A capable lot of warriors, it's often seemed; it's deeply saddening to hear that such a noble world has met with such an untimely end."

The Master bowed his head in mourning for the world's loss. When he raised it, he met the new Keybearer straight in the eye. "Your survival of your world's destruction and furthermore your wielding a Keyblade indeed marks your arrival as something special, young man," he spoke, looking about the room, receiving nods of agreement from all corners. "As it would be, your being here has not disrupted anything with this meeting; to the contrary it seems you're part of the subject on which we speak. My name is Yuan Lao, resident Keyblade Master here on Old Bastion and head of the Light Masters. You are free to join me here as my apprentice, if you so desire."

He turned back to the priests in a grimace. "You're report this far is appreciated," he said. "But it only serves to confirm what I've already been feeling from afar. The vanishing of worlds has not escaped my senses. The question I can't seem to answer is how and why."

Alister was taken a back when the man came over to him. He knelled before him once he heard who he was. "I do wish to stay here Master. I still had much to learn in the arts of combat. I also know some spells that might be of service to you as well. I would hope to receive training in both if I stay." He went silent but had something else to say. "I...I..I want retribution for my world." One eye glazed over with darkness for a second. Alister was unaware that it had happened. He cleared his throat choking back tears as he thought of his mother and friends that he had left behind. "I have a promise to keep. He opened his hand to reveal the shining tear drop shaped blue gem and closed it just as quickly just to make sure that it was still there or that this wasn't some dream. "Oh and Master I didn't escape its destruction it is still very much alive at least for now inside that thing that ate it." Alister then straightened up and bowed again to his new master of which he was grateful for giving him a new home and for letting train under him.