Renovation, Palace of the Blachrenae, Byzantine Empire

Seth, wherever he was, would have been given a letter by a random Moogle - the trading creatures had not approached him this way before - which said:

Come to Renovation, to the Palace of the Blachrenae. Here's a picture; travel there using whatever method you choose. And the picture showed a building made from brick and marble, with red tiles for the roofs, all laid out in the original Byzantine style, with exquisite gardens of mediterrenean plants; acacia, cedars, roses and lilies, as well as irises from Egypt, all bordering grass lawns that were all neatly trimmed. It looked like a grandiose vacation spot...but knowing him, Seth would probably just see another employment opportunity from some desperate local potentate, looking for an advantage in the Multiversal brushfire wars that seemed to be cropping up everywhere.

Well, he was in for a surprise; the moment he got to his destination (again, using whatever method he preferred), he would encounter not just the open palace doors (made from New World Dyewood), but an armed camp, brimming with elite special forces and guard regiments, as well as surveillance cameras and drones. However, none of the machines or soldiers would bat an eye at his coming - he had been expected.

Suddenly, a Corridor of Darkness would open beside him, and an 18-year old white male with black eyes and messy black hair, wearing a black robe much like his own, would lead out two other figures, one was a girl only slightly older than him, and another was a 34-year old who looked much younger, due to his rail-thin, but lean and full, physique, clad in a mafioso's fedora and suit. The boy would say:

"Good, you three are finally here."

Flashback - Alternate Post-World War II, New Shinsengumi HQ, Japan

Mai would be called to the office of the New Shinsengumi High Command, a stone building built in the western style, only with no elevators; the rationale was that climbing up the tall and wide stairs built character. Nevertheless, once she reached the room where her commander, a narrow-faced, sharp-eyed man in traditional japanese clothing except for glasses, was conferring with a young man, 18 years of age, of average height and whose black eyes were sharp and sparked with...energy. He was wearing a purple T-shirt and black jeans, and on the back of his seat was draped a black robe, one that looked....suspicious.

"Ah, greetings, Mai*," said the New Shinsengumi commander. "As usual, you are prompt. And that is good, because I have a mission for you." He then gestured to the 18-year old boy.

"Tocsax here is a World Traveller and a Keyblade Wielder, like you. He is a representative of a world where there is a relative abundance of them, and he's agreed to have his world put them in our service...in exchange for a pupil." Mai's eyes would or should be turning upwards at this point. Could the New Shinsengumi commander really be meaning her? But the boy was even younger than her, what could he possibly teach?! But, it was too late for Mai to object, as the New Shinsengumi commander would then confirm what could be her assumptions:

"So, your current mission is to go with him on a quest he is embarking on, and learn from him as much as you can. Tocsax, you can bring her to your next destination now."

"'Thank you," the boy stood up, bowed deeply, used the right honorifics, then with a quicksilver motion, put on the cloak and dragged Mai into a Corridor of Darkness.

Hopefully, the shock would prevent her from lashing out.

Flashback - Alternate *Ongoing* World War II, Madrid

When the Nazis had called on the forces of Darkness, Catholic Spain had cut off all ties with them, only to be invaded once France was overran again by the Heartless hordes. Now, Francisco Franco was making his final stand at the city where once, the Spanish Republicans had futilely defied him, and Fredrick had been sent to help the evacuation efforts for the civilians.

However, it was not going to be easy. 100,000 Heartless were heading straight for the city, with no need for supply lines and logistics. Magic - which the Church in this world had not objected to using because things were so desperate - would help even the odds, as well as flamethrowers, but the fact remained that only the Keyblade can permanently kill Heartless unless one merely settled for discorporating them so that they can reappear elsewhere. That was why it was an evacuation, not a battle.

Then a Corridor of Darkness opened, and a Nobody - Fred can tell - and a young Jap girl walked out. The Nobody then turned to Fred and spoke:

"Are you done evacuating the civilians of Madrid?" Said civilians had been headed for a fleet of Gummi Ships that would take them to America, which was fast becoming the refuge for the remnants of Europe, and as far as he knew, that fleet had received all the population it could. He was finished with that, and the Nobody knew it.

"Good," said the Nobody, an 18-year old who nevertheless looked like he had been fighting all his life - which he probably had. "Let's go."

And with that, he would drag Fredrick with surprising strength through yet another Corridor...

Present Day, Renovation, Palace of the Blachrenae, Byzantine Empire

A line of black-clad special forces would then approach the three, followed by two butlers carrying wine and greek-looking pastries, their captain, denoted by the greek script on her helmet, would then say:

"Would you mind following us inside? The Basileus is waiting."

*Let's pretend they're using honorifics.

Edit: Gave minor edit to the last sentence, so that 'The Basileus is waiting' is within the quotation marks.

The Silver Chocobo - Time: Unimportant

The Silver Chocobo, an otherwise typical kind of bar and diner. Well, it would be typical, if not for the fact that it was located on a small moon of sorts. Who actually managed to build it there was something of an urban legend. It's just sort of always been there, attracting travelers from several different worlds and walks of life. It was strange, but for the enigmatic Seth, it was closest thing he had to a home.

No no, Seth didn't own place. Heck, he didn't even work there. But he passed through all the time, stopping in for a drink or for a bite. The owner knew him, so did some of the more regular patrons. Speaking of the owner, he was a Moogle named Montblanc. In fact, Montblanc - or Monty, as he was usually called - was pretty much the only Moogle in the multiverse that wasn't intimidated somehow by Seth. Being a bartender, Monty had simply dealt with patrons of all kind, so Seth could very well have been tame by comparison.

Speaking of Seth, he sat at a corner table, his usual spot. He had a plate of fries sitting near him and a glass of... well, Monty called it Gyshal Tea. Supposedly it was made from a plant called a Gyshal Green, though Seth had never seen one before. Anyway, he was snacking away on his fries, his feet even propped up on the chair next to his. Yep, he definitely looked like he was at home here. At that moment, though, another Moogle entered the bar and - after looking around for a moment - walked up to Seth and nervously slid a letter onto his table, then turned around and timidly left before Seth could question him.

"Huh, you'd think they would get more comfortable around me after a long enough time. Guess not." he chuckled, snatching up the letter and skimming over its contents with a bored expression on his face, "Palace of... what? Black-in-ray? Rye? Oh well, hey Monty! You ever hear of a 'Renovation'?"

"Eh?" Monty replied, looking up from a glass he was cleaning, "Sure, sounds kinda familiar. I'd be careful if you're planning to go there, though. Way I understand it, a guy with your... background... might not be welcomed very warmly."

Seth wolfed down his fries and chugged the rest of his tea. With a shrug, he stood up, "Well, someone's bound to welcome me. This letter is inviting me to the Palace there." with complete nonchalance, Seth reached out a hand. When he did, a Corridor of Darkness opened up before him, "See ya soon, Monty!" then, with both hands stuffed firmly in his pockets and with his usual lazy posture, Seth stepped through.

"Hey! You forgot to pay your tab again!" Monty tried to call out, but it was too late. Seth was already gone.

Renovation - Palace of Blachrenae

A safe distance away from the Palace Gates, there opened a Corridor of Darkness. A hooded Seth stepped out from it, hands still in his pockets and shoulders slouched with boredom. One of the first things he saw was the armed camp seemingly waiting outside of the Palace. This made Seth grin with amusement.

"Wow... is this my welcoming party?" he mused, chuckling to himself. It was almost flattering to think that whoever his host was, they apparently felt the need to up their security this much with him around. Not that he blamed them, people tended to not like having Seth around, either distrusting him or they just outright felt threatened by him. He could never figure out why, though. Seth always made sure to put on his friendliest grin around people, surely he wasn't that obvious... right?

Wanting to feel the breeze on his face, Seth pulled back his hood. His short, silvery-white hair blew in the breeze, and his amber eyes were now in full view. He wasn't alone for long, another Corridor opened nearby, and three individuals emerged from it. One of them was dressed exactly like Seth, and he immediately knew that it was a Nobody. Let's just say Seth had a way of knowing. The other two, he knew nothing about. One was a girl, looked a couple years younger than himself. The other looked, not as young, but his age wasn't immediately apparent. Neither of them wore protective coats by the looks of it, so they were more than likely human. All three of them were Keyblade Wielders. Again, Seth simply had a way of knowing.

"Huh. One of these things is most definitely not like the others..." he muttered, maintaining his friendly grin even as the Nobody among the trio spoke and began to lead them toward the Palace.

"Uh... mind if I ask ya something?" Seth addressed Tocsax, "Just wondering how exactly ya found me. I'm not exactly easy to reach, y'know?"

Fredrick Arwell

It was quite jarring for Ricky, one moment about be a player in a war zone, the next being brought to the entrance of some extravagent palace. However, knowing his line of dirty work, he was sort of used to transitioning moods, if not a complete change in scenery. While Ricky was told about the corridors of darkness, this was his first time actually going through one.

Keeping his cool, he noticed alot of armed guards around the place, and seeing that he wasn't getting shot at, could assume they weren;t openly hostile. Something that did catch his eyes though were three strangers who were not in uniform, at least, not the uniform of the guards. One was a young man, a term he used loosely, to describe the person who dragged him through the corridor. For some reason, Ricky felt unnerved by his apperance, as if he was wolf in human clothing, something that looked the part but didn't act like it. He never was a fan of these Nobody characters, but he knew that an ally is still an ally and decided to to drop his suspicions for now.

Another figure was a man who was dressed very similarly to the Nobody, black coat and all. While this did unnerve Rick, he seemed... different somehow. He glowed with a mysterious but laid back aura, something that Rick could get behind, if only in an outwardly superficial sense.

Then there was the young girl who wore something akin to a kimono next to Rick. She looked pretty adorable, and seeing an actual youth who seemed to be in a similar boat to him eased his nerves just a little bit.

Ricky looked to the girl without tilting his head and tried to break the ice. "Does your invitation have an adress on it? Because it looks like we were invited to the same party." It wasn;t long before the four of them were approached by some guards and what appeared to be butlers carrying snacks and booze. Rick was just being sarcastic about there being a party going on, but it looks like Rick really was in for something festive. Rick, not wanting to refuse such delicious looking gifts, gingerly acceted their offerings. "Wow. Thanks guys, I was really parched." Ricky said to the butlers.

After grabbing a pastry and a bottle of wine, Rick was then approached by a woman wearing a helmet with fancy lettering, probably to denote status. "Would you mind following us inside? The Basileus is waiting." she said. After finishing the heavenly pastry in his hand and taking a gulp of high caliber wine. Ricky replied. "Well, you did get me out of a jam. It would only make since for me to recipricate by hearing what you have to say." Ricky complied and with a wine bottle in one hand and full wine glass in the other, Ricky began to follow the captain.

Flashback - Alternate Post-World War II, New Shinsengumi HQ, Japan

"I wonder what this is about." Mai wondered as she was ascending the flight of stairs in their headquarters. "D-don't tell me it's about the extra dumplings that were in the storage room?" Unlikely. "But the commander would just scold me in person if he knew about it." She stops just before the wooden door that separates her from the commander's room. She paused for a moment before opening the door and entering.

"Ah, greetings, Mai."

...

"Eh?", were the only words that came out of her mouth after the commander's briefing on the situation. "W-wait a second, what about my parents? Do they know about this?" Mai was worried about what her parents would think. Her father was already in his forties, and as such, could no longer continue to fight against the Nobodies and Heartless that plagued them if he had to. Her mother was only in her thirties, and could only afford to work in the house due to an injury she sustained after giving birth to Mai. They always worry for their daughter, and if she suddenly disappeared like this, who knows what would happen to the both of them.

"Ah-", before she could hear any more from the commander, she was suddenly pulled into the darkness for a few moments before appearing somewhere else.

"W-where am I?" An entrance? The place looked like nowhere she had been before. "Am I in a different place?" This can't be right. "I was just at the headquarters a second ago." Taking a look around her, there were two other people alongside her here. She didn't recognize either of them, so she didn't mind them for the moment. Looking past them, there were also many armed people stationed at different locations around the entrance. "Are they wielding weapons?" She couldn't really tell if they were hostile or not. She didn't recognize what they were holding since all she knew since she was born were swords and blades. "What is this place?"

She took a quick glance at the boy who dragged her here. One of the two people earlier tried to have a conversation with her, but he wasn't her concern at the moment, so she ignored him for now. Gathering herself for a second, she suddenly grabbed the boy named Tocsax by his robe and brought his face close to hers. "Hey, why didn't you at least wait for him to finish!? Bring me back there or else I'm gonna punch you until you do." Her tone was angry, if a little shaky. She didn't actually want to punch the guy for information. Everything was just so sudden. All she really wanted right now was to know if her parents would be alright.

Tocsax chuckled.

"Well, it was mostly luck. Well, luck and a large amount of quality silk given to the wider Moogle Network. Basically, we needed one person who can get things done, another person who can serve as the moral centre of the group, and another who can balance things out. Id, Superego, and Ego, and I think you're a possible candidate for Id, if you don't mind me saying." He then followed up with:

"Oh, and we'll pay you, of course."

"Ahem," said the Captain, "I think it's time for you to come in as well, Master Tocsax?"

"All right," said the 18-year old boy before Mai grabbed him by his robe and, a bit justifiably, asked him to bring her back to the New Shinsengumi office or face pain. The young Nobody then looked at the 19-year old girl then spoke calmly:

"Okay, what are you worried about?" A moment of thought. "Oh. Right. Your parents. Well, they've been notified before hand, don't worry. Now, can we meet the Basileus? Emperors don't like being forced to wait, as you know."

After getting an answer, Tocsax would let himself free then head inside the interior of the palace. The group would then see a well-lit but air-conditioned room with stained-glass windows, painted purple columns, and mosaics made up of exquisitely colored tiles that showed scenes of hunting, war, ceremony, and nature, with the latter occupying more space the further they went inside the hallway. There, a large throne room, with row upon row of armed men to the side, awaited the trio and Tocsax.

At the head of this chamber was positioned two thrones of pure electrum, an alloy of Gold and Silver, upon which sat two 18-year olds; the first one wearing black special forces armor, and a Byzantine Crown on his silver-haired head. A Keyblade of black and grey was by his side.

The second figure was a woman, still in physical girlhood, clad in a dress of pure black and white silk with pearls, and a similar diadem. Her hair was lustrous black, as were her eyes.

Flanking them were two more 18-year old boys; the first one wore a silk robe and carried a book and staff, the second one wore special forces armor like the armed men close to the throne, but had as his only weapon a shield with the image of a double-headed eagle.

Reaching a few meters away from these four figures, Tocsax then knelt down on one knee and bowed before getting up.

"My Basileus and Bassilisa, I have brought you the people who would save the Multiverse."

A smile from the Emperor and Empress, for that was what Basileus and Bassilisa meant in English.

"Tocsax, no need for that. This is a War Council, not a ceremony," the Empress said before she and the Emperor got up, and it was the latter's turn to speak:

"Keyblade Wielders, and Mercenary," the silver-haired man with what looked like purple eyes said, "My name is Michael XIII Sideros, and this is my wife, Maria di Italia. We are the Emperor and Empress of the Basilea ton Rhomanion, although our titles mean nothing except for how they can contribute to the fight against the Heartless and the Dissolution of the Multiverse. And yes, I am a Keyblade Wielder; and I have a job for you."

"And by a job, my husband means that you three, either by your skill or your potential, are fated to accompany us in a quest that would save the Multiverse as we know it." Maria di Italia replied, her smile pure and innocent.

@Double@SMS@Nightknight

"..."

She kept her silence as she let the boy go. "At the very least they know about me being gone," Mai thought to herself. Part of her still didn't exactly trust him yet, but there was nothing else she could do for now. The moment she grabbed him, she felt the glare and hostile look that almost every armed person in the area were shooting at her. Doing anything more than what she already did would have been very unwise.

Mai gave herself a light slap on the cheek before she cleared her thoughts and focused on what was happening in front of her. Her thoughts went back to the older man who tried to talk to her before she grabbed Tocsax. "Invitation?" Her head tilting a bit as she wondered what he meant. She doesn't remember receiving one, unless he was talking about Tocsax himself as the invitation. Which would be strange, to her at least.

As they were walking through the hallway, the young girl shivered a little. The place felt cold, even through her already thick clothing. The coldness didn't feel natural to her, as if something was making the place colder than it actually was.

Her eyes drifted from mosaic to mosaic in the hallway. Everything was in a different art style than what she knew. "Well, at the very least, I'm sure I'm no longer in Japan."

Soon, they were brought into a large room. More armed people. "I suppose we are here." The number of armed men slightly worried her. "Whoever is on that throne must be very important." Her eyes quickly scanned the person sitting on one of the two thrones in front of them. He didn't seem hostile, but he certainly wasn't harmless. The blade beside him signaled that for her. The other seemed... harmless though. Her sincere smile softened Mai's tension at the very least.

For the moment, Mai decided to listen to what they had to say.

...

"Key...blade?" Is that what they called the weapon that is beside the emperor? It had a similar look to what she was using against the Heartless and Nobodies, although hers was longer than his due to her weapon preference. "The commander mentioned something about a Keyblade before we left. Does that mean... Tocsax is a Keyblade wielder too?"

...

After the female named Maria finished her sentence, Mai slowly held up her left hand as if she was asking for permission to speak. "I- Uh... I only have one question about all of this." She paused for a moment, but not really waiting for an answer from anyone. "What is the Multiverse?" It was the first time she was hearing the term. Did they mean countries? But that seemed like such an outlandish way of calling them.

Fredrick Arwell

While Ricky knew that what he was being told was very important, the word "Multiverse" just flew over Ricky;s head. He did understand though the concept of "saving", a term he would never think would be used to describe his actions. And quest? What is everybody playing knights and dragons or something? Nevertheless, Rick IS in the precence of royalty, and no matter what words they used he knew that coming from them carried a great amount of gravitose.

Taking his lucky hat off and kneeling his head as a gesture of respect, he spoke. "Your majesties, if I may call you that. I know you spent alot of resources judging by the swirling portals of darkness you used to bring me here, and, I don;t want to look a gift horse in the mouth but, to be honest, I'm no knight in shining armor. I'm hardly what you would call "savior" material. Though I guess I'm quite flattered you think of me as such, but, I;m not your guy."

Rick stood, feeling embarassed that he didn't consider himself worthy to be in their presence, whoever they were.

Seth raised his eyebrow incredulously at the response he was offered. Luck, was it? He found that a little hard to believe, and suspected there might be more to it than that. Not that he actually gave a verbal response of his own. He wisely decided to keep that particular opinion to himself. Instead, he just followed along and decided to hear out the request before making any decisions. As he walked, Seth noted his surroundings and the architecture of the palace - not that his facial expression actually showed that. In fact, he remained every bit as laid back as he was when he first arrived. He did note, however, that this was the first he'd seen of this kind of architecture which, for him, was saying a lot considering how... traveled he was.

When the group found itself in the throne room, they came more or less face to face with the Palace's ruler and his young wife. So they were ones the Nobody was taking orders from. They were flanked by a young soldier with a shield, and someone who was clearly a wizard. The Nobody addressed both rulers, but the Empress shrugged off the formality and announced that this was a War Council. Well, needless to say that usually meant that a War was coming in the not-too-distant future. But Seth knew that a mere war was not enough to recruit Keyblade Wielders from other worlds, let alone his own services. This was something bigger. Like always, none of this insight showed on on his face. If anything, he was maintaining something of a clueless demeanor. The Emperor spoke.

"Keyblade Wielders, and Mercenary," the silver-haired man with what looked like purple eyes said, "My name is Michael XIII Sideros, and this is my wife, Maria di Italia. We are the Emperor and Empress of the Basilea ton Rhomanion, although our titles mean nothing except for how they can contribute to the fight against the Heartless and the Dissolution of the Multiverse. And yes, I am a Keyblade Wielder; and I have a job for you."

The Empress followed up with words of her own.

"And by a job, my husband means that you three, either by your skill or your potential, are fated to accompany us in a quest that would save the Multiverse as we know it."

That? Well, to put it simply, Seth nearly broke his persona and laughed, because he thought it was that funny. Save the Multiverse? With just three Keyblade Wielders - four counting the Emperor, but Seth doubted he would bother to join the fray himself - and himself? That was either a fool's errand, or someone was playing a very hilarious prank, hence Seth nearly breaking out in laughter. He managed to keep his composure for the most part, though. This was thanks in large part to the girl Keyblade Wielder, who voiced her confusion and apparent lack of knowledge on the Multiverse.

At this, Seth once again cocked his eyebrow incredulously. So not only was their quest to be completed by just a small handful Keyblade Wielders, but ones who were apparently rookies that had no knowledge of how the Multiverse worked? No wonder they needed Seth's help. Apparently he was the only one who had any idea what all this was, even if he didn't think himself the most reliable person for the job.

"Whelp..." Seth said casually, lifting his shoulders in an incredulous shrug, "...we're doomed."

The 18-year old in a silk robe, the one with the staff and book, then spoke, his blue eyes opening wide with shock:

"The girl doesn't know what the Multiverse is?! Didn't the Moogles come to her world already?"

"No they did not, Mr. Sardis," was Tocsax's reply. "Nevertheless, she is a Keyblade Wielder with a unique set of skills, and she's a good fit for the position of 'pupil'. Plus, remember her importance goes beyond her ability to fight..." Mr. Sardis, whose blonde hair was covered with a pointed wizard's hat, frowned at that but decided to concede to Tocsax with a nod, before saying:

"Explain everything to her, then. That ought to be a good starting lesson." Tocsax then turned towards Mai, then continued:

"There are basically multiple worlds, multiple timelines and multiple versions of Earth, all of which form the Multiverse, aka a collection of Universes. All these worlds share one thing in common: People with strong Hearts can manifest the Keyblade, which is the weapon that you can manifest from your heart."

In reaction to Rick, Maria di Italia just said:

"You devalue your long history of service in your world too much. You have fought long and hard and loyally, have you not?"

Then came the Emperor's time to respond to Seth, asking:

"You don't believe in underdogs much, do you? Well, all will become clearer once we reveal to you the origins of the Multiverse, all of it," he further explained, before beginning a story:

"Long ago, there was only One Original Earth, and One Original Timeline and Universe. Science and Reason were paramount, with Magic almost nonexistent. It wasn't a bad world, not entirely, but it had more Darkness than Light. Then came a child, Ascot, who thought the world was doomed, and so sought ways to save it, and in his research, he somehow mananged to find out about the small spark of Magic in the Original World, which in turn was a flicker of The Light. Delving into the secrets of the Light, he discovered that the Light came from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts."

"If he can burst the barrier separating Earth from Kingdom Hearts, he thought, he can save the timeline. And so he fashioned a weapon, the X-Blade," he pronounced it 'Key-Blade', and broke the seperation between the Original Universe and Kingdom Hearts. And what was one, became more, what was absurd, became possible. Why? Because the Original Earth was split into several timelines, several universes, including yours'."

"Seeing the consequences of his actions, Ascot broke the X-Blade into several pieces, then vanished. But by then, it was too late, for the people of the worlds fashioned weapons in the shape of the X-Blade, and warred with each other to dominate Kingdom Hearts. They mostly killed each other, but a few repentant survivors foreswore any attempt to conquer the Multiverse, forming the Old Keyblade Order."

"The Old Keyblade Order prospered, taking new recruits from people with strong hearts. One of those recruits was someone from this world, Leo the Second Mathemathician. Leo was a bright soul, but one who chafed under the strict restrictions of the Old Keyblade Order, as well as doubted their beliefs in cosmology; that Light was always good. To him, Light and Darkness were merely two sides of the same coin; neither can exist without the other."

"In fact, in his view, Light was tyrannizing over Darkness, and so the worlds had to be remade, so that Light and Darkness had to be in equal balance. So, he moved to do just that, summoning three Dragons - Alduin of Skyrim, Deathwing of Azeroth, and Acnologia of Fiore - to destroy the Old Keyblade Order." Emperor Michael's face turned grave.

"And he largely succeeded. There were survivors and retired members, but there was no more structure, no more organization. Leo was now free to accomplish the next set of his agenda."

"Under the guise of a student, Leo went to the world of Shining Field, a world where Genghis Khan was never born, and his son Hulegu never destroyed Baghdad, allowing the latter to remain a centre of knowledge and wisdom. There, he convinced Hakim the Wise, the Grand Vizier, to conduct experiments on Light and Darkness, experiments that caused the world to be consumed in the latter, and the Heartless to spread and become organized."

"And that is when worlds began falling and falling in quick succession." He then paused for breath.

"Michael, let me continue," said Tocsax, his face turning towards the group.

"I used to be a part of a group created by Leo, the Circle, which in turn was the precursor to the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness. From there, I discovered many of his secrets before defecting to Emperor Michael. The tales of my exploits would keep you standing for far longer than comfortable, so I'll make this brief."

"As Seth and Fredrick can see, I am a Nobody, and my name denotes that I am the Nobody of Ascot, the maker of the Multiverse for good or for ill." He then looked at the aforementioned Seth and Fredrick, before saying:

"And...as anyone who knows how Nobodies are born, that means that Ascot has a Heartless as well."

((Don't reply; I will create a Part 2 for this post))

"Your new pupil wouldn't know how Nobodies are born, or even that sapient ones exist; you might need to clarify that," Mr. Sardis would note. Tocsax would nod, then continue:

"First up, the Heartless, despite their name, are actually disembodied Hearts, consumed by Darkness and transformed into the terror we know today. Nobodies are the remnants of the original person or people whose heart was consumed, the mind, body, and soul. Basically, the leavings of the Heartless, which then come to life. Some of them are feral, unintelligent creatures no better than the Heartless. Others, made from strong-willed people, are indistinguishable from humans, except that they start out as lacking Hearts. They are born emotionless, but can, in time, regrow a replacement Heart as they grow older."

"That's what eventually happened with me," spoke Tocsax. "Either way, what I'm getting at...is that there is a way to restore Ascot. Two ways, in fact. One is to kill his Heartless, then me, restoring the Original Person. The other is to use a sufficiently strong source of Light to restore Ascot's Heartless back into a human. Fredrick's original Homeworld has one of those 'sufficiently strong sources of Light'. Mai, meanwhile...has developed a Unique Keyblade* from her Heart, the Seeker Keyblade, which, for some mysterious reason, is attuned to Ascot's Heartless, and can find the place where he is at."

"Ah," spoke Sardis, "So that's how her importance goes beyond her ability to fight."

"As for Seth," Tocsax said, "he's there because Mai needs a bodyguard, one who can do things even I cannot."

((*Sorry for not asking your permission, @SMS!))

@Double @Nightknight

"...e-eh?" ...was the only thing the girl could muster after everything that was exchanged.

...

"...Ascot?"

...

"...X-Blade?"

...

"...Kingdom Hearts?"

...

Mai took a half-step back. Although she was able to follow what they were saying, the suddenness of it all is... scaring her. Just a few minutes ago, she was just worrying about if her commander was going to scold her about something mundane. And now, she's suddenly an important figure in a battle of Light and Darkness due to her Keyblade being able to locate Ascot's Heartless.

And one question was raising its flag over everything else.

"...Why me?"

...

...

After a few moments of silence, she gave herself a strong slap on the cheek. Mai flinched a bit at the impact, but she regained her composure and slowly cleared her thoughts. "It's better than nobody being able to do it." Was what she told herself. At the very least, there was somebody who actually could do what they needed. And that somebody was her. The girl wasn't comfortable being a centerpiece of it all, but someone has to do it, and she'll do what she can until she is no longer needed.

She shifted her train of thought towards something else. "So our goal is... to find Ascot's Heartless? And then what? Turn him back into human and hope everything will be OK?" She had so many questions running through her head, but she thought this would at least be able to calm her mind down for the moment.

---

@Letter Bee No problem with the Keyblade thing. I couldn't decide on one, so I don't mind you choosing one for me.

There was one other thing that bothered Mai however. "Seth is going to be my bodyguard?" She took a quick look at the boy with the white hair. She couldn't tell his age just from his looks, but he carried experience with his aura and composure. Since they were just thrust into this situation, she didn't expect him to start protecting her like what Tocsax was saying. If anything, she felt that she could handle herself on her own and isn't worthy of being protected by someone else.

His attitude... wasn't something that she liked however. Maybe he wanted to make light of the situation, but his tone bothered her more than anything since it felt like he genuinely thought that they weren't going to succeed. "I don't like this either, Seth." A brief pause. Mai clenches her fists before continuing, "But if we're going to do this, we need to keep our chins up."

She slowly walks up to him and looks at him straight in the eyes. "If you need something to believe in, then believe in me at least." She wasn't so sure of herself yet, but part of her believed that she has to be, and if she has to pretend that she is sure of herself to get others to act, then so be it. "I will see this through until the end. Should my body be no longer able to move, then I will find some other way to get it done. You have my word on that. But for now, I need you."

Despite her words, her fists were shaking. She was scared. Scared of it all. Everything still felt so bizarre and unbelievable to her, but if this could somehow stop all the fighting, she was willing to take that risk. She has seen enough pain and loss throughout her years of fighting as a New Shinsengumi member that it surprised her that she could still feel fear and worry.

The girl was hoping that the person who was brought with them would have gotten the message as well. His name was... Fredrick? Tocsax mentioned another name earlier on alongside Seth's, and it seemed logical that the name Fredrick belonged to the other man in the room who was holding onto a bottle of wine.

Fredrick Arwell

Wow, Fredrick thought to himself. That was ALOT to take in. Fredrick could;t help but view himself as very small as the enormity of this mission was made clear. As flabergasted as he was though, he couldn;t help but feel sorry for this poor young girl [SMS] who had heard everything, and atop of all that, just so happend to play a huge roll in this high stakes venture, and she seemed frightened. He knew how rough it was in the world, and knowing that she was practically being called to be sent into a war zone, Fredrick didn;t want the things that happend to him to happen to another person. Fredrick just wanted to turn to her and give her a big hug.

Fredrick apporached the girl. He then spoke solemly. "Look kid. I;m just as in the dark as you are, and, well, I know that this is alot to chew. But by the looks of it, we arn;t doing this alone." He then set aside the wine and glass, then put a hand on her shoulder. "I know we just met, but, what I guess I;m trying to say is, I;ve got your back."

Fredrick then turned to the Emperor and Empress, somewhat angry that they would allow children to fight their battles for them. Nonetheless, this didn;t seem like something he could change. If she had to fight, then he would fight alongside with her. He turned to the king and queen, trying to hold back tears. "Well your highnesses. I doubt we have much choice in the matter, but if everything you say is true and and in trouble, then I could see how you would want my help." Fredrick was still very indecisive about the whole thing, but didn;t have the stones to say no. He continued to talk. "This all sounds like I have nothing to gain and everything to lose..." He then turned his head to the girl. "...But I think I have something worth fighting for after all." He then said in a joking manner: "Just give me some bucks, booze, and some fancy dinners and we;ll call it a deal. I know you can afford it."

He couldn;t care less about the other stuff, he just didn;t want her to rough it alone.

Seth listened to the story. He knew some of the information already. Heartless, Nobodies, those were things he learned on his own. He'd even heard whispers of the X-Blade, a Keyblade far greater than any other, possessing God-like power. The nature of the worlds was another thing Seth learned on his own. However, the story contained information he did not know, and that was the part that intrigued him. All the worlds were once a single world, were they? That would certainly explain why they were all so similar to each other in some way or another. Of course, this kind of information could only be known by someone who was actually there. So that was secret origin of Seth's new Nobody employer. Tocsax went on to confirm that suspicion after the story was told.

The girl - Mai was her name - well, she didn't seem to take too kindly to Seth's brand of humor. His little joke about them all being doomed, apparently Seth himself was the only one who actually got it. So when she walked right up to him and practically glared at him, giving a rather passionate response about belief and having faith, Seth could only shrug once more.

"Hey now, what's with that look?" he questioned, as if he expected everyone to be in on his joke, "Can't ya take a joke?" he asked with an innocent grin, "Do I look like the kinda guy who takes things that seriously?" a surprisingly genuine question, since Seth legitimately thought he was passing himself off as pretty easy-going. Maybe he was a little too convincing?

Luckily for Seth, the spotlight wasn't on him for very long. Fredrick spoke up, promising to stick to the mission in exchange for some basic rewards, "And I thought I was the mercenary here..." he muttered under his breath. Well, no, Seth never labeled himself as the mercenary type. Sure, he'd accepted requests from various people before, but it was almost never for money. Seth mostly dealt in information, very specific kind of information to be exact. And it was about time he cleared the air regarding that.

"About my payment..." Seth said, both to Tocsax and to his two hosts, "...keep it." For just a moment, one could swear he got a serious look about him, but it was gone just as quickly as it seemed too appear, "If this job gives me the opportunity to search for something that I'm currently seeking, then that's enough for me." it was like Seth was trying to be as cryptic as possible, which he was. His personal objective was just that: personal. There was no reason to involve everyone here with it as far as he could tell.

All too suddenly, whatever seriousness he may have had was gone in an instant and he was back to grinning like a prankster, "So um... about those sources of Light, what exactly are they?"

"Well, yes," spoke Emperor Michael Sideros, "find various sources of Light, then search for Ascot's Heartless, and then turn Ascot back into a Human. You see, Leo's plan is to reconstruct the X-Blade and open a way to Kingdom Hearts, but if we have the X-Blade's creator and wielder by our side..."

"And, yes," Maria di Italia answered Fredrick, "of course we'll pay you. In fact, we are just about to say that you are going to get your weight in silk and golden munny...as a downpayment. While as for Seth, well if he wants, we can forego his downpayment and instead promise him our support for seeking his mysterious objective." She then turned to Emperor Michael:

"Now, can you explain to them about the Princesses of Heart, dear?" A nod from the Basileus, and:

"There are seven women, not necessarily actual princesses, who have hearts of pure Light that cannot be corrupted by the Darkness. This is because these - non-literal - Princesses of Heart are actually the Light Half of the X-Blade, scattered across worlds and timelines. These seven women cannot be turned into Heartless, although they can create Nobodies, and more importantly, they can transform Heartless back into Humans with a touch."

"Your job, is to go to these seven worlds, the seventh of which is a mystery, and find the Princesses of Heart, and then after those seven worlds, go to the Tomb of Ascot, which can be found by Mai's Keyblade, and turn Ascot back into a human."

"All potential help will be given you, including a Gummi Ship of your own, and we ourselves will be mustering a fleet to escort you, along with 30,000 men and women, just in case we encounter Non-Heartless enemies, which Leo and the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness can throw at us -"

"Dear," said Maria, "you haven't explained what exactly are the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness..."

"Oh, right," Michael XIII Sideros said. "Well, the Thirteen Seekers of Darkness, which I think Tocsax mentioned before, are Leo's organization. They're an attempt to artificially create the 'dark half' of the X-Blade and have them attack or fuse with the Seven Princesses of Heart to create the X-Blade anew. They're also all incarnations of Leo, either his past self from another timeline, himself from the present, his Nobody and his Heartless, and people from The Circle that he has possessed. And of course, they're Keyblade Wielders, too."

@Double@Nightknight@SMS

He was joking?

"..."

Mai felt her face slightly redden up with her eyes open wide. "O-oh god, did I misread him?" She brought up her hands to her face, in a vain effort to try and hide her expression. "This is so embarrassing!" She even made a big speech and all. Although she genuinely did believe in her own words, she apparently didn't even have to say a word to get Seth to take the situation seriously. All the unneeded attention she suddenly got from her actions were coming back to haunt her. Surely, this'll be an event that she won't forget anytime soon.

Before she manages to faint on the spot, a hand lands onto her shoulder that brought her back to reality. The girl looked to the person it belonged to and was taken aback by what he said. A soft, "Thank you, Sir Fredrick," escaped her mouth before bowing as low as she could towards him. A part of her wanted to cry, but she knew it wasn't the time for it. What she needed to do now was to focus on the task at hand. She had to know whatever details she needed so that when the time calls for it, she wouldn't mess up.

From the corner of her hearing, she heard Seth say that he would require no payment to function, for his involvement in the quest seemed to be personal. "Is he looking for someone?" She kept it to the back of her mind to try and bring it up later on. If they're going to be comrades, she'd like to know what his motives and objectives are at least.

...

Things were easier to swallow this time, but something caught her attention. "Thirty thousand men and women? Do they even know what they're getting themselves into?" If she understood what the emperor meant correctly, said 30,000 people will fight with them should they encounter non-Heartless enemies. "I don't think there is a need to involve innocent lives here." She's seen too many innocent lives fall already, 30,000 is not a number that she can just ignore. "Are we not more than enough already?"

Fredrick Arwell

While Fredrick was attentive towards the Royal;s speech, he couldn;t help but notice that alot of his jokes were becoming prophecies. "So, let me get this straight." Fredrick said to the King and Queen. "You want us three to work alongside 30,000 other people to rescue seven damsels in distress, get their light thinga-majigs to bring this kid;s ancient badass persona back from the grave like it was just a dirt nap, all the while being pursued by some evil inter-galactic mob boss and his 13 key-weilding goons? Your majesties, if you had told me this under any other circumstances, I;d assume you were a fruit cake. My life just keeps getting stranger by the minute."

Fredrick paused to take another gulp of wine. He had a long day and it wasn;t over yet, he needed something to drown out his thoughts. "Welp. Can;t say I understand this gibberish, but hey, at the very least, you hired someone who gets you results."

As for the girl @SMS, hearing her say thank you was music to his ears, and she seemed to respond positively to his words. He knew they both had much to discuss, but now was a time for buisness. That being said, she had a point. While Fredrick knew more than others how important it was to get the job done, wouldn;t it be better to send your top men instead of some novice mooks? He spoke: "If this is an important mission vital to our world;s welfares, why send just anyone to do it? Don;t you have some top dogs or something for this very task?"

"Pure... hearts?" Seth reiterated the answer he was offered, tilting his head in curiosity, "Never heard of such a thing. Didn't think it was possible." he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Seth liked to keep his cards close to the chest, but even he had to honestly admit this was news to him. He always just assumed that Darkness lurked about in every Heart, that whole yin-and-yang balance or some such thing. Hearts that could be pure Light or pure Darkness seemed pretty strange, and naturally he never encountered anything like that before.

"So... these seven girls with pure Hearts are the good people we're trying to save, and those 13 guys with Hearts filled with Darkness are the bad guys we're trying to stop. Sounds simple enough." he was the only one who seemed to think that, it seemed. Both Mai and Fredrick found the idea strange, or at the very least questioned the logistics of the plan. It helped that Seth had already seen certain things before being called here, so he probably had an unfair advantage compared to his Key-wielding compatriots. There was something about those Seeker guys that sounded strange, and Seth uncharacteristically pointed it out.

"Hmm, if this Leo guy can travel through time to gather different incarnations of himself, then I can't help but wonder why he hasn't won already." Seth said this with a clueless grin. If he could time travel himself, then every single job he'd ever done would have been a cakewalk to complete. There was something to be said about the possibility of controlling exactly when you could arrive at any given location, or especially cooperating with one's past or future self for double the efficiency. If Leo could do all this and somehow not be victorious almost immediately, then that made Seth question the man's competency, "But hey, I'm just a lazy bonehead, what would I know?" Seth followed up his earlier observation, throwing in a little chuckle and a shrug for good measure.

"We do," answered Emperor Michael, "that's why I, Tocsax, the Empress, and my retainers, Damnianos Sardis," he gestured to the 18-year old wizard in blue, "and Giorgios Kyros," a gesture to the 18-year old in special forces armor who carried only a shield, "are coming with you. However, the problem is that Alternate Earths are big, and so for the first few worlds, until your group gets stronger, we will be distracting the main threats, geopolitical and magical, while you find the Princesses of Heart."

"Basically," spoke Maria, "we are going to be flashy and powerful, while you guys do the real work for real rewards. While as for why Leo hasn't won already..."

"That's because the Thirteen Seekers are not quite complete," Tocsax then shuddered. "Leo is fixated on having the last one - the last person he would implant his heart into, being me. And without a complete set, he's only on the verge of victory, not quite over it."

"And you've done well in fighting him off," Emperor Michael smiled, before he looked at the group, and continued:

"Anyway, any more questions? My staff wants to show you to your rooms."

Timeskip; questions can be asked and answered in Flashbacks

The rooms the trio were taken to were in one of the Palace's guest wings, and each were the equivalent of a penthouse room at a five-star hotel, with air-conditioning, beds covered in purple fireproof silk with white matresses and pillows, Egyptian Carpets, and of course, room service. Not merely that, but their chambers also had a 'back door' that would lead to a pleasant garden with a fountain at the centre, ringed with tulips, where the three can talk in peace...

How long has she been in this room? An hour? A day? She wasn't sure.

After being led here by some staff members, Mai has spent however long she knows just staring at her feet as she sat on the bed with the blanket covering her body, as the unnatural coldness of the room still bothered her.

Her mind wasn't calming down one bit. Perhaps the silence and her isolation from anyone else from being in the room were contributing to it. She didn't know what to do. A part of her still didn't believe anything that had happened a little while back.

"Maybe... this is just a bad dream..."

Mai closes her eyes.

...

And after some time, opens them again.

"Still here..."

Mai lets out a soft sigh before she decided to stand up and take a look around the room she was in. The room was rather spacious, definitely much bigger than what she was used to. Beside her bed, a desk and chair pair were present. The chair's design looked very foreign to her, but it looked sturdy. The desk was big enough to let her lay out several pieces of paper across it, and housed a small lamp by the edge.

The rest of the room looked comfortable enough for her to walk without her sandals on. The softness of the carpets were relaxing, if a little ticklish to the bottoms of her feet. As she walked through the room, she made sure to keep the blanket she was using to cover herself wouldn't fall off. One of her steps however, suddenly sank what felt like half an inch. Mai catches a soft click sound from the wall at the far side from the front door of the room, which was the wall right in front of her.

A small part of the wall pushed back, revealing a hidden doorway that's big enough to fit one person. Curious, Mai walks over to the other side, and a large open garden greets her. The smell of nature and flowers were refreshing to her, as if she spent a long amount of time away from it. Small soft steps until she eventually reached the fountain at the center, where she sat on the stone sides while observing the water as it was cycling through the fountain.