Chapter 3: The Mark of Mastery Exam
"Ahhhh!"
"Hraaaaah!"
We clashed again before skidding away from each other. It was the next day and I was currently having a practice battle with Terra, I admit I was a little rusty, thousands of years can do that to you. I swung my arm which he blocked with a metallic clang before jumping away to gain some distance.
"Wow Terra, I'm nowhere near close to matching your strength." I praised him.
"Well, I must admit, you have the advantage in terms of options." He pointed at me. "Looks like all your limbs gain the same density and sharpness as a Keyblade whilst fighting. It's like you have four at once."
"Yeah, shame I can only make one limb sharp at a time though. Why? Is it unfair?"
He just smiled. "Not really, in fact I find it a good challenge." He pointed Earthshaker at me. "Fire!" A big fireballl shot out the end of it.
"Fire!" I held out my hand and shot a fireball, it didn't even hurt as the magics collided.
"You can even use Magic." Aqua said. She and Ven were sitting on the sidelines.
I blushed from Aqua's compliment. "Thanks, but my Magic's nowhere near as strong as other Keyblades."
"That's good." Terra nodded, making me turn to him. "As long as you understand your faults, there is no limit to how much you can improve."
I smiled. "Thanks Terra!" I then jumped into the air. "Sliding Dash!" I dashed towards Terra, and he rolled out of the way instead of blocking.
"He can even use Abilities!" Ven gasped.
"I'm not surprised." Master Eraqus, who was spectating from the door, exclaimed. "He is a Keyblade in human form, it is only natural he can use these abilities."
Terra did a heavy downward slash that I narrowly jumped away from, and without thinking I attempted a punch.
And my aem stretched across the entire room!
"Woah!" Terra gasped as my fist stretched past his head.
"My arm!" I yelled in shock as it flopped to the ground, I pulled it back to me like a hose pipe until it was all at my feet.
Earthshaker disappeared as Terra walked over to me. "What's this all about?"
"Your arm just stretched!" Ven stated as he tried to help me get it back to normal.
"What exactly happened?" Aqua thought aloud.
Master Eraqus walked over as my arm slithered back to his original length. "It must be a side-effect of becoming human. V, your Keyblade from is solid and immovable, whilst your human form is flexible, it must have overcompensated. But I am sure it's nothing to worry about, in fact it could be a long reach advantage."
I tried stretching my arms and a leg, and that worked! It felt kinda weird though. "That's so cool, V!" Ven smiled.
Master Eraqus nodded. "I'm afraid I will have to halt this training battle, it is almost time to start your Mark of Mastery Exam, Terra and Aqua."
"The Mark of Mastery?" I went wide eyed. "You two are taking it?"
"So you've heard of it, then?" Terra asked me.
"Of course! I've just...never really...seen one..." I mumbled.
"Don't worry V! You can watch it with me!" Ven proclaimed.
Okay, thank you Ven." He stopped me from bowing.
"Oh hey, V." I turned to Aqua. "Sorry if this looks a little rushed, but..." She placed something in my hand and I looked at it, it looked like a little red star. "It's a good luck charm, I made one for Terra and Ven as well." She held up a blue one.
"Yeah." Ven said as he held up a green one, and Terra an orange one.
I gained a huge smile, I'd never been given anything like this before! "Thank you so much, Aqua! I'll protect it with my life!"
"No need to go that far." She laughed. "This shows you really are a friend of ours now, V." A real friend...
"I've got an idea!" I said suddenly. "Since I'm your friend now, you can give me a nickname too! Like with Ven?"
"What nickname could we come up with from V?" Terra chuckled.
I thought for a second before nodding. "You can call me Z! I like that letter as well!" My three friends started laughing again, and this time, I joined in as well.
"Alright then, Z." Terra laughed at the end.
"If it's alright with you, I'd like to still call you V." Aqua asked, to that I nodded.
"How about VZ?" I couldn't tell if Ven was joking or not, but I went along with it.
"Alright now." Master Eraqus settled us down as he walked towards a room. "Terra and Aqua, wait until you are called to begin." He then walked through.
As we waited I just kept lookng at and poking my new charm, until we were all called into the room, and I immediately saw a man next to Master Eraqus.
He had no hair, and was dark skinned, but had a small white beard, I think it's called a goatee? He wore elaborate clothing with lots of detail, but his most prominent feature was his golden eyes that looked directly at me.
I could sense darkness in him, I am a Keyblade after all, but looking at the hospitable situation he was in I decided against attacking. His eyes followed me as I walked over to the side and stood next to Ven. He smiled at us, which majorly creeped me out.
We stood to attention as Master Eraqus stepped forward. "Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates, but this neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy. Not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail, or neither. But I am sure our guest, Master Xehanort, did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark."
The creepy man smiled at the mention of his name. "I trust you are ready." Master Eraqus said.
"Yes." Aqua and Terra replied in sync.
"Then let the examination begin." He held up his Keyblade and generated orbs of light behind the duo. As they prepared for battle darkness suddenly shadowed the orbs and they began moving around erratically.
Terra and Aqua attacked them, but one came towards me and Ven. "Ven! Z!"
Luckily Ven slashed it in half. "Don't worry about us! You two focus on the exam!"
I took up a defensive stance, but I wasn't planning on fighting, call it Keyblade instincts, but I didn't feel particularly comfortable with revealing my secret to Master Xehanort.
"But Ven! Your both in danger here! Go to your room!" Aqua tried to reason with him.
"No way! I've been looking forward to this! Seeing you two become Masters! I'm not gonna miss it now!" Ven declared.
"Don't worry Aqua, we'll be fine." I added.
"They can take care of themselves." Terra agreed. "Ven's been out there training just as hard as us, and Z's had years of experience."
"Yeah!" We both nodded.
"Stay sharp you two!" Aqua told us.
I made a plan in my head, and I focused on sweeping with my long arms instead of slashing, and my newly discovered stretching helped with that. I grabbed one and tossed it at Terra, who sliced it in half. "Thanks Z!" He thanked me.
"No problem!"
"V! Behind you!" Aqua pointed as one flew into my range just before it got slashed by Ven.
"I got your back, V!" Ven said. "Or is it Z?"
'What a time to joke.' I thought as I punched another one.
We eventually got rid of them all, and returned to our previous positions. "That was unexpected..." Master Eraqus sighed. "But one must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an excellent test, one I chose to let unfold. Which brings us to your next trial."
They both nodded as they walked to opposite sides of the room. "Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat. Remember, there are no winners, only truths, for when equal powers clash their natures are revealed. Begin!"
They charged each other and clashed, swiping and dodging each other continuosly. As this took place, I overheard a conversation between Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort. "They are both excellent pupils, Eraqus." Master Xehanort said.
"Yes, very determined as well." Master Eraqus said.
"But what about that new pupil?" He looked at me.
"He arrived last night."
"He has some...interesting abilities. He could become a fine Keyblade Wielder." I held my breath for Master Eraqus' answer.
"...Yes, he could." I breathed a sigh of relief, looks like Master Eraqus wants to keep my secret as well.
Turning back to the battle, my eyes widened in shock as I saw darkness envelop Terra's hand, which he hurriedly snuffed out with a quick grasp. They kept going for a while until Master Eraqus called for them to stop. He and Master Xehanort talked for a few moments before looking back at them.
"We have deliberated and reached a decision." Master Eraqus announced. "Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery." We all gasped under our breath for varying reasons. "Terra, you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But there is always next time. That is all."
He then looked at Aqua. "Aqua, as our newest Keyblade Master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction." As he talked I saw Master Xehanort walk down the stairs, followed by Master Eraqus himself.
"Hey..." Aqua raised a hand to Terra as me and Ven rushed over to them both.
"Terra, I'm sorry." Ven apologised sadly.
"Me too." I hung my head.
"The darkness...where did it come from?" Terra thought aloud, as the two masters walked past us. He eventually sighed. "Sorry, but I need some time alone..." He then walked off, leaving us.
Here's the next chapter! And in this one we've learnt of all of V's basic abilities...or should we call him Z now? Basically, formally he is V, friendly he is Z. This is gonna get confusing...But not ALL of his skills have been revealed yet! *Knowing Smirk.*
Thank you for reading! Reviews are much appreciated!