We Need an Army…A Big One…

There were eyes going back and forth at Alnor and Bayol, except for Rahgar and Calcous, who were as cool as cats.

"Who are you?" Aqua fired at the intruder called Bayol.

His wicked teeth formed a frightening smile. "Go ahead, Alnor. Tell them. Tell them who I am."

Alnor's snarl grew, as did his hold on strangling the "man" before him.

"Alnor, who is this guy?" Sora asked.

"This…man, Sora…is the man who I thought I killed over 17 years ago…The man who killed 19 men who fought for peace and harmony."

"Poetic excuses, Alnor. Your "brothers" were nothing more than glorified mercenaries."

"HOW DARE YOU! They were YOUR brothers too!"

"Were they?" Calcous inquired. "Think about it, Alnor: They were formed to keep the peace while the Keybladers were still in small numbers, and did they? Did they stay true to their course? Did they keep the peace from savages, cutthroats, would-be tyrants and conquerors, and such?"

"He has a point, Alnor. Caldnor, your dear brother, and may he rot in peace, took on a task no could accomplish. It was impossible to keep the peace. At least the way he did it." Rahgar said.

Alnor was going to charge right at them if Anlor didn't grab him in time.

"You still have a temper, I see." Bayol said, grinning.

Anlor closely surveyed the three. "You spit in our brother's name and the names of your fallen brethren. Because you, Bayol, left them in spite and took these two with you in exile?"

Bayol's veins twitched, as Rahgar and Calcous took a step back.

"SPITE?! SPITE?! You of all—" He took immediate control of his anger, and said in clam tones, "I left, wizard, because I saw the corruption infecting my "brothers" when they all ignored it. Caldnor was strong at first, but age caught up with him, along with disease. He should have stepped down and let me take charge; I would have saved the Order."

"Saved?!" Alnor thundered.

Anlor's grip on him didn't loosen. "Maybe so; Caldnor was ill during the later years, but as I recall, you challenged him for the position of leading—and lost." Bayol was battling a string wave of rage at the wizard as he spoke. "Do you know why I think you left? I believe you left because you couldn't best Caldnor, even in his weakened state, so you found honor in defeat and thus you left, and planned your revenge on the humiliation you received, and chose tactics of cowardice and sneak attacks to take them all down, as you did so."

"You call me coward? All you do when worlds burn is sit and pray for souls to pass safely into the next world. You do nothing when a crisis emerges. Who is the real coward here, Anlor the Magnificent?"

"You have no honor anymore, Credulian scum." Alnor whispered.

Bayol spat on the floor. "You're wrong. That day I slaughtered your fellow brothers-in-arms~to whom I claim them as my brothers no more~was the only day I through aside honor, though I did give Caldnor a warrior's death, did I not?" The twins were silently, and Bayol continued, with everybody else listening in closely. The Keeper was intensely listening, learning more about the 'traitor' that Anlor had told him so many times about before. "I come to this castle with a purpose; you are correct, you two, and even you, great Keeper. I have not forgotten you are here, and there is much I wish to gain from you."

"Not one piece of knowledge will spread from my lips into your fold, minion of darkness." The Keeper flatly answered.

Bayol smiled. "I see the rumors about you do not lack any truth. We shall see. Who else is here? Ah, the Masters Yen Sid and Eraqus; two old fools who watch the stars looking for ways to help the future. You think beating up a lost old soul looking for power that is not his for the taking is a great victory? All you have down is barely halted the inevitable. The three lost Keybladers-Aqua, Terra, and Ventus-I expected you all to be more, especially Terra. Only a dimwit would only Xehanort took take control of him…right, Riku?"

While those he slandered grew furious, he ignored their gaze and put his own on Riku. "You have a most unusual gift: a resistance to darkness. Something I myself had never seen before. Your talents could be of…use…to me."

"I walk the road to dawn and follow the Keybladers forever more. I am not a pawn of darkness."

Bayol seem impressed. "Such resolve, but a foolish notion. We are all pawns of darkness, whether by choice or not." He moved on. "Now to Lea. Always holding on to promises. What happens when you can't? Will you fall? Will you burn out? You bear the blade, but do not true Keyblader. And I bet you know it."

Lea seemed to be on the defensive, even with Roxas's support.

"Don't listen a word from this goon." Roxas said.

"Trying not to, buddy." Lea assured him somewhat.

"Roxas. You know, you may resemble Ventus and Sora, and claim to be your own, but your past still has a hold on you. Even with friends, you still feel hollow, empty…like a shell."

"Hey! Watch your mouth!" Xion roared.

"And the puppet. The copy of Sora. My mouth isn't worth watching, but you should take a good look at yourself. All you are is data. Nothing about you is real. What were Saix's words? "You are a mistake we should have never made?" Judging by your recent actions, I tend to agree with him." Xion was speechless. Bayol seemed to have everyone edge.

"And finally Sora, the great hero. Always willing to see the good before the bad. How pitiful you have become. I would have more from a runt who took out the biggest threat to the worlds had seen for a long time, but I suppose that I shouldn't be surprise. After all, how can I argue with luck, right?"

"Enough of this! Obviously Alnor and Anlor know you, as well as Eraqus and Master Yen Sid, but you sure are not a friend of them all, as is see. If I were you, I would get out of my castle NOW!" The King ordered with great fire in his speech.

"You have no right to speak to my lord with that tongue, rodent king!" Rahgar shot back.

"Don't bother, Rahgar. I am not offended. They are all beneath me, even the clumsy dog, the two chickens, and the rat always crying for her king to rescue her. I will not leave, little King, until I've had my say."

Alnor broke free of Anlor's grasp, but did not move forward. "I'd say you said quite enough, traitor."

Bayol sighed. "You can name me, but I am not the name. If you wish to know why I am here-"

"Firstly, we'd like to know how you are alive. The three of you. I know Alnor and his friend killed you three."

"I did. Cutting off heads assures resurrection is out of the question."

Bayol laughed mincing, with Rahgar and Calcous chuckling.

"That is why you are a fool, Alnor the "Valiant." Darkness does not easily allow its most powerful minions to go down fighting."

"Darkness swallows all things in its path; its minions are meaningless to it." Anlor corrected him.

"Be that as it may, we were exceptions. And don't worry, Alnor; as soon as I find where our "old" friend went hiding, I make his death all the more painful as yours will be."

"Bring it on." he said, with the others in attack formation.

Bayol waved a hand. "But before we start this bloodbath, I have an offer for you."

"We want nothing of yours, fiend." The Keeper stated.

"Even if it meant the worlds' safety, Keeper? How disappointing."

They all looked at each other and back to the three suspiciously.

"Proceed." Yen Sid said.

Bayol nodded rudely. "You all know that the foretold Realm War is nearing its dawn. I have a way to prevent it from happening. I require something of yours, though."

"A Keyblader?" The King asked.

"You can't have one of us without all of us." Riku stated clearly.

"My, my. Isn't this quite the brotherhood? Brings back so many fond memories…and then bad ones. No, the Keyblade is not on my interest list. Not for the moment. I require some with more…light."

Anlor caught on. "You want the Cornerstone of Light?"

Bayol clapped. "Spot on, as always."

"That sphere protects this castle. You can't have it." The Queen said.

Bayol growled. "I wasn't asking."

"Can we attack him now, Alnor?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, let's get him already. He's ticking me off." Xion said.

Alnor smiled. "It would appear the consensus is not in your favor, Bayol. Whatever you want it for, what makes you think we will abide, swine?"

Rahgar drew his sword, which alit with flame of silver and orange. While Calcous powered up his staff.

"Stand down, you two. I got this." Bayol ordered, which they obeyed groggily.

"Why, Alnor? Because, if you do not, my armies will come and wipe you all out and burn this pathetic piece of architecture to the grounds it once stood on."

There was silence.

"You bluffing." Terra said.

"I do not bluff, young Terra. Ask Alnor."

"He doesn't bluff." Alnor quickly said. "He may trick you into misinterpreting what he says, but he doesn't bluff."

"You're telling us you have amassed an army in 17 years for this precise moment?" Anlor asked.

Bayol shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

"How many?" Alnor asked quietly.

"That would be telling." Calcous said.

"6 million, with another million in reserve. Consisting Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, and my resurrected people."

Shock was the general theme now.

"You're lying." Alnor said.

"I thought you just told them I do not bluff." Bayol pointed out.

"Nobody has that many troopers at his command." Eraqus said.

"All the Heartless, Nobodies, and Unversed are gone." Ventus said.

"And nobody can raise the dead without a hefty price." Anlor said.

Bayol laughed outright. "Wrong on all three accounts. I do have that many soldiers at my disposal, anytime and anywhere. They are not all gone…yet. And my Credulians are not the same as there were, but bringing them back was hard, true, but not hefty; and the price was paid by Credulia's destruction."

"It was already destroyed." Alnor corrected him.

"The landscape, not the whole world. It is…gone now…The world is no longer there…" Alnor seemed to look upon some remorse from Bayol, but it quickly evaporated. 'So, what will it be? Surrender or extermination?"

Everybody waited for the other guy to make a move, until Alnor had a thought:

"You claim you are still Credulian, correct?"

Bayol blinked. "Of course, you fool. I still have my honor and my love for my people…what's left of them that I could bring back."

"So you still abide by their customs and rules, do you not?"

"What of it?"

Alnor boasted a smile like he cornered his prey. "By Credulian Law 6, I hereby plead the case of 30 days of non-conflict."

They all looked at him funny.

"Wh-What did you say?"

Bayol was shocked, as was Calcous and Rahgar; he had completely overlooked that rule.

"Isn't that Law 6 of the Credulian Code? "An enemy shall be granted 30 days and 30 nights of no conflict to proceed with last rites and rituals with his family and friends before going to battle." You Credulians made that law after most of your enemies were wiped out; without enemies, you would always fight among yourselves, and what would happen when there is no one left fight, no honor to be gained on the battlefield? Hm?"

Bayol seemed to ponder Alnor's plea.

"Lord Bayol, you can't possibly-" Rahgar began.

"Shut up, you flamehead. I'm thinking!"

As he thought about the battle of wits in the Audience Chamber, a battle of minds was going on in his mind…

"You can't be serious! Screw your laws! He needs the Cornerstone now! We need it now!" said a hooded warlock to Bayol. This was always a constant thing for Bayol; whenever something came up, he had to discuss it with the emissary of his new "boss."

"Alnor is correct. That is the Law, and I am still Credulian. I have no other option. I cannot throw away the Code I have lived by for so long."

"Blast it, you fool! This is war! It merits no such Code, only death and destruction!"

Bayol snarled at him. "You know nothing of war."

The hooded warlock snarled back, vanished, and reappeared just an inch from Bayol's face.

"Do you forgot who I am?! Do you forget whom I serve, as you do?!"

"He is NOT my master! I struck a deal with him. Nothing more."

As Bayol walked away, the hooded warlock howled. "You are going to ruin it for us!"

"This changes little. All it does is buy Alnor time to accept the inevitable."

"What if he doesn't? What is he himself builds an army? No…he couldn't…he doesn't have the time or resources to do so."

"You underestimate him. If he builds an army, all the more fun and honorable for him. I always hated fighting small opponents."

"Blast your morals and ethics, savage! I do not agree with this at all."

"Since when did I need your approval on ANYTHING?"

The hooded warlock let loose a small laugh under his breath. "Do you remember what you said about ALL of us being pawns of darkness? That is more true for you, and you cannot escape it. You are my master's pawn, and you will do as he commands until the agreement is fulfilled."

"Here's not here now, so until I hear from him otherwise, I will concede to Alnor's request."

As Bayol was leaving, the hooded warlock said, 'You will doom everything you have prepared for. What we have preapared for."

Bayol gave him a hard look. "I prepared for war…and now I'm getting one. Suck on that."

With Bayol's departure, the matter was settled. The warlock was not appeased, though.

"This had better not be our doom…we can ill afford this…"

"I have thought very carefully and thoroughly about your request, Anlor." Bayol finally said.

"And?"

"I cannot ignore my people's laws. Your plea is accepted. Here, at this castle, you shall not be attacked for 30 days and 30 nights. On the dawn of the 31st, my armies will come and take our prize."

"You can try." Alnor said roughly.

"Lord Bayol, this is not wise." Calcous pleaded.

"My word is final. There shall be peace here. We have no more business here until the 31st day."

He launched a hand and a portal opened. When Rahgar and Calcous stepped through, Bayol turned to Alnor on last time and said, "Be well aware, though, Alnor. All of you as well. You may have peace, but that doesn't mean some of my forces will be here to...keep an eye on you. I know you will have something in store for us when we next meet, my old friend. Until the 31st day, I bide you all farewell." With that declaration he disappeared and the portal vanished.

"What the hell does all of that mean?" Eraqus asked. The Keybladers, too, were searching for answers.

"Anlor, should we believe him that he indeed has that many minions at his command?"

"I see no reason why I should believe his claim, but also no reason not to. Bayol is not one to just make things up; if he says he has a mighty army, you can bet he does."

He then looked at Alnor, who, while still recovering from the shock that his greatest foe was back foe the grave mysteriously, was thinking something over.

"What thoughts are on your mind, my brother?" he asked.

Alnor sighed, and looked to them all.

"Bayol is back. The Realm War has come. We cannot let him at the Cornerstone for whatever purpose he wants it for, nor do we have the strength in arms to properly defend this castle. I hate to say it, Anlor, but war indeed has called us again…we need an army…a big one."