"What's going on, Motoyasu?" Sora inquired, tilting his head as he exited the changing rooms. He was still clad in his original attire, although Motoyasu could see the magic steel chainmail sitting comfortably underneath, offering its needed protection. Without saying a word he instead reached out to touch another nearby spear, causing his Legendary weapon to shift into a copy of it.

"Our weapons, they possess some kind of copy ability! I can copy spears, so you must be able to copy shields too!" he explained, quickly looking for yet another spear to touch. Elhart looked less than pleased as he watched another of his spears be effortlessly copied in front of him. His expression morphed into one of unbridled horror as Sora excitedly jumped into the mix, reaching out and touching one of the many shields he had on display.

"Don't, stop! That one's expensive!" He called out, reaching for the Shield Hero desperately, even though he knew the action was fruitless.

Shield unlocked!

Shadowsteel Shield

+5 Strength. +3 Magic. +9 Defense.

Dark Defense +15%

"Wow, this is great!" Sora cheered, watching as his legendary weapon changed into a copy of the shield. It was a large rectangular shield with a dark gray facing, surrounded by lighter gray all around the outer edges. Seeing this Elhart scowled at the spiky-haired youth, stomping a foot as he raised his hands and squeezed them into fists.

"Great, my ass!" He yelled, taking a step forward as Sora turned to him with a curious expression, "You're gonna run me out of business with that!"

"Hey, this spear looks really strong!" Motoyasu yelled suddenly from across the room, causing Elhart to turn and reach out to him next, his look of horror growing as he screamed in a desperate attempt to stop him.

"No, that one's really rare!"

Sora reached up then, scratching his cheek in thought as he watched the shop owner continue to panic, snapping his fingers as an idea came to mind.

"You did work hard to build all these shields and spears we are copying. I wouldn't mind paying for them, if you want"

Any steam the blacksmith felt vanished in an instant, his tense shoulders relaxing as he turned back and stared at the youth with newfound respect. He never expected these two kids to be willing to pay him for this, yet it was the Shield who made the offer first. He reached up, placing a hand over his heart as he felt an unexpected warmth suddenly radiate from within. Feeling a smile come to his lips, he nodded slowly, making his way back behind the counter.

"How about this. 50 Munny per copy, since you aren't taking the original weapons?" He offered, stopping just before entering the back rooms. Sora nodded, reaching out to touch yet another nearby Shield as he did so.

"Sounds fair!"

"Give me just a moment then, there's something I need to grab from the back."

Entering the throne room King Altcray's eyes widened in pure unbridled horror, bodies of soldiers and citizens alike lying unconscious at his feet. Several guards were surrounding Sora at this moment, swords raised and looks of terror clear on their faces. The shield-bearer simply raised his hands in response, spreading them outward quickly. The circle of knights were suddenly launched violently from his form, each one crashing harshly into the castle's stone walls before falling to the ground shortly afterward. Floating in the air all around the room were the familiar Screw Diver heartless he recalled from his fight alongside the Shield only the night before, as well as a new variant he hadn't seen until now.

These heartless had a body that was dark and circular, with a small blue jagged mouth and pair of bright yellow eyes. On top of its head were aqua-colored cracks, some connecting outward from the small blue horn sitting atop its head. From the sides of its body were a pair of bat wings with long arms that lead down to a set of claws. The bottom of its body was covered with jagged watery spikes, the steady flow of water visible inside of them.

This couldn't be happening, something was wrong here, he could feel it in his heart. Being careful where he stepped, the king walked deeper into the room, approaching the young boy he grew to admire and consider a friend.

"Sora, what's happening here? Why are you doing this?!"

He felt the oxygen leave his lungs as the figure turned its cold gaze to him, its eyes dead, baren of any life or emotion. It tilted its head as it watched him, its body shivering unnaturally. He could swear he heard the sounds of its bones cracking beneath its skin, which caused the hairs on his arms to stand on end. This was not Sora!

"Excellent work, Lesty!" Malty praised from behind, closing the door as she sauntered into the room, causing Altcray to turn to her in a panic.

"Malty, you need to leave, it isn't safe!" He screamed, turning back to the creature wearing the Shield Heroes face. To his horror, Sora no longer stood before him. Instead, a gigantic beast loomed over him, its face hidden behind a horrifying mask. Its eyes shone bright yellow from beneath, an unsettling smile etched into the wood covering its face. It had a fur mane of a light red color surrounding the mask, four long and unnatural-looking horns extending from its head, two of which were shorter than the others. It had a long unnatural looking neck, attached to an upper body of similar light red fur. On its chest sat the familiar symbol in the shape of a heart with a fleur-de-lis at its base. It was black with a red outline and spiked crossing through the heart. Its lower body was completely invisible, with four deer-like legs and a tail extending from the nothingness. Two unnaturally long arms came from within the upper body's fur, its human-like hands looking freakish and off-putting compared to the rest of its form. From its back came two wings, which were wooden in appearance, as if carved by an expert woodcutter.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Malty questioned, her voice soft and filled with pride. Altcray felt sweat form on his brow, his eyes breaking away from the grotesque creature for just long enough to catch his eldest daughter walking further into the room. She extended her arms to the beast, admiring it for just a moment before turning back to face him. She had the brightest smile he'd ever seen spread across her face. Her earlier comment suddenly clicked in his panicked mind, causing him to grip in staff tighter as the implications came crashing into him.

"Malty….no…is this?"

"This is Lesty, in her true form as an all-powerful angel!" Malty yelled in response, grinning devilishly at her miserable excuse for a father, "Say hello to the Tariaksuq! I hate that she had to take on that devil's form for our plan to work, but now everyone will believe their beloved Shield Hero attacked oh so many innocent people without just cause. Not to mention how he murdered our once proud and noble king"

"Malty, this is insane! You truly sacrificed your best friend to the Heartless?!" Altcray asked, taking a step back as his eyes swept the room. There were far too many Heartless to fight on his own, but he would not go down without a fight. Malty scowled at his words, looking as if she were disgusted to even be breathing the same air as him.

"The Devil's lies have corrupted you it seems. It's a pity you must die so blind," She spit out, her words filled with venom, "It seems from the very beginning you were destined to fail as a true leader for our people. Now, go and join your wife and bitch daughter, so I may take my rightful place on the throne!"

"Mirellia, Melty, what have you done to them?!" Altcray shrieked, lifting his staff as he fought to reign in his panicked mind. He wouldn't last long without a clear head, but he couldn't fight the biting cold nipping at his heart. Had Malty truly fallen so far that she would murder her entire family to reach her goals?

"Ask them yourself," His eldest daughter mocked, giggling to herself as she watched his panic grow, "you will be joining them soon"

Shield unlocked!

Kite Shield

+3 Strength. +6 Defense.

Sora moved his hand away from the final shield offered to him by the blacksmith, staring down at the large, almond-shaped shield now sitting on his arm. It was rounded at the top and curved down to a point at the bottom. With a grin he shifted it back into Bonds of Friendship, reaching out to offer the promised funds to Elhart.

"Thanks again for letting us copy your equipment. I'm sure these will come in handy when fighting the Heartless!"

"Don't mention it! I wanted to throw these in as well. I don't know if they will be of any use to you, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to make the offer" Elhart replied, taking the Munny from Sora as he produced a small brown pouch from behind the counter. Setting it down he released the bindings keeping it together, allowing it to fall open and reveal several pieces of ore.

"What are these?" Motoyasu asked, reaching down to pick up one of the softly glowing star-shaped pieces. Lifting it up he brought it closer to his face, inspecting it with clear curiosity. Sora looked between each of the different types of ore, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

"These are Fluorite, Damascus, and Adamantite," he answered, catching the blacksmith off guard.

"That's right. I use these ores to create my weapons and armors," Elhart explained, lifting up a piece of Damascus, "I figured if your Legendary Weapons reacted to the Spears and Shields I already built they may react to the raw materials as well"

"It's worth a shot," Motoyasu agreed, changing his spear back into Highwind as he brought the Fluorite he was holding closer to its center, "in Emerald Online you could rank up your equipment using the in-game crafting materials. It was also dependant on your Smithing level, but if you put in the effort you could end up with some high quality S rank equipment"

As he spoke the spear absorbed the offered Flourite, text soon spreading across his vision.

Crafting System Unlocked!

Current Spear: Highwind (Common)

Needed Material for Grade Up:

Fluorite 1/2

Damascus 0/3

"Good call on the ore's, old man. It looks like our weapons have a crafting system to boost their grades" Motoyasu commented, causing Elhart to glare in his direction. Ignoring the look of displeasure from the shopkeeper, he reached out and took the required ingredients to finish the spears upgrade.

Instead of commenting, Elhart instead turned his gaze to Sora. The spiky-haired youth seemed to be inserting a piece of Damascus into his shield, offering the blacksmith a smile as he did so.

"Say kid, how did you know what these were anyway?" Elhart asked, gesturing to the ores. Sora inserted another piece of Damascus as he answered.

"I collected a lot of different ores and raw materials on my last adventure. With the help of the Moogles I created all kinds of different things, like shields and staves for my friends," He answered, causing Elhart to regard him with an impressed grin.

"I didn't know you were a man of the craft. I'd like to see your work sometime"

"Well, I don't have any of the weapons I crafted with me. But I do have these," Sora replied, reaching into his pocket and offering Elhart one of the many equipment rings he'd created. The Blacksmith stared down at it in interest, taking it into his hand as he reached into his own pocket to procure his handheld loupe with the other. Bringing the small device to his eye he examined the ring more closely, Motoyasu smirking as he inserted the last needed piece of Damascus into his spear.

Rank up!

Highwind (Fine)

+13 Strength. +12 Magic.

"An additional two to my strength and three to my magic stats. Say, old man, where can we go to find more of these ores?" Motoyasu asked, causing the blacksmith to grumble under his breath.

"You can find more in Riyute Village. I get all of my materials shipped from there. It's just Southwest of town"

"Thanks, if they let us use the mine there we can boost our weapons to the max rank in no time!" Motoyasu cheered, pumping his fist as Sora inserted the last of the needed material into his shield.

Rank up!

Bonds of Friendship Lv.1 (Fine)

+10 Strength. +9 Magic. +14 Defence.

"We should save the last of these for when we run into Ren and Itsuki again. I'm sure they'd like to know about the crafting system too" Sora commented, taking the last of the crafting materials and putting them into one of his pockets. Motoyasu frowned at the mention of the bow wielder, crossing his arms as he replied.

"Ren might, but I'm not too sure about Itsuki. He'll probably just try to say we're cheating or something"

"He might, but I still want to try," Sora replied, shrugging his shoulders as Elhart cleared his throat. The two younger men turned to him, the blacksmith offering the ring back to the shielder. Taking it he slipped it back into his pocket, offering the older man his full attention as he spoke.

"It's been some time since I've seen such fine craftsmanship, Sora. You're welcome to use my forge anytime"

"I appreciate the offer," Sora replied, a slightly embarrassed smile spreading across his face as he placed his hands behind his head, "I'm not sure how well I'd do without the Moogles help, though"

"I'm sure you've picked up something," Motoyasu commented, attempting to offer his friend some encouragement, "If it came down to it I bet you could make great weapons or equipment on your own!"

"Thanks, Motoyasu" Sora responded, scratching at his cheek.

"So, where are the two of you off to next?" Elhart asked, placing his hands on his hips as he looked between them. Motoyasu was the first to reply.

"We're going to find an apothecary, then the Church of the Shield. We're hoping they might have adventurers who can assist us in battle, and that they will offer us refuge"

"With the Shield Hero in your party, I have no doubt that they will. But what about the Church of Three?" Elhart inquired, causing an irritated look to spread across Motoyasu's face.

"The Church of Three Heroes targeted Sora because of their petty hate for the Shield. I won't set foot in that accursed building" he spat, causing Elhart to smile at the display of loyalty.

"I'm glad to hear it. Too many people blindly follow that Church. In fact, I'm the only blacksmith in town who will craft shields for my customers. The Church considers it blasphemy"

"Really?" Sora questioned, frowning as the shopkeeper gave him a simple nod in response.

"If you're looking for the medicinal shop it's actually right down the road. You'll be going in the same direction as you would to reach the Shield Heroes Church. Just head straight that way, it will be on your left" Elhart explained, pointing with his finger. Motoyasu and Sora nodded, grateful for the directions and for all of his help.

"Thanks, old man. We'll be sure to stop by again sometime in the future. Make sure to make more spears and shields for us to copy!" Motoyasu said, grinning as the shopkeeper crossed his arms and glared at him in response.

"Yeah yeah, well you make sure to bring more Munny when you come back too. Good luck out there, heroes"