Sirius's head snapped up and his vision became clear as he realized what was happening. Troy continued his stride, knocking over a passing mushroom retainer without looking back. Eventually he had made his way through the maze of hedges and stood at the top of a hill, where Sirius remained in his prison, under a tall tree. Troy stood his ground 20 feet away, locking eyes with the Chozo.
"Can I help you?" Sirius said flatly.
Troy didn't show any wrinkle in his face as he raised up the battered tome he held at his side. "Auron's already told me everything. I assume everyone was starting to figure out what you were up to?"
"That I'm using you as playthings against the Heartless and Vast? I'm sure you're familiar with those terms by now, correct? Organization XIII certainly had their way with words in reciting their research to the public." Sirius slowly began to stand, his talons digging into the dirt as he rose. "I said you were defending your world, yes? I'm sorry, I should have made it more clear whether you were saving it in the short or long term."
"Stop this," Troy muttered. "What are you saying, do you know what Organization XIII is?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sirius shot back. "Organization XIII was just like you, Troy, just like other people in this world, or any world for that matter. They saw flaws in the way the world was presented and they wished to enlighten themselves. They were Nobodies just like yourself that wanted to see the world in the true light. They wanted to see the relationship between themselves and the Heartless, and themselves and the hearts they obviously lost. They wanted to see their true selves. Of course you've obviously seen by now that the appendix in there about the Vast isn't what you'd consider... complete, but I would say that since their bright minds were still a tad dull about the grand scheme of things and the Organization itself ended before its time, they were unable to comprehend the Vast itself. Still I don't. Or still WE don't, I should say."
"Who's we?"
"Now now, because I didn't tell your beloved Kingdom, don't think I'm going to make an exception for you. All I can say is that you should not be taking even the words of Organization XIII as the gospel regarding current events. I'm sure you've seen some parallels however, yes?"
"I've already had copies of this book made and distributed to the Koopa and Mushroom Kingdoms." Troy said nonchalantly.
Sirius let out a dull hack. "You did WHAT?!"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Troy thumped the heavy book against his side. "once this becomes mainstream and it's determined that everyone in this world is classified as a Nobody by the standards set out by Organization XIII and how we are meant to interact with the Heartless, we can determine our own plan of action."
"You never cease to amaze me, Troy Kiemen. 'Determine our own plan of action'?"
"Quit ramming your propoganda down my throat." Troy scowled. "I've read that book top to bottom and even if it told me that I am what it considers to be a Nobody... I have no idea what that means in terms of myself. If there's a Nobody, me, and a Heartless that corresponds to me... is there some kind of world that's an alternate to this one?"
"You merely don't want to accept the literal definition of a Nobody."
"That's absurd, are you trying to tell me that I'm just a figment of someone's imagination?!" Troy screeched. "That I'm not physical? Look at me, I'm physical, I eat, I sleep, I feel pain... what's expected out of me?"
Sirius stared down at the ground, chuckling. Slowly he started to shake his head. "That's what makes me despise you all so much. You Nobodies, you Heartless, you Vast. You pride yourself on being some group of little subcultures... you are all so evolved, yet at the same time you are all so daft... Auron came to speak with me last night. Did he happen to tell you why I am here? Or did Peach for that matter?"
Troy paused, letting inertia carry his arms to a halt.
"As you've so cleverly deducted, this planet is made up entirely of Nobodies. You can't immediately tell, but this entire galaxy is made up of Nobodies. As you might also notice, you are being overrun by the Heartless and the Vast, both of which respond to the keyblades. When I pursued the Heartless and Vast to this planet I tried to insert myself closest to where the initial outbreak was. Your friend, Bowser. When I realized I wouldn't get there in time, I had to make special preparations to guide someone to a nearby keyblade to activate it. I had to sift through all the nearby Nobodies in short order, and you... you gave off a special kind of aura... it was warm and inviting to me, and I knew that for some reason I could place my trust in you."
"Quit trying to butter me up." Troy growled.
"...I'm not going to try to improve your perception of me; don't think I even care about whether you lived or died by taking responsibility of the Chronicle, Troy. What mattered is that I would put your skills to work in ensuring that this closed system of Nobodies remains closed and that you all live your marginal existences like stupid, senile sheep. Do you know why, Troy? It's because that in attempting to understand the Nobodies, Heartless and Vast myself, along with all those that I know, I've lost most of my friends and family in this stupid eternal squabble between thsee forces. Don't you see? In pursuing the truth, you're letting these... ALIENS into your home and causing untold collateral damage!!"
"NO ONE TOLD YOU TO COME HERE!!" Troy roared. "And you... what gives YOU the right to tell me what I should and shouldn't be pursuing, when you yourself, or anyone else for that matter, don't even know what the ultimate truth is and what kind of effect it will have on everything that you do?!"
Sirius lurched backwards as if he had been punched in the chest.
"I'm right, aren't I? AREN'T I?!" Troy yelled.
"...you... you sound just... like him."
"Who?"
"Troy!" a voice called out to Troy's left. Troy quickly glanced off to the side to find another retainer tugging at the belt strapped diagonally across his shell. "You must report to the throne room this instant, Sir Auron wishes to pass on a message to you."
Troy stabbed a finger at Sirius. "This isn't over!" he shot one last glare at Sirius before jogging away with the messenger.
Sirius simply stood in the breeze, eventually crashing down into the grass on his behind.
"There's no way... that could be possible."
nSx: chAptEr 7
5[6jke35.sd\
iNstAnT RePLaY: PArt 1
"Two keyblades were discovered near a fringe outpost of the Koopas in Dark Land. They were immediately shipped to the capital and are being taken care of by the proper authorities." Toad started shuffling through the long paper in his hands, letting more of it add to the pile of its entrails at his feet. By now, it was threatening to swallow him whole. "A third has been found in the Muda kingdom of Sarasaland and Birabuto has begun negotiations to place it in their vault until a recipient can be found. Reports are saying that people in Pipe Land are beginning to scour the catacombs for any keyblade-related relics and the local regime has installed policing in the transport tube system to ensure that nothing is removed without our approval." Toad frowned, looking up from the sheet just before the pile began circling his head. "Okay, I get that the keyblades are important and everything, but do we really have the resources to keep track of all this?"
Peach paced back and forth in front of the throne, where her father sat. Wooster sat a short distance away buffing polish into the metallic spikes on top of the black, bulbous crown while its owner watched, distressed, as Toad continued dealing out status reports and his own daughter continued to issue counterstatements and fidget her way across the throne room multiple times in the process.
"Ohhhhh..." he groaned. "Who would have thought that my own daughter would be a better wartime politician than me..."
"Everyone, sire." Wooster spat on the top rim of the crown and rapidly rubbed it in.
"It says here that there's a recently published book being circulated around Last Chance Bastion talking about the scientific importance of the Heartless and Nobodies," Toad mumbled. "Have you heard anything about that, Troy?"
Troy leant against a nearby pillar with his arm folded. He continued staring out the window, watching guards as the lit lamps throughout the courtyard, night approaching fast. "I'd know, I was the one that distributed it."
Everyone in the room was taken aback. "There's no time you'd have time to publish a book on the Heartless and Nobodies, Troy," Peach scowled. "And even if by some miracle you did, none of us even know enough about them to draw any reasonable conclusions."
"Besides getting the keyblades to the right people," Troy pushed himself upright. "First of all, I got the retainers to distribute copies to all your rooms. Secondly, it's not copyrighted to me, these are all drafts of a book that was given to me by Auron. It was published by a gathering of Nobodies calling themselves Organization XIII. I had a specialist look at the condition of the original copy, and it's at least 100 years old... we don't have the means of getting an accurate dating beyond that."
"Didn't Sirius talk about not worrying about the Nobodies?" Mario added. "Sirius kept saying that."
"You don't have to worry about fighting the Nobodies," Troy grunted. "We ARE the Nobodies."
Gasps came out from the crowds of retainers roaming around the throne room.
"Are you trying to tell me that we're... RELATED to these other things that are rampaging across the world?" Peach said quietly. "In the case that I feel like actually beliving that, why didn't you tell us this earlier?"
Troy glared at Peach. "You should know better than anyone else that you can't always tell who's a monster."
Peach attempted to generate a counterpoint, but found no words coming out of her mouth as pictures of Troy's transformation in Birabuto began to flood back into her mind, alongside images of the monstrous Giygas.
"I don't know what our relationship with the Heartless is, all that matters is that since we're somehow classified as Nobodies, they won't stop until we're all dead. As far as the Vast is concerned though, there's no documentation of how that plays out as far as Organization XIII was able to figure out, and apparently Auron has no clue either. The only link we have is Sirius, and he's obviously intent on keeping his mouth shut in order to gain favor with NSX, whatever that happens to be. Anyways I thi..." Troy trailed off, feeling the stares of everyone around him cutting into him. "...uh, is something wrong?"
"Troy..." Peach covered her mouth. "...your hand."
Troy hovered over a sink in the kitchen, gnashing and grinding his teeth as he ran hot water over top of his scar. He watched with a twitch in his eye as the blood coming off it funneled down into the drain in a blurred, abstract pattern. "WHAT is UP with this thing... can I go a day without it freaking out on me? Pretty quick I'm going to have bled enough for 10 Troys..."
"You obviously thought too hard."
"Oh, shu... Auron?" Troy glanced over his shoulder. Auron stood immediately behind him, looking over Troy's shoulder into the rapidly bloodying sink. "I would've rather had your supervision 5 minutes ago."
"I can't determine whether making Organization XIII's chronicling of the Heartless and Nobodies public knowledge has had a postive or negative effect on the defense initiative. They were able to learn a great deal about them and that information passed into new hands will let them cope better. But remember that there is still more to be learned, and especially that the Vast has yet to be accounted for."
"I don't know what else you were expecting me to do," Troy turn around finally. "Are you insisting that I was supposed to use that information to stop everything from happening singlehandedly?"
Auron paused for a second. He pointed at Troy's hand. "Did something happen?"
"Haven't you seen this before?" Troy clenched and released his fist again. "I got this trying to escape from Bowser's dungeons with Sirius and since then this thing has been rising up and bleeding at the most random times. It's been weeks, I'm starting to wonder if it's gotten infect..." he stopped as Auron slammed his hands down on his shoulders. "...uhhhh."
"What hand do you hold your keyblade in?" Auron asked sternly.
"...this." Troy made a fist again.
"This is more than a coincidence..." Auron rubbed his forehead. "I knew something was wrong just listening to your attitude change... not just your attitude. You're changing, Troy, and I'm surprised you're still who you are. Hold still."
"What's going on, I ju-ssaaaAUGH!!" Troy was slammed to the ground as a needle of light bored straight through his hand. Howing in pain, Troy looked over to find Auron grasping the needle at its top as it widened out and took the form of Auron's Murasama. With a growl he twisted it to the side, causing Troy to let out a screech. With one final motion Auron tore his blade out, and Troy stared on with ragged breath as a clump of purple ooze stuck to the end of the zanbato. "...how... ahhhh... what is that?!"
"Bowser was the first to be struck by the Vast. You, Troy, were the second."
"I don't get this, how was Troy infected with Vast?" Peach threw her arms up in disgust. Everyone had gathered at a table in the dining room, Peach taking the helm once more.
"Remember that Bowser was infected by both Heartless and Vast, going by what we saw while battling him, the descriptions of his behavior and the entity that just kinda sprang in and out of him by the Koopa Troop, and the defintions of the physical form of the Heartless given by both Auron and Organization XIII." Troy said sternly.
"But, if taking in both the Heartless and the Vast made Bowser go cuckoo," Luigi mumbled. "What does only the Vast represent?"
"Realize that I only classify this as the Vast because it's something that's neither a Heartless nor Nobody." Auron leant back in his chair. "There is no legal definition of what the Vast is, but I've witnessed these same symptoms in a lot of people."
"Tell us these symptoms."
"Sporadic developments of thought patterns, extreme physical reactions to challenges of that train of thought, rapid, unexplained proficiency with keyblades."
"So you're saying an infection is making me smart." Troy said flatly.
"That's about it."
"What's this about enhanced keyblade ability?" Selphie sat resting her head on her palms.
"It makes sense when you think about it... the Vast is likely connected to the keyblades somehow." Auron folded his arms. "I am able to manipulate it to some extent as you've just witnessed, and Princess Toadstool has demonstrated similar abilities in projecting and attracting Vast with her own keyblade. What exactly would cause that I'm unsure of. On that note however, if the Vast and keyblades are interconnected that would mean the Vast is connected to some extent to Troy's keyblade while he uses it with that hand. That may offer some explanation as to how he has been able to rapidly improve his ability with it, that is to say, the Vast was taking control of him in combat."
"What are you saying?" Troy sighed. "That now that you removed this Vast virus or whatever it is, that I'm going to be a vegetable in battle?"
"Purging the Vast does little to remedy symptoms. It simply prevents... further complications from occuring."
"And what precisely is that?" Peach interjected.
"I'm not entirely sure how to describe it, but the most prominent issue that arises from prolonged exposure is a loss of long-term memory. To be perfectly honest I've never seen any extreme long-term cases of Vast infection, and I'm not sure if I want to."
"I'm not sure how to interpret all this," Peach groaned, slumping her head down against the table. "Are you trying to tell me that the Vast causes evolution or something? Everything you've described not only describes Troy, but Bowser as well, after his infection burst out into the open his strength skyrocketed, and now that we've seperated the Heartless and Vast from him, our diplomats in the Koopa Kingdom have told us that he refuses to leave his inner sanctum except when people ask him to issue orders. Maybe he's thinking long and hard about what he's done... and the fact that he killed someone with his own bare hands doesn't exactly play in his favor."
"That is exactly what I was thinking about," Auron wheezed. "Although, we already set him on the road to recovery that day. I'm relieved to know that he still has a solid grip over his kingdom. Certainly he'll recover fully in the future."
"That still raises the question of why the Heartless attacks Nobodies, and the Vast attacks Nobodies, yet the Heartless and Vast coexist." Troy muttered.
"But!" Selphie pointed upwards. "Troy was injected with Vast but didn't go berserk, but Bowser had both and did!"
"...the Heartless dominates the Vast." Peach ruminated.
"Precisely." Auron concluded.
"So this is a big, galactic-domination game of rock paper scissors," Troy rubbed his chin. "Heartless beats Vast, Vast beats Nobody... Nobody beats Heartless? That last part doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it does and we don't realize it. We didn't even know we were these 'Nobodies' until a short while ago." Toad added.
"Anyways, I'm going to need to cut this conversation short," Auron slowly rose from his seat. "I'd like to meet with Troy in private."
"Now that Auron's starting to reveal juicy bits, he's going to save all the best for Troy," Selphie groaned.
Troy sat on the stairs in the foyer. He rapidly drummed his fingers against the side of his skull, slowing as his eyes rolled in the direction of a door closing. Troy pushed himself up with a grunt, turning to face Auron at the top of the cascade of puffy red carpet. "Okay, you're really going to have to stop dragging me alone to places to pleasure yourself. It's getting kind of creepy."
"Do you still have the sidecar installed on your buggy?" Auron descended. He strode by Troy and moved straight for the door, to which Troy would take several seconds to respond.
"...I took it off before heading to Dark Land the other day, I can get it installed in about 20 minutes give or take. What's up?"
"We need to head for a drive."
Those 20 minutes came and went, and with the moon creeping over the ramparts of the castle, Troy's buggly began to roll out of the palace grounds, with the mushroom guards casually stepping off the paved pathways as the vehicle rumbled along.
"Where are we going?" Troy asked sternly.
Auron sat, very uncomfortably, in Troy's sidecar with his arms folded. "I didn't want to talk about it in front of all your friends, but your infection has spread deeper than you likely imagine. Funny how you didn't ask me at all why it was bleeding at particular moments. Maybe you realized they all had some relationship to each other."
"Just cut to the chase." Troy sighed. "This isn't going to make me a cripple, is it?"
"I already did my own recon and spoke with people who have had contact with you over the past week. This Vast infection, like many others I've encountered, only reacts violently in times of stress or self-realization. I can't place an exact hypothesis to its effects, but it seems like your body is rejecting itself."
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." One of Troy's arms slouched over the side of the vehicle as he lazily spun the wheel with his other hand.
"The Vast is trying to change you. Into what, I don't know. When you were nearly turned into a primal Nobody by Giygas its reaction was even more potent. The Vast is reacting more strongly, therefore, depending on how 'potent' of a Nobody you are."
"I still don't understand this 'primal' Nobody stuff."
"That is confidential information. You're going to have to prove yourself a little more before I can trust you with some of my darker secrets."
"Prove?" Troy applied the brakes slightly. "Did you really send Nightmare after me?"
"Yes."
"I don't exactly find people trying to assassinate me proper etiquette."
"Sirius is in remote command of the other keyblade hunters here. I'm sure you've met them."
"I'm not surprised," Troy laughed harshly. "He wants to kill me, you want to kill me, everyone seems to want this stupid keyblade for some reason, but I just can't-"
"In this case, I will be assisting you in taking care of them."
"-and I don't want to believe that..." Troy paused. "...what?"
"The 32nd Paratroopa division of the Koopa Troop has located an odd bunker-type installation in the northernmost reaches of Land's End. They've tried to contact remote Koopa tribes in the area but no one seems to be able to take ownership of it. You and I will be going there to investigate. If my suspicions are true, then that should be their headquarters. In that case, we will be able to fix you up once and for all."
"What are you even talking about?"
Auron glared down at Troy. "When you temporarily assumed the form of a primal Nobody, the Vast infection became entrenched even deeper. My keyblade cannot remove it properly, let alone yours, and the only person that I know that could possibly remove it is currently unreachable. If you devolve into your primal Nobody form once more, it may be enough to kill you. Therefore, we're going to do the next best thing. We're going to find another local primal Nobody, one that the Vast might be more inclined to occupy instead of you."
"...you told me not to get close to Giygas."
"Well, I lied. Turn here. We should be able to get to Last Chance Ramparts in a few hours and rest for a bit before going to their base. We should be able to strike them in the dead of night."
"You never said how we're getting in."
"I said you had to prove yourself, didn't I?"
"Well that's not..." Troy trailed off. "WHOA, whoa whoa, you're kidding, right? Exactly how many of them are there compared to us?"
"I thought you said you wanted to discover new things?"
"That was Peach."
"...oh well, your loss."
Troy wheezed. "Maybe, just one of these times, I should tell Peach that when I say I'm stepping outside I really mean I'm going on a road trip." Troy slouched back and resumed focusing on the road. Nothing was heard for a few minutes except the dull hum of the buggy's engine and the occasional bump in the road. "...what's going to happen after this?"
"After what?"
"After we deal with these guys and get myself cleaned up. What's going to happen? Are we going to be stuck here fending for ourselves while still no one tells us exactly what we're fighting and what's beyond this world? It seems like everyone is just feeding me hints and clues, but how do you honestly expect someone like me, or anyone else in these two kingdoms for that matter, to figure out our real relationship with the Heartless and the Vast? Why did you even come here to begin with?"
"I informed that someone from the organization only referring to itself as NSX had descended upon this world."
"Here we go, giving me the runaround," Troy muttered. "What is NSX?"
"If I knew would I be chasing them?"
"ARGH."
"There's been others like him, Troy. Entities that insist that they are roaming the worlds of the Nobodies in order to purge them of Heartless and Vast and return them to their natural state." Auron stared off into the sky. "...I have had my share of encounters with the Heartless, yes, but the Vast is far deadlier to Nobodies like you and myself. NSX knows why, and they're hiding it. And... you could say that I'm doing a bit of soul-searching."
"You're looking for a heart because you're a Nobody, uh-huh." Troy said flatly. "But you're not a primal Nobody are you?"
"No, I have no physical craving for it... it's just that, if I find my OWN heart, the one that I had prior to becoming a Nobody somehow, some of what we have all been experiencing will begin to make sense. Just like Organization XIII attempted to do. I really can't give a deeper explanation with that, and I am honestly hiding nothing from you in saying so."
"Do I have a heart somewhere?" Troy mumbled.
"Possibly. Do you have the same idea as myself?"
Neither Troy or Auron had realized, but Troy's foot was frozen above the gas pedal. The engine began to idle as the buggy's momentum rapidly drained away.
"When I was taking hold of the Chronicle for the first time," Troy said, "Sirius kept asking me if I wanted to 'evolve'. That somehow, taking the keyblade would let me see something beyond my current scope of vision. Whether it was simply getting the job of using it to rip up aliens, I don't know. But for some reason I feel charged with some incredible responsibility, and right now all that I'm concerned with is proving to everyone, Sirius included, that I'm not some brat that just happened to trip over this thing, but that I'm capable of wielding it and unlocking its secrets... that the keyblades are guiding us to the solution to all of what's happening..." Troy stared into Auron's eyes. "...I'm going to be a powerful Keyper and search out the secrets of the universe just like you. I'll do whatever I can to get Mario, Luigi and Selphie home, and help Peach... or everyone I know see the worlds that are out there somewhere."
"...hmph." Auron smirked. "It's been a while since I heard something like that."
"You're not going to send out anyone else to break my knees, are you?"
"No promises."
Two armored guards stood in one of the watchtowers looming above Toad Town. No one below had much of a clue what was happening, or was about to, but if one looked closely they could see the two soldiers taking turns flailing their limbs at each other.
"I'm telling you! It's true!" one screeched. "We have to lock down the gates now, there's been a sighting of the black gooey stuff! We must secure its movements for the good of the people!"
"And do you have clearance from the palace to do this?"
"That's the kicker! They're saying that Troy Kiemen got up and skipped town again! Everyone's in a panic, but they say there's two other keyblades in possession of the palace guests and they've sent them out to investigate! That's why we have t-"
"No Troy?! Where does that little creep keep rushing off to? I don't know if you're heard the latest tales from the armory room, but some people think that Troy's actually the one orchestrating these attacks, or that maybe he has some secret lover at the Koopas' Last Chance Rampart that he has to keep visiting!"
"Those stories don't even coincide with each other."
"BUT!" one of the mushroom guards jabbed a finger into the other's chest. "What if they ARE, and the secret lover that Troy Kiemen has is part of the invasion?! Or she's maybe causing the entire thing! What then?"
"You're willing to make up anything to make it look like this chaos is zero responsibility of the kingdom."
"I want to BELIEVE!" the other guard clutched the air in his hands.
Down below Luigi and Peach jogged by, lead by over two dozen of the palace's elite guard. The heavily-armored soldiers looked more like linebackers than the mushroom retainers that were hidden underneath the armor, and all carried riot shields that were taller than them. Any attempt to safeguard Luigi and Peach was negated by the fact that they both still blatantly rose out of the crowd.
"Princess..." Luigi wiped his brow, finding the moisture to be a mix of hot and cold droplets. On cue, he and the other soldiers looked up to find that rain had begun drizzling down on the midnight Toad Town. "...why are we out here? Are we really going on assumptions from townspeople that they'd actually seen Heartless or Vast, and that-"
"It was two seperate sightings on the same block within 5 minutes," Peach muttered. "And we wouldn't be out here if Troy could keep himself in one place for more than that amount of time. I know we're not the prime candidates for this, and we don't even have any actual combat training as that was scheduled for next week, but we can't let anything slip through the security blanket we have here, not ever, and especially not now." Both Peach and Luigi were rattled out of their half-awake state by the clicking and clanking of spears pointed forward. "...well, there you are."
Ahead of the crowd a boiling puddle of black sludge quickly grew in the middle of the street. It shrunk again as it began to reform into a beast's claw, which grew upwards and gradually built out its body. Some type of razor-clawed canine appeared before the soldiers, clacking across the cobblestone and shaking more black sludge onto the ground from its razor-sharp purple jaws as it slowly approached.
"STOP!" Peach clamped her hand down on Luigi's Alastor, as it had already begun crackling with energy.
"Whuh?" Luigi stared dully, letting Peach shake around the demonic keyblade in his loose grip.
"It's raining you douche, are you trying to get us all killed?!"
The two quickly spun back forward as the entire crowd around them jumped back a step. The hound had begun accelerating and was quickly bearing down upon the keypers. With a piercing howl it leapt up into the air, coming down upon them like a torpedo. Peach swung the hilt of her blade under her shoulder, firing a blast of Vast at the creature from its tip. The sludge scattered as it impacted the Heartless straight in the face. What was left of the purple slime dissiapated into thin air as the beast was sent flying back in the other direction, sizzling as it tumbled across the stone road. Peach quickly dropped the weapon back into her hand, and everyone nearby surveyed the seemingly wounded animal. "...did I do it?"
The guards retreated again as the canine stood again, letting out a deafening screech as another pair of legs between its other two sets shot out and connected with the ground. The red outline of a heart, with dimmed lines creating an X in the middle, became visible on its back and chest.
"The Heartless feeds on the Vast..." Luigi sighed. "Weren't you listening? This's gone from bad to worse now."
"How are we supposed to kill it then?"
"The old-fashioned way, apparently."
The animal shot across the ground even faster this time, aided by its insect-like extra legs, and threw itself at Luigi in a vicious headbutt. Luigi rolled out of the way, causing the brunt of the attack to be taken by the line of Toad guards immediately behind him, which flew and slid backwards as dominos. Its attention shifted from Luigi to the more defenseless light infantry. Luigi rolled back to a kneeling position and took off running, circling around and diving feetfirst into a slide underneath the Heartless's underbelly. Holding his blade firm in his other hand, he sliced straight through the right three of its legs, causing it to fall over to the side with a pained scream and quickly begin hobbling away. Pivoting around it prepared to take a bite out of Luigi who was still struggling to get off the ground, but he had managed to immobilize it enough for Peach to put all her weight into an overhead swing that rammed the teeth of her blade into the top of the creature's throat. Its mouth opened in a breathless cry, and it began to fall apart into clumps of blank gunk that sank into the ground or dissolved into thin air.
"Are you alright?" Peach latched onto Luigi's arm, hoisting him back up.
"I was about to get carved into fettucini there..." Luigi tried to wipe the dirt and mud stains off his overalls, but only managed to succeed in smudging them such that they took up three times the space. "...I'm gonna admit, Princess, that that was a bit more painless than I was expecting. Though knowing everything we've already went through, Sirius would probably say that there's some kind of-" Luigi cringed as he heard a high-pitched wail from the direction of the oozing corpse. Him and Peach quickly spun around, as did the remaining third of the Toad troop that hadn't fleed, to find another five canines of the same build lapping up the remains of the former one. "...catch."
The new Heartless turned to face the group with burning white eyes, baring their own fangs and beginning to advance. They quickly broke into a run, snarling as the gap quickly subsided between the Heartless and their targets. Luigi closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, but before he could mouth any words to Peach, the wind was knocked out of both them and the handful of soldiers. A fissure tore down the road under everyone's feet, which suddenly exploded and tore the road upwards in both directions. Both the Heartless and their prey let out cries of shock as they were all violently launched into the air, battering themselves against the shattered stone as they fell back to the ground.
"Unnngh..." Peach rubbed the dirt out of her eyes. "What's going on..."
"I can't be any more subtle than that, lady, unless you didn't mind 'em nibbling on you for a bit."
"That voice..." Peach's eyes snapped open and she found her arms launching her back into a standing-up position. "What are YOU doing here?!"
The gargantuan koopa sat with one of his massive hands rested on his hip, which along with his legs was covered in dull, cast-iron armor. The front of its shell, its hands and feet were sheeted in the same inch-thick crude metal with the exception of the claws themselves, and the back of the shell was made from hexagonal, finely-polished black steel with massive silver spikes rising out of it at regular intervals. Fiery red hair spilled out from behind of the iron bascinet that sat at the top of the fortress.
"...Bowser?" Luigi gasped.
Bowser took a step back, letting the dust clear. A gigantic keyblade had its teeth embedded in the ground at the source of the shockwave. The shaft itself was easily 8 feet long, made up of rusted metal that warped to one side or the other, and as Bowser clamped a gauntlet firmly around it and tore it out of the debris, it could be seen that the blade portion itself was a single, massive reddened iron spike. As he moved his other hand to the hilt, which was made up of similarly thickened yet damaged metal, he finally raised up the weapon in front of him in his ready pose, wielding it as a battleaxe.
ABOMINATION
The most pure and savage form of power to be found in a keyblade, this weapon is assigned solely for destruction. Designed to harness the full physical strength of whoever wields it, this weapon is designed to deal catastrophic blows to all that are foolish enough to stand in its way. Koopa myth labels the creation of small lakes as 'holes made by heaven', and this may have been the cause.
"Information travels fast nowdays in cause you're wondering," Bowser growled. "I kinda wanna answer for my little absence in the public eye but there's some more pressing matters in the now. You need a little Heartless infestation taken care of according to my informants, so just stand back and enjoy the show! Bwahahahaha!!"
"Has he totally lost it?" Peach rubbed her head, muttering to herself. "BOWSER!! ALL PROPERTY DAMAGE IS BEING CHARGED TO YOU, KEEP YOURSELF IN LINE!!"
"How tragic!" Bowser sneered, plates hiding his toothy grin. "I hope my treasury can keep up!!"
Troy's head slowly rose over the side of the parked buggy. "Flat tire."
Auron stood a short distance away with his arms folded, staring upwards at the rock face that dwarfed them. At its base a small set of heavy steel sliding doors stood. "Get it fixed up. We may need to beat a hasty retreat if things don't go as planned."
"I'd dispute that if I didn't have the nagging feeling that making things right in there isn't going to be as scarring as installing a spare tire... as hard as that is to believe." Troy shoveled survival gear out of the small crate that sat secured on the back storage rack of the vehicle, eventually hoisting out a small, fat rubber tire. He sunk back behind the other side of the buggy with it, beginning to loosen the other damaged radial.
"How long will that take?"
"Depends on how tight this bolt became, I haven't had to adjust this side of the axel for a few months now. Just let me clamp on and find out." Troy's grunts could be heard from where Auron stood. Auron simply shook his head and began to take slow steps towards the massive steel doors.
"Well then, if changing tires is as such a pain as you insist, then it will probably take me longer to get through these gates than you take doing YOUR job."
"Is that a challenge?" Troy growled, planting both hands on his wrench and twisting left as hard as he could.
Auron slowly reached up, lowering his shades. One eye was scarred shut, obediently remaining still as the other ebony recepticle scanned the entrance for any weaknesses. "...hmm."
"Hmm what?" Troy's face rose over the side of the vehicle again, covered in grease. "Don't tell me you don't have a plan to get in here."
"Actually, I didn't," Auron murmured back. "In fact, it's quite easy. I would take cover if I were you." Auron slowly drew his hand up along his back, causing the Murasama to rise out of an invisible sheath.
"I'm going to be taking cover all day at this rate, but that still doesn't mean you're going to think your way through a steel wall faster than-" Troy winced suddenly as a flash of light erupted around the two, fading as fast as it came. Troy rubbed his eyes and peered over the seat of the dune buggy in time to spot a sliver of light appearing in a slant across the surface of the armored doors. Before Troy could open his mouth to speak the heavy panels fractured and exploded with the ear-splitting screech of rupturing metal, sending large shards of twisted composite flying in every direction. Troy climbed to his feet and kept his hands on his earholes. Auron stood between him and what remained of the bunker entrance, with his zanbato held out to one side. Auron turned back to face him as he resheathed his weapon, tipping his head towards the gaping cavity in the mountain.
"...h-how..." Troy gaped.
Auron stopped waiting, and began moving towards it himself. "The surface of this door has been worn down by sandstorms in the area. It was easy to see areas that had been weakened, and therefore see areas that were susceptible to damage. Now, come." Auron hastened his step, causing Troy to let out a yelp and quickly lock the new tire into place. He tossed his tools back in the crate, jogging up to keep pace with the senior Keyper - and trying not to trip over the seething chunks of debris in his way.
The two began advancing down the corridor, and while Auron was focused on what lied ahead Troy would veer off to the sides and gaze in awe at what he saw - large pane glass windows on both sides would occasionally let him peer into massive antechambers, on the floors of which lied great metal cylindrical containers, for what appeared to be volitile liquids. "...Auron, what's all-"
"Shh." Auron raised his hand. "Listen."
Troy blinked, glancing around himself once again as a dull crackle filled the air, quiet but growing in volume. Eventually it tapered off and several loud thuds echoed through the hallways with incredible bass.
"Troy, Troy, Troy," Heihachi's voice finally boomed. "I was hoping you'd drop in for tea at some point, but I don't recall saying you could bring your friends. Really, you should've just turned over the Chronicle while you had the chance. I'm a... tad more forgiving than some of my henchmen for what you've made us go through. Unfortunately I haven't been able to calm them down, so if you'd still like to have a word with me I'm afraid I can't take responsibility for whatever they feel inclined to do to you. I couldn't help but notice you look a little perplexed as to what this facility is doing here. I'm sure you've already realized that my organization has fairly limited employment yet we have this entire mountain to ourselves."
"This is a quarantine facility used by NSX." Auron spoke.
"NSX like Sirius?" Troy quickly pivoted over.
"Well, Troy, I'm afraid I may have been mistaken, maybe I'd like to have a discussion with this Auron fellow, he seems pretty well educated in the history of this world. You know that part where he said that no Koopa tribes would take ownership of this base? That's because they all own it. Nor did they give you permission to use it. Are you familiar with the myth of Magnagore?"
"Lava beast threatens the Koopa population, tribal magic seals it in a cave, yadda yadda, I don't know why people still believe that."
"Well then you obviously have no problem with Auron trampling all over what you would consider popular historical belief by rampaging into that very underground lair? Don't worry, nothing big and scary resides here... well, except us anyways. We've done our own investigations."
Troy lurched back. "Are you saying that this place is older than the Koopas? Is this really an installation of the NSX?"
"Was," Heihachi chuckled. There was a pause, then another fizzle over the hidden intercom. "Even I don't know how old this place is, or how to access most of the sectors for that matter. All that matters is that it would have been hidden from the world even longer if your samurai friend hadn't started nosing around. Anyways, I'm sure I've occupied you enough... I would say it's time for everyone else to have a turn."
"So be it." Auron said sternly.
"Are you having broken into the secret base already?!" Fawful's voice screeched through the speakers. "Aren't you getting the danger and pain that associates with breaking down the property of us? We are in the process of taking the Chronicle! Stopping us is a stupid use of time! Hurry up and get smart!"
"They could attack us at any time," Auron mumbled. "Even if they know little about this facility's true use they do know the terrain better than us."
"What's that clicking..." Troy pressed his ear up against one of the wall panels.
"GET BACK!!" Auron latched onto Troy's shoulders, tearing him away from the wall and spinning the two around so Auron remained positioned behind Troy.
"If you're trying to shield me you're doing it wr-" Troy felt the wind sucked out of his lungs as an explosion tore the opposite wall apart, hurling the nearest panel at Troy. It struck him square in the chest, sending the two flying back into the window behind them. The entire string of glass sheets blasted outwards into fragments as the two hurtled through them. They plunged downwards at least 20 feet into the chamber Troy had looked into, and Auron took the brunt of the dive into the patterned steel flooring. Troy quickly rolled off, allowing both of them to jump back to their feet.
"He knew exactly where I'd be sent flying..." Troy stared forward, biting his lip. "Are you alright?"
"Mostly..." Auron rose to his feet. Troy winced as he watched Auron tear a shard of glass out of the side of his torso, but stared in confusion as he showed no physical discomfort.
"Good..." Troy turned back in the other direction, frowning. "'cause we've already got company."
"Nice of him to move you into an open area where we can more ably crush you." Wily stood with his arms folded on the very top of Gutsman's head, his coat flapping in the breeze that still remained unsettled from the blast. "What's a good metaphor for this... you've stepped right down the devil's throat of your own free will, and it's time for you to suffer the consequences. I've made some... enhancements to Gutsman to ensure that he can provide us all with a bit more entertainment."
"Let's go!" Gutsman's elbows swiveled, stretching themselves out before the colossus's fist slammed into its opposite hand. "This time the score's gonna run a little different, eh?! Are you ready to get clobbered?!"
"It's just like you to hog the show." Valentina let out a dull grunt as she climbed onto Wily's foothold. "...oh, Troy! Can't say I was expecting you, but by all means come in and pay your respects... and don't think any little freak show you put on is going to scare me away!"
"It's like you're invisible." Troy glared at Auron. Auron just shook his head.
"No more games!" Wily bellowed. Sparks flew from Valentina's fingers and Gutsman's fists suddenly erupted in flame. With a loud grind they spun 90 degrees in their slots, and rockets blasted from within as they suddenly shot out at the two with heavy chains in their wake. Auron sighed to himself and disappeared in a blur as one flaming mass of metal tore down into the ground where he once stood. Troy on the other hand was left to run with his limbs flailing, only managing to avoid the attack on his front by tripping over a pipe. The fist slammed into one of the large storage drums, leaving a massive deformation in it.
"Guess that would be the easiest way to find out what's inside..." Troy catapaulted back to his feet. "Let's see you try that again."
Auron flew down out of the air elsewhere, driving his zanbato into one of the chain's links. Wily dropped down onto all fours, slamming his fists down on top of the robot's head as he broke out in shrill laughter. "You idiot... do you honestly think you can break those chains that easily?... I've taken every weak link, literally and figuratively, into consideration while upgrading this model-" Wily jerked back as the chains began to rattle. The wind rushed by him again as the rockets shifted into reverse and began retracting their projectiles at very much the same velocity - launching Auron at Gutsman's forearm.
"Nuh-uh!" Valentina raised her hand again, spraying the base of the fist's hole with mist.
"What are you doing?!" Wily screeched.
Auron looked up, seeing himself rushing at the ice wall where Gutsman's fist socket once was. He ripped his blade out and propelled himself off of the chain, plummeting down to the ground again as the fist slammed into it in response - but didn't manage to smash through it completely. The fist's chain lost its tension, and the rocket hand tumbled down to the ground below with a thunderous crash.
"You idiot!..." Wily scowled at Valentina. "Did you expect him to just walk into that?! And now... Gutsman... retract! Again!"
Troy grimaced, following the exact same procedure with his own keyblade. He wrapped his body around it and held on for dear life. The rockets never fired. Instead, Gutsman let out a roar as he spun his entire body around, slinging the free hand at the nearest wall. Troy lost his grip as the hand plowed into the wall, and was thrown off, dangling from his own weapon with one hand. Troy grinned as he realized what was happening.
"Now I got yuh!!" Gutsman snarled. The rockets fired again and Troy's fist quickly shot back towards to its respective socket. Troy hurled himself back onto his keyblade with all his strength, unlinking it from the chain and dropping off just as the hand flew back into his hole - making sure, however, to latch onto the edge of the orifice with the teeth of the blade. The fist impacted the back end of the weapon, doing no damage to the keyblade while being unable to refit itself - while the chain continued to pull. With an ear-piercing CRACK, the chain continued to retract at rocket speed, completely tearing itself off the fist. Completely seperated from Gutsman, the fist fell to the ground below, completely crushing one of the liquid tanks. Troy touched down moments after, turning and not being ready for what he'd see.
A wall of purple sludge tore out in all directions from the obliterated storage tank.
"Vast?!"
Auron raced by Troy on the ground, latching onto his forearm and dragging him in a mad sprint. The two leapt up to the top of another of the cylinders, turning to examine the damage they'd helped cause. There wasn't enough of the substance released to completely cover the floor, but it still took up a great majority of it.
"Gutsman is useless thanks to you!!" Wily screamed.
"Not a problem. We've got 'em cornered, I'll take care of this." Valentina jumped down the arm, quickly scaling down the mecha. Troy watched in horror as she leapt down to the floor - straight into the puddle of Vast.
"NO!! STOP!!" Troy screamed. He broke from Auron's grip, jumping down to the floor. He ran in a wild windsprint to the border of the Vast puddle, stumbling to a stop as Valentina touched down. Valentina started to jog through the gunk, charging up a blast of flame in her right hand - looking around confusedly as the Vast slowly started to climb up her legs and slow her pursuit.
"W-what's happening..." Valentina said weakly. "What is this..." she looked up in time to see a column of Vast rising to her side, suddenly lancing out with a spike of solidified purple slime aimed directly at her skull. Troy felt his skin turn clammy and cold as a sheen of red light overrid his vision. Time quickly lurched to a crawl, to an even greater extent than the Chronicle was normally responsible for. Valentina's expression quickly turned from that of confusion to utter terror as she locked eyes with Troy. "What did you do?!"
"What do I do?!"
'She'll be erased.'
'Erased?'
'A Nobody can't survive long in that form. And the bond between them and their heart is weak in this stage...'
'What are you talking about?!'
'The Vast will tear apart everything that she is...'
'I have to do something!'
'There is nothing you can do... not unless your heart is powerful enough to find her's.'
'I can't leave her... I can't leave Ameile to be... DEVOURED!!'
Blood was rushing to Troy's head. He shook the blur out of his vision, realizing that he had spaced out for a critical second. He looked up to find the lance of Vast inches from Valentina's temple, and let out a breathless yell as he charged straight into the Vast. No longer having any rational understanding of what he was doing, he paid no attention to the fact that the Vast receded from around his feet with every step he took charging through it. He reached up, clasping the Chronicle with both hands, and cleaved through the tower of Vast, causing it to rupture and explode into thin air. The sludge simply hung in the air, refusing to fall back down into the pool it came from. Troy spun around to Valentina and realized what had happened - time had completely stopped for him. Looking around in panic, the Vast slowly began to close up around his feet again.
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!!" Troy cried at the top of his lungs.
With a flash, him and Auron vanished - and the Vast retreated into a blob in the perfect shape of the tank that had held it. Valentina stood in the middle, taking ragged breaths as she, Wily and Gutsman remained breathless in the middle of the empty, ruined room.
In a hallway deeper inside the compound, Troy was down on all fours, taking labored breaths as Auron towered over him. Auron shook his head, turning his attention to the corridors ahead.
"Are you beginning to see why people desire the Chronicle so badly?" Auron muttered. "Or, for that matter, why people want you dead so badly?"
"Do you... know what... happened..." Troy hacked out between wheezes. His stomach continued to threaten to turn inside out. "...guhhhhh..."
"Of course not," Auron tensed up as he heard several mechanical clanks from within the walls, but returned to his regular posture as they died out. "I didn't actually see."
"...what's that supposed to mean?!" Troy stared coldly upwards at Auron as he still struggled to push himself to his feet. "How could you not have seen any of that... I freaked out before I actually tried to do anything... but again, everything slowed down... I just charged out there not thinking what would happen to me, but just that whatever that Vast was doing... I don't know, it was something I had to stop. After that... I can't tell you what happened. I was just... here."
"How long did you take to reach that woman?" Auron sighed.
"Too long." Troy mumbled, again falling into a coughing fit.
"...I saw you do what you did, yes. My question is how."
"What do you mean?"
"Troy, you say you flinched..." Troy trailed off. "...but you did everything you said in less than 2 seconds. It seems what you say is true... the Chronicle has some degree of control over time, but not just for you. As for us being here and not there... it seems that you were able to will the Chronicle to levels of empowerment that even my reflexes can't interpret. If that hypothesis is true, then this would be an extremely dangerous weapon in the wrong hands and that everyone's apparent zeal over it is justified. The fact that you are able to use it with relatively simple training is troubling, though." Auron crouched down and offered a hand to Troy. "...what exactly is it that's triggering the Chronicle's release, though..."
Troy gradually rose from the floor, suddenly falling against the wall. He hoisted himself up, slouching over as he dusted himself off. "...you should know my answer to that by now."
"...in that case, then it appears that not only the Chronicle is powerful... you yourself are an asset." Auron pivoted and began off in the other direction as Troy stared dully at him.
"I'm... an asset?"
Both froze. Uneasiness dripped out of the air like a sponge.
"Maybe Sirius came to this world with more haste than others," Auron mused. "Because he saw both a powerful Keyper and a great keyblade in vincinity with each other... though didn't have enough time to pinpoint you with any reasonable accuracy. It was that zeal to have a powerful sentry against the Heartless and Vast that ensured that this world survived, as much as I hate to admit it. That may be why he also waited until other keyblades had been found before showing disagreement and outright hostility towards the people of this world, so that the Heartless and Vast would be unable to establish footholds while Sirius be able to do as he pleased regarding obtaining the Chronicle... though not necessarily for himself, but to take to other worlds to battle the Heartless and Vast back into equilibrium as was done here."
"You're quite the conspiracy theorist." Troy said dully.
"You don't get very far in my business without being one." Auron shot back.
"And how exactly am I supposed to carry on without thinking that I'm an 'asset' to YOU?"
"You can skip the thinking, considering I already said that out loud."
"Yeah, we-" Troy paused. "...QUIT TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ME!!"
Auron folded his arms. "...think what you want of me, but I have been keeping an eye on you for some time now, just like Sirius has. Not for the same reasons obviously, but that doesn't seem to matter much to you. I suppose I should clear myself up now."
"What's that supposed to mean..."
"I came to this world for the same reason Sirius did. I wanted to defend the Nobodies that still didn't realize what their role was in the universe from being annihilated by the rogue entities that breached their worlds. NSX's ambitions, however, are to return the Nobody worlds to equilibrium and carry on. As you obviously know by now, a gathering of Nobodies known as Organization XIII studied the universe and quickly determined that they were incomplete beings, that they were once seperated into that form and the only way to achieve enlightenment was to unite what they had deemed what was left of their minds with their abandoned bodies and hearts. By doing this they could gain an understanding of the universe that they had once possessed and regain their previous lives."
"And what happened to them anyways?" Troy leant his shoulder into the wall.
"There's no documentation of them disbanding. The last volume of theirs texts is incomplete as I've already told you, as it is missing all documentation of the Vast whatsoever. There is mention throughout the texts of them resorting to some more... obscure means to attract back their own corresponding Heartless and hearts, so there's no way to tell. Perhaps their dangerous research brought them to an untimely end, or maybe they were destroyed by... outside forces. All that matters is that they have provided the framework of the psyche, and those that wish to understand it are currently doing so, while attempting to avoid the pitfalls that lead to the end of Organization XIII."
"...those that wish to understand?"
"People like myself, and people like you. You want to understand what all this chaos is, whether it's personal curiosity or the promise to defend the world you come from. On the other hand, you could have performed the latter quite well under Sirius's command, but I'm not going to jump to any conclusions. Those people are the ones that explore the universe, with the promise of finding enlightenment for ourselves, and all those that wish it. Whatever organization NSX is, it is obvious that it is spreading propaganda to prevent people like you and I from discovering the true nature of the Heartless... and blocking all information regarding the Vast that they themselves apparently know something about."
Troy stepped forward, thrusting his arm out. "But... no, I don't understand this at all. I know that we're in a dangerous situation right here and now and that you say that I'm a dandy Keyper and all, but... why are you telling me all this?"
Auron remained staring off into space. His hands hung behind his back. "...I would be lying if I said that I wasn't interested in the power of your keyblade. However, you have bound it to yourself and have great control over its powers, which will only heighten with more training. I know from the actions you have taken in the past several weeks that you possess a strong will and keen reflexes, and that you wish the best for your friends and comrades. You are still fighting a battle bigger than your world, and you are doing so with great success... even if you don't realize it. It's for that reason that I wish to formally invite you to this great galaxy-wide quest to find your true being... not just for yourself, but for your world. You now know yourself that what I say is true, but I cannot decide for you either way. I will help you and the others see the worlds for what they truly are, and bring light to the ones that need it."
Troy swallowed hard as Auron's hands clamped down on his shoulders with industrial-crane-like force.
"Join us. Join the Covenant."
Comments? Queries? Death threats?
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