Sirius sat out in the field, night creeping over the palace gardens for what seemed like the thousandth time to him. He would have taken any other time besides this one to make a sarcastic comment to himself about the fact. Right now, he had more important things rampaging through his mind. It was a term that he was embarassed, frightened even, to admit. Nonetheless, he sat within the orb of Vast, staring down at the ground as a thousand thoughts pillaged what patience he had left with his surroundings. He blinked repeatedly, holding his arms tightly to his side and trying to ignore the shivering that radiated out from them regardless. Sirius finally looked up, and let out a hiss to himself. He stared coldly out between the remaining guards that watched over him. Losing most of what composure he still had, the mumbling under his breath became more audible.

"...Ameile."

Sirius kept making sudden, paranoid movements with his body as the name continued to sink in. He silently cursed and praised himself at the same time for managing to select a physical form that had the capabilites of limited telepathy. When Troy obtained a keyblade as powerful as the Chronicle, and blatantly went against the plans of Sirius's superiors, it made it clockwork to band together weak-minded fools such as Pokey and Valentina to go after the keyblade. Sirius could easily set up the mindgames required to seize the keyblade from their possession afterwards. Again, however, that was not at the forefront of his thought. Maybe the plan would still succeed, perhaps not. This name, this little particle of information, however... it was making all of Sirius's self-rejected assumptions fall into place.

Troy's sudden change in attitude, his ability to claim a keyblade of such power... he had encountered situations like this before. None of those keyblades were as powerful as the Chronicle, however, nor had their owners been as unexperienced as Troy.

"...those two... they should be nothing but myth." Sirius slowly pushed himself up to his feet. "...the legend of Ederick and Ameile stretches back thousands of years... there's no way that Ameile's keyblade should be ready to give itself up that easily. Unless the one beckoning it were to have an unbreakable emotional link to its creator. There is no way that the Nobody of Ederick could be able to survive in perfect condition to this very day... not with millenia of physical stimuli and self-reflection. None of those that lost themselves to the darkness during the Exodus could fully keep themselves together in this forgotten galaxy..."

"Keep it down over there." one of the half-awake Mushroom guards nearby slurred.

"If the Chronicle truly is the lost keyblade of Ameile, then its latent power must be beyond any other keyblade that I have encountered... in that case, it is even more imperative that I return it, along with its wielder, to the hive mind... perhaps then, I will find the truth I seek..."

Sirius sat back down cross-legged, exchanging a glare with the guard. Blocking his environment out of his mind, he began to focus on his psychic link again, bridging the hundreds of miles between him and a slightly irritated Illidan Stormrage. Sirius let his eyes float open, peering through the superhuman visage of the warrior elf as he strode down the corridors of the abandoned underground bunker. Sirius took a deep breath, regaining his composure as the hallways bobbed around him.

Illidan.

"What is it?" Illidan snarled.

I'm going to make this quick. You must abandon your post for the time being. There's been some complications involving seizing Troy's keyblade. We need to approach this from a different angle. For now y-

Illidan chuckled. "You must really think you are a work of art. But I hate to inform you, your perception is not as godly as you make it out to be. Of course I realize that Troy's keyblade possesses supernatural qualities. That is why I am pursuing it."

What do you mean?

"I must thank you for giving me this lead, bird-man. I have been quite aware of your plans for some time; did you honestly think that I would go ahead and assume that you wouldn't try to negotiate it back into your own hands? In the process of your aid, however, you've given me all the information and surveillance on this weapon that I could possibly want. I will seize the Chronicle and employ it myself. You've outlived your usefulness a long time ago, pity that I couldn't meet you in person to end you and seal the deal."

You don't understand, Illidan, if this keyblade is associated with who I think, then it will be NSX's greatest asset in the-

"I believe this conversation is over. You will undoubtedly send more peons at me to take it back? I WILL be prepared. And YOU, on the other hand, will not."

Sirius lurched forward as energy crackled around his shoulders. Sirius sulked to the ground, feeling his head spin from the feedback of Illidan successfully shrugging off the telepathic link. Sirius trembled in rage as he fell forward and planted his taloned hands on the ground, trying as hard as he could to suppress a guttural yell.

"I'm going to have to get out of here the hard way." Sirius growled.

nSX: CHaPTeR 9

lt3ytl3xbcl;'xb879fe

InSTaNt rEplAy: paRT 2

"Join the Covenant."

Troy slowly turned his head away, but quickly realized that he wasn't going to be escaping Auron's iron grip in the immediate future, much less the intense stare that would bore through his head sooner or later. "...do I get a badge, or discounts at fast food places, or..."

"Like I said, we share all the same goals as you, except that... we may be going to greater lengths to accomplish them. We want to get out of these hollow worlds we've been implanted in and seek what is missing from us... the hearts that the Organization has alluded to countless times in their own pursuit. This NSX, their agents have been against us the whole time. They know things about the advancing Heartless and Vast that we don't. There is some kind of conspiracy going on here and the Covenant will not rest until they know what it is about."

"You act like that's NOT what I'm going for at this point." Troy muttered.

"If you come with us, I guarantee that we can work together and get more answers than if we were to go our seperate ways. The major reason I'm being serious about this, however, is that you will need to make sacrifices in order for this to work."

"Elaborate."

"You will most likely end up leaving this world. For how long I don't know."

"Why don't you talk to Peach about that? She's more into that interplanetary exploration thing, although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't relatively interested in that kind of thing."

"Because you are the one with the willpower to actually survive it."

Troy shook his head, sighing. "Let's just finish this, you can go home, I can go home, once we get these freaks out of our hair and everything goes back to normal I'm going to-"

"This doesn't end here, Troy," Auron called out. Troy ground to a halt instantly, visibly cringing from the sudden sternness in Auron's voice. "...you've already realized that the Heartless, Nobodies and Vast will continue giving you trouble from hereonin, now that you have that keyblade. Even if you had no ambition to learn more, which I highly doubt at this point... you will not be able to fight off rival Keypers, or the symbiotes; let alone NSX forever. The only way you WILL truly 'finish this' is if you reach beyond your horizons and grasp the truth behind everything yourself."

"And when I leave, then what?" Troy spun around. "Who keeps this place safe? I haven't even SEEN any of the other Keypers actually doing anything. I'm not saying I won't be on my rear when this is done, but-"

"There are 854 registered Keypers between the Mushroom Kingdom, Koopa Troop and Sarasaland regimes. You have not been fighting the Heartless and Vast by yourself, although it may feel that way. I seriously hope that statement was a lapse of judgement... this is one of few worlds that has been able to stand against the two entirely on its own. Typically worlds like these that are under siege from rogue Keypers, Heartless and Vast all at the same time end up either conglomerates of NSX through their intervention, or completely destroyed in the midst of conflict between the domain's inhabitants and agents of NSX themselves. We have the rapid recognition and mobilization of Keypers, as well as the diligent work of the Keypers themselves, to thank. As the first of many, you bore an incredible responsibility in making the keyblades' powers known to your own people, in addition to helping spread its legend. And that is why I am pleading for your help now - that legend needs to be made public. Not just here, but everywhere... everywhere that the Covenant can touch."

"That still doesn't explain why NSX would let everyone embrace that 'legend'..." Troy trailed off.

"That's another mystery we have to deal with in due time, but for now... please understand where I'm coming from."

Troy slumped against the wall, folding his arms. He bit his lip and looked away, eventually rolling his eyes back to meet Auron's. "...leaving this world you say?"

"Yes. Not permanently of course, but you will find our residence to be a home away from home regardless."

"One condition." Troy jabbed an index finger into the air and let his other arm slouch.

"Name it."

"Have you met Selphie? Mario, Luigi?"

"Yes."

"Well," Troy pressed himself upwards, slumping towards Auron with his hands cradled behind his head. "It seems that all three of them got dropped on this world for no apparent reason. None of us, or any of them, have any clue what circumstances got them dumped here, and I'm sure if it were to seize a keyblade, we would've found it long ago. My terms are simple: they don't necessarily have to come with us, but I gotta figure out where they all came from so we can return them safe and sound."

Auron nodded. "I can devote resources to that."

"Well, I guess we got us a deal then." Troy jabbed out a hand. Auron looked down at it, and hesitated for a moment before weakly grabbing it. Both got halfway through an affirmative nod before the hallway around them shook violently. "...what was that..."

"Move." Auron said coldly.

Troy pivoted in place, stumbling backwards at what he saw. Of in the distance the tiles that made up the four sides of the corridor were vanishing, and as its disappearance picked up speed the two could see that its construction was not simply evaporating. The panels were completely flying out in random directions, revealing that the hallway was in the middle of a great domed arena. Massive blue spotlights pulsed eerily from the roof, lighting up the grate flooring beneath and the large pipes that dotted the rim of the chamber.

"Okay children, break time's over," Heihachi boomed. "Do you mind coming down so we can finish this and I can get that keyblade? Much appreciated."

"You..." Troy snarled. "You're the one on the intercom... if I can just get YOU, then..."

"Troy, wait, there-" Auron cast his arm out but anything he said fell on deaf ears. Troy leapt forward and plunged out of the collapsing antechamber to the ground. He braced the solid 30 foot tall perfectly, letting out a roar as he lunged forward across the room at Heihachi with his weapon raised. A dull groan made the room shudder again, and Troy stumbled to a dead stop as Heihachi continued to stand with his arms folded. Troy let out a screech as the grating underneath him suddenly exploded and a massive white fist burst through, sending him into the air and clear across the 100-foot arena. Troy landed with a roll and painfully slammed his way across the ground to a stop. He pressed himself up slowly and wiped the dirt off his face, watching the fist melt away into the floor. The body of Giygas slowly phased up through the grating, gaining a humanoid form. A bulging eye burst out from its chest, flitting about before locking its attention on Troy as he finally managed to climb back to his feet.

"Just the guy I've been looking for." Troy wheezed, grinning as he grabbed the loose keyblade from the floor. "I've got something you might w..." Troy completely flew off his feet as the room rumbled again. "...for the love of... NOW what?!"

"That's Giygas's warm way of saying..." Heihachi looked up into the air at Auron as he jumped down to join the fray. "...you will make an excellent morsel. A morsel nonetheless."

"It was from a distance." Auron slowly began to step back.

"Hah, don't tell me YOU'RE the one getting cold feet this time, don't worry, I'll divert my attention from Troy if it makes you feel any b-"

Auron covered his eyes as the wall behind Heihachi exploded and four flashes of blue light leapt from the smoke. Heihachi lurched forward as the whirling beacon pierced straight through his chest, howling through the air. Troy's heart stopped as both of them whizzed by opposite sides of his head, slamming into the wall behind him. Troy tried his best to make the subsequent glance over his shoulder as casual as possible. "...keyblades?" Troy spun around, eyeing the two star-type weapons lodged into the wall and still smoking with a blue haze.

The grin remained on Heihachi's face, with some effort, as he crumpled to the ground from the gaping wounds in his chest. "W-wha-what is the m-urgh-meaning of THIS?!"

Illidan strode through the hole in the wall, flicking his left wrist upwards. A bright blue flash brought the Cocytus back to his hand, both ends glowing with the same unearthly light. "...I see the conglomerate has already gathered. You're still not competent enough to do anything to Troy, however, and I have to thank you for that. You've made our first encounter so much easier. Unfortunately... you're going to have to step aside now. I still have use for Giygas, you on the other hand..."

"So you're the leader of this band..." Auron muttered.

"Leader? I'm not leader, nor have I fallen to one. Sirius was kind enough to guide all of these fools together in an attempt to scavenge the Chronicle from your bones, but he wasn't quite keen enough to realize that at least one of his little mercenary posse would have the same idea. He seems to be getting cold feet after some consideration of exactly who's Nobody you are, but that's not important to me... what matters now is that keyblade, and its power, sitting contently in my collection."

"Rrgh..." Troy hunched down. "...this keeps getting better and better..."

"Troy." Auron mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Let me handle this."

"Elaborate."

"His weapon is a keyblade... and its power is immense. I don't doubt that this Keyper is more powerful than anything you've happened to come across so far. What matters is injecting your Vast into Giygas. I don't know how, but it's your task to subdue Giygas. I'll try to keep-"

"I don't think you understand," Illidan grabbed the center of the star with both hands, tearing its shafts apart and shifting one off to his opposite hand. "No one will be... how do you put it... keeping me occupied. My name... is Illidan Stormrage... and I am the rightful heir to Chronicle!!"

Troy stumbled back as a blast of wind hit him. Auron's head snapped up. "No!"

Illidan had already left his starting position in a flash, ending in a deafening clash of metal milliseconds later as Auron intercepted the twin glaives mere feet from where Troy stood. Illidan let out a roar as he leapt back and rocketed forwards again, and Auron spun his own blade down vertically to shield himself from another pair of lightning-quick slashes. Illidan spun again, slamming the handle of his blade into the Murasama's hilt and bashing it into Auron's face. Illidan shifted forward again in a skewer straight to Auron's chest, which deflected violently as Troy swept in front of him, catching both blades inbetween the teeth of the Chronicle.

"You make this too easy!!" Illidan released one of the blades, leaving it entirely in midair as he slammed his free fist into Troy's throat. Troy let out a hack as he released his own weapon, grappling onto Illidan's arm and biting down hard on his wrist. Illidan stumbled back with a growl, letting go of the other glaive. Before Troy and Auron could backpedal any amount, Illidan cast his arms forward and sent the levitating blades rocketing at them. Troy spun around as he fell backwards and grimaced as one of the blades nicked his infected hand. Auron growled as the other pierced entirely into his shoulder. Troy spun again and slammed his other hand down on its hilt, ripping it out. Troy's eyes widened as blood began to pour out of the wound - before he had any time to grasp the concept the glaive in his own hand burst into blue flame, consuming his whole arm. Troy screeched as he threw the weapon back into the air, causing it to immediately turn around and shoot back at him. Troy completely bent over backwards, falling down as the weapon scorched over him and into the dome's wall.

Troy continued tending to his arm as Illidan marched towards him. Troy's eyes settled on Auron who sat on on knee a short distance away, a hand helplessly trying to apply pressure to his wound. Troy's head suddenly snapped up, watching as both glaives locked back into Illidan's hand - and as he prepared to plunge both glaives into his chest.

"Will people learn... that the death from above thing... NO LONGER WORKS!!"

Illidan screamed as he slung both weapons down, his face twisting as suddenly Troy flipped onto his side between both weapons and thrust the Chronicle clean through his upper torso. As Illidan stumbled back he yanked Troy back onto his feet, causing the blade's teeth to rip out sideways. The air rippled as the weapon phased through the organic target as it had with Nightmare. Illidan licked his lips, rubbing the mental wound. "...the more power you let flow from that weapon... the more a tantalizing target it becomes."

Troy's eyes went wide as the air rushed around him with a deep whoosh that came from all directions. He looked up in time to see a massive white fist hurtling down from above. Troy leapt to the side, tumbling briefly before being bounced back in the air yet again both by the shockwave and flying shards of the metal grate. Giygas rose from its kneel, the eye continuing to trace Troy as he stumbled backwards on the way back to his feet.

"Our friend here isn't much of an audience-goer. I simply wanted to step in to get the... diversion out of the way."

"Auron..." Troy ground his teeth, glancing over his shoulder. The wounded samurai finished the ascent back to his feet, clutching the shoulder of his bloodstained robe.

"Anyways," Illidan threw his arms up in the air. "I wouldn't want to risk a battle with a Keyper as powerful as yourself, hm? That's why I have this beast here keeping me company. Letting him use his primal Nobody powers to reduce you to a quivering pile of a being would make this whole keyblade seizure much easier on me. It matters not what your keyblade's legacy is, or who once wielded it, once you can no longer contemplate such things let alone retain your sanity..."

Troy jerked in place as the eye in front of him dilated. He started to step backwards from Illidan and the towering Giygas as soft pulses of purple light began to fill the air. The Chronicle clattered to the ground. "...n-no... not again! I won't let you turn me into that freak!!"

"Think of how wonderful it would be to not have a mortal concern in the world... nothing but the mindless consumption of the mind itself... you could devour your friends in one moment and not even care..."

"GAAarrgh!!" Troy fell to his knees, clutching his arm. The Vast hand throbbed violently. "...it feels like it's going to b-" Troy was interrupted as his palm suddenly bubbled outwards, turning into a boil that nearly spontaneously exploded outwards. "AAAAAAAUGGHH!!"

"Let yourself go, Troy," Illidan snarled. "Submit yourself to your primal desires..."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" Troy stumbled backwards, stopping next to Auron. "I won't let you erase me... or let you sit here throwing subliminal threats at anyone else!!" Troy's arm shot out as he crouched, latching onto the Murasama that sat lifelessly on the ground. In one gargantuan heave, Troy slung the massive blade over his shoulder with both hands, suddenly turning and charging back towards Giygas.

"Troy!! What are you do... ing." Auron winced and slammed his fingers over top of the growing wound. How in the world is he able to lift my keyblade?!...

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!" Troy's arms went limp and he whirled straight at the primal Nobody in front of him. The bloody eye suddenly went pale, and shined an intense white light over Troy as he neared. Troy let out a breathless scream as he hurled the blade as hard as he could, going blind as the sword pinwheeled into the white abyss. Troy felt his whole body go numb as the light vanished as fast as it came. Troy's limbs slowly regained lethargic feeling as an unearthly scream tore through his mind. White slime exploded all over Troy as his sudden suspension from reality ended and he crashed to the ground.

"How could you?!..." Illidan backed away, summoning both glaives back to his hands. Everyone stared on as the Masamune sat nearly entirely embedded in the eye of Giygas, from which the creature's lifeblood continued to spew around the chamber.

"If you wanted a savage Nobody... YOU GOT IT!!" Troy rocketed forward again, leaping into the air and slamming his right hand around the hilt of the daikatana. The Chronicle flew off the ground and was intercepted by Troy's Vast hand. Troy slammed the toothed end of the weapon into the wound, tearing his way into the gunky mess and turning the teeth sideways. Grabbing both weapons, he split his legs and tore both keyblades through both sides of Giygas, ripping its upper torso to shreds. Another scream tore through the air, stunning both Auron and Illidan as Troy completely disemboweled the Nobody.

White and beige slime scattered around the floor as Giygas rapidly degenerated. Troy whirled around as the substance began to recollect, quickly reshaping itself back into an orb that balanced on the ground before beginning to levitate. Its eye opened again, veins pulsing red from deep beneath it. It let out another deafening psychic scream, beginning to push Troy back.

"Whine some more." Troy grit his teeth, slowly beginning to advance in the face of Giyga's mental assault. Giygas's eye flared again and let out a screech of its own as it fired a bright white laser that pierced into the ground and ripped upwards at Troy. Troy raised both keyblades and swung them down in front of him. Both attacks clashed and the beam gradually began to widen and grow in intensity as both fought for control of the attack, a translucent barrier growing around Troy's front in response.

A final rush of adrenaline shot through Troy and he felt strength surge through him again. Everything in his visage turned a sickly shade of blue and his grimace grew. "It's happening again... the Chronicle..." Troy pivoted his head up before thrusting it forward again, causing a visible wave of force to explode out from around him. Time slowed to a crawl once more and he forced all his concentration upon the beam - which had now been slowed to a degree such that the beam was now individual pulses of light. Troy felt his spirit rise again and he broke the barrier in front of him, slowly moving towards Giygas as he began slashing the individual bundles of energy out of the air with resulting miniature blasts of their own. Giygas let out a pained whine, beginning to shrivel in anticipation as Troy finally strode up to melee range.

"I got a present for you!!" Troy roared, casting both weapons off to the side in a whirlwind of steel. With one last burst of strength, Troy reeled back and hurled his Vast palm straight at the center of Giygas's eye.

I'm afraid I can't let you do that.

Troy's hand froze to a halt. The rest of Troy began trembling wildly as the energy of of his assault was reabsorbed into his body. His surroundings continued to grow into a dull blue as his adrenaline emptied out. "What's-w-wha-ouuuggh-" Troy's head slumped forward, letting out a fountain of vomit as every muscle in his body went from full-tilt operation to paralysis in the span of seconds. "...kahhhhgggg..." Troy's head bucked wildly as he managed to raise it back to its regular position, slowly pivoting over to see a man advancing him in a heavy, hooded black raincoat. "...y-you... what are you doi-"

The figure stretched out its arms, revealing a pair of black leather gloves from its long sleeves. The man closed in on Troy, kneeling down to pick up the Chronicle as he marched onwards. "...Troy Kiemen... that's what they call you? You did good. Better than all the others. You actually got me a keyblade that I was capable of using... not only that, you found Ameile's keyblade of all things. I really do owe you one."

"Who are you?!" Troy hacked.

The black-coated silhouette swung the keyblade around weakly several times before turning its gaze back to Troy. Slowly it raised its free hand and lifted back the heavy collar of the overcoat. Underneath was a head of moppy blonde hair, that of a human teenager. Finally he lifted his head up and opened his dull blue eyes to lock onto Troy, giving an arrogant smirk as he did so.

"I think that's none of your concern... puppet."

Sirius's head snapped up. "No. That can't be. That's just a fairy tale! That can't be... Ederick himself?! That's flat out impossible... Troy can't be the Nobody of Ederick!! I've wasted too much time here. I have to do something, and something now."

"Okay, seriously, quit with the psychobabble, some of us gotta sleep out here." One of the retainers slumped against a nearby tree, visibly nodding off.

Sirius took a deep breath and concentrated. He slowly rose to his feet, beginning to walk to the border of the Vast sphere. "I swore I would not subject myself to the Vast again, nor would I put the stability of lesser-cultured worlds in jeopardy... but I must act for the greater good!" Sirius glared at the guard as he strode straight through the purple field - and promptly collapsed to the ground with a shriek.

"What are you doing?!" the guard yelled. "How can you just... ARGH, I should have figured he was just playing dumb, I shouldn'tve trusted the Princess to keep him locked down with that stupid light show... GUARDS!!" the soldier's body went completely silent as a thin green laser beam narrowly missed his head. Sirius let his glowing hand slump down as the rest of his body collapsed. Slowly stumbling to his feet, Sirius let out a scream as he planted his taloned feet into the ground. He dug into his scalp with both hands and bent backwards, continuing to let out high-pitched whines as the purple sludge dripped off his body.

"Aegegsfgggghhh!!" Sirius began to lose his rigidity, stumbling into a nearby hedge as the sludge continued to eat away at him. "N-no!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! YOU WILL NOT BE THE ONE JUDGING MY EXISTENCE!!" Sirius shook all over as he spotted the Vast congealing at his right arm. Attempting to completely shut off the nerves in the singular limb as he had many times before, he raised his other palm and sheared the arm completely off with another beam of green light. Sirius collapsed to the ground again, pushing himself backwards across the grass as he watched the purple symbiote completely disintegrate the lost appendage. Sirius glanced around the small hedge enclosure at the mess of blood that stained the entire section of grass. Sirius slowly stood up, feeling the pangs of his restarting nervous system as his mortal wound began to seal itself. "...this body is nearly worthless to me now... it will take too much time to locate another suitable combat body in the localized spirit well... the most I can do now is race to Ederick and seize him and Ameile's keyblade before... he can get away from us again!!"

Sirius leapt and hoisted himself over the walls of the hedge maze, in the process tramping over his widespread blood

"Puppet..."

"I'm going to cut to the chase," Ederick stabbed the Chronicle forward at Troy. "That Vast in your arm is going nowhere. Luck beyond luck, you're both a Nobody that's aware of its own place in the universe and a Nobody that is successfully repressing a Vast reset. That'll make explaining myself a lot easier. First, it's true that you're a Nobody. Nobodies, Heartless and Vast make up the holy trinity of physical existence, and for the purposes of this conversation, I'm going to tell you that the Nobody represents the mental processes and logical mannerisms of a Complete."

Troy's muscles contracted in pain. Looking around, he watched as the remainder of progressing time screeched to a halt and the blue aura covering everything in sight began to burn at his eyes. "A Complete... is the combination of all three? But they all repel or destroy each other, why are-"

"That's the pack mentality, eh? Every single one of those things is out there trying to find the other two that belong to it but they all keep slamming into each other in all the wrong combinations and annihilating each other. Three Stooges syndrome. Let's say, for both your future reference and literally, that a Heartless represents the carnal desires and senses of the physical form. If you keep trying to put your brain in the body of a rabbit, how the hell do you think you're going to react when you seal the deal? You have no idea how to operate this new physical form, so the mind is going to rebel and there's not a thing the body can do outside of the mind's instruction."

"Nobodies beat Heartless..." Troy's eyes went wide. "But... what does this have to do with me..."

"Here's a little revelation for you, 'Troy'," Ederick swung the keyblade back to his side. "You are a Nobody, but you aren't a hive mind. You are nothing more than the physical form of a Complete's thought patterns... the whole is greater than the sum of its parts."

"What are you trying to say?!" Troy shouted back.

"Take a look," Ederick raised his arms to both sides. "at your Complete."

Troy felt nausea beginning to rise again. "...my... Complete?"

"Oh, I'm not actually a REAL Complete by any means," Ederick folded his arms. "I'm merely a tiny shred of sanity left in the mutated form of a Nobody you represent. And when you had that Vast injected into you... I prevented it from turning you into a mindless vegetable and overpowered it to harness for my own use. It activated your latent heritage... as the evolutionary relative of Ederick Argentai, the Master Keyper of NSX."

"...of NSX?"

"Do you know what the Vast does, Troy?" Ederick's grin grew more toothy and demented by the moment. "...the Vast is the physical force responsible for the creation of hearts. Millenia of research and scholarly pursuits by the greatest of galaxies-worth of scientists and philosophers sought that power, but I was the one to find it... lost in this God-forbidden galaxy, locked away for all time... but, it is nothing but a natural force set on autopilot... if some random Vast encounters a lowly Nobody such as yourself, lacking a heart, it will attempt to assimilate you and inject a new heart into the hollow shell you represent, destroying any ties you had to your previous Complete in the process."

"...and Vast beats Nobody..."

"The Vast just plays into the Heartless' hand though, if the Heartless really are nothing but empty physical shells with a hunger for hearts yet suffers no ill effects from the 'reset' so to speak..."

"Then they just siphon energy off them like crazy."

"Hey now, you're getting good at this. Starting to see what I mean?"

"I'm starting to see what you mean, I'm not seeing what relevance this has to this situation."

"Oh, it has everything to do with it," Ederick sighed. "Just seems that you need to be reminded that you're just a cog in the machine that is Ederick, even if you think you're performing some kind of miracle in saving this world or something."

"No. Why are you here." Troy gradually began to tense up, pain dripping away from him.

Ederick shrugged. "It just looked like you needed some help, that's all. So if you'll just get on your knees and submit, I'd be more than happy to take over for you for a bit."

"Take over for me, what are you talking ab-" Troy coughed up another mouthful of blood as all of a sudden it felt as if his torso had been torn in two. Troy's eyesight slowly folded inwards as all of a sudden he found himself looking at the back of his head, suddenly lashing away from his own body. "...urrghhh.. now what... AHHH!!"

Troy's body slowly climbed back to its feet, completely ignoring all the physical grievances upon it. A white wisp hovered nearby flitting around in the air in a panic. Troy rolled his arms about, cracking his shoulders. His eyes opened with a dull green glow behind them. "Ahhhh... that's better. I'll be giving this back eventually, but for now I'll take care of this little situation for you." Troy cast out his arm, causing the discarded Chronicle to fly through the air into his grasp. "...Ameile's keyblade... it's a pity I couldn't meet you face to face once more... for now however I'll take this blessing."

Auron lurched back to his feet, letting everything above his torso hang limply. "...the Chronicle is growing more powerful... how is Troy able to access its full power so easily..."

All the ambient noise drained out of the air as Troy glared at the hovering spirit in the air. "Because you, Troy, know Ameile by association. She was the creator of this Keyblade. And she was my greatest friend. That resonance... is what enables me to truly utilize this keyblade... not at 100 of its power of course, that is reserved for its true owner... but you've seen nothing of its maximum capabilities yet. Behold..."

Troy hunched down again as with a bright flash of light the room turned into nothing but a blue haze.

"Sword of the Timeless Eye, CHRONICLE!!"

A shockwave blasted out behind Troy as he flashed forward at near-unseen velocity. In the split second it took for him to approach Giygas once more, he had completely disappeared from sight. Auron froze in place as concussive blasts of air tore around him, and Troy appeared once more on the opposite side of the room, with his blade arm jutting out into the air. The blue glow vanished, and Giygas let out a pained scream as its entire form exploded into droplets of white sludge.

"T-Troy?!"

"NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!" Troy spun the handle of the blade on his palm, clasping it and slamming its head into the ground. The blue cloud rose up again and a shadow of himself leapt backwards as Giygas's particles closed back together. As the twin landed back where Troy had started, time lurched forward again and hundreds of shadows leapt into the air around the room, watching as the original shade rocketed back forward. Giygas was mutilated again with the same attack, and the shadow Troys intercepted each individual segment of Giygas as it flew into the air, slashing them to smaller and yet more unrecognizable bits. With the sound of groaning metal everything flew in reverse until Troy stood in front of Giygas yet again.

"Now Troy," Troy laughed. "Tell me what happens here."

Giygas simply vanished.

"...who am I kidding, you couldn't grasp what I'm about to tell you with a PhD in quantum physics anyways. I attacked Giygas. Just once though. After I realized he would reform I kept going back to points in history prior to that in 0.0014 second intervals and attacked him from a different angle. Of course, then I realized that he could reform from smaller denominations than that so I went back to each individual point in history that I had visited prior and sent myself out in every possible angle in this room such that I could intercept and further destroy any fragments of him that would be sent out by the explosion of hundreds of copies of myself slashing at him at different angles in the exact same point in space-time."

The white wisp suddenly was sucked back towards Troy, melting into the front of his shell. Troy blinked, looking at his hands and prodding himself as he realized that he had regained control. "...what?! Are you trying to say that the Chroncile is capable of-"

Ederick stood a short distance away with his arms folded. He scoffed to himself as he glanced away. "Time travel? Well, that's certainly an ugly way of saying it. You're experienced it though... did you not have any idea that that was what the power of the Chronicle was? Every time you've activated it, you..."

"Time dilated." Troy twitched. "...Bowser slowed down when he tried to kill me from above... so did Nightmare... and just now, when I jumped that gap, when I saved that woman..."

"All me. Heh... what were you thinking, that you had any inkling of power in yourself such that you could wield that keyblade? I don't think you were able to comprehend what you just witnessed."

"You should take care of Giygas then if you're so tough."

"Are you freakin' kidding me?! HAHAHAHAHAH!!" Troy reeled back as Ederick threw his head back and let out a hyena laugh. "Pay attention you brat! I destroyed Giygas! Outright! In a span of a blink! I don't think you followed the terminology of my explanation, so here it is, in the For Dummies version: through the repeated positioning of my self in the past space-time, I slashed Giygas into exactly 563,362 pieces in the span of 1.2 seconds. Yes, I was counting, I had to make copies that made copies of copies, remember."

Troy slowly began to back away from Ederick, feeling his arms begin to shake. "...yo...you... you c-couldn'tve..."

Ederick rolled his eyes. "I don't feel like explaining. I mean, your body was the one that did it, so I'll let your memory play it back for you." Ederick snapped his fingers.

Troy's face went white as the entire scene played at a legible speed in his updated recollection. He crumpled to his knees as Ederick casually strode by him with the Chronicle slung over his shoulder.

"There you have it. Chroncile, Sword of the Timeless Eye, is a keyblade that grants its user complete and utter control over short-range time. You know when you got told that this keyblade shouldn't fall into the wrong hands? THAT is why. Although, in this case, 'wrong hands' can be interpreted as 'hands that are not yours', since you are nothing but a pawn to me."

"...and what's the game that I'm your pawn in?" Troy asked weakly.

"I already said," Ederick tapped his foot impatiently. "This keyblade exists, therefore Ameile exists. I must find Ameile. Conveniently, it seems that you are a Nobody worth being used by this Covenant or whatever that idiot over there calls it. Since it seems that they have the means of getting off this stupid rock and out into the universe, it's a good thing you decided to say yes."

Troy's eyes shifted uncomfortably as he watched Ederick pace around him. "And what if I were to say no?"

Ederick stopped, chuckling. "...I don't think you get it. I might be bound to you..." he glanced up, giving a cold stare that made Troy's pulse crawl to a halt. "...but I have ways of making you wish that you'd never been born. If you hassle me enough that I have to wait for a more... suitable mutation of my Nobody form to occur, then I guess I have no choice but to do that, won't I?"

Troy looked away, letting darkness creep over his face as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "...well, what are you expecting me to say... everything leading up to this point as a novice Keyper has been some gong show... and now you're going to dump another miserable load of mysteries on me as soon as I begin to make any progress sorting this crap out. Can you answer at least one thing for me, just one."

Ederick glared at him distastefully.

"...if you're such a powerful Keyper, and I'm not being entirely sarcastic here..." Troy hesitated. "...there's a lot of Keypers on this world. We've fought off the Heartless and the Vast for a long time now. Do you think that this world would be able to fend for itself if we were to leave?"

Ederick scoffed to himself, continuing to stare a hole through Troy. Finally he heaved a sigh and looked back at Auron. "...I can sense great power from all corners of this globe. There are Keypers in every nook and cranny of this insignificant planet, but if you are asking whether or not this world can defend itself from whatever symbiote drabble that crashes into it, then I would say that these defenses are satisfactory."

"So I can head for other worlds with that comforting me." Troy let his head sulk. "That's all I wanted to know."

"You only head for the stars out of its convenience to me, you're my tool and nothing more. Delusions of grandeur will be dealt with by me personally. You know your objective. Now, go, go to your friends and head out there and find Ameile. And remember one thing... the power I hold over Chronicle is derived solely from my emotional connection to her. What I wield is just a fragment of its maximum ability, in her hands its power will increase yet again... no one else must be allowed to take it from our... your grasp."

"You're leaving me a-"

"Ungh..." Ederick suddenly collapsed to one knee. His physical form distorted rapidly, turning to static as he locked eyes with Troy once more. "...I've already pushed myself too hard. I haven't been able to entirely gain control of the Vast... I'm going to have to leave you for now. Don't think this changes things any, Troy... the whole is greater than the sum of its parts..."

Troy growled as he cast out his arm. "Wait! You..." Troy's shoulders again fell limp as he watched Ederick simply blink into thin air. All of a sudden everything around him lurched back into motion and he found himself standing in the middle of the arena at a furious Illidan and a semi-conscious Auron.

"Did you do it, Troy?!" Auron shouted. "Where is Giygas?"

Troy set the comment settle in before spinning around wildly. "Where is? Giyas?..." Troy felt his hide turn clammy as the series of events settled into his current awareness. He glanced away, making sure to hide his commentary from the two. "...if what Ederick said and did was what just actually occured, Giygas was completely eradicated in 1.2 seconds... to everyone else watching, it would've looked like Giygas just blinked out of existence..." Troy grit his teeth as another preemptive rush of wind hit him and he raised his blade up to block Illidan's. The impact sent Troy skidding across the grating. Troy suddenly tilted his heel back, wincing as he dug his ankle into the metal frame and let the whiplash suplex Illidan facefirst into the ground. Both attempted to entrench their other foot into the grating elsewhere and use it to spin their bodies around to meet facefirst, and soon both keyblades were pointed at their target's throats.

"I cannot fully comprehend what you have done..." Illidan hissed. "But I felt the power radiating... and I heard the scream of death. For you to kill and maim with that sort of efficiency... I am impressed."

"What..." Troy let out a hack as suddenly Illidan dropped his blade, slamming his pams into the side of Troy's head in a deathgrip. The black blindfold strangling Illidan's head suddenly burned away in a flash of green flame, and it continued to billow from what remained of his eyesockets. Illidan's jaw unhinged as he let out a piercing scream and the pillar of flame lanced out at Troy at point blank range. Both Troy and Illidan were hurled into the air as the ground underneath them exploded and landed apart from each other. Troy writhed on the ground, clawing at the burns on his face - he had dodged the brunt of the attack, but his vision grew faint as the air made his eyes sting.

Illidan rose back to his feet. "More interferences..."

Sirius limped out of the smoke. "...did I not say something about approaching this from a different angle?"

"You!..." Troy snarled. "Get outta our business!!"

"So ungrateful..." Sirius looked over his shoulder. "Even after I come to this world out of the goodness of my heart... teach you and your friends of the keyblades... and now save your life yet again... I'm not long for this body, but I have a few last words before I leave for the aether once more..."

Troy twitched as Sirius's voice entered his head. As the reincarnated avatar of Ederick, you carry on a lineage that could very well stretch back to the creation of NSX itself. It is important that you survive, even if I cannot bend you to the will of my master. You hold the key to the future of not only this world, but many others... you must carry on to the stars, and search for, or at least determine the fate of the Ameile that the legend of Ederick makes mention of. With the last of this body's power I will get you to safety... but first, I've passed on my ultimate power to you. Hopefully you will never find the need to use it... but it marks the crumbling of the last barrier between you and true immortality. I bestwo upon you the Soulscreen. Troy shook the cobwebs out of his head as Sirius's grip loosened. "...the Soulscreen?"

"There's no time to explain," Sirius mumbled. "You will learn in due time."

"You're never going to end up telling me what your NSX is trying to accomplish, are you."

"...I am only one of NSX by extension... for NSX comprises all of this reality. We work towards the sanctity of NSX by restricting the Nobodies, Heartless and Vast to their own domain... I am one of the Nepenthes. Be warned that your actions may run in direct opposition to their own goals... and not all of them will be as lenient in their enforcement as I."

"Saving us just to fulfill your own needs... I didn't expect much better out of you." Troy spat on the ground in front of him, emptying out the mixture of saliva, blood and mucus. "I'm going to take you up on this, considering that after having everything pumped into my head that just was, I REALLY need some fresh air."

Sirius looked over his shoulder, watching as Troy and Auron blinked into thin air. Letting his shoulders relax he turned his gaze back to the seething Illidan. "Such insolence. Did you honestly think I didn't anticipate anything of this sort occuring regardless of who I enlisted to carry out my commands? Anyways, this little tussle seems to have resolved itself so I'll just be putting you in a place where you can think about what you just made me do. Apparently I've used up most of my power in this form just escaping the grasp of this world's officials, so I'm afraid I can't grant you a more permanent absolution. For now, anyways. Just... begone."

"rrrAAUGHH!!" Illidan roared, quickly beginning to fade away as well. Sirius watched as the remaining wafts of green flame in the air died out.

Sirius let his raised arm sag again, slowly tilting his head up to the roof as one by one the lights in the room began to die out. Similarly, the soft glow behind his own eyes began to dissiapate. "Do not incur the ire of Ederick or Ameile... for many lost souls have seen their journeys end as such..." with a nearly inaudible groan, Sirius collapsed to his knees, slumping down facefirst into the floor as the last lights disabled themselves.

Auron sat crouched on one of the many painted cliff faces of Land's End, staring out into the endless crevices beyond. A sea of dust flowed along the wasteland floors, tending to suddenly lap up and threaten to sweep away anyone that got too close to look. Every limb of his creaked with pain, but with one protesting movement his shoulders slowly rode up and down again with an accompanying sigh. Troy laid spread-eagle in the dirt nearby, crippling exhaustion showing in his form as well.

"...well. That didn't go entirely as I'd anticipated." Auron mumbled.

"...I don't think anticipation is one of our strong points." Troy grumbled back.

Auron's eyes continued to roll as he watched the straggling vegetation flail in the wind. Troy watched uneasily, expecting him to tumble over the ridge at any moment. Finally with some effort Troy pushed himself up into a sitting position. "...well."

"Well?" Auron said flatly.

"Well... now what?" Troy groaned.

Auron glanced back over his shoulder at Troy, his spectacles seeming black as night. "What happened with Giygas was... unfortunate. I hope your other... friend there didn't have anything to do with the sudden disappearance of Giygas."

"I wish I knew." Troy lied.

Auron looked back ahead of him. "...well... it seems our problem has been solved for now. That Illidan was particularly hellbent on seizing your keyblade. Something in me wagers that he will not pose an issue to the other residents of this world."

"It's me he's after. I know that much."

"...anyways... about the Vast," Auron slowly rose back to his feet. "It seems that we've had some luck."

"We?" Troy watched drunkenly as Auron gradually strode by. "Who's we?"

"You, I, some of my associates..." Auron stared into the sky, a hand held above his brow. "While injecting the latent Vast into a primal Nobody was a convenient situation that should have presented relatively no complications... that prospect seems to have ended for the time being. On the other hand, however... an esteemed disciple of medical science within the Covenant has returned from a long mission and is currently resettling in our base of operations."

"What're you trying to say?"

"She may be able to isolate the Vast in ways even I don't know of. I'm afraid she doesn't take house calls, pardon the expression. Any contact with her will likely have to wait until your official induction into the Covenant."

Troy suddenly went into a cold sweat, images of Ederick's destruction and foreboding playing back in his mind. "...uh, yeah, about that... Auron, this is going to probably sound kinda funny to you, but about the Vast... can we put that on the back burner for now? I have a really bad feeling that trying too deal with it too fast is going to have drawbacks that I might not be prepared for... please, give me more time to think about this. Maybe it might present a tactical advantage neither you or I are aware of."

Auron stared back down at Troy, eventually shaking his head. "...if you wish. I will warn you, however... attempting to contain the Vast too long will have serious and eventually lethal consequences. If you're trying to understand more about it, however, I can see why."

Troy clambered back to his feet, jogging to keep up with Auron as he marched away to Troy's dune buggy that remained conveniently parked nearby. "...so, uh, what's the plan now? I mean, if I want to join this Covenant? Do I have to take a test or something? I hate tests. Well, long answer ones anyways. Or do I have to go beat up more Heartless or Vast or whatever random slime from outer space is sieging some random kingdom around here? C'mon, help me out here."

"I think you are adequately prepared to come with me," Auron said sternly. "But first, I think you should say your temporary goodbyes to your friends on homeland security..."

"WHAT?! WHATWHATWHATWHAT?!"

Troy winced as the hand clutching his scalp forced his face down into the polished floor of the castle meeting hall yet again. "Pfh... it's like I already told you... I gotta go with Auron for a bit and he-"

"You sat there with a straight face while Auron said he was going to just whisk you away to another world..." Peach trailed off into a hiss through grinding teeth. "and you just nodded like an idiot, and-"

"This is relevant to our situation." Troy mumbled.

"That's not the point! What matters here is that you aren't TAKING ME WITH YOU!!" Peach knelt down on the floor, sitting on Troy's shell as she raised and slammed his head against the ground again.

"Peach's dream, crushed." Selphie sat at the table poking at her upper lip with an index finger. She stared wistfully at the suppressed Troy, making sure to time her blinks to avoid having to watch the brutal impacts.

"She would use up her travel money in minutes and be back here crying at our doorstep." Wooster said flatly.

"I think I'd be worth it," Peach muttered. "I'm pretty sure by now this isn't all fun and games... if Troy's gonna be romping around the galaxy we're in deep trouble. We need a REAL diplomat, why couldn'tve it been me..." Peach let out a chirp as suddenly a thick, long finger started jabbing into the back of her throat. Slowly she looked over her shoulder and stared into the face of a crouching Auron.

"Please stop that." Auron sighed. Everyone watched Peach raise off of Troy and scurry behind the council table.

"If you're here to check up on us..." Mario rocked back and forth in one of the table seats. "...then I'll be delighted to say that you missed Sirius jumping ship on us again."

"We're aware. He managed to get away from us as well." Auron replied.

"UGH, did he go after Troy again?" Luigi grumbled. "I don't know what it is between you two, but Sirius's really seeming bent on making him his whipping boy."

"I can't say for sure what his intentions really are," Auron seated himself. "but he did manage to help us out of a situation that could have gotten bloody very quickly."

"We managed to find the other Keypers that've been trying to hunt me down," Troy quickly blurted. "...I... we managed to put a dent in their operations though, I'm sure that they won't be bothering us anymore."

"That's good to know..." Peach took her chair at the head of the table, leaning back swinging her shoes up onto it. "You wouldn't believe how crazy the Keyper registry has become here. The task force infrastructure in all three kingdoms is bursting at the seams. Dad's handling the red tape, hopefully we can integrate them a little more and screen all these recruits better. It helps that we can focus our efforts on the Heartless and Vast though."

"Uh, how many people DO we have?" Troy glanced at a neatly-stacked pile of binders in front of Peach.

Peach bit her lip. She plucked the blue portfolio off the top of the stack and lazily flipped through it. "...according to the last compilation, 1,403 keypers worldwide."

"Fascinating..." Auron let his chin rest on his folded hands. "That so many Keypers could be successfully organized and united to a common cause. My experience in leadership is... fairly limited. What kinds of scenarios have these Keypers encountered, what is the average tour of duty to this date, what about-"

"Hold up tiger, I'm not the statistician here." Peach rapidly flipped through the pages. "All I can tell you is that we haven't exactly run into anything on the scope of what Troy or you've encountered. We have the manpower sure, and the Koopa and Sarasaland kingdoms are as well-staffed as us so to speak, but they're all green as can be. I wouldn't call this a bulletproof world yet."

"You've taken significant strides though, and I commend you for that," Auron bowed his head. "As long as you are able to defend yourselves against offworld threats I'm sure you and your people will find all the answers you seek."

"Not soon enough." Peach glanced at Mario, Luigi and Selphie, all lined up opposite from Auron with weary looks on their faces.

"Welllllllllll," Troy drummed his wrists on the table. "You'll be just ecstatic to know that I hit up a deal with Auron here and you three'll be coming wi-"

"I never said that." Auron said flatly.

Troy spun around. "W-wait! You said, you said that they'd be leaving this world, that if I agreed to join the Covenant, they'd-"

"I never explicitly said they would come with us. I believe the exact phrase was, 'devote resources to'. It is perfectly possible for these people to leave this world any time they please. They just need to learn the practice of doing so."

"Well we're leaving, aren't we?" Troy snapped. "Why can't they just-"

"We are going off on an entirely different tangent, did I not make myself clear? This is going to be a voyage of discovery, moreso for you than me at the outset anyways, and where we are going to end up will be extremely dangerous to both of us. The others here are victims of cirumstance, and I understand entirely if they simply wish to go home."

Mario rubbed his head through his cap uneasily. "...well, when you put it that way..."

"Ehhhh..." Selphie glanced over to Peach, getting little besides a shrug in response.

"I won't keep you here against your will, even if you are a Keyper yourself." Auron fixed his eyes on Luigi. "Do not worry about keeping the others here safe, as you can tell there has been great progress in the defense of this world and I'm sure that it currently lies in more than capable hands. Now, listen closely... I do mean it in the most literal sense when I say that you have the tools to jump between worlds as you please. You may have noticed that the keyblades are capable of fully manipulating the Vast, as Peach can attest to. The defensive barrier surrounding Birabuto remains to this date simply through her will, and molds itself to allow entry and exit of other Nobodies. This is the same Vast that can enter and leave this world at will..."

"What are you trying to say?" Peach's shoulders tensed.

"...you are able to use the domesticated Vast itself as a vessel to enter space. I mean that in the sense, that you Keypers possess a control over this extraplanar matter that would allow you to construct, with enough practice, extremely complicated machinery. That's not what you are trained for however, nor do you need to do so to accomplish something as basic as ferrying yourself between worlds."

There's only one way that a the Vast would just completely ignore a Nobody, given Ederick's description of both... Troy felt a chill run down his spine. ...and that's...

Peach was already back on her feet, staring at Auron distastefully with a cocked head and a hand on her hip. "Are you saying I could just make a big hollow cube of Vast and fly around in it?"

"That wouldn't be the most comfortable means of transit, but yes, that is a very basic example of what I'm trying to say. And I don't believe the word you want to use is 'make'... that Vast has to come from somewhere."

"We'd have to find a big wad of dormant Vast..." Luigi looked over to the window. "...but where would we find enough to make something like a spaceship out of?..."

Ugh, if I hadn't sent that tank of Vast up in smoke... Troy grimaced.

"That's up to you to determine. I'm sure the opportunities will present themselves."

Peach facepalmed. "There must have been an enormous amount of latent Vast in Birabuto for me to just suck that big shield out of nowhere... but I can't just go there and tear it down again, it's become the backbone of their anti-symbiote defense. We're in a jam here..."

"I suggest you revisit sites of earlier Heartless outbreaks. The presence of Vast is nearly always preemptive to its appearance."

If only you knew... Troy's gaze swept through the half-dazed, half-motivated stares of everyone else in the room.

"Do you really have to leave that badly..." Selphie sighed.

"There are other worlds in similar situations as yours... some better off, some dangerously unstable. We always have to be on the watch for developing situations and chances to successfully intervene in them. Surely you don't wish upon others what could have torn this civilization apart." Auron slowly pushed himself back and stood to his feet. "...we will most likely be back for a visit in the future, but I can't put an exact date on when that might happen. Until then we will be hard at work trying to discover a more permanent solution to the problems of the Heartless and Vast. Are you ready, Troy?"

"...oh? Uhhh... sure?" Troy stared dully at Auron as the heavy doors of the dining room were pulled open by a pair of mushroom retainers. He shot another hesitant glance at the other residents of the table before jumping up onto his feet and jogging back up to Auron.

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to shelve all mortal concerns," Auron folded his hands behind his back as Troy matched his pace. "eventually you will be able to return here as you please, as an extension of experiencing the kind of freedom of travel that Princess Toadstool and the others will soon have the boon of." Auron looked back forward as the residence hall of the castle came to a close and the even larger front doors of the bastion slowly creaked inwards. Light spilled on top of the two as they stepped outside and started to descend the stairs to the floor of the master hall. Auron slowed to a halt in the center of the massive chamber, overtop of a sun emblem on the floor that served as the only interruption to the black and white checkerboard pattern that covered the rest. "...Troy."

"..mm?"

Auron drew the Muramasa slowly out of thin air from the side of his waist. Troy stepped back as Auron raised the massive blade in front of him, pointing it outwards. Auron gradually drew a large circle in the air in front of him, stopping on occaision to retrace the path. Finally he slung the weapon back over his shoulders with a rustle of leather, licking his lips as he stared at the imaginary pattern in the air. With one swift movement Auron crouched backwards and forced his free palm forwards with a guttural yell, impacting something in the air with a shower of multi-colored sparks. Troy stumbled back, losing his footing and falling onto his behind as a circle of a glasslike texture exploded out in the other direction, its shards quickly fading into the light that drowned the room. A hole in the air, a roaring white abyss precisely 6 feet in diameter, began to kick up the air around the two.

"I hope you don't get nauseous easily."