Hey everyone, I hope your having good day! I am back with another chapter to this story. This is essentially the tutorial section, so there isn't going to be any big story revelations here. But we will get to see Subject X interact with the other Foretellers. So I hope you all enjoy!
"I" is normal talking.
"I" is their inner thoughts or flashbacks/memories.
Chapter 2: Keyblade Trainging 101
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: X's Bedroom)
(Day 1 of training)
Subject X is sitting on her bed, wearing her regular clothes, holding her new keyblade. She keeps lifting it up in wonder. As she is doing this, she hears a knock on the door. "Hey, you up yet? Can I come in?" She hears Luxu asks her.
"Yes, come in." Subject X answers to Luxu behind the door.
Luxu opens the door and enters her room. "Hey there, kiddo. You ready to start your training?" Luxu asks her.
Subject X stands up. "Yes. I have been waiting to start my training since I woke up." Subject X tells them.
"Good. Now then, if your gonna start training, then we need to head to the training area. Let's go." Luxu tells her, lettting her know where they will start her training. Luxu turns around and leaves the room with Subject X following him.
(Scala as Caelum, Lost School: Training Yard)
They arrive in a grassy area beside a rocky cliff side. The training yard is filled with multiple wooden platforms high and low and various obstacles. There are various targets and chests scattered about the area. While some of the equipment has seen better days, Luxu has made sure to mark those ones off to prevent anything bad from happening.
Luxu turns around to address Subject X. "This is where we will be training you. First, you should practice summoning your keyblade."
"Summon it? But I already have it in my hand. Isn't it good that I'm carrying it around?" Subject X is confused by his statement.
"You can't just carry it every step of the way. Don't you think your arms would tire out? Besides, you can easily bring it out when you need it by summoning it." Luxu tries to explain it to her.
He reaches his hand out and takes her keyblade. He holds it close to him. "Here, try to summon it out of my hand." Luxu challenges her.
"Um, okay." Subject X responds back nervously. She holds her hand out while looking at her keyblade in Luxu's hand. However, nothing happens. She examines her hand and looks confused. She tries again, stretching out her arm. But she is met with the same results. "Nothing happening." Subject X tells Luxu, stating the obvious.
"Just keep trying, you'll get the hang of it. Try to focus on the energy that comes from the keyblade. Feel the energy flowing through you and picture yourself summoning it. Trust me, it will work." Luxu tells Subject X, giving her some advice on summoning it.
She nods her head in understanding and tries again. She holds out her hand and tries to focus on the energy she feels while holding the keyblade. In a flash, it disappears from Luxu's hand and appears in X's hand. She jumps in shock, not believing that she managed to do it. She raises it up in the air and smiles.
"You see, you did it. Now, open the hand that is holding the keyblade." Luxu tells her.
Thinking she will drop it, she slowly opens her hand. Once she opens it, the keyblade disappeared in a flash. This both confuses and worries her, as she believes that she lost it. She looks at Luxu, panicked. "Where did it go?" She asks him.
Luxu smiles calmly, knowing that there was nothing to worry about. "Relax kiddo, it's not gone for good. You just need to summon it again. Just do it the same way you did when you summoned it out of my hand." Luxu calmly tells her.
Despite her panicked mind, Subject X tries to calm down and do what Luxu told her to do. As soon as she is calm, she feels the energy and summons her keyblade. Feeling the weight of it in her hand brings a smile to her face.
"I'm glad that it's back. Just holding it in my hand makes me feel safe and secure. Like I don't have to worry about anything and everything will be okay."
"There you go. Step number 1, complete. Now that you can do it, we can get your training started." Luxu tells her. He snaps his fingers and there was a sound of something landing on a wooden platform. Subject X looks around and then see a treasure chest sitting on the tallest platform.
"For your training today, your going to traverse this course to reach the chest at the highest platform. A simple one, but it will be a good start. You got this kiddo." Luxu tells Subject X.
Subject X nods her head yes and walks forwards to start her training. She walks around the area to find a way for her to get up there. After a bit of searching, she found some lower platforms for her to jump onto. She jumps onto each platform and looks around for a higher one.
She eventually stops when she see that the rest of the platforms are a long distance across. "Looks like I need to find something to help me get across. Maybe there's a bridge?" Subject X says out loud to herself.
She looks around, hoping to find something that could help her cross over to the other side. She jumps down to a lower one and finds a couple of rocky pillars sticking out of the pond, that reaches the platforms across. "Not the bridge that I had in mind, but it should do the trick. I better be careful though. One wrong step could cause me to plummet to the ground."
Carefully, she hops onto each pillar until she reaches the wooden platform. Once she made it, she continues to jump onto the next tallest platform until she reached the top. She sees the blue and gold chest and walks over to it. "There's the chest Luxu wanted me to find. I should probably open it. I mean, what's the point of finding a chest and not taking a look at what's inside?" Subject X says out loud, almost like she's expecting someone to answer. She summons her keyblade and taps the top of it, causing the chest to open and she takes out the potion inside.
While this is happening, Luxu is watching her from the ground. He gives a prideful smirk, seeing that she completed her task. However, he notices that the support for one of the platforms was moving. "Looks like those pillars couldn't fully handle supporting her." Luxu takes note.
"There we go. Now, to get back down." Subject X says to herself.
She turns around to start taking the same path she used to get up. However, before she could cross over with the rock pillars, the support beam on one of the platforms fell out of place, causing the platform to fall and destroy the rock pillars. "Seriously?! Ugh, guess I gotta find a new path." Subject X says out loud, clearly frustrated.
She looks around and see that one of the wooden platforms is attached to the side of a mountain. She jumps up one platform and walks over to the mountain side. She presses herself to the side and carefully maneuver around and sees a platform with a zip line. "Looks like I found a new path. I better commit this to memory." She says to herself.
After she carefully maneuvers her way to the platform, she grabs ahold of the t-bar and zip lines across the other side. Once it stops, she lets go and climbs down the ladder. She reaches the ground and walks back to where Luxu was. However, when she got there, she saw that Luxu was missing.
"Where did Luxu go? Luxu! Luxu! Where did he go?" Subject X starts to call out to Luxu. She looks around and finds him at the lake where the platform collapsed.
"Luxu, what are you doing over here?" Subject X asks as she approached him. Luxu turns around when he hears her voice. Upon seeing that she is safe and made it down no problem, he started to relax.
"There you are. I got worried that you weren't gonna be able to get down. So I came over to lend you a hand, only to find you gone." Luxu tells her.
"I found another way." She simply tells him.
"I can tell. But man, this training ground has seen better days. This place needs to get renovated. Anyways, it looks like you completed your training for the day. Let's head on back so you can rest." Luxu tells her.
"If it's alright, I think I'm gonna take a little stroll."
"Alright, just don't be out too long. It's best that you rest early so you can be ready for more training tomorrow." Luxu tells X. She simply nods her head and leaves while Luxu stays where he is.
"The girl was able to handle the problem swiftly and dilIgently. No wonder was she chosen to be a new leader." Luxu says to himself.
(Scala ad Caelum: Shopping District)
Subject X is strolling around the streets of the shopping district, looking at all the buildings and little shops set up for the very few people that live there. She walks into a small white building with the interior having a slightly run down look with brown walls and a blue tiled floor. The glass counter and machines behind it reveals to be an ice cream shop. Subject X walks up to the counter.
A young man with brown hair, brown eyes and wearing a white and light blue uniform walks up to the counter. He easily recognizes her. "Ah, it's you. How have you been? Remembered anything about your past yet?" The employee asks her.
"We'll, maybe. I have started undergoing training to become a keyblade wielder." She tells him with some slight enthusiasm in her voice.
"Well that's not surprising. Lots of people that live here have been trained to become a keyblade wielder, to protect all of the worlds. One day hoping to reach the title of keyblade master. But now a days, this world is basically a ghost town. Lots of wielders and masters choosing to keep traveling, train in a different world with their own apprentices, or have lost their lives." The ice cream man tells her in a somber tone. But then he tries to lighten the mood. "But it's good news for you, right? Now you can travel to different worlds to find your friends and remember your past. I bet your teachers would be willing to help, as long as you remember to follow the rules." He tells her this, seeing this as her chance to get some answers.
"Um, I'm not sure if I'm at that point just yet. I don't think he wants me to be traveling to other worlds all by myself. It might be some time until I get to that point." X tells the man. He nods his head in sympathy.
"Well I'm sure you'll get there someday. Since your here, my guess is you want the usual to celebrate your first day of training, right?" He asks Subject X, who nods her head yes. "One sea salt ice cream coming right up."
He turns around and grabs something covered in a white wrapper. Subject X gives him the exact munney at the same time he gives her the ice cream. Subject X turns around and leaves the store while waving bye to the ice cream man.
(Scala ad Caelum: Shopping District)
(Subject X's P.O.V.)
This is such a nice day. The weather is beautiful, everyone is out and about, minding their own business, and I just finished my first day of training with my keyblade. I never thought I would be learning how to use one, or in this case, relearn how to use one. I've heard about keyblades from many of the people here, about how they have been training or have been trained to wield a keyblade. But I didn't think I would be using one too. Especially with how protective Luxu is.
But now, I am just enjoying some time to myself for having completed my first day of training. I don't know how most people normally celebrate having a successful first day of training. So I decided to celebrate my own way. Which to me, is just enjoying a beautiful view while eating sea salt ice cream. Because to me, there's nothing like the taste of sea salt ice cream after completing my first day of training.
Once I took my first bite, I was able to taste the sweet and salty flavors of the ice cream. In the process, the taste of it brought back some memories.
(Radiant Garden, Chamber of Repose: 11 years ago)
I was in the cell back at Radiant Garden, all curled up in the corner. I was just sitting there until I hear footsteps coming towards my cell. I relax as I recognize that footsteps. It was my two friends, Lea and Isa.
"Hey, we're here. So how have you been since we last saw you?" Lea asked me.
I stood up and walked over to the door. Through the bars, I was able to see them standing there. I saw Isa walk closer to Lea, and that he was holding something in his hand.
"Geez Lea, how do YOU think she is doing? She is in a cell." Isa said that to him.
"I know that. I'm just trying to lighten things up." Lea argued back.
Seeing them bicker like this, I couldn't help but laugh a little. I was always happy when I got to see them. They were the only ones I know outside the castle and the only ones that don't see me as something to experiment on.
I noticed that they stopped and were looking at me. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. But I have been doing okay. No really big tests were done on me." I told them, answering Lea's question. After doing so, I decided to ask about the thing in Isa's hand. "Hey Isa, what are you holding?"
"Have you eaten anything recently?" Isa suddenly asked me. I didn't really eat that much back then. Because of that, I was basically skin and bones. I was thinking of an answer for them when my stomach suddenly growled. It was so loud that I'm pretty sure they were able to hear it. So I covered my stomach in embarrassment. But the look they gave me showed that they were worried about me.
"That's what I thought. Guess I made the right decision to bring this." Isa told me this and reached out the thing in his hands. I slipped my hand passed the bars and grabbed it. Once I had it, I opened it up and saw that it was sea salt ice cream. Back then, I didn't know what a 'sea salt ice cream' was.
"What is this?" I asked them in confusion.
"Food. It's called sea salt ice cream. Go ahead, give it a try." Lea told me.
Feeling encouraged, I took a bite of it. When I did, I tasted how sweet it was but also the strong taste of the sea salt. The sea salt ice cream lived up to its name.
"It's sweet, and salty." I told them then took another bite. "It's so good!" It tasted better than the food I was given here.
Lea and Isa both smiled when they saw that I liked it and was eating it.
"We're glad you like it. But try to slow down, or else you'll get a brain freeze. Although, we can't blame you if that does happen." Lea told me.
"I had a feeling that you weren't eating well, so we decided to bring you some food the next time we came over. Looks like it was the right call." Isa told me. Hearing how concerned they were for me, I felt both guilty but also happy to know that they genuinely cared about my well being.
(End of flashback)
Even now, when I eat this ice cream, I think about the first time I ever had it. It's thanks to Lea and Isa that I was able to try it. I wonder how they are doing nowadays. I haven't seen them since I escaped. But when I eat this ice cream, it makes me think of them and imagine that they are here with me.
"Lea, Isa, I hope one day we can eat sea salt ice cream together." I whisper to myself, staring at the sky.
X's Diary Entry 2
Today I started my keyblade training. The only thing I had to do was traverse a course to reach a chest. It may not have been much, but it's a good first step. Luxu also let me keep the item inside the chest, saying it will come in handy.
Having nothing else to do, I decided to eat some sea salt ice cream to celebrate my first day of training. The sweet and salty taste brings back memories. One day, I hope I can reunite with my friends.
May my heart be my guiding key.
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: X's bedroom)
(Day 2 of training)
(Gula's P.O.V)
Today I will be in charge of X's training. I figured we could start on her speed. After all, it's important to know how to move fast, especially against the heavy hitters.
But there is one problem, she isn't coming out. I keep knocking on her door, but I don't get a response.
"I wonder why she isn't responding. Could she still be asleep? You think she would have woken up from all of the knocking on her door? If that's the case, I better go in there and wake her up. I hope the door isn't locked." When I turned the knob, the door immediately opened. "Good, it's unlocked. I better wake her up. Hope she doesn't get mad by my intrusion."
But once I stepped in, I see that her room is a mess, and there is no sign of her!
"What happened in here? Where did X go? Did she sneak out? Did someone take her?" I started thinking to myself.
But I couldn't focus on that for long. I suddenly felt a presence behind. I turned around with my keyblade in hand, blocking a blow that was coming from me. I noticed two things during the attack. One, it was a weak hit, not all that powerful. Two, the person that attacked me was X?!
(X's bedroom)
(Subject X's P.O.V)
I was waiting in my room for Gula to show up. Luxu told me that he was going to be in charge of my training for the day. Gula said that it will be something along the lines of my speed. Maybe it will be some sort of track I need to run?
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard knocking on my door. But no one told me who it was. Who's knocking on my door? Why aren't they telling me who they are? Is it some kind of thief? A creepy stalker? Is it Xehanort?! Did Xehanort find me? Is he going to drag me back to continue the experiments?!
My mind went blank and I became became overwhelmed by my panicked thoughts. I couldn't risk answering back. If it's someone I don't know, then I'm in big trouble. But if it's Xehanort, then I AM in serious danger! But what can I do? There's no place for me to hide. Then I remembered my keyblade! I may not have done a lot of training, but this should keep me safe for the time being.
When I saw they were opening the door, I quickly hid behind the wall where the door would have hit it. Using the door, I stayed hidden in the shadows until the trespasser appears. Once I heard them entering my room, I swung my keyblade at them in a surprise attack. However, my attack was blocked by another keyblade. I was only brought back to reality when I heard a familiar voice.
"What's going on in here?! Aren't you two suppose to be training already?"
I turned my head to the sound of the voice and I saw Luxu. Once I saw him, I immediately looked to see who owned this keyblade and saw it was Gula. Realizing I wasn't in danger, I calmed down and withdrawn my keyblade, placing my hands over my racing heart.
As I'm trying to calm down and collect my thoughts, I hear him talking to Gula.
"Gula, what exactly happened here?" Luxu asked him. I was too busy trying to get myself to relax to give any kind of answers.
"I'm just as confused as you are. I came here to get her so we could start her training. When I knocked on the door, I didn't get a response. So I decided to come in to see if she's still asleep. When I can in, I couldn't see her so I wondered if something happened. The next thing I knew, she swung her keyblade at me in a surprise attack!" Gula explains to Luxu what just happened. I can't exactly blame him for thinking that way, since it's exactly what it looks like.
"So that's what happened. You said you knocked on the door, but did you tell her that it's you?" I heard Luxu ask Gula.
"Huh, what do you mean?" Gula asks in confusion. I guess Luxu never told them. No wonder we ended up in this situation.
"X needs to know who it is when someone comes to see her. If someone comes in her room while she's in their, without letting her know, she will panic and thinks it's someone that wants to harm her. It's the same results if you knock but don't tell her who it is." Luxu explains it to Gula.
"I see, so the reason why she didn't open the door or respond back was because I didn't tell her it was me. This caused her to panic and assume that I was a threat." Gula was speaking out loud to himself.
"I'm glad he understands why I thought he was a threat. But does he always speak his thought out loud? Has he ever considered using his inner thoughts?" I think to myself.
I do feel a bit bad for trying to attack him. So I turned towards him and bow to him in apology. I'm just not comfortable with talking to them yet. A bit ironic since Luxu told me that I already know them.
"Um, do you know why she is bowing to me?" I hear Gula ask Luxu.
"I guess she isn't comfortable with talking to any of you yet. I think this is her way of apologizing for what happened." I hear Luxu explain to Gula. I look at him and nod my head 'yes'.
"It's okay. I'm sorry I didn't let you know it was me and made you panic like that. I'll remember to let you know next time." Gula apologizes to me. I nod my head up and down.
"Well now that's all cleared up, you better start your training." Luxu tells us.
"Right, shall we get going?" Gula asks me. He walks out of my room and I follow behind him.
(Scala ad Caelum: Lost School, Training Yard)
(No P.O.V)
X and Gula have arrived at a track field in the training yard. It's a big orange track field that is surrounded by grass and has a white statue in the center. However, the statue is covered in vines and some of it have fallen to the ground, due to years of being ignored. This has caused the statue to become unrecognizable.
"Okay, so today, we will be working on your speed. It's important to be able to move around quickly, especially if battle. Whether it's to land the attack first, dodge their attack or to retreat from battle, you will need to move fast. I want you to run on this track. The more you run, the faster you'll get." Gula tells X what her training is for the day. She nods her head in understanding.
X walks onto the field and stretches a bit to prepare for her run. After she finishes, she sets herself into a starting position. Once he sees she's ready, Gula pulls out a silver stopwatch.
"Alright, on your mark, GO!"
X immediately takes off, running around the entire track. While she was able to have a good start, she eventually started to slow down. Gula has been watching her run and takes note on it. Once she has made it back to where she started, Gula stopped the watch and walks over to her.
"You appeared to have slow down during your run. Let me guess, you don't do a lot of running?" Gula asks her. She replies by nodding her head yes. "I guess we're gonna need to fix that. Maybe it might help if your not wearing the coat." Gula told her.
However, she takes a step back while holding her hood. Seeing this, Gula realizes that she isn't comfortable with showing them her face.
"I see, you don't want to show your face. Let me guess, your not comfortable with showing us who you are...or, do you not trust us yet with revealing who you are?" Gula decides to ask her. However, she doesn't answer him. "Don't trust me enough to talk to me huh? Well, I guess it makes sense. Can't expect you to immediately trust people that you never knew before. Even if you do know them, you know the only person you can trust is yourself." Gula says out loud, talking more to himself than to her.
"What's with the sudden change in attitude?"
"Anyways, since your don't want to remove your hood, we can try to work on your stamina while working on your speed. I want you to run around again, but if you start to get tired, slow down and recover. Once you have, run back to where you started." Gula tells X.
X nods her head in understanding and stretches her legs a bit more. Once she's done, she gets into her running position and takes off before Gula gave her a signal to start. She was able to start off strong, but then slows down when she realizes she is using to much energy. Listening to Gula's words, she keeps going at a slower pace until she has recovered her strength. Once she has recovered, she was able to finish at her full speed.
She does this a couple of times until Gula has her stop. X sits down for a bit to catch her breath. Once she's finished, she gets back up and sees Gula approach her.
"You did good out there. I can tell you we're getting faster. But now it's time to work on your reflexes." Gula tells X. He walks over to a little shed and goes inside. Once he comes out, we see him pushing a brown cart filled with blue dodge balls. "Tell me when your ready to continue, then I'll tell you what we're gonna do next. Or you can just come over here to and nod your head to let me know your ready."
After taking a little break, X felt like she was ready to continue. She walks over to Gula, letting him know she's ready.
"Alright, for the next part of your training, we're going to work on your reflexes. Since your just learning and Luxu wants us to be careful, we will be doing a one sided version of dodgeball. I'm going to throw these dodgeballs at you. When I do, you need to dodge them or try to catch them. This will be come in handy in case you encounter trouble and need to avoid their attacks. Get ready, this training exercise starts now."
Right after he says that, he grabs one of the dodge balls and throws it at X. Seeing this, she immediately moves to the side. She sees the next ball coming at her and catches it. When she sees another ball coming at her, she holds the ball in her hand out. This causes the ball Gula threw at her to bounce back towards him.
"Not bad, but you will need to react faster then that!" Gula tells X, throwing the next ball at her.
They keep going at this for some time. There are lots of dodgeballs scattered across the training field. At one point, X has her back turned to Gula, trying to catch her breath.
"You shouldn't have your back turned towards your opponent. You'll never know when they will strike."
As soon as Gula told her this, he threw the ball at X. Hearing this, X can tell he was going to throw it at her. Reacting quickly, she summons her keyblade and uses it to deflect the ball. This takes Gula by surprise, but he also smirks with pride. He is proud to see that she is improving. He continues to throw the balls at her, only for X to deflect them all with her keyblade. At one point, she holds her keyblade up horizontally, creating a small barrier to protect her from the ball. Both Gula and X were shocked to see that she managed to create a barrier.
"So, I take it her training is going well?"
The both turn around and see Ira.
"Yeah, her reflexes have improved and she learned how to block and create a barrier. She seems to be a quick learner. If only she was more comfortable to be able to talk." Gula walks closer to Ira and tells him about X's progress.
"Thinking about it, she didn't say a word when Luxu first introduced her. I guess it's just going to take some time." Ira tells Gula.
They both turn their heads, only to see the X has moved much closer to them. This surprised them as they didn't hear her walking towards them.
"Anyways, it might be a good time to end her training for the day. Aced told me that he will be in charge of your training tomorrow." Ira tells X. She simply nods her head in understanding.
"We better clean this place up first. Then you can do whatever you like to do when your not training." Gula tells X. She nods her head in understanding and they clean up the mess.
(Scala ad Caelum, The Stairway to the Sky)
(X's P.O.V)
After Gula and I cleaned up, I decided to bring a adventure book with me and read here. As I read, my mind starts to drift off. I start to imagine traveling to all of these places with friends. Seeing all of the sight and interacting with others.
Friends... I wonder how my friends are doing? I hope they are all okay.
"It has been eleven years. How long will it be until I can see my friends again? How long will I have to wait?" I couldn't help but ask out loud, even though I don't have anyone to talk too. The only answer I get is the sound of the afternoon wind.
Foretellers report Entry 1
I still can't believe that any of this was real. That this whole time, we were meant to become vessels to store a willful darkness inside of each of us. That way, it can be easier to destroy it. But all of this, everything we went through, was all a lie. Even my role of having the lost page was just a means to make us distrust each other. I can't believe that I was used for that, but there is nothing I can do about it. All I can do is wait for when the time is right.
Today I finished training the new girl. She is very quiet and secretive. It doesn't look like she will be willing to open up easily. It's weird, I don't know who she is, and yet, I feel like I met her before. There is something about her that makes her so familiar.
-Gula
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: Training Yard)
(Day 3 of training)
(No P.O.V.)
Subject X is in the training yard with Aced. She is still wearing the black coat Luxu gave her. "So, I heard from Luxu that your training yesterday went good. That's good to hear, but with me, you'll need to show me what your capable of." Aced told X.
They walk over to a giant wooden contraption with large silver disks attached to it by rope.
(It resembles the giant contraption in the Land of Departure in the beginning of Birth by Sleep. It's the thing that spins whenever you attacked it in the tutorial. I don't know what the name of it is, but it's basically that.)
"Today, we will be working on your strength and combat. You see those disks? I want you to attack them with all of your might. Give it everything you got." Aced tells X.
She nods her head and walks over to it. She pulls out her keyblade and starts attacking it. As she attacks, she notices that the device it is hanging from spins. X decided to attack all of disks that comes her way. She keeps attacking them that it causes the device to keep spinning, preventing her from reaching the disks.
"That's not enough strength. Your not putting enough strength into your attacks. Also, your trying too hard to make yourself move. But you need to let it come to you naturally." Aced tells X, not satisfied with her performance.
Aced looks around and sees some training dummies leaning against some targets. He walks over to them with X following him. Aced picks up a training dummy and attaches it to a pole on a wheeled platform. He steps away and finds the control panel to turn the device on. Once he does, the wheels on the platform start to move, along with the dummy attached.
"There we go, this should do the trick." Aced says out loud. He turns around and addresses X.
"Alright, new plan. Since your having trouble with your attacks, this should help you without putting you in danger. I want you to pretend that dummy is an enemy. When it comes at you, you need to attack it with everything you got. Alright?" Aced explains to X, having come up with a different training exercise.
However, this unknowingly causes X to think about her time as a test subject. During the times when they would have to come up with a different test to perform on her when the first one failed. While she knows it's unintentional, she can't help but feel like she is being tested on for research. This causes her to talk to Aced.
"Is this an experiment? A test that I need to perform for research?" X asks Aced, speaking her thoughts out loud.
Since he never heard X speak before, this took Aced back. "Whoa! You just spoke!" He spoke out loud.
After hearing her talk, he starts to process what she asked him. "Uhhhh, no. I just figured this will be a better way to help you improve your combat skills. It's not meant to be some kind of test." Aced told X, unsure on how to answer her question.
X nods her head in understanding. Aced turns the device on and it starts to come at X. She pulls out her keyblade and gets into a fighting position. X jumps onto a nearby platform and waits for her chance to strike. When it was close to the platform, X jumps down and lands on it. She proceeds to attack the dummy non stop. Unaware to either of them, a dark mist surrounds the device.
Aced is watching her progress when he realized that the device started to go haywire. Worried, Aced calls out to her. "Get away from that! It's going crazy!"
But before X could do anything, it suddenly picked up speed, causing X to fall off. She picks herself back up and sees it coming at her. In a haste, she lifts her keyblade up horizontally to block. In the process, her block created a slight barrier to protect her. But it still had enough force to push her back a few feet.
"This is just great! First the path and now this! Is all of my training going to have random problems occur?" X complains to herself. She then shakes her head, trying to focus. "Argh! I can't think about that now! I need to find a way to stop that thing!"
Subject X looks around and sees the platform she was on earlier. She runs towards it but sees it was chasing after her. But before it hit her, Aced appeared in front of her and summons his keyblade. He uses it to create a rift.
"Quick, get to somewhere safe! I'll handle this!" Aced tells X.
X takes off while the dummy strapped to the device moves closer to Aced. Once it was close enough, Aced attacked it, sending it flying. However, it landed straight upwards and continued charging.
X made it to the platform and jumped onto it. She sees it zooming all over the place while Aced tries to stop it. X is trying to focus on the dummy for a better target. Suddenly, she feels power coming from her keyblade. She looks at it, only for the energy to disappear.
"That's weird. I'm sure I just felt a serge of power just now. But once I looked at it, it stopped." X thinks to herself, feeling confused. "Why did it stop when I turned my focus away from the dummy? Wait, maybe that's it! Because I stopped focusing on the dummy. So if I just focus on it, then the power will come back! I just hope it will help put an end to this situation." X says to herself.
X sees the dummy charging at Aced while he counters it with his rifts and creates craters to stop it. She focus her sights on it and feels the energy coming back. Once she was fully focused, she swung her keyblade to form the outline of a star and point to tip of the keyblade at the center. Six spheres of light shoot out, five at the tips of the star outline and one where the keyblade was. All six spheres hit the target and knocked it over.
Yes, this is my own interpretation of what her shotlock would look like.
Aced was shocked to see that attack. But before he could say anything, X jumped off and charged at the down dummy. She proceeds to attack the device that was moving it around until it finally fell apart, leaving only the practice dummy.
Once they knew it wasn't going to move anymore, they lowered there guard, causing their keyblades to disappear. Aced walks over to X, making sure she's okay.
"Are you alright? I didn't think that thing would be this much trouble. Your not hurt, are you?" Aced asks her, worried about her well being.
"I'm fine, just annoyed and exhausted." X answers back honestly.
"Well that's good. But how did you already learned to do a shot lock?" Aced asks her.
"To be honest, I don't know. All I know is that when I focused on it, I felt a lot of energy. When I had the practice dummy in sight, I just went with the flow and released all the energy at once." X explains to Aced how she was able to do the shot lock.
"Well, it looks like it worked. We're not gonna be able to use that thing again." Aced tells X, starting at the device that was moving the practice dummy.
"Anyway, that should be it for the day. It seems like you were able to improve a bit. Not the way I expected, but, I guess it helped you with your combat." Aced tries to say, unsure on how to describe how she improved without thinking about how everything went wrong.
"But the way you were able to perform that move, I think you might be more magic focused. I should see if Invi or Ira could help you with learning magic tomorrow. Anyway, you look tired. We should call it a day on your training. We should get this mess cleaned up, then you can rest." Aced tells X. She simply nods her head in agreement and they both work on cleaning up.
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: Library)
(X's P.O.V)
After cleaning up from the training, I decided to head to the library. Since Aced thought my next training session should be learning magic, I decided to read up on magic. Sure, I may have read all of these books a couple of times in the last eleven years, but I figured it would be a good idea to get it all memorized.
So now, I'm just sitting at a wooden oak table, reading one of the many magic-based books I found. Hopefully this will give me a head start so I won't struggle so much.
But I would occasionally take a glance at the window. Seeing the sky and the sea feels so calming. It gives me a sense of freedom. But, I'm already free. I'm no longer kept in a cell, waiting to be experimented on. So why am I having this weird feeling of being caged like a bird?
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: Meeting Room)
(No P.O.V)
Standing outside the door, Aced sees Luxu walk in. He has many questions for Luxu about X, especially about where he found her. Not being one to waste his time waiting, he made up his mind. Aced entered the room and walks over to Luxu.
"Luxu, I need to ask you about the girl you found." Aced immediately tells him.
The other Foretellers heard him. They became concerned with what Aced said.
"Did something happen?" Ira asks, worried she may have been injured. Aced turned to Ira to explain everything to them.
"If you mean she got hurt during training, no. But when I got things set up for her training, she finally spoke. But what she said really concerns me. She was asking if it was meant to be some kind of experiment for research. I don't know what she means though." Aced tells them what X said.
"An experiment for research? Was she used for such a thing?" Invi asks everyone, worried about the girl.
Seeing how everyone's concerned for her, Luxu decides to speak up.
"I was going to tell you when it was okay, but I guess I have no choice."
They all look at Luxu. Aced turns his attention back to him. "So, you know what she's talking about. But you decided to keep it a secret from us?" Aced asks Luxu, furious to know that he was hiding information from them.
"I wasn't trying to hide anything. I knew that telling you all in front of her would make her feel uncomfortable, so I didn't say anything. But now that she said all of that, I guess now is the time. I found X when she was in a terrible situation. She was being used for experimentation. There main research was the darkness inside people's hearts. The poor girl was only fifth-teen when she was dragged into that mess." Luxu somberly explains to them the details.
Everyone in the room was both shocked, appalled and disgusted after hearing what happened to her, especially when they heard that it was about darkness.
"That poor girl..." Invi said in sympathy.
"It's no wonder she didn't talk to us. She isnt use to interacting with others. Especially when she thinks they are a threat." Gula explains his reasoning.
"Not to mention their goal with her. Experimenting on others is already atrocious. But they were using innocent children to research the darkness. It sounds like they got to close to it themselves." Ira thinks aloud.
"I can't forgive anyone who would do such a thing! We must do something about them!" Aced exclaims in anger.
Luxu remains quiet for a bit before he answers. "I'm not happy that she had to go through with that either. But I don't think she'll be happy if we confront them. She is still suffering from the experiments." Luxu explains.
"What do you mean?" Invi asks, hoping to get more details.
"The girl hates being reminded of it, for obvious reasons. It gets to the point that she will have random breakdowns. They very between her lashing out at inanimate objects to having hallucinations. I think some of the experiments may have had a hand in her mental state." Luxu explains the seriousness of the consequences.
"I see. So if something like that happens, we should be prepared on how to help her when it occurs." Ira speaks aloud.
"Exactly. I knew she wouldn't be safe if she remained in Radiant Garden. So I brought her here, where she will be safe, and where they won't be able to find her. But keeping her hidden here while keeping up appearances wasn't easy. It would have been difficult to keep her safe if she started using her keyblade around the time she needed to be hidden. But now, she doesn't have to worry about anyone coming after her, and it's safe for her to use it." Luxu explains his reasoning.
While Aced looks like he wants to argue, he ultimately let it go, knowing that targeting those people would just put her in danger.
"I understand. I guess all we could do is help her with her training." Aced says reluctantly. Then he remembers the other thing he wanted to bring up. "Which reminds me, during her training, she was able to use a shot lock with ease. I think her next training lesson should be with Ira or Invi to help her with her magic." Aced tells Luxu his thoughts for X's next lesson.
"In that case, I'll do it. I hope I can get her to open up and talk. Plus, I can keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't have any breakdowns." Invi offers to the next instructor.
"You should be careful with what you say and how you watch over her. She might think you are studying her for research. Her words, not mine." Aced tells Invi, making sure she knows not to push X's buttons.
Foretellers Report Entry 2
Just how many secrets does everyone in our group has?! It's like everyone I know is trying to act like the enemy!The biggest secret is definitely our master's secret. We all trusted him, but he was using us for his plan in a way that none of us could imagine.
At least X's secret isn't meant to cause us any harm. I can't believe that someone would use a kid for experimentation! It's no wonder she doesn't talk to us.
I just hope her training with Invi goes well. I don't know why, but I think Invi might be suspicious of her. I don't know if this is me just recalling some old memories and how I felt, but all I know is that she better not be hostile and give her any trouble! After what X has been through, she needs a break.
-Aced
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: X's bedroom)
(Day 4 of training)
(Invi's P.O.V)
I guess it's my turn. Today, I will be teaching X how to use magic. Just the thought of teaching someone is making me feel nostalgic. I keep thinking back to how I would train everyone in my Union to prepare for the event to come. Before I knew we were just being set up as pawns. But I can't focus on that right now.
I mainly agreed to this because of a concern of mine. After Luxu explained to us about the experiments she went through, I became worried that she might have already lost herself to darkness. That the experiments might have given her the powers of darkness, and she could be using that power. I didn't want to believe it, but I needed to make sure, for our safety and hers.
But I don't think everyone would like to hear my thoughts on the matter. I'm not trying to blame her, she IS the victim. I just want to make sure that everything will be okay. So I only told Ira about my concerns. He agrees that I should keep an eye on her in case anything goes amiss, but to also be understanding and not jump to conclusions. After all, us jumping to conclusions and not being completely open to each other is what led up to our current situation.
I am standing just outside her bedroom door to come and get her. I guess I was too deep in thought, thinking about the past. According to Luxu, she prefers to have people knock on her door and let her know who it is. Otherwise, she will think we are some kind of threat. I knock on her door to let her know of my arrival.
"Hello, X. It's me, Invi. Are you ready to start your training?" I ask her through the door. Not long after, I got a response.
"Yes, I'm ready. You can come in." X tells me.
"Looks like she's giving me permission to enter. That's a good sign." Invi thinks to herself.
I turn the knob on the door and push it inwards. As soon as I stepped foot into her room, I saw that it was quite a mess. She has various books lying on the floor and one of the curtains has been ripped up. Not only that, but she has painted words on the walls in black paint.
"Is this how she keeps her room? How does she live like this?" Invi thinks to herself, not expecting her room to be in such a state.
I look up at her and see she is wearing her black coat with her hood up. I guess Luxu decided to give her one like his and the Master.
"Is something wrong?" X suddenly asks me.
"It's nothing. I just didn't expect your room to look like this. Um, you do clean it up, right?" I just couldn't help but ask her.
"I'll fix it up after my training." She told me.
"Alright. Well then, I guess we should go." I turn around and walk out of her room, with her following me close by. I didn't turn around to see it was her, but I can tell from the sound of her footsteps.
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: Training Yard)
We arrived at the training yard and the first thing I noticed was some wheel tracks in the ground. They were pretty much all over the place. I knew that Aced's training is different from mine, but to create these skid marks in the ground? I'm gonna have to ask one of them about it. Well, one of them is here with me, may as well ask.
"X, what exactly happened during your training with Aced?" I turned around to talk to her.
"Aced was teaching me combat and how to channel my strength into my attacks. He sets up a device with a practice dummy to help me practice on a moving target. But for some reason, it went haywire and was moving all over the place at high speeds." X calmly explains the situation to me.
Suffice to say, I was shocked to hear this. Her simple training session ended up going out of hand, just like that?! I hope this sort of thing didn't happen to everyone else in his Union. But I should probably focus on my task for now. I can't let myself get distracted. I can focus on this another time.
"Putting that aside, today I will be teaching you magic. While you need to know how to fight, physical strength alone can only get you so far. It is good to know magic in case something is too far to hit normally or to weaken your opponent." I explain to X.
It looks like there are training dummies here. These will be perfect. I immediately set up the dummies to be some distance away. Once I finished, I turn to X.
"I want you to practice using magic on those training dummies. First, I want you to perform ice magic. Aim your keyblade at the dummy and cast the ice spell." I tell her.
She nods her head in understanding. She raised her keyblade at the dummy and I can see she is trying to channel her magic to perform the ice spell. While she does so, I keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't channel the power of darkness. However, I notice that her keyblade unleashes the ice magic and it almost hits the target, just didn't reach far enough. X stops and sees that she didn't succeed.
"Looks like I missed. Well you know what they say. 'If at first you don't succeed, try try again." X says out loud. It was nice to see her being so determined to cast her ice magic. But still, I can't let my guard down.
She is holding her keyblade out to perform the ice spell again. So I need to focus on her to make sure she isn't using darkness. This time, when she did the ice spell, it managed to hit the target. When I saw that she did it, I felt proud of her. But I should probably help her learn a few more spells first. At least help her learn how to heal herself.
"Um, Master Invi, can you please stop staring at me? It's making me feel really uncomfortable."
I suddenly hear X talk to me. I guess she noticed that I was watching her the entire time. I didn't realize that I was still staring at her. Based on her body language, she definitely feel uncomfortable. I wonder if it has anything to do with her past. I should apologize to her first.
"Sorry about that. You did a great job with the ice spell. Now, I'm going to teach you healing magic. But in order to do this, we will need somebody that is injured, and I'm definitely not going to attack you just so you can learn how to cast it." I tell X.
Before I can think of anything, I suddenly hear a scream and a crash. This has caused X to jump in fright and hold her keyblade out in self defense. I quickly look around and I see Gula on top of a bush.
(Earlier, No P.O.V)
Gula was walking along a path just above the training yard, wanting to get some fresh air and some time to think. He is still struggling to understand why their master would put them through all of this. However, he doesn't notice a mysterious black mist moving behind him.
While walking, he notices Invi and X were just down below, working on X's magic. He sees X was able to hit her target with the ice magic.
"The girl is a quick learner." Gula comments to himself.
Suddenly, he hears a noise coming from behind him. Gula turns around, with his keyblade out, ready to fight. However, it hit Gula so fast that he didn't have a chance to dodge or defend himself. It pushed Gula off, causing him to fall and land on a bush.
Invi and X run towards Gula, worried about his condition. When Invi took a closer look, she saw that Gula wasn't badly injured and was still conscious. Gula slowly pushes himself up and looks around.
"Gula are you okay? What happened?" Invi asks her fellow Foreteller, concerned for his well being.
"I was just walking along the path above when I suddenly heard a noise. When I turned around, it pushed me off and sent me falling. I couldn't see what it was." Gula explains to them what happened, clearly frustrated that he got ambushed.
X looks up from where he was and sees something moving closer. Upon seeing it, she points upwards and speaks out loud. "Was that the thing that attacked you?" She asked Gula, feeling nervous.
Invi and Gula look up at where she was pointing and are taken aback by what they see. What appeared before them is a black being in the shape of a person, with yellow glowing eyes and it's hands in the shape of claws. It has four green vines with thorns coming out of its back and has gold armor on its chest, arms and legs. On the head, there is a red heart shape symbol with five points jutting out from the heart. It jumps off the pathway, using its thorny vines to cushion its fall.
Seeing this, X and Invi summon their respective keyblades, ready to fight it. However, X was thinking to herself about the dark shape and how it looked familiar to her.
"Could this thing be a Heartless? But, I haven't seen any of them in the eleven years I've been here? Why are they appearing now?" X thought to herself. "Ugh, no time to think about that. I have to be ready to help Invi and Gula stop this thing."
Invi looks over her shoulder to address X. "X, I want you to get far away from here. Gula and I will take care of this." Invi tells X.
Invi and Gula charge at it, with Gula using his speed to dodge the thorns coming at him, while Invi uses fire magic on the vines, causing them to burn. Gula and Invi keep attacking it head on, only to see that it's barely taking any damage. Suddenly, it uses its vines to push them away. It stretches out the vines to attack them, only missing them both at the last second.
"How do we stop this thing?!" Gula asks Invi, having no clue how they could destroy it.
Before Invi could respond, X charges in and lands a hit on the head. She keeps doing this until it attacked her with the vine, sending her across the ground. She quickly gets back on her feet and casts ice magic on the ground, until it covers the creatures lower legs.
"X, what are you doing?!" Invi calls out to her.
"Helping slow that thing down! It's weakness is the mark on its head. Aim for that." X tells the both of them.
The creature struggles to break free, so it uses its vines to attack them. Invi and Gula were able to dodge, X wasn't so lucky and skidded across the yard. She slowly starts to get up, only to feel some pain in her left arm. This causes her to hold her arm in pain.
"Ugh, I didn't think I would have gotten this injured. I won't be able to fight like this!" Subject X thinks to herself.
Suddenly, she is surrounded by a hoop of green vines with yellow bells above. When it disappears, she notices that her arm doesn't hurt anymore. She looks up to see Invi running towards her while Gula goes to attack the creature.
"Are you okay? I told you to get out of here!" Invi lectures X on her actions. She was worried about X and wanted to be sure she would be safe. So seeing her ignoring what she said and try to fight made her worried.
"I know, but I couldn't just leave you both behind. I can't just sit back and watch. It just doesn't sit right with me." X tells Invi. This makes Invi realize that there was no way to convince X to leave.
"Alright, but stay close to me." Invi reluctantly agrees. X stands back up with her keyblade in her hand, seeing that she is feeling better.
"My arm feels a lot better. That must have been the healing magic she was telling me about. I hope I can figure out how to use it while fighting."
X, Invi and Gula go in to attack. It uses the vines to attack. Gula uses his speed to dodge the attack while Invi and X moved aside. Gula gets closer and he jumps in the air, swinging his keyblade at its head. Gula manages to weaken it but then gets hit by the creatures claws, sending him to the ground. Invi sees this and uses her air magic to help soften the blow. After doing this, Invi uses both fire and ice magic on the creature, hitting it at its weak point.
X holds out her keyblade and performs ice magic. While it missed its weak spot, she was able to freeze on of the vines. The creature was able to shake off the ice and swung it at X. Thinking fast, X jumps in the air and unleashes ice magic, all of it hitting its weak spot.
Eventually, it freed itself from the ice covering its lower legs and feet. Seeing that it was free, Invi and Gula rushed over to X. Gula rushes to the creature, moving so fast that the creature couldn't see where Gula is. Invi uses ice magic and it covers its feet again. Invi, Gula and X continue to hit it until it was finally defeated, disappearing a black and violet mist.
"What was that thing? I've never seen anything like it before?!" Gula asks out loud.
"I don't know. It doesn't look like a Darkling or a Nightmare. Could this be a new enemy?" Invi speaks out loud, more to herself.
"Isn't that creature a Heartless? I haven't seen one in a long time, so this could be a different variant of it." X asks the both of them. This gets the attention of Invi and Gula.
"A Heartless?" They both ask X at the same time.
"They are creatures that come from darkness. They are created when a heart falls to darkness. I remember hearing about them a couple of years ago."
"I guess we'll have to let the others know. At least we'll be prepared in case something like this happens again." Gula tells Invi.
While Invi agrees, X notices a small scratch on Gula's hand. Concentrating, she cast healing magic on him. Gula and Invi notice what she's doing. When Gula checks himself, he sees that his hand has healed up.
"We'll, at least you have managed to learn some magic. This ends our training session today. For now, head back to your room, so you'll be safe." Invi tells X. It looked like X wanted to say something, but she decided against it. She nods her head and walks away from them.
(Scala ad Caelum: Lost School, X's bedroom)
(X's P.O.V)
After training, I went to my room, switched to my normal clothes, and I'm cleaning up my room, like I told Invi. I've already picked up all of the books, so now I'm sewing the curtains that I ripped. While I'm sewing, I start to think about how things have been lately. I know that I've been introduced to the Foretellers and that I've started talking to them, but I don't feel like I'm a part of the group.
"Luxu told me that I've met them before, but he didn't say how I knew them. Was I actually friends with them?" I couldn't help but think to myself.
After I finished sewing the curtains, I look at the black coat hanging on the back of my chair. From what I remember, these coats can help prevent people from being affected by darkness when they travel between worlds. He wanted me to wear this whenever I'm around the Foretellers. I don't understand why he wants me to wear it around them.
"I wonder if it's okay to customize it?" I start thinking to myself. Not that it's bad, I just have some trouble moving around in it. I can already tell I would be dying if I wore this when it's hot and sunny, or if I'm in a desert.
"I'm sure Luxu wouldn't mind if I make a few personal adjustments."
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: Meeting Room)
(No P.O.V.)
Meanwhile, Invi and Gula have gathered everyone else and are telling them about what happened during X's training. They explain about the creature that attacked them. Hearing about this made everyone concerned.
"A mysterious creature that no one has seen before. This is quite troublesome. Did X stay out of the fight?" Ira contemplates what they told them. He is concerned of X's well being.
"She's fine. However, she refused to hide somewhere safe like I told her. She kept insisting on helping us. I realized that I wasn't gonna be able to convince her." Invi sadly tells them. While she is glad things turned out okay, she didn't like the idea of letting her take part in something dangerous.
"The girl is quite stubborn. Once she gets an idea in her head, she refuses to let it go. There have been times where she wanted to leave this world, so I had to remind that it's too dangerous and she needs to stay where she would be safe." Luxu gave his two cents on her stubbornness.
"So what was the creature? You guys said that it wasn't a Darkling, and X believes it was something called a Heartless?" Aced asks them.
"I was honestly confused when she said that. Are Darklings and Heartless different? According to her, a Heartless is created when a heart falls to darkness. But, doesn't that sound too much like a Darkling?" Invi asks them.
"Actually, they are one and the same." Luxu decides to speak up about this. "A Darkling is just another variant of a pure blood Heartless. So their basically the same. But what you guys described doesn't sound like any Heartless I have seen before."
"So what we saw is something completely different from Nightmares and Heartless." Gula speaks out loud.
"In any case, we better make sure we're prepared in case another one of those things attack again. It would be bad if something happens and we're unprepared." Ira tells everyone.
"Speaking of prepared, tomorrow is your turn to train X. Isn't that right Ira?" Luxu brings this up.
"Yes, I want to test her skills to see what she has learned so far. An obstacle course for her to go through, to see if she is ready." Ira tells Luxu his plan for Subject X's training.
"Sounds good. But little tip, don't use the words 'test' or 'experiment' around the girl, okay. Due to what happened, she might think your just like the people who experimented on her." Luxu gave Ira a warning to watch his words around her.
"Duly noted."
X's Diary Entry 3
For the last few days, I have been undergoing training to learn how to use a keyblade. Each of my training sessions have been different. Makes sense since each of my teachers is someone different. However, strange things keep happening whenever I train. The biggest thing being a weird creature that appeared out of nowhere and attacked Gula. I just hope nothing will happen during my training tomorrow. I'm crossing my fingers for good luck.
My teachers are friends of Luxu that are known as the Foretellers, and I already know them. It sounded like he was telling that they are my missing friends, but it just doesn't feel right. They feel more like my superiors than long lost friends. He also insists that I wear the hood of my coat up whenever I interact with them. I asked him what's the point in me wearing the hood up, but whenever I ask him, he avoids giving me a straight answer. Even after all these years, I still don't know what Luxu has in mind. But I better keep this to myself for the time being.
May my heart be my guiding key.
Foretellers Report Entry 3
After hearing about X's past from Luxu, I became worried about what could happen. The experiments performed on her must have left a negative impact on her. However, I'm worried that this could have caused her to fall into darkness. I decided to tell Ira about my concerns.
After we talked, I decided to keep a close eye on her during her training. While I know everyone would disapprove and think I'm being paranoid, I'm doing this because I'm worried about her. While others may think I don't trust her, I'm doing it because I'm concerned for her.
While I was training her, Gula was attacked by a mysterious creature. Luckily, we were able to destroy it, it has left me even more concerned. I hope X's training will turn out okay.
-Invi
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: X's bedroom)
(Day 5 of training)
(X's P.O.V)
"Another day, another training session. I hope today won't have any incidents like yesterday. I just want it to go as smooth as possible." I think to myself.
I've already ate breakfast, so now I'm waiting for someone to come and get me to start training. As I wait, I keep looking at the modifications I made to the coat. The most noticeable change was that I basically cut the coat in half. For the upper half, I replaced the silver beads on the drawstrings with purple star beads and I added black cat ears to the hood. For the lower half, I have it connected to a purple belt around my waist and the bottom is decorated with outlines of shiny stars. Other than the coat, I added a pink and purple star to the right side of my black tank top and put stars on the back of my gloves. I decided to leave the pants and boots the way they are.
After I pulled the hood over my head, I hear a knock on the door. I turn towards the sound. Who is it? Is it someone I know? Is it a stranger? Did someone sneak in here and are trying to see if I respond?
"X, it's me, Ira. Are you ready for your training?"
I was able to breathe, not knowing until now that I was holding my breath. It turns out to be Ira. Good, I'm not in any danger. I walk over and open the door. When I see Ira, I nod my head yes.
"Glad to see your okay. Well then, shall we go?" Ira asks me. I close the door and follow Ira.
(Scala ad Caelum, Lost School: Training Yard)
(X's P.O.V)
I follow Ira to the training yard and the first thing I notice is that the place has changed a bit. There are a couple of practice dummies spread out along the training yard, some of the platforms have been reinforced with better support, some of the targets are hovering in the air and there are some new platforms. Whatever my training is, he was definitely prepared. The training yard now looks like an obstacle course.
"Today, I want to know how much you have learned from your training. I want you to go through this obstacle course using all of the skills you have learned so far." Ira tells me. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet, so I just nodded my head for 'yes'.
I noticed a chest at the start of the course, so I decided to open it first and I got a potion. As I continue, I notice some of the training dummies and I attack them. I feel myself moving faster and my attacks are doing more damage. "I guess fighting that weird creature helped me improve my skills." I thought to myself.
After attacking, I climb a ladder and walk across the platforms. I stop when I see one of the platforms in the air with a target on it. "I wonder if I need to use magic to hit the target." I wonder to myself out loud. I pulled out my keyblade and cast ice magic. When it hit the target, the platforms lowers down and I jog across. "Committing this to memory, some parts of this course will require some puzzle solving." I tell myself.
After I cross over to the other side, I ended up at the mountain from the day I first started training. "I remember this mountain. If I've remembered correctly, there is a zip line on the other side of this mountain. Good thing I committed this to memory." I tell myself as I walk along the mountain side.
Once I reach the other side, I land on the platform. I see some more targets hovering in the air. I pull out my keyblade to use a shot lock. However, I'm having trouble trying to focus. "Ugh,there's to many targets for me to focus on! How am I suppose to use my shot lock on all of the targets? It's not like I can lock onto all of them at once! I'll need to at least see what I'm targeting!Wait a minute, lock onto what I see. That's it!"
After my inner conversation, I realized how I could use my shotlock. I looked at all the targets that I could see. Once I did, I was able to focus and I was able to use my shotlock. When the attack hit, I continued walking and I saw a chest. I opened the chest and I got a Lucid Shard.
After I grabbed the Lucid Shard, I continued walking until I saw the zipline. "Yes! I knew it was here! Good thing I got it memor-!" I stopped myself when I realized what I was about to say. "I've committed it to memory! Hahaha, I hope no one caught my little slip up." After I nervously corrected myself, I grab the t-bar and zip on down to the lower platform and climber down the ladder.
I walk around until I saw the pond. Right next to it was a sign that wasn't here before that says, "Freeze me". "Guess Ira wants me to freeze the pond. Well, here goes nothing." I thought to myself. I cast ice magic on the lake, only for it to freeze a small portion of it. Feeling frustrated that the whole lake didn't freeze, I continue casting ice magic onto the lake until I ended up creating an icy path on the lake. I was going to cast more, but I suddenly felt tired from using magic. "I guess I need to wait a bit before I can use more magic." Thinking that to myself, I carefully cross over the lake.
When I made it across the lake, I saw a giant chest and Master Ira standing next to it. I walk closer to Ira and the chest.
"You did a good job. You still need to practice, but with the way your training is going, you'll be able to go on missions. Now that I think about it, have you used a keyblade before?" Ira asked me. When he asked me that, I felt like I should be honest with him.
"Luxu told me that I always had the ability to use a keyblade, but it wasn't safe for me to learn how to use it until you four showed up. However, I can't help but feel like have used it before. That I have wielded a keyblade before I started my training." I told Ira.
"In other words, you are relearning everything. I guess that explains it. Anyways, your training for today is almost over. Just open this chest beside me, then we'll call it a day."
I nod my head in understanding. When I walked over to the chest, I felt like I needed to make it look dramatic when I opened the chest. "Opening this chest will complete my training today. Time to go big or go home." I thought to myself. With that in mind, I twirl my keyblade in the air like a baton and then open the chest. When the chest opened, I pulled out a map that is for a different section of Scala ad Caelum.
"That concludes your training for today. You are free to go." Ira told me. I nod my head in understanding and leave.
(Scala ad Caelum: The Stairway to the Sky)
(X's P.O.V)
I am sitting on one of the benches at the Stairway to the Sky while enjoying some sea salt ice cream. I look up at the sky and see the birds flying. To me, I couldn't think of a more peaceful afternoon than this. But at the same time, my mind is spinning with different thoughts.
"Keyblade... I can wield a keyblade. Luxu says that I had the potential to wield one, and yet I feel like I have always wielded one. Was I already a keyblade wielded? If so, where did I come from? Who taught me? Why wasn't I able to use it during my time in Radient Garden? How do I know Luxu's friends? Why won't he tell me anything?"
While I was thinking, I realized that I already finished my ice cream. I check the stick to see if it said 'Winner' but it was completely blank. I get up and throw it into the nearby trash can. I decided to take a little walk.
"I wonder if any of my friends are okay? I hope they are safe and sound." Once I spoke this, I pulled and the sun and moon charm that I bought and look at it. "Maybe I need to leave this world. See what else is out there. I don't know what will happen, but I hope I can get some clues to my past. I just need to start from somewhere." I say this out loud to myself.
Suddenly, I hear a noise behind me. When I turned around, I saw a weird portal. I look at it, expecting something to come out, but nothing happens. I decide to take a closer look to see what's going on. As I got closer, I became drawn to the portal, like it was calling out to me.
Not gonna lie, I was feeling nervous. But then, I thought that this portal might take me somewhere important. Like I might be able to learn about my past and what has been going on since I left my cell. Once I started thinking that, I made up my mind. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I step into the portal.
Another chapter done, and I'm leaving it off on a cliffhanger!
I did not expect it to take this long to finish this chapter. This is currently the longest chapter I have written being over 14k words long. Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit shorter. Until next time!