The Foretellers
"I see you have been busy, Brother."
The God of Light emerged from his pool, greeting his brother who was standing above the water. "Brother."
"You crafted for her those trinkets as you said and now you are using them to watch her." The God of Darkness looked down at the pool, seeing the image of Aqua appear. "You did not tell her the Spirit of Passage would be able to show you whatever world she took its vessel to."
"There was no need to tell her. I upheld my end of our agreement. Now I can see the other worlds out there through her own experience. We can learn a great deal, Brother. As stated before, this can allow us to expand the experiment beyond both of our expectations." The God of Light replied. "Assuming of course, those you have chosen for your own trinkets do not kill her if and when she returns. I know you have been crafting weapons to give to those you deem worthy to hunt her down. Is it because she defeated the first human to offer prayer to you?"
"You think me so petty?" The God of Darkness scoffed. "I agree she can expand the experiment but I want to see more of what she can offer."
"By sending whoever those weapons find to fight her? Much like how you send your pets to attack human settlements." The God of Light pointed out.
"They are my creations as much as humanity is. They deserve to grow and expand much like all our creations." Darkness argued.
"Only they are your creations and yours alone. What will you do if she proves victorious? Create more weapons, more pets?" Light questioned.
"Perhaps I will if she is deemed strong enough to defeat them." The dark deity admitted. "Look at her, a whole world of these…Keyblade Wielders. All of them traveling to other worlds, interfering like she has."
"She only interfered here because we wanted her so. Don't place blame solely on her, Brother. Look at this opportunity and see what I can do for us. Let us see what this world can offer us and perhaps we can see what we can offer them so that we may become to them what we are to our creations here." The light brother proposed.
"To live amongst those not from us, give them blessings in exchange for offerings and prayer?" The dark brother questioned, sounding both interested and pessimistic. "Or perhaps for all of them to flock to you."
"Brother, while you may not bask in the attention of our creations Aqua's actions are the reason you gained a follower. He came to you, not to me for power." The light deity recalled. "Your followers have been few and only appearing once or twice in a century and yet now, Aqua's appearance prompted someone to come to you whilst breathing their last breath. Is that not enough to show you perhaps things will change for the better for you as well?"
The God of Darkness did not answer and so the light deity returned to simply watching Aqua.
Salem could not understand what was taking Aqua so long.
Ozma had been moved to his home and was now resting in his bed. The healers had done all they could and it was still not enough.
He was still dying.
Aqua had promised she would find a way by going to the God of Light for help so why hadn't she come back yet?
Salem thought up a dozen reasons why she hadn't come yet and she didn't like any of the ideas she had. Such as:
Aqua having pretended to be their friend to poison Ozma from the beginning.
Aqua going back on her word and just taking off.
Aqua being attack on the way there and getting killed.
Aqua, angered that Ozma rejected her for Salem and was leaving him to die.
Maybe someone from her father's kingdom, someone who had survived her and Ozma fighting for their freedom and sent Aqua to secretly poison him for revenge. Ozma had gotten sick just after meeting Aqua after all.
Did she arrange for that?
She had showed up out of nowhere during Surtr's attack. That couldn't be a coincidence.
Had Aqua played them somehow?
Maybe she used Ozma to get into the Emerald Castle and was now disposing of him so she could try and take his place.
Salem had no way of knowing what the exact truth was, since because outside her stories she didn't know who Aqua really was at all. She told them stories of her adventures but those could have easily been fabricated to get her and Ozma interested.
Just what was going on with her?
Where is Aqua?
Is she going to save Ozma or not?
And what would she do if Aqua didn't come back?
What would she do if she did?
"You summoned us, Master?"
In the massive clock tower overlooking Daybreak Town, a man clad in a dark coat with a black hood watched as the sun set over the city and night slowly enveloped the sky. He then turned around; facing the five he had called to see him. They all wore masks of animals as well as hooded cloaks and shirts fastened with a sash. The sleeves of these shirts extended just beyond the wrist. Their colors were different ranging from blue, pink, tan, yellow and white.
As for their masks, they consisted of:
Unicorn
Leopard
Bear
Fox
And Snake.
"Hey there!" The hooded man said with a wave. "My five apprentices here on this fine day! Ira, Aced, Invi, Gula and who can forget Ava?" He pointed at each of them as he said their names. "Right on time too. Sorry to call you so sudden, but we got a little surprise on our hands so you might want to sit down for this."
With a mere gesture, chairs appeared behind the apprentices sat on chairs. The Master stepped down with hands folded behind his back.
"Is there a problem, Master?" Aced asked. "Is there a danger we are needed to stop?"
"Ah, Aced. Fearless and quick to jump in and offer help." The Master spoke knowingly and kindly. "And no, not a danger just a sudden visit from someone. Someone with a Keyblade who comes…from outside."
The apprentices stared for a second. "Outside?"
"From one of the outside worlds it seems. A Keyblade Wielder who has not been trained by any of us and made it here on a rainbow bridge of all things." The Master clapped his hands. "Amazing!"
"Are they dangerous?" Aced asked.
"Oh, hardly that. She actually appears quite lovely." The Master chuckled but then cleared his throat. "But in the interest of making sure she causes no trouble I am afraid I must trouble you all to give her a little test."
"A test?" The one called Ira spoke.
"It's nothing big or elaborate. Simply engage her in a light spar to understand her intentions." The Master clarified. "When the Keyblade of two Wielders collide, it is not a simple matter of life and death but of two hearts expressing themselves. So make her express her heart to us so we can see what kind of person she is."
"Of course, Master." The woman called Invri stood up. "We shall act immediately."
"Now, now. Don't all of you fight her at once. That would just be unfair. Each of you shall test her one at a time, give her some breathing room between tests." The Master cut in gently. "Ganging up on her would be a bad sport and just plain mean."
"Of course, Master." Invri bowed her head. "Forgive me. Who shall challenge her first?"
"Since you were the first to speak up, how about you, dear Invri?" The Master offered. "She seems to be talented with magic so that it is right your alley."
"Understood." Invri stood up straight. "I shall go immediately."
"Hold on, let me show you what she looks like." The Master said, conjuring an image of the woman who had appeared in Daybreak Town. "She's definitely Keyblade Wielder material but is not a member of any of your unions. Given her affinity for magic, she might fit in with you, Invri."
"I shall test her for that as well, Master." Invri said and vanished in a flash of light.
"As always, may your Heart be your guiding key." The Master said, even though Invri had vanished.
The creature named Chirithy had been very helpful of Aqua, leading her around the town. It was knowledgeable of what this town, Daybreak Town actually was.
A city full of Keyblade Wielders.
A home.
A seat of power.
"The wielders are all members of five factions: Unicorn, Bear, Leopard, Fox and Snake. These factions are called unions and they are led by the Foretellers." Chirithy spoke as it and Aqua walked down a street.
"Foretellers?" Aqua cut in.
"Leaders, handpicked and trained by my creator. The Master." Chirithy clarified, even though that left only more questions.
Why hadn't Aqua ever known about this Daybreak Town?
She had access to countless books in the library of the temple in the Land of Departure and none of them ever spoke of this town, these Foretellers or this Master. Sure, it spoke of the history of the Keyblade, the Keyblade War which had been spoken of in legends, the X-blade that she had seen for herself and of course: Kingdom Hearts.
So why didn't she know about an entire city of Keyblade Wielders?
"Can you tell me more about this Master?" Aqua asked Chirithy.
"The Master is the one who trained the Foretellers who then went on to train their own students." Chirithy answered.
Okay, not exactly the answer she wanted but she should get annoyed with this creature. There was no way to know for sure how much it knew or how much it was allowed to tell her. Looking ahead, Aqua took a deep breath to collect her thoughts but then lost her breath when she someone right up ahead, down the street.
Ven!
It was indeed Ventus.
Looking exactly the same as when she had left him in the temple.
But why was he here?!
"Ven!" Aqua called out, rushing forward.
But before she took about five steps a great flash of light appeared in front of her and she stepped back. From this light emerged a woman, her face hidden by a blue snake mask and light blue, hooded cloak that covered a robe, shirt and sash that were all a darker shade of blue. Near the front of the woman's cloak were turquoise tassels.
She held out her hand and in a flash of light appeared her Keyblade.
It had a light grey handle and its pommel and guard resembled a silvery blue bough bursting with leaves. The guard was asymmetrical with an opening on the side of the teeth. The base of the woman's Keyblade featured an etching of a silver, blue-eyed cobra whose tail was curled into infinity shape. The shaft was formed by a bluish silver, jagged, kris-like blade with a wide darkened middle, which was etched with a cream colored ivy design.
Near the teeth of the woman's Keyblade was a heart shaped symbol similar to the very emblem Aqua wore. Curved, leafy boughs also served as the teeth. The Keyblade's keychain was compromised of small, silver sprigs and its token was a leafed talisman with an eye similar to the one she had seen on Master Xehanort's Keyblade.
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Master, Tell Me the Truth starts)
She said nothing as she held up her hand and conjured a barrier around her, Aqua and Chirithy.
"What is going on?" Aqua quickly summoned her Keyblade.
"Invi. Leader of the Snake Union." Chirithy answered behind her.
Aqua looked at the woman who seemed to be challenging her. So this was one of the Foretellers? Invi said nothing as she raised her Keyblade suddenly there was a burst water up from the ground. Aqua had to jump back to avoid the blast. Before she could even blink, Invi appeared right behind her and slashed at her.
Aqua hastily blocked, raising her Keyblade and meeting Invi's over her shoulder and then spun around, using the momentum to send the Foreteller back. Invi somersaulted through the air and landed perfectly on her feet.
"Fire!" Aqua shouted, sending a Firaga spell at Invi who merely raised her Keyblade…
And Aqua's Firaga was immediately frozen.
Aqua was surprised but remained composed and tried again. "Thunder!"
A Thundaga spell was next but Invi merely raised her Keyblade and the lightning from the spell was dispersed just a few inches above her head.
"Such basic mastery." Invi said, pointing her Keyblade at Aqua. "Is this your limit?"
Invi did not give Aqua a chance to answer as spheres of magical energy swirled around her Keyblade, colors corresponding to a different element: red for fire, yellow for lightning, wind for green, azure for ice, and black with a purple outline for gravity.
Aqua gasped and immediately conjured a barrier to protect herself as Invi launched a barrage of multi-elemental magic that slammed into the barrier, pushing it and Aqua back. Aqua grunted as she struggled to keep the barrier up but could see cracks starting to form. Realizing it was going to break, Aqua took a chance and cartwheeled to the side just as the barrier broke. She could feel the heat, cold and everything in between as they blew past her and collided with the barrier Invi had put up to keep her from escaping.
Aqua then teleported, appearing behind Invi and slashed at her back but the Foreteller spun around and blocked.
"Impressive. Adaptation." Invi noted as she shoved Aqua's Keyblade away and slashed at her but Aqua somersaulted back, bringing her feet up that missed Invi's masked face by mere inches. "Improvisation. But is your magic already at its limit?"
Aqua landed on her feet and the light of her Spellweaver surrounded her and she immediately went on the attack. Invi quickly blocked Aqua's slashes, noting them to be stronger and faster and she had to jump back to avoid being hit, taking note of the icy wind surrounding Aqua as she spun.
"Interesting." Invi noted as she summoned a blast of fire, wind, ice and lightning.
Aqua's Keyblade was engulfed in a bright light as she twirled it in her hand, conjuring the symbol of a snowflake that actually blocked Invi's magical blast. Invi shot forward and clashed her Keyblade with Aqua's again. This time Aqua spin, releasing a spiral of light around that hit Invi and ended with a magical blast that knocked her back but she landed on her feet and barely looked winded.
"So it is not." Invi noted.
She held up her Keyblade, summoning another magical combo blast but Aqua wasn't about to let her. In that instant, Aqua quickly cast Time Splicer, freezing time and allowing Aqua to go on an all-out instant barrage, attacking Invi from all sides. However a barrier surrounded Invi, protecting her from Aqua's Keyblade until the spell was broken.
"Time magic." Now Invi sounded impressed. "So you can harness basic spells and time magic as well."
Aqua landed on her feet, facing the Foreteller.
"Now I see why he was interested in you." Invi said, firing another magical barrage at Aqua who hastily dodged by cartwheeling out of the way.
Invi was immediately upon her, swinging her Keyblade down. Aqua raised hers and reinforced it with a barrier.
Good thing she did.
Because when Invi's Keyblade struck, it struck with power of wind, thunder, ice and fire all at once. Aqua's barrier strained under the attack and the resulting collision created a small explosion. Invi landed back on her feet, watching as the smoke cleared…
Aqua was still standing, now clad in her armor that protected her from the blast.
"Interesting."
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Master, Tell Me the Truth ends)
She stood up and stepped back, dismissing her Keyblade and her barrier. "Though not on our level, you are indeed skilled. Perhaps you will be allowed to join our unions."
Aqua simply watched as Invi stepped back and vanished in a flash of light. Once she was gone, Aqua's armor was dismissed and she fell to her knees, panting and leaning against her Keyblade.
That fight had been…insane.
Aqua liked to think she was modest, but she was also confident in her skills. She had faced down Unversed, a dark fairy, a god of the dead, a spirit of destruction, a magical warlord who later was turned into demon, Vanitas and Xehanort who had been possessing her best friend's body.
But this Foreteller person…
She was more skilled in magic than even Aqua was.
Aqua could conjure magical spells with her eyes closed but she hadn't managed to conjure elemental magic to the extent she could wield multiple elements at once.
Had Aqua been lax in her training?
She was the only one that Master Eraqus had believed was worthy of becoming a Master. And yet, she felt somewhat inadequate when facing this Invi person whose magical prowess rivaled even Master Xehanort's.
And Master Xehanort had been the most powerful Keyblade Wielder alive of his time, despite being in his eighties.
"You handled that well."
Aqua looked to her right and saw Chirithy hovering next to her.
"Not many could stand up against a Foreteller." Chirithy continued. "To be able to fight against one, even one as skilled in magic as Invi speaks volume of your skills."
Aqua sighed, regaining enough strength to stand up. "I don't feel like I did as well as I should have."
"Did you expect to be stronger than everyone else here?" Chirithy asked.
"…No." Aqua shook her head.
"Do you think you should be?" Chirithy tilted its head.
"No."
"Then why feel so disappointed?" Chirithy questioned.
That…That was a really good question.
Why did she feel down?
"Maybe…Maybe I am just used to winning most of my fights." Aqua sighed. "I've only faced few opponents who could beat me and I managed to survive each fight."
"Perhaps this is not so much a loss as a lesson." Chirithy suggested. "One never stops learning, even after they stop being a student."
Aqua looked at Chirithy before smiling a bit. "Maybe that is the lesson I'm trying to understand here."
It was certainly an eye opener.
But there was still that other issue.
"Ven." Aqua looked down the street and saw the boy she thought was Ven had gone. "How can Ven be here if I left him in the temple?"
"Who?" Chirithy asked.
Aqua stopped herself and sighed. "A long story."
Chirithy said nothing as he watched Aqua return to walking down the street. "Night has fallen. You should find a place to rest."
He had a point there and Aqua was feeling exhausted. "Do you know a place?"
"Yes."
The two Brothers had watched Aqua's battle with Invi and both had been impressed in their own way.
The God of Light had been impressed by watching humans outside their experiment battle with such great power.
The God of Darkness, albeit grudgingly was interested in the battle, seeing the magic and power mortals had used, wondering if the magical weapons he had created would be enough.
Of course they would be.
He had created them after all.
"The mortal she faced, this Foreteller wielded far greater power than I had believed possible for a mortal." The God of Light admitted as the image of Aqua finding a place to rest faded from the water. "Perhaps even greater than the magic we have given our creations."
"Bah, we could make them stronger." The God of Darkness argued, insulted that anyone could be stronger than something they had made together. "We can create whatever we wish. Even beings capable of overpowering these wielders."
"You would speak of our creations, both success and failure?" The light deity asked to which his brother had been rendered silent. "Yes, we have created man and beast but they were not immediate successes. Some we kept and some were failures which we then sealed away or exiled."
The dark deity said nothing of those…creatures.
They were an embarrassment and the less said about them, the better.
"Yes, we could try and create new things to challenge these wielders but is that necessary? When they can show us the worlds and we decide for ourselves if we reveal ourselves to them or not." The God of Light thoughtfully proposed.
"And then what? Gain more worshipers?" The God of Darkness gave the impression he was frowning. "You are ignorant to dangers of this."
"And you are afraid." The light brother replied. "She offers a form of change that you fear because that would not only change this world but perhaps even change our creations."
"And that doesn't bother you? They might not need us anymore. They might refuse our gifts and blessings." The dark brother argued.
"You can't be sure of that."
"Neither can you."
Both brothers seemed to be an impasse which wasn't surprising. They always had their differences and they always would but they had agreed to create this world together, creating and destroying before coming together and trying to create something new to stop their quarrel.
"Then perhaps we should continue to observe for the time being and wait for what comes next." The God of Light proposed.
"It seems that is the only way." The dark brother conceded.
The Master had rubbed his chin, seeing Aqua's fight with Invi. "She's good. Not as good as dear Invi but she has potential. A little room to grow and who knows, maybe she can help beat back the Darkness."
"Is that so?"
The Master remained still as a dark miasma appeared behind him, sitting off in a corner and content to watch him. "Darkness…"
"This woman is not of this time period. She has eluded the trap you set up to ensure no one from the future would come and alter the past. She has somehow found a way around it." An alien voice spoke from within the miasma. "And yet, you sit back and wish to observe her rather than removing her. How strange."
"She's not a threat. Not yet anyway. I am just trying to make sure we are all safe." The Master replied. "Do you believe you can turn her?"
"Her light is strong. I am most tempted to try and see if I can." The Darkness answered honestly. "You have no objections."
"None. Do as you wish." The Master shrugged.
"…You are a strange man sometimes."
The Master chuckled. "This coming from an entity that cannot be understood by humans. I think I am flattered."
"Perhaps I am easier to understand than you think." The Darkness said before vanishing.
"Perhaps you are." The Master whispered once he was alone. "Perhaps you are."
