Chapter 7: Smoke and Mirror

It was a grumpy day, Velcia had decided. She hadn't wanted it to be a grumpy day, but be it fate, destiny, or just bad luck, the decision had been made for her. She shifted her legs uncomfortably on the bench, furrowing her brow at the hot, rough texture of the wood underneath. It was an unseasonably warm day in Daybreak Town, and she and Balthazar had been waiting on this bench far longer than they'd expected.

Tomislava and Morgan had been supposed to come meet them at noon, and it had been well over a half an hour since with no sign of them. Velcia had left her sketchbooks behind at the party HQ, bringing only one or two of the Master Volume books to serve as an example. She hadn't liked making that decision, but a part of her felt that it would help make a better first impression. Now, in her impatience and boredom, she regretted that decision.

On top of all that, she found she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about meeting this Morgan character. Tomislava had assured them both that she was nice enough, but it didn't sound like Morgan was the rare kind of person who would be particularly interested in what The Chroniclers were trying to do. Velcia was very thankful to have Balthazar along for that. She knew it was important for her to be there for the meeting too, but as she baked impatiently under the hot sun and played pretzel with her fingers, she couldn't help but wish that Balthazar had come without her.

Balthazar was none too pleased with the wait either, and each time he looked back up at the face of Daybreak's Tower Clock he found himself wondering how much longer he ought to bother waiting. It did feel as though they would be justified in cutting their losses, but he felt he owed it to Velcia and the party to stick it out just a bit longer at least, just in case Morgan did end up being a good fit for the party..

Finally, across the square, they could see Tomislava coming in from one of the side streets, walking beside another girl they did not recognize.

"Finally," Balthazar sighed, standing up. Velcia sprung to her feet, eager to finally get a move on, and followed him over to a row of flowered bushes where the two groups met.

"Hey, sorry we're late!" Tomislava said to Balthazar with a half-hearted shrug. "My party was having a little competition and it took longer than I expected."

Balthazar nodded, opening his mouth to reply when the new girl beside her spoke up immediately, patting Tomislava on the shoulder. "It's totally fine. I'm sure it was very important and like, I didn't mind at all," she turned towards Balthazar and Velcia, and held out her hand. "I'm Morgan. It's so good to meet you two, from what Tomi's told me you guys sound amazing. It's so hard to find a good party, you know?"

Balthazar reached out and shook her hand, making a mental note of her seemingly abundant enthusiasm before speaking up. "Yeah, it's good to meet you too. So uh, did Tomi tell you much about what we do?"

"A bit, enough to get me interested. Honestly, I'm mostly just happy to finally get the chance to hang out with some good people," Morgan said, hands on her hips. "I mean, you would not believe the drama in some of these parties."

"...Yeah, some Wielders can be quite the handful," Balthazar agreed, shaking his head. "Uh, so anyway, just to make sure you understand-"

"Oh, PLEASE do explain," Morgan said with a nod.

"Right, so, our party, The Chroniclers, we're trying to record as much information as we can about each of the Projected Worlds. Maps, history, information on what sort of Heartless are there, stuff relating to each of the missions given to the parties; basically anything that could be helpful to other Wielders," Balthazar explained.

"That is so great," Morgan said with a nod. "But I thought Tomi said you guys needed someone strong, right? That all sounds like stuff for like, booky types, right?"

Balthazar nodded. "Yeah, the trouble we've been running into is that as the scope of the Projected Worlds has been expanding there's been stronger and more dangerous Heartless showing up that are making it impossible to get all the information we need. What we've managed to get so far has been a good start, but if we want to be able to keep helping everyone we need to get some Wielders strong enough to help us get to these tougher places."

"Aha, and that's where you need my help?" Morgan said confidently, flipping a lock off her bleached hair over her shoulder. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad, I can do that. I've got some pretty good medals and am amazing at the competitive events, so I guess I'm just what you guys need."

Balthazar glanced over at Velcia, who looked up at him with a bit of uncertainty.

"I know it sounds like a brag," Tomislava said, "But it's true. She's pretty strong."

"W-well, we're not really a competitive party at all," Velcia said, fingers tightening around the edges of her books. "Are you sure you'd be okay with that?"

"I've been needing to take a break from that anyway, for my mental health you know?" Morgan said. "Something more relaxed and drama-free is just what I need. Hey, so how many other Wielders actually use this stuff you guys are writing down?"

Velcia held a hand to her chin, thinking it over. "Well, it's not many yet, but it does seem like more and more each week."

Balthazar nodded. "Yeah, I think the Wielders we've been helping are telling their friends. If we can keep up, I bet we'll be really busy in no time."

"Wow, and here I am with the opportunity to get in on the ground floor," Morgan said proudly, hands on her hips. "I bet this whole business will take off in no time. How much are you guys charging for this sort of thing?"

"Charging?" Velcia asked.

"We aren't charging anything," Balthazar clarified. "This is just our way of contributing like anyone else."

Morgan's face flickered with a flash of surprised disappointment, but it was gone in an instant. "Well, that's generous of you and all, but like, you know, a lot of Wielders would pay pretty well for good information like that."

Velcia stepped back a bit, shaking her head. "That's… that's not what we're about, though."

"Look," Balthazar said firmly. "Every Wielder here is working hard to do their best to collect Lux to help in the fight against Darkness, right? That's what the point of all these Unions and Parties is, afterall. Not all of us are as good at fighting and collecting Lux, so we've found another way to help support those who can. It wouldn't be right to charge anyone for it."

"Oh, I totally understand," Morgan said with an enthusiastic nod. "I'm so sorry you took that the wrong way, I think it's so great that you guys do it that way. I was just saying that I think other people might do it differently, you see."

Balthazar frowned skeptically, crossing his arms. "Huh… well, alright."

"So, am I in?" Morgan asked.

Balthazar turned to Velcia, who was quietly biting her lower lip with her brows furrowed with indecision. It seemed she was just as unsure as he was.

Tomislava grabbed Morgan's arm, pulling her away gently. "Oh, come on, give them time to talk it over at least, sheesh. You don't want to make them think you're pushy, do you?"

"Pushy?!" Morgan repeated, holding her hand to her chest. "Of course not, I am so sorry. You two talk it over if you need to."

"Uh, alright," Balthazar said, watching with some confusion as Tomislava and Morgan walked off to go look at a shop window. He turned to Velcia, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well… what do you think?"

Velcia wasn't sure what to say, and thought about it for a moment before answering. "I think… I have no idea. Every time I think I understand her, she changes!"

"She's trying really hard to make the right impression, I guess," Balthazar said, watching Morgan and Tomislava giggling as they pointed at something through the window. "I dunno, I kind of think we'd be better off to say no, but… this is the first combat-focused wielder who's been interested at all in helping us."

Velcia nodded, holding a folded hand up against her face. "...She's been having a hard time finding friends, huh…?"

"That's what Tomislava said, yeah…"

"Maybe… maybe she's like me, then," Velcia said softly. "She's strange, and hard to understand, and doesn't have anywhere to fit in, but… so am I. I don't really feel comfortable with her, but… maybe I just need to give her a chance. Maybe she just needs a good friend, like I needed you."

Balthazar blushed. "Y-yeah, maybe. So you think we should give her a chance?"

"Yes, I think so. If she ends up not liking us and decides she wants to leave, that is okay, too," Velcia said.

"Alright, we'll give it a try," Balthazar nodded. "Should we go let her know?"

"Yes."

The two walked over to the storefront, and Morgan noticed them in the reflection of the window and turned around with an excited smile. "So, have you decided?!"

Velcia nodded. "Yes, we would be very happy to have you join our party."

"Aw yeah," Tomislava cheered. "What did I tell you Morgan? I knew you'd be a good fit for them."

"What an honor," Morgan said, bowing deeply. "I'm like, so overjoyed to get to join you guys. I can't wait to get started, oh, but… oh dear."

"What's wrong?" Velcia asked.

"Well, like, you guys are in Vulpes, yeah?"

"Right," Balthazar said, remembering what Tomislava had mentioned the other night. "Right, you're in Leopardus, aren't you? How long will it take to change to Vulpes?"

"Oh, I should be all ready early next week," Morgan said. "I just have to put in a request with Master Gula's and Master Ava's secretary Moogles and wait for them to approve the swap. I've done it a bunch of times, there's never any trouble."

"Well, alright then," Balthazar said.

Velcia pulled a little bit of card paper from her pouch, and quickly wrote on it before handing it to Morgan. "This little paper has the address of our party headquarters, for when you are ready to join."

"Yeah, just come by when you can and we'll introduce you to the others," Balthazar said.

Morgan looked at the card, reading the address to herself before nodding. "Awesome, got it. I am like, so there next week. I am so ready to do this."

Tomislava beamed proudly. "Told you it'd be fine," she said to Morgan. "You guys are going to love her."

Balthazar chuckled. "Yeah, thanks for the recommendation, Tomi."

"Glad to help," Tomislava nodded. "But hey, Morgan, we better get going if we're going to do that other competition this afternoon. I can't believe how late it is."

"Wow, where did the time go?" Morgan exclaimed. "Yeah, let's go win this thing. Heh, I wonder if they'll have any real competition for us this time."

"Who knows," Tomislava said, rolling her eyes before she turned to Balthazar. "Anyway, it was good to see you again. Sorry I can't hang out more."

"It's fine, we weren't expecting it to be a long meeting or anything," Balthazar said, eyeing the clock. "I'll see you two later."

The final farewells were exchanged, and Velcia and Balthazar watched as the other two ran off to their event. It was an odd meeting, they thought, but neither of them had really known what to expect in the first place.

"So… I guess that's Morgan then," Balthazar said.

"Y-yes, I suppose so," Velcia said softly. "I… I hope we're doing the right thing."

"Me too, but… you're following your heart, aren't you? I don't think there's any harm in giving her a chance. Maybe she just needs to get comfortable with us."

Velcia smiled, remembering their conversation together earlier. "You're right. Oh, I hope we can be good friends for Morgan."

Balthazar smiled, patting her on the back. "I think you'd be a good friend for anyone smart enough to get to know you."

"O-oh, well, thank you, Balthazar…" Velcia said, shaking her head. She didn't really believe him, and she wasn't entirely sure he believed himself, but it was nice to hear it. She sighed, and reached over to fix some of the buttons on Balthazar's suit jacket. They'd been out of alignment the entire meeting and it was driving her batty.

Balthazar sighed, standing up a bit straighter so she could more easily see them. "So, you think it's about time to head back, then?"

"Yes, I do… oh, dear," she said, grabbing his sleeve and looking intently at something or other out of Balthazar's line of sight.

"Okay, that's enough for now. Whatever's wrong, you can fix it later."

Even in the Projected World, Agrabah's hot sun felt oppressive. Velcia, sitting under the shade of one of the desert's lone trees, was watching Balthazar fight off a swarm of Heartless mini-copters, and she couldn't help but feel bad for him. They'd known that there would be a great deal of Heartless here, and in fact Balthazar had been counting on it, but neither of them had expected how heavily the heat would wear on them this far out in the dunes.

Balthazar swung his key, grunting as one of the charging Heartless clipped his shoulder. He knew that he needed practice, but he hadn't realized he was this bad. Fighting one or two stray Shadows here and there was one thing, but learning to cope with this many Heartless was something new altogether. There was so much to keep track of all around him, and his dawning understanding of just how sloppy his form and technique were was beginning to frustrate him. None of this was helped at all by the cursed heat.

The next Medal in his deck rotated into position, and he gripped his Keyblade tightly in anticipation. He hadn't tried this one yet, but the Moogle at the shop had told him it was supposedly one of the more sought-after items. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it was sure to be good. He took a few steps back, trying to create some distance between himself and the main body of the swarm, and held his Keyblade out straight as the Medal's magic began to swell up inside the weapon. A spiral of glowing particles spun out, increasing in size as it went; but much to Balthazar's confusion this admittedly flashy show of magic appeared to have little if any effect on the flying foes.

Balthazar groaned, looking down at his weapon in confusion. Why wasn't it working? What was he doing wrong? He didn't have time to figure it out now, and quickly advanced to the next Medal. This one had become something of a tried-and-true for him this week, it was an easy-to-use attack that sent out a sweeping wall of flames. He swung his Keyblade out ahead of him as several of the Copters began to dive at him again, and the rolling flare from the end of his weapon obscured his vision as it swept through the crowd. He grit his teeth, breathing heavily from the heat.

As the roar of the fire faded, Balthazar could hear Velcia cheering happily from her spot under the tree. He stood up straighter and scanned the area, and nodded to himself once he confirmed he could neither see nor sense any more Heartless. Velcia ran over to him, her boots kicking up a spray of sand behind her as she did.

"That was amazing, Balthazar!" She exclaimed.

"Thanks," he sighed, dissipating his Keyblade. "To be honest, I think all I've really learned is just how little I know. It's a good thing we knew to come here, because I don't think I would have been able to beat anything tougher."

Velcia paused, folding her hands together and unsure what to say. This location had been chosen purposefully, after all, for that very reason. They knew that the Heartless near this particular oasis were both rather numerous and very weak, and Balthazar had hoped it would be a good starting point for learning to hold his own with a Keyblade. It was true that he'd struggled, but…

"Well, I think it was a very good start," Velcia said finally, nodding her head. "I'm sure that you will figure it out, you are very clever."

"Thanks," Balthazar repeated. He paused, holding his hand to his chin. "I don't understand, the Moogle at the Medal shop told me that the new one I had was supposed to be very powerful, but it didn't really seem to do anything at all. I wonder if I should go back to the shop and ask him to explain it to me a little better."

"That seems like a good idea," Velcia said with a nod. "If he doesn't know, maybe you can ask Juangshi or Tomislava! They seem to know a lot about Medals."

"That's not a bad idea, but I do feel like the Moogle should know. He's the one applying the enchantments and selling them, afterall. Would you mind if we go there now?"

Velcia nodded with a hum. "I want to know what that Medal does, too." She drew her Keyblade, holding it away from her as she swung it in a small circle. A shimmering magic circle slowly burned to life before them, an image of the streets of Daybreak Town glowing faintly through this magic horizon. At a glance, these gateways seemed not dissimilar from the dark corridors that Balthazar and the other Angels were able to summon; but in practice they were quite different.

The two walked through the glimmering field, finding themselves immediately back atop the small grassy knoll from which they'd departed Daybreak Town. Their Keyblades provided access to these Projected Worlds from Daybreak Town exclusively. They could enter these worlds from anywhere they pleased within the town, and when they returned they would always go right back to their original location. In Projected Worlds, however, they were only able to arrive or depart in certain specific locations. Balthazar had never been able to determine any rhyme or reason behind what made a spot within a world suitable for entry or exit, but the Keyblades themselves seemed to understand the rules.

The portal sputtering into nothingness behind them, the two made their way down the green hill. The air was so much more crisp and humid here than in Agrabah, and it was a bit of a shock to go instantly from one climate to the other, but Daybreak Town was so pleasant and cool that they did not at all mind the time spent acclimating.

"So, do you think you might try to buy more medals while we're there?" Balthazar asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Velcia said, clutching at her sash anxiously. "I feel like I should, but… I just know I'm going to get that horrible cat again."

"Again? Have you ever had more than one?"

Velcia bit her lip, casting her gaze away nervously. "N-no, but, I don't have him right now. I got rid of him again yesterday."

"You did? Where this time?"

"In Wonderland. Maxine told me that there was a very odd creature there called the Cheshire Cat, and I found him at a Tea Party. I thought that perhaps Pete would be happy in a place with another cat, and so I left him there at the party. But… I have had this yucky feeling in the back of my mind all day," Velcia said cautiously, looking over the rolling hills as if she expected Pete himself to come stomping over at any moment. "Every time I get this feeling, that terrible medal comes back to me."

"I see," Balthazar said, restraining a gentle chuckle at the back of his throat. This was perhaps the seventh or eighth time since he'd known Velcia that she'd tried to rid herself of this medal, and despite how ridiculous it seemed at first, sure enough, it somehow managed to return every time. He shook his head, wondering just how much of this was just a crazed coincidence playing into her superstition. "Maybe it worked this time, though."

"But Balthazar, that yucky feeling is here," Velcia insisted. "You might think that it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but I have had that yucky feeling since I woke up today and I didn't even know you were going to visit the Moogle."

"Fair enough, I suppose. I'm not trying to make fun of you or anything, honest," he said, hands in his pockets. "I've seen that medal come back to you with my own eyes, no matter what you do. It's just… it is a little bit ridiculous, isn't it? I guess I can't help but be a little bit amused by it all."

"I don't know how you can think something so horrifying is funny," Velcia said, taking a small hop from the grass and up onto a smooth, short boulder, before bounding back into the dandelions below. "I just wish that terrible cat would leave me alone."

"I do, too."

They reached the small dirt path at the end of the field, which shortly began to fade into the familiar cobble-paved streets of Daybreak Town. They made their way down the road, heading in the general direction of the small market near the lighthouse that was home to the closest Medal shop. The fact that it was also the location of their favorite food spots was no coincidence, and though she couldn't quite get the prospect of another Pete medal out of her mind she found that the thought of a delicious meal helped to serve as an adequate distraction; at least until Balthazar opened the glass door at the front of the Moogle's store.

"Welcome, Kupo!" the Moogle greeted cheerily, adjusting the small, pointed wizard hat he was wearing today. "How can I help you today?"

"I could use some advice, actually," Balthazar said, walking up and placing his Medal onto the countertop. "I got this Medal yesterday… I know it's supposed to be really good, but when I tried it the magic didn't really seem to do much of anything. I'm pretty sure I'm doing something wrong, but I don't really know what."

"Oh, I see!" The Moogle exclaimed, wings flapping in a flurry as it swooped down to pick up the Medal. He looked at it only briefly, recognizing the red-haired maiden in the illustration immediately. "Yes, yes, this Medal is very powerful indeed, essential, even! But as you see, it does little direct damage on its own."

Balthazar crossed his arms. "I'm… afraid I still don't follow."

The Moogle nodded, handing it back to him. "Try using this Medal at the start of your deck, Kupo. You'll find that the magic it contains weakens the Heartless, and strengthens your subsequent spells considerably."

"Oh… oh!" Balthazar exclaimed. "I see, that makes sense! This fire spell Medal felt stronger than I was used to, it must have been because of this one."

"Yes yes," The Moogle said with a nod. "Now you understand why these are in such demand!"

"I believe I do!" Balthazar said, turning towards Velcia. "So now we know, huh?"

Velcia nodded, looking down at the pouches of Medals in the glass counter cases. "I wonder if I should perhaps try to get one, too. Only, I do so hate how random it is…"

The Moogle nodded knowingly. This complaint happened to be a universal staple when Wielders came to call, but it was one that he was used to. These two, at the very least, did not seem like the type to get angry and threaten him with violence should they not get what they wanted.

Velcia looked at Balthazar, who just gave her a non-commital shrug. She tensed up, her hands balled into nervous fists as she tried to decide what to do, before finally bursting into action and grabbing her jewel pouch from the sash on her hip. "I'll try it!"

The Moogle nodded, pulling a pouch and performing his ritual. Once done, he handed the pouch over and bowed cordially. "Best of luck!"

Velcia took this pouch nervously, the prospect of Pete once again sitting heavily with her. "Oh, oh no," she said softly as they walked back outside - the Moogle had taken to a very strict policy that these pouches were no longer to be opened inside the store.

Balthazar sat down on a nearby bench, patting the planks beside him to beckon her to join him. She did so, then silently pulled loose the strings on her mysterious package and dumped the Medals into her lap. She counted seven gold ones and three obsidian, and quickly grabbed the first of these black ones. This one was not Pete, and instead had the image of a black-coated young man with a glass, dome-like mask that hid his face. She contemplated this for a second, but her thoughts were interrupted by Balthazar.

"Hey look, you got the new Medal too!" he exclaimed, picking it up from the pile and handing it to her.

Velcia chirped happily, grabbing it and forgetting now about Pete. "Oh, hooray! I'm so glad. Perhaps you and I can both learn to be good at fighting now, Balthazar!"

"You're already better than I am with a Keyblade," Balthazar chuckled. "You could be teaching me, honestly. If we train together, maybe we can both improve."

"Oh, I hope so!" Velcia said, handing the Medal back to her friend. "Could you please hold this for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure."

Hands now free, Velcia began to look at the other Medals. Some of them were still face-down, and when she flipped the last obsidian Medal over she yelped and jumped in shock, sending the whole lot of them clattering into the street. She paid these no mind, holding her hands over her face and shaking.

"Oh, no, are you kidding me?" Balthazar muttered, leaning down and picking up the nefarious Timeless River Pete Medal that so haunted his friend. "It really just doesn't leave you alone, does it?"

Velcia shook her head, sniffling meekly from behind her fingers. Two of these slowly parted, and she peeked out through the crack at the medal with a gasp. "Oh no, oh no no," she whispered. "He is even stronger, now. Just look, his time in Wonderland has turned him into a Tier Four medal…"

Balthazar, who had not noticed such a thing, turned the Medal over in his hand. He supposed the frame itself did seem a little different from the last time he saw it, the ornamental spikes that lined the rim perhaps a little more pronounced. "That's… I don't really know what to think of it, really."

"It is horrifying, that is what to think of it," Velcia said surely, picking up the strewn Medals from the ground and stuffing them into her backpack. "No wonder I have been feeling yucky all day."

Balthazar, now holding both the welcome new Medal as well as the eerie veteran, looked between the two and tried to think of some way to help calm his dear friend. "Maybe… maybe it's a good thing…?" he offered, though he was at a loss as to how it could be.

Velcia sat down cross legged on the stone street, taking brief, glaring glances at the dark Medal. "I don't think so. You're just trying to help me feel better."

Balthazar sighed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, Medals gripped loosely in either hand. She was right, of course. "I am trying to help, yeah, but… well, maybe it is a good thing."

"If you thought it was a good thing, you would know why," Velcia challenged him.

Sitting up straighter again, he held the Medal up and stared at the picture with a repressed wince. "He is creepy and yucky, I'll give you that… but, well, it is still a Medal that you can use like any other."

"I would never," Velcia asserted.

"Just… hear me out," Balthazar said, his idea slowly coming together in his head. "All of these dark Medals depict bad guys, right? So, it makes sense that this cat is so unsettling. But that doesn't mean that the Medal itself can decide what to do."

"It can! It has decided to curse me! He always comes back, and brings the most terrible luck with him," Velcia protested.

"Right, but… whatever power or attack this Pete Medal can use, it's me and you who get to decide what we use it for. Pete might be able to choose to come back to you, but you're the one that decides what Pete actually does," Balthazar said with a nod. "So, even though he is creepy and yucky you can make him do good things."

Velcia crossed her arms, lips pursed together as she thought this over. She wanted to dismiss it out of hand, it was of course a ridiculous notion to her to suggest that her terrible tormentor could in any way do something good, but the more she thought about it the more she came to begrudgingly realize that it made a little bit of sense.

"So…" she started slowly, glancing up towards Balthazar. "So you think that I can make him do good things instead?"

"Y-yeah, I think so," Balthazar said, leaning back in his seat a little bit. "It's not that much of a stretch, really, I use dark magic to help out sometimes too. Besides, The Master wouldn't have even let the Moogle make these dark Medals if he thought they could cause trouble… it wouldn't make sense."

Velcia stood up, and motioned for Balthazar to give her the Medal. He did so, and she held it gingerly with both hands. "This yucky old cat has been haunting me for a long time now… maybe you're right. Maybe I ought to make him do good things and help us out for a change. It would serve him right, coming back to try to be horrible to me and instead I make him be good instead."

Balthazar breathed a low sigh of relief. "It's worth a try, anyway. And hey, if you do use it and find out it's actually terrible, then I guess at least you'll know he's not anything to worry about, right?"

"Hm, I'm not sure about that…" Velcia said, glancing back down at the medal. "I always seem to have very bad luck for a while when he does come back. What if he decides to get revenge on me, and does something extra horrible?"

"Well, I'll be here to help you out," Balthazar assured her. "He can't do anything that the two of us together can't handle."

Velcia nodded slowly. She was not entirely sure she believed this but she was in desperate need of some optimism. "Okay, I'll try it," she said, opening up her backpack and putting both the new Medals inside. "I'll figure out my Medal deck later. You be good in there, you horrible cat," she said sternly, closing her bag tight.

When Balthazar and Velcia returned to the Chronicler's headquarters, they were quite surprised to find Maxine sitting at the desk in the office with a spread of notebooks laying open in front of her. Velcia was immediately concerned by this and ran over to take a look.

Maxine glanced up at her, smiling proudly. "Welcome back! I've been so bored this week, but I think I've found a way to help! I hope you don't mind."

Velcia looked across the notebooks, and was at first mortified at what she saw. The first of these was one of her new Master Volumes, laid open across the table in the top left. Her nervous eyes scanned the page diligently for any additions, but seeing none she quickly jumped to the next book. The label on this one indicated that it was one of Maxine's field journals, and so Velcia's attention turned now to the open book in which Maxine was currently writing. This one was not one of the books reserved for the Master Volumes, a fact which immediately brought to her great relief. She sighed deeply, stepping back with a blush.

"Oh, I see," she said. "What… what are you doing with them?"

"I remembered you mentioning the other day how busy you are now with compiling everything from our field books into these Master Volumes," Maxine explained. "I'm just stuck here doing nothing, so I thought I would try to get some practice at helping with it. I didn't want to ruin the Master Volumes or anything, so I got one of my own sketchbooks to practice in and just took this book for reference," she said, tapping a knuckle against Velcia's precious tome.

Velcia's eyes slowly grew wider and she stepped forward, grabbing the practice sketchbook and paging through it. "Oh, I see! Why, look, you are doing it just the way I did!"

"I'm only copying your work, for now," Maxine admitted, nodding her head. "But I'm sure that if I start there, I can learn how to do it properly on my own. This cast has given me some time to think, and I realized that I'm too excitable to do a good job with the field work," she said, sticking out her cast-wrapped foot as an example, "So maybe this is more up my alley."

"Oh, I am very happy to see this," Velcia said with a smile. "Maybe, tomorrow, I could try and teach you how I've been trying to do it!"

As they talked, the door in the main room had opened and a pair of other party members had walked in. One of them, a boy named Frankie, had heard them talking and came over to the office's doorway. Balthazar greeted him first, and Velcia and Maxine did soon after.

"Oh, hey Velcia!" Frankie said, "I'm surprised you beat me back here!"

Velcia tilted her head curiously. "Beat you back here? Was I supposed to still be gone?"

"Well, you seemed really busy when I saw you in Olympus earlier," Frankie said, chuckling. "Heck, I tried to call out to you but you didn't seem to even hear me! I figured you were going to be documenting the Coliseum matches, so there wasn't any sense in me hanging around for them."

"But, I wasn't in Olympus today…" Velcia said softly, shaking her head.

"We were in Agrabah today," Balthazar affirmed, nodding his head. "Then we went to the medal shop, and came back here after lunch."

"Huh, really?" Frankie said, crossing his arms. He took a long look at Velcia, squinting slightly as he thought about it. "No, I'm pretty sure I saw you there. Orange hair, that braid you do, it's pretty easy to recognize."

"B-but," Velcia said, feeling quite confused. "But I wasn't… I haven't been to Olympus in, well, months!"

"I guess Frankie must have just seen someone similar?" Balthazar guessed.

Frankie shook his head. "Man, I'm telling you… she looked just like you. Unless you have a twin sister, or a clone, or like… some sort of doppelganger kind of thing, I don't know what to say."

Balthazar and Velcia shared a glance, then turned back to Frankie. Balthazar held his hand to his chin. "Where did you say you saw her there? By the coliseum?"

"Yeah, heading to the West arena. It was only twenty minutes ago. If it really wasn't you, and if she went to watch the match I bet she's still there," Frankie said with a nod.

Velcia came over beside Balthazar, her eyes wordlessly asking the question Balthazar had in his own mind. "Yeah," he said with a nod. "Yeah, let's go check it out. I'm curious too."

The Olympus Coliseum was always a busy place. The time in which the Projected World depicted seemed to have been one in the middle of a great series of sporting events, one to which travelers had come to witness from far and wide. The entire area was heavily populated with a sea of people, spectators, vendors, combatants, and still more; and it was an area of interest to the Wielders of Daybreak Town as well.

The Master of Masters had set up challenges and games of strength for the Wielders themselves to partake in, with special kinds of magic and rules that let them test themselves in combat both against each other and artificial Heartless as well. If one was going to find Wielders in Olympus, it was nearly always here.

Velcia and Balthazar had spent a good portion of their afternoon in this area, looking around for this so-called doppelganger with no success. Eventually, the two gave up and made their way back out to the Coliseum's entrance, where they found a small cart where a Moogle was selling gyros and some sort of iced drink.

Velcia had always found these drinks to be rather curious. They came in a tall cup, larger around than her arm and made out of some sort of white, squashy material that was not quite like paper and not quite like a sponge, but somewhere in between. They had a variety of designs on them mimicking the engravings that lined the buildings around Thebes, and some even had paintings of Hercules himself on them with bold logos in a Greek font. These paintings, too, were a further source of confusion for poor Velcia; as the cups felt as if they were made very cheaply and meant to be discarded, who would go through the time and effort to so meticulously paint each one?

It wasn't like these cups were something unique to the Moogle, either. Something of the sort in Daybreak Town would not strike her as so odd, but here in Olympus even many local shops stocked nearly identically produced cups.

But, that was one of the things she loved about Olympus. There were always fascinating, weird things like this to be found that didn't really seem to make sense, but they were captivating and sparked her curiosity and imagination anyway.

Today, she'd been so wrapped up in pondering the nature of these cups that she hardly even noticed the taste of her food, and when Balthazar leaned back with a happy sigh and patted his stomach she realized that she'd made it all the way through her Gyro without truly having formed an opinion of it.

"Well," Balthazar said contentedly, taking a cursory glance around the crowd, "Still no sign of this lookalike. Should we head back?"

Velcia nodded halfheartedly, taking a sip through the straw of her cup. "It is rather odd, isn't it? We checked all the arenas and didn't see anyone who looks anything like me."

"Maybe Frankie just didn't get a good look?"

"But, he certainly thought he did," Velcia said ponderously. "He mentioned that she even had the same braids as me. I don't think he would lie about something like that."

Balthazar shook his head, holding his hand to his chin. "No, he wouldn't."

"Oh! He'd said the West arena, right?"

"Yeah, but we've checked that one twice," Balthazar said.

"Maybe he wasn't talking about the arenas for Wielders?" Velcia said, pointing off to the other end of the Coliseum complex. "What if he meant that one over there?"

Balthazar stood up straighter, trying to peer over the top of the crowd. "What's over there?"

"It's a set of smaller arenas," Velcia said thoughtfully. "They're used for preliminaries and other smaller events. I think I've even seen signs for events for kids."

"Really…!" Balthazar said curiously. "They even had battle events for kids?"

"Well, many of us Wielders are just kids too," Velcia reminded him. "But, I suppose that it is a little different. I don't think Olympian children had Keyblades."

Balthazar chuckled. "Well, we can go take a look. It's been a while, so who knows if she'd even still be there."

The two made their way through the crowd to the far western end of the Coliseum, and began to navigated through the building itself. There were indeed younger combatants practicing in these arenas, most of them in their mid-to-late teens. Velcia and Balthazar found these interesting, but still did not see anyone matching Frankie's description.

They stopped at the last of these arenas to watch, sitting down on one of the back rows of stone seats. Ahead of them, a pair of young warriors fought against a trio of wolf-like monsters under the careful watch of a tall, imposing guardian who stood ready to intervene at a moment's notice. Balthazar found himself observing with great interest, trying to take note of their techniques and strategies.

"You know," he said, leaning over towards Velcia, "I think maybe I should come watch these again. I feel like there's a lot I can learn here."

"Oh, that would be fun," Velcia said happily, but she stopped and her smile softened. "Oh, but… I mustn't. I love it so much here, but I must not let it distract me from the Chroniclers."

Balthazar sighed, and patted her gently on the shoulder. "Every now and then won't hurt."

"Hm… maybe."

The young warriors in the arena vanquished the monsters soon afterwards, and after being congratulated on their efforts left through a doorway on the other end. Balthazar and Velcia decided that this was as good a time as any for them to leave, as well, and were just starting to walk away when the next set of combatants entered.

One of them was a boy with black, fuzzy hair. He was wielding a sword, and just behind him was a girl with bright orange hair with a half-crown braid. Balthazar just happened to see her out of the corner of his eye and stopped dead in his tracks, doing a double take.

Velcia noticed this, seeing his quick glances towards her then back away, and she turned around and let out something of a yelp when she saw this other girl.

"B-balthazar, look!" she exclaimed. "That girl does look like me, doesn't she!"

Balthazar blinked, still in disbelief. "No wonder Frankie was confused," he said under his breath. "She doesn't look exactly like you, but I'd probably be fooled from a distance."

"I want to watch!" Velcia said excitedly, returning back to the stone seats on the side of the chamber. Balthazar sat down next to her, leaning forward to watch with great interest.

These two did not seem as skillful as the previous warriors, but they worked well together and seemed to be pulling through the challenge all the same. The boy fought with a sword and was certainly capable with it, but both Balthazar and Velcia's attention was locked onto this mystery girl. She did not fight with a sword, but had a wooden wand which she was using to cast magic spells. Some of these were attacks similar in style to what their Medals could produce, though at a much smaller scale and capacity, and several more which looked as though their effect was meant to weaken or slow the monsters, or in some other way strengthen her partner.

"Well, what do you think?" Balthazar asked quietly.

"It is very interesting, isn't it?" Velcia said. "Why… she's so much different than I am, but she looks so similar too. Her clothes are different, and she doesn't wear glasses like I do, but… why, it's just so odd. She isn't a Wielder, is she?"

Balthazar watched a little bit, eyes drawn to the wooden wand as he did. "No, I doubt it. Nothing about the way she's fighting seems like she's a Keyblade Wielder."

Velcia turned her attention back to the girl ahead, her mind working through the ramifications. If this girl was not a Wielder, then it would mean she was a part of the Projected World, and therefore native to Olympus. But… what would that mean? The two bore a strong resemblance, at least from a distance, but was that really enough to suggest there was anything strange going on here? Velcia thought about this, but found she was quickly slipping away into her daydreams and so she reluctantly dashed these hopes away. Whoever this girl was, however similar she may seem to be, she was from perhaps hundreds of years in the future, on a world Velcia had never even visited. No, she decided, it must be only a coincidence.

Still…

"Balthazar," she said softly, tugging at his sleeve as she watched the fight, "After this is over, can we go talk to them? I'm so curious."

"We can try," Balthazar said with a nod. He, too, had been wanting to talk to them as well.

As soon as the battle concluded, Velcia and Balthazar came down from their seats and walked around the perimeter of the arena floor, making their way over to the hall entrance through which the competitors had arrived. The orange-haired girl and her partner were talking with the guardian overseeing the event, so they had plenty of time. At last the two curious combatants finished their review, and it was with some excitement that Velcia called out to them as they came to the door.

"Hello!" she said, mindful of her posture and trying to be as friendly as possible.

"Oh, hello!" the girl answered, and her friend echoed her. "Are you two up next?"

"Oh, no no," Velcia said shyly, shaking her head. "We just came to watch. I thought that your magic was so very interesting, so I wanted to come let you know that I think you did very well."

The girl blushed, and looked at her friend. "Thank you, that does mean very much to me, but I'd never be able to compete without my cousin, -"

Balthazar paused for a moment, then bit his lip pensively. He could have sworn she'd said a name, but he hadn't heard anything discernible. He glanced over at Velcia, who seemed to be similarly confused, but she chose to ignore it and continued on.

"Well, I thought you were both amazing!" Velcia continued on. "Have you traveled far to be here?"

"No," the boy said, smiling proudly. "We're both from right here in Thebes!"

"Have you traveled here from far away?" the girl asked in return.

"Y-yes, sort of," Velcia said, nodding. "We're from somewhere called Daybreak Town."

The girl smiled and looked at her cousin. "I've never heard of a place like that, have you?"

"Nuh-uh," the black-haired boy said. "It must be from really far away."

Balthazar nodded. "It is. It took us a long time to get here, but it was worth it. Say, what were your names again?"

"Oh!" The girl exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "I'm sorry, I'm so rude! My name is - , and this is my cousin - ." she said happily, as if entirely oblivious to the fact that these names weren't actually pronounced. "And who are you?"

"I'm Balthazar, and this is my friend Velcia," he replied, feeling ever stranger now about the situation.

"It's so nice to meet you both," the nameless girl said with a bow. "I'm afraid I must go home now, or my Papa will worry for me. Will you two be in Thebes for long?"

"Y-yeah, I think so. There's a lot to see, and like we said, it's a long way from home," Balthazar said.

"Well good!" the boy said, standing proud with his hands on his hips. "Hey, if you're around again, maybe we can hang out a bit! You know, - and I get so curious about faraway places, so it would be really fun to talk with you guys and learn about where you're from. We could tell you all about Thebes and the Coliseum games, too!"

"That would be fun, I hope we can see you again,' Balthazar said.

"Oh, good!" the girl said. "But now, I really do have to leave."

"We'll see you again!" The boy said, giving them a quick farewell wave before the two ran off.

Velcia and Balthazar watched them go, stewing in their thoughts quietly. Balthazar began to walk slowly towards the exit, and Velcia followed after.

"Balthazar, I'm not sure what was wrong with me, but… I wasn't able to hear what she said their names are."

"You and me both," Balthazar said. "It looked like they said them, and it almost sounded like they'd said something, but I'm not really sure they'd made any sound at all. I don't understand that, I've never heard of anything like that in these Projected Worlds."

"I haven't either. Perhaps The Master doesn't know what their names were?"

"It's possible, I guess, but… it does seem strange all the same. I really don't know what to think about any of this," Balthazar said.

The two made their way outside the Coliseum, and carefully navigated through the energetic crowds. It was too busy and loud for them to talk to each other, so they each mulled over the situation as they walked until at last they'd reached one of the quieter side streets.

Velcia stopped, turning to her friend. "I don't know, Balthazar," she said, clearly conflicted. "I wish I could believe that there is some reason for her to look like me, but I… I must not let myself get distracted from the Chroniclers. I don't know what it is about Olympus, but it always seems to want my attention."

Balthazar chuckled, hands on his hips as he looked back out of the street and into the busy crowd. "Yeah, it does seem that way doesn't it. But I know how curious we both are about this."

"It's true, I am," Velcia sighed wistfully. "When I first saw her, I hoped that maybe we were similar for a reason. At first I hoped that maybe she was actually me, but that wouldn't make any sense would it? She seems about the same age as I am, and she is quite different. She hasn't got as many freckles as me, and even though our eyes and hair are similar, her face isn't quite the same shape as mine."

"And she doesn't wear glasses, either," Balthazar noted.

"That's right. So… as much as I wish there could be something, I just…" she trailed off sadly, shaking her head. "Well, it's just the sort of story that I get lost in, isn't it. I've stayed away from Olympus all this time because I know I love it too much. I…"

"I understand," Balthazar said, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I think that's very thoughtful of you, thinking of the party so much."

"Thank you," Velcia said, shaking her head. "Our party is the only helpful thing I've ever been able to do, so, even though I do find this curious… I must not let it distract me."

"Alright," Balthazar said. He respected this decision greatly, but he wasn't sure he was ready to step away from this particular oddity just yet. Even if there was no connection between this girl and Velcia, something about it felt odd to him. The fact that she and her cousin clearly had names that were mysteriously omitted baffled him to no end, but even beyond that there was something else about her that he was just now starting to realize.

Had she been a Wielder from Daybreak Town it would have been an entirely mundane sort of fact, but he had felt as if he'd been faintly able to sense the girl's heart. This was not something he could say for any other inhabitant of the Projected Worlds, and something that he'd not truly grasped until they'd been deep in the crowd outside.

He couldn't distract Velcia with any of this, and dared not to get her hopes up, but Balthazar knew that he wasn't going to be satisfied to leave these questions unanswered. He was going to have to look into this more later, and see if he could find any answers to this growing list of questions.