The silence continued to build, every second stretching to an eternity. As surreptitiously as he could manage, Akira snuck glances around the room to gauge everyone's reactions. Master Xehanort merely looked calm, even curious. Master Eraqus, by contrast, looked annoyed, and from his scowl he was becoming more upset by the second. Terra and Aqua merely looked confused. All four were looking from one Phantom Thief to another, silently asking for an explanation.
Akira turned his attention to the other Phantom Thieves. As he expected, all eight were staring at the floor, trying desperately to avoid eye contact with everyone, especially each other. They were undoubtedly all thinking the same as himself: Xehanort has a palace.
If they had a moment to themselves, they could plan, process what to do next as they usually did. But here, in the open hall, with everyone staring at them, there was nowhere to run. And Akira was painfully aware that every second of silence made them all look even more suspicious.
He racked his brain for something, anything, that could explain their phones' strange reaction. But ideas remained stubbornly out of reach. Nonetheless, it was his duty as leader to do his best. He lifted his head and opened his mouth to speak, with no idea what to say.
But before he could, Futaba spoke first.
"I…I did it, Master Eraqus. I set the phones to go off." Futaba lifted her head and looked at everyone, trying to smile. "I thought it would be funny." She gave a weak, halfhearted chuckle.
Eraqus abruptly turned a stern glare in her direction. "Did you really think today, of all days, was appropriate for a prank?"
Futaba stepped back, hanging her head. Her orange hair blocked her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. In the silent room, it echoed.
Eraqus took a deep breath. He looked angrier than any of the Phantom Thieves had ever seen him. "Go to your room," he said, coldness punctuating every syllable. "Now."
Futaba looked up in confusion. She opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. "Okay," she said, and left without another word.
The hall, as though holding its breath during the silence, let out a collective sigh of relief. Tension eased for the moment, all turned their attention back to the exam, and the anticipation. Akira resolved to thank Futaba later for her bravery.
Ven hurried to the hall, bursting with excitement, hoping the Mark of Mastery exam hadn't started yet. As he rounded the corner, he was surprised to see a familiar small, orange-haired figure exit the hall and head in the opposite direction.
"Futaba! You're not going to watch?"
She shook her head. "Can't. Master Eraqus sent me to my room."
Ven was astonished. "What?! Why?"
Futaba shrugged. "A prank gone wrong. Not the best time, I guess." She smiled at his look of distress. "Don't worry, Ven, I'm fine. It's not a big deal."
"Of course it is!" Ven was in shock. He couldn't believe she would miss such an important event. Surely nothing she did could be worthy of that kind of punishment. He took a step towards the hall. "I'll talk to Master Eraqus, maybe he…"
"No, Ven, don't." Futaba put a hand on his arm and pulled him back. "Leave it alone, all right?" She regarded him seriously, until reluctantly he nodded. She let go of his arm then and grinned. "Let me know how it goes."
In the hall, everything was prepared for the Mark of Mastery exam to begin. In the front of the room, Master Eraqus sat on the leftmost of the three thrones, while Xehanort occupied the right. Terra and Aqua stood, side by side, facing them. Ven and the Phantom Thieves had formed two rows along the sides of the room.
Haru, like the rest of the Phantom Thieves, kept a careful eye on Xehanort. Even before the revelation that he had a palace, something about him didn't seem right to her. She remembered her former fiancé, Sugimura, and shuddered. She hoped Xehanort wasn't like him.
From her position near Xehanort, she could see him looking at someone, Ven, she thought. Ven seemed uncomfortable, too, as he turned away and squirmed in place. In a second, he and the others straightened up as Eraqus stood up to start. She might have thought she imagined it, but a soft, "Mrow," and a paw on her leg made her turn around. Morgana's blue eyes stared at her, then to Ven, letting her know he saw the same thing.
"Then let the examination begin!" As Eraqus drew his Keyblade and produced orbs of light, everyone turned to watch. Haru, and a few of the other Phantom Thieves, kept their backs to the wall to keep an eye on Xehanort, just in case.
Haru saw Xehanort move his hand, and smile with satisfaction. When she turned back to look at the orbs, she could see them coated with shadows. Terra and Aqua rushed forward, and with swipes of their keyblades, they destroyed them.
To everyone's surprise, some of the orbs zigzagged their way towards the Phantom Thieves, one near Ann. She swiped her keyblade down on it, destroying it. They're not supposed to attack us – are they? Haru thought in confusion as she and the others readied their keyblades. More came toward them. From the other side of the room, Ven darted forward, just in time to finish off another one while Sumire leapt back.
"Don't worry about us!" Ven called to Terra and Aqua. "Just focus on the trial!"
Aqua said it was too dangerous for them to stay, but Terra said Ven and the others could handle themselves.
The next few minutes were a blur to Haru. Much to her annoyance, keyblades didn't possess gun skills, nor did they have the range of psy powers she was used to, only Confuse and Sleep. As a melee weapon, the key was effective, but didn't feel as natural in her hand as an axe, requiring her to work harder. As a result, by the time all the orbs were destroyed, she was winded, nearly out of breath. Not since ballet lessons had she exerted herself so hard. From the other side of the room, she could see Makoto swaying too. At least she wasn't the only one. The others seemed tired as well.
Mercifully, Eraqus called a five-minute break. Grateful, Haru followed the others out of the hall.
Though exhausted, Ann moved eagerly for the door, followed closely by Yusuke. He didn't look as winded as she felt, and she envied him a little for that. The rest of the Phantom Thieves were a few steps behind. She couldn't wait to talk to everyone about Xehanort, what they had seen and heard.
As she opened the door, she and Yusuke froze. In front of them, a shadowy mass taller than a person condensed into a ball and vanished. They looked at each other in confusion. What was that?
They heard a bump behind them as the others nearly ran into them. "Yo, what gives?" said Ryuji.
Ann collected herself and stepped out of the way to let the others out, closing the door behind them. They looked around. As soon as they were alone, everyone started talking at once.
"Xehanort…"
"…creepy…"
"What do we…"
"…a palace?"
"Quiet!" said Akira, and everyone fell silent. "We can all agree Xehanort must have a palace, correct?" Everyone nodded.
"But we still don't know what that means," said Makoto. "Is his palace like Shido's, or Futaba's?"
"Definitely Shido's," said Ann. "Didn't you see him tamper with the trial? Why would he do that?"
Several others, including Akira and Sumire, nodded.
"Haru and I saw him look over at Ven," added Morgana.
Haru agreed. "It was terrifying."
One by one, each person shared what they knew.
"Just now, Yusuke and I saw a mass of shadows, just over there," said Ann, pointing.
Yusuke agreed, "It looked like my first painting of Mementos, 'Desire'."
Akira looked thoughtful. "Something strange is happening here, and it seems connected to Xehanort. After the trial, we should look around and report in the group chat what we find."
"If Xehanort does have a palace," said Sumire, "where do you think it is?"
Conversation stopped as everyone thought. Truth be told, they didn't know of many worlds outside the Land of Departure.
"No idea," said Akira at last. "All the more reason to leave soon."
The door to the hall opened, and Ven peeked his head out.
"Master Eraqus says it's time for the next trial."
All further speculation would have to wait.