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Castur sighed and shook his head at Milo's words. It was just as he had predicted. Of course people would come seeking for some sort of fabled magical energy source. Given the discrepancy between the Atlanteans' secret technology and the weaponry of the "explorers" he could make a good guess as to how valuable this "Heart of Atlantis" was. He shook his head and sighed to himself in frustration recalling the all too familiar attitude of his home's governing body. If any opposing power had something shiny it would be theirs no longer. And seeing as how this energy source not only powered the city but kept its people alive...

"I'm pretty sure I know why Rourke's people are so heavily armed. I've seen this before." Castur spoke up. Seeing as how this was no longer a time for games and masks he took the opportunity to remove the stolen helmet to reveal his face. "You can bet on Rourke being here simply to steal that Heart." He glanced over at the others. "The name's Castur. We met before, Ananta, Ignis. I wasn't exactly myself when we first met. Arctus was just another mask I was wearing, so to speak. Sorry for the games but I was dragged into the Black Coats before I had a chance to know who I was working with before and I didn't want to make that mistake again." He glanced over at the one remaining keyblade wielder who wouldn't have recognized him and, to prove a point, Castur briefly summoned his keyblade and called it off. "Finding the Heart of Atlantis is nice and all but if what I'm saying is true, it'd be more efficient to take Rourke out first before he gets a chance to act."

"Hm. Well he's already lost one." Torrin said recalling his last encounter with Dentro who had lost himself to the darkness within his own heart and had been struck down. "As for the others? I don't really see them being much of an issue. The only reason they're even still standing is because when I was fighting them, they always had me outnumbered. On their own, each one of them might be stronger than any of you guys but not to the point where it would be impossible to win a one-on-one fight. I wouldn't suggest it though. Two or three of you per Chaser would be enough to beat them." Torrin rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded at his own assessment, feeling that it was the right call to make when the situation came up.



"And as for weakening the Light Chaser...well that's a nice thought but he doesn't seem to draw his power from anywhere. The only thing I see working on him is just surrounding him and hitting him with everything we have. We'd have to take down his students first though otherwise they'd just get in the way."

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"Perhaps the Stamatis you knew must have been a poor teacher. He should have taught you the value of strategy yet here you are getting emotional. Isn't that what dragged Stamatis into a trap in the first place? The Council is planning long term, kid. At the end of the day, you kids will be nothing more than a last line of defense in the worst case scenario. Whenever the Light Chaser does decide to confront us, it'll be the masters who face him. Not a bunch of kids who can barely hold a keyblade the right way." Turning to look over at the newcomer Fost decided that now was a good time to make his exist.

"You seem to be in good company, Chrys. Keep yourself out of trouble, kid. And maybe stick with someone who can vouch for you in case you run into someone else who think you're still the enemy." Giving the girl a slight wave and the newcomer who arrived by...dragon-horse a nod of acknowledgement, Fost left to head back to the castle without another word to Tinarah.

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Stamatis's door swung open and rather than the silver-haired man answering Qamar's call it was a short young woman holding a large dusty tome in her other hand that appeared to be weighing her whole arm down. "Qamar? Hey! What a surprise!" Selene spoke happily. "Oh? That look on your face...Oh! You were looking for Stamatis. Sorry. You just missed him. I think I saw him heading out to find Thallasa and some others. Said something about catching up with Varos..." The snowy haired master grunted as she hefted the book up and hugged it in her arms to her chest. "Stamatis wanted me to bring some reading material to Master Gero. Something about allowing the master to refresh himself on some spell. I tried to take a peek but the book just wouldn't open for me. But I remember Stamatis had another book that had the same kind of enchantment...I caught a glimpse one time and it turned out to be cake recipes...I always thought he was a sweet man but I didn't ever think someone like him would have a hidden sweet tooth and why are you looking at me like that oh you want to speak up about something? Sorry I just get nervous sometimes when the rest of the Council is up to something and just won't tell me or Kide just becausewe'retheyoungestokayI'llstoptalkingnow." Selene took in a deep breath and laughed anxiously. "Ahaha...is there anything I can help you with?"

"Everyone's got baggage. Seems to come with the responsibility of wielding the keyblade." Torrin stated simply. "Hm...well..." He folded his arms and looked at Aria as she made her own explanation about the situation regarding the Light Chaser. "I'd imagine a lot of people from this realm would be fine. Though I can't imagine it'd be a pleasant experience for a person to lose their darkness, even if it isn't much. Someone like Boreas, Qamar, Enzo, or myself though? Well..." Torrin shrugged and shook his head.


After a moment of pause he continued, "Aria's got that right. Trying to stay ahead of the Light Chaser has been difficult. Though I don't have any doubts that we'll come out of this on top. All of the Seven pure lights are accounted for and right now the Light Chaser's only move is to come for us. All we have to do now is be ready for when he does." Torrin spoke with confidence.

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"I remember you." Fost answered Tinarah. "You're the girl who nearly got Stamatis killed. Not that it was really your fault." The man folded his arms and looked at the girl intently, seeing the sad puppy dog-like expression clear in her eyes. Stamatis may have been fine with using the girl as a replacement but he wasn't. "The man you saw in that other realm wasn't me. Keep that in mind and you'll spare yourself a great deal of heartache."

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"I have my own duties to attend to." Varos spoke bluntly. He then pointed out towards the castle looming just a few miles away. "I believe the courtyard is a popular place for others to visit. Perhaps you will find other students there at this time of day." The man suggested to Lumen as he summoned his keyblade and tossed it into the air. He leapt up after it and landed on his now-transformed glider. "If you are seeking nourishment the castle has a fully stocked kitchen just beyond the main entrance hall." Varos pulled his glider back angling it towards the sky and with one last look at Lumen he launched off without another word towards the boy, leaving Lumen to his own devices as Varos took to the skies and vanished from sight.

"Yeah. It wasn't a big deal." Torrin answered Chrono. "I still wasn't expecting to see someone new though. Hm..." Torrin looked at Kalik. "Well it's good to have some more people on our side. It feels like we've been shorthanded for some time so, wherever you came from, it's good that you came at all." Torrin spoke towards Kalik. Looking around to see no one else in the hall Torrin asked Chrono, "Where'd Illiana run off to anyway? She was with you wasn't she?"

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Fost raised an eyebrow when Boreas summoned his keyblade but remained still to see if he was foolish enough to attack them right there. He wasn't. Boreas left in a foul mood with Illiana trailing behind him leaving Fost to chuckle at their response. "That's about the response I expected. Though it seems like not everyone is out to get you, kid." He spoke in amusement.

When Tinarah had tried to greet him with an unwarranted sense of familiarity the man looked at her quizzically. Even after Stamatis had contacted him and informed him of everything that happened, the sheer thought of it all was still so strange to him. Even with all the knowledge he had possessed, he had never even believed it possible for there to be a realm he did not know of. Even so, it was a piece of knowledge that he regretted not taking into consideration earlier because of what he knew. "Tinarah." He nodded his head at the girl to acknowledge that he had noticed her presence. His head turned towards Qamar who had bowed to him. "Kide's student, hm? Not what I expected." Fost spoke simply.

"When you had informed me that Imera's world had fallen to darkness a year ago I had thought nothing of it other than it was a tragedy. But now Varka and Sanda's world both fell mere hours apart? This is no coincidence, Aster. What of Dasos and Kryo?"

"No response. No call for assistance like Varka and Sanda and the news only gets worse from there, Master Gero." The blonde woman spoke gravely. "I haven't been able to locate the other two's worlds. From the data I gathered I can only assume that they were destroyed..."

The old man let out a heavy sigh and rose from his seat. He slowly walked over towards the window, his hands clasped behind him, and gazed outside at the shimmering lake in the distance. "I see. Then Stamatis and I are all that remain of the old Council." Gero spoke solemnly. The man nodded and lowered his head, catching a glimpse of the courtyard in the corner of his vision. "You were still just a student when Ac–the Light Chaser left us. He, Kaio, Varos, and Chryssa had been promoted to become members of this Council. He even took you under his wing, did he not?"

"Y-yes." Aster reluctantly responded.

"Fost, Stamatis, Imera, Varka, Sanda, Dasos, Kryo, and myself...only we knew of the true harm our mistakes had made. Are you certain the Light Chaser had never told you why he left?"

"No. All I knew was that he was angry and in pain. He wouldn't speak to Varos or Kaio or even me. But whatever his reasons were, that still doesn't excuse his actions."

"Perhaps. But perhaps these recent events are exactly what we deserve."

"Master?" Aster rose from her seat looking at Gero with a mixture of concern and confusion.

"There are only supposed to be seven members on this Council and, with my return, there are nine. By the end of this there should be no need to fill any vacant seats. Once more the Council will be at the number it was always meant to be when Stamatis and I face against him."

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He had seen a world lost to darkness before but even if he had to see it a hundred times the sight of it never got any easier. The boy, Lumen, had been the only one he could save. Varos had brought Lumen to the outskirts of the lands surrounding the castle thinking the fresh air would do the boy some good after Varos had used magic to cure his wounds. When Lumen was aware enough to listen to what he had to say, Varos began the long story of what had led up to this point. The Light Chaser, the worlds falling to darkness, those who had banded together to stop him, the current state about the Seven pure hearts, that the world they were on was named Illusia, and the existence of the Council of Lights. The master looked uncomfortable for having spoken for so long just to explain what had been happening. His usually stoic face remained...stoic but his tone betrayed his annoyance and frustration that was clearly about something more than just having spoken for so long. Varos refused to say it but the loss of Sanda and the recent news of Varka's death had pained him greatly. But that was of no concern to the boy before him. "That should catch you up. I healed your injuries as best I could. If you are still in pain you may seek another master at the castle to fix what I could not."

Though he would have just been willing to set Lumen off on his way the gravity of the situation forced him to put pause on such a thought for now. "Sanda was a great woman. Her loss will be mourned by those who knew her. You would do well to honor your master and fight for the balance she once tried to maintain. With the Light Chaser threatening that balance you cannot give in to despair. Rest for now. Meet the others who have been where you are right now. And be ready when you are called upon to fight." He looked off into the distance where the castle loomed. "When you are ready, we shall head to Illusia's castle."

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Fost took one of the castle side exits for the sake of changing the scenery. In truth, he always hated Illusia's castle as it was far too large and the interior was like a maze with every hall looking the same as the last. An eyesore to him to say the least. "What's wrong, kid? You look anxious. The thought of being surrounded by potential enemies makes you uncomfortable?" Fost chuckled and continued to lead the girl through the grass path around the castle, heading in the direction of the courtyard. "No worries. You're currently under my protection and I won't throw you to the wolves, so to speak."

The courtyard came into view after several more minutes of walking under the purple-blue sky. "Oh this is interesting." He commented upon spotting not one but several students scattered about in the courtyard including one of the Seven. With so many already gathered it was the perfect way to get as many people on board with Chrys's change of alliance right off the bat. "Just relax, kid. Smile and wave. Or do something that looks natural. I don't know. Do something that makes you look like a pacifist or something." He vaguely suggested.

"Greetings, young keyblade wielders." Fost spoke out loud when everyone in the courtyard came within earshot. "I am Master Fost, an ally of the Council of Lights. This," he motioned towards Chrysanthemum, "young lady has had a change of heart. Master Gero has had me interrogate her this whole morning and, upon deliberation, has decided to allow her to join our side. Now I get that some of you might be apprehensive to the idea of having a former enemy on your side but...well..." Fost paused for a moment then lowered his tone. "Neither I nor the Council care about your opinions. This battle is not a game where you get to pick and choose your allies so deal with it. She will have both the Council's and my protection so don't think about picking a fight."

Torrin smirked and shook his head at Aria's teasing threat. "Prince Torrin just doesn't have a nice ring to it, does it? Prince Solus sounds a little more regal though. Solus being my family name." He explained. Torrin took a deep breath and gave the girl a short nod. "Training it is then. One of the masters contacted me early this morning." He spoke as he began to walk once more leading the way forward. "Kidemonas was his name, I think. Anyway, apparently he's had this project that he's been working on for some time now and he just recently completed it. He just wants to run a...what was the word...a beta test on it. It involves some fancy tech and magic but basically it will allow us to fight just about anything we've seen before and then some without the risk of dying if we lose."


Truthfully, Torrin wasn't sure where he was going. He had just been told to head down to the castle's lowest levels and he was just searching for another staircase at this point. "It sounds exciting to me. Though I wouldn't be itching for a rematch with that horned guy anytime soon. Took so many of us just to bring him down in a timely fashion." Torrin pointed at a stairway at the end of another bend they rounded and picked up his pace. "Kidemonas wanted just me for the trial run but I don't see why you couldn't jump in as well. Two people are better than one." He spoke as he began to take the stairs down to the lower level. There was yet another flight of stairs to descend and once more Torrin and Aria took the way down. "Testing something like this...it kind of gives me chills." Torrin added in a tone of genuine anticipation.

"H-how'd you know?" Torrin turned his head as they walked to look at Aria who seemed to already have seen through his lie. "I mean...Gero could have wanted to speak with you. ...Though it seems he's been keeping busy. I ran into him earlier and things did not go well." Torrin cleared his throat. "Anyway...yeah. Might've been rude to leave the new person alone considering Illiana already had plans...Yeah. I guess I am getting tired of the voices." Torrin nodded as they walked after admitting to his own less than social tendencies. The hall curved around and led the two around a bend where even more rooms lined the sides. Torrin briefly wondered how people managed to not get lost in a place like this.


"Anyway..." He glanced at Aria and slowed his pace down now that they were far enough from the others and got some breathing room. Torrin tilted his head as he looked at Aria's new hairstyle. "Did you do that yourself?" He gestured at his own hair and then pointed at Aria's. "I guess it doesn't matter. I like how you look either way." Torrin commented as he finally stopped walking and turned towards her.


"How are you holding up? Last time I saw you was when you were still shivering. Aren't you a tough little princess?" Torrin teased, folding his arms.

Torrin watched the expression on Aria's face and paused to look her over for a moment. 'Did her hair get shorter?' Deciding against making a comment about it while others were around he looked at Illiana and then Chrono. "Ah...so you're giving people the tour of what you did." He spoke towards Illiana. Knowing Illiana probably wanted to keep the graves as some kind of macabre surprise, he decided not to reveal it.


"Um..." He scratched the back of his head and tried to piece together what to say. He knew with what happened to Aria, her mood had been low, and though she seemed to be physically fine the her radiant aura had dulled. Though no expert on reading auras, despite being trained to see them, this was at least an obvious tell that someone's mood or mental state was low. Perhaps that had been a similar reason as to why Take had been so difficult to read until he discovered the boy was a Prince of Heart. In any case he doubted looking at a graveyard, as beautifully constructed as it was, would be anything but depressing.


"As fun as a group field trip might seem, I'm going to be borrowing Aria. Gero wanted me to come find her." He lied. Torrin wasn't concerned about how Chrono would handle seeing a few graves considering that he appeared to be resilient enough to act as a rock for his sister but Aria? While he was concerned about dragging the girl's mood down further there was still the fact that no one in the team even knew what had happened to Mika. It may have been selfish but if Aria was going to see the grave of her friend he wanted to be the one to say something about the fate that had befallen Mika and his part in it.


Torrin raised an eyebrow on hearing footsteps coming from the second floor and looked up the staircase to see...someone new. "Hm? Where'd...youknowwhatnevermind." Torrin looked at Kalik, confused as to how the newcomer even got here. Rather than ask questions or even introduce him he turned away and headed down the opposite hallway from which he had entered the entrance hall. After Torrin's last interaction with Gero, he couldn't trust himself to continue interacting with people he didn't know very well.

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Fost reached into his pocket and held up his own communicator once Chrys gave her answer. "Alright, kid. Let's hear what the Old Man has to say." Rather than go out of his way to speak to Gero face to face, Fost had opted for a more efficient method of communication. "Gero, you there?"

"Do you have an update?"

"So we may have found ourselves a new asset. The girl seems genuine. A real turncoat."

"Be that as it may, the standard precautions are still to be in place."

"Is that a yes then? That was honestly a lot faster than I thought it'd be. I thought I'd have to make a case for this girl here."

"I trust your judgment. If you say she can help us keep the balance then I will believe it as well."

The line went dead and Fost blinked at the communicator, curiously staring at it after having sensed something odd about Gero's tone. Something had rattled him and Fost wasn't sure what it was but either way, there was a new problem at hand. "Well then." The man scratched his beard and stood up. "There's gonna be some ground rules for you for some time. Think of this as a trial run to make sure you...mesh well with the team, alright? If things go well, you'll be getting all the privileges all the others have. First off, you're not to be alone with any of the Seven at any point. Given that there's three of them here in the castle but still plenty of other people around, that shouldn't be too hard for you, kid. Rule two, you'll be expected to follow orders out on the field. Rule three, be good. Got it? Good. Now...all we have to do is work on introducing you as part of the good guys. Guess that should be easy enough."

Fost began to head towards the door and opened it. "Oh right, I forgot. Might be a little premature to do this but as a sign of good faith..." Fost rose his right hand and snapped his fingers. "You should have your powers back. Don't make me regret this." He stepped out into the hall and motioned for Chrys to come with him. "Now come on. Let's go find some of the others and show them your change of heart."

After having left the kitchen he found himself comfortable in a quiet hallway where he could make a few notes for himself in private. Unfortunately, it didn't take long before he was interrupted. Torrin's eyes rose from the sheet of paper he was scribbling on and blinked at the man standing before him. "Gero? What do you want?"

"I understand you will be giving Kidemonas's experiment a trial run soon." The elder man spoke simply.

"From what I can gather, it doesn't seem as risky as he made it out to seem. I don't think his precautions are necessary. Sending me in just because I can take it if something goes wrong and I'm more expendable than someone on the Council? That's got a kind of cold logic to it that I can almost appreciate."

"Is that what he would have you believe? Hm. Well allow me to be clear, Master Solus, you were initially allowed to join our cause because you were expendable. If you died it might have given your uncle a reason to divert his attention from his own war to aid us."

Torrin's eyes narrowed at Gero. "Yeah. I figured as much."

"But that is no longer the case. You've proven yourself to be a useful asset."

"No need to pretend to be so transparent with me. You know, from everything I've seen, I think I'm finally starting to see the full picture here."

Ignoring what Torrin had said Gero continued, "If you had known we were using you, why would you side with us? Why play this game?" Gero's tone did not sound curious but rather appeared to be like a scientist attempting to analyze a specimen.

"I'll play whatever you part you need from me so long as it leads to bringing down the Light Chaser." Torrin spoke bluntly.

"Careful, boy. Hatred was what consumed the man you know as the Light Chaser. Keep your darkness in check lest I do it for you." Gero warned. Torrin turned to leave but old man stepped forward to cut Torrin off. "One more thing. Limit your interactions with her. A shadow like yours suffocates the light."

"I wonder what Aria would think when she finds out your cuddly grandfather act was just a lie. Don't worry. I won't tell her. At first I blamed your time in that other realm for how I felt about you but now..." Torrin shook his head and moved around Gero. "Doesn't really matter though. Once this is over I'll tear through your Council."

After leaving Gero behind and feeling an uncomfortable churning in his stomach Torrin pressed his hand over his chest where his heart was and took a deep breath. He felt unbalanced and unsure where that sudden burst of malice came from. He was angry but even then Torrin wasn't sure why it bothered him so greatly. "Must've...been something I ate...haha...yeah..." He muttered through gritted teeth as he tried to laugh it off. He took another deep breath and steadied his shaking hand.

He did his best to shrug it off and kept walking while his steps echoed through the halls. Torrin heard voices up ahead and slowed his pace as he watched Illiana and Aria reach the bottom of the main stairway to greet Chrono. Torrin looked behind him, certain that he had been walking away from the entrance hall this whole time, then turned back to look at the trio in confusion. Unsure of how he managed to get turned around he figured it would have been pathetic to turn around now and too awkward if he ran into Gero again after that terrible interaction. He even briefly considered apologizing to the man for his threat. "Uh..." He cleared his throat. "Hey Ar-um...hey guys."

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Stamatis nodded. "Very well. Hm...I suppose I should not keep you cooped up here much longer then. I am sure you are willing to stretch your legs and examine your surroundings. Perhaps you will be able to introduce to the others as well. The other students are an..." The master thought about his words for a moment. "An eccentric but friendly bunch. You are free to roam about. Please, make yourself at home."

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"Ah...yes...I see that in catching you up I had forgotten to introduce myself. I am Master Stamatis." He paused for a moment before answering the boy's questions. "For now the darkness consuming the worlds is beyond our control but we have reason to believe the man calling himself the Light Chaser might be responsible for the instability between this realm's balance. But even we at the Council are not certain of that...For now, the only thing we can do is protect the Seven pure hearts of light, or at least the three we have at the castle. Regain your strength, train when you can, and in time you will be ready to help face against the threats to the Realm of Light."

"One master may not have been able to do anything to fight the darkness but there are many of us here. There are several students here near your age even." Stamatis mentioned in an attempt to cheer Kalik up. "I am sorry that this has happened to you but you are not in my debt. I merely wish I could have saved more."

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Ignis's response was predictable. Castur allowed himself a chuckle to show his amusement in her words. "Such negativity. Maybe an edgier nickname like Blade or Razor would be more to your liking. Maybe even add a little something to show the kids how little you care about the system like misspelling it." He shrugged and waved his hand dismissively at Rayzor.

Castur looked at Ananta. "Hm? Of course I've got nothing better to do than follow you guys around. I don't get paid enough to do anything worthwhile." I don't get paid at all, actually. Outside of whatever munny that drops from nameless enemies. Castur thought to himself while wondering for a moment how Heartless managed to even get a hold of munny to begin with. He supposed it didn't really matter. "You know, there really aren't many opportunities for a career change for a man with my skills. But this job sucks. So if you happen to know about any opportunities, let me know." Though Castur did not really see any point in giving his character of "faceless soldier" a backstory the thought alone amused him enough to keep up with the game. Perhaps it was his time putting on the mask of Arctus that had made him more of a talker. Or perhaps it was Karina's fault. It was definitely Karina's fault.

He reluctantly reached out and shook Faust's hand since he would have felt bad if he let the guy down given his upbeat attitude. "On guard? Nah. We're all friends here, kid. Just don't tell the boss-man I'm being nice to you. Capiche?"

Feeling better after having eaten some more leftovers Torrin blinked and tilted his head as he saw Tinarah come into the kitchen to start cleaning dishes. It didn't seem like she had noticed him yet...or if she had she was just ignoring him. For good reason probably. They were in a better standing with each other than before but he was far from being her favorite person to be around. Torrin pulled out the communicator and turned it over in his hand before returning it to his pocket.



He then retrieved a crumpled piece of paper from the pocket he placed the communicator in and pulled out the second scrap from his other pocket. Torrin took a brief moment to try smoothing out the creases in the paper to no avail and shook his head in disapproval. "Ah well. She's not into this for aesthetic purposes." Placing both scraps in one hand he headed over towards Tinarah and gave the girl a light tap on the shoulder to get her attention.



"I don't know how they got there but I found these scraps in this coat's pockets. I see you're busy with dishes...so I'll just leave these out of harm's way where they won't get wet. Right over here." He said as he placed the scraps a few feet away on the counter. "Just thought you might want to give them a read since you're scrap booking with them. Is that a pun? I don't know. Uh. Anyway. I'd help but the last time I tried to clean dishes was nearly six years ago and...bad things happened. Very bad things." Though to be honest, that had been on purpose just to get him out of doing his most hated chore. Who knew water magic and soap could be so disastrous? Torrin did. The bubblepocalypse would never be forgotten.



Torrin gave Tinarah a wave as he left the kitchen and did the same to Chrono as he passed by him.

Spoiler

OOC Thread


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Fost raised an eyebrow when Chryssa's wishes were mentioned. He scratched his chin, thinking about the girl's situation for a moment as he remained silent. After a long moment of quiet Fost leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "I'll have to speak to the Old Man about it. But maybe...just maybe you might be able to fit in here. With my experience I've gotten pretty good at seeing right through people. And you, kid? You don't seem all too bad. Naive sure, but you ain't got a bad heart. Still. Perhaps running away from all of this is your best option for self-preservation. After all, I can't imagine there are many here who'd like you. From what I'm told, I expect that the Torrin kid will be the one you'll see the most resistance from. Though I doubt the kid's capable of outright attacking you while you're unarmed...well..." Fost gave Chrysanthemum a grim smile. "Between you and me, I suspect the Old Man would side with Broody. I don't find the irony of it amusing but it is what it is, kid. So what'll it be? You've still got a choice in this. Bad choices but choices nonetheless."

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"...And I believe that about wraps things up. Feel free to ask me about any other questions you have in mind." Stamatis spoke to the boy sitting across him after having finished explaining the current events. To a newcomer the information must have been a great deal to process but in the end it was necessary. The two had been sitting in a large open room, morning's light pouring in from the window. In the distance a white dragon could just faintly be seen soaring in the sky. "I am...saddened by your loss. We knew your master very well, Kalik. Master Varka used to be one of us before he stepped down several years ago. He would not have mentioned the Council to you but that is simply because only keyblade masters need know about the existence of the Council and this world."

"I know this whole situation must be a shock for you but know that you are safe here on Illusia. The fact that your master managed to send us a signal at all through that darkness is a miracle." Stamatis spoke quietly as he watched the boy. "Your wounds have been healed but I urge you not to strain yourself."

Torrin smiled upon seeing Boreas being able to recall his keyblade once more. "See? I told you it would come back. You just needed to be patient." He nodded slowly and stepped forward, raising an eyebrow upon hearing the same sound of music that Boreas had. Torrin turned his head in the direction of the piano, unsure of who would be playing right now. He briefly considered going to check it out but decided on getting something more to eat first and left for the kitchen.



And the rest of Torrin's post would have been here but Arch did not feel like writing it.

"Asking for help isn't really...what I'm used to. But I'll give that a shot considering how little progress I made on my own." He folded his arms across his chest and gave an affirming nod towards Boreas. Though it was true that they were stronger as a team, Torrin would have been lying if he had said he was comfortable with the idea. Still, by this point he had no other options. "Well then. I suppose this has been a productive enough talk." He spoke simply as he lowered his arms to return them to his pockets, once more finding those same crumpled pieces of paper stuffed inside them.



"Is there anything else on your mind or has Captain Thessalian dismissed me to so that I can go grab another piece of toast?" Torrin just had to repeat those words. Though he knew things would not remain frozen at home, the thought of his friend now being a captain was still new to him. He wondered if when this was all over there would be another promotion waiting for Boreas.

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"Well I don't see any point in reading it twice." Fost spoke calmly. "Memory magic generally requires someone to be asleep or, in your case, unconscious. Now I couldn't read every thought in your mind. Just the more recent ones. Your vision of Chryssa was definitely disturbing to me...but this pretense was merely to see if you were willing to be honest. What it looks like to me is that you saw something you weren't supposed to and he wasn't too happy about it. A shame that you were tossed aside like that but I could only imagine that your use to him was always extremely limited." Fost scratched his cheek and took a seat in front of the girl.

"The only question now is, what do we do with you? If I set you free to go back to wherever it is you came from, your keyblade will have to be taken from you. You obviously cannot go back to your master so that's not an option. Hm..." Fost leaned back and folded his arms as he huffed out in annoyance. "I dunno, kid. What do you want?" He asked matter-of-factly.

​

Choma blinked and scratched his name upon hearing the name of the furry creature. "I think I knew someone with a pet named Gurgi...or was it Gurby? Furby?" The man dismissed the thought and smiled when Aria had said she would not forget him. "And it would be difficult to forget someone with your bright attitude." Choma chuckled when Aria mentioned a clown and attempted to duplicate what she probably did to him only to slip up a little. "I'll take your word for it. Graceful indeed."

"Hm...Flammie? That feathered creature is a dragon? Strange...Well if you're not sure how she came here and you don't think Torrin was the cause then it's possibly she simply flew here. There are few things that exist besides the keyblade that can cross through worlds but a dragon with that ability does not seem too far-fetched." The man commented.

"Just..." He let out an exasperated sigh. "Fighting a losing battle alone isn't exactly good for the mind, you know? That's really the best way I can say it." Torrin folded his arms. The sight of watching the Light Chaser easily deflect his magic and the feeling of being struck down in their first encounter came to mind. He recalled every battle he had been forced to flee because he was outnumbered. For so long he had nothing he could do against the Chasers. "Yeah...so I know exactly what kind of odds we're up against. You're right, they're not good. But there's nothing that can be accomplish by despairing in our situation. If we fail, our people will suffer for it first."


"I'm done running. No more." Torrin clenched his hands and continued to speak with firm determination. Every loss he suffered along the way flashed through his memories as did the faces of every friend he could not protect. For so long every battle against the Light Chaser had been an utter failure. He had not been strong enough to win. An old anger rose up as Torrin recalled every mistake he made from the traps he had fallen into to his lapses in judgment after joining this group. He had not been prepared for the Light Chaser when he arrived an attempt to kill Gero and Stamatis, he had not been able to protect Aria from her violent nightmares, and even Take had just narrowly avoided capture. It had to end now. All of those losses had to count for something.


"There's too much at stake to lose. I don't care if the Council helps us directly or not. One way or another, we will win. To hell with Tharsus's view on war. I'm done losing and I say we're making it out of this alive and that's exactly what's going to happen. Everyone we've lost will not have died in vain. I know you'll follow me into a doomed battle but I want you to believe in me when I say it isn't. Whatever it takes, we're winning this."

​

Fost shook his head. "Optimistic? Of course not. Stupid? Yes. Though I suppose the blame does not fall entirely on you, kid. After all your master would have likely neglected to tell you that darkness does not equate to evil. Ripping darkness from a heart that's evenly balanced would likely kill that person. Those born in the Realm of Darkness would probably be the first to bite the dust because of this. So there goes nearly an entire realm of people. Poof. Maybe he skipped out on that too." Fost paced back and forth slowly, not looking at Chrys as he spoke.

"Though your ignorance is saddening, you still haven't exactly answered my other question. Why were you forced to flee? Surely it mustn't have been for knowing too much because you clearly know so very little, kid. Or maybe you're just being a tough little brat and I should take off the kiddie gloves. I don't care for the tears that follow after but it does get results..." He shook his head once more. "Or maybe you're not worth the trouble. I could just bring the Old Man back in and we could get started on doing more than temporarily removing your keyblade and magic, yes we already did that we're not stupid, but instead we could make that permanent."

​

"Thank you. ...Aria? Is that a new look?" The man asked with a tone of amusement. "It really has been too long. I was beginning to wonder if you had forgotten about me. The Council had informed Atmos and I of your group's return but we decided against seeking you out to give you all time to recuperate. The Council has not even made any announcements yet on calling a meeting for you. Once Thallasa brought in those people from Prydain that was all they seemed to be interested in. Though I haven't seen any of them around. That...furry dog creature could speak...it looked like a dirty mop." Choma spoke as he scratched his beard.

"Also I noticed that there seems to be a four-winged creature flying around lately. I think it showed up with you all. Do you know anything about that?"

Torrin shook his head. "No need to apologize. You've got reason to be angry. I'm no stranger to losing my cool either. When I first met this group I nearly attacked Tinarah and Chrono because I thought they were with the Light Chaser." He scratched the back of his head and held back a small laugh. "Guess I still am angry. I just have more reasons to control that now. Anyway, I'm glad you got it handled. I don't want you flying off getting yourself killed because you were angry." With that taken care of, Boreas had brought up the other reason why he wanted to see Torrin. A more depressing reason.




"Ah...I understand." Torrin spoke lowly as he took the letter into his hands, staring at the name of Boreas's mother. "I will make sure that you'll see your mother again. You don't need to worry about me having to deliver this." He paused and let out a sight. Torrin nodded in understanding and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "But if the worst comes to pass, you have my word that I will deliver this to Eudora." Torrin spoke as he carefully placed the letter into his coat pocket. "That is...if I haven't already gone down fighting." Torrin spoke with a grin. "Besides, since when do you think you get to die without my or my uncle's say so? You're never getting off that easy, Boreas."

​

"I see...and just what were you running from? Your tone makes it sound like you didn't exactly leave your master on amicable terms. What went on there? Did he find no more use in you and kick you to the curb or did you just lack the stomach to do what you were told?" Despite the harsh words his voice remained even and calm. "You say he wanted to wipe out the darkness? Surely you must have known that would include the darkness in people's hearts as well, did you not? Outside of the Seven Pure Lights, every person has some amount of darkness in their hearts. What do you think would have happened to those in his paradise who had just a little too much darkness in their hearts?"

Torrin looked at Aria and whispered hesitantly, "You sure?" He did not want to leave her by herself but she insisted that she was okay. Torrin nodded but still looked at Aria with concern. "Hm...hang tight, alright? I'm gonna get you something to eat. I'll have my communicator on me too so if you need anything at all, just give me a ring. Seriously. Or else. Don't be stubborn or the wrenfel will get you. Er...that was the name of those monsters right? Yeah I'm pretty sure that was it. Anyway, I'll be back with food and then I'm off." As he left Aria's room he looked at Boreas. "One minute. I'll be back and we can chat about whatever you wanted." Torrin spoke as he left in a hurry.


He rushed over to the kitchen to pick up some food, grabbing some moderately warm toast in the process for himself. As he picked up a plate of eggs for Aria and some juice, putting another piece of toast atop the eggs for her, while biting gently on his own toast to carry it all easily. There were still some masters in the room and he thought he saw Choma give him a look of amusement as he rushed out but Torrin spared no words for anyone when he entered and left. He returned to Aria and left the food and drink for her by her bed. "It's probably a bit lukewarm but try to eat what you can. Good? Good. Take it easy for a bit. I'll see you soon." Torrin gave Aria a wave as left her room, leaving her door partially closed to give her some privacy.


"Alright Boreas. Sorry for the wait. I'm ready when you are."

Torrin raised his arms ready to catch Aria if she fell over but when she kept her balance he lowered them and pushed himself to stand up, picking up the broken bracelet along the way. "Training starts today. It should be way different that what you're used to. Though..." As he looked at her he realized she wasn't in the best shape to go just yet. "Waiting a few hours for you to recover seems like the best thing for you right now. And don't worry about my coat. I might take you up on that offer but I think it's earned some rest. Those flute lessons though...well I have something in mind about that now that you mention it." Torrin said as he thought to his own pet project that was still fresh in his mind's eye.



Torrin was ready to continue speaking when Boreas passed by the door and stopped. Torrin was nervous to have been found alone with Aria but seeing his friend looking to be in a better mood than when he last saw him set Torrin at ease. "Hey. Good morning to you too, Boreas. We're good." He gave a short nod and glanced over at Aria before returning his attention to Boreas. Though curious about what Boreas wanted to find him for, it did not sound urgent to him. "Yeah. Of course. I'll find you in a bit. Oh and, if you haven't already gotten it, breakfast smelled nice." He almost immediately regretted those words as he had hoped to not be called out for not having breakfast yet.