Aux was a little alarmed as Ananta spoke. "Oh. You can speak for yourself... Sorry, I thought you were just repeating what someone else said. I mean you're a parrot and all, so I just... uh..." The more Aux tried to communicate, the less successful he was becoming. Even AJ seemed like he wanted nothing to do with him. He said he already explained himself in Game Central Station, but Aux couldn't recall any of it. He began to grow worrisome if the memory loss would increase until he was left with nothing. "As for all that stuff about meddling, it's just... why bother? The events of this world are meant to happen without us interfering. Accept it's the mark of mastery... So it could be simulated... Unless it's a real world. Or a sleeping world. Lot of variables are gonna affect exactly how much I contribute here..." He looked ahead at Kaida and Hikaru who were talking to Aislinn and Nala respectively. "But It's not just my exam grade at stake... So I guess I'll just try and help how I can." He walked slowly in thought before looking up. "You better not be messing up my hat. I don't want to find any feathers or fluff or... leavings..." he said uncomfortably.
BASIC INFORMATION Name: Finlay "Fin" Loganach Proof of Existence: The Dynamic Viking Age: 35 Race: Somebody Birthplace: Drangar Catchphrase: KILL IT! Personality: A very bold and electric personality, Finlay has almost no filter. He lives to fight and drink. Main theme: APPEARANCE Hair: Long orange hair Eyes: Dark brown eyes Skin Color: White Height: 6'4 Distinguishing features: Scar on his left eye, full beard BATTLE STYLE Weapon: Dual Axes Stats: 8 STRENGTH 2 INTELLIGENCE 5 MAGIC 4 SPEED 4 DEFENSE 7 CRITICAL 10 LIMIT BREAK Element/Power: THUNDER Techniques: CELTIC MAGIC Finlay zaps a small spark against an enemy. Whatever it hits receives a static charge and will cling to anything else that is zapped. STATIC RECALL If Finlay throw's either of his axes, he is able to summon them back with a magnetic pull of electricity THOR ALMIGHTY Finlay is struck with a lightning bolt that triples his strength Fighting Style: Very offensive and aggressive Limit Break: VIKING FUNERAL Finlay charges electricity throughout his body. The longer he charges, the more of a blast it will create. If he charges too much into his body, he could overload and die. Battle theme:
As they passed the wildebeast valley, Nala stopped for a moment. "What's wrong?" Hikaru asked as he looked to the empty gorge. After all, there was nothing in sight but a small assortments of rock next to a dead tree. "This is where our last king; Mufasa died." Nala replied. "He was killed in stampede, along with his son; Simba. Simba was my best friend. I miss him everyday." Hikaru looked back to Aux who was still skulking while he walked. Flashes of Aux beating him still flashed back and forth in his mind. "From here we go left. Unless you feel like a trip to the elephant graveyard. Nothing there but bones and hyenas." Aux looked to the right. At this point, he'd almost like to test his skill against those laughing fools. Everyone was off helping someone they didn't even know they could trust. Kaida was off talking to the antelope lady, and he didn't really know what to make heads or tails of the other lion. He seldom spoke so it was hard for him to read. "Hey, you!" Aux said, walking towards AJ. "What's your story?"
With their job now complete, the group reported back to the Zootopia Police Department. The fairly menial task they had been given was accomplished in a short enough time. "Great job guys, you did the thing!" Clawhauser cheered. "You know Judy did about two hundred of those before noon. And she was all by her little lonesome." The large vcheetah let out a regretful sigh. "I hope she and Nick are okay..." A gruff clearing of the throat came from a large and muscular buffalo. "That's enough of that Clawhauser. We all miss officers Wilde and Hopps." He looked over his clipboard before looking up to the group. "Which is what brings us to your assignment." He handed them the profiles of officer Judy Hopps; a bunny around the same height as Luna, and officer Nicholas Wilde; a fox with a charming smile. "Officer Hopps and Wilde were investigating an incident residing in Tundratown. A few days back, they vanished without a trace. these two are one of Zootopia's best, and we all want to see them back safe and sound. We've had numerous squads researching the area with little luck. We've tried looking to the locals, but no one seems to no anything. Our next plan of action is to interrogate two people who may have it out for them." He handed them a picture of a mangy looking weasel, and a sheep wearing glasses sporting a very vengeful expression in her mugshot. "The Sheep there is Bellwether. The former assistant mayor of Zootopia. She once tried to do away with most of the predator population before Wilde and Hopps brought her to justice. The second one there is Duke Weaselton. A low life criminal, but he definitely knows his way around the streets. He's a slippery one, so don't let him out of your sight!" Bogo looked up to the group. "Now I know this has been a very brief and rushed orientation, but I'm sure you'll all manage to do fine. And I'm sure while I'm here I should ask of you're previous experience as officers... but I don't care. He looked at the profiles he somehow managed to get before handing out the pictures and profiles to each group. "Kiatespira, Hope, Siegend. You three will take Weaselton. Try looking near Little Rodentia to start..." He handed Kel, Luna, and Steel the profile before looking to the other three. "The rest of you have Bellwether. She should still be rotting away in the Zootopia Penitentiary. Best of luck to all of you.
Aux had finally managed to get to his feet, with his legs standing up straight. Digging his claws into the dirt for good measure, he made sure he could bend his knees in case he needed to pounce. He noticed that the small parrot girl managed to take off his hat just to hand it back to him. He lifted his paw, as if subconsciously trying to grab it from her with his hand. In his current form, doing anything with his hands seemed ill advised. He gently cupped the hand under his paw and tried to toss it back onto his head, covering up his ears so it would stay in place. "Thanks parrot girl." He looked back up to find Aislinn standing over him with an annoyed expression. "Look, I get that you are still trying to get used to this whole new body thing, but this is the most important test of your life! Do you think you will ever..." Aux slowly tuned out the rest of the conversation as he was oddly fixated on Aislinn's cape. Her voice slowly faded in his head as he thought about the cape. Why did she keep it? Why was there a need for it? Did It hinder her running speed? Aux had his hat still, but what was the requirement in this animal world to wear clothed accessories? Were they normal in this animal world? And why did they keep their hair? Would they notice that Hikaru is a very non-natural blue wolf? "...try and do something for goodness sake!" Aux snapped out of his endless thoughts to hear the end of Aislinn's rant. "Hmm? Oh, right. I'll uh... be sure to do that Ms... Antel... ope... lady..." Nailed it. He walked over to where Shenzi, Banzai and Ed had been cornered into. All three of them were severely weakened. "Hey! Guy's gotta eat! Since when do predators protect the prey?" Banzai rubbed his snout in pain. "What's going on here?" A lioness came into view as she walked onto the scene. "They won't let us eat them!" Shenzi whined. Nala looked at the group of six with intrigue. "I'm surprised there are still animals in the pridelands to begin with. " 'Well you go take care of 'em them! Let me know when they're all dead! I'm starvin' here!" Banzai said, walking away from them. "Yeah. Besides, it's the lioness' job to hunt anyway!" Shenzi added following him. Ed also took to flee, blowing a raspberry as the three limped towards the giant rock landmark in the baron Savannah. "Don't worry about them... Scar and the hyenas have made things unbearable for everyone. There's no food left. They've driven off the prey. We're about to starve..." She looked up and down at the group of them. "I'd try and hunt a few of you myself, but it looks like I wouldn't stand a chance," she lowly chuckled, before turning serious again. "You guys better get out of here before Scar finds you." "Who's Scar?" Hikaru asked for the second time. "He took over when our last king, Mufasa, died... But he's a terrible king. We should've had a more rightful king... but he died... when he was just a cub. He was the son of our last king, Mufasa. If only Simba were here..." She shook her head, trying to erase sad memories. "But that's in the past. Right now I'm trying to find the Oasis." "Oasis?" Hikaru repeated. "It's a small paradise where there is said to be food and water. At least according to our elder; Rafiki. Maybe you all could help?" "Of course!" Hikaru smiled. "What? No." Aux asked confused. "That's meddling. Why would we get involved?" "Because they need our help. Besides, this could be part of the exam." "You say that so casually." A thought crossed Aux's mind as he looked to Kaida and Hikaru. "Exactly how many times have you two gotten involved?" He was said to have a year of his memory depleted. Who knows what trouble they may have caused. "How many times Hikaru?..." he repeated ":Uhhh...." Hikaru quickly looked at Nala. "Weeee'd be glad to help." "Wonderful!" Nala exclaimed. Aux glared at Kaida. "What? Why is he speaking for all of us?!" "Onwards everyone!" "You can't just..." Aux tried to explain, pointing out his disinterest, but Hikaru was already leading the lioness forward. "You don't speak for me!" MISSION START!
The cheetah in question, was about to put a delectable powdered donut into his mouth, before stopping to see what Stratos had to say. "Hmm?" He looked over the counter and let out a sigh of relief. "Phew! Chief Bogo's gonna be really happy to see you guys!" He pressed a bright red button on his nearby intercom. "Uhh Chief Bogo, the outsourced officers you called for just stepped in. They're all just so swanky looking, sir!" He said, his neck rolls squeezing as he smiled. "We got a couple canines, a raccoon, a tiger, a hedgehog and..." he paused once looking at Luna. "O. M. Goodness... we have another bunny cop! Oh how far this department has come in terms of-" "CLAWHAUSER!" A rough, British voice interrupter him through the intercom. "I don't care what they look like... Just have them suit up and out on patrol. We're short staffed as it is!" he barked. "Yes sir, Chief Bogo," clauhauser said, quickly hanging up the intercom. "You'll have to forgive the old head honcho there, we're kinda understaffed, so everyone's working like dogs... No offense." He looked at Beuce and Steel, hoping he wasn't out of line. "But where are my manners! I'm Benjamin Clawhauser!" He rubbed the powder off his fingers and shoved the donut into his mouth, shaking Ignis' hand. "The change room is just south of the bullpen," he pointed down the hall before taking out six badges. "Welcome to the Zootopia Police Department." He looked down at his clipboard. "And seeing as hoe you guys have yet to be in the system, it looks like y'all are going to be on...." His face grimaced at their assignment. "Parking duty." He grabbed a milkshake and began to sip it. "And seeing as how we're getting busier buy the hour, I'd say you guys lucked out on that one. We're all working real hard here at the ZPD." He sipped his milkshake loudly as the officers around him began racing back and forth with papers and arrested criminals. "Real hard," he emphasized. MISSION START Hikaru couldn't make out most of what Kaida said while she had her keyblade in her beak. Still, she managed to do a nice bit of damage to the vacant hyena. "Maybe you should see what abilities your animal form has? I'm sure you wouldn't transform into a small bird if you weren't packed with some cool animalistic instincts," he encouraged. He decided to try and finally materialize his keyblade into view, as he opened his snout side, for the golden hilt of the keyblade to land nicely between his set of teeth. Attempting to tilt his head, he pointed the tip of the blade towards the carnivorous Ed. Seeing as how his keyblade would always be horizontal in his mouth, he figured he would have to be doing a lot of neck movements to land the hits he wanted to do. Seeing as he was primarily a spell caster, he would also have to keep all four of his legs grounded. Otherwise the recoil of the spells might forcibly knock him backwards and he'd end up as embarrassed as Aux. With the end of the blade pointed at Ed, Hikaru let loose a blizzard spell at the hyena's head. "glizzherd!" he tried to shout out, firing a clock of ice at the predator. The spell managed to hit Ed in between the bark he was chewing and the hyena's actual mouth. The piece of rotting bark was now frozen to his face. Ed's head had grown heavier as he tried to shake off the frozen wood from his snout. Hikaru gritted his teeth on the blade and charged towards Ed. The hyena was now mostly disoriented from the frost growing on his face which gave Hikaru a nice little element of surprise. The wolf leapt at Ed and jerked his keyblade to slash the frost off his face, causing the piece of bark to fly off Ed's snout. A loud whimper was heard, as Ed's eyebrows furrowed once more. The hyena realized he was in a battle again and growled, being annoyed from the throbbing pain on the front of his snout. Banzai - 88/150 BP Shenzi - 52/150 BP Ed- 48/180 BP Exp Writer: 35 EXP (Total: 88 EXP)
With the rest of his group taking charge, Hikaru couldn't help but look forward to taking part in the fray. He looked back at Aux who was still with his face flat on the ground. He quickly tapped Aux quickly on his shoulder. "Are you uh.. you gonna be-" "Just. Go," Aux muffled, still face down in embarrassment. "Okay!" Hikaru exclaimed, as he dashed off towards the enemy. Aux let out a huge sigh, while he slid his face to the side. His face now visible and no longer muffled. "This could've gone better," he said quietly to himself. Hikaru quickly sprinted onto the scene, where the rest of his party was already letting loose. Aislinn and Ananta were already taking care of Shenzi, with AJ taking his own time with Banzai. Kaida in her diminutive form was slashing quick hits at Ed, who had ceased his laughing and seemed to be growing more agitated. With a quick jolt behind the hyena, Hikaru thought of how to handle another animal. Most of the other wielders had already brought out their keyblades. As interesting as it was to see how he could handle his blade in his mouth, this was Hikaru's first time as an animal. An experience he didn't want to spoil by relying too much on his keyblade. That being said, Hikaru opened his snout nice and wide, before clamping them shut on Ed's tail. The result, caused Ed to let out a wicked YELP in pain, as he turned to face his attacker; Hikaru. "You taste funnier than I thought," Hikaru said, muffling his words with Ed's tail in his mouth. Ed simply growled as he watched Hikaru. "Get it?" Ed's eyes squinted in anger at him. "Because you're a- whoa!" In the midst of explaining, Ed snapped his jaws at Hikaru, causing the wolf to let go. "It's because you're a hyena you see, and- HEY!" The more Hikaru tried to get Ed to chuckle, the more violent the Hyena became. "You're a hyena and you taste FUNNY. Come on, you get it, right Kaida?" He asked Kaida as Ed continued to snap away at Hikaru, the wolf being able to step back and maneuver his way around any serious damage. The more he stepped back, the further Ed followed until he eventually bit his way onto a rotting tree. Once his teeth latched on, he continued gnawing away at the bark, his angry eyes slowly turning back to their usual vacant expression, as he happily chewed on the bark. Realizing he had escaped an escalating battle, Hikaru walked back to the feathered Kaida. "Did... Did he forget we were fighting?" Hikaru watched Ed continue to chew on the bark, not knowing just exactly what went on in that Hyena's head. Of the three Banzai seemed to be the most aggressive, Shenzi seemed to be the more commanding presence, and Ed... Well Ed seemed like that special member in the group that people kept around for some special skill. Not like he could ask him, seeing as he had yet to hear Ed speak. He wasn't even sure if Ed knew HOW to speak at this rate. Banzai - 119/150 BP Shenzi - 85/150 BP Ed: 114/180BP Exp Writer: 53 EXP
"I'm fine!" Aux grimaced, trying to roll himself off the ground. He rejected Aislinn's reply trying to be prideful. Hikaru looked around when Aislinn asked where they go from here. "Hmm.. I'm not sure." he sniffed the air, hoping he ha some sort of canine sense. "I'm picking up something, but it's faint..." Aux looked down at Kaida as his legs wobbled up like a new born cub. "And you know I can eat you, right?" "Say, now there's an idea!" A trio of hyenas stepped in from behind a rotting tree. The female one who spoke had bangs that fell to one side of her face. Another had very heavy eyebrows and a menacing grin. The third chuckled ecstatically with a vacant look in his eyes. "What do you think Banzai? A wolf and an antelope for an appetizer, two lions for the main course, and a couple of birds for dessert..." Banzai laughed as he began to circle the six. "You were right Shenzi... can't believe we found a full buffet. You weren't lion!" The third continued to laugh hysterically. "Your right Ed! The thoughts of birds make me quite peckish... Maybe we'll just start with them as the appetizer!" Shenzi said, smacking her lips. "And wolves and antelopes always make such delicious fast food!" Banzai added, the three of them laughing in unison. Banzai chuckled at Aux. This one's even got some garnish on it's head!" "Well doesn't that make him such a dandy lion?" Shenzi laughed along, with Ed laughing harder. "What?! Why don't you come here and say it to my fa-" Aux took a step forward but slipped and fell on his face. His face on the floor, not moving from embarrassment, while the hyenas laughed even harder. Hikaru patted Aux's back with his paw. "Yah done?" he asked sympathetically. "Not. Even. Close." his words were muffled with his face pressed against the dry ground. Shenzi began to nudge Kaida toward the center more, her teeth showing. "And what kinda animal are you supposed to be?" "Who cares?! Maybe she's white meat?" Banzai sad, growling. "Either way, they got Lions... and scar said no lions from outside the pridelands..." "Who's Scar?" Hikaru asked. "That's need to know!" Shenzi barked. "Yeah, and you don't need to know!" Banzai said, preparing to pounce. "And now, dinner is served!" MISSION START
Aux managed to disembark in the world, gazing at the dead terrain around him. He looked over at a group of animals who were talking to each other. The antelope, lion and parrot looked like the people who had just fled into the terminal before him. "Where am I?" he asked himself, listening in closer to the animals. The animals continued to talk as Aux listened closer. It almost sounded like they were talking like they were human. But that wasn't possible? As he continued to look, a small gust of wind blew past him, causing him to have chill all over his head and chest. As if flowing hair was brushing past him. He looked down to find a long flowing mane to accompany his spontaneous lion body. "Wha-what the?-" Aux tried to stand upright on two legs, but lost balance and fell on his back. Hikaru felt a large thud, as he saw Aux in lion form, flat on his back. The hat alone was a dead giveaway. "Pretty cool, huh?!" Hikaru said, looking down over his face. Hikaru and everyone else reacted like it was a normal thing turning into an animal. With a flat expression, Aux replied; "Not the word I would use..." The entire situation made him feel humiliated, until he turned his head over to the small bird. With the easily spotted hair, he felt she was supposed to be Kaida. While Kaida was always short, this form made her look no higher than his legs. "Well that makes me feel a bit better," he said, looking up and down at Kaida.
Aux raised an eyebrow after Kaida finished her explnation. Missing a whole year of his life was not something he think he'd forget. And if so, where was he now? What happened with Central Haven? None ofit was really connecting for him. Before he could think further, a woman who was a few inches shorter than him approached him. "Looks like we will be going to the same world. Welcome to the group. I am Aislinn. Try not to be so rude next time you want to talk to someone by the way. I might not have minded but it might not get you far with some of the locals." She told him up front and blunt as she looked towards the portal. "Lets go." A blonde boy scanned him before followering her. And not even a moment after, a girl with green hair chuckled lightly at him after inspecting him. Three people just walked in a line to fully judge him. According to Kaida, Hikaru had a keyblade now, and everyone apparently had a major grudge with him. It was beginning to make him a bit mad, to the point where he lifted his finger to say something in his defense. Everyone had already left, and there was no point letting out any reserved frustration. He lowered his finger and let out deep, begrudging exhale. "Fine." He jumped into the portal, not knowing what to expect. In the Pridelands, Hikaru had already assumed an animal form, he was a very blue wolf that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. He began running about on all fours to get used to his body. "Wow, I feel like I have so much energy!" he exclaimed, stomping his new paws on the ground. His overjoyed excitement was quickly silenced upon noticing the terrain he was in. The state of the Savannah looked far different from the way the world image seemed. The land was baron of any plant life or animals. It was like the fields were dry and dead for some time. "What happened here?" he asked himself.
Hikaru nodded back at Kaida. "Don't worry, I promise." He chuckled, trying to readjust his hair while walking with Kaida towards the portal selection. "How about this one?" she asked. Hikaru saw the image of a large rock surrounded by animals in a Savannah. His face lit up as he'd never been to a non-human world before. To this point, he'd only ever talked to animals. "Cool! I guess we'd be taking animal form then, huh?" Aux managed to walk himself over to where Kaida and Hikaru stationed themselves, "Looks like we're going to the Pridelands!" Hikaru exclaimed to the tall man. "The what?" Hikaru pointed to the world on the screen. "That world." Aux looked to Kaida in confusion. "Going to another world? What's he talking about?" "You... never went to a different world before?" "Only members of the order can permit that... What's gotten into you?" He said rustling Hikaru's hair. Hikaru tried to shove his large arm off. "What is with the you two and the tussling of my hair?!" Aux let loose a small grin before looking at the world bubble. "Well, I guess Kaida's technically a member of the order... And the idea of training away from Central Haven does seem nice. This world itself already seems so different." Hikaru looked at Aux with the same kind of caution Kaida had. "Deep Jungle... Dwarf Woodlands... Beasts's Castle? You don't remember any of those?" Aux shook his head. "Sure you didn't just dream these up." Hikaru gulped. "Disneytown?" "Okay, now I know you're making some of these up. What kind of a world is called Disneytown?" Hikaru still felt distraught that Disneytown was the last world they saw him in before Aux threw them into darkness. "Well... maybe it's for the best right now..." "What is?" Hikaru tried to hide his doubt with another smile. "Oh it's nothing... And hey, we get to help Kaida pass her mark of mastery this time. Isn't that cool? We'd all be masters together?" "Yeah I've been meaning to ask about that... Who are all these other people? Should I introduce myself or-" "NO! I mean... I'm sure there's time for that later. Besides it's nothing out of the ordinary. Just a couple kids like us trying to be masters!" Hikaru weakly chuckled. "Anyways off we go!!" He said before plunging into the Pridelands portal. Hikaru had left Aux and Kaida alone. "Nothing out of the ordinary, huh?"Aux scanned the room to find an assortment of characters. "That kid's a wolf," he blatantly pointed out. He looked back to Kaida who was still rather quiet. "And what's with you?" He crossed his arms as he towered over her. "I make you upset or something?"
Hikaru looked back at Aux who was looking around at the others like a lost animal. Looking back to Kaida, he didn't know what to reply. He hadn't formed the best way to explain everything. He was all fine and well trying to wing it moments ago, but with the appearance of Aux, things suddenly felt a bit harder. "Heh, I'm sure it can wait until after the exam." He tried to hide his worry with another smile, but he didn't have everything he needed to explain the situation. "Besides, I haven't exactly found the best way to say it." He recalled back to the recorder in the bag. "After we're done this world, do you think I could use Karina's recorder?... Maybe I can try and piece together exactly how I wanna say it." He felt awful about continuously derailing her curiosity, but maybe spending one world with his friends would help clear his head. "I know I've been kind of... ominous for a while now. There's just a lot of stuff I gotta figure out and explain. Something happened in the castle of Illusion that I'm still trying to process." He nodded over to Aux. "But I think for now, he needs our help more."
Aux and Hikaru headed to Pridelands
It wasn't like Hikaru was necessarily happy about the situation, but he wasn't displeased with it after. Being able to enjoy some time with his friends without worrying about the overall problem they faced, seemed like a nice change of pace. "I not... not happy about it," he replied to her. "Don't get me wrong, I know what he did back in Disneytown was near unforgivable but... this Aux might be different. He might even be helping us this time around," he chuckled lightly. "And even if you did fail before, this time you have two friends that will support you until the very end! You're gonna pass this time for sure!" He held his fist tightly in cheer as he smiled. "I only wish it was back at Central Haven... I had a present waiting for you in my room when you passed." he sighed. He hoped this would coax her into the reveal he planned since they started the exam. he whole situation revolving his deal with Nequa. "Also Kaida... There's something I've been meaning to tell you... About what happened with Aux." "Yeah, what happened with Aux?" a deep voice asked in a confused tone. A tall young man with a purple vest appeared suddenly from behind Hikaru. He had short, messy red hair that was hidden by a black beanie. The hat itself fashioned a white tribal lion on it "One sec Aux, I have to tell Kaida that- OOOOH, YOU HAVE A FACE!" When turning to confront the man, he was surprised to see ----AUX----, without his armor. in casual attire, just talking to them like nothing was wrong. He looked around them as so many questions raced through his mind. Where were they? When did Hikaru wake up? "Of course I have a face. The guy in the glasses took whatever armor I was wearing." He shook and rubbed the back of his head, still feeling a bit drained. "How long was I out? Last I remembered, Krowley took you to do your mark of mastery and Hikaru was still unconscious." He looked to Kaida striaght in the eyes. "So did you pass?" Hikaru's head shifted awkwardly to Kaida to see her response. While this went on, The board had changed the pairings into full trios. AJ + AISLINN + ANANTA BEUCE + STRATOS + IGNIS KEL + LUNA + STEEL KAIDA + AUX + HIKARU Yue looked to Megumi after seeing the board change. "Hey you! What the hell is that?! Why do you have rule if you're just going to break them." I felt having only one trio seemed a bit... uneven. So in hopes of evening things out, I made things simpler seeing as Mr. Noble has up and vanished." Yue looked around to see any sign of Base. She gritted her teeth before lookeing to him. "What did you do with him?" Megumi raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure I have no idea what you. If you'd like I can help you search once I've opened the next worlds..." He noted her fists beginning to clench and leaned next to her ear "Careful now Ms. Yue... I'm sure you know the power I hold. It would be a shame if this entire exam was for not." Yue took a deep breath. "Open the stupid worlds so you and I can have a chat." she demanded bluntly. "But of course," he chuckled, pressing buttons on his phone to activate the terminal
No.12 Has been ELIMINATED As Lea found the corpse on the body to be truly deceased, he felt an unwelcomed cringe settle in. In all his years of fighting, he had never seen death to this graphic level before. Doubtful she would end up as a heartless or nobody from the sheer gore and blood releasing from her body. Before the body could be examined, she slowly began to dissolve into darkness. Her body sinking into nothingness, while the only thing that remained behind was her blood. He felt an unsightly ringing in his ears as he was still shoving off the mind altering spell the girl had put on him. Upon seeing Melus in her condition, he rose to his feet and began to look in one of the crevasses of the cave where he kept his emergency supply of healing items. Running his hand past a dozen or so potions, he picked up two and walked over to Melus. He knelt down and delicately applied the first one, while he put the other next to her. "If the pain continues, feel free to use the other one," he instructed. He rose back up and scratched the back of his head. The group hadn't a minute to breathe and they had already been close to an unfortunate demise. "Geez what a mess," he sighed. Arctus was unsuccessfully trying to lighten the situation and Kiara was still holding the pendant. He took it from her and looked at his reflection in the necklace. He grimace and threw it on the ground before smashing it in with his heal. A puff of green smoke escaped the pendant as any color from the amulet faded. "I don't want to give them any more reason to come after us right now." He looked around the room to a very beaten group of people. They had won, but it still didn't do anything to help this group that had barely learned to even acknowledge their respect for one another. "I think it's best if we call it a day." He looked at the pool of blood and sighed. "I should probably clean this up. I get stuck with the icky jobs anyways," he lightly chuckled.
He scratched the back of his head as he thought. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least curious what he's like now. It feels like it's been a year after all." He put a hand on her shoulder. "And this time you have us backing you. And I promise you I won't miss a second of you becoming a master," he smiled. She didn't want to tell her everything that happened prior to him waking up. Aux's trade, the replica matter, all of it. It had to wait until a better time. "I only wish I had my present for you when you passed... Too bad it's back at Central Haven," he lamented. "Well, that's one of the first things I'll get when we take it back from No Heart!" He declared holding his fist in confidence. "And who knows, maybe while we have this time with Aux, maybe we can get some answers. Like why he would think about leaving in the first place."
Yue sighed at Kaida's question. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't... But Megumi here doesn't seem to care about the safety of our players!" Megumi adjusted his glasses before explaining himself. "I assure you, Aux in his current state is less than harmless. And I see no reason why he should be able to have the same rights as the other players..." Yue immediately jumped in with her disdain on the matter. "He's the whole reason these people are stuck in the realm of darkness to begin with?!" Since their prior meeting in Beast's Castle, Yue had grown a bitter grudge towards the dark weilder. "And if none of that matters to you, he jumped in the middle of he exam!" "Just as other players had left. Using the credits from the players of Gwendolyn and Xara, Aux is more than caught up to participate." "You said this was a closed game!" she argued. "One where as Game Master, I was able to make the rules." "And you've done splendidly dear Yue," he commended. "But I never said how many Game Masters would be brought in for this game. Yes, it is true that there is traditionally one master per week. But seeing as how unconventional this private exam is, I've decided three would be appropriate. Yue being the first, Sho the second, and myself for the final part of the exam. And as Game Master, I say he participates." "Well... he can't!" Yue tried to argue. "And why not? He qualifies after all." "Because this is a reaper's game. And everyone needs a partner to participate. Since you took away Glen, adding Aux makes it uneven. And that's against the rules!" Megumi chuckled. "So you wish to argue the validity of this game's rules?" He pulled out a mobile device and scrolled through some text. "During the First part of the exam, one "Gwendolyn Merry' sropped out of the exam early. To ensure one of your participants; Hikaru, would not become erased, you enlisted an outsourced wielder by the name of 'Sebastian Noble.' Is this correct?" Yue grunted. She didn't want any of the players to be erased. "You see miss Yue, you broke the rules far before now, and as the new Game Master, I say it would be perfectly valid to have one group of three. He looked down to Kaida. "This is my game now miss Kaida. And seeing as how adamant you seem on the matter, I'm sure Aux will make a lovely addition to your partnership." Hikaru looked down at the book and back at AJ. "You can keep it for now.. Who knows, maybe something new will pop up that you can use." He looked to Kaida who was talking with Yue and Megumi. "If you want, I can try and find out where Glen is... Wait right here..." Hikaru raced towards Kaida and the two game masters. "Hey so what's going to happen to Glen and Aux?" He asked Kaida. "Are they coming back?" A mission board appeared overhead that showed all participating members. AJ + AISLINN ANANTA + IGNIS BASE + STEEL BEUCE + STRATOS KEL + LUNA KAIDA + AUX + HIKARU "Oh..." Hikaru softly spoke, giving off a light grin. He looked to Kaida who was not content on the matter. "Oh..." his smile quickle faded before she could see. "Glen has failed in the last portion of the exam, but your former friend shall return as soon as he's done the screening process. Until then, do prepare for the trial ahead." Megumi walked off as he fiddled with his mobile device. Yue sighed at the two. "Sorry guys. Internal politics and rule bending means I have no pull on this..." "Are.. you gonna be okay?" Hikaru asked Kaida.
Hikaru listened intently at Karina's words. It was hard to believe that was the same Karina he had met back in Dwarf Woodlands. Their meeting was very abrupt and short, but she still showed a willingness to help. Her travels seemed to harden her. Of all the allies who left, she was one of the ones he missed most. While it was true she was never exactly the easiest one to get along with, he didn't mind it much. He was friends with Aux after all. Speaking of his friend, Hikaru looked in the direction of AJ who had just arrived in Shibuya through the portal. Seeing as how he was his partner in the last part of the exam maybe he would know what Aux was like. If he seemed fictitious or real. Regardless, he chased after AJ through the portal, where Shibuya awaited all of them. On the other side, Megumi was talking with a very distraught Yue. Choosing not to get in the middle of that mess, Hikaru made a straight line towards AJ. They hadn't spoken much since San Fransokyo, and it was a good opportunity to try and better befriend the newer members of the party. "Hey, you were partner with Aux right? Did he seem... odd to you?"
The diversions from Koa were becoming an obstacle. Krista's head jolted left and right as she tried to keep a visual track on all her puppets. The more she made her mindless followers move, the more agitated she became at Koa's resistance towards her. "You think you're so virtuous, don't you! You men act all chivalrous and charming, but beneath it all you're just cowards." She looked to Karina when it came to her jabbing comment about her former lover not being true to her. "As far as 'Romeo' was concerned, I was the best thing that ever happened to him. But that's why it's too easy sometimes. Making him off himself was the easiest decision I ever made. All those years of being a good girl. Father's own personal pride and joy... Tedious cotillion after pointless duty. Following that suffocating man's order for my entire life!" She threw Lea to create a larger wall of fire between the factions. "The men of my world were cruel and demanding. And I was young and naive. Not realizing the true power I could hold once I found the appropriate method," she boasted, gripping her necklace. "My heart was strong because I endured. The keyblade chose me because I was meant for greatness! Once I found this amulet, I returned to my home and made all those belligerent men destroy each other!" She laughed psychotically at the memory. "They killed each other like the swine they were!"She flew her hands forward to make all her minions attack. "And now... you will meet their same fate! Now die... Die.... DIE!!!!"" She laughed louder as she flung her puppets around at each defender.
Everyone seemed to have conflicting opinions about the sudden appearance of Aux. While he was grateful to some for being understanding, he could in no way ask them to after the things he'd done. Even Hikaru questioned how he could keep forgiving him time and time again because of the hold darkness had over his friend. And whose to say this incarnation was the same Aux they had been fighting all this time? Maybe it was another of Sho's tricks? He felt even worse for not caring for the allies that did stand by him. Since they'd landed in darkness, they had already lost Karina, D'daear and Glen. Not to mention half the newcomers that came to help. Seeing Ananta and Kaida differ on opinions made Hikaru realize that explaining the truth to everyone was going to be made that much harder. Just as Hikaru was about to intervene, Kaida dropped a tape recorder out of her cloak pocket which caused the conversation to be put on pause. "What was that doing in your coat?" he asked out loud, examining it as Kaida inspected it. "Is there anything on it, you think?"
