[i]Several days prior to the current events...[/i] The twin suns beat down mercilessly on the barren desert. The sand seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, an ocean that swallowed an age-old civilization, then froze in the form of endless dunes. Two feet stabbed into this gruel of ground rock. After a couple more trudging motions, the heavy-stepping fellow paused and looked upward, using an arm to shield his eyes from the sun. As he did, the hood of his cloak fell backward, revealing a head full of cherry red, spiky hair. His attire was typical of a traveler, simple but sturdy garments atop large hiking boots, all covered by a beat-up, patchwork cloak. "Geez... not a single cloud in the damn sky," the man said. "I know this place used to be called Ancient Desert but come on..." The man continued slogging through the sand toward what looked like a ruined complex in the distance. All that seemed to be visible of it over a nearby dune were some Corinthian columns, worn and broken with age. As he walked, the man heard a soft reverberation coming from the sky. He once again turned to look upward. This time, his eyes widened and his mouth drooped a bit. What looked like a black dot from this distance began falling from the Second Sun, the prison of the World Eater. "What the hell?" the man whispered. As the dot got closer and closer to the ground, the man began to see that the dot was in fact a person, falling to the dunes of Heroes' Requiem. The man, in a slight panic, began to run toward where the person would land. The person's trajectory wasn't too far off from the red-haired man, and as the falling person flew to the dunes, the red-haired man jumped to catch him. The red-haired man took the brunt of the impact and toppled over, rolling several times with the falling person in his arms. With a groan of pain, he lifted himself to a sitting position. There appeared to be a man in a suit of armor in his arms, though not like any armor he had seen. The red-haired man had no idea who this person was or what had just happened, but he knew what he had to do. He quickly changed his Keyblade into a Glider and put the armored man onto his back, speeding toward the nearby complex. [center]* * * * *[/center] [b]"My name is Iris and I was born here on Old Bastion. I was taken to Master Lao by a robed figure...and ever since the Master has taken care of me."[/b] The middle priest continued to scrutinize Iris for several long minutes after the young apprentice's explanation. The priest could sense that there was something the boy was not telling him, some deep-seated source of anxiety and sorrow. However, past all those negative emotions, the priest felt a font of light in the boy brighter than he had seen in ages; this young man, Iris, was truly a kind soul, and would, in time, become a paragon of the light faction. "Hrm, yes," the priest nodded slowly. "Iris. It is good to meet you. We sensed that Lao's new apprentice had a great potential within him, but never could we have foreseen the sort of light you are presenting to us... your heart is incredibly strong, young man. May you keep it that way. In the care of Lao, of course, there will be nothing to worry about," the priest once again paused. "This robed figure, however... I'm sure it was simply some good soul who knew of Lao, but their mention gives me pause. This is something I will have to look into. Iris, your destiny is greater than Old Bastion. In fact, it's as great a destiny as your Master. Lady Fate has a plan for you, and with a heart as strong as yours, I'm sure you'll be able to live up to her expectations." The priest on the right then spoke up. "Back to the subject at hand," He stated forcefully. "We have been hearing rumors about the Heartless being controlled by Keybearers. They have not been substantiated yet, but many of the attacks seem to include details of black-cloaked figures, usually wielding a Keyblade, among the ranks of the darkness. What say you, Master Lao? Surely this is a problem that must be dealt with, but, admittedly, we are unsure how to proceed." "And one last thing," The priest on the left said. "A couple days ago a strange phenomenon took place on Heroes' Requiem. According to a trusted scout and Keybearer named Ghave, a man fell from the Second Sun, gripping a Keyblade in his hand. We were unsure what to do with the boy, so we brought him here to you. In fact, he should be arriving any sec--" Shouting echoed through the hallways, interrupting the priest. "Get your damn hands off of me! I told you we're going to see Lao, got that?!" The door to the room in which Lao and the priests were seated suddenly burst open to reveal a raggedly-dressed man with bright red hair and another man following in a suit of armor. Behind them were at least half a dozen guards pointing spears and blades at them with angered looks on their faces. The middle priest sighed. "Ghave... your superiors promised me you wouldn't make a scene." "Well [i]excuse me[/i], old man, weren't you supposed to tell these dumb asses I was coming? Why are they all gearing up to kill me?" Ghave looked over his shoulder. "By the way, I could cut all of your weapons in half in like, two seconds. Put those things down before you hurt yourselves." The guards lowered their weapons a bit, but still looked to Lao and the priests for the okay. Ghave sighed and pushed the armored man into the room. "Here's your wonderboy. Introduce yourself, kid." [center]* * * * *[/center] Veros blinked. She was in the training room. One of the dummies had been ripped in half. She remembered throwing a [i]Strike Raid[/i] and destroying it, but... Why was she here again? "Oh well," Veros said. [i]Must have come here in a fit of rage. Probably some stupid subordinate acting out of line. Yeah, that's it, I came here to blow off some steam.[/i] She threw another [i]Strike Raid[/i], nonchalantly destroying another dummy, then leaped after it on the return arc and flew into action, slicing, stabbing, and dodging her way through the training room. After a matter of moments, the room was a wreck. The dummies were shredded, the magical conduits were dented and smoking, and the rest of the equipment was either chopped to pieces or broken beyond repair. "Whoops... I must have been really angry." Veros left the room, feeling something was still missing, but brushing it off. For her, nothing of value was lost that day. [center]* * * * *[/center] The lion-like Heartless roared in anger and agony as the flames licked across its back and its tail tip was sliced off. Obviously damaged, the beast lashed out and once again tried to strike at Tendra haphazardly. It then made a 180 degree turn and pounced on Elz. The young boy was taken by surprise and unable to react as the lion tackled him, pinning him on the ground and roaring loudly into Elz's face. The boy was struck with utter terror as he only managed to yell out one word: "Tendra!!" The lion brought a powerful claw down and rended the boy's chest, causing ribbons of blood to spurt from the wound. One more powerful strike and the boy was no longer. Elz faded into a pool of darkness as a pink heart lazily drifted into toward the sky. The other two members of the Darkwatch sat in petrified horror as they watched Elz's demise, unable to take either flight or fight. The beast then turned to Tendra once again as its mane began to stand on end and it inhaled powerfully. It then released an extremely powerful beam of energy barreling directly at Tendra, accompanied with a ferocious roar. [center]* * * * *[/center] [b]"Master, I want to begin this with a warning to prepare yourself for the worst possible response to your question... ...but, Helena fell alongside them. She faded from this universe cradled in the arms that couldn't protect her... the arms of the useless girl who could only sit and watch."[/b] Axeus sat silent for a long moment, studying his new apprentice and pondering what she had told him. Part of him, a small, weak part that he had tried to lock away years ago had hoped that somewhere out in the cluster, Helena was still living; this new information broke that hope. He felt a twinge of pain. He missed her. Honestly and thoroughly, he missed Helena, the one woman he had ever connected to so wholly. She was gone now, and he would never feel that again. For a brief moment, his mind and heart entered a state of turmoil. The small piece of heart he had wanted to lock away threatened not only to break free, but to take over his senses, to throw him into a fit of rage the likes of which would likely see the temple demolished. Then, his cool, calm darkness took back its rightful place. Yes, Helena was dead, and his hope squashed. However, as Axeus saw it, that was simply one less weakness that he would have to burden. The loss of hope, the loss of compassion for his lover, it would make him stronger. Now he truly lived for no one but himself. No one... ... except for this girl. Axeus came back to reality and saw Isadora was crying. Her loss was as great as his- no, greater. He had lost only a lover, where as she had lost a mother. Her circumstances were pitiful, but this girl was anything but. Isadora had already shown to Axeus her simply immense potential, her powerful initiative, and her devotion. Indeed, it was like a young Helena sat before him. Yet she had something that even Helena did not. What was it? Axeus tried to find the words to describe. She had vigor. She had life. Helena, after the legendary battle with the World Eater, had always felt empty to Axeus. She simply drifted through the cluster, eventually drifting away from Axeus as well. However, the way that Isadora described her made her sound unlike the Helena he once knew. Maybe this young girl had graced Helena with some of her vigor? To hear that Helena was fighting until her very last breath made Axeus well with joy. This woman, Isadora, she was truly a blessing. For once, Axeus thought of her as possibly more than just a stepping stone to fulfill his deeply laid and intricately woven plans. Maybe she would be more... maybe she would be great enough to stand beside him when the final steps of his plan fell into place. Without a word, Axeus got up from his chair and walked over to Isadora. With an uncharacteristically gentle motion, Axeus took a hand and wiped away one of Isadora's tears. "That is... regrettable, Isadora," Axeus said. "Your loss is one I share with you, but for you, the pain must be a dozen-fold," Axeus paused and took Isadora's chin, motioning her head so that they locked eyes. "Never forget this pain. It is as I told you, through pain we achieve power. This will be the greatest source of strength you will ever have the chance to draw on. Embrace it. Make it yours. With the darkness you harness from the death of Helena, you will become incredibly powerful... maybe even as powerful as I." Axeus removed his hand and took a step back. "That is all for today, as it is getting late. One of my Watch will show you to your sleeping quarters and bring you a meal. Rest now, for tomorrow we train... relentlessly." Axeus got back atop his throne, once again snapping to call forth one of his Darkwatch. A quiet, hooded figure stepped out from a corridor of darkness and gestured for Isadora to follow him.