[b]"Ghave... do as you will."[/b] "Great, so that's how you thank me for dragging wonderboy all the way from Hero's Requiem?" Ghave asked with impunity. He saw that before he could even garner a response, Lao was already rushing out the door with his squire-of-sorts and the two apprentices. Ghave scoffed. "Really... this guy is a work of art." He turned to the priests and pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Lao. "THIS is the guy that you're trusting to save the cluster?" "Do you have someone better in mind?" The priest to the right responded gruffly. The priest to the left offered a delicate chuckle. Ghave rubbed the back of his head in response. "Alright, alright. He's probably got some super, over-powered secret skill, huh? Some sort of hidden technique that lets him take out baddies in one blow?" "Ghave..." The middle priest said, growing tired of Ghave's sarcasm. "I bet in one flick of the wrist he'd down a dozen Heartless and swipe a girl off her feet--" "GHAVE," the three priests resounded in unison. Ghave chuckled and waved a hand at them. "Sheesh, you guys are too much. I'm just poking fun at the guy." Ghave turned back to the hallway and stared for a moment, though not at anything in particular. Cogs slowly cranked within his head as he processed just how large of an event he was taking place in, if only marginally. The fate of the cluster seemed to rest squarely in Lao's hands. Adrenaline began to pump through Ghave as he imagined the World Eater breaking out of its prison, and another days-long battle being fought to a standstill, every warrior being pushed to their absolute brink... Snapping back to reality, Ghave turned to the priests and held out a hand. A simple shaking motion, like he was tossing up a ball, indicated all the priests needed to know. The middle priest retrieved a brown sack from his robes and placed it in Ghave's gloved hand. The red-haired Keybearer immediately opened it up and began counting the Munny- not a thorough count, just enough to make sure it was around the right amount. "Pleasure doing business with you," Ghave said. "If you need me again, you know where to find me. In fact, I think I'll be sticking around here for a while." "Ghave, what are you up to...?" Ghave shot a look back at the middle priest that was a mix of disappointment, disbelief, and sarcasm all in one. "Oh, come on! Give me a little more credit than that! I just want to relax for a little while. It's been too long since I was back home," Ghave said. "Catch you later." Ghave sauntered out of the guestroom, making his way to the grand hall in which Lao and his apprentices now resided. There was apparently some commotion over a new arrival, to which he didn't pay much attention. Instead, he went up to Victor, standing a respectful distance from Lao, and quietly spoke. "Let Lao know that if he needs me, I'll be around the castle. I know the cluster inside and out." Ghave then walked away, planning to mull about the castle and reminisce about when he was younger, staring awestruck at the castle's stone walls... [center]* * * * *[/center] In a definitive series of strikes, Tendra was able to utterly vanquish the lion-like Heartless. The barrage of Dragon Fireballs slammed into the beast, causing it to recoil heavily; it appeared that the rapid volley of spells was too much for the beast, as it was staggered for a long moment. Tendra took advantage of that moment by leaping into the air and stabbing the beast in the back, running along its spine and finally slicing off the tip of its tail. The lion-like Heartless, mere inches from its demise, crumpled to the ground in defeat, but Tendra was not yet through; taking advantage of the beasts size and heft, Tendra grabbed the beast by what remained of its tail and threw it at the two remaining Darkwatch members. What were once hoots of victory and joy on Tendra's behalf quickly became truncated wails of fear as the blackened body of the lion-like Heartless slammed into the two of them, sending them flying backward into the rubble of the tower and crushing them between the two masses. As the Heartless's body dissipated, the bodies of the Darkwatch members remained slumped against the rubble. The jungle grew dark as the sun began to set; night would soon be here. A lone Darkwatch member appeared at the scene through a dark portal, surveyed the area, then turned to Tendra. "A fine job you've done, sir. Shame about the outpost, though. Axeus wants you to report back to the temple and get some rest. He said he'd get a more detailed status update from you later on, and for now it's important that you have your strength for tomorrow." The Darkwatch member then left as quickly as he arrived. [center]* * * * *[/center] A lone girl, a young adult perhaps around the age of 20, stomped through the hallways of the temple. Each step made an echo in the cave-like, stone interior. The woman had a single shock of bright, almost neon-red hair in the form of a mohawk trailing from the middle of the crest of her forehead to where her skull met her spine. The hair flopped over lazily to one side, the spiky swaths swaying with every step she took. Her skin was toned a deep tan and her face bore an intense mixture of scarring and what appeared to be war-paint. In her arms was a tray of steaming food, including a beef-based stew and a hunk of bread, along with a small serving of fresh fruits from the jungle. The woman walked in such a way that she seethed animosity. Her face was twisted into a scowl and, while her gait was fast, it was one of annoyance rather than efficacy. Soon, the woman reached a door; Isadora's door. She kicked at the door, hard, three consecutive times- a rugged sort of knocking, though she couldn't be fully to blame, as her hands were full. Then, without waiting for a response, she kicked open the door. Welcoming herself into the room, the woman took a couple steps in and looked at the girl who was laying before her. For a brief moment she only stared, sizing up Isadora. She then scoffed. "So, you're the new meat, huh?" The woman said. "You don't look so special." She paused and looked into Isadora's eyes with utter contempt. "Listen up. There are already a bunch of us Darkwatch members that don't like you. We don't care if you're Axeus's new pet. You'd better watch your back." The woman flipped the plate of food onto the ground in front of her, spilling the stew and breaking the bowl it came in, as well as scattering the fruit. "The name's Leyra. I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of me. Oh, and the old man says he wants you to meet him in the throne room first thing in the morning." With a sardonic chuckle, Leyra turned around and began to leave. [center]* * * * *[/center] Axeus sat upon his throne, lost in a fathomless pool of thought. His musings stretched so far and so deep, became so complex and intricate, that if a bystander were to peer into his mind it would be as if they were to look upon miles of spiderweb; each intersection a distinct thought, each thread a silken corollary. This was how he tended to spend his evenings, dinner, perhaps a bit of upkeep on the temple or his Darkwatch, and thought... lots and lots of thought. The silver-haired master's eyes slowly opened, beholding the room in front of him. His throne room was rather large; [i]almost large enough to accommodate my musings,[/i] Axeus thought to himself with a chuckle. It was growing dark outside, and Axeus knew that it was time for an important part of his evening. He slowly arose from his throne, the pains of age greeting him fondly. He was in much better shape than most his age, but even so he sometimes felt the drawbacks of being elderly. Quickly brushing himself off, he made his way out of his throne room and to the back wall, behind his throne. Axeus turned about and started walking toward the back of the room when the sound of a dark corridor opening gave him pause. He turned to greet his visitor: it was Veros that stepped out of the black portal. "Ah, Veros," Axeus said. "What brings you to here at his hour?" "Urgent news again, Master," Veros said, performing the salute of the Darkwatch. "It seems you have correspondence from another world. Yet another Keybearer wishes to train under you... I was not given details, I was just told to let you know that they would be arriving on Fallen Jungle. Soon." Axeus's face expressed interest and confusion. Yet another apprentice in such a short time span. What was causing these young ones to seek him out? "Understood, and thank you for haste in delivering to me this matter," Axeus gave her a sincere smile. "Get some rest, young lady. You've certainly earned it." A bit overwhelmed with being treated so graciously, Veros hesitated for a moment, then once again saluted. "Yes sir!" As soon as Veros left the room, Axeus continued what he was doing before he was interrupted. He walked to the back wall of the room; to the far to the left and the right were two passageways leading outward, but Axeus situated himself directly in the middle of them, facing a blank section of the stone wall. He stood for several moments, letting darkness seep out of him and become a shroud so as to block the vision of any unintentional onlookers. Axeus then pressed a hand forward, touching the wall. After a brief moment, his hand began to sink into the stone like sand, and slowly Axeus pushed himself through the magical barrier. What waited for Axeus on the other side was something that only he had seen. A small, square room presented itself, full of magical equipment and paraphernalia as well as four particularly interesting features. Three of the features were large, glass cylinders, big enough to house a human and filled with some sort of strange liquid. A person rested in each one, seemingly asleep- the three were members of Axeus's Darkwatch, bottom-of-the-barrel scouts that he chose to fulfill a higher purpose than they could as spies. Tubes led from each of the cylinders into a single, fourth cylinder that sat in the middle of the room. Darkness seeped into the middle cylinder from each tube. The blackened energy that gathered there seemed to be taking the form of a human: a young woman, by the looks of it, though her specific features were not yet shaped. [i]Yes... soon.[/i] Axeus thought to himself. [i]Soon I will have you... an integral part of my plan...[/i] [center]* * * * *[/center] [i]The Next Morning...[/i] Axeus sat upon his throne, taking in a long, deep breath of the fresh morning air. He felt revitalized. Today he would be fostering two potentially huge components of his plan, as well as possibly receiving another. All of this didn't even account for his little... [i]experiment[/i], either. Yes, today would be a good day. The old master was in quite a pleasant mood... and he planned to show it by offering only the most rigorous training to his two apprentices. He sat there patiently and waited for Isadora and Tendra to arrive.