[h2][b][center]Vic[/center][/b][/h2] Well Vic wasn't really left with much of a choice. Heartless were appearing in droves and this person was apparently the only one around who wasn't actively trying to kill him. The stranger led Vic in the direction of a palace. On a normal day, a suburban kid like Vic might be awestruck by such a sight, but for now the palace was instead under siege and so sightseeing wasn't on his mind. Honestly Vic had no idea how anyone was supposed to deal with the giant machine, but the stranger who saved him seemed to have it covered. It was when he transformed his Keyblade into a shoulder-held cannon that Vic suddenly realized that the stranger even had a Keyblade in the first place. His eyes widened with surprised. So there were more of them? The moogles back home didn't mention the existence of multiple Keyblades, and so Vic had never been aware that others besides his own existed. But, how did this person summon theirs without any help? That was something he might have to ask about if the opportunity ever came up. But that opportunity didn't seem likely. The stranger managed to wreck the machine and neutralize it, but someone else appeared and began to monologue. And then one other appeared, an older person who was soon flanked by six black coated figures on either of his sides. One of them, on the old man's far left, simply teleported from what seemed like out of thin air. And as the old man began speaking, that figure's glare glowed red from under their hood and was fixed squarely on Vic and nobody else. "Not him... not again!" Vic trembled, stumbling back and falling on his rump on the street. He stared in terror at the glaring figure for what began to feel like an eternity. And that was when Vic realized that time had basically frozen. And the glaring figure was responsible for it. [i][/i] The thought projected itself into Vic's head, and it unmistakably belonged to the monster glaring down at him. Vic was too terrified to reply. Time seemed to unfreeze, and the other figures accompanying the old man vanished one after the other. The glaring figure from Twoson seemed to linger a moment, as if fighting back the urge to go on the attack. After a tense moment, the figure vanished in a manner similar to how he appeared, albeit somewhat... glitchy. Vic could hear the voice of the old man nearby. He wasn't addressing Vic, ignoring him in favor in threatening the one who helped him instead. But Vic only partially processed what happened. The image of the glaring figure remained burned in his mind. And it kept him frozen on that spot, terrified not just for himself but for what might have happened to his precious friends. It wasn't until he heard another voice that Vic finally found himself able to move again. [i]"Excuse me. If it's not too much for me to ask, are you OK? I couldn't help but notice you do seem scared."[/i] Turning his head toward the source of the voice, Vic met the gaze of another stranger. This one looked even more outlandish than the first he had met. Vic remained quiet. Shyness was always Vic's one crippling weakness. Socializing, especially with strangers, was just not something Vic was ever good at doing. It was the primary reason he preferred using PSI to talk to animals instead. [i]"My name is Agni Blackheart, by the way. What's your name?"[/i] Vic couldn't just stand there dumbstruck. Not replying would just be rude. And so he mustered whatever courage he could and responded, "...Vic." in an almost cartoonishly timid tone. He shivered, visibly shaken and utterly confused. [@MagusDream]