[b][i]Mysterious Keyhole, Ongoing World War II[/i][/b]

It [i]had[/i] been too easy.

Astus watched as the Corridor of Darkness fizzled out as soon as it came to life. He'd always wanted to learn how to do that, but now was not the time for wishful thinking. He sensed a man, one of immense power, approach him and Tocsax. There was an odd air surrounding him. It was as if he was a schoolyard bully about to kick a stray cat around. That cat was going to be Tocsax.

"And to think that this was a trap after all!"

[color=lightcoral]"Of course."[/color]

The man appeared in front of them. There was something about him that made people swerve out of his way when he approached them. He was as cunning as a merchant, never without a way to get what he wanted. When the chips were down, however, he was a warlord, wholeheartedly willing to skin his enemies and hang their heads up on his porch. This was how Astus perceived him. He reminded the trickster god of someone he had met before, someone he had considered to be the most unpleasant being to ever exist. He was False Hakim.

[hider][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COBzBGSIny0[/youtube][/hider]

"False Hakim! So, you're the one they sent to capture me. Whatever the case, you're not taking me - No one is taking me."

"Poor little Tocsax, still flailing around in desperation, all the while playing into our hands." In response to that, Astus held out his hand and imagined the outline of something: a slender blade with an accommodating handle. It glowed a faint light, masking its apparent translucency. Its defining feature, though, were the crown-shaped spikes on the edge of its blade. It was a weapon wielded by kings and peasants, a blade used by god and man. It appeared to the old and the young, to the righteous and mischievous. It was everywhere, and now it was in Astus' hands.

[url=https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/897eee22-87ee-466e-b1a7-2cfe13f6e44a/d1poj93-c3e10da1-0c25-4a73-8b4d-17acfc934dfd.jpg/v1/fill/w_600,h_900,q_75,strp/ultima_weapon__lunar_eclipse_by_cbj3_d1poj93-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9OTAwIiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvODk3ZWVlMjItODdlZS00NjZlLWIxYTctMmNmZTEzZjZlNDRhXC9kMXBvajkzLWMzZTEwZGExLTBjMjUtNGE3My04YjRkLTE3YWNmYzkzNGRmZC5qcGciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9NjAwIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.FdlXOjb-93tkb2x7JhTt0QbptTU_NrVRej4feqpKgCM]It was a keyblade.[/url]

[color=lightcoral]"You do realize that there's two of us and one of you, right? Do the math."[/color]

As soon as Astus said that, the bodies of unconscious men and women sprang to life, holding weapons equal to the Sanctuary's best armaments. They flanked him and Tocsax, ready to fire on command.

[color=lightcoral]"Oh."[/color]

Tocsax shouted a magic spell, making everyone into fleshy human-shaped balloons. He then charged in, hitting Hakim with a Zantetzuken. For a while, Astus foolishly believed that the fight was over, but he was proven wrong as Hakim no-sold the hit as if all of this was a wrestling match and Tocsax was a crappy two-bit jobber. He could almost see Hakim laughing.

[color=lightcoral]"[i]Oh.[/i]"[/color]

Astus grimaced. There was no way he could scratch Hakim. Tocsax had displayed power equivalent to what the warrior gods of old displayed when they entered the realm of man in their divine vessels, and yet he couldn't [i]scratch[/i] him. Brute force wasn't Astus' thing, so the best he could do was attack Hakim's psyche. Pulling out his Keyblade was nothing more than a feint. After concentrating a bit, he inserted an idea into Hakim's mind. It was him becoming as small as an ant and getting crushed under a massive anvil. With a little mental push, that idea became a sensation, and if Hakim's psyche allowed it, that sensation would become [i]pain[/i].

Astus then used Aero to fly and maneuver himself around the bodies of the armed men and women. They scrambled, trying to shoot Tocsax and Astus with their weapons. For a moment, Astus felt like a drunk driver speeding through traffic on a highway sitting on top of an ocean. With every swerve he took, there was always the risk of getting hit point blank with a plasma bolt. He then laid his eyes upon a heavily-armored man wielding a massive plasma rifle.

His name was Dave. He was born on the moon in a world where America had taken to space to satisfy its unending need of the world's resources. On his birthday, the moon became the newest colony of the United States, and when the announcement was made on the intercom the doctor handling his birth jumped out of joy and nearly dropped him to his inevitable death. Despite that, Dave joined the moon's Brotherhood of Steel and pledged that he would protect the moon at all costs.

Of course, none of that mattered. What mattered was that Dave was wearing a power suit that was designed for zero-gravity combat in case the power of the spaceships went out. Astus latched onto him and, upon recovering his psyche, took control of his mind. Dave then activated his suit's flight module and began shooting at the other men and women as Astus directed him to get out of the volcano. 

As Astus, Tocsax, and Dave got out of the volcano, it erupted, spewing ash and lava everywhere. An army of Heartless emerged out of the ash, chasing the three of them. False Hakim followed along, only to be blockaded by a wall of ice that had arisen from another one of Tocsax's spells. 

[color=lightcoral][b]"We've already sealed the Keyhole, haven't we? Let's get out of here!"[/b][/color]

[@Letter Bee]