The Grand Crossover RP - Pathway to Origin [IC/PG-13/Moved to NCM for Finale]

[Dad]

Prologous:  Kenpachi

 

"Marvellous" the Avatar uttered. With a swish of his hand, his scythe changed into a long-bladed katana. "Its name is Shinjitsu. I'm sure you understand as well as I do as to what the name means. And because you do, I'm sure you know there is only one way for us to truly express ourselves. Have at you Kenpachi Zaraki! Show me your resolve!" he shouted loudly, both hands grasping the shaft in a non-suggestive manner.

 

 

Kenpachi grinned from ear to ear.  He had nothing to lose.  And clearly, neither did the Avatar.  He would put himself to the ultimate test.  A fight he knew that he couldn't win.  An endless battle that would push him beyond any limits he had ever reached.

 

With Nozarashi in his hands, he decided that taking things to the maximum level from the beginning would be boring.  But he knew what the Avatar was capable of.  It wouldn't be long before he had to remove it.  It didn't matter.  Eventually he would lose.  But he wouldn't stop fighting.  Not as long as he enjoyed it.  He cackled excitedly as he prepared, Nozarashi raised in his right hand.  With a powerful stomp he quaked the ground before the Avatar, his reiatsu growing higher and higher as the air thickened between the immortal and the Death God.  Kenpachi was surrounded in a flash of golden light, as his sickening smile crossed his face.

 

He may not have been insane.  But Kenpachi was crazy.  Crazy about fighting.  Crazy about his friends.  And if it meant killing himself for them, he would fight death itself.  And so he charged forwards, his released Zanpaktou held high, proudly.  He would cut through space and time itself, on this death march.  And in his empty hand he prepared a preemptive Hadou spell.

 

---

 

Prologous:  Killua

 

"Why? You want to know why?" the Avatar inquired in a condescending tone.

 

He laughed loudly as a platform formed behind him, so he could sit on it. "I ask because that's the point of this whole effort Killua. I mean, why wouldn't it be, really? Wouldn't that have made your progress utterly moot if I didn't help finish the journey? In truth it would make the entire concept ridiculous when you go through the three Pathways to find yourself, only to have all that growth be rendered pointless in the end. I ask because it's my way of seeing your resolve. It's to observe and test your convictions to see if you are worthy of beating me and seizing Origin. That's why I ask."

 

 

Killua sighed.  He was unfortunately in agreement with the Avatar.  "Yeah.  I'll admit to that.  This whole adventure would've been boring if there wasn't much of a challenge to it.  But my convictions haven't changed.  I'm in this for all of the people who can't be here to fight for themselves.  From my friends and my good for nothing family, even to the scumbags on some plain of existence or another who want to destroy their world.  Because to let one jerk decide he's going to rewrite history in his image is pretty lame," he finished at last.

 

The more Killua thought about it, the more the Avatar seemed sensible.  This entire ordeal--it had to be for something other than stopping the bad guy.  What did he want to rewrite history for anyway?  He didn't like the outcome?  What a petty reason to do something like that.  To hurt so many people for such a senseless thing.

 

"That's what really gets me," Killua said clenching his fists.  "Hurting people for no reason.  It angers me.  And it just makes me want to fight more.  I'm not gonna let some good for nothing lowlife think that his ideals should determine the fate of every living being.  It's not fair.  It's not right.  And whether or not that makes me worthy is irrelevant to me.  I don't care about you.  I care about saving those innocent people.  That's why I'm here."

 

---

 

Prologous:  Kratos

 

A future" the Avatar corrected. "Not the future, a future. That's the difference here. The future is never set in stone, never has been really. They say fate decides everything, but considered you destroy the Moirai Sisters, it's proof that it doesn't. I merely postulate one outcome based on current evidence and- JESUS CHRIST!" the Avatar declared suddenly.

 

What?  The Avatar suddenly went off on a tangent before righting itself and returning to Kratos.

 

The Avatar sighed in relief. "Alright, one crisis averted" he sighed as he focused his attention on Kratos again. "That's a real piece of work you're interested in Kratos. She just tried to shoot herself in the head!"

 

She. . .what?  Kratos turned around slowly.  That didn't sound like Revy, but he didn't have much choice other than to believe the Avatar.  He couldn't see Revy for himself.  But why would she do such a thing?  He still knew very little about Revy.  But even still, he wanted her to be there with him in the end if he could help it at all.  But what did the Avatar mean when he said--

 

"One crisis averted?" Kratos said calmly approaching the Avatar.  He held out an empty palm, as if waiting for the Avatar to give him something.  "Did you. . . did you save Revy's life?" Kratos questioned.  But why?  What could Revy possibly mean to the Avatar?

 

---

 

Prologous:  Revy'

 

Click.  The bullet was in a different chamber.  But she wouldn't get to pull the trigger again.

 

As Revy pulled the trigger, her finger clung to empty air, her gun was gun, held in the hand of the Avatar. "Jesus christ, you aren't supposed to kill yourself y'know?" the Avatar uttered in disgust as he crushed Revy's weapon. "Good lord, aren't you even thinking about anyone but yourself? What about Kenpachi and Yachiru? Or Kratos? Do NONE of them mean anything to you? Do they mean so little you'll kill yourself without even saying goodbye?!"

 

Revy fell to a slump, a forced smile crossing her face.  "Goodbye?" she asked as she broke down into tears.  "Why?  I've been saying goodbye my entire life.  I'm tired of saying goodbye," she said through her sobs.  "I finally meet someone who just might give a damn and now I'm trapped here in an empty black space staring a monster in the face.  I'm just a woman," she said pounding the ground with her fist.

 

"That's all I've got.  A little bit of fight in me, and a few guns.  But I'm not like them.  I ain't got any super powers or magic or any of that bullshit.  Instead!  I'm stuck here!  Being useless!!  Being carried around every GOD-DAMNED-TIME I TURN AROUND!!" she cried.  She felt weak.  Hopeless.  She hadn't had a breakthrough or some sort of blessing in disguise.  No.  Revy had heartache.  She had bad memories.  She had open wounds in her mind and in her heart.  And she thought Kratos could heal them.  But there was no guarantee there.

 

"Who's to say Kratos and I even make it out of here?  Then what?  I have no world to go back to right?  What's the point anymore?"

 

Revy was gravely overcome with grief, fear, and self doubt now.  And it was slowly consuming her.

 

---

 

Prologous:  Yachiru

 

She shook her head rapidly, trying to see something, anything in the dark.  She called out for Kenpachi, but she got no response.  But then, she heard a voice speak to her, scaring her suddenly and sending a chill down her spine.

 

"Seems I neglected you... I apologize for that."

 

Standing before Yachiru was the Avatar, its shouldered slackened in a very non-threatening and casual stance. He was completely unarmed, and currently seemed more interested in talking than fighting. "I was interacting so much with your other half I somewhat forgot you were even here. It's kinda funny like that, to be honest. But, you have my attention now, so Yachiru, why do you try to move forward? Why do you try to grasp beyond the reach of your own feeble mortality?"

 

"First things first, Blob-man," she said approaching the Avatar.  She gave him a slight slap across the face, and a stern wagging finger.  "You don't sneak up on a lady!" she said with one of her fists in her hip.  "It's rude and un-gentlemanly like and stuff.  I talked about it in my women's seminar a few years back.  I'll have you know it was very successful," she said with a big glowing smile.

 

But her smile quickly faded, as she tried to come up with a reasonable answer for the Avatar.  "Why do I press on?" she wondered aloud.  She didn't have to think too hard about her answer.  There was one person in the world that mattered to her.  And even though he wasn't there, she loved him with all her heart.  "Because Kenny needs me.  And if I don't keep moving forward, he won't make it.  He's strong.  He cares about me.  But Kenny's not invincible.  Even I know that," she said solemnly.  

 

"But I want to be there for him.  Through his victories and his defeats.  Through his life and until he dies.  He's my best friend.  He's my guardian.  He's the reason I try so hard.  There's nothing more."

[Tesability Black]

~??? - Prologuous - ???'s POV~

"You know something Tayla? He really is a constant downer" the Avatar mused.

"You can't really fault him, I haven't given him much to be happy about just yet." If the Avatar were to turn, he would see a female human dressed in black from head neck to toe sitting among the branches of the lone tree, kicking the air with her simple black boots. "I have not yet given him much to be happy about, nor can I until after the events destined to transpire here pass. I do have one question for you, though."

At this point, the woman jumped down to the ground, her waist-length brown hair falling behind her as she did before standing back up to full height and pushing her wire-framed glasses back up towards her narrowed eyes. "Tesability was already in a position that left her as no challenge to you, nor did she truly die. Why did you decide to waste even the thought and action to shatter her jewel as you did," she asked with an calm voice, yet the upset tone was there for those with sharp hearing as she asked her question based off what she had observed of the Avatar.

~Counter Corps - Path of Remembrance - Jace's POV~

"So you're not here, not really. You exist upon this pathway in the same way Gemini was managing to appear, a puppet created by the paths for it's own purpose. You, the real you, is as dead and gone as the rest of our multiverse."

After pocketing the strange box, this time in one of the hidden pockets of his cloak after remembering that he wasn't exactly wearing his normal gear, Jace looked ahead towards the newcomer ahead while purposely ignoring the attempt to goad him into anger before blinking for a moment as he noticed something.

Chandra, though he wasn't trying to sense her, he could feel as something akin to a controlled flame. Gemini, when he showed up, he felt as something close to a void, something that tried to pull him in and keep him in, even though he could see or hear nothing from such a mind.

This being, however...he didn't sense at all, much like the strange girl from the end of Death.

"I'm not sure he's the same as Gemini. I could at least sense him, even though it felt like he was trying to pull me in." At this point did Jace lift up the gloved hand before pointing towards Gideon. "I don't sense him at all. And now that I think about it..."

Jace slowly turned his head towards the girl behind them as he lowered his hand. "I can say the same of you."

To this, the young girl with the violet eyes, Faye, nodded to the statement. "It is because we are not truly here. I, my adoptive brother, and my Multiverse in addition to yours are all gone. The combat mage you see and myself are both constructs of the Path, memory golems in specific. Speaking of..."

It was at this point that three snowballs went flying at the trio on the firebird. Little Faye calmly leaned out of the way flung at her, Jace got pegged in the right shoulder and a third went flying at Chandra. "Jace wants to have a snowball fight with us."

"...you have no idea how weird it is to know someone with the same name as yourself," Jace griped before shaking his head, looking past the large man ahead to see a kid with yellow eyes that looked under-dressed for the coldness of the path, tossing up a snowball with one hand while three more floated around him. There was a childish grin and an evil glint in his eyes as the kid watched the group fly. "...I can't even bloody lift a spoon without draining myself entirely and he can---" A groan of aggravation and possibly jealousy escaped his throat after his under-breath mutterings at the sight before looking towards Chandra. "Trust me, you will want to land the bird for this. Unlike me, the kid in question's telekinetic, but not telepathic. I'm...kind of...the other way around..."

 

At this point, Jace looked away from Chandra, almost as if embarrassed with himself on that admittance.

 

Ending Point: A3, almost A4.

[The Warden]

[[What Time, What Place: Koishi's Prologuous]]
 
Well, that was a bit of a stumper. There wasn't even anything to be torn apart in that statement. "Err... good answer. Y-yeah, good... good answer."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Reimu's Prologuous]]
 
"Alright then," the Avatar decided, sitting down on a platform, "talk."

 
[[What Time, What Place: Nero's Prologuous]]
 
The Avatar grunted loudly as he removed the blade from Nero's face, the X-Blade vanishing from his grasp. "It's that kind of thinking that makes you think you aren't worthy of your original Keyblade" the Avatar remarked as he took a seat on a platform. "If your Keyblade is gone, then... where did it go? Who has it now? A Keyblade doesn't just become nothing, they NEED a master. Maybe the reason you can't call upon it now is because you've decided to be dependent on the X-Blade instead. After all, Sora became Xansvita, and yet he still wields his Keyblade. Hell, he became a Heartless, came back, and could STILL use his Keyblade. Fact is, you are the reason you can't call upon your weapon, not Ivero. Also, the X-Blade chooses anyone who's created from light and darkness. A Keyblade wielder called Ventus obtained one when his dark side Vanitas merged with him, creating a being of pure light and darkness. It's a metaphor for the fact that light and darkness are equal, in both reality and in Kingdom Hearts itself. The Heart of All Things is both light and darkness, because that is was elements us all. You can't be pure light, and as try as you might, you can't be pure darkness either. Both exist within every heart Nero. If having darkness made a Keyblade reject you... then no one would have one."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Butler's Prologuous]]
 
"I suppose that's one way to put it" the Avatar shrugged. "I suppose you can describe this as the proof of all things, like, all of existence sees you, knows you, and waits to see what you will do. It's also the last true chance to change your mind on what you want to do. However, since you can't leave, you're throwing your growth away because you changed your convictions and ideals. Basically, all this boils down to is being asked "are you sure?" over and over again until you are either sure, or are just incredibly frustrated. It's pretty much seeing how much you've changed, how much you've grown, and if you understand what it all means. In general terms, it's te final exam of you" it explained.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Dorian's Prologuous]]
 
"I dunno" the Avatar shrugged. "Some blood, a pound of flesh, your life? It's a general question, and it can have a very general and downright stupid answer. I'm not lonely, but it doesn't talk to hurt either. I mean, I can keep this up for eternity, and you'll starve or die of thirst long before I get bored, so I got time to burn. Not as if there's anything else going on at the centre of existence, as funny as it is to say that."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Ragnarok's Prologuous]]
 
"How little you know" the Avatar chuckled under his breath. "Alright then, what do you suppose the parameters of winning are right now? Do you think you have any real chance of overcoming me?"
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Rhadamanthys' Prologuous]]
 
"That's the point" the Avatar chuckled. "What's the point of a guardian otherwise? You overcome them and take what they're guarding by force, or you lose and possibly die or just get your ass kicked. The point of Origin is to take it by force. There is no one worthy of earning Origin, which is why it can only be taken by force or by guile. Why would there be a Chosen One from a literal infinite number of souls. How would you even find them? Simple, ya don't. Nobody is worthy, yet anyone can take Origin. It's really simple when you actually think about it."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Yukari's Prologuous]]
 
"Trial of all Things: Generosity & Greed!"
 
The explosion shrank down at a rapid speed, all the energy, all the power condensed into a glowing sphere no bigger than a baseball that hovered above the Avatar's finger. "You'll have to try harder than that!" the Avatar taunted as he flicked the condensed explosion at Yukari.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Kenpachi's Prologuous]]
 
The Avatar chuckled as his feet lifted from the ground, his form levitated by an unknown force. His body flickered about before jumping twenty feet back, Shinjitsu pointed in front of him. "Let's start with an easy one! Gaki Rekkō!"
 
With a complete circulation of his blade, a black circle formed in front of the Avatar. Streaks of energy snaked from it, a hail of purple-black energy launched straight for Kenpachi.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Killua's Prologuous]]
 
"A very sensible answer Killua. I'm just an obstacle after all, and Protheus is who I wish to stop. It's not a matter of duty, but also what he intends to do. He CANNOT be allowed to access Origin, otherwise... he will be beyond death, and I can safely say he's been dodging that outcome for quite some time now" the Avatar nodded.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Kratos' Prologuous]]

 
The Avatar casually cleared his throat as he straightened himself out. "Don't read too deeply into this" he uttered sullenly.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Revy's Prologuous]]
 
"You do realize that the moment you cross the despair event horizen, I will be compelled to use The Pain of Non-Existence on you, you know that right? What I used to destroy Tenco and Tesability Black, I will use on you if your resolve fails!" the Avatar explained. "I personally don't care what you do with your life, but I'm not about to have you kill yourself in front of me" the Avatar added in disgust.
 
It was fair to say that he wasn't without empathy, but.... The Avatar sighed loudly, his fingers gently massaging his temples. "Look, it's not impossible. The Door of Origin can heal just as much as it harms, and... I know I'm going to die here. What's going on, it's too coincidental for my liking. Something is about to happen, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I know someone will reunite Door and Key. When that happens, they will either be the great healer, or the great destroyer. I can guarantee you there will be no middle ground. At the end of the day, either all of you will die, or... the damage inflicted by the Omni will be undone. I can't see the future, I just figure that those are the two possible outcomes of this War."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Yachiru's Prologuous]]
 
"Do you love him?" the Avatar questioned. "And no, not platonically; as in, actual, sincere love."

 
[[What Time, What Place: Someone out of Place]]
 
The Avatar grinned. "You know precisely why I did it... because I could Tayla, simple as that. However, you're cheating a little by being here, you know that right?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Koishi Komeiji

Personaloguous

 

"Err... good answer. Y-yeah, good... good answer."
 

"Ara..? Did I say anything wrong?" Koishi tilted her head, confused.

 

 

Reimu Hakurei

Personaloguous

 

"Alright then, talk."
 

That was weird. Earlier Reimu would've been annoyed at herself of now for messing around instead of fighting with the Avatar, but perhaps taking it easy and do some chitchat to get them both into the mood would be the better way to go about it. The Avatar summoned a platform to sit down, and Reimu decided to use one of her two Hakurei Yin-yang Orbs as her own seat.

 

"Actually I'm not sure about what I should talk about now, especially after I got my intent here cleared up. With how I ended up alone here even if I got here supposedly with someone else, I assume the others are being trialed by you too now, or something similar. If so, then what would be next? Would this be like those "let me see your resolve before you can pass" deal or would you like us to try beating your face in before that?

 

Geez, this is really way too complicated. I miss the old days of incident resolving..." Reimu's eyes became distant as she thought about the good old times, but she snapped back to reality soon afterwards, realizing the awkwardness. "Suppose I can't convince you to resolve this with a Spell Card Duel, huh?

 

Maybe I should use this time to learn about swordfighting instead. But nah, that's not something I would be able to do if I learn it by myself. Unless you're willing to teach me some tricks, Avatar?"

 

Reimu wished she had some sake with her now. Perhaps it'd be better if she resolved this incident while drunk. At least that would have made her complaining a lot like this less awkward.

 

 

Kazuya Minegishi

Personaloguous

 

"It still feel really weird. I don't think I understand anything about this place, this conflict, or anything else. I don't think I understand you. I think I did piece some parts about what this conflict supposed to be, what are the pathways and their functions, and what lie beyond this place, but as familiar as the concept felt with what I once experienced, I don't think I understand it. They said we're supposed to save the multiverse from someone named Protheus, but how? And what does this place factor into that? Who are you? And...they said this is a war, but all I see is people being busied by their own business instead of fighting. I don't know if that is supposed to be a good ting, but it just makes everything more confusing.

 

I don't think it is the right time and place to ask about this, and even if I have asked about this to someone else before...May I ask you about what exactly is going on in this place? Everyone else speaks of such distant things, such vague concepts, that doesn't really explain much."

 

 

Yakumo Yukari

Personaloguous

 

"You'll have to try harder than that!"

 

"That is a given."

 

What happened had stopped being surprising a long time ago. The blasts were neutralized - matters and energy were condensed into one small orb. Reminding Yukari of a far less dense version of Reimu's peculiar orb, but of course, the two would be too different to compare in the end. The condensed ball were then flicked by the Avatar towards her. Yukari prepared her stance. Calculating projectile trajectory, one.

 

"Rest in Stone..."

 

And, she swung her street sign towards the orb like a baseball bat. Miliseconds before contact, a gap forming on the street sign consumed the orb. Copy object, two. Finishing the swing's arc, myriad gaps opened around the Avatar. Paste and set trajectory, three. Eyes forming on the opened gaps, and every single one of them aimed at the Avatar's direction. Declaration, four.

 

"Recollect in River!"

 

The arc is now fully finished. The same orbs Yukari had taken earlier manifested from each of the violet eyes on the gap, and was fired towards the Avatar's direction, creating an explosion that obscured the view. Opening a gap before her, Yukari then pulled the orb she had neutralized, and weighed it around a bit. The Avatar would normally be something she could not manipulate in any manner, but...

 

She could designate it as a location.

 

"Recollected: The Tell-tale Heart."

 

She pushed the orb inside of the gap where she pulled it out. It would manifest right inside of the Avatar as a foreign object. And Yukari, sighing as she couldn't maintain the degraded barrage for longer, closed all of her gaps as the original orb exploded once more with the Avatar as its focal point.

 

Yukari couldn't lose her focus. Once she got caught off-guard, it would be over. No way she would let herself end like that blue-haired idiot of earlier.

 

---

[Love of Ghibli]

Butler

Personalogous

 

Butler rubbed his chin as he heard the Avatar who simply explained what he already knew. So if that is the case then how do you determine that someone has passed this test or not? For example, I know no matter what the question is I am "sure" of my answers. Yet I am still here. Is that because you personally do not feel I have passed your test or is there literally something that I have not done? Though from the looks of it a lot of this sounds like your personal preference. In short if this is my final exam and the only question is "Am I sure" how have I not passed yet? Butler said with eyebrows raised.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dorian

Personalogous

 

I dunno" the Avatar shrugged. "Some blood, a pound of flesh, your life? It's a general question, and it can have a very general and downright stupid answer. Of course, a game with no rules yet I'm forced to play. All the sighs.

 

I'm not lonely, Lies but it doesn't talk to hurt either. Admitting to said lies. I mean, I can keep this up for eternity, and you'll starve or die of thirst long before I get bored, so I got time to burn. Hmm and here I thought he was all knowing. 

 

Not as if there's anything else going on at the centre of existence, as funny as it is to say that."
 
Dorian simply snickered at the frivolity of it all. Other people who are going through this final test may have some sort of self crisis at this final test, but for someone who was certain about their actions this shouldn't be a problem. The variable comes from this not so impartial judge and jury who is just doing things for the sake of doing things.Hmm. So if that is the case and we're here just because I'm here then what else can we talk about? I have an idea how are your conversations with other people going?  Dorian said as he looked around as he tested his powers and called forth the box that his surplice comes in and had a seat.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ragnarok

Personalogous

 

He laughed at the Avatar's question becuase it implied that Ragnarok wasn't having fun in his current situation. Now Ragnarok decided that it would be better if he just had fun seeing the limits of his form since he was seemingly not attached to Butlerok anymore. He stretched out everywhere looking like a preverbial anaconda and then he chose to respond to this Avatar. Ahh  good question. Are you implying that you are something to overcome? I don't think so personally and even then I like talking. You know that during this whole Pathway process I did not have an enemy destined just for me. So having a whole personal treatment for me like this makes me feel special. So I want to marinate in a little...see #winning!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rhadamanthys

Personalogous

 

This was almost vexing the amount the Avatar agreed with Rhadamthys yet provided contradictory behavior. This simplicity you refer to makes all of your other actions and inactions all the more confusing. If noone is worthy, why proceed with exercise of a test? You genuinely think no one is stronger than you yet you "exist" to lose to someone who is. You know this begs the question do you like your role as guardian or are you just complacent in it? This was most likely Rhadamanthys' final question it would dictate how he was going to solve this problem and even though there was not much he could in this situation.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Nero - Keyblade War Master / The X-Blade's Wielder ~ Prologous [[What Time, What Place]]

 

"It's that kind of thinking that makes you think you aren't worthy of your original Keyblade"

 

Nero looked at the Avatar as his demeanor changed, watching the specter sitting upon a platform now. He was about to speak at the Avatar, but was stopped as the specter continued on. And he had indeed a lot to say to the master.

 

"If your Keyblade is gone, then... where did it go? Who has it now? A Keyblade doesn't just become nothing, they NEED a master. Maybe the reason you can't call upon it now is because you've decided to be dependent on the X-Blade instead. After all, Sora became Xansvita, and yet he still wields his Keyblade. Hell, he became a Heartless, came back, and could STILL use his Keyblade. Fact is, you are the reason you can't call upon your weapon, not Ivero."

 

"They...need a master?" Nero finally spoke, seeing the Avatar nodding slightly. He began to ponder this thought while thinking on how Sora became Xansvita and even a Heartless but was able to wield his Keyblade still. A small wave of envy washed over the Keyblade master as he sighed. He then looked at his own hand as he heard the Avatar's words: You are the reason you can't call upon your weapon, not Ivero.

 

But this wasn't the end of the Avatar's wisdom.

 

"Also, the X-Blade chooses anyone who's created from light and darkness. A Keyblade wielder called Ventus obtained one when his dark side Vanitas merged with him, creating a being of pure light and darkness. It's a metaphor for the fact that light and darkness are equal, in both reality and in Kingdom Hearts itself. The Heart of All Things is both light and darkness, because that is was elements us all. You can't be pure light, and as try as you might, you can't be pure darkness either. Both exist within every heart Nero."

 

Silence befell the Keyblade master as he listened to everything the Avatar spoke, before he looked up at him. "The weapon...a metaphor for light and darkness existing together...then the reason it came before me and Xander that day..." he spoke to himself before sighing. "I understand what you mean. Somewhat anyway...there can't exist light without darkness and vice-versa."

 

"If having darkness made a Keyblade reject you... then no one would have one."

 

Nero only nodded, understand that. "Yeah...then Xander wouldn't have had one to begin with. Nor would those I saw in the visions within the pathway of death would either." he sighed. "Then what your saying...from all of this now...is that the reasoning for my Divine Remnant not returning to me...is because of myself? Then if this is the case, please tell me! How can I reunite with my Keyblade?"

[Tesability Black]

~??? - Prologuous - "Tayla's" POV~

 

The Avatar grinned. "You know precisely why I did it... because I could Tayla, simple as that. However, you're cheating a little by being here, you know that right?"

 

"No, this is not cheating," the simple-looking woman, Tayla, corrected as she waved a finger at him, the other hand on her hip when she did. "Cheating would be me having Gemini find a way to end you on his own power instead of having him bow out as he did." Allowing her hand to fall back to her side, she looked up towards the starry sky, the points of light illuminating her glasses slightly. "It may not seem so to you, due to looking upon them for so long, but this place is beautiful in its own way." After a few seconds of silence from her, she lowered her head before glancing back towards the Avatar. "Gemini declared that he would essentially 'hit the Undo button' on this entire war before set about destroying all the worlds with his own hands and power. I have to wonder, if given the option, would you join him or would you take the simple route of having Origin itself do it all for you?"

[The Warden]

[[What Time, What Place: Koishi's Prologuous]]
 
"No, rather it's curiously thought-provoking" the Avatar explained. "There's nothing to really criticize about it."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Reimu's Prologuous]]
 
"Don't get too cocky there girl, this is still a trial, and I won't exactly be your senpai" the Avatar snarked. "But yes, this is a prove your resolve ordeal. Overcome the odds, claim your prize, etc etc."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Kazuya's Prologuous]]
 
"Wow, you're really out of the loop aren't'cha?" the Avatar chuckled. "Alright, I'll make a long story short for you. This conflict was brought about because a foolish girl had the BRILLIANT idea of trying to ensure everyone ends their lives happily by using the Door of Origin. This girl stole objects of importance from many worlds, yours included, to destabilize them. Since you left your world, the fragile balance it still had was lost, and your entire universe collapsed into nothingness. This was to cause enough damage in order to reveal the entrance to the Pathways of Origin. At the moment of her triumph, in the Inner Periphery, the girl's father, Protheus Maximus, revealed his identity to existence. That bastard of a man is known as an Omni, an immortal being that there can be only one of. Because he revealed himself, he was considered the Omni of the omniverse, and as such his daughter, also an Omni, ceased to be. So now Protheus, with the Key, plans to unlock the Door of Origin and seize ultimate power over all universes, so he can do as he wishes. Naturally, nobody besides him wants this to happen. That should be all you really need know" the Avatar exposited.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Yukari's Prologuous]]
 
"Hmm, implanting the orb inside me probably would have hurt had it gone off" the Avatar remarked from behind Yukari, the orb supposedly implanted inside him delicately balancing on his finger.
 
With a chuckle, the Avatar leant on her shoulder, and dropped the orb on the floorspace between the two.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Butler's Prologuous]]
 
The Avatar shrugged, a crescent grin on its face.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Dorian's Prologuous]]
 
"That's not something you need to worry about" the Avatar said dismissively.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Ragnarok's Prologuous]]
 
"Alright then" the Avatar shrugged, taking a seat on a platform. "Marinate" he added as he rested his head on his hand, and closed his eyes.
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Rhadamanthys' Prologuous]]
 
"To be honest, I've stopped caring after so long" the Avatat uttered apathetically. "You lot have proven to be the only remotely interesting thing I've seen in a while, due to how unorthodox this all is. I never would have expected more than one person to appear in the Pathways, and now suddenly over twenty people are here. If you want my opinion on the matter, something big is going to happen from all of this. Fact is, I am certain that I am going to die here. At the hands of whom, I have no idea. I just see it as an inevitability I wish to avoid for as long as possible."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Nero's Prologuous]]
 
"You assume I care enough to tell you that" the Avatar sighed. "I'm merely pointing out the issue, it's up to you to find the solution."
 

 
[[What Time, What Place: Someone out of Place]]

 
"Simple Tayla," the Avatar chuckled, "who's to say I don't already have it?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Koishi Komeiji

Personaloguous

 
"No, rather it's curiously thought-provoking. There's nothing to really criticize about it."

 

"Aah...I wonder where everyone else is though...And Mr. Avatar, what are we doing here?"
 

---

 

Hakurei Reimu

Personaloguous

"Don't get too cocky there girl, this is still a trial, and I won't exactly be your senpai"

 

"Geez, you're not fun."

 

"But yes, this is a prove your resolve ordeal. Overcome the odds, claim your prize, etc etc."

 

"...It's not actually a game show, isn't it?" Reimu quipped. Of course it's not, but with how weird things had gone so far, might as well have the final challenge be a grand cosmic universal game show of sort. The Avatar now seemed to be weird, though. For some reasoning she didn't grasp just yet, he's a lot more casual than before...and well, actually participate in lighthearted exchanges like this. Contrary to what happened during the doomed tea party. Well...he did say overcome the odds and prove her resolve. He might be on to something.

 

"I guess the odds here is your presence, and my resolve is....doesn't matter, I'll be determined to cave you in anyway.

 

So, what if I propose a duel to you? A Spell Card Duel, because that's how incidents are meant to be solved. If you want to see how much of my heart I put into this, then perhaps our duel can show it to you.

 

How about that?"

 

---

 

Kazuya Minegishi

Personaloguous

 

"That should be all you really need know"

 

"That...sounds messy. So...uh...a brat tries to be here but got replaced by her equally-as-bratty dad that still want to reach this place and beyond. So I guess that's where Arturia and the CC comes in."

 

That still left a lot of questions, that's for sure. But, should all of them be asked now? Of course not, no time for that. The two of them would be here for another reasoning entirely. Kazuya had learned about the context about the war, for real now, and that would be satisfying enough. But that wouldn't do anything if he couldn't proceed.

"I guess that's that then. I guess even now I'm unsure about whether the Counter Corps is just like what it seems. But...So, if this is a trial, what kind of test would be presented here?"

 

---

 

Yakumo Yukari

Personaloguous

"Hmm, implanting the orb inside me probably would have hurt had it gone off"

 

Yukari heard a voice coming from behind. Of course, it's the Avatar, several distances away from her. The orb failed to explode, it seemed. That was disappointing. The Avatar tossed the explosion orb into the space before the two of them, and Yukari used her gap to consume it. She dispersed the content of the compressed explosion on the other side.

 

"Well, this battle sure still lead nowhere so far. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough."

 

She would need something other than raw power to defeat him. Raw power wouldn't be something she have anyway. But...what? That would be something she had to think of for now.

 

---

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Nero - Keyblade War Master / The X-Blade's Wielder ~ Prologous [[What Time, What Place]]

 

"You assume I care enough to tell you that. I'm merely pointing out the issue, it's up to you to find the solution."

 

"Yeah. I figured as much." Nero chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his neck some. "It didn't hurt to at least ask, I suppose." He looked at the Avatar before looking down at his hand. Divine Remnant...if you can hear my voice...return to me. I...I'm sorry for everything and for not being as strong as when I wielded you once... he thought, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh.

 

He called...but the Keyblade didn't respond. Perhaps he had lost it forever...perhaps...

 

BGM

 

"Master Nero...?"

 

Nero's eyes shot open as he heard this new voice. He looked at the Avatar, but he hadn't spoken a word. Lowering his hand, he turned around in this dark void he was in, only to see a small orb of light moving towards him. This orb of light slowly began to take shape, and standing before the Keyblade master was a young man with a familiar weapon resting at his side.

 

"W-Who...are you?" Nero asked, shocked to notice his Keyblade at the side of this newcomer. "Why do you have...Divine Remnant?"

 

"Master Nero..." the man spoke, bowing slightly as he smiled at Nero. "I've waited for you to call to me again. I felt lost without my master summoning to me. I...I apologize."

 

Nero was confused by this man's words, but nevertheless something about him seemed so familiar. This light he shone, it warmed his heart. He had felt this warmth before...but that was back when he wielded... "Divine...Remnant..."

 

The man simply smiled as Nero spoke. "Yes it is me." he said, approaching Nero. "I've taken this form in my hopes to finally reach you. I know you now wield the X-Blade and that my power is no longer required of you." He paused before sighing. "And it was my duty to try and save you, however I failed."

 

"No, you didn't." Nero replied, his hand outstretched towards Remnant. "I thought I failed you. Because you didn't respond to my callings, I thought that I lost you." He smiled warmly. "Fate brought us back together...no...I believe that both my heart and your own resonated and were brought together for a second chance."

 

BGM

 

Remnant nodded with a smile as his hand met Nero's. "Then I will continue to fight for you, Master Nero."

 

A small light began to shine when the two shook hands, and Remnant seemed to fade before Nero's eyes. He smiled before he was completely faded. The light from Nero's hand kept shining as before him appeared the weapon: the Divine Remnant Keyblade. The light began to slowly fade as he gripped the hilt of the Keyblade.

 

"You never once doubted me..." Nero sighed, a small tear falling from his face as he smiled. "Thank you...old friend." He held out his other hand and summoned the X-Blade as he swung both Keyblades around for a moment, before the X-Blade vanished from his hand and then Divine Remnant. "Avatar...I must thank you..."

[Merci]

Prologuous

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

Tick.

 

Tock.

 

The loud, mysterious sound of a clock continued at the end of the three trials. It was unprecedented and unplanned, of unknown origin, with no apparent meaning or rhythm to it, but it appeared to be emanating from the rainbow energy that surrounds the arena.

 

Again and again, it ticked and tocked, ticked and tocked, ticked and tocked. Never constant, but uneven, as if the clock in question had been broken.

 

Perhaps it was a calming sound, or perhaps it was a maddening sound. Nonetheless, it was an UNNATURAL sound that was out of place in what should have otherwise been a realm of purity. It signified that there must be an ANOMALY in this otherwise perfect structure that led towards the Origin, and it acted as an ominous warning to all who are present to not attempt to proceed.

 

The Avatar Conflictous had divided everyone, but even then, it was there off into the background of each and every version of Prologuous, as though to haunt their natures, their ideals, and their hopes.

 

And then—

 

 

---

 

 

The Pathway to Remembrance

 

All throughout the realm of self-recognition, the snow blanketing the whole area was swept up by powerful wind currents out of nowhere, forming an intense snowstorm in seconds. The waters of the lake rose up and down violently, slamming onto both sides of the shore. Trees in the forest shook, with dozens being ripped off by the sheer power of the storm, threatening to slam into any undefended warriors. All the while visibility was worsened by the amount of snow being thrown about, pelting practically everything in sight.

 

After a few minutes, this unusual behaviour simply faded away, and all the damage caused to the environment was gradually repaired by the Pathway itself. The snow drifted back down and things returned to how they were for the most part. However, something else had been left behind.

 

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

 

The unnatural, out-of-place sound of a broken clock now echoed from all around. Barely audible, such that it could barely be made out, to the extent that it could be mistaken for one’s own imagination. Yet, the fact that everyone could make out the exact same tune had to mean that it was real.

 

And then—

 

 

---

 

 

The Pathway to Truth

 

All throughout the realm of self-discovery, the pressure of the atmosphere became heavier, and lightning strikes appeared out of nowhere to strike all three sections, each and every single one followed by ridiculously loud thunder booms. In the land of cherry blossoms, the lightning caused a forest that consumed the beauty without mercy and caused fairies to scatter, and in the reverse land, it had simply created massive fires burning on the desolate plane, filling up the already-polluted air with more smoke. As for the sky at the end, lightning was randomly flying in every direction, threatening to hit anything and anyone that moved without mercy.

 

After a few minutes, this unusual behaviour simply disappeared, and all the damage caused to the environment was gradually repaired by the Pathway itself. The fires were snuffing themselves out without complaint, and things returned to how they were for the most part. However, something else had been left behind.

 

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

 

The unnatural, out-of-place sound of a broken clock now echoed from all around. Barely audible, such that it could barely be made out, to the extent that it could be mistaken for one’s own imagination. Yet, the fact that everyone could make out the exact same tune had to mean that it was real.

 

And then—

 

 

---

 

 

The Pathway to Death

 

All around the realm of self-affirmation, everything began to shake. Softly at first, but the light tremors expanded rapidly, eventually forming a violent crescendo of quakes that created cracks and divides in the ground without any regard for it – and in particular, the light sources were affected. The orbs of light dimmed greatly, the candles of the corridors were blown out, and most of the lampposts in the final section had fallen, with what few remaining malfunctioning. The only safeguard from the otherworldly darkness had been stripped away.

 

After a few minutes, this unusual behaviour simply ceased to be, and all the damage caused to the environment was gradually repaired by the Pathway itself. The fires were snuffing themselves out without complaint, and things returned to how they were for the most part. However, something else had been left behind.

 

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock.

 

The unnatural, out-of-place sound of a broken clock now echoed from all around. Barely audible, such that it could barely be made out, to the extent that it could be mistaken for one’s own imagination. Yet, the fact that everyone could make out the exact same tune had to mean that it was real.

 

And then—

 

 

 

 

Everywhere in the existence that was the Pathway to Origin, a mysterious voice started to sing a simple children's lullaby. It wasn’t speech per se, but rather seemed to be etching itself into the very souls of all those currently present.

 

 

 

 

 

hickory dickory dock

 

the mice ran up the clock

 

the clock struck one

 

and then there were none

 

hickory dickory dock

 

Its voice appeared to be devoid of anything. There was no accent. No tone or fluctuations. No variety. No emotion. No life. Merely words, typed on a keyboard, with a light turquoise colour, large font, and the Jokerman font viewable only to some - all thrown in for a false sense of expression.

 

It didn’t mean anything to anyone in particular, nor did it need to. After all, this was not something borne of Origin, but something, some sort of anomaly, appearing to usurp the very existence of the place just by being there. A leftover from a previous journey. Whatever it was, it was patiently awaiting them from beyond Prologuous, presenting itself more and more as the warriors drew ever close to the Door of Origin.

 

Once the voice had finished, all that was left was the repeating mantra of that broken clock. Again and again, it ticked and tocked, ticked and tocked, ticked and tocked, constant and uneven, persistent and annoying, and in some very strange way, it was reminiscent of a damaged heartbeat. Now, this sound was a presence in everyone’s journeys, a reminder that the house so gracefully provided to them could only be allowed to stand for so much longer.

 

Given some time, it was clear that what had happened to the three lesser Pathways was only a sneak peak of what was to come. The power to destroy all three realms, to absorb them into the Origin, already existed after all. All it took was a single prompt. Then Remembrance, Truth, and Death would all crumble away, taking along with them anyone still left behind.

 

This shouldn't ought to be the case. The Pathway to Origin should be capable of sustaining itself for years and years in order to let everyone finish their journey before resetting itself, and indeed, it had managed to remain intact for more than two years so far - something the characters themselves may be unaware of.

 

However. The watcher at the end,

who has been waiting the infinite wait,

wishes to meet them OH so badly.

 

In other words, dear challengers, you only have so much time to play out your roles...

 

...until the BEGINNING of the END.

[Love of Ghibli]

Butler

Personalogous

 

Clearly the Avatar was just having fun at his expense and while this annoyed Butler he eventually realized how inconsequential the whole emotion was at this point. So Butler decided it was about time he advanced his own gamestate and wondered how close this "Mobius Exclusion" was to its name sake. But before he could do that a loud message wrong out in this personal world of his. "Hickory, dickory, dock" the voice said as it somehow signified the beginning of the end of this long journey. Butler went into a deep thought as this was slightly unfortunate. He had hoped more members of both factions of the teams had cleared their respective journies before something like this would happen. This must be what the Avatar was distracted with the first time during the battle. The only being he could think of that would do something on this scale is Protheus and if that is the case then he would need to act fast.

Butler looked back at the Avatar and called forth thousands of Rukh from deep within him and they began to fill the space that was allocated to him with the Rukh. Apologies Avatar, I have fallen back into my old ways. Supplementing my own well being for what I thought others would like to hear. It has become clear to me that I do not need your approval to pass on. I will simply press forward...with or without your blessings. Now excuse me as I think we both have better things to do now. With a flick of his wrist the Rukh began to scatter like a meteor shower fireing in all different directions.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dorian

Personalogous

 

Dorian relaxed back on his giant box as the Avatar replied with a less than interested answer. Oh come now why the lack of care? I thought you were giving me a test and whatnot. You know going through the motions of asking questions we both know the answers too. Dorian chuckled as he stretched a little bit. I mean why keep me here if neither of us wants to be here. Though I guess I don't mind. Dorian found himself having fun...That was until the voice ruptured in his ears and heard the nursery rhyme of doom. The young mans face lost its smile for just a second and it turned to one that was deep in thought. This was definitely becoming a battle of the rock and the hard place and it was hard to determine which one was better. When the message ended Dorian looked back at the Avatar but this time his eyes turned into a complete spectral color and it looked like he was trying to look past the Avatar. 

 

So, 100% honesty, I'm sure you don't like me, but is there a real question you have for me or are we just going to take this to its next natural stage?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ragnarok

Personalogous

 

Ragnarok was now floating on his back with cartoonish pouty lips. Aww don't be like that it. What's wrong? Is it only fun when you get to make fun of me and my purpose. That's pretty mean for some objective Guardian that is supposed to be giving me a final test. You know that's a good question, I just had. How are you able to form opinions? Aren't you the outside force made to guard the thing or whatever? I mean shouldn't you just stop whoever tries to grab the "Origin" not do all of you know...this?

 

Ragnarok waited for a response when he heard the mighty message that came from the great voice in the sky. He looked around and saw how long he had gotten. Hmmm and here I thought we were becoming friends too. He shot what appeared to be thousands of Black Blood tendrils from behind his back and they just shot into the void and continued looking at the Avatar on its pedastal. So what do you do now. That's the same thing that made you flinch before wasn't it...our boss man Protosamus!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rhadamanthys

Personalogus

 

Listening to the Avatar's answer almost made Rhadamanthys sink into a deep depression, luckily thinking of his journey on hte pathways made him realize that there was hope. I do apologize Conflictus, if that was not another of your lies, I realize I have been spoiled by this journey and not everyone I face battle is a glorious warrior. Nor should I try to change those who do not want changing. If you are content with your fate then go ahead I shall not stop you. Rhadamanthys focused and blasted off his surplice and called forth the giant box it came in. After storing his armor he sat down and began to meditate and harness the power of his cosmos.

In his meditation he heard the voice warning and unlike his teammate he did not move from his position. So Avatar, is this the end you spoke of? Are you going to walk casually into death?

[The Warden]

[[What Time, What Place: All Personalogi]]
 
Tick tock, tick tock tick, tick, tock tick, tock, tick, tock tick tock.
 
hickory dickory dock
 
the mice ran up the clock
 
the clock struck one
 
and then there were none
 
hickory dickory dock
 
Across every single Personalogous, the Avatar's reaction was completely the same. All of their bodies shook with terror as they stared at the clock, their glowing eyes wide with fear. "Oh funk!" it declared loudly, its voice completely filled with fear.
 
Whatever happened next, was what will be.

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Butler's Prologuous]]

 

The Avatar was too distracted, he barely even recognized he was being attacked as the exploding Rukh tore his body apart.

 

 

|_)The Evangelist, Hapshiel(_|

|_)Pathway of Death: A1(_|

 

The Angel smiled contentedly as the happy couple ran off. Why he waited so long was honestly for only one real reason: Teasing. It brought sheer ecstasy to him to think that they were distancing themselves from. It was a torture of the most erotic magnitude that they would be hidden away in the darkness, far from his loving embraced. His stomach tied itself into knots, if just to repress the sheer raw delight of the chase. Oh, he just couldn't hold himself back anymore. He needed to chase those sweet little honeys! "Ready or not~! Here I come~!" he giggled gaily as he took off, his body charging into the Pathway of Death without fear.

 

The land zoomed by in seconds, its meaning lost on him as he smashed through pillar and decaying walls with ease. He was going after Chandra and Jace, and he did so hope they would tease him for as long as they could. It was so beautifully erotic in how they would deny, to prevent him from embracing that little firebug. His body shivered in the air with sheer anticipation of their little game.

 

Current Position: A5.

[Tesability Black]

~??? - Path of Remembrance - Gemini's POV~

 

hickory dickory dock
the mice ran up the clock
the clock struck one
and then there were none
hickory dickory dock

 

Gemini looked up towards the sky in confusion upon feeling the strange melody playing out from within as he stood up after recovering from the sudden flashback, unsure what it was at first. Feeling the starts of the sudden windstorm, however, brought him out of his stunned state quick enough for him to raise a shield of moving winds around him to redirect the ones that tried to rip at him. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Adam," Gemini muttered to himself before turning around towards more of the forest. "F*ck Protheus, sh!t's about to get real."

 

It was at this moment that Gemini let loose a sharp and loud whistle, to which he heard the sounds of something repeatedly connecting with the snowy ground and a flash of yellow and black entered his view through the snow.

 

"Kweeh!"

 

"Ever reliable Rapidash," Gemini said with a smirk, which actually had the large yellow bird in black barding stop right before him, looking at him as if trying to discern if this was whom called for him. "You don't have time for this, damnable Chocobo. Want to help your master?" At this point, Gemini lifted himself up onto the bird's back, a few 'khwee's being released in indignation. "Well, you gotta help me as well. Now, come."

 

Aggravated about the situation he was in, Rapidash dashed through the snow with the demon on his back, hoping to see its real owner again...

 

~~~~~~~

 

~Counter Corps - Path of Remembrance - Jace's POV~

(Sorry for not waiting, Sim.)

 

The sudden snowstorm ambushed the group on phoenix-back, Jace lifting his arms over his face to try and shield himself from the storm and the trees flying about. Unfortunately, one particular burst bullseyed on Jace, causing him to fall off the phoenix before he could try to grab hold...

 

...though what he landed on was not what he expected.

 

"You might want to hang on, Rapidash can run when he wants to." Jace looked up to find himself looking into a pair of now-familiar red eyes, gulping after he realized just what he landed on.

 

He was now laying over Gemini's lap while he was riding on some large yellow bird. Without any real grace did Gemini lift him before placing the mindmage in front of him, partially shielding the smaller man from more of the storm. "C'mon, Rapid, let's go!"

 

The speed the flightless bird put out through the storm could be considered a challenge of speed towards the phoenix above, the flicker of a stone tower visible in the distance to the far right as well as the brief flashes of bluish-green, yellow and silver in front of it.

 

It was a good thing that Gemini was behind him, because Jace was damned sure he would have flown off this bird by now, considering its speed. It was way faster than any mount he's been on before, and that's saying something.

 

And the whole they ran, the sound of a ticking clock kept echoing for all to hear...

 

Ending Point: A5, almost A6

 

 

~??? - Prologuous - "Tayla's" POV~

 

She turned around at the sound of the clock's unusual ticking, seeing that it was fully frozen upon its current time. She lifted her arms into the air as well as one of her feet before slamming all three down, though only her foot connected to the ground.

 

"GODSDAMN IT, Adam! As if I didn't have enough plans wrecked as is," the strange doppelganger let loose her words as a roar into the air before staring at the clock. "I guess it's time to improvise certain things to come...including what I did have planned regarding Jace and Isamy..."

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Pathway of Remembrance: A3

(Don't worry about it, sorry for taking too long Talim)

 

Abruptly, with no warning at all, the snowstorm in the pathway increased to the point where it was ripping through the forest from above. It was strong enough that Chandra couldn't keep her balance on the phoenix either, and was knocked off violently through the air and across the pathway above the trees. With no knowledge of where Jace had fallen, or how far she'd gotten knocked away from him, she had no choice but to continue on again after it died down. The phoenix she'd been riding on was gone, vanished out of existance as though it had been knocked further out and off the pathways altogether, and there was an ominous ticking sound reverberating through the pathway now, as though they were running out of time, a feeling reinforced by the rhyme that seemingly engraved itself directly into her mind. In any case, she'd have to just trust in Jace's abilities and skills to get him through the pathway, and make her way forward on her own from here on.

 

With a click of her fingers, a new phoenix, noticeably bigger and bulkier than the previous one, manifested underneath Chandra as she jumped forward. Immediately, the firebird took flight, following the most direct path forwards with only slight shifts to avoid running Chandra into a tree. In it's wake was a trail of burning trees and fire, from where it's wings and parts of it's body had passed directly through trees for the path of least resistance. It wasn't long before they were reaching the edge of the forest, and plunging straight into the snowstorm separating them from the rest of the path. With her own powers and the heat of the bird she was now flying, it wasn't hard for them to fly forwards through the storm, even if they were being buffered around a bit by the wind, and across to the edge of the lake.

 

Ending Location: E9.5 (Chandra got blown pretty well horizontally across the map, right to the other side.)

 

---

 

Darcy

What Time, What Place: Personaloguous

 

Darcy had fallen silent again as the Avatar spoke, thinking that he did seem to have taken to his assigned task well. Before she got around to speaking again though, the ticking that had been in the background increased, still as abnormal and awkwardly timed as ever. In addition, the rhyme that was seemingly etching itself into her soul, like a warning of what would happen soon. Seeing the Avatar's reaction to it though, Darcy attacked. Outstretching both hands even as she transformed into her Dark Sirenix, bursts of darkness flew out from them, along with all the tentacles waving around from her back that had likewise pointed at him. The attack didn't stop there though, balls of darkness appeared floating around her and bursts of energy fired out of them before vanishing, making a continuous stream of attacks directly at the distracted Avatar.

 

---

 

Ayame

What Time, What Place: Personaloguous

"If I'm still alive, then I still have something to lose. I guess that's true, though if that's all I have to lose, I may as well try to grasp for those concepts anyway. If it means I'll have a chance to get back my best friend, however slim, then I'm willing to gamble my own life on that chance." 

 

It was then, just after she'd finished speaking, that the clock began to chime louder, and the rhyme found its way into her soul as well. Without another word, as the Avatar was distracted by what was happening, drew her sword and dashed forwards to swing it in an attempt to cleave diagonally down through his body from the right.

[Merci]

~ Prologuous ~

 

Tick, tick, tock, tock, tick, to-

 

In one certain Prologuous, and that one only, the ticking suddenly stops. There is silence, then there is more silence, then there is even more silence. There is nothing in thought, yet there is clearly an entity beyond that realm deliberating something.

 

Then, it realizes that another enemy of reality is currently present. Another puppeteer of everything. Another, roleplayer. Their existence cries out to the very structure of the Pathway to Origin.

 

"G̡OD̸S̡D̵A͟M̡N҉ ́IT̡, ̡Ada͟m͡! ̧As ͝if͘ ͝I ͏d̸idn͜'t̛ ̧hąv̢ę ̛eǹo̷u͘gh͠ ͏plans͠ w͡r̕eck͘ed͜ a͏s͢ is͞. ̛I͢ ́ǵuȩs͞s ̢i̢t̕'s ͞t́ime͜ ̧to̸ im҉p̢r̶o̡v̨ís͠e c҉èrt͏a͡in͠ t͞h̡ings͟ to͟ ҉co̴me҉.͏..inc͢lu̕d̡ing̀ w͠h͟a̸t ͜I̸ d҉id̴ havé ̡p͞l̨an̛ne͡ḑ r͏e̵g͞ard́i͡ng ́J͘a̕c̵e a̶nd͘ ҉I̴sa̧my͟.̨..͠"͞

 

It is filled with something. An emotion that oh so barely resembles anger. 'How dare you', it wishes to say to that eldritch abomination, thinking all of this to be a GAME. Thinking that it can just do as it PLEASES. Thinking that they were mere pieces to PLAY WITH.

 

From the three pillars, several unusual weapons emerge, primarily blades but each and every single one of them varying greatly from other in appearance. There is only one noticeable similarity throughout them all - that these are the weapons of the fallen, Counter Corps and Divine alike, all of which should have been irretrievable. Amongst them are Sephiroth's Masamune and Sykes's Croya, but it also, curiously enough, includes weapons lost in the Shadow Realm, Desert Seth, and Sphere Forest. Jin's Shukuro, Melvin's Millennium Rod, Byakuya's Senbonzakura, they were all there. Ready and aimed.

 

And then Tayla is killed.

 

Stabbed, again and again and again and again and again with great precision, until there is only a corpse on the ground. No - it is not a corpse, for it does not bleed, and it is very much capable of getting back up again. However, before this can happen, an invisible force into the colorful aura surrounding them all. And then she, or at least her body, her physical voice in this realm, is absorbed into the Origin.

 

It will not stop her. Not yet. But her direct influence has been nullified.

 

And the entity is satisfied with this.

 

For this is the third thus far.

 

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

 

As if nothing had happened, the ticking resumes.

[The Warden]

[[What Time, What Place: Soon to be Gone Prologuous]]

 

The Avatar glared at the space where "Tayla" had been, and he just laughed loudly. Unlike the other Avatars, this one hadn't shown fear at the dissonance. What made this one so different? Who knew. "This was your fate, jabroni. I told you being here was a cheat, because you weren't invited to this show. So what if I killed Tesability? I was free to do so, just like I was with Tenco. You got what you deserved, and I imagine I'll get mine soon enough. They aren't quite ready for me yet, but, I'll play this game for as long as I can regardless. As for now, however, this Prologuous is done" the Avatar(?) remarked, stomping a foot.

 

With a loud cracking, this particular Personaloguous and instance of the Avatar shattered like glass.

[Love of Ghibli]

Butler

Personalogous

 

Butler was somewhat pleased that his assault on the Avatar bore some fruit, but now what was he to do. It did not look like he was free of Personalogous. That was actually good though as it looked like this would give him some time to become whole as it were. Butlerok ordered his Rukh to scatter into the void and with that he decided to walk forward while opening his third eye and turning on his Alpha Stigma. As he looked around he called forth more Rukh and then used them to see if he could open a rift in space and check if this was not just some mind palace of the Avatar's own creation.

 

Interesting, I wouldn't think Protheus was one to actually settle for taking the trials of the Pathways. Knowing him I guess he probably found a way to circumvent the whole process. Pity, they did have their worth.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dorian

Personalogous

 

Dorian could only smirk as the Avatar looked distracted by the voice and showed signs of fear. Dorian waved his hand and a great ball of fire appeared above him. He smirked and from the ball unleashed a massive barrage of smaller fireballs aimed at the Avatar hoping to take advantage of this moment. While doing this Dorian continued to scan around his area assuming that one of his other teammates would try some way to contact him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Raganarok

Personalogous

 

It seemed that Raganarok got the answer to the question. The Avatar was distracted so now was the time to act. With his Black Blood he shot hundreds of tendrils at the Avatar and he turned the tip of these tendrils to drills hoping to take this Avatar down. Let's move on to the next act of this play shall we.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rhadamanthys

Personalogous

 

Rhadamanthys did not take this message the same way the other took it. Instead he simply did not move and continued to meditate. What is wrong? Is this not the moment you were so prepared for? Why face it with fear? I could have sworn you just talked about how you do not care anymore. There should not be any reason for you to shows signs of hesitation.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

Koishi

Personaloguous

 

"...H-hey! Anything wrong?"

 

Koishi heard the sudden ticking, and she also heard the mysterious emotionless voice. That was of course weird, but she was more concerned with how the Avatar suddenly screamed profanity, and its body shook in response to those voices. That was weird. Really weird. What was even happening? The Avatar seemed to be too focused on what had just happened and the clock to reply to her previous question, but that would be alright. Right now, she needed to make sure if it's alright.

"What was that...? You're fine right? T-tell me if anything's wrong, I'll try to help!"

 

---

 

Reimu

Personaloguous

 

and then there were none

 

"...What was Flandre doing here anyway?" Reimu mumbled to herself at that familiar phrase. The vampire girl she knew often used that phrase, and it's never really meant a good thing. After all, it's the start for an annoying spell card of hers. Yukari told her that it's supposed to be a reference to a novel, but she couldn't be bothered to read something in English, and especially a novel. Of course, this phrase would serve a wildly different function and meaning over that one's. But the most interesting thing was how the Avatar reacted to it.

 

"Oh funk!"

 

The once prideful Avatar screamed that profanity and shivered. That was unexpected. She waited for a bit to get things somewhat better, then Reimu spoke once more.

 

"Hey, it seems that neither you or me had lots of time already. If there's anything you need me to know about how should I get past you, then tell it now. I'll face you in a battle if I must. Even if a Spell Card Duel would be too impractical, that would still be my proposal unless you give another alternative. You have something to do by keeping us here, and I have something to do by passing you.

 

I can't stay doing nothing for longer. If I die due to it, then so be it. But of course that wouldn't happen. No way...no way I'd lose to something like you.

 

So, that's my challenge! Let's settle this off before time stops for eternity!"

 

 

Kazuya
Personaloguous

 

"I'm sorry if I'm intruding something important, but may I repeat my question?

If this is supposed to be a trial, then what exactly is the trial you wished to present?"

 

 

Yukari

Personaloguous

 

"You know..." Yukari said, as she watched the Avatar shivered from the voice and ticking clock. "As much as you said you wished to settle this and face me, you didn't even move an inch to attack with that scythe of yours. That is weird. Do you really see me as someone not worth the attention to even properly face in battle?

 

Your time seems to be running short. If you really want to end this, then lets. I'll beat you without getting any strikes.

 

I'll go score a home run, and win home the prize."

 

 

[Super Chaos Sonic]

Nero - Keyblade War Master / The X-Blade's Wielder ~ Prologous [[What Time, What Place]]

 

"Avatar...I must thank you..."

 

These were Nero's last words to the Avatar before the events that befell. Being reunited once more with his Keyblade instilled a happiness within him, but then...

 

BGM

 

hickory dickory dock
the mice ran up the clock
the clock struck one
and then there were none
hickory dickory dock

 

This was something new to Nero's ears. This nursery rhyme gone dark came and projected itself into the void and he was unsure of what would come next. "Avatar, I suppose this isn't of your own doing?" he asked, turning to the Avatar, only to be shocked by the next turn of events.

 

"Oh funk!"

 

He was quiet now. Nero watched as the Avatar became almost scared again, just like when the clock first struck before, but now it was a bit worse. Something big was about to happen...he could feel it. "Seems our chat session is drawing to a close, Avatar." he said, approaching the specter. "What will you do now? Is this where your own path leads you? Heh, I certainly hope not. You've proven to be quite the strong warrior...that and you've shown me that there was still things within me that I still had to work out. Plus, the reuniting of my Keyblade." Nero smiled as he shook his head. "If this is your end, somehow I know we'll meet again somewhere."

[Tesability Black]

~??? - Prologuous - "Tayla's" POV~

Seven weapons, no two alike, appeared suddenly around her. Entering a defensive pose as she realized that she was in a load of trouble, the female duplicate tried to evade the various weapons aimed at her.

But the pathetic dodging ability of a girl untrained in combat was no match for the weapons that most-likely contained the spirits of their individual owners. And so, she was shredded, her glasses miraculously remaining the only thing undamaged on her before it too faded from the scene as the clock began to tick once more...

~??? - From Beyond the Screen - ???'s POV~

F*ck.

You.

Adam.

Really think that's gonna stop me?

Fingers tapped upon the black keyboard in front of the pale-skinned woman as she thought and glared at the screen, a fuzzy pink and black blanket being her only cover for her otherwise nude form as she stared. Taking a moment to push back up her glasses, the woman cracked her knuckles and began to type, the glimmer of a scheme in her brownish-silver eyes.

"Two can play this game, Merciful Idiot," she declared to only herself for the moment. "Two can play this game..."

~??? - Path of Remembrance - Gemini's POV~

Thankful for both the hood that the mindmage wore and the fact that said man was shorter than himself, Gemini couldn't help but grin to himself as he felt an extremely-subtle shockwave pass through the pathways.

"Ya earned that, b!tch," he thought to himself, one of his fangs peeking thorugh his lips for the moment before looking down towards the smaller man...whom seemed to be shivering in his grasp. Letting loose a sigh, Gemini closed his eyes for the moment before reopening them, the flicker of dark-blue glowing through the red of his eyes as the cold began to pull away from the trio of demon, human and bird.

"Kweeh?"

Rapidash had chirped its confusion at the sudden loss of cold, to which he got a pet on the top of the head for. "Don't worry, I made it so we can't get blasted by the winds."

"You'll need to put some essence into Rapidash to take him past the forest."

Gemini managed to resist the urge to jolt in his place in response to the voice in his head.

"Arceus-dammit, Michele! Are you trying to end me early?"

"No, I just want to make sure certain things get done."

"...if I get killed early, I'm blaming you." "Beleren, I'd suggest you hang on to your hats, glasses and asses."

"Wait, wh---" Gemini placed his palm against the back of the Chocobo's neck, releasing through it a wave of energy that allowed it to blaze past the edge of the forest and into the clear snowy plain beyond.

~Counter Corps - Path of Remembrance - Jace's POV~

Jace was stumped.

He had no idea why someone that tried to kill him at first was helping him now, it just made no sense and he hated it! While he wanted to grab the front of his hair in frustration, he instead kept himself still, not eager to risk a sudden change of mind from the being behind him. He thought for a moment after realizing that Chandra wasn't with them about where she could have disappeared to before clearing the thought from his head for the time being.

He was sure Chandra was fine. There's no way a storm like this could stop her.

"Kweeh?"

The strange bird had chirped its confusion at the sudden loss of cold, to which he got an oddly-gentle pet on the top of the head for from Gemini. "Don't worry, I made it so we can't get blasted by the winds," the demon spoke, to which Jace noticed the sudden absence of coldness around him.

A few seconds passed as the bird dashed through the trees, expertly dodging them with ease despite being groundbound. The mindmage felt a suppressed jolt from behind him, which he was about to ask about before Gemini wound up answering in his own way.

"Beleren, I'd suggest you hang on to your hats, glasses and asses."

"Wait, wh---"

Jace became really glad Gemini was behind him or the sudden dose of speed the bird displayed really would have sent him flying backwards. The trio broke through the edge of the forest, allowing the creature to display its true speed, allowing the snow to be sent flying high to either side of them.

After the shoreline of the lake entered view, the bird tripped over something unseen upon getting a fair bit closer, causing the large feathered creature to faceplant into the snow, for Jace to be sent flying a good distance and for even Gemini to wind up taking a tumble off its back, from the force of the sudden stop.

Unfortunately, there was no stopping Jace from suddenly breaking the surface as he wound up falling into the waters of Remembrance. Once he stopped falling further, he tried to to swim back up to the surface, trying to fend off the water's innate power trying to enter his mind...

...and ultimately failing before he wound up letting out both a vocal and mental scream underneath the waters as he grabbed the sides of his head, trying to keep control of himself as more than sixteen years worth of lost memories tried to place themselves back within. Some memories, however, seemed to be louder and more noticeable than the others...
 

[spoiler=~Counter Corps - Flashbacks - Jace's POV~ (I seriously won't blame you for skipping, this section's hella long! Hell, if you have read the story "Absent Minds" before, you probably SHOULD skip this!)][spoiler=The First Victim]A young boy with short and messy brown hair paused at the foot of the last flight of stairs, dressed in differing shades of brown as he looked up with eyes that stayed blue long after birth.

Jace's family lived most of the way up the mage-ring the locals called Silmot’s Crossing, among the collection of apartments where the poorest mana miners on the ring made their home. He and his family had to pay to take the rickety lifts or trudge up twenty-three flights of stairs every time they returned home. Money was scarce, so the young boy always took the stairs.

Twenty-two flights of stairs behind him. One to go.

Now that he was this close, he hesitated. The early teen was going to be in trouble, probably as soon as he opened the door, even though he still didn’t think he’d done anything wrong.

Lack-witted idiot.

A big lug shoved past him from behind, almost pushing him into the closed door and announcing his presence to any on the other side. Jace couldn’t help but agree with the sentiment heard in this head.

I swear, that Beleren kid…

Jace finally reached the top of the stairs. He took a deep breath and stepped into the apartment. Sure enough, there was his father, sitting at the kitchen table, frowning. Gav Beleren, grubby and balding, regarded Jace with little more than weariness.

I wish he was normal.

His father’s thoughts traced a familiar path, and it always sent a pang of guilt through him when it did.

“I got a sending from school,” he stated, keeping his head down and not allowing himself to look his father in the eyes, making himself appear slightly smaller in the process. Jace wasn’t surprised the news had beaten him home. Illusions didn’t have to climb stairs, and he hadn’t exactly hurried. His father gestured for him to sit.

“Mind telling me what happened?” Jace sat, then shrugged and stared at the table. “You don’t want to be expelled, do you?" His father continued with an weary tone, as if this had been repeated before "Education is your ticket out of here, to a better life.”

A better life than mine. It always came back to that.

“I know,” said Jace.

You don’t act like it.

“I just need to know whether you did this. I want to hear it from you.”

Jace kept staring at the table. Earlier that day, he’d taken a mana dynamics test full of questions he didn’t know how to begin to answer. He thought he’d studied, thought he’d been prepared, but as he stared at the test, he drew a complete blank. Then the answers just…came to him. He knew the formulas. He showed his work. He answered perfectly, and he knew it.

Thing was, he’d been right the first time—he had been prepared for the test—but they were trick questions. He wasn’t supposed to know the answers. He was supposed to get as close as he could, to show what he knew, but he knew too much.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“You don’t know? What the hell does that mean? Did you cheat or not?”

“No,” said Jace. “I just…knew the answers.”

“They’re saying you solved a six-node mana-pressure equation in your head," his father declared with a raised voice. "If that’s true, you should be supervising a regulator team, not taking lessons.”

Jace shrugged again. “Maybe I should be.”

Too far. His father pounded the table with a fist. “Go to your room. We’ll talk about this when your mother gets home.” Jace instead stood and turned to the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Why is it never easy with you?

“Out,” said Jace. And he ran, before his father could stop him.

He ran up the stairs this time, around the curve of the ring, all the way to its apex, above even the monitoring station, pressing through the crowd. Their thoughts, loud and sullen, mingled with his own. He climbed a ladder to an access hatch—one that civilians on the ring weren’t even supposed to know about—and stepped out onto the roof of the massive structure he called home.

 

He stood hundreds of feet above the valley floor on the angled, rusty plates that made up the ring’s outer shell. The wind whipped at his cloak, and he pulled his scarf up around his head. Here, far from the inhabited portions of the ring, he could think without interruption. Other peoples’ thoughts were distant echoes; he couldn’t hear anything but the whistling of the wind.

Towering above him was the hoop of the guide ring, easily forty feet across but minuscule in comparison to the ring itself. He walked carefully down the curved plating and sat near the edge on the windward side. Vertigo overtook him and he savored it, one feeling at least that he could be sure was his own. It happened, occasionally, that people fell, and usually somebody caught them. Usually.

The line of mage-rings stretched away into the distance, following a gentle curve. Three rings down, they joined with another and merged into one channel: Silmot’s Crossing. The nearby rings had picked up the name as well. Past the Crossing, that gentle curve continued, cutting across the silvery ribbon of the Sparrow River, following a different set of currents entirely.

Behind him, somewhere, were the enormous mana collection stations that channeled energy into the ring network. And out there, ahead of him, past the horizon, were the Core States, sitting in the middle of the ring network, gathering all the energy of an entire continent for use by the mage elite—unless the Separatists had hijacked the stream again. The ringers theoretically owed their allegiance to the Ampryn League, but they never knew who was working the receivers at any given time, and they didn’t really care. As long as the mana kept moving, nobody would bother them.

The guide ring above him began to crackle with flickers of energy—intermittently at first, then more vigorously. Jace was in luck. He smiled and reached into his pack, where he’d stashed some meat pies in anticipation of being sent to bed without eating. Dinner and a show.

 

Over the roar of the wind came the faint sound of bells ringing far below. It was about to begin. He took a bite of a lukewarm meat pie, and as he chewed, the guide ring—smaller and more sensitive than the primary—reacted to an incoming mana pulse. All the ringers on second shift scrambled to action far beneath him. In the monitoring station, supervisors gauged the strength of the incoming pulse and assigned ring mages to points all around the ring to stabilize the mana stream.

No doubt the coordinators in the monitoring station were furiously calculating mana pressure equations. Their ring had twelve mana control nodes, each crewed by half a dozen ring mages, and each mana pulse had its own pressure and spin and internal dynamics. Even with guidance tables, the math would be exponentially more difficult than what was on his test, but the supervisors knew how to do it.

Jace took another bite of his pie in thought. What if someone asked him to solve it? Would he find that he somehow knew this too? He chewed, contemplating. Perhaps. Probably. It seemed so.

In a flash, the air below him filled with shimmering, white-blue energy. The mana stream arced through the center of the ring, fluctuating as the ring mages channeled magic into the mana nodes to achieve a consistent pressure.

It was a vision. A masterpiece.

The ring groaned and creaked as the stream locked into place, the raw power of the mana stream anchored to the physical structure of the ring.

There’s the freak.

The biting thought was the only warning Jace got, wincing in response before scrambling to his feet and spun around, but he was too late. Three of his schoolmates stood between him and the access hatch.

 

“Hey, Beleren,” said the largest of the three, his booming voice overpowering the wind. His name was Tuck. At fourteen, he was a year older than Jace, a head taller, and built like a loading dock.

The other two were Caden, a crater-faced kid who made Tuck look brilliant, and Jillet, an angry young woman who had more sway over Caden and Tuck than either of the two toughs realized. Once, when they were in primary school, she’d shoved Jace down a flight of stairs.

“I was just leaving,” Jace said, moving to slip between Tuck and Jill. Unfortunately for him, Jill shoved him back into place.

“Don’t be rude,” said Tuck. “We just want to enjoy the view with you.”

“I need to get home,” said Jace. He moved to step around the trio entirely, but Tuck shot out a meaty arm and grabbed him by the shoulder.

“Let’s chat,” said Tuck. “The instructor thinks you’re a cheater, but you aren’t, are you?” Jace tried to shrug out of Tuck’s grip, but he didn’t dare lay a hand on the larger boy. “You’re worse than a cheater,” said Tuck. “You’re a freak.” The bones in Jace’s shoulder ground together under Tuck’s hand.

“A stuck-up, know-it-all freak.” Tuck continued to squeeze. Jace stared at the ground, unable to move any farther while he was held in place.

“Fine,” said Jace. “Whatever.”

“Say it,” said Tuck. He was grinning.

“I’m a freak,” whispered Jace after closing his eyes, before Tuck pulled him closer, jolting him into reopening his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t quite hear you. Caden, could you hear him?”

“Not a peep,” said Caden.

“I’m a freak,” said Jace, louder this time.

“See, boys?” said Jill. “I told you the freak knew he was a freak.”

“Well,” said Tuck, “what do we do with a freak?” Pulling back a fist, Tuck punched Jace in the stomach, hard. Jace sank to all fours…and peered inside the jagged, tangled corridors of Tuck’s mind.

“It must have been very frightening,” said Jace, speaking into the rusted plating.

“What did you say?” Tuck hauled Jace to his feet by the front of his clothes.

“I said that it must have been very frightening.”

Tuck stopped grinning. “What?”

“Waiting for him to come home,” said Jace.

“Who?” asked Jill.

“Knowing he was drunk,” said Jace. “Knowing he was going to hit you again.”

“Shut up,” snarled Tuck before grabbing Jace by the throat.

“You’d pretend to be asleep,” wheezed Jace. “You had your little knife, tucked into bed with you. And every time…”

“Shut up!” yelled Tuck. He squeezed.

“Every time…y-you told yourself…you were going to fight back.” Jace’s vision began to dim. Through Tuck’s eyes, he looked blurred.

“Tuck?” said Caden.

“But you never did,” whispered Jace.

Shut up! Tuck shoved Jace, sending him skidding across the slick, cold plating of the mage-ring’s roof—toward the edge. He scrabbled at the plating, trying to stop his momentum, but there was nothing to hang on to. Jace went over, caught one hand on the edge of the roof, and hung there. His feet dangled in empty air and his fingers went instantly numb.

 

Wind whistled.

Below him, the mana stream hummed. If he fell in, he didn’t know what would happen. The mana potential of hundreds of acres of territory, captured and channeled into a single beam…he’d probably be vaporized.

His fingers trembled. He managed to get his other hand up, but the ledge was an overhang. He had no leverage. He was going to need help, though he wasn't likely to get it, considering Tuck’s face loomed above him, a mask of rage and pain.

“Nobody knows about that,” he hissed. “Nobody. Not since the bastard died.”

“Tuck, he’s gonna fall,” said Caden.

Cramps shot up and down Jace’s arm, causing him to wince from the pain. His grip was giving out.

“You want him digging around in your head? Telling Jilly here the things you say about her when she’s not around?”

“Excuse me?” said Jill.

“Shut up, Tuck!” said Caden.

“Now you know how I feel.” Tuck looked down at Jace. His eyes were wild. “Never again, Beleren,” Tuck declared as he raised a boot, as Jace looked towards Caden.

Help me.

Jace’s perspective lurched. He was looking down at himself, down at Tuck, out of Caden’s eyes. Caden’s hand moved. Jace moved it. He didn’t know how or why or what Caden was seeing right now.

Considering what was happening, he didn’t really care.

With Caden under his control, Jace grabbed Tuck’s shoulder and yanked him back from the edge, then stiffly offered himself a hand.

How small he looked, hanging desperately above the crackling stream of mana. How vulnerable he looked. He hated it.

Back in his own head, Jace grabbed Caden’s hand and hauled himself up. He stood there, shaking, the plating solid under his feet. He only half-believed he was still alive. He looked to his three schoolmates. Caden swayed on his feet, his eyes crackling with blue energy. Tuck was red-faced, furious. Jill’s eyes were wide.

The glow in Caden’s eyes faded. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he hit the plating with a thud.

Jace ran past Jill and Tuck’s horrified faces, past the void of Caden’s mind, down the stairs, and away—anywhere, anywhere but here.

[spoiler=Before He Could Run]Jace had made up his mind.

All his belongings were packed into a small bag that sat beside him on the bed. There wasn’t much in it—a few changes of clothes, a journal, some dried meat. He planned on trying to find a place where would be no longer a danger to anyone else, though he wasn't sure if such a place even existed. Now all he was waiting for was nightfall to eventually find out.

There was a knock at the door of his room, prompting him to look up towards the door for a moment as he sat at the base of the bed, his arms around his knees. It had been a day and a half, and he’d ventured out only long enough to take care of necessities. His mother left food at his door occasionally, but so far she’d had the decency not to try to talk to him. His father had tried, at first, until Jace had worn him down.

“Go away,” said Jace. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

From in his room, he could almost forget about the rest of the world. He brushed the edges of other minds—his parents, neighbors, the occasional wind mage—but from this distance he could only feel impressions, not fully formed thoughts.

“Jace,” his mother said through the door. “I’m worried about you.”

His mother was close, close enough that he could read her if he wanted. He didn’t. He didn’t want to see inside anyone’s mind ever again. He didn’t want to unearth their darkest secrets, didn’t want to control them or manipulate them, and above all didn’t want to see himself through their eyes—small, awkward, vulnerable.

“Fine,” he said, before lowering his head back down, his forehead on his knees. “Come in.”

She opened the door a crack and smiled at him. Without hearing her thoughts, he couldn’t tell whether the smile was genuine or forced. He couldn’t tell much of anything. She sat down next to him on his bed, glancing at his packed bag but saying nothing. Ranna Beleren was a healer, on call for emergencies. She had the tender patience of one who had seen far worse, but understood that all pain is real.

“What did they tell you?” he asked.

“I’d rather hear it from you,” Ranna stated calmly, a sympathetic, motherly tone in her voice.

“Tuck tried to kill me,” said Jace with a hint of acid in his voice. “Did they mention that?”

She shook her head.

“They were beating me up again,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do so I…I don’t know. I just…figured out a secret of Tuck’s and started talking.”

“He says you read his mind.”

Jace hugged his knees tightly. “I don’t know how I do it,” he said, a slight shake entering his voice, a shiver of fear only of himself instead of others. “I…hear people thinking. Sometimes I don’t even know if it’s them or me thinking.”

“You’re a telepath?” said his mother. Jace could see the wheels turning. He wanted to know what she was thinking, but he held back. He could wait. “You’re a telepath.” This time it was a statement rather than a question. “My son the quick learner, the boy who always knew when his mother needed a hug, needed his love. My son the telepath.” Jace lifted his head in suprise, unsure if he was mishearing the tone of understanding and relief to know what exactly was happening with him.

He soon doubted that he misheard her, considering the fact that Ranna was smiling.

“You don’t think I’m a freak?” Jace blinked a few times when he asked, still having a hard time believing how the scene was playing out in front of him. He had feared that his parents would be afraid of him once they found out, not...this.

She shook her head. “I think you are perfect and I love you, no matter what.”

Jace knew that was true, though whether by his abilities or not, he couldn’t say.

Jace had looked down for a moment before looking back up as something came to mind. “How’s Caden?” asked Jace. “Have you heard?”

His mother’s lips pursed, shaking her head a little. “He’s still out,” she said sadly. “The healers aren’t quite sure what to do.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt him,” Jace said, lowering his head once more.

“I know."

Soon afterwards did Ranna give the boy a much needed hug before standing back up to leave the room, leaving Jace alone to reconsider his plans of leaving.

[spoiler=Meeting Alhammarret]Jace walked out into the common room, rubbing his eyes, before spotting his now-cold breakfast sat on the table.

After the conversation with his mother, he’d decided to stay a little while longer and see if matters improved. Occasionally he ventured out of his room, sharing tense, quiet mealtimes with his parents. But he and his father hardly spoke to each other, and he didn’t dare leave the apartment. It had been three days.

He wolfed down three greasy sausages and half a plate of cold eggs before he noticed that his parents were both standing in the common room waiting for him. His father radiated impatience, his mother concern. To this, Jace smoothed his hair self-consciously and turned. “What’s going on?”

Jace’s father opened his mouth, but his mother spoke first. “There’s someone here to see you,” she said. “Someone who can help.” When Jace looked around, Gav shook his head. “Out on the observation deck,” said his father. “He can’t fit in here.”

Jace resisted the urge to peek into his father’s mind, though he couldn't stop himself from raising an eyebrow, to learn what sort of helper they’d found who couldn’t fit inside their apartment. He still caught glimpses into his parents’ thoughts without meaning to, and the ghosts of impressions from passersby. But he hadn’t done anything on purpose since the accident, and he tried not to do anything at all.

“Who is he?”

“He’s an arbiter,” Jace’s father said. “His job is to negotiate an end to the war. But he’s also a…a mage, um, like you. He knows how to….”

“He knows how to help you control your abilities,” said Jace’s mother.

The other kids were in school, at least, so they weren’t there to stare at him as Jace and his parents made their way to the observation deck. But by now everyone in Silmot’s Crossing had probably heard about what happened. As they climbed, people stared at him, or hurried away, or whispered to each other behind their hands.

As though that would stop me.

They didn’t hate him. They were afraid of him. And they should be, shouldn’t they? He’d dug around in Tuck’s memories just to find a way to hurt him, and when Jace's life was on the line, he’d rammed his way into Caden’s head without hesitation.

He and his parents climbed the final set of steps to the observation deck, a section of ring with one open wall and a set of railings. Standing there, resting on its haunches, was a sphinx. He towered above Jace with a regal, bearded face, enormous paws, and an elaborate mantle of gold and mirrored silver, his feathered wings folded behind him.

 

“My name is Alhammarret. And you, Jace Beleren, are a mind mage of unusual talent.”

This thought, Jace knew with certainty, was not his own.

“How did you…?”

“Respond in kind, please, if you can,” said the booming voice in his head.

Jace narrowed his eyes slightly while keeping his gaze on the towering creature in front of him. “Like this?”

“Precisely,” the sphinx confirmed with a nod.

“A ‘mind mage?’” thought Jace. “But doesn’t a mage cast spells? I don’t know any spells.”

“What you do is spellcasting,” said Alhammarret. “You intuited the spells involved, rather than being taught.”

“So if I’m casting spells, then…you’re here to make me stop?”

Alhammarret smiled, thankfully keeping his lips closed as he did. “No. I want to train you, so you do not have to.”

“Train me where?” Jace glanced back at his parents. “Here?”

“No,” said Alhammarret, shaking his head. “The chance to train a promising mind mage is rare, but not so rare that I can abandon my other duties. You would come with me, as my apprentice.”

“For how long?”

“Years.”

The suspicious looks, the whispers, the fear. He could leave it all behind—along with his parents’ love and support. “Do they know what you’re proposing?” he asked.

“I’ve spoken with them about it, yes. They want what’s best for you. And in this case, what’s best is to get you out of this provincial backwater so you can grow to your true potential. Yours is a rare gift. Don’t squander it here.”

Jace looked back at his parents again. His mother nodded encouragement. His father at least must be relieved. Education is your ticket out of here, he recalled his father saying to him before.

“I’m ready,” he said, not even bothering to turn back towards Alhammarret.

After Jace had gathered his things and said his goodbyes, Alhammarret settled down and nodded for Jace to climb onto his back. Jace climbed up and braced his legs against the silver mantle, hoping that was what it was for. Jace looked down at his parents and the gathered crowd. Tuck and Jill were there, hard-eyed. Already, the people of Silmot’s Crossing looked small and distant.

“I’ll come back,” he said to his parents. “I promise.” He looked Tuck in the eyes. “And if you harm my family, I’ll take your mind apart, one squalid little memory at a time.”

Tuck visibly flinched as the words echoed in his head. Jace’s parents waved. Alhammarret stood, stretched, and launched himself from the observation deck.

The rush of flight almost took him by surprise. He’d taken a few tumbles in the clutches of a wind mage, but this was nothing like that. They soared above the landscape, heading away from the trail of mage-rings in a direction Jace had never bothered to think about. His home of thirteen years receded, became a speck, and vanished into the distance.

“That was unkind,” said Alhammarret, causing Jace to wince in response.

“You…?” He stopped. Alhammarret hadn’t given him leave to speak normally and, in any case, the wind made spoken conversation impossible. “You heard that?”

“Of course,” said Alhammarret. “This is something you must adjust to. Up to now, you have been, in effect, the only mind mage in existence. You’ve never had to consider the implications of dealing with another telepath.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” said Jace.

“I will train you to control your powers. I will help you hone them, to accomplish feats of telepathy you never dreamed possible, to glean deeply hidden information…and to do all this without hurting anyone. If you use these abilities to inflict intentional harm, that will be the end of your training…and possibly, depending on the severity of the harm, your life. Do you understand?”

“Fully,” said Jace. “I was just trying to scare him.”

“Tread that path carefully,” said the sphinx. “In time, you will become more terrifying than you can imagine. And fear, once inspired, can seldom be eased.”

They flew on in silence for a time. The landscape beneath them had shifted, high steppe giving way to rolling fields and broad, shallow marshes. Only the trails of mage-rings, dozens of miles apart, seemed familiar.

“This is Separatist territory, isn’t it?” asked Jace.

“These lands are claimed by the Trovians, yes. ‘Separatist’ is a politically charged term.”

“And you’re an arbiter?”

“I am,” said Alhammarret. “So why is the war still going?”

Jace's cheeks flushed red after he realized what just happened. That was going to be his next question, which meant Alhammarred had read his mind without his being aware of it!

“The war is a generation old,” said Alhammarret. “The arbiters negotiate a peace every few years, when both sides are exhausted enough to want it. Then one side breaks the truce, and the war continues. We don’t even bother with permanent peace anymore—it’s simpler, and fairer, if both sides know from the outset when hostilities will resume.”

“Why not let one side win?” asked Jace.

“The Ampryn and the Trovians fight for control of the Core,” the sphinx said. “But only one of them holds it at any given time, and that side reaps the benefits of the mage-ring network. So why are the mage-rings unharmed? Why, when the Ampryn hold the Core, do the Trovians not destroy the mage-rings to deny the Ampryn their power source?”

Jace had never thought about that. “Because…Because they think they can take the Core, and they want the mage-rings intact for their own use when they do.”

“Precisely,” said Alhammarret. “And as long as each side thinks it can win, that balance holds, and the mage-rings stand. Cities are abandoned intact rather than leveled. Roads and bridges are given up, to be recaptured later. If that ever changes—if either side finds itself in existential danger—then it will destroy everything as it retreats, to deny it to the other. Civilization on Vryn might take centuries to recover—if it ever did. That,” said Alhammarret as Jace felt a sudden rush of vertigo, “not mere loss of life, is what the arbiters seek to prevent. As usual, matters are not as simple as they seem.”

They stopped at night, and Alhammarret arranged lodgings in the effectively neutral confines of a mage-ring. It was different than Jace’s home ring—bigger, and recently repaired. Neither side wanted to harm the rings, but collateral damage was inevitable.

After a few days, they reached their destination, a wall of rock that rose above the rolling plain. Alhammarret flew higher, his powerful wings pumping. He alighted on a broad landing platform, shook his wings, and knelt so Jace could dismount.

“Welcome home, Jace Beleren.”

Home. Jace hoped this could be home.

[spoiler=The Original Ignition]Jace paused at the foot of the last flight of stairs. He’d spent two years as the sphinx’s apprentice, learning the full abilities—and limitations—of his own mind. At fifteen, he was taller, and smarter, and more powerful than he had been before. He could peel the military secrets from a sleeping guard’s mind without learning anything about the man’s family, could cloud thoughts and change minds without causing any damage at all. He hoped his parents would be proud. Although honing his telepathy had been the primary focus of his training, Alhammarret hadn’t neglected other disciplines of magic, and Jace had grown into a talented illusionist.

He’d expected, at first, that his training would consist mainly of going to negotiations and learning what he could from the ambassadors’ minds. And he did accompany Alhammarret to talks, and the sphinx did ask him, afterward, what he’d learned from the negotiators’ thoughts—which was never anything interesting. Jace asked early in his training why either side even consented to parley with a telepath.

“To keep each other honest,” the sphinx explained with a twinkle in his eye. “They learned long ago not to send anyone who knew anything they didn’t want spoken aloud.”

There were long hours studying magical theory in the sphinx’s library; mental sparring sessions out on the landing pad; and a constant battery of questions, challenges, quizzes, and tests. There were puzzle boxes and ciphers, visitors real and illusionary, even the occasional trap. And Jace could not read Alhammarret in the slightest. For the first time in his life, Jace was truly challenged by his studies. He’d even blacked out during illusion training at one point, his own illusions overwhelming his mind with their insistence of reality.

A few months ago, Alhammarret had started sending Jace out to gather information. Alhammarret called them “training missions,” but they were quite real. Under cover of darkness and cloaked by illusions, Jace would sneak into a camp of one of the opposing sides. There, whether through telepathy or mundane sleuthing, he would learn about the army’s battle plans, and return to report to Alhammarret.

He’d protested at first, but the information they learned from these missions helped Alhammarret keep the peace. Often, just mentioning battle plans at a joint meeting was enough to keep the front quiet for a month or two.

Finally, with Alhammarret’s guidance, Jace was using his abilities to help people. And his most recent mission had gone particularly well.

He climbed up the steps and entered Alhammarret’s study.

Alhammarret gazed out the great circular window. He didn’t turn when Jace entered. They seldom bothered with eye contact, and sometimes spoke to each other from different rooms, though Jace’s range was still much more limited than the sphinx’s.

“Welcome back,” said Alhammarret. “What have you learned?”

Jace could not read Alhammarret’s mind, and, out of courtesy, Alhammarret did not read his without invitation, except when they were practicing mental defenses. Jace was no longer helpless, but his mentor could still blast through his mental blocks without effort.

By way of answer, Jace opened up a particular set of memories to Alhammarret’s scrutiny. Jace had learned from a high-ranking Separatist officer of Trovian designs for a surprise springtime offensive. They planned to cross the Rime Marshes before the thaw and drive for the Ampryn Core. It would be a brutal campaign for both sides, bringing the fighting to previously untouched civilian territories and potentially breaking the Ampryn stranglehold on the Core States. And Jace had learned of it without letting the Trovians know who he was or what he had gleaned from them.

 

“Excellent work,” said Alhammarret. “I expect the look on the Trovian ambassador’s face when I mention this at the next negotiation will be…gratifying.” The sphinx turned and padded down the curved steps, past Jace. “Come,” he said. “I want to review the maps while your memory is fresh, and mark their exact routes.”

The room looked nothing like the paltry library in Silmot’s Crossing, with its collection of dog-eared mana dynamics manuals, outdated history books, and the occasional work of badly written fiction. There were no books here, but racks of crystalline spheres. Alhammarret’s great paws couldn’t turn pages, and his library contained more information than could be held in an entire mage-ring full of books.

Alhammarret worked several great pedals, like a pipe-organ’s, and aligned one of the data-spheres with the projector. A map of the Rime Marshes sprang into being in the center of the library. Jace painted illusions onto the map, showing the planned troop movements. As he did so, his mind wandered.

Unquestionably, he was growing more powerful. He’d had to fight his way out of the Trovian camp, but he’d cleaned up after himself. He’d gotten everything he went for, nobody who’d seen him was going to remember him, and he hadn’t done any permanent damage. Even a few months ago, that kind of operation would have been beyond him. Soon enough, he’d be a better mind mage than…

The sphinx was distracted, pulling up more maps and plotting Jace’s information on them, following the Trovian army’s path into the heartland.

At this point, Jace remembered that he had not tested Alhammarret’s defenses in a long time. He’d be caught, of course. Alhammarret always knew when Jace tried to read him. Jace could argue, reasonably, that it was part of his training—judging when a target’s defenses were down.

With that thought in mind, he tried to look inside Alhammarret’s mind.

The sphinx’s thoughts were immense and powerful, a buffeting cyclone of mental force. Jace’s brief explorations had always run up against it like a wall. This time, though, with effort, he was able to slip into the wind…

A flood of sensations, of memories, overtook him and Jace struggled to keep hold of himself within the storm that was the sphinx's mind.

He was looking down at himself, practicing illusions, concentrating hard to control a few wisps of light and sound. He looked so young. Something was wrong, though. Blue-white energy suddenly crackled in his past self's eyes. The illusions swirled around his double faster and faster.

 

And then

he began

to fade….

Within the swirling illusions, Jace vanished entirely.

Alhammarret reached out with a tendril of Æther, into the void between worlds (plural!), and pulled the boy back.

Planeswalker.

Jace stirred. He sat up. He asked what had happened.

And Alhammarret wiped the incident from the young man’s mind.

The library. His own eyes. The real Alhammarret regarded him, eyes shrewd as Jace came back to his own head, still reeling over all he saw just now.

“Jace?”

“There,” said Jace, illuminating a section of the map. “Sorry.”

“You’re exhausted,” said Alhammarret. “No more bravado. Rest.” Jace went to his room and shut the door with no intention of opening it. Alhammarret would know, if he didn’t already. How long until he wiped Jace’s memory again? Had this happened before? Was there any way to know?

Planeswalker

Whatever that was, Alhammarret seemed to think Jace was one. That there were worlds beyond Vryn. That Jace could travel to them. Closing his eyes, he tried to visualize leaving Vryn behind, trying to envision the world around him fading from his view as he allowed himself to fall elsewhere. Nothing happened and he almost let out a groan of aggravation before catching himself in time. He’d awakened as a planeswalker, drifted out into the Æther. But if he couldn’t remember it…how could he do it again?

Alhammarret had his best interests at heart. Someday the old sphinx surely planned to tell him, to apologize for the deception, to explain that Jace simply hadn’t been ready. Even purely out of self-interest, Alhammarret had to covet a planeswalker apprentice.

As long as this information was in Jace’s head, Alhammarret could read it. And if Alhammarret could read it, he would wipe Jace’s mind again, and Jace would lose his chance of ever learning the truth. He had to defend his mind. But any departure from his usual behavior would draw suspicion, and suspicion would draw scrutiny, and scrutiny would reveal his secret.

Unless, of course, he made it so that he had absolutely no reason to act any different.

He pulled a piece of paper out of his desk and began to write—in a small, cramped hand that the sphinx might not be able to read even if he found it—what he had seen, and how he had seen it. He included as many details as he could, and warned himself what would happen if Alhammarret found out. When he was done, he wrote the date on the top, folded the paper carefully, and hid it in his desk drawer.

Then, slowly and very, very carefully, Jace made himself forget what he had seen, forget writing it down, forget forgetting.

He had a headache.

He found the paper several times over the next few weeks. Each time, he was furious. Each time, he wondered what to do. And each time, to keep it from Alhammarret, he removed his memory of finding it.

[spoiler=Betrayal Works Both Ways]It was the Ampryn camp this time that Jace had been sent out to in order to collect information on. The soldiers stood on ceremony. Avoiding soldiers on drill was like sneaking past a statue. Peek in one mind, learn the patrol schedule, and you could walk right in.

There were more soldiers than he expected, however—too many for a lowly command post. Someone important was visiting. That meant more risk. He should return to Alhammarret at once, and try another time. But it also meant more information, didn’t it?

He peered into a few more soldiers’ minds until he found his new quarry. A general was visiting the front, a grizzled and decorated veteran of the war. The general had brought two squads of elite guards with him, and two of them guarded the door of the general’s tent at all times.

Under cover of darkness, while the lamps in the tent were still lit, Jace stepped over the sleeping forms of the two door guards.

There were three people in the tent. Jace sent two into the arms of sleep and turned to the general, who opened his mouth to yell for guards. No sound came out.

 

“Hello, General,” said Jace. “This will only take a moment.”

He dove in.

 

The general was a strong-willed man, resistant to Jace’s probing to some degree, but he was not a mind mage, nor any kind of magic-user. Jace broke through his natural defenses and saw…

The entire Trovian battle plan for the coming campaign hovered before him, an illusory map that matched the contours of the land to the smallest detail. Their plan was audacious…and without proper countermeasures, it was going to work.

“You’re sure this is genuine?” the general asked.

“Positive,” said the hooded figure. “Has our source ever misled you before?”

“No,” he said. “Nor the renegades, I’m sure.”

“Of course,” said the figure. “When your business is information, reputation is everything.”

“Of course,” he said.

The hooded man—boy, really, lanky and cocksure—knew much more than he was willing to tell…like the identity of this source. For the good of the Ampryn, he ought to seize the young man, torture the name of this source out of him, and….

“It wouldn’t do any good,” said the kid. “He doesn’t tell me much.” The boy’s eyes glinted beneath the hood.

“Fine,” he said. “Take your payment and go. And tell your source there’s more where that came from, any time he has intel.”

“I’ll tell him,” said the kid. He pocketed the money and turned, and the general caught a glimpse of his face…

Dimly, from the outside world, Jace heard yelling. He’d taken too long. He was trapped, trapped in a mind, trapped in a memory, frozen, staring at his own face behind that damned hood, in a conversation whose entire context was a mystery to him.

He pulled…

…and he was out.

The general slumped in front of him, eyes vacant. He had caused someone to lose who they were, a fate worse than death. His ears caught sound of running footsteps, running towards him. The tent flap opened before Jace turned, just in time to see three guards. He waved a hand, and illusions swarmed around them in his panic.

The general was breathing, but his mind was blank, just like Caden.

I’m sorry.

Jace dove out of the tent and ran into the night, and kept running until he could go no farther.

When Jace returned to Alhammarret’s lair much later, he went straight to his room and packed his things. He didn’t know where he was going. He didn’t care.  He just wanted to get away from here, away from Alhammarret before he could be used for anything else without his awareness or willingness. While he was packing, he found a note, in his own handwriting, warning him of Alhammarret’s duplicity, revealing his own nature.

One more outrage. One more lie.

Jace scribbled another few lines on the paper, crammed it in his pocket, and wiped his memory of it again. Maybe he’d get to keep that one. He kept his thoughts locked up as tightly as he could. If Alhammarret wanted to know what was on his mind, the sphinx would have to break it open.

He checked the library and the study. Empty. He could leave. He wanted no part of the sphinx’s games anymore. But he had to know, had to know what all the betrayer had kept hidden from him. He headed up to the landing pad. Alhammarret was there, sitting on his haunches, waiting for him.

“Welcome back,” said Alhammarret. “What have you learned?”

“You tell me,” said Jace. He spoke instead of thought, having no desire to give the sphinx the slightest opening. He raised every mental defense he knew of.

“Ah,” said Alhammarret before he turned fully around to face Jace before sitting down once more. “I take it you’ve learned something that displeased you.” The sphinx’s voice in his head was louder now, insistent.

“Not at all,” said Jace. “But it’s been a while since we practiced mental combat, hasn’t it?”

“It has. You are more powerful now. You could hurt yourself.”

Jace narrowed his eyes at this. “Hurt you, you mean?”

“Unlikely,” said the sphinx.

“And what if I fell into the hands of an enemy mind mage? We can’t be the only ones, can we?" With this, he entered a familiar pose, ready for battle. "Test me. Help me find my limits. Pry the information out of me.”

Alhammarret had taken the bait, stood up fully once more, and the full force of his mind hit Jace's like a storm front.

 

Jace had expected it to feel like an invasion, an alien force. But it was an overwhelming presence, a rush of thought and sensation enveloping his own. Alhammarret could rip Jace's mind apart. But to do that, he had to read it, and when he read it, Jace could do the same. Finally, he saw the true shape of the last two years, saw the perilous edge he’d been dangling from all this time.

Alhammarret had played him. He’d used Jace as a go-between, to gather information, deliver it, and learn more just in the delivery. And every time, he’d wiped Jace’s memory of it, taken the money for himself, and kept the war going. If your business was negotiating peace, where was the profit in actually achieving it?

Now Alhammarret knew everything, and settled into the recesses of Jace’s mind to wipe out the offending memories, to salvage this useful asset if he could. And destroy it if he couldn’t.

Jace struck first.

The sphinx was more powerful. But here, in Jace’s head, he was also vulnerable, provided Jace was willing to damage his own mind in the process. And Alhammarret was too arrogant and too cowardly to consider that possibility.

Jace felt himself falling backward, upward, outward. He could not remember his home, his mother’s face, or the sound of his own name. But the sphinx had it worse.

Alhammarret had forgotten how to breathe.

He slumped forward, gasping for breath, and the outline of his head was the last thing the planeswalker saw before he broke

into

pieces

and

walked…

[spoiler=My Name Is...]He hit the ground, hard, on his back. It was bright. And loud. And busy. And his head was pounding like...he didn't know. It just pounded from within massively, the headache only seeming to increase at first.

The shapes moving around him resolved themselves into people, and the sounds into voices, and the headache into thoughts that were not his own.

“Watch it,” said a voice, as its owner stepped around him. Ought to report you to the Boros for reckless teleportation.

Boros?

“Outta the way!” yelled another voice, and he looked up just in time to roll out of the path of a cart pulled by some kind of woolly, hooved beast with wide, sweeping horns. Came out of nowhere. Some poor Izzet experimental subject, probably.

He scrambled to his feet. People were staring at him. He looked as bad as he felt, sweaty and pale and filthy. He pulled his scarf up around his face and dashed to the side of the road.

I’m not an experimental subject. I’m…I’m… At this point, he didn't know what to make of what was going on. I’m in trouble, he realized. Fine. Table that.

He walked as fast as he could without seeming to hurry. He reached out, carefully, into the minds around him. It was a cacophony, a mad tangle of voices, and half of them weren’t even human.

Vagrant. Thief. Poor kid. Wretch.

His headache was getting worse and refused to give him any peace. Still, he was able to snatch scraps of meaning from the din. This was the garment district, and his clothes—ringer garb, some buried part of him said—looked like rags by comparison. Some holiday called Rauck-Chauv was coming up soon. A group known as “Orzhov” seemed to own this area, or politically control it, or somewhere in between. Hundreds of minds, and not one of them was thinking about anything outside the city. Was that strange? Maybe city folk were like that.

He spotted at least two distinct law enforcement agencies, and stayed out of their sight as much as possible. He needed to get somewhere where he’d draw less attention. He seized on the seediest, grimiest thoughts, the minds that wore the clothes that looked most like his, and followed them like a thread.

In ten minutes, he was somewhere else, a district where the alleys were narrower and the shadows darker, and everyone was focused on their own business. He walked on through, mindful of ambush, reaching out to the minds around him for any scrap of information that could help him.

At last, cradled like a treasure within the mind of a filthy, hungry girl, he found it:

Emmara Tandris.

She took in strays. But where?

Ovitzia.

Good enough.

The door swung open some time later during what he thought to him was the same day to reveal a statuesque woman with long, pointed ears, elegant garb, and milk-white eyes. Her thoughts were labyrinthine, hidden deep beneath the surface.

 

She’s beautiful.

“If you’ve come only to admire me,” she said, “I’m afraid I haven’t the time.”

“You’re a mind reader?” he said, jolting back a little. He immediately regretted it, even when the elf smiled at him.

“No. You’re a teenager.” Jace flushed, and just for a moment, he saw himself through her eyes: filthy, awkward, bleary-eyed, and readable as a book.

“I’m from…” out of town, he almost said, but he still had no idea what that meant here, “another district. I need a place to stay. I heard you take in people like me.”

“Sometimes," the elf nodded. "What’s your name?”

He flickered through the thoughts around him, digging for a local name that wouldn’t sound conspicuous. “Berrim,” he said, after just slightly too long, plucking the name from the mind of a passing servant. “My name is Berrim.”

It seemed a harmless lie, and far better than admitting the truth. For all he knew, it was true.

“Come in…Berrim,” said Emmara. “Let’s see about getting you some new clothes.”

After more time passed, he figured a couple of days overall, he was safe. He was clean. He was fed. He finally had some time to think. Could he remember anything at all?

He traced illusions in the air as he laid back in the bed he had been allowed to sleep in the past day or two, drawing random shapes to help him think. Blobs, and lines, and rings.

Silmot’s Crossing.

The thought bubbled up from nowhere, accompanied by the image of a towering, ring-shaped construction. The only way he was sure it was his own was that there wasn’t anybody else around to have it.

A shape coalesced in front of him—an elongated ring, open at the bottom, with a circle floating in the middle. He had no idea what it meant, if it meant anything at all.

Jace.

My name is Jace Beleren.

So there was something in there, waiting for him to dig it out.

And who is Jace Beleren? Is he a good man? Is he kind?

He willed away the shape and sat up before looking down towards his feet as he pulled around him the weighted blue cloak that he would soon always be remembered with around himself, alone, farther from home than he’d even known was possible.

He’d have to wait and see. It is unfortunate that he never did get more than that from his own mind.

 

 

 

~Counter Corps - Path of Remembrance - Jace's POV~

 

He had no idea how long he endured the torrent of memories. All he knew was that someone was trying to press against his chest, pumping against his chest as he laid there unbreathing. He strangely felt cold directly against his arms and back as he shook from far more than that, he was no longer sure why.

 

In fact, he couldn't remember immediately where he was.

 

"No one would remember jack after that kind of shock," he heard muttered nearby...was someone nearby? "Don't you dare die on me, not yet at least."

 

If someone was, they knew that fact about him, which was scary in its own way. Not that he could see clearly, even as he finally coughed out the lungs from his throat  Everything appeared a blur to his eyes as he spotted a large amount of purple to one side and yellow to the other. "Rapidash, you may have to actually go slow for once, if I can't get Chandra." A sad cawing sound ended up escaping from the direction of the yellow in response to the voice that he could not link a name to.

 

Did he know this person?

 

"Yeah, you definitely suffered one of the biggest mindscrews of your life in that dunk."

 

A headache began to brew almost immediately, causing Jace to close his eyes before passing out.

 

~??? - Path of Remembrance - Gemini's POV~

 

Oh, holy Arceus, this was cold, Gemini thought to himself as he peeled himself out of the snow, managing to lift his head in time to see Jace crash through the surface of the nearby lake.

 

And Gemini paled when he remembered the effects of the lake. "Aw, f*ck. Now, I have to play hero to get what I want." Immediately getting to his feet, Gemini made a dash towards the water, blasting a stream of cold all the way across the surface before shifting into a different form and taking a dive into it.

 

 

He fought off the effects of the water trying to at him, and his defenses almost shattered upon hearing the sonic screech that was Jace's mental cry as well as his muted verbal one underwater, to which he witnessed the illusion around him breaking, revealing the would-be revealing outfit underneath if it wasn't for the cloak. Wrapping his new limbs around the struggling psychic as Jace muttered various things that he dared not to make heads or tails of, Gemini, while borrowing the form of a Malamar, swam as quickly to the surface.

 

The only reason he wasn't suffering immediately the flashbacks he had braced for was because of the fact that he knew his puppeteer didn't want to make this even longer than it already way. No, he suspected he would get cheap-shotted by them once alone.

 

He could deal with that.

 

Once out of the water, Gemini made fast work, removing Jace's cloak and catching sight again of all the scars this one man carried on him. Once all that was done, Gemini's hand began to radiate heat as he pumped his hands against Jace's chest, doing his best to perform CPR on the nearly-drowned man. At one point, he heard the faint wondering of where someone was, realizing that Jace was trying to come back into full consciousness. "No one would remember jack after that kind of shock," Gemini muttered more to himself before narrowing his eyes slightly as he continued. "Don't you dare die on me, not yet at least."

 

Not breaking up his pace until Jace managed to at least cough enough water to breath normally, Gemini focused on the pyromancer that was elsewhere. "Ms. Nalaar, get over here! Jace fell into the water and I need help warming him back up!"

 

Realizing that there was the chance that she would not come, Gemini looked up towards the yellow Chocobo in black barding on the other side of the mindmage. "Rapidash, you may have to actually go slow for once, if I can't get Chandra." A sad cawing sound ended up escaping from the direction of the yellow in response to the voice that he could not link a name to. Another sudden thought echoed from nearby, one of wondering if someone knew whom he was.

 

Gemini managed not to plant a hand over his face and instead kept it over his chest to keep the man that was once in blue at least somewhat warm.

 

"Yeah, you definitely suffered one of the biggest mindscrews of your life in that dunk."

 

Chandra, get your @ss over here, he thought more to himself than anyone else...

 

Ending Point: B12

[Reinforce]

Chandra

Pathway of Remembrance: E10

 

"Ms. Nalaar, get over here! Jace fell into the water and I need help warming him back up!"

 

"How the fuck am I supposed to help you warm him up if I have no idea where you are."

 

Not waiting for an answer that probably wasn't coming, she urged her Phoenix onwards, riding it across the lake and towards the other side. On her way across to the other side of the lake, she could start to spot two familiar figures in the distance, one crouched over the other. Coming in fast now that she'd found them, the phoenix gave a screech as it vanished, leaving Chandra to fall the last couple of metres and land nearby. As she ran across, she could see Gemini trying to do CPR on Jace, and not knowing how to do such herself, she simply came to kneel down next to him as the temperature around them rose further. 

 

"Sheesh, I leave him alone for a few minutes, and he manages to find you and get himself in trouble again. It's almost like he's a magnet for trouble or something."

 

Turning to glare at the changeling, she added on, "Also, don't think I didn't notice that you're telepathic as well. Even if you're helping us right now, I'm still very tempted to punch you because of that."

 

Ending Location: B12

[Phantom Roxas]

~The Pathway to Death - Hallway C~

[Death C9] - MirageGaogamon vs Apocrypha

Light and Chaos clashed against each other as Apocrypha fought to delete MirageGaogamon. ”Stop wasting your time! Sooner or later, you will fail.”

”I refuse,” MirageGaogamon said. ”Not when there is still a greater battle waiting ahead!”

Apocrypha swept its claws at MirageGaogamon, but they were blocked by crescent waves fired from MirageGaogamon’s flail. ”Defeat me, and you may just see it. If you so desire, then consider me a warm up.”

MirageGaogamon narrowed his eyes. ”No. I agree that I should stop wasting my time, but I suspect there is a reason you’re here.”

”Do you mean something beyond acting as a harbinger of your demise should you prove yourself too weak?”

”Yes. Although, if this is some sort of test, then I’m rather disappointed to see you.”

Apocrypha laughed, and MirageGaogamon countered another shot of Chaos. ”What else would you expect? I represent all of the Demon Lords.” Apocrypha bared his claws, as spheres of Chaos gathered at the tip of each. They all launched, but MirageGaogamon was ready. He fired crescents, swung with the spiked ball, cut with the sickle, allowed small bursts of energy to fire from his chest, anything to destroy the Chaos. However, MirageGaogamon felt a sharp pain in his back, as a piece of Chaos managed to strike him. ”I am a package deal. Allow me to count up all your sins.” A crest appeared on MirageGaogamon’s back in place where the Chaos struck him. ”The first sin, Lust. In the battle with LERNA’s Troys, and the dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, you saw Dianamon. Perhaps she could have appeared before you again on this Pathway. Are enamored by her?”

”That's none of your business!” MirageGaogamon fired a Full Moon Blaster, but Apocrypha dodged. The crest shimmered, and MirageGaogamon doubled back in pain.

”Perhaps," Apocrypha said. ”But rest assured that you will have to provide an answer eventually on these Pathways."

”Don't expect me to pour my heart out here. I’d rather talk about this with my friends than some ghost of the last remnants of the Demon Lords.”

”You should choose your words more carefully, because now I am expecting your heart to pour!” Apocrypha dashed behind MirageGaogamon, who swung his flail, but Apocrypha ducked beneath, pressing his palms against MirageGaogamon's knees. MirageGaogamon stumbled, as two more seals appeared. ”Your second sin, Sloth. You would do well to remember how the Demon Lords were vanquished in the first place. The Royal Knights and Olympus Twelve enlisted several heroes to fight the Demon Lords. So of course, a few of them forfeited the fight, and you allowed Ytidens to get the better of you! He betrayed you all. As with Dianamon, he is another who the Pathways could have brought before you. But now, even after the fight is over, Arthur still stays with you. You are nothing more than his shelter. You and Eria are both anchors. Isn't that what the Pathways showed him? Isamy, his first big mistake in this war, telling him to finish this on his own? But he cannot. So long as he must rely on you and his hormones for Eria, he cannot grow. You are guilty of his own sins just as you are of your own."

The flail dropped from MirageGaogamon's hands. Apocrypha picked it up, and squeezed his hands, until the flail exploded, pieces of data crumbling as the Chaos particle bled between Apocrypha's claws. MirageGaogamon sat up, but his knees were still on the ground. ”You think leading him to the Counter Corps stopped him from growing? He wanted to kill his world's gods with the Door's power! He was angry. I know it was justified, but I didn't want him to lose himself to that hatred. I'm glad we've joined the Counter Corps. It's not hormones that brought him to Eria…"

"She's nothing more than a distraction! Your third sin, Pride. You know what I am. The will of the Demon Lords, and an Agent of Chaos that would have deleted you and Arthur. Yet you still endured. You escaped the Shadow Realm, fled the Divine, outlasted that demon at the Desert Seth, survived LERNA, and conquered the Madara. You have, time and again, made it through by the barest modicum of success. In the end, you needed Arthur's help to defeat me! You both needed that stupid water dancer's help to defeat the Madara, who I might reiterate stopped you with Dianamon! You think you can stop Protheus? You think you'll make it to the Door of Origin, restore the worlds, give Arthur a chance at happiness, free from hate, and you can go home, where Dianamon will throw itself at you, seduced by your heroism? The heroism you needed to make amends for having failed to protect your world?"

MirageGaogamon threw a punch fight at Apocrypha's face, but Apocrypha deflected the blow. ”Gale Claw!" Using his free hand, MirageGaogamon threw another punch, but Apocrypha blocked it the same way. Pulling both of his hands back in front, MirageGaogamon punched with his right hand agin, then his left, but Apocrypha held his claws up to block. ”What's so wrong with wanting to make amends? It never should have been that Ogudomon would attack the Digital World. We never should have joined the Divine. This war never even should have happened! But I'll keep on fighting to set things right! That isn't pride, that's hope! When Lydia defeated LERNA, everyone should have seen that the despair would never win. Not even for a little while." Apocrypha started to back up, while MirageGaogamon's fists sped up their punches. ”Arthur is my brother! I won't be his anchor. I'll always be there to protect him, but if a future can wait for him his world - his real world - then I want him to take it! But if… when the time comes that we have to say goodbye, when I have to make a life for myself without having to wait for him, I'm going to make my own life. Whatever Envy I have, for Arthur and Eria for being happy, I wouldn't wish any of them ill will. I have no Greed or Gluttony, but if you try to say that wanting to be happy is selfish, then you're already a lost cause. But if you wish to know my Wrath, I only save it for holier than thou beasts like you." His series of punches forced Apocrypha to break his guard, and the Demon Lord remnant took another step back. MirageGaogamon simply began to utter, ”Final…"

"You've learned nothing! Do you think just chasing happiness will end with you getting it? You have to fight! Don't expect your friends to back you up. If you think you're just part of a group effort to stop Protheus, then pull your own weight!"

MirageGaogamon's right hand began to glow, as waves of golden energy began to surround his fist. ”Mirage…"

Chaos gathered around Apocrypha, who prepared to charge back, claws opened to strike. "Prove your worth to Origin!"

”BURST!" MirageGaogamon and Apocrypha's fists collided as the Chaos rained down on both of them. MirageGaogamon pushed further, as four more seals began to materialize on his body, but they faded away as soon as they appeared, while the first three seals seemed to break apart. Drips of Chaos splashed MirageGaogamon's face, but he still kept moving forward. Apocrypha reached out with his other claw, but the moment he moved his body forward, MirageGaogamon's fist pierced through the stalemates with Apocrypha's, and smashed against his head. The Chaos finished plummeting to the ground, dissolving the floor and melting away itself, as the rest of Apocrypha's body turn began to shake, the air around him vibrating, until finally it broke down, all its data blowing away in the wind.

MirageGaogamon took a step forward, strands of hair falling from his white mane, and the energy wings on his back shutting down. ”Arthur… please hold on." His body changed completely, shifting back to MachGaogamon in an instant. He stood still, his body unmoving, not even to breathe, before finally he drop down on his chest. All he could feel was the final trail of Chaos as it bled from his mouth.

[Tesability Black]

~??? - Path of Remembrance - Gemini's POV~

 

"Also, don't think I didn't notice that you're telepathic as well. Even if you're helping us right now, I'm still very tempted to punch you because of that."

 

Gemini gave a grin at this statement, though none of the fangs showed though. "Considering how long it's been since I've actually had a decent fight, I wouldn't mind obliging with such a challenge after getting him off the path. Also..." At this point, the grin fell off his face and Gemini actually maintained a serious look. "It would not seem to matter where he is. Jace either winds up getting himself into trouble...or trouble comes to him after others find out about his telepathic ability or know of the Guildpact enchantment within him on Ravnica." At this point, he looked down towards Jace, who was thankfully breathing normally, with his hands twitching and muttering things that even Gemini couldn't catch due to the low volume of the words.

 

"Even before his first successful planeswalk, he was being manipulated, and by another telepath that had managed to pull him back upon his Spark's original ignition, no less. While a rare talent even there, Vryn does hold its fair share of native-born mindmages...though I would have loved to know how that sphinx knew of Planeswalkers." And then Gemini shrugged before looking back up towards Chandra. "Too bad Jace wound up making the ass forget how to breathe just before finally leaving for Ravnica. Admittedly impressive stunt at almost 16. And before you start," Gemini raised a finger for a second. "I don't need to be in his head to see the past play out in front of my eyes, especially here, where all multiverses join at one point. I can see for myself, though while not in your head right now, the moment your own Spark properly ignited, and I do dare say that was a glorious blaze and exit."

[The Warden]

[[What Time, What Place: Koishi's Prologuous]]

 

"Stupid girl," the Avatar spat as he shook his head, "don't you realize you are nearing the end game?"

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Reimu's Prologuous]]

 

The Avatar was silent for a moment, its head tilted in thought. "Very well" he declared, drawing his scythe. "Try to survive long enough to win!" he declared gliding through the air with his scythe ready to reap.

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Kazuya's Prologuous]]

 

"Prove your conviction and will. Prove you can take Origin from me. It's as simple as that" the Avatar answered.

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Yukari's Prologuous]]

 

"Very well" the Avatar sighed, and his form flickered.

 

Appearing a short distance away, he raised his scythe high. Black energy formed along the blade, tripling it in size. Then quadruple, quintuple, sextuple. The blade kept growing in size, until it was easily twenty feet long. "DODGE THIS!" the Avatar cried as he swung the blade at Yukari.

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Butler's Prologuous]]

 

"You think we're done?"

 

The reason Butler wasn't supposedly "freed" from this Prologuous was because the Avatar wasn't dead yet. Staggering forwards, the smokey form of the Avatar had given way to a more skeletal appearance. Black bones shambled towards the butler, rags of its former attire still hanging from its body. Red pupils lit its vacant eye sockets up. "Because if you are, then you would be very wrong. A cheap shot like that isn't even NEARLY enough to kill me!"

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Dorian's Prologuous]]

 

The flames seared away the Avatar's presence away, leaving behind a vaguely humanoid form, composed of shadows. It slowly turned its head to Dorian, and with a wave of its hand it dissipated the remaining fireballs. ​"Are you quite finished?"

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Ragnarok's Prologuous]]

 

The Avatar grunted as all of those tendrils impaled him, his own black blood oozing down from every single one of those wounds. The Avatar slowly turned its head towards the vile weapon, and it grinned. "Desperate Space."

 

Minute portals formed within each of those tendrils, and they swiftly began draining every last inch of Black Blood they could find. In short order they all inverted on each other, the blood drained in. And from there, they continue sucking, aiming to draw in the rest of Ragnarok.

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Rhadamanthys' Prologuous]]

 

"SHUT UP!" the Avatar snapped irritably. "What do YOU even know about what is happening? Do you not understand the gravity of this? The Pathways just trembled, because something beyond Prologuous is attempting to DESTROY THEM! It is trying to collapse the three, and then possibly Prologuous as well. It is trying to destroy everything up until the Door you colossal idiot!"

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Nero's Prologuous]]

 

"No, I don't think we will."

 

Blindingly fast, the Avatar dashed forward across the short distance, black energy coating its arm. With a swift strike, it impaled Nero in his stomach as he ever so foolishly shook his head. Taking a step back, the Avatar admired his handiwork. "After this, we won't be seeing each other again" he explained grimly as he shook Nero's blood from his hand.

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Darcy's Prologuous]]

 

The Avatar grunted loudly from the assault, his shadowy form falling to shreds, revealing something vaguely humanoid beneath the pallor. "ENOUGH!"

 

With a furious cry a shockwave issued out of his body, knocking back all of Darcy's remaining projectiles, as well as the Trix herself. The torn remains of the Avatar's body hung in the air, his breathing shallow and raspy as he glared at her with glowing red eyes. "I will make you pay for that!"

 

 

[[What Time, What Place: Ayame's Prologuous]]

 

After the events with the clock, the Avatar turned back to Ayame, only to find her sword raised. With a fierce swing he was split in two, the lower half of his body extinguished into shadows, leaving the torn upper torso and left arm still in tact. Staring at her bluntly, the Avatar didn't even seem angry as a black spinal column unfurled from his torso, giving him a hideous, wrath-like appearance. "You had one shot, and you didn't even completely even the scales" the Avatar said, shaking his head as more bone-like structures jutted from his torso.

 

"Pity..." was all he said as the bones stabbed into the ground, with larger versions of them resurfacing, attempting to pierce Ayame.

 

 

[[Another Time, Another Place: The Avatar's Prologuous]]

 

The Avatar hovered over the great tree, the symbol of Möbius hanging in front of him. With a pained groan something burst, and a jet of black blood squirted out of its hollow chest. "URGH!"

 

With another grunt, more jets of black blood sprayed out of him, the ichor dribbling down his body and onto the tree branches, where they evaporated into shadow. The strain of simultaneously fighting in all of those Prologuous, while trying to also maintain the Exclusion and deal with the Anomaly was proving too intense. With a feeble groan, four of the Avatar's wings broke away, leaving him with 6 remaining. But he had to hold on, even those the spell was starting to fracture. He had to keep stalling for as long as he could....

 

[spoiler=AC]

 

HP: 6/10

SP: ∞/∞

Attack: 1000

Defence: 2000

Speed: 5000