Crossover Fan Fiction ❯ NSX ❯ The Troyjan Horse ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"The situation at the oilsands has stabilized. The Koopa Troop again sends its thanks to Troy and his allies, and gives word that any decision of Troy's to rejoin the Troop will be gladly welcom-"

The mushroom retainer jumped back as Troy slowly pivoted his head in his direction, shooting him an annoyed glare. "They just don't give up, do they." Troy sighed to himself, letting his chin slump down on the guardrail of one of the castle's balconies. "Even through all this crap that's been going on, Bowser still can't understand what's going on here..."

"U-understood, is there anything you'd lik-"

"Yeesh." Troy grumbled, causing the royal servant to jump back again. "Before I came to the Mushroom Kingdom I'd be the one stammering and stuttering while carrying out orders... I'm fine, but if you're coming here to say something to me, just blurt it out." Troy pressed himself off the rail, spinning around in place. He now stood toe-to-toe with his visitor - a young mushroom girl, staring at him timidly and trying her hardest to hide her eyes under her yellow-dotted cap. "...eh, you're new here, huh."

"Well... y-yes... but I heard that you were that... key..."

"Mmmmmhm, what about it..." Troy's face twitched.

"Well..."

"Well."

"...a l-lot of people are thankful that you helped save this town..."

Troy blinked, relaxing again. "...well... it's good to know that this place has calmed down again, that's enough thanks for me."

"And a lot of people LIKE you!" She suddenly pressed her hands into her face, turning beet red.

Troy went deadpan, turning and slumping back against the rail. "I'm a flavor of the week." He glanced over as a large book was slapped down next to him. He stood again, staring into Selphie's face.

"We've got a new lead!" she blurted out, already flipping through the tome in her hands. "Peach told me to tell you to get your butt down to the royal chamber when you can!"


********


"Major outbreaks of Vast have stopped for now," Sirius mumbled, drawing his jagged finger along a tattered old map. His path crossed from the Mushroom Kingdom to the recently added Dark Land, and let it droop down to a point halfway between, in the south - where another smaller continent stood. "The Koopa Troop has so far been cooperative in establishing militia groups to report and squander appearances of the Vast, moreso than your knight chapters, actually."

"They'd obviously seen the worse side of it compared to us... with how Bowser turned out." Peach was leant against the wall.

"Anyways..." Sirius beckoned to those around him. "It's important that we expand our borders of security. Now it's come to my understanding that the Mushroom Kingdom has other trade partners that I hadn't known of earlier..."

"We haven't had a meaningful conversation with Sarasaland for years..." the king tugged at the collar of his robe. "...but we do trade food for beautiful exotic art now and then."

Luigi stared at a white canvas on the wall, with a giant splotch of red paint in the middle. "...I.. see."

"And were they informed of the Vast invasion?"

Peach glanced around. "...well, no, we figured that this invasion has so far been an isolated occ-"

"ISOLATED?" Sirius suddenly threw his hands down against the table. "If you were so not aware, the Vast fell from the sky to wreak havoc! It will not care if you are standing on a mountain or in its core, it has the experience and physical properties necessary to hunt you down wherever you decide to hide!"

"What'd I miss..." Troy strolled through the open door of the command room, rubbing his eyes.

"More incredible adventures of homeland security." Mario sat at the table, his hand lying on it less than an inch from where Sirius' claw fell.

"Are you freaking out again..." Troy slowly walked to the other end of the table, plopping himself down in a worn mahogany chair. "Take a pill Sirius, we know what's going on here, the Kingdom's been busy supplying its own soldiers. We'll see what the Vast has in store in due time. What crazy demands do you have now..."

Sirius glared daggers at Troy, but Peach quickly stepped inbetween them. "We need people to act as ambassadors to the kingdom of Sarasaland. We don't have the resources to supplement them right now, but we can at least let them know exactly what is going on with our increased military spending."

"You need to reassure them on that?" Troy sighed. "I thought you were allies."

"Allies in trade." Toadsworth slurred. "...we don't... exactly do much beyond that. Still, we need to confirm that nothing's been going wrong there, otherwise it might come back to haunt us..."

"Well, I'll go," Troy stood back up. "It's about time someone let me out of this palace, I'm getting claustrophic. And if the Vast is potentially there like Debbie Downer over here insists, then I'm your man for fighting it."

"Luigi will remain here." Sirius barked. Luigi flinched, standing more rigid. "It is important that we have a Keyper able to deal with a security situation here should one arise."

"Well let's go give them a message they aren't going to forget!" Troy was quick to turn and march straight out.

"What do you mean we?" Sirius shot back.

Troy ground to a halt. "...whoa whoa whoa, you don't mean-"

"Yes. Yes, I do mean."



********

NSX: Chapter 5

The Troyjan Horse

********




And so Troy would find himself trudging across a barren wasteland, out in the nether reaches of the world. He shielded his eyes as he tilted his head back. The sun glowed in acknowledgment. Wiping his brow again, Troy pushed forward. By now he was no stranger to epic crusades on foot. The good news was that, unlike that cursed day, it wasn't wet enough that he had to slog through ankle-deep water, wet dirt, mud, or any sadistic combination of the three. For once in the tortoise's life, he was actually growing sick of the concept of water.

The bad news was, he would regret that notion as he was being commanded to walk straight across a desert.

"Why can't they put a port next to their city, I say," Troy snarled. He plopped down on his behind with a dull thud, braced by the loosely-packed sand beneath him. He pried off one of his boots, giving the clawed toes within a badly-needed breath of fresh air. He fitted the heavy shoes back on, but not before dumping a handful of sand out of it. "But Troy, they are retarded and vehemently demand isolation from the barbarians, like yourself."

The Chronicle had been keeping him moving. Firmly keeping it in his grasp gave him a vivid image of water of some kind, and the hollow taste it had... exactly how, he had no clue. But it was enough to keep him infuriated and willing to march on towards the kingdom of Birabuto, the primary kingdom of Sarasaland.

Troy cupped his hands to his mouth, yelling forward as he walked. "WHATEVER BRAIN-DEAD REGIME CONTROLS THIS DIRTHEAP, I'M COMING FOR Y-" his announcement rang short as he plowed straight into a sandstone wall. Stumbling back he rubbed his nose, staring upwards again into the sky. What was in front of him had literally come out of nowhere.

"So I was having a mirage of... nothing." Troy looked around the walls, trying to find a way through. "Of course I know that I have a reason to complain that'll get nullified when I actually find out what these people are like." Troy pressed his hand onto a more beige-toned brick, jumping back as it sank into the wall. A nearby cluster of bricks depressed into the wall accordingly, sliding to the side to reveal a short corridor that lead beyond the wall. Troy was immediately flanked by two enormous tan-skinned men, covered with little more than leather harnesses and strange cloth caps that draped around the sides of their heads.

"State your business in the lands of Birabuto!" One barked, stabbing down with the bottom end of a spear in his hands.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold it... I'm an emissary from the Mushroom Kingdom. I'm here to speak with the... leader of this... place, concerning recent security issues within the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Nonsense! We've heard nothing of those fools for years. Begone!"

Troy heaved a sigh, slowly turning around. "Maaaan, what's Peach gonna say about this..." he stood still for a moment, staring off sideways into the dunes. Slowly he looked over his shoulder, realizing that both guards had turned a ghostly shade of white. "...uh.. what?"

"Has Peach come to deliver her wrath over our fair kingdom?! Surely this will be an epic conflict! We must warn Daisy at once!"

"That's correct!" the other man nodded fervently. "Daisy would want nothing more than to settle this score personally!"

"Wh-what? The Mushroom Kingdom isn't invading Sarasaland... we just want to talk, sheesh." Troy sulked, staring behind him again. He hoped no one had actually come with him to retell the conversation.

"The Mushroom Kingdom is of no concern! They are our allies! But-but... Peach is not to be trifled with!"

"That is correct!" The second guard twitched. "Peach and Daisy's last epic conflict destroyed half the city!"

"Dare I ask what this 'epic conflict' was about?" Troy scratched the back of his head.

"Daisy had wanted to wear a yellow dress!"

"But that did not sit well with Princess Peach! She had recommended a white dress!"

"The resulting battle was cataclysmic!"

"Indeed!"

"It was catastrophic to our economy!"

"Even moreso to our clothing market!"

"Many people lost their lives!"

"Horrific!"

"OKAY! OKAY!" Troy flailed his arms. "Just lemme through! I have important information that this Daisy psychopath needs to know, stuff that compromises your national security!"

"Moreso than Peach?"

"YES, MORESO THAN PE..." Troy slapped his forehead. "OKAY, no more of this, go, go, take me."


********


Troy and his escorts slowly tread through a courtyard in the center of the ancient-looking city. It was a bit drab compared to everything that was immediately around it, which led Troy to thinking he was being lead to the lockup rather than the 'palace' that the guards spoke of. A wide variety of cactuses grew around the walkway he was on, and over the stubby stone walls that encircled the open yard ragged-dressed people could be seen running this way and that, browsing through the endless bazaars that lined the old stone buildings nearby. Troy's looksee was cut short as he slipped inbetween the two pillars that held up the front roof of the pantheon. Entering the hall ahead of him he found himself mystified again - the supports were made some gleaming white metallic compound, and the floors were made of expensive marble. Various pieces of art draped the walls, and a fountain against the left wall shot a spray of water into the air that was absent anywhere else in the town. Troy slowly started to unconsciously drift towards it until the two guards pulled him back into place.

"We're not there are we?" Troy stared down at both guards, quickly realizing they were kneeling. Troy followed suit, but not before hearing a dull sigh.

Standing in front of the three was a woman not much taller than Peach, but more regally dressed for all intents and purposes - she wore a small-fitting, yellow-orange dress laced with white satin, that flared out from her waist down. She was far more tanned than Peach, or even most of the people he saw in the city for that matter, although her chestnut hair was of similar length.

"P-Princess Daisy," one of the guards stammered. "We found this intruder seeking to gain access to Birabuto, what shall we do with him?"

"Intruder?!" Troy screeched. "Argh, I should've known better than to have you tards 'escort' me... listen, I'm sorry for the informality here, but... my name is Troy Kiemen, I'm a member of the recently established Koopa Troop here on behalf of the Mushroom Kingdom to present you a message." Troy stuck a hand down the neck hole of his shell, digging around for a moment before tearing out a dust-crusted envelope. Daisy stared at Troy clearly unimpressed.

"Open the envelope." she ordered.

"Oh puhlease... why does no one here trust me? Look, it's got the freaking Mushroom Kingdom emblem on it, we don't have time to play who's-the-bigger-xenophobe here."

"People have been known to emulate the ancient Mushroom seal before. Now do as I command or you will be tried for attempted assassination."

"Ugh... okay, whatever..." Troy grabbed under the lip of the envelope, tearing the top half off. He dumped its contents into Daisy's hands - one large paper, one small paper. "Okay! Do you believe me now?!"

"That would depend on this." Daisy held up the smaller paper. "Only Peach would know what to send with a royal message that would actually get my attention. Now, I'll need a moment to decide your fate." she reached up with her other hand, scratching away a layer of graphite from the top of the slip.

Troy gulped, glancing at the musclebound guards now holding him back.

Peach's face twisted, then returned to its normal frown. Slowly she started to grin - and then laughed. Troy looked back up, expecting to see his death. Instead... he saw a smile. The stupid, blissful, goofy smile that he'd only seen on Peach prior.

"Oh Peach, you still know what makes me tick..." she waved the paper in front of her for all to see. "A 200-coin gift certificate for Bed, Bath and Beyond... I was gonna head down to the salon again one of these days. Okay, now what was the info that Peach wanted to hand over to me? You can tell me."

"What the hell? You threatened me with death because you didn't know if you were getting a gift from Peach?"

Daisy giggled. "I'm a busy girl! I have to get people to let me have my me-time somehow!"

"Okay, you got what you wanted." Troy wrested himself out of the sentries' grasp. "Now, just read the other message. We have to talk... it's important."


********

A few minutes had passed. Troy was seated in an luxurious couch in an antechamber of the palace. He wrapped his hands around the back of it, drumming his fingers as he watched Daisy pace back and forth on the other side of the room. She still gripped the royal paper in both hands. Troy's keyblade lied dormant on a table between the two.

"So that's why she missed me on MSN this week." Peach murmured. "I didn't think things were going this dreadfully in the Mushroom Kingdom... she'd spoken to me earlier about an alliance she made with this Koopa Kingdom, but I didn't hear anything about them attacking. And now that black substance that's all over the Kingdoms... what's it doing there?"

"We have no idea." Troy let his head droop. "I was originally with the Koopa Troop before it got infected by the Vast. That celestial being that Peach mentions picked me up first, and we both split to the Mushroom Kingdom to try to contain the Vast in the Troop before they went COMPLETELY nuts and destroyed Toad Town. Before we got there, Sirius took me to some underground cavern where we found the keyblade." Troy nudged himself in the direction of the Chronicle. "Apparently the keyblades are the only thing that can permanently banish the Vast. We've got reason to believe that there's more keyblades scattered across the world. Peach discovered one in the basement of her palace and it was later attuned to someone else, but I've personally seen two others being wielded. One nearly took off my head."

"This keyblade is yours then?"

Troy nodded.

Daisy ran her hands along the wall, staring into another painting. "Can these keyblades do other things beside act as weapons?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I should be telling you this personally, but... for some reason, ever since I got the Chronicle my memory's been getting sharper and sharper... maybe it's just the calamity of the Vast settling in, but... when I was rescuing someone from a Vast-filled room at the bottom of a sludge mine, I had to jump from the top of a smelter to a ladder on the other side of the room to escape. At first I thought it would be impossible to accomplish, but.. the more I thought about how I'd jumped over different things at different stages of my life, the more possible it looked. By the time I snapped back to thinking about my current situation, I was already flying through the air and barely managed to grab the ladder before smashing into it."

Daisy sat down on the couch, getting more and more lost in conversation. "What else?"

"Oh! That guy who uses the other keyblade we found, his name's Luigi... but when we finally got it, we were getting chased by this other guy and his giant robot... and all of a sudden Luigi swings that blade up and starts yelling gibberish like 'Thundara! Thundaga!' and he starts shooting all these blasts of lightning all over the place! It was cool, he just blasted that hunk of junk into bits! It was mad. And at some point I got attacked by this guy in huge black armor, and he..." Troy looked over, noticing Daisy's stare becoming more and more distant. "...something wrong?"

"...it sounds like Peach is finally getting what she wanted." Daisy looked up, her eyes suddenly looking more hollow. "Ever since we first met as kids, Peach has always gone on spouting about how she'd always wanted to see the unknown and live on the cutting edge of discovery, and she..."

"A man in black appeared to me." Troy interrupted.

"...a man in black?"

"He told me that this world had been connected," Troy trailed off. "But connected to what, I don't know... all I can figure out is that it has to do something with all these people that are causing chaos in the Mushroom Kingdom... and the appearance of the keyblades... and the Vast itself. But I, I mean we, we have no leads on what caused the Vast to descend on us. And now there's people that are deliberately targeting those who have the keyblades, hoping to steal them for their own uses. Whatever we're fighting, on any front... it's not of this world."

"Are we... being invaded?"

"There's a possibility. And so far we're the only ones that can stand up to defend this world. I know... it's a lot to digest, I don't even know what's going on or how much of it I'll be able to withstand. But anyways... Peach made a good decision to warn you about what's happening over there. Because, soon, there's a chance it could consume more people. Maybe even Sarasaland. You have to be prepared, Daisy. You have to find the keyblades and get them to their rightful owners. Soon you may be in..."

Troy looked up at Daisy, who now stood over him.

"Please. Wait here." Daisy said firmly.


********


Troy held a new keyblade up in the light, its silver shaft glinting.

"This looks exactly like the Alastor before it was activated." Troy waved the device around in air. It was noticably heavier than his own - likely as he was not attuned to it as he was with his own. "So you've had this in the palace all the long?"

"It was a relic passed down from the old pharaohs of Birabuto. We have a lot of preserved artifacts from hundreds of years ago in the kingdom vault, but this one hasn't shown any signs of age at all. Almost like someone was protecting it... there's legends that the ancient kings wielded scepters of power on the battlefield and in the court. Light was all them and warded pretty much all darkness away. There's a text that says they literally used one to light one of the main halls of their largest palace. But, all that's left is this..." Daisy took the keyblade back into her hands. "We always just thought that this was an imitation built by one of the lesser houses of the pharaoh."

Troy picked up the Chronicle from the table, pointing it at the other keyblade. The keychain on the other blade jiggled and fell into place - a gold-trimmed outline of a star. "It's the real deal alright."

"So if this is one of those keyblades... what are we supposed to do with it?"

Troy folded his arms, staring off into space. "Eventually, someone will come to claim it. When the right person comes in contact with it, it'll regain its original form. That's what happened with the Alastor. When Luigi touched it, it turned from the chintzy-looking blade, like that, into the superweapon he's got now. Until then, it's important that you keep it out of the wrong hands."

"So people know it's here." Daisy said wistfully.

"I don't know for sure... but people have already attacked me out of the blue trying to pry mine out my hands... so you can never be too sure."

"Take it to the Mushroom Kingdom." Daisy spat out.

"I'm not going anywhere with that thing," Troy shot back. Daisy made a frustrated frown. "I know exactly how uncomfortable you are with me barging in here and telling you that you're going to be under siege from both some unknown alien force and an uncountable number of people trying to get their hands on this keyblade. But listen to me - if you keep the keyblade, you have the people coming for it. But if you just throw it away, you will be able to do nothing against the Vast, and I can tell you for a fact the Vast is a zillion times worse. I watched the Koopa Troop nearly fall apart when they got their minds flayed by it. I'm sorry, your highness, but my words have more weight than yours."

"Do you think you can just start walk in here and start telling me how to run Birabuto?" Daisy slowly rose to her feet, planting her hands firmly upon the table. "I'm busy trying to keep this country from sinking into the sands, and the people are trying to keep a stable livelihood. That's not easy in this corner of the world. We don't have time to fight your little war."

"One, this is not a war. This is survival," Troy snarled. "And two, it's going to be bigger than you could ever imagine." Troy reached over, snatching the other keyblade off the table. "If you're not going to step up to this challenge, then don't expect Peach's aid."

"...p-please."

"Oh, now wh..." as Troy turned around, he suddenly found himself stopping cold. Daisy was back on the couch, one hand plastered over a side of her face. Troy let his limbs go limp as he realized that she was stifling back sobs. Troy looked away, rubbing the back of his head. "...I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be... blunt like that..."

"Peach sent you here to tell me this... I know I shouldn't... be just brushing you off. But... just look around you. We're in no condition to defend this thing! Our population's too low, we have virtually no national defense compared to the Mushroom Kingdom, or even the Koopa Troop from the way you describe things. We don't have the natural resources that the rest of Sarasaland has. It would be in better hands with the Muda, Easton or Chai kingdoms.. but what if what you say is right and people figure the keyblade is here? Then there'd be no escaping whoever comes directly to Birabuto looking for it..."

"We all have our problems now," Troy muttered. "If you say that you're unable to defend it until the time comes... then we have to find the person that this keyblade's calling out to... and fast."


********


"You have guts, Peach. You have guts."

Peach hunched down, planting her hands on her knees. Slowly she stared back up into the sun. "What am I even doing out here? Sirius is going to go into another hissyfit if he knows I escaped from the palace again... that I can live with, but the fact that the Kingdom's in a total mess now that everyone there's raising assumptions about the Vast... and that I hitched the next boat to Sarasaland without a word... that'll do even more damage to the royalty's credibility and raise even more pandemonium..."

Peach sat back down, emptying more sand out of her shoe. She was, just like Troy mere hours earlier, stuck out in the wastes of outer Birabuto. "Ohhhh... what am I even doing out here? I should have more confidence in Troy... but I can't get that burning idea out of my head that I should've delivered that message personally... I hope Troy managed to get Daisy's attention, I can't imagine him putting up with her special brand of paranoia..."

She spun around as a roar tumbled over the horizon. Looking up, she saw the source of the noise for a moment - a mid-sized jet tore over the horizon, covered in some areas by some thick, white grime.

Peach started moving forward again, neglecting the other shoe that lied in the sand. "That's not a Chai flying machine by any means... crap crap CRAP! I don't like this at all, I have to get to Birabuto and I've gotta do it f-"

She tripped, landing face-first in the sand with a dull poomph.


********


Troy sat on the steps of the Birabuto palace, with his chin resting limply on his palms. His eyes flitted around, watching the people swarming around the endless line of bazaars.

"I wonder if I'm doing the right thing..." Troy mumbled. "There IS a keyblade here, and I should be making sure that it gets into the right hands, but who knows exactly who that is... that could be anyone in this city, or world, or any OTHER world. There's no telling exactly how long I could be stuck here if I agree to whatever screwed up plan Daisy's got, and I have no way of getting any information about the key back to the Mushroom Kingdom in any decent time... ugh."

Troy stared at a woman nearby, handing over a bundle of coins in exchange for a sack of kiwis.

"And even then how am I supposed to determine who's the right one without swinging around the keyblade in clear view? That's not a very good idea either... man, why'd I get involved in this crap..." Slowly he pushed himself back to his feet, turning and noticing his imprint in yet another pile of dust. As he went back to brushing himself off, he found himself shadowed. He turned to find a pale-skinned, rugged-dressed woman standing in front of him. She was nearly twice as tall as Troy, and even the loose fitting clothes didn't do much to hide her curves. She had more fabric wrapped around the top of her head and over her mouth, from the top of which shining green hair poured out. She batted her lashes as Troy's eyes finally met hers, revealing sky-blue eyes. "...'scuse me."

"Yesss..." the lady hunched down, grabbing Troy's chin in one hand. She jerked it side to side before Troy wrested free. "You must be the one. We've heard all about you. You're Troy Kiemen of the Mushroom Kingdom, correct?"

"Technically speaking. Now get out of my way, I've got places to go before this place cooks me alive."

"That's really too bad, Keyper." she said, smirking as Troy shoved through her. "We were looking for someone to help us with this darkness problem too."

Troy slowly stumbled to a stop, looking over his shoulder. "How do you know who I am?"

"Isn't it elementary? You can't hide your identity forever. You've become a legend in the Mushroom Kingdom and it's only natural that such... talents spread to the winds. But anyways... I can't help but notice you've heard the princess's ordeal... it seems she is simply not endowed enough to handle commissioning that keyblade of hers to its rightful owner. Who knows... maybe this country might come under siege sooner than she thinks?"

"Were you listening to us?" Troy hissed.

"Listening? Oh no dear, I don't handle that espionage thing. Nor do I need to, what I just said is just word on the street. Word that we know for a fact is true. Many people know this, and a militia has been formed to both combat the darkness and make sure the keyblade falls into the right hands. You are free to cooperate with us. We know you understand this specimen thoroughly, and we-"

"No I don't."

"Well more than us anyways. My name is Syuuna... and I am part of a group of citizens that have lived in Birabuto for all our lives. We will fight to the death to see that it isn't overrun by this alien threat - and we are gathering again as we speak, outside of city limits, to discuss our next course of action in creating a failsafe plan to extract the 'keyblade' weapon from the palace should a crisis arise there. You are permitted to attend. Actually... you'll be there if you know what's good for you."

"Oh, well that's good to kn-" Troy's breath left him as a cloud of dust rushed up, consuming the two. Troy went into a coughing fit, wiping the sand out of his eyes as the fumes left as fast as they came. He found himself already lagging behind the woman as she strolled away. Looking around once more, it seemed no one else around him, even the patrolling spear sentinels, had seen what happened. Troy smiled, strolling back to the main walkway and back out into the city streets. "Well... it seems things just got a little more interesting..."

"Oh yes, it has. You act like you're the only one that's encountered these beasts... but you're mistaken." the woman slipped into a nearby alleyway. Troy thought for a moment, starting to frown. "...please, we don't have much time. We have to get to the city gates."

"Oh, of course. Sorry about that." Troy slowly treaded forward, following her into the narrow passageway. He slowed down as darkness started to envelop him.

"If we head this way, we can get out to th-BLERGH-" Syuuna lurched forward as Troy lunged at her, tackling her to the ground. Growling she threw her hand up, striking Troy across the face. Troy rolled over, throwing Syuuna to her side as her hand turned white. The blast of flame that cast off it struck one of the stone walls feet away, cancelling it out. Troy quickly clambered back to his feet and stumbled backwards to the entrance of the passage. Reaching down the neck of his shell, he quickly drew out his keyblade.

"UrrrRRGH!! How DARE you..." Syuuna slowly climbed back to her feet, wiping dirt off her face.

"Tell me who you are!" Troy snarled.

"What kind of question is that?! I told you everything I knew about me, and-"

"Your real name!"

"I don't know what you mean!"

"I'm not stupid," Troy laughed as a dry grin appeared on his face. "I might give enemies way more chances than should be healthy, but I'm not stupid. First and foremost, how do you 'live here all your life' and have skin that pale? Even someone with as much desk work as Daisy has more of a tan than you! And then, you're going in the complete opposite way of the city gate, or hey, while we're at it, how would you know to call what I'm holding a keyblade, especially when that's the exact terminology used by every single OTHER person I know?"

"You think it's just me here?" the woman reached over and tore off the robes, throwing them to the ground. Underneath were robes that glowed bright white, with a neon green mantle creeping over the shoulders. "...like I said, I'm not good with espionage. My talents lie elsewhere... I am Valentina, and your Chronicle is mine!" Valentina pressed both her palms together and let her hands fall apart - a great ball of flame quickly appeared between the two.

"Yes. Shooting fireballs. That's grand. This isn't a talent show lady, and if it were, you'd be thrown offstage by the other 4 people that spew flame." Troy swung up his blade as Valentina let the fireball go. The blast tore down the alley at rocket speed, causing the wind to howl uncontrollably. Troy grunted as he held his weapon behind him, swinging it up over top of him and down again. A metallic clang ran out and Valentina found her attack smashed back at her. Troy grimaced, but felt the blood leap from his legs as the numbed out from underneath him. Looking around in panic he soon found the cause - a trail of ice lead out from the darkness, freezing him solid up to the knees.

Valentina stuck her arm out, catching the fireball in the air. She held it forward for Troy to see. "I'm no rocket scientist, hun, but I know well enough what it takes to paralyze a cold-blooded creature like you."

(She's right... as long as she's keeping me nippy, even if I break out of whatever she throws at me, my body's eventually going to start shutting down...) Troy's head shot back up as Valentina hurled the orb of flame back at him. He swung his blade again, this time keeping it held in place on the key's teeth. He planted it against the ground and quickly disintegrated his frozen feet. Troy leapt back, continuing to backpedal out of the alley as Valentina began alternating hurling flame from both hands. Troy continued flailing the Chronicle around in his hands, nullifying the attacks, until Valentina suddenly slammed her hand into the ground. A lance of ice quickly congealed in the air. Troy squealed as he rolled out into the marketplace, barely evading it as it pierced straight through an exotic hedge behind him. People began to see the flames dancing around Troy's feet, and quickly began bundling up their goods and running away as Valentina exited the dark alley.

"You had me at a disadvantage, keeping me cooped up in that dank alley... should've pushed forward while you could kid, in an open space I've got the range advantage... and it's so much easier for me to get reinforcements."

"Reinforcements." Troy grumbled. He jumped in place as a deathly scream filled the air - a small jet plane plummeted out of the sky, pulverizing itself and a wagon full of fruit beneath it. Troy yelped as he was sent flying off his feet, the same hedge behind him bracing his fall. The wreckage was covered with a white sludge that rapidly dissolved off the scrap metal, reforming on the ground. Atop what remained of the fuselage of the plane stood a boy in shorts, his dress shirt flapping in the turbulent air. He had a head of greasy blond hair that completely covered his eyes. Folding his arms he turned his attention to Troy.

"Oh boy oh boy!" he snickered, snorting at the end. "I got here in time didn't I? You do remember you're supposed to get the Chronicle before you freeze him up good, huh?"

"Why Pokey, you know I wouldn't do that... he'd be so much easier to transport as ash."

"Whoa whoa whoa. You want the Chronicle?" Troy waved his hands in front of him. "Well, first of all, you'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands, and secondly, don't tell me you're all affiliated with that Wily whacko?"

"For starters, Wily is one of those people that can perform brain surgery yet can't do up their own shoes. He'd try to send that clunker Gutsman versus you and your meddling friends all at once. Now... if you'll have a look around, Sir Troy Kiemen of the Mushroom Kingdom, you'll see that there's one of you and two of us." Pokey's shoulders bobbed as he continued giggling to himself. "Actually, y'know what, make that three of us." Pokey suddenly threw his arms behind him, raising them again. "Aspect of the dark god! Assemble to my will!"

"Dark god?" Troy's gaze floated to the white slime on the ground, which began rippling uncontrollably. Slowly it sprouted arms, blades solidifying all along them. A 'head' seperated itself from the ooze and floated above the main body, which gradually began to turn into a veined eyeball. "Man, why do you people get all the groovy powers, I only get black-goo cleanup duty with this key. Is that what you want Chronicle for? I don't think I have a dream job here."

"I've been blessed with power over a fragment of the fallen god, Giygas! Now you'll be seeing exactly how much power I hold!"

"You're not listening to me, are you?"

"Are you hearing my threat of supreme power?"

"Guess not." Troy rolled his eyes, looking away.

"Wait, what?" Pokey let his arms slump back to his side.

"I'm trying to ask you what your..." Troy threw his arms up in the air. "Argh... okay, can we just start over?"

"I guess so."

"Okay. Why are you sicing your blob-god on me? What is with Chronicle?"

"Blob-god?! You listen here, this 'blob-god' is-"

"You IDIOTS!!" Valentina screeched. "We don't have time for your retarded 'evil god' intro here. Pokey, if we don't get that keyblade to the master, the only beings you'll have to scare with your doomsaying are the rats in the brig! And Troy, if I were you I'd just hand over that thing nice and easy, otherwise we're going to be smashing you six ways from Sunday!"

Giygas hurled its slimy arm forward, expanding as it flailed across the ground at Troy. Troy leapt behind a nearby wooden wagon, crouching back again as the limb solidified again and flayed straight through the cart. Troy leapt upwards, cleaving through the tentacle. The end splattered against the ground, quickly evaporating into the air.

"Vast?..." Troy mumbled.

"More vast than you could ever imagine! This is one of the most savage Nobodies we have on our side! And... it hungers!"

"This looks nothing like a Vast but I can do damage to it just the same... what is a Nobody?"

"Oh, you might be blind to it now... but the answer is closer than you think!" Pokey raised his fist in the air. "For starters... I think you both have a lot of suffering to share!"

"What are you doing?" Valentina growled. "You can't possibly think of triggering that here! There's too many of them around! Who knows what kind of effect it could have? Besides... what's going to happen if it triggers his laten-"

"Reeeelax." Pokey muttered. "I've got this under control."

"Get on with it!" Troy yelled, hurling himself forward. "Otherwise your 'god' isn't going to be the only one losing limbs!"

"Good night, Troy."

Troy quickly found the energy sapped from his legs. He slowly stumbled to a stop, beginning to clutch his arm as pain shot through it. As he broke out in a cold sweat, he quickly noticed what was happening. He let go of himself, turning his palm around - where he had gouged it in the Koopa prison, blood was pouring out at an alarming rate. Troy's face went pale as the throbbing quickened, and the sensations worsened. Troy quickly found himself on his knees, his face contorting as it let out pained breaths.

Pokey was staring on with a satisfied grin. Valentina on the other hand was already busy backing away. "Ohh. You IDIOT. How are we going to handle him if he goes berserk?"

"Oh c'mon," Pokey grumbled. "You heard it straight from the boss, this twerp still shouldn't know how to handle a keyblade worth a crap..." the two glanced over as Troy's head slowly started to crane back up.

"...I... have something you want," Troy's head twitched as he spoke. "...but in... this case... you have something I want..." Troy let his mouth hang open, allowing drool to drizzle out the left side. "...BADLY."

"Grrr..." Pokey clenched his fists, glaring at Giygas. "That's supposed to keep him pacified! You dolt! What did you do to him?"

"Heheh... ha ha ha..." Troy's grimace grew wider, and as his face became fully visible, his pupils were fully dilated. "What you did to me?! Haaaa... what you did to me can't compare what I'll do TO YOU!!"

Troy became a blur.


********


Daisy stared dully at Peach. The guards behind her slowly backed away as Peach pulled a pocketwatch out of her pants pocket, with an emblem engraved on its front - the same as Troy's envelope had carried. Daisy nodded, sitting down on one of the palace lobby's couches. "...I'd wondered what would've compelled you to send a single person to carry the kind of message he did. You've been asking me all the way back to the palace, so I'll tell you... yes, Troy got here safely. He was a bit crude for a royal messenger, but he managed to get his point across well... I'd like to talk about this with you, but right now I'm totally wound up... you wouldn't want to go grab a sundae, would you?..."

Peach sulked, shaking her head sadly. "Daisy. You haven't changed a bit. I'd love to talk about what's happened in the Kingdom after all these years, but... we some urgent issues as you can probably tell."

"It's you in the flesh, right, but why'd you march all the way to Sarasaland without anyone else from the royal family, or any bodyguards, and why did you come out here dressed like that for that matter?"

"Troy's told you all about the Vast and the Keyblades, I imagine... well, everyone in the Kingdom is uptight about it as well... recently we've had some encounters of the third kind, if you catch my drift. A weird bird-man thing calling himself Sirius strolled straight into the offices of the Kingdom, telling us how to fight this Vast stuff that's been invading our world. Besides that, we've had reports from people in all positions of government, including Troy himself, that strange people have been attacking them, trying to find the keyblades for themselves. Now we're in a rut trying to get the keyblades into the right hands so we can defend the world from the Vast, but... as you can see, Sirius has been stretching our forces a little. The more pronounced the Vast threat becomes, the more control he gains over my father. I had to SNEAK out of the Mushroom Kingdom to get here."

"Will the Vast create as much internal conflict to this country as it did to yours?"

"I... I don't know." Peach stared off the side, letting her head droop some more. "...I know I don't have the authority to say this, as Sirius introduced us to the Vast and knows more about it than we do, but... I don't trust him. Right when he sent Troy all by himself to Sarasaland, I knew he was indiscriminately putting people at risk to fight this war. I had to come to Sarasaland myself to ensure that you caught word of what was happening with us if Troy wasn't able to. Sirius thinks that because we have two keyblades on our side and we've won a couple fights that he's got the Vast on the run. I can't believe that. I don't want you to believe that if you get your hands on a keyblade."

Daisy snapped her fingers. One of the guards returned, carrying the dormant keyblade out of a side room. Peach's eyes grew wide as Daisy rested it on her arms. "Troy convinced me to hold onto this, because it would light our way in the dark hours coming. I argued that we couldn't hang onto it if it would compromise the security of this nation. But if it's as potentially powerful as Troy says, we need to keep it as a guiding light and use it to assure our dominance - just like the pharoahs did."

Peach nodded.

"I remember when we were little and you always kept blabbing about how you always wanted to explore new worlds, and fill up that library back in the Mushroom Kingdom with knowledge no one else would ever find. Well, you look a little shaken up now."

"Are you kidding? This only cements what I always wanted to think was true," Peach shook her fists in front of her. "For once these 'other worlds' challenged us, and you think I'm going to hide and wait for it to pass me by? Once all this Vast crap is taken care of, I'm gonna track down all these other uninvited guests and start exploring those other worlds whether they like it or not! I think we can win against the Vast, and that's what's going to be driving me, I don't know about you!"

Daisy shook her head, snickering. "Nothing's going to make you throw away that dream, is it..."

"Not anymore. Not after what I've seen. That dream's indomitable, but now it's been proven right."

Peach reached forward, grabbing the hilt of the keyblade - she lurched back as it crackled in her hand, turning bright white and morphing before her eyes. The square hilt turned circular, and the shaft gained a golden sheen. The teeth at the top remolded themselves and folded inward to create three tips, one pointing up, one out to the side, and one pointing diagonally down - half of a five-tipped star.


========

INVINCIBLE

Born from hope and burning resolve, the keyblade Invincible reinforces the mind and grants even greater courage to those who probably already have too much to be healthy, and bolsters the defenses of the wielder and all those around it - both mentally and physically. Pharaohs from thousands of years ago used the artifact to instill prosperity in their nations. The full potency of it as a weapon has likely never been seen...

========


Daisy was far back in her seat, with her fingers digging into the couch cushions. "...when Troy said we'd be searching far and wide for the keyper, he wasn't kidding, huh?"

"...this can't be right." Peach raised the keyblade in the air, letting it swivel around in her grip. "...I can't believe this. Out of all the possible people that a keyblade could activate in front of... this one was leading me to it. I can't begin to describe how this feels..."

"Like you were chosen to be one of the people spearheading this defense from the worlds beyond," Daisy mumbled. "I bet that must sound real dramatic to you... but what's this supposed to mean? This was supposed to be Birabuto's defense against the Vast or whatever you people call it... and it ended up in the hands of the Mushroom Kingdom anyways. Now what am I supposed to do?"

Peach held out the keyblade as it glowed a bright purple. "Worry about that later, what am *I* supposed to do?"

Both of the princesses jumped back as one of the robed guards burst back into the lobby. "Y-your highness! You need to see this... you need to see this!"

"What's happening now?" Daisy strode to the entranceway, exiting into the light - a very purple light. Looking up, she stared slack-jawed into the sky. A gigantic purple dome of energy was rapidly washing down over top of the small city-state, causing small explosions of black smoke to appear in the distant air. "...this is dreadful... darkness was already beginning to flow into the city and we were all blind to it to start with!..."

"It's making some kind of protective field..." Peach continued to move the Invincible around in her hands. "If what you said is right and this thing's been sitting around Birabuto for thousands of years, it must've developed some kind of affinity for the people handling it..."

"It's always been a symbol of prosperity and peace... I suppose those are qualities it's taken on..." Daisy shuffled her feet in the sand, shaking her head. "I can only hope that this place has become at least a little safer now. We need to find Troy, maybe he can make some sense of what's going on here."

At once, the Invincible jerked up into the air, causing Peach to stumble towards it. It slowly started levitating down the street, picking up speed and dragging Peach with it. It pulsed with soft light, and Peach quickly found images flooding into her head. A deep voice floated out of the air, permeating both Daisy and Peach.

"I am the sentinel that defends my allies... and I speak... there is a comrade in dire need..."

Peach grit her teeth. "Troy..."


********


Pokey jumped back, thrusting his finger forward. The physical Giygas bobbed in accordance, continuing to stare forward with its gigantic eye. "That's right, Troy... just... sit there and grunt and groan some more, we're just gonna step in and snatch that keyblade and we can forget this ever happened. Giygas! More!" Pokey watched grimly as the eyeball on the humanoid blob continued to pulsate. A short distance away, Troy slumped along the ground, clutching his head with both hands.

"Stop it!" Valentina growled.

"Whoa, hang on, he should break any moment now."

"Break? More like snap. We had a chance to just attack him, and you had to play your stupid mind games. Now we're never going to be able to calm him down! We have to get out of here before he degenerates any further." Valentina started stepping back, pausing to glance around as the purple barrier rose around the city. "...what the hell? That looks like..."

"...it looks like Vast." Pokey looked over his shoulder. As he did, Troy's head snapped up, suddenly breaking free from Giyga's mental grasp.

"SURRENDER ITTTTT!!" Troy screamed. He brandished out his key again, vaulting across the sandstone walkway with blinding speed. In a split second he had raced straight through Giygas's field of vision, and froze for a moment behind Pokey. The wind roared as Troy spun, cleaving downwards at him. A reflex teleportation by Valentina whisked Pokey out of harm's way, leaving a white-hot section cleaved out of the ground where he once stood.

"You said Giygas was a powerful Nobody..." Valentina mumbled.

"W-well it is! Obviously!"

"...too powerful." Valentina finished.

"GET BACK HERE!!" Troy bellowed, drunkenly swinging the Chronicle around. The teeth on them were no more, the top half of the blade now mutated into a huge, jagged blade edge. "YOU HAVE THEM!! SO MUCH ESSENCE... BEAUTIFUL AND DELICIOUS!! LET ME DRINK!!"

"Don't just sit there!" Pokey yelled. "Attack!"

Giygas slid inbetween him and Troy, swiveling its torso. It threw itself back forward again, sending its 'arms' rocketing towards Troy. They shapeshifted in the air, suddenly gaining dozens of metallic razor blades along their surface. Troy held his weapon forward again, turning into a dervish as he threw dozens of slashes in front of him in a span of a mere second - the white sludge racing around him was obliterated, the sharpened chunks harmlessly raining to the ground around him. Giygas quickly regenerated what it had lost, throwing barrages of more slime at Troy. Troy began advancing, effortlessly cleaving through every single attack that was thrown at him. He stumbled for a moment as some of the sludge splattered over his keyblade. Moments later it detonated wildly, quickly consuming him in a massive fireball that sent shards of shattered rock flying. Pokey and Valentina shielded themselves from the flying dust, staring onwards in disbelief as Troy marched straight out of the napalm, not a scratch on him.

"YOU'LL GIVE IT TO ME NOW, YES?!" Troy's grimace stretched to the end of his face, causing more drool to fly off his lips as he spoke. Slowly he began his stride towards Pokey and Valentina, eventually breaking into a sprint.

"TROY!"

Troy ground to a halt, his face inches away from Valentina's face, which contorted from rapid breathing and was now a deathly white. Troy turned his hungry glare to the side, finding Peach wheezing as she rested against the side of a building. "Troy! This thing was freaking out trying to find you! What's going on here?"

Troy licked his lips, dropping to all fours and scuttling across the ground at lightning speed towards Peach. Peach's frown twisted as Troy began checking her from all sides, poking her and rubbing his hands at various areas on her torso. He sniffed meekly. "...THIS ONE WON'T DO AT ALL. ONE OF MY KIND, YES. NOTHING WORTH CONSUMING."

"...Troy?" Peach laughed nervously as Troy continued probing her.

She tensed up a little more as Troy planted his hand firmly on her rear.

Troy slowly began to pry his face off the ground shortly after taking a potentially lethal blow to his head from the Invincible. Eventually he crept back onto one knee, trembling as he looked at his surroundings again. He blinked, feeling a blur drape itself over his eyes. "...hkkk... gghhkkk..." He gradually began to see what was behind him - Pokey and Valentina hanging onto each other for dear life, shivering in fear as Troy's gaze met theirs. "...P-Peah..." he pivoted back around, staring up at Peach - who was giving him an equally terrified stare. "...Peach? Where am I?"

The icy jaws of unconsciousness found him moments later.


********


"WhooAAAaa!"

Troy catapaulted up, finding himself sitting in a bed. Everything he'd been wearing had been stripped except for his shorts. His head pivoted at a snail's pace to survey his surroundings. He was... back in the Mushroom Kingdom? This was the palace room he slept in. He raised his hand, grinding his palm into his forehead as a throbbing in his head settled in. He'd taken a nice, vicious blow to his temple, that he knew well - although for exactly what reason escaped him. He cautiously swung his legs over, shoving himself out of bed. As he hit his feet he wobbled uncontrollably, but eventually regained his balance. Limping over to the balcony door, he pulled it open and stepped outside, slumping down on top of the guardrail. Everything in the Kingdom was running as he had left it - maybe he'd been dreaming?

"About time you woke up."

Troy lurched to his side as he heard the voice, nearly toppling over the rail. He slid his back along it, turning to stare at Auron, who stood with his arms resting on the banister. "...sheesh, could you just ASK before you barge in here, I've got enough of a migrane without people trying to jump me."

"I apologize for that, but I needed to see how you'd handled getting beaten up in Sarasaland. How much of it do you remember?" Auron turned his shaded glaze upon Troy.

Troy shook his head, staring at his right hand. The wound still had a new coat of dried blood on it. "...I don't know. That woman and boy attacked me, and the boy had some kind of goo-looking golem with him. He called it gee-guhs. I don't know what came over me when he brought it to my attention... it just stared at me with its one eye. It was a cold stare, almost a sad one. But when I started gazing into it, something came over me... my sight and hearing became more focused than I could ever remember, and my adrenaline started pumping, but... I felt blind. I didn't have control over my own body, all I was concerned with was taking my keyblade and ripping them apart... I was hungry, hungry for something... but I don't know what."

"And then?"

"Peach distracted me. I rushed over to her, but my urge died down... whatever I was after, she didn't have it."

"Then she gave you a sound beating..." Auron turned away again. "...you were lucky. Blunt trauma wouldn't have put you out of commission if your attackers weren't as terrified as I hear. Peach's keyblade seems to endow her with some kind of restorative magic. It was it that knocked you unconscious, not the blow itself."

Troy moved up alongside Auron, slumping down on the guardrail in the same manner. "...how'd everyone react to Peach having a key anyways?"

"That hasn't been the topic of dicussion lately."

"Huh? What has then?"

"Birabuto has been surrounded entirely by a thin layer of Vast."

Troy shuddered. "...what? How's that possible?"

"Peach had used the keyblade to erect a barrier around the city. She brought the keyblade back to the Mushroom Kingdom claiming she wanted to do the same here, but Sirius became enraged at the idea. She argued back, saying the Vast had defended the city against a darkness that had already been filtering into the city."

"I'm getting more and more confused about the Vast, Sirius, the keyblades, everything..." Troy wheezed. "...I thought I'd reached the peak after that kid blabbed on and on about his Nobody. Hey, you wouldn't have any idea what a Nobody's supposed to be, do you? It's just more lingo relating to the 'darkness', isn't it? He said that I was going to 'share in the same suffering' as his blob-thing, whatever that's supposed to mean."

Auron flinched.

"Hit a nerve there did I?" Troy rolled his eyes.

"You said your hand started bleeding again?"

"Yeah, more than ever," Troy frowned. "The pain was just about blinding."

Auron suddenly pivoted in place, kneeling down and planting both his hands firmly on Troy's shoulders. "Troy, I'm going to be releasing some very confidential information to you now. Whatever you do, you CANNOT tell Sirius we had this conversation. Do you understand?"

"Uhh, okay, what's the deal?" Troy tilted his head.

"Earlier today, when you were attacked by this blob creature... Giygas, he broke into your mind and caused you a great deal of pain. These people that you encountered have a primal Nobody on their side. If you ever see Giygas again, you must RUN. You cannot attempt to fight a Nobody. If you do, they will cause you to go insane as you already did. Next time, you may not be so lucky as to have Peach intervene. Do I make myself clear?"

"The Vast and Nobodies are different entities?"

"Yes. I apologize if I'm being terribly vague here, but there are things about the Vast and the Nobodies that you are not ready to know."

"You're starting to sound like Sirius." Troy said flatly. "Wah wah wah, yes sir, I will stab the gooey things with my weapon, any other requests? Wah wah wah wah, walk all the way to Sarasaland by myself, safety be damned, okay then, wah wah wah... Auron, listen to me for one second!" Troy threw his arms down in front of him. "I'm more confused than I've ever been! I want to know what part I'm supposed to be playing in this stupid fight! I don't know what the Vast is, or the Nobodies, and what about that black crap the Vast repelled was! I know what you're thinking, Sirius is hiding things from us because if he spews out everything he knows, everyone is going to act on their own! But I need to... ARGH, I don't even know what I'm thinking anymore!"

"I think I do," Auron folded his arms. "You want to know what's happening to your world, but at the same time... you're afraid of what the truth could possibly be. You've seen people and places turned upside down in a matter of hours. Bowser turning into a merciless killer, this kingdom turned into a warzone as fighters from other worlds rampage through it, your friends being turned into martyrs of the keyblades, and yet... you yourself seem to be a constant target for alien forces you don't understand. This invasion has only begun, and you know this will only get worse. You are afraid of the extremes."

Troy nodded weakly. "That's right."

"Any battle can be won if you know your limitations and fight wisely. For now, I'm going to leave you with this." Auron reached under the collar of his duster, pulling out a thick bundle of papers - at an inch thick. "It was not easy obtaining this, but I believe I can trust you with it for now. Make sure nobody sees it, it could potentially cause widespread panic in the wrong hands."

"Looks like some heavy reading." Troy took the book in one hand, flapping its pages in the air.

"This is only one volume of many. Its original author stopped work on it a while ago, but since then some... aspiring researchers added their own recently-discovered content. Remember, Troy, no one can see what is in this text, especially-"

"Yeah, Sirius is a no-no, I get it already." Troy tucked the book under his arm, sitting down on one of the patio chairs on the balcony. Auron nodded at him, adjusting his spectacles before climbing over the balcony. "...thanks again, dude."

"I hope this makes you a little more comfortable with the challenges lying before you. Farewell." Auron let go of the rail, leaping down into the bushes below. Troy stopped to listen, hearing more rustling that eventually faded away into the distance.

"...I don't know what to say," Troy mumbled, staring off into the palace gardens. Moonlight brightened the entire field, making his sight clear as day. "...I wonder what would have happened if I walked up to Sirius and asked all the same questions I did just now... I'd probably just get another slap on the wrist and told to go whack more Vast... I wonder... exactly how far I can trust him..." he sighed, leaning back in the chair. He blew a layer of dust off the muddy brown tome in his hands, breaking it open to the first page.

On the back spine of the book, XIII could be seen in gold trim.


********


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