Daybreak Town

[Apollymi]

"That isn't exactly true." the Master said at the mention that no one knew what she looked like. There was at least one who knew, or would know what she looked like but that was another matter entirely. As she finally stood from her chair she began walking casually through her laboratory, checking on a couple of experiments which should be about ready by the time of her later afternoon arrangements. Of course, when it was stated that he already had the 'man-patch' she'd so recently brought into question she knew the answer about it. "Oh? Is that so... well, I never noticed before." she said of his facial hair incident. Before she had to address the issue with his clothing. His apology made her laugh, and a minor giggle soon erupted into a full on laugh session, complete with the cloaked woman clutching her side. As she imagined the state which would have caused the man to rip his robes. "Hahahahaha~" she started. "That's hilarious... might wanna lay off the workouts for a while." she said of the ripped robes as if they didn't matter. "Or you know... I could have given you your robes in the right size to begin with." she mentioned with a sudden seriousness which could be considered startling.

Still she walked back over to her work bench and picked up the robes for the man with the bear like personality and offered them up in a neatly folded pile. "I really didn't bring you here for these. But since you're here, you might as well have them." she said of the robes which she was going to replace at some point for the young man, so as not to let him suffer her deviousness. "I am going to miss doing stuff like this... when I fade. Or maybe I won't... don't really know what it's like yet." she said in an off-handed manner. Eventually, she'd have to get to why she summon this young man, and she would... in due time.

[Bloodedge]

"... Eh?" he said after a brief pause. It was his understanding that the Master was nothing more than a silhouette to all who met her, including her own six pupils. To know that this was untrue was simply mind-boggling. "Wait, you mean one of us has seen you!? But I wanna!" he said. Soon after, he was gifted with a set of robes in their proper size, prompting him to discard the coat on his shoulders and don the robes instead. The mask of the bear, he pulled from his hip to wear when fitted with the robes to complete the ensemble. "Thanks, but... why didn't my old ones fit if you knew my size?" he inquired. There was a certain wideness gained in this man's eyes when the Master spoke of her possible, probable, but unsure disappearance in an unknown future, but he was honestly more confused than anything about this. "What do you mean fade? Have you been talking to the Moogles? Those guys will put weird stuff in your head, y'know?"

[Apollymi]

"Yes, one of you has, or will see me. And no it won't be you." she said with all the loving inclination of a true Master. "Also, you can want to do a lot of things... but it doesn't mean you can or should." said the woman about seeing her face at any point during this interaction or in the future. Of course, there was also the question of why his clothes didn't fit the first time, if she knew what his size was. A chuckle came from the woman. "I wanted you to rip them and then have to explain to me why you weren't wearing them. I had to be sure." she said... which was probably very strange. Moving right along, it seemed that this young man was also curious about what she said about fading, it made her twist her chair before she fell back into it. "Ah... well. One day I might just disappear. Ya' know... vanish without a trace. Nothing to be done about it... " she said with no real explanation as to how or why such a thing would happen. "But it's not all bad, if that happens, you'll need this..." she mentioned opening her hand in front of her and calling a Keyblade to it. Its handle is grayish-brown, much like the edge of the blade and the etching of a bear within its dark teal guard. The large blade on this Keyblade resembles the opening of a bear-like creature's mouth, and Terra's Mark can be seen along the side of the blade. Its Keychain consists of three red gems, and its token is a bulky talisman with a Gazing Eye inside. "Though... ya' gotta be nice if ya' get it. It comes with a task... well technically a couple of tasks." She mentioned this and then immediately continued for the coming questions. "You'll have to start the Ursus Union. Ya' know, gather yourself some like minded individuals, protect the balance and whatnot. No doing anything rash, like making unnecessary alliances with the other unions I am gonna have form. Ya' gotta be competative, but not co-operative. It's the only way to protect the balance. Also... you personally... you'll have to support your new leader, if I disappear. It's Masa... well... she's Master Ira now. If you accept... you'll be... Master Aced and I'll give you a book that will tell ya' the future. What'cha think?"

[Bloodedge]

"Then who..." he began, only to let the thought fade. He was quite sure that, if the Master was being secretive about her appearance in any way, then she also wouldn't be revealing the name of the one person who knew. He had no clue why the woman wanted to fish out his admittance of tearing the undersized robes, but now that he had fitting ones, he didn't much care either. The Keyblade summoned by the Master had quite a bit of appeal as well, being one of an even heavier model than his, which he was sure had already been the largest to date. Such a thing fit perfectly into his preference, though it was still a bit surprising to discover that this was actually his new weapon. "That doesn't sound very likely, but..." No matter the chances of the Master's disappearance, he took the Keyblade in hand. This was done only for him to immediately hear the requirements that came with it, involving the creation of a Union separate from the others, and the supporting of a potential new leader in the form of a 16-year old girl. "Masa? Leader? Wouldn't someone like Sion make more sense? I mean, he's done so much already."

[Apollymi]

It seemed this young man was fine not questioning his robes any further and doubted the likelihood of the Master disappearing at all. She couldn't be so sure of this herself, but at the very least, she'd properly kept the young man before her from questioning her appearance any further. But she was met with a bit of resistance, if only to her choice in leader. To the Master's credit, she saw this one coming a mile away, and kicked her feet up onto her desk as she began to explain, crossing them at the ankles as her first syllables were uttered. "Look, I know all that Sion's done, and that's great. Really, I of all people can appreciate his work. But that kind of work and drive, don't necessarily make for good leadership. He could fall way too far into his research or studies to ever get anything done. And while, I am all for expansions of techniques I don't think he'd want to be tied to such a thing. I have a different role in mind for him, one I think he will prefer." she said of one of her more stellar students. "Besides, the young Master Ira, has plenty of qualities which will make her a good leader. She's spirited, thoughtful... and respectful. Something leaders have to be... to hear out everyone's opinion and make just decisions." she said with a knowing smile hidden in the shadows of her robe. She went about the next part of her explanation while allowing her arms to cross over her chest. "But... little Master Ira will need help, because though she is strong, her will to act is sometimes clouded by her respectful nature. She's young... and thus a bit inexperienced, but the best way to get that is on the job. She'll need someone like you to help push her forward from time to time... and keep her on the right track." mentioned the Master. "And who knows... if she falls too far to be picked back up... you may be required to step up and take her place. Which is of course, your true role as her supporter." the devious woman mentioned with the slightest hint of foreboding in her voice. "If you are even in doubt about it... may your heart be your guiding key, Master Aced." she added sitting back once more but extending one arm to offer the book she'd picked up... complete with a bear motif on the front and matching the robes this man had so recently donned. "Questions? Comments? Constructive criticisms... inconsolable lamenting over my impending doom?"

[Bloodedge]

"Hmm. I guess that all makes sense. Then again, who am I to judge anyway?" the male asked in rhetoric. Having provided his opinion, and received the Master's in response, he understood the woman's will at the very least. All that remained was the understanding of his own role, which came with an additional kink that he wasn't quite fond of as a possibility. On the other hand, he felt he could fulfill this role somehow, so he took this book that apparently allowed one to know of the future. "I will do what I can, Master. And, no... I have no questions, nor do I think you'll be suffering any sort of doom. Farewell," he said, taking his leave of the Master's study thereafter.

[Apollymi]

"Aww, I really thought I'd get him with that one." she said as the newly crowned Master Aced left her presence. It would be then that a small noise would be heard, but she wouldn't acknowledge it. Instead she'd begin writing a new page in the middle of her own Book of Prophocies and while she waited, another of her apprentices would arrive. This one, was much more respectful than the one who'd been here previously. She had white hair hidden under a hood. She was wearing a white leopard mask and a pale yellow hooded cloak over a yellowish-tan robe, shirt, and sash, each with dark grey embroidering. Her shirt is worn beneath her cloak, is fastened by the sash, and has long sleeves that extend slightly past her wrists. The tassels on the front of the cloak are light blue in coloration. She'd knock on the door swiftly a couple of times. waiting to be acknowledged. "Come on in, Temperance~" the Master would speak causing this young woman to enter. This young woman would enter the room, and begin walking towards her Master as the woman furiously scribbled in the book. "What are you writing?" she asked as she peeked over the cloaked woman's shoulder. She had an innate curiosity about books and as such she wanted to see what was being written. This would cause the Master to turn around and playfully swat at the girl. "Uh-uh... no peeking~" she said while leaving a copy of the book open on a page she then ripped out much to the girl's dismay. "But Master? Why?" she asked. Seemingly stunned by the display. "Oh... well... that is for you. I have a copy of that book for you too... but... it doesn't have this page. This page is special. Still wanna read it?" she asked of the girl. Her green eyes, nearly glowed with excitement beneath the mask. "Of course..." she mentioned, which would cause the cloaked woman to hand it over. This would cause the girl, to immediately begin reading the page, scanning it for important information and what she read there she found... utterly disturbing. "Master? Is this really true? We are going to have someone among us... betray all of us?" she said. Such information about future events was quite dangerous indeed and she didn't know why the Master had bothered sharing it with her. "Of course it's true. I have a book here for you, called the Book of Prophecies. I've been handing it out to all of my pupils, without this page of course... but I gave it to you... because I have a special task for you." she offered young woman, while leaving her to dangle in suspense.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in town, a girl with raven tresses and dressed a bit like a deranged green feathered savage was walking about the streets. She didn't seem to have any particular aim written into her face. A face dotted with a single beauty mark under her left eye. There was something different about this girl, something which seemed a bit ominous, though she wasn't particularly powerful in any way. She was wandering a bit aimlessly but here, that seemed to be fine.

[Bloodedge]

The black-haired lass walking around Daybreak Town was a strange sight to behold indeed. Nearby, there was a male figure clad in the same form of black coat worn by the Master of Masters, though there was the obvious presence of long, dark brown locks protruding from beneath the hood. This male sat upon the edge of a fountain in the middle of town, seeming to have nothing in particular catch his eye. Such was the case until the passing girl appeared, prompting him to raise his head and look in her direction for reasons unknown. 'Hmm...'

[Apollymi]

"Master, it isn't fair to leave me in this state." the young woman mentioned as she tried to hold back her potential excitement and wait for the coming explanation. The cloaked woman seemed to be a bit in a huff thereafter, finding it annoying that she'd been properly unable to get under the white haired young woman's skin. "Ah, I see. Just gonna not take my bait, hm? Gonna leave me to explain myself? That's kinda messed up Temperance... but... it's also the reason you were chosen for this task specifically." said the woman as she took great pause and reached outward with her empty right hand. In doing so she'd cause the appearance of a Keyblade, with a blue handle. It looked as if it was made for lightning based attacks and included a leopard head at its guard and a gazing eye attached to its Keychain. She held the glowing blade in the small girl's direction with her hand open. "Take it, it's yours and you'll need it." she said the girl eye it suspiciously, but she would not turn down a gift from her master. "Look, at some point in the future, there will be talks of treachery among the Unions. You'll be making one of those too, Leopardos if you hadn't noticed your own theme there." she said. "But I digress." she said as the girl inspected the Keyblade she'd taken. "You'll need to independently search for the person who is your traitor, and interpret the meaning of this book. That is your role, apart from running your Union and maintaining the balance. I am sure you'll be quite in love with the Book of Prophecies for quite a while. But remember, among your peers, you need to trust only yourself, as you obviously won't be the traitor. You're way too level headed for that. And remember to avoid alliances it will cause the entire system of balance to crumble. Okay?" she said to the girl who nodded her understanding of this situation. "I understand Master. I will do my best to look into this book. And I see by this page, that you might disappear, I hope that part isn't true. But if it is... I hope you find your way back." she mentioned as she banished her most recently acquired Keyblade and held the book tucked under one arm giving a bow. The Master, was amazed by this girl's astuteness and obviously this was why she was chosen for the task she'd been given. "Master Gula, that's your new name by the way. The one for your leadership, can't have everyone calling ya' by your good name. May your heart be your guiding key." said the Master as she finished up. "Yes, farewell Master." she said. Then the young woman then left a bit excitedly with the book and the Lost Page in hand. This would move the Master right along to the summoning of her next target, or rather another of her apprentices by the name of Hiro.

Meanwhile the girl crossed the main square and found a man sitting on the fountain there. She couldn't see him, his face was obscured by a dark cloak the likes of which she'd never seen before, but, that really wasn't her concern. No, what she saw, was tufts of long brown hair escaping the monotony of the darkness surrounding this young man's face. And it took only a moment for her purple eyes to begin searching for something in that darkness. Alas, she couldn't peer any further into it... 'Huh?' she mentally questioned. She could almost assume this man was staring back at her through the darkness, but... that couldn't be right? As such she simply kept up her pace, soon averting her gaze wondering about this single moment of contact.

[Bloodedge]

Several moments after the raven-haired girl passed the hooded figure, she would find herself in the very same predicament. That same male figure would be sat before her again, looking in her direction the same way he had been before. In fact, she may or may not have noticed in this moment that the scenery was the same as well. Even though she had bypassed him at the fountain, her path would have somehow led back to the same location, whether she moved in a circular pattern or not...

It was during this period of time that another of the Master of Masters' apprentices approached the study. This one was male, clad in robes of both light and dark shades of blue, and with a blue snake mask upon his visage. He approached the door to the Master's study, which was ever so slightly open at his point of arrival. He hazarded a peek inside, making no moves to enter just yet, but not exactly knocking, either. "Hello? Master?"

[Apollymi]

The onyx haired young woman would soon enough find herself in a bit of a loop. She knew she'd looked at the cloaked figured, and that she'd walked on past, after not being able to discern anything but brown hair from the darkness of his visage. Even so, she knew something was off about what had just happened to her, but she couldn't quite place the sensation. She would look a bit confused, but still, get lost right in the darkness of the hood he wore. "What... was that?" she questioned outside of her head. But this time, she'd come to a stop in her walking, directly in front of this young man. Whatever had transpired here, she assumed it was his doing...

"Well, not exactly the most assertive entrance I've had today, but definitely not the most timid either." the Master said to the inquisitive greeting at her door. "Well, don't just stand outside, you're not going to get anything done out there." she said to the young man outside of her room. His name was Hiro and he wore the mask of the snake per the Master having given it to him in a time of meeting prior to this one. A smile crossed the woman's face as she turned to face him, her eyes darting over to one of her glowing test tubes in a few seconds a smile on her face. "I'm just gonna lay this on ya', I'm probably going to fade from existence soon. Nothing to be done about it by the way... you shouldn't worry." she said. "But when I'm gone... there will be no one to watch over the others... so I'll need you to do that for me." she said sounding pretty happy about it. She extended her hand, calling to her person, a long Keyblade of an outlandish look. "You're a master now too, Hiro, and as such you gotta take this task... and a this Keyblade, 'cause... graduation gift. Oh and the name Invi, Master Invi, sounds really cool. Kinda mysterious." said the woman happily apparently. Seeming to have completely forgotten that she'd basically just told this young man that she was going to die sometime soon.

[Bloodedge]

It seemed this individual had realized what had occurred to her, at least in some sense of the thought. While true, her current experience was the fault of the young man before her, it was interesting that she had caught wind of the strangeness in any way. When he looked up at this girl more directly, the lower half of his face escaped the shadow of the black coat's hood, showcasing the smirk he wore. "What could you possibly mean?"

"Oh... Apologies, Master. I didn't want to barge in, but the door was already open," said the young Master named Hiro as he entered, as per the woman's request. His attention was soon brought to a glowing test tube when his Master's head turned in the direction of the item, and though he had no clue what it was for, he was colored a bit curious. More importantly, though, was the task being given to him at this very moment. "I'm sorry... you want me... to watch everyone? Because you're going to just up and vanish? And you're offering me a Keyblade and a new name? How exactly is that supposed to... oh," he concluded. It took some time, but Hiro, or rather, Invi, managed to catch up to speed on things in the end. "This isn't just a me thing, is it? You want me and others to do this sort of thing. Like... an organization or something like that, right?"

[Apollymi]

The raven haired young woman was standing before the young man at the fountain, finally able to catch just a piece of his visage that wasn't his hair. But the smirk he had on his visible lower face, combined with his question was something that she didn't expect. Such a reaction was rather confusing for the lass, because she could feel almost certain of what she was thinking, even if her mind felt a bit muddled by the movement of time around her. It wasn't a conscious thought, it simply felt like something she'd done before. "I... don't know. I... just feel like I did this before... but it didn't turn out this way. It's strange." she said as if she was severely confused. "Sorry, I know that sounded weird." the girl finished up. She didn't really know what to say to the cloaked figure, but she knew somehow that they were similar perhaps.

Meanwhile the Master was busy discussing future arrangements with a man she'd recently renamed Invi. "No need to apologize. It was left that way on purpose, I wanted to see what you'd do." the Master said. Such was her playful and ever so slightly mischievous way. The following apology was for his understanding of the situation. Of course, this woman knew that was coming as well, along with the young man's ability to reason out why this situation existed. Soon enough the woman was turning, clapping her hands together around the handle of the Keyblade the young man had yet to take. "Bravo, Master Invi. I knew you'd be able to figure it out." she said and her voice seemed so cheerful it was almost wrong. "Yes, I have already given or am going to give the rest of my direct apprentices tasks while you all become Masters this day. Don't worry though I know you'll be able to complete your task well. I want you to observe the events taking place... but that doesn't mean you should just hold on to whatever you learn. Whatever you do... you should be fair in how you present the information, both to the other Masters and to yourself." she said offering the Keyblade once more. "Oh and I got a book for you that will tell you the future, call it the Book of Prophecies. You guys are all getting a copy, to help you build your unions, yours will be Anguis. Go and find you some like minded Keyblade wielders to join it, but remember, that you can't align yourself with any of the other Masters. Your presences to retain balance have to be friendly competative, but never co-operative. It will disrupt the balance..." mentioned the Master. "And if you find yourself in doubt Master Invi... May your heart be your guiding key."

[Bloodedge]

"Deja vu is strange that way, isn't it?" the young man asked rhetorically. Of course, he knew exactly what happened to the girl, but he wished to bait out the full reaction from her before admitting to anything. "Maybe you did do this before. Maybe you'll do it again, or maybe you haven't done it yet. I like your Keyblade, by the way," he said, in spite of never meeting this girl or seeing the alleged Keyblade she wielded.

"Oh... alright. I hope my reaction was to your liking, then..." was the retort of the silver-haired male. With the second offering of the Anguis Keyblade, the man who would now apparently be known as Invi stepped forward to claim it. He held it in his left hand, and it somehow felt right; more so than the Keyblade he had been provided with originally. With this, also came confirmation of his quick theory, and even more regarding the Book of Prophecies as it were. "Book of Prophecies? Do we really need to know the future?" he asked, only to go more in depth when given the stipulation that these Unions be kept totally separate. "And... we have balance now, don't we? Wouldn't keeping these Unions divided for competition just create an imbalance in the long run?"

[Apollymi]

"I suppose." the girl stated a gloved and feathered hand coming over her face as she tried to reason through what had happened. This was a very strange sensation and she wasn't sure why it existed in the first place. She surmised that it wasn't uncommon to have a random feeling that you'd already done something, even so she couldn't help but feel like she was being lead down a particular path. Still the words of this young man made the girl's eyes widen to the point of shock. She'd never encountered him before this moment, what could he possibly know of her Keyblade. "My... Keyblade?" she questioned resisting the urge to make it appear. Most people weren't fond of the look her Keyblade had, they found it foreboding. "No one likes my Keyblade... and I've never seen you before, so it isn't possible that you've seen it." she said a bit stunned. "You... you're the reason I felt deja vu..." the girl reasoned. But it made her curious about whether this boy would actually like her Keyblade or not if he actually saw it. There was a moment in this where she felt a tiny bit like challenging the man before her, perhaps it was a tiny bit dark, perhaps she wanted to see if he would really accept his 'liking' of her Keyblade. As such she held out her right hand and when she did, pinkish energy seemed to push until she materialized her Keyblade, a black thorny thing with a glowing heart near its teeth. She held it there seeming to want to watch his reaction to this thing that was basically the embodiment of her heart.

"It was at the very least to my expectations. Nothing to worry about~" the Master relayed about the boy's entrance. Moving right along, it seemed that Master Invi was among the more clever of individuals. Questioning their need to know the future. "There are some important bits in there, you all might need. If you don't have them... worse things happen." mentioned the Master about the nature of knowing the future. "It's also a way to maintain the balance. You all have access to the same information, the only difference made will be what you do with it." she said spinning around in her chair after the Keyblade was accepted. The young man know the leader of the Anguis Union seemed to be curious about why keeping the unions separate was necessary to keep the balance. "Because, right now there are 7 of us... and keeping the balance is easy, everyone balances around me. But when I am gone, that won't be the case... and when it's not the case... you all stirring up power of your unions, and combining them, could cause the hunger for more power. Then... the balance falls apart and War happens." said the Master. Her voice was simply matter of fact. "So, keep them separate, have competition, but no co-operation, co-operation leads to consolidation and when that happens one of you might do something you shouldn't. It has to be accounted for, which is why... you're needed to watch everyone with a fair eye, in my absence. To help balance everyone out. You see?" she asked as her experiment in the corner seemed to be reaching a fever pitch.