//------------------------------// // CH39: History Lesson // Story: Kingdom Hearts F.I.M: Rise of The Elements // by Spirit Shift //------------------------------// As the bright blue gleam of the game’s teleport faded, Dash slowly opened her eyes. Slowly, her eyes trailed upwards at the enormous pale grey door in front of her. “Cool,” she muttered breathlessly. AJ tipped her hat in awe. Not wanting to appear completely speechless, she drawled out the first thing that was on her mind. “That’s a… mighty big door ya have here.” Twilight, acutely aware of how large the door was, instead turned and looked around at her surroundings. Doing a complete 360 examination, she found that she and the others had been teleported into a dark grey dome shaped room. “Where are we?” she asked. Pinkie looked around as well. “I guess we’re at a waiting room or something,” she said, wandering around. Rarity crossed her arms. “Seems a bit large doesn't it.” Just before Kirito could turn to correct the girls, a small chime alerted him to a new message in his inbox. Curious, he opened the interface in front of him and frowned as he read the boxed message. Asuna leaned over to read it to herself, her expression becoming downcast as her eyes trailed the words. She sent a small glance back at the girls, who were still beholding the room, before whispering to Kirito, “Are you sure?” He smiled sadly and nodded. He closing the message without responding. “Klein does have some of the strongest sword skills in the game, and I know he wouldn’t hesitate to help. But if we…” He paused for a second before shaking his head and looking up at the imposing door in front of him. “Should we fail here, it falls to him and his guild to save everyone.” He turned around and faced the girls. “We also don’t really have the time to wait for his guild to get themselves together.” Asuna looked down for a second. “Kirito, are you sure we can all do this on our own?” she said, looking back up at him, her eyes glistening. Kirito turned and met her eye. It was clear to him that she was still wavering, probably thinking back to the time he had fought Kayaba alone and almost died. Knowing this simple reassurance from his mouth probably wouldn’t work as much as before, he decided on a different tactic. He simply smiled at her and called out, “Ok, girls I need your attention!” At his word, everyone turned to face the duo. Asuna looked over each of the girls faces. She could see it plainly, the readiness in each of their eyes. She saw how they seamlessly transitioned from their previous curious attitudes, to more serious ones. Asuna silently chided herself for her own lapse in morale. Reaffirming her own resolve to win, she internally vowed that, even if it killed her, she would at least take Kayaba out with her. “Once again,” she began, stepping forward, her voice louder and clearer than it had been mere seconds ago, “I want to thank each and every one of you. Here you all are, willing to risk your lives to save us. To the point where you could all be stuck here forever.” She began to tear up, “What’s worse is that even if we do win, we’ll all leave the game. We wouldn’t even be able to repay you.” Twilight smiled and walked forward. Putting her arms around her she brought Asuna into a gentle embrace. “We’re Keyblade wielders, we don’t ask for payment. It’s our job to help you, and even if it weren't, we’d never leave you all to be stuck like this. It’s inhuman and wrong.” “Yeah!” Dash cheered. “What kind of crazed nut case just up and decides to trap a thousand people in a video game just for his own enjoyment?” Kirito actually let out a small chuckle at her wisecrack. “Well I won’t go into another thank you speech,” his mirthful expression turned serious, “but I do make sure you all know what we’re getting ourselves into.” He threw a palm up and gestured to the grand entrance behind them. “Right now, we’re on the cusp of the boss room on Floor 96. Floors 96 through 100 are nothing but bosses. There are no regular enemies at all. We’ll likely not have any time to rest between them either. Asuna and I have a full stock of rejuvenation items so we don’t need to rest. But… I guess what I’m saying is that you all still have a way out. This is probably nothing like you five have been through. You don’t have to do this, and we aren't forcing you. So I ask you all once more, are you all sure you want to go through this?” Each of the girls glanced at one another and shared a group nod. Simultaneously, they all brought out their Keyblades and raised them up towards the door. One by one a bright beam of light rose up from the tips of their weapons and shot towards the door. Asuna and Kirito followed the lights as the five of them converged just in front of the door. At the intersection, an interface appeared. On it read, “Access Final Five Boss Rush?” It only stayed up for a second before it shattered completely and the converged beam continued to hit the door. The crack of it began to glow and the beam faded. Slowly the door began to open. The two players turned back to the five Keyblade wielders, each of them meeting their eyes with a confident smile. No words were said but an entire conversation was exchanged. Kirito gave them all one last genuine smile and nodded thankfully. Together, the group burst into the room. As the light faded from the doorway, the group took a second to look around and realize that the new room looked eerily similar to the previous one, only slightly larger. Behind them, the door closed and sealed completely. Even so, the group took stances, ready for anything to jump out at them. However, the last thing they expected to see were two men already fighting in the room. One man was clad in a plain blue kimono, one half removed and leaving that half of his chest exposed. Oddly enough, he wore armoured boots. His long black hair, even with part of it messily tied upwards in traditional samurai chonmage bun, flowed freely. In his hands he held two short katanas in his own wide stance dual wield style. The other man looked almost like a player in the game, with his dark blue full body armor and dark red cape. Unlike the man opposite of him, he was cleanly groomed and his hair was properly styled into his bun. He firmly gripped his single katana with both hands, legs spread in traditional kendo stance. Both men failed to register the new arrivals as they slashed at each other and continued dueling. Dash simply stared in confusion, her guard lowering slightly. “What’s with them. A-aren't they the enemy?” Twilight, still holding her guard, mirrored her expression, though less obviously. “I’m… not sure. Asuna, Kirito, what do you guys think?” Asuna squinted at the duo’s fast paced movement. “I feel like I recognize them from somewhere but I’m not sure…” She shook her head. “We have to engage them to see their names. What do we do?” Kirito glanced beyond them towards the large door. “Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe we can just bypass these two if they ignore us. No use in wasting items if we don’t need to.” AJ lowered her Keyblade and nodded, not taking eyes off of the warring pair. “I reckin’ that’s a sound plan. Keep ‘yer guard up just in case though.” Dismissing her Keyblade, AJ switched out with her Beowulf armaments. Twilight nodded. “I agree. We’ll move along the wall. I’ll stay the furthest out to make a shield if they turn on us. Rarity you stay close to me as a secondary defense.” Rarity nodded and took a few steps closer. “Like Jackie said, be ready for anything.” As the two men continued to duel, Twilight and the group moved slowly along the wall. Kirito was at the front of the line with Asuna behind him, Dash behind her, then Twilight and Rarity, both facing towards the centre, and finally Pinkie and AJ. Kirito in particular was moving sideways,  keeping both his blades outstretched towards them. He watched as the man with two blades executed a spin attack towards his opponent, only for him to skillfully duck under both blades and swing his own sword upwards. The first man stopped his spin midway and leaned to the side just as the blade passed right next to his chin. just barely slicing a hair off. Without missing a beat, the second man flipped his blade and sliced back down diagonally. The duel wielder ducked further and rolled backwards. Jumping back to his feet, he stabbed at his enemy who dodged to the side and once more went for his head. “Woah,” gasped Kirito, tracking each and every movement of the skilled fighter. Feeling felt a nudge to his side and tore his eyes off the fight looked over his shoulder see the group looking at him curiously. Realizing that he had stopped moving at some point, he continued. As he walked he continued to watched in awe as the two fought, even as the group made it to the other door he continued to watch. Dash came up to him, grinning. “They look really tough huh?” Kirito nodded. “It’s not just that, they’re blades barely even touch each other. It’s like neither of them even need to block the other’s attack.” Twilight joined the two, having been observing the fight as well. “It almost feels as though it’s scripted, like they know what attack the other will do before they do it.” Kirito put a finger to his chin in thought. “It could be that these two have just been programmed to fight each other endlessly. If we’re lucky, this might just be a secret boss that we need to actively flag.” “Looks’ like we need to work on raising our luck level,” Asuna called out. The three of them turned to see AJ, Asuna, and Pinkie struggling to push open the door. “We might have to fight them,” she said giving up. Pinkie turned and slumped against the door. “Aww poo!” she sulked, crossing her arms. “Pinkie!” Rarity gasped, visibly disgusted. “Watch your language, please.” AJ, who was the last to stop pushing, looked back at Twilight with a raised brow. “Think we can unlock it with our Keyblades again?” “It’s worth a try,” she responded, looking up at the exit curiously. At her suggestion, the girls gathered once more and raised their mystical weapons. Unfortunately, nothing happened. “It’s not working?” asked Kirito. Twilight turned to him and shook her head. “If the Keyblade doesn't work it usually means that door isn’t locked.” “What does that mean?” asked Dash, scratching her head. AJ sighed and shook her head. Moving over to her, she gave Dash a light tap on the noggin which, coming from her and her magic gauntlets, was like a soft bludgeon. “Did you ever pay attention in class?!” “Ohhh! I know! Pick me!” cheered Pinkie, hopping up and down excitedly. Ignoring Dash, who was huddled on the ground holding her head in pain, Pinkie pulled out a pair of fake glasses and began pacing around the group while reciting Luna’s lesson. “Under normal circumstances any lock, both conventional or magical can be unlocked by the power of the Keyblade. However, there are certain circumstances where this fundamental ability has limits. One such is that the magical seal on an object was cast by a magic user whose magical ability is far stronger than the one trying to break it.” Pinkie lowered her glasses slightly and looked over at Twilight, who shook her head. “It definitely isn’t magical from what I can tell. Plus, like they said, this world has no magic.” Pinkie nodded and continued her tutoring session. “Another circumstance is when the object is in fact, not actually locked. The Keyblade cannot force an object to open, likewise if something is being held closed by some other means it falls to the wielder to discern it.” Pinkie gave a wide grin and stowed her spectacles away. Asuna frowned and turned to the two men who were still fighting. “I guess the game won’t allow us to pass until we defeat them,” she said, redrawing her rapier.” Likewise, Kirito turned his blades back to the duo. “How do we get their attention?” Rarity readied her weapon as well. “We need to be careful. We don’t want to jump right into their fight. Perhaps, a ranged preemptive strike with my ability, yes?” Twilight closed her eyes and channeled her magic, not casting any spell just yet, but enough to make any manner of split second decisions. “That sounds like a good idea, on my count.” Everyone held their breath as they waited. Even Pinkie’s smile became somewhat more nervous as it became apparent that even she wasn’t entirely prepared for what they may be starting. Small arcs of lightning began dancing around Dash’s handle. Three ethereal Keyblades appeared around Rarity, her eyes keeping them trained on the two fighters even as they moved around the room. “Now!” Two Keyblades shot out of the gathering, both trained on their targets like homing missiles. As Twilight expected, they were both deftly knocked out of the air as the two men paused in their battle and turned to the group. The first man of the two pointed the one of his blades at the group, fully evident in his eyes. His voice was gruff and deep, but powerful nonetheless. “What is the meaning of this? Have you no honour?” The other man, his voice calm and smooth like a flowing river, scoffed. “This is not a war, when you see two warriors dueling you do not interfere,” he lectured, leering down at them like a king before a peasant. “I’m sorry, but we need to get past this room,” announced Kirito, raising his voice to reach the two. “And to do that It seems that we need to defeat you. The duo looked at one another before turning back to them. The unarmoured man responded first with an amused grin. “So you wish to challenge me as well. You are but children against my blades,” he chuckled. Dash growled and ranted back at them. “Oh yeah! Well I bet we can beat the both of you!” she said, shaking a clenched fist. The second man smiled at them mirthfully as well. “Really then,” he said, an amused tone slipping into his voice. “Customarily, when requesting a duel, the challenger gives their name first. A sign of respect between warriors.” Kirito looked towards the group who all nodded in agreement. Lowering his blades, Kirito stepped forth. “My name is Kirito. I am known as The Black Swordsman. My party and I challenge the two of you to a duel. What are your names?” Both men smirked and the in a grand display of swordsmanship, the first man flipped his weapons into the air. As they spun upwards, two sheaths manifested in each of his now empty palms. Holding his arms completely outstretched, the man waited as both swords slid into their respective holders. “I am Miyamoto Musashi known as Niten Dōraku! I accept your foolish challenge!” he proclaimed, a wide intimidating grin on his face. Unlike his counterpart, the second man simply sheathed his own blade at his hip, making no show of his hidden talent. “I am Lord Oda Nobunaga,” he announced simply. “I too accept your challenge.” Asuna’s eyes shrank in shock and she quickly moved closer to Kirito who had no reaction. “I remember where I know them from now. I read about these two in school.” Without taking his eyes off of them Kirito whispered back. “Who are they?” Asuna regarded the two with trepidation as she revealed what they were up against. “From what I can recall Miyamoto Musashi is regarded as one of the greatest samurai warriors of all time. It’s said that he’s never lost a battle and has never been injured by another’s blade until his death. And Oda Nobunaga is exactly what he claims to be, a brutal warlord who very nearly conquered all of Japan. He’s a brilliant strategist at command and his cunning is second to none on the field of battle.” On the outside, Kirito’s expression stayed as steeled as it had been, however on the inside he was beginning to feel a tinge of anxiousness. Asuna tightened her grip on her weapon. “Maybe we should’ve brought Klein after all,” whispered Asuna, her own emotions showing on her face plain as day. Kirito shook his head. “No use thinking bout it now,” he mumbled. “Twilight, come here.” She stepped forth and joined the two. “Now that we’ve engaged, we have a one to two minute window until the AI aggrovates to us automatically. We need a plan so listen to what Asuna has to say. She’ll be coordinating this battle since she has the most information on the enemy.” Musashi growled, his earlier smirk now expressed as a frown of impatience. “Well, now that the pleasantries have been exchanged. Engage!” Dash took a step forward, but a hand from AJ held her back. As they exchanged glances, AJ nodded up to Twilight and Asuna who were still hashing out a plan. Reluctantly, she hung back. Twilight’s eyes locked with those of Nobunaga himself, neither blinking even as she conversed with Asuna. Twilight could feel the power and respect he commanded. It radiated from him, almost as he had an aura all his own. The same could be felt with the other one. Whomever this Kayaba was, to be able to create such an entity, even as a program, Twilight couldn’t help but become even more curious about him. “You got it, Twilight?” asked Asuna. Flinging his cape with a flourish, Nobunaga called out to the players. “Enough of this ceasefire. You will engage!” Twilight nodded and backed towards her group. “Dash, you, AJ and Kirito will be taking on Musashi. The rest of us will be attacking Nobunaga.” The duo nodded and took a few steps closer to him. “Pinkie, you’ll be on point with Asuna while Rarity and I will be on range. We need to defeat him quickly. Asuna suspects that the longer we fight, the more he’ll learn how to counter our techniques.” “Rodger dodger!” saluted Pinkie. “Understood,” affirmed Rarity. Two more blades came into existence next to her. “Enough stalling!” screamed Musashi. Their time limit up, the man dashed towards the group with surprising speed. To the group's confusion his weapons were still away. A few feet away, he jumped into the air and came back down with a fierce drop kick. “Scatter and resume the plan!” Kirito yelled, rolling to the side.” Everyone moved just in time for Musashi’s armoured boot to come crashing down, shattering the area they were just gathered around. “Remember, samurai’s have a lot of instant kill moves, so be careful.” Nodding, Asuna, Rarity, Twilight and Pinkie took off after Nobunaga, who similarly had not unsheathed his blade. As per the plan the two groups grew distant from each other. One of them engaging Musashi by the exit and the other moving towards the middle of the room to fight Nobunaga. Dash, whom had dodged the attack by flying into the air, came crashing back down with a fierce guillotine slash of her own. Unfortunately, Musashi was just as quick to side step. As she hit the ground, Kirito jumped over her and slashed down at him with his black blade. In one swift motion, Musashi turned and blocked his strike. “What the…” muttered Kirito. His eyes widened at the scene in front of him. His foe had managed to block him with a single long bamboo sword.