“It’s Kiro!”  Icel jumped from her hiding place, and put her keyblade down.

The cold sensation Kiro felt on his forehead left him.  That was too close…

“Ah.  Achilles’ pupil.  Why are you all the way out here?”  Rhen returned from sitting along the window ledge.

“I was given the assignment to search the ruins for you two.  Your status was officially M.I.A.  As a secondary objective, I am to track down the Zoul.”

Icel sat on a piece of rubble.  “Well, I sent a Moogle-Mic just awhile ago.  They should know we’re fine.”

“We also have a possible location of where the Zoul is kept.”  Rhen walked over to Kiro and handed him an old piece of paper.  “Icel found it in the temple’s library.  We looked through many of their books to find some clue to what the Zoul’s are.  We believe the picture on that page symbolizes the Zoul Drops.”

The image appeared to be a water-droplet shaped outline, as if to point out how the object was hollow, and empty within.  “And if this is what the Zoul Drops look like, you know where it is?”

“Yes.  We’ve seen this symbol before.  It was carved on the back of a large statue that we saw in the courtyard.  We’re going to go back to it, to investigate.  But, we heard a lot of noises on your way up here.  Did something happen?”

“I was ambushed by Heartless.  There were many, but…  I had help along the way.”

Rhen gave him a curious gaze.  “Help?  You weren’t sent alone?”  It was strange to hear that Kiro was accompanied by another for an assignment.  All of his tasks in the past were performed on his own.

“I was sent here alone, yes.  But I met a strange man along the way named Xelio.  He is an elderly man that had a very long beard, and carried a fishing pole with him.  He guided me to the temple, and helped me on the elevator, but he vanished before we got to this floor.”

“We’ve seen the old man before.  But…  How did he possibly help you during that attack?”

“His powers… They’re like yours.  He’s shown a lot of expertise in blizzard magic.  I had no idea until he helped me during the elevator battle.”

“We need to find him before we leave.  Icel and I didn’t think much of him before.  But it looks like he’s been here for awhile, and might know something about the Zoul Drops.”

Icel ran over to the window that Rhen was sitting at earlier.  “Is it done, sensei?”

“Almost.  I can’t finish it all the way up here, which is why I have to go first.”

“It?”  Kiro gave a puzzled look.

“Do you like slides, Kiro?  I’ve prepared a large, ice path spiraling down the edge of this tower.  It should lead to the courtyard.  I need to go down first, since it stops at a point.  I’ll finish it on my way down, with you and Icel following.”  Rhen walked over to Icel and stepped onto the window ledge.  “Well, we have to hurry, so once I go down, wait a minute, and immediately head down after me.”  Rhen jumped through the window, and disappeared.

Kiro ran over to the window, and saw a slab of ice leading off to the side, to where he could no longer see it.  It sloped downward, so as Rhen said, it spiraled down the tower.

“Don’t worry, she knows what to do.  It’s safe.”  Icel smiled.

“All right…  But, what happened to you and Rhen?”

“Rheni-sensei and I were also ambushed by Heartless.  It was while we were in the library.  Some of the books flew open on their own, but they were really Bookmaster Heartless.  They attacked with their powerful magic by surprise.  Soon enough, we ended up as prisoners in a Parasite Cage.  Later, many Minute Bombs were being gathered in this room.  But they all went off suddenly, giving us a chance to escape.  We were attacked once again, but Rheni-sensei and I were ready.”

“That explains the explosion I heard earlier.  That’s why I ran up here.  Smoke was coming out around this floor.”

Icel nodded.  “Okay, we have to go now.”  Icel stepped out of the window, and disappeared down the slide.  Kiro followed.

Why did they need all those Minute Bombs?  Kiro looked down and could see the courtyard as he slid down.  He spotted the large statue of the walrus and the man standing on it.  Then he looked out, away from the ruins.  At the surrounding mountains.  A strong blizzard was stirring up around the ruins.  He turned his gaze back at the courtyard, and the weather was fine.  No strong currents of snow, just the usual, never-ending sprinkle.  This must be the natural, wild form of defense that Xelio spoke of…  Kiro neared the end of the slide, so he jumped off and landed softly on a pile of snow.  He got up, and walked towards Rhen and Icel, who were examining the back of the statue.

“Yes.  It’s the same one.”  Rhen placed a hand over it.  “The book we found and this statue are the only places where we’ve seen this symbol.  It has to be around here somewhere…”

Kiro jerked around quickly and held out his keyblade.  “Something’s coming…”

Rhen turned to look at him.  “I don’t hear anything-”

Suddenly, many dark orbs appeared in the air, and a Heartless jumped out of each one.  They had blood-red claws and danced around strangely; their helmets clanked as they rushed towards Kiro and the others.  “Soldiers!”  Kiro prepared a defensive stance.

“Diamond Dust, raid!”  Icel jumped over to Kiro’s side, summoned her keyblade and threw it at an incoming Soldier.  It quickly disposed of the Heartless, and returned to Icel’s hand.  Rhen stepped in front of them, and summoned her keyblade.  It looked similar to Icel’s Diamond Dust, with the same bend in its edge, and the snowflake teeth.  The only difference was in color.  It had a more purple hue compared to the Diamond Dust’s blue coloring.

Rhen pointed at another incoming Soldier, and a thin aurora line came out of the end.  It came into contact with the Soldier.  Starting from the end of Rhen’s keyblade, the line started to solidify, with large crystals of ice protruding from the line.  Rhen’s keyblade reared back due to the recoil, and soon enough, the ice reached the Soldier in an instant, and it froze in midair.  The Heartless shattered, as it fell onto the ground.

Kiro blocked a Soldier’s incoming slash attack from behind, rolled behind him, and finished it off with a powerful swipe to the back.  More Soldiers started to appear, one by one confronting Kiro.  But his skill was too great for them.

Rhen and Icel coordinated together to decimate the number of Heartless.  As the Soldiers tried to attack the two, Rhen and Icel would use their keyblades as conduits for their ice magic.  Icel would quickly freeze any Heartless that were close enough, and Rhen finished them off by smashing the ice with the end of her blade.  They covered each other’s blind spots enough to keep their defense virtually impenetrable.  Kiro was just as effective on his own.  He was trained to be self-sufficient.  He took advantage of his agility and his trained senses to take care of any Heartless.  This is too easy…

Another wave of Soldiers appeared, but this time, they stood their ground.  Instead of the usual mindless, brutal attack, they just stood there.  Their eyes were fixed upon the Kiro, Rhen, and Icel.

“What’s wrong with them?”  Icel tried to walk up to one of them, but Rhen put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hold on.”

Something bigger…  The ground underneath them shook dully.  Each quake stronger than the next.  The Soldiers around them were dancing in place now.  They gave off strange cries, as if they were laughing.  At that moment, the wall behind the Soldiers fell through.  As the dust settled, Kiro could see a glowing pair of two, big, yellow dots.  The massive silhouette leapt out of the rubble, and landed in the middle of the dancing Soldiers.

Icel stepped back.  “That’s…”

“Not again…”  Rhen recognized the beast that stood before her all too well.  It had a large purple frame, and towered over them with its four muscular legs.  The monster sported a sharp black horn on its forehead, with two bull-like horns on each side.  The beast released a riotous roar, and faced the three that held a keyblade.  Behemoth…

The Soldiers that were dancing in place now proceeded to attack.  They ran towards Kiro and the others with their claws in front of them.  Kiro engaged them.  The little ones first…

“Icel!  Move!”  Rhen grabbed Icel to look at her.  “Our blizzard techniques won’t work on this Behemoth.  We have to strike the black spike on his head.”

Kiro finished off a few more Soldiers and turned towards Rhen and Icel.  “I’ll take the Behemoth.  I should be able to get close enough.”

“But-”  Icel gave a worried look; even Rhen doubted.

“We can’t let them get the Zoul Drop…  And close range is my thing.  Please, take care of the soldiers.  There’s too many to take out on my own.  Your teamwork and coordination is best for them.”

Rhen gave Kiro a quick nod.  “You’re right.  Good luck.  Stay away from the orange light.  Icel, let’s go.”  Rhen and Icel ran over to a group of incoming Soldiers.

Orange light?  He faced the Behemoth.  It stared back at him, and roared once again.  The colossal Heartless charged towards Kiro.  Damn!  The Behemoth was surprisingly fast, and Kiro barely dodged.  The beast roared again, but planted its hooves into the snow.  It bent its head down, and a glowing orange light appeared on its middle horn.  There it is…  Kiro readied his usual defensive stance.  It should be easy to dodge.  The orange orb intensified, and it shot out towards Kiro.  Kiro simply sidestepped and avoided contact.  There…  What?!

The orb broke off into more streams of energy.  They circled back and closed in on Kiro.  They surrounded him; he couldn’t go anywhere.  Every single cluster of energy rained down on him, engulfing him in a painful orange spark.

“Aaagh!”  Kiro fell to his knees.  He looked back up at the Behemoth, only to see the bottom of its hoof.  No, not yet!  He rolled out of the way, just in time to avoid being smashed.  I can’t take another hit like that…  Kiro could barely move.  He picked himself up, but slipped.  Damn this ice…

The Behemoth prepared another charge, but also slipped.  It fell and cracked the ice a little.  The monster roared again in anger.  It placed its head down once again, to cook up another energy blast.  No… No!  The Behemoth reared its head back, ready to launch its death ray.

The ice under the Behemoth started to crack loudly and abruptly.  The cracks surrounded the Behemoth, formed and started to sink.  The piece of ice it was standing on was slowly sinking below.  The orange light disappeared, and the Behemoth shifted around nervously.

A huge blubbery mass erupted from the ice, throwing the Behemoth onto its back.  The Behemoth moaned in pain, desperate to regain balance.  Kiro looked back at the thing that came out of the ice.  What… the hell?  It had a flat snout, with two oversized canines that hung out.  It possessed a large helmet-like piece of metal on its head, and several plates hung off a larger plate on its flabby back.  The color of the walrus was strange.  It was mostly a shadowy grey, and its underbelly was a creamy white.

“What is that?”  Icel stared in amazement.

Rhen shook her head in disbelief, but still saw the huge creature.  “It’s… A giant…  Armored walrus…”

The armored walrus turned towards Kiro.  It gave him an intimidating growl.  It then turned around towards the Behemoth, who was back on four legs.  Kiro noticed a capsule made of ice on the walrus’s back.  The capsule shattered, and in place, was a stout elderly man, twiddling with his three foot-beard, fishing-pole in hand.

“Miss me, anyone!  Ahahaha!”  It was once again, Xelio.  He danced around on the walrus’ back.  “C’mon, Kiro!  Help me take this oversized, upside-down faced elephant!”

Kiro couldn’t help but laugh at this sight.  I’m going crazy…  “All right!”  Kiro ran towards the Behemoth as it charged head on into Xelio’s walrus.  Their heads collided, and they both flinched a few inches back.  They were identical in size, and evidently, similar in power.

“Kiro!  Orio and I will distract this lug!  You need to get on its back and take care of the black horn!”

Kiro charged behind the Behemoth as its bull-horns were locked into Orio’s, Xelio’s walrus, massive ivory tusks.  He jumped onto its back and lunged at the dark spike.  Kiro slammed at the spike with quick, but powerful, swipes from the Assailant.  He scraped its teeth along the edge of the spike, and the Behemoth groaned at the intense pain.

“HA!  Nice work, kid!  Now, let Orio take care of this.”  Xelio tapped the end of his fishing rod on the large walrus.  “Let him have it!”

Kiro jumped off the Behemoth as it fell to the ground, paralyzed.  Kiro stepped back, to clear space for Orio.  Orio pulled itself up to the Behemoth, and let out a deep triumphant growl.  It opened its jaw, and sank its great tusks into the Behemoth.  The Behemoth shrieked one last time, before it faded away.

“Woot!  That’s how it’s done!”  Xelio looked over to Rhen and Icel, who were just finishing off the last of the Soldiers.  Soon enough, they were the only five in the courtyard.

----------------------------------------------

Kiro walked over to Rhen and Icel, but turned around towards Xelio.  “Thank you.”

“No problem.  Just doing my job.”

“Your job?”  Rhen rubbed her eyes again, still doubtful at the sight of this old man riding an oversized walrus.

“Orio and I are here to protect these ruins.  We’re the last line of defense Blizzaga has.”

“Ah.”  Rhen bowed.  Kiro and Icel noticed this, didn’t understand, but followed Rhen’s movement.  “My apologies for our encounter earlier, Sir Xelio.  I didn’t know you were the guardian of the pure element.”

“Eh, no need for apologies.  Just an explanation of why you three really wanted to come here.”

Kiro stood up again.  “Wait, if you are the guardian, then why were you so willing to let us here?”

“I’m not a paranoid old geezer.  I could tell you three meant well.  And, I needed your help.”

“The Heartless, of course.”  Rhen pulled out the picture of the Zoul Drop she showed Kiro earlier.  “Sir Xelio, do you know what this is?”

Xelio jumped off Orio’s back and examined the old page.  “Ah, I thought so.  You three want to know where to get the Zoul Drop.”

“So you know where it is?  We need to know if Xonek really has a chance at acquiring these-”

“Ahh!  Calm down!  I know what you Shin are afraid of.  There’s no need to explain.  We know Xonek’s after them.  And you can tell your leaders that they have nothing to worry about.  The Zoul Drops are perfectly safe.  Xonek doesn’t even know where to start looking.”

“Well, neither do we.  But we really need to know.  Our orders are to take the Zoul Drop upon confirming their existence.”

Xelio stopped laughing, and took a few steps back.  “Ah, I’m not fooling anyone.  Not even myself.”

“What do you mean?”  Rhen raised an eyebrow.

“I…  I’m about to explain a lot.  About the Zoul Drops.  Everything I can right now.”

Kiro and the others sat.  “Well, the Heartless are gone for now.  Go ahead.”

“The Zoul Drops don’t just have one common physical appearance.  They are all part of one greater item, called the Zoul of Krystal.  Where did the drops come from?  They were created by a horrible man and his students too long ago to remember anymore who sought great power.  They wanted a weapon powerful enough to rival the ones they believed to be gods.”

“They wanted to kill the gods?”  Kiro never brought the subject to his mind.  He didn’t acknowledge any particular god, but understood their concepts.  All-powerful beings that couldn’t be defeated by anything else, certainly not humans or any mortal.

“Yes.  They wanted to kill the gods.  So they planned how to build such a weapon.  Their weapon needed to contain abilities of all the elements of Earth, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Ice, Water, Darkness, and pure Holy Light.  They also believed eight pure souls for the eight elements were needed to complete their weapon.”

Icel raised a hand this time.  “How would they come across getting these elements and souls?”

“Do you all know how a Heartless is born?  The darkness in someone’s heart develops and grows, or is amplified enough to where the person gives in to their evil thoughts and feelings.  Their hearts become tainted, and envelop into the darkness, leave their original bodies to take a new, hideous form: Heartless.  It’s a rather ironic name.  Since the Heartless are actually made up of a heart; just, a heart that’s given in to the darkness.  But no one thinks of the empty shell that’s left behind.  It’s a vessel that you all would consider non-existent.  The empty soul without a heart, without capability to feel any emotion, or own any quality that truly makes someone human.  That is what’s left behind.  It can be just as dangerous as a Heartless if the person’s heart was especially weak.  But pure souls, is what the malevolent men needed for their ultimate weapon.  The men tracked down eight poor, innocent people that had a special gift in each of the eight elements they needed.  A two-bird one-stone maneuver.  Their hearts showed no sign of a growing darkness.  These people were pure, heart-filled people that had the least sign of malevolence in them.  But the men had their ways to force an external evil onto the hearts, and artificially transform them into Heartless.  These were the eight original Heartless of our world.  The empty vessels left behind retained their human form, with their talents in their respective element.  Through sorcery, one by one, they were trapped into a different crystal prison.  The men now had everything they needed.  They combined the eight crystals, and formed the Zoul of Krystal.  A weapon capable of destroying and creating anything.”

“But the men overlooked the Heartless counterparts, and they all perished by the uncontrollable rage.  They destroyed everything, split the Zoul of Krystal into the eight parts now known as Zoul Drops.  The Heartless disappeared, never to be seen again.”

Eight… It isn’t just four, and there aren’t just four elements…

“The Zoul Drops are holding cases that contain the pure soul that make up the Zoul of Krystal.  Word spread about the wicked men and their plans.  The news spread to all parts of the world.  Everyone wanted to find the Zoul Drops.  But, the pieces were so far spread out in different parts of the world, few ever found one.  Some weren’t even aware that they had one.  It was so long ago.  By now, everyone had forgotten about them.  Only to be considered mere legend and figures of bedtime stories.”

“Yet you know all of this?”  Kiro leaned forward.

“I know.  Because…”

Everyone leaned forward.

“I am one of the eight.”

“Whoa, wait…  One of the pure souls?  But, I thought-”  Icel almost fell over.

“I know four of us were definitely found by your ancestors at one point.  The keyblade-wielding Shin.  Your Keyblades had the magnificent power of freeing any kind of lock, whether it was physical or figurative.  That included freeing us from our crystal cages.”  Xelio took the hook of his fishing rod and showed it to the three.  It was a shining smooth hook-shaped crystal.  “This was my prison.  The keyblade-wielders long ago realized my abilities in ice magic, and appointed me guardian of the Blizzaga pure element.  I accepted without a question.  It was my only matter of repayment.”

“How did you survive?”

“I am an empty vessel.  I do not age like you do, I keep the form that I was in when they forced my heart into the darkness.  I lack a heart, and all those things that make you human.  But, my strange and unique ways I speak and act are all me… Or, what’s left of me.  I… Don’t really know how to explain all of it.”

“And what of the other three?”  Rhen fixed a braid in her hair.

“The souls talented in Fire, Lightning, and Air were also recovered.  Like me, they were appointed to guard the pure element that they discovered.  All the Zoul Drops found so far were found by the pure element that they were skilled in.  No one knows where the other pure elements are, so they never found the other Zoul Drops.  My identity as a non-existent being, or ‘Nobody’ were to be kept secret.  I was simply to be a common resident in the area, watching over the Sanctuary.”

“What about the war with Xonek fifteen years ago?”

“We failed in keeping the Sanctuary intact, but the element was saved from Xonek and his Heartless.  Xonek then learned about the legendary Zoul of Krystal, and wants it now.”

“So…”  Kiro allowed all the information to sink in before asking this last question, but Icel raised her hand again.

“What’s your walrus’ name again?”

Xelio laughed.  “Odobenus Rosmarus Ivory Omegus.  You may call him Orio for short.”

Rhen knew what Kiro wanted to ask, so she did it for him.  “What’s wrong?  Shouldn’t you be glad we were able to keep the Heartless out?”

Xelio looked down.  “Before you three came, Xonek found me, and held me as a prisoner.  He was able to penetrate my mind to get everything I knew about the Zoul of Krystal including me being one of the eight, along with the whereabouts of the other three associated with Fire, Lightning, and Air.  I soon escaped with Orio’s help, and was hiding around the outer rim of the ruins; that’s where the blizzards were strong.  It was good enough to hide me until you three came.  You three are Keyblade wielders, and I thought you were able to help me to drive the Heartless out.”

“Well, we have.  Will you come back with us, so we can report to our masters with you, one of the eight pure souls?”  Rhen held out her hand.

“I wish I could.  But the Heartless will be back.  No matter how many times Orio and I drive them back, Xonek sends even stronger forces.  I’m sorry.  But I will only leave on one condition.”

Rhen put her hand down.  “And what would that be?”

Suddenly, large pillars of ice rose from the ground surrounding Rhen and Icel.  Kiro jumped to away from the ice and summoned the Assailant.  Why?

Xelio jumped back onto Orio.  I’m sorry Kiro.  But if you really are the one, then this should work out just like I thought.

Kiro stared at Xelio.  Why are you doing this?

“Kiro!”  Rhen yelled from the icy cell.  “Put Xelio down!  I don’t care what you’re thinking; this is an order!  He’s assuming a hostile position against us, and as an operative of the Shin, you will obey this order!”

No…  He isn’t doing this to hurt us-

Trust him…

Kiro spoke aloud.  “You again?”

The man needs your help.  Show him that you can.

“But…”

“Now, Kiro!”  Kiro could barely hear Rhen.  The sound of her voice was fading away.

Don’t doubt yourself anymore.  This man needs your help.  Go.

“What are you standing there for?!”

Kiro lifted the Assailant.  “Acknowledged!”  He ran towards Xelio and Orio and jumped.

Xelio raised his left hand and a blast of snow flew towards Kiro in midair.  Kiro rolled in the air with the keyblade to act as a spinning blade and cut right through it; he also gained a large amount of momentum in the air and was about to slam the Keyblade onto Xelio.  Xelio stepped back and the capsule of ice that covered him earlier returned and shielded him from Kiro’s attack.

Orio rolled over in the snow, forcing Kiro to leap off.  It growled and slammed its body onto the frozen floor.  Cracks started to form in the ice, spreading out all over.  Ice all over the courtyard broke and water ran once again.  Orio, with Xelio stored in the ice capsule, dived into the water, invisible to Kiro’s eyes.

The Keyblade isn’t going to scratch Orio’s armor at all…  It’s underbelly was the only obvious vulnerable spot.  I need to get close without getting myself smashed.  Those tusks can kill though…  Kiro ran closer to the center of the courtyard.  The water and fountains were closer to the outside.  He didn’t want to be right there once Orio decided to jump back out.

Instead, Orio splashed its head out of the water, to send large chunks of ice flying towards Kiro.  Kiro sliced the first incoming piece of ice in two and jumped over the second.  He rolled as he landed to dodge the third, and turned back towards Orio.  Orio continued this maneuver of throwing large wedges of ice at him.  Kiro ran towards another incoming piece of ice and once again cut it in half.  He stood on top of one of the pieces to gain more altitude.  He jumped onto a flying piece of ice but quickly hopped right away onto another piece that followed shortly behind it.   He took one final leap towards the giant walrus, and scraped the end of his keyblade along its soft belly.  Orio wailed and retreated back into the water.

That’s not going to work again…

Orio flew out of the water, and onto the snowy ground several yards away from Kiro.  It roared and planted its large tusks into the earth.

What’s it up to?  Kiro felt the ground shake below him, and tried to step back.  He was late; two large columns of ice rose from the ground, and one scraped Kiro’s right arm.

“Rrgh!”  He fell back.  At least it wasn’t the left.  Kiro held the Assailant in his left hand.  It’ll be hard to make another power blow.  I need both arms for that.  Damn… Well, this will have to do.

Orio kept its tusks in the ground and gave another angry growl.  Kiro felt the quake once again, and quickly dodged.  He jumped onto the flat edge of one of the ice columns and jumped towards Orio.  Orio summoned another pair of ice columns, but Kiro bounced off them with ease.  Orio proceeded to bring more ice in an attempt to stop Kiro, but the boy sprang off each one; he got closer and closer.  Orio realized his mistake, quickly pulled his tusks from the ground, and swiftly turned its body, to slam Kiro in midair.

Kiro fell hard to the ground, landing on a hard piece of ice.  “Blech!”  Kiro spat and coughed.  His blood stained a bright red onto the white surface.  I can’t…  Give up now…

Kiro picked himself up and ran straight at Orio again.  The walrus bellowed deeply, and slammed its canines back into the earth.  This time, the columns of ice erupted quickly from the ground starting at the walrus’ tusks towards Kiro.  They formed a perimeter that surrounded Kiro.

He’s trying to trap me… Not happening!  Kiro ran towards the wall, jumped onto it, and proceeded to make his way towards Orio.  Big mistake, Orio.  Wall running is a specialty of mine.  Kiro ran along the dry surface of ice and reached the walrus’ face.  He leapt towards its helmet, spun through the air, and knocked the back end of his keyblade straight onto the walrus’ armored forehead.  The helmet rang like a bell.

The walls of ice shattered; Kiro landed back onto the ground.  Orio pulled its head out of the snow, and waddled dizzily.  He groaned as he finally fell over onto the ground, knocked out.  The ice capsule on his back shattered, and Xelio emerged.

“You haven’t seen it all yet, kid!”  Xelio ran towards the water and hopped onto a drifting slab of ice.  He cast his fishing rod into the water, and quickly pulled it out again.  As the hook emerged from the water, a large pillar of ice followed it, and formed a dragon-like, sea-monster sculpture of ice.  The narrow serpentine face glared at Kiro, and a thin aurora line shot out of its mouth.

Kiro knew immediately what would happen.  He dove into a pile of snow that was nearby, and barely dodged the sinister beam.  Kiro turned around to see many large spiky crystals of ice where the beam touched.  Xelio cast his rod once again into the water, and brought forth another sculpture.  Now there were two beams that froze anything they came into contact with.  Their aim was to send Kiro into an icy tomb.

How am I…  Kiro looked up at Xelio.  Kiro was shivering.  The cold was slowing him down, which gave a deadly advantage to Xelio.  At that moment, Kiro felt a cold sensation starting at his legs.  Wait-  NO!  The two beams met directly at Kiro’s feet.  The ice slowly built up, and soon enough, he was encased into a shell of ice.

Xelio stepped hopped back to the main ground, and walked towards Kiro.  I was wrong... Hold on… What is that?

A dark aura surrounded the frozen Kiro.  Xelio looked through the ice, and saw streaks of black along Kiro’s skin.  Ice that covered Kiro’s keyblade, the Assailant, was hollow.  The keyblade was no longer present.  Xelio ran back and watched from a safer distance.

The ice that held Kiro shattered and flew across the courtyard.  Kiro screamed and slashed with his bare hands at the air around him.  Xelio stepped back further.  His hands, black claws… His face…  What is that dark mask?

Kiro grabbed his head and writhed around in pain.  The Assailant… Where is it?!  Assailant!  He spread out his arms, and the dark aura around him vanished, along with the dark purple tint on his skin.  The Assailant returned in its full glory, in Kiro’s left hand.  He looked back at Xelio.  Kiro prepared another charge, but stopped as Xelio raised his hand.

“That’s… Enough.  You’ve proven your strength, Kiro.”

Kiro breathed heavily.  “What…  Was your condition you mentioned earlier?”

Xelio pointed behind Kiro.  “That.”

Kiro turned around.  A big blue bowling ball sized sphere lay in a pile of rubble behind Kiro.  Kiro looked around the sphere, and noticed a piece of the rubble.  It was a man, holding its arm up.  “This was the statue… And that’s…”

“Blizzaga.  That is the pure element.”
---------------------------------------

“We can take the orb.  You can have it with you along the way-”  Rhen was brushing snow off her clothes.  Icel was caring for Orio at the end of the courtyard.

“No.  Kiro needs to seal it.”  Xelio folded his arms and stared at the orb.

“But how can I…”

“You have a keyblade, kid.  The keyhole is contained within the pure element!”

“Keyhole?  What does that have to do with this?  How is that going to stop the Heartless from coming?”

Rhen put a hand over Kiro’s shoulder.  “Kiro, I’m not so sure of everything that’s been happening myself…  But Xelio seems to know what he’s talking about.  Trust him.  And, according to teachings long ago, the keyblade has the power to open or seal any lock.  Our ancestors used the technique long ago to protect places from Heartless attacks.  As long as the keyhole is open, the Heartless are able to travel around the area.  Xelio wants you to seal the keyhole of Blizzaga.  To keep the Heartless out of this place once and for all.”

Xelio walked up to Kiro.  “Her words are the truth.  Sealing the keyhole will keep the Heartless out.”

“Why didn’t they do it a long time ago then?”

Xelio put his head down.  “That’s the other part I want to tell you about…  The four elements…  We eight pure and empty souls have a special bond with the elements.  Their keyhole will stay open as long as we stay out of our crystal prison.  When the gate is sealed, we must return to our crystals.  The same crystals we were trapped in during our creation.”

Kiro looked over to the orb, and then at Xelio.  “You want me…  To seal you away again?”

Xelio laughed.  “Don’t worry.  I do not mind anymore.  Now that I know that a boy like you is willing to help save his world.  This way, while I return to the crystal hook, I will once again become a Zoul Drop, and the pure element will be safe from Heartless claws.  You will be able to take the Zoul Drop to your leaders.  If that is what you wish.”

Rhen rubbed her elbow.  “But…  Sir…  Do you really want to go back to into that small cell again?”

Xelio turned towards Rhen and laughed.  “First you really want me to come with you guys, now you’re questioning again?  You’re real funny miss.  Ah, who am I foolin’?  I don’t even know why I’m laughing…  We empty shells… We, ‘Nobodies’, don’t really feel anything.  I won’t be sad in that little thing.  Really, don’t worry about me.  You all are doing your jobs, and I have done mine.”

Kiro stared into Xelio’s eyes.  He could tell that Xelio said the truth.  There was no doubt in his words.  But something bothered Kiro about Xelio.  No emotion?  Xelio’s laughs weren’t fake, they seemed genuine.  Real.  This must be what you were talking about…  But… Can I really help him?  Kiro looked back at the orb.  “Okay.  I’ll do it.”

Xelio walked in front of the orb with his fishing rod.  “You’ll know what to do.  Just whatever feels right.”

Kiro summoned the Assailant.  Something just convinced him to point the keyblade directly at Xelio, so that the end of the blade, Xelio, and the orb were perfectly aligned.

Then, Kiro forgot about everything around him.  It was as if the only thing in the world were him, the Assailant, Xelio, and the Blizzaga sphere.  A brilliant beam of sparkling light shot out of his keyblade, went through Xelio, and into the orb.  A great blinding light emerged from the orb, and everything was quiet.  The only thing Kiro heard was a soft click.  Like the click of a lock after the key was turned.

-----------------------------------------------------

The snow fell lightly around Kiro and the others.  He turned to Icel and Orio.  Orio was no longer there.  Icel wore a saddened expression.

“He just… Vanished…”

“Icel, did you send the Moogle-Mic requesting immediate extraction?”  Rhen then turned around to Kiro.

“Yes, ma’am!  A long while ago.  An airship should be waiting outside the temple soon.”  She also walked up to Kiro.  “Kiro…  Everything’s okay now.  We’re going home.”

Rhen looked at where the orb once sat.  A great icicle now stood, in the shape of a massive armored walrus, with an elderly man waving around a fishing pole standing on its back.  “Let’s go.  We have a lot of explaining to do for the masters.”

Kiro held the hook-shaped crystal in his palm.  I’ll know what to do…  When it feels right…