Kiro stood once again in Master Lumos’ chamber of the Superior Hall.  Lumos was massaging his forehead, trying to take in all the information from the Moogle-Mic recording of Xelio’s last words.

Kiro raised an eyebrow.  “Something wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing wrong.  It’s just a lot to take in at once.  Especially for an old one like me.”  Lumos stood up and held the Moogle-Mic in his palm.  He stared at it for a few minutes, before looking up at Kiro again.  “I’m sorry, but there’s a lot that I must think through and consult with the other Masters.  You’ll have to leave for now.  Go find Achilles; he wanted to talk to you.  He should be in the Library at this time, you know.”

“Understood.”  He bowed, and closed his eyes.  A white ring appeared above him, and light fell from it, bringing Kiro back to the main chamber of the Superior Hall.

Kiro proceeded to the Shin Archives.  Achilles always spent a few hours reading while he left Kiro to meditate under the waterfall.  Although the library was large, it was very easy for Kiro to find Achilles since he sat in the same seat at the same desk every time.  Achilles closed his book as Kiro walked up to him.

“You wanted to speak to me, Sensei?”

“Yes.  But not here; let’s go back to 4th.”

The two headed towards the 4th District of the Living quarters in the Shin Fortress.  Kiro’s room was located here.  They were the lowest-quality rooms in the Fortress but they definitely weren’t the worst in the country.  The only complaint anyone had was that it was too close to the airship hangars.  They walked into Kiro’s room and shut the door behind them.  Achilles leaned on one of the walls and Kiro sat on the small cot.

“So overall, the completion of the first objective was a success, judging by the report.”  Achilles opened the door and poked his head out to check one more time.  “Rhenisca told me about what happened when you were fighting Xelio.”

Kiro eyed his hands.  “It was…  The worst so far.”

“But the Assailant kept it in, didn’t it?”

“Yes, it worked…  Sensei…  What’s happening to me?  Is this how people turn into Heartless?”

“Well- I don’t- It’s different but…”  Achilles shook his head.  “I don’t really know.”

Kiro leaned forward.  “This is why they’re all afraid.”

“But you can control it.  Like I’ve said Kiro, this will be your chance to prove that you are nothing like the Heartless.  Rhen promised not to tell anyone else.  And I’m sure Icel won’t say anything about it either.  They trust you.”

Kiro straightened up this time.  “Okay.  But what now?  Master Lumos said he had to talk with the others.  Will this affect my primary mission?”

“I don’t think so.  You’ll most likely stick to the search and rescue operation.  Since we’re sure now that Xonek’s back, the first order will probably to set up Shin’s defenses.  You may be on your own again for the next objective before you get much support from the other branches of the Shin Military…  But enough of this for now.  Take a break.  We’ll send someone for you later to meet with Master Lumos again.”

“Ok.”  Achilles left the room, and Kiro remained cross-legged on his bed.  Kept it… In?  He put his hands out and stared at them.  The image bothered him too much.  Kiro closed his eyes and returned to meditation.

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

Kiro’s focus was disturbed by the constant humming and commotion of the airships lifting off just outside.  He peered out the small square window to see many troops mobilizing and filing into the airships.  Of course, regular military soldiers going about like this was normal, but what stood out were the many keyblade-wielding warriors.  There were small squads of about four to five for every army of soldiers in a ship.  Kiro never saw many keyblade-wielders outside of District 13, the special area for Keyblade training.  He was also aware of the other countries apart from the Shin Country had some Keyblade wielders, but again, he’s never seen this many in one place.  What’s going on?  Kiro quickly turned his head at a ringing sound that came from the speaker on the wall.

“Kiro, please report to Brief 7S.”

“On my way now.  Thank you.”  Briefing Room 7S.  That was a regular briefing quarter.  Understandable, as the Masters’ chambers aren’t as convenient to get to.  Kiro couldn’t help but also think that the other’s didn’t want his presence to “desecrate” the sacred Superior Hall with his feet.  He shook the thought out of his head and made his way towards Briefing Room 7S.

Kiro walked in to see Achilles leaning on the wall, an empty table with empty chairs along its side, and a large monitor on the wall.  A thin frequency wave line was on it.  The line bended and shook as Master Lumos’ voice was heard.

“Welcome, Kiro.  I apologize that we could not meet face to face again, but as you have probably noticed already, many measures are being taken to the recent news.”

Kiro nodded.  He knew Lumos could see through the many camera lenses set on the walls.

“This is how I’ll be speaking to you until further notice.  And if you need to speak with me, you may personally request for my attention through the small monitor at the back of this room.  But now to more important business...  Achilles.”

Achilles pointed at the large monitor.  The screen’s contents changed to a large map of the world.  It then zoomed onto a  large region covered by dark clouds.  The terrain under the clouds were revealed to be a vast elevated plateau.  It zoomed further and changed into a live video feed of the area.  Heavy rains and thunderstorms were visible, and Kiro could barely see a silhouette of buildings.

“Your primary mission is the same.  You are still assigned to search and rescue of the three remaining special-op groups.  The next objective is to locate Astrapianus and Iykonus.  They were sent to the ruins in the Thundaga Plateau.  Secondary objectives are similar to the last, as you will also report back to us about any Heartless activity within the region.  The low pressure area that remains constant in this region will be a great obstacle in succeeding your mission.  Therefore, we have provided special gear to help.  A special visor featuring infra-red and heat detection to help with visibility, and light diving gear consisting of a faceplate and small oxygen tanks for flooded, underwater areas due to the constant rain.”

Kiro kept attention on Achilles.  It was strange, even after knowing Achilles his whole life, Kiro still couldn’t shake off the mysterious vibe that radiated from his teacher.  Kiro exhaled deeply.  There’s always time to wonder, now’s not the time to ask…

Achilles continued the briefing.  “Your departure to the Thundaga Plateau will be tomorrow when the hands meet pointing north.  Any questions?”

“Only about what the commotion at the hangar’s about.”

Lumos voice returned.  “One of the measures being taken.  Troops are being sent to the main cities in the Shin Country and surrounding provinces.  The other nations have realized the return of Xonek and Heartless and have handed all military operations to the Shin.  I can’t reveal all the details now.”

Kiro nodded again.  “I have no others.”

Achilles placed a hand on Kiro’s shoulder.  “This is by far your most dangerous assignment.  The region is unstable.  The ruins, even as they are ruins, are alive.  Thundaga’s power is coursing through everything there.  Lightning is a very dangerous element, Kiro.  Keep that in mind.”

Kiro nodded, again, but the advice still puzzled him.

“Good luck, Kiro.”  Master Lumos’ last words before the monitor shut off.

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Piko wasn’t frightened by the loud crashes and the bright flashing lights that continuously played through around him.  He was quite fascinated actually.  He wondered how such an awesome sight occurs.  He looked around at all the other weird lights that randomly sparked from other strange structures around him.

Thundaga was weird, yet pretty, he thought.  He looked again at the small lights that flashed inside small glass containers, then looked at the big bolts of lightning that fell from the sky.  Piko’s shift was almost over once again, and he would have to leave Thundaga for another while.

Piko then walked over to the sealed chamber that he was guarding.  He looked through the small glass window at the young boy and the older man sitting miserably.  They kept silent, not speaking a word.  Piko knew why.  They were probably afraid by Piko’s big brother’s that stood by them inside the chamber.  Watching.  They pounded on their big bellies when they were bored and nudged each other on the shoulder.

Piko did like their funny hair though.  It was strange, like the butterfly-hair lady, but it was wild and free.  Piko liked that.

He kicked the huge blast door but he only hurt his small pointy foot.  Piko screeched a little, but then scratched his head at the door again.  Master wasn’t happy at all about what happened at Blizzaga, so he called in all Parasite Cages after that.  Piko hasn’t seen any of them since then…  Sure, this fancy cell that they found in the ruins was pretty strong, but Piko was sure that his brothers can hold better than this thing can.  But Piko remembered again, that he shouldn’t question the Master.

He turned to look one last time at the bright lights.  Two of his other brothers appeared, and signaled the end of Piko’s time in Thundaga.  He was only glad to be getting away from the rain.