[video]- A few days after Ben's speech

[hotheadwarmheart]

[A message from Lea appears on everyone's phones.]

So I was thinking... we don't know when more people are gonna turn up, but it's a pretty safe bet that eventually they will. And it's not super practical to have people walking around specifically looking for new arrivals all the time, or to throw a party and make a big speech every time new people show up.

So how about we set up a spot somewhere, like in the front entrance hall of the school, that's like an information booth? We could take turns manning it in case anyone turned up, and if anyone did, we could answer questions, hand out phones, try and explain the situation, stuff like that. We could maybe even print up some pamphlets or something that cover the information Ben went over in his speech, so we don't have to keep repeating the same basic stuff all the time. And to make sure people know where to go, we could hang a banner on the big 'Auradon Prep' sign; it's a big obvious landmark, so it'd be hard to miss, and the banner would serve double duty covering up the bottom part of the sign and making it seem less full of itself. What do you guys think?

Also, is it just me, or is everything way too... perfect, around here, appearance wise? And I mean like creepily perfect. Not just the grounds, but all the public areas, all the rooms I looked into before we were told which ones were off limits, everything.

There's nothing out of place that can't be explained by people just suddenly vanishing. No one's bed was unmade. No one's desk had just randomly accumulated stuff. The desks in the classrooms all look pretty much brand new. There's no cup rings on any of the tables, no fingerprints on the glass, no books in the library with dog-eared pages that I've seen, no random mysterious stain on the carpet that's probably been there forever, no scratches in the woodwork, nothing. What's up with that?

Comments

[missrecalled_npcs]

[Ben chuckled.]

"That's... a lot in a single zapp. Let me try to take this in order as best as I can."

[A smile.]

"First off. I think a booth and pamphlets are a wonderful idea. Were you interested in taking point on that?"

"The banner however... I like the idea, but maybe we should find another place for it. Perhaps we can make it look as though my father's statue is holding it? When it is in beast mode, his hands are down and forward. Or maybe just over the entrance to the school. I don't think FG would like it if she came back to find part of the sign defaced. Even temporarily."

"I am not sure what you mean by perfect though. Yes, people make their beds and clean their rooms here. We all try to take pride in the appearance that we show to the world...." [He was a little confused, now.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

Sure, I can write them up. Did you want to approve the final product first, or am I good to print them and put them out once I get a copy I'm happy with?

[He quirks an eyebrow at Ben calling the ide to cover up part of the sign 'defacing' it.]

I'm not saying we should paint over it or something. Just hang a piece of cloth so it covers the bottom part. Though is FG the one who wrote the sign or something?

[Because if so, he questions her taste. Or at least her sense of subtlety.]

And yeah that's fine; I'm not saying people should be slobs or anything. I'm just saying it's a little weird that everything is like that. It's... hmm...

[He thinks for a second about how to put the feeling into words.]

It just doesn't look like a place where people actually live. It looks like... I dunno, a movie set, or a setup for a magazine photoshoot or something. I keep half expecting someone to yell at me to not walk on the grass or take books down from the library shelf because they just got it how they wanted it, and I'm ruining their shot. It just feels... [He doesn't want to say 'fake', even if that's probably the most accurate term for it.] ...a bit off.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"I would like to see them before they are finalized please." [Not that he distrusted Lea, he had just learned that lesson in the last year.] "I appreciate it, thank you."

"She.... may have been, I'm not fully sure. But she very much embodies it. And she tries to ensure that we all do as well. She would not want us to forget, especially without the teachers here to help us keep to the spirit of goodness."

"You are of course allowed to read any book in the school library. For the rest, I'm not sure what to tell you. This is how we live here in Auradon. It is how we've always lived, at least for as long as I've been alive."

[hotheadwarmheart]

Alright, no problem. I'll try and get something typed up after Keyblade practice tomorrow. Don't know why Aqua thinks starting earlier is gonna make us do any better, but what're you gonna do, ya know?

And well if FG shows back up, I'll have to ask her then. And if she was the one who came up with it, maybe let her know how it sounds to someone not from Auradon.

[AKA, smug, superior, and passive-aggressive. Which probably wasn't the intent, but it was definitely the effect.]

[missrecalled_npcs]

"I can't say that I am familiar with what Keyblade practice is, but if it is anything like Roar or Tourney, then I think that is just part of being a coach. And I'm sure that when she returns home she will be happy to talk to anyone who wants to speak to her."

[hotheadwarmheart]

If you're up early enough, you can come with me and watch if you want. I don't figure Aqua would mind. I don't know what either of those other things are though; sports, I'm guessing?

[missrecalled_npcs]

[A chuckle.] "Wish I could. But I don't have much time for sports these days." [So yes, the other things he mentioned were sports.] "Maybe you could take a video sometime?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

Keyblade practice isn't really a sport; it's combat training. We'll be going up against some serious threats back in our own worlds, so we need to be ready.

But yeah, I could probably take a video, sure.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"Huh. That... actually sounds really useful. Is it open to everyone?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

Well, kinda? You need a Keyblade to really participate though, and unfortunately they're not really the kind of weapon you can loan somebody. And getting you one of your own would be kinda complicated. Basically, you can give someone the potential to summon one, but after that, managing to actually summon one would be pretty much up to them.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"How can you give someone the potential?" [he asked, interested.]

[hotheadwarmheart]

Well basically, the person doing the giving summons their Keyblade, and they and the person doing the receiving both grip the handle at the same time, with the person doing the giving's hand on top. Then the giver says a couple rhyming lines- I don't know if they're a spell, or just ceremonial-, and that's really all there is to it.

I'm told only a Keyblade Master can do it, though I'm not sure if that means it just plain won't work for anyone else or if it's just that only Masters are supposed to do it. I'd have to ask Aqua. Or you can ask her yourself, if you're interested.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"I'd love to know more. If you have the chance to ask before I do, I would appreciate it. Thank you."

[hotheadwarmheart]

Alright; I'll try and remember to ask then. If the situation in my world has taught me anything, it's that the more Keybladers you've got on your side, the better.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"Your side against what, exactly?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

Back home? A Keyblade Master gone bad and his Organization of cronies, plus a ton of monsters called Heartless and Nobodies. I think there's a type called Unversed now too. It's basically an 'end of the world as we know it' scenario if they're not stopped.

In other worlds I've been to, it's been robots, mad goddesses, assorted monsters, freaky chaos entities, you name it. Basically if it's big and threatening, having Keybladers on your side when facing it is a good thing.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"But if so much of this started because of a Keyblade Master gone bad... wouldn't you want to be more cautious about who you helped to gain a Keyblade?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

Man, I wish we had the luxury to do that. As it is, we're having a hard time scraping together the seven we need to fight this guy. And it's not like wielding a Keyblade is what made him go bad or anything; screwing around with Darkness is what did that.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"I mean I would love to learn, but I'm not sure throwing more magic at the problem is really the best answer. If you're willing to share more, maybe we can help you brainstorm other solutions."

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea shakes his head.]

If there were some other way of handling this besides throwing seven Keyblade wielders at it, I think Master Yen Sid- another version of the guy you know- would have figured it out by now. The whole thing is a really, really long story, but the bottom line is that the evil Keyblade Master I mentioned has been planning this thing for well over a decade; a battle royale of our seven lights vs his thirteen darknesses. We don't show up to fight him with seven Keybladers, he's gonna get his seven lights elsewhere by snatching up seven innocent people to sacrifice for his crazy plan. Which basically forces our hand anyway.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"Oh... so you are looking to have more than seven then?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

[Lea shakes his head.]

Not really. Like I said, we'll be lucky if we can even get the seven we need back home. Pretty much the only reason I got the chance at a Keyblade was that they were kinda desperate to fill one of the seven slots. We were still two short when I was first yanked out of there. One of the two others we were looking for- Master Aqua- is technically here, but she's not the same version of Master Aqua, so that doesn't really help us much, outside of the extra training I'll be getting. The multiverse makes things really complicated.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"I think I'm a bit confused. If you know the bad guy's plan is that you show up with exactly seven heroes on your side, and he has a contingency plan for if you have less... why wouldn't you want more?"

[hotheadwarmheart]

It's not that we don't want more, it's just that there aren't really any more to be had. By the time it's all over we'll probably have a few more for reasons that it'd take way too long to explain here, but we'll only be able to get seven for the initial confrontation. Active Keybladers are... really thin on the ground back home, to say the least.

[missrecalled_npcs]

"From what Mal has told me, doesn't time generally stop in your own worlds while you're in ours? Perhaps this is a good time to find more people who are willing to help." [A warm smile. It took all his self control to keep himself from volunteering. He had a responsibility here.]