William
*After a bit of time, Dado could hear footsteps walking around the dark place. He couldn't feel the presence of another heart, but it was clear they were humanoid. That means it could only be a Nobody...*
Dana
"Do you still wish to go by, 'Dado'?"
Norman
*When he hears the footsteps approaching his tent and senses the darkness being parted by something seemingly intangible, he comes back to consciousness. His eyes drift open... Then close again. They're useless here, in this place where even the smallest mote of light can't exist.*

*He gets up, and as the friendly emotionless voice calls out to him, he exits the tent.*

"No. I've been fighting my inner monologue to not use it... But not having another name to use that doesn't literally mean 'Light' is hard. And I haven't had much time to think about a new name yet..."

"Well... Not *Fully*, at least. I think I have an idea, but I wanna workshop it first."

*He pauses.*

"I went to the Sea of Dead Keys."
Dana
"Until you have a proper name, I hope you do not mind me calling you, 'Zero'. For new beginnings..."

*She got closer, but not too close. Respecting his space.*

"What did you see?"
Norman
*Zero. In one fable, a controversial addition to mathematics, yet a necessary and ultimately victorious one. An unwanted, unappreciated hero.*

*Zero, for new beginnings. Zero-index counting is niche, yet invaluable in some fields. After all, the best way to reduce complexity is often to start from zero.*

*Zero, the self-deprecating title he took after his failure in Agrabah. A title he can redeem, reclaim, and present as his own.*

*He had only failed to choose a name thus far due to his failure to choose a nickname within his desired naming convention. Dado, the affectionate shortening of Daedalus by his two-year-old sister. Thina, a similar potential shortening of Athena.*

*But his immediately considered name doesn't shorten cleanly. Pedi simplifies it, but sounds like pedo. Pérdi adds too much complexity, doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely, and is unlikely to be derivable by a toddler.*

*So why abide by that aspect of the convention at all?*

*He can reject it. He can break it. He can choose which of his names to go by.*

*Eyes uselessly opening, he smiles at Silax.*
Elizabeth
"Nice to meet you, Silax. I'm Perdix Zero. You can call me Zero."

*He blinks, then looks to the side. That sounded stupid. Fuck it, he'll jump back to the other subject.*

"But, uhh, yeah... Right. I, uhh... I met Inaxuma. He explained to me that a Keyblade War was fought there, and that they were trying to 'Forge the Keyblade to control Kingdom Hearts.' I lost my cool, ranted at him about how stupid all the otherworldly jargon is, and... Well, if he was supposed to be my guide, I fucked that up. I'm sorry."
Dana
*Silax stayed quiet for a moment, before Zero could see light beginning to form in Silax's hand.*

"Nice to meet you, Perdix Zero."

*She expanded it, allowing light to be shown in just this area alone. The heartless in the area quickly scattered at the sudden light. And then, with a simple movement...*
Patricia
"Inaxuma is not important. You understand, just a little more, what light can do. They had a war over collecting as much light as possible, accusing the other sides of falling to darkness. Friends turned to enemies. Blades turned against loved ones. A slaughter. Every key was a keyblade wielder who fought to protect the light, and stop the darkness. If you have the time, again, you should explore the area more and immerse yourself in the history... But for now, more pressing matters..."


*The light would begin to dim.*

"Dado and his group failed in closing the door, despite defeating Pira. Their light wasn't enough. I provided aid, but it didn't help them with the door... Now the worlds are becoming corrupted, and a new beast been freed."
Elizabeth
*~~Dado~~ Zero, his eyes still open, smiled at Silax revealing her face. He felt the weight of it: she's normally hooded, and helps run a secretive organization of marginalized folks who need their privacy. This gesture is huge.*

*Also, her hair looks cool.*

*He listens intently to her description of the Keyblade War. They fought over collecting light...? Why? Well, he supposes it theoretically makes sense. Treat something as a limited resource, and people will fight a war over it. Gold, diamonds, oil... And apparently light.*

*He thinks about what he saw. Each Keyblade could have been a weapon of mass destruction. There were millions. Tens of millions.*

*He remembers sheepishly telling Master Aria about his mistake in Agrabah. It's been about a week or two since he taught Aladdin how to use a Keyblade. Hopefully, he hasn't taught anyone else yet...*

*When she drops the next bombshell, however, his eyes widen.*

"...I'm sorry, what?" *They failed? How? How could they fail if they beat Pira? He begins, unfortunately, asking questions.*

"What the fuck? How? What beast? Which worlds are in the most danger? Does this have anything to do with the Light monsters that appeared in the Sea of Dead Keys?"
Patricia
"It was a boy named 'Brad'. He and his friend 'Icidro', I believe his name was, fought on the other side of the door. Icidro had the opposite of Dado's keyblade, the one of darkness. Both were needed to close the door, however Brad won the fight. He fears the darkness and believes everything should be light, so much so that he killed Icidro and destroyed the dark keyblade, preventing the door from being sealed..."

*Silax crossed her arms, taking a moment for her words to sink in.*

"A new beast, one that was trapped deep within the Realm of Darkness, used the opportunity to escape by forcing the door wide open, causing a flood of darkness to escape into the Realm of Light. This beast absorbs all light, and is why the Realm of Darkness is pitch black. Not like there was much light here to begin with..."

"As for the Light monsters that attacked you, I assume it is a defense response by Kingdom Hearts to try and keep the darkness in check. They will likely attack any being with darkness until the scales are balanced."
Elizabeth
*As the light fades entirely from Silax's hand, Zero's face contorts into one of icy rage. He should have never invited Brad to Agrabah. He should have never helped Aladdin manifest a Keyblade. He should have never attacked Louis and his friends. That entire day was nothing but one mistake after another, and it was all his fault.*

*The monsters will attack any being with darkness. Just like Fiora. A defense response from Kingdom Hearts. Inaxuma mentioned it too. But what even is Kingdom Hearts?*

*Another mystery for later.*

"So we failed. To seal the Door to Darkness. Because of *Too much light*."

"I think I'm starting to see what everyone's talking about when they talk about light not being inherently good."
Patricia
"See, you understand. Light, Dark, they are 2 sides of the same coin in the end. But I am sure you have come to that conclusion on your own."

*Silax sighed and positioned her hand like she was about to open a dark corridor.*

"My group is currently getting recon, but it seems like almost every world is in trouble. As for you... I found someone who may be important to you. They were injured when I found them, but they should wake up shortly..."

*A corridor would open and then close, a rabbit plopped out of it.*
Elizabeth
"Oswald!" *Zero crouches down to the Lucky Rabbit, concerned. He hadn't seen him since before Agrabah, but his kind gesture was far from forgotten.*

"Thank you so much, Silax. I'm gonna..." *Shit, what *Is* He gonna do?* "I'm gonna figure out what to do. First priority's finding a safe spot for non-abominations of darkness; it'll help with evacuation." *And, he notes, give Oswald someplace safe to stay.*

"I know your recon is your business, but... If you come across any ways I can help, let me know." *His mind begins racing, piecing together a list of tasks. Help Oswald get back to full health, get him to safety, check up on Sapphire, evacuate civilians in Traverse Town to a safe location, deal with the politics of mass immigration and a refugee crisis, stop Aladdin from teaching anyone else how to use the Keyblade...*