[b]4:  Crash Course in Pain[/b][/center]

Lidia sits there, gazing at the sun finally sets in the distance.  She'd been sitting there for a while, alone.  The other person, who finally revealed his name as Vanitas, had decided to run off for personal training.  She wanted to follow, but he immediately quashed that by saying that this was personal training.  And he said he would return in due time... but that seemed so long ago.  Part of her wondered if she was left fully alone once again.  She sniffs twice before rubbing her nose with her left forearm.  Why hasn't he returned?  Did she do something to anger him without knowing it?  What was it?  Getting to her feet, she pats off the dust that was over her dress and grips her staff, the Black Wand, a gift that was laid in the pod that held her.  Using it as a walking stick, she begins to walk again, concerned.  Yes, Vanitas told her not to follow him, but she couldn't wait any longer.

Hours pass, and she comes upon one of the many cratered areas that peppered the land.  Sighing and wiping the sweat that was accumulating on her brow, Lidia begins to slowly climb down it, breathing deeply with each ridge she grabs a hold of.  She makes it down around three-quarters of the way before she slips, losing her grip and falling to the bottom, cracking the back of her head against the ground.  She screams in pain, immediately gripping her head, turning and looking over to the horizon, seeing Vanitas' form... and in one of his hands, a Keyblade.

The Remnant was taking his time to train his body.  It was coming pretty soon to the time he had to deal with the goody-goodies.  However, his focus is broken when he hears the thud and the scream.  She followed him, when he specifically said that he didn't want to be followed.  Such an irritance...  He walks towards her, his annoyance plain to see in his approach, despite his face still being hidden behind his mask.  He finally reaches for body, and kneels down.  "What the hell did I say?  I told you not to follow me."

"Y... you have one."  Lidia tries to scoot back away from him, but the throbbing pain in her head prevents any kind of action aside from just laying there.

The Remnant looks down, and swears under his breath.  He forgot to will away Void Gear.  "Yeah, I do.  But you know very well I don't work for the Light."

"But..."  Lidia tries to move, but winces again.  She cries a little bit as she continues to look at Void Gear.

"If you paid attention, I said they started as warriors for the Light.  In a way, that was true for me."  The Remnant dispels the Void Gear.  He could go off and explain his past, on how he was originally the fissured darkness from another Keyblader, and what she saw now was a sentient echo of that original form.  Instead, he decided to neglect saying anything too revealing, and to twist the tale.  "That changed, though.  I grew sick of it, of its hypocrisy.  I splintered off from those others, and my master taught me about the Darkness."  The tale was enough to perpetuate his negative message whilst hiding the full truth with half-truths and deceit.

"So... you're a Dark Keyblader?"  Lidia winces as she tries to move.  She releases one of her hands, and nearly faints as she sees tints of black and red covering the palms of her gloves.  "Ow...  I'm really hurt..."  Tears begin to fall across her pale cheeks

"You big baby."  The Remnant sits her up.  "I'm sure it's just a small..."  He looks at the wound, and immediately pauses.  This wasn't just a small scratch, like he initially thought.  Instead, it was a rather sizable gash across the back of her head.  He lays her head back down.  True, he could let her kick the bucket, and he wouldn't give a care one way or the other.  But, he still saw that she could be of use... perhaps even moreso if he healed her, allowing that trust that she had him him to strengthen even more.  However, therein lay the problem.  He himself knew no healing magic, at least none that he could use on others.  The only thing that had the potential of healing were Hi-Potions that were years old.  If he wasn't training, he was finding these things.  Probably knocked them free during his battles with Ventus and Aqua.  Turning around, he walks to a small niche he carved in the stone with Void Gear some time back, filled with humerous vials and bottles.  Grabbing one of the bottles of Hi-Potion, he returns to her and drops it on the ground in front of her.  "Drink it."

Lidia reaches out with her open hand and grabs the bottle.  Dust covers the outside of it, but sees the pale blue-green liquid inside.  Pulling out the cork plug at the bottle's top with her teeth (as she still held onto her head with one hand), she begins to drink from it, gagging and coughing, wanting to vomit.  It tasted so bad!  "I think I'm going to be sick..."  Of course, her complaints are rendered moot.  The wound on the back of her head was beginning to stich itself back together.  She curls up into a ball as the healing liquid works its magic on her.  Minutes pass, and she finally gets to her feet.  However, her face is scrunched up due to the lingering taste in her mouth.  Lifting her veil, she begins to spit on the ground to get rid of the taste.

"Now that your drama is done, perhaps you are ready for the first lesson."  The Remnant recalls Void Gear.  "Lesson one is simple: You fight, or you die."  He stands there, ready to strike.

Lidia takes a few steps backwards.  "Fight?"  This was... "I don't..."  She didn't even see him move.  The only sign that he even got close enough was the stinging sensation that she felt after he struck her face with his open hand.  She gasps and steps back.  "But..."

"Don't be useless.  Fight back, or I will break you in two.  You got that?"  Without any provocation, he dashes towards her, Void Gear extended.

She yelps and stumbles backwards, tripping on the Black Wand.  Grabbing it, she barely gets the weapon in place to block the strike.  However, she is unable to hold onto the weapon, as Vanitas grabs the wand and yanks it out of her hands, throwing it to the side.  She stumbles back a bit more before the tip of his Keyblade is pointed at her throat.

"You're dead."  The Remnant pulls back on Void Gear, as if to thrust the tip into her neck, but is caught off guard somewhat by a puff of black smoke covers the area.  "What the..."  He coughs a littl bit as a small amount of the smoke gets inside his mask.

Lidia doesn't know how she did that, but she did know that it was her that performed this... Dark Cloud.  However, she immediately begins to scurry underneath the smoke on all fours, coughing before reaching her Black Wand.  Hearing him move towards her, she pokes the Black Wand out as far as she could, and as fast as she could.  She hears a groan, and as the smoke dissipates, she sees that she has struck Vanitas... in the groin.  She immediately retracts the extended weapon, stammering.  "I'm Sorry!  I didn't mean to hit you!"

The Remnant was furious.  He strikes the weapon away with Void Gear, and hits her in the face with the flat of the weapon, knocking her onto her back.  Kneeling down, he grabs her by the upper hem of her dress and lifts her face up to his.  "Lesson two:  Don't regret anything, especially while in battle."  He smacks her once again with the Void Gear, this time with its hilt, this time knocking her out.  Standing once again, he shakes his head.  "You're going to be more trouble than I thought."

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