EP 9; RETURN TO TEMPUS FINIS; THE KEYS OF TIME; AUTHENTICATION PHASE; THE EMPATHY INTERFACE PART II; THE MEASURES OF POWER AND FORCE; STEPPING INTO ANOTHER'S SHOES; THE LOAD BALANCING PHASE PART I

DRAGON ZONE 2; GAIDEN EP 9; RETURN TO TEMPUS FINIS; THE KEYS OF TIME; AUTHENTICATION PHASE; THE EMPATHY INTERFACE PART II; THE MEASURES OF POWER AND FORCE; STEPPING INTO ANOTHER'S SHOES; THE LOAD BALANCING PHASE PART I; SCALES AND WEIGHTS

The Monks had arrived at Tempus Finis with Gaiden and his Comrades. Neriah, Terra and Sahara stared around in awe.

"What is this Place? The Things here...their arrangements...it isn't possible for things to be set up like this. Like the Spiralling Stairs...you can see them descend into the lowest depths and ascend into the highest heights...but you cannot see where they end regardless of Depth or Height" Neriah realized.

"It's not only that...the Celestial Bodies here are Massive...in the Material World that sort of Pressure would kill a Living Being but you almost don't feel any Force. The Bodies are Massive but you don't sense the Tug Of Gravity" Terra realized.

"If I were to ask you between Sahara, Gaiden, Terra and Neriah...who do you think exerts the most Force...what would your answer be?" Master Hiroshi asked.

"It's obviously Neriah. She took us three in one on one combat and didn't even flinch" Terra said.

"Easy enough...the next question then is what is the Source Of Neriah's Strength and Force. If I took all the Forces in your bodies and swapped them into each of your bodies in such a way that they went to your Comrade and not to your body...who would exert the most Force...now think carefully, the answer is not as straightforward as it may seem" Master Hiroshi said.

"I see...if you took the Masses Of A Rock and Tree and swapped their Forces...would they still retain the same form? Is that what you are getting at?" Sahara asked.

"Exactly...after swapping the Energies...would the Rock still be as hard as it was and could the Tree contain Living Cells?" Master Hiroshi asked.

"I don't get your point" Gaiden said.

"Well...this makes for a Good First Lesson if you want to meet Mama Pearly Gates" Master Hiroku smirked.

"I thought she was your Wife...now she's your Mama?" Gaiden asked.

"Mama Pearly Gates is Wife, Mother and Sister all at once...as Powerful as she is...she is far more humble than a Unicellular Organism could ever hope to be" Master Hiroku said seriously.

"You're just like my Dad described" Gaiden sighed in defeat.

"First, let's begin by doing some Load Balancing to Calibrate the Forces in your Body so that Sensei Pearly Gates can easily accept you and for that...we need a measure of your Force Levels" the Monks said as Platforms appeared in Midair.

These are Weights that take into account the Force, Mass and Energy Levels acting on your Bodies and converts the readings into Weights and Measures" Master Hiroshi said.

Gaiden and his comrades stepped unto the Platforms.

Suddenly, measures appeared for each of them. Neriah's ranking was the Highest, Terra's followed, then Sahara's and finally Gaiden's.

"So I'm the weakest huh?" Gaiden sighed in exasperation.

"These measures are not measures of Strength but rather Forces...I said they'd measure your Forces...I never said they'd measure your Strength" Master Hiroshi said.

"Now let's begin with a simple experiment to see how Kami Pearly Gates would see you if you stepped through her right now. I will swap Neriah's Force with Gaiden's" Master Hiroshi said as beams connected Neriah and Gaiden.

"Now I want each of you to attempt a Dash at Maximum Force...you'll understand the difference between Strength and Force when you do" Master Hiroku said with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.

"Who is going first?" Gaiden asked.

"You go first" Neriah said with a smirk.

"I guess I'll see what it's like to walk in your shoes for a moment..." Gaiden said as he crouched.

He focused tension into his feet and released it all at once giving him a massive Speed Boost. In an instant he was streaking across the field but midway he tripped over his own feet and fell.

"Ouch! That hurt! I nearly twisted my ankle!" he screamed in pain.

"Now you try Neriah" Master Hiroku said.

Neriah crouched and focused Tension into her feet but when she released it...she didn't get far before her stamina began to deplete. She panted wearily.

"I feel so weak...this sort of sprint should usually be nothing for me" Neriah said.

"I feel really powerful but the moment I make a move my body starts to hurt" Gaiden complained.

"What's going on?" Terra asked.

"I swapped the Forces that give each of you your strengths but I did not necessarily swap your experiences. Gaiden and Neriah have different methods of honing their strength so Gaiden's Forces are best suited to his body as Neriah's Forces are to hers. Gaiden inherited Neriah's Force and Neriah inherited Gaiden's but since their Forces are not suited to the bodies of the other...Gaiden feels massive strain because though he has Neriah's Force he hasn't necessarily mastered her restraint and Energy Conservation. Neriah has amazing strength but with Gaiden's Force in her Body...her energy depletion rate is heightened since Gaiden expends more energy in Combat than she does. This expense translates to a rapid loss of Stamina since Gaiden would have trained to increase and sustain his stamina to compensate for his high expense of energy in Combat...techniques Neriah is unaware of...in short Gaiden's and Neriah's Forces acting on each other without the necessary experiences that shaped their Strength and compensated for the Flaws in how they utilize and conserve their energy would not necessarily make Gaiden stronger even if he had Neriah's strength and Neriah stronger if she had Gaiden's strength. In short...without the experiences that shaped their Forces...the flaws in how the other apply the honed forces...these Demerits are amplified when utilized by one who did not hone the 'Force' within their 'Body' since the 'Techniques the Original Owner used to 'restrain' these 'Demerits' are not neccessarily known to the 'One who inherited the Force Of The Other" Master Hiroshi explained.

"I see...having Gaiden's Force doesn't make Neriah Gaiden...and neither does having Neriah's Force make Gaiden Neriah...their strengths don't lie in the Forces...but in the experiences that shaped how they honed the efficient application of their Forces and restrained the Demerits Of The Application Of Their Forces...thus their Strengths don't lie in their Abilities but in the Core Of Their Character and Personal Experiences" Terra realized.

"Are you beginning to see the sort of Calamity that would befall you if I had you face Onee-Sama Pearly Gates now?" Master Hiroku asked.

"Leaving the Onee-Sama part aside...I get the picture...and it isn't pretty" he said.

Master Hiroshi restored the Forces to their Original Owners.

"So how do we get around the Disparity Problem and deal with the Load Balance issue" Sahara asked.

"How else...with a Royal Ball...as in a Musical Dance...in other Words...Rhythm and Harmony. You must keep time with the Rhythm we'll Play...while making your own Dance Moves. Try to avoid the 'Tragically Humiliating Scene Of Stepping On Each Other's Toes would you?'" Master Hiroku said with a cynical smirk.

"So what music are we dancing to...Ballads? Serenades? Classical?" Sahara asked.

"Hmm hmm hmm...none of that boring Old Stiff Stuff...it's going to be Final Boss Hard Rock Orchestral...alternating between Hard Rock for Rhythm and Orchestral Epic for Harmony...whenever you step on each other's Toes...the Music shall shift to Rock...and when you are in tune...we'll play Orchestral" Master Hiroku said. "We must correct the sluggish slothfulness and tone-deaf eared Stubborn Dumbness of some of you" he said with a smirk.

"My Dad was right after all...it's always the Dumbest Methods that produce the best results huh?" Gaiden sighed.

"But the music is going to be none like you've ever heard...it's going to be...umm...how do I put it...Wavy...but not Blonde...Pure Absolute Black Haired Tyranny" Master Hiroku said. "I have just one thing to say...don't miss those Interactive Final Boss slaying input buttons...Miss the Signs...pay the Price!" Master Hiroku said with a sinister chuckle.