Chapter 4
The 4th Day

Alexander opened his eyes once again the next morning. He'd apparently fallen asleep soon after Hayner and the others had left. Of course, considering what he'd been through yesterday, that was hardly surprising. He slowly sat up in his bed, stretching and yawning. "Ugh, what a day," he grumbled to himself, rubbing an eye.

Alex yawned again and got off his bed, standing up and stretching some more. He was feeling a lot better now. Perhaps those Potions had done the trick after all. He'd need to be in top shape for today anyway, because today...

His train of thought suddenly paused. Worriedly, Alex glanced over at the digital clock on the shelf near his bed. The digits in bright red that were on the clock gave him a message he didn't want at all. "Oh... crud!" he exclaimed. It was already well into the morning! And right after promising Hayner to make it to the finals...!

"I'm gonna be late!" he shouted, rushing into his morning routine. He changed his clothes, getting into a red tee-shirt and black jeans, simply grabbed two slices of bread and a glass of milk for his breakfast, and dashed out the door.

After locking the door behind him, Alex looked out into the town. A lot of people were in the Tram Common already. It looked like there were miniature Struggle fights already going on.

"Hey, Alex!" he heard a voice call from the bottom of the stairs, and Alex looked to see Pence down there waiting for him. Olette was with him as well.

"Yo, Pence!" Alex called back, running down the stairs to meet them.

Olette took a sigh a relief at the sight of Alex. "We were just about to get you. The Struggle tournament preliminaries are just about to start, so Hayner and the others are looking for you."

Pence nodded. "Hayner's already started with his preliminary match. He was almost worried that you might not make it."

"Well, I almost didn't," Alex admitted. "But I'm here now, and I'm feeling better. I'm ready to fight in this Struggle."

Olette and Pence smiled at him. "You're gonna clean up!" Pence assured him. Pointing toward the area near the candy shop, where one of the Struggle coordinators was, he said, "Now get out there and bring us back the trophy!"

Alex grinned sheepishly at this encouragement, but soon dashed off in that direction to begin his fight. Pence looked over to Olette and said, "Who're you gonna root for?"

"Both of them, silly," Olette replied automatically.


A few hours later, the preliminaries were all finished. Everyone gathered in the sandlot, where the finals of the Struggle tournament were taking place. A large square platform had been set up for the arena, and many people had gathered in the area. Some people were even watching from the rooftops of the adjacent buildings.

Finally, a few small fireworks went off, signaling the beginning of the finals. The crowd began to cheer as a large, chubby man stepped onto the platform, with a tiny microphone clipped to his green turtleneck. This was the lead promoter of the Struggle, and the main sponsor. He looked toward the crowd all around him and began his pitch. "Ladies and gentlemen, Struggle-fiends of Twilight Town!" he called out, his voice echoing through the sandlot. "It's time for summer's most sizzling clash! That's right! Today is the day for the Struggle and title match!"

The crowd's cheering went up a notch at this announcement, and the leader went on. "Who will be the one to break through the ranks and take on our champion, Setzer!?"

Seifer, Fuu, and Rai were on the left side of the platform, and Rai called out in answer, "Seifer, y'know?"

"And who will leave today," the promoter went on, "as our new Struggle Champion!?"

Pence and Olette were on the opposite side, and they responded by shouting, "Hayner! Alex!"

A crowd of fangirls standing at one corner of the arena called out, "Setzeerrrrr!" Calls of, "Setzer! Setzer!" echoed through the crowd as the silver-haired champion himself strode onto the arena, with his trenchcoat hanging lazily on his shoulders. The Champion Belt had simply been thrown onto his left shoulder. This was a character that was apparently going for the enigmatic "cool." Which was probably why he had fangirls.

The promoter smiled. "Yes, the crowd is fired up, so you know what comes next: Let's..."

"Struggle!" the entire crowd finished for him, completely goaded by the opening speech. More fireworks went off in the air above them. The promoter smiled and stepped off the stage, and Setzer moved back to the corner.

One of the younger coordinators, the one that Alex had met on his first day, stepped onto the arena. "Hey, now!" he called out to the crowd, commanding their attention this time. "It's time to introduce today's combatants! The four bad boys who struggled their way through the preliminaries!"

He pointed toward Seifer's gang at the edge of the arena on his left. "Regular finalist and head of the Twilight Disciplinary Committee: Seifer!"

He then pointed at the corner just adjacent to them, where one small, lone figure was standing. "Completely out of nowhere – who knew he'd make it so far this year? Vivi!"

The man grinned and pointed toward the other side of the arena. "An underground favorite and local attitude problem: Hayner! It's his first trip to the finals!"

He then pointed toward the boy standing just on the other side of Pence and Olette. "And Struggler number four, a newcomer to Twilight Town who has already made himself known: Alex!"

Finally, the coordinator addressed the crowd as a whole once more. "So! Who will win this sweltering summer Struggle!? Who will take home the grand prize?" he added, pointing toward the tables in the back of the sandlot, on which a rather special trophy was placed. "The summa cum laude of Struggle: the Four Crystal Trophy! And... a chance to take on our defending champion, Setzer!" Setzer held up the Champion Belt at this mention, only to excite the crowd even further.

The coordinator looked at the back tables, where the judges and other coordinators were deep in discussion. "It won't be long now, folks. I suggest our challengers go over the official Struggle Rules before we begin!"

Alexander took a deep breath of relief when the announcement ended, meaning that they had a little time before the first match. The preliminaries had been tough but not too tough. Fighting against local boys and girls from the neighborhood turned out to be much, much easier than fighting against deadly Heartless and Nobodies. He was still amazed that he'd made it this far, being the bookworm that he was, but he understood that the last couple of days had strengthened him a bit.

He, Hayner, Vivi, and Seifer walked over to the near side of the platform, where a large chalkboard had been placed, showing the bracket on it. Alex and Hayner were up for the first semifinal.

One of the other younger coordinators walked over to them as they all gathered. "You already know the rules," he admitted, "but a refresher can't hurt. It's easy! You've each got 100 orbs. Attack to take away your opponent's orbs. That's all you have to do. Land a hit and your opponent will drop orbs. But if you're hit, you'll be the one losing orbs, so watch out! Keep collecting orbs. When the match is over, the participant with the most orbs wins!"

Alexander nodded. Of course, the man had forgotten to mention that each match was only a minute long, so work had to be done quickly. Seifer and Vivi left, and Hayner and Alexander remained. The coordinator turned to them and said, "When you two are ready, talk to the tournament promoter. He'll be in the ring."

Hayner nodded silently and stepped onto the ring, waiting for Alex. Alex took another deep breath to calm himself and stepped into the arena as well. It was too bad that Hayner was his first opponent. It would've really been nice if they could've met in the finals.

Once both boys were in the ring, they faced the Struggle promoter. The crowd began to cheer more intensely as the man gave them both Struggle clubs and left the ring. Hayner grasped his and pointed it at Alexander in a menacing fashion, eliciting an "Ooh!" from the crowd.

Alex smirked and stepped back. "As promised," he simply said.

Hayner lost his serious expression and grinned back at Alex. "I can see that. You made it to me without losing. Not bad, Alex." Giving him only a moment to dwell on that, he then added, "But don't let it go to your head. I saw one of your matches; you just blocked and stayed away from your opponent once you got enough orbs. You were barely fast enough."

Alex rolled his eyes. "Am I ever going to look like a fighter to you?" he asked sarcastically.

"I'm just saying," Hayner replied, "that while you're better than two days ago, you've still got a long way to go. ...And don't try any of that retreating stuff with me in this fight. I'm faster than you."

"Ah," Alex said, clipping a small machine to his belt. It was the machine that would generate the orbs he dropped when he got hit. Hayner had one as well. "Couldn't you have just said that in the first place?"

Hayner grinned even wider. "Come on, Alex! I'm just giving you a hard time. Don't be so negative."

Alexander sighed again. "I've had a lot on my mind. I mean, I did kinda ruin your trip to the beach yesterday."

"Oh. Sorry, man," Hayner apologized. Then he shook his head suddenly and said, "Wait, what am I sorry for?"

Alex chuckled and got into a fighting stance. "May the best man-"

"Yeah, yeah." Hayner got into his stance as well.

The Struggle coordinator at the side announced, "Our first match of today's Struggle tournament will be between Hayner and his friend Alex!" Alexander tensed up, itching for the moment to begin.

The coordinator held up a hand. "Ready?" Then, after a suspenseful moment, he brought the hand down quickly. "Struggle!"

As soon as that signal came, Alexander rushed forward and swung the Struggle club. Hayner anticipated this and caught the attack with his own club, leaning away from the strike. He then ducked down and jumped to the side, using that new position to try an attack. Hayner's club came up in an uppercut, and struck Alex's opened guard. A few blue orbs went flying across the arena.

Alex growled and leaned back as Hayner went for a second swing. He then spun around and whacked Hayner once, sending some red orbs into the air. Alex followed through with his attack, jumping up and striking Hayner three more times with his club in quick succession. Many, many red orbs clattered onto the ground, and the young man was thrown back. Alexander quickly used the small amount of bought time to pick up some of the dropped orbs, and took a defensive stance.

The other boy recovered quickly and glanced from side to side. After a second, Hayner grinned and started running around Alex, picking up some of the orbs that the other had neglected to. Alex stared at this with surprise, which quickly turned to anger as he ran after his friend. Hayner's grin became wider as he turned around to block Alex's incoming strike.

"I thought you said no retreating!" he growled as he and Hayner pushed against each other with their clubs.

"You trusted me?" Hayner was quick to retort, and then quickly stopped pushing to dodge. Alex, carried by his momentum, staggered forward and left himself open. Hayner jabbed once with his club, striking Alex in the gut, and then used an uppercut strike to send Alex flying backward. Alexander landed on the base of his neck, and he got up slowly with a groan. By then, Hayner had collected most of the dropped blue orbs.

Alex paused for a moment, wincing in pain, but charged forward again. He came within range of Hayner, who swung his club as a countermeasure, but he jumped back at the last second. Hayner's attack hit nothing but air, and then he was too far gone. Alexander closed in and bashed Hayner a couple of times with the club, making copious amounts of red orbs drop onto the ring, before spinning around and delivering his finishing blow. Hayner had some hang time before he sprawled onto the ground, losing his grip on his club. Alex quickly ran around to pick up as many orbs as he could.

A whistle sounded off, signaling the end of the one-minute match. The Struggle coordinator stepped into the ring and stood next to Alexander. He grabbed Alex's wrist and held it up in the air. "And the winner is Alex!" he declared, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Alex looked at him in shock; he'd actually had the most orbs in the end!? "It was close," the coordinator continued, "but not even friendship slowed this kid down. And Hayner put up a great fight, too."

Alexander, adrenaline still pumping through his system, grinned and waved at the crowd. After a few moments, though, he stopped and looked down at Hayner on the other side of the arena, and walked toward him.

Hayner definitely looked angry as he came back up. "I lost," he growled. "Aww, I can't believe it! Man, to think that I'd fall for a feint like that..." He sighed to himself, but looked up at Alex with a smile. "Looks like I taught you well."

"I had a lot of fun," Alexander said, his grin coming back.

Hayner grinned back at him, but then scowled and turned away. "Yeah, well I didn't, wise guy."

"Hey..." Alex whined, shaking his head. Some things just didn't change. "Hey, c'mon. There's gotta be a way I can make it up to you."

"Nah, it's alright," Hayner said, before chuckling and punching Alex lightly in the arm. Alex winced, but figured that he should've seen it coming. Hayner began walking out of the ring.

He was cut off by Seifer coming into the arena. "Out of the way," Seifer barked.

"You in a rush to lose?" Hayner taunted him as he passed by.

Alexander noticed Seifer's intense gaze, and followed it down to the small blue thing near his shoes. "Gah!" he exclaimed, jumping back from Vivi, who was only inches away from him!

Vivi looked back up at Alexander, and a shiver ran down the young man's spine. "Hehe..." Vivi chuckled evilly, totally contrary to his nature. "Hehehehe..."


Alexander took a seat on a bench on one side of the arena, next to the rest of his friends. He was more than a little unnerved. There was something strange about Vivi... and yet, totally familiar. But... that didn't make any sense. Why would they do the exact same thing here?

Olette noticed his thoughtful, worried look. "Something wrong, Alex?" she asked. This caught Hayner's and Pence's attention as well.

Alex shook his head, but met Vivi's stare again. "I've got a bad feeling about this match," he explained honestly, choosing not to explain until they saw it for themselves.

Until he saw it for himself, rather. It was probably nothing. Maybe. Possibly.

Vivi kept on staring over at Alex, unyielding in his gaze until Seifer finally cut him off. "Don't mess with your elders," he muttered. At this, Vivi silently turned to face Seifer. The little creature seemed to be not at all intimidated by Seifer, which was unusual.

"Whew, just look at those sparks fly!" the coordinator remarked from the back of the sandlot. "I guess Seifer didn't expect to fight one of his own boys!" He held up a hand to signal the beginning of the match. "Ready...?"

Vivi looked down toward the ground. As soon as the coordinator shouted, "Struggle!" Vivi was off, jumping toward Seifer and swinging his club. Seifer jumped back away from the strike, but Vivi was quick to follow up and chase after him.

Hayner glanced down at Alex. "When did Vivi get so tough?" he demanded. Alex simply didn't respond, his eyes intent on the action.

Seifer swung at Vivi, only to be blocked. He was forced to jump back and lean back as Vivi swung twice in quick succession. It looked like they were evenly matched, which was absolutely ludicrous. Vivi was using some impressive acrobatic feats to manage a varied flurry of attacks.

Seifer jumped forward and swung down at Vivi, but the little guy just jumped back again and leaped into the air. The older boy blocked a couple more glancing blows, and the two of them pushed against each other with their clubs. Then, Seifer finally overcame Vivi and swung at him, knocking him back and sending a single, solitary blue orb to the ground. Seifer noticed this orb and dashed toward it. "You're mine!"

Just as he was about to reach it, however, Vivi picked it up, spun around in the air, and swiped at Seifer. There was a small flash of light, and Seifer was thrown high into the air before crashing to the ground. A few yellow orbs were scattered around his body. The young man didn't move; that had finished it.

The crowd was unusually quiet, astounded by this display. Even the announcer was astonished. "I-I'm not sure what just happened..." he muttered. Steadily building up his confidence, he went on and said, "Um... but... the winner is Vivi!" The crowd roared again into applause. "In a positively blistering comeback!"

Vivi walked off the stage and settled into his own corner as Seifer was helped up by the rest of his Committee. Alexander stood up from the bench, his suspicions confirmed.

And, it seemed, so was Seifer's. As Seifer stepped off the ring and walked past the group, he muttered to Alex: "That's not Vivi. Thrash 'im." The three of them retreated back to the back alley, where they'd hung out before. They weren't so fond of crowds, it seemed.

Hayner noticed the Struggle promoter walking toward him. The man said, "It looks like Seifer's withdrawn from the Struggle for third place."

"So I'm in third now?" Hayner exclaimed, his face lighting up. "Aw, baby!"

Pence looked over to Alex as the promoter walked away. "That's... not Vivi?" he echoed incredulously.

Alexander looked across the arena toward Vivi, who was continuing to stare at him. "Nope... That's not Vivi at all." Looking toward the back alley again, he added, "Thrash 'im, huh? You got it."

"What?" Olette asked. "What's going on?"

Alexander sighed and sat back down on the bench. The other three teens sat down there with him as he said, "This looks just like an event that I recognize from the game."

"From the..." Hayner looked around and resumed speaking in a hushed tone. "You sure?"

Alex nodded. "In the game, a Dusk posed as Vivi in the Struggle. It was... a different protagonist, but the conditions were exactly the same as they are now." Alex looked toward the blackboard to see Seifer's name get erased off the chalkboard. "Vivi acted much tougher than usual, and he beat Seifer. I saw it in the game, and it's happening here."

"Can... Nobodies do that?" Pence asked. "Disguise themselves as other people?"

"I guess so," Alex muttered. "The Nobodies have failed to get me so far, so it looks like they're taking a more covert approach."

Olette looked around. "If there's a Nobody with this many people nearby... We should warn somebody."Alex held up a hand, still staring at the arena in thought. "No. No, we play along. Don't tip them off that we suspect something. Not yet."

Hayner nodded and glared at the false Vivi on the other side of the arena. "So, what are we gonna do about it?"

"Well, I'm gonna be fighting multiple Dusks soon," Alex replied. "If things work out as I remember them, there'll be a barrier to seal me in the arena when that happens. It'll happen just after the Struggle ends, assuming I win."

Pence looked thoughtful. "So there's only a few seconds after the Struggle ends until the barrier comes up..." He suddenly got an idea. "Hayner, didn't you fight some Dusks yesterday?"

Olette caught Pence's drift. "Yeah, maybe you can get in and help Alex right before the barrier comes up!"

Alexander raised an eyebrow at this, but found himself liking the idea. It certainly broke the normal series of events, and he certainly didn't mind having some help when push came to shove. "If you could get a club at that very moment, then that could work."

Hanyer nodded. "Yeah, let's do it!"

Just around the corner leading to the back alley, Seifer let out a "Hmph" before ascending the stairs.


"Keep it clean, fellas," the Struggle promoter warned Vivi and Alex as they stood upon the ring. He handed them their Struggle clubs and their orb containers, and then walked off the stage. Vivi immediately walked over to the other side of the arena and stood there waiting. Alex took a deep breath and took his position as well.

"And now, the match you've been waiting for: Alex vs Vivi!" the coordinator shouted into the sandlot, getting the crowd riled up again. Alexander immediately got into a fighting stance, preparing himself for the worst. Vivi simply stood there, waiting for the signal to begin.

Alex gulped. It was really weird how Vivi looked like a Heartless under his hat... Then again, the Heartless were kinda based on the black mages of a certain game, so it made sense...

"Alex, focus!" Hayner shouted from the sidelines. Alex looked up and saw Vivi above him, swinging his club. Alex had completely missed the starting signal. He quickly brought his club up and deflected the blow, but just barely. A single orb of his dropped onto the ground, but Alex was quick to step onto it and pick it up.

Vivi cackled and jumped in place, taunting Alex into an attack. Not one to ignore an invitation like that, Alex rushed in and jabbed toward Vivi with his club. Vivi quickly sidestepped the move and cartwheeled around Alex, revolving around him until he was at Alex's back. Recognizing the tactic, Alex dashed forward as Vivi jumped and spun around, his club seeming larger for a moment.

When Vivi landed, Alex ran toward him and swung in an uppercut, sending Vivi into the air. Alex then jumped up, swung down, up, and then spun to strike Vivi with an aerial combination attack. Vivi sprawled onto the ground, and Alex landed on his feet. Alex quickly ran around to pick up Vivi's red orbs, making sure he stayed in the lead.

Vivi jumped forward and brought his club up. Alex was pretty sure he was out of range of this attack, but the club suddenly swelled to a larger size in Vivi's hands, and crashed down on Alex. Alexander staggered back, dazed by the blow. The club in Vivi's hands went back to its normal size, the whole effect having lasted only a moment and being hardly noticeable at all.

The little guy ran around the arena quickly, picking up a cluster of orbs. Alex ran toward Vivi again, and the mage spun around again. Alex jumped back to get away from the attack, and then closed in. He swung three times and landed his finishing move on Vivi, sending him tumbling backwards. Alex collected a few orbs in that time remaining.

A whistle blew, meaning the end of the Struggle. Alex brandished his club and rushed toward Vivi once more. "Now!" he shouted, bringing his club up to bring the final blow on the impostor. Hayner, from the sidelines, grabbed the club near his bench and ran toward the ring.

And then an intense white flash blinded him for a moment, making him cease his assault and stagger backward. "Wh-What...?" he muttered, completely surprised by the suddenly flash. He hadn't expected it to be like that...

"Alex! You alright?" a voice called from the side. Alex looked to see Hayner there, standing near the edge of the ring. He had made it just in time. Standing right next to Hayner, however, was...

Alex flinched. "Seifer!? Why the heck are you...?"

"Not now," Seifer grunted, resting his own club on his shoulder. "Looks like I'll be able to get my payback after all," he said, then pointed at Vivi. "Look."

Pence gasped and pointed as well. "Look!"

Alexander looked, and immediately regretted it. Vivi had been completely enveloped by a white mist, which billowed out into the air. Then, suddenly, the mist recollected around the spot and dissipated, leaving a Dusk standing in its place.

More Dusks appeared behind Alex, who simply sighed. "Augh, I hate it when I'm right..." he muttered as Hayner and Seifer took positions behind Alex, the three of them standing in a triangular formation. He then cried out as the cold sensation enveloped his weapon again, and the strange shield was there in his hands once more.

The whole crowd was shocked, to say the least. Some of the people, including a few members of the staff, ran away screaming from the monsters that had appeared in the ring. Among those who stayed were Pence and Olette, who tried pushing against the force field that had been the source of the flash. "We can't get in again!" Olette shouted into the ring.

Seifer looked back at Alex, noticing the new shield in his hands. "Where did that thing come from?" he muttered. "And how is a shield going to help us out?"

"It's the only thing that can even hit them," Hayner shot back, a little ticked at Seifer. "The only reason we'll be able to help at all is because we're helping Alex out. Right?"

Alex glanced at Hayner, even more confused. Hayner was right, of course, but... "Something like that... How'd you figure that out?"

"Enough chat," Seifer said suddenly. "They're coming!"

Alexander looked toward one of the Dusks and saw it approaching. "Hya!" he shouted as he swung the shield toward it, the sharp edge of the shield slashing the middle of the Dusk's body. He stepped forward and swung upward to slash it again, and then spun around to bash it with the face of his shield.

Seifer jumped back away from the Dusk he was facing just as it attacked. He then stepped in and swung down on the Dusk, bashing its head with the club. "Come on!" he shouted as he spun around, catching the Nobody with his weapon again and throwing it back.

Hayner stepped aside from his enemy's attack and ran around it. The Dusk looked around in some confusion as Hayner prepared his attack. He brought his club back, tensed up his arm, and then jabbed with as much force as he could. The Dusk went flying into the air, but Hayner slammed it back down onto the ground and made it bounce off the wood.

Alex ran to the Dusk and used the Reversal reaction, ending up behind it. He quickly slashed it a couple more times, and the Nobody exploded into oblivion. Seifer whacked his Nobody a couple more times, making it shatter into nothingness also. However, three more Dusks appeared on the stage and prepared to attack.

"Little help here!" Hayner said as one of the Dusks joined up with the one he was already fighting. He managed to jump over one of the attacks from below, but the other Dusk slashed at him a couple of times as it seemed to walk upside-down in the air. Hayner stumbled to the ground, but Alex ran toward the first Dusk and crushed it with his shield, destroying it.

Seifer jumped high into the air. "Isn't this romantic!" he exclaimed sarcastically as he came down toward the Dusk in midair. He crashed into it with his club first, knocking it out of the air. As the Dusk came down, Seifer spun around and whacked it again, defeating it at last.

As Alex helped Hayner up, he noticed the other two Dusks heading toward them. The most forward one came down low and tried to bash Hayner with his head. Alex brought up his shield and guarded against the attack, making the Dusk's head bounce off the face of his shield. Alexander stepped forward and swung his shield in a wide berth, slashing both Dusks.

Hayner, now recovered enough to fight again, ran past Alexander and followed up with a couple of hits with his Struggle club to one of the Dusks, destroying it. He didn't allow the other Dusk any time at all, yelling, "Fore!" and whacking it toward Seifer. Seifer closed in on the final Dusk and slammed it into the platform with his club, turning it into oblivion.

Alex grinned and held up a hand to Hayner, who grinned back and high-fived him. "That was sweet!" Hayner exclaimed. Seifer simply closed his eyes and smirked.

Alexander looked around at the crowd around them. Some of the ones who'd run away screaming had returned, fascinated by the fantastic fight with the three boys. A few of them, like Pence and Olette, began cheering for them.

But suddenly, the cheering stopped as everyone's gaze turned toward the far side of the ring. Alex and the others looked toward that spot, where a large billowing mass of darkness had suddenly appeared, with gray, jagged, thread-like things rotating around it. A dark portal for the Nobodies, as Alex recalled.

A tall figure in a black, hooded coat stepped out of the portal, which disappeared behind him. Alexander felt a little nervous at the sight of him; the coat was unmistakably familiar. The hood was up, so he couldn't see the face of this stranger, but he had a few guesses as to who it could be.

Seifer also recognized the significance of the stranger's appearance. "It seems we have our ringleader," he stated, brandishing his club.

Hayner scowled at the figure. "So we have you to blame for all those attacks!"

"In a sense," the man replied in a fairly deep, calm voice, which automatically told Alex who this person was. "True, I am in charge of this particular operation." Looking toward the one with the shield, he said, "Not bad, Alexander. Not bad at all."

Alexander took a deep breath and stared at the stranger with a steady gaze. "Nope," he replied. "Not bad for my fourth day in town, huh? Now, what's a member of Organization XIII doing here, attacking people with Dusks?"

"Hmph," the hooded man grunted, sounding a little ticked off at Alex's reply, "the Superior was right. You know too much. And I see you've informed the other residents as well." Shaking his head, he muttered, "...This is becoming complicated..."

"I know too much?" Alexander repeated, raising an eyebrow. In a way, this was actually rather amusing. Smirking, he added, "Well then, how about this? ...Saïx. The Organization's number... 7, was it? The Luna Diviner?"

The man flinched a little, but then took off his hood and shook his head. The man had wild blue hair, and there was an X-shaped scar right between the man's eyes. "You even know my title?" he asked with a hint of confusion.

Alex shrugged. "I recognized your voice, and I made connections. I'm... kinda the type for memorizing these things."

Hayner and Seifer looked between Alexander and Saïx, hardly at all understanding what was taking place here. Hayner scowled at him and shouted, "What do you want?"

Saïx looked at the other two boys, but then back at Alexander. "You seem to know much about us and of the residents of this world, Alexander, but you seem to know very little about yourself."

Alex was taken aback by this. "What?"

"Why you arrived in this universe," Saïx stated as an example. "Why these events you recognize are taking place. Why your presence interferes with what should happen. Why you have obtained that shield in moments of danger. You don't know any of that, do you?"

Alexander looked down at the shield in his hand, studying it with his eyes. The Organization member was right, Alex didn't have a clue what was going on. But did that imply...?

"I said," Hayner shouted again, "what do you want!?"

Saïx finally graced the question with a response. "I merely require Alexander to cease his interference and come with me. The Superior has the answers to those questions, but Alex must come with me to receive them."

Seifer looked dubious. "And if he doesn't?"

Saïx said nothing for a moment, but then held out his hand. In a bright flash of light, Saïx's claymore appeared in his hand. Holding it as his side, he said, "My orders are clear. Alexander must come with me... by will or by force."

Alexander scowled and held up the shield. Everything was getting confusing. First Dusks, then the Organization itself, and now threats from one of the higher-ranked members! And in his hand was one of the things that was almost the center of all this trouble... "What's... going... ON!?" he shouted, hurling the shield to the ground angrily at the last moment.

A resounding silence fell into the sandlot. Then, in an instant, the shield faded away into darkness where it was on the ground. The same darkness appeared around Alex's hand. Strangely, it didn't feel cold this time around as the shield came to his hand once more.

Saïx stared at the weapon. "The Lockshield," he stated. "Equal and opposite to the Keyblade."

Alex looked down at the weapon in his hands. The Lockshield, huh? So that's what it was called... He'd guessed correctly. Then again, hadn't he heard the name in his Awakening as well...?

"You know," Seifer said after a moment, "that sounds like it's pretty important. ...If it were me, I wouldn't trust it in anyone else's hands. Something that rare, you don't just give it up."

Hayner caught Seifer's subtle hint and stepped toward the Organization member. "If you want to take Alex, you're gonna have to beat all three of us first!"

"I believe that would be the Lockshield wielder's decision," Saïx pointed out.

"They're right," Alexander said suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. Glaring at the Organization member and getting into a fighting stance, he said, "You asked for it!"

Saïx simply scowled at them and assumed a fighting pose with his claymore. "Force it shall be." He then dashed forward with remarkable speed, bringing the claymore up and swinging it down toward Alex. Hayner and Seifer jumped to the side, but Alex brought up the Lockshield in an attempt to block the strike. The claymore struck the shield, and the two of them struggled against each other. But soon, Saïx's strength began to overpower Alexander's.

"Hah!" Hayner shouted as he swung at Saïx from the side. The Organization member ceased his pushing and leaned back to avoid Hayner's attack, letting Alex stumble forward with his momentum. Saïx then launched a powerful swing of his claymore at the two boys, knocking both of them back.

Seifer came from behind, however, swinging at the man's head. The club glanced off the back of Saïx's head, making him stagger a little bit. Saïx turned around and swung his claymore, but Seifer ducked under it. As the man followed through with his strike, Seifer jabbed him once in the stomach, and then spun around and whacked him hard in the chest. Saïx had a millisecond of hang time as he was thrown back by the attack.

Hayner then used an uppercut strike from the side while he was still recovering. Growling angrily, Saïx thrust his claymore in Hayner's direction, which the boy only just managed to strike. The Organization member then saw Alex rushing in from the side, and he swung his weapon down toward him. Alex stepped to the side, just barely managing to dodge the swing. As the claymore slammed into the ground, Alexander stepped onto the shaft of it and moved toward Saïx. He slashed the man a couple of times with the sharp edge of his shield, and then bashed him backward.

At this point, Seifer was getting ready for another attack, but Saïx recovered just in time. He leaped high into the air and landed on the other side of the arena, glaring at Alexander. The three boys regrouped on the other side, facing Saïx. Hayner stood up straight and said, "So, wanna give up yet?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed the man's features again, but he seemed to calm himself almost immediately. "It is ridiculous to attempt it now. Alexander is the only one I need, and I need him alive. But you two aiding in his interference are making that nearly impossible. If I were to cease holding myself back, I would most likely end the life of at least one of you."

Alexander scowled. Saïx had been going easy on them! Then again, he should've known; the leader of the Berserker Nobodies certainly hadn't been going berserk in this fight.

"However," Saïx said, dismissing his claymore, "this meeting has had merit." He held a hand behind himself, and another dark portal appeared. "You have given me a taste of the Lockshield's power, and we certainly appreciate that, Alexander. Consider this hostage our thanks."

Out of the dark portal, an unconscious Vivi came flying out, crashing into Alexander and sending him to the ground with an, "Oof!" While chaos reigned on that side of the arena, Saïx silently stepped into the dark portal.

Hayner noticed this just a moment too late. "Hey, that's not fair!" he shouted, running over to the portal. But the portal dissipated just as he reached it, taking the Organization member along with it.

Seifer pulled Vivi off of Alexander, and the boy began to regain consciousness. Alexander sat up groaning, not at all happy with what had just transpired. The shield in his hand was covered in a dark aura once more, and it disappeared into thin air.

There was a less intense flash all around the ring as the barrier surrounding them disappeared. There was a long silence all throughout the sandlot as everyone tried to make sense of what had just happened.

And then, all at once, the crowd erupted into loud cheering. Everyone who was there was applauding and cheering for the three fighters. It had been the most fantastic battle they were sure to see for a long while. Even the Struggle coordinator managed to grab hold of a microphone and announce, "That was amazing! Three of our contestants remained to fight against the unknown enemies long after Vivi's impostor was revealed! Ladies and gentlemen, that's a fight people will be talking about for months!"

Vivi shook his head and looked around, seriously confused. "Im...postor?" he mumbled, standing up. "Wha... Where am I? What happened to me?"

"Come on," Seifer muttered, grabbing Vivi's back collar and dragging him aside. Vivi stumbled on the first pull, but then freed himself and followed Seifer to the back alley, out of sight.

Hayner stretched his right arm and grinned at Alex. "Well, that worked out just nicely." Looking around, he said, "I wonder what's going to happen in the tournament now..."

He didn't have to wonder for long. "As for the Struggle," the coordinator's voice echoed through the sandlot, "in terms of the match between Alex vs Vivi... the winner is definitely Alex! Congratulations to our new top Struggler!" The crowd cheered wildly again, and Alex smiled and waved at the fans.


"That was amazing!" Pence exclaimed as the tired boys took seats on the bench. "It's gotta be the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

Alex grinned. His head was going to become very large by the end of this, figuratively speaking. "Thanks."

Olette, however, was not so excited. "So... who was that guy? How'd he just appear like that? And what is this 'Organization XIII' you mentioned?" she asked, voicing the question on the other two teens' minds.

Alex took a deep breath, sorting out the answers in his head. "Like I said before, that was Saïx, the seventh member of Organization XIII, a group of humanoid Nobodies. I'm not sure what that dark portal is exactly, but all the members use it..."

"Hold it, back up," Hayner said, cutting him off. "Humanoid Nobodies? You mean, Nobodies that look and talk like real people?"

"Yep," Alex replied, nodding. "There were originally thirteen of them, but some of them were destroyed. That group is the leading power of the Nobodies, and it directs just about all of their coordinated actions. Apparently, the Organization doesn't like my presence here." He sighed. "They're still Nobodies through and through, which means they don't have hearts and feelings. And it seems that their Superior knows why I'm here in the game."

"Setzeerrrr!" a bunch of fangirls cried out, preventing Alex from saying anything further. The crowd began to chant, "Setzer! Setzer!" as Setzer himself stepped into the ring, waving to the crowd.

Alexander groaned and hung his head. "Great. Now, to top it all off, I gotta fight one last Struggle, don't I?"

"You gonna be alright?" Pence asked worriedly.

The boy shrugged and stood up from the bench. "Well, I've won a few battles so far today. Winning one more can only help me out."

Olette nodded at him. "Hurry! It's starting!"

Alexander jumped up to the platform and ran over to the Struggle promoter, standing next to Setzer. The crowd's cheering intensified as the promoter gave the two of them their clubs and said, "You two, play fair now. You're at the top of the bracket."

"There's only room for one up here," Setzer remarked. Alex rolled his eyes at this.

The promoter was a little put off, but he smiled at them all the same. "Well," he said with a chuckle, "may the best man win!"

The man started walking off the platform. As soon as he was out of earshot, Setzer turned to Alex and said, "Hey. Rucksack. How about you throw the match for me?"

"Pffft-WHAT?!" Alex sputtered, laughing. "You serious?"

From the sidelines, Hayner shouted, "Alex! Focus!"

In response, the man said, "Let me win, and I'll make it worth your while."

Alexander just laughed at him some more. "Oh, c'mon! It'll be worth my while just to deflate your ego a little. 'Fraid to say I'll be going all out." As he took his stance with the club, he said, "Besides, I've already fought a few battles in a row. What difference will one more make?"

The coordinator unknowingly cut into this conversation, announcing, "Alex, our underdog hero, versus Setzer, our defending champion! The winner of this match will be the true champion! That's bragging rights for a whole year, folks!"

Setzer was silent for a moment, staring at Alex. "Surviving a fight," he finally said, "does not always mean you've won it. I suggest you keep that in mind, before you start making mistakes."

The Struggle coordinator raised his hand, preparing to signal the beginning of the match. "Ready..." The crowd was on the edge as they waited for the next declaration. After a couple of intense moments, the coordinator swung his hand and shouted, "Struggle!"

Both fighters swung at the same time, their clubs glancing off each other's. Alex managed to deflect Setzer's club further than his own, and stepped in for an attack. He swung down on Setzer, whacking him and making him drop a few orbs. He then jabbed at Setzer in the stomach and spun around, throwing Setzer back with a finishing attack. Alexander then dashed around the area, picking up as many red orbs as he could.

Setzer recovered and took a defensive pose. Alex simply rushed in and swung at Setzer. At the last moment, Setzer thrust his club forward, throwing off Alexander's swing. As Alex stumbled, Setzer used an uppercut swing and knocked Alex into the air, shouting, "And that's checkmate!"

Alex groaned as he landed back onto his feet, and dashed away as Setzer swung at him again. He glanced down at the container at his waist, hastily reading the number. He couldn't tell the exact figure, but there were three non-zero digits on the front digital display. So he was still fine for now.

Alexander looked up, and saw Setzer pushing back his hair and taking advantage of his delay. Moving swiftly, Alex rushed in and jabbed toward the man, catching him off guard in the chest. Alex then spun and swatted Setzer away, making more red orbs drop around them, a few of which Alexander managed to pick up.

Setzer brought his club back for a moment, then started a rapid series of jabbing attacks, nearly clearing half of the ring with the move. Alexander barely managed to jump over the strike, one of the thrusts just grazing his calf. The impact, however, was enough to be considered a hit, so a bunch of his own orbs dropped right on top of Setzer. And considering the base strength of the move, he ended up dropping quite a few.

Alex landed once more and turned to face Setzer for another attack, but then a whistle sounded off. The Struggle was over. Setzer looked down at his own container, and his face suddenly lost its passive smirk. "But... I'm not supposed to lose...!" he muttered under his breath.

"Alex! Alex!" the crowd began to chant around him. Alexander smiled and looked back and forth, astounded by this result. He started waving at the raving crowd, immensely proud of himself.

Setzer began walking off the stage, his pride nearly lost. But just as he was about to leave the ring, he turned and pointed at Alex, saying...

"Alex!" Hayner shouted as he, Olette, and Pence ran by Setzer into the arena. Setzer, being cut off from his parting speech, simply sighed and walked away.

"You did it!" Olette cheered.

Pence was grinning still. "That was awesome, Alex!"

The Struggle promoter shooed the other kids off the ring, carrying the Four Crystal Trophy and the Champion Belt. He set down the trophy on the ground at Alex's feet, and held out the Champion Belt to Alexander. Alex placed his hands on the belt, hesitating for a moment. Was this really happening? Was he actually the champion here, or had he been dreaming this whole time?

But then he took the Champion Belt and held it up to the crowd, making them cheer even louder for his success. Cries of, "Alex! Alex!" continued, and Alex eventually lowered the belt and grinned sheepishly.

This was turning out to be the best day ever.


Later that day, the four friends had ended up back at the top of the clock tower, sitting along the edge. Alexander had set the Four Crystal Trophy beside him, still not trusting the incredible height enough to hold it in his hands. He'd already fallen off once.

Getting an idea, Alex scooted back and picked up the trophy, grabbing one of the spherical colored crystals and popping it off the trophy. It was the yellow crystal. He tossed it over to Olette, who caught it at the last second.

Hayner grabbed the red crystal effortlessly, and Pence fumbled with the green one as it was tossed to him. Alexander then pulled off the blue crystal and set down the trophy beside himself, holding out the crystal in front of himself. The light from the sun shone off the crystal, giving off a rather beautiful light.

A shiver ran up Alex's spine as he did this. Being in that position, holding the crystal out, he felt incredibly like Roxas at that particular moment. Was that truly happening at this very minute? In the alternate Twilight Town, was Roxas sitting in the exact same spot Alex was, holding out the crystal in the exact same manner?

Alex shook these thoughts from his mind and smiled. "As promised," he repeated.

Pence smiled and held out his crystal. "Thanks a ton, Alex!"

Hayner chuckled and held out his own crystal to the sunshine. "One more treasure for us to share."

Olette held out her crystal for a moment, but then reached down to the spot beside her. "I've got a present, too... for all of us." With that, she procured four sea-salt ice creams and handed them out to each of the others.

"Alright!" Alex cheered as he took his own and took a taste. Boy, cold ice cream was exactly what he needed. He starting thinking again, and realized that this was remarkably like his first day here in Twilight Town. He shook his head and said, "Wow, it feels like I've been here for a long time, even though it's only been four days."

"Well, it looks like you're fitting in fine," Olette remarked as she took a taste of her own treat.

Pence laughed. "Heh, you've already gotten used to the Nobodies?" This received only nervous chuckles in return from the others.

"Yeah," Hayner said, "we've been putting that off, haven't we? There's no doubt that they'll come after you, Alex. And next time they'll try to do more than take you away."

Alexander scowled, placing the blue crystal in his pocket. "You think I don't know that?" he asked sarcastically. He looked out toward the town, and more contemplation occurred in his mind. Finally, he said, "I've gotta learn how to control the Lockshield."

Hayner nodded, but looked doubtful. "But how are you going to do that?" he inquired. "It only seems to come up in dangerous situations. The only time you can learn to control it is when you really need it."

Pence thought for a moment, but then said, "Hmm... What about that Awakening thing?"

This caught the others, especially Alex, by surprise. "What?" Alex mumbled.

"Well," Pence mused, "you said you kinda lost in your Awakening, right? Well, what if you tried it again?"

Alex considered it, but he grimaced at a thought. "It's not something you can just call up at will. At least, I don't think so... And..." He facepalmed. "Oh, who am I kidding? Like I know anything about anything anymore."

"Woah, hey..." Pence backpedaled.

"I'm living in a video game?" Alex asked no one in particular. "I have a magical shield now? The Organization and the Nobodies know about me? I won the Struggle tournament?!" He looked out to the sunset and let out a sigh. "Whatever I knew about the world four days ago, it doesn't matter now."

"Calm down, for Pete's sake," Hayner grumbled. "You won today. Can't you just enjoy it and relax a little? I can't believe the guy who beat me is such a worrywart."

"Hey, that was a close match!" Alex protested. But he relented. "But yeah, alright. I'll see what I can do." He dared to look down from the great height they were seated over, and looked up again. "NOT taking another dive off the clock tower, though.

Hayner chuckled. "Yeah, 'cuz I'm not going to save your sorry butt again if that happens."

They all had a laugh at this, and silence followed shortly after. Alex stared out to the town, thinking some more. "Well," he mentioned, "I've still got two more days to get it right."

Hayner looked at the ice cream in Alex's hand, which was beginning to drip. "Well, your ice cream only has two more minutes," he reminded the boy.

"Oops," Alex said with a laugh, and took a bite out of the ice cream.

As the sun disappeared over the horizon and the four friends went their respective ways, Alexander came to a realization. This was one heck of a crazy situation, but it could definitely be a lot worse...

He could be doing this alone. He had to thank his lucky stars he wasn't.