Another Heart

DISCLAIMER: I don't own KH, DBZ, FF, CT, or YGO. There ya go. (Filthy lawyers…)

CHAPTER 7: A Contest of Wills

"Why are they letting Heartless enter the arena?" Raphael hissed.

Malik shrugged. "I don't know; it looks like they don't even fear the Heartless here, almost like it's entertainment for them…"

"Regardless of their 'entertainment value,' we have to take out the Heartless, or else this world may suffer the same fate…" Yuna countered.

At that moment, Kai walked in. "Well, you three have done better than I thought," he sighed. "Congratulations; you three are officially participants in the tournament," Raphael jumped up and started a small victory dance. "However," Raphael froze, "You have a few more matches left to determine where you'll stand. Your official prize," He handed a scroll to Malik. His eyes lit up as he scanned over it.

"It's a spell!"
Raphael immediately peered over his friend's shoulder. "When in need of a force that can end any fight, with a flick of your wrist, call down Heaven's might…" A small bolt of lightning struck the ground before them. "Who writes these things, anyway?"

"It's Lightning magic," Kai explained. "Now get out there; your next opponent's already waiting!"

"Right…" Raphael led the way out the door. Once out on the platform, he noticed that it was empty, except for himself, Malik, and Yuna. "I thought he said our opponent was already out here?"

"He was right," said a cold voice behind them. A tall, pale-faced man with elflike ears was leaning against one of the pillars. "Took you long enough, Keybearer."

"How do you know about-"

"That's my business," he pulled a scythe from his back. "Time for you to die!" He rushed forward, and Raphael just barely brought his Keyblade up in time to block the scythe.

Bloody hell, he's fast! The man apparently noticed Yuna and Malik moving in to attack him, as he jumped over Raphael's head, and floated to the other side of the platform.

Malik cast Fire and Thunder in rapid succession, but the attacks barely fazed the man, who laughed. "You call that Thunder? This is Thunder!" He raised his right arm, pointing at Malik, and a ball of lightning appeared around the Egyptian, sending him flying. He rushed over, ready to finish the Egyptian off, but Yuna caught him in the back with several rounds from her guns. He glared, and raised his arm again, and a large sheet of ice crashed down on top of her. He smirked, and turned back to Malik, only to receive a fireball in the face. Raphael took advantage of the distraction, and brought his Keyblade down hard on the wizard's head, knocking him out of the air.

He pushed himself back up, and turned to Raphael, his eyes glowing red. He leapt high in the air, and pointed down at his opponent. "See how you like this, Keybearer!" He shot a ball of dark energy at the redhead, and it exploded on hitting the ground, engulfing him in black flames. Raphael collapsed to the ground, barely able to move. The next instant, the scythe was at his neck, and the purple-robed man was smirking down at him. "All too easy…" he raised his scythe, and glared coldly. "Time to pay the reaper, brat," at that moment, a rather large rock collided with his head, sending him sprawling to the ground. As he struggled to grab for his scythe, Malik rushed over and kicked it out of his reach. However, he got a large fireball in the back as a consequence. The wizard limped over to his abandoned weapon, but Raphael slashed at his back, causing the other to collapse. Raph pushed him over with the tip of his sword, and brought it to his neck.

"All too easy," Raphael panted. Magus tried to glare at him, but passed out.

Kai's voice boomed around the arena. "Magus is unable to battle. Team Raphael wins!"

"WHAT!" Vegita roared. He slammed his fist into the viewing screen he'd been watching, which did not end well for said screen. "That piece of shit kid actually beat him! This is bullshit!" He stiffened. "It's time for me to take matters into my own hands…" and he stormed off.

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Magus was recovering. "Damn, you're better than I expected,"

Raphael smirked. "You're not too bad yourself," then he sank to one knee, clutching a burn on his arm. "Ow…"

The older man smirked. "Whatever," he pulled a dark blue Potion out of his tunic, and drained it, his multiple cuts, bruises, and burns disappearing instantly. "You might want to get that looked at," he made to walk off.

Yuna and Malik had gotten back up and rejoined Raphael, both looking worse for the wear. "What'd you say your name was? Magus?" Yuna called.

Magus stopped. "That's correct,"

Raphael held out his hand. "I'm Raphael. I'll look forward to fighting you again,"

Magus's face retained its stoic look. "I underestimated you, a mistake I won't be making twice."

"Of course not," Malik said sarcastically. "Where'd you learn all that magic anyway?"

"That's none of your-"

"MAGGIE!" Vegita was running across the arena.

"Magus, you fool, Ma-gus! Are you braindead!"

"You're in no position to be making insults, Mickey," The saiyan prince sneered.

"Listen, I don't give a damn if you're a prince of saiyans, but-" Magus was cut short by the other man's fist getting rammed into his gut.

"Let me put it this way, Mac," Vegita kicked the wizard viciously in the side, causing him to cough up blood. "Three words: You. Are. Fired. Am I getting through that thick skull of yours?"

"Vegita, why are you doing this!" Raphael tried to run forward, but the saiyan pushed him over. "Because, brat, I want vengeance, and I want you and Marcus over here out of my way. At least this way, I can get two out of three. Say goodbye!" He raised his right arm, cupping his hand, which started glowing. "NOW DIE!" He shot an enormous beam of energy at Raphael, who closed his eyes, expecting to be incinerated, but the beam stopped about a foot away, straining against a shimmering blue barrier for a moment, then dispersing. Raphael looked around to see a smirking Magus, holding out an arm feebly.

"Get out of here, kid," he wheezed, and tossed a fireball at Vegita, who dodged.

Raphael tried to run and help, but Yuna grabbed his collar, and pulled him back. "Run! We can't handle him!"

"Yeah, but-"

"MOVE!"

The trio arrived back in the waiting room to find Kai in a panic. "What'll I do, what'll I do! Vegita will destroy my arena!"

"I-I'm pretty sure Magus can handle it," Raphael laughed nervously.

"Are you insane!" The little blue man screeched. "There's only one guy tough enough to beat Vegita, and he's not here! Goku, where are you!"

"Right here," said a voice. A fairly tall man walked into the room. He wore red training clothes, which cut off at the shoulders, with a large symbol inscribed on the back. A mess of black hair topped his head, which sported what, under normal circumstances, was a probably constantly smiling face. Now, however, the man's eyes were narrowed in anger.

Kai's eyes brightened at this man's arrival. "Goku! You have to stop Vegita! He's tearing up my arena, and scaring away the audience!"

"Right," Goku said determinedly. "Innocent people could get hurt. I'll be back," He ran through the door, and out of sight.

"You sure that Goku guy can handle Vegita!" Yuna said skeptically. "I mean, after what we saw-"

"Trust me," Kai said proudly. "There's nobody better for the job! After all, I trained Goku personally!"

Raphael cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, that's reassuring,"

"I know!" A large explosion sounded outside, accompanied by screams coming from the audience, and maniacal cackling coming from Vegita.

"Oh, that sounds good," Malik said quietly.

Kai looked worried now. "Of course, Vegita could have gotten stronger since he fought Goku last,"

Raphael stood. "That's it! I'm not gonna let him and Magus get hurt! I'm going out there!"

"Wait, kid!"

Raphael whipped out his Keyblade. "Don't you dare try to stop me, either, King Kai, or I'll-"

"I'm not trying to stop you!" He reached inside his robes and pulled out three tiny beans. He handed one each to Raphael, Malik, and Yuna. Before they could question his sanity any further, he said, "Senzu beans! No time to explain! Just eat them, and get out there and help Goku!"

Raphael looked at him quizzically, but did as he was told. In seconds, he felt the pain and fatigue leave his body entirely. Judging by Malik and Yuna's looks of shock and surprise, they had experienced similar reactions. They nodded grimly at one another, and followed Raphael out the door.

A bruised Goku was fending off Vegita, with an unconscious Magus slumped over his shoulder, scythe cloven in half to the side. He turned to the trio as they ran out. "Get back inside! It's too dangerous!"

Raphael shook his head. "No way! You can't fight and protect Magus at the same time! Besides, you're exhausted! We'll hold him off until you get back!"

Goku nodded. "Right. Be careful!" He ran back to the door, carrying Magus.

As soon as he was gone, Vegita raised his arm and blasted the door, sealing it with rubble. "But by the time he gets back, you'll be dead, Keybearer!"

"You lied to us!" Raphael growled. "I trusted you!"

Vegita laughed coldly. "Trust! Ha! I'd like nothing more than to rip you limb from limb! Which, I might add," he smirked coldly. "won't be much of a problem!" He shot another beam at Raphael, who barely dodged it.

"We'll see about that!" Raphael leapt up, slashing at Vegita, but the Prince just floated higher, out of his reach. Meanwhile, Malik was frantically casting Thunder spells, while Yuna unleashed wave after wave of bullets, pausing only to load magazines into her guns. However, neither tactic seemed to have much of an effect on Vegita, who just smirked and fired off another beam, sending Raphael flying. Yuna tried to drop-kick him, but once again, he floated over her onslaught. "Come on!" Raphael called. "Get down here and fight like a man!"

"Alright," Vegita sneered, and crashed into the ground, punching Malik aside. "Let's kick it up a notch!" He swung his hand upward, middle and index fingers extended, and the ground started shaking.

"What the hell!" Raphael screamed, as several chunks of earth had just popped out of the ground, floating upwards. A wave then flew out from Vegita, crumbling the pillars and riddling the ground with gaping cracks. All three were knocked to the ground from the onslaught, but Raphael was first to recover. He rushed forward, and desperately slashed at Vegita, but the villain just jumped over the swing, returning to the air.

Crap, I can't even hit him! Then, an idea occurred to him. "Malik! Can you bring him down with your Shadow Magic?"

The Egyptian looked thoughtful for a second. "I'll give it a shot!" He pointed the Millennium Rod at Vegita, who was suddenly surrounded by gold energy, paralyzed in midair. Malik slammed him into the ground, where he remained, unable to move. Raphael rushed in, slamming the Keyblade into Vegita's gut, then jumped out of the way as Yuna unleashed her 'Trigger Happy' technique. Malik released his hold, and Vegita stood shakily, blood dripping from his mouth. Raphael ran forward to finish him off, and Malik twirled the rod, channeling a Thunder spell into Raphael's Keyblade. Raphael slashed viciously at the Saiyan Prince, the electricity coursing through his body. The combined force sent Vegita flying into the only remaining pillar, which fell over on top of him. He didn't get up.

At that moment, the rubble in front of the door to the waiting room exploded outward, a very stressed-looking Goku running out after. He froze, gaping in disbelief at the crumpled Vegita beneath the pillar. "You… won…"

This prospect finally seemed to dawn on the people in the stands, who began cheering frantically.

"You did it, Raphael!" Goku clapped him on the shoulder, causing his knees to buckle. "Whoops, sorry,"

The audience fell silent. When Raphael looked around in confusion at the sudden halt, he noticed a heavily panting and bleeding Vegita limping toward him. Raphael instinctively drew his Keyblade, but Goku held him back.

"I'll get you yet, Son Goku!" the prince growled. "And you," he glared at Raphael. "Just wait 'til he finds you! You'll be sorry you ever crossed me!" He jumped into the air, and flew off.

"That won't be the last we see of him," Goku said darkly.

"Then that won't be the last time we kick his butt!" Yuna replied.

"That's right!" Raphael chimed in. "We-"

He was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream. The four of them whipped around, expecting trouble, but were only met by a weeping Kai. "My stadium… You've ruined it!"

The four laughed out loud at this, and dragged him back inside.

In the waiting room were waiting Kaiba, Yugi, Rebecca, Mokuba, and a revitalized Magus. Raphael was tackled by the two cheering children, while Yugi was laughing out loud. Even Kaiba had donned a very half-hearted smile.

After finally calming down, Kai spoke up. "Raphael, Malik, and Yuna: it should be known that you have rendered this establishment a great service by driving away Vegita, (regardless of the damage you caused) and so I officially ordain Team Raphael participants in the upcoming tournament!" Yugi and the two children cheered, and Malik and Raphael exchanged high-fives. "However," Kai interrupted, "Owing to… damages unforeseen," he sniveled slightly, "the tournament will have to be postponed indefinitely, or at least until we can put the arena back together."

Kaiba scowled. "No problem; we're probably stuck here for as long, unless you have parts for our ship,"

Goku frowned. "What happened to your ship?"

"We were almost blasted out of the sky by Heartless ships," Yuna said sadly. "We took a lot of damage, so we're kind of stuck."

The warrior's face brightened for a moment. "Hey, I know who can fix your ship! My friend Bulma can handle it, no problem! She's really great with technology!"

"You sure?" Malik asked nervously. "I mean, we don't want to be any trouble…"

"Don't worry! It's the least we can do! Just let me go get her," and he walked off.

"I'd better go and make sure she doesn't do anything stupid," Kaiba grumbled, and stormed out of the room, Mokuba close behind.

Kai paused to wipe his sunglasses off on his robe, then said, "Sounds like that guy has a major stick up his-"

"I HEARD THAT!" Kaiba yelled from the doorway.

Kai yelped, and ducked under a bench. When he was certain retaliation was not coming, he stood back up with a dignified air, then whispered, "Nevermind. How about we grab something to eat?"

"Why are you whispering?" Raphael asked quietly.

"Because somebody might hear, and-"

Goku poked his head around the corner. "Someone mention food?" Kai just groaned.

"No duh, you bottomless pit!"

After a everyone had eaten a fair amount, (excluding Goku, who had eaten at least twice as much as anybody else, and Magus, who had barely touched his food, and had merely left the table with a piece of bread in hand) and food had been delivered to Bulma, Kaiba, and Mokuba, Raphael and company were packing the belongings they had either brought with them, or purchased as souvenirs, into the jet. Inside, they found Kaiba arguing (big surprise) with a blue-haired girl, who they could only assume was Bulma.

"You are not putting anything on this jet that wasn't here before!" Kaiba screamed.

"Well, I suppose you want to be turned into scrap by Heartless!" Bulma countered.

"Do you realize how much this jet costs! If you screw up the onboard computers-"

"Do you realize that you're carrying your brother and five other people? Don't you think they're more valuable than computers? I know what I'm doing!"

"I… that's…"

"Don't have an answer to that, do you? Now, are you going to let me do this or not!"

"What is going on!" Yuna interrupted. "What are you two arguing about!"

"I put faster engines and laser cannons on this thing, and now your friend is trying to stop me from wiring them into the system!" Bulma was turning red in the face by now.

"Kaiba, we need to have some form of defense against the Heartless, or the ship'll blow again!" Yuna said sternly.

Kaiba's scowl grew, if possible, even larger. "Fine," he huffed off into the ship, dragging Bulma into the cockpit. Malik chuckled to himself, and followed them up the ramp, Yugi and Rebecca following. Raphael looked back at the gates. Are all the worlds we visit going to be this crazy? He gazed up at the carved statues. I'm coming back here, and as soon as I find Dom and Kiana, I'm gonna show this to them! Then his eyes landed on Magus, sitting on the shoulder of one, gazing off toward the moon.

"Hey, Magus!" The wizard jumped slightly, as if he'd been woken out of a trance, then saw the source of the noise, and leapt down.

"What is it, Raphael?" he looked almost annoyed.

"You coming, Raph?" Yuna called.

Raphael turned toward her. "Just a minute!" he then looked at Magus. "Hey, I'll be glad to give you a rematch any time!"

Magus's eyes flickered for a fleeting instant, filling with some untold emotion. Could it be sadness? Pain? Or, heaven forbid, pity? Raphael didn't get a chance to figure it out any further, as his face returned instantly to the permanent scowl. "Take these," he said simply, and pressed a small armload of papers into Raphael's arms, along with a scroll. "I no longer have use for them. The scroll is a sword technique, and the torn pages are all out of a spellbook somewhere, but I can't figure them out. I'm sure you could sell them or something," he made to move off.

"What's with you?" Raphael said quietly. Magus looked over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "I mean, first you try to kill me, and then you saved me, and now you're giving me stuff? What gives!"

The wizard closed his eyes, swaying in tandem with a song only he could hear. Finally, he spoke. "The Black Wind howls… Those who should never have been lost are now scattered, as the worlds fade, one by one… I survived the Darkness yet again, and yet again, I am separated from the one that matters most to me…" he leapt into the air, and glided back to his perch. Raphael thought he heard him whisper something, a single word, but figured it was just the wind. Schala…

"Geez, I'll never figure that guy out," he muttered, and ran up the ramp into the jet, just as Bulma had finished wiring the cannons. He settled into a seat, (making certain he was strapped in), and began to examine the papers he'd received. He broke the seal on the scroll first, skimming over it. "Sonic Blade, huh? Sounds cool," he set it off to the side, intending to look at it later, and picked up one of the torn pages. He instantly recognized the symbols in the corners. "Hey! These are the pages that Zatch and Kiyo were looking for!"

"Zatch and Kiyo?" Yuna asked. "Who're they?"

"They're these two people I met in Traverse Town; they were looking for a bunch of pages like this," he showed her the page, and she nodded.

"What's that scroll?" She pointed to the item beside him.

"It's a sword technique Magus gave me," he replied.

Malik looked up, an expression of shock on his face. "Magus gave that to you? After he was hell-bent on killing you?"

"Yeah, weird huh?" Then he remembered the wizard's comment after. "Hey, does the word, 'Schala' mean anything to you guys?"

Yuna shook her head and Malik just shrugged. "I wouldn't stress over it. If you ask me, that guy is completely insane,"

"Yeah…" Raphael said quietly. He jumped as the engines roared into life, pushing the jet forward and up. He watched as the ground fell away beneath them, and the Kai Arena fell into the distance. "We are so coming back here," he whispered.

Yuna nodded. "Definitely,"

Well that concludes the 'Olympus Coliseum' chapters. Time for the reference section:

Bulma: A friend of Goku's since his childhood. She's really good with machines and the like.

For you Chrono Trigger fanboys/fangirls out there, there is a VERY good reason I am not going into details about a certain someone, so nyah.

Still not revealing the main villain, either!

Good news! I have a Wonderland!

Next Chapter: Crime and Punishment

Raphael and the gang run into yet another 'conniving thief', and no, I don't mean Rikku.