Hello all. Sorry again about the wait - this chapter was suprisingly hard to write. The next ones shouldn't give me as much trouble though, especially since I've already started on Chapter 8, so it shouldn't be long. Anyways, enjoy!


"I can't believe I won!" Jack shouted with enthusiasm. He had just barely pulled off a victory against Organization XIII's Luxord, and everyone could tell that he was proud of himself – and he had every right to be. It had been a hard fought battle, one that had almost killed him on multiple occasions, but he refused to give up, and now Team MAR was one step closer to victory.

"I'm still amazed that you won," Nanashi said awkwardly. Jack frowned, then opened his mouth to argue. "I mean, no offense, Jack, but if Organization XIII was able to defeat Gaira – well I would have expected it to take someone like Alan to pull of a victory."

"At least this proves that they can be beaten," Alviss said. "But we shouldn't get complacent. Judging from his magical power level, Luxord was strong, but not the strongest fighter I've ever scene. The Organization could easily have more powerful members."

"The third battle will commence momentarily!" Pozan shouted, bringing everyone's attention back to the task at hand. "Who will be battling?"

A sudden large flash of light appeared next to the Chess Pieces, revealing their final fighter. He was tall and had long black hair, and he was wearing a purple and red outfit, along with a blue headband, and he had a large sword strapped to his back.

"I'm fighting," he said as he strode into the center of the desert. "And Nanshi will be my opponent."

"Who is that guy?" Ginta asked, eyeing the newcomer suspiciously.

"I have no idea…" Nanashi said, his eyes narrowed. "There's something familiar about him though."

"It's been longer than I though," the man said impatiently. "The Nanashi I remember never would stall before a fight."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nanashi said as he walked towards the newcomer. "But I've never seen you before in my life."

"I guess I shouldn't expect anything less," the man said gruffly. "Especially since during our last meeting I erased any memory you had of me."

"You…erased…" Nanshi muttered as he rubbed his head.

"Yes, it was essential that you forget me. Of course, I assume that your memories will return during our fight."

"Well, than I guess we should get started," Nanashi said.

"Agreed," the man said.

"The third round will be Galian of the Chess Pieces versus Nanashi of Team MAR," Pozan shouted. "Begin!"

Galian smiled as he held up his wrist, where a small silver bracelet ARM was hanging.

"Weapon ARM, Magic Rope!" he shouted, the ARM hanging from his wrist transformed into a large metal pot that fell onto the sand in front of him with a loud clank. "Let's see if you're as strong as I remember, Nanashi. Attack!" he shouted, and many long ropes shot from the cauldron towards Nanashi, who was wondering what was so dangerous about a bunch of ropes until he saw that each one was tipped with a stone face that had a multitude of razor sharp teeth.

"Head's up, Nanashi!" Ginta shouted, but Nanashi was already preparing a counter.

"Weapon ARM: Griffin Lance!" Nanashi shouted, and a long metal lance appeared in his hands. He proceeded to swipe and slash at the approaching ropes, which frayed and broke with each hit, but he couldn't help but notice that the cauldron was continuously emitting more and more of the ropes, and despite his best efforts, he was soon overwhelmed. The ropes snaked around his body and pulled tight, pinning his arms to his sides and preventing him from moving at all.

"I'm disappointed," Galian said, shaking his head.

"Electric Eye!" Nanashi shouted, and the ropes that bound his hands and arms were shredded by the tendrils of electricity that were emanating from his hands. He than pointed towards the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot towards the pot, shattering it instantly.

"I see that you're putting the ARM that I gave you to good use," Galian said.

"You gave me this ARM?" Nanashi said, extremely confused.

"If that's enough to worry you, I can only imagine what you'll think when you learn that I saved your life."

"You saved my life!" Nanashi shouted. His hand snapped up to his head as he tried desperately to think. "No…that's impossible…"

"Oh, no, it's all to true," Galian said. He sounded quite pleased that Nanashi was suffering so much. "I saved your life, and now I will be the one to end it. Nature ARM: Electric Frisbee!" He shouted, and the large circular ARM hanging from his belt shown with light as it transformed into many spinning metal discs that quickly surrounded Nanashi. Large bolts of purple electricity began to jump between them before converging on Nanashi, who gave a shouted of pain.

"Why doesn't he move?" Snow said anxiously.

"The electricity is overloading his muscles," Alviss said grimly. "He can't move."

Nanashi was engulfed in electricity for what felt like hours, but the electricity finally subsided, and before the discs could build up another charge, he was sprinting away from them. The discs were close behind, however, and Nanashi was only able to evade them for so long before he was finally overtaken.

More purple electricity jumped between the discs before finally catching Nanashi, who was pinned in place as the electricity coursed through his body. Nanashi gave another shout of pain, but this time he could hear a voice in his head that was not his own.

"We shall call you…Nanashi."

The discs discharged all of their electricity, and Nanashi fell onto his knees. He was hurt, that was to be sure, but what was worrying him more was the voice that he had heard – no, not heard - remembered. He quickly realized who the one talking was. He recognized the voice as Galian's. Perhaps he was telling the truth?

"This is a waste of my time," Galian said. "I thought you were stronger than this, Nanashi."

"There's something wrong," Babbo muttered. "Nanashi's holding back for some reason."

"Well, he better start fighting soon, or he's going to lose," Jack said.

"Come on, starting fighting for real, Nanashi!" Ginta cheered.

Nanashi slowly stood back to his full height.

"You're right, Ginta," he said slowly. "It's time I fight at my full power."

The spinning discs began to glow ominously again, but so did Nanashi's silver necklace.

"Nature ARM, Thousand Needles!" Nanashi shouted, and numerous glass needles sprouted from the ground around him, impaling and shattering the discs before they could attack again.

"You're not the only one that can use electricity, Galian," Nanashi said. "Electric Eye!" Nanashi shouted, and a beam of electricity shot from his hands towards Galian.

Galian, however, calmly unsheathed the sword hanging from his back and held it out. The approaching electricity diverted towards the sword, which glowed brightly as it absorbed the lightning.

"No way," Nanashi said with disbelief.

"My Electric Sword can absorb any electric attack," Galian explained as he brandished the glowing sword. "It gathers the energy, amplifies it, and then returns it," he said, and he pointed the sword at Nanashi. A massive bolt of lightning shot from the sword, engulfing Nanashi.

Nanashi's muscles convulsed as the electricity coursed through them – his whole body burned with such intensity that he couldn't help but yell. A chain of images flashed across his eyes with such speed they were merely blurs of color. The electricity finally dissipated, and when it did Nanashi realized that the images were memories – memories that he had long forgotten.

"I remember now," Nanashi said as he got back to his feet. "You did save my life, Galian. You even gave me my name. Not only that – but you used to be the leader of Luberia!"

Galian grinned. "So you've finally remembered."

"I remember everything," Nanashi said. "You took me in when I was lost. You trained me. You gave me a home, and a purpose. And once everything was going well, you abandoned us! And why? To join the Chess Pieces?"

"I felt that with you in charge, I'd be able to pursue more meaningful employment. I couldn't have you searching for me, so I made sure to erase all of your memories of me before I left. But I knew that I'd be seeing you again. You're stronger than before, just not strong enough."

Galian sprinted towards Nanashi, his sword tight in his hands. He stabbed and slashed at Nanashi, who dodged every strike, but he seemed too preoccupied with his memories to bother fighting back.

"Nanashi, what are you waiting for?" Babbo shouted, and Nanashi finally seemed to break from his stupor.

"Weapon ARM: Griffin Lance!" he shouted, and a long silver lance appeared in his hands. He lashed out, his lance a blur as he stabbed and slashed at Galian, who easily blocked and countered with his sword.

Nanashi's lance wasn't the only thing that was moving at blinding speed. His mind was racing as he reviewed all of the recently unsealed memories that he had of Galian. As a matter of fact, Galian was the first person he ever remembered meeting at all. Nanashi had no memory of his childhood or his family. The farthest back his memory went was waking up with Galian standing over him, ordering his men to help. When Nanashi's amnesia left him with no name, Galian gave him one. He then offered him a place amongst the thieves of Luberia, and Nanashi accepted. He and Galian had become fast friends. What went wrong?

The two thieves clashed, their weapons a blur as they attacked with as much strength as they could muster, each one determined to score a hit. Nanashi couldn't help but feel déjà vu brought on by his fight with Galian. He was certain that he'd been in a situation very similar to this before. He had fought Galian before – but all of those times they had been training – just friendly sparring matches. But there had been one other time when they had dueled, and Nanashi remembered being furious. It was when Galian had announced that he was abandoning Luberia, and leaving Nanashi in charge. But what was his reason for leaving, and why had Nanashi been so furious?

Nanashi stabbed with his lance, but Galian – who had been able to focus completely on the battle on not on past memories – sidestepped and slashed at Nanashi with such force that even though Nanashi blocked, he was still sent sliding back at least ten feet.

"Come on, Nanashi," Galian said snidely. "You can fight better than this. I thought I'd left the guild in good hands. Apparently you've been slacking."

"Why did you leave?" Nanashi asked as he tried to fight back his anger. "Why did you abandon us, and then wipe my memories?"

"I've already told you - I had to make sure that you wouldn't come after me," Galian explained. "And as to why I left, the simple answer is - power."

"You…you can't be serious," Nanashi said. He glared at Galian. "You abandoned Luberia – your family – and joined the Chess Pieces…for power?"

"Yes," Galian said, without an ounce of remorse. "And now you will witness that power. "Weapon ARM: Electric Feather!" Galian shouted, and a stream of silvery feathers shot from his hand and quickly surrounded Nanashi, and before he was able to react they engulfed him in crimson lightning.

Nanashi howled in pain as the lightning surged through his body, causing his muscles to convulse painfully and making it almost impossible for him to breathe. The lightning finally stopped as the feathers gathered more electricity, allowing Nanashi a small respite. Smoke was rising from his skin, and he was gasping for breath.

"Do you see know - the power that can be obtained by those who are willing to seek it?" Galian said. He looked down at Nanashi almost pityingly. "I was a big fish in a small pond, Nanashi. But the Chess Pieces provided a wealth of opportunity. Sure, I started off small – as a simple Pawn. But I rose through the ranks, and with each promotion the Chess Pieces game me more power. Look at me now – I'm no longer the Captain of a pathetic rabble of thieves. I am a Knight. But even I don't know the limits of my strength. That's where you come in, Nanashi."

"What are you talking about?" Nanashi asked. He had wanted to run over and strike Galian down, but he had peaked his interest. What had Galian wanted with him?

"It started weeks before I found you," Galian explained. "I was leading a raid on a castle with the other thieves, but the Chess Pieces beat us there. I was tired of the Chess Pieces always muscling us out of treasure, so I ordered my men to ignore the loot and attack the Chess Pieces. It was an even match, until Peta showed up."

"Peta? That scum that slaughtered everyone back home?" Nanashi said, his hands balling into fists.

"The very same," Galian said. "His power was much stronger than mine. I feared him. I knew that he could have struck me down at any moment. But surpassing even that fear was desire – the desire to match him in battle - to be equal to that power. So I offered my services."

"So the whole time that I knew you – you had already planned on betraying us?" Nanashi spat. Galian nodded.

"I needed someone to take my place as Captain. I found you unconscious in the wild, and I was amazed at your magical power. You didn't have a single ARM with you, but you could have rivaled me in battle. You were perfect. I engineered your rise through the ranks of the guild. I took you under my wing – made you my apprentice. And when the time came for me to leave, I wiped your memories and left. You tried to stop me, of course, but you were no match for me. I dreamed of the day that I'd be able to fight you again - the day when you'd be stronger and have the determination to fight me without holding back. I can say without a doubt that I am quite disappointed."

"So, you just left us?" Nanashi said, his voice dripping with anger. "Tell me, did you help Peta murder the rest of the guild?"

A small grimace passed over Galian's face, but it quickly went back to its usual look of steely calmness. "I was not aware what Peta had done. But when he told me, I felt no grief. Survival of the fittest; caring for others only makes you weak."

Nanashi heard a soft buzzing above him signaling that the feathers were ready to attack. They glowed red before showering him in a rain of lightning, but Nanashi didn't shout this time. The pain that he felt now was nothing compared to the pain that his comrades experienced when they were killed. He would make Peta pay for that, but first he had do deal with Galian.

Nanashi was done holding back. He had been waiting to hear all of Galian's story, but he'd heard enough. Galian was a traitor and a murderer – there was no way around it. Nanashi closed his eyes and focused on his magical power, which he had been suppressing up to this point. It suddenly spiked, and Nanashi held his hands apart, gathering as much of the red electricity as he could.

"You want to see power?" Nanashi growled, and he ripped his hands apart, sending out a shockwave of electricity that overwhelmed and shattered Galian's feathers.

He looked up at Galian, who was grinning slightly.

"Now that's the power that I expected," he said, and he rummaged around in his pocket before withdrawing a small silver ring. He slipped it onto his finger.

"But even you can't surpass the power of the Chess Pieces," Galian said. "This next ARM will prove it. Guardian ARM: Torpedine!" he shouted, and his ring shown with light.

A massive stingray appeared above him, flying through the air on its massive twenty foot wings. It had a huge maw on its back, which was lined with thousands of razor sharp teeth. Nanashi could sense the immense amount of magic emanating from it.

"Attack!" Galian shouted, and the stingray flipped onto its back. A massive ball of electricity formed at its mouth before firing at Nanashi, who didn't get out of the way in time. He was completely surrounded by the beam of electricity.

Nanashi didn't even flinch. He calmly stood in the middle of the lightning. He had finally raised his magical power to the point that Galian's attack barely caused him any pain at all. He was going to make Galian feel pain, though. It was time to pull out all the stops.

"Guardian ARM: Gymnote," Nanashi said, and one of the small silver rings he wore shown bright as the bright desert sky filled with dark storm clouds that were brimming with electricity. A massive snakelike form was gliding amidst the clouds, its long slender body swimming and diving through the clouds.

"What is that?" Galian asked, and for the first time he sounded worried.

"It's my Guardian ARM, Gymnote," Nanashi explained as the giant eel snaked its way over to Galian's sting ray. It slowly wrapped itself around Torpedine, which writhed and twisted as it attempted to escape Gymnote's grip. Gymnote glowed bright as electricity danced around its body. A sudden surge of lightning emanated from its body, and Torpedine gave a great shudder as it was crushed in Gymnote's massive grip. Galian's ring shattered, leaving him in complete shock.

"Gymnote, finish him!" Nanashi shouted, and a massive beam of electricity shot from its mouth. Galian gripped his electric sword and held it out, absorbing Gymnote's lightning.

"You can't beat me," Galian said smugly. The sword, however, began shaking violently, and Galian's stepped back in shock as it shattered, and with his last line of defense gone, he was engulfed in Gymnote's attack.

The lightning settled, revealing Galian lying on his back, defeated.

"How is this possible?" Galian groaned. "How are you stronger than me? The Chess Pieces had finally given me power. How were you able to gain power stronger than myself?"

Nanashi calmly strode over to him before answering. He stared down into Galian's eyes.

"You fight for yourself. I fight to protect my comrades. That's how I get my power, Galian," he said, and after that simple statement he returned to the rest of Team MAR.

"The winner is, Nanashi!" Pozan shouted, and all of Team MAR erupted into cheers.

Nanashi, however, didn't look too pleased. He had his memories back, and all they had brought him was anger and pain.

"You alright, Nanashi?" Snow asked, sensing that something was wrong. He shook his head, making it clear that he didn't want to discuss his past. "Who's up next?"


Ginta and Alviss looked at each other.

"So, you want to go next?" Ginta asked, hoping that the answer was no. He really wanted to fight next – he wanted to get it over with. Team MAR had already won three of the five battles, meaning that they had won the match. Ginta still couldn't lose his next battle, though. He was the team captain, meaning that if he lost, everyone lost.

"Let's see which Chess Piece is fighting next," Alviss said, looking over where they were gathered. "A Knight and an Organization member," Alviss muttered. "These next two fights aren't going to be easy for either of us."

"I already promised the Knight I'd fight him," Ginta said. "You okay with the Organization member?"

"I'd prefer that," he said, nodding. "You could probably take on a Knight. But Organization XIII is still a mystery, and since you're captain, I'd rather not risk it."

"What do you mean 'probably'?" Ginta asked indignantly, but Alviss gestured over at the Chess Pieces.

"Listen. They're deciding whose going to fight."

Ginta turned his attention over to the Chess Pieces, where Ash and the unknown Organization member were discussing the next battle.

"So, um, you want to fight now?" Ash asked the hooded member politely.

"I could really care less," he responded.

"Oh, come on, Zexion," Luxord said. The hooded member's gaze snapped over to him, almost as though he were annoyed that Luxord had used his name. "These fights are actually quite enjoyable. Dare I say, my fight was the most fun I've had in a long while."

"This is not supposed to be enjoyable," Zexion chastised. "Do not forget your purpose, Luxord."

Luxord smiled and began shuffling some playing cards, but he didn't say anything after that.

"I'll fight last," Zexion said. "Just make your fight quick, Ash. I do have other duties that I must attend to."

"Well, at least that's settled," Ash said, striding out into the middle of the desert. "You ready, Ginta?"

"You bet!" Ginta said excitedly as he took his place opposite Ash.

"The fourth battle will be between Team MAR's captain, Ginta, versus the Knight Ash of the Chess Pieces. Begin!" Pozan shouted, officially starting the battle.

"I hope you're ready, Ginta," Ash said slightly mischievously.

"Of course I'm ready,' Ginta said, slightly confused.

"Alright, then. Here I come!" Ash shouted, and much to Ginta's amazement, Ash separated in two; his legs remained firmly planted on the ground, but his upper body had detached and was know flying over to Ginta, who was completely caught off guard.

Ginta's tried to think of what he should do, but he drew a blank. He acted instinctually, turning on his heal and running, with Babbo close behind.

"Don't act so scared, Ginta," Ash said, and his voice sound far off. Ginta must have gotten away. "It's not like I'm right behind you." Ginta suddenly felt a tapping on his shoulder, and when he spun around he saw one of Ash's arms hovering body-less behind him. The arm balled its hand into a fist and punched Ginta in the jaw. Ginta stumbled sideways before catching himself and dodging another blow from Ash's arm.

"How is he doing this?" Babbo asked as he watched helplessly as Ginta dodged another punch.

"I can answer that," Ash said happily. He held in is other disembodied arm a silver pendant. "Split Parts is my Dimension ARM, and as you can tell it allows my limbs to act independently of my body. I'll be nice, though," he said, and his body parts reattached themselves.

Ginta, who was slightly embarrassed that he had tried to run away, immediately grabbed hold of Babbo.

"Babbo Version One: Hammer form!" he shouted, and Babbo transformed. Ginta sprinted towards Ash, swinging wildly. Ash chuckled to himself as he easily dodged Ginta's blows.

"Take it easy, Ginta," Ash said. "You don't want to hurt yourself."

"The only one that's going to get hurt is you!" Ginta said fiercely as he swung again, but he missed wide and stumbled. The hot desert sun was beating down relentlessly. Large beads of sweat were dripping from his forehead, and he was panting heavily. Ginta was amazed at how Jack was able to fight for so long without giving up.

"Do you need a breather?" Ash asked. "You look tired, Ginta. Don't overexert yourself; you don't want to get heat stroke!"

"Shut up!" Ginta said, tired of Ash's sympathy. "Babbo Version Two: Bubble Launcher!" He shouted, and Babbo transformed into a large silver gun. Ginta took aim and fired, and a barrage of pink Babbo bubbles burst from the barrel.

"Nature ARM, 3D Shadow!" Ash shouted, and his shadow raced out towards the barrage before peeling itself up from the sand and becoming solid. The Babbo bubbles exploded on impact, shaking the ground and creating large quantities of smoke, but once the smoke cleared Ginta realized that Ash's shadow was completely unscathed.

The shadow glided forward, and before Ginta could react it punched his chin with an uppercut, sending him flying backwards before landing painfully on the ground.

Ginta struggled to his feet, rubbing his throbbing jaw. Babbo reverted back to his normal form and hovered over his shoulder.

Ash's shadow shrank back to normal, leaving the desert feeling oddly empty.

"Listen, Ginta – I'm sorry about all this," Ash said, and Ginta was surprised a how sincerely apologetic he sounded. "I never wanted to have to fight a child like yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Ginta asked. "And don't call me a child!" he said indignantly.

"Ginta, I need you to understand – my only goal in life is to protect those that cannot protect themselves. Throughout MAR's history there have been wars. Long before the Chess Pieces game into existence, one country would war with another, and the ones that always suffered the most were the children. That is why I joined the Chess Pieces – to protect them."

Ginta was taken aback. "That makes no sense at all," he said, dumbfounded.

"You're mad," Babbo chimed. "The Chess Pieces are villains – they care only for themselves."

"That's right," Ginta said. "All the Chess Pieces want is destruction."

"You don't understand, Ginta," Ash said, shaking his head. "You're too young – to naïve. When the Chess Pieces finally conquer MAR, and their rule is absolute, there will be no more countries to war with one another. The Chess Pieces will bring about a peace that will be absolute, and then finally the children won't have to suffer."

"But the Chess Pieces are evil!" Ginta shouted. "How can you even think that they'll bring peace?"

"Because they are the only ones that can," Ash said. "Phantom is invincible – there is no one who can stand up to him. Those that oppose him will only prolong all of the fighting. Please, Ginta, you have to believe that I have the best of intentions."

"You're a fool…" Babbo said. "…an utter fool."

"You've been tricked," Ginta said. "Phantom will never stop fighting – not until everyone is dead. You won't be able to save the children."

"I suppose that it's no use trying to convince you," Ash said sadly. "I don't want to hurt you, Ginta, but I can't give up on my goal. Let's finish this."

Ginta could sense a powerful aura erupt from Ash. He was powering up, and Ginta could tell why he was a Knight.

Ash pulled a ring off of his finger and showed it to Ginta. "I have a magic trick to show you," he said seriously. "Unfortunately, there are children in the audience, and I don't think that this next part is suitable for innocent minds. "Dimension ARM: Psycho Space!"

The ring that he was holding rose up high into the air, before bursting into light. A green light shown from it, and the ring traced out a massive ring on the desert sand, encircling Ash, Ginta and Babbo. The green line slowly rose, leaving behind a black and green aura that slowly formed itself into a massive dome, trapping them inside.

Ginta and Babbo looked around in amazement.

"What is this place?" Babbo asked, gazing around at the immense expanse of green and black.

"I don't know," Ginta asked, his voice echoing slightly. "But I feel kind of weird," he said, and indeed, he felt extremely dizzy and lightheaded, and his arms and legs felt as though they were being weighed down by massive lead weights.

"You're feeling the effects of my Psycho Space," Ash said, and unlike Ginta, he looked completely unfazed. "The Psycho Space effects everyone trapped inside – except for me, of course. It automatically halves your magical power. So even if you could have beaten me before, you have no hope now."

"That's a dirty trick," Ginta said, swaying slightly from the effects of the ARM. He tried to focus on Ash, but he looked odd. Perhaps the Pyscho Space was getting to him, but it looked almost as though Ash was missing an arm…

"Wait a minute," Ginta said, remembering earlier in the battle. He suddenly felt someone grab his shoulder. Ginta spun around, and saw Ash's disembodied arm holding an ARM next to him.

"Weapon ARM, Walking Bomb!" he shouted, and the pendant transformed into a large black bomb that had a rather sinister looking face on it.

"What is that?" Ginta asked, jumping back.

"It looks like some sort of bomb," Babbo said, floating behind Ginta's back. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Don't worry, Ginta," Ash chuckled. "I just want to play a game."

"How is this a game?" Ginta asked, eyeing the bomb suspiciously.

"My Walking Bomb ARM will follow whoever is last attacked," Ash explained. "Right now it will stay close to you, but if you were to hit me it would move over to me, and if I was to strike you back it would transfer itself back to you. The interesting thing is that the bomb will grow after every hit, increasing in power until it finally explodes. Understand?"

"Yeah, this doesn't sound so hard," Ginta said, shaking his head as he tried to focus. "Babbo, Version One: Hammer Form!"

Ginta ran towards Ash, who separated his limbs again, and Ginta swung, this time connecting with Ash's torso. Ash gave a shout of surprise, and the bomb shifted over to his shoulder as it doubled in size.

"Not bad," Ash said, and one of his disconnected arms punched Ginta across the face, transferring the ever growing bomb moving over to him.

The two continued to exchange blows, with the bomb growing ever larger, until it had grown to massive proportions, its clownish grin stretched wide over its black body. It was hovering next to Ginta, who punched at Ash, who separated at his middle, barely dodging Ginta's blow. Ash punched, sending Ginta sliding backwards.

"That was a close one," Ash said, breathing a sigh of relief. "But it looks like that bomb is almost ready to blow. One more hit should do it." His limbs reattached themselves to his body, and he held up another ARM. "Guardian ARM: Death!" Ash shouted, and Ginta gasped in horror as the ARM transformed into a towering, menacing figure that had four massive scythes sprouting from where its arms were.

"Attack!" Ash shouted, and the guardian flung its massive scythes towards Ginta, who brought his arms up to block.

The scythes slashed at his arms and legs, leaving deep gouges as they spun by. Ginta flinched at the pain, and when he opened his eyes again he was staring into the eyes of Ash's Walking Bomb, which was quivering as its fuse disappeared into its body.

"Game over," Ash said, and the bomb exploded, engulfing Ginta in fire and smoke and pelting him with bits of shrapnel.

"Wait, that was much too powerful!" Ash shouted in a panicked voice as he ran over to Ginta. "I didn't mean for it to be that strong! Ginta, you're not dead, are you? Please, Ginta, say something!"

The smoke was beginning to clear, revealing Ginta surrounding by a shaking mass of orange gelatin, which had protected him from the explosion.

"Quick thinking," Ash said, looking relieved, as the gelatin disappeared. "I was worried that I'd killed you."

"Well, you are a Chess Piece," Ginta said bitterly. "Isn't that your intention?"

"Of course not!" Ash said. "Ginta please, you have to surrender. The longer this continues the greater the chance that your going to get seriously hurt," Ash pleaded. "Listen, I'll talk to Phantom for you. I'll get him to let MAR keep fighting even though you lost. How does that sound?"

"You don't get it at all," Ginta said angrily. "I've seen what the Chess Pieces have done. They've destroyed towns, and killed anyone who lived there, including the children. There's no way that the Chess Pieces will ever bring peace! Babbo, Version Three: Gargoyle!" he shouted, and Babbo transformed into his strongest form, a massive, winged gargoyle that rivaled Ash's Guardian in size and power. Ginta focused on his power, raising it to its peak.

"How are you still powering up?" Ash asked in a panic. "You're supposed to have half of your power drained. This isn't possible!"

"Gargoyle, attack!" Ginta shouted, and the gargoyle roared, lifting the gold ring that it carried out before it. A ball of energy charged at its mouth before a beam of pure energy shot through the ring, which amplified the blast. The attack blasted straight through Death and continued on, shattering the great dome around them.

Bright yellow sunlight burst through as the Psycho Space crumbled around them.

Ginta's magic powered down. He had spent everything on that last attack. Ash, however, was still standing.

Ash lifted his hand up and removed his mask. He was smiling and sticking out his tongue at Ginta.

"I surrender," he said. "Ginta's the winner."

"You're just giving up?" Ginta asked in disbelief. Ash nodded.

"You have a strong heart," he said. "Maybe there is another way… I'm leaving you in charge of protecting the innocent, okay Ginta?" And with that, Ash rejoined the rest of the Chess Pieces.

"The winner, by forfeit, is Ginta!" Pozan shouted, and Ginta trekked back over to Team MAR.

"Nice win," Nanashi said. "We were worried about you for a second there."

"Yeah, that Psycho Space looked pretty scary," Jack said. "I'm glad it wasn't me in there."

"Ginta, you're bleeding!" Snow said anxiously. She held up her Healing Angel ARM, but Ginta shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said. He watched as Alviss walked quietly into the middle of the field. "We're going to need that later."


"It looks like you're up, Zexion," Ash said to the Organization member as he took his place back amongst the Chess Pieces. The Organization member didn't make any response - he simply strode towards the middle of the desert where he stood impatiently with his arms folded.

"Let's get this over with," Alviss said calmly, talking his place in the middle of the desert.

Zexion reached up and lowered his hood, and Alviss was shocked at how young he looked; he couldn't have been much older than Alviss was. He had steel blue hair with large bangs that covered his right eye. His expression was difficult to read, almost as though he was completely uninterested with the current situation.

"The final battle will be between Zexion of Organization XIII versus Alviss of Team MAR," Pozan said eagerly. "Begin!"

"Weapon ARM, Thirteen Totem Pole - Staff!" Alviss shouted, and his Totem Pole staff appeared in his hand. He gave it a twirl and got into a defensive stance - he didn't want to run into battle just yet.

"Book of Retribution," Zexion said, holding out his hand. A large grey book appeared in it, and proceeded to flip open to a page roughly halfway through the book. Zexion gazed over the top it as he studied Alviss.

"You're magical power is stronger then the others," he said as he consulted his book. "From what I've gathered, you're one of Team MAR's veterans, correct?"

"Yeah," Alviss said, his eyes narrowed. So Zexion could read power levels - that meant that he was fairly skilled.

Zexion didn't question him further, and his gaze drifted back to his tome, giving Alviss a chance to look him over. He was much thinner than both Luxord and Xigbar, and he doubted that that book of his would be too effective as a melee weapon. Even his hairstyle gave Alviss information - someone who was used to fighting up close wouldn't cover up his eye. If he had to guess, he'd say that Zexion's specialty was magic. Alviss closed his eyes and focused on Zexion's magical power level, and was shocked to find that it was lower then he'd expected, below both of the Organization members that he had seen so far - it was even less than Jack's. He must be concealing it - it was the only explanation, and if that was true, it would mean that Zexion was stronger then both Luxord and Xigbar, who had both been unable or unwilling to conceal their power levels.

Alviss focused on his own level, lowering it slightly. Zexion raised his eyebrows - he had sensed Alviss' change. It would take at least a Knight rank warrior to have been able to sense that slight of a power change.

"Hey, Alviss?" Ginta called out, breaking his concentration.

"What?" he said, a little annoyed.

"Why are you two just standing around?"

Alviss didn't answer, and instead turned his attention back to Zexion, who apparently had finished making his assessments; he had his book propped open in one hand, the other slightly raised.

"I'd prefer if we completed this quickly," Zexion said with a tone that made it quite clear that this wasn't how he had been hoping to spend his day.

"Fine with me," Alviss said, shifting into an offensive stance. Now that he had reason to believe that Zexion was a magic user Alviss knew that he had to attack quickly. If Zexion's abilities were anything like ARM, it would take him some time to synch his powers. Alviss hoped to be able to finish him before he got the chance to.

Alviss ran towards him, his staff spinning in his hands. Zexion watched him approach with a bored look on his face.

Alviss leapt in the air and brought his staff crashing down towards Zexion's head. Zexion calmly used his book to block the strike, sending vibrations surging through Alviss' ARM. Alviss was slightly shocked at how solid the book was.

Alviss planted his foot down and pivoted, his staff whipping around towards Zexion, who despite his frail appearance had no trouble blocking such a powerful strike.

Alviss continued his assault, his staff a blur of metal as he slashed at Zexion's exposed body. He slashed horizontally and followed that with an upward slash, but Zexion was easily able to parry both attacks. Alviss pivoted behind Zexion, and, seeing an opening, aimed at Zexion's head with an overhead strike. Zexion didn't turn around to block, and Alviss was extremely shocked when Zexion's book appeared before him, blocking the strike.

"You are such a brute," Zexion said over his shoulder. He had his arms folded, and he still hadn't turned to face Alviss. Alviss pulled on his staff, but he now realized that it was trapped between the book's pages, and no matter how hard he pulled, he could not free it. "Obviously you've realized that a direct assault is futile? Few things try my patience more than someone who refuses to learn."

Zexion's book suddenly snapped open, giving Alviss a quick glimpse of many paragraphs of words printed on the book's pages. He tried desperately to free his staff from the book, but despite Alviss pulling with all his might it would still not release his staff.

Zexion snapped his fingers, and the pages suddenly shown with a brilliantly white light. Alviss quickly transformed his ARM back into its chain form before front flipping over Zexion, just as a large purple blast of energy shot from the book. Alviss could feel the immense heat from the blast as he cleared it by inches.

Alviss landed and spun around just as the blast impacted the sand, leaving a large trail of glass in its wake.

Zexion hadn't moved from his spot, and he was back to reading his book with renewed interest.

"That is an interesting ARM," he said, his finger tracing down the page. "It has two different forms – a rod form and a Guardian, which I assume you're going to use next, correct?"

Alviss was shocked, but he tried to keep a straight face. Zexion knew quite a bit about his Totem Pole ARM – of course, all of it was information that he could have gleaned from watching his past battles, but Alviss couldn't shake the feeling that there was something unique about that book.

"So you've guessed what I'm going to do next," Alviss said. "Congratulations – any Rook would have known that. But let's see you stop it – Thirteen Totem Pole!" he shouted. The ground shook and large plumes of sand erupted as multiple stone totem poles erupted from the ground, each segment spinning rapidly.

Alviss expected Zexion to move out of the way as the totem poles zeroed in on his position, but what he did not expect was Zexion to levitate a foot from the ground, allowing him to elegantly dodge all of the totem poles without even raising his eyes from his book.

"He can hover!" Ginta shouted, the shock in his voice mirroring what Alviss felt.

"He dodged every one without even looking!" Jack gasped.

"Don't look so surprised, Alviss," Zexion said as he gazed over the top of his book. "You've used that pattern before – it was hardly difficult."

Alviss dismissed the totem poles, which vanished from sight, leaving nothing between him and Zexion.

Alviss had greatly underestimated Zexion's abilities. Not only was he a capable fighter, but he was also a shrewd strategist. Alviss expected that this battle was going to be difficult, but he now realized that he couldn't afford to hold back.

"Weapon ARM, Thirteen Totem Pole – Staff!" he shouted again, and his weapon appeared in his hand as he sprinted towards Zexion.

Alviss' staff was a blur of steel as he swung with as much speed and ferocity as he could muster. Alviss' strikes were so fast and precise that Zexion was quickly becoming overwhelmed. Alviss noted a definite lag in Zexion's parries, and he spotted with some satisfaction multiple beads of sweat dotting Zexion's brow. He was getting tired – all Alviss had to do was press the assault and keep his eye open for any openings in Zexion's defenses.

Alviss stabbed with his staff, wedging it underneath Zexion's arm. He immediately jerked his staff upward, forcing Zexion's arms open. Seeing his opportunity, he swung his staff over his shoulder, aiming for Zexion's head. There was a clang of metal on metal, and Alviss jaw dropped.

Clutched tightly in Zexion's right hand was what appeared to be a jet black version of Alviss Totem Pole Staff. Zexion wore the slightest of smiles as he saw the look of shock on Alviss' face.

Alviss suddenly felt a huge force as Zexion, who was still clutching his book in his left hand, swung it into his head, sending him tumbling sideways.

Alviss reflexively dropped down and rolled, transferring as much of the force into motion as he could before leaping back to his feet. His hand snapped up to the side of his head – his hair was wet with blood from where the edge of the book had caught him. He forced his thoughts away from his injury and back to the battle at hand.

"Where did you get that?" Alviss shouted, pointing at Zexion's newly acquired weapon. He glanced down at the shiny metal staff still clutched in his hand, just to make sure that it was still there.

"I wouldn't exactly be a very good fighter if I just gave away my secrets, now would I be?" Zexion said condescendingly.

Alviss' hands drifted to where he kept the rest of his ARM, fearing that Zexion might have stolen them just as Luxord had from Jack, but they were all still there. So how was he able to make a replica of his staff?"

"Don't tell me that I've taken the fight out of you already," Zexion sneered.

Alviss shook his head. "Hardly," he said, and he charged at Zexion, his staff clutched tightly in his hands.

Zexion turned his book towards Alviss, the pages rustling ominously. Suddenly many pages shot from it towards Alviss, who deftly parried them in stride.

"You're going to need more than pages to stop me!" Alviss shouted, and he planted his heel into the sand and swung. Zexion parried the attack with his replica staff, but Alviss was glad to see him stumble slightly. He had been right – Zexion wasn't a physical fighter – and despite his impressive displays of strength earlier, it was obvious that he didn't nearly have the necessary endurance to keep fighting for long. As long as Alviss stayed on the offensive he could eventually overwhelm Zexion.

Alviss pressed the assault, making sure to put as much force behind each strike as he could. Zexion, despite looking fatigued, was holding up surprising well, and even Alviss was impressed by his skill with the replica staff.

Zexion dipped down and swept at Alviss' legs, but Alviss back flipped away. Zexion used the added distance to fire more pages at him, but Alviss, who was finally getting into his rhythm, blocked them effortlessly.

Alviss charged again, his staff a blur of silver as he relentlessly attacked Zexion. The two locked staffs, each one pushing hard against the other. Alviss pushed with all of his might, his staff inching closer to Zexion, who was too tired to match Alviss' strength.

Alviss heard the flipping of many pages, and before Alviss had the time to block Zexion had launched more pages, which sliced across Alviss' back.

Alviss, eager to escape the flurry of pages, leapt backwards. His hand instinctively snapped over his shoulder, returning stained with blood.

"Alviss, look out!" Snow shouted, and Alviss' attention snapped back to the battle. Zexion's book was glowing bright, and another purple blast shot from the book.

Alviss didn't have time to react, and he braced himself for the impact. The blast hit him square in the chest, and despite all of his battle experience, even he wasn't prepared for the pain.

It felt as though the blast was slicing straight to his core, where it burned with such intensity that Alviss was barely able to stay on his feet. His staff fell from his hands, leaving him defenseless.

"Weapon ARM, Guardess!" Alviss gasped, and despite that fact that he was only barely able to focus on the ARM, he soon felt the cold steel handle of his shield ARM and he quickly knelt down behind it. He took his few moments of respite to look down at the damage that had been done. To his surprise, he looked completely unharmed, even though it felt as though his insides were molten. Almost as though he could read his mind, Zexion spoke.

"My magic is able to bypass physical defense and damage your life force," he explained. "It is much more efficient than physical strikes, as you have undoubtedly learned the hard way."

Alviss tried his best to ignore the pain and focus back on the battle.

"Get up, Alviss!" Ginta shouted. "You can beat him. Don't give up!"

Alviss, surprised that Ginta's encouragement was actually strengthening him, struggled to his feet. He new what he had to do now.

Alviss dismissed both of his ARM. Despite Zexion's attack, Alviss' last assault had bought him enough time to perfectly synch with his Totem Pole – there'd be no way that Zexion could dodge his next attack.

"Thirteen Totem Pole!" Alviss shouted, and more plumes of sand erupted as the giant stone pillars erupted one after the other.

"Again?" Zexion sighed, his eyes drifting back down to his book. "And such a predictable pattern, too," he said as he levitated out of the way again.

"Oh really?" Alviss said with a grin.

A look of horror appeared on Zexion's face as he realized, far too late, that he had fallen into Alviss' trap. The thirteenth pillar erupted right where Zexion was standing, throwing him high into the air before coming crashing down.

It was a powerful hit, but Alviss was too smart to have expected it to finish Zexion off. Just as he thought, Zexion was struggling to his feet – hurt, but not defeated.

"Twelve…" he muttered as he tried to comprehend how Alviss had outsmarted him. "My lexicon could only sense twelve of them… How did you disguise the thirteenth?"

"You really expect me to tell you?" Alviss spat. He was quite pleased with his ingenuity – unfortunately, it had taken a considerable amount of magic to conceal the last totem pole – much more than Alviss had wanted to spend. If he was right in guessing that this was going to be a long fight, he was going to have to conserve his magic, meaning that he wasn't going to be able to use his Thirteen Totem Pole's Guardian form as liberally as he had wanted. He summoned his staff again and got ready to fight. It was too much to hope that the same attack would work again, but hopefully Zexion was weak enough that he could overcome him up close.

"I'll find out soon enough," Zexion said, much to Alviss' confusion. Zexion extended his hand, and Alviss got ready to dodge whatever Zexion was planning to attack him with.

After a few moments, Zexion lowered his hand. He consulted his lexicon with a very confused look on his face. "It appears that it's going to take more than an analysis to replicate its full power," he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. His hand snapped down to his side, the jet black replica of Alviss' staff appearing in his hand.

Alviss had no time to contemplate the meaning of this statement. Zexion was already charging at him, his replica staff clutched tightly in his hands while his lexicon rotated around him.

The two met in the middle of the desert, their two staffs a blur as they swung, stabbed, blocked and dodged.

Zexion was actually quite skilled with the replica staff, but Alviss was slightly faster – which was a good thing, since Alviss also had to keep his eye on Zexion's lexicon, which was still floating ominously at his side.

Alviss felt his wrist jerk as Zexion locked his replica staff with Alviss' and pinned it to the ground.

Alviss struggled against Zexion, and he slowly began to lift his staff, but Zexion didn't seem too worried. He had his palm held out near Alviss' face, while his other was pressed firmly against the pages of his book.

"Your memories laid bare!" he shouted, and Alviss' vision blurred as a rush of images flew through his mind. Alviss shook his head, trying to dismiss the flood of scenes that had flashed so quickly through his mind that he couldn't tell what they were.

Zexion had leapt backwards, putting distance between himself and Alviss. He held his lexicon open in his palm and was rapidly scanning down the page.

"Interesting," he said, his eyes darting left and right. "This ARM has an incredible amount of versatility. It's no wonder my initial scan was incomplete. Ah, and what's this?" Zexion said, his eyes widening slightly. "This memory seems to have had quite an effect on you. I'll make sure to save it for later."

Alviss still wasn't sure what Zexion was talking about, but he noticed with dismay that the replica staff had grown more silvery in appearance, and he could make out the distinctive totem markings that perfectly matched the symbols on his own.

"The analysis should be complete," Zexion said as his staff transformed back into its chain form. "Let me see this ARM's power – Thirteen Totem Pole, Guardian!" he shouted.

Alviss felt the ground rumble ominously, and then, much to his amazement, a multitude of replicas of his stone totem poles erupted all around him.

Alviss leapt backwards, dodging the totem pole that had erupted where he had been standing only moments before. He dodged a second pole, and then a third.

More and more of the totem poles began to erupt around him, keeping Alviss on his toes as he dodged between them.

Alviss tried to run towards Zexion, but the replica totem poles where relentlessly blocking his path and forcing him to shift direction away from Zexion.

Alviss was all too familiar with this technique – Zexion's intent was to keep him trapped in the midst of the totem poles. Eventually Alviss would grow too tired to keep dodging, and he'd get hit. What Alviss had to do was find a way to Zexion before this happened.

Alviss was lucky that he had so much battle experience, since he had to formulate a battle strategy while he inches away from death as more and more totem poles erupted around him. The problem was that he could think of no way to close the gap between himself and Zexion, since Zexion was successfully keeping him trapped in the middle of the totem poles.

A thought finally passed through his mind. It was a technique that he had invented back when he was young, back when he had just receive his Thirteen Totem Pole ARM. The idea had seemed ingenious to him at the time, but he realized soon after that it was crazy – suicidal even. He remembered thinking that he would only ever use it in a dire situation. Well, this definitely classified as a dire situation – he had no choice.

Sliding to a stop, he transformed his staff back into its chain form.

"What is he doing?" Snow shouted anxiously. "He's going to get himself killed!"

"He isn't giving up, is he?" Jack said in disbelief.

"No way," Ginta said. "There's no way Alviss would give up! He's definitely got a plan!" he said confidently.

Alviss wished that held as much confidence in his plan as Ginta did, but it was far too late to turn back now. A loud rumbling beneath him announced the inevitable arrival of another of Zexion's totem poles. His plan required perfect timing – if he was off by even a fraction of a second… he was finished.

Alviss leapt forward as far as he could. He landed just as the totem pole erupted behind him.

"Thirteen Totem Pole, Guardian!" he shouted, and one of his own totem poles erupted diagonally, barely nicking Zexion's and knocking it onto a slant. Alviss immediately dismissed his ARM, and as soon as he could move again he leapt as high into the air as he could.

Zexion's now slanted totem pole caught him beneath his feet –Alviss' legs snapping to his chest as he absorbed the shock – and he rode it as it carried him up – and towards – Zexion, whose mouth was hanging open slightly from shock at Alviss' ingenuity.

Alviss could hear the rest of Team MAR cheering, and he couldn't help but feel slightly elated. He quickly suppressed the emotion and brought his focus back to the battle. He still wasn't out of the woods yet.

He was approaching Zexion at an alarming speed – much faster than he had anticipated. Alviss pushed off with as much force as he could, launching him towards Zexion. Zexion, however, had disappeared into a small smokescreen, concealing him from view. Alviss might have lost sight of him, but he still had to take the chance.

"Weapon ARM, Thirteen Totem Pole, Staff!" Alviss shouted, and the weapon appeared in his hand; and, to top it off, the smokescreen was slowly dissipating, leaving Alviss with a clear view of Zexion - but what Alviss saw next made his heart stop. He could see not one, but two silhouettes in the smoke, and as it cleared it only became more and more apparent that there were now two Zexions staring back at him, their expressions cold.

Alviss was so shocked that he didn't even try to strike. Both the Zexions dodged out of the way, and Alviss landed painfully in the sand. He attempted to roll, but he was moving so fast that he completely lost control and skidded for what seemed like a hundred feet. When he finally came to a stop he could barely get back onto his feet. Each breath he took was agonizingly painful. He counted four – no, five broken ribs. His left shoulder was dislocated as well. He stuck his staff diagonally into the sand, then place his shoulder up against it. He grabbed his shoulder with his other hand and popped the bone back into the joint, sending pain surging through his whole body.

His eyes were watering with pain, but he did his best to focus them as they traced the deep gouge that he'd made back towards Zexion and his new clone. The two of them had closed the gap between them, and both of them had their lexicons open and facing him. The two books shown with light, and each one fired out a large purple blast of energy.

"Weapon ARM, Guardess!" Alviss shouted, and his large shield appeared in his hand. Alviss barely was able to hide behind in before the two blasts hit with such force that Alviss slid back a few more feet, sending more pain down his recently relocated shoulder. He held his shield up, ready to block any more attacks from the two Zexions who were slowly revolving around him, a look of smugness on their faces.

"There are two of them?" Jack shouted. "How are there two of them?"

"That's not fair," Ginta said. "Alviss is getting double teamed… He can still win though, right?"

"This isn't good," Alviss muttered to himself, backing up slowly as he tried to keep both of the Zexions in front of him.

"That was quite an interesting tactic," one of the Zexion's said. He flourished his right hand, and a perfect replica of Alviss Totem Pole staff appeared in it.

"But now you have a new problem," the other Zexion said. His book flipped open, and the pages began rustling ominously.

"Which one of us-"

"Is the real one?"

A flurry of pages suddenly shot from one of the Zexions' books. Alviss' shield snapped up, and the pages clanged off.

"Weapon ARM, Thirteen Totem Pole, Staff!" Alviss shouted, and as soon as he felt the cold steel in his hand he brought it up to block the other Zexion's strike, who had charged at him.

The two staffs clanged against each other, but Alviss couldn't do much more than block. The other Zexion was still relentlessly firing pages at him, keeping him pinned down.

The other Zexion assaulted with his replica staff, and it didn't take too long for Alviss to become overwhelmed. The Zexion spun around, his staff whipping into Alviss' back and knocking him forward. Alviss' shield dipped, and he winced as the razor sharp pages shredded at his exposed chest, arms, and legs.

Alviss attempted to ignore the pain and bring his focus back to the fight, particularly how he was going to deal with the situation at hand.

Alviss pushed himself to his feet, slung his shield over his back, and, making sure that the Zexion that was still firing pages was behind him, turned to confront the other.

Alviss and the other Zexion clashed, their staffs spinning as they struck at the other's exposed points. Now that he had both of his hands free to duel with it was clear that he was the superior fighter, but he still had the other Zexion to worry about, and it took all of his concentration and skill to keep dueling while making sure that he kept his shielded back to the stream of razor sharp pages that Zexion was relentlessly firing at him. It was probably the most intense and the most difficult fighting that he'd ever done – and being a veteran of the first War Games, that was definitely saying something.

Alviss swung at Zexion, who blocked, spun around and placed his palm near Alviss head. Alviss winced again as more scenes blurred his vision as they raced through his mind. Not this again – what trick did Zexion have up his sleeve now?

Alviss forced the racing visions from his mind. As soon as his vision cleared, Alviss realized that Zexion's defenses were down. Zexion's eyes widened in horror as Alviss slashed across Zexion's torso, noticing almost immediately that something was wrong. His staff passed through him with almost no resistance – it was as though Zexion was made of air. The defeated Zexion – whose face was still frozen in a look of complete shock – shimmered slightly before completely fading away.

Alviss could still feel the force from the pages that were still ricocheting off of his back, meaning that the other Zexion was alive and well. In one swift movement Alviss grabbed his shield in his left hand and swung around to face the remaining Zexion, who had thankfully ceased his barrage of pages for the time being.

"So that was a clone?" he said. "Impressive, but stupid."

"Stupid? Hardly," Zexion said. Then, responding to the look of confusion on Alviss' face, said, "Oh, I see. Let me guess – you think that you were somehow able to glean valuable information about me that you'll now be able to exploit, leading to my defeat?" Zexion shook his head, frowning. "How delusional. The simple fact is that you have been playing into my hand this whole time. I have more than enough of your memories to defeat you now." He snapped his fingers, and he suddenly disappeared in a massive cloud of smoke, and as soon as the smoke cleared Alviss found himself staring down not one, or even two, but six different Zexions, two of whom were brandishing replica staffs, two who had replicas of Alviss' Thirteen Totem Pole ARM in their grips, while the fifth was clutching a replica of Alviss' Guardess. The sixth Zexion had his usual lexicon open in his hand.

"Wait, now there's six of him?" Ginta said, counting the Zexion's on his fingers. "This is unreal."

"You're telling me," Nanashi said, slightly worried. "I think that our man has finally met his match."

"I'm sure that your remark is offering him a great amount of encouragement," Babbo chastised. "We need to encourage the boy, not dash his hopes!"

"Come on, Alviss!" Snow cheered. "Give them all you got!"

Alviss listened with a faint feeling of gratefulness to his team, but he couldn't help but feel that the situation looked bleak. He had expected Zexion to be strong, but even he didn't expect this. All six of the Zexion's had equal magical power levels – which meant that either Zexion was able to replicate his magical power (which surely was impossible) or, much more likely, his power level was so high to begin with that even after splitting it six times he was unbelievably strong. It seemed that the other Chess Pieces had finally caught on to how powerful the newcomer was as well. Alviss could hear anxious muttering from their side of the field. He glanced over, and noticed the look of shock and awe on all of their faces – except for Luxord, who was the sole person that looked completely unfazed. In fact, it looked like he was quite enjoying himself.

"Do you see now why it was unwise to bet against me?" Luxord remarked to Ash.

"I didn't think he was strong enough to beat Alviss!" Ash defended. "I mean, before the match his power level was miniscule!"

"And the thought never crossed you mind that he could be concealing it?" Galian said, shaking his head. "You call yourself a Knight…"

Alviss forced his attention back to the six Zexions. Alviss looked them over, hoping for some identifying sign of the real one, but it was no good – they were all perfect copies.

"As you have undoubtedly guessed, I can only be defeated if you attack the real me," the Zexion with the lexicon said.

"I can make clones indefinitely," one of the Zexions with a staff said.

"I can only surmise the emotions that you feel right now," one of the others said.

"Anger?"

"Fear?"

"Frustration?"

"Despair?"

Alviss gazed over the top of his shield, his eyes darting between the six Zexions who had begun to circle around him menacingly. He did not like the situation one bit. He'd been in bleak situation before, but this one definitely took the cake.

The two Zexions clutching staff replicas suddenly broke off from the group and charged him. Alviss knew that he couldn't fight defensively anymore. He was completely outnumbered – all defending would do is prolong the inevitable. No, he had to give it his all – no holding back.

Alviss took a step towards one of the approaching Zexions, who struck with his replica staff. Alviss blocked with his Guardess, then swiftly turned and parried a strike from the second staff-wielding Zexion, sending him stumbling into the sand. He immediately switched his attention back to the other, and summoning all of his strength pushed forward with his shield.

The two struggled momentarily, but then the Zexion stumbled backwards. Alviss continued pushing, forcing the Zexion off of his balance and sending him tumbling into the sand.

Alviss sprinted by him, his sights set on the other four Zexions. Alviss was used to making lightning fast observations, and he used the few precious seconds he had while running towards them to figure out the Zexions' strategy.

The four other Zexions were at the far end of the field. The two Zexions with the replicas of Alviss' Thirteen Totem Pole had lined up together in front of the other two. The Zexion clutching his lexicon was in the back, while the one with the replica Guardess was standing in front of him. Alviss thought it odd that the Zexion with the lexicon was hanging back. Despite being a book, that lexicon was quite powerful, both up close and at range. But this Zexion didn't appear to be paying attention to the battle at all. He had his book wide open in front of him, and his eyes were darting rapidly back and forth across the page.

Alviss remembered that only one of the six was the real Zexion, and that that one was the one that had to be defeated.

Something clicked in Alviss' head, something that he should have realized immediately – the one with the lexicon was the real one. Why else would he be holding back, and leaving the others to guard him?

Alviss heard footsteps behind him – the two Zexions with the replica staffs were hot on his tail. But it was the deep rumbling that was worrying Alviss. One of the Zexions with the replica totem pole had activated it. A plume of sand erupted directly in front of Alviss, and Alviss had to throw himself sideways to dodge the giant stone totem pole that blocked his path.

Alviss rolled to his feet and parried another strike from a staff wielding Zexion, and immediately had to back flip as another totem pole erupted from where he stood only moments before.

Alviss paused for a moment in order to regain his bearings, then set off again towards the real Zexion, dodging left and right as more totem poles erupted all around him, which were successful at slowing him down, but not stopping him. The same couldn't be said of the other two Zexions, who like him had been caught in the forest of giant stone totem poles. Unlike him, however, they weren't nearly as adept at navigating through them. Every time one of them appeared to attack, Alviss was able to leap sideways just as another totem pole erupted between them.

Alviss kept moving, but it wasn't long before he realized that he had to change tactics. He was breathing heavily – his chest was aching from his numerous broken bones. It felt like there were daggers in his chest, and each breath sent them deeper inside him. Alviss was having to tap into his reserve magic just to stay on his feet. He didn't have too much more time.

Not only that, but the totem poles seemed to be beginning to zero in on his position. He was still able to dodge, but every time it was with a smaller and smaller margin of error. To make matters worse, Zexion had succeeded in doing what he had failed before – keeping Alviss trapped in the sea of totem poles. Alviss had never thought that he'd have been susceptible to his own technique, but the added danger of two staff Zexions was just too much – he couldn't fight and escape at the same time.

One of the staff Zexions suddenly leapt before him, bringing down a crushing blow that Alviss was only barely able to block. Alviss planted his heal and whipped his staff into the Zexion's torso, who, just like the one before, vanished into thin air.

"One down…" Alviss muttered to himself, but his victory was short lived. Alviss heard footsteps behind him. He spun around, only to catch a glimpse of steel as the second staff Zexion slammed it into his chest, sending Alviss flying backwards.

Alviss felt a large bruise forming in his chest, and he could taste blood in his mouth, but he swallowed the pain and pushed himself to his feet.

The staff Zexion was quick to press the assault, but he stopped once the ground began rumbling again.

Alviss, realizing his chance jumped forward, landing directly on the epicenter of the rumbling.

The Zexion look immensely confused, and Alviss braced himself as the totem pole erupted underneath him, pushing him high into the air. Alviss gripped the sides of the pole as hard as he could, and it took all of his strength to prevent him from getting thrown off at the top. But his plan had worked – he was out of the other totem poles' reach.

Unfortunately, it didn't take the staff Zexion long to realize the benefits of Alviss' position, and a few moments later he rose into view on another of the totem poles.

The two stared each other down, then they both launched at one anther, each one jumping from one of the massive totem poles to another as they met in midair, their staffs a blur as they clashed against one another.

Their aerial duel lasted for several minutes as the two deftly jumped from pole to pole, their staffs lashing out at one another. The fact that they were at least fifty feet from the ground did little to slow the battle – in fact the added danger seemed to have made the two fighters even fiercer. Alviss had to seamlessly switch from defense and offense as he struck at any part of Zexion that he could while blocking or dodging all of Zexion's attacks. There was no room for mistakes - at this height even a blow to the legs was enough to send him plunging to the ground – which at that height would almost certainly be fatal.

Even though Alviss was completely concentrated on the duel, he couldn't help wondering just how long the other Zexions were going to allow this to carry on for uninterrupted. As this though crossed his mind he glanced over to where the other Zexions were gathered, and many things happened simultaneously.

Alviss' balance suddenly shifted as the staff Zexion swept his legs out from under him, followed by a sharp blow to the stomach that sent Alviss tumbling off the totem pole.

Almost immediately a large stone section of totem pole crashed directly where Alviss had stood only a fraction of a second before.

Alviss spun in midair, his back being pelted by bits of stone as he grabbed for the nearest totem pole. His fingers found their way into one of the poles many etchings, and he held on tight.

Another section of totem pole grazed his back as it flew by and crashed into another of the totem poles. The second ARM wielding Zexion had finally had enough, and had taken to launching sections of totem pole at the two duelists. It was a tactic that Alviss had used many times before, and luckily this Zexion didn't seem to be as adept as he was – the stone sections seemed to have completely random flight paths – Zexion couldn't aim them at all. This meant that the staff Zexion was in as much danger as he was, and he was spending so much time dodging the friendly fire he had broken off his attack. Alviss hoped to use the chaos as a chance to get closer to the real Zexion – and hopefully end this fight.

Alviss released his grip and pushed off from the pole that he was hanging from. He fell several feet before grabbing onto another and quickly jumping again, before grabbing another, using this technique to control his decent. It wasn't long before he was back on the desert sand.

There air was thick with dust from the destruction, and while Alviss greatly appreciated the cover, he was also completely disoriented. He could barely see five feet in front of him – all he could see were the looming silhouettes of the nearby totem poles. But, judging from the direction that the sections were coming from, he was able to guess were the other Zexions were, and he set off at a sprint towards them, jumping over fallen totem poles and dodging the stone sections that would suddenly appear from the dust.

The ground shook as the totem poles began collapsing all around him. Luckily, the dust was beginning to thin – he was almost out.

A silhouette suddenly appeared beside him. Alviss turned and saw the staff Zexion materialize out of the dust, his staff raised to strike. Alviss blocked the strike, and the two locked staffs, each one pushing with all their might.

Alviss heard a loud groaning as one of the totem poles nearest them wobbled dangerously. It swayed sideways and began to tumble towards him. Alviss' arms went slack, and with a mighty thrust the staff Zexion sent Alviss flying backwards out of the path of the falling pillar. The Zexion looked horrified as he turned and saw the falling totem pole, and seconds later it crumbled on top of him, and the Zexion clone disappeared.

Alviss pushed himself to his feet and ran. He finally broke free of the dust and emerged out into the blinding light of the desert.

Alviss' gaze was immediately drawn to the four black coats that contrasted heavily with the golden sand. Hanging in midair above them was a multitude of stone sections; Alviss did a quick survey – he estimated about seventeen sections left. Alviss knew that the only way he'd be safe from the sections was to close the gap between them quickly - but he was at least thirty yards away from them – not an extreme distance, but one that was made all the more dangerous by the rumbling behind him. The other Zexion had triangulated his position, and was now sending more of the totem poles chasing after him.

Alviss put on an extra burst of speed, the balls of his feet sinking into the soft sand as he sprinted as fast as he could, barely out running the stone totem poles that were erupting mere feet behind him.

The other Zexion took the opportunity to hurl more of the stone sections towards him. They sailed by, crashing into the sand around him, but for such an easy target, Zexion was having a surprisingly difficult time hitting him. Not only that, but the rumbling of the erupting totem poles was getting more distant. Alviss glanced over his shoulder – the totem poles, which just moments ago had been flat on his heels, were falling behind. The stone sections were becoming less of a danger as well as they flew wildly off course. Alviss didn't even have to dodge.

Alviss, guessing what was happening, closed his eyes for a fraction of a second – just long enough to focus on the magical power levels of the two Zexions. He only got a split second look, but he could easily tell that they were much lower than before, and Alviss knew why.

Even though Zexion, and his clones, were able to replicate his ARMs and their abilities, the thing that they could not replicate was his familiarity with them. The two Zexions had made the same mistake that so many others had before – they had activated their Guardian ARMs instantly and immediately tried to push them to full power without allowing adequate time to synch with the ARM. Alviss hadn't noticed it before because their power levels were so high that it seemed like they had perfectly synched already. But it was apparent now that they hadn't, and thus lacked the efficiency and stamina necessary to continue using them at full power. Alviss grinned – they were no longer a threat.

Alviss finished them with two quick strokes of his staff – both of them disappearing as soon as he touched them. That only left two more – the one with the Guardess replica, and the one with the lexicon.

Alviss turned towards them, brandishing his staff. The Zexion with the shield ran out to meet him – but it wasn't this particular Zexion that had grabbed his attention.

The Zexion with the lexicon looked exactly the same as before – he was reading his lexicon intently, his eyes moving rapidly down the page. The only difference was that his free hand was now darting across the pages as well – almost as though he were trying to draw on them with his finger. What was he doing?

Alviss moved to confront him, but the shield Zexion cut him off. Alviss tried to dodge sideways, but the Zexion followed him, keeping himself firmly between Alviss and the real Zexion.

Alviss swung with his staff, hoping to be able to stun him long enough to run by, but the Zexion blocked with his shield. The Zexion sidestepped and swung up with his shield, catching Alviss in the chin and sending him stumbling backwards. Even though this Zexion hadn't synched with his ARM, Alviss knew that it required far less magic than his Thirteen Totem Pole, so this Zexion had plenty of magic to spare.

Alviss didn't, however. His muscles were growing more and more fatigued. The numerous cuts and bruises on his body ached with every movement, and his insides still felt like there was a fire burning from within. Alviss had to end this fight soon – or else he was finished.

Alviss once again attempted to attack the real Zexion, but the other was adamant at keeping him away. Alviss continued to duel him, his staff a blur as he attempted every technique he knew. Unfortunately the Zexion had the advantage – all he had to do was defend and wait for Alviss to tire himself out, which was a real possibility.

Alviss stabbed with his staff, and the shield Zexion pinned it to the ground. Thinking quickly, Alviss deactivated his ARM and flipped over the Zexion. Without looking back Alviss sprinted towards the real Zexion, his fist pulled back to punch.

The Zexion looked up just as Alviss was punching, and Alviss got a sinking feeling as he saw that he didn't look shocked or scared – he was grinning.

Alviss' fist hit Zexion and continued right through, the Zexion disappearing into the air. This was the last clone.

Alviss spun around and saw with horror that the real Zexion – the one that had the Guardess – was standing right behind him. His grey lexicon had replaced his Guardess, and he stood with the book open wide, facing him.

"Abandon your hope!" he shouted, and Alviss suddenly felt weightless. His vision was quickly dimming as he fell backwards without ever hitting the ground. His thoughts swirled in his head – the last thing he remembered was hearing panicked shouts before he was finally consumed by darkness.


Hope everyone doesn't mind the ending - you see now why I've made sure that Chapter 8 is almost done. I don't want to keep everyone waiting for this fights conclusion. Anywho, thanks again for reading. Any reviews are extremely appreciated. Feel free to PM me with any questions, and hopefully I'll have another post up real soon!