With Zack's withdrawal, Phil announced that with no other contenders already in the listings, I would face off against Sora and Hercules. The three of us took up positions on the opposite side of the arena to where they would be, waiting for them.

"You're sure they'll be no trouble?" Cloud murmured.

"Stop doubting me," I replied, watching an intriguing conversation between Sora and Phil. "You saw how easily we swept aside Neku's team. Just do what you've been contracted in to do, and you'll be off to see Sephiroth in no time."

"Something isn't right about you."

"I get that a lot," I shrugged, not taking my eyes off the conversation. Phil appeared to be refusing very insistently, whatever it was Data-Sora was trying to achieve.

"I mean more recently," Cloud added, taking hold of my chin to make me face him. I don't like people doing that, but I'm a fairly short person so Cloud sort of towers over me. Not by as much as it sounds, but he gave that impression. "I thought so," he said. "What colour are your eyes meant to be, Liam?"

"Blue," I answered almost automatically. "They should never be any different. Except maybe a little grey or green sometimes."

"No yellow hints in places?"

I didn't answer that. The implications weren't nice to think about.

Rinzler laid a hand on my shoulder momentarily, then as my attention turned to him he pointed toward Data-Sora, "They're up to something."

Sure enough, Data-Sora was now being supported in his argument by Neku, who was leaning on Goofy for support still. Zack was on the other side of him, evidently not as intimidated as I'd originally thought, while who should be in front of him than the King.

Phil made one last attempt, animatedly laying out whatever rule applied, but it seemed that the concerted efforts of Data-Sora, Zack and Neku had won out. Whatever they were arguing over, Data-Sora had come out on top.

Now he led the way to the same place Neku had recently stood, only it was not just Hercules that followed. Zack and Mickey both joined him.

"Figured you couldn't beat us alone?" I called to him. "Isn't it against the rules to change your team once the Games begin?"

"Just like Phil says," Data-Sora replied. "Rule 11 – it's just a game, so let loose and have fun with it. Not to mention Rule 12. Unexpected doesn't mean not allowed. I just expanded the meaning of the rules slightly. Isn't that what you do?"

"Only when I need to. You should have brought more than just them. Or didn't you see what happened to Neku? You're wishing the same thing on yourselves, you know."

"Snap outta it, Lee," Mickey insisted, Star Seeker waving around to emphasize it. "You don't have to do this, and you know it!"

"Ignore him," Charlie murmured, as usual unheard by anyone else. "Remember what I said."

I thought for a few moment, then took a few steps back, beckoning to the curious looking Cloud and Rinzler.

"Hercules is going to be a pain," I told them. "So are the rest of them, but he's a tough nut. Leave him to me. That will give you two just Zack, Sora and Mickey to handle."

"Leave Zack to me," Cloud said. "I can handle him, probably Sora too."

"Like I said earlier, don't underestimate Sora. Rinzler-"

"I'll deal with the little mouse first," he interrupted, glancing over at Mickey. "You handle Sora and Hercules until we've dealt with Zack and this Mickey. Then we'll take Sora off your hands."

"Don't set yourselves in stone here," I warned. "If he's pulling out a rule like that rule 12 he quoted, I think we should be ready for anything, or at least ready to change tactics on short notice. Now, anyone got anything else to add?"

I waited for a time, then when it became clear neither of them had anything, I turned back to face our new opponents.

"Care to surrender?" I called to them. "It'll be easier on you, you know."

Data-Sora's answer came in the form of Fire sent at me, easily brushed aside. Cloud took that as his cue to go for Zack, Rinzler following suit as he quickly sent one of his two Identity Disks at Mickey, the other kept in his hand still.

Hercules placed himself between Data-Sora and me, but seemed reluctant to actually attack me as I closed in.

"You're sure about this, Sora?" he threw back over his shoulder.

"Do we really have to go into this again?" Data-Sora replied wearily. "You know what to do."

Now he nodded, drew a short sword that I'd never notice him need or use before, and set himself to deal with me – though he still remained where he stood, between me and Data-Sora. I moved to one side and he followed, I moved back, he mimicked.

"You'll have to go through me if you want to reach him," he told me.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that," I grinned, then barked out, "Teleport!"

This put me behind Data-Sora, but I realized in an instant that it had been a mistake. Neku was hard at work again, because as I'd cast the spell, Data-Sora and Hercules also exchanged places. Hercules was able to take advantage of that to pick me up bodily and throw me against the arena wall.

Data-Sora had really expanded the meaning of the rule he'd mentioned. Neku was intervening on his side, and I had no counter to that this time. I was going to have to try something different.

Instead of making the same mistake again, I scrambled back up and went after Hercules with Gilded Light swinging, making some show of over-extending myself, making it appear that I was deliberately leaving myself open.

Hercules isn't stupid though, not taking advantage of that as he skilfully deflected my Keyblade whenever it got too close, grudgingly giving up ground as necessary. Data-Sora was just behind him, apparently waiting for something. Strangely, neither Cloud or Rinzler took advantage of his focus on me.

I changed tactics then, taking my Keyblade in both hands and starting a series of attacks, overhand blows and strikes aimed for his side. Hercules countered this quite simply; he ignored it entirely and just began to glow with that divine aura he picked up. My attacks simply bounced off him.

"Give up yet?" he taunted me. "I can handle anything you can throw at me."

"Handle this," I growled, then aimed for his side again this time with a touch of darkness sent into Gilded Light directly. It shuddered slightly in my hand, being a weapon of light, but the tell-tale dark shadow following the blade spoke louder than words. I hadn't even thought about using it, I just took it and put it to work. Hercules taunting me, or more of Charlie's work?

That touch of darkness was what I needed though, it sliced through his divine aura and sent him stumbling back – not much, but enough that I was able to follow up and drive him back with more, similar attacks. With each one, the aura faded slightly until it flickered out and died. Somehow during all this, Data-Sora had managed to disappear.

Mickey and Zack, somehow still holding on, drew back from their respective battles to stop me from doing any more to Hercules. Mickey muttered a quick spell to heal the three of them, then leapt for me.

"Stop!" I snapped, fusing the Slow and Stop spells once again. Mickey stopped in mid-air just as Neku had, and not a moment too soon – Star Seeker had been very close to hitting me.

"Hey – not fair!" Zack exclaimed, coming after me too now.

I noticed Rinzler and Cloud approaching, then quickly warned them back as I planned out my next attacks. I sent Fire into the Keyblade and struck hard on Zack's sword, which glowed in his hands forcing him to drop it, then with the emphasis of, "Deep Freeze!" caused Hercules, Zack and Mickey to feel the full force of Blizzaga, empowered by providing more magic than it actually needed.

Someone shoved me from behind as soon as I'd finished casting that spell though, and I turned to find Data-Sora quickly retreating from me. In one hand he still held Zero/One, his Keyblade, but in the other...

I quickly looked to the pocket I'd kept Neku's book in, opening it to find it wasn't there.

"That's right," he told me. "I'm the one holding the Book now."

"Thief!" I snarled.

"Who's to blame for that, huh?" he demanded, keeping ready to counter anything I might do.

"Get him!" I commanded Rinzler and Cloud. "Get him and get that book back in my hands!"

Data-Sora turned and bolted as they started after him, calling, "I could use some help here, Neku!"

Once again someone shoved me from behind, this time the force of it pushing me to the sandy arena floor. I spat out the sand and looked up to find Hercules running after them, his glowing aura back in place. Footsteps approaching told me either Mickey or Zack were also coming to his aid, so I waited, pretending to be temporarily stunned, then as I spotted Mickey starting to pass me I grabbed his foot and yanked hard.

"Oh, no you don't laddy," I told him flatly, repeating as Zack passed on the other side, crashing to the ground. "You're going to go through me before you get to help him."

Mickey was first to his feet just after I got up again. Just as Hercules had at the start of the fight, I made sure I remained between him and the still fleeing Data-Sora behind me. I wasn't going to let them make it any easier on him.

Then Zack got up though, and I realized there was no way I could keep them both from reaching him. I'd have to take one – or both – of them out.

I attempted to re-cast the same fused Stop spell I had before, but Mickey quickly said, "Reflect!" sending the spell back at me. Before the faint haze of it reached me though, it flashed and turned into a single feather.

"Thank you, Charlie," I muttered, then decided it was time for another experiment. I had to quickly lash out at Zack to prevent him from passing me, striking low at his legs to make him fall to the ground once again, then held off Mickey as I started to create the next magical test spell.

Slowing others was one thing, but Mickey clearly had a counter to that now. What if instead of slowing him, I stole a leaf from Luxord's book and hasted myself? All it would take was an inversion of the effects of the Slow spell – or so I reasoned.

"Speed!" I commanded when I'd finished what I thought was the resulting spell, only to have Mickey suddenly start a ferocious attack at such speed that I had to quickly cast Stop again, followed by a healing spell of my own.

"You need to review your magic again, Liam," Mickey told me. "You can't just switch around the effects and have it come off the way you want."

"What do you know of magic? You hardly ever use it!" I retorted.

"I'll show ya how much I know! Flare!" he cried, raising Star Seeker upward. Unlike most fire magic, it didn't come from his Keyblade or him. Instead, a large fireball descended from the sky instead.

I realized what Mickey had meant even as I took in the sight. I'd overlooked how Slow was targeted – at others. I needed to alter it so it would affect only me, instead of someone else. With the rest of the Haste spell already in place it didn't take me long to fix that oversight, then I silently casted it to give away no hint of what I was doing. At the last moment I dashed out of the way, giving no time for the fireball to reorientate on me as it caught Mickey and Zack instead.

Once it passed, I turned back to see the effects of what I'd done. Both of them were out of it now, protected only by the arena's innate native magic that prevented anything more permanent from happening to them.

Then for the third time in the battle, something slammed me to the ground. I came up spitting sand and curses again, finding Cloud facing me this time.

"What do you think you're doing?" I roared at him furiously.

"Changing sides," he told me calmly. "Sora told me I'd never have found Sephiroth if I'd stuck with Hades. He also told me exactly where I'd find him, in exchange for my help. Now I just have to make good on my side of the bargain before I go and meet him."

"Damn you Sora!" I snapped.

"I heard that!" I heard him call from the other side of the Arena. I chanced a glance over to find Hercules was holding off Rinzler with ease, allowing Data-Sora to write something in Neku's Book.

"Eyes front," Cloud told me. "I'm your opponent now."

"Fine then. Let's see you defeat this!"

Sonic Blade, one of Cloud's attacks, is also one I could use. I opened our own fight with that, with Cloud using his own to avoid most of my own attacks. We ended up closer together than we had been before, but I'd planned ahead, went straight into Limit form and attacked him with Ars Arcanum. The finishing strike of that sent him into one of the arena's pillars, causing it to crack and start to collapse over Cloud, who only just managed to avoid getting hit by the falling stone.

Once again I checked on the others, only to see I'd lost another ally. Rinzler was no longer the red-circuited warrior he'd been, his circuits blazing back in the blue that signified he was Tron once more. The helmet was discarded, further proving this, then he murmured something to Hercules and the two of them started for me. Data-Sora continued to write fervently in the Book.

"I could use some help here Charlie," I muttered, but he made no response and no feathers fell. Typical that when I didn't want to hear him he made himself known, and when I did, he wasn't there.

Then I realized something else. The arena's crowds had disappeared. I was alone in the arena, faced with enemies all around. Mickey and Zack, probably thanks to Data-Sora, got up again and rejoined the fight. Now I had them, Tron and Zack to worry about, not to mention whatever Data-Sora was up to.

I was outnumbered and outmatched, but Charlie's influence still kept hold on me. I couldn't win like this, but his words had forced me to keep trying all the same. I attempted to recast the Deep Freeze magic, but Mickey held up Star Seeker and called out, "Drain!" and I felt my magic slipping away from me.

Reluctantly, but faced with no other choice, I cancelled Limit form knowing that the safest way for me to use the darkness was, as always, through Anti form. I'd have to wait for a time before I could pull out another Drive form, so while I waited I settled for keeping my distance from any of them, evading Tron's Identity Disks while I tried to think of a way out of this.

Dark Aura is not meant to be used against multiple foes, this I knew from nearly every previous use of it. But if I concentrated it on each of them in turn, dealing with the greatest threat first, I could quickly and efficiently take them out. Mickey would have to be the first target of course – him and his healing magic, not to mention the spell that had let him take my reserves of magic from me.

But as I started to call on it there was a great roar from outside the arena, one I'd heard before, and one I had recently discovered Roxas would have recognised too.

The stands of the arena opposite me crashed outward, a large barrier protecting all of us from the flying debris, then coming through the destroyed remains was the great beast I'd once faced in the Lanes Between, one that had menaced Roxas time and again.

It doesn't actually have a name, at least not officially. Some call it Red Eyes, Roxas and Riku both knew it as the Hunter, but I've always known it by the name of the music track that plays when you fight it: The Hunter of the Dark.

It gave another shattering roar, and with it everything changed. The arena was replaced with Olympus Coliseum's system sector, and the hatred Charlie had forced on me was washed away, restoring my sensibility and removing his influences. Those influences and everything Charlie done with me couldn't be removed though. As they were taken from me, I caught the distinctive and familiar scent of my darkness as it is when Anti-Liam is there. I knew he was behind me, at least up until the moment he leapt up over all of us, and landed just behind the massive head of the Hunter of the Dark, wielding not a black Kingdom Key as he usually did, but a Keyblade that looked like my own Gilded Light but in darker colours.

Data-Sora had retrieved me from Charlie's clutches, but had also taken me from one fight and dumped us all straight into another, possibly worse one. At least this time we were all on the same side.