AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~ Hey peeps! Last chap before time skip! There's going to be a tournament but I ignored most of it so Fox and Krystal can have at it! Just thought you should know.

'I know it's been a while since my last log, but today is the day! There is the day we have a conclave wide tournament! I've been training for a whole month for this! Even Storm and Rare have been spending an awful lot of time together perfecting their techniques. I'm sorry to say but Storm is no longer the brute he once was. He actually has fluidity and grace. I hope someone else knocks him out of the tournament before I have to fight him. Anyways, I got to go, it starts in an hour.'

With that last note, Fox threw his audio recorder under his bed and sped off to the training grounds. He was like an orange and grey blur. His grey robes fluttered in the wind as he ran with his orange tail. The vulpine was excited for this. He'd finally be able to put his skills to the test. A whole day of sparring and he'd be all the stronger for it.

When he got to the training grounds, he was electrified with excitement. All around him there were people readying themselves for the coming tournament. Everyone was classified into sects depending on age. The younger apprentices, seven to eleven, were all in one group. That meant that there was a chance that Fox, Storm, Rare, and Krystal could all wind up fighting each other.

The rules of the game were simple. Force powers were allowed as long as they weren't lethal, training Lightsabers were to be used, there were ring outs, and the first person to land three physical blows via kicking or punching would win, or one Lightsaber blow would win.

Only about twelve signed up in Fox's division, four of those twelve were himself, Krystal, Storm, and Rare.

"Hey Fox!" Storm called out to the vulpine, drawing him in.

"Hey storm." Fox said as he walked up to him and Rare. "Hey Rare."

"Hello Fox." She purred. "Someone's excited."

Fox grinned. "You bet I am! I'm so psyched for this. We've been training our tails off for today for a whole month-"

"And you still think it will be enough." A lovely chiding voice came from behind the vulpine, making his fur stand on end.

"Hello, Krystal." Fox scowled as he turned around. "Lovely day we're having, until you showed up."

The vixen flared her ears. "Watch yourself Fox, if we fight today, I'm not taking it easy on you."

"Well at least the feeling's mutual." Fox countered which began a long back-and-forth trash-talk between the two foxes.

Storm and Rare just watched on the sidelines. The lupine rather enjoyed watching the emotional drama while the caracal was just plain confused.

"Is there… something between them?" She asked.

"Meh," Storm replied. "Those two have always acted strange. It's really funny though, when they start tuning everything out and go all out at each other. I was in a shuttle-port lobby and these two were pretty much a mini soap opera."

"Really?"

"Really. Everyone was watching them and only when I shouted… well, never mind." Storm muttered off, not wanting to blow the two fox's secrets that they both liked each other.

Eventually the clashing duo had had their daily fill of arguing. Krystal walked off with more victories then losses and Fox was left fuming.

"Can you believe her!" He growled and stomped off to get some frustration vented.

"Get used to that." Storm sighed to the confused caracal.

An hour passed before things started to get underway. Fox vented his emotions with some physical warm-ups while Krystal meditated her emotions away. The vulpine was pumped up and ready for action, while the vixen was serene and ready to act accordingly. Everyone within the divisions was assigned numbers via a random draw from the hat. The numbers were then randomized via computer and the matches were established.

Fox rolled his eyes. "Just great." He scowled when he discovered that his match wasn't until after the first two. In total, there would only be twelve matches and he'd be in two if he got to the semifinals.

"Cheer up Fox, just more time for you to prepare yourself." Krystal said as she walked up from behind the vulpine and stepped into the ring.

"Prepare myself for what?" Fox snapped.

"Defeat of course." Krystal said starring him down as she activated her dual Lightsaber.

Fox growled in his throat and folded his arms. He'd let her have that one because it would be all the sweeter when he made her eat her words. His confidence was high that he could beat her but then the match began.

A lot of people were watching stoically, including several adults, most of whom Fox did not recognize. Vane and Shivana were there but that was probably the extent of the list of adults that Fox knew who was attending the tournament. The mellow silence that surrounded the ring was soon broken by clashing of Lightsabers. Fox blinked and turned his drifting eyes from the adults to the fight.

"Winner, Krystal." Kid said as he helped the other kid who had lost.

Fox's muzzle dropped. He hadn't had his eyes away for more then ten seconds and already the match was over. Of course, what did he expect? Krystal's skills matched that of a true Jedi guardian. He hadn't faced her in a month and he was now beginning to wonder, if on the off chance he does fight her, does he even have a chance yet? That mischievous thought disappeared behind an iron wall of disdain as Krystal walked up to him and stood by his side.

"Don't worry; I'll make your fall quicker." She purred.

"Oh spare me." Fox replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Sorry, can't do that." Krystal giggled.

"Next fight, Aaron versus Terry." Kid said once he had cleared the unfortunate eagle from the ring.

Fox eventually zoned out during the fight. Sure it was interesting but it was dead even. He started looking around again and noticed that there weren't many people by him except for Krystal and Kid. Everyone else had their little groups and was studying the fight intently. The adults were all on stand by and some were nodding in approval of this fight or the combatant's skills. There was one person who struck Fox as odd however. The man was tall and had his hood up that covered his face but not his white muzzle. Fox could tell he was a man because of how broad he was, like a warrior.

'Wonder who that is.' Fox thought to himself before the fight finally finished. The cheetah managed to feign a fall and when he was on the ground he blocked a chop to the body and used Force push to send the simian back and out of the ring.

Kid stepped forward. "Winner, Terry." He announced and stepped into the middle of the ring. "Next fight, Fox versus Sly."

Fox growled with anticipation and strutted forward, acquiring several quizzical looks. He took the two Lightsabers Kid had for him and activated the dual green blades. His opponent only took one blade and his was a fiery yellow. The raccoon assumed the Shii-cho stance; he didn't look like he had a drop of emotion in him.

"Good luck." Fox said with a smug grin and took a couple steps back.

"And three… two… one… begin!" Kid announced and quickly jumped back in time to avoid a charge from Fox.

The vulpine quickly hammered the raccoon, hoping to catch him off guard, force his guard to break, and finish this fight quickly, but the raccoon was too swift. He managed to deflect the blow off at an angle that left them both exposed but neither could they strike with their Lightsabers. Realizing how precariously exposed he was, Fox jumped back and reevaluated his opponent.

The ringtail was skillful with the Lightsaber, but there was something lacking to his form, almost as if he wasn't using the correct weapon. Either way, it gave Fox an edge and he quickly exploited it.

Without mercy, Fox laid a crushing blow at the ringtail and when he tried to block it, Sly was sent to the ground from the recoil. Fox tried to stab Sly and end it there, but the raccoon quickly batted the green blade away. The vulpine growled and kept at it, all the while staying out of range of the Lightsaber his opponent was whipping around in a wild defense.

Whenever Sly tried to get up, Fox kept him down by threatening to chop him into pieces. Fox couldn't keep it up forever though, and sure enough, Sly managed to roll away and jumped back to his feet. Both the boys were panting.

"You're good." Fox complimented before rushing Sly again.

"You know what the pathetic thing is?" Sly asked as they reached a gridlock. Fox was bigger then the coon and was slowly pushing him back to the ground.

"What's that?" Fox grunted.

"I'm not left handed." The raccoon said and jumped to the side, letting Fox's sabers careen to the ground and send sparks flying.

The raccoon shifted the Lightsaber in his hands from the left to the right. Without warning, Sly had assumed the roll of offense and was pushing Fox back towards the boundaries of the ring. Try as he might, the raccoon was a completely new fighter and had managed to bring the match, which had stayed in the middle of the ring, to the very edge.

Fox looked back and saw his left foot was just on the line, one more inch and he was disqualified. A vision of Krystal laughing at him flashed across his mind just as Sly moved to heel-kick Fox out of the ring. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction and he dropped his left Lightsaber as he opened his palm.

The heel of the raccoon and the palm of the fox met but it was the coon that was sent reeling backwards. At the last second, Fox managed to pull some of the strength from inside and sent Sly back with a Force Push. The ringtail hit the floor about six feet away and before he could get the world to stop spinning, he saw a green blade humming right in his face.

"Winner, Fox." Kid announced as he stepped forward.

Fox smirked and removed the Lightsaber from the scowling raccoon's face. "You're pretty good Sly." Fox said and held out his hand for the raccoon.

The ringtail glared at Fox before he sensed the sincerity in the vulpine. Swallowing his pride, Sly took the hand. "Thanks." He grunted.

"We should train together sometime, I'm sure we could perfect both our techniques." Fox suggested much to the surprise of the raccoon who just wanted to skulk off and train strenuously as punishment for his failure. Yet this vulpine was having a strange effect on him, his loss wasn't so smart anymore, not with the bright vulpine trying to get all buddy with him.

"Y-Yeah sure." Sly replied. "I guess we could do that."

"Alright! You got to teach me that trick though." Fox said as the two walked over to Fox's spot next to Krystal.

"That wasn't a trick; I'm just trying to become ambidextrous. I can use my left fairly well but not as good as my right." Sly explained.

"It threw me off, that's for sure." Fox said as the next round began. "One moment you're all defense then you're all offense."

"Yeah, I train the defensive arts with my left so I can test people. I was testing you and decided that the best way to counter you was to copy your form since you were keeping me from using mine. But you've got size over me so…" Sly trailed off.

"You think I'm bad? Try fighting with that meathead over there." Fox said and pointed at Storm who was now in the ring fighting a sandy vixen.

"Who? Carmelita?" Sly asked, hardly able to keep his eyes off the vixen as she fought.

Fox took one look at the look on Sly's face and rolled his eyes. 'Oh boy. Is this the temple of love or something?'

"She's amazing isn't she? Probably as good as me if not better." Sly said as the vixen threw all that she had at Storm, not caring if her zealous attacks were exposing her to a quick counter. Regardless, Storm was having trouble anticipating her attacks and the recoil he received when he blocked stunned him long enough for her to get another shot in.

"She certainly is fierce, rather like a Cerinian." Krystal said as she watched the cobalt haired vixen hammer away at Storm's defense. "If she used Force Push right now, it would result in the fight you two had since Storm is not the most adept in the Force."

"I don't know, Storm can get really resourceful when he's desperate." Fox said remembering the first time he and Storm had at it. Of course this was a non-lethal fight so Force Lightning was strictly off limits even more so now, not just because it was a Dark Side power.

As the fight wore on, both combatants were exhausted, and Sly hadn't said another word, he was just entirely captivated by Carmelita. Fox was done checking girls out since it never ended well and he was too young, but even he had to admit she was pretty fine.

"Here it comes." Krystal said as Carmelita backed off from the intense shower of sparks and Lightsaber clashes. The sandy vixen raised her hand and sure enough, Storm went flying back out of the ring.

"Winner, Carmelita." Kid said just as the vixen fell to her knees with exhaustion. A lot of people swarmed to her but she pushed them back.

"I'm fine but… I can't go on." She panted.

"Isn't anyone going to check on me?" Fox heard the white wolf ask as he walked up to him.

"Stop being so dramatic you big baby." Fox spat and helped the lupine up. "Can't believe you lost to a girl."

"Excuse me Fox?" Rare asked from behind the vulpine.

"I meant a girl that's not as good as you." Fox nervously chuckled as his ears drooped with angst. The last thing he wanted was to fight an angry Rarity next round. She was almost as bad as Krystal when she was angry. She didn't give into rage or anger, she was just ruthless and highly efficient.

"I highly doubt that Fox." Rare said as she squinted at the nervous vulpine. "You better hope that we don't fight next."

"I'm sorry!" Fox called after the annoyed feline but she didn't hear him.

"Somebody is doomed." Storm sang in undertone and chuckled to himself.

"Shut up!" Fox growled.

"Next fight, Rare versus-" Kid called out while Fox silently prayed that his name wouldn't be called.

'Please not me, please not me, oh God! Please not me!'

"-Krystal." Kid finished.

"Oh shit." Storm said as the two girls walked into the ring. "Shit is about to go down!"

"You're telling me. Rare is a beast but Krystal is-" Fox started but Kid interrupted him.

"And begin!" He shouted and jumped back but neither Krystal nor Rare made a move.

Fox watched with a frantic heart as the fight remained at a standstill. He needed Rare to last as long as possible, wear Krystal down and possibly allow him to evaluate her form one last time. But as seconds turned to minutes, nothing happened. People were all wondering why they weren't moving, just glaring at each other. Then Rare looked at Fox and deactivated her Lightsabers.

"I give up." She said and walked to Fox with Krystal at her side.

The vulpine's muzzle dropped. "What the heck was that?"

"Oh Fox, Krystal would have beaten me for sure, and she told me she'd get you back for what you said." Rare sighed and pinched his cheek. "So I didn't want to tire her or give you an advantage."

"But how did you two-" Fox gapped.

"We had a little chat in her mind." Krystal admitted. "I laid out the plan, she surrendered, and I get to dice you up."

Fox shifted uncomfortably before retorting. "Yeah I'd love to see you try blue."

"Next fight, Terry versus Jack."

The rest of the tournament proceeded with more excitement then the fight between Krystal and Rare. Terry lost her next fight and then it was Fox up again. It was a quick match that Fox won thanks to his opponent's sloppy footwork that allowed the vulpine to trip him up and forced him to yield. Then it was another fight against two others. Because of the double knockout in Storm's and Carmelita's fight, the fight went to Krystal and the other kid since Fox just finished fighting.

"Well that was quick." Fox grunted when Krystal's opponent limped away after taking a slice to the leg.

"Don't worry Fox; we have the utmost faith in you." Storm reassured then whispered rather loudly to Sly. "Twenty credits says he doesn't last more than five minutes."

"Five minutes! He won't last two the way she's been fighting today." Sly sniggered; a bit eager to see Fox bite the dust after his own defeat.

"Oh thanks guys, you're the best." Fox scowled and stepped into the ring.

The vixen smirked confidently at the vulpine. It had been an open and shut tournament for her and now with Fox in her way of the title champion, victory was assured. Even with all his training with Storm, Rare, and Kid, there was no way he'd be able to match up to her.

"Very brave of you Fox." She acknowledged. "But it was foolish for you to even try."

"Your overconfidence is your weakness Krystal." Fox grunted in return.

"Your faith in your skills is yours." Krystal chided. "You won't last one minute."

Fox's muzzle wrinkled as he snarled at the blue fox. Before he could reply, Kid stepped forward.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our last match for this sect, Krystal versus Fox Sabbath." Kid announced as people began applauding. Many of the other sects had finished early and had clamored around to watch. A lot of people were interested in this fight simply because Krystal was partaking in it.

"We've had a lot of interesting and exciting matches beforehand, but I can proudly say that this will be the most exciting and best of all… or it'll be over quickly like the rest of them with Krystal." Kid added in under tone.

"Thanks Kid." Fox grunted.

"In a finals match, the number of physical body hits before an out has doubled but not for a Lightsaber hit. Ring outs still count. Now, without further adieu, let the final match BEGIN!" Kid shouted over the applause and quickly got out of the ring.

"You can give up now Fox; no one would hold it against you." Krystal sneered as she began circling him.

"Not a chance Krystal. Today's the day I knock you off your pedestal." Fox growled and mimicked Krystal's actions.

"Please. Spare me your fairytales. We both know I am superior, and you are the inferior tag-along." Krystal scoffed.

"We'll see who's inferior Krystal." Fox snapped and activated both his green and blue Lightsabers. He twirled them around in his hands and let them scrape the floor, sending sparks everywhere.

"That we shall." Krystal replied and activated her double bladed Lightsaber.

Fox tensed and let out a battle-cry as he rushed Krystal. The vixen wasn't afraid of him or his superior size and rushed head on at his charge. The distance between them dissolved and their blades met in a loud clash that sent a shower of sparks everywhere. Somehow the smaller fox was able to withstand Fox's greater strength and sent him on the defensive. She made for a quick attack at his right but he only just managed to block. Surprised but not hesitating, Krystal followed up with an attack with the other blade at his left. Once more he blocked and brought them into a gridlock.

They glared at each other and growled in each others faces as they pushed to knock the other down. Even though she was young and small, Krystal's Cerinian blood made her a fine warrior and she refused to be shown up. The vixen hissed once and rammed her head into Fox's muzzle.

The vulpine stumbled back, eyes watering and nose bleeding but he didn't drop his guard as the assault began. Krystal went all out, hacking and slashing at the vulpine but every time he barely managed to keep her at bay. It was like he had somehow progressed a whole year in one month.

Growing impatient, Krystal came down with an overhead attack that Fox blocked by crossing both his Lightsabers above his head. This left him open to Krystal's knee and the hit winded Fox. He fell to his knees and Krystal acted fast to finish the fight with a quick slice across the chest. With his Lightsabers on the ground, he had no way to defend himself.

The blue blade descended on the stunned fox but he refused to go down so easily. Listening to his instincts Fox tackled Krystal which sent her attack wild and somehow managed not to hit either one of them.

The vixen snarled into the face of the vulpine as he held her arms down. There was nothing she could do; he was too strong for her. Try as hard as she could, she could not push him off her.

"You give up?" Fox demanded to know as blood dripped from his face onto Krystal's robes.

"Never!" She hissed and summoned every ounce of her strength to buck him off over her head.

Fox landed on the hard floor and groaned before quickly jumping back up to his feet. Krystal came running at him with her blades humming for his blood but Fox dove to his right just as Krystal would have skewered him.

Becoming desperate, Fox frantically looked around for his blades. They were lying on the ground too far out of his reach and behind the armed vixen.

"You're not getting away that easily!" She growled and rushed him again, this time she wouldn't miss.

Sweat ran down Fox's brow and he put all his chips on one last move he had been practicing. Throwing his life on the line, Fox reached out for his blades and pulled as hard as he could. His hands outstretched for them and he closed his eyes, concentrating purely on moving the Lightsabers to his hands.

Krystal let out her own battle-cry as she moved to hack the vulpine's head off. She swung and her blade came within an inch of his head. A loud clash nearly deafened him but that was the least of his worries and Krystal's surprise. She jumped back and saw that Fox's blades were once again in hand.

'But they were just on the ground several feet away! How was this possible?' Krystal thought and checked to see if his Lightsabers were in the same spot. They were gone.

Fox chuckled and charged Krystal with her head turned to him. He didn't make a noise as he struck but Krystal still managed to recover in time and parry Fox's thrust at her belly. The momentum he had mustered that was now diverted sent him tumbling to the ground but now worse off.

'Has he really come this far?' Krystal wondered in bewilderment as beads of sweat began to form on her brow. She was actually having difficulty cutting down an opponent for the first time in years. Fighting always came easy to her but now she was having trouble beating a person who had only been training with a Lightsaber for a few months?

"Enough of this!" Krystal snapped as she had had enough of this embarrassing fight.

Fox made it to his feet and saw the fierce vixen coming at him. Fear would have gripped anyone's heart at that very moment, but for some reason he felt calm. His instincts were not fazed by her insidious barrage that he was now able to match so easily. Every hit that she made at him, no matter how strong, quick, or sneaky, he blocked it.

To everyone watching it was an amazing thing to witness. Sparks flew everywhere as the four humming blades shrieked when they collided. It was beautiful in a sense and nobody cared when they stepped out of bounds. The fight would not end with a ring out, and everybody followed, watching intently.

"He's become so strong in this last month." The hooded man muttered as he watched the orange vulpine hold his own against the prodigy of Vane.

"That he has. Imagine how much stronger they'll both be in a few years." Vane said as he watched the fight with proud eyes that gleamed behind his mask.

"If they don't kill each other." Shivana interjected. "Shouldn't we stop them James?"

The vulpine chuckled and removed his hood. "Do you honestly think they would if we tried?"

Shivana looked back to the flurry of blue and green blades that were kicking up a blizzard of embers. He was right; Krystal was Hell bent on proving her superiority, as was Fox.

"Die!" Krystal yelled suddenly as she retracted from her heavy assault.

Fox was caught off guard and his body was thrown back into the hard metal wall fifteen feet behind him. He barked in pain and hacked up blood. But he would not quit. Krystal leapt the great distance with ease and aimed her jump to land an attack to finish him off once and for all.

"You first!" Fox replied and lifted his right hand just as Krystal's blade would have reached him. Instead, the blue vixen was sent flying back, not as far as Fox had, but far enough to give Fox a moment to breathe and recover.

The vixen groaned as she pulled herself up from the ground. That last one hurt a lot, and had dazed her long enough for Fox to shake off his fatigue. Tense and shaking with anger, the vixen shouted as she sent another Push at Fox. The vulpine couldn't see the attack but lifted his hand and released a Push of his own to counter the attack. The result was a loud bang and shockwave that sent both combatants to the floor.

"Vane! James! We have to stop this!" Shivana protested as Fox and Krystal hauled themselves back up and readied themselves for another stand off.

"Perhaps you're right." James muttered as another shockwave flung the kids to the ground. They were slower to get up this time, but they still managed to push away the pain and fatigue. It wasn't about winning the tournament or respect; it was about showing the other they were not weak.

"Don't." Vane said and grabbed James' shoulder as he moved to end the fight.

"Vane?" James questioned angrily.

"If you stop the fight now then they'll go at it again tomorrow until one dies or surrenders. It's best for one to lose in the tournament with rules then an unregulated fight." Vane pointed out.

"But this fight isn't regulated! Those fools down there are too staggered to stop this Vane!" Shivana argued.

"Enough. You both know it has to be this way." Vane spoke firmly as Fox and Krystal raised their hands.

Both kits were panting heavily for air. Their legs shook as their own weight proved a challenge to hold. There was blood on both sides now, most of the bleeding was Fox's doing but Krystal's lip was cut in that last collision with the ground.

Fox and Krystal stared at each other, each ready to unleash their powers in one final shot. Yet as they gazed into each others eyes, their anger began to ebb and fade. Yes they were rivals, and yes they could hardly stand the other, but there was something that made them hesitate. It burned in their hearts, but unlike anger, it was a pleasant feeling. As young as they were, love and an unbreakable attachment bonded them together. If coursed through their veins and filled every shadow of their hearts and minds.

In unison, their hands lowered and blades extinguished. Nothing mattered anymore, so why keep fighting? Their battle had spoken more clearly then words possibly could. Dominance, superiority, power, it didn't count to these kids any longer. Fox and Krystal dropped their weapons and closed the four foot gap between them. They smiled.

"You did good Fox." Krystal whispered.

"Thanks to you Krystal." Fox whispered back.

The fight was over and the two kits embraced. James and Shivana stood rooted to their spots astonished. Just seconds ago it looked like they wouldn't stop until one was killed, but now they were embracing each other.

"This doesn't make sense!" Shivana gapped.

"Doesn't it?" Vane asked before stepping away to congratulate his pupils. This was the first step in their new training, their hatred was gone and their love could flourish. All according to plan and prophecy.

~X~X~X~X~

AUTHOR'S NOTE~~~ Hey guys! What did you think? I' m a little worried that that was a bit too anti-climactic. Still, I'm happy with how it went down. And wasn't it a badass fight?

Yup, Sly Cooper and Carmelita Fox made a quick cameo. All part of my shameless advertising scheme to announce my new story Sly Cooper: Dues Ex Machina. A Sly Cooper story set in the year 2055. That's right, I finally branched out. It's a quick story though since I'm leaving sometime in December. Odds are I won't finish this here story so… yeah.

What was that about prophecy? Don't worry, it won't be some lame ass prophecy like Anikin's. Balance to the Force is so passé. More will be explained in the next chapter. Oh! And check out the picture of Rarity I drew all by myself ^^! Link is on my profile page, the only one that isn't blue.