Jax sneered with eager fury as the speeding bus pulled in side-by-side with the train. Four shaved-headed wielders brandished their keyblades with carnivorous smiles atop the bus. "Here they come!" Swan grunted beside him.
"No kidding!" Jax growled instants before the quartet of crazed wielders leapt across the narrow space between the two vehicles. They surrounded and drove a wedge between the two Warriors. Divide and conquer, Jax recalled Aced saying once. He parried a strike from the one between him and Swan before spinning around to kick the other with all his might. The Raging Bull flew backwards into the Thundara Coil, flailing wildly as the electricity instantly disintegrated his flesh, and muscle. Even his bones crumbled into oblivion in the otherworldly heat!
"Freakin A!" Jax huffed, as much in triumph as to alleviate the horror of his opponent's fate. His peripheral vision kicked in just in time for him to block an attack from his other rival. Beyond the other Bull, Jax saw Swan knock one of his two enemies over the side of the train. He wasn't worried about his fearless leader, the cat always could hold his own. Earlier he only half-thought he could beat Swan one on one.
Jax and his foe exchanged swings, blocks, and parries for what could have been seconds or minutes. Finally he managed to grapple the Raging Bull and nearly froze in horror. The thug's eyes were at once glowing yellow and draped in an inky black miasma! Only then did Jax notice the faint aura of darkness that enveloped his enemy's body. He was taken! Consumed by the darkness but not fully converted into a Heartless! Wasting no time, Jax bent the Bull forward and brought his knee up with full force. The possessed thug shot up and backwards over the edge of the speeding train.
Turning to Swan, Jax saw his fearless leader swing his keyblade into an upper cut, sending another thug over the edge in front of the train. Flattening the possessed punk like a pancake. Swan turned to him with a sigh. "Told you they were a bunch of wimps!" Jax snickered. Swan's eyes widened mid-roll. Jax spun around just in time to see Cowboy kick another Bull back across to the bus, only to fall short and roll to the dirt between the road and rails.
"How the…" Jax began to ask before noticing Flurry squirming up the other side of the train. They had busted a window open below and were coming up to help. More Bulls were climbing atop their own vehicle and howled in blood-lust as they waved their keyblades like barbarians. "Everyone be careful!" Swan warned. "Their Heartless, just haven't been completely taken!" Jax rolled his eyes, the cat was quicker than him!
Soon there were twice as many Raging Bulls atop the bus. Four of them leapt for it at once. All but one were beaten back like baseballs. Only Cowboy's managed the grapple him, only for the shorter young man to spin him around and kick him over the opposite ledge. Another four leapt across an instant later, this time all four made it and a tangled chaotic melee ensued. Jax was backed within a foot of one of the Thundara Coils, trembling as flickering sparks snapped at his back. Panic nearly overtook him at the thought of sharing his earlier opponent's fate.
Thankfully, a keyblade clutched in a pair of strong, dark arms looped over the thug's head and tightened around his neck. Flurry dragged the hoodlum backwards, giving Jax some much needed breathing room. His fear turned to fury as his boot came up with a squashing blow to the Bull's groin. Flurry released him with a smooth spin, spiraling him off the train. Another burst of momentum and Jax spun another opponent into the nearest Thundara Coil, carefuly turning his gaze from the horrific demise.
Moments later the four Warriors were alone atop the train. The roof of the bus stood empty. "Heck yeah!" Jax cheered. "All out of wimps to throw at us!" As if on cue, the bus barreled ahead of the train. It's roaring engine being pushed to the breaking point!
"What in the wide, wide kingdom of hearts?" Cowboy gasped.
"Maybe what's left of them are trying to beat us to the station and jump us there," Flurry suggested.
"Idiots!" Jax snorted. "Just gives us a moment to catch our breath!"
"I don't like this," Swan growled in anticipation as his gaze followed the truck far ahead. Jax was about to turn away with a laugh when the lumbering vehicle spun into a one hundred and eighty degree turn and mounted the tracks. The metal beast's blazing eyes glared brightly as it roared towards the oncoming train. Jax's eyes widened despite the blinding beams.
"EVERYONE JUMP!" Swan screamed. The four Warriors leapt desperately from the train instants before impact. All cognizance was lost in force of the blast.
…
Jax narrowly blocked another lighting attack by his all too familiar rival. The twelve-year-old, brown-haired Leopardo glared stoically as he recoiled. The two were the same age and size, but this punk was more agile than Jax; and he hated him for it. Cowboy cheered loudly from the edge of the arena. The rest of the Ursus Union was still cheering but with wavering enthusiasm. Jax's grip tightened furiously on his keyblade, his own Union doubted him! He had been beaten twice before by the cursed cat, but Unions were supposed to stick together!
The Leopardo wielder was cool and composed, wasn't even breathing hard. Jax's breaths were panting more from frustration than fatigue. The punk was probably just putting up a front! Defiantly refusing to look worn down, Jax figured it was supposed to make him nervous. He wasn't buying it! Summoning all the strength he had left, Jax charged his opponent with a feral cry. Bringing his keybalde back for a swing that could send a ball into orbit! No way the punk could dodge this one, he thought. Not after all this time, he had to be slowing down! But the nimble minx side-stepped a fraction of second in time. Before Jax could react, the cat spun around with mighty swing of his own. Sending him flying out of the elevated arena with a painful thud.
The bitter tastes of dirt and defeat stabbed at Jax's tongue. Looking up he saw his keyblade laying on the ground in front of him. The shocked and somewhat amused faces of various Union members gazed down from the bleachers. Cowboy's voice echoed his name from a distance, drowned out by drone of his hot blood pulsing through every vein. Jax felt his face burning with hatred and humiliation. The cursed cat had done it to him again! This time by ring-out! The worst way to lose, in his book! Animal bloodlust warped his mind, his sore muscles tensed, ready to spring to life and charge back into the ring for a brutal rematch!
The stabbing pain of exhaustion seared through his body as he tried to get up, only to slump back down with a painful grunt. The pain was bad, the thought of how pathetic he looked was worse. If his dad had stuck around long enough to see him excel as keyblade wielder, this sight would probably send him off again with a snort at his "weakling boy"! His father's spiteful words still stung him every time he lost a fight. His only memories of the old man before he walked out on Mom and him.
Footsteps approached rapidly. Cowboy? It better not be that cursed cat! "Are you alright?" a beautiful voice asked with genuine concern. It wasn't the cat! Jax painfully rolled himself over to stare up in awe at dazzling hazel eyes, surrounded by shining bronze skin draped in raven hair. Only the metal fox head dangling around her neck identified her as a Vulpes Unionist. Jax barely noticed the first aid kit clutched in her hands. "Are you hurt?" she asked.
"No!" Jax grunted, angrier than he meant to sound. Her eyes flinched indignantly. "I mean!" Jax cursed himself for snapping at her. "Just my pride is all," he lied as he forced himself to sit up. He involuntarily winced in pain.
"Don't push yourself!" the raven-haired girl pleaded.
"I'm fine," Jax sighed, managing not to sound angry. "It'll take a lot more than that to hurt me!" he managed a grin. The grin vanished as he tried to stand and flopped back down.
"Take it easy, Jax!" Cowboy said, now at his side.
"Is he ALWAYS this stubborn?" Mercy asked Cowboy in disgust.
"Oh, you have no idea!" Jax fixed his buddy with a glare and was about to say something when the looming figures of Aced and Gula approached.
"Everything alright?" both Foretellers asked in unison before pausing to cringe beneath their facemasks.
"Yes, sirs!" Mercy replied. "I think he just overworked himself."
"It's my fault, sirs!" Jax scowled up at that cursed cat still up on the arena. "I didn't think I'd knock him out of bounds. I forfeit," he said, stepping down from the arena with the same bitter stoicism he had during the fight.
"Swan!" Mercy gasped in admiration. Jax wasn't sure which he hated worse. The pity of his rival, or the adoring glance Mercy shot at him.
"As you wish," Gula nodded. "Try not to push yourself too far in the future, young one." Jax suppressed a glare at the rival Union leader.
"And try not to take a loss so personal," Aced huffed. "These contests are to help hone our skills. Remember we are all on the same team here!" Aced seemed to pause and grimace a moment but did not go on. "Now for our next contestants!" Aced motioned for the next pair of wielders to step up to the arena. Jax sighed, he often got so into his fights that he'd forget they were on the same side.
"Here take these," Mercy held out an aspirin in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Jax accepted both with a smirk.
"Sorry about that," Swan said reaching down to help him up. "It's Jax, right?" Jax stopped himself from slapping the hand away. His eyes caught another look of admiration from Mercy. He had already made a fool of himself in front of her. Snapping at a guy she clearly thought the world of wouldn't make things any better.
"Yeah, that's right," Jax sighed. "It's okay," he reluctantly accepted the hand and climbed to his feet as gracefully as he could manage, barely repressing another wince of pain.
"Jax! That's a cute name!" Mercy smiled. "Why don't we all go get ice cream?" Cowboy eagerly agreed. Swan and Jax both shrugged but followed after. Jax was too proud to admit he needed it!
…
Jax awoke to the flickering light of a roaring bonfire. As the shadowy world came into focus around him he realized it was the smoldering wrecks of the train and the bus. THE TRAIN! His eyes shot wide open and he leapt to his feet. Mercy and the others were in there! Even about fifty yards away from the wreckage, the heat of the fire was searing, but Jax rushed towards it.
"MERCY!" he bellowed. "APACHE! RODENT! RAPH!" The heat grew more intense as he closed in. The train was crushed like a soda can! The windows of the passenger compartment were now twisted metal slits barely an inch thick. He could see nothing inside the wreck, only dancing flames. "MERCY!"
"Keep it down!" Swan snapped behind him. Jax spun around to his de-facto leader's glare. Cowboy and Flurry rushed into view behind him.
"I saw a burst of magic when we jumped!" Cowboy panted. "I think they all got out in time!"
"Well WHERE ARE THEY?" Jax hissed.
"Look!" Flurry gasped, pointing into the trees. Jax and the other two followed his gaze in silence. All froze as they spotted red faces flashing demonically in the flickering flames. The Fountain Furies slowly inched closer, their white shirts coming into view, their heavy mace-like keyblades in hand. Their uniform face paint masked faces at once calm and carnivorous. Jax counted at least a dozen of them. Maybe more further back in the woods.
"I think we'd better make a run for it," Swan said.
"Yeah, right!" Jax reluctantly agreed. The four Warriors took off into the woods at a dead run. Sure enough, the trampling of footfalls behind them soon rumbled louder than the flickering flames. The darkness of the woods engulfed them, the burning wreckage vanished between the trees.