A/N: Hi guys! Here's chapter 23 I'm sorry it took so long to get this one out, I'm trying to get better at updating. This one is a long one and it's mostly OC centered (the next couple of chapters will be but it'll be more 50/50 split). There are a couple of revelations in this chapter too, so I hope you all enjoy!

Warnings: Mild Language, and Mental Break towards the end.

—

The children blinked at Yami's words. A versus battle? They looked at each other with a mixture of excitement, confusion, and a bit of fear.

" Alright! This is awesome!" Hikari and Brielle shouted excitedly, their eyes lit up as though it were christmas morning. Josslyn snorted slightly.

" This is going to be a bloodbath," Josslyn said with a shake of her head, then she turned to look at Ezio. " Rest in Peace Pinky." Ezio suddenly looked at her eyes wide in disbelief.

" 'P-Pinky'?! Your hair's pink too, Joss!" Ezio shouted, his voice slightly high pitched. Josslyn couldn't help but laugh a bit.

Yami watched as all the kids had a mixture of responses, but his eyes landed on Alistar. The white haired man continued to have a calm look on his face, but when he looked at his Ki he noticed a slight nervousness in it. Yami almost laughed, the kid was probably afraid he'd have to go up against Yami.

" Captain, I think you need to go into further explanation before the kids get too ahead of themselves." Vanessa said with a small giggle, Yami sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

" Yeah you're right. Listen up!" Yami suddenly shouted, causing everyone to stand at attention. " You're not fighting against us."

" Aw really? That sucks!" Hikari and Brielle said in unison, both looking disappointed. Ezio let out a sigh of relief.

" Well I did suggest that, but your 'parents' all felt it would be unfair to have you guys fight against us. Especially since most of you are kids." Yami said as he looked at the 'parents' behind him, he felt that they were maybe underestimating the kids a little bit, but he did agree that having them fight against 3 Captains plus some other really strong mages was a bit unfair.

" So, pretty much it's just us fighting against each other?" Alistar asked as he placed a thoughtful hand under his chin, Charlotte nodded in confirmation.

The kids all looked at each other, they would be fighting against each other? That didn't seem too bad, but considering they were all at various levels, was this really fair either?

" Since there's an odd number of you, someone will have to go twice." William said as he pulled out what appeared to be lots. " I'm sure you know how this goes but just in case we'll all explain. Each lot has a name on it, we'll pull out two names from the bag, and whoevers names are on them will be fighting against one another. Alright?" William asked, the kids nodded.

" Actually," Ace suddenly said with a raised hand. " I'd actually like to take myself out of the mock battles if that's okay?"

" Why? You did really well when we were training yesterday." Zora asked with a raised brow, Ace just shrugged.

" There's an uneven amount of us, which means someone would have to go twice, and to be honest I don't think I'm ready to do a versus battle. I want to train a little more before I try this." Ace said softly, Josslyn sighed before walking over to her brother and ruffling his red hair.

" Let him watch for now, then he can participate next time." Josslyn said, Zora frowned but nodded. He would try and talk to Ace later and see why he decided to back out of it.

" Alright then, the first person is; Hikari and," Charlotte pulled out another lot. " Ezio."

" I repeat. Rest in Peace Pinky." Josslyn said, turning towards the pink haired boy, this time putting her hands together in mock prayer. Ezio could do nothing as he gaped like a fish out of water, but Hikari smiled brightly at him.

" This'll be fun! Do your best out there Ezio!" Hikari said, Ezio just stared at her as his face paled. As Charlotte began to draw more lots Ezio muttered under his breath how he was too young to die.

" Next will be; Maelie and Aloys." Charlotte announced as she looked at the lots in her hands, Aloys immediately stepped forward.

" No way. I'm not fighting against my sister." Aloys said, Maelie walked over to Aloys and gently grabbed his hand.

" It'll be okay big brother," She told him softly. " I promise!" She added with a small smile, Aloys's face turned a bright red.

" F-Fine, I guess." He muttered softly, but there was a very apprehensive look on his face.

Charlotte continued through the lots; Miku and Kaiyo, Mizuki and Brielle, then finally.

" Alistar and Josslyn will be our final battle for the day." Charlotte announced, Josslyn smirked and pumped her fist into the air excitedly.

" Alright! I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked Pretty Boy!" Alistar nearly snorted but he smirked as well.

" I don't think I'll need to worry about that. Instead I'll make sure your grave is right next to Ezio's." Alistar said in a light hearted manner, Josslyn glared.

" What did you say-?!" Josslyn started but Yami cut her off.

" Alright enough with the chit chat. Let's get started!" He announced.

All the kids and their 'parents' began to move and create a border around a small area in the front of the house. The adults looked at each other, this wasn't just to see how strong each child was, but they also wanted to see how they would strategize and how they'd handle fighting against different power types.

Hikari and Ezio walked into the center of the circle. Hikari was still smiling brightly, while Ezio looked so nervous that everyone was waiting for him to just port himself somewhere else. He looked over at his 'parents', Finral looked almost as nervous as Ezio while Vanessa just cheered him on.

" Begin!" Yami suddenly shouted, signaling the beginning of the match.

Hikari pulled out her katana and began to use her Dark Spatial magic to attack Ezio, who used his Spatial magic to try and block or send her attacks somewhere else.

" Ezio isn't really an attack mage," Aloys explained to Finral and Vanessa. " he's better for transportation or for defensive stuff like this. Luckily he's pretty fast so he'll be able to keep up with Hikari's attacks for a little bit, but he's pretty outmatched. She's the strongest in the group." Aloys finished and as he did, Ezio was suddenly knocked back and landed on the ground with a loud 'thud'.

" He lasted longer than I expected." Josslyn said as she watched Finral and Vanessa walk over to their 'son' and gently pick him up off the ground. Yami and Charlotte walked over to Hikari.

" That's my girl! You did pretty good out there kid!" Yami said with a cheerful laugh as he placed a gentle hand on her head. Hikari felt her cheeks turn a bright red but she smiled at her 'fathers' praise.

" Thanks, but is Ezio okay?" She asked as she looked towards where the pink haired boy was lying.

" He'll be alright, don't worry!" Vanessa said as she helped Finral pick their 'son' up and they carried him over to the side.

Yami, Charlotte, and Hikari walked out of the center. Charlotte couldn't help but chuckle as Yami walked with his chest slightly puffed out, he was a proud papa that was for sure. They stood around the circle and watched as Maelie walked into the center.

" Big brother? Aren't you coming?" Maelie asked softly as she waited for Aloys.

Aloys stood off to the side, he really didn't want to go in there and fight his sister. He knew how it would end and he wasn't looking forward to it at all. He looked over as he saw Gauche and Grey approach him.

" Aren't you going in there?" Grey asked softly, the young boy nodded as his face turned slightly red, Gauche scoffed a bit.

" What? You don't want to fight against your sister in front of everyone?" Gauche asked, Aloys glared.

" Would you want to fight against Marie old man?" Aloys asked, Gauche rubbed the back of his head. " Yeah I didn't think so. Besides, it's not just because she's my little sister that I don't want to fight against her." Aloys muttered before walking out into the center, Gauche and Grey looked at each other with a confused frown.

Shortly after that, everyone found out why he didn't want to fight Maelie.

As the siblings battled the sweet, shy, and innocent Maelie that everyone came to know and love seemed to completely change. Her eyes grew cold and harsh, she mercilessly attacked her older brother.

" Pathetic." She muttered, her voice and mannerisms almost mirroring Gauches. Meanwhile Aloys's began to mirror Grey as he transformed himself and items around him into various things to try and deflect his sisters attacks.

" N-Now I see why Aloys didn't want to fight her," Finral said with a nervous laugh. " She's just like Gauche when she's fighting, but when she isn't she's like Grey and vice versa with Aloys." He added as they all watched the older Adlai sibling steadily try to dodge his sister's attacks.

Until finally Maelie had her brother surrounded by mirrors and effectively ended the battle.

" Aloys! I'm sorry, are you okay?" Maelie asked as she rushed to her brother with Gauche and Grey, Aloys nodded as he sat up.

" I-I'm fine Maelie." Aloys assured as he stood up with a little help from Gauche. As the Adlai 'family' walked out of the center the others stood there shocked that Maelie, a 9 year old, had beaten her 16 year old brother.

—

The other battles went on smoothly, Miku was able to defeat Kaiyo with slight ease. Kaiyo had gotten better at controlling her Mercury Magic but still wasn't a match for Miku's wind magic, the next battle between Mizuki and Brielle was a little more challenging. But Brielle, with the help of her devil Herz, was able to counter Mizuki's water magic and send it back twice as strong. Which ensured her victory.

Now, it was time for the final battle between Josslyn and Alistar.

" How do you think this is going to go?" Yami asked William curiously, who only shrugged in response.

" I'm not sure. Alistar's plant magic is pretty strong, and Josslyn is pretty strong as well. So it'll be interesting. But the problem is, Josslyn seems to be a bit hot headed, as opposed to Alistar which could either be her greatest strength, or her eventual downfall." He said thoughtfully, Yami nodded in agreement.

Josslyn and Alistar both walked to the center of the circle. She held her head up high, she knew Alistar was strong, but she was stronger. She was even close to being the Captain of the Purple Orcas, there was only one thing holding her back from achieving that dream, but that was a thought for another time.

" Don't go crying to your daddy when you lose Pretty boy." Josslyn taunted with a smirk, Alistar laughed softly, his calm smile still in place. Josslyn couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed by it.

" Oh I don't plan too, because I'm not going to lose." Alistar said simply, Josslyn rolled her eyes at him. She really had no idea how Hikari could be friends with him, especially with how arrogant he was.

" Whatever." Josslyn didn't even wait for Yami to yell 'begin' before she began to use her steam magic.

" Ah, so we're starting this battle off by cheating," Alistar said with a nod before using his magic to block her spell. " How very 'on brand' of you." He added, Josslyn rolled her eyes.

" All's fair in war." She pointed out, which Alistar nodded in agreement.

" You're right. So, I don't think you'll mind if I just do this real quick." Alistar then snapped his fingers and vines popped up from the ground into sharp spikes, suddenly a bunch of runes appeared on the grounds. Josslyn growled, he had set off her traps.

" Did you really think I wouldn't be able to sense your traps?" Alistar said, his same smile in place.

Josslyn began to run quickly in the circle, curse words flying out of her mouth as she quickly tried to think of another plan. Alistar hadn't moved an inch from where he had been standing, he used multiple plants and vines to either chase Josslyn or block her spells. She stopped for a moment as she tried to think of how to get around him.

" Let's try this!" She shouted before creating multiple illusions of herself, just like Nebra would. She then began to use them to help her attack him.

" Really? I thought you were smarter than this Josslyn." Alistar tsked as he blocked her attacks again and immediately dispatched all her illusions, Josslyn tried to move out of the way but felt something wrap tightly around her ankle. She swore again as she looked down. One of Alistar's vines had wrapped itself around her leg and was beginning to wrap around the other.

" Seriously?!" She shouted as she tried to use her magic to kill the plant, she frowned as it appeared to do nothing. She looked up, Alistar's smile seemed to have widened slightly.

" That is an Air Plant. They're resistant to steam, humidity, and mist. So your magic won't be able to do anything to it." He stated matter of factly. " This is why your Captain won't promote you to Vice Captain, you could have easily dodged the plant, and while you did have some good ideas and traps, you got a little ahead of yourself by underestimating me. You need to control your ego and your temper, otherwise you'll stay stuck forever."

As the white haired man spoke, all Josslyn could do was glare. These were words she had heard from everyone; Hikari, Her Captain, members of her squad. All it did was annoy her, and right now she wanted to wipe that irritatingly calm smile off his face. A smirk grew onto her face, since she couldn't beat him in 'actual' warfare she decided to give 'psychological' warfare a shot.

" Seriously? You're going to lecture me?" Josslyn then laughed humorlessly before continuing. " The man who's only been Captain of the Golden Dawn for a few months is going to lecture me?!" She shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. She couldn't help but smirk in slight satisfaction as Alistar's eyes widened.

The adults all looked at Alistar, he was the Captain of the Golden Dawn? Then why didn't he say anything? Suddenly things began to click into place with all of them. Him knowing the reason the kids were sent back, the scouts, him keeping all those secrets. It was because he was a Captain, and was probably well informed of everything because of the meetings he had attended.

" Josslyn!" Hikari shouted, she had been trying to keep Alistar's secret up until this point. He hadn't wanted the adults to know, because it would lead to nothing but questions, and currently his title was a touchy subject for him.

" We all know how you earned your title Pretty boy!" Josslyn continued, ignoring Hikari. " whereas everyone else earned their Captain or Vice Captain titles through hard work and dedication. Meanwhile, the only reason you earned yours is because of your dear sweet daddy and his favoritism towards you!" She added and suddenly, she felt two more vines wrap around her arms and bind them to her body.

As Josslyn finished shouting she noticed Alistar kept his head down, she watched as he shoulders shook. Was he…laughing?

" You really are hot headed," Alistar said, his voice eerily calm. " You just shoot off at the mouth without thinking. Like everyone else you'd rather assume it was favoritism instead of actually thinking it could be because of my abilities." He said, his voice becoming colder as he spoke.

" I guess I did bring this on myself, I've been going easy on you all day. How about I show you what a real Captain's abilities are?" He suggested, suddenly raising his head. As Alistar did, everyone noticed he no longer had a calm smile on his face, it was replaced by a serious one, and he had an almost wild look in his eyes.

As Josslyn began to ask what he was talking about she felt the vines on her arms and legs tighten and watched the sky above them darken. She saw a slight green tint appear and suddenly vines and plants began to rain down like rain drops. The adults and children tried to block and dodge the best they could, but as they did, the ground also began to turn a similar shade of green. More vines popped up from the ground and began to capture everyone one by one. The only ones that had managed to evade them were Yami, William, and Hikari.

" Alistar stop!" Hikari shouted as she, Yami, and William began to hack and slash at the plants. A very faint sense of deja vú struck her at that moment, but she shook it away. She ran towards the white haired boy, but as she did more vines and plants tried to stop her.

" Do you finally get it?" He asked Josslyn, his voice still eerily calm. " I got to where I am today because of me, not my father! It isn't favoritism, it's because I'm strong enough to do this job!" He added, Josslyn just stared at him, her eyes wide in fear as she barely recognized the person before her.

" Hikari! You need to get Golden Boy before he covers the whole area in freaking plants!" Yami shouted, him and William still hacking away at Alistars magic. Hikari nodded and ran towards him again. But suddenly more and more plants began to pop up, she had seen this once before years ago, and as she looked at Alistar she noticed he suddenly frowned.

" It isn't favoritism right? It's because I'm one of the strongest in the squad, not because I'm his son." He began to insist, more to himself than anyone else.

'Are you sure about that?' A little voice suddenly spoke in Alistar's head. 'I mean think about it; you're a 19 year old kid who loses control of his powers on a whim, just like right now, when there are lots of other qualified people to take control of the squad. Who in their right mind would make such a decision? Ah but that's right, your father isn't in his right mind is he? I mean, he is dying after all right?'

Alistar suddenly snapped.

" No! Nono it wasn't favoritism! It's because my father believed in me when no one else did, it's not because he's dying! That's not the reason why!" Alistar suddenly screamed, falling to his knees while clutching his head. That wasn't it…that couldn't be it!

Suddenly, a katana made of dark spatial magic was pointed towards him.

" Alistar! You need to get a hold of yourself or you're going to kill everyone!" Hikari shouted, this scene was all too familiar. A memory that had been buried began to creep to the surface. A memory where Alistar was in this exact same position, losing control of his powers and muttering to himself, she shook her head again.

" I-It wasn't favoritism! I earned my place, it wasn't a decision he made just because he was dying…that's not it!" Alistar muttered to himself, his hands shaking. Hikari put her katana away and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders.

" Alistar! Snap out of it please! You're hurting everyone!" She shouted as she shook him, Alistar suddenly blinked before looking up at her.

" You're a Captain right? You're supposed to help people, not hurt them. So please pull yourself together Alistar!" Hikari begged, Alistar blinked a few more times as he processed her words. His eyes became clearer and clearer, as the plants began to stop and slowly disappear is when she realized she had brought him back.

" H-Hikari…?" Alistar asked softly, he began to look around and saw the destruction he had caused. Yami began to release Josslyn from the vines that trapped her, while William began to try and release the others.

" W-What did I do?"