Chapter 62: Fight of Resolution

"Well..." Mew tapped his foot on the ground and waved his giant sword over his shoulder, looking steadily up from the ground, "Can't say this was the first thing I expected to do to celebrate the New Year."

Fifty feet across from him was Riku, boldly flashing a smile with a mild dash of humored intent in his demeanor, "I'm glad you heeded my request, brother."

Mew locked his blade atop his shoulder and smirked, "Well what can I say? You know how to lure me in with the promise of a good time!"

Riku nodded back, "Consider this a belated Christmas present."

"Well just so you know, I don't do returns..." Mew lashed his sword at the ground, igniting sparks in the air as his smirk turned fierce, "So don't feel too bad when I kick your ass."

Riku started to narrow his brows while raising his right hand at him, "I think you've got it backwards, brother. I'm going to kick YOUR ass."

Mew's eyes widened momentarily and he let out a laugh, "Ha! Look at the sass on you! Guess you were training in more ways than one!"

Mew gently carved the ground as he raised his sword to meet Riku's determination, "Well? We got a big audience gathered here! Lets give 'em a good show!"

It is now first day of 2042 AD. On this day, these two brothers have appeared to one another in the palace on the moon, being watched over by everyone they knew on the planet.

The large audience was gathered on steel stands whipped up with Neptune's magic, while Auris provided a dome of aura to keep any stray attacks from hitting them.

The seating was divided up so everyone say near who they were most comfortable with, and they watched and waited with bated breath as the two brothers silently gauged each other out.

Neptune strode between the rows of stands carrying a top hat by the brim, announcing to the gathered crowd, "Taking all bets! Place them in this hat but be warned, all deals are final."

The likes of Mars and Jupiter dropped their bets down for Mew without comment, while Saturn naturally went for Riku. As Neptune received a few more bets from other folk she passed by Michael, Vivi, and Raphael, the latter of whom had his wicked face half-buried in a portable console.

Vivi throttled her big brother's arm shouting, "Can I make a bet, big bro?!"

"You're too young for that." Michael calmly said.

In a slump, Vivi murmured, "B-But Maria gets to!"

She pointed back to the little red-head trying to sneak a five dollar bill in the hat, only for Kairi to grab her wrist away and exclaim, "Maria! That's not what allowances are for!"

Maria pouted. Neptune chuckled, and then brandished her hat back towards the three beside her. Raphael took his hand off to drop a ten dollar bill into the hat, "P-Put it down for the g-g-guy who didn't kick my ass!"

"Alright." Neptune then went along collecting Kairi and Lunis' obvious bets. And, though he was only present via a floating TV monitor, Pluto got to make a bet too. His sole comment on the proceedings?

"Lets see if his bluster truly wasn't more than a one-time fluke..."

Then Neptune went over to Alura and Joe Dark, wagging the hat up to his dour face. Joe Dark grumbled, "I get a day off from those grumpy ass old folk in the store and I'm forced to spend it up here?"

He then lazily reached into his pocket and plopped a five into the hat, "Might as well at least make some free money."

Neptune smiled and determined his answer easily from that alone.

"Ah DAMN IT!" Shouted the most surprising person appearing here, Samantha, "Nothing beats a good bet but I didn't bring any dough!"

Beside her Solaris folded his arms and remarked, "Ah shit you're right! I should've grabbed some too!"

Lunis turned and commented, "Brother, we ARE at home..."

Solaris sucked his lips in and ignored her. Joe Dark then glanced aside at Samantha and scoffed, "Ok, who the hell's this broad?"

Samantha glanced at him back and smiled ferociously, "Who's this lanky goth with the big lip?"

A vein popped on Joe Dark's forehead but before any foul language could be spewed he closed his mouth with gritted teeth and turned away, murmuring, "Don't do it, you can be better than this...!"

"Ha!" Samantha extended her left hand out under her fold and said, "Name's Samantha J.! You must be Joe Dark, and the little cutie with the purple hair must be Alura!"

Joe Dark's eyes widened while Alura felt it necessary to pump her fists defensively and says, "I'm not cute, I'm 'sexy'!"

"Hey, you are what you feel you are!" Samantha responded.

Joe Dark leaned out to glare at Solaris and yell at him, "How much did you tell this woman?!"

Solaris' eyes darted away and he tripped around over his tongue with a whisper, "I-I didn't...tell her..."

"So these Elemental Overlord guys are pretty tough huh?" Samantha leaned down, propping her arms on her knees and let out a couple excited claps, "COME ON! SHOW ME A GOOD TIME!"

Solaris bit his tongue and grinded out a squeak of "Muuuuch?" as about half a dozen eyes now glared his way. He shakily looked towards them to defend himself, "D-Don't give me that look! I didn't do anything wrong!"

Joe Dark leaned back and slapped his forehead, "I expected your airheaded sister to spill the beans..."

"Heeeeeeey." Lunis mumbled.

"Like you're one to talk, Joe Dark!" Kairi exclaimed, "Mew told me your butler knows everything!"

"T-That's totally different!" Joe Dark barked back through gritted teeth, "He's a trusted friend of the family! This girl's just some woman heat for brains picked up on the street!"

He suddenly lurched upright as Samantha squeezed her hand around his left shoulder, causing it to make a cracking sound, "Just some woman, eh?"

"All of you, settle down." Gabriel's calming voice ended this escalation of words instantly.

Samantha withdrew her hand and said with a laugh, "Alright, but only cause you said it."

Joe Dark rubbed his sore shoulder and mumbled, "Can't I know one woman who isn't wild?"

Alura tilted her head and hummed, subtly kicking Joe Dark in the shin.

Gabriel and Auris sat side-by-side, observing the two brothers as they began to move, pacing together in a clockwise circle .

"Lady Auris, your thoughts?"

"Hmmm..." Auris hunched over, propping her chin up on a bridge of her hands, "I'm not certain who will win this battle."

Gabriel nodded and crossed his arms, "I was thinking the exact same thing. Though that's more-so from a lack of knowledge on how Riku fights."

Lunis pumped her fists up by her chest and remarked, "Mew managed to go toe-to-toe with me AND my brother, but Riku...!"

"Heh! He's only gotten stronger since back then," Solaris stated confidently, "I've totally been keeping up with his pace lately but there's a wall I can't breach yet, and I don't think even Mew's got enough tricks up his sleeve to handle it!"

"That's what you think!" Jupiter remarked, "When it comes to tricks Mew's got more up his sleeves than my sister does! No offense, of course."

"None taken," Neptune said, taking a sit beside Priscilla, "He IS surely full of surprises, and I don't just mean his powers..."

"He's as tenacious as a horde of cockroaches." Pluto chimed in.

"Ah, he's also just annoyingly lucky!" Saturn added.

"Lucky? I'd have never taken you for a sore loser, Catherine." Pluto said with a humored guffaw.

"Oh please he got lucky! Just cause he used a metal from a dead world doesn't make him tougher than me!" Saturn was clearly fuming.

"Yes, the variety of ways Mew utilizes his elements cannot be understated," Gabriel said, "He beat most of us without ever having to transform, all because of his quick thinking."

"But Riku knows what his brother's like and has probably had plenty of time to plan for his tricks." Saturn remarked.

"Having the ability to predict random occurrences doesn't erase the existence of them," Neptune remarked, magically whipping out a couple dice between her fingers, "It simply means you'll have a slight leg up over them. But the end result will still either favor you...or destroy you."

She rolled the dice onto the ground and they landed on Snake Eyes.

"So basically!" Shina exclaimed, "Mew's more chaotic, while Riku's more cunning?"

Gabriel rubbed his beard and remarked, "I'd say both parties are cunning in their own way, Shina. This won't be a battle won by brute force."

"I can't wait to see what tricks they have up their sleeve!" Shina rubbed her hands together feverishly, "Alex was always so drab with his elements! It was either 'FLAME THIS!' or 'EXPLODE THAT!'"

"Even BEFORE he went crazy?!" Joe Dark exclaimed in exasperation.

"I know one thing for sure!" Lunis suddenly stood up and started waving her hand in the air, "YOU CAN DO IT RIKU! GO GO GO!"

Kairi's cheeks turned red and as Maria stood to fight back with "No! Papa'll win!" she decided to stand up as well and stutter, "K-KICK HIS BUTT MEW!"

The two brothers looked at the crowd, seeing their movements but not hearing their voices.

Mew closed his eyes and sighed, hanging his blade above the ground, "Kairi, I swear..."

He shook his head and faced Riku with his blade now pointing straight into the ground, "I think we've kept them waiting long enough, don't you?"

Riku nodded and faced him. A breeze rose around his body as he pointed his palm at Mew and drew his own sword, "I'm ready to face you now, brother."

"One last thing though," Mew clutched the handle of his sword tight and hunched forward slightly, "Ain't gonna complain about this fight but...Why me? Why now?"

Riku eyes gently drifted shut and he murmured, "Its...just another step I felt I need to take on my journey."

"Well," Mew stood back up and chuckled, "I hope you find the answer you're looking for..."

He smirked bravely and pulled his sword from the ground, a flurry of flames rising around his body, "Even after you've lost!"

"Heh...!" Riku smirked back and waved his sword towards the ground, a calming air radiating around him, "Ready?"

Mew ignited his blade and took a swing straight up to send a fire wave at Riku. Riku flinched and glided to the left, returning fire, quite literally.

Mew cut through the fire and then shifted his foot around slightly. Riku paused and looked down at the ground cracking, where a giant stone fist broke through and started dragging him swiftly towards the ceiling.

Riku hopped off and found more giant stones fists rising to greet him. He glided around them and used his sword to shave bits of rock off, then converting them into frost to fire upon Mew.

Mew raised his body heat to melt it down, only to immediately feel a tingle in his arm hairs. Riku summoned a lightning bolt on him overhead, the water amplifying its effects on his body.

Mew turned his skin to wood and then darted forward as his brother was about to land. Riku aimed his sword at the ground and fired it off, where is swooped up and nearly struck Mew in the face.

As Mew pulled away from it he spun around and almost stumbled over. He slammed his sword against the ground and summoned a massive ice wall between the two of them.

Riku took a couple steps back and concentrated on taking a deep breath. Without thinking he felt his brother speeding towards his back and recalled his sword to meet his.

But as the blades clashed he was disturbed by the sound of splintering wood and opened his eyes to find a wooden effigy of his brother impaled on his blade.

This stunning maneuver bought Mew the chance to reappear from underground and uppercut Riku in the jaw. Riku grit his teeth but that wouldn't be good enough.

Mew grabbed his arms and spun him around, throwing him against the back of the ice wall to stick him in place while he punished him with plentiful punches to the gut.

Riku continued to grit his teeth and, when the opening presented itself, he shoved his feet into Mew's gut and heated up his body to melt the ice as he propelled through it.

Though staggered, Mew raised his hand and dropped the whole wall on top of Riku. Riku gracefully spun around, slicing through the weak ice with his blade.

He emerged safely on the other side of the frosty pile and stood up, gesturing the water off his body.

Mew swung his right hand out to summon his sword and then smiled, "Not a bad warm-up, eh?"

Riku smiled back.

Mew threw a wide-eyed glare at the ice and caused it to melt down to a room covering fog in seconds. Riku blew it away with a wave of the hand but by then, Mew had already vanished.

As Riku was left to assess where he'd appear, the audience gave their commentary.

Gabriel remarked, "He went underground again...How will Riku respond this time?"

Riku closed his eyes and dispelled his sword. By wiggling his right hand he subtly summoned a red orb to his hip. His heartbeat slowed until he could no longer hear it, and this allowed him to hear Mew digging around underground.

Behind him, in front of him, beside him. He didn't care where he emerged from. When the moment arrived at long last, and Mew confidently drew his fist back with a smile...

"Got you." Riku flicked his finger back and the red orb hurtled into Mew's chest, exploding violently on contact and tossing Mew along the ground.

"Ha HA!" Saturn stood up and threw a fist in the air, "What a brilliant comeback! He shortened his reaction time by attacking without turning around!"

Mew fell onto his feet and then slammed his hand onto the ground to stop. He then stood up and flared his eyes towards the incoming orbs Riku continued to send his way.

He drew his sword as light as a feather and cut down the first few orbs, but the remainder began to curve around his blade and explode upon his sides.

"What...are these things?" They felt like elements, but in a more condensed, pure form.

Mew started running ahead, ducking past some of the orbs while drawing fire in his blade, and taking a swing to unleash the wave of it upon Riku.

With a flip of Riku's hand the orbs changed color to dark blue and doused the flames. A couple of them connected with Mew's blade, where he then flipped the orbs' color to sparking yellow.

One collided with Mew's blade and the sudden electrocution made him drop his sword yet continue running. He turned back to call his blade but more of those orbs kept disrupting his concentration.

Mew turned to Riku and lashed his arm out to send a wave of electricity hurtling his way. The orbs changed again, this time becoming brown, and absorbing the electricity with ease.

But that's fine, Mew thought, it gave him a chance to grab his sword and quickly swing it against the ground to send a stealthy wave of fire across the floor.

Riku looked down just in time to see the fire erupt into a massive pillar. He pulled away looking a little smoky and coughing, but continued to send more orbs straight out.

"N-Not bad, brother! But lets see how you handle this...!" Riku stood his ground and held his hand out as Mew shot through the flames slicing every orb in his path.

But suddenly, the orbs stopped, yet Riku continued to hold his hand out while remaining perfectly still.

Mew's brows raised as he flew perilously towards an unknown danger. His gut suddenly lurched back, like he'd been pounded by a ton of concrete, suspended him a few feet in front of his brother.

Riku continued to do nothing, yet Mew was getting pounded away at from all sides, pushing his body further and further away.

Mew tried to drop to the ground, only for the blows to be redirected into his face.

Mew started staggering back, flailing his sword against seemingly empty air.

The audience stared flabbergasted at the scene unfolding save for Auris, who lifted herself up with a tender smirk and muttered, "Oh, now that's fascinating..."

Shina leaned closer to her mother and asked, "What's going on?"

"Close your eyes," She advised softly, gesturing towards her left, "You too, Kairi."

The two obeyed, both visibly flinching once they did.

"Oh!" Shouted Shina, "The orbs are still...there?"

"What, where?!" Hollered Samantha, jumping off the stands and running to the edge of the barrier, "I can't see shit!"

"Join the club," Joe Dark remarked, turning to the Aurians to ask, "What's the meaning of this?"

"Heh heh!" Solaris, however, surprised them all by answering for Auris, "Oh yeah Mew, how's it feel to be on the receiving end of your brother's annoying invisible volley?"

"Invisible...volley?" Said Maria, tilting her head.

"Oh I get it now!" Saturn nudged her glasses and the inner machinery started focusing in on their battle. What she saw was incredible ultraviolet rays radiating around the spheres, "Ha! That's really clever!"

"Are you people going to keep dancing around this or can the rest of us get some answers?" Joe Dark impatiently commented.

Mew stood his ground against the onslaught by finally planting his sword in the ground and letting the dull edge against as a bulwark.

"I can still sense the elements from his orbs, but he's cloaked them somehow and shifted which element the orb are made of every second...!" Mew was being pressured back even still, but he had plenty of time to steel his mind and body to think of what's going on.

"Oh!" Came a spark of inspiration, "Unbelievable! He must be bending the light around the orbs to make them invisible!"

With this explanation having reached the eager audience's ears from Auris' mouth, Kairi leaned out and remarked, "Bending the light around the orbs? Is that even possible?"

"I would say so but at the same time, Riku shouldn't be able to pull this type of stunt in this form..." Auris hummed in delight and stared lovingly towards the black-haired Overlord, "He's learned how to use one of the Primordial Elements outside a conduit form. Even Sarajin couldn't manage that."

Down below Maria was having some ice cream that Vivi made but quit stuffing her face to pronounce to the crowd, "Papa's not going to lose to this! He'll figure this out!"

Mew grit his teeth with a prideful smile and declared, "How long'd it take you to come up with this technique?!"

"Quite a while...I honestly didn't think I'd be able to pull it off." Riku said, sounding a little tired.

"W-Well, your efforts have certainly paid off!" Mew forced himself to rise and continued to endure the onslaught while bringing his hands towards the trigger of his handle, "This technique's annoying as hell! Cool! But REALLY annoying!"

Riku paused and raised a brow as Mew clicked the white trigger and a wave of calming light erupted from his body.

Before a second passed Mew flew out in Light Form and swung his katana at Riku's chest. Riku drew his sword but got cut down the arm in the process. It was fortunate that it was the fake arm, it could endure the blow.

Pushed back, Riku found his element of surprise lost and returned to basics, summoning vines to entangle Mew's legs.

But Mew quickly sliced them down before he could even blink and then moved behind Riku in a flash. Mew clocked him in the back with his gauntlet, knocking him onto his face.

Joe Dark crossed his arms and sighed, "Of course he'd escalate this first..."

"That may be in his best interest," Gabriel added with praise, "If he can't pressure Riku now, then he might not win this battle."

"HAHAHA!" Samantha hooted and hollered, slapping her hands against the barrier and getting really into it, "Transformations too?! This is fantastic! I wish I knew you guys sooner!"

"I LIKE your girlfriend!" Saturn proclaimed, feverishly nodded her head in approval towards Solaris.

"S-She's not...!" Solaris folded his arms against his chest and grumbled internally.

Turning over, Riku drew his sword and caught Mew's downward stab in the gap in his blade, then twisted it to lock it in place.

With the tip of the blade staring between his eyes, Riku grinned shakily and remarked, "A-Aren't you getting a little too into this, brother?"

"Are you whining?" Mew pushed the blade further down and twisted his grip around the handle, "I'm treating this like a real brawl! You don't need me to put training wheels on you, right?!"

"Heh...Fine," Riku calmly closed his eyes and whispered, "You're asking for it."

Suddenly he diverted Mew's blade into the ground and then dispelled his own sword. He glided upright and hardened the floor around Mew's sword to keep him from pulling it out right away.

Riku then extended his hands towards the ground and a gentle, rainbow colored wave spread out from the bottom of his legs across the floor.

He then smiled, a gentle warmth and cold caressing his body as light and darkness flourished across his body, enveloping him like a wrap of mummy bandages.

Mew got goosebumps on his skin and a rise in motivation gave him the strength to wrench his katana the rest of the way out and turn it upon Riku. He dove right in to the flash of black and white and swung his blade.

A clang of metal rang throughout the room as the light passed, and Mew found his katana clamped between the tips of angelic and demonic wings.

Riku was now in Chaos Form and radiating confidence in his tranquil expression.

Mew smirked, a cold sweat forming on his face as he pulled away and slid on the floor, putting some distance between them.

The wings parted to their backs, with their weapons drawn at each other. Neither moving, neither giving an inch.

"Chaos Form..." Mew grew steadily uneasy, "Guess this'll show who's better at controlling Light AND Darkness, eh?"

"Heh." An aura of both elements surrounded Riku.

Meanwhile, however, most of the audience was baffled by this new form.

"What on Earth is that?" Remarked Gabriel, first of all.

"Oh! That form again!" Saturn commented, "I saw him briefly bust that out in a sparring match against Macros."

She nudged her glasses up and explained, "It looks like some combination of Light and Darkness...I think?"

"That's an acute assessment, Catherine," Remarked Auris, "Riku dubs that...Chaos Form. And it is as you say. He is utilizing both elements together in perfect balance."

Maria looked over her shoulder and asked, "How can he do that though, Granny Auris?"

"Well dear, Light Form requires a great calm of the mind to draw out its full power, while Dark Form thrives under heightened emotions. Thus, Chaos Form requires an in-between state of mind. Giving in to neither the calm nor anger, Riku is able to keep both powers stabilizing within him."

"Ooof! That's a rough go for Mew then!" Jupiter exclaimed.

"Told ya," Solaris added, "This is the wall Mew's gotta climb."

"It should be easy for him," Joe Dark remarked, "He'll just use this 'Chaos Form' himself."

"I...I don't think he CAN." Kairi commented, looking to her mom for answers.

"It certainly requires a lot of training to learn, let alone master, as I remember seeing it..." Auris opened her eyes and gazed curiously towards Mew.

"So? Mew does nothing BUT train, right?" Joe Dark's inquiry brought everyone to curious silence, and he gaze at them more sternly to say, "He...has been training lately, yeah?"

Everyone suddenly forced their inquisitive eyes onto the one person who'd know best: Maria.

She innocently lapped up her ice cream, taking a moment to realize they were looking at HER. She sheepishly pressed her little legs together and stared down muttering, "U-Ummm...I...don't know?"

Riku twirled his blade around and brandished it down to his side asking, "So, what's your next move?"

"What's with the cocky attitude?" Mew replied with a chuckle, "You think I'm done yet?"

He twisted his grip around the katana and pointed it at Riku, hiding the shaky gritting of his teeth, "Light and Darkness combined. I'm going to have to take my time if I want to get any hits in. Fortunately..."

He raised a smirk and snickered, "I've come up with a fun new strategy recently...!"

He dashed over to Riku and swung his blade. Riku riposted it and hop away, slicing at the ground to keep Mew in place.

Mew twisted his blade in front of his chest and stabbed ahead, clashing along the length of Riku's blade before getting behind him. He then turned and slashed a wave of light at Riku's side.

Riku danced around the light and then charged Mew, a dazzling flurry of slashes coming from both their katanas. A second passed, then a cut appeared across Mew's right cheek.

He glanced at it, distracting him from Riku's follow through, a graceful crescent sweep of his legs. Mew hopped over the blade and then thrust forward, ramming his feet into Riku's chest.

Riku cobbled over slightly and locked his blade by his hip, gripping his dagger in the other hand tightly. When Mew got in close he pulled the dagger out from cover and attempted to cut Mew across the chest.

Mew reeled back and Riku hit his true target, slashing his sword out in one decisive stroke across Mew's legs.

Mew's eyes widened and his landing proved rough. He clicked his tongue as he smirked and withdrew his katana into the sheath.

He zipped around from place-to-place so fast that there were multiple images of him in Riku's field of vision. Riku steadily drew his blade forward, then swung it to the right, forcing the real Mew to duck under it.

Mew then lashed his katana at Riku's legs and continued to zip around, getting in another strike when the moment presented itself.

"Tsk...! Not good enough!" Was his assessment of things so far.

He froze directly in front of Riku and attempted to uppercut him in the jaw. Riku bobbed out of the way and Mew continued on with a flurry of light empowered blows, each merely grazing his brother's skin.

Riku locked his blades together behind his back and then whipped them out. When Mew felt them bearing down on his hips he suddenly bent under them like he was playing limbo.

Wings of radiant black and white emerged from Riku's blades and sliced off part of the pillars on the edges of the room.

Mew continued moving forward at high speed and slid in-between Riku, grabbing hold of his legs with his wings to drag him down.

Riku seemed to have anticipated this and used the dagger to open a dark rift, where he popped out above Mew looking like a shadow fiend and drove his knee into his gut.

Mew spat heavily but held himself together long enough to grab Riku's leg and slam him down behind him.

He then took this opportunity to stand and catch his breath, while Riku floated upright. Mew gripped his sword in one hand but snuck his thumb on top of the triggers.

He then turned sideways and stared Riku down, making certain that he was up to no tricks.

"Better now than never!" He focused light into his hilt and then pulled his sword out. Riku's immediate answer was to raise his weapon in defense but his eyes were swiftly assaulted by a blinding flash that cast a grim shadow behind Riku.

The moment Riku decided to move his body stiffened upright, as a series of dark tendrils impaled him in the back and weaved around his vital organs to extend out his front.

The flash subsided and Mew was now in Dark Form with his claw held out, grinning from cheek-to-cheek.

"YEAH!" Shouted Kairi, standing up suddenly among her peers, only to immediately sit down flushed with embarrassment when everyone started looking her way.

Mew pulled his hand back and the shadows retreated before Riku could take them into himself. Mew then rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles, advancing two cautionary steps forward while spreading his ebony wings all the way out.

"Maybe I can't use that form, but as long as I can keep alternating between Light and Dark..." Mew suddenly appeared before a frightened Riku with his fist pulled all the way back, "ITS BASICALLY THE SAME THING!"

He smashed him across the cheek to turn him around and then when he himself turned, he uppercut Riku into the air with the back of his right hand.

Mew then thrust his hand up and squeezed it tight. Dozens of dark rifts opened up around Riku, drawing out the scraping claws of demon-kind to slash away at Riku's body for a bit.

Riku folded his angelic wings to envelop himself in a barrier while the demon claws snared his demonic wings and he began absorbing the darkness through them.

Mew bent down and concentrated on himself, shifting back to Light Form and, in an instant, sped up and tackled Riku through his defenses.

He then shifted back to Dark Form and entangled his malleable dark arms around Riku's body, then turned them both upside-down.

They both went spiraling towards the ground, Riku's head hitting first while Mew tumbled away to safety.

Mew rebounded on his feet with a series of hops and then volleyed dark blasts his way. Riku rose and started absorbing the darkness into his body, drawing his katana back and igniting it with light.

He zipped across the distance between them without losing focus and swung his blade up at Mew. Mew instantly shifted back to Light and locked katanas, using the force to shove back and then shift back to Darkness.

He then clawed his hand upward and a much larger claw emerged from the ground and dragged Riku off his feet. A second, larger downward claw then knocked him down.

Riku stamped down and the ground cracked in a crater. He barely had time to draw his weapons when Mew was already bearing down on his face.

Whipping his katana around as Mew started slashing feverishly with his claws, Riku was managing to shave the darkness off his brother's skin little-by-little.

But Mew's heightened emotions made that darkness strong. He could suffer a few losses as long as he kept striking Riku with the full force of his fists.

Yet...

"Heh." Riku smiled. He was happy, but this a calm happiness.

He dispelled his weapons and then grabbed both of Mew's fists, squeezing down and locking them into place. Mew shoved forth, but found that his body was starting to feel a little drained...Literally!

Riku was pulling the darkness right out of him a bit at a time.

"Well shit...!" Mew cracked an uneasy frown but that quickly became a smirk, "If that's how you want to play!"

He pulled away and left a solid shadow effigy in his place that stuck to Riku's hands like glue. Riku continued to absorb the darkness as Mew returned to Light Form, quickly funneling energy into his katana.

Riku's eyes slowly began to widen as Mew smiled, "You can't absorb two elements at the same time, can you?!"

"Shit...!" Riku scowled way too late. Mew ripped the katana from the hilt and after two wind-up spins, slamming the blade atop Riku's head like a hammer and, upon impact with the ground, erupting into a dazzling pillar of light.

Mew waved his sword at the ground and then sheathed it, backing away slowly as Riku rose to his feet beyond the fading light. His armor was cracking, and he flinched momentarily.

"Tsk...!" But Mew seemed dissatisfied with the results.

"Hmmm..." Auris bridged her hands over her mouth and remarked, "I suspected as much...Mew's barely keeping up with Riku."

"Huh?" Shina murmured, "But it looks like Mew's winning!"

"Appearances can be deceiving," Gabriel commented, "Mew's getting some solid hits in, but Chaos Form boasts an incredible offense AND defense. The main advantage Mew has over it is his speed...and his reflexes."

Lunis stood tall and waved her fist in the air, "Keep it up Riku! You can do it!"

Riku winced and looked to the right, with Mew following his gaze towards the crowd. Looking at Lunis cheering seemed to be bringing a smile to Riku's face.

And Mew, ever the mischievous imp, smirked over it and used this information against his brother, "Looks like your girlfriend is showing her support!"

Riku grimaced and shook his head at Mew, clearly pink in the cheeks, "S-She's not that...!"

"What?!" Mew roughly gestured his hand out and exclaimed, "What's taking you so long?! She's clearly into you!"

Riku arched his brows and declared, "Am I really getting this talk from you? What about Kairi?"

"...What about her?" Mew said, turning his gaze away from him and flashing a smirk. He then tapped his toes and smiled, "Your sense of humor's improved, I'll give you that!"

Riku eased into a smile and then lashed his blades together, pointing them at the ground. Mew slowly reached for his katana and dashed forward, unlocking it from the sheath and taking a swing at Riku's chest.

Riku held his blade vertically to deflect it. Mew swapped to Dark Form and reached beyond the blade to grab Riku's chest and shove him towards the ground.

Riku opened a dark rift and vanished from sight, trapping Mew's hand in the sealed rift. Mew shifted into Light Form and fired a massive light explosion after Riku.

However, Riku dove out of a rift behind him attempting another attack on his back. Mew slammed his free hand against his brother's heel then grabbed and threw him at the ground.

Again Riku went into a rift and dove out above Mew, spinning faster and faster to wind up momentum for a powerful kick.

The ground erupted around the impact zone and Mew seemed to have gotten buried under the rubble. Riku bounced off and levitated off the ground a few feet away.

Mew suddenly sprung through a dark rift in front of him gritting his teeth and tightly throwing his fists down by his hips.

He shed darkness off his wings in the form of orbs and then shifted to Light Form to make more orbs. Then he kept shifting between forms to add more orbs until there were hundreds behind in seconds.

He then thrust his fists out and the orbs fell upon Riku all at once before his muscles twitched. Mew then lunged back and cupped his palms together. Gathering darkness into a massive orb, he suspended it in place and went back to Light Form to amplify the darkness with a massive flash.

This came with the added bonus of blinding Riku momentarily.

He then went back to Dark Form and blasted the dark energy at Riku. Riku's senses allowed him to catch the darkness in his dagger and then twirl back, redirecting the energy to its owner.

Mew slashed opened a dark rift that caught the energy on one side while he dove through the other.

Riku spun his head around and ignited both blades as Mew and the energy came barreling down on him from both sides. He used the light to shave away the dark beam and clash with Mew's claws.

Both forces kept rebounding through the rifts as he hopped around trying to fend them off. Mew eventually broke through the slight gap in his defenses and slashed him down the chest. He then landed on all fours, turned, and lunged at Riku to clobber him across the face.

Riku went falling on his back, flesh and feather being shed massively from his wings.

Mew lurched upright and hung his fists just above the ground. He then laughed and remarked, "I can keep this up all day, can you?"

Riku rose to his feet grinning from ear-to-ear. He held his hand out and said, "Sorry, brother...I'm ending this now."

Riku closed his hand and immediately shifted to Genesis Form.

Mew stood frozen in place as the ground began to glow beneath him. All that energy Riku dispersed earlier formed a massive field with rainbow flames flourishing among it.

Mew was assaulted by a powerful pillar of seven severely amplified elements, drowning out every sound and sight around him for a solid ten seconds.

Riku drew his hand aside and shifted back to Chaos Form, taking a deep breath as the energy subsided. He had taken careful care not to damage the palace...

Meanwhile Solaris was crossing his arms and shouting furiously, "What the HELL is this one?! I friggin' swear, you guys are a transformation emporium."

"Genesis Form," Auris remarked, "Wielding the combined strength of all nine elements, its power is unsurpassed...But extremely volatile."

"But it seems Riku gets that," Saturn remarked, "He's only using it in short bursts at decisive moments. Yep! I think that's the end of Mew..."

"No its not..." Kairi muttered under her breath, then stood up and shouted, "You can win Mew! Don't give up!"

As the energy fell from the sky as pitiful embers, Mew stood in the center of them with his head held back and a weak smile on his face. His body was burnt and his clothes looking like ash, but as he toppled over he smashed his fist against the ground with all his might.

He then grunted loud and threw his body upright, his eyes widening fiercely as he grit his teeth in agony, "WHEW! That was spicy one!"

Riku slowly lowered his hand, a few beads of sweat on his face. He shook his head and chuckled in an unsurprised tone, "You're still standing..."

Mew hunched over and spread his wings, gesturing his right hand towards himself while huffing a defiant breath, "Ever and always...I can't hope to protect the world if I go down that easily, yeah?"

Riku spread his wings and smiled back, "To be honest, I was hoping you'd make an exception this time. I'm starting to run out of steam myself..."

"Heh, then this is going to be the final exchange, eh?" Mew held his fists tight by his hips.

"Yeah..." Riku softly nodded, "Looks to be that way."

The two brothers stared each other down, wearing their brightest smiles, sweating glistening off their dirtied brows.

"There's a lot of things I wish I could do over, Riku...But creating you ain't one of them. You've been a great brother, and a great friend. And you've really improved yourself in ways I could've never imagined...Kinda makes me jealous."

"Brother, no, Mew...I know I've done a lot wrong in my life. And maybe a lot of that self-hate was undeserved...But you never stopped believing in me, did you? This battle was supposed to decide one thing for me: If I could surpass your expectations. But I can tell by the way you smile that you're more than happy with my training. Now...this is no longer a battle for the truth, is it? We're just two brothers, enjoying a good fight. I don't know what the future holds..."

Riku glanced at Lunis in the audience, "Or who I'll share it with..."

He looked back at Mew and the two began to arch their brows.

"But right now none of that matters." The two's thoughts and heartbeats raced together as one.

"This could be real. This could all be a dream."

"I just know that, here and now..."

The two held their heads up high and ignited their fists with black and white flames respectively.

"I'M HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE FIGHTING YOU, BROTHER!"

The two vanished and reappeared in the center between where they started, smashing their fists together so loudly that it the air shattered around them like glass.

A torrential wave of energy lashed against the barrier protecting the audience. Auris stood and mended the growing cracks while the weaker members of the audience were tossed around like being swept up in a hurricane.

The brothers grit their teeth and Mew widened his eyes stiffly at Riku to shout, "Lets finish this, Riku!"

"You're going down, Mew!"

The two ground their knuckles together until blood was spewing from their skin and pulled away, bashing their other fists together. The clapping of thunder erupted from them and threw their hands into the air.

Mew reacted faster and slashed his claw down, but Riku's slower response allowed him to tackled Mew in the shoulder and grapple him to the ground, where he began to wail on his face.

Mew weathered a few blows until he could grab Riku's fist and give it a hard twist. The strain on his bones forced him up, while Mew shifted to Light Form to speed behind him and grapple his hands underneath his arms.

Jupiter and Samantha rose to their feet and cheered Mew on as he suplexed Riku behind him.

"Can't let him use Genesis Form again...!" Was the one thought racing through Mew's mind as he refused to relent and spun around, caring little for the crack of his spine and he pummeled Riku's body with a volley of ghastly fists.

Riku slammed his hands against the ground and felt his Chaos Form breaking. He took a deep breath to counteract his racing heartbeat, and summoned a multitude of dark spikes to stab through the fists and Mew's limbs.

Mew's gaze was feral as he pushed through the spikes and dove to smash his fist down upon Riku's face.

Riku trembled, gritting his teeth as he channeled light and darkness together into a massive burst to throw Mew away.

Mew landed in Light Form and nearly diverted the swing of Riku's sword with the back of his gauntlet.

Riku charged in and aimed his dagger straight at Mew's chest. Mew grabbed it out of his hand and tossed it into the ground.

The sound of cracking knuckles shocked Mew, as did the bone breaking blow Riku delivered upon his face, knocking him off his feet.

Mew flipped and landed on his hands, then dropped his feet and lunged ahead like a beast, lashing his claws across Riku's body.

Riku shielded himself with light, but Mew wasn't fully intending to cut his skin. He breached the armor around his chest and raised a mischievous smirk.

This close to the end the gloves were off and he'd use every move in the book to secure a win, "Just have to break his concentration so he drops out of Chaos For and I win!"

He turned on a dime, stumbling forward with his arms being extended under Riku's arms. Riku clamped his arms down to hold Mew in place and when he pulled himself in, the two headbutted each other hard enough to draw blood.

Their visions blurred, but not their drive.

Mew tried going to Light Form, but his body's image started fizzling. He grit his teeth and cut his losses by simply charging Riku head on and, at the last second, feinting his punch to get behind him.

He then took his hands and shoved them right up Riku's armpits to begin...tickling?

Riku lurched upright and forced his mouth shut to stifle a growing fit of laughter.

Gabriel and Auris raised their brows, him specifically remarking, "That's a...very interesting tactic."

"No it makes sense!" Lunis proclaimed, "Riku's very ticklish!"

Everyone, especially Solaris, suddenly turned at her with a look that screamed "How do YOU know that?" all while she blinked blankly at them all.

The heightened sense of bliss inflicted on his mind caused Riku's form to start fizzling too. He delivered a swift elbow to Mew's nose and drew a stream of blood, then turned around and hunched over, panting slowly.

"W-What the hell...?!" He uttered.

Mew staggered, struggling to stay upright, though his smile remained as big as ever.

He threw his right hand down and curled it into a fist, pouring what little darkness he had left into a big, burning flame.

Riku widened his eyes and channeled light and darkness into his own fist. The two exchanged a brief nod, then charged each other head-on.

Propelling past the images of their friends and family, the two were but face-to-face with one another, where an image of their first "meeting" flashed in their heads fondly.

Intense silence soon followed, a calm after a long winded storm. The two were ignorant to the last few passing seconds. All they had to go on was the imprint of their fists in each others' faces, and the half a mile-wide crater in the floor.

Mew stood and smirked, sliding off Riku's fist, his vision blurring as he finally fell flat on the ground.

Riku remained erect like a statue, breathing heavily with a mix of tiredness and happiness.

Mew raised a sole finger up and muttered, "W-Want to...call this a draw?"

Riku mustered up the energy to laugh and then with one final breath, he collapsed on top of Mew's back like a sack of concrete and remarked, "Yeah...this is a draw..."

The two expended the last of their strength to roll onto their backs away from each other and, now returned to their base forms, laid a hand over their chests and took in deep breaths.

"Heh...!" Mew grunted in frustration, "Shit...! I've really been slacking on my training lately..."

"You're raising Maria, that's understandable..." Riku's pity missed Mew completely.

"Ah that's exactly why I SHOULDN'T be stopping...I-I gotta protect her and...everyone else too..." Mew laughed weakly.

"...Y-You're welcome to train with me and Solaris, brother..."

"Ah its fine. You guys have your own pace and I'd...I'd just get in the way..." Mew plopped his hand flat on the floor, "Ah shit, everything hurts. I'm going to be laying on an ice bag for a week. What a way to start the new year..."

"Ugh, I know what you mean..." Riku groaned, "But...at least Lunis can give me a massage."

Mew was trying very hard not to roll over and punch Riku in the gut, "Oh. Sure. Just brag about your cute girlfriend giving you a massage...You son of a bitch!"

The two laid out and closed their eyes, their hearts and lungs feeling like lead.

"...Hey, brother?"

"Yeah?"

"Want to get a burger later?"

"...Yeah, that sounds nice." Mew softly smiled and closed his eyes, dozing off to sleep feeling satisfied...

Next Time: Journals of Extinction