Realm Hearts

chpt.3: Struggle Rumble

Fireworks burst high overhead Twilight Town, signaling that the time had come; one of the most favored events of the summer, the Struggle Tournament. People from across the town had gathered here, having taken seats on the specially set up stands, eagerly gabbing about and taking bets on as who they felt would win.

Down on the ground, a man with a pudgy build steps onto the battle arena which had been set up the day before for use in the preliminaries and today's match's. He then proceeds to the center of the stage, the clears his voice through the microphone, getting the attentions of all the gathered attendees.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages. I know why you're here. You all know why you're here. All summer, you have been waiting for this day, dreaming of it. And now, that day has finally come again. Please cheer at the top of your lungs as I official declare this, our one hundredth and fourteenth annual Struggle Tournament, officially here."

The crowd does as he ask, unleashing a roar of cheers loud enough to be heard all the way out in Sunset Park, or so many would assume at least. "That's what I like to hear, my friends. Now, before we begin the fun, please allow me to introduce our eight hopefuls who struggled long and hard to make it here today. Will our eight finalist please join me on the stage."

One by one, the eight stepped got up and proceeded onto the stage from the crowd of people sitting on the ground around the stage. Most were known to the gathering though there was a few who were more unknown.

The pudgy man, who was actually the mayor of Twilight Town then turns to his right a another, younger man in his twenties steps up, taking over as the official referee for the games. The mayor then takes his leave, going to seat himself in that stands along with all the other onlookers.

"Alright people, here they are. Starting on my right, we have are three time regular finalist and head of Twilight Town's very own Disciplinary Committee; Seifer. Second, we have the son of our very own local blacksmith and self proclaimed strong man, Ryno. Next, we have an underground favorite and our special local attitude problem; Hayner. Here's hoping he fairs better this year, huh?"

"Now, we have with us every girls fantasy savior from the Twilight Beach life guard; Adion. Next, the one person I bet no one expected to see make it into the top eight; Vivi. Next, there's Kino, the top student from the local kendo training school. Our seventh participant and one of everyone's favored fighters today, the mystery boy who came to us from the ocean blue; Roxas. And finally, a man of mystery who's name is as unknown as his face, we have the Hooded Flame."

Which each announcement, the crowd cheered wildly, more so towards some than to others. Once they had calmed a little, the ref continued, saying "Now, if you would get into a line please, we can start drawing lots to see what order you all will be competing in with each other.

"So, who are you going to be rooting for?" asked Pence, looking at Olette.

"Both of them, silly. It would be rude to not give them both support, right?" replied Olette.

"That's true, but I'd figure you'd be more in Roxas's camp than Hayner's though."

"Well...maybe just a little bit, which is why I'm betting Roxas will make it into the final match before the champion battle" says Olette.

"You're not the only one, to be honest" admits Pence.

"Alright, we have our Struggle order" shouts the ref, getting everyone's attention. "In our first match, we have Roxas vs the Hooded Flame. Then, in round two, Hayner vs Adion. Our third match, Seifer vs Kino. And finally, the last match will pit Vivi against Ryno."

"Boy, little Vivi got the short end of the stick, ya know" says Rai, looking at Fu who simply shrugs in response.

"Alright, now I'm sure you remember the rules from yesterday but I'll go over them again one more time just to be safe. You've each been given a special bracelet that will keep track of your given health. In the first round of fights, you all will have 100 HP. HP is lost when your opponent hits you. 5 points are deducted from any blows to your hands or feet, 10 from arms and legs, 15 from chest and stomach and 25 from a blow to the head. Should you lose all HP in your match, a buzzer will sound to signal your loss. Should a match last for the full ten minute time limit, then the Struggler with the most HP will be declared the winner. Also, being knocked out of the ring will also be counted as an automatic defeat to you."

"Now, for a new twist. The winner of the match will get a little bonus in their victory as any HP remaining to them from a previous match will be added onto the HP total for the next match. For example. If you have 60 HP left after a victory, then you'll have 160 HP available to you in the next match to better your chances. And naturally, you'll want to get as much built up as you can should you earn the chance to take on our reigning champion."

At this mention, another figure with slicked back, shoulder length silver hair steps onto the stage to stand by the ref. "And here he is, the five time Struggle Champion himself; Setzer." The crowd goes nuts at the mention of his name, especially the girls in the crowd. "As the champion, he only has to fight one battle; against the winner of the previous fights. And most important, he'll have 250 HP to burn through, hence why the lucky fighter who'll face him will want to build up as much spare HP as he can. Now, does our champion have any words to say?"

Setzer steps forward, then runs a hand through his slick hair as he smiles to all the lovely ladies. He then turns to look at the competition and says "Looks like I could actually get a good challenge this year...from some of you anyways. So do me a favor and don't disappoint, OK."

"Oooo, that sounds like fighting words to me" chimes in the ref as Setzer turns around and exits the stage. "We shall now begin the first match of today, Roxas vs the Hooded Flame. Will everyone save these two please exit the stage now." The ref also takes a chance to step off the stage.

Hayner turns to Roxas and says "Don't you lose here against this guy, got it man? I expect to see you facing off we me in your next match."

Roxas nods as the two friends bump fist. "You can count on me."

Once it was just the two of them, the hooded figure then chuckles and says "Boy, I got to admit. I wasn't expecting to face you right off the bat. Can't complain though as it will allow me to get right to the point for me being here."

Roxas brings his struggle bat up to the ready, then ask "The point of you being here? What's that suppose to mean? And just who are you anyways?"

"Who, me?" asked the man before reaching up and pulling back his hood, revealing spiky red hair and green colored eyes with a dark blue mark beneath them. "Name's Axel, got it memorized?"

"Axel?" says Roxas, cocking his head to the side. It was weird but he felt like he knew this guy from somewhere. But the name felt off in some weird way.

Seeing the look Roxas was giving him makes Axel grin just a little bit. "What's wrong, you look like you want to say something? What, do I look familiar to your or something?"

'This guy...just who is he really?' wonders Roxas. Axel's ability to read him so well was nerve racking to say the least. Shaking it off, Roxas tightens the grip on his struggle bat and says "Not really. I'm just ready to fight you."

"All right, that's what I like to hear. Fight, fight, fight" says Axel as he reveals his own special struggle weapon; a pair of chakram that had foam covering the sides as stipulated by the rules. "Now, show me what you can do, Roxas..." And with that, Axel goes onto the offensive against Roxas.

He starts by charging at Roxas, his speed being even greater than what he had shown off the day before during the preliminaries. But Roxas knew he was just as fast, waiting till Axel was within range, then swinging forth with his weapon, hoping to either land the first hit or at least land one in unison with Axel's.

But Axel was expecting this, leaping upwards suddenly and making Roxas attack cut through the empty air. Roxas turns his attention skyward, being forced to bring his free hand up to help shield his eyes as Axel had made sure the morning sun would be to his back so as to make it harder to keep an eye on him. Axel then goes into a spin while extending his NERFed chakrams out, then stops spinning as he comes down hard, swinging one of the two weapons right at Roxas.

In response, Roxas brings his weapon up, blocking the blow though he finds Axel exerting more strength than expected which makes remaining on his feet difficult. As Roxas struggles to push Axel's weapon away, a smirk forms on the red heads face and he brings his other weapon swinging around, making sure to hit Roxas arm and using that impact to help him bring his first attack to a finish by landing a hit on Roxas head, making the sandy blonde haired boy stumble backwards from the blow.

"And the man named Axel lands the first successful hit in the match, taking 35 HP away from Roxas. Can are hero recover from that powerful double blow?" shouts the ref.

"Roxas..." says Olette in a worried tone, her hands clutched together over her heart.

"Come on, man. You can't let that guy beat you" yells Hayner.

Roxas shakes it off, then takes up his battle stance again while Axel tosses one of his weapons into the air in amusement, then says "Not so impressive, thus far. I hope you can do better against this."

Axel then spins around, using the momentum to launch one of the chakram at Roxas, who jumps backwards while swatting the weapon away, only then realizing that it had been a feint on Axel's part to distract him. Seeing Axel coming at him , fast and low, while he knocks the first chakram away confirms this and he knows he can't react in time to block another attack from him. But there was something he could do.

"Still not good..." shouts Axel as he goes to swing again, this time aiming for a hit against Roxas's chest or abdomen, but Roxas jerks his body just a little while lifting a leg upwards, making it take the hit instead. While it would still make Roxas lose HP, it wouldn't be as much as it would have been from a shot to the chest area. And that wasn't all he had planned.

While using his leg to take the attack, he had inverted the position of his struggle bat so it was aimed directly downwards and as Axel's attack lands, and he has a moment of surprise from Roxas's action's, Roxas himself takes the offensive by thrusting downwards, landing a hit of his own to the top of Axel's head, then he does a spin with the bat itself, managing to just barely land a second hit to Axel's face as he pulls away following the first blow.

"Wow, incredible. What a come back for Roxas, landing two hits in a row against his opponent" shouts the ref, getting a cheer from the crowd. "Currently, Roxas has 55 HP remaining and Axel is now down to 50 HP. And with eight minutes still to go, who knows how things will turn out from here."

"I take it back, that was pretty good" says Axel, genuinely glad to see Roxas actually having some skill about him. Maybe, just maybe... 'OK, so what do do next? Oh, I have an idea. I'll try that one move on him, the one that no one has ever stopped before...except for "him", that is.'

Axel then walks over and picks up his chakram that had been tossed earlier, then looks back at Roxas and says "Time for me to show you something a little more advanced. I hope you can handle it."

Axel then brings his weapons up into an unusual holding position; one in front being held high while the other was brought around to his back, hanging low from the position of his arm. Axel then breaks into another spin, this one more rapid before shooting forward like a tornado. Despite the spinning, Roxas could see what he was doing; having both chakram aimed in such a way as blocking both would be impossible and the speed of his spin would allow him to land multiple hits quickly while making blocking nearly impossible.

And so Roxas does the only thing he can think of, jumping clear of Axel's attack path. "Roxas, behind you" yells Olette, making him spin back around quickly to see Axel had already altered his course to give chase. Obviously, such a rapid spin didn't lessen his ability to see his opponents or to change the direction he was moving along. And he was somehow not becoming dizzy either it would seem.

'Great, now what do I do?' wondered Roxas, knowing there was no way he could stop that attack without being hit with enough attacks to leave him HPless. And then, it comes over him, a sudden realization. There was something familiar about this. He had seen this before somewhere. And moreover, he knew what he needed to do in order to stop Axel.

Roxas moves back, being pushed back to the very edge; making everyone become tense as Axel's spinning form bares down on him quickly. But just when it looks like Roxas was finished, he drops down flat onto the ground suddenly while thrusting his struggle bat directly forward, somehow managing to lodge it in between Axel's legs. This action causes the bat to be knocked from Roxas hand and sent flying to the far side of the arena and it brings Axel to a sudden stop as well, knocking him off both balance and kilter and sending him falling forward onto the ground.

"Ow, that's gonna leave a mark" says Axel as he picks himself up and rubs his now sore nose, do to the landing. He then looks back to see Roxas standing up as well and says "Boy, I guess you did have it memorized after all."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Roxas.

"Why don't I show you" says Axel, bringing his weapons up, ready for another go. But the sudden sound of a whistle makes the both of them jump as the ref runs over to Axel.

"Out of bounds" he shouts.

"Huh? What do you mean, out of..." says Axel till he realized he wasn't in the ring no more and then he recalls the rules. "Ah man, and just when it was getting good too."

The ref jumps into the ring and takes hold of Roxas's right arm, raising it into the air. "The winner of the first match; ROXAS." The announcement makes the crowd cheer excitedly over the win.

"He did it" says Pence.

"Was there any doubt?" asked Hayner.

"Roxas...you did it" says Olette, feeling a great deal of pride in him now.

Roxas hops off the stage and approach's Axel who says "That was a good fight. We should do it again sometime."

"Yeah..." says Roxas, still thinking back on what Axel had said before. "Axel, what did you mean before, about me having it memorized?"

Axel stares at him blankly for a moment before recalling saying that. He then grins and says "Sorry, but that's a secret for now. But maybe I'll tell you about it another day." Axel then turns and heads off into the crowd, but stops just long enough to look back and say one more thing. "We will see each other again, Roxas. Got that memorized."

"And now, let's move on to round two" shouts the ref as Hayner steps forward and Roxas wishing him luck in his fight.

During the fight between Hayner and Adion. At first, Adion seemed like he had a major advantage due to being both faster and stronger than Hayner which was expected given his job as a life guard required both speed and strength. But Adion didn't see Hayner as much of a threat, being more focused on all the girls watching him than the fight. And it would be because of this that he was lose to Hayner in the end.

Next was Seifer vs Kino, a fight that actually lasted the entire ten minutes with both fighters showing off their impressive skills on both attack and defense. And when the buzzer sounded at the ten minute mark, Hayner came out the winner by a meer two points. This was even closer than you think though as Kino had managed to land a hit on Seifer that would have given him the win instead had he just been a second faster.

Then came the forth match, Vivi vs Ryno. Naturally, everyone was expecting Vivi to lose badly here. But the actually outcome was something no one was expecting. You see Ryno was a really big guy, I mean really really big, around seven feet tall. In comparison, Vivi was as tiny as could be. And that ended up being to his advantage as Ryno just could not land a hit on such a small target. It didn't help that he was afraid hitting Vivi even once could hurt the little guy, making him hesitate. Of course, klutzy Vivi was no better, tripping up all over the place. It just so happened that one trip up caused him to land a hit on Ryno's shoe and after the ten minute timer again rung out, Vivi won simply do to the fact he had been the only one to land a hit in the match.

And the crowd didn't know how to react to this one either.

"OK, that was...different. Anyways, on to the next match; Roxas vs Hayner" shouts the ref.

"Good luck out there, both of you" says Pence.

"Make us proud" adds Olette.

Roxas and Hayner look at each other, then cross arms while nodding. Neither needed to say a word as they both knew what the other wanted to say. "Don't hold back on me and I won't against you. And no matter what happens, we'll still be friends when this is over."

The two of them then walk onto the stage; a voice getting their attention as they do so. "Hayner, don't forget the deal. If you lose, then Olette has to join my crew" shouts Seifer.

"Ah crap, I forgot about that one" yells Hayner who then sees Roxas reaction. "Hey man, don't you dare throw the match because of this one. I won't forgive you if you do."

"I know, but..." says Roxas, taking a moment to look at Olette who had heard Seifer's reminder too.

"What ever happens, we'll deal somehow. Besides, I was the one who made the bet so I'll take care of it. All I want you to do, all YOU need to do, is give this fight everything you got" adds Hayner.

Hearing Hayner's words and seeing Olette give him a nod, showing she agreed with Hayner, makes Roxas tighten the grip on his bat. "Alright, no holding back then."

"And now, let round five of the struggle begins" shouts the ref as the timer starts up.

Hayner goes onto the offense immediately, rushing at Roxas while jabbing outwards one end of his pole arm like weapon, forcing Roxas to move backwards while jerking his head either to the left or right to avoid being hit. Hayner then pulls his attacks back, then suddenly swinging the lower end upwards, missing Roxas by a hair's length.

As his foot comes down again, Roxas realizes he had been pushed back to the edge and Hayner sees his moment of redirected focus as a chance to land a final strike, swinging his weapon around to push him off the arena floor. Roxas sees the attack coming just in time to dodge under him, then dodge roll to the side to avoid another attack before quickly getting back onto his feet and dashing to the opposite of the arena, with Hayner in hot pursuit.

"Come on Roxas, quite holding back on me" shouts Hayner as he spins his pole arm around, then swinging it at Roxas in a rapid and continuous barrage.

'But, if I do...' was the thought running repeatedly within Roxas's mind as he dodged and blocked it swing to avoid being hit, being off with one motion which results in Hayner landing a hit to his shoulder, scoring a point on him.

Roxas turns to see Olette who sees his gaze fall onto her in turn and shouts out "Roxas, you can do it."

Did she want him to win, despite knowing what it would mean for her; having to join Seifer's crew? The look she was giving him said it all. She didn't care about that. She just didn't want to see him lose here. And how could he possibly let her down after she was the one who found him, saved him, before.

"If you're not going to at least try to fight back, then I'll just finish this then" yells Hayner as he goes to deliver a final attack to knock Roxas outside the arena.

Now determined to win, Roxas turns his body to his right, dodging the attack, then jumps back, forcing Hayner to follow. But the moment Roxas feet touch the ground again, he rebounds and push's forward much to Hayner's surprise, landing a sonic raid like hit against Hayner's face that sends him flying back onto the ground and sending his weapon spinning off to the side.

As Hayner lays there, a little fazed from the landing, Roxas walks up and touch's his forehead lightly three more times with the tip of the struggle bat which triggers the sound of the ending buzzer. "And that's all she wrote. The winner of round 5, Roxas" yells the ref, making the crowd cheer.

The cheering snaps Hayner back to reality, making him sit up quickly. "Ow, that kinda hurt a bit" he says, rubbing the back of his head. He then looks at Roxas and says "Since you're the one who won, you owe me one, man." He then smirks and adds "I'll settle on you teaching me that move of yours as payment. That was pretty...awesome."

"Sure thing" says Roxas, holding his hand out which Hayner takes, being helped back onto his feet. They then shake hands before exiting the stage to rejoin their friends.

"That was great you guys" says Pence.

"You were amazing" adds Olette, though she may have been speaking more to Roxas though.

"Not so great for me, but oh well" says Hayner before looking at Roxas. "You better win against Seifer in round seven man."

Roxas pumps his fist and says "You can count on me."

"Really? That will be interesting to see if you can keep that one, Roxas" says Seifer as he walks up. "And did you forget our bet, Hayner? If you lost a fight, then Olette would have to join me crew."

"No, I didn't forget. But..." says Hayner, but Olette stops him by stepping forward, placing her hand on his shoulder for a moment to quiet him.

"A deals a deal, Hayner, even if I didn't make it myself" says Olette before beginning to move to stand by Seifer.

"Hold it" says Fu suddenly, getting their attention onto her.

"Something wrong, Fu?" asked Seifer as Rai joined them.

Instead of speaking, Fu reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of paper which she unfolds then holds up so they all could read. "It's a written copy of the bet Hayner and Seifer made with one another" notes Pence.

"If Hayner loses in the Struggle Tournament to Seifer, then Olette has to join his DC group and gets Roxas if he makes it to and beats Setzer in the championship match" reads Roxas.

"Condition unfulfilled" says Fu simply.

"Hey, Fu's right, ya know" says Rai.

"Fu, why'd..." asked Seifer, looking at her.

Fu shakes her head, saying "Not like this", indicating she didn't want Olette to join them like this; that she would rather see her join over her own free will rather than being forced to join because of a bet, especially one she DIDN'T make herself.

Seifer growls a bit, then says "Fine, I guess that is how it is then. Let's go, people. I have a match to win after all." And with that, Seifer walks onto the arena stage while Rai returns to his original standing position.

Olette walks up to Fu and hugs her, saying "Thank you" in her ear before pulling away.

"Debt" says Fu, letting Olette that she owed Fu one.

"Sure, anything" says Olette.

Fu then leans to the side, then back to Olette with a slight blush as she says quietly "Roxas?"

Olette immediately looks back, seeing Roxas and the guys having already turned their attention to the stage as she realizes what Fu meant; she wanted a date with Roxas. Olette looks back at Fu and says "Except THAT!"

Fu gives her the slightest smirk, then says "Tell him" before turning around and heading over to Rai's side as Olette goes to join the boys, knowing that Fu was telling her to tell Roxas about how she felt.

"And now, round six will begin...as soon as little Vivi joins us on the stage" shouts the ref.

"I'm coming, I'm coming" says Vivi, wobbling forward towards the stage. But a sudden grab and tug to his coat sleeve makes him stop and look back to see a little boy being the owner of the hand that had caught his attention; a little boy who offers Vivi a sports drink.

"You're an inspiration for all us, little guys, Vivi. Here, drink this and do your best out there" says the kid.

"Um...OK" says Vivi as he takes the drink and, wanting to make his fan happy, pops the top off and drinks it down. "That was pretty good, but the taste was kind of...fun...funny." Vivi seems to go into a daze as his head bobs up and down a little.

"Hey, hurry up and get up here, shorty" yells Seifer, making Vivi turn back towards the arena and walk's all weird over to it. The kid smiles as he sneaks back into the crowd, then takes his leave by moving from the Sandlot into the back alley area of the town.

"Don't let us down now" says the kid in a dark, sing song like tone before his body glows and changes to that of a Dusk that wiggles away though the air.

"OK, let round six begin" yells the ref while backing off the arena.

"Sorry Vivi, you're a good kid and all" says Seifer before going right into an attack. "But there's no way I'm going to lose to anyone this years." Seifer then sends his struggle bat swing at Vivi hard; hard enough to send him out of the ring with one blow even if he does guard.

But Vivi does block, to his surprise. But the surprise wasn't from the successful block, but from the fact it did even push him back an inch. "What?" says Seifer, shocked to see Vivi showing this strength. And then Vivi looks up at him, eye to eye, revealing something was off.

Seifer tries unleashing several other attacks, each either being blocked or dodged by Vivi with such amazing ease and accuracy. And then, Vivi goes onto the attack, doing a spin jump into the air while swinging his bat around. Seifer blocks the swing, but the power behind it is far beyond what he had ever expected from little Vivi, throwing him off his feet and back all the way to the edge. Only a miracle saved him from going over the edge.

Sadly, that miracle didn't last long as Vivi is on top of him, unleashing another series of attacks that force Seifer to finally fall from the arena, much to his and everyone elses surprise and shock.

It takes the ref a moment to realize that match was over before he speaks. "I...I don't believe. The winner of the sixth round is...Vivi?" This gets the crowd to start muttering amongst themselves about what they had just seen. Vivi then returns to his starting place within the arena, ready for the the next fight.

"Did I just see what I think I did?" asked Hayner.

"We all did. We're just having a hard time believing it" says Pence.

"Something's wrong" says Roxas, knowing this wasn't the Vivi they all knew.

"Hey, Roxas" comes Seifer's voice after returning to his feet. "Thrash him back to his senses."

Roxas nods then proceeds into the arena with Olette saying "Be careful" as he does so.

From where he was watching, Axel takes a moment to think about what was going on. 'What was that about? That little guy? He doesn't seem like the aggressive type. Wait, don't tell me...'

"And now, round seven; Roxas vs...Vivi. BEGIN" yells the ref, not even bothering to enter the ring as Vivi was freaking him out. As his words finish, Vivi immediately goes onto the offensive against Roxas.

Vivi seems to float in the air as he zooms forward, first swinging low at Roxas feet, which he jumps over, then jumping upwards and swing around another which Roxas sinks under. Vivi then starts slashing wildly; left to right to left, up, down, and sideways, over and over again. And he does this with such speed that it's all Roxas can do just to keep up and either block, dodge, or avoid being hit.

"No way, is that really Vivi out there?" wonder Hayner, never seeing the little guy fight like this before, to say nothing of acting like this.

"It's as if he was someone completely different" agrees Pence.

Roxas manages to block another blow, this one aimed at his head, but Vivi's speed suddenly increases as well as his strength and Roxas finds a heavy horizontal slashing motion landing home, hard, against his chest. The impact is enough to knock him off his feet and onto his back several feet away.

He groans from the impact, then feels a shadow come over him and looks up to see Vivi, floating the the air, as he bares down upon him while giggling a creepy laugh. And then Roxas sees his eyes. There was an odd glow coming from them, something almost ghostly. But even more than that, Roxas could see, hear, the real Vivi, crying out for help.

"Hey, Roxas" yells Axel from the crowd, getting his attention. "That little guys been possessed. The only way you can save him is if you clock him a good one."

Roxas knew he could trust Axel's words. Was it because he legitimately sounded concerned for Roxas safety as well as the safety of Vivi, or was it because he had an idea as to what might be going on? Either way, it didn't matter as Roxas knew what he needed to do.

Vivi reach's Roxas, then goes to attack again. But Roxas performs a dodge roll to avoid the attack though Vivi is quick to recover and give chase. Roxas returns to his feet, yet feels Vivi already fast approaching, so he turns around while jumping backwards to give himself a little space, then runs at Vivi, at first seeming to be going head to head. But at the last second, Roxas drops down and avoids another attack from Vivi and does a slide forward, swinging his bat in tandem with the slide to hit Vivi's feet. The impact sends Vivi into a spin which ends with him falling onto the ground.

Both Roxas and Vivi return to standing, but Roxas is the first to do so then attacks before Vivi can make his move, swinging low while Vivi is still trying to find his balance which knocks him back into the air, then Roxas jumps into the air as well, delivering a barrage of fast and furious swings against Vivi before throwing in a finishing blow that sends him back down upon the ground, bouncing and spinning right to the edge. When Vivi gets up, he wobbles around while stepping forward, right off the edge of the ring, falling onto the ground and effectively knocking himself out of the fight.

The buzzer sounds and the ref yells out "I don't know what just happened with Vivi in there, but the winner of the main tournament today is Roxas." The crowd cheer loudly, having found themselves enjoying the intense match, even if it had been a bit on the weird side for various reasons.

Roxas rush's from the ring, jumping out besides Vivi and kneeling down besides him as the others run up to join them. Vivi seems to regain himself as he gets up and, with a little help from Roxas, is able to find his balance and stay standing for the most part.

"Vivi, are you OK? What happened back there?" asked Roxas.

"Huh?" says Vivi as he looks around, finding he wasn't in the ring. He then turns to Roxas and says "What am I doing out here? I thought I was in the ring, about to fight Seifer. Did I lose the match that quickly?"

"What are you talking about, Vi? You beat Seifer, rather easily to boot" says Hayner.

"Yeah, and you even gave Roxas a serious go for the win" adds Pence. "In fact, I thought for sure you were going to win there for a second."

"What?" says a surprised Vivi. "I...I actually beat SEIFER? And I nearly defeated Roxas too? I don't remember any of that."

"Something must have happened to you before you battled Seifer. Did anything funny happen to you beforehand, Vivi?" asked Roxas.

Vivi shakes his head, saying "No, except for when that kid gave me that sports drink and all."

"A kid, do you know..." Roxas starts to ask, but the ref's voice cancels out his own.

"And now, for our final match of the day. Roxas vs Setzer. Will both participants please come onto the stage" shouts the ref.

"Roxas, you go win it all, we'll stay here and watch over Vivi" says Hayner, getting a nod in response. Roxas then stands and walks towards the ring, but stops as Olette blocks his path.

"Good luck out there" she says, leaning in and give him a good luck kiss on the cheek before going to join Hayner and Pence.

Once he was on the stage with Setzer, the two fighters face off with each other. "Say, ruck sack, how about you throw the match. If you do, I'll make it worth your while" offers Setzer in a snarky tone.

Roxas response is to hold his struggle bat and take up a battle pose, saying "Where'd the fun be in that? My friends would get mad if I gave up now, so I won't disappoint them. And the names Roxas."

Setzer sighs as he brings his own, long sword like struggle bat to the ready. "Very well, but don't say I didn't give you a chance to get off easy."

And then, Setzer goes onto the attack, moving with both a speed, power, skill, and confidence Roxas hadn't seen before from someone; easily showing and proving why he was the Struggle Champion for five years running. It takes all the skills Roxas has just to keep up with him, blocking the attacks just barely while knowing he didn't have any way to counter attack himself.

"Not bad, your better than I thought. But now I'm going to get serious" says Setzer as he becomes faster and stronger; delivering to sudden blows that first knock Roxas's bat from his hand off to one side of the ring, then sends Roxas himself flying over to the other side of the ring before he could even think. Roxas groans as he looks back to see Setzer approaching him, a grin present on his face. He then looks to his bat on the far side of the ring and ponders how he could get to it.

"Roxas, it's time for your secret weapon" yells Olette, getting both Hayner and Pence to look at her and ask "Secret Weapon?" in unison.

"Right" says Roxas as he jumps back to his feet and, to Setzer's surprise, charges forward at him while running his right hand over the left sleeve of his coat.

"What's this then?" wonders Setzer aloud as Roxas comes with in range of his attacks. Setzer swings halfheartedly at Roxas as a second struggle bat slides out from hiding inside his coat sleeve which he takes in hand and uses to knock Setzer's attack away while also landing another blow onto him. Roxas then does a roll to make it over to his first bat and takes it back in hand before turning to face a surprised Setzer.

"Two of them?" says Axel, not expecting this turn of events.

"He had two of them this entire time?" asked Hayner.

"Yeah, I came up with the idea late yesterday when the two of us were alone" says Olette.

Setzer looks back and sees Roxas standing there with his two struggle bats and a confident look on his face. He then holds his own outwards and says "So I guess I was right about you then. You are cut from a different cloth than the others I've battled over the years. Now then, lets give the audience a fight they'll never forget." And with that Setzer goes at Roxas who charges him in turn.

(two hours later)

"I still can't believe it, Roxas. You...actually beat Setzer in the Struggle Festival" says Pence, still finding the idea hard to believe. Not because he thought Roxas was weak or anything, but because Setzer had been champion for five years running and it just seemed like he was impossible to defeat.

"I still can't believe how close it came between them" says Hayner. "I thought for sure he had your number multiple times."

"Gee, thanks" says Roxas, though he did agree with them both.

The ten minutes they spent battling were indeed the most intense he had ever experienced in his life, though not quite as nerve racking as when he battled the Twilight Thorn. Roxas, despite the limited training time, had been able to dual wield the bats well enough to counter, block, and land hits on Setzer though the older man had still gotten in many blows himself.

And when that time limit buzzer sounded, Roxas had managed to to edge out his victory by a meer two points. Setzer, having lost the fight, congratulated him before turning to walk from the arena, but turned to say something but was stopped as Olette had practically pile drived Roxas by giving him a fierce hug as many of the other attendee's also came running up to give him their congratulations and Hayner had grabbed his hand and held it high as a sigh of victory. Setzer had just smiled before continuing on his way. Then, after the reward ceremony where Roxas was given his large trophy and the after Struggle party, the four friends had retreated to the clock tower, where they liked to go sit and look out over the city when ever something good happened.

"So, do you think you have any room in your place for that trophy, Roxas?" asked Olette.

"Not really" says Roxas before reaching up and pulling the blue colored crystal free of the trophy and toss's it to Olette. He then toss's the red crystal to Hayner and the yellow one to Pence before taking the last, green colored one into his one hand. "But that's where you guys can help me out."

"Wow, thanks a ton, Roxas" says Pence.

"I doubt I'll ever win a trophy like that myself, but at least I can claim to own a piece now" says Hayner.

Roxas nods before holding his crystal towards the setting sun and the other mimic his action, allowing themselves a moment to marvel as the light dances off the gems like a prism. "Here, I have a little something special for all of us too" adds Olette as she reaches into her pack again and reveals four bars of their favorite snack; Sea Salt Ice cream.

Once they all had their snack, they each take a bite, then take a moment to enjoy the moment they were all having together. "Today was a great day" says Hayner.

"Hopefully, we'll have many more days like this ahead" says Pence.

"As long as we can all stay together like this, we will" says Olette. "Right, Roxas?"

Roxas looks at her and nods, saying "Yeah." He knew now that even if he never regained his memories of his past and of his true name, it wouldn't matter. As long as he could be here, with them, he would be alright no matter what.

But around the corner, having heard them, was Axel; leaning back against the clock with a sad look on his face. "Together...no matter what, huh? I'm sorry Roxas..." he says as he goes from leaning to standing, then walks away.

"But that ending will never happen for you."

to be continued...

Secret Report 3

Axel was laying back on his bed inside his room, halfheartedly tossing his red and silver chakram into the air. Thing's were always boring here within Never Was. Maybe he should go talk with the leader and see about having an arcade or something installed.

A knock at his door distracts him, nearly causing him to be stabbed by his own weapon which he barely catches in time. He then looks at the door and says "It's open." A moment later, man with long blue hair and an X-shaped scar between his eyes enters the room. "Need something, Saix?" asked Axel as he sits up.

"We have a new mission and I requested that you be given it" says Saix.

"Well, that's nice of you. I guess you could sense I was bored out my gourd here, right?" asked Axel.

"Hardly. It's not my fault if you can't find a hobby around here" says Saix.

Axel laughs, saying "Yeah, right. And what kind of hobby could I get? Strumming a sitar like Demyx? Growing a garden of flowers like Marluxia? Acting like Larxene does and tormenting those poor Dusk? Being all creepy like Vexen is?"

"I get the point" says Saix.

"Anyways, what kind of mission and why me specifically?" asked Axel.

Saix responds by snapping his fingers which makes a Dusk appear in the room. "Look into this one's memories and you'll see."

"OK, if you say so" says Axel as he places his hand atop the emblem on its forehead. A few moment's later, he pulls his hand away and says "No way, there's just no way. It can't be him?"

"That's what I thought as well when I saw the image. Even our founders can't be sure of anything. All we do know is that they look alike, sound alike, and both can wield a Keyblade; albeit a different Keyblade from one another. Your mission is to go enter something called a Struggle Tournament that's being held in this Twilight Town and determine if he's HIM or not" says Saix.

"I got it" says Axel as he gets onto his feet. "So, when do I leave then?"

"Right now so you can register at what they call the Twilight Sandlot. Also, you'll need these" says Saix as he produces two chakram with foam rubbering on them. "As part of the rules, you'll need a special type of weapon in order to compete."

Axel takes them, then heads for the door; stopping just before it. "So, what do I do if it is him or not him?"

"Just return and give a report. Either way, I'm sure he'll be recruited by Xemnas's will. After all, we've been looking for a Key bearer for quite some time" says Saix. After a pause, he adds "And if it is him, then we may have found an alternate hope for our personal plans, Lea."

"Yeah" says Axel before leaving the room.