Star, Brandon, and Asher walked out into the arena. This was their first match outside the preliminaries. Star and Brandon were eager, and so was Asher. However, Asher was slightly preoccupied. When Brandon asked him to share what his problem was, Asher sighed. "I don't know. Something doesn't…doesn't FEEL right about this. Think about it. The Lord of the Underworld's holding a tournament, and we're a part of it. Don't you think that's just a LITTLE odd?"
He felt a whoosh by his head, and four very large Heartless entered the arena. They looked like giant purple people…except for the fact that they were unbelievably fat. Two of them were dressed in purple clothes, and the other two in orange. The ones in orange sucked in some air. Before the three could think, they leaned forward and flames erupted from their mouths! Brandon jumped in front of Star and Asher and twirled his blade in the air, deflecting the fire. "Guess we don't have a choice now, do we?"
Asher dodged a punch from one of the purple-clothed Heartless and slashed at it, cutting a hole in its shirt, but not killing it. "Guess not."
Star did a backflip over one of the four Heartless and cut through its neck. Its head fell off, and it fell to the ground with a thunderous bang. The ground shook. Landing gracefully, Star prepared her Keyblade for another strike. "Suits me."
Brandon plunged his sword into the back of another, and it vanished. He smiled.
The two remaining Heartless closed in on Asher. "Hm. Guess I'll just take these two, then."
He jumped to the side and drove his own Keyblade into the shoulder of one of the two Heartless. He then kicked it in the head, sending it careening into the other one, and the two vanished in an impressive flash of light. Star looked jealous. "How come YOU get two?"
Asher smirked. "I'll make it up to you. You can have ALL of them in the next match."
Brandon was about to say something, but Star laughed. "That's all I ask."
"So who're we fighting next?" Asher asked.
As the three walked out of the arena, Brandon looked at the standings. "Hm. Says here we're up against 'The Elements' in the next round."
"'The Elements'?" Asher wondered. "With a name like that…Hm. I really don't know what to think."
"Well," said Star, "they gotta be good if they made it to the semifinals."
"Does it say who they are?"
"Nope. Just says there's three of them."
"I see. Well, let's get going. I hear the fanfare playing. That means we're back on. I guess that last match ended real quick."
The three walked into the arena, ready to battle. However, when they looked up, they let down their guard. Star gasped. Brandon looked amazed. "What…the…hell are they?"
Asher didn't have to think for a second. "In Greek Mythology, Hades, the God of the Underworld, plotted time and again against Zeus to try to take over the throne. Zeus sealed up some of Hades' biggest allies: the Titans. My guess? These three guys somehow escaped the seal."
"Wait, Asher," said Star. "You're telling me, that these three, our opponents, are MYTHICAL TITANS?"
Brandon readied his sword. "He's not telling you they're fluffy bunnies."
"Well put."
Suddenly, a flash was heard behind them. "Aw, don't tell me you three are ready to give up already?"
Brandon turned to Hades. "Please. Who said we were giving up? Get out of here. You'll just get hurt."
"Oh, you know, an insult like that might actually hurt if it came from someone taller."
Asher turned around. "Shut up, Hades. We got some Titans to beat."
"Oh? You guys really think you can beat the Titans of Ice, Rock, and Wind?" Hades laughed. "Well, if you're that confident, be my guest! I do love a good funeral or three."
Star smirked, but didn't turn around. "Then you'll be happy. Though I doubt you'll have big enough caskets for these guys when this is over."
Hades smiled evilly. "Oooh, you guys got FIRE. I LIKE that. Heheheh. Good luck, you three. You'll need it."
Hades disappeared, and the three were left alone to look the Titans in the eyes. Big, brown, and bulky, the two-headed Rock Titan didn't seem very smart…but he looked strong. He'd have to be, just to keep himself up. The slender, crystalline Ice Titan seemed to chill the very air around them. Of course, there was also the Wind Titan. He seemed a whirlwind of pure energy…or wind…or something of the sort. There really wasn't a way to describe that mass of air...
A trumpet was heard. It was time for the match to start.
Brandon lunged toward Star, screaming, "Look out!"
He just barely managed to grab her and pull her out of the way of one of the feet of the Rock Titan. Star smiled at Brandon. "Thanks."
Suddenly, they heard a noise and saw Asher slicing a gigantic icicle down the middle, the two halves falling harmlessly to the side. He took a big breath. Obviously it took a lot of effort to break that ice. "If you two lovebirds are done, I think we still have a match to fight here!"
Star got up. "Fine. Let's do this, then." She ran toward the Rock Titan and slashed at one of its feet. The Keyblade moved through the air like a bullet, closer and closer to the foot, until…it stopped dead. It hit the foot, a loud CLANG was heard, and Star just stood there for a moment. Her hands and the Keyblade were both vibrating profusely. "Ooooooow….." she said silently.
"Star, are you okay?" asked Brandon, who was charging the Ice Titan. He didn't even make it halfway before the Titan caught him by surprise by freezing his feet to the ground. The Titan leaned forward, his face directly in front of Brandon. It roared loudly, and Brandon felt an extremely powerful breeze. He brought his sword down to his feet, broke the ice, and jumped just as the Ice Titan began to breathe ice directly where he'd been standing. He came down quickly, smashing his sword into the Titan's nose. The tiniest chip broke off, but the Titan was just too tough. It stepped back, surprised and angry. "Oh, this can't be good."
Asher yelled loudly, "You think you got it bad? At least you got something to HIT! I don't even know how the hell to fight this thing!"
The enormous Wind Titan simply stood, laughing as Asher slashed and slashed, each movement of his Keyblade leading it straight through the Titan's body, without harming it at all. Suddenly, the Titan apparently got bored, and lashed out with an appendage created from a slight breeze. The wind roared as it slammed Asher back into the stands, narrowly missing a few members of the cheering audience. The audience around him was ecstatic. "You can do it, you three! Beat those behemoths!"
Asher stood up, face turning pink. "Well, I…I guess we could…"
A hefty looking woman in the seat behind him leaned toward him and began to yell. "YOU BETTER GET THE HELL BACK OUT THERE! I GOT FORTY GOLD PIECES RIDING ON THIS FIGHT, DAMNIT!"
Asher stepped back in surprise. "Well! I'll be SURE to win this fight for YOU, then." Shaking his head, he ran back out into the arena.
He saw Brandon's head suddenly perk up, as if he had an idea. Brandon stopped in the middle of his fight with the Ice Titan and gently put the point of his blade into the ground. As far as Asher could guess, he was gathering up his strength. He stopped to watch Brandon for a moment. Maybe he was being stupid…but…maybe he was on to something. His sword began to glow red at the tip, and the light traveled up the blade and into Brandon's hand, and was soon coursing all across his body. He pulled the sword back, ready to strike. He leapt into the air and flipped up to the Ice Titan's head. Bringing the sword over his own head, he plunged it into the Ice Titan's skull. Asher expected the sword to bounce harmlessly off, like the last time, but something different happened. The sword burst into the Titan's head and Brandon pulled it all the way down its body. When Brandon landed on the ground, it was evident that he'd cut the Titan in half. The Titan tried to pull itself together, but its wound glowed bright red, and it began to melt. Asher smirked. Well, one down.
He heard the sound of a roaring tornado. The Wind Titan had come back for more. As he turned around, Asher had to quickly jump to the side to avoid a huge gust. He looked up. Damn. Nothing on the Titan was solid. Nothing at all. It was all just swirling wind…Wait a moment. At the top…the very top…the head. THE EYES. The eyes were some sort of solid gems. He knew what to do. He waited for the Titan to strike again, and he rolled to the side. Then, he jumped directly into the Titan's body. The swirling vortex dragged him straight up to the head, and he saw the eyes more closely. They weren't very large, maybe a quarter of his size at most. He threw his Keyblade, striking one eye, knocking it out. Holding out his hand, he summoned his Keyblade for another throw, and once the second eye was gone, the wind subsided. As he hit the ground, he sliced one of the eyes, then walked over and crushed the other one with his foot. He looked over to see Star, still struggling with the Rock Titan. He decided to give her a little advice. "STAR! GO FOR THE EYES!"
Star looked at Asher for a split second, then back at the Titan. "Um…Okay!"
Brandon ran up behind her. "I'll give you a boost!"
She jumped back, and Brandon held out his hands. She landed on them, and Brandon pulled them up, launching her to a small rock jutting out from the Titan's body. She jumped from there to one of his arms, and, dodging its other arm as it swatted at her, ran up the arm and toward its head. "Take this, ugly!" She plunged her Keyblade into one eye, then the other. The Titan fell back and crumbled to bits, and she climbed out of the rubble. She coughed. "Well, I think we won."
The three smirked and walked out of the stadium. They noticed Hades standing in the doorway. "Hm. I'm almost impressed."
Asher shot a glance at him. "We're ready for the finals whenever, Hades. Let us know when you get it cleaned up." The three walked away, leaving Hades fuming.
