Sephiroth took another step and Asher's look of horror started to fade slightly. "Who…who are you?"

"I am Sephiroth. And that's all I am going to tell you…before you die."

Asher blocked a slash with his Keyblade. "I'm not dying. Not today."

Sephiroth smiled viciously as their blades continued to clang together. "Someone's going to die today, Asher."

"How do you know my name?"

"Hades told me. You know, it's almost too bad. You're not a bad swordsman. Another ten years and you might prove to be a challenge. It's almost sad to know I'll have to kill you at the end of this match."

Asher swung his Keyblade with enough force to finally knock Sephiroth back. He charged him. "It's YOU who'll die, Sephiroth! I've got more power in this blade than you could possibly imagine!"

Sephiroth smirked and held out his right hand as if he were grasping something out of the air. "Not enough."

Suddenly, Asher was pushed back by an intense heated shockwave as pillars of flame burst from the ground around Sephiroth. He flew onto the arena floor, and a sickening CRACK resonated through the stadium. Sephiroth casually strolled up to Asher's body and plunged his sword into his chest. Asher's body went through a horrible convulsive spasm as he choked, spitting out a minute amount of blood.

Asher began to fade from consciousness. He found himself once again floating in darkness. A familiar figure appeared. "So, you're giving up."

"Giving up? I'm dead, Xanthas!"

Xanthas laughed. "Dead? Are you so sure? Don't you have a little faith left in you?"

"Faith in WHAT!? My friends were idiots, they charged him and got themselves knocked, out or worse, and I couldn't take this guy on if his hands were tied behind his back, his legs were cut off, and he was blindfolded with a cloth covered in cyanide!"

"So you are giving up, then? That's too bad. I would have thought someone with all my power could actually do something with it. Shame. I guess Ansem was wrong. Not so wise, after all, was he?"

"Listen, Xanthas, I don't have a choice whether or not to give up here! I have a sword through my chest! I'm dying!"

"Do you have to be dying?"

Asher thought for a moment. "What do you mean?"

Xanthas laughed. "You've got a Keyblade. It's got incredible magic power. I'm sure it could heal you if you used it right."

"And what makes you think that I can use that power?"

Xanthas tapped him on the head, as someone would tap a television antenna to try to get a better signal. "You've got the blade, haven't you? That alone means you can use it. You just gotta do it."

"I…I don't know how."

Xanthas sighed. "I'll help you this time, kid, but that's it. You're on your own after this."

The darkness around Asher instantly faded away. He saw Sephiroth's triumphant smirk as he waited to hear the last breath of his victim escape from his lungs. Suddenly, Asher felt a surge of energy through his body. It was like he couldn't control it. His hand grabbed Sephiroth's sword by the blade and ripped it from his own chest. Sephiroth stepped back in amazement as the Keyblade glowed and Asher's wound began to heal itself. When Asher got up, he looked around, as if to see if he could find the source of what had happened. Xanthas' voice echoed in his head. "That's all. I can't help you after this. From now on, you're on your own."

Sephiroth wiped the blood from his sword onto the ground. "That's impossible! I stabbed you right through the heart! You should be DEAD!"

Asher clenched his fist and looked down at it. He looked back up at Sephiroth. "I guess my heart's tougher than you think."

He advanced on Sephiroth, wildly swinging the Keyblade, nearly throwing Sephiroth off-balance. The advance lasted for what seemed like hours. Finally, Sephiroth realized that he wasn't going to get an opening—his opponent wasn't going to tire out. He teleported to another end of the arena. "I wasn't expecting to have to do this…but if I must…"

Asher gripped his Keyblade tightly. "What are you talking about?!"

A strange light glowed over Sephiroth. The same light began to float above Asher's head. "What? What's going on?"

Sephiroth held his hand up in the air, clenched it into a fist, and brought it down slowly, as if it were for some sort of hand movement spell. "Descend, heartless angel!"

Asher doubled over and began screaming in agony. He clutched his head as pain flowed across his body like blood spilling across pavement. Sephiroth laughed evilly. "You were a fool to come here!"

Despite his anguish, Asher managed to struggle to his feet. "Seph…iroth…just…stop…come down here…and fight me."

"You imbecile! It's over! I'll show you the true meaning of suffering! Now, beg for mercy and I may kill you more quickly!"

"You just don't…" Asher coughed. "…get it…do you?" He inched his way toward Sephiroth.

"You can't…you can't just use…some…damn…magic…trick…and expect me to give up…just like that…to just…let you…kill me…" He was close, now. He could hit Sephiroth if he could just swing his blade…

"Who…the hell are you?!" Sephiroth shouted, amazed. "You…you're not human! You can't be human!"

"But…I am human…Sephiroth." Asher smiled through his pain. "Better than…being…a demon." Instead of swinging the Keyblade, Asher managed to land a punch square in Sephiroth's jaw. The spell broken, Asher felt rejuvenated. "Heh. Now, Sephiroth. Let's settle this fight like men. Sword to sword."

Sephiroth began an advance on Asher. "Very well. This time, I won't hold back."

As Asher and Sephiroth became locked in combat once more, off to the side, Brandon was regaining his consciousness. He shook his head and saw that his vision was returning. A small headache throbbed through his brain for a moment, but then vanished. He looked around to see Star motionless on the ground, and Asher and Sephiroth exchanging powerful sword blows. Asher was putting a lot of strength into his attacks, but Sephiroth looked like he wasn't putting in any effort at all. He rushed over to Star to see if she was all right.

"Star? Are you okay? Star?!"

Star's eyelids spasmed, and she groaned in discomfort. "Bran…Brandon? Ugh, my head hurts. I think that guy hit me kinda hard."

"Star, you're okay! Come on, we gotta help Asher!"

The two watched as Asher and Sephiroth continued to fight each other, paying no heed to the fact that they'd awakened. Seeing their opportunity, the two thrust their swords into Sephiroth's back, pulled them out, and moved out of the way as Asher sliced across his chest and kicked him in the face. The broken Sephiroth lay motionless on the ground. Asher smiled. "See? That's why I wanted…to take him together," he said weakly.

The three began to walk away, looks of triumph on their faces. Suddenly, they heard a grunt and the beginning of a slight chuckle of amusement. "I'll admit…you three…you're skilled. But I have a deal to complete."

Asher, Brandon, and Star all stopped in their tracks. They looked back to see Sephiroth standing behind them, unharmed, wiping dust from his clothing. "It's too bad. You would have been great warriors. Perhaps even rivals in time. But we'll never know, will we?"

Sephiroth jumped forward, catching the trio off guard. His blade began to emanate a blackness from it that seemed to be deeper than the darkest depths of space. Without warning, he thrust it into Brandon's heart. There was no reaction. Brandon did not scream. He did not clutch himself in pain. He didn't even flinch. He simply slid off the blade, fell to the ground, and closed his eyes. Sephiroth jumped back. He sighed. "It's much too bad that it had to come to this."

Asher, astonished, watched as Star bent down to try to assist Brandon. "Brandon? Brandon, get UP! BRANDON, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, GET UP!"

"Star…I think I can heal him."

"Are you sure?"

"Well, I healed myself."

Asher pointed his Keyblade at Brandon and summoned a great deal of strength into the same kind of healing spell that had revived him. However, Brandon still lie there motionless. When the spell hit Brandon, his blade glowed red and there was a reverberative noise while his body underwent a convulsion. He went limp again. Asher tried again, but to no avail.

"I…I don't understand…that should have worked!"

"It didn't work? What do you mean? OH, BRANDON, WAKE UP! BRANDON, WAKE UP, DAMNIT, JUST WAKE UP, PLEASE WAKE UP!"

Sephiroth shook his head. "There's nothing you can do, child. His heart has returned to darkness…"

Asher protested. "But that doesn't matter! My heart came back from darkness!"

Sephiroth sighed again. "Not only has his heart returned to darkness, but his soul has departed his body."

"BRANDON! WAKE UP!"

Sephiroth took a step forward and brandished his weapon, the strange aura still surrounding it. "Foolish girl, don't you understand? He's DEAD! He won't be waking up, he's GONE!"

Star's eyes widened in terror and she fell to her knees. "No…that…that can't be…Brandon…" A single tear rolled down her cheek and landed softly in the sand. "Maybe…maybe this is it…maybe this is the end of the line. Maybe it's all over now. Are…are we gonna die here, too?"

Asher wasn't paying attention. His emotions…everything…all his rage was directed at Sephiroth. Without giving it another thought, he charged. Sephiroth, expecting the onslaught, prepared his sword. As Asher's fury exploded, Sephiroth's blade caught every blow.

Sephiroth smirked. "So much power. Such a waste, all this power in the hands of a fool."

"Bastard! You don't even CARE, do you?"

"About what? The life of a pitiful soul like your little friend? Of course not. The only life that matters is my own. Even if yours did matter…it's about to come to an end."

Sephiroth knocked Asher off balance. He hit him hard with the hilt of his sword and sent him tumbling backward. Asher got up, but found himself unable to get off his knees. Sephiroth had grabbed him by the hair, and had his sword to his throat. As Sephiroth squeezed Asher's hair, his grip on the Keyblade loosened, and it fell to the ground. "And now…you die."

Asher coughed. "Go to hell."

Sephiroth paused. "Are you still fighting? You are at your knees, when any mortal man would beg for mercy, forgiveness, or a quicker death, and yet with your last breath, you curse me? Your weapon is gone, and you have the audacity to still challenge my superiority? Even as my blade is at your throat you still have as much confidence as when yours was at mine?"

"You're not superior to me. I don't need my weapon, or your mercy. My confidence lasts as long as I'm still breathing, Sephiroth. My death will come however it will come. But it won't come today. I know that for sure."

Sephiroth's grip loosened. He withdrew his blade and threw Asher to the dusty ground. "You've got power. You've got determination. My deal with Hades was to kill you here, and the girl. It was to get me to Cloud. But I realize something. Cloud has the same determination as you. He wants to get to me as much as I to him. We have a score to settle, and we will settle it. I don't need the help of some God of the Underworld to find him. His heart will lead him to me, as the darkness will lead me to him. Be thankful. You live another day."

Sephiroth began to walk through the Coliseum gates. Hades attempted to stop him. "You're forgetting out deal! You only killed one, get back out there and get the other two!"

"Deal's off, Hades."

"You will do as I say!"

Sephiroth turned around, eyes fierce. "I said, 'Deal's off.'"

In anger, Hades approached Asher. "If you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself!" He raised his arms to conjure the flames that would destroy the boy for good.

Suddenly, Asher got to his feet. He turned around to face Hades. "You."

"Oh, what's wrong? A little upset?"

"This is your fault. You got us into this tournament. You hired the punk that fought us…you're responsible for Brandon's death."

"Oh, right, that. Well, not to worry, because I'm about to be responsible for yours."

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. "You did this! You think you're going to kill me? You think I'm weak? That I'm powerless?"

Hades stopped conjuring fire. He took a step back, slightly afraid.

Asher began walking toward Hades, forcing him back to a wall. Hades waved his arms in a surrendering manner. "Hey, hey, we can talk about this, right? Huh? I can bring back your friend if you want…I am Lord of the Dead, after all."

Asher growled. "NO MORE TRICKS, HADES!" His hand shot out and clasped Hades' neck. He slammed Hades into the wall, causing a spiderline crack to work its way slowly up. Hades burst into flames, causing Asher to let go to avoid being burned. He turned around to see a giant hole in the ground between Hades and himself.

"Game over, kid! This hole leads straight to the deepest, darkest pits of the Underworld. There is no escape, no matter what. You fall down there, you're trapped forever. Death is nothing compared to the torture you'll endure!"

Hades began to shoot flames at Asher, trying to get him to fall into the pit. He then felt a large amount of weight crashing into him. He turned around to see a humongous orange-furred dog, tackling him to the side. The dog jumped, and Hades, having lost his balance, toppled over into the pit. With Hades falling, his power over the ground began to subside, and the hole closed.

Star touched a button on her Pokeball, and Arcanine returned. She now had Brandon's Pokeball, which contained his Misdreavus, on her belt. "Asher…"

Asher turned away. He pulled up the hood on his cloak.

"Asher, come on. We need to…" she choked. "…we need to find somewhere to bury the body."

Asher sighed. "No…we don't."

"What…what do you mean?"

"Just like the Heartless, just like weak Nobodies, Brandon has become a part of darkness. His heart, his soul, his mind…all that's left…"

Brandon's body began to disintegrate and dissipate into the air.

"…is his body."

Asher began to step toward the gates. "Wait, Asher, stop!"

Asher paused.

"Asher, where are you going? Where are you going, we need to stick together!"

A droplet of water fell from the darkness of the hood of the cloak. Asher continued out of the gate.

Star held out her hand as if to pull him back. "No, wait…please don't leave me…"

Asher's figure disappeared from view.

"…alone."

Asher stood on a low cliff jutting from the side of Mount Olympus, looking solemnly at the sunset on the horizon. His head in his hand, leaning his back against the side of the mountain, he kept replaying that moment in his head. Sephiroth had just been so fast. If only he could have had a little more warning, he could have…

Could have what?

"Hm. I thought you said you couldn't talk to me anymore."

I said I couldn't help you in a fight. I'm in your head, now, Asher. I'll always be here.

"Great. I lose Brandon but I get to keep you. That just goes to show how great life is."

Life isn't fair sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't last long. It's all in how you live it.

"Shut up. I don't need a lecture from you, and I don't need your philosophy."

You need something. It's just like it's always been with you, isn't it? You have yourself a problem, and what do you do? You run away.

"I can't face her. Not after what happened. It's my fault."

How is it your fault he's dead? Did you kill him?

"I was there! I should have helped him…I should have…"

Should have WHAT, Asher?! You COULD NOT help him. It's as simple as that. It was beyond your ability to help him. Beyond anyone's ability. He was taken in by a darkness more powerful than you could imagine. You were taken in by the darkness that sprouts from Heartless. He was taken by the the dark depths of death.

"There…there still might be something I can do…if I do some research…I might find a way to bring him back!"

That's absurd.

"It's been done before. People have been revived…it takes powerful magic, but then the Keyblade is powerful."

Asher, stop deluding yourself. Even if it could be done, it shouldn't.

"You shut up! I need to make good on this! I need to fix this!"

IT WASN'T YOUR FAULT!

"I…"

Did YOU kill Brandon? No, Sephiroth did. Nothing you could have done could have prevented it. You have to ACCEPT that fact. Brandon's gone, and it is NOT YOUR FAULT. There's no bringing him back, Asher. It's best to leave the dead at peace.

Asher sighed.

Besides, we've got some bigger problems now. Like the fact that you've just run away from the girl you're trying to help. Remember the promise you made to make good on something else? Weren't you going to help get back all the worlds that disappeared, that were taken by the Heartless?

"I…I was."

But you're not doing that now, are you? Just like every other time something got bad, you're running away. Even with that Keyblade, Asher, you're nothing but a worthless coward.

"I'm no coward."

Then prove it! Get out there and help that girl beat the Heartless. Once you've done that then it's back to Trista. You can rest, and you can be happy.

"She won't even be able to look me in the eye…"

Are you so sure? Look below.

Asher peered over the edge of the cliff. A little dot of a girl was wandering at the foot of the mountain. He heard her voice faintly. "Asher…Asher, where are you?! Come on, Asher, I know you went this way!"

It doesn't look like she blames you. She's looking for you.

"Star…"

Go on down there. Helping her is the only thing that can get you back to Trista.

Asher descended the mountain.