Sora reappeared in a flash of light just like he had disappeared.
"(Groan) Aqua? Where are you?" Sora asked as he looked around curiously. He then paused as he recognized his surroundings.
"No! It can't be! How am I all the way here?" Sora asked as he realized that he was within the Castle that Never Was. Havoc's Divide, more specifically, the area he fought and defeated the Tenth member of Organization XIII. Suddenly another light appeared next to him, dropping Stitch in its place.
"Stitch! Are you okay?" Sora asked as Stitch hopped onto his hind legs.
"Ih." He replied with a nod.
"Okay, so…how did we get here?" Sora asked confused.
"It is the way of the Mirage Arena." Emperor Mateus's voice boomed as a massive semitransparent image of him floated up into view and proceeded to stare down at the two. Sora summoned his Keyblade and glared up at the tyrant.
"What do you mean?"Sora asked angrily as Mateus smirked.
"Why, didn't your 'master' explain the nature of the arena to you?" Mateus asked as Sora shook his head.
"No, she never had a chance to." Sora replied.
"I see. It's actually quite simple. As its name implies, Mirage Arena creates a mirage, a place familiar to the warrior within it that would suit the challenge ahead. In this case, I believe this is an apt location for your first opponent." Mateus explained as a glowing grey and black sphere appeared with a small deck of cards appearing inside. It was another Absent Silhouette and Sora recognized this one.
"Let the games begin." Mateus said with a sinister laugh before disappearing. Instantly the sphere exploded in an upward burst of black smoke like energy and then a swirling wall of giant playing cards appeared around it before sliding off into two opposite directions, revealing the smirking blond haired Gambler of Fate himself…Luxord.
Sora immediately felt a strange feeling, the same feeling he had felt when he first faced Luxord, the feeling of his time starting to dwindle down. Stitch growled at the Gambler of Fate and extended his extra arms with the blasters still in them. He aimed the guns at Luxord and fired immediately as Sora's helmet materialized on his head. Luxord didn't even flinch as the glowing green globs of energetic goo fired from Stitch's gun barreled towards him. Instantly a large playing card appeared between him and the glob, absorbing the attack like a shield.
Sora then charged forward, Keyblade raised but Luxord merely smirked and disappeared in another whirling circle of cards which then fell flat onto the ground, face down, and moving around erratically. Sora knew this game. He had to find which card was Luxord's card and attack it.
"Stitch! Don't move!" Sora ordered as Stitch did exactly as told. He watched the swirling cards for a moment before finally he chose one and attacked, however it was a decoy and it exploded in his face.
"That never happened the first time!" Sora yelped before he noticed the other cards had stopped moving and were shaking more and more erratically in place. Stitch quickly bolted forward and slammed into Sora, knocking both of them free from the resulting explosion.
"Whew, that was a close one. Thanks pal." Sora said as he leapt onto his feet. Luxord reappeared in a swirl of cards, arms crossed and a smirk across his face.
"He's playing dirty now! He's changed the rules! That means…I need a card of my own to play…and I've got just the one to deal with you Luxord! Someone who plays by his own rules!" Sora exclaimed as he fished into his pocket and raised a red pendant with a pair of chakrams on it. Immediately it started to glow with a fiery red aura before exploding in a burst of flames to reveal Axel in his Organization garb.
"HEEEEERREEEEESS AXEL!" Axel shouted with a grin as his chakrams appeared in hand.
"Axel!" Sora exclaimed as Axel grinned back at him.
"Heh, called me in to deal with an old friend eh? Heh, good call. Follow my lead. Hey Luxord! Time to cut the DECK!" Axel shouted as he, Sora, and Stitch leapt back into battle where Luxord disappeared again into the swirling deck.
From within an observation room within Mirage Arena, Mateus arched a curious eyebrow as he watched the fight between Sora, Axel, and Stitch, against Luxord.
"Hmm." Mateus said thoughtfully.
"Your eminence, isn't that against the rules?" Gabranth asked as Mateus continued watching the fight.
"The purpose of this first fight is for me to observe his fighting style. In retrospect I believe that the Gambler of Fate was not the best option. However, perhaps his next opponent might pose a greater challenge in the next round." Mateus said.
"And what of the fight right now?" Gabranth asked.
"Let them have this easy victory for now. Let them savor it and be lulled into this false sense of security so that it will be easier for us to crush him in the end." Mateus replied as Gabranth gave a respectful nod.
Back in the mirage of Havoc's Divide, Sora, Axel, and Stitch, clearly had the upper hand. Whenever Luxord would try one of his card games, Axel would quickly incinerate the cards, ending the game prematurely and leave Luxord open to attacks which Sora and Stitch would quickly follow through with.
"Hey you're fighting pretty well there little guy!" Axel said to Stitch after the latter ping-ponged off of Luxord's forehead with the force of a cannon ball.
"He's helped me out of a jam lots of times Axel!" Sora replied as Luxord summoned a number of large rolling dice onto the field, which started rolling down from the top to the bottom of the sloped platform.
"This is new!" Axel exclaimed as he hurled fireballs at the dice but to no avail. Stitch kept hopping up on top of them, kicking them out of the way of his comrades, laughing maniacally all the while.
"The little guy's insane!" Axel shouted. Sora however suddenly froze as he recalled an image of Stitch in a strange orange jumpsuit in his alien form, battling a giant grey shark like monster in a black jumpsuit. Sora immediately realized it was one of Ven's memories and that Ven and Stitch had both met before as well. At that, Sora smiled.
"Nope, he's a genius! He's got the brain of a supercomputer! He was originally programmed for destruction before he turned good! He could potentially bring total annihilation of civilization! He'd back up sewers, reverse street signs, and steal everyone's left shoe!" Sora exclaimed with a laugh.
"Also cute and FLUFFY!" Stitch shouted before he cannon balled into Luxord's chest, causing him to start staggering slightly and Sora could sense his (Luxord's) time was almost used up.
"Alright, now for the final blow!" Sora said as he leapt towards Luxord, his Keyblade glowing with a bright white aura before he drove the blade into the ground directly in front of the former tenth member. Suddenly the large mural like image from his old Trinity Limit sleight appeared on the ground spreading out from where the Keyblade touched the ground and instantly, massive columns of light erupted from the ground, causing Axel and Stitch to shield their eyes from the sheer power. Sora had learned his final Shoot Lock, the Trinity Drive.
The light finally faded, revealing Sora still in his armor and Luxord still standing before them. Luxord then dropped to his knees with a grunt with his fist raised towards Sora. He opened his fist, dropping a pair of dice on the ground. He glanced at the resulting throw and started turning transparent before finally disappearing. The resulting dice throw was a two, snake eyes.
"You know, that was easier than I thought it would be." Axel said as Sora's helmet disappeared again.
"Yeah. The past couple of battles have been easier for me. I guess it's because I'm getting stronger. Aqua says I'm getting close to reawakening Ven's heart and once it's awake, then I'll be a master and be able to restore him like I'm supposed to." Sora said, placing a hand on his chest.
"Well, good luck with that one buddy. I better get back to Twilight Town. Hayner says he's gonna show me the ropes at Struggle. I'm actually looking forward to it. See ya round Sora. Be sure to tell Roxas and the babe with the blue hair I said hello okay?" Axel said as he started glowing with the fiery red aura from before.
"I will Axel, and take care!" Sora said with a wave. Axel grinned and tapped the side of his forehead.
"Got it memorized?" he asked before disappearing in a burst of flames, leaving his pendant floating in midair where he stood. Sora quickly grabbed it and stuffed it back in his pocket.
"You fought pretty well yourself Stitch. Just like old times right?" Sora asked as Stitch leapt onto his chest and started licking him, causing Sora to laugh.
"Alright-alright! You know, did you ever meet a guy named Ven? Blond spiky hair, wielded a Keyblade kinda like me?" Sora asked as Stitch froze. He looked at Sora for a minute before hopping down onto the ground and looked back up at the Keyblade wielder.
"Ven…friend. Ven…Aqua…Terra…friends. Friends…Ohana." Stitch said slowly.
"Ohana?" Sora asked, confused.
"Ohana means family. Family means no one get's left behind, or forgotten. It's little…and broken…but still good. Yeah. Still good." Stitch explained.
"I know Stitch. I'm going to do what I can to help bring Aqua's family back together again." Sora said as the room faded out around them.
Elsewhere…
Aqua appeared in a beam of light within a large metal chamber with a strange assortment of glass tubes in alcoves all around.
"Odd. This place doesn't look familiar to me." Aqua said as she glanced around.
"It does to me." A voice said behind her. She turned around and was surprised to see…
"Tina!" Aqua yelped as Tina approached her, nervously wringing her hands as she looked around.
"Looks like we're going to be together in this fight." Tina said as she continued looking around.
"What is this place Tina?" Aqua asked.
"It's a place of darkness and death. It's where Kefka killed hundreds in my world. It's his tower." Tina explained. (A/N: For those who have played Final Fantasy Dissidia, imagine the Kefka's Tower arena.)
"So that means we're going to be facing that insane clown here huh?" Aqua asked as Tina nodded.
"Yes. We'll need to stop him here if we can. We just mustn't lose hope." Tina said as Aqua nodded.
"Hopes aren't worth DIRT!" a voice growled behind them, causing them both to jump and whirl around to see Kefka inside of one of the glass tubes.
"Kefka!" Aqua growled as her helmet and Keyblade appeared.
"I'm going to destroy…EVERYTHING!" Kefka declared as a burst of magic caused the glass tube to shatter.
"Back off you crazy clown!" Aqua ordered as Kefka hopped out of the remnants of the glass tube.
"Oh we are going to have so much fun together! I cannot wait to start!" Kefka said with insane glee.
"I cannot allow that! Now tell me where my apprentice is!" Aqua ordered as Kefka smirked at her.
"HEE-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!" He laughed, "I'm afraid the mouse is SMACK-!"
Aqua and Tina both gasped in horror before Kefka continued.
"-Dab in the middle of enemy territory! But you should have seen the looks on your faces!" Kefka laughed.
"Enough talk Kefka!" Aqua growled, causing Kefka to sigh in mock despair.
"(Sigh), I hate guys like you the most. You make moments like this seem so…so…BORING! So then we need something to spice it up a bit. I KNOW!" Kefka exclaimed before disappearing in a burst of smoke. Aqua and Tina looked around frantically for a moment before a strange looking crown appeared on Tina's head.
"Huh? Oh no! Aqua LOOK OUT!" Tina exclaimed before she turned and fired a Blizzaga blast at her. Aqua was caught off guard and knocked up against a nearby railing.
"Tina?" Aqua asked in disbelief.
"I can't stop myself! He's got control of me!" Tina cried as a long yet thin sword appeared in her right hand. Kefka then appeared behind her, dancing around with glee.
"Let the party BEGIN!" he shouted happily as Tina started glowing with a strange white energy from her abdomen.
"OH-NO! AQUA!" Tina cried out as the light started to envelope her.
"Tina! What's happening?" Aqua asked confused.
"She's nothing but a weapon! Her heart's been fused with those of a species native to our homeworld and as a result, she contains their great power and now I can use that power, to DESTROY! HEE-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!" Kefka laughed insanely as Tina let out a pained scream and was fully enveloped within the light. Aqua leapt to her feet and raised her Keyblade in a defensive posture just in time for a pink blur to slam into her and throw her across the room and through another glass tube. Fortunately the armor bore the brunt of the impact.
Aqua dropped down to the floor and looked up to see that Tina's body had sprouted pink fur and her hands had become large claws with talons on her feet. Her hair had also turned a matching shade of pink. Aqua looked at Tina in shock as Tina growled at her like a feral beast. Aqua could see in her eyes however, a look of pleading and remorse.
"I don't want to fight you Tina, but I am going to snap you out of this!" Aqua said as Tina launched towards her with a roar. Aqua quickly threw up a reflega shield, causing Tina to bounce off harmlessly and allowing Aqua time to leap up and deliver a painful downward blow to her side, sending her plummeting into a lower level filled with a strange assortment of pipes. Aqua flew down after her only to be hit by a round sphere of ice and knocked into the air.
"Tina! Come on snap out of it!" Aqua pleaded as she aimed her Keyblade at the feral Esperkin. Tina growled again and fired a wave of glowing white spheres of energy at the Keyblade Master. Aqua lunged to the right in midair, dodging the spheres and firing off the Rainbow Shower Shoot Lock simultaneously. The bolts hit Tina head on, followed by a second wave, and then a third before Tina started glowing with a red aura. Aqua landed on the ground and stared up at Tina before she launched a massive fireball, at least twice her own size, straight at Aqua. Aqua cartwheeled out of the way but the fireball bounced right off the flat surface and started bouncing around like a giant deadly ping-pong ball. Aqua quickly leapt over the railing and into the pipelined sublevel below just as the fireball crashed into where she was standing mere seconds ago and exploded. She could hear Kefka laughing maniacally above her.
"All this destruction is so EXCITING wouldn't you agree my dear?" Kefka asked maliciously as he leaned over the railing while staring at Aqua. He then tried to spit on her from over the edge.
"You disgust me Kefka!" Aqua yelled as she hurled a Firaga at him that nearly hit him head on had he not ducked back in time.
"Missed-me-missed-me-now-ya-gotta-kiss-me! HEE-HAW-haw-haw-haw-haw!" He chortled as he leaned back over the railing just as Tina darted down towards her opponent. Aqua stood her ground as Tina continued to charge for her. Just as it seemed Tina was about to grab her, Aqua used Magnega and leapt up into the air, bouncing off of Tina's back to force the Esperkin into the swirling Magnega. Aqua then turned and started unleashing a flurry of magic spells on her until she entered Magic Wish just as the Magnega dispersed.
"Alright, let's see how you handle this!" Aqua said challengingly as she barraged Tina with Blizzaga spells until Tina was frozen in place. Aqua used this opportunity to lunge forward and snap the crown off of Tina's head before smashing it on the ground, grinding it under her boot for emphasis. Almost instantly Tina reverted to normal and the ice melted around her.
"Huh? Is that it? I WANNA PLAY MORE!" Kefka whined before nearly getting hit by a Thundaga spell. Aqua was still in Magic Wish and she intended on using it up on the Mad Mage.
"Come here you!" Aqua shouted as she cast Magnega but Kefka leapt up and away, reappearing behind Aqua and firing throwing a small blue sphere that slowly hovered towards Aqua. Fortunately she had the sense to leap out of the way before it exploded in a colossal blast. Aqua landed on a platform on the opposite side of where Kefka stood, her Command Style finally exhausted.
"Augh! I hate-hate-hate-hate-HATE YOU! You've ruined my fun! Oh well, it doesn't matter! I can't say that I didn't have fun for a while." Kefka said with a contented sigh. Aqua glared at him from across the chasm between them.
"You really are mad aren't you?" Aqua asked as Kefka snorted.
"Oh? Well at least I'm not the one who is truly blind as to what's really going on!" Kefka said as Aqua arched a curious eyebrow.
"What are you talking about?" Aqua asked as Kefka mockingly shrugged.
"But that would spoil all the FUN! You'll have to find out for yourself, my dear." Kefka said maliciously before vanishing in a Corridor of Darkness. Aqua looked down and saw that Tina was staggering around and was about to fall over when Aqua caught her.
"Easy there Tina, I've got ya." Aqua said as her helmet disappeared and she helped the poor woman lie down on her back.
"Aqua…I'm so sorry." Tina said weakly.
"It's okay. You couldn't control yourself. I understand." Aqua replied as Tina choked on a tear.
"You're too kind to me. I would never have meant to do you any harm. Now you know why I'm afraid of Kefka." Tina said as Aqua nodded.
"I do, but you can't let your fear of him prevent you from doing what must be done. One of these days, you'll have to face him personally and it'll rely on you to do what must be done. I have faith that your heart will see you through the battle." Aqua said as Tina smiled at her, neither of them noticing as the arena started fading out around them.
"Thank you, Aqua. You're a good friend." Tina said before resting her head back and falling asleep. Tina then disappeared in a flash of light as Aqua stood up. As she did though she was stunned at the new arena that had appeared. The new arena was a simple circular platform, not unlike the Station of Awakening but very noticeably different. It was a black arena with spots of red on the ground. On one side of the arena was a long flight of stairs that led down and on the other, sitting on a slight elevation was a hideous black stone throne with a large backrest adorned with carved skull-like images. It was like standing atop a tower in the middle of a volcanic wasteland. The sky was black with clouds and what she could see of the sky was a haunting blood red sky. Massive jagged swords, as large as the tower itself stood stuck in the ground at various angles. The smell of ash filled her nose and the soft rumbling of the volcanoes could be heard on the wind. The heat was also horridly bad.
"What…is this place?" Aqua asked with a mixture of awe and horror.
"It is known as the Edge of Madness." A voice behind her said. She whirled around with her Keyblade ready to see the dark armored Judge Gabranth climbing the steps towards the top of the platform. (A/N: Visual reference for the arena: Think the FF Dissidia level of the same name).
"You!" Aqua said as Gabranth came to a stop several feet before her, but with his swords at his sides.
"This is a facsimile of what the throne of the god Chaos looks like. I figured the terrain would be fair since there are no real advantages here to be had. It would offer a fair fight." Gabranth said as Aqua looked at him curiously.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Aqua asked as Gabranth coupled his swords together into a single double-blade and used his free hand to remove his helmet, revealing a man with very short yet slightly curled brown hair and a chiseled face. Gabranth then replied…
"My name is Judge Gabranth and I seek a fair fight."
End Chapter 26.
I'm using the Edge of Madness for Gabranth and Aqua's battle scene for two reasons. First, it's the level most associated with him in Dissidia, and second…I've never played Final Fantasy XII so I wouldn't know what his final battle arena would look like.