"Man, I'm bored!" Liquorice yawned and stretched her arms. "We've been walking that corridor for an eternity now; when are we gonna get to fight?"

Indeed, the duo of Liquorice and Blu found themselves inside a long, white corridor, akin to the one where they had fought legions of Nobodies with their friends, moments earlier. The Spix's macaw had theorized they got teleported to a different part of Castle That Never Was, but even then, it didn't really help with their situation.

"Actually, it has only been about seven minutes, Liquorice. Not exactly an eternity," Blu corrected his partner.

The wolfess rolled her eyes at this. "I know, Blu. I don't need to know the precise time down to the minute. The point is: I'm bored and eager to begin our fight." She then noticed that her macaw friend was looking down with an odd expression. "What's with the face, Blu? Got somethin' on your mind?"

"Well, it's just that... I feel strange," the Spix's macaw admitted. "You know that I'm nervous by nature - whenever I move in to a place I don't know or get into a dangerous situation, my first reflex is to either get away or try to find safety in the closest place... Right now, we're about to face a strong monster, and I don't feel worried at all. That's unlike me..."

"Maybe it's because you've made plenty of progress with Ventus and feel confident enough to take these kinds of mission... Or perhaps you know you're safe with an awesome Padawan like me," Liquorice suggested with a grin and a wink.

Blu's cheeks turned a bit red. "Li, stop it! You know that I'm married!"

"But it makes your reaction all the more cute!" Liquorice insisted, causing Blu to blush even more.

Eventually, the duo reached the end of the corridor, walking down a staircase that led them to a white, circular platform in the middle of seemingly nowhere. This platform was decorated by rose patterns and four little pillars around, all of them also being decorated with rose patterns. As soon as they stepped on that platform, the passage and exit they took disappeared.

"Oh no! I don't like when the exit disappears after we enter: it's never a good sign!" Blu exclaimed.

"So much for that self-confidence you had earlier," Liquorice remarked with a roll of her eyes. She then slapped her paws together. "Alright, where's our opponent? I can't wait to kick his butt!"

"My, you are quite full of yourself, young lady."

Upon hearing that voice, the two friends turned around to see a figure standing on one of the pillars' top. A man, tall and elegant, cloaked in the Organization XIII attire. His blue eyes reflected nothing but hostility, and his shoulder-length pink hair danced a bit in the wind... Making Blu question where this wind was coming from. He said nothing, just staring at the duo... before hopping and gracefully landing on the platform, far from them, a gust of wind accompanied by flower petals halting his fall.

"You are burning with the fierce excitation of youth... While this energy can be good, it also can easily lead to mistakes - and mistakes leading to defeat. From where the importance of keeping an open sight... Especially when you have to face against one of the strongest members of the best group of Nobodies... Can I know what is amusing you so much?"

While in the middle of his speech, the pink-haired Nobody noticed that his wolf opponent had clasped her paws over her mouth, clearly trying to hold back her laughter. "Pfff... I'm sorry, I know you're trying to look all cool, imposing, and stuff... But what's with the pink hair?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" the man asked, visibly irritated to be made fun of.

"Huh, yes! How are we supposed to take you seriously when you do a speech supposed to inspire fear if you come out looking like a guy who's in touch with his feminine side?" Liquorice asked, no longer able to stop herself from laughing.

"I think I have a theory about the color of his hair and its meaning," Blu intervened. "In Japanese culture, pink is reminiscent of the cherry blossom, or sakura, the petals of which are associated with death. So, the color of your hair is supposed to reflect your association with death, right?"

The Nobody gave a smile and chuckled a bit. "Nice to see that at least one of you has some brains... To answer your question, that is exactly what my hair is supposed to represent. And look, I even have a death-associated weapon to support your claim." Reaching his hand forward, he summoned a scythe, the blade of which was rose-pink, just like his hair.

"... Seriously, dude? You can figure out meaning behind colors?" Liquorice asked. She placed her paws behind her head. "You have way too much free time on your wings."

"Hey! I don't have too much free time! I'm just well-educated, that's all!" Blu protested. He then grinned a bit. "Besides, don't pretend that you don't find this adorable..." This remark caused the wolfess to look away and hide a small blush.

"If you are done with the comedy act, I'd like to get our encounter underway," the Nobody called. "Oh, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself: I am Marluxia, the Graceful Assassin, number VII of Organization XII, and Lord of Castle Oblivion."

"'Marluxia'? Strange, for a Japanese, it sounds more like a Latin name," Blu remarked. "I'm Tyler 'Blu' Gunderson, adopted son of a librarian and mate to the future leader of the Spix's Macaw Tribe of the Amazon. But you can just call me Blu."

"And I'm Liquorice Loup, the girl who's gonna kick the Lord of Castle Oblivion into oblivion!" Liquorice declared. She didn't wait and launched her paws forward to send a Force Push towards her enemy.

Marluxia teleported with flower petals, re-appearing right behind the two friends. "Nice try, but it didn't work." He mumbled something into both Liquorice and Blu's ears, making them widen their eyes as they felt a curse being placed upon them. Just as their opponent teleported away again, a number appeared above the two friends: 32 for Liquorice and 15 for Blu.

"W-What's this thing?" Blu asked, passing his wing through the number above his head.

"This, my friends, is a special curse that is directly connected to your hearts," Marluxia explained. "Every time my scythe's blade connects with you, your number will be depleted by one. Should it reach zero, then you will die, regardless of the damage sustained at that moment... if you can survive that many strikes, that is..."

Liquorice narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. "Don't worry; we won't give you a chance to touch us even five times!" Reaching to her belt, she grabbed her lightsaber, the purple blade of which she turned on, and assumed her Form VII stance. Blu followed her example by making his Keyblade, Wing of Love, appear in his wing, and assumed his stance by holding it in a backhanded way.

"Oh? I get to face both a Jedi AND a Keyblade Wielder at the same time? Looks like it's my lucky day," Marluxia remarked with a smile.

Blu gave an analyzing look at his opponent. "Okay, Li, we don't know what this guy can do, so we better start off easy. Go to the left while I slowly-" But the wolfess already stopped listening, charging with a battle cry. "Liquorice! Wait!"

With momentum cumulated from her powerful legs, Liquorice swung her lightsaber, expecting to cut through her opponent and win the encounter in one go. However, that didn't happen. Marluxia's scythe blocked the burning blade, preventing it from touching its owner, like she thought it would. Grinning at the wolfess' surprised expression, the Nobody pulled her back and swung his weapon at her, the blade scratching her arm. While the damage wasn't too deep, it caused the 32 above her head to turn into a 31.

"Are you kidding me?! You barely touched me!" Liquorice protested.

"Unfortunately for you, even a small wound inflicted by Graceful Dahlia is enough to affect the curse," Marluxia explained, swinging his trusted scythe before resting it on his shoulders. "And, may I remind you again, as soon as that number drops to zero, it's game over for you."

Growling, the young Padawan once again got on the offensive, this time more prepared. Maruxia had expected her rank as a Padawan to mean she would be inexperienced and predictable... but to his surprise, she revealed herself to be a veritable force of chaos, striking with such speed and unpredictability that he had difficulty countering her. Nonetheless, he still got the chance to throw a few attacks of his own, reducing Liquorice's count to 28.

After ducking a swing of his scythe, Liquorice used a Force Push to send Marluxia crashing into one of the four pillars, making him groan in pain. However, he quickly recovered from it and began teleporting over and over again around the wolfess, swinging at her every time. Just as he was about to pierce her defense, a Keyblade came flying out of nowhere, forcing him to block it and then teleport away.

"Your recklessness is going to get us both killed one day, Li!" Blu exclaimed as he caught his weapon back in his wing and assumed his stance.

Marluxia tilted his head to the side, giving an analyzing look to the macaw. "This stance... I've seen it before..."

"Really? You must've meet Ventus then; he's my teacher," Blu explained.

"Ventus? Ventus... Oh, yes, I remember now," Marluxia said with a nod. "One of Master Eraqus' pupils alongside Aqua and Terra." He let out a mocking chuckle. "You must not be that big of a threat then."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" the Spix's macaw asked, almost displaying a glare.

"Are you not aware of your teacher's history? Long before the boy you're trying to save began his journey, Ventus and his two friends were set up in a trap by the leader of the organization the real me is part of. Not only have they failed to stop him, but they even caused the downfall of their own master. As for your teacher, after failing his mission, he was pulled into a sleep that lasted for a long time, missing a lot of important events he should have stopped as a Keyblade Wielder. This is not exactly what I can call a successful career. And you recently became his pupil, correct? In that case...," he leaned forward, "... you must be less than a weakling."

Blu took an eager step forward, tempted to give the Nobody a good beat down for insulting his teacher, but managed to regain his composure in time. "Stay calm, Blu; this is not the time to lose your cool. Just ignore what he's saying, and focus on a strategy..." Taking a deep breath, he re-assumed his fighting stance and charged to finally engage the encounter.

True to his Keyblade teaching, Blu led the fight with moves that emphasized speed and precision, moving all around his opponent to strike from everywhere. While it did give him a defensive advantage, notably by allowing him to avoid every enemy strike, he could not break through Marluxia's defense and land a single blow. He eventually decided to change tactics and kept his distance while shooting fire-based spells like Fira and Crawling Fire, the Gracious Assassin easily blocking them all.

"Why are you so stubborn with your fire spells? You can clearly see they're of no use against me! Are you hoping to make me pass out from the heat or something?" Marluxia sarcastically asked as he blocked yet another fire spell.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind!" Blu replied with a grin. He suddenly rose his Keyblade in the air. "Command Style: Firestorm!" The macaw's body glowed with flames, his eyes turning a fierce orange.

Marluxia widened his eyes a bit. "Is that...?!"

"Exactly: I wasn't using fire spells to hurt you, but to build my Command Style gauge until I could activate Firestorm!" Blu explained. "This should give me the boost I need to gain the advantage... A temporary boost, sure, but a boost nonetheless!"

Thanks to his Firestorm Command Style, Blu could now move faster and hit harder than before, allowing him to regain the upper hand over Marluxia. Whilst dancing around him, he delivered attacks charged with fire, burning his opponent every time. Try as he might, the Graceful Assassin could not touch the Spix's macaw - he was just too fast! His best option at the moment was to just teleport away while waiting for the Firestorm to pass out.

As much as he was having fun, Blu realized he could not play around for too long, as Firestorm was about to run out of time. "I gotta finish this in one go!" he mumbled to himself and then dashed at Marluxia to deliver his Command Style's finisher that saw him jumping in the air, charging energy, and hurling a fireball that erupted into multiple pillars of flame, burning Marluxia in the process. "Phew! Good thing I followed Ventus' advice and unlocked this Command Style, when given the chance," Blu mumbled as he felt tired from the technique he had just used.

Unfortunately, if he thought it was enough to ensure his victory, he was wrong. Despite his burning wounds, Marluxia managed to get back up and pierced a glare at the blue avian. "That hurt me... a lot...!" The Graceful Assassin summoned three circles of darkness over the platform, Blu finding himself on one of them and screaming in pain as it caused darkness damage. He jumped in the air to escape the spell, but this proved to be a mistake, as Marluxia followed him up in the air and proceeded to deliver a deadly combo of scythe attacks. Not only were the cuts painful, but they all caused the death timer to drop every time.

Liquorice watched that scene unfold before her eyes. A growl came out of her mouth and she bared her fangs in anger. Before she could jump in the action, words from the past told by her master echoed in her mind: "Remember, Liquorice: Vaapad is supposed to be an answer for your personal weakness. Use it to channel your inner darkness into something positive. It is more than a fighting style; it is a state of mind, a path that leads through the penumbra of the dark side. In order to master it, you need to thrill on the excitation of battle and know how to use your opponent's darkness against them. But do not lose your focus for more, or the dark side will consume you..."

Taking a deep breath before doing anything, the wolfess made sure to maintain her composure and remain calm. Once it was done, she once again rose her lightsaber and got into the action. By the time Marluxia had finished his combo on Blu, the poor bird fell on the platform, his death timer reduced to 2. The Nobody pointed his scythe at him with a grin. "Good effort, kid, but as I said, the disciple of a loser is destined to become a loser himself."

He rose his scythe, ready to deliver the finishing blows, when Liquorice used the Force to push him away, standing between him and her friend. "Stay away from him!" she declared with a glare. "Otherwise, I'll cut you down to pieces!"

Marluxia rested his scythe on his shoulder, rising a curious eyebrow. "I thought that Jedi weren't supposed to let anger control them? I doubt your master would approve."

"What my master doesn't know cannot hurt him."

"True, I know what you mean... Very well then, seems like your death timer is still pretty high. Let's see if I can fix that." The ambiance turned somber, with petals blown away in a strong wind as Marluzia's body glowed dark pink. "Allow me to show you my Limit Break, BLOOM-OUT!"

Far from looking intimidated, Liquorice simply smirked. "Wanna use the power boost thing? Alright! Vornskr's Ferocity!" Assuming a completely different stance from before, Liquorice bared her fangs, looking like a wild beast about to jump on its prey.

The clash began! Using his scythe as a wheel, Marluxia dashed across the entire platform, sometimes teleporting around, summoning pillars of darkness from the floor, and delivering devastating combos against his opponent. Yet, in spite of this all, Liquorice had no difficulty fighting back, blocking all the strikes, and even counter-attacking. In fact, it seemed like the two opponents were evenly matched.

Before long, they both came to a stop, taking deep breaths to recover from the effort. "... How... is that... possible...?" Marluxia asked, short of breath. "My Bloom-Out Limit Break comes from the strongest darkness in my heart; how can someone brush it off that easily?"

"How? I'll tell you how!" Liquorice answered. "My fighting style is called Form VII, or Vaapad. Basically, it's a style that requires me to feed on my opponent's inner darkness and use it against them. That's probably how I was able to make a joke out of your so-called Limit Break."

"What?! Can such a fighting style truly exist?" Marluxia asked in disbelief. "Regardless, we're on the same footing now; how's this going to end?"

"I can answer that!" Blu suddenly exclaimed, rushing to his friend's side. He took an elixir out of his fanny pack, some of which he drank before giving the rest to Liquorice.

"Alright, that's better!" the wolfess beamed, looking like she hadn't taken a single hit.

"Y-You had taken healing items with you?!" Marluxia asked, his eyes wide open.

"Of course... What, you don't think I'm wearing this just for style?" Blu asked, pointing at the fanny pack around his waist. "Come on, Li; let's finish him off! Together, this time."

"I was going to suggest it!" Liquorice declared with a grin.

Taking out their respective weapon, the two friends charged together and attacked Marluxia. Try as he might, the Graceful Assassin could not take on Liquorice's brutality and Blu's speed, agility and precision, finding himself quickly overwhelmed. After taking many hits, Blu managed to knock the scythe out of Marluxia's hands, leaving him open for Liquorice's incoming attack.

"No, wait! I yield before the strongest-" Before he could finish his sentence, Marluxia found himself with a purple blade through his abdomen. Unable to do anything but accept his defeat, he closed his eyes and faded away, turning into a little key.

"Ah! That'll teach you to mess with my friends!" Liquorice boasted as she took the little key. She then turned her attention to her partner with a sorry expression. "Listen, Blu, I'm sorry for charging head first without trying to fight with you next to me. I was so certain I could beat that guy because of his pink hair..."

Blu placed a wing on her shoulder and smiled. "Hey, it's okay to make mistakes, Li. You have friends willing to help you when they happen, luckily... Strong friends who can do great, too," he declared, trying to take a cool pose, only to end up looking clumsy.

Liquorice rolled her eyes and grinned at him. "Stop being so ridiculous and adorable! Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to cuddle with you all night long..."


RDJ and Shenzi came out of the light that teleported them away. "Wow, I got butterflies in my stomach!" the hyena laughed. "I wanna do it again!"

The bounty hunter, however, did not share her pleasure. "What is this place?" They had appeared in what looked like an old tactical training field, with barricades that could be used as cover and abandoned facilities. An interesting detail was that all these barricades and facilities had shot marks over them.

"This looks a lot like the places you go to with your friends to practice gunfight," Shenzi remarked in amusement.

"Yeah... That's why I'm worried," RDJ responded. The two friends started walking across the abandoned field, looking for their opponent. At one point, Shenzi came to a stop, turning her head. "What's going on?"

"I think I heard something...," the hyena explained.

Following her example, RDJ sharpened his ears, trying to detect any sound that would be out of the ordinary. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Shenzi, look out!" He jumped in time to pull his animal friend out of harm's way, a laser blast scratching his shoulder before hitting the ground.

"Where'd that come from?!" Shenzi asked in shock.

"From there," RDJ answered, narrowing his eyes in the direction of one of the facilities' rooftop.

Standing there was a member of Organization XIII, judging from his black cloak. In terms of facial features, he sported golden eyes, pointy ears, upturned eyebrows, and dark hair with several grey streaks tied into a long ponytail. He had a scar on his left cheek and a pirate eye patch on his right eye. The two sharp pistol-like weapons in his hands made them understand he was the one who just shot at them.

"Almost taking the shot for your friend? Quite admirable - I almost feel warm and fuzzy inside," the man said with an almost mocking smirk. "You do know the job of bounty hunter does not come with an insurance policy, right?"

"Who in the Outlands are you?" Shenzi growled, baring her fangs.

"Whoa, easy there, pup. I can't tell you my name when you're barking at me like this," the shooter casually said, waiting for the hyena to stop growling. "That's better. Now, to answer your question, I am the Freeshooter of Castle That Never Was and number II of Organization XIII, Xigbar." He turned his eyes (well, his one eye) towards RDJ. "I heard about you. You're that guy they call the Brazilian Bomber, right?"

"My reputation is known even in the Virtual World? Flattering," RDJ mused as he adjusted his cowboy hat.

"Let's just say the person I'm based on likes to keep an eye on everybody capable of holding a long-range weapon in the Magical World. Just in case they end up becoming competition later on," Xigbar explained. "Y'know, when The Inventor said my opponent would be a bounty hunter, I struggled to believe it. What brought you here? Got the heroic fiber? You, of all people, should know that putting other people ahead of yourself won't ever bring you any good."

"That's not true!" Shenzi protested. "The current queen of my land - who may or may not be one of my kids - is of a very altruistic nature. And guess what, since she became queen, our land has never seen better days!"

"It's just because she happened to be friends with the prince of the Pride Lands," Xigbar countered. "Yeah, I'm aware of your world's story, too. Had your queen never crossed paths with the Lion Prince or whatever, being altruistic wouldn't have been an option."

"You're wrong, Xigbar," RDJ said, twirling the lollipop in his mouth. "It's precisely because Jasiri has been altruistic and inspired the other members of her clan to do the same that the Outlands can thrive today. They are no longer seen as enemies of the Circle of Life because they have learned to share and play their part in it. In a certain sense, they're not that different from us, bounty hunters. It's okay to be greedy, but we mustn't ignore the power of kindness either."

Xigbar scoffed and turned his head to the side whilst looking at the Brazilian Bomber. "My, what soft words for a supposed tough guy. Have you lost so much dignity that you're okay taking on big jobs for little bread crumbs?"

"Well, to be honest with you, I accepted to come here in exchange for a bounty of 20,000 dollars."

An awkward silence settled before Xigbar comically dropped on his head. "What?! 20,000 dollars?! You go around making speech about altruism and putting other people ahead of you when you're even more greedy than I am?!"

RDJ shrugged with a sheepish look. "A good bounty hunter is still a bounty hunter, right?"

The Nobody rubbed his forehead in disbelief. "Hypocrite..." He regained his composure. "Anyway, bounty hunter, queen, or anything else, I can't let you foil my master's plan. When he gets Sora's heart, he'll be able to move in the Magical World and take all of us with him."

Understanding there was no room for negotiation, RDJ stepped forward. "How about you come down here so we can properly start our little confrontation?"

Xigbar scoffed. "As if! I prefer staying here while you have fun with my 'little friends'." Snapping his fingers, he made Sniper Nobodies appear around the duo.

"Cheater! That was supposed to be us against you alone!" Shenzi declared with a frown.

"You don't win in life by playing the rules. Having teamed up with a tyrant, you should know it better than anyone else," the Nobody replied with a smirk.

The two friends exchanged a nod, Shenzi taking out her twin daggers and assuming her fighting stance, whilst RDJ reached on hand forward. "Primary Weapon: D-3 Elite Commando!" A sigil of green magic appeared and out of it came a gun that RDJ took in his hands. An assault rifle that was green with yellow stripes and 'D-3 Elite' written in yellow on both sides. An FN-P90 with an integrated 4x Zoom Scope that also had a suppressor equipped and a foregrip underneath the barrel. This weapon was designed to shoot magic blasts in rapid succession. It had a high fire rate magazine capacity, and good accuracy, but could sometimes be hard to move.

As the Snipers began shooting at them, RDJ and Shenzi engaged the combat, with the bounty hunter running around, shooting volleys of magic blasts at the Nobodies. He expertly dodged all their laser blasts, rolling around and taking cover behind the barricades scattered across the field. As for Shenzi, she went beast mode, running around and cutting down the Snipers with her daggers before they could even try to shoot at her.

Seeing as his opponents were making it through, Xigbar decided to join in the fun by combining his two pistols into a makeshift sniper rifle and taking aim. Luckily, RDJ took notice of it before he could shoot his first blast. "Shenzi! Take cover!" he yelled. The hyena jumped next to him behind the barricade, providing them cover from Xigbar's sniper laser blasts. Unfortunately, they could no longer come out and fight the Snipers that also shot blasts at them.

"What do we do now?" Shenzi asked, ducking as a laser blast took away a piece of her mane.

"We stand no chance against all of them here; we need to change positions. There!" RDJ exclaimed, pointing at one of the nearby facilities. "Listen, Shenzi, once I give the signal, we start running in this place and take cover as soon as we're in, got it?"

The hyena rose a curious eyebrow. "And how are we supposed to get there without being taken out by One-Eye, over there?"

Giving her a grin, RDJ once again reached his hand in the air. "Gadget: Flash Grenade!" When the little object popped out of the magic sigil and into his hand, the Brazilian Bomber didn't waste any time removing the pin and tossing it over the barricade. "Don't look, Shenzi!" The little grenade exploded in light, blinding the Sniper Nobodies and Xigbar, but not to the same extent. "Now, let's run!"

Not wasting a second, RDJ and Shenzi hopped out of their cover, running towards the abandoned facility whilst taking out every Nobody in their way. By the time he recovered his sight, Xigbar tried to shoot at them, but missed every time, letting them take cover in the building. "Well-played, cowboy," the Freeshooter mumbled with a grin.

Shenzi peeked through a broken window. "Now what?"

"If Xigbar wants a sniper duel, then I'll give him one. Sniper: Silver Beak!" Summoning a new sigil, RDJ brought another weapon in his hands, this time a sniper rifle that had the head of a sparrow with a silver beak. It was mostly dark blue, cyan and silver in colors. "I'm gonna take him out with this. Meanwhile, don't let any of his little buddies get anywhere near me, okay?"

After receiving a nod from his hyena friend, RDJ took position on one of the windows, looking through his rifle's scope to aim at the cowardly Nobody. Before this last one could understand what was going on, RDJ shot a magic blast across the field and straight into his shoulder. Thus began a sniping duel between the two of them. Despite Xigbar being a good shot, RDJ maintained the advantage by constantly changing positions and shooting from different angles.

Understanding he wasn't going to win like this, Xigbar just gave up, stood up, and teleported to the ground. Shenzi had already taken care of every Sniper Nobody by that point. "Come out now, Cowboy, Pup!" he called, separating his two pistols. "You said you wanted me to face you head on? Well, now's your chance!"

RDJ scoffed. "It's now that he accepts..." Pulling all the weapons he had taken out thus far, the Brazilian Bomber stepped out of the facility to meet their opponent alongside Shenzi. "Backup Weapon: Dual Vipers!" The Dual Vipers were a pair of dual pistols that were mostly brown, black and gold in color. While not too powerful, their rapid rate of fire made them weapons to not underestimate.

"Wanna do that the easy way or the hard way, One-Eye?" Shenzi asked with slamming a fist in her paw.

"Hmm, let me think...," Xigbar said, thinking with a mocking expression. "How about... the fast way?"

After asking that, the Nobody began teleporting all around the place, levitating off the ground as he shot rapid volleys of lasers at his opponents. However, it was nothing that the two friends couldn't handle, RDJ expertly flipping around, taking cover when needed, and shooting with his dual pistols when given the chance, whilst Shenzi simply parried the shots with her daggers and attacked Xigbar in close combat when she managed to reach him before the next teleportation. Xigbar's attacks had a high range, but he also had a slow reloading time.

"Dang it! This is not going the way I was hoping!" the Nobody groaned, coming to a stop while clutching his wounds. "Had The Inventor not taken that option out of my program, I would definitely run away from this fight... But since it's not possible, then I guess I'll just have to give my strongest shot and hope for the best... CRITICAL SNIPE!"

Xigbar's body started glowing with silver-gray energy, making him float off the ground. Seeing the malicious smirk on his face and sadistic expression behind his stare, RDJ widened his eyes in shock. "... Shenzi, run, now!" The bounty hunter and hyena warrior ran as fast as they could. Xigbar began teleporting all around even faster than before, shooting volleys of silver-gray lasers that were faster and more powerful. Despite doing their best, they could not dodge forever, and eventually, Shenzi got hit in the back by a laser that knocked her to the ground. "SHENZI!" RDJ exclaimed in horror.

The hyena passed out from the hit and was now lying on the ground. At the same time, Xigbar teleported in the skies and started summoning laser blasts that came at the duo from everywhere. Seeing no other solutions, the Brazilian Bomber jumped on his friend, protecting her with his body. As the tens of lasers hit him, he pushed groans of pain, his outfit getting torn and his cowboy hat knocked off his head.

Eventually, the lasers ceased to come and Xigbar came down many feet away from his opponents. Somehow, RDJ was still standing on his feet, visibly hurt and struggling to stay conscious. "You're still alive after all that? Hum, seems you're as tough as your reputations says," Xigbar remarked with a chuckle. "But it's over now. I told you that no good would come from putting others ahead of yourself; you're just lining up to fall one after the other."

Fighting through the pain, RDJ managed to give the Freeshooter a defiant glare. "... Gadget: Flare Gun!" Grabbing the little red pistol in his hand, the Brazilian Bomber pointed it at his opponent.

"Oh? You still wanna go at it?" Xigbar asked. "Very well, then. Let's do this cowboy style: one shot at the same time. The best shooter wins while the other loses."

Xigbar pointed his pistol at RDJ and charged it for a powerful laser blast. Whilst this was happening, RDJ's body started glowing with a burning orange energy, gritting so hard that his lollipop actually shattered like glass. With a glare, he raised his flare gun. "FIREBIRD SHOT!"

Both opponents shot at the same time. Whilst Xigbar's charged blast was powerful, RDJ's flare turned into an actual bird of fire that thanked the blast and directly hit Xigbar. As he got knocked to the ground, dropping his two pistols, the Nobody glanced at the bounty hunter with his one eye. "How.. did you...?!"

"It's because of what you did to Shenzi," RDJ simply said, pointing at his unconscious friend. "See, while my weapons shoot magic blasts, they are still connected to the magic within me, meaning that they can get affected by my feelings. You hurting my friend powered up my flare gun to the point it easily crushed whatever you could shoot at me." He narrowed his eyes. "You think altruism is a weakness? Sorry, Xigbar, but it's exactly what allowed me to defeat you here and now."

A few seconds of silence passed before Xigbar weakly chuckled. "I'll be cursed... How do I hate it when life proves me wrong..." As his body started fading away, he looked at RDJ and said: "Nicely done, Cowboy...," before disappearing, a little key taking his place.

RDJ went to pick up the key before turning to see Shenzi approaching him with his cowboy hat. "I think this belongs to you."

"Thanks, Shenzi," the Brazilian Bomber gratefully said as he took his hat and placed it back on top of his head, where it belonged. "Are you okay?"

"Ah! It'll more than a few light hits to take me out!" the hyena leader boasted. She then placed her paws on her hips and gave a smug look. "That was a beautiful speech you did back there. If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you have feelings for me."

RDJ's cheeks turned red, making him cover his face with his hat. "I... do enjoy your company, Shenzi, but let's keep it professional, shall we?" He then groaned, looking at his damaged body. "I need to get to the closest clinic ASAP. You think Logan will accept to pay us double, if he sees me like this?"


After coming out of the teleportation light, Darkmare and Vincent found themselves on a circular platform with four pillars exactly like that where Liquorice and Blu fought Marluxia. Two noticeable differences, however, were that they didn't have rose patterns, just the traditional Nobodies' symbol, and that the endless world around them was dark rather than white.

"Are you familiar with this place, Dark?" Vincent asked after giving a quick look around.

"Yes. I have been here many times in the past... And I just so happen to know who we're about to meet," the Vampire-Werewolf Hybrid answered.

Just as he said that, a portal of darkness appeared before them, out of which came a large and tall man wearing the Organization XIII's attire. He was very angular with strong features, including a square chin, straight nose, and sharp cheekbones. His hair was ginger in color and slicked back into messy spikes.

Despite this man's strong presence, neither Darkmare nor Vincent seemed intimated, maintaining their composition. "Organization XIII's Rank V, Lexaeus," Darkmare simply said.

"Did we ever meet before? I can't remember," Lexaeus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We did not have the chance to meet personally, however, I am familiar with the franchise you come from... Well, the character you are the replica of, I mean," Darkmare explained. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Sir-"

"Cut it off! I didn't come here to chat or make new friends; my master instructed me to crush anybody I come across that isn't a Nobody!" Lexaeus bellowed. He summoned a huge Axe Sword in his hand - the same he used to take out Logan when they captured Sora - and made a large black, red, yellow, and purple aura power up around him to create a solid gust of wind.

Still maintaining his composure, Darkmare did not flinch and simply changed his calm expression for an annoyed one. He sighed while his black hair danced in the gust of wind. "Why must I always face up against the incendiary ones?"

"Wanna take him out together?" Vincent offered, getting his Dirge of Cerberus gun ready.

"That won't be necessary; I will end this fight before you get the chance to be bored," Darkmare politely declined, stepping forward as Vincent jumped to stand on one of the pillars.

"Fool! You think you're strong enough to face me on your own?!" Lexaeus asked. "You're gonna regret your arrogance!" With a battle cry, the Taciturn Stalwart charged, swinging his Axe Sword at full strength-

CLANG!

Lexaeus remained still, his face twisted by shock and disbelief. He had pulled a lot of strength behind his attack... So how could that puny gentleman block it by simply pressing the tip of his knife against the bigger blade? "W-W-What the heck?! How is that even possible?!"

"You must not be a very good swordsman. Otherwise, you'd know that there is no strength in swordplay based exclusively on force," Darkmare remarked, having not moved by an inch nor even looking fazed.

Try as he might, Lexaeus could not push his Axe Sword any further, regardless of the strength he pulled. "It won't move! What sorcery is this?!" the Nobody asked in disbelief. "This can't be right!"

Pulling back, Lexaeus began swinging his Axe Sword at Darkmare with all of his strength and ability. Yet, the Vampire-Werewolf Hybrid merely side-stepped and ducked to avoid every swing, looking more like he was performing a dance rather than engaging in an actual fight. After dodging about twenty swings, Darkmare finally decided to counterattack by cutting through Lexaeus' shoulder with his knife.

"Dang it...!" the Nobody groaned with a painful frown.

"... Hit me with your strongest attack."

"What?"

"I said hit me with your strongest attack," Darkmare repeated himself. "We both know that you will not win by simply swinging your weapon around. I know that you can do more, so show me the best you can do, if you want even the smallest chance of winning."

His face twisting into an even bigger frown, Lexaeus growled with a vein popping on the side of his head. "DON'T TELL ME HOW TO FIGHT!" Charging up his power even more, the Taciturn Stalwart kept attacking with brute strength, swinging his Axe Sword everywhere and even summoning rock pillars from the ground to help himself. None of this mattered, however, as Darkmare kept dancing around him, avoiding every attack with grace, and occasionally slashing at him with his knife.

"I'm going to repeat myself again. Hit me with your strongest attack," Darkmare said, not even feeling the slightest bit amused by this mockery.

Lexaeus panted heavily, covered in wounds from his opponent's knife. "... What is this joke? Even Xemnas couldn't push me around that easily. Are our power levels really that far apart?" Sighing, he narrowed his eyes and rose his Axe Sword again. "Alright then, I'll concede to your demand. But don't complain once you're turned to dust! AYERS ROCK!"

The Organization XIII member's body exploded with more red energy than ever before, creating the strongest gust of wind so far. He jumped far away from the platform and charged towards Darkmare with his Axe Sword pointed forward. The Vampire-Werewolf Hybrid pulled away his knife, opting to take out one of his daggers instead. He waited for the right moment before jumping up to meet his opponent midair.

SLASH!

Both opponents remained still for a few seconds... before Lexaeus' Axe Sword shattered into pieces. "How... could I...?!" he mumbled before collapsing, his body fading away in darkness before turning into a little key.

"Please, forgive me," Darkmare said with putting his dagger away. "It is not my intention to inflict humiliations like this upon others... But it was required to save young Sora. People like him are the future of this world, after all..."

Vincent hopped down from his pillar to rejoin his friend. "I almost had time to feel bored back there. We can practically say that our presence in this quest was a waste of time..."

Darkmare chuckled a bit. "Don't say this, Vincent; we need to flex our muscles every once in a while, otherwise, we'll become rusted like mummies." He then looked at the little key with a thoughtful look. "I just hope the younglings are doing as well as we did..."

Author's note: And three more victories for the team! That makes a total of nine out of the ten required to save Sora. We just need Logan to win his encounter to seal the deal!

I don't know why I choose to put Liquorice and Blu against Marluxia; I could just picture this fight happening, in my head. True to be told, I hesitated between them facing he or Saix, but ultimately, I went with Marluxia. As they mentioned in this chapter, Liquorice fights using Form VII, or Vaapad, the same lightsaber form used by Mace Windu, her master. One of the things that bothers me the most with the content Disney made out of Star Wars since acquiring the franchise is that they practically make no use of the complex and well-detailed lightsaber forms that George Lucas carefully created, and only have their characters swing their lightsabers around with little to no strategy. This is what prompted me to give an actual form to Liquorice rather than having her just swinging her lightsaber around. Though I'm not really familiar with the different forms, so I had to use a wiki to get her style accurate.

With the way Blu can use different spells of the same element and the Command Styles, you probably guessed that I based his Keyblade powers around Birth By Sleep. Not surprising, considering his mentor, Ventus, is one of the three protagonists of that game. But don't worry; I still intend to make Blu develop his own style rather than just being a copy-paste of his mentor. A fun little detail: Blu having his fanny pack from Rio 2 is so that he can carry items like those used in KH and RPG games rather than just popping them out of nowhere, like Sora and Riku. I just thought it'd be an amusing touch to add.

RDJ was the one I was looking forward to writing in action the most, getting him to fight Organization XIII's sharpshooter with all sorts of guns and war gadgets. Also, because Xigbar is just a fun character to write, having his laid-back personality clash with RDJ's since they're both bounty hunters of some sorts. Of course, I had to make it clear that our Brazilian Bomber has a better sense of morality, with him believing in altruism enough to protect Shenzi from such a powerful attack. But in the end, he's still a bounty hunter, expecting a reward for every job he takes.

As for Darkmare's fight... I don't have much to say; that's the shortest fight so far. It's only after adding him to the team that I realized there wasn't anybody in Organization XIII that could fight him on even footing, you know, since he's over a century old with more experience than almost everybody in the Magical World. Maybe I could've pitted him against Xemnas... but that would've been too much like a final fight. And that final fight is reserved for Logan, GOT IT?! *sighs* Calm down. Anyway, in the end, I opted to pit our Vampire-Werewolf Hybrid against my personally least favorite member of the Organization to basically make a squash match.

Next time: Logan begins the final fight to rescue Sora!