A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts

by Jebest4781

Venturing outside of the Heart of his Somebody, a Nobody enters a World where it's at the brink of self destruction. Will he be able to handle and survive the Game of Thrones. Rated M for language, violence, etc. Pairings hidden at current time. KHXGoT/ASoIaF CoWritten by free man writer. Cover Image by Carlos M. Please leave reviews.

30. The Hand's Tourney PT 2

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Disney, Square-Enix, Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire or anything else. They rightfully belong to their respective owners.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Writing/Singing

"Foreign Language/Flashback"

-Scene Shift-

Chapter 30: The Hand's Tourney Part 2

Upon the rising of the sun of the new day, a number of people went along their respective forms of business. The smallfolk getting on with their morning rituals in the capital, servants doing their chores in the Red Keep, so on and so forth in the pale dawn light.

For Ned Stark, he had a number of errands to perform this day before the upcoming melee.

The Hand had to do a number of pleasantries last night, which he could've used that time for more important matters. Yet he couldn't spend all his time in his office as he needed some time to unwind from the amount of stress building up since arriving at the capital.

But with some form of pleasure being taken care of, business had to resume in his nature.

Having woken early this day to resolve a number of tasks in the Tower of the Hand, Ned now made his way towards the Tourney grounds. His ears picked up quite the amount of noise going around as servants and workers were busy getting everything prepared. For a number of hours from now, the Melee will commence.

Walking over a bridge, the Stark patriarch felt the cool summer breeze hitting his face. Some forms of overcast were hanging in the sky, helping cover the blazing sun. And while a sea of clouds were sweeping overhead, Ned traversed through the sea of tents along the earth.

Passing by each one, he can see a number of tourney attendees slowly creeping out of them in their own respective manners. They no doubt wanted to get up at a reasonable time and get ready for the day. Unfortunately, Ned saw a handful of them carry a tole from going overboard last night by indulging themselves.

The Hand didn't pay them much mind as their problems weren't his to deal with.

Traversing towards the collection of private pavilions, Ned saw a number of people already having breakfast at the tables. Some were knights and nobles who didn't have the opportunity to board at the Red Keep. Others were as he had spotted a few familiar faces, who he gave a small "good morning" to them as he passed on by.

Ned would've joined them, but his mind was focused on other matters. He can dine with the others once his present business is taken care of.

The Stark spotted a tent, marked with the seven-pointed star. And it was there that he finally reached his destination.

He had meant to do this yesterday, but a number of things had withheld him from doing this.

Entering the tent, he saw a banner of House Arryn draped over the late Ser Hugh.

And Ned wasn't the only person within the space.

"Lewyn, Ser Barristan."

The two men looked over and silently greeted the Lord Hand as the Stark silently stood beside them. From there, the new arrival silently paid his respects.

Neither men didn't have to see that the massive wound on Hugh's neck was already patched up by the Silent Sisters some time after the Vale knight died by Gregor's happenstanced action.

And no matter how many times the Northerner saw the Silent Sisters, they always made him feel uneasy all due their eerie silence.

After standing there, quiet as a dormouse, Ned spoke up. "Been meaning to ask, but does Ser Hugh have any family here in the capital? The Vale, perhaps?"

"None at all." Barristan said sadly.

"We at least stood vigil for him last night after the festivities ended." Lewyn added in.

It was quite sad that Hugh had no one to grieve for him as he was all alone in the world. No family, no lover, no one who would actually miss him.

Even if Barristan and Lewyn attended the proceedings -along with a handful of others- it wasn't really the same as neither of them really knew the man who served under the late Jon Arryn.

For now, his body will be kept here until the end of the Tourney. He will be brought back to the Vale by those who are from there -who are presently here- to be properly buried at the Eyrie.

Gazing upon the armor carefully placed beside Ser Hugh's body, Ned couldn't help but voice a comment. "He'd never worn this armor before."

There was hardly a scuff or a dent along the armor's surface. There had to at least be a few to show how long it's been actually used. Only now, it looked like it would've been passed down to someone else who can use it more now.

"Bad luck for him, going against the Mountain." Was Lewyn's response as they eyed the covered corpse in sympathy.

"He was Jon Arryn's squire for four years and didn't have much experience after being knighted." Barristan brought up. "I fear he was never ready."

"None of us will ever be." Said Ned.

"For knighthood?"

"For death."

It was quite the grim response, but it was something which at least needed to be addressed.

The silence stretched on until Ned decided to speak up again. "Who determines the draw?"

"All contenders draw straws, Lord Stark." Answered the Martell.

"Aye… But who holds the straws?"

Ned suspected there was some sort of corruption in this tourney which led to Ser Hugh's "convenient" death. He was lucky Cloud was able to extract a number of details from him for his investigation into Jon Arryn's passing, but the Northerner suspected there might've been something else the former squire knew and/or witnessed. Perhaps something which was overlooked at the time and was unfortunate in not looking into further at the time.

Exiting the tent, the three began walking through the field as they basked a bit in the nice summer weather.

"Life is strange." Barristan began. "Not so many years ago, we fought as enemies at the Trident."

"I'm glad we never met on the field, Ser Barristan, Lewyn; as is my wife. I don't think a widow's life would suit her."

While Ned was a decent swordsman, he only survived through sheer dumb luck. Ser Barristan the Bold was in a league of his own as was Lewyn Martell. After all, both are heralded as some of the best warriors Westeros has ever seen.

Though Aerys was a Mad King, the Knights he surrounded himself with were nothing short of geniuses with their swordsmanship.

Barristan and Lewyn chuckled in their own manner when they reminisced.

Both can remember parts of how the Battle at the Trident went out. And in a way, they were thankful for who they respectively fought against.

Lewyn and the Dornishmen under his command went towards Robert's left flank. Ventus ended up covering it as both he and his assigned bannermen broke through the Dornish forces. The Keybearer clashed against the Martell and at its end, the young warrior kept the elder one alive so he may see his family again.

Baristan, however, couldn't exactly remember who severely injured him, if it was one of the Rebel bannermen or one of the Unversed. Next thing he knew, he was brought before Robert in order to be judged alongside Lewyn. At its end, both of their lives were spared.

"You're too modest. I've seen you cut down a dozen great knights." Said the Kingsguard commander. "And quite the number of Unversed as well."

"Don't sell yourself short, Lord Stark. It doesn't hurt to take some pride on how you survived, despite the circumstances." Added in the Martell.

The Hand merely let out a small sigh. "My father once told me that you were the best he'd ever seen, Ser Barristan. I never knew the man to be wrong about matters of combat."

Lewyn ignored the bit of him being left out of Ned's comment as the Martell never met Rickard Stark.

As for Barristan, a frown soon formed on his lips as bitter memories surfaced.

"He was a fine man, your father. What Aerys did to him and your brother was a terrible crime."

Barristan was and to this day, still a loyal member of the Kingsguard, the elite soldiers sworn to protect the king. When Aerys II rose to power after his father's passing, it was his duty to protect him and his family and never question the king's decisions.

How foolish a notion that was.

Selmy had eyes which had personally witnessed the deaths of many of the king's subjects; Rickard and Brandon Stark being chief among them. He would always remember the feeling of dawning horror when Aerys complied to Rickard's request of Trial by Combat, only to announce his champion would be not of a human being but that of wildfire. Rickard's screams of anguish as he was burnt alive, not of his own pain but of him witnessing his eldest son strangling himself to death so he may reach a sword out of arm's reach in order to free himself.

That very image alone still haunts him -and Lewyn- to this day as it'll be forever burned into his memory.

Gazing around the tourney grounds being assembled, Ned voiced a small complaint as he wanted to switch the topic of their present conversation. "Still wish this didn't have to happen. War should not be treated as a game."

"And yet the king means to fight in the melee today."

Lewyn snorted aloud. "Like that'll ever happen."

"Robert tends to do what he wants." Barristan reminded his old friend.

"If he got what he wanted all the time, we'd still be fighting a damn rebellion… or worse." Ned grumbled out.

"They say the children of wine are often disowned in the morning light." Barristan wisely said.

Lewyn gave out a chuckle. "Too true, old friend. Reason why I limit myself on drink each night if it weren't water."

Nearing the king's pavilion, which was near the river, Ned broke away from the two older men. He then traversed towards the largest and grandest tent of them all, made of golden silk. Outside the entrance, Robert's signature warhammer was displayed beside an immense iron shield blazoned with the sigil of House Baratheon

Ned was momentarily greeted with Ser Meryn Trant, who presently stood guard. The Kingsguard member said nothing, but allowed him access to enter the king's tent.

For some brief moments, the Stark expected to see his old friend still sleeping in to recover from the hangover he perhaps got last night from drinking so much wine and beer. And sadly from there, some servant girl he brought to bed for the upteenth time; gods knows the actual number.

Instead, the Hand saw Lancel -Robert's squire- attempting to dress his king in his armor; presently being the chestplate.

"It's made too small, your Grace. It won't go." Nervously stated Lancel.

This was a sight Ned did not wanna see this early in the day as it would ruin his mood a bit further. Robert in a partial state of undress of cloth and leather clothes, fitting garb for wearing under armor. Yet Lancel struggled to work with Robert's wide sides and his bloated, hairy belly which was on full display along with part of his chest.

It wasn't a pretty sight in more ways than one.

Ever since seeing him again back at Winterfell after nine years, Ned grew disappointed in his old friend. Robert was at a good pinnacle form of physique back in his prime. The Baratheon actually took good care of himself back then, mostly due to his rigorous training so he may properly wield his heavy warhammer and swing it with utter ease; with one hand no less.

The Baratheon, however, can only hold it up for a certain amount of time, given Cloud's conversations on training the king.

Robert was unfortunately not the same man he had once been, neither was he to be honest. Robert had never been the brightest nor the most honorable, and detested anything political like himself. But to see the Demon of the Trident, a man whose name had made lords and knights quiver in their britches and behind the safety of their homes, was reduced to this.

Ned could barely recognize him anymore. And the sources stem from Lyanna's kidnapping and death to Ventus' departure.

"Your mother was a dumb whore with a fat arse. Did you know that?" Robert spat before spotting his Hand at the tent's entrance and addressing him. "Look at this idiot, Ned! One ball and no brains. He can't even put a man's armor on him properly."

"You're too fat for your armor." Ned answered succinctly.

Robert stared at Ned with a small glare. "Fat? Fat, is it? Is that how you speak to your king?" The Baratheon then bursts out into a hearty laughter, which didn't last long. The moment Lancel let out a chuckle, he turned on his squire with a serious expression. "Oh, it's funny, is it?"

Lancel quickly became anxious and tried to correct himself to appease his king. "No, your grace."

"No? You don't like the Hand's joke?" Said Robert, looking offended.

Lancel glanced between the Hand and the King, his nervousness increased tenfold. And by the looks of it, he might be shitting himself any second now.

Taking pity on the Lannister, Ned spoke up. "You're torturing the poor boy."

"You heard the Hand." The King's voice rose. "The King's too fat for his armor! Go find the breastplate stretcher, now!"

Lancel immediately bolted out of the tent, and not a second after did mirthful chuckles fill the air.

"The breastplate stretcher?" Ned questioned with a knowing smile. "I doubt there's one in existence."

"That's the point." Chuckled the king, walking over to a nearby cabinet to retrieve a small bottle of wine and a pair of glasses. "How long do you wager he'll run around like a headless chicken before he figures it out?" Joked Robert. "My bet's on an hour at the latest."

"Perhaps you should have one invented to save the trouble."

After speaking this, Ned momentarily wondered if his little jest could prove some merit. It may prove useful as he wondered how much time and money could be saved. Armor costs quite a lot, depending on the quality. With such a contraption, the possibility of resizing them for others through inheritance or salvaging after a battle can help out a lot. It would no doubt be better than melting the material and remake the armor from scratch.

"So there's talk of you and the queen had angry words last night." Ned brought up, remembering some gossip he heard this morning and on some parts of the festivities last night.

The king huffed. "The woman tried to forbid me from taking part in the melee. I still know how to point a lance and swing a mace. Your sister would never have shamed me like that."

"So you say. She might've been fine with you participating… years ago. Now? Now she would have told you have no business in the event. And I would be inclined to agree with her."

Robert never knew Lyanna as he did. The king only saw her outer beauty, but not the iron underneath it. There was the true beauty the late She-wolf truly held.

"Why? Because I'm king? Piss on that. I want to hit somebody!" He said, soon pouring himself a cup of wine.

Robert had to sit on the Iron Throne when he must. Does that mean he can't have some hunger like any other man? Some wine here, a bed warmer there and riding on a horse every so often. The king just wants to hit some unfortunate bastard so he may get his blood pumping. It's been far too long since he's been in a proper fight, let alone a brawl. Not only that, but he wanted to fight alongside his future good-son for a brief time before combating against him.

The tent was mostly silent as Robert gulped down his wine, finishing the glass and already working on refilling it.

Ned held a concerned look and spoke. "And who's going to hit you back?"

Robert glanced back, already knowing a number of people who would like Cloud, Roxas (hopefully) and most certainly Oberyn.

Instead of voicing the list of names, the king merely responded with "Anybody who can".

Ned merely sighed. "There's not a man in the Seven Kingdoms who would risk hurting you."

Robert soon gave his old friend a look. "Are you telling me most of those cowards would let me win?"

"Aye. It wouldn't be exactly fair." Said the Hand before ripping off the bandage with some wise facts. "Most of the participants would feel like they'd lose their lives or be severely punished if they were to harm you. And it won't even be any better with how much you're drinking right now, making you greatly lose your focus in this dangerous event and perhaps lose your life through happenstance."

Robert merely gritted his teeth in frustration, knowing Ned's words to be true. And if he were to survive through some form of drunkenness he might experience out there, he would be an utter laughing stock.

The king exhaled a sigh as he visually deflated with all of the excitement he bore earlier left him. He would merely have to sit on the sidelines like everyone else and enjoy the event with everyone else rather than just participating in the Melee.

Thinking about it now, despite the amount of hours Cloud had put him through his rigorous training, Robert was not fit to take part in the melee.

It no doubt stung the Baratheon king's pride.

Pouring wine into another glass, he soon brought it towards Ned. "Drink."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Drink. Your king commands it." Robert insisted, making Ned comply and drink the beverage. "Gods! Too fat for my armor!"

With the king grumbling as he soon sat down, the Stark voiced a thought. "Your squire…"

"He's short witted for a Lannister, but Cersei insisted I take him in. No doubt to toughen him up, one way or another. Heh~ Have to thank Jon Arryn for her, I suppose." Robert sounded miserable at that.

"Cersei Lannister will make a good match," he told me. "You'll need her father on your side." Robert grumbled out. "Damn you, Ned. You, Ven and Jon… I loved you all and you three helped put me on the throne. At the time, I thought being king meant I could do whatever I wanted. Oh if I knew back then..."

If Robert was being honest with himself, he was never so alive as when he was winning the damn throne -practically taking it from Rhaegar in the process- and never was so dead as now that he won it. And Cersei. She's lovely to look at, but she was icier than a Northern Winter on its coldest day.

It wouldn't take much to figure out the reason why. Robert kept sleeping with any women he set his eyes on if they were willing to comply with his advances. That particular detail no doubt put a massive wedge into their marriage.

"More than once, I've dreamed of giving up the crown." Robert admitted, hardly surprising his Hand as he knew this beforehand. "Let someone else take the damn burden as I sail towards Essos with my horse and hammer. But do you know what stops me? The thought of Joffrey on the throne with Cersei standing behind him and whispering all sorts of things into his ear. How could I have made a son like that?"

"I wouldn't know for sure, Robert. I didn't take part in raising him."

"True. Jon despaired of me often enough, yet I grew into a good king."

Ned didn't voice a response to that, merely keeping quiet on it.

"C'mon Ned, say I'm a better king than Aerys and be done with it. You never could lie for love nor honor."

Ned didn't exactly answer that, merely changing the topic in their conversation. "So who do you think will be our champion for today's melee?"

Robert snorted, the question amusing him. "My bets go towards Roxas or Cloud."

"Either one of them are quite the contenders. Same with Prince Oberyn, Ser Garlan Tyrell and a handful of others."

"Aye. But none are like those two. Even Ventus would struggle with their like. Their skills are unlike any we've ever seen." The king then rose from his seat and walked towards the tent's entrance. "Enough of this! Let's go see them fight. At least I can smell someone else's blood."

"Robert…"

The tone Ned spoke with drew in Robert's attention. When looking back at his old friend, he saw him pointedly looking towards his exposed belly. The king finally took notice of his less than kingly appearance.

"Oh! An inspiring sight for the people, eh?" Robert rumbled with laughter. "Come! Bow before your king! Bow, you shits!"

That would no doubt be a sight to witness. Seeing the utter horror of quite the number of people seeing their king's oversized gut.

-Elsewhere-

"He sees the Darkness, he who fears no end. Charging deftly towards the battle, Light that makes the Darkness Bend."

"That's the eighth one today, right?"

"Not very original. That rhyme was just awful."

"Sounded pretty original."

"Oh yeah? 'Loud is the boot of the Cloud that fell the Mountain.' How's that for original?"

Cloud Strife chuckled as Roxas rolled his eyes at yet another bard singing a song about the actions that the Keybearer has done here and across Westeros as a whole.

The pillar of Light of the North, The Key of Heroism, even Lightbringer from one of the Bards.

It was getting a bit annoying for him really.

Mostly how they all sounded the same. Light heart, dark heart, darkness, this, that, just all about slaying monsters and fighting.

Why not one about Sea-Salt Ice Cream?

That'd be a nice change of pace.

Cloud arched his brow down at the teen, taking note that while he appeared "bothered", it was considerably different from being annoyed at the songs.

In fact, they've already heard a number of bards singing about Roxas' exploits and he made most sarcastic and casual remarks about them. He never really actively complained about them.

It was almost like he was doing this intentionally to distract himself.

"Prince Roxas." Said a number of highborn women who passed by the two, fluttering their eyelashes and making sure their… other features were visible to be seen for the young boy.

He ignored them overall, face deep in concentration and while a few appeared irritated there some that seemed to swoon even further by this action.

Roxas could only imagine the increase of numbers if he wasn't betrothed to Myrcella.

The greater Nobody did hear some passing comments in his present actions, either being too focused for the coming melee or wanting to be faithful to the princess and not responding -let alone looking- at other women in such fashions.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Cloud said after a few seconds of silence.

"Huh?"

"You're brooding worse then I am right now." Cloud remarked. "Somethin's eating at you. What's bothering you so much? And don't tell me it's nothing cause there clearly is something."

Roxas didn't want to respond at first but the look Cloud gave him made him cave in.

"A few things, really." He admitted.

"So…" Cloud rolled his hand as a gesture of saying 'go on'.

Roxas sighed aloud with his head hung down.

"I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place with this betrothal I got roped into."

Cloud hummed. "Yeah, wasn't really your choice was it?"

"Not at all." Roxas groaned out. "I didn't want to marry Myrcella. I don't wanna marry anyone. I don't even know how long I'll be in Westeros. I wanna go home eventually."

"Home?"

Roxas held a reminiscent gaze now, the sound of a clock tower bell ringing in his ears distantly.

"Twilight Town."

Outside of the World that Never Was, Twilight Town was the closest thing he can consider being his home. And in part, the North was a good runner up as he was treated well there and there were hardly any issues at all which he can't deal with.

"Twilight Town? Can't say I've been there before." Cloud said. "What's it like?"

"...Peaceful." Roxas said, snorting a moment later. "When it wants to be."

"Isn't that every World?" Cloud murmured underneath his breath for only Roxas to hear. "Still, what's a name like Twilight Town? What's so special about it?"

"It sits at the edge between the borders of Light and Dark, which means there's hardly any conflict at all. The biggest one there could be there is just day to day issues, apparently."

"So you say…"

"But there's this place…" Roxas had a longing look to him now as well as one that was somber. "This one place I used to go to everyday and watch the sunset with my two best friends… I wanna go there again."

"Why don't you?" Cloud asked. "You know you can easily."

Roxas shook his head. "Did it once, but it wasn't the same without them."

Cloud could only hum once again, feeling a bit sympathetic on the idea.

He could remember the days of his childhood where such a similar thing occurred with Tifa. Them having their own special spot over at Radiant Gardens where they could watch the countless stars littering the sky with no light pollution at all.

"So the betrothal is bothering you still." Cloud said,changing back to the conversation they had a moment ago.

"That's putting it mildly." Roxas grumbled. "Now there's Sansa and Tyene and…"

"Yeah, saw that with Tyene." Cloud shot his fellow blond a slightly amused smirk at Roxas hanging his head down in a depressed manner. "But what's this about Sansa? What, she kiss you too?"

Roxas didn't answer but his flustered face was more than enough of a response to answer Cloud's question.

"Oh boy." Cloud murmured. "You're in for a rough one."

"Don't you have some kind of advice?" Roxas asked almost pleadingly.

Cloud shrugged. "Couldn't tell ya even if I could."

"What? But what about uh… what was her name again? That girl in pink, Aerith right?" Roxas said. "And there's also Tifa. I remember seeing those two from Sora's memories. Tifa punched a wall looking for you."

"Aerith just helped me get out of my funk and Tifa… it's a bit complicated with her." Cloud said offhandedly. "Though her punching a wall sounds like something she would do."

"How-"

"It's complicated." Cloud gritted out, now he was… well he wasn't flustered but he clearly didn't wanna talk about it.

"Aw come on." Roxas whined. "You know what's going on with me. Can't you tell me your thing. Maybe it'll help mine."

The look he got from the talled swordsman was all the answer Roxas needed.

"Fine." Roxas groaned. "Be like that."

He wanted to get some insight on his recent issues.

The Keybearer would've spoken of these things with his friends from Wallachia this morning, but wasn't able to get the opportunity. He did imagine a little on some responses like Trevor saying 'sly dog' or something of that nature prior to Sypha slapping him across the head. Said woman could perhaps give some advice, but she doesn't have any experience with romantic relationships. Same can be said with Alucard.

Of course there was no possible way he would seek advice from Oberyn, Robert and Ned.

Oberyn would be much like Trevor. Robert is a mixed bag due to him constantly going after other women instead of his wife. Yet the king would perhaps have some issues with this as it does involve his daughter. And Ned -in his mind- might want to kill him on what he did with Sansa.

But when getting onto the issue with his… Heart…

He placed a hand over his chest and held a conflicted look as he thought back to the night prior with Sansa.

That… that was a heartbeat.

He knew it was.

But… he was still a Nobody, wasn't he?

Did he not have a heart?

Wasn't he supposed to be empty?

He was still a Nobody wasn't he?

His mind drifted back to the prior night, the moments he has with Myrcella, Tyene and Sansa. To what the latter two did to him.

Running a hand through his hair, he shook his head slightly at the kisses he got from both of them. Really made his brain all scrambled and his body was reacting way to weirdly for his own taste.

The kisses he received were forced… if one can call it that. He was assaulted in such a manner, but it never went beyond that.

Ok maybe not forced but seriously, he didn't ask for it!

Then again, he didn't push back against them when they did kiss him so…

The Keybearer was just confused and still doesn't know how to work through it all.

With Myrcella and Tyene, he was embarrassed as it was done as a spectacle in front of many. Sansa's case was the opposite as it was done privately and away from others. The first kiss he got from the Stark girl was a surprise like with the blonde princess and the Dornish bastard, but the second made him feel something... else.

While the kisses he received from Myrcella and Tyene were sudden, he didn't get the chance to really… act upon them. Sansa, however, he seemed to… savor it? Like it?

Not to mention the kiss he received last night from her… he didn't know how to describe it. It might've been his imagination, but did he feel a heartbeat? From his chest?

...If he would have reacted differently and done something at those times, would something else occur? For better or worse? It's one of those "what ifs" which makes many ponder on what could've been…

Perhaps once the tourney was over, he could round the three girls up, take them somewhere private and talk things out.

They are his friends and he wants to clear things up with them so there can be a better understanding of their relationship. Especially since he didn't want any form of blame to be tossed onto someone else to ruin and damage what they have with each other.

Letting out a sigh, Roxas glanced at a bard that sang yet another song about him as he continued to walk alongside Cloud.

Oh how he wished he could grab the instrument and bash it to a nearby rock or tree so he can let loose some of his frustration on his current mess.

Luckily for him, he can do so during the melee. The instrument would've been a wasted effort.

With that, he just quickened his pace so he may not hear more of the song.

Walking through the forest of tents, the two blondes soon came across the section where the Dornish people were set up. They soon passed by a number of them, who gave their curt greetings. While some were heavily towards Roxas, a good chunk were aimed at Cloud.

"Looks like you're really popular with the Dornish." Roxas commented.

"I thought I already was." was Cloud's dry response. "Nymeria and Obara are basically ready to throw themselves naked at me."

"Well after what you did to the Mountain the other day, figured the people of Dorne would like that a lot." Roxas remarked.

"And now, I got more stalkers on my hand." Cloud deadpanned.

"Could be worse."

"How could it be worse?"

"Things usually can be." Roxas said with a shrug.

Cloud only sighed as the two entered the tent personally set up for the two of them.

In it were two propped up beds and in between them were their two Chocobo's comfortably resting and chirping with one another in conversation. Whatever it may be is beyond their owners' understanding.

Upon entry, the two growing birds swivelled their heads around and they both began chirping excitedly at them.

Cloud wordlessly pulled out a piece of dry bacon and tossed it at his black Chocobo who quickly gobbled up his treat.

Roxas simply went over to scratch his Chocobo's head who chirped happily.

"They're getting bigger each day." he commented.

"Give it another several weeks." Cloud said, seating himself on his bed. "They should be good to ride then."

Roxas only hummed to himself, grabbing a piece of chicken that had been set up in their tent by the servants and gave it to Chocho.

Watching as the bird ate, a strange thought occurred in Roxas' mind. "Would this be considered cannibalism?"

Cloud arched a brow, watching as the golden yellow Chocobo happily ate the meat of a bird slightly of similar stature and species.

"Not sure." Cloud muttered. "Best not to think about it too much."

"You're probably right."

Shrugging, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and made a few practice swings.

Since there was a bit of time to kill, both warriors were getting ready for the melee. And for the most part, they were a bit eager to cut loose.

Of course, Ned approached them earlier and requested they hold back to some degree. A lot of the participants were honest men, even if they would be fighting just as fiercely.

The Mountain, however, was fair game as the man needed to finally pay for all of the vile actions he's done over the years.

Roxas would be lying to himself if he were to deny the feeling of instant contempt he held towards the man every time he saw him.

It wasn't just the despicable actions he had heard the man commit, it was something else.

Something deeper within him he couldn't properly explain but it was difficult to ignore.

All he could think of whenever he spotted the Mountain was delivering a wicked punishment to the vile man.

Shaking his head, Roxas swung his Keyblade several more times with a lot more aggression.

Something his fellow blond took note of.

"Something on your mind?"

The Nobody snorted derisively. "You can say that, Cloud."

"Still got some time before we need to make it to the melee field." Cloud pointed out.

Dismissing his Keyblade, the Nobody exhaled a sigh. "Have you ever had this… unbridled feeling against someone. Wanting to take them out to make you feel better?"

Cloud let out a 'hmph' of morbid amusement.

"You have no idea."

Roxas gazed at the swordsman questioningly with Cloud letting out a sigh.

"I take it that since you are Sora's Nobody, do you at least know of Sephiroth?"

"...More or less. All I know is you having a grudge against him. And it was because of him that you wound up on this World after your last clash."

Cloud's expression darkened "That's putting it mildly. Think of how the Martells feel against Gregor and Tywin, times it by some number in your head and then quadruple it."

"That bad?"

"He and I have a history that hasn't been settled." Cloud stated, resting his arms on his knees. "Last we fought, it was back in Hollow… er, Radiant Garden. We clashed and then I lost him."

"Lost him?"

"I thought once winding up on this World, he wouldn't be that far away from me. Apparently not as he was nowhere in sight. Either he woke up before me and bolted to lick his wounds or ended up elsewhere. I searched for him and that's when we met up at the Twins."

"Do… Do you think he's here somewhere?" Roxas asked with Cloud silently contemplating on this matter.

"If he is, I would have felt his presence or he would have made himself known by now." Cloud said with a shake of his head.

"What did he do anyways?"

Cloud's expression slowly became sour as bitter memories surfaced.

"Destroying my home was the least of his crimes."

With that said, the Blonde Wolf exited the tent; leaving the greater Nobody questioning what Cloud meant.

Roxas gazed at the flapping curtain of the tent before feeling a light peck on his leg. Glancing down, he saw Chocho looking up at him in concern with Roxas giving the Chocobo a small smile.

"I'm alright Chocho." Roxas assured, patting the growing bird on the head. "Just need a moment."

Jojo, on the other hand, looked towards where Cloud left and bore a contimplented look on his visage as if he wanted to go after him. But the blackened Chocobo wasn't able to as he could've gotten lost in searching for him. And he knew his "father" wouldn't like that.

Moments later, horns were heard echoing across the tourney grounds, signaling the beginning of the melee.

Rolling his shoulders, Roxas exited the tent and made his way towards the Melee grounds.

After walking for a number of minutes, the Nobody arrived at the designated tourney field. He saw the gathering assembly of spectators slowly seating before the event finally took place.

Cloud was off to the side, his Fusion Sword on his back with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

Asides from the two blondes, there were nearly seventy men present to take part in the melee. The majority of the competitors were freeriders, knights, hedge knights and apparently a number of lords who Roxas and Cloud didn't bother to know of. Said people were mounted on horses and holding their personal or House banners they belonged to so the attendees can spot the competitors for the time being before the event finally commenced.

Other people, like Roxas and Cloud, merely stood in the field as they didn't bother wanting to deal with fighting on a mount. Not to mention they also didn't have a banner with them, either out of choice or necessity as they were easily recognized right away like what members of the Kingsguard who signed in to take part of the melee.

As they awaited for the opening speech to be given, Roxas walked over to Garlan who was presently glaring daggers elsewhere. The Tyrell was wearing fine armor as it was tinted green in color as he rested his palm on his sheathed sword handle while the other hand was tightened as it hid behind his shield.

"You doing alright there?" Roxas asked, making the Tyrell realize the Keybearer had approached him.

Garlan momentarily broke his concentrated look as he addressed the Keybearer. "I'm alright. Just focused, is all."

"Who wouldn't be in this particular event." Said Oberyn, who jumped into the conversation as he walked right over.

The Red Viper primarily wore light leather armor with a metal pauldron on his left shoulder along with metal vambraces and grieves, which the Nobody could tell were crafted by the Moogles at Toboh Mott's shop. And aside from the spear firmly grasped in his hand -which was also made from said shop- there were a number of daggers strapped onto his person and some accessories he started wearing as of late when combating against the Heartless and Unversed.

It seemed rather excessive for this melee, but Roxas won't really judge the Viper's preferences. It's Oberyn Martell after all. He did things by his own paces.

"I don't see you possessing a helmet, Oberyn." Garlan noted.

"Never liked them." Oberyn remarked, running a hand through his hair.

"I bet your family nags you on that."

"More or less."

"Would you not be willing to put your family's heart at ease at least once?"

"And ruin my reputation?" Oberyn cheekily stated. "Come now, your brother Willas would be one of my most open critics on this matter."

"How you two are still friends over the years still astound me." Garlan muttered under his breath.

"I think he recognizes my charm." Oberyn said, a suave smile in place before he took stock of the assembled combatants. "Don't mind me asking this, but I don't see your younger brother here on the field. Is a late comer or-"

"My brother was planning on taking part in this. But after what occurred yesterday, he withdrew his participation." Was all the galant Tyrell said as he pointed towards his younger brother, who presently sat with the rest of their Household.

"I can see why. Even when Cloud humiliated Gregor, Loras would no doubt feel shaken up after nearly dying."

"Indeed, it's the reason why I wish to fight twice as hard for his sake."

"Then good luck to ya, Garlan." Said Roxas, wanting to join back into the conversation. "Though I think both of you might have some competition in taking a crack at the Mountain."

"Oh~ you feel like taking a shot at him?" Oberyn said challengingly.

Roxas said nothing as he was still questioning the number of feelings inside of him while looking at the false knight in question.

"After what he almost did to my brother, yes." Answered the Galant Tyrell. "Not to mention seeing the Hound here on the field…"

The Red Viper looked over and was able to spot Sandor Clegane.

"Hmm, point taken. Will just have to see who can get to his brother first, I suppose." Oberyn said, his gaze as venomous as his moniker as he bore a hole in the elder Clegane brother.

"May the best man win." Said Garlan as he too gazed at the Mountain.

"...So, team up to take down Cloud and Roxas then?" Oberyn quipped.

"Huh?" Roxas said in confusion.

Both men regarded the young teen and smiled mischievously as they gazed at each other.

"Agreed." They both stated, walking away from him.

"H-hey! That's not fair!"

"Neither is having magic and your weapons." Garlan shot back.

"So you'll just have to make do, my friend." Oberyn added, laughing aloud.

Roxas' eye twitched, a crooked grin appearing on his face.

"Alright, if that's how you wanna play it."

This cut off the wistful mood the two newly formed frenemy rivals had, wondering if they might've pushed things a little too far than needed with the Keybearer.

The trumpets sounded out, signaling the arrival of King Robert riding out to the field with Ned Stark and Ser Barristan tailing behind him. The plump Baratheon ushered his horse to move along the line up of the melee contenders, seemingly examining them with a stern, judging gaze. Once taking a look at each participant, he went back to the middle to finally give his speech.

"All of you are some of the greatest knights and warriors the Seven Kingdoms has to offer. Men with unmatched skill, strength and spirit. Many of you showed off such qualities yesterday at the joust and archery competitions, yet it'll be the melee where you will truly shine!" Robert's voice bellowed out, as if trying to pump them up for war. "However, I believe a number of you became soft…"

While this bit of criticism drew in confused responses from a handful of participants, others actually snorted in knowing where their king was getting at.

"Many of you depend on the advantage of having a mount, giving you the speed and defence to best nearly any foe. However, you won't always have such luxury and will have to rely on nothing more than your own two feet."

Making his point, Robert shifted about in his saddle and dropped off the side. Both Ned and Ser Barristan quickly bore shocked and nervous expressions when seeing the king land on his feet. The two had thought the Baratheon was going to fall badly, due to his weight and physique, but he was lucky in not making a humiliating spectacle from the point he was making.

"I was reminded of this by Ser Loras of House Tyrell." Said Robert. "He was practically helpless like a newborn babe when he was suddenly dismounted."

At the mention of the Knight of Flowers, Loras shifted in his seat with the rest of his family. He practically found his feet more interesting at this particular moment as he didn't want to make any eye contact with anyone, due to the embarrassment of suddenly being the center of attention.

It didn't help when a number of people throughout the crowd and even on the field chuckled at his bit of misfortune.

"Because of this and some insistence from my Hand, I'm changing the part of the melee rules this time around: no horses and no lances."

Before any of the mounted participants could do anything, the Hand of the King then spoke.

"Now… outside of this change to the melee, the rest of the rules are the same. When first blood is drawn from a cut or a blow or you are disarmed, you are to yield to your opponent and leave the field. We will have spotters to ensure no cheating or foul play is done, though I believe all of you will avoid such unfairness." Ned gave firm looks towards a number individuals, hoping they would actually follow through. "When half the contestants have been bested, a horn will sound which will signal the free for all between the rest of you. Any teamwork will be of convenience or alliance. You will be allowed to trade more blows during this half of the melee with being disarmed still considered a defeat."

The Hand stayed quiet, letting the details get digested upon them all.

"And there is one last thing I must address." Ned turned his gaze towards the Mountain. "You, Ser Gregor, will not be using your usual greatsword but a blunted one."

This got the elder Clegane to snarl. "What was that?"

"Talk out of turn again -disobey even- and I'll have you disqualified and escorted off the field; in chains if they are needed." The stern response the Hand gave surprised many spectators. One doesn't have the utter balls of standing up against the Mountain without repercussions; well except for Tywin Lannister, who holds his "leash". "Your history of death in tourneys is well known and documented, Ser Gregor. Your actions yesterday were but a small example. If anything, I'd rather have you back at your Keep in the Westerlands than here. However, your King is giving you one chance and only one. So you will fight with a blunted sword and nothing else, making it much harder to cleave limbs off left and right. But if you go out of your way to kill or cripple anyone here, then by the gods you will face the King's Justice… is that clear?"

Once more, Tywin's mad dog growled. He wanted to refute, but glancing over at his siege lord made him think otherwise. The Great Lion of House Lannister gave him a stern glare as he silently told him to comply and not act out of line.

Breaking his gaze away from Tywin, Ser Gregor spoke to the Lord Hand. "Of course… my lord."

"Good." Was the Ice Cold response from Ned.

From his placement on the field, Oberyn's smile threatened to break his face. He didn't have to look back to his family members to see similar expressions on their visages.

Ned was practically handicapping the Mountain with this decree, making things a bit easier for any and all competitors to take down the elder Clegane. No doubt everyone else who can't handle the giant of a monster will at least breath a little better, at least until the later portion of the melee if they were able to make it that far.

Taking that little thought aside, Oberyn realized the Stark was practically handing Ser Gregor out on a silver platter. The only way for the Red Viper to truly reap the benefits of this opportunity now was to reach the giant before anyone else.

Unfortunately, he has some competition with the likes of Sandor Clegane as an example.

After the declarations had been made, the mounted participants had to ride off to the side of the fighting grounds. Once dismounted, they handed the reins of their horses to the squires and servants while having to do a bit of a change up on their present gear.

It did take some amount of time, but it was entirely understandable as this bit was all last minute.

Even Gregor had to act accordingly as his signature greatsword was replaced with a blunted steel sword. And with each bit of stride, one could hear more growls and grumbles from the mad dog.

When every participant came back to the center of the melee field, the melee eventually went underway.

With every participant spread out at a reasonable pace, the horns were blown to finally signal the first melee bouts.

In an instant, the fighting finally commenced.

The clashing of spears, shields and swords echoed across the field as the combatants were cheered on by the crowd.

Off to the side, Cloud casually stood by and watched the participants battle one another whilst his large sword rest comfortably upon his shoulder.

"You're not rushing in?"

Cloud didn't have to look over to see who it was that was speaking with him.

"I want to give them a chance." Cloud remarked, waving his hand at a fly that flew by him.

"That seems a bit unfair."

"Oh yeah? I should be asking the same for you." Cloud countered.

"Well… yeah, kinda don't want to rush in."

Cloud glanced down at Roxas who embedded his Oblivion Keyblade into the ground and rested his arm atop it.

"So what… we wait here and the herd thins out?" Roxas asked with Cloud shrugging.

"Can't always just rush into a fight without making sure you're ready for it." Cloud said. "Besides, you and I already know a majority of those that'll remain standing."

Roxas only hummed to himself, spotting Oberyn spinning his spear about and keeping several knights at bay single handedly.

Cloud saw Garlan clashing swords with another knight before hearing a roar of fury.

Cloud's eyes narrowed as he gazed over at the towering bastard that was Gregor Clegane, watching as the man swatted aside an unfortunate smaller opponent.

It wasn't much longer before the Hound came before his elder brother, snarling all the while. And not a moment later did they clash.

A wide berth was made between the two snarling dogs as one pushed off against the other in an effort to gain ground on their opponent.

Pushing his older brother back, Sandor shoved his shoulder against the mountain causing him to stumble slightly.

Go in for a wide arching swing, Gregor saw this coming and quickly parried the blade rather roughly.

The force of this counter was enough to actually disarm Sandor leaving him open for a heavy boot to his chest.

Roxas visibly winced at the sight and opted to move when he noticed several of the participants had stopped fighting and now turned their attention on the two blonds.

Cloud snorted, grasping his blade's handle and lifted it several times, tapping the blunted part on his shoulder several times in anticipation.

Roxas pulled the edge of Oblivion out of the ground and spun his Keyblades as he got into his battle stance.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts 2: Rowdy Rumble-

Of course at some point their little spectating session came to an end when a number of unknown combatants rushed towards Cloud and Roxas.

It was plainly telegraphed on how it went, especially with the yells aimed towards them.

In some swift action, both blondes were able to quickly take care of them. Their momentary opponents were knocked aside and were knocked out soon after.

"Time to jump in now." Roxas declared.

"Yeup."

With that said, both Cloud and Roxas finally participated.

Roxas ran forward and swung both his Keyblades upwards, deflecting half a dozen blades at once.

The men who stumbled were met with the wide broadside of Cloud's Fusion Sword that proceeded to swat them out of the melee grounds.

Those watching either cheered, winced or snorted.

Robert in particular guffawed at the sight of the two in action, watching like with the glee of a child.

Ned observed with reluctant amusement at the sight of Roxas and Cloud practically thrashing their opposition. He let out a small sigh of a chuckle at the sight of a young knight charging in vain only for Cloud to quite literally trip the poor lad.

From her place beside her husband, Cersei laughed a little from behind her hand. She found it quite entertaining to see these combatants being taken down by her future good-son. It was a bit surprising on the feeling, yet it showed some more capability on what he'll do for the Throne and for her family.

Upon looking towards her father seated some distance away, Cersei could wager he bore a number of similar thoughts and feelings as she did now. He did bare that particular expression she adopted ever since she was merely a teenager so she would know.

She gazed upon Roxas with veiled admiration as he took on several knights at once, beating them back with the greatest of ease. Beneath that admiration was… something more.

Something from a time long ago in regards to the days she spent with the lads father.

Letting out a sigh, she looked over to her children.

Her two youngest were completely enraptured by what they were seeing.

"Look at them go." Said Tommen in a giddy manner.

Myrcella was silent, but bore a bright smile seeing her betrothed participate.

Her eldest son held nothing more than a sour and enraged expression, glaring daggers at the Keybearer.

The Queen momentarily rose a brow at his behavior before looking back at the event before them all. Her Lannister green eyes surveyed the field, searching for her twin. It wasn't long before seeing him cut down some knights from Houses she didn't bother to notice at this time.

She didn't know how much longer Jamie might last before coming across Roxas or some of those he grew close with through battling against those cursed Heartless and Unversed. For neither of them will not hold back against the Kingsguard member, but neither will he.

No. XIII spun Oathkeeper, smacking a blade out of his way and elbowed the foe in the stomach who fell to the ground clutching his damaged region in pain.

"Sorry." Roxas said sincerely, turning to see who else would charge at him.

One knight of Westerlands tried his hand and had his blade blocked by the Keybearer.

"Prepare for battle!"

Roxas froze on the spot after blocking the Westerlands Knights sword. The force in which Roxas blocked it was enough to snap the blade in two.

The Westerland Knight looked at his broken blade with his mouth agape until he let out a small whine that it was a gift to him. Head hung low, the Westerland knight sulked out from the Melee grounds.

Whereas the Keybearer could apologize like his previous opponents, his mind was a bit more preoccupied.

That voice…

He knew that voice.

Releasing a loud groan, he turned to the side to see Ronvid once again with his sword and shield out.

"You shall not have it easy this time." The over exuberant "knight" proclaimed aloud, brandishing his sword in the greater Nobody's direction.

Blue eyes looked at the men beside his returning challenger, seeing their attire gave way to their sellsword status.

"Brought friends, I see. Hm. Are they pledged to defend Maid Bilberry's honor, too?"

Ronvid stammered a little as the men beside him merely gave the man a peculiar look. "Noo… No, no, they defend justice- for it is only fair you face a threesome."

"Is that so?"

Roxas highly doubted it, giving the confused look Ronvid's allies now bore. Either he convinced them to fight alongside him on the melee or perhaps bought their services.

"Yes. For you are a rogue and a cheat, sir."

"...How am I either of those?"

"You never revealed yourself of your status before."

Roxas merely exhaled a small breath. "You're right. Guess you had no opportunity in that case. Probably heard it through the grapevine. If it weren't for this melee, I wouldn't be fighting you. Wouldn't be fair, you know?"

"You must! But I shall cut you down honorably, though without mercy!"

The Keybearer merely rolled his eyes. "Just had to ask, I suppose. But since you've all gone to the trouble…"

Roxas zipped forward in a burst of speed that stunned all around them.

Ronvid could only blink as he felt a cold metal being pressed up against his neck.

"Give up, please and thank you." Came the ultra dry voice of the wielder.

Ronvid's mouth fell, opening and closing several times.

"Th-that's not f-fair!" The "knight" squeaked. "I thought you would hold back from using your abilities."

Roxas quirked a brow at the man before releasing a sigh, taking several steps back.

"Alright, alright." Roxas conceded. "We'll do this properly then."

Ronvid puffed out his chest.

"Then let us go to battle."

"Yeah, yeah." Roxas remarked, recalling Oathkeeper and opting to fight with Oblivion.

Ronvid held his sword aloft.

"Have at thee, vagrant."

"Vagrant?" Roxas muttered underneath his breath just as Ronvid charged forward.

The black haired fighter didn't respond back, merely swinging down his sword which was parried. Swifting the bladed weapon away, the sandy blonde swung his blackened Keyblade to the side, to which Ronvid blocked with his shield. Yet the force of the blow made him stagger.

"You're still swinging too wildly." Roxas pointed out.

The man let out a shaky breath, nodding to himself and went for another sword swing.

Ronvid grit his teeth as he tried forcing the Keyblade back with his sword but the teen's strength completely outclassed his own.

Pushing the "knight" back, Roxas "lightly" swung his sword at Ronvids. There was a loud clanging of metal meeting metal with Ronvid feeling his entire arm shake from the impact of the force.

Yet the man grit his teeth and stepped in for another attack.

Stepping forward with a more wider and stronger stance and swung his sword once more.

Roxas spun his sword, his Keyblade clashing with Ronvid's blade, the sword grinding against Oblivion until the Nobody flicked it off.

Ronvid stumbled back, his arms flailing about.

Roxas casually walked up to the stumbling man and placed his finger on Ronvid's chest and "lightly" pushed the man who then fell to the ground.

He let out a loud groan of pain and defeat as he gazed up at the sky above.

"Bested yet again." Ronvid bemoaned dramatically.

Seeing Ronvid lying in the dirt with his allies not far away, Roxas held out his hand to help the man up.

"You did better this time, Ronvid." Roxas stated, making the man stare in disbelief before accepting the hand.

"Thank you." Said the aspiring warrior as he appreciated the blonde's honorable sportsmanship.

"Now I suggest getting some well deserved rest and think things over on what you should really do to honor Maid Bilberry."

"Wise words."

Seeing the "inspiring knight" walk off the field with more fighters following him, Roxas gazed back to search for some particular individuals.

As this went on, dull clangs could be made when numerous weapons were battered against Cloud's Fusion sword. Neither opponents were able to put much strength on the various blows against the Blonde Wolf as he was too much for them, even if he held back considerably to make things fair.

Unfortunately, fair was quite the sad joke at the present time.

To Cloud, it was as if he was merely fighting against trainees in terms of comparison.

He was barely putting much effort into his swings, that was clear as day for the trained eye to see.

The man even stopped a few sword swings by grabbing either the sword itself or the wrist before disarming his opponent.

Cloud took a moment to see where Roxas was and saw him clashing with other Knights. Least he was keeping himself busy.

In some part, this was a waste of his time going against these combatants. Then again, the same people weren't truly taking this seriously.

He would be better off fighting against a handful of people here than the majority.

Hopefully the numbers will dwindle soon to those better suited for him to fight against as he's more or less annoyed by now.

Gazing towards his surroundings, Cloud can clearly see Thoros and Beric were more or less enjoying themselves here fighting their opponents. The same occurred with Oberyn and Garlan.

Whereas the Lightning Lord and the Galant Tyrell took things seriously in their respective bouts, the Red Priest and the Red Viper were merely playing with their "meals". Both sets of parties were well far off from each other in the melee field. Of course one of them seemed to be reaching a certain destination.

Cloud was momentarily brought out of his thoughts when he instinctively avoided a downward strike from behind. Swiftly spinning around before striking his attacker with the flat side of his Fusion Sword.

A man in Kingsguard armor tumbled to the ground from the recent blow. His helmet fell off to reveal Ser Meryn Trant, who growled at the blonde mercenary.

"You wanna go?" Cloud said challengingly. "Let's go."

Getting back onto his feet, the Kingsguard member charged forward so he may clash against the Blonde Wolf.

From the other side of the melee field, the Clegane brothers had been locked in a personal battle for a while now.

Sandor matched the expression of his designed helm as he snarled at the Mountain. This was an ample opportunity he had sought for after a long time. He wouldn't have beforehand, but after witnessing what occurred to his bastard of a brother yesterday by Strife, the burnt man decided today was the time to finally act.

They were seemingly matched in rough swordplay, even with the handicap Lord Stark bestowed onto the Mountain. Yet such a thing can only go so far.

In part of their bout, Gregor delivered a downward swing onto his brother. Sandor quickly raised his weapon and had his other hand to grasp his blade in order to block and hold the offending strike. The blow was powerful, but it was indeed blocked. The Hound's arms ached from the hit as he tried to withstand his brother's strength.

Seeing an opportunity, Gregor unclasped one hand from his weapon's hilt and swung a haymaker at his younger brother. The almighty force behind it knocked Sandor off balance, causing him to tumble onto the ground as his hound-styled helmet caved in from the side. The younger Clegane yelped a painful sound before regaining his barings and began growling at the Mountain towering over him.

Just when Gregor prepared to swing down his blunted weapon to either kill or severely harm his brother, a spear came into the picture and striked the Mountain's armor.

Turning to the side, the mad dog saw the Red Viper practically hissing at him as he thrusted his weapon at the giant once again.

As Oberyn clashed with Gregor, Sandor rose to his feet with an ever present snarl.

The Hound did not want anyone interfering with his fight, not even when he was about to die!

About to charge forward at the present combatants, he was intercepted by a Gallant knight.

"Step aside!"

Garlan merely shook his head 'no'. "Sorry, Hound, but they're already preoccupied."

"Move!"

"Afraid I can't." Aiming his sword at the burnt man before him, the second son of Mace Tyrell spoke. "You'll have to make due with me instead for the time being."

As much as Garlan wanted to fight Gregor alongside Oberyn, the Tyrell knew the Mountain's brother would interfere; even if no other competitor would ever bother at this point. So the Gallant knight agreed to let the Viper take the first shot against the Mountain while he dealt with the Hound.

Hopefully it can be long enough for things to go their way in the end.

Not liking the provocation, Sandor merely roared and clashed his sword against Garlan's.

Steel met steel, wood cracked against wood.

Each way he turned, Jamie Lannister saw the combatants still clash with each other. They sought to thin out the ranks to make it farther towards the end.

Some were lucky, others were not. Most prevailed, either from skill alone or taking advantage of distractions or brief periods of weakness.

The Kingsguard member swayed on each side on how he defeated whatever opponent crossed his way.

Things were occasionally easy for the Lannister as most opponents practically threw themselves at him like a whore or a desperate woman. They sought to perhaps overpower him, one way or another, and soon boast their reputation of defeating the Kingslayer.

How typically predictable.

Jamie spun his blade in an almost casual manner at how easily he deflected several swords, elbowing a Stormland knight. From there, he raised his opposite arm and let a Reach fighter clash his sword against his metal vambrace to block the coming strike. Once taking him down with a few precisioned sword swings, Jamie moved past the defeated participant from the Reach. Soon parrying blows with a fighter from Dorne, the Kingslayer clashed with the man's sword several times until he disarmed him and kicked him down.

'And that's another one.' Jaime thought dryly.

He spun about, ready to face his next opponent when…

"Hello there."

Blinking, Jamie turned to his side and saw Roxas merely standing there. The young Keybearer casually swerved around some attacker before striking his exposed side.

"Hello to you too." The Lannister Knight said casually though he was tensing up.

He wasn't exactly sure how well he would stack up to the Keybearer but Jaime also couldn't deny the growing sense of anticipation and excitement at the prospect of a truly worthy opponent.

Their time sparing could only satiate his "appetite" so much.

It might be his pride and confidence blinding him of such things, but he didn't care at this moment.

It was part of why he sought to become a knight in the first place. The conviction to face any challenge, no matter how impossible it may be to accomplish.

And this time, Roxas was an impossible task to overcome. Both his honor and ambition demanded it so.

"You know, I'm a tad hesitant of fighting you, Jaime."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Might get an earful from your father and sister if I hurt you too much. Not to mention Myrcella might be really upset with me."

"I thought you were one not to care for others speak of you."

"I just rather not deal with the drama." Roxas said truthfully. "Feels like less would be a good thing considering where we are."

The Lannister couldn't help but snort.

"If only." Jaime remarked before making the first step towards the teen who spun his Keyblades to ready for the attack.

Getting in close, the lion went in for the first strike with Roxas immediately deflecting the sword.

Jaime simply allowed the momentum of the deflection into his next attack, Roxas blocking the elbow sent his way and pushed the older fighter back.

Gritting his teeth, Jaime had to reassess on how to attack the much stronger enemy who held a steady gaze on him.

He wasn't exactly sure as to how to bring him down other than a lucky strike.

This boy was obviously much more skilled than his father.

As a trained warrior for many years, Jaime recognized this in Roxas who was more than likely unaware of his "father" and his skills.

But still, the comparison was there.

Circling about each other, the two blondes viewed each other's stances and weapon positions, trying to figure out what the other might do next.

Momentarily looking away, Jamie saw Meryn Trant having been beaten by Strife. His fellow Kingsguard brother was a stubborn bastard, trying not to be defeated by the sellsword yet failed every time. And it seemed Cloud was merely getting frustrated on the man's tenacity on not staying down.

Jamie couldn't pick up on what the wielder of the Fusion Sword said over the surrounding commotion, but it wasn't long before he merely clocked the Kingsguard member across the head and knocked him out cold.

Shaking his head to refocus at his present fight, he had to quickly berate himself as he left himself wide open. For he barely raised his sword in time to block an incoming strike from his future good-nephew.

Teeth clenched, Jaime put everything in his arms to push back against the stronger enemy who barely appeared phased.

'Seven Hells, this boy is stronger than the Mountain.' Jaime felt his arms quickly getting sore.

He had faced Gregor plenty of times, be it jousts or mock battles. And Jamie knew the man had to hold back against him due to who his father was. For if Tywin's son was maimed or killed by his hand, the Mountain would face a dire punishment; death being a clear option.

Yet each time they clashed, Jamie can feel the monstrous blows as his body ached afterwards in varying degrees.

At this time, the former Organization member was giving such similar strikes which made the Lannister fight much harder.

Roxas all the while locked eyes with the man and the man couldn't help but flinch at the sight of them.

He instantly was brought back to Harrenhal, the vibrant young lad who became quick friends with so many of the major houses in such a short amount of time.

Shaking out of his thoughts once more, Jamie charged forward with no insults or jests in his present arsenal.

The Lannister wanted to persevere; delivering an onslaught of sword swings while deflecting and parrying the ones he received.

He wanted, no, needed to beat this teen.

Why?

Why did he have to beat Roxas?

Prideful Lannister?

Honorable knight?

Protective secret father?

Or…. was it something else?

Was it vindication… or personal glory and gain.

He may not fully know at this time, but he had other things to focus on.

Like combating Roxas and perhaps defeating him.

When Jamie drew in close, Roxas was quick to block his attacks. The Lannister was giving everything he could on his blows, which partially rattled the Nobody's arms. Before long, the younger blonde retaliated as he forced the Kingsguard member back with a series of rapid strikes. Each one ended up chipping and denting parts of his gold plated armor before Jamie's helmet began to rattle.

It quickly annoyed him, prompting him to pry off his protective headwear.

Once tossing it aside, Jamie's partial annoyance was replaced with utter eagerness as he shifted his sword stance.

In a moment's notice, the Lannister lunged in like a roaring lion at his prey.

Elsewhere on the melee field, another conflict took place.

One which was birthed from the death of family members.

And Oberyn was going to kill the man who performed the act.

He swore it so.

From the stands, the Martell Household were able to spot their family member getting closer to the Mountain. They were no doubt mixed on their responses. Most were highly anticipating the confrontation and screamed and cheered for him like the man's children, cousin and niece. Lewyn and Ellaria were worried and greatly prayed to the gods he would survive as neither didn't want to see him die this day.

Once the Dornish prince reached Gregor, he bore a smile with hints of anger being laced in his voice. "Hello there, Clegane. Do you perhaps know who I am?"

"Some dead man." Roared the Mountain, wasting no time in swinging his blunted sword towards him.

Oberyn didn't miss a beat, matching each of his strokes. Even if his opponent's weapon won't do him much harm -to some degree- the Viper maneuvered around a number of the mad dog's attacks.

Backing away from their recent clash, the Martell spoke as his eyes never broke contact with his opponent. "I am the brother of Elia Martell." Gregor lunged forward, striking his blunted weapon against the offending spear. Oberyn slid and followed through before smacking the man's side. "And I am here to hear you confess before you die."

When Roxas told him of his meeting with Lord Tywin when he first arrived, Oberyn was more or less curious on the specifics. The young Keybearer did inform him on Tywin's confession on not ordering Gregor to kill Elia and her children. While such details could perhaps sedate some people on their vengeance, it didn't satisfy the Viper on his anger towards both the Old Lion and his mad dog.

Gregor still killed Elia and her children and he was still Tywin's enforcer.

"You raped my sister. You murdered her. You killed her children. Say it now and we can make this quick."

The Mountain let out an almighty roar of rage and charged towards the Red Viper, raising his blunted sword. Oberyn once met each stroke with equal aggression, the sound of steel against blunted steel ringing out around them. Suddenly, the Dornish prince spun expertly around, knocking Gregor's helmet off.

Those who witnessed this fight gasped. No man had ever managed to remove any of the Mountain's armor… and lived.

With the Martell Household, many of its members cheered Oberyn on. The only one who wasn't was Lewyn, for he was praying more that his nephew could remain focused and not let his anger get the better of him.

They are so close to fulfilling their vengeance, but at a very high risk in the present circumstance.

"Say it." Oberyn said ever so calmly with anger slowly boiling to the surface. All the Dornish prince got in return was another angry roar and sword swing at a downward strike. Oberyn led him backwards, still dancing lightly on his feet as their weapons met again and again. "You murdered her. You killed her children."

The battle skills Oberyn displayed were truly astounding from his years of experience. The Viper was forcefully leading the mad dog along as quickly as he could; despite their present surroundings. He was trying to exploit the man's size, hoping he could tire the giant Clegane.

Oberyn stood a spear's length away from his enemy and as the Mountain approached him, the Martell repeated his accusations. "You raped her, you murdered her! You killed her children!"

Gregor was getting angrier, rage etching on his brutish features as this went on. He kept getting assaulted by the Martell's spear, especially when it's blade was able to find some vulnerability in his seemingly impenetrable armor. The spear's blade first exploited the small openings on the man's legs and placed some cuts there. Once earning some pained yells there, the Viper broke through his opponent's plated stomach, causing Gregor to stumble backwards.

Thinking he was going to get the upper hand on this narrow opening, Oberyn reared his weapon back. About to deliver a successful blow to his mortal enemy with a powered thrust, he was suddenly knocked over and fell to the ground.

Regaining his barings, Oberyn realized the perpetrator was none other than Garlan Tyrell.

The Viper only saw so much as he witnessed the Hound was lying on the battered dirt, seemingly defeated. But when this occurred, Sandor had knocked Garlan over and thus caused him to knock the Dornishman off balance.

"Urgh." Garlan rubbed his head, looking over as to who it was he had bumped into. "Oberyn? That you? You alright?"

"Not exactly."

Garlan was going to say something else when a shadow loomed over them. The source was the Mountain towering over them with an ever present snarl on his face. And raised above his head was his blunted weapon for this event.

Even with the present weapon not being able to swiftly kill a person, it'll be a painful one for either of them.

There was perhaps no time for them to get out of the way, due to their present placement on the ground.

And it would be too late for someone to call out foul play on Gregor and halt him from killing the Tyrell and Martell.

Both can already imagine their respective families screaming and crying out for them.

Each embraced the inevitable, regretting much in their lives during this process.

*CLANG*

Yet it seemed Death would not come for them at this time.

"Back… off!"

For the Keybearer had saved their lives, preventing Clegane's blunted weapon from causing a grizzly end to either highborn.

The sword fight he had against Jamie was a good one. Both of them were combating quite well, even if the Keybearer was limiting his skill to hopefully make things fair.

Yet this personal handicap can only go so far as the Nobody was able to prevail over the Kingslayer by drawing first blood by accidentally delivering a deep diagonal cut along his lower jaw up towards his nose.

Roxas applied a Cure on him to help treat the gushing wound as it seemed to appear as a discolored scar once whipping away the spilt blood. Overtime, it'll be easy to hide if the man wanted to by growing out a beard.

While defeated, Jamie played off the small sour mood he bore with his usual personality. Yet an unknown amount of gratification surfaced within his very being of facing off against a worthy opponent. A token of his experience as it were.

The Kingslayer will definitely not complain about his brief injury, but he figured a few others might; not that he fully cares. He will no doubt take pride in it.

Before Jamie could give Roxas some form of congratulations, the Nobody spotted what was about to befall upon Oberyn and Garlan. In a swift instant, he disappeared and reappeared to intercept the blow Gregor was delivering.

Roxas now faced the clearly pissed off Mountain who was glaring with such unadulterated anger, the Nobody wondered if the man would burst with how Red his face was. The sneer was nothing short of murderous.

"Watch yourself you cheeky fucker." Gregor panted. "You've no idea to whom it is you speak with."

"And clearly… neither have you." Roxas shot back with his Keyblades glowing in his white light.

That statement was more than enough to tempt the raging bull into charging at the Keyblade warrior.

"RRRRAAAA!"

Roxas twirled around in time to instantly throw his Keyblades up to stop the large, blunted broadsword coming down from above.

The Nobody's expression shifted into one of a fierce glare as he faced up at the imposing man that was Gregor Clegane.

"Been hearing a lot about you, little brat." Gregor sneered. "The Nobody who became a Prince."

"Not a Prince." Roxas grit out. "And sure as hell ain't no Nobody to you, bastard."

Roxas shoved the blade back and jumped into a spinning kick straight to the Mountain's chest.

The man's eyes bulged, feeling the wind get slightly knocked out of him as he stumbled back from the kick.

Gregor's stunned face turned into one of livid rage.

'That little fucker thinks he can fell me-!' Gregor internally raged.

Blood boiling over with unrepentant fury, the Mountain let out a bellowing yell as he charged forward at the smaller opponent.

Seeing the large man running at him, Roxas adjusted his standing and waited for him to get close.

It didn't take long for the man to get to him since he had long strides.

Once he was within range, the greater Nobody lunged forward.

Gregor's eyes widened at the sight of Roxas' sudden appearance before him and could barely get his sword in front of him as the blond performed an X-slash.

The force of the strike made Clegane's arm go above and behind his head. Seeing this, Roxas struck in an X strike once again which sent the Mountain falling to the ground.

Many who were close by to the two combatants couldn't help but stop and stare at seeing the Mountain being bested in such a spectacular fashion yet again.

They watched the teen in the black cloak approach the gargantuan knight who got back to his feet with a slight stumble but completely focused on him.

"You little shit!" Gregor seethed, eyes practically blood red with unadulterated fury. "I'm going to pop your head open. See if you can survive that."

Roxas didn't verbally respond, only opting to bend his knees and flip his Keyblades for them to lightly touch the ground.

Running forward with his keyblades dragging themselves across the ground, Roxas leapt forward with his arms crossed.

Gregor moved to go for a horizontal swing which Roxas saw coming.

Curling up slightly, he flipped in midair with the blade sailing beneath him and he then uncurled his body with his legs forward and delivered an emphatic drop kick to the Mountain.

Once again, Gregor felt pain in his chest, stumbling back as he glared daggers at the boy.

"You-" He hissed. "You little FUCK. YOU BASTARD!. DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I'M GREGOR FUCKING CLEGANE. I'M THE MOUNTAIN! I'M-"

"Is it so hard to comprehend that someone smaller than you can be in fact stronger?" Roxas interrupted the raging knight. "Your arrogance and pride blinding you from such thoughts?"

"The hell you say?!"

"Is that the reason why you pick on just about everyone? Because you want to prove your superiority with your size and strength? Or is it just because you are just someone intimidated by the mere thought of being truly powerless against someone else." Roxas asked, each word becoming more intense with every passing second.

Both opponents glared spitefully at the other

"You're nothing more than a butcher and a coward." Roxas declared. "You get your kicks off killing and hurting women and children. And they call you a knight."

As this went on, Gregor snarled more and more. Anger built up within him by each and every second.

In his mind, a decision was quickly made.

He didn't care anymore about Lord Tywin's order to not kill this little shit, let alone avoid at all cost. All he wanted now was to see him cut in two.

The moment Gregor swung his weapon down and kill the little blonde bastard before him-

"Pathetic."

His opponent acted first.

With a swift upward swing of his Keyblade, Roxas carved through Gregor's chestplate. A large spurt of blood gushed out of the armor piece and sprayed across the dirt below.

It wasn't just the pain from the cutting blow that hurt, but the force behind it.

In a fraction of a second the strike landed, the Mountain moved- no flew!

Like the day before, Gregor swiftly traveled across the field. But instead of crashing onto the dirt some good distance away, the false knight crashed at the other side of the fighting arena at a blinding speed.

Activity within the melee came to sudden and abrupt halt.

All eyes turned to the sight of Gregor Clegane, bloodied and beaten who lay upon the ground in a heap of his blood.

The man was still alive but in complete pain.

"Holy shit."

No one exactly knew who said this, but it seemed to be a unified reaction and thought by many.

With the defeat of Gregor Clegane, it unofficially signified the halfway point of the melee.

Not just because of the stated rules earlier, but because of everyone witnessing the utter spectacle of the Mountain bleeding in the dirt.

Far too many were just stunned to even continue fighting at this brief period in time.

"Get the carts!"

Soon enough, a number of tournament workers rushed into the field to help retrieve the unconscious combatants, especially the wounded monster of House Clegane.

One cart ended up reserved for the false knight as he took up much space along with his weight. Not to mention the fuss the man gave out during this whole process as nearly a dozen men had to restrain him.

Before long, the surrounding crowds slowly began cheering for the spectacle. It took a bit for more people from the stands to be roped in as they were overcoming their surprised shock.

"I can't believe it. He took down the Mountain."

"I can. Have you seen him fight those dark creatures?"

"Seven Hells, that's our future Prince!"

Roxas' felt his ear twitch upon hearing that last bit but he shook his head, eyes focusing on the downed knight who was groaning and barely moving.

He would live.

'Unfortunately.' Roxas bitterly thought to himself. His injury wasn't as severe as it appeared to be.

He gazed down upon the Mountain for a few more seconds until he turned around.

And by chance, Roxas caught the eye of Tywin Lannister.

The two held an intense gaze between each other and to those who had seen this, the tension was rather palpable.

But just as quick as it happened it ended with Roxas returning his focus to the melee tournament.

Tywin simply held his gaze upon the boy with an inscrutable look that few could discern.

Those around the Lannister patriarch shifted about nervously as they felt the aura the Old Lion radiated off of him.

Tywin was no doubt unhappy at seeing Gregor being beaten as such, yet it was his own misgivings which placed him where he is now. If his loyal bannerman had any sense of self control and respect of following orders, then he would've been one of the finest knights under his command.

Unfortunately this is sadly not the case.

If Roxas wasn't going to be his future good-grandson, then there would be some discussions. And yet the Old Lion has his hands tied, due to him paying him back on what the crown owed all in full.

Especially after what news he recently received of the Lannister mines.

Focusing his thoughts away from such details, his aged green eyes shifted towards the pride of his House, who had now approached the royal seating to join not only those of the Kingsguard but also his family.

It was there that he saw his only daughter practically fussing over her younger twin.

"How could you be so careless?" The queen nearly shrieked out in public.

"I admit, it was not my best moment taking off my helm, but-"

"But nothing!"

"Oh lay off him, woman." Said Robert towards his wife. "He practically learned his lesson with Roxas mending the issue."

Much as Cersei wished to shoot the fat oaf king a sneer, she instead looked back to the tourney grounds. The group of combatants had thinned considerably with perhaps two dozen fighters left, give or take here and there.

It could've been halted sooner to clear out the field of the unconscious and badly hurt combatants, but the spotters were too distracted on the melee to signal the halfway point.

Upon finding Roxas' form, Cersei felt conflicted with her future good-son once more.

On one hand, she couldn't help but be proud of making more of a name for himself while raising his status and fame. On the other, she was angry at him defeating her father's fierce bannerman in such a fashion which would paint things in a complicated light.

Her father's own expression had made that very clear.

Gazing at her two youngest, Cersei saw them fussing over Jamie. They questioned what it was like fighting Roxas out on the field as neither of them could get a clear view of it. So he recounted what he could to them and seemed dramatic about it for their enjoyment.

Cersei couldn't help but smile slightly at the sight of her youngest children being so enthralled by the tale their true father regaled them with.

She then looked over to her eldest son and child.

When seeing her beloved Joffrey, there was this look of impatient anticipation marring his features.

She figured her son was wanting to see the melee resume. After all, it was his favorite part of tourneys.

And yet something was different this time around. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Some distance away from them, the Starks were conversing with each other alongside their seated neighbors.

They openly espoused their amazed and impressed praise towards both Roxas and Cloud as they continued to take on any and all comers and beat them with great ease by the looks of it.

Arya was utterly jumping in her seat as she consistently bugged her father if he saw what occurred. He laughed all the while with a shake of his head.

Of course he did grow concerned on several matters. From Tywin Lannister being present seeing his "weapon" being beaten in front of many being chief among them. The other were some reactions with a few other individuals.

Namely those who seemed yearning for Roxas' affection like his daughter and Oberyn's.

Sansa was as red as her hair with a wide smile as her eyes were solely focused upon the boy of her dreams.

No doubt he'll need to talk to Sansa later once this tourney was done and over with.

From her spot with the Martell Household, Tyene was practically swooned upon the display.

She completely ignored the teasing remarks and looks directed at her by the rest of her family with her simply gazing upon the blond teen who looked positively dashing. The young Sand Snake felt a light breeze directed at her and she looked over to see an amused Arianne fanning her.

"You're positively steaming, dear cousin."

"Why wouldn't I?" Tyene said happily, her eyes greatly brightened in recounting how Roxas defeated the Mountain.

"What happened to supporting your beloved father?" Nymor jested. "I'm certain Uncle Oberyn would be heartbroken to hear his daughter showing a bias towards her lover."

"He has seven other daughters who can favor him in battle." Tyene waved off.

"Oh how could you." Said Ellaria, dramatically towards her first born child. "Betraying your father like that."

Others around them chuckled in response.

With the Tyrell retinue, they were more or less silent but were indeed autsounded. This will no doubt be sung for years.

From within said retinue, Mira will no doubt want to relay what she witnessed to her family in the North when she got the chance.

Back on the field, a number of contestants came up to the Keybearer.

The every man for himself rule was all but abandoned by this point with a majority of the combatants realizing it would be better fighting together to eliminate the two biggest threats rather than attempting victory by oneself.

Cloud was facing a small group of men by himself as well, sword resting on his shoulder.

Walking up to Roxas, Oberyn bore a challenged expression.

"Is something wrong?"

"In a way, Roxas."

"Meaning what?"

"You defeating him instead of me."

"Oh…" No. XIII felt hesitant under the Viper's gaze. "Uh… No hard feelings?"

The serious expression broke slightly with a small chuckle from his lips. "Perhaps. You did save Garlan and I from such a dreadful fate, so I must thank you."

"I too must thank you as well." Spoke the Gallant Tyrell.

"And seeing you humiliate Gregor in such a way will no doubt put my family and I to better rest for quite a long time. You have, after all, helped deliver justice by defeating him."

"It's no problem, Oberyn. Gotta ask, but how much does anyone wanna bet the Hound will be rightfully pissed?"

Beric merely snorted. "A fool's bet as he didn't want anyone to put down his brother except for himself."

"And we ended up denying such a thing." Said Garlan, pointed to himself and Oberyn.

Thoros then slapped Roxas across the back with a boisterous laugh. "More so with our Mountain Slayer here!"

"He'll consider it a massive slight." Came the fair warning from the Lightning Lord. "So he might come after you because of it."

Roxas exhaled a sigh. "Don't I feel lucky."

"But he is still alive." Oberyn quipped. "So the trophy to claim his life still remains."

The Nobody gave the Red Viper a strange look.

"You know, that can come across as a bit to malicious Oberyn."

A sly smile with a dark glint in the younger Martell Princes' eyes appeared on the man's face.

"Come now Roxas." Oberyn said cheekily. "You should know me well enough by now."

He gave the Red Viper a slightly flat look which made the man laugh.

Roxas felt a hand clasp on his shoulder. Looking over, seeing Cloud shake his head at him.

"It's better to let that one go, Roxas."

No. XIII merely exhaled a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair.

He might have to take up Cloud's suggestion in doing so to save him the trouble on a verbal debate.

Once the field was clear of any and all defeated competitors, along with any possible debris so they wouldn't obstruct the coming fight, things were about to be brought underway.

It was only once the horns were sounded out -signaling the melee to resume- did something unexpected happen.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts 2: Vim and Vigor-

Roxas felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up with his head snapping around him in alarm.

Cloud, who was lazily resting his sword upon his shoulder, had his posture change and his face sharpened into a more intense and prepared gaze.

Ned was the first to see this and instantly stood from his seat in alarm with him having his hand on his sword.

This action alarmed his two daughters who stared up at their father before back out onto the field to see Roxas and Cloud running towards each other.

"What's happening father?" Sansa asked in concern.

"Heartless?" Arya followed up with Ned becoming far more grimmer.

As soon as she asked that question, three types of Heartless appeared in great numbers.

Lance Soldiers, Morning Stars and Armored Knights by the dozens surrounded the melee grounds with many people shrieking in terror.

And they were not alone.

Two additional enemies joined with the Heartless, being foes that a great number of people had never seen before.

But for those who participated or were alive during the Rebellion, they knew well as to what these creatures were.

The first variation were avian in nature, predominantly black and grey with red eyes, no mouth and a head with a five pointed crest.

The other was a larger, bulkier, bottom heavy creature that wore blue armor with a black body, gold accented areas, boots, blue and gold shields and a black and gold design in the midsection.

Both shared a different symbol, one Roxas and Cloud were now quite familiar with.

The Unversed.

"Cloud." Roxas said aloud.

"Yeah." Was the swordsman responses as he hefted his blade and got into his more usual battle stance.

"Everyone clear out." No. XIII all but shouted.

There was a mad dash of sorts for all that were nearby to get out of the way as the Heartless and Unversed went on the attack.

Roxas and Cloud cleaved through a multitude of the enemies of Darkness yet they couldn't be in two places at once.

Heartless began attacking those unfortunate enough to be in their paths and though they put up a valiant effort, the ones Roxas and Cloud couldn't get too were claimed by the Heartless.

Red hearts began flying into the sky, darkness consuming them moments later.

"Everyone move!" Ned Stark bellowed out, the Stark ancestral sword Ice in hand.

The Kingsguard had their swords drawn and the Stark Guard were moving to assist their Liege Lord.

"Form up." Ned ordered rapidly. "Remember, five steps out, five steps back as Roxas and Cloud instructed. Three distract, two go in for the kill."

His guard all let out verbal responses of confirmation as they dispersed into groups of five.

Some of the more experienced warriors yelled out for any knights within the vicinity to form up around them and follow their lead.

Ned watched as Roxas went into a jumping spin that cleared the Heartless around him. The teen then flung Oathkeeper into the air to his the Morning Stars and avian Unversed known as the Archravens, cutting through a dozen of them.

Cloud's large arching swings were cutting large swatches of Heartless and Unversed but he was also constantly jumping about so as to not get swarmed by them since they recognized him as a genuine threat.

Ned got within range of an Armored Knight and with a powerful swing of the Valyrian Steel blade, slashed right through the Heartless.

"Ned."

The Stark patriarch turned to see Roxas running towards him, taking out several Heartless and Unversed on his way to him.

"Roxas, we need to get the people to safety." Ned said.

"Easier said than done." Roxas groused out, casting a few Thunder spells around them to give them some breathing room. "They're appearing in between people. This… this was planned."

Ned didn't respond, instead focusing on a Lance Soldier barrelling towards him.

Side stepping at the last second, Ned cut through the Heartless' neck.

He looked up, teeth clenched at the sight of a woman being taken by the Heartless.

This was madness.

A sentiment shared with Cloud Strife.

Knowing that this was going to get further out of hands, he knew he needed to get this under control otherwise more people were going to die as they fled for safety.

Gripping his blade tightly, electricity crackled around his body with winds whipping about.

A burst of energy came off of him and a reptilian wing burst out from his back.

Jumping into the air, Cloud began flying about the entire area, targeting clusters of the Heartless and Unversed.

Practically dive bombing them, Cloud's sword swings eviscerated every Heartless that was in his blades path.

The swordsman flew around the entire area, destroying Heartless and Unversed left, right and center.

Seeing him do this, Roxas clenched his Keyblades tightly and called upon his latent power with Light surrounding him.

Hovering a few inches off the ground with his Keyblades held aloft, the Nobody unleashed his pent up power.

A beam of light fired up into the air with multiple pillars of light crashing down seconds later.

And these weren't random pillars.

They all targeted Heartless and Unversed, clearing the field for innocent bystanders to get to safety.

A great deal of people still remained and watched in enraptured awe and disbelief at the sight of the two fighters who displayed such extraordinary power.

Some had managed to snap themselves out of their stunned stupor, those primarily being the one's most familiar with these crazy displays of power.

Oberyn resumed fighting the Heartless and Unversed that were still around him.

Twirling his spear, the Red Viper used precision based jabs, stabs and swings to take out the dark enemies managing to take out a dozen of them on his own. He was almost taken by surprise by one of the avian enemies, but this was averted by someone's intervention at the last possible second.

Looking at the one who covered for him, the Dornish prince saw it was Garlan. He gave the Martell a small nod, who received one in return as they shared a brief moment of reconciliation before resumed fighting their present enemies.

Over with Sandor Clegane, the Hound was breathing heavily, tired from his initial fight with his older brother and Garlan Tyrell but he refused to fall here. Using his natural strength, speed and size, Sandor was managing to keep the Heartless and Unversed at bay from harming the fleeing smallfolk and highborn.

Beside him were Beric Dondarian and Thoros of Myr, who were cleaving and cutting through the new arrivals. They swerved and slid away from their attackers in order to get to their exposed sides. Before long, they began cutting through them with their flaming swords and powered crafts.

The actions they've been performing with their fire spells had made Sandor tense with fear. He all but stayed away from the pair as he focused on his attention anywhere but there in order to kill the dark invaders.

The rest of the Heartless and Unversed were extinguished by Roxas and Cloud with the duo landing on the ground once the area was cleared.

As the last of the Heartless and Unversed were destroyed, the remaining combatants were looking around the field. Most of them wondered if more of them would appear. Not to mention they noted the drastic amount of participants were slain by them…

Given the lack of bodies on this recent attack.

-Insert Kingdom Hearts 2: Organization XIII-

"Good… Good… You all did well… You all survived. Not bad."

Everyone jolted with their eyes wide and looking around trying to locate the source of this sudden echoing voice.

A cold, malicious laugh soon permeated the air of the melee grounds causing all to freeze up and look around as to where this was coming from.

"Ah, it feels sooo good to be back here after so long." The voice that came after the laughter was nothing short of malevolent in nature.

Many were put off by the tone this man's voice carried with some even shivering at the way he spoke.

"God, when was the last time I saw this nonsense?" The voice went on in a taunting fashion. "Ten, twenty years? Something in between? Time does fly by."

Eddard Stark inhaled sharply, eyes widening nearly to the size of dinner plates as his head snapped over to Robert in alarm.

The King at first held a quizzical look but upon seeing the look of his friend, the gears began to click in his head. His expression morphed into that of unbridled rage and even an open degree of fear.

Sansa and Arya felt an unease dread filling their very being, much like their seated neighbors and everyone else present. Of course upon seeing their father's reaction, they became really scared.

Oberyn Martell soon began recalling just who it was this voice had belonged to, almost dropping his weapon in utter shock. Yet he began tightening his grip on his spear to the point of his palms digging into the damaged wood and drawing blood.

'No… it can't be him… right?' Were the Viper's thoughts as his heart rate started to spike.

Like his nephew, Lewyn Martell thought the same thing as he guarded the rest of their Household. His hands trembled before one of them couldn't have reached his sword fast enough.

Jamie Lannister and Barristan Selmy were on full alert, hands on their blades with the rest of the Kingsguard following suit.

For the first time in years, Tywin Lannister felt a great sense of unease. And it'll be moments later will he feel actual fear.

Cersei held a panicked gaze, holding Myrcelle and Tommen close to her in utter terror as the voice laughed once more.

As for Joffrey, he fought rather hard to hide a smirk on his lips.

'Finally.' Was the crown prince's thought.

Roxas found himself tense, Keyblades gripped tightly in both hands. Strange…

His vision had blurred, shifting into that of another tourney yet he remained completely focused on the here and now. Why did this voice sound so strikingly familiar?

At the very center of the field, a Dark Corridor erupted for all to see.

The dark void emanated there in the center for a number of moments until it dispersed to reveal the one who stood within the Darkness.

The young man who stood there wore an organic black bodysuit with red lines along his body. Over his head was a silver helmet with an obsidian black glass dome. The red belts along his waist were connected to the tattered red, black and navy blue kama.

"Hello Westeros!" The man said aloud, somehow sounding jovially sinister. "Great to see some old faces are, well, old now."

Without missing a beat, Ned Stark along with Jamie, Barristan, Robert and Oberyn all held their weapons out and faced the man that arrived.

"VANITAS!" Eddard roared aloud making the masked boy tilt his head.

"Oh~ hey Neddy." Vanitas said tauntingly. "Looks like the years haven't been that bad to you."

The helmeted boy looked over to Robert and guffawed. "Same can't be said for others unfortunately."

Robert's face became red with pure fury as he grasped his fabled warhammer that he had carried with him in many battles before.

"Come and try taunting me like that to my face you fucking bastard." The King all but snarled.

Vanitas disregarded just about everyone, only to focus on Roxas in particular.

"Gotta say, when I first heard you were out and about, I was utterly confused. I mean, weren't you still supposed to be with Sora."

Roxas seized up, getting into his stance.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Roxas shot back, glaring intently at the strange boy that was giving him a really bad and strangely familiar feeling.

Vanitas didn't respond at first, instead taking a moment to gaze at the two Keyblades the Nobody held.

"Two Keyblades." The helmeted boy muttered in intrigue. "Looks like old Xiggy wasn't sugar coating it when he said you achieved this power."

"What?" Roxas said in confusion. "Xiggy? Wait? Xigbar?! He's back?!"

"He never left." Vanitas chortled aloud. "If you think any of them are truly gone, then you're sorely mistaken."

Roxas felt a massive weight placed on his shoulders and a chill ran down his spine.

If what Vanitas said was true...

"How is it that you are still alive?!" Oberyn bellowed out. "We all thought you dead!"

"Oh, but I was dead. But I got better."

"What?" Was the collective response from all present.

"You can't kill Darkness that easily you idiots." Vanitas stated, the very essence of said element began seeping off the Keybearer of Darkness.

Unversed soon appeared all around the helmeted boy, making many weary.

"I admit when Ventus essentially killed me, it took time for me to reform." Vanitas said. "But the old man was smart enough to… adjust accordingly and now I'm back."

"Old man?"

Vanitas merely chuckled at Roxas' inquiry, not bothering to answer it at all as he resumed where he left off.

"For me to come back, my Unversed traveled all over. Retrieving all sorts of negative emotions for years. To my surprise, this World had a dense surplus of it. All that sadness, hate, anger, suffering. It was like an entire smorgisborg where I can get drunk off of it. Thus I came back far sooner than they could've expected. Not to mention stronger."

The present Unversed then dispersed into a thick, darkened mist. But instead of evaporating, they remained present as the vapors were reabsorbed into their creator.

"Of course, despite all that, I'm still incomplete. I need something else… or rather someone else."

The dark Keybearer slowly walked towards the greater Nobody as everyone nearby said person were put more on edge.

"Maybe… just maybe, if I get you… instead of Ventus… then I'll be complete." Vanitas said and though his face wasn't visible to be seen, the gaze he bore towards Roxas could be distinctly felt.

"What are you talking about?!" Yelled Roxas.

"Something you have in your possession. I want it back." Was Vanitas' vague response. "Now before we get started, a demonstration is in order for you all."

With a snap of his fingers, another Dark Corridor appeared for a brief moment as the defeated Gregor Clegane was held down by a number of Unversed.

"And my involuntary volunteer will help me out here."

This sight utterly surprised everyone, making them wonder a whole number of things.

The Mountain bellowed aloud, beginning to struggle to free himself only for all four of his limbs to be pierced down to the ground.

Gregor struggled in vain until a shadow loomed over him.

Looking up at Vanitas who stood over him.

"What the fuck are you gonna do?" Gregor spat out, fighting to get himself free.

His right hand erupted in dark purple flames. They soon extended and disbursed to reveal a Keyblade; his Void Gear.

It's teeth were black with red outlines and possessed a round, cog-like shape. The handle was red while the guard was identical in design to the teeth. The shaft was majorly colored in shades of grey, but had a copper gear in the center. Wrapping around the blade's shaft were two intersecting black chains. At the head of the blade was a devilish blue cat's eye, while an identical eye was embedded in the hilt. And the key charm attached to the pommel was a series of small copper gears connected to each other.

Vanitas lifted one leg and emphatically stomped down on the man's chest, knocking the wind out of him.

"Hold still." Vanitas said with malicious glee. "They're about to make songs about this after I'm done with you."

Gregor's expression was one of unadulterated fury, struggling once more only for it to be in vain as it was before.

"I'll kill you, I'll KILL YOU!"

Vanitas chuckled darkly, holding his Keyblade in a downward manner over Gregor's chest. "No, you'll kill them."

Widening his eyes, Roxas realized what Vanitas was about to do. Before a moment's notice, he bolted from his spot in the field to stop the dark Keybearer.

"STOP!" Roxas shouted, crossing his arms together.

But alas, he was unfortunate to stop him in time.

With a swift downward plunge, the Void Gear Keyblade pierced Gregor's chest. A split second later, a mighty dark light erupted from the Mountain as he screamed in utter agony. And after that, an eruption of darkness was soon felt and seen by all. And in the process, Roxas was thrown back and landed a good distance away.

"Boy… I sure got a strong one here."

A heart floated out from Gregor's chest, the body being consumed by the Darkness.

"Might not obtain a Nobody after this, but I sure got myself a powerful Heartless."

Vanitas held his hand underneath the heart and a moment later, crushed it in his hands. Plumes of Darkness erupted from his hand and around him. The wisps and smoke of the Darkness began converging near the helmeted Keybearer.

Beside Vanitas, the darkness took shape and it was massive.

It began to shift and form into a gargantuan shape. It was a four legged creature with a long tail and two curved horns. From the black mass, six slitted red eyes opened with the Heartless emblem appearing on its chest.

When the darkness surrounding the newly formed Heartless disbursed, everyone saw more of it's details. It was both reptilian and canine in appearance. It's hide was a mixture of greys and blacks with yellow claws and fangs. Glowing, cracked red lines crawled over much of it's form like blood vessels. And it's mighty tail crashed onto the very earth, sending some shockwaves in its wake as red lightning crackled in between it's horns.

The newly formed Heartless unleashed a bellowing roar with a visible shockwave coming out that blew a number of people back.

Roxas and now Cloud held their weapons aloft, absorbing the shockwave before standing back into their fighting stances.

They resumed their stances as Vanitas pointed his Keyblade at them.

"Now, my creation, my Behemoth, kill."

"▄▅▂▃▄▄▅▂▃▄▄▅▂▃▄"

-End Chapter-

AN:

Been a while since updating this, but you know the usual on why I haven't been updating.

But aside from work and time scheduling, I've been helping out my family since I've last updated this story. The issue that's been going on was my mother's living condition. Her landlord started hiking up the rent and gave my mother a two month notice on this before the new rent is finalized all due to the guy is developing new stuff on the properties he owns. This got her really worried and had been tirelessly searching for a new place to live.

My siblings and I have been looking whenever possible to find a more affordable place, which also wasn't an apartment due to a few reasons. And after weeks of searching with quite the number of deadends and being too late of reacting to several others, we were finally able to find one which suited her desires and needs.

Okay so need to address a few things that many of you readers have been bringing up.

To start things off, romance.

Yes, I am not good at writing romance. It's a hard process to do and I am sorry for making it appear forced in my stories. I do admit it's basically my weakest writing trait as I've been more focused on plot. I am absolutely trying my best here and same with free man writer.

Do need to put down the bit with some misunderstanding on where Sansa and Roxas kissed in the last chapter. It was away from the festivities as Sansa wanted a place to be by herself with no one bothering her. Don't know if a number of you readers had overlooked that.

Yes, things are indeed awkward on how it's being done given the circumstances. Roxas is engaged to Myrcella and two other girls -Sansa and Tyene- are trying to win his affection through their own ways. Things are hard for me to figure out long developments with romance.

Then comes the stuff with marriage in this franchise, let alone this story.

You all need to be mostly reminded -in case you forgot- A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones is set in and based off of medieval times. It's a world where the youngest a girl can get married to is 9-13 years old as they are to become baby factories shortly after they start having their periods. Not to mention said girls often get married to men who are FAR older than like "I'm marrying my parent/grandparent" old. And it even happens the other way around with boys marrying older women; often before they are no longer able to produce children.

Of course there is a silver lining on this, primarily for the varying highborn ladies as I'm not exactly sure on the full scope for the lowborn. Outside of producing kids, they occasionally ran spy networks (depending on the times and region) while managing their husband's court if he was away on top of their finances. The occasional wives did become warriors and generals, but not seen in a good light.

Now another thing to address, Roxas' age.

He is indeed over a year old, but you guys need to remember there are other stories on the site where Roxas is hooked up with other girls who are FAR older than him. Him not having much experience with life and all that jazz is another thing to be brought up.

Now when I was writing things on this story, I had put down that Ansem the Wise had essentially plugged in many years of education into his head in order to help sell more on the false life he had in the digitized Twilight Town. This was even seen in the manga and even addressed -in between the lines- in KH2. I was using this as a means to somewhat help mentally mature him to a certain degree, even if he is dense and naive, so he may somewhat survive better in Planetos.

I can give you all two examples of someone in a similar position as Roxas, Connor Kent/Superboy from Young Justice and Vision from the Marvel properties.

At the start of the series, Connor is merely six months old and had knowledge plugged into his head of advanced education and whatnot so he may properly function to a certain degree. And from there, he ends up in a relationship with M'gann/Miss Martian who is technically in her forties by human standards, even if she is a teen by Martian standards.

With Vision he's mostly well known as a techno-organic android in the MCU while just a straight up android in the comics and various cartoons. Starts out freshly made on the initial introductions from the Jarvis AI hopping into Ultron's creation in the MCU to Wonderman's brain waves transferred into the seized android so the guy can recover in his coma because… comic reasons… yeah it was odd on that. But over the course of their respective runs becomes connected to Wanda/Scarlet Witch -who is in her 20's/30's- in which they greatly develop both their character and relationship.

And I don't hear people complain about those two romances at all with the age department as the guys are technically extremely young. On that, I say those people are often hypocrites when they could state the same thing to me with other people writing Roxas having a romance with someone else with a "large" age gap.

One says that I'm not going to do a realistic approach on this. Well I am gonna have things addressed in this story sooner or later between Roxas and the girls trying to win him over. And this whole thing about the Roxas romance will really develop over time. After all, in this story's timeline at this moment, it's just season/book one of GoT so things can't just be thrown together right away.

Also one final fact I need to bring up… this is a story I'm doing for FUN. I am literally taking time out of my life working on my stories along with helping out others on theirs. Time which I could be doing something else and more productive and yet I'm doing all this instead. I am an amature writer, not seeking a career out of it like most people out there. This is just one of the few healthy outlets I have and actively do daily from the literal 9-5 stressful grind.

I am only human. I make mistakes like everyone else. I can't be the ideal, perfect writer to make spot-on work.

So get off my back!

Free Man Writer: Well now… pretty much couldn't have said it any better. Yeah, anybody who seems to take issue with age here in a Game Of Thrones related crossover… like… seriously, that's really something that comes with the territory. Like criticizing a Kingdom Hearts story for including WORLD HOPPING. You know, world hopping, the thing THIS GAMING FRANCHISE IS FAMOUS FOR. PEOPLE DIDN'T WANT THAT IN A KINGDOM HEARTS CROSSOVER. Ok, so got our rants out of the way, all good now.

Jeb: I agree, let's finally talk about this story.

Just so some people remember, Joffrey is an abusive and bratty moron. He thinks since he is the crown prince and soon becomes king due to his father's excessive vices, he doesn't need to have more than a basic education. With that, he has never bothered to perhaps take lessons beforehand that he's being manipulated and influenced so he may be better self-protected from others. Some examples revolve around his mother and later Margarey.

You can see where this is going with the latest course of actions. This will no doubt result in his utter demise.

FMW: Overall, we're looking at the start of the endgame to season one here. Vanitas has made his grand entrance to all and the world of Westeros is gonna be experiencing some turbulent times to come with the characters going in fun and unexpected directions. Stay tuned for more.

Jeb: On other news, so happy to see the return of several series. Star Wars Bad Batch having premiered, season 4 of Castlevania is underway and Mass Effect Legendary Edition will come out the day after. Not to mention Invincible had one hell of a first season which basically rewrote much on superhero shows like what was done on The Boys. And Resident Evil Village came out, which looked great on the gameplay.

FMW: Nerdfest galore these next few weeks. All the shows, games, movies and all. At long last, going full nerd again. Also, Valheim is addictive as all hell. Play at your own discretion for it will consume you until you reach the gates of Valhalla.

Anyways, be sure to review this story guys! Would like the criticisms. Please and thank you!

R&R