Kingdom Hearts: A New Beginning, Part Two IC

Odie frowned slightly when the guy removed his hood. If he didn't look all that strange, why had he been wearing it? She looked around the stands to see if anyone looked like they recognised him. As far as she could tell, that was a negative. A couple of folks looked pretty red, but more due to how the guy looked than anything that suggested they knew who he was. She noticed a few people who looked wary. There was some distant noises and thumps, but Odie didn't really notice them over the sound of Jason's fight. She looked back at the now unhooded man again. He didn't look any more dangerous than any other competitor, but the cold look on his face made Odie a little uncomfortable. It reminded her of a snake.

Between Valentine, Shadow, Freya, and now this Lloyd character, it was beginning to look like most of the competitors in this cup were trying to be as mysterious and enigmatic as humanly possible. Frankly, it was getting little annoying. Rayn didn't join this cup so he could puzzle over the identity and motivations of his rivals. And yet, here he was doing just that. It was enough to give him a headache.

So far, Jason's fight seemed to be going about as well as could be expected. The Hooded Man tried his unfair tactics against Jason, but thankfully, he wasn't buying any of what the man was selling and was able to use the Light to keep himself not only in the fray, but on more or less even footing with the man. The two seemed to pause briefly in conversation that ended with the Hooded Man throwing off his cloak and calling himself Lloyd.

As their fight began to pick up once more, Rayn caught sight of Valentine again. He was staring right through the match and at Rayn. Now he was starting to make Rayn uneasy, "Sheesh, that guy is still staring at me. Doesn't he realize there's a match going on? It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Jessica helped Thomas up and they both started walking towards the stands. Thomas had a few scrapes and a newly forming bruise. Jessica liked a little rough but seemed pleased as ever. She didn't have anything to say and sat by Ryan or at least as close as she could. She noticed the person Ryan was looking at and her blood chilled at the gaze the guy was giving Ryan.

Thomas sat as close to Odie as he could without making her uncomfortable. He eventually started mumbling about how Jessica had gotten lucky. Thomas sounded disappointed in himself since he hadn't won for Odie.

Shien watched as The Hooded Man revealed himself to be a silver-haired warrior named Lloyd. With the hood no longer obscuring his senses, he could sense powerful magic coming off of him.
"I don't know who this man is, but he's definitely not human. I've never seen the kind of magic coming off of him."
His eyebrows lowered in concern.
"Be careful, Jason."

In the ring, the two combatants were still battling at full speed. Lloyd was incredibly fast and might have outpaced him, but Jason used a bit of his Light Speed to keep up. The clanging of swords resounded again and again, and a few drops of blood stained the arena floor as each scored hits on the other. However, each time he was hit by the Dragon Buster, he felt himself becoming weaker. He broke away from combat and pointed the Kingdom Key at the weapon.
"What manner of weapon is that?"

Lloyd held up the Dragon Buster.
"As its name implies, it is an ancient weapon for destroying dragons. It destroys magic and other energy within its targets. Each hit I land on you with it saps that energy you've been using. Due to my magical nature, I can absorb this energy. In other words, as you get weaker, I get stronger."

Jason drew on more power of the Light, healing his wounds and augmenting his abilities.
"We'll see about that."
He charged in again and began to clash swords with Lloyd, being very careful not to be hit by the Dragon Buster. They were once more all over the ring, each trying to gain an advantage over the other. When he broke away, Jason charged his Keyblades with Light and jumped, spinning in the air to deliver a devastating double strike. Lloyd raised his weapons to block it, but the blow was so strong that the weapons were knocked out of his hands and went flying out of the arena.

Jason pointed Oblivion at Lloyd.
"Admit your defeat, Lloyd. Without weapons, you cannot continue this fight."
Lloyd chuckled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a strange green orb.
"What is that?"
"This is a Dragoon Spirit, an orb that contains the soul of a dragon."

"A dragon?"
"Yes. More specifically, this is the Jade Dragoon Spirit, which contains the soul of the Wind Dragon. This was originally meant for someone else, but you leave me no choice but to use it. Prepare yourself."
The orb began to glow, and Lloyd started to undergo a transformation.

Green heavy armor appeared around him, and wing burst from his back. A green headband appeared around his forehead, and in his hand was a wicked-looking lance. When the transformation was complete, Lloyd came rushing at him with the speed of flight. He struck with his lance again and again, and Jason was just barely able to dodge or deflect his blows. He attempted to pierce his chest with Oblivion, but the armor held fast. He raised his weapons to block a lance strike, and the blow sent him rolling across the ring.

The battle continued as Jason struggled to hold his own against the relentless onslaught of Lloyd. It was clear that he would need to infuse his Keyblades with Light to penetrate his armor, and he would have to time it just right to counter his swift foe. As Lloyd came in for another attack, Jason stood his ground and blocked the lance with his Keyblades, pushing against them. He glowed with a Light aura and held his Keyblades in place while he put his hands against them. A powerful blast of Light came forward, stunning Lloyd as he was hit hard. It was then that Jason struck with a powerful blow that landed under his chin and knocked him into the air.

In the air, Jason launched a combo attack that hit him several times in succession. He then locked his Keyblades in an 'X' around his neck and aimed him toward the ground. The landing was hard and knocked a crater into the ring. Jason's onslaught had succeeded, though, as Lloyd was unconscious and his Dragoon Armor began to fade. As he stood up, he panted for breath at how much Light power he had used.
"Jason Highsmith is the winner!" Phil shouted, "in a stunning victory over The Hooded Man!"

Jason made his way over to the competitors' area and sat down on the bench. Medical staff came over and put Lloyd on a gurney before taking him to the hospital tent. Jason was happy that he had lived up to his promise to Hercules, and that he could continue in the tournament. He looked over and saw Vincent Valentine, who did not acknowledge his presence. He seemed to be staring at Rayn for some odd reason. Maybe it was just his attempt at intimidation, since the two of them would be up next to fight.

Odie leaned closer to try and see better when Shien commented. What was up with this guy? She sat back and noticed Thomas coming to join them in the stands.
"Hey, sitting with us?" She greeted, as she shuffled slightly to make room for the other guy. The other guy who was muttering under his breath with a stormy look. She raised an eyebrow at him and grinned slightly.
"Hey, cheer up, one loss ain't gonna end the world." She said. She paused. She discreetly looked over at Shien for confirmation. She was travelling the worlds with a bona fide Chosen One, it occurred to her that losing a fight under these circumstances just might end the world. Worlds. Whichever. She shook her head.
"Least, not in a tournament it isn't." She amended. Better safe than sorry. She turned back to the pretty spectacular fight. She'd wonder if the wild tricks these two were pulling, between Jason's Light stuff and Lloyd's apparently near bottomless bag of dragony tricks, she'd wonder if any of this was legal in the tournament if it weren't for, well, Hercules in general. Most of the other competitors actually. If all that was allowed, this didn't seem that out there.

So Lloyd had a transformation power? Come to think of it, barely anyone in the tournament so far had relied on such a tactic. In fact, apart from Vincent, Lloyd was the only other one who utilized a full transformation. One could make an argument for Freya, who appeared to undergo a much more subdued transformation with her Trance technique, but that was about it. Rayn wasn't sure why he found this fact odd, but for some reason he did. Something about the nature of this world must have colored his expectations of his competitors, perhaps.

Either way, Jason's fight against Lloyd winded down and ended in a rather spectacular crater-inducing finishing blow on Jason's part. One the one hand, Jason won, and for that Rayn was glad. It would have been a massive disappointment to come all this way and not test himself against his friend and former rival. On the other hand, Jason's fight was going to be a tough act to follow in terms of pleasing the crowd, which was technically what these Games boiled down to in the end.

"Ha! See, what'd I tell you guys?" said Rayn to others as soon as Jason was declared the winner, "Nothing to worry about." at that point, a rare smiled appeared on his lips. He felt a kind of excitement he hadn't felt in a long time. It was no secret that Rayn had taken to enjoying the thrill of the fight, especially in a competitive environment like this. Something about overcoming a strong opponent and beating all the odds just struck all the right chords for him. Of course, lately he hadn't really let himself feel such excitement or enjoyment, and it seemed the Coliseum was bringing that part of him back to life once more, "Speaking of which... there's a certain red-cloaked opponent with my name on him waiting for me." with that he stood and made his way to the edge of the stands, pulling himself up and over the edge of the guard-rail wall and down onto the arena floor.

Meanwhile, the stoic Vincent only offered a single verbal response to Jason's presence nearby, "It's time." he said coldly and began slowly walking out to the arena.

Jessica got up and followed after Ryan and, started channeling her magic into a physical form. She started to form a simple phoenix feather that would hopefully imbue Ryan's strikes with fire magic or provide magical protection. She didn't want to see him in that condition again and was going to start helping him in more subtle ways. She ran to catch up to him feeling drained and a tad hopeful. "Ryan wait up I have something for you! It'll hopefully increase your power or defend against some magic." She said finally attaching a stand of magic to use as a string.

"G-good luck." She mumbled blushing slightly holding out the feather. She felt like she was about to combust. (Proto I'll let you determine the effect and power of this crafted item. I think it would be pretty interesting if it malfunctioned or failed making her feel bad about failing him.)

Jason turned as Vincent uttered the single phrase, "It's time." before heading for the arena. The last match of the quarterfinals would put Rayn up against him, and the competition would probably be fierce. As Rayn headed for the ring, he saw Jessica run toward him to give him something. He could only hope that Rayn would fare better in this match than he had against Freya. He closed his eyes and sent a message telepathically to Rayn.
I'll be rooting for you, so give it your all, Rayn.

Shien watched as Rayn headed for the ring.
"Go get 'em, Rayn!" he called out.
He sat back and saw Thomas sitting next to Odie. He had had a less than stellar match, but at least he had not been seriously injured. He could only hope that Rayn himself did not get injured. It gave him a sense of pride that all three of their friends that had entered had done so well.

Rayn took the feather from Jessica, unaware of its actual magical properties. Even so, he accepted it with a smile, attaching the chain to his belt and said, "I'll keep it as my ace in the hole. I won't let anything happen to me, I promise." he tried to assure her, though he himself didn't know how the fight would go. The only thing he knew for sure was that it wasn't going to be easy. But then, when was it ever?

When Jess had safely returned to the stands, and when Vincent finally made into the ring Rayn shot him a glare, "It's time you gave me a straight answer!" he exclaimed, already calling on his Keyblade before Phil even signaled the start of the match, "You're going to explain yourself by the end of this even if I have to beat it out of you!" this guy had been playing some kind of cryptic mind game with him since the start of the tournament, and Rayn was now at the point that he was fed up with it. This match up would be the perfect excuse to take out of some his frustration. Vincent, of course, said nothing. He offered no verbal response and instead simply took his weapon from its holster in preparation.

"Whoa, folks! The trash talk has started already! Can you just see the sparks go wild around these two?" Phil, naturally, used the tension between these two particular fighters to work the crowd into an uproar, "Ready!" he exclaimed, even dashing out of the ring a little early to avoid the inevitable crossfire, "Steady!" he raised a hand and then suddenly waved it down, "FIGHT!"

Rayn barely gave Phil enough time to finish before he launched an offensive, "Haste!" he shouted, almost instantly, using the newfound super speed to close the distance in milliseconds. He ran so fast he left behind a reddish orange trail and, on occasion, afterimages of himself. He used his speed to dart right past Valentine so he could spin around and open up with an attack from behind. But Vincent had tricks of his own. The Keyblade only managed to brush through the tail end of his cloak harmlessly as the man jumped straight up with speed rivaling Rayn's. His tattered cloak served as the only means of tracking his movements as he darted around the ring with the Hasted Rayn hot on his heels.

So far though, Vincent hadn't taken any shots yet. Instead he was only keeping himself moving and just led Rayn around the ring. Unfortunately it was the gunslinger who seemed to be in control for the time being. After a few more failed attempts at striking his opponent, Rayn briefly stopped his assault and shot his opponent a frustrated glare, "Ugh, fight back already!"

"As you wish." Vincent said coldly, and finally the bullets started flying. Now with his movements Vincent was firing shots from his pistol at Rayn, who either had move nonstop in order for the shots to miss or swing his blade with just enough speed to physically deflect the bullets. Neither method of defense was easy, and in fact Rayn only barely managed to pull it off. Still, he managed to avoid getting shot and resumed his earlier strategy of closing the distance, especially now that Vincent would need a moment to reload.

"Six shots, now you're empty!" taunted Rayn as he seemed to materialize behind Vincent for another surprise strike from behind. But the gunslinger would not be so easily taken by surprise. With his gauntlet-clad left hand he caught the Keyblade in an inhumanly strong grip, and stared in disbelief. Taking the opportunity, Vincent pulled Rayn closer and buried his free hand into Rayn's gut for a strong jab before flinging him aside, again showing a level strength that was clearly beyond human. Instead of following up, Vincent used expert speed and precision to fully reload his gun in what surely looked liked only a single motion.

His initial shock now faded, Rayn staggered to his feet. Damn it, how was he supposed to fight a guy who could casually catch a freaking Keyblade strike with his bare hands? Well, if melee wasn't going to work, then perhaps magic could? In what could be seen as a reckless move, Rayn thrust his Keyblade straight up, the tip of the blade beginning to light up with magic, "Eat this!" he screamed, suddenly unloading a numerous amount of fireballs from the blade, all of which flew around in the ring and homed in on Vincent. Even with the gunslinger's impressive agility, he couldn't dodge them all, and it didn't take long for the sheer number of fireball projectiles to overwhelm him. The fiery salvo created a dense curtain of smoke and dust, and when he finally ended his rapid volley, Rayn stared intensely into the smoke cloud, watching for any signs of movement.

"Impressive." came the sound of Vincent's voice from the smoke and dust cloud. It was different somehow, distorted in some way. And then, a pair of crimson wings cleared the smoke and dust away with a powerful flap. Where Vincent once was, there now was a winged demon using his wings to hover in place just off the ground, "Few have drawn out this form. Fewer still have lived to tell the tale."

"Get 'im Rayn!" Odie cheered as the bout began. What happened in the ring frankly looked less like a fight and more like just a whirlwind of movement from her position, one that eventually started producing gunshot noises. She kept count, one, two. Within a few moments, there'd been six. He had to be out of ammo. And evidently, Rayn had the same idea, as he appeared behind Vincent.

He caught Rayn's keyblade. Goddamn.

Rayn got over the surprise much faster than Odie did. He fired off a bunch of fireballs, enough to kick up enough dust to blind the front row of spectators. All eyes beyond them were squinted, trying to peer through the cloud, only to widen when it cleared. Apparently, Lloyd wasn't the only person with a transformation ability.
An impressed and slightly alarmed "Damn." was all Odie had to say.

Thomas was watching the fight amazed and was developing a fixation with Ryan himself. Thomas had a sword but he couldn't use it to save his life. However Ryan fought with such strength and seemed to channel any anger or frustration into a better way to strike. That was when the dust was kicked up but Thomas was used to fighting dirty so it had little affect on his vision he looked on perplexed at the way the battle was going.

Jessica sat in the front row tinkering with some small device when the dust hit. "Aaah!" She mumbled trying to shield her invention. She looked at it in wonder then at the fight before smiling. She stored the device in her belt pouch and began using magic to replicate it until her pouch was full of the magic bombs. "I may be weaker physically but I'm still no pushover." She mumbled blushing slightly at her own plans. She was trying to plan for any possible opponent she could end up with. No matter what she would accept no mercy from them and no pity upon defeat. She was going to prove her worth in this arena before anybody else underestimated her.

Shien watched the fight, noting that there seemed to be some kind of magic radiating off of Vincent. Just like with Lloyd, it was a kind of magic that he was not familiar with. Rayn and Vincent fought a heated battle, and it was obscured for a moment after Rayn's fireball attack. Vincent had transformed into a winged creature, so he would no doubt be faster and stronger. If he had been strong enough to catch a Keyblade before, he could only imagine how this form would affect the battle. He did not doubt Rayn's abilities, but like Jason before him, he knew he did not have an easy battle ahead of him.

Jason watched as Vincent and Rayn moved around the ring, trying to keep track of them. He imagined this was probably how the others felt when he fought Lloyd. The gunslinger was able to hold Rayn at bay, but when his friend fired back with a fireball technique, the combatants were lost from view. Jason used his Light Vision to keep the combatants in his sights, and actually witnessed Vincent's transformation into the winged creature.
"What in the world...?"
It seemed that this tournament was full of combatants that could change forms.

"He is also a shapeshifter, I see," a voice suddenly said.
The voice was so unexpected that Jason almost jumped ten feet in the air. He turned and saw that he had been joined by Lloyd, who had reclaimed his weapons but looked fresh and unhurt.
"You recovered quickly from our battle."
"Don't underestimate the Dragoon Armor," Lloyd said with a bit of a smile, "it absorbed most of your blow."
"Do you recognize the magic Vincent is using?"

Lloyd shook his head.
"No, it is not native to my world. Still, it's a rather advanced form change spell. The fact that he can take on such a beastly form and retain his sanity and reason is impressive."
"True, but I wouldn't count Rayn out just yet."
Jason smiled as he turned to see Hercules striding up to join them.

"Herc, how do you feel?"
"Good as new," he replied good-naturedly with a flex of his muscles.
Jason turned back to the fight.
"Rayn commands powerful Chaos magic, but I wonder about this Vincent and his true abilities. He has shown us two forms already, but I doubt we have seen the best he has."
"He's saving it as a last resort, I'll bet," Lloyd said in agreement.

"I've learned never to count Rayn out. No matter the odds, he's always survived before. We couldn't have beaten Hades without him, and if he can stand up to the God of the Underworld, he can surely handle this guy."
Jason pondered what would happen if he and Rayn both made it to the final match. Though their relationship had improved greatly, there was a time when they were bitter rivals. He wondered if their friendship was strong enough to survive this competition.

Rayn stared blankly at his opponent for a moment. Just, just what in the actual hell was this guy? He could transform into that beast thing, everyone knew that from his previous bout against Shadow. But this? This... demon thing? He really did seem to have an endless bag of tricks, Vincent. And just how much stronger was he now? Even a moment ago, in what Rayn could only assume was his "base" form, he could casually stop a Keyblade with his bare hands, not to mention fast enough to keep up with the Haste spell with no spell of his own to help him. And now he looked like he could fly on top of everything else. If there was ever an opponent with all the odds stacked in their favor before, then this guy definitely claimed that title now.

Not really sure how he was supposed to go about defeating this thing, Rayn charged forward anyway. Now more than ever he just have to wing it, since both melee and magic failed him. He started by making a jump for Vincent, hoping to strike at him from below. But the man just flapped his wings and rose up a good few feet, the attack never even coming close. And then he dropped back down with speed and strength unlike anything he had displayed before. From above he delivered a powerful drop kick. Rayn tried to let the Keyblade absorb the blow, but Vincent was just too damn strong. The impact actually forced the blade from his grip, it dropping to the arena floor in a metallic clang as Rayn himself was sent sprawling several feet back only to tumble a few more feet on the ground, stopping just shy of the edge of the ring.

No way... that could have been a ring out just now. I don't think I can beat this guy like this.

Rayn was struggling to get back on his feet. From above he heard Vincent's voice, "You should have let yourself fall out of the ring. If you keep fighting I cannot guarantee you'll walk away from this unharmed... or even alive." Vincent was obviously not enraged or anything, as a transformation like this would suggest. In fact he was choosing now of all times to offer Rayn a chance to walk away instead of using his obvious advantage to end it now. Rayn couldn't get the next set of images out of his head. He started seeing the faces of enemies he tried to fight before and failed. Jason, back in the old days, and Hanbei in more recent times. So what, now this guy was going to go on the list of people Rayn couldn't fight?

"No... No way!" cried out Rayn, having finally gotten back to his feet. Even if it seemed like he was about to gain a second wind, the truth was that Vincent could have swooped down and finished him off at any moment before that, which meant that even now the gunslinger was still in complete control of the fight, "Not this time! Not anymore! I'm sick of it! Sick of losing! I won't be left behind! Not by Jason, or Hanbei, and definitely not by YOU!" the more Rayn shouted, the more his shadow grew around him. If he had to let loose the power of Darkness to win this fight, then that's what he would do. This bastard wasn't giving him any other choice. Rayn rose up off the ground a few inches for a moment, his shadow seeming to suddenly gather around and envelope him. Then, with a scream, Rayn exploded outward, reopening his eyes to reveal that they were now yellow, a telltale sign that someone was dipping just a little too far into the Darkness. His usual crimson aura blackened into one of primal, instinctive darkness.

And then Rayn struck. With speed surpassing even his usual Haste spell, Rayn launched an angry, impulsive assault on his opponent. Fueled by the Darkness he'd been trying so hard to keep suppressed, it was now all out in the open, Rayn desperately calling out whatever powers he still had to keeping himself in the fight. It seemed to work, too, as he was now once again fighting on more or less even ground with Vincent, whose only advantage now was his ability to fly and nothing else. At one point, Rayn even launched a barrage of teleport strikes, the same Chaos Blade technique that had been Freya's undoing in an earlier match. As with Freya, the attacks all connected, Rayn finally feeling some satisfaction, like for once he was finally taking control of the fight. And then... Vincent spoke.

"Nothing ever changes the past does it?" he asked, in a knowing tone, then said, "You can try and fight as hard as you can... but those regrets and failures never disappear. They still haunt you, plague your current actions with doubt and self-loathing." this is what made Rayn stop. His angry assault came to a screeching halt, and just before he could deliver a finishing blow, "You think you're in control, that nothing can stop you from completing your mission, especially when its for people you care about, or someone you love." but was the gunslinger still talking about Rayn at this point? Or was he perhaps, in his own subtle way, referring to himself, "But then, you slip up, or maybe you find yourself betrayed. Suddenly failure rears its ugly head, and more people than just yourself are made to suffer for it. Atonement always seems so impossible, doesn't it?" by that point, Rayn finally noticed the horrible mistake he made when he let Vincent's words stop his attack. While Vincent spoke, all the blows Rayn had just dealt to him healed themselves up completely, like his body was just able to naturally regenerate its cells so much faster than a normal person. It was clear then. Vincent's speech, it was to buy time so his wounds could heal.

Rayn was now at a loss. He'd let his opponent get inside his head, and now paid the price for it. Vincent wasn't just fighting with his weapons and skills, he'd been fighting a psychological war as well. And it was clear now that he was winning on both of those fronts. He launched his counterattack, burying a fist in Rayn's stomach, then spinning his whole body around for a powerful backhanded strike that sent Rayn flying well past the edge of the ring. In fact, he was basically milliseconds from being ringed out, when suddenly and with godlike speed, Vincent flew forward and caught Rayn by the scruff of his neck before he could land outside and tossed him straight up. With his speed Vincent flew after his opponent and, while at the apex of the throw's height, the gunslinger delivered a ruthless set of strikes and kicks, and only then did he allow himself to throw Rayn back toward the ground outside the arena. Whatever point he was trying to make, he definitely made it.

Around him, the world just seemed to slow to a crawl. Rayn, plummeting to the ground and toward defeat, could only ask himself what he could possibly have done to make this fight go differently. He'd hit Vincent with everything he had, right? Even busting out the Darkness which he had previously promised himself to never again rely on didn't seem to do any amount of good. It's over, isn't it? He was right, I can fight however hard I want and it won't change anything. I'm still a failure.

Jessica stood up and slammed her hands on the railing of the arena inhaling deeply before shooting surprisingly loud. "Don't you dare just give up like some coward! You're better than this and better than him! Stop over thinking things and just trust in yourself to get the job done!" She was huffing when she was done then stated at Ryan hoping her feather wasn't as useless as it looked.

Thomas watched the fight intently hearing Jessica gasping and groaning occasionally clearly upset with how things were going. Thomas almost jumped when she slammed the railing spraying then from the arena. He could feel his ears ringing as she yelled at the top of her lungs. He saw her swelling up her chest with another breathe and covered his ears for more of her scathing rant.

"Ryan we all make mistakes but only the weak allow them to cling to you! I've made mistakes and lost people before that were close to me! My world is constantly at War and yet you don't see me letting it get me down! I'm s process but in my world that title is earned through victories! I planned battles from a throne room and lost a lot! I've made choices I wish I could take back and sometimes it hurts but I keep it to myself and don't let it control who I am or who I will be! So if you won't fight for your own respect our for yourself then fight for us as a team!" She say down panting having done her best acting. Thomas looked at her shocked and was about to say something out of pity when she cut him off. "All that was a crock of Pegasus poots. In reality we played a lot of chess in my tower but he doesn't need to know that right now. My world really is constantly fighting though."

Odie looked around at the crowd. It was tense, everyone latched to the edges of their seats. But, she could see a lot of people looking uncertain. Neither of these competitors were natives of this world, and the match wasn't in Rayn's favour. But that didn't the crowd couldn't be in his favour.

She let rip her whistle once again.
"C'mon Rayn!" She yelled. At first, no one responded beyond flinching slightly at the sudden shouting. She kept going, undaunted. Then another whistle joined hers. She looked over. The hooded guy whose equipment she'd tripped on had mimicked her whistle. After that, other people slowly started to join in, people previously undecided as for who they were rooting for in this match started cheering for Rayn.

As Jason suspected, Vincent was even more powerful now. With such casual ease, he dodged Rayn's attack and countered with a drop kick powerful enough to send both Rayn and his Keyblade flying. However, even more frightening than this was that Rayn was giving into the Darkness.
"Rayn, no! Dipping into the Darkness even a little bit could cost you your heart!"
Rayn didn't listen, however, and launched a powerful assault that looked like it might just finish Vincent.

However, Vincent seemed to be making some kind of speech, and Rayn stopped attacking. Jason used the Light to augment his hearing, and his eyes shot wide open as he listened to his words.
"That bastard...He's preying on Rayn's psychological weaknesses. If this keeps up, we'll lose him again."
Then Vincent was on him like a rabid dog, hitting him with strike after brutal strike. The whole fight seemed to suggest that Vincent had completely outclassed Rayn, and it seemed that Jason would have to avenge his loss against Vincent like he had avenged Hercules' loss against Lloyd.

Jason watched helplessly as Rayn plummeted toward the ground. The fight was all but over. However, if Rayn himself had given up, his team had not given up on him. Jessica was shouting encouragement from the sidelines, and Odie had whipped up the crowd so that they were cheering for him.
"Give 'em hell, Rayn!" he heard Shien shout from the sidelines.
Jason understood what he had to do, and perhaps, being the man who was once Rayn's greatest rival, his words could hold the most meaning.

He stepped forward, his right fist clenched. He didn't know it, but in this moment, he had taken the same posture that Aiden had on a battlefield so many years ago.
"Rayn, you have not lost! You can still win this fight! Chaos and Darkness failed you, so try the power of Light!"
Hercules and Lloyd watched in silence, supporting Rayn with their strong gazes, knowing that in this moment of apparent triumph, Vincent was at his most vulnerable.

Rayn didn't understand it. Why cheer for him now? He failed, lost, was defeated... right? But there were voices that stood out from the rest, because he recognized each of them. Jessica, Odie, Shien, and even Jason joined in on it. So even now, when Rayn had all but lost, they still... believed? Their words resonated in his heart, a feeling he never felt before. Was this what it was like... to have friends who supported you? Then he heard another voice or two, they didn't belong to the others, but he recognized them nonetheless.

"You defeated me already, so losing now would be unforgivable." the voice sounded like it belonged to Freya. Had she been watching, even offered her own input to the cheering? Maybe, or maybe Rayn was just imagining things.

"Heroes ain't perfect, Kid, they're just as mortal as the rest of us. But as long as you got the heart to keep going, even if it ain't a pretty picture, then you're a hero. Period." that one was definitely in his head. Those were the last words Phil told him last time he was in Olympus. And he was right.

"You know this isn't over yet. Now show them your real power..."

Rayn suddenly opened his eyes. He felt a warmth at his side, and realized that the feather Jessica had given started glowing brightly until it shined with a brilliant radiance. The light covered his body, and he felt his injuries begin to heal. With enough strength to realize how close to defeat he was, Rayn willed his body to stop falling, and amazingly, it did just that. The light from the feather faded and was replaced by particles of golden light that made him fly. Pixie dust, the very same magic that allowed him to fly in Never Land. By the last minute, Rayn leveled his fall into a glide over the audience stand before lifting himself up to face Vincent, even spinning his body in a graceful manner in the process.

"You made me realize something today, Vincent!" he shouted up at his opponent, re-summoning his Keyblade and channeling light energy from it's tip. Vincent, not about to give Rayn time to try something, swooped down at top speed in an attempt to stop him from whatever he was about to try, "Sometimes... a little Faith goes a long way!" he let loose the spell. It was definitely a unique one. Similar to Holy but not quite the same. This spell unleashed a flash of Light that Vincent ended up colliding with, knocking him off of his trajectory and crashing into the Arena. He managed to land on his feet, but was still thoroughly caught off guard by the Faith spell that Rayn so timely cast. The spell didn't end there, however, even Vincent couldn't help but be surprised as the light of the spell fully healed all of Rayn's previous injuries. A spell that both attacked and healed at the same time, definitely not the kind to take lightly.

"You just don't know when to give up." Vincent remarked, now dropping whatever restraint he'd had until that point. He held out his right arm, and it became covered by a blade of crackling chaotic energy. He flew straight up toward Rayn, "Chaos... Saber!" the name of the attack did surprise Rayn, but he refused to let himself be exploited a second time. Instead, he held out his own blade, and it became encased in light that suddenly expanded into a much longer blade. Rayn's charged up blade managed to parry Vincent's Chaos Saber, but that was only the first attack. Vincent was quick to follow it up with another, and then another. He was fast, but attacking from below gave Rayn the high ground, and the Keyblade Wielder was quick to use that fact to his advantage, keeping up with Vincent's onslaught, albeit barely. Each time they clashed, the blades produced a sizzling, crackling sound that only two blades of pure energy could.

It was now Rayn's turn to pull a surprise attack. As Vincent came around for another pass of attacks, Rayn spun his blade over his head, it leaving a surprisingly beautiful trail of light in its wake before Rayn suddenly used the momentum he built up to bring the blade down on Vincent. Though their blades clashed once again, Rayn's unleashed the Light energy it had built up in a surprise flash bang that sent Vincent down to the Arena once again. There was no question about it now, the tide had definitely turned. Rayn was now the one controlling the fight.

"The heart may be weak. And sometimes it may even give in!" shouted Rayn, unknowingly repeating a famous speech made by Sora himself, "But I've learned... that there's a light deep down that never goes out!" at that, his body became enveloped in Light. Much like his previous use of Darkness, this too made him move faster. Much faster. In fact, Rayn found himself teleporting around Vincent at such speed that he was leaving behind afterimages of himself, effectively rivaling even Jason's Light speed. With his newfound agility, Rayn rapidly struck down at Vincent with blinding speed. With each attack, he left behind an energy spike until finally there was one point at Vincent at every possible angle. Rayn flew straight up, the spikes he left behind unleashed a bright and powerful shockwave.

"You were right, my heart is weak!" Rayn apparently wasn't done giving a speech. And unbeknownst to him, he wasn't done quoting Sora yet either, "But it's not alone! It's grown with each new experience. And found a home with all my friends. And if they think of me now and then, they won't forget me, and I won't forget them. Our hearts will become one. My friends are my power! Can you say the same?" at this, Vincent silently created a second Chaos Saber, now wielding one on each arm as he flew upward for a final try at regaining the advantage. At this Rayn flew straight down, his Keyblade shining with Light as he geared up for one more attack. He spun himself around to put some momentum into his attack, calling out the spell he was unleashing, "Mega FLAAAAAARE!" just as the two seemed to clash, the Mega Flare spell created a large, blinding flash of light that enveloped the whole of the arena.

When the light of the spell faded, Rayn landed back on the ground on his feet. Behind him, some distance away, Vincent did the same, his transformation melting away, having finally been outmatched. Both combatants were down to a knee, and both slowly stood to their feet at roughly the same moment. In fact it looked like they could both keep fighting a while yet. But then, Vincent said something truly shocking, "You fought well. You broke your own limits, and even managed to do something even I never could. The match is yours... I yield." with that, he began to walk toward the edge of the ring to solidify his surrender by stepping outside of it.

"Wait, you can still fight, you can't just-" Rayn tried to protest, but Vincent spoke one last time.

"I've seen all I need to see. My purpose here is served." and he exited the ring, forfeiting just like that. He offered no other words or explanations, even leaving the Coliseum altogether and vanishing into the wind.

"WHOA!!!!" shouted Phil who clamored onto the ring and grabbed Rayn's wrist, holding his arm, "Hope nobody missed that because this was the comeback of the century! Rayn's our winner!!!"

Rayn took it in a moment, looking around at the crowd that had somehow been won over to his side. He gave them a grateful wave, lingering his gaze on his friends in the stands to make sure they knew he was grateful to them especially. But he didn't go to them, he went to the competitors' area. There was someone he needed to say something to.

"Alright, buddy!" was the first greeting Herc gave, being first to go Rayn and slapping him on the back, "You're like the Comeback King out there!"

Rayn gave Herc a high five but didn't chat. Instead he went straight to Jason and sat down next to him, "I think I finally get it, now. The only thing that was ever holding me back was myself. Well no more. The past is the past, so no more running from it or trying to change it. From here on it's nothing but moving forward for me. Right there along with you and all the others. That's my promise, and if we do fight, then let me come at you with everything I've got to prove it to you. Deal?"

Jessica smiled and looked at Ryan before sighing and laying back. She was very nervous about the fight and was finally relaxing before grinning and looking at Ryan. "You're lucky it wasn't me out there because I would've used all that time to make a trap and forced you out of the ring." She said with a grin and a little bit of a giggle at the end.

Thomas was more than impressed by the whole match but his attention was distracted every so often during the fight. Odie was always cheering everybody on and it really showed how kind she really was making him like her more.

Odie blinked when Vincent calmly ringed himself out, and sank back down to her seat. She smiled around and puffed up slightly at her handiwork as the crowd raised an unholy ruckus around her, cheering for Rayn's victory almost as loudly as they had Hercules. Well, you could never beat out the hometown hero in that department.

As she looked, she caught sight of Thomas looking at her, grinned, and scratched the back of her neck with a snicker.
"Even I'm surprised I'm that good at working a crowd." She said.

As Jason watched Rayn hurling toward the ground, he almost couldn't believe what he saw. Standing near the arena were two figures dressed in white cloaks with the hoods up. Their faces were turned enough that he could recognize Aiden, and the other could be none other than his best friend Tod Hjiksen. But why were they here? They gave a brief glance at him and then back at the fight before they disappeared. Was it possible that Rayn had some connection to these two, as well?

Rayn recovered from the fall thanks to the feather that Jessica had give him, and he soon began to turn the fight to his advantage. The power and magic of Light was overcoming Vincent's Darkness, and a smile crossed his face as he saw his old friend in new glory. Then Rayn began speaking, and Jason began to see the famous Sora making the exact same speech Rayn was making now. Visions of Sora battling to save the heart of his friend Riku swam before his eyes, and visions of Aiden fighting on an unknown battlefield to protect Tod appeared before him like ghosts. Rayn's powerful use of Light was resonating with him, and the past and the present were converging again. The visions cleared as Rayn unleashed his Mega Flare, and he had to cover his eyes.

In the aftermath of the attack, Vincent conceded the match. Jason knew that Rayn had won not just a battle with Vincent, but a battle with himself. His friend was a new person today, no longer hindered by anger and self-doubt. The crowd was cheering for Rayn, amazed by his comeback. Jason's smile grew even brighter, and he could see the spirits of Aiden and Tod nodding in approval. Hercules gave his congratulations, and even Lloyd seemed impressed by what had happened.

"You showed...guts," was all he said, but his words resonated with deep meaning.
Jason watched as Rayn approached him, sitting down on the bench. His words reinforced what Jason had believed, that Rayn was a whole new man. He was finally ready to become the person he was meant to be. Jason placed his hand on Rayn's shoulder, his smile as big as ever.
"Deal, and when we fight, I'll give it everything I've got, too."