Now the time has come to release Chapter 2 of Operation Ragnarok. This one focused on Kajex's semifinals match against the galarian zangoose, Zaria.

Chapter 3 already starting developement

---

The last match of the first round had been going on for a while. Kaja was blocking blows from an Alolan representative, a male, burly male garchomp. She was blocking and even parrying blows unlike Kajex in his match, but she wasn’t gonna last much longer at the sheer rate his barrage of blows came barreling towards her. Each attack was enough to sent shocks through her skeleton and slices to echo through the air.

“Come on Kaja think!” she thought as she gritted her teeth, her muscles visibly tensing up as she tried to keep blocking, “At this rate he’s gonna cream you like Sulien almost did to Kajex… but probably worse!” She was running out of options. The guy was a master of martial arts, far above Sulien’s level. She needed a miracle like Kajex.

“Come on sweetie you can do it!” Leah exclaimed, tears running down her face, clearly still not over what happened to Kajex in his match.

“What I need is…” Kaja said as she reached her hand behind her, akin to what Kajex did in his fight against Sulien, “... a miracle!” Much to everyone's shock akin to Kajex’s fight, her own Keyblade materialized in her hand, one very much akin to the design of Kajex’s with Kaja’s own color palette embedded into it. It was time for her to turn things around.

“What the-?!” her opponent stammered in shock as Kaja parried his blows and prepared to send a Shadow Claw straight into his chest, “Why do you Orreian representatives get weapons like that?!”

“Because my brother and I aren’t fighters at heart,” Kaja countered with a smug grin, her attack making direct contact. Her opponent was now fumbling around, blood seeping through the gashes and soaking the fabric of his shirt. He was staggering, one hand trying to keep his blood from gushing too much all over himself and the other armed and ready to finish the fight.

“Sure doesn’t feel like it,” he gritted as he dashed straight towards Kaja at breakneck pace, his pride preventing him from conceding with such a grave injury. He’d attack her again, this time with an ear-splitting slice swishing through the air. The earth cracked beneath her feet as the crowd roared in excitement for Kaja’s comeback.

“Go on Kaja!” Sora exclaimed as she jumped out of her seat, “Give it to him and move onto the semifinals!”

“You already lost man,” Kaja said as she took a deep breath and held her Keyblade in front of her, “Accept it.” Kaja finished him in a single strike, ducking under him and giving him one final strike against his stomach. Nothing happened at first, but the moment she made her Keyblade disappear, he’d fall to the ground, completely unconscious. Declaring Kaja the winner as she stood there with minimal injuries. The crowd cheered for her.as she fumbled in place a little.

“And I deem Kaja Alura our final semifinalist for our Grand Clash!” Atrimel exclaimed in pure glee as he clapped for her, “With our Alolan representatives recovering in the infirmary, it’s time for the semifinal matches!” Kaja would arrive at the sidelines and join her brother, finally having his wounds close after his blood pumping match earlier, ready to congratulate his sister.

“Good job making it to the semifinals,” Kajex smiled as he reached his hand out to congratulate her, “And getting out that Keyblade.”

“Thanks Kajex,” Kaja said with a nervous smile as she grabbed his hand, “If it weren’t for them we would’ve been eating the dust by now.”

“I feel like I already did when Sulien sent me flying,” Kajex said with an awkward chuckle before a sudden sense of dread began to wash over him.

“And you’re about to eat more,” the zangoose smirked as she stood behind Kajex, cracking her knuckles. Kajex would turn around, sweating bullets as SOON as he remembered that she was his opponent in the semifinals. He thought that he had NO chance of getting past her.

“Well uh…” Kaja sweated, letting go of Kajex’s hand as the zangoose intimidated her to the core, “... don’t die out there.”

“C-Can’t promise that,” Kajex sweated before glancing towards his opponent for a brief moment, “B-But I’ll… try.”

“Now may the round one semifinalists step out into the arena?” Atrimel’s voice boomed, shaking all confidence Kajex had left into dust.

“Good luck kid,” the zangoose smirked as she stepped out first, cracking her neck a bit, “You’re gonna need it.” Kajex would follow suit, his heart beating so fast his limbs felt like they were made of jelly. The crowd would cheer as they stepped out and assumed their battle positions. Leah however, was INCREDIBLY nervous now, even more so than his first match of Kaja’s. Naomi would continue to try and comfort her.

“It’s gonna be okay Ms Alura,” Naomi assured her, a calming undertone radiating in the mienshao’s voice, “If Kajex gets hurt, Miteru can patch him up after this tournament ends.”

“I’m more so worried about Ms Steele after what happened to Kajex,” Leah muttered under her breath, confusing Naomi more with no context as to what Leah meant. Up in the VIP seats however, Thorya was also sweating bullets. They were not only scared for Kajex’s safety after how the zangoose completely DECIMATED her first opponent. The thoughts of what Thorya saw that night began to creep back into their mind. Lilith and Cherry wouldn’t notice however.

“Thank arceus he ordered all those regeneration potions from me,” Lilith sighed as she fixed her eyes on the battlefield, “Everyone’s been getting hurt so bad most healing moves can only mitigate damage… even if I think he over ordered a bit too much.” Cherry would overhear this however and forced her to recall something that Atrimel did as well with her.

“He over ordered some garbage from you for this tournament too?” Cherry scoffed as she angrily glanced at Lilith, “He ordered so many nanochips that he said he only needed it for the IDs of the fighters, but he only needed 8? Maybe a couple spares?” Thorya would overhear that however and had a gut feeling that their father was planning something with all of that.

“What did he use them for?” Thorya thought as the crowd grew too antsy for the next fight to begin, “Why does he need nanochips and a surplus of healing potions for a tournament meant to… get what he wants most?”

“Now how about we begin the semifinals?” Atrimel began with an evil grin, “The first round of the semifinals between Kajex Alura of Orrei versus Zaria Steele of Galar…” Kajex would summon his Keyblade as Zaria assumed a kickboxer stance, her heart pumping with excitement as Kajex nervously readied his stance, his eyes darting around everywhere.

“In 3… 2…” Atrimel said as he neared the end of the countdown.

“Don’t be afraid Kajex,” Kajex thought as he took a deep breath, his gaze focusing, “Just try and do your best.”

“... 1!” Atrimel finished his countdown with a gleeful cackle, “Now BEGIN!!!” Zaria wasted no time, immediately barreling towards Kajex with a determined look in her eyes. Kajex would try blocking with his Keyblade, but she knocked it out of his hands in a fraction of a second before blasting him in the face with a Double Kick, sending Kajex skidding across the ground like a stone being skipped across the water. Blood was already gushing out of his mouth.

“Kajex get up!” Naomi exclaimed, her heart pounding seeing Zaria gearing up for another blow, “You’re about to get blasted again!”

“This just went from bad to worse,” Kajex thought, tears welling up in his eyes as he summoned his Keyblade again. Kajex managed to block another powerful blow, Zaria’s claws clashing against the blade as a gale blasted behind Kajex. Zaria’s fighting spirit was on a whole new level, unlike Sulien’s and Kajex could feel it shaking his very core.

“What’s the matter?” Zaria smirked as she repelled Kajex away, “A fight’s no fun if only one of us is doing the fighting! What do ya think you are? A punching bag?”

“I-I know that!” Kajex stammered as he’d leap backwards into the air, trying to shake off the emotions he was feeling. He’d throw the Keyblade right towards Zaria at top speed. She dodged it with ease, but Kajex was diving straight towards her with a Meteor Mash at the ready. He wasn’t very sly about his approach.

“Nice try kid,” Zaria smirked as she blocked Kajex’s attack with her forearms, “But you’re nowhere near my level!” She repelled him back into the air with X-Scissor before leaping back into the air towards him. He’d try to summon back his Keyblade in time, but Zaria was too fast for him, delivering a Crush Claw STRAIGHT into Kajex’s spine. He spewed blood out of his mouth almost like he was puking blood before he was sent careening straight back down to the earth. Members of the crowd were disappointed by Kajex’s display, others worried for his safety. One was waiting for something however.

“How much longer until you let him out my puppet?” Atrimel thought with a disappointed, stern look on his face as he clenched his armrests out of frustration. Kajex would try and haphazardly guard any blows he could parry, sparks flying as Zaria’s claws scratched against the blade. He couldn’t dodge all of them however

“Come on Kajex!” Yuki cheered, trying not to wince in pain at the display, a deep gash slicing into Kajex’s cheek.

“Come on, you can do better than that!” Cherry would yell in disappointment, her arms crossed as she stared down at him as he tried in vain to gain some distance.

“I didn’t give you that weapon for nothing now,” Lilith sighed as Kajex struggled to stand. Thorya however, was very worried about Kajex, They wanted him to just give up and get out of there. Kajex had no chance at winning against her.

“Kajex just concede!” Thorya exclaimed, trying to get Kajex to think rationally for once in this tournament, “She’s too much!” Kajex was struggling to get back on his feet as Zaria landed back on the ground. He could feel every nerve in his body being shot, his confidence utterly shattering as if it was made of glass as he glanced towards the one-woman-army that was Zaria, radiating with her cockiness and pride.

“The time is almost here,” Atrimel thought as he let his toothy grin show freely, “The conditions are almost perfect.”

“Sh-She’s gonna kill me,” Kajex mumbled to himself, the voices in his head growing louder, a sense of overwhelming dread and stress washing over him. The majority of the crowd was booing at Kajex after showing such a promising fight with Sulien earlier now looking like a complete joke. The voices were becoming too much to bear.

“She’s like them!” the voice yelled in the depths of his mind, “Kill her like the scum she is! She’s no different than the white coats! All she wants to do is kick you while you’re down and you can’t fight back!”

“I’d better wrap this up then,” Zaria smirked before charging straight at Kajex. Kajex would block blow after blow with his Keyblade, but his grip on his weapon and sanity was wavering, his eyes and body visibly shaking as the voices took hold of his thoughts. He caved in.

“... Yes,” Kajex muttered one final time before the pupils in his eyes dissipated and the once bright purple in his eyes turned dull, muted, and hollow. Zaria didn’t notice the sudden 180 in Kajex’s demeanor instantly. He went from shaking cowardly and in fear to calm and seemingly heartless in a fraction of a second. Atrimel would notice this instantly and his grin grew wider as a result.

“There he is,” Atrimel smirked as his eyes filled with sinful glee. Kajex would repel Zaria instantly by pushing his blade out, staggering her while he sent the Keyblade away. Taking advantage of the moment and using Low Sweep to knock her off of her feet and smashing her in the face head on with Meteor Mash. She was sent flying to the completely other side of the arena headfirst into the wall, her head going straight through it leaving a hole in it before she fell back down onto the ground. Zaria was baffled, unable to process what she was facing now.

“Wh-What was that?!” Zaria gritted as she shook off the shock, blood oozing from her forehead, “When did you get so-” Kajex wasn’t letting her speak. All he could see from his perspective was a black void and his body moved on its own like a machine. He hit her right in the stomach with Close Combat to further stagger her before grabbing her by the head and dragging her along the wall, chunks of stone slicing her cheek and side like razor blades. Even she couldn’t process what was happening… but Leah knew what was happening while the crowd cheered for the sudden comeback from Kajex.

“OH NO KAJEX!!!” Leah exclaimed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face like waterfalls, “STOP IT!!! WAKE UP!!!” For Kajex, all he knew was the void, not knowing what his body was doing. To him it felt like he was transported to another dimension.

“Wh-Where am I?” Kajex stammered as he looked all around the void, “Where did… everyone go?” All he could hear was the dull echo of his own voice amidst the emptiness. Meanwhile his body would grab Zaria by the neck, choke slamming her into the ground, earth cracking beneath the impact of her crash. Naomi and the others looked right at Leah’s horrified expression instead of the carnage.

“Wh-Whoa what’s wrong Ms Alura?” Naomi asked, herself in shock of Kajex’s sudden change to brutality, “Wh-What happened to Kajex?” Leah’s demeanor went from panicked to terrified in mere seconds, her entire body shaking much to everyone’s concern as she relived everything from the early years of Kajex’s life at full force.

“H-He’s…” Leah began to stammer in utter disbelief, “... h-he’s gonna kill her if we don’t snap him out of this!” Everyone would pause, as if time had stopped for them in that instance as those words began to sink in.

“Wait a moment…” Rhys began in disbelief, his heart beginning to thump in his chest uncontrollably, “... like, 100% MURDER her in cold blood?!”

“I meant what I said Rhys,” Leah began as Kajex threw Zaria into the air, the tears continuing to pour, “Kajex back in… those days had violent outbursts like this against the scientists who tortured him and would try to break through the protective glass in fits of rage. I-I just thought it was a byproduct of Kaja sharing his body but… this is Kajex’s trauma. His dark side that came from stress and fear.” While Leah was telling them this however Kaja was watching in horror as she witnessed her brother turn into a heartless killer before her eyes. She was scared for either of their safety.

“K-Kajex…” Kaja stammered in disbelief as Zaria tumbled back to the ground, not believing what she was seeing, “Wh-What… happened to you?” Zaria would clench her side a bit, blood gushing out of the gashes like waterfalls. She now knew she had to end this NOW or else things were going to go from bad to worse for her. She readied to counterattack with all of her strength.

“Alright no more Mrs. Nice Girl,” Zaria gritted, trying not to let the pain get to her, “I’ll get you outta here in one attack!” That one attack would never come. She would try to use Close Combat to attack Kajex as he got close, but he was dodging every blow so effortlessly. Zaria couldn’t touch him and she was losing blood more and more. Her vision grew blurry and it became hard to focus.

“Come on, snap out of it!” Dimitri would yell at the top of his lungs.

“Kajex come back to your senses!” Sora would cry out, not wanting to see her friend become a murderer for tens of thousands to see. Kajex would grab Zaria’s undamaged arm to ensure she would be unable to try and fight back, quickly smashing it on his knee and shattering the bones in it like he just broke a slab of wood on it. Zaria would shriek in pain as she clenched her now broken arm, hardly able to think of anything else with both arms out of commission. The crowd was still cheering.

“... Disappear,” Kajex said in a dull tone, emotion completely depraved from his body. Most thought that Kajex was just making sure to make up for lost time with how much spectacle he was giving them, but Zaria was already conceding. She couldn’t even continue to the finals with her arm as broken as it was even if she somehow won. She was now fearing for her own safety.

“St-Stay back!” Zaria began to cry, inching away from Kajex as she clenched her busted arm’s shoulder, “I-I concede! You win!” Atrimel was trying not to cackle over Kajex’s new heartless persona. He enjoyed how perfect it was for whatever he had planned. He honestly couldn’t care less if he killed her, knowing Kajex could get everyone who opposed him to kneel in fear.

“This is what I wanted from you,” Atrimel thought with his toothy grin beginning to show. Kajex was still wandering around the black void in his head. He felt aimless, hopeless as he thought he could never escape this maze that he didn’t even realize was of his own design.

“What… kind of place is this?” he asked himself before hearing a faint echo of another’s voice somewhere around him, “H-Huh?! Who’s… there?” His body was about to go for the kill Zaria on the other hand, Kajex unable to reel him in unless a miracle happened.

“Kajex come on!” Jade would cry out, the crowd’s cheers drowning out her voice as tears would well up in her eyes.

“You can’t do this to yourself man!” Rhys shouted, his heart visibly thumping at an irregular rate in his chest as Kajex geared up for one final, fatal blow directed at Zaria’s heart. However… one cry would get through all the chaos despite all odds against them.

“I can’t let you do this to yourself Kajex!” Naomi’s cries resonated through the arena, “You gotta pull yourself together!” Kajex suddenly snapped back to reality as the black void dissipated from all around him with Naomi’s voice to reel him back into reality. The color in his eyes flooded back in as he suddenly gasped for air, as if he was just drowning. He paused where he stood, his body shaking as Zaria looked up at him, fear permeating her eyes.

“What the hell are you?” Zaria gritted, the tears mixing with her blood as she sat there on the ground, too scared and destroyed to move.

“Wh-What?” Kajex stuttered as his eyes began to shake and quiver in fear as he looked down at Zaria, conceding defeat fully. The round was over.

“Well now,” Atrimel began, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice, “Seems the first winner of the semifinals is Orrei’s own Kajex Alura! Once Ms Steele has been evacuated to our infirmary we’ll begin the second round.” The people were cheering, but Kajex was still paralyzed with pure fear. He’d fumble backwards a bit before looking down at his hands, clearly seeing traces of blood mixed in the fur on his palms. Kaja would watch in horror as her brother caved into the traumatic thoughts.

“WHAT DID I DO???!!!” Kajex would cry out, tears pouring down his cheeks as Zaria was taken to the infirmary, “WHAT DID I JUST DO???!!! ANSWER ME DAMMIT!!!” Atrimel would scoff a bit as he saw how Kajex snapped back to his senses, much to his dismay.

“At least I removed the mental block on it,” he mumbled to himself… Thorya overheard him with fear rushing down their neck like a chill.

“Why would he want that?” Thorya thought nervously as more dark bits of their father’s past rushed over them, “No… he can’t be trying to do that. That idea is suicide!” Kaja, now looking at her brother in pure horror as he uttered the same phrase over and over again in a fit of fear and insanity.

“K-Kajex…” Kaja began, trying to process everything she just watched unfold, “I-I… don’t know…” Kaja’s opponent for her semifinals match, walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder. They were a male dragonite wearing nothing but a karate gi and a set of glasses on his face. He’d look down at Kaja with a face of concern, yet filled with hope.

“He’s your brother right?” the dragonite asked in a calm, yet sternly.

“Y-Yeah he is,” Kaja remarked, her body shaking as Kajex had his mental breakdown unlike anything she had ever seen from him before.

“Then I ask this of you,” the dragonite began as he fixed his gaze on Kajex, “Keep him under control in the finals for me.”

“H-Huh?!” Kaja stammered at the request’s unforeseen nature, “H-How can I-”

“I’ll let you beat me in a believable way in our match,” he continued in a calm manner, “Since you seem to be the only one who can get through to him in that… state, at least a better chance than I do.”

“A-Are you sure?!” Kaja exclaimed, her hands shaking in fear, “D-Don’t you think that-”

“They can handle the Orreian representatives in the finals,” he replied with a calm smirk, “Most of the people here are Orreian in the first place.” Kaja would be hesitant to this idea. Even she didn’t know if she could snap Kajex out of it all too easily if he somehow slipped back into that psychotic state… but she knew she had to at least try to.

“... I’ll do my best,” Kaja remarked as confidently as she could as Kajex was escorted back to the sidelines.

“Now, would Kiryu Rikita of Unova and Kaja Alura of Orrei come to the arena?” Atrimel’s voice boomed, knowing the time was almost right to initiate the beginning of the end…