The Tiger

Aqua grips her sword tightly as she snaps around. She notices Skull, in full armor, standing by one of the entrances.

"Skull!" She rushes towards him with a look of joy across her face, tripping in the process.

"Alright I've got you." Skull catches her and helps her stand up. "Aqua I'm-" Skull is interrupted.

"Quite disappointed." A booming voice cuts their reunion short.

Skull takes out his sword and Aqua conjures a pair of water tentacles.

"I was hoping the others would be competent enough to take you out on their own." Leon walks in clad in armor as the water around him turns to steam. "But it seems I'll have to do it myself, like usual." He draws a broad sword ignited by flames.

Aqua makes the first move by attempting to Whip him with one of the tentacles. With a surging flame from the sword the water evaporates.

"This is it, Aqua. Don't be discouraged." Skull coats his sword with lightning as Aqua looks concerned behind him.

"Okay." She takes a deep breath and smiles.

Skull and Leon charge each other, clashing their blades.

"Killing you once was freeing, but killing you twice will be pleasurable." Leon mocks Skull as they lean into their strikes.

"I'd like to see you try, I've changed a lot from the man you knew back then. But I'm sure you haven't changed your scumbag and conniving ways." They slide back after pushing each other away.

"You'll just have to find that out." The air around Leon gets hotter as he catches his footing.

"Let me show you the power I gained since you passed!" Leon raises his sword and an extension of the blade is created by fire.

Leon swings his new threatening blade at Skull, his attack is suddenly disrupted as a blast of water turns it to steam.

"Forgot someone?" Water surges around Aqua as she taunts Leon.

"No, I just didn't see you as a threat." Leon looks down at Aqua.

"Then I'll have to change that." She steps forward, the water around her flowing even stronger.

"Hold it. He's trying to provoke you, back me up." Skull holds his arm out, stopping Aqua. She nods in agreement.

Leon swings his blade, launching a fire projectile. Skull charges Leon ignoring the oncoming attack. The fire turns to steam that shrouds Skull. Skull leaps through the mist, sword over his head. Leon quickly stabs the ground, erupting a wall of fire. Skull brings down his sword and splits the flames. Where Leon was is a red orb, that proceeds to explode. The smoke clears and Skull stands unharmed behind a wall of water.

"We're going to kill you, there's no running from it." Skull sees Leon a short distance away, as the wall begins to dissipate.

"Is that how you say hello to an old friend?" Leon removes his helmet as a bright fire burns behind him, his fiery red hair flows elegantly out of the helm, his golden orange eyes have dark circles under them.

"W-what?" Skull grips his head as a jet black liquid oozes from his eyes slits.

Two young boys play in a forest together. One with platinum hair and pale blue eyes, the other with red hair and golden eyes.

"I promise, one day I'll beat you in something!" The pair sit in a tall tree, as the red haired boy calls out to the other who sits above him.

"That just gave me an idea." The platinum haired boy smiles down to his friend.

"Uh, what is it?" The red haired boy watches with curiosity.

"How about we challenge each other to see who's the best of all!" The platinum haired boy stands confidently on his branch.

"You bet!" The red haired boy gets a smug smile.

The duo lock hands sparking their friendly rivalry.

"What are these memories!?" Skull drops to his knees and cries in pain as the ooze splatters across the floor.

"That's more like it." Leon walks over to Skull with a smug look as he tightly holds his ignited sword. "I will stay on top!" He raises the sword above Skull.

Leon stops and a frown sprawls across his face as he looks past Skull. Aqua holds her hand out as a water tentacle is holding onto his sword.

"Skull, get up!" She struggles to keep hold.

Leon frees his sword with little effort and moves past Skull as he stares down Aqua.

"What is he doing?" Skull thinks to himself. as he removes his helmet, the black ooze pours out of his eyes.

"You are really becoming a nuisance." His sword reignites as he slowly approaches Aqua.

"Skull, I need your help!" A stream of water flows in the air around her.

"That's not his name! He is Julius of the dragon! And I am the one who killed him!" Leon looks extremely agitated as fire envelopes his body.

Aqua's eyes widen with fear, as Leon gets ready to use a powerful attack. He is interrupted by Skull slashing across the back.

"Attacking my back? You certainly have changed." Leon turns to an exhausted Skull, barely able to hold up his sword.

Skull drops to his knee again.

"Oh I see now, you only struck to protect her. Despite not having the energy to fight." He looks down at Skull.

"I remember this part of you." Leon thinks back to him standing on the edge of a cliff.

"You're always ready to throw your life away if it means saving another." Julius lays dying next to a messy red haired child.

"I didn't understand at all why you did it." Leon looks disappointed as he gazes down the cliff.

"You could have everything we dreamed of, but you throw that away for people you don't even know!" He remembers their promise as kids.

"And … you were happy to do so." He remembers Julius on the ground, smiling in his final moments.

"Then I realized, you must do it for the feeling of being in control of another's life. It's quite the thrill, being so free to do what you want, deciding if they live or die." Leon mocks Skull as he looks to Aqua behind him.

"Th-that's not it." Skull struggles to stand.

"What did you say?" Leon seems agitated by Skull.

"That's not why I fight!" Skull stances as lightning begins to surge around him.

"Then what is it? What are you hiding from me!?" Leon's anger flares up in a fire.

"Joy doesn't come from power, only pain does!" The dragon appears behind Skull.

"No. You tell me lies, so you can take my joy away from me!" The image of a tiger appears behind Leon.

A swirling storm of fire picks up around Leon. Skull raises his sword above his head.

"You'll be dust before you could get through my flames." Leon has an evil grin.

"Then I'll have to use something new." Lightning sparks out from his blade.

"What? How is that even possible!?" Leon looks on in terror as Skull conjures an extension of his blade made of lightning.

"He figured out how to do it just from seeing it once? No matter, he's still moving slower than normal." Leon thinks to himself as the flames wrap around his sword.

Leon thrusts forward, a swirling spear of fire reaches out towards Skull. Leon watches as a line of water moves around him and protects Skull. He attempts to side step, but the lightning blade still catches his shoulder.

"I'm really starting to get sick of this duo." Water flows around Aqua as Leon gazes back to her.

Leon spins his sword in a flourish, as he stops a spinning ring of fire soars towards Skull. Skull dodges the attack easily. The ring curves and flies over Skull, then flying towards Aqua. Before Skull could react, Leon creates a wall of fire in front of him. Aqua quickly creates an aquatic half dome. The ring collides with the dome and they both explode into a mass of steam. Leon leaps through, cinders flowing behind him, as he prepares to cleave through Aqua. She conjures a pair of tide spears that push Leon back. Steam rises off of him as he quickly makes a burst of fire against Aqua.

Aqua cries in pain as she falls back with 2nd degree burns on her hands. Skull's face darkens as groans in wrath. He creates a copy of his sword made of lightning, and leaps towards Leon.

"This will be the end of you two." Leon holds his blade above Aqua.

Skull attacks Leon with a cross slash from his duel zweihanders. Leon leaps over Skull's attack, when he lands he rends his blade though Skull's back.