After a rather delightful anniversary, James felt somewhat happier as he trained his "magic" within the halls of Bowser's castle.  He felt better about himself whenever he found himself training, wielding his elemental skills as a means to further exert his own frustrations.  He had little time to wield his scissors, or any desire to do so in the past several months of occasional demonic infestations once a month.  But today had been good like the rest of the week.  He managed to make Koopin happy during their anniversary, and his magic had greatly improved.
Exiting the magic hall with a smile on his face, he saw Koopin waiting for him at the visitor's area of King Bowser's castle.  Even a king as fearsome as him understood his minions had others in their lives, who bustled to and fro within the castle's halls.  Goombas, koopas, shy guys, even boos.  All in varying degrees of armour and clothing for their great koopa king.
	"Heeeeeey you!"
	"Hey there!"
The two hugged and kissed, rubbing against snout and beak as Koopin said:
	"Thank you for the turntable set, I can't believe you bought that for me!"
	"Well you did always wanna try being a DJ, so I thought why not."
	"How much did it even cost you?"
	"Not enough to make me not buy it for you, that's all you need to know."
	"Hehehee!  You're looking good, good magic today?"
	"Oh yeah, I TOTALLY nailed this Scirocco move Kammy's been teaching us, how to mix fire and wind into this FEARSOME attack, shit's so awesome!"
	"Hahah, well glad we're gonna be okay this winter."
	"Yeah...hey, what's that?"
Koopin looked down at his arm where James was pointing, the koopa wearing a rather brightly-coloured purple watch with a three-horned cow smiling at him as they passed through the castle's courtyard.  The glimmer of searing dark skies and boiling hot lava shimmered across the glassy face of the watch.
	"OH...um, I bought it at a sale today, I thought it was neat!"
	"Is this one of your moo-moo things?"
	"Yeaaaaaah?"
	"Awww Koopiiiiin, god."
	"What, it's cute!"
	"Just...that looks like something a kid would wear."
	"Woah woah woah don't be like this again, come on, I like My Mini Moo-Moos, so what?"
	"All I'm saying is," said James half-seriously, "that it's a LITTLE bit weird for a guy your age to be into that kinda show."
	"And why would that be weird?"
	"Because...it's...cute!  And...for girls!"
	"Well that's its main audience yeah but so what?!  You watch that robot motorcycle show and you're definitely not seven years old."
	"Yeah but I'm a BOY, I don't have to deal with moonicorns or pegacattle or Butterscotch-"
	"AHA, so you DO remember one of their names!"
	"Well you hear a name enough-"
	"Come on Jaaaaames, don't lie.  I've seen your eyes get all soft whenever Butterscotch comes on...you like her don't you?"
	"...she's cute, what's not to like?" shrugged FG.
	"See," argued Koopin, "why can't you be like that for ALL the show?!"
	"Ugh, god it's like ballet all over again."
	"Wait what?!"
	"N-nothing!"
	"Did you take ballet?!"
	"NO, GOD NO that is gay as hell!"
	"Oh my stars, did you actually go to a ballet class?!"
	"I NEVER DID BALLET SHUT UP!"
	"You know I shouldn't be surprised James.  You got the right figure for it an-"
	"OH MY GOD KOOPIN, shut the hell up and-...go back to your...fuggin'...moo moo cows alright?!"
	"Hhhhhahahahaha, awwwww yer so cute when you get flustered."
Koopin hooked his arms around James' waist coyly so and smooched him once again to tease him.
	"Yanno, for someone who likes guys you sure get worried real fast about what others might think of ya as one."
	"Just, fine, whatever, you have your cows and I have my robots okay?"
	"Okay."
	"HEY, YOU!"
	"Wha..."

James turned round at the voice that suddenly called out to him from the far side of the stone courtyard.  He found himself with shock at the figure who yelled at him.  Koopin became rather surprised at who stood brazenly before them.  A raptor, just like James except black as night, wearing a grey hoodie that read "Park West" as well as some dark slacks.  The crowd of creatures around them turned with curiosity at what looked to be a confrontation, as James challenged:
	"Who the hell are you?"
	"Maybe you don' remember," said the black raptor, "lemme remind you."
Walking closer to them, the crowd dispersed away from them in anxiety at the newcomer approaching.  He was exactly like James, but nearly a full head taller and a more pronounced chin.  His pale-blue eyes were ringed with dull blue circles around them, slanting with a snarl towards the brown raptor.  James started with the obvious question, laced with threat.
	"You're not from around here are you?"
	"Whut tipped you off?"
The voice was strong, and rang with the peals of the streets of an east-coast American city.  Yet James still did not remember who he was despite the voice trickling some familiarity into him.
	"Who are you?  What do you want?"
	"James-"
	"Koopin."
James put a hand on the koopa's shoulder to reassure him.  The look in the black raptor's eyes made him realise there was going to be a fight whether he wanted it or not.
	"Leave this to me."
Koopin could only look up with fear at such a determined look from his lover, but knew this was not the time to argue and stood to the side as the newcomer replied:
	"So you DO recognise me huh?"
	"No.  I don't.  But I know where you come from."
	"Yeah?"
	"Who sent you here?"
	"Hahaha, still runnin' from the law eh, FinalGamer?"
	"Wh-what?  How do you know-"
	"You still tryin' to cover up fer yerself too I bet!"
	"Cover up what?!"
	"Don't even THINK of tryin' to lie yer way outta this one!  I know whut you did, I heard you tryin' to confess years ago!"
	"Wh-what the fuck are you talking about!?!  And you still haven't told me WHO you are, how did you even get here!?"
	"Heheh...same way you did.  'cept I ain' on the run like some two-bit thief, and-"
	"Okay, stop being so fucking vague, what the hell are you talking abou-"
	"NEW YORK!  SEVEN YEARS AGO!  ...last time ah asked you, ah said three years ago...didn' I?"
His eyes widened, only ever hearing the name of a city from his own world from one town specifically.
	"...w-wait."
	"Still a li'l fuzzy?  Lemme give ya a clue."

The black raptor brought out from a scabbard on his back a large weapon.  The most frightening weapon that James could ever imagine.  Not for how it looked, but for how it reminded him.  A gigantic knife, five foot long, reinforced handle, the appearance of rust giving the illusion of looking useless or easily breakable.  But James knew that was not entirely rust.  He could see a name had been scraped onto the blade, but he could not make out entirely what it was.
	"Oh god no..."
The blade-wielder smiled at the fear in FG's eyes.
	"No.  No...n-n-no no no not this...not here."
	"That's right...you remember now don't you?"
	"You...you were the one in the church."
	"So...ah think it's time fer you to confess, FG."
	"James, what's going on?!"
Koopin was confused at who the stranger was, trying to get his lover's attention at the sight of his panic.  But James ignored him.
	"I-i got nothing to confess!  I know nothing about what happened in New York!  I swear!"
The black raptor snarled.
	"You fuckin' asshole, you look at me with fear an' guilt in yer eyes and lie right in my goddamn FACE!?!"
	"I'M NOT LYING, I SWEAR-"
	"SHUT UP!  ...guess that means you ain' comin' back home either huh?"
	"H-home?  Why would you care?!"
	"Heh...that's a no then?"
	"What's it to you!?"
	"Cuz "the Armee" gonna make sure you pay fer what you did, when I drag yer shitscale ass back to 'em!"
	"Th-the-WHAT!?!?  What the hell do they have to do with this!!?  How do you know about them!?!  Why are you HERE?!"
	"You fuckin' know why, punk!  If you gonna run from me, I'll jus' keep comin' to find you!  So whut's it gonna be!?!  Stand an' fight, or run away like a bitch?!"
	"I got NOTHING to run away from you ghetto-ass fuck, now get out of here before I make you!"
	"WELL MAKE ME THEN!"
The dark raptor charged towards him, swinging his large blade low as James readied himself for a fight, armed without his own scissors which remained securely back at home.  But then he heard a voice right next to him.
	"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Koopin suddenly stood before James with determination built up inside him, the raptors incredulous for different reasons.  The black raptor stopped in mid-charge, screeching to a halt.
	"Koopin, get outta here!"
	"The fuck, get outta mah way turtle boy, this ain't yer fight!"
	"NO!" roared the koopa.
The size of the raptor was incredible to Koopin, the black-scaled stranger a full foot taller than him.  But his past four years with James had given him little to fear.
	"I don't know who you are, or what you're accusing him of, but if you aren't gonna tell us or offer some kind of evidence RIGHT NOW, then you better leave or I'm calling the guards!"
	"FINE!  This motherfucker killed my parents!"

A gasp came from the crowd, a revelation coming upon them in this strange little scene.  James looked at the other raptor, genuinely surprised as he asked:
	"...what?  Seriously?"
	"Whut you mean 'what'!?  You fuckin' killed my parents, I fuckin' TOLD YOU back in Silen' Hill, you robbed that apartmen' back in New York, Hell's Kitchen, does THAT ring any bells motherFUCKER?!"
	"I, wha-I never killed anyone's parents!"
	"LIAR!  YOU FUCKIN' LIAR, I KNOW YOU DID!"
	"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING, I NEVER DID!  If you can't prove anything, then you either piss off or fight me!"
	"Oh really!?  Well guess what bitch!  Everyone step back, cuz you an' me FG, we gonna end this right here, RIGHT NOW!"
The crowd spread themselves wider, gasps and murmurs of incredulation from them all.  Koopin kept his stand, bravely before his lover.
	"You're not laying a finger on him!"
	"Koopin, go!"
	"NO, I won't let him hurt you!"
	"This isn't about you!  I have to deal with this!"
	"Bu-"
	"KOOPIN!  This...is my fight."
With the deathly serious tone shaking him, Koopin could do nothing but step aside.  But the commotion had brought some other viewers into the forecourt and James soon heard a shrill voice from above.
	"EEEEEEEEEENOUGH!"
A sudden blast of magic had propelled both raptors away from each other, a bright purple blast that became an explosion of magical shapes.  From the smouldering violet smoke, Kammy Koopa puttered above the ground on her broom, gazing at both combatants with a glaring pair of horn-rimmed glasses.
	"And just WHAT is going on here within MY wretched lord's home domain?!  James, what is this?!"
	"This guy, he just showed up out of nowhere accusing me of killing his parents!"
	"WHAT?!" cried out the witch.
	"ACCUSIN' NUTHIN'," roared the newcomer, "YOU FUCKIN' KILLER!"
	"CALM.  Down, sir.  Now let us not blow up the castle with any sudden arguments.  That sort of behaviour is only allowed by the king on a bad day.  Now...both of you, come here.  Come on, come come!"
Bringing both of the two raptors together in front of all the crowd army, Kammy listened to both James and this stranger speak their case.
	"You first James."
	"I just finished training, when this guy comes out of nowhere and accuses me of killing his parents!"
	"I see.  Now, you uh...what is your name sir?"
	"Roy.  Roy MacGregor."
	"Right, well now Roy, can you explain yourself?"
	"I arrived here like a week ago, went up to this place an' uh, introduced mahself as a dignitary from another land."
	"Ohhhh yes the boy from uh...Gallantry, was it?"
	"Daventry, ma'am," said Roy politely.
	"Right right yes, the one hunting a fugitive I recall.  ...wait, are you saying that James here is the fugitive?!"
	"Yes, this guy is a murderer an' a thief an' I'm here to bring 'im back to justice."
	"Woah woah woah!" said James.  "Alright, I've done a lot of bad things, but I did NOT kill anyone's parents okay?  If you're gonna pin something on me, make it something I DID."
	"I already did, you bastard."
	"Do you have any evidence of this crime?" asked Kammy to Roy.
	"...no.  Nuthin' I can give you."
	"Well, unfortunately, that gives you little power to accuse Mr. Campbell here now does it?  And I must say you have quite a challenge ahead of you for all the supporters he has around here!"
	"She's right!" said Koopin.  "James is a good-hearted person and he's given me nothing but love!  Go anywhere in this kingdom and you'll find plenty of people who'll tell you James is nothing but a guy who's doing his darndest to be the nicest guy alive!"
	"Thanks Koopin," said James.
	"That don' clear you of anythin' FG," said Roy.  "I may not have evidence bu' I remember you.  Ah remember that night seven years ago when you broke into mah family's home an' killed 'em just fer money."
	"...okay.  Yes, I have stolen.  Yes, I have done terrible things.  But I NEVER broke into someone's place in New York.  Ever.  And I most certainly never killed anyone back when I was a thief.  I was never anywhere NEAR New York back...when was it?"
	"Seven years ago."
	"Right, that's impossible, no way I could have been there!"
	"Do you have evidence to prove your whereabouts then?" asked Kammy.
	"...um...no."
	"Ohhhh dear.  Then it appears we have your word against his, and quite frankly that just won't do!  But there IS one way we can sort this out."
	"Whassat?"
	"The old way we sort disputes out in the koopa kingdom.  But it must be ordained by the king himself!  Come!"

The two raptors walked behind Kammy, thrown into this turmoil of dispute against each other as Koopin hurried up behind them, along with a growing crowd of curious off-duty soldiers and visitors.  James was confused and scared of this newcomer.  Someone from his own world somehow managed to reach here, mentioning the A.R.M.E of all things.  Just when he thought he had forgotten about that life, something had to come and pull him back in.
They were forced to wait in what felt like two prison cells, but were actually just two rather sparse waiting rooms separated by a magically-shielded wall.  It allowed both of them to see each other like a glass window, but it was impenetrable to break through.  Koopin was not allowed to stay near James, as preparations were made for this dispute with the king.
	"Are you really from Earth?" asked James.  "MY Earth?"
	"Yeah, duh," replied Roy.
	"...have you been to Chicago?"
	"Course I have, how else would I know about you when thuh A.R.M.E told me about you?"
	"How did you even get involved with them?  You said you were from New York right?"
	"After whut you did to mah parents, they found me...told me about you an' said they could kill two birds wi' one stone.  Help me get justice for mah family, an' keep their project a secret by makin' me part of it, all tooled up with nanos an' shit."
	"...no.  No they didn't...they...do they know about this?  These other worlds and all."
	"Haha, naw man, they don' got any idea whut they managed to do, even after recreatin' the same shit that happened to you, 'cept I wuz willing...willing to do anythin' to get justice."
	"Why...wh-what did they want with you to make you come after me?"
	"You escaped 'em didn't you?  You went crazy on an experimental rampage after you broke out, went on a crazy-ass killin' spree all across the USA."
	"...no, n-no that's...that's a lie.  I mean I did escape them but I never even left Chicago."
	"Don' try an' lie to me, I seen all thuh evidence from 'em.  One way or another, ahma kill you, or bring you to justice."
	"How can you even get me back?  I can't even get home."
	"...whut?"
	"You didn't know I can't even get back?  The teleporting and shit, YOU know that surely, how the fuck else would you be here?!"
	"Yeah I know it, course I know it, ah got the same shit you do!  How the fuck else you think I got here?"
	"...doesn't this all seem weird to you?"
	"Whut?"
	"All...THIS.  Neither of us would ever imagine getting off of Earth, let alone into another fucking dimension, an entire new world!  ...I left my world eight years ago, a year BEFORE what happened to your parents.  I could never have been in New York."
	"Like that lady said, you ain' got no proof."
	"Neither do you."
	"So whut we do now?"
	"We wait...I've been here four years, you already got way less authority than I do."
	"Really?"
Roy showed FG a beautiful silver ring on his right hand, marked with an imprint of a crown as well as a serpent's body snaking around the entire circumference of the ring.
	"See this?  This be a royal decree, I got it in another world, gives me a helluva lotta right to hunt down fugitives like you."
	"Where did you get that?  ...Cyrodiil?"
	"Naw man, kingdom of Daventry, you ain' heard of it?"
	"Nope.  What I do know is you have no power here Roy."
	"No!  You don' get to call me that, you call me sir or you call me thuh MasterGamer."
	"...Master Gamer?  Fucking SERIOUSLY?"
	"You don' deserve yer own title, so now ahma take it from you mah own way.  You may be thuh FinalGamer...but I...am thuh master.  And yer gonna learn that real soon."
	"Like I said, fuckface, you don't have any power, Mister MasterGamer."
	"No, but a king don' know that, he gonna give me mah rights to take yer ass back."
	"Pfft, this is King Bowser we're talking about, you don't know ANYTHING."
	"A king's a king, he gonna take one look at this an' hand you over to me, don' wanna play no diplomatic incident down on his head."

	"I don't care if yer from the freakin' moon," said Bowser, "you got no right here, not in MY kingdom!"
	"Yer Majesty," demanded Roy, "this raptor is a fugitive from the law of mah world, I demand he be taken back with me!"
The throne room was more full than usual, of willing soldiers and visitors within that were intrigued by this turn of events.  James and Roy stood firm before the great king of the koopas, his orange-yellow belly rotund with muscular power, claws digging into the magnificently dark throne.
	"You can demand all you want but if you don't have proof of a crime, you got nothing!"
	"Ah," interjected Kammy beside him, "but neither does James have any proof of him NOT being there!"
	"Oh what the hell," cried out James, "you're supposed to be on my side Miss Kammy!"
	"I am merely an arbiter of the law of Koopa, James, nothing more!  I cannot be biased in my judgements!"
	"So what do we do then?!  He can't prove I killed his parents, and I can't prove I wasn't there!"
	"There is only one way that we may settle disputes in this kingdom of an unverified nature.  When two must clash upon a matter that cannot be verified, they must prove it with their hearts and strength.  And by that, I mean you battle to the end until one of you's no longer standing."
	"Wh-WHAT?!"
	"Wait, whut?!" added Roy.  "You wan' us to fight to thuh death?!"
	"Hohohoho no, not anymore, we live in a more civilised society now!  Now we just let you beat each other into submission!  ...unless you fall into the lava in which case you DO fight to the death."
	"W-wait, lava?!"
	"THEN IT SHALL BE!" proclaimed Bowser regally.  "These two must now face against each other in a battle of how much they believe they are right!  Whoever wins, is proven right by their own strength!"
	"Bu-that don' make sense yer Majesty!  Strength don' prove who's right!"
	"IN THIS KINGDOM IT DOES!  I'M THE STRONGEST AROUND HERE, THAT MEANS I'M ALWAYS RIGHT!  You wanna disagree with me, punk!?"
	"...no, yer Majesty."
	"Good."
Bowser smiled at his perfect logic, his snout smoking through its nostrils before proclaiming:
	"RELEASE THE KRAKEN!"
	"Uh sire," said Kammy, "wrong ceremony."
	"Oh...um, dammit, whut was it again?"
	"W-wait wait wait, we have to prepare them first!  One of them's got a weapon your horribleness, James has none, they need to use OUR weapons!"
	"OH RIGHT, yeah, hey you, black dino, you can't use that here!"
	"Whut?!" said Roy.
	"Yeah!  Only weapons chosen from our armoury are allowed, that way we don't make this unfair!  An' yer gettin' non-bladed ones, no lucky shots either!"
	"...forgive me fer sayin' this, but ahm too accustomed to mah weapon in order to relinquish it, yer Majesty.  Ahm sorry but ah cannot accept that.  But if you wanna try an' make it non-lethal ah could be okay with a li'l nerfing."
	"OOH, I know!"

Kammy smiled with an idea as she swiftly chanted a spell before swishing her wand onto the MasterGamer's blade.  The great knife suddenly glowed with a dulling blue magic, the magikoopa soon bringing out a brown leaf and pushing it through the air against the blade tip.  No matter how hard it pushed, it would not split in two.
	"There, now your creepy blade is dull as a brick, but only for the entire day as well as for the duration of this match in turn.  Is that acceptable?"
	"I...guess so, long as I get to keep it."
	"Hey-ey what about me?!" said James.
	"OH yes of course," said Kammy, "we can offer you a weapon as is customary with all unarmed opponents from our training gallery.  A suitable weapon for the match."
A selection of guards soon came out with a rack of weaponry, all of them either blunt clubs and hammers, or dummy spears and wooden swords.  All of them were fit for training, none of them carrying the weight or sharpness to become truly lethal unless used extensively so.  James picked for himself a fine wooden sword of around the same length as his scissors, large enough he could carry with both hands.
	"Are you both ready to prove yerselves?" said King Bowser.
	"Yes your Majesty," replied both raptors.
	"THEN LET'S BEGIN!"
Kammy waved her wand as the floor fell beneath Roy and James.  Suddenly dropping, they both screamed in shock before falling into some sort of large cage, hanging over a pool of lava.  The heat rose with an intense feeling, the cage itself having a solid stone floor while well suspended by the iron-mesh walls.  Enough to see around the bottom interior flow of the castle's lava supply, presumably as some means of geothermal energy.
Roy stood up, as did James with a groan while Koopin looked down from above along with dozens of other watchers, all circled around the huge hole that had appeared in the throne room floor.  The floor was now sealed over with a magical barrier to prevent anyone else from falling in.

	"THE RULES ARE THUS!" proclaimed Kammy.  "YOU MUST BOTH BATTLE TO THE VERY END OF YOUR LIMITS!  SHOULD ONE FALL AND BE UNABLE TO GET UP WHILE UNAIDED, THEN HE IS PROCLAIMED THE LOSER, AND IS THEREFORE WRONG IN THIS DISPUTE!  YOU MAY NOW BEGIN!"
With this now in mind, Roy stared straight across from James, the heat making them both sweat intensely, tension rising high from this unexpected encounter.
The battleground was set.  A deep stone pit counter-heated by the lava all around them warming them up.  Bowser watched from above with his troops, intrigued by the duel of two otherworldly characters fighting beneath his castle grounds, with his permission of course.  Koopin stood to the side of the pit, watching the two raptors readily adopt fighting stances, sword versus great knife.
	"Before we fight," asked James, "...where the hell did you get that weapon?"
	"The town we met in, dumbass, when I tried to skewer you through a confessional?"
	"...you didn't happen to take it from some guy with a pyramid-like thing for a head did you?"
	"Whut?  The hell you talkin' about?!"
	"You never met anyone like that?"
	"NO, whut, you crazy now too?!"
	"...heh, nothing.  So you just found that weapon yourself huh?"
	"Was given to me back in thuh town, that's all you need to know."
	"Well, now I know one thing."
	"Whut's that?"
	"...you got no chance against me now."
James smiled, only enraging his opponent further who began to charge with a roar.
	"YOU GONNA PAY FER WHUT YOU DID FG!"
The black raptor charged towards FG, blades swinging upwards almost like a samurai showdown to suddenly clash hard against each other.  The lava roared around them, the crowd keeping silent with awe.  Kammy's magic had worked well, as evidenced when James tried to swing low in a feint, but was shouldercharged hard and struck right across the waist by the great knife.  Instead of cutting him deep like it probably would, it simply left him with a bruising pain across his chest.  Enough to hurt, but not enough to kill.
	"UNGH!"
	"That thuh best you got?!  HUH!?"
	"SHUT UP, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY LIFE!"
	"SHOULDA STAYED OUTTA MINE!"
Roy swung brutally hard in a cleaving motion, roaring as James dodged left from the attack only to rush in close and strike hard across the black raptor's waist.  A few slices back and forth before dodging back, the MasterGamer swung his blade back to his side to try and catch FG, who simply dodged under before jabbing and punching him with the sword-hilt his hand held.
The moment he did however, he heard a clang against the chest, and his hand started to throb a dull pain.
	"Wh-what-OOF!"
The larger raptor punched him back with a slam to the face, knocking him down before swinging his blade downwards once again, forcing FG to roll and dodge.  Roy chuckled and lifted up his hoodie, revealing a fine iron chestplate well-kept against his chest.
	"Nobody said I couldn't have a li'l protection now did they?"
	"Oh fuck you," said FG, "that can't be legal!  IS THAT LEGAL!?"
	"YES IT IS," said Kammy from above, "NOT OUR FAULT HE WAS ARMOURED AND YOU'RE NOT, YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO IMPROVISE DEAR!"
	"OH, OKAY, WHATEVER THEN!  That just leaves me your FACE!"

Charging while undeterred, James leapt straight for Roy's face, a jumping slash that pounded him backwards as the wooden sword striked across his black features.  Roy roared and pushed away FG, responding by a mighty slash across the chest, bruising FG even further.  Heaving slightly, he clashed against the other raptor's blade, wood against blunted steel, snarling with frustration at this invader of what little peace he had.
James swiftly weakened his guard while sidestepping around Roy, forcing him to fall through before slashing the back of his head and legs, kicking him down for extra measure.  The black raptor roared at the vicious strikes before bolstering himself back up and charging him with his shoulder, pushing him down hard.  With James stumbling backwards, Roy swung his blade out before him, swinging back and forth in circular arcs on both sides of him.  James was forced back by his roaring strength, the huge knife whirling in front of him with rust-coloured fury.
Soon Roy would stop swinging his blade, using the momentum to swing and turn in a full circle before slicing violently hard across where James would be.  But due to his reflexes, the brown raptor dodged to one side, ducking under the swing before slashing hard across the knees and forcing Roy to buckle.  As he did, James stomped on his foot, noticing also that he did not wore shoes just like he did, and tripped him up with a hammerfist to the back of his head.
The moment he felt the slam of fists down on his head, Roy stood up suddenly with a groan of pain, turning to grab James by the throat and choke him.  But James wasn't going to give him the chance, grabbing his hand and summoning a firey burning will deep into it.  Roy grunted from the sudden burn on his wrist, letting go of James before being slashed across the face.
The larger raptor however, in an act of retribution, bullcharged into James to shove him backwards, making him roll across the stone floor to give him some extra room.
	"SO!" roared Roy, "YOU WANNA USE MAGIC TOO?!"
	"No one said I couldn't!" said James.  "MAGIC'S NOT AGAINST THE RULES RIGHT!?"
	"NOPE!" replied Kammy.  "MAGIC IS FINE!"
	"Pfft fine!" replied Roy.  "You wan' magic?  I gotcher magic right HERE!"
With a violent clench of his fist, the black raptor snarled and began to radiate a spark of blue from his claws, before suddenly striking across the ground a huge shearing crack of ice.  Shattering immediately afterwards, the sharp row of icy stalagmites went straight for James like a burrowing worm, forcing him to dodge and run past them at the side, not quick enough to shield himself.
	"WH-WHAT THE HELL?!"
	"WHUT DID I TELL YOU!?  I GOT ALL THE SAME SHIT YOU DO FG, 'CEPT I'M BETTER!"
Roaring with fury, Roy swung his blade across the ground, causing an icy mist to streak along the floor followed by yet another valley of crackling shards.  James however was quick enough to respond, remembering the lesson he had today on fire and wind.  Summoning his will, the brown raptor screamed as he blasted a furious scirocco straight across Roy's ice.  The ice wasn't going to last long in the heat of the lava anyway, but James wanted to make sure he obliterated it while also burning straight across his opponent, the firey wind making him roar with burning pain.

The MasterGamer however countered with a furious wind shear, roaring a strange chant that somehow FG recognised.  He was thrown completely off his feet and skidded across the floor from the powerful gale, emanating from Roy screaming:
	"FUS RO-DAH!"
	"AAAAGH!  ...nnngh...Wh-WHAT!?  H-how do you know that?!  I MADE THAT WORD UP, HOW THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"
	"HAHAHAHA, you didn' make it up dumbass, stop tryin' to rip shit off as yer own!  I may not know the real thing, but I can still knock you back like a BITCH!"
	"WHERE DID YOU LEARN IT THEN?!"
	"The fuck it matter to you, I'll still kick your ass!"
	"SHUT UP!  WULD!"
Feeling incredibly paranoid now, he charged towards Roy with his own particular power, or at least he thought it was.  He wasn't even sure of anything anymore, other than the fact he had to win this fight.  He rushed with the sudden speed of the northern winds, clashing against Roy hard as he took him by surprise, swinging the heavier blade downwards before headbutting the other raptor.  Roy fell back with surprise, but FG kept on him, making him stumble more with each new slice of his furious wooden blade.
With his furious assault, the brown raptor gave no quarter for the MasterGamer to come back from, not even having the speed to bring up his own blade in defence.  Striked across both cheeks of his face, he was bruising hard and roaring with frustration from the agile foe, until he just took the pain and headbutted FG.  As he stumbled back from the sudden pain, Roy swiftly spun round with a circle of cold water around him, before turning it into ice brutally fast.  FG was trapped, and by the time he thought to check his feet, a brutal fist slammed into his face.  Falling back hard enough to fall onto the ground, uprooted from the quickly defrosting ice, he soon received a terrifying blow from above courtesy of the great knife.  He shrieked and covered his face on instinct, taking the blow hard like a hammer coming down upon him.  His hands soon pulsed with a violent bruising pain.
The black raptor wasn't done, and furiously swung his blade upon him once more, straight onto the head.  Had the weapon not been dulled by Kammy's magic, it would have killed FG there and then from such tremendous force.  But instead it cracked down on his skull, making him scream and weakly try to roll away in panic.  Roy simply swung down to where he would go, forcing the raptor to roll the other way.  He managed to dodge most of the hits, until he turned too weak to keep moving.  Roy smiled with a panting heart.
	"Now yer DEAD!"
He swung up his blade once more.
	"THIS IS FOR MOM AN' DAD YOU SON OF A BITCH!"
	"NO!"
	"HUH?!"

A scream came from above, making him look up in mid-swing.  Koopin's eyes beamed down onto him from the crowd above, his panicked look making him stop briefly.  Then he felt the most immense sudden pain attack his crotch.
	"HNNNGH!"
Gritting his teeth hard, the spasms would soon come as his nerves twitched and forced him to drop the great knife, clattering onto the stone floor.  He looked down to see James, his foot firmly planted straight into the black raptor's crotch.
	"...Y-...you..."
James responded with another brutal kick, making Roy scream and fall to his knees before him.  The black raptor shuddered with a pealing groan as his legs buckled, giving FG enough time to swiftly get back up and kick him hard in the face.
	"Never...fight clean with me."
With a final insult, he slammed his foot straight into the MasterGamer's face, sending him backwards hard across the platform and skidding halfway towards the cage wall.  He'd been disarmed and humiliated by his foe, who slammed his knee down hard on the upper chest, chokeholding him with a sword tip of wood at his eye.
	"You...motherfucker," panted Roy.
	"Takes one to know one, right?"
	"NNNGH...FUCK YOU!  YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE, WHY DON'T YOU TELL 'EM WHUT YOU DID?!"
	"BECAUSE I NEVER DID IT!  I won't accept whatever lie you got from those 'Armee' fucks, and you better not either!"
	"Lie?!  HAH, your word against an entire branch of the US Military-"
	"Oh they WISH to be military you dumbass, you KNOW they're not!"
	"Still got more credibility than some punkass wanderin' like an orphan!"
	"So why did they send YOU out to make their case?!"
	"Guh-you-RAAR-HRK!"
James cut off his roar with a good tensing chokehold of his kneeweight, squeezing enough to make him shiver in a sudden loss of air.  Koopin was fearful for what would happen, despite the brown raptor expecting him to call out.  Yet he looked into the eyes of his new foe, and saw absolute conviction.
He can't be lying...but nothing he says is true.  Who IS he?  ...there's no way I can ask him anything like this.  What the hell do I do?  Why would they still keep hunting me even after I left home years ago?
After making up his mind around half a minute later, he snarled down towards the newcomer.
	"Lemme make you a deal."
	"No fuckin' way-GHRK!"
	"Shut.  Up.  I won't kill you.  I don't hate you, I pity you for the lies the A.R.M.E fed you like a goddamn baby.  You believe whatever you want but I NEVER killed anyone's parents."
	"B-bullshit..."
	"Whatever.  I'll let you live, on one condition.  Two actually."
	"W-whut?"
	"You leave this world right now.  If I see you here again, I WILL kill you.  I will make you suffer, I will dip you in this fucking lava inch by inch until you beg me to cut your throat out and end you quicker.  If we ever meet again, outside of this world, THEN you have a chance of killing me and getting whatever "revenge" you want from me.  But not here.  Don't ever come back here, unless you want to die."
	"...f-fine.  Whut's thuh other condition?"
	"...did you ever meet a Sarah King?"
	"...whut?"
	"Sarah King.  Dolphin bartender in Chicago."
	"F-fuck...yeah...I met her.  When I wuz huntin' you, pickin' up clues, tracin' fer you an' shit back at whut they called yer ol' haunt.  Heh...like a cop, or a detective maybe."
	"Tell me about her.  Was she alright?  Was she hurt?"
	"Yeah...she alright.  Leg looked a li'l busted up, her bar wuz kinda fucked up too...but she sure ain' dead."
	"...alright.  Now."
He backed off slowly, seeing his foe was weak enough to not fight anymore.
	"Get the fuck out of my life."
He could see that FG was serious, and he was in no state for round 2, so he took the option with what little grace and dignity he had and hobbled his way back to the open pit entrance.  The guards, seeing that the battle was over, had ordered some parakoopas to fly in and slowly raise up both Roy and James individually.  Koopin watched him from the crowd, confused at both raptors.  The crowd soon dispersed, satisfied at the resolution except for the more blood-thirsty Bowser, who huffed with disbelief.
	"Why do we even HAVE that wall?" he murmured.  "Stupid health an' safety regulations."
	"I know your vileness," said Kammy.  "I miss the good ol' days of a good lava kicking to toss one's opponent straight into certain death...hohoho."
James said nothing until he returned home with Koopin, who knew nothing of what would come.  Roy, by order of the winner of the match, was forced to leave the kingdom after recuperating, and as such had no intentions of chasing after FG for now.  But the raptor who had lived here for the past four years now found himself within a deeper dilemma.  A dilemma he wished never to be reminded of again.