(Hey everyone! Topaz here. This is just the first chapter in a fairly lengthy story. I have most of this story already written, so the other chapters should go up pretty quickly. Let me know what you think! -Topaz Fox)
Disclaimer--I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything else related to it.
Topaz yawned from her bench overlooking the Olympius Colosseum arena. Olympius Colosseum was usually so busy and full of action, but today...it seemed that there was nobody there. Barely a dozen people were occupying the arena's huge seating area. Nobody at all was in the arena itself, and even the usual pushy Colosseum vendors seemed to be nonexistent. Topaz yawned again and propped her sandaled feet up on the bench in front of her. She leaned against the bench behind her, planning to doze off in the bright midday sun. There's nothing to record today, she told herself.
Although she was barely sixteen, Topaz was already a seasoned storyteller. When her world was first destroyed, Topaz had escaped to Traverse Town, but had found it rather dull there. Thus, she spent her days traveling among various worlds, the worlds that weren't supposed to know of each other, and collecting stories. Sometimes she was able to take the things she had seen and done and string them into new tales of her own. Words were her passion. She had been apprenticed in the art of writing by Jiminy, a wise cricket who inhabited her old world.
Her old world...her home. It had been swallowed that day by the unbearable shadows, the Heartless. She had wished to protect it. Some of her friends had been skilled in combat or magic, but not Topaz. She could use only words, and they did nothing in battles. I'm worthless in that way, I guess.
Topaz drifted into troubled dreams of formless, wicked darkness, grasping with monotone claws, glaring with round candlelight eyes. Eyes that melted love and injected fear into all, eyes that scattered family and friends. The shadows surged closer, rippling like poisoned water, or black blood...
Suddenly, Topaz woke with start, remembering who and where she was. But what was that noise? A cheer? Topaz sat up straight on her bench and saw that the arena seats had nearly filled up. Hundreds of people in tunics and togas were surging with noise and talk. Vendors prowled the isles, trying to sell everything from meat kabobs to baklava. Topaz smoothed her short white tunic and her wild chocolate-colored hair, trying to appear presentable. The Colosseum was alive again. But...why so quickly...?
The vast crowd grew silent. The stadium announcer appeared. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he bellowed. "Welcome to today's Colosseum battle! Today we have the Hercules Cup lineup. Will Team Sora prevail once again?" The announcer was answered by an astonishing cheer. People began to chant, "SO-RA! SO-RA!"
Who's Sora? Topaz nudged the woman seated next to her. "Excuse me, but, ah...who is this Sora?" The woman, who was rather large with platinum hair pulled into a tight bun, peered at Topaz as if she were some rabid animal. "Who is Sora? Why, Sora is only one of the finest warriors in the galaxy! How have you not heard of him?" Topaz didn't respond. She was already caught up in the action taking place below.
A boy about her age with spiky brown hair stood between two freakish creatures: one a duck dressed in blue, the other a strange dog-thing wielding a shield. The boy raised a weapon Topaz had never seen before. It resembled a key, but much larger and with a razor-sharp edge like a battleaxe. The crowd cheered at the sight of the weapon: "Go get 'em, Sora!" "Show those Heartless what for!" "You rock, Keyblade Master!"
The first battalion of Heartless appeared in the arena. Topaz watched in awe as the spiky-haired boy (That must be Sora, Topaz told herself) defeated the Heartless in less than a minute. The crowd went wild.
Sora went on to defeat more and more Heartless. He was breathtakingly strong, and every fight seemed like a dance. Sora would swoop in, flanked by the dog-thing and the duck, and the three of them would weave in and out of their enemies until every one had fallen. The crowd, of course, loved it. Topaz spotted more than one "WE LOVE TEAM SORA" banner displayed proudly in the stadium seating.
In what seemed like no time at all, a slim blond man appeared at the edge of the arena. Topaz recognized him at once. It's Cloud Strife! she thought, smitten. She had harbored feelings for him ever since she had first come to the Colosseum. "Go Cloud!" she shouted. Quite a few people shot her strange and even hateful looks. That's funny. The last time I was here, Cloud was a crowd favorite! I've been away too long.
Cloud Strife gripped his Buster Blade tightly. Like a sudden flash of lightning, he dashed towards Sora, long cape aflutter, and raised his weapon high. Sora blocked the blow with amazing speed and parried with an attack of his own. Cloud received the blow gracefully and didn't even flinch. Instead, he stiffened his single, leathery black wing and exploded into the air. He circled a few times, and then swept down to attack Sora. Sora rolled out of the way just in time, and Cloud only grazed his leg. What's more, the dog-creature loped up and bashed Cloud over the head with his shield. Topaz was aghast from her spot in the stands. "This just can't be," she muttered. "Nobody can beat Cloud, least of all a kid and some circus freaks...!" But she couldn't have been more wrong.
The warriors down in the arena were locked in a hypnotizing display. Topaz watched with horror as her dear Cloud fell gradually into defeat. At last, when Sora knocked him down, he couldn't even rise to his feet again. Sora was pronounced the winner, and the arena rang with cheers and shouts of victory.
Topaz snatched up her notebook and pen and began to write furiously. How are heroes created? she wrote. They are not born of flesh, like normal people, but are born of strength: strength of body, strength of mind, and strength of heart. Most importantly, a hero is born of love.
The crowd became dead silent. "Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer blared. "Now presenting the clash of two heroes you've all been waiting for! I present Hercules, son of the gods, challenging our current champion Sora!" The cheers that followed were earsplitting. In the arena below, the dog and the duck were gone, and Sora alone stood before the powerful Hercules. Topaz bought a hot, sweet-smelling honey cake from a vendor and settled down to watch the battle. There was no way Sora could beat Hercules...especially not one-on-one.
The fight began explosively. Herc began to glow a pale gold, like the full moon. Sora assaulted him swiftly, but the Keyblade (for Topaz had guessed that was what it was) bounced off and did no damage. Sora was unfazed. The young hero grabbed one of the many barrels that had appeared in the arena. With wonderful might, Sora hurled the barrel into the air towards Hercules. The barrel hit Herc hard on the head and exploded on contact. Hercules looked a bit dazed as Sora attacked. Eventually, Hercules regained his soft golden aura, and the process began again.
Topaz watched excitedly. She paid close attention to Sora, recording some of the things she saw in her notebook. The hand that wasn't writing held the honey cake, and between paragraphs Topaz would take big bites of the delicious pastry. Not long after she finished eating, Hercules staggered and fell to the ground.
Sora tapped the fallen warrior with the end of his Keyblade. Satisfied, he raised he weapon high above his head, and the crowd's cries were so loud that they seemed to almost be solid. The stadium announcer reappeared and shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, our champion has kept his crown! Our next match will be in three days, same time, same place. There are trash receptacles positioned in the lobby and near the Colosseum gates. Thank you all for coming!"