Chapter 11: The Showdown of Fate
The Gummi Ship landed outside of the Collseum, and the party got out. Riku looked at Cloud. "Shouldn't we be going to Hollow Bastion? That's where we found the first piece of the Embelm."
Cloud shook his head. "Sephiroth wouldn't go back to a place he was at before. He'd go someplace where we wouldn't think to look until much later. That's why I'm thinking he'd be here," said Cloud. "That, and this is where the strongest gather. He'd feel right at home here."
"Yea... Maybe Phil's seen him or Sora!"
The party headed into the lounge. Phil was there looking over the schedual of fights when he saw Riku and the others come in. "Hey, kid, you're just in time! There's a new team that's not been beat yet." Riku blinks. "Oh? What'd they look like?"
"Well," said Phil. "One of them was dressed in a black cloak and had long sliver hair... But his weapon was the longest sword that I've ever seen!"
"That's Sephiroth all right," said Cloud. "What did the other one look like, Phil?"
"Well," said Phil, "His partner was a boy with spikey brown hair and a darker version of that funky weapon you've got." He points to Riku. Riku gasps. "Sora..." Riku looks at Phil. "We're going to take them on! Where do we have to go?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." said Phil. "There's a few stipulations that were placed up when those two set up the challenge."
Leon looked at Phil. "What are the stipulations?" he asked. Phil looked at them. "Well, first you've got to find four pieces of a key to open their door."
Riku, Cloud, and Leon brought out their pieces of the Embelm. "You mean these?" asked Riku. Phil blinks. "That's them, all right. The second stipulation is that only two people can go in to challenge them."
Riku looked at Cloud who nodded. "Riku and I are going to challenge them, Phil," said Cloud. Phil looked at them. "You sure? You know you can't come back once you head in there until you defeat them."
"We know, Phil," said Riku.
"Okay," said Phil. "Good luck."
With that, Riku and Cloud got themselves equipped because they knew that this was going to be a tough battle indeed. When they were all set to go, Cloud and Riku put the pieces into their places, and the door opened up. They ran in side by side and looked around. In front of them and holding a darkened version of Riku's Keyblade was Sora. Sephiroth was no where to be seen... or so they thought.
From above them, light began to gather into a dome-shaped area before it collasped inward, and a hole opened up showing the night sky. Magic started to whirl in a vortex within the hole before it transformed into a circle of complex patterns with a rounded triangle in the center. The triangle's points stuck out of circle, and from them, three vortices of magic appeared encircling a central vortex of magic that blasted down causing a bright flash of light where it landed. Cloud and Riku shielded their eyes.
As the magic faded away, a figure could be seen. His back was turned towards them, but they could clearly make out the long silver hair and his long black coat. A single midnight black feathered wing was over his right shoulder. He got up slowly knowing that his partner, Sora, would keep him protected until he had fully turned around and drawn his sword.
Cloud had his sword out, but he didn't rush Sephiroth as he had done several times in the past. This was because of Sora. Cloud knew he could attack Sephiroth if he wanted to, but he knew that if he tried Sora would take the blow instead, and he would've broken his promise to Riku to help him find and rescue his friends from where ever they were at.
Riku too had his weapon out, yet he didn't advance on his friend. Riku didn't want to harm his friend, yet he knew that he had to free him somehow from whatever terrible spell that Sephiroth had placed on him. Then maybe he'd find out where Kairi was so that he could rescue her and be over with this mess...
With all the main players in posistion, Sephiroth started to move. He slowly began to raise off of the ground just as a puppet would do when someone lifted its strings up. It almost looked like he wasn't alive, but Cloud and Riku knew better. When Sephiroth stood all the way up, his right arm outstretched as did his wing. Riku and Cloud stood ready. Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder to see them prepared, and he slowly turned around. An emotionless smile was on his face as his cold aquamarine eyes met theirs. His right hand reached over to his left side and grasped the hilt of his sword, the Masamune. Riku and Cloud stood in ready stances as did Sora. Sephiroth pulled out his massive blade.
The fighting ring was sealed in by magic, so Cloud and Riku knew the only way to get out of there and alive with Sora was if they could defeat Sephiroth. The only problem was that Sora was under one of Sephiroth's spells and would take any damage for Sephiroth should Cloud try to attack him. However, if their plan was going to work, Cloud and Riku had to keep the two of them separate so that Sephiroth could be defeated without harming Sora. Riku decided he'd act as the decoy again, only this time, he'd keep Sora on his tail to keep him from getting harmed. Once Cloud had taken care of Sephiroth, Riku would knock some sense back into his friend just as he had done during the sparring matches back on Destiny Island.
When the match began, Riku ran right in front of Sora. "Come on, Sora! Bet 'cha can't catch me!" Sora took the bait and chased after Riku leaving Sephiroth facing a very pissed off Cloud Strife. "Sephiroth! You will pay for what you've done to Riku's friend!" he shouted as he weiled his Buster Sword.
"Oh, really?" Sephiroth smirked arrogently. "Come on and try me, boy." Red lightning danced around Cloud, while blue lightning danced around Sephiroth. The next moment, there was an explosion as both of them rushed each other, and their swords clanged against one another. Both of them darted to opposite ends of the rings, and as Cloud was preparing to dash forward, a demonic wing sprouted from his right shoulder. They darted towards each other and begun to attack each other while dodging the other's blows eventually taking it to the air. They pulled back once more preparing for the final dash towards each other. Sephiroth was clearly wounded, but Cloud showed no signs of injury. They darted back towards each other and started the entire attack and dodge thing once again. Eventually, a mighty blow from Cloud sent Sephiroth high into the sky, and he just hovered there as if daring Cloud to come after him. Cloud gathered into a crouch and launched himself straight at Sephiroth who plunged towards him like a meteor. They met in the middle with a mighty clash of swords that caused a brilliant white light to light up the arena.
While all of this had been going on, Riku and Sora were still duking it out in a battle of Keyblades, and for a while, it seemed that Sora was going to win. However, when Sora looked up to see what was going on after he had knocked Riku to the ground, he became blinded by the light. Riku saw his chance. Using his springboard kick, he kicked Sora in the chest knocking him out. Riku knelt down beside him, deftly removed the dark Keyblade from his hand, and destroyed it with his own. Then Riku watched the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth wind down.
Sephiroth too had been blinded by the brilliance of the light caused by the clashing of his and Cloud's swords, so he never saw it coming. Cloud gathered his energy and performed the same move that had killed Sephiroth the last time they had battled each other one on one. "Omnislash!" The only thing that made this one different was that this one was in the air. Sephiroth was hit with several blows before he fell to the ground, but he didn't even get that far before he disintergrated into black magic and feathers.
Cloud landed a few minutes later and ran over to where Riku was with the unconscious Sora. "Is he okay, Riku?" asked Cloud.
"I don't know," said Riku. "I guess we'll know when he wakes up."
Just then, Sora's eyes started to open up. "Where am I?" Sora asked blinking his eyes. He spotted Riku. "Riku, what's going on? And who's that?"
"He's a friend," said Riku. "Trust me. The story'll take some time to tell, but right now, we need to find Kairi to make sure she's okay."
"The guy left her at the castle on the island inside a deep chamber. I don't know what he's planning to do with her, but I know it's not good."
"He must be talking about Hollow Bastion, Riku," said Cloud.
Riku looked at Sora. "Don't worry, Sora. My friends and I will rescue her. Want to know what Tidus and Wakku have been up to?" asked Riku. Sora's face brightened up a bit. "Sure."
"We'll take you there first so you can reminice about the good days, and I'll go get Kairi. Besides, I've got a promise to keep to a couple of my friends at that place."
"Okay," said Sora as he took Riku's hand to help him up.
The three of them headed back to the lobby to get Leon and then to Besaid Island where Sora got the surprise of his life finding out that Tidus and Wakku were all grown up and Riku had learned to play Blitzball from them to help them win a championship.
Saying good-bye to their friends on Besaid Island, Riku, Cloud, and Leon hopped onto a boat and headed back to Hollow Bastion to help out Beast, Belle, and Kairi. Little did they know that they would find the source of all the Heartless as well as how to stop them there as well...
The Gummi Ship landed outside of the Collseum, and the party got out. Riku looked at Cloud. "Shouldn't we be going to Hollow Bastion? That's where we found the first piece of the Embelm."
Cloud shook his head. "Sephiroth wouldn't go back to a place he was at before. He'd go someplace where we wouldn't think to look until much later. That's why I'm thinking he'd be here," said Cloud. "That, and this is where the strongest gather. He'd feel right at home here."
"Yea... Maybe Phil's seen him or Sora!"
The party headed into the lounge. Phil was there looking over the schedual of fights when he saw Riku and the others come in. "Hey, kid, you're just in time! There's a new team that's not been beat yet." Riku blinks. "Oh? What'd they look like?"
"Well," said Phil. "One of them was dressed in a black cloak and had long sliver hair... But his weapon was the longest sword that I've ever seen!"
"That's Sephiroth all right," said Cloud. "What did the other one look like, Phil?"
"Well," said Phil, "His partner was a boy with spikey brown hair and a darker version of that funky weapon you've got." He points to Riku. Riku gasps. "Sora..." Riku looks at Phil. "We're going to take them on! Where do we have to go?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." said Phil. "There's a few stipulations that were placed up when those two set up the challenge."
Leon looked at Phil. "What are the stipulations?" he asked. Phil looked at them. "Well, first you've got to find four pieces of a key to open their door."
Riku, Cloud, and Leon brought out their pieces of the Embelm. "You mean these?" asked Riku. Phil blinks. "That's them, all right. The second stipulation is that only two people can go in to challenge them."
Riku looked at Cloud who nodded. "Riku and I are going to challenge them, Phil," said Cloud. Phil looked at them. "You sure? You know you can't come back once you head in there until you defeat them."
"We know, Phil," said Riku.
"Okay," said Phil. "Good luck."
With that, Riku and Cloud got themselves equipped because they knew that this was going to be a tough battle indeed. When they were all set to go, Cloud and Riku put the pieces into their places, and the door opened up. They ran in side by side and looked around. In front of them and holding a darkened version of Riku's Keyblade was Sora. Sephiroth was no where to be seen... or so they thought.
From above them, light began to gather into a dome-shaped area before it collasped inward, and a hole opened up showing the night sky. Magic started to whirl in a vortex within the hole before it transformed into a circle of complex patterns with a rounded triangle in the center. The triangle's points stuck out of circle, and from them, three vortices of magic appeared encircling a central vortex of magic that blasted down causing a bright flash of light where it landed. Cloud and Riku shielded their eyes.
As the magic faded away, a figure could be seen. His back was turned towards them, but they could clearly make out the long silver hair and his long black coat. A single midnight black feathered wing was over his right shoulder. He got up slowly knowing that his partner, Sora, would keep him protected until he had fully turned around and drawn his sword.
Cloud had his sword out, but he didn't rush Sephiroth as he had done several times in the past. This was because of Sora. Cloud knew he could attack Sephiroth if he wanted to, but he knew that if he tried Sora would take the blow instead, and he would've broken his promise to Riku to help him find and rescue his friends from where ever they were at.
Riku too had his weapon out, yet he didn't advance on his friend. Riku didn't want to harm his friend, yet he knew that he had to free him somehow from whatever terrible spell that Sephiroth had placed on him. Then maybe he'd find out where Kairi was so that he could rescue her and be over with this mess...
With all the main players in posistion, Sephiroth started to move. He slowly began to raise off of the ground just as a puppet would do when someone lifted its strings up. It almost looked like he wasn't alive, but Cloud and Riku knew better. When Sephiroth stood all the way up, his right arm outstretched as did his wing. Riku and Cloud stood ready. Sephiroth glanced over his shoulder to see them prepared, and he slowly turned around. An emotionless smile was on his face as his cold aquamarine eyes met theirs. His right hand reached over to his left side and grasped the hilt of his sword, the Masamune. Riku and Cloud stood in ready stances as did Sora. Sephiroth pulled out his massive blade.
The fighting ring was sealed in by magic, so Cloud and Riku knew the only way to get out of there and alive with Sora was if they could defeat Sephiroth. The only problem was that Sora was under one of Sephiroth's spells and would take any damage for Sephiroth should Cloud try to attack him. However, if their plan was going to work, Cloud and Riku had to keep the two of them separate so that Sephiroth could be defeated without harming Sora. Riku decided he'd act as the decoy again, only this time, he'd keep Sora on his tail to keep him from getting harmed. Once Cloud had taken care of Sephiroth, Riku would knock some sense back into his friend just as he had done during the sparring matches back on Destiny Island.
When the match began, Riku ran right in front of Sora. "Come on, Sora! Bet 'cha can't catch me!" Sora took the bait and chased after Riku leaving Sephiroth facing a very pissed off Cloud Strife. "Sephiroth! You will pay for what you've done to Riku's friend!" he shouted as he weiled his Buster Sword.
"Oh, really?" Sephiroth smirked arrogently. "Come on and try me, boy." Red lightning danced around Cloud, while blue lightning danced around Sephiroth. The next moment, there was an explosion as both of them rushed each other, and their swords clanged against one another. Both of them darted to opposite ends of the rings, and as Cloud was preparing to dash forward, a demonic wing sprouted from his right shoulder. They darted towards each other and begun to attack each other while dodging the other's blows eventually taking it to the air. They pulled back once more preparing for the final dash towards each other. Sephiroth was clearly wounded, but Cloud showed no signs of injury. They darted back towards each other and started the entire attack and dodge thing once again. Eventually, a mighty blow from Cloud sent Sephiroth high into the sky, and he just hovered there as if daring Cloud to come after him. Cloud gathered into a crouch and launched himself straight at Sephiroth who plunged towards him like a meteor. They met in the middle with a mighty clash of swords that caused a brilliant white light to light up the arena.
While all of this had been going on, Riku and Sora were still duking it out in a battle of Keyblades, and for a while, it seemed that Sora was going to win. However, when Sora looked up to see what was going on after he had knocked Riku to the ground, he became blinded by the light. Riku saw his chance. Using his springboard kick, he kicked Sora in the chest knocking him out. Riku knelt down beside him, deftly removed the dark Keyblade from his hand, and destroyed it with his own. Then Riku watched the battle between Cloud and Sephiroth wind down.
Sephiroth too had been blinded by the brilliance of the light caused by the clashing of his and Cloud's swords, so he never saw it coming. Cloud gathered his energy and performed the same move that had killed Sephiroth the last time they had battled each other one on one. "Omnislash!" The only thing that made this one different was that this one was in the air. Sephiroth was hit with several blows before he fell to the ground, but he didn't even get that far before he disintergrated into black magic and feathers.
Cloud landed a few minutes later and ran over to where Riku was with the unconscious Sora. "Is he okay, Riku?" asked Cloud.
"I don't know," said Riku. "I guess we'll know when he wakes up."
Just then, Sora's eyes started to open up. "Where am I?" Sora asked blinking his eyes. He spotted Riku. "Riku, what's going on? And who's that?"
"He's a friend," said Riku. "Trust me. The story'll take some time to tell, but right now, we need to find Kairi to make sure she's okay."
"The guy left her at the castle on the island inside a deep chamber. I don't know what he's planning to do with her, but I know it's not good."
"He must be talking about Hollow Bastion, Riku," said Cloud.
Riku looked at Sora. "Don't worry, Sora. My friends and I will rescue her. Want to know what Tidus and Wakku have been up to?" asked Riku. Sora's face brightened up a bit. "Sure."
"We'll take you there first so you can reminice about the good days, and I'll go get Kairi. Besides, I've got a promise to keep to a couple of my friends at that place."
"Okay," said Sora as he took Riku's hand to help him up.
The three of them headed back to the lobby to get Leon and then to Besaid Island where Sora got the surprise of his life finding out that Tidus and Wakku were all grown up and Riku had learned to play Blitzball from them to help them win a championship.
Saying good-bye to their friends on Besaid Island, Riku, Cloud, and Leon hopped onto a boat and headed back to Hollow Bastion to help out Beast, Belle, and Kairi. Little did they know that they would find the source of all the Heartless as well as how to stop them there as well...
