Kingdom Hearts
by hikaranko
Summary: This is, in all seriousness, a direct novel adaptation of the game Kingdom Hearts. "The Destiny Islands are a beautiful paradise where children's laughter abounds. Day after Day, Sora, Riku, and Kairi talk and dream of new places, new worlds, beyond their islands... Little do they know a great destiny awaits them..."
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts at all. This entire fan fic is really just the game in novel format, so credit for the existence of all of this goes to all the hard workers at Disney and Square-Enix (most especially Tetsuya Nomura). I must also thank the creators of the KH manga (from which I borrowed stuff).
Author's Note: Oh my goodness! I found the other novelizations of Kingdom Hearts! Hahahaha, that took me a while. :D Kudos to those people, it's tough cookies to turn this game into a book. ...And I only just recently felt the need to announce something about my novelization. I've had to explain this several times to my classmates, so it's only right that I share. While it is true that I borrow a lot of stuff from the KH Manga, I will always always stick more closely to what's in the game. I take artistic license when I have to, but if there's dialogue for it in the game, then I'll always use that. I'm not one to change what worked for the game. Sorry if that means it gets kinda boring to the people who've already played through the entire game... ... I really do like some of the stuff that's in the other adaptations, though. :)
Thanks again for all the reviews!
Chapter 10
Zero to Hero
Olympus
The trio charged into their next battle, their weapons flashing, and adrenaline pumping through their veins so hard that they could hear it in their ears. This battle was going to be more difficult than the others. They had been pitted against several of the magic Heartless, a few Shadows, and one very large, very round, very fat Heartless that drummed its belly dauntingly at the trio.
As Donald and Goofy split themselves between the Shadows and the floating mushrooms, Sora made a charge for who he had just dubbed, "the Big One." He clutched the Keyblade tight between his hands and swung as hard as he could against the Big One's belly, but to no effect. The Big One was so fat that Sora was sent backwards slightly, his weapon bouncing off of the enemy as if it had hit rubber. Sora staggered backward somewhat as he tried to regain his footing. He bit down on his lip. This wasn't good.
"Donald! Goofy! Help!"
"Hold yer tail feathers!" Donald yelled as he charged up a fire spell. "I still got these guys to deal with!" He gritted his teeth as a fireball shot out from the staff and connected with one of his enemies.
"Be there in a jiffy, Sora!" Goofy called as he made a charge through the last remaining Shadow toward Sora and the Big One. "Cha – arge!"
The captain of the guard rammed into the Big One's belly, only to bounce backwards, flipping head over heels as he rolled across the sandy ground. Goofy was stunned. "Ahyuk."
"Goofy!" Sora cried out plaintively as he continued to attempt to hurt the Big One.
"Coming!" Goofy said as he rose to his feet and hurried back to Sora.
For a long while, the two of them tried to hurt the Big One somehow, but no matter what they did, the Big One would merely move its belly into the attack, rendering it ineffective. After a long while of this, the Heartless banged the side of its belly with one fist, then leapt into the air and came back down with a loud, earth shattering thud. The thud sent shockwaves through the floor, knocking Sora and Goofy down onto their rear ends.
The Big One seemed to be laughing for a moment, and then, just as it readied itself to leap again, a loud bang was heard from behind. It halted, having felt the pain of a successful hit. Sora and Goofy peered around the large edges of the Big One and saw Donald on the other side, wielding his staff proudly.
"That's it!" Sora said as it dawned on him. "Its belly serves as a shield, so its back is completely wide open!"
He jumped back to his feet and tried to get behind the Big One, but the Heartless seemed to be perfectly aware of its weakness, since, as Sora tried to run around it, it spun around to follow him. Sora gritted his teeth angrily. Well, that stunk.
"Donald! Goofy! Distract it!"
His two companions nodded in agreement. Goofy rose to his feet and readied his shield while Donald took a deep breath before charging, his staff flailing about in the air. They began to bang their weapons against the Big One's belly. It turned its head so that it was staring down at the two smaller figures who were attacking it. Sora used the opportunity to his advantage, getting a firm grip on the Keyblade. He leapt into the air and slashed vertically downwards on the Big One's backside. As soon as both feet touched ground again, Sora took the Keyblade and thrust the blade into the Heartless and watched as the Big One burst open like a balloon.
Sora grinned, looking over at Donald and Goofy and giving them a thumbs up sign.
"Good job."
All three of them turned around to face the speaker. Standing not ten feet away from where Donald and Goofy stood was the mysterious young warrior they had seen earlier. The man's gaze turned onto Sora, his ice blue eyes narrowing as he analyzed the boy. Sora took a hesitant step forward.
"You're the guy from earlier," he said, slowly moving to join Donald and Goofy.
The man nodded. "My name's Cloud Strife."
Then, without a word, Cloud brought forward a large, powerful looking sword. It had to have weighed a ton. It was at least twice Sora's height. The dark metal gleamed maliciously in the sunlight from within its wrappings of thin brown cloth. The red hilt was held by one firm, gloved hand, supporting the huge blade. Cloud positioned himself into a ready position, clutching the sword steadily between both hands. Sora felt a chill run up his spine.
"I commend you for your performance with that monster," Cloud said in a soft, firm voice. "Let me be your next opponent."
Without even waiting for a response, Cloud made a charge. Sora leapt back as a nervous reaction, nearly tripping over himself. Donald and Goofy jumped awkwardly out of Cloud's way, falling painfully onto their butts. Cloud seemed to fly at Sora with an amazing speed. Before Sora knew it, he was hurtling across the arena, his chest stinging with the pain of having been struck by Cloud's gargantuan sword.
"Sora!"
He hit the ground, rolling head over heels, the Keyblade violently torn from his grasp as Sora practically skidded across the sandy floor. The sand and dust flew into the air, making a brown dust cloud so thick that Sora could barely breathe, on top of the fact that practically all the wind had just been completely knocked out of him. Sora gasped and coughed for air, his entire body aching. The dust stung at his eyes, bringing out pained tears. Then slowly, painstakingly, he attempted to rise to his feet.
Cloud straightened, watching Sora from across the stadium. He then began taking slow, confident steps toward where Sora was lying on the ground. Donald and Goofy exchanged glances, then jumped to their feet and ran at Cloud, their weapons flailing. The warrior glanced over his shoulder and, seeing the duo coming at him, adjusted his hold on his weapon and swung, knocking Donald and Goofy away with the flat side of his weapon.
They weren't knocked away as far or as hard as Sora had, so it took less time for them to recover. Donald gritted his teeth, pulling out a Hi-Potion bottle.
"Goofy! Distract him!"
The duck immediately made a break for where Sora was, the Hi-Potion bottle in hand. Goofy swallowed hard, watching his companion with wide eyes. He then clutched his shield tight in his white gloved hands and barreled toward Cloud, shield first. Cloud stopped walking as Donald rushed past him, turning around to look at Goofy with his icy gaze. Goofy's heart almost stopped beating, but he continued his charge. For the Key Bearer!
"Sora!" Donald yelled, biting the cork off the top of the bottle as he knelt near Sora.
The boy struggled to speak between coughs, but he could barely breathe, let alone speak. Donald helped Sora into a sitting position, and offered him the Hi-Potion.
"Come on, kid, drink!"
Sora grabbed the bottle, wincing at the stab of pain in his arm as he did so, and hurriedly chugged the potion down. Donald looked urgently back at Goofy, who was backing away from the slowly approaching Cloud. He then looked back at Sora, who had just downed the whole bottle. He chucked the bottle to the ground, taking slow, deep breaths while waiting for his energy to return. Sora looked at Donald and smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, Donald."
"Now that you're feeling better," Donald said, helping Sora to his feet, "we've gotta get back in there and beat this guy!"
As Sora began to regain his balance, Donald hurried back into the fray, waving his staff wildly in the air. A tiny bolt of lightning came out of thin air and struck Cloud, though hardly fazing him. Sora stumbled toward where the Keyblade was lying on the floor, still waiting for his body to fully recover from Cloud's first strike. His mind whirled. If this was the extent of the warrior's power, how could he possibly last much longer against him?
Cloud stepped out of the way of Goofy's charge, glancing over at Sora. He watched for a moment as the young kid bent down to pick up the Keyblade, shaking his head vigorously from side to side. Cloud turned back to the other two, adjusting his weapon. He pushed them away easily, with enough force to send them flying a distance and to knock them out.
"I'm not after you two," he muttered coldly.
Sora gripped the Keyblade in his hands, his senses coming back to life altogether too quickly. The adrenaline started to pump through his body, waking him up. Sora could hear the blood in his ears. His entire body was suddenly on full alert. And the very first thing Sora saw was Cloud, holding his gigantic weapon, coming at him for another swing.
The warrior swung his sword vertically downwards with such power that the air screamed as it sliced through it. The muscles in Sora's legs reacted automatically, propelling him diagonally away from the strike, dodging the move in a roll. Cloud's eyes went wide in annoyance and surprise. He lifted his weapon from the ground and turned slowly to look at Sora.
"You're going to die anyway," he said firmly. "You might as well stand still."
"What?" Sora practically spat out the word. "What are you talking about?"
As Cloud swung his sword swiftly, Sora just barely managed to dodge by jumping out of the way. The blade still managed to scratch at Sora's jacket, almost hooking into Sora's chain necklace.
What was Cloud talking about? What did he mean by "you're going to die anyway"? That's when Sora saw something that scared him half to death.
Cloud took the hilt of his weapon into both hands and closed his eyes as his entire body began to glow orange. Then slowly, ever so slowly, emerging from behind Cloud's back, was a single black feathered wing. It emerged slowly from behind him, and then suddenly snapped open, revealing its full length. Raven black feathers floated slowly to the ground. Cloud reopened his eyes and glared maliciously at Sora.
"Stay still."
Then, without any further warning, Cloud charged at Sora, swinging his sword. He had done so with such speed that Sora had barely seen him move. One moment, Cloud's wing had just emerged, and the next, Cloud had come so close that he could see the whites of his eyes. And the next moment, Sora found himself spinning through the air, flying across the arena, his body suddenly screaming in pain. It felt like every part of his body had been hit.
As soon as he hit the ground, all he could see was the sky, then the ground, then sky again, over and over until he suddenly hit what Sora could only think to be one of the large stone pillars that surrounded the arena. Every part of his body suddenly felt like it was burning. He had scratches on every exposed part of his body. His lungs heaved painfully, searching for air, but getting only dirt. He could barely open his eyes as more tears of pain streamed down his face. All he could see was darkness. All he could hear was the sound of his own, strangled breathing.
Then came the sound of boots crunching against the ground. Slow, heavy, confident footsteps. Getting louder, approaching, and then stopping nearby. Sora's chest heaved painfully. He coughed and wheezed through the ache. He tried to force his eyes open so he could see the victor. Cloud could be seen looming over him, standing poised with his sword in one hand. Sora released a moan of defeat and hung his head. He had lost. They had completely lost to Cloud Strife.
Cloud stared down at Sora for a moment before shutting his ice colored eyes. He took in a slow even breath, opened his eyes, and slowly raised his sword into the air. Sora looked back up at Cloud, his eyes wide in shock and alarm.
"W-What're you doing?" he said as loudly as he could.
The mercenary shook his head slowly. "Duty calls."
It was only then that Phil, who had been watching in silence the whole time, dropped his clipboard and started to run into the arena. He was about to bark out some orders when he bumped into somebody, somebody tall and solid, dressed in a long black toga with blue fire for hair. The god of the Underworld's eyes glimmered in excited malice as he waited for Cloud to complete the job, as he waited for the blade to slice the mere boy.
Sora braced himself for the worst, closing his eyes, his entire body trembling in panic. Cloud was going to kill him! That's what he had been talking about before! This warrior was going to kill him! Sora's breathing came in quick gasps, his ribcage aching with every sharp intake of breath.
Just then, Donald and Goofy came back to their senses. Looking about them, panicked, they caught sight of Sora, completely defeated and kneeling in terror before a victorious Cloud Strife who had his large sword raised in the air. The duo scrambled painfully to their feet and began to run toward them, shouting Sora's name in panic. Cloud gripped the hilt of his weapon firmly in his hands as he looked down at Sora. Then something within him caved. Slowly, the weapon was lowered to the ground. Slowly, Cloud backed away from where Sora knelt in defeat.
The fire on Hades' head began to burn in rage. He narrowed his eyes at the warrior before storming quickly toward the holding chambers, where the monsters waited to unleash their fury.
As Sora looked back at Cloud in surprise, Donald and Goofy reached Sora and knelt by his side, offering him Potion bottles. They kept saying his name and asking him if he was alright, but Sora's senses were still dulled by the battle, and his mind reeled in confusion as he watched Cloud back away slowly, turning his eyes to the ground. What had just happened?
Suddenly, a giant black paw descended from out of nowhere, crushing Cloud underneath it. Phil jumped backward with a loud yell of alarm. All eyes followed the giant paw up to its owner. There, looming over them all in such a way that it completely blocked out the sunlight, was a gigantic three headed black dog. All three sets of sharp yellow teeth gleamed viciously, saliva dripping from the tips of the monster dog's fangs. All three pairs of eyes glared down at the fragile creatures before them maliciously. The monster then reared back and released a loud round of howls.
Donald and Goofy grabbed onto Sora and tried to help him to his feet as fast as they could, without much success. Sora struggled to get his own footing when he caught sight of a familiar being, his eyes going wide. "That guy…"
Cloud winced in pain as he lay practically crushed beneath the beast's paw. He could barely move. It angered him greatly to think that the one blow from the monster dog had beaten him. Suddenly, a voice pierced through his ear. It was quiet and distant, but Cloud managed to catch every word.
"Oh, right," it was saying casually. "There was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen."
Cloud recognized the voice and growled angrily to himself before his sight blurred and everything went black. The god of the Underworld had double crossed him. And now Sora knew why he had been helped into the tournament.
The monster roared and gnashed its teeth viciously as Donald, Goofy, and Phil helped Sora up onto the audience platform, Sora now back on his feet. The beast turned all its heads on them, and all of them seemed to grin malevolently. Then with a loud growl, the monster lunged at them, its many teeth gnashing together. Seeing this, Donald and Goofy released Sora from their grasp and fell backward onto the benches behind them, Sora dropping back to the ground. They had barely escaped the fury of the monster's jaws. The giant dog pulled back, growling, and then turned its attention onto Sora. Sora's face paled as the three heads made a break for him. The boy shut his eyes and shielded himself, prepared for the worst.
Suddenly, something dashed forward and stopped the creature, grabbing onto its mouth and holding it wide open. When Sora looked to see what had saved him, he saw a young man, not much older than twenty years of age. He was dressed in golden Grecian warrior armor with a small blue cape over his shoulders, making him look something like a superhero. He was obviously a trained fighter, as practically his entire body was chiseled and muscular. He looked at Sora while he held the creature's jaw open, his short, wavy red hair spilling over his headband into his face, his blue eyes fierce as he analyzed the mere kid who sat on the floor just a few feet away from peril.
Phil looked over at the man, his face washing over with relief. "Herc!"
The Greek warrior glanced over his shoulder at the satyr briefly. "Phil!" he yelled commandingly. "Get them out of here!"
The satyr nodded before he hurried toward Sora and the others as quickly as they could, jumping down to the ground from atop the audience platform. Donald and Goofy leapt to the ground, helped Sora back up to his feet (though he no longer really needed them to help him) and dashed out of the arena as fast as they could, together. Sora looked back at the Greek warrior as they exited. He saw him thrust the monster to the side, still holding it by the teeth and practically throw the beast to the ground. Sora's eyes went wide in shock as the trio passed under the doorway that led back to the lobby.
"Whew, that was close!" Phil exclaimed as soon as they had reached the lobby safely. He leaned against the wall and took in several long breaths.
"What was that thing?" Sora asked, turning to Phil.
"That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld," the satyr explained. "Hercules should be able to handle him."
Sora slowly turned to look back to the arena. So that warrior was the Hercules that Phil had talked about before. He sighed remorsefully. It was too bad that Hercules only saw them at a low point in battle. If only he had come to see them battle when they had been doing well. Quite a first impression they had made on the best hero that Phil had ever trained.
Phil's face suddenly took on a graven expression as a thought struck him. "But then again, maybe not…"
Donald and Goofy looked at Phil, alarmed. "What?"
The trainer stroked his goatee for a moment as he thought, and then released a long breath. "This doesn't look good." He scratched his head in frustration, messing up what little hair he had on the top of his head. "I hope Herc's okay… Wish I could go in!"
That's when Sora decided. He took in a deep breath through his nostrils and spun around so that he was facing the entrance to the arena. Then, clenching his hands into tight fists, he moved forward, ready to step through and reenter the battle area, where Hercules was fighting the giant guard dog. He took a few more steps forward, gathering courage, until he was almost on top of the entrance.
Donald and Goofy looked at Sora, their eyes wide. "Sora?"
"Kid, you're not entering the arena, are ya?" Phil called out in alarm. "This ain't just some match! This is for real!"
"I'm not afraid," the Key Bearer said bravely. "You can decide if I'm hero material or not."
Phil looked up at Sora, concerned for the young boy who was about to take on a force greater than himself. Then, seeing the determined glow in Sora's eyes, Phil conceded and nodded.
"Be careful, kid."
And with that, Sora entered the long, dark hallway, determined to help Hercules fight Cerberus. Sora's companions exchanged glances, nodded, and then immediately rushed to his side. Sora looked at them in surprise.
"You guys, what're you…?"
"You're not gonna go anywhere without us," Goofy told him.
"That's right," Donald continued. "So if you think we're gonna let you barrel in there on your own, you're dead wrong!"
Sora smiled, feeling stronger and more confident than ever before. "Thanks, guys!"
Before the trio could enter the arena, Phil grabbed onto Sora's arm. "Before you go in there, I got two words of advice for you." He looked straight into Sora's face and smiled. He then pointed toward the arena. "ATTACK!"
The trio then bolted forward like Olympic racers, shooting down the dark hallway, their weapons appearing in their hands in a flash of light. They exploded into the arena and broke straight for Cerberus, who had driven Hercules up against the opposite wall. As soon as they entered, all three sets of the monster's ears perked up and all of the guard dog's heads turned around to look at the fresh meat. Sora swallowed hard as the beast slowly turned around so that it was facing them, the saliva dribbling maliciously from the corners of its lips.
Hercules looked over at the trio in surprise, watching for a moment as the trio stood their ground at the monster's slow approach. Once he had confirmed that they weren't planning on running away, Hercules made a break for where Cloud lay unconscious on the ground. He lifted Cloud to his feet, glanced up at the monster, and then, putting Cloud's body over one shoulder, hurried to the exit as fast as he could.
As the hero passed him, Sora and Hercules' eyes met for a moment. Sora flashed him a confident smile. Hercules smiled back and gave Sora an encouraging pat on the back before bolting down the exit. Taking another deep breath, Sora set his sights on the monstrous dog that stood towering before them. His companions glanced back at him, as though waiting for some kind of signal. Sora looked once at Donald, then at Goofy, and then nodded firmly. The trio charged.
The adrenaline ran through their bodies so quickly that the surge of it was almost unbearable. The first thing that Donald did was raise his staff into the air, his whole body glowing a bright yellow color. Several small clouds gathered over each of Cerberus' three heads and quickly unleashed their electric fury on their faces. One of the heads roared in anger as a lightning bolt stabbed it in the eye. Another attempted to chomp down on the clouds, while the third lowered its head and shook it from side to side, as though trying to ward the strings of electricity from its face.
Sora and Goofy didn't hesitate to use this opportunity to attack the head. They were on the lowered head as soon as the tip of its nose touched the floor, Goofy bashing the dog snout with his shield and Sora slashing and pounding on its face. The dog heads roared in fury. Donald then unleashed several relentless rounds of fireballs onto Cerberus' heads, screaming and wailing angrily in his hoarse duck voice. Goofy backed away from the heads for a moment and then, putting his shield over his head, launched himself into the air and smacked the underside of one of the monster's snouts.
One of the heads turned on Sora, quite suddenly, and opened its mouth wide. A cloud of darkness floated in the open space for a moment, and then a large, glowing pink ball of energy shot out of the void and straight at Sora. The boy used the Keyblade to block the attack, but was still knocked several feet away. He was sent rolling in the dirt, though not nearly as bad as it had been with Cloud's attack. Sora struggled back to his feet, shaking it off, and charged again. The head glared at him, growling angrily upon seeing the boy come back for more. Cerberus then began to gnash its teeth, leaning toward the trio and chomped, thankfully missing Goofy's head by a hair. Sora jumped away from the monster, looking over at Goofy, his eyes wide in alarm and concern.
"GOOFY! LOOK OUT!"
The captain of the guard's heart had almost stopped beating in fear, a cold chill running up his spine, momentarily paralyzing him. Goofy dropped to his knees, his body trembling. One of Cerberus' heads reared back and howled triumphantly before descending onto Goofy once again. Seeing that his companion had been just about incapacitated in fear, Sora leapt forward, pushing Goofy out of danger.
Donald wailed frantically as Cerberus caught Sora's jacket between its teeth and raised him high into the air. Sora began to yell, equally if not more panicked than Donald. After a moment, Sora began to pound on the dog's snout with the Keyblade, but to no avail. Cerberus held Sora fast by his jacket for a moment, and then suddenly tossed him into the air.
"SORA!"
The Key Bearer wailed in panic as he reached an apex and began to descend back down toward the arena. More specifically, toward one of Cerberus' open mouths. Then, coming up with an idea, Sora pointed the Keyblade toward Cerberus and did his best to focus on using magic. He shut his eyes as the Keyblade began to glow a red-orange tint, the metal suddenly burning hot between Sora's hands. It wasn't long before a large fireball shot out of the Keyblade and screamed through the air before hitting the exposed tongue. All three heads roared in pain and fury. The force of the magical explosion had moved Sora slightly to the side so that Sora was then hurtling toward Cerberus' backside. Thinking as fast as he could, Sora flipped himself in the air so that he would land on his feet.
As soon as Sora's sneakers touched the slick black fur on Cerberus' backside, he slipped, fell hard onto his butt, and slipped again. Before he could fall off the monster dog's back, Sora grabbed a handful of fur with his left hand and locked his feet firmly around a part of the beast's ribcage. Cerberus howled at the pull of its short, slick hair, and reared up onto its hind legs. Sora held onto the monster for dear life as he dangled from its backside, one hand clutching the hair. As soon as Cerberus dropped back onto all fours, the ground shook violently, knocking Donald and Goofy onto their behinds, while Sora swung himself up onto the monster's back. He then began to crawl slowly up Cerberus' back toward its heads. He grinned. This was a good vantage point.
Donald and Goofy continued to battle Cerberus from the front, Goofy having snapped back to reality. The wizard continued to unleash volleys of fireballs and lightning bolts, taking a break every now and then to take a swig from an Ether bottle to recharge. Goofy continued to launch himself like a rocket at the beast's heads, though growing increasingly more frightened of Cerberus' many sets of large, sharp teeth. As they continued to pound on Cerberus in this manner, Sora entered their line of vision, standing on top of Cerberus with the Keyblade in both hands.
"Sora!" Donald and Goofy couldn't help but be surprised.
As the Key Bearer tried to gain some kind of footing atop Cerberus' back, he raised the Keyblade into the air over his head with both hands. Then, taking a deep breath and hoping for the best, Sora drove the tip of the Keyblade into one of the monster's necks. The corresponding head (the one in the middle, as it turned out) roared and howled in anguish, its eyes going wide.
Sora pulled the Keyblade out of the Cerberus' neck, with some effort, and then jumped down from its back, hitting the ground in a roll. Goofy immediately ran to Sora's side as Donald grinned, aimed at the monster's open wound, and unleashed another volley of fireballs at it. The open wound singed at the touch of fire, causing Cerberus to howl in pain, the middle head screeching over the other two. Then, it was as though the head had gone crazy. It began to gnash its teeth violently, indiscriminately, trying to take bites out of the other two. It wasn't long before all three heads had been injured so much that Cerberus could no longer go on fighting.
The trio ran out of the way as the monster's eyes closed and its entire massive body tumbled to the floor, causing the ground to rumble and the pillars of the arena to fall apart. One of the heads crashed against the audience stands, sending debris flying all around the stadium. The trio dodged the debris to the best of their ability until the earth stopped rumbling and the dust settled on the battleground.
Their knees shaking almost uncontrollably, the trio dropped to their knees. Goofy's entire body was shaken by tremors of fright, images of the flashing of Cerberus' teeth haunting his mind. Sora breathed long and deep, his heart pounding against his ribcage so hard it felt like it would explode. Donald slumped to the floor and sighed, pulling out a Potion and taking a sip. He then passed the bottle to his companions, and all three of them sat peacefully for a moment, drinking their potion in silence as a victory celebration.
Having successfully defeated Cerberus, Sora, Donald, and Goofy stood together in a line as they faced Hercules and Phil, who had felt the need to perform some kind of ceremony in celebration. Hercules, who was standing next to Phil, had his arms folded over his chest as he examined Sora from head to toe, a proud smile on his face. He nudged the hero trainer slightly. As Phil stepped forward, he opened up a scroll, holding it in front of his face and began to read the boxy lettering aloud in the most ceremonious manner possible.
"Thus, I do hereby dub thee, 'junior heroes', and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further…"
"Hey!" Donald stamped one foot angrily on the ground, breaking the ceremonial atmosphere. "Whaddaya mean, 'junior heroes'?"
Phil looked over at Donald, lowering the scroll slightly so that he could see, and rolled his eyes.
"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero," he explained.
Goofy tilted his head curiously to one side. "So, what does it take?"
Hercules' smile broadened as a fond memory surfaced in his mind. He then turned to Sora, pulled out a small certificate, and handed it to the junior hero.
"Well," he said slowly, a cheerful tone in his voice, "that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves. Just the way that I did."
Sora looked first at the certificate, then at Hercules, and then at Phil. A grin appeared on his face and he laughed softly.
"No problem," he said cheerily, tucking the certificate safely away. "We'll start by proving ourselves in the games."
The satyr switched his attention to Sora. "There ain't gonna be any games for a while," he told him matter-of-factly. "Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle first."
The trio exchanged nervous, guilty glances as they remembered how Cerberus' body had crashed and almost completely demolished a section of the audience stands. Then, with a casual shrug of his shoulders, Sora turned on his heel and motioned to the others. He smiled at Phil and Hercules.
"Okay, we'll be back," he said as they pushed open the doors and left the lobby.
Phil stroked his goatee thoughtfully as he watched the double doors shut behind them. "I still can't believe that squirt actually beat Cerberus," he said in amazement to Hercules.
Hercules chuckled and leaned toward Phil so as to whisper into his ear. "Just between us," he said softly, "I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time the little guy jumped in."
The two looked at each other, smiling somewhat smugly at their little secret. Phil looked at the double doors, partially expecting the trio to re-enter. He folded his stubby arms over his chest and grinned, glancing back up at Hercules.
"My lips are sealed."
As soon as the double doors had closed shut behind him, Sora and the others could hardly help but notice a familiar figure sitting by himself on the steps to the exit. Cloud sat with his eyes to the floor and his arms propped up on his knees, deep in thought. The trio had heard the story about Hades from Hercules and Phil. However, nobody knew much about Cloud Strife. Sora looked at Donald and Goofy and gestured toward Cloud before approaching the solemn warrior slowly.
"Hey, are… you all right?" Sora asked him gingerly.
Cloud looked up at Sora slowly. "Yeah."
"So why did you go along with him, anyway?"
The warrior merely looked at Sora for a while before leaning forward, clasping one hand in the other, raising them and resting his chin against them. He looked thoughtful for a moment, staring down at a spot on the floor. Then after another moment, he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.
"I'm looking for someone," he said softly. "Hades promised to help." Sora, Donald and Goofy watched and listened intently, nodding slightly. Cloud looked back up at Sora and then began to rise to his feet.
"I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired," Cloud continued. He then took another deep breath and looked up into the blue sky. "I fell into darkness, and couldn't find the light."
"You'll find it," Sora said encouragingly. He then tore his eyes away, dropping his gaze to the floor and sighed. "I'm searching, too."
Cloud looked back down at Sora. "For your light?" he asked hesitantly.
Sora nodded, turning his sights back on Cloud. The warrior nodded respectfully and walked slowly to Sora's side. He put one hand on Sora's shoulder and squeezed it gently, encouragingly.
"Don't lose sight of it."
He then continued to walk past him, back toward the entrance to the Coliseum, his cape billowing dramatically behind him as he took his long, slow, confident strides. For some reason that he didn't quite understand, Sora felt a slight surge of power course through him. Grinning, Sora spun around on his heel and cupped one hand around his mouth, waving his other hand in the air in a seeming attempt to catch Cloud's attention.
"How about a rematch sometime?" he called. "Fair and square, no dark powers involved!"
Cloud's amused smile was hidden beneath the folds of fabric wrapped about his neck. Then, turning around with a flick of his spiky blonde hair, he shrugged casually.
"I think I'll pass."
The trio watched as Cloud pushed open the doors to the lobby and vanished inside. Sora smiled to himself, convinced that, no matter what the warrior may have said, they were going to have that rematch. He then looked back at Donald and Goofy. Donald returned Sora's gaze, tapping one webbed foot impatiently on the floor. Sora was confused.
"What?"
"Let's just go," Donald told him, motioning to the main gate.
Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders and laughed as they pushed open the large double doors. Sora looked back at the Coliseum over his shoulder and smiled before the gate closed shut behind them.
Hades stepped out from the dark shadows, holding a small clay statue of Hercules upright on one open palm. He was making the Hercules figure smile and flex as he stared down at him.
"He's strong, he's kind," Hades narrated, sounding something like a salesman. "He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect!" Then something inside him snapped. "Perfectly infuriating! He makes me CRAZY!"
The fire on Hades' head turned bright red-orange in rage, his skin turning into lava. The figurine in his hand melted down immediately. He thrust the remnants onto the floor in a fit. Then suddenly the fire turned back to its usual blue color, as Hades calmed himself down. He ran a hand over the fire on his head and took in a gulp of air.
"Wait a minute, what are you talking about?" he said to himself. "All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both."
The god grinned wickedly to himself at the prospect of his own brilliance. Just then, someone appeared behind him. Realizing this, Hades glanced over his shoulder to see their "dark leader" standing not much more than ten feet behind him. He narrowed his malicious yellow eyes at her.
"Who invited you to the party?" he growled. "Stay out of this. This is my show."
The tall, black clad woman narrowed her green eyes at Hades, her long fingers fiddling with the handle of her golden staff. She blinked slowly, a small, malevolent smile crossing her thin, fuchsia colored lips.
"As you wish," she said calmly. "Fight to your heart's content."
And just as suddenly and quietly as she came, the woman took her leave.
Author's Note: Oooooh, fight with the great Cloud Strife. The guy completely overwhelms Sora (as you can see, poor little guy), but I'm sure Sora will get stronger in the near future. :p Let's all root for him! Umm... props for some of Cloud's dialogue and characterization goes to my Final Fantasy obsessed friend (my knowledge of FF7 is, as I said before, faded and limited). So many thanks to him. :)
I didn't know how to explain Cloud's giving Sora a skill in some kind of solid form. I hope what I did worked. Sora'll be using Strike Raid soon enough. :p