Chapter 14

Challenges

At long last, the time had come

The planets were edging into perfect alignment…

And the plan Hades had devised 18 years ago was about to reach fruition

The Fates had predicted this very future

The day he would seize control over Olympus and rule over all the cosmos

Hades' previous attempts using Terra, Cloud, and Auron to advances his plans for conquest had failed

The hour was not yet right

But now, the planets were aligned, and nothing could possibly go wrong

A wave of darkness lanced down from their celestial rank and one by one, Hades freed the Titans

some of them, the same monstrosities Sora and his friends had bested before

With both the Titans and his longing for revenge against Zeus reinvigorated, Hades began his attack on Olympus…

Homura immediately sprung into action, tossing off her assailants and rolling to her feet. As she aimed her bow at them, she noted their strange appearance.

One was a boy who looked to be around her physical age. His clothing looked more modern and he had spiky hair and blue eyes. The other was an anthropomorphic dog? She wasn't that well versed on classical mythology, but she didn't recall anything like that. Of course that made it all the more dangerous.

"Who are you?" Homura demanded.

The boy spoke up. "I'm Sora..."

He paused and looked towards the dog, who looked back at him, confused. Like they were expecting something.

"Where's Donald?"

There was a sudden squawking sound from above. Homura whipped around, to see some sort of duck wearing clothes, it's mantle caught on the teeth of a lion statue. "Sora, Goofy, get me down!"

"Don't worry Donald! We're on it!" Sora shouted. Ignoring Homura, he climbed up on the statue, and started trying to pull "Donald" from it. "Goofy" rushed over as well, helping to free the duck.

She wondered if she was being paranoid. They were likely just more civilians that had fallen from one of the taller buildings.

"Are you so sure?" Said a familiar voice behind her. Homura stiffened, and slowly turned to see The Devil approaching her. "Look at them, they completely stand out. Those clothes are completely outlandish and unfitting. And those names! Those are not Greek names. Xehanort said that our enemies could be anywhere!"

"They don't seem that threatening." Said another voice. Akemi Homura approached.

"Kyubey didn't seem threatening at first, and look what happened! Sayaka didn't seem like a threat at first either! Have you really learned nothing?! Though what else can you expect..."

Akemi's eyes widened at those words, and it looked like she was again on the verge of tears. "N-no. Are we really going to attack some random people? They haven't done anything to us! This is paranoia!"

"He smashed us into the ground. Maybe accidental. Maybe not. Always helps to be sure." The Devil said as she shoved Akemi away. "Take the shot."

Homura focused on the three of them. Donald was still stuck, and now apparently Sora had somehow gotten himself stuck inside the lion's mouth as well, and Goofy was now trying to free them both.

Homura took aim at Sora, the burning arrow locking on to his head. They weren't even paying attention. It'd be easy. When Sora went down, the others would be shocked and confused, making it simple to…

Then she heard the sound. That horrid watery sound that heralded the arrival of the Heartless. They appeared all around her, writhing bug shadows, fiery creatures, massively bloated forms, and centaurs wielding spears.

Homura rolled to the side, as one of the centaurs thrust at her, and retaliated with an arrow, exploding against the Heartless' flank. It stumbled to the side, but wasn't defeated yet. It attempted to counter with another thrust, forcing Homura to dodge again, and then narrowly avoid a fireball from another Heartless.

As she stepped back, she focused on her shield. The gears in the timepiece began to move and her attention was drawn to the centaur once more. In her vision, she saw something like a clock superimposed over the Heartless, and the minute and second hands began to slow down. "Slow." The word came to her mind and became voice as she watched the movements of the Heartless become sluggish, as if a movie had entered slow motion. Now, it was easy. A single shot from her bow struck the Heartless in the head, destroying it.

Her powers had changed. Again.

She was forced to fall back as several fiery heartless came charging towards her. She was about to open fire, when instead, a ball of highly pressurized water sailed past her to explode against the Heartless. There was no other word for it, they were extinguished.

Homura turned to see Sora leaping forwards, and froze as she saw what he was holding. A Keyblade! Unlike Madoka's or Xehanorts, his was simpler in design, its teeth and shaft were silver, with a blue band around the base. The hilt was golden, with a black grip, and a simple steel chain ending in a mouse shaped symbol.

Sora brought the weapon down one of the Heartless, destroying it completely. A fat Heartless glowed red and charged at him, only for him to meet it head on, standing his ground. The Heartless' charge was halted and it bounced back, only to be hit by the Keyblade like it was a golf ball and sent flying into the air and then shot by a fireball emerging from the tip of Sora's Keyblade and destroyed.

Homura was so shocked, she didn't notice that a Heartless had shot a fireball towards her as well, until it was too late. She hastily held up her arms, awaiting more pain, only to instead hear an impact. She opened her eyes to see Goofy standing in front of her, holding a shield.

"Are you okay?"

Homura said nothing, instead looking past him to the battle ahead. Donald proved to be just as capable as the others, wielding some sort of magic staff. From the tip he fired a shard of ice that on impact exploded releasing a wave of frost and cold that entombed several Heartless, where they were promptly destroyed by Sora. In short order, the trio's teamwork defeated the Heartless.

"Whew!" Sora wiped his brow. "They're still everywhere!"

"Is-" Homura stood up. "Is that a Keyblade?"

"Oh! Right! You're here!" Sora said. "And yeah, this is a Keyblade. How did you know about that though? I thought it had been a long time since other Key-bearers had been to this Wor-"

Immediately Donald leaped on Sora, covering his mouth. "Order!"

"Oh right!" Sora said.

"You're from another World?" Homura asked.

"What? No! That's crazy! Where would you hear something like that?" Sora laughed nervously while Donald and Goofy facepalmed. "There's no such thing as..."

"I'm from another World as well." Homura said.

The trio gasped. "Really! I didn't think there were that many other people who did that! Why are you here though?"

"I'm looking for someone. Her name is Madoka Kaname. She's about my age. She has pink hair and eyes. She's a..." Homura had been about to tell them about her Keyblade, but stopped. She wasn't sure if she should trust him with that information. "...person very dear to me."

Sora pondered. "No, I haven't seen anyone like that..."

"Oh." Homura turned to leave.

"Hey, don't worry! It's a big city! I'm sure we'll find her somewhere!"

"We'll?" Homura said.

"Of course. Can't just leave you hanging like that! Besides, there's someone I'm looking for here too. Why not work together? Now…" He paused, looking confused. "What was your name again?"

"I never told you. It's Homura Akemi."

Sora smiled. "Well Homura, come with us!"

Struggle turned out to be something completely different from what Madoka expected. Not that she was entirely sure what she had expected, but she was still surprised.

As it turned out, it involved attaching numerous orbs to your body with velcro. The two combatants would then strike at each other with foam bats in an attempt to knock their opponents orbs off. If one lost all their orbs to their opponent, or had fewer than their opponent when time ran out, or exited the ring, then they lost. And it was all for a grand prize of 50,000 munny. Madoka wasn't that interested in playing. She had never been all that good at sports back home, she was too clumsy. Nobody had wanted her for their team. But she was going to have to put that aside. If all of them entered, they'd have a greater chance of obtaining the grand prize.

The selection of bats was also a factor, choosing between three different shapes. One looked like a simple club, another was a long wand, while a third was more sword like with a guarded hilt. Nagisa and Madoka gravitated to the wands, while Mami and Sayaka chose the swords. Kyoko picked the club. And with that, the tournament began.

As it turned out the first match involved Kyoko, and she was facing off against a local. Somebody named Seifer. The others took their seats in the stands, to watch the match play out.

"Haven't seen you around here before?" Seifer said.

"What, that a problem?" Kyoko retorted.

"If you're here to cause trouble, it is, loser. I lead the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee."

Kyoko snorted. "What, are you some sorta wannabe cop? Like those pretentious student council types, thinkin' your really qualified, when everyone just likes your pretty face."

"What?!"

"Not like you that goin' for ya' though. So who'd ya' bribe?" She shrugged.

"Why you-!"

"AND STRUGGLE!"

Kyoko was fast, taking advantage of Seifer's distraction to land several quick strikes, knocking loose orbs which she quickly gathered and reattached to herself. Seifer attempted to counter attack, only for her to dodge out of the way and land another series of strikes, knocking loose even more orbs. The crowd cheered.

"And that's it? Geez, ya' really are all just talk, aint'cha?"

Seifer recovered his guard and jumped back, clear surprise and frustration showing on his face. His expression returned to calmness as he deflected Kyoko's next series of attacks and then to Madoka's surprise, leaped high up into the air. It was apparently to Kyoko's surprise as well, because she didn't even react as Seifer came streaking towards her from the air, with a direct hit, knocking off many of her own orbs.

After this impact, there was a scramble as both combatants attempted to gather the fallen orbs. Kyoko was still faster, and when time was called, she was the victor.

The crowd cheered again. Seifer for his part didn't look too upset. He shrugged and walked off with his friends. Madoka reflected on the fight as the next bout was getting set up. The move Seifer pulled was certainly amazing and superhuman, but judging from the reactions of people appeared to be the norm.

Speaking of that, the next fight was between Nagisa, and somebody called Vivi. At first, Madoka had thought he was a Heartless, but apparently, that was just how he looked. Their fight was was even more bizarre and spectacular than the previous. Both of them were all over the place, with Nagisa wildly running about, while Vivi hopped around the arena like a madman, spinning in the air, and even doing odd things like increasing the size of his bat.

In the end, Nagisa won out, managing to trip Vivi as he went for an attack and sending him sprawling out of the arena.

"Well that was impressive." Madoka said after the match.

"This town looked kinda normal at first, but this is a different world after all." Nagisa commented as Mami walked onto the stage. "That was really fun however!"

"If nothing else, it will make for a good training opportunity." Mami observed.

"Pfft. You call this training?" Kyoko said. "Didn't even break a sweat with that wannabe cop."

"You say that." Sayaka countered. "Looks like you were pretty shocked by that move of his."

"Oh yeah? Why don't I shock you!"

Mami sighed. "At least save it for the arena."

"Speaking of which, you're match is up next!"

Mami's opponent turned out to be a man somewhat older than the rest of the combatants, and also had several scars. There were numerous women in the audience cheering and swooning for Setzer. And then he opened the match by flirting with Mami, which she simply rolled her eyes at. At first, Madoka had thought him to be mostly talk, but he was surprisingly skilled. His speed was amazing, and Mami was unable to keep up, losing. The match was over fairly quickly, and thus, it was Madoka and Sayaka's turn.

Madoka nervously stepped onto the stage, with Sayaka onto the other side. She gripped her bat, and noted that it felt fairly awkward in her grip. So unlike Crystal Clarity. Maybe it was some property of the Keyblade that made it so intuitive to wield, because this felt just like playing baseball back in gym class. The bat always felt the wrong size for her hands, too heavy, too off balance. She had never hit the ball.

What did that mean though? Did everything come from the Keyblade? Was she really still just a clumsy, useless girl witho-

"Hey, all eyes are on us! Smile!" Sayaka said.

"W-what?"

"C'mon. We're the big heroes who will save the world! There's no reason to look so glum." Sayaka said with a big grin. She pointed to the cheering crowd. "Everything's gonna be fine! See?"

"But..."

"I mean, when we get everyone back, are you going to greet your family with a frown like that? You kick ass! You'll have saved the world! Think of how proud they'd be of that!"

At Sayaka's words, Madoka thought back to her family. She had always been in awe of her mother, and yet there was the feeling that she'd never live up to how amazing Junko Kaname was. But something like this? Madoka smiled.

"Thanks..."

"AND STRUGGLE!"

The match ended in Sayaka's victory, though for once, Madoka didn't feel at all bad about losing at sports. Instead, she felt a sort of satisfied exhaustion as she went back to the stands, where the others were waiting.

Mami and Nagisa looked fairly relaxed, though Kyoko scowled again, before looking away. What was she upset about?

"That was a good match!" Nagisa cheered. "Right?"

"Yeah... sure whatever." Kyoko said.

"It looks like we'll be up next."

Kyoko sighed. "Well, let's get this over with."

"What's wrong?" Sayaka asked.

"Nothing. I'm fine." Kyoko muttered. She sauntered into the arena, with Nagisa entering from the other side.

The next two matches passed quickly. Despite her earnestness, it was clear that Nagisa stood no change against Kyoko and she was quickly rung out. The same, surprisingly happened with Sayaka and Setzer, after he misstepped, and she tripped him, leaving the final bout to Sayaka and Kyoko.

Sayaka smiled as she dropped into a fighting stance. "And now it comes down to us! Fated rivals at the climax of the tournament! Their honor on the line! Who will come out on top!"

Kyoko simply frowned. "What? Is this all a game to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Of course… you don't understand. What else should I expect?"

"What?"

"LET'S STRUGGLE!" The announcers voice rang throughout the sandlot.

Kyoko didn't waste a second, immediately dashing forwards and striking Sayaka in the face. She stumbled back, guarding too late to prevent another hit to her side. When she tried to block down there, Kyoko thrust forwards, jabbing her right in the solar plexus. Sayaka gasped in pain and doubled over as she attempted to back away. She noticed that a few orbs had been knocked loose, but Kyoko was ignoring them, and instead walking towards Sayaka.

"Really? That's it?" Kyoko said.

"What are you talking about?" Sayaka asked. She then barely managed to block a blow from Kyoko. Her bat was knocked out of her hands. She dove towards it. Kyoko made no attempt to stop her as she recovered it.

"Figures. Shouldn't be surprised." Kyoko said.

"What do-"

What happened next was a blur of motion and impact. When Sayaka had control of her senses again, she found that she had been knocked outside the arena, most of her orbs had been detached.

"And the winner is… Kyoko Sakura!" There was a round of applause and cheering.

Kyoko shrugged and removed her gear as the announcer rushed over to her with the title belt and a pouch of the prize money. Kyoko took them, and then nonchalantly tossed them towards Sayaka, before taking off, to the confusion of both the crowd and her companions.

"What was that about?" Sayaka exclaimed, as Madoka and Nagisa helped her up.

"I'm going to have a word with her." Mami said, taking off after her.

Mami managed to catch up with Kyoko. Fortunately, she hadn't gone too far away.

"Kyoko! What the heck was that?!"

"Winning the tournament." Kyoko said. She didn't turn around, and instead kept walking away. "That was the objective, wasn't it? Now we have money for the train."

"It's more than that, I know."

"What the hell do you know?! What the hell does some set-for-life rich heiress know?!" Kyoko rounded on her.

Mami winced, but pressed forward. "I know when somethings bothering you! I know that we have a huge burden placed on our shoulders. I know arguing like this only makes it harder to bear. Now please tell me. What's wrong?"

Kyoko paused. She clenched her fists. "Why did it have to be her?"

"What?"

"Why did it have to be her? Why did the Keyblade have to choose some stupid, spoiled, sheltered, milquetoast, little girl?"

"Kyoko..."

"This dumb girl becomes the chosen one, to save the world from darkness, and then she gets to have her family back! Like nothing ever fuckin' happened."

Realization struck Mami. Her joking. An effort to cope. "That's what this is about."

"Sayaka too! Her family were turned into Heartless as well. She gets to have them back as well, as if none of this crap even happened. But not there rest of us! You know, when Ramuh talked about restoring those who were lost, I thought, for a while, that I might be able to see them again. I could talk to my mom and dad. I could hug Momo. But then at the train station, I remembered. I tried to put it out of my mind. Make some jokes, play along. But then, I overheard what Madoka and Sayaka were saying to each other at the tournament, and it all came crashing back." Kyoko paused and clenched her fists while taking a deep breath. "My dad went crazy and killed my mom and my sister. He tried to kill me, and when he failed, he killed himself. Your parents died in a car crash due to some dumbass drunk driver. Nagisa's mom had cancer and her dad walked out on her. They didn't turn into Heartless, they're just fuckin' dead in the ground. Well, I guess Nagisa's dad isn't. But she wouldn't want to see that shitstain again anyways. And yet Madoka's the one who gets to see her smiling family again!"

"Kyoko, it's not fair to blame-"

"Fuck you! You think I don't know that?! I do! She didn't ask for any of this shit. None of us did. She saw family die in front of her. Just like I did. Just like you did. Just like Nagisa did. I know it ain't fair! The world ain't fair! I fucking know that! But… I-I can't help it. I just look at her. Rich, loving family, happy life… and… and…" Kyoko's voice began to crack. "And she gets to just... just... undo everything that happened and g-get all t-that back. While I..."

"Kyoko..."

Kyoko suddenly cried out and punched a wall so hard she made a crack in the concrete. She was gritting her teeth, and a knot formed in Mami's stomach as she saw Kyoko's knuckles bleeding.

"No. No more tears."

"It's okay. We've been through a lot."

"I don't need your pity."

"I'm not pitying you. It's been a crazy day. If you need to let it out-"

They both paused as they heard the sound of shuffling feet behind them. They both turned and saw Madoka rounding the corner. Kyoko's eyes widened. She looked like she was about to say something, but instead turned around.

"Where are you going?"

"For a walk. Need some time to myself. I'll meet up with you later." Kyoko leaped up on top of one of the buildings and took off.

"No! Kyoko, wait!" But she was already gone. She turned back to Madoka.

"I… got worried. So I followed. And then I heard your argument."

Mami placed her hands on Madoka's shoulders. "You don't need to feel bad. Kyoko-"

"No!" Madoka removed Mami's hands. "I was selfish! I wasn't thinking about you guys!"

"Madoka. Don't do this to yourself. It's not your fault. I don't blame you. I'm sure Kyoko doesn't really blame you as well. I mean it." Mami hoped she meant it. "She needs some space. I say we let her have it. We all need some time to relax."

"Like how?"

Mami thought back to the Munny they had been given. Her stomach growled. "Howabout dinner?"

The unfairness of loss in KH is an interesting concept to explore and write about? What does everyone think?

Again, thanks to The Name Of Love for beta-reading and idea sounding!

~Dragonexx