Lost Fragments - The Traverse Town Cup Battle Series

Part 3

Lilka was practically hyperventilating when they dragged her back into the waiting area. A crowd gathered all around, made up of both concerned individuals and the other warriors. Aerith was kneeling beside the girl, attempting to utilize her spells to calm the girl, but she was terrified. The monster that Reverend had summoned had made such an impact on her mind that the flower girl of Hollow Bastion was afraid for her sanity.

Kydran stood over Lilka, Sora beside him. The black-haired boy's arms were folded, though his emerald eyes reflected his concern. Sora was leaning forward, trying to see if Aerith's magic was working or not.

After a while, Lilka's breathing slowed, and she managed to get control of herself. She still wasn't talking, but it had been enough to make the majority of her audience lose interest. As the crowd around her dissipated, Sora finally spoke.

"What happened? Reverend made monster, and she cowed. It wasn't even that scary."

"Not to you, Sora, but something is definitely wrong here," responded Aerith softly. The Crest Sorceress, finally aware of the flower girl's presence, clung to her. "The first abomination he made didn't seem to faze her, but the second one…"

Kydran, his expression thoughtful, chipped in his two cents.

"Remember when he disappeared for a moment before that monster came? Maybe he went somewhere to get it. He'd been there the whole time with the first one. The second one, I don't know. Probably has something to do with it, though."

"You might be right, Kydran," replied Aerith, holding the shivering girl. Lilka was finally beginning to get over the shock. "All we know for now is that Reverend is very dangerous. If he knew what to summon to make her instantly helpless… he could probably do it again."

"Well, at least he's reasonable, I guess," remarked Kydran, turning to move to the stands so he could watch the next match. "The monster could have swallowed her whole, but he didn't kill her."

Lilka finally managed to get a few words out.

"Th… thank y-you, for h-h-helping me," she stammered, trying to get to her feet. Sora reached a hand out to help her to her feet. "It was… I… I don't know what happened…"

"It's okay. You're safe now," said Aerith, standing. She smiled. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, I think I'll be alright. It's just… that monster…"

"What was it?" asked Sora. "Why did it frighten you so badly?"

"I… it's silly. It can't have even been real."

"Well, stranger things have been known to happen," said Aerith. Sora nodded.

"I, uh," Lilka began. "When I was little, my sister disappeared. She was a very powerful sorceress, she was almost the best. And then, one day, she never came back."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," sympathized Aerith.

"I always used to imagine there was this invincible monster that took her away from me," continued Lilka. "I mean, I don't think she was killed. I think that maybe she just went away. But that monster… somehow he was able to pull it out of my head and make it real. I felt this little tug, and I thought maybe it was just the monster messing with me, but… he went in my head somehow. He had to have."

"Wow," murmured Sora. "Well, don't worry. It's over now. So, what are you doing here, fighting in this tournament?"

"Oh, this was just a stop on the way to Traverse Town," she replied. Then, she was thoughtful for a moment, almost grinning. "See, I used a magical stone the wrong way, I guess, and wound up aboard a gummi ship. The people gave me a ride here, and they told me that if I were looking for somebody, Traverse Town would be the best place to go. They weren't on their way there, but they told me I could hitch a ride from here to there. But now that Traverse Town's gone…"

"Well, we really don't know what we're going to do, either," said Sora. "But we'll see what we can do for you. We'll be here until the tournament ends; in the meantime, we'll figure something out. I'm gonna go find Kydran. See you!"

Both Aerith and Lilka watched the boy go.

"He's really nice," commented Lilka when Sora was out of sight.

Aerith smiled, and chuckled a little.

"Lilka, do you know what a Keyblade is?"

"Never heard of one."

"Sora is the Keyblade Master; we also call him the Keybearer. He is the one chosen by the Keyblade, a weapon that is essential to our survival, to find the Door to the Light and release the Light, so that the Darkness that has been swallowing all the worlds will go away forever."

Lilka's eyes rose in surprise.

"Really? He's cute, but he doesn't look like much of a fighter," said Lilka.

"Sora's very powerful, but his strength isn't in his physical power. It's in his heart."

"What do you mean?"

"The Keyblade doesn't choose just anybody; it chooses the person with the strongest heart, and Sora's heart is incredibly strong. The Light in his heart is just as strong. The Keyblade reflects the strength of his heart; it's what makes him so strong. He's the only thing the Darkness fears now."

"Wow," murmured Lilka, followed shortly by the sound of the next match's start. She smiled to Aerith. "Well, why don't we go watch? This match should be interesting."

The flower girl nodded, and the two walked out of the waiting area.

Syne sized up his opponent, and found himself severely outweighed.

The brown-haired young man, bearing a pair of razor-sharp kamis, was among the fastest people he knew. There was no way he could allow himself to come into the grip of the giant Kull, who looked to be as intelligent as a butter knife; the man, though unarmed, appeared able to crush his head between thumb and forefinger. Where the giant also bore plates of armor on his fists, the outer edges of his limbs, his shoulders, and his head, Syne had nothing but his brown pants and leather vest.

Kull in the meantime, was already grinding his feet into the ground to get better footing for a charge. The giant already knew his strategy; crush the little bug on the opposite end of the arena. Unfortunately, perhaps, for Syne, this fight was not using the full arena, but was, rather, the smaller one used for normal fights.

Syne had only just found a few of the straps in Kull's armor and had nearly devised a strategy when the trumpets sounded for the battle to begin. Syne's heart began to pound.

Kull roared powerfully enough to shake Syne's smaller frame. The smaller man braced himself, readying for his reaction. Kull neared him much faster than he could have expected.

The giant's fist was drawn back, and Syne grinned. The fist came down, a blur of power, but Syne was too quick for the giant. Kull's fist rocketed down and slammed into the ground where Syne had been only an instant before. Syne was only inches away from his old spot, and with the new target, made two quick slashes at the straps on Kull's exposed arm. There was the dull clank as steel hit the floor, and the sound of a rushing fist.

Kull's other arm came barreling toward Syne, and he quickly dropped down, making another two slashes at the plates of armor on that arm. Rolling out of the way of Kull's foot as he attempted to step on Syne, the man bounced to his feet and backslid out of the way of the next punch. With another slash, Syne opened up a long gash along all of Kull's fingers.

The giant shouted in surprise, and then roared in Syne's face. Something about the roar froze the young man in his tracks; there was something primal in it, something that triggered his animal instinct that told him to be afraid.

Kull swatted the paralyzed boy aside, and he went flying into one of barriers of the arena. He made no noise during this, and seemed only faintly aware it had happened. The crowd gasped, and many of the female and weak-stomached onlookers had to look away.

Syne dropped to the ground, the barrier having done its job. Coughing, he picked himself up. Each breath brought a sharp pain through his chest, and when he tried to lift his left arm, he cried out. Looking down at it, he saw his arm simply dangled like a bag, most of the bones in it having been crushed. How he was still alive, he had no idea.

He looked ahead at Kull, and slumped down only in time for the giant's fist to come colliding into the barrier. Syne scrambled up, lightly cradling his shattered arm in an attempt to keep it from further harm. Each step brought flames of agony roaring through him, and he had dropped both his weapons in his flight toward the wall.

Kull jabbed at his opponent, nailing him in the back. The blow was just at the end of the giant's reach, so it had only managed to knock him to the ground. Syne screamed in pain as he landed. Somehow, he forced himself onto his back in time to see Kull's foot blocking his view of the sky.

The crowd was silent as the foot came down.