Chapter 10

Olympus Coliseum: Pegasus Cup

Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked into the Coliseum just as the Pegasus Cup was about to start.

"Hey! Just in time!" Hercules said as he saw them. "Phil! They made it!"

"Where were you guys?" Phil yelled. "Never mind that! You are in the first match! Go, go, go!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy stepped into the ring as their opponents appeared. There were two Search Ghosts and a Bandit. Plus three of a new type of Heartless called an Air Soldier.

The two groups jumped at each other and started to fight.

Atop the Coliseum sat two dark presences, Hades and Sephiroth. They watched the Keybearer closely.

"So when do you plan on fighting that little twerp?" Hades asked.

"When he proves himself worthy," Sephiroth replied.

"Oh, and when's that?"

"When he defeats you."

"He will not defeat me!" Hades' fire consumed him and turned red as he shouted. He was tired of these big shots talking to him like this. "I will destroy the Keybearer when I am ready and you won't have to face him!"

"Good, save me some time," Sephiroth said as he turned to fly away. "Just be sure you don't get Cloud Strife angry. I really don't want to waste my time saving you again."

"I'll show you!" Hades said as Sephiroth said. "One day I will kill all of them! No one will be able to stop me!"

Sora slid to the ground to avoid another strike from one of the Air Soldiers. Donald was busy with the Bandit and Goofy was trying to strike the continually disappearing Search Ghosts.

"Tornado!" Goofy yelled and started spinning. The Search Ghosts were caught in the attack and finally killed. Donald blocked another strike from the Bandit's sword and jumped back as it attacked again.

Sora jumped over a low strike from an Air Bandit as it attacked again. He pointed the Spellbinder at all three of them.

"Gravity!" he yelled and they were all pushed into the ground by the dark magic and they were killed.

Donald charged his staff with electricity and as the Bandit's sword hit the jolt traveled from Donald's staff into the Bandit. Donald finished it off with a Fira. As they celebrated Sora noticed for the first time that Leon and Yuffie were not in the audience.

Cloud walked around the outside of the Coliseum as he arrived back in the world. His search for Sephiroth had taken a turn when he had lost his nemesis' trail. Cloud felt Sephiroth's energy in the air but it felt as if it was gone.

"Hey Cloud," Leon said as he walked up to him. "Didn't you say you wanted to talk to me about something."

"I did say after the tournament but why not now?" Cloud said. "I think I may need your help tracking Sephiroth."

"Sephiroth?" Leon asked.

"No!" Yuffie's voice cut in. "He isn't alive! You killed him Cloud!"

"No, he's still very much alive."

"That's impossible!" Yuffie dropped to her knees and tears welled up and she was shaking. Leon had never seen her like this. He had never seen her scared.

From behind a pillar Sephiroth hid his energy so not even Cloud could track him. He smirked at the sight of Yuffie.

"Yes little ninja," he said. "You need to be frightened. I could kill you in an instant and you know it." Sephiroth created a portal before him and left that world.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy had finished off another set of opponents and it was getting much easier. Especially with Sora's magic enhanced by the Spellbinder. However, the next match would not be easy.

In a little while they would have to face three Fat Bandits and two Large Body's. Would they even fit in the ring?

"Hey Sora," Leon said as he walked up to them.

"Leon! Why aren't you in the stands?" he asked.

"Didn't Phil tell you? I'm competing. Yuffie and I have already qualified for the finals and if you win your next match you will too."

"You and Yuffie?" Sora asked. This tournament seemed more and more impossible by the minute.

Hercules sat outside the Coliseum on the stone steps as Cloud walked up to him and sat next to him.

"You seem to be in deep thought," Cloud said.

"Yes, I am," Hercules mumbled.

"What is it?"

"I have this feeling that something is going to happen. Something very bad."

"Then something probably will. I've learned to listen to these feelings and to trust them. Whatever it is you're feeling may have to do with Hades. Maybe even Sephiroth. But you must learn to trust your feelings as I have."

"I guess I should. But this feeling isn't that something bad is going to happen to me, it's something bad is going to happen to Sora."

"Sora is the Keybearer. Bad things are destined to happen to him and there is no one who can prevent that," Cloud stood up and walked into the Coliseum to leave Hercules to his thoughts. The finals of this tournament would be quite entertaining.

Sora swallowed hard as he stepped into the ring. Before him appeared the three Fat Bandits and the two Large Bodies. Sure enough there was barely any room to move around at all.

"Begin!" Phil shouted. Sora quickly moved forward. He jumped up and grabbed one of the Large Bodies by the head, using it to spin around so he was facing its back. Before Sora could lunge the Spellbinder into its back a blast of fire from a Fat Bandit knocked him away.

"Blizarra!" Donald fired at the Fat Bandit and canceled out its fire. Goofy ran up as fast as he could and with all of his strength was able to hit a Large Body hard enough to knock it to the ground. However the Large Body continued to roll and was soon on its feet once again.

Sora ran at the Fat Bandit that had hit him with the fire and slashed at him. The Fat Bandit used his fire to create some kind of shield and Sora's attack had no effect. Sora, Donald, and Goofy quickly regrouped.

"Aero!" Sora and Donald both used with Sora casting the spell on Goofy as well. Sora ran straight at a Fat Bandit as fast as he could. The Fat Bandit breathed a blast of fire but with his Aero shield Sora ran right through it. Sora spun himself around the Fat Bandit so he was facing its back and slammed the Spellbinder into the Fat Bandit as far as it would go, one down and four to go.

Goofy quickly ran at an opposing Large Body and used his superior agility to dodge and attack that was thrown at him. The Large Body recklessly charged at him and Goofy was able to sidestep it again.

"Charge!" Goofy yelled and with his magic he sped himself up and ran straight through the Large Body. Three to go.

Donald stared down one of the remaining Fat Bandits. The Fat Bandit blew some fire but the Aero knocked it away. The Fat Bandit quickly ran forward and swung a punch. Even though Aero had slowed the punch down it was still rather effective and Donald was thrown across the ring. The Fat Bandit ran at him and jumped into the air, fully intending to squash Donald.

"Stop!" Donald yelled and pointed his staff at the Fat Bandit in midair. To his surprise a shadowy clock suddenly appeared in the air and the Fat Bandit hit it, instantly stopping right in the air. Donald laughed and pointed his staff right in the Fat Bandit's face and a Fira destroyed it. Two.

Sora and Goofy were having trouble with the remaining Large Body as it continually tried to run them down. The last Fat Bandit joined in the fun with his friend and Sora and Goofy were left trying to run away and now Donald had to dodge as well. Sora pointed the Spellbinder at the two giant Heartless.

"Summon!" great energy rushed through him again. "Simba!" The majestic lion came to his side once again. Sora transferred his energy into Simba and this time so did Donald and Goofy did as well. The two Heartless suddenly realized what was going on and ran forward. "Proud Roar!"

Simba unleashed the powerful blast on energy with his mighty roar and the two Heartless were instantly destroyed. Sora laughed as he fell to the ground. Maybe this wasn't so impossible after all.

Phil allowed Sora, Donald, and Goofy time to rest before the finals and they were soon fully energized once again.

"Now for the finals!" Phil yelled in excitement and the crowd roared with approval. Sora stood out of view, waiting for his introduction. "First, the challengers for the championship! Leon and Yuffie!" The two warriors stepped into the ring as the crowd cheered them on.

"Now, for our returning champions! Sora, Donald, and Goofy!" Phil shouted and the three of them walked out. Sora saw various signs with their names on them. Even some "I Love You Goofy" signs and a "Marry Me Sora" sign. A certain corner of the crowd had on Donald costumes. This was getting ridiculous.

Sora stepped into the ring and suddenly the crowd seemed to disappear as he and Leon locked eyes on each other. They never really finished that fight in front of Cid's shop had they?

"Begin!" As soon as Phil said that Sora and Leon were suddenly in the middle of the ring with swords crossed faster then anyone could see. Well, almost anyone.

Cloud sat in the stands and watched closely. The outcome of this fight was very important. If Sora and his friends won there might be a chance for the worlds. If not then all was lost.

"Hello my friend," the familiar cold voice filled his ears. Sephiroth calmly walked into the stands and sat next to Cloud.

"What are you doing here?" Cloud spat out at him.

"I am enjoying a fine match," Sephiroth smirked and turned to watch the match. Cloud did the same but neither took their eyes of the other.

Yuffie fired another ninja star at Goofy and he was able to deflect it with his shield. Donald ran up to her and used Fira but she avoided it. Yuffie was not as strong as some of the others but she was very agile and hard to catch.

Sora and Leon continued to duel in the center of the ring. Leon swiped at Sora's stomach and Sora was able to block. The Gunblade met the Keyblade as sparks flew from them with each clash. Sora soon gained a slight advantage and he was able to push Leon back a little.

Yuffie did several back flips to dodge Goofy's attack. Donald was suddenly right next to her and used a Thunder that knocked her across the ring. As Yuffie got up she threw two ninja stars. Goofy blocked the one thrown at him but Donald wasn't so lucky as it cut the side of his arm.

"Cure!" he quickly shouted and he was healed. Even though he was healed using Cure took more energy than other magic and couldn't rely on it to heavily. Yuffie came up from nowhere and punched him across the face and then she spun around and caught Goofy with a spinning kick.

"Sonic Blade!" Sora yelled and rushed past Leon, cutting into his side. Leon's eyes went wide as he felt the pain and he almost dropped to the ground but he had felt worse. Like a true warrior Leon showed no more signs of pain and quickly struck back against Sora. Sora did not want this to become a match of strength since Leon was undoubtedly stronger than him. He could not let that happen.

Cloud watched as Sora switched from a style that used mostly strength to a style of using speed. Smart since Leon was actually slower than Sora. Not by much by he was still slower and that gave the Keybearer the advantage.

"Are you enjoying the show?" Sephiroth asked. "I personally did not expect the child to do so well but he is fairing very well, don't you think?"

"Yeah, sure," Cloud tried very hard not to speak with his nemesis like it was a conversation between some warrior buddies.

"I am rooting for the child now I think," Sephiroth said. "I may enjoy destruction very much but I love the occasional battle between two such equally matched warriors. Much like our battle was."

"Our next battle will be our last," Cloud vowed.

"Come now my friend," Sephiroth chuckled. "That is the future. You are looking to far ahead of yourself. Remember what I once told you? The leader that looks to far ahead will trip over his own feet."

"Yes, I remember. One of the only good pieces of advice you ever gave me."

"Maybe but that also means that you must focus on the present. Now forget our troubles and enjoy the match as I am."

"Fine," Cloud turned back to the fight and tried to ignore Sephiroth.

Sora staggered back as Leon had connected with a powerful blow but Sora refused to fall at this point. He fought back with a swipe at Leon's leg but Leon jumped out of the way. Leon fired a blast of magical energy from his Gunblade and it hit Sora making him fly back and slam into the ground. Here came that impossible feeling again.

Yuffie was dancing around the wizard and the knight with great agility and Donald and Goofy were finding it hard to keep up. They barely got any hits off and with a double kick they were both knocked back and landed next to Sora.

"Switch opponents," Sora whispered as they used Cure to heal themselves and Donald cured Goofy. Donald and Goofy jumped at Leon and Sora ran at Yuffie. This surprised the other two long enough for one good attack.

"Fira!" Donald fired off and hit Leon in the stomach and launched him into the air.

"Rocket!" Goofy threw himself into the air and hit Leon as he was falling. Leon hit the ground and didn't move.

"Strike Raid!" Sora launched his new attack. The Spellbinder launched very quickly and spun many times. Blue energy circled it as it struck Yuffie and she was thrown not only into the air but she crashed into the stands. The Spellbinder kept spinning and it changed course and returned to Sora's hand like a boomerang.

"The winners!" Phil yelled as Sora, Donald, and Goofy cheered for themselves.

"Wait!" Leon yelled as he suddenly got back up. "It's not over!" Leon held his Gunblade straight up and it glowed with blue energy. The blade suddenly extended until it was as large as Cloud's Buster Sword.

"A shocking twist!" Sephiroth laughed from the stands. Cloud ignored him and stared on with great interest.

Leon charged forward with his extended blade and smashed it into Goofy. The knight was sent flying and crashed into some seats next to Yuffie.

"It will cost so much to fix this!" Phil whined as the fight continued. Donald tried his Stop spell but Leon was to strong for it and it didn't work. Leon fired a powerful blast of energy and Donald hit the coliseum wall so hard he made an indent. Now it was just Leon and Sora. Sora stared up at Leon and Leon was surprised at what he saw. Sora was completely rejuvenated!

"No wonder it was so easy to beat Donald and Goofy!" Leon yelled. "They gave their remaining energy to you when I wasn't paying attention!"

"Sorry Leon!" Sora yelled. "Now it really is over!" Sora said as he launched another Strike Raid much more powerful than the one before it. As Leon was hit he was instantly knocked out and Sora had truly won.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy had already left and Yuffie had returned to Traverse Town as Leon stood outside the coliseum and leaned against the wall. Cloud soon walked out to him.

"Well?" Leon asked.

"Sephiroth is gone," Cloud said with a sigh. "He must have slipped away when I was paying close attention to the match."

"I guess we'll just have to find him," Leon said. Cloud nodded.

"I don't think we should team up just yet," Cloud said. "You head on back to Traverse Town and I'll contact you when it's time. I think we could both use a little more training."

"Good idea," Leon said. The two shook hands and turned from each other and walked away.