Mikenno says:

After the struggle in Deep Jungle's chapter, I'm hoping this one goes easier. More characters introduced! More dialogue! More humor! Yay! More... shounen ai?

kuku.

Also, I wanted to say thank you, again, to my beta reader, Meggido, and to all my loyal readers. You're a small group by the looks (I can't see how many people actually look at the story, only comment, after all.) and I'm glad you've stuck with me. While I feel this story's chapters aren't as long as other stories I have done, I appreciate you taking the time to read a mad fan's obsession, brief or elaborate.

While the first person I write for is myself, you guys help me keep my will to do greater creations. You give me wonderful commentary and push me along and it's very emotional and I'm bad at emotional stuff. XD Just... thank you for everything! Now read! Ignore me. e.e

P.S. If you really like this story, tell someone you know! I love opinions.

Olympus Colliseum

"Push harder, you wussy!" Cid was screaming in my ear as I saw the gate crank open just a bit more. "We gotta see what's in this world here! Hurry up!"

"I'm sure it'll still be there when I open the damn gate!" I snarled at him, my aggravation boiling over in masses of foamy angst bubbles, and began to push with the new adrenaline rush I had found. I opened it enough to squeeze myself through, which was all I needed. "God! There's more to this world than this stadium, y'know." I gave a heaving gasp and began my approach to a much kinder set of doors; smaller and surrounded by guardian statues of gold with swords erect toward the sky. I felt a little more reassured.

The door opened, light enough to let a gentle spring breeze slam it against the wall if it so desired. Expecting to see a grand hall of sorts at the entrance, I was disappointed to find a small room with a short, plump goat man in it. I walked inside and started to look over the trophies lined up on the shelves, studying the names -

I flung my body in the general direction of what I had seen. Goat man. Or something! What was he? I still don't know. I never asked. I had just stared until he started to yell at me. His voice was raunchy and obnoxious but it snapped me out of my daze.

"Hey, kid! What're you doing here? This place ain't no hang out for weenies!" Well, that was a great start. Aside from the nightmare I had before I got there, along with Cid yelling at me, now some ram thing that was like a manifestation of Cid yelling at me, and my slamming headache from fighting with the doors and allowing all the blood to rush to my head... Well, I've had better days.

But his insult caught up to my frustration and the concoction's result was anything but pleasant talk.

"Hey! Who're you calling a weenie, fatty?" Okay, that was childish but I was at a point I didn't give a flip. "Er.." He was snorting smoke at that point and without him, I had a feeling I wouldn't learn anything about where I was. To reconcile, I sighed loudly and bowed. "Look, I'm sorry...Erm?"

"Name's Phil, and whatever. Kid, I'm waiting on some real contenders to show up, okay? Don't make this look like any ol' person can just waltz in here and - "

"Would you hang on?" I held a hand up. "I just wanted to ask what's going on here."

Phil turned his attention to a poster nailed to the wall behind him. I took myself there as well and read over what he started to explain aloud. "We're holding a challenge in the colliseum to find the strongest warrior. Of course, we all know that's Hercules, the strongest man in the world, born from the very Gods! He's a true hero, undefeated!" Phil clicked his heels toward me, looking up as I looked down. "But we hold it anyway. It's a good show." I nodded to show I understood but he didn't seem to care if I had or not. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Well, hey, I'm no wimp either. Can't judge a book by its cover, right?" I gave a confident grin but Phil laughed it right off my face.

"Kid, you're what, twelve?"

"Sixteen!" I huffed.

"You're a little boy that comes in here with no gear or weapons with the body of a girl - " My jaw dropped to hear such a mean comment. "And you expect me to believe that you're not a wimp? ZERO." He gave me a thumb down and turned away. "Look, I have other business to take care of."

"Fine! I don't want to compete in your crappy competition anyway! Bunch of cheerleaders with swords..." I started to walk away but by the time I hit the door Cid was buzzing after me.

"Uh... Weren't ya here to find Sora?" I stopped and slapped my forehead. He was right. I was there to ask about Sora and that beaver thing had me all worked up. I turned back and started for him again. His other business seemed to be just standing there staring at the wall but rather than make any harsh mockeries at it, I just crouched down and tapped his shoulder. He twisted just his head to face me.

"What, girly boy?" My eye twitched. "I thought I told you to take your feminity and go make a skirt."

"I AM - " I growled, seethed at him, and took a deep breath. "Phil, have you met a boy named Sora by any chance?"

"Was he like you?" I furrowed my brows; I knew something sarcastic was coming.

"Like me how?" I pressed.

"Y'know..." He looked me up and down. "Drag queen."

I felt an unspeakable anger bubbling deep in my intestines. Phil was most sincerely pissing me off and I wasn't about to stand for it. As I lunged my hand forward to wrap around his neck, he did the same with his own stubby arms and went for mine. While I grabbed to actually strangle, he was investigating elsewhere on me. I stopped in my path of slaughter to see he had ahold of my necklace. I casted my arm aside and rested it on my bent knee.

"Hey, kid," He flipped it over, studying the 'S' carefully as if a jeweler determining it's worth, and then let it fall back against my chest. "I think I know who you're talkin' about. I remember a Sora." I snapped myself upright as he continued. "What're you looking for that kid for?"

"He went missing a year ago," I explained. "I've been trying to find him ever since."

Phil didn't seem to believe me. He gave me that look of mistrust, as if every intention I had for Sora was impure and unjust. "A year is a long time. How do ya know he wasn't dead?"

"Sora wouldn't die!" I found myself yelling at him. "If Sora was dead... I would know it." I clutched a hand at my heart, not noticing I was doing so until Phil cleared his throat. "I would - "

"Well, your heart isn't completely lying to you, I guess," I looked up at his grim words. "It's a shame, too. Sora had hero potential..." His face was troubled. "But he didn't have the heart."

No. "What do you mean?" I knew something wasn't right about that. Sora was a pure person. He'd do anything to help anyone in need. He may not have been famous or anything for his heroism but anyone would be glad to tell you what a kind Samaritan Sora could be.

"Sora participated in the matches. It's hard to forget a kid like that, y'know," He turned his invisible neck to face the other way. "Ruthless." One word I thought I'd never hear about Sora. "He was a cold-blooded machine for destruct - "

"Shut up," I couldn't stand to hear those things anymore. Now a vision of how he was acting along with Jane's pictures was too much for me to handle. "I don't want to hear that from you." I found myself screaming. "That isn't Sora!" Yet I felt an unamountable weight inside my heart, as if I was only denying what was true. I ignored that with the utmost priority then.

Phil was eyeing me when my fit was over and he took a deep breath. He was rather serious. "What's yer name?"

"Riku," I muttered.

"Riku," He echoed. "I wanna train ya," I didn't look at him but my face reacted with surprise. "For Sora. Y'need to save that kid." I already knew that but it was nice to hear someone else say it. I didn't feel so helpless anymore knowing that another mind, albeit a harsh and rambunctious one, agreed with me. "What d'ya think?"

"I think I will - " I was more than happy to accept his offer, not really paying attention to understanding how a shrimpy moose creature could help me. However someone's outcry ran over my compliance.

"Maybe you should let me handle this one, Phil," A much deeper voice interrupted. I spun to behold a tall man with wild brunette hair and a relaxed scar across his face approaching us, gripping white shirt partially concealed by the black short-sleeved coat over it. Around his neck was a pendant of no similarity to mine, much more intricately designed and mastered, and the fact he wore three belts just on his hips almost seemed unnecessary, but then I reconsidered my wardrobe at home and avoided being a hypocrite. He was very handsome but very rough, and the giant blade with a huge nozzle did not rectify that opinion. I later would learn that he could do some real damage with that weapon.

"You?" Phil cocked a bushy brow at him. "What does any of this have to do with you, Leon?"

"Sora is the keyblade master," He said rather bluntly toward me, ignoring Phil completely. "Show it to me."

"What?" I took a step away from him. That man, Leon, struck a sudden fear into my soul. "Show you what?" He lifted his blade up and got into a position that I would have to say was to beat the crap out of me.

"What're ya doin', Leon!" Phil started bellowing in my defense but even I knew it wasn't any good. "Leave him alone!" But that did not stop him from rushing at me. He lifted the blade into the air, the light of it glaring into my eyes, and all I could do was throw my arm up.

The sound of metal clashing together was the last noise I expected to hear. When I opened my shivering eyes to see what just happened, I found his sword was just above my head, stopped by a long black and white bar. Leon simply smiled and hopped away, leaving me in my shock. In my hand was undeniably the same weapon I had brought forth in that insane world with the cat. The...

"Keyblade. Exactly what I wanted to see," Leon said coolly, smacking the tip of the blade into the ground. It was beginning to be apparent that everyone but me knew something. I gave him the most baffled expression I could support and he beckoned me with his gloved finger. "Come with me, Riku. I will teach you what you need to know."

Hesitantly I followed him, not even thanking Phil before I left. I suppose I was rushed at with so much new information and questions that my brain ceased to function for anything save for direct orders. Suspicious? Yes. Did I care? Not particularly.

Leon led me to the outskirts of the stadium and, upon recollection, he opened the doors without a problem. Cid was amazingly silent or I had finally learned to tune him out and while I hoped for the latter, it proved to be the former when he grumbled something about anal retentiveness and a hair cut. I assumed he meant Leon. I was guided to a small town with a bustling busy city about a mile away, clearly visible by its smoke and stance on the hill. It looked ready to roll away into a river somewhere.

He opened the door to a house about three blocks in and I stepped inside before he slapped me retarded through the door. At that point I would've only needed a tap. I meandered my way to the nearest chair and sat down, eyeing the keyblade I was still holding. My neck felt naked but my hand felt warm. Would I finally get some answers? I kept thinking that over and over. Then Leon sat down after spinning the back of the chair to face me. He did not do the same and placed his arms on the top, chin on them.

"Riku, do you know what's happening?" I shook my head. "Damn it." That was not what I wanted to hear. It must've meant he didn't know much more than I did. "Alright. Well, at least let me explain this." He swung a finger toward my occupied grip. "That is a keyblade. Now normally it's something only the keyblade master should be weilding but you, who is not he, has one regardless." That, to say the least, was a bunch of Blah Blah Blahs. I think Leon noticed that, too, because he continued much slower.

"Your friend, Sora, is the keyblade master. He is the boy meant to guard the keyholes of every world and keep them locked and safe from the Heartless." I couldn't even supply a lost expression before he began to shove that into my brain, too. "The Heartless are fiends without hearts, the embodiments of darkness gone wild. This is what I know of that."

"Can you just... Tell me what this has to do with me and Sora?" Leon shook his head.

"I was hoping you could tell me exactly what Sora's doing, but apparently not," He rose to his feet. "As far as I know, he's raising Hell. I have no idea for what reason or how but everywhere he goes - "

"Darkness follows," I muttered. The man looked at me with surprise but didn't question it. Even if he had, I wouldn't have been able to answer him truthfully. Leon sat back down, rested his head on his arms, and sighed. "I don't understand. How can you bear the keyblade?"

Well, seeing as Sora was the "keyblade master", I could only assume he was the only one allowed with it. I studied the weapon in my hold and my eyes almost immediately landed on the chain swinging from its hilt. I gripped the bar and raised it up into Leon's eye's vicinity. "So you think it's this?"

The brunette lifted his head and evaluated what I had to offer as an answer. "What is it?"

"A pendant both Sora and I share," I explained and twitched my wrist enough to make it spin slowly, revealing the "S" engraved on it's back. "It disappears off my neck and attaches itself to this thing." He watched it twist back and forth, not seeming to pay attention to it at first, but in time he rose again and let it slide into a peaceful sleep in his palm.

"Do you love him?" Leon asked rather plainly. I felt my face burn up and I dodged the question with a slippery answer.

"He's my friend. My best friend. And he's not very bright so I worry about him. I guess that's love, sure." I was a little... amazed to see Leon's face have such an awkward smile on it. It melted into a nostalgic looking mess and finally it became a frozen block of ice once more. I was convinced the man was bipolar. Tripolar. Qua - Something. He was screwy and I immediately felt the eerie presence of misplacement.

In fact, it was looming over me like a tall, dark shadow. Something told me then it wasn't just my imagination on how small I felt but I did, sincerely, find myself to be much smaller than the cause of that enormous shadow lunging over my shoulders. When I cricked my head in it's owner's direction, I was only partially surprised to see a man with psychotically spiky blonde hair and a shredded red cloak choking his neck in folds descending upon me like the Grim Reaper with some terrible static shock. He was not very happy to see me, his glowing blues eyes told me that much.

While the Nazi stared me down like a prisoner of war at his disposal, Leon cleared his throat and saved the day. "Cloud, this is Riku." For a moment he was looking at Leon but the eyes of the hawk snapped back at me and I felt my stomach fall through my ass. His hair was ridiculous and I couldn't take him completely serious but those illuminated balls in his eye sockets scared the Hell out of me.

"Leave," He demanded and started to work out of his first layer of clothes, that being the cloak, thankfully. I don't think I could've handled anything else. Leon slammed his hand on the nearby table and snarled after his apparent room mate.

"Cloud! He's not leaving. He's staying right here." He gave one of those slow turns like he was ready to walk up to Leon and slap him down. "He's connected to Sora!"

"But he is not Sora. We don't need him." He waved his hand at me and I started to get to my feet to obey. Leon smashed his hand on the top of my head and put my rear right back in the chair. I was angry at the reign of terror he was about to cause for me. I was 16 and my heart couldn't handle that extensive amount of pressure. "Why are you constantly causing me problems? He carries a horrible presence."

It took a lot of willpower to resist calling him a hypocrite and proceed to thoroughly explain how much of an unforgivable presentation he gave. The hair; the eyes; both together silenced me.

"Look!" He nearly tore my arm out of its socket thrusting it into the air without my body's permission to present the keyblade. "LOOK!"

"Leon, I have a headache," He wasn't looking as he turned away to be sure he wouldn't be able to either. "I've had a long day and I have a lot more to do tomorrow. Just leave me alone." He came upon a door and grabbed the knob just as a chair smashed into the wall beside him. Leon was still in the position he had let the object go in and he slapped his hands back down on the table when he had Cloud's undivided attention. "...That was uncalled for."

"But I have your attention! Get back here." The blonde returned immediately but at his own pace. "I want you to help me train Riku. Think about it." Cloud didn't seem to want to and it was beginning to bother me that Leon was talking as if I hadn't been there. "Sora's become a big problem. I think Riku can contain him." I had a headache. "Wouldn't that be best and probably the safest way? Sora more than likely won't harm him." I was tired of hearing the same things about Sora.

"That's true but train for how long exactly? We can't keep him here for months - not even weeks!" I could feel my eyes growing heavier.

"A week. With both of us, we only need a week. With his keyblade, he probably doesn't even need that." Keyblade. A week. Sora. Fight with Sora. I believed me coming along had been such a great convenience that I suddenly didn't want to find my friend to spite their hopes. "What do you say?" How about what I say? I kept thinking.

"...I suppose," Cloud answered. Well, I was thinking about leaving... "Alright." But if you insist! "Only a week. In another room."

I was angrier than a hornet.

"Why another room? We should probably watch him..."

"No! He sickens me. Another room..."

Cloud walked away and right out of my sight. This left Leon and myself, the satisfied lion and the raging lamb. That had been the crappiest part of my trip thus far. Leon, arms crossed against his chest, turned to me with a pleasant purr. I glared at him as hard as I could but he had the advantage from living with Cloud. I stood up and lifted my keyblade into the air at my own will, a small light flickering off the pendant. If it hadn't been attached to the blade, I probably would've chucked it out the window and left. Despite refusing to believe I had to fight Sora, I tried to at least deny the sudden determination I felt in the idea of being trained to be stronger. I guess I thought it'd come in handy since I was obviously swimming in an ocean as opposed to the lake I swore I dived into.

"Tomorrow morning, alright? Are you hungry?" I shook my head. "We'll eat breakfast and go train tomorrow then. You have to get something into your system."

Leon had taken me to my room and dumped me there. It didn't take me long to realize it was beside his and Cloud's bedroom when I heard them arguing with each other about why Cloud was such an asshole and why some brat had to take care of the other brat. I curled up on the bed provided and stared out the window, where most of the view was obscured by a large stump and some raggedy excuses for leaves. I eyed the keyblade that I had rested on the wall and in that same instant it cracked into two and swirled into light. It soared to me like a school of fireflies and came to a rest in my outstretched hand. My half-crown occupied my palm and I took comfort in the void being filled on my body again.

The time alone gave me time to think again which, in turn, made me wish I hadn't left Leon's side. I also noticed that Cid had suddenly disappeared. Either way, that meant to me that I had to start facing apparent facts that I didn't want to face or, at least, wasn't ready to. Two different worlds, several different people, all the same opinions. Sora was a machine. A monster. A boy with an empty body, forsaken of a soul. He was some keyblade master with an obedience for slaughter. I sat up, taking in very slowly what I had gathered out of the few people I had spoken to. I tugged my necklace back over my head and let gravity take over, defying it all the same as I rose up to walk to the window.

I couldn't see anything past the pitiful tree but I wasn't looking for much to begin with. I investigated the bark, the parched leaves, and the miserable branches that erected at all angles from it's roof and was happy to see something more depressing than me. What I didn't understand was why that bit of nature looked so horrible. It was in constant sunlight and the grass at its base was as green and healthy as could be. But not the tree. It stuck out like a man in black at a Valentine's Day parade. Seeing as the tree was making me angry, I wandered away from the window and crashed back down onto the bed.

The thought of Sora made me just as mad. What was happening to my friend? Why was everyone talking about him as if he were the devil himself? Was it some side of Sora I somehow missed? Or did something horrible happen?

My mind was riddled with questions that just couldn't be answered. Over and over, I ask them - again and again and again. I silently agreed that asking questions was all I could do to keep myself from going insane by accepting everything as fact. I just sighed and closed my eyes, absorbing the sliver of hope Leon had for me. That maybe, just maybe, if they train me, I can face the Sora I was sure didn't exist. All I could do was hope that by becoming stronger, I would again meet Sora. Hopefully not in battle.

Quicker than I could detect it, the sun had eaten the moon and rose to the top as beautiful as ever. If only my morning had gone as peacefully and silently as the moon into its sleep. My door was kicked down.The raging blonde bomber raced into my room and tore me from my dreams before I even knew I was awake and out of bed, terrified. He patted my head a couple times in the doorway, which was as far as Cloud dragged me before leaving it for my body to handle, and cleared his throat.

"Expect it rough," he announced and swished away like a bat. To say the very, very least: I was freaking out. I never wanted to hear anything like that from his mouth - EVER. However on such a crude morning and in such a world where fighting seems to be a past time, I hit myself for not expecting it. After a meal of having food shoved down my throat for energy by the brunette of the house, which resulted in at least me nearly gagging to death once, I found myself standing beside the shortest, fuzziest man I could remember.

Phil looked up at me and nodded, eyes gazing back toward Cloud and Leon, who were already standing in the arena, weapons prepared. I frowned and threw my arm out, my chain flickering into substance in my fist. The keyblade was at my disposal more easily now that I knew what I was doing.

"Two against one?" I observed aloud. "Little unfair for me."

"You have a week!" was the blatant reply from Phil. "Ya need to get crackin', kid. This is gonna be a crash course." I felt my eyes twitching, as if glazed over by that concept. Cloud took a small step back, which was enough to catch Leon's attention and totally screw up my concentration. I saw the blonde shake his head and shrug off Leon's concerns and he beckoned me forward with the flick of his fingers. I brushed my hair back and proceeded, sweat bleeding from my hands. I knew I had some sword skills so I wasn't completely dumb on the subject, but my opponents definitely had more practice than I did.

When my feet were both in the ring, my teeth clenched and my body tight, Cloud and Leon both swung their swords and charged.

Wow. XD I did a lot of dialogue and humor this time. I guess it comes with the introduction of more characters that aren't, well, Riku.

I decided to break Olympus Colliseum up into two chapters. Why? Because I'm mean.

And Riku's theme from KHII is so.. YES! It gives me so many ideas for this story. ;-; 33333333 I wonder if I can make it so I can write another one for when KHII comes out..Hrrmm... Probably not.