Prewrite: I thought I'd try something different for this chapter. This time, I'm not starting it at dark o' clock in the morning. Instead, I'm starting it now that I've woken up and gotten dressed for the day. I'm hoping to continue the trend of each chapter being longer than the last until I have a decent length chapter. Also, listening to Disturbed. This is gonna be an action heavy chapter. Or, so I have planned somewhat.

Disclaimer: Daniel and his story? All mine. The rest? Square Enix and the Disney Corporation.


Chapter 4: First Victory

Daniel rushed back to the place he had been staying for the past week. It was just a small guest house near the coliseum, still far enough though that the trip there and back took up most of his time. There had been no guests all week, so he had it all to himself. He washed himself, changed clothes quickly, then rushed back to the coliseum.

On his way through the gates, he passed a man he hadn't seen before. His hair was blond and spiky in a fashion that reminded him of Sora. But that was the only resemblance. While Sora had always had a friendly air about him, this man seemed rather cold. Daniel didn't take the time to notice anymore than that though, as he was pressed for time. He hurried into the coliseum and met Phil.

"Ready." he said confidently. Phil nodded without looking up from his clipboard. "Careful, kid. Everyone who signed up this year was a weirdo, 'cept for one group of 'em." said Phil. "Three of 'em on a team, with one on his own." "I think I can take 'em." replied Daniel. "Just be careful. From the looks of those two, they're from another world like you."

Daniel's heart started to race. If they were from another world, they would have a way off of this one! He might be able to go home! That is…if there's still a home to go to… he thought. The images of his home crumbling to pieces and floating away into the sky played in his mind.

"Good luck, kid." Daniel was jerked from his thoughts by the present. Well…anyways, right now, I've got to focus on this. "Thanks, coach." He went into the waiting room.

It was a small area with a few lockers. He went to his and retrieved the sword that Hercules had loaned him. It was a bit short for his taste, and had no guard, just like the sword Herc himself used. It worked though, so he couldn't really complain.

A few minutes later, his name was called. It was time to fight. He took a deep breath, then walked into the arena.


Stepping out into the center, he looked around at the crowd. Nothing unusual, just a bunch of people who loved to watch fights. He flipped the sword around into a reverse grip and held it behind him. This was his fighting style.

Sora and Riku had always ridiculed him for using such a strange style. When he was little, he used it because he thought it looked cool. Now, it was the only style he knew. Holding his weapon in a reverse grip came with both advantages and disadvantages, but that could be said of any style.

He waited for his opponents to appear. Suddenly, dark creatures spawned in the middle of the arena. They weren't the shadows that he had faced before, but their black faces and yellow eyes showed that they were the same kind of beings. Daniel felt fear grip him, the same fear he had felt that night on the island. But this time…I'm not helpless! He heard the bell that signaled the start of the match. It was then that he realized that these were his opponents.

Giving a battle cry, he charged forward and attacked. He swung his sword at the one dressed like a soldier. Direct hit! The creature disappeared, and Daniel thought he saw a heart floating from where it stood.

He didn't have long to think about his first kill as there were still others, coming at him from all sides. He took out another soldier, then slashed at a monkey-like creature. Unlike the soldiers, the monkey didn't die immediately. It staggered back, then jumped at him, claws swinging through the air. Daniel dove and rolled to the side, taking out another soldier in that direction with a quick swing as he came out of the roll.

He turned back to the monkey and barely managed to block an incoming claw with his sword. He kicked the creature in the gut, knocking it to the ground, then jumped onto it and stabbed down at it, destroying it at last.

He glanced around the arena and saw no more creatures. The crowd roared in applause. He stabbed his sword into the air in victory, and the crowd went crazy. He felt the warmth of pride as he claimed his first coliseum victory. The warmth turned into another feeling, a feeling of increasing strength. This feeling was brief, and soon turned back into pride soon after.


Back in the waiting room, he glanced out the small window at the arena. The blonde man was in a match with more of the black creatures. He was fighting different ones than Daniel had. There were a few floating red ones that threw fireballs, and a fat one. Daniel took notice of both the creatures and the man, studying their strategies and looking for weaknesses.

The man's technique looked flawless from here. However, all his attacks bounced off of the fat creature. The blonde man jumped over it and attacked it from behind, his attacks doing serious damage from there. So those things are vulnerable from the back, and invincible from the front. Daniel made a mental note of that. Other than that, the match went smoothly.

The next match was between the other offworld competitors and more of the creatures. Daniel looked out the window to watch, then fell to the floor crying in pain. He felt like his shoulder was on fire. After the pain subsided, he sat up and carefully removed his shirt. There were three parallel scars on his left shoulder, where the shadow had scratched him that night.

He tenderly touched them, giving another cry of pain. He'd have to be careful with the shoulder in the future. He put his shirt back on, then gazed out the window. The match was over by that point. He sighed. Oh, well…I fight them after the next match anyways. He prepared, knowing he was next. He headed out as they called his name.


He had a slight advantage. This being their first time, they were in an alternate waiting room, with no window. They couldn't watch him to study his strategies like he could with them. He readied his sword as two of the fat creatures appeared in front of him. He grinned, confident of a victory.

Ding!

He charged forward and ran around behind one of them. He swung hard, then again and again. "Die, damnit!" The creature turned around and hit him hard, knocking him waaay back. He laid there for a moment, catching his breath, then got up. He was lucky those things were slow. He coughed painfully, then focused on the one he had hit before.

I need to be more careful…they may be easy to hit, but they've got a lot in them. He ran around behind it and started hitting it again. This time when it turned around, it was mad. It started glowing purple and jumping around. Daniel backed away quickly, but the creature ran after him trying to ram him with its belly.

He raised his sword to guard against the attack—and was surprised to see the creature bounce backwards. He dashed around it, attacking a few more times to finish it off. So, they go berserk when they're about to bite it. Good to know. He made a mental note of that fact, then glanced over at the other one. It was walking around lazily with no real purpose. This was probably a good thing. Fighting two at once would have been tough.

He carefully approached the remaining creature, employing the same strategy. He was especially careful after it went into its berserk stage, but managed to come out on top. He raised his blade into the air proudly, getting a huge reaction from the crowd.

He got another strange feeling, this one of growing endurance. He felt like he could stand up to anything thrown at him now. He smiled, then headed back into the waiting room.

He took a brief shower, then got ready for the semifinals. He would be fighting three enemies, and none of them were those creatures from before. They would be people this time. Hopefully, it won't be easy. That'd be no fun. He braced himself, then waited for his name to be called.


Postwrite: Whew. I meant for this chapter to be much longer, but I decided this could be a good stopping point. I'm sure you all know who the trio is. Next chapter is that fight through attack of the giant doggie. The main thing I'm glad about is how action heavy this chapter is compared to the others. It's a nice change of pace. Very little dialogue at all. Oh, the reason I decided to shorten the number of fights in the tournament is—let's get real here—who would be able to handle 10 fights in a row? Especially Sora and Daniel with how weak they are at this point in the story. And to be honest, I couldn't write 10 separate fight scenes in the coliseum. It'd get boring for you AND for me. So, four rounds it is. As always, please rate and review. You people are why I do this!