Prewrite: Let's get this started. This is supposed to be another action heavy chapter, with a good amount of dialogue at one point. Let's go!
Disclaimer: All your Kingdom Hearts are belong to Square Enix and the Disney Corporation. The rest is mine.
Chapter 5: Reunion and Revelation
Daniel stepped out into the arena, then gazed at the door, waiting for his opponents. First came out an anthropomorphic duck, dressed in blue and carrying a staff. Daniel barely reacted. After the events of the day, nothing could phase him. Next came an anthro dog, in green and holding a shield. What's next, a rabbit? he thought.
No rabbits today
Out came a familiar head of brown hair, carrying a giant key.
"Sora?" Daniel cried, a look of pure surprise on his face. The look was mirrored on the other boy's face. "Daniel? Daniel, is that you?" Daniel nodded, rushing towards Sora. "You're my opponent?" asked Daniel. "Um, yeah, I guess…" Sora gave a slow nod. "Who are they?" was Daniel's next question. He gestured to the animals at either side of Sora. "This is Donald…" Sora pointed to the duck, "…and Goofy." he pointed to the dog. Daniel nodded to them.
Daniel nodded, then heard the crowd roar in impatience. Next was Phil's voice in his head. Rule number 76: Keep the crowd happy."Listen Sora, we'll talk more after the match. For now, get ready to be rocked!" Daniel and Sora both grinned. Back home, as opposed to Sora and Riku's back and forth winning streak, Sora and Daniel had always dueled to a draw. That wouldn't be happening today. Daniel settled into his stance, watching Sora and his partners do the same.
Ding!
Daniel went for Goofy first, sending a hard kick at the tall dog's shield. He was rattled for a moment, and Daniel took advantage of it with a second kick, this one at Goofy's knee. He toppled to the floor. Daniel ducked just in time for Sora's strange weapon to come whizzing past where his torso had been.
He rolled backwards, dodging a bolt of lightning. Scrambling to his feet, he raised his sword just in time to block a swing from Sora. The sound of metal against metal filled the arena, and the crowd cheered them on.
By this time, Goofy was back to his feet. He and Donald tried to attack while his sword was locked with Sora's, but he jumped backwards just in time to dodge.
This was where he made the fatal mistake.
He tripped.
He fell flat on his back.
Before he could get back up, Sora's weapon was pointed down at him.
He had lost.
"…so it turned out that monkey word just meant 'heart?'" asked Daniel. Sora nodded, finishing the story. "Yeah. After that, we headed here. And you've been here the whole time?" Daniel nodded. "Phil's been training me."
There was an hour for rest before the finals, and the two boys were taking full advantage of it. "Sounds like tough work." said Goofy. Daniel shrugged. "Kind of. I mean, our fight was a lot tougher. Sorry about your knee, by the way." "No problem. Donald here fixed it up easy." Daniel nodded, then turned to Donald. "So, you're a magician?"
Before Donald answered, Sora's name was called. "Oh, well. Just tell me later. And good luck out there!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all headed for the arena.
Daniel looked out the window. The blonde man and Sora's group faced off, and he could feel the tension in the air. His shoulder also ached a bit, but he ignored that.
Ding!
Sora and his group charged towards the man without any hesitation. He used the flat side of his large sword to block most of the hits. Daniel once again noticed Sora's strange weapon. A…keyblade, he called it? The man made a wide swing that hit all three of them. Donald was out, and Goofy and Sora were on their last legs. From just one swing? That's amazing… Daniel thought.
Sora and Goofy kept their distance now. Sora shot a burst of ice from the end of his weapon Magic? No wonder he beat me…he's gotten so much stronger… thought Daniel. He felt disappointed that he had never really stood a chance in this tournament. The man dodged the ice blast, then pointed his weapon in front of him and dashed forwards with inhuman speed.
Sora managed to get out of the way, but Goofy got knocked to the ground, leaving Sora and the man one-on-one. Sora used a fire spell, which the man just brushed off. He jumped high into the air and came down fast, slamming his sword into the ground. While the attack itself missed Sora, the shockwave from it knocked him to the floor. Before he could get up, the man had his sword pointed down at Sora's throat.
Daniel Dashed out into the arena. The man still had his sword at Sora's throat. "Stop! The match is over, just leave him alone!" Daniel called out. The man glanced up at him. Without a word, he turned to walk away.
He didn't get far.
With a roar, a giant three-headed dog came, seemingly from nowhere, and knocked the man to the floor. He raised a paw to stomp him, but was suddenly stopped. Hercules was there, holding him up. "Daniel! Phil! Get them out of here!" Daniel and Phil ran out to help the beaten Sora, Donald, and Goofy off the field, taking them to the lobby.
They were all panting heavily. "Wait, what about Cloud?" asked Sora. "That's his name? Well, he should be fine," replied Daniel, "after all, Hercules is in there." An ominous roar came from the arena. Phil was sweating and nervous.
"We're going in there. We've gotta help him."
Daniel and Sora stared at each other for a moment, the same words having come out of both of their mouths. They grin and nod at each other. "Listen you two, be careful out there." said Phil. Daniel and Sora nod. Donald and Goofy were in no shape to fight, so the two boys went in alone.
"Hercules!" Daniel called out as he and Sora ran into the arena. Hercules had Cloud slung over his shoulder. "Go on and get him to safety. We'll handle this!" said Sora, readying the Keyblade. Daniel nodded, readying his own weapon. Hercules ran out of the arena with Cloud, and the giant dog roared.
Sora and Daniel ran around to opposite sides of the dog. The two outer heads followed them, the middle head shooting fireballs all over the arena. Sora jumped onto its back, attacking the middle head, while Daniel kept the other two heads distracted with attacks of his own. Everything was working perfectly. Of course, that didn't last long.
Daniel made another swing at the dog's right head. In mid swing, his shoulder started burning again. It felt like it was going to explode. Daniel fell down on one knee, his sword dropping to the ground. The dog slammed a paw on the ground, and the shockwave from it threw Daniel into the wall.
Damn…is this it…? Sora was still attacking, but the dog's focus was now on Daniel. No…I'm not gonna let some giant mutt end me! The burning in his shoulder turned into a different sensation, one that started to spread throughout his body. He got to his feet and raised his left hand, and the power that had surged throughout his body flowed into his left hand.
The hand turned black, blacker than the night. His fingers became claws. His hand was now that of one of the shadows that had attacked him on his home. With an almost inhuman roar, he charged at the dog. He slashed at it with his claw. The dog cried out in pain and slumped down to the arena floor, knocked out.
Daniel panted, suddenly feeling drained. He gazed down at his hand. What…is happening to me…? He felt his shoulder burn again, then his hand turned back to normal. He clenched his fist, finding that it hurt to do so. The hand looked worn and battered. He slipped it into his pocket quickly as Sora ran up to him. "That was amazing! How'd you do that?" Daniel shrugged. "It was nothing, a lucky hit, that's all." C'mon, let's get back to the others. He quickly turned and headed back towards the lobby.
"And so, I hereby dub thee Junior Heroes…" Phil read from the piece of paper in front of him to Sora, and Daniel. Donald and Goofy looked on, Donald looking a bit jealous. "Junior Heroes? That's all?" asked Daniel. "Even with all your training, you still don't know what it takes to be a true hero." Phil replied. "Well, what does it take?" asked Sora. This time Hercules replied. "If you have to ask, you're not there yet. You'll have to find out on your own, just like I did." He flashed them that winning hero's smile of his. Sora and Daniel smiled back, nodding simultaneously.
After Hercules and Phil left, Daniel turned to Sora. "So, where are you heading to now?" Sora shrugged. "Who knows? We're just going from world to world, helping people out." Daniel started to say, "Let me come with—" but he was interrupted by Donald crying out, "No!" Daniel and Sora both turned to him and Sora asked, "What? Why not?" "We're looking for the king, and we can't get sidetracked!" They argued for a minute or so before Daniel yelled, "Enough!"
They both stopped and looked at him. "Listen, don't argue over me." he said once he had their attention. "Just go on. I'll find another way off this world." Goofy then cried out, "I've got it!" then ran out of the lobby. Everyone followed him curiously.
Goofy was outside of the coliseum's outer gate, by their ship. Daniel was surprised by its appearance. "This is your ship? It looks like a pile of bubble gum!" Sora laughed, but Donald shot him an annoyed look. Goofy came back to them, carrying a big box. "Here ya go!" He put the box down and opened it up, showing that it was full of strange multicolored blocks of different shapes and sizes.
Daniel picked one up. "What are these?" "Gummi blocks! Goofy, you're a genius!" Sora cried out. "A-hyuk." was Goofy's only reply. He gave them a grin that lived up to his name. "Gummy blocks? So it's a box of candy?" "No no, Gummi blocks. They're what our ship is made of. We have a lot of extras, so you can use them to make your own ship!" Daniel's face lit up. "Really? That's awesome! C'mon, let's get started!"
A few hours later, they had constructed a ship that was just about identical to Sora, Donald, and Goofy's. "So…I can use this to go to other worlds." Daniel said, gazing up at the ship. Sora nodded. "It was easier than building the raft, that's for sure…" Suddenly remembering something, Sora turned to Daniel. "Oh, I forgot to ask. Have you seen Riku or Kairi?" Daniel shook his head sadly. "No. I was hoping they were with you." Sora sighed. "Oh, well. I'm sure we'll find them." Daniel nodded.
Cloud came out of the arena doors just then. Sora ran over to him. Daniel couldn't hear their conversation, but he handed something to Sora. He glanced over at Daniel, then handed something else to Sora. He then turned and walked away. Sora ran back over to Daniel. "Here. He told me to give you this, and he also told me to tell you, 'Don't give into the power.'" Sora handed Daniel a small but bright gem. What is it…? Daniel wondered. He shrugged, then slipped it into his pocket.
"So, it looks like it's time to split up again." Sora was preparing to get on his ship and leave. Daniel was there to see him off. "Yeah. But we'll meet again, right?" Daniel smiled and nodded again. "Definitely. Someday, we'll find our way back home. All four of us."
Daniel held out his arm towards Sora. Sora crossed his own arm with it, and they nodded, both saying, "It's a promise."
Postwrite: Oh, man. I had a LOT of trouble with the Cerberus fight. Right in the middle of typing it, I came down with a serious case of writer's block. It sucked hard. That was TWO DAYS AGO. So, I'll try and make it up to you people. Lots of action AND dialogue. I originally intended for this chapter and the previous one to be one whole chapter. I don't really know why I decided to break it into two. Oh, well. As per usual, I would appreciate feedback. Until next time!
