Chapter VI: Laff-A-Lympics
"... Don't lose sight of it."
"Welcome to the Laff-A-Lympics!" Daffy declared with a sweep of his stubby arm.
Jaden heard the two large oaken doors close behind them as he looked out over the field he was standing before. Two huge, golden statues of gladiators, swords crossed, stood by a small door on the other side of the expanse. Small pedestals, apparently firepits, dotted the landscape. Mammoth walls boxed in the entry field on all sides.
"It's huge!" Jaden gasped at the sheer grandeur of the Coliseum.
"Most folks on this world go to watch the games here," Daffy walked past, flaunting his knowledge. "Here heroes fight monsters, and sometimes even other heroes!"
Jaden wondered if he might be able to take part in these games. He really could use the practice with the Keyblade if he was to use it well.
"Oh my, Daffy, you did heaps of reading last night, didn'tcha?" Porky grinned.
Daffy snorted. "I'm just naturally smart, Pork."
"But I coulda sworn I saw ya-"
"Let's keep moving, Jaden!" Daffy interrupted.
After entering the doors on the opposite side of the field, the three travelers found themselves in a elaborate stone atrium. The walls were cut smoothly from some tan brick, and trophies of all sorts sat in cases embedded in the walls. A huge stone block sat against one wall. Beside a wooden door across from them, a small, grey half-pickle/half-man caveman stood atop a pedestal, back turned to them. It was writing on a small board entitled, "Rules".
"Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya?" The half-pickle man asked without turning, pointing to the stone block, "Move that rock over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games."
"Uhmm..." Jaden began uncertainly, but shrugged and walked over to the stone block. He pushed and strained and exhorted all his effort, but the stone block didn't move. Didn't even budge. Who did the goat man expect to move this?
"It's way too heavy!" he gasped as he slid to the ground.
"What? Too heavy?" The caveman laughed and turned around "Since when have you been such a little-"
As he caught sight of the trio, his eyes widened and he nodded his head knowingly. "Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" the caveman jumped down from the pedestal and began to stamp toward Jaden, Daffy and Porky, "This here's the world-famous Coliseum—Heroes only! And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run-along, pip-squeaks." Jaden took offense to being called a 'pip-squeak', while the goat continued to talk. "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over," The goat waved his arms about to emphasize his point, "to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum."
Daffy crossed his arms, "You got heroes standing right in front you, buster." he declared angrily.
Porky placed his hands on Jaden's back good-naturedly, "Yuppiepieipeiup. He's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade!"
"And we're heroes, too." Daffy shoehorned in, pointing at himself proudly.
"Hero?" the caveman's eyebrows rose and he chuckled, "That runt?"
"What's so funny?" Jaden asked angrily, "I've fought a bunch of monsters!"
"Hey, if you can't even move this..." the caveman turned and pushed against the large stone block, "You can't call yourself..." he strained, "a hero! Arrgghhh!" he slid to the ground, "Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Well, let's see what you can do." he smiled a somewhat unnerving smile.
Jaden panted up to the caveman man, now known as Captian Caveman,(or CC for short) and leaned on his knees. Broken barrels lay strewn all about, evidence of Jaden's past trials at the hands of CC.
"You know, you ain't half-bad, kid." CC complemented with a nod of his head, scanning the Coliseum floor.
"Heh..." Jaden panted and wiped some sweat from his forehead, "Looks like I'm headed for the games."
"Afraid not!" CC stated simply.
Jaden's head snapped up, "Why not?"
CC held up two fingers, "Two Words: You guys ain't heroes."
"Uhhh..." Porky held up four fingers, "I think that's-"
"Wanna become a real hero?" Porky interrupted. "Start by mastering this spell. It's called Thunder!"
Daffy perked up, having been sitting alone after being brushed off by Captian Caveman one too many times."Thunder! Watch this!" and with a cry of "Thunder!" from the duck, a bolt of energy shot to the ground with a crack. CC nodded.
"Uhh...isn't that lighting, CC?" Jaden asked.
"That's beside the point!" CC gruffly stated, "Learn that spell. But don't even think about practicing here in the arena, get outta here. Now!"
Jaden nodded quickly and ran through the doors, Daffy and Porky following behind.
"That kid...a hero! Hah! Suuuure..." CC chuckled to himself. "A shame he can't be in the games, though..."
As Jaden sped from the Atrium and out through the door to the entrance field, he ran into something that stopped him in his tracks.
"Rather a stubborn old pickle, wouldn't you say?" came a slick-sounding voice from above.
Jaden stepped back and craned his head to see that he had just ran into a small of a man. Well, almost like a man. This new person was red-skinned with a very thin, devil like pointed face. A large red buttocks sticking out with a devil tail He waved up at Jaden with thin, bony fingers.
"Who are you?" Daffy questioned, coming through the door after Jaden.
"Whoa, hold on the there, fuzz boy." the being chuckled abit, "Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?" he placed a large hand on Jaden's shoulder, "Well, then, get a load of this." the red-skinned being snapped his fingers and-in a puff of smoke- a small Games Pass appeared in his hand.
Jaden gasped, "A pass?"
"It's all yours." the man turned and walked away. "Good luck, kid. I'm pulling for you, little shorty."
"Hah! Yes!" Jaden fist-pumped and ran back into the Coliseum Atrium, forgetting all about practicing his new spell.
He didn't, nor did Daffy or Porky, notice the stranger's smirk and his disappearance in a puff of smoke.
"Oh yeah!" Jaden exclaimed, "Already, I'm only four matches from the finals! Yes!"
"Oh my, you did great Jaden!" Porky gave him a slap on the back. Daffy just stood by on the sidelines, having already gave his daily grumble about searching for the King.
"Well, you ain't gonna be doing anymore brawling today, kid." Captian Caveman stated matter-of-factly, "the final battles of the tournament don't happen until tomorrow."
"Awww..." Jaden mumbled, "And I was just getting into it..."
CC smirked slightly, "Kid, did I say the day was over? Hah! Fat chance. We've got training to do!"
Jaden's face paled, "Uhhh...CC, I think I've, uh, had enough-"
"Nuh-uh, the last thing you need is to be knocked off your game. So we're gonna keep ya going! Get out there and give me fifty push-ups! Now!"
Jaden nodded quickly and ran out to the darkened arena to begin his repetitions. All the spectators had long ago left the stadium, just Team Jaden and CC were,
"So where'd you guys find this kid?" CC spoke quietly to Daffy and Porky, jerking his thumb to Jaden.
"Well, we found him in Tr-"
Daffy kicked Porky in the knee with his webbed foot and called upon his knowledge of other worlds, "Thessaloniki, we found him in Thessaloniki."
CC nodded knowingly, "Yeah, that little city up north. Central Macedonia, amiright?"
Daffy, thanking the stars for the King's library and the books he had brought with him, nodded vehemently.
"Yeah, I guessed you guys were from up north. Definitely not from around here."
At the sound of a thud, the three creatures turned their heads to Jaden, Daffy nursing his hurt knee, to see the poor boy laying flat on the dusty ground, breathing heavily.
"Watcha at kid?" CC yelled.
"Tweny-fie" Jaden mumbled into the dirt.
CC stomped his foot, "That's nothing you wimp! Get back up and finish! Sheesh..." Jaden pushed himself back up and continued onward toward his goal.
"So what're you guys doing all the way down here in Lympics?" CC questioned.
"The games of course!" Daffy answered gruffly.
"You came without passes? What a bunch of boneheads..." CC chuckled.
Beat-red heat began to travel from Daffy's feet to his zippered blue hat. He was about to charge CC when Porky hobbled in front of him, successfully blocking Daffy's attack.
"Hahahaa...well, at least the kid got a pass, right?" CC laughed again, "Hey...looks like he's done..." he walked over to to where Jaden was again lying in the dirt. "Now give me 10 laps!"
Several hours and a multitude of pain later, evening had fallen upon the Lympics. All was silent except for the clacking of Jaden's overly large shoes against the sandstone grandstands as he ran up and down, up and down, up and down. He desperately wanted to stop. He'd give anything to be able to stop this training. In all the silence he had a lot of time to think, and he found that thinking kept the pain at bay. Mostly. He initially had wondered what he was doing here. Why was he competing in these games? What had come over him to stop his search for Zane and Alexis to just be in a couple stupid tournaments? He had just about given up there when he remembered something his father had told him when he was little. Something about 'pain is weakness leaving the body'. He remembered most moments with father, as little of them that there were. A scattered playtime here, a old saying there. His father had been a great dad, for the few years he had known him. He had been the one to originally teach him how to swordfight, in fact. But one day there had been that accident out on the fishing trawler...
When he had reached that memory, Jaden's mind went back to the pain in his legs. And his chest. And his feet. And his arms. And, well, pretty much everywhere.
But still, 'pain is weakness leaving the body'.
Jaden gritted his teeth and kept running. He was gonna need all the weakness out of his body that he could get out. That's the mission he would accomplish in Llympics.
"Hey kid!"
Jaden stopped his running and caught sight of CC standing down on the ground. "I think it's about time to call it a night."
"Here, have a drink of this..." CCl said as he threw a wineskin filled with water to Jaden.
Daffy, Porky, CC and Jaden laid spread out on the surface of the arena floor, looking up at the bright constellations that couldn't be seen from Duel Academy or Looney Castle.
"So, kid," When CC spoke, Jaden looked up from fumbling about with the wineskin, wondering how one drinks from a bag."Your friends tell me you came from Thessaloniki," at this, Jaden quirked an eyebrow at Daffy, who replied with a shrug, "So you got any other reason than the games? You didn't seem ready for 'em, that's for sure."
Jaden sighed, "Kinda...I'm looking for some really good friends of mine, Zane and Alexis...I—I-I lost them, and I don't know what happened to them, or if they are even okay" he turned to look back at the stars.
"Hey, sorry about that, kid. Can't say that I've met anyone going by those names though."
Silence ensued for a few moments as the four of them stared at the intricate patterns in the sky.
"Hey CC, is there anything you're here for? Something you really want?" Jaden suddenly questioned.
CC sighed, "Yeah, I've always wanted to raise a hero. Someone that people will look at and say 'That's CC's boy.'" he smiled sadly, "I've gone through so many duds...wannabe after wannabe who never had what it took." he shook his head and turned to Jaden. "You know, the gods draw the figure of a hero in the stars." CC pointed upwards, "See? That's Odysseus, right over there to your right. They say he sailed to the end of the world and beyond. That's the hero I want to train." CC sighed wistfully.
"Oh my, you ever think you'll find him?" Porky asked.
"I don't know anymore," CC sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I don't even know why I'm telling you guys any of this. Must be tired." he shrugged and put his arms behind his head. "But, then again, Popeye...he's always stood a chance at being that one. A Hero if there ever was."
"Popeye? Who's he?" Jaden asked.
CC looked startled, "You must have lived under a rock to not know about the Pop!"
"Well, we've been traveling for awhile..." Daffy rescued the situation.
"Okay, fine, but Pop is the biggest hero this side of Mount Lympics! He's the one you'll be fighting if you reach the finals." CC chuckled,"Too bad he ain't here right now, though, visiting his father, y'know?"
"Well, not really. I never knew my father that well." Jaden stated matter-of-factly, with a hint of sadness evident in his tone. Daffy and Porky looked at him sympathetically, having learned something about their companion that they had not known before.
"Ah...well, kid, you ain't alone." CC offered as they went back to looking at the stars
"And you ain't half-bad, either. Hell, you may be able to beat Kaiba." CC declared after a minute of silence.
"Kaiba?" Daffy quacked.
"Yeah, he's the only one fighting through the tournament faster and better than you. If you keep up your pace, kid, he'll be your opponent in the semi-finals."
Jaden nodded in anticipation without taking his eyes off the sky. Suddenly, one of the stars he had been watching winked out. Just gone, like that. A world eaten by the Soulless.
The solemnity of the state of the galaxy crept it's way back into Jaden's soul and took up residence. If only he knew what he could do to stop the worlds from being taken by the darkness.
With that, Jaden allowed the numerous stars to lull him to sleep, thoughts on whether Alexis and Zane were looking at the same stars swirling about in his mind.
The next day, The Red Guy, god of the Hell, turned from looking down at the little squirt.
The particular little squirt who had just won his final match before the semi-finals.
The red god stood within the shadows of a mountain crag, overlooking the Lympics. The Little Keyblade tyke...who would've thought he could come this far? Maybe Yubel was right. This kid could mean trouble. He turned back to his guest.
"That little punk is your next opponent, okay? Now, don't blow it. Just take him out." Red Guy smashed his hands together and looked for his guest's reaction.
His guest had bowl cut brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a one-sleeved black jacket with a white dragon shoulder plate over his left shoulder. Black pants fell to black boots and a black waist-cloakcovered his left leg. A huge sword was holstered at his back.
This was Seto Kaiba. Mercenary extraordinaire
"The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a kid?" Kaiba's narrowed his eyes, "Spare me, but my contract says-"
Red Guy' firey 'hair' flared up, "I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" he shoved his bony finger in Kaiba's face, but the other man remained calm. "I know it says you're only required to kill Popeye in this tournament." He pointed his red finger toward Jaden now, "But you've gotta fight that kid to get to him." Red Guys' features softened into something not unlike a slick car salesman. "Look, Kaiba baby" he rested a red arms across Kaiba's shoulders. The Mercenary twitched, but Red Guy wasn't sure whether it was because the nickname struck or chord, or the cold chill that must have snaked down the man's back. "I went through a lot of trouble to get this kid a pass and into the games. Don't blow it for me, eh?"
Kaiba remained steadfast.
"Hey, it's like that old pickle says, Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!" Red Guy smirked, "I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?"
Kaiba glared once at Red Guy and shook himself loose from the dark red's arm. Without looking back, he began to slowly make his way to the arena.
"Geez...Stiffer than the stiffs back home." Red Guy stroked his pointed chin, "Still...suckers like him are hard to come by..."
He looked into the cavernous opening behind him and smiled a hideous, pointed tooth smile when he heard that wonderful sound of vicious, gnashing teeth.
The crowds inhabiting the Coliseum seats roared in approval as Jaden and his final opponent entered the arena.
Jaden marveled at the sword that Kaiba held on his back. It was nearly three or four times the size of the Keyblade and looked as deadly.
"May the best man win!" Jaden yelled across the field as he brought the Keyblade into existence, bringing about gasps of surprise in those audience members who had not yet seen his previous matches.
Kaiba said nothing. A slight scowl crossed his face as he reached over his shoulder and pulled his massive sword from it's leather sheaths. Jaden's eyes widened as Kaiba took multiple dragon razor-sharp sword pieces from their places and secured them together into one massive sword.
Kaiba smirked just slightly as Jaden's surprise and charged like the speed of light. Jaden saw it coming just in time and rolled out of the way. Or, better said, it would have been out of the way, had Kaiba not vaulted up a Lympics wall and brought his sword straight, pointed end down, at Jaden.
Jaden's eyes widened again as he saw the attack coming, but he could only step back a foot or so before Kaiba's sword made contact with the ground and the rippling floor propelled Jaden into the opposite wall of the Lympics. He landed with a hard crack and slid to the ground heavily. On the edge of his mind he thought he heard the crowd's collected gasps and a cry of "C'mon kid!" from CC on the sidelines.
Jaden shook his head and stood shakily to his feet, just in time to fall to the ground again as Kaiba stabbed his sword right into the wall above him, right where Jaden's chest had been. As Kaiba pulled his sword from the sandstone, Jaden slashed the Keyblade horizontally on it's flattened side, sending Kaiba and his monstrous sword tumbling in reverse. Kaiba rolled backwards and slid on his feet to near the middle of the arena, catching his sword on his shoulder. He cocked his head.
"That the best you can do?"
Jaden's eyes narrowed and he stumbled forward drunkenly toward Kaiba, Keyblade raised high for a downward strike. Kaiba simply ducked his head and brought his sword forward to catch the strike. Reaching a clash, Jaden pushed downward while Kaiba held his ground against the Keyblade. The crowds cheered in the background for their favorite with calls of "Let's go, Jaden!" or "Squash 'im, Kaiba!"
Kaiba, seemingly bored at the pointless strength match, stepped back. While Jaden lost his balance on account of being deprived of his enemy, Kaiba ran toward the wall behind them. Upon reaching it, he continued in his momentum and leapt at it. Then, propelling himself off it with his feet, flew back at Jaden, sword cocked back behind him.
"Farewell." was his solitary word as Jaden looked up, only to be pummeled backwards by multiple blows.
The Keyblade Master felt his feet leave the ground and his body be mercilessly pounded upon by Kaiba's massive sword. When Kaiba finally finished with his beating, Jaden's body continued on it's path toward one of the stone bleachers. People screamed and ran from the area the younger fighter was flying towards at high speeds.
Jaden felt his body collide with the stone benches. Small pieces of rock flew off, pricking him in the back. His head spun with dizziness, his breath came labored by bruises and cracked ribs and his hands twitched about, as if electrocuted.
Kaiba laughed and walked over to Jaden, pointing his sword's tip down at the boy's neck.
CC had watched the whole match, but the moment he saw Kaiba hurtle off the back wall, he knew it was over.
And now, seeing Kaiba ready to impale Jaden to the ground, CC turned his head to hide any tears that might come. Rarely did the games have to end in death, but Kaiba seemed to have some motive to kill. The mercenary hadn't killed any of his previous opponents, so what was special about the kid?
CC supposed it was a good thing he hadn't become too attached. Too attached. Yeah. Hmph.
Who was he kidding?
"There goes another one."
Kaiba looked down at the boy who seemed to be lapsing in and out of consciousness.
The Red Idiot wanted him dead?
How stupid. This kid wasn't a threat. He was just a that, a kid. No more than fourteen. Only, what, a few years older than Mokuba?
Mokuba...
Kaiba blinked the thought away. No, not now. He had to focus on finding him. He couldn't let thoughts of Mokuba or any of the others distract him.
Just a kid...Hmph. Kaiba scoffed and returned his sword to his back.
Screw Red Freak.
Speaking of the god of the Underworld, Red Guy himself had been eagerly watching this match between the little squirt the mercenary stiff, but when Kaiba lowered his sword from the boys' neck, Red Guy dropped his popcorn and leapt to his feet.
"How dare he?" he flared up, "Moron! He—He-" Red Guy breathed slowly in and out, calming himself. Wouldn't do to have an eruption just yet.
He looked back into the darkness of the hole behind him.
"Oh, right, there was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." he smirked and snapped his fingers, grinning satisfied at the deep roar that came from the cave.
When the better part of Jaden's mind decided to stay in the land of the living he noticed first that there was absolutely no sound from the crowds. He then noticed Kaiba pulling his sword away from Jaden's neck, holstering it against his back.
Jaden smiled weakly. Even though he lost the match, he was happy to be alive. Even with the mind-numbing pain he felt in his-
That was when Kaiba disappeared.
Well, he didn't so much disappear as he was knocked completely from view. The man crashed into another bleacher, kicking up clouds of dust upon landing.
Jaden's eyes followed the giant black paw with red-tipped nails that had swatted Kaiba away like a fly. He followed them up the towering and muscled, black-furred leg. Up to the enormous torso of a huge, black dog. A huge, black Three-Headed dog. Huge drops of saliva fell from titanic yellowed fangs . Three pairs of glowing, red eyes surveyed about in bloodlust. The three heads jerked around viciously, as if angry at having to share a body. Three huge pink tongues slid from three cavernous mouths and licked three black lips. The dog roared.
"It's Cerberus, Guardian of the Underworld!" A random spectator screamed. The crowds followed the example and screamed their way out of the Lympics. People ran this way and that, most likely trampling one here and there. Cerberus roared again and reared its head back, preparing to grab a mouthful of Jaden, but something stopped the beast from coming down.
"Pop!" Jaden faintly heard CC yell over the crowd's screams.
"CC, get them out of here!" a young man's voice called back. Jaden looked down to Cerberus' torso and saw a man there holding the beast back. This new man had a bald head, a white navy suit. A pipe in his mouth with large muscles bulged from his arms. Could this be the Popeye that CC had talked about before?
Jaden weakly tried to move, only to send jolts of pain through his body. From a ways away he heard Daffy call "Cure". The dizziness suddenly left him and he didn't twitch anymore. He felt a few bones snap back together in his chest, creating a few short bursts of pain. Though he still felt the bruises on his chest, he made a mental note to have Daffy teach him that spell sometime.
Jaden pulled himself to his feet and ran over to where Daffy and Porky were standing beside CC, who was failing in his attempt to direct people safely from the stadium.
"CC! We've gotta help Popeye!" Jaden exclaimed worriedly, looking back to see that Pop had grabbed Kaiba's unconscious body and slung it over his shoulder.
"Kid, it's good to see you alive, but I think Popeye can handle it!" CC yelled over the din, a look of uncertainty passing over his face. That was all Jaden needed."But then again..."
Jaden nodded, "C'mon Daffy! Porky! We gotta help Popeye!" Porky nodded immediately, but Daffy looked unsure, glancing back to the relative safety outside the stadium.
Jaden knew they didn't have time for this. "Look, Daffy, I know you just want to find your King, but we gotta help these people!" Jaden pointed around, "Don't you see? When you see someone who needs help and don't help them, it's just as bad as if you were the one causing pain!"
Daffy thought about that for a moment, and finally called his staff into appearance.
Jaden smiled faintly, "Thanks, Mom..." he mumbled to himself.
"Let's get dangerous!" Daffy quacked angrily and charged toward Cerberus, Porky and Jaden following behind.
As the trio got closer, Cerberus sensed their approach and turned it's attention from Popeye to the three newcomers.
"Popeye! Jaden yelled, "Get Kaiba out of here and help the others! We got this!" Popeye looked confusedly at Jaden and his two companions before nodding and carrying Kaiba out of the stadium.
Jaden heard CC yell over the cacophony of noise, "Kid, I got two words of advice for you: Attack!"
The Keyblade Master nodded and looked upon the massive dog in full The beast stood before him, a proudly showing a long gash across it's chest, leaking purple blood. Jaden guessed that Popeye had caused that. Giving no time for strategy, Cerberus reared back and all three heads belched forth an oozing dark substance that burned away at the stone of the bleachers and sand of the floor. Daffy shot off a blast of blizzard at one of the heads before backing cautiously up from the pools of darkness. Cerberus then leaned back on it's hind legs and leapt over the darkness it had spewed, directly towards the three travelers.
Quickly, they scattered; all in different directions. Jaden found himself behind Ceberus and, while Daffy and Porky were dealing with the heads, Jaden found himself having to dodge the rapidly flicking tail. Up, down, left, right. Sometimes trying to block it with the Keyblade, only to be knocked back. One particular blow caught him in the torso and lifted him off the ground, but instead of being thrown off, Jaden dissipated the Keyblade and held on tightly. Cerberus, obviously feeling something hanging onto it's tail, started to whip it around even more than before. Jaden briefly remembered watching rodeo cowboys back home do something similar to this. He had always wondered what it was like. Before he knew it, the bucking had overcome him and he was thrown high up in the air, landing hard on Cerberus' back.
Coming to his senses, and realizing the good position he was in, Jaden called the Keyblade to his hands and gave a few slashes at the dog's back while Daffy and Porky continued to attack from the front.
Cerberus roared and started to run about wildly, crashing into walls and destroying bleachers. Jaden was only able to hold on at all due to the tight grip he had on the fur around the dog's middle neck. From this point, Jaden suddenly noticed a young man who hadn't yet left the stadium. In fact, he seemed to be huddled, scared to death in the corner of the arena. Jaden also noticed that Cerberus was heading right for the man.
Not knowing what else to do, Jaden took the Keyblade and reached it across the dog's neck, it's tip just reaching the other side, just enough that he could grab it with his left hand.
They were getting closer now, and Cerberus was still seizing around as madly as ever.
After getting a good grip, Jaden braced himself with his legs and pulled back as hard as he could against the neck. He heard the roar of middle head catch and it began to choke, rearing back. Jaden continued to pull back with all his strength, but he knew he wouldn't be able to keep the pressure up for long. The middle head, seeming to be the dominant one, pulled back from the strain and rumbled off in a different direction, this time toward Daffy and Porky. Jaden lost sight of the man, but at least he was safe for now.
With Cerberus lumbering toward Daffy and Porky, Jaden felt an idea come upon him. He continued to pull back with the Keyblade, even beginning to heat it up a bit with some small amounts of fire magic. He attempted to focus all the heat near the middle of the Keyblade, the part pressing against Cerberus' throat. The two other heads of Cerberus roared, obviously feeling the burning pain of the middle one, and the whole body reared back, leaving the chest wound out in the open, right in front of Daffy and Porky.
Jaden only hoped Daffy took the initiative.
When Jaden heard the cry of "Thunder!" from the duck, he knew he had.
Ceberus screamed a high pitched whine and, losing balance, tumbled over backwards. Jaden barely had time to release his grip and jump from the falling body before being crushed. Luckily, he made it, landing heavily on his left side.
Ceberus pulled itself to it's feet, still whining, and stumbled toward the north Lympics wall, attempting to make a leap over. It successfully made it over, but pulled a few layers of the stone wall down with it as it passed.
Jaden wiped a sandy arm across his forehead and rubbed his bruised chest tenderly.
Well, that had been fun. He couldn't wait to tell everyone he had been in a giant's rodeo.
Jaden, Daffy and Porky all stood before CC and Popeye, the latter with arms crossed, head nodding with approval to everything CC was saying.
"Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes," CC read from a sheet of paper in his hands, "And confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Furthermo-"
Daffy jumped and spitting angrily, "Hey punk! What do you mean, 'junior heroes'?"
CC waved the duck off, "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero."
"So, uh-eh-eh-uh, what does it take?" Porky wondered aloud.
Popeye smiled warmly, "Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves. Just the way that I did."
Jaden nodded, "Well, CC, we'll just start by moving that pedestal."
CC laughed, "Hah! Kid, no matter how many times you luck into beating Cerberus, you still won't be—" CC's jaw dropped as he watched not just Jaden, but Daffy and Porky too, push against the large stone block. A wide smile crossed Popeye' face as they did, indeed, move it to the corner of the room.
Jaden turned back to CC and Popeye, "How's that?" he smiled triumphantly, "Teamwo-" he trailed off as he saw CC and Popeye looking past him. "What? What is it?" he asked.
CC pointed, "What's that?"
Jaden turned and saw a small keyhole glowing on the floor beneath where the stone block used to be. The Keyblade abruptly appeared in his hand and pulled his arm forward. Then, just as in the Smurf's world, a small beam of light protruded from the tip of the blade and made contact with the keyhole. And again, another small "click" was heard.
"What WAS that?" Popeye questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"We still don't know..." Jaden shook his head in confusion.
"Hmmmm...come to think of it, that pedestal has always been there for as long as I can remember..." CC spoke thoughtfully, "But that doesn't matter. Kid, if you think being a hero is moving some rocks around, you're still a long ways off."
Jaden nodded again, "Okay...we'll be back though, one day, and maybe we'll be heroes by then."
With that, Jaden and friends waved goodbye and left the Atrium of the Lympics.
"I still can't believe that squirt actually beat Cerberus..." CC shook his head after Jaden had left.
CC smiled and and the two of them ambled toward the Arena to begin cleaning up.
"Just between us," he said, "I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time the little guy jumped in."
"My lips are sealed." CC chuckled, "But still...I think there may be something to that kid..."
Jaden was busy chatting amiably with Daffy and Porky when Daffy pointed out that someone was sitting on the steps leading out of the Lympics. Someone they knew.
Kaiba.
"Hey...you alright?" Jaden asked unsuredly. The man had his head down, staring intently at the ground. Kaiba certainly didn't seem the type to appreciate someone asking about his feelings, and Jaden wondered if he had made a wrong move.
"Yeah." Kaiba replied simply.
"So why did you go along with Red Guy, anyway?" Jaden questioned, gaining a small bit of bravery. He, Popeye and CC had been told about Red Guy' plan by Kaiba. Popeye had filled them in on who Red Guy was: The Devil Tricker of the Underworld, and antithesis to Popeye father, Corn.
Kaiba rested his chin on a fist, "I'm looking for someone. Red Guy promised to help." he said as he stood to his feet.
Jaden waited for the black-outfitted man to continue.
"I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." Kaiba looked up at the clear, blue sky. "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."
Jaden smiled, "You'll find it," he said confidently, "I'm searching too."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow, "For your light?"
Jaden thought about this for a minute. His light? Was he looking for his light? What he was looking for Zane and—Alexis.
Alexis.
Alexis was his light.
Jaden didn't know for sure how or why he knew this, or why his face felt warm at the thought, but Alexis was his light.
He was searching for his light. Just like Kaiba. Just like everyone. Everyone was searching for their, or maybe it was the?, light.
He nodded.
Kaiba slightly inclined his head in something that a very positive person might loosely interpret as a nod of acknowledgment.
"Don't lose sight of it." he warned and pushed past Jaden, Daffy and Porky.
"Hey! How about rematch sometime? No dark powers involved!" Jaden offered excitedly.
Kaiba stopped and pushed some of his brown hair from his face.
"Don't waste my time." he said, then disappeared through a door to the left of the atrium.
Jaden turned back to the exit, and back to searching for his light.
"He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you. And he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly Infuriating!" Red Guy crushed the small statuette of Popeye in between his hands. "He make me crazy!"
The Devil God exploded into a pillar of fire as he screamed. After the heat cooled down, he leaned back in his Underworld throne and looked around at the dark and blank atmosphere. He inhaled the smell of rotting flesh and continued talking to himself. "Wait, wait, What're you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax...Here's what you do. Let Popeye train the kid!" his voice took on an excited tone, "In the next games, you'll take care of them both!" he smirked, but sensed another presence in his throneroom. He looked over into the shadows to his right."Who invited you to the party?"
In the shadows, a glowing green tipped staff illuminated green and red eyes surrounded by a black, pink face.
It was her.
"Stay out of this. This is my show." Red Guy stated firmly.
The woman in the shadows was silent for a moment.
"As you wish." she spoke calmly, "Fight to your heart's content."
Red Guy nodded agreeably as the woman in black disappeared into the darkness.
==================================================================================Well, that's it. Let me know what you wanna expect next.