Author's Note: I do not KH BBS or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch.14 Heroes

I stood still and Terra charged at me, knowing that the mines I had placed around me would home in if he came too close. They did just that, but at the moment they did he used Sonic Blade, passing by them and towards me unscathed. I shouted in surprised and dodged, but he came at me again and again. Seven times he charged at me and seven times I barely dodged, and when he was done I activated a Sonic Blade of my own. But he saw it coming and used his other one, making the two us invulnerable to each other.

Once both our Sonic Blades were done I charged at him, slashing from side to side, he blocked the blow and used countered hammer, sending me back. I used the impact to use Payback Fang, hitting him hard across the chest. The blow didn't necessarily hurt him, but it did knock the wind out of him and sent him skidding back a few steps. Sensing my chance I used Time Splicer, not Stop-ing him but activating my combo. I teleported around him in the air, let out two or three strike before I teleported again.

Seeing no way to dodge Terra cast Dark Firaga, and just as it was about to hit me I teleported again. Appearing behind him I brought Ultimatum down for a massive overhead blow, but he turned and blocked it, countering by slamming his Keyblade into the ground and creating a shockwave. The blow knocked me back, and before I could use Payback Fang again he cast Mine Square, hitting me with a magical explosive the moment it was set. I used Air Slide to get away, and cast Quake.

Pieces of rubble erupted from the ground around him, and gave Terra several cuts across his arms and chest as a result. While he was off-balance I used Sonic Blade, rushing forward to strike at him again. The first hit connected, cutting him just below the ribs, but after that he jumped up before slamming his Keyblade onto the ground and used Geo Impact, causing boulders to erupted from the ground. Unfortunately the power of Sonic Blade forced me to home in n Terra, and I slammed into one of the boulders.

Dazed for a moment, I didn't see Terra used dark Firaga again, and couldn't do anything to stop it from hitting me. But not only did the spell burn me, but my vision went black and I couldn't see a thing. Now that I was the vulnerable one Terra once again used Sonic Blade, only this time he hit me. Again and again, he used both Sonic Blades to hit me a total of fourteens times, giving me that many slashes along my body. My sight returned, and just in time for me to see him rush forward. Hurriedly I cast Seeker Mine, which instantly homed in on him.

This time he couldn't dodge them, and all eight of the magical explosives hit him dead on. The force of the blast sent him into the air, giving me enough time to cast Curaga, which healed some of the more serious of my injuries. Once he fell back to the ground I used Time Splicer again, teleporting around him and dealing a few blows every time. Most of them he blocked, but a few of them got through, hitting him on the arms, chest and back. Once I was done he cast Dark Firaga one more time, which I blocked and countered with Counter Hammer.

The blow sent him back and the two us stopped, breathing heavily and looking at one another. Then Terra smiled and said "Well Dexal, it looks like the two of us are pretty evenly matched, don't you think?" I smiled back and said "Yeah. Got any ideas on how to finish this?" He was silent for a moment, thinking, until he said "How about we both unleash our strongest Shotlocks we have on at the same time, and whoever knocks the other back is the winner?" "Sounds good to me," I replied.

Both of us cast Curaga before taking a moment to focus, and while I unleashed Pulse Bomb he used Dark Volley. Small bursts of light exploded around Terra while silver and black missiles fired at me. Both of us were immune to the regular part of the attack, but then I realized the one flaw that my Pulse Bomb had compared to a Shotlock like Dark Volley. While Pulse Bomb required that I concentrate for a second to create additional explosions, Dark Volley could fire new projectiles right away.

So while I concentrated one of the missiles hit me and sent me back, knocking away my concentration and leaving me open to the rest of the barrage. The rest of the missiles hit me in rapid succession, and by the time the last one hit me I was already flying through the air. I landed on my back as My Keyblade fell from my hand, skidding across the ground as it spun away. Before I could try and grab it Terra stood over me, pressing Keyblade against my throat. "It's over," he said simply.

I grunted and looked at my Keyblade, it was too far away for me to reach. "Alright, I submit," I said, smiling. He smiled too and dismissed his Keyblade, reaching out to lend me a hand. I took it and used it to haul myself up, hearing the crowds cheer "Terra! Terra! Terra!" I smiled and said "Congratulations on your victory, champion." Terra looked at and was about to say something when he stopped, his smiled instantly disappearing. I was about to ask what is was when I felt it too.

We both turned to see the guy from earlier without his mask, showing his black hair and blue eyes, only his eyes had paled and streams energy drifted off his body. I knew immediately what that power was. The power of darkness. He grunted and umped at us, swinging. "Hey! Stop that! The match is over!" Terra told him, but he wouldn't listen. He swung down at us and we both blocked him. "What's with him? It's like he can't even hear us!" I told Terra.

"It's not... me..." he said, the darkness strengthening. "I'm not... doing this." "He's being controlled!" Terra exclaimed. Suddenly Hades appeared by the edge of the ring and said "Huh? What do you think? You like my new super-warrior? See- right here, this- it's the power of darkness! Could've been yours, still could if you opened up to it. And as for you Spiky, all you had to do was let those powers awaken and put that Terra on the mat. Then his darkness could've woken up, and we'd all have been so much better!"

"Hades! You were tricking us!" Terra yelled. "Like I'd ever make Terra give in to the darkness!" I yelled. "The darkness... will never have me!" he yelled, both of us pushing the kid back. "Help me... you've gotta... set my heart free," he said, and the two of us readied our Keyblades. The dark energy around him visibly charged before he vanished. I had just enough chance to wonder where he went before he slashed at me from behind and sent me up into the air.

He came at me from every direction, hitting me with a barrage of teleporting slashes even faster than my Time Splicer attack. Then he slammed me into the ground and created a shockwave at the same time, sending me bruised, battered, and flying. Luckily after that he groaned and fell to one knee, momentarily tired from the exertion. That gave me time to get to my feet and cast Curaga, while Terra used Sonic Blade, going straight for him while he was down.

I gripped Ultimatum tighter and waited until just before Terra finished, activating a Sonic Blade of my own. With the two of us together we hit him more than a dozen times before he could recover, but before Terra could unleash a third Sonic Blade the guy sent a bolt of dark energy at him, forcing Terra to block and move away. I cast Time Splicer, and even though that didn't Stop him it did allow me to use my own teleporting combo. I reappeared next to him and slashed at him three times before changing to above and behind him delivering another trio of hits.

Probably nine time I teleported and dealt maybe two-dozen hits, but the assault didn't even faze him. Instead he raised his sword to the sky, and a group of meteors fell down above me. Shouting in surprise I dodged out of the way, and Terra cast Dark Firaga. But before the spell could hit the guy charged again before using Hero's Pride, this time targeting Terra. I ran over and Seeker Mine, the traps instantly homing in on their target. But he was too fast, and just as they were about to all hit him at once he rose into the air, dodging the blasts before slamming down and making the usual shockwave.

Now that he was away Terra used Geo Impact, hitting him with both the overhead blow and the boulders while I focused enough to fire my Shotlock. A total of thirty bullets flew towards him, and since he was distracted he couldn't do anything until it was too late. I smiled as the blistering barrage of bullets hit him over and over, me firing a few extra for good measure. Before he could recover Terra used his other Sonic Blade, moving and dealing more damage. Once it was over the guy had cuts and burn all along his chest and some on his arms, but he didn't stop.

Instead he summoned another rain of meteors, this time hitting Terra, who didn't dodge in time. I watched and he fell to the ground, but I knew he would be okay and charged in for attack. I hit him and he blocked, but I countered the block with a quick swipe to the side as he jumped back. He clutched his side, and then my body glowed, showing that I had activated Critical Impact. Not letting the guy get any chance to breathe, I jumped forward and jabbed forward.

Terra cast Curaga on himself and used Geo Impact, activating a Critical Impact of his own. Together the two of us went at the guy relentlessly, our powered up attacks dealing extra damage. He tried to swing our summon more meteors, but the two of us blocked every move and didn't give him the time to cast. Then used Sonic Blade yet again and activated Sky Climber, while Terra used Mine Square and went into Rockbreaker. While I kept hitting Zack and trying to knock him up into the air, when I failed at that Terra was there on the ground to hit him with both his Keyblade and summoned boulders.

Then he jumped up and stabbed his sword into the ground, blasting us with energy hard enough to send us back, and used Hero's Pride one more time. This time however he hit even harder, and at one point I blocked an attack that was hard enough to create the slightest bend in the blade of his sword. My eyes widened; he was putting every thing he had into this attack. And he didn't stop either, he kept disappearing and striking from where either of us least expected him, both Terra and I barely blocking.

Terra looked over at me and yelled "He just won't let up! What do we do?" I thought about it for a moment, or at least as much as I could with this guy wailing on me. Then I got an idea and said "Cast Dark Firaga, and aim at me!" He looked at me like I was crazy, but I said "Trust me!" and he nodded. He fired the orb of black flames at me before blocking another strike, and as it sailed closer it stuck my hand out, the flames hitting my fist.

But before it could hurt me I focused my powers, and the flames wrapped around my hand. Smiling, I waited a few more seconds before the guy came at me again, as I I blocked him with one hand I swung, using my other hand to give him a flaming roundhouse punch to the face. As expected, the force of the punch and the power the heat of the flames sent him back, and I yelled "Both our Finish commands! At once!" Terra smiled and said "Now you're talking!"

Then just as he summoned a trio of razor-sharp rocks I used Sky Climber, launching myself forward and giving the guy three vicious hits from three different directions before rising into the air. The rocks all shot towards him, and I hit him from above and created an explosion just as they hit, creating one massive detonation that the guy was caught right in the middle of. For a moment all three of us were blinded by light, until it faded and the guy was lying by the edge of the ring, knocked out.

Both of us didn't do anything for a moment, until we dismissed our Keyblades smiled at each other. By the edge of the arena Hades scoffed and said "Look like I bet on the wrong dark horse. Neither of those two have what it takes to handle darkness." I ignored him; darkness wasn't something we needed. "Well, I guess the victory goes to you," I said to Terra.

He looked at me, surprised, and said "No, the title should go to you. You're the one who came up with that idea; it was you that saved us both." "But you beat me in the actual match, not the other way around. So officially, you are the winner," I argued. He was about to protest when I waved my hand, telling him that it was useless. He gave in, and I walked around and grabbed his arm, raising it and yelling "The winner of the tournament, in his first Games ever, Terra!"

The crowd screamed and cheered "Terra! Terra! Terra!" and I was treated to a rare sight- Terra actually blushing. At that I burst out laughing; he looked ridiculous. Then I stopped when I saw the guy from before start to get, and Terra and I walked over to him. "You gonna make it?" Terra asked, and he nodded. "Yeah; I'm finally free. Where is-" he asked, and I said "He's disappeared." "Man, how could I let a guy like him control me? I'll never live it down!" he asked. Terra helped him up, and he said "Thanks, um..." "Terra," he said, and I said "Dexal." "Thanks Terra, Dexal. I'm Zack," he said, smiling. Then he looked at us both, scanning us up and down with a critical eye.

"Yup, definitely. Terra, Dexal, you two are definitely what I pictured as heroes. Not they way you guys look... there's something else about you," he said, and I blinked in surprise. Terra turned around and said "Well, I'm no hero, that's for sure." "You kidding? Listen to those cheers man," Zack told him, and we both listened. The crowds were still yelling "Terra! Terra! Terra!" "You don't get to decide if you're a hero or not; they do. And they've already decided. Whether you like it or not, you're their hero."

Then Zack smiled and punched him playfully, saying "And mine, too. It's too bad. I really wanted to forget you fair and square." Terra smiled and punched him back, saying "Maybe someday, Zack." I laughed; the two of them were already friends. "And what about me?" I asked. "Your a hero too. Just not the one that won the match," Zack said, and I shrugged. "Good enough," I said, and both Terra and I left the arena to enter the Lanes Between.

xxx

Well isn't that nice, and now Olympus Coliseum has been completed, so you all know which world comes next!

Please review! If you flame me Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you. (I'm just kidding... or am I?)