Author's Note: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.12 The Games
"WHAT?!"
Phil's shouting made the entire vestibule tremble, while he himself stared unbelievingly at the pass Sora had handed him. "How in the world did you chumps manage to get a pass?!" he demanded, looking up from it at Sora, Donald and Goofy. Rather than answer, Sora asked "Can we enter the games now?" He looked unsure, and I said "Come on Phil. They have a pass; give them a chance. The worst thing that can happen is they lose," I told him. He looked at me, then at them before thinking. Eventually he gritted his teeth and said "Alright, fine! I'll let them compete if you go with them. The great hero Dexal will at least save my reputation if you three squirts lose."
"Hey!" Donald called, while I looked away. "I can tell you this much Phil- I am no hero," I said. He chuckled. "Maybe, but then again it's not even my call as to that. The people around you consider whether you're a hero or not," he told me. I knew he was right, but I still didn't think I deserved to be called a hero. A hero saved people; I couldn't even save my best friends. Still, I sighed and said "Okay, you got a deal. Let's do this." Sora nodded in enthusiasm, and Phil said "Well then, get out into the arena. The first rounds starting!" We all nodded and walked through, seeing a huge stone square with four pillars at the corners, and a set of stands on the left and right sides.
The gate at the other end of the arena rose up, and four Shadows crawled out, accompanied by three Blue Rhapsodies. "Ladies and Gentleman, the time has come for warriors to again compete! In what? You guessed it- the Games!" we heard an announcer call. The crowds in the stands cheered, and the voice continued. "In the first round we have the team Shadow Scout, making their Games debut, against the team of the four warriors Sora, Donald, Goofy and… wait a minute! Reappearing in the Games for the first time in a decade, it's the great Dexal!" he announced. At the mention of my name the people in the stands went wild, and I looked around in surprise.
All these people remembered me, and with such reverence? I had spent the last ten years hiding and doing my best to be invisible to the other worlds. I smiled and shook my head in exasperation. Looks like that at least here, I had failed spectacularly. "Gawrsh, Dexal. You sure are famous!" Goofy said. I shrugged my shoulders and waved, the crowds cheering louder before the announcer said "Contenders, it is time to battle! Move to your opposite ends of the arena." The four of us did so while the Heartless did the same, and a magical barrier appeared around the edge of the square to prevent any injury to the crowds. "And… begin!" the voice called. We all charged ahead amidst the crowd's cheers, weapons drawn and ready for battle.
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After two or three rounds of fighting, we were given a temporary break which Phil talked to us during. "Say, you three are better than I thought. Wish he was here to see this," he said. "Who?" Sora asked. "Hercules. He's a hero if there ever was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father," Phil replied. I smiled. "You were telling me about Hercules earlier and some of the things he did. What were some of them?" I asked. "Oh man, let me tell you. One time there was the huge thing called a Nemean Lion. Thing took forever and a day to kill, but Herc still beat it. And then there was a huge boar named-" he began. "Contestants, it is time for the fourth round. Approach the arena, please!" the announcer called.
Phil sighed and said "Ah well, Herc would be better at telling you his stories anyway. Now get out there and fight!" We did so and the barrier went back up, closing in along with the team Shadow Platoon. It was composed of three Blue Rhapsodies, three Red Nocturnes, two Shadows and two Soldiers. Without speaking each of us broke off, and I targeted the Soldiers. One of them tried to use a spinning kick but I dodged, cast Thunder and watching it jerk and spasm. The second Soldier slashed at me with its claws but I grabbed its arm, throwing it into its comrade. They both fell over and I smirked before jumping forward, stabbing Stormfell down and impaling both of them in one blow.
They struggled for a second before they stopped moving, bursting into shadows when I pulled my Keyblade back out. At the same time Donald cast Blizzard and destroyed both of the Nocturnes in one blow, while Goofy literally flattened a second Rhapsodies and Sora slashed his Kingdom Key across the chest of the last Shadow. The crowds cheered at out victories but we had little time to celebrate, as total of ten Rhapsodies entered the arena for Round 5. I ran forward and cast Triple Firaga, firing three balls of flame at them and destroying three in one hit. Donald cast Fire and destroyed a fourth, while Sora and Goofy attacked the other six.
Sora jumped up and spun in a corkscrew, hitting three Rhapsodies at once and sending them back. Goofy placed his shield on the ground and used it as a skateboard, sliding across the ground and crashing into another Heartless, pinning it between him and the barrier. Two of the Heartless cast Blizzard and sent a pair of ice shards at Goofy, he shouted in surprise as both got him front behind, allowing the pinned one to break free and fly away. "Oh no you don't" I said, casting Magnet and pulling it back. The spell also drew another one towards me, and Sora jumped up to slash at them both. I let him and concentrated my power, gathering energy into the tip of my Keyblade before calling "Clear!" and casting Mega Flare.
A ball of flame shot forward and exploded, creating a blast so large that no enemy escaped it. Waves of heat spread out and fired the Blue Rhapsodies, destroying them while the last round of Heartless suddenly charged out of the gate. There were four more Rhapsodies, the Nocturnes and one Large Body. Sora and Goofy went after the Nocturnes, while Donald attacked the Rhapsodies and the Body was left for me. I charged forward and dodged a roundhouse punch before stabbing, but my Keyblade just bounced off the monster's huge stomach. It patted said belly before charging forward, and tackled me hard enough to send me skidding back a few feet.
I grunted and placed my hand on the ground, jumping forward and pushing against the ground with all my strength. I rolled into a cartwheel that sent me a few inches into the air, where I cast Aerora to lift over the Body. It looked from left to right to see where I was, but I was completely behind it. Something it figured out when I covered my Keyblade in electricity and used Stun Edge. The massive blow made it fall forward onto its face, and I ended it with a single slash to the head. Donald, out of magic, swung his staff like a bat and hit the second-to-last Rhapsody so hard it spun end over end through the air, hitting the barrier and bursting into the shadows.
Sora and Goofy both threw their respective weapons at the same time, hitting a pair of Nocturnes so hard they blasted in darkness from the sheer force of the hits. Donald dispatched the last of the Heartless, and after that no more appeared. There was a moment of silence and I smiled. "Gawrsh, did we win?" Goofy asked, picking up his shield. Then the announcer said "Well done, contestants! Now, it is time for the final match of the Games to take place. The winner of this match will reign supreme!" The crowds cheered and the gate rose up one more time, and our last opponent walked out. But unlike the others, this guy wasn't a Heartless. He was all human.
He was a young man with blonde hair that was even spikier than mine or Sora's, and blue eyes to go along with it. He had on a blue sleeveless shirt and trousers with a tattered red cape, brown boots, a metal clawed arm and guards on his shoulder and hip. "And now ladies and gentleman, the final match between the teams of Sora, Donald and Goofy vs. Cloud is about to begin!" the announcer called. The crowds kept cheering, and even more so when Cloud drew his sword. It was a huge buster sword as long as his body, but wrapped over and over in bandages. "Time to end this," he said. We drew our weapons and stood there, until the announcer said "And… fight!"
All three of us charged forward and Cloud jumped into the air, stabbing his sword into the ground and creating a huge shockwave. I used Barrier and escaped unscathed, but the others weren't so lucky. Donald squawked and fell back from the hit, while Goofy held up his shield and Sora rolled away. "Yes, it does end. But only for you!" I said, using Sonic Blade. I shot forward like a bullet and Cloud did the same, and we both moved past each other. I stopped and cast Dark Firaga, sending a ball of dark flame at him. He cut it in half and swung at Goofy, deflecting the shield he threw at him and charging at Donald. Said duck shouted and tried to get away, but Cloud swung his buster blade and hit him with the flat of it on the side of the head.
Donald fell over unconscious, and without his shield Goofy suffered the same fate. My eyes widened in surprise; Cloud had managed to half our numbers in seconds. This guy was better than I thought. Sora thought the same thing and asked "What do we do?" I tried to come up with a strategy, but at that moment Cloud jumped up and stabbed down at us again, and I was forced to roll out of the way. I ran over what I had quickly learned about Cloud: He was a good fighter, and knew how to use that huge sword of his with great efficiency. But like all huge blades, his buster sword was only good for enemies at a moderate distance. He would have troubled with enemies that were up close and personal.
"Get in close! Ambush him!" I called. He nodded and ran forward, and Cloud jumped back as he realized that I had anticipated his weakness. I focused my strength before employing an age-old trick- the spell Vanish. Instantly my body turned almost invisible, only a shimmering mirage revealing where I was. I ran forward and swung from overhead, and Cloud just barely discerned where I was quickly enough to block. Sora attacked as well and he grabbed the Keyblade with his hand. That was bad move, as Sora charged a Thunder spell along the length of it and into Cloud's hand. Muscles involuntarily jerked, opening his hand and weakening his blocking.
I took advantage of the lapse and shoved hard, twisting the blade so that his worst moved with it, and I knocked the sword out of the Cloud's hand. It hit the ground with a clatter and I dropped my Vanish spell, pointing Stormfell at his throat. "Game," I said simply. He glared at me but hung his head, while Sora smiled and went to help Donald and Goofy. They began to slowly wake up, and I dismissed my Keyblade. The moment did so however, I felt a flicker of movement and suddenly the gate burst open, a huge dog running out. But this dog was as black as night, as large as a building and had three heads, each mouth was filled with yellow razor-sharp teeth.
It barked and slammed a massive paw down, which crushed Cloud and left me less than a foot in front of it. The giant beast reared its heads back and shot at me, but then a person jumped in front of me and held it back, actually rising the beast into the air. Phil called "Herc!" and realized that it was indeed him. He had gotten taller and a lot more muscled than the teenage kid I was knew, but the wavy hair and blue eyes remained. "Phil, get the out of here!" Hercules urged. "No way! I'm staying!" I said defiantly. "There's no time for this, Dexal! Go!" he yelled. I didn't want to, but intelligence won over pride and I did as he said.
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Hercules has come, but now that he has can Dexal and the others defeat Cerberus? Find out soon!
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