Chapter 20: rules of engagement
I do not own kingdom hearts or the properties shown in this fanfic. They belong to the respective owners and the original story is based on the works of Darius Almighty. Kingdom hearts and trials of the keyblade is owned by square Enix, Disney, and Tetsuya Nomura. Please support the official release.
Right. Now for the final conclusion of olympus coliseum! Now I've noticed this chapter of this fanfic has the origins of general darius. god i hope he dies once the original writer's done with his fanfic.
With that out of the way, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
"More Keybladers?", the holographic image of Darth Vader intoned. After the elimination rounds, Darius and his Stormtroopers had retreated back to the Star Destroyer that was floating in the ocean, just offshore of the Greek city. In the quarters of General Darius was a holographic terminal that was now projecting the full body image of Darius' master, Darth Vader. "Are you certain?"
Darius nodded. "Without a doubt," he said.
"How many?"
"I counted five. Including Sora."
Vader said nothing for a while, deep in thought. "So this was the disturbance I felt. Sora is gathering allies, Keybladers like himself, in order to challenge us. This could greatly influence the Emperor's plans. And not in a way we want."
"What does this mean?"
"It means that we may have a problem on our hands, General. The Keyblades are appearing again. There must be a reason why."
"Shall I inform the Yautja of Sora's location?" Darius asked.
"No."
"Sir?"
"Their race is a proud one, Darius. Any outside help would be considered a disgrace to their honour. He cannot help us now."
"What do you wish of me?" Darius bowed.
"This is getting out of hand. Deal with Sora and the other Keybladers here. Use whatever force necessary. Do not fail me." Darius bowed again.
"Yes sir."
KHKHKHKH
In a small purple ship just outside of the city, a certain lackey was working tirelessly. "Alright," he muttered in annoyance to the Gladiator Heartless that were lined up in precision order in front of him. "Go!", he shouted. The Heartless all ran straight into each other producing a large clang as their armour collided. They fell in a heap on the floor.
"No! No! A thousand times no!", Pete hollered, stomping on the ground. "Your entrance was way off! You didn't keep your arms high enough! And don't even get me started on your footing!"
"Are you sure this is going to work?", asked the eight-foot tall alien that somewhat resembled a whale. He was dressed in an unusual black uniform with a laser pistol at his waist. "What you're trying to do must have been done by every bad TV action show imaginable."
"Well listen, Gantu,", said Pete. It took a lot of imagination and hours in front of said TV to come up with this brilliant scheme! So don't knock it!" Gantu scowled.
"Well it'd better be brilliant. Maleficent hasn't been to happy with us of late. Especially after SOMEONE left a buffet of sandwiches in her throne!", Gantu shouted toward the doorway.
"I don't see what the big deal was." From the doorway walked in a small, yellow version of Stitch, except his ears were stubby and he was slightly rounder. In his hands was a boloney sandwich. "Everybody loves sandwiches! And, in my defense, I told her they were there!"
"You told her after she sat down!" Gantu roared. "How much mayonnaise do you put in those things, anyway!?"
"An appropriate amount...by my standards," the yellow creature answered, taking a bite out of his sandwich. "Good luck with cheerleading bozos!" With that he walked out.
"It's not cheerleading! It's interpretive evil dance! Get it right!" Pete hollered. "Listen up, Heartless: we've only got until morning to get this right! And when we do, Sora won't know what hit him! Hahahahaha!"
KHKHKHKH
Back on the Shera, everyone had once again assembled. In the medical bay, Shelke rested in her bed. Her two sabres lay on a desk. Wade kept watch on her vitals, displayed on a monitor by the bed. Aerith made sure there were no further injuries to her person. Shalua knelt by her bedside, holding Shelke's hand. Sora, Kairi, Lilo and Stitch were also there.
"Will she be alright?", Sora asked. Aerith smiled reassuringly.
"She'll be fine. You didn't hurt her too bad. She just needs to rest." Sora sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Sora," Shalua said, looking at him with a teary eye. "Thank you so much."
"However," Aerith began, looking at Leon, Yuffie and Adelbert who were also resting in beds, "they're in slightly worse shape."
"That guy was so strong," Kairi whispered.
"And scary," Lilo added.
"He evil!" Stitch exclaimed.
"No doubt," Kairi agreed. "He was just like Darth Vader. Same weapons. Same powers."
"The Force."
"What?"
Everyone looked at Sora, who had just spoken. "His power. It's called the Force."
"How do you know?" Wade asked.
Sora hesitated. He didn't want to reveal that he's been having dreams about people with similar abilities. Or ones about everyone's past. They had enough problems as it was. "Uh, it just seems like a good name for it," he covered.
"Okay, lets call it the Force. But let's face it, that guy is the biggest competition in the tournament with that kind of power," Aerith said.
"We can't let him win!" Sora announced. "If Hades wins, then he gets one wish from Zeus and that will be trouble for everybody! Who knows what he'll want!"
"Kingdom Hearts 3?" Stitch offered.
"Try world domination," Kairi said. Stitch grinned weakly.
"Well if he steps into the ring with Stitch he'd better watch out!", Lilo exclaimed, flashing Sora a thumbs up. "Don't worry! You have another friend helping you out!"
"Ohana!" Stitch shouted. Sora and Kairi smiled at them.
"You guys had better get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow," Aerith chided. "We'll look after everyone here."
"Take it easy guys!" Wade said reassuringly.
KHKHKHKH
"Commander!", the white-armoured soldier shouted. All around, laser fire flashed through the air. Explosions tore up the earth where the battle raged. The sky was red, not only from the setting sun, but from the fires that littered the horizon.
Soldiers in white armour and visored helmets fired their blaster rifles to at the opposing force that challenged them. Strange challengers they were. Robots of many different shapes and sizes. From human sized skinny ones to large four legged monsters the size of tanks. The human soldiers were being annihilated by this cold metal army.
"Commander!", the soldier shouted again. The commander was clad in the same white armour, except that his helmet was of a different design with grey designs on the plates. "The droids, sir! There are too many!"
"Keep fighting!", the commander shouted.
"Sir!", another soldier shouted running up. "Our left flank has been wiped out! The droids are closing in!"
"The Jedi are on their way!", the commander called against the battle.
"They won't get here in time! We have to retreat!"
"No! Keep fighting! They'll be here!" The communications link in his helmet went off. "Commander Darius here. Wait. What! What do you mean they aren't coming!? We're being slaughtered here! Hello? Hello!? You can't leave us here!"
An explosion went off a few feet from the assembled soldiers. The screams of dying men echoed through the air. The enemy was swiftly approaching. "What do we do sir!?", a soldier shouted.
"Commander Darius!"
Darius stood there with tightly clenched fists as the droids broke through their ranks. Everyone was dying. White armoured bodies littered the earth. The Jedi were supposed to come. They weren't coming. We had trusted them and the Jedi had betrayed us.
They had betrayed him.
"DAMN YOU JEDI!" Another shell exploded directly in front of him.
KHKHKHKH
The day had come. The Zeus cup finals. The tournament to end all tournaments. Fighters from all over the universe had fought to get to the top, both righteous heroes and destructive villains. All were looking for Zeus' recognition and, of course...the wish.
Sora rose from his bed after waking from his latest vision. Darius was a new one. This was getting out of hand.
Looking out his room's round window, he saw the Coliseum shining in the light of the rising sun. It was there that he would clash with all of his enemies: Pete, Darius, Azul, the lightsabre- wielding minion of Hades...
Maybe he could call in sick or something.
He shook away that thought immediately. If any of his enemies were to win that wish, it would be trouble for everybody. He and his friends had to bring them down. Kairi began to stir in the bed next to his. As she opened her blue eyes, Sora smiled at her.
"Time to go."
KHKHKHKH
Deep in the Underworld, in the terrible Coliseum named the Underdrome, a battle raged. The man in the black robes, who went by the name DM, faced off against a large two-headed dragon. One of the heads was purple and the other blue.
The dragon swiped its claws at DM, who jumped high into the air to avoid them. The dragon then brought its two heads in to gobble him up while he was vulnerable in the air. He jumped off one of the heads and jumped into the others jaws. He stopped the teeth from closing by holding the mouth open with his legs, and then jumped off to land safely on the ground.
When the dragon had steadied itself, it let loose two jets of searing hot flame from each of its mouths, straight at the man in robes. DM used his powers to stop the flame in front of him, spreading it and melting the stone floor around him. The dragon stopped its flame attack and resorted to relentless biting and clawing at DM.
The hooded man avoided every hit by jumping backwards and heading straight for a great stone wall. His back met the flat of it, cornered by the two-headed monster. The dragon snapped both its heads in for the kill but, at the last possible second, DM leapt high over the creature's back, causing both of its heads to slam into the wall of stone. The dragon's body slumped to the ground while DM landed safely behind it.
A faint clapping was heard in the darkness. "Bravo, bravo!", Hades laughed, emerging from the shadows. "Quite the display! A little gore would have suited me better, but hey! I'm not a picky guy. I think you're ready for the big time."
The dragon began to shrink and change into a purple and blue imp. Both of its heads had little bats flying around them. "Trust me," the purple imp, Pain, whimpered.
"He's ready," the blue imp, Panic, finished.
Hades scoffed. "Tch! Lackey's. What are ya gonna do? But you, my dear Sith," he said, laying his hand on DM's shoulder. "You are my main man. Nothing but love for you! Hehe! As long as you keep winning that is."
"Of course, Master," DM said.
"Master. I love that. Has a nice ring-a-ding ding to it! Now, remember our agreement. You win, and you use the wish to make me King of Gods and you are free to wander the cosmos as you see fit! It's win, freakin' win baby!"
"Yes, Master."
"One more thing," Hades said, his flames glowing slightly redder. "When you face that lousy little spiky haired tick, whipping around the key, you kill him! I want him dead! As in, not alive! Unable to draw breath! A permanent resident of my little patch of unholiness! Do whatever it takes to bring that prepubescent punk down!" He bent down to glower into DM's hooded face, the flames on his head blazing. "Whatever it takes."
"Yes, Master," Hades smirked, and both of them disappeared.
KHKHKHKH
The Coliseum was once again filled to capacity. Hundreds of people filled the seats to bear witness to the greatest brawl to ever grace their world. The Zeus Cup finals. Cheers and applause roared through the air. The Greek god Apollo road his flying chariot that towed the sun, shooting off fireballs, creating an aerial spectacle.
"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!", Hermes shouted into his microphone. "It's the moment you've all been waiting for! The wonder of wonders! The cream of the crop! The one! The only! The Zeus Cup!" Deafening cheers answered the flying god. "Now, let's introduce our finalists! From Destiny Islands, the tag team of mean: Sora and Kairi!" The two young Keybladers walked into the arena, waving shyly at all their adoring fans. "From who-the-heck-knows where, the blue behemoth: Azul the Cerulean!" The large form of Azul stomped into the arena carrying a huge cannon that must have weighed a ton. He smirked confidently. "All the way from sunny Hawaii, the other blue monster: 62- I mean Stitch!" The tiny blue ball of energy hopped into the ring and pumped his fists to the crowd. "From the school of kick-butt: Tifa Lockheart and Kim Possible!" The two femme fatales jumped into the ring, waving to the crowd. "From the grand Galactic Empire: General Darius!" The head Stormtrooper walked into the ring with little show. "The weirdest team I've ever seen: sonic, Mulan and Beast!" Everyone in the Coliseum went silent when the scary Beast walked in. The only sound that could be heard was the faint clapping from where their friends were sitting. Beast growled and went to his position in ring.
"The life of a celebrity," sonic muttered.
"From the evilness of evil: Pete and his Heartless!" Pete hobbled in with his Gladiator Heartless. With him was someone Sora didn't recognize, a large alien that looked like a whale.
"That's Gantu!" Lilo gasped from the stands. "What's that big stinky-head doing here?"
"From the very pit of death itself: the man known as DM!" Everyone chilled as the mysterious man in robes entered. As he walked past Sora, he sent him a glare. Even though Sora couldn't see his face he felt the eyes boring into him.
"One of these brave warriors will walk away with the coveted Zeus Cup! The others may barely be able to walk away! But, before we begin, how about some wise words from the king of the gods! Take it away, Zeus!" Everyone quieted down as Zeus rose from his seat in the podium.
"Thank you everyone! Now, before we begin I would just like to say-"
"Rrrrrggghh!" Hades coughed loudly.
"Um, I just want to say-"
"Rrrrgghh!"
"I just want to say-"
"Rrrrrrrggggghhhhh!"
"Oh forget it! Just start the games!" The crowds cheered once again.
"Great words from a great god, eh folks?" Hermes said floating in the air. "Now let's get the first match of the finals started! Sora vs DM!"
"Oh yeah!" Hades shouted. "Oh, happy, happy day! What are the odds, huh? It's almost like it was fixed or something! Which is, of course, ludicrous!" Leaning back he gave a thumbs up to Pain and Panic, who were hiding and grinning mischievously.
As soon as Sora heard the announcement his blood ran cold. He didn't expect to be facing him so soon. Looking at DM, he could see that this didn't affect him at all. He merely made his way to the arena. Sora, with grim set determination on his face, also made his way.
"Good luck Sora," Kairi whispered. She and the other finalists stood off to the sides awaiting the first match. No one observed General Darius removing something from his belt and gripping it in his hand.
Sora and DM stood facing each other in the ring. DM's face was still covered so Sora couldn't read his expression. Not that it mattered. What this guy looked like didn't matter. He was bad news already. Kairi wasn't with him on this one. He was all alone.
"Oooohhhh! I can just feel the tension in my wings!" Hermes fluttered. "Who will emerge victorious? What do we have to look forward to? Why am I asking all these question?"
Darius held tighter to the object in his hand. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a kind of remote.
"Let the match..."
Darius slipped his thumb over a red button.
"Begin!"
He pressed it.
BOOOOM!
The stadium shook as explosions sprouted across the arena. People in the audience screamed as blasts of fire and clouds of debris rose high into the air. Sora and the robed man were enveloped in a cloud of dust, as were the other combatants.
"Man, they really know how to throw a party here!", Ron cheered, as the dust cloud enveloped the front row of stands.
"Shut up, Ron!", everyone shouted.
Sora coughed harshly as he staggered around blindly in the cloud, dust filing his lungs. When the cloud finally began to disperse, he saw something he did not want to see.
Stormtroopers. The Zeus Cup finalists were now surrounded by Stormtroopers. All of them were pointing their rifles in a threatening manner. Standing with them was General Darius.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What do you think you're doing!?", Hermes shouted, flying down to Darius' level. "This is way against the rules! Uh, uh! Not happening! Out of your jurisdicti-" he shut up when a pistol was pointed in his face. "Well, uh, I see that you're good, honest guys! What's a few broken rules?"
"On the contrary," Darius said. "We have broken no rules."
"What are you talking about!?" Sora shouted when he rejoined Kairi. "You guys are interrupting the match! That's punishable by a bolt of lightning! Speaking of which, why aren't you being struck?"
Darius chuckled. "Because we are a part of this fight! Look at the ring!" What remained of the Coliseum ring was strewn about the arena. The spires that held the invisible barriers had been knocked down by the explosive charges. "Those barriers not only contained the fights, they also separated the fighters from the audience. Without them, everyone in this Coliseum is now a spectator in this match!"
"Wow. That's clever," Pete muttered. "Wait a minute. This was supposed to be our evil trump card! That's not fair!"
"Everyone, eh?" Azul smirked. He raised his foot and stomped hard on the ground. At that instant a skeletal hand shot from the earth. Terrified screams rang through the crowd as many skeletal soldiers wielding many fierce weapons emerged from the ground. The Stormtroopers were caught off guard at this and readied their weapons.
"Oh, no you don't!" Pete exclaimed. "I'm not being left out off this brawl! Alright Heartless, just like we practiced!" The Heartless Gladiators stood to attention. "Go!" The Heartless ran into each other again but this time they stuck. Slowly they began to form together, growing larger and larger. When the transformation was done, a much larger Heartless stood in the Coliseum...an exact replica of the Greek monster Colossus, and wielding a large, golden sword.
"Perfect!" Pete sobbed with tears in his eyes. "That was beautiful! We'll take first place for sure! This is for you, Gustav: my old ballet instructor!"
"What?" Gantu asked.
"Did I say that out loud?"
The stadium was now full of Stormtroopers, un-dead knights, and twenty-foot tall Heartless, with Sora and his friends caught in the middle. The audience had broken out into panicked screams and shouts.
"Fire!" Darius commanded.
"Attack!" Azul shouted.
"Stomp them into the dust!" Pete hollered.
All chaos broke loose.
"What in the Underworld is going on here!?" Hades raged with fire sprouting from his head. "This wasn't supposed happen! It can't happen! I was playing by the rules! This was my time to shine! Do something, Zeusy!"
"Unfortunately, Hades, we can do nothing," Zeus explained. "This is an official match no matter how chaotic it may be, and the rules say that gods cannot participate in the games. We can't interfere."
"Nuts to that!" Hades snapped, jumping from his seat. His body was now radiating with heat. "I'm not just gonna stand by and let my plans come crashing down!" A bolt of lightning struck the god of the dead, snuffing out his hair and leaving him smoking. "Or maybe I can stay here and hope everything will work out in the end," he whimpered, collapsing back in his chair.
"But Dad! There's got to be something we could do!" Hercules said, looking at the battle below.
"There is son. The rules say gods can't compete but they don't say anything about demi-gods." This realization dawned on Hercules, causing him to smile. He leapt off the edge of the podium and down to the fight.
Below, it was a massive brawl. People in the audience ran frantically for the exits, screaming in fear of the Stormtroopers' lasers, the hideous dead soldiers, and the massive Heartless in the middle of it all. Barret and Quistis had leapt into the fray while Ron stayed behind to look after Denzel and Marlene.
Lasers tore through rotting bone and rusting swords impaled the Stormtroopers causing them to disappear into thin air. The Colossus Heartless stomped among them, smashing its sword into the ground. The Keybladers and their friends fought through all of this heroically.
Stitch jumped around the battlefield in his alien form, firing blaster pistols in his forearms, cackling with excitement. Barret's metal arm was transformed into a cannon and was shooting rapid fire at Stormtroopers and skeletons. Azul's giant cannon shot off large blasts that shook the earth. Tifa and Darius squared off against each other, trading punches and kicks.
Mulan, Beast and sonic faced a large number of Stormtroopers and skeletons. "Stand back, guys!" sonic declared. "I'll handle this!"
Everyone fought hard against the biggest threat in the Coliseum, the Colossus Heartless. Stormtrooper lasers bounced ineffectively off of its golden body. The skeletons' weapons hardly left a scratch. Azul aimed his large cannon at the Heartless and fired away, but not much damage was done. The Heartless slammed its sword at Azul who went flying backwards.
The Cerulean man raised himself. "Let them destroy each other. This isn't my business." He ran out the exit door.
Sora and Kairi fought back to back against the surrounding enemies. The Stormtroopers and skeleton soldiers were almost gone. "Only a few more to go!" Kairi shouted.
"Let's finish it!" Sora said. Before they could head for more Stormtroopers, something landed between him and Kairi causing the sand to explode. Both of the jumped away from the black robed man that now stood in their path. DM reached fort the hem his hood and drew it back.
Sora and Kairi gasped at the face that was hidden underneath. DM's skin was blood red with black tattoos that coiled around his face. Small horns circled around his scalp making it look like a crown. His eyes were as red and bloodshot as his skin and they burned with terrible fury. He drew his lightsabre from his belt, igniting its red light. The young heroes were startled when another beam emerged from the bottom of the sabre hilt, forming a double-sided lightsabre. The words of Hades ran through DM's head.
Whatever it takes.
The heroes were fighting with a combined effort to bring down the Colossus Heartless. Mulan shot her flames straight at its face. Beast climbed on its shoulder and started banging down with his strength with enough force to knock its arm off. Barret rolled to the side before the arm could fall on him.
In the stands, Denzel and Marlene watched from behind the stone rail, just peeking over. "Go get them, daddy!" Marlene cheered. "Kick his golden butt!"
"What she said!" Denzel agreed. A boney finger tapped his shoulder snidely. Both children turned to meet three skeleton soldiers who carried axes and swords with menacing intent. "Man I wish I was some kind of super hero right now," he whimpered.
"Hiya! Wacha! Hoha!" The soldiers turned to the ravings of Ron who was hopping around like a madman making karate sounds and gestures. "I warn you! I am trained in the secret art of monkey kung-fu! Fear me! The skeletons looked at each other for a moment, then decided to get him. Ron reached into his pocket and brought out Rufus who was upright and pointy in a star shape. He whipped the rodent straight at the skeletons like a shuriken, decapitating them with his buck teeth. He flew straight back to Ron after the work was done.
"Naked Mole Rat: silent, but oh so deadly." Rufus grinned.
Darius was knocked back by the force of Tifa's punch, sliding across the dirt, still on his feet. Tifa gave him no time to recover and charged right in with reared back fist. He blocked with his arm but the armour on his forearm crumbled at the strength of the punch. Both of these skilled martial artists blocked and traded blows. Neither was able to get the better of the other. Darius knocked Tifa back by punching her in the jaw.
He didn't hear the roar of the engine until it was too late. A sleek black motorcycle slammed right into the Imperial general's side. He was sent flying ten feet, screaming in pain. Tifa only caught a glimpse of the rider before he drove on. His face was covered by a black helmet, but she caught a glimpse of blond hair peaking out underneath it.
"Could it be...?", she whispered.
The motorcycle drove straight for the Heartless which, once it noticed him, slammed its sword down with its only remaining arm. It missed, landing just before the vehicle. The man rode his cycle straight up the sword's length, and pulled it up at the hilt to skyrocket at the Heartless' head. Suddenly, the sides of his vehicle opened to reveal seven different swords in two compartments. He pulled one out and used it to decapitate the helmeted head as he flew by. As the head crashed to the earth, the man landed the motorcycle safely, driving out the exit before anyone could stop him.
"Who was that?" Kim asked in awe. Unfortunately, the Heartless was not done yet. Even without a head it continued to stomp around, wielding its sword.
General Darius struggled to raise himself. "Fall back!", he called to the remaining Stormtroopers. "Retreat! We're leaving !" He and the remainder of his Imperial force rushed out of the Coliseum.
Meanwhile, Sora and Kairi fought a fierce battle with DM. His skill with his double-sided lightsabre was un-paralleled. Sparks flew as their Keyblades clashed with the red hot light. DM twisted, jumped and cascaded all over the place. Sora and Kairi did their best to stop this monster. Kairi was pushed back by DM's powers, leaving Sora alone. With two deadly sabres to defend against, Sora was pushed to the limit. He was knocked on his back from a kick to the face.
"Sora!" Kairi cried, tossing her Keyblade to him. He caught it in his hand just in time to use it as a shield for DM's finishing blow. With two Keyblades and renewed vigour, Sora fought on.
The giant Heartless was now trying to crush Hercules under the sole of its boot. The demi-god's muscles bulged as he kept it from crushing him. Luckily for him, Kim leaped onto the monster's shoulder, distracting it enough to lift its foot off of Hercules. Kim pulled some kind of grappling hook gun from her belt and fired it at the Heartless' waist, latching on tightly. She swung down as if she were Tarzan himself, circling the creatures legs and tying them up. Quistis, seeing Kim's idea pulled out her whip and wrapped it around its legs as well.
"Heave!" She shouted. She, Beast, Hercules, pulled on her whip, while Kim, Beast, Stitch, Barret and Mulan pulled on the grappling hook. Their combined effort brought the Heartless tripping down.
"Timbeeeerrrrrr!" Stitch hollered. The Heartless collapsed into the Coliseum stands producing a large tremor. From the golden armour floated out a purple heart, leaving behind an empty shell.
"And that's how it's done!" Hercules cheered.
From behind a pile of rubble peaked Gantu and Pete. "All that practice for nothing! You think size would matter in this day and age!"
"Let's just get out of here before they hurt us!" Gantu shouted.
"Agreed." They both snuck out.
"Hey, where's Sora?" Beast asked.
Just then Kairi ran up to them. "Kairi, where's Sora?" Mulan asked. Kairi, panting heavily, pointed to the sky.
Along the top of the Coliseum was Sora, still fighting with the man in robes, wielding both his and Kairi's Keyblade against the double lightsabre. They both dueled fiercely along the ledge with a dangerous drop below. Sweat dribbled down his face as the sun beat down on his skin. He felt like collapsing but he would not give up. This man was a monster, someone who would do harm to his friends. He would not back down.
KHKHKHKH
Hades appeared in his throne room in the Underworld. Party decorations had been set up everywhere, including a large banner that said: NEW KING OF THE GODS!.
"Back so soon, your dangerousness?" Pain asked, wearing a party hat and spinning a streamer.
"Wow! That guy is better then I thought!" Panic exclaimed. "Cleaned out the competition already! So when do we move into Olympus?" A jet of flame engulfed them both turning them into piles of ash.
"Forget the games! Forget the rules! We're doing things the way I want to now!" Hades raged. A cauldron appeared before him and he peered inside. The green substance inside projected an image of Sora fighting off DM on the ledge of the Coliseum.
"Perfect," Hades smiled. He fired two balls of fire inside the bowl.
KHKHKHKH
Back at the Coliseum, the ground grew hotter. Steam began to rise from the ground, making everyone sweat. Stitch hopped around on his bare feet. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" The earth turned a bright red and the ground collapsed inside itself into an abyss of molten lava and swirling darkness.
"What say we get out of here?" Kim suggested. Everyone nodded and ran for the stands as the ground collapsed behind them, falling into the doom below. They climbed up the stands as the empty Heartless armour fell into the gaping hole that was growing bigger and bigger.
This catastrophe apparently didn't affect Sora or the horned minion as they continued their battle without a moment's rest. The hole in the arena grew larger until it finally began to consume the arena stands. Everyone climbed higher to get away.
"Need...more...time...on...Stairmaster!" Quistis panted, running up the stair-like seats.
Sora parried a series of complicated attacks from DM that pushed him back. His arms were sore from banging his Keyblades for so long. The red and black-coloured man showed no sign of fatigue. He fought like a man possessed. They clashed their weapons in a death lock , neither giving the other any leverage. Sora's back was to the molten abyss below and he was slowly being forced further backward. The hateful red eyes of DM bore into his blue ones.
Inches from the edge, Sora made his move. He pushed back DM's sabre and jumped high into the air to land behind him. DM rounded but was not quick enough.
SLICE
DM gasped as he was cut clean through the mid section by both of Sora's Keyblades that scissored through him.
"Not a...gain," DM whispered before falling backwards off the ledge, his body separating down the middle.
Over the swirling abyss, Hades appeared and floated in mid-air. "There we go! Nice gaping hole that leads to complete and utter destruction. I may not be able to interfere directly, but I can still make some mischief! This should take care of all those other losers! Now where's old horn head? He needs to make his victory wish!" He heard something above him and looked up just in time to see DM's top half collide with him.
Both of them plummeted to the abyss below. Luckily, Hades grabbed the edge of the hole. DM was not so lucky as he and his legs inevitably plunged into the fiery pit, never again to return.
"Okay! Learned my lesson!" Hades shouted as he gripped the ledge, hanging over the abyss. "Bad guys finish last! Complicated evil schemes never work out! And bringing in this giant pit of despair probably wasn't the best idea! NOW HELP ME!"
"Oh, you give yourself too little credit, mate," a familiar voice slurred. The end of a Keyblade was lowered down to Hades, who grasped it firmly as he was hoisted up. Jack Sparrow smiled wryly at the god of the dead once he was on solid ground. "Frankly, I admire you! Your own little place to rule, millions of people fearing your very image, and that hair! Don't sell yourself short!"
Hades looked at him strangely. "Aren't you Johnny Depp?"
"I don't think that's relevant right now Mr. James Woods."
"Touche'. And as for your question, you've got to aim for the top! Right now, I'm at the bottom. The way, way, way bottom! About one hundred feet under. And right now I'm out another minion! Back to the drawing board. Oh, and thanks for the save." With that, Hades vanished. When he did the giant pit closed up.
KHKHKHKH
When it was finally all over, the Coliseum was a wreck...again. Laser marks from Stormtrooper rifles were painted across the walls. The remains of skeleton soldiers littered the stadium. Large chunks of the stands had been smashed to pieces by the Heartless' sword.
Needless to say, the tournament didn't exactly go as planned.
"What a mess," Sora sighed.
"Ah, don't worry about it," Hercules said, coming up behind him. "A little bit of elbow grease and this place will good as new! It's thanks to you guys that we don't have a new king of the gods."
"Yes, well, we try," Jack said waltzing up.
"You didn't do anything!" Beast shouted. "Where the heck were you?"
"Went to the loo. Things...kind of got out of hand there. Don't want to get into it. Ladies present. Beast slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah, and I rescued the guy with the flaming hair."
"What!" Everyone shouted. "You saved Hades!?" Hercules seethed. "What were you thinking!?"
"Thinking? Not really my strong point."
"No worries." Zeus flew down from the sky with Hermes at his side. "What would we do without a god of the dead? Live forever? Ha! Besides, even if Hades tries anything again he'll fail miserably like he always does. It's a routine we have."
"And the tournament?", Kairi asked.
"Looks like it's a bust," Hermes said, looking around the empty stadium. "But..."
"I've decided to grant you the wish anyway!" Zeus declared. Everyone gaped at him.
"Really?" Sora gasped.
"Why not? You guys saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people, stopped three evil villains and one hot-headed god! I think that's deserving of one measly wish! So ask away! Anything that's within my power will be granted!"
"Wow!" Denzel exclaimed.
"What should we wish for?" Marlene asked excited.
"Now, hold on," Quistis chided. "I think Sora deserves the wish. He fought the hardest out of all of us. Go on Sora."
Sora thought hard. What to wish for. Over a thousand thoughts ran through his head. "Sora," Kairi said. "You could wish Riku was free!" A well of hope rose within Sora.
"Hey, yeah!", he exclaimed. Everyone waited for him. Zeus awaited with a reassuring smile. "I wish-"
"Hey everybody!" Sora was interrupted by Cid's boisterous call. He was walking toward the group from the Coliseum entrance. "Guess what? The Star Destroyers are gone! They flew off with that jerk of a General! Also, Leon and the others are gonna be just fine!" He let out a breath. "Man, it was a long run here. I wish I had a cigarette to keep me going!"
"Consider it done!" Zeus said, snapping his fingers.
"What!?" Sora shouted. A cigarette replaced Cid's tooth pick in his mouth, and was automatically lit as well.
"Well that was odd," he said, taking a large puff. "But whatever's clever." He then noticed the many angry glares that were sent his way. "Did I miss something?"
KHKHKHKH
Meanwhile, Pete and Gantu trudged back to their ship, Pete grumbling curses all the way. "Who does that Empire jerk think he is anyway? He ruined our chance of smashing that brat and his friends! Man, is Maleficent gonna be steamed!"
"Especially since we still haven't come up with that girl." Gantu said. "We're going to get an earful. And several major injuries. What was I thinking when I joined this crazy epic? Let's just get off this world and-HEY!"
Their ship had been completely stripped for parts. The engines and hull had been ripped out leaving nothing but the ship's skeleton structure.
"What the heck happened!?" Pete wailed. Suddenly Stitch hopped onto the ships frame, holding a power drill and grinning like no tomorrow. From behind the mess stepped Lilo and Jumba, also with power tools.
"Very sorry, evil flunkies," Jumba laughed. "626 is natural mischief maker! And I just wanted to see looks on your faces!"
"See you, stinky-heads!" Lilo cried.
"Bye-bye!" Stitch giggled and they ran off.
625 waddled onto the scene with yet another sandwich in his hands. "Only in Greece could you get a cheese and mayo sandwich like this!" He stepped up to the dumbfounded Pete and Gantu and took in their ruined ship "Oh, that's right! I forgot to set the alarm." He pulled out a remote and set the alarm, the stripped ship making a click-click sound. "There we go! Now where'd you guys put the mustard?"
And that concludes another chapter. Be sure to write nice reviews adapt the original story (Darius Almighty's work) on DeviantArt, turn it into a webcomic or post the story on TV tropes or follow and favorite it. And remember may your heart be your guiding key!