Chapter 3
The Gummi ship set down just outside another set of gates, but that was where the similarities ended. This world was nothing like Traverse Town. With the rocket perched high upon a hill, Donald had activated the ship's stealth system, allowing it to simply dissappear into the background. With a small beep, she was locked up tight now.
"Wow! This place is huge!" Sora exclaimed, as he looked out over a massive city below.
Cobble streets lined the ancient metropolis with stucco houses peppered amongst them. A river flowed through the city, providing its residents with clean drinking water. The air here was warm, and pleasant, similar to that of Destiny Islands, and the sun was shining brightly in the sky, today.
"Gawrsh, look how high up we are, fellers!" Goofy remarked, Sora only now noticing that they appeared to be very close to the clouds atop this hill. Or was it a mountain?
"C'mon." Donald quacked. "I doubt the King is down there. Let's see where these stairs lead."
Sora nodded. Riku and Kairi would have checked those out too. They were the most peculiar thing about this place, so far. The stairs in question were tall. Really tall. They stretched into the clouds, and their top wasn't visible from where the gang stood currently. They began to climb them, going higher and higher.
"Gee, how high do ya think these things go?" Goofy asked.
"Who knows? Just keep climbing." Donald replied.
"I don't see anything other than clouds anymore." Sora said. They were eclipsed in clouds at this point. Above them, just a few steps behind them on the stone stairs, to their left, to their right, when, suddenly, they broke through the top lair, and just ahead, at the top, was yet another set of large double doors. Man Sora was tired of pushing these things open.
Already!
Doing just that again though, they'd finally made it to the most coveted place in this whole world.
Olympus Coliseum.
The inside was a square, roofless structure, with many slatted windows along its left and right walls. The floor was entirely sand, and ahead were two enormous gold statues, depicting warriors sparring. Another pair of huge doors sat between their swords, that were also bookended by a pair of stout pillars. Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked across the sandy surface and stepped inside the entrance. Before them stood a short goat man who was already irritated. He appeared to be arranging letters on a board.
"'Bout time you got here. Move that stone ova there for me will ya?"
Sora glanced over at a massive stone. Shrugging his shoulders, he never did shy away from a challenge or a test, he walked over and placed his hands flat against it and, with his whole body's might pushed as hard as he could. He pushed, and pushed, and the rock just wouldn't budge. Donald and Goofy watched on, as beads of sweat began to form on Sora's forehead.
"Are you kidding? It's way too heavy?" Sora said through a winded voice.
"What!? Too heavy!? Since when did you--" the little man turned around, and was already looking up, before realization set in. He wasn't talking to who he thought was in the room. With an ever present five o'clock shadow, and two little horns atop his head, he was a portly little guy to say the least.
"Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" He hopped down from the pedestal he'd been standing on and began walking toward Donald. "This here's the world famous Colisuem, and I'm busy gettin' ready for the gaaaames." He said, his voice like sandpaper.
"So run along pipsqueaks." Sora stared down at him, with a frown. He sighed, "Look it's like this. Heroes from all over are comin' to fight ferocious monsters, right here in this very Colisuem!"
Donald had heard enough.
"You've got real heroes standing right in front of you!" Goofy touched Sora on the shoulder and, with a smile, said, "Ah-yup! Sora's a hero alright! Chosen by the Keyblade!"
"Yeah, and we're heroes too!" Donald quacked.
"Hero!? That runt!?" He laughed, heartily, clutching at his sides.
"Hey, what's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora replied. He didn't like this goat man's tone. A tear forming in his eye, the little guy began to push the stone as best he could, without making any difference.
"If you can't even move this!" He said through efforts.
"How can you call yourselves!" He groaned, loudly.
"A bunch of heroes!" He finally gave up, plopping down. Sora raised an eyebrow down at him, as the trio stared on.
"Okay, so it takes more than brawn. Screw it. Let's see what ya got, kid. You ready now?"
Sora nodded. He was.
"Then head into the Colisuem." Sora rolled his neck and shoulders, walking through the opening, and into an enormous arena of sorts. Rows and rows of stone seats sat on either side of the square, and roofless structure. Sand filled most of the playing area, but a stone slab laid in the middle, as well as four matching pillars that stood at the corners of the stone. A various assortment of weights, barrels, and wooden crates were dotted around the arena. Sora stepped onto the stone slab and shrugged.
"What am I supposed to do?" He asked.
"Hah, some hero. You don't even know where to start? Gimme some push-ups or somethin' kid!"
Sora complied, getting into position.
"How many?"
"As many as I feel like! Now get sweatin'!" He ordered.
Sora began, starting enthusiastically.
"I don't really see how this hel--" Donald was interrupted, "Gee, he's gonna tucker out goin' that fast." Goofy said.
"So where'd you boys say you're from? Ya got names don'tcha?"
"Far away. We're not familiar with these parts. And I'm Donald! That's Goofy!" Donald replied.
"Donald? Goofy? Weird names. Name's Philoctetes. Just call me Phil. What's the little guy's name?"
"That's Sora, ah-yuck!" Goofy answered. Meanwhile, Sora was on pushup twenty-one, and starting to sweat, and struggle.
"Am, ah! Am I done, ugh, yet?" He groaned through pushup twenty-two.
"What!? Tired already? What a whimp!" Phil laughed. Sora tried his best to go for twenty-three, but his arms simply gave out on him. He landed face first into the stone, and moaned out, "I'm not a whimp! Look!"
He stood, as fast as he could manage, and sliced at a barrel, shattering it with the Keyblade. Phil's laughter suddenly died down.
"Whoa! Nice weapon, kid! How'd a brat like you get ahold of that beauty?"
"Like I said earlier, he's the chosen one!" Goofy exclaimed. Phil stroked at his pointy beard.
"Alright kid, let's run a little test, huh? See all these barrels and crates? Break 'em! In thirty seconds." Sora nodded. He smiled, looking at his wooden prey. There were only about twelve. Thirty seconds? That was nothing. Like a tornado into a windmill, he broke through each one, even sending one careening into the stands.
"Not bad! For a beginner." Phil said now holding a stop watch. "You two make yourselves useful, huh? Go fetch the rest of the barrels. They're in the store room, through that big door ova there." Phil ordered. Goofy complied, heading for the large rectangular entrance, and Donald walked behind him.
"Goofy!" He half whispered.
"How is this going to help us find the King!?"
"Well," Goofy responded, "these here games seem like a pretty big deal on this world. So, maybe, if the King's here, he'll be participatin' or watchin'. So, we need to play too! That way we'll run into him!" Donald began to reply, but was actually taken a bit back.
Goofy said something that actually made sense!
Hundreds of barrels, a lot of jumping, running, and swinging later, and the day was beginning to come to a close. The sun was setting, as Phil coached Sora through one final challenge.
"One more lap, kid, c'mon!" Sora's entire body felt almost numb from the pain. Almost. He'd never worked this hard in his life. Hours, upon hours of physical exertion, had gotten to him. Still, he couldn't quit. He just couldn't give up. That wasn't who he was. Riku and Kairi were out there somewhere, maybe even on this very world, and he had to find them. If that meant being nearly killed by this little goat man's insane coaching, then so be it. His feet burned with each stride of his legs, as he neared the starting point of this, his fiftieth lap.
'Just a little further. Just a little further.' He thought to himself. Sora reached his destination, and collapsed as he did. He didn't care that the ground was hard and sandy. He needed a rest.
"You know what? You ain't bad kid. Ya got grit, I'll give ya that." Phil said, walking over with a small goblet.
"Here, drink this."
Sora couldn't even raise his arm to take the cup, before Goofy helped hold him up. Phil carefully fed him the liquid. Liquid? It was more like mana!
"Whoa! What is that!?" He asked, suddenly feeling a small jolt of energy.
"Just a little water, kid. From the stream. You deserve it." Phil chuckled, walking back over to place the chalice down in the stands. Meanwhile, Donald knew they wouldn't be getting anywhere if Sora couldn't move. Whilst Phil's back was turned, he angled his staff down at Sora.
"Heal." He whispered, and Sora felt that all familiar tingling sensation again. His muscles began to loosen a bit, and his overall ache subsided some.
"You gotta teach me some of that stuff, Donald." He muttered.
"What? Magic? I don't know. You think you can do it?" Sora nodded, glancing down at his hands.
"Maybe not with these, but with this." He raised his hand and summoned the Keyblade. Even as beat as he was, it was still light as a feather in his hand.
"Alright squirt, get some rest. Be back here tomorrow, at sun up. We'll train some more."
Sora wanted to cry. More training?
"We'll get ya fed up, buddy!" Goofy said patting Sora's shoulder.
He felt a little better at Goofy's comment.
"Thanks Goofy." Slowly, but surely, Goofy and to some extent Donald helped Sora to his feet. The walk back to the Gummi ship wasn't easy, especially with Sora's legs burning so, but they finally made it, and, after boarding, Donald went for the cockpit.
"Where are you going?" Sora asked.
"Oh, uh..." Donald paused. He was ready to get off this damn planet, and figured Sora would be too. Apparently not.
"I was just gonna fly us to the top of those stairs, so we don't have to walk them again tomorrow." He quacked.
"No." Sora said, still holding on tightly to Goofy.
"No, we don't make things easier, just 'cause we can. You do things right, or you don't do them at all."
Donald was a bit surprised, but he felt his respect for the boy grow. Immensely.
"Alright, have it your way. How's a sandwich sound?"
Goofy and Sora looked at each other with a smile.
"Great!"
Dinner was swift, and mostly quiet. Sora barely had the energy to eat, let alone carry on a conversation. He had been informed, however, of the Gummi ship's itty bitty shower. Goofy wasn't too keen on bathing, and Donald liked baths better.
"You sure?" Sora asked, pushing his plate away.
"O'course pal! She's all yours! That panel there!" Goofy responded, before standing, and pressing a small blue button on the counter. A small door slid open, revealing the tiny shower. It wasn't much, but to Sora, it was like a dream come true.
"Thanks guys." He said softly, before gently walking over to the shower compartment.
"C'mon Goofy. Let's go outside. I don't wanna be here for this next part." Donald said through a snicker as they left the galley. Sora smirked.
The pair walked down the loading ramp, and out, into the warm night air. They found a small boulder that was a perfect fit for two. The city below was well lit, by its own firelight, and the sky above was dotted with millions of stars. Each one a world of its own. Donald and Goofy couldn't help but metaphorically hold their breath, whilst star gazing. If another one blinked out, they knew what that meant.
"What do you think?" Donald asked.
"About what?" Goofy replied.
"The kid. I mean, he's kind of got us by the bill, Goofy."
"How do you mean?"
"He's got that Keyblade, and the King told us to stick with him. But if he's just going around, having fun seeing new worlds, and looking for his little buddies, then how are we ever gonna find the King?" Goofy placed a hand on his chin, and thought, carefully.
"Well, he seems like a good kid, Donald. I don't think he'd try and stop us from completing our mission. We just all need to work together, and we'll all be happy!" He said cheerily. Donald noodled on it, for a moment. He wanted to feel the same way, but he just had to be realistic. He didn't want to be deliberately pessimistic, he just wanted to keep expectations tempered.
"Right. Just, Goofy...?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't get too attached."
Goofy looked out over the city again, and sighed. He didn't like this conversation anymore.
"Say, I'm still hungry. You wanna see if they've got any restaurants down there?" Goofy asked.
Donald looked up at him.
"What, so I'm not a good enough cook for you, now?"
"No, no, it's just what with Sora using the show--"
"Oh, put a sock in it, I'm just teasing you, ya big palooka. C'mon let's go." Donald quacked, hopping down. The pair began the walk down the hill, chatting about this and that, as they did. Up above, another star silently blinked out.
Sora woke up in his bed, and unsurprisingly hurt, all over. He felt as if his eyelids were sore. Yawning and stretching painfully, he did his best to pull himself up, into a seated position on his bed. He groaned, rubbing his temples, before finally placing his feet on the cold floor. He stood, and it felt as if fire shot through his body all over. He found his big yellow shoes in the corner, and managed to slip them on, exiting his room. Donald was busy fixing a bowl of cereal for everybody, whilst Goofy sat at the table.
"Good mornin'! How'd you sleep, Sora?" Goofy asked.
"Well, great, but I feel like I got put through a wood chipper." He joked, painfully taking his seat at the table.
"Yeah, yeah. Eat up. We gotta get moving." Donald said, finishing up setting down everyone's bowls.
Breakfast was quick, and soon enough, everyone was back out into the warm world that was Olympus. The sun was just rising, and the trio made their way up the steps and back to the Coliseum. The climb of the stairs were rough on Sora, but every step kept getting easier and easier. To everyone's surprise, Phil stood at the entrance.
"Damn kid. You got guts, I'll say that much. I hope you're ready." Little did anyone know that Phil had been scheming. He was gonna break this kid. Work him until he gave in. That'll teach a couple of losers from nowhere to just show up and expect to be called heroes. The following afternoon was one of absolute hell for Sora. And so was the next.
And the next.
Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks, before Sora was nearly dead, Goofy was thoroughly confused, and Donald was downright furious.
Toward the end of a four week period Sora was in the best shape of his life, but, Donald couldn't help but ask, "Say, what's the big idea?"
Sora collapsed, yet again.
"Tired yet, princess?" Phil asked, before turning to face Donald, "And what're you on about?"
"What about these games, huh? Sora's been working his tail off! Shouldn't we be allowed in, by now!?"
Phil stroked his beard, again. Sora had grown so tired of his many characteristics.
"Yeah." He said standing, Goofy helping him up. This little exercise wasn't fruitless, however. Sora had changed. He wasn't some scrawny kid anymore. Not entirely, anyway. His stomach, chest, arms, legs, and overall physique was much better muscled, now. He'd be the envy of Tidus and Waka, now. He was starting to look more and more like Riku, nowadays. What Kairi would think of his body, now, he'd wondered.
"I'd say I'm ready for the games."
"Afraid not." Phil answered.
"Wak!?"
"Huh!?"
"Why not!?" Sora, Donald, and Goofy all exclaimed, at once.
"Two words:" Phil said smugly.
"You guys, ain't heroes!"
Goofy counted on his hands, whilst Phil turned and began to walk away.
"Come on! You're really gonna just cut me out like this? After all the work I've done?" Sora cried out.
"Yup. Get lost pipsqueak. Take the weirdos with ya." Sora was shocked, to say the least. How could anyone be so deliberately cruel!?
Donald steamed.
"Forget him Sora. The King wouldn't come to a dump like this anyway. Let's go."
Sora wondered. Riku could never resist a competition though. But this guy probably wouldn't let him compete, anyway!
"Right. Riku and Kairi wouldn't bother either. C'mon Goofy." Goofy nodded, as all three left the arena, heading back to the gate. Halfway to the door, a smooth voice spoke behind them.
"Stubborn old goat, huh?" The trio turned, and came face to face with a tall, eery looking man. His 'hair' was a blue flame, and his teeth were razor sharp. He almost appeared undead.
"Who are you?" Donald asked, pointing a finger at him.
"Whoa, whoa there fuzz boy. Lemme guess. You guys wanna get in, on the games, right?" He walked up to Sora, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Well then, get a load of this." He smiled, and holding his hand out, a slip of paper appeared in it.
"A pass?" Sora asked, taking the paper from this stranger's hand.
"It's all yours, kid. I'm pullin' for you boys. Good luck." He said, before vanishing into a dark portal.
"Whoa! Where'd he go?" Goofy asked, as the three looked on.
"That was weird. You think it's legitimate?" Donald asked.
"I guess we should find out..." Sora said softly, as they turned around and headed back inside.
Phil obviously heard the sound of the doors opening, and turned, "Hey! I thought I told you losers to get lost!" He shouted, before Sora, so smugly, held up the entry pass.
"Huh? How'd you get one of those!?" He asked, taking the slip of paper and instantly looking over it, trying to authenticate it, or, hopefully, the opposite.
"Doesn't matter. We can enter the games now, right?" Sora asked.
Phil sighed. He hated being put in a position where he had to do something he REALLY didn't wanna do.
"Whatever, tike. It's yous guys funeral." He shrugged his shoulders, before tossing the pass away. This oughta solve the problem that was these three easy enough. They'd get killed by that weirdo who signed up before.
"Alright, give this place a little while. We gotta get the crowd in here. Do what you want, but be back here in three hours." Sora nodded, and smiled. They were finally gonna get to compete! And they were gonna win! Sora was sure of it. He pumped his fist, and shoved the doors open, back the way they came. They really flew open, too! He'd gotten strong! Maybe that 'old goat', had a plan after all?
Hades, the God of the underworld, waited on the other side of the huge gate in the Coliseum proper, with his new 'friend'. A dark, and mysterious man, whose past was as troubled as he seemed. His piercing blue eyes, and blonde hair didn't match his tattered, and worn outfit. Mostly black, it had tears and rips in several places with a black worn cape. Completing his look was his enormous 'Buster' sword. It was twice the length of his body, wrapped in torn cloth, and looked as if it weighed a ton. His ability wielding it was unmatched, however, and he made it look as if he wasn't holding anything at all when he swung it.
They had a deal, of sorts.
The mystery man had to win a fight, and he was to be given some information. That simple.
"That little punk, is your first round, got it? Now, don't blow it. Just take him out. Got it?" Hades asked. The man closed his eyes, and snickered.
"The great God of the underworld is afraid of a kid?" He asked quietly.
"Sorry. My contract says--"
"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the friggin' contract! I know it says you're only supposed to kill Hercules in the tournament! But to get to him, you gotta go through that brat! Understand? It's like that fat old goat says. Rule eleven: It's all just a game! So let loose, and have fun with it!" The stranger quit leaning against the stone wall, and began to walk out into the Coliseum's arena. The muffled roar of the crowd, just beyond ear splitting reach. Hades chuckled to himself.
"Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home. Still, suckers like him only come along every once and a while..." Things were coming along beautifully. He could kill two birds with one stone. Jerkules, his ever present thorn in his side, and now this Keyblade dillhole. He was sick and tired of having to be teamed up with that sickly witch. If he took this loser out, this easily? The others would see that it should be him calling the shots. Oh, and how sweet their black, bitter souls would taste in his underworld. How sickeningly sweet, and scrumptious.
Phil stood in the middle of the arena, and gestured to his left. A thunderous round of applause followed, as Sora, Donald, and Goofy walked out. Above them were letters made from what appeared to be rock, that none of the three could read. One could guess though, that they read the names of Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Or maybe just Sora. That's the name the crowd was chanting, anyway. He was floored! These people didn't even know who he was, but they were going crazy over him? Maybe it was just how this place operated? Across from him, he noticed the same writing, but it clearly spelled out something different. Phil motioned to the right.
That was when their opponent walked out. He was intimidating to say the least, as was his massive sword. The crowd began to chant, as he made his entrance.
"Cloud, Cloud, Cloud, Cloud!" The crowd cried.
Apparently, that was just a thing on this world. Sport was huge to these folks. Phil began to waddle over to the trio, whilst the crowd continued their frenzy. Phil motioned for Sora to lean down.
"Look, kid!" He shouted as loud as he could.
"Thing is, rules state that only groups can face groups! So, either it's you versus him, or you're disqualified. Which is it?" Sora was confused, but his choices were clear. He didn't like leaving these two on the sidelines, but he also wasn't the type to back down from a challenge. That just wasn't who he was. He looked over at his shipmates. Goofy gave an encouraging smile, and two thumbs up. He had faith in Sora. Donald meanwhile shook his head. He didn't like the look of this 'Cloud'. Sora didn't want to leave them behind, but he knew what to do. He summoned the Keyblade, and looked toward Phil, nodding.
"Wait!" He barely managed to hear Donald quack.
"Sora, this guy looks tough! You sure?"
"Yeah! I can take him!" Sora hollered back.
Donald didn't like this.
"Whatever you say, but don't get yourself killed! We need your key!"
"Thanks for worrying so much!" Sora replied, a bit hurt that Donald only cared about his Keyblade.
"I didn't mean it like-- Wak! Nevermind! Look, you wanted to learn some magic, right? It's not that hard! Just focus on the Keyblade! If you want to cast a fire spell, you gotta concentrate! Think about fire, warm things, whatever! You gotta be fire!" He yelled out his lightning fast crash course, on an otherwise very in depth topic. Sora nodded, though. He got the gist. He thought.
"Now or never kiddo! You doin' this or what!?" Phil asked, tapping his cloven foot. Sora turned, and started walking toward the center of the area. Phil followed suit, and stopped in the center, with Cloud, and Sora on either side of him.
"Alright fellas! Keep it clean! Fight!" He shouted, getting the hell out of the way, as quickly as possible. Sora stared at his opponent, readying the Keyblade. Cloud, simply rolled his neck, and gripped his enormous weapon with both hands. Like a bolt of lightning, he shot toward Sora, the tip of his sword nearly impaling him.
"Whoa!" Sora cried, as he rolled out of the way. This guy wasn't kidding! Cloud recovered, and took a large swing at Sora. He barely managed to block it, but even as he did, he was thrown from his feet, and hit the rock floor hard, as he landed on his side. Donald and Goofy watched on in horror.
"Don't give up, Sora!" Goofy yelled. Donald meanwhile had a bit of advice of his own.
"Magic, Sora! Magic! A campfire! The oven on the Gummi ship! The sun, for crying out loud! Anything hot!"
Sora somehow managed to hear his friends, but also noticed that Cloud was walking menacingly toward him. This guy was gonna kill him! Sora rolled away from another attack, and finally managed to get close enough to attempt a swing. Cloud was too fast though, and used his slightly armored right hand to brush Sora away. Sora frowned, barely parrying another strike from the huge sword. Cloud came down hard, with both hands in a vertical slash, and Sora managed to side step it. He knew he couldn't beat this guy by just being faster and stronger. That's just what this guy was. He went in for a jab, but Cloud managed to dodge it and brought his sword horizontal toward Sora's ribcage.
Sora had no choice. He jumped, bringing his knees as high as he could. His feet just barely snuck above the blade, but thankfully Cloud hadn't expected that. His swing took him a bit too far and Sora now was facing his back. He began to recover and started to turn around with another swing. Time seemed to slow for Sora, seemingly, and his hand holding the Keyblade began to tingle with energy. Then it started to warm. He angled the Keyblade at Cloud's turning form, and did just what Donald said. He focused...
"Oh c'mon no way!" Sora laughed, as he and Riku sat in the sand, around their little makeshift campfire.
"Yeah! He came right at me! Never stood a chance though." The two shared a chuckle. The next few moments were silent, before a much younger Sora spoke up.
"Hey, thanks by the way. He's always bullying me. It's nice for someone to stand up to him." Sora said softly.
"No worries. I was tired of his attitude anyway." They smiled at one another.
Earlier that day, Sora had been receiving his usual ribbing from his schoolyard bully. Riku, however, had just joined this school. He was tired of watching this much bigger kid pick on the little spiky haired kid. He defended Sora, even to the point of physicality, and had even been ambushed by the same dope, after school. Riku was no pushover though. He showed that kid a little thing or two.
"Say, it's gettin' kinda late. We should head home." Riku said.
"Yeah, sure. I guess." Sora sighed.
"We'll play some more tomorrow. Sora right?"
"Yeah! Sora! Thanks Rik-- Ah!" Sora exclaimed, as a bit of spark from the fire lept out and bit at Sora's hand.
"Uh-oh!" Riku said, looking over his new friend's wound.
"It hurts! It burns!" Sora cried.
"I know. Look, let's head to the cafe down the block. They should have some honey. That'll help."
"Honey?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, helps the burn, if you rub it on. C'mon." Riku replied, as they stood. Riku put out the fire with some sand and the two began to walk to the cafe. This was the beginning of a good friendship.
Sora suddenly found himself back in Olympus Coliseum. Time still slowed, it was speeding up, and fast. Sora felt that feeling in his hand, again. That hot, hot burn. He knew what he needed to do.
"Fire!" He exclaimed, and to his amazement, a fireball of sorts shot from the Keyblade's tip, and flew toward his opponent. It connected. Suddenly, Cloud found that his ribcage burned, and his cape was now on fire. He rolled, and managed to rip the cape off. That didn't change the burn wound on his left side, and as he went to recover a potion from his pocket, found that he was face to face with the spell caster. Sora swung, hard, but Cloud managed to block the blow. However, another swing came from Sora. And another. And another. The tides had turned. Sora was now the attacker. Cloud managed to create some separation, by leaping back.
He gripped his sword tightly, and began to charge Sora. Sora followed suit, and, anticipated Cloud going high, he rolled and went low. With Cloud's big swing missing, Sora was at Cloud's back again, and, his blow was true. The Keyblade connected with Cloud's lower back, and with a grunt Cloud was sent to one knee. The crowd went absolutely wild, as various chants of Sora's name sounded throughout the arena. Sora smiled, drenched in sweat, and even a little blood from a scrape sustained earlier, and raised his Keyblade high, into the air.
Goofy was proud. Donald was shocked. Phil, was impressed! Just when the moment didn't seem as if it could get any bigger, a low rumble began. The crowd quieted, with worry, before the northern wall of the Coliseum blew apart, and a giant three headed, black furred, red eyed hell hound took the wall's place. He roared, a tremendous growl, as the spectators began running for the exit, in a panicked hurry. Cloud had been crushed by one of the dog's massive paws, but not killed, thankfully, and Donald and Goofy had hopped from the stands, to Sora's side.
"What is that thing!?" Sora asked.
"Scary, that's what!" Goofy replied.
"It's Cerberus! Hades' guard dog!" Phil explained.
"That's right shorty! Rule thirteen: Accidents happen!" Hades voice cried from above, before he vanished as quickly as he appeared, laughing the whole time. The huge beast raised its three heads high, fangs bared, and looked as if it was about to finish Sora, Donald, and Goofy, with one chomp. Bringing its heads down, the most peculiar thing happened next. Sora could feel its hot breath, and its slobber on his face, but its snapping jaws couldn't quite find their prey.
"Herc!" They heard Phil exclaim.
"Phil! Get these guys outta here!" The man in question stood in front of Sora, and had managed to stop the monster's assault!
Simply by the strength of holding the beast's chest up, so that he couldn't descend! This guy was an ox! Well, not really, but he was strong like one!
One could never be sure what one was, here.
He wore armor, and had curly blonde hair. A chiseled physique, and blue eyes, if you looked up 'hero' in the dictionary, this guy's picture would be the description!
"C'mon kid! Run!" Phil ordered, heading for the doors. Sora didn't like leaving, but watched on as Phil, Donald, and Goofy all fled.
"I'll be back!" Sora said, much to Hercules' surprise. Who was this kid?
Phil, Donald, Goofy, and Sora all stood, winded in the Coliseum's lobby.
"Whew! That was close." Phil said, exasperated.
"What was that thing!?" Donald asked.
"Like I said, Cerberus. Guardian of the Underworld. I shoulda known that Hades was up to no good." Phil groaned.
"What about Herc? Shouldn't we help?" Sora asked.
"Herc can handle himself. Not that I don't worry. Besides kid, you guys don't stand a chance against that monster. He'll be fine. I hope." Phil said quietly. Goofy and Sora shared a look. There was no way they were running from this!
"C'mon! Let's go! He needs our help!" Sora ordered.
"Wak!? Why're we doing this!?" Donald asked, as the trio made back for the arena.
"Because that's what heroes do!" Sora said laughing.
"Huh!? Kid! Wait! You'll be killed!" Phil hollered, running behind the trio.
The sun was still blinding out in he arena, and Cerberus had Hercules, with an incapacitated Cloud slung over his shoulder, backed into a corner. Hercules, ready to strike as best he could, saw the dog's heads whip around. They had heard a trio of new arrivals. The large monster turned, and gave Sora, Donald, and Goofy its full attention, now. Hercules meanwhile beat feet out of the exit, carrying Cloud along the way. Phil had followed the three, and stopped short upon seeing Cerberus.
"Kid! I got two words of advice, for you: Attack!" He yelled, again comically wrong on his word count. Cerberus growled loudly, and brought its jaws down to attempt and gobble up Sora.
"Wind!" Donald cried, and suddenly Sora was encased in a tornadic shell. Cerberus' fangs met resistance, but the spell could only hold its powerful jaws back for so long. Sora had managed to break away from the hell hound, and Goofy meanwhile had been sneaking around its back. Sora swung his Keyblade hard, with both hands, and connected with the dog's snout. It roared in pain, pulling the central head away.
Donald hollered, "Thunder!" A bolt of lightning had made its way to the central head's top, and Cerberus roared again. Goofy had climbed atop the beast, and began beating wildly with his shield. The three combining their attacks was proving effective. Until Cerberus reared back, on its hind legs, throwing Goofy. Donald, and Sora decided to get out of dodge, as Cerberus brought its two front paws down hard, cracking the ground beneath them. Accompanying that slam, the three heads began to vomit out a black oozing darkness, that began to swallow the floor. Goofy, holding on to its tail was flung wildly about the arena, while Donald and Sora had made their way to the stands.
"Help Goofy! I'll handle Cerberus!" Sora ordered. Donald nodded.
"Wind!" He cast, encasing Goofy in a protective windy shell.
"Fire!" Sora screamed, as a fireball flew from the tip of the Keyblade, connecting with Cerberus' left head's chin. This caused the guard dog to focus solely on Sora, lowering its toothy jaws down to begin snapping at Sora. Sora dodged each bite, and even managed to land a few blows inside its horrible mouth, or on its nose, or chin. Each slash caused a deep gash in its face, a horrible sticky, black blood gushing from the wounds. Sora was holding his own, but he was getting tired. No matter how hard he swung, or how many blows he landed, this monster just kept biting at him. He thought he heard Donald say something, but he was focusing too hard on just staying alive. He did however begin to feel that familiar curing energy around him, and felt his scrape disappearing alongside his various cuts and bruises. He knew then, that Donald had cured him, and saw a familiar form, above the snapping heads.
"Goofy!" Sora called.
"Hold on, Sora!" Goofy replied. He angled his shield high above his head, and threw it. The shield knocked the right head senseless, before ricocheting into the central, and finally left head. Cerberus was dazed, and, with all his might, Sora drove the Keyblade underneath the chin of the woozy central head. A tremendous groan came from deep within the dog's chest, and slowly, but with a great impact, the monster fell flat, its breathing ragged, and short. After a few uncomfortable moments, the beast, seemingly, just stopped breathing.
Through gasps, Donald asked, "Is it dead?"
"I don't know. I sure hope so." Sora said, short of breath.
"Holy smokes! You guys did it!" They heard come from behind them, the gruff, and rough voice of Phil.
"Get ova here, you nuts!" He ordered, a huge smile plastered across his face. Sora, Donald, and Goofy all smiled, before each enjoyed a high-five from the other. Oh yeah. They did it alright. Now, how could anyone question their hero status?
"Thus, I do hearby dub thee, Junior Heroes, and confer upon thee full rights, and privileges to participate in future games. Further--" Phil was interrupted. He was reading from a piece of paper he'd drawn up shortly after the fight, and stood upon a pedestal, with Hercules next to him, arms crossed.
"What do you mean 'Junior Heroes'!?" Donald quacked angrily. Phil sighed, folding the paper, and handing it to Hercules.
"You rookies still don't know what it takes to be real heroes."
Goofy asked, "So, uh, what does it take?" Hercules smiled, and chuckled. Looking directly at Sora he fielded this one.
"That's just something you'll have to find out for yourself." He looked over at Phil and smirked.
"Just the way I did." Sora smiled as well, pumping his fist.
"No problem! We'll start by proving ourselves in the games!"
"There ain't gonna be any games for a while kiddo. This little exercise really tore the place up. We got alot of work to do. Come on back, when we've got things cleared up."
Sora nodded, turning to confirm with Donald, and Goofy.
"We'll be back! You can count on it!" He waved, and headed for the exit, followed by the other two. Phil and Hercules waved goodbye, smiling as they did. Phil spoke under his breath.
"I still don't know how that little runt took down Cerberus." Hercules smiled, again, though this time a bit more devilish in nature.
"Well, between you and me," He leaned down to speak into Phil's ear, "I had already worn down Cerberus quite a bit by the time the little guy jumped in." Phil chuckled.
"My lips are sealed."
Our gang found Cloud, just inside the first set of doors, leaned against the stairs. Sora offered his hand down at Cloud, for a shake.
"Hey. You alright?" Cloud was beaten up, and had several bandages and wraps on his body. Obviously, he'd been attended to by someone, whilst Sora took on Cerberus. His cape, was gone, and his side was heavily wrapped, obviously from Sora's fire spell. Cloud didn't take his hand.
"Yeah." Sora lowered his offered right hand, and frowned.
"So, why go along with him, like that?" He asked, in reference to Hades.
"I'm..." Cloud paused. "...looking for someone. Hades there, promised to help." Sora felt sympathy for this guy, now. They were in similar positions, apparently. Sora found Donald and Goofy, and this guy, found Hades, he guessed. He hoped his fortune was better with these two.
"I tried to exploit the power of darkness. I guess it backfired." Cloud stood, grimacing as he did.
"I lost my way in that darkness. I couldn't find my light." Sora smirked. This guy needed to cheer up.
"You'll find it. Trust me. I'm searching too." He said encouragingly.
"For your light?" Cloud asked.
"You could say that." Sora blushed, slightly. He was looking for some people, too, one of them could most definitely be called his 'light'. Cloud gave him what looked like his version of a smile and wink. Walking toward him, he now offered his hand, and Sora took it for a shake.
"Don't lose sight of it." Sora nodded, looking up at his new friend.
"How 'bout a rematch some time? Fair and square, no dark powers?"
Cloud kept walking, but paused, turning his head. That was definitely a smile.
"Think I'll pass." He said, running a hand through his golden hair. Maybe this guy wasn't so bad. Just a little grumpy.
The trio and Cloud parted ways, heading in opposite directions. In their absence, the skies overhead darkened, and the God of the Underworld materialized.
"He's strong. He's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect. Just perfect. Perfectly INFURIATING!" Hades's 'hair' turned into a bright red, hot flame, as he proceeded to flip out, finally letting his burning rage get the better of him.
"HE MAKES ME CRAZY!" He screamed. The 'he' in question of course was who else?
Jerkules.
Wonder Boy.
Mr. Goody Two Shoes.
Calming down slightly, the undead God's breathing was short and fast, "Wa--Wait a minute, wait a minute. What're you worried about, huh? All the pieces are in place. Relax." He muttered to himself, pacing frantically, just outside of the now ruined Coliseum.
"Here's what you do, I got it, here it is, here it is, let Herc the jerk train the kid, that's fine! Then, in the next games, you take care of 'em both. Personally. No more contracts, no more middle men." He said, talking purely to himself. It was a calming mechanism. He began to develop a feeling though. An eery feeling. Even the God of the Underworld could tell what that icy change in the atmosphere signaled.
"Who invited you to the party? This is my show. Stay outta this." He said to the horned witch who now stood behind him. A sinister smile stretched across her vile face.
Sora laid in his bed aboard the Gummi ship. It was a long day, and they were all getting some rest, just above Olympus, in its atmosphere. No reason to hang about, and chance discovery of their space rocket, but also, no one could fly, in their condition right now. Simply put, they were beat. His shoes kicked off, and his hands behind his head, he was trying his best to drift off to sleep, but was just having a little trouble doing it.
What a ride he'd been on so far.
He couldn't help but wonder, whenever he had any downtime, where Riku was. Was he looking up at any of the same skies? Or was he on a world that was light years away? And what about Kairi? He knew Riku could handle himself, but he worried about her. A lot. He couldn't stand the thought of her hurt, or, in need of help. Or being rescued by someone other than him. That thought confused him the most. He wanted her safe, so why did it matter who saved her? He wanted to be like Hercules? No, he didn't mind being a junior hero, for now. He didn't want to be just anyone's hero. Just anyone's Hercules.
He wanted to be her hero.