Chapter Eight: Compete
Journal: Day Three
Wonderland has to have been one of the weirdest places I've ever been. But...that's not what's bothering me most about today.
I learned about some of what the plan with Sora was. If Naminé changed his memories so that..
they were best friends...
He'd work for the Organization.
So if Sora is stronger, she could be friends with him.
But I'll be gone.
Though if I win, what will happen to her?
Maybe when I've proven myself, I can find a way for Naminé not to be lonely. She's someone who deserves more friends.
More than just a Nobody like me.
Passing through the double doors of Castle Oblivion into the plaza of the memory of the world, Roxas looked up at the colossal statues crossing blades in front of the coliseum thinking aloud, "Guess it fits the Coliseum part, with huge statues like that." He turned to Zexion, who was idly flipping pages in his tome, "So how do we start?"
"The coliseum accepts heroes of acclaim, or those with an invitation," snapping the book shut, he continued, "If we prove ourselves to a local authority, we should gain entry."
As if on cue, a group of heartless appeared in the plaza. Soldiers, Large bodies, Red Nocturnes, nothing Roxas hadn't seen before. So he summoned his keyblade and walked forward, "You think taking these guys out will do?"
Axel chuckled as he summoned a chakram to his hands, "At the very least, we get a bit of exercise."
Though honestly, it was hardly even a warm up. At this point, Roxas already had enough magic under his belt to handle the floating magicians, ice reducing them to nothing in seconds. With them gone, Axel was free to toss out flaming discs into the group, the soldiers falling quickly. While the Large Bodies shrugged off the blows they soon shuddered as Zexion waved his hand, a shade of strengthened gravity turning their weight against them. Roxas took the chance provided, and rolled behind them to strike at their exposed backs. With both magic and blade working on them, the monsters soon vanished and released their hearts.
But as the last heartless disappeared, the trio heard clapping, "Not bad. Not bad at all." Turning to the new voice, Roxas hesitated in calling the figure human as they approached. Perhaps it was the grey skin and bone-like hands. Or perhaps it was how smoke seemed to trail at the figures feet. Or even the fact that the being's 'hair' was simply blue fire. With an extended hand, he introduced himself, "Hades, lord of the dead, how ya doing?"
Roxas just kept eye contact as he held onto his keyblade, "I'm looking to compete in the coliseum."
Hades just chuckled as he slowly pulled back his hand, "Short, sweet, and to the point. I can work with that. Well lucky for you, I run this fine establishment." Dark smoke coalesced into a parchment in Hades' other hand, which he handed to Roxas, "And after that performance, I think I can give you a spot in the tournament. Sound good?"
As far as he could tell the entry pass seemed fine. Even so, Roxas narrowed his eyes, "What's the catch?"
Nodding Hades simply continued holding out the pass with a smile, "Catch? Smart man. Good to keep an eye out for the fine print. But for once, I'm shooting straight. All you need to do is fight in the tournament and win."
Roxas crossed his arms with a furrowed brow, and Axel looked at him, "Got a problem?"
"He's being honest for once. Not sure how much I want to trust someone who thinks honesty isn't normal."
Zexion almost seemed to smile as Hades' eye twitched at the flaw in his pitch, "That's rather fair."
After a moment, however, Roxas sighed, "But I don't have a choice if I want to move on."
So he took the invitation in hand as Hades relaxed and clapped him on the back, "Trust me kid, you're gonna help put on the show of a lifetime."
The rules were simple for Roxas to understand. He and his team would enter the arena and fight the heartless. There was a short break after each match, and the final match of the tournament was one-on-one.
Axel twirled his weapon as the trio strolled up to the arena, "So, you got a plan?"
Roxas nodded as he summoned his keyblade, "We need to pace ourselves in the fights. Don't want to use too much magic in the first few rounds."
Zexion raised an eyebrow, "And simply fight the rest as best as you can?"
Roxas crossed his arms and huffed, "Well, It's a fighting tournament, isn't it?" Darkness swirled before them, a cluster of soldiers staring them down. "Though from the looks of things..."
"These guys are a piece of cake!" Goofy bashed his shield into the heartless clawing away at it.
Donald scoffed, "Well good! The faster we win, the faster we can keep going! Fire!" With a wave of his wand, a bolt of flame ignited one of the Blue Rhapsodies floating overhead.
"Yeah. And the faster we can get some answers." Because Sora just had a feeling that the further he went, the more he could figure out just what happened to that girl.
There had to be a reason he remembered her as he started getting further in the castle, right?
But...what was her name?
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the charging Large Bodies heading toward him, he rolled to the side...
As the large heartless passed on by, Roxas leapt onto its back and hacked away. Soon, the creature released its heart. So far, the tournament had been going well. Combat was definitely the one subject he was confident in. Axel incinerated another blue rhapsody, with Zexion freezing it's red counterpart. He drove his keyblade into the soldiers trying to catch them unaware.
With the last of the heartless beaten, the gates at the end of the arena opened. As they got to the waiting room for the next match, Axel kicked back on the bench. "If any of this were real, I'm pretty sure the crowd would be thrilled by all this."
Zexion shook his head, "These are more preliminary bouts. So barring enthusiasts, I doubt there would be much of an audience."
Roxas was quiet, pacing the room. He'd been keeping track of the match number in his head.
He knew who was next.
With a flash of black smoke, Hades appeared and clapped him on the back, "Great job kid! Now, our next fight is our headliner, a one-on-one bout. So…" Hades grinned with his razor toothed smile, "I'm hoping you can put on a real show here."
Roxas furrowed his brow, "This next fight is safe?"
Hades only waved off his concern, "Totally! Ran this place for millenia, never got a complaint!" Snapping his fingers, he vanished as the gate behind Roxas opened again.
As Roxas looked out to the arena, Axel leaned forward and spoke, "Hey. Don't sweat it. The hard part's over. Just make it back, alright?"
Technically...that was all he had to do. Just survive. Roxas just knew that the opponent would be too much for him to do little else.
But still.
There was some small part of him that said…
"No. I don't just want to survive."
Perhaps he spoke a bit louder than usual. He knew it certainly got Axel and Zexion's attention. As he walked out into the field
"I want to win."
"A one on one fight?" Sora looked at the rules for the next match and recalled his first trip to the arena, "So Cloud again? Well, at least I'm better than I was back then." He turned to leave...
"Hold on," Only for Donald to grab the sleeves of his jacket and point to the roster listing, "The lineup just has question marks. I'm pretty sure Cloud's name was up there when you fought in the preliminaries."
He crossed his arms. His first visit to Olympus Coliseum was so long ago now that the details were fuzzy. Was Cloud's name on the list or not? "Well maybe…
Then he looked out to the arena and saw the figure in black. "Yeah, it is someone different. I'll be back soon then."
Goofy peered out to the field as the doors closed. Donald tapped his foot impatiently, "Any idea who the guy is?"
Putting a finger to his chin, Goofy answered, "Well, he looks like he's about Sora's size."
Roxas didn't really look too hard at his reflection in a mirror. Just enough to make sure he was presentable. But hardly enough to memorize every detail of his face.
But even so.
As he looked at the face of the boy walking onto the field, he knew it was identical to his own. "So you're Sora?"
"Yeah. Are you one of Larxene's friends? Who are all of you anyway?"
Roxas was in no mood to answer. One, because the Organization was to be kept secret.
And Two, he wasn't going to pass up an opening like that.
He dashed forward and summoned his weapon to strike. "Wha—?! That's my Keyblade!?!" Sora panicked, and summoned his own. Just in time to block Roxas bringing his own down on him. "But...how?!?" Sora ground out as he pushed back, weapons screeching in the clash.
"My name is Roxas. And I'll show you just who I am." Roxas strained as he tried to break through Sora's defense. But despite all his effort, Sora just pushed back against him, and eventually threw him off. Regaining his footing, Roxas waited for the counterattack.
One that Sora began by raising his keyblade up high, and calling out, "Thundaga!"
Huge bolts of lightning rained down around him. Roxas tried to hold his keyblade up to block the assault, but even though the attack was blunted, the charge still quaked through his body. As Roxas regained his senses, he saw Sora wind back with his keyblade. Even though he was so far from him.
But after the last attack Roxas was on guard, so when the keyblade flew out of Sora's hands towards Roxas, he was ready to roll away. He felt the blade hum with magic as it flew by where he once stood. But in an instant, the Keyblade returned to Sora, and he threw the weapon again. Again and again, Roxas dodged the attack until finally the keyblade stopped glowing.
This had to be his chance! Focusing, Roxas rushed forward and finally landed a hit on Sora. Again and again he slashed away, knocking the boy back. He wasn't a legend, he was still a human! He could still beat him! Focusing all his strength, Roxas raced forward with his keyblade. At sonic speed, he was able to strike him. Again and again, he attacked. He couldn't give him any rest. He had to survive! He had to win!
He tried to ignore the part of himself that asked why.
He came to a stop and turned to face his opponent. Waiting for his next move he watched Sora...smile?
"Is that all you've got?" He raised his keyblade and with a flash of green and vines, all his injuries vanished.
Healing magic?
Sora charged him now, and the shock of having his work undone left Roxas vulnerable. Sora's strikes lifted him up higher and higher into the air. As the ascent stopped. Sora gathered an array of light at the end of his keyblade. It grew and grew, until he let the energy fly.
Roxas just had enough time to block a few of the initial blows. But his guard soon broke, and explosions of energy sent him flying away from Sora. He just barely had enough strength to remain standing. He watched as Sora's keyblade glowed with a yellow light, "Alright, faker. Let's end this!"
Fake?! Fake?!
Something in Roxas gave way, limits breaking as he shouted, "I'm not a fake! I'm Roxas! No one else!" At his cry, Roxas' own keyblade glowed blue. The two rushed toward each other and swung. Two keyblades rang out as their attacks collided with one another. They swung again, sparks flying as their magic clashed. Again and again, they tried to land a hit on each other. But none of their attacks seemed to hit home. Only colliding with their opponent's keyblade.
Finally, the assault ended, and the two were left gasping for air. Sora's breath seemed far steadier however, as he still spoke, "You can stand up to Ars Arcanum?"
Stand up? Barely. Roxas knew that he was being absolutely pushed here. But even so, he held his keyblade up. "I...I can't lose here."
"Why?"
Roxas flinched at the question and answered shakily, "I...I have to survive."
Sora frowned as his breath steadied, "Is that it? Just surviving?"
Well, what else was there? If Victory was impossible, than all he had was his survival to fight for.
Right?
"We...are friends, right?"
"Yes, we are."
No…
"There's someone I want to see again."
It was barely above a whisper, but Sora seemed to hear it as his eyes widened.
But before he could say anything, A loud roar echoed across the arena. The next thing Roxas knew, a colossal three-headed dog leapt into the arena.
"Oh right. I forgot," Hades smirked as he watched the unleashed Cerberus spit fire at the two contestants, "Accidents happen. And the people that would complain are usually the first to go. It's too bad you took so long." He turned away from the gate...
"Hi. My friend's out there," Only for Axel to stare him in the face. He grinned as he summoned flaming chakrams to his sides, "You're going to let me out now so I can save him. Got it?"
Hades simply took a few wicks of Axel's flame and began to smooth down his hair, "Well, I could let you out, but that'd let the other contestant's pals out too. And on top of all that, you'd have to take care of the...ehm," He jerked a thumb out to the fire breathing three headed dog, "Accident"
"I assure you we can handle it." Zexion rose from his seat, lexicon at the ready.
Hades simply shrugged and opened the gate.
Sora had faced Cerberus before and beaten him. And he definitely had grown in leaps and bounds with his keyblade since then.
Still, there was nothing like three huge mouths filled with fangs to cause a bit of panic. Especially when one started to spew out darkness. "Look out!" He called out to Roxas as the shadowy pools began to form at their feet. While Sora lept and glided out of the way, Roxas had to manage with being careful with his rolls. Though to his credit, he was pretty good in keeping up with the attacks.
Floating to the side of one of the faces, Sora began to hack away at the beast. One of it's heads wincing as they took a keyblade to it's skull. Roxas, however, had begun to cast ice at the creature. Frozen bullets striking the center head. The remaining one's mouth began to glow.
"Freeze!"
Only for Donald's larger ice bolt to knock it back. Goofy soon showed up to slam it's shield into the legs of the creature, causing it to trip and fall. Cerberus snarled as it tried to get up.
But as it tried to regain its footing, a spiked chakram embedded itself into its other leg. "Good boy! Now play dead!" An older voice this time, one that Sora had never heard before. He turned and saw two more people in black cloaks. One a man with spiky red hair, the other a young man with silver hair over one eye.
Roxas called out to them, "Axel! Zexion!"
"Change of plans! We defeat Cerberus, then we leave! Axel, cover me!" The red-haired man nodded, leaving the silver haired boy, Zexion, to begin chanting as pages turned in his tome. As he began, the skies began to darken.
Axel began to throw his chakram's at the defenseless beast, who began to whine as all the injuries seemed to catch up to it. Sora landed down on the ground, and began to focus on the familiar power of Ragnarok. Once again, he rose in the air, striking the center head. As he did so, Roxas began to slice at the side of the beast. Their blows reached a tempo as Zexion's chanting grew louder.
Cerberus struggled, it's whine becoming a roar as it tried to retaliate against the barrage of blows.
"THUNDAZA!"
Only for Zexion's shout to herald a colossal bolt of lightning to strike the beast. The current coursing through it until finally the creature collapsed for good. Sora heard Axel call out, "Roxas, let's go!"
Sora cried out as his eyes adjusted from the flash, "Wait! Just who are..?" But when he heard the swirl of darkness, he knew it was too late. Seeing clearly showed that the trio had vanished, Sora could only sigh, "And they're gone."
Goofy walked up to him and scratched his head, "Ya know where he went?"
"Well wherever he is, we'll catch that faker!" Donald squawked as he began to march to the Coliseum exit, "Who does he think he is? Waving around a fake keyblade!?"
"I'm not sure he's faking anything," Sora mused with a furrowed brow as he looked at the space where his opponent stood. The boy that seemed almost like a mirror, who held a keyblade identical to his own. But at the same time, the blonde haired kid seemed to resent the comparison.
"Roxas…"
Who was he? Who was the person he was fighting to see again?
And why did he feel so familiar?
Naminé let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as Sora and Roxas left Olympus Coliseum. Larxene however was less pleased, sighing as she watched the aftermath from the crystal ball, "Well, I can't say that was an ideal solution."
"He's proven himself to be capable of moving forward." Marluxia crossed his arms at her objections, "He was cunning enough to capitalize on the situation to deal with Cerberus, and determined enough to see his initial fight with Sora through."
Larxene shrugged in response, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just would have preferred an easier end to this now rather than having to keep waiting." What kind of end was something that Naminé wasn't quite eager to find out. The woman crossed her arms as she smiled, "Still, annoying that Hades decided to get impatient with things right as the fight got interesting."
Naminé stayed silent. Yes, in a way the timing for Hades' impatience was odd. It was also convenient for Roxas that he had broken up the fight.
She probably would never let Larxene know how she had nudged that decision in his mind.
Darkness swirled in the room, but this time, the other two members of the organization appeared. Lexeaus spoke sharply with crossed arms, "The situation on the bottom floors has changed. We must convene to discuss this. We shall gather Axel and Zexion upon the completion of their mission."
Marluxia, smiled, "Impeccable timing then, in that they have finished their work for today. But are you truly in a position to give me ord—"
"There is another Keyblade wielder here."
Marluxia's smile vanished at Vexen's words, while Larxene's eyes widened. In an instant, the two nodded, and the four members of the organization left into their dark portals.
Alone, Naminé sighed. Roxas barely seemed mentioned in that urgent news. Even after he had fought tooth and nail to win in the Coliseum, the other members of the Organization hardly cared about him. He hadn't won, but there was something special in how he gave the fight his all.
And...
"There's...someone I want to see again."
Perhaps it was a foolish hope. A fragmented dream that would just slip through her fingers. But something inside of Naminé wanted to hold onto it. That she mattered to someone. So even though she could only make small changes, she had to do what she could in these memories of worlds to see Roxas again.
