CHAPTER 7 Just Some Friendly Competition

At Olympus Coliseum, the Blade Breakers decided to enter a tournament, despite the organiser, Phil, claiming they weren't true heroes. Hades was talking to a young man with spiky blonde hair, and told him to defeat the Blade Breakers.

"The great God of the Underworld's scared of some kids?" the man, named Cloud, chuckled.

"Sorry, but my contract says..." he began.

"I KNOW! You think I don't?! I wrote it! Your contact says that you're to kill Hercules, but you've gotta get through those kids first! Like that goat says: Rule No.11: It's all a game, so let loose and have fun!" Hades yelled. "Hey, a casualty along the way's not a big deal, right?" he grinned.

Cloud walked off.

"Jeez! Stiffer than the stiffs back home!" Hades muttered. "But, still, suckers like him are hard to come by..." he added, growling noises behind him.


After they defeated Cloud, Kai was about to help him, when Cloud turned and a large dog named Cerberus appeared, standing on him.

"Woah!" Max cried.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot the most important rule: Accidents happen." Hades smirked. Before Cerberus could attack, someone stopped him, Hercules.

"Herc!" Phil yelled.

"Phil, get them outta here!" Hercules cried. They ran inside.

The Blade Breakers decided to fight Cerberus, who had backed Hercules into a corner. He had an unconscious Cloud over his shoulder. Cerberus turned to see the six prepare to battle. "Kids, I've got two words of advice for you: ATTACK!" Phil yelled. After a hard battle, Cerberus fell to the ground, defeated.


Later Phil was reading a scroll. "And thus, I hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the the games. Further..." he began.

"Hey! What do you mean "junior heroes"?!" Donald demanded.

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero." Phil explained.

"So, what does it take?" Goofy asked.

"Well, that's something that you'll have to find out yourselves. Like how I did." Hercules replied.

"No problem. We'll start by participating in the games!" Tyson grinned. The others nodded in approval.

"There won't be any games for a while. Gotta clean up the mess from last time first." Phil replied.

"OK. We'll be back." Ray smiled as they left. "I still can't believe those kids actually beat Cerberus." Phil grinned.

"Between you and me, I'd already knackered Cerberus by the time those guys jumped in." hissed Hercules.

"My lips are sealed." Phil promised.


They saw Cloud sitting on the steps. "Hey, you OK?" Ray began.

"Yeah." he nodded.

"So, why'd you go along with him?" Max asked.

"I'm looking for someone. Hades said that he could help." Cloud replied. "I tried using the power of darkness, but it failed. I fell into the darkness, and I wasn't able to find the light." he continued.

"You'll find it." Kai grinned. "We're searching too." he added.

"For your light?" Cloud asked.

Kai nodded.

"Don't lose sight of it." he replied. He handed Kai something.

"Hey, how about a rematch some time? Fair and square, no darkness included." Tyson called.

"I think I'll pass." Cloud smirked.


Hades was musing to himself. "He's strong, he's kind. He's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly INFURIATING! He drives me CRAZY!" he snarled. "Wait a minute. What're you worrying about? All the pieces are in place. Keep it cool. Here's what's gonna happen. Let Hercules train the kids. In the next games, I'll take care of all of them." he told himself.

Maleficent had arrived. "Who invited you here? Stay out of this. This is my party." Hades demanded.

"Very well. Fight to your heart's content." she smiled.