Chapter 29
The inside of the Hydra's mouth was the worst thing Arun had ever been through. It smelled worse than it did earlier. Rotting meat pervaded his nose, the humidity of the monster's mouth making his clothes stick to his skin. The saliva that dripped from the roof slathered his hair to his skull. He was released from the tongue as soon as the mouth closed but was maneuvered to the back of the throat.
Arun, realizing what was happening, clawed at the spongy tongue to find something to grab. It was too slick and smooth so there was nothing to grab. He hit the back of the throat-an action that made him gag. He was glad there was no light and could not see the finer details of the Hydra's mouth. He was pretty sure it wouldn't be a pretty sight. The monster's gag reflex forced him down towards the stomach.
Is this really happening? Being eaten alive by a monster sounded unbelievable, yet there he was inside the Hydra. It irked him rather than scared him. He didn't plan on being eaten as his choice of death. Anything but being a snack was his preferred way to die. I'm not gonna die here! And not to some nasty serpent monster!
Arun summoned his Keyblade to his hand. He had to act quickly before he reached the stomach. Eyes wide open, he kept his gaze forward to focus on something. He tried to calm himself as energy surged through him and reached its breaking point.
Three familiar crystals formed from his energy. Although, they crowded closer together because of where he was. The crystals shot out the built up energy to completely sever the head from the body through its neck. His attack was that powerful. The decapitated head moved and allowed Arun the chance to escape.
He escaped through the opening and tumbled out from the neck onto a dusty ground. Coughs wracked his chest to give his lungs the chance to breathe in fresh air. He noticed it was no longer dark, but that was to be expected. When he finally caught his breath he realized his name was being called.
"Arun! Holy-Arun!"
Brushing back saliva-coated bangs, he lifted his eyes to see Caelum and Max run towards him. Both had expressions of panic and extreme relief.
"You're alive!" Max threw his arms wide open as if to hug him. He thought better of it when he saw his filthy state. "Arun, you scared the heck outta us! We thought you were done for!"
"So did I." He wiped away some drool on his cheek and flung it off his hand. Ugh, how disgusting. "Remind me never to get eaten by something ever again?"
"I'll do better and remind you to never distract a huge monster like that on your own," warned Caelum, who was less than happy to almost see him get killed again.
"If someone hadn't distracted me, I wouldn't have been nearly eaten in the first place!"
"Are you saying this is my fault now?"
"Oh, good! You admit it!"
"Guys, don't fight!" Sora, along with Donald and Goofy, ran up to the three. Sora took one look at Arun in all his slimy glory and panicked. "Arun, are you alright?"
"Sora, do I look alright? I'm going to need to take three baths today to even get all this stuff off of me!" Shaking his head, Arun looked around to examine their surroundings. The Coliseum had been reduced to piles of rubble and broken walls. The statues had been torn apart. All that remained of them were their lower halves. It was truly a sight to see. Because he couldn't believe one monster could do so much damage in such a short time. He couldn't help but wonder aloud. "How long was I inside the Hydra?"
"About fifteen minutes. Yeah, I know," Max said to his gasp of disbelief. "That Hydra did a number on this place really fast."
"At least it's gone now," Goofy noted, trying to look on the brighter side of things.
Arun began to nod when he remembered something very important about the Hydra.
Didn't Caelum say that thing could grow back two heads when one was chopped off? Oh, damn!
He whirled around to glimpse at the Hydra's body. Hoping to see its lifeless corpse, he was proven horribly wrong when he saw it stand and two heads popped out from its neck stump. Blood rained down and oozed down its body as the heads managed to squeeze through the head stump and come to life. He wasn't the only one to be disgusted by the display.
"It's still alive?!" Donald exclaimed. They ran out of the Hydra's range when it tried to eat one of them. Arun found it funny when the duck mage hit the snout of one head when it was too close for comfort.
"The Hydra can sprout more heads even when you chop one off," Phil said once they retreated by the Underworld entrance far from where the Hydra was. The monster chose not to come after them. It probably thought about playing with them first before eating them. The saytr stood with Hercules' Pegasus (Caelum told him its name earlier) and a tall, beautiful woman whose eyes spoke of all the tragedy she endured in their lifetime but still had light in them. Hercules' Meg, Arun thought.
"Then, how do you beat it?" Sora asked, desperate. He appeared to be overwhelmed by the opponent that could sprout multiple heads. "We can't take off every single head until it stops growing then, can we?"
"One, that's a horrible idea," said Arun, deadpan. He wanted to smack Sora for such a stupid question. "It can grow two heads when one is chopped off. We'd have to deal with too many heads. And two, even if it did stop growing heads, how could we kill it when the chances of us getting eaten rises?"
"Monster Bait's got a point," Meg agreed in her velvety voice. It was husky and alluring that could make any man worship her. Arun saw why Hercules liked her. She had the looks and the mouth to hold her own. Now if only she hadn't called him 'Monster Bait.' "You can't go off chopping the heads off. We need a plan."
"If only Arun had your common sense," Caelum sighed, pitying.
"Shut up, Caelum." Arun didn't want to hear anymore out of him. He almost got killed because of Caelum. "So, anyone got a decent plan? One that won't get any of us eaten-particularly me?"
Phil considered this for a moment and said, "I think I got one. Everyone, gather around 'cause we don't have the chance to go over it again."
Everyone did as they were told. A few stayed away from Arun in his current condition. He didn't blame them. Certainly, no one would want to be near monster spit. Phil conveyed his on-the-spot plan. They all listened carefully to him, though Arun wondered why Hercules hadn't joined them. The Coliseum hero sat against an undamaged wall, slumped against it lifelessly. He would have thought him dead were it not for the rise and fall of his chest.
Arun wondered what was wrong with him. He wanted to ask, but then Phil finished explaining his plan.
"Everyone got it?" he asked. He didn't wait for confirmation. "Okay, let's go! I just got two words for all of ya: ATTACK!"
No one commented on his incorrect counting. They did as they were told and got to work.
The group of rag tag heroes plus one trainer, one damsel-in-distress, and one noble steed jumped into battle to get rid of the fearsome monster.
"Hey, two-headed snake freak! Over here!" Max yelled as he, Donald, his father ran in one direction while Arun and Sora ran in another. They waved and made faces at one of the Hydra heads to get its attention in order to distract it. Donald stayed at the back at a safe distance to Arun, Sora, and Caelum ran in the other direction where the mage stayed behind the Keyblade wielders at a safe distance.
Arun stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled to gain the attention of the other head.
"Yo, freak of nature! You couldn't even eat a measly snack like me properly!" Arun insulted as Sora stuck out his tongue and pulled down a lower eyelid.
The heads, heckled by his taunts, separated to chomp down on their respective meals.
Arun dove to the side while Sora jumped to attack the head in midair. His brighter and simpler Keyblade slashed across its face leaving a large gash on its forehead. Bright green blood oozed steadily from the cut. Hydra head number one whipped its head at the pain to leave its neck exposed.
"Arun, now!" Sora yelled. When his feet touched the ground he had to move out of the way before he was hit from its thrashing head. From his side, Arun came flying past to maneuver around the head and swung his Keyblade at the long, slender neck.
There were many ways Arun could describe cutting off a head. He could say his blade moved through the skin like it was butter. Honestly, it wasn't. He had to force the stretch of his Keyblade thought tough skin, thick muscle, and hard bone. Not to mention the gross sound of squelching guys and blood. By the time he sliced through it he decided he never want to do it again. It was disgusting.
He landed on his feet, glancing over his shoulder to see Caelum ran forward. As the massive head and attached neck fell, he shot Firaga after Firaga to cauterize the stump of the neck.
Phil's plan was to make sure they stopped the heads from growing after chopping off the heads. The only way to do that was to burn the stumps before the heads could reform.
The smell of cooking meat might have made Arun hungry. Yet, all it did was made him sick knowing what was cooking. Again, it was disgusting.
All right. One down, one more to go, he thought. They had to defeat the Hydra as quickly as they possibly could. Arun did his part and now they just needed Goofy and Max to do theirs.
Looking to Max, he saw Goofy managed to slice through the neck with some kind of midair whirling attack. But, the massive head fell on top of Donald, who stayed nearby to throw his Fire spells. He had no time to get out of the way, so it fell on him. A loud warble came from him as the head landed on him.
"Help! Help, I'm stuck!" Donald squabbled, flailing from where he was trapped in just under the Hydra's chin. "I can't get out! Help me!"
Arun and Sora ran over to help Goofy and Max get Donald out. Caelum tried to help as well, but Arun stopped him with a glare.
"Hurry up and burn the neck! It's gonna sprout more heads!" he ordered, frantic.
Caelum seemed to have realized what he meant. He nodded and turned right around to go towards the now headless body.
It took a group effort from the four, Phil, and Meg to roll the head enough for Donald to escape. The duck mage didn't look like he was terribly hurt. When he stood he was his usual surly self, mumbling under his breath about how he had all the worst luck. Other than a few ruffled feathers and an ill temper, he was fine.
They didn't have time to celebrate when Phil looked up to behind Sora and Arun and gasped.
"Look out!"
Arun whipped his head around to catch a glimpse of purple. His first instinct was to roll out of the way to dodge. However, Sora's first instinct was to swing his Keyblade to slick through the attacker. The older wielder got back to his feet and realized Sora sliced through a Hydra head. Caelum must have not been able to stop the head growth in time.
"Sora!" Arun and Donald scolded.
Sora shrugged his shoulders, embarrassed about what he had done.
"Sorry! I didn't mean to. I just did it," he said.
They couldn't waste any more time on scolding Sora. Instead, they focused on the new neck stump that lay beside another sprouted head. Caelum and Donald rushed to cast a flurry of fireballs to cauterize the wound. But, the remaining Hydra head swooped down to knock the two mages aside. Arun and Sora (the only dexterous ones out of the fighters) hurried forward to slide/dive around the flailing head. They tried to cast their own Fire magic. Though they were not as powerful as the mages, their magic would still be enough to get the job done.
They were too late.
Out from the bleeding neck stump two more heads emerged with a sick squelch. Arun could have compared it to childbirth (which he, unfortunately, learned about in Health class), but he was sure seeing two new Hydra heads emerge in a shower of poisonous blood was worse. They had to scatter before the blood touched them.
And now there were three Hydra heads in total they had on their hands.
"New plan!" Phil screamed from where he was hidden behind a half-melted section of rubble. "Sora, get up on the Hydra's back!"
"What? Why!" Sora yelled, pushing Goofy to the ground before their heads were bitten clean off by razor sharp teeth.
"Just do it!"
"Okay! Okay!"
He scrambled to do as Phil instructed. The satyr also scrambled around the ruined battlefield to head for the collapsed wall of the Coliseum. When Sora headed for the same section he had to jump to dodge the Hydra's sweeping tail. Everyone else wasn't as fortunate.
Arun was unable to sense the tail sweep in time, so he was harshly pushed by the hard, scaly tail. They were all knocked to the ground by the simple action. Arun hit the ground, the wind knocked out of him. In a slight daze, he managed to get to his feet. His ribs stung and made it hurt to breathe. Hopefully, it was nothing serious. They couldn't be broken as the pain wasn't as sharp. He knew what broken ribs felt like. At the moment he knew they were just bruised.
"Sora!" Phil yelled.
Arun looked up and spotted the old goat was perched on top of the crumbled wall. Sora had somehow managed to get on the monster's back without getting noticed. Then, Phil grabbed a giant yellow clay pot he had Sora train with earlier from behind the wall and threw it into the air. Sora knew what to do as he leapt high enough he was up over the Hydra's body. He slammed the flat side of his blade on the pot. The decoration flew down from above to hit the Hydra square on the back.
It must have worked, because when it hit the serpent froze as if struck by lightning and then suddenly slumped. All three of its head fell forward, their giant yellow eyes rolling to the back of their heads in a daze.
They all took that as a sign to finish what they had started.
On his descent down Sora came flying down to strike at a vulnerable Hydra head to sever the head from the body. When the head fell Caelum, the closest one, moved quickly to burn the stump. Seeing Sora do that, Goofy also moved to slick around one head with Max while Arun moved quickly to get the other. Donald, Sora and Arun (after he recovered his momentum from his attack) launched Fire spells as if their very lives depended on it. When they ran out of magical energy Meg ran over to toss them Ether bottles that they downed and continued on.
In no time they were left with a headless Hydra body.
With no head to control it the body lay limp from where Sora had paralyzed it, never to move again. They knew it was dead when its body quickly turned to ash, the bones and muscle melting away. The corpse rapidly decayed until there was nothing left and the only evidence that it existed were the remnants of cooking meat that lingered in the air.
Arun collapsed to his knees as the adrenaline faded from his system. He wondered if his body would ever get used to the life or death situations they went through daily. The violent shaking of his muscles was familiar to him by then. He found he didn't like it.
"Why doesn't this ever get easier?" Max wheezed, loudly. He was sprawled on his back next to where Sora was on one knee to catch his breath. "We've done this five times already! Why can't I get used to this?"
"It'll take awhile, but you'll get used to it," Goofy reassured his son. Although, he seemed to empathized with his son.
"That doesn't mean we have to like it," Caelum said from his place next to an exhausted Donald. He nursed a wound where the Hydra's teeth grazed his leg.
"I'm glad that mess is over with." Phil came over to start handing out Hi-Potions to everyone. He gave a mournful look to his beloved Coliseum. "I can't believe this happened. Still, I'm glad no one got hurt. That's something I'm thankful for."
"At my expense! I nearly became Hydra chow!" Arun indignantly shouted. How could Phil say no one got hurt without mention how he risked his life to hold off the monster? He still couldn't believe he almost died getting eaten by that thing.
"He did distract the Hydra long enough for everyone to escape," Caelum defended-something Arun almost thought he misheard.
Phil frowned and cross his chubby across his bare chest.
"Alright, you did some good. But, that doesn't mean you're a hero. I'm still not buying a scrawny thing like you can actually save people."
Again, Arun had to resist the urge to strangle the hero trainer. Why were people always so ungrateful to the things he risked his life for? He should just listen to his self-preservation and forget other people existed. His life was easier that way.
"Besides, we got more important stuff to worry about," said Phil, moving on. He walked towards Hercules, who appeared desolate. It was like he lost the will to live. His shining blue eyes were so dead. The trainer hopped up to pat his student on the shoulder. "Hey, champ. You alright?"
"Yeah, but the Coliseum…How could I have left everyone defenseless?" Hercules put his face in his hands and gave a sigh. One that was so deep and long it was like he was about to cry. "This is all my fault. I'm such a failure. How can I call myself a hero after this?"
"Wonder Boy, this isn't your fault," Meg soothed, gently. She sat on Hercules' other side and put her hand on his arm. "No one could have known something like this could've happened, least of all you."
"Yeah, Herc. Cheer up!" Sora encouraged, grinning.
"We still think you're a hero," Goofy said.
"Everyone has their bad days," Donald pointed out.
Hercules shook his head, denying their encouragements and shrugging them off.
"Thanks, but I can't be a hero when I just abandoned everyone. That's not what a hero is."
Arun had just about enough of his words. Everything that Hercules was nothing but trash and didn't deserve to be said. Scowling, he marched over to the hero, pulled back a curled fist, and threw it at Hercules' perfect jaw line. The punch didn't look like it hurt him and, in reality, it did more damage to Arun's hand. It still had the effect of putting him in shock as blue eyes darkened by despair met his angry ones.
"Quit acting like a drama queen! Are you a hero or a damsel-in-distress?" he demanded, anger brewing at the surface of his skin. "You can whine about the fact that, yes, you did abandon those people to the Hydra because you ran off to save your girlfriend. But, that doesn't mean you have to beat yourself up about it! Those people knew watching someone fight a dangerous monster would put them in danger, too. But, they came to see you be a hero and that's what they got! You did your job already. After your match ended, you were just Hercules again and you were allowed to be human. No one here blames you for putting your selfish human desires first and, for the love of all that's good, if you sit here crying about that, I will punch you again until you get it through your thick skull!"
A silence of disbelief settled around them. Arun didn't care because he stood by what he said. It was stupid of Hercules to blame himself for wanting to save Meg instead of staying to help people. Hercules, no matter how many people saw him as a god-like figure, was still a man. He could laugh, cry, and love just like anyone else. No person should deny their feelings for the sake of other people. They were denying their happiness then! He lived his life by putting what he wanted the most before what other people wanted. Some exceptions might be for Arty or Caelum, but he would never be stupid and deny himself happiness. The fact Hercules was doing it made him mad.
"Nice speech you gave there, Shorty."
The slick voice that suddenly appeared startled everyone from their daze. Black smoke gathered from Arun's right and he recoiled in time for the smoke to clear. And there stood the mighty Lord of the Dead, Hades, who grinned smugly at the group.
The world travelers all brought out their weapons to stand before Hercules to protect him. They all glared at the god, but Hades didn't look the least bit intimidated.
"Whoa, there. No need to bring out those. I'm just here for a friendly little chat," he said, casually. No one really believed him in that aspect.
"The last time we had a friendly little chat you sent out a monster that nearly killed my friend!" Max accused, pointing a finger at Arun covered in monster spit.
"That's all in the past. Besides, I think your friend looks better that way. But that's just me." Hades eyed Hercules' exposed state and gave a mock look of concern. "Blunder boy doesn't look so good. How could you mope on such a momentous day? The Underdrome is back and you are gonna fill the stands. After all, your fans won't settle for anything less than a certified hero."
At this Hercules stood up in anger to possibly give back a snarky reply before his shoulders slumped. Hades was pleased with this and went over to put his hand on his shoulder. Hercules didn't bother to swat it off of him.
"I mean, if you're not up to it, you could always just, I dunno, lose?"
"I bet you'd like that," Sora snapped, unhappy with what Hades had planned.
"Excuse me? Hey, I'm not a selfish guy. I'm not like those high and mighty snobs up on Olympus. I stand for the masses! And have I got a massive idea! The games, ladies and gentlemen...are back! Yours truly, Hades, the one and only Lord of the Dead, brings you the ultimate games, to celebrate the re-opening of the ultimate coliseum! We'll finally answer the age-old question: Who deserves the title 'Ultimate Hero?' These games are gonna settle the debate once and for all! The winner reigns supreme. Of what? You guessed it! The Hades Cup! And I assure you that the 'Great' Hercules will be there. Otherwise…" Hades glanced over at Meg. Upon seeing that, Hercules finally snapped out of his daze to shield her from the god's conniving glance. "You'll never see your girlfriend again."
"Lowlife," Caelum growled.
"You're too kind, kid," Hades replied in kind. Then, he snapped his fingers as if he remembered something. "Oh, and by the way. The Hades Cup can only let one group of four compete at one time. After all, it wouldn't be fair to the other compeititors, now would it? And that means only one of you Keyblade kiddies can enter with your two friends and the mighty Hercules. And because I'm such a good guy I already signed up Spit Boy and his two lackeys."
"What?" they exclaimed.
Arun, Caelum, and Max glanced at each other significantly. Why would Hades sign them up instead of Sora, Donald, and Goofy? Why them?
"Give me one good reason why my friend and I should compete in your tournament?" Arun demanded. All the while he cursed meddling gods for doing this to him.
"Because, Shorty, I've got some information you might want. If you manage to beat a certain someone in the tournament for me, I'll tell you what you want to know."
"There's nothing we'd want to learn from you!" Caelum growled, just itching to throw a Blizzard spell at the flame-haired god.
"Oh, is that so? Then, I guess Shorty doesn't want to know about his past."
Arun froze. His...past? What did he mean by that? He couldn't have meant…
"My past? What would you know about it?" he asked, calming down. Internally, his mind was in a whirlwind.
"Kid, I'm the Lord of the Dead. I know everyone's past. It's good entertainment watching you mortals running around. There's nothing better to do in the Underworld than watch guys like you struggle in your lives. And, kid, I've seen your life, too. It was pretty interesting. Especially the part where you lost-" He snapped his mouth shut in mock surprise. "Oops! Almost gave away the good part. Makes you wanna find out what I was about to say, doesn't it?"
"You're horrible," Sora commented, disgusted with Hades' behavior.
"I'm getting nothing but compliments today! It really is a good day. So, Shorty, what's your answer?"
Arun chewed on the inside of his cheek. While he hated the fact Hades was dangling juicy information in front of him like he was a freaking dog, he was tempted. He didn't know anything about his past. As much as he told everyone it didn't bother him (which it didn't), he couldn't help but wonder what happened. Why did he lose his memories in the first place? Did he have important people? When was his real birthday? There was so much he didn't know about himself before he lost his memories and it killed him not being able to know. There was only one thing he could do in that situation.
"Who do you want gone?"
"Arun, are you sure that's a good idea?" Donald asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
Arun ignored him, waiting for Hades' answer. The Lord of the Dead grinned.
"I knew you'd say yes," he chuckled. "Who I want gone is a young soldier. He lost his life early so he's dead-obviously-and I know for a fact he'll enter the Hades Cup. At some point you guys will fight each other and all you have to do is beat him. After that, I'll take care of the rest."
"What do you plan on doin' to him?" Goofy gulped, afraid of the god.
"I plan on throwing him into the darkest pits of Tarturus. He'll get a one way trip for it, too, courtesy of your's truly."
"Why can't you take care of him?" Caelum asked, outright suspicious. "I mean, you're the ruler of the Underworld. If he's dead, isn't he under your jurisdiction?"
Hades shrugged.
"Hey, I might be god of the Underworld, but that doesn't mean I'm not a fair ruler. I give all the dead souls a fair chance down there. It's just when they do something I don't like I interfere. It's my turf, so I do what I want with it." He chuckled, chilling and dark. It sent chills down more than one person's back. "Besides, it's fun watching them think they've got a chance to get in my good graces. Whole reason why I'm hosting this tournament."
I really don't want to die if this guy is there waiting, Arun thought. If Hades was truly that sadistic, he'd have a better chance with the devil in Hell than the Underworld.
"Well, now that I'm done here, I've gotta get going! Tournaments don't host themselves, ya know! Can't wait to see you all fight!"
Hades exited in his usual manner: through a dramatic cloud of fiery smoke.
No one spoke for a moment. They didn't say a word to let the event sink in and process whether it really just happened. It did happen rather quickly.
"Did we just agree to enter a dangerous tournament?" Max asked, mystified.
"Yup," Arun replied, short and sweet.
"Hosted by a god that wants Hercules dead and will likely cheat?" Caelum questioned, oddly calm.
"You got it."
"And agreed to fight because he knows about your Nobody?" Donald continued, bill chattering.
"Yeah."
"And ya gotta fight someone really strong before ya get it?" Goofy gulped.
"Looks that way."
"…Oh, boy," Sora sighed. "I'll get the extra Potions. I have a feeling you're going to need it."
"I also need a bath. I think I'll go take one."
xxx
After Arun took his bath in the Gummi ship and washed his clothes at the same time, he met with everyone else in the Underworld. He found them waiting by a boat floating at the shore. In the distance there was a small island brightly lit in the eternal darkness. From where he stood, it looked to be a stadium-bigger than the Olympus Coliseum above, in fact.
When he rejoined everyone the first thing his friends did was hand him a small marble stone the size of his palm. The symbol of a cloud and a bolt of lightning was carved on it.
"That's an Olympus stone," Phil told him as Arun eyed the circular trinket. "It stops the Underworld curse from affectin' ya. Ya feel better already?"
He nodded. He no longer felt the chill of the Underworld threatening to take his life energy. The stone was placed carefully in a secure place on his person where he wouldn't lose it.
"So, you got back an Olympus stone, you managed to get it from Demyx?" Arun asked Sora.
"Yeah, but it wasn't easy," said Sora, wrinkling his nose at the mention of the Nobody.
"Why am I not surprised?" It didn't really shock Arun that even Sora had an issue with the Organization Nobody. No one seemed to like any of them. "What did he do to you?"
"He kept calling me Roxas. And I even told him my name! He still kept calling me Roxas like we were friends or something."
"That seems to be a thing with Nobodies," Max snickered. "You two look nothing alike. How could he call you the same name?"
"That's strange. I wonder…" Caelum mused, thoughts wandering to things they didn't know. Arun would rather not know what went through his mind.
"I don't know what you guys are talkin' about," said Phil. From his gruff voice, they remembered they weren't alone, "but talk about it later! You have other things to worry about. Like this tournament. I found out from Pain over there that you, Shorty, only have to keep fightin' until you beat the guy Hades was talkin' about. After that, Sora, Donald, and Goofy can take your place for the Finals."
"What if they end up fighting him in the Finals?" Donald wondered.
"Nah, that ain't gonna happen. Hades wants this guy gone for some reason and he wants Herc gone more. If anything, you'll face him in the semi-finals. Hades might be hopin' the guy wears out Herc before the final match."
"I wonder who Hades wants gone," Goofy stated aloud. He put a hand on his chin in wonder.
"I gotta agree. It's not like Hades to want someone other than Wonder Boy gone," Meg said, holding onto the arm of an exhausted Hercules. Arun would have made a joke but knew it wasn't the time.
"Whoever this guy is he must be really strong." Sora frowned-a look that didn't seem right on his face. To Arun it was more than familiar as he had seen it many times in a mirror in the past. Like everybody else, he wasn't happy with this arrangement. Arun could tell was because he couldn't fight until later. Sora seemed like the type to enjoy fighting and competing. Not that Arun blamed him when he was the same.
"And scary, too," Goofy added, shivering in fright.
"Who's strong and scary?" A new voice spoke out. It was one that no one had expected, but Arun and his friends recognized it.
Arun looked behind him and smiled when he saw Zack walk up to them. The large man grinned at them in greeting.
"Zack! What are you doing here?" asked Arun, easing at the sight of him.
"You know him?" he heard Sora ask Caelum.
"He helped us escape the Underworld earlier. When we got here we got lost and he led us to the living world's entrance," Caelum answered.
"I was wandering around when I heard the Underdrome's been reopened," Zack replied to Arun. He hit his chest with his fist, grin widening. "And since I'm on a never ending quest to become a hero, I decided to sign up for it."
"A hero? Zack?" Hercules roused from his daze and stared at Zack. Ever so slightly, his eyes widened. "No, it can't be. Zack Fair?"
"Do you know him?" Meg asked, astonished. No one, including Zack, expected Hercules to know who Zack was.
"Yeah! Eleven years ago, I met him when I first started my training with Phil. He wanted Phil to train him, too. Zack, don't you remember? It's me, Hercules!"
Zack regarded Hercules, taking in his exhausted condition. Her peered thoughtfully at him and hummed for awhile in deep thought. Then, his eyes lit up in recognition.
"No way! Herc? It really is you!" The excitable man grabbed Hercules' hand to pull him into a manly hug. They held the hug for a brief second and let go. The two hulking men were smiling like a bunch of idiots. "How've you been, man? I heard you became a really famous hero up in the Coliseum. 'The hero of heroes, Hercules,' is what they're calling you. I even heard you took out the Hydra with your bare hands!"
Say what?
Arun's eyes twitched. People were saying Hercules beat the Hydra? They needed to get their information right! Hercules wasn't even involved in killing it! He may have been the first to fight it, but in no way did he deal the finishing blow.
"Um, actually, my friends beat it. I just wore it down," Hercules corrected. He scratched his head nervously at everyone's less-than-pleased look. "Anyway, what've you been up to? I haven't seen you after you left town ten years ago. I thought something bad might've happened to you?"
"I went back to my home and joined the military there. It seemed like a good way to become a hero. You know, savin' the country from monsters, fighing in wars-the usual." As Zack said this casually, Arun saw a shadow of pain pass his eyes. Like he was remembering good times that turned sour. "I ended up getting promoted to the highest rank. But, stuff happened and I had to leave the military not longer after along with a good friend of mine. More stuff happened, and then I died."
A chilling silence seized all those there. They stared incredulously at Zack in horror. Zack didn't seem upset when he basically stated he died.
"You're…dead?" Arun asked, breathless. How did he not even notice Zack was dead? He didn't even look dead! But, when he thought about it, it explained why Zack didn't seem all that affected by the Underworld curse. How could the life energy be sucked out of him when he was dead himself?
"Yup! Why else do you think I'm in the Underworld? It's not exactly my choice for a vacation spot." He laughed, startling everyone by its cheerfulness. "If it were up to me, I'd be lounging by a beach in the afterlife surrounded by gorgeous bikini-clad babes. But, beggars can't be choosers."
"Boy, I wouldn't mind that." Phil had a dreamy smile as he imagined what Zack described. He was shaken back to reality when Pegasus swatted the satyr's head with his tail.
"Men." Meg snorted, rolling her eyes. She turned to Zack. "So, you're Wonder Boy's friend, huh? Then, you know what the prize is if you're entering the tournament, don't you?"
"From what I've heard, the winner gets to be revived back to life. But, that's only if they beat the hero, Herc…ules," Zack recited. He slowed at the end in realization. He paled and didn't look like he was breathing (if he could breathe in the first place). "…Oh."
"Yes, oh."
"Oh, man! I screwed up again! Hercules, I'm sorry! I didn't know it was you when I signed up. I thought Hades meant if we beat another dead guy we'd be revived! I'll go take myself out. Stupid Hades, trying to pull this trick a third time! And after I told him no already!"
"What do you mean by that?" Goofy asked, catching one part of Zack's frantic rant.
"Hades asked me earlier to go defeat Hercules. If I did, he's bring me back to life so I could see two people who are very important to me again," he informed them, calming down to tell them. "I told him I wouldn't. I might be dead, but that doesn't mean I want to kill someone else just to live again."
"And I'm guessing Hades didn't like that?" Max sighed.
"Let's just say I had to hide out in another part of the Underworld. That's when I met you guys." He waved to Arun, Caelum, and Max.
Arun thought for a second. So Hades asked Zack, too, in his quest to kill the hero. He was relentless, that's for sure. But, what bothered him was Zack's rejection to the god. Wouldn't Hades hold a grudge at Zack for doing that? Arun knew he would. He voiced this to everyone.
"Wait a sec. The squirt's right," Phil gasped. "Hades ain't known for being pleasant when people reject deals he gives them. At the very least, he'd try to kill them, too."
"Then, if Zack said no," Donald deduced aloud, "then Hades still wants Zack so he could throw him to a place in the Underworld?"
"And wouldn't he use someone else to do it?" Goofy continued that line of thought.
Sora nodded. "Remember last year? He promised Cloud he'd find his darkness to let him defeat it only if he fought Hercules. And in the end Hades double crossed him!"
"Cloud?" Zack murmured, taken back. No one but Arun heard him because of their deduction session. Even Arun forgot until much later.
"So, you think Hades got someone to take out Zack?" Meg tapped her chin, a pretty frown on her face. "Now who do we know Hades approached and promised him something if he took someone out for him?"
An electric shock went down Arun's back when Meg looked significantly at him. He closed his eyes.
"Zack's the one Hades wanted us to fight," he confirmed. He gave a heavy sigh.
The other world travelers all gasped at what they discovered. Opening his eyes again, he saw everyone was agitated at the news. Zack, on the other hand, still missed what was going on.
"Hades promised you something?" he asked.
"Hades promised Arun he'd tell him about his past if we beat someone for him," Caelum said, lips twisted in a snarl. "We didn't know it would be you, of all people, Zack."
"Man, this is really messed up," Max groaned. "We have to fight the guy who helped us and we can't lose. Otherwise, Hercules will lose his life."
"Hercules is on their team," Sora told Zack. He shook his head in dismay. "So, you're going to fight each other in the tournament."
"Man, this is messed up," Zack agreed. "I can't lose because then Hades will throw me into the deepest pits of the Underworld. And you can't lose because Hades will kill Hercules."
"And Hades wins at the end of the day no matter what," Phil finished, worried. He let out a long breath, cheeks puffing up as he did so. "This is really somethin'."
"What do we do, then?" Meg questioned. She glanced in concern at both Zack and Hercules-both of whom did not take the news well. One of them could be lost in the fateful battle and no one wanted that.
"I think the only thing we can do right now is fight in the tournament," Arun reasoned. Out of all of them he wasn't losing his head in worry. Although, it was there, bubbling in his gut. "It will be awhile until we fight in the Semi-finals. We'll figure something out between the matches. Zack, whatever you do, don't throw your matches. If you do, I'll follow you into the pits of the Underworld just to strangle you."
Zack chuckled at his threat. He reached a large hand over and ruffled his already spiky hair.
"I'll hold you to that promise." He nodded and removed his hand. It was a good thing, too. Arun would have bitten him. "Alright, I'll fight. We'll come up with something to get out of this mess. No way will I let Hades control our fates again."
Everyone agreed. They were going to try their hardest to get out of this situation. Hades wouldn't win if they said anything about it. The Lord of the Dead would get what's coming to him.
Arun would bet his life on it.
XXX
Disney Fun Facts
The Hydra: In the 1997 film Hercules the Hydra was a monster that the hero had to defeat. After being tricked into fighting it by a disguised Pain and Panic, Hercules had to fight the monster and cut off its heads. Eventually, he realized that cutting off its heads didn't help him, so he had to cause a rock avalanche to slay in. In the original myths the Hydra of Lerna was the second labor that Heracles (the Greek name for the hero) in his journey to complete the Twelve Labors, a series of tests that Heracles had to go through to redeem himself after killing his wife and sons in a frenzy. That was caused by Hera, who was not Heracles' mother like in the Disney film, though he was still a son of Zeus. Heracles had to slay the Hydra by cutting off its heads and then burned the neck stumps with the aid of his nephew. The Hydra also had green poisonous blood, which he dipped his arrows in to use in a later labor. And in the Japanese version of Kingdom Hearts 2 the Hydra actually spewed out green blood when its heads were cut off but in the international version that had to be removed and was replaced by black smoke.
Wow, that's a lot of information on one fun fact, but I really like Greek Mythology. Well, any kind of mythology anyway. So I did some research and found out about the original Hydra and incorporated it in my story.
Please review and give any suggestions you might have for the story!
