Okay, for our next world, return of an old favorite!
Hercules: "gamePsycho11 doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney or Square Enix. But he's still a true hero in my book!"
Thanks Herc!
Chapter 10: Return to Olympus
The heroes headed off into space in the Gummi Ship for the next world.
"That place was beautiful," Aqua said.
"Yeah, it was," Kairi agreed.
"But, what was Marluxia doing there?" Mickey wondered out loud.
"Those punks are always up to no good," Donald responded.
"Yeah, but Marluxia was never fully loyal to the Organization," Axel said. "He always had his own agenda."
"What are you getting at?" asked Riku.
"I'm saying," Axel began, "What if Marluxia is actually following the Organization's plans, this time?"
"But they're all following Xehanort's plan; to create the X-Blade," Terra said. "What could they have wanted there?"
"He mentioned that there were more hearts of pure light," Goofy added. "Hearts like Kairi's, and the other princesses. Does that mean there are more than seven?"
"Who knows?" asked Donald.
"You said Rapunzel was one of them," Yuffie said. "So, that definitely supports the theory."
"Welp, if the Organization is doing other things, we have to stop them," Mickey said, with conviction. "Where to next?"
"How about Hercules's world?" Sora suggested.
"Wouldn't hurt to try," said Riku. "Let's go."
"Hey Terra?" Goofy said. "I've been meaning to ask; how do you turn your keyblade into all those different weapons, and even that jet-ski thing?"
"Oh, that?" Terra asked. "It's called Shape-forming."
"Shape-forming?" Sora asked. "Never heard of it."
"How does it work?" Kairi asked.
"You have to think it," Aqua responded.
"Whatever comes to mind, that's what your Keyblade will turn into," said Terra.
"Okay," Sora nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The entryway to the Underworld was a big, stone, rock face along the River Styx. In an eerie boat, rowed by a waxy-skinned creature that almost looked like a skeleton, stood a figure in a black jacket, with his hood up.
The individual understood that a potential ally for the Organization was trapped down here, in his own domain. He really hoped that he could get this over with and get back to the real business of the Keybearers.
The rock face parted, revealing a very large cavern that the river continued down. Suddenly, a massive, three-headed dog with black fur and gleaming red eyes charged from the darkness.
It roared, and the cavern shook from the sound vibrations. The ferryman continued on, being nearly emotionless. The mysterious man gazed up at the dog coldly, feeling something like resentment. He didn't have time for this.
Summoning dark fire to his hand, he hurled it at the dog (whom he assumed was Cerberus). It struck the center head right between the eyes.
Cerberus let out a surprisingly puppy-like yelp and backed away. He knew who the alpha-dog was.
The mysterious man continued down the river, satisfied. Eventually, he reached his stop; a pathway that led off into the bowels of the Underworld. Very few beings had ever gone this far into its depths.
Gesturing to his silent driver to leave, the man stepped out of the boat onto solid ground, and walked on in silence. His boots made echoing noises along the empty corridors, adding to the place's empty feeling.
All that was left down here after Sora, Hercules, and Auron had finished, were the silent spirits of dead souls. Even the Heartless had abandoned the place.
But not for long.
After what felt like half an hour of walking, the man arrived at his intended destination. A kind of throne room/planning area overlooking the River Styx from two large windows. In the center of the room sat a large, flat chart of the world, with Mount Olympus pointing into the air. At the far side of the room was a throne in the color of smoke. Above it was what he assumed was some kind of skeletal trophy.
The man looked through the room to try and find what he was looking for. Xehanort had said that he'd be able to release him from here.
He prodded the chart with one foot experimentally, and it reacted. A glittering keyhole shape appeared in its center. Understanding what he needed to do, he summoned a Keyblade, and pointed it at the lock.
There was a flash of light, and the chart split in half. The man took a step back and observed his handiwork. Below the chart was a deep pit, at the bottom was a swirling green mass of energy connecting to the River Styx outside.
All was still for a few seconds. And then a huge fireball erupted in the center of the room over the pit. The chart slid back together again, and on top of it stood a man.
"Ah, finally!" He exclaimed.
His skin was bluish-grey. His eyes were a pale yellow with black irises. He wore black and grey robes with a skull pendant on the right side of his chest. His most noticeable feature was the bright blue flames on the top of his head. When he spoke, he revealed two rows of sharp, pointy teeth.
Hades: Lord of the Underworld.
"It's about time you showed up," said Hades.
"I could've easily left you down there," the mystery man snarked back. His voice sounded like a boy in his late teens.
"Right, right, sorry," Hades replied. He took a look around his chambers and strode over to the throne, "I gotta tell ya kid, I owe you one." He sat down in his throne after examining the thick layer of dust on one of its arms. "Boy, some of the characters down there are dead..."
"Yes, you do owe me one." The boy said, walking around the chart confidently. "I'm here with a proposition from Organization XIII."
"Hmmm... Lay it on me, kid."
"It's simple. You join us, add your powers to our forces, and in return, you get a share of the power of Kingdom Hearts."
"Kingdom Hearts?" Hades said, sounding interested, but then disappointed. "Hate to tell you kid, but the last few guys who tried to get at that thing are either dead, or missing. Apart from yours truly, of course."
"But we have learned from the mistakes of Maleficent's little band," He countered, "And we have a different plan for getting Kingdom Hearts this time."
"Really?" Hades pondered this for a moment, and then smiled wickedly, "Okay kid you've got my attention. But I have a counter-offer. If I join you, you have to help me with a little project I've been working on for a while..."
"And that is?"
Hades' smile widened.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The group of ten appeared in a town square that was right in front of the Coliseum.
"A-hyuck, the coliseum's as good as new!" Goofy exclaimed.
"Wow!" Sora exclaimed. "It's amazing!"
"So this is that Coliseum you told me about," said Kairi.
"This is it," Donald responded. "Won many tournament trophies here!"
"I haven't been here in years," Aqua said. "I wonder how Hercules is doing. Last time I saw him, he was scrawny."
"Wait, really?" asked Sora.
"Yeah," answered Aqua. "He was a string bean with the strength of a giant."
"I can't imagine that guy as a string bean," Donald said.
The group walked up the steps, pushed open the doors (with some difficulty) and walked into the small atrium outside the coliseum itself. On one of the walls were four trophies that Sora, Donald and Goofy had earned in the Phil, Pegasus, Hercules, and Hades Cups. On the other wall was a sand-colored gold statue of the multi-headed Hydra that had caused so much destruction before.
Looking closely, Sora saw three tiny little figures standing in front of it, looking up at the monster without fear. He smiled when he realized that they were himself, Donald, and Goofy.
"Cool!" he exclaimed.
"Well, look at that," Kairi said. "You guys are genuine heroes!"
"It took us getting our own constellations before Phil finally said it!" Donald quacked.
"Seriously?" Axel questioned.
"He kept calling us "junior heroes"," Sora groaned.
"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore," the familiar voice of the heroic demigod spoke out.
"Herc!" Sora exclaimed as he and the others turned around, and sure enough, there was Hercules...as well as Meg.
"Long time, no see, you guys," said Megara.
Aqua raised an eyebrow, and smiled playfully,
"Who's this, Herc~?"
"Oh...Aqua!" Hercules exclaimed; a bit flustered. "This is...um..."
"Megara," said Meg. "You can call me Meg."
"If you're here, does that mean there's trouble around here?" Herc asked.
"Well, things seem pretty calm," Mickey said.
"But we did detect some dark energy coming off of this world," Riku added. "Something's about to go down."
Hercules put his fingers to his chin in thought, "Maybe my father will know something."
"You mean Zeus?" Kairi asked.
"Yep, King of the Gods." Herc replied, proudly.
'And thankfully, this is nothing like the actual mythology,' Axel thought. 'It IS Disney!'
Everyone went inside to the arena, and in the center of it was Philoctetes; the tan-skinned, red-furred satyr, and Hercules's personal trainer. He turned at the sound of their approach, and his face broke into a wide smile.
"The honorary heroes!" He exclaimed, trotting over to the group.
"Hey, Phil!" said Sora. "Long time, no see!"
"And Aqua, good to see ya again!" Phil said to the blunette.
"You too, Phil," she said.
"This is Kairi, Riku, King Mickey, Yuffie, Axel, and Terra," Sora introduced the rest.
"Terra, welcome back!" Phil exclaimed again. "What's with the armor?"
"Long story," Terra replied.
"So, what's up?" The satyr asked. "Even though things have been pretty normal around here, I've been getting a chill in my horns."
"Really?" asked Yuffie. "You think it might be the Heartless?"
"Maybe," Phil answered.
"We were just about to go talk to my father," Herc said.
"Ooooh, tough luck, wonder boy," An annoyingly familiar voice echoed around them. "Daddy's gonna have to wait."
Everyone turned to see a burst of fire and smoke, and from it emerged the smirking figure of Hades, Lord of the Dead.
Although it was still the middle of the day, the air around him seemed to darken with his very presence.
"Hades!" Sora exclaimed as he and others soon summoned their weapons.
Riku and Aqua rushed at Hades with their blades, ready to cut him in half. They were mere feet away from him, when he vanished in a burst of smoke and reappeared behind them.
"Over here!"
They turned around and struck at him, but once again their blades only met air. Hades was directly behind them. He flicked them both on the back of the head, and sent them sprawling back at the others. They each stood up, rubbing the backs of their heads.
"How did you get here Hades?" Hercules demanded, striding into the arena, preparing for a fight.
"A little friend of mine gave me a hand with that, and he's agreed to help me with another matter. Do you know what's the first thing I'm going to do now that I'm out of Underworld jail?"
"Nothing good!" Sora said, stepping forward.
"Exactly! I have a brand new fighter that I'm just dying to break in, and he's real eager to meet you again, wonder boy." He started casually strolling around the arena with his hands behind his back. "Invitations to see the fight have already been sent out, and this arena will be packed again within the hour."
He suddenly stopped, and then feigned surprise and concern. "Oh! But wait... if you're all off with dear 'ol dad... then all kinds of "accidents" could happen here without you!"
"There you go with the "accidents", again!" Donald yelled.
"Bring on this fighter of yours, we can take him." Herc said confidently, though taking one small step to block Meg from view.
"Uh, uh, uh," Hades scolded, wagging his index finger at them. "Only four contestants in the arena at once. Tournament rules."
Phil scowled, "Unfortunately, he's right."
"I choose the Keyboy, the princess, and the dark kid to go up with Wonderboy against my new guy," Hades said, pointing at Sora, Kairi, and Riku in turn. "And the rest of you, stay away."
"You're on," Hercules said immediately, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
"Perfect! I'll expect you four here," Hades snapped his fingers, and disappeared.
"That can't be all he's up to," Kairi said, "There's obviously something more to this whole thing."
"You're right. He's got some sort of plan," Mickey said, "But what?"
"He'll probably try to take over Mount Olympus again," Herc said.
"Maybe he wants to keep you four occupied with this fighter while he takes care of his actual business elsewhere," Terra said. "He believes you four to be the greatest threat."
"With good reason," Riku said smugly.
"Sora, you go," said Yuffie. "We'll take check out the Underworld, just in case."
"Will you be okay?" asked Riku.
"Of course!" Yuffie replied.
"Okay," Mickey said. "Herc, Sora, Kairi and Riku will stay here. Donald, Goofy, Axel and I will go to Olympus and warn the gods. Aqua, Terra, and Yuffie will search the Underworld for any suspicious information."
"Sure, give us the hard job while you lounge up on Olympus," Terra joke-complained.
The group went their separate ways, Mickey's team to Mount Olympus, and Aqua's to the Underworld.
"WAIT!" Hercules called out to Aqua. She turned around, and Herc flipped something to her like a coin. She caught it, and took a closer look. It was a circular, gold pendant about three inches across, with a lightning bolt on it.
"It's the Olympus Stone, you'll need it."
"Thanks, Herc." And they walked away.
Sora began warming up with Kairi, hoping dearly that they would be alright.
If you guys remember from KHII, Hades got trapped in the Underworld prison. So, why was there no explanation to how he got out in KHIII?!
Am I the only one bothered by that?
Who's the Organization's new member? *evil laugh*
Read and review, please!