When Arthur arrived in Thebes he landed in the central square, he deactivated his board and his armour, walking around when he heard
"Wait, do I know you?" he turned to his right to see the distinct face of his old friend, Hercules
"Hercules? Is that you?" Herc smiled back at him and said
"Woah! Arthur, long time no see! It's been a good 10 years at least, and you don't look like you've aged a bit!" Arthur nervously rubbed the back of his head
"Yeeaah, sorry about being gone for so long, say, it's been a while, I kinda forgot about everything that's happened, mind filling in the blanks?" Herc nodded and said
"Well, you came to our rescue when me and Zack were being beaten around by some foes, you saved the tournament when you both defeated more of the little guys, I was champ, in case you don't remember!" He ended off with a sly grin while posing, superhero style. Arthur laughed and replied
"I definitely remember that! Say, do you remember what happened to Zack?" Herc smiled and said
"Sure do! He ended up being a guard here in Thebes, we talk on occasion, but it's been awhile since we've spoken, you leaving me so soon?" Arthur felt somewhat guilty and nodded
"Sorry Herc, I promise when I come back, I'll stay for way longer, that sound good?" Hercules smiled and nodded, his response being sufficient to obtain the man's approval.
"Then I shall eagerly await your return, hopefully Ventus tags along as well!" Arthur nodded, thinking of revisiting the worlds they'd been to before. He bid farewell for the time being and searched for Zack, he had to keep a lookout for his signature hairstyle, and his armour with his blue undershirt, or was it a scarf? He just knew he'd know it when he saw it.
Thebes was way bigger than he remembered, so it took him around an hour to cover the entire thing, he eventually found Zack patrolling the area just behind the main square, mentally kicking himself for the idiocy.
"Zack? Zackary Fair? Is that you I see?" Arthur heard a gasp before he turned around
Arthur?! Dude where have you been?! Me and Herc, we missed you!" I smiled and nodded
"I saw him an hour ago, listen, can I trust you with a secret?" Zack immediately grinned and nodded
"You can trust me with anything Arth! Anything!" Arthur sighed and began to tell a condensed version of his past year or so.
"WHAT?!" Arthur recoiled in pure shock and calmly explained
"So while I understand the basics of our journey… Well, how do I explain this? I don't remember the fine details, like what we were like while we were here, so I need you to dig deeper into your mind, it's vital you try your hardest, do you think you could do that?". Zack nodded and began thinking, he eventually came up with everything he could analyze.
"Okay, so you guys always seemed to be experts at watching each others backs, you guys seemed to be really close, would talk in private when we were in the distance, you two were always happy together, I remember though, and this might just be an issue with my memory, but he was hit from behind and you went absolutely bonkers over it, you slaughtered everything in a mile radius or something! I had never seen you so angry, it was kinda awe inspiring, any of that ring a bell?" Arthur thought deep down and he could recall the simpler ones, but not going berserk, in spite of this he nodded and said "thanks Zack, it really helps, but keep in mind what I said, you can't tell ANYONE! Not your mom, not your dad, not even Hercules himself! Promise me you'll never tell a soul!" Zack nodded frantically and Arthur smiled in relief, he turned to leave, but a hand fiercely gripped his shoulder, he spun around to be met with the concerned eyes of Zack
"When you left… It left a hole in my heart, it hurt to be away from you and Ventus, I never really got over it, I was worried that you both… Well, died. Please tell me I'll see you again". Arthur felt a pounding in his heart, it hammered away with guilt from making Zack feel this way, but despite this Arthur couldn't force any words of assurance to come out, his throat tightened up and it was difficult to breathe again. The look in his eyes showed it all, but it also showed the misery in not being able to tell him something he would have undoubtedly loved to hear. Zack sighed and said
"Please, please tell me that you'll try to come back" Arthur nodded
"Of course". Suddenly Zack wrapped his arms around Arthur and mumbled "I missed you, you goof" Arthur let out a short chuckle and let a tear roll down his face and nodded
"I know, but I'll be better, and when we have more time, we'll be around each other more. You, me, Herc and Ven" they reluctantly bid each other farewell and Arthur departed from the world.