Secrets of Memories Chapter 31: Hellfire
"What's wrong?" Sora demanded as he peered into the Craters as well.
"Nobodies," Donald gaped.
"And the double doors!" Sora added.
"Yes, Sora, the double doors," Eucletes nodded, his eyes a bit wide with surprise with the fact that Sora knew about them. "You seem to know what's behind them, I'm guessing."
Sora nodded vigorously. "Yes; we have to keep those doors from being opened! The darkness behind the doors must never be let out."
"Indeed you are right," Eucletes agreed. "But what of the Nobodies?"
Sora called on his Kingdom Key, which had disappeared back into him when the Fates appeared to tell off Auron. "We fight."
He ran at the Nobodies, who turned to them. Dodging the strange, glowing craters, he charged them, swinging out the Keyblade and hitting one into another.
Donald and Goofy ran after him and Donald immediately blew one out with Firaga while Goofy began to spin. Eucletes silently closed the double doors behind them and clicked his fingers.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy did not hear the clanging of the carved, bloodstained bolt lift and lock into place over the noise of their current battle. Eucletes pulled out a dagger from his waist and, with careful aiming, threw it at a Nobody jumping at Sora from behind.
"What in-" Sora yelped when he stumbled onto a blast scene and Dodge Rolled an attack.
The whole of the area he Dodge Rolled into was blasted black, with steam still rising from some of the charred areas.
"What is it, Sora?" Donald demanded and ran after him, Blizzaga-ing two Nobodies and running after the Keyblade Master. Goofy stumbled onward after the wizard.
They failed to see Eucletes disappearing, vanishing into the shadows. Whether he had done so on purpose or was unwillingly dragged into the shadows of the Craters was yet to be known.
Hercules peered out onto a mass of Nobodies and Heartless bickering with each other from between rusted bars. The Nobodies and Heartless were clearly unhappy being so near each other, even though they seemed to know that they had to work with each other. But the fact that the forces of Darkness were massed together, in the pits of hell, unnerved him. And Hercules could do nothing about it.
"Your father could lend us a helping hand anytime now," Phil grumbled from his corner of the cold, dripping stone walled prison they were in. "I'd really appreciate it."
"What can I do about it?" Hercules asked as he peered out at the bars again. "If Father lends us a helping hand, he'd be in deeper trouble than the both of us."
He was referring to the fact that not only was there a mass of Nobodies and Heartless assembling for what could be a joint-attack, Maleficent was the one who had them imprisoned, an army of ghost soldiers was being roused, and there was that mysterious man with the crackling blue whip. Maybe Zeus could take them all on but there was something about Maleficent and the mysterious man that got him.
Phil shook his head. "I can't believe Maleficent's still alive. Sora was supposed to kill her a while back but here she is, still alive. What does it take to get rid of those damn Heartless leaders? What in the name of Zeus can get rid of them?"
"Hey Phil," Hercules suddenly hissed. "You hear that?"
"Hear what?" Phil asked loudly.
"Shh!" Hercules countered quickly. "Just be quiet and listen. I think they're having an argument or something."
Phil got up and went over to where Hercules was standing. He tuned his ears to Hades, Maleficent, and the strange man with the whip. Hades was obviously mad; his hair was flaming red. The man with the whip was obviously worked over about something; he was restless, shifting continuously from side to side and often cracking his whip at some unsuspecting Nobody. Maleficent, however, had a cool, calm air about her. She was unnerved about the whole situation and spoke calmly and with authority.
"...will they be the ones initiating the plan?" Maleficent was asking of Hades. She spoke 'they' with incredible disdain.
"For. The. Final. Time," Hades said, each word coming out as a sentence of its own, "YES!!!"
"I wish they'd hurry up about it," the man was saying, his blue eyes narrow with restlessness and boredom. "This is getting too boring."
"Listen, bud," Hades turned on him. "They may seem like incredible goof balls to you; hell, they give me hell all the time but they can get the work done! I mean, sure they screwed up my orders to kill goddamn Hercules but I could already see it all working in my favor. 'Course I failed with that but these guys can change any situation into a win-lose situation, win being in our favor."
"I hope so," Maleficent sniffed. "But what of that other brat, the one who's been poking around this Underworld for months?"
"He's being brought in, just as we speak," Hades glowered. "Its not him I'm worried about, Maleficent. It's the Keyblade Master and Hercules I'm worried about."
"As long as no one opens those bars," the man spoke, "they'll hold him in. Sure he may be the strongest living being around when it comes to brute strength but those bars were meant to keep in brute strength."
"And the doors?" Maleficent asked. "Will he really open those doors?"
"Only the other brat would be able to convince him," Hades replied. " He knows more about this place; he's got the credentials to be very believable. As long as they do their job, the Keyblade Master will fall for the lie and open the doors."
"The darkness will be too much for the boy," the man added with a smirk on his face. "He will be consumed and extinguished. The candle will be blown out and Darkness will reign."
"Excellent," Maleficent nodded, then turned to the great army Hades and the man had assembled. "Domitan, are you ready to begin Phase Two?"
The man, apparently named Domitan, nodded. "I'm always ready, Maleficent."
"Excellent," the dark woman said. "He will be pleased."
"So will my master," Domitan agreed. "And once we have accomplished our tasks, we can finally release him from his prison. Curse that sister of his; she's a real b---h, I tell you."
"We all understand, Domitan," Maleficent ignored that moment of profanity. "But where is that brat?"
"He's coming," Hades said and jerked his head towards a tunnel to Hercules' right.
Eucletes was being dragged in, tied up and gagged. He was still fighting against the two Nobodies who were bringing him in, that was until one of them hit him on the head with the side of its hand and he was knocked out.
"At long last," Hades said happily. "At long last we've got that rat in our hands! You know how annoying that brat was?"
"Hades! Calm yourself!" Domitan said and the god fell silent.
"How did they get Eucletes here?" Phil hissed to Hercules. "If they managed to snatch him, what about..."
"We've got to get out of here," Hercules decided. "We've got to find a way to get out of here."
"Tough luck," Phil said grumpily. "You can't force your way out of here. You heard what that guy said."
"No, no, no, Phil," Hercules replied with a shake of his head. "Not with brute strength. We've got to find other means of getting out of here."
"Oh yeah?" Phil said. "Give me a suggestion."
Hercules screwed up his face thinking as hard as he could. "Help me think, Phil; don't' just stand there, glaring at me!"
"I'm thinking, too, bozo brain!" Phil snapped back.
"Well, that was taken care off," Sora said with finality as he called the Keyblade back into himself. "So...now what?"
"We open the door," Eucletes replied.
"We what?!" Sora turned on him. "We WHAT?!"
"Open those doors," Eucletes replied calmly, pointing at the double doors. "That's the only way. That's the only way to stop the Heartless and Nobodies."
"Why?" Goofy asked curiously. Neither he nor Donald knew anything about what Sora was told about the doors.
"The power inside the doors can destroy all Darkness," Eucletes replied. "That's why Hades locked it up in those doors. The light inside was too much for him-"
"Wait a minute!" Sora yelped. "Just hold it right there! That's sure not what Auron told me! He said Darkness was behind those doors!"
"Auron was summoned by Hades, Sora," Eucletes said calmly. "Whatever he knows of the door is a falsehood, since he was only summoned here and knows nothing of Underworld."
"What?" Sora was confused. Then what was it about Auron? How and where did Auron get his stuff? What was going on?
"Listen Sora," Eucletes said patiently, gesturing towards the door. " What Auron learned was wrong. Somebody-and I don't know who it was-didn't tell him the truth so he's telling you a falsehood, only what he's heard. He's not the one whose been wandering around this place for months; he doesn't know what's really behind those doors."
Sora realized Eucletes was right. Auron was just summoned from wherever he came from; Eucletes was the one who's been around this place. Of course Eucletes would know.
"So if I just open the door," Sora was saying, "then the light within it would come out and destroy all the Heartless and Nobodies here?"
"More than that," Eucletes whispered softly. "All the Darkness in the universe.
Was this the door of light, then? Was it here, in Underworld, Hades' realm from the very beginning?
Sora took a step forward, then two, then three towards the rather foreboding double doors, made of ivory and with carvings of death and hellfire. Eucletes was right, he knew, Eucletes must be right. If light was behind those doors, then he would have found the door of light at long last.
And I'll be able to see Kairi again. Kairi and maybe even Riku. And we'll be home, home at Destiny Islands forevermore, forever and ever and ever...
His hands reached out for the handles of the doors.
Donald and Goofy looked at each other nervously; Donald didn't know what to say and Goofy was having a very chilly feeling in his bones for the knight knew something was just not right. The glimmer in Eucletes' eyes was just not right, not like Eucletes himself.
Somethin's wrong, Goofy thought. I don't' think Sora is supposed to touch those doors...
There was a sudden thunder of wings, the brushing of feathers against each other, and a voice yelled out, "Stop!"
"Sora, open the door!" Eucletes said, his voice going frantic. "You must open the door!"
Sora froze. He had been having a bad feeling himself about the doors. It was just too easy. The doors being here...it was just too easy...but Eucletes knows; he's the one whose been here, visiting this place for months. He should be right. But if he's right, then why do I have a bad feeling about this? But no, Eucletes is right; he's the one who knows everything about Underworld.
"Stop, Sora!" the voice yelled and a great winged horse descended in a flurry of white feathers, with a woman astride him. She wore a purple dress and her hair was reddish brown. She had a look of fear on her face.
"Don't' touch the doors!" she ordered.
"And why not?" Sora demanded. "That's the door of light; I've found it!"
"No, you're wrong!" the woman replied, then looked over him to the others. "Why is only Donald and Goofy here? Where's Hercules? Where's Phil? And what are you guys doing here? What are you trying to do?!"
She was yelling at Eucletes, was referring to him as "you guys". What?
"Do what?" Eucletes snapped back. But his eyes had the look of fear. " What are you talking about? You're blocking the door of light! Let him pass to open the door, you woman!"
"That's not the door of light, you idiots!" the woman was still referring to Eucletes as more than one person. "That's a door of Darkness! What are you trying to do, wreak havoc on the whole universe before destroying it? You're going to die!"
What?! Why was she repeating what Auron had said? Sure Eucletes had the credentials but two different people were saying the same thing!
"What's going on here?" Sora demanded angrily. "Tell me, what is going on here! I wanna know the truth!"
"The truth is, Sora," the woman said, pointing a shaking finger at Eucletes, "that's not who you think he is?"
"What?" Sora turned to Eucletes. Was he actually an enemy, pretending to be a friend? "Eucletes is not what he is?"
"You are correct," the woman answered." Pain and Panic, where is the real Eucletes?"
Before Sora's horrified eyes, Eucletes split in two and became two strange little creatures. Two little demonic little creatures, a skinny angular one and a round plump one. They glared at the woman on the winged horse with fury.
"With Hades, Meg!" they yelled back. "Just you wait, Keyblade Master! We'll get you! You'll never see the end of this!"
"Who are you?" Sora demanded, angry and embarrassed that he had been deceived. "What have you done to Eucletes?"
"Joining Hercules in become spectators of the great army of Hades, Maleficent, and Domitan, that's what!" they yelled at him.
"Maleficent?" Sora echoed, his eyes suddenly glazing over. His legs felt weak and it took all his strength to stay on his toes. "Maleficent?"
"That's right, brat," a cold woman's voice said behind them. "It takes a long time to get rid of a leader of Heartless and I am a leader of Heartless."
Sora turned around, his heart dropping down to his stomach. And there she was, standing there, just standing there. And his heart seemed to drop below the ground, seeing Hades and the man Aozora and those two creatures called Domitan standing with Maleficent.
"You," Domitan said with a growl.
"You!" Sora exclaimed at the same time.
"This'll be interesting," the two creatures Meg had called Pain and Panic muttered to each other as they retreated into the background. Donald and Goofy went on the defensive immediately.
"Where's Hercules?" Sora demanded. "Where's he? And Phil? And Eucletes? What have you done to them?!"
"Nothing," Hades said, "yet."
"If you want to see them alive again," Maleficent spoke the time-honored demands of a classic villain, "or at least see them with their 'faculties' intact, open those doors."
She waved a hand at the double doors.
"And why should I?" Sora demanded, his voice suddenly deep and dangerous. A change began to come over him in waves. "Why should I do that?"
"And your friends?" Maleficent asked.
"They'll understand," Sora countered. Hopefully.
"We've got a problem," Hades hissed to Domitan. "And he's not the easiest guy to fight."
"I don't care," Domitan snapped back and stepped forward, cracking his whip viciously in the process." The only thing I'm glad about is that this certain brat I know of isn't here. What a surprise; I wonder what happened to him."
"He's fine, thank you very much," Sora said, knowing full well who Domitan was referring to. "What are you planning to do anyways?"
"Open the doors," Maleficent replied. "Why should we tell you anything other than that?"
"Just checking," Sora answered then yelled, "Aeroga!"
With a powerful shield of wind around him, he bolted past them down the tunnel that led deeper into Underworld. Donald and Goofy tried to follow him but the crackling blue whip held them back and they busied themselves with keeping at least Domitan busy. Maleficent threw a huge ball of dark energy at Sora but he Dodge Rolled just in time and the energy merely brushed by his shield. Sora was then up and running, running down the hall as fast as he could, until he burst out into the last place he wanted to end up in. Ever.
Heartless and Nobodies swarmed the place; glowing spectral soldiers stood at attention, including two at the entrance of the place Sora had stumbled into. They locked weapons, real weapons, in front of the tunnel and Sora had no real choice but to go forward.
The activity below him slowed to a stop, as the Heartless, the Nobodies, and the spectral soldiers looked up at this sudden intruder.
"Sora!" Hercules yelled, waving madly from behind rusty bars in a cell built into the wall. "Sora, over here!"
"Hercules!" Sora hollered back. "Phil, where's Phil? And Eucletes?"
"Both here, stuck with me in this damn cell," Hercules replied. "Meg! Pegasus!"
Meg and Pegasus bullied their way past the weapons of the spectral guards and came to a stop before the silent, frozen army of darkness.
"This is not good," Meg told Sora. "Sora, we have to take them all out. We can't let them get out from here to Ancient Greece and the rest of the universe."
"They were going to send this whole army up to Ancient Greece and the universe?" And Destiny Island, too?
"They don't look happy that we're here," Meg said as she slid down from Pegasus' back. "Pegasus, you know how to do locks, right?"
The horse snorted and rose into the sky.
"We distract the Heartless, the Nobodies, and the spectral soldiers until Pegasus gets Hercules, Phil, and Eucletes free," Meg told Sora. " Go get that spear for me, will you?"
She was referring to one of the spears of the spectral guards. Sora nodded, pulled out the Kingdom Key, and ran one of the guards through. The spear clattered to the floor, and Sora scooped it up, tossing it over to Meg.
"We throw ourselves into them," Meg hurriedly explained to Sora. " They hate the both of us, since you're the Keyblade Master and I'm a Heart and Soul. I don't know how long Donald and Goofy can hold back Domitan and I don't know where Hades and Maleficent are-"
"Behind you," a voice said.
"Jump!" Sora yelled and shoved her over, before jumping himself. He jumped off just in time; a huge fireball sailed over his head, missing his hair by inches.
"Blasted brat!" Hades raved. "I oughta do that again!"
Sora hurriedly cast Aeroga over the both of them and set out taking out Heartless and Nobodies, taking care to dodge Hades' massive fireballs.
"The horse!" Maleficent pointed at Pegasus, who was fumbling with the lock of the cell in the wall. "Stop him!"
Immediately, spectral soldiers marched through Heartless and Nobodies towards Pegasus, who was frantically pulling at the lock. Sora, upon seeing this, took aim and yelled, "Firaga!" several times in quick succession.
That stopped the spectral soldiers but only for the moment.
"Use one of the two spells!" Meg yelled at him before thrusting a spear into a Shield Nobody. "Risky for sure but they can take out a whole lot of Nobodies and Heartless!"
Sora knew what she meant. Thundaga and Graviga were highly unstable yet he could take out plenty of Heartless and Nobodies in one go. He just risked hitting himself or Meg or, even worse, the guys stuck in the cell along with Pegasus.
"You've no choice," Meg said evenly and Sora knew she was right.
"I think he's going to use one of the spells," Maleficent told Hades as Sora pointed his Keyblade up at the ceiling. "I think it's best if we take our leave."
"Thundaga!" he meant to say but it came out strangely as, "Zeus' Thunder!"
He felt magic draining out of him in a rush and thunder rained on the Heartless, the Nobodies, and the spectral soldiers. He heard their shrill cries as they were struck by the bolts of lightening and thunder rolled in the place, echoing on the stone walls and jarring the eardrums of those who had them. Sora stared awestruck at the destruction he had just set upon the enemy.
"Did I just do that?" Sora mouthed, while the Heartless, the Nobodies, and the spectral soldiers dispersed into madness.
"Regroup!" Hades roared at them. "Get back together, you idiots! Regroup!"
But he was yelling to no avail. The Nobodies and Heartless were jostling their way out of the place, their numbers dwindling as the rain of lightening and thunder struck them and took away their will to fight.
Pegasus shook free the lock and Hercules, Phil, and Eucletes tumbled out onto a very satisfying scene...and one thunderstruck Hades.
Maleficent had disappeared.
And when Donald and Goofy tumbled out of the tunnel safe and sound, Sora knew that somehow they had beaten back Domitan. They had won.
Hades was now in a very bad predicament; not only had he lost it all, his army gone or destroyed and Maleficent and Domitan gone or defeated, but here he was, surrounded by the people he least liked to be surrounded by.
Donald to his right, Goofy to his left, Eucletes to Goofy's right, Phil to Donald's left, Hercules and Pegasus behind him, and Meg and Sora stood in front of him. The power of light emitting from them and interconnecting with each other created a tight ring around the god of the Underworld and he was trapped.
"Well?" Sora said.
"Uh...hehehehe..." Hades said. "I don't know what you're talking about..."
"Tell us about the door," Sora demanded.
"Yes, please do," Hercules agreed most emphatically.
Hades grumbled and brooded but he began to crack under the hard stares from the ones surrounding him.
"You know most about the doors, Hades," Meg said calmly. "Let us all know and we'll be on our way."
"The doors..." Hades looked at each of them. "Do I have to?"
"No choice" Meg said.
"Either that or the Fates will pass judgment on you," Sora said with a devilish grin.
"No, anything but the Fates," Hades pleaded. "Anything but that!"
"Then spill it out," Donald demanded.
"Those double doors are but one entrance to the greater darkness," Hades began reluctantly and sullenly. "There are many entrances to the darkness they had been locked, sealed away by the light and they can only be opened by the light. That was why we needed either Hercules or Sora to open those blasted doors. Hercules would only be able to open one but Sora is one of the few true essences of light and he would have been able to open both doors. But we failed, we damn failed!"
"What would happen if the doors open?" Goofy asked curiously.
"We know only from accounts of old," Hades continued in his sullen voice. "Darkness devours all and the skies never lighten with the rising of the sun. We of the darkness revel in this world but we have never, ever been able to defeat the light that still shone. Those blasted twins beat us before, thousands of years ago. I don't think we want to be defeated again."
"Twins?" Sora asked curiously. Meg cocked an eyebrow at this and the others shrugged hopelessly; it seemed only Sora had no idea what Hades was talking about.
"Dragon and Phoenix," Hades rambled on in the boring voice he took on when he was forced to do something or say something he didn't want to do or talk about. "They were the first recorded Keyblade Masters and they were the ones who first sealed the doors to Darkness."
"What of Kingdom Hearts?" Sora demanded.
"A door to Darkness but also a door of light," Meg answered for him. " The door is made of pure light holding back the darkness. Darkness that opens the double doors find light while the light that opens the double doors find Darkness. Kingdom Hearts is the only door that allows safe passage between Darkness and the real world. It is the only passageway. Those who lose their bodily forms but are still alive enter Darkness and they remain there until they regain their form. If they are not near Kingdom Hearts when they regain their bodily forms, they will be devoured by the Darkness."
"Like Riku," Sora whispered to himself.
"Darkness and light can open Kingdom Hearts," Hades grumped. "The one who opened Kingdom Hearts last did us a good deed."
"Goof for you, bad for us," Phil quipped. "Who's the one?"
"A certain brat," Hades snapped with a huge grin on his face, a dark grin indeed. "A certain brat who helps both sides. He doesn't know it; he had not known it for quite a long time. "
"Who is he?" Hercules demanded. Meg had a dark, foreboding look on her face.
"You know," Hades said. "Are you done now?"
Was he talking about Aozora? Sora wondered in growing horror. Aozora helped them but not only did he lend a helping hand in the destruction of Ancient Greece but he opened Kingdom Hearts?! Why? How? Where? When? WHY?!
"We will take our leave now, if you insist," Meg said calmly.
The beginning of a dark grin crept along Hades' face when Meg added, " However..."
Hades' face fell at this.
"Yes, Hades," Meg said. "However, we of the Hearts and Souls will post guards all around Underworld. Guards you cannot touch with the hand of Darkness. Come, the rest of you. You must go to the world beyond this one. That world is in turmoil, in trouble and you are needed."
Sora nodded. He looked at Hades, cast contemptuous looks at the two minions Meg called Pain and Panic who had snuck up to their master's side, and followed.
As soon as everyone left, Hades flamed red and let out a furious roar. Pain and Panic shrank away as Hades stomped off. He knew full well what kind of guards Meg and the others of the Hearts and Souls would set on Underworld.
"I hate griffins," Hades growled.
"And gryphons!" Pain and Panic chimed.
"SHUT UP!" Hades roared and threw fireballs after them.
"So what's the whole story going on right now?" Aozora asked as he steered the gummi ship past several asteroids. One of the arms of the gummi ship barely missed a hurtling comet.
"Two years ago," Yuna said softly, "I became a summoner, on a mission to stop a darkness called Sin and bring the Calm to Spira. I met him-"
"Tidus," Aozora interrupted.
"Yes, I met him," Yuna nodded. "He joined my group and became a guardian. And we went across Spira, summoning aeons and uncovering other problems undermining Spira."
"Like Seymour-blegh!" Rikku agreed emphatically.
"I thought the Final Summon was the answer," Yuna continued, sadness dripping from every word. "But I wanted to stop Sin, not temporarily but forever. We found another way to defeat Sin."
"Sin was Tidus' father, Jecht," Rikku commented.
"We defeated Sin forever but Tidus left for the Farplane," Yuna said. " You know of the Farplane."
Aozora nodded.
"And for two years, days passed in peace and quiet," Yuna said. " Until Rikku found a sphere."
"It had a guy who looked a lot like Tidus in it," Paine finally mentioned. "Yuna decided to find out for herself and joined us and the Gullwings."
"And we've been finding out more disturbing stuff about Spira ever since," Yuna said sadly. "Darkness is covering Spira and problems, politically, personally, and everything in between, are underming my home."
"Then we learned of Vegnagun, a weapon, a machina sleeping underneath Bevelle," Rikku continued. "And some mysterious woman named Lenne."
"Lenne..." a disturbing look came over Aozora. "I've heard of that name before...but I can't remember..."
"You've heard of her?" Paine demanded.
"Yes, I've heard of her story," Aozora replied, his voice growing firm with confidence. "Lenne and Shuyin and their story of a thousand years before."