Hey guys!

I hope you guys like this chapter... I had a hard time with it, but I hope you like it.

Kingdom Hearts (c) to Disney and Square Enix!

Chapter 7: Olympus Coliseum- Hog Hunt

Terra stepped between Hades and Justin. "Hades, leave Justin out of this! We need to talk with you!"

"Oh?" the god of the Underworld smirked. "What about?"

"Pith Kumo."

Aqua stepped forward. "We want to know if Pith Kumo is here."

"Hm? Keyboy and Cherry Tart's brat?" Hades stood up, pacing slightly around the room before he paused. "I have an answer for you, but you should know by now that I don't just give away anything for free. Why don't we make a deal?"

Luna growled, pointing her sword at the god. "We do not make deals with scum like you!"

The lord of the dead vanished in smoke before appearing beside Justin, his arm snaking around the boy's shoulders. "The thing is, this boy and I had an agreement before, and I never collected."

"Leave me alone!" Justin jerked his shoulder away.

"Too bad, kid. We had a deal, and it's time to pay up. So, I'll be taking your soul now." Hades grinned, wisps of darkness rising up around the boy.

"Justin!" Terra grabbed his student, pulling him out of the dark tendrils as Aqua summoned her Keyblade, blocking the god from her student.

"How dare you!? Leave our son alone!"

"Hey, you want to blame anyone, blame the kid. He made the deal. And, if you want that juicy piece of information about that Pith kid, then you will let me collect from him." Hades leaned against the wall, sharp, gray teeth turning into a sickly grin at the fearful faces of some of those around him.

Coon gripped the spear in his hands, snarling. "You slime!"

"Hey, you know the rules kid. You make a deal, you keep to it."

Xally summoned her Keyblade, swiping at the Underworld lord. The attack did nothing but annoy Hades, who stared down at the girl with a flat expression as she snarled. "You leave him alone!" The god, as he turned away, flicked the girl in the forehead.

"Hades!" Hercules clenched his fist.

Suddenly, Creon cried out. "We'll make a wager!" Everyone stopped, looking at the boy who bravely strode up to his father's adversary. "You love making wagers, then let's make a new one."

"Come again, kid?"

"Let's make a wager, Hades." The boy grinned. "Give us a task that many people think to be impossible. If we manage to complete the task, you will tell Masters Terra and Aqua what they want and you will release Justin from the deal. If we lose, you not only get Justin's soul but mine as well."

"Creon!" Machus grabbed his youngest brother's arm. "You can't do that! You're gambling away your soul!"

"I know that…" The boy smiled over at Justin who nodded. "What do you think, Hades?"

Hades tapped his chin. "Hmm, I get the student of two Keyblade wielders I hate and the youngest child of my greatest rival…"

"Going once!"

"Hmm, is there a downside to this?"

"Going twice!"

"Alright, alright!" the god held up his hands. "I'll accept on one condition… when you do the task, Jerkules, Bluebird, and Earthman(1) have to sit out. Kids only."

Hercules held up a hand. "Hold up! Creon, give us all a moment to discuss this as a group." He pulled his son away and the others followed. "Creon, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, Dad, we have to help, and this is the best way. Even if you can't help us, you could still come along. We can't let Hades take Justin's soul, so this is our best option."

Glacies cleared her throat. "I have to agree with Creon, but we have to be careful. We can't afford to lose this wager.

"Yeah," Ryô nodded. "As much as I hate doing anything so reckless or dealing with Hades in any way, it's our best option."

"Justin?" Terra looked down at his student, but he couldn't help by spare a glance at Creon. Xally held the boy's hand, and while that irked Terra, he couldn't help but be impressed by the bravery of Hercules' youngest boy.

"I want to do it." The Jedi Keybearer nodded, though his eyes held just the slightest hint of fear; this was his soul at stake. He turned back to Hades and yelled, "Hades! We have an agreement. What task do out want us to do?"

The god plopped back on his throne, smirking wickedly. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Erymanthian Boar(2)?"

Vanitas set out three plates on the table as Vanetter ran in from the kitchen, laying a hot pad on the table before running back to get three cups full of water, but on her return trip, she walked slower, trying not to slosh water or trip over Akame who walked at her feet.

When Alya came in, carrying a steaming pot. The man smiled. "Alya, what did you make?"

"It's a recipe that Ruby, you know that herbalist from the market, gave me. It's called chicken carbonara."

"Sounds delicious."

At first, the three just ate in silence until Alya finally spoke up. "Vanitas, as I said earlier, we need to talk about the situation with Pith."

"What about it? I have a job that I can't miss, so I can't help."

His wife's gaze turned hard. "You know you can. Your job is 5 days a week, leaving two days for you to help. You can keep a watch set to the time here so you know when to come back."

"Alya…" Vanitas sighed, but his wife's stare told him that this was not up for debate. "What do you think I should do?"

"On the weekends, travel around to different worlds, seeing if you can find anything that could help. The Unversed could do the same thing during the week."

Vanitas shoved some food into his mouth as he mused over this idea. She had a point. He could help. It wasn't like he didn't care at all about the situation with Pith. He did care, but his own family came first. He inwardly knew that he could've compromised in order to help out, but that would feel like he was putting aside his own family for someone else's. Now, he had no excuses. "You're right…"

"I've already altered one of the old Organization cloaks you had lying around and added more color to it, so you can travel through the darkness." His wife smiled warmly. "I don't want you getting mistaken for an enemy."

"Thanks… are there any other ideas you had?"

Alya paused as the fork-full of food made its way towards her mouth. She lowered it down, her eyes following it. "Yes, but I know you won't like it?"

"What is it?"

"I-I," her gaze met his, "I want you to take Vanette with you."

"This is pointless!" Coon slumped over as they walked along. "We have to catch a stupid boar! What's the point?"

Hercules sighed. "Hades just wants to cause us trouble and maybe kill a few of us in the process."

"Indeed," Luna's eyes darted about, searching for any sign of danger. "I assume this won't be as easy as it initially sounds."

"No kidding. This boar is known to terrorize the local towns and the way there is blocked by centaurs."

"Centaurs?"

Creon nodded to Xally. "Half-man, half-horse, and a pain."

"They're known to be rowdy, barbaric, especially when they get alcohol in their systems(3)." Machus fingered an arrow he held between his fingers. "We will have to be cautious, especially you ladies. They can be very provocative when intoxicated."

The girls looked between one another before Glacies grinned. "We can take care of ourselves, but thanks for the concern."

"Dad," Coon piped up, "Are we going to see Pholus?"

"Who?"

Hercules looked over at Terra and answered. "A centaur friend of mine(4). He might be able to keep the other centaurs off our back."

"Sounds good."

Hades stood on a mountain, looking down at the group as they walked along. "I hope you know what you're doing, Seafoam.

"Don't call me that…" A girl with teal skin looked down. The wind ruffled her short kimono and platinum-blonde hair, her long ears twitching as her yellow eyes followed the group. "I will set the centaurs against them, have no fear. But, I am curious, why the boar? It's a meaningless task."

The god smirked. "I have had power over that pig for some time. I'll get the souls I'm owed, one way or another even if it takes a long time and a lot of planning."

The elf, Lyla, let out a long sigh. "Whatever. I'll be on my way then."

"Have fun, Seafoam."

"Pholus!" Hercules stuck his head into a cave, peering around for his old friend. "It's me, Hercules!"

No answer came.

"Guess he's not home."

"On the contrary," came a deep, gravelly voice from behind, "I just stepped out for a moment." All turned to see a centaur, his horse-half covered in reddish-brown hair that matched the bristly beard of his human-half. He seemed old and wise, but only his eyes showed any sign of that. He did not seem to fit the description that Machus gave of his kind. "Hercules, my old friend! It has been far too long."

"Yes, it has, Pholus. I'd like to introduce you to my friends; this is Terra, his wife Aqua, their children Glacies, Justin, and Xally, Ryô, and Luna. And these three are my sons: Therimachus, Deicoon, and Creontiades."

Pholus looked over the group, his eyes studying them each, resting longer on Luna than the others due to her unique appearance. "A pleasure. What brings you all here?"

"It's a long story…"

"Pholus, we're going after the Erymanthian Boar, and we wanted your help to get past the other centaurs." The son of Zeus glanced around slightly, seeing if any others like Pholus stood around. "We could fight them off if we had to, but we'd rather not."

Going back into his cave, Pholus motioned for them to follow. For a cave, it seemed very comfortable; an animal-skin rug covered the stone floor. A fire roared in the corner, underneath a small hole in the cave ceiling. A bed of straw sat in the corner near to chests and large jars; a long spear hung on the wall opposite the entrance. "Of course. I might be able to draw them away with wine. Just the slightest smell of it will bring them running." He placed his hand on a massive jar. "Chiron(5) put me in charge of the wine we collectively share."

A few of the kids moved closer to the jar to see; Luna's ears suddenly twitched as she heard a familiar sound. "Everyone! Get down!" She dragged Ryô to the ground and the others followed her to the ground; even Pholus ducked into a corner of his cave. An arrow made of light whizzed over their heads, shattering the large jar of wine; the burgundy liquid burst out, scattered across the ground, finding its way into any divot and crack in the stone floor or soaking up into the animal skin on the floor. A sickly sweet smell of grapes, laced with an acidic stench that stung the nose.

Luna jumped to her feet, hurrying outside. Her eyes scanned the landscape, stopping on another elf standing atop a tree, bow in hand. "Lyla." The name came out as no more than a whisper.

"Luna!" The elf turned to see her prince running out to her. "What is it?"

"Lyla is her…" She pointed, but her former friend was gone. "She was there. Lyla did this."

Ryô looked around before sighing. "We'll have to look for her later."

As soon as he finished speaking, a light rumbling echoed across the earth, growing louder every second. Pholus came galloping out of his cave, eyes wide with horror. "All of you must go. The others smell the wine; if they think you broke the jar, they will kill you. I will take care of them."

"We're gone!" Coon took off and the others followed up a nearby steep hill. Just as they moved out of sight, a herd of centaurs, hair, and eyes wild, came galloping towards Pholus' cave.

"Will Pholus be ok?"

"He'll be fine," Hercules smiled. "He can talk down his own people, but what happened anyway? The jar just shattered."

Ryô looked at his bodyguard. "Luna says she saw Lyla, and it was an arrow that broke the jar."

"Just great… one of Briana's lackeys." Xally huffed, turning to Creon. "Let's just go and get that stupid boar."

"No!"

"Vanitas, hear me out."

"I'm not taking her. She's never fought before, and I won't risk her life."

Alya folded her hands in front of her, letting out a long, deep breath. "Vanitas, you can't keep her hidden from everything. She needs to grow and learn." The mother took her child's hand. "And knowing how to fight won't hurt her. I can understand if you don't want her to have a Keyblade, but she needs to be able to take care of herself. The Unversed would be with you as well."

Vanitas held his hard stare, but Alya didn't back down. "She can't travel through the darkness."

"I altered another coat for her." Alya handed Vanette a parcel. "Vanitas, I want her to be strong, like you." Her eyes softened. "Please…"

Looking around, the man's eyes met those of his wife and daughter. "Vanette, what do you have to say on this?"

"I want to do it!" The girl's eyes matched his own in determination. "I want to go, Papa."

Vanitas let out a long sigh… "Fine."

"Yeah! Thank you, Papa!"

"But," His voice rose just a little, "I will decide what weapon you get, and you'll have to stay close to me at all times. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Alright, after school tomorrow, we'll go. So, get some sleep." His daughter grabbed her coat and hurried upstairs.

"How much further?"

Glacies climbed over a rock, looking back down at the others. "We're nearly there!" A tall, rocky slope seemed to swallow them all up as they climbed. Machus led the group up the hill.

"The boar lives in a tree grove at the top of this hill(6)."

As they climbed, Justin turned to Creon. "Hey, I never thanked you. If you hadn't said anything…"

"It's no trouble." The boy smiled. "I know we didn't get off on the right foot last time, but I'd love to be friends with you. Anyways, if we fail, we'll have a lot of time to talk in the afterlife."

The two boys laughed. "As nice as it would be to get to know you better, I'd like to stay alive."

"Fair enough."

They all reached the top of the hill. A grove of trees, tall and dark, loomed overhead.

Terra summoned his Keyblade. "Everyone, be ready."

Weapons came out, glistening in the light as they stepped into the trees. The air clung to the silence, hanging thickly from the trees. Light filtered through the leaves, creating spotty patches of light across the soft turf. No sound came but the whistle of the wind through the leaves, which shuddered at its touch, and the footsteps of the group.

No one spoke. They listened. For a moment or two, they thought they heard another set of footsteps, but when they stopped, they heard nothing.

Xally and Justin reached out with the Force, probing the woods. Suddenly, they stopped. Xally's hand shot up to stop them. She pointed to their right.

Everyone froze weapons at the ready. Nothing happened…

A squeal, high and long, shook the leaves above, and feet thundered towards them. When the boar broke through the trees, they all leapt to the sides. The boar skidded to a stop, turning back on them. It stood taller than Terra with bristly black hair standing up on end. Two pairs of tusks framed the dripping mouth.

"Alright," Hercules called as he, Terra, and Aqua stepped back, according to the deal. "Be very careful."

Glacies nodded. "Machus, Luna, get around behind it and keep it from running. Xally, try and use the Force to keep it still! Coon, block its escape on the left, Ryô do the same on the right! I'll block its escape on this side. Justin, Creon, bring it down!"

"ON IT!"

The kids ran to their positions, as the boar turned around, trying to follow each kid, but it eventually settled on the two boys in its path.

The animal's body tensed, ready to attack. Suddenly, a shudder went through it as an arrow punctured the thick skin of it's back.

"What!?"

All eyes turned to where a teal-skinned elf stood on a tree branch, how in hand. "Sorry, just doing my job."

"Lyla?! What are you doing?"

"Trying out a new trick from the boss…"

Tendrils of darkness sprouted from Lyla's arrow, wrapping around the boar. It seemed into the animal, turning it into a heartless with the emblem on its back, centered under the arrow that still stuck out from it's back.

Luna leapt up towards her friend. The branch shook as she landed on it. "Lyla, how can you do this?"

"Luna… you wouldn't understand."

"I think I do." The yellow elf loosened her grip on her sword. "Please, come home. You don't have to do this anymore. Stop running. "

Lyla looked at her friend and sighed. "I'm sorry." she split her bow in half, blades shooting out from the tips.

On the ground, the others kept to their plan in motion, keeping the Razorback Heartless from escaping as Justin and Creon leapt at the monster; with each slash of their blades, the creature roared.

It charged, trying to get past Machus, but the older boy held it back as Xally pulled it back to the center of the clearing for Justin and Creon to have the best opportunity to attack.

"Justin!" Hercules' youngest son yelled, "I'm going to pull the arrow out of it. Can you get me up there?"

"Yeah!" The young apprentice jumped back as the other boy leapt upwards. Using the Force, Justin launched him onto the back of the Heartless.

Creon grabbed the arrow and ripped it out. The Heartless stopped, and the darkness evaporated. The boar, shuddered, collapsing.

Luna and Lyla leapt across the treetops, slashing at one another. Which each cut, branches flew off in every direction. "Lyla, you lost! Give up!"

"Luna, just give up on me. You know I won't back down, and I never go back on a decision!"

"What about your oath?" The yellow elf snapped. "You made an oath to King Solomon and Queen Victoria(7) to serve and protect the royal family!"

"... I'm sorry." Lyla glanced over at the fallen boar before opening a dark corridor behind her. She slipped in, closing it before Luna could follow.

"LYLA!"

Again, silence captured the forest. A puff of smoke appeared atop the fallen animal as Hades appeared. "Well, that wasn't exactly what I wanted."

"You cheated!" Creon pointed Lyla's arrow at the lord of the dead.

"I never said I couldn't have help." the god waved the boy away. "Why are you complaining? You and your friend get to keep your souls, blah, blah, blah."

Terra crossed his arms, eyebrow raised. "You seem awfully calm about losing your wager."

"Hey, I got what I wanted." He stomped on the boar's back.

"Why do you want the boar?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Oh, and by the way, the answer is no; Keyboy's son is not dead." His disgusting teeth showing as a smile ripped his face in two. "Stay tuned!" Smoke enveloped him and the animal, whisking them away.

Machus sighed. "We're going to regret this later, aren't we?"

"Eh, we can handle it." Coon slapped his brother on the back.

Luna jumped down from the tree, walking up to Creon. "May I see the arrow?" The boy handed her the weapon, the elf looking it over. "I guess whoever sent Lyla, tainted this arrow with darkness."

"I didn't know something like that was possible."

"I can say that it doesn't bode well for us." Aqua sighed. "But, it's over. Let's get back to Thebes."

Xally blinked. "Are you serious!?"

"Absolutely!" Meg laughed as the girl stared at the roasted cow on the table, the entire cow.

"Why do you need this much food for one meal!?"

The woman sat down. "You try feeding three teenage boys with demigod appetites."

Everyone else came inside and sat around the table. For hours, they laughed and ate. Taking a nice rest after their long adventure.

After supper, Terra stood outside, watching Creon and Xally talk; Hercules came up beside him. "I'll have a talk with him if you'd like."

"No.. it's alright." The master smiled. "He's a good kid, willing to put his life on the line for others, even for someone he fought against. I am still on the fence about any boy giving attention to my little girl, but I do like your son. Just tell him not to make a move until he asks me and he's older."

"I'll be sure to tell him. And, tell Sora I'm sorry about what happened to Pith. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for any news on him. If I find anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Herc." Terra let out a long sigh. "Well, we better get some rest. We'll have to set out early. Xally! Come on, time for bed!"

"Aw! Ok…" The girl jogged back, followed by Creon. Xally and Terra went inside as Hercules and his youngest son stayed behind to talk.

"Dad," Xally yawned, "are you still mad at Creon?"

"I was never mad at him, but I do think better of him now. Just, don't rush into anything. You're still a kid, and you have many years ahead of you. Can you promise me you'll be careful?"

"I promise, Dad!"

Vanitas slipped on the old black boots and looked down at the coat in his hands. Never did he imagine putting this back on.

Standing up, the man slipped the Organization coat on, feeling the familiar rough, heavy fabric. He zipped it up and turned to the mirror.

Surprisingly, a smile appeared on his face. Alya worked very hard on the coat… the bottom trim, now bands of deep blue and red, wound around the bottom of the coat, hood, and sleeves. The top band, the red one, came up, lining the area around the zipper. She'd stitched red and blue patterns across the coat, copying some of the features of some of the Unversed. Vanitas turned around and caught a glimpse of the red Unversed symbol stitched on the back.

"Do you like it?" His wife stood timidly by, pulling at a strand of her blue-white hair nervously.

"It looks amazing, Alya." Vanitas pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "Are you sure you'll be alright while we're gone?"

"Darling, this isn't Hazy Hamlet. I'll be just fine for two days."

"Alright…" The couple walked into their living room. Vanette stood by the door, waiting for her father.

She bounced, rocking back and forth on the heels of the Organization boots she wore. The coat she wore looked similar to Vanitas', but the lining on here was red and purple. The purple stripe lined the edge of the zipper. Images of stitched flowers decorated the coat and the Unversed symbol was on the back.

"Papa!" she giggled. "I'm ready!"

"Not quite." Vanitas walked over to the corner and grabbed a long, wrapped object. "You need something to defend yourself with."

His daughter took the package, tearing open the paper. Her golden eyes widened as she beheld a long staff of smooth dark wood, the top, carved into curled branches, held a jagged blue crystal.

"Whoooooa!" The girl ran her hand along the staff.

Alya gasped, turning to her husband. "Where did you get that?"

"That magic shop in the square. The owner owed me." Vanitas laid a hand on Vanette's shoulder. "That staff will help you with magic, specifically Blue Magic."

"Blue Magic?"

The man nodded. "Blue Magic allows you to basically steal attacks from those who you fight against.(8) I'm going to train you against the Unversed, so you can learn some attacks."

"Thank you, Papa!" the girl grabbed a leather strap from the remnants of paper on the floor and strapped the staff to her back. "So, where are we going?"

"We're going to look for Braig and his lackeys. Sora and the others are scouring some of the worlds, but I knew Braig and I know where he would go when he wanted time alone. That's where we're going."

"Alrighty!" Vanette gave her mother a hug before grabbing her father's hand.

Vanitas squeezed her hand before pulling up his hood. His breath hitched as memories of his past assailed him, but he pushed them away. Vanette pulled her hood up as he held out his hand, a dark corridor blossoming from the floor.

The father and daughter walked into the darkness, the icy tendrils blanketing them in inky darkness.

And now, Vanitas and Vanette's adventure has begun!

I honestly had a hard time with this stupid chapters, so I hope it turned out alright.

Please review!

Footnotes:

(1) Thanks, Cody, for helping me figure out a nickname for Terra.

(2) This is based on one of the 12 Labors of Hercules.

(3) This is based on the centaurs of the Greek mythology.

(4) This is in the original myth about this particular labor.

(5) The most famous centaur who was poisoned by Hercules during an accident from this very myth of the boar.

(6) This is kinda taken from the boar's location in the "Percy Jackson" series.

(7) These are Ven's parents.

(8) This is a type of magic from the Final Fantasy series.

Unexpected King

With Palm Sunday and Easter behind us, you might expect me to give you the same story that people hear every Easter. Well, you're sorta right and sorta not. I'm going to talk about an event leading up to Jesus' death and resurrection. The Triumphal Entry.

This is the event that kicks off what many would call "Passion Week". Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and people spread out cloaks and palm leaves for his entry, celebrating the arrival of Jesus.

But why were they celebrating? These people who cheered for Jesus' arrival are the same ones who cry out for his death only a few days later. Why the change?

In that time, the Romans ruled over Palestine and many Jews thought that the Messiah prophesied about would come at this time, and they were right about that, but they believed he would come in as this worldly conquering king, who would crush the Roman Empire and free their lands. When Jesus came riding in at Passover, on the same day as a Roman leader, people thought a revolution was about to happen.

But, throughout the week, they did not see what they expected. Jesus taught, told parables, and answered questions. Some of which made people angry, such as him telling them that they should pay their taxes.

They did not understand what Jesus had come to do, though he hints at it. Jesus came as a king, to conquer death and the grave by taking the sin of the world upon him.

Jesus did come to save them, but it wasn't the way they expected and wanted him to come. Yet, Jesus still died for them, taking their sins upon him, and he loved them.

That's the real point, he loved them even though he knew they would turn on him in a few days. He loves us the same, regardless of what we say or do, even regarding him.