A/N: im stressed out leave me reviews telling me everything is okay. please. or what youd like to see next. anything. im a college student starving for human contact.
The strange encounter with the friendly Nobody had left Eleanor shaken up, and had her holding onto Goofy's arm tighter then was probably necessary. Thankfully he didn't say anything as they crept through the cavern towards the sounds of a fight that had reminded them the reason they had gone down into the cave was to find Meg. He threw her a worried glance every now and then but said nothing else.
Sora led the way of course, shining keyblade clenched in his hands. Donald's wand was still glowing with a controlled flame floating just above the witch hat that decorated the top and Eleanor and Goofy trailed not too far behind him. She couldn't quiet her mind from thinking very thoroughly about the situation they found themselves presently in. Her gaze immediately fell on Sora for some kind of emotional direction, but as usual he was hyper focused and didn't seem to be thinking about the bigger picture. Although, he had probably stopped thinking about things like that as soon as he had started helping people. She was still completely consumed by the fact that they were in the Underworld, which was for all practical purposes Hell. Not to mention that Nobody, Demyx who had spoken to her. It was as distracting as their adventures in the far east and through the stars.
The only thing that snapped her out of the ever present wandering of her thoughts were Meg's shouts for help, which had become louder and louder. The group rounded a corner and entered a huge cavern where Meg stood surrounded by bat shaped heartless and bound with smoky chains. Pete stood off to the side, his hulking frame facing away from them but watching the heartless. In a rush she returned to the present and recognized the danger.
"Meg!" Sora shouted to her.
She let out a loud sigh. "Oh thank the gods. Get me out of here."
"Well, well. If it ain't the key brat and his merry band of losers." Pete set his hands on his hips. The heartless who flapped lazily around Meg were suddenly at full attention. "Looks like all you kiddies came a long way down into the underworld. Must be tired?"
"Fat chance, let her go Pete." Sora took a fighting stance.
"Where's Hercules?" Meg asked, through the swarm of monsters.
"Fightin' topside. Hades made sure he couldn't come to rescue you, but lucky we're here and came down here for him." Goofy answered. "And found that stone while we were at it."
Meg puffed some hair out her face and glared at Pete. "Wanna use it to get rid of this creep?"
"Sounds good to us." Donald held up his wand and lightning bolts hit the ground around Pete's feet.
"Get to Meg and fast!" Goofy pulled his arm from Eleanor's hands and joined Donald and Sora as they charged Pete.
"Er.. sure." She stuttered before rushing towards the bound woman. She swiped her blade through a few heartless before doing the same to the smoky chains. "Are you hurt?"
Meg shook her head. "No, but you look a little worse for wear. What's got you in a rut, Princess."
"It's nothing." She answered too quickly. Meg narrowed her gaze but decided against saying anything. Eleanor took a half step in front of the woman and held onto her keyblade with sweating palms. Pete seemed to have left, but summoned a small hoard of heartless to take his place. "We've got to get you out of here. It's dangerous."
"No kidding." Meg replied with a snort.
"Sora!" Eleanor shouted across the cavern. "This a trap! It has to be! Who knows what hades is doing topside! We have to get out of here and fast!"
"Noted!" He shouted back to her. "What's the plan?"
She groaned and rolled her eyes. "This isn't esactly my area. What does one usually do when cornered by heartless?"
The bats were closing in on her and Meg and together they backed themselves against one of the cavern walls. She kept the heartless away fairly easily and stole another glance at Sora. An explosion of light answered her question and a gust of wind made them all look up. Hercules, on the back of a great winged horse, landed on the cavern floor. The remaining heartless were blown back against the walls and disappeared in tiny puffs of smoke.
"Meg!" He hopped from the horses back. "Thank goodness! Are you guys all okay?"
"Oh we're all just dandy Herc." Donald almost snapped.
"Don't be rude." Goofy scolded lightly as they all grouped around the demi-god.
"No you don't! You better not make a fool outta Pete!" With a great rumble Pete was back, surrounded in heartless and jumping up and down like a child being scolded. "I'll teach ya all to challenge me!"
Sora grabbed onto Eleanor's hand. "Get Meg outta here. Out of this fog and somewhere safe-"
She shook her head. "No. I will not leave your side again Sora. We can do this all together-"
"I know what I said, but she can't stay here and she can't go alone." He gave her a pleading look. "If there's danger up there she's gonna need protecting while we handle Pete."
Eleanor glanced back to Hercules, who had helped Meg up onto Pegasus's back. "Fine, yes okay. I'll see that she's safe, but if you come back with even a scratch I will kill you myself."
He grinned at her before Hercules helped her onto Pegasus's back. "Get them out of here buddy."
The horse whinnied and flapped his wings a few times before he was able to lift off the stony floor.
"Bring them back safe to me, can I count on you to make sure nothing happens to my friends?" Eleanor asked Hercules earnestly with a quick glance to Sora, Donald and Goofy. All three nodded to her, but it was Sora who grimaced slightly after the smile.
"Course! What else are heroes for?"
With that Pegasus gained enough power to launch them up and out of the vaulted cavern and into the sky with a rush. Eleanor blinked into the sunlight as her fingers knotted themselves into the winged horse's thick blue mane.
"Hey everything will be fine!" Meg shouted over the roar of the wind as they zipped through the air back towards the coliseum and safety. "Wonderboy will make sure nothing happens to your Junior Heroes."
Eleanor bit her lip. "I have no doubt about that, but thank you for your concern."
There was a short hesitation before a screeching roar made them both jump. The coliseum had come into view through the clouds, but as it did a great creature's heads appeared towering above the stone walls. It screeched again and Eleanor let out a long shaking breath.
"Guess Herc called it quits too soon. Not one of those monsters that that creep Pete called, is it?" Meg set her hands on Eleanor's shoulders and leaned forward, shielding her eyes.
She shook her head. "I have no idea. Could be one of Hades's?"
One of the monsters giant clawed feet crushed one of the inner walls of the great arena before it turned and its eyes focused sharply on the flying horse. It snapped once and then again but Pegasus easily avoided its needle like teeth.
"This is no good. Any thoughts?" Eleanor winced. Pegasus came to a stop in the air to stare down the great scaled beast. "This is out of my comfort zone."
"What and you think it's in mine? We can get you in close and you can cut it down to size with that key of yours." Meg nodded over the base of the snake like necks of the Hydra. "What else can we do? Horse Feathers here and I will make sure it's distracted."
"Right." In a rush the winged horse swooped in close to one of the heads. "Right okay here goes nothing." She squatted in the horse's back before she half leapt and half slipped from his back. She managed to just barely catch hold of the hydra's nose.
"What're you doing squirt! Get yourself down here now!" Phil's voice echoed up from the stoned behind the Hydra's back legs.
"Trying!" Eleanor shouted back to him. She clung desperately to the beast's spines and horns as it shook its head and snapped its jaws. She slipped down the side of its head and managed to swing herself enough so she could summon her keyblade in flash of light. The momentum caused the keyblade to slice through the long neck of the head she had landed on. "No!" As the head crashed to dirt floor, Eleanor grabbed onto another set of spines down the back of a second head. It let out a screeching roar and in a rush, it slammed its head into the dusty arena floor and she was thrown from where she held onto the hydra's horns into the dirt. She shook her head and scrambled back away from the giant monster with shaking breaths.
"Down boy." A voice made the Hydra freeze. Hades was suddenly before her in a puff of smooth smoke. He turned and looked her over with his sharp eyes and then let out a breath. "Well, well, well. A pipsqueak, not exactly what I was expecting. You were with those junior heroes earlier? You gonna take on my pet alone?"
Eleanor clenched her jaw. "Wasn't the plan no." She pushed herself onto her knees and held out a shaking hand for her keyblade.
Hades rolled his eyes. "You're hands are shaking like leaves in the wind squirt. Gonna have to try a bit harder than that. But, hey! If it's any consolation, your efforts got him good and mad. And Wonderbreath and your little keybrat should be back any second now. How do you think you'll fare against my little pet." He nodded vaguely up to the Hydra.
Eleanor was trying to listen to Hades's cool threat but her eyes wdere instead watching the stump of the head she had cut off, where a dozen more snapping heads sprouted.
"Oh would you look at that. Hey if you see the keybrat let him know I'll be in my office." Hades paused. "I mean if either of you live long enough to keep your appointment that is." With that the Lord of the dead was gone in a puff of smoke and sparks.
"Over here ugly!" Meg's voice came from somewhere above her as she tried her hardest to distract the bobbing heads. "Get up Princess of this thing will eat you alive!"
Eleanor shook her head and tried to focus. She stood slowly and held out her weapon with shaking hands. "What now.."
"Eleanor!" Sora's voice was like a rush of cold water and he was suddenly beside her with a warm hand on her arm. "You're not hurt?" His bright eyes found a cut on her cheek and a few bruises but nothing else. He blocked one of the heads gnashing teeth with his shining blade before he motioned to Donald and Goofy to make their moves.
"No I'm fine, relieved to see you all that's for sure." She turned so her back was pressed against Sora's as they all took battle stances. "How does one rectify a situation such as this?"
"Definitely not a heartless." Donald waved his wand high above his head and a chunk of ice froze over one of the heads eyes.
The red head shook her head. "No. Hades made a point to come up and gloat about his pet. Which reminds me, Sora you have an appointment apparently. He said he'd be in his office if you manage to survive."
"Figures." Sora let out a breath.
Goofy ducked behind his shield as the snapping teeth of the hydra bounced off of it with a clang. "What're we gonna do then? It's too big to take like this!"
Sora's eyes glanced up to the sky where Meg and Pegasus had stopped to hover above them and watch the situation carefully. "Got it. Cover me!" He whistled up to them and Meg hopped off of the horse's back onto the partially destroyed wall behind them as he dove down and scooped Sora up in a rush.
"Wait Sora!" Eleanor shouted after him, but he and the horse were gone in a rush of wind. The snapping of the Hydra's teeth made her look up sharply and block weakly with her keyblade.
Donald and Goofy were suddenly on either side of her. Goofy with his shield over her shoulder and Donald summoned a shield of his own that covered them in a glasslike bubble. The sounds of the gnashing teeth made Eleanor focus sharply on the battle at hand. Sora was slicing through the Hydra's twisting necks left and right while balancing carefully on winged horses back.
Donald swatted her on the back of the head with his want. "What do you think you're doing huh? Get it together will you?"
Eleanor scrambled onto her hands and knees. "Bugger. I am so sorry."
"Off in thought?" Goofy leaned over her shoulder. "Better plant those feet on the ground or we won't make it out of this."
She nodded earnestly and set one hand on the dusty arena floor as the barrier Donald had summoned fell away from them. In a graceful half step, Sora hopped from Pegasus's back as he swooped in front of them. His eyes met hers and they all turned back to the single remaining head.
The hydra screeched.
Eleanor stood shoulder to shoulder with the brunette. "You handled that with grace and ease."
He only laughed. "Piece of cake." Before he could say anything else the final head lunged forward and Sora disappeared down its throat in one bite.
Donald and Goofy gasped as time seemed to stop. Even the hydra stopped in order to gulp down its impromptu meal. Eleanor felt her jaw drop open in horror as she stared up at the giant monster. She could still feel the heat from Sora's shoulder next to hers. Her breath came in uneven pulls and finally her shaking hands tightened around her keyblade. "Give him back!"
She growled.
"No Eleanor!" Donald and Goofy shouted as she charged towards the monsters belly.
She could hardly hear the pair over the sound of her own blood pounding in her eardrums. She swung her weapon but it only managed to bounce off the scaled belly of the giant monster with a series of dull useless thuds. Her attacks grew more frantic, until the energy poured into her keyblade and it flashed a bright gold. She hesitated before she took a step back and let it go. It followed her hands for a brief moment before it shot up through the base of the hydras neck. At the same moment her keyblade managed to pierce through the neck, a bright light exploded from under the scales and the hydra disintegrated. Sora toppled out of the space where it had been, laughing and completely covered in slime.
"You idiot!" Eleanor rushed forward. Her keyblade returned to her and disappeared as it touched her fingertips. She slipped in the ooze and practically into Sora. She set her hands on his face and looked him over frantically. "Are you hurt? I cannot believe-"
"That I'm covered in this disgusting slime?" He laughed again and caught her gaze. "I'm fine. Try and relax alright?"
She scowled.
"What just happened?" Goofy and Donald rushed to their sides.
Sora smiled. "I think we won, but we still have to worry about Hades."
"Kid!" Phil's voice was next. "This way! We'll get you all cleaned up and they you can go and show Hades what for."
Sora rolled his eyes. "Come on."