Prewrite: Aaaand here we are again. I just finished watching family guy, and I'm about to watch Witchblade. Who knows what effects this will have on the writing process! …I'm guessing none, but who knows? In case I haven't made it obvious, I'm making this story up as I go. NOT the best way to write a story. I mean, it works for me, but maybe not for everyone. Seeing as I've covered all of Destiny Island, this is the chapter where the entirely new stuff starts. Let's get this started…

Disclaimer: I. Own. NOTHING. Except this story and Daniel. They're all mine. The rest belongs to Square Enix and the Disney Corporation.


Chapter 3: Of Surprises and Satyrs

He couldn't see anything at first. All he heard were voices. The first voice was kind, yet powerful. "Is he gonna be ok, Phil?" If he had to describe it, he would have said it was the voice of a hero. Just hearing it made him feel a bit better.

The next voice had the opposite effect.

"He'll be fine, Herc. No wounds on the outside, and he ain't coughin' up blood or nothin'." He groaned in pain as the grating voice entered his ears.

Not so heroic.

"I think he's coming around. Quick get him some water!" Footsteps were heard moving away quickly. Then, Daniel opened his eyes.

The face above him was handsome and—yet again—heroic. He blinked a few times, then tried to sit up. As it turned out, this was a bad idea. He let out another pained groan and laid back down.

He heard footsteps returning as the man helped him up. A cup with a straw was held near his mouth. He drank from it, the water making his dry throat feel better. He then tried to speak. "Where…am I…?" His voice was weak, and didn't sound like his own. He tried again. "Who are you…?" A bit stronger, and at least it sounded like him. Much better.

"My name is Hercules. This is Phil." He looked around. "Down here, kid." He looked down. If he wasn't feeling so weak, he would have screamed. There was what appeared to be a creature that was half man, half goat. As it was, he let out a pained gasp. "What…what are you…?"

"What, ain't you ever seen a satyr before?" The creature's voice was giving Daniel a horrible headache. "No…no I haven't…" he replied weakly. "Oh. Well, whatever. Hey, Herc, I got work to do. Lemme know when this kid's more than a paperweight." With that, he left. Thank god… thought Daniel.

Getting slowly to his feet, he was surprised to find he could stand on his own. "What's your name?" asked Hercules. Daniel gazed up at him, noticing for the first time how large the man was. "My name's Daniel. So, um…Hercules, right? Where am I?" Hercules replied, a bit of pride in his voice. "This is the fighting coliseum on Mount Olympus, where the strongest warriors in the world gather." Daniel just gave him a blank stare.

"Mount…Olympus? I've never heard of that mountain." Hercules stared at him open mouthed, then says in an amazed voice. "You haven't? But how? The gods live here, everyone knows that!" Daniel gave him another blank stare. "Gods…?"

Hercules gave him another amazed stare. His mouth opens and closes as he tries to form words, before he finally asks, "Do…do you have amnesia or something?" Daniel closes his eyes and thinks, then shakes his head. "No…I remember my whole life up until…"

Reality hit him like a brick to the head.

"Last night!" he cried out. He began babbling every question that came to his mind. "What happened to my friends, my home? What were those creatures? How did I get here? WHERE AM I?" He continued until he ran out of breath. He stood there panting while Hercules stood gazing at him worriedly. "Tell me everything." he said.

Daniel told him all of it.

"That's…quite a story." said Hercules when Daniel finished. "If what you're saying is true…it sounds like you're from another world!" "Y-yeah…" Daniel was still shaken. "Well, I don't know how to get you back to your world," said Hercules, "but you can stay here as long as you want. I'm sure Phil would be glad to have a new trainee."

"Trainee?" Daniel asked. "Well…if you're going to stay, you're going to need to do something. Phil doesn't like freeloaders." Hercules said. "Ok…so what would he be training me for?" "Fighting, of course. I said this was a coliseum, remember?" Daniel gulped. He was NOT getting a good feeling about this.


One week later…

Daniel swung his blade with force at the barrel in front of him, sending it flying into another group of barrels. All the barrels broke into pieces, scattering on the sandy ground. With that, all of them were destroyed.

He panted heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Ok, kid, great job! Almost set a new record!" Daniel turned to see the pudgy satyr approaching him. He suppressed a cry of shock, still not being used to his appearance.

"Thanks, coach." Daniel replied with a nod, wiping his brow. Phil nodded in return and said, "I just got three words of advice for ya." Here it comes… thought Daniel, rolling his eyes as he prepared to mentally count the words. "Swing higher." …and, there it goes. He nodded with a sigh, not bothering to point it out again.

"Other than that, you ain't half bad. I might even let you in the prelims." Coming from Phil, this was high praise. Daniel grinned, resting the point of his sword on the ground. "You think so? I mean, I've only been here a week." Phil nodded again. "I think you got what it takes kid. Best student I ever had." Daniel felt a surge of pride. "Really?" "Well, except for Herc."

His heart sank a bit, but he still felt good. He hadn't really expected to be better than Herc anyways. He also didn't expect Phil's next words. "Get ready kid. The prelims start in three hours." He started to walk off. Daniel stared, stunned for a moment. "But…how am I supposed to get ready for a real fight in three hours?" Phil called back without turning, "You'll find a way."


Postwrite: It really is a whole new world. Writing from scratch, that is. As compared to Destiny Island, where everyone had a general idea of what was going to happen. ANYWAYS. I'm tired and hungry. Time for some Lucky Charms. God I love Lucky Charms. As always, rate and review please. As a side note, this is definitely the longest chapter so far. I apologize for it being so dialogue heavy. Unless you like that sort of thing. In that case, I meant to do it. At least I got a little action in, if only barrel bashing. That reminds me of Donkey Kong. I haven't played that in a while. I'ma go do that.