P10
"WHAT?" An inferno of rage spiraled out of the chasms of the Underworld. Hades and Jafar peeved with rage at the sight shown by the Sisters of Fate. The three women merely cackled at the commotion. "I had a plan! WE had a plan! What is THIS all about?" Hades' blue skin boiled red with anger. His sharp teeth grinded against each other which were shown from an openly cocked frown. "I am YOUR lord." Hades began to stroll up to the sisters who immediately stopped laughing once they realized the joke was over. But the Sisters of Fate had their fate turned by the hand of Jafar. The advisor pulled Hades back to draw his attention. "It would appear this has turned into a game and our plans need a bit of revising. I still require the thief regardless of his new form and I will still keep my bargain to deal with Hercules—which, by the way, how is he?" Hades grunted in annoyance but a twisted thought soon excited his mind. "Probably near Agrabah by now. Better go check on him… Loosen him up a bit. I could use some good news today." The lord sat in his throne, holding his skull with his hands while his fingers laced through the fire that engulfed his dome. Jafar soon after took his leave to return to the palace.
Iago waited anxiously for his master's return. The advisor breached the damned mirror in his chamber, fixing his turban as he glanced at his bird. "Have things settled down outside?" he coyly asked. Iago flew to Jafar's shoulder before responding. "The monsters left ages ago. But I overheard the guards talking about some beast heading towards the city. Boy, things really turned ugly fast, huh? I don't think Agrabah will be left standing by tomorrow." Jafar chuckled at the bird's comments. "Let's get a good look. I'm confident we'll have company soon enough."
The city of Agrabah lied in waste. Corpses littered the sand, a contained fire swept the bazaar, the only sound of life came from the desert wind and the buzzards who flocked for their grand feasts. The palace was barricaded off with scraps pried from nearby buildings. Guards were scrambled in the courtyard, tending to the wounded while the rest scouted for any remaining darkspawn. "Something comes!" one of the guards shouted. The other guards didn't require a glance because the barking sound of monstrous dog echoed among the commotion. Off to the distance, Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld was charging towards the city gates. The large three-headed black hound drooled with anticipation at the warpath it was ready to leave. Curiously, a tiny sword could be seen sticking out of its leg, gleaming with reflection from the sun above. "It comes! Be ready!" the scout shouted. The guards who were able to withstand another battle unsheathed their scimitars. The city gates were breached! The beast charged through like it were paper and left an explosion of wood chips in its wake. Relentlessly, Cerberus continued to charge towards the palace but before it could reach the barricade, the hound was forcefully stopped. A man stood behind the beast, holding a tight grip on Cerberus' tail. Impossibly, Cerberus had a difficult time shaking him off. "Hercules! It's Hercules!" the scout shouted. The other guards crowded around the barricade impatiently wanting more details from the scout who watched in awe as man fought beast solo. Hercules leapt to the hound's leg to snatch his sword. As it was drawn out, the wound gushed with black plasma and Cerberus cried out in pain. But it only angered the beast more. Cerberus charged one of its heads at Hercules to grasp the man within it's teeth. But Hercules was able to keep from being chomped down. With amazing strength, Hercules kept his legs and arms spread to keep Cerberus from closing its mouth. With not much to do, the hound defended itself by thrashing its head aside to spit him out. But in doing so, Hercules swiftly gained an advantage. It took only one quick swing to shear the middle head right off of Cerberus. The hound stepped back, crying out in agony at the pain. The fight was no more. Cerberus began to fade into dust to return to the Underworld.
"Quite a performance, hero." Hercules turned his attention over to a tower overlooking the palace gates. Jafar stood at his balcony, giving a slow clap to the tired out man below. "Wouldn't even spare mercy for the damned dog." Jafar descended the tower to meet up with the hero. "And you are…?" Hercules asked while trying to catch his breath. "I am Jafar, Royal Vizier of Agrabah." Hercules extended his hand to greet formally, but Jafar only gave his bloodied hand a quick glance. "And you are Hercules?" Jafar asked. "That's right." Hercules glanced around him. Though he was in the city fighting for quite a while, he hadn't noticed the shape Agrabah was already in. "What happened here?" he asked. Jafar only placed a hand on the hero's shoulder, turning him away to not face the death and destruction behind. "It's not important. What IS important is that you're here now. Those responsible for all this death and chaos already fled the city. I would be honored—no—WE would be honored if you vanquished the wicked that plagued our city not long ago. Two warriors travel the desert to forbidden land. They came here earlier and left in their wake, war and terror. You already saw what you needed to see. It breaks my heart that so many people died here. Think of the children!" Jafar was as poor an actor as he was playing advisor to the sultan. But Hercules was quick to win over. "Their names?" he asked. "Lady Holly, and the other one I don't know. They wear the armor of foreigners—quite like yourself—but made of steel." Jafar pushed his hand on Hercules' spine to get him walking. "Go now! They could be killing others at this very moment! They worked with Hades to send Cerberus after you! Think of the children!" Hercules was a little overwhelmed by Jafar's speech but found strength to charge out of the city. Jafar watched as the hero bolted away, smiling deviously at the glorious chaos soon to come.