6.19.11: Added a surprising amount to this chapter, including adding more to Stefa's... "inner struggle."

Disclaimer – Only own the plot and OCs.

Though Kairi had found the three-headed something close to precious when he was asleep, the same could be said of him awake. The heads on the ends were foaming while the middle snapped its yellowing teeth together. Sora was standing a ways away from the dog, almost like he was waiting for something. He was counting on the others, who were attacking the snapping jaws, to serve as a distraction and, when two of the heads whimpered and fell to the ground, the Keyblade Master knew it was time.

He ran past the others and jumped at the creature, causing Kairi to gasp at his usual reckless behavior, "Sora!" Her face was set into a short-lived scowl. Sora jumped up and the middle head snapped at him first; Kairi's grip became so tight on Radiant Destiny that her knuckles turned white. Sora shoved Ultima into the jaws, and the other two heads picked themselves up and snapped at him. He quickly retrieved his keyblade and jumped, forcing the end heads to knock into each other with an audible slam. As gravity began to drag him back down, he sliced Ultima at the heads in a single swoop, causing Cerberus to collapse to the ground, dazed.

"Nice!" called Riku from somewhere behind as Sora did a backward flip and became familiar with the ground once more. The crowd of fighters closed in, and any innocent bystander might briefly feel sorry for the Underworld's guardian; It looked chaotic with everyone beating up on the dazed dog at once. With a loud roar, Cerberus regained himself and began to snap at all of those nearest him.

Ceron's long-sword became caught between the jaws of the middle head. The other two heads ignored the other fighters, moving in on their innocent victim, "Stupid Fluffy," he grumbled as he attempted to free his sword to no avail.

"Ceron, the other two heads!" warned Naminé.

Nalani reacted quickly, pointing her staff at the dog, "Gravira!" All three heads were forced to the ground by a dark purple bubble, and the sword nosily clattered to the cavern floor; Ceron flashed her a brief, appreciative grin as he grabbed his weapon and backed off a few paces. "That's funny; Hades didn't look like a huge man with a bushy beard to me..."

Cerberus pulled himself back up to his full height, shaking his three heads in what Stefa thought was a way to shake off the pain. A strange purple light began to emit from their mouths, and strange purple balls began to fall through the air like snow. "What are these?" Stefa said more to herself than anyone else as she held out a hand. When one of them hit her hand, she immediately wished she had moved; the pain was surprisingly excruciating. "Ouch."

Frowning, Stefa placed both hands on Shadow Heart and charged at the three heads a plan which, admittedly, could have been better planned. Cerberus, anticipating this, bowed one of his heads, and knocked Stefa back with it. She was able to stay on her feet for a moment or so before losing her balance and sliding backwards. Riku moved behind her and caught her, but the force was still enough to knock him onto his back. Kairi and Naminé grasped hands and closed their eyes. A white light emitted from their chests and hit the dog, forcing him back a little.

Nalani ran over to join them, "Stefa! Riku!" Stefa was lying on top of Riku, who was still on the ground; he held up a hand to show that they were alright. "Damn dog." Nalani made a u-turn, EaKaze raised high as she attempted to get closer to Cerberus; she needed to be in closer range if she wanted to hit.

"Wait, Nalani!" called Ceron, but the only thing she could really hear was the blood pounding in her ears. Cerberus was crouching a little, but she disregarded it as fatigue. Ceron cursed under his breath and ran to stop her. Once she was within a decent range, she finally stopped, but, before she could mutter the words, Ceron had tackled her out of the way just as Cerberus abruptly turned around; something that probably would have caused a decent amount of damage.

"Thundaga," she breathed, the wind knocked out of her, with EaKaze still raised. Lightning bolts rained over Cerberus. Saying the spell had temporarily allowed Nalani not to blush. She was lying on the ground with her arms spread out, and the taller Ceron was on top of her; she looked away as red flooded her cheeks.

"Are you two okay?" called Roxas as he stopped near them. When Ceron rolled off of the blushing Nalani, Roxas smirked. "Oh, yeah, you're definitely okay."

Nalani scowled, but the red refused to go away, "Shut up, Roxy." When Ceron rolled onto the ground, she also noticed a clear blush on his cheeks.

Completely ignoring the other boy, Ceron stood and helped Nalani to her feet. "Are you okay?" Before Roxas could make another snide comment, an eardrum-shattering scream filled the cave; something was going on at Cerberus' front that had Naminé fixated with a horrified stare. Stefa rolled off of Riku and the two of them headed after Ceron, Nalani, and Roxas to see what was happening.

The image was not pretty. Cerberus' middle head was bent over Kairi's arm, though, at least, the other two had been knocked out. As they drew nearer, they could see Kairi's arm was covered in nearly the same color as her hair. Sora slammed Ultima into the head, forcing Cerberus' blood-stained teeth to release Kairi, who fell into Sora's waiting arm. "Kairi!" shouted Riku and Roxas in unison, running forward to huddle with Sora and Naminé over the redhead.

Stefa and Nalani kept looking horrified, from Cerberus to Kairi; even Ceron had an expression of mingled fear. "Come on," he said, trying to regain their attention, "We'll have to distract Fluffy while they're tending to her." Slowly, the other two agreed, and they ran to head off Cerberus. The middle head was nearly knocked out; he just needed a bit of work. Ceron took care of that one, leaving Stefa and Nalani to tend to the other two awakening heads.

The end heads, apparently craving blood too, chomped at them in an attempt to draw some blood. Stefa sacrificed Shadow Heart in hopes of keeping her arm, and silently thanked her lucky stars that keyblades were so durable. Again, she thanked her stars that the other heads were distracted, for this particular one seemed quite content to keep Shadow Heart in its jaws. A flare of anger came over her. "Fucking let go!" she growled, slightly surprised when a black light exited her hands and knocked into the head. With a whimper, the head fell unconscious again. 'W-what the hell was that?'

With some magic and a lot of poking the other head with the sharp points of her staff, Nalani fell the head on the right at the same time as Ceron took care of the center one. "He shouldn't need that many more hits before he's done for," noted Ceron before glancing back at the others. Apparently, Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Naminé had used all of their magic power to heal Kairi's arm; they smiled apologetically at the three fighting Cerberus. "But it might take longer if we're the ones who have to finish him," he added, sighing.

Stefa forgot her confusion over what had just happened for a moment as she pulled a megalixir out of her jeans' pocket. "Don't say I never did anything for you!" she said as everyone became less than tired again.

A large orb of gravity, cast by Nalani, surrounded Cerberus, who would have fallen down had he not already been on the ground. Ceron took a few steps back, not really wanting to awaken the ferocious beast. Shadow Heart was thrust into the air as Stefa prepared to assist in the magic casting. "Graviga!" She shouted at the same time as Nalani recast it. Two spheres of gravity engulfed Cerberus, but, somehow, it still wasn't enough. All six eyes opened as Cerberus slowly lifted himself upward, growling in a fashion that suggested the fight was far from over. Nalani continued to cast magic spells, Ceron went back to attacking with his long-sword, and Roxas, Riku, and Sora ran forward to start attacking with their keyblades again. Stefa took a few steps backward as Naminé and Kairi came up beside her. They huddled together for a minute, discussing something.

"Die you stupid thing!" exclaimed Ceron, losing his patience as he slashed at one of the front legs.

Apparently, whatever Stefa had done had not been missed by her fellow princesses; the three of them nodded as one before Naminé and Kairi grasped hands and the familiar white light appeared between them. Stefa called off her keyblade as she put her hands to her chest, focusing on the extreme anger she had felt before, as a black light began to glow around her body. 'This is a little more intense than before, maybe I should...' Her train of thought was broken off as something in the back of her mind urged her to keep doing what she was doing.

"Light!" cried Naminé and Kairi as the white light sprang at Cerberus again.

A half-second after that, Stefa mumbled, "Darkness." The blackness mixed with the light and headed straight for the dog, hitting him square in the chest. Riku, Sora, and Roxas landed one more sweep of their keyblades at the same time as Nalani cast another graviga spell.

Cerberus let loose a deafening howl, a sure sign of their victory. Weakly, the dog jumped over the crowd of attackers, causing the ground to rumble, and charged out of the Lock. Out of energy from their magic, the girls collapsed to the ground.

Ceron reached Nalani first, dumping a mega-ether over her head. "I'd hate to be on the opposite end of these four, wouldn't you? Casting gravity spells like a boss, huh, Hula Girl?"

Nalani sighed at the nickname as she propped herself up on her elbows. "We beat him!" she said with a proud grin as EaKaze disappeared in a flash of orange light.

'Darkness, there lies your power, Stefa,' the voice that had told her to use the attack said. Was she going crazy? It was starting to look that way. Riku helped her stand, and she said nothing, simply smiled at him. Naminé was not fooled; she threw her a look that clearly said: 'Don't use the darkness too much.'

"That was pretty cool," admitted Kairi, if not a little sheepishly, as Sora helped her stand.

Riku scowled, "But dangerous." Stefa realized that using the darkness often was a bad idea, but it would be an even worse idea around Riku; her smile turned meek. Sora and Roxas nodded their agreement as they towed Kairi and Naminé toward the center of the Lock with the others right behind them. A beam of light shot from Ultima's tip and entered the rock, shattering it, revealing a large ray of light. Sora and Roxas stepped into the light, easing their hesitant girlfriends behind them before disappearing. Riku and Ceron exchanged a brief, concerned, glance before they followed suit; Nalani and Stefa joined after.

The cavern they reappeared in was not very big, and there was a very claustrophobic feel as they piled in on top of another. It was filled with mist and, other than the dark blue sharp walls, there was nothing to see. Sora and Roxas were already in the works of releasing their friends from their chains. An older man wearing a red cloak, a beautiful woman with auburn hair, and a short and angry-looking billy goat creature were all chained together. After a few weak fire spells, the chains shattered.

"Sora!" called the woman with obvious relief. She stood and embraced him in a tight hug.

Sora grinned. "Meg! It's nice to see you again." A little behind them, Kairi was looking away with a look of jealousy clear on her face, despite the fact that she knew Meg was Hercules' sweetheart. Meg released him, taking in Kairi's expression with a raised eyebrow. "We have time for introductions later."

"Of course... Wait. Where's Wonder Boy? Don't tell me Hades still has him."

Sora assured her, "We rescued him," but he would not tell her where he was.

"You're hesitating," she noted, a concerned expression on her face.

The man in the red robes joined them. "Hercules is strong, he'll be fine."

"Auron," acknowledged Sora with a grin.

The man, Auron, nodded his head a little in greeting, "Nice to see you again. I was wondering when you would be returning."

Sora's grin became sheepish. "We had our obstacles."

"How can you be a Hero and have obstacles?" demanded the goat-man.

Nalani smirked, "Sora, an official hero? He can't even drive a Gummi Ship!"

Sora tried to ignore her, "Phil, just as stiff as ever, I see." In response, the goat punched his arm in greeting. At least, the only part of Sora's arm that he could reach from his short height.

"Sora," Riku's voice was slightly authoritative as he reminded, "We have to move if we're going to help Hercules."

Meg looked from Sora to Riku with a displeased expression, "Help Hercules with what?" Naminé recognized Riku's words as her cue and summoned a portal. Auron, Phil, and Meg stared at Sora with accusation.

Sora threw up his hands in surrender. "Don't worry! Does she look like she can be evil?" He nodded at Naminé who raised an annoyed eyebrow at him. "That's not to say she isn't strong or anything," he added at the murderous look.

Meg finally smiled, "Smart addition, Sora."

"Go through the portal, and we'll explain everything back at the Coliseum," promised Roxas.

When they returned to the Coliseum, Sora gave Kairi, Naminé, and Stefa some time to recuperate as he told Meg, Phil, and Auron about the last two years. Then, he filled them in about recent events so both the story and introductions were finished faster. "So Wonder Boy is still fighting Hades? He's been doing it too long, you have to go and help him."

Stefa rubbed the back of her neck. "The last time we tried to fight Hades, it didn't end well."

"You've got the Olympus Stone now," stated Phil, "Which means that you're at your full power now."

"I shall assist," decided Auron. "It's been too long since I have fought at Sora's side." Naminé summoned yet another portal.

With a reluctant sigh, Meg remarked, "Phil and I will stay here. Bring back Wonder Boy in one piece. All of you."

Sora pounded his chest with his fist. "You don't have to worry about us."

XxX

Hercules was in a bad spot, kneeling on the floor and panting. Things were looking grim, and he was unsure how much longer he would last; one more attack from Hades could be it. "I mean it this time, Blunder Boy, you're through," announced Hades with a fireball so large that he needed two hands. "Say goodnight." He hurled the fireball at Hercules, who didn't even bother to block it.

A metallic sound rang in the empty arena as a keyblade reflected the hit. "C'mon, Herc, you can't really give up that easily," said Sora, smiling. The arena was suddenly overcrowded with people; his friends had finally come to his aid.

Nalani shook her head, also smiling, "And you call yourself a hero."

"Here." Naminé's soft voice spoke as she opened a mega-potion bottle, healing Hercules completely.

He stood, grinning at his allies. "Thank you, guys."

"No sweat," answered Roxas. "Sorry we were late, we had a little distraction."

Hades' calm was shattered his blue gave way to orange. "This cannot be!" Pain and Panic, both of whom were burnt, cowered on the sidelines. "I'll teach you to make a fool of the god of the Underworld – and welcome you all back when you're dead by my hands!"

"No one wants to be in your hands," stated Riku in his smug voice as he pointed Way to Dawn.

Hades narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Maybe it would just be better if I were to drag you all into the darkness!" The room shifted before their eyes, becoming nearly completely black as the god was surrounded by a purple aura. "Now we'll see how you do on my real turf."

Stefa felt less than worried than she knew. She certainly felt the fear but, for the most part, she felt excited. 'Why?' she demanded. She squeezed herself a little closer to Riku as a voice laughed at her in the back of her head. Frowning, she put her free hand to her temples. 'Good God, what's happening to me?'

When Hades threw his fire balls, they were a new color, orange and black. If they were anywhere near as lethal as they looked, then they were in a lot of trouble; the group separated in half as they separated. Stefa tried to ignore the excited pounding of her chest as she began to feel the urge to help Hades. 'Your heart is weak. Trust me, Stefa. Trust me like you did all those years ago...' The voice said to her. She looked around, but no one had spoken; no even appeared to hear it. She shook her head as she took a few steps away from her friends and the fight.

"Watera!" Nalani was pointing her staff carefully at Hades as he swept around the area, attacking various people. Her water spell came out like a geyser and put out the flames on his head. She did not hold back a laugh at his ridiculous appearance, 'That is a definite plus.'

Not using their keyblades, Naminé and Kairi had decided light would work much better in their situation. When they combined their light again, it was significantly larger than it had been before. It was large enough to engulf Hades whole. Hercules used his own light, summoning Aura Spheres and allowing Sora and Roxas to knock them at Hades. Meanwhile, Riku, Auron, and Ceron triple-teamed the god. "Why does it seem every time we fight this guy, we're always at a disadvantage?" mumbled Nalani as she cast Gravira on Hades.

Kairi giggled, "because we can't always be that lucky." She and Naminé sent another ray of light at Hades, and he howled at pain.

Naminé glanced around. "Why isn't Stefa helping us?"

Kairi's eyebrows knitted together. "Here's a better question, where is Stefa?" They looked behind them to find the girl in question kneeling on the ground, apparently fighting with herself. "Nalani!"

Nalani did not spare the fight a second thought as she ran to her best friend's side. "Stefa, what's wrong?"

Stefa swallowed and put a hand to her chest. "It's too hard to keep down the darkness in my heart." Even as she spoke, the voice was in her head, 'Trust me, Stefa. Trust me.' Deciding that telling Nalani she was hearing voices would make her no less concerned, she said nothing.

"I hate being useless," grumped Nalani, angered that there was really nothing she could do for her friend. "It makes me feel... well, useless." She stared at the 'ground' thinking about what could be done... And then it came to here. "Stef, you said that Riku helped you out of the darkness, right?" Said girl nodded in reply. "Riku!"

Riku abandoned Ceron and Auron to deal with Hades, and joined them; Nalani didn't need to explain, he just knew. Likely because he recognized the expression on Stefa's face from his own time fighting the darkness. "Go help the others," he said, looking Nalani square in the eye. "Your boyfriend's probably mad that I left him."

Nalani's cheeks only brightened a little as she stood. "Shut up. Are you sure?"

"You can trust me with her," he assured her.

"Take care, Stef." said Nalani before she rushed back into the fray shouting, "You want some, Hades?"

Riku chuckled quietly before taking Stefa's hands within his own and pulling her up. "Don't worry, Stefa, I'll be your light," he promised, pressing his lips to hers.