Author's Note: Sorry for the little hiatus, but I have loads of things going on at the moment. If I'm lucky, next update will be Friday before noon. Anywho, I do not pwn Kingdom Hearts. Mainly because Xaldin pwns me. Blaster, Nox, Xarch, and the seekers are the only ones (thus far) that I own.

Chapter Twelve: Warning the Gods

Blaster lowered his body towards Pegasus's neck as he and Meg rode swiftly to find Phil. Pegasus was found tied up in a nearby stable, easily the work of Hades or his side-kicks Pain and Panic. Blaster quickly helped Meg on before getting on himself, using the reigns that kept Pegasus tied to a post as help. Now, even though she was riding side-saddle, Meg was clinging to Pegasus as the shoulder blades in front of them beat rhythmically up and down.

"You think Hercules might overhear where he might be going," Blaster shouted over the wind. They weren't going fast, but it was fast enough to shout to be heard.

"There he is!" Meg shouted, pointing towards a stone stairwell going towards a boat.

"Hold on!" Blaster shouted, steering Pegasus down into a nosedive towards a Satyr nearly halfway down the spiraling staircase.

"PHIL!" Meg shouted, getting the Satyr's attention. Pegasus, under the direction of Blaster, came to a sudden stop hovering next to Phil as he stopped on the stairwell.

"Well, if it isn't sweet cheeks," Phil muttered, "and a Junior Hero to boot."

"Phil, Hercules is in trouble!" Blaster exclaimed, ignoring the fact Phil had just put Junior in front of Hero.

"Why does he need me when he's got friends like you?" Phil demanded.

"Well, he insists upon saving the people even though Hades just sapped him of his power," Blaster said.

"Basically," Meg added, "He decided to stop listening to us."

About half an hour after Riku and Kairi (with Sora in toe) left, the giant cyclopse arrived, forcing Blaster to hasten his search for the winged horse. When he did, he ordered Donald and Goofy to stay with Hercules and try to hold off its destructive rampage. Nox and Xarch stayed behind to help as well, but Hercules wanted to add his help, even if it meant killing himself.

"Good!" Phil replied, turning back towards the boat. "He's finally learned something!"

"Will you get your horns out of your (CENSORED) and LISTEN?!" Blaster asked, throwing a bolt of lightning from his free, left hand. The men in the boat stopped dead, staring at Blaster on the winged horse as Phil turned around to see that Blaster had just shattered the rock where his feet were seconds ago.

"Look, I know what I did was wrong," Meg admitted. "Hades had me under his thumb," she added to Blaster under her breath. "But this isn't about me, or Blaster! It's about him!"

Phil turned away again.

"If you don't help, he's going to die!" Blaster shouted. "Do you want that to happen to 'your boy,' Phil?"

Phil, who was nearly at the bottom, stopped suddenly, and turned around, with the look of shock in his eyes. Blaster nodded sternly, knowing that his message got across.

ITFITFITFITFITF

When Kairi and Riku left, Riku soon caught up with Kairi, flying into the clouds near the top of Olympus. They could see the gates slowly coming into view, until they were the only things above the clouds. In that instant, after they had reached the top of the clouds, Riku's Guardian dissolved, leaving him standing on the clouds. It was also at that point when Kairi's drive with Sora ended. The flash of light was enough to get a blue man to fly towards Kairi, who was revealed in her original clothing, with Sora at her side. The blue man had a white toga on, golden winged sandals, a golden winged helmet, a golden staff, with a set of wings on it, and, the oddest in the current arrangement, a pair of Blue-tinted "Whoopie Goldberg" style glasses.

The messenger of the gods zipped forward until he was face to face with Sora.

"What are you doing up here?" Hermes asked.

"Hermes," Sora said, backing away slightly, "we have been sent by Hercules. Please summon Zeus or Hera, for we have an important message from his son."

"Why doesn't he just use the statue?" Hermes asked.

"Right now," Riku said, "that is not important. Summon Zeus or Hera immediately."

"Okay, whatever you say," Hermes said, zipping away through the gates. Sora, Riku, and Kairi all walked along the clouded ground until they were standing right at the gates. A few minutes later, Zeus, King of the Gods, appeared in front of them.

Zeus had tan skin that glowed an eerie yellow to compliment the fact that he was a god. He wore a purple toga, with what appeared to be the Olympus Stone on it, just below the shoulder. He had a white beard and long white hair. When he spoke, it was a deep and booming voice, one that indicated leadership and strength.

"Who are you?" Zeus demanded. "Hermes said that Hercules sent you to see me. Why are you here?"

"Lord Zeus," Sora said, sinking to one knee and bowing respectively. Riku and Kairi did the same. Sora then rose to look into Zeus' blue eyes. "I am Sora, the Keyblade Master and hero of Olympus Coliseum. These are my friends. To my right is Riku, my trusted friend. To my left is Kairi, Princess of Heart."

"Sora?" Zeus asked, curiously. He leaned over for a loser look, squinting, then realized who it was. "OH! Sora! Famed Keyblade Master and the boy who helped my son defeat Hades a second time." Standing back upright, he added, "Now what can I do for you?"

"We came to warn you," Kairi said.

"Yeah," Riku added. "Turns out that Hades isn't as defeated as we thought he was, and now we think that he's going to attack Mount Olympus."

"What?" Zeus asked. He thought for a moment, then added, "Come in, come in. We will discuss it further with Hera."

The gates opened and Zeus grabbed Sora, Riku, and Kairi by their hands and quickly dragged them through. The three mortals were dragged through the clouds until they came face to face with Hera. She was strangely pink, with darker pink clothes, and a pink aura. Even her hair was a reddish blonde. She looked at Zeus, and immediately knew something was up.

"What's wrong?" Hera asked, conjuring five chairs, two of which were thrones before sitting down.

"We believe Hades has planned to attack Mount Olympus," Riku said again.

"What do you know?" Zeus asked.

"Hades took your son's strength in exchange for a mortal girl, like us," Kairi said. "In addition, Sora and Blaster have given up their keyblades; Sora for keeping me safe, and Blaster for who knows what reason."

"Blaster?" Hera asked. "You mean Blastbone Clarkson?"

"The very same," Sora said.

"Before we go any further," Zeus said, "I was wondering what sort of authentication you have? How do we know you aren't trying to lie to us?"

"Because," Sora said, reaching for his pocket, "We have the Olympus Stone, given to us by Hercules himself." Sora withdrew his hand from his pocket, with the Olympus Stone in hand.

"That's not going to do you much good if you don't have your Keyblade," Zeus said. "Of course, I don't expect a lot of fighting."

"That won't be important," Sora said. "I'll try to keep myself safe on the sidelines. Besides, it's not like he took away my magic."

Zeus nodded, and Hera thought.

"Oh, wait," Kairi exclaimed. From her side, in the sheath it came with, she held out the King's Sword: The very same sword that Sora used in his dive into the heart (assuming those of you at home who have the game actually used the sword over the staff and shield). "Blaster told me to give it to you when our drive was over. He said you could borrow it."

Sora was handed the sword. Its short blade and hand and a half handle nearly fit into his hands as if it were only yesterday he had chosen the power of the warrior. He gave it a few test swings before inspecting the blade. Solid steel, with a golden guard, and King Mickey's Symbol. As soon as he lowered the blade to his side, Hermes flew in franticly.

"My Lord!" Hermes shouted, skidding to a halt in mid-air. "My Lady! The Titans have escaped! AND THEY ARE PRACTICLY AT OUR GATES!"

"Titans?" Kairi asked.

"The elemental beings that, if unleashed, and I see they have been, they would cause utter chaos!" Zeus said. "Someone must have released them!"

"So, we are in trouble!" Riku said.

Riku and Kairi summoned their keyblades, but Kairi changed back into her Angelic Form.

"Hermes!" Zeus shouted. "Sound the alarm! Launch an immediate counterattack! GO! GO!"

"Gone, babe," Hermes said, saluting before running off and alerting the other gods and goddesses on Olympus.

"I'm gonna go see if I can stall them at all," Kairi said before diving into the clouds.

"No way am I going to let her have all the fun," Riku said, reaching out to Sora. "Darkness!" Both Riku and Sora were engulfed in a cloud of darkness, and when it dispersed, Riku looked much different. His white undershirt turned blood red, and his pants had a demonic wing design on it. Two black, bat-like wings sprouted from Riku's back, complete with the exposed finger at the joint of the wing. Riku's primary Keyblade was still the same Way to the Dawn, but his secondary was now Sora's Oblivion. It actually made perfect sense because the Light blade of the Oathkeeper was Sora's reminder of Kairi, and the Oblivion was the same for Riku.

First drive with me, Sora said. Let's see what this form can do.

Riku smirked, then dove like Kairi. As soon as he penetrated the cloud base, he saw Kairi, spinning down in her Angelic Form, both Keyblades floating just beside her shoulders, aimed tip down, and her wings folded behind her back. She was headed straight for the Rock Titan, careening down at such a high speed that she would flatten herself on him in a second. Just before she made impact, her wings unfurled and she swooped down below the charging feet of the Rock Titan, who was just about ready to start climbing the mountain. As Kairi swooped around, her Keyblades moved in front of her, each one slashing at the back of the Rock Titan.

Dang, Sora said. She's gotten good!

"Time and a place, Sora," Riku muttered to himself, unfolding his demonic wings to engage with the Ice Titan right behind Kairi. The battle for Olympus had begun.

(Scenes from the next chapter.)

ON THE NEXT "INTO THE FIRE": When Kairi and Meg are injured (Blaster swung his fist, and connected with Meg's arm.//Sora's punch landed right where he wanted it to: Kairi's thigh.), Hades realizes that his deal was not as water-tight as he wanted it to be (The bracelets fell off Blaster/Sora. Simultaneously, Hercules got his strength back, his strength returning just in time to land a punch on the Cyclopse). Tune in next week for an all new chapter of "Into the Fire." This Friday by 12pm/11am C.

VIRTUAL JOURNAL:

PHILOCTETES: Hero Trainer Extraordinaire. He has helped numerous heroes become heroes, with each one falling short. The one exception: Hercules. Since then, he has helped train Hercules to keep him in top shape (not that he really needs it). He appeared in Hercules in 1997.

HERMES: Messenger of the Gods. Hermes is a fast talker, but not the type of fast talking like Hades. He was the first to see the Titans approaching, and got the word to everyone as fast as a god could. This incarnation appeared in Hercules in 1997.

ZEUS: King of the gods and Hades' brother/rival. He is also the father of Hercules. When the titans attacked, he fought back using thunderbolts. This incarnation first appeared in Hercules in 1997.

HERA: Zeus' wife and mother of Hercules. She was warned by Hercules indirectly through Sora that Hades would attack, and even joined the battle herself. She first appeared in this form in Hercules in 1997.

Riku's Demonic Drive: In this form, Riku gains a greater power of darkness, and a set of demonic wings. In this form, Riku can wield two keyblades: Way to the Dawn and Oblivion.

Author's Note 2: I would like to thank most of you for patiently waiting for me to get another chapter up. Honestly, after this week, there will be more regular updates.