OMG...52 chapters...and I'm still not done!

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts characters/some of the story (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 52

"We made it to the finals!" Sora cheered, pumping his fist into the air as he did so. Donald nodded as he crossed his arms, smiling.

"If we win, we'll all be heroes!" Donald added, his smile growing at the thought. Goofy chuckled as he looked at Donald.

"Oh, so that's why you're so happy." he chuckled. Sora nodded in agreement as he turned to him.

"We can't stay Junior Heroes forever, you know." he added. Herc sighed and looked up from where he was seated, with Kyrie lying down right next to him.

"I'll try not to mess things up." he sighed. The others sighed in aggravation as Donald turned to him.

"Enough already…" he sighed. Kyrie nodded from where she was laying, too tired to sit up.

"Yeah, Hercules. You're not a washout, and you're the only true hero we know. So stop whining! It gets very vexing." she thought angrily. But the man looked up and spotted something. Whatever was said next Kyrie ignored as she tried to pull herself together, trying to fight off the draining effects of the Underworld.

"Ugh…I feel so sick…" she thought as she forced herself up. She looked over just as Sora called out to…Auron?

"Hey!" he called. But the man turned and walked out, making the three look at each other in confusion. "What was all that about?" Sora asked. The others shrugged their shoulders before Donald looked at Kyrie from over his shoulder.

"C'mon, Kyrie! We've gotta follow him!" he cried. But Kyrie was in no position for chasing anyone and Goofy nodded, walking over and helping the girl to her feet.

"Gawrsh, you sure are pale." he said uncomfortably as he looked her over. Indeed the girl was very pale as she breathed heavily, sweat gathering on her forehead and temples. Without further ado the group walked out, Goofy supporting the girl as they did so. Once they got across the water, they followed Auron into the entrance of the Underworld that led to Hades' chamber. But when they got inside, Sora skidded to a halt and pulled Donald back, making Kyrie and Goofy, as well as Donald, stare at him in confusion. He quickly held a finger to his lips and pointed, the group peering around the corner at the scene in front of them.

"Okay, let's review. State your crime, prisoner." Hades spoke as he walked back and forth in front of Auron. The man was silent for a moment, before answering.

"I exist. That is my crime. It is…inexcusable." He answered in a monotone. Sora looked at the others, his eyebrows raised.

"What's going on?" he whispered. The others shrugged their shoulders and turned their attention back to the two as their conversation continued.

"Okay, so you made one lousy mistake: you exist. But hey, I'm a forgiving guy. You keep your end of our little deal, and I'm willing to overlook a transgression or two." He spoke as he walked a few steps away, his back turned to the swordsman. Auron nodded.

"I understand. Defeat Hercules." At this, Hades glanced back at him.

"And his meddling friends." He added. Auron stared at the god in confusion.

"What? No, only Hercules." He argued. But Hades was in front of him in moments, placing his hand on the man's shoulder, shaking his head at him like a parent to a misbehaving child.

"Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten who's in charge?" he asked as he held out his other hand, a doll appearing in it. It looked like a little Auron, making Kyrie blink in confusion.

"What's he going to do with that doll?" she thought as she watched. Suddenly little orbs of light began to circle the doll as well as the hand that rested on Auron's shoulder, making the man wince in pain as he grimaced.

"Hercules and the other four. Are we clear?" Hades asked in a commanding tone. Auron nodded.

"We're clear, Hades."

"Lord Hades." The god corrected.

"Lord Hades…" with that, the lights and the doll disappeared and he smirked at the man.

"Good. Now go." He ordered. Auron nodded as he began to walk away, Sora and Kyrie growling as they clenched their hands tightly.

"So that's how he's controlling Auron!"

"What a jerk!" Donald added, stomping his foot as he crossed his arms.

"He'd probably think that was a compliment." Goofy sighed, shaking his head. Sora nodded in agreement.

"I can't stand seeing Auron do that lowlife's bidding…We've got to help him!" he exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement as the swordsman passed them, not even bothering to give them a second glance. Once he was gone, they followed after him, but were too late to stop him from getting on the gondola. Kyrie sighed.

"Auron, wait! Damn…" she thought in aggravation. Sora watched in dismay as the gondola sailed off, before a familiar voice called out.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Hercules called as he approached them. Sora and the others turned to him as he stared at the hero.

"Auron's in trouble! It's like Hades brainwashed him!" Sora explained. Goofy nodded.

"He's using some kind of statue." He elaborated, pointing to his hand in emphasis. Hercules was silent for a moment as he placed his hand against his chin.

"You know something? That sounds kinda familiar… hmm, Hades may be using the statue to hold Auron's free will hostage." At this, they gasped.

"What do we do?" Donald cried. Hercules quickly lowered his hand and looked at Sora.

"See if you can find that statue. It's gotta be somewhere in the Underworld." Sora nodded.

"Right. I'm on it!" he answered. Feeling a presence behind her, Kyrie turned and gasped as Hades appeared, silently sneaking up on the boy.

"Tell me you're not thinking of leaving. You've got a match coming up." He spoke, making Sora gasp as he ducked and moved away from the god. Hercules turned to him and smirked, crossing his arms.

"I'll fight Auron in the final. One on one."

"Oh, you will?" Hades asked in astonishment. He quickly turned and began mumbling to himself as Hercules shifted closer to the group.

"I'll draw things out to buy you time."

"But-"

"Just hurry back. I know you can do it!" he encouraged. Hades quickly turned and walked over, shaking the man's hand.

"Congratulations! You got a deal."

"Thanks."

"On one condition! The Keyblader, here, and his trusty friends, including little snowflake, have to meet the winner in one final clash, whaddaya say?" he spoke, adding to the deal. Hercules sighed at the prospect of having to face off against his friends.

"That'll drive the crowd wild…"

"It'd better. I promised the crowd the event of their afterlives." And with that, the god led the man onto an awaiting gondola. Within seconds, it was sailing off to the Underdrome, where the match would take place. Kyrie watched as they sailed away, her eyes blazing with determination.

"Don't worry Hercules. We'll get that statue back, and help Auron. Just like he helped us."

-A little while later-

"Ugh…this is just getting worse." Kyrie thought as she followed slowly after the three, having relieved Goofy of her weight and promising that she wouldn't overexert herself. But she continued losing strength, slowly but surely, as they walked deeper and deeper into the Underworld. Sora and the others checked on her periodically to see if she was okay, and this annoyed her. Greatly.

"Kyrie, are you sure you're alright? Want me or Goofy to carry you?" Sora asked for the umpteenth time that day. She growled silently as she pulled out her notebook and pen.

Yes, Sora! I'm just fine, now would you please stop asking! If I needed help, I would've told you by now!

"Okay, okay! Jeez, sorry…" he spoke as he continued on. She sighed, the feeling of guilt hitting her like a stack of bricks. She didn't mean to technically yell at him, but they were worrying too much about her. She was old enough to take care of herself.

When they finally got to Hades' inner Chamber, they found the statue sitting on the table, looking as if it had been placed there purposely.

"There it is!" Sora exclaimed as he reached out and took it. But the same orbs of light that had surrounded Auron earlier began to flow into him, making him gasp and grimace. Donald and Goofy quickly touched him to see what was wrong, and the same thing happened to them.

"What's going on?" Donald exclaimed. Kyrie took a few steps back, unsure of what to do.

"What's happening? What do I do?" she thought in alarm. But the orbs quickly faded away, as the three began to look around the room. After a few moments, Sora spoke.

"I get it. This is what belongs in Auron's heart." He explained, looking at the statue in his hand. Goofy nodded as he looked at the statue sympathetically.

"Gawrsh, he musta had a pretty rough life." He spoke, voicing his opinion. Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah…but in the end, that's really what made him stronger."

"Let's give it back!" Donald exclaimed. Sora, Goofy, and Kyrie nodded before something white caught their attention. Gasping, they quickly summoned their weapons as Dusks slithered into the room.

"How'd they get here?" Sora exclaimed. But Kyrie quickly shook her head, now was not the time to think about that.

"Now's the time to fight, not ask questions!" she thought as a dusk swooped in, its target the keyblade bearer. He quickly took it out with one swing and the others followed, going after the four. The fight didn't last long as the group took out the nobodies, but what ended the melee surprised them. Some heartless showed up just as the dusks had them surrounded and pounced, one biting into the head of a dusk as it did so. The group blinked at the strange scene before Sora turned to them.

"Not what I had in mind, but I'll take it!" he cried. Goofy nodded.

"We better skedaddle!" he cried. Sora nodded, turning and running out of the chamber. Donald, Goofy, and Kyrie followed right after him, not wanting to get caught by either side as they continued fighting in the chamber.

"I swear, the craziest things happen to us." Kyrie thought as she ran. "But I'm glad it did. I don't know how long I would've lasted otherwise."

-A little while later, Underdrome-

"Now! Finish him!" Hades cried as Auron slammed his blade down, Hercules barely able to catch it with his bare hands as he held the swordsman off. The four ran in just as Hercules was losing his grip, and Sora gasped.

"Auron, no!" Sora cried as they ran in, meeting Meg and Phil. He quickly pulled out the statue as Donald called to him.

"Hey, Auron! This belongs to you!" Donald cried as Sora threw it. It flew over and right as it hovered over Auron, it exploded into little fireworks and landed on the swordsman, making him pause. He lowered his blade, Hercules sighing in relief as it rested on the ground beside him. Kyrie sighed in relief as he got to his feet.

"Sora. Donald. Goofy. Kyrie."

"Auron!" the three exclaimed. Kyrie smiled and gave a weak wave, but stopped when she caught sight of Hades glaring at them.

"Why those little- Ugh, prisoner! What happened to our mutual agreement? I can give you a clean slate, but you gotta work with me." He exclaimed. Auron was silent for a moment, before turning to him.

"Maybe you didn't hear me. This is my story, and you're not part of it." He spoke. Hades growled as he flared red, and disappeared in a fiery eruption, only to appear a few feet away from them.

"That's it! This game is over. I've played by the rules so far. Okay, I confess! I was hoping Wonderboy would lose, but it was still a fair fight. C'mon, is that really so wrong?" he exclaimed. Kyrie huffed and crossed her arms as Donald and Goofy began to laugh.

"Really? A fair fight?" Sora asked. Hades growled. "Laugh, laugh, laugh all you want! Because the laughing is about to stop. Wanna know why? Because now we're gonna play by my rules." with that, the god snapped his fingers and a door rose, revealing a swirling green vortex. Kyrie shuddered at the sight of it, she could feel the darkness coming from it, and it made her sick.

"Ugh…what now?" she thought with a shudder. Suddenly Meg cried out, making the group turn to her as she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Looking around, Hercules gasped.

"Meg!" he exclaimed. The group turned and spotted her hovering over the green vortex, trapped in a swirl of smoke. "Hercules!" she cried.

"Hey, I warned you right from the get-go. You don't compete, you lose the girl." with that, he snapped his fingers and the smoke disappeared, dropping her. Within seconds Hercules jumped over, looking down into the vortex.

"No! Meg! Hang on!" and with that, he dove in after her. Hades turned to them just as the door lowered, smirking.

"Looks like Wonderboy has just dropped out of the standings." Sora and the others glared at him in disgust, clenching their fists tightly.

"Well, you've still got us to deal with!" he exclaimed. Hades smirked as he disappeared, reappearing behind him as his skin turned red.

"Oh, yeah. This is gonna be good."

Yeah, this chapter and the previous one are a bit borning, but just hang with me, 'kay? The next chapter has a ton of action! That, and there's a strange twist in it. But that's all I'm revealing for now...