Olypmus! A fun-filled paradice filled with fighting, fighting, fighting, mythical monsters, Greek gods, and some more fighting!
Hades: "Kid, don't go into stand-up. Darth here doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, or anything else he wants to use."
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Chapter 36: Underworld Alliance
The entryway to the Underworld was a big, stone, rock face along the River Styx. In an eerie boat rowed by a waxy-skinned creature almost a skeleton, stood a figure in a red and black jacket.
Ruxik understood that a potentially awesome ally for the Brotherhood was trapped down here, in his own domain. He really hoped that he could get this over with and get back to the real business of the Keybearers, he knew his Master had sent him down here just as punishment for his failure at Twilight Town.
He'd do this quick, bring the man to Serndask, and get back to important matters.
The rock face parted, revealing a very large cavern that the river continued down. Suddenly, a massive, three-headed dog with black fur and gleaming red eyes charged from the darkness.
It roared, and the cavern shook with the sound. The ferryman named Charon continued on, being nearly emotionless, and practically a Nobody himself. Ruxik really was fearless. He gazed up at the dog coldly, feeling something like resentment. He didn't have time for this.
Summoning dark fire to his hand, he hurled it at the dog (whom he assumed was Cerberus). It struck the center head right between the eyes.
Cerberus let out a surprisingly puppy-like yelp and backed away. He knew who the alpha-dog was.
Ruxik continued down the river, satisfied. Eventually, he reached his stop; a pathway that led off into the bowels of the Underworld. Very few beings had ever gone this far into it's depths.
Living beings, anyway.
Gesturing to his silent driver to leave, he stepped out of the boat onto solid ground, and walked on it silence. His boots made echoing noises along the empty corridors, adding to the place's empty feeling.
All that was left down here after Sora, Hercules, and Auron had finished were the silent spirits of dead souls. Even the Heartless had abandoned the place.
Not for long.
While walking the tunnels of the Underworld, he heard something strange. A quiet, hissing noise like several snakes hissing. He had been informed of the dangers of the Underworld (not by Serndask, by Klaxam) and had an idea what he would soon meet. He was prepared.
He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a scarlet blindfold. He leaned against one wall as he tied it around his head over his eyes. He thought it a bit ironic. Riku had done the same thing once, but for much different reasons.
He rounded the corner he had stopped at after making sure he was as blind as a bat.
If he had been able to see, he would have met with a sight that most people desperately hoped never to see. And if they did anyway, it was typically the last thing they did.
A hideous woman with dark green skin and pointed teeth sat in the center of the room munching on something long since dead. She had bright red eyes with vertical black slits for pupils. But these weren't her most shocking features. What was, was that she had more than a dozen very angry-looking snakes for hair.
It was the gorgon, and she was why Ruxik was wearing a blindfold. (1) The old legend said that if you looked her in the eye you turned to stone. He wasn't too sure if the legend was accurate but Klaxam sure set store by it.
The gorgon looked up from her unsavory dinner and saw a very tasty-looking Nobody. The snakes hissed excitedly and she echoed them. A forked tongue shot out from her mouth briefly, tasting and sniffing the air. She advanced slowly toward what she saw as prey.
Ruxik calmly summoned his Keyblade and waited, standing totally still.
The gorgon observed him for a moment, her snake-like eyes lingering on his weapon. After a minute, she seemed to decide that he'd be easy enough to bring down, and rushed toward him.
Her loud, hurried footfalls were all the warning that Ruxik needed. He lept high into the air over her head, and landed on her other side. His blade slashed behind his back, removing the head of one of the snakes atop her head.
She let out an angry hiss, and spun around with her claws out. He ducked under one strike and punched the 'woman' in the stomach. She staggered backwards, and charged right back at him. He blasted her with dark fire which struck the same place he had punched.
The gorgon shrieked, and fell on her back. Ruxik lept toward the general direction of her cries, and brought his blade stabbing down toward her.
His blade only met cold, hard stone. The gorgon was much more clever than she appeared, it seemed. She had rolled out of the way, and lept to her feet. She aimed a punch at him, which grazed his shoulder. She followed up with a swipe at his head. It resulted in a small red mark on the side of his face.
The Nobody let out a low grunt, and jumped away from the creature. He blasted dark energy in her direction, and heard several shots find their mark. He kept firing, never letting up, feeling satisfied at every noise and shriek that meant he had sucessfully hurt her.
In a moment, something hit the ground with a dull thud. Ruxik stopped firing and dismissed his blade. He cautiously pulled part of the blindfold off, so that he could look at the damage with his right eye.
The gorgon was lying face down on the ground. Even the snakes that made up her hair weren't moving.
He pulled the blindfold off and tossed it aside into the dirt. He walked toward the defeated gorgon and prodded her with the toe of his boot. He got no response from her.
Ruxik nodded to himself. One of the most feared creatures in the world, and he had beaten it blindfolded. Then again, it probably relied on it's fatal sight to overcome most enemies, rather than actual combat skill.
He shrugged. Either way, she was no longer a problem.
After what felt like half an hour of walking, Ruxik arrived at his intended destination. A kind of throne room/planning area overlooking the River Styx from two large windows. In the center of the room sat a large, flat chart of the world, with Mount Olymus pointing into the air. At the far side of the room was a throne the color of smoke. Above it was what he assumed was some kind of skeletal trophy.
Ruxik looked through the room to try and find what he was looking for. Master Serndask had said that he'd be able to release him from here.
He prodded the chart with one foot experimentally, and it reacted. A glittering Keyhole shape appeared in it's center. Understanding what he needed to do, he summoned Way to Dusk and pointed it at the lock.
There was a flash of light, and the chart split in half. Ruxik took a step back and observed his handywork. Below the chart was a deep pit, at the bottom was a swirling green mass of energy connecting to the River Styx outside.
All was still for a few seconds. And then a huge fireball erupted in the center of the room over the pit. The chart slid back together again, and on top of it stood a man.
"Don't I know you?" He said.
His skin was bluish-grey. His eyes were a pale yellow with black irises. He wore black and grey robes with a skull pendant on the right side of his chest. His most noticable feature was the bright blue flames on the top of his head. When he spoke, he revealed two rows of sharp, pointy teeth.
Hades: Lord of the Underworld and God of the Dead.
"You're mistaking me for my other, Riku." He said, folding his arms in front of him.
"Ah, knew you looked familiar." Hades said casually. He took a look around his chambers and strode over to the throne, "I gotta tell ya kid, I owe you one." He sat down in his throne after examining the thick layer of dust on one of it's arms. "Boy, some of the characters down there are dead..."
"Yes, you do owe me one." Ruxik said, walking around the chart confidently. "I'm here with a proposition from the Brotherhood of the Dark."
"Hmmm... Lay it on me, kid."
"It's simple. You join us, add your powers to our forces, and in return, you get a share of the power of Kingdom Hearts."
"Kingdom Hearts?" He said, sounding interested, but then disappionted. "Hate to tell you kid, but the last few guys who tried to get at that thing are either dead, or missing. Apart from yours truly, of course."
"But we have learned from the mistakes of Organization XIII and Maleficent's little band." He countered, "And we have a different plan to get at Kingdom Hearts this time around."
"Really?" Hades pondered this for a moment, and then smiled wickidly, "Okay kid you've got my attention. But I have a counter-offer. If I join you, you have to help me with a little project I've been working on for a while..."
"And that is?"
Hades's smile widened.
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Hades, next to Scar is the best villain Disney ever came out with. Who here agrees with me? Sorry for the shortness of the chapter, I'll update in a week.
(1) If you'll remember, she appeared very briefly in the movie.
Review please!