CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Ventus and others left, leaving Hercules and I. As soon as they had left, Unversed appeared. A Bruiser lobbed its fist into Hercules and sent him flying.

"Hercules!" I cried. I gripped Ultima Weapon and lunged at the Bruiser. The teeth of my Keyblade sunk into its large belly. It swung its arm and shoved me aside before it crumbled to oblivion.

"Stay back." a familiar voice said. I crawled to my hands and knees and grabbed Ultima Weapon before standing up.

"Terra!" I ran to his side and struck my battle stance. "Glad you could join us."

Terra nodded and we split up. As I attacked the Unversed, I smacked into them with the flat side of my Keyblade like a baseball bat, sending them flying over to Terra, where he finished them off with a swipe. Hercules sat on the ground and caught his breath from the attack. I walked over and held a hand out to him. He accepted it and hoisted himself up.

"Thanks. Both of you." Hercules said. "I guess those monsters were too much for me. I'm just gonna have to train harder."

"Yeah, those Unversed are for the big leagues. They're a nasty group to deal with." I said.

Hercules turned to Terra. "She said your name was Terra? You're pretty tough- really handled those things. Are you here to enter the Games?"

"What games?" Terra said.

"The "Games" games. To see who's strongest! One day I'm gonna win 'em all and become a true hero."

"Herc, where are ya?" Phil called from the staircase. "Front and center right now, or I'm tackin' on another 1,000 laps!"

"Uh-oh. Gotta go. The Coliseum's just up ahead. I hope I get to see you guys fight there sometime!" Hercules called as he ran towards the Coliseum.

"A competition..." Terra said. He turned to me. "You interested in signing up?"

I shook my head. "I'd rather be a spectator. What about you?"

Terra cupped his chin in his hand. "It'll help me to find out how strong I really am. Why not?"


As we walked up to the Coliseum, nervous chills prickled my skin at the sight of Hades, god of the Underworld. His skin was tinted blue, with yellow, beady eyes, dark lips, razor-sharp teeth, and blue fire as hair. He wore a black robe with a skull on it.

"Uh..." I said. I grabbed Terra's arm and pulled him towards the leaderboards. "Let's go see what you'll be up against in the Games."

Without an answer, I yanked Terra over to the leaderboards. I silently prayed that we would go unnoticed.

"How sad is this..."

Well, that didn't work.

"Pains me to see it. All that power going to waste." I jumped to see Hades standing on the other side of Terra.

"Who are you?" Terra said.

"Name is Hades, Lord of the Dead, god of the Underworld, yadda yadda, how ya doin'?" Hades said. "Hey, lemme guess, you're trying to put the kibosh on the darkness inside you. Am I right? Of course I'm right. Well, anyway, bad idea."

"Don't listen to him, Terra." I whispered and held onto his arm like a lost child. "He's bad news."

"Okay, stay with me here- darkness is inside... everybody. Nothing to be ashamed of. You play nice with it, and darkness will be your best friend. But if you go and get all self-conscious and refuse to face it, the darkness will run you over like a debutante at a toga sale! And then where are you? Nowhere." Hades glided over and placed his blue, wrinkled hands on Terra's shoulders. "Now me, I look at you and I see potential. That's right, kid. You got the potential to conquer the darkness inside you. And I'll even give you some pointers. I mean, believe me, if anybody knows conquering, I know conquering."

"I'll answer for him: NO." I said. "We don't want anything to do with what's up your death-filled sleeve."

Hades glared at me, and I felt as if he stared right into my fear-filled soul, which made sense because he is the Lord of the Dead.

He doesn't know you. I reassured. He doesn't know who you are... yet.

"Can it, girlie. You're not a part of this." Hades hissed. "Now, you may ask, how do you conquer the darkness? Easy. You sign up for the Games. I know, I know. "Please, Lord Hades, the Games?" But hey, you would be surprised what you can learn in the heat of battle. And don't worry. I'll be right there to guide you every step of the way. I'm kinda what you'd call an expert in the art of darkness. Decide fast. This is a limited-time offer."

Hades turned around and headed for the Coliseum.

"No way, Terra." I said, firmly crossing my arms. "You told me you wanted to stop canoodling with the darkness."

Terra raised his eyebrow. "Canoodling?"

"Not my point! You need to learn to trust me, Terra. Believe it or not, I know a lot more about things than you do, and you've got to listen to what I have to say. Hades is bad. Doesn't the term 'Lord of the Dead' frighten you at all? Don't listen to whatever business deal he has to offer."

Terra nodded. "All right. I won't."

"Thank you." I sighed in relief. "Now, let's get you signed up for the Games."


I sat in the bleachers and watched Terra fly through the rounds and defeat his Unversed opponents. The further he progressed, the louder I cheered. By the end of the final match, I'd probably lose my voice. Terra obeyed my advice and refused to cooperate with Hades. He stood on the arena as we waited for his final match. I bounced my legs excitedly in quiet anticipation.

I wonder who his opponent will be. I thought. Maybe a big, bad Unversed?

His opponent stepped onto the field with a sword strapped on his back. He unsheathed his sword and held it tight in his hands, making his strong biceps flex. His face was shrouded in a helmet, but the armored tunic and blue pants looked familiar.

"Zack?" I cried, jumping to my feet.

The battle began, and I knew something was very off. In certain attacks, Zack's sword left traces of darkness. Each time their weapons met, it made me jump. I stopped cheering and held my legs to my chest.

Soon the match was over, and Zack collapsed to the ground. His helmet fell off and rolled to the ground. I smiled for Terra's victory, but the paranoia in my chest told me this wasn't over yet. Terra turned and headed towards the vestibule. Zack slowly rose to his feet, and his body emitted darkness. His blue eyes were a blank slate. He gripped his sword and lunged at Terra. Terra brought Earthshaker up and blocked the attack.

"Terra!" I cried.

Zack swung his sword harshly and consecutively at Terra, but he blocked and jumped away.

"Stop it! The match is over!" Terra cried.

Zack leaped in the air and brought his sword down, but Terra blocked it.

"It's not... me..." Zack groaned as the darkness pulsed. "I'm not... doing this..."

"He's being controlled!" Terra gasped.

I squeezed my hands over my mouth, remembering the time back in the Enchanted Dominion, when I witnessed Terra go through the same thing with Maleficent.

"Huh? So, what do ya think? You like my new super-warrior?" Hades appeared onto the arena in a puff of smoke. "See- right here, this- it's the power of darkness. Could have been yours. Still could, if you open up to it."

"What part of NO do you not understand, Hades?!" I growled and jumped to my feet. I summoned Ultima Weapon to my side.

"YOU will stay out of this!" Hades waved his hand and a pink barrier formed at the bottom of the bleachers. I ran to the bottom and pounded my fists against the magic barrier, but I was trapped in here. There was nothing I could do but watch helplessly.

"Hades, you were just playing me!" Terra said. He shoved Zack back. "The darkness will never have me!"

"Help me... You gotta... set my heart free..." Zack said.

"You can do it, Terra!" I cried.

This battle was far more intense than the previous one, thanks to Hades's darkness inside Zack. He dealt power moves that emitted a powerful darkness that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand. If it weren't for the barrier, I thought I'd turn into a pile of dust from the intensity. Although Dark Zack proved to be a worthy opponent, he still couldn't beat Terra. With a final swipe, Zack fell to the ground once more. The pink barrier disappeared, and the darkness vanished from Zack. Applause roared from the arena, but it confused me when I looked around and saw no other human around. Maybe the angels were applauding Terra for choosing the light over darkness?

"Way to go, Terra!" I cried, jumping down from the bleachers and running over to him. I glanced back as Hades turned and walked out of the arena. Terra and I turned to Zack and knelt by him. "How are you feeling, Zack?"

Zack propped himself up on his elbows and looked up with a smile.

"I... I feel great! I'm finally free!" Zack scanned the arena with his bright, blue eyes. "Where is-"

"He's gone." Terra said, referring to Hades.

Zack groaned and pounded his fist against the dusty ground. "Man, how could I let a guy like him control me? I'll never live it down!" Terra reached his hand out, and Zack smiled and took it. He stood up and scratched the back of his head. "Thanks, um..."

"Terra."

"Thanks, Terra. I'm Zack." Zack leaned forward and studied Terra for a few moments before he smiled. "Yup. Definitely. Terra, you're exactly what I pictured a hero would be. Not the way you look... There's something else about you."

Terra turned around. "Well, I'm no hero."

"You kidding? Listen to those cheers, man!" We paused for a moment to listen to the cheers coming from the invisible audience. "You don't get to decide if you're a hero or not. They do. And they've already made up their mind. Whether you like it or not, you're their hero." Zack punched Terra's arm and smiled. "And mine, too. It's too bad. I really wanted to fight you fair and square."

Terra punched Zack's arm. "Maybe someday, Zack."