The Elder Scrolls: The Quest for Kingdom Hearts
…
Chapter 4: The Sport of Champions
Sora placed a bowl of ground up meat and called out, "Lunch time little guys!" And running into the room were several of the Dalmatian puppies they had found so far. The puppies yipped and barked happily as they began to eat their food. Sora smiled as he placed a bowl of water down on the floor for them.
"How are the puppies doing?" Veronica asked the Keyblade's Chosen who replied, "They're doing okay. I just fed them."
Courier who was piloting the Gummi Ship spoke from the pilot's seat. "If they make a mess on the ship, you're gonna clean up after them," she warned.
"Oh lighten up, Courier," Veronica said to her. "You gotta be happy that we found some of the puppies, right?" she asked.
Courier grunted before saying, "We're approaching another," she said as she flipped some switches.
Veronica rolled her eyes and Aela spoke up, "I wonder what kind of world this one will be?" she mused.
"Anything would be better than the last one," Dragonborn said stoically.
"Or that sad excuse for a queen," Serana muttered darkly.
Sora smiled and said, "Don't worry, I got a good feeling about this one!"
…
Entering the gates of the Coliseum, the group were met with the sight of two enormous bronze statues crossing swords together and standing over a doorway. Serana said, "You were right, Sora. This world does seem better."
"Could we be in Cyrodiil?" Aela asked. "Perhaps at their famous arena?" she added.
"I don't know, it doesn't feel like it," Dragonborn replied.
"It kinda reminds of the Legion fortress, but less... I don't know," Courier said thoughtfully.
"Less people being strung up on telephone poles?" Veronica quipped.
"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking," Courier said with a chuckle.
"Well, I don't see any Heartless around," Sora remarked. "Where do we go?" he asked.
Dragonborn looked at the doorway and walked towards it and the others followed his lead. Entering a dusty lobby, the cracks in the sandstone floor just barely visible, the group found a satyr standing on a pedestal hanging a poster up on the wall. Another entrance was nearby with a rope sign across saying "Arena closed." And nearby a large stone pillar stood near a burning torch against the wall.
Courier, ED-E and Veronica were all staring at the satyr in surprise. They wondered if the creature was some kind of mutant. Sora walked up to the Satyr. "Umm…" Sora wondered what to say.
"Good timing! Gimme a hand, will ya?" the Satyr said not looking away from what he was doing. "Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games!" he added pointing to the large stone block against the wall.
Unsure of how to respond, Sora shrugged and moved over to the stone pedestal. Dragonborn looked at him and said, "You know he thought you were someone else right?" he asked.
"I know," Sora replied as he prepared to move the stone pedestal. With a push, Sora attempted to move it, but it wouldn't budge.
"Sora?" Serana asked in concern.
"It's okay! I got this!" Sora replied as he tried to make the stone pedestal moved. Emphasis on tried.
"He's persistent, I'll give him that," Courier muttered as she folded her arms over her chest.
"You want some help?" Aela offered to Sora.
"Nah, I got this!" Sora said with a shake of his head, his face red and sweat on his brow.
Sighing in irritation, Aela walked over to the Satyr and spoke to him, "There's no way he can move it! It's too heavy for him!" she told the Satyr.
"What?! Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little-" the Satyr turned around and saw Aela. A slightly lecherous smile was on the satyr's face as he said, "Hello beautiful!"
Aela had a slightly disgusted look on her face as she pointed over to Sora. "My friend is going to hurt himself," she said to the satyr. The Satyr looked over at Sora who was panting for breath.
"Oh, wrong guy. Stop before ya hurt yourself, kid!" the Satyr told Sora who slumped against the pedestal. Courier helped the Keyblade wielder to his feet and offered him a bottle of purified water which Sora gratefully took.
"What are ya doing here?" the Satyr asked the heroes. "This here's the world famous Coliseum, heroes only! I got my hands full preparing for the games, so run along, pipsqueaks!" he said.
"You wanna come closer and say that?" Courier asked the Satyr as her fingers tapped her revolver. A slightly nervous look came over the Satyr's face as he said, "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters, right here at the Coliseum."
"You've got heroes standing right in front of you!" Veronica retorted angrily.
"The boy was chosen by the Keyblade," Dragonborn said putting a hand to Sora's shoulder.
"And we've all been tried and tested in battle!" Aela said proudly.
The satyr looked at Sora and said, "Hero? That runt?" He then started laughing loudly, slapping his fat belly.
"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora said angrily.
The satyr stopped laughing and replied, "Hey, if you can't move this pedestal…" He then began to attempt to push the pedestal, but like Sora he failed to do so. "Then you can't call yourself…" He gave another push while the others smirked at his attempts. "A hero!" The satyr slumped against the pedestal, trying to catch his breath.
Looking at the heroes, the satyr spoke. "Okay, so it take more than brawn," he admitted. "Alright, let's see what you can all do. What are your names?" he asked.
"I'm Sora, and these are Dragonborn, Aela, Serana, Courier, ED-E and Veronica," Sora replied introducing his friends in turn.
"Name's Philocetes, but call me Phil for short," the Satyr said. "You all ready? These trials are tough! You got what it takes?" he asked.
"Bring it on!" Courier said palming a fist in her palm.
"Okay, let's see what you got," Phil said.
…
The heroes faced Phil's trials in a training area of the Coliseum and each of them had to face it alone. They all passed the trials with flying colours and after the last challenge, they met with Phil who looked at the appraisingly. "You know, you kids ain't half bad," he said stroking his goatee in thought.
Sora placed his hands behind his head and said, "Looks like I'm heading for the games!" he boasted with a grin.
"I'm afraid not," Phil said bluntly, crossing his arms. Everyone looked at Phil in shockand Aela yelled, "Why not?!"
"Two words: You guys ain't heroes!" Phil replied. "Sorry, gorgeous, not even you," he said to Aela who growled angrily.
"Wait a minute! That was four words, not two!" Veronica shouted as she had counted what Phil said to them. Courier then spoke, "Someone get a fire going! I'm gonna make me some Philoctetes stew!" she declared as she pulled out Blood Nap.
Phil had a nervous look on his face but he looked at Sora and said, "You wanna become a real hero? Start by mastering this spell." The Satyr waved his hand at Sora and the Keyblade wielder was surrounded by golden yellow light.
"New spell?" Dragonborn asked Sora who nodded in reply.
"At least one good thing came from this," Aela said murderously. "C'mon! We're done here!" she added as she turned around and left the Coliseum. The others followed suit and left the Coliseum.
…
"The nerve of that goat!" Aela growled angrily. "Who is he to decide who is a hero?!" she shouted.
"I understand how you feel, Aela," Dragonborn said to the redhead. "But what's done is done. Nothing more we can do about it," he added.
Sora made to say something when someone interrupted him. "Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" Everyone turned around to see a tall man with blue-grey skin, and blue flames for hair wearing a dark black toga.
"Who are you?" Serana asked as she prepared a spell in her hands.
"Whoa, hold on there, kiddies. Let me guess? You wanna enter the games, right?" the man asked them and he walked over to Sora and said, "Well, then hey, get a load of this." In a puff of dark smoke, a roll of papyrus appeared in his long-fingered hands.
"A pass?" Sora asked dumbfounded and amazed.
"It's all yours. It should let you and your friends to enter the games whether the goat likes it or not," replied the strange man.
"What's the catch?" Courier asked suspiciously.
"Geez, what's with the mistrust?" said the stranger. "Look, I'm just giving you this pass, no strings attached. Promise!" he added and he then turned around and said, "Good luck out there. I'm pulling you, little league." And he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
"What do you think?" Serana asked everyone. "It's obviously some kind of trap," she stated.
"So we don't go," Veronica said.
"If we don't, we won't find out what's going on here," Dragonborn pointed out.
"Then we go along, but we keep an eye out for anything that goes wrong," Courier said.
As everyone headed back to the Coliseum, Sora looked a little uncertain. "Are you alright, Sora?" Aela asked him kindly. "even if this is some kind of trap, as long as we stick together, we should be fine," she said to him.
"Yeah, but I just gotta funny feeling about this," Sora said nervously as they entered the Coliseum lobby.
…
Once they entered the lobby , they showed Phil the entry pass. "How did you get this?!" Phil demanded as he examined the papyrus with critical eyes, trying to detect some kind of forgery.
"Can we enter the games now?" Sora asked.
Phil finished examining the pass, obviously disappointed it was not a forgery and replied, "I guess. We'll start with the preliminaries. Some real weirdos signed up for the games. Better watch yourselves!" he warned.
…
Entering the arena of the Coliseum, the heroes looked around. "Where is the opponent we're to be fighting?" Serana asked.
"Maybe they got scared and backed out?" Veronica joked.
Then rising up from the floor were Heartless. "You were saying?" Dragonborn asked Veronica who shrugged in response before pulling Oh Baby from her back and prepared to swing it.
"I think I know why that guy gave us that pass!" Courier stated as she fired Medicine Stick at the Heartless.
"It was a trap all along!" Sora exclaimed as he slashed apart two Heartless.
"Doesn't matter now. Let's take them down!" Dragonborn declared as he sliced a Heartless Soldier in half.
The heroes fought wave after wave of Heartless and the observing crowd cheered as they came out on top. On a break, Phil met with them.
"You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching!" he boasted.
"We would've been fine without him," Courier staged whispered to Veronica who giggled in response. Then a tall young man wearing a long red cloak about his shoulders. Sora stared at the man who stared back through spiky blonde hair, his boots digging into the ground with each step. Phil observed the man and spoke.
"Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat," the Satyr remarked. "Who knows? Maybe you'll end up facing him," he said.
ED-E buzzed and chirped and Courier translated what the robot said, "ED-E says that guy is our next opponent. His name is Cloud Strife."
"Nifty little machine ya got there," Phil praised. "You're doing better than I thought! I wish he was here to see this," he said nostalgically.
"Who?" Sora asked.
"Hercules. He's a hero if there ever was one!" Phil said proudly. "Too bad he's off visiting his father," he added sadly.
…
Meanwhile, in a darkened area of the Coliseum, Hades, lord of the Underworld spoke with Cloud Strife. The soldier was leaning against the stone wall as Hades said to him, "Those little punks are your next opponent. Now don't blow it. Just take them out!"
Cloud raised an eyebrow and replied, "The great lord of the underworld is afraid of a bunch of kids? Sorry, but my contract says…"
"I know!" Hades interrupted him angrily with a burst of flames. "You think I don't know that?! I wrote the contract!" he shouted before he calmed down and said, "I know it says you're only required to kills Hercules in this tournament, but you've gotta fight those kids to get to him. Come on. Hey, it's like the old goat says; Rule 11: It's all just a game. So, let loose and have fun with it. I mean a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?"
Cloud stood up and walked away. Hades sniffed and said, "Geez, stiffer than the stiffs back home. Still, suckers like him are hard to come by."
Then walking out of the shadows was a woman with gold tinted skin, pale blonde hair and pointed ears wearing a black ornate robe. "Once he's served his purpose, he'll no longer be of any use to us," she said coldly.
"Ah, there you are! Was wondering when you'd get here, Elenwen," Hades grinned. "Is plan B in place?" he asked.
Elenwen gave a smile and replied, "Your beast is already hungry for flesh." Gesturing behind her, in the darkness the growls of a large beast could be heard. "I am eager to see how the Dragonborn and his companions will fall against such a might creature," Elenwen smiled viciously and Hades gave a grin at that.
"Belay that!" said a rigid imperious voice and walking into view were a squadron of white armoured soldiers led by a woman wearing similar armour but with a chrome finish and a black cape around her shoulders.
"Are they with you?" Hades asked looking at Elenwen who replied, "They are not with me." The Thalmor gave a disdainful look at the soldiers and asked, "Why are you here, Captain Phasma?"
"I'm here on behalf of the First Order," Captain Phasma replied. "I have orders from Kylo Ren to capture the Keyblade wielder," she said.
"Ugh, that kid has got issues!" Hades grumbled. "And what's the keybrat got to do with this?" he asked.
"Lord Kylo believes that the boy can be used to draw out Luke Skywalker," Phasma replied.
"Skywalker?" Hades raised an eyebrow in surprise. "What has that old geezer got to do with this?" he asked.
"Classified," Phasma said taciturnly.
Hades rubbed his forehead and said, "Look, even IF I was willing to go along with this, you'd still have to-"
"Maleficent has already agreed to this," Phasma said imperiously and Hades gave a groan of frustration.
"Okay, fine! You can join the party. But if you see Jerkules, shoot to kill!" the Lord of the Underworld said.
Phasma looked at her squadron and said to them, "Men, on my command!"
…
The seven heroes then prepared to face their final opponent: Cloud Strife. "Be ready for anything!" Dragonborn said encouragingly. "We do not yet know this man's skill," he added.
"Then let's make this quick!" Courier said as she drew her revolver and fired from the hip, her off hand fanning the hammer, sending out five .357 magnum rounds at Cloud Strife who blocked the bullets with his large practically oversized sword.
"That the best you can do?" the soldier asked Courier dryly.
"Hardly!" Courier spat as she launched herself at the soldier, her knife drawn. Thrusting rapidly at Cloud, Courier used her smaller blade to get in close. But Cloud dodged each of her attacks before shoving her away.
Dragonborn and Sora moved in with their weapons, both sword and Keyblade swinging at the soldier. The soldier blocked the strikes with the flat of his buster sword before sending out a pulse of darkness knocking Dragonborn and Sora back.
"What was that?!" Sora exclaimed.
"He made a deal with the Heartless," Dragonborn observed as he stood back up just as a single black demonic wing emerged from Cloud's left shoulder and he soared towards Dragonborn and swung his sword down onto him. Dragonborn raised his sword in time to block the strike.
A thunderclap of metal clashing against metal was heard and sparks flew as the hard sharp edges of the two swords grinded onto each other. Dragonborn held his sword in both hands as he strained to maintain his position against Cloud who tried to press down further onto him. Veronica charged in and swung Oh Baby into the soldier.
The soldier gave a grunt on pain as the heavy rusty steel head of the super sledge hammer slammed into his ribs. It was either through the power of darkness or being simply that tough that Cloud's ribs weren't broken or fractured. The soldier then turned to face Veronica who prepared to swing again when he thrust out a kick and sent Veronica sprawling.
Aela moved in with her shield and dagger, using her shield to smash Cloud in the face with the rim of it and thrust her dagger into his shoulder. Cloud moved back and swung his buster sword, knocking the redhead she-wolf aside. Aela grunted as she skidded along the ground.
Dragonborn watched as Cloud fought his friends; whatever powers the soldier had acquired from the Heartless had increased his strength dramatically and he could've killed them all if he so desired. But having looked briefly into the soldier's eyes, Dragonborn knew that he wouldn't and that's when he sheathed his sword and stood waiting as Cloud strode over to him.
"Dragonborn, what are you doing?!" Serana shouted. "He'll kill you!"
"He won't," Dragonborn said calmly. "He's a soldier. Not a murderer," he added.
Cloud stopped in front of Dragonborn and sighed, "He's right, I won't kill you. Nothing is worth that," he said.
Serana looked at Dragonborn and Cloud in surprise, just then large footsteps were head and a large black paw slammed down onto Cloud, pinning him to the ground. Everyone looked up to see a giant black furred three-headed dog with blazing red eyes and sharp yellowed teeth. The beast growled at them, darkness seeping from its jaws.
"That is one big dog!" Veronica exclaimed.
From the darkness, Hades smirked and said, "Oh, right. There was one other rule I forgot; accidents happen." And with that he disappeared into the darkness.
Then standing atop the giant black dog was someone familiar to the Tamriel natives. "Greetings, Dragonborn," Elenwen said with a smug smile.
"Elenwen? What has the Thalmor got to do with this?" Dragonborn asked as he drew his sword.
"You know her?" Sora asked Dragonborn.
"Aye, Elenwen is an agent of the Thalmor, the ruling body of the High elves of Summerset Isles," Dragonborn said. "She'd been manipulating the Civil War in Skyrim and would've succeeded had I not revealed her manipulations," he added.
"Yes, You set back the plans of my superiors quite a bit doing that," Elenwen said in a frosty tone of voice. "But with the aid of some new allies, the Thalmor has what it needs," she added with a triumphant smile.
"Not if I have anything to do with it!" Dragonborn said in a dark tone of voice.
"Cerberus! Dinner time!" Elenwen commanded the beast she rode and the beast roared in anticipation of its meal and launched itself at the heroes but was suddenly stopped. "What?!" Elenwen shouted.
Holding back against the giant dog was a young man with a strong physique wearing armour and a short blue cape.
"Herc!" Phil shouted in relief. Indeed, Hercules had arrived to save the day.
"Phil! Get everyone out of here! I saw First Order Troopers here as well!" the Son of Zeus shouted.
"Might I suggest a tactical withdrawal?" Veronica suggested helpfully to her friends who quickly agreed as they raced back to the Coliseum lobby with Phil.
The Satyr slumped against the wall in relief. "Whew, that was close!" he said. "That was Cerberus, Guardian of the Underworld," he told the heroes. "Herc should be able to handle him. But then again… maybe not, especially with the weird chick and First Order troopers here," he said nervously.
"First Order? Who are they?" Courier asked as she injected a stimpaks into her neck, letting the fast-acting medicine heal her injuries.
"Yeah, I don't think I've heard of them before," Veronica put in.
"Then you guys are lucky where you're from!" Phil told them. "The First Order is an autocratic military dictatorship that's been taking over everything since the Empire fell! They're bad news! Never thought I'd see them here!" he said.
Sora drank a potion, letting it heal him as he said, "I'm ready to go back in! Are you guys ready?" he asked his friends.
"Try and stop us!" Aela declared as she rolled her shoulders to limber herself up.
Everyone prepared to the arena when Phil stopped them. "Wait a minute! Are you all sure about this? This ain't no game! This is for real!" he warned them.
"I'm not afraid!" Sora replied. "You can decide whether I'm a hero or not after this, but I'm going in either way!" he said.
Phil sighed and nodded. "Okay, be careful in there!"
…
Hercules had Cloud over his shoulder in a fireman carry and he gazed at Cerberus who inched towards him, each of his jaws salivating in hunger. First Order Troopers stood with their weapons raised and Captain Phasma raised her fist. "On my command!" she declared.
"Hey ugly! Over here!" called out a voice and Cerberus turned his heads around to see Sora and his friends entering the Arena. Elenwen smiled from her spot on Cerberus's back.
"Finally. All our eggs in one basket!" the Thalmor agent said in a pleased voice.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Hercules ran back to the lobby with Cloud still over his shoulder. Phil shouted from the Lobby entrance. "Kids! I got two words for you! ATTACK!"
"Take the boy with the Key alive! Terminate the rest!" Phasma ordered and her men aimed their blasters at the heroes and opened fire.
"Courier, ED-E, Veronica! Take out those soldiers!" Dragonborn said to Courier and Veronica who both nodded and opened fire on the troopers. "Serana! You take Sora and Aela and take down Cerberus and Elenwen!" the Dovahkiin ordered the others.
"Anticipated and done, Harbinger!" Aela said for them as she drew her bow and nocked an arrow to it. Serana's hands were wreathed with crackling energy and Sora readied his Keyblade.
Cerberus roared and stomped around the arena, sending over shockwaves with each stomp of his clawed paws, spitting large fireballs from his jaws. Sora managed to knock back one of the fireballs with a swing of his Keyblade, stunning the guardian of the Underworld, allowing Aela and Serana to jump onto the beast's back and go after Elenwen. But the Thalmor agent knocked them both back with a fireball. Sora then raised his Keyblade to the sky and cried out, "Thunder!"
A bolt of lightning shot down from the heavens and hit the Thalmor agent. "Argh! You'll pay for that, you little brat!" Elenwen cursed as she leapt down off Cerberus's back and went after Sora. Cerberus got back up and went Aela and Serana who managed to keep the giant beast at bay with arrows and spells.
The First Order troopers opened fire on Dragonborn who used his Thu'um.
"ZUN HAAL VIIK!"
The blasters were sent flying from the troopers' hands and Dragonborn moved in and with precise strikes, he defeated the troopers. Courier shot the blasters out of trooper hands and Veronica used Paladin Toaster on a trooper that tried to get in close with an electrified baton.
Aela fired steel arrows at Cerberus while Serana sent a stream of icy frost at the beast, making it roar in pain and discomfort. Sora held off Elenwen by blocking her spells with his Keyblade. Dragonborn slashed through another trooper before turning around to see Captain Phasma aiming her blaster at him. Quick as lightning, Dragonborn slapped the weapon out of Phasma's hands with the flat of his sword. Phasma then drew her quicksilver baton, extending it to full length. Dragonborn cricked his neck before moving towards the captain. Phasma charged in and thrust her weapon like a spear at the Dovahkiin, the sharpened field point aimed at his neck. Dragonborn parried the strike and using his momentum, he aimed a slash at Phasma's head.
Phasma avoided the strike and moved back a little, circling her opponent. Her men weren't faring all that well against Courier, ED-E and Veronica who had defeated the last of them.
Aela thrust her dagger into the snout of one of Cerberus's head making it roar in pain and tried to bite her in retaliation. Serana sent an ice spike into Cerberus's left head making it bellow in rage. Elenwen sent spell after spell at Sora who was tiring and the Thalmor laughed derisively.
"Foolish child! You are but a novice in the ways of magic! I have had centuries of experience!" she boasted. "What makes you think you're a match for me?" she asked.
Sora groaned in pain as he closed his eyes for a moment, but suddenly they opened again, glowing blue. Elenwen's eyes went wide with surprise at the sudden change and she was suddenly sent flying back by an invisible force. Elenwen grunted in discomfort as she got back onto her feet and saw Sora raised his hand towards Cerberus. A strange look came over Cerberus's eyes. Aela and Serana were ready for an attack, but it never came as Cerberus trotted over to Sora, not to attack him but seemingly waiting for a command.
"What in Oblivion?" Serana whispered.
"He's taken control of the beast!" Aela exclaimed in surprise as Sora raised a hand and pointed at Elenwen and Cerberus came charging towards her.
"Stupid beast! It's me! I command you!" Elenwen raged but Cerberus roared and attacked her. Sora then suddenly passed out as whatever he did took it out of him. Serana and Aela caught him and lowered him gently to the ground.
"Is he alright?" Aela asked the vampire who checked Sora over and said, "He's fine, just exhausted."
"How did he do that?" Courier asked as she, ED-E and Veronica came over having seen Cerberus attack Elenwen.
"I don't know," Serana responded simply. "Whatever he did managed to get Cerberus on our side and here we are," she said.
Dragonborn continued his fight with Phasma and they circled each other. "You fight well," Phasma said to him. "If you give us the boy, we'll allow you to live and join the First Order," she offered.
"Not interested," Dragonborn replied bluntly. "Sora stays with us!" he said.
"Have it your way!" Phasma spat when suddenly an unconscious trooper was sent flying into her. Phasma grunted and she stood up to see Cerberus attacking Elenwen and her soldiers. The captain growled in anger. "All units, retreat!" she commanded as she and her troops fled through a dark portal that appeared out of nowhere.
Dragonborn watched Phasma flee, she turned around and said to him, "This isn't over!" before entering the portal.
"I'll be waiting," the Dovahkiin said. Looking over at his companions, he walked over to them. "Is Sora alright?" he asked.
"We're not sure, he did… something to Cerberus and it took a lot out of him," Serana replied.
"I noticed during my fight with the troopers' captain," Dragonborn said. They watched as Cerberus walked away with a struggling Elenwen.
Sora woke with a groan of exhaustion. "What happened? Did we din?" he asked weakly.
"Yeah, we did, thanks to you," Courier replied.
The Phil walked into the arena and said, "Two words: What just happened?!"
…
In the lobby, Phil and Hercules addressed the heroes. "Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Furthermore…"
"Hey! What do you mean junior heroes?!" Aela demanded.
"Sorry, red, but you rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero," Phil said.
"And what does it take?" Courier asked irritated.
"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourself. Just the way I did," Hercules said with a smile.
"No problem! We'll start proving ourselves in the games!" Sora said proudly.
"Eh, there ain't gonna be any games for a while," Phil said. "Gotta clean up after the mess you guys made," he added.
"We'll be back when you fix up the place," Dragonborn said with a nod of his head. Phil nodded before looking at Aela flirtatiously and said, "Hey, red, if you need some special training, I'm more than happy to teach you what I know~," he offered with a waggle of his eyebrows.
"I'm plenty trained enough, little bleater," Aela replied with a thin smile. "Besides, you're not my type," she said with a smirk.
"Bah! Women! Always the same!" Phil grumbled as the newly dubbed junior heroes left the lobby.
"Uh… Phil? I practically begged you to train me. Why is it you don't mind training women like Aela and Aqua?" Hercules asked the Satyr.
"Shh! Pipe down, will ya?" Phil said hoping Aela had not heard. "You and her ain't got the same attributes, if ya know what I mean!" he added.
Hercules rolled his eyes while Phil stroked his beard and said, "You know, I still can't believe those squirts actually took down Cerberus, and those First Order jerks!"
Hercules leaned down to whisper to Phil, "Between you and me, I managed to wear Cerberus and the First Order down by the time they jumped in."
Phil looked up at Hercules in surprise before he smiled and said, "My lips are sealed!"
…
"So, I did something that managed to make Cerberus attack Elenwen and the First Order troopers?" Sora asked in amazement.
"Pretty much," Courier replied as she took a swig from a bottle of whiskey she dug out from her satchel..
"You don't remember it?" Serana asked Sora who shook his head.
"No, I remember was Elenwen overwhelming and after that I woke up to see you guys telling me what happened," the Keyblade wielder said. "I don't remember how I did it!" he added.
"Interesting, very interesting," Serana said rubbing her chin in thought. "May be worth studying to see what is the cause of it," she added thoughtfully.
Veronica suddenly pointed to the gates and sitting on the steps was Cloud Strife. "Hey, it's Cloud," the ex-Scribe said.
"What do you think?" Aela asked cautiously. "He was hired to kill us," she pointed out.
"But he chose not to," Dragonborn said.
"How do you know that?" Sora asked him.
"I looked into his eyes. He's a soldier, not a murderer."
"Well, maybe we should ask him why he did it?" Veronica suggested.
"Alright, but if he takes another swing at us, I'm putting one through his eyes!" Courier said tapping her the handle of Lucky emphatically.
The heroes walked towards Cloud and Sora asked him, "Hey, are you alright?"
Cloud looked up at Sora and nodded. "Yeah," he said simply.
"Why did you make a deal with the Heartless?" Aela asked him
Cloud had a pensive look on his face before he replied. "I'm looking for someone. Hades and Elenwen promised to help," he said. "I tried to exploit the powers of darkness and it backfired." He stood up and looked up at the sky. "I fell into darkness and I couldn't find the light," he said sadly.
"You'll find it. I'm searching too," Sora said to him with a smile.
Cloud looked at him, "For you light?" he asked and Sora nodded.
Cloud moved closer to him and placed something in Sora's hands. "Don't lose sight of it," the soldier advised the Keyblade's Chosen before walking past him.
"Hey! How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square! No dark powers involved!" Sora offered.
Cloud looked over his shoulder at Sora and a ghost of a smile was on his lips as he said, "I think I'll pass." Sora smiled at Cloud anyway as the soldier walked away.
"What did he give you?" Aela asked Sora who replied, "I think it's instruction for a new fighting technique. Sonic Blade," he said.
"You'll have to try it out sometime," Dragonborn said to Sora.
"Well, we're done here for now, let's move on," Courier suggested.
"Maybe we should take the puppies for a walk first?" Sora said. "Give them a chance to stretch their legs," he added.
"Good idea," Veronica said with a nod of her heads. "Can't imagine what they've done to the ship while we were in the Coliseum!" she added.
"Well, I'm not cleaning up their poop!" Courier said vehemently as they exited the gates and headed back to the ship.
…
Night was beginning to fall as Hades stood in the Coliseum with a stature of Hercules in his hands. "He's strong, he's kind," the god quoted as the statue flexed its muscles. "He's always there for you and he's handsome to boot." The statue crossed its arms and winked. "He's perfect. Perfect…" Hades' body turned a fiery red as he set the statue in his hand ablaze and the flames on his head turned a fiery red as well. "PERFECTLY INFURIATING! HE MAKES ME CRAZY!"
Hades then let out an explosion of flames and as the smoke settled around him, Elenwen walked, a little worse for wear and she said, "Calm yourself, Hades. At least you weren't made a chew toy for your mangy mutt!"
Hades calmed down and his skin turned back to it usual shade of blue. "You're right. What are we worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what we'll do; let Hercules train those kids and the next games, I'll take them all out!" he said.
Elenwen scoffed and said, "If that is all, shall I retire?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure, go. You've had a rough day," Hades replied and Elenwen walked over to stand beside Maleficent who had been watching. Hades noticed her presence and asked, "Who invited you to the party? Bad enough it was those First Order losers! Even if it's the Last Jedi, stay out of this! This is my show!" he said.
"As you wish," Maleficent replied. "Fight to your heart's content," she said and Hades smiled before he noticed the tone in her voice and scowled at her as she disappeared with Elenwen.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There! The fourth chapter of this is done and dusted! I hope some of you enjoyed it,if you didn't, then I apologise for that.
Anyway, not much to say, so I guess I'll just leave this here and I'll see you all in the next one.
Actually, before I go, a quick question if you'll permit: what do you guys think of this story crossing over with Marvel Comics? I've already got the Marvel product in mind and no, it is not the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I know many of you are big fans of the MCU and I like some of the movies in it as well, but it's not quite my cup of tea and I don't think it will fit this story.
But anyway, what do you think of a crossover world being Marvel Comics? Let me know what you think.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.