Chapter 2: Olympus
A/N: Welcome back everyone! I'm so happy a lot of you are excited to see this story! Sorry it took me a tiny while getting this chapter up. Work has been super crazy on my end and I needed to bounce back between the game and ReMind to put this chapter together. Least I don't have to go back a forth a lot between the two of them…yet.
So let's see how Sora will be able to regain his strength again. Will Hercules be able to help him out?
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts; I just own my characters.
Enjoy!
/
Thanks to Sora's crazy driving, the group found themselves on the world of Olympus…however not at the coliseum. Instead of arriving at the familiar structure they wound up on the outskirts of some mountain.
Sora looked around, feeling a little confused by their location.
"What? No fanfare?"
"Nope. Looks like we missed the Coliseum" Goofy pointed out.
Donald grew angry and put his hands on his hips.
"Sora! You opened the gate!" he snapped.
Sora laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.
"I was a little off again. Sorry" he said.
"This is more than a little! We're in the middle of nowhere!" Donald shouted.
Hikari sighed and held the bridge of her nose. It seemed that Sora not only lost his strength during the exam but his brains as well. Maybe Hercules would be able to help him regain that as well?
"At least he didn't have us end up in the Underworld this time around" she said.
Sora brushed it off like it was nothing. He wasn't worried about their predicament. They were sure to find the Coliseum without any problems.
"We'll find Hercules. We just need to figure out how to get to the Coliseum" he said.
He started heading towards the higher part of the mountain.
"Why are you going that way? The Coliseum is down, not up" Hikari pointed out.
"We need to be up higher to see where it is so we know where to go" Sora pointed out.
"He kinda has a point. Don't want to get stuck on this mountain" Goofy added.
He followed after Sora to see if there was a cliff they could climb up. Hikari gave Donald a tired look.
"This is going to be a long quest; I can already tell" she said.
"Yep" Donald said.
The two of them followed after Sora and Goofy. There was no point standing around and knowing Sora he was bound to get into something he shouldn't be.
It was a little tricky trying to climb up the mountain. Some edges were very steep while others had very high ledges. They were able to get up some of the ledges with a bit of magic but in other areas they had to climb the old-fashioned way.
"I'm not made for climbing high places" Donald groaned as he pulled himself up a ledge.
"Can't you fly since you're a bird?" Sora asked.
Donald got angry and waved his staff at him.
"No I can't! I'm wearing my uniform and it makes it impossible to do that!"
"You two can bicker when we reach the top. If we slip and fall because you weren't paying attention I'm throwing a rock at both of your heads" Hikari warned.
They climbed the rest of the way and reached a clearing that showed a forest ahead. Sora looked around trying to find the Coliseum but all he found was trees.
"I think we might be going in circles" Goofy said.
Sora scratched his head in confusion. He thought for sure they would have seen the Coliseum from up here. Were they really that far from it?
"Did we make a turn at the wrong rock?" He wondered.
"Which rock were we supposed to follow, Sora? The whole place is covered with them" Hikari snapped.
Sora ignored her and walked towards the ledge of the cliff. He knew it might have been a stupid idea but he knew they were lost and needed help.
"Hey, Hercules! Where are you?" he called out.
His voice echoed across the clearing. Hikari, Donald and Goofy just looked at him in confusion.
"I don't think he'll be able to hear us from all the way here, Sora" Goofy said.
"Let's just go back to the ship and see if we can pull up a map of this place" Hikari said.
While Hercules didn't hear them, someone sure did. A black cloud flew in the air and headed right for them. When it hit the ground, it disappeared revealing it to be Hades.
"All right. I know I dotted my I's, crossed my T's, zeroed the hero. So what gives? Who could be trying to give me a migraine by yodeling that yutz's name?" he said to himself.
He looked over his shoulder to see the group standing not too far away from him. Everyone had a tired, annoyed look on their faces. The last person they wanted to see where was the Lord of the Dead.
"Really? Hades?" Hikari groaned.
Hades seemed to have felt the same way as they did cause he groaned and rolled his eyes.
"Ugh, it's just you" he said.
"Just us? Even for you that's cold" Sora said.
Hades got up in his face and jabbed a finger at him.
"Don't forget…I can still turn up the heat!" he threatened.
Goofy looked around in confusion. If Hades was here surely that meant Hercules could have heard them as well, right?
"If Hades is here, then where's Hercules?" he wondered.
Hades got in his face with bright flames covering his body.
"What is everyone's infatuation with that dolt?!" he shouted.
He quickly composed himself and slowly walked away. He wasn't going to lose his temper over a group of brats.
"You know what? Nevermind, nevermind, I'm cool, I'm good. Because… wonderboy'll be outa my hair soon enough" he said.
Hikari narrowed her eyes at the god.
"So in other words, you're up to no good again" she said.
Everyone summoned their weapons and aimed them at Hades. The god held up his hands, showing he wasn't in the mood to fight.
"Whoa, easy-what is this, Sparta?" he asked.
He turned around and started walking away from them.
"I'm kind of on a schedule. Don't have time to toss around the old fire and brimstone. The whole cosmos is basically waiting for me to, you know, conquer it!"
Sora looked at the others and smirked. It was obvious Hades was trying to pull off something big but it was going to blow up in his face. That's what happened to all of his other plots in the past so why would this be any different?
"Poor Hades. He thinks he can actually pull it off this time" he teased.
"Still a wise guy huh? Well let's see how you handle this" Hades said.
He turned to the mountain and raised his hand.
"Where are you my Titans? Show me your power!" he called out.
The mountain shook as something from within moved. Cracks formed along the surface, releasing icy winds. The sounds of something growling and moaning came from within the mountain. The winds picked up pushing the group closer to the edge of the cliff. Everyone tried to stay put but the winds grew so strong it sent them flying off the cliff. Hades watched in satisfaction as they became tiny specks in the distance.
"That sent them sailing aright" he chuckled.
His grin slowly faded as he realized something.
"Sailing right to where I left…eh, no biggie"
He shrugged and turned back to his Titans.
"Alright, fellas. You know what to do" he ordered.
He watched as the Titans left, feeling the ground shake as they moved. Now that those pests were out of his hair, he could continue with this plan.
However, luck was not on his side today as he heard a dark portal open up behind him. He knew what that sound meant and wasn't thrilled by it.
"Really? When it rains, it pours" he muttered.
"Alright, who wants to ruin my day now?"
He turned around, not surprised to see Maleficent and Pete appeared from the portal.
"Hey, now. That ain't no way to say hello. Especially to your old friends" Pete teased.
Hades rolled his eyes and groaned. He knew it was a bad idea to work with these two in the past. Now he was paying the price.
"Funny, I don't remember you doing me any memorable favors, so I wouldn't call us friends" he said.
"You can keep your Heartless this time. I'm going back to my original plan, all right? So…toodle-oo! Exit's thataway"
"We are not here for you" Maleficent said.
"I have my own business to attend to. All I need to know is if there is a distinctive…black box…somewhere in this world?"
Hades rubbed his chin in thought. Why would Maleficent come here looking for something?
"Black box? Hmmmm…. black box, black box, black box" he mumbled.
"Wait. Don't tell me…you're after the one Zeus hid on Earth?"
A cruel smirk appeared on Maleficent's face. Finally, she had a use for the short-tempered god.
"Perhaps. If I were, where might it be?"
/
Everyone screamed as they flew down to a nearby city. With the speed they were going, there was no way they would be able to land safely.
Hercules heard the commotion and was shocked to see his friends literally flying towards him. He quickly jumped up and grabbed Sora and Goofy. Hikari and Donald were saved by the god, but by his statue. Hikari landed on the top of the statues head, while Donald's shirt got stuck on the sword the statue was holding.
Hercules was surprised to see his friends but happy. It had been a while since he saw them and he was glad that they were still doing ok.
"You guys are here!" he said.
Sora laughed as he looked at Goofy.
"See? I found him"
"Yeah, guess this counts" Goofy said.
"SORA!"
Everyone looked up to see Hikari and Donald stuck on the statue. Both of them had murderous looks on their faces as they glared at Sora. He just had to egg on Hades, didn't he?
Hercules quickly got them down to the ground. While they didn't find the Coliseum, at least they found their heroic friend.
"You guys literally dropped in. Gotta say, I'm impressed" Hercules teased.
"That wasn't our intention but at least we made an entrance" Hikari said sheepishly.
They looked at the city they were in and noticed right away that something was very wrong. There was smoke in the air, buildings crumbling, fires breaking out on the streets. Basically this place had seen better days.
"What's going on?" Sora asked.
"Take a guess: starts with an H" Hercules sighed.
They didn't need to think hard over who the hero was talking about. Seems like Hades wasn't wasting any time causing trouble.
"We actually bumped into hothead on our way here" Hikari admitted.
"He said something about conquering the whole cosmos" Goofy added.
"All of it, huh? Nice of him to show a little self-restraint" Hercules teased.
If Hercules wasn't worried about what Hades was doing then there was no reason for the group to be either. They had dealt with Hades's plots in the past. This plan was sure to blow up in the god's face like all the other ones.
They heard a building crumble as the fires spread further into the city.
"We should probably take care of this before we deal with Hades" Hikari said.
The group and Hercules made their way into the city and tried to see how bad the damage was. When they reached the center of the city, a group of Heartless was waiting for them. Some of them were chasing after the civilians while others where trying to smash nearby structures.
Sora quickly ran into the group of Heartless and started fighting them. He could tell right away that his hits weren't as powerful as they used to be. What used to be so simple for him was now straining his body.
Hikari got rid of her batch of Heartless with ease and saw Sora struggling. She hurried over to him and destroyed the last of the Heartless. She saw Sora stretch out his arm, getting the kinks out.
"You okay?" she asked.
Sora smiled weakly as he lowered his arm.
"Yeah. Guess I'm still a little rusty after what happened. I feel like I did when I first got the Keyblade. I really did go back to square one"
It tore her heart up seeing him like this. She was so used to him being strong and getting rid of the Heartless like it was nothing. Xehanort really did a number on his body.
She went up to him and gave his shoulder a squeeze.
"Don't force yourself. If we come across more Heartless, just do what you can. Don't push yourself past your limit while we figure out how to get your strength back" she said.
He always kept her safe during their travels in the past, now it was her turn to do the same for him. She swore she was going to help everyone and that included Sora. Sora didn't say anything and placed his hand over hers. He knew what she was trying to say. No one was going to chew him out for struggling. If he was having trouble, they would be there to pick up the slack until he was able to do it himself. They would catch him if he stumbled. He wasn't alone in this.
Donald, Goofy and Hercules went up to them when they got rid of the Heartless by them.
"So, is there a reason you guys are visiting?" Hercules asked.
"I'm guessing it's not for the cheese and olives"
Sora looked nervous for a moment as he approached his friend. He knew Hercules went through a similar situation as him.
"Do you remember the last time we were all together?" he asked.
"You were feeling down and out. How'd you get your strength back-when you jumped in and saved Meg in the Underworld?"
Hercules thought about that moment. He remembered thinking he didn't have what it took to be a hero. But when he saw Meg was in trouble, he forgot about himself and focused on saving her.
"Hmmm, that's a tough one. All I know is that she was in trouble. Suddenly, I wanted to save her with all my heart, but…it's not like I could tell you how" he admitted.
Sora groaned. He thought for sure Hercules would know how to get him back to his old self.
"All my strength is gone from me too" he admitted.
"That's why I need you-because I was hoping you might have a solution or something"
Hercules looked at Sora sadly. He wished he could have been more help but this was something he couldn't explain to the boy.
Just then, more Heartless appeared in the area.
"We'll come up with a new plan when we get rid of these guys" Hikari suggested.
Hikari stayed close to Sora as they fought the Heartless. She wanted Sora to rebuild his strength but she wanted to be nearby in case it became too much for him. They got rid of the Heartless after a while and cleared another part of the city.
Meg, Phil and Pegasus flew in and landed near them when they saw the area was safe.
"That didn't look fun" Meg said.
She smiled when she saw some familiar faces.
"But if you four are here, I know the city will be in good hands"
"Yeah, because we're heroes!" Donald said.
Hercules looked at how bad the city was fairing. He had a feeling there were more Heartless lurking around waiting to attack the civilians who were trying to escape the fires.
"Meg, I need you and Phil to check the city and make sure everyone is alright. Sora, Hikari and I will try to get rid of these Heartless and put out the fires" he said.
"Don't overdo it, Wonderboy" Meg warned.
She and Phil flew off on Pegasus to help out. Now it was time to do the dirty work and clear everyone out on the ground level.
"Help! Is anyone there?"
Everyone heard a child's voice. Looking around, they spotted a little girl hanging onto a building for dear life. Underneath her was flames and rubble.
"Help me!" the girl cried.
"Oh no! There's a little girl caught in the fire!" Hercules cried.
Sora and Hikari ran for the girl so they could help her. They knew the girl couldn't hold on much longer and they needed to act fast.
"Wait! Running is too slow!" Hercules said.
Sora skid to a stop and looked at him. Hikari continued running, already having a plan in mind.
"Then what's the other choice?" Sora asked.
Hikari summoned her Keyblade and threw it in front of her. Just like what happened when she entered Terra's dreams, her Keyblade transformed and became a Wing glider.
"How about this?" she said.
She jumped on the glider and flew over to where the child was. She grabbed her just as the girl was about to fall and flew her back to the others where it was safe.
"Thank you!" the girl said.
"It's not safe here. Go to the outskirts of town where the fires are out" Hikari instructed.
The girl quickly ran off to safety. With the danger out of the way, Hikari noticed that all her friends were staring at her oddly.
"What?"
Sora's eyes were huge as he looked at his friend.
"You're Keyblade can do that?!" he cried.
Hikari smiled nervously and rubbed her neck. She forgot that he didn't know the reason why she had a new Keyblade and that this was one of Lumen's abilities she gave her.
"Y-Yeah, it's a new…trick I learned…recently" she admitted.
Sora didn't seem to noticed how uncomfortable she was because he was excited about this new trick.
"That's so cool! You gotta show me that!" he said.
Hikari didn't have it in her to tell him that it was because of the Keyblade she was using. She doubted both he and Riku would have been able to do the same with theirs. Every Keyblade was different after all.
"How about we make sure everyone is safe first? I'll explain everything when we take of this mess" she suggested.
Sora quickly composed himself. She was right. Now wasn't the time to be excited over something when people were in danger.
"Right"
"We should split up and try to help everyone. The more areas we cover the more people we help out" Hercules said.
"You guys take one end of the city and I'll take the other. When both our sides are clear we'll meet up again"
"Got it!" Sora said.
They all ran off further into the city to see who needed to be saved. It was a hero's duty after all.
/
"Gawrsh, Hikari. I didn't know you were able to make your Keyblade do something like that" Goofy said.
"That would have been helpful when we flew off that mountain" Donald snapped.
Hikari whacked Donald upside the head and glared at him.
"We were blown away by a strong wind. I didn't have time to do anything" she argued.
Everyone wouldn't stop talking about Hikari's new skill that she learned. They were so used to Sora doing crazy, heroic stunts that it was surprising to see her do it. She usually had a few tricks up her sleeves when they fought the Heartless, but not something like this.
Hikari was starting to think that maybe it was a bad idea to reveal that trick to her friends since they wouldn't shut up about it.
Sora stopped walking as he looked at her. He was still curious as to how she learned to turn her Keyblade into a vehicle like that.
"Did you learn that skill when you became a Keyblade Master? Does Riku know how to do that too?" he asked.
Hikari sighed wearily. She knew Sora wasn't going to stop talking about this so it was pointless to keep quiet about it. She didn't want to reveal the reason why she got a new Keyblade. She knew when Sora found out, he would blame himself for putting her in that position. He was dealing with almost becoming a Xehanort copy, he didn't need to deal with almost getting one of his friends killed.
But she had to tell him something otherwise he wouldn't stop talking about it.
It was better to tell him half the story instead of the whole one right now.
"This isn't a skill I learned when I became a Keyblade Master. Riku can't do this either. It's because I'm using a new Keyblade…because I can't use my old one anymore" she said.
She summoned her old Keyblade and showed the group her broken weapon. Everyone was shocked and horrified to see her trusty weapon destroyed.
"W-what happened?!" Sora said.
Hikari dismissed the weapon. She bit her lip as she recalled her time in the Mark of Mastery exam.
"During the exam…I figured out that we were all in Xehanort's trap. That's why we kept seeing the younger version of him even though he wasn't part of our dreams. I realized he was trying to see who would make the perfect vessel for one of his copies. He realized I figured out his plans so in order to prevent me from warning both you and Riku he destroyed my Keyblade hoping it would prevent me from warning you guys" she said.
"A couple of other things happened along the way but thanks to my bravery, I was gifted a new Keyblade thanks to a friend"
Sora was about to say something when a portal opened up behind them. Maleficent and Pete appeared and looked at the area they were in. Pete spotted the group and pointed at them.
"Well, it is isn't Sora, Hikari and the King's pawns" he said.
Everyone summoned their weapons and aimed them at the duo. If they were here then that meant they were causing trouble again.
"Are you the reason the Heartless are here?" Sora said.
Maleficent scoffed in disgust.
"Certainly not"
She had other things to tend to. She was past taking control of the worlds though the Heartless. That plan didn't work in the past so why continue with it?
Pete looked at Sora and Hikari. Scratching his head, he wondered why something seemed off about them.
"Say, Maleficent, I dunno about you but it seems like kid Keyblader here looks way punier than the last time we saw him. Little missy seems off too but in the opposite way."
Maleficent sensed something different about the two of them. She could tell Sora was weaker than the last time she saw him but Hikari seemed very different. She could sense a power within her but she couldn't describe what it was. While it was intriguing she knew it was pointless to try to see what that power was.
"Waste no time with them. We have a far more pressing matter to attend to" she said.
"Oh! We gotta find that Black Box" Pete remembered.
Maleficent whacked him across the head with her staff. She didn't need the enemy to know what they were doing.
"Be silent you fool! As for you four: we shall meet again…when I have time for such trifles."
They went back into a portal. Sora went to chase after them but Hikari held him back.
"We'll deal with them later. Right now the city needs us more" she said.
Sora frowned and looked at the ground. He could tell she was saying he was in no position to fight them right now. If he was having trouble dealing with the Heartless then of course he would have trouble dealing with Maleficent.
"Yeah…you're right" he said quietly.
Hikari looked at him sadly and propped his chin up so he would look at her.
"Don't let what they say get to you. You'll be back to normal in no time."
Sora smiled weakly in response. Now wasn't the time to be sad with himself. They needed to save everyone in the city.
They went through the city and rescued everyone that they spotted. There were a few Heartless here and there but their biggest issue was the fires. Some areas were easy to put out but there were some spots that were so wide that it would have taken both Donald and Hikari all of their magic to put them out.
When they spotted someone stuck on the top of a building they saw the only way to get to this person was by passing a sea of fire and burning stone.
"Think you can fly over the fires and get this person?" Sora asked.
"I can fly over the fires but the area is too narrow and cramped for my glider to get to the person" Hikari said.
"We need to find another way."
Goofy hummed in thought as he fiddled with his shield. Looking at it then at the flames, he slowly thought of something. Carefully, he walked up to it and held his shield out. Instead of growing hot from the flames, he saw that it stayed the same and didn't burn his hands. Growing more curious, he set his shield on the ground and stood on it. Sure enough, his feet were safe as the shield prevented him from burning his feet.
He figured out how they could save that person.
"Hey Sora! I have our version of a glider!" he said.
Sora caught on to what Goofy was saying and jumped into the shield as well. Hikari and Donald watched in fascination as Goofy used the shield as a sled and slid over the burning floor. Sora grabbed the person that was trapped and jumped on the shield where Goofy slid them back to safety.
The civilian jumped off and smiled brightly at Sora.
"Thank you! Keep training and you'll just be like Hercules" they said.
Sora stared at them dumbfounded as they ran off.
"Keep training? Is it that obvious?" he whined.
"I think we all have a ways to go" Goofy said.
"But we'll get there together."
"Yeah, Hercules didn't start off as a hero and we didn't start off being strong either when this journey began. We'll get better" Hikari said.
When they saw that their part of the town was cleared they made their way over to where Hercules was supposed to meet them. They ran past a building and noticed a bunch of people were inside. Upon further inspection they saw Hercules was there too. They thought he was helping everyone get out but they realized right away he was keeping the building up so it wouldn't collapse on everyone.
"Herc!"
They ran into the building to give him a hand only for the area to be surrounded by Heartless. They had to get rid of these things fast if they were to get everyone out safely. They just didn't know if Hercules could keep the building up for much longer.
"Herc, can you keep the building up?" Sora asked.
Hercules smirked, clearly not bothered by the fact that he was literally keeping a building up.
"No prob. You guys get rid of these things!"
Everyone worked fast in getting rid of the Heartless. With the area cleared, they quickly got all of the civilians out of the crumbling building. Hercules couldn't hold it up any longer and the building crumbled around him. The group looked on in horror as the building collapsed on their friend.
"Hercules!"
They feared that their friend was done for, but Hercules appeared out of the rubble unharmed.
"Sorry about that" he laughed nervously.
Everyone sighed with relief when they saw he was alright. Their happy moment was interrupted when a dark portal opened up. Xigbar stepped out, clapping as he approached them.
"Wow, very nice. Get full marks from me" he said.
Everyone glared at him and got defensive. If Maleficent wasn't the one who brought the Heartless to this world then that meant the Organization was behind all of this then.
"What are you doing here?!" Sora ordered.
Xigbar ignored his outburst and slowly walked around the group. He was hoping that Hikari wouldn't be with Sora, but alas none of his plans were working lately. Oh well, he could wait.
"All this altruism is giving me the warm and fuzzies" he taunted.
"So then, does having a heart of light come with an extremely good insurance policy?"
Sora glared at him and took a step forward.
"Just say what you mean" he demanded.
"Oh, but I did though" Xigbar replied.
"No good will ever come from putting other people first."
Now it was Hikari's turn to get mad. She almost died trying to save Sora. She didn't care that she almost lost her life. She was ready to die as a hero than let someone suffer a fate worse then death.
"I was able to save Sora from you guys cause I was ready to risk my life" she snapped.
Xigbar smirked evilly. He went up to her and pushed her hair back so he could see her neck. The bruises that covered her neck had faded a bit but it was still noticeable.
"And look how that almost turned out for you, poppet. You were able to do that cause you've got help in high places" he said.
Sora noticed the bruises on her neck and was horrified. Since she lost the ribbon that kept her hair back, her neck was covered by a curtain of brown locks. Hikari quickly stepped back and fixed her hair so no one would see the bruises. She wasn't ashamed by what happened to her but she didn't want to think back on how she almost died.
"What would you know? You've never helped anyone before so don't act like you do" she growled.
"Oh, I know more than you do, brat" Xigbar laughed.
He turned around and started walking away from them.
"I don't admire one person leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save them. You're all just lining up to lose out. Dooming others to take the fall with you."
He looked over his shoulder and gave them a cold look.
"Oh, and you can spare me the usual party line. Yes, hearts are powerful when they're connected. But if you put too much of that power in one place, some of those hearts might end up breaking."
Hikari glared at him and aimed her weapon at him. She wasn't going to listen to anything that the Organization said. All they did was lie and messed with people's emotions.
"Thanks for the cheerful advice, not beat it."
Xigbar opened up a portal and looked at Hikari as he stepped into it.
"The more you help others the more you'll break in the end poppet. When you save everyone, who will be there to put you back together when you shatter?" he warned.
He closed the portal and left the group. Sora was confused and upset by what he had seen and heard.
"Hearts breaking?"
Hercules went up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't listen to him. He's trying to get under your skin cause he thinks he can" he said.
"We'll prove him wrong. We'll show him that our sacrifices haven't been for nothing."
Sora didn't know what to say but he knew Hercules had a point. Even if he suffered in the end trying to help others, it would be worth it cause someone else was safe.
"Yeah, you're right" he said.
"Besides, we're already proof enough! When we're together, we can do anything" Goofy said.
That cheered up Sora a tiny bit. They were right. When they were all together, they were able to get things done.
They decided that it was best to meet up with Meg and Phil to see how the city was fairing. The fires were starting to die down so that meant people were able to get away. They walked away from the damaged building. While everyone walked away, Hikari stopped and looked back at to where Xigbar once was. His words rang in her head even though she didn't want them to.
"I'm not going to shatter" she said quietly.
She hurried after the group before they noticed she wasn't with them.
/
Everyone regrouped at the center of the city. Everything seemed a lot calmer now than it did when they first got here. Looks like everyone's hard work was paying off.
"We checked the whole area. It looks like everyone is safe" Meg said.
"That's great. We did what we could" Hercules said.
"Now to deal with the source of this problem."
He looked off to the distance to see dark clouds surrounding the top of the mountain Sora and the gang were when they got here.
"Nice to see that Hades doesn't take a break" Sora said flatly.
Hercules cracked his knuckles as he looked at the mountain. That's where all the Gods resided. If Hades was there then that meant he was trying to take over Olympus.
"Meg, you stay here and try to help everyone in the city. I'm going to put a stop to what Hades is doing" he said.
Sora and the gang went up to him with determined looks.
"You can count us in. We need to get back at him for what he did to us earlier" Sora said.
Hercules seemed relieved that they wanted to help. Even though he could have handled this on his own, it would have made things easier for him in case they ran into the Heartless on the way there.
"You guys follow me. I know the way to Olympus."
The group left the city and started making their way to Mount Olympus.
/
Hercules brought them to the edge of the mountain. Looking up they saw that they had a ways to go to reach the very top.
"So we need to get to the top of the mountain in order to stop Hades, right?" Goofy asked.
"Hopefully no one is afraid of heights" Hikari said flatly.
They started making their way up the mountain. Some areas were blocked by boulders that slid from the side of the mountain, but since Hercules was with them he was able to get rid of them thanks to his strength.
Sora looked at Hikari as she jumped to the other side of the cliff. He wanted to ask her where she got those bruises on her neck. He knew she didn't have them when they arrived at this world so that must have meant she got them from before. What he wanted to know was when this happened. He wanted to ask her now but he knew she would keep quiet with everyone with them.
As they got higher, they took a tiny break to catch their breath. They weren't built like Hercules so they couldn't climb mountains like it was nothing. They wanted to save Olympus but they wouldn't be able to do that when they were tired and drained.
"Why is Hades so determined to take over Olympus? Doesn't he have his own realm that he rules over?" Hikari asked.
"He does but he was forced to rule the Underworld" Hercules explained.
"When Zeus defeated the Titans and locked them away, that meant the gods were able to rule over Earth in their place. Since the Earth was great and vast, it was decided that the three main gods would pull straws to see who would rule over what. Zeus got the longest one so he ruled over the skies and heavens, becoming King of the Gods. Poseidon got the second longest so he ruled over the oceans and became God of the Seas. Hades of course got the worst pick and was forced to rule the Underworld becoming the God of the Dead. Ever since he's been bitter about his title and wants to change it."
Everyone made a face as they heard the story. They were starting to see why Hades acted the way he did. They didn't support his actions-not by a long shot. But they started to see why he did all these crazy things. Being forced to rule over the dead and live in a dark gloomy realm would make anyone crazy.
The mountain shook violently as the commotion from the top of the mountain grew worse.
"This feels like when we were up on the mountain earlier" Goofy said.
Hercules looked up at the mountain seriously. He had a gut feeling that something was very wrong and that the gods needed help.
"Guys, this is getting worse by the minute. I hope I'm wrong, but my family needs me. I'm gonna go up ahead. You've been a big help but…leave the rest to me."
He ran off and jumped up to the highest part of the cliff they were on. Everyone stared at him dumbfounded as they watched him hurry to the top.
"Family?" Sora asked.
Hercules stopped climbing and smirked at the group.
"Yeah, my dad is Zeus: King of the gods."
With that, he jumped up to another side of the cliff and disappeared from view.
Sora was shocked by what he just heard. Hercules was related to a god?!
"His father's a god? But doesn't that mean Herc is a god too?"
"I mean, it does make sense. Have you ever seen anyone lift an entire building with their bare hands?" Hikari asked.
"But if he's a god he should be ok" Donald pointed out.
Sora looked at the top of the mountain in thought. Something in his gut told him that it was bad up there and that even Hercules would need help.
"No. Organization XIII is here. He'll need our help" he said.
"Then let's get a move on and climb this thing before it gets dark out" Hikari said.
They hurried up the cliff and made their way up the mountain. Now that the stakes were very high, there was no time for them to take it easy.
They knew they were almost at the top of the mountain because they saw something guarding the highest parts. The rock titan stood at the top of the mountain and held a couple of boulders in its hands. It spotted the group at the very end of cliff and threw the boulders at them. Everyone jumped out of the way and hid as the titan threw more boulders at them.
"We need to get up there and stop that thing!" Sora said.
"How are we going to reach up there without getting crushed?!" Donald snapped.
Hikari looked at how high the titan was at to where they were. There was quite a distance between them all. If they tried climbing up there it would be impossible due to the boulders being thrown at them. But if there was another way to get up there….
Summoning her Keyblade, she turned it into the Wing Glider and jumped on it. Hopefully this thing could hold four people on it.
"Jump on!"
Everyone quickly got on and held onto Hikari as she flew them up the side of the mountain. She weaved between the boulders as they were thrown at them. As they got closer it started to grow dark and rain hard. The rocks around them looked wet and slippery from all the rain. If one were to slip on them, then they were surely to fall. An idea formed in her head as she saw how close the titan was to the edge.
"Sora! You, Donald and Goofy go near the titan's feet. I have an idea on how we can get rid of this thing" she said.
She got near the titan's feet and let them off. Using another trick she learned from Lumen, she summoned a few chains made of light and handed one end to them while the other was hooked at the end of the Glider.
"Wrap your end around one of its feet. Donald when I say go, I want you to freeze the ground using one of your Blizzard spells."
She flew off and wrapped the chain around the titans legs. She made sure the titan kept its eyes on her so it wouldn't see Sora and Goofy wrapping the chain around one of its feet. When there was enough chain wrapped around the titan's legs, Hikari turned to Donald.
"Go Donald!"
The mage quickly covered the wet ground in a thick layer of ice. Knowing it was their turn to act, Sora and Goofy pulled on the chain they were holding and caused the titan to stagger. The titan slipped on the ice and thanks to its legs being tied up, it couldn't move to balance itself. It fell off the edge and landed near the bottom of the mountain in a pile of rubble.
"Yes! That's one down!" Sora cheered.
Hikari jumped off her glider and landed in front of the group.
"They're not so tough when they're by themselves" she said.
"Meanwhile we're unstoppable when we're together" Sora said.
With the rock titan no longer guarding the entrance to Olympus that meant they were able to help save the gods. They quickly made their way up the stairs and entered the realm of the gods.
/
Olympus was nothing like anything they had seen before. Everything was so beautiful and majestic. It really did felt the realm of the gods.
"This place is amazing" Goofy marveled.
"It'll be even more amazing once we get Hades out of here" Sora said.
They didn't know where everyone was, but they had a feeling Hades would be where Zeus and the other gods were. They ran off hoping they were able to reach the gods before it was too late.
It felt weird being on Olympus. Everything was made out of clouds yet when they walked along the surface, it felt as if they were on solid ground.
Donald and Goofy went up ahead, marveling at the sights. With them not near, Sora felt this was the perfect time to ask Hikari what was on his mind.
"Xehanort didn't just destroy your Keyblade during the exam, did he?" he asked.
Hikari stopped in her tracks. Letting out a deep sigh, she slowly turned to her friend. It was only a matter of time before he figured out what really happened at the end of their exams.
"No" was all she said.
Sora went up to her and slowly brushed her hair away so he could see the marks on her neck. He was starting to put together what might have happened but he wanted to hear it from her rather than their enemy.
"What happened after that?" he asked.
Hikari looked to make sure Donald and Goofy were far enough away that they didn't hear them. She didn't want them to feel bad that they weren't there to help her when she almost got killed.
"After Xehanort destroyed my Keyblade, I still went after him to save you. I wasn't going to let the fact that I no longer had weapon stop me from saving my friends. The exam didn't matter to me anymore, I just wanted to get you away from the Organization. I was able to find out where they took you but Xehanort and Xemnas were waiting to stop me. I found out that they highjacked this exam so they could see which of the three of us had the weakest heart. Since Riku and I woke up from our dreams that meant you were their target. Xehanort and I fought tooth and nail but he ended up getting the upper hand. Since breaking my Keyblade wasn't enough to keep me away…he decided to get rid of me by trying to strangle me to death. Luckily I was saved by my dream eater…but it was cutting it close."
Sora felt bile rise up in his throat as Hikari spoke. It was his fault that this happened. If he hadn't been so weak and fell right into the Organization's trap, she wouldn't have suffered. His friend almost died because of him and he was paying the price by loosing his strength.
Hikari saw the tears forming in Sora's eyes and wiped them away. She gave him a small smile and pulled him into a hug.
"Don't be upset. It wasn't your fault" she said.
"If the roles were reversed, I know both you and Riku would have done the same to save me. I would have rather been killed then let you become a Xehanort puppet."
Sora closed eyes and hugged Hikari tightly. He was so used to being the one helping others. It never dawned on him that he would need help one day. He was thankful that he had a friend like Hikari who was willing to risk her life trying to save him.
"I swear I'll make up for this" he promised.
"You don't have to make anything up for me, Sora. We're friends. That's what friends do" Hikari said.
They pulled away from the hug and looked at each other. They had other things to worry about like the Organization. Thinking about what had happened wouldn't fix anything. They both silently agreed not to talk about this anymore and to move past it.
"Come on. Let's go save the gods and show them that we're heroes" Hikari said.
Sora quickly wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.
"Right"
They ran up the steps and followed after Donald and Goofy. They reached the highest part of Olympus and found a grizzly sight. Zeus, king of the gods was being entombed in a pillar made of lava and ice. The ice and lava titan covered his body as the god struggled to break free. Zeus glared at Hades as his head started to be encased.
"I swear to you Hades, when I get out of th- "
Hades smirked when he saw Zeus was fully trapped in the pillar. Now with the pesky god out of the way, he would rule over Olympus.
"I'm the one giving orders now, bolt boy."
His little victory was sadly short lived.
"Don't get too comfortable Hades!" Hercules said.
The god was angry that he saw not only Hercules but Sora and the gang surround him.
"We're gonna stop you!" Sora cried.
Hades growled and glared at his titans.
"Get them!" he ordered.
The group looked as the wind, lava and ice titan started approaching them. They were able to take on one titan but three was going to be tricky.
"I don't know if we can take all of these guys on our own" Sora said.
"Sure we can. You don't need to be stronger than them, you just need to be smarter" Hikari said.
Sora caught on to what Hikari was saying. They didn't need to fight all the titans at once. If they could figure out how to separate them, they could pick them off one by one. He looked at the pillar Zeus was trapped in and came up with an idea.
He ran up the pillar and stood on top of it so the titans would pay attention to him. The ice and lava titan reacted at the same time. The ice titan blew ice while the lava titan spewed out lava. Sora jumped out of the way at the last second, having the titans hit each other instead. The ice titan melted from the heat of the lava while the lava titan froze in place and became a solid mass.
"That's two down!" Sora said.
Their last opponent was going to be tricky. The wind titan was a massive tornado like being. Since it was made of wind, they had no way of landing physical hits to it.
"Anyone know how we're going to deal with breezy?" Hikari asked.
"I know someone who does" Hercules said.
He ran over to the pillar and broke it open, freeing Zeus. The king of the gods summoned a few of his thunderbolts and joined the group in taking out the last titan.
"You guys watch how a god works!" he said.
He threw his thunderbolts at the wind titan. The bolts shocked and stunned the titan to where it froze in place. Hercules took this chance to grab the titan by the base of its body and spun it around, sucking up the remains of the other titans. He whipped the titans around before throwing them out in the sky where they exploded.
"That's what happens when you mess with heroes!" Sora said.
Hades was fuming as he saw once again his plans were ruined thanks to Hercules and the others.
"I put eighteen years into that plan and you've ruined it!" he shouted.
"I really, really don't like you guys."
The group gave Hades an annoyed look. Even when his plans were ruined he still wasn't backing down.
"Just give it up already! You'll never beat Herc no matter how many times you try" Sora said.
"Stay in the Underworld where you belong."
"Go have the time of your afterlife" Donald added.
Hades's body was covered in bright flames as he glared at them.
"Enough already! I did not come this far to be ridiculed by Zeusy high and mighty, his little sunspot and a quartet of clowns!" he shouted.
"You know what? I'm just going to go ahead and destroy you!"
Hikari had chains appear from her Keyblade and wrapped them around Hades so he wouldn't move.
"It's over. It's six of us against you, hot head" she said.
Hades glared at the group. Knowing he was very outmatched, he decided to retreat for now.
"This isn't over. Not by a longshot"
He burst into flames and disappeared. With Hades and the titans gone, things were finally back to normal in Olympus. Zeus looked at the group in admiration. He had watched over them before in the past and deemed them heroes the last time they were here. After what he saw today, he was glad he made that decision.
"You have my deepest gratitude" he said.
"Everyone will remember what you did for the gods."
"Just another day in the life of a hero!" Donald said.
Zeus laughed at that.
"If you four ever need help the next time you're here, I'll give you my aid" he said.
"Eh, don't worry. We'll be ok. There's nothing we can't handle when we're together" Sora said.
He didn't much about it now, but they were going to need the gods help later down the road.
/
Hercules lead the group back to the gates of Olympus. Since everyone was safe, that meant he could go back to the city and check on everyone there.
The group was puzzled when they saw Hercules walk with them down the stairs.
"Aren't you doing to stay, Herc?" Sora asked.
"You're family is here so why go back to the realm of humans?"
Hercules smirked, clearly used to this question.
"I can visit here anytime I want" he pointed out.
"If I'd stayed…I'd have to be apart from Meg, who I love most…and that life would be empty. I know where I belong."
He suddenly remembered what Sora asked him back in the city.
"Oh yeah, we never got back to your question from before. Is there a way I can help?"
Sora smirked a little and shook his head. He thought Hercules would have the answers to help him get his strength back but he realized he would need to figure that out on his own. After what Hikari told him what happened to her during the exams, that further proved it. Everyone had a different way of regaining their strength.
"I think I'm meant to figure it out for myself. I'll find my strength the way you found yours. Something to fight for…with all my heart."
He chuckled a little and scratched his cheek.
"I guess you did have the answers."
"You've got heart, Sora. Just keep at it and I know you'll be stronger than ever" Hercules said.
"You might be as strong as Hikari one day" Donald joked.
"Hey!" Sora cried.
Everyone laughed and enjoyed the moment. While they didn't find the answers they were looking for, at least they found a clue as to where to find them.
/
Back with Pete and Maleficent, the two of them were at the spot Hades said where the mysterious box was hiding. Pete was in a deep hole digging while Maleficent watched.
"Are you sure the box with the Book of Prophecies is for real?" Pete asked.
"I think that dingbat in black was pulling your leg."
His response was a hit in the head with Maleficent's staff.
"Be quiet and dig, you imbecile" she hissed.
"I must find that Book of Prophecies and make it my own. His was the only clue we have. We cannot afford to dismiss it without a thorough investigation."
Pete grumbled as he continued digging.
"I'm just saying a shot in the dark ain't gonna get us any closer to- "
He hit something hard and solid. Maleficent heard the noise too and grew curious.
"What is it? Have you found something? Show it to me at once, fool."
Pete pulled out a purple and black box with a skull in front of it.
"Yep. This has gotta be that Pandora's Box Hades mentioned" he said.
Maleficent studied the box for a moment then looked away in disgust.
"Leave it" she ordered.
Pete pouted when he heard that. He spent all this time digging for nothing?
"What? After all that digging?" he whined.
Maleficent ignored him and walked away. It seemed Hades had tricked her.
"That is not the box I desire. We are finished with this world. Come" she said.
Pete grumbled and dropped the box before following after her.
A little ways off, Xigbar watched the two leave in a portal. He had a grim look on his face. This wasn't good. If others were looking for the Black Box that meant it was a matter of time before it was revealed. He couldn't let that happen.
"May your heart be your guiding key" he said quietly.
A portal opened up next to him as Luxord appeared. He found it out that the gambling Nobody was here but it was better than Xemnas. After what he tried to pull during the Mark of Mastery exams, Xemnas was keeping a close eye on the sharpshooter.
Luxord played with the deck of cards in his hands, clearly ignoring the looks Xigbar was giving him.
"Picture this: a black goat stashes away a letter, then orders a white goat to search for it. What could his intentions possibly be?" he asked.
Xigbar scoffed and plastered on a cruel smirk. The Nobody was on to something and he needed to act calm.
"Great, a riddle. Just what I need" he said dryly.
"There are many possibilities" Luxord continued.
"Perhaps he forgot where it's hidden, or he's playing a prank, or the letter has truly gone missing. I can think of several reasons offhand; guessing…is simply useless."
Xigbar scoffed. He didn't like where the gambler was going with this. He acted like he was telling off riddles, but in reality he was saying he knew something that the sharpshooter didn't want anyone to know.
"Just follow your orders. Plain and simple" he said.
Luxord hummed as he looked at one of the cards in his deck.
"Yes, that's what I've always done" he admitted.
"I followed the orders from above without question. However, sometimes I can't help but read into my opponent's strategy."
He paused flipping one of the cards in his hand and gave Xigbar a cunning smirk.
"If the contents of the box are so unknown, why is it of such critical importance to the Organization?" he asked.
"Furthermore, was it Xehanort or Xemnas who gave the order?"
Xigbar's hand twitched slightly. He was so tempted to summon his weapon and silence the gambler but if he did, he would put an even bigger target on his head. He had to play it cool until the time was right.
"It's…tricky" was all he said.
Luxord looked over at the city as he thought of something.
"All Xehanort cares about is the clash between the thirteen lights and the thirteen darknesses" he slowly said.
"It's unlikely he would hold such an interest in this mysterious box. Which means, the order was issued by Xemnas…or the one who informed me of this task-you"
Xigbar kept on his fake smile and laughed.
"As if! It must have been Xemnas" he said.
"My inquires suggested otherwise" Luxord said slowly.
The smile vanished from Xigbar's face.
"Oh man…you asked him?"
If Xemnas found out about the Black Box, that would mean he knew the sharpshooter was up to something. This was bad.
"What are your intentions?" Luxord asked.
Xigbar got fed up with all of the questions and threw his hands in the air. He needed to cover his tracks and act like he didn't know anything about the Black Box. He couldn't let anyone know the truth.
"Look, I don't know what's inside the box" he lied.
"But it's been protected by Keyblade Wielders since way back when. Aren't you curious? I heard it contains information that's vital to all Keyblade Wielders-secrets"
Luxord raised an eyebrow.
"And where did you hear this?"
Xigbar quickly closed his mouth when he realized he said too much.
"Don't remember" he lied.
"I keep my eyes and ears wide open, but I've traveled to so many places, it's hard to keep everything straight, y'know?"
Luxord saw past his lie right away. He knew how the game worked and could tell who was lying and who was telling the truth.
"If this box is truly as important as you say, why now?" he asked.
"I believe you discovered that others are looking for it. And you know where it is, yet you want to make sure no one gets close to it and reveal its secrets. Furthermore, you don't want anyone to find it because it'll reveal your connection to this mysterious box…and who you really are"
Xigbar summoned his weapon this time. Luxord figured out too much already. He needed to silence him before he told Xemnas what was going on.
Luxord laughed and turned around.
"No matter. It doesn't make a difference to me. It's all the same. I'm content to feign ignorance" he said.
He gave Xigbar a look. He was telling the sharpshooter he would keep quiet so long as he stayed out of his way. Xigbar dismissed his weapon and glared at him.
"Just follow your orders" he warned.
Luxord opened up a portal and stepped into it.
"Just what are you trying to hide, Xigbar?" he asked.
The portal closed behind him, leaving the sharpshooter alone. Xigbar had a grim look on his face. He needed to take care of things fast before anyone found out what he was really doing.
/
A/N: Hope this long chapter was worth the wait! Seems like things are getting dicey with the enemy side. Everyone is looking for the Black Box but no one wants to reveal that they're looking for it.
Please review and tell me what you think!
Take care!
