Chapter 17: The Stone and the Hydra

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Penelope made haste back down to the Underworld armed with determination and orders from Hercules. As they went down the stairs from the Coliseum to the Underworld, at the entrance, they saw a familiar figure collapsed on the ground.

"Phil!" Sora called, coming down by his side. The other three joined with haste.

"Ooh, ough…" He grumbled with pain. Penelope summoned Leviathan, her blade glowing with a pulse of magic.

"What happened?" Sora asked, as the satyr was starting to get up.

"Are you hurt? Do you need me to use Cura on you?" Penelope asked as well, quickly scanning Phil over for any injuries.

He brushed himself off. "I spotted this strange guy all dressed in black. I chased after him, but he turned on me. Next thing I know, I'm seeing stars."

Well, that was one target. "All dressed in black?!" Donald spoke, his rage building.

Sora looked to the others, nodding. "He's the one who stole the Olympus Stone."

"Where did he run off to?" Goofy questioned quickly, trying to make a game plan.

"Further into the Underworld. He's a bad apple, all right. And all I wanted to do was to find a backup hero. Just in case Herc needed to take a break." Phil answered, pointing in the direction of the Underworld Caverns.

Sora raised a brow at this. "Heroes, eh? You could've just asked!"

"You know someone!?" Phil replied, the comment going over his head.

Sora took a stance with his Keyblade, Donald with his staff. If there was anyone who was to take the initiative to prove themselves as heroes, it was them. Especially as Philoctetes continued to think that the "junior heroes" needed work. Which wasn't wrong, they were still getting back into the fray after a long year of slumber. But it still stung.

Penelope sighed, face palming. "I know you keep saying they're junior heroes, Phil. But they're capable, and I know they can handle themselves more than you can think."

"Oh, good one…" Phil said, still being dismissive.

There was no budging with him, was there?

Still, once they ensured Phil was safe, they continued to rush forward into the Underworld to find Meg.

XxXxX

A large beast called the Hydra was snapping at Hercules, who was currently battling it in front of the Olympus Coliseum crowd. He was blocking and slashing at it with his sword, though the fiend seemed to be barely able to land a hit on him. With one last blow, the beast collapsed, and the crowd cheered as Hercules climbed out from under its neck. He thanked the crowd, hoping they enjoyed the match, though he was in a hurry. He had fulfilled his obligation and ran to the Foyer.

Though… it was hard to say if he had truly taken the Hydra out as he had so hoped.

XxXxX

Sora and the team were now in the Underworld Caverns, working on taking out Heartless as they went. Penelope's brow was knit in thought and worry as they rushed forward, though they had to pause for a break. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were looking notably exhausted.

Sora took a breath, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders. "Man… this Underworld Curse is really getting to me."

Penelope started to rummage around in her travel satchel as the boys were discussing the problem. Besides her travel journal and her keychains in there, she usually kept the items she was rationed in there. Granted, Penelope also used her own munny to keep a backup stash—just in case. She knew that she was fortunate to not have been asleep for a year so she could maintain her munny and items, but she knew that the others weren't in the same boat.

"We've got to get the Olympus Stone back fast!" Goofy mused, looking worried. The gloom of the Underworld and the wear and tear of the situation was really getting to them.

"Would you guys like me to use an elixir or megalixir? I know that those should be used in dire situations, but maybe they could help replenish energy for now?" she asked, glancing over at the other three.

"You HAVE those?" Donald asked, seeming surprised. He knew that they hadn't picked any up on the road. Or maybe they had, and he had forgot. Granted, these were things that you could synthesize, and Sora hadn't worked much on synthesizing yet.

"Thanks Penelope, but let's not worry about using them right now," Sora politely declined. "Like Goofy said—we should get the Olympus Stone first. I think we can hold out for a bit longer. Are you doing okay?"

"Why are you asking ME if I'm okay? You guys are the ones looking like ghosts right about now. It wouldn't be good if you guys went out while we're looking for Meg and the stone." Penelope insisted, trying to shrug off the worry about her.

"Has the curse been bothering ya at all, Penelope?" Goofy asked.

Penelope twirled a strand of her hair, not sure how to feel about the rest of the group looking at her so… concerned. So expectantly for her reply. She was still accustomed to being that forgotten 4th person in the back.

"I mean. I could be better. It has been wearing at me too, but I didn't want to say anything since you guys especially seem grinded down by it. I have plenty of items in my emergency stash if anyone needs to use them for that last push forward." She spoke, still trying to maintain her focus on the others.

"Hey, you're an important part of the team too," Sora reminded her. "I know we haven't always been great at expressing that. Especially in the past. But you're our friend too."

Penelope averted her gaze at that, still struggling to accept it. She decided to focus her efforts on sensing anything unusual for right now. Granted—the Underworld Curse may have been putting a damper on that, but she could at least try. "…Thanks. Sorry for redirecting the conversation. Like Goofy said—let's focus on finding the Olympus Stone ASAP. If it's with that hooded figure, he shouldn't have gotten too far."

The rest of the group nodded, and they continued forward, fighting through Heartless in the cold, dark cave network. They eventually got to the Underworld Atrium, which was quiet. There weren't many Heartless around either.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy paused when they noticed Penelope suddenly stop in her tracks. The brunette seemed alert, her eyes searching around like a prospecting device.

"What's up? Are you sensing something?" Sora asked quickly.

Penelope nodded. "I sense two things. Something of godly might, but also of protection. I think it might be the Olympus Stone. The other thing is more familiar. It feels like a still sea, with no wind to move the waves. Empty. I think that's him," she replied. "I'm guessing this isn't going to be a peaceful affair. Are we ready to rumble if we must?"

Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other, before nodding. If they were going to confront Hades and find Meg, then they needed to find the Olympus Stone pronto. Penelope had a feeling that they'd respond as such.

From there, they continued to keep going with their guard up. Further into the Atrium, they were at a dead end. The door was closed, and in front of it stood a hooded black figure. It was almost as if he was waiting for them.

He turned around to face the group. "Huh? Ah, you!" he exclaimed, taking his hood down. Penelope paused, finding that her hunch was correct. She had seen this guy with Roxas before, though what he said next made them all pause.

He had a sandy-brown mullet-looking hairstyle, and blue-green eyes like light patches of the sea. However, Penelope was pretty sure that she had never gotten his name. In fact, she was pretty sure she had recalled the guy slacking off when Roxas was working on tasks at the Coliseum.

"Wait a sec… Roxas?" He asked suddenly, pointing at Sora amidst thought. Sora raised a brow, having no idea what the figure was talking about. Penelope's serious expression quickly dropped.

Sora raised his hands, not sure how to respond. His eyes were wide as he stared back. "Excuse me?" He mustered. Donald and Goofy were equally confused.

But still, he asked again. "Roxas?" Still no reply from Sora, whom he seemed to be addressing. Penelope didn't know what this tactic was, but she felt herself gnawing on her lip. She had no idea if she had the capacity to even explain the context.

The Nobody quickly gave up. "Oh, it's no use." He sighed, rummaging through his pockets.

Sora put a hand on his hips, still lost. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Penelope paused when… wait. Wait a minute, was that a cue card? A flash card? A note? She raised her brows and straightened up her back. There was no way in hell that she could not ask about what that was.

"Let's see, here…" the cloaked figure muttered, looking over the note. He read its contents out loud to himself. "'If the subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition'…Right. Did they ever pick the wrong guy for this one…"

Penelope's eyes widened in alarm. Sora still had no idea what was going on, with his hands still firmly placed on his hips. "You're bizarre…"

The brunette finally spoke up. "How dare you! How dare they! You have no right to try and force him out like this!" she shouted, stamping her foot in offense.

The Organization member put two and two together, quickly recognizing her. "Wait, you're with him…? That's a problem…" He spoke, proceeding to pull another thing out. It wasn't another cue card or note, but a glowing stone…

Was it a stone? Honestly, it looked more like a medallion. But Goofy was quick on the call out. "He's gotta be the thief!" Goofy said, pointing at the cloaked member. Granted, it wasn't a surprise. He was the only Organization member they had seen in this area, and there were a few accounts that he was the one who had snatched the Olympus Stone.

He sure didn't like being called a thief, though. "Now that's just plain rude!" He said, raising the stone up in the air. It glowed brilliantly, pulsating around him. Probably not a great sign of what was to happen next either.

Penelope raised her hands in disbelief. "If you didn't steal it, why do you have it? You're the only Organization XIII member that's been running around here! Your black coats are distinct. You people are unbelievable." She criticized on deaf ears.

Mainly as the Organization XIII member had pulled out his weapon, which seemed to be a blue sitar, and he began to play it. That… just didn't seem like a good sign. Sora and Penelope summoned their Keyblades while Donald and Goofy pulled out their staff and shield respectively.

"Dance, water, dance!" called the Organization XIII member. Okay…

Water clones. 100 water clones. And the four of them had to defeat them in 80 seconds. Because of that sudden and strict time limit Sora, Donald, and Goofy were quick to go at it. Penelope tried out magic to see if it would help clear them faster while the boys were frantically hacking away at the water clones.

"Thunder!" Penelope called, using their first adventure style of sending multiple streams of lightning bolts at the water clones. The Organization XIII member was just chilling and playing his sitar to summon the water clones, mostly tuning them out.

The thunder spell wasn't as effective as it should have been. "Firaga?" Penelope called, throwing down a firebomb from her Keyblade. That was super effective for some reason. Granted, by that time, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had cleaved through most of them while she got the rest. She was… just confused.

"Not bad, Roxas!" spoke the cloaked figure when all 100 of them were taken out. Summoning that many water clones in such a time limit seemed to have janked up his shoulder, though.

Before the figure retreated, he pleaded, "Roxas, come back to us!" And then he just. Unceremoniously left.

Sora tapped his Keyblade on his shoulder. "Guy's a broken record."

Penelope sighed, tugging her hair. That was a lot to process all at once. Fortunately, Donald wasn't as confused as they were. He noticed something glittering on the ground with a "Hey, look!" and went to grab it.

The mysterious figure had dropped the Olympus Stone. Donald gave it to Sora after picking it up and coming back, and Sora raised it up in the air. It pulsated with energy and its power surrounded the group. It felt like their strength that had been locked down was finally returning to them.

"Let's go! Meg needs our help!" Sora exclaimed. Donald and Goofy nodded, and the three rushed forward, with Penelope following behind.

She didn't know if it was because of the Olympus Stone or her being more alert, but she couldn't help but feel worried.

What if they were walking right into a trap?

Though, as when they were about to go through the door, Penelope felt that sudden empty feeling, and sharply turned around. Sora noticed too and seemed to be flabbergasted to see that guy again. "What do you want?!" Sora asked, already having to deal with the recovery of that initial interaction.

"I want to tell you about something much more interesting than that stone. About the 'Absent Silhouette'."

"And you couldn't have said it before you left in a poof? You just conveniently remembered now?" Penelope asked sharply, echoing Sora's irritation.

"Wait… Absent Silhouette. You mean that weird book we saw on our way here?" Sora added, upon processing what the guy was saying.

"It isn't only a book," he said. "Weapons that burn from the shadow, that hold the strength of the previous masters. Fighting with them, you will wake up for sure. Your true yourself."

Sora dismissed the weird wording (Penelope didn't), only asking, "What do you mean?".

"You are the hero; you can discover it yourself!" Poof. Gone again. That was another interaction that happened.

"Sheesh. I didn't know he had a well of oddly specific insight in him. He gave real 'desperate slacker' energy, if anything. Still can't remember the dude's name, or if I was ever told it," Penelope grumbled.

The 'Absent Silhouette' book wasn't important right now though. After all, they really needed to find Megara and fast. If they were able to, it was probably something they could look back on later.

XxXxX

Past the Atrium, and further into the Underworld Caverns, the quartet found themselves in an area of the Underworld where there was a strange lock etched on a rock. It was like the Keyholes that Sora and Penelope had locked up together on their first adventure. Sora took the time to open some chests before he and Penelope went to examine it.

Penelope shuddered, noticing the column of darkness surging past. However, a symbol of Megara seemed to be etched onto the rock. Maybe that's where Hades put her? Penelope held from using her Keyblade.

"Hey Sora, doesn't this feel like a…" She began, only to see Sora promptly use his Keyblade on the lock without much thought.

"Sora?! Hey, maybe we should discuss this first…!" The lock and the rock dissipated into light while he, Donald, and Goofy observed. There was a big hole where the rock remained. The problem was that Meg didn't appear when they unlocked it, so the trio assumed that maybe she was further down.

Penelope blinked and shrugged. Okay, fine, whatever. They needed to find Meg, even though this still felt like it was a massive trap. When they went down into the pit, it had a glowing white floor and bony, grey walls. Megara was there, appearing relieved to see Sora and the other three. However, she was also chained up.

And… there was also Hades. Crossing his arms and watching. Great. He cackled, while Sora and Donald seemed shocked.

"Now that's what I call a key," the lord of the underworld began, with a gleeful clap. "Gee, thanks for your help! Now have a nice day."

"Help? Help with what…?" Penelope began to interrogate on behalf of the others, only for Hades to disappear with a poof. The brunette threw her hands in the air. Meg seemed to be about to say something, only to notice something.

"Sora, behind you!" She warned. The group heard another familiar cackle, and they turned from whence they came.

Pete. Pete was back. And he brought Heartless. Of course, there was some kind of tag-team trap. They really shouldn't have been surprised by how brazenly they rushed in, but oh well.

"What's wrong? Can't fight in the Underworld?" Pete mocked, with an added "boo hoo hoo!" to add salt into the wound.

Penelope and Sora looked at each other, summoning their Keyblades. Donald and Goofy pulled out their weapons as well, and the group got into a combat stance. "Better think again!" Sora warned, knowing that they had the Olympus Stone now.

So, now they had to defend Meg while fighting off Pete and the Heartless. "Donald, Goofy, get the Heartless! Sora, focus on Pete! I'll defend Meg!" Penelope quickly ordered, pulling back.

The group split accordingly, working on fighting off the threat. Pete occasionally put up a barrier, indicating his invincibility. But it didn't last forever, so it gave a clear opening when to attack. However, there was another issue when they found that there were too many Heartless. Sora proceeded to slash the chains off Meg to make it easier for her to escape the pit.

And then, someone knocked Pete over with a punch. Hercules had caught up to them a lot faster than expected, with Meg running over to him with a smile.

"Sorry I'm late!" He apologized to the others, whistling for Pegasus. Pegasus knocked Pete over as he was starting to get up, but it opened an escape route so that Meg could leave safely. The hero hoisted her up, gently setting her onto Pegasus and ordering, "Get Meg outta here. I'll meet you back at the Coliseum."

"What about you?" Sora asked worriedly, seeming bothered by Meg not having protection back besides a flying horse.

Hercules grinned, straightening up his back. "I'm gonna show these guys what happens when they mess with a true hero." He replied. This gave Pegasus time to fly out. Pete got up, not sure how things went against the plan so quickly.

"Now wait a sec!" Pete said with a start, trying to run after Pegasus to pull Meg off. That didn't work. Hercules was quick to get in his way, raring up some punches. Sora, Donald, and Goofy took the time to head out and escort Meg, though Penelope stayed behind just in case as backup.

It was like the situation with Cerberus again, in a way.

Although they sprinted out, along with Pegasus, making it up and out of the pit. Meg seemed to have some second thoughts. It… just didn't feel right to leave Hercules behind like that.

The woman shook her head, looking back at the way they came. "Sora… I won't leave him."

"Look, he'll be okay. He has Penelope for backup too."

"Look, even Herc has his limits." Megara reminded Sora. "He can't keep winning forever."

"Then we'll go back him and Penelope up." Sora answered, looking back. Pegasus bent his head down, noticing Donald pointing at him.

Authoritatively, he ordered, "Get Meg outta here!" The winged horse nodded, flying up and out of the Underworld. From there, Sora, Donald, and Goofy went back into the pit.

Penelope was struggling to try and heal Hercules. The Heartless and Pete kept getting in her line of sight, and although she worked to chip off the horde of bat-like Heartless with hook tails, it seemed to not be doing much. She knew Hercules had been overworking himself, and she knew he had been backed into a corner. That's why she couldn't just leave him to deal with it himself like he had tried to.

She also didn't have time to ask to borrow the Olympus Stone's power again. When she and Hercules were out of radius of it, the "heroes are zeroes" rule hit again. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had it. It made it safer to escort and protect Meg on their way out. They couldn't have gotten too far away.

Plus, there were some green ghost-looking Heartless with candles now. She was struggling to see what was going on, but she saw Pete point up his hand. Okay, great. What was he going to do? Try and turn Hercules into a Heartless? She was still right there, and even if she was struggling, she'd fight tooth and nail on her own…

She paused when she noticed Sora, Donald, and Goofy reappear from the light that led into the pit. She saw how they came down, so she knew that they must have been by Herc's side. And fortunately, she was in radius of the Olympus Stone again.

Sheesh. She was always going to be pushed to the back, wasn't she…?

Penelope paused when a pebble bonked her on the head. She looked up to see another problem.

"Uh? Guys? The cave!" She exclaimed, pointing up with Leviathan.

Hercules and Sora observed that the cave pit was starting to crumble. Pete had been worn down by the scuffle with Hercules, even if they had limited power. Now was the time to deal with Pete and get out.

Penelope came behind with an ambush of her Keyblade to smack Pete on the back. Sora and Hercules followed up with a combined attack to send Pete hurling back into the wall, with Penelope rolling out of the way to not get hit. Donald and Goofy used their skillset to quickly move the heartless out of the way.

And in the nick of time, they managed to deal with Pete. He stumbled back, looking irritated.

"This place gives me the creeps." He complained. "I'll deal with you nitwits next time!"

As Pete retreated, the boys observed that the cave was coming in on itself fast. It shook furiously as it began to come in on itself. So, the group ran out in a hurry. They could heal and regroup as soon as they got out.

Hades had reappeared after they had gotten out, observing what had happened. "Could today possibly get any better? This time, Wonder-breath is going down for good." He grinned, looking up. Perhaps the crumbling of the cave didn't mean what it assumed…

XxXxX

The group was worn out by the time they had sprinted out of the Underworld Caves and back to the entrance. Today had a lot of running and dealing with Hades and Pete nonsense. Penelope rubbed her eyes, setting up a Curaga field for the group to recover in as they caught their breath.

However, it seemed like they weren't done getting taunted.

"Well, if it isn't everyone's favorite hero washout. You really blew it this time." And it was Hades. Again. Perhaps taunting people was an important part of his job? Nobody really knew.

Sora sighed, shaking his head. "No one likes a sore loser, Hades." He remarked bluntly.

"Can it, Keyboy!" Hades shouted, trying to focus his ire on Hercules.

"Then let me," Hercules added quickly. He waltzed up, looking Hades in the eye. "No one likes a sore loser, Hades."

Hades threw his hands in the air, beginning to pace. "Yeah, yeah. Styx and stones," He retorted, only to grin and look back. "Hey, maybe you should check in on the Hydra you neglected to finish off. I hear things are really FALLING APART up there, champ."

Penelope blinked, as well as Sora. Hercules had taken out the Hydra before he came down here, right? That was his part of the bargain. Sora was about to ask questions as he could tell Hades was about to poof off, calling "Wait!".

As expected though. Hades had no cares to give. He went off in smoke, his voice echoing. "Hate to run, but I've got another little diversion to attend to."

It was like Hades vanished as quickly as he came in. He appeared, he taunted, and he left. Was he really that busy or was he hardly working.

"Hercules, didn't you take out the Hydra? You said you'd deal with the Hydra." Penelope began to quickly question, starting to get worried. Hercules, in a panic, ran off towards the staircase to the Coliseum. "Hercules? Where are you going?!"

He was gone. He had ignored her. Everyone was ignoring her today.

"This is because of me fighting with Maria, isn't it. Or do I just blend into wet sand again, and it would be better off if I faded like seafoam?" she asked, slowly blinking. Sora shook his head, uncertain how to respond. If anything, it seemed like there was yet another urgent problem they had to worry about.

Meg and Pegasus seemed to be waiting by the entrance up to the Coliseum. From where they were standing it… sounded like there was a massive ruckus. And it was coming past the tall, heavenly stairwell up.

Sora furrowed his brow. Penelope stood next to him, looking up at the staircase. She had her hands on her hips. Donald and Goofy were taking a minute to breathe before their next big encounter, though they all knew that Hercules probably needed help with that Hydra.

"I know he was in a hurry, but he couldn't have taken 10 seconds to check if the Hydra wasn't going to get up again?" Penelope audibly asked, only to pause and think. When she wasn't doing missions or wasn't away from the Old Mansion for extended periods, she had worked on reading. When she lived on the Play Island, it was a lot harder for her to get access to books. Especially as she didn't have a boat of her own. So, she took the time to read more while they waited on Sora.

She recalled reading the myth of the Hydra. It had gone differently than what they were experiencing, but the thing about hydras was that they had a regeneration feature. It was rumored to have virulent blood with a deadly scent and breath of poison. The big thing was that it was very hard to kill a Hydra, because if you cut off its head, two more would pop up. However, this depended on the author when it came to regeneration capacity. Hercules's world clearly had ties to mythology to some extent. Penelope knew this.

Sora observed the gears turning in Penelope's head as she was thinking.

Penelope took a moment to consider why Hercules wasn't as easily able to take on the Hydra:

1) He was in a hurry because of Meg. Plus, there was the fact their group wouldn't have been easily able to take on Hades if it came to that point. Pete had managed to exploit how Hercules had been weaker than normal due to his constant fighting.

2) Hercules had been in a match in the Olympus Coliseum before this. Not only that, but he had been fighting in front of a crowd. He couldn't simply cut off the head of the Hydra in front of a crowd, because if it regenerated more heads, that would be a risk. It would also add to the risk if its blood spilled (if this one had poisoned blood), as that could cause crowd casualties. That would also cause a panic, probably, if someone died. It wasn't like the seating area was easily fenced off and up and away from the fighting. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Penelope could all account for this from personal experience.

3) On top of that personal experience, tying back into the Coliseum point, obstacles weren't usually set up. Especially not in a match like that. Hercules wouldn't have been able to easily use other objects (ex. barrels, boulders, maybe columns) to crush in the Hydra. It would be different if it were an outdoor setting. But it wasn't the same kind where it would have environmental factors to use. Barrels were set up for training, as well as floor level adjustment, but that didn't always happen in matches.

4) The space in the Coliseum was cramped. Especially when fighting huge monsters. The Cerberus fight was a big example of this, since it was hard to climb up on Cerberus and it was big and in a cramped space. This gave a larger monster a general advantage.

5) Hades set the fight up. There was probably some rigging there to make it harder to take out the Hydra. They were dealing with that factor now.

"Uh, Penelope? You're spacing out. Are you okay? Do you want us to head up and help Hercules while you rest?" Sora asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. His grip snapped her out of her thoughts.

Penelope crossed her arms, putting her hand against her chin. "I'm worried that we could have overestimated Hercules and not given him enough backup coverage which led to this." she calmly replied, continuing to think.

Sora titled his head to the side. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I was reading about the myth of the Hydra a few months back, I think. It was before you woke up," Penelope explained. "In my off time when I wasn't out and about, I tried to do some reading. And I remember one of the stories I read."

"Oh! I see…" he said, scratching his head. "Do you think it will help at all? I'm not sure how much longer Hercules can hold out on his own. We should probably get up there soon."

Penelope paused. "Oh. Oh! Right. Sorry. I just have gotten too caught up in my head this time. Sorry about that." She quickly apologized, recomposing herself.

Sora shook his head. "No, it's fine. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. You've just been out of it," He acknowledged, only to cross his arms. "I know that you tend to push yourself back. But you're our friend."

Penelope looked over her shoulder at Sora, raising her brow. Had she been doing that?

"If you're tired and need to rest, you can. Donald, Goofy, and I can go on ahead. I mean it." Sora continued to insist.

"I'm fine—honest! It's been a day, but it's not wearing me down, I swear. I want to make sure you guys don't get hurt up there. It's the least I can do, you know." Penelope replied, running her hands through her hair.

Sora furrowed his brow. Penelope paused when she noticed him shake his head, recomposing and shooting his signature grin. It was hard to say what it meant. Though she couldn't help but wonder…

"Let's worry about it when we get back on the Gummi Ship. You ready to go?" Sora asked. Around this time, Donald and Goofy joined back up. They seemed worried but didn't have a chance to say anything.

After much deliberation, it was finally time to go and help Hercules.

XxXxX

Hercules had tried his best to put up one hell of a defensive against the raging Hydra that had been ransacking the Olympus Coliseum. However, Megara's warnings had finally caught up to him. She kept telling him to rest. She kept insisting that she needed a break. She pleaded with him that he needed to stop at some point, or the inevitable would catch up.

And it had. The hero had finally gone past his limit. He wearily collapsed to his knees, hopeless at the current state things were in. "This can't be…" Hercules spoke weakly.

Sora had run in first, though he had to dodge and block with his arms when a big piece of debris nearly hit him. It kicked up dust, and he looked up to see where it came from.

Behind the collapsed walls was the Hydra. Currently, it had one head, but sheesh. It had really made a mess. Sora looked up at the adversary while Megara, Phil, and Pegasus came running to Hercules. Meg quickly knelt, putting her hand on Herc's shoulder. Phil desperately shook Hercules's arm, which temporarily got him out of the funk he was in.

"Champ! You're safe!" Phil sighed in relief.

Hercules, however, disagreed. He looked around at the stone carnage that the Hydra had wreaked in its wake. Hades's words were getting to him, and Hercules decided to take full responsibility and blame. "I failed…" spoke the hero, his voice still weak. He tried and tried so hard, and yet. Despite all his efforts, this happened.

Megara protested at this, shaking her head. She gripped tightly on Hercules's shoulder, frowning but still trying her best to be of comfort. "It's not your fault."

"I left everyone unprotected," Hercules retorted. In his wallow, he slammed his fists on the ground. "Hades was right. I'm just… a washout."

Phil raised his hands, coming closer to Hercules. The hero was slamming his fist against the ground in defeat. "Aw, come on, champ! I didn't train you to think like that."

"Wonderboy…" Megara sighed.

Sora ran over, kneeling and putting a hand on Hercules's right shoulder. The brunet decided to try his hand at giving Hercules the pick-me-up he needed, especially considering the dire straits. "Phil's right. This is no time to beat yourself up."

That… didn't work as well. Hercules straightened up, averting his gaze from the others. He put his hands on his head. "I'm some hero…" As he looked up, he saw the Hydra beginning to rampage forward through the rubble. Its large, yellow eyes pierced down at Hercules, as Megara was attempting to pull the muscular demigod away. The hydra's swordlike teeth gnashed and it's gaping maw curled into a snarl as it roared and hissed down. Megara did manage to finally get Herc up, helping him away as the hero limped.

The beast stomped forward, roaring. Donald, Goofy, and Penelope got into position with their weapons. Donald narrowed his eyes, waving his staff. "Herc needs help!"

"Yeah!" spoke the other three in unison. Phil slid in, balling his fists and jogging in place to hype himself up. "Don't suppose you got room for once more?" he asked, raring to fight. Honestly, they were not sure how the older satyr was supposed to help.

Pegasus and Megara came roaring in as well, once Herc was away from the fray and to safety. "We're in!" she exclaimed, getting ready to get up on Pegasus's back. She went up in the air on the winged horse to support from the skies. Phil went to a safer vantage point to find openings.

It was a good time to move, especially as the Hydra reared its head and sent its tail swinging back and forth at the group. Donald went straight to slinging spells, while Goofy and Sora went in with physical attacks. Penelope didn't have a chance to assist but saw the Hydra's head was lopped off by Sora with a vanquishing blow. It spurted with a spray of black blood before burying it's head into the ground.

"HEY SORA! GET UP ON THE HYDRA'S BACK!" Phil screamed, jumping up as high as his little legs could muster.

"Huh? Why-" He asked, only for Penelope to suddenly shove him out of the way as the ground began to violently shake. Three more heads came bursting out from the ground, while Donald and Goofy went to fend them off.

"Whoa! Good save!" Sora spoke, his blue eyes darting at what had just happened. He proceeded to climb up on the Hydra's back and Phil sent him hurling a very heavy, golden-looking vessel. Sora sent it hurling at the Hydra's spine while Penelope went to aid Donald and Goofy with the new heads.

The blow to the back temporarily dazed the beast, making its heads more vulnerable to attacks.

"Where did it get more heads from? I thought I took it off!" Sora exclaimed, not sure what happened. Donald and Goofy had no idea either, as the heads came out so suddenly.

"Remember that story I was telling you about?!" Penelope called, spinning and slashing Leviathan with Goofy at one of the currently collapsed heads. "I didn't have a chance to finish! The hydra can regenerate its heads if one is cut off! Hercules couldn't crush it's head in before he left! If he cut off its head before, the crowd would have had a bigger problem!"

"Ohhhhhh." Sora processed. He managed to knock one of the heads down. Shortly after, Donald and Goofy, with aid from Penelope, were able to get another one, though Penelope paused when Sora cut off one some more heads without thinking as they were popping out from the ground.

Sora did take the opportunity to send another huge barrel hurling at the Hydra's spine with some help from Phil, putting the beast in a daze. Eventually though, it pulled its neck out from the ground.

There were seven heads now?

"Sora! What did I just say?" Penelope asked exasperatedly, pointing her hands and her Keyblade at the situation they had got themselves in.

"Gawrsh! That's a lotta heads, fellas!" Goofy cried, before noticing the heads beginning to come down and strike. Goofy grabbed Donald, shielding him from the hit. Penelope pulled Sora away before he was taken off guard, though they had to bounce around and maneuver around.

The Hydra also conveniently had lasers. And could send Possessor Heartless hurling from the ground.

Penelope blocked some hits from one of the Hydra heads and braced herself when the thing started biting at her Keyblade. When she fended it off, she managed to quickly aim a well-placed Thunder spell at some of the heads, zapping them with electricity. Sora worked on hitting the heads as best as he could before the lasers came hurling down from the sky.

Megara lent Sora Pegasus so the boy could take the opportunity to tangle and confuse the heads.

"Radiant Midnight!" Penelope called, using her signature spell to divert the Hydra's attention away briefly.

She gave Sora one last opening to deal one more mighty, devastating blow to the Hydra. And cut off all its heads.

Interestingly, they didn't regenerate anymore. But it did scream and coil before finally collapsing—slain.

Sora grinned, brushing off his nose. Penelope, however, not trusting the Hydra to regenerate more heads, took an opportunity to use some of the rubble to her advantage.

"Zero Gravity!" She called, causing rubble to float over what was left of the beast. Once it was aimed, she called "Force!". The rubble from the heightened gravity came hurling back down. There were a few snaps and cracks of what was left. This did cause the teenagers and their duck and dog companion to wince. Especially as more dust kicked up and they covered their eyes.

"…Was that overkill?" Sora asked.

"We don't need 27 more heads to come popping up." Penelope replied, coughing.

The group took a moment to breathe before reconvening with the others. Megara was sitting next to Hercules on a fallen column. Pegasus and Phil were nearby too, checking to make sure the hero was okay.

He wasn't. He was still in that funk.

"I let you down. I'm just… no use." He spoke, with a sigh in between that last part.

Megara sighed and shook her head. "It's not your fault. Hey, even a god would be exhausted."

"She's right. Give yourself a chance to rest." Sora advised.

And yet. The air was still sullen. Goofy took a chance to see things on the bright side. "There won't be any games for a while anyway."

He wasn't wrong. If there was any time for Hercules to take a big, well-needed rest, it was NOW. Especially as they needed to rebuild the Coliseum from the damage the Hydra did to it.

Megara got up, brushing herself off. There was a small, subtle smile on her face. "Don't worry about Wonderboy here. I'll look after him," she began, her purple eyes glancing at the group. "Sora, Donald, Goofy, Penelope. I owe you big time."

"Hey, it's no big deal!" Sora said with a smile. "Just let us know if Hades or the Heartless start acting up. We'll take care of it!"

"Yeah, that's what heroes are for!" Donald chimed in.

Megara rested her elbow on her hand, twirling her hair and staring. "When did you three make hero?" She asked.

Donald's face shifted into a pout. Sora winced, just dropping it. "Let's save that for another time… We have to hit the road."

The looks on their faces. Why this punchline kept going—no one knew. But the relief of the situation, and their faces…

Penelope finally let go of this long, and frankly strange day. And she just let herself snicker and laugh. Goofy started to chuckle and hyuk as well, mostly in reaction to her laughter. Donald shot the two of them a look, and Sora pouted.

Megara lightly laughed, smiling and waving. "Okay. Don't be strangers."

Goofy recomposed himself to glance at Hercules. The laughter seemed to have lightened the mood somewhat, even if it was unintentional. "Gawrsh, I hope ya feel better soon, Hercules."

"Yeah…" He sighed. The man just seemed exhausted, but he managed to muster a weak smile.

Penelope was still giggling and snickering. Donald scowled at her, but refocused on Phil, checking in with him.

"Oh, well, take care you guys! Stay a little longer next time! We got some serious training to catch up on." Donald and Sora nodded at this.

The group was about to leave, only for them to remember the Olympus Stone. Hercules stumbled as he went over to take it back from Sora, though suddenly, the stone began to glow. Sora grinned back at Goofy, knowing what it meant.

Sora and Penelope pulled out their Keyblades, light shooting out from them and at the Olympus Stone. From there, they unlocked the next pathway forward.

Finally. They could take a breather.

XxXxX

(?)

Maleficent was confronting Pete during a status report. She seemed unimpressed, looking around at the fact it was just him and there was no one else. She had a league of villains who desired darkness once. Now it just seemed to be her and Pete, and quite frankly, that seemed unbefitting to her ambitions.

"And where is everyone else?"

"Beats me. They musta had other matters to deal with."

"Matters?" Maleficent repeated, maintaining her unimpressed gaze. "You mean they have more important affairs to attend to than my return?"

"Well, see, there's this Organization XIII that keeps gettin' in the way…" Pete tried to explain, only for Maleficent to cut him off.

"Let those fools play their little game!" The horned fairy snapped back, slamming her staff against the ground as she turned away.

"But what about that runt with the Keyblade? He's been a real pain, too."

"Oh, has he? Is that Guardian still with him? That impudent girl?"

Pete nodded, biting his lip. Maleficent turned back around, focusing her gaze pointedly at Pete.

"Very well then. I suppose you'd best tell me what's happened during my absence."

This… was probably going to take a while. Though it didn't seem like the League of Villains would be back anytime soon.

-o-o-o-o-

I'm looking forward to the next part! I'm trying to get better at developing group dynamics. I also have an idea that will be coming into play real soon that's been bubbling in my head a while.

Guest: Don't worry! I'm still planning on continuing this. Due to my schedule lately, it's been more difficult for me to sit down and write. I'll try my best to continue working on this and uploading though!

I will see you all in the next chapter!

Ciao.