Heroes of Light

by Silverbits

Shadows of the Past, Light of the Future Reboot! When shadows threaten to take over the world, and all seemed lost a new hero appears out of nowhere and chases away the darkness. Izuku Midoriya wants to follow this hero, feeling a strange connection to her and her power. Little did he know that he'd become part of something bigger.

18. End of the Tournament

End of the Tournament

"We can't just leave them, Cloud needs help! And that guy can't deal with that dog thing and protect him! Plus, what about people still in the arena? What if that thing-"

"We just have to trust that other guy. He punched that dog thing like it was nothing! They'll be fine!"

"But…"

Sora looked over his shoulder as if he could still see the arena, but it was long gone. Before he knew it, he was back at the vestibule. Loud shouts and cries from the fleeing crowd were in the distance. It was faint, but he could hear them.

Donald only let him go once they were inside, and he was sure that Sora wasn't going to run off.

"Do you think they'll really be okay?" Sora asked, taking a step towards the corridors.

"Don't even think about it." Donald frowned.

Phil followed after the pair a moment later, panting and wheezing. The volume of the shouting seemed to grow faint, before spiking up again.

"What's going on?"

"I'm guessing word already spread to the other arenas that Cerberus showed up. Not surprised that even hearing about that thing gets people up and running."

"Cerberus?" Sora asked.

"That three-headed dog." Phil coughed before straightening himself up. "That thing is the Guardian of the Underworld; if he's here, then that means Hades can't be too far behind. But Herc's on the job, so he should be able to take care of it."

"But he also has to protect Cloud. And he has three heads to deal with. Can he actually do that?"

"Hey! Have a little more faith in Herc; he's a real hero after all. Not to mention I trained him. He can handle it. At least, I hope so. Cerberus looked more riled up than usual."

"Didn't realize seeing a three-headed dog was usual," Donald grumbled.

Sora frowned to himself before glancing back at the halls. He could still feel his heart racing, and his mind running miles a minute. His chest was aching from the run, reminding him of the broken ribs. There was another rumble that made them stumble before righting themselves.

"What was that?" Donald asked.

"No idea, maybe Cerberus getting rough. Or other competitors if there are any stupid enough to keep fighting."

"Other competitors…" Sora mumbled before gasping loudly. "Wait! Cerberus won't go into other arenas, right? Like, he won't jump into Izuku and Goofy's match, will he?"

Phil watched him before scratching his chin. "Not too sure, probably not since Herc's got all his attention right now. Besides, if the green pipsqueak and the goofball are smart, they should have heard by now and left. In that case, we should see them in a bit."

"They better be, I don't want to have to go out and find them. Though knowing Goofy he probably got lost." Donald sighed.

Or they haven't been able to leave the arena…

Sora swallowed thickly, remembering who they were going up against. That Todoroki, did he get it right, person. The one who said it had to be a permanent kind of defeat. Even if there was some kind of demon dog running around, would he still try to fight them?

…Maybe. Probably. Hopefully not, but…probably.

"Should we go look for them? Just in case?" Sora asked.

"We'll wait for a bit, then go after them. They'll show up, but in the meantime," Donald tossed something at Sora. "Drink this."

Sora caught the potion and looked down at it. Even if his injuries hurt, he didn't know if he could keep it down with all the knots in his stomach. He idly swirled the potion around, watching the green liquid slosh around with the gummies floating around inside.

He stared at it for a while before finally uncorking the bottle and swirling around the mixture again. He prepared himself for the overwhelmingly sweet taste as he was about to drink it, until he heard loud footsteps making their way over to the vestibule.

Sora raised an eyebrow and peeked into the hallway, only to back up just in time to avoid Goofy and Izuku crashing into him. Goofy was right behind Izuku, gently pushing him away from the hallway. It wasn't hard to see why, Izuku looked like he didn't want to be there, same as Sora.

Even so, Sora was happy to see him in one piece. He was alive, which meant he won! He didn't think twice before hurrying over and grabbing his arm.

"You're okay! I'm-"

"O-Ow, Sora, Sora, I'm hurt!" Izuku cut him off and pulled his arm back.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't…" Sora trailed off after he got a good look at Izuku. He looked pretty beat up, with black ice covering parts of his arms where there weren't burns that trailed down to his hands. He looked exhausted on top of all that, Sora could only imagine how wild he must have gone with his magic casting.

Actually looking at the state of Izuku made Sora wonder how exactly he looked. Did he look just as beat up? He certainly felt that way.

"What the heck happened to you?" Phil came over and looked at him. "Ice boy finally use his fire? I take it you got burned?"

Izuku stared at the satyr before shaking his head.

Goofy made Izuku take a potion before looking at the others. "Hey, ya know that feller that gave us the pass?" He asked.

"Yeah, what about him? Sora, drink the potion." Donald pointed at him.

Sora begrudgingly obeyed once he saw Izuku drinking one down too. He tried not to wince when he felt something in his chest shift and snap into place. Yup, definitely some broken ribs.

"That fella was Hades." Goofy frowned.

"What!" Phil looked at him. "Wait, did you bozos really get a pass from Hades? The God of the Underworld? Are you serious?"

"We didn't know it was him at the time," Donald argued. "How are we supposed to know what he looks like?"

"Wait a sec…" Sora looked up. "Cloud mentioned Hades, saying something about him being scared I think?"

"Tch, I seriously doubt the God of the Underworld really has anything to be afraid of. Let alone a couple of kids like you." Phil rolled his eyes. "Then again, maybe he ain't aiming for you two."

"He's just using them." Izuku frowned. "Todoroki made a deal with him, and it backfired on him. And it looks like the same might have happened with…Cloud was it?"

Sora nodded as he eyed the tight grip Izuku had on the empty potion bottle. The burns looked better, but he was more concerned about that poor bottle breaking.

"Wait, did Hades show up to your match?" Sora asked. "Is that how you got…"

Izuku shook his head. "No, this is backlash. I was using magic excessively, and it backfired."

Sora's eyes widened. "Backlash? Backlash is a thing too? With magic exhaustion?"

"Yeah…"

"You were probably casting the spells too close together." Donald frowned. "You didn't give yourself time to recover."

"When it came to fightin' Todoroki, there was no time to recover." Goofy defended him.

"Yeah, he's a hard hitter, that one."

"It doesn't matter," Izuku muttered as he set the empty potion bottle aside. He reached into his bag and grabbed an ether. "I need to get back out there, Zack is fighting him, but I can't leave Todoroki like that."

"Now hold on there." Goofy was quick to step in front of him. "Yer still really beat up. And Zack said he'd take care of it. For now, let's trust him to handle it. I'm sure Todoroki's gonna be okay."

"What's wrong with Todoroki?"

Yes, I got it right!

"Hades is controlling him," Izuku said. "Making him use his left side, but with those flames…I'm not sure how long he'll last. He's bound to have fire resistance to some extent, sure, but that fire is different."

Sora looked at Izuku before looking back at the hallway. He listened to Izuku's rambling before it turned into hushed muttering. He felt the same way, he was itching to get back out there too. To help Cloud and that Herc guy. There was no way he could handle Cerberus and take care of Cloud on his own.

"No way you're going back out there!" Donald scolded him.

"But Todoroki needs help," Izuku argued. "I have to help him!"

Sora fiddled with his gloves as he listened and stared down the hallway. Part of him willed his body just to move forward, to start running. As soon as he went, he was sure someone was bound to follow him. He wouldn't be going in alone.

Still, the thought of fighting that thing sent dread pooling in his stomach. A maw full of sharp teeth, the rancid breath, the sheer size of Cerberus. Not to mention his three heads…at best, he could handle one or two with help, but the third would definitely be a problem, especially if he were just going in with one person to help him.

As much as he would like Izuku's help, he had a feeling he wouldn't go. After all, he still had to take care of Todoroki.

The thought of a 'permanent' kind of defeat rose again, and he shuddered.

If Todoroki is out of control now, does that mean he'd actually hurt him? Like…kill him for real? Did he really try to do that in their match?

The thought made his stomach turn.

"If I don't go out there then who will?"

"Zack said he'd handle it," Goofy assured him.

"But how long will Todoroki last? Can Zack really handle that? That fire isn't normal and I don't know if-

"You're overthinking this." Donald said.

"No, I'm not!"

"We just need to let the others deal with this." Donald shook his head. "Just sit down and drink another potion."

Sora bit his lip as he saw Izuku bristle.

"I have to deal with this. I started this fight, and I have to finish it. Todoroki is from my world, so by all means, it's my responsibility, not Zack's! He gave Goofy and I an opening to run away, but I can't let him deal with something that's on me!"

Donald and Goofy stared at Izuku for a bit, thinking over his words. After a moment, Donald snapped back. "Goofy and I are responsible for you and Sora; we have to make sure you two don't-"

"You shouldn't fight him," Sora spoke up.

Izuku turned around sharply and gave him a look. "What?"

"You shouldn't fight him." He repeated. "You already fought once, and you're all beat up. Personally, I don't think you can go round two with him."

"See, even Sora's making sense for once!"

"Hey!"

"I can handle it."

"But even with that potion, you've still got a few burns. And what if you get more backlash? Or you run out of magic?"

"I can handle it." He repeated.

He frowned to himself, Izuku was stubborn. Too bad Sora was too.

"I don't think you can."

"Sora-"

"But I can."

The vestibule was silent until the others exploded with shouting.

"What do you mean you can handle it?"

"Are ya sure Sora?"

"You can't be serious, pipsqueak!"

The only one that wasn't shouting was Izuku, he looked a little irked, but he wasn't as combative. At least Sora hoped so.

"Sora, I said it's on me. It has to be me. Todoroki and I…." He paused before shaking his head "You don't know what he's going through, you don't know why-"

"But I do know!" Sora cut him off. "I know."

Izuku froze up.

"I…I heard you two talking. W-When I went to check on you during intermission."

"That's where you went!" Donald's shout was ignored,

"Donald." Goofy hushed him.

"I was gonna say hi, but…all that happened. And you two started talking, and I didn't mean to listen in, promise! But I ended up hearing about everything." He looked up at Izuku. "Everything. So yeah, I know what happened and why he's…yeah."

"Sora…" Izuku muttered. He glanced at Donald and Goofy before turning back to Sora. "You didn't…did you?"

"I didn't, but still, please don't be mad at me!"

Izuku stared at him before taking a deep breath. "So you know why I have to do this."

"I know why you shouldn't do it." Sora stepped closer. "You're all beat up, and I dunno if he's gonna be happy seeing you again. Things seemed kind of tense in the halls."

Izuku nodded; he could admit that much. Even in the ring, he went in there to try and save Todoroki from himself. But first and foremost, they both went there ready to box, both stupidly hard-headed in their own ways.

"Besides, maybe hearing from someone who isn't from your world would help?" Sora offered. "I may not know a lot about your world…but I think I know enough."

"I get what you're saying, and I appreciate it, but you can't just expect me to sit here and do nothing."

"You don't have to be doing nothing." He said. "Listen, back there, I left someone behind too. We're not friends, but still, he looked like he was hurt pretty bad, and it doesn't feel right just leaving him behind. If I help take care of Todoroki, will you help Cloud?"

"He tried to kill you, Sora!" Donald cut in.

"Only because Hades made him!" Sora shot back. "I don't think he actually wanted to hurt us. Like Izuku said, he had a deal too, and it went wrong."

The two glared at each other before Sora turned his attention back to Izuku. "Does that sound fair?"

Izuku stared at him before looking down.

He didn't like the idea of leaving Todoroki behind again, or handing this off to someone else. He would rather it be him, but he had to admit Sora had a point.

He was burned. The backlash was still stinging pretty bad, and he wasn't sure if he had enough ethers to get him through that fight. Not to mention that after their first round, even if he wanted help, there was no telling how Todoroki would react to seeing him again.

After a moment, Izuku sighed and looked at Sora.

"His fire is out of control, and it's probably hotter than his normal fire. He's a good long-range fighter, but weak in close-quarters combat. Again, his fire will make it hard to get close to him, but that's the best shot you've got unless you plan on using magic."

Sora looked taken aback, but nodded. Izuku was giving him details, something for him to work with.

"Right uh, Cerberus…he's got three heads, and he's really mean. And big."

Izuku nodded. "Alright."

"You two can't be serious!" Donald walked up to them. "We won't let you run out there and put yourselves in danger!"

"You can't exactly stop us. We're going whether you like it or not. You can either let us go or make us stay."

Izuku gave Sora a side glance before nodding. "Whether you like it or not, we've got stakes in these fights. You can either come with us or just stay here."

Donald stared at them and started to shake, they all swore they saw his feathers begin to turn red.

"You two…"

"If we can't convince ya to stay here, then we'll just have to go with ya." Goofy stepped forward to put a hand on Donald's shoulder. With nowhere to put his anger he magician wheezed like a sputtering kettle.

Izuku nodded. "You should go with Sora then, you were able to block Todoroki's flames. So at least he'll have some cover."

"A-yup!"

"So that means I'm stuck with you." Donald looked at Izuku.

"Fair warning, he yells a lot." Sora whispered loudly.

"Only because you don't think before you act!"

Sora rolled his eyes and went over to Goofy's side, slightly relieved he wouldn't be spending any more alone time with the magician.

"You lot are really crazy. You sure you wanna do this?" Phil asked.

"If we don't, who will?"

Phil looked between all four of them before sighing. "Fine, but be careful out there ya bozos."

"We'll try!" Sora shouted over his shoulder as he began to run through the corridors.

"Thank you, Phil." Izuku nodded before racing down after Sora, and splitting off to another arena.

Donald huffed as he followed after Izuku. "Honestly, you boys are gonna be the death of me!"

-HoL-

Goofy was close on Sora's heels as they sprinted through the halls towards the ring where Todoroki and Zack were. He eyed the young Keyblade wielder as they made their way through the halls. He had noticed how nervous Sora seemed to admit his eavesdropping, but he was more concerned about what he heard.

It had been enough to make the two shifty around him and Donald. Like they were afraid of them knowing.

"Sora, are ya okay?"

Sora's head snapped up, and he looked over his shoulder at Goofy. "Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry, we should be more worried about Todoroki. Especially since Izuku is."

Goofy looked apprehensive but nodded. "Sure, but still, what about you? Ya said ya overheard Izuku and Todoroki talkin' right?"

Sora nearly tripped over himself. "Oh, yeah, that. I did."

"Izuku said ya know what's goin' on, can ya tell me?"

Sora sped up a bit. "I-I uh, Todoroki wasn't talking to me, so it doesn't really feel right to talk about it. Sorry."

"That's okay, Sora."

Goofy looked ahead and readied himself, he already knew what kind of powerhouse Todoroki was. He could only hope that he would be of more use this time around. He hated that Izuku had to do all the fighting last time, but this time he'd make sure Sora wasn't fighting on his own.

It wasn't long before they spotted the light of the arena. If anything, it made the two tense up. The closer they got, the more the temperature rose. The air slowly became hot and thick, making it difficult to breathe in.

They passed through the opening and out into the arena. Before they could get very far, a wave of blue flames came rushing at them.

"Woah!"

Sora ducked down as Goofy stepped forward and repelled the flames. As soon as they dispersed, Sora stepped forward to see what was going on.

Some guy was trying to close in on Todoroki, he was burned as well. His sword looked red hot, even the handle looked like it was burning through his glove.

"Who's that supposed to be?"

"That's Zack." Goofy answered. "He's the one that gave Izuku the sponsorship and got us outta here when things went wrong."

Sora looked at Todoroki. His movements were stiff and robotic, as if he was still trying to put up some kind of fight against Hades's control. Blue flames were swarming around him, coming from his left side and flaring out against his will.

He saw what looked like ice beginning to form on his right side, only to melt away as quickly as it came.

Sora and Goofy scrambled to the side as another wave of flames came their way, barely avoiding getting burned.

"Todoroki isn't messing around."

"No, he ain't."

Only after the wave of fire died down Zack noticed them. He stumbled back towards them, making sure to keep himself between the group and Todoroki.

"Who are you supposed to be? What are you doing here? Nobody should be out here!" Zack looked over his shoulder. He recognized Goofy, but not the new kid.

"Izuku wanted to come back to help Todoroki, and I came instead." Sora answered. "He was hurt pretty bad, so I said I would do it, and he would help out Cloud."

Zack stiffened up. "Cloud? You know him? What happened?"

"Cerberus showed up. And a strong guy helped save him but he hasn't gotten back yet. I told Izuku I'd take care of his friend, and he would take care of mine."

They weren't exactly friends…yet. But still…the point stands.

"Herc…listen kid-"

"I'm not going anywhere." Sora huffed. "I made a promise."

Zack eyed him before looking at Goofy, who nodded.

"Alright, fine kid, you can stay. You know what you're doing?"

"More or less."

Zack nodded. "What's your name again?"

"Sora."

"Alright then Sora, a friend of Izuku's is a friend of mine. I've got your back."

A puff of smoke appeared overhead atop one of the walls, and a loud voice boomed over the arena.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't one of you Key brats. I was wondering when you were going to show up."

They looked up to see none other than Hades, sat upon a throne made of smoke. A smug grin across his face.

"Hades!" Zack shouted. "Get down here and fight your own battle, leave the kid out of this."

Hades tsked and waved a hand. "He did this all on his own, who am I to stop him? I'm just giving him a little nudge. Now come Snowflake, do your part!"

The blue fire roared again, rising and curling around Todoroki who desperately fought against it.

Sora felt himself bristle before brandishing his Keyblade. He ignored the amused look from Hades, and instead focused on the glare Todoroki sent him.

"Your name is Todoroki right?" He asked. "Well, my name is Sora, I'm Izuku's friend. And I'm here to save you!"

-HoL-

Izuku sprinted through the halls with Donald just a few ways away from him. He had to keep running because if he didn't he'd probably turn around and go back to the other arena.

But he couldn't do that, because Sora was right. He couldn't fight Todoroki like this, as frustrating as it was.

"Slow down!"

Izuku shook his head and ran faster, he heard Donald groan in response and pick up his pace.

Just up ahead Izuku saw the light of the arena, and he could hear shouts, growls, and stomping.

Before they entered the arena he grabbed a few ethers and crunched down on them

The two rushed out of the corridor and into the arena to see a large, hulking figure looming over a pair of people backed up against the wall. Izuku and Donald saw Hercules against the wall with Cloud over his shoulder, he glared at Cerberus as the three-headed dog growled and reared its head back.

As soon as he saw this, Izuku didn't hesitate. He ran forward and raised his Keyblade, gathering up his magic energy.

"Thundara!" He shouted, summoning a bolt of lightning that crashed into the monster.

Cerberus flinched at the sudden attack and turned all three heads towards the intruders.

At the sight of the newcomers, Cerberus growled and turned his attention away from Hercules.

Izuku grit his teeth and glared at the beast, before looking at the hero.

"Get Cloud out of here, Donald and I can handle this!" He shouted.

"You shouldn't be-"

"Go!" Donald shouted. "Get out of here!"

Hercules watched the two before nodding and taking off towards the corridor. As Hercules made it halfway to the hall, Cerberus turned his attention back on him.

Izuku was quick to fire off a Blizzard spell that smacked into the head that was about to bite down on the hero. That made the Underworld guardian growl and turn all it's focus on him and the magician.

"I'll be back as soon as I can!" Hercules shouted as he passed by.

"We'll be okay. Just get Cloud to safety." Izuku nodded.

Once Hercules was out of the arena Izuku and Donald looked at the giant dog in front of them.

"So, do you have a plan to deal with this thing?" Donald asked.

"Watch the heads and wear him down. If we can, we should try to keep Cerberus from moving to keep him from destroying the place."

Donald rolled his eyes. "And you have any idea how to do that?"

"We'll figure it out, but for now, we'll just- woah!" Izuku darted to the side as Cerberus came charging toward them. He skidded to a stop, leaned down to look at the tunnels, roared, and snapped at the tunnel as if he could reach the two that fled.

Izuku backed up and raised his Keyblade. Cool air wrapped around his weapon as he aimed it at Cerberus.

"Blizzara!"

He watched the spell hit the three-headed dog and then saw the beat shudder. It growled and slowly turned towards the other two.

"Hey! You're dealing with us now!" Izuku shouted.

"And now you've annoyed him."

"That's the point. Stay on the other side of him, across from me. Maybe we can confuse the heads."

Donald glanced at him before sighing and nodding. "Better than nothing."

-HoL-

"Back up!"

Sora yelled in surprise as a wave of fire came rushing towards him. He was saved by Goofy jumping in front of him and blocking the flames with his shield.

Goofy panted and looked over his shoulder at Sora.

"Ya gotta be careful Sora!"

"Right, I'm sorry." He looked over to see Todoroki still fighting against the blue fire that continued to rage against him.

"The kid won't let us get close to him, or rather Hades won't. He's no better than a puppet right now." Zack panted and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"But he's fighting against it, that should be helping somehow right?"

"You would think, but it might be making things worse."

Sora grimaced at that and looked towards Todoroki. He was glaring at his left side, flickers of fear passing across his face every time the blue fire began to flare out again.

"Say, Sora, don't ya think ya could try magic? Didn't ya learn an ice spell?"

"Uh…" Sora frowned. "I'm not very good with magic, I don't know if it'd do much. But Izuku said the trick was to get up close and personal. That he can't fight well in close quarters."

"Do you really wanna try your luck getting up close and personal with that?"

Sora took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Sora!" Goofy gave him a look.

"I just gotta last long enough to knock him out right? Will that break Hades's control?"

"Theoretically yeah, getting a beat down usually snaps you out of that kind of stuff." Zack huffed and brandished his sword. "Alright, you two hang back a bit. I can try and get his attention, maybe wear him down a little so that fire isn't as intense."

"No way! We can't do that, I told Izuku I'd help save him. So if you're going, then I'm going too!"

Zack sighed and nodded. "Alright, fine kid. We don't have time to argue, but if you're gonna follow me, you need to keep up."

"Got it!"

"Sora wait!" Goofy urged him to stay back before he hurried after them.

Sora trailed behind Zack and watched him race forward, straight towards Todoroki. A plume of fire was sent their way. Zack grit his teeth and swiped his sword through it. A few flames grazed him, but he continued to make his way forward.

As Sora followed after him, he realized how thick the air had gotten. How difficult it was to take a breath deep enough to fill his lungs. But what really caught his attention was the hazy look over Todoroki's eyes. He was still fighting, but he was starting to slip away.

They only managed to get a bit closer before Todoroki yelled and sent another torrent of fire their way. Zack tried to deflect the flames around them with his sword, but more came to replace them.

"Back up!" Zack tried to grab Sora and drag him back.

Sora ducked under his outstretched arm and raced forward, straight into the fire. He hissed as the blue fire began to consume him, but mustered enough strength to raise his Keyblade.

I'm not very good at magic, but please, please work!

"Blizzard!"

It wasn't as strong as Izuku's spells, but it did the job well enough.

Ice crystals formed around his weapon and crashed into the fire. It canceled it out and sent steam everywhere.

Sora grinned in triumph and kept running towards Todoroki. He ignored the stinging pain from the burns and continued to race towards the Quirked boy.

"Sora!"

He's weak in close quarters, just a little closer! Just a little bit!

Sora saw him raise his hand again and pointed his Keyblade at Todoroki.

"Blizzard!"

The crystals were a bit smaller, but brought him the time he needed as they managed to smother the beginnings of another attack.

Todoroki didn't seem to react as Sora closed the distance.

"Do it Sora!" Zack yelled from behind, working to catch up again.

"Be careful!"

Sora grit his teeth and looked Todoroki in the eye.

"I'm really sorry about this."

He slammed his Keyblade into Todoroki as hard as he could, getting a choked noise in response. He staggered back and Sora hit him again. Before he could get another strike in, Todoroki seemed to right himself and grabbed the weapon before it could come down on him.

Sora gasped in surprise and looked up.

"Who…the hell are you?" Todoroki scowled.

He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "I take it you didn't hear me the first time? I told you, I'm Izuku's friend. I'm Sora, and I'm here to save you."

Mentioning Izuku's name seemed to irk him, and he swung a fiery fist at Sora.

Sora gasped and tried to back away, but Todoroki had his Keyblade in a tight grip. He had to let go and step back. Todoroki glared in confusion as soon as the Keyblade disappeared and reappeared in Sora's hand.

"So you're friends with that idiot?" He asked. "The one that doesn't listen?"

He dodged to the side to avoid more fire.

"Hey! Izuku was only trying to help." Sora swung the Keyblade down. "You don't have to be mean about it, he's trying to help you. He's your friend!"

Todoroki growled and backed away from the attack. "Midoriya isn't my friend, I didn't come to make friends! I came to win, and to prove myself! He wanted to help and then…this happened!" He grunted as the fire began to flare out again, and he wrestled with the conflicting power.

"So you're blaming this on Izuku? Or on Hades? Hades is a jerk but don't blame this on Izuku. He didn't want you holding yourself back, he didn't want you to fall for Hades's scheme or whatever it is. You did that yourself!"

Todoroki shouted with what little control he had slipped and he unleashed blue fire at Sora.

"What the hell do you know?"

Sora yelled as the blue fire consumed him, burning his skin before he mustered up another Blizzard spell. It smothered enough of the flames to stop the attack. Sora gasped in pain and eyed the new burns. He grit his teeth and looked up at him.

"I know plenty!" He shouted, digging into his pockets for a potion. "I…I overheard you two in the halls. I know Todoroki."

The other teenager stiffened up.

"I know your…he hurt you, and I know why you wanted to get rid of your fire. But Izuku's right. Getting rid of your fire isn't gonna do anything!"

"It is not mine, not anymore!"

"Yes, it is!"

"It's. Not. Mine."

Sora scrambled to dodge another onslaught of fire but still kept himself close to Todoroki.

He wasn't saying it out of anger. No, it was desperate. Like a grim realization.

Sora opened his mouth to argue when a blur appeared behind Todoroki.

"Thanks for the opening kid."

"Zack no!"

Todoroki whirled around as if he had been expecting it. Then unleashed a large wave of blue fire.

Zack yelled and was forced to back up. Before any more damage could be done, Goofy managed to jump in front of him and block the fire.

Sora downed the potion he had and raced forward, raising his weapon for a strike. Todoroki didn't see him until it was too late.

"Stop letting everyone hold you back. Your stupid dad, Hades! Stop letting them use you like this! You want to be a hero, right? Well, what kind of hero tries to kill their friend? Someone who's trying to help you? What kind of hero does that? What kind of hero are you trying to be?"

-HoL-

"Izuku, watch yourself!"

"Right!"

Izuku dashed away from the hulking monster that stomped after him. They hadn't been able to do much other than annoy Cerberus, making him change his target from one or the other.

Izuku dug into his bag and searched for an ether; he only had one or two left. Without much thought he grabbed the first one he could find and bit down on it.

We took down a Heartless that was bigger than that, but it wasn't as durable. We need a big hit. Something to knock him down and keep him from getting up.

As he thought it over, he spotted Donald shooting a fireball at it. Cerberus didn't seem to mind the fire, its thick hide dispersing the flames.

"Oh, come on!"

Izuku took a deep breath and whirled around. He cast a Blizzara spell and sent the ice crystals into one of the faces of the dog. All eyes focused on him, and they began to bark. Each head lunged forward to try and take a bite at him.

"Ice! Use ice magic!" Izuku yelled. "He doesn't like ice! Gah!"

Donald ran forward and pointed his staff at one of the heads.

"Blizzara!"

One of the heads turned towards Donald and growled.

"Well what do you know, he was right." He muttered before squawking and running off. Two of the heads were looking at him now, and the giant dog was starting to turn towards him.

Izuku flinched at the third head that kept snapping at him, until it finally went along with the others and began to chase after the duck.

Izuku sighed and reached into his bag, only to find a few potions and one more ether. His last one.

Izuku looked up at Cerberus, then at Donald.

Izuku gripped the ether tightly and watched Donald run around, barely avoiding the snapping jaws of Cerberus. They had to end this, he was sure Donald was low on magic too. They were getting tired, and the longer this went on, the less likely their chances of victory were.

Izuku looked down at his Keyblade and nodded to himself. "Okay, okay we have to make this work. We need to keep him from moving, we're tiring ourselves out just by running around."

Gears whirred in his head as he gripped his Keyblade. Pieces of a plan began to form in his head, nothing concrete but it would do for the time being.

He steeled himself as he ran toward the chaos. He raced after the magician and the hellhound, gathering magic around his weapon and casting a wave of thunder magic towards the three-headed dog. It growled and snapped at the sparks dancing around it as Izuku grabbed Donald and dragged him away.

"Put me down!"

"I have a plan! Mostly, but I think I know how we can beat Cerberus."

Izuku let the duck go once he deemed them far enough. He didn't pay attention to Donald brushing himself off and glaring at Izuku.

"Ok, so what's this bright idea you have?"

"Cerberus keeps moving around-"

"Obviously! He's a giant dog that stomps around."

"Here's the thing, in order to take him down we need a big hit. Something concentrated to take him down instantly, but then we run the risk of missing."

"Izuku, get to the point!"

"R-Right!" Izuku looked over to Cerberus, who was starting to turn his attention back to them. "I think I can get Cerberus to stop moving, but as soon as he's stopped that's where you come in. You'll probably have more magic than me at that point."

"And you want me to hit him?"

"With everything you've got."

Donald glared at Izuku. "I've heard worse plans."

Izuku had seen that as enough of an agreement, and was about to race towards Cerberus. When he looked up two of the heads were barking at them, while the one in the middle was roaring. As the sound reverberated through the arena, making the ground shake violently, they saw a fire building in the middle head's throat.

"Move!" Izuku yelled, and ran in the opposite direction of Donald. A moment later the head spewed a large fireball towards them. The pair narrowly dodged it, where they were a moment ago there was cracked and scorched stone.

Instead of trying to keep his distance, Izuku began to sprint towards Cerberus.

Okay, make this work. You need to make this work!

The heads caught sight of him and they began to stomp towards him. They all lunged toward him and snapped at him once he was close enough.

"Izuku be careful!"

He grit his teeth and cast a half barrier around him, it broke when one of the heads hit it. Though it was enough to make the head recoil, Izuku took the chance to run beside the monster.

He ignored the frustrated growls and barks from Cerberus and got to work. He gathered ice magic around his Keyblade and struck one of the legs as hard as he could. Where he had struck appeared around the leg.

Cerberus roared and flinched, at the sudden cold sensation. He whirled around and snapped at Izuku, who was quick to run to another leg. Cerberus tried to turn towards Izuku, but his attention was taken by Donald casting a minor spell to distract him.

It was a delicate balance, trying to keep Cerberus from biting into Izuku once he noticed him. And trying to keep him from chasing Donald too far. Once or twice Izuku almost got crushed while striking his legs with magic.

It hadn't seemed possible at first, but over time the damage began to build up. Cerberus was having a hard time moving around with his legs covered in ice. They were weighed down, and it made him stumble more often.

It seemed like victory was in their favor, like they could actually win this fight with only half of the group. However, Izuku was starting to suffer backlash.

He knew he was low on magic, even as he used it sparingly it was still rebounding on him. He hadn't even recovered from the first round from overusing fire magic. He only felt the effects further as a cold feeling began to settle in his chest.

Izuku grunted as he forced himself to stay on his feet. On top of his somewhat healed burns, ice was beginning to form.

Two kinds of backlash, and two different sets of that power again. I can barely pull off one without feeling exhausted, I don't think I can do two.

He grit his teeth as black spots began to fill the edges of his vision.

This is bad. Magic exhaustion and backlash back to back. If we're going to end this fight we need to do it now. We need to stop Cerberus now!

"Izuku, move!"

He snapped back to attention and narrowly avoided getting crushed. He stumbled away from Cerberus and dug through his bag for his last ether. He just needed a little more, something to keep him on his feet.

Izuku didn't even get a chance to find said ether before Cerberus came rushing towards him again. He yelled in surprise and back up, doing his best to avoid the snapping jaws of the beast.

"Izuku get out of there!"

"I'm trying!"

Donald threw a few spells at Cerberus in hopes of grabbing his attention. No such luck, in his rage Cerberus had honed in on the closest target and wanted to rip it apart before moving onto the next one.

Izuku ran to dodge fireballs that had been spit at him, each one closer than the last.

Despite his best efforts he couldn't outrun the last fireball. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge. Instead he had opted to whirl around and slam his Keyblade into the raging fire, instead of deflecting it like he hoped, it exploded on impact

He shouted as a burst of flame burned him and sent him flying. He slammed into the ground and wheezed in pain.

Get up. Get up!

He coughed and tried to get up, until a large paw slammed down on him. He shouted in pain and looked up to see all three heads glaring down at him. He struggled but couldn't move under the heavy weight.

The three heads growled and barked at him, but didn't move to bite him. Instead he saw black mist beginning to pour from all three of their mouths. They opened their maws as low growls rumbled in their throats. The black mist building upon itself.

He could faintly hear Donald shouting in the background, but he was solely focused on his imminent death. He tried to gather some kind of magic in his hands, but found himself scraping at the bottom of an empty well. All that was left were faint remnants.

I can't reach my bag. I can't get an ether. I don't have any magic left!

His mind raced for a solution, panic starting to build up in his mind. He was deaf to Donald's shouts now, still trying to wrack his mind for a way out.

I can't move!

I can't attack like this!

I can't-

"Don't panic."

He gasped in surprise, a strange calm settled over him as the charm around his neck began to shimmer. His eyes darted around, looking for the all too familiar voice. He could hear her, she was there somewhere.

He couldn't see her, but he could feel her presence.

"All you need is a push."

He felt most of his strength drain away, like someone was taking it from him. Though in exchange, he felt something hum in his chest. A hum of energy.

He grit his teeth and using whatever strength he had left he raised his hands.

"Blizzaga."

A torrent of ice magic tore through him and slammed into the open jaws of two of the heads. Out of surprise the remaining head spewed out the dark smog, but missed and hit the wall of the arena.

Cerberus howled and stumbled back, he tried to paw at the ice in and around their mouths.

Once Izuku was free, he scrambled to his feet and ran in the other direction.

"Izuku, get over here!"

He looked toward Donald, who scowled at the large dog. He did as he was told and managed to run over to Donald, who stepped in front of him.

"I'll finish off this mangy mutt."

Izuku opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he saw vibrant sparks appear around him. He watched in awe as all the sparks gathered at the head of his staff, he could feel the hum in the air.

Donald yelled as he raised his staff.

"Thundaga!"

All the sparks dispersed, leaving the air quiet.

Izuku almost didn't catch it, the faint flash of light that made him duck his head. A moment later a large, concentrated beam of lightning came down from the sky and struck Cerberus dead on.

Izuku expected the lightning to be flying everywhere in an uncontrolled manner, like how his own had the first time he attempted a third tier spell. Instead it was all concentrated in that one beam, with no spark going astray.

The hellhound was paralyzed by the attack, leaving him with no other choice than to endure the lightning.

It seemed to go on forever, the lightning slowly dying out and leaving the arena buzzing with electricity yet to disperse.

Cerberus growled weakly as he took a few steps toward them. He didn't make it very far before finally collapsing.

"Amazing…"

Izuku continued to stare until the full weight of his pain and exhaustion caught up with him. He groaned and stumbled back before falling over. Donald squawked in surprise and went over to him.

"Are you okay?"

"Everything kinda hurts."

Donald nodded, and stared before taking a deep breath. "What was that? What is the matter with you, you are beyond reckless! Running towards Cerberus like that just to get a couple hits in what is the matter with you?"

"T-That was part of the plan." Izuku managed to sit up. "I had to freeze him so you could-"

"When you said that I thought you'd be attacking from afar not getting in close and personal! That was a giant three-headed dog that could have killed you with a snap of his teeth. What is the matter with you?"

He flinched at the shouting. "S-Sorry, it was all I could think of. And I was low on magic, I had to use it sparingly. So-"

Donald groaned before shaking his staff at Izuku.

"I don't want to hear anymore from you until we get back to the vestibule. Now sit still so I can heal you, I know you're injured after getting stepped on by a giant dog!"

"Tha-"

"Not a word!"

Donald continued to mutter under his breath as he pointed the staff at Izuku. A faint green glow appeared around him and healed the worst of his injuries with the last of his magic. Izuku coughed at the feeling of ribs he didn't know were broken putting themselves together.

The wonders of adrenaline and magic.

While he was put back together, Izuku looked out at the arena. He swore he heard his Master's voice, felt her presence. It had been fast and fleeting, but it felt like she was close.

She was out there, and despite where she may be she was still looking out for him.

That had to be it. Even if it wasn't, at least he could take comfort in that thought.

-HoL-

"What kind of hero does that? What kind of hero are you trying to be?"

When the stranger, Sora, hit him again- it felt like something in him shattered.

It had been a strange feeling, like watching himself from afar and being unable to do anything about it. Like being trapped in a glass tank and forced to watch himself be dragged around like a puppet as he panicked. Forced to burn the ones around him as the strange flames slowly ate away at him.

For just a little bit, he had been on the surface. Long enough to ask who the new person was, to desperately argue that there was no helping him now. He sold his flames to someone who betrayed him, and now he was paying the price. He couldn't even conjure up his ice, it melted before he could do anything.

Todoroki felt himself be thrown back from the force of the strike, faintly aware of his body and how much everything hurt.

He realized there was a reason Midoriya threw his Keyblade away and used his fists instead.

I was trying to kill him, and he still didn't want to hurt me…

It felt like the world was moving in slow motion as a million thoughts crossed his mind.

It was futile, he wished he could tell them that. Before long, these flames would eat through him and leave nothing behind, but not before Hades's invisible strings forced him to end these people.

These weren't his flames anymore or his father's. They were Hades's. His to do with as he pleased. That was the deal.

Todoroki felt himself stumble to his feet as he managed to stay upright. He glared at Sora through his bangs and watched him. There was a lull in the blue fire, a moment where his limbs threatened to go slack from relief. But he could still feel it there, the darkness that was puppeting him was only beaten away temporarily. It wouldn't be long before it crawled back and dragged him under again.

Sora stared at him, no hate or contempt in his eyes, not even pity.

It was an unshakable determination.

"I'm Izuku's friend. I'm Sora, and I'm here to save you."

A friend Izuku trusted to send after Todoroki.

Even after everything he's still trying to help me…

"Why do you want to be a hero, Todoroki? What kind of hero do you want to be?"

"What kind of hero are you trying to be?"

He wasn't sure why their words had affected him so much. Why it struck a chord deep down. It stung, and began to dredge up memories long forgotten.

"You still want to be a hero don't you?"

He gasped as the flames began to flicker, as if something had kept them at bay. Across from him, Sora's expression shifted to worry, yet he didn't move towards him. He spotted the one with the shield step in front of the other two.

Why did that remind him of something? Why did it remind him of-

"Please stop, he's only five!"

Hurried footsteps rushed over to him, she put herself in between them. Her cool presence shielded him from his suffocating aura. He wanted to reach out, until he heard a cry of pain and a body hit the ground.

"Mama?"

"Todoroki? Are ya still there?"

He looked up through hazy eyes to see the shield stranger…Goofy? Take a step forward. He felt the pull of the strings and felt his arm raise itself. Blue fire burned brightly, though somewhat subdued.

Before he could attack him, Goofy held up his shield and blocked the oncoming fire.

"Todoroki, I know ya gotta be scared, and that's okay. I may not know everythin' that's goin' on but we just wanna help."

"You can't talk him down from this." Zack said.

"Lemme try."

"But Goofy-"

"Take a breather Sora." He nodded at them before looking back up. "We're gonna get ya outta here Todoroki, and once we do ya can forget this ever happened. We ain't gonna let Hades keep hurtin' ya."

The wave of fire had died down. Todoroki seemed to regain some semblance of control, just enough to hold back the fire.

"We're gonna save ya, but ya gotta meet us halfway. Ya have to fight Hades!"

"I'm…trying."

Sora had gotten his second wind and stepped out from behind Goofy. "We're not leaving until we get you out of here. Because we made a promise that we'd save you." He ignored the sting from the healing burns. "Izuku didn't want to leave you behind, and that doesn't mean we're going to either."

"No, Todoroki, it's yours."

He thought back to bright green eyes that refused to back down.

"Not anymore."

"Yes it is!" He insisted. "I can't say I know a lot about Quirks. But from what I do know, nobody can take your Quirk. Not even some dumb god, so quit letting him use you like this. Besides, what kind of hero would you be if you're always holding yourself back?"

"If you want to reject your father, fine, but stop letting him hold you back!"

Todoroki shuddered as a wave of force rolled over him, and his controlled slipped for a moment. He held out his arm where blue fire gathered. Before he could unleash it Sora raced forward and grabbed his arm, then forced it down.

He flinched at the intense flames that stung and burned his skin, but he held on tight.

"Come on Todoroki, fight it. We're not leaving you behind. I know you don't like your fire, and I know that's your dad's fault. But what good is it doing you to hate that part of yourself? It's yours! You decide how you use it, nobody else!"

Fire, somehow, felt different depending on who was using it.

His father's flames were harsh, radiating a heat that threatened to scorch him and everything around to ashes.

Midoriya's fire, in comparison, was warm and kind. Even as it tore through his glaciers with no mercy, it never threatened to consume him and send him to oblivion.

As for his own fire, it felt uncertain. There were times it would try to bubble to the surface, desperate to escape. Even in the small instance he used it, as much as he despised it, there was a sense of relief until regret wedged itself inside his heart. Despite the flames not burning him on the surface, it felt like they were eating away at him from the inside.

He imagined that's what it'd be like to die at the hands of his father's Quirk.

"I don't wanna do it anymore mama. I don't wanna be like him!"

"But Shouto, you still want to be a hero, don't you?"

"Not a hero like him! I don't wanna be someone that hurts you!"

Soft, cool hands combed through his hair before hugging him close. "You don't have to be a hero like him. What kind of hero do you want to be?"

"I-I wanna be a hero that keeps you safe, from mean people like him!" He buried his face into her shirt. "When I'm a hero, I won't let him hurt you anymore!"

"That's good. I think you'll make a great hero, just remember something for me okay? No matter what, you are not your father. You are not a prisoner of your lineage, it's okay to use your power."

Todoroki's breath seized as he felt Hades's power try to wash over him, and pull him along like it had before. Instead of allowing it to drag him under, he pushed back.

When did I forget what she told me?

The invisible force began to crumble away as he pushed and pulled himself out of it.

He heard Sora gasp when he suddenly reached up and grabbed his arm. The blue flames began to writhe around him, merely death throes.

"You know, you and Midoriya, are two of the biggest idiots I have ever met."

Sora wasn't phased by his comment. Not when bright, orange flames began to overtake the harsh blue ones

"I prefer the term friend." Sora grinned. He watched in fascination as Todoroki's own fire flared to life and exploded out from Hades's grasp. They burned far brighter than Hades's own flames.

"What?" They heard Hades roar in anger, as his control over Todoroki slipped and fell away.

"Yes!" Zack cheered.

"Hey, Snowflake, this wasn't part of the deal." He floated down from the wall and stood at the edge of the arena. "Your fire belongs to me, we had a contract you little-"

"Shut up!"

Todoroki pulled himself out of Sora's grasp and turned towards the god.

"You have a lot of nerve, trying to use me to kill them. I'm not all innocent either, I shouldn't have listened to you."

"Oh, so you finally found a conscience in that thick head of yours?"

Todoroki said nothing as Sora stood beside him.

"You lost Hades, get out of here!"

The god grit his teeth as he began to catch alight in anger. "You. Owe. Me. We had a deal, and you don't get to weasel your way out of it."

Todoroki's eye twitched, and Sora stepped forward. "I'm not gonna let you-" He stopped as Todoroki held out an arm.

"You want my fire so bad?" He asked. Ice began to form around his right side as his fire grew brighter.

"Then you can have it!"

Columns of fire and ice barreled toward Hades, both elements intertwined with each other before crashing into him. The force of the attack shattered the wall behind him and made part of the arena come crashing down.

The others were silent as they stared at the destruction, then at Todoroki. He didn't look bothered, instead he looked triumphant and relieved.

"Nice try Snowflake!"

Their heads snapped up and they whirled around to see Hades behind them. There wasn't a single scratch on him. Todoroki growled and stepped forward to attack again, until Zack grabbed his shoulder.

Hades huffed and brushed himself off. "I gotta admit, that was pretty impressive. But even with your fire you still ain't good enough to hurt me. You're gonna have to do a lot better than-"

Hades was cut off as a large lightning bolt struck down to the earth in one of the nearby arenas. They all watched in silence as the single bolt raged on before slowly fizzling out.

Zack snorted. "I suggest you get out of here Hades. Seems like a certain someone isn't too happy right now."

Hades glared at where the lightning had been and growled. Flames trailed across his arms before he huffed and extinguished them.

"Doubtful, but fine. Fine, fine, you know what? I can live with this outcome." He looked up at them. "This ain't the last time I'll be seeing you Snowflake, but I promise you this- next time won't work out so well for you. See ya later bozos."

Without another word he faded away into dark smoke, and left the arena.

Once he was gone Sora groaned and fell over, his Keyblade vanished.

"Sora, are ya okay?" Goofy rushed over.

"I'm okay, just a little burnt."

"Says the guy who ran straight into the fire." Zack grinned. "That was a gutsy move kid, but it worked out. And you, are you okay?"

They all looked at Todoroki, who stared at his left arm. A few orange flames lingered before fizzling out.

"...Yes, I'm alright," he turned towards them. "Thank you."

-HoL-

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow."

"Stop complaining, Sora."

"Yeah but it hurts."

"Being burned and having to deal with said burns, usually does. But that only happens when you run into fire!"

Izuku saw Sora cringe as Donald wrapped up his burnt arm with gauze soaked in potions. Donald said that was for the best, since he and Izuku were out of magic to heal others. When asked why as opposed to drinking a potion, he said direct application healed burns better.

Izuku already had his own burns and light frostbite dealt with by Donald. He wasn't very nice about it, but at least it was done.

"There you are, you should be able to take that off by the time we get back."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Sora gave Donald a look which earned him a few words from the magician.

Izuku sighed and turned towards Todoroki, unlike the others his injuries were minimal. He had light burns from Hades's fire, but nothing too severe. The most concerning thing was the blunt force trauma earned by getting smacked around by a Keyblade.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Izuku asked as he handed him a small potion.

Todoroki raised an eyebrow at the offering before shaking his head.

"I'm fine, I'm better off compared to the rest of you."

"You sure?"

A nod was his only answer.

Izuku sighed before putting the bottle down on the ground, a little closer to Todoroki. Then he went back to his back and did a quick count of what he had left.

"I'm sorry."

Izuku paused, then looked up at him.

"I'm sorry for insulting your master." Todoroki looked away. "And for trying to…kill you. I was doing what Hades said, but that doesn't excuse it."

Izuku watched him before sighing. "It's alright, really. I know that you were coming from a…there was…I know why you sided with Hades. I know why you felt the need to do it. I get it, someone offers something you really want, something you're desperate for really, you feel like the right thing to do is take them up on it. You probably weren't thinking straight."

"It was stupid in hindsight."

Izuku shrugged. "Things usually seem that way when you look back. Right now, I'm just glad you're okay. But I owe you an apology too. I left you there in the arena after Hades did…that. I should've stayed."

"No offense Midoriya, but you most likely wouldn't have lasted in a second round with me."

Izuku cringed. "Yeah, probably."

"But you did send someone to help me when you couldn't. Which was by far a smarter choice."

"I know, but that didn't make it easy."

Todoroki hummed, and slowly dragged his gaze back to Izuku. After a moment he grabbed the potion. "I suppose we both had to apologize for something then."

"Yeah, well, I'm just glad you're alright. I know this whole thing is probably confusing, but I'll explain it later. Maybe I can do it on the way back to Traverse Town."

"Traverse Town?"

"Yeah. Like I said, I'll explain later."

Todoroki nodded and swirled around the potion bottle. "Fair enough."

Izuku smiled, until he heard Phil clear his throat. "Alright you lot, line up, I've got some stuff to say."

-.-

Zack walked up to Cloud, who had been sitting at the steps leading down toward the town. He stared out into the distance, and if he had heard Zack coming, he didn't show it.

On his way over he had put together a somewhat organized rant about what he did and how much he worried him. He was ready to tear him a new one and yell about running off, taking his sword, and not even leaving a note.

The days and nights he spent looking for him through the town, in the mountains, anywhere he could think of.

As soon as he was in front of him, Cloud had stood up. Pausing his brooding long enough to look up and prepare himself for the inevitable yelling. He at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

Zack watched him, narrowing his eyes as Cloud looked away. He had a million thoughts running through his mind. He could feel anger bubble in his chest, making him clench his fists. Everything he wanted to say, everything he wanted to yell about, everything felt like it was boiling over.

And then it fizzled out.

"I'm-"

Zack hugged him.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Cloud was still before hugging him back. "I'm sorry for running off."

"I know."

"I tried to exploit the darkness."

"I know."

"Hades promised to help."

"I know."

Zack was quiet before sighing. "You scared me, you know that? You can't just run off like that, you know I was about to leave Thebes because I thought you skipped town. And all this would have happened, and I wouldn't have been able to help!"

Zack patted his shoulder and moved to sit down on the stairs. A moment later Cloud joined him.

"I was stupid to let him use me." He muttered. "I really thought I could take on Hercules, then I got my butt handed to me by some kid."

Zack snorted. "Well to be fair," he tapped the sword on Cloud's back. "You're still new to using this, seeing as you kinda stole it and all."

Cloud groaned and ran a hand down his face.

Zack watched him before shaking his head. "I know you feel…not great after what happened with Hades. But don't feel too bad. It happens, you're not the first one to be used by him and you most certainly won't be the last."

"Yes, because that makes me feel a thousand times better. Ow-hey!"

Zack flicked his forehead. "Let me finish. I fell for Hades's tricks too, once. I was in deep, just because I wanted to win a stupid tournament. A friend of mine had to quite literally, beat the darkness out of me until I was back to normal."

Cloud snorted. "Alright, fair enough. That does make me feel better."

"Good to know my past misery can lift your spirits."

"You are the one that brought it up."

Zack rolled his eyes and leaned back against the stairs. "Yeah, well, I did it to make you feel better. And it worked, so more power to me."

The two settled into silence for the time being, content in their reunion. Until Zack broke the silence once more.

"I hope you know that I'm going to put you through hell once we get back home."

"Yeah, I know."

-.-

"Thus I do hereby dub thee Junior Heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Fur-"

"What do you mean 'Junior Heroes'!" Donald shouted. "We fought a three-headed dog and-"

"You rookies still don't know the first thing about being a true hero." Phil cut him off. "Thus, you don't get the full title as a 'True Hero'."

Goofy perked up at that. "So what does it take to be a true hero?"

Hercules, who had introduced himself earlier, smiled. "That's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves. No two heroes are the same."

Sora grinned and nudged Izuku. "Hey, you're a Junior Hero now. So does that technically mean when you go home, you'll be considered one?"

"I don't think hero status of any kind transfers from place to place, Sora."

"But you should!"

"I don't think a Junior Hero license is equivalent to a real or provisional license back home." Todoroki spoke up from the corner.

"Well that sucks, but hey we're sorta heroes here. We just gotta work our way up, which we can do in the Games! Right?"

"Sorry kid, but there ain't gonna be Games for a while. We gotta clean up the mess from this whole fiasco."

Sora's face fell. "Oh, well, okay then. We'll be back."

Donald muttered something and Sora gave him a look.

"Yup, definitely be back. Hey Izuku, maybe next time we can be on the same team."

Izuku smiled. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan."

"If there even is a next time, we won't be splitting up, because a certain someone won't go running off again!"

Izuku flushed and looked away.

"Now, now Donald, go easy on 'im."

Donald took a deep breath and shook his head. "Come on boys, let's go."

Todoroki trailed behind the others, only to be stopped by Phil.

"Hey, Ice Boy, I heard you used your fire in the last round. That you managed to take it back from Hades, that true?"

Todoroki stared at the satyr before nodding. "Yes."

"Yeah, how'd it feel? Finally stopped holding back, it's gotta feel good."

The teenager glanced at his left hand and shrugged. "It was…somewhat liberating. I think. I haven't used it like that in a long time so..."

"And that's okay." Hercules spoke up. "No one's asking you to master it in a day. Work on it, maybe next time we'll face off in the Games, and when we do I hope to see what you can do. Sounds good?"

Todoroki looked between them before nodding. "Yeah, that sounds nice."

Hercules grinned. "Looking forward to it!"

"Todoroki?"

"I'm coming, Midoriya."

As he left Phil glanced over at Hercules. "You know I still can't believe that the green kid and the duck managed to take down Cerberus."

Hercules gave a small smile. "Listen, between you and me I had already worn Cerberus down by the time those two jumped in."

Phil raised an eyebrow before nodding. "Yeah that sounds about right. Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

-.-

As the group walked out the Vestibule and into the courtyard, they caught sight of two figures sitting at the stairs at the far end of the courtyard.

Sora gasped as he caught sight of them, then ran ahead of them.

"Sora, what did I say about running off?"

"I'm literally, just right here." Sora shouted over his shoulder.

"Ugh, that boy…"

Sora grinned as he ran up to them.

"Hey, Cloud!" He called. "Hey!"

They both looked over to see Sora, and Zack smirked. "Well, if it isn't your little buddy Cloud."

"Shut up."

As Sora ran up to them, Zack stood up. "I'll leave you two to it. Don't worry Sora, he doesn't bite. At least he shouldn't."

Cloud glared at his mentor as he laughed and walked away.

Sora watched him leave, before turning back to Cloud. He watched the fighter huff and shake his head.

"Are you okay? I didn't see you getting patched up inside. Are you still hurt? Since you got kinda crushed by Cerberus and all."

"I'm fine. I took a few potions earlier. Though you look worse for wear."

Sora hummed and rubbed over the bandages. "I ended up in another fight, and things got pretty messy. There was a lot of fire involved."

"Clearly."

Sora nodded before pointing at the steps. "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Not really."

Cloud moved over so he could sit down, and he gladly took the seat beside him.

"Hey, so, why did you go with Hades anyway? You had to know he was a bad guy, right?"

Cloud shot Sora a look before turning away.

"I'm looking for someone, and Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the darkness, but clearly, it backfired."

"You're looking for someone? Well, why don't you tell Zack? I'm sure he'd be willing to help."

"I did. He's been trying his best, but I got impatient. Then I ran away."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "So you went to a death god for help?"

Cloud snorted and looked up. "Yeah, and I was stupid for it."

"Well…at least you can make up for it now. And besides, you didn't know that Hades was a jerk. Me and my friends got tricked too, he gave us a pass and…yeah. He planned on pitting us against each other."

"Yeah, you got tricked, but at least you stayed in the light. I got dragged down into darkness, and I couldn't find my way out."

Sora nodded. "But you're okay now, and that's what's important. You can look for that person now, I'm sure you'll find them."

"You're real optimistic aren't you?"

Sora laughed. "Yeah, I guess I am. But I kind of have to be, I have to have hope. I know what it's like, I'm searching too."

"Someone you care about?"

"Yeah, my friends. I had hoped they were here, but no luck. Better luck next time, right?"

Cloud watched him. He was right about staying positive, you had to have hope or else you'll fall into despair. This kid was trying his best to keep an upbeat attitude, but he could see it. The faint strain, the worry underlying his tone.

He nodded and dug into his pocket. "You'll find your light, just don't lose sight of it. Keep looking no matter what."

Sora opened his mouth to respond when Cloud flicked something at him. He gasped and fumbled to catch it. When he got it, he realized it was a weird stone with a warm feeling to it. He smiled and looked up.

"I will, I promise."

"Good."

Sora was quick to pocket it before moving onto his next question. "Hey, how about we have a rematch sometime? This time with no dark powers involved, just you and me one on one. Sounds fun right?"

Cloud snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I think I'll pass."

"Oh, come on! We can see who the real winner was. Because let's be honest, maybe Hades's darkness was holding you back. So it wasn't a fair fight."

"Kid, no offense but if it were one on one, you would lose. You had that loud duck to save you."

Sora blushed. "Yeah, okay fair point. But next time we have a match, I'll be stronger I promise. Then it'll be a fair fight."

"In your dreams."

"Come on!"

-.-

Zack watched Sora chat with Cloud and smiled to himself. That was good, Cloud needed another friend. Meanwhile he walked over to Izuku, who was standing with the Todoroki kid.

"Hey, Izuku!"

Both of them looked up and Zack went up to them. He grabbed Izuku's shoulder and quickly pulled him to the side. "Sorry I'm gonna steal him real quick. I need to have a chat with him."

"Sure." Todoroki shrugged.

Izuku didn't get a word in as he was dragged away to the other side of the courtyard and away from the others.

"Alright you, I need to have a quick talk with you."

Izuku looked up at that. "Y-Yeah?"

Zack laughed. "Easy, you're not in trouble. Why would you be? No Izuku, I just wanted to tell you that you did good out there." He patted his shoulder. "I was worried about you in the first few rounds, but you came around. But I also have to say that you scared the hell out of me! Geez, I know you're Aqua's student but come on kid. I expected a certain brand of crazy, but not that."

"You mean taking a dark glacier head on?"

"Yeah, I was worried about you. But it figures you'd find a way to pull through, Aqua taught you real well. Though she'd probably freak out all the same."

Izuku laughed nervously. She would probably kill him for some of the stunts he pulled, or at the very least make him run laps until he collapsed.

"Yeah, yeah she would."

Zack laughed and nodded. "My point is kid, you did good. She'd be proud."

Izuku stared at him for a moment, before nodding and quickly wiping his eyes. "R-Right. Thanks."

Zack ruffled his hair again. "No problem, now if you'll excuse me I should probably head back home with Cloud."

Izuku watched him start to walk away, but before he could get very far, Izuku called out.

"W-Wait, Zack!"

The hero stopped and turned.

"What is it?"

"My Master, the last time you saw her was 10 years ago right?"

"Give or take."

Izuku nodded. "Well…I have a picture of her. If you want to see it, it's recent, I'm sure she's changed a bit over the years."

Zack watched him before nodding. "Yes, holy- yes of course I want to see it. Show me!"

Izuku looked around to make sure nobody was watching him, if Donald caught him, he'd no doubt get a scolding up and down about the World Order. When he was sure it was clear he dug through his backpack for his phone and unlocked it.

He felt Zack's eyes on him as he scrolled through his photos, and he clicked on the one he was looking for.

"Here."

Izuku handed Zack the phone, showing him a picture of himself, Eri, and Aqua. A picture taken by one of the Moogles.

Zack took a shuddering breath as he stared at it.

"She's grown her hair out, and she almost looks a little taller. She looks a little different, but I'd know Aqua from anywhere. And is this you? You look so scrawny!" He laughed and quickly wiped at his eyes, then his eyes fell on the girl. "And…who's this?"

Izuku smiled. "That's Eri. Master saved her a few years ago, and took her in. She's pretty much my sister."

Zack laughed to himself. "Sounds like her. But she's been okay this whole time, I'm glad. That's a relief really. I know you already told me about her but…it's just nice to see her. Even if it's just a picture."

Izuku smiled as he took the phone back. "I'm sure she'd be happy to know you're okay too."

Zack stared at the phone for a moment. "Hey, Izuku, what do you do with the photos?"

"Uh, I keep them. I like knowing where I've been, and who I've seen. And I show them to Eri when I get back, she really likes them."

He grinned. "You think Eri would want a photo of an old friend of Aqua's?"

"Actually…probably. She'd be excited to know I met one of her old friends."

"Cool, then would you mind?"

Izuku smiled to himself and nodded. He took a few steps back and pulled up the camera, taking a quick photo, and a few more at Zack's insistence of having a 'heroic pose'.

Once he was finished Izuku was about to leave so Zack could have his talk with Cloud, only for Zack to grab his shoulder again.

"One more thing before I go, I need you to do me a favor."

Izuku looked up at him. "Uh huh?"

"So you know how I'm Aqua's friend right?"

"Yes?"

"And you're looking for her, yes?"

"Yeah?"

"Well…I have full faith that you'll find her. Let me put that out there real quick. But, when you find her I need you to give her a message from me."

Izuku looked up at him. "Yeah, of course."

Zack laughed. "Well you see, about 10 years ago she and I made a deal. And that deal was that she'd go on a date with me once I became a hero. And lo and behold, I am a hero."

Izuku sputtered. "I am not telling my Master to go on a date with you!"

"Wh-hey! I gave you a sponsorship, you owe me this."

"You beat the crap out of me on a mountain!"

"That was to test you, listen this is personal. You know I haven't seen her in years, and you're looking for her. So that makes you the perfect messenger."

"Oh yes, because I'm just supposed to go up to my Master and say, 'hey remember that guy named Zack from about a decade ago, yeah he's a hero now and he's asking for a date'."

Zack paused before nodding. "Yeah, exactly like that."

"Oh my god…"

"Come on Izuku, it's the least you can do."

Izuku gave him a weak glare before sighing. "I will…consider it."

"I think you'll do it."

"I will heavily consider it."

Zack laughed before slapping his back, and making Izuku stumble forward. "Good enough for me kid. I'm holding you to that!"

"It's still under consideration!"

Zack only waved as he walked away.

Todoroki had been standing off to the side, watching the entire exchange. He quietly walked over.

"He knew your master?"

Izuku glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah, he knows her."

Todoroki narrowed his eyes, and looked between the figure walking away and back to Izuku.

"Are you sure you're not -"

"I am not a secret love child!"

Sora walked past Zack, then over to his friends. He raised an eyebrow at Izuku's shout. "Someone's a secret love child?"

Izuku groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I want to go home."

-.-

"So you travel around in…this?"

Todoroki looked unimpressed at the sight of the Gummi Ship, even as he climbed inside with the others.

"Yeah."

"When you said you go around on a ship, I imagined something else."

Izuku grunted as he climbed inside. "Yeah, that's on me, but I couldn't explain too much with the others around without breaking World Order."

Todoroki glanced over. "World Order?"

"Like I said, I'll explain in a bit."

After the group bid their goodbyes to Zack and the others, they made their way through the town and up the mountain. Almost as soon as they were inside, almost half of them collapsed from exhaustion.

Todoroki looked on in surprise as their clothes changed to normal style clothes. A contrast to the themed disguises they had on just a moment ago.

Sora groaned as he went over to his seat and collapsed into it. Izuku sighed as he fell into his seat beside him. The full weight of the day finally hitting them now it was truly over.

Goofy gestured for Todoroki to take the seat up front, as he had done with Iida. He was fine with sitting on the ground again. He was about to take his own seat when he spotted Donald glaring at the controls.

"Don't feel like drivin'?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, I can drive the Gummi Ship if ya want. A-hyuck!"

"Are you sure?" Donald narrowed his eyes. "The last time you drove a Gummi Ship it didn't go so well."

Goofy laughed. "I'm sure, go ahead and take a rest. Ya earned it."

"I know I earned it." The magician groaned and made his way to the back of the ship. The others watched him set up a makeshift bed swing. Once it was set up he plopped himself down and sighed.

"Ahh, a real bed."

"That's not a-"

"It's a real bed!" Donald yelled at Todoroki.

He frowned and turned his seat away from the duck.

Goofy smiled to himself and began to power on the ship. He glanced over to see Todoroki looking around at the ship.

"It's gonna be a little bumpy at first, ya might wanna hang onto something."

Todoroki did as he was told and simply held onto the armrests, where the others behind were already braced.

There wasn't as much fanfare as Todoroki was expecting, the ship shook as it slowly lifted off the ground, before shooting off into the sky. There was some turbulence as passing through the sky. Then world around them became a blur of color before a flash of light lit up the cockpit.

Todoroki squinted until the light died down, and he realized they weren't in Thebes anymore. They were in space, or what he assumed was space. Bright, colorful stars in the distance shone brighter than anything he had seen in the sky back home. He looked around in contained awe, not minding the occasional shae of the ship.

Goofy gave him the occasional glance, but kept his eyes on the lanes most of the time. He saw Todoroki stare out into the lanes, his gaze occasionally lingering on a faraway star.

He looked over his shoulder to check on the boys, as he expected Sora was out like a light. He probably fell asleep the minute he sat down. Izuku, despite promising an explanation to Todoroki, ended up passing out shortly after. Goofy figured that would happen, they all deserved to rest.

He had actually expected Todoroki to fall asleep as well, considering the entire ordeal he'd gone through. But he stayed awake, silently looking out at the stars.

If Goofy had to be honest, there was a lot he wanted to talk about. A few things he wanted to address with Izuku, with Todoroki.

Goofy knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he wasn't all that dumb either. His concerns had started long before the fight with Todoroki and Izuku. How Izuku pushed himself, and held himself to a higher standard, far higher than he can reach yet. He's impatient with himself.

His concerns only increased when the teens faced off in the ring. Goofy was no stranger to fights, he knew how intense they could get. He also knew that in a fight, emotions were usually laid bare, people lost their filters and said what was on their mind at the time. Even Sora.

"You don't know what hell it is to live with a Quirk you hate!"

"But I do know what it's like to live with no power at all, to hate yourself for something you can't even control!"

"If you want to reject your father, fine, but stop letting him hold you back."

Goofy looked over to Todoroki again, who was staring blankly ahead.

"Ya seem pretty deep in thought there, whatcha thinkin' about?"

He looked up before turning away. "Not much."

"Are ya okay? I know today musta been a lot on ya."

"I'm fine."

"Are ya sure? There's nothin' wrong with bein' a little shaken up."

Todoroki's left hand twitched. "I'm fine for the most part. Just…adjusting."

"To usin' yer fire?"

"Why would you suspect that?"

"Ya were pretty stubborn about not usin' it. The two of ya, Izuku and you, were yellin' about it an awful lot. I heard the two ya yell about some things, and I wouldn't be lyin' if I said I wasn't worried."

Todoroki gripped the armrests tightly, a bit of ice crept down from his right hand. "It's not an issue you should concern yourself with. The people who should know, know."

Goofy felt the air chill and nodded. "I don't mean to pry, I'm just tryin' to make sure yer doin' okay."

Todoroki didn't look at Goofy.

"I know what I heard back in the fight, and I know there's a reason ya probably told Izuku what ya did."

"Yes, there's a reason I told him. And then someone else eavesdropped."

"I can see how that irritated ya, but Sora didn't mean to. But even then, whatever he heard he didn't tell me or Donald. He understood how much that meant to you."

"Yet you seem to know some part of it."

Goofy smiled to himself. "I know I ain't that sharp, but that don't mean I don't know how to listen. I know someone musta hurt ya real bad a long time ago, so much that ya didn't want to use yer own power. And I know it made ya angry, and yer still angry." He looked at the teen. "I'm not askin' ya to tell me everythin'. I just wanna make sure yer doin' okay. It's my job ya know?"

"Since when?"

"Well, I am a dad, and I'm in charge of those two over there. But yer here too, which means yer also gonna be taken care of. Just because I met ya Todoroki, don't mean I'm not gonna care about ya. Yer still a kid."

Todoroki went quiet at that, but still kept his eyes averted. He wasn't sure if he had ever heard those words used towards him. Reminding him of his age, that he was still a child. Maybe his sister said something like that once? He's not sure, admittedly he didn't always pay attention when she was talking to him. Too lost in his thoughts of trying to get out of the house, or back to his room. Trying to stay out of the open.

The chill had left the air and Goofy sighed.

"It's okay if yer not okay. What happened was scary, so there's no shame if it's still botherin' ya."

Todoroki ran a hand over his left arm, where he felt phantom wisps of that blue fire. That intense power that hadn't belonged to him, just there to take him hostage. But he felt the hum of his own Quirk under his skin, flames that slowly crept up and burned away the phantom sensation.

"What happened doesn't bother me."

"No?"

"I'm more focused on the…my Quirk."

"Not used to using yer fire?"

"...I still have….conflicted feelings about it."

Goofy nodded. "And that's okay. Ya don't have to have everythin' figured out, ya just gotta take it one day at a time."

Todoroki hummed and leaned back in his seat. "I suppose."

"Ya should probably get some rest too. Ya look tired."

He shrugged and continued to look out at the sky around them. Not much later, he had finally drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Goofy smiled to himself as he listened to the sounds of even breathing from Donald and the boys. All of them resting easy after a hard day.

He glanced at the main console, noting the amount of fuel the Gummi Ship was running on. It was fine, he could smile enough for all of them, enough to get them home.

He still had his worries about Todoroki, there was more, so much more and he knew that. But for now, he hoped this was enough to make him feel safe around them at least. As awful as it may sound, he hoped that him being away from his own world would offer some kind of break from whatever he has, or may be going through.

He was also worried about Izuku, hearing the young Keyblade wielder openly admit about hating himself was a concern. Especially when piled on with his own expectations for himself, how much he pushes himself, how stressed he seems sometimes.

He still had to check on Sora too, make sure he was doing okay. He seemed to be taking everything in stride, still smiling and optimistic. But he was sure with everything that's happened, he was bound to have his own frustrations. Especially with having found two of Izuku's friends already, and none of his own.

He wouldn't lie if he said he had his own worries, Donald too. Of course they had to look after the kids, and make sure they didn't get hurt too much. They were still worried about Mickey, still having found no trace of their friend anywhere. Still no idea how to stop the Heartless. Still none of Ansem's reports were found.

Goofy sighed and gripped the controls tightly.

"One day at a time Goof. Take it one day at a time."

-HoL-

A big thanks to Keeperofhounds for beta-ing this for me!