Chapter 6: Road to Hero
Arthur, Sora, Eilonwy, Donald, Goofy, Max, Robin, and Tod leave Wonderland and return to the Gummi ship and start looking for a new world to go to.
"So, what world are we going to next?" Sora asked.
"Now there's two more on the screen. There's still the one with the two stars, but the other one has three stars." Goofy said.
"I think we should go for the world with two stars. It's safer that way." Arthur suggested.
"Good idea, Artie." Eilonwy said.
"Well, let's go." Donald said.
The Gummi ship begins flying through space while shooting down Heartless ships and dodging more obstacles and later, after a few minutes of flying, fighting more Heartless ships, and dodging more space junk, they arrive at a new world, which has a large arena with two statues clashing swords together.
"Wow, this looks interesting." Max said.
"What kind of world is that?" Arthur asked.
"Fellas, you've arrived at Olympus Coliseum. It's a world, where gladiators and heroes battle against each other and monsters." Chip explained.
"So, basically, it's a world, where there's nothing but fighting." Eilonwy said slightly annoyed.
"I wanna check it out!" Sora said excited.
"Of course you do…" Donald said, rolling his eyes.
The Gummi ship disembarks for the next world.
The group leave the Gummi ship and go through doors, leading to a courtyard and they see the giant arena with the two statues.
(World of Olympus Coliseum)
(Field Theme: Olympus Coliseum)
"Wow!" Sora said, looking around.
"I wonder if there's a place to sign up." Goofy said.
"I guess we'll have to go inside to do that. Let's see who runs the show." Max said.
"Let's just try and make this quick please. We're not here to have fun." Eilonwy said.
"Lighten up, Eilonwy. We'll take a look and be on our way." Sora said.
The group make their way for the arena and enter the Coliseum's lobby and while looking around, they see what looks like a satyr working on something.
"Um, excuse me?" Arthur said.
"Good timin', kid! Gimme a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games!" The satyr said.
"He wants us to move that?" Eilonwy asked, pointing at a big pedestal against a wall.
"I guess." Arthur said.
"I'll give it a shot." Sora said, trying to move the pedestal, but it's not moving. "This thing weighs a ton!" Sora said, wiping his forehead.
"I'm not gonna try and move that, since I wouldn't have better luck." Arthur said, looking down at the ground.
"Why don't we talk to that guy again?" Goofy suggested and Tod nods.
The boys walk back to the satyr.
"It's way too heavy!" Sora said.
"What? Too heavy?! When'd you become such a little…" The satyr stops talking, as he turns around to see Sora. "Oh, wrong guy. What're you doin' here?" The satyr asked.
"Um, sir, is this the place to sign up for these games you mentioned?" Arthur asked.
"What's it to…" The satyr stops talking, as he sees Arthur. "What the…?! Uther?! Is that YOU?!" The satyr asked shocked.
"Uh, who…?" Arthur asked.
"Uther?" Sora asked confused.
"Who on earth is Uther?" Eilonwy asked.
"Wait, you mean to tell me you've NEVER heard of Uther Pendragon?! Have you guys been livin' under a rock or somethin'? He's one of the famous champs of this Coliseum! Years ago, a young warrior entered a tournament right here in the heart of Greece and won the hearts of everyone. What's more is that Uther was the youngest champion right before two more young warriors, who were known as Terra and Aqua showed up. After winning the tournament, though, Uther just up and vanished, becoming a legend ever since." The satyr explained.
"Uther…Pendragon…?" Arthur asked.
"Terra…Aqua…?" Sora asked.
"Uh, Donald, does the name Uther sound familiar to you?" Goofy asked.
"Kinda, but at the same time, it was years ago." Donald said.
"Sorry, kid. Ya just kinda looked like him. You related to him?" The satyr asked.
"Um, I really don't know, sir…" Arthur said.
"Hmph. Well, anyway, you asked if this is the place to sign up for the games, right? Well, it is, but thing is, this Coliseum is for heroes only. It's like this: Heroes come from all over to fight vicious monsters right here in this Coliseum." The satyr explained.
"Well, you could say you have some heroes standing right in front of you." Robin said.
"Yep and Sora and Arthur are real heroes chosen by the Keyblade and Excalibur." Goofy said, placing his hands on Sora and Arthur.
"And we're heroes too!" Donald said.
"Is that right? Well, these two don't look anything like heroes, especially the scrawny blond one." The satyr said, making Arthur hang his head down and depressed, making Sora angry at the satyr.
"For your information, we've fought a bunch of monsters! Right, Artie?" Sora asked.
"Y-Yeah…" Arthur said.
"Don't stutter like that. It doesn't help." Donald said, making Eilonwy smack the duck.
"YOU'RE not helping!" Eilonwy yelled.
"Well, neither of you tried moving this." The satyr said, trying to move the pedestal, but fails and is now worn out.
"Looks like you've got some trouble yourself." Max said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah well, bein' a hero is more than just brawn. Let's see what you two can do." The satyr said.
"Um, what do you have in mind, sir?" Arthur asked.
"First of all, just call me Phil. Second, I'm gonna take you boys to the arena and give ya some trials. Here's a warning, though, it's gonna be tough." Phil said.
"We got this. Right, Artie?" Sora asked, grinning.
"Y-Yeah…" Arthur said.
"You really should be more confident in your answers, kid. Well, gimme a holler and we can get started." Phil said.
Arthur and Sora arrive at the arena and Sora is first while there are many barrels around the arena.
"Okay, kid…" Phil was cut off.
"It's Sora." Sora corrected.
"Right, right. The rules are simple; bust all the barrels within the time limit." Phil said.
"No problem." Sora said.
"Ready, GO!" Phil said.
(Trial Theme: Go for It)
Sora begins attacking the barrels with his Keyblade and later, he destroys all the barrels.
"Not bad, kid. I'm impressed." Phil said.
Arthur is next.
"Okay, kiddo…" Phil was cut off.
"Um, I'm Arthur." Arthur said.
"Uh-huh. Anyway, like your friend here, you gotta bust all the barrels within the time limit." Phil said.
"Okay…" Arthur said, turning to see Sora, who grins and nods at the blond, who takes a deep breath.
"Ready, GO!" Phil said.
Arthur starts destroying the barrels with Excalibur, but not as fast as Sora, but still manages to destroy every last barrel.
"Hmm, a little rough around the edges, but you kinda showed a bit of promise. Uther didn't have that much difficulty." Phil said.
"Uther… Who is he anyway?" Arthur asked.
Later, the boys return to the lobby to talk to Phil.
"You know, you ain't half bad. Though, the blond one seems a bit…off, BUT ya got some…potential to show." Phil said.
"Um, thanks…" Arthur said, looking down at the ground.
"So, does that mean we get to enter the games?" Sora asked, putting his hands behind his head.
"Afraid not." Phil said, shocking the group.
"Are you serious?" Max asked.
"Why not?" Robin asked.
"Look, it ain't my call. You gotta be heroes to enter." Phil said.
"Oh, man!" Sora said, hanging his head down.
"C'mon, Phil. There has to be SOME way to enter." Eilonwy said.
"Hmm, well…" Phil stops talking while stroking his goatee. "You COULD enter, provided you got an entry pass." Phil said.
"WHERE on earth are we supposed to find an entry pass?" Eilonwy asked.
"Hey, chin up. I ain't gonna leave you guys empty-handed. Here, this is for your efforts at the trials." Phil said, giving Sora Thunder magic and Arthur Volt magic.
"Well, thanks, I guess." Sora said.
"Remember, no pass, no entry." Phil said.
The group leave the lobby and return to the gates.
"Well, that was a waste of time." Eilonwy said.
"How are we supposed to find an entry pass?" Arthur asked.
"Life can be VERY cruel, huh?" A voice asked, making the group turn to see a figure with blue skin, yellow eyes, flaming blue hair, and wearing a black and grey toga robe. "Always loves to play sick jokes on people and believe me, it's rather suffocating." The blue figure said.
"Who are you?" Donald asked in a distrusting tone.
"Oh, right, right. Where are my manners? Hades, Lord of the Dead, God of the Underworld, yadda, yadda, yadda, how're you doin'?" Hades introduced.
"What do you want?" Eilonwy asked, placing her hand on her hip while Tod growls.
"Easy, Tod…" Arthur said.
"Hey, no need to give me the cold shoulder. I'm actually here to help you with your little dilemma. You guys wanna enter the games, but that stubborn old goat won't let you." Hades said, getting behind Sora and Arthur. "Well, get a load of this." Hades said, conjuring a piece of parchment in front of the boys.
"A pass?" Sora asked.
"Your giving it to us?" Arthur asked.
"Yep, it's all yours." Hades said.
"Wait, what's the catch?" Max asked, crossing his arms.
"No catch. Just a god trying to help two boys, who're down on their luck is all. No need to thank me. Well, good luck out there, kiddos. I'm pulling for you shorties." Hades said, leaving.
"Guys, is it me or is something off about Hades?" Robin asked.
"No, you're not alone, Rob. I got the same feeling." Sora said.
"He acted kinda nice, but I think inside, it's different." Arthur said.
"Well, as long as we don't run into him again, we should be fine." Donald said.
"C'mon, let's get this over to Phil. Maybe now, he'll allow us to enter." Max said.
The group go back for the arena's lobby and they find Phil, who is still working in the lobby.
"Hey, Phil." Goofy said.
"Oh, no! I thought I told you already! Two words: You ain't a hero!" Phil said, not looking back at the group while Arthur counts the words with his fingers and it's four words.
"What an idiot." Eilonwy said.
"Hey!" Sora called, getting Phil's attention.
"Oh, it's you guys. What's up?" Phil asked.
"Here, take a good look." Sora stops talking, handing out the pass to Phil.
"No way! You actually found an entry pass? That was quick! Where'd ya find it?" Phil asked.
"Doesn't matter." Max said.
"So, can we enter the games now?" Sora asked.
"Well, you got the pass. I'll start you guys off with the preliminaries." Phil said.
"Okay." Arthur said.
"Quick word of advice; strange weirdos signed up for the games too. They should be no match for you, but anything can happen. You ready?" Phil asked and they nod.
Later, the group enter the arena, as they're ready for the preliminaries.
(Battle Theme: Road to Hero)
Their opponents are Black Xetis and Heartless, which are Ghoul Black Xetis, Shadow Heartless, Zombie Black Xetis, and Soldier Heartless and they attack with their chains, claws, limbs, and spin kicks, but Arthur delivers slashes with Excalibur followed by casting Volt, unleashing lightning spheres and sends them to strike while Sora slashes with his Keyblade and casts Thunder. The Black Xetis and Heartless try to attack back, only for Donald to cast Blizzard while Goofy bashes with his shield while Tod attacks with his stick, but the Black Xetis and Heartless strike back. Eilonwy unleashes magical orbs from her tome while Max spin slashes with his sword and shield, but the Black Xetis and Heartless fight back at the group, only for Robin to fire five arrows while Arthur delivers five slashes with Excalibur and they defeat the Black Xetis and Heartless, winning the first round.
"That's the power of the Keyblade!" Sora said, spinning his Keyblade like a baton.
"Um, don't mess with Excalibur!" Arthur said, putting Excalibur behind his head.
The group talk to Phil again.
"You guys ain't heroes yet, but you're not doing bad for your first time. Lucky you came to me for coaching." Phil said.
Just then, two people enter the arena and they're two young men.
The first young man has spiky blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a black sleeveless top, dark blue pants, armor on both hips, a silver plate on his left shoulder, a brown fingerless glove on his right hand, yellow and black claw like tips on his left hand, and a torn red cape.
The second young man has spiky salmon pink hair, slight tan skin, wearing a white scarf around his neck, a black sleeveless, open, and untucked waistcoat, white knee-high trousers, a thick wristband around his left wrist, black sandals, and the same fairy with a tail mark, but red on his right shoulder.
The two young men look at the group, but mostly at Sora and Arthur, who look back, but Sora is glaring while Arthur is nervous, but the young men walk away.
"That was something." Max said.
"Yeah." Sora said.
"What's their problem?" Eilonwy asked, placing her hand on her hip.
"I don't think we wanna find out." Robin said.
"Something tells me those two won't be easy to beat. Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing them." Phil said, stroking his goatee.
"I honestly hope not…" Arthur said.
The group continue through the preliminaries, as they keep fighting Black Xetis and Heartless with Arthur using Excalibur, Sora using his Keyblade, Donald and Eilonwy using their magic, Max using his sword and shield, Goofy using his shield, Robin using his bow and arrows, and Tod using his stick and they defeat more Black Xetis and Heartless.
"Hey, you guys are doin' better than I thought. Too bad he's not here to see this." Phil said.
"Who?" Goofy asked.
"Hercules. He's a hero if there ever was one. He's off visiting his father." Phil said.
The group continue fighting through the preliminaries and continue fighting and defeating Black Xetis and Heartless and keep advancing.
"We're on fire!" Sora cheered.
"Don't get too cocky, Sora. This'll get harder as it goes." Eilonwy said.
"Eilonwy's right. If we make one slip up and we could be done for." Robin said.
"Aw, don't worry. Considering how we're doing, we'll win the games in no time." Donald said.
Unknowing to them, Hades is watching them from the barracks and then turns to see the two young men.
"Okay, let's review. Your names." Hades said.
"Cloud Strife." Cloud said, leaning against a wall.
"Natsu Dragneel." Natsu said, crossing his arms and with him is a small blue cat eating fish.
"Okay, Cloud, Natsu. Here's the deal; those little punks are your next opponents." Hades said, pointing at Sora and Arthur. "Now, don't blow it. Just take 'em out." Hades said.
"You're kidding, right? You want them to to fight those two?" The blue cat asked, still eating his fish.
"The great God of the Underworld is afraid two kids? Not worth the effort." Cloud asked.
"Yeah, I'm with Blondie Emo here. I don't hurt children. In case your fiery hair burnt your entire brain that you forgot, our contracts said…" Natsu was cut off.
"I know! You think I don't know?! I WROTE the contract!" Hades snapped, but calms down. "Look, I know it says you're both required to kill Hercules in this tournament, but you gotta get through those kids first to get to him. C'mon. It's like that old goat says, 'Rule No. 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it'!" Hades said, punching the air.
"What's the fun in fightin' kids?" Natsu asked.
"You'd be surprised. I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?" Hades asked.
"Whatever. Let's just get this over with." Cloud said, getting off the wall and starts moving.
"C'mon, Happy." Natsu said.
"Aye." Happy said.
The three start moving, but Natsu stops to look back at Hades, who grins and gives a thumbs up and Natsu walks off.
"Sheesh, Blondie's stiffer than the stiffs back home and Pinkhead sure isn't the brightest star in the sky. Still, suckers like them are more difficult to come by." Hades said, as growling is heard from the darkness.
The group continue fighting Black Xetis and Heartless in the preliminaries and later, they finish the remaining round and enter the final round in which, the two same young men, Cloud and Natsu, enter the arena.
"It's them." Max said.
"So, we're gonna have to fight them after all…" Arthur said, nervous.
"Don't worry, Artie! We got this!" Sora said, getting ready to fight.
"Let's get this started." Cloud said, taking out a giant blade wrapped in bandages.
"No holding back, 'cause I won't!" Natsu said, lighting his fists with flames.
(Boss Theme: Shrouding Dark Cloud)
Cloud delivers a dashing blade attack with his sword while Natsu shoots three fireballs at the party, who dodge out of the way and Arthur tries slashing at Natsu with Excalibur followed by a spin slash, only for Natsu to deliver a roundhouse fiery kick, but Sora vertical slashes with his Keyblade, but Cloud double slashes at Sora, knocking him back, but Eilonwy uses her magic to save both Sora and Arthur and then shoots magic beams from her tome at both Cloud and Natsu while Robin firs three arrow bombs. Natsu delivers two fire punches at Robin followed by a spinning flame kick while Cloud dash slashes at the party and then jumps into the air and delivers a diving sword attack, but Max triple slashes with his sword while Goofy uses Charge, but Cloud retaliates with a double sword swing while Natsu delivers a flaming uppercut, only for Arthur to deliver an upper slash at Natsu while Donald casts Fire at Cloud, only for Natsu to get in front and eats the fireball.
"Wak! He ate my fire?!" Donald asked shocked.
"Thanks for the fire, Duck Boy! Now I've got fire in my belly! FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Natsu shouted, breathing a huge amount of flames from his mouth at the party.
Eilonwy quickly conjures a magic barrier around the party to protect them from the incoming flame, only for Cloud to destroy the barrier with his sword and attacks Eilonwy, who cartwheels away and then casts Frost to attack the swordsman, but Robin delivers a bow strike while Max delivers a shield bash, sending Cloud back, only for Cloud to use his sword to skid to stop, as Natsu shoots more fireballs at the party, but Tod delivers a bite attack at the Dragon Slayer. Arthur then casts Frost and unleashes ice crystals from the ground, causing great damage to the fire mage, allowing Sora to deliver triple slashes with his Keyblade, but Cloud delivers his dashing blade attack at Sora, only for Goofy to block with his shield and tries to bash at Cloud, who backs off and delivers a diving strike, but Robin fires four arrows at the warrior, who dodges, but Arthur casts Volt at the blond swordsman. Donald casts Thunder while Eilonwy casts Blaze, but Natsu delivers a flaming kick at the magic users, only for Max to double swing with his sword and then bashes with his shield while Sora delivers a giang swing, sending Natsu back, but he recovers.
"Is that the best you can do, Salamander?" Cloud asked.
"Shut the hell up, Blondie! I was just warmin' up!" Natsu yelled.
Natsu uses his fire to fly up into the air and then lights both fists with flames and then dives down back to the ground and unleashes a giant fiery shock wave to get the party, only for Eilonwy to conjure another magic barrier for protection while Tod delivers a skullbashing strike, but Cloud dash slashes at Tod and Eilonwy, only for them to dodge and Robin uses Arrow Barrage while Max uses Sword Thrust to strike at Cloud. Natsu uses Fire Dragon's Roar again to get the party, only for Arthur to strike back with five slashes and then casts Frost at Natsu, who tries to defend himself against the flames, Goofy manages to deliver a shield ram attack, sending the fire mage, allowing Donald and Sora to cast Blizzard, dealing great damage. Cloud delivers his dashing blade attack at Sora and Donald, but Tod delivers his tail whip attack, allowing Arthur to cast Volt and sends lightning orbs at the blond warrior, but Natsu delivers a fire punch at Arthur's face followed by a flaming kick at the blond boy's stomach, knocking him out. Sora casts Blizzard to retaliate at Natsu, who dodges, allowing Cloud to deliver three strikes with his sword and the two clash their weapons, only for Cloud to counterattack and delivers a big swing with his sword and sends Sora back to the semi-conscious Arthur, but Sora kneels to the ground with his Keyblade to support him.
"These guys really are tough…" Sora said, looking at Arthur, who is on the ground with his face and stomach burnt. "C'mon, Artie, we gotta get up and fight back." Sora said.
"Sora! Arthur!" Eilonwy cried, as they join the two boys.
"We can't give up now!" Max said, as Natsu and Cloud walk over to the group.
"We can't lose here! Not like this!" Robin said.
"Natsu, don't kill them!" Happy yelled.
Phil runs through the bleachers with a towel.
"Hang on, kids!" Phil said, but someone blocks his way and it's Hades, who's smirking.
"Looks like it's game, set, and match!" Hades said, conjuring a cigar and lights it with his fire while smoking it.
"Can we really beat them? Just look at the condition Arthur's in right now." Eilonwy said.
"We have to try, but Arthur…" Max stops talking, as Natsu and Cloud keep walking to them.
"This is my favorite part of the game… Sudden Death!" Hades said.
Natsu and Cloud stop in front of the group, who are struggling to get back up.
"Hey, you guys are pretty good, but fight's over. Look, this isn't personal, but this is kinda our mission if we're gonna find who we're looking for. I need to do this so I can see my comrades again and…see Lucy again." Natsu said.
"Lucy?" Sora asked.
"Y-You mean…Lucy Heartfilia?" Arthur asked, still on the ground.
"You know her too?" Donald asked.
"Enough, let's just end this already." Cloud said.
"Natsu, look out!" Happy called.
Just then, something crushes both Cloud and Natsu and they're giant paws of a giant black three-headed dog with red eyes and razor sharp teeth.
"What?!" Arthur asked.
"What is that THING?!" Robin asked.
"A three-headed dog?!" Donald asked shocked.
Natsu manages to get back up from the giant paw and turns to see Hades.
"Hades…! You bastard! You set this up!" Natsu yelled.
"Oh, sorry, Pinkhead! There was one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." Hades said, leaving.
"HADES!" Natsu shouted, but the paw sends him down again.
The three-headed dog prepares to attack the party, but someone keeps it at bay and it's a young man with orange hair, wearing bronze sleeveless armor, and a blue cape.
"Herc!" Phil called.
"Phil, get them outta here!" Hercules said.
"Guys, c'mon!" Donald said.
"But…" Arthur stops talking, as he and Sora follow the others out of the arena.
The group and Phil return to lobby.
"Whew, that was a close call." Phil said.
"Just what was that three-headed dog anyway?" Arthur asked.
"That was Cerberus. Guardian of the Underworld." Phil said.
"That Hades must have set the whole thing up." Robin said.
"I knew there was something screwy about him!" Donald said.
"Herc should be able to deal with this, but then again, maybe not… This is bad…" Phil said.
"What can we do?" Goofy asked.
"We can't just let Cerberus roam around and cause havoc and we can't just leave Hercules to fend for himself." Max said.
"Max's right! Let's go!" Sora said, as they head for the arena.
"Hey! Where're you guys goin'?! You're not goin' back THERE, are you? This isn't some game, it's for real! Cerberus'll eat you alive!" Phil said.
"Don't try and stop us! Besides, even if this Uther character was here, there's no way he'd stay here like a coward, like me, and would actually do something about Cerberus. Also, this is our chance to prove ourselves if we're hero material or not." Arthur said and Tod nods.
"Artie…" Sora said.
"Oui vey…" Phil said.
"If you're going, Artie, then so am I!" Max said.
"That's right! We have to do something!" Eilonwy said.
"No matter what happens, I'll help you put that three-headed mutt in his place!" Robin said.
"Well, if they're gonna go, then I guess we gotta help too." Donald said.
"Uh-huh!" Goofy said, nodding.
"Looks like our minds are made up." Sora said, crossing his arms.
"Fine, but just be careful out there. Good luck." Phil said, as the party go back into the arena.
At the arena, Hercules, who is carrying the unconscious Cloud over his right shoulder, is against the wall, as he's dealing with Cerberus, but Natsu gets in front.
"You damn three-headed mutt! I'll burn you!" Natsu yelled.
"Don't. You're worn out from your fight." Hercules said.
"Don't stop me. Look, truth be told, Cloud and I were hired to kill you, but since that asshole Hades screwed us over, he's next when I burn his pet to ashes!" Natsu yelled.
Cerberus then turns to see Arthur, Sora, Eilonwy, Donald, Goofy, Max, and Tod entering the arena and ready to fight with their weapons in hand.
"This could be my chance to get this guy to safety." Hercules said, running off while still carrying Cloud.
"Guys, I got some advice for ya!" Phil was cut off.
"Yeah, yeah! Attack! We got it!" Max said annoyed.
"I'm gonna help too!" Natsu said, joining the group.
"Really?" Sora asked.
"Look, I'm sorry for tryin' to kill you, but now all I care about is beating the crap outta this overgrown mutt!" Natsu said.
"Just don't strain yourself." Eilonwy said.
(Boss Theme: Squirming Evil)
Cerberus roars and shoots fireballs at the party, but Natsu eats every last fireball and Natsu uses Fire Dragon's Roar while Robin fires three arrow bombs at Cerberus and they both manage to burn the three-headed dog, making him angry and tries to bite at the two, but they dodge and Natsu shoots fireballs at one of the heads while Robin shoots more arrows at the other head while Arthur slashes the middle head with Excalibur while Sora attacks the same middle head with his Keyblade. Cerberus keeps biting at the group, only for Donald to cast Thunder at all three heads while Eilonwy casts Blaze and unleashes blue streams of flames at the heads as well, but Cerberus bites with his left head and then bites with his right head, but Goofy bashes the right head with his shield while Max triple slashes at the left head with his sword followed by a shield slam while Natsu shoots a fireball at the middle head while Tod bashes his head at the middle head. Cerberus stands on his hind legs and slams his front paws, creating shock waves, but they manage to dodge, only for Cerberus to shoot more fireballs at the group, but Natsu eats fireballs and delivers a fiery uppercut at one of the heads, making it roar in rage, so Cerberus breathes darkness into the ground.
The darkness creates dark pillars to try and get the group, who dodge, but Cerberus shoots more fireballs, only for Natsu to eat more fireballs while Kirby inhales them, as they keep dodging the dark pillars, but Cerberus breathes more darkness into the ground, unleashing more dark pillars, but Arthur aerial slashes at one of the heads with Excalibur and then casts Blaze while Sora casts Thunder, striking all three heads, only for Cerberus to bite at the boys with all three heads. Eilonwy casts Volt and unleashes lightning orbs at all three heads while Tod unleashes a growling attack, but Cerberus keeps biting at the group, who dodge and Goofy bashes the left head with his shield. Max throws his shield at the middle head while Robin spines fires arrows, but Cerberus uses his middle head to deliver a huge bite, only for Donald to cast Blizzard while Natsu delivers fire punches at all three heads followed by a flaming spin kick, but Cerberus keeps biting at the party, only for Arthur to slash at the left head with Excalibur while Sora strikes the right head with his Keyblade, but Cerberus stands on his hind legs again and slams his front paws on the ground, unleashing more shock waves, but they dodge and try to attack, only for Cerberus to breathe more darkness.
"At this rate, we'll never be able to defeat Cerberus." Arthur said, but Cerberus is about to bite the blond.
"Artie, look out!" Sora called.
Arthur is about to block to prepare for the attack, but then, Natsu manages to get Arthur back while firing five fireballs at the three heads, dealing damage.
"Stupid damn mutt! You okay, kid?" Natsu asked.
"I'm fine now. Thanks, Natsu." Arthur said.
"Don't thank me yet. Let's finish this mutt off!" Natsu said, grinning.
"Agreed." Robin said.
Cerberus breathes more darkness to attack, but Natsu flies himself onto Cerberus' back and unleashes fireballs from behind to attack the heads, only for Cerberus to get the fire mage off, but Arthur aerial slashes with Excalibur followed by casting Volt while Sora aerial slashes with his Keyblade. Eilonwy unleashes three magical beams from her tome while Donald casts Thunder while Goofy uses Rocket while Max spin slashes with his sword followed by upper shield bash. Robin fires three arrows bombs while Tod delivers a tackle strike while Natsu delivers a fiery uppercut and they all finish off Cerberus, who roars in pain and falls to the ground.
"We did it!" Donald cheered.
"Finally. Down and out." Robin said.
"That was annoying." Eilonwy said.
"What matters is it's over and done with." Sora asked.
"Yeah and I'm glad Natsu was able to help." Arthur said.
"Um, WHERE is Natsu?" Goofy asked, looking around to find Natsu gone.
"Huh? He left? I didn't even notice." Max said.
"Well, well, well, you put on quite a show against that three-headed dog." A voice said.
"Huh, who said that?" Eilonwy asked, looking around.
"Over here." The voice said, as they see what looks like a young man with pointy ears, long and spiky raven black hair with a streak of red, crimson eyes, wearing a black and red sleeveless trench coat while showing his bare chest with a red mark on his chest, black pants with dark blue chains, black chains around his arms, and black boots.
"Huh? Who're you supposed to be?" Sora asked.
"Oh, where are my manners? I am Belial. It's nice to finally meet you so-called 'heroes'." Belial said.
"What do you want from us?" Donald asked.
"Oh, nothing really. I just want to find some hapless fools to put down and I choose you!" Belial said, unleashing what looks like black and crimson flames in his hands.
"Guys, he's gonna…" Robin stops talking.
"Prepare yourselves and try to make things entertaining!" Belial said, taking out what looks like a black sword and charges at the party.
(Boss Theme: Demon of Darkness)
Belial delivers many slashes with his sword at the party, only for Sora to block the sword attacks and counters with diagonal slashes with Kingdom Key followed by a vertical slash while Arthur triple slashes with Excalibur followed by casting Frost. Belial avoids the attacks and shoots a black and crimson fireball from his mouth to try and get the party, but Goofy blocks the fireball with his shield and then uses Charge while Robin shoots five arrows followed by firing four more arrows. Belial disappears in black mist and reappears while delivering four punches followed by slashing with his sword and then unleashes black and crimson small blades, only for Max to deflect the black and crimson small blades and then slashes with his sword while Donald casts Blizzard. Belial creates an afterimage of himself and then delivers horizontal slashes with his sword followed by unleashing more black and crimson flames, only for Eilonwy to strike back with unleashing magic orbs while Tod delivers a biting attack. Belial backs off while unleashing more black and crimson small blades followed by shooting more black and crimson fireballs, only for Sora to strike back with vertical slashes with Kingdom Key while Arthur delivers five slashes with Excalibur.
"Well, I think we've played enough, have we not?" Belial asked, lighting his right hand with black and azure lightning and then plunges his right hand on the ground, creating a black and azure lightning stream, electrocuting the party, dealing damage.
"That…hurt…!" Max said.
"Is that all you got? How disappointing. I was expecting more from the Keyblade master and the wielder of Excalibur." Belial said.
"Heh, I wouldn't be talking if I were you!" Sora said.
"What?" Belial asked.
"THUNDER!" Sora shouted, as lightning bolts come down at Belial, who dodges.
"Honestly, is that…" Belial was cut off, as Arthur tries to deliver a strike at Belial from behind.
Belial dodges Arthur's attack, only for the blond boy to swing Excalibur, but Belial retaliates with delivering a strong kick at Arthur's stomach, sending him back, but Max grabs him.
"I'll admit, that was a sly move, but this is getting rather tedious. This is only wasting time. I suppose I'll have to wait a little longer." Belial said, turning to leave.
"Hey, where're ya goin'?" Goofy asked.
"You're letting us go?" Robin asked.
"Think of this as a 'to be continued' sort of thing. We'll meet again, I promise you." Belial said, leaving the arena.
"Just who was that?" Donald asked.
"Gawrsh, it seemed like he knew who Arthur and Sora are." Goofy said.
"Whoever he is, he's dangerous." Arthur said.
"We'd better be careful when seeing him from now on." Eilonwy said.
Unknowing to them, Hades watches and smiles evilly.
"So, that guy's Belial, huh? He's got interesting power to push those jokers. Maleficent, the Doc, and Ruber are gonna have a field day about this." Hades said, leaving.
The group return to the lobby and Phil takes out a papyrus.
"Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further…" Phil was cut off.
"You have got to be kidding!" Max said annoyed.
"Yeah, what do you mean 'junior heroes'?" Donald asked also annoyed.
"Look, we might have defeated Cerberus, but we're still kinda far off from being heroes." Eilonwy said.
"She's right. You rookies still got a long way to go to be true heroes." Phil said.
"So, how do we become true heroes?" Goofy asked.
"Well, that's something you'll have to figure out for yourselves, just the way I did. Here's some advice; look into your heart. That's the first step." Hercules said.
"No problem. We'll start by proving ourselves in the games." Sora said.
"I like your enthusiasm, kid, but there won't be any games for a while. Thanks to Cerberus' rampage, I gotta clean up the entire arena after that battle." Phil said.
"Then we'll come back later." Arthur said, as they leave.
"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus. What's more is even that scrawny blond one managed to help out and if you ask me, he's easily the weakest one outta them in my opinion." Phil said.
"Speaking of which, about that kid, Arthur, was it? You said he looked like Uther, right?" Hercules asked.
"Yeah, the kid kinda resembles him a bit. Dunno if there's a relation between the two." Phil said.
"Hmm, well, I think Arthur and Sora got some potential for kids their age, just like Uther proved himself." Hercules said.
"Yeah, but I doubt they'll stand a chance against you, Champ." Phil said.
The group begin going for the gates, only to find Natsu and Cloud sitting on the gate stairs.
"Hey, there's Natsu." Arthur said.
"And Cloud's here too." Max said.
"Hey, you two okay?" Sora asked.
"Yeah." Cloud said.
"Look, sorry for what happened back there. We did what we had to do." Natsu said.
"So, um, why'd you go them him anyway?" Arthur asked.
"We're looking for someone. Hades promised to help. We tried exploiting the darkness, but it backfired." Cloud said.
"There's no way I'm gonna be facing everyone in Fairy Tail now, let alone Luce. She'd hate me if she found out." Natsu said.
"You know Lucy?" Arthur asked.
"Yeah, why?" Natsu asked.
"She's just fine. She's in Traverse Town with Erza, Leon, Gray, Yuffie, and Aerith." Goofy said.
"Aerith…?" Cloud asked.
"Really?! Luce AND Erza are fine?! That's awesome! Of course, it's also great Ice Princess is safe too, but still… Lucy's safe!" Natsu said.
"You wanna see her?" Arthur asked.
"As much as I really wanna, I'm not ready to face her just yet. Gotta find my light first." Natsu said.
"Same here." Cloud said.
"You'll find it. Both of you." Sora said.
"Yeah, we're searching too." Arthur said.
"For your lights?" Cloud asked and they nod. "Here, don't lose sight of it." Cloud said, giving Sora a new ability known as Sonic Blade.
"Arthur, thanks for tellin' me Luce is okay. If you see her again, tell her I'll see her again soon." Natsu said.
"I will." Arthur said.
"Thanks. Here, take this as an apology." Natsu said, giving Arthur a purple stone known as Magicflash.
"What's this?" Arthur asked.
"I found this when I was separated from my friends. Apparently, this stone holds an interesting power. I think you deserve it more." Natsu said.
Natsu and Cloud start to walk off.
"Hey, how 'bout a rematch sometime? Fair and square and no dark powers involved?" Sora asked.
"And maybe not so much fire that can burn severely." Arthur said.
"Why not. I'm game." Natsu said, grinning.
"I think I'll pass." Cloud said, flipping his hair and small smiling and the two leave.
"Well, it's time to go too." Donald said.
"Yeah, we got more worlds to see and people to find." Robin said.
"Come on. Let's get going." Eilonwy said, as the party make their way for the gates and leave the Coliseum.
Later, it's nighttime and a figure of Hercules is flexing his muscles in Hades' palm.
"He's strong, he's kind, he's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot. He's perfect, perfect…perfectly INFURTATING! HE MAKES ME CRAZY!" Hades shouted, turning red, as orange flames erupt before turning blue again to calm down. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What''ve you got to worry about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Okay, Hades, here's what you gotta do; let Hercules train the kids and in the games, I'll take care of 'em all!" Hades said, clenching his fists.
Just then, three people appear behind Hades and they're the same dark-skinned man, the green woman, and Ruber.
"Ah, Maleficent, Doctor, and Ruber. Just the guys I wanna see." Hades said.
"What is it you want from us, Hades?" Maleficent asked.
"This better be important to have us come all this way." The Doctor said.
"You're not gonna believe this. After those squirts defeated Cerberus, someone else arrived and he's not with the annoying brats. His name's Belial and I think he'd make a good addition to our fold, considering his power, which he used to give those jokers trouble." Hades said.
"You mean to tell me that someone with great power is acting on his own and he actually proved too much for those annoying fools?" Ruber asked.
"I saw how he fought and think he'd be useful." Hades said.
"This could prove very interesting." Maleficent said, smiling evilly.
"All we have to do is keep tabs on this Belial fellow and think about recruiting him." The Doctor said.
"Hmph, fine by me! He could even be more useful for making trouble for the fools!" Ruber said.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a show to run." Hades said.
"As you wish. Fight to your heart's content." Maleficent said, as the trio of villains leave the Coliseum.
