Disclaimer: Ok everyone, I am not going to lie, I was listening to some music on the Apple Music app, but it got boring after a while, so I went to listen to some songs on YouTube as, in my opinion, music there is much better when one song came up and got me interested, so I looked at the title and it was a song that was from a movie. So I looked it up and now I am stumped because I want to incorporate it into the current arc, but it would mean losing one of the worlds I planned earlier. So I would like your guys opinion as to the remaining four worlds the Mane Six and friends will visit as I want them to go to Mobius as the final world, so I want you to select from the five worlds they could visit based on the titles of the movies and I shall go with it and majority will win. The titles of the movies are: Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, Raya and the Last Dragon, Pocahontas, and Anastasia. The remaining four worlds they will visit is in your guys hands now, where shall they go? I shall view the comments after the a while to see what the majority says and that's what we shall do. All rights of My Little Pony, Sonic the Hedgehog, Star Wars, Kingdom Hearts, and all the Disney movies are reserved to the original creators and companies as I do not legally own them. Any use of titles, characters, items, and other content are for entertainment purposes only. Thank you all and hope you enjoy.
Chapter 120: Heart of the Hero Part 2: Shadows from the Underworld
In Equestria, Midnight Skies and Rosy Hearts were standing in front of one another, both circling around the other as they waited for one of them to make the first move, Midnight ready to lunge at Rosy, but Rosy stayed back, feeling through the Force that Midnight was tense and very anxious. They then stopped circling one another and Midnight lunged for Rosy, both of them engaging in the fight they were expecting, Rosy blocking the first attack and then pushing Midnight back, each exchanging blows to their blades as they tried to hit one another, launching spells and leaping around as they dodged one another, the fight going on for a few minutes before they punched each other, exhausted from the fight as they breathed heavily while looking at one another. Midnight then regained her strength and charged again, but Rosy dodged the attack and Force pushed her away before lifting her up into he air, slamming her into the ground before throwing the dark warrior into a tree as she fell onto the ground, struggling to get up as Rosy walked towards her.
"Midnight, we really need to stop meeting like this." Rosy said. "We don't need to fight one another."
"Then you shouldn't have refused the Dark Overlord offer." Midnight replied, getting up and swinging her Keyblade to hit her opponent, which Rosy blocked. "He would have given you everything! A family, wealth, a father, everything!"
"And what would he ask for in return?" Rosy asked. "To harm the innocent? Betraying my friends? Letting him continue to ruin Equestria? Midnight, all he cares about is his experiments and his own needs. When was the last time he ever cared for his people? They're suffering."
"So what if they're suffering!?" Midnight asked, breaking up the lock and swinging, but Rosy kept leaping back as she swung. "My mother abandoned me, leaving me alone like I was garbage! Alone in the night, in an alleyway! No food, nothing to keep me warm, nothing! I only survived because somepony found me and brought me to an orphanage, but ten years later, I never found a home because of my eyes and because I was too old to families! All they want is babies to adopt or little fillies and colts, so I ran away to find my mother!" As she swung again, she had used up most of her energy to hit Rosy, loosing steam as she lifted her Keyblade, but when she brought it down, she collapsed onto her knees, crying as she relived the moment she found her mother, Rosy walking over and sitting next to her. "But when I found her, she pretended not to know me. She wanted nothing to do with me, saying I was nothing but a mistake, that she had a new life, one where she found someone rich who'd give her everything."
"Midnight..." Rosy said.
"And when she said she never loved me, saying I ruined her life, so she just wished I was never born." Midnight said, tears rolling down her eyes. "I... I... All I wanted was a mother, a father, a family. I just wanted to have somepony who'd love me like their daughter and when the Dark Overlord found me, he took me in, raised me and taught me everything about magic and combat, he was the father figure I needed."
"But did he love you?" Rosy asked. "Did he give you the love and care you really needed?"
"He... he did care." Midnight replied. "He gave me a home, food, everything."
"But love." Rosy replied. "He never loved you, did he?" Midnight looked to the blind pony, wanting to ignore her words and fight, but she thought about what she said, realizing she was right. "All he saw was a filly who was down on her luck, abandoned and unloved, so he knew you would be grateful for finding you and would do everything he asked." She then hugged Midnight, catching her off guard before hugging her back, tears rolling down her eyes. "You're better than this, you're a good pony. You don't need to listen to him anymore."
"But... what will I do then?" Midnight asked. "He... he raised me, trained me..."
"He used you." Rosy replied. "He didn't really care about you, just about his own interests. But there is a way to change that." Rosy then ended the hug, getting up and reaching her hoof down, which Midnight took it and was helped up by Rosy. "Help us to bring my father back."
"But... he won't accept me." Midnight said, looking to the doors. "How do you know he'll even accept me?"
"Because Twilight told me." Rosy replied. "When mom died, Twilight raised me with Spyro, telling me how much of a good heart he has. He took me in when I was a baby, I'm sure he'll do the same for you, but only if you let him into your heart, like he let his friends and me into his." She then looked to the door to Tartarus, Midnight looking to it as well as it led straight into the Underworld, determined to help. "I promise you, if you help us get him back, we'll make sure you get the family you deserve."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Midnight replied.
Rosy and Midnight then began walking on the direction of the doors to the underworld, Rosy putting her hoof on the doors before looking to Midnight, which she nodded her head before the pink unicorn mare pushed the doors open, walking into the prison to hopefully find the Heart Pieces in the worlds that are connected to the underworld. In the coliseum, May was using her aquatic magic to bend the water around and heal Hercules injuries, washing away the bruises and a few cuts while Phil was pacing anxiously as she was healing the hero of the people.
"Oh, I can't believe that Shadow Lord took Hercules down in one hit." Phil said. "How was he able to do that!?"
"As I said, the Shadow Lord, Raogrimm, is a very powerful Galka warrior." May replied. "He's immortal and can't be killed so easily. When he is killed, he resurrects twenty years later to restart the war and destroy all humans and humanoids everywhere. But how is he here? He was killed two years ago, so he shouldn't be back yet."
"I got two words for you as to who might be powerful enough to do such a thing: Hades." Phil said.
"Uh, that's only one word." Twilight said.
"Not the point sparkles." Phil replied. "The point is, Hades summoned some super powered bad guy and is using him to try and destroy Hercules. How do we compete with that!?"
"Well, May's Keyblade seemed to have damaged his armor." Twilight said. "That means ours should be able to do the same."
"So, your weapons are called Keyblades?" Knuckles asked. "Reminds me of Psyrox's weapons."
"Wait, did you say Psyrox?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, I did." Knuckles replied. "You know him?"
"Oh, do we ever!" Rainbow Dash replied. "He's a friend of ours and he's been helping us get the Heart Pieces."
"Which five of them are here." Twilight said. "If we win this, we can get the Heart Pieces and move to get the last one."
"Well, good luck with that." Knuckles replied. "Your Heart Piece is in the clutches of one Dr. Robotnick. He's using it to build a mechanical army, one that was too powerful for us to defeat."
"So how do we get the Heart Piece from this Dr. Robotnick?" Twilight asked.
"We'll worry about that later." May replied, finishing up Hercules healing. "First things first, we need to defeat the Shadow Lord before things get worse."
"So how do we defeat him?" Hercules asked, sitting up.
"Herc!" Phil shouted. "Boy am I glad you're ok."
"As ok as I can be." Hercules replied, rubbing his head. "So how do we beat him?"
"Unfortunately, I have no idea." May replied, sitting down. "A group of heroes defeated him a long time ago, and more heroes have beaten him ever since, but with each defeat, he grows stronger, learns from his mistakes, makes himself stronger and more hateful."
"So we have no way of beating him, great." Rainbow Dash said. "We know the Keyblades can hurt him, but we have no plan of fighting him."
"Well, he seemed pretty interested in May." Twilight said. "Seemed to think you were from this, Vana'diel. What is Vana'diel?"
"It is a world." May replied. "One of many to be precise. It's a world in constant war between the Enlightened Races and the Beastmen, which is an unofficial war, but Raogrimm rallied them together and brought forth the Crystal War, plunging the world into decades of war and conflict."
"So, who won?" Twilight asked.
"The Enlightened Races did." May replied. "However, it came at a heavy toll to both sides. Ands now he's back and with Hades help, who knows what's he'll do now that he knows of the other worlds existence. He must be destroyed."
"So, to destroy him, we need to shatter his heart, right?" Twilight asked. "But none of us are strong enough to defeat him."
"Alone, perhaps." May replied, getting up. "The heroes of old defeated the Shadow Lord as a team, so maybe if we did the same, it might be enough to defeat him."
"Well, count me in." Hercules said.
He tried to get up from the bed, but as he tried to, he collapsed to the ground, still dizzy from the hit to the head, which May helped him back into the bed.
"Sorry Hercules, you're in no shape to fight." May said. "My healing abilities are limited due to my exposure to the darkness. Your best bet is to let yourself rest and recover your strength. Besides, you already lost the fight, so I doubt you can be allowed back in the arena."
"Heh, just wait." Hercules replied. "I'll get back in that arena before long."
"Keep dreaming muscle brains." May replied. "As for the rest of us, we got a tournament to win."
May walked out of the room with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Knuckles, returning to the arena where the next match is going to start while on the other side oft he arena, Hades was watching the team come out as they got ready to face the next group of enemies before turning to the Shadow Lord, who was sharpening his blade to prepare for the next fight.
"Alright, I get you want wonder boy to join the Keyblade warriors, but why the interest in May?" Hades asked. "What makes her so special?"
"She's from Radiant Gardens is why she's special." The Shadow Lord replied. "Radiant Garden is a world where it is ruled by a royal family. For someone to come from there, they must have a large amount of magic in them and I want to see what she's capable of at full strength."
"Eh, I usually like to handle them when they are weak." Hades said. "Makes it easier and more fun, you know? Besides, you had Hercules right where you wanted him, you could have easily ended him, why spare him?"
"There is no honor is defeating a weakened enemy." The Shadow Lord replied. "I'm also interested in that weapon that damaged by armor, the key shaped one."
"The Keyblade?" Hades asked. "Oh, that's a nasty little thing. It can lock and unlock any lock, it's got some powerful magic, and it can break or reverse just about any spell or curse. But they're useless against me while in the underworld, unless they have the protection of the Olympus stone. Hey, that gives me an idea, what if I warp them to the Underdrome, since they aren't protected by the Olympus stone, the damage you receive will be reduced."
"No." The Shadow Lord replied. "I will not resort to such a cowardly tactic, for I shall fight them on the Coliseums arena and I shall destroy the woman called May."
"And the ponies?" Hades asked.
"They are to be spared." The Shadow Lord replied, shocking Hades. "They are not human, so there is no need to kill them."
"WHAT!?" Hades shouted, turning red before going back to blue. "You can't be serious!? Those ponies have Keyblades! Those with a Keyblade have been a thorn in my side for so long! I order you to destroy them!"
"I don't take orders from you, little god." The Shadow Lord replied.
"You serious!?" Hades exclaimed, completely red. "I'm the one who released you from your prison! I'm the one who gave you your freedom! So I'M the one calling the shots! If you don't obey willingly, then I'll just use your soul to make you obey!"
"You forget little god, I don't have a soul." The Shadow Lord replied, getting up and walking away. "Don't worry, Hercules will die and I will honor my word, but the ponies will live."
Hades was in utter shock, not believing that the guy he freed was refusing to obey him, which caused him to go from red to a crimson red, his anger reaching a boiling point.
"Don't get yourself into a fuss Hades." Maleficent said. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Yeah, but no one, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, disobeys me!" Hades shouted. "Oh, he's going to get what's coming to him. Trust me, he'll suffer for disobeying me." He looked back to the arena and saw that May and her allies were defeating the group of Heartless, seething with anger. "As for those ponies, I'm not going to put my chances of getting the Heart Pieces to the traitorous goat man looking thing, so I have another idea."
He waved his hand and a second later, the soul of a woman in a pink toga appeared in his hands as he smiled, his plan B ready to go while everyone else was too busy to notice her. In the arena, May had finished off the last of the Lance Soldiers, slicing clean through it and causing it to turn into mist as a heart was released from it, flying into the sky as Rainbow Dash landed on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Geez, those guys were tough." Rainbow Dash said. "Tougher than the last batch."
"Well it's only going to get harder." May replied. She looked to the opposing side and saw voids opening up to reveal a centaur looking Heartless with a large spear and heavily armored and several more Heartless with talismans on their heads and wearing ancient Chinese clothing, arms outstretched like zombies. "Nightwalkers and an Assault Rider! Stay on guard! The Assault Walker is a very dangerous type of Heartless."
"Strategy?" Twilight asked.
"It's dangerous at Close range, but less so from far away." May replied. "Hit it with ranged attacks. Magic spells that keep you distant from it."
"Not my style lady!" Knuckles replied. "I prefer up close and personal."
"Then take care of the Nightwalkers." May said. "They're strong, but can be beaten with enough physical damage."
The team then split up into different groups, May and Knuckles handling the Nightwalkers, dodging their slash attacks and dispatching them one at a time while Twilight tries to keep her distance from the Assault Rider, using fire and blizzard spells to damage it, but it kept charging towards her, forcing her to activate her armor to block the incoming damage, which the Beskar armor took the brunt of the hit, but sent her flying through the arena, slamming into the barrier, but she got back up, receiving no damage thanks to the armor. However, before the large Heartless to charge again, Rainbow Dash swooped down and struck it in the back, being an annoyance to the massive Heartless as it turned around to attack her, but she always zipped away and out of reach, giving Twilight an opening to cast more spells and dodge the Heartless's attack, using a large chunk of her mana to increase the strength of the fire spell she was using and sending it towards the Heartless, slamming into the armored creature as it exploded into a dark mist, Twilight collapsing from exhaustion and allowing a couple of Nightwalkers to approach, but Rainbow Dash zipped down and sliced through them both, saving her friend before flying towards the remainder of the dark creatures. In the caged off area, Hades was talking to a woman, which was the same one that he had the soul of as he was going over what he wanted her to do.
"Right, so you know what you need to do right?" Hades asked.
"Sneak in, get the trophy and get it to the underworld, I know, I know." The woman replied. "You sure you don't want to let your new friend take care of it?"
"Actually, no, I don't." Hades replied. "Let's just say he and I aren't on the level as of now. Now, get in there, take the trophy, and get out before anyone notices you. Do this, and you're off the hook, ok?"
The woman looked annoyed with the god of the Underworld, regretting the choices she made before turning her back to him.
"Fine, I'll do it." The woman replied. "But you better keep your word, otherwise I'll let Hercules know what you did and what you've done."
The woman then walked away from the god of the underworld, leaving him alone looking disappointed at his henchwoman.
"Ugh, everyone's a stiff today." Hades said.
"You should have chosen your flunkies a bit more carefully Hades." Maleficent said. "That woman will tell Hercules everything when she's freed."
"And that, my dear Maleficent, I already know." Hades replied. "Hence, I got a backup, backup plan." He then snapped his fingers and from the darkness, The Shadow Lord arrived, looking annoyed. "Ok big guy, you saw that woman, right?"
"I have." The Shadow Lord replied. "What about her?"
"Well, that's Megara, Hercules little girlfriend." Hades replied. "You want to get underneath his skin, just attack the one thing he cherishes more than the entire world! Once Megara gets the trophy into the underworld, eliminate her. This should be enough to force Hercules out into the open and throw him off balance to the point where he won't think straight."
"Anger the enemy, and they will make rash decisions." The Shadow Lord said. "I must admit, what you suggest is not a half bad idea. I shall do this."
The Shadow Lord turned around and walked out of the room and left the god of the underworld with Maleficent, which she turned to face the Galka warrior and give him a look of suspicion, knowing that Hades plan was going to backfire on him, walking behind the shadowy lord to see what he was truly up to. Up in the stands, Megara was sneaking through the corridors trying not to get caught by anyone as she looked for the trophy Hades was talking about as she looked through every room and every passage to find the massive cup, finally finding it near Hercules room. When she saw it, she was mesmerized by how it looked, a golden trophy with the frame of it looking like tendrils of light coming from the base of the trophy and at the end of each one was a small sphere with a light inside, each colored differently from blue, green, yellow, red, and purple, which the purple light decorated the top of the trophy as the head piece.
"So there you are." Megara said, approaching it. "Impressive. Now how am I going to get you out of here?"
"Meg?" Phil asked, scaring the woman.
"Phil!" Megara replied, taking in a deep breath. "You scared me."
"What are you doing in here?" Phil asked. "This is a restricted area."
"Sorry Phil, I kinda got lost." Megara replied. "I was looking for Hercules. I heard he got hurt."
"Well you're definitely in the wrong place sister." Phil said. "Herc is in the medical wing two doors down on your right."
"Thanks Phil." Megara replied, turning to the trophy. "I gotta say, this trophy is more stunning than the previous ones you gave out. How'd you get the crystals to glow like that?"
"I didn't." Phil replied. "They're actually glowing lights. What they are, I don't know. What I do know is they're pretty special to May and her friends."
"How so?" Megara asked.
"Because they're pieces to Spyro's heart." Phil replied, shocking Megara.
"Spyro's heart!?" Megara asked, looking to the trophy in shock. "But how?"
"Beats me." Phil replied. "All I know is that it's very important to them and they're in this competition to get them. If it were up to me, I'd give them the pieces in a heart beat, but they're already attached to the trophy, so my hands are tied. All I can do now is pray they win."
"Yeah, me too." Megara replied. "I'll see myself out Phil, you head back to the stands."
"Alright, but don't stay too long Meg." Phil said. "Don't want to miss too much of the action, do ya?"
"No, I guess not." Megara replied, watching as Phil left, turning to the trophy with an unhappy look. "Oh Spyro, I'm so sorry for what I am going to do. I wish I never made that deal in the first place." She then took the trophy from the counter, holding it as she looked into one of the spheres. "I hope you can forgive me for what I'm doing, because I don't want to do it at all. Hades has my soul after I traded it to save a man I loved, who betrayed me for another woman." She then fell to her knees, on the verge of tears as she held onto the trophy. "Please... forgive me."
She got up and walked out of the room, trophy in hand, but little did she know, Spyro appeared from within the mirror, having watched Megara take the trophy before his image disappeared as the door to the room shut. On the arena field, May and her team managed to mop up the rest of the Nightwalkers, Knuckles punching the last one towards May as she swung her blade upward, cutting it in half and releasing the heart as they all took a breather.
"Man, that was tough." Rainbow Dash said. "Are the rest going to be that difficult?"
"We're about to find out." May replied, seeing more voids open up. From them, a couple of Morning Stars appeared, spiked fists ready to go as more Armored Knights appeared to support the massive spiky balls and a few Surveillance Robots flew down to help as well. "Morning Stars, Armored Knights, and Surveillance Robots!? Oh boy, this is going to be a tough one. Girls, get your armor on!"
"On it!" Rainbow Dash replied, pressing the button on her necklace to encase herself in the Beskar armor.
A second later, the first Morning Star lunged forward, attempting to hit May, but Knuckles pushed her out of the way, getting hit as Rainbow Dash flew down and pushed back against the massive ball of metal, flinging it into a group of Armored Knights before flying up to attack the Surveillance Robots, letting Twilight and the rest of her take care of the Heartless on the ground. In the Underworld, Rosy Hearts and Midnight Sky were just walking out of Tartarus and passing through the barrier between Equestria and the Olympus Coliseum, a sudden shiver going down their backs as they entered into the Underworld, feeling weaker all of a sudden.
"So, this is the Underworld." Midngiht said, feeling weaker and weaker as they walked. "Why do I feel weak all of a sudden? What's happening?"
"That's the effect of the Underworld." Rosy replied. "This is the realm of the lord of the dead, Hades. Basically, here everyone is weaker. Only those protected by the Olympus Stone can use their full strength."
"And you're only telling me this now!?" Midnight exclaimed. "Oh great, fantastic! We're basically powerless here!"
"Not completely powerless." Rosy replied, calling her Keyblade. "We can still use our Keyblades, but we can't use our magic."
"Great."Midnight said. "Makes me regret even agreeing to do this."
They walked through the passage ways to reach the coliseum to see if they could help the Mane Six get the Heart Pieces, but as they were walking through the passageways, they ran into multiple Heartless, so they had to deal with them, which they were only a few shadows and some Rabid Dogs, so they were easy enough to deal with, but as they were taking care of the Heartless, Midnight noticed Megara was running through the passageway with the trophy in hand, avoiding the Heartless to get to Hades palace.
"Who's that?" Midngiht asked.
"Who?" Rosy asked.
"That woman there." Midnight replied. "Can't you see... oh sorry."
"Very funny." Rosy replied. "Come on, let's see what a woman's doing down here. And no more of those jokes."
"No promises." Midnight replied, smiling.
They approached the woman after dealing with the Heartless, which she noticed the ponies approaching her and stopped, wondering what they were and what they were doing in the underworld.
"Well, this is a surprise." Megara said. "A couple of colorful horses in the land of the dead? Pain, Panic, is that you?"
"Who?" Midnight asked.
"Who's Pain and Panic?" Rosy asked.
"Wait, you aren't Pain and Panic?" Megara asked. "Now I'm really surprised, and relieved. So who are you if you're not Pain and Panic?"
"I'm Rosy Hearts." Rosy replied. "And this is my friend, Midnight Sky. We're trying to get to the Olympus Coliseum."
"Well you're going in the right direction." Megara replied, pointing in the direction she came from. "Just follow that corridor and you should reach the stairway that connects the Underworld to the Olympus Coliseum."
"Thanks." Rosy said, walking in the direction Megara pointed to.
"Wait a minute." Midnight said, stopping Rosy. "Looks to me like-"
"What did I saw about seeing jokes." Rosy said, raising an eyebrow.
"No, no, I really mean it." Midnight replied. "There's something strange about the trophy she's carrying."
"Really?" Rosy asked, using the force to sense a powerful energy coming from the trophy, recognizing it. "You're right Midnight, that trophy has dad's Heart Pieces."
"Dad?" Megara asked. "Wait, you mean Spyro? He's your father?"
"Adoptive father, yes." Rosy replied. "We came here to help get the Heart Pieces and bring my dad back. What are you doing with them?"
"I'll be honest with you, Hades ordered me to steal them." Megara replied.
"What, why?" Midnight asked.
"Because he has my soul." Megara replied. "I made a deal with him to save the man I love from death, but he ran after another woman, abandoning me after I sacrificed my freedom for him."
"What a jerk." Midnight said. "You sacrificed yourself for him, why would he do that?"
"Beats me." Megara replied. "He pursued another woman, leaving me indebted to Hades for eternity. So he ordered me to steal the trophy with the Heart Pieces and in return, he'd return my soul to me."
"And you trust him to keep his word?" Rosy asked.
"He's many things, but he never backs down from a deal." Megara replied. "Once a deals made, Hades must uphold his end of the bargain no matter what."
"I'm pleased to hear this." A voice said.
Midnight and Megara looked in the direction of where the voice came from while Rosy used the Force to sense him, feeling a dark presence approaching them and calling her Keyblade, The Shadow Lord coming out from hiding with his blade at the ready, forcing everyone to back away.
"Who is that?" Midnight asked.
"The Shadow Lord." Megara replied. "Hades recent lackey. He's also known as Raogrimm."
"RAOGRIMM!" Rosy shouted.
"Look pal, Hades needed me to get this trophy to the Underworld." Megara said.
"And you have indeed brought it here." The Shadow Lord replied. "And Hades is thankful for your service."
"So I'm off the hook?" Megara asked.
"Indeed, you're off the hook." The Shadow Lord replied. "But..."
"But?" Megara asked.
"But, I think I should take that trophy off your hands." The Shadow Lord said. "Hades doesn't need it, so why should he have it in the first place?"
"You know better than to cross the god of the underworld!" Megara exclaimed. "He'll-"
"He means nothing to me." The Shadow Lord replied. "I have other plans for those Heart Pieces there."
"Run!" Rosy shouted.
Before they could have a chance to run away, a barrier appeared, blocking their escape, so Rosy and Midnight turned to look at the Shadow Lord, who had his weapon ready to go, so Rosy raised her Keyblade up while Midnight called her Keyblade, surprising Megara as she didn't expect the two ponies to have the same weapons that her friends use while also surprising The Shadow Lord.
"More of those Keyblades?" The Shadow Lord asked.
"Wait, who told you about the Keyblade?" Rosy asked.
"Hades told me about them." The Shadow Lord replied. "One of those weapons cut clean through my armor, which intrigues me as my armor is made from the toughest metal known to my kin."
"Guess it's not strong enough if it is damaged by a single Keyblade." Midnight said.
"Indeed." The Shadow Lord said. "But with the power of these Heart Pieces, I'm sure to be victorious in the fight ahead."
"Quick, get the trophy!" Rosy exclaimed. "We'll keep him busy!"
Rosy and Midnight leapt towards the Shadow lord with their Keyblades out, Rosy swiping low while Midnight swung high, but the Galka warrior blocked the the low attack with his sword while he grabbed Midnight's Keyblade and flung it away, grabbing Midnight by the neck and slamming her into the ground, creating a crater while Rosy leapt backwards, avoiding being grabbed while she engaged in a sword fight with the Galka warrior, though her abilities were limited due to the underworlds ability to drain hero's of their strength. Megara rushed over to the Trohpy and grabbed it, but the floor then started to crack, causing the woman to fall through and release the trophy, screaming as he held onto the edge of the cliff, getting Rosy's attention as she broke off her assault and went over to Megara and reached out with the Force, picking her up and levitating her over to them, but the Shadow Lord saw this as a opportune moment and stabbed his blade into the earth, causing it to crack and break apart until the ledge Rosy was on gave out, causing it to fall and the unicorn to scream as it fell, both Megara and Rosy screaming as they fell while the Shadow Lord just smirked.
"And thus, another hero falls." The Shadow Lord said. He walked over and saw the Trophy was still on the ground, picking it up as he smiled and walked past Midnight, who was slowly coming to when he walked away. "Do not fear, I shall not harm you. I do not harm animals, usually."
"Where's... Rosy?" Midnight asked.
"I sent her tumbling off the cliff." The Shadow Lord replied, pointing to the ledge. "She was very brave, but a fool."
"No!" Midngiht shouted, running to the ledge.
"Be the smart one here and leave." The Shadow Lord said. "This offer I shall only giver to you once. Don't waste it."
The Shadow Lord then walked away from the pony, who looked horrified as she looked over the edge of the cliff, feeling tears well up in her eyes as she felt like she lost her friend and a possible sister, feeling her heart break as she fell to her knees, crying for her loss. However, she felt something down the chasm, looking back down again as a bright white light shot out from the darkness, pass her and causing her to fall backwards, watching as the light flew down and release both Megara and Rosy, which they were both coughing when they looked back to the light and saw, to their surprise, Spyro smiling at them, planting his feet on the ground before kneeling to the ground, looking to Rosy.
"Dad." Rosy said.
"Hey Rosy." Spyro said. Rosy tried to hug him, but she just phased through him, almost falling to the ground if Midnight hadn't rushed over and grabbed her tail with her mouth, pulling her to safety. "Sorry Rosy, but in this world, I can manifest myself, but I'm intangible, so nothing solid can touch me."
"Still, it's good to hear your voice again daddy." Rosy said, tears rolling down her face.
"And I see you made some new friends." Spyro said, looking to Midnight. "Haven't seen you in a long time Midnight. Why are you hanging out with Rosy? You threatening her or something?"
"No, I'm not." Midnight replied, looking worried. "Rosy and I... we..."
"We decided to work together." Rosy replied. "I made her a promise."
"What kind of promise?" Spyro asked.
"To help her find a family that will love her." Rosy replied. "Her mother abandoned her, left her to die, so I want to help her find a family that will love and care for her."
"You mean me and AJ?" Spyro asked. "You want us to adopt her at the same time we adopt you?"
Rosy looked serious, walking up to her father and sitting before him, though she couldn't see him, she could feel him and reached her hoof out to touch him again, but her hoof passed through him, even though she knew it wouldn't work.
"I know it's a lot to ask this, but I really think she deserves better." Rosy replied. "She... she needs better than what she was given."
"Rosy..." Spyro said, reaching out his hand and stroking her face, the warm light on her face giving her a sense of comfort. "Even though you are not my blood, you are definitely my daughter." He then looked over to Midnight, who still looked nervous as she sat away from them. "If you can remember, where were you dumped when you were a baby?"
"An alleyway in Phillidelphia." Midnight replied. "I can't remember much else aside from the smell of fruits and vegetables."
"The Market district." Spyro said. "Alright, I'll see what I can do for you Midnight. As Rosy said, you deserve better."
"Thank you." Midnight replied, walking up to him.
"This is very touching and all, but how about we get out of here before we get attacked again." Megara said. "Don't fancy being lunch for those Heartless things."
"She's right." Spyro said, getting up. "It's too dangerous for you all to be here. Head back to the Coliseum, but be careful. Hades thinks you're dead and, I doubt my friends will be very happy to see you again Midnight."
"That's not a surprise to me." Midnight replied.
"Stick to the shadows and stay out of sight." Spyro said. "Raogrimm is tough, but he has one weakness that will be his undoing."
"And what's that?" Rosy asked, Spyro fading as she asked.
"Power." Spyro replied, completely fading as his voice echoed. "He hungers for power, so let him have it."
Midnight and Rosy were completely confused about why he would tell them to give Raogrimm power when it would only make him stronger, thinking he was out of his mind for thinking that, but they didn't have time to think about it and ran in the direction of the Coliseum, following Megara back towards the Coliseum to see what they could do to help, but mostly to get out of the Underworld and out of a dangerous environment. Back in the Coliseum, May and her team had finished off the previous round and were focusing on the next team, which consisted three Fortunetellers, Luna Bandits and a single Fat Bandit, which they had just finished off the Luna Bandits before focusing on the remaining Heartless, Hades looking calm as he watched the fighting going on as the Shadow Lord walked in, Hades turning around to look at him.
"Have you taken care of the problem?" Hades asked.
"You have nothing to worry about Hades." The Shadow Lord replied. "Your little thief is dead."
"Nice going there pal." Hades replied. "And the trophy?"
"It's safe and away from the heroes." The Shadow Lord replied.
"Nicely done." Hades replied. "You're up next bud, so I suggest you get ready because this next fight is going to be a doozy. And... do me one favor."
"And what is that?" The Shadow Lord asked.
"See if you can destroy the arena floor for me." Hades replied, pointing to the ground. "Underneath it is the River Styx, where all the souls of the dead float for all eternity. All I need you to do is knock them into the water and it will do the rest."
"And how does knocking them into the water help you?" The Shadow Lord asked.
"Don't worry about it, just get it done!" Hades exclaimed.
"What about the flier?" The Shadow Lord asked, looking to Rainbow Dash. "She won't be easy to throw into the water."
"I don't care how you do it, just make it so!" Hades replied. "Bind her or break her wings, I don't care how, just do it!"
The Shadow Lord looked out, observing his next opponents to see how they fought, watching the Pegasus fly around in the air, swooping down and striking at one of the Fortunetellers before flying back up, avoiding getting hit while watching May use her aquatic abilities to create tendrils of water, pinning the Fat Bandit to the ground before tossing it into the air, where Twilight unleashed several Blizzard spells into the air, destroying it before Knuckles took down another Fortuneteller, rushing to another one to take it down.
"The red one, they call Knuckles seems to rush into the fight without thinking." The Shadow Lord said, watching the battle unfold. "This will make him easy to handle. The purple unicorn however seems adept to magic, making her an excellent support for her team, so my primary focus should be on her to make sure she doesn't go healing anyone. The Pegasus however will be a nuisance as she seems to like the hit and run tactic, but seems pretty tough despite her ways of fighting. And the one called May... she's holding back."
"What makes you so sure of that?" Hades asked. "She seems to be at full strength to me."
"No, she's holding back for a reason." The Shadow Lord replied, watching the fight continue. "I can see it in her eyes, she's scared."
"Scared?" Hades asked. "Of what?"
"Herself." The Shadow Lord replied, leering at her. "She's scared of herself. And her power." He continued to watch her, seeing how she used her water magic before crossing his arms. "She uses water without hesitation, but she still holds more power than she lets on. I should know, I faced many hero's who held back, but when pushed to their breaking point, they unleashed their full potential, so I'm going to do the same thing for her."
"Wait, wait, wait, you want her to be at full strength?" Hades asked. "Why?"
"To see how strong she really is." The Shadow Lord replied. "She fears what she has, so I shall use that fear to my advantage." He then walked away from the god of the underworld and to the door leading into the arena, turning his head to look at him. "Make sure Hercules is part of the team when the fight begins, I'll handle the rest."
The Shadow Lord walked through the small opening and out onto the arena, which May and her team had already left to take a break from the fighting, going back to Hercules, which he looked refreshed and renewed, ready to go for another fight.
"May, I don't know what you did, but you are an incredible healer." Hercules said. "I feel like I could go another round or two."
"Well, you're going to need it before long wonder boy." Hades said, appearing in the corner of the room.
"Hades!" May and Twilight exclaimed, the three warriors calling their Keyblades.
"Hey, relax, I come in peace." Hades said. "I just wanted to wish Hercules good luck on his rematch against the Shadow Lord."
"He's already lost the tournament, so why would he compete again?" Phil asked.
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but, your little Nut-Meg, she's dead." Hades replied, causing Hercules to go pale.
"What?" Hercules asked. "No, it's a lie!"
"I hate to tell you that, but it's true." Hades replied. "You see, the Shadow Lord was looking for a way to bring you back into the fight, so I 'accidentally' dropped a hint that Megara was your girl and he went after her. I tried to stop him, truly I did, but he has no soul for me to control. I actually regret bringing him back. I'm sorry."
"No you're not!" May replied. "You planned this! You always try to find a way to harm or kill Hercules and this is one of those plans!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hades replied, turning to leave. Good luck fellas, I'll be routing for you."
Hades left the room, laughing under his breath as he left, leaving a traumatized Hercules behind and a very angry May, which she dismissed her Keyblade before looking back to Hercules.
"Don't listen to him Herc." May said. "He's trying to rattle your cage, trying to throw you off balance."
"Well it worked." Hercules replied, getting up. "I'm going to destroy him!"
"Herc, stop and think." Phil said.
"No!" Hercules exclaimed. "May, I'm joining your team and I'm going to kill that monster!"
"Hercules..." May said, watching as he walked out of his room with anger in his eyes, Knuckles crossing his arms at him.
"He's getting in over his head right now." Knuckles said. "He's not thinking clearly."
"No one thinks clearly when someone they love is killed." Twilight said, remembering when Spyro was lost to them. "He's not going to stop until he's had his revenge."
"So what do we do then?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"We help him." May replied, walking out, followed by everyone else. "Hercules won't take no for an answer, so we help him to defeat the Shadow Lord and end this entire thing."
"I hope you can." Phil said, walking with them. "This guy is tough. Tougher than most other contenders I've seen Hercules face so far. I pray that you can help him win, otherwise this might be his final battle."
They then approached the main door into the Coliseum, Hercules waiting for them to arrive before entering, Phil nodding his head, wishing them good luck as he walked away, the whole group walking into the arena where everyone was cheering for them, walking up the stairs and finding the Shadow Lord standing on the opposite side of the arena, smiling at them as he was ready to fight.
"Welcome little heroes." The Shadow Lord said. "Do your doom."