We Are The Underworld, We Are The Children... (Kingdom Hearts 2) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy have embarked on a journey to stop Organization XIII and the Nobodies. In support of the efforts of King Mickey, they are to halt the machinations of the Organization on any world they find, ultimately in an attempt to discover the home base of the Nobodies. Despite having battled and defeated a few of its number at Castle Oblivion, none of the trio even remember the Organization or Castle Oblivion. So it is a shock when, in Hollow Bastion, they are confronted by the remainder of Organization XIII. Still, the trio sets out on new adventures from there. They help a pair of friends, Mushu and Mulan, to protect the Land of Dragons from the evil Shan-Yu, leader of the Huns, and the Heartless. Their next journey took them to Beast’s Castle where they reunited with Belle, saved Beast’s servants from captivity, and freed Beast from a spell cast on him by Xaldin, the Organization’s number III. They managed to reunite Beast and Belle and chase off Xaldin, for the time being. After that mission, they were drawn back to Hollow Bastion by Merlin, who had found Pooh’s story book. As Merlin went to find the others, Sora hopped back into the book to visit his old friend, Pooh. However, time seemed to stop and Sora was thrown from the pages of the book to find that the Heartless had invaded Merlin’s house and made off with some of the pages of the book. When Sora went back in to check on Pooh, Pooh had completely forgotten not only Sora, but all of his friends. Sent on another journey to seek the pages of the book and with his first new summon charm to call Chicken Little to his aid, Sora and crew set out for the only unexplored world left to them at the moment, the Olympus Coliseum. Eager to check in on Phil and Hercules, the crew disembarks on yet another adventure…

Now…

Inside the Coliseum itself, Hercules battled a Rock Titan. He swung the great beast around and threw it from the arena, standing victorious in front of a cheering crowd. Meanwhile, the trio seemed to be in some sort of underground cave. Confused at their surroundings, Goofy asked Sora if he is sure they are in the Coliseum. Donald pointed to a large door at the other end of the clearing and said that the Coliseum was that way. Sora figured they just landed a little bit off. As the trio almost reached the door, a scream came from behind them and they looked back to see a woman being chased by Heartless hounds of some sort. The trio rushed to help the woman, chasing the Heartless away and reaching down to help her up. The woman ignored their outstretched hands and said she was fine. She asked who they were supposed to be. Sora introduced himself, Donald, and Goofy. He told her they had come to see how Hercules was doing. She was surprised that they knew Hercules, who she referred to as Wonderboy. Donald bragged that they were heroes too. Goofy reminded him that Phil only gave them the title of Junior Heroes. The woman laughed and introduced herself as Megara, Meg for short, and said it seemed as if they had a friend in common. Sora asked how Hercules was. She said that Herc was busy duking it out in the Coliseum every day. He was ready to drop, but he kept on fighting. The enemies he was fighting were special deliveries from Hades himself. Donald squawked at the name and Meg said that she was on her way to the Underworld to see him. She figured she could get Hades to give Herc a rest. Goofy, intuitive as ever, seemed to sense that Meg and Herc were more than just friends. Sora offered to go and talk to Hades for Meg. He hated the thought of something happening to a friend of Hercules while he was around. Meg was thankful for the offer, but suggested that they keep the whole chat with Hades thing between the four of them. Sora said that their lips were sealed. As the trio readied for their trip into the Underworld, Meg warned them that the Underworld was supposed to sap a person’s strength and to watch out for falling rocks. As the trio journeyed into the Underworld, they encountered the Heartless hounds again, finding out from Jiminy that they were called Rabid Dogs. As they entered a series of tunnels, they spotted a cloaked figure darting farther along the path. Donald warned Sora that the Organization was around. Sora said he had seen the figure, though there was nothing to do but to keep going.

The trio made it through the tunnels and into a clearing only to find the cloaked figure screaming to run away before it disappeared into a dark portal. Sora and company were clearly confused by the actions of the Organization member, but moved further on. They found a dark book floating in midair, nearby. Sora read the cover and told Donald it was called Absent Silhouettes. Goofy asked if they really wanted to touch it. They couldn’t be too careful in the Underworld, after all. Sora agreed, suggesting it might be a trap of some sort. The trio continued on into the next room. Meanwhile, further on, Hades could be heard talking, wondering where they dug up these freaks. Pete’s voice responded that they were nothing but trouble, the whole lot of them. Then he asked what Hades was going to do about Hercules. Herc had made mince meat out of every fighter Hades had sent after him. Pretty soon, the Underworld would be standing room only. Pete suggested that Hades should just pick somebody already dead and save Herc the trouble. Hades shot out of his throne, but paused as Pete shrunk back. Hades thought about it for a second and realized dead was a great idea and he knew just the warrior. As they spoke, the trio arrived in a new room, causing Donald and Goofy to shake all over with fright. Sora just walked forward and called out Hades, but got no response. As they made their way along the paths floating precariously above a molten green liquid far below, the trio encountered a new (to them) Heartless, the Creeper Plant. The Creeper Plants shot seeds at the trio and attacked with their roots, but the trio made short work of the stationary Heartless and moved on.

Back in Hades throne room, Pete looked down into a green abyss and asked what was down there, terror shaking his voice. Hades said it was just the Underworld’s deepest dungeon. This time Hades was bringing out the mother of all bad guys. Pete slowly backed away and though this might be a good time for him to go. Hades ignored him and conjured two fireballs, throwing them into the pit. As smoke rose, a figure could be seen in the haze. The smoke cleared and a man in a red coat with black hair stood before Hades as the God of the Underworld cackled with delight. Hades cut to the chase. He offered the man a chance to be free of his cage all for one little job: fight Hercules in the Coliseum to the death. The man said that this was his story and Hades wasn’t part of it. The man drew his very large sword and stood in a fighting stance, staring Hades down. Hades yelled at the man that he had forgotten who he was talking to. Hades said that he was the Lord of the Dead. The man, his right eye shut, presumably due to the injury that caused the scar across it, said that no wonder nobody wanted to die. Hades erupted into red flame and launched himself at the man, telling him that he was fired. The man swung his sword and blocked Hades’ attack. Just then, the trio arrived and saw Hades. Hades, distracted, eased up for just long enough to allow the man to slash at him and knock the God of the Underworld backwards into a wall. The man launched himself at Hades, but Hades blocked the attack and knocked the man to the ground. As he conjured more fireballs, however, Sora came to the man’s aid and stood between him and Hades. As the man recovered, the trio stood ready for Hades attack. However, none of their attacks landed. Donald said something was wrong and Sora admitted that he felt kinda funny. Hades said they should. In the Underworld, heroes are zeroes – comes with the territory. As Hades attacked, the man recovered and leaped in front of them, slashing and forcing Hades to transport backwards. The man told them to run. Sora argued that he had to talk to Hades. Hades put his fingers in his ears as if he couldn’t hear Sora. Sora charged, but the man held him back. He told Sora that they couldn’t fight Hades here. They had to run! Sora reluctantly ran from the room behind the man, whose name was Auron, as Hades threw fireballs at them. As the trio escaped down the stairs to the throne room, Sora and Goofy shut the giant stone doors to the stairway behind them. Donald took a quick breather and asked if Hades was gone. Auron told him not to count on it. On cue, Hades appeared right beside Sora and asked if they were leaving so soon. As Hades summoned the Heartless to attack the group, Sora and Auron activated their dual limit, Bushido, and cleared a path, allowing them to make a run for it. After a tough battle where the group did their best to dodge Hades while destroying the Heartless blocking their path, they finally managed to make it back to the tunnels. As they gained their breath, Sora was impressed at Auron’s skill and asked if he was some kind of hero. Auron said that he was no hero. He was just an… Auron. Goofy was confused. Auron said that was his name. The trio introduced themselves to Auron, who seemed to believe they were fated to meet. Perhaps they needed a guardian. Sora thanked him for the offer, but said they were plenty capable of protecting themselves.

Back in his throne room, Hades contemplated what to do while Pete bragged about having Heartless all over the Underworld now. He told Hades to just focus on turning Hercules into a Heartless. Hades spun on Pete and flamed up. He told Pete that this was HIS Underworld. He would handle this HIMSELF. Hades snapped his fingers and Cerberus appeared in a nearby window. Hades commanded him to go and Cerberus took off. The trio made it to the entrance of the Cave of the Dead, but found the door back to the entrance of the Underworld chained up. Donald noticed that the chain was held together by a giant lock with a keyhole in it. Sora drew his Keyblade. Auron asked if that would open it. Sora thought that it would. But as he was about to open the lock, Cerberus appeared and attacked. Auron fought off the three-headed beast as the trio made their escape, but Sora turned back and ran to Auron’s side to fight Cerberus, once more. Cerberus attacked much as he had in Sora’s previous adventures by slashing, leaping into the air, and snapping with his teeth, but Sora and Auron led off with a Bushido attack, taking away half of Cerberus’ health right away. Sora and Auron continued to fight back and forth with Cerberus’ three heads, wearing the great beast down. As Sora attacked, he was caught by the two outer heads. The middle head looked down in triumph and snapped at Sora, but Sora managed to wriggle free and block the attack with his Keyblade. As the middle head struggled, Sora managed to leap free and slashed down with a huge attack, knocking Cerberus for a loop. As Sora’s magic charged to full, the duo unleashed another Bushido attack that finished the beast off for the time being. Donald called to Sora to make a run for it and both Sora and Auron managed to get free. The trio turned around and stuck their tongues out at Cerberus as the door closed behind them.

In the Coliseum’s entry room, Meg spoke to Herc and told him to take a break for a day. Herc said that the fans had come to see him, a hero, and he couldn’t let them down. Meg looked down, but Herc jumped up and put on his hero façade, telling Meg that he would be fine. What did a hero need rest for anyway? As Herc entered the arena, Meg looked into the distance and told Sora not to let her down. Meanwhile, back in the Underworld, the trio looked around and realized that Auron had disappeared. Sora said that Auron was capable of taking care of himself. He suggested that they go find Meg and then they could try this again. As they escaped the Underworld and made their way to the Coliseum, Hades sat in his throne as Pete, Pain, and Panic waited on the Lord of the Dead to make a plan. Hades asked if Sora’s Keyblade would work on any lock. Pete said that he was right on. Hades asked if he had ever told Pete about the killer coliseum they had right there in the Underworld. It made the one upstairs look like an Olympic kiddie pool. Pete said that was the place they could use to end Herc’s winning streak…and his life. Hades said there was one problem: Zeus had locked it up tight. Hades realized there was only one thing to do: swipe the Keyblade and open up the Underdrome. Pete hated to rain on Hades’ parade, but that Keyblade wouldn’t just work for anybody and Sora was no pushover. Hades thought that it might call for a woman’s touch. He snapped his fingers and made an image of Megara appear in his hand. In the Coliseum, Meg wrapped her arms around herself as a cold feeling crept up on her. Outside, the trio arrived in front of the Coliseum. Goofy said the sight sure did bring back memories. As they approached the doors of the Coliseum, they opened and Herc emerged, looking beat. The hero cheered up at the sight of his old friends, however, and asked when they had gotten there. Herc asked if they were on another adventure. Sora said there were tracking down some friends, wiping out some Heartless. The usual. Sora and Herc shook hands. Inside the entrance room, Herc asked if they had found Sora’s friends. Sora said they were still working on it. When they had gotten here, they had run into Meg. Sora suddenly remembered they had promised to keep their meeting with Meg hush-hush, so he stumbled, saying he meant they had run into mega trouble, so they’d had to help someone out. They had tried to teach Hades a thing or two, but the Underworld had sapped their strength. Sora asked if Herc had any ideas. Herc mentioned a stone that guarded against the Underworld’s curse. The gods on Mount Olympus used it whenever they had to go down there. Sora asked if they might be able to borrow it. Herc figured that would be find and said he would go get it for them. Donald and Goofy thanked Herc, but Herc warned them that Hades wouldn’t be a pushover, even with the Olympus Stone. And Herc himself had a match today, so he wouldn’t be able to go with them. Herc figured what they could use was some training and said they should go talk to Phil. Sora thought that was a great idea. Herc took off to retrieve the Olympus Stone while the trio was left to find Phil for some good, ol’ fashioned training.

Inside the Coliseum battleground, the trio found Philoctetes inspecting some urns. Phil heard the steps approaching from behind him and, assuming it was Hercules, told him that he better rest up for the match tomorrow. Nobody was going to pay to see a worn out hero. He said that victory in the games came down to two simple words. Knowing what to expect, Goofy counted along on his fingers. Eat, bathe, sleep! The trio laughed at something that was so typically Phil. Phil spun around with a fist, but smiled brightly and ran to the trio when he realized it was his old friends. Sora told Phil he was looking good. Phil asked how they had been. Had they earned their “true hero” wings yet? The trio stood around and thought about it, which was apparently enough for Phil to decide they still didn’t have what it took to make the jump from junior heroes. He asked what they were up to. Sora filled him in on the situation with Hades. Phil laughed heartily at that one. Donald asked what was so funny. Phil gave them an appreciative look and figured they had developed some nerves of steel. He shrugged and said that stranger things had happened than three junior heroes taking on the God of the Underworld. With that, Phil said they better get cracking. Phil set them to work. Their first task was to break some pots and retrieve as many orbs as they could within the time limit. As Sora worked through his training, Herc returned from Mount Olympus. Sora approached Herc, along with the rest of the group. Phil told Herc that he had to take off for a bit. Sora asked where he was going. Phil told him it was none of his beeswax and left the Coliseum. Hercules apologized to the trio immediately. The Olympus Stone had been stolen! As the trio wondered who could have done it, Herc told them the gods did not know yet. All they knew was that it was some guy in a black-hooded cloak. Organization XIII! Herc asked if it was someone they knew. Sora said that he thought so. Sora asked Herc if they could borrow the Olympus Stone if they could get it back. Hercules figured that would be fine, then asked if they had seen Meg around anywhere. The trio shook their heads and Herc slumped. Just then, Hades appeared! He mocked Hercules for acting like he was feeling under the weather. He thought staying in perfect shape was part of the hero job description. Sora, thick as ever, stepped forward and told Hades that they had to talk. Hades just used a spell to knock Sora back. Hades said he had just come to share an interesting bit of news. It seemed that Meg had gotten herself a little lost in the Underworld. Hercules accused Hades of kidnapping her. Hades said that might be the case, but why get caught up in the details? Herc whistled and Pegasus appeared to whisk Herc off to save Meg. Hades told him he couldn’t leave. He had a very important match today against the bloodthirsty Hydra. If Herc didn’t stick around, who knew what kind of “accidents” might happen. Sora pointed out they were accidents that Hades caused. Hades reminded him that he didn’t care about the details. Herc called Hades a coward. As the Lord of the Dead disappeared, he admitted that they couldn’t all be heroes. Herc asked if Sora and company could handle this. Donald said they were heroes. Of course they could! Goofy reminded him again that they were junior heroes. Sora told Herc to take care of the Hydra and they would take care of the rest. Herc told Sora he was counting on them before telling Pegasus to find Meg. Pegasus took off and the trio left the arena to find Meg and Hades themselves.

The trio arrived back at the entrance to the Underworld to find Phil laying on the ground. Phil slowly got back to his feet as the trio ran to his side. Sora asked what had happened. Phil said he had spotted this strange guy dressed all in black. Phil had chased him, but the guy had turned on him. Next thing he knew, he was seeing stars. Sora told Phil that the cloaked guy was the one who had stolen the Olympus Stone. Goofy asked where he had run off to and Phil pointed towards the Underworld. Phil said the guy was a bad apple, all right. And all he had wanted was to find a backup hero. Just in case Herc needed to take a break. Sora told him that he could have just asked. Phil looked shocked and asked if they knew someone. The trio drew their weapons. Phil chuckled and said that had been a good one. The trio ignored his sarcastic response and took off after the black cloaked villain. Back above ground, the crowd chanted for Hercules who managed to defeat the mighty Hydra. Herc said that he appreciated their applause as he sprinted from the Coliseum to search for Meg. Back in the Underworld, the trio moved farther into a different part of the Underworld where they ran into a new Heartless known as the Trick Ghost. The Trick Ghost attacked with slashes and dark fireballs, but the heroes were up to the task as they made their way deeper into the Underworld. As they walked, Sora shook his arms. This Underworld curse was really getting to him. Goofy said that they had to get the Olympus Stone back fast. The trio continued on, facing more Heartless and finding some treasure and puzzle pieces before, in the Atrium of the Underworld Caverns, they finally found the cloaked man. The cloaked figure stood outside of a door but turned as he became aware of the trio. The man took off his hood to reveal a spiked head of hair. The guy took a close look at Sora and said to wait a sec…Roxas? Sora said, “Excuse me?” The guy said Roxas again, but decided it was no use. Sora asked what he was talking about. The man took a card out of his pocket and began reading off it. It said that if the subject failed to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition. Right. He said they sure picked the wrong guy for this one. Sora shook his head and told the guy that he was bizarre. The guy took the Olympus Stone out of his pocket. Goofy said that he must be the thief. Well done, Inspector! You deserve a medal for that top notch bit of police work there. The guy said that was just plain rude and raised the stone above his head, surrounding himself with a protective aura. Sora and company drew their weapons as did their opponent, who drew a weird shaped sitar of some sort. The man conjured up a hundred watery version of himself that danced around, forcing Sora and crew to defeat them before time ran out. Sora took advantage of a reaction command that allowed him to grab ahold of the forms when they changed shape and use them as a weapon against the other forms. After a minute or so, the trio finally wiped out all of the forms created by the Organization’s number IX, Demyx. Defeated, Demyx told Roxas to just comeback to them before disappearing into a black portal. Sora said that guy was a broken record. Donald noticed that they guy had dropped the Olympus Stone and brought it to Sora, who raised it high in the air and broke the Underworld’s curse over all three of them. As the trio ran towards the door, Goofy noticed that Demyx was standing right behind them again. Sora sighed and wondered what he was doing there again. Demyx told him not to be like that, especially when he was there to tell them something even better about the Olympus Stone. Absent Silhouettes, the shadows of the slain. Sora remembered the book he had encountered before. Demyx told them the form depended upon the former owner. He said that the owner was now nothing more than a shadowy presence, but Sora could still fight them, of course. As he did, it would slowly awaken the real “him”. Sora asked what in the world that Demyx was talking about. Demyx said that he was the hero. He could figure it out himself. Demyx disappeared into a black portal once more, leaving Sora with more questions than answers. Like what was An Absent Silhouette, anyhow? Donald told him to save it for later. They had to save Megara. Sora agreed and the trio took off.

In the next room, the trio found a silhouette that looked like Megara on a stone that also contained a keyhole. Sora unlocked the keyhole and the stone disappeared, leaving a hole in the ground. Sora stepped into the hole and found Hades standing next to Meg, who was in chains. Hades thanked Sora for his help in opening this place and told him to have a nice day before disappearing. Meg yelled for Sora to look behind him. Pete had appeared with a swarm of Hook Bats at his disposal. He seemed sad that Sora and company couldn’t fight in the Underworld, sarcastic as it was. Sora told him that he better think again as Pete told the Heartless to charge. Sora and crew fought off the Hook Bats and took the fight to Pete as Sora changed into his Valor Form. However, Sora realized they were outnumbered and, after breaking Meg’s chains, said it was time to go. Pete seemed supremely confident until, out of nowhere, Hercules arrived and took him out. Hercules ran up to Meg and apologized for being late. Pete got to his feet, only to have his head trampled as Pegasus flew by. Herc told Sora and Pegasus to get Meg out of there. He said he would meet them back at the Coliseum. Sora asked what he was going to do. Herc said he was going to show these guys what happened when they messed with a true hero. Pegasus took off first and the trio made a run for it. Pete tried to catch them, but Herc intercepted him before Pete could reach them. Outside the area, Pegasus landed and Meg told Sora that she wouldn’t leave Herc. Sora said that he would be fine, but Meg was worried still. Even Herc had his limits. He wouldn’t be able to keep winning forever. Sora said they would go back Herc up and Donald told Pegasus to get Meg out of there. Back in the Underdrom, Pete attacked with a whole host of Heartless. Hercules was getting tired, but Sora arrived just in a nick of time to back him up. Pete got up to his old tricks of summoning Heartless, rolling bombs, and protecting himself with a barrier, but he was no match for the combination of Hercules and the trio. Pete finally gave up, saying that this place gave him the creeps and that he would deal with them next time. Pete ran away as the cave began to collapse. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Hercules made a run for it, as well. Meanwhile, Hades reappeared and wondered if today could get any better. He said, this time, Hercules was going down for good. The group managed to make it back to the entrance to the Underworld, where Hades caught up with them. He told Hercules that he had really messed up this time. Sora told him that nobody liked a sore loser. Hades told him to can it! Herc stepped up and said the same thing to him. Hades shrugged and told Herc that maybe he should go and check on that Hydra that he had neglected to finish off. Hades disappeared in a puff of smoke. Sora told him to come back and fight. Hades said that he hated to run, but he had another little diversion to attend to. Hercules took off in the direction of the Coliseum and the trio followed him up.

Back above ground, Hercules sunk to his knees upon discovering that the Coliseum was completely destroyed. The trio ran up beside him, as did Meg and Phil, happy to find Herc safe. Herc, however, was devastated. He had failed. He had left everyone unprotected. Herc said that Hades was right about him all along. Phil tried to cheer him up. He told Herc that he hadn’t trained him to think like that. Sora ran up beside him and agreed with Phil. This was no time for Herc to beat himself up. Herc, completely devastated and worn out, allowed Meg to help him away from the wreckage. Donald said that Herc needed help and it was up to the trio to take care of business. Phil, Meg, and Pegasus ran up too and said they were going to help, as well. As the Hydra attacked, Sora and company managed to destroy one of its heads…only to have two more spring up in its place! Sora did his best to wear the Hydra down when he noticed Phil standing amongst the ruins of the Coliseum. Phil yelled at Sora to jump onto the Hydra’s back. Sora did just that and Phil tossed an urn to Sora, which Sora used to spike down onto the Hydra, stunning his heads. After destroying the stunned heads, the Hydra managed to sprout out even more heads. As the trio dodged and darted to avoid the lighting and biting attacks of the Hydra, Pegasus flew down and Sora jumped on his back, flying in and out and around the heads, striking where he could. Finally, after twisting all the heads around each other, Sora activated his Valor Mode and struck, finally destroying the Hydra, once and for all.

After the battle, Herc sat amongst the rubble of the Coliseum, moping that he had let everybody down. Meg told him that it wasn’t his fault. Even a god would be exhausted by what Herc had gone through. Sora told Herc that she was right. He just needed to give himself a chance to rest. Goofy added that there wouldn’t be any Games for awhile, anyway. Meg told them not to worry about Herc. She would look after him. Meg said that she owed the three of them big time. Sora told her it was no big deal. Just to let them know if Hades or the Heartless started acting up. They would take care of it. Donald agreed, saying that was what heroes were for! Meg asked when the three of them had made hero. Sora looked sideways and said they could save that for another time. For now, they had to hit the road. Meg told them not to be strangers. Goofy said that he hoped Hercules felt better soon. Phil told them that they had some serious training to catch up on the next time they came by. Sora suddenly remembered the Olympus Stone, but as he went to hand it to Hercules, it shone out brightly and lit a Keyhole in the sky, allowing Sora to open up a new pathway of light to a new world, somewhere. Sora received the Hero’s Crest keyblade for saving the day.

Back in Hollow Bastion, Maleficent asked where everyone else had gone. Pete said it beat him. He figured they must have had some other matters to deal with. Maleficent couldn’t fathom that anyone had more important affairs to attend to other than her return. Pete said that there was this Organization XIII that kept getting in the way. Maleficent said to let those fools play their little game. Pete asked what they were going to do about Sora. He had been a real pain, too. Maleficent seemed surprised and turned, ordering Pete to tell her what had happened during her absence.

Meanwhile, back in Disney Castle, Queen Minnie searched through the library for an old album when Chip and Dale ran into the room, yelling about something. They said that something was wrong in the Hall of the Cornerstone. There were really sharp thorns everywhere! The duo guided Minnie to the hall, where Minnie saw the truth with her own eyes. Minnie lowered her head and prayed that Mickey could hear her, wherever he was. The castle was in danger and they needed to do something about it soon! She prayed to Donald and Goofy, as well, wondering where they all were. Back in the Gummi Ship, the trio found that there was a new pathway of light that led to Disney Castle. HOME!!! Donald and Goofy were excited at the prospect of returning home and set a course for the castle, not knowing that there was a great danger waiting for them upon their return…