Part Of Your Underworld (Kingdom Hearts 2) in Gamer's Gaming

The Road So Far…

Sora, Donald, and Goofy awakened from their slumber a short time ago, and yet it already feels like ages have passed. The trio has engaged in battle with the Heartless, under the command of Maleficent and Pete, once again. On the other side, they have the Nobodies, led by the enigmatic Organization XIII who, unbeknownst to them, they have faced and defeated in battle previously. They have met the enemy on a few fields thus far. They defeated the Heartless, under the command of Shan-Yu, in the Land of Dragons and those under the command of Pete and Hades within the Olympus Coliseum. They have driven back two members of the Organization for the time being: Xaldin, who attempted to turn Beast into a Heartless and a Nobody within Beast’s Castle, and Demyx, who stole the Olympus Stone in an attempt to draw out Roxas from within Sora. In their most recent adventure, the trio was drawn to Disney Castle by the wish of Queen Minnie, who had discovered that the castle was under attack by some manner of darkness. Though happy to be home, the joy was short lived for Donald and Goofy, who immediately realized that something was wrong. The trio fought through Heartless that had invaded the castle on their way to the library, where Queen Minnie informed them of the situation. As Donald and Goofy warned the castle’s inhabitants, Minnie brought Sora to the Hall of the Cornerstone, the resting place of the Cornerstone of Light, a beacon for all that was light in the world and sole reason Disney Castle had never been invaded by the darkness before. It was here that Maleficent revealed herself and her plan to take possession of the castle using the dark thorns she had conjured up. Minnie asked the trio to go to Merlin for aid and advice. Merlin, upon seeing the predicament, conjured up a doorway that would lead to the place where all the trouble had started. The trio entered the doorway and found themselves back in the past. After running into the past version of Pete and defeating the Heartless that were causing some problems, they discovered that their own time’s Pete had conjured up the doorway and that he and Maleficent were using it to destroy the Cornerstone of Light. Somehow, they found themselves aligned with Past-Pete in an effort to stop Present-Pete from escaping with the Cornerstone. After a few battles, Pete fled from the past back through his own doorway, which Sora promptly sealed off. Past-Pete was grateful for their help and allowed them to pilot his steamboat down the river to return the Cornerstone to its rightful place, breaking the spell on Disney Castle and banishing Maleficent’s darkness from there for good. Sora learned a new form, gained a new keyblade, and opened a path to two new worlds as a result of his efforts. However, with things stirring up in the Underworld, Sora and company returned to the Olympus Coliseum to see what Hades was up to now…

Now…

The trio arrived at the entrance to the Underworld, but seemed to find no sign of the Heartless or Nobodies around. However, there was a giant arena of death in the distance. Goofy asked what it was and, just like that, their friend Auron reappeared for the first time since their battle with Cerberus. Auron explained that fiends of the Underworld once clashed there, battle after battle. However, Zeus didn’t like the senseless violence and locked the place up. Sora asked how it had gotten unlocked and Auron said that some fool must have broken the seal. Sora called whoever did that an idiot. Umm, yeah. Remember that keyhole next to Meg in the stone? Yeah, good job Sora. Sora asked where Auron was going. They should catch up. Auron said that if they wanted something to do, they should go help their friends. When the trio looked back to where Auron was, he had disappeared. However, Pain and Panic, Hades’ two lackeys, had appeared by the shore of the River Styx. Panic said that if they wanted to enter the tournament, they just had to talk to him. Guess we will be fighting in some Underworld Games this time around. Sounds like fun!

(Ed.- I will be doing these similar to the way I did the tournaments in Kingdom Hearts. I’ll list the round and the enemies, but won’t be giving much of a description of the fights themselves. Just like the Interludes from the previous game.)

The Pain and Panic Cup

Rounds
1: 5 Shadows, 5 Hook Bats
2: 1 Large Body, 6 Minute Bombs
3: 5 Rabid Dogs, 2 Soldiers
4: 2 Hot Rods, 4 Shadows
5: 5 Rapid Thrusters, 4 Hook Bats, 2 Bolt Towers
6: 3 Gargoyle Warriors, 5 Minute Bombs, 4 Lance Soldiers
7: 6 Aeroplanes, 2 Soldiers, 1 Rabid Dog, 2 Assault Riders
8: (?) Rapid Thrusters
9: 4 Creeper Plants, 2 Gargoyle Knights
10: Yuffie, Leon

The trio managed to conquer every challenger put before them and won the Pain and Panic Cup! They were rewarded with the trophy, a Protect Belt, and a Serenity Gem for winning. With the adventure over in the Olympus Coliseum for the time being, the trio hopped aboard the Gummi Ship and headed for Atlantica to see how their old friend Ariel was doing.

Ariel, meanwhile, was enjoying swimming along the ocean’s surface right after a storm had passed when she found a piece of driftwood floating by. As she scanned the surface, she spotted a man who was clinging to life as he floated on a board. Ariel swam to his rescue and brought him back to land. As she mused on what it would be like to live on land, the man slowly came to his senses, frightening Ariel and sending her back into the ocean. He searched for her as far as the night sky would let him, but he could see nothing of his rescuer. In fact, the only thing nearby were two eels, Flotsam and Jetsam. Meanwhile, the trio had arrived in Atlantica, complete with their undersea forms. Sora as a merman, Donald as an octopus, and Goofy as a sea turtle. They were all happy to be back…almost as happy as Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder were to see them. The only thing that didn’t carry over, it seemed, was Sora’s ability to swim. He had kinda forgotten, so Flounder showed him how it was done and the trio followed along. After a few minutes of practice, Sora seemed to have the hang of it again. Sebastian asked what brought the three of them back to Atlantica. Was something going on? Sora said there kinda was, but Goofy pointed out that everything seemed peaceful. Ariel said that everything was fine…well, as long as Triton was in a good mood. Sebastian said that they had a concert coming up soon and said that Sora should sing in his musical extravaganza. Sebastian swam in close to Sora and begged him to say yes. Ariel had been acting strange lately, but she might settle down and practice if Sora was there. The trio figured there was no harm in it and signed themselves up. Sebastian promised he would teach them everything they needed. Sora asked what they would need to do. Sebastian explained and allowed Sora a chance to practice. Sebastian said all that Sora had to do was feel the rhythm. Sora and Donald had a little trouble catching the rhythm on their first attempts, but Goofy was spot on! On their next try, they would have to dance with Ariel. Sora did a little bit better with Ariel swimming next to him. It wasn’t a perfect practice, but the trio did okay. Sebastian told them that was all there was to it. He told them that anytime they wanted to sing in a music masterpiece, just to go see him. Sora decided to give the musical a shot, so he swam back to Sebastian and said that he was in. The trio performed Sebastian’s musical performance of “Swim This Way” to near perfection. As the group celebrated after the performance, King Triton himself put in an appearance. Sebastian informed the king that they had visitors. Triton said he hoped their hadn’t been any need for Sora to use his Keyblade. Sora said that everything was fine. Not a Heartless in sight. Sebastian informed the king that the trio had offered to perform in the musical. Triton thought that sounded like a splendid idea. Triton swam in close to Sora and said that they may need his help, after all. Unfortunately, Ariel was still infatuated with the human world. Keeping busy might be just the thing she needed to stop thinking about life up on the surface. Sora looked at Ariel, swimming sad and alone by herself and wondered if Triton had the right idea or not.

Meanwhile, up on the surface, the man Ariel had saved walked onto the beach where she had left him after his rescue. The man could hear Ariel’s voice singing and he called out to her. He said he knew that she was the girl who had saved him. He begged her to come out so he could thank her. Back below the surface, Sebastian saw Ariel staring at the surface and worried about how strange she had been acting. He figured she had been flitting around on the surface. He worried that Triton was going to have his claws for this. Sora swam up to Ariel just then and told her that it was time to rehearse some more. Ariel apologized because she just didn’t feel like it and swam off before Sora could say another word. Sebastian called after Ariel, but it was no use. However, Flounder had an idea that might cheer Ariel up and told the group to follow him. Flounder brought them all to a shipwreck. Sebastian swam up to a statue and fretted. It was from the human world! Flounder said he had found it after the recent storm. He figured Ariel would love it. Sebastian fretted more, but Donald said that it was better than her going to the surface. The trio tried to move the rock that held the statue down, but it was no use. The trio would need the Magnet magic spell before they could move the rock, so it was time for them to leave Atlantica, for the time being. The trio promised to return as soon as they could and set off for the Gummi Ship. Only one world was left to explore, Port Royal. With no idea what they might be in for in the new world, the trio landed, not knowing the nightmare they were about to encounter…