Chapter 14 (RIKU): The Wrath of the Titans

Chapter 14 (Riku): The Wrath of the Titans

        Riku, Donald, and Goofy emerged from their portal victorious.  With their adventures in New Orleans over, they expected King Mickey to be there to tell them of their next mission.  But when they found no one to meet them, Donald and Goofy sighed.  "Ya think we'd be used to the King not being here" Goofy said.  

       "I'm sure he's off making sure the park stays safe" Riku reminded his friend.  "If you guys are so worried about him, you should go and report to him.  He's probably in the castle somewhere."  

       "But what about you?" Donald asked. 

       "I'll be fine.  There are a lot more worlds for me to discover and keep safe."  

       "Good luck, Riku" Goofy added, before he and Donald dashed off towards Fantasy Land.  

       As soon as they rounded the corner, Riku felt the ground beneath him shaking violently.  "Ah!?  An earthquake?"  Riku swirled around him, looking for the source of the dangerous rumbling.  As he looked back, a huge cloud of dust and debris erupted near Adventure Land.  Following the dust filled clouds was the aura of the darkness.  "The Heartless?  How'd they get here?"  Riku called forth his Keyblade and dashed off into the distance towards the brimming power.  

       As Riku arrived in Adventure Land, he could barely see past his own eyes, with debris and smoke clogging his view of anything.  He could hear monstrous growls and the ground continued to shake every few seconds.  Riku called forth his armor and continued running towards the new danger inflicting Disneyland.  As the dust finally began to settle, Riku looked towards the source of the dust and debris.  A huge mountain had burst out in Adventure Land, causing intense damage to previously existing areas, including one of the temples near the Wild Jungle.  

      "What is this?" Riku asked, disabling his armor.  "This wasn't here before.  How did it get here?"

      "Dash it all!" a voice coughed near the mountain.  "If this confounded mountain entrance hadn't collapsed in, we wouldn't be having this dust problem!"  

      Riku rushed towards the mountain, only to find Merlin using powerful wind currents to shoot the dust into the air.  "Merlin?"

      "Well, well, Riku" the wizard greeted.  "You are just the man I was looking for."  

      "I was?"

      "Of course.  Can't have world entrances and exits collapsing before we open Disneyland, now can we?"  Merlin turned to greet Riku personally.  The wizard summoned a comb from thin air to comb the dust and sand out of his long white beard.  "Especially ones where we have friends stationed.  No, cannot let that happen."  

      "We have friends in here?" Riku asked, looking up at the mountain, who's peak vanished was so far high, it vanished into the clouds above the park.  

      "As a matter of fact" Merlin replied, waving the last bit of sand out of his way, "we have two.  Apparently, the King got word of a potential catastrophe occurring near this particular world.  But, Mr. Disney never sanctioned a ride for this world.  So, I was forced to summon this mountain out of thin air, in the hopes that it could lead to the new world.  However, as soon as Sora and Kairi entered that world--"

      Riku gasped.  "Sora and Kairi are in there?"

      "As soon as Sora and Kairi entered the world, the gate collapsed and now, the two have no idea how serious their predicament is."  

      "What do you mean?"

      "When Mr. Disney sanctions a ride, it has been inspected and cared for by himself, King Mickey, Master Yen Sid, and myself.  But the situation has become so dire in this world, that Sora and Kairi were sent there right away.  Why the sanction is so important you may ask?  Well, without the sanction, we not only cannot guarantee a safe passage for the two to return, but we also cannot contain the amount of Heartless and Xehanort's cronies that can go to that world."  

      "Then I have to go in after them!" Riku proclaimed.  

      "Hold a moment, Riku" Merlin cautioned.  "There are more dangers in this world than Xehanort and the Heartless.  Tell me, are you familiar with the Lord of the Underworld, Hades?"

       Riku grunted quietly.  From his time serving under Maleficent, he remembered all too well the Lord of the Dead.  Of all of the villains he had met, from Captain Hook to Jafar, Hades was the one he could stand the least.  The god was full of himself, stubborn, insubordinate, and often mocked his allies for their failings.  Even when he himself had failed to eliminate Sora or Hercules on multiple occasions, he still looked at himself as superior.  "Yeah, I remember him.  What about him?"

       "Hades has unleashed an ancient enemy upon his fellow gods at Mount Olympus.  Not only that, but he has another ally who is just as dangerous as he is.  This man is incredibly dangerous, Riku.  Avoid this man at every opportunity.  His name is Caius.  Understand?"

        Riku nodded.  "Sure.  Take down Hades, avoid Caius."

        "I am quite certain Hades is not the only one eyeing Caius as a potential ally.  Caius's dark powers are so great, he once caused a great world to be destroyed.  Even the heroes who once battled with him have been lost.  Power like Caius's unchecked could devastate not just Mount Olympus, but every world along with it, should he join forces with Xehanort."  

        "Then, what can I do?" Riku asked. 

        Merlin sighed.  "I cannot be certain, my boy.  If you are going to go in after them, I implore you to be careful.  And if you can manage to reach them, do pass this message along to Sora.  The boy can be a bit reckless when it comes to protecting his friends."  

        Riku nodded.  "I'll be careful.  Is the path ahead?"  Riku looked down towards the mountain path.  The ruins of Grecian temples and acropolis buildings lined the foot of the mountain.  A dark gateway towards what Riku could only assume was the Underworld, Hades base of operations.  

        "Yes.  Just follow the path and you'll arrive in no time" Merlin replied.  "I will inform the King of your location.  Do try to be careful."  Riku nodded in agreement and raced down the path, stopping before the entrance to the mountain.  

         If Sora and Kairi are here, Riku thought to himself, I'd bet Xehanort is somewhere here too...

        The massive village of Thebes sat below Mount Olympus.  Usually, the streets were filled with people shopping, entertaining, recreating, or flocking to the massive Coliseum to see their hero, the legendary demi-god Hercules battle warriors and monsters.  But today, the citizens hid in their houses or fled the city.  For the Heartless have returned.  As has the devilish Hades, Lord of the Underworld, who leads the forces of darkness in an all out war against Zeus and the Gods that sit atop Mount Olympus.  Massive armies of Heartless marched the streets and prepared to assault the haven of the Gods.  Already assaulting the mountain, were Hades more than eager allies, the Titans, whom Hades had resurrected to fight the Gods and his greatest enemy, Hercules, in pitched battle to rightfully rule all of Olympus.

       From a balcony above, the blue-skinned, flame haired Lord of the Dead himself stood side by side with a hooded figure clad in black and purple armor.  While Hades laughed and cheered as his minions lay waste to the village below, the hooded figure remained silent, only scoffing at his partner's childish delight.  

      "Ya know, had I thought our victory would be this nice, I would have brought some champagne" Hades remarked.  "No Zeus, no Jerkules, no spiky haired Keyblade swinging brats, and nothing strong enough to defeat me!  This time--" Hades hair erupted red with his intense delight.  "--NOTHING CAN STOP ME!"  

      The hooded figure remained silently observing the creatures marching below.  When Hades noticed his less than enthused look, he put his hand on the figure's shoulders.  "Sheesh, if I wanted your kind of company, I'd have brought a ghost."  

       "Your victories are not yet set, Hades" the hooded figure replied coldly.  "So long as a single threat remains to hinder your success, you may still lose.  I assumed this is why you sought me out."
       "I call it a contingency plan" the god replied coolly.  "The last two blew up in my face.  But I wasn't looking in the right spots for my new ally.  You, Caius my man, are my ultimate contingency plan.  There's no way Wonder-Breath or any of his friends can stop me.  And considering your knowledge in darkness, there's no way that key-slinging punk will show up and stop me!"
       The hooded figure named Caius looked away for a moment.  "I sense a great power approaching Mount Olympus.  Perhaps it is Hercules?"
       Hades looked out into the distant streets of Thebes.  An armored figure emerged from a portal of light.  The figure removed his armor and called forth a Keyblade.  Hades recognized him from his long white hair.  "Hold a minute.  This may just get interesting.  Tell me, Caius, how would you like to get a taste of some of the universe's unlimited power?"
      "Does this have anything to do with what I am seeking?"
      "If you're still hunting that girl, then no.  But if you want to harness some more power for that epic fight along the road, then boy do I have a treat for you."
      Caius grinned underneath his hood.  "I am listening."
      "Turns out that there's someone else with the power to wield the Keyblade.  And he just waltzed his way into Thebes, undoubtedly to try and stop my hostile takeover of Olympus.  Without the viewpoint and clairvoyance of the Gods, how can you or I expect to find this girl you keep prattling on about?"
      "Prattling?" Caius snarled.  "I'll have you know she is perhaps more powerful than this Hercules you keep whining about!"
      "Sheesh" Hades chortled.  "Didn't mean to step on your toes, pal.  Anyway, if this kid becomes a thorn in our side, I'm thinking we won't be able to complete our scheme.  Don't you think that you should do something to stop it?"
       "Why don't you?"
       "I have those nimrods to look after" Hades reasoned, pointing towards the Titans, who made their way upwards towards the resting place of the Gods of the Pantheon.  "Besides, I thought you'd want to seek out the girl.  Maybe he's seen her.  Or maybe, he's close to her."
        Caius showed an icy smile to the god.  "Perhaps I should test his skills for myself."  Caius turned and walked away from Hades, his eyes focused on Riku in the distance.

       Riku surveyed the area around the deserted city of Thebes.  There wasn't a soul to be seen.  No people, no satyrs, and certainly none of this friends.  "Sora and Kairi can't be far from here.  They must be where all the action is."  Riku looked past the city and towards the towering mountain home of the gods.  Four massive monsters were already battling their way to the top of the mountain.  "If they don't beat those things back soon, we may not be able to stop the Heartless from taking over the world!"  As soon as Riku finished speaking, he found himself surrounded by Heartless.  "Speaking of which..."

Defeat All of the Heartless!  

        As Riku dispatched the last of the Heartless, he heard a faint clapping sound behind him.  "I expected nothing less of the power of the Keyblade.  Well done, my boy."  Riku kept on guard at the arrival of this new person.  Covered in a thick black robe reminiscent of the robes Organization XIII wore, this figure had lavender colored hair with a tall feather sticking out of a headband he wore.  Riku could sense immense power coming from him, but remained on the defensive out of fear that this man could perhaps be the one Merlin warned him about.  "You needn't be on the defensive.  I do not seek a battle with you."  

       Riku kept his Keyblade in his hands.  "How do you know about the Keyblade?"

      "A source of unlimited power said to be lost in the generations" the man continued.  "There were once thousands of Keyblade Warriors.  All once sought a mystical power known as Kingdom Hearts.  But it was beyond their reach.  For none of them bothered to ever divulge through the pages of destiny.  The power of Kingdom Hearts is not something that any one man can wield.  Which is why many of the Keyblade Warriors died out long ago.  I am content to see the Keyblade in action once more.  And I am even more content with seeing it in the hands of one as young as you."  

      Riku's blade lowered slightly in his hands.  "You seem to know a lot about the Keyblade."  

      "When you have been around as long as I have" the man continued, "you know great power when you see it.  I remember a time when the worlds as we know them were once one great world.  And the Keyblade is the only thing that can possibly help bring back those time.  Such a power I find incredibly fascinating.  What is your name, boy?"

        "Riku" Riku replied.  "Yours?"

        "I am but a shadow in the history of the world" the man replied.  "I have come to Olympus in search of someone.  Many years ago, I was locked in combat with a powerful warrior who disappeared during our great battle in Valhalla.  Over the years, I have fought many beings, including those who wield your Keyblade.  I have beaten thousands of warriors in thousands of worlds.  But none have posed the same challenge to me as she did."

        "This legendary fighter was a woman?" 

        "More than just a woman, Riku.  She was the most powerful warrior I have ever faced.  She was ruthless and powerful.  I believed she may come here, because Olympus was said to be the world where heroes were made.  But, seeing as how you are here, that saying is not exactly true.  But, it would be unwise of me to not ask.  Have you seen a woman who calls herself, Lightning?"

         Riku shook his head.  "No, I haven't.  Have you seen two warriors just like me?  A young man and a young woman?"  

         The man remained stone faced.  "Would they be wearing armor by any chance?" 

         "Yes!" Riku exclaimed.  "Have you seen them?"

         The man pointed behind Riku.  The warrior turned to see two armored individuals riding odd vehicles towards the seas.  Their vehicles looked similar to Keyblades.  "They seem to be heading for an island off the coast of Thebes.  It is said that the hero Hercules is training on that island.  If they want to prevent Hades and his Titans from conquering Mount Olympus, they should hurry.  And if you want to find them beforehand, I suggest you do the same."  The man walked away from Riku and into a nearby alley, but not before turning back towards Riku.  "I hope our paths cross again, Riku.  Should you ever become stronger, you may make a formidable opponent."  With that, he vanished into the shadows.  

        Riku eyed the destination where Sora and Kairi flew towards.  "So, they're looking for Hercules huh?  Guess I am now too."  Riku darted down the road after his friends.