Chapter 14 (SORA): Olympus Under Siege

Chapter 14 (Sora): Olympus Under Siege

        Sora parted the ivy branches that led to Rapunzel's world and allowed Kairi to walk in front of him.  As soon as she was passed, he let the vines fall back into place and he stretched out his body.  "Well, that was fun."  

        "I hope we get to see Rapunzel and Eugene again" Kairi remarked, a bit softly.  

        "Of course we will" Sora laughed.  "Why say that?"

        "Well, I haven't gone to as many worlds as you have" she explained.  "And--well--"

        "You miss them already?"

        Kairi nodded.  "We only met them a short while ago, but I can feel them in my heart."

        "Our hearts will always find a way to bring us together, Kairi" Sora answered, very mystically.  "If there's any lesson I've learned, it's that one."  

        "Then I know I can always go back" Kairi smiled, her face brightening.  

        "Yup.  And they'll be happy to see us."  

        "Mm-hm" Kairi agreed.  

        "SORA!  KAIRI!"  Both warriors spun around to see Mickey hurrying towards them.  The little mouse king skidded to a halt right in front of them.  He bore a face of absolute dread and worry.  "Boy, am I glad to see you two.  I need your help.  Both of you."

        Sora nodded.  "Of course, Your Majesty."

        "What's happening?" Kairi asked.

        "Well, remember how I said I needed to speak to Yen Sid about something you left, Kairi?" Mickey asked her.  When Kairi nodded, Mickey continued.  "Well, that's just the problem.  I showed up at the tower and Master Yen Sid told me a world was under attack by the Heartless."
        Sora shrugged, slightly confused by Mickey's worry.  "Aren't all of them being attacked?"

       Mickey waved his hands.  "No no no!  I mean more than just the Heartless.  Xehanort is there too!"

       At the sound of that name, both Kairi and Sora jumped back into position.  "Xehanort?"

      Mickey nodded.  "Yeah.  We're not sure why he's there, since there's no Princess of Hearts in that world.  But he's still a danger to what's happening there."

      "What world did he attack?" Sora asked.

      "That's the even bigger problem" Mickey continued.  "The original gateways the Keyblade knew to that world have been destroyed.  Something vaporized Olympus Coliseum.  We haven't been able to make contact with anyone there."

       "Olympus?" Kairi asked.

       Sora's heart sank.  He had plenty of friends in Olympus Coliseum that had likely been hurt or worse in that world.  If one of the first worlds he'd visited was in peril, he knew he was bound as a True Hero in the eyes of the Gods to protect the world like Hercules did.  "Count me in, King Mickey.  I'll fly over to Olympus and save the day."

       "Didn't ya hear what I said?" Mickey shouted.  "The pathway your Keyblade knows to that world has been shattered.  You can't go to Olympus the way you guys knew how to."  Mickey turned towards Adventure Land.  "The only way for us to get you or anyone to that world is to find Merlin and make a way to that world appear here in Disneyland."

       "Can Merlin do that?" Kairi asked.  

       "It's our only hope" Mickey reasoned.  "Otherwise, we may never be able to help Hercules or any of his friends.  He should be in Adventure Land with Lea.  I asked him to look into getting us to Agrabah so we can transfer Princess Jasmine here, but he should be able to help us."  Mickey hurried back down towards Adventure Land.  

        Sora and Kairi looked at each other.  "You ready for this?"

        Kairi nodded.  "Of course.  I want to become a True Hero like you."

       "Then let's go!"  The two took off down after Mickey.  

        As Sora and Kairi finally made it to Adventure Land, Mickey was already struggling to convince Merlin about the operation.  Despite the urgency of the situation, Merlin was extremely reluctant to follow through with Mickey's decisions.  

       "Creating a portal to that world would endanger everyone here" Merlin reasoned.  "Without our sanctions, the enemy could have access to Disneyland.  I cannot guarantee anyone's safety."

       "I know it's risky, Merlin" Mickey acknowledged, "but if we don't do anything, the world will be destroyed by Xehanort.  And we can't let that happen, either."  

        Lea stood silently by one of the columns that would eventually lead to Agrabah.  He surveyed the situation with calmness unbecoming of either Mickey or Merlin.  Sora and Kairi both noticed his intensity as he stared into thin air.  He seemed to be mouthing something to himself as his focus changed to the skies above the theme park.  

       "The risk to the Princesses is too great" Merlin insisted.  

       "We have to go" Lea spoke up.
       "Huh?" Sora asked.
       "The way I see it" Lea explained, "Sora has handled Hades and his kind before.  Not only that, but if Xehanort can really find ways into this world as has been reported, it'd be better to find a way to get them before they get through."
       "You wish to challenge Master Xehanort on his terms, Lea?" Merlin asked, shocked that the very idea would be entertained.  "That's awfully reckless."
       "Yeah, well sitting around here and waiting isn't going to help us" Lea reminded the group.  "If we do nothing, Xehanort will keep terrorizing worlds like Olympus.  And if we do nothing to help Olympus, Hades will run over everything."
       "Hades?" Kairi asked.  "Isn't he the one who controlled the Underworld?"
       Sora nodded.  "That's him."
       "Hades is the least of our problems if Xehanort or any of his allies show up in this world" Mickey cautioned.  "As far as we know, neither Maleficent nor Xehanort have targeted him as an ally.  If Hades is the only one causing trouble there--"
       "Then we should still go" Sora proclaimed.  "I've got friends there."
       "Sora" Mickey sighed, "I know how much they mean to ya, but we have a mission.  And if Merlin thinks it could be--"
       "We can't just let Olympus fight for itself" Kairi added.  "I'm sure Hercules would help us after all Sora's done for him.  And we should be willing to do the same for them."
        "I don't think we can--"
        "Xehanort will be there" Lea snapped, causing all four to turn on him once more in shock.  "Call it a hunch, but I think he'll want to go after people who've either affiliated with Sora in the past or anyone powerful enough to be considered an ally.  Besides...I can feel a dark aura coming from that world.  If it's not the old man, it's definitely someone else powerful."
         Merlin nodded.  "I can feel the dark power as well."  Merlin waved his hands in the air.  The ground began to quake.  Sora jumped aboard his hoverboard and pulled Kairi into the air with him.  Mickey struggled to maintain his own footing as all of Adventure Land began to be swallowed in dust.
        "What's happening?" Kairi shouted, though she could barely be heard over the earthquake.
        "I don't know" Sora replied.  Within seconds,  despite being high in the air, Sora and Kairi felt as if they were being overshadowed by something massive appearing nearby.  As the dust began to settle, Sora and Kairi landed on the ground.  When things were visible, all except Merlin were stunned to see the massive mountainous form of Mount Olympus looming over them.  An ancient archway seemed to lead towards the mountain, though it seemed close to collapse at any second.
        "A gateway to Mount Olympus" Merlin announced.  "Ahem.  Now then, to business."  The wizard turned to Sora.  "Sora.  Kairi.  The gateway to Olympus draws a great deal of power from Disneyland.  A spike of this power could draw the forces of darkness in and make the park vulnerable.  That is why you must quickly deal with the villains within and return without much incident.  In the meantime, I will try to discover who harbors such dark power."
        Lea scoffed.  "We'll have enough warriors on reserve to back them up, Merlin.  Sheesh, you guys worry about the dumbest stuff."
        "I take it you'll step in if something goes wrong?" Mickey asked Lea.
        "It'd be better than waiting here on the sidelines for more protecting."
        Mickey turned to Sora and Kairi.  "Then be careful guys.  I'll be going to make sure the rest of the park is okay after that."
        Sora gave the King a thumbs up.  "We won't let you down, Your Majesty."  Nodding contently, Mickey hurried off to make sure the rest of the park was okay.  Sora and Kairi approached the archway slowly, before stopping in their tracks.  "Whoa.  I can feel it, now.  There's definitely something there."
       Kairi put her hand on Sora's shoulder.  "We'll fix this."
       "I know" he laughed.  Not letting another moment waste away, Sora and Kairi dashed off into the new world, not noticing the archway starting to wobble as they vanished into the light.

        High above the city of Thebes and the rest of Greece, the gods of Mount Olympus rested.  Having fought many long battles to prevent the forces of evil from conquering their people, now the gods took a few centuries off to rest and recover.  All of the Gods, save for one, were respected and revered by the people below and almost always received adoration and praise.
       The one who did not get the same affection, stared down into a pit where, millenia ago, Zeus had imprisoned the Gods long time nemeses, the Titans.  The one whom had been forced to watch as Zeus's son thwarted plan after plan of his.  The one, who now with an absent Hercules unable to challenge him, was set to play his trump card against the Gods and vanquish his rivals and greatest enemies forever.
       A menacing smile on his face, Hades looked down upon the Titans with pure contempt.  He knew how capable they were, but if that power could be redirected against Zeus and Hercules, perhaps he would avoid their wrath.  "Titans!  Your salvation has come!"
      A thunderous roar echoed throughout the pit where the Titans had been kept.  Hades minions, the imps Pain and Panic, cowered behind Hades at the power of the roar.
     "It was Zeus who put you down there" Haded continued, "and it shall be Hades who brings about your freedom.  All I ask, is that you go up to Mount Olympus and take that blowhard down!  Are you with me?"
      "DESTROY ZEUS!" the Titans roared in unison.
      "That's what I call devotion" Hades snickered.  With one snap of his fingers, the four Elemental Titans (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Ice) sprung from their centuries old prison and stared down the dominant Mount Olympus in the distance.  One by one, they marched, terrorizing villages and people as they marched.
       Hades snickered as the Titans moved ahead.  "This week could not have gone any better.  Irkules is miles away from saving the day, his pet and coach are locked away in Thebes, and soon, I'll be the ruler of the cosmos!"
       "Y--you sure did it, boss" Pain congratulated nervously.
       "Relax, guys.  We're not done yet.  Once I find little Nutmeg, all that will be left for me to take care of is that spiky haired brat with the Keyblade.  Once he shows up, I'll be able to crush him once and for all!  Ha ha ha!"

        Staring down at the oncoming attack to his home, the ancient King of the Gods, Zeus, yelled a warrior's cry into the sky.  The skies above Thebes began to darken and storm clouds began to roll in.  "I will not allow these cretins to hurt anyone again!  I need my THUNDERBOLTS!"  Within seconds, a handful of handcrafted bolts of lightning landed by Zeus's feet.  Taking one in the air, he began to launch them down on his enemies below.

       Sora and Kairi walked through an archway that once led to the mighty Olympus Coliseum and looked on the site of the silent Thebes uneasily.  Not a person could be seen or heard from anywhere.  Behind them, the two could hear the clouds rumbling and roaring.  As Sora prepared to run down into the city, a bolt of lightning shot through the skies above him and towards a distant object.  The two looked past Thebes and towards a nearby plain, where four immense beings marched their way towards Mount Olympus.
        "What are they?" Kairi asked nervously.
        Sora shrugged.  "I can only think they're friends of Hades."
        "He doesn't have taste, does he?"
        "Not really."
        The immense monster the size of a mountain stomped on the ground, causing the ground beneath both Keybearers to quake uncontrollably.  Kairi grabbed onto a nearby boulder for safety while Sora fell to his rear end almost immediately.  Jumping quickly back to his feet, Sora looked hopelessly towards their coming foes.  "I can't see a way we can beat them, right now."
         "You mean we can't win?" Kairi asked mournfully.
         Sora stood proudly.  "No way.  We're heroes.  Heroes don't give up, even when the odds are against them."
         "Lead on then, True Hero" Kairi laughed.
         "We need to find Phil and Hercules" Sora responded bluntly.  "But if we don't get away from these guys, it might not matter in the long run."  He gestured towards the Titans behind them.  "Let's go!"  Sora took off down the Mountain Pass with Kairi close behind him.

Objective: Avoid Collateral Damage at the hands of the Titans!

        Sora and Kairi stumbled down the path into Thebes Square, barely dodging an enormous boulder in the process.  As they stopped to catch their breath, they found the Square flooded with Heartless.  Both summoned their Keyblades, but Sora stopped his prepared assault when he heard a familiar chant.  "Sora?  Is that you?"

        Sora spun around to see a small goat man surrounded by a horde of Shadows.  Behind him, a terrified winged stallion fluttered nervously.  "Phil?  Pegasus?  Are you guys alright?"

        "Boy am I glad to see you, kid!" Phil cheered.  "I was beginning to think we were gonna become mashed pitas without Hercules."  He pointed to the many hordes surrounding them.  "If you could use some of that "True Hero" charm of yours to take out these Heartless, that would be greatly appreciated!"  

         Pegasus whinnied nervously in agreement. 

         Sora proudly nodded.  "Alright.  No problem.  Watch this!"  Sora turned to Kairi.  "Take out some of those Heartless over there.  These guys are all mine!"

         Kairi rolled her eyes.  "Whatever you say, Hero!"  The two split up to take on their foes.  

Objective: Defeat All of the Heartless!

Get Bonus: Sora Learned Slapshot 

Kairi: +10 HP

        Phil heaved a sigh of relief as Sora took down the last of the Heartless.  "Not for nothing, kid.  But you really do need some work on your stuff."

        Sora sighed.  "Why do you always think I need more training?"

        "Hey!  Rein in your arrogance, macho boy" Phil warned.  "You don't need to act all tough to impress your girlfriend, you know."  

        Sora lowered his head in shame.  "Fine."

        "Look, Sora" the satyr continued, "A hero's training is never done.  Just because you become a True Hero and stop some evil guys, doesn't mean you slack off.  When you slack off, you lose some of that spirit."  He pointed back towards Mount Olympus.  "Look back there.  The Gods were so proud of themselves, that they let their guards down.  Now, unless something changes, they're gonna need help from the mortals like you guys."  

        Sora nodded.  "Alright, then teach me what else I need to learn!"

        Phil shook his head and stroked his beard.  "I got nothing left to teach ya, kid.  Fighting the Titans is something I never thought I'd have to witness.  If you want to learn how to stomp out these guys, you're gonna need to train under my own underling."

        "You mean Hercules?" Kairi asked.

        "The One and Only" Phil proclaimed.  "If only we could reach him."  Phil looked out onto the horizon.  "Hercules went off towards one of those islands in the distance.  Once we dropped him off, we were almost swallowed by the seas!"

        "Swallowed by the seas?" Kairi asked.

        "Why'd you drop Hercules off on his own?" Sora asked, shocked Phil would endanger his friend like that.  

        "I didn't think the Titans would get set loose today, okay?" Phil shouted back, clearly panicked.  "It doesn't matter anyway.  Pegasus couldn't even make it through the storms.  Unless we can somehow get through, Herc's as good as useless over there."

        "Okay" Sora exclaimed.  "Then let us go through those storms."

        Kairi looked at him in astonishment.  "What?"

        "Kid, this ain't no fun park!" Phil warned.  

        "If we don't do something soon" Sora reminded them both, "Hades is gonna wipe Mount Olympus clean off the face of the earth!"

         Phil nodded begrudgingly.  "Alright, kid.  I'll leave this up to you.  Navigate your way through those currents and find Hercules.  Be careful!"  

         Sora nodded proudly.  "Of course!"

         As soon as he and Kairi reached the edge of Thebes, they could see the stormy waters that loomed ahead.  Kairi looked to Sora in despair.  "Now what?  We can't exactly swim through those waters."

        Sora grinned.  "We won't have to!"  Sora slammed his armor and transformed into his Lion's Armor once more, climbing onto his Keyblade.  "We can fly through this easily."  

        "I don't know, Sora" Kairi nervously answered.  "We've never flown through anything that big before and --"  Kairi stopped as soon as she noticed Sora extend his hand out to her.  She beamed and took it as he pulled her up onto his board.  Using her own Keyblade, the two combined their weapons into one large raft-like craft to fly them both through the stormy winds.  

        The deeper the two got into the storm, the more deadly the winds and rain felt on them.  Kairi looked ahead and pointed out an immense whirlpool between them and the islands.  "Is that whirlpool the source of the storm?"

        "I have a bad feeling we're about to find out" Sora responded.  

        A bolt of lightning struck the whirlpool and it began to spin faster and faster.  A faint laughter could be heard nearby.  It was a laugh Sora thought he would never hear again.  The laugh was deep and coldhearted.  "No.  It can't be..."

        "What's going on?" Kairi asked. 

        "Kairi, hold on!" Sora shouted.  A dark black cloud emerged from the whirlpool, followed by more deep and evil laughter.  As Sora expected, the smoke was soon followed by a large black and purple tentacle.  Soon, more tentacles began to sprout out of the water, attempting to strike at Sora and Kairi.  Sora steered as sharply as he could, but was knocked back by one of the tentacles.  As they attempted to recover, the entire body of their foe emerged from the waters.  She eyed the two with a look of pure hatred and malice.  

         "I was wondering when you guppies would show up!" she chortled.  

         "Ursula!" Sora shouted.  "But how?"

         "Ha ha ha ha ha!" she laughed, her immense body quaking as she did.  "Hades owed me a favor, so I struck a deal with an old friend.  I keep his little friend occupied, while I get to return to life once more!"  She eyed the two closely.  "And getting revenge on the Keybearer is the icing on the cake.  I'll show you what happens when you cross me, boy!  Ursula's revenge will be brutal and fierce!"  She struck at them with her tentacles, but Sora and Kairi dodged her with only half a second to spare.  She smirked.  "And once I'm done with you little meal worms, I'll return to the depths and finish off that fool Triton once and for all!  Ha ha ha ha ha ha!"  

          Kairi looked to Sora.  "We've got no choice!"

          Sora nodded.  "We have to send this sea witch back to the depths!"  Sora moved ahead and charged towards his old nemesis.  

Boss Battle: Ursula I 

HP: 710

Objective: Take Out Ursula's Tentacles Before Delivering the Final Blow!

Boss Battle Music: Tension Rising 

GET BONUS:
Sora: MP+ 10
Kairi: HP +10

        The enormous Sea Witch snarled and roared as the darkness enveloped her once more.  Sora whirled their hoverboard past Ursula's writing body and began to soar towards the island where Phil had said Hercules was.  Before they could reach it, one of Ursula's tentacles smacked the Keybearers, knocking them out of the air.  

        "You're not winning that easily" Ursula warned her prey.  

        "That's what you think!" Kairi fired back, landing on the tentacle with the grace of a swan.  She turned and fired a beam of light from her Keyblade, but the witch managed to dodge it.  Sora, meanwhile, clung to another tentacle and tried to recover from the hit.  Ursula took the time to toy with him, flinging him up into the air.  Sora turned around and hurled the Keyblade directly at his old enemy.  Ursula attempted to dodge, but Kairi fired another beam of light towards her eyes, blinding her.  As the Keyblade struck her full on, the sea witch snarled in pain.  Kairi, seeing Sora plummeting towards the seas, called forth her own Keyblade Glider and soared down to her friend and scooped him up.
       "No, not again!" Ursula pleaded, but neither Sora nor Kairi would have any of it.  Aiming their Keyblades, they fired beams of energy at the Sea Witch, causing her to disintegrate into a pile of black sludge and dark energy.  "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
        As Sora clung to Kairi's arm, he cheered.  "Way to go, Kairi!"
        Kairi heaved a sigh of relief as she pulled Sora back onto the glider.  "I'm just glad she's gone.  Besides, it wasn't that good."
        Sora stared at her as though she had sprouted three heads.  "Are you crazy?  That was incredible.  I'd have had a hard time beating Ursula if it weren't for you.  You really are incredible, Kairi."
       Kairi's giggled.  "Thanks for the compliment.  It's nice being able to fight for you guys, once in a while."  She shook herself out of her stupor.  "But we don't have that kind of time to lose.  We have to find Hercules before it's too late."
       Sora nodded.  "Well, lead the way."  Sora and Kairi took off on Kairi's glider away from the dark storms and towards the peaceful island in the distance.