Chapter 15 (SORA): The Well of the Gods

Chapter 15 (Sora): The Well of the Gods 

        Kairi landed her glider down on the rocky shores of the island Phil had said Hercules had gone to.  As she did, Sora hopped off and surveyed the situation.  Though they had made it, he could see no sign of Hercules or anything for that matter.  The island was much bigger than they had thought, loaded from top to bottom with massive rocks.  He looked behind them and saw the storm clouds cause Thebes to vanish behind them.  "Well, there's no turning back without Herc" he proclaimed.  

      "With all these rocks" Kairi remarked, "do you think the Titans beat us here?"

      Sora shook his head.  "No way.  We just have to find Hercules.  Now come on!"  Sora led the way up the jagged mountain pass, but after what seemed like hours of searching on the island, all he and Kairi found was Heartless and more debris.  The two young warriors carved their way through the hordes of dark enemies that awaited them, but could find no trace of the Olympian Hero.  

      As he watched Kairi knock a Shadow off a nearby ledge, Sora sighed.  "Where is he?  If we don't find him soon, how are we gonna stop Hades?"

      Kairi looked down where she had knocked the Heartless.  "Maybe he's down by that pond."  Sora dashed to her side.  A small pond of water seemed to be shining despite the dark and torrential clouds that loomed above.  Sora climbed down the rockface towards the pond, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of an enormous Heartless.  Kairi jumped down to stand beside her friend.  As Sora flipped back up to his feet, the Large Body loomed above both of them.  But before the dark being could strike, it staggered back in pain and disappeared into the darkness.  Sora and Kairi looked back to see a man standing confidently behind them.  Clad in Olympian armor and a grand blue cape, he wore a dashing look of both pride and relief at seeing something other than a Heartless.
        "Sora?  Is that you?" he asked.
        "Hercules!" Sora exclaimed, rushing over to his demi-god friend and shaking his hand.  "It's been a long time!"
        "Too long, if you ask me" Hercules laughed.  "Phil and I were just talking about you the other day.  Every time we have some kind of problem, you seem to show up.  And you couldn't have picked a better time to."  He looked back and noticed Kairi awkwardly shuffling behind them.  "I see you brought Phil a new trainee?"
        Sora shook his head, folding his hands behind his head.  "No, nothing like that.  I don't think Kairi needs to train the same way we did." 
        Hercules shrugged.  "It's all the same to me."  He strode past Sora and shook Kairi's hand.  "Nice to meet you, Kairi.  Thanks for coming to help us."
       "The pleasure's mine, Hercules" Kairi laughed.  "Sora told me all about you and how you helped make him what he is today."
       Herc looked back at Sora and grinned.  "Of course.  I saw a lot of myself in him when we first met.  Aspiring to be something he couldn't be, until he truly knew what it was.  That's what makes a True Hero.  And thankfully, we both get that now." 
       Sora looked back towards Thebes and saw bolts of lightning showering down Mount Olympus.  But no matter how strong and mighty the bolts were, the darkness seemed to keep gathering around the world.  "Herc, we need your help.  Olympus and Thebes are overrun by Heartless and the Titans!"
       Hercules grunted.  "I figured Hades had something up his sleeves.  It's always like him."
      "And judging from the look of things" Kairi exclaimed, looking back as well, "I don't think your father is going to be able to hold out much longer." 
       The demi-god shook his head.  "Not at all, but this fight with the Titans and Hades is going to be the toughest one I've ever fought.  My father told me Hades had something planned and sent me out here to become stronger."
       Sora eyed Hercules with a great deal of confusion.  "Wait, you're HERCULES!  How can you get much stronger than that?"
      Hercules chuckled faintly.  "Not in terms of training.  Once, my parents offered me the power of the gods, once I became a True Hero.  But I was happy here on Earth with Meg and Phil and everyone else.  So, they restored my humanity.  Things were fine for a long time, and we even rebuilt the Coliseum, but now I have no choice.  I have to find The Well of the Gods."
      "The Well of the Gods?" both Sora and Kairi asked in unison.
      "It's said that a mortal who's intentions are pure and heart is righteous" he explained, "would be able to harness the power of the gods."
       "That sounds incredible" Kairi exclaimed.
       "It's not that simple, though" he warned.  "The Well can only grant someone that power for a limited time.  Adding insult to injury, the Well is like a Heartless magnet.  Every time I've tried to get in, more of them show up."
        Sora pointed to himself proudly.  "We'll cover for you!"
        Kairi nodded in agreement.  "Of course."
        Hercules shook his head.  "If the Titans and Hades are already on the move, I can't stay here.  I have to check on Meg."  He looked out towards the city and sighed.  "Boy, I wish I hadn't sent Pegasus back to Thebes."
        "Be careful what you wish for, Champ!" a voice called out from above.  Phil, riding Hercules' valiant white winged stallion, landed beside the Well as the miniature satyr hopped down to his pupil's side.  "Boy oh boy am I glad to see you guys safe and sound."
        "But Phil, how did you make it across the sea?" Sora asked.
        "Whatever you two did made that storm clear" Phil answered.  "Now, Herc can shoot his way back to Thebes and knock out the Titans once and for all!  Right champ?"
         Hercules scratched the back of his head.  "Well..."
         "Whaddya mean Well?"
         "The Heartless have been acting up around here" Kairi explained.  "And Hercules can't get into the Well to draw any power from it."
         "Oh that's just perfect!" Phil snorted.  "Now, the Titans are gonna make gyros outta the Gods." 
         "That won't happen, Phil!" Herc proclaimed, flexing his muscles.  "I just need to go check on Meg.  I won't be gone for long.  Besides, I know who can alleviate some of the tension around here."  He pointed to Sora and Kairi, who both eyed him with a mixture of curiosity and stunned silence. 
          "These two?" Phil asked, disbelieving his former pupil.  "I don't know, this isn't some test I can give.  This could make Hero Soup outta them if they're unworthy." 
         Sora shook his head.  "We don't have a choice.  I have to at least try to help out.  Otherwise, this entire world will collapse into darkness." 
         Hercules mounted Pegasus and reined him back.  "I'll be back soon!  HEE-YAH!"  With that, the winged horse galloped down the path and took off into the skies, flying at full speed towards Thebes. 
        Phil looked back towards the Well.  "The Well of the Gods.  Man, if I ever thought I'd see something like this when I was a kid.  Alright, which of you putzes is going first?"
       Sora stepped forward.  "I'll go."
       "Are you sure, Sora?" Kairi asked nervously.
       "Of course" Sora nodded happily, running into the water.  He waited around for a moment, but saw a circle of celestial light fall down around the reflecting pool.  The light surrounded the entire pool and transported Sora away from Kairi and Phil and into an entirely different realm. 
       "Where am I?" Sora asked himself.  He walked forward into the bright light, when he found himself surrounded by three separate clones of himself.  He eyed them curiously, before all three turned towards him with cruel looks in their eyes.  All three emitted the power of darkness and summoned Keyblades reminiscent of Master Xehanort's.  In unison, all three charged forward and struck at Sora, who barely had time to defend himself. 
       "A hero of light, huh?" a voice called out from the first Sora clone.  But the voice was not his own, but of someone else.  "I'm not too impressed."
       Another Sora clone stepped back and snickered, once more in a voice not of his own.  "A pity.  I thought they'd at least have gotten tougher by now."
       The third loomed above the other two and stared directly at Sora.  In a voice Sora could recall all too well, he sneered.  "The Keyblade truly could not have selected a more worthless candidate." 
       Sora grunted.  "Xemnas?!"  But he quickly shook his head.  "No.  This must be the test to see if I'm worthy."  Sora clenched his fist and held the Keyblade tightly in his other hand.  "Well this time, I won't fail!"  With that, he charged forward. 

Objective: Defeat All of the Dark Soras!  

GET BONUS:

Obtained Demi-God Form

      As the last of the dark clones faded into nothingness, Sora could feel the warm light surround him.  The tingling sensation continued to engulf his entire body.  A strange new power began to course through his veins and continued to grow more potent with each passing second.  Finally, Sora opened his arms wide and felt an enormous bolt of energy strike him in his head.  The tingly feeling faded slightly.  Sora opened his eyes and looked at himself.  He gasped.  He had grown a few inches taller.  Not only that, but his muscles had almost doubled in size and his clothes had changed.  No longer was he in his traditional clothes, but now in clothes very similar to Hercules's, though he did retain the plate of armor on his shoulder.  

       "Whoa!" he exclaimed.  "This is incredible!"  He called forth his Keyblade and felt an almost godlike surge of energy strike the area as his Key appeared in his hands.  With one swift motion of his hands, the white barrier surrounding him shattered and returned him to the pond where Phil and Kairi had been.  

       Kairi was breathing heavily and keeping herself propped up on a rock while Phil cheered for her actions.  She looked back towards the pool and saw Sora.  He noticed his friend's eyes light up and her jaw dropped.  Sora stepped out of the pool and showed himself off.  

       Even Phil was speechless.  "Holy Hera!"

       Kairi walked up to him, shaking uncontrollably.  "Uh...."

       Sora beamed in embarrassment.  "Uh, Kairi?"

       "Huh?" she asked in a dazed state.  

       "Kid, what--what happened to ya in there?" Phil asked, in complete disbelief of what he was witnessing.

       Sora shrugged.  "I had to take on some kind of challenge and after that, well, this happened."  He flexed his muscles around, much to a bewitched Kairi's delight.  "I bet I could take on Hercules like this!"

       Phil laughed.  "I'll bet Herc will think he was looking in a mirror."

       Kairi shook herself out of her stupor.  "Uh, oh right!  I guess it's my turn."  Kairi walked past Sora sheepishly and entered the Well of the Gods, before the light took her away as well.  

        Sora looked back towards Phil.  "How strong do you think I've gotten?"

        The satyr shrugged.  "Hey, who knows?"  Before he could speak again, another horde of Heartless appeared in front of him.  "But I know some chumps who might want to find out!"  Sora drew his Keyblade again and darted forward.  

In Demi-God Form, Sora's stats double, but he 

is unable to utilize any magic or items.  He can 

string together never ending combos or use his incredible

strength to demolish Heartless in single blows!  

This form is unlocked by accessing it in the Magic Commands.  The Form

consumes all of Sora's MP, but allows for incredible close ranged and long ranged

combat!

Objective: Survive for 3 Minutes while Defeating Heartless!

Boss Music: Vim and Vigor

       Sora effortlessly destroyed the last Heartless and allowed his Keyblade to vanish from his hands.  "Piece of cake!"

       Phil nodded.  "You definitely seem to have a hold on those powers, now."

       Sora shrugged.  "I think so, too."  He looked back towards the Well and saw Kairi emerging.  Like him, she had shed her normal clothes in favor of a more Olympian Battle armor.  However, unlike him, her muscle mass did not seem to increase much.  However, Sora could feel the power she emitted was equal to, if not greater than his own.  "Wow.  How did it feel, Kairi?"

       She shrugged.  "I'm not too sure how to explain.  But I do feel like I have some extra power."  She looked towards the rock where she had been leaning on before stood.  She waved her hand and a fire ball shot at an incredible speed and struck the boulder, disintegrating it in one swoop.  

       Sora gasped.  "Wow.  I guess you're ready."

       Kairi beamed.  "I think so, too."

       The two looked to the skies and saw Hercules landing beside them once more on Pegasus.  This time, he had Megara with him.  He helped her off the winged steed before he noticed the changes Sora and Kairi had undergone.  "Whoa.  I was right to know you two would be able to take on the challenge."

        Megara looked at Sora as if she'd never seen him before.  "Wait, that's Sora?"

        Sora grinned confidently.  "Yup.  The one and only!"

        She eyed both Kairi and Sora.  "I almost didn't recognize you."  She looked back to Hercules.  "Well, Wonderboy, it looks like you and your friends will put Hades on ice once and for all.  I wish I could be there to see it happen."

         Hercules nodded.  "I do too, but I don't want to risk you getting in danger.  You and Phil can stay here while we finish the job on Olympus."  He strode up to Sora and Kairi.  "Are you two ready?  This might be the toughest challenge we've had, yet."

         Both Sora and Kairi fell back into ready positions.  "You got it!"

         Hercules nodded.  "Whenever you guys are ready, we'll take off!"

New Party Member: Hercules 

HP: 80

MP: 100

Friendship: 90

Weapon: 

Hercules Sword (+6 Strength, +0 Magic)

Armor:

Belt of Champions (+6 Defense)

Accessories:

N/A

Items:

x4 Potions, x1 Ether 

Abilities:

Demi-God Form: Sacrifice MP to Double All Stats (Cost 99 MP)

Aura Spheres: Fire a Series of Energy Blasts, Stunning Enemies (Cost 10 MP)

Aura Guard: Shield From All Enemy Attacks for a Time (Cost 10 MP)

Power Punch: Stun Enemies by Punching them Really Hard (Cost 10 MP)

Heroes Onslaught: Unleash Sora and Hercules's Joint Limit, Champion Combo

Draw: Draw in Surrounding Items.  Equip to Party to Boost Effect

Item Boost: Boost the Potency of Items in the Field

Shining Aura: Boosts the Defense of Party when HP is Low

Second Chance: Ensures 1 HP Remains when taking Heavy Damage

Once More: Ensures 1 HP Remains when taking damage from a Combo