Kingdom Hearts; The Dark's Keeper

Chapter XXVI; Heart of Heroes

"Lowlife," Sora said as Hades vanished in the same puff of smoke he arrived in.

"You're too kind, kid," Hades's voice echoed around them.

"He still likes the sound of his own voice," X decided glaring up at the rock above them.

They grouped together to decide their next move. Unfortunately, it was quickly unanimous that there wasn't much else they could do besides play along. Hades was the one in control down here, and that was a fact they couldn't fight. They signed up for the Hades cup at the Underdome, staying in a group with Hercules joining them. 

"Who do we face first?" Herc asked as they stood off to the side waiting. 

"Let's see," Sora said, leaning forward to look at the roster.

"It's Spin Strike," Goofy said.

"Sounds like a Heartless," X said calmly, crossing his arms.

"Look! Auron's in the tournament, too!" Donald said pointing at the bracket. Sure enough, Auron was listed on the opposite bracket.

"Uh-oh! We might have to fight him in the finals!" Goofy said.

"I bet he's a real hero, huh?" Herc asked. Sora crossed his arms and frowned turning to Herc.

"Well, I don't think he's a bad guy. But you're the only hero around here, Hercules. You know that," Sora said. X doubted that. Sora had to be worthy of that title by now.

"Maybe before," Herc said. "Now I'm just a washout."

"Stop that!" Sora said. X sighed.

"Maybe we need that other guy back. He managed to get you thinking like a hero," he said crossing his arms. Sora looked at him in confusion, while Herc gave a weak smile.

Luckily there were only a few rounds to go through, and if the first round was any indication of the difficulty level of the tournament, there was nothing to fear about these matches.

"How'd it go out there, champ?" Sora asked as they finished out the first match.

"I'm just not what I used to be. Sorry to drag you down, guys," Herc said.

"Don't throw in the towel yet, Herc! We need you in the semifinals!" Sora said. Herc didn't reply, and they were soon thrown into the next match. Just as before it was an easy enough win. Though Herc seemed to be holding back for some reason.

"We made it to the finals!" Sora cheered.

"If we win, we'll all be heroes!" Donald said.

"Oh, that's why you're so happy," Goofy said with a chuckle.

"We can't stay junior heroes forever, you know," Sora said, putting his hands on his hips.

"Who made this system and said you guys weren't heroes?" X asked. Sora shrugged, bursting into a grin as he looked around in excitement. X held back a chuckle at the childish action. He never changed.

"I'll try not to mess things up," Herc said.

"Enough already," Donald said. 

"Look. Over there," Herc said, nodding towards a door. Auron was standing in the door calmly looking over the arena. "He's our final opponent, right?"

"Auron!" Sora called running up to him. Auron turned to him, a red glow covering him for a brief moment.

"And you are?" Auron asked.

"Huh?" Sora asked in confusion. X frowned, crossing his arms.

"Auron?" Donald asked.

"I must defeat you and atone for my crimes," Auron said simply. He turned on them and walked away leaving the group behind stunned. X's frowned, his chest feeling heavy. What had made Auron think like that all of a sudden? Who was trying to control him with such underhanded means?