Another idea! Is this too much?
Awkward Reunion: so the Villains are trying to get their hands on these magic daggers, ones of light and darkness hidden away in an illusion dungeon
Both the MC's Group, and the Hero's Group decide to go stop them
Noted both groups know the villains are going to be there, they have no idea the other group will be there, and this setting works best if the MC was a villain to the hero in the past
The MC either because he thinks the Hero is somewhere else, or just doesn't consider these Villains to be the Hero's villains doesn't even question if the Hero will be there
The MC's group gets their first, they leave out some members to act as bodyguards and watchdogs, as the rest of them go to solve the illisionary puzzles
The Hero's group and Villain's group arrive soon after
The MC'S group only knew the Villains were coming, same with the Hero's group
So the Bodyguards of the MC's Group fight the Hero's Group
Eventually the rest of the MC's group retrieve the daggers
Now I imagine one of two things happening, the Bodyguards either capture the Hero's group as hostages which leads to the awkward reunion of the MC and Hero
Or the MC's group leaves, they get the daggers, send out a signal and dip
The reunion happens a few weeks or months later
The MC is taking their group to their hometown, or they are just stopping at inn, or sonething out of the sort
The Hero also decides to go to an inn, or the hometown, or something of the sort
They meet there, the Hero's group recongizes the Bodyguards, the Bodyguards recongize them, this meeting is even mlre dramatic if they are currently at the Hero's families house, having some tea and biscuits
The reason this works best if the MC waa a villain to the hero in the past, is because if the MC was on good terms with Hero, the misunderstanding could be sorted out quickly, if they weren't on good terms, it'd be on site
