As disappointed as we were about not receiving an entry pass into the Coliseum's upcoming tournament, we held our heads high as we left the lobby. It wasn't like it was a really big deal. The good thing about our visit to the Olympus Coliseum was that there were no Heartless attacking people. So far, things were looking good and safe. I just wished that Sora would smile for real even though he was unable to prove himself to Phil, the hero trainer. Behind that mask of his, I could tell that he was feeling down, too.

"It's okay guys," I stopped and glanced over my shoulder at the closing gates. "We might not be heroes in this world. But, so what?"

"Aw, but..." Donald whined.

"Weren't we gonna participate in the games?" Goofy asked.

"You heard Phil," Sora pouted, and he turned his head away. "He said he wouldn't let us fight. And no entry pass. Let's just go."

They turned around and started back for the gummi ship, and I went to follow after them. That was until an ominous chill creeping up my spine stopped my legs from moving forward. "Aaah... Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" We slowly turned around and spotted the stranger leaning against one of the gold statues.

"Who are you?!" Donald, in a demanding tone, pointed his finger at the man.

This guy had gray skin and blue hair. No, his hair wasn't just blue, it was on fire. He wore dark robes with a skull clip, and his teeth were razor sharp. I got a bad feeling just looking at him.

With a chuckle, he pushed Donald to the side with only one finger and approached me and Sora. "Hold on there, fuzz boy," the mystery man said. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Now... Oh, wait, let me guess. You kids want to enter the games. Am I right?"

He disappeared suddenly, reappearing behind us. I realized that he was there at the last second when his hand rested on my shoulder. The smell of rotting... something filled my nose, making me want to gag. "Well, then, hey, get a load of this!" Like magic, one of the entry passes Phil said he wouldn't give us appeared in his hands.

"A pass?" Sora gasped, taking it from the stranger. "Isn't this breaking the rules?"

"Who says you can't get a little help getting into the games? Just take it," he said. "Good luck out there. I'm pulling for you little shorties. "

We were all in silence since receiving the entry pass to the games. That guy never gave us his name, and now we were supposed to give this conjured up pass to Phil when he said we weren't allowed into the games. But, as much as I wanted to question the suspicious gesture of kindness, we did have a pass.

"So..." Sora's voice trailed off.

"We're going to the games," I shrugged my shoulders.

Back at the lobby, we saw Phil fastening a sign in front of the entrance to the arena.

DO NOT ENTER, it read.

"Um, Phil?" Sora walked up to Phil.

Surprised that we came back so soon, Phil folded his arms and chuckled. "I don't think you kids get it," he said. "No pass, no games."

Sora and I looked at each other. That was the rule, but we showed him the ticket.

"Hey, how'd you get this?!"

Telling him about what happened outside was probably a bad idea, so our lips remained sealed about the secret. This was our only shot at participating in the games, too.

It wasn't like we were breaking any of the rules. I saw nothing about outside help on that poster, so I was sure that this was just fine. Well, at least for now it was.

"So, can we enter the games or what?" Donald questioned Phil, and he looked a little impatient about it.

"I don't know how you got an entry pass," Phil shook his head. "Well... I guess I've got no choice. We start with the preliminaries! They start tomorrow morning. Go get some rest and prepare yourselves. Rule #8: Be ready for anything."

Finally after all the trouble we went through to get approval from Phil, he was going to let us participate in the games. We had all the time we needed today to get out things ready. There were plenty of curatives in our inventory, so we'd be just fine if we got a little hurt. Shopping around also gave us some time to explore the world and get to know the culture.

I was happy camping out in the gummi ship, most because it was super comfortable in the sleeping quarters. Since there was limited room in there, Sora and I shared a room while the other two stayed next door.

Claiming one half of the room as mine, I curled up under the blankets and prepared to relax for the night. It didn't beat sleeping in my own room, though. But just as I was about to fall asleep, a mumbling from behind me prevented me from shutting my eyes.

I flipped over and faced Sora with a glaring eye

"What're doing awake?" I asked him in a whisper. "If we don't sleep, then we won't be able to fight well in the preliminary rounds tomorrow."

Sora was facing me and looking a little concerned over something. "I... I'm sorry," he spoke up after a little while longer of mumbling to himself. He was about to cover his face up with the pillow, but threw it back down. "Do you think it's okay that we took that pass? I mean, it doesn't seem very fair. Phil told us not to, but we did... Didn't we?"

I closed an eye and sighed, "He said it wasn't against the rules, and Phil said nothing about getting the pass from strangers."

"I don't remember hearing him say that," Sora stated.

"He implied it," I dismissed his worrying. "Besides, we can fight in the games now. Nothing will go wrong if we're careful."

"Somehow, I'm not too sure about that," he said quietly, making me sigh dramatically.

Sitting up, I slipped my shoes back on and walked to the door. "I'm going to go for a quick walk," I said over my shoulder and silently shut the door behind me. Snores from the other room told me that Donald and Goofy were still asleep, so sneaking out for some fresh air was going to be simple.

It was quiet outside the Coliseum. In the darkness of the night, there were only a few torches lighting up the area outside the vestibule. I chose to sit in the shadows even with all the light there was. Is it really fair that we get to fight? I wondered. There was something off about that man we got the pass from, now that I really thought about it. But, if we didn't get it from him, then Phil would have never let us into the games in the first place. That was the feeling I got from it. Well, questioning it now wasn't going to change anything. Tomorrow would be the day we take on the preliminaries.

I rested my chin in my hands and sighed, "I wonder if Riku is having a better time... wherever he is."

"Aw, don't look so gloomy, little miss."

From out of nowhere, the same man who gave us the pass appeared. His fiery hair gave his position away when I looked up; he was standing on the other side of the stairs I was sitting on. Same as before, he looked smug and ready to call out anything on a whim. Who was this guy? "I know, those little butterflies before the big day really get to ya," he said casually. "But, hey, at least you get to live the dream!"

"Who are you?" I asked, backing away into the light. He seemed to follow me, which gave me a clear view of his dark features when he stepped into the flames' golden glow.

"Hades, Lord of the Dead, god of the Underworld. Nice to meet ya," he introduced. I was expecting him to dodge the question again, but it was surprisingly easy getting a name out of him. There was something about Hades that really rubbed me the wrong way. It was mostly the part about him being the Lord of the Dead but also the dark vibe I got when he stepped closer. "It must be hard not having that little boyfriend of yours lead the way. He's a real tough cookie."

"Boyfriend?!" I glared at Hades. "What are you even talking about?"

"Oh, you know," he hummed a cheerful tune. In his long pause, Hades appeared behind me before I even realized it and held his hand out over my shoulder. Black smoke rose from the palm of his hand, shaping into four different people. What is this? I stared at the odd presentation with wide eyes. "A little bird told me a story once about a little world that went bye-bye when the darkness showed up."

The tiny, smoky images seemingly moved on their own. They ran together around Hades's arm and around my head as if they were racing. But, it wasn't long before a thick, black cloud of darkness swallowed them up. "He said that he was looking for his friends," Hades told me, twirling his finger in the smoke to reveal another image. The darkness dispersed, leaving only one of the smoke figurines left. "Too bad, he ended up alone in the darkness. I can't seem to remember his name... Rip... Ripper... Rikky?"

"Riku," I corrected him as I stared at the fading smoke in Hades's hands. "His name is Riku."

"Bingo!" Hades slapped my back, as if he was proud. He sighed and rested an arm on the top of my head. "Boy, that kid talks an awful lot about these friends of his."

"Where is he?" I asked, eager to know of my friend's whereabouts. "Is he doing okay?"

"Hmm... I know I saw him somewhere." He started humming again and stepped away. "Oh, right. I think you'll find the answer somewhere in the darkness. It's a little dark and gloomy, but I know you'll find him."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Riku was out there somewhere, and he was looking for me and Sora. Although Hades didn't say anything about Kairi, I had a feeling she was just fine, too. "I need to know where he is," my voice now stern, I ran up to Hades with a determined look in my eyes. "Can't you tell me where to go? Something!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Hades held up his hands defensively. "Easy there, tiger. The Lord of the Dead doesn't work for free. Here's the thing. I'm looking for some tough fighters to fight in the tournament. Turns out that there's a couple of rookies on that old goat's team that are pretty good. Think you could do me a solid and join team Hades?"

"You want me on your team?"

But, joining the opposing team would mean going up against Sora and the others in the tournament. I didn't want to fight my friends.

"Hey, it's a rule. It's just a game, so have fun with it," he pointed out. "Philocticus will just toss one of you squirts to the sidelines anyway. Can't have too many people on a team, you know. So, why not? Maybe I'll teach you how to be a real master of darkness as thanks. Think it over tonight and see me in the morning."