Chapter 12

The Big Olive

During a break from watching the radars, Sora sparred with Goofy and practiced throwing the Keyblade and calling it back to him in the training room. At one point, a siren wailed to warn them that they were under attack from rogues in Gummi Ships of their own, so they returned to the cockpit to fend them off, with Goofy manning the turrets. When the enemy ships were destroyed, there was no evidence of a living crew; instead, black dust burst from the cockpits, leaving them to wonder if Heartless were piloting the ships. When it was deemed time to call it a night, Donald parked the ship on an asteroid and they went to sleep in their dorms, Sora and Kara sharing a room while Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy (sleeping in a sardine can with a handkerchief laid inside) shared another, and had their clothes fixed up while they slept. The next morning, they continued their flight until they came upon their destination.

The geographic layout of the world was distinguished by a mountain whose summit was surrounded by large clouds. At the bottom of the mountain, they could make out towns. At the edges of some of the towns, before the world bled off into space, the land ended in shores surrounded by water that formed seas, with some islands poking out.

Sora brought up a render of the world, noticing that, unlike Wonderland, it already had a name ("Olympus") and there were multiple warp nodes marked. Donald parked the ship in orbit, and they went to the storeroom to check up on their stock of items that they were bringing. Sora drank a cup of coffee, then slipped a thermos into his pocket, which Donald had enchanted to have increased capacity like his and Goofy's own. Returning to the cockpit, Sora selected one of the nodes, situated in the middle of one of the towns, and Kara inputted the Disembark commands. They stepped into the glowing circle and beamed down.

As they walked through the cobblestone streets, they took in the sights. Stone buildings lined the streets, supported by columns. Statues of men in armor could also be seen. The locals had a range of different hair colors and skin tones, although they were mostly Caucasian with some levels of tan, but they all wore similar fashion consisting of chitons, peplos, and himations in a variety of colors, and they all wore sandals.

"Wow. I haven't felt this out-of-place since I first came on the islands," Kara remarked.

"Aw, it's not too bad. Sure, it feels weird at first, but the more you travel, you'll feel less like a stranger and more like a visitor," Goofy assured her.

"So, you guys have been going between worlds a lot. How do we find whatever it is that we're looking for?" Sora asked.

"Well, first we scope out the area," Donald said. "We've been to this world once before with King Mickey, but I don't think we've been in this town yet, so we could figure out the layout. Then, depending on what we're here for, we either ask around or wait until we find something that will point us in the right direction."

"Since we're tracking Heartless, I think the second option would be better," Goofy added.

"You've been here before? What can you tell us about this world?" Jiminy asked, poking his head out of Sora's pocket.

"Well, the governments of this world are made up of a bunch of city-states. The people call the greater region 'Greece', but the other worlds call it 'Olympus' based on their religion," Goofy explained. "You see, these people worship a bunch of gods who make their home at the top of Mount Olympus. Some of the city-states favor a specific god more than others. When we were here before, we were in a place called Corinth, which had a sea god called Poseidon as its patron."

"Fascinating," Jiminy whispered, writing down everything Goofy said in his journal.

They passed a market stall where a vendor offered toy figures in the image of a muscular man who was flexing his muscles. Looking around the street, they saw stalls that sold blue-and-pink drinking cups and sandals adorned with the face of the toy figure. Sora and Kara looked at the merchandise in confusion, thinking that it seemed to be as out-of-place as they were. Kara squinted to make out the writing on the sandals. The Greek lettering was foreign to her, but as she focused on the writing, it soon morphed into something that she understood. "I guess this 'Air-Herc' is this city-state's patron god," she surmised.

"I haven't heard of him," Goofy mused. "I wonder what he's the god of."

"Hey, what happened to the writing?" Sora asked, noticing the change in the foreign letters. "They just turned into English."

"Oh. Of course," Donald said, realizing that Sora would not understand what was happening. "That's one of the Keyblade's special powers. It allows its wielder and the people close to him to hear languages that aren't his own and understand them in his primary language, or the closest personally-known language to his primary language. It works the same for locals that he talks to, so they hear what he says in the regional language and dialect. For example, everything's written in Greek, but we hear it in English."

"Huh." As he paid more attention, Sora noticed that he could hear the crowd around them speaking in his own language. Focusing on one of the vendors, he could tell that his lips were moving as if he were actually speaking his own language, rather than syncing with what Sora heard.

As they made their way into the agora, they heard screams of fright from up the street. "Monsters!" a thin man with a long, pointed nose shouted as he and a crowd of civilians ran away from the source of disruption. Sora and Kara traded glances, guessing that the monsters in question were probably Heartless. Goofy ran through the crowd toward the disturbance, helping up a woman who had tripped and fallen along the way. Donald, Sora and Kara followed after him. Goofy conjured his shield when he was halfway there, but Sora and Donald did not summon their weapons until they had made it past the crowd and the monsters were in sight. The monsters were indeed Heartless, this batch consisting of half a dozen Soldiers and two Large Bodies. Some civilians were cornered by the monsters, and one man was trapped with his legs pinned under rubble from a smashed statue while his wife tried desperately to lift the debris. A young man stood between two kids and the Heartless, fighting off a Soldier with a spear.

"These people are in danger," Kara observed.

"We need to keep them safe, then we take care of the Heartless," Goofy said. "Sora, you draw their attention. I'll get those people to safety." He pointed to a group of people cowering against a building that had a smashed column, whom the spear-wielding man was guarding. "Donald, Kara, help them." He pointed to the trapped man and his wife.

Everyone nodded, accepting their roles. Sora ran until he was in the furthest direction from the civilians, then cast Fire at one of the Large Bodies and threw the Keyblade at one of the Soldiers. "Hey! Keyblade over here!" he shouted, summoning the weapon back to his hand and waving it in the air. He remembered what Squall had said about the Heartless fearing the Keyblade and he knew that they would target him first and foremost. According to plan, the Heartless turned to him and stalked over to him. He cast Blizzard at them a few times, knowing that he was far enough back that stray ice crystals would not hit any of the civilians.

Kara ran over to the pinned man at super speed and lifted the broken stone off of his legs. Donald caught up and cast his healing spell. "How do you feel?" the wizard asked.

"It–It doesn't hurt anymore," the man said, moving one leg slightly, surprised that it was not broken. Kara pulled him to his feet and directed him and his wife to get to safety.

Goofy reached the other civilians as the spear-wielding man stabbed a Soldier, destroying it. "This way! I'll cover you," he instructed. He offered the children his hand to encourage them. They complied, with two adults picking the kids up and carrying them away, while Goofy stood between them and the Heartless. A Soldier turned around and attempted to pursue them, but Goofy cut it off and pounded it in the face with his shield until it was no more. The only person who did not flee was the man with the spear, who continued to stab at one of the Large Bodies while its back was turned.

Sora dealt a three-hit combo to a Soldier, knocking it back into two of its compatriots on the finisher. He was sliced in the side by another Soldier's claws, so he turned around and blasted it with a Fire spell. He tried to cast another, but he found that he could not; he had run out of mana. Instead, he hit it with the Keyblade until it was no more.

When all of the civilians had fled the scene, Kara and Donald were prepared to engage in the fight. Kara started by picking up the piece of statue that she had taken off of the man's legs and throwing it at one of the Large Bodies, knocking it over and causing it to crush a Soldier. Donald blasted the Large Body with Fire spells until it dissolved into dark smoke. The brave stranger stabbed the other Large Body again, which provoked it into a rage as it whirled around to face its aggressor. The man thrust his spear into the Heartless' armored belly, unaware that it would not pierce no matter how hard he stabbed, and was shocked as the tip broke off. He backed away fearfully, unable to properly defend himself. The Heartless charged toward him, but Goofy tackled him out of the way. The Large Body ran into a wall, which cracked from the impact. Sora defeated another Soldier. He was nearly ambushed by the last one, but the stranger pushed it back with his now-bladeless staff. It turned its attention to him, but Goofy threw his shield at it, destroying it. The Large Body, the last remaining Heartless, turned around and charged at them, but Donald knocked it off balance with a Fire spell, and Kara ran around behind it and punched it, vanquishing it.

As the dust settled and Donald healed whatever injuries had been sustained, a crowd began to form around the scene. Once they realized that the monsters had been eliminated, cheers broke out from the crowd. Sora and Kara were confused, while Donald and Goofy seemed to enjoy it, and the stranger bowed proudly as if he had just finished a stage performance.

"Does this happen a lot?" Kara asked.

The spear-wielding warrior chuckled. "The people of Thebes are quite receptive to a hero," he explained. "My name is Iphitus. I don't believe I've seen any of you around here before."

Sora and Kara introduced themselves and pointed Donald and Goofy out to him. Now that the battle was over, they could get a good look at him. Iphitus was a slender but muscular young man, likely no more than a decade older than Sora and Kara. He had a lightly-tanned skin tone, a square jaw, brown eyes and auburn hair. He wore a blue chiton with a black belt tied around his waist and a pair of Air-Herc sandals.

Iphitus grinned. "Well, it's been a pleasure to fight alongside you. You are truly skilled warriors. Say, are you going to sign up for the games?" he asked.

"Games?" Sora parroted, wondering what he meant.

"The Coliseum Games. Warriors come from all over to fight monsters and each other to compete for the title of champion," Iphitus explained. He pointed down the street. "The coliseum is that way. It's a large walled building with giant statues of soldiers and lightning bolt etchings. You can head up there to sign up if you're interested." He picked up the broken-off blade of his spear. "Well, take care, friends. I should go fix this, particularly in case more of those monsters appear." He waved good-bye as he walked off. Sora, Kara, Donald, Goofy, and some of the grateful citizens waved back.

Sora turned to his friends. "Coliseum Games? That sounds like fun. Let's check it out," he suggested.

Donald shot him a glare. "We're supposed to be searching for the Heartless, not showing off at a sports arena," he scolded.

Goofy chuckled. "I don't know, Donald. It sounds like it might be fun."

Kara noticed that Sora had his mind set and he had Goofy on his side, but Donald was still unconvinced, so she decided to mediate and come up with an argument that would satisfy him. "If we meet warriors at the coliseum, we might find someone who would know something about the Heartless," she suggested. "It could be worth checking out. Besides, we don't have a better place to look."

After a moment of contemplation, Donald relented, letting out a sigh. "Fine. But let's stay focused."

They stepped through the gate in the wall surrounding the plaza in front of the coliseum and stared in awe as they laid their eyes on the structure. Its walls stood at least four stories high and extended all the way to the outer wall on either side, which stretched back to wrap around the arena behind vestibule. The double doors, marked with lightning bolt designs, were surrounded by six columns in two rows on either side holding up a stone awning, all flanked by two towering bronze statues of armored soldiers, which stood higher than the walls, that had their swords clashed, crossing above the door. Bronze braziers were spaced in front of the statues and a few feet away from the wall that the party had entered from. On that wall, purple banners were hung: some listed the ranking of warriors who competed in previous tournaments while others were blank and would be filled out after future events.

"This is amazing," Sora said, excited.

"A-hyuck. It is pretty impressive," Goofy agreed.

They crossed the sand-covered lot and entered the vestibule. The room was lit by two flaming braziers in nooks on either side. The hallway across from the entrance, which led out into the arena, was cordoned off with a rope from which a sign hung that read "CLOSED". To the left of that hallway, a short, round man with a goat's legs, tail and horns stood on a stool that resembled an ionic column as he touched up a sign that listed a series of rules.

Sora approached the goat-man warily. The phenomenon of his species was minor compared to what he had seen in Wonderland, but it was still strange to see something that was very clearly not quite human, particularly something that appeared to have stepped out of a fairy tale or a fantasy movie. He was not sure how to broach the topic he wanted to address with who he presumed was the one in charge. "Um…"

The goat-man perked up. "Good timing! Gimme a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me," he barked, pointing to a yellow stone block on the right side of the room without turning around. "I gotta spruce this place up for the games."

Sora turned to his friends and shrugged; he was pretty sure that he was not who the goat-man had thought he was talking to, but he did not see anything wrong with helping out anyway. He went over to one side of the block and pushed against it. However, it did not budge, even as he put all of his strength into it. He ceased his efforts and took a breath. "This weighs a ton," he complained.

"Looks pretty heavy," Goofy added.

"Who's supposed to be able to move this?" Donald wondered aloud.

"Do you want me to try?" Kara suggested.

"Hey, what's the problem, champ? Don't tell me you can't move a little—" The goat-man turned around, expecting to see someone taller, then stopped as he realized at last that the people in the room with him were not who he had thought. "Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" The man, a satyr, appeared to be in his upper-middle age, comparable to a human in his sixties. He had lightly-tanned skin, rust-red fur that covered his goat half, and brown eyes. He was bald, but he had a five-o'clock shadow and a beard that was the same color as his goat fur.

He hopped off of his pedestal and marched toward the group with an air of authority that forced Donald to step back. "This here's the worlds-famous coliseum—heroes only! And I've got my hands full preparing for the games. So run along, pip-squeaks."

Sora pouted, Kara frowned, and Donald tapped his foot in mild frustration. The satyr sighed. "Look, it's like this. Heroes come from all over to fight ferocious monsters, right here in the coliseum. They test their strength and skills against deadly beasts and against each other, competing for the title of champion. In addition, they entertain the crowds, help them believe in heroes."

"You've got heroes right in front of you!" Donald told him.

Goofy put his hands on Sora's shoulders. "Yeah! He's a real hero, chosen by the Keyblade," he said. Sora smiled proudly.

"And we're heroes, too," Kara added, putting her hands on her hips and flexing a heroic pose.

"Hero? That runt?!" the satyr asked in disbelief. He burst out laughing, slapping his large belly.

Sora glared. "What's so funny? We've fought a bunch of monsters!" he argued. Kara nodded in affirmation.

The satyr approached the yellow pedestal. "Hey, if you can't even move this…" He attempted to push the block, to no avail. "You can't call yourself…" He tried in a different position, leaning his back against it and pushing with his legs, but his hooves slipped on the polished floor. Sora and Kara crossed their arms, skeptical of the goat-man's judgmental position. "A Hero!" Worn out from the effort, he slipped to the ground, breathing heavily. The visitors waited for him to catch his breath and pick himself up. "Okay, so it takes more than brawn," he conceded. "But—"

"Do you still need help with that?" Kara asked. Without waiting for the satyr to answer, she grabbed onto the stone block with both hands and picked it up, hoisting it over her head. The satyr's jaw dropped as he stared in awe at her strength. Kara set the block down in the corner, then turned back to the satyr, smiling cheekily.

Sora, Donald and Goofy held back laughter. Their attention was drawn away, however, when they saw what the block had been resting on. There was an inset shape in the floor, in which a hole stretched as far as the eye could see. Sora stepped forward to take a closer look and saw that it was in the shape of a keyhole, about the size of his hand and in the same shape as the one that was in the Doorknob's mouth. The keyhole's outline glowed, a light tracing around the edge. As Sora wondered if there was a connection, the Keyblade materialized in his hand of its own volition. Figuring that it wanted to lock it, he stepped forward, held it with both hands, and positioned it directly above the keyhole, so that it did not jerk him around like last time. A white light and blinking stars swirled around the tip and the Keyblade fired a beam of light into the Keyhole. The satyr turned around to stare in wonder as the giant key worked its magic. There was a click, as if a lock was engaged, and then the hole vanished in a flash of light, soon replaced by a flat plane of the same stone as the rest of the floor.

"Holy Hera," the satyr gasped, amazed by Kara's strength and by what the Keyblade had just done.

"What was that?" Sora asked, pointing at the spot where the Keyhole had been. First Wonderland, now Olympus. Could the satyr tell them what they were, why the Keyblade wanted to seal them, and why the Heartless might have been after them?

The satyr shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I remember seeing it here years ago. I got this weird feeling from it. Gave me the creeps. So I had it blocked up with that pedestal. I guess I forgot about it over time.

"Oh." Oh, well, Sora thought to himself. It was worth a shot, but it seemed as though the satyr had no idea what they were dealing with either.

"You know, maybe I judged you too soon," the satyr said, thinking about what he had just witnessed. "Say, kid, can you do anything special, like her?"

"Well, I can't fly," Sora admitted. The satyr did a double take a few seconds after that comment. "But I have this, and I'm learning some magic from Donald," Sora added, waving the Keyblade around.

The satyr put his hand to his chin in contemplation. "All right, I'll tell you what. I can tell that you've got a spark in you. You've got spirit, but you're not off the ground yet. Lucky for you, I have room in my schedule to take some protégés. Therefore, I, Philoctetes, am willing to train you."

Sora, Kara, Donald, and Goofy looked at each other and smiled. "Thanks, Phil…oc…tetes," Sora replied, having difficulty in pronouncing the satyr's long name.

Philoctetes shrugged. "Eh, call me Phil." Sora and Donald nodded, finding that that was much easier to say. "Now, I'll need to finish up here before I start with you. While you wait, go get a bunch of barrels out of the hypogeum and lay them around the arena."

"Hypo… what?" Sora asked.

Phil sighed. "The basement where we store supplies and keep trapped monsters. You can get in there behind the barred gate in the back of the arena. Just crank the wheels to open it," he explained. He unhooked the rope that was strung across the hallway and dropped it against the wall, allowing them to go through. "Any questions?"

Sora shook his head. "No. I think we're good," he replied.