Sorry for the long wait. Now, it's time for the Olympus Coliseum! Read and enjoy!
Chapter 1: Welcome to the Arena
(Philia speaking) My name is Philia, and that's all you'll get from me. Some time ago, I landed in a world called Traverse Town, with no memory of my past. It was in this town where I met Donald, Goofy, Jiminy, and Sora, who wields a weapon called the Keyblade.
We've started traveling to different worlds to find Sora's friends, Donald and Goofy's king, and my memories.
In the last world, we intervened with a trial to save a girl named Alice from being killed. We managed to pull it off without meddling with the rules of the world too deeply, but Alice had mysteriously vanished. Based on all clues given to us by the Cheshire Cat, we guessed that the Heartless must've taken her somewhere else.
The fact that the Heartless weren't acting on instinct showed that someone was behind this, controlling these creatures. With a new person added to our list of missing people, we left Wonderland, and traveled to a different world. I hope this time, we will gain something rather than lose it.
(Cue 'Digimon Adventure Tri Opening 1 - Butterfly TV Size', music on Youtube)
My wings are full of images of holding back, They are still weak but I'm sure I can fly
(As the viewer zoom in on a grassy field, a red shape passes the viewer, revealing Sora in the distance. A light blue shape passes, revealing Philia, then a green one reveals Goofy, and a dark blue one reveals Donald.)
Oh My Love (guitar intro)
(The viewer zooms in and circles around to see the four of them standing there, looking off into the distance. The image becomes blurry as the title appears in front of them.)
I become a happy butterfly and flying the shimmering wind And I will go to see you right away
(Sora was asleep on the shore of the Destiny Islands, but was awoken by a voice behind him. He turned to see Kairi and Riku standing there by the raft, the latter looking somewhat annoyed by Sora's laziness while Kairi waved him over to help. Sora got to his feet and raced to his friends. The screen fades to white.)
Better you forget about unnecessary things, There's no time to joke anymore.
(The viewer zoom out of the white in Philia's eyes as she practices with her Sword Breaker, with Leon and Yuffie watching her. Her blade glowing yellow-green as she thrusted her blade forward in a Dagger Skill. She holds her position for a moment as Yuffie applauds her, then Philia lowers her weapon, looking up at the sky with a sad expression. The viewer looks into the sky, seeing the stars as they shined for a seconds, before quickly disappearing one by one.)
I wonder, wow wow wow wow wow, what will reach the sky
(The viewer zooms out as Maleficent comes into view, standing at the table with the shadowy silhouettes of her villainous allies, and Riku at her side.)
But, wow wow wow wow wow, don't even have a plan for tomorrow
(The scene changes to six of the seven Princesses of Heart, their eyes closed as if they were asleep. Kairi appears in the middle of it, her arms crossed in front of her as she opens her eyes and her body scatters into lights, replacing her position with Sora as he stood there beside Philia, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy on Donald's head as the viewer shifts the angle to behind them, seeing the hundreds of Heartless in front of them.)
Living in a world of nothing after the infinite dream, My love to you is growing weak
(The four begin to display to the viewers their combat skills against the Heartless one at a time, starting with Sora, then Philia, then Goofy, then finally Donald, who rains down lightning onto the Heartless before the heroes charge in to continue fighting.)
My wings are full of images of holding back, They are still weak but I'm sure I can fly. Oh My Love
(The viewer passes the Heartless to see Riku standing at the end, reaching out to Sora as to invite him to the darkness, with the shadowy image of Heartless Ansem mimicking his movements. Philia clears the path for Sora as he races forward, reaching out to his friend. The view shifts to Sora's view, his hand reaching out to Riku as he and the darkness fade away into the light.)
Guitar solo ending
(The screen shines an image of King Mickey holding the Keyblade as Donald and Goofy looking in from the sides. The view shifts to a dark image of Aincrad as it crumbles away, with Philia's face looking to the viewer. The view zooms out as Sora pats Philia's shoulder, causing her to look and smile at Sora as he grinned back. The view zooms back even further to show quartet and Jiminy standing there, smiling at the viewers as they stood on the same hill as before, before the view shifts back to the sky again, with the flower petals flying by once again.)
After taking down a few Heartless ships in their path, the team continued towards the next world, which was starting to get closer according to the radar. Philia looked outside the dome roof, wondering about what had happened in the last world.
Jiminy hopped onto her shoulder, getting her attention. "Are you okay, Philia?" he asked, noticing the sad yet concerned look on Philia's face. "Sort of." she answered, "It's just…I'm wondering what's gonna happen in the next world we visit. Will we find more answers, or will it just leave us with more people and things to find?"
"We've only been to one world." Goofy pointed out, hearing the conversation, "I'm sure we'll discover somethin' in the next world." "He's right." Jiminy agreed, "It's not like you to give up so quickly."
"I'm not giving up. But…" Philia started, looking to her fellow human companion, "Sora, don't you find yourself with more questions than answers from that last world?" "Yeah, kind of…" Sora responded, "I mean, I'm curious as to where Alice disappeared to, and that thing that happened with my Keyblade." He recalled the moment when his Keyblade lit up, shooting a beam out into the keyhole. "I have no idea what I did, but it felt like my Keyblade was drawn to that keyhole. It locked something up, but I don't know what."
"We're at the next destination." Donald pointed out. The team looked up, and noticed the world approaching. From their view, they could see a coliseum, with two golden statues of gladiators crossing blades.
"What world is this?" Sora asked, "Looks pretty interesting." "It's called the Olympus Coliseum." Donald answered. "Gawrsh, I wonder what this place is like?" Goofy asked. "Looks like a place of combat." Philia guessed, standing up. Jiminy hopped back into Sora's pocket as the team climbed onto the transporter, and with the coordinates set in by Donald, they descended down to the world below.
Upon arrival, the team stood on the steps as they faced a massive coliseum that clearly was made in the Ancient Greek era. The double doors into the entryway were stone, with lightning bolts on it.
"Already, I can feel the aura of battle in this place." Philia stated, "Can't you guys feel it?" "I don't know." Goofy answered. "Well I can." Sora retorted, "This definitely seems like the place Riku would like to go. He did say that he want to find other worlds to get stronger. Maybe this is where he went to." "In that case, let's search for clues on whether he has been here." Philia told the team.
They looked about the outside, and around the legs of the giant statues hanging over the doors. On one side, Sora and Donald discovered a mythril shard, while on the other side, Philia and Goofy discovered three worried dalmatian puppies, and they sent them back to the gummi ship. After investigating the area, they entered into the lobby.
The lobby was small, lit with bowls of fire in some parts, and a shelf filled with some trophies. standing on top of a small column, writing on a plaque of rules, was a creature of some kind. He was shorter than Donald, and looked like he had the bottom half of a goat, with horns on his head, but his top half was that of a chubby man.
Sora walked up and was about to say something when the goat man said without looking, "Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the games." He pointed to the cube pedestal, which was completely made of stone. Plus, it didn't look very light, either.
Sora and Philia walked over to the stone, which was just as tall as Sora. The two looked at one another, and Philia waved her hand to Sora, letting him go first. Sora stepped up, and pressed his entire body against the pedestal, pushing with all his might. It weighs a ton! he thought as he pushed with all his might, but with no such luck.
He panted a few times as he stepped back, and allowed Philia a chance. She stepped forward, pressing her body against the pedestal, digging her feet into the ground to push. The results were the same as Sora; nothing. "And I thought Large Bodies were troublesome to move." Philia sighed, stepping back.
Sora walked up to the goat man, who hadn't turned once to see them. "It's way too heavy!" he exclaimed. "What? Too heavy?" the goat-man questioned in a surprised manner, "Since when have you been such a little…" He turned to see someone at his level, then he looked down and saw Sora, along with the other four in the room.
"Oh. Wrong guy." the goat-man noticed, "What're you doing here?" He hopped down onto the ground as he continued, "This here's the world-famous Coliseum; Heroes only. And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run along, pip squeaks." Sora glared at him, annoyed that he didn't even once considered them heroes.
"You could at least say it kindly, instead of just showing us out." Philia retorted, not liking the attitude. "Woah, easy there, sweet cheeks." the goat-man replied, noticing Philia, "You can stay if you want to talk to me, but these three fellas can't be here." "First of all, these 'fellas' are my friends." Philia retorted, "And secondly, why can't they be here? And what's with this tournament that only contains heroes?"
"Okay, okay. Easy there, lady." the goat man calmed her down, walking past them to the pedestal, "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum." Monsters, huh? Philia wondered, Could they be the Heartless?
"You got heroes standing right in front of you." Donald declared to the goat man, startling Philia. "Yup. He's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade!" Goofy pointed Sora out. "And we're heroes, too." Donald added, "Right, Philia?" "Uh…yeah, I guess so." Philia agreed, feeling slightly uncomfortable that she was thrown into the group like this.
"Hero? That runt?" the goat man asked incredulously, and he began to laugh at Sora, thinking the whole thing was an absolute joke. "What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora said angrily.
Once the goat man calmed down, the goat man said, "Hey, if you can't even move this…" he began to try moving the pedestal himself, with just the same results as Philia and Sora, "…you can't call yourself…a hero!" Pushing with all his might, the goat man was unable to move the pedestal, getting amused expressions from the four. He quickly ran out of stamina, and collapsed on his back, coughing.
"Okay, so it takes more than brawn." he panted, "Well, well, let's see what you can do." "I'm Sora." the boy introduced himself, "My friends are Philia, Donald, and Goofy." "The name's Philoctetes. Call me Phil." the goat man replied, "Listen, the trial I'm gonna give ya is tough. You got what it takes?" Sora nodded.
"All right. Tell ya what, how 'bout if I add in your lady friend to see what she can do." Phil asked. Sora looked to Philia, who was taken aback at the offer. "Come on. Let's take them on together." Sora told her. "Um, okay." Philia answered, not too confident in immediately joining into the trial like Sora, but she had to set herself up.
"Okay, kids. Let's see what you've got." Phil told the two, and he led them, Donald and Goofy out to the coliseum arena. The arena was big, and the stands were on either side of the field.
Phil flipped a hidden switch, and the stage magically changed, featuring platforms, columns, and a whole lot of barrels. "Alright, kids, the rules are simple: Bust all the barrels within the time limit." Phil explained, holding up an hourglass, "I'll give ya thirty seconds to bust all barrels, capisce? Okay, kid, you're up first."
Sora stepped up to the starting point, producing his Keyblade. "Ready, go!" Phil shouted, starting the timer. Sora bounced forward at a three set, and with several cuts, sliced down the barrels. He kept moving forward to a pair of stacked barrels, unleashing a Ripple Drive to bust then up simultaneously. He kept doing this to the rest of the barrels, using his swordplay and his special attacks to take them out. He practically made it just over 25 seconds.
"Not bad…for a beginner, that is." Phil commented, "Okay, sweet-cheeks. You're up!" With assistance from Donald and Goofy, Phil got twenty more barrels set for Philia as she stepped up. I just have to remember all of my training. Philia thought to herself, These barrels were positioned in a path. If I follow it, swiftly taking out the barrels, I can win this in a short amount of time.
"Ready? Start!" Phil declared, starting the timer. "Okay, let's go." she muttered, and she dashed forward, swiping through all three barrels in a blink of an eye. She then proceeded to the four barrels next, striking them with a Cross Edge. She kept up her momentum, slashing and speeding past the barrels with a pace that was quicker than Sora's. By the time she was done, the timer had reached just over 21 seconds.
"Sweet saytr, that was impressive!" Phil said in amazement. "I'll say." Sora agreed, slightly jealous of her quick work of the field. Donald and Goofy were also impressed that she managed to be faster than Sora.
Philia stepped off the arena, then asked, "So, have we proven ourselves?" "Not even close." Phil answered, "If you can pull off this exercise that quickly, then how 'bout we make things a little more challenging." He pulled another secret lever, and the arena changed once again. This time, there was a lot more levels of platforms all about the arena, including a small one over a pillar.
"This one's gonna test your mobility in all kinds of levels." Phil told him, "It ain't a straight-forward area, so think smart, capiche?" Philia nodded in understanding, and took her position. "This time, I'm givin' you a whole minute to take out all 25 barrels. Don't dawdle! Ready, set, go!"
Philia started racing around the rim of the arena, taking out the small barrels about the taller platforms. She then started leaping up one platform at a time, taking out the barrels on each level. A couple times, Philia ended up knocking barrels down to the ground below, and she had to descend to get them, then use her jumping skills to hop back onto the platforms again. When she had finished, she had completed the course in just over forty-six seconds.
"Not too bad. Screwed up a little here and there, but you pulled yourself through." Phil stated, "Okay, kid. Let's see if you can do better." Sora hopped off the stands, coming up to Philia as she left the stage. "Good luck out there." she told him. "I'm gonna beat your record, no problem!" Sora told her. As they passed, they raised their hands and high-fived one another. The two were becoming quite the pair.
"Alright, take your position!" Phil told Sora. Philia sat down next to Donald and Goofy, while Sora readied himself. "Same rules apply; 25 barrels under a minute." Phil reminded him, "Ready…go!"
Sora instantly followed along the same path as Philia, taking out barrels left and right. His determination to show up Philia was strong, and he wasn't gonna let up. After taking out the barrels along the sides, he started platform climbing, taking out the barrels on each level. However, he had a plan for taking out barrels he missed; his magic. If a barrel nearly fell off, he would unleash a Fire spell, burning the barrel. It was quick and efficient, and Philia felt that she should've known to do that. By the time Sora finished the last barrel, the clearing time was just under forty seconds.
"Hey, you're better than I though, kid!" Phil noticed as Donald and Goofy cheered for Sora, while Philia clapped her hands in applause. Sora grinned at his efforts, and hopped off the arena, joining the others. Philia came down and shook hands with Sora. "Not bad, Sora." she told him. "Thanks!" Sora answered.
"You know, the two of your ain't bad." Phil told the two as he approached them. "We cleared your trials." Philia stated. "Looks like we're headed for the games." Sora cheered.
"Afraid not!" Phil retorted, causing surprised looks from Donald and Sora. "Why not?!" Sora demanded. "Two words: You guys ain't heroes!" Philia watched Goofy count four fingers off, while Donald and Sora begged for a chance to be in the games.
"Don't we get any reward from passing your tests?" Philia asked, "We did our best out there, and this is how you shut us down?!" "Hey, easy, lady!" Phil answered, "I'll admit, you guys were pretty good out there. As such, I'll give ya this."
He pulled out a magical orb of energy, which floated upwards and split into three, going into Sora, Donald and Philia. "Is this…new magic?" Sora asked. "I feel tingly all over." Philia noticed, "It's like static electricity."
"That's because that magic is the Thunder spell." Phil explained, "You wanna try being a real hero? Try mastering that spell. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get ready for the games. Vamoose, all of ya!" He went back to reassembling the arena, leaving the heroes to exit the coliseum.
Chapter 2: Entering the Battle!
Outside the Coliseum, the heroes walked out, both Donald and Sora depressed that they couldn't enter the games. "Who does he think he is, treating us like a bunch of kids?" Sora growled, "I mean, we passed his tests, and all he gives us is some magic?"
"We don't have time entering the games, anyway!" Donald retorted, "We have more important things to consider, like finding King Mickey." "Yeah, but Sora's friend might be in this tournament." Philia pointed out, "Plus, I was kinda interested in entering the tournament, as well." Sora, Donald and Philia sighed that things didn't go their way.
Philia then turned to Sora and asked, "You said Riku wanted to get stronger. Why?" "He never gave a clear answer." Sora replied, "But he always wanted to go to the outside world to get stronger."
"What did he do back in your home?" Goofy asked. "Mainly trained. We sparred a lot during our times on the island." Sora answered, "He was mainly stronger than me, but he always wanted me to get stronger with him. So, I trained with him. We had other friends we sparred with on the islands. Kairi never joined in. She always just watched us fight."
"When I came to Traverse Town, I started training with Leon, Yuffie and Aerith in order to tackle the Heartless." Philia explained, "Although, I wanted to fight so that I could discover myself. Where I came from. Who my friends were before I came there. I have so many questions about myself, that I intended to get stronger so I can search for them."
"Have you had any of your memories come back?" Sora asked. Philia shook her head. "I remember bits and pieces, like my Dagger Skills, and that I was a treasure hunter before this. Although, those were recalled through certain words or sentences I hear from time to time, or through combat. I had hoped to enter that tournament to fight, and unlock new things about myself."
Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy, who appeared out of Sora's pocket, looked at her with sympathy. "I guess you have a lot on your mind." Sora stated, "No wonder you were kinda down in the Gummi Ship." Philia nodded in response.
"I know! If we can't enter the tournament, we can fight each other." the Keyblade wielder suggested. "You want to spar with me?" Philia asked, surprised. "Sure! After those trials, and how I've seen you fight, I really want to face you." Sora stated, "So how 'bout it?"
Philia thought for a bit. She had seen Sora fight, and was impressed by him. And considering they were kinda competing in Phil's trials, and ended up with a win each, they really needed to have a tie breaker.
"Okay, I'm game." Philia stated, pulling out her dagger, "But I will not go easy on you. Better do the same for me." "Oh, I will!" Sora replied, producing his Keyblade. Jimmy, Donald and Goofy stood on the sidelines, while a shadowy figure emanating blue flames stood behind one of the columns, watching the two ready to go.
Sora launched himself towards Philia, and the two clashed blades. After a few second struggle, they parted from one another, and Philia made her dagger glow, unleashing an Armor Pierce Dagger Skill. Sora dodged to one side, then followed through with a slash that struck Philia in the back, knocking her aways.
The three audience members gasped as the treasure hunter skidded to a halt, rolling her shoulders to feel her injury. She then snapped her eyes on Sora, who looked slightly nervous as her glare.
Time to try out the new magic… she thought, and raised her dagger, shouting, "Thunder!" Several small lightning bolts showered down onto the field in front of her. One of the lightning bolts struck Sora, shocking him slightly and making his hair stand more spiked than before for a few seconds. He then shook himself from the shock, and readied himself again. So that's what the Thunder spell Phil gave us does. he thought to himself, I definitely will use it for sure!
The two continued to clash, unleashing all they had at one another, from their magic, to Sora's special techniques, to Philia's Dagger Skills. Neither side was giving in, wanting to beat the other to show them up. "They're really goin' at it." Goofy stated. "I'm wondering if they realize they were just making this a sparring match?" Jiminy questioned, standing on Donald's beret. "If Phil saw them, he would definitely see we could enter the tournament, heroes or not!" Donald squawked, hopping up and down, irritated that he wasn't watching.
"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?" asked a voiced next to the trio. They turned, and yelped in surprise, as a tall guy with pale blue skin, a black toga, and blue flames on his head that was his hair. The yelp caused the two fighters to turn to see the new audience member. Philia instantly felt something foreboding from him; a kind of darkness similar to that of the Heartless, yet different.
"Who are you?" Donald asked, stepping aways from him. "Whoa, hold on there, fuzz boy." the new figure responded, striding towards Sora and Philia's position, "Wait, let me guess. You want to enter the games, right?"
He placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, and the team could see that Sora barely reached above his waist. "Well, then, hey, get a load of this." he stated, and out of a ball of blue light, he summoned a piece of paper, with writing on it that approved them of entering the games. "Is this…a pass?" Sora asked. "Can't ignore young talent such as yourselves." the guy stated, "It's all yours."
Sora was about to take it, but Philia snatched Sora's wrist, stopping his reach. "Don't you know it's dangerous to take such things from strangers? Particularly ones who emanate a bad vibe like him?" Philia questioned, looking from Sora to the guy, "He's just reeking with darkness." The guy huffed a bit, seeing that this girl was catching onto him.
"Eh, can't be helped." he stated, taking his hand off of Sora, "I mean, I am the lord of the dead! Dark vibe comes with the job, little lady, little fluff, little dandelion tuff." The emphasis on the word 'tuff' irritated Philia a bit.
"Why ARE you giving us a pass?" Sora asked, now following in Philia's thoughts. "You really wanna know? I'll tell ya." the lord of the dead answered, "See, that old goat has a student named 'Hercules' or something. Because of those rippling muscles and quick wit, he's become the apple in his eye, and no one else can define themselves as a true hero BUT him. Now, I see you guys, and I see the potential makings of REAL heroes. Now I have given a deal for you; I'm giving you a pass to enter the games, prove your heroic skills, and no strings attached. Do we have a deal?"
He waved the pass in a tantalizing manner in front of Sora and Philia. Sora was all for it, but Philia had some concerns. The guy had an ulterior motive behind this, she was sure of it. She wasn't positive, but she had a gut feeling about it.
Sora, on the other hand, had no objections after that explanation. He took the pass without saying a word, but growing determined to show his stuff. "Then it's a deal." the lord of the dead stated, "Good luck, kid. You too, dandelion tuff. I'm pulling for you, shorties." He walked away towards the entrance, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Donald, Goofy and Jiminy surrounded the two. "Oh boy! Now we can enter the games!" Donald cheered. "I'm still not so sure about that guy." Philia stated, "He's got a plan. I just know it." "He did say 'no strings attached', right?" Sora retorted, "Besides, I thought you wanted to enter the tournament to see if you can regain your memories. Plus, Riku might just enter the games, too, and that's why I wanna enter."
Philia pondered on Sora's statement. He was right about the reasons for entering the tournament, and they were given a legitimate pass to enter. However, the fact that they were given one by such a dark character was definitely disturbing her. She would have to keep her wits about her if she were to enter into the tournament, just to see if that guy had an ulterior motive.
"Okay, I'm all for it." she stated. "Great!" Sora cheered, "Let's go in, and show we can be REAL heroes!" "Yeah!" Donald agreed, and the two tromped ahead, with Jiminy hopping back into Sora's pocket, followed by Philia and Goofy. "Ya think they're more concern about bein' heroes, or findin' Riku and your memories?" Goofy asked. "Honestly, I don't know." Philia sighed, seeing the two childish characters race back into the coliseum.
When they entered, Sora flashed the pass given to them, and Phil was startled. "Hey, how'd you get this?!" Phil demanded, looking closely, "It's gotta be some sort of counterfeit…no, it's the real deal." "Can we enter the games NOW?" Sora asked. Phil grumbled a little, then he answered, "Well…I guess so. We start with the preliminaries, which are about to begin, soon. Some real weirdos entered in as well, so watch yourselves out there!"
Sora eagerly entered into the Coliseum first, followed by the others. "This is it, guys!" Sora cheered, "We'll pass the preliminaries, and win this whole thing!" "Don't get too confident, Sora." Philia retorted, "Remember, Phil said there were some tough ones, so let's keep on our toes." "Right!" Sora answered.
Suddenly, the edges of the arena glowed, forming a barrier around them. Then several Soldiers and Blue Rhapsody Heartless appeared, ready to fight. "Let's go!" Sora declared, and the team dove into the battle.
Chapter 3: The Dark Cloud
The first round was quite easy for the heroes, especially since they started off the battle with a triple Thunder spell from Sora, Donald and Phil that took out most of the Heartless, before they ended up finishing them off.
"You're no heroes yet, but you ain't doing bad." Phil stated, calling them over after the first battle, "Lucky you came to me for coaching." "Yeah. That new spell you gave us sure won that round!" Sora stated eagerly. Sure, if you leave out the part that Phil also just disregarded us to enter the games. Philia added in thought.
Just then, Sora and Philia felt something; a powerful aura. It was coming from a young man that was entering the ring from behind Phil. He was tall, with blonde hair that was spikier than Sora's, strong light blue eyes, and a uniform that made him very soldier-like, although he had a torn red cape wrapped around his neck like shoal, flowing in the back. His left hand had golden nails, forming a claw, and he also had one black wing on the back of his left shoulder blade.
As he passed the crew, Philia and Sora looked up at him, as he passed right by them, almost sizing them up. He then looked away, back to the arena, as everyone watched him leave.
"Who was that?" Sora asked. "I don't know." Philia answered. "Somethin' tells me he'll be a tough one to beat." Phil noticed, "Who knows, maybe you'll end up facin' him." With the kind of power he's showing, I hope we are able to get stronger to face him throughout the tournament. Sora thought to himself.
"Alright! Break's over." Phil told the team, "Get out there and show me what you are made of!" "You got it!" Donald squawked in response, "Let's go, Goofy!" "Right!" Goofy answered, and they took onto the battlefield. Philia patted Sora's shoulder, making sure he was focused and ready. Sora broke away from his thoughts on the fighter that passed them, and nodded in assurance to Philia.
For the next two rounds, the team had to face off against several Heartless. One of them composed of a ton of Shadows and Blue Rhapsodies, and the other contained nothing but Blue Rhapsodies and Red Nocturnes. They new that the Blue was weak to fire, while the Red was weak to blizzard, so they used that to their advantage to quickly extinguish their opponents.
"Say, you're better than I thought, kids!" Phil told the four after their last battle, "Wish he was here to see this." "Who?" Sora questioned. Philia then recalled what that 'lord of the dead' guy told them, and questioned, "Would it be that guy we've heard, Hercules?" "You got it!" Phil answered, "He's a hero if ever there was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father."
The quartet looked at one another, wondering. That guy before was right; Phil really did think of Hercules as a true, blue hero. However, that wasn't gonna stop them from showing that they had what it takes to become true heroes themselves. At least, that's what Donald and Sora were thinking. With their minds set, they entered back into the battlefield, ready for action.
The next round of their battle was composed of all the Heartless they have fought so far in the previous matches, which made things challenging for the crew. Next was a sleuth of Blue Rhapsodies, who wanted revenge. Fortunately, Fire spells were especially helpful against them.
After the last battle, Philia gave a sigh of relief. "Gettin' tired, Philia?" Sora asked. "No. You?" she responded. "Not a bit." Sora answered, thumping his chest. "Ya know, we might actually win this whole thing." Goofy suggested. "I'm sure we will!" Donald answered. "Then let's keep going, everyone!" Sora declared, getting cheers from the others.
Out of earshot, behind the iron gates that led into the Coliseum, the lord of the dead, a.k.a Hades, was watching them, along with the same young man who passed the heroes before, leaning on the wall right by him.
"That little punk is your next opponent, okay?" Hades told the young man, "Now, don't blow it. Just take him out." The young man paused, then looking at Sora, he questioned, "The great god of the Underworld is afraid of a kid? Sorry, but my contract says…"
"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" Hades barked at him, "I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament. But you've gotta fight that kid and dandelion tuff to get to him. Just put it on my tab, and do it!"
He noticed that the young man still was ill-convinced, so Hades added, "It's just like that old goat says: Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it! I mean, a casualty or two along the way is no big deal, right?" The young man straightened himself, and walked away from Hades, readying himself, regardless of what Hades asked him to do.
"Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home." Hades mumbled, "Still, suckers like him are hard to come by…" From behind him, hidden in the darkness, three large pairs of red eyes glowed, along with the sounds of monstrous growls, hungry for action.
Meanwhile, the heroes were dealing with a lot of tough opponents, including a couple of Large Body Heartless that entered the field. Philia was more of the expert when it came to fighting the Large Bodies, especially since her speed and Armor Pierce Dagger Skill were capable of breaking through its' defenses.
"We're in the final match!" Sora cheered, once they defeated the last set of Heartless. "Still, I wonder how the Heartless even signed up for the tournaments in the first place?" Philia asked, "Could this be related to how well coordinated they were in the last world?" "Sounds like it." Goofy answered. The others paused, wondering about who would be able to manipulate the Heartless like that.
"Alright, break times over, rookies!" Phil called to them, "Now here comes the final match! Your opponent is that guy we met after the first round. And he's been slashing through the competition with no delays."
"Does he have a name?" Sora asked. "Sure. Guy's name is Cloud." Phil answered, "And unlike his name, he ain't no cream puff in the sky. If ya ain't careful, he'll make matchsticks out of all of ya." The team nodded in understanding. Philia and Sora both felt his power. Now, it was time to see if they had what it takes to beat him.
They entered the arena, just as the young man named Cloud did. The quartet readied their weapons, while Cloud produced a massive sword that was as large as he was, bound up in bandages. "I wonder why Hades is so anxious to get rid of you?" "What are you talking about?" Philia questioned. Cloud paused before shaking his head, then answering, "Nothing." Sora and Philia instantly felt him ready to fight, and they readied themselves, too.
Cloud dashed in very quickly, surprising the heroes, and with one swipe, slashed them all away. Donald, Goofy and Sora tumbled to the ground, while Philia managed to keep her footing. Sora sat back up, massaging his head. He moved so quick! And with that giant sword, too! he thought. It's no wonder he's made it to the top of the preliminaries. Philia wondered, We can't mess around with this guy. We need to act sharp!
"Too easy…" Cloud muttered, leaping up, and diving towards the fallen Sora. "No you don't!" Philia responded with a quick block with her dagger. The impact of the attack made Philia struggle, and she collapsed to one knee, gritting her teeth. "Philia!" Sora called out, and he rose up to strike Cloud when he was open, knocking him away. He reached out for Philia, who took his hand, and was pulled to her feet.
They charged in together as Cloud thrusted forward, charging with a dark energy. The two heroes dodged to either side, then slashed each of his shoulders, damaging him. He then leapt into the air, and unleashed a sword dive, aiming at Sora. Sora rolled out of the way as a dark shockwave surrounded the spot he landed on.
Philia then unleashed a light-blue aura from her dagger, unleashing her Side Bite Dagger Skill as she unleashed two quick horizontal slashes. Sora then unleashed a series of slashes from his Keyblade, ending with a Ripple Drive that sent Cloud flipping backwards in the air, but he landed on his feet, and continued the assault.
Donald and Goofy were able to recover and join Philia and Sora in an intense fight with Cloud, who was not only swift with his oversized blade, but he knew how to swing it about. Not only that, but he used some type of dark energy to go with his attacks, though it wasn't as dark as the Heartless. What's more, Cloud was keen on taking out Sora, though it didn't stop him from trying to knock out Philia, Donald and Goofy while he was at it.
After a few minutes, Donald and Goofy were down again, and Philia and Sora were trying to hold their ground against Cloud, who was taking a beating from the fight. Sora charged in, and Cloud unleashed a dashing thrust. Sora dodged once again, but Cloud quickly recovered and did another dashing thrust, changing angles and striking Sora, sending him tumbling. Cloud didn't relent on this assault as he charged in with another dashing thrust, and another.
Sora didn't look like he could take another hit as Cloud thrusted once more. Philia found an opening, and unleashed her Armor Pierce skill directly on Cloud's sword, knocking it to one side, and stopping his assault. Sora fell to the ground, moaning in pain.
Philia glared at Cloud, who calmly regained himself, leapt back, and then leapt forward with an overhead slash at Philia. "Not on your life!" Philia barked, twirling her blade as she thrusted it forward, unleashing a Blizzard spell directly in Cloud's face, faltering him once more.
Sora drank a potion, and got back up on his feet. He saw Cloud was phased thanks to Philia, and used this to unleash a Fire spell to back up Philia's last attack, and the fireball exploded upon impact with Cloud. The two came together as Cloud landed on the ground, then fell to one knee, bracing himself with his free hand. Donald and Goofy regained themselves, and saw the two heroes standing together, glaring at Cloud. Phil was on the sidelines, leaping up and down, cheering at the team's victory.
Sora then stepped forward as Cloud got back onto his feet again. He looked to Sora's weapon, eyeing the strength it was carrying. I thought that was some sort of plastic toy, but it's got some power behind it. he thought to himself, Is that what Hades is after?
Philia then looked behind him and gasped, "Look out!" Cloud turned, and was immediately stepped on by a large paw. The paw was from a large, black, three-headed dog with sharp teeth and red eyes.
Sora, Donald and Goofy gasped at the sight of the massive beast. Philia was also shocked, then she noticed something standing at the entrance on the other side of the Coliseum. The same guy who gave them the pass was watching them. "Oh, right, there one other rule I forgot: Accidents happen." he stated, and he disappeared into the dark corridor. That guy again! Philia thought, angry, I knew it; he was WANTING to take us out!
Sora was paralyzed by the sight of the three-headed hound, who raised their heads, growling at the young Keyblade wielder. "Sora, look out!" Philia cried, charging in as all three heads lunged forward at him. Suddenly, another character came into the field, and punched all three hounds with his bare fists. He was a young man like Cloud, well build, with muscular arms, brown hair, bronze armor, a blue cape, and sandals.
He leapt forward, and started pushing the large dog by the underside, lifting his paw off of Cloud. "Herc!" Phil called out, indicating the team that this guy was Hercules. "Phil, get them out of here!" Hercules ordered. Donald and Goofy made no hesitation to leave the scene.
"C'mon, kid!" Phil called out to Sora. "But, what about Cloud?" Philia asked the saytr, indicating the unconscious warrior. "Don't worry. I'll take care of him." Hercules answered, "Now, get going!" Sora and Philia looked at one another, then took off with Phil to the lobby. Hercules shoved Cerberus enough to pick up Cloud and escape the falling paws and heads. He turned around, and saw the three heads lower and roar in his face, ready to feast on him.
Chapter 4: Vs. Cerberus
Inside the lobby, the team regained themselves from exhaustion. "Whew, that was close!" Phil sighed. "What was that big mutt?!" Donald demanded. "That was Cerberus, guardian of the Underworld. Big piece of work, but Herc should be able to handle him. But then again, maybe not…" Phil gave a foreboding look on his face as he muttered, "This doesn't look good."
"That guy who gave us the pass before set him on us!" Philia told the team, "I saw him, blue flaming hair and all. He was standing at the entrance on the other side." "So there WAS a string attached!" Sora realized, grimacing.
"Blue flamin' hair? That was Hades, and he rules the Underworld!" Phil explained, "You mean that guy gave you that pass? Why in Zeus would he do that?" "I don't know, but we have to go back in there and help Hercules beat Cerberus!" Sora declared, with Philia nodding in agreement.
"Hold on, you ain't going back in there, are ya?!" Phil demanded. Sora and Philia nodded in response as Donald and Goofy joined beside them, also ready to fight. "This ain't just some match. This is for real!" Phil barked at them. "I'm not afraid." Sora answered, "You can decide if I'm hero material or not."
"Personally, I don't care if we are made heroes in his eyes or not." Philia retorted, "I just care about doing the right thing, whether others see me as a hero, or a villain." And with that, the team set out to help Hercules defeat Cerberus.
Meanwhile, in the arena, Cerberus had Hercules backed into a wall, still carrying Cloud over his shoulder. Just a few more good hits, and I can finish this. Hercules thought to himself.
"Hercules!" Sora cried out, racing onto the field with Philia, Donald and Goofy beside him. Cerberus perked his ears, and turned to face the four heroes. "We can take care of this mutt!" Sora shouted, "Get out of here!" Hercules nodded, and raced passed the arena and Phil, who stood at the entrance.
"Kids, I got two words of advice fore you: Attack!" Phil shouted out. "THAT'S ONE WORD!" Philia barked back, causing Phil to be frightened and leave the arena.
Cerberus roared as it reared back, and the heroes leapt up as it thrusted its' paws to the ground, unleashing a powerful earthquake. Sora, Philia and Goofy struck the three heads of the beast, followed by Donald's Thunder spell. Cerberus retorted by stretching his necks out and attempting to bite the trio. Philia parried the assault to push her back. Goofy shielded himself, and Sora did a split as the teeth narrowly grazed him.
The trio landed onto the ground, while Donald moved away for distance. One of the heads eyed him, and fired off a large ball of fiery energy that nearly roasted him. Sora, Goofy and Philia saw the fireball as it exploded, then saw the next head of Cerberus unleash another fireball at the trio. Goofy and Philia dodged to either side, while Sora smacked the fireball, sending it hurdling back into the dog's face.
While the one head was reeling from the damage it took, the other two heads were firing more fireballs at Philia and Goofy, who leapt out of the way before they got hit directly. Both of them were singed slightly, but fortunate. Philia then turned around and unleashed her Cross Edge Dagger Skill, slicing it twice on the side. Goofy charged at the head that nearly attacked him, and unleashed his Rocket technique, uppercutting it in the jaw.
The Cerberus backed off from the two, foaming in the mouth with dark energy. "What's it doin'?!" Donald demanded. "I got a bad feeling, all of a sudden." Philia stated. Cerberus then unleashed a fume of dark energy into the ground before it. Wondering what it was doing, the heroes didn't even notice until it was too late, as large spikes of darkness shot out of the ground beneath them, knocking them into the air, in pain.
Groaning in pain, they saw that the spikes continued to keep going about the field. When they landed, the four of them evaded the attack as fast as they could. This dog certainly has more tricks than your average dog! Philia thought, We have to take it down before we play dead!
The battle was an intense one, considering Cerberus was quick on its' feet, biting fiercely and causing shockwaves on the ground within close range, and unleashing fireballs and breathing dark energy into the ground to shoot at the heroes feet from a distance. Fortunately, the team knew a few weaknesses while dealing with the three-headed dog. One, the fireballs it unleashed could be repelled back with a well-timed physical attack. Two, Cerberus's back was also vulnerable to get up on to avoid the pillars of darkness, and deal damage on the back of the heads of the Cerberus. Three, Cerberus cared only for what was in front of it, so if one or two of the heroes was dealing with the heads, the others could handle the sides and back.
"We almost have him!" Sora called to Donald and Goofy after five minutes of dealing with the beast, "Let's take him down, right away!" "Right!" the two cheered. Philia was too busy to answer, for she was avoiding the fangs of the beast chasing after her. "I've had it up to here with you!" she barked, clashing her dagger against an oncoming set of teeth, "Can you just back off from me?!"
Cerberus howled as he raised his front paws high, ready for a shock wave. Philia saw an opening, and decided to take it quickly, before it unleashed its' attack fully. She leapt up, roaring as she readied her dagger. It started to shine an aura, which was yellow; a new color. She then unleashed a cross slash in front of her, but a shockwave of energy encircled her like a wheel, which was wide enough to hit the raised heads, too.
Sora, Donald and Goofy were amazed at this new attack, and saw Cerberus falter. The back legs slipped, and he toppled onto its' back. "Now, switch out!" Philia shouted to the trio, falling backwards to the ground again. Sora, Donald and Goofy charged in, leapt high, and slammed with all their might onto the belly of the Cerberus. It roared in agony from the combination of damage.
Sora, Donald and Goofy backed off to one side, while Philia backflipped away from Cerberus, who rolled heavily onto its' belly, growling in pain. It attempted to stand, but it couldn't. All three heads had no energy to raise themselves, and they collapsed, their fangs open, and their muscles limp. The heroes defeated Cerberus.
"We did it!" Sora cheered, punching the air. "Take that!" Donald cheered, spinning about and raising his staff. "Ya-hoo-hoo!" Goofy howled, uppercutting the air with his shield in victory.
Philia sighed, twirling her dagger, and placing it into her sheath, while placing her free hand on her hip. She looked at Cerberus, grateful that it was over. Still, something came to mind in her last words. That switch out felt…familiar. she thought to herself, Why was that?
Suddenly, she gasped as pain shot into her head, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her skull. For a moment, it was there, and the next moment, it wasn't. She breathed heavily, already winded from the battle against Cerberus, but back in her right mind again.
"Philia!" Sora called out, leading the team over to her. She looked to them, seeing the worried expression on their faces. "Are you okay?" Goofy questioned. "Y-Yeah." Philia answered, getting to her feet.
"Gosh, you seemed to be in pain." Jiminy stated, hopping out of Sora's vest and looking at her. "It's happened a couple times before." Philia explained, "Each of them contained a bit of info about my past."
"So, do you remember something?" Sora asked anxiously. "Sort of…" Philia answered, looking at her hand, "For one, that attack I used against Cerberus. It was called 'Round Accel'. As for what that pain in my head delivered…I remember I was not alone. Countless people in my world, fighting for our lives. The world I was from…was very dangerous, and unescapable."
Sora, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy all looked at each other, wondering. The way she described her world, it sounded like she had a hard life before meeting them. "Gawrsh, sounds like you've been dealin' with a lot before comin' here." Goofy pointed out. Philia nodded, then added, "But I don't know why it was so dangerous. I don't know what the people looked like, or anything. I just remember that I fought to survive, but I don't know who or what I was fighting."
"I guess that explains why you are so good at fighting." Sora noted, "But don't worry. We'll help you figure out the rest of your past, okay?" Philia nodded in agreement, smiling. Sora was quite a nice kid to be around.
Just then, Donald noticed something near the feet of the Cerberus. He picked it up, examining it. It was an arm band, with dark, fiery emblems on it. "What is this?" Donald questioned, raising it to the heroes. "That looks like the Inferno Band." Jiminy answered, "It gives good endurance, and resistance to dark and fire attacks." "Donald, why don't you use it." Sora told Donald, "You could use it." Donald slipped it onto his upper arm, and the team walked out of the coliseum, reporting their victory to Phil.
Unbeknownst to them, Hades appeared once again, standing next to the fallen Cerberus. He was irritated by losing this battle. "Darn! I was sure that would put an end to all of them! Especially that damn Hercules!" he growled, the flames around him glowing red as he shot a pillar of fire into the air.
After a few seconds, he then calmed himself as he told himself, "Wait a minute. What are you worried about? Relax. I just need to add a few more touches, and the Keyblade is mine."
Chapter 5: Another Deal
They returned to the lobby, where they explained everything to Phil and Hercules. Cloud had left a short while before the team arrived. When they were finished, Phil thought about it, then went and grabbed a piece of paper, and started writing something on it. After he finished, he lifted himself onto a pedestal in front of Sora and the team, with Hercules right next to him. It was a speech congratulating them in defeating Cerberus, and clearing the preliminaries of the tournament.
"…Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and cover upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further…" Phil was interrupted when Donald squawked, "Hey! What do you mean 'junior heroes'?!" Phil lowered the speech as he answered, "You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero."
The foursome looked at one another, confused. Was there more to being a hero than just winning battles against powerful monsters, and saving people? Sora wondered.
"So, what does it take?" Goofy asked Hercules. "Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves." Hercules answered, "Just the way that I did." Sora and Philia looked to each other. Now, they had to find ANOTHER thing in their journey; the potentials of a true hero. At least, this was something that felt easier to find.
"No problem." Sora declared, "We'll start by proving ourselves in the games." "It would make us stronger, and quite possibly help us find some answers." Philia pointed out.
"There ain't gonna be any games for a while." Phil retorted, "Gotta clean up the mess from that last battle first." "Ah, phooey!" Donald moaned as he and Goofy walked out. "Okay, we'll be back." Sora told Phil. "But, when will we know when the games start up again?" Philia questioned, "We can't just continue to come back here all the time." "We'll figure it out…eventually." Sora stated, and the two walked out of the room, with Hercules waving them off.
"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus." Phil stated when the team was out of earshot. "Just between us, I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time those guys jumped in." Hercules whispered to his trainer. Phil looked to Hercules, realizing the truth in the manner. "My lips are sealed." he answered, looking back as the doors to the entrance closed behind the junior heroes.
The team walked down the steps of the entrance, and saw a familiar spiky head off in the distance, sitting on a flight of steps. It was Cloud, and he was looking disappointed. "It's him again." Philia noticed. "Should we talk to him?" Goofy asked. "Might as well. I don't think he's bad." Sora answered.
The team approached Cloud, and Sora asked, "Hey, are you all right?" Cloud looked up as Donald and Goofy wandered away, looking up at the plaques nearby. "Yeah." he answered.
"Tell me, why did you go along with that guy, anyway?" Philia asked, talking about Hades. Cloud rested his head on his hands, wondering if he should answer. He then said, "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired." He stood up, and looked at one of the statues at the entrance as he continued, "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."
Philia looked sympathetically at Cloud. Just like she was, Cloud was looking for something, and made deals to find it. It was just like what Hades tried to do to them. No…it was before that. Philia made a deal to help Sora, Donald and Goofy find what they were searching for, and was hoping to find what she was looking for as well; her memories. Was it worth it? She knew it wasn't fighting for the darkness, but against it. But would the journey help her fully remember who she was?
"You'll find it." Sora told Cloud, getting Philia's attention, "I'm searching, too. So are the rest of us." "For your lights?" Cloud asked. Sora nodded, along with Philia. Cloud approached Sora, placing something in Sora's hand. His other hand glowed, and he placed it on Sora's shoulder. He glowed suddenly, then it vanished instantly. "Don't lose sight of it." Cloud told Sora as he walked away. Sora looked down himself, feeling something. It was a new power that he hadn't felt before, and it wasn't magic either. He looked to Philia, who wondered what Cloud just gave to Sora.
Sora then turned around to Cloud and called out, "How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved!" Cloud stopped for a second, brushing the bangs on his hair as he answered, "I think I'll pass." With that, he walked away, and vanished.
"So what did Cloud do to you?" Philia asked Sora. Sora summoned his Keyblade, focusing on the power Cloud gave him. He concentrated, then his eyes flashed as he glowed with energy, and thrusted forwards with great speed. He did this same technique several more times, then unleashed an energy-encased final attack on his seventh strike. Donald and Goofy were amazed, and so was Philia.
"That was impressive!" Philia gasped, "It looked like the technique Cloud used on you before." "It looks like he inherited the skill to me." Sora stated, flexing his free hand, "I can feel it's power, along with the name of the move. Sonic Blade." "Sounds like it could be a handy attack to use in close quarters battles." Philia stated with a grin.
"Well ain't that just dandy!" said a voice behind them, "First you try to hire help to get what you want, and they end up helping the ones you are trying to get rid of." Hades was behind them, startling the team, then causing them to get defensive. "I mean, it's not like I was paying him or anything." Hades continued, "Still, I was really hoping he could at least take down Hercules in a snap!"
"Too bad!" Sora growled. "I can't believe you tricked us like that!" Philia snarled, "You set that dog upon Cloud and us, trying to kill us!" "Hey, accidents happen!" Hades answered, "It's what I get for not putting him on a leash. But hey, I didn't do anything to trick you. You just chose to use the pass I gave you." Philia was irritated that he was trying to pin the blame back on them.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what; I'll strike up another deal with you." Hades told them, "And this one, you don't have to follow through with." "No thanks." Sora answered, "I had enough of your deals." "Same here." Philia answered. Donald and Goofy both glared at Hades, agreeing with the others.
"Just hear me out, will ya?" Hades told them, "Okay, look; you don't know when the next games are gonna show up, right? Well, I can give you the info. I can tell you when they happen, as they happen, and you can just happen to show up and enter in. I mean, you don't have to, and let some other shmuck try to take the prizes themselves, but hey, at least I won't force you into doing anything you don't want to do."
"And just HOW exactly will you be telling us this?" Philia asked, curiously, "You don't know where we are at all times." "Don't worry. I know about your little…secret." Hades answered, surprising the team, "And I can just leave little notes in that ship of yours. That's it; no strings attached."
The junior heroes looked at each other, then Philia asked, "I bet you'll try to set up more monsters to try to kill us, won't you? Like you did with Cerberus." "Well, of course!" Hades answered, "I mean, we are talking about the games! The Olympus Coliseum should be exciting. And what's more exciting than to slay powerful monsters in front of a live audience, and proving yourself as heroes, eh? I mean, who knows; you might just change that billy goat's mind, and prove yourselves better than what he imagines."
"…Okay, fine." Sora muttered, getting the attention of the others, "But there better not be anything else you are planning!" "Relax, kid! I gave you all the details of what I have in store, so you know what's to come." Hades assured them, "Now if you don't mind, I need to freshen up. All this excitement and infuriation has messed up my 'do." He walked away from the heroes, while they glared at the back of him.
"I really don't like him." Donald muttered. "Still, he told us everything he has in store for us, and when the next games are." Sora stated, "As long as he does that, without anything else, then we're good, right? Besides, we'll get stronger if we enter more games, and get prizes as well. Plus, we might just show ourselves as heroes after all."
Philia frowned a bit, but decided not to argue. She would only have something to say if Hades tricks them one way or another. For now, they had other things to take care of. Goofy called upon the Gummi ship, and they disappeared from the world.
"Heh. All the pieces are in place, now." Hades chuckled to himself, "Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kid. In the next games, I'll take care of them both." He curled his fist, fully ready to follow through with his plan. He then stopped when he sensed a presence from behind. It was Maleficent, arriving from dark green flames.
"Who invited you to the party?" Hades asked without turning to her, "Stay out of this. This is my show." "As you wish." Maleficent answered calmly, "Fight to your heart's content." Hades smiled and nodded, glad she saw things his way. However, he noticed the snide remark hidden within the message, and that ticked him off. To her, there were more important things than this trivial manner.
And that's how the heroes, I mean 'junior heroes', will be coming back to this world again. For those tournaments, I'll only get to the juicy battles, and not all of the Heartless rounds. Still, I hope you liked this episode. Please, leave a review, tell your friends, and make sure to stay tuned for the next episode!
Next time on SAK: HO:
Sora: I'm looking for my friends. Their names are Kairi and Riku.
Tarzan: Kairi...Riku...friends...
Philia: How did I get tangled up in this mess? And what's with the gorillas?
Goofy: Gee, I hope Sora and Philia are okay.
Donald: Ah, who needs Sora! We can find the King on our own!
Philia: Another fine mess Sora got us into. I hope we can find a way to patch up ourselves and help the gorillas.
On the next Sword Art Kingdom: Heart's Origin:
Deep Jungle! Separate Friendships!
Philia & Sora: Let's go chart our next adventure!