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Chapter 5: Olympus Coliseum
After the disappointing knowledge given in Wonderland, Luna and Sora made their journey again to find other worlds to look into while searching with Donald and Goofy. But things seemed to be looking up more when Luna actually caught a glimpse of one world that certainly rang a familiar bell to her, especially when she was able to recognize the colossal statues that lead into a magnificent building inviting warriors to test their might and earn the right to be called champions.
"That place…I know this world," Luna said eagerly.
Goofy turned to her with curiosity. "Are ya sure, Luna? What is that world?"
"It's Olympus Coliseum. I've been there before," she replied, "That is the place where warriors test their might and participate in combat games to prove their worth."
That was when Medea emerged from the shadows to see for herself. "Well, I'll be damned. Looks like there's one familiar world we've found – well, at least, on our part."
Sora, on the other hand, caught on Luna's description and instantly got excited. "Are you serious? Participating in a coliseum? That's sound like something I'd want to do! Let's go check it out."
Not wasting any more time and without any argument, the ship sailed to the coliseum and landed near the entrance into the new world. For Luna, it gave her a lot of nostalgic feelings as she took in the things she used to know; it certainly reminded her of when she was there with Aqua – how they went through the games together, how they met Hercules and his trainer, and how they had to deal with the cheater of an underworld god – and got a chance to learn more of her potential, or at least what few things she did.
But then again, it did make her wonder how Phil and Hercules are doing ever since she left; after all, who knows how much has changed in the arena since she was last there?
When they entered the vestibule of the coliseum, the party found a short man-goat at work with the board; obviously, he didn't realize that there was company coming in right behind him. Sora was the only person who took the initiative to try and get his attention.
"Umm…" Sora was about to ask a question.
"Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya?" the satyr said, not paying attention. "Move that pedestal for me. I gotta spruce things up for the games."
Luna and Sora looked over toward that large pedestal left by the torch over to their right.
"…I don't remember seeing that thing before," Luna commented.
"Yeah, well, better do what that guy said," Sora said as he stepped in to move the block.
Medea snorted at that notion. "Good luck on that. I'm pretty sure you're gonna be sweating bullets afterwards."
But the boy didn't pay any attention to Medea's words as he tried and tried to push the pedestal aside; Luna merely watched as he showed that he's just not able to do that on his own. After a few minutes, Sora finally gave up on it and backed away.
"This thing weighs a ton!" he noticed.
"I thought so…I don't think I'd be able to do it either," Luna said as she examined the size of the pedestal.
Sora walked over to the satyr and told him, "It's way too heavy."
That got a reaction out of him. "What? Too heavy? When did you become such a little…" He turned around only to find Sora standing there. "Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" He jumped down from his platform. "This here's the world famous Coliseum – heroes only! And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So, run along, pipsqueaks!"
"We came here because Sora has never seen a coliseum, Mr. Goat," Luna replied.
"Hey, who you calling Mr. Go –" But then the satyr looked up at her. "Luna?! Is that really you? Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! Look at you, all grown into a woman, no longer a short little kid. Yer guardian's with ya, isn't she?" Medea's wave spoke for itself. "Yeah, I thought so. Ha! What a surprise!"
"At least this Phil guy's happy to see ya," Medea commented.
As Phil was expressing his joy at seeing an old familiar face, Sora, Donald and Goofy looked over toward Luna with perplexed looks that asked 'is this someone you know'. She simply gave a small nod that answered their question, knowing that none of them knew certain people that she did years before.
"Really, how long's it been, nine or ten years?" Phil asked.
"It has been ten years, I would think. I almost thought nothing has changed…" Luna replied, "Well, since we're here, could you perhaps be considerate and explain to Sora what the place is about. I only gave him a summary, so…I thought you could tell him more."
"Alright, alright, here's the rest of it: You already know this place is for heroes, but there's one more tidbit to it: Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum," Phil explained.
"You got heroes standing right in front of you," Donald said proudly.
"Yup. He's a hero chosen by the Keyblade, and Luna is right there with him!" Goofy added.
"And we're heroes, too," the duck couldn't help saying.
But the satyr was not convinced at their proclamation. "A hero? That runt?"
Then, he burst out laughing like all of that was total joke; naturally, Sora and the others didn't take it too well.
"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" Sora insisted.
"Look, kiddo, just because you've fought a bunch of monsters doesn't automatically mean you're a hero," Medea objected, speaking from experience.
Once Phil calmed down, he went back into his usual demeanor. "Hey, if you can't even move this…" He started to try and push the pedestal as hard as he could. "…you can't call yourself…a hero!"
"Unfortunately, Sora, he's right about that in a way," Luna agreed, knowing from her experience, "If you really want to be called a hero, it takes much more than strength against danger. A real hero also has to have a heart to care for others and do what's right."
"Y'see, Luna's got more knowledge on that than you do. But if you're that determined to call yourself one, then let's see what you can do," Phil said, implying that he wants to see what they're capable of.
That was when Phil led them into the arena where a bunch of barrels had been set up to prepare would-be combatants for anything that comes along. It became pretty clear that this was the moment to prove themselves worthy of his time.
"What you gotta do is bust these barrels in record time," Phil said from the entrance, "Let's see how efficiently you can do that, kid."
"No problem! I'll show you what I'm made of!" Sora said confidently.
From the sidelines, Luna and Medea watched as Sora gave it his all in his trial and smashed as many barrels as he could with the keyblade on him. Funny thing is, she remembered how she and her guardian were last there and were freely able to participate in the games without going through the training procedures that they would've done; though to be fair, it was Aqua who declined the training because she had experience, and Luna didn't go through it because she had already had experience in combat somewhat due to learning a bit from her grandfather and battling the Unversed years before.
Her reminiscing stopped when she noticed that Sora was finished with his training, having smashed his set of barrels.
"You ain't too bad, kid. There's something interesting," Phil said, somewhat impressed. Then, he turned to Luna. "Alright, Luna, you have a go at it. Let's see if you're still game."
She tilted her head in confusion and pointed at herself. "Me? What for?"
"Look, I know you got more experience, but I just wanna make sure you still got the stuff to fight," Phil insisted, "Let's see if you can still use those magic hands of yours right, and I'll say whether you need improvement."
Knowing there's no point in arguing with him, Luna complied. "Alright…if you insist on checking with me, I'll do what you ask."
The moment Luna stepped up to demolish the barrels as she was told to, her Shadow Hands emerged around her and, at her subtle command, each one she summons either destroyed the obstacles within her vicinity or would manifest from another part of the arena to smash the barrels just outside of her own reach. Once she finished, she could tell that the satyr was impressed that she hasn't lost her touch, but seemed to be expecting a little more from her.
"Nice to know ya haven't lost your skills there," Phil commented, "but ya could use more variety in yer lil' arsenal. Maybe some magic could spice things up for ya."
When Luna thought back on her use of that ice spell, she knew he was right. "Well…I hadn't thought about it."
"Looks like we're headed for the games," Sora said confidently.
"Afraid not," Phil answered bluntly.
Sora and Donald didn't take this news too well. "Why not?!"
"Two words: you…guys…ain't…heroes!"
"That's four words, goat-man," Medea muttered.
Perplexed at this, Luna asked, "Why aren't we allowed to participate in the games, Mr. Goat? Have there been changes in the rules while I was away?"
"Yeah, there have been some changes made since you left. You and your pals from before may've been able to get in easy, but things have changed," Phil explained to her, "If you wanna get in and join, you gotta get a pass. No exceptions!"
"Is he serious about this?" Sora questioned Luna.
"C'mon, let's take things outside before someone starts losing their cool here," Medea suggested as she started to walk away.
Not wanting a feud to stir while they're there, everyone left the vestibule to discuss about the coliseum's affairs. It was pretty clear that Sora and Donald were quite steamed about the situation, mainly Sora's disappointment in not being allowed to join the games and Donald disliked the satyr's skepticism. On Luna's part, she couldn't help wondering what she had missed when she was away.
"Man, I can't believe that goat won't let us in," Sora sighed in displeasure. "Where are we going to even get our ticket in? I mean, how were you able to sign up for the fights anyway, Luna?"
"Honestly, I was able to get in because a friend thought it'd be okay if I joined with another person," Luna replied, "That, and…well…I was a little stubborn back then. I was only four when I was last here."
"Gawrsh, maybe he didn't want people like you getting hurt in there, and that's why we can't get in like ya did before," Goofy speculated.
"I dunno if that was the case. Yeah, you know Luna was able to get away with fighting in the arena as a kid," Medea commented, "but that was 'cuz she got me and Aqua with her to watch her back. Besides, Luna was still getting used to her powers."
"Rather a stubborn old goat, wouldn't you say?"
While the rest of the gang were startled at the sudden voice behind them, Luna and Medea jolted and turned around to find another familiar face…but not one they wanted to run into. It was none other than the god of the underworld, Hades. Oh, Luna certainly remembered back when she first met the devilish god and how he caused a lot of trouble for her and her friends there, especially when he completely barged in on the games; and who could ever forget the fiery hair and colorless features? She certainly couldn't, even if she tried to.
"Who are you?" Donald questioned.
"That's Hades…he's someone you don't want to be around," Luna answered with distrust in her voice.
"Oh, hell no, not that creepy freak again," Medea groaned while gritting her teeth.
"Whoa, hold on there, all of you. Wait, let me guess: you want to enter the games, right?" Hades guessed, speaking like a businessman. "Well, get a load of this."
That was when, out of nowhere, a slip of paper appeared in his hand and presented before the eyes of the astounded boy (and the suspicion of the girl and her guardian).
"Oh, great, there goes that god, acting like a con artist," Medea growled.
"A pass?" Sora asked.
"It's all yours. Good luck, kids. I'm pulling for you, little shorty," the god replied, about to walk away.
Luna stared at the underworld god suspiciously. "What are you really up to, Hades? You know what happened the last time you barged in when you weren't wanted…"
"Nice to see you again after so long, moon child. C'mon, little lady, I was just doing a little favor. In fact, didn't I hear right that the old goat changed a lot of things in your absence? Talk about a slow head's-up," Hades replied as he circled around Luna like he's on the prowl. "And besides, you're here along with that squirt and you've got your harpy with you, so what're you worried about? I'm just being a nice guy; you know that, don't you? Admit it."
"Yeah, sure you were nice. Especially when you tried to kill us, Baldy," Medea deadpanned.
That got a reaction out of him. "I'M NOT BALD! Oy vey, what is with you, harpy? Insulting and mocking anyone you see, what's your problem?"
"Medea, let's go. We don't want to be around him again, not like this," Luna suggested, not wanting to dawdle around.
Reluctantly, her guardian grunted in agreement and turned to walk away; but not without giving a gesture that said 'we'll be watching'. Neither of them knew that the underworld god has a lot of plans for the games, and it will definitely be different than last time…
Inside the vestibule, Luna came back in to find Phil quite surprised that they have an entry pass for the games. She could tell that Sora felt triumphant, knowing that this meant they were going to enter the games after all; still, she couldn't help feeling a bit worried about the situation, especially after their untimely encounter with Hades of all people (or gods).
"Can we enter the games now?" Sora asked eagerly.
Reluctantly, Phil complied with the request. "Well…I suppose so. We'll start with the preliminaries. You all ready for this?"
"So, you finally happy that you're gonna get yourself into trouble?" Medea deadpanned.
"Lighten up, Medea! We're going in," Donald brushed off her comments.
But Luna had something to say on the matter. "Sora, please don't get careless. At the very least, stay close with me through the matches."
As much as Sora wanted to tell her that he'll be fine and maintain his bravado, he knew that Luna was just concerned for his safety and that she did have more experience on the combat field despite not having done so in years. Though, he had to agree that it would be better to just do what she says; perhaps by following her lead in the arena, he could learn how to handle himself as much as she can even though her methods are different from his. Besides, maybe she could show him how to battle enemies properly along the way.
"Don't worry, Luna. So long as we stick together, we'll be okay," Sora reassured her with a grin. "I did say you're not alone on this, didn't I?"
She couldn't help giving a small smile at his assurance. "Why did I have the feeling you'd say that, Sora?"
Once inside the arena, the five friends found themselves in a match with a group of Heartless and had to work together to beat them in each round. After a round or so, Phil came out to check how they are doing.
As he was, a young man started to pass by them without a word towards them. Luna could make out that the stranger had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a red tattered cape over a dark top and pants held together by belts around the waist and legs along with armor plates on both sides; there was a single shoulder pad and unusual gloves on him, and combat boots on his feet. It was easy to tell that he could be a very tough warrior, but for what reason was he here?
Phil noticed where they're looking and noted, "Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing him."
"Wouldn't that be something?" Sora commented.
"Careful what you say, buster, or you'll have your ass handed to you later," Medea warned.
"What could he be doing here…? There must be a reason for taking part in all this," Luna wondered quietly.
While the matches were still going on, nobody within the arena suspected that the very man they saw earlier was having a conversation with Hades in the shadows. It certainly went to show that there was something going on behind the scenes that none of them suspected (although would've confirmed Luna's strong suspicions).
"That little punk and the moon child are your next opponents, okay?" Hades was instructing the stoic character. "Now, don't blow it. Just take them out."
The blond man stared at him. "The great god of the underworld is afraid of a kid and a little girl? Sorry, but my contract says –"
"I know! You think I don't know? I wrote the contract!" Hades interrupted irritably, "I know it says you're only required to kill Hercules in this tournament. But you've got to fight the kids to get to him. Come on. Hey, it's just like that old goat said: 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 man looked over toward where the two teens were for a moment, taking in who he's dealing with. Where he was standing, he was sure that the boy might be an opponent that has to be beaten no matter what…but what of the girl? She didn't seem like anything dangerous. If anything, the girl looked more like a harmless child than a monster to be reckoned with. He couldn't help questioning what on earth she was doing there among the fierce competitors; it was almost as though he subconsciously feared the idea of a hurting a woman for a reason he didn't clearly know.
Knowing that their conversation was over, he stepped out of the shadows anyway to prepare for the next matches until his opponents are determined. But the moment he was gone, Hades had other thoughts on his mind, and anyone would know that it has nothing to do with playing a fair game.
"Geez, stiffer than the stiffs back home," he muttered, "Still, suckers like him are hard to come by…"
From behind Hades under the cover of darkness, three low growls echoed within the area, like that of an enormous dog eagerly awaiting a chance to make a hunt for the kill…
Meanwhile, Luna and Sora were continuing to proceed through the matches with their friends and taking down the Heartless along the way; things were looking up pretty well for them despite the differences between the handlings of the newcomers and the more experienced members of the team. With Luna's help, Sora was able to learn how to properly face off against enemies so that he wasn't swinging around too recklessly or charging in without knowing the strengths and weaknesses of his foes.
They had just finished the next round before the next match can be determined; while Sora and the others were waving to a cheering crowd, Luna was looking around the area with curiosity until the sight of something silvery caught her eyes; this caught her off-guard and made her turn around to get a better look – only to find that the thing she initially saw disappeared as quickly as it came.
What did I see there? I'd know that silver color anywhere, she thought to herself. Unless if…Wait, could it really be…?
She pushed the thoughts in the back of her mind as she returned to the vestibule, thinking that it would be best to focus on what she was doing right now and worry about it later. Since they were nearing the final match, the group took a moment's rest to prepare their magic and regain their strength.
"Hey, are you okay, Luna? You're looking a bit distracted," Sora asked in concern as he handed her a potion.
"I'm alright, really. I guess…I'm just nervous," Luna lied as she took the potion.
"Say, you're better than I thought, kids! Wish he was here to see this," Phil said in admiration of what he saw thus far.
Sora turned to him in confusion. "Who?"
"Hercules. He's a hero if there ever was one," Phil answered, "Too bad he's off visiting his father."
"Oh…Hercules…I wonder how much he has changed," Luna said in reminiscence. "I'm sure he's grown quite a bit, maybe become quite a man."
"You know of him?" Sora asked out of curiosity.
"Well, yes…I met him once years before. He was training to become a hero. He was such a nice person, and he was very determined," Luna replied, if only to sate his curiosity. "He once told me how he wanted to become a true hero. I wonder if he has gotten closer to his goals now…it'd be nice to see what he's become now."
"Who knows? Maybe we'll see him once we wrap things up in this tourney," Medea added, trying to give a little optimism.
After a moment's reprieve, the final match has finally begun; and it's become clear that their opponent is undoubtedly the blond stranger they saw before. But he's come armed with a giant sword covered in tattered bandages, and judging from his stance, he means to get down to business and bring on the fight.
However, compared to the fights they went through before, the five got themselves a big shock when they began to battle against this stoic swordsman. Not only was he fast enough to keep up with them, but he was also able to deal a lot of punishment on them at a moment's notice. To make the matter go from bad to worse, while the new friends were easily pummeled to the ground, Sora, Luna and Medea were having some trouble keeping the guy from doing too much damage against them.
Before long, Sora was downed and barely able to keep on standing. The swordsman, seeing an opening, was about to raise his sword on him when Luna hurried over and put herself right in between them with the intention of keeping things from going too far – to the horror of her Shadow Guardian.
"Stop! Stop it!" Luna cried out as she stood in front.
The instant she stood in defense, the swordsman stopped in his tracks and backed away like he had caught doing something he wasn't proud of. As much as it scared the poor girl that she almost got killed, she was relieved that she was able to stop the match before someone crossed the line.
"What the hell were you doing?!" Medea shouted angrily, "You mind explaining why you were trying to beat the daylights out of us, mister!"
But before the warrior could explain himself, a growl was heard behind them. When they shifted their attention to the source, everyone was shocked to find a gigantic, three-headed black dog snapping its teeth and rearing for an attack. To everyone's fright, the enormous canine stomped onto the warrior and began to prepare to go after the next prey nearby.
"Oh, right, there's one rule I almost forgot: accidents happen," Hades said from the sidelines as he walked away.
"Damn it, I knew that creep was up to good!" Medea growled bitterly.
Just when the giant dog was about to pounce down and attack the stunned party, an unexpected rescue occurred when a man rushed right in and used his inhuman strength to keep the ferocious beast at bay to the best of his efforts. When Luna was able to get a better view, she was able to recognize the bright hair and herculean strength of Hercules, but could see that he had grown up significantly and has gotten bigger muscles and was dressed more like that of a proud warrior unlike years before.
"It's you…!" Luna exclaimed as Phil shouted, "Herc!"
"Phil, get them out of here!" Hercules answered as he struggled to keep the beast from going any further.
"But, what about that…" Luna was about to ask about the helpless warrior below the dog.
"C'mon, let's go!" Donald called as he started to run.
"Hurry!" Goofy added.
Left with no other choice, Sora, Luna, and Medea were forced to run back to the vestibule for safety with Phil while they had the chance to save themselves.
"What the hell was that thing?" Medea wanted to know, still ticked about that trick Hades pulled.
"That was Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld. Herc should be able to handle him," Phil answered. But then, a rumbling sound occurred. "But then again, maybe not… This doesn't look good."
Luna, fearing that her old friend is in trouble and needed help, started to run back to the arena to see if she could lend a hand in the battle. Medea noticed this and hurried after her, not wanting her to do something too reckless.
"You're not thinking of going out alone, are ya?" Medea questioned her.
"Hercules needs some help…I have to go in there and save them," Luna insisted anxiously.
"We'll go with you!" Sora announced, not wanting his friend to go alone.
But Phil wasn't too excited about that. "Whoa, whoa, you're not entering the arena, are ya? This ain't just some match. This is for real!"
"We're not afraid! You can decide if we're hero material or not when we're done," Sora insisted. "Besides, we're not going to let Luna go out there by herself."
Everyone hurried back out to the arena just in time to find the Cerberus about to corner Hercules, who was carrying the unconscious warrior over his shoulder. The good news was that the canine heard them coming and turned to face against them rather than hunt down the intended target; the bad news was that the gang was in for a rather dangerous fight. As the five braced themselves for the battle, Hercules was able to slip away unnoticed and Phil stepped in to see the fight unfold.
"Hey, guys! I got two words of advice for you: Attack!"
"That's one word, ya goat!" Medea shouted back.
"Here it comes!" Sora called as Luna warned, "Be careful, everyone!"
The fight against Cerberus was certainly no walk in the park for them. Not only was that malevolent three-headed canine very durable despite the punishment it was taking, but it was also a rather ferocious beast as it snapped its fangs at them. However, it didn't mean that the bugger was invincible – far from it: Goofy provided as good of protection from the oncoming bite attacks as he could, which allowed Donald to cast a spell or Medea to launch herself high enough to claw at one of the big heads until it shook her off.
On Luna's part, she summoned her Shadow Hands to keep the dog at bay as she let the conjurations swipe at it for her while Sora made every effort to jump for the nearest head in his range and gave it a smackdown (occasionally Luna would provide her Shadow Hands in case he had trouble being able to reach).
But then, when the Cerberus began spitting out dark, murky substances from their mouths and these puddles of darkness formed pillars meant to hurt them, things were a bit more hectic. By this point, Luna felt like she's had enough; driven by an instinct that wants to punish their obstacle, she formed a giant shadow around her and larger Shadow Hands emerged to rear for an attack.
"I've had enough of you…! You've been a really bad doggy!" Luna drawled in annoyance.
Much to everyone's shock, the giant Shadow Hands that formed by her side suddenly dropped down and pounded on the Cerberus and its heads with powerful strikes that made it look like extreme punishment (which ironically scared the living crap out of everyone else as she was doing this) until the beast finally lost its strength and collapsed. When Luna was done, she looked over to the others and, upon noticing their shock, tilted her head in confusion.
"…Did I do something to scare you?" she asked, ignorant of the situation.
"Um…Luna…did you really do that?" Donald asked nervously.
"I think I know what I'd want to avoid when you're really angry," Sora agreed.
"Oh, come on, it's not something she does often. Besides, it's rare for her to be mad about something," Medea scoffed.
"Medea…" Luna sighed. She looked over to Sora. "Don't worry about it. I promise that what I did was only meant for the bad dog. It might happen again, but I promise it won't be used against you." Then, she remembered that Phil and Hercules were waiting. "Anyways…we should meet up and see whether you're okay as a hero."
Now that everything had final settled down, Luna stood in line with Sora, Donald, and Goofy while Medea watched by the side with Hercules as Phil made his announcement on whether or not they have the hero material to be expected of them.
"Thus, I hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further –"
"Hey, what d'ya mean 'junior heroes'?!" Donald protested.
"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be a true hero, except for Luna since she's known more about it," Phil replied.
"What does it take?" Goofy wondered.
"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourself," Hercules answered with a knowing look. "Just like the way I did."
"No problem. We'll start by proving ourselves in the games," Sora said with huge confidence.
"Sora, I don't think that's the only way to prove yourself a hero," Luna disagreed. "You should see other places and experience other things in order to show what you can do."
"She's right, kid. And besides, there's not gonna be any games for a while," Phil agreed with her. "We still gotta clean up the mess from that fight earlier."
That didn't worry the keyblade wielder one bit. "We'll be back."
As Sora and the others started to take their leave, Luna got herself a surprise when she felt herself being picked up and held in a powerful hug (that would've crushed her but thankfully, it didn't) by Hercules. As this was happening, she could hear her guardian trying to muffle her laughter at the sight.
"Has it been a long while, Hercules?" Luna asked as she caught her breath.
"I could say the same to you, Luna. The last time I saw you, you were just a small child who needed someone to watch you," Hercules replied with a smile.
"Well…now I'm not. Not that it matters. I'm just glad to see a familiar face after so long," Luna said.
"I still can't believe you and that squirt took down Cerberus like that," Phil commented.
"C'mon, that big dog was a tough customer, especially with its big teeth. How easy could it have been?" Medea questioned.
But then Hercules leaned in towards them and told them, "Just between us, I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time they jumped in."
That was when both ladies figured out what Hercules was talking about, along with Phil. Since Herc was already as strong as he was, he must've done enough damage to that canine monstrosity to let them finish off the moment they arrived at the scene; still, all the same, it was a tough fight, but that unseen moment must've given them just enough of an edge to stop a senseless massacre. That only meant that Sora doesn't even realize what really went on after they had escaped the arena earlier. But he didn't need to know about that…
Phil showed a knowing grin on his face. "My lips are sealed."
"I won't say anything about it, either. I think it's for the better," Luna agreed.
Medea looked around for a moment before asking, "By the way, there's something I hadn't noticed till now: where the hell is that Zack guy?"
"I don't know. Sometime after you left, he left without explanation or indication as to where he was going," Hercules replied with a shrug. "We figured that he might've either left to continue his pursuit of heroism, or he went to look for you. To be honest, I can't say for sure."
Though Luna was disappointed that another old friend was not around in the coliseum anymore, she certainly was willing to understand if nobody had an idea of where he could've gone.
"I see…Well, then, we'll be going now. Maybe we'll come back later when the games are open again," Luna said as she started to leave.
"Yeah, well, that'll depend on what kind of trouble we've gotten ourselves into," Medea commented.
"In that case, I've got two words of advice for you, Luna: Update your skills!" Phil instructed her.
Luna giggled at the mistake as she left the lobby with Medea following behind her, groaning at the satyr's failure to follow the two words rule. By the time they got out of the lobby, they reunited with Sora and the others and found the swordsman seated by the gates in contemplation, possibly thinking over all that happened earlier.
"What kept you, Luna?" Sora asked.
"I'm sorry. I was catching up with Hercules," Luna apologized. "Is that man doing okay?"
"Gee, we were about to ask about that," Goofy replied.
"We'd better keep looking, too, since we're done here for now," Donald added.
But before they left, Luna and Sora decided to speak with the new guy and find out what his business was.
"Are you alright now, mister?" Luna asked him.
"Yeah…"
"So, why did you go along with him anyway?" Sora questioned.
The man hung his head. "I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired."
Hearing that coming from the poor man certainly stung Luna's heartstrings, reminding her of her past experiences with people who got mixed up with the corruptive element. Her older brother, Terra, suffered from it; Zack was once a victim of that, and Ventus was victimized because of his dark side and…She quickly pushed away the last thing she wanted to think about, not wanting the pain to resurface.
The warrior got up and looked elsewhere. "I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."
"You'll find it. I'm searching, too," Sora told him, as though it were a consolation.
"I know what it's like to lose something…or someone. I hope you'll find whatever you're missing…" Luna agreed, her voice indicating sadness.
The swordsman looked over to them. "For your light…?" He started to walk away. "Don't lose sight of it."
"Hey, how about a rematch?" Sora asked, "Fair and square. No dark powers involved."
There was silence, before he replied, "I think I'll passs."
"Then, could we have your name in case we meet again?" Luna asked.
The warrior turned to Luna like she was weird, but then answered her. "…Cloud."
"Cloud, huh? No wonder the guy is so moody," Medea commented.
Luna hung her head shamefully. "Medea…"
"One of these days, we really need to discuss about your guardian's behavior," Sora sighed as he looked over to Luna.
"Can we do that later? This isn't the best place to talk about trivial things," Luna suggested.
With the coliseum not running for a while, everyone unanimously agreed that they shouldn't stick around for the time being and keep looking for their pals at another world; hopefully, they can find another noteworthy of exploring before they have to go back to Traverse Town.