Ember landed in the courtyard and looked around at the tall pillars and scrolled carvings. "Impressive…" She murmured to herself, then looked over to see Ven landing on the opposite side of the courtyard. A grin broke out on her face. "Ven!"
He turned to look at her, a grin of his own lighting up his face as he saw her. "Ember!" He sprinted across to her, coming to a stop and smiling sheepishly.
"What have you been up to?" Ember asked, putting her arm around his shoulders briefly. Ven launched into the tale of his adventure in Disney Town, meeting Queen Minnie and dealing with Pete. Then he told her briefly about all the other Worlds he'd been to so far. "Sounds like you've had fun." She laughed, ruffling his hair.
"What about you?" The boy asked and Ember tilted her head slightly. "I've been to pretty much every World you have, except for Disney Town…" She went over her own adventures quickly, focusing on the good parts and not her growing fears. "But that's enough about the other Worlds," Ember stated suddenly. "Let's get to exploring this one!"
Ven laughed and looked around the courtyard. "Who's that guy?" He asked, pointing over to a strange - extremely short - little man who seemed to be reading a list posted on the wall.
"Why don't we go find out?" The two of them walked over to the man.
"How many times do I have to tell ya'? I'm all booked up! N-O spells Forget It!" The man, who Ember now realized was actually a Satyr, was yelling at them before he'd even turned around fully.
"Uh…" Ven took a step back at the Satyr's tirade while Ember merely rose her eyebrows.
"Huh? And who in Halicarnassus are you two?"
Before either of them could answer him, a new voice rang through the courtyard. "Hey Phil! I'm all signed up! Phil!" A skinny boy in white ran over to them.
"Alright, Herc, I hear ya'." The Satyr - who was apparently named Phil - answered. "Now would ya' keep it down already?"
"Aha!" Yet another voice called out, a boy in blue armor headed towards the growing group.
"Beautiful..." Phil groaned. "Y' happy now? You blew my cover."
"Okay, 'fess up." The boy in blue requested, seeming almost hyper. "I asked around, and everybody says you're the guy. The trainer of Heroes."
"True Heroes." Herc corrected and Phil facepalmed.
"Really? You can teach that?" Ven asked and Ember huffed a slight laugh, shifting her weight onto one leg and resting a hand on her hip as she watched the byplay.
"Of course he can." The mystery boy affirmed. "C'mon, Phil, please? I really want to be a Hero."
"Look, we've been through this…" Phil ground out, "I've got two words for you. Student - Teacher Ratio!"
"One… two… um…?" Ven counted the words on his hands and Ember burst out laughing at his bewildered expression.
"You weren't hearing things," She assured him. "He said three words instead of two."
"I've already got my hands full with this one. C'mon, Herc." Phil continued, ignoring Ember and Ven as he walked away, Herc trailing after him.
"I'm low-maintenance, I swear!" The other protested, but Phil kept walking. At least until several Floods popped up in front of him.
"Unversed!" Ember and Ven stated together, summoning their Keyblades and moving to stand between the monsters and the others.
"Monsters, huh?" The boy noted, drawing his sword from his back. "Hey, Phil! Watch this! I'll show ya what I'm made of." Ember rolled her eyes at the boy's cocky attitude.
"I'll help too!" Herc called with a slight tremble in his voice. He was obviously nervous, but still not willing to back down.
"Just don't do anything stupid and put yourselves in unnecessary danger." Ember requested; she exchanged a glance with Ven. "When in doubt, let us handle it. Ven and I've fought these things before." Herc, at least, seemed willing to take her advice; but the other boy simply lunged towards the nearest Flood. "Ugh, it's like I'm talking to myself. He's worse than Terra."
Ven chuckled slightly and attacked an incoming opponent. "Then it's a good thing you're around to keep him out of trouble, isn't it?"
"I am NOT a babysitter." Ember grumbled, slashing through a handful of Unversed. In the end, Ember would be glad of the two boys' help as the Unversed just kept coming. Ventus activated his Fever Pitch command style and sped past her. Tiring of the swarm around her, Ember cast Magnera and attacked the monsters while they were… otherwise occupied. Going into Thunderbolt - another command style - Ember finished off the last of her opponents.
"We did it!" Herc cheered slightly, grinning at the others.
Phil walked over to stand in front of them. "Okay…" He sighed deeply. "change of plans." The still unnamed boy (hereafter known as Ao because she was sick of calling him 'the boy') stepped closer. "The Games are comin' up. So I'm gonna watch both your matches… then I'll decide which one of you rookies I wanna train."
"Sweet!" Ao cheered. "Thank you, thank you! I'm gonna go sign up right now." He ran off.
"The Games, huh? Sounds fun!" Ven started after him.
"Sorry kid," Phil interrupted. "Captain Eager just took the last spot."
"Aww…" Ven sighed and Ember smiled wryly. Ven's neverending amount of energy continually impressed her. He did things with all his Heart, and when something didn't go the way he had wanted it to, that expression of disappointment always crossed his face.
"Cheer up, Ven." Ember put a hand on his shoulder and grinned at him. "The Games are just a series of fights, and I don't really think we need to sign up for a fight to find one." She rose an eyebrow at him.
"I guess you're right." Ven laughed slightly, remembering the Unversed.
"But Phil…" Herc protested as the Satyr stomped away.
"Oh…" Phil added, not turning around, "...and no more trainin' sessions for a while. Wouldn't be fair if I helped you and not him."
Herc sighed, looking rather lost and lonely. Ember and Ven exchanged a glance; Ember knew exactly what Ven was thinking by the look in his eyes, and she smiled, shrugging one shoulder in acceptance.
"Hey, cheer up!" Ven walked over to Herc. "So you gotta fight a couple matches, no big deal." Herc looked somewhat startled. "I'm Ventus and this is Ember. Want us to help you train?"
"You'd really do that for me?"
"Of course." Ember chimed in.
"Thanks Ventus, Ember. I'm Hercules."
"So that's what Herc is short for…" Ember commented with a grin, which Hercules returned.
"Just call me Ven." Ven requested, shaking the other's hands. "You're gonna do fine."
"Thanks." Hercules repeated. "I'm gonna head over to the Coliseum and warm up. Meet me in the vestibule, okay?" He walked off with a smile.
"C'mon, Ven." Ember smiled. "Let's look around for a bit before meeting up with Hercules."
Ven was off nearly as soon as the words were out of her mouth, running around like a hyperactive puppy and sticking his nose in every nook and cranny of the courtyard. Ember laughed at his antics and followed after him at a more sedate pace; if he found anything particularly interesting he would call to her.
Ven ended up finding a good amount of items, which the two of them split evenly, before they headed into the vestibule to find Hercules.
"Hey guys!" Herc greeted as they walked in. "Ready for some training?"
"Let's get started!" Ven responded.
Ember looked at the collection of ceramic urns and wooden barrels on the Coliseum floor. "So what are we going for? Agility? Or just destroy as much as you can in a certain period of time?"
"Unh…" Herc rubbed the back of his head. "The second one."
"Why don't you and Ven compete against each other to see who can break the most Urns. Like we would when training with Terra and Aqua." Ven's face lit up at the suggestion and Ember grinned happily in return. "I'll be scorekeeper."
"Yeah!" Ven cheered.
Hercules nodded in agreement. "That sounds like fun."
"Go on then." Ember jerked her head towards the floor in invitation and then watched with a grin as both boys dashed off to stand on opposite sides. As the two took ready stances, Ember cast the spell that Aqua had made up years ago when the four of them had decided to turn some of their training exercises into friendly competitions; it would keep track of how many urns each boy destroyed. "Ready!" Both boys looked to her as she rose her hand, then brought it down sharply to start the match. Ven and Hercules launched into action at her signal and Ember sat back into her stance to watch.
Only moments after the boys had begun, Ember looked over to see Phil walking over to her, his eyes on Hercules. "So," She began, making him jump slightly. "What are you really doing? I don't believe for a second that you're actually going to abandon Hercules for that other kid. So what's your game?"
"Herc's got himself in a rut." Phil answered. "He needs a little incentive, yeah? I know that kid's gonna go the distance, he just needs to prove that to himself."
"'Go the Distance', huh? I like that." She looked back at the timer counting down and called an end to the round. Ven had won, but not by much. She sensed more than saw Phil leaving as she jumped down to join the others.
"That was fun!" Hercules announced with a smile.
"My turn." Ember announced with a slightly wicked grin. "Ven, you're scorekeeper." Ven just nodded and moved out of the way.
"Go!" He called and Ember surged forward, taking out five pots at once; Hercules jumped slightly and started attacking the pots himself.
Ember relied mostly on purely physical attacks - not wanting to have too much of an advantage over her opponent - whilst watching Hercules out of the corner of her eye. His tactic of throwing barrels at the pots to take multiple out at once was a good idea. Their round was longer, and the final scores higher. They had tied, and Hercules was so excited that neither Ember nor Ven was willing to tell him just how much the fire-mage had held back.
"You want to become a true hero, huh?" Ven commented as they left the coliseum.
"More than anything." Herc responded. "See, my father is Zeus. King of the gods up on Olympus."
"Woah! Herc, you're a god?"
"No! No… I'm mortal. When I was a baby, somebody stole me from my parents, and figured out how to take away my godhood." Hercules turned away slightly.
"And the true hero thing figures into this, how?" Ember asked.
"It's the only way I can become a god again." Hercules walked over to where one of the trophies was sitting. "If I become a true hero, I can rejoin my father and go back to Olympus."
"Wow.." Ven breathed. "I guess you really got your work cut out for you!"
Herc shrugged and turned around. "What about you two? Why are you guys here?"
"I'm…" Ven sighed. "I'm just trying to make some friends."
"Well, hey! You've done that already." Ven looked up at Hercules. "I mean, you've got Ember. And, we're friends, aren't we?"
"I'm more like his Sister…" Ember smirked.
Ven laughed. "You bet, Herc."
Ao came over to the trio just as Phil walked in. "All right, you bunch of rookies. It's time we go over the rules of the Games, so listen up…"
Phil's words faded into the background as Ember reached out with her subconscious, listening to the World around her. She started as a familiar presence caught her attention. Terra was here. Ember's biggest question now was whether she should go find him, and if she should let Ven know that their friend was on-World.
"...signed you two up up for the West...'cause they already got a heavy-hittin' contender cleanin' up over there in the East bracket." Three guesses who. "And if you wanna beat him, you're gonna hafta hustle in there. Now move those sandals." The Satyr and the two contenders headed back into the coliseum.
"Heavy hitting contender?" Ven mused.
"Ven! Ember! C'mon!" Hercules called.
"Oh. Okay!" Ven raced to catch up and Ember followed.
Both Hercules and Ao did impressively in their matches, and finally they were heading up into the Semi-Finals.
"Guess we made it." Ember commented as she and Ven walked up to Herc, who was talking quietly to Phil.
"Yeah. And it's all thanks to you two."
"The other kid'll be happy to hear that." Phil stated. Ember rolled her eyes at his scare tactic.
"No!" Herc protested. "I need you most of all, Phil! How else am I gonna become a hero?"
Phil made a grouchy comment and Ember elected to ignore them in favor of cataloging her items and organizing her Keychains, sure, she usually used Soulfire, but you never knew when she'd need a Keyblade with extra magic or reach. The match between Ao and Hercules started whilst she was doing this, but it didn't last long before Phil came running in.
"Hey, we got trouble! There's monsters loose in town and if they gate-crash the Games, you can forget about the match."
Ember was already halfway to the doors when Ven told the two boys to continue their match - that he and she would take care of the monsters. The two burst out into the courtyard and immediately began destroying the Unversed. They cleared the inner courtyard fairly easily, but they were faced with a swarm of Jellyshades the instant they moved on to the outer courtyard.
"Ember…" Ven murmured nervously, stepping a little closer to her. Then Hercules stepped up on Ven's other side. "Herc? What about your match?"
"Forget the match." Hercules responded with determination. "No way am I letting my friends fight alone. Cause I'm a hero! I mean, y'know… I'm gonna be one."
"I think you're closer to that goal than you think, Herc." Ember responded with a grin.
Hercules smiled sheepishly. "C'mon. Let's finish this together."
The three split up to take out the Unversed, and were doing a fairly good job of it. At one point, Ember shook her bangs out of her eyes and looked over to where Ven was fighting. "Ven!" Ember called and the blond came over to her.
He looked at her questioningly, then brightened excitedly. "Are we going to do the thing? Are we? Are we?!"
Ember nodded with a wicked grin on her face. "Kasai-saikuron."
"Alright!" The blond cheered, his blue eyes sparkling as he cast the most powerful Aeroga he could manage. It created a cyclone that started pulling Unversed into it.
"My turn!" Ember laid the teeth of Soulfire against the teeth of Wayward Wind and cast Firaga, turning the boy's attack into a spiraling conflagration of destruction.
When the flames died down, the Jellyshades were gone and Hercules was watching them in mild awe.
"Sorry about the match." Ember offered as they walked over to the teen, Ven looked particularly down about that.
"Aw, don't worry about it. It was totally my decision."
Ven looked up with a small grin only for it to drop as he saw a lone Unversed lunging for Hercules. Before anyone could do more than form the beginning of a warning, Ao slashed through it with his sword.
"What, you didn't save any for me?"
"Hey, you're here!" Hercules greeted. Ember tuned the boys out, closing her eyes and doing a mental sweep of the area to make sure all the Unversed were really gone.
"I never said I'd coach the winner." Phil told them. "I said I'd watch the match, and then decide. Being a hero takes more than muscle. Ya gotta have heart, and care about people. Sure, you both get high marks for that. But only one of ya cared fast enough - and that makes all the difference."
Ember rolled her eyes as Ao lamented his loss, but he snapped out of it fairly quickly. "I never really introduced myself, huh?" He took off his helmet, revealing messy black hair and electric blue eyes. "The name's Zack. Con-"
"Oh, thank goodness!" Ember sighed. "Now I don't have to call you Ao anymore!"
"Hey!" Zack protested.
"Well, you never told us your name, so I had to come up with one for you. Be grateful, I had considered using Bluebell." Zack sputtered at the suggestion for a moment before pulling himself together.
"Anyways. Congratulations, Herc."
"Thanks, Zack."
Phil cut in with another one of his amusingly cynical comments and Ember stifled a laugh.
"Hey - don't count me out either. I've still got plenty of big dreams to go with my lousy luck!" Zack commented, and this time Ember didn't hold back her laughter; she was joined by the three boys in her merriment.
"It's Ventus and Ember, yeah?" Phil got the Keybladers' attention. "Thanks to the two of you, Herc here really shaped up. I owe ya."
"Not at all." Ember smiled.
"We made some really good friends." Ven added. "Someone to share a laugh with. Like Terra and Aqua."
"We'll make things right with them. You'll see, Ven." Ember told him.
"I know." He nodded to himself. "I better be going."
Ember watched him start to move off, only to be interrupted by Hercules. Meanwhile Zack had walked over to her. "Hey. I never did get your name."
"Ember." she responded. "And he's Ven."
"Nice to meet you."
"...I'll stop by when you're a true hero." Zack ran over to butt into Ven and Herc's conversation.
"Stop by when we're both heroes!"
"Oh," Ven seemed to consider this for a moment, a teasing grin on his face. "So you mean never come back?"
"Hey, watch it!" Zack wrapped Ven in a playful headlock. The entire group dissolved into laughter again.
Ven hugged Ember tightly before summoning his Rider. "See ya later, Ember!"
"Have fun, Ven." Ember responded with a grin. "And take care of yourself."
"Of course!"
As Ven vanished into the sky, Zack came over to her. "So… how about you and me go on a date?"
Ember raised her eyebrows amusedly. Was he really asking her out? An image of spiky red hair and green eyes flashed in her mind, and she fought a blush. "Sorry, but no."
"Aww…" Zack sighed. "Well, if you ever change your mind…"
"I'll know who NOT to call."
"Hey!"
Ember laughed, then summoned her Rider. "Well, I'm off. See ya."
"Yo, Ember! Wait!" Phil called out, then came over and handed her a gold drachma. "Heroes ain't always marked by their strength. I think you've got the makings of a True hero, kid."
"Thanks Phil."
"Two words for ya: Go get 'em."
Laughing at the cranky satyr, Ember aimed her Rider for the sky, and let the Lanes Between envelope her.
The coin in her pocket turned into a keychain; the words Mark of a Hero etched on the surface.
Next Chapter: Deep Space
