Author's Note: Okay, so this chapter is somewhat similar to the original story, but a lot of the flow and such has been changed severely. I hope you all enjoy it

"Feng…," a voice said.

"Dad?" I asked. I could vaguely see a face through the light, though I couldn't make out the features.

"Feng… my Feng…"

I jolted awake. It was the same dream I'd had again and again. My father, smiling down at me. I could never see his face, but he said my name and I knew it was him.

I grew up living on the island alone. All I remember was being woken up one day by a silver-haired boy. Riku took me back to his house, where his mother patched me up. She offered to let me stay with them, but I turned them down. I went from house to house, but I knew I wouldn't find my parents. So I moved in with an older woman who lived on the main island. She died when I was 10, and since then I lived alone in the house.

I always hoped that one day I'd finally be able to see my father's face in my dream, but it never happened.

Now that I was awake, I was feeling hungry. I went into the kitchen, grabbed a pork bun package, and popped it in the microwave. As I sat at the table, Sora walked into the kitchen… in his boxers.

"Crown print?" I questioned.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think anyone else was in here," he said. He went over to the fridge and started looking around as the microwave beeped. I got up to get the buns as Sora pulled a burger out of the fridge. He popped it in the microwave as I sat down.

"So," I said. "Do you think we're going to find our friends?"

"I don't know," he told me. "But I hope so."

"Sora, do you remember when we went to the cave?" I asked. "When I asked you if Riku liked Kairi?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you know why I asked?"

"Because you like him, right?" he said.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, biting a bun.

"Umm, yeah," he said. "But I think he likes you too."

"You do?!" I blurted. "Why?"

"Well, there's that paopu he gave you." I actually still had the paopu with me.

"Why is it so hard? This whole thing?" I asked.

"I don't know. I think that we're all too nervous of being let down. If I told Kairi that I liked her, what if she didn't feel the same. What if it made things weird?"

"Yeah, I guess so," I said. The microwave beeped, and Sora retrieved his burger. "Do you remember anything or anyone weird on the islands? Right around the time I showed up?"

"All I remember was this guy that Riku talked to. He never told me who the guy was or anything though."

"I just wish I knew something about where I came from," I said. "I have this dream of my father, but I can never make out his face, just his voice."

"Maybe we'll find out where you're from on this journey," said Sora reassuringly. "And I'm sorry that I called you a bad friend before."

"I'm sorry I called you ditzy," I told him. "The raft could have worked."

"I don't think so. Not forever, especially since you can't even go to other worlds without a ship," Sora said.

"Well, it doesn't matter now," I said, polishing off my pork buns. "We got what we wanted, and it backfired, big time. I just want to find our friends and go home."

"I couldn't agree more," said Sora through a mouthful of burger. Just then, Donald came out from the cockpit.

"I found a new world," he said. "It looks like a coliseum."

"Okay," I said, standing up. "Let's do this. Sora, you might want to put your pants on."

KHR

We entered the world through a golden gate. Inside, there was a courtyard where two giant golden statues of gladiators clashed swords above another, smaller door. We walked through those doors and into a dim lobby, where a satyr was putting up a sign on the wall near an entrance. A "closed" sign was tied in front of a dark doorway and a large stone block was placed against a wall near a lit torch. We approached the satyr cautiously.

"Um...," mumbled Sora, unsure of what to do.

"Good timing. Give me a hand, will ya? Move that pedestal over there for me," said the satyr, pointing to the stone block without turning away from the sign. "I gotta spruce this place up for the games." The four of us all walked over to the block and took turns pushing against it, though it didn't budge an inch for any of us.

"It weighs a ton!" said Sora.

"It's way too heavy!" I said to the satyr's back.

"What? Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little- " began the satyr. He turned and looked up as if he were expecting someone taller, but then he looked down at us.

"Oh. Wrong guy. What're you doing here?" he asked us. He walked over to Donald, who began to back away slowly.

"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 began to pout and put his hands on his hips, but I scowled, crossing my arms.

"Look, it's like this," said the satyr, beginning to pace around. "Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the Coliseum. And me, I trained the best of 'em. I'm Philoctetes, but you can call me Phil."

"Well, you've got heroes standing right in front of you," said Donald, crossing his arms.

"Yup. They're real heroes chosen by the Keyblade!" said Goofy, putting his hands on our shoulders.

"And we're heroes, too," said Donald, pointing to himself.

"Hero? That runt?" said Phil, looking shocked, and not in a good way. He laughed loudly, slapping his belly.

"What's so funny? I've fought a bunch of monsters!" said Sora, pounding his chest.

"Yeah, we all have, fur butt!" I said indignantly.

"Hey, if you can't even move this...," Phil said, moving over to the block. He pushed against it, but it didn't budge. "You can't call yourself...," he continued, pushing against the block with his back as his hooves slipped across the floor. "A hero!" Sora crossed his arms and I put my hands on my hips as phil finally wore himself out, plopping down on the ground and trying to catch his breath.

"Okay, so it takes more than brawn," he said, standing up. "Well, let's see what you can do. This trial is tough. You got what it takes? You ready?"

"I'm ready!" said Sora.

"Hold on!" I said. "This is stupid. I shouldn't have to prove myself in a stupid trial. What are you gonna make us do, break stupid urns or something?"

"Who are you to question my training methods?" asked Phil. "I've trained some of the greatest heroes out there. Perseus, Theseus, Odysseus, a lotta 'euses' is what I'm getting at. Besides, they're barrels. Not urns. Anymore."

"Okay, but how does this test our actual combat skills?" I asked.

"Like I said, there's more to it then brute strength," said Phil.

"Yeah. I'm not physically strong, I know that. But I'm fast. And I've gotten much better. I want a real test," I said.

"Fine, you want a 'real test'? Fight him," said Phil, pointing to Sora.

"Fight Sora?" I asked. "What gave you that idea?"

"I can see you both in action. Snip two threads with one pair of shears," Phil said. "Show me what ya both got."

"I'm game," Sora said.

"Fine, me too. Bring it on," I replied. We entered the main part of the coliseum, which was basically a dirt square with stands on two sides. Sora and I stood across from each other, and Phil, Donald, and Goofy took a seat in the stands.

"Ready? Go!" said Phil.

I was too fast for Sora; I rushed up and struck him before he could react. He quickly recovered from my attack and charged me, using his Keyblade to fling himself toward me and strike. I blocked that, but he pushed me off balance. He went to strike me while I was down, but I pulled a Riku and sprang up, kicking him in the chest. He was pushed back, and I slashed again with my Keyblade, but he was ready. As the blades collided, he tried to push me down again, but I pulled away. As I was recovering, he successfully bypassed my guard and struck me on the arm.

He tried another strike but I rolled to the side, casting a Fire spell. He blocked the fireball and sent it flying up toward the stands, where it set the tip of Phil's tail on fire.

"Three words: watch out!" said Phil. Goody began counting on his fingers with a puzzled expression.

Sora rushed at me once again, and he hit me, knocking me over. I rolled back up and kicked him in the face, sending him stumbling backwards. I took the opportunity to get behind him for a second strike, but he saw me coming, and did a spin attack that knocked me backwards.

"That's enough!" shouted Phil from the stands. "You're better than I thought!" The five of us returned to the lobby as Sora and I drank potions to recover.

"Good job," I told him.

"You too," he replied.

"You know, you ain't bad," Phil told us. Sora scratched his head and chuckled and I dusted off the front of my shorts.

"Looks like we're headed for the games," Sora said. He put his hands behind his head in a weird gesture and I locked my fingers together and stretched my hands above my head.

"Afraid not," said Phil.

"Why not?" said a now frowning Sora.

"Two words: You guys ain't heroes," said Phil.

Goofy began to count on his fingers as Sora and I began to protest.

"Wanna become real heroes? Start by mastering this spell," said Phil, tossing us a yellow orb. My hair stood on end as if a jolt of electricity passed through my body. The orb disappeared.

"I don't care about your stupid spell!" I said. "I want to enter the games. Our friends might have entered, and we need to find them."

"Sorry, but rules are rules," said Phil.

"You're a hack!" I said, storming out of the lobby and into the courtyard. I was surprised to find another person there.

It was a man with long silver hair, and long sword, and a single black wing on his back. He was wearing a black leather outfit. As I slammed the doors, he turned to look at me, and for a moment his blue green eyes and silver hair reminded me of Riku.

"Hello, young lady. Who are you?" he asked me.

"I'm Feng," I said. "And you are?"

"Feng, would you be interested in helping me with something?" asked the man, ignoring my question. "I could give you an entry pass for the games." He held up something that looked like a ticket.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"I'm looking for someone, and I believe that that someone is entering the games today. If you enter the games, you can find him for me, that's all I ask."

"You never told me your name," I said. The guy was starting to freak me out.

"I am Sephiroth," he said, holding out the pass to me. "What do you say?"

"Deal," I said, taking the pass. "Now, what does this guy look like?"

"Well," Sephiroth said. "He is blond, and he has blue eyes and a very large sword. His name is Cloud."

"Okay, and you think Cloud entered the games?"

"I'm almost certain."

"Then why not enter yourself?"

Sephiroth chuckled. "I don't want him to see me coming." That made me begin to regret making a deal with Sephiroth, but it was too late, so I just nodded and reentered the lobby. I held the pass out to Phil without saying a word.

"Hey, how'd you get this?" he asked me.

"Doesn't matter," I said. "Are you gonna let me in the games, or not?"

"Well... I guess so," said Phil. "We start with the preliminaries! Some real weirdos signed up for the games. Better watch yourself."

KHR

Basically, the first few rounds were just me up against some Heartless. I made easy work of them, though I began to get winded after a while. I must have taken having other people fighting with me for granted, even if we weren't getting along.

After a few round, I emerged from the coliseum, panting and sweating.

"You're not a hero yet, but you ain't doing bad. Lucky you came to me for coaching," said Phil, stroking his goatee.

Suddenly, another person came in from his match. He had a red cape, a claw, spiky blond hair, blue eyes, and a gigantic sword. He was the one I was looking for. As I stared at him, he stared back before leaving the lobby.

"Something tells me he'll be a tough one to beat. Who knows, maybe you'll end up facing him," said Phil.

"I hope so," I said. I was more afraid of Sephiroth than I was of Cloud.

"Wow, didn't know you had a deathwish. These are some good games. I just wish he was here to see 'em," said Phil.

"Who?" I asked.

"Hercules. He's a hero if ever there was one. Too bad he's off visiting his father," said Phil. "The greatest hero I ever trained. He was worth the trouble, that kid. He went the distance."

"If he's so great, why did he need you to train him?" I asked.

"He had the strength, but he needed to get his heart in the right place. It ain't easy, doin' things on your own. You need people who round you out and make you better. That's something I learned from training Herc," said Phil.

"Hmm, I guess," I said, thinking about what Phil had said.

"Now, I got three words for ya: prepare yourself. You're almost to the semi-finals, kid. One more round."

I fought through one more round of Heartless, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something else was going on behind the scenes.

KHR

Beneath the stands, two figures watched the young girl fight.

"And you're quite sure this plan will work?" asked Sephiroth.

"It's a sure thing, like Narcissus stopping to stare at himself in a puddle," said a mysterious man with black robes like smoke and flames for hair. "While Spiky and Spiky Jr. duke it out in their 'who has the stupidest sword' contest, you take out the little girlie. Then we handle whichever punk is left on the other side of things, bada-bing, everything's taken care of. Then you kill Hercules for me, we call it even, everyone goes home happier than Hermes."

"Aren't you the god of the dead? Why are you scared of some kids?"

"That's not important. You help me, I help you, the end," said Hades, growing impatient.

"But- "

"Stop questioning it!" said Hades, erupting into red flames. He quickly regained his cool. "Look, I can't interfere with the little tykes, or Blunder Boy will be onto me. That kid has been the hawk, eating the pancreas if my Prometheus day after day for years, and I'm sick of it. Just help me end him, and it's a win-win."

Sephiroth and Hades eyed the girl, who was panting like a dog in the sun.

"Hey, it's like that old goat says: Rule 11: It's all just a game, so let loose and have fun with it!" Hades said, punching the air. "I mean, a casualty along the way is no big deal, right?" Sephiroth walked away, his expression unchanging.

"Geez. Stiffer than the stiffs back home. But that makes two suckers for the price of one..."

Behind him, a large creature growled.

KHR

"Okay," said Phil, mock-punching the air. "Here comes the semi-finals. You ready to do it?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," I said, finishing of my Potion. I went into the ring, where before me stood a man with long silver hair and a long sword.

"Sephiroth?" I asked, puzzled. "I thought you couldn't enter the games. I thought you didn't want Cloud to know you were coming?"

"Well, plans change," said Sephiroth. He charged at me, and kicked me so hard that I flew into the wall behind me. I jumped up quickly and used Thunder on him. He used his sword like a lightning rod and shot my spell back at me.

I ran forward, intending to strike with the Keyblade, but I stumbled before I could make it. I fell face-first into the dirt.

"You're weak. You'd never have been able to beat Cloud anyway," taunted Sephiroth. I pushed myself up, and threw my Keyblade at him. He jumped over it, and it bounced off of the stone wall behind him and clattered to the ground.

I felt the ground shake beneath my feet, and I saw the sky above us was dark. I held out my hand, and the Keyblade returned to it, though the only use for it now was a crutch.

I thought about what Phil said about himself and Hercules, and I realized in that moment how right he was. I hadn't improved nearly as much as I'd though. It was the fact that I had others to cover my weaknesses that made me so much better. I had abandoned my team, my friends, and that was why I was losing. I let myself put my heart in the wrong place, and now I needed my friends to put it back in the right place.

I felt a sudden surge of power from my chest, as if my heart had gone into overdrive. I lifted the Keyblade, and a feeling I had never felt before overtook me.

"Light!" I shouted, and brilliant orbs of light erupted from the tip of my Keyblade and flew towards Sephiroth. The first orb disarmed him, and the rest blasted him back against the wall. When the orbs faded, he lay unconscious on the ground.

I ran from the battlefield and back into the lobby.

KHR

I drank a Potion as I walked through the door.

"Whew, that was close! That was Cerberus, the guardian of the Underworld. Herc should be able to handle him. But then again, maybe not... This doesn't look good. I hope Herc's okay. Wish I could go in!" said Phil.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Feng!" Sora, Donald and Goofy shouted, puling me into a group hug.

"The guardian of the underworld attacked during our match!" said Sora.

"This hero named Hercules is holding it back," said Donald.

"I know who's behind it, too," said Phil. "Two words: Hades."

Goofy began counting on his fingers once again as Sora and I summoned our Keyblades. We prepared to run into the coliseum.

"Kids, you're not entering the arena, are ya? This ain't just some match. This is for real!" warned Phil.

"I'm not afraid. You can decide if I'm hero material or not," said Sora.

"I'm with my friends again," I said. "I know that we can do it."

"Just be careful!" said Phil. We reentered the arena, where we saw Hercules, who had Cloud slung over his shoulders, holding back Cerberus by his teeth. The demon dog's six ears perked up, and the beast turned its attention to us, allowing Herc to bring Cloud to the safety of the lobby.

"Hey!" shouted Phil. "I got two words of advice for you: Attack!"

The beast charged us, snapping around with its three heads. Each time it got near one of us, we'd strike the heads to keep it back. When it was tired out, we wailed away at the heads.

It rose and roared, sending fireballs at us. Sora, Donald, and I countered each with a Blizzard spell while Goofy flung his shield at each of the three heads. When the onslaught of fire ended, Cerberus began stomping around and creating shockwaves. The four of us lost our balance and fell over, and I realized that we needed a plan to beat the dog.

"Sora, toss me your Keyblade!" I said. Sora tossed it to me, and I ran up to the creature. I jumped in the central mouth and jammed the Keyblades into its jaws so they'd stay open.

"Hey, uglies!" I shouted. "Bet you can't eat me before he does!" The middle head began to fight against the blades in an attempt to close its jaws on me, while the other two lunged for me, trying to get me first. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

At the last second, I flipped out of the mouth. As the Keyblades disappeared, the two heads rammed into each other and the middle jaws closed on the other two. The beast whimpered and growled, then fell unconscious.

"Good plan," said Sora.

"Thanks," I replied before I fainted.

KHR

Later, after I had been revived, Hercules and Phil stood before the four of us in the lobby. Phil unrolled a piece of papyrus as Hercules stood beside him with his arms crossed.

"Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes, and confer upon thee full rights and privileges to participate in the games. Further- "

"Hey! What do you mean 'junior heroes'?" asked Donald.

"Yeah!" I added. "We defeated the guardian of the freaking underworld!"

"You rookies still don't understand what it takes to be true heroes," said Phil.

"So, what does it take?" asked Goofy.

"Well, that's just something you'll have to find out for yourselves. Just the way that I did," answered the smiling Hercules.

"We may not get it yet…," said Sora, bracing himself against the block.

"But we know…," Donald added, joining Sora.

"That we'll find out…," continued Goofy.

"Together," I finished. With the four of us braced together against the pedestal, we pushed. The block slowly began to move until it was out of the way. Beneath it was another shining keyhole.

"Your turn, Sora," I said. Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the keyhole, sealing it.

"Yeah, yeah," said Phil. "Two words for ya: still not heroes." The four of us sighed and left the lobby, waving goodbye to our new friends.

KHR

"I still can't believe those squirts actually beat Cerberus," said Phil, stroking his goatee.

"Just between us, I'd already worn Cerberus down by the time they jumped in," Hercules whispered to his trainer with a wink.

Phil nodded and chuckled. "My lips are sealed."

KHR

As we walked toward the gates, we noticed Cloud sitting off to the side. We went over to him.

"Hey, are you all right?" Sora asked. Cloud looked up at us.

"Yeah."

"So why did you go along with him, anyway?" asked Sora.

"I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired," said Cloud.

"Well, someone was looking for you too," I told him. "And he's vanished."

Cloud stood up and looked at the sky. "I know. I'm like him. I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light."

"You'll find it. I'm searching, too," said Sora.

"We both are," I added.

"For your light?" Cloud asked us. We both nodded. "Don't lose sight of it." He began to walk away.

"How about a rematch sometime? Fair and square, no dark powers involved," said Sora.

"I never even got to fight you," I said. Cloud turned his head away from us and ran his hand through his hair.

"I think I'll pass."

KHR

Hades stood alone at the gates that night.

In his hand he held an action figure of Hercules.

He's strong, he's kind, he's always there for you, and he's handsome to boot," listed Hades as the action figure flexed and winked. "He's perfect. Perfect. Perfectly infuriating! He makes me crazy!" Hades exploded again, melting the statue. He breathed for a moment, his flames returning to their cool blue color.

"Wait a minute," Hades said to himself. "What are you worried about? All the pieces are in place. Relax. Here's what you do. Let Hercules train the kids. Next time around, I'll take care of them all. And I know just the little doll to tie it all together." In his hand, smoke forms into a figure of a tall, slender girl with curly hair and a toga dress. He grabbed the smoke figure and squeezed it tightly as the horned witch and a blue-haired girl appeared behind him.

"Who invited you to the party? Stay out of this. This is my show," said Hades.

"As you wish. Fight to your heart's content," said the witch.

Hades smirked for a moment before he noted the witch's sarcasm and scowled as she disappeared.

KHR

As the girl, the boy, the duck, and the dog talked and laughed at the gates, the were being observed by a boy with golden hair and eyes.

His expression of distaste intensified as the girl laughed.

"So the witch was right," he said to his silver-haired companion.

"She may have replaced you, but she won't replace me," the silver-haired boy responded. "I'll get her on our side, then the witch will be pleased as punch."

"You'd better not blow it. It's our one advantage," said the golden boy.

"You worry too much," said the other boy. "Everyone has a weakness; hers… is me."