"So this is the gummi ship? It's so... bright. Colorful. And blocky." Weiss said, finding their vessel somewhat jarring that something like this could even be called a ship. Her upbringing around the advanced technology of Atlas showed even further as she asked, "You really travel around in such a garish thing?"

"Well that's a fine 'how do ya do'." Donald protested with a grumpy frown. They saved her from the Heartless and got her out of Wonderland, and Weiss's way of thanking them was judging the vessel they were using to get to the worlds they were trying to save? Goofy however was unphased by Weiss's judgmental statement and cheerfully answered "Yup. Donald and I have been traveling in this ship since before we met Sora." The irony of the fact that Goofy was the one who took comments like that in a 'water off a duck's back' fashion was palpable enough to make Ruby and Sora chuckle.

With a sigh, Weiss took a seat on the newly raised chairs in the ship's cockpit. "Well, I suppose it's better than staying in that madhouse for the rest of my life." she said, resigning herself to her newly acquired garish transportation.

"Oh how I've missed you, Weiss." Ruby said with a bright smile on her face.

A comment which made Weiss blink in surprise before turning away with embarrassment. "Y-You...You're still such a child." the Schnee heiress muttered...only to follow it up with, "Yet in a...logically incomprehensible way, I missed you too." Ugh. She couldn't believe she said that out loud. Of all the ways to fill silence as they drifted through the cosmos.

While Sora was certainly happy for Ruby, he couldn't help but feel a little wistful. Yet at the same time, he also felt hopeful. If Ruby's friend was okay, then maybe not only the rest of her friends, but Riku and Kairi were okay too. He hoped so, at least. He was drawn from his thoughts when his bright blue eyes caught sight of something not too far away from them. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing toward the distant object.

Everyone's eyes followed Sora's finger and sure enough, they looked to be approaching a brand new world. A grand, temple-like structure of ancient design held up by tall columns of artistically carved marble and poofy bright clouds surrounding what looked to be two giant bronze statues crossing swords.

"Should we go and see?" Goofy asked when standing from his seat and standing next to Donald to look closer out the window.

"Sure. We're not that far from Traverse Town. Maybe the King passed through here?" Donald said as they continued towards the new world. When they landed, they came through huge gates and saw the statues up close. They were like gladiators crossing their risen blades over the entry to what was a massive coliseum.

"Guys, look here." Ruby said when standing by a large stone tablet. Everyone gathered and looked as Ruby read what was written. "The Olympus Coliseum, where you can witness periodically held fighting tournaments." At her own words, Ruby lit up with excitement. "An arena?! Where people fight each other, using powerful weapons and cool abilities?!"

Sora was just as enthusiastic and felt motivated as he exclaimed, "Yeah! It sounds like it would be fun to watch! Maybe they'd even let us compete! Let's go!"

They ran off together into the entryway leading to the vestibule as Donald chased after them, saying in annoyance "We're not here to have fun! We're on an important mission!"

Goofy and Weiss followed, the latter smiling at his friends excitement while Weiss was agreeing with Donald. "He's right! We shouldn't be playing or wasting our time on unimportant things. We should try to be looking for the others, Ruby!"

"Oh let's just take a peek at the very least."
"Ruby's right. There's no harm in that."

Inside, the vestibule had just one, small and heavy set person. Ruby and Weiss were surprised as the others but not for the same reasons. They noticed his lower portion had dark brown fur and cloven hooves while goat like horns coming out the top of his balding head. "Is he a faunus?" Ruby whispered to Weiss. "I've never seen one like him before. But if he is, then maybe he's from Remnant." Weiss whispered back.

Sora walked over to the short, heavy set, horned, hooved...person and reached out to him with a small "Umm..."

"Good timin'. Gimmie a hand, will ya?" he spoke with a rough, nasal accent one might have expected from some big city of some sort. Not quite what one would expect from a place like this. But of course, these worlds were quite...colorful. "Move that pedestal over there for me. I gotta spruce this place up for the gaaames." he instructed, pointing to a stone emblazoned with symbols.

Sora looked to at the pedestal in question, then to his friends with a shrug. If he needed help setting things up for these games, then he may as well. Though Sora was in for quite a surprise as he placed his hands on the pedestal. The instant he tried to push, he found himself being forced to give everything he got...and it didn't even budge.

Ruby and Weiss blinked rapidly at Sora's failed attempt to push it, and the red and black huntress walked up beside Sora, deciding to give him a hand. "Hrrrnnnnggghhh...Guh...Huh...Hah..." Even with Ruby helping, Sora couldn't budge it an inch. What was this thing made of? Stone or something heavier?

"Phew...This weighs a ton..." Ruby said, shaking hear head. She felt dizzy just trying to push it. "Well it was your idea to come here, Ruby." Weiss said, frowning at her partner, only to earn a huffy frown from Ruby as she shuffled up beside Sora to ask the goat-man, "Uhhh, how exactly are we supposed to move that thing?" Sora seconded the notion by saying, "It's way too heavy."

Their statements made the goat man jolt with surprise and disbelief. "What? 'Too heavy'?" the goat man asked incredulously. "Since when have you two been like that noodly little blon-" Finally choosing that moment to turn around, his gaze was further up past Sora's face...trailing off looked down to see a trio of teenage kids, a humanoid duck and a humanoid dog. "Oh, wrong guy and gal. What're you doin' here?"

Not even waiting for them to answer, the goat man hopped from the pedestal, marching his stubby furry hoofed legs over to Donald. The duck, feeling slightly intimidated, backed away in response. "This here's the world-famous Coliseum. Heroes only! And I got my hands full preparing for the games. So run along pip-squeaks." "Hey," Weiss said indignantly with her hands to her hips. "Is this how you treat everybody who comes by to visit and see what's going on in here? Such uncouth behavior."

Realizing he might have been a little harsh, the tiny fellow rubbed the back of his head. "Right, sorry miss. Name's Phil. I'm just a little stressed is all. Lots of stuff going on. Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight ferocious monsters right here in the coliseum." "Oh wow. So I'll bet you've got a whole line up ready. Right?" Ruby asked in a somewhat giddy tone. "Yeah, I wish," Phil said sarcastically. "I still need some to make it official. I managed to find two, even though one of them looks more like a farmer than a warrior. If only I could find a few more."

Donald, feeling like they were all being ignored, crossed his arms before making a bold proclamation. "You've got heroes standing right in front of you!" A notion that Goofy seconded. "Eyup. He's a real hero chosen by the Keyblade!" he said, holding Sora's shoulders with cheerful pride. Sora couldn't help smiling gratefully at the praise as Ruby also threw her own two lien into the mix. "I've wanted to be just like the heroes from the stories my sister read to me as a kid. It's why I want to be a huntress. Somebody who fights monsters and protects those who can't protect themselves." As for the Schnee Heiress, "Hero? Not so sure," She spoke fairly indifferently as she brushed her one long strand of hair, before speaking with an air of proud confidence. "But I'd like to think I'm capable enough to fight well."

Glad they were all on the same page, Donald gestured to himself and Goofy when saying, "And we're heroes, too."

Phil's gaze shifted with confusion as his eyes looked at Sora...only for his eyes to widen and his lips to quiver when he realized that Goofy was serious. "Hero? THAT runt? AHAHEHEHEHEHAHEH-"

That reaction was...not what they were expecting. Especially Sora, who indignantly protested. "What's so funny!? I've fought a bunch of monsters!"

"Yeah! Don't laugh at him! I don't see you fighting!" Ruby jumped in, her face as frowny as Sora's. What as with this old goat, picking on them like this?

"-EHEHAHAAAHAAAHEHEHEHEH!" His protests certainly didn't stop Phil's raucous laughter, before it finally came to an end with Phil saying, "Hey kid, if you and your lady friend can't even move this..." A point he tried to prove by pushing the pedestal...only for it not to budge. "...you can't call yourselves..." He really wasn't making a convincing case as Sora and Ruby crossed their arms. "...heroes!" Eventually, after embarrassing himself trying to prove his point, Phil collapsed on the floor, laying his arm on his round belly. That...was not a good idea at all. "...Okay, so it takes more than brawn." Phil clarified, catching his breath before pushing himself up. "Well, let's see what you can do."

The sound of some sort of crashing from the area beyond that 'closed' sign drew the attention of the fivesome. "OW!" As did the slightly nasal, boyish voice that the 'ow' belonged to. "I'm sorry!" And the somewhat melodic, feminine voice that followed it.

Ruby and Weiss immediately perked up at the sounds of those voices. "Wait...Was that..." Ruby asked, her voice much softer than before. "No...It couldn't be...Could it?" Weiss said to herself...as if subtly hoping that she was wrong about who she thought it was.

"Just head out that way. Like I said, you ain't the only runts tryin' to prove yourselves worthy of the games. So ye better be good at sharing as you claim to be at fighting. Now get out there!" Phil instructed, going back to his 'sprucing up'.

Ruby and Weiss both rushed through the entryway to the arena, Sora and the others wondering what got into them. Inside were two teenagers a little older than Ruby and Weiss. One at one edge of the arena while the other seemed to have crashed into a pile of broken wood that used to be a pile of barrels.

"Jaune! Pyrrha!" Ruby exclaimed.

The blonde and the redhead perked up immediately, turning to see their younger friend. "Ruby!" they said simultaneously. The three of them ran to each other, overjoyed to see another of their friends had survived. "You guys are alright! I'm so relieved!" Ruby said, letting out a sigh and a smile.

"We are too, Ruby! Man, I don't even know how to describe what happened. There were these monsters and the streets were getting torn apa-...Weiss!" The instant he saw the Schnee heiress, Jaune broke into a full sprint and ran in her direction. The moment her name was said, Weiss cringed at Juane's sunny smile in discomfort and side stepped him, causing him to topple face-first into the dirt. "Hello Jaune. Personal space."

With a pathetic grown and a face full of dirt, Juane slowly pushed himself up only to nearly flop back down as the voice of Phil rang out right over him like a coach lecturing a poor player. "Hey! Come on, kid. Keep on your toes. Stop lettin' your guard down because of a big pair of goo-goo eyes!" Phil didn't seem to notice the fact he was being ignored as Jaune's focused on Weiss speaking with Pyrrha and Ruby. "It's like I keep telling you: You gotta stay focused and... youuuuu..." Now realizing that he WAS being ignored as Jaune just walked right passed him, Phil threw his arms up and walked off with an annoyed huff.

"So where have you and Ruby been? Are the others with you guys?" Jaune asked as he joined the conversation, earning an annoyed glare from Weiss whom he came right up beside."I'll let someone who can tolerate you explain the situation as she's had much more experience with what's going on. Ruby?" Weiss said, dismissing Jaune again, and leaving Ruby to deal with the explanations.

"Well uh, I guess first introductions are in order. Heh." Ruby said with a little chuckle. "These are my new friends. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They've been looking for a way to set all this right. They've been helping me search for my team. In fact, it's thanks to them I managed to find Weiss!" The trio gave a respective wave to the new pair in front of them. "Guys, these two are friends of mine from Remnant."

"Hello. A pleasure to meet you all. My name is Pyrrha Nikos." Pyrrha introduced with a polite smile and a light bow. "And I'm Jaune Arc, leader of team JNPR." Jaune introduced in an effort to look cool and smooth to his new acquaintances. An effort that had...not gotten the results he anticipated. Sora was confused, Donald was unamused, Goofy was chuckling, Ruby was giggling, Weiss was rolling her eyes, and Pyrrha was smiling adoringly. "Though our...team is kind of split right now, so I guess that doesn't mean much." Jaune's voice took on a much more morose tone as he thought about their missing pair.

Ruby's eyes widened with worry at the implications of Jaune's statement. "Wait, you mean...Ren and Nora aren't with you?" she asked, only to get a shake of heads from Jaune and Pyrrha. Ruby's own gaze lowered sadly, hoping that they were okay. Though that still begged the question. "How did you two end up being trained here?" Weiss inquired curiously. She was confused enough having wound up in Wonderland, but how did Jaune and Pyrrha in a place like this? Well heaven knows Jaune definitely needs some training, so he was lucky. "In truth, we don't know. We just sort of woke up here. Phil took us in to coach when he saw us training in the coliseum." Pyrrha answered.

"I took YOU in to coach, Pyrrha. Jaune only got in cause you insisted I give him a chance." Phil corrected, earning a grunt of annoyance from the boy in question.

"Right," Sora said after all introductions were finished. "So I'm here to show Phil I'm hero material. Do you guys mind if we use the arena?" The pair gave a nod as they hopped off the ring. "I think we've been training enough for the time being. Why don't we take a break, Jaune?" Pyrrha said with her ever gentle smile.

"Sure. Don't want my body to quit on me because I'm working too hard." Jaune spoke so confidently as if he was some macho body builder and even struck poses to show off the non-existent beefy muscles, earning a facepalm from Weiss and most of the others laughing. All except Donald who rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh brother."

After a few minutes, the arena was set up differently with certain parts having additional platforms and pillars with barrels set up in a symmetrical pattern. Everyone was in the booth except for Sora. Phil shouted loud enough from a stand for him to hear as he held up a small hourglass. "The rules are simple: Bust all the barrels within the time limit. Ready?"

Taking his Keyblade out, Sora prepared himself right before Phil shouted, "GO!"

The amount of time that passed in the hourglass would have been thirty seconds. Sora managed to break the twenty barrels that were there in twenty-three seconds, making him pass.

"Not bad," Phil said with a shrug before sounding more serious. "For a beginner, that is."

After another set of time, everyone changed the arena up again. This time there were even more platforms and pillars. There were twenty five barrels this time and Phil used an hourglass going for a full minute. The rules were the same as the last training but it wouldn't be that much easier though since some of the barrels were hidden.

At first Sora was a little worried. He didn't quit though. Moving as fast as he could, he took a smart approach and checked each level first and being sure there weren't any more barrels before moving to the next one. He managed to get the last one from a distance by smacking it with another barrel with fifteen seconds left.

Sora's eyes went wide as an idea of how to get those last barrels popped into his head. Heaving his Keyblade back, he swung it like a golf-club and swung, sending another barrel into a distant one like hitting a fore. Sure enough, it worked. Once he got a clear plan in mind, the rest was smooth sailing. Stacks of barrels? Fell like dominos. Distant ones, easily hit from a distance. And just in time, Sora managed to clear the arena of barrels, leaving only splinters.

"Hey, you're better than I thought!" Phil said, genuinely impressed with Sora's performance. Of course, smashing barrels may not be the most glamorous of deeds, but at the very least, he showed he was competent with his weapon. "Ya know, you ain't bad, kid. Took Jaune three tries before before he passed it."

A groan from the blonde in question made it clear that he'd unfortunately started growing used to hearing such critiques from the satyr. But he was still happy for Sora, so he brushed that aside and clapped him on the shoulder. "Way to go, Sora!" he said encouragingly.

"Heh. Looks like I'm headed for the games." Sora said with a great big smile as he lay his hands on the back of his head.

A smile that Jaune returned along with a challenging point of his finger. "Well in that case, I'll see you there. And I'll be sure to show you how a real hero fights."

Hearing his challenge, Sora pointed right back at Jaune. "Oh yeah? Then I'll show you just why the Keyblade chose a hero like me." It seemed a bit of a friendly rivalry had sparked between the boys blonde and brown haired boys. Both so eager to prove themselves, and accomplish great things. They really were too of a kind, especially with how silly they could be.

While Donald and Weiss rolled their eyes at the sight, Ruby, Goofy, and Pyrrha couldn't help but smile at their friendly competitiveness. "You're on!" both boys cheered, rearing their fists back to bump them together.

"Afraid not." Phil said pointedly to them both, uncaringly taking the wind out of their sails

The boys turned to him in confused annoyance when shouting "Why not?!" with even Donald astounded that they wouldn't be entering any competition together.

"Two words," Phil said with the number mentioned raised by his fingers. "You. Guys. Ain't. Heroes!"

"Come on!" the two repeated again, nobody seeming to notice that Goofy was counting the number of times Phil said a word with his fingers and scratched his head in confusion. Phil counted wrong. Those were four words.

"Look, if you wanna be a real hero? Start by mastering this spell." Phil said before presenting Sora with a small scroll. It was yellow with a lightning bolt on the pin keeping it rolled up. After opening it and giving a quick look, the energy from within it glowed and Sora's Keyblade sparked with yellow light for a moment.

"Hey, what about me?" Jaune asked, feeling left out.

"Sorry Don Jaune," Phil said sarcastically. "Those scrolls only work once per person. And I know a few things about supernatural stuff. Not just anybody can use it. You're more of a physical fighter or strategist type of guy. Stick to that."

Hanging his head with a sigh of defeat, Jaune moped but Pyrrha patted his back and smiled. "Don't worry, Jaune. You've still got plenty of potential. I'm sure when you unlock whatever abilities you have hidden within, they'll be great. Perhaps even invaluable."

Feeling better, Jaune smiled to his teammate and friend before looking to Ruby. "So what are you guys gonna do now?"

"Well," Ruby said, a little sad they weren't going to see or be involved in any tournament fights. "I guess we'll just move on to other worl-" Donald cleared his throat and narrowed his eyes at Ruby, wordlessly reminding her of the World Order. "Erm, we'll keep traveling. But of course we're taking you guys with us." Just as Donald nodded in response to Ruby's correction, he immediately blanched with shock at what she followed up with. "We are!? When was this established?!" he asked with disbelief."Right now, of course. Why, is there something wrong?" Ruby asked, her eyes shifting to a frown at Donald's protestation. She should have expected this from the stubborn duck, but hope springs eternal.

"Of course there's something wrong! We didn't discuss this! Besides, he'd just slow us down!" Donald retorted, not being subtle at just how much he didn't care for Jaune's clearly not too professional attitude. Though it was perhaps a bit...hypocritical, given who the sentiment was coming from. "Hey! What's that mean!?" Jaune angrily asked, tanking a step towards Donald, only to be stopped short by Pyrrha. "Jaune! Calm down." she urged him before looking toward Sora with an apologetic look, "I'm sorry." along with an actual apology

With a shrug and a sigh, Phil tried to put a silver lining on this for the group. "Sorry, I can't let ya into the games. But I can train ya for em!" he said encouragingly. Though his encouragement wasn't nearly enough for Sora who countered back with an indignant response of, "I'm ready for the games!"

"Me too!" Jaune agreed. He wasn't going to be cut out of this just because Phil didn't think he was ready. And definitely not because of some dumb comment from a stubborn duck.

By now, Phil's patience was wearing thin. "You don't get it do ya? No entry pass for you." he said, turning away from the boys with a wave of his hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, if you're done botherin' me, I've still got a whole coliseum to spruce up." With that, he made it clear he was done talking to all parties. And with that, the seven rather insulted friends made their way out of the coliseum, turned away before they even had a chance to prove themselves.