I primarily added the Jiminy's Journal section to the beginning of the chapter because I couldn't think of a name for it based on the content, so "Jiminy's Journal #3" made it easy. The primary purpose of this chapter was to start a mini Olympus Coliseum arc.

And it's a nice coincidence that this is the start of a tournament arc because this happens to be the first chapter update since the announcement that SORA WILL BE IN SMASH, DROPPING TOMORROW! (Well, tomorrow for the US; Tuesday for the rest of the world, reportedly.) It's going to be so fun to play as him (once I actually get my own copy of SSBU and purchase the DLC).

Chapter 135

Jiminy's Journal #3

Shibuya

Characters

Neku Sakuraba

A boy whom Sora became Partners with in the Reapers' Game. Once an antisocial loner, his tenure in the Reapers' Game the previous year helped him grow into a more open and friendly person, though he still listens to music on his headphones at almost all times and enjoys CAT's artwork. He intentionally inserted himself into the Reapers' Game again and, using his experience and vast arsenal of Psych abilities, helped save Shibuya.

Shiki Misaki

A girl who was forced into the Reapers' Game twice, once by her own death and once to save her friend's life. An aspiring seamstress, she is a close friend of Neku's. She is never seen without her stuffed cat, Mr. Mew, which seems to be her primary means of fighting in the Reapers' Game.

Eri Menbuta

Shiki's best friend and an aspiring fashion designer. She was brought into the Reapers' Game after being injured by a Taboo Noise. She was terrified of the monsters as a result as well as due to inexperience, but encouragement from Shiki, Sora, and Naminé helped her push through her fears and insecurities and overcome the trials. Reportedly, Shiki appeared in her form during her first Reapers' Game due to the rule of her Entry Fee.

Beat

A boy who befriended Neku and Shiki during their Reapers' Game the previous year. Despite his tough guy front, he is a sweet guy who is devoted to his sister, Rhyme, and even though he is not as smart as his friends, he is a resourceful and reliable person. He apparently does not like to be called by his real name (Daisukenojo Bito).

Rhyme

Beat's younger sister and Game Partner during the previous year's Reapers' Game. She was Erased during the Game, so she lost her Entry Fee permanently. Despite this, she always has a smile and a word of wisdom, and is always ready to help.

Osamu Takagi

The current Game Master of Shibuya's Reapers' Game. Unlike the GMs that Neku knew during his first Game, Takagi is friendly and sees his position as a job for the sake of the Players' personal growth and second chance at life. He seems to know about our adventures, calling himself a fan of Sora's.

Sanae Hanekoma

A popular graffiti artist and owner of the coffee shop WildKat, he is more than he appears to be, acting as the "Producer", apparently a sort of referee, in the Reapers' Game. A mentor and confidante to Neku and Joshua, he aided Neku in his first Reapers' Game and used a secret trick to put him, Shiki and Eri into the Game while they were still alive. He also conspired against both Joshua and the former Conductor in their Game for the fate of Shibuya, grooming Neku to become a better person so that he could stop the Conductor and convince Joshua to not destroy Shibuya, while also teaching Sho Minamimoto the forbidden Taboo Arts to eliminate both aggressors as a backup plan. While willing to break the rules to get what he wants, he is wholly devoted to the people of Shibuya.

Joshua

The Composer of Shibuya, he is the highest authority in the Reapers' Game. Though he proves himself to be an ally, he is quick to pull some nasty tricks to get what he wants. He shot Sora in the head to put him in the Reapers' Game and get his help in stopping Sho Minamimoto and the Taboo Noise, and he had also killed Neku a year ago to make him serve as his unwitting proxy in a Game against the Conductor. He wanted to destroy Shibuya, believing that the people had become corrupt and decadent, but Neku learned to open his heart and befriended him, convincing him to spare the city. Sora was able to convince him to draw on the strength of his friends in order to defeat Minamimoto, though this case of empathy did not endear Joshua to Sora, and Sora has no intention of forgiving him for killing him in the first place.

Sho Minamimoto

This maverick Reaper betrayed his brethren during his tenure as a Game Master, using the Taboo Noise to slaughter Reapers and Players alike as he schemed to overthrow the hierarchy and take over Shibuya as Composer. Though defeated by Neku and Joshua, he revived himself as a Taboo Reaper, only to be stopped by Joshua before he could assault the Reapers' base. He survived, however, and returned a year later, creating more Taboo Noise and unleashing them into the RealGround so they would attack Players and Reapers as well as living people to gather soul, imagination, and hearts to become strong enough to fight the Composer, fighting evenly with Joshua as well as the gang, the Players, and the Reapers. A maniac with a passion for mathematics, he would frequently spout phrases that include calculus terms. Ironically, this ultimately proved his undoing as, while charging up his ultimate attack, Naminé was able to manipulate the formulaic magic behind the invocation and vanquish Minamimoto, possibly erasing him from existence.

Monsters

Noise

Creatures native to the Underground plane of Shibuya. The chaotic manifestation of errant souls, they attack Players in the Reapers' Game and leech into the Realground to feed on negative emotions and influence a person's thoughts. Under normal circumstances, they are only able to attack Players when the Players seek them out and engage them on the Noise planes, or when Reapers set the creatures upon them. They come in an immense array of forms.

Taboo Noise

More dangerous variants on the regular Noise. Higher powers have forbidden Reapers from using them, as they attack Players and Reapers indiscriminately and without provocation. What makes them even more menacing is that they can only be harmed by a Player or Reaper who possesses the Light Puck generated by the Partners' cooperation. Sho Minamimoto received the Taboo Arts from Mr. Hanekoma and used the Taboo Noise in his attack on the Underground, even reviving himself as a Taboo Reaper, and recently devised a way to unleash the monsters into the Realground to unleash chaos on the living world. Fortunately, magic was capable of destroying them just as well as Light Puck-charged Psychs.

Arendelle

Characters

Elsa

Arendelle's newly-anointed queen who possesses ice magic that is far more powerful than anything even Donald has ever seen. She cares deeply for her sister and her people, but she feared the destruction her powers could cause, so she exiled herself to the mountain after a quarrel with her sister resulted in her unleashing the magic she had kept hidden. Her fear and self-loathing caused darkness to fester within her as she lost control of her powers. With compassion and encouragement from Riku and Anna, she was finally able to regain control over her abilities using her love for the people she cares about.

Anna

Elsa's younger sister who was kept isolated from her by their parents in an effort to keep her safe from Elsa's ice magic. When Elsa fled home and unleashed an unnatural winter on Arendelle, she set off with Sora, Kairi, and Goofy to find her and bring her back.

Hans

Prince of the Southern Isles with twelve older brothers. He became engaged to Anna at the party for Elsa's coronation, and he helped keep everyone in Arendelle safe during the snowstorm. As it turned out, he was using Anna so that he could take over Arendelle and tried to kill Elsa after leaving Anna to freeze to death. With his true colors exposed, he was sent back home in disgrace.

Duke of Weselton

A nobleman who tried to establish trade relations with Arendelle. Prejudiced against magic, he sent his bodyguards to kill Elsa. His treachery cost him and his nation Arendelle's goodwill.

Kristoff

A young iceman who is never apart from his reindeer friend, Sven. He helped Anna and our friends get up the North Mountain in search of Elsa. He was also raised by rock trolls.

Sven

Kristoff's reindeer friend. To say he loves carrots would be an understatement.

Olaf

A walking, talking snowman brought to life by Elsa's magic. He helped the party bring Anna and Elsa together and put his life on the line to keep Anna from freezing to death. He is fascinated by the idea of summer, apparently unaware of the fact that it would spell his doom.

Marshmallow

A fearsome sentinel that protects Elsa. He was created by her magic.

Grand Pabbie

The elder of the rock trolls. Wise and possessing memory-related magic capable of healing magic-inflicted head injuries by taking related memories away, he gave the king and queen of Arendelle advice to help Elsa control her magic.

Heartless

Winterhorn

A buck that chucks ice as it leaps and bounds. Fire magic will blast those frosty antlers clean off, making the fight a lot easier. Just don't go slinging Blizzard spells at it, or that rack will come back!

Frostking

A Heartless conjured by Maleficent to fuel Elsa's terror and draw on her magic, causing her unstable snowstorm to explode into a devastating blizzard.

I read an account in a history book in Arendelle's castle library that told the story of a corrupt chancellor who used magic to enslave the queen he served and used her own gifts for selfish purposes. I wonder if there might be some connection. But if so, is it possible that he could have turned into a Heartless all the way back then?

Frostmane

A horse with an icy mane, it exhaled frigid air and rampaged about the crumbling ice of the frozen fjord, trying to prevent Kristoff from reaching Anna. However, Goofy and Sven defeated it before it could get too far.

Magic

Bind

Conjures a field of static energy that traps its target in place. Naminé used it to immobilize a Taboo Noise and a rogue Reaper, and it manifested in such a way that chains sprouted up to hold the enemies down.

Psychs

Special abilities attached to the pins that Players use in the Reapers' Game. Powered by "Imagination", each Player can only use a select few, save for Sora and Neku, who were able to use a much wider range. Donald has begun studying the pins and their residual energy, even though they will likely have no power in the Realground and outside of Shibuya. For an in-depth analysis, refer to his essay Psychs- The Imagination of the Reapers.

Elsa's Magic

Queen Elsa of Arendelle possesses immensely powerful ice magic with far greater limits than the Blizzard spells that we are most familiar with. Donald claimed that he had never seen another mortal exhibit the same level of power before. She can construct an entire palace out of ice, change the weather, create and manipulate snow as well as ice, freeze an entire fjord, and even create snowmen and give them life and sapience. She also managed to unwittingly blanket Arendelle in an eternal winter, her inadvertent curse spreading out to the Lanes Between and threatening to freeze the rest of the worlds. On top of that, in a moment of vulnerability and panic, she blasted Anna, gradually freezing her heart. Thankfully, she was able to overcome her fear with love and reverse all of the damage that she had caused.

Mickey ran diagnostics on the Gummi Ship, sending the readings to Chip and Dale, while Aqua inspected the ship from the outside on her Keyblade Glider. They ultimately determined that the ship had not suffered any severe damages from being frozen. As it was in sufficient condition to fly, the party repaired whatever was out of place, found their positions and set off.

As the crew contemplated their next heading and Jiminy updated his journal, a holographic alert message was projected above the dashboard. The message displayed an envelope icon and read "MAIL DELIVERY".

"I wonder what that is," Kairi mused. "We haven't received any new class videos, so I doubt it's homework."

"Could Elsa and Anna have visited the trolls already?" Goofy wondered.

"Let's go see," Aqua suggested. She went down to the mailbox in one of the lower deck rooms and returned with a sheet of papyrus. The top of the parchment was stamped with the symbol of a winged sandal. "It looks like this is from the Olympus Coliseum."

Sora, Donald and Goofy jumped out of their seats in excitement, knowing what mail from the Coliseum usually means. "What does it say?" Sora asked.

Aqua held it so that they could see the message inscribed as she read it aloud. "'Calling all challengers for the opening tournament of the new Coliseum season: The Phil Cup. Sign-up open now, all registered competitors welcome. Come and fight for the trophy this Saturday.'"

"That sounds like fun," Kairi said. Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement.

"So, is everyone up for a trip to Olympus Coliseum?" Sora asked. The rest of the party voiced their assent. "Okay, then. Let's plot a course!"

Mickey chuckled. "Alright. Let's head on over. Everyone buckle in." He marked a route on the map, waited for everyone to take their seats, and flew the ship through the cosmos.

Aqua stared in awe at the coliseum's architecture. It was just as grand as she remembered it, perhaps grander. She remembered meeting Zack and Hercules, Zack younger and slimmer and Hercules strong albeit shorter than her, skinny, and awkward. Both had a long way to come, but they had big hearts and a lot of spirit. She had seen Zack become a hero and fight his best even in a difficult situation, and from what Sora, Donald and Goofy said while telling her about him, Hercules had also become a strong and admirable hero.

"Come on," Kairi said, tugging her by the hand and pulling her out of her reverie. "Let's go say hi." Aqua nodded and followed her friends.

They found Phil in the vestibule, registering a pair of swordsmen for the tournament. When they were all signed up, the duo cheered and high-fived, then ran out of the building, waving to the party as they passed. As the party approached, Phil studied the register and grumbled to himself, wondering who he was going to match the swordsmen up against. When he failed to register their presence, Sora loudly cleared his throat. The satyr flinched in surprise and looked up, then flashed them a smile.

"Hey, guys. I thought you'd be stopping by," he greeted. As he noticed the extra head, he did a double take. "Wait a sec… Aqua?!"

Aqua smiled. "Hello, Philoctetes. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise. And please, call me Phil. I haven't seen you in a long while. But you haven't changed one bit," Phil replied, giving her a once-over as he said the last part. Aqua looked to her friends for help, feeling uncomfortable.

Hoping to save her from the awkward situation, Riku cleared his throat. "So, we'd like to sign up for the Phil Cup," he said.

Phil snapped out of his trance and turned to address the group as a whole. "Uh, right. Okay. Hang on, all of you? Well, discounting Heartless mobs—they're filed under 'monsters', so whoever signs those up found a loophole to throw in as many as they want—each team is only allowed a maximum number of four warriors. I can split you into two teams, four and three, if you want."

They all considered Phil's suggestion, as well as how they would want to divide themselves up. Before they could settle on anything, Kairi had an idea. "Hey, has Bartz signed up yet?" she asked.

Phil shook his head. "No, not yet. You want to sign up with him? He's in the arena, training with Herc."

"Thank you," Kairi replied. The party filed out into the arena, where Hercules and Bartz were busy sparring while Megara watched. The demigod and the mimic were too engrossed in their match to notice their arrival, but Meg glanced to the side and saw them.

"Hey, Wonderboy! It looks like we have some company," she called out.

Hercules and Bartz stopped fighting and turned to see who had arrived. "Hey, guys!" Hercules greeted. He gave them a wave, then ran over to meet them, followed by Bartz. As he drew closer, he noticed a new yet familiar face among the crowd. "Wait a minute… Aqua?!"

The bluenette was flustered as she looked up at the muscular man. Was this really Hercules? She knew that more time had passed on this world compared to what she had experienced, but compared to the scrawny boy who was training with Phil, this man was huge. However, she was able to confirm his identity by looking up and identifying his kind blue eyes, strawberry-blond hair, and easygoing smile. It is him, she thought. Wow. He's really grown. Her eyes began to wander down from his face to his well-defined musculature.

Megara chuckled as she approached. "You can look, but don't touch," she quipped. Aqua gasped as she realized what she was doing and her friends started to laugh. She looked away in embarrassment, unaware that her cheeks had already flushed to a bright red.

"I haven't seen you in years," Hercules said. "How have you been?"

Aqua shrugged. "Surviving. I was in… a bit of a rough spot for a while. But my friends helped me out," she answered.

"That's good to hear. So, what brings you all back here?" Hercules asked.

"We were hoping to register for the Phil Cup," Kairi said. She turned to face Bartz. "Bartz, would you like to join one of our teams?"

Bartz blinked in surprise at the request. "Me? Yeah. Sure. That sounds great." He counted everyone who would be participating. "That's eight of us. We can do two teams of four or two teams of three and one team of two. So how do we want to split ourselves up?"

"How about Sora, Donald, and I make up one team?" Goofy suggested.

"Sure thing, Goofy," Sora replied. "That way, we can defend our champion title."

"Yeah!" Donald agreed.

"You can try," Riku taunted. He glanced down at Mickey. "You want to team up?"

Mickey looked up at him and nodded. "Of course!"

"Kairi, Bartz, would it be alright if I teamed up with you?" Aqua asked.

Kairi smiled. "Let's do it!"

Bartz nodded. "Yeah. Hey, it's nice to meet you," he said, extending his hand.

Aqua shook the offered hand. "Likewise. So, that's three teams."

Donald nodded. "Alright! Let's go sign up before all of the slots are filled up." They reentered the vestibule to register their team lineups with Phil, then returned to the arena.

"So, Hercules, I was told that you became a true hero," Aqua said, beaming with pride.

Hercules nodded. "Yeah. I found the strength inside, the strength to help people and protect the ones I love."

"That's great to hear," Aqua replied. "Say, how about you show me your 'inner strength'." She summoned her Keyblade, making clear exactly what she meant by the suggestion.

Hercules grinned. Alright. I'll show you what I've got." He drew his sword and brandished it over his head.

Sora laughed. "This is gonna be fun!" He ran to the wall under the bleachers and sprinted up the wall, then vaulted himself over and took a seat. Riku scaled the wall and sat down next to him. Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy assisted each other in climbing the wall, with Sora and Riku getting up to help them up the rest of the way, since they could not follow their example. Bartz, however, was able to match their parkour perfectly, though they could not tell if it was by his own ability or by Mimicking their actions. Megara was already in the bleachers, so she simply reclaimed her spot.

Aqua and Hercules took their places on either side of the square stage. Phil, having filled up the tournament roster, came out to check on the group only to see that the spar was about to begin, so he found a spot against the wall below the rest of the party.

"Show her what you've got, Herc!" Phil shouted.

"Don't hold back," Hercules told Aqua.

"I hope I shouldn't have to," Aqua shot back.

"And… begin!" Phil said, chopping his hand down as a visual signal.

Aqua and Hercules charged toward each other. Hercules swung his sword at her, but Aqua cartwheeled out of the way and struck him from the side. They clashed swords a few times before Hercules threw Aqua back. Aqua launched herself at him, her body wreathed in lightning, but he blocked the surge with his arms, tanking the hit and completely ignoring the lightning magic. As she landed and her spell wore off, Hercules kicked her in the stomach and sent her flying.

"Not bad," Aqua commended. She followed this up with a Shotlock where she fired bubbles at Hercules. Despite appearances, the bubbles packed a punch, each exploding on contact with the force of a small bomb. Several of them going off in his face at once sent him stumbling back and leaving him slightly dizzy. When he cleared his head, he saw Aqua a foot away from him, swinging her Keyblade at him.

She hit hard and sent him sprawling onto his back. He pushed himself back to his feet and chuckled. "Glad to see you're still in top shape. But try this on for size!" He began to glow with his godly aura, then leapt high into the air and landed right in front of where Aqua stood. Aqua gasped and cartwheeled out of the way right before he landed, but she was blasted by the exploding energy dome of divine power and tumbled to the ground.

She groaned as she picked herself back up. "I wasn't expecting that," she admitted. "I see you gained some new powers." She pushed herself to her feet and reentered her fighting stance, then charged forward to continue the duel.