There are few reference points in the Lanes Between worlds. Acceleration is felt, not seen.

Jaune gripped Aqua's waist with all his might and gaped at the stars. He'd been so excited to see another world that he'd forgotten about the trip to get there.

Aqua gripped the guide rail on her keyblade glider, and gently flexed her wrist, adding a dose of speed.

Jaune screamed, "Don't we need space suits?!"

Aqua squinted. "You don't have to shout. And no. We're not in space."

"Aren't those stars?"

"Yeah. But that dark stuff isn't space."

She felt him lean off center. He'd just noticed that the darkness was moving. A tendril probed its way closer, and encountered their defense. The monster struck the shield, and the barrier glowed into view. Jaune flinched, then smiled at the illuminated, hexagonal panels. "Ooh. Pretty."

"Yeah."

"But what's with the spooky space monster?"

"Don't worry about it. We're here."

They flashed through a white light. Clouds buffeted the shield, Cumulonimbus, and high wind howled around them. Water pooled along the barrier's leading edge and dripped off the sides.

They broke through the cloud layer, and Aqua lowered her shield to feel the wind whipping in her hair. They'd brought the pine and mud smell of Vale in their bubble, but now knew the smell of sweat and dust.

The sun glimmered off marble in Athens. Jaune watched the city, but Aqua took them up the mountain, to the coliseum. She set down in the courtyard, and Jaune immediately bailed for ground.

Aqua stepped off the keyblade glider and waved her arcane dismissal.

The moment, this grand entrance to a place she recognized, finally gave her a sense of rest. For the first time since she'd plunged into the darkness- for the first time in ten years- she felt safe. She let her eyes linger on the columns. Finest marble, finest craftsmanship. Statues of great heroes long past flanked the entrance, swords crossed over the archway. She breathed talc and sweat. Leaderboards hung from the Coliseum's walls, and the world's banners billowed.

She faced the entrance, and looked down, to a point just in front of her and long, long in the past.

Zack Fair had stood right here and flirted above his bracket. "How about a date?"

Ten years ago. She felt herself stretching across that gap of time. The eternal night in The End, spent clutching her Wayfinder and counting the heartbeats of those who remembered her. She remembered the moment his stopped. The panic, the crack in her resolve that would never heal. The unanswered question. A part of her wished that he'd forgotten her and would remember. A part of her preferred that he'd died. The question- the Pain- mounted until she reminded herself to breathe. She was going to find her friends. She was going to rescue Terra and Ven.

Behind her, a laborer dropped a box from his cart and shattered one of the coliseum's vases. He was scrawny, with a white toga and a raised eyebrow. He looked a bit like Hercules, though she remembered him with a different haircut and a stronger jaw.

A familiar voice yelled at the laborer. "HEY! Watch it!"

Aqua looked for a man, then remember to look down, for a squat Satyr.

Phil ran the Coliseum and everything that happened in it. "Those boxes don't even go there! They go inside! Look at this pottery, ah, it's a mess, we gotta-"

Phil saw Aqua. He gaped.

Aqua waved tepidly, briefly worried that he, too, had forgotten her.

Jaune stepped to her side and asked, "You know the faunus?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "But it's been a while. He might not-"

Phil shouted, "Sugarcakes!"

Aqua's polite smile hit a grimace at the familiar but unwelcome nickname. "Oh, good. You do remember me." Under her breath, she added, "Just not by name."

Phil waddled to her on his tiny goat legs, wiping back his balding hairline in astonishment. "Now why would I go and forget one of the stadium's champs? It's good to see you back. And who's this guy?"

He gestured to Jaune, but didn't wait for an answer. "Nevermind," Phil waved. "You can do better. Drop him. He's holding you back. Come here, though, we gotta catch up. We'll get you into some competitions for old time's sake- make sure you're still sharp, and then-"

Aqua shouted, "We're looking for some friends of Jaune's!"

Phil stopped talking.

Aqua continued, more civilly, "And I remembered the last time I came by, you were able to help."

Phil scratched his stubbled chin and gave Jaune another three seconds' consideration. Jaune straightened his posture self-consciously.

Phil nodded. "Well…" He looked Aqua in the eye. "If you'll compete in the games, I'm sure-"

Aqua shook her head. "Not falling for that one again. But… Speaking of the games… Is Zack here?"

Phil kept scratching his chin, but slower. This wasn't his sincere thinking face.

He licked his lips. "Zack, uh… He hasn't been around for years. Went back to Holl- Radiant Gardens. Wanted to be a soldier. You haven't been around neither. How long has it been? You haven't aged a day! You ever catch up with Terra?"

Aqua closed her eyes and tried to swallow her emotions. Phil was trying to be friendly, despite his fast-talking, despite trying to drag everyone around him into the games, and despite offering his opinions too freely. Phil was an ally, and she needed allies. She had to focus.

Aqua took a deep breath, blinked, and nodded. "Yeah. I caught up with Terra and Ven, Phil." She swallowed again, spit thickening. "It went really badly. Ven's in a coma and Terra's possessed, and I've been trapped in… Well it's like the Underworld, but for Worlds that have lost their heart. That's where I've been, Phil, and it's been really awful."

She told herself she could get through this with honesty and no tears. "And now that I've escaped, I'm learning that I've been lost for ten years. And, you know… No one came looking for me."

Beside her, Jaune shuffled his feet nervously and tried to find an appropriate place to look. Aqua's rant had strayed off the point. His extreme discomfort reminded her of the task at hand. "I'm, uh… I'm a little sidetracked right now, because I've got to help Jaune here find his friends so we can save his world from destruction."

She'd done it, and rewarded herself with a deep, ragged breath.

Phil smiled broadly and nodded his approval. "You're still fightin' the good fight, then!"

"Yeah," she acknowledged. "I guess I am." She ran her tongue over her teeth, slowly, savoring the self-inflicted pain.

Jaune, wide-eyed and off-set by the revelations, offered, "Aqua, if it's any consolation-"

"The only consolation," she interrupted, "Will be getting our friends back."

Phil asked Jaune, "Alright, Kid, you got a description?"

Jaune pulled his scroll from his pants pocket. The holo-screen flickered and danced under his gestures until it displayed a high definition portrait.

Aqua blinked in amazement. "Jaune, you do know magic!"

He squinted at her. "No. Uh. It's- it's a Scroll. It's a handheld computer."

Aqua tilted her head at him condescendingly. She knew computers didn't fit in the hand; Radiant Gardens, the most advanced of all worlds, needed a massive cathedral to house theirs.

Aqua folded her arms. "Show us the picture, wise guy."

Jaune angled the image to Phil. "This is Lie Ren. My friends are all part of a Huntsman team from Beacon."

Phil interrupted, "What do you hunt?"

"Grimm."

"Heartless," Aqua clarified.

Phil's eyes lit up. "Hey, we use those in the games! You looking for work?"

"After we find his friends," Aqua reminded him.

"Right. Right. Okay, this is Ren. Green guy."

Jaune swiped to, "Nora Valkyrie."

"Cute," Phil chuckled. "Here, gimme that."

He motioned for the scroll, and Jaune handed it carefully. Phil licked his thumb, pressed it all the way against the display face, and swiped it like a book page. Jaune grimaced at the sight of a tiny goat man rubbing spit on his phone.

Phil asked, "Who's this one?"

"That's, uh…" Jaune shook his head. "We're not looking for her. Next one."

"She looks Athenian," Aqua noted.

Phil leaned in so close his beard hairs tickled the holo-screen. "She's gorgeous!"

Jaune reached and swiped to the next portrait. "This is Ruby Rose."

Phil looked at Jaune oddly. "How's a guy like you surrounded by cute girls?"

Jaune sighed and swiped to the next picture.

Phil pointed. "Mercury Black! He was here a few days ago. Moved on to Traverse Town. Good hustle, but bad attitude."

Jaune grumbled, "Yeah."

Aqua caught the terseness of his reply. He'd steeled his gaze at the picture, and his heartbeat was visible in his neck. This was uncharacteristic aggression from Jaune. Some guys were fueled by rivalry. Ven and Terra used to get at each other like this, even through their love. Not from a distance, though.

Jaune swiped to the next picture and asked, "Was this girl with Mercury?"

Aqua noted, "You've got a lot of friends, Jaune." And then her mind caught up. According to Qrow, huntsmen worked four to a team. She'd now seen seven faces.

Phil whistled. "Whoa, Jaune. She your friend, too?"

Jaune hesitated, then reserved his expressions so much he barely breathed as he answered.

"She's a classmate." His voice shook, and he swallowed to disguise it. "Cinder Fall," he said flatly.

Aqua had learned, the hard way, that men are not truly angry until they disguise their wrath. Jaune wore a neutral face, but had clenched his offhand. She could clearly sense the well of anger he'd nurtured. It mirrored her own.

The vein thrummed in Jaune's neck. He stared at Phil intently, waiting for an answer about Cinder.

"I'd remember seeing her," Phil grinned. "Tell you what, you got this picture on Papyrus? I'll keep it around just in case she-"

Jaune snorted and swiped to the last image. "How about this one? Emerald Sustrai."

Aqua pointed. She'd seen that face.

Jaune raised his eyebrows. "You know her? From when?"

"At the Inn… But, uh…" She scratched the back of her head nervously. "Nevermind. That was a boy."

Phil asked, "Wait, isn't this a boy?"

Jaune shook his head. "Uh, no. See? Her school uniform has a skirt."

Phil asked, "So?"

Jaune didn't have an answer. He looked to Aqua.

"Careful," she advised. "Different worlds; Different cultures."

Phil asked, "Really? How do men show off their muscles where you're from?" He looked at Jaune's skinny jeans and laughed, "Nevermind. Here." He tossed the Scroll carelessly, and Jaune scrambled to save it.

Phil turned to Aqua. "You still got your doodad?" He spun his finger in the air to identify it.

She showed him the Wayfinder. "Yeah. If you see them, just think about me really hard. I'll know to come visit."

"Will do. And I can't convince you two to help me out at all? Lemme' level with you, Aqua. We're in trouble here. We just finished the Mulan cup, and we're short on celebrations to hold until the seasonal ones start."

"Can't you go on hiatus?" she suggested.

Phil took a step back in shock, then forward in anger. He yelled, "The Coliseum! Does NOT! Go on Hiatus!"

"Okay! Okay. Sorry, um…" She had no idea how to help. She put her hands on her hips and asked Jaune, "Know any heroes?"

Jaune didn't look happy. Phil had insulted him thrice, and Jaune was still suppressing his emotions. He swallowed, then nodded. "Yeah." He flipped open his scroll again and returned to the picture of the gorgeous redhead, straightening his back and lifting his chin. For the first time, he looked confident.

He looked Phil in the eye. "Her name was Pyrrha Nikos. She almost saved the world. And she's given me the opportunity to finish the job."

Phil keened his eyes.

Jaune continued, "One month ago-"

Phil held out a hand. "Wai-wai-wait, hold that thought." He turned away, put two fingers in his mouth, and whistled loudly, then waved someone over.

Aqua looked and saw the most attractive man in all Athens. Her breath caught.

His chin was solid like the bronze-cast heroes above them. His neck was thick like a true body-builder. The leather of his breastplate was so tight and so well-worn that it had conformed to the arsenal of muscles across his torso. He could definitely pick her up and carry her with those arms. He could probably carry the marble columns at the entrance. And his leather skirt showed off an amazing set of legs. His skin was bathed in a divine, bronze glow.

He jogged to a stop beside Phil and winked, "Hey, Aqua."

She felt the heat of the sun on her cheeks. "Hey," she answered. She shook her head straight. "Wait, do I know you?"

He pointed two thumbs at himself. "Yeah. It's me. Herc."

He smiled knowingly. She'd just been caught checking out her childhood friend. She covered her eyes in embarrassment. What a welcome.

Hercules laughed. "You didn't recognize me, right? Yeah, I've been hitting the gym. Turns out Zeus is my dad or something."

Phil punched Herc on the shin. "Hey! Stop flirting!" then rounded on Aqua. "You too! He's already got a girl. An Athenian girl!"

They objected at the same time.

"Phil, I'm not-"

"Yeah, we're not-"

"Shut up. And listen to this story. Jaune, go ahead."

Jaune wasn't looking anyone in the eye. He'd assumed that his presence was forgotten. But he was emboldened again by the attention. Speaking Pyrrha's deeds lit a fire in him.

"One month ago, Grimm- Heartless- attacked the great city of Vale. During our games." He nodded towards the Coliseum. "There was an overwhelming number of them, and the city was doomed. But also, there was a… A mage, I guess. This woman wanted to steal… Magic powers for herself. And she could use those to destroy the world. My friend, Pyrrha Nikos, was supposed to run away from the city and escape. We were just kids then. She was a student, just like I was."

The injustice of the world shimmered in his eyes.

He gulped it down and focused on the important part of the story. "But she didn't run. She stood and fought for our home. The woman who came to steal the magic powers… Pyrrha fought her alone. There was no chance to win, and even if she'd won, the Heartless swarm would have overwhelmed her. But by standing and fighting, she delayed Cind-" Jaune licked his lips and closed his eyes. He wasn't good at hiding his intent.

"Cinder Fall," Phil said. "And her friends Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. I'm no dummy, kid, and you wear your heart on your toga."

Jaune nodded, then opened his eyes and continued. "Pyrrha delayed her long enough for the rest of us to arrive and wound Cinder. She's still alive, but… Her plans were stopped. And if it wasn't for that… Well, I guess we'd all be dead or something."

He shied away from Aqua, but looked to Phil, to see if this story would garner any respect.

Phil was gripping his chin. He'd listened intently, and now summarized by counting points on his fingers. "Child, woman, impossible odds, protecting city, looks Athenian, died at the apex of her glory."

Phil snapped, "You hear that, Herc? That's a hero. You've got a long way to go."

He returned to Jaune. "Look around you, Kid. See all these leaderboards? Did Sugarcakes tell you where you are?"

Jaune looked up at the boards blankly. "I uh… Can't read that."

"You can't read?" Phil asked.

"Oops," Aqua mumbled. She weaved an enchantment on her fingers and cast it over him like a shroud. "Look again."

Jaune's pupils dilated in amazement. "You host tournaments here. And they're all named after…"

Phil interrupted. "We host tournaments in honor of great deeds. Word spreads, and heroes from every world come here to compete."

Jaune looked at the names, and then realized, with a rush of exhilaration, what this meant.

Phil patted Jaune on the leg. "And today, my friend, they will compete for the Pyrrha Nikos Cup. Her name will be remembered."