"I can't help but think you want something," she said, leaning back in her chair so that she could face False-Ansem more squarely.
"What is radioactive Cobalt sixty?" he asked, moving to take the other seat at the table.
"Extremely dangerous," she said, taking a long sip of milk as False-Ansem shifted slightly, clearly curious.
"Moreso than Darkness?"
"Can Darkness persistently contaminate an area for hundreds of years?" she asked.
"Cobalt sixty is capable of that?" False-Ansem asked, not sounding nearly as calm and certain as he'd always tried to present himself.
"Most radiation can do that," she said, crossing "her" legs at the ankles, and wishing for a long moment that she had more than the tone of his voice and what remained of his body-language when he didn't have a body.
The sound of the balcony door opening drew her attention to Riku as he came to join them, blinking in the half-light before dawn.
"I thought I smelled someone familiar," the silver-haired boy said, looking a bit more alert than he'd been before the pair of them had returned to their hotel room.
"Your senses have been improving," False-Ansem commented, sounding rather pleased.
Eating another of her sandwiches, Sarah studied Riku for a long moment. He certainly looked quite a bit more rested than he had before, so at least she wouldn't have to kick his ass and chase him back into bed to get the rest of his sleep. When False-Ansem jerked his empty hood in the direction of the balcony door, just before vanishing into another of those portals that he and Riku favored in place of Gummi ships.
"Hey, you guys," she called, as Donald and Goofy made their way out onto her room's balcony. "Did you decide on a new place to search already?"
"Actually, we heard from the Moogles that Phil is holding another tournament at the Coliseum," Donald said, hurrying over to their table with the kind of enthusiasm that she hadn't seen from his efforts at searching for King Mickey in quite some time.
She supposed it made sense, though, since that particular search didn't seem to be going anywhere. She'd have found a way to tell Donald and Goofy what she knew, if she'd actually managed to remember anything useful from her own playthroughs of the first Kingdom Hearts game, or the ones she'd watched.
"So, you're planning to go watch them again, or did you want to see if you could join in on this one?" she asked, recalling how eager the pair of them had been to participate in the last tournament, as well as their honest disappointment when they hadn't been able to.
"We did want to see if we could get ourselves a spot," Goofy said, sounding apologetic for some reason or other. "I mean, me and Donald already know that you don't want to, but you did at least enjoy watching, right?"
"It was interesting," she allowed, leaning back in her seat as she took in the pair's enthusiastic mien.
Riku seemed eager, as well, and so the four of them made their way back to the hangar. Launching Fere for a return trip to the Coliseum took about the same amount as their last trip seemed to, though that was long enough ago that she couldn't say definitively how long either trip had been. Once they'd arrived in orbit, beaming down in a secluded section of the building it was seemingly named for, the four of them made their way toward the crowds making their own ways inside.
Sarah also made sure to keep an eye out for the waddling form of Phil, as they continued on their way to the front of the room where the future spectators were lining up to buy tickets.
"Hey, Phil," she called, once she was close enough to the satyr to be heard without having to shout over the general murmur of the crowd. "When you can spare some time, could we talk?" she continued, after catching his attention.
"Kid!" he called back, sounding pleased as he caught "her" eye. "I've been saving these for when you got here," Phil continued, grinning widely as he picked up what looked like some kind of golden envelope; Sarah briefly wondered if it was made of actual gold, before pushing the thought aside. "Who's the new kid?"
"A friend from home," she said, as Phil waved them forward and out of the line. "Phil, this is Riku; Riku, Phil," she said, gesturing to the person in question as she said their name.
"Another friend of yours, eh?" Phil asked, smiling as the four of them took the tickets he'd handed over. "Well, I guess any friend of yours is all right in my book," he continued, digging out another ticket that he handed over to Riku.
"I'd like to talk to you about something, maybe after the tournament?" she suggested, as Phil waved them forward, and they fell in behind him.
"That sounds all right," the satyr said, as their group made their way out into the vendor room for food and drinks.
She bought some more corn dogs, since she'd enjoyed them the last time, and a large lemonade, and Riku actually managed to find himself some onion rings to eat while they watched the tournament.
The tournament itself was pretty much the same as the one she'd seen before, though Hercules himself was a participant, and there was at least no Cerberus attack. Kairi and the Mystery Kid enjoyed themselves just as much as they had the last time. So, once this particular tournament had concluded, she rose and followed Phil as he waved for her to come with him.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about, kid?" he asked, settling himself behind a desk and taking out what seemed to be a box of ticket stubs.
"My friends really seem to be set on competing in one of those tournaments of yours, so is there some way we can work that out? Maybe a qualifying match, or something?"
Phil settled back in his seat, looking thoughtful. "Well, I guess I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks," she said, turning to make her way out of Phil's office and back to the rest of her group. "I think Phil's at least willing to consider letting you guys fight in the next tournament."
As expected, Donald and Goofy seemed particularly excited by that prospect, but Riku's enthusiasm came as something of a surprise. Though she supposed that it probably shouldn't have.
Watching as the pair of Donald and Goofy fighting their way through the matches that Phil had been generous enough to set up for them, Sarah couldn't help but notice that Riku seemed a bit distracted, but only when he tried to use the black flames that he seemed so fond of. Making a mental note to talk to the silver-haired boy once all of this was over and done with, Sarah settled back into her seat, turning her attention back to the battle as a whole.
"Your friends are doing pretty well down there," Meg said, as Sarah sipped her second lemonade, and the pair of them continued watching the trials. "You sure you're not going to change your mind and join them?"
"I'm sure," chuckling softly. "Exhibition fighting isn't something I'm interested in."
"Riku says you're pretty good at it," Meg said, smiling rather amusedly as the pair of them continued watching.
She slanted an amused glance at Meg. "I'm good at a lot of things, that doesn't mean I enjoy them."
Meg laughed at that, herself. "Good point."
She and Meg settled back into a companionable silence, as the trials below them wound to a close. Riku seemed to have gotten over whatever it was that had been bothering him, at least enough that he could give a good account of himself, anyway. When the last trial had been finished, she and Meg made their way down to the arena to see what Phil thought of the outcome.
"Well, it looks like you guys can put on a show," Phil said, though he didn't sound particularly pleased.
"You all did great!" Hercules exclaimed, grinning widely at them.
"I guess you three can participate in the Games when I hold them again," Phil said, grousing as he folded his chubby arms across his narrow chest.
Everyone seemed happy with that arrangement, though Donald didn't seem particularly pleased by Phil's attitude; which was understandable, considering what a complete and utter ass the satyr could make of himself when the mood took him. The four of them took their leave not long after she'd acted as a witness for Phil when he put their names down on his list of competitors to be featured in the next round of the tournament he was holding, and Sarah wrote a quick reminder note for him to contact them when their time came.
Hercules took the note when she handed it over, which fit with how enthusiastic he'd seemed at the prospect of new participants; certainly more enthusiastic than Phil, at least.