Olympus Coliseum
"But why can't you stay? Just for a day." Eri whined as she pulled on Izuku's jacket. He walked slowly so she didn't fall over.
"I'm sorry Eri, but we can't. Donald's insisting that we head out to the next world, and well I kinda have to do what he says. Seeing as he's the adult in this situation."
"Do you really though?" She raised an eyebrow. "And are you sure he's the adult?"
Sora snorted and clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.
It had been like this for nearly the entire morning. After waking up and eating, and hearing Donald telling the boys to get ready to leave soon, Eri wasn't exactly happy. She thought she'd get to spend more time with Izuku, there was still a lot she wanted to ask about Wonderland, and what he saw there.
More importantly, she'd rather know Izuku and the others were safe. Here in Traverse Town, they were safe. There were Heartless here and there sure, but not that many compared to the number that they have to face in other worlds.
Even just for a little bit, that assurance is everything. Only seeing Izuku for a few hours felt like nothing!
Eri glanced at Sora and grinned before looking back to Izuku. "See? Even Sora agrees with me!"
Izuku gave him a look, and he swore his friend was going to combust with how hard he was trying to hold the laugh in.
"Come on Eri, it can't be that bad." He looked down at her. "Besides, Iida's here now. And you can show him around with Mr. Yagi. I think he'd appreciate having some sort of guide for the town."
Eri frowned. "I guess but still…it's not the same as having you around."
"No it isn't, but Iida needs to learn where stuff is too." Izuku smiled. "And I think he'd like to spend time with you and Mr. Yagi. You two are familiar faces after all, and I'm sure you've learned some cool stuff while we were in Wonderland. You could always tell him about that."
She slowly let go of his jacket, this wasn't a fight she was going to win. Much to her dismay. She had no chance here.
"Actually, now that I think about it, where is Iida?" Sora asked.
"Uh…" He paused. "I don't know."
"Is he even awake?"
"Yes, I am. Good morning to all of you too."
They all jumped at his sudden appearance.
"Iida, don't sneak up on people like that, that's mean!" Sora huffed. "Where did you even come from?"
"I was just down the hallway when I heard you say my name." He made chopping motions with his hand. "You two should be more aware of your surroundings, to be inattentive is to be put in a dangerous situation."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind." The spiky-haired boy sighed. "Anyway, what's with the bag?"
Iida looked up. "Ah right! Leon asked me to give these to you before you left. He wasn't sure if you all took the time to restock your supplies."
"Oh, that's nice."
"He is…surprisingly." Eri agreed.
Izuku couldn't help the small laugh that escaped him. "Yeah? You starting to warm up to him?"
"Mhm."
"Well, that's good. Though, Leon is kinda scary. Fighting him was rough." Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "He was all over the place."
"You fought with him?" Iida asked. "Both of you?"
"Yeah. Though I ran into him first." Sora shuddered as they stepped into the First District. "That was not fun. I genuinely thought I was gonna die."
Eri nodded in agreement.
"I thought the same thing. I had assumed he was going to hurt you and Eri. Then I got into a fight with him. I didn't stand a chance…"
"He what!" Iida looked at both of them.
"It wasn't like he did it maliciously," Izuku assured him. "He was actually trying to separate us from our Keyblade, to hide us from the Heartless."
Iida stared at him for a moment. "Your weapons are like homing beacons to Heartless? Is that what I'm hearing?"
"Uh…heh heh." Izuku took a couple of steps away from him.
"From how Leon explained it, pretty much." Sora nodded.
"...Okay." Iida took a deep breath.
"You okay?" Eri asked.
"I think so. Honestly, there's just more and more to all this. It feels like I've fallen down a rabbit hole."
"You kinda already did." Sora grinned. "Oh, uh, too soon?"
Iida shook his head. "No, it's fine."
They continued to talk for a bit as they made their way down to the main plaza. They were already expecting Donald to raise his voice at the two Keyblade Wielders for taking so long to get ready.
As they passed Cid's shop, the door opened and Toshinori walked out of there.
"Alright then, thank you. I'll be sure to stop by later." He waved goodbye to Cid and came to a sudden stop before he crashed into any of the kids. "Oh, there you all are. I didn't think you'd be up yet...how long was I in there?"
The boys stared at Toshinori with the same thought in mind.
When did Mr. Yagi and Cid become friends?
"Yeah, we've been up for a bit. We're actually getting ready to leave. I think Donald and Goofy are waiting on us." Sora pointed at the plaza.
"Ah, I see. Then I came out at the perfect time then didn't I?" He smiled. "I'm glad I didn't miss you. I'll walk you down and see you off."
The two Keyblade Wielders nodded gratefully. It was nice for someone to see them off. As they walked to the plaza where Donald and Goofy were indeed waiting for them. The duck didn't look too pleased, with him pacing and waving his arms around.
"Yup, he's not in a good mood…" Sora sighed.
Donald paused in his rant to Goofy to look up at the boys. "There you two are! What took you so long?"
"Sorry about that." Izuku apologized. "We didn't mean to take so long."
"But you didn't." Eri looked up at him.
"Well, it doesn't matter. We've got to go now, we're already running pretty late. We want to get to the next world as soon as possible. Maybe we can run into the King."
"And don't forget my friends!" Sora added. "And Izuku's. Maybe we'll run into them too."
"Maybe we will!" Goofy smiled. "We're bound to find them at some point. Just like the King."
Eri still clung to Izuku's jacket, she frowned when she felt Toshinori tap her shoulder and hold out a hand for her to take. When she shook her head he withdrew it, she would take it when she was ready.
"You'll be back soon…right?" She asked.
Izuku looked down at her before smiling and nodding his head. "Yeah, we'll be back soon. We weren't gone too long in Wonderland, right?"
"Right…" She frowned.
"And when we come back from this next world, we'll have a bunch of new stuff to tell you about." Sora cut in.
"Yeah, that's true." He agreed.
Eri watched him before sighing sadly and hugging him. "You promise you'll be back?"
"I promise I'll be back." He hugged her back.
She sighed and let go of him, stepping closer to Toshinori and taking his hand. She hated to see him go, but he promised he'd be back. Izuku doesn't break his promises.
"Hey, I can take that if you want." Izuku pointed to the bag Iida was carrying.
"N-No, no, it's fine. If it's alright, I can load it in for you. That way you won't be carrying too much." He eyed Izuku's yellow bag.
"It's fine." Izuku shook his head. "What's one more bag?"
Iida frowned. "Please, I insist."
"I know what you're trying to do, and the answer is no." Donald walked up to him. "The boys would pull this all the time. You want to come with us, don't you?"
Iida sputtered for a moment before coughing into his fist. "Er…well yes. I do. I want to help you find the others."
"You can't." Donald crossed his arms. "For one, you said it yourself, you can't destroy Heartless. They'll just reappear."
"Not to mention, there ain't exactly a lot of space in the Gummi Ship," Goofy added.
"Exactly! All the seats are taken. Besides, we already need to keep these two in line."
"Hey!"
"So you expect me to just sit around and do nothing while you all risk your lives and-
"Young Iida." Toshinori stopped him. "I understand it's difficult to…not be able to help. I'm no happier than you are that it's just them being sent off. Unfortunately, there are times where you're forced to accept that there are times you can't do anything to help." He unconsciously gripped his side.
Iida looked up at him with a frown.
"Besides, I'm sure that you being here would at least bring some peace of mind. It's safer here in Traverse Town compared to other worlds, I'm sure." Toshinori glanced at Izuku.
He looked between the two and sighed, he went up to Iida and gently took the bag from him. "He's right, you're a lot safer here. But, hey, Eri is here. She can show you around, and maybe there are other ways to help out. I think Leon might give you something to do if you ask."
Iida stood still, frowning at all of them. He was a hero student, he was supposed to be able to help, to do something. He was supposed to be able to save people.
"I don't want them to leave either." Eri looked up at him. "But Izuku promised he'd be back, so he will. He doesn't break his promises."
Iida looked from Eri to the others, getting sympathetic looks from them. He could try to argue all he wanted, but whether he liked it or not he wasn't going to join them. They wouldn't let him. He didn't have much standing here, whether he liked it or not he couldn't do much to convince them.
Forced to sit on the sidelines…
"They'll be fine." Toshinori pat his shoulder. "But we shouldn't keep them any longer. They'll be back soon."
Iida stood in place before sighing. "Alright, fine. But please, be careful."
"We will." Sora gave a thumbs up. "We'll be okay. Hey, maybe we can bring you a souvenir from the next world."
"We'll be back as soon as we can."
"We really gotta go, come on!" Donald marched towards the doors that lead to the Gummi Ship. They all gave one last wave of goodbye before stepping through the doors and hearing them slam shut.
"Iida really wanted to come, huh?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, but it is best he stays here. I get it though, he wants to help and find the others. It's kind of hard not being able to do anything."
"Yeah…you know I bet Riku would probably feel the same way," Sora said as he climbed up into the Gummi Ship. "He definitely wouldn't like sitting by either."
"I don't think anyone likes sittin' by when you don't know where you're friends are."
"Yeah…" Sora mumbled. "But maybe we'll find Riku or Kairi in this next world. I really hope so, man I can only imagine what they might be thinking, in whatever world they're in. I bet they'll have a bunch of stories to tell."
"I bet." Goofy agreed.
"I really hope we find my friends too." Izuku couldn't help but add. "I'm worried about them, what if they ended up in a world like Wonderland and they're close to…I dunno, being executed?"
"I have a feeling Wonderland might have been an outlier. That place was weird." Donald rolled his eyes.
Sora smiled to himself before turning to the window. "Yeah, but they're okay. I know they are."
He gripped his jacket tightly as he thought of them, and wherever they could be. They were okay, they had to be. They were just waiting for Sora to find them. Soon they would be together again. They would, he knew it.
Izuku found one of his friends, so surely Sora had to find one of his friends next.
Right?
It only seemed fair.
He sighed. He just wants to see them again. He needs to.
Izuku watched the window on his side and saw Traverse Town slowly grow smaller and smaller until it couldn't be seen anymore. He saw more stars appear around them, other worlds that were so far away. Still shining brightly, worlds that hadn't fallen yet.
There was still a chance to save them.
As the boys watched their windows, Donald and Goofy glanced at each other.
"Ya think it's a good time to bring it up?" Goofy whispered, recalling their conversation that morning. Long before the boys had woken up.
"Now is as a good time as any. When else are we going to talk about it? When we find her? How long is that going to take? It's better to know now." Donald huffed.
"Isn't it a touchy subject?"
Donald opened his mouth before closing it. He hadn't exactly thought that far.
"Still though, don't you wanna know if it's her? If we tell Mickey, imagine how relieved he'd be. Look me in the eye and tell me you don't think he's looking for them all while trying to figure out how to get rid of all these Heartless? Not to mention, we'd certainly feel better if we knew what happened."
Goofy leaned back in his seat. "That's true. But still, you think he'd be okay talking about her?"
"He was okay mentioning her to Iida." Donald turned the ship to avoid some debris. He didn't even want to imagine where it came from…remnants of other worlds?
"Well, I suppose it may be best to ask."
"Yeah, sounds good. You ask." Donald sped up a bit, the Gummi ship had good fuel. Looks like everyone was smiling. "I'm driving, so I can't."
Goofy just shook his head. He peeked behind his seat to look at the boys. They were both looking out the window. Izuku would occasionally look down at his bag and rummage around in it before looking back outside. He wondered if they would ever get used to what the lanes looked like.
Goofy took a deep breath before turning the seat around.
"Heya Izuku." Goofy looked at him.
"Hm?"
"Mind if Donald and I ask ya a question?"
Izuku looked up at that, Sora seemed to perk up too.
"Uh…yeah. Sure."
"Oh gawrsh, I'm sorry if it's a touchy subject but we gotta know." He paused, gauging Izuku's reaction. "We heard ya mention a name before, especially when ya were talkin' to little Eri. Ya said ya were lookin' for someone named Aqua. That right?"
"Uh, yeah. What about her?" Izuku sat up a little straighter.
"Well, we wanted to make sure of somethin'. What did she look like?"
"Well, she's taller than me. She's got a Keyblade, obviously, she's the one who taught me. She's got blue hair and blue eyes." He shrugged. He was about to ask why when he saw Goofy beaming. He thought he saw Donald grinning too.
"Did she ever mention someone like Terra or Ven?"
"Yeah, she…hold on."
"Oh no way, do you guys know his master?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, we do! We heard ya mention her name earlier, but we weren't sure if it was the same person! We've been wantin' to make sure for a bit, but now we know!"
"How did you guys know her?" Izuku leaned forward. She never mentioned knowing the King's friends, then again how was that ever going to come up in conversation?
Sora looked on in interest.
"We never met her formally, but the King told us about her. Then she disappeared and he went lookin' for her."
Izuku's eyes widened, she had once said maybe one of her other friends was looking for her. She had meant Terra and Ventus, but what if she meant the King as well? Did she know? What if he found her?
"So Aqua was still in the Realm of Light, that's a relief." Goofy sighed.
"Yeah, but that begs the question," Donald looked over his shoulder to look at Izuku. "Why didn't she come back, she had to know people were worried about her."
"Maybe she didn't have a Gummi Ship?" Sora offered. "Isn't that the only way to go from world to world? Oh, did she but it ended up breaking down?" He asked.
"N-No, she didn't have a Gummi Ship." Izuku shook his head. That was right, Sora probably didn't know about Keyblade armor or the Gliders. "She used something else to get around, but that isn't how she got to my world."
"Then how?" Donald asked. "And why didn't she come back? The King was worried sick about her."
Izuku watched them all, a heavy feeling in his heart. "Even if she did know your King was looking for her, and she wanted to go see him again so he'd know she's alright, she couldn't. Because there's no way to leave my world, not normally anyway."
The ship was quiet for a minute before everyone raised their voices.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Whaddya mean no way to leave normally?"
"Wait, if you can't leave can you even get in?"
Izuku listened to the barrage of questions silently wondering if this was how his Master felt when he had listed question after question. Honestly, the amount of patience she had for him was godly. He waited for a moment before they quieted down.
"Well, apparently my world is cut off from the other worlds, the lanes, everything. There's no way in, no way out." He shifted in his seat before bringing his knees up. "She told me, according to the Moogles which have been there since the start, that Keyblade wielders sealed it off about 200 years ago. But not completely, they didn't cut off the Realm of Darkness. If you want to get in or out you'd have to go through there. That was how my Master came to my world. Somehow, she had gotten out of there and ended up there, then she tried to leave but couldn't open any gates to the lanes. She was stuck."
"No way, 200 years ago?" Sora asked. "But…can other people with a Keyblade just do that? Just cut off an entire world? How is that possible?"
"It would…It would probably take a lotta power." Goofy shook his head. "Right Donald?"
"Yeah, it would."
"So…yeah. I'm sure she would have wanted to leave and to visit everyone. Maybe find her friends Terra and Ventus, but she couldn't. She's been stuck, and then a little bit before my world fell she disappeared."
Even mentioning that weighed him down, creating an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. Like something reached in and squeezed his lungs, and wouldn't allow him to take a breath.
Izuku could feel their eyes on him. Instead of looking up at them he turned away and looked out the window. Back to the stars, the countless worlds that were still standing. Worlds that his Master could be at, still fighting off the Heartless and defending everyone she could.
She was out there.
She was still alive.
She had to be.
They all looked between each other, not sure what else to say. Save for Donald, he still had plenty of questions.
"You said your world was cut off 200 years ago right? Do you have any idea why?" He asked, looking from Izuku to what was in front of him.
"And another question…what's the Realm of Darkness?" Sora asked.
Izuku glanced at Sora. "It's where the Heartless usually are, and of course darkness. A lot of darkness, and from what my Master said it's endless. Not only that but, once you're in it's really hard to get out."
"Oh…does that mean the lanes are the Realm of Darkness?"
Izuku shook his head. "No, we're in the Realm of Light. That's where all the worlds are."
"Pretty much." Goofy nodded.
"You still didn't answer my question!" Donald shouted.
"Oh, uh…sorry." Izuku looked back to the duck. "Well…hmm…200 years ago…"
They watched him for a moment as he began to mutter to himself, counting off things on his fingers.
"Actually, now that I think about it maybe I do know why." He said. "It was about 200 years that Quirks first appeared. Then again they weren't called that, they were called something else. But yeah, it was a global event. It probably spooked the Keyblade Wielders or something. But that's the only reason I can think of. Not to mention, back then people with powers weren't exactly treated very well."
"So they did it because they were scared?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, probably." Izuku shrugged.
"But powers don't seem like a big deal." Donald rolled his eyes. "I guarantee you in other worlds there are plenty of people with magic and stuff like that, and those aren't sealed off. Sealing your world off like there's something to be afraid of. Drama queens."
"Well, maybe there was somethin' to be scared of." Goofy looked over. "Maybe some Quirks were really scary."
"It was a pretty chaotic time, but yeah there were probably plenty of reasons to be scared. Either way, it was a thing and there's no way to undo it. As far as I know anyway."
"Hm, that sucks. So this is your only chance to see other worlds at all isn't it?" Sora asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. But I don't mind, my world is pretty big and there's a lot I haven't-"
"Then we should see as many worlds as we can. At least before we all go home since we probably won't see other worlds for a long time when this is all over. Right?"
"This isn't a vacation!" Donald looked at him. "This is a serious mission."
"Yeah, I know that." Sora crossed his arms. "I'm just saying, we should be able to see a bunch of different worlds. Especially since we're looking for our friends."
Donald rolled his eyes muttered something about kids, then continued to weave through the random debris in space. He was sure they were coming up to another world and they'd be there soon.
"Hey, Izuku." Sora looked over to his friend.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any idea where your Master ended up?" He asked. "Like, you think she's in another world?"
Izuku stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I'm hoping she's in another world. If she is, maybe we can run into her, and we can bring her to Traverse Town. Eri would feel a lot better knowing she's okay, not to mention, having a Keyblade Master on our side would probably be real handy."
Sora watched him before smiling. "Yeah, well, like our friends I'm sure she's out there somewhere. Oh, what if she's with one of the others? Maybe she's with Riku, or Kairi…that would be good. She has a Keyblade, she would be able to protect them."
"I hope she finds one of your friends." He mumbled. "I hope she also finds mine too…"
Izuku gripped his bag tightly. He knew she was out there, he just had to hope she was alright.
I wonder…she said she had been to a bunch of other worlds a long time ago. I wonder if I can find anyone that remembers her…
-HoL-
Donald hummed to himself as he slowly landed the Gummi Ship in a quiet area, someplace that looked empty and rarely visited. It looked like they would be able to get away with keeping it there, which was a relief. It didn't mean he wasn't going to put a spell to keep it hidden. He was paranoid that way.
"Alright boys, we're here now." He turned around to see Sora and Izuku staring out the window in awe. Taking in the surroundings of the new world. "Now listen up, after Wonderland I'm gonna have to go over the rules again. I'm sure you remember them right?"
The boys looked at each other before looking back to Donald.
"Uh, don't start any fights with the World's residents," Sora said.
"Don't run off on your own." Izuku listed off.
"And one more, arguably the most important." Donald crossed his arms. He really hoped the boys would remember. He didn't want to drill it into their heads again and again.
"Uh…the World Order right?" Sora asked.
"Exactly, and that means…"
"Don't let anyone else know other worlds exist." Izuku finished. He can't believe he almost forgot that rule.
"Yup. Alright, now let's go, we gotta figure out where we are." He opened the door and hopped out.
"Don't worry about Donald." Goofy walked over to the exit. "He always gets a little wound up whenever we go to a new world."
"So this is gonna be a thing every time we go to another world?" Sora asked.
"Yup." The knight nodded.
"Well, he's just worried about following the rules. Stuff like the World Order was put in for a reason. And he doesn't want us getting hurt like we did in Wonderland. I mean, that Heartless threw us around like nothing." Izuku grabbed his bag.
Sora shuddered. "Yeah…that wasn't fun."
"He just wants ya to be careful." Goofy pat his shoulder.
"I guess…"
With that Sora jumped out of the Gummi Ship.
Izuku was about to follow him when he stopped, he hurried back to his seat and grabbed the bag Iida gave to him. During the ride, he had forgotten to tell the others about it, especially after that talk about his Master.
"What'cha forget?" Goofy asked.
"A bag, Leon packed it for us. It's some supplies, mostly potions and ethers. I meant to tell you guys before we got here but…yeah."
Goofy smiled. "Aw don't worry about it. Here, I can take it for ya, and a little later we can sort through it. Glad ya remembered it though."
"Thanks." Izuku handed it to him and adjusted his own bag real quick. He had a feeling it was going to change like it did in Wonderland.
Izuku stepped out and fell a short distance, a small light enveloped him as he fell and quickly faded once he landed. That's right, he almost forgot about the disguises.
Izuku took a quick look at himself while Goofy made his way out of the Gummi Ship.
He was wearing what looked like armor, with rather thin dark plates with green designs etched into them. His sleeves were gone, leaving his arms exposed, but he still had his gloves. His pants were black, but his normal red shoes had been turned into red sandals that reached to his knees.
When he looked down he saw his Master's crest, on his chest rather than his back. Around his waist was a short green sash that barely reached his knees.
Sora looked similar to him, with armor of a brighter color decorated with red engravings. Like Izuku his arms were exposed, and he kept his gloves. His yellow shoes had been turned into sandals as well. Though, unlike Izuku, he was sporting a white and blue cape with clasps on each shoulder.
Donald was wearing a toga, with what looked like a leaf circlet around his head. Meanwhile Goofy was wearing gladiator armor made of bright yellow metal. He was wearing a helmet of the same color, though with green decoration to it.
"Cool, new disguises!" Sora looked over himself, grinning at the cape. "We look like a couple of warriors, that's so cool! Well, most of us anyway."
"Watch it." Donald waved his staff at him. "I could give you a worse disguise if I wanted. But I'm not going to, because I need to use my magic to hide the Gummi Ship."
"Whatever ya say, Donald." Goofy laughed.
The duck squawked in indignation before casting his spell.
While the magician got to work, Izuku couldn't help but look around. They were close to a city, just on the outskirts of it in the mountains. The way down didn't seem too bad, though he was more interested in how the city looked.
The architecture was much different than what he was used to back home. With buildings made of stone, supported by carved pillars. Nothing like the skyscrapers and towers he was used to seeing in the city. It reminded him of something he read in a history book a long time ago. Something about a Grecian city and myths.
"Woah, look at that view…" Sora muttered. "And that city has gotta be huge, how are even supposed to know where to start?"
"Just pick a direction and go I guess." Izuku shrugged. "Maybe we can ask the locals about some landmarks, if anything of interest pops up we can always head there."
"That don't sound like a bad idea. Maybe we might find the King somewhere here. Whadya think Donald?"
"Doesn't sound like a bad plan." Donald dusted himself off and made his way over to the group. "Just as long as we don't draw suspicion to ourselves."
"Sounds fair." Sora nodded. "Alright then, let's go!" He took off running down the mountain, excited to explore the new world.
Donald shouted and began to chase after the teen. "What did I say about running off?"
-.-
Everyone stood at the entrance of the city, trying to catch their breaths. Sora was eager to head inside and start looking around, only held back by Donald gripping his cape.
"We stay together, understand?" Donald looked at them. "No running off, it's a city, you're going to get lost."
"It can't be that bad." Sora shrugged. "We just need to find stuff that looks familiar right? We can use those as landmarks."
"It's not always that easy." Donald let go of Sora's cap and took the lead. "Just follow me, we're bound to find someone who knows something."
Stepping into the town was such a different experience than Wonderland, for one there were actually people around. Everywhere, selling stuff, walking about, or just talking to each other. It was a normal town as far as they were concerned.
Izuku glanced around, expecting people to be giving them strange looks. Especially since no one else was wearing armor. Just casual wear, compared to their strange group. Even so, nobody looked their way. If they did, it was just for a moment before returning to what they were doing.
It felt almost weird to be walking around in broad daylight, in another world completely different from his own.
As they walked around, they heard some of the residents talking to each other, idle chatter.
"They're gonna start soon right?"
"I think so, they're just waiting for a couple more competitors to enter I think."
"Well, I hope we see Hercules! He's going to win of course, but it's so cool to see him fight!"
They passed the speaking couple and walked into a busy square full of booths and stalls. Selling food, vases, and what looked like merchandise in some.
"I don't know why others bother to enter the Games, Hercules is gonna win every time. He's amazing."
"I dunno, that one guy gave him a run for his money a while back. He might enter again."
"Yeah, and he'll lose again."
"I dunno, I've seen some of the new fighters. They look like they're here to win."
"The Games?" Sora asked, looking to the others. They shrugged in response, they weren't sure what it meant either.
"Maybe some kinda tournament," Donald muttered.
"Come get your Herc merch! Support Greece's favorite hero!" A man yelled from his stand, waving at the group.
"Herc?"
"They probably mean that Hercules guy. These people really like him don't they?" Sora asked.
"Probably if they're selling stuff with his face on it." Goofy laughed.
"He's a hero that everyone is a fan of, of course, it makes sense to market that. Especially as a third party." Izuku shrugged.
"Uh-huh, did people sell hero stuff in your world too?" Sora nudged him.
Izuku turned red. "Yeah, I guess that's why it seems normal to me?"
"Uh-huh, do you have hero merchandise?"
Izuku coughed and looked away. "M-Maybe…s-so what. Heroes are cool…" He trailed off.
"What kinda heroes? Like that All Might guy?"
"L-Listen!" Izuku stammered.
"Now be nice Sora." Goofy shook his head.
Izuku covered his face and mumbled unintelligible things. Sora laughed and pat his arm.
"Say, Donald, with Hercules being a hero and all that, ya think maybe the King paid a visit?" Goofy looked down at his friend. "Maybe to ask for help protectin' this world?"
"Hmm…it seems like a stretch. But maybe." The duck shrugged. Mickey wasn't above asking for help, maybe he had figured the hero of this world could help protect it? He wasn't sure, but it seemed like a good place to start for the time being.
As they continued to walk through the city, they heard more and more talk about the Games. Some were placing bets, others were talking about the competitors, and some were talking about what brackets to watch.
After a couple more minutes of being lost in the marketplace, there seemed to be no end to it, Donald started leading them in a different direction. Away from the market and to a quieter road, at least without all the chatter, it felt easier to think.
"So…I think it's safe to say we're lost." Sora looked around the road. It was somewhat open and seemed to head uphill. Less and fewer buildings appeared at some point.
"I think we are, it's real hectic out there too." Goofy pushed the helmet above his eyes. "It's so easy to get turned around."
"We're not lost, we're just exploring." Donald looked between them.
"No, we're lost. Do we even know which way the Gummi Ship is?"
Donald glared at Izuku before looking around. "We left it at the mountain, so we just gotta go that way to get back. It's not that hard, now listen all of you. We are not lost."
"Right…" Sora sighed. "Man I really wish we had a map of this place. Hey Donald, do you think your magic could make us a map?"
"What kinda question is that?" The magician crossed his arms. "It can't, magic isn't a be all end all problem solver Sora. You can't just poof a map out of nowhere."
"Right, right, I was just asking." The teen shrugged.
"Maybe we oughtta turn around." Goofy paused for a moment. "I don't think we're supposed to-"
The knight was cut off by a loud shout as someone came tumbling down the hill. They all looked up to see a kid rolling down the hill, struggling to stop himself while his friend chased after him.
"Woah!" Izuku ran forward and helped catch the kid before he could roll past them. He picked him up and put him back on his feet as his friend caught up. "Are you okay? You took a bit of a tumble there."
The chubby boy sniffed as he dusted himself off and ran a hand through his curly hair. "Yeah, I'm okay, thanks, mister!" He beamed up at them.
His friend, who was as thin as a twig, raced after them in a panic. Huffing and blowing his messy blonde hair out of his face before coming to a stop. "Thanks for…helping him mister…oh boy…" He panted as he caught his breath.
"No problem, you sure you're okay though?" Izuku kneeled down to their level, as he would with Eri. These kids couldn't be older than her, in fact, they seemed a little younger. "What were you doing coming down in such a hurry?"
The kids looked at each other before looking down. "We wanted to try and see Hercules before he went to the Coliseum, but I guess he already went inside." The thin one mumbled.
The other kid looked between them before his face split into a wide grin. "Oh, are you guys heroes too?" He asked.
"Huh?" They all responded.
"Oh, maybe they are!" The blonde kid ran around them. "They sure look like heroes. Are you guys gonna enter the Games?"
"You totally should, that would be so cool!" They ran around the small group.
"Are ya? Are ya?"
"Come on, tell us you are!"
"Well uh, I dunno. We don't even know where the Coliseum even is kiddos." Goofy watched them run around.
"Oh, it's right up there! Straight up this path!" The one with curls pointed up. "That's where we were trying to find Hercules but…yeah."
"So that's where Hercules is?" Goofy asked.
"Then let's check it out." Sora looked at them. "Come on, please?"
"We were already gonna check it out Sora. Come on let's go." Donald walked past him and continued up the path.
"Yes!" He cheered and raced ahead of them.
"Sora!"
Izuku began to follow them before pausing to look at the kids. "You be careful okay? Don't go rolling down any more hills."
"Don't worry mister, we'll be okay!" They waved at them and ran away.
Izuku sighed and Goofy pat his shoulder.
"They'll be fine, Izuku."
"Yeah, I know." He scratched at his face.
Goofy laughed as they followed after the other two. "Did they remind ya of little Eri?"
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, kinda."
-.-
The group made it to the top of the hill, which had a set of stairs at some point. Right in front of them was a large structure with two golden statues on either side of the door. A bunch of braziers stood near the wall, burning brightly.
"Ya think this is the Coliseum?" Goofy asked.
"I expected it to be more…grand?" Sora shrugged.
"Well, the kids did say they tried to see Hercules here. Maybe this is a back way in?" Izuku offered.
"It doesn't matter, let's just go inside and take a look around." Donald waved his arms. "Come on, let's go."
A group of four made their way inside, opening the heavy doors that creaked as they swung inwards. Much to their surprise, the doors didn't lead to a big room, but rather a small one that was a little cramped.
There were trophies lining the walls on one side, and a stone block sitting on the other side. At the end, writing on a board was some kind of goat man. He was muttering to himself as he looked at something in his hand back to the board to write it down.
"Let's see, he's in the East…Herc's in the West too. Ugh, Ice boy is gonna have to go to the East bracket."
Sora looked at the others before stepping towards the goat man.
"Uh…excuse me, we-"
"Oh, finally, good timing. Give me a hand won't ya, move that pedestal. Gotta clean this place up before the Games start." He waved Sora off and continued writing on the board.
The teen glanced at the others before looking at the pedestal.
"He wants me to move that?" He whispered.
"I mean…I guess?" Izuku shrugged. "You want any help with that?"
Sora shook his head. "He asked me to do it so…I can give it a shot."
"Uh-huh." Donald raised an eyebrow and watched the Keyblade wielder walk up to the pedestal. He rubbed his hands together before taking a big breath and trying to push the pedestal away. He grunted as he pressed all his weight against it, only for nothing to happen. It stayed right where it was.
"Ya sure, ya don't want help?" Goofy asked.
"No, I'm…I got this…" Sora putting all his might into it. Only to lose his footing and fall against it. He fell down with a thud and laid on the ground for a moment.
"You okay?" Izuku asked.
Sora nodded as he stood up and looked at the goat man. "It's way too heavy, I can't move that thing!"
The goat man continued to write before freezing up. "What? Too heavy? Since when have you been such a little-" He stopped himself before he said anything else. Turning around to see a teenager right behind him. "Oh."
The adults raised an eyebrow.
"Wrong guy. What are you doing here?"
Donald cleared his throat. "We wanted-"
"This here's the world-famous Coliseum, heroes only." he started walking towards the duck, making him back up. "And I got my hands full prepping for the Games. So run along pip-squeak." He waved his hand at Sora.
"Hey!" The teen protested. "I am not a pip-squeak! I'm ta-" Izuku covered his mouth before he could say anything to offend the satyr.
"He's in charge of the Games, don't push your luck," Izuku muttered.
He eyed the two before sighing. "Look, it's like this. Heroes are coming from all over to fight these monsters right here in the Coliseum."
"You've got heroes standing right in front of you!" Donald crossed his arms.
"Yup, Sora and Izuku are real heroes. Chosen by the Keyblade, especially Izuku here, he's from a place full of heroes!" Goofy took their shoulders and grinned. "They've helped a lot of people, not everyone can say that."
"I'm not a hero, not yet…" Izuku blushed and looked at the knight.
"And we're heroes too!" Donald pointed at himself and Goofy.
The game master snorted and walked over to the heavy pedestal. "Heroes? Those runts?" He broke out laughing and leaned against the stone. "You…You gotta be kidding me. Those two?"
Izuku felt his face turn red and looked away while Sora stepped forward. "Hey, what's so funny? We've fought a bunch of monsters!"
The satyr only shook his head and stood upright, his laughter slowly dying down. "Oh, oh man, thanks for that I needed that laugh. Listen, if you can't even move this…" He started to push against the pedestal.
Sora crossed his arms and watched the satyr put his all into the immovable object.
"You can't call yourself…a hero!"
"I see." He raised an eyebrow.
He eventually collapsed the same way Sora did. He panted and slowly made his way to his feet before sheepishly looking at the group.
"Alright fine, so it takes more than brawn. Well…fine I've got time. Let's see what you can do." The game master made his way over to the door. "We're heading to the training grounds, follow me."
-.-
The two kids ran until they were on the outskirts of the city, they occasionally looked over their shoulders to make sure they weren't being followed. As soon as they were sure they were alone they ducked behind a pillar and shed their human disguises.
The thin boy flashed red for a moment as he regained his original form, a blue imp with two horns growing from his head. The other boys turned into an imp as well, one of a red hue with a smaller set of horns.
"Well done you two, nice performance."
The two jumped over the sudden appearance of their master. Hades grinned down at them as one of his fingers caught fire. He used the fire to light up a cigar he summoned from smoke.
"Those bozos are gonna be kibble by the end of the Games, and they'll finally be out of the way. Then witch lady can get off my back." Hades huffed out some smoke and adjusted his black tunic.
The two imps merely nodded in agreement.
"You two gave them the pass right?" Hades asked as he eyed the path.
"Y-Yes, sir! We did we…" Panic paused for a moment before looking at Pain. "You gave them the pass right?"
Pain gave his friend a look. "I thought that was your job."
"You had the pass!"
"No, I'm pretty sure I gave it to you."
Hades watched his minions bicker for a moment before throwing his cigar away. "Are you serious? Are you two really serious? I gave you one job, and you couldn't even do that. I just needed you two to give them the pass so they could enter the Games, did you miss that part of the plan?" He began to raise his voice.
The god felt his anger rising before he took a deep breath and sighed. "Fine, fine, fine, I can work with this. The goat won't let 'em in, fine, let him be the bad guy. And then I'll get them in, and things can get back on track."
He ran a hand through his fiery hair before glancing back at the imps. "Keep an eye on them, do not mess this up. Understand?"
"Yes sir!"
Hades watched the two run off before sighing. "This is fine, everything's fine. You got this. You've got plenty of players on the board."
He hummed as he summoned two figurines from his smoke. One was a large sword and the other a snowflake with flames surrounding it.
"At least if one is a dud, I can always use the other."
-.-
Sora and Izuku sat on the ground, catching their breath and recovering through the drills The satyr, who introduced himself as Phil, made them do.
Between breaking barrels, running through obstacle courses, and doing races, it took a lot out of them. Sora and Izuku were mostly neck and neck in most of the training, though Sora excelled at breaking the barrels, whereas Izuku dominated the race.
Donald and Goofy were in the back, trying to catch their breath.
"Did…Did your master ever make you do anything crazy like this?" Sora asked.
Izuku shook his head. "N-No, I mean it was well within reason. Laps, physical exercise, magic training, but it was never this extreme."
"That obstacle course was rough but kinda fun." Sora glanced at him. "Wanna go again?"
"No thank you." He shook his head.
The two laughed for a bit until Phil came up to them with a grin on his face.
"You know, you two ain't half bad. You've actually got some skill."
Sora sat up straighter. "Really? Alright, it looks like we're heading for the Games!"
"Afraid not." Phil shook his head.
"What?" Sora immediately deflated. "Why not?"
"What do you mean we're not?" Donald raised his voice. "You put us through all that for nothing?"
"Two words! You guys ain't heroes!" Phil pointed at each of them as he spoke.
"One, two, three…" Goofy counted the words.
"Aw come on!" Sora stood up. "How are we supposed to get in the Games?"
Phil snorted. "You don't, simple as that. There are two ways you get in the Games. One, have a pass, which heroes get. Proven heroes! Or two, have a hero sponsor you. And seeing as you two ain't got either of those, you can't enter."
Sora frowned before looking at Izuku. "Don't you technically count as a hero? Weren't you in a hero school?"
Izuku shook his head, much to his dismay. "I'm a student, I'm not licensed. I don't even have a provisional license. So…sorry…"
Sora frowned. "Aw, man…"
Donald got to his feet and glared at the satyr. "You gotta be kidding me, all this for nothing. Can we at least see Hercules? We gotta talk to him."
"Ah Herc, get in line buddy everybody wants to see him. Always something important, or asking him to sign this, or trying to get something from him. Even if he was here, he wouldn't have time to talk to you lot."
"He's not even here?" Goofy asked. "I thought those kids said they saw him…"
Phil shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Herc's not here."
"So this was a bust," Donald muttered. "Great. Come on boys, let's go. Hopefully, we'll have some more luck somewhere else."
"Yeah, okay." Sora followed after him and Goofy. "Thanks for the training though." He waved at Phil before walking off.
Izuku got to his feet and was about to follow them before stopping. "I'll be right there, I just need to do something."
"Well hurry up, we gotta head out," Donald called over his shoulder.
"Right." Izuku watched them walk out of the grounds before looking for Phil. The satyr hadn't gone far, he was cleaning up some of the grounds.
Izuku jogged over to him. "Uh, Mr. Phil?"
The game master made a face. "Ugh, don't call me that. Just Phil kid, got it? Good. Now what do you want?"
"I had a quick question, it's about some friends of ours. We've been looking for them since we got separated."
"Yeah?" Phil turned around and got back to work, hardly paying attention.
"Well, have you seen anybody named Riku or Kairi? If I remember right, Sora said that Riku had white hair, and Kairi had reddish hair. Ring any bells?"
"Nope."
"Ah…then maybe you've seen my friends? Uraraka, she has brown hair and brown eyes, about my height."
"Nuh-uh."
"Okay…Then, how about Todoroki? He's got red and white hair and a scar on the red side of his face. He's a little moody, but he means well."
"You mean Ice Boy?" Phil turned to look at him.
"And then- wait, you know Todoroki?"
"Yeah, I do." Phil crossed his arms. "The kid is in the Games. I've been training him for a bit, but the stubborn kid only uses his ice. I know he has fire, I saw him use it once. Then never again. Who knows why, he's gotta be some god's favorite with powers like those."
"Yeah, that sounds like him. Good to know he's okay." Izuku sighed. "Is he around here somewhere? I really need to talk to him."
Phil shook his head. "Nope, no can do kid. He's getting ready for the Games, he's training and you don't interrupt training. Not to mention, who's to say you're not some kinda crazy fanboy?"
"I am not, he's my friend! If you go to him and ask him if he knows me, he'll say he will. Izuku Midoriya."
"Uh-huh, well either way. I can't help you there kid. If you wanna see him, either watch him from the sidelines or wait until the Games are over." Phil went back to his own thing, starting to walk away from the teen.
Izuku was about to head back to tell the others about Todoroki, before realizing he hadn't asked about the last person on his list.
"One more thing Phil!" Izuku caught up with him.
"What is it, kid? I'm busy. If it's another one of your friends, chances are I probably haven't seen 'em. So go on, get." He tried to wave him off and walk away.
Izuku followed him anyway. "There's one more person I'm looking for."
"Oh boy…"
"She's my Master, she went missing a while ago. I'm still looking for her, and…I'm kind of hoping she ended up here."
"Oh yeah? Who's your Master?"
"Her name is Aqua."
Phil paused.
"She's got blue hair, and blue eyes, a-and she's got a weapon like mine!" Izuku summoned his Keyblade. "She's really nice and really strong, and my sister and I worried about her and–"
"Wait wait wait." Phil stopped him, taking a moment to process what he said. "Sweetcheeks trained you?"
Izuku stiffened up and glared down at Phil.
"Excuse me?"
"Ah, uh, Aqua, she trained you? Are you serious?"
"Yes I'm serious, why would I joke about something like that?"
Phil raised an eyebrow and looked over Izuku, it had felt like forever since he saw her. She had entered the games to find that Terra guy. Like him, she had won the first Games she entered. Then she disappeared.
Even if it had been a while, he somewhat remembered how she fought. He won't be the first to admit that her solo fight against the God of the Underworld and the Ice Titan was terrifying. But she was tough as nails and beat those two into the ground.
Izuku held himself like her, kept the same stance. He also moved around quickly and was generous in his use of magic.
Just like Aqua.
Phil sighed before shaking his head. "No, I haven't seen her kid. But I did meet her before, a long while ago. She did real well in the Games, too bad you can't enter. If she were here, she could probably sponsor you since she was a winner, and by all means, a hero."
"She's a hero here?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah, beat Hades and his Ice Titan buddy back into the ground where they belong. All on her own too. If you say she really trained you, then you have a lot to live up to, kid."
"I see…" Izuku looked down. She hadn't been here, not recently anyway. Still, it was nice to see a place where she had been before. "What…What was she like?"
Phil huffed. "She was stubborn, real stubborn. Insisted she didn't need a trainer for the Games when I signed her up. She was like you, looking for one of her friends. Entered the Games to try and find him."
Izuku looked up at that. That had to have been Terra or Ventus.
Phil was still for a moment before sighing and shaking his head. "Can't believe I'm doing this." He muttered. "Are you serious about finding Ice Boy?" He asked.
"Yeah, he's my friend. I've got to bring him home…"
Phil rubbed his eyes. "And you really think you and your ragtag group can handle the Games?"
"Yes, of course we can!"
The satyr watched him before nodding. "Alright then, I think I may be able to solve your little issue. I can't get you a pass, but I'm pretty sure I can get you a sponsor."
"What? Wait, really?"
"Hey hey, easy now. Don't go getting all excited, you still gotta talk it out with the guy." Phil put a hand out to calm him down. "Head to the outskirts of town, over on the west side. Just a little ways from the mountains. There's a guy that lives there, tell him Phil sent ya."
"And you think he'll give us a sponsorship?"
"That's the hope. If you wanna get into the Games you'd better hurry on over there. They're gonna be starting soon."
After Phil laid out a few more directions and information about the guy, Izuku thanked him profusely and sprinted out of the training grounds.
Phil watched him go and sighed to himself. "Good luck kid, I have a feeling you're gonna need it."
Izuku ran through the halls and crashed through the doors of the Coliseum, starting Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
"About time." Donald huffed. "What were you- hey get back here!"
"I'm sorry, but I'll be right back! I think I can get us in the Games just wait here!" Izuku yelled over his shoulder. He didn't even give them a chance to catch up, he was already gone.
"Get back here! What did I say about running off on your own?" Donald shouted at him, knowing he wouldn't be heard. "Aaarrgh, teenagers!"
"I wonder what sent him off in such a hurry." Goofy frowned. "I hope everything is okay."
Sora ran forward a bit to the top of the stairs and saw his friend was already long gone.
Izuku sprinted into the marketplace and wove through the crowd. Occasionally apologizing for crashing into someone or knocking something over.
Someone who knew Master a long time ago, one of her friends!
He turned a corner and sprinted down the road, crashing into someone rather tall and muscular. Izuku said a quick apology before continuing his run.
"Yeah, I'd say he was a good friend of hers. If you tell him you're swe-Aqua's student he might hear you out."
Izuku's lungs were burning, and he was barely halfway there. But he couldn't stop, he could catch his breath when he got there.
"By the way kid, his name is Zack."
-HoL-
A big thank you to KeeperofHounds for beta-ing this chapter!