Sky groaned in frustration as she soared through the Lanes Between. After several hours of practicing under Master Yen Sid's instruction, she had managed to grasp the basics of using her Keyblade Glider, even if she was going a little slow.

Learning to use her glider was akin to teaching a bird to fly. When summoned, the blade transforms into twelve wing-like structures that stretch out across the back of her armor, six on each side. Each wing was made of finely detailed gold and silver feathers, metallic but alive with a soft blue glow. Though the sight of it was impressive, controlling it was another story.

Banking sluggishly to the left, she adjusted her course toward the distant outline of the coliseum, grateful that the Heartless hadn't found her yet. Fighting in space was another issue she would need to tackle. As her physical weapon was attached to her back, she would need to rely solely on her magic.

'They made it look so easy,' Sky thought, disgruntled, remembering how Terra, Aqua, and Ven used to glide effortlessly over the Land of Departure. She would watch as they raced through the skies, sometimes even sparring mid-air like it was second nature. Apparently, it was a steep learning curve.

After what felt like an eternity, the coliseum came into full view. Taking a breath, Sky braced herself for the descent, praying nothing would go wrong. Adjusting her wings, she angled downward.

"Here we go," she muttered, steeling herself for landing.

The landing wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Sky stumbled as she touched down, legs wobbling under the weight of her awkward descent. She breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to be on solid ground again.

Dismissing her armor, she took in her surroundings. She had landed just outside the coliseum, tucked away from curious onlookers. It was quieter than she expected. Sky assumed a bustling coliseum would be brimming with excitement. Instead, the place seemed eerily calm, almost deserted.

'Maybe they're in between matches,' She thought, glancing around as she headed toward the entrance.

Sky pushed open the heavy door and stepped into the lobby. The air was immediately filled with the chaotic shuffle of activity. A short satyr zipped around the room, frantically managing what looked like a long to-do list.

"Hey!" He greeted without turning around. "The arena needs cleaning after that last tournament. Those guys really made a mess of things."

"Uhhh-" Sky started.

"And don't forget, we gotta get the other guys lined up for the next one," He continued. "Maybe they'll actually put up a fight this time."

"Actually-"

"And what's with these new guys? They're kind of-" He finally stopped and turned around. "Oh, you're not Herc."

"Uh, no," Sky said awkwardly.

The satyr squinted at her. "What are you doing here? I've got my hands full with the games."

"Someone told me that you train heroes," she explained. "I need training to -"

"No," he cut her off, not letting her finish her sentence.

"Wait- you didn't even-"

"Doesn't matter," he said bluntly, turning back to his work. "I've got too much on my plate and zero time."

Sky's eyes narrowed. 'Seriously?' He wouldn't even take the time to hear her out.

"But-"

"Two words," he interrupted again. "Don't. Have. Time."

Sky blinked in disbelief. Not only was he being ridiculous, it seemed like he didn't even know how to count.

"That's not-"

"Don't care," he shot back without missing a beat.

Sky's jaw clenched as frustration bubbled up inside her. They went back and forth, the satyr shutting her down every time she tried to get a word in. He was absurdly stubborn, and she was quickly losing patience.

Suddenly, a voice cut through the tension. "Hey, Phil! I'm here to - whoa, what's going on here?"

Sky turned to see a man with jet-black hair enter the room, his easygoing demeanor instantly clashing with the chaos of the lobby.

"Zack!" The satyr, Phil, exclaimed. "Help me out here, will ya?"

Zack looked from Phil to Sky, clearly confused. "What's up?" He asked, looking for clarification.

'Finally! Someone who'll listen,' She thought.

"I need training," Sky begged. "And I heard this place was the best."

"Ah. Well, you're not wrong," he said. "But you're going to have a hard time convincing Phil."

"But I need to train as soon as possible," Sky insisted.

"Like I said, kid. Don't have time," Phil said, waving a hand dismissively. "Besides, I only train heroes, and you ain't one of them."

"I get that you want to be trained by the best. But you might want to find another trainer. It took me forever to convince Phil to train me," Zack said sympathetically.

Sky sighed in frustration. This conversation was getting her nowhere. 'Maybe I should go back to Master Yen Sid…'

"Unless you're related to some great hero, I don't have time for you. Get lost, kid." Phil turned back to his list, clearly done with the conversation.

Zack looked at her apologetically. She was about to give up until a thought popped into her head. It was a long shot, but maybe they had left her mark enough for them to remember. Even if it was ten years ago.

"Aqua," Sky said, cutting through the stalemate.

"Eh?" Phil stopped, eyebrow raised.

"Or maybe Terra?" She pressed.

Zack and Phil looked at her with surprise.

"You know Terra and Aqua?" Zack said, excitement lighting up his face. "I haven't seen them in forever! How have they been?"

Sky's expression fell. "I don't know. They disappeared a while ago… which is why I need training. I need to find them."

Phil rubbed his chin, suddenly lost in thought.

"Disappeared?" Zack echoed, his tone turning more serious.

Sky nodded, hoping the seriousness of the situation was starting to sink in.

"What's your name, kid?" Phil asked gruffly.

"Sky," she answered.

Phil let out a deep sigh, his brow furrowed. "With how strong those two are, something bad must have happened," Phil said. "Talent like that is hard to come by. If you need help, I'll help."

Sky breathed a sigh of relief, glad her plan worked.

"Wow, it took me months to convince Phil to train me," Zack let out a laugh. "Terra and Aqua sure left an impression on him."

"Zack, get the stuff ready," Phil ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Zack saluted, signaling Sky to follow him into the arena.

"You better make this worth my while," Phil mumbled.

"Barrels?" Sky asked eyebrow raised.

"Yup," Zack replied. "This is how Phil starts his training regime. Classic stuff."

"But why barrels?" She had expected something a little more intense.

Phil, who was busy pushing the last barrel into place, chimed in. "I need to see what you're made of before throwin' you into the ring with real opponents," He dusted off his hands and crossed his arms. "All right, kid. The rules are simple: break all the barrels before time's up. Don't really care how you do it, just smash 'em all."

Sky glanced around the arena. Barrels were scattered everywhere - some sitting precariously atop platforms too high to reach. Others were tucked behind obstacles. This wasn't going to be as easy as it looked.

She summoned Fate's Oracle and stepped into the arena.

"Ready?" Phil shouted.

She readied her Keyblade, waiting for his signal.

"Go!"

Sky bolted forward, slashing through the barrels nearest to her in one fluid motion. She leaped onto ledges, destroying the ones within her immediate reach.

The higher barrels presented a challenge. Calling on her magic, she lifted her hand, sparks of lightning gathering around her fingers. "Thunder!" she shouted, sending a bolt of energy through the air. The barrels shattered, clearing them from the arena.

Before long, the sound of splintering wood echoed through the now-empty area. Every barrel lay in pieces, scattered across the ground.

"Wow," Phil said, impressed. "That was faster than I expected."

From the sidelines, Zack gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Nice job!"

Sky gave him a small smile, pride welling up in her chest. Training was off to a solid start.

"Don't get too comfortable," Phil warned. "We're just getting started."

Sky panted heavily as she destroyed the last barrel. She could feel her energy drain with every swing. This was the tenth round of barrel training, and her exhaustion was starting to weigh her down.

"All right, all right," Phil said. "Your stamina could use some work, and your magic could be better. But it looks like you're making solid progress."

Dismissing her Fate's Oracle, she dragged herself to the stands like a zombie. She slumped onto a seat, body collapsing from her lack of energy. Zack jogged over, water in hand.

"You good?" He asked as he passed her the water.

Sky nodded, too out of breath to answer properly. She had expected training to be hard, but she wasn't expecting it to be this tiring.

'I guess this is how crash-course combat is,' she thought, downing the entire bottle of water.

"I've got a few things I need to take care of," Phil said. "I'll leave the rest to you, Zack."

And just like that, the satyr turned on his heel, heading back toward the lobby.

"There's more?" Sky groaned. She desperately needed a break.

Zack chuckled. "Of course, there's more! You can't train with barrels forever." He extended a hand to her. "C'mon. The longer you sit, the harder it'll be to get moving again."

Sky sighed and accepted his hand, pulling herself up. Her muscles screamed from exhaustion, but she pushed through it.

The pair found themselves back in the middle of the arena. Zack drew his sword from its sheath and readied the blade.

"You've got attacking down, so let's work on your defense," he suggested."There are a couple of ways you can defend - dodging and blocking. Let's work on dodging for now."

Sky summoned her Keyblade again, this time holding it more defensively. Zack charged at her, swinging his blade downwards. She quickly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the strike.

"Good. If you time it just right, you can get in a couple good hits in. Watch your opponent's movements closely, and you'll be able to find their weak points," he explained.

Zack threw a few more attacks her way. Light on her feet, she dodged each time. On his last attack, she caught his side with her Keyblade, knocking him off slightly off balance.

"Nice one!" He said, steadying himself with a grin. "Alright, now let's work on blocking."

Sky raised her Keyblade, blocking the next attack Zack sent her way. The blades came together with a loud clang. She winced in pain as the reverberation traveled up her arm, making her wince. The shock nearly caused her to drop her Keyblade.

"You okay?"

She nodded, arm still throbbing from the attack.

"Someone your size should probably focus on dodging for bigger enemies. Unless you're a giant like Terra, you're probably not blocking much," he joked, throwing another strike at her.

Sky chuckled weakly at the mention of Terra. Zack's words sparked her curiosity. "How did you know Terra?" Sky asked as she dodged. She had heard next to nothing about her friends' adventures. She was finally glad to talk to someone who knew them, too.

"Oh, he saved me from possession," Zack said nonchalantly. "One minute, I'm walking into the coliseum, and when I come to, Terra hit me so hard, he knocked the possession straight out of me."

"O-oh," Sky said, not expecting that kind of answer.

"It's all good now though. I've been training hard so I can be as strong as he is," Zack continued. "Plus, I told Aqua I'd take her on a date when I became a hero."

"Aqua? Date?" Sky nearly stumbled at that. The concept of Aqua dating seemed so foreign to her. The mage was so focused on studying Sky's not even sure Aqua herself considered dating.

"Yep!" Zack beamed, then frowned. "But she's missing, right? Can't take her out if she's gone."

"Uh, yeah…" Sky said.

"Which means we've got to get you ready as soon as possible!"

"Right…"

"Okay! Just a few more reps!" Zack exclaimed, readying his sword again.

'I feel like his goals are a little misplaced,' Sky chuckled and raised Fate's Oracle again.

Sky sighed with contentment as she leaned back on the cool stone of the statue in the coliseum's courtyard. After hours of one-on-one training with Zack, he finally let her break for lunch. Training had left her totally exhausted, muscles aching from the constant blocking and dodging. On top of that, her magic drained her every time she used it. It would definitely take a while before she was ready to be a Keyblade Master.

'I'm definitely sleeping well tonight,' she thought, finishing the last bit of her gyro. Her muscles screamed when she stretched. Closing her eyes, Sky let the cool shade ease her weary body. Maybe she could steal a few minutes of sleep before getting dragged back to training.

"Well, well, well," a voice drawled.

Sky jolted, eyes flying open. She frantically looked around, looking for the source of the voice. Last she checked, she was alone in the courtyard.

"Look who came crawling ba- wait," the voice sounded closer now.

In the blink of an eye, a tall man robed in black materialized from smoke. His skin was a deathly pale gray, as if he had spent most of his time in the shadows. A bright blue flame flickered where his hair should have been, burning steadily like it belonged there.

"Huh, not sure how I got this one wrong." The man squinted at her. "Coulda sworn you were someone else."

"What?" Sky asked, baffled.

"Eh, whatever," he muttered, ignoring her confusion. "Even if it's not him, she's still one of the ones I'm looking for."

"What are you talking about?" Sky demanded, standing up. There was something undeniably off about his man.

"You know Terra, right? Tall guy? Strong? A little moody? Thought you were him," he said.

"How? We're obviously nothing alike," she stated.

"Something, something, something marked with his magic," he waved his hand dismissively. "But hey, since we're here, let me vent a bit. So your buddy Terra was supposed to help me out with a little favor. Had a deal, a solid agreement - and then he went and betrayed me. Can you believe that?"

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like Terra," she said flatly. "I don't think he would help someone like you."

"But it's true! He was all, 'How do I conquer the darkness?' And like the nice guy I am, I offered a bit of help, But nooo, in the end, he bails."

'Okay, maybe that does sound Terra,' Sky thought, recalling the reason he failed his Mark of Mastery exam.

"I don't know about that…" Sky said. "You don't seem very… trustworthy."

"Nonsense! Would I, Hades, Lord of the Dead, lie to you?"

"Yeah, that's even less believable."

He sighed, throwing up his hands. "Nobody trusts anyone anymore. What's this world coming to? But, tell you what, kid - I bet I can help you with something," he thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah! The boy! You know, about yea high, silver hair, striking green eyes?"

Sky's heart skipped a beat. "Riku?"

"Bingo! I don't know where he is now, but I can take you to someone who does," Hades said. "If you do something for me."

Her mind raced. If he could help her find Riku, then maybe-

"Hades!" A voice cut through the air.

"I'm sorry. Did you hear something?" Hades asked, feigning ignorance.

Sky turned toward the courtyard entrance, where a large, muscular man with fiery ginger hair was striding toward them.

"Leave her alone!" The newcomer bellowed, stopping directly between Sky and Hades, his massive frame a protective wall.

"Don't listen to him. Hades lies to get what he wants," the man warned.

"Ugh. How many times do we have to go through this?" Hades groaned dramatically. "I don't lie. Twist the truth maybe, but never lie."

"I don't see how that's any different," the man countered. "What are you even doing here?"

"It's like you don't even know me." Hades glanced over him to look at Sky. "You'd think the mighty Hercules would have it figured out by now."

Hercules stared down Hades, preparing for a fight. "What do you want?"

"Nothing that concerns your pretty little head," Hades said, waving him off like he was an annoying fly. "Me and the kid were just having a friendly chat, that's all."

Sky's eyes darted between the two men, unsure of what to do in this situation. On one hand, Hades seemed to have information on Riku. On the other hand, he clearly had his own agenda. 'Terra didn't even trust him…' she thought, trying to make sense of the situation.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?' She asked.

"No chance you'll take my word for it?"

Her expression remained cold, expecting an answer.

"Fine," Hades threw his hands up. "She can't say I didn't try."

"Huh?" This conversation was giving Sky a headache.

"Listen up, pipsqueak," Hades pointed at her. "I don't know what you did, but the shadows aren't happy with you."

"What does that mean?" Sky blinked, confused.

"If you want to know more, come find me." Hades turned to leave.

"Wait! What about-" Before she could finish, Hades dissipated in smoke. "…Riku."

Sky rubbed her temples. The conversation was so disorienting she wasn't sure what was going on anymore.

"Hey," Hercules said gently. "Don't worry about it. Hades likes to play mind games."

"Yeah… I guess," Sky muttered. "Thanks for the help, by the way."

"No problem! I'm Hercules, by the way," he introduced. "Phil sent me to come find you. Good thing I did, too. Let's head back inside - he wanted to talk to you about something."

Sky nodded, her mind still partially distracted. As she followed Hercules back toward the coliseum lobby, Hades words echoed through her head.

'The shadows…' She thought. What did he mean by that?