//------------------------------//
// Heartless: Hero Training 
// Story: Kingdom Hearts: The World's Reluctant Heroes 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Following their visit to Tarzan's world, which Fluttershy had taken to calling 'Deep Jungle', the group continued on their way as Sora reported that they seemed to be heading back in the direction of Traverse Town, though there was another world on the way there, or at least the scanners seemed to indicate such a thing. Sombra found that Fluttershy had to spend some time in the other world with Sabor, telling the leopard to not eat the rabbits that were tending to the field, where the cat seemed to understand what she was being told and made Fluttershy happy with this discovery. While she did that both she and the rabbits tended to the field that they were working on, where she had a smile on her face as they added a number of seeds to the ground, as Jane had insisted on them taking some items with them, food items and even a pair of cooking books that she handed to Sombra. One of them happened to be recipes that one might find at a family gathering or in an ordinary life, while the other happened to be full of recipes that were focused on baking and deserts, something she could look up on later, once they had more supplies for her to work with.

While Radiant joined Fluttershy in their world, however, Sombra returned to her room and shut the door behind her for a time, where she held a hand out and summoned the two fragmented heart pieces she had recovered so far, both filled with dark negative energy while having a piece of one's being inside them, such as the sense of wonder and desire. It was an interesting thing to discover, that someone could be so powerful that their heart would be fragmented like this and still have such wonderful power, and yet she knew that where there were two pieces, not a coincidence, there was bound to be a third and maybe even a fourth. Such a thing caused her to make the fragments float around her for a time, while also pulling out a few of the hearts she had captured so far, allowing her to study both and make some comparisons while everyone else was distracted by moving towards another world. The pieces belonged to some powerful figure whose heart had been lost to the darkness, though it was also fragmented and all of the pieces had been scattered across the worlds of the World, though it was weird to have found two of them so close to each other.

In the end she returned all of the hearts, fragmented and whole, to their respective places in her collection, allowing her to focus other things, mostly studying the other thing they got while visiting Tarzan's world, a new spell had appeared in her tome, the Cure spell, something that would allow them to heal themselves or each other without having to use a potion while in the middle of a fight.

With that thought in mind she focused on one of the walls of the ship and held a hand out, where she found that the odd material seemed to understand what she was thinking about as an opening appeared before her eyes, forming a large area that looked a lot like Merlin's training area. Sombra's reasoning for this was due to the fact that they had no idea how long the journey from world to world would be, so this would allow them to prepare and be ready for whatever the future held for them, which she was sure the others would appreciate later on. As she thought about that Sombra returned to the kitchen for a time and started preparing a light supper for everyone to enjoy, where she mixed some of the food that Jane had given them into what they had and what Fluttershy provided, giving them a filling light meal. While she worked, however, the ship came to a stop somewhere safe, as Sora made sure to put his lessons on flying it to use and made sure they were out of harms way when it came time to sleep, allowing everyone to gather near Sombra without delay.

Other than that there wasn't too much for them to be distracted by, where Sombra found that the others did use her new training area, all while she assumed that the World might have understood what she was doing and aided her, and on the morning of the third day they found the next world they would be exploring, what appeared to be a coliseum with golden or brass statues of warriors outside the main gates.

"A coliseum... an actual fighting arena." Sombra remarked, speaking as they warped down to the world's surface after Sora put the ship into it's protective mode, where she smiled for a moment as she wondered if their foes would be Heartless, instead of other warriors from this world.

"So does this mean we'll be fighting all the time in this world?" Sora inquired, where he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, though if they fought against the Heartless he figured it was a good thing, since it would be good practice for whatever the other worlds might throw at them in the near future, causing him to glance at the area as he found that the ground was sand, there were large statues everywhere, and lit braziers.

"Most likely... and, depending on how large the arena is, my bow will be useless." Radiant said, which meant that this had to be the world where she revealed her Keyblade to the others, since Sora, Donald, and Goofy had no idea there was a third blade in their group, potentially four if Sombra was hiding one from everyone, something she suspected was true since she and Fluttershy had their own.

"I hope this is like our visit to Tarzan's place, a nice trip without any Heartless." Fluttershy added, telling the others what her opinion on the situation was, though at the same time she was as ready as she could possibly be, since there was no telling what sort of dangers or trials might be waiting for them this time around.

The group, finding nothing to do outside the structure that was in front of them, entered the coliseum's lobby, finding that it was a decent size, had places that trophies could be stored in, a fairly large stone block resting on one side, and what looked to be a short half goat figure working on a sign, as his lower body was furred and ended in hooves.

"You got good timing as always. Give me a hand, will ya? I need you to move that pedestal over there... got to get this place spruced up for the games." the creature said, pointing at the block that they had spotted upon entering the area, which was followed by Sora walking over to the stone and making an attempt to push it out of the way, only to find that it didn't move at all, as if it weighed far more than anything else he had encountered so far.

"Man, this thing is far too heavy." Sora remarked, something that caused the others to walk over and make an attempt to push it out of the way, all save for Sombra, because if the others couldn't do it she wasn't about to waste time pushing on a stone that was resting there for a good reason, as she was sure it was hiding this world's Keyhole.

The creature, surprised by such a statement, continued to assume that someone else was in the chamber with him as he turned to face them, only to be caught off guard as he found the six of them standing there, meaning he was expecting one person and not a bunch of strangers. He confirmed that this was a coliseum, a so called 'world famous' one at that, and that, according to him, this place was only available to heroes, something Sombra found to be stupid, because if what he said was true then this place wouldn't be famous at all, it would be forgotten as people sought out more welcoming arenas to battle in or watch battles in. With that in mind he also informed them that his time was already tied up with the preparations for the games, so he didn't want to deal with 'pip-squeaks' like them, and when he noticed the frown on Sora's face he told all of them that heroes were apparently coming from all over to compete in the games, to fight ferocious monsters. Apparently he thought that none of them were hero material, as if he was focusing on Sora and no one else, though it only made Sombra wonder if he had some past experiences with travelers like them and that he knew what to do when talking to people like them when they showed up.

Such a thing made Sombra think for a moment, because if there were travelers before them, which she suspected there had to be given how Leon's group reacted to her information on the Keyblades, something that caused her to nod to Sora as he held a hand out and summoned the Kingdom Key.

"As you can see, we have a Keyblade wielder among our ranks. Should be more than enough for you, right?" Sombra asked, because if she was right, and she had a feeling that she was, than this had to be the key that would chance the creature's mind on allowing them to fight in the arena.

"Oh no, not one of those things again! Three of you came through ten years ago, get tricked by Hades into entering the games, and then disappear like you never existed!" the creature stated, as if the previous wielders had done something bad before leaving for another world, though Sombra really doubted that being tricked by someone really counted toward his anger for people with Keyblades, "You know what kid, you remind me of the runt of their group... similar hair style and look to boot, name was Ventus... maybe an older brother or something. His friends were called Terra and Aqua. Ring any bells?"

"I swear I've heard the names, but... none of this is ringing any bells." Sora replied, though as he raised his hand for a few seconds, letting it rest above his heart, Sombra understood that he must have been really young when the old wielders visited his planet, hence why he didn't remember what the creature was talking about, "However, I can't shake the feeling that I've been to someplace like this before."

The creature, introducing himself as Philoctetes, or Phil for short, and that he was a satyr, though he spent the new couple of minutes studying each of them, judging them as to whether or not they were worthy of being heroes, and right now he had Sora, Donald, and Goofy in the 'no' category. He seemed undecided on what to make of both Fluttershy and Radiant, though when it came to Sombra, who was the furthest thing from a hero, Phil seemed to think that she had the ability to be a heroine of the highest caliber, to the point where she might be on Hercules' level. The look in his eyes, however, told Sombra all she needed to know, there was something about her new body that Phil was drawn to, despite the fact that both of her companions from her world were similar, but Sombra was able to use that to her advantage by convincing Phil to allow them to train with him for a time. They wanted to compete in the games, that was a true statement, but since the satyr didn't seem to like the others too much she figured that he could afford to instruct them and maybe have them spar for a time, especially since having new recruits might be good for those who watched the games.

Phil, despite what he said to Sora, was willing to go along with Sombra's idea and ushered them through the opening that was on the other side of the chamber, leading them to an outer area that had a fairly large stage in the center of it, stands on both sides that were empty at the moment, and barrels off to the side that could be moved however they needed. His method of training, as it turned out, was to have the stage shift, sections raising and forming platforms for people to use in an effort to prove themselves to him and to any other recruits that happened to be here. With that in mind he had them take turns running different courses, taking in the bodies of the people that were in front of him and arranging things to test them, though he also had a challenge for them, that being that they had to take down the barrels in a certain amount of time, least he judge them negatively. Sombra figured it was a reasonable request, because if they couldn't handle this simple test there was no way they could handle the actual arena and whatever foes they ended up fighting against, while at the same time Phil cheered them on and encouraged the others, along with offering criticism to make sure they knew where to improve.

Sombra knew that Phil wasn't expecting them to be anything great, though the satyr did his best to hold in his surprise as the group demonstrated their skills to him, because after dealing with the hazards of three worlds, each different from the others, they had gained some decent experience, until it was her turn. Sombra smiled as she summoned her scythe as she focused on the barrels that were around them, as Phil told everyone that the timer would only start when they moved, so it gave her time to plot her course, before an even better idea came to mind. The rule was that they only had to destroy the barrels and he had allowed them to use whatever powers they deemed appropriate, hence why Fluttershy had flown around while using magic and Radiant used her arrows, or how Goofy had bounced his shield around the barrels, causing her to focus on her dark magic for a time. As she shifted her stance Radiant paused as she noticed the darkness coming from her eyes, a familiar eerie power that many in their home world feared with all their heart, something that the rest of their group noticed as well, since this was the first time Sombra was using it in front of Sora's group.

Phil's jaw dropped as he watched what happened next, as Sombra took a step forward and vanished, which was swiftly followed by slashes appearing on all of the barrels that had been set up for her, and when she reappeared at the edge of the arena and swung her scythe the targets were broken instantly, setting a record that no one could beat.

"So, Phil, are we heroes in your eyes?" Sombra asked, because while she was sure the majority of them didn't measure up to the heroes of this world, hence the training to prove themselves, everything they had done should have told him that they were willing to put forth the time and effort to reach the level he was after.

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say. Here, I'll even throw in a new spell for you to practice." Phil replied, confirming something Sombra had thought, the satyr was very attracted to the opposite gender and when he saw someone he liked he seemed to do everything in his power to make them happy, so while it was a little gross to be viewed in such a way she was fine with it, as this meant they could get around whatever hoops he wanted them to jump through.

The spell he granted them was the Thunder spell, an interesting spell for sure that seemed to have an area that it struck, meaning it could hit multiple targets if they wanted it to do so, and he handed over paper tickets that he called 'Entry Passes', thus allowing them to enter whatever games happened to be going on. Sombra was sure they had broken some rule by getting Phil to hand them over without much effort, but she wasn't too worried about that, especially since the satyr allowed them to enter the preliminaries of the games that would be starting in the next few minutes. With that piece of information in mind they regrouped in a waiting area and recovered from their short training, where everyone was very happy with what had happened, since it meant they could show Phil that his trust in them wasn't misplaced, but he made sure to tell them that some 'real weirdos' had signed up. The group glanced at each other for a few moments as each of them understood what that meant, the Heartless had to be here and a hidden villain was the one responsible for them entering the games, meaning they would have to fight them to reach the finals.

Sure enough when Phil called for them to fight in the arena, where Sombra was sure it was for people performing for the gods themselves, they discovered that it was definitely a bunch of Heartless, Soldiers and Nocturnes to be exact, which all of them were fine with as they prepared for battle.

Radiant, true to her word, switched her bow for her Keyblade as she slashed through one of the Soldiers, surprising both Donald and Goofy in the process, since this made three wielders in their group, and caused them to glance at Sombra for a moment, as if expecting her to pull one out at some point, causing her to shake her head in a 'no' manner. It was a fair thing for them to think, that the three newcomers were all wielders and that two were hiding their weapons until now, but Sombra was the odd one out of the group, no Keyblade to speak of, though her scythe was more than enough as her foes fell before her might. Of course this presented a good opportunity for her to capture more hearts before they escaped, so while she joined the others in taking care of their enemies her dark power made sure to snatch every single heart that was released from the Heartless, which would no doubt annoy the villain lurking in the shadows. Other than that there wasn't much for them to worry about as they cleared out the first group of enemies with ease, allowing them to rest for a couple of moments before having to worry about the next match Phil had in store for them.

Such a thing allowed them to see a young man, roughly around Leon's age, who had a flowing red cape, a yellow claw on his left hand, along with a black demonic wing on the left side of his back, though he carried a buster sword into battle, one that had bandages all over it, a blond haired warrior that Phil told them was called 'Cloud'. Phil also told them that they wouldn't be able to watch him fight at all, the games had two arenas for the two halves of the tournament, so while this one was the one that Sora's group would be fighting in the other one was where Cloud would be clashing with his own foes. With that in mind they continued to fight the Heartless that were sent against them, more of the minor and lesser foes like Shadows and Soldiers, plus some Nocturnes mixed into some of the groups, all while Phil mentioned how he wished that Hercules, the greatest hero he had trained, was here to see them in action. There was even a Large Body in one of the groups, causing them to deal with all of the smaller enemies before worrying about it, but other than that they really had nothing to worry about when they found that their foes were just the smaller and weaker Heartless.

Eventually they reached the moment that they were interested in, them going up against Cloud, who seemed like he was dealing with his own problems, though at the same time he held his weapon at the ready before coming at them, showing that he was more than ready for a fight. Sora was pushed backwards before he even had a chance to do anything to this foe, meaning he was far more experienced than any of them thought, but that was fine with Sombra as she used the edge of her scythe's head to block the incoming attack. She had to admit that this wasn't an easy thing to do, the buster sword had a lot of power behind it, which Cloud was swinging around like it was a stick or a regular sword, though she was glad to do such a thing, as powerful foes were good for them to make sure they were growing. Everyone else stood back for a moment as the pair clashed with each other, weapons meeting as sparks flew, where Sombra could tell that Cloud was in the middle of testing her, like he was trying to figure out how she could use such potent darkness and not get lost inside it's vast darkness.

Before they could go too far into the fight, however, a large black three headed dog appeared on the other end of the arena and growled at them as it knocked Cloud into the floor, only to promptly surrender as Fluttershy got him to roll onto his back so she could rub his belly.

"Man you guys are weird... though I guess we'll have to put the games on hold for now." Phil remarked, though he had no idea what to make of the situation he had found himself in, with junior heroes, as he was going to call them until he was sure they were ready to be called 'heroes', decimating his games to the point that he needed something better for them to fight, not to mention one of them, the weakest in his opinion, taming Cerberus of all creatures, making her the second of the six in his mind now, "Well then, um... congrats, junior heroes."

Sombra could only chuckle as she saw the scene that was in front of her, as Fluttershy was definitely making things more interesting for all of them, all while helping Cloud onto his feet after using Cure on him, though this only made them far more eager to see what the future held for them.