Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Part #31

Part 31: Day 117: Secrets

This should be good.

Music: Sacred Moon

*Saix enters*

Tell me what Xion has been doing.

How should I know? I'm not spying on her.

......? But the two of you are close.

So what, now I've gotta rat on my friends to you? Get out of my room, man.

You and Xion will be executing your next mission together.

Yes, sir, thank you, sir. You paid me a personal visit just to tell me that?

......

We, or you?

......

That castle hasn't given up all its secrets. And there's one in particular Lord Xemnas is especially interested in.

You mean the chamber.

We turned that place inside out. If it's there, we're not gonna find it by just looking.

Hmm...

Then let me give you another incentive.

This is normally a revelation, but you should've heard it within the 8 years since this game came out or 5 years since the movie came out. That makes me feel old .

Oh, and I'm not bothering with Namine's proper spelling the same way I don't bother with Saix's.

Huh?

Two of your favorite people.

Still think another visit is a waste of time?

Hmph... Whatever.

You're the one who wants me to go. Don't try and dress it up as a favor.

Hmph.

Let me guess... That chamber will tell you everything you don't know about Xemnas's true agenda. Is that the idea?

The Chamber of Repose, and its antipode, the Chamber of Waking...

Xemnas isn't telling us something. And the missing chamber, the Chamber of Waking-it holds all the answers.

We need those answers to gain the upper hand-for our own reasons.

Hmm... Look, I knew Vexen and Zexion would be obstacles.

And that's why Axel killed Zexion. Revealed 2 games after the actual event. Xemnas' actual plan is revealed 3 games after this.

When have I ever complained about the dirty work?

......

I cleared the way to the top for you. Just do me a favor and don't trip on the way up.

......

A solo mission in Castle Oblivion... Expect the orders soon.

*Saix leaves*

Namine...and Xion?

Team Axel?

Yeah, he and Xion teamed up for the day. Which means they get to work half as hard. Which is so totally unfair.

Today you get to work with me, tiger.

Don't call me "tiger."

Hah! You like "kiddo" better? Or maybe you're mad because Poppet got the best nickname?

Ugh, never mind.

Xigbar is great .

Today we get to go explore a new world together. Pack up, tiger, and let's get moving.

Hooray! We finally get another world!

We have 39 of this.

Oh, here! Take this, man. I owe you at least that much. (Obtained: Power Tech)

How come I don't get a nickname...?

Demyx continues to give us our first synthesis item of its kind.

Additional goods can be had at the shop now. I've also authorized you to synthesize your own weapon panels-a skill I suggest you acquire.

Our rank has been upgraded from Novice to Rookie. This unlocks Xion as a playable character in Mission Mode, not that it matters right now.

Plus, it earns you the right to synthesize weapon panels, kupo! You should try it, kupo. Synthesized weapon panels are stronger than the ones you buy or earn as rewards, kupo.

More importantly, new items are sold in shops!

I bought the Slot Releaser, Level Up and Backpack for obvious reasons.

It's immediately bought. And the Range Extender too, I guess.

All weapon synthesis needs 3 Gear Component A, which we only have 3 of because we did the Antlion mission last. And all of them requires 3 of them. I'm sticking with Chrono Gear for reason that will be obvious later.

I managed to fit every ability and levels, but I can't fit any items. Those empty slots hurts me.

I'm sticking with Soldier Ring for Combo Boost.

Anyway, our mission. It's a recon mission with Xigbar. Let's just hope Roxas doesn't bail on Xigbar this time.

New Music: Olympus Coliseum

What are we investigating?

We're investigating what's to investigate. Maybe there's new recruits around.

New recruits? What kind of people does the Organization look for?

You should know this already, since you've been with them for almost 4 months.

Nobodies.

You mean...with a capital N.

Bingo. You know somebody turns into a Heartless if the darkness gets their heart, right? Well, say this person's heart is strong-real strong. Sometimes, you wind up with a sort of byproduct: a Nobody. Take the strongest of those-the real cream of the crop-stick 'em in a room, and you've got us: the Organization.

I'm still waiting for Scar's Nobody.

I didn't know everybody was such an elite...

That's why you shouldn't bash on Demyx. He's an elite, even if he's lazy.

Heh heh... Elite? As if.

You and Xion are the real exceptional ones.

What? Why?

New Music: Go for It!

Wuh-oh. Looks like conversation hour's over. Time to tidy up, Roxas.

The Flare Note dies instantly by Blizzard. Its attacks is the same as Loudmouth, which is healing and shooting out Fire instead of Aero.

The other Heartless, Li'l Cannon, attacks by shooting cannons. There's a target shown, but avoiding them is kinda hard since the timing is tight. They're immune to Fire, but not to Aero, which is why I swapped Fire with Aero.

Music: Olympus Coliseum

Huh?

C'mon, hop to it. You wanna be a hero, and that takes time.

What? But I'm-

Here to train, I know! Save you breath, kid. You're gonna need it.

By the way, nice moves back there. Here told me you had potential.

Gotta hand it to him, he's got an eye for talent! I don't coach just anybody, ya know.

Hope you came ready to sweat, kid!

Um, no!? I think you've got the wrong guy. Xigbar, tell him-

Xigbar!

Your fighting's better than your standup routine, kid. Stick to what you know. You got a name?

Um, Roxas.

Okay, Roxas. I gotta go double check the training equipment.

Meet me inside the Coliseum when you're ready-and don't take all day!

Wow, Roxas. Moonlighting as a wannabe hero now?

To hide, duh! In case you forgot, the Organization runs a stealth operation.

Well, yeah, but...

Still, this worked out pretty well, wouldn't you say?

How do you figure that?

You don't have to sneak around now that you're one of them. I'm sure you'll be the best wannabe hero they've ever had.

You don't have to sneak around if you don't insist on wearing that black coat.

Wannabe? What's that supposed to mean?

Heh, what indeed?

Xigbar, don't you dare!

As if, I jsut don't want to get in the way of your valuable training. I care about your future, Roxas.

*Xigbar bails on us.*

Ugh, fine. I'll handle this myself. I should do some recon here first, before heading into the Coliseum.

You know what a recon mission means: a long update.

If we talk to Phil before investigating...

All right, let's get started. You ready?

Uhh... (Hmm, I'm not finished with my recon.)

What? You forget to tie your sandals? Get a move on! Every second counts. I'll be waitin' for ya right here.

Roxas is wearing a boot, not sandals.

There are a bunch of names on the board with numbers next to them-some kind of leaderboard?

Columns around the door... Maybe this is some kind of temple? They use lightning bolts as a symbol.

What are all these leaderboards for?

It looks like a leaderboard... First place: "Sora." Hunh.

Looks like Sora winning Pegasus Cup is common.

It's a leaderboard... First place: "Hercules." Hmm...

Sadly, Sora winning Hercules Cup isn't.

On an unrelated note, the chest has a Lightning Shard.

The statues, the architecture... Everything about this place is amazing.

I have to jump to touch this statue's knees. Good thing no real warriors are this tall!

Are those- Yeah, those are clouds right outside the window! Where is this place!?

That's all to examine Outside the Coliseum. Let's head inside.

Look at all these trophies... This one here definitely outshines them all. I saw these lightning bolt symbols on the doors outside...

This isn't actually a thing to examine, it's just a place to check your score. Beginner Course: 0p is the only thing written there. Yes, we're going to be training multiple times.

This trophy looks different from the others.

This trophy is shaped like a shield.

There's a trophy sitting here... This one's kind of elaborate... Are those horns?

some kind of temple.

It's certainly built like one. But hold on... What are all the trophies for, then? God of the Year? No, they hold some kind of sporting event here. The winners were listed on the boards outside.

some kind of arena.

That would explain all the trophies. They look like something you'd win in a sporting event. Plus, those boards outside... Those must be the winners.

Both choices converge here.

Who was the guy who came in first again?

Hercules?

Yeah, one of the boards definitely said, "Hercules." I guess he's the toughest guy in town. Wonder what he's like...

Soracles?

Sora...cles? Hmm, I'd better double-check. Saix will get mad if I tell him the wrong name.

Both choices converge here.

Anyway, it seems kind of quiet for an arena. I don't hear any cheering. The competition must be over for now. So much for sneaking into the stands... If I wanna do anymore recon, I'll have to pretend I'm here to train. ...... Well, it couldn't hurt to try... Could it?

The chest has a Gear Component A. Obviously, there's going to be more kinds of Gear Component. Now that we're done, let's talk to Phil.

Music: Go for It!

Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said the Organization ripped off Phil's training.

You hit the barrel to launch them. The hit that will launch them is the same as the hit that will destroy the jar, which is the second hit for Chrono Gear. This is why I used it, since most of the others took 3 hits to launch the barrels. You can see them on the minimap. You have 1 minute to get as many points as possible.

The red barrel will explode when hit by other barrels. The explosion is normally far enough that Roxas isn't caught in the blast, so I don't know if it will damage him or not.

Destroyed barrel will give out points. No Nobodies are going to appear from them.

Destroying a barrel starts a chain, and continuing that chain will give increasing points.

I'm pretty sure the points will be automatically collected so you don't actually need Treasure Magnet for this. Still, I equipped it just to be safe.

Music: Olympus Coliseum

Next time, I want you to go for 200 points.

200 points, huh? No thanks. Not worth it.

...

And that's it. Roxas just put his hand on his head like any embarrassed anime male protagonist. Like I said, not worth it, so pretend I didn't spend 4 minutes to get this. If you get low points...

0 points... Well, we'll just hope you got a steep learning curve. Next time, go for 100 points minimum!

Anyway, we don't want to do the training anymore.

Not too bad for your first time in the Coliseum.

Keep up this pace, and you'll do just fine, kid!

Which is good, because we need all the help we can get...

Help with what? Why are you looking for new people to train here, anyway?

I guess you could say we're understaffed.

So there aren't any strong people around here?

What are you, crazy!? We got ourselves a bona fide hero!

The champ in these parts is my prize student. Maybe you've seen him in the Coliseum before?

Do you even have any other student? Beside Sora and Roxas, I mean.

What does he do here?

Wait, are you sayin' you signed up for hero training without even knowing what the Games are!?

Oy... Lemme break it down easy for ya, kid. There's a hero and a ginormous monster...

They fight, people come to watch, and that is what this whole place is for!

At least until those Heartless started showin' up in droves.

With back-toback matches in the Games and taking out the Heartless, out champ's been workin' way too much.

Are you sure he isn't tired because he's dealing with Meg?

So the Games are like a tournament? Do I get to enter?

You? In the Games!? Ahh ha ha ha!

What's so funny about that?

I got two words for you, kid.

Hey! I beat up Heartless just fine!

I saw stands all around that arena. People must come to watch. I wonder if they'd let me compete if I kept up with the training. Either way, I think I can RTC now. I've had a pretty good look around.

Obviously we're not done yet. It's time to examine ~~more things~~ the same things as before.

These must be trophies for the Games.

Are these actual trophies? Do the winners not get to take them home?

That's all in the Coliseum Vestibule, so let's go outside.

Outside, Roxas and Hercules walk past each other.

It's about time, Herc. That new trainee you scouted showed up already.

Really? Wow. He said it would take him awhile to get here. He must've made record time!

He probably just couldn't wait to start training with yours truly. Not that I can blame him.

The kid's got guts, I'll give him that. Wait'll you hear this...

If we try to go back inside, neither Phil nor Hercules will be inside. We can't go to The Coliseum itself, so they're probably there.

Let me just double check... Okay, first place was Hercules. Got it.

You know, if you memorize the Pegasus Cup's winner instead of Hercules Cup's, it'll save you from wondering who the heck Sora is later in the game.

Now I know why they have these big warrior statues out front. What's with the swords, though? Do you have to use a sword in the Games?

And if people are competing to see who's strongest, then Xigbar was right. We might be able to use some of them. Wonder how long it'll be before the next one... We'll, I'm sure I'll be back. Especially with Heartless on the loose. I should RTC. I don't want Xigbar to think I'm having too much fun here.