Olympus Coliseum
First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS (2002)
Origin: Hercules (1997)
The appearance of the Hooded Unknown and Data Sora in the Disney Castle Library took King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy by surprise, but they are even more shocked when a swirl of data reveals the Hooded Unknown's identity: Riku, or rather, the Journal itself in Riku's form. It is revealed that the Journal has been using the memories within itself and bound them together where they were once strewn apart, but because of the Data Bugs, the restoration could not be completed. Out of all available memories, Data Riku was chosen to be a vessel to hold these memories, and he has involved everyone present to solve the mystery behind the message: "Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it" by dragging them into the Data World. Meanwhile, Chip and Dale are left behind in the real library, and they discover that something is hacking into the data, causing the path connecting the data to reality to be taken away. At this rate, it would be impossible to escape the data world. It is only by destroying the Bugs would the group be able to find another path to reality. Sora does not understand what is going on and is slightly worried about him and Riku being made of data and thus, artificial. Consoled however when Riku tells him that that it doesn't matter what they are, but what they do, Sora takes it upon himself to continue clearing the Bugs within the Journal.
Sora arrives at Olympus Coliseum, where Riku tells him to find the Keyhole since it is linked to the center of the world, and clearing the corruption within it will fix this world. The Coliseum's trainer, Phil, is worried about the appearance of Data Bugs in the Coliseum, which has been turned into a maze due to the power of the force behind this world's corruption, which is stronger than anything Sora has ever encountered before. The great hero Hercules has gone to investigate the source of this chaos, but he still hasn't come back. Phil is reluctant to let a kid like Sora enter the maze to check up on Hercules, but upon seeing his combat abilities, he is allowed inside. Sora destroys several blocks, revealing the Keyhole, and uses it to enter the Coliseum.
Acting on memos left behind by Hercules, Sora ventures into the heart of maze. It turns out that Hades, God of the Underworld, is using the maze to his advantage in his attempt to drag Hercules into the Underworld, but is not bothered by Sora as the maze is designed to trap even a hero. However, he develops cold feet when Sora finds Hercules, and the two heroes decide to work together, combining Hercules's great strength and fighting capabilities with Sora's powers and knowledge. Enter Cloud, a warrior who has been distancing himself from his painful past and his powerlessness, believing that helping Hades defeat Hercules would open the path to the next world and allow him to learn about the Secret of the Heroes, which would help him atone for past sins. Fortunately, Cloud is unable to defeat Sora and Hercules. Deeming him a failure, Hades attempts to kill Cloud, revealing that he has been lying to the warrior all along and that he is not responsible for the corruption. The maze has another Guardian, one so powerful that Hades believes even Hercules would ultimately fall against him. Hades decides to stand by the sidelines and see how long before they 'kick the bucket'.
Although Cloud is determined to not involve Sora and Hercules in his solitary quest for redemption, he later agrees to go along in order to repay his debt to them for saving his life. Eventually, the group reaches the lair of Cerberus, Guardian of the Underworld and source of the corruption. Before the group rushes in for the fight, Hercules gives Sora the Secret of the Heroes: No matter what happens, always believe in your friends. Once Cerberus is defeated and the Coliseum is returned to normal, Hades attacks them, but Sora's confidence that heroes would always win at the end no matter how bad things look allows them to emerge victorious. Cloud leaves without a proper goodbye, but enlists Phil to give the Hero and Future Hero a message: Thanks. Although Sora is deemed a potential Hero and is given the opportunity to protect Olympus with Hercules, he claims that he has friends waiting for him at home.
With the reduction of the Bugs, Riku is able to search his memory of each world more clearly as hidden memories buried deep within the Journal replay on the computer monitor. Just as Sora is about to progress to the next world, a familiar figure appears before him: Pete, henchman of the dark sorceress Maleficent.
