Kingdom Hearts - Destiny Vault - WilyGryphon (2024)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chapter Text

The figure passed rows of bookshelves. He strolled up the staircase, which curved to the right as it went up. When he reached the top, he stepped off onto the green-tiled floor and perused the bookshelf to his right. His eyes rested on a book with an ornately-designed black cover. On the spine read a Latin title: “Historia Omnia”— “The History of All”. He used two fingers to slide the flanking books to the side, then grabbed the black book and pulled it off of the shelf. He sat down at the reading table, placed the book in front of him and turned on the reading lamp. Placing his index finger on the underside, he tipped the book up at an angle so he can get a look at the open end where he can see the pages. He smirked at what he saw.

There was a latch pinning the last section of pages to the back cover, preventing him from opening to that section.

The man had read through to the end of the book years ago, and had checked again several times since, finding the latch newly sealed every few years, sometimes even months after he last unlocked it. A locked section of the book indicated that a new chapter had been written in history. The last time he had to unlock a new chapter was more than one year ago, and he checked the book four times since.

He had been listening to the affairs in his own world in between those intervals of time. The last time a new chapter appeared, it was shortly after the shadows were driven out.

Ah, that was an exceptional day… he mused.

It was in the old guard tower when he first saw it. Looking up into the morning sky, he saw a fuzzy silhouette appear, floating high above. A light emitted from the silhouette and shot down to a position not far from his base. That was when he knew that the chapter was coming to a close.

Nearly a decade before then, the shadows had overtaken the castle, so even the scholarly hermit who studied there beneath the noses of the wise man and his disciples had to flee. For years, he studied the stars from an old guard tower, one of the few still standing after the invasion, one which overlooked the area where the water rose up the surrounding cliff and proceeded a more natural course out into the world. Sometimes he looked up at night to find that the picture above was shy a few crystals of warmth, while other times he saw one or two of the dots twinkle brighter than usual and then wink out. He did not worry about the state of the universe. Whatever those stars were, they were insignificant in the grand scheme of this era of the universe. It was the stars that still shone that defined the course of events, as there were a few individuals who lived there that would come to shape history.

If one looked closely enough, he might see that some stars are slightly brighter than others at times. Of course, the light of each individual star always shone with equal brightness, it was the light of its inhabitants that made the difference. The scholar wondered what his world would look like to the others, how bright its star would shine.

One fateful night, he looked up at the night sky and saw one of the brighter stars begin to twinkle brighter than before. He was prepared to mark it down as another casualty to the shadows as the force of nature spread across the worlds, but took interest when he saw a thin dart of light shoot out from the star and soar through the sky, following a straight path right into a different star. A moment later, the first star’s light died down until it was gone.

The scholar, bewildered, ran over to his table and studied his star chart. He came to conclude which world had just had its light snuffed out: it was called Destiny Islands, at least according to the Book. He then drew a line on the chart with his finger to locate the star that the strange dart went to. He was intrigued, as this was a star that had not been on the map until nine years ago, shortly after the shadows came to this world. He had concluded that this new world may have come into existence because several worlds were being compromised by the shadows, their stars being extinguished and the worlds themselves fading into the darkness. As a result, what was left of these worlds came together to create a new one, a refugee camp for those who survived the destruction of their worlds.

On that day, he examined his book and found that the latch had reappeared, closing off the last section of pages.

The chapter in which the worlds were being extinguished had ended, and a new chapter was beginning.

He looked up into the night sky, deciding that perhaps the world that had just been snuffed out may have been the most important one in the sky.

Now, as the mass above the world sent down its beam, he noticed three figures materializing on a platform within the Rising Falls. The two standing on either side were inconsequential, as he saw it, but the one in the middle had such a strong light. He was shorter than he might have expected from a hero, but that detail merely confirmed his suspicions about the world from which he came: few worlds have a food supply that is satisfactory for the well-being of their inhabitants while stunting their ultimate height, and the island world with the star-shaped fruit tree was one of them. He saw the spiky-haired boy’s strength of heart, and also sensed that he possessed a power that stood separate but went hand in hand with it, and he knew for sure that he was the one who was sent to the refugee world, the one whose introduction to the plot marked the beginning of a new chapter.

Yes, whatever happened that day would bring about the end of this chapter in history, and the scholar will be able to learn exactly what transpired over the last few months.

That was the day when the Hero of Light arrived on his world, and a few days later the castle was liberated, as the former refugees of this world returned to restore what the shadows destroyed. The man had decided to wait out a few more days while the returning soldiers explored the castle, and he ultimately returned to his hideout in the castle after all citizens, save for the wise man and his disciples, returned on the same day that the stars blinked back into existence. That was the day when he checked the Book to read that latest chapter.

Now, there was another chapter to open.

He decided to reread the previous chapter to refresh his memory before delving into the new one, as he was certain that the new chapter was influenced by the same boy that influenced the last one.

He opened the book, using the thumb of his left hand as an anchor point off of which he pushed up every page in front of the latch. He opened the palm of his right hand and placed it flat in the middle of the open book. The text shimmered with the colors of the rainbow, then the individual letters launched themselves off of the pages, accompanied by a mighty gust of wind that caused the sleeve of the man’s robe to flutter. The letters shaped into individual words and then rearranged themselves several more times as they swirled around the man. White mist spewed from the book, filling the room and blotting out everything from his view. Images appeared in the mist, depicting events from the previous chapter.

He saw a trio of teenagers sitting on the horizontal trunk of a tree bearing star-shaped fruit:

“But how far will a raft take us?”

“Who knows? If we have to, we’ll think of something else.”

“So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?”

“Well I haven’t really thought about it. It’s just, I’ve always wondered why we’re here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one? And suppose there are other worlds… Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So, we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right?”

“I don’t know.”

“Exactly. That’s why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won’t change a thing. It’s the same old stuff. So let’s go.”

A cave filled with chalk drawings, with an odd wooden door in the back corner:

“This world has been connected.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?”

“Tied to the darkness… soon to be completely eclipsed.”

“Well, whoever you are, stop freaking me out like this. Huh? Where did you come from?”

“You do not yet know what lies beyond the door.”

“So you’re from another world!”

“There is so very much to learn. You understand so little.”

“Oh yeah? Well you’ll see. I’m gonna get out and learn what’s out there!”

“A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.”

A jungle cave where one could hear the sound of waterfalls reverberating through the cavern.

The far wall is covered in butterflies, which flutter away as six figures approach, revealing a keyhole-shaped indentation in the wall. The spiky-haired boy in front summons what appeared to be a giant key and holds it up, pointing it at the keyhole. A beam of light emits from the tip and goes straight into the keyhole, causing the indentation to be consumed in a bright light. A piece of a strange material shaped like one quarter of a sphere pops out of the hole. The light dies down, but instead of revealing the hole again, the space is occupied by nothing but rock wall.

An underground cave with ornately-carved columns and monkey-shaped statues holding large colorful gems. In a crevasse in the far wall, a platform leads up to a specially-carved wall with another keyhole in the middle. Standing on that platform are a horned witch wearing black robes and a dignified-looking man wearing robes with a cape and a staff that resembles a snake. A young woman in a light blue outfit is lying unconscious on the floor. Not far off, a large blue figure with a wispy tail floats dejectedly. The three heroes that arrived that day more than a year ago charge in to confront them, joined by a young man wearing a purple vest, a red fez hat and white pants that become baggy toward the bottom before closing back up at the ankles.

“Wait a second. Are you- Maleficent?”

The witch conjures a portal of shrouded darkness and steps through. The portal closes up, and the witch is gone.

“Jafar, let Jasmine go!”

“Not a chance. You see, she’s a princess—one of seven who somehow hold the key to opening the door.”

On the deck of a pirate ship, the spiky-haired hero stands at the end of the plank hanging off of the ship, egged on to jump by the shadows taking the form of pirates, accompanied by an older human who appears to be one of the pirates. In the water below the plank, a crocodile has its jaws open, eagerly awaiting its incoming treat. The hero’s companions are surrounded, standing with their hands raised in surrender.

“Fly Sora! Just believe, and you can do it.”

The boy jumps backward off of the plank, and just as the crocodile is about to snap its jaws shut and consume him, he soars up and flies over the deck, landing safely.

In the grand hall of the castle in which the scholar resides, the boy approaches a girl who appears to be his age— one of his friends from his island home —who is lying catatonic. One of his companions joins him, but the other runs into an invisible barrier and falls back, dazed. Overlooking the stage that they are on is a massive structure shaped somewhat like a classic heart design, with an aura of swirling colorful energy and chaotic streams of electricity flowing within. Sitting on top of that is the boy’s other friend from the islands, this time wearing a dark blue armor meant to resemble a human muscle structure, with a design shaped exactly like the structure emblazoned on the chest and what appears to be a white-and-blue hula skirt around the waist. This young man is carrying something that vaguely resembles the hero’s weapon, though much more sinister-looking.

“Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!”

“It’s no use. That girl has lost her heart. She cannot wake up.”

The boy lets the girl lie back down as he stands up to face what appears to be his friend. “What? You… You’re not Riku.”

“The Keyhole cannot be completed so long as the last princess of heart still sleeps.” The figure taking the form of the boy’s friend floats down to the ground.

“The princess…? Kairi’s a princess?”

“Yes, and without her power, the Keyhole will remain incomplete. It is time she awakened.”

“Whoever you are, let Riku go! Give him back his heart!”

“But first, you must give the princess back her heart.”

Something within the boy reacts. He puts his hand to his chest in pain and collapses to his knees.

“Sora!” The boy’s companion is concerned, checking to see if he is okay.

“What’s--?”

“Don’t you see yet? The princess’s heart is responding. It has been there all along. Kairi’s heart rests within you!”

“Kairi… Kairi’s inside me?”

“I know all that there is to know.”

“Tell me. Who are you?”

“It is I, Ansem, the seeker of darkness.” He approaches the boy. The boy’s companion charges at the enemy to attack, but the enemy calmly swats him aside, knocking him off of the platform and outside the barrier. He points his weapon at the boy. “So, I shall release you now, princess. Complete the Keyhole with your power. Open the door, lead me into everlasting darkness!”

The enemy raises his weapon to strike the boy, but a light blinks through his chest, doubtless a cry from the princess’s heart pushing the boy to fight back, and the spiky-haired hero raises his own weapon to block his foe’s sword.

“Forget it! There’s no way you’re taking Kairi’s heart!”

Minutes later, the boy attempts to seal the Keyhole within the aura of energy, but there is no effect. He notices the sword left behind by his defeated foe and picks it up, points it at himself, and pulls it into his chest. He drops the weapon, which dissipates into darkness, releasing six captive hearts and returning them to their hosts. Two hearts fly out of the boy’s chest. One returns to the comatose girl, waking her up, while the other floats off into space.

The girl stands up and sees her friend fading into the light. “Sora!” She runs up to catch him, but he dissipates just as she gets to him.

“Sora! Come back, Sora!” The boy’s companions mourn his loss as the light particles that once made up his body float off.

A twisted landscape that appears to have been what is left of the boy’s island home which fell into darkness. The blue water has turned purple, as have the leaves on some of the larger trees in the back. The smaller islet and the bridge connecting to it have vanished completely. The boy and his two companions in adventure stand on the beach, their gaze directed at the form of the boy’s childhood friend, still wearing the armor of their enemy.

“Take a look at this tiny place. To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison surrounded by water. And so this boy sought out to escape from his prison. He sought a way to cross over into other worlds. And he opened his heart to darkness.” The young man’s form shifts into a taller man with darker skin and an imposing silver jacket. Floating perhaps an inch from his chest was the insignia of the shadows.

“Riku!”

“Don’t bother. Your voice can no longer reach him where he is. His heart belongs again to darkness. All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came.” He now teleports behind the spiky-haired boy and his companions, taking the boy by surprise. “You see, darkness is the heart’s true essence.”

“That’s not true! The heart may be weak. And sometimes, it may even give in. But I’ve learned that deep down, there’s a light that never goes out!”

“So you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade, every heart return to darkness!”

In a dark expanse, there is a landing upon which a massive door rests. The boy and his companions float in the expanse, having just fought a great battle with their enemy, who is still floating there, not ready to give in just yet.

“It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness. Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness…” The doors crack open, and dark smoke begins to pour out. “Supreme darkness.”

“You’re wrong. I know now, without a doubt, Kingdom Hearts… is light!”

The doors open further and a jet of blinding light shoots out, striking the villain, who is clearly in pain at this.

“L-Light! But… But why…” The villain explodes from the overload of light power.

“Come on!” The boy and his friends immediately run up to push the doors closed, with great difficulty.

One of the companions looks through the opening and gasps in horror.

“Stop staring and keep pushing!” the other one scolds him, but then looks to see what his friend has seen and is horrified as well, as shadow monsters are marching toward the door from the other side.

“The Heartless!”

“Hurry!”

“I can’t…”

“Don’t give up!” Suddenly, the boy’s friend, whose body the villain had been controlling before, appears to help him finish the job. “Come on, Sora! Together, we can do it!”

“Okay!” The boy keeps pushing the door while his friend pulls from the other side.

Just then, two giant shadow monsters rise up.

“It’s hopeless!”

Someone destroys both monsters in one strike each. The hero and his companions look through the door, and a silhouetted figure with a round head and two circles for ears leaps into view.

“Your Majesty!”

The new ally pulls out his own weapon, which resembles a palette swap of the boy’s weapon. “Now, Sora, let’s close this door for good!”

“Close it, quick!”

“But—”

“Don’t worry. There will always be a door to the light.”

“Sora, you can trust King Mickey.”

“Now! They’re coming!”

“Donald, Goofy, thank you.”

The heroes close the Door. The boy’s friend turns to say his parting words to him. “Take care of her.” The boy nods in agreement.

The Door is closed. The boy and the king raise their weapons and each send out a magic beam. The Door disappears into light.

The scholar removes his hand from the book, and the mist and images dissipate. Yes, he mused, that was the first adventure of the Keyblade wielder. But he vanished shortly after. I have heard that he returned recently. I wonder what sort of stories this new chapter has for him…

He pulled a red crystal from his pocket. The crystal was three inches long with a half-inch diameter. At each end, the cylinder was capped with a cone-shape. He held it up so it glistened in the light. He then put one end of the crystal into a circular hole in the latch and turned it clockwise. There was a popping sound and the latch disappeared.

He turned the next page, the first one to be unlocked, and found that instead of text, there was an image covering both pages:

The boy sleeping in a large device that resembles a flower that has yet to bloom. Below that, the scenery is replaced with a town filled with brown and orange buildings, the atmosphere washed with the warm radiance of the setting sun. There is a clock tower, with appendages on the roof holding bells at the ends. Right above the clock face, which is made up of a large circle that creates the space where the clock would be, only for the actual clock to be much smaller than the opening and attached to the upper-left edge of the opening, three characters sit on the ledge. The figures are wearing matching black coats with hoods. Each of them is holding a stick with a block of light-blue ice cream. The man on the left has red hair which is even spikier than the hero’s hair. The girl on the right has black hair, and somewhat resembles the hero’s female friend. The scholar noticed that she appeared to be transparent. He doubted that she was always a phantom. What happened to the girl? he wondered. Putting that question aside, he turned his attention to the boy in the middle. His left eyebrow shot up.

The boy in the middle was the spitting image of the hero from the previous chapter. He was not an exact clone, but the similarities were unmistakable. The scholar could tell that this boy had his own legend to tell, but it would merely be a side-story to set up this great chapter in history.

Much like the tale of how and why the hero of light went to sleep.

The scholar placed two fingers on the top image, and the room was once again filled with mist, and he saw the events that transpired in a mysterious castle.

One scene stuck in his mind. The spiky-haired boy and his two companions converse with a blond-haired girl. The girl is wearing a one-piece sleeveless dress that goes partway down her thighs, as well as a pair of light-blue sandals. They are standing outside of the sleeping pod that the boy is to be sleeping in.

“To remember again, we have to sleep in that?”

“Yes. It’s going to take a little time, but I’ll take care of you.”

“Gawrsh, when we wake up, we won’t remember who you are anymore…”

A small green creature wearing a well-kept suit climbed out of the boy’s hood and stood up on his shoulder. He was carrying a book that seemed small to humans but normal-sized to him. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll just make a big note in my journal. And it will say, ‘Thank Naminé’.”

“Oh, good. That makes me feel better.”

“Well, good night then, Naminé.”

“Good night, Goofy.” With that, the boy’s companions leave to find their own sleeping chambers. “You too, Sora.”

“Okay.”

“All of this may have started with a lie… but I really am glad that I can meet you, Sora.”

“Yeah, me too. When I finally found you, and even when I remembered your name, I was happy. The way I felt then— that was no lie.”

“Goodbye.”

“No, not goodbye! When I wake up, I’ll find you. And then there will be no lies. We’re gonna be friends for real. Promise me, Naminé.”

“You’re going to forget making that promise.”

“If the chain of memories comes apart, the links will still be there, right? So the memory of our promise will always be inside me somewhere. I’m sure of it.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Okay, it’s a promise.”

“Good. Until later.”

They step up to each other, link pinky fingers, and shake on it. The boy waves goodbye and jumps into the sleeping pod.

“A promise… Huh… Sora, some of your memories’ links are deep in the shadows of your heart and I won’t be able to find them. But don’t worry. You made another promise to someone who you could never replace.” The pod’s “petals” begin to close. “She is your light. The light within the darkness. Remember her, and all the memories lost in the shadows of your heart will come into the light.”

“Another promise…”

“Look at the good luck charm. I changed its shape when I changed your memory— But when you thought of her just once, it went back to the way it was.”

The boy removes a star-shaped trinket from his pocket. It is constructed from shells and stitched together with string. A piece of paper cut into the shape of a crown is stuck into the middle between the five shells. There is a sketch at the tip of one of the shells: a smiling face with bits of brown at the very tip, signifying hair. A length of string loops around off of that end. The boy studies it, working to remember the friend who gave it to him.

Just then, the pod closes shut. The boy holds his trinket close to his heart as memories of his friends begin to come back into focus.

Yes, that was why the hero went to sleep. His memories had been taken apart due to a villainous plot, but he was put to sleep to repair the memories when the villain was defeated.

However, by the scholar’s calculations, the restoration process should have only taken a few months at most. So why did it take the better part of a year? He looked down at the picture of the three figures on the clock tower. Perhaps, he thought, their tale might hold the answer. He placed his fingers on the bottom image, and he was shown images from their story.

In that same town, in front of a train station to which the clock tower is attached, the young man in the coat is stumbling, exhausted and dazed, while his female friend collapses to her knees and stares at the ground, weak.

“Who are you… again? It’s weird. I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.”

“You’ll be… better off now… Roxas.” She collapses, but the boy stoops down to catch her. Her body begins to dissolve into crystal flakes, fluttering up toward the sky.

“Am I… the one who did this to you?”

“No… It was my choice… to go away now. Better than, than do nothing… and let Xemnas have his way. I belong with Sora. And now, I am going back… to be with him. Roxas… I need you… to do me a favor. All those hearts that I’ve captured… Kingdom Hearts… Set them free.”

“Kingdom Hearts… Free them?”

The girl’s feet begin to be covered in ice, the frost crystallizing around her boots and up her legs. “It’s too late… for me to undo my mistakes. But you can’t let Xemnas… have Kingdom Hearts… You can’t. Good-bye, Roxas. See you again. I’m glad… I got to meet you. Oh… and of course, Axel, too. You’re both my best friends. Never forget. That’s the truth.”

The boy’s eyes turn from confusion and uncertainty to recognition, and he remembers who the girl is. “No! Xion… Who else will I have ice cream with?”

The girl freezes up completely, with spikes of ice growing out of her body, before it all dissolves into specks of light which float away. When she is gone, the boy sees a single shell, much like the ones in the hero’s good luck charm. He picks it up, and a tear runs down his cheek.

“Xion…”

Next, the scholar saw a city enveloped in darkness, the night sky shrouding everything. The only light comes from massive projector screens attached to the top of a skyscraper. Rain is pouring down, sparing nothing from the sheets of water droplets. The streets are overrun with shadow monsters, each one the size of a human, with pulsing veins running along their arms, legs and head. Two long horns extend from the back of each head, then turn down at a sharp angle near the tips. A figure steps out of an alleyway. He is wearing a black coat, with the hood pulled up so the shadows conceal his face. In each hand he holds one of the unique weapons, one looking different than the other. As he treads along, more shadow monsters materialize and climb out of the ground behind him. Soon enough, he is surrounded. Another figure stands on top of the skyscraper. He also wears a black coat, but the hood is left down. The figure has long silver hair. He wears a black felt blindfold over his eyes, but is nonetheless aware of the other character’s arrival. The shadows take notice of the hooded newcomer and run toward him. The first to reach him raises its clawed hand to strike, but the newcomer cuts it down with his black weapon. The monster explodes into a cloud of shadow, which dissipates into oblivion within one second. Next, the warrior cleaves through three shadow creatures with his white weapon, then proceeds to slay each and every one of the creatures.

The hooded figure looks up and notices the blindfolded man. Dodging the lunging shadows, he dashes up to the skyscraper, jumps up past the entrance threshold, and runs vertically up the front of the building. He throws the black weapon in his right hand up to the blindfolded man, who leaps off of the top of the skyscraper and catches the sword. The man gasps as he is overcome with memories of the black-haired girl. The hooded warrior senses the man’s recognition. As he runs up and the other falls down, they cross paths in front of the building’s primary screen. He lands on top of the skyscraper while the other man lands on his feet in the street. The blindfolded man is almost immediately surrounded by the shadow monsters. The hooded man jumps down to join him and together they vanquish all of the shadows. They then take notice of each other and jump backwards to create some distance between them.

“Who are you?”

“What does it matter? I’m here for you.”

“Why are you trying to stop me?”

“Because I want back the rest of Sora’s memories.”

“Sora!? Enough about Sora!”

“Do you have some kind of plan?”

“I’ll set Kingdom Hearts free! Then everything can be the way it was! She’ll come back… and the three of us can be together again!”

“You mean Xion. It’s a struggle just to remember the name now… Either way, I can’t let you go do anything crazy.”

“I’m freeing Kingdom Hearts, and I’m going to find Sora! I want Xion back. I want my life back!”

“If you try and make contact with Kingdom Hearts, the last thing you’ll get is your life back. The Organization will destroy you!”

“Enough!”

The hooded man with the white weapon charges toward the blindfolded man with the black weapon. They fight fiercely, but the hooded man is able to knock his opponent down. The blindfolded man drops his weapon beside him when he lands on his back. He pushes himself up so he is in a sitting position, facing his adversary.

“Why? Why do you have the Keyblade?”

“Shut up!” The hooded man strikes at his foe, but the blindfolded man picks up his weapon and deflects the blow, tossing the hooded man backwards. The warrior’s hood falls down, exposing the face of the boy who resembles the hero. He lands on his back, stunned.

The blindfolded man approaches him. He throws his weapon at the ground next to the boy’s head, embedding it a few inches into the asphalt.

The boy awakens and grabs the black weapon out of the ground. He charges at his foe. The blindfolded man conjures an orb of bluish-black fire and throws it, but the boy deflects it and swings his weapon at his enemy, who jumps out of the way.

“Why don’t you quit?”

After a pause, the blindfolded man smirks and taunts the boy. “Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that.”

Confused by the quip, the boy replies. “Get real. Look which one of us is winning.” He gasps in surprise, wondering where that came from.

“So it’s true. You really are his Nobody. Guess DiZ was right after all.”

“What are you talking about? I am me! Nobody else!” He calls forth his white weapon into his left hand to wield alongside the black weapon, and runs toward his foe, enraged. He strikes. The blindfolded man conjures an energy shield to block him, but the boy’s attack is so strong that he is pushed backward, causing him to groan in irritation and fall to one knee. “How many times do I have to beat you?”

“All right. You’ve left me with no other choice.”

“What?”

“I have to release the power in my heart— the dark power that I’ve been holding back.” The man unties and drops his blindfold. “Even… if it changes me forever.”

The man calls forth a great pillar of dark power to envelop him. He levitates a few inches off of the ground as the transformation occurs. When the aura dissipates, a larger man with darker skin floats in his place. He is still wearing the black coat and he retained his blue eyes, but otherwise he looks like the enemy that the hero and his companions fought months before. A hulking black monster with horns sticking out of its head horizontally floats behind him. The monster is covered in long streams of bandages.

The man and the monster teleport and reappear immediately in front of the boy. The monster grabs the boy with one massive hand and lifts him up, squeezing. The boy screams in agony and drops his weapons, which dematerialize upon hitting the ground.

“I have accepted it.” The monster drops the unconscious young man, letting him lie on the ground.

The scholar removed his fingers from the book, and the mist and images dissipated. Now he understood why the hero had been out of action for a year, why nobody had heard anything from him. These episodes with the castle and the boy in the black coat answered his questions.

Now it was time to read the rest of this new chapter.

He turned the page and placed his hand upon the open pages. Just like before, the text came to life and swirled around him, and mist filled the library. Moving images materialized, and he studied them intently.

A blank white room. Its walls are covered with crayon drawings. In the middle of the room is a plain white table with a chair at either end. A young man, the boy who fought in the dark city, stands at the door, looking around at the drawings. He is no longer wearing his black coat, but rather two layers of zip-up tee-shirts, the black shirt zipped up all the way and the white shirt with a red collar and a two-row checkered pattern across the chest and shoulders on top left open, slacks that are black at the top but tan in the legs, and a pair of grey sneakers with red straps. A blond girl in a white dress, taller than she was in the earlier vision but otherwise unchanged, is standing next to the chair on the right. The boy notices a sketch, hung directly to the left of the window, of a young man in a black coat with light-brown hair— depicting him —and a similarly-dressed taller man with spiky red hair, together on the right side of the page, with two other figures, drawn to be further away, with their details hard to make out, standing on the left side.

“This is… me? And Axel’s here too.”

“You ARE best friends.”

“Very funny.”

“Don’t you want to know the truth about who you really are?”

“No one knows me better than me.”

“Of course…”

“But… I don’t get what’s been happening lately.” He walks to the other side of the window and examines a sketch of a spiky-haired boy standing next to two people with odd-looking faces, one of which is taller than the boy and dressed in green and yellow while the other is shorter than the boy and dressed in blue.

“You know these three, don’t you?”

“Yeah. Sora, Donald, and Goofy. They’re from the dreams.”

“About a year ago… some things happened, and I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora’s heart. But now… I’m putting them all back exactly the way they were. It’s taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again. The process has been affecting you too, Roxas.”

“You mean… the dreams?”

“Yes… You and Sora are connected. And… in order for Sora to become completely whole again…” the girl gestures to a back-view sketch of the spiky-haired boy and the boy in the black coat standing next to each other. “He needs you.”

“Me? What for?”

“You hold half of what he is… He needs you, Roxas.”

“Naminé?”

The girl gestures for him to sit in the nearby chair. He complies, and she then walks over to sit in the opposite chair.

“Naminé, who are you?”

“I’m a witch with power over Sora’s memories and those around him.”

“A witch?”

“That’s what DiZ called me. But I don’t know why I have this power… I just do. I’m not even sure there’s a right way for me to use it.”

“Hmm… I can’t help you there. It’s funny… Suddenly I feel like I don’t know myself at all… I guess I would like to know. What do you know about me… that I don’t?”

“You… you were never supposed to exist, Roxas.”

“What…? How could you even say such a thing… even if it were true?”

“I’m sorry. I guess some things… really are better left unsaid.”

A blank white room with the hero’s sleeping pod in the center. The young man enters the room and begins to approach the pod. A man in red and black robes with bandages covering his face stands between him and the pod. His arms are crossed behind his back.

“At last, the Keyblade’s chosen one.”

“Who are you talking to? Me? Or Sora?”

“To half of Sora, of course. You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about the realm of light and destroy Organization XIII.”

“Why? Who are you?”

“I am a servant of the world.” He laughed to himself. “And if I’m a servant, then you should consider yourself a tool, at best.”

“Was that… Was that supposed to be a joke? 'Cause I’m not laughing!” He summoned the special weapon, this time resembling the one that the hero used, and charged at the bandaged man. He sliced through him while still running, but he passed right through him. The image of the bandaged man flickered briefly with glowing white rectangles floating around it. The boy looked back at the image, not hiding his surprise, but he quickly reverted to an expression of rage.

“My apologies. This is only a data-based projection.”

The boy turned his head upward and screamed in anger, then continued to slash right through the hologram until he was too tired to keep attacking. The hologram disappeared in a swirling field of glowing digits and reappeared a few feet behind him.

“Come, over here.”

The boy turned to glare at the figure. “I hate you so much!”

“You should share some of that hatred with Sora. He’s far too nice for his own good.”

“No! My heart belongs to me!” He struck out at the hologram, but it disappeared as he got to it.

The boy looked up at the pod as it lit up and opened. Steam poured out from the machine as the “petals” in front came to a halt, exposing what was inside. The boy could see a sleeping figure floating inside the pod. The hero had certainly grown a few inches since he went to sleep.

“Sora… You’re lucky. Looks like my summer vacation is… over.”

A cliff of purple and black stone, overlooking a large canyon. In the middle of that canyon stands a fortress of seven stone towers lined with machinery. On the outer face of the tower in front, there is an image of the insignia that can be seen on many of the shadow monsters. A grey-haired man in a black coat stands at the edge of the cliff. The hero and his companions, along with a short character with two large circles for ears wearing clothes similar to the hero’s first costume and wielding a differently-colored version of the hero’s special weapon, approach the man.

The shorter character addresses the grey-haired man. “Xehanort!”

“How long has it been since I abandoned that name?”

“Out with it, Nobody! Where’s Kairi? Where’s Riku!?”

“I know nothing of any Kairi. As for Riku… perhaps you should ask your King.”

The hero looks to the small king in confusion, but he is preoccupied with the man conjuring a dark portal to escape. “Stop!” The king chases after him and disappears into the portal along with him. The portal disappears, much to the hero’s dismay.

“He’s gone.” The hero falls back onto his rear and starts punching at the ground in grief. His taller companion places a supporting hand on his shoulder.

“Sora, Goofy.”

“Way to fall right into their trap.” The hero and his friends turn to see where the voice came from and find a man with spiky red hair leaning against a rock wall. He is wearing a black coat similar to the mysterious man that the king pursued into the darkness. Beneath each green eye is a purple tattoo in the shape of an upside-down teardrop. The trio steps up to the man and gets into a fighting stance.

“C’mon, it’s a set-up by Organization XIII. Xemnas is using you to destroy the Heartless— that’s his big master plan.”

“Xemnas?”

“The guy you just saw. He’s their leader. Got it memorized? X-E-M, N-A-S.”

“Organization XIII wants to get rid of the Heartless?”

“Man, you’re slow. Every Heartless slain with that Keyblade releases a captive heart. That is what the Organization is after.”

“So what are those guys gonna do with the hearts?”

“I’m not telling.”

“Tell us!”

“You… you’re the one who kidnapped Kairi!”

“Bingo. The name’s Axel. Got it memorized?”

“Where is Kairi?” At this, the stranger’s confidence falters, and his expression betrays a sense of guilt. “Please. Just tell me!”

“Look, about Kairi… I’m sorry.”

“Axel.” The red-headed man’s guard goes up upon hearing the new voice. A blue-haired man with an X-shaped scar on his face materializes in front of him. He is also wearing a black coat.

“Uh-oh!” The redhead teleports away. The hero runs up to stop him, but the blue-haired man puts his arm out as a gesture telling him to stop.

“We’ll ensure he receives the maximum punishment,” the newcomer informs the hero.

“I don’t care about any of that! Just let me into the realm of darkness, okay!?”

“If it’s Kairi you’re worried about, don’t. We’re taking very good care of her.”

“Take me to her.”

“Is she that important to you?”

“Yeah. More than anything.”

“Show me how important.”

The hero dejectedly gets down on his knees and plants his hands on the ground, much to his companions’ shock. “Please.”

“So you really do care for her. In that case— the answer’s no.”

The hero immediately jumps back up onto his feet. His fists are clenched in rage. “You rotten…!”

“Are you angry? Do you hate me? Then take that rage and direct it at the Heartless.” The blue-haired man snaps his fingers, causing four of the shadow monsters, resembling armor-clad knights, to appear behind him. The hero and his companions bare their weapons, ready for a fight. “Pitiful Heartless, mindlessly collecting hearts. And yet they know not the true power of what they hold. The rage of the Keyblade releases those hearts. They gather in darkness, masterless and free… until they weave together to make Kingdom Hearts. And when that time comes we can truly, finally exist.”

A new voice joins the conversation. “What in the world do you think you’re prattling on about?” The horned witch in the black robe materializes in a flare of green fire. “Kingdom Hearts belongs to me! The heart of all kingdoms, the heart of all that lives. A dominion fit to be called Kingdom Hearts must be MY dominion!”

“Maleficent, no! No more Heartless!”

“I do not take orders from you!” With a wave of her scepter, five smaller shadow monsters appear around the blue-haired man.

“Fool.” The man snaps his fingers and summons a five white, semi-humanoid monsters which immediately strike down the shadow monsters. The white monsters turn toward the hero, but the witch teleports in front of him and conjures up a wall of green flame to separate the heroes from the man and the monsters.

“While I keep these creatures at bay, you devise a way to vanquish them—forever!”

“Maleficent!”

Two of the white monsters jump on the witch, wrapping themselves around her.

“Do not misunderstand me. I shall have my revenge on you yet.” More of the monsters lunge at her, tackling her to the ground.

“Maleficent!”

“Leave! Now!”

“I don’t take orders from you!” The hero starts to run to the witch’s aid but his smaller companion grabs him by the wrist to stop him.

“Sora, c’mon!”

“But… what about…” But when he looks back, the witch has disappeared under a pile of monsters. Her wall of fire dies down.

“Now then. Where did we leave off?” The blue-haired man snaps his fingers, and the white monsters disappear, instead replaced by knight-type shadows and shadows that resemble floating robots with guns for hands.

“Which side are you guys on anyway?”

“The Heartless ally with whoever’s the strongest.” To demonstrate, he throws his hand out, bidding the monsters to attack.

The hero strikes down two of the monsters, but stops when he notices two glowing hearts floating up into the sky.

“Yes, Sora. Extract more hearts.” The blue-haired man conjures a dark portal around himself and disappears.

The hero watches as the two freed hearts are enveloped in shadows and vanish. “No! The hearts!”

An open-air skyway made of some kind of white-silver metal. Lines running along the floor light up with a white color scrolling down the line. The skyway looks out onto a night sky, in which a massive heart-shaped moon floats. The moon does not appear to be too far off into the distance. A tall man wearing red and black robes is hunched over a complex machine halfway up the skyway. The machine stands on three legs and has a laser gun-type apparatus attached to the top, and is firing a green beam of light into the center of the moon. The mouse king is standing beside the man. The laser beam starts crackling, unstable. The machine also begins to shake uncontrollably in the man’s grip.

“Ansem?”

The man chuckles. “I’m a fool. I’ve spent years studying the workings of the heart. Yet it seems I still haven’t learned a thing!”

“What d’ya mean?”

“The process of encoding hearts is incalculable. The inhabitants of my Twilight Town were data created from real hearts. I was convinced that they would think and behave the way I had envisioned— but I couldn’t have been more wrong. A heart is so much more than any system. I saw it when Roxas and Kairi crossed paths. I knew. But I was too stubborn to accept it. It’s always the same. I try to wrap my mind around things my heart already knows, only to fail. While I was trying to bring Sora back, I had so many plans in store. But once Sora was an acting force, they fell apart. All my research amounted to nothing, compared to that one boy’s heart.”

The machine begins to emit sparks of uncontrollable electricity. “Ansem! The machine!”

“All the more proof that hearts cannot be contained by data. Run, my friend! It’s going to self-destruct, and anything could happen.”

“But…”

“Your Majesty!” The hero, followed by his anthropomorphic animal companions, the dark-skinned and blue-eyed man in the black coat, and the hero’s female friend, runs up the skyway ramp, approaching the man and the mouse king.

The man turns to face the hero. “Sora, the rest is up to you. And Roxas— I doubt you can hear me— but… I am sorry.”

“Ansem!”

“My heart is telling me what I must do. Please allow me to do what it says!”

“No!” The dark-skinned man approaches the mouse king and reaches down to tap him on the arm. The mouse king turns to face him. “Riku!”

“His heart’s decided. We can’t change that.”

They both turn in the direction of a newcomer, materializing in a dark portal. It is the grey-haired man whom the hero had confronted on the cliff. The man was facing toward the heart-shaped moon.

“I was wondering who would dare interfere with my Kingdom Hearts. And look— Here you all are. How convenient for me. Ansem the Wise… You look pathetic.”

“Have your laugh. I deserve as much for failing to see you for the fool you are.”

“Students do take after their teachers. Only a fool would be your apprentice. After all, none of this would have happened without you. YOU are the source of all Heartless. It was your research that inspired me to go further than you ever dared.”

“I admit… My disregard brought chaos to more worlds than one. But what were YOU seeking? You erased me from the world, only to take my name and continue research better left forgotten… Is this the answer you’ve been looking for?”

“All that and more. I’m carrying on what you yourself began, and I’m creating a brand new world, one heart at a time. I thought you’d praise me, but all you ever do is hold me back. I understand though. Unlike me, you have a heart. And you’re powerless to control it. Consumed, by the jealousy you feel toward the student who surpassed you.”

“Xehanort. Foolish apprentice of a foolish man. You have surpassed nothing— only proved how little we both know. We may profess to know the heart, but its essence is beyond our reach. We’re both ignorant— as oblivious as when we began. I’m afraid that any world that you try to create…” The man turns back to glare at the grey-haired man in the eyes. “Any world of yours… would be an empire of ignorance. That is why you and your creation are destined to fall!

“We’ve said enough! Riku, you know what to do! King Mickey, my friend, forgive me! Farewell!”

A blinding light bursts from the device. The hero runs to the man’s aid, but his transformed friend blocks his path and shields him and the others from the blast. The machine explodes, sending up a pillar of light. Another blinding light envelops the skyway.

The heart-shaped moon was broken, a large part of the front face having exploded off, exposing a vortex of black and purple energy. Hearts descend through the air. As they approach the ground, many of the white monsters wave their arms about like children surrounded by fluttering confetti, as if attempting to catch them. As the hearts touch the ground, they disappear into orbs of darkness, from which shadow monsters form.

The six heroes lie on the ground, dazed. The silver-haired villain has already vanished. Five of them come to, and the hero sees that his best friend, still unmoving, looks different from the way he was a moment ago. He runs over to check on him as he starts to get back up. The hero is relieved to see that his friend has somehow regained his true form. He is still wearing the black coat, but he also is wearing a black blindfold. His other friends take notice and surround him in awe. The friend realizes that his vision is obscured by the blindfold, and he understands what just happened.

“Ansem did say ‘anything could happen’…”

The hero notices that his friend has not touched his blindfold. “Riku, you gonna take that off?”

“Oh.” With one hand tugging on the front, the silver-haired young man removes his blindfold and opens his eyes.

“What was that?”

The mouse king approaches them and joins the conversation. “His eyes couldn’t lie.”

“Lie? And who were you trying to fool? Huh? Huhhh?”

“Myself.”

“Riku… C’mon, man! Why did you try to do so much on your own?” The hero runs towards their four other friends, turns around, and spreads his arms out, gesturing to the assembled group. “You’ve got friends… like us!” All five of them grinned in agreement.

“Have you forgotten? I’ll tell you why. 'Cause I’m not a total sap like you!”

“Say that again!”

The cheerful conversation is interrupted when they all notice the broken moon. They then look down off the balcony and see a legion of shadows on the lower platform, crawling up the castle at surprising speed.

“What should we do, Riku?”

“We must defeat Xemnas. He’s the Organization’s last survivor.”

“Right!”

The silver-haired man tears off his black coat and threw it to the wind, revealing his white-and-yellow short-sleeved zip-up shirt, black undershirt and blue jeans underneath. The black color of his shoes burns away, turning them into grey sneakers. All six heroes march up the skyway to confront their foe.

At the highest point of the castle, on a circular platform where the grey-haired man in the black coat stands.

“Ohh…my Kingdom Hearts…ruined. Now I’ll have to start all over again. Warriors of the Keyblade! Go forth and bring me more hearts!”

“No!” The hero, his silver-haired friend and the mouse king summon their weapons and point them at the grey-haired man.

“Denizens of light, answer this: Why do you hate the darkness?”

“Aw, we don’t hate it. It’s just kinda… scary. But the world’s made of light AND darkness. You can’t have one without the other, 'cause darkness is half of everything. Sorta makes you wonder why we’re scared of the dark.”

“It’s because of who’s lurking inside it.”

“Then allow me another question. You accept darkness, yet choose to live in the light. So why is it that you loathe us who teeter on the edge of nothing? We who were turned away by both light and dark— never given a choice?”

“That’s simple. It’s because you mess up our worlds.”

“That may be… However, what other choice might we have had?”

“Just give it a rest! You’re Nobodies! You don’t even exist! You’re not sad about anything!”

“The man in the coat laughs. “Very good. You don’t miss a thing. I cannot feel—sorrow… No matter what misery befalls the worlds. No matter what you think, no matter what you feel, or how you exist.” He raises his arms and calls up an aura of energy, conjuring a blinding light. The hero covers his eyes, and when he can see once again, he is in what appears to be the square in front of the skyscraper in the dark city below. However, when he looks around he sees a floating gray aura encircling the area, and he realizes that he is in an illusion created by his opponent.

The man stands in front of the hero to taunt him before disappearing to the top of the skyscraper. The hero summons his weapon and runs up to the door, vaulting over the porch and jumping up to the wall above the entrance. His feet connect with the side of the building and he makes a vertical dash up to meet his enemy. The man in the coat reveals a pair of red energy staves sticking out of his sleeves and jumps from his perch and descends upside down until he meets the hero halfway down. The hero lashes out, connecting blows with the man multiple times until he manages to land a solid hit and knocks him out of the air. The fierce duel continues, and the hero dodges blasts of energy and parries laser blade strikes as he moves in for the assault. The grey-haired man conjured an energy wall to block the charge, but the hero simply jumped over the eight-foot panel of solid light and threw his weapon down at his foe, connecting hard with his shoulder. The two fought hard, and in the end the hero won the duel, knocking his enemy onto his back. A dark aura materialized around the man and he disappeared. Moments later, the illusion fell, and the hero was once again standing on the highest point of the tower, surrounded by his friends.

But that was not the end of the final battle. First, the hero and his friends had to face their foe as he tried to appropriate the power which he had been scheming to harness, and then, when most of the party were heading home, thinking that the battle was over, the hero and his silver-haired friend had to face off against the grey-haired man, who was at that point more powerful than ever. In the end, the two friends prevailed against their enemy and they were finally allowed to return home.

The scholar smirked in satisfaction. The worlds are no longer divided by impassable barriers and there are no crises that will impede his agenda.

He closed the book and carried it back over to the bookcase, sliding it neatly back into place. He then stepped over to a bookcase against the wall. He pulled a book halfway out of the shelf, hooked his fingers into a notch carved into the cover, and pulled it to the left, sliding the "bookcase" to the side and revealing a passage in the wall. He stepped through and entered a large section open to several floors going all the way through every floor of the castle. Metal platforms are set up at every level. There are no railings, but force fields keep people from falling off. The scholar steps up to a floating spiked object floating above a spire poking out of the floor. He waved his hand in front of the object and it glowed with red electricity. A bronze platform appeared just outside of the force field. Energy bubbles surged around it and also blurred the scholar’s vision, and one second later he is standing on the circular platform, facing in the direction where he just was.

The platform began to rise, following a course set by a laser path which the platform electromagnetically follows. The scholar waited patiently, watching the floors go by, until he finally reached his destination. The energy bubbles appeared again, blurring his vision, and he is suddenly standing on the lift stop, facing the elevator platform once again. He left through the passageway directly behind him and stepped out onto the High Tower. He stared off to the horizon, watching the people of his world go about their daily tasks. The townsfolk, appearing to be smaller than ants, sell their goods, socialize, and bludgeon the occasional shadow monster with a large stick or a fancy sword. He looked even further, staring beyond the empty expanse of cliffs and ravines until his eyes settled on a series of decrepit towers standing in a circle.

One thing which the scholar has learned from Historia Omnia is that there are many who desire power, and are willing to use dark means to achieve it. Perhaps they will be easy to draw to his side, and they will follow him to the end.

He turned his head up to the sky and stares in what he knows to be the general direction of a certain world.

What a noble and brave young man, he thought to himself. Such determination to fight for what he believes in. I have a feeling that we may have had much in common. It is a shame that we must meet as enemies.

The scholar turned back around to return to his study.

Chapter 2: Chapter One- Destiny Islands

Chapter Text

The light shining through the window drew Sora out of his slumber. Opening his eyes by a crack, he looked over at the clock on his bedside table and realized that it was time to get up. He climbed out of bed and, still wearing his pajamas, walked downstairs to the kitchen. He prepared breakfast, pouring himself a bowl of cereal and filling it up with milk.

As he ate his breakfast, he stared out the window, admiring the view of daybreak. He saw the sun and wondered which world its light represented.

Sora had never had the chance to explore the worlds in the same sector as his islands. He had not even been in the space surrounding his world during the year when he was adventuring with…

Sora was bringing a spoonful of cereal to his mouth, but as his mind wandered he stopped midway, holding the spoon unmoving halfway between the bowl and his mouth.

It had been several weeks since he had last seen those two. They had a rough start, with Sora butting heads repeatedly with the loud, short one, while the tall, cheerful one kept order between them. Over time, they had come to work together like a well-oiled machine, acting perfectly in synchronization.

Perhaps too “in synchronization”, where all attempts to heal my bruises were concerned, Sora mused wistfully.

They had become two of Sora’s closest friends and most trusted companions. But now that the threat was over and the worlds were safe, their adventure had to come to an end. Sora returned to his world and they returned to theirs.

He missed the adventure. He missed them. He was glad to be back on the islands, but he could not help but long for the good old days.

“You better eat that before it gets soggy.” The voice startled Sora out of his nostalgia, and he turned to see who had spoken. Sora’s mother, Suta, had just come down the stairs to greet him. She was in her early forties, and was two inches shorter than Sora. She had blue eyes and dark brown hair which went down to her shoulders. Like his own, her hair naturally plaited itself into spikes, which despite however much she combed it jutted out every which way. She wore a red nightgown with blue stripes and white sleeves. Size-16 black slippers. She gave him a warm smile.

“Morning, Mom,” Sora greeted back.

“Oh, Sora!” She pointed at his leg. Sora looked down and realized that he spilled the cereal and milk from his spoon all over his lap. He quickly put the spoon down on the table and grabbed several napkins to collect the cereal pieces and dab at his drenched pants.

“Sorry. I was just…” Sora began, but he was not sure how to put it to words.

“Reminiscing? Remembering the old days? Recalling nostalgically the two years you were off on your own sailing between the stars without having to worry about parental supervision while your father and I were left worried sick, not sure if you were even still alive?” Suta finished for him as she took the napkins that he had already used and dropped them into the trash bucket.

“Technically, I was asleep for one of those years, and I had been taken out of your memory during that time. And you were also in suspended animation for a few months before that.” Sora touched his pants in the wet spot to make sure that he had gotten them as dry as he was able to, and he then started to get back to eating his cereal.

Suta chuckled. “Didn’t make us feel any better when we did remember you. Or even during the days after we—how did you put it?—‘were brought back from the darkness’.” She grabbed another napkin and wiped up the drops of milk that had spilled onto the floor. “Just try to reminisce and eat at the same time next time. Got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” Sora answered, raising his hand to his forehead in a salute. He finished eating and brought the bowl and spoon to the sink to rinse out.

He then ascended the staircase to return to his room. Looking into his closet, he scanned for his school uniform among his many red one-piece jumpsuits. He found the white, short-sleeved button-down shirt, the blue slacks, the black belt, and the blue tie next to his black, red and blue jumpsuit and its corresponding small black hoodie with white trim. He put those school clothes on, then crouched down to put on his size-18 dress shoes. After tying the shoes tight, he gathered his notebooks and papers into his backpack, tied the backpack shut, and hoisted it onto his back. As he exited his room and descended the staircase again, Sora saw his father, Kumo, exiting the bathroom.

“Morning, son,” Kumo greeted. He was in his early forties and stood at equal height with his son, though his messy light brown hair did not quite stick out quite as much as the spikes in Sora’s hair. He wore a light-blue polo shirt and tan slacks. He was carrying a rolled-up newspaper in his hand, though both it and his hand were somewhat damp due to a sloppy job of washing his hands and drying. He beamed a warm smile that very much resembled his son’s own standard grin.

“Hey, dad,” Sora replied with a goofy wave.

“Have a good day at school. And try not to swing that key of yours around the gymnasium today, not unless you see some real monsters. Or lobbyists.” Kumo chuckled. Sora had been made to sit out of the previous day’s dodgeball match in gym class when a dodgeball strike to the back caused him to summon his Keyblade reflexively, tripping two of his classmates and causing a lot of confusion.

Sora rolled his eyes at that remark. “Thanks. You have a good day too. And I’ll try. Granted, usually it isn’t that trigger-happy. I’m not real sure what happened then.” He pushed the door open and gave his parents a thumbs-up as he backed out.

Sora walked down the street, and as he approached the corner he saw a silver-haired boy wearing a uniform like his and a red-haired girl in a similar uniform, but with short sleeves that just cover the shoulders as well as a skirt instead of slacks. He put in an extra boost of speed to catch up to his two best friends, Riku and Kairi.

Riku smirked, glancing down at his friend who stood half a foot shorter than him. Sora and Riku had been best friends for almost their entire lives, and that friendship was packed with a friendly rivalry. Riku was the one who devised the plan to travel to other worlds. When they were separated after Destiny Islands was swallowed by darkness two years ago, Riku allied himself with a coalition of villains controlling the Heartless so that he could save Kairi, and he allowed himself to believe that Sora had given up on them so he could run around showing off with his Keyblade. When this went downhill, Riku spent the next year fighting the darkness within him and trying to make up for his past mistakes, but found that Sora and Kairi were able to forgive him easily. Since returning home, he had gotten a haircut, so his hair only reached his neck as opposed to down his shoulders and he no longer had bangs obscuring his face.

“So, how did your parents take it?” he asked.

“Mom said to be more careful. Dad is going to be making fun of me for it for a while.” Sora laughed, causing Riku and Kairi to laugh as well.

“The principal almost lost it yesterday. He knew you had a Keyblade, but he had no idea that you could summon it on a whim like that!” Kairi remarked, a mischievous smile plastered on her face. Sora chuckled and placed his hands behind his head as he found himself lost in her violet-blue eyes.

Sora was the first person on the islands to meet Kairi when he found her washed up on the shore years ago, when they were both five years old. She had by some means escaped the world on which she was born, known as Radiant Garden, when it was invaded by dark forces, and when she arrived on Destiny Islands she claimed to have no memory of where she was from before being cast through the sea between worlds. She was adopted by the mayor, Braska, and she became close friends with Sora and Riku. Much to her amusem*nt, Sora and Riku often competed for her attention. When the island was invaded by darkness, Kairi lost her heart, which found refuge inside of Sora. When he found out, he set her heart free, releasing his own heart in the process and nearly causing himself to be lost to the darkness. However, Kairi’s love brought him back to the light. When the islands were revived, Kairi was left at home to wait for her friends when Riku was locked in the Realm of Darkness and Sora left to find him. She was kidnapped to manipulate Sora, but she later joined him and Riku in the final battle before finally returning home together. A month after coming back, Sora worked up the courage to ask Kairi out to dinner. They have been a couple for two months now.

“Well, I hope we don’t have to let him find out about the magic,” Sora quipped. “He’ll go ballistic at that one!”

Sora, Riku and Kairi turned and began walking to school. Sora closed his eyes and breathed in the warm spring air. The three friends walked silently, until they approached the next intersection and paused at the stop sign.

“So, what did you think of the calculus homework?” Riku asked. He tried to not look nervous, so as not to expose the fact that he had trouble understanding the topic to them.

“Eh, it wasn’t too hard after I applied it to experience,” Sora answered with a shrug. “Shooting Blizzard chunks at a Rapid Thruster thirty feet off and twenty feet in the air? Bouncing a Darkball off of a wall starting at thirty meters per second and ending at ten? You learn how this stuff works as you go. Didn’t you do anything like that during your time away?”

“I saw a guy run straight up a vertical wall with no change in velocity, so I practically gave up on the laws of physics after that, and aside from our duels, card games with illusions and a giant with a hammer-thing who caused earthquakes, and running through the castle where holographic platforms literally appeared out of nowhere and where I spent half of the fights teleporting all over the place and pulling magic swords and walls out of nowhere, that was the most exciting part of the last two years,” Riku replied. “I don’t exactly have the kind of experience that you have in applying physics in live action.”

Kairi shot him a sly glance and smirked. “Well, I just had a good tutor,” she added, tapping the center of her chest with her index finger.

“I’m kind of impressed that Naminé managed to learn all that advanced math and science, considering that she spent the year on the one task of putting Sora’s memories back together,” Riku said. Naminé was Kairi’s Nobody, a shadow of herself made of the body and soul of a strong-willed person whose heart had been lost to the darkness. Naminé came into existence when Sora released her heart from his body, as an effect of her having lost her heart. Unlike Sora’s Nobody, Roxas, Naminé had not been formed from Kairi’s body elements, because, due to her being a Princess of Heart, she could not be touched by darkness even when her heart had been lost. So, while some flakes of her soul had been forced out when she was separated from her heart, the body elements that fused with the soul and dark matter to give her form was drawn from pieces of Sora’s, the rest of which fused with his soul along with dark matter to create Roxas. Naminé had the power to manipulate the chain of memories within Sora and the people connected to Sora’s heart. Born without a heart of her own and no sense of will, she had been coerced into messing with Sora’s memories to turn him into a puppet, but, inspired by Sora’s compassion and capacity to forgive, she offered to restore his memories, but he, as well as his companions whose memories had been torn apart as well, but the process took several months during which Sora and his companions were placed into a deep sleep. At the end of the second adventure, Naminé willingly fused back into Kairi. Lately, it seems that she is maintaining enough of a presence to telepathically help Kairi and her friends catch up with the schoolwork they missed.

“Well, good for you for having someone to give you the answers on a full-time basis,” Sora retorted. “So, how is your French class going?”

“Magnificent,” Kairi answered with a flourish. Her grin began to falter when she noticed that there was a moment of silence with Sora and Riku simply staring at her blankly.

“Yeah, I just heard that in English, and I even saw your lips move in four syllables instead of three.”

“What? Really?” Kairi asked, surprised.

“Yeah. The Keyblade actually has a built-in translator, so any foreign language is heard and even read in the wielder’s first language. In mine and Riku’s case, it is translated to whichever is nearest, English or Japanese, sometimes even Hawaiian.”

“Wow. Is that why you dropped Spanish a week after you got back?”

“Yeah. As it turns out, I can’t turn the translator off, and when the teacher tried to tell us what English words translated to in Spanish, I only heard the words in English. I just gave up and figured it didn’t really matter if I learned another language if it just translated anyway.”

“Huh,” was all Kairi could say in response. Not knowing what else to talk about, the three friends remained silent as they continued walking. It was only when they were one block away from school when Kairi posited a question. “Wait. If the Keyblade is what allowed Sora to understand people speaking other languages, then how did you not have any trouble, Riku?”

Riku crossed his arms as he contemplated the subject. “Hmm… I never really thought much about it… Well, I mainly worked with that group of villains; one of them I think already spoke English on his own, judging by his accent; there was a powerful fairy person and a witch with octopus legs; there was the god who ruled the world of the dead; then there was the magic-using vizier with the talking parrot; and I don’t even know about the bag of bugs. I figured they were just using magic to help me communicate with them, and by the time the Beast who I presume spoke French showed up, I just ran with it.” He finished the last sentence with a shrug. “Maybe the Soul Eater sword was made with the same stuff that lets a Keyblade translate other languages, since it was made by Ansem—er, Xehanort’s Heartless. And it did end up becoming a Keyblade, so that would be how it covered for me afterwards.”

As soon as they stepped onto school grounds, they simultaneously decided to stop discussing their extranormal escapades. They entered the throng of students, all dressed in their school uniforms, except for a few rebellious youths who dress in plainclothes or all-black attire. Above the row of glass doors, brass letters were arranged to spell out “Nomura High School”. They stepped through the doorway and marched through the lobby. As they passed the office, the principal, carrying a folder of papers, gave Sora a stink-eye from the doorway, though Sora pretended not to notice.

Before they were all the way through the lobby, a tanned, muscled arm wrapped itself around Riku’s shoulder and pulled him into a playful and shaky embrace. At the same time, Sora felt a slap on his back. “Yo, what’s happening, man?” the student who had grabbed onto Riku greeted in a noticeable accent. Sora, Riku and Kairi turned to face Wakka and Tidus. Wakka had an athletic build and a well-earned tan. While he wore the standard school uniform, he also had a dark blue headband wrapped around his forehead, and he had his orange hair styled so that it came up together in a point which curled down to the left as it approached the tip. He stood a couple inches taller than Sora, but was not quite as tall as Riku. Tidus was two inches shorter than Sora but had a lean, toned build. His brown hair was not quite as spiky as Sora’s. He beamed his perpetual cheerful grin at his friends.

“What’s up, guys?” Tidus asked, then, before giving them a chance to answer, “Take a look here.” He guided Sora, Riku and Kairi to the trophy case for the school’s sports teams. Between the tennis and soccer trophies, there was a noticeable gap where a prize for another sport, which the school had never won, would be placed. “In just a few weeks, the Destiny Aurochs will head straight for the water polo regional finals. Then, we will stun the audience and our opponents with our strategy, skills, and our sublimely magnificent moves and come home with a solid gold trophy fit for us star players, and the entire island will be cheering our names!” He laughed at the thought.

“Yeah, and to think that just last year we were at the bottom of the barrel,” Wakka added. “But Tidus, he’s a natural, ya? And his dedication… Without him, we would never have gotten this far.” He gave Tidus a playful nudge. “You guys are coming to watch us take the cup, ya?”

Sora, Riku and Kairi nodded enthusiastically. “Wouldn’t miss it,” Sora answered.

Tidus and Wakka laughed. “Thanks, brudda. I can see it already. The team finally gets a trophy to its name. And just in time for graduation. When I’m gone, Tidus here will be running the show, ya?” He glanced up at the clock on the wall near the trophy shelf. “Whoa, man. We gotta get going. You guys have a good one.” He and Tidus waved as they walked off.

Sora, Riku and Kairi looked up at the clock as well. They nodded to each other and turned away to head to their first period classes. “See you at lunch,” Riku said, giving his friends a quick wave.

Sora’s classes were standard issue. He learned and studied material in calculus, sociology, physics, and literature. He turned in his homework and took a quiz in physics. When he first returned to school after coming home, some of his teachers were eager to remind him that he will not be earning any free passes just because he saved the world, though he managed to turn their opinion around with how quickly he was able to catch up to the rest of the class. He had excellent tutors in the form of Kairi (who had only missed a few weeks), Naminé (also through Kairi), and his classmate Selphie.

At the end of the school day, Sora, Riku and Kairi met up in the lobby to begin their walk home. As they started to walk toward the door, side-by-side, a girl ran up to them and stopped in front of them. She was fifteen years old and had green eyes and brown hair that curled up at the ends. She leaned forward coyly and gave them a cute cat smile.

“Hey, guys!” Selphie greeted. She was a sweet girl with a high-pitched voice. Outgoing and spunky, she was an active member of the Nomura High School student council. She took some flyers out of her handbag and passed one to each of them. They glanced at the sheets. At the bottom of the page was a print of a beach scene, and flowers lined the borders. The flyer read:

25^th Annual Destiny Festival

Hosted by Nomura High School

Saturday, June 12

Selphie could barely stand still. Despite her small frame, she was full of energy. “Oh, I can’t believe that it’s only two months away! I can barely contain myself!”

“Sounds like it will be great,” Kairi said. “Are you going to need our help with anything?”

“Thus far, we seem to be on track. But I’ll let you guys know if something comes up. As things come along, I may ask for your opinion on things. Say, have you seen Irvine anywhere?”

“He’s probably in the gym shooting hoops with his buddies. Why? Are you going to ask him to be your date to the festival?” Riku teased, smirking.

“Oh, please. I asked him the day it was announced!” Selphie replied. Sora, Riku and Kairi snickered. “Well, I’ll see you later!” She waved back at them as she ran down the hall to the left, oblivious to the students scrambling to get out of her way. The history teacher, Mr. Leslaie, saw her pass by his classroom, and he stuck his head out of the door to shout “Ms. Tilmitt! Do not run in the crowded hallway! And look where you’re going.” Selphie broke her stride, turned around, and blurted out a quick “Sorry” before continuing on her way.

Sora, Riku and Kairi left, now unable to control their laughter at Selphie’s antics. As they walked home, they talked about their classes that day, joking about conversations among friends and between classmates and teachers, before the topic turned to what was on everybody’s mind after the meeting moments before.

“The Festival is almost here,” Kairi mused. “It’s going to be so much fun.”

“Hey, didn’t Chappu always pull some kind of prank at the festival every year?” Riku asked. Chappu was Wakka’s older brother. In his senior year of high school, he was captain of the water polo team. After graduating, he joined the police academy, and three years ago he graduated and became an officer on the force.

“Yeah,” Sora said. “Remember four years ago when he replaced the stage fireworks with paint cannons?” He brought his hands together and threw them up and out to mime the incident.

Riku laughed. “Everything was covered in paint! Everyone loved it. Kairi, what did he do last year?”

“Hmm…” Kairi paused to remember. “He and some of the other guys on the force charged in, in full police uniform, claiming that someone had snuck in contraband. They grabbed the apparent suspect and forced him to the ground, then opened his duffel bag, and while everyone was still shocked and scared they took out a boom box and some stage lights and set them up around them, then they turned on the boom box and did a dance number.” She sighed. “It was hilarious.”

Sora laughed, then sighed. “It won’t be the same without him this year.” Only a day after coming home, Sora, Riku and Kairi were informed that Chappu was killed in a shootout a few weeks before. They had their best to comfort and support Wakka through his grief. However, unexpectedly, they were simply in shock at the news. They had just come from a series of epic battles, and in Sora and Riku’s case, had almost come to take their own vulnerability and mortality for granted. They had seen two good men sacrifice their lives to help them complete their quest, but hardly had the time to process their deaths due to being forced into even more battles. Then, no sooner than they made it out of the war zone, they learned that a friend of theirs, someone who lived close to their homes, had lost his life doing something that was not too far from what they had been doing: fighting villains and protecting the innocent.

“No, it won’t,” Riku agreed. But I heard that Wakka is planning something for the festival. I guess he will be taking that job up to honor his brother.”

Kairi smiled on hearing that. “That’s nice of him. He did help Chappu out the last few years. This will be sure to make him proud.”

They turned off of the road and walked toward the shore. As they walked across the beach, the soles of their shoes left footprints in the sand. They felt the ocean breeze blowing through their hair as they approached the water. They ceased their trek just a few steps before reaching the edge of the tide. Sora clasped his hands against the back of his head. They stared silently out along the horizon, their gaze focused on the islet a mile out from the shore of the main island. Since childhood, the three of them, often accompanied by Tidus, Wakka and Selphie, would go to the islet to play together and explore. Until they were twelve, they were not allowed to take the boats and row out to the island themselves, so they were usually chaperoned by either Sora or Riku’s dad. It was on that islet where Sora, Riku and Kairi worked on constructing the raft that they intended to use to sail the sea between worlds and find the world that Kairi came from. It was also where Sora was chosen by the Keyblade, had his first fight with the Heartless, and was separated from Riku and Kairi at the start of his first adventure. The three friends still held strong memories of that islet.

“So, we’ll head on over after homework?” Sora asked his friends.

Riku gave a quick nod and Kairi responded with an “of course.” And with that, they all turned around and walked back to their respective homes.

Suta drove up the street and pulled into the driveway of her house. She shifted the car into park and climbed out, then opened the back-driver-side door to grab the four paper bags of groceries. She lifted all of them by the handles in her hands and pushed the door shut with her foot. She carried the groceries up to the door and set them down on the porch so she could open the door. She looked inside and saw Sora sitting at the kitchen table with his homework. He had changed from his school uniform to his black, red and blue garb along with a pair of black-and-yellow shoes, black fingerless gloves with white straps crossed over each other over his palms and thin metal discs on the backs, and a crown-shaped charm attached to a chain necklace.

“Sweetie, could you come help me with the groceries?” she asked. Sora shot to his feet and made his way to the door.

“Sure thing, mom,” he answered as he stepped out of the door. He grabbed two of the bags and carried them inside while Suta grabbed the other two. They carried the bags into the kitchen, and Suta leaned her back against the door to close it along the way, and they put the produce, milk and juice into the refrigerator and the rest into the pantry.

“How was your day?” Suta asked.

“It was good. People are still making jokes about yesterday. And Selphie handed this out,” Sora answered, picking up the Festival flyer and handing it to his mother.

Suta glanced over the flyer and chuckled. “That girl really is a go-getter, huh? I can hardly wait to see what she has brought to the table for this year’s festival.” She took a look at Sora’s homework. “Physics, huh? Honey, I have no idea how you managed to learn two years’ worth of this stuff in a few weeks and still be able to get this so easily.” She shook her head in bemusem*nt, taking in all of the numbers, letters and Greek symbols in the equations.

Sora shrugged. “Well, some hands-on experience is a good way to understand how it is all implemented. For example, going up against something with dense armor is a good way to understand normal force and impulse, as well as figure out how much applied force does what.”

Suta raised an eyebrow. “Right. And I suppose you can figure out what sort of forces something like that would use?”

“Well, there is a trick that actually tells me, which I learned how to read after a while.” Sora sat down and pulled a napkin off the stack in the middle and put it next to his homework. “While I was in Wonderland, I got a weird vision when one of these”—he drew an oval on the napkin, and then added four smaller ovals around the larger oval, then topped off the figure of the Large Body Heartless with a half-circle—“appeared. At first, I thought it was due to one of the potions or flowers, but after a few fights I noticed certain patterns across all of them, and those patterns had a different frequency and density for each Heartless. I call it ‘Scan’. It’s like looking at them on a different plane, and I can see their…” he paused, trying to find the right words, “combat stats. For example, defense.” He drew a honeycomb pattern over the Large Body figure. “A grid of hexagons shows how resilient these guys are to force. A tighter grid of smaller hexagons means that they can hold up against more damage.” He drew smaller hexagons in the center of the picture to demonstrate. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a box of crayons. “I can also tell what sort of spells it defends against, if it has hexagons of a different color.” He took red, blue and yellow crayons and drew colored hexagons over the grid in the figure.

“Huh. So, what else does it tell you?” Suta asked.

“Well, stamina, active energy, it looks like a river of green lines flowing all around the body, like blood flow.” Sora drew another Large Body figure, then grabbed a green crayon and drew lines looping all around the inside of the figure. He then looked around the table until he found a thin piece of string. He took each end between a finger and thumb, held the string to give it some slack, then wiggled his right fingers fast enough to cause the limp part of the string to spin around rapidly. “When they first pop up, the lines move very fast, but as they take damage they start to slow down. The more stamina the Heartless has, the more damage it takes to slow the lines down.” He demonstrated this by wiggling his fingers more slowly, causing the string to slow down. He dropped the string and drew another figure, this one made from a trapezoid, a circle and a triangle. I can also tell what kind of magic spells they use and which ones simply heal them by the color of the aura surrounding them.” He took a red crayon and traced the outline of the drawing. “Red means Fire, blue means Blizzard, yellow means Thunder, green means Cure, and so on. Purple indicates that they use all of the main three offensive spells, and the ones that use Cure tend to absorb all of those spells. Last, but not least, there’s this.” He drew a series of lines along the “arms” of the Large Body figure. “The red lines tell me just how much physical strength they have. They show just how much I can afford to get thrown around.” He looked back up at his mother, reading her facial expression to gauge if she understood everything she said.

Suta sighed, bemused. “Wow. I cannot imagine making sense of all that. And I’m amazed that you can do it in the heat of the moment like that. Well, I have dinner to make, so you finish your homework and I’ll get to work. 'Kay?” Sora gave her a thumbs-up while she turned on the oven.

After dinner, Sora went over to the pier. He talked to the boathouse keeper, Craig, and retrieved his father’s rowboat and two oars. He set the boat in the water, deposited his wooden sword in the boat, climbed in, and started rowing out to the islet. Back and forth, bobbing up and down, Sora kept rowing for twenty minutes before he finally reached the wooden landing at the edge of the islet. Dropping the oars and pushing against the water with his hands, he guided the boat to the landing, lining it up next to another rowboat. He tied the boat to a mooring and hopped up onto the landing. He turned and saw Kairi standing on the pier, smiling at him.

“We still waiting on Riku?” she asked. She was wearing a pink strapless mini-dress, with a white halter top underneath with a black hood, as well as a pair of lilac sneakers. She wore a black belt with a notebook-shaped bag attachment, inside of which she kept a drawing tablet.

“Guess so,” Sora replied. He smelled the ocean air and found himself admiring Kairi’s lovely face. Her beautiful eyes, her perfect smile.

“I guess it’s just us for a bit,” Kairi added. Sora walked up until he was standing next to her, and she turned around to face in the same direction as him. They stood in silence, staring at the sunset. They watched the light reflect off of the rippling water, the waves lapping against the shore, the seagulls flying overhead. Sora was content, watching the peaceful scenery, standing next to Kairi, enjoying the serenity. Her hand reached out for his, and their fingers locked together.

“Hey, guys!” Sora and Kairi quickly let go of each other’s hands and turned around at the sudden greeting. Riku was there, tying his boat up to the post. He wore a black sleeveless zip-up shirt underneath a smaller one that was white on the outside and yellow on the inside, a baggy pair of blue jeans, and a pair of white and gray sneakers. He grinned and waved to them when he noticed them looking at him, but his smile faltered when he saw their shocked expression. “Um, did I interrupt something?”

Sora and Kairi stumbled over themselves to cover up the exchange. “Oh, um, nope. You didn’t interrupt anything,” Kairi blurted. Sora chuckled and added a “yeah”, which only made Riku look sheepish.

Riku scratched the back of his head nervously. “So, erm, were you here long?” he asked. He was still getting used to the fact that the dynamic between the three of them had shifted. They were still the inseparable three caballeros, but Sora and Kairi had moved beyond friendship and were now a romantic couple, while he was left to watch that relationship blossom from the sidelines. Not only that, but a lot of Riku and Sora’s activities over the last years were fueled by a rivalry between the two of them over Kairi’s attention. And the three of them had grown completely independent of one another for the last two years, so their relationship already had to be redefined as they settled back into their home lives.

Sora shook his head. “Only a few minutes,” he answered. “You get everything done all right?”

Riku nodded. “Yeah. The homework wasn’t too much trouble. I’m starting to get the functions and equations down.” He crouched to pick up his wooden sword, then reached into Sora’s boat to grab his sword and tossed it to him. “Here,” he said while throwing the toy weapon, which Sora caught, nodding in thanks when the action was done.

Sora turned and gave Kairi a smile, then jumped off of the pier and ran out to the middle of the beach, followed by Riku. They stopped and faced each other, standing ten feet apart. Sora gripped his sword in both hands, held it out to his side, and bent his knees so he was in a squatting position. Riku let out a short laugh and raised his sword arm above and behind his head, pointing the tip of the sword in Sora’s direction, and held his left arm out in front of him.

“On my count!” Kairi called out. She saw her friends nod in comprehension. She raised her arm up and whipped it forward, pointing her index finger outward. “One…” She did so again, this time pointing her middle finger out as well. “Two…” One more time, adding her ring finger. “Three…” She whipped her arm forward again and opened her hand in a salute. “Begin!”

Sora and Riku ran toward each other, shifting their arms into a position ready to strike. They swung their swords, which clicked together. The next few hits were parried but then Sora hit Riku in the arm. Riku returned the favor and struck Sora in the shoulder. Sora stumbled, and was seemingly left open to another attack but he blocked Riku’s next hit just in time. Before Riku could reel back from the guard, Sora pushed himself back up with his legs and sprung forward, pushing Riku backward. While Riku tried to regain his balance, Sora spun around and struck him in the chest, knocking him on his back. But Riku simply drew his legs up to his chest, then kicked outward, throwing himself at Sora, who did not get out of the way in time and was hit in the abdomen and knocked backward while Riku landed on his feet.

Kairi laughed to herself. Boys will be boys, she thought. Sure, there was no romantic rivalry between them anymore, but it was still nice to watch them tussle. She pulled her drawing tablet out of her side pouch and took a pencil out of her pocket. She opened the book and saw a crayon sketch of Sora, Riku and herself, plus a blonde girl in a white dress. Naminé. Kairi turned the page and saw a sketch of a brown castle with green roofing. Kairi never understood what happened there. She felt Naminé’s shame at having messed with Sora’s heart there, but she could never get the full details from her emotions regarding the place, and Naminé did not like to talk about it. Meanwhile, Sora had no memory of the castle, and only barely remembers the image of the edifice as he approached it. From what Kairi could piece together, that was the day that Sora had been erased from everyone’s memories, including hers.

She flipped through the notebook. A small fountain flanked by a curving staircase. A few shelves in a labyrinthine library. A large Heartless emblem, a black heart-shaped symbol with a red outline and a thorny red X through the middle, in the middle of the page, surrounded by what looked to be a series of metal pipes. Sora, wearing his red one-piece that he had been wearing until a few months ago, alongside the knight and wizard who traveled with him for the past two years.

Kairi had never really gotten to strike up a friendship with them, even though while she was within Sora’s heart she had experienced everything he saw and had gotten to know the anthropomorphic animals. She had met them in person briefly twice, but there was too much excitement for them to actually sit down and talk.

Kairi kept flipping through the tablet, but most of the other sketches were unfamiliar to her. She identified a boy in a black coat standing next to Sora as Roxas, and some depicted a man who claimed to be a friend of Sora or Roxas and had then tried to kidnap her, but all of the events depicted were from after Sora’s first adventure, and Kairi had no frame of reference to understand any of what it meant.

She was glad to be home with Sora and Riku again, but she wished that she could have really been able to join them on their adventures rather than as a barely-compliant tagalong or sitting on the sidelines the whole way.

She pushed that thought to the back of her mind and flipped to a blank page. She looked up to watch Sora and Riku duel, noticing that they had gotten a few scratches but were still going at it at full energy, studied until she found a good pose to sketch, and started drawing.

Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Royal Affairs

Chapter Text

The band concert played an upbeat fanfare, mixing nostalgic joy and military pride. The audience chamber was a full house; everyone in town had shown up to watch the ceremony. The crowd was filled with friendly faces, though none of them human. The town was populated by anthropomorphic animals, from dogs to cows to chickens to chipmunks. The society works much the same as any modern human town, save for the fact that it is led by a monarchy and royal court, which resided in the very castle in which the ceremony was taking place.

The blue platform on which the throne normally sat had been transformed into a three-foot tall stage, and the golden throne in the center had been removed and replaced with a brass lectern closer to the front. In the far back of the chamber, two enormous statues stood in alcoves on either side. The one on the left was made to resemble a duck wearing a leather robe and a conical wizard’s hat that dipped over his eyes, who carried a curled wooden rod in his right hand. The one on the right was made to resemble a dog wearing knight’s armor and holding a shield in his left hand. Hanging on the wall in the center was a large red banner emblazoned with a symbol made up of a large circle and two smaller ellipses toward the top. Beneath the symbol a long, thin banner was stretched across the larger banner. It read:

Congratulations Disney Castle Knight Academy Graduating Class

Queen Minnie Mouse stood behind the lectern, perched upon a stool so that she could be seen above the top. She was an anthropomorphic mouse, which on this world was a creature that had an almost-perfectly spherical head with two thin circles for ears, black fur covering its entire body except for the face, which had a Caucasian complexion, a very thin tail, and four-fingered hands (much like the other anthropomorphic residents of the town). She wore an elegant pink ball gown, white gloves that extend up her forearms, and a gold tiara with a ruby inset with the same shape as the symbol on the banner behind her. Next to her stood her husband, King Mickey Mouse. Mickey looked almost identical to her, except that he did not share her long eyelashes, wore no crown, and he wore a black and red jacket with white lining and two yellow straps, red pants with a zipper and a yellow pouch on each leg, a pair of large yellow shoes with grey backs and two orange, intersecting straps on the front, and a pair of white gloves which were traditionally worn by nearly everyone in town. Behind them stood a row of young men and women, dogs, cows, cats, and geese, all wearing blue leather suits and iron knight’s helmets, gauntlets, boots, and breastplates. Once the band concert had finished playing, Queen Minnie addressed the crowd. “Thank you all for coming today. I am proud to present this year’s Royal Knight Academy graduates. These disciplined individuals have braved the fiercest training regimen that this castle has to offer. They studied hard and practiced harder, never losing sight of their end goal. And most of all, they have taken to heart the sworn duty of a Disney Castle knight: aid those in need, defend those who cannot defend themselves, and always treat those around you fairly and justly.”

One twenty-one-year-old canine looked out at the crowd, feeling both nervous and excited. He had black fur, a hairless Caucasian face, long ears, and two front teeth that stuck out over his lower jaw and were separated from each other by a few inches. Max Goof scanned the faces in the crowd and found his friends standing together toward the left wall. His best friend P.J., girlfriend Roxanne, as well as Bobby, Vicki and Stacey. Seeing them gave him a boost of confidence, and he returned his attention to Queen Minnie’s speech.

“I would like to thank the instructors and officers who helped our new knights on their path to greatness. Would you all please come forward? Morton Mazur.” Max saw a tall dog with a crew cut and wearing a business suit climb onto the stage to kneel respectfully to Queen Minnie. The crowd clapped for him. Max remembered him as a stern man who encouraged hard work and learning even on leisure, and who had a rather poor sense of humor. He did not take kindly to Max’s early string of practical jokes. Max saw Mazur shake hands with the queen and king then stand at attention and salute before she dismissed him. “Launchpad McQuack,” the queen called for the next person. A tall, muscular duck wearing the uniform of an airplane pilot approached the queen and did the same thing as Mazur. “Seamus O'Hara. Floyd Gottfredson. Carl Barks…” The list went on, with the queen calling up and congratulating over two dozen knights and military instructors. Max was thankful for all of the instructors who prepared him for this day.

Finally, the queen reached the last name in the lineup. “And last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank our esteemed captain of the royal knights, Goofy.” This was met with a storm of applause and a few cheers. A tall hound stepped onto the stage, attempting to keep a neutral expression to appear professional, but he was too jovial and proud to conceal his smile. He wore an orange and black suit, a knight’s helmet that acted more like his traditional hat, a gauntlet on his left arm, a wide belt buckle with blue straps, and pointed metal shoes. He approached Queen Minnie and King Mickey and knelt before them. He shook hands with both Minnie and Mickey, then stood at attention and faced the crowd when they bade him to rise.

Max cracked a smile at the captain. Not only was Goofy the second-greatest warrior in Disney Castle (the greatest being the king himself), but he was also Max’s dad, and the friendliest and most caring guy in town. He was known at times to be clumsy and, as one might surmise, goofy. He has a history of embarrassing Max in front of his peers, albeit unintentionally, but Max has learned to go along with it. He greatly missed his dad when Goofy was out helping King Mickey and the boy he called “Sora” in protecting the worlds from the Heartless, and he was glad that he was able to come home and watch him get through his last few weeks of knight training, and then be here on this momentous occasion.

Two brooms made of wooden shafts and straw bristles that were bunched into two points walked up onto the stage. Each broom had two skinny arms with four-fingered hands. They grabbed onto the stool, which Mickey helped Minnie climb off of, and carried it away so Goofy could take his place behind the lectern.

“Thank you,” Goofy began, but realized that his voice wasn’t being amplified around the room. He leaned forward and tapped the microphone, creating a humming sound with each tap. “Uh, is this thing on?” That time he could hear his voice in the surround sound, followed by a few snickers from the crowd as well as one of the graduates behind him. He stood up straight, then realized that in that position the microphone was not close enough to him, so he adjusted it until it was closer to his mouth. “A-hyuck,” he began again. “Thank y’all for havin’ me. I am very proud to see these fellers reach the end of their training and cross the bridge into knighthood. I regret that I had to miss their last two years due to performing my duties, but I am happy that I could be here now, to welcome them into the brotherhood.” He turned around and faced the graduates. “Ten-shun!” Max and his colleagues stood at attention, their arms flat against their sides and their expressions professional. “Now when I call your name, you come forward so you can officially receive the title of a Disney Castle Royal Knight!” This was met with applause from the whole room, save for a few disgruntled canine characters standing by the door, their leader glaring bitterly at a specific graduate student.

Goofy called forth the first graduate, a cat-person named Thomas Blackstone. He bade him to place his hand over his heart, swear to a solemn oath, then drop to one knee so Queen Minnie could tap him on the shoulders with a rapier which a magic broom had brought to her. This pattern followed for each graduate down the line. With each knighting, Max’s apprehension increased, until Goofy called out “Maximilian Goof.”

Fighting past his nerves, Max stepped out of the line as a goose reclaimed his spot next to him. He stepped up to the front of the stage, hearing applause from the crowd as well as some rambunctious yells and calls from Bobby, who got strange looks from the people around him, though he did not seem to notice until Stacey tapped him on the shoulder and shook her head in disapproval. Max turned to face Goofy. Goofy withheld the urge to smile and give him a supportive wink, as he did not want to show favoritism to his son.

Goofy placed his right hand over his heart, encouraging Max to do the same. “Maximilian Goof,” he shouted with authority, beginning the same speech he gave with the others. “Do you swear to abide by the Disney Town code of citizenship?”

“I swear!” Max shouted back.

“Do you swear to uphold the dignity of the Royal Knights?”

“I swear!”

“Do you swear to do your turn in defending the people of this world from danger and menace?”

“I swear!”

“Do you swear to set a good example for future cadets and inspire goodwill among the townsfolk?”

“I swear!”

“Repeat the Knights’ sacred code of honor!”

“All for one, and one for all!” he shouted, louder than before. He heard Bobby repeat this in a cheer and in the corner of his eye he saw a few people giving him dirty looks.

Goofy gave him a quick nod and took a step back. Queen Minnie stepped forward and bade him to kneel. Max complied.

“For your dedication in maintaining the knightly order and competence in training, by the power invested in me as queen, I hereby dub thee a Disney Castle Royal Knight,” Minnie recited, tapping her rapier against each of Max’s shoulders as she did so. Despite having to repeat that line multiple times, she said it with no less enthusiasm than any other time. She shook hands with Max. This was met with applause from the entire room, save for a single glaring pair of eyes at the far back, though Max did not notice the nasty character watching him bitterly.

Max stood up and retook his place in the line of graduates, barely containing his excitement. This was it. He was now a Disney Castle Royal Knight. He shared a fist-bump with the graduate to his right, a bear named Humphrey, before the latter went up to be knighted himself.

On the opposite end of the chamber from the stage, what appeared to be a massive lilac-colored door was built into the wall. However, it was actually a decoration that was part of the wall, and the actual door was a much smaller, normal-sized board built into the outside face of the wall, facing into the colonnade hallway just beyond, leaving an alcove carved into the apparent door up to the actual door.

Three anthropomorphic dogs stood within that alcove. The one who had been giving out the evil eye for the entire ceremony, Bradley Uppercrust III, stood in the middle, still looking upon the stage with contempt. He had long brown hair and wore a purple sweater with a light blue dress shirt underneath, khaki pants, and light grey sneakers. When the cheering for Max died down, he rolled his eyes. “I swear, he says. Gimme a break,” he growled.

“You know, Brad,” one of his cohorts, named Slouch, interjected, “maybe that had something to do with why you’re not up there sharing the spotlight.”

“It’s Bradley!” he corrected. “And shut it. Did I ask for your opinion? I just can’t stand it. That glory should be all mine. I should be the one they are all cheering for, but I get shafted back a hard-earned year while that clown gets to be on top of the world.” He clenched his fists in frustration.

The other dog, named Jeff, raised his hand nervously, politely asking to talk. When Bradley saw him do this, he shrugged, which Jeff took as permission. “So, what do you suggest we do, chief?” he asked.

Bradley looked on as his old second-in-command, a giant dog named Tank, stepped up to meet Goofy at the front of the stage. “Come on, boys. We’ll show them what I— we’re really made of.”

After the final graduate had been knighted and reclaimed his spot at the end of the row, the brooms returned the stool and Goofy helped Queen Minnie onto it. She waited for the cheering to die down before she began. “It is such an honor to personally welcome these noble young men and women into the knighthood, and I sincerely hope they will live up to their promise and show themselves to be defenders of the town and good citizens every day! And now…”

She passed the rapier to King Mickey. He pointed the blade into the air and shouted: “All for one, and one for all!”

Goofy summoned a circular, gray, rounded shield, emblazoned with a darker gray Hidden Mickey logo, out of thin air, accompanied by a glow of white light, and raised it above his head. The other knights, including the newly-knighted, pumped their fists into the air, and all pitched in. “All for one, and one for all!” They were joined by everyone in the audience, enthusiastically repeating that sacred code in rhythm. Slouch and Jeff even participated cheerfully, though Bradley sneered and repeated the oath ironically. Besides the sinister outlier, the room was full of celebration and pride.

After the ceremony, the gathering went out to the garden for lunch. Afterwards, everyone dispersed to either return to their daily activities, celebrate in private, or prepare for the party for the knights planned for that evening. For King Mickey and Queen Minnie, they had no official obligations for the rest of the day, so they retired to the library. Pluto, Mickey’s pet golden bloodhound, had been curled up asleep in his doggy bed throughout the morning, but he woke up at their arrival. He stood up, stretched, and approached his master, panting cheerfully. Mickey and Minnie pet him lovingly, then Minnie went to fill up his food dish. Mickey sat down at the desk, flicked on the lamp, and began to review paperwork for town business while Minnie set up a ladder to scale the bookshelves and locate a book she was looking for. Minnie found the spot where the book was supposed to be, but noticed that the spot was empty.

“Oh, Mickey, have you seen the record book?” Minnie asked, fingering the three-inch empty slot in the shelf.

“Oh, I think Jiminy had it last night,” he answered. “You want me to send for it?” A magic broom turned to face him (figuratively) when he made the suggestion.

“No. I can review it later. Thank you, though.”

Mickey continued reading over and filling out the paperwork while Minnie pulled out a photo album from the shelf. She climbed off of the ladder, opened the book and started to flip through the pages.

“I had not realized that Jiminy had taken this with him on the journey,” Minnie commented. She remembered how, when the castle’s wards against dark entities was compromised by an invasion of the past, she had attempted to take stock when she noticed that the old photo album was nowhere to be found. When efforts were mobilized to restore order, she had not had the opportunity to resume her search. When Mickey and the others returned, along with Jiminy, Jiminy had shown her the two journal volumes, the first of which being mysteriously blank, as well as all of the photographs that he had taken during the later parts of the adventure.

“Well, you see, actually, I was the one who took it,” Mickey answered, sheepishly. Minnie looked up at him quizzically. “I set the camera to Prompt-Shot mode, and I printed the pictures I liked. Then I sealed off my section and passed it off to Sora and Jiminy when I met them in Twilight Town.”

Intrigued by this, Minnie broke the seal on the section of Mickey’s photos and started searching through them. The first one she saw was of a tropical island with palm trees bearing coconuts and star-shaped fruits. “You were on Sora’s world?” she asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I saw that it was going to be swallowed in darkness, so I figured I’d hitch a ride into the storm so I could jump into the Realm of Darkness to find the other key.”

Minnie turned to the next picture, and saw a massive cavern of black rock, which would have been pitch dark if not for the blue and purple light showing through cracks in the rock, along with the glowing yellow dots that served as the eyes of shadows and bat-like creatures. She started to turn to the next page, and had gotten a brief glimpse of a delicate human hand wearing a white fingerless glove and grasping part of an item made of blue painted acrylic and aluminum wire, but a knock on the door took away her attention before she could reveal the complete picture.

The door opened and a duck wearing a navy-blue jacket and a shorter, light blue coat, with gold trimming and adorned with large yellow buttons, zippers on either side of the buttons, and an indigo belt, as well as a dark blue witch’s hat, the uniform of the Court Wizard. The duck had white feathers and a yellow bill and flippers. He had black pupils and his sclera had a bluish tint. He inched his way into the room, but not all the way and not too quick to seem impolite, but quickly enough to convey a sense of urgency.

“What is it, Donald?” Mickey asked. He noticed that his longtime friend seemed nervous and frantic.

Donald blurted out his message in a gargling-sounding nigh-incomprehensible voice. “Yourmajestytheteenyshipsfromthegummishiparegoinghaywirechipanddaleare-indangerthegarageisinchaoshurryweneedhelp!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down, Donald,” Mickey interjected. “I can’t understand a word you say.”

Donald stomped his foot and groaned. He took a deep breath and decided to start again. He suddenly gave a sheepish look, as if he was embarrassed by the incident he was trying to describe. “Hehehe… Well, I was trying to help Chip and Dale do maintenance on the Gummi Ship. There seemed to be a malfunction communicating with the Teeny Ship robots, so I was inputting commands in the big Gummi Ship while Chip and Dale were working on the robots, but…” He trailed off nervously, trying to come up with a nice way to put it. “I may have lost my temper and cast Thunder. Now the Teeny Ships are flying all over the place shooting lasers at everything.”

Mickey stood up at once, eyes widening. “Gosh. Then we’ve got to go help them!” He nodded to Minnie, and they followed Donald out the door, running through the colonnade, out into the garden, through the door in the middle, and down the spiral staircase to reach the Gummi Garage. Donald pushed open the door at the bottom, let out a quick scream in terror, and jumped out of the way as a laser shot in his direction, forcing Mickey and Minnie to dodge the blast as well.

Mickey and Minnie surveyed the damage. Many of the gears have been knocked loose and their axles bent out of shape. The winch holding the Gummi Ship aloft were uneven, causing the space ship to be held at a harsh angle. The ship itself was missing several pieces, the wing planes and several structural blocks blasted off of the hull and scattered on the floor. Two chipmunks, who wore yellow blacksmith’s aprons with red shoulder straps and a red Hidden Mickey logo in the center of a blue pouch on the front, were running all over the place, panicking and trying not to get hit with the wild shots of photon blasts. These energy bursts were coming from two fast-flying machines, the Teeny Ships, which resembled smaller versions of the Gummi Ship. A cricket, which looked nothing like a cricket, who wore a top hat, waistcoat and shoes, clung onto one of the Teenies for dear life.

Mickey acted fast, leaping over the railing and landing right in front of the chipmunks, Chip and Dale. He shouted an invocation for a spell: “Reflect!” A shield that appeared to be made up of transparent hexagons materialized around them. The lasers that would have hit the chipmunks instead bounced harmlessly off of the barrier. Two seconds after the lasers were deflected, the shield dissipated. Mickey turned around and crouched so as to lean closer to the tiny chipmunks. “Gosh, are you all right, fellas?” he asked.

Chip, the chipmunk with the small black nose and single front tooth, looked up at the king. “We are now, your Majesty,” he answered.

The other one, Dale, who could be distinguished from his brother by his large red nose, two buck teeth, and mohawk of fur on his head, wiped sweat from his brow and let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah. We coulda been done for. Thanks,” he said.

Mickey held out his hand, and they climbed into his palm. He then opened his right pocket and slipped them in for protection.

Inspired by his king’s quick acting, Donald snapped out of his terror, summoned his Mage’s Staff, and turned his attention to the ships’ movements. Noticing a pattern, he waited until the right moment. “Fire!” he shouted, pointing the brown wizard hat tip of his staff towards where the Teeny Ship would be. A ball of fire shot out of the tip, flew through the air, and made a direct hit at the front of the machine, destroying the guns and sending it backwards to hit the wall. With a crunch, its chassis caved in and the engine flames died down. Damaged to the point of system shutdown, the Teeny Ship fell to the ground.

Down below, Mickey saw the other Teeny Ship, with the cricket still holding on. “Jiminy! Jump!” he called.

Jiminy Cricket looked down at the mouse, far below him, while he himself was moving too fast to gauge where to let go. However, he had the utmost faith in Mickey, and he had no idea how much longer he could hold onto the ship, so he did as he asked, throwing himself off of the haywire robot.

As Jiminy fell, Mickey pointed towards him with both hands. “Zero Gravity!” He cast his spell, surrounding Jiminy in a transparent orb, whose descent slowed quickly until it came to a complete stop, with the cricket floating and rotating in the middle. Mickey ran as fast as he could, then jumped high into the air. He cupped his hands around Jiminy just as they spell wore off, and Jiminy landed safely in Mickey’s hands, seeming to suffer from no ill effects of whiplash. Mickey landed safely on the catwalk, and opened his pocket to put Jiminy inside along with Chip and Dale.

Unfortunately, the Teeny Ship had looped around, and its firing trajectory was inching ever closer to Mickey and Jiminy. Mickey detected this and turned around. He let out a yelp as he realized he was completely off guard.

“Faith!” An orb of light flew at the Teeny Ship, blasting it to smithereens. Mickey gave Minnie a wave of thanks, knowing that it was her magic spell that had saved his hide.

“Is everyone all right?” Minnie asked. Mickey had climbed back up to the ledge where he had come in, taking Jiminy, Chip and Dale out of his pocket.

“We’re all good, your Majesty,” Chip answered. He looked around and saw all the destruction that the Teeny Ships had caused. “Looks like we’re gonna have to do some clean-up.”

Minnie clapped her hands, a signal that summoned six magic brooms from around the castle. One of them carried a dustpan, with the intention that another would sweep the scattered pieces up with its “feet”.

As Chip and Dale set about replacing the demolished axle and two of the brooms lifted the fallen gear, Donald raised his hand like a student answering his teacher’s question. “I’ll help!”

“No, you won’t!” Chip retorted angrily. “You can work on picking up the pieces, but after that you won’t touch anything! Understand?”

Donald slumped a bit, feeling guilty. “Understood,” he sulked. He started walking down the stairs to reach the floor.

Mickey and Minnie remained on the top landing, watching everyone at work. They had decided to supervise the repair process. Jiminy hopped up onto Mickey’s hand. “Even when we’re not soaring the cosmos and fighting monsters, there is no shortage of excitement around here, is there?” the cricket commented.

“Not as much as out there, but hardly a dull moment, ah-ha!” Mickey agreed.

That evening, many of the townsfolk were gathering in the recreational center across town. In the gymnasium, people talked amongst each other and danced along to energetic music performed live by the pop rock star Powerline. Veteran knights, new or recent graduates and non-military citizens were present, helping themselves to refreshments, playfully sparring together, and in all having a good time at a party with all of their friends.

Goofy stood at the gym door, watching everyone enjoy themselves. His eyes were trained on Max, who was talking and laughing with his friends. He wiped a tear from his eye. He felt so much pride in all of the graduates, but especially his son. He remembered the good times they had together when Max was younger, and felt a twinge of sadness as he realized that Max wasn’t a kid anymore.

“They grow up so fast,” a raspy voice said out of nowhere. Goofy turned and looked down to see who spoke and saw Donald.

“Oh. Heya there, Donald,” Goofy greeted. “How are you?”

“Eh. Lost a few feathers this afternoon. I don’t want to talk about it. But it’s all fixed.” Donald looked past the crowd and focused on Max and his friends. “I remember how it felt when I found out that the triplets had opened up a shop in Traverse Town. I felt bad that I hadn’t paid much attention to them after I became the court wizard. But seeing them take that kind of responsibility, it warmed my heart to see they turned out all right.” He looked back up at Goofy and rested his hand reassuringly on his arm. “He’s gonna be just fine, Goofy.”

Goofy smiled. “Yeah. I know. Thanks, Donald.”

Closer to the concert stage, Max and his friends were reminiscing on the past semester. Bobby and Stacey danced along with Powerline, though a bit more erratic and eccentric than what was on stage.

“…He wanted to get to the finish line first, so he activated some sort of device that blasted apart the scaffolding of the construction crew ahead of us, hoping the wreckage would block our path while he took a detour. But we worked together to hold the structure up and get the crew down safely, and continued on our way. I managed to get across just ahead of him,” Max recounted, describing an incident that occurred at an obstacle race a month before.

“Wow. Brad really was a poor sport,” Roxanne said, amused. “And he got away with that?”

“Well, he didn’t get to become a full-on knight. But on the flipside, no one could prove it was him, so yeah.” Max shrugged, then lightened the mood with a snicker. “But it was nice seeing him take a blow to his pride when O’Hara said he needed to learn a thing about sportsmanship.”

“You know,” P.J. interjected, “I feel bad for the next batch of cadets that get stuck with him. Even my dad wouldn’t be that bad, even back when he was a scheming Musketeer captain.”

Max and Vicki nodded, understanding. They knew full well that P.J.’s father, Pete, was a longtime enemy to Goofy, King Mickey and Donald. They also knew that, although he had gone through a softer period afterwards, he had posed as a Musketeer captain on another world, kidnapped Minnie, who was a princess on that world at the time, so he could become king, and tried to kill Mickey, Donald and Goofy, who had actually been training as Musketeers under his leadership. A few years after that, he started to turn over a new leaf, however, and felt ashamed of his dishonorable deeds. Even though he remained a jerk and had eventually gone back to villainy, he had never stooped that low again after P.J. was born.

Vicki tipped her beret up. “In a structure of many pillars, the weakest beam may compromise the standing. The strong pillars must make up for that beam and secure the weaker pillars, and should shoulder the burden left by the failure of the beam,” she spoke poetically.

Bobby leaned in towards her and laughed. “I couldn’t have said it better myself, Beret Girl!” he commended. Everyone started laughing.

Just then, Roxanne noticed a commotion at the opposite end of the gym. She tapped Max on the shoulder and pointed towards it, and he saw a figure wearing black and magenta armor and a motorcycle helmet shoving his way through the crowd. Max could not figure out who was under the helmet, though the color scheme seemed familiar.

“Guys…” P.J. pointed up at the stage lights, where a masked canine was pulling at the wires, causing the spotlights that were focused on Powerline and his backup dancers to flicker out. Powerline and his crew stopped performing and looked around, trying to figure out what was going on and the music died down. P.J. squinted his eyes and focused on the culprit. “Wait, is that Slouch?”

A realization hit Max and he wheeled back around, only to find that the armored intruder had already reached him and his friends. Now that he could see him in his full height and the entirety of his armor, Max knew for sure who the intruder was. He also noticed that at his side, sheathed in a scabbard, was a sword.

“Yuh-oh, this guy’s no bueno!” Bobby called out. He stepped in front of the armored man, attempting to block his approach. Max made a mental note of how that probably was not the best idea when the other guy has a sword. “You should step on outta here, pal, 'cause you don’t want to get yo-self on Max’s bad side. You don’t realize what kind of trouble you’re—” Bobby was cut off when the man lifted him up by the neck. Everyone gasped. Some of the closest knights tried to move in to help him, but they were tripped up by some dogs who were wearing the same kind of mask as Slouch. The thugs tried to tie ropes around the knights’ ankles, but the people around them kicked them off

“Hey, back off,” Max shouted. He charged at the intruder, twisting so his shoulder would deliver the brunt of the force, and knocked him backward, causing him to release his grip on Bobby and drop him.

The enemy quickly gained his bearings and kicked Max away. He threw a punch at Max, who dodged to the side and returned a swing of his own, which was blocked. A fistfight developed between the two, each landing a few hits but returning some of their own. “Let’s see who the real champ is, clown,” the attacker taunted. He threw a punch to Max’s gut, but Max caught the fist in one hand and dragged him down by the arm, then punched his foe right in the face, breaking through his helmet’s visor. This dazed the attacker enough to allow Max to rip the helmet right off of his head. A collective gasp was heard as his identity was exposed.

Max glared at his rival. “What’s this about, Brad?” he asked angrily. “You still can’t take being pushed back?”

Bradley Uppercrust III clenched his fists and glared back at Max. “Nobody gets it!” he shouted. “I’m the strongest out of all of you! No one should win over me! I’m the hero here. I’m the champ! And yet not only do these clowns get the prize and applause while I get thrown back to the kiddy table and told I ‘need to learn what it means to be a knight’, but you,” his voice rose to a scream as he pointed at Max, “get top praise, top of the class markings! This shrimp gets the first place trophy for his old man being the captain of the guard, while my name and legacy get ignored!” Bradley drew out his sword. “Now I’m going to show everyone here what kind of strength makes a knight!”

He swung his sword, but Max was ready. The week before the graduation ceremony, Max and his classmates had learned the technique known to knights as well as Donald where they could summon their weapons of choice out of thin air. Bradley had not been made privy to this lesson, and was unaware that anyone other than the Captain possessed the ability, so he was caught off-guard when Max summoned his own Knight’s Shield and blocked his sword.

“Everybody run!” Max commanded. He turned his shield to the side so that the sword would fall forward and slip off harmlessly, then kicked Bradley in the side. Bradley regained his balance and swung again, but Max blocked it and the blade bounced off of the shield. While still on the recoil, Bradley kicked Max, sending him sprawling backward.

Bradley raised his sword to strike him while he was down, but one of the nearby knights wrapped a pipe around in front of it and pulled it backward. Irritated, Bradley threw his arm back, bonking the knight on the forehead with the hilt, then swung around to punch him, knocking him out. More knights came to the assist, but Bradley struck back with the techniques shared to the class but with a rabid force that his opponents were not prepared for, and they were quickly thrown off-kilter and promptly knocked down. He stabbed his sword at his next enemy, when a massive pair of hands clapped over the sides of the blade. He looked up to see who it was and saw his old cohort.

“Tank?” he exclaimed, confused at why he would be fighting against him.

“What’s going on with you, Brad? Going nuts, attacking everyone. This isn’t you,” the burly dog asked, concerned. He kept his hands tightly clamped over the sword while the knight beneath him ducked out of the way.

Bradley growled. “This was supposed to be my victory!” he shouted. “They were supposed to recognize my strength! Now they will see who the real champ is!” He pulled his sword out from between Tank’s fingers and put it back in its scabbard as his former friend stared at him, disbelieving. “And I prefer to be known by my full name, not by your silly pet names!” He grabbed Tank’s hands, turned around and threw him over his shoulder, launching him up onto the stage. Powerline and his band scrambled out of the way to avoid being hit.

Bradley turned back around and saw a Hidden Mickey symbol closing in on him. He pulled his sword up out of the scabbard, blocking the charge in the same motion. Grinning wickedly, he threw his full weight into Max, shoving him into the stage wall. He leaned his arm into Max’s neck, pinning him down, and snickered. “Now who’s the strongest?” he taunted.

He was distracted when he felt something gooey and stringy stick to the back of his head, and he saw that it also stuck to Max. Bradley turned around to see where the yellow substance came from, and saw Bobby with a canister strapped to his back, with a hose in his hands. “Cheddar Whiz-zay!” Bobby cried out, laughing. On either side of him, Stacey had her arms crossed and was glaring at him, and Vicki was snapping her fingers in rhythm with Bobby’s exclamation. P.J. then rolled a pair of metal spheres toward him, stopping at his feet. One of them popped open, letting out a bang noise and giving off a flash of light, blinding Bradley for a moment. The other sphere buzzed, and Bradley was hit with a shock of electricity through his body. Enraged, he kicked the sphere across the room, causing it to break into pieces when it hit the wall.

This impromptu assistance gave Max the opportunity to knee Bradley and throw him off of him. Bradley swung his sword at him, but Max held his shield up against it. “You just don’t get it, Brad,” Max said. “Being a knight, it’s not about physical strength, or being the best.” He tilted his shield to let Bradley fall forward again, then stuck his foot out so his opponent would trip and fall to the ground. “That may be a side-benefit, but it’s not the point. A knight is supposed to protect the innocent. Help the helpless.” Bradley swung at Max’s legs, but Max jumped over the blade without difficulty. “Knights work together and inspire people to help other, and they make the town a better place.” Bradley stood back up, not even bothering to take his sword with him, and threw himself at Max, punching wildly. Max blocked the punches with his shield, then he swung it back at Bradley, smacking him in the face. “One does not become a knight just to prove that they are better than everyone else, or just to say they can. A knight is brave, loyal, courteous, kind, thrifty. You want to know why you didn’t make the mark? It’s because you embody none of those traits!”

Bradley roared in anger. He picked up his sword, and the fight continued, with Bradley swinging with his sword and Max blocking and pushing back. After a while, Bradley noticed Roxanne was still standing nearby, and he came up with a nasty idea. He pushed Max to the side, then jumped up onto the stage. He ran over to the support column for the lighting frame and started hacking at it. Up in the row of lights, Slouch watched Bradley’s mad actions and was suddenly afraid. He realized that his team captain was so obsessed with one-upping his rival that he was going to hurt a lot of people. Down below, when he thought the column was broken enough, Bradley took a grenade out of a pouch at his belt, pulled the pin out, and threw the bomb across the stage until it landed right next to the opposite support column.

The grenade exploded, blasting the column to pieces and setting the stage on fire. Bradley pushed the column on his end out toward the crowd. Everyone started running to get out of the way. Slouch held onto the lighting frame for dear life.

Roxanne attempted to flee, but she tripped and fell to the ground. She rolled onto her back and saw the column coming right toward her. She squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact.

She heard a crash off in the distance, and realized that she was still alive. She opened her eyes and saw Max standing over her, holding the metal structure up with all his strength. She looked to the left and saw some knights rushing in to help hold up the massive load. Some of Bradley’s former cronies were pulling Slouch out of the wreckage. Fortunately, he was not hurt too badly. Tank had climbed off of the stage and was lifting most of the support column on the opposite end by himself.

Bradley sauntered up to Max, smirking. He was clearly enjoying seeing Max struggle. “So, this is what being a knight is, huh, clown?” he remarked. He raised his sword to cut down his vulnerable rival, but Max would not have any of that. He willed his shield to materialize face-down at his foot. He then stepped on the rim and launched it spinning up to face level, then head-butted the back to knock it into Bradley’s face, hitting him hard enough to stun him and send him reeling back, dropping his sword and falling onto his back near the row of knights holding up the top frame of the fallen structure.

He tried to force himself back up, but found himself making eye contact with Captain Goofy. Bradley tried to grimace in contempt, but he could only stare when he saw the look on Goofy’s face. It was such a rare image to behold that Bradley did not know how to describe it. It was an expression that few could imagine his face could even make, and it conveyed an emotion that even fewer could imagine he could feel. On anyone else, such an expression would not have perturbed the arrogant rogue, but when he saw it on what was normally such a cheerful and amiable face, all Bradley could do was lie back down in shame, staring at a spot on the ceiling.

Bobby carted a box full of yellow jack platforms around the room, placing one in between each of the knights and adjusting them so that they poked up against the frame. P.J., Stacey and Vicki helped Roxanne out of the way, checking to make sure she was okay. The knights made sure that the jacks would hold up the weight of the frame, then when they were satisfied they let go of their load and ducked out from under the wreckage.

Max ran up to Roxanne, hugged her, and checked if she was okay. He turned to look at Bradley. Seeing his nemesis lying in shock, he shook his head in pity. A loud peal of cheering came from the crowd in the back of the gym. Everyone was giving a round of applause to all of the knights who saved the day, but to Max in particular. Goofy patted Max on the shoulder, causing him to look up at his father. Goofy was smiling.

“You did good tonight. I’m proud of you, Maxie,” Goofy told him.

Max could not help but smile. He placed his hand over Goofy’s. “All for one and one for all, a-hyuck.”

Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Meeting in Shadows

Chapter Text

Pete rapped the crystal ball with his finger. The large anthropomorphic cat studied it intently, wondering why the reflective surface was still dark. He looked around nervously. From the window, the raven was staring at him with disappointment. Or was it irritation? Or did it just not care. It didn’t matter to Pete. The bird creeped him out. At the doorway, Pete saw his boss, the raven’s mistress, Maleficent, standing with her back to him.

She waved her arms around, willing a dozen small Shadow Heartless to appear from the ground. With her black horns, cloak that spread out on the floor behind her, and scepter, she would have looked as though she was one of the shadows, if not for the green glow of the crystal orb on the top of her scepter, her pale face and the pale skin and red nails of her hands. She raised her scepter, and three Heartless that were slightly larger than the Shadows and resembled suits of leather with metal helmets appeared. The Soldiers had a black and red emblem on their chests, resembling a heart shape with a thorny X through the middle. They danced around in a jittery way, then stopped and stood at attention, saluting the witch who summoned them.

Feeling ambitious and wanting to establish her dominion over more of the monsters, Maleficent bade a pool of darkness materialize in the middle of the floor. A forceful gale of dark power caused the flames of the candles set in the wall to blow out. Something made of purple and gray metal rose out of the pool. It loosely resembled a four-fingered hand with a cylindrical extension that looked like an attached arm, which was completely separated from the body. Another metal hand appeared, a mirrored copy of its companion. Two forms popped out of the pool, resembling disembodied boots. Then, what was intended to be the torso materialized, resembling a pipe that was contracted in the middle to resemble a sort of hourglass shape, and took its place in between the gauntlets and legs. Lastly, the head appeared. The head appeared to be an entirely spherical metal ball, save for a gray spike on top and a visor with small circular holes on the front.

The evil fairy laughed. At last, for the first time in months, she had regained the authority to conjure a Heartless commander. They had been shy in swearing loyalty to her for most of the previous year since her influence had faded since she was defeated more than a year ago, and they had since gone freelance or partaken in individual attacks against the realm of light. After her return, she was able to gather an army of Heartless, but had only been able to occasionally call upon more powerful monsters on the fly, and her army was vanquished by her enemies when she attacked the town of Hollow Bastion, and she was subsequently humiliated and left without her resources. Now, she was biding her time, slowly building her influence over the Heartless. She no longer had to worry about any Organization to compete with in her evil plans, and the heroes that had once opposed her had retired to resume the lives they would have led had they not been swept up in her plots to plunge the worlds into darkness. Someday soon, perhaps she will have the power and forces to crush her foes and establish her dominion over all worlds.

“Hey, uh, Maleficent… Erm, how do you get this thing working, again?” Pete asked timidly. Maleficent rolled her eyes, annoyed that he interrupted her inner musings over something so trivial… again.

She sighed. “Did you draw out the runes?”

Pete looked at the table, a cylindrical platform constructed out of the same stone that made up the rest of the tower in which he stood. He studied the funny-looking pictures and characters that he drew on the tabletop in white chalk and compared them to the parchment that Maleficent had given him. “Yup,” he answered.

“Are you thinking of whom you wish to converse?” Maleficent tapped the orb of her scepter testily with her fingers. The Guard Armor gave her an apathetic shrug with its floating arms, apparently aware of how tedious it can be to work with idiotic minions.

“Of course,” Pete responded meekly, cognizant of his boss’ growing frustration.

“Then you must be forgetting the invocation,” Maleficent decided. “Why do I even bother with you? You cannot even remember to conduct a simple communication spell. Just place your hand hovering over the crystal ball, picture the person you wish to talk to, and say ‘Noivilbo’.”

“Oh, right. Thanks,” Pete said. He waved his hand over the crystal ball, closed his eyes, and muttered “Noivilbo.” He opened up one eye and was pleased to see the orb fill up with purple smoke. He concentrated for a few more moments until finally the smoke cleared and he could see his son’s face in the curved, reflective surface.

“Hey, Dad,” P.J. greeted. On his end in Disney Town, a flat screen had materialized in a wisp of smoke in front of him, and the screen was showing Pete’s face.

“Hiya, Junior,” Pete replied. “How have you been?” Over the last few months, Pete had started using the crystal ball to communicate with his son, making it appear as if he was simply on the other side of a window. They had arranged to have these talks once a month to catch up with recent events on either end. This began after Pete had visited his days as a steamboat captain via a door to the past, and after satisfying his nostalgia (while also trying to help Maleficent breach Disney Castle’s defenses using this method), Pete had felt longing for the family he had back in Disney Town. Although she felt no empathy for his homesickness and in spite of, or perhaps because of her exasperation with his incompetence, Maleficent had agreed to his request for a method to contact his son, whom he had not seen since Queen Minnie had sent him to a pocket dimension to “cool off” and he had escaped to join forces with Maleficent. In retrospect, perhaps that was not the most responsible decision.

“Things have been going well over here,” P.J. answered. “Pistol said she’s going to join the soccer team at school this fall.”

“Oh, that’s good for her. But your sister’s been keeping up in school, right?”

“Of course.”

“What else has been going on? The Royal Knights graduation was coming up, correct?”

“Actually, it was yesterday. And Max was in the graduating class.”

“So the Goof boy is a full-fledged knight-in-shining-armor? Ha! Well, tell him and Goofy I said congrats!” Pete chuckled. Despite winding up on different sides, he still had a measure of respect for his former neighbor and his son. “Who else made the cut?”

P.J. stopped to think. “Tommy Blackstone, Humphrey the Bear, Tank—”

“Tank?” Pete interrupted, pricking up at the familiar name. “Wasn’t he part of that club? The ‘Gammas’? Don’t tell me the boss of that club made it too?”

At this, P.J. gave his dad a knowing smirk. “Brad? No way, he didn’t make it. He actually got held back because he showed no sportsmanship and even tried to sabotage everyone else to prove he was the strongest. Several times. He was so obsessed with being the best that he attacked the graduation party last night and fought with a lot of the knights, even trying to kill Max.”

“Oh, dear,” Pete gasped. “Is Max alright?”

“Yeah. He beat Brad and saved everyone. Tomorrow, actually, Brad will be facing trial for what he did.” He laughed. “And now Max is the local hero.”

“Hmph. Serves that punk right. I knew he was trouble when he was a tyke. His father never had any honor either.”

“I actually helped Max against him. I threw the surprise balls at him. The ones you sent me for my birthday.”

“Nice. Did they work out for you?”

“They did distract him. Though I’ve been having trouble putting the flashbang back together, and Brad broke the shock charge one by kicking it into the wall.”

“Huh. Then you should see if your friend Bobby can fix ‘em. He’s been working with machines with the chipmunks, right?”

“Yeah. Thanks. So, how have things been going over there?”

Pete shrugged. “Same old, same old. Maleficent’s still trying to get the Heartless to obey her again. She is having more luck as of late, though. Heck, just a few minutes ago, she hauled up a Guard Armor.”

P.J.’s eyes widened. “Wasn’t that one of the first Heartless that Captain Goofy and Mister Donald fought? There’s another one?”

“I heard that there was a second one running around half a year ago, and there have been some similar-looking guys with different color schemes that were sighted in the last several months. I guess this one just happens to have the same color.”

“So what have you been up to lately?”

“Eh, nothing too different. Maleficent has been sending me on some more errands. I’ve been sneaking around town peeking in on the goings-on. I even played a prank on that grumpy mechanic as he was moseying up to the castle. He responded by swearing to update the security system to sic the CLAYMATION things on me.” Pete snickered as he recounted this.

A puzzled look crossed P.J.’s face. He did not respond to Pete’s anecdote, causing his father to become confused and concerned. “Is something wrong, son?” Pete asked.

“Oh, sorry, Dad. It’s just that the image has become foggy.” P.J. waved his hand in front of his face to indicate this.

“Huh. I wonder if there’s some kind of interference. I’ll check it out. You wait right here.” Pete stood up and turned to investigate the disturbance. At this moment he realized that he had no idea if the spell over the crystal ball would stop working if he left it alone, but he decided that he would restore the connection if he needed to. Assuming he could remember the magic word.

Now that P.J. mentioned it, Pete did notice something in the air. The aura was so palpable he could almost smell it. Actually, considering how thick darkness was known to permeate from those with a strong affinity to it, he could literally smell it. Though he noticed there was something different about the smell. It was not the usual brand of darkness. Along with the standard whiff of sulfur and rotten eggs, he could detect a dash of incense and aether. He followed the scent into the next room, where Maleficent had been. He wondered if she had summoned a particularly powerful Heartless, or if she had fished a new kind of darkness user out of the Realm of Darkness. However, he did not see any of the Heartless that the fairy had conjured earlier. Perhaps she had dismissed them when the source of the interference appeared.

He stepped into the stairwell and noticed that the scent was getting stronger. He made his way up the spiral stairs, traversing the circumference of the tower three times before he ascended into the next chamber. A large window overlooked the mountainous divide between the Villain’s Vale and the town of Radiant Garden. Enormous rusted gears hung in front of the window, obscuring most of the view. Only one of the gears continued to turn, trying to work some sort of mechanism that was most likely disconnected or defunct.

Maleficent stood in the center of the chamber, facing an unfamiliar figure, who stood by the window, looking out toward the castle that Maleficent had once called “Hollow Bastion”. The stranger was a human male. He wore a black coat, slacks and shoes. The coat and slacks had purple trim at the collar, wrists and ankles. He had long white hair which came to small spikes going down. The ‘do reminded Pete of that Riku kid. His arms were crossed behind his back, and Pete could see that his hands were very pale, as if he had scarce seen the sun for years, only stepping outside when necessary. Despite this, he appeared to be well-built. His sleeves widened toward the wrist, and they hung loose over his forearms.

“I remember when this world was ruled by darkness,” the stranger spoke with a deep voice, still facing away from Maleficent and Pete. “Eighteen months ago, those who used the power of the Heartless made their home in that castle. Now it is the property of the defenders of light.”

Maleficent scowled. “If you have any business to intrude here other than to gloat, speak it, or leave,” she threatened, maintaining her commanding presence while keeping her irritation in check. Pete simply stared at the newcomer. This was definitely the source of the interference. Sizing him up, he judged that he was far more formidable than he appeared.

“Clearly, you cannot simply snuff out the light.” The man turned to face the witch. Pete noticed that he wore a sort of purple body armor that hugged his torso tightly and gave an even greater impression of his developed physique. The synthetic fiber had a blue trim. A part at the middle rose above the collar to sit over part of his chin. He wore a purple and blue belt with a square maroon belt buckle that had a design resembling a blue sun spreading its rays around the edge of the buckle. There were two small maroon pouches on either side, clipped onto the bottom edge of the belt with a pair of bronze hooks each. Looking at his face, Pete was instantly intimidated. The man’s face was just as pale as his hands. He wore a small goatee on his chin, which spread around the tip by an inch on either side and had been allowed to grow to little more than peach fuzz. His eyes were covered by bangs ever so slightly, but Pete could see the cold, piercing gaze in his fierce red eyes. The combination of light hair, pale skin and red eyes reminded Pete of the folk tales he had heard around the worlds about vampires. He was freaked out even more when he realized that the raven was staring at him just as fiercely and the man was not even a bit perturbed.

Despite his fear of both the intruder and his boss, Pete decided to speak up. “Who are you, anyway?” he asked, doing surprisingly well to keep his voice from shaking. “And what do you know about what we’ve been doing?”

“I am Zeromast,” the man introduced himself, his expression unchanging. “And I know everything that has ever happened.”

Pete was confused. “What does that mean?” Maleficent gave him a curt glance, not wanting to lose control of the conversation to the newcomer and his ego nor to her subordinate.

Zeromast spread his arms out as he answered. “Every war that was ever fought, I know every detail. I have seen every blow struck. Everything ever learned, I have learned as well, following the studies and lectures throughout the history of all the worlds.”

Maleficent and Pete shared a glance. Pete was growing less wary after such a silly boast, and Maleficent was losing patience.

“So, is he one of those door-to-door religious types?” Pete asked her.

“It matters not,” Maleficent answered quickly. She raised her scepter, which flared with tongues of green fire.

Zeromast reached into his right pocket and took out a palm-sized rock with a rectangle carved into it. Maleficent pointed her scepter at the man and a ball of green flame flew from the crystal orb. Unconcerned, Zeromast tapped the carved shape with two fingers then held the rock out in front of him. The fireball made contact with the stone, which was now emitting a white glow from the carved lines, and simply vanished without fanfare.

After a brief pause, Pete spoke. “Okay, talk,” he said.

“Tell us what you would like to say,” Maleficent asked of him, a command wrapped in the tone of a request. She was still unfamiliar with the concept of tact.

Zeromast replaced the runestone and cleared his throat. “I understand that for the past decade, you have been using the Heartless to consolidate your rule. First, you led the creatures of darkness to consume the hearts of the worlds so as to plunge them all into darkness. But not only did the Keyblade wielder impede your plan by locking the Keyholes of the worlds he came across, but the worlds were all brought back to the realm of light when the hero and the King accessed Kingdom Hearts. This also resulted in the defeat of your allies as well as your own death.”

Maleficent grimaced. “Do not remind me,” she retorted with a hint of anger.

“Then, after you returned, you downgraded to simply gathering an army of Heartless to try to crush your opponents,” he continued, disregarding the witch’s remark. “But once again, light fought back.” He wagged his index finger to punctuate the last three words.

“Get to the point,” Maleficent loudly commanded.

Zeromast frowned, but continued. “You have been fighting against the laws of the universe, expecting everything to bend to your will when it instead sticks to its own rules. There is a balance, one that the worlds and their defenders will try to maintain. Just as light cannot exist without darkness, nor can darkness exist without light. You cannot smother everything in shadow and not expect light to shine through. As long as the universe continues to maintain its balance, it will never bend to your will.

“But what if I told you that you could change the rules?” Maleficent and Pete were piqued at this, as Zeromast hoped. “Imagine a place from which Creation flowed, a sealed ground where rules can be written, enacted, and repealed, and matter and life itself can be created and tied together. Such a closely-kept secret that only a single person from each world is allowed to know something of that nature even exists. What would you say if you were made aware of such a place?”

For once, Maleficent was at pause. She gripped her chin, deep in thought. “A place where I could change the rules that govern the entire universe… Not even the great dominion of Kingdom Hearts would hold authority over this power?”

“From what I understand, Kingdom Hearts exists due to the code written in this place,” the man clarified, his red eyes gleaming. He knew he had them sold.

“How do we know this ain’t just some bamboozle?” Pete questioned, still unsure whether this stranger actually had their interests at heart.

The sly scholar anticipated the question. “I swear to you, this is no joke. And I will be happy to share with you everything that I know of this place, if you choose to take me up on my offer.”

Maleficent raised an eyebrow. “What sort of offer?” Pete gasped and looked at her disbelieving, amazed that she was actually listening to him, particularly after the last time a strange man offered her a power she could not refuse. He did not know the details, but he knew full well that the weirdo in the brown robe only intended to gain power for himself and left Maleficent in the dust, which led to her temporary death. And then the guy’s other half, his Nobody, became their rival for world domination.

Zeromast extended his hand, a simple gesture even though neither the witch nor the cat could reach it and probably would not care to even if they could. “An alliance. You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, as the saying goes. I cannot reach this place without your help, and, though I mean no disrespect, you cannot get what you want without the power I speak of. Ascertain this power, claim control over reality itself, and all our wishes will come true. What do you say?”

Maleficent took a moment to consider the offer. She noticed that Pete was no longer trying to dissuade her, and gave him an inquisitive glance, wordlessly asking for his input.

It took a few seconds, but Pete noticed Maleficent’s expression and realized what it meant. “Well, I think it might be worth a shot,” he suggested, keeping his voice to a whisper so Zeromast would not be able to hear. “We see what he’s got, go along with it, and see if we can’t get it. All the while, we keep an eye on this guy, and if he betrays us, we turn the tables. Hey, and if this works, we can finally get that world domination! And the Boat-Boy King, and the runt Sora, they will be kissing the ground where we stepped. Ga-ha!” He covered his mouth, embarrassed, when he realized that in his enthusiasm he let out a loud cackle.

Maleficent nodded at him, deciding to ignore the outburst, then turned her gaze back to Zeromast. “All right. We have a deal.”

Zeromast smiled. “Very well,” he declared. “But first, we must gather allies. This will be a massive operation spanning every world. And as I mentioned before, brute force and strength in numbers aside, which in this case tends not to amount to anything when the defenders of light actually fight back, the resourcefulness of just the two of you is… limited.”

“Well, ya see, we did try to put the band back together when Maleficent came back,” Pete explained, “but most of them were dead, Hook wanted nothing to do with the Heartless, Jafar was stuck in a lamp and nowhere to be found for months, and Hades simply refused.”

“I have located others, who I am sure would be happy to join our enterprise,” Zeromast promised. “I have compiled a list. Feel free to take some off if you don’t think they will work.” He reached into his left pocket and took out a square of neatly-folded paper. He opened the paper up into a full-sized sheet with yellowing edges and stepped forward to hand it to Maleficent.

Maleficent and Pete looked the paper over. There was a list of names going down, written in perfect calligraphy. Next to each name was the name of the world on which they lived.

“Glom… Him?” Pete considered the idea, then shook his head. “No way! If we pick this guy up, then one way or another, we’ll get the McDuck guy going against us directly!”

Maleficent thought about this for all of three seconds before quickly slicing the name off of the list with her razor-sharp nail. Listening in and watching, Zeromast gave a quick nod in understanding, making sure they did not see him do so.

“Wait, I thought he was dead,” Pete commented. “Didn’t you throw him off the fortress when we invaded five years ago?”

Maleficent checked the name Pete was focusing on, and paused, taking a minute to recall. “That was moments before the Keyhole was breached and the world was consumed. Perhaps the final hours were undone when it was brought back.”

“Then it’s good he probably won’t remember you did that, huh?” Pete doubled back to a name higher up on the list. “You think he’ll actually say yes?”

“If we suggest that he could use this power to claim that seat at the head of his pantheon and a chance to finally get his revenge on the demigod, I am sure he will be on board.”

Pete snickered. “Those twerps won’t stand a chance!” The raven cawed in agreement

Zeromast watched as his new allies made up their minds and smirked to himself. So it begins, he thought to himself.

Chapter 5: Chapter 4: Such a Small World

Chapter Text

The clocks marked three o’clock and the bell rang at the end of the final class period, signaling the end of the academic day at Nomura High School. Sora had broken off to meet his dad in the parking lot so he could go to his driving test, leaving Riku and Kairi to walk out together. As they passed through the front doors, they heard three voices snickering. Kairi quickly rolled her eyes, and she and Riku turned to locate the cartoon villains who were making the chittering noises.

A trio of blond-haired boys were pestering a bespectacled freshman boy. The bullies were of Riku’s age, though two of them were three inches shorter than him and the third one, Lyle, who stood to the right in the trio, was barely taller than Kairi. The one on the left, Guinness, wore a knitted winter cap despite the fact that it was March and the islands never experienced winter weather. The one in the middle, Colin, had a messy hairdo and a devilish grin that looked more corny than cruel. However, with his size and his attitude, he had the younger student sufficiently scared.

“Well, come on, shrimp,” Colin taunted. He was a complex and nuanced character like that. “Show it to me. Either you pay it up here, or you just pay the same amount for a new pair of specs. Your choice.” Guinness laughed and reached toward the kid’s glasses, forcing the freshman to back away from him. However, he was up against the wall and could not go much farther.

Riku and Kairi approached the four students. He grabbed Guinness’ hat and yanked it off of his head. The bully was confused and felt around his head to figure out what was wrong, then he wheeled around to see Riku and Kairi, glaring at him. He elbowed Colin to get his attention, and he and Lyle turned and were taken aback to see who was there.

Colin quickly regained his composure. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the wanderlust punk who let us all fall into darkness,” he taunted. Riku maintained a straight face, masking his annoyance at the fact that people had spread more word about what he and his friends had been doing over the last two years than he would have liked.

Lyle approached Kairi. “And little Miss Princess of Heart,” he teased with a whiny tone. “You want a dolly?” Kairi shook her head in pity.

Riku clapped his hands slowly, sardonically. “Bravo. New material,” he snarked. “What’s next? A joke about one of us being ‘dead meat’?” He shook his head and smirked. “How are you doing in your classes? Think you’re going to get somewhere with your lives?”

“Well, at least we’ve actually gone to class,” Colin retorted, less amused.

“You missed five days and have a C in history,” Guinness interjected weakly.

“Shut it!” Colin shouted.

Riku pretended to ignore the comments. “And here you are, tormenting a kid who’s smaller than you and can’t defend himself? Really? Do the three of you have no better way to support your egos?”

“Uh, well, erm…” The bullies were at pause, trying to come up with a suitable comeback. In the meantime, the freshman had slipped out of the corner in which he had been driven. The fear in his eyes was fading away. Colin stopped stammering and raised his hand to silently tell his friends to quiet down as well. “So how did you support your ego, huh?” he shot back. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you ran away and threw your buddies aside to prove yourself to the big leagues!” In an attempt to emphasize his jab, he gave Riku a shove. Lyle interjected a “Yeah!” much to Colin’s annoyance.

Riku regained his footing and stood unperturbed while Kairi was making yammering motions with her hand and the freshman was waving to someone across the courtyard. Riku shrugged in response to Colin’s statement. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m one of the kind of people who liked to look up and see if there was a shelf they could reach, and I reached for the wrong shelf. But at least I’m not one of the people who look down and are overjoyed when they think they see someone beneath them.”

It took a few seconds for the bullies to realize what he was saying. “Mister Big Shot over here,” Guinness shot back, not even trying to conceal his anger. The freshman looked worried that a fight was about to break out.

“Yeah. Big Shot in a small world. A small world filled with small-minded people.”

Colin drew his arm back, his hand clenched into a fist. “Why you—” he began.

The stock incomplete threat was interrupted by an “Ahem,” which drew everyone’s attention. The freshman smiled. A teacher had noticed what was going on and had approached them while Colin was getting ready to attack. The teacher made eye contact with Colin, looking at him disapprovingly. “Is there a problem here?” he asked, dryly.

Colin noticed that his fist was still raised and promptly dropped it. He and his lackeys forced a nervous smile. “Uh, nope. No problem here,” he lied. Lyle and Guinness nodded in agreement.

The teacher raised one eyebrow. “I would suggest that you three head home and study for your test on Friday.” The bullies got the hint and ran off without a word. The teacher turned to the freshman. “Thank you for calling me over here. Is everything all right?”

Riku and Kairi nodded an affirmative. “It is now,” the bespectacled student answered. The teacher smiled and walked off. The freshman turned to Riku and Kairi. “Thanks for getting those guys off my back.”

Riku smiled. “Nothing to worry about. Those three are just a bunch of small-minded lunks.”

“They used to give me and Sora trouble a couple years ago,” Kairi added, “but Riku showed us they were all bark.”

The younger teen grinned. “Well, I should get going,” he said, hoisting his backpack and turning to leave. “See you later!” He waved good-bye as he walked on home.

Riku and Kairi laughed and waved back. Kairi picked her handbag back up and Riku secured his backpack and they continued on, heading home.

Riku and Kairi’s paths diverged at the same stop where the three friends had converged each morning, and they each had gone home. As Riku approached his house, he saw a red Audi convertible pull up the street. As the car came to a stop in front of him, Riku could see that Sora was in the driver’s seat, still wearing his school uniform, and his father was relaxing in the passenger seat, his hands crossed behind his head and the seat set so he was leaning back. Sora parked the car and waved.

Riku smiled, excited at the sight, particularly by Sora’s trademark dorky grin. “You passed?” he asked his best friend.

Sora nodded. “No trouble at all,” he bragged.

Kumo waved hello to Riku. “They’ll be mailing his license in a few days,” he explained.

“That’s awesome!” Riku congratulated. He remembered how he received his only a few weeks before, as he had earned his permit when he was fifteen but had spent more than a year and a half off-world, so he was so far behind that he got the provisional license at around the time when he normally would have obtained the unrestricted license. He was still lined up to get it in a few months, however, but that did not cover how he was no farther ahead of Sora in some respects.

“So, what made you get here so late?” Sora asked, noting that Riku had only just gotten home when he should have already been back for a few minutes.

“Kairi and I were helping a freshman with a minor problem,” Riku answered with a sly smile. “Those problems being Colin, Lyle and Guinness.”

Sora laughed, and Kumo let a snicker escape. “Oh, I should have been there! Granted, I wouldn’t have done much more to take them down a peg, but come on!” Sora reigned in his laughter and let out a sigh. “Well, see you later?”

Riku nodded and waved as Sora drove off.

After Riku had changed into his regular clothes, he had pulled out his algebra notebook and textbook and began to work on his homework. Twenty minutes later, he heard the front door open and glanced toward it.

His father, Chikyu, had returned home from the station, still wearing his police uniform and hat, his breast adorned with a badge identifying him as Captain. He held a cane in his left hand and walked with a limp, but in a way that made it almost seem natural to him, putting most of his weight on his right leg. He had his silver hair neatly combed, but his bushy moustache was less well-kept.

“Hello, Riku,” Chikyu greeted in a stern but warm tone as he entered.

“Hey, Dad,” Riku returned. He looked back at his homework and began solving another problem.

“How was school?” his father asked.

“School was fine. Sora just got his license. I stood up to a few bullies.” Riku mentioned this with less of a smug tone than when he told Sora. Nevertheless, his father knew who he was referring to.

“Those bullies?” he pressed, an eyebrow raised.

“Yup.” He looked up, trying to think of the equation to use, then returned to writing.

Chikyu grunted as he smiled in amusem*nt. He went upstairs to change out of his uniform into more casual clothes. When he came back down, leaning on the banister for support, he asked: “Your mother still at the office?”

Riku nodded. “She is,” he answered. “Probably finishing up her case work for the day.” His mother, Iwa, worked as the district attorney of Destiny Islands.

Chikyu nodded, understanding. “She ought to be back in time for dinner. You plan on going to the islet later?”

Riku looked up and answered “Yeah.”

Chikyu nodded. “Tell Sora I sent my congratulations,” he requested. He took a glance at Riku’s homework and pointed at one of the problems that he had done. “Check your chain rule, son.”

Riku looked back at the problem, and noticed his mistake. He muttered thanks and started erasing his work from that point and redoing it.

Kairi cut and ate a piece of her ham dinner. She chewed thoroughly and swallowed, then ate some green beans.

“How is it?” the man sitting across from her asked. He was in his late forties, and had blue eyes and brown hair bunched into a small ponytail. He wore a grey long-sleeved shirt with a beige hood attached and a design consisting of circles and lines on the front, a pair of blue jeans, and gray shoes.

“It’s good. Thanks, papa,” Kairi answered, smiling as she took another bite.

Braska smiled, satisfied with the answer, and himself with the meal. He was not Kairi’s real father, but he had taken her in after she washed up on the island as a child twelve years ago, when he was in his second year in office as mayor. While at first he had merely let her into his home out of convenience while the grown-ups tried to figure out where she came from and what to do with her, Braska had grown to care for her like his own daughter, and eventually filed the adoption paperwork, and he became her official legal guardian.

“I am very impressed with your grades,” Braska said. Kairi smiled shyly at this commendation. “Not only have you caught up with the months you missed and are keeping up with your classes, but you have straight A’s in all of them.” He took another bite and waited until he finished that piece before continuing. “I’m glad to see that you have been adjusting well since your return, and that Selphie has been able to help you with your studies.” He paused and remembered what Kairi had told him when explaining what happened while she was gone. “Well, her and, what was it, Naminé?” Kairi nodded affirmative. Braska sighed in exasperation. “I am still trying to wrap my head around what you told me last year about the other worlds and the Heartless and whatnot. And now, I have no idea what to make of you having a Nobody who lives in your heart and helps you with math. Do you know what I mean?”

Kairi wagged her head from side to side as a way to concede the point. “That seems to be the typical reaction. I’m still trying to make sense of how Naminé even exists; it gives us both headaches.” She laughed a bit to lighten the mood. “And a double headache in one head is not very pleasant,” she joked.

Braska let out a laugh, waiting until he was done before he put in another bite of food. “I guess we do what we can,” he decided. Kairi agreed.

When they finished their dinner, Braska took the dishes to the sink to wash. Kairi offered to help, but her father figure assured her that he had it handled and she was free to go to the islet. Kairi thanked him and went up to her room to gather her stuff, then she was out the door in a jiffy.

Kairi greeted Craig at the boathouse. She noticed that five of the boats were not in the shed, meaning that not only was she the last one to cross over but there were three others on the islet with Sora and Riku. She set the boat in the water and grabbed the oars. Rather than a side pouch for her drawing pad, she wore a purple backpack. She set that down in the boat, not wanting to deal with any unnecessary weight on her back and shoulders, sat down in the boat, and started rowing over.

When Kairi docked at the pier on the islet, her suspicions were confirmed when she saw Sora, Riku, Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie playing catch with Wakka’s Blitzball. The Blitzball was a white water polo ball with a watery blue design encircling it about one axis.

Tidus wore an open yellow shirt with white sleeves and lining and yellow hems, a pair of navy pants that had the right leg extending past his knee while the left leg only reached his mid-thigh, and black sandals with black straps and a yellow pad under the middle part of the straps. Wakka wore baggy yellow pants whose legs each bore black X-shaped straps and closed up halfway down his lower legs, a pale yellow tank top with black lining, a pair of green sandals, and blue wristbands. Selphie wore a cropped yellow dress with overall straps and a large pocket on the chest, brown sandals, and a small brown belt strap which was around her left wrist, and she also had a jump rope tied around her waist.

“Take this!” Wakka shouted, and he threw the Blitzball overhand in Selphie’s direction, not yet noticing Kairi on the pier far behind her. He threw it too high and despite jumping to try to grab it, Selphie missed the ball. Kairi saw it coming straight for her and caught it with both hands, pulling it toward her chest and backing up a step to drain out its momentum.

Everyone turned to see where the ball went and finally noticed Kairi. They waved hello. Holding onto the ball with one hand, she put the other hand on her hip and gave them a look of mock disapproval. “What, you couldn’t wait for me?” she scolded lightly. They all laughed and spread out to open a spot in the circle for her as she hopped off the pier to join them. She passed the ball to Sora as one would a basketball and joined the game of catch.

After a while, they got tired of throwing and catching the ball. Tidus picked up a red wooden stick that he had stuck in the sand nearby and brandished it as if he was ready for a fight. “Hey, how ‘bout we go a few rounds?” he challenged. Sora and Riku took their wooden swords from a loop in their belts and Selphie untied her jump rope, flicked it to straighten it out, and grabbed hold of both ends.

“Think you can take a star player like me?” Tidus charged in to engage Sora. He delivered quick strikes, which Sora either blocked or parried, then did a backflip to get out of the way when Sora retaliated. Tidus blocked a downward strike from Sora, but due to the fact that his sword was bigger and the experienced hero was much stronger, even though he was holding back sufficiently, this caused a crack to form in the stick. Tidus dove to the side and ran around to strike Sora in the back of the leg while he was bringing his sword back up.

“That’s right, keep it up!” Sora commended, turning around to block another strike. Tidus ran back and forth, strafing Sora and trying to land several hits, but Sora blocked most of them and ended Tidus’ attack by striking him in the gut with the fat side of the sword, throwing him across the beach.

In the meantime, Riku was dueling with Wakka. Wakka was throwing his Blitzball at Riku, but Riku knocked it back with a swing from his sword. Wakka had finally learned from past experiences and caught the ball before it hit him in the head. He stayed at a distance, running or leaping backward whenever Riku got too close.

“Take this!” he shouted, jumping into the air and throwing the Blitzball down at Riku. Riku deflected the ball upward as Wakka landed, and as he was recovering from that, Wakka ran up and started throwing punches. Riku blocked some with his arms and returned a few blows himself, but Wakka landed a heavy hit on Riku’s chest, sending him flying backward. Riku rolled onto his back and curled his legs to his chest, then kicked forward and launched himself at Wakka. Wakka, for his part, stepped back out of Riku’s range and watched the ball as it came down. At the right moment, he spiked the Blitzball with his palm, hitting it into Riku’s forehead, causing him to fall back down. Groggily, Riku got back up and charged at Wakka, who had stood by patiently waiting for him to regain his composure. He ducked under one of the athlete’s punches and rose up behind him, landing a jab in the middle of his lower back, which caused Wakka to fall to one knee.

Kairi and Selphie watched from the sidelines as their friends sparred. Kairi could see Selphie’s annoyance at being left out, and got an idea. She took her backpack off and dropped it in the sand, leaning it against the shed. She unzipped the main compartment and pulled out a wooden sword of her own. It was longer and thinner, for swifter strikes, and was free of cuts and nicks, being newly made.

“Hey, Selphie,” she called out. Selphie turned her head to face her, wearing a quizzical expression. Kairi swung her sword with a flourish and held it out to her side. “Tired of being left out?” She smiled and raised her eyebrow to emphasize the duel invitation.

Selphie lit up and flicked the rope with a swish while still holding both ends. “Okay, don’t hold back!” The two girls ran toward each other. Kairi swung her sword at Selphie’s shoulder while Selphie cracked her rope like a whip and stung Kairi on the side. Selphie leapt back, rubbing her shoulder. Kairi took the opportunity to rush in and strike Selphie in the arm and side. The younger brunette swung her rope, wrapping it around the shaft of the sword, and yanked it to the side, pulling it out of Kairi’s hand. She flicked the rope a few times to uncoil it from the sword. She swung the jump rope, again mimicking the use of a bullwhip, and nearly hit Kairi in the back as the redhead maneuvered around her to try to get her sword back. Kairi performed a cartwheel to clear the last few feet while grabbing the sword while she was upside-down, taking it with her as she came back up.

Selphie smiled, impressed. “Not bad,” she commented. Then her grin turned to a fierce confident. “Are you ready?” she warned as she spun her jump rope above her head. Kairi smirked as she watched the rope carefully, specifically the flying end. When Selphie drew close enough, Kairi brought her sword up, hitting the handle and sending it flying until it extended to its highest point, where the rope was perfectly straight. Selphie stopped when this happened, befuddled, before the handle came down and conked her in the head.

They sparred until sunset, and at the end of it they were all covered in cuts and bruises. Kairi reached into her backpack and took out six corked, palm-sized jars filled with green-colored Potion. When the potions were swallowed, all minor breaks healed, up to and including cracked bones, though more serious wounds and fractures would require legitimate medical attention, as even Hi-Potions and Cure magic only caused tissue and bone to repair itself, and if bones were thrown out of shape or organs were ruptured, attempts at using this method would not cause the body to heal properly. After returning home, Sora and Riku, not wanting to be stingy with their curatives nor get in trouble at school or home for ingesting mysterious chemicals whenever they needed it, showed the potions to the local doctor’s office and pharmacy and the school’s nurse’s office and supplied a list of (easily accessible) ingredients which Riku had obtained so they could learn to produce the potions themselves.

Kairi passed the Potions around and kept one for herself. Everyone drank the contents of the jars and their injuries closed up.

“Man, you’ve been training a lot, ya?” Wakka said to Riku, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

Riku returned the compliment. “You’ve been keeping up yourself.” They shared a fist-bump.

“I guess I have a ways to go before I can beat you, huh,” Tidus lamented.

Sora gave him a high-five. “You’ll get there,” he promised.

“Not at the rate you’ve been going, I won’t. Months of fighting monsters consistently, you’re way too far ahead and still going.”

Sora sighed. “Those days are past,” he said sadly. “I’m here now, at home, with my family. And you guys.”

Kairi saw the look of longing on Sora’s face. She could tell that he missed the high adventure, and he missed Donald and Goofy. She grabbed hold of his hand reassuringly.

“Y’know, I think I know what’s eating you, brudda,” Wakka stated, pensively. “You live here fourteen years, livin’ the simple life, ya? You, Sora, you don’t have much to define you, just your friends. Then Riku gets the idea to get outta here and go to other worlds and see where Kairi came from. You go along with it 'cause it sounds like a fun thing to do with your friends, ya? Then you find yourself with a new power, new friends, and a purpose. You got to see more of life than what you have on the islands. The two years since gave you more clear understanding of yourself than your entire life before. And now you’re back here, and you don’t know what to do.”

Sora tried to protest, but Wakka continued. “Yeah, yeah, you got your old friends back, and you got back together with the bruddas you were trying to reunite with the whole time you were out and about. But out there, you had adventure. Your days were full of action and excitement. You grew as a person so much in those two years, that all your life here seemed next-to-nothing. Am I right, man?” Sora could only nod weakly.

Tidus started to see the picture as well. “So now, you’re back in the simple life for three months. But you’ve been defining yourself by your adventures, by the power and purpose you’ve been gifted, with your…” He held his hand out, made a swish sound through his teeth and closed his hand as if he was grabbing something that appeared out of thin air. “Now you’re out of that environment. The chapter’s closed and the genre’s shifted. You’re trying to find the answer to one question: what is your story from here on out?”

Sora thought about what Tidus and Wakka said. “So, what should I do?” he asked.

Tidus looked nervous, as if he was taken aback by the question, or the fact that Sora expected him to follow up with advice. Wakka scratched the back of his head, clearly just as unsure.

“Oh, come on, guys! You’ve just been psychoanalyzing me. The least you could do is help me out with this,” Sora joked.

Selphie cleared her throat to get Sora’s attention. “Well, maybe you should keep that stuff in your heart and look forward to see if you find something new to commit yourself to. And, about your friends from outside, it’s like you said,” she began to reassure Sora, remembering the words he imparted some time ago, “though vast the distance between you may be, as long as you are a part of each other’s hearts, they will always be here with you.”

Sora laughed. “You may have butchered it a bit. But thanks. That helps. It really means a lot.” This got her laughing, which in turn got everyone to start laughing.

Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Trouble is Brewing

Chapter Text

The throng of people filled up the Disney Town square, all facing the gazebo in the middle. A podium was erected on one end of the plaza, upon which stood King Mickey, Queen Minnie, Captain Goofy, and Donald, flanked by half a dozen magic brooms. Max and his friends stood in front of the podium, eyes locked on the figure standing within the gazebo. They have been there the whole afternoon, observing a trial that took place in regard to the events of the other night. The proceedings had taken place, and all in the plaza awaited to learn what fate had been decided for the man who was now the figurative and literal center of attention.

The defendant was Bradley Uppercrust III, former student of the Disney Castle Royal Knight Academy. He stood facing the podium, staring emotionlessly at his judges. He still wore his armor. He had earned a black eye in the time between his arrest and his trial, a parting gift of one of his former cronies as he was expelled from both the academy and the Gamma Mu Mu club that he had previously led. His wrists were bound by a metal shackle. He refused to even glance at the people who had once thought of him as a friend. They evidently had the same idea, as they gathered to the side, just far enough around that they were out of his peripheral vision.

On either side of him stood a magic broom. Although they did not look like much in terms of security, they could carry great weight with sufficient numbers. They were also implacable, shrugging off any attempt at hindering or destroying them.

This time around, King Mickey was calling order. “Bradley Uppercrust III,” he began, managing to make his shy falsetto voice sound imposing, “you have been tried and found guilty of betraying the knight’s order, vandalism, assault and battery, and attempted murder. After much deliberation, the court has decided to sentence you to twenty years imprisonment in the pocket of the Cornerstone. Do you have anything to say for yourself before the sentence is carried out?”

Bradley’s expression remained unchanged, though Max could swear that there was a slight hint of malice in his gaze.

Mickey returned the stern gaze. “Very well,” he decreed. He clenched his fist to keep his hands from visibly trembling. It was, however, still clear to all that he was crushed by the betrayal of such a promising young man. “Take him away.”

The magic brooms each grabbed one of Bradley’s arms and led him away from the gazebo. The crowd parted as the brooms led him to the door in the white marble wall that served as a barrier around the castle. Donald raised his hand and two normal-sized doors opened in the center of the larger portal, much like in the door to the castle’s audience chamber. The convict and his security detail passed through the double doors, followed by some senior knights, and the doors promptly closed.

When all was done, the crowd began to disperse. Max, P.J., Roxanne, and Vicki did not move, though Bobby and Stacey walked off, Bobby beginning to tell a joke, heedless of their comrades’ inaction. Max stood, lost in thought. Roxanne and Vicki noticed that P.J. was similarly distracted. He had been like that all morning, and they wondered what was on his mind.

Goofy approached Max and put a hand on his shoulder. Max turned to face his father, who was looking at him, concerned. “You all right, Maxie?” he asked.

Max took a moment to answer. “I… I don’t know. I mean, I always hated the guy, and I’m glad to see him get punished for trying to hurt everyone. But…” he paused trying to find the right words, “seeing him get sent off like that… It didn’t really give me a good feeling. Do you know what I mean?”

Goofy nodded. “Gawrsh, I know all too well. I’ve seen a lot of bad people get punished for the bad things they did. And I never felt joy in it. Sometimes I even felt sorry for them.” A corner of his mouth curled up to a slight smile. “But it’s good that you feel that way, a-hyuck. It shows character, and you don’t want to be the kind of guy who enjoys other people getting punished, even if you don’t like them. You understand, Max?”

Max smiled and gave him a nod. “Yeah. Thanks, Dad.” Then a though occurred to him. “Say, Dad, what exactly is the pocket of the Cornerstone?”

Goofy averted his gaze shamefully before explaining. “Well, you know about how when Pete was sent to a pocket of space for a time out after his outburst at the Million Dreams Festival twelve years ago?” Max nodded. “Maleficent busted him out some time after, with one of her dark portals. So, after King Mickey and Queen Minnie found out about that, they decided to create another prison in a different pocket dimension, this one wrapped in the Cornerstone of Light. Since its light is so bright, not even Maleficent’s darkness can touch it, and no one will be able to bust out of it thanks to those dark portals.”

Max nodded, understanding what his dad was saying and what it meant for people like Bradley. “I gotcha.” He noticed P.J. nervously looking at his hand as if he were deep in thought. “Hey, Peej, what’s eating you?” he asked. “You’ve been acting weird all day. Did something happen yesterday? When you were talking with your dad, or something?”

P.J. looked over at Max, then at Goofy. He felt Vicki’s hand on his shoulder and realized how concerned everyone was for him. He felt that he should tell them about what happened. “Yeah. While I was talking with him through that crystal ball thing, the image suddenly became foggy, like a fluttering cloth, as if there was some new dark power interfering with the spell. Dad went to check it out, and the signal cut out a minute later.”

Goofy scratched his temple with one finger, pondering. “Hmm… Y’know, maybe we should tell King Mickey about it,” he suggested. “We can see what’s going on, and if it’s something we should worry about, the king would certainly like to know.”

P.J. was reassured by Goofy’s concern and liked the idea. “That sounds good. Thanks,” he said.

“After dinner,” Vicki interjected, wrapping her arms around P.J.’s shoulders. “You guys have plenty of time to see the king, and I believe he’s actually kind of busy at the moment. Besides, I would rather not risk any shocking revelation ruining our appetites, so let’s go.”

Goofy chuckled. “Well, I guess that’s settled. C’mon!”

Behind the castle, outside of the limits of the town, a grassy field stretched out, beyond which was a lake. Night had fallen, and the shimmering reflection of the moonlight shone off of the surface.

Donald Duck and his sweetheart Daisy sat at the edge of the lake, a picnic cloth sitting in front of them, held down by two crumb-covered plates and cups. Donald wore a blue sailor’s outfit with white accents, a red bow tie, and a blue beret-style hat. Daisy wore a purple blouse, a pink bow on her head, a light-blue bangle around her left wrist, and a pair of pink high-heeled shoes that somehow fit over her flipper-like feet.

“Oh, Donald. This is just perfect,” Daisy complimented, reaching her hand to lay it on top of Donald’s. Donald smiled contentedly, glad that she is happy. Daisy had given Donald all sorts of grief for missing their previously-scheduled dates, so Donald made sure to not stand her up this time. Donald hoped that nothing would spoil the moment.

Realizing what he was thinking and where it generally went with him, Donald was not surprised when he heard Mickey, Goofy, Max, and P.J. marching down the field toward them, making a commotion as though they did not realize that they were in the middle of a date.

“Oh, come on!” Daisy screamed, furious. “Am I not allowed to have a nice evening with my husband?” She growled in frustration, scaring everyone, particularly Donald, who was usually the one with the fiery temper.

“Gosh. I’m sorry, Daisy,” Mickey apologized, embarrassed. “It’s just that we were hoping you could help us with something. You see, P.J. thought there was something funny about when he was talking with Pete, and we thought we should check if there was something to worry about going on with Maleficent.”

Hearing this, Daisy began to calm down. She glanced apologetically at P.J. and started to chuckle nervously. “Oh. In that case, we’d be happy to help. Right, Donald?”

Donald nodded, and threw down a smoke bomb that caused his entire body to be surrounded with thick smoke. When the smoke cleared, he had changed into his wizard garb. Daisy conjured a bright pink light from her hands. When the aura died down, she was wearing an ornate, sleeveless, violet ball gown and a golden tiara inset with a sapphire in the front.

“All right,” Donald announced. “Let’s get going. Let’s see, since we’re already at the lake and the water seems calm enough, we can just conduct a simple scrying spell. However, the ground is not clear and even enough to set up the runes, but I might be able to work around that…” He took a small, orange festival rocket out of his hat and held it up, imagining the path it should take. He snapped his fingers next to the fuse and cast a small Fire spell to ignite it, and released the rocket right before it went off. The rocket flew all over the place, leaving a trail of sparks that formed an image of runes similar to the ones that Pete had drawn with his communication spell. When the rocket had burned out its fuel, Donald waved his hand and it vanished in a puff of smoke.

Donald and Daisy traded a glance and nodded to each other. “Noivilbo,” they chanted. The surface of the water lit up, and the aquatic life beneath began to glow with an entrancing luminescence. Everyone present thought of the location they wanted to see, including Max and P.J., who had to be told what the fortress was called ahead of time by Mickey.

Villains’ Vale… Villains’ Vale…

An image of a ravine surrounded by mountains of blue stone and soil appeared on the water’s surface, stretched out away from the observers so that they could all clearly see what the spell was showing them. Standing in the ravine was a fortress consisting of several small buildings and seven rusted, spindly, broken-down towers, the front of which is marked with the Heartless emblem. The projection zoomed in on the middle tower, squeezed past the rusted cogs and set itself in front of a balcony. The party squeezed together to see what was happening inside. They saw Maleficent and Pete standing side-by-side. Pete wore blue and purple armor over a red short-sleeved shirt, navy-blue and white sneakers, and blue overall-type pants adorned with enormous rectangular pockets and a comically-large zipper that wrapped down and around his crotch area. This being their first time seeing Pete in his current outfit, Max and P.J. struggled to contain their laughter. The two villains were talking to an unfamiliar human-like character. Due to the way the image was positioned, the man had his back to the observers.

“Huh. I wonder who that is,” Goofy inquired. Minnie shushed him, wanting to hear what they were saying.

“Well, the hothead tried to have his mutt eat me, but he eventually came around. He seems to be willing to help us,” Pete said.

“As is the trickster. He claims to have an army as well as intentions of his own, but agreed to join us to see if he can get what he wants,” Maleficent added.

Mickey raised his eyebrow while Donald groaned. It seemed as though Maleficent was restoring the council that she had allied herself with during her first wave of attacks on the realm of light. And one of their member already had an army at the ready? As if the Heartless weren’t enough trouble.

Donald and Daisy were also able to notice that the image appeared foggy, much like the interference P.J. described. In fact, the area focusing around the mysterious human appeared to be the fuzziest. Perhaps he was the source? It would make sense. Maybe he had dark power that came from a different source than simply the darkness in his heart, or inherent magic. It was quite intriguing.

“So, I’ve been wondering… What exactly are we going after?” Pete inquired. You said they were on every world, which just adds to the mystery. I mean, if there was one of these things everywhere, you’d think we’d have heard about them somewhere down the line.”

“I will give you an idea when the alliance has been fully assembled,” the mystery man answered ominously.

“Why?” Pete asked.

There was a brief pause before the stranger answered. “It would be dramatically appropriate.” Pete raised an eyebrow in confusion at that. Watching the exchange, Max and P.J. snickered at the awkward delivery. “How many times would you prefer I explain it to you?”

Maleficent and Pete seemed to see the point, and the cat ceased to ask any more questions.

“Erm, I’ll go talk to the clown guy,” Pete announced. He clapped his hands and a blob of dark energy rose up behind him, forming a black and purple doorway that cascaded in on itself.

“And I shall seek out he who is called the ‘Shadow Man’.” Maleficent did the same, and they each left through their respective Corridors of Darkness.

The fireworks runes dissipated, and the image faded as well. The observers turned to face each other, contemplating what they just witnessed. Even though Daisy, Max and P.J. had a scarce understanding of what Maleficent and Pete had been up to previously, they knew enough to understand that they were up to something wicked. The others had come to the same conclusion, despite their questions as to the nature of whatever the fiends were after.

“We should warn Leon, and consult Master Yen Sid,” Goofy suggested.

Donald, however, shook his head in disagreement. “But Leon and the others can’t take on Maleficent on their own. They wouldn’t even be able to get to the Vale.”

“Donald’s right,” Minnie said despondently. “We must be able to gauge the situation and be prepared to intervene before it escalates, if at all possible.”

“Something tells me it’s not going to be that simple,” Goofy commented. “Here we go again. At least it’s not Ansem, er, Xemnas? Um…”

“Xehanort!” Donald clarified.

Goofy nodded, thanking him for helping him remember. “Yeah. At least we’re not facing him again.”

“Though, how different the situation is has yet to be determined,” Minnie lamented. “We know nothing of this man, where he comes from, what he wants, and what he is capable of.”

“But Goofy is still right about one thing,” Mickey affirmed. “This may be more than a simple scouting mission and fight. We could be in for another quest to protect the worlds from the forces of darkness. And if that’s the case, we’re going to need all the help we can get. All the friends we can count on.”

Donald and Goofy perked up at the declaration. “You mean—” they both cheered, excited at the prospect of what he was suggesting.

“You’re right, fellas. We’ll have to call on Sora. And Riku, too.”

Donald and Goofy laughed and cheered together until they noticed Daisy, Max, and P.J. looking sad, and went to comfort their loved ones.

“Don’t worry, Maxie,” Goofy assured. “We’ll get this over with as fast as we can, and then I’ll be right back here with ya, a-hyuck.”

Max smiled with little mirth. “You just got back. And here I was, thinking I’d be glad to get a break from your goofiness.” He chuckled ironically. “And the guys were glad to have you back as their captain.”

Goofy chuckled. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, Maxie.” He glanced at P.J. to include him in the conversation. “And you two can take care of yourselves. As for the knights, they’re in good hands. They can keep things steady while we’re out.”

Donald held hands with Daisy, looking at her apologetically. “Daisy, I’m sorry I have to leave again. I promise I won’t keep you waiting for a year like last time.”

Daisy gave a slight smile. “Oh, Donald. I wish you didn’t have to go. But, I guess we all have our duties to attend to, and this is yours.” She sighed. “Well, I’m glad we at least got to finish dinner this time.” She gave Donald a kiss, then a playfully stern glare. “Just be back before our anniversary, got it?” Donald nodded quickly.

Mickey locked eyes with his closest friends and knew that they were all at an agreement. “All right. Then it’s settled. Max, P.J., can you tell Chip and Dale to prep the Gummi Ship?”

Max and P.J. met each other’s gaze and nodded affirmative. “Roger, your Majesty,” Max saluted. “But, uh, what will you be doing?”

Mickey gave them a knowing smirk. “Well, I gotta make sure Sora and Riku have a heads-up. I heard that there are some kinds of message that always reach their destination.”

By dawn, Mickey had finished writing his letter, rolled it up, and wrapped it with a seal marked with his insignia. He slipped it into a bottle and closed the bottle with a cork. He turned off the lamp and left the library, followed by Minnie and ever-faithful Pluto.

As he marched out of the castle, Donald and Goofy stepped into line behind him. The entourage walked past the gateway through castle’s external walls and tromped down the field to the lake where they had gathered the previous night. They stopped at the water’s edge.

Mickey stepped into the water, continuing until the water was up to his knees. Judging that the water was deep enough for the current to carry the bottle away, Mickey checked the cork to make sure it was secure. He rattled the glass with his fingers, muttering “Find our friends, Sora and Riku.” A silvery-blue glow shone over the glass for a split second, and Mickey knew that the magic would work.

Generally, when sending a message in a bottle, in order to ensure that the message would reach its destination, it must be addressed with the name of its recipient (or recipients, if more than one is targeted), and it must be subtly blessed with immense faith. It would also help if the intended receiver stayed in one place, in which case it would take only a few hours to make its trip, or until it could catch the person near a body of water larger than a bathtub; if the addressee moved about the worlds, the message would try to navigate the sea between worlds until it could catch up with him and appear where he could find it. When Kairi had sent her letter to Sora, she did not write his name directly, instead writing a sentence at the end that referenced his name after she had regained the memory of that particular detail about her friend, and when it set out to find him, he had gotten to traveling the worlds again and was rarely near a sufficient body of water for long enough (faith-driven bottles tend to avoid the River Styx, and ironically, nobody paid enough attention to see it at Port Royal; it also refused to appear in Atlantica because it did not want to risk the message getting opened underwater or above water then soaked anyway), until it finally reached him and Riku in the Realm of Darkness. Mickey was vaguely aware of this kind of magic, but was not entirely sure how to get it to work, so he decided to take extra care in telling his message where to go.

He dropped the bottle into the water. It bobbed for a few seconds, before being pulled down, caught in a small whirlpool under the surface. When it reached the center, a small portal opened up and the bottle fell through. When that happened, the portal pinched shut, releasing a single bubble which popped after reaching the surface.

“Gawrsh, do you think it will get to them?” Goofy asked. Donald looked at him and shrugged.

But Mickey was more confident. “Don’t worry. It will. Now come on. We should go pack up and get ready to go.”

So, they returned to the castle. Donald gathered a stash of Potions, Ethers and Elixirs. He selected a few of his backup staffs, some of which resembling hammers and one of which having what appeared to be a yellow dragon head on top, and dismissed them to the pocket realm where he and the knights send their weapons. Jiminy pulled a fresh journal from the bookshelf in the library, with which to chronicle this new adventure, and hopped onto Mickey’s shoulder to signal he was ready to go. Goofy and the chipmunks made sure to fill up the Gummi Ship’s refrigerator and pantry with necessary foods and drinks. Chip and Dale finished their check-up on the Gummi Ship, having successfully put it back together after the Teeny Ship incident from the other day. They had let Donald off with a warning and gave him permission to act as pilot once again.

Once everything was ready, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy prepared to board the Gummi Ship and begin their journey. Minnie, Daisy, Max, and Pluto were at the door to the Gummi Garage to see them off.

“You are about to begin what is likely to be a long and arduous journey,” Minnie began formally. “We wish you luck and we hope for your safe return. Please, do all that you can to safeguard the worlds.”

“Say hello to your nephews for me, Donald,” Daisy requested.

Goofy and Max shared a warm embrace. “Look sharp,” Max said.

Pluto woofed. Mickey petted him on the head. “I’ll see you real soon, boy!” the mouse promised.

After all good-byes were said, Mickey spoke into the megaphone-shaped speaker on the platform. “Mickey Mouse to launch crew: anytime you’re ready, oh-ho!” he announced, relaying the go-ahead to Chip and Dale up in the operator’s booth.

Dale pressed a few buttons and Chip flipped a switch. As they did so, a robotic arm with an enormous white glove attached floated over the group and grabbed Mickey. Another grabbed Donald, but for some reason it pinched his rear end, causing him to flip upside down when it raised him up. The arms carried them over and dropped them in the open hatch of the Gummi Ship.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy took their seats. Since Mickey had not flown the Gummi Ship in so long, he took the pilot’s seat. Donald had no problem with that and gladly sat in the copilot’s chair, while Goofy sat in the gunner’s chair, ready to fire at any obstacles or Heartless ships they blocked their path. Donald and Goofy noticed the eight new passenger seats installed around the sides of the co*ckpit, four against either wall. It seemed as though Chip and Dale had gotten to act on Donald’s work order that he put in after remembering that Kairi was left standing without anything to secure her as they were bounding through hyperspace when fleeing from Hollow Bastion the first time they were there, and he wanted to be considerate to any future passengers. Hopefully, this would mean that they also added bunks for all of the potential passengers, rather than just a single bunk in each of the three sleeping quarters.

The three crew members waved good-bye to their loved ones before Mickey closed down the co*ckpit hatch. He set the ship into gear and got ready to launch. Runway lights lit up down a tunnel shaped like a Hidden Mickey right in front of the ship, and Mickey was pumped to get to launch.

“Uh, your Majesty,” Donald interrupted nervously, “there’s something about the launch sequence that I should probably remind you of…”

A giant red arrow appeared, pointing downward. Mickey’s eyes widened, first in confusion then in shock as he remembered the hatch leading through the core of the world out through the opposite end. “Huh. I forgot about—”

He did not get to finish the sentence as the ship dropped through the real launch tunnel, the trio struggling to keep their bearings even though they had their seatbelts buckled as the ship tumbled through the passage.

“Whoa-whoa!”

“WAAAAAAAAAK!”

“WA-HOO-HOO-HOO-HOOIE!”

Chapter 7: Chapter 6: The Gathering

Chapter Text

Maleficent and Pete looked around the room, taking in the unusual view of the colorful cast of characters that they had enlisted. Only one of them had been on their side before. The Olympian God with bluish-gray skin, a black toga held with a skull-shaped pin, and blue fire in place of hair, Hades, was an associate from Maleficent’s first endeavor in controlling the Heartless. There were ten others in the room besides them and Zeromast. One man wore gold armor and a green cape. He had shoulder-length black hair and a mischievous smile, giving off the impression of a trickster archetype and a master manipulator. There was a tall, skinny man with dark skin, purple eyes and a moustache. He wore a dark maroon tailcoat, black pants, black shoes with white spats, a purple vest, a red cumme*rbund, and a top hat adorned with a purple feather, a red band and a skull and crossbones design, and he carried a cane with a purple crystal ball on top. There was a thin woman with a mop of hair that was half black and half white. She wore a form-fitting sleeveless dress, an enormous fur coat and a pair of elbow-length red gloves. She was looking downward at the character in front of her, trying to make sense of the sight: what appeared to be a rotund albino gerbil that possessed rabbit ears and a tail with a bushy tip. He stood about two feet in height and wore a red cape held with a golden “H”-shaped brooch on his chest. Elsewhere stood a pale-skinned man wearing blue and black robes and a turban of similar colors as well as a brown glove on his right hand, while his left remained bare. He was accompanied by a floating eel. A few feet away from him stood a blond-haired man dressed like a clown or a court jester, wearing garb of red, yellow, blue and purple colors as well as white, red and purple face paint. There was also an elderly gray-skinned woman who wore a black and purple dress that flared out at the bottom, as well as a purple wig and mane, black sandals, and large blue disc earrings. Leaning up against the wall was a human-sized male sheep wearing a yellow-green chemist’s jacket. He drank from a coffee cup, apathetic to the characters around him. There was also a man with silver hair that fell halfway down his back, blue eyes, and a very slender and feminine figure. He wore a violet mantle about his shoulders, white sleeves, a white robe strapped around his waist and held up by a codpiece, purple pantlegs, and black boots with golden buckles. Last was a skeletal humanoid creature with green rotting flesh, glowing red eyes, sharp teeth, and two gnarled, bony horns atop his head, who wore a wine-red hooded robe with a fur mantle. All of these guests were sinister individuals drawn among the most evil lifeforms across the worlds.

Pete looked around nervously. He felt fear around the dark wizard with the eel and the undead horned guy, unease around the haughty woman-looking man and the trickster type man in the green cape, and absolute confusion at the inclusion of the woman in the fur coat and the behavior of the jester. They had all responded to his and Maleficent’s sales pitch and shown up to see if what they offered was worth it. However, Pete worried that half of the group could simply destroy the tower and possibly kill everyone within if they were not impressed. He simply hoped that Zeromast’s offer would hold.

The raven on Maleficent’s shoulder, Diablo, let out a loud screech to get everyone’s attention. Maleficent gave the bird a look of annoyance while Zeromast covered his ears, due to standing right next to Maleficent and being so close to the raven. In spite of that, the fairy did have everyone’s attention.

“Now that everyone is here,” she began, “you all should be familiar with the powers of the Heartless and the battle for supremacy between light and darkness.”

“Of course. I have observed your progress from afar,” the man in the green cape admitted. “I must say that I am disappointed that darkness did not quite make the cut,” he added with a wry smirk.

Maleficent raised her eyebrow in mock surprise at the remark. “Oh. Is there something that you would like to say, Loki?”

“I think everyone should be allowed to know what he saw, Missy,” Hades interjected. “You see, I was with her first band of knuckleheads commanding the Heartless. We sent them to attack a ton of worlds, swallow their hearts, and plunge them into darkness, and hunt down seven lovely ladies while we were at it.” He chuckled. “Now, Maleficent had picked me up after I’d clawed my way back from an unsuccessful coup against the gods up on Olympus, right, and you see I was seething with rage. I wanted revenge on my brother, Zeus, and particularly his kid, Jerkules. But the plan I had going then was one I put eighteen years into, setting things up so I had these huge Titans at my fingertips, and then they were kicked to the curb and it turns out they had a pretty limited warranty. So, there I was, sitting on my throne, thinking of something I could use to get back on top, when this lady shows up in a burst of green flame. And she says that with the Heartless under my control, I can send them to destroy everyone who ever ticked me off. Herc the jerk? Yes, sir. Zeus? Totally. That punk who blew off my offer to show him how to use the darkness a few years ago? Sure, why not? And so, I send the Heartless to terrorize the town, but that doesn’t seem to hold. Then I get the idea to sign them up for the games against the baby-faced lout. Some punk shows asking help in finding his dark half, whatever that means. I pour some dark power in him and set him against everyone’s favorite hero. Then, this runt shows up, carrying a weapon I’m sure some of you history buffs have heard of. The Keyblade? Anyone? Well, for the last few days, he’s been jumping between worlds, fighting the Heartless. He even sealed a Keyhole by then, meaning that there was one less world for the Heartless to munch. Maleficent thinks he could be of use. But I figure I can just throw him into a few matches with the Heartless, eventually he gets stepped on and boom, problem solved.

“But then, I’m sitting back in my lounge chair, a bowl full of popcorn in my lap, and I watch it all happen in the Games and out in the worlds. The runt plows through the Games, smashing every Heartless he goes up against, along with his idiot sidekicks. Meanwhile, on every world he gets to, he beats the Heartless, cuts down Maleficent’s little group one by one and finally fries the witch herself, and seals the Keyholes. Then he goes down the end zone and smashes whatever was holding the remnants of the fallen worlds, setting them back to normal! So, for all your talk of darkness being supreme and having the power to rule over all, it turns out light really was stronger and you—we got beat by a kid who wasn't even five feet tall.”

This caused the villains to grumble amongst each other, wondering what they were still doing there.

“She said that I could be empress!” the elderly woman, Yzma, complained.

“What about crushing everyone I hate?” the woman wearing the fur coat, Cruella De Vil, shot back, puffing a cloud of green smoke from her cigarette holder. Yzma covered her mouth and fanned the fumes away with her hand.

“I was supposed to reclaim what was rightfully mine!” the gerbil, Doctor Hämsterviel, remarked.

“If you have no faith in Maleficent and what she has to offer, then why are you even here?” the man in the blue and black robes, Mozenrath, asked Hades.

The lord of the dead shrugged. “I figured we should all know the lady’s position so we could get a feel for why she’s so confident about this scheme.”

After about a minute of bickering, and just as the jester, Kefka Palazzo, was starting to juggle enormous fireballs, Maleficent slammed the end of her staff into the ground three times, creating a booming sound that reverberated around the room and caused everyone to quiet down. The dark-skinned gentleman, Doctor Facilier, noticed that Kefka was still holding fireballs and used some of his magic to snuff them out. Kefka gave him a mock pout. Facilier simply responded by pointing toward Maleficent.

“You are correct, Hades,” Maleficent admitted dryly. “For all my efforts to smother the pathetic light and plunge everything into darkness, the simple fact of the matter is that such a thing cannot be done; darkness cannot completely consume light, and light cannot wipe out darkness. There is a balance that the worlds will always try to maintain. There are rules that the worlds must abide by. But, were there a way to change those rules, to redefine the balance, and make it so the worlds obeyed our will…” She trailed off, listening as the gathered villains expressed their curiosity and intrigue. Satisfied that she had regained their interest, Maleficent turned to the white-haired man. “Shall you say your piece, Zeromast?”

Zeromast drew a metal rod that was slung across his back. He reached into a pouch, took out several flat pieces of metal and a single red crystal, and assembled them onto one end of the rod so that it appeared as though four bent pieces of metal were holding the crystal in the center. The magic users eyed the glowing crystal curiously, wondering what sort of power it possessed.

“I am a scholar who has studied the history of all the worlds. Befitting my role as a Watcher, I am one of a select few individuals entrusted with knowledge of a secret chamber, knowledge passed down for generations, since the cataclysmic war that resulted in the division of the worlds.”

This drew confused glances from many in the audience. Understandable, as the existence of other worlds has been a well-hidden secret that for a long time had only been privy to Keyblade wielders, aside from elders who passed down an ancient legend. Many in the crowd had only just learned that other worlds existed when Maleficent and Pete arrived to recruit them. Even then, almost nobody was aware of how it happened.

The only exceptions, apparently, were Hades and Loki. “Ah, yes. I have been told stories of such an event. Alas, I was a boy when it occurred, and my… father,” the trickster god enunciated with contempt, as though he had recently had a disagreement with his paternal figure, or learned a painful truth about his origins, “had refused to intervene.”

Zeromast decided to continue. “In order to restore the World in any shape or form, the survivors had to use the power hidden inside this chamber to make a few changes to the World of Light. Resisting the urge to change too much for fear of unimaginable consequences, they shifted the darkness that had smothered the majority of the World into a sea of dark energy that divided remnants of civilization into countries, states and towns of varying size.” He took notice of the intrigue on the villains’ faces as they realized what he was implying. “You all heard right: this ‘power’ is a gift that, to those using it, offers the possibility to destroy or create entire worlds, and design the rules that govern them.”

Kefka snickered. “A world of our very own, to wreck, make and wreck again as we please?” He let out a unique laugh that took everyone around him by surprise. “Well, how do we get there?”

“Alas, the gateway protecting the chamber has been sealed, and its antechamber buried in the most twisted depths of twilight, at least from what I understand. This door is so complex that it cannot be opened unless it was complete. In my studies, I have learned that there are several key artifacts necessary to complete the portal, and if a single one is absent, the chamber cannot be accessed; not even the Keyblade can open it.”

Some in the audience, as well as Pete, were surprised. Others showed no reaction, as they had little to no understanding of what a Keyblade was. Maleficent herself was not surprised, as in her experience there have been a few doors whose locking mechanisms were so complex that his weapon could not simply open them; rather, he needed to solve certain puzzles to proceed.

“So, that is why you have gathered us,” the feminine-looking sorcerer, Kuja, realized. “You require all of our help in gathering these artifacts, to take control of the power to alter reality to our every whim. But what is it that you desire?”

Zeromast traded a glance with Maleficent. “We desire a new world order.”

“One where darkness consumes all and the light of hope is expunged,” Maleficent finished.

Hades smirked. “Well, I guess I’ll stick around. Heck, I could finally get the chance to turn things around on Olympus and smash that little bugger Hercules.”

The giant sheep, Doug, shrugged and took a final sip of his coffee. “Why not? As long as I get paid, it beats jail.”

“I’m in!” the villains announced simultaneously, agreeing to participate in the grandest conspiracy yet. The majority of them engaged in a glorious evil laugh.

Chapter 8: Chapter 7: The Call

Chapter Text

Sora counted as he watched Sion lift the barbell while lying down on the bench. His cousin had invited him to work out together and spot each other at the gym that morning. It was a busy morning at “Wong’s Gym” as adults and adolescents made use of the wide range of weight and exercise systems.

Seventeen… Eighteen… Nineteen… Twenty. Sora helped Sion place the barbell back on the rack, then grabbed his hand to help him stand up.

Sion Barzahd was Sora’s cousin; his father was the brother of Sora’s mother. As such, they had a bit of a family resemblance. Sion stood two inches taller than Sora and had similarly spiky dark brown hair and blue eyes. His skin tone was lighter than Sora’s, as he had not spent as much time sitting out in the sun and thus had not earned such a tan. He wore a red hooded jacket with a yellow inner lining and black sleeves, a pair of blue shorts that reached halfway down his thighs along with black under-shorts that inched closer to his knees, burgundy socks, black boots, and black and yellow gloves. The words “DOG STREET” were printed in calligraphy across the bottom of his jacket, “DOG” being written on one side of the zipper and “STREET” on the other, wrapping around his side. The jacket also had two zipped-up pockets. He wore a black belt as a sort of choker.

“Not bad,” Sora commended. Sion stepped away to stretch, while Sora took a few more weights from the rack and putting them onto the bar, adding a total of one hundred and fifty pounds.

“Show off!” Sion accused. Sora shrugged before lying down on the bench. He waited until Sion was in position before he lifted the barbell and started pressing it upward. After twenty presses, Sora replaced the barbell, with Sion guiding it.

“Man,” Sion sighed. “How did you go from a lazy bum to strong enough to lift that?” He and Sora removed the heavier weights from the bar out of courtesy for the gym’s other patrons.

“Eh, when you end up doing a lot of work for months straight, you’d be amazed what you can do by the end of it,” Sora answered, trying not to sound co*cky.

Sion scoffed. “The most action I get here is when I have to stop a bar brawl,” he retorted. “I mean, unless I’m a part of it.”

Sora chuckled. He knew that, as a bouncer at a bar called Fate, Sion often had to forcibly remove some of the clientele when they got too rowdy and aggressive. Sora had on occasion passed by the bar, and a few times caught Sion in the process of dragging someone out. Just the week before, Sora was present when a particularly temperamental man tried fighting back while he was halfway out of the establishment, and jumped in to slam the drunkard face-first into the wall to keep him from attacking Sion.

“Well, I kind of had a busy schedule,” he understated.

Sion let out a laugh. “Yeah, and a pretty crazy one at that. Futuristic machines, ninjas, space travel, and wild science?” He grasped his head, trying to wrap his brain around it all once again. “I wonder if I would be able to handle an adventure that nuts.”

They laughed together, and stepped away from the bench press when two guys came by looking to use it. Sora followed Sion’s earlier example and stretched to loosen his muscles. Sion led him to a punching bag that hung from the ceiling by a chain, and started delivering a series of punches and kicks to it, continuing the conversation in between hits.

“Good to see you’re staying fit, even when you’re off that kind of ‘schedule’,” he said, striking the bag between every few words. “You’re keeping up in school, right? Aunt Suta said that you and Riku breezed through classes to get in line with the rest of your age group. I’m sure you haven’t let that slip by.”

Sora shook his head with a smirk. “Nah. Still doing fine in classes. But I’ve made sure I get everything done with plenty of downtime.” Sion stopped hitting the bag and stepped aside, allowing Sora to start his part of the workout. After a series of swift, powerful punches and kicks, Sora attempted a roundhouse kick, but Sion stopped him.

“Hold up, man!” Sion grabbed Sora’s arm before he could carry through with the move. “Don’t twist on your ankle or hip.” He pulled Sora away from the bag and stepped into position. He stood facing to the side, then turned his left foot to face the bag. “Put your foot in the direction of the target, and rise up onto the ball of your foot.” As he said this, he stepped off of his heel, keeping the front of his foot on the ground. “Arc up, straight line from shoulder to knee,” he tossed his right leg partway to demonstrate, “and pivot on your foot. Don’t strain your muscles. Swing yourself around that point, and then release your leg to hit with the shin.” He demonstrated a successful roundhouse kick. “Got it?” He did it two more times to show Sora the technique. “Okay, now you try it.”

Sora stepped in front of the bag, then followed Sion’s instructions. He turned to the right, raised his left foot onto the ball, and swung himself around, spinning cleanly around the point where his foot met the mat. After testing the form a few times, he carried out a complete roundhouse kick, kicking the bag with his lower leg.

“There you go!” Sion congratulated. He saw Sora deliver the kick thrice, hitting harder with each strike until the bag was thrown at a wide angle. When it came back fast and hard, Sion braced for impact and caught it before it could go the other way.

Sion took a minute to catch his breath, concerning Sora. “Are… you okay?” Sora asked.

Sion let go of the punching bag and stumbled back. Sora helped him regain his footing. Sion turned to face his cousin and gave a cheeky grin. “I think that was enough for today.”

It was a quarter past four in the afternoon on the islet. The ocean breeze blew through Kairi’s hair as she sketched in her drawing tablet. She held the pages together with a binder clip to prevent the wind from blowing them around. She glanced over to Tidus, Wakka and Selphie, who were sparring against each other. She returned her gaze to her subject matter. A few feet off from the shore, a wide, cylindrical platform rose out of the surf. It was built around with stones but covered in sand and palm trees. A wooden bridge was built connecting the platform to another raised part of the island. That area was accessible by entering a wooden shack and climbing a stairway carved out of the rock wall, exiting through a door built on top; or one could simply jump on top of the shed and step onto the upper level. One tree on the platform was twisted so that it almost looked as though it was on its side. While the other trees sprouted coconuts, this one grew the star-shaped Paopu Fruit, which had developed a bit of a folk legend around it.

Riku sat on the trunk of the Paopu tree, staring out at the horizon. Kairi could tell that he was deep in thought, most likely reflecting on his past decisions again. She remembered how he felt dissatisfied with the simple life on Destiny Islands and, intrigued by the stories of other worlds which he knew to be true thanks to Kairi’s mysterious arrival, wanted to see what was beyond the small world he grew up on. This desire to explore led him to embrace the darkness, and when she was lost because of it, he delved further into darkness, aiding Maleficent and Ansem in using the Heartless to invade and consume the worlds. Although he realized his mistake and made up for it, even getting the remnants of Ansem’s influence purged from his heart, and even as he was welcomed back by his friends and family with open arms, he was still haunted by the pain he caused his friends.

Kairi finished coloring Riku’s hair with her silver crayon and went to replace it in her bag and grab a different one when she felt a light thump on her shoulders from behind. She yelped in surprise. Tidus, Wakka and Selphie stopped their battle to see what happened. Kairi turned around to see who it was, though she was starting to get an idea.

The culprit turned out to be Sora. “Why you!” Kairi scolded playfully, lightly shoving at his leg. She broke into a fit of giggles as he grinned, put his hands behind his head, and crossed one leg behind the other. Tidus, Wakka and Selphie realized that there was nothing to worry about and continued their match.

Sora dropped down and took a seat next to her. He peered over at her in-progress sketch of Riku. “Looking good,” Sora complimented.

“Thanks,” Kairi said, pushing her hair out of her face and giving him a peck on the cheek. She looked up at Riku, still staring pensively. Sora followed her gaze and realized what Riku was doing.

“He thinking about…?” he began to ask.

“Yup,” Kairi answered.

“I’ll go check on him.” He ran off across the beach, jumped onto the shack up to the higher ground and ran across the bridge.

Selphie found herself standing with her feet in the water. She felt something push into her ankle and looked down to find a corked bottle. Curious, she picked it up and looked inside to find a rolled-up piece of paper. Noticing a funny-looking seal wrapped around the paper, she ran past Tidus and Wakka and showed it to Kairi.

Sora crossed the bridge and vaulted himself over the Paopu tree, landing on the other side and to Riku’s left. He leaned his back against the tree and crossed his hands behind his head.

“Such a small world,” Riku said in an amused tone.

“Yeah,” Sora agreed. “But part of one that’s much bigger.” Sora recalled the end of their adventure. He and Riku had to fight Xemnas after the others had stepped through a Corridor of Darkness conjured by Naminé to escape to Destiny Islands. They managed to defeat him after a grueling battle, but Riku was injured and they were both exhausted and stuck in some in-between realm. A portal appeared and they found themselves in the Realm of Darkness. For an hour, they had resigned themselves to their fate, until a message in a bottle had washed ashore. Sora had read the letter from Kairi and he felt a glimmer of hope, then a rectangular door of light appeared in front of them, allowing them to step through and make it back home.

“Hey, Riku,” he turned his head up to face Riku, “what do you think it was, that door to the light?”

Riku hopped down and faced Sora. He poked Sora in the chest, right where his heart would be. “This.”

“This?”

“It’s always closer than you think.”

Sora took a moment to let the thought sink in. Even in the deepest darkness, there is always a glimmer of light. He realized that it was just as true as it had been when he first learned it over a year ago. He smiled, satisfied with the answer.

“Sora! Riku!”

They turned to see Kairi running toward them, carrying a bottle. She stopped in front of them and showed the bottle to them.

Sora noticed the paper rolled up inside, kept tight by a seal wrapped around it. He squinted his eyes and identified a black symbol shaped like a certain rodent’s head. “From the king?” he exclaimed as he yanked the cork out of the neck and slipped the paper out of the bottle. He removed the seal and unrolled the paper, realizing that it was a written letter. He held it up for Riku and Kairi to see and started reading the message.

Sora, Riku,

I hope things have been going well since your return home. I can say that Donald, Goofy and I really miss hanging out with the two of you. Now, I’m sorry to drop this on you so suddenly, but I’m afraid I’m gonna need your help.

We picked up something strange going on at Maleficent’s fortress and took a look to see what it was, and we found something that’s got us worried. It seems as though Maleficent and Pete have made acquaintance of a mysterious character, and they are putting together another band of baddies, like the council that commanded the Heartless before. And it seems like they are planning on going around the worlds with the Heartless again and look for some items to carry out a nefarious plan.

And frankly, in spite of whatever power Donald, Goofy and I have, as well as what Leon and the gang can do, we cannot do this on our own. We wouldn’t have a chance without the two of you.

With luck, we will be able to jump in and clear everything up before it begins, but, more likely, we will have to go on another extensive adventure to stop whatever evil plan they are conducting. I’d hate to force you to up and leave your families like this, but the safety of the worlds is at risk, and we really need your help with this.

We’ll come over in the Gummi Ship for you tomorrow. You should have plenty of time to prepare for the journey ahead. It’ll be great to see you again.

See you real soon,

The letter was signed with a stamp of the mouse-head symbol

They processed what the letter said. King Mickey wanted their help on a new mission. They were nervous, as something that was a big enough threat for the king to require their help was certainly something to worry about. In the meantime, the thought of another quest brought conflicting feelings. On the one hand, they had practically just gotten back home and reconnected with their loved ones, and to up and leave them again for who knows how long… On the other hand, Sora could not say that he did not like the idea of seeing his old companions again, and the thrill of adventure still stuck in his memory. Meanwhile, Riku was still in the mindset that he wanted more beyond the slice of life experiences that the island had to offer, especially since he knew full well what sort of splendor could be found on the other worlds.

Kairi could see that Sora and Riku were both apprehensive and intrigued at the prospect of adventure. She knew them both well enough to understand what they were thinking. So, she decided to be the mediating third party voice.

“Maybe we should tell our folks about this,” she suggested. “You can get ready, and we can arrange ways we might be able to keep in touch with everyone.”

Sora and Riku nodded. “You’re right,” Riku said. “We have a day, right? We should at least be able to discuss this with our families.”

With that settled, the three of them told Tidus, Wakka and Selphie what was going on and departed the islet, starting to row back to the big island to meet with their folks.

Sora, Riku and Kairi had managed to convince their parents to meet at the luau to discuss the matter over dinner, where they informed them of what the letter said. The teenagers could tell that the grown-ups were concerned by the news.

Iwa read over the letter again, and looked at Riku solemnly. She was tall and slender, about the same height as her husband. She had blue eyes and shoulder-length black hair. “I’d thought this day wouldn’t come, but I should have known it would.”

“If you do want to do this, I can tell that nothing we can do will stop you,” Chikyu said. “And frankly, it would go against everything I believe in to even try to stop you from doing this.”

“Truthfully,” Kumo admitted, “we were hoping that you wouldn’t have to go back out on us for a long while.”

Sora gave his parents a comforting hug.

“You were gone for so long, and we didn’t know what happened to you, or if you were even still alive,” Suta lamented, tears welling in her eyes. “I just don’t want to have to lose you again.”

“You’ll never lose me,” Sora reassured her. “I’m sorry I made you worry for so long.”

“You’ll come back, safe and sound, right?” Kumo asked.

“I will. I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“We both will,” Riku added.

Mayor Braska, who had been thinking the matter over while everyone was talking, finally spoke up. “It appears to me that the discussion has been settled. Now, we should figure out matters on the home front.” He looked over at Sora and Riku, and they stood at attention. “Should you intend to continue going to school upon your return, I would suggest that you talk to your teachers. I doubt that they would be too keen on having to throw weeks to months of school work on you to keep you with your respective grade levels a second time, particularly after jumping through hoops to bring you up to speed by several months.”

Sora and Riku looked at one another. Riku shrugged his shoulders. “I can see if the Gummi Ship crew has some way we can work around that,” Sora suggested.

Braska nodded in understanding. “Second, I am sure that your parents and friends would all like if you could keep in touch with them.” Kumo, Suta, Chikyu, and Iwa nodded confidently.

Kairi held up the bottle that the message came in. “You can send a letter like how the King did with this, and how I did before.” She looked past the others and waved to one of the waitresses, whose younger sister Kairi had often been babysitting over the last year, as she passed by.

“And I’m sure we’ll be able to visit when we have some downtime,” Sora added. The grown-ups smiled at the idea.

“Well, that was the last concern I could think of,” Braska said. Incidentally, this was the point where the waiter brought over the bill for the meal. The grown-ups paid and gave the waiter a tip. “Now, it’s getting late. You two should probably prepare for the journey ahead. We have the utmost faith in you.” He shook hands with Sora and Riku as everyone prepared to head home.

When they were outside, they prepared to part ways, but Kairi grabbed Sora and Riku by the arms as they were leaving.

“What is it, Kairi?” Sora asked.

“I was wondering if, maybe, you could let me come along,” she answered. This baffled the two of them, as well as the grown-ups.

“What?!” everyone shouted, incredulous.

“I’ve never really been a part of your adventures,” she explained. “Being semi-aware in your heart doesn’t count, and I never really got to do much when I joined you at the Organization’s castle. And, truth be told, the last few months I was kind of hoping I could get to join you on a real one someday.”

Sora and Riku struggled to respond to her request. The adults were still trying to process what she said. Kairi noticed the boys’ uncertainty and raised an eyebrow, leaning in toward them coyly.

“Come on! Remember what I said, right before we went through the door to face Xemnas? ‘Wherever one of us goes, the other follows’, right?” She shrugged and half-turned in a seemingly aimless fashion. “Besides, if I can’t handle it, you can always bring me back and drop me off here.”

Sora and Riku looked at Braska to see what he thought. He simply gave them a look that said he was leaving the choice up to them. They shouldn’t have been surprised, since he was accepting of the trio’s wish to sail off on a raft to visit other worlds, whether or not the adults actually thought the raft would work. They traded a glance with each other to see what the other was thinking, then came to a decision.

“Sure,” Sora said. “But remember to follow our lead, got it?”

Kairi nodded, glad that she could get to be part of the team. She and Sora crossed pinkies. Neither of them noticed Riku look away nervously at the display between his two friends. Iwa noticed this, and put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

“Okay. See you in the morning!” Sora said as everyone turned away to head home. He made sure not to show it around his parents, but he was excited. In less than twenty-four hours, he would get to see Donald, Goofy and King Mickey again, and they would embark on another universe-spanning adventure, this time with Riku and Kairi in tow.

Chapter 9: Chapter 8: The Ship That Runs on Smiles

Chapter Text

A row of ships constructed out of red, yellow and orange blocks flew through the sea between worlds, dodging asteroids and the occasional giant orange ring that got in their way while remaining in formation. Whatever it was that piloted the ships could not understand why there were giant rings, nor could it make sense of why they were arranged in such a fashion. But it did not care. The layout of the Lanes Between had no bearing on it. The only thing that concerned it was its job, which was to make sure that no unwelcome travelers sailed the star systems. It scanned everything in its path, checking for any unsavory formations. Once, the ships passed two other ships that vaguely resembled bees, but they were not the enemies; rather, they were allied ships, similarly tasked with dominating the routes. At a distance, the front ship noticed a construct that appeared to be made of similarly-colored blocks to itself; it even possessed a similarly-shaped co*ckpit. However, there were some key differences: there was a pyramid-like point on the front, a gun-like part was attached to the bottom; there were some white fin-like wings on the sides, and there were two smaller ships floating on either side of the construct. The front ship scanned the construct, comparing its shape and structure to the range of ships it was directed to watch out for, and it found a match. The enemy ship was listed as “KINGDOM”.

Within the Kingdom Gummi Ship, the anthropomorphic dog pressed the button on the gunner console, and a photon blast was shot from the Fire-G gun, blasting the front ship to pieces. A few more shots and the ships behind it were obliterated.

Jiminy Cricket looked out of the co*ckpit from his position on top of Mickey’s head. “Gosh. It’s a wonder that there are still so many Heartless- and Nobody-controlled Gummi Ships flying around after both factions were defeated,” he commented.

“I never understood how the Heartless could fly space ships,” Donald wondered aloud. “Nobodies, maybe, since they had some intelligence, but not the instinct-driven predatory Heartless.”

Mickey shrugged. “I never really thought about them. And we never really got to stop and take a look at them.” He swerved the steering console to maneuver the ship through and around a series of rings, and Donald pulled the Teeny Ships in closer and pushed them farther away to avoid any collisions.

Mickey sighed with satisfaction. “It’s been a while since I’ve flown this thing,” he said. “Had to have been a few years before the roads and worlds got too dangerous to make regular trips. I’m glad to see Chip and Dale put in the extra passenger seats and cup holders.”

As Mickey said that, Goofy realized something. “So, uh, your Majesty,” he said, turning around to face Mickey while keeping a peripheral on the way ahead, “how exactly did you get out of the castle and into the other worlds if you left the ship for us in the garage?”

“And I’m pretty sure Master Yen Sid wouldn’t let you use the Star Shard again, even if you had gone out to borrow it,” Donald added.

Mickey looked sheepish, realizing that he never really gave Donald or Goofy any of the details of his time away when everyone was fighting the Heartless. Even in his letter, he never gave them a hint of what he was planning to do, and he felt guilty for making them worry so much.

“Well, you know how Keyblade wielders can transform their weapons into different things, such as a glider?” Mickey asked to refresh his friends. Donald and Goofy nodded, though Jiminy was perplexed, as he was not aware of that detail. “Well, I still had my own Keyblade with me, and I fished out that piece of armor like the ones used to protect them from the darkness in the Lanes Between. I activated my armor and jumped on my Keyblade Glider, and flew out into the sea between worlds.”

“The armor piece… That black vest thing with the gold buttons?” Goofy asked to clarify. Mickey nodded. “Then why didn’t you have the armor after we woke up, and you had to put on the Organization XIII coat?”

“It got smashed pretty hard while I was in the Realm of Darkness, and I had to leave it behind when I went to help you guys close the Door to Darkness. Afterwards, I tried fixing it, but it wouldn’t reactivate. Besides, since I had the Key from the Realm of Darkness, I didn’t really need the armor to protect myself. And the black coat was to keep the members of Organization XIII from picking up my scent.”

Donald, Goofy and Jiminy accepted that answer, but several seconds later they did a double take. “Scent?” they asked, giving Mickey confused looks. Goofy clicked the gunner button and held it down, firing lasers blasts at a continuous rate until a large asteroid in front of the ship was blown to pieces.

Mickey shrugged. “I don’t quite understand it myself. Riku said something about being able to ‘smell darkness’, but I never understood what he was talking about.”

They sat quietly for a while, focusing on the path ahead. Mickey steered and navigated, Donald kept an eye on the radars to detect any obstacles and guided the Teeny Ships (somehow having convinced Chip and Dale to let him operate with them before departure), and Goofy manned the guns to shoot down enemy ships and asteroids.

After a few hours, Mickey parked the ship on the side of a massive asteroid, and the four of them took the elevator down to the galley to prepare dinner. After the meal, they resumed their positions and continued their journey.

After a while, a massive object gradually came into view. It had an ovoid shape, and appeared to be mostly water, save for a few spots of land, the largest of which was covered in islands and had a tall, apparently volcanic mountain in the middle. Another spot resembled a very familiar island that the three of them had most certainly been to before.

“Land ho!” Donald exclaimed, shaking his hands together from side to side.

“Hey, we made it!” Goofy agreed, pointing excitedly out into the distance.

“And right when we planned to be here,” Jiminy noted, eyeing the clock on the ship’s display which indicated the measured time for the islands.

“All right, men,” Mickey announced. “Are we ready to see Sora and Riku again? Oh, Kairi too,” he corrected himself, remembering that, despite the short time they spent together, Kairi was a friend as well.

“You betcha!” everyone answered enthusiastically.

“Well then, let’s find a place to touch down.”

Chapter 10: Chapter 9: Together Again

Chapter Text

Early in the afternoon, Sora found Kairi on the dock. She was sitting at the edge, her feet dangling. She wore clothes similar to the day before, but in preparation for adventure and protecting her modesty she had on some black bicycle shorts underneath her mini-dress. She had taken her shoes off to let her toes touch the water. She stared out into the distance, watching the seagulls fly over the ocean and the wind rustle the branches and leaves of the trees on the islet. Sora sat down next to her. When she noticed him, they shared a soft smile.

“This brings back memories,” he said. “When we sat on the pier at the island, watching the sunset and sharing our feelings of our planned journey.”

“It feels like so long ago,” Kairi added nostalgically.

“Thing were so different then. I was just a naïve, lazy idiot who hardly even imagined what lay out there.”

“And I was a simple girl with no memory of where I came from and who was afraid to let things change.”

“And Riku was just bored of island life and putting up with cardboard cutouts who tried to act like they were better than everyone else.”

“The last two years have changed us so much. What will happen this time around?”

Sora shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know.”

They sat there pondering until Riku came up to them and sat down with his back to both of them.

“You guys packed?” he asked them.

“All set,” Sora answered. “Just a few things to figure out when they get here.”

“We have all our textbooks. I was thinking we could hand our homework in using the message in a bottle tactic,” Kairi suggested.

“But how do we actually follow the lectures and complete tests?” Riku asked.

“I’ll ask the King when they get here,” Sora said.

“I can’t believe we’re going back out there again,” Riku muttered wistfully, a slight smile on his face.

“We’ll be together this time,” Kairi reminded him. “No chasing each other, no fighting, no secrets. Got it?” She giggled. “You two behave yourselves.”

“Hey, that was on him!” Sora retorted, mildly offended.

“That wasn’t how I saw it back then,” Riku snarked. “And hey, I wasn’t the only one who tried not to stick around. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Mickey snuck away from you and the others at the first opportunity until you didn’t have any further to go.”

“You’re right,” Sora confirmed. “But things will be different. No separating. We’ll be together to the end.”

They heard a humming sound in the distance, which quickly became louder, and they realized that the source was coming closer. They looked up and saw a familiar craft coming from the sky.

Sora, Riku and Kairi stood up quickly, ecstatic at the sight. “They’re here!” Sora exclaimed.

“We should probably let everyone know so they don’t panic,” Kairi pointed out, remembering that nobody else had actually seen the Gummi Ship before. They ran back into town to prepare for their friends to touch down.

Everyone in town had come down to the beach to watch the ship land. Once Sora, Riku and Kairi explained what was going on to the police and lifeguards, they had arranged an area to allow the ship to land, marked off by some fence stakes and police tape. The crowd watched in fascination as the spaceship eased its way to the sand. Sora, Riku and Kairi stood in the front of the crowd, closest to the ship, their eyes wide in anticipation. They each had a suitcase next to them. Kumo, Suta, Sion, Chikyu, Iwa, and Braska were right behind them. Sion wore the same clothes that he had on the day before as well as a chain attached to his left glove and a large X-shaped pendant attached to his belt-collar by a chain. Tidus, Wakka and Selphie were not too far away. Wakka was accompanied by his girlfriend, Lulu, a young woman with red eyes and black hair braided and tied in a knot who wore a dark-gray dress with a fur trim around the décolletage, a black corset, a dark-gray waist cape, three beaded necklaces, a pair of red earrings, black stockings and shoes, and a knee-length skirt made entirely out of belts, and who carried a stuffed Moogle doll. Selphie was accompanied by her boyfriend, Irvine, a sixteen-year-old boy with blue eyes and brown hair in a ponytail who wore a purple vest, a khaki-colored jacket, black jeans, black fingerless gloves, black shoes, and a black cowboy hat. Some people noticed the cannons built under the main hull and, despite not being sure what they were, moved about so that they did not stand in front of them.

A rectangular panel started to separate itself from the underside, and bent downward to create a ramp leading up into the ship. A brief moment after it touched down, Mickey, Donald and Goofy stepped out. Donald was wearing different clothes from his court wizard garb, now having a navy blue high-collar jacket with sky blue lining and cuffs with three pockets and a zipper going down between each of them to the bottom of the jacket, as well as a blue beret with a zipper that wrapped around it several times and a belt in place of the brim. Goofy wore a green turtleneck sweater, a black combat vest with gray lining and four gray pockets, yellow pants secured by a black belt, an orange hat with red goggles that were too small for his eyes, and large brown shoes with steel toes. Their faces lit up when they saw their human friends.

“Sora!” Donald and Goofy cried out, running over to give him a big hug.

“Donald! Goofy!” Sora returned the embrace.

Mickey approached Riku and cheerfully shook his hand.

“Good to see you, Mickey,” Riku said.

Donald and Goofy shook hands with Riku and Kairi while Mickey did the same with Sora and Kairi. When they noticed their families behind them, they gave a friendly wave, but upon noticing everyone else’s incredulous expressions, they looked around sheepishly.

“Are you ready?” Mickey asked.

“All packed, Your Majesty,” Sora answered. “There’s just a few small things to work out.” He explained the dilemma with class lectures and taking tests.

“Huh. I could plug in a schedule for your classes, and have your teachers install a recording device in the classrooms to transmit video recordings to the ship for you to watch, or a holographic live feed so you can participate in class.” He trailed off when he noticed Sora’s parents giving him confused glances, and he realized that they wouldn’t have any idea what the technology he was referring to was. “Uh, I’ll have to get it out and demonstrate. And I can give them a special mailbox so they can hand out homework and tests and you can send it in.”

“Like the one Chip and Dale used to tell us about the Coliseum tournaments?” Goofy asked.

“And the communication system they used to check our radars and give us updates on the last adventure?” Donald added, remembering the chipmunks’ frequent calls during their travels over the last few months.

“The very same,” Mickey answered.

“That’s great,” Sora said, satisfied with the answer. “Oh, your Majesty, would it be alright if Kairi comes with us?”

Mickey sized her up and down and realized that she also had a suitcase. After some thought, he said “Sure. The more, the merrier!”

“It’ll be great to have you on board,” Goofy assured her. Donald nodded in agreement. Riku’s eyebrow shot up when he saw this.

“Give me a minute. I’ll get the stuff and we can talk to your teachers,” Mickey said before he ran back up the ramp into the Gummi Ship.

After talking to the teachers and giving them the webcams and mailbox, the latter of which would work like a sort of trans-dimensional fax machine, the group returned to the entrance of the ship to say good-bye to their friends and family.

“Hey, Selphie, can you cover for me with babysitting?” Kairi asked. She had begun watching the children of the island for their parents and guardians. She sometimes did it on her own, but Selphie sometimes helped her.

“Of course! I’ll keep an eye on them and make sure they have fun,” Selphie promised. Then her tone turned a bit somber, thinking of a certain babysitting charge. “And I’ll keep her spirits up. Show her she’s not alone.”

Kairi nodded in thanks, understanding her meaning. She and Selphie hugged, then she gave Irvine a fist-bump.

Sora and Riku traded high-fives with Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, and Irvine. They simply received a handshake from Lulu.

Their good-byes were interrupted by a shriek of terror coming from the middle of the crowd. Everyone turned to see what was going on, and noticed a group of people running away from a certain point.

“Monsters! Everybody run!”

As most of the crowd dispersed in panic, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy could see what was eliciting such a reaction. There were several identical creatures, humanoid in body structure but slightly smaller than Mickey and Donald in size. They were entirely black, save for two circles on their spherical heads that emitted a yellow glow. At the ends of their skinny arms were hands with four fingers, and they had feet that converged into a point where the toes would have been. They had a pair of bent antennae on their heads, which twitched as they sensed the people around them. Despite the fact that they were completely unfamiliar to most of the residents of the island, the heroes knew exactly what they were.

“Heartless!” Sora called out. “Get everyone clear!” In response, Chikyu began barking orders to the other police officers, instructing them to bring the civilians to safety.

On hearing the shouts, the Shadow Heartless turned to see where they were coming from, and recognized the young man with the spiky hair. Visually, they were confused when they saw the other two men of similar appearance, but they identified the radiance within this specific human’s essence, as well as a similar radiance within the silver-haired youth next to him, and an even brighter light devoid of darkness in the girl who stood with both of them. They also took note of the bipedal mouse, duck and dog. Identifying their targets, a group of the Heartless converged on them, while the rest stayed back and went after those trying to flee.

Sora approached the nearest group of Heartless and quickly found them encircling him. Staring down the one directly in front of him, he reached his arm out in front of him. A bright flash of light burst out, and he closed his fingers around a cylindrical handle. When the light faded, he held a key-shaped object in his hand. The main body had a length of thirty-eight inches. It had a silver cylindrical shaft. The teeth extended from the side of the shaft in a downward direction, and had a blocky trapezoidal form with a cutout in the shape of a crown that resembled Sora’s pendant. Between the shaft and the handle guard was a blue rainguard. The bright gold handle guard wrapped all the way around the black handle. At the end of the handle guard, opposite from the shaft, was a loop, on which a keychain was clipped. At the end of the chain was a silver token made of three spheres arranged in a way that resembled Mickey’s head.

Sora gripped the Kingdom Key with his other hand and held it out to his side in his combat stance. The Shadow in front of him leapt in for a swipe, but Sora swung his Keyblade at it, cutting right through it and causing it to explode into a black cloud. The other Heartless moved in, but Sora struck each one down, finishing the last one off with a sliding dash, using the Key to push the ground behind him away then swing back around when he reached his target, smashing it to pieces.

Mickey conjured his own weapon, the Kingdom Key from the Realm of Darkness, which resembled Sora’s save for the fact that the shaft and keychain were gold, handle guard was silver, the rainguard was red, and the handle was brown. He jumped over top of the grown-ups and took out a Shadow as he landed. Riku summoned Way to the Dawn, which appeared in a dark cloud rather than a white light. It had the shape of a sword that resembled a black and red bat wing with a gray angel wing attached to the tip, the handle guard was made up of a white angel wing and a black demonic wing, and the token attached by the keychain resembled a Heartless emblem but without the spiked bars crossing it. He sliced through another Shadow. Donald and Goofy summoned their staff and shield and joined the fight.

Goofy smacked a Heartless with his shield then threw the shield sideways under his leg, sending it spinning through the air to hit and bounce off of multiple other Shadows. Donald whacked one on the head then cast Blizzard, sending a chunk of ice straight through the air, cutting through the creature as well as the one behind it before the spell dissipated. Tidus pulled out his stick, which he had strapped over his back, and hit a Shadow on the head, though all that did was bend an antenna. He and the monster looked at each other awkwardly, until a Blitzball and a basketball hit it from opposite sides, causing it to explode as the balls bounced off of each other. Tidus watched as the balls returned to Wakka and Irvine, who caught their respective projectile and gave each other and Tidus a thumbs-up. Sion kicked a Shadow across the beach, then performed a front-flip, bringing his heel down on an enemy’s head as he landed. Whenever a Shadow jumped into the air at someone, he was quick to punch it to oblivion. Selphie also nailed one by looping her jump rope around a Heartless’ neck and swinging it around before throwing it to Goofy, who smashed it to pieces with his shield. Kairi even got in on the action, ripping a fence stake out of the ground and, holding it like a saber, swiping and stabbing at Heartless.

The high school principal found himself surrounded by the monsters, but Sora threw his Keyblade, vanquishing three in one go. The principal watched as the weapon vanished in midair and then reappeared in Sora’s hand as the boy charged in and defeated the other Shadows. A trio of Shadows ran towards them, but Sora took a few steps forward and shouted “Fire!” A ball of fire shot from the tip of his Keyblade and flew right into the monsters. As it soared, the convection from the heat caused some of the sand beneath it to melt and solidify into glass. On seeing this, the principal’s jaw dropped, though Sora did not seem to notice, even though he had a feeling the spell would elicit a sort of reaction, as he ran off to finish off the last of the Heartless.

Sora, Riku and Mickey ran after the last Shadow, but it sank into the shadows and slipped into the water.

“How does it do that on sand?” Sora asked, annoyed. He then noticed the waves becoming bigger and rougher. The earth shook beneath his feet, causing him, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy to look around, wondering what was going on. He looked at the sky, but, fortunately, saw no orb of dark Armageddon. “Well, there’s some good news. But where—?”

He was interrupted when a massive wave threatened to overtake them. Mickey shouted “Wind!” and cast a massive Aero spell that caught the water in a typhoon and carried it far away from the shore. But when the funnel was far enough away, everyone gasped when they saw a massive shape rising out of the water.

The giant was all-black, like the other creatures, but it was twenty feet tall and built like a muscular adult man. Vine-like tendrils wrapped around its head, covering everything except for the eyes. It also had a pair of demonic wings on its back, each the size of one of its scapulae. Most peculiarly, there was a heart-shaped hole cut out of its abdomen, with a long flap of inky skin drooping from the top crease of the heart.

The Darkside marched its way to the shore until only its curly feet were submerged. It raised its hands, curled into fists, and prepared to bring them down upon the Gummi Ship.

Mickey’s eyes went wide, but he reacted accordingly. He took a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button. In an instant, the Teeny Ships flew out of the ship and started firing lasers at the Darkside, forcing it to block the attack with its arms and step away from the ship.

Kairi looked up at the monstrosity uncertainly. “Is this going to be tough?” she asked.

Sora, Riku and Mickey shook their heads. “Nah. This’ll be a piece of cake,” Sora told her confidently. He remembered how the first one he fought proved to be difficult, but the one he fought at the end of his first quest was easy, and he had seen Mickey cut down two of them in a single blow.

The Darkside punched into the ground, causing a pool of darkness to extend from the impact site. A dozen Shadows rose from the pool, but the warriors cut them down. Sora, on the other hand, was not concerned by the troops, and started swinging his Keyblade at the hand, seeking to disrupt tendons and capillaries.

After a brief period, the Darkside lifted its hand up, causing the pool to dissipate. However, before it could stand upright, it was impaled in the shoulder by a harpoon. Sora and Riku stared at it in confusion, then let their gaze follow the rope tied to the harpoon until they saw Datto and Keepa, two of Tidus and Wakka’s teammates, pulling to hold the beast down. Another harpoon hit it in the other shoulder, this time held by the other teammates, Letty, Jassu and Botta. More people came down and tied ropes around the Darkside’s legs and arms, then pulling hard enough so that it took everything in the beast’s power to not fall.

Despite this, it was brought to its knees, though it was able to lean back, dragging the water polo players’ feet through the sand. A purple glow emanated from the hole in its abdomen.

“Goofy! It’s going to shoot homing blasts!” Sora called out. Goofy nodded in understanding and watched as the first energy blast was released. He followed its movements and jumped in at the last moment, blocking it with his shield before it could hit Datto and Keepa. Another one nearly hit Letty, but Goofy blocked that.

Donald joined the effort to bring the monster down, casting Gravity spells to add extra force to keep it from holding itself up. Meanwhile, Mickey ran straight at the Darkside, slashing at its legs and hands again. Kairi slashed through the last of the Shadow Heartless and joined him. Wakka and Irvine threw their balls right at the giant’s head and chest. Whenever it rebounded into his direction, Tidus leapt and kicked the Blitzball right back at the Darkside.

Sora looked up at the head, then scanned the beach for vantage points, and turned to face Riku. “Can you give me a boost?” he asked, pointing his friend to where he wanted him to go. Riku nodded and made his way to that point, ducking beneath a harpoon rope on the way. He dismissed his Keyblade and crouched, facing away from the Darkside and cupping his hands in front of him. Sora ran around the water polo players and straight at Riku. When he stepped into Riku’s hands, Riku lifted him up, and he vaulted himself up over the Darkside’s head.

The monster looked up to see what was happening and realized too late what Sora was doing. At the apex of his leap, Sora turned his Keyblade so that the end of the shaft was pointing down at the Darkside’s head. As he descended, he brought his weapon down hard for the strike.

As far as anyone else could see, Sora disappeared right into the Darkside’s head, but fell out of the heart-shaped hole half a second later, stumbling down the giant’s rear end and leg, covered in bits of shadowy goo, until he landed knee-deep in the water.

The Darkside froze, stunned from the grievous strike, smoke pouring from between its eyes. Cracks formed along its body, and it started to fade away into a cloud of inky blackness. The ropes fell to the ground as there was nothing to wrap up. Sora looked up in triumph at his work. At last, the entirety of the Darkside dissolved into nothing. At that point, he saw the harpoon that was embedded in the right shoulder fall and he frantically jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit.

The crowd that had formed around the scene of the battle began to cheer, celebrating the victory and applauding everyone’s part in it. When Sora returned to shore he was quickly met with a tight and loving embrace from his parents. He met back up with Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, and they congratulated each other on their great work.

“Not a bad start,” Kairi quipped, jabbing the fence stake into the sand.

“You all did great!” Sora commended to the crowd.

“You have a long road ahead of you,” Mayor Braska interjected, getting their attention. “We wish you the best of luck.”

“Keep an eye on each other,” Kumo told them.

“You’re a team now,” Chikyu said. “If any of you finds yourself in trouble, you all work together to get out of it. No man gets left behind.”

“Show 'em who’s boss,” Sion said.

“Never lose sight of what you believe in,” Iwa advised. “If anything gets through your thick skulls, let that be it.”

“Follow your heart. Do what you think is right, and let the light be your guide,” Suta concluded.

Sora, Riku and Kairi gave their loved ones one last hug good-bye, and walked up the ramp with Mickey, Donald and Goofy into the Gummi Ship.

“Be good! And don’t forget to do your homework!” Suta added.

The hatch closed, and the Gummi Ship rose into the air. Once it was high enough, the ignition flared and the ship launched out of the world’s orbit.

Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Blast Away!

Chapter Text

Riku and Kairi gazed in wonder as they explored the interior of the Gummi Ship. Kairi had been in the ship once, after she, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had escaped from Hollow Bastion more than a year ago. However, she was only on board for less than a day, due to Donald sending the ship through warp to make it back to Traverse Town, and her memory of the time was still somewhat fuzzy due to her memories of Sora and everything relating to her experience with him being tampered with. Regardless, she was still amazed by the sights. Riku, conversely, had never been in the ship at all, and although he was familiar with computerized technology, the sleek design and advanced electronic interface of the space ship left him breathless.

Sora was quick to notice the upgrades made since he was last aboard. Chip and Dale had accounted for the possibility of extra passengers and installed not only extra seats in the co*ckpit but also built in more bedrooms and added bunk beds. The galley was updated as well, with better storage cabinets and a larger refrigerator as well as a wider range of cutlery and cooking implements. The laundry room was in top working condition, and there were actually enough bathrooms for multiple passengers.

“Wow. Chip and Dale really put a lot of work into this!” Sora said as Donald led him, Riku and Kairi back to the co*ckpit.

Donald nodded. “They said that they were working on these updates during the last two years, and just got the chance to put everything in when we got back,” he explained.

“Well, I’d say they did a good job,” Kairi commended as she looked around the co*ckpit.

“If DiZ, ahem, Ansem could get a look at this,” Riku mused, slurping from a juice box.

Sora turned to address his animal friends. “So, how have you guys been?” he asked earnestly.

“Enjoying the peace and quiet,” Donald answered.

“I got to watch the new class of cadets graduate from training,” Goofy said, a tear sprouting from his eye. “My son Max is a Royal Knight.”

Everyone’s attention was briefly diverted when Riku snorted some juice out of his nose.

“It’s been nice to be home,” Mickey told them. “What about you?”

“Glad to be back together,” Kairi answered. Sora and Riku nodded in agreement.

“Great to be home,” Sora concurred with Mickey. “Though, I really did miss this.” After a moment’s pause, Sora ran past everyone and jumped into the pilot’s seat.

“Hey!” Donald protested. “Get out of there! You’re not flying this thing!” Riku, Kairi and Goofy laughed as Sora and Donald fought over the controls.

“You let me fly all the way through the last journey!” Sora reminded him. “Besides, I just got my driver’s license!”

Jiminy jumped onto the control panel. “Now you two behave, or we’ll have another crash landing just like with Deep Jungle,” he warned them.

“Say, how about we give Riku and Kairi a rundown on flying this?” Mickey suggested. Sora and Donald stopped squabbling and considered the idea.

“Okay. That sounds like a good idea,” Sora said, throwing Donald off of him and hopping out of the chair.

“All right. Now, let’s have one of you in the pilot’s chair and the other one in the gunner’s seat.”

Riku and Kairi briefly deliberated between themselves before coming to a decision. Riku sat in the pilot’s chair while Kairi took the gunner’s seat. Mickey gave Riku instructions on how to fly the Gummi Ship, teaching him how to hit the thrusters, steer the ship and perform an aileron roll. He then taught Kairi to aim the Fire-G cannons and send commands to the Teeny Ships to direct their laser guns, to lock onto targets, and to fire intermittent or constant photon blasts or homing laser shotlocks from both the main ship and the Teenies’ guns. He had them try it out in an asteroid cluster, where Riku deftly maneuvered around the larger rocks and Kairi destroyed the smaller rocks. He then had them switch places and showed them the controls. Kairi checked the radar and saw a number of Heartless ships a short distance away, and asked permission to fly into the area so she can practice piloting and Riku can practice shooting.

The crew saw a wide range of Heartless ships. Some were red and orange and resembled fireballs; some were brown, red and yellow-green and resembled turtles; and some resembled purple towers. Kairi maneuvered around the ships and Riku shot them down. Along the way, they saw a large green ship that looked and moved like a quadrupedal animal, even having a “head” at the front, crawling across an asteroid. Kairi hovered over it while Riku shot at it continuously. It took a lot of firepower but the Crawler eventually collapsed and exploded.

“You’re doing great!” Sora congratulated. Donald couldn’t help but agree. However, their cheers were interrupted when a warning siren blared. Checking the radar, Kairi was shocked to see a massive Heartless ship approach.

The enemy ship had a blue and purple color scheme. It was made up of four long, rigid “arms”, which were joined at and folded around a smaller, conical gray body that appeared to have a face.

Sora, Donald and Goofy recognized this creature. “Be careful with that thing,” Sora warned them. “It will shoot a lot of lasers from all of its arms continuously, and sometimes shoot ring-shaped blasts. Just keep the main guns trained on the head and let the Teeny Ships hit the arms and you’ll be fine.”

Kairi and Riku let him know that they understood. It took a short while for Kairi to figure out how to work around its barrage of attacks, resulting in the Gummi Ship taking a few hits, but pretty soon the enemy ship had taken enough damage and started to combust. Kairi flew the craft away from it while Riku sent one last shot right at the center of the face, causing the whole thing to explode.

Kairi cheered excitably and Riku laughed triumphantly, with everyone else commending them on their good teamwork.

“Would you two like to keep it up the rest of the way?” Mickey offered.

Riku and Kairi shook their heads no. “No, thank you, your Majesty,” Kairi declined politely. “Besides, we would like to take in the sights on the way to Hollow Bastion.”

Mickey looked at her with a confused expression. Wondering if it was something she said, she looked around at the others, but they all sported similar expressions, except for Riku, who was perplexed for the same reason as Kairi.

Sora came to a realization. “Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you. Leon and the others remembered the world’s true name, so now they’re calling it ‘Radiant Garden’.”

“Oh!” Kairi gasped as a memory struck her. “Now I remember. My memory is still kind of fuzzy since I was sent away. I’ve been getting some of my childhood memories back since I was there with you. I can’t believe I didn’t remember the name!”

“Nobody remembered until Tron dug it up in Ansem’s computer,” Goofy explained.

“Tron was the program from the world within the computer system, right?” Riku asked for clarification. Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded in confirmation. “And he has access to all the data on the computer?” He paused, thinking. “If that’s the case, then he could help us find any information on what Maleficent and Pete are after. If there’s a specific object on different worlds, there might be one in Radiant Garden.”

“You’re right,” Sora said. “Even if there isn’t anything that tells us about their objective, we might be able to find a clue to point us in the right direction, and maybe we’ll be able to stop Maleficent from getting those things.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Mickey conceded. “We’re going to need all the clues we can find.”

“Then we should get going.” Sora ran toward the pilot’s chair. Donald tried to get to it before him but Sora waved his hand horizontally, and a sheet of ice formed on the floor in front of Donald. As soon as the duck stepped on it, he slipped and slid across the co*ckpit, past the chair and into a passenger seat. Sora confidently hopped over the ice trail and sat in the pilot’s chair.

“You learned some new tricks, huh, Sora?” Donald commented, disoriented.

Sora grinned and snapped his fingers, creating a flame sprouting from his thumb. “I sometimes found myself playing around with my magic spells. I didn’t want to go forgetting them again.”

Goofy sat in the gunner’s seat, and Mickey sat in the Teeny Ship guidance seat. Riku and Kairi sat in some passenger seats and strapped themselves in, while Donald resignedly buckled his seat belt. “Ready when you are, Sora!” Goofy called out.

“All right, then,” Sora said, checking the map of the worlds to plot a course. “Blast away, Gummi Ship!” he shouted, gunning the ignition and sending the ship through the sea between worlds.

Chapter 12: Chapter 11: Restoring the Light

Chapter Text

The telltale ring of the security system’s scanners beeped. The shopkeepers heard tiny tapping footsteps approach, and looked out of their stalls to see what was coming. What they saw was a humanoid figure covered head-to-toe in knight’s armor. Its heels were raised so that it only touched the ground with the pointed ends of its spike-shaped boots. Its visor, decorated with two red spirals, was raised, exposing its pitch-black face and yellow eyes. In its left hand it held a sword with a gold guard and handle. The ever-familiar Heartless emblem was visible upon its breastplate.

The Armored Knight heard someone coming from behind and turned around to block the man’s blade with his own. The man wore a white undershirt, a black short-sleeved jacket with a fur collar and a design of two red wings on the back, black pants that had a zipper going down the side of each leg, black gloves, black zipper-lined shoes, three belts around the waist, two of which were worn loosely, three belts around his left arm, and a necklace with a token resembling a profile lion head on a cross. He had brown hair and blue eyes. A scar was cut diagonally across the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes. He held a large sword, but in place of a handle and hilt were the grip of a shotgun and the cylinder and trigger of a revolver pistol, and a token shaped like the lion head of his necklace was attached to the butt by a chain.

The man, Leon, swung his Gunblade at the Armored Knight, but the Heartless attempted to parry each time. However, Leon managed to overpower it and stun it. He used the opening to slice it in twain. It exploded in a ball of darkness. A glowing red heart floated upward out of the shade and faded back into the darkness.

Three shadows appeared in the center of the marketplace. Leon charged in to intercept them, and struck down two of them without giving them time to react. The third one, however, flattened itself to the ground so that Leon could not harm it. It crawled around and even slipped under his feet, then rose back up behind him. It tried to claw at him from the back, but Leon whirled around and cut it down.

“Leon, look out!” Leon heard the warning and turned around. He saw a red hourglass-shaped body with a black, spherical head poking out of the top. The Heartless had a pair of small, thin crow’s feet poking out of the bottom hole and wore a yellow conical hat with a jagged rim and a thin, curled tip. The Red Nocturne shot a ball of fire at Leon, forcing the soldier to brace himself for the hit, which sent him flying.

Leon forced himself back to his feet while the Heartless spun flames around itself and prepared to throw itself right at him. This attack was nullified when a throwing star hit it in the face, stunning it and dispersing the flames. Three more shurikens were thrown before it disintegrated.

Leon turned to get a look at his rescuer. On top of the Item Shop roof stood a young woman with short black hair and indigo eyes. She wore an unzipped, black combat vest over a navy-blue tank top with white floral designs, a white wristband on her right arm, a black fingerless glove on her left hand, dark tan and black short-shorts with a strap dangling from the left side, tall black socks with white stripes at the top underneath knee-height tan sneaker-boots with white soles, and a black headband. She waved cheerfully and gave Leon a thumb-up.

Leon smiled and shook his head, but then noticed a Blue Nocturne, which looked like a Red Nocturne but with a blue body, floating off somewhere to the ninja girl’s left. Leon raised his Gunblade, lined the blade up with the Heartless in his sight, and pulled the trigger. The cylinder turned and the ammo in one of the tubes struck the bottom of the blade, creating a ball of fire right in front of the cylinder and shooting it at the Heartless with a loud crack. The fire shot hit the Blizzard-based Blue Nocturne, destroying it.

He saw three Yellow Operas approach the ninja girl from behind and crackle with electricity. “Yuffie! Three behind you!” he warned her. Yuffie Kisaragi glanced a bit to the side and caught one of the Heartless in her peripheral as they were about to surround her. She pulled a metal cross-point out of her pocket and turned a few knobs on each arm, causing four kunai-like blades to extend from each end. She twirled her Fuuma Shuriken in her hand, willing it to glow with chi energy, then tossed it in a tight arc around her. It spun around her several times, cutting through the antenna-capped Heartless, then caught it and threw it across the marketplace, where it flew around and destroyed two Red Nocturnes, two Blue Rhapsodies, and a Green Requiem, then returned for her to catch. She collapsed the Shuriken back into its cross-point form and placed it back into her pocket.

A rotund Heartless with fat blue arms, silver bracelets, a conical cap, and colorful armor on the front of its torso materialized in front of Leon. Leon leapt back before the lumbering Large Body could swing its heavy arms at him. Above the Large Body, four more Green Requiems appeared. Leon groaned in exasperation, as he knew that whatever damage he dealt to the big Heartless the Green Requiems would simply heal. He could not attack them because they flew high enough to be out of his reach, and they absorbed fire, ice and thunder-based magic attacks, including Leon’s fireballs, to heal themselves.

“Yuffie! The green ones are yours!” Yuffie got the message and threw her small shurikens swiftly to destroy the Green Requiems. Leon, meanwhile, ran around the Large Body, moving from its invulnerable front to its exposed back. After that was done, he swung his sword. When it had registered the pain sufficiently, it turned around quickly, seething with an anger so fierce that it began to glow purple. Leon was already in the midst of a swing, and his blade bounced harmlessly off of the armor. Leon ran backward, and dove to the side when the Large Armor threw itself onto its stomach and slid across the ground. It seemed like it would go past the walls and up a short flight of stairs into one of the shopping stalls, but a holographic yellow disc and sphere materialized and moved into the Heartless’ path, exploding on contact and causing it to flip three-sixty degrees in the air, landing flat on its stomach. While it was stunned, Leon ran up behind it and slashed at it with his sword until it dissipated.

Yuffie jumped off of the roof and touched the ground with a three-point landing. “Nice going, Leon,” she said, walking up to her partner and holding her hand up for a high-five.

“Things have been quiet the last few months,” Leon commented pensively. “We’ve scarcely seen a Crimson Jazz. Now, a wider range of Heartless is appearing all over town. Not as many as before the invasion, but certainly more than lately.”

Yuffie retracted her hand. “Well, it’s nothing we can’t handle,” she assured him. “Come on. Let’s get something for the gang.” She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the freezer-shaped shop at the marketplace’s entrance. In front of the shop stood an elderly-looking duck wearing an expensive blue jacket, a black top hat, pince-nez glasses, and red spats, and who carried a wooden cane with a gold tip. “Morning, Mr. McDee,”

Scrooge McDuck noticed her and Leon approaching and smiled at them. “Ah, hello there, lassie!” he greeted back. “What can I get ye?”

“Five Sea-Salt Ice Creams, please,” Yuffie answered cheerfully.

Leon glanced at the shopkeeper across from Scrooge. A small, white, furry creature resembling a plush toy, who had a bulbous pink nose, purple bat-like wings, and a spherical red “pom-pom” attached by an antenna, floated behind the counter. A few similar creatures, known as Moogles, mulled about the shop, working with hammers and anvils, blowtorches and cauldrons, using forging and alchemy to smith and synthesize different materials and products. The shopkeeper, Mog, wiggled his pom-pom, which Leon took as the equivalent of an eye-roll for a creature whose eyes were constantly squinted until they were almost entirely shut. Both knew for sure that there was no way that Yuffie was paying for the treat.

Leon was already fishing his wallet out of his pocket when Scrooge presented five sticks of a sky-blue-colored frozen treat. Yuffie took three and, after giving Scrooge the Munny, Leon took the other two.

They walked out of the marketplace and down through the borough, the main residential district of Radiant Garden. They heard the hum of a construction machine on the city wall, and occasionally saw the holographic discs of Cid’s CLAYMORE security system appear and disappear, scanning the area to make sure there are not any intruders, namely the Heartless and Nobody variety. They approached a house with lavender roof shingles and a cylindrical tower for a second floor, which had its own roof that was shaped like a witch’s hat. Leon pushed the wooden door open and Yuffie rushed in to greet their coworkers as they entered the headquarters of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee.

A blond-haired man in his mid-forties stopped typing on the large computer and turned to face Leon and Yuffie. Cid Highwind wore a white T-shirt, baggy blue pants, a wide orange waistband, grey socks, black shoes, black pilot’s goggles, and a necklace with a rectangular charm. He chewed on a toothpick, trying to ease up on his smoking habit out of consideration for his colleagues, at least while he was indoors.

Two women who were talking by a circular table with a white cloth turned to greet their friends as well. One of the women, a girl in her mid-twenties with green eyes and long curly brown hair that she braided and tied with a pink ribbon, smiled warmly at the arrivals. She was wearing a carmine pink and white top held up by a string that wrapped around her neck, a pink dress with a white stripe across and a second white dress beneath, and light brown boots. The other woman, an engineer in her upper thirties with hazel-brown eyes and auburn hair tied in a ponytail with a yellow band, gave them a wave. She wore a mustard-yellow sweater, similarly-colored slacks, a white lab coat, a brown belt, brown shoes, and circular spectacles. Yuffie skipped over and gave them both a stick of ice cream while Leon handed one to Cid.

“How did it go?” the girl in pink, Aerith Gainsborough, inquired.

“Ooh, there were all these big, nasty Heartless!” Yuffie embellished. “Leon was doing fine, but got himself in a jam. Then I came in and I was like, ba-bam!” She twisted back as if to throw a punch, then swung forward, throwing her arm to deliver several weak jabs into the air. Aerith pretended to look impressed as she took a bite of her ice cream.

“So how was it really?” Cid asked in a gruff tone, standing up so that he would not drip any ice cream on the computer.

Leon shook his head. “They still haven’t returned to the numbers from before Maleficent’s invasion attempt, but there is a growth in forces. We even saw a Large Body and dozens of elemental floaters, including Green Requiems.”

“Interesting,” the female engineer, Shera Martine, commented. “An hour ago, CLAYMORE detected and dispatched three creatures scaling the wall into the bailey. We believe that they were Neoshadows.”

“Neoshadows,” Leon mused. “Now those are a rare sight. This can only mean one thing.” He took a bite of his ice cream. “Maleficent has regained control over the Heartless.”

A gloomy silence fell over the band. Although it was over a decade ago, the memory of Maleficent leading the Heartless in attacking Radiant Garden, claiming the hearts of hundreds. Cid remembered gathering up as many people as he could, which was very few, and being forced to flee the world. Shera remembered staying back to close the garage and prevent the Heartless from infiltrating the group’s last stronghold, only for that to fail miserably, and being swarmed by half a dozen Shadows. Yuffie and Aerith remembered watching the streets turn black as shadowy abominations swarmed the town, and their friends and neighbors were lost in the flood.

Leon remembered fighting the monsters, but he was unable to cut them up fast enough, and the bullets he shot at the distant and airborne ones had no effect. He remembered being unable to protect the people, and was forced to abandon his home with three of the people who were in the same room as him, not even able to find his best friend before the escape. He could not go to sleep without having nightmares of a human-sized Shadow, a Neoshadow, tearing its claws into one victim…

“So what?” Cid broke the silence roughly. “We can handle what she’s got now! Heck, we took on thousands of stronger creeps. And with help from the inside of the computer system, CLAYMORE is getting smarter, faster and stronger every day. Pretty soon we’ll have the firepower to bring down a Behemoth before it gets anywhere near the town.” He smirked confidently and took a bite of his ice cream, spinning his toothpick between his fingers.

Yuffie nodded. “Cid’s right. We’ll worry about whatever threat Maleficent poses when it comes along.”

“If we spend all our days fearing the dark, we’ll never be able to call this place the City of Light,” Aerith advised.

“True, but we have to keep an eye out,” Shera said. “We don’t want to be taken by surprise by a powerful force that we are not ready for.”

Just then, an alert sounded from the computer. Cid sat down to check it out. The tab for detecting airborne objects was blinking, so he clicked on it and opened a window. Apparently, the radars at the top of the castle had detected a large flying object entering the world’s atmosphere. Cid clicked a few commands and opened up a three-dimension scan of the object. The others crowded around Cid and examined the model that was generated. Everyone except for Shera recognized the craft.

“Some surprises are welcome,” Leon said, a slight smile forming on his face.

“Well, let’s go say hello,” Aerith decreed, already opening the door. Leon and Yuffie followed her out.

Chapter 13: Chapter 12: Bringing the Band Back Together

Chapter Text

Sora hovered the Gummi Ship over the parking area and lowered it to the landing platform. However, it was turbulent going down, much to the discomfort of the passengers. He was too close to the ground when he released the landing stands, and the ship buckled as they tried to push it back up and hold it steady. He cut the power to the engines and put the ship into park. Riku, Kairi and Mickey groaned as they unbuckled their seatbelts, and Donald was on the verge of losing his temper. Goofy was briefly stunned, but he regained his composure. When Sora stood up and saw the looks of displeasure on his friends, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

“Sora, you can fly this thing incredibly well. How can you not land this?” Riku asked, annoyed.

“I never really landed on the ground before,” Sora explained, embarrassed. “Whenever I had to park, I just stopped the ship right in orbit and we beamed down. To be honest, I only realized that I didn’t know how to land until I was already doing it.” He hit a button that opened the hatch, and they stepped out of the ship and into the open air.

“I’m going to have to show you one of these days,” Mickey said. He inspected the landing stands. “But no harm done.” He looked past the Gummi Ship and saw another craft made of blue and green blocks with purple and blue edges. The ship had two sonar detectors with purple stands on either side of the co*ckpit in the back and had a cylindrical gray cannon on either side. Mickey admired the Gummi Ship that Cid had built. Unlike the Kingdom model that he had built along with Chip and Dale, Cid’s ship was designed to seat over a dozen passengers. Over the years, Cid had learned more about Gummi blocks than Mickey ever had, and he had upgraded it greatly over the years. It had carried Cid, Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith out of Radiant Garden eleven years ago and all the way to Traverse Town, and more than a year ago brought them back.

Riku and Kairi stared perplexedly at a ship that was shaped like a giant Moogle. Their attention was drawn away when a holographic disc appeared briefly next to them, followed by one behind Mickey and three near Donald and Goofy. They looked around warily. “What was that?” Riku asked, on edge.

Sora looked at them in confusion, at first thinking that they were referring to the Moogle ship, until a disc appeared three feet from Kairi, causing her to jump a little. “Don’t worry. That was just the town’s security system. Cid built it; he calls it ‘CLAYMORE’,” he explained. “I guess it was just curious, since it didn’t recognize you. It won’t hurt you, but it will help fight the Heartless.”

This set them at ease. When another disc appeared, Kairi knelt down and waved hello.

“C’mon! Let’s meet up with Leon and the others,” Mickey called. The group walked up several flights of steps scaling the nearby wall. At the top, they stepped onto a landing which led into the marketplace.

When the shopkeepers took notice of their arrival, they all waved cheerfully in greeting. A trio of ducks wearing a shirt and hat of a different color between each of them, red, blue and green, called out “Hey, Unca Donald!” from their shopping stalls, and Donald went to go talk to his nephews, Huey, Dewey and Louie. After that, he went over to the ice cream shop to say hi to Scrooge McDuck, who was his uncle.

“Well, you’re pretty popular around here,” Riku commented.

“They did save this world on three occasions, remember?” Kairi pointed out. “And they were probably regular customers, right, Sora?” Sora nodded. “So they’re bound to get some recognition.”

They saw three figures coming up the stairs that led to the borough. When they came into view, Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy recognized them. Due to not knowing them that well, Kairi had to think hard before remembering them. Riku, on the other hand, didn’t know them at all.

“Hey, Sora!” Yuffie waved cheerfully. She stopped and noticed that he was accompanied by not just Donald and Goofy, but three others. “And you brought company. Kairi, this is a pleasant surprise. Glad you could join us.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” Kairi returned the greeting.

Riku and Leon sized each other up. “I don’t believe we’ve met. You must be Riku.” Riku nodded. “Call me Leon.”

“Nice to meet you,” Riku said, shaking hands with Leon. He looked at the women beside him. “And you must be Yuffie and Aerith,” he guessed.

Leon noticed Mickey and bowed respectfully. “It is good to see you again, your Majesty, King Mickey.”

Mickey shrugged casually, indicating that he didn’t need to be so formal. “Gosh, Leon. It’s good to see you all again, too.”

“We were actually coming to see you,” Sora said. “We’re sort of looking into a situation involving Maleficent and Pete.”

“That is convenient,” Aerith said curiously. “We had just figured out that Maleficent had gained control over the Heartless again, and was rebuilding her army.”

“Makes sense,” Mickey muttered. “If she’s getting the power to try something, now would be a good time to give her something to try…”

“What do you mean?” Yuffie asked.

“Let’s go to Merlin’s House,” Leon interrupted. “We can talk about it with the others.”

“Okay,” Sora agreed, and the six visitors followed Leon, Yuffie and Aerith out of the marketplace.

When they entered the borough, they found themselves surrounded by a half of a dozen Soldiers, three Red Nocturnes, three Blue Rhapsodies, and two Armored Knights. Sora, Riku and Mickey summoned their Keyblades, Donald and Goofy summoned their respective weapons, and Leon and Yuffie pulled out their respective weapons. It was a few seconds before Kairi realized that she did not have anything with which to defend herself.

“Uh, I would’ve thought I would get something to fight with before we got into danger,” she commented fearfully.

Donald thought for a moment, then summoned one of his spare staffs, one with the head of a hammer on the end, and held it out for her. “Take this!” he ordered.

Kairi complied and examined the Hammer Staff for a moment. The shaft was made of bronze and had an orange and silver tip with a yellow zig-zag near the top, beneath the head. The head was red with the print of a yellow star inside of an orange circle on both sides. A yellow diamond was attached to the very top of the hammer. She waved it around, testing its balance, and smiled.

The fight began. Mickey and Yuffie targeted the aerial Heartless with their weapons, and Donald did the same with his magic, casting Fire at the Blue Rhapsodies and Blizzard at the Red Nocturnes. Riku and Leon took on an Armored Knight each, and Sora, Goofy and Kairi fought the Soldiers. Kairi gained a feel for the hammer by hitting a Soldier in the face, helmet and chest with it. She dodged as a Soldier threw itself at her with a spinning dropkick, but Sora caught up with it by performing a similar attack, closing out by bringing his Keyblade down upon its head. The Heartless were defeated within a minute.

Leon looked at the arrivals in admiration. “Three months relaxing, and you still haven’t lost your edge,” he complimented.

“Glad to see you machines have been keeping yourselves well-oiled,” Yuffie cheered. “Good to finally see you all working together!”

Sora crossed his Keyblade behind his head and grinned. Riku smirked and put his hand on his hip. Kairi smiled and brushed a lock of her hair out of her face.

“Well, come on,” Leon said. “Merlin’s House is right here.”

Cid and Shera turned to greet Sora, Donald and Goofy when they came in with Leon, Yuffie and Aerith, and were surprised to see that they were not alone. “Well, we got a full house in here,” Cid said. “Shera, fix 'em some tea, will you?”

Shera already had some tea prepared. She set out six cups, filled them from a teapot, and brought the cups on a tray over to the visitors. Each of the guests took a cup.

“Thanks,” Sora told her, then paused as he realized that he did not recognize her. “Um, have we met?”

“My apologies. Where are my manners?” Shera shook her head in mild embarrassment. “My name is Shera. I’m Cid’s assistant, and fiancée.”

“Mazel tov,” Donald congratulated, slurping some of his tea.

“Thank you. Cid and Leon told me about you,” Shera added.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Sora told her sincerely. “I guess you didn’t quite make it out with the others, which would be why you weren’t in Traverse Town with the others…” he trailed off when he saw her face fall as he brought up the attack on Radiant Garden. “Sorry. That must have been horrible.”

“It’s all right. I honestly don’t remember much of what happened after… the incident. I woke up three months ago in Aerith’s clinic. She said that I was found at the path to the castle.”

“Gawrsh, that must’ve been after all the hearts were released from that Kingdom Hearts Xemnas was trying to build,” Goofy theorized.

“Glad to see its destruction led to some people coming back,” Riku responded, relieved.

Leon decided to bring everyone back on topic. “So, you said that there was something going on with Maleficent. What do you know?” he asked.

Before anyone could answer, a puff of smoke burst on the other side of the room. The smoke cleared, revealing an old man with a grey moustache and a long grey beard that extended almost to the floor, who wore round glasses, a loose-fit blue robe, a tall blue stocking hat, and pointed shoes of the exact same color of blue. Merlin the wizard gave everyone a light wave in greeting. “Ah. You all got here sooner than I expected,” he said.

Kairi was perplexed. “You knew we were coming?”

Riku was also confused. “Who’s the old guy?” he asked bluntly. Donald and Goofy looked at him with shocked expressions, bewildered by his lack of respect.

Aside from a brief glare, Merlin ignored Riku’s comment and chose to answer Kairi. “Yes, of course. We wizards have a knack for this sort of thing.”

Sora decided to clear the air. “This is Merlin. He trained me in magic over the last two years, on the King’s request,” he explained. “Merlin, these are my friends, Riku and Kairi. But I’m sure you already knew that.”

“Ah, yes. Of course. I’d forgotten that we had not met before today. It is a pleasure to meet you both.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “‘Not met before today’? Why did you word it like that?” he asked.

“Oh, um, no reason. Nothing to concern yourselves with,” he stammered to cover his tracks. “Now, ahem, what is it that brings you all here?”

Everyone turned to Mickey, waiting for him to explain.

“You see,” he began, “we detected something going on in Maleficent’s hideout, an unfamiliar dark aura. So, we did a scrying spell and saw Maleficent and Pete talking to a man we had never seen before. We didn’t get to see his face. It seems as though they are working with him to gather some special objects across the worlds, and they are planning on putting the council back together.”

“We were hoping to start by finding out more about these items that they’re supposedly after, or at least get a hint on what they are. And, if possible, stop them before they get going, assuming that they don’t already have everyone gathered for their alliance.”

Leon put his hand to his chin, considering what they told him. “Unfortunately, the vale surrounding the fortress is still uncharted territory. We don’t yet have anything that can carry anyone across the terrain, and any approach from the air would be seen easily, and Maleficent would probably shoot it down before we got any close.”

“Even if we could get you guys there, there’s still the possibility that they already put the council together,” Yuffie added. “And going up against several powerful villains in one room would be suicide.”

“I figured it would be too much to hope for to be able to preempt them,” Mickey said resignedly. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t find out more about what they’re after!”

“Now, I’ve been all over the place,” Merlin began, “and I have heard bits and pieces of such a lore. But, sad to say, I do not know what they could be after. Whatever it is, it must be a very well-kept secret,” Merlin said regretfully

“I’m sure that if anyone would have known anything about a special item on this world, and maybe others, Ansem would’ve,” Cid answered. “He had to have recorded something.”

“Which means we can find it on his computer!” Goofy finished.

Almost as if it was on cue, an alert siren blared, catching everyone off guard. Cid turned back to his computer and put in commands to see what was wrong.

“Confound that infernal contraption!” Merlin complained.

“Keep your beard on!” Cid shouted back. He opened a window and a video feed appeared. “Looks like someone tripped the security system in the castle and activated the intruder alert.” Everyone gathered close to get a look at the video. Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy recognized the scenery depicted as the Great Crest of the castle that they once knew as Hollow Bastion. Front and center in the video were two figures; one was unknown to them but the other, of tremendous girth, was certainly someone they remembered.

“That’s Pete!” Sora said. “And you’re right, Yuffie. It looks like he and Maleficent have already brought their allies here.”

“But it looks like it’s just the two of them,” Riku noted.

“Well, let’s go pay them a visit,” Leon said confidently. “Donald, Goofy, Kairi, you three wait for us here. Keep an eye out if anything happens in town. Kairi, there’s a weapons’ vault upstairs. Merlin will take you there, and you can pick whatever you think suits you best. Sora, Yuffie, King Mickey, Riku, let’s go. We’ll take the front door. We should be able to intercept them at the entrance hall.”

With that, the five of them ran out the door.

Chapter 14: Chapter 13: Joke of Night

Chapter Text

A Corridor of Darkness materialized at the ledge of the Great Crest. Loki trotted out and stepped to the side. Three seconds later, Pete appeared, and nearly walked over the edge. He flapped his arms up and down, trying to balance on one foot, before he swung his other leg back and let himself fall backwards onto even footing. The portal closed and he eased his way back away from the edge, staring down at the houses in the town, appearing tiny from his position. He looked at Loki suspiciously and noticed him smirking.

“Why, I oughta…” Pete growled, angry at the prank.

“Never mind that,” Loki interrupted nonchalantly. “This Zeromast character wants us to find whatever research the sage ‘Ansem’ had gathered regarding the artifacts across the worlds. Do you know where that might be found?”

Pete paused for a moment, caressing his chin and squinting thoughtfully. “Well, from my understanding, there’s this study in the basem*nt. I think there’s a computer lab down there.”

“Fine.” Then Loki did a double take. “The basem*nt? You must be joking! If we were supposed to go to the basem*nt, why did you open this portal to one of the higher points?”

“Listen, they got a defense system designed to start shooting if you so much as open a Corridor. The Heartless can barely even survive walking around the hallways without getting blown to smithereens. And the side entrance that leads almost directly there is pretty well-guarded, and we want to keep a low profile,” Pete defended himself.

Loki looked up at the wall above the nearby passage. “And that will keep us off the radar?” he asked sarcastically. Confused, Pete followed his gaze and noticed the security camera.

“D’oh!” Pete gasped. “Come on. Let’s get down there before they catch on to us.”

They ran through the passage and entered the lift stop. Pete waved his hand over the spiked orb, causing a bronze platform to appear off of the ledge. Loki watched bemusedly as Pete vanished right in front of him and reappeared on the platform.

“Say, Loki, could you use your thingamajig to rewire the laser stream to take us to the ground floor?” Pete asked.

Loki frowned thoughtfully, then held his hand open. A golden spear with a grey metal curved tip almost shaped like a lobster’s claw that looped around a blue crystal materialized in his grip. Grabbing it with both hands, he jabbed the spear into the base of the spiked ball. The electric sparks bouncing off of the device turned green. He rotated the spear to the right. The holographic line marking the path that the elevator was to follow turned into a straight vertical line. Pete peered into the abyss, scanning how far the line went, and gave Loki a thumbs-up when he was satisfied.

“Now get on here and let’s go,” Pete ordered. Loki waved his hand over the spiked ball and was teleported onto the lift. The platform descended, following the path of the laser.

Pete noticed that Loki was studying the construction and mechanics of the area with interest and curiosity but not fascination. “You know, I pegged you more as a guy whose society was more magic-based,” he addressed the trickster, “but this stuff doesn’t seem to faze you much.”

Loki turned to face Pete. “Yes, I do prefer my sorcery and illusions, but where I grew up, our technology is far beyond what you are familiar with,” he claimed. “What some call magic and others science, to us they are one and the same.”

“Hmph. That sounds neat,” Pete admitted. A few moments later, the elevator stopped and they were teleported onto the platform leading into a passage in the wall. “Okay, when we go through here, we’ll be in the entrance hall. Instead of going down the stairs, we’ll take the left turn and go through the door there.” Loki nodded in understanding and they went through the passage.

Sora, Riku, Mickey, Leon, and Yuffie stepped into the castle’s entrance hall, and Mickey closed the door behind him, locking it with his Keyblade to make sure the intruders couldn’t escape through there. Sora and Riku looked around the circular room. It had a blue-green floor and magenta walls, encircled by lilac-colored columns holding up a second floor that looped around the perimeter of the room. A raised level hugged the wall in a semicircular shape, with a curved stairway in front on either side flanking a fountain carved into the form of monstrous grotesques. On the opposite end of the room, above and behind the fountain, was a hallway leading into what Sora and Riku remembered to be the elevator complex in the center of the castle’s infrastructure. On the left side of the semicircular level was a door that led to the library. On the other side was another door. Sora and Riku were perplexed, as the door was unfamiliar to them.

“That door wasn’t there before, was it?” Riku asked.

Leon followed his gaze and mouthed “Oh” when he saw what he meant. “Yuffie found that a few months after we settled back in,” he said. “It was covered up with tapestry. I’m not sure why. Xemnas might have done it to keep Maleficent’s crew from finding the computer room and catching on to what he was doing.”

Sora looked up and saw the bottom of the platform that floated in the middle of the second floor of the hall. He remembered how that level was accessed by entering the library, going up to the second level (all the while rearranging books in a bizarre maze puzzle) and then exiting through the door up top. “It’s been a long time since we were here,” he mused. “Right, Riku?”

“Yeah. Last time I was in here, I had stolen your Keyblade and threw a Dark Firaga at you,” Riku recalled. “Man, Maleficent and Ansem had really gotten into my head.”

“Gosh. Nine years of Heartless infestation and Maleficent’s residence really distorted the architecture,” Mickey noted, having spent some time trying to take in the fact that the castle had been divided from the town with the Rising Falls between them. “I can barely recognize the place.”

“I doubt the Grand Hall looks anything like you would remember,” Sora commented, recalling the open pipes pouring out steam, the upright crystal caskets, the carpet with the Heartless emblem imprinted on it, and the massive portal to the chaotic chamber leading to the Keyhole.

“There they are!” Yuffie called out. Everyone turned their attention to the hallway in the back, and saw Pete running out into the room. He stopped dead, eyes wide in surprise, and bucked forward slightly as if something had bumped into him from behind.

Loki stepped out from behind Pete, looking annoyed. “You blundering oaf! What are you…” he trailed off as he saw the group who were there to meet them. Sora, Riku and Mickey summoned their Keyblades, and Leon pulled out his Gunblade. “Oh, rats.”

“Hi,” Riku greeted snidely. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Loki took a moment to regain his composure, then gave them a bow, spreading his arms wide. “Then allow me to introduce myself. I am Loki, of Asgard.”

The five looked around at each other, wondering if that meant anything to anyone. “Er, sorry. But we’ve never heard of that,” Sora responded apologetically.

Loki was taken aback. “I beg your pardon?”

Mickey shrugged. “There might be something referencing what you’re talking about in my library, but I think that’s mythology.”

“You dismiss me as ‘mythology’? You, who are already acquainted with gods, dismiss the God of Mischief as a ‘myth’?” Loki retorted, clearly offended.

“Wait, you’re a god?” Sora asked for clarification. Loki nodded. Sora started counting on his fingers. “So, that makes him number three?” he muttered.

“What about that friendly one-on-one with Hercules in the Coliseum?” Leon reminded him.

“Oh, right. So, four. He’s the fourth.”

“Fourth? Fourth what?” Loki asked, confused.

Sora gave him a wicked smirk. “The fourth god whose butt I kick,” he answered co*ckily.

Loki rolled his eyes. “Of course. Hades did mention his encounter with you,” he snarked.

Sora raised an eyebrow with interest. “So, Hades is part of your band,” he observed.

Pete tapped Loki on the shoulder. “Uh, Loki, I think we should get a move on,” he said timidly. “We are going to need to get to that computer.”

“Huh. You’re going there too?” Yuffie questioned.

Pete realized his error. “D’oh!” he gasped. “Let’s move!”

He started to go to the door to his left, but stopped in his tracks when Leon shot a fireball that passed in front of him. Sora, Riku and Mickey closed the gap between the heroes and villains, with Sora and Riku running up either set of stair and Mickey leaping over the fountain and landing on the upper platform. Loki summoned his scepter and swung to hit Sora, but Sora blocked the strike and pushed the scepter upward, throwing Loki off balance. Riku dashed in and struck him in the side, knocking him back.

“Look out!” Mickey called. Sora and Riku turned around and saw Pete roll a glowing metal ball under Mickey’s feet right toward them. Before they could react, the ball exploded right in front of them, throwing them through the air. Sora did a flip to recover in midair and landed on his feet. Riku hit the wall but regained his composure by the time he hit the ground.

Sora swung his Keyblade at Loki, but the trickster god dodged out of the way with ease and punch him square in the back. Sora turned around as Loki stepped back. He pointed his Keyblade at him and shouted “Deep Freeze!” A Blizzaga spell hit Loki in the chest. However, aside from being pushed back from the force of the ice block, Loki did not seem to be harmed by it. Curiously, his hands and the lower part of his neck seemed to turn blue, but after a moment they reverted to a Caucasian tone. “Okay, Blizzard doesn’t quite work on you,” he observed.

“Then let me try!” Riku shouted as he ran past Sora and launched a Dark Firaga spell at Loki. That seemed to have more of an effect, knocking him across the room. Sora followed up on the attack, launching himself to Loki’s position with a powerful step and hitting him hard with his Keyblade as he spun around at the end of the dash, knocking him out into the wider part of the room.

Mickey jumped all around Pete, hitting him at every angle and keeping his old rival off-balance. Angered, Pete stomped his feet, creating shockwaves strong enough to disrupt Mickey’s footing when he landed on the floor. Pete then brought both fists to the ground, creating a shockwave that sent Mickey flying into a column. Mickey kicked himself off from the column and swung his Keyblade into Pete’s chin.

Leon shot a fireball at Loki before the trickster even hit the ground. He then ran toward him and swung his Gunblade at him. The first hit knocked him back, but Loki blocked the next strike with his scepter, then kicked Leon in the stomach, sending him across the room. A puff of smoke materialized to his left and Yuffie dove behind him, throwing a shuriken at his neck. Loki felt the sting and pulled the throwing star out of his flesh, a drop of blood on one of the points. Another puff of smoke appeared to his right, this time close enough to partially envelop him, and he felt the scepter being pulled out of his hand. She ran over to Leon with it and showed it to him, laughing. Loki glared at her, fuming, and Yuffie responded by sticking her tongue out and pulling her eyelid down. Loki turned around and realized that Sora and Riku were coming right for him. He summoned a pair of daggers to counter their strikes, but they were far too skilled, and his weapons were not strong enough to withstand the force of the Keyblades. When a nasty crack formed in one of the daggers, he dismissed them and stepped away. Riku stopped and observed him cautiously, but Sora did not recognize the source of his concerns and thrusted himself straight at Loki, his weapon pointed straight at him, and passed through him with a small sonic boom. Sora stopped and looked at Loki in surprise, realizing that he was still standing there as if nothing happened. The illusion of Loki faded away.

Mickey glanced over at Leon and Yuffie and his eyes widened in shock. “Behind you!” he warned. They turned around and were surprised to find Loki there. He took his scepter out of Yuffie’s hand and swatted her aside with a backhand. Leon swung his Gunblade at Loki but the God of Mischief parried it with his scepter and smacked the staff into his head. While Leon was dazed and on the ground, Loki conjured a dagger and prepared to deliver a killing blow, but Mickey shouted “Light!” and sent a pearl of white light into his back, stunning him. Sora closed the distance with a Quick Run step and delivered a blitz of three jumping attacks, hitting Loki in the chest with vertical strikes.

Loki retaliated with a powerful shove, pushing Sora five feet away and disrupting his balance. He then thrust the tip of his scepter straight for his chest, but Riku charged in and conjured a transparent rectangular barrier, blocking the attack. He followed up with a trio of Dark Fire shots, but Loki vanished right before they hit.

Mickey was back to jumping around Pete and hitting from all sides, but this was interrupted when Loki appeared out of thin air and grabbed Mickey by the collar of his shirt. “I would suggest that we leave and continue our business,” he said disdainfully, swinging Mickey around to make him dizzy.

Pete regained his composure and nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We lost enough time as is,” he admitted.

Loki regarded Mickey with scorn and threw him at the group in the middle of the room. The two villains slipped through the door that would lead to the lower corridors.

The heroes picked themselves up after that surprise. “Everyone okay?” Leon asked. He put his fingers to the side of his head and checked his fingers, noticing that he was bleeding.

“Heal!” Sora invoked. An illusion of a leafy ivy vine with yellow bells sprouting from the ends appeared above the group and showered green sparkles over the group. The five of them felt a refreshing aura and their injuries were cured, their cuts closed and bruises healed. They climbed to their feet, at full health and ready to get moving.

“They went through there,” Mickey said, pointing toward the door that would lead to the lower corridors. “We need to catch up to them!”

Everyone nodded in agreement and ran up the stairs, went down the colonnade, and passed through the door.

Pete and Loki ran down the labyrinthine corridor before finally stopping at a wooden door with a unique design etched into it.

“Are you sure those Heartless we left behind will stall them for long?” Loki asked.

Pete shrugged. “Probably not,” he replied. “But it should give us time to get started. He turned the knob and opened the door.

They stepped into a round room with a curved metal desk and tall metal chair across from the door and bookcases on every wall. There were some glass pods broken open but stacked on top of the bookshelves rather than scattered across the floor like they were when the Restoration Committee had originally found the room several months ago. A portrait of Xehanort, at that point in time an apprentice to Ansem the Wise who usurped the sage king, leaned against one of the bookcases. Above it, drawings and writing were written on the wall in purple marker. Most of the words were faded but one could make out the words “Hollow Bastion OS” and (barely) “Door To Darkness”. Some diagrams with purple boards and teal frames were mounted on the wall. To the left of the desk, the wall was opened up into a path with gray metal walls and floor.

Loki examined the portrait. “Might this have been the master of the house?” he questioned.

Pete shook his head. “Nope. That would be Xehanort,” he answered. “He betrayed that Ansem guy and banished him to the Realm of Darkness.”

Loki eyed the portrait for a moment longer and grinned. “Well, weren’t you the little mastermind,” he teased.

Pete and Loki walked through the hall, taking a right turn and then a left turn before the passage opened into a room with a computer monitor and a counter with a keyboard built into it on one side. On the opposite side of the room was a large circular laser projector with a large red lens.

“Now, let’s plug the drive in, find the info and start copying,” Pete said. “Watch your step.” He opened up the computer and found an input box. “Hmm… Zeromast said this thing would need a password. Now, what did he say it was?” He took a moment to think of the code. “Oh, right. ‘Sora, Donald, Goofy’.” He typed in the names, wondering how their benefactor knew what the password was, and hit ENTER. The password prompt disappeared and a search bar popped up. “Plug that it, will you?” Loki inserted the flash drive into the computer console. Pete started typing key words into the search bar, hoping to find the data they needed. He found one file that piqued his interest, but before he could copy it into the flash drive, the five heroes came in, looking for a fight.

“There you are!” Sora shouted, brandishing his Keyblade.

“Uh-oh! Come on, Loki! Let’s bounce!” Pete said as he opened a Corridor of Darkness.

“But the records” Loki protested, but Pete tugged on his arm insistently.

“We ain’t gonna get them now!” Pete pulled Loki along and they retreated through the Corridor.

“Get back here!” Sora called out, but the portal closed just as quickly as it had opened.

Yuffie noticed that the computer was open to all of its functions. “How did they know the password?” she asked.

“What could they be after?” Sora wondered aloud, starting to pace back and forth. He was taken out of his train of thought when he tripped over something. He looked at where he stumbled and saw something he did not expect.

At his feet lay a slender man wearing a familiar black hooded duster, as well as black slacks, gloves and shoes. When Sora let his eyes wander to the man’s head, he gasped in shock. He would recognize the man’s spiky scarlet hair anywhere. On closer inspection, he noticed a small difference, that being there were no purple marks under his eyes, but besides that his appearance was unmistakable.

“Axel?” he identified the man. Riku tapped him on the shoulder and gestured about, bringing to Sora’s attention the other people lying unconscious on the floor.

One wore garb similar to Axel’s, but had a somewhat more muscular build. His face had sharper and less boyish features. He had blue hair that went past his shoulders, with some hair in front of his ears that approached his chin. Last, but not least, there was an X-shaped scar right between his eyes. Sora remembered fighting this man, known as Saïx, and he both despised and pitied him even after what he thought was his death.

There were two men wearing gray uniforms, white gloves with blue heart designs on the backs, and black boots, giving them the appearance of soldiers. One was very large and had angular and strong features, as well as auburn hair slicked back into messy spikes. The other was of a slightly smaller frame and had long black hair arranged in dreadlocks with pronounced sideburns. Sora did not recognize the first man, but he remembered the second man as a foe known as Xaldin. Nearby were two men wearing white lab coats. One had long, platinum blond hair and the other had steel-blue hair with long, layered bangs that covered much of the right side of his face. Sora did not recognize either of them, but Riku knew them as Vexen and Zexion, and he remembered the large soldier as Lexaeus.

“How are they here?” Riku asked.

“Maybe it really is as they say,” Mickey said. “When a person’s Heartless and Nobody are eliminated by a Keyblade wielder, the heart, body and soul fade back into darkness and reform, and the person’s original self returns to the Realm of Light.”

The group heard a groan coming from behind them and turned around to see who was there. They saw a man, conscious and standing but dazed and slumped against the wall right next to the opening to the hall back to the study. He wore a similar uniform to Lexaeus and Xaldin, but he had added a torn red scarf. He had black hair that was turning gray in multiple parts and a yellow eye. There were some nasty scars on his left cheek. There was an eyepatch over where his right eye should be.

“Ugh, I was expecting someone else,” the man who had been known as Xigbar blurted absently, putting his hand to his forehead as if trying to calm a nasty headache. Sora, Riku and Mickey glowered, remembering their previous experiences with him.

Leon and Yuffie looked around the scene before them. They had very little experience with them before they became Nobodies and almost no familiarity with them afterwards, but they knew one thing for certain. Seven members of Organization XIII, the cabal that had manipulated Sora into fighting Heartless and supplying them with hearts so that they could form Kingdom Hearts, had returned to their complete selves.

Chapter 15: Chapter 14: Remember?

Chapter Text

Axel sat on the ledge of the clock tower, a Sea-Salt Ice Cream in his hand. On his left sat his coworker and friend Roxas, who also held an ice cream. The two of them stared into the distance, watching the sun sit permanently on the edge of the horizon.

“Hey, Axel. You haven’t forgotten?”

“Hm? What?”

“You made us a promise.”

“I did?”

“That you’d always be there… to bring us back.”

“Yeah…”

Roxas turned toward him and pointed at his head. “Got it memorized?” he asked teasingly.

Axel laughed even as the image of Roxas faded away. “Best friends forever.”

The dream ended. Axel opened his eyes, hearing a regular beeping that sounded like a heart rate monitor. He saw a white wall in front of him and groaned.

Great, he thought, I’m still alive and now I’m back in the castle, probably a prisoner for betraying the Organization.

He forced himself to sit up, and noticed that he was lying in a bed. Looking around, he saw a computer monitor next to him, and he realized that it was measuring his heartbeat. The biological organ, of course. Looking past that, he was surprised to see two men lying in similar beds down the row. He was shocked when he recognized them as Vexen and Zexion. Zexion appeared to be regaining consciousness.

“Oh, things are going to get really awkward when they wake up,” he muttered to himself. He stopped himself when he realized that they were wearing lab coats. He looked down at himself but saw that he still had on his Organization XIII coat. He climbed out of bed, unclipping the apparatus that monitored his heart rate, and stretched out his muscles. He noticed a door with a glass window next to it, and realized that he was not in the Castle That Never Was, but rather what appeared to be a hospital.

He ran over to the mirror and studied his reflection. Beneath his green eyes, he noticed that he no longer had the purple teardrop-shaped marks. Those Twilight thorn cuts had only decorated his face five years after he became a Nobody. If he no longer had them…

“We’re people again…” He looked behind him and saw three more beds lined up between him and where he had been lying. In those beds, he recognized Lexaeus, Xaldin and Saïx.

No, from furthest to closest, they were: Ienzo, Even, Aeleus, Dilan, and Isa. No longer were they Nobodies, so no longer did they have to live under the distorted names given to them by Xemnas.

He heard the door open and a green-eyed woman dressed in pink and white ran in, looking concerned. She noticed Axel standing next to her and relaxed. Axel wondered why she seemed so worried, but remembered the monitor next to his bed. He looked back at the screen and realized that, since he had disconnected himself from it, it read his “pulse” as a flatline.

“Er, sorry about that,” he said sheepishly. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”

Aerith cleared her throat. “My name is Aerith,” she introduced herself. “I am a member of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, and I am in charge of this infirmary. Some of my friends found you all unconscious in the computer room in the castle, so we brought you here to check up on you while you recovered.”

Axel considered what she said. “Right. Tell me, doc, was there a man named Braig in the room where we were found?” he asked.

Aerith tilted her head to the side, confused. “Braig?” she repeated uncertainly.

Axel sighed. “Scars, eyepatch, dressed either like me or like Aeleus and Dilan over here,” he clarified, gesturing toward the soldiers, vaguely noticing Aeleus begin to stir. “You might know of him as Xigbar,” he added.

“Oh, him. Yes, he was there as well, though he was already awake,” she explained. “Sora, Riku and Leon are questioning him down the hall.”

Axel was taken by surprise when he recognized two of those names. “Sora and Riku?” he repeated. “What room are they in?”

Aerith was not expecting to hear such desperation in his voice. “Room A07,” she answered. He quickly moved to leave the room and go to his destination, but she interrupted him. “Wait! Don’t you want to be here when your friends wake up?” she asked.

Axel waved his hand absently. “Let me know when the rest of them start to wake up. But for now, I really don’t think I should be the first thing Ienzo sees when he wakes up. Especially since I kind of killed his Nobody form and all. And if I’m being honest, Aeleus sort of scares me.” He broke into a run, quickly leaving Aerith’s sight. Aerith sighed and decided that she would check on the other patients.

“What do you expect to get from me?” Xigbar asked his interrogators, feigning ignorance. He sat at a table in a small room, facing Sora, Riku and Leon, who were all less-than-happy to have to put up with his antics. He was bound to a metal bar on the edge of the table by handcuffs.

“When we found you, you said something about ‘expecting someone else’,” Leon answered sternly. “Care to explain what you meant by that?”

“As if!” Xigbar scoffed. “You want to know every little thought that goes through my head, read my diary!”

Sora locked eyes with Riku, his annoyed expression screaming I hate this guy, and Riku’s expression saying I know, right?

“You were expecting to see someone upon waking up. That means you weren’t very surprised when you reformed as a Somebody,” Leon pointed out. “And you figured that, once you did, someone would be here to meet you. Who were you hoping to meet?”

Before Xigbar could give a non-answer, the door opened. Sora, Riku and Leon turned and saw Axel standing in the doorway. They stood in shocked silence, and even Xigbar was at a loss for words. In fact, he was glad that nobody was looking his way because he was worried that with Axel’s input, he might end up being exposed.

Axel finally broke the silence. “Hey, guys,” he said awkwardly. “I guess everything went well taking down Xemnas?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah. I reunited with Riku and Kairi,” he gestured towards Riku as he said his name, “and we all fought Xemnas, and Xigbar, and Luxord, and Saïx.”

“Ansem the Wise destroyed Xemnas’ Kingdom Hearts and released all the captive hearts,” Riku added, then solemnly, “at a great cost.”

Axel’s face fell; he understood what he meant. “I hear your voice is back to normal,” he noted. “I guess whatever happened to you, that got fixed.”

Riku smirked. “Yep. Back to my old moody self,” he replied.

“How are you feeling, Axel?” Leon asked. “I’m surprised you’re already back on your feet.”

Axel shrugged and gave a co*cky grin. “Please! You think something like death and rebirth can keep me down?” he retorted. “And by the way, I’m a normal person again. I don’t have to live under that Nobody name Xemnas handed out to me. My name, my true name, is Lea. Got it memorized?”

Sora could not help but laugh, which he found to be odd since he never really liked Axel that much until he came to his aid in the end. He wondered if part of that was from Roxas. He wished that his Nobody could be there for real so he can catch up with his friend.

“So, why are you in here with Braig?” Lea asked, pointing at the handcuffed man to indicate that he meant Xigbar.

“Well, when we found you all in Ansem’s computer room, Xig—Braig was already awake, and he said something about how he was expecting someone else,” Sora explained. “We’re trying to get him to tell us what he meant.”

Lea thought for a moment, not sure what it could mean, then remembered something. “Hold on. The seven of us, me, Braig, and the others in the other room, we were all in the computer room, right where we’d lost our hearts, right?” he asked. Leon nodded. “Was Xehanort there, too?”

This gave everyone pause. They had not thought about Xehanort, which probably was not very wise. Sora slumped forward when he realized that he did not consider the very real possibility that his most dangerous and intelligent enemy, whose Heartless and Nobody have both been eliminated, could have come back into existence as a whole being.

“No, he wasn’t,” Leon answered. “I asked Cid to send probes all throughout the castle to check if anyone else had reappeared elsewhere, but there were no signs of life anywhere.”

Riku glanced back at Braig and caught him with a shocked and confused expression. He slammed his hand down on the table to get the Freeshooter’s attention. “All right, Patch. Where is Xehanort?” he shouted.

Braig shrugged, and put a smirk on his face in a mask of confidence. “Well, ain’t that the twenty million Munny question?”

“He’s not talking. We’ll come back later,” Leon interrupted the interrogation. He directed Sora, Riku and Lea to leave the room, then followed, closing the door behind him.

“He clearly knows something,” Riku declared. “He just won’t talk.”

“Thing is, he wasn’t expecting Xehanort to be a no-show,” Lea responded. “Something happened that wasn’t part of the plan. The others might have an idea, but right now, Isa, Dilan and Even are still out.”

“Then let’s wait until everyone is awake before we talk to Braig again,” Leon decided. “We’ll keep our eyes open for anything that might be Xehanort’s doing. In the meantime, we should work with what we do know about. I’m sure that pretty soon, King Mickey and Yuffie will have found something about what it is Maleficent’s council is looking for, and what Pete and Loki were trying to find.”

“Ienzo and Aeleus should be awake by now,” Lea said. “I suppose now would be a good time for you to catch up, Riku.”

As they walked down the hall, Sora leaned in to talk quietly to Riku. “What’s he talking about?”

“You’ll find out when we get there,” was all Riku said in reply.

Sora, Leon and Aerith looked between Riku and Lea and Ienzo and Aeleus as an awkward silence filled the room, broken only by the regular beeping that accompanied the fifty-per-minute beating of the other patients’ hearts. The tension could be cut with a knife, with one pair not knowing what to say to the other. Sora had a vague knowledge of the other former Organization members, having fought silhouettes of them and later encountered digital reflections of them in a hidden computer lair beneath the town, but he knew nothing of any of them, bar Saïx and Xaldin, beyond that. He could only wonder how Riku knew the individuals facing them.

“Well,” Ienzo addressed Lea, “aren’t you going to say hello, Axel?”

Lea was surprised by the young man’s calm demeanor. Normally, when someone tells a Replica to absorb your power and crush your essence, you would not greet them so cordially without trying to wring their neck.

“What…?”

“We have been restored to our Somebody selves after our Nobody forms had faced rather excruciating demises. You even murdered me and Vexen. Painfully. Don’t we at least warrant a ‘hello’?”

“Uh…” Lea put his and on the back of his neck and dodged Ienzo’s gaze in embarrassment. “Hello, Ienzo and Aeleus…?”

Ienzo smirked in mild amusem*nt. “Aerith explained how I came to be back here,” Ienzo told him. “And since I have you to thank for sending my Nobody essence back to the darkness to wait for restoration, I figured I would put the incident behind me.” He turned to face Riku. “The same goes for you cutting Lexaeus down.”

“Excuse me,” Sora interjected, “but when did that happen?”

Now it was Ienzo and Aeleus’ turn to give him confused expressions. “Castle Oblivion,” Ienzo answered uncertainly. “You were there too. Marluxia used Naminé to twist your memories and try to turn you into a puppet he could use to overthrow Xemnas, but it failed and you defeated him. Don’t you remember? Do you remember Vexen?” He gestured to the man with dirty-blond hair.

Sora was even more confused. The only name he recognized was Naminé, but that did not help much. Riku and Lea were there to help. Lea simply said “No” but Riku explained more thoroughly. “After Marluxia was defeated, Naminé put Sora, Donald and Goofy into a year-long sleep so she could put their memories back together,” he said. “As a side-effect, their memories of their time in Castle Oblivion were disconnected from the chain.”

“Okay. I guess that makes sense. I guess that’s why the message in Jiminy’s Journal said to ‘Thank Naminé’. Though, we could have been more specific,” Sora mused. “So, what happened with you guys?” He wagged his finger around to indicate that he was referring to Ienzo, Aeleus and Even.

Ienzo paused for a minute, thinking of where to begin. “Six of us, myself, Axel, Lexaeus, Vexen, Marluxia, and Larxene, were sent to Castle Oblivion to conduct research.”

“However, Saïx knew that Marluxia and Larxene intended to betray and usurp Xemnas, so he sent me to gain proof of their treachery and eliminate them,” Lea continued.

Ienzo frowned briefly at the interruption. “They worked in the thirteenth floor, where Marluxia used the mysterious girl Naminé to take apart your memories as soon as you entered the castle. Lexaeus, Vexen and I stationed ourselves in the basem*nt levels, where we took an interest in Riku, who had appeared in the lowest level at approximately the same time as you.” Sora’s eyes widened when he heard this. “We came to suspect of Marluxia’s plan, and so sought to use Riku to counter him. To that end, Vexen confronted Riku to gather data and create a Replica of him. He pretended to form an alliance with Marluxia and Larxene and tried to prove himself to them by sending the Replica to fight you, but you defeated him. Marluxia declared his experiment to be a failure, so Vexen decided to confront you himself, and after you defeated him he very nearly exposed Marluxia’s plot.”

“Marluxia sent me to eliminate Vexen to prevent him from jeopardizing his plan,” Lea took over. “I complied to gain his trust and also to gain proof of his treachery.”

A deep voice spoke, surprising Sora and Lea, since Aeleus had thus far remained silent. “Seeing that Vexen’s effort had failed, I confronted Riku in an attempt to sway him to our side. I failed.”

“He lost his temper during our fight and tried to kill me,” Riku elaborated. “This gave Ansem, the remnant of Xehanort’s Heartless that was still within me, an opportunity to try to take over. For a moment, he took control of my body and cut right through Lexaeus.” Sora and Lea winced at this detail, and Aeleus looked away uncomfortably.

“I soon became aware that Marluxia’s plans were falling apart, so I decided that I no longer needed Riku,” Ienzo continued. “But there was something else, something that I could not identify. I think that I wanted to destroy Riku for what he did to Lexaeus. But, that did not make sense, as I lacked the heart to feel the compassion and rage required. Regardless, I attempted to trap Riku in an illusion that you despised him and drown him in light.”

“I’m detecting the irony here,” Sora quipped with a smirk.

“However, Riku saw through the trap and defeated me, having learned to no longer fear the darkness in his heart,” Ienzo continued, not approving of the interruption.

“You can thank Naminé for that, too,” Riku added.

By this point Ienzo had reluctantly decided to let everyone offer their commentary as long as it was not too disruptive. “I retreated, and shortly afterward, Axel appeared with the Riku Replica in tow, and he ordered the Replica to eliminate me and steal my power.”

“Why did you do that?” Riku asked Lea, who averted his eyes shamefully.

“It’s complicated,” was all Lea said in defense.

Sora held his hand against his forehead, trying to take in what he had been told. On top of all of the Organization’s internal affairs that had been going on behind the scenes, he had trouble processing that he had an entire mission that he did not remember at all.

“You all right, Sora?” Riku asked placing his hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Sora replied uncertainly. “It’s just that it’s a lot to take in.”

“To move to a less confusing topic, what are you guys doing here?”

Sora, Riku and Leon explained the situation.

Before Lea, Ienzo or Aeleus could respond, they heard the door open and saw Yuffie barge in. She appeared to be stressed, doing everything in her power to prevent herself from panicking.

“Yuffie? What’s wrong?” Leon asked. He gripped her by the upper arms to hold her still and locked eyes with her to try to calm her down.

Yuffie pointed out into the hallway the way she had come, fear and worry in her eyes. “A… a Heartless… a big one… it’s in town!” she stammered.

Everyone’s eyes widened. Without another word, everyone ran out, Ienzo holding back for a moment before following. They charged down the hall to get outside and respond to the crisis.

Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Castle Raid

Chapter Text

When everyone had exited the infirmary, they saw clouds of dust lining the streets. Civilians were running in a panic. Some stumbled and nearly fell, and they would have been at risk of being trampled by the crowd if others had not noticed their plight and helped them to their feet before they continued fleeing. The residents in this district were still in their homes. Some of them had their doors open, possibly in case some of the panicking townspeople wished to seek sanctuary, but more likely in case the danger came near and they decided to flee as well. Whatever was going on, Yuffie’s fear certainly appeared to be justified.

Since the streets were overflowing, Yuffie directed the group to sidestep along the building’s wall and slip into an alleyway. They ran down the alley in single file without interruption, save for a spilled trash can and a screeching cat. Despite the volume of people stumbling over each other in the streets, none of them sought a shortcut in the gaps between buildings, most likely so that they would not run the risk of getting trapped under buildings that were collapsing on both sides. Yuffie guided them to a ladder and they climbed up to the roof of the building next to the infirmary one at a time. When they were all high enough to see the rest of the town, they saw Yuffie standing with her arm outstretched, a finger pointing to the east. When they saw what she meant, they took a step back in shock.

The monster resembled the Guard Armor that Sora, Donald and Goofy had fought when they first met, except it was easily four times its size. The main part of the torso was blue, with gold braces over the top and bottom, and the top brace resembled a raised collar. The Gauntlets were gold with red bands around the wrists and iron fingers. The ankles of the Hammerlegs were gold with red bands and the rest of the feet were red. The head piece was an orange brass with iron spikes on either side, a gold spike on top, and a golden visor with five holes drilled into it. Its enormous disjointed limbs moved with a speed proportional to its size in relation to its purple cousin, to the point where if not for it towering over the buildings Sora would have had difficulty telling if there was a difference between the two. They could see a speck dancing around the torso, glowing arcs sparking against the armor, as well as a few bolts of lightning, most likely Mickey and Donald doing what they could against the Heartless.

“You guys can handle that, right?” Lea asked, trying to conceal his own fear. In his experience, he had seen giant Heartless, some of them even being larger than this. But they had never moved this fast, and rarely did they come so close to urban areas, so he and whoever he may have been working with could engage in combat without much collateral damage (regardless of if he had the capacity for empathy during his Organization days.

“Yeah,” Sora answered. “I’ve fought bigger. Some of them on my own.”

“But the moving limbs are going to be a problem,” Riku interjected. “We’re going to need to limit the perimeter of combat to minimize destruction and allow the townsfolk to move away without getting hurt.”

Ienzo studied the area around the fight. “It appears as though the opponent is too large compared to the architecture for me to set up a barrier enclosing the field. We will need to find other methods to deter it from taking full advantage of its range of motion.”

Aeleus summoned a massive axe-sword with a black and red J-shaped block where the blade should be and rested it over his shoulder to support its weight. “Then we must convince it that lashing out would be ill-advised,” he declared. “Zexion, Axel, we must take the rooftops and harm it whenever the arms spread out too far.”

Lea grinned in anticipation and spread his arms wide. Discs of flame formed just ahead of his hands, spinning wildly until they shifted into a pair of discs made out of rings of red and silver metal with eight spikes all around and a black cross-shaped handle. Half a second after they materialized, Lea caught his chakrams. “I’m in if you are,” he said with a co*cky glare.

Ienzo held his hand out and a black hardcover book appeared in his hand. He opened it and telekinetically turned it to the desired page. “I believe we should take a shortcut.” When he said that, he waved his free hand in a circle, and in a flash everyone present was standing on a rooftop directly behind the Heartless. Sora, Riku, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Lea looked around bewildered.

“Did he just—?” Leon began to ask, confused.

“I need to learn how to do that!” Sora exclaimed.

“Let’s worry about that later!” Riku brought them back to focus, pointing his Keyblade at the Heartless. “We need to bring this armor down!”

“It shouldn’t be expecting reinforcements,” Yuffie noted, pulling out her Fuuma Shuriken. “Time to begin our raid on this boss!”

She disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to appear moments later in another puff on a different roof. She charged her Shuriken up with chi and threw it at one of the arms when it drew near.

“Huh. Raid… Armor… You hear that, Jiminy?” Sora asked, patting his pocket.

“I’ll put that in my journal,” Jiminy said, peeking out of Sora’s pocket to get a look at what was going on.

With that, Sora threw his Keyblade, sending it spinning into the torso of the Raid Armor. When it hit hard enough to leave a dent, Sora summoned it back to his hand and threw it again, and again, and again.

Ienzo teleported to another roof and started casting shadow spells from his book. Leon leaped off of the roof and stabbed his Gunblade right into the torso’s back. His weight caused it to carve a line through the armor until he reached the bottom, pulled the blade out and fell to the ground, where he promptly slashed at one of the legs. Lea threw his chakrams and launched fireballs at the head and arms. When the Heartless tried spinning its arms around itself, Sora, Riku and Aerith ducked, but Aeleus hit one arm with his axe sword as it came to him, sending it flying right into the other arm. Quick on the rebound, one of the arms grabbed something off of the collar and threw it behind itself. Riku caught Mickey by the hand as he flew by and spun around to drain his momentum before setting him down.

“You okay?” Riku asked.

Mickey groaned and shook his head to make everything stop spinning. “Yep. Thanks,” he replied. “Glad you could make it, ah-ha!”

Aerith tapped Riku on the shoulder to get his attention. “I should be down there. They’re going to need a healer on the field with them,” she said.

Riku nodded. “Okay, but don’t get stepped on,” he replied. He led her to the edge of the roof, wrapped his arm around her back, and jumped off. He cast horizontal barrier planes to act as stepping stones until they reached the bottom. When she saw that Goofy was on one knee, struggling to stay standing, Aerith ran over to him and cast Curaga. He rose back up, thanked her, and ran at one of the legs, spinning on one foot as he drew near so that he repeatedly hit it with his shield.

Last, but not least, Sora jumped off of the roof. He somersaulted as he landed, then realized he was standing in the shadow of one of the feet. “Reflega!” he shouted. A spherical barrier appeared around him, and the enormous leg connected with the barrier. The applied force caused the barrier to glow white. White orbs appeared around the sphere and exploded with the shield, blasting the leg into the air to crash down on the ground. He saw someone charge in and start slashing and stabbing at the leg. He ran in to join her.

Kairi was wearing a bicyclist’s knee- and elbow-pads, as well as a tan-colored shield that extended down the length of her arm from a metal pauldron on her left shoulder. There was a scabbard attached to the tablet case at her hip. She carried a rapier that was slightly longer than the Kingdom Key, and was cutting into the heel of the Hammerleg.

Sora caught up to her and cut a horizontal slash into the base of the leg. “Hey, Kairi,” he greeted. “Nice getup.”

“Thanks,” she said with a smile. “I figured that since I don’t have any magic spells like you, I should get some protection.” She waved her left arm to show off the shield. “And I figured a sword would be more balanced than one of Donald’s hammers.”

She slashed at the Hammerleg again but stopped when she noticed it start to wiggle. Sora held his arm in front of her and stepped back. Almost immediately, the Hammerleg leapt into the air. Kairi shoved Sora to the side and ran out of the way before the leg crashed to the ground. She held up her shield brace to block the stones that were sent flying.

The Raid Armor gathered itself back together and turned until Sora, Kairi, Riku, Mickey. It pulled its gauntlets back and started delivering punches at them. The four targets dodged, though Sora guarded against a couple hits, Riku conjured a shield to block some and Mickey parried a jab. A flaming chakram flew in and hit it in the head, catching it by surprise and making it stop.

Kairi saw the weapon and noticed the person who threw it. “Was that…?” But she lost her train of thought when she dodged a punch and stabbed the joint where one of the claws met the hand, splitting it enough for the finger to fall off and fade into nothingness.

The hand, short a finger, swung to the side, hitting Sora and knocking him across the street. He brought himself to his feet, feeling a sharp pain in his side, probably a cracked rib. He raised his Keyblade to the sky and shouted “Heal!” Just as the green pollen appeared above him, he heard a raspy voice call “Sora!” Another Cure spell fell over him.

Sora turned around to see that it was Donald who cast the spell, using up all of his mana as well to heal the same wound that Sora just repaired. “Donald! Come on!” he yelled. “I mean, thanks, but—” He rolled out of the way before one of the legs could stomp on him. He retaliated with a flurry of thirteen slashes, breaking heavy dents into the armor with each bash. With the final strike, a jumping finisher, he shattered the Hammerleg into dozens of pieces, which disintegrated into black smoke.

He collapsed in exhaustion, having burned out all of his stamina with a bone-mending Curaga spell and a powerful attack combo. He reached into his pocket and grabbed an Ether. The blue-tinted liquid sloshed inside of the cube-shaped bottle. He downed the contents in one gulp and within moments felt reinvigorated.

He saw Riku on the other side of the square, having difficulty keeping the fast-moving limbs at bay, swinging his Keyblade and shooting Dark Fire blasts, but mostly dodging or blocking attacks. He ran over to meet him. “Riku! We need to bring this thing down to size!” he called out.

Riku locked eyes with him and nodded in agreement. When Sora reached Riku, the remaining Hammerleg tried to crush them, but the duo locked the tines of their Keyblades with one another. A gust of wind blew them upward and they started to float. They countered the Hammerleg’s attack with a rapid flurry of stabs.

“Is that all you got?” Riku taunted. He and Sora followed it up with a series of Dark Fire orbs at the leg, vaporizing it. They delivered some more stabs to a Gauntlet, which Mickey had knocked off balance into the air with three shots of Pearl. The arm fell to the ground, and Donald finished it off with a Thunder spell. An “I’ll take ‘em” from Riku followed by another series of dark orbs and the other arm was sent flying. Aeleus responded to it by clubbing it with his axe sword. It flew over Ienzo’s roof, and the illusion-caster trapped it in a sphere of light that floated above the center. He then conjured five duplicates of himself spaced around the sphere and they all fired lasers into the sphere. When the sphere exploded, the second Gauntlet was no more.

The Raid Armor clearly did not take the destruction of its limbs well at all. It flipped its torso so the bottom was pointed at Leon, Donald and Goofy, with the head peering over the lip of the bottom opening. A red light glowed from the opening, and the three combatants were barely able to get out of the way before the Heartless shot an energy beam that blew a hole in the pavement.

Sora flourished his Keyblade and summoned a circle of thirteen blades made out of light energy. He and Riku spun in midair toward the boss as it was starting to charge up its next shot. Thirteen blades carved twenty-six gashes in the armor’s hull, then faded into sparkles. The sparkles formed into gold and silver auras around the Keyblades, which they stabbed into the cannon. The blast exploded, absorbed mostly by the Master Hearts blades and otherwise divided and dispersed harmlessly through the gashes. They struck again with the thirteen blades, this time cutting pieces out of the armor. The falling debris forced the fighters beneath to run once again, but the pieces dissipated anyway. They swung back with their aura-lined Keyblades, cutting the rest of the torso into three pieces, leaving the head floating all alone.

Sora and Riku glared at the head with all of their rage. They spun around the head to catch it in the center of a whirlwind then leapt away, throwing their Keyblades to point directly at each other with the head in the center. “You’re gonna lose it all!” Riku screamed at the top of his lungs. A white aura surrounded the Kingdom Key and a black one surrounded the Way to the Dawn, and the Keyblades fired force blasts that pushed against each other, with the Heartless’ head taking the brunt of the attack.

Then the wind stopped. Kairi brushed her hair out of her face to see what happened in the aftermath. Sora and Riku landed on their feet, standing back to back. “Time’s up!” they both said, bumping the bottoms of their fists together, then they jumped away from one another. One second after that, the Raid Armor’s head crashed to the ground, crumpled into an unrecognizable mass. A heart rose out of the top, floated high enough for it to be at eye level with Yuffie, Lea, Ienzo, and Aeleus, then vanished in a cloud of darkness. What remained of the monstrous Heartless faded into nothingness.

Everyone just sat down, exhausted and glad the battle was over. Several minutes later, some curious townsfolk entered the remains of the square, then shouted to their friends and neighbors, letting them know that the monster was vanquished.

Zeromast and Maleficent watched the events unfold from the parapets. Zeromast carried a black cinch-sack slung over his shoulders by thin ropes, the contents making the bag take on a rectangular shape. The witch had trouble reading the scholar’s expression.

“Did you find the test to be satisfactory?” she asked. “It had better have been enough. It took far too much to unleash something of that size and power, and I will not be able to call upon any more Heartless in this world for a while.”

“It must have been a significant enough distraction. By now we should have what we need,” Zeromast answered monotonously. “And I am satisfied with the data gathered from the display. Sora and Riku have not grown too strong in the intervening months.” He noticed her expression turn sour at the mention of Sora. “Of course, I would have accepted if they had fallen to the Heartless’ onslaught, though I would be disappointed. And besides, wouldn’t you prefer to get your revenge on him personally?”

There was a brief pause before her answer. “Very,” she growled.

“And they brought the princess,” Zeromast noted. “I was wondering if that would be happening anytime soon.”

“Hmph. The powers of the Princesses of Heart are of no use to me,” Maleficent seethed. “But I will enjoy crushing her beacon of light and bringing them all pain.”

“Have you ever considered visiting a therapist?” Zeromast asked dryly.

Before Maleficent could lash out at him, he drew a chalk line on the floor in front of him and stepped across it. As he did so, he vanished as if passing through an invisible door, which is exactly what he did, as he had just transported himself back to the fortress in the Vale. The witch grunted and walked through a Corridor of Darkness of her own.

Twenty minutes earlier, Pete and Hämsterviel entered the computer room. Pete was satisfied to find that the flash drive remained undisturbed in the USB port. He logged back into the computer and the search bar popped back up.

“Hurry up, you enormous oaf!” the alien complained. He crossed his arms, tapped his foot and swished his tail impatiently as he looked up at the obese feline, unable to actually get a look at the computer screen.

“Hey, these things take time, okay?” Pete shot back. “I barely even know what I’m looking for. Why don’t you go mess around with the whoozy-whatzits in the lab or downstairs while you wait?” He scrolled through the search results and opened a file. Deciding that it was related to what he was looking for, he closed the window then clicked and dragged the file over to the flash drive window, copying the file to the USB.

“Disgraceful. Demeaning. The fiendish scientist and inventor Doctor Jacques von Hämsterviel dismissed and instructed to ‘amuse myself’,” he muttered to himself. Pete simply ignored him.

After a few minutes, Pete moved one last file into the flash drive, then turned around and knelt down to look Hämsterviel as closely in the eye as he could. “I think I got all of them. You want to look through the files and see if there’s anything I missed?” he asked. Hämsterviel grunted and Pete cupped his hands for him to step onto. When the gerbil was standing on Pete’s palms, the large cat stood back up and let him step onto the counter. As soon as he reached the keyboard, he started scrolling through the search selection rapidly and inputting specifications in the search bar. Within a minute, he had finished the search, ejected the flash drive, and removed it from the console.

“Now, let us show that Zeromast the fruits of my labor!” Hämsterviel declared proudly.

“Uh, you mean our labor?” Pete corrected.

“Right, of course,” the scientist brushed him off.

Pete shrugged and opened a Corridor of Darkness, through which they exited the premises and returned to the fortress.

Chapter 17: Chapter 16: The Puzzle of the Pieces

Chapter Text

Back in the fortress, the Villains of a Sort were lounging about, waiting for the return of their newfound allies. Dr. Facilier was playing cards with Loki, with Hades watching. Yzma and Doug were arguing about their chemistry sets. Mozenrath and Kefka watched with amusem*nt as Diablo and Mozenrath’s flying eel Xerxes competed in a staring contest. Cruella glared in disgust at Kefka’s costume and avoided laying her eyes upon Kuja’s garb, while puffing clouds of green smoke. Everyone was avoiding her because of that, save for the Horned King, who could not care less.

Everyone looked up toward the balcony as a Corridor of Darkness rose up out of the shadow, and out stepped Pete and Hämsterviel. The caped gerbil was holding the flash drive. Pete scanned around the room, noticing that not everyone was present.

“Uh, where are Maleficent and Zeromast?” he asked.

“Probably playing the lyre whilst the town crumbles,” Kuja suggested. At the mention of the attack on the town, Pete turned around and looked out at Radiant Garden. There was still smoke and dust lingering about, but there was no sign of the enormous, colorful Heartless that had been released.

“Then I guess they’ll be back soon,” he said, pointing out at the scene.

Kuja floated over to him and saw that the Raid Armor indeed was no more. “Well, those heroes are indeed capable,” he observed. “Should put on an extraordinary show should we meet.”

Moments later, Zeromast materialized out of nowhere, literally walking through the wall. Maleficent appeared seconds later in a Corridor of Darkness. Zeromast saw that Pete and Hämsterviel had already returned.

“Splendid,” the scholar said. “I trust you gathered a sufficient amount of data to aid us in our hunt.” Hämsterviel approached him and held the flash drive up to him. However, he was far too short, and Zeromast did not stoop down to retrieve the drive. Pete walked up, picked the drive out of the gerbil’s hand with two fingers (much to the scientist’s annoyance) and dropped it into Zeromast’s open palm. He received it with a “Thank you.”

Zeromast took his cinch-sack off of his back and opened it up. He took a sleek laptop out, set it on the table next to Dr. Facilier and Loki’s card game, and opened it. He logged in and inserted the flash drive into the USB port. He opened each file and skimmed their contents until he found a section of one file that caught his eye. “Very good, you two,” he commended. “This will certainly ensure that we can locate the items we seek.”

“While we’re on that point of discussion, can you go into a little more detail on what it is we seek?” Mozenrath inquired as he and Maleficent peered over Zeromast’s shoulder at the notes.

Zeromast sighed. “Very well,” he conceded. He took a step back, forcing Maleficent and Mozenrath to take wide backwards strides to the side. Loki snickered, causing Mozenrath to realize that he had lost his turban. He noticed that it was caught on Maleficent’s horn and had slumped so it was hanging in front of her face. He gingerly removed the hat, carefully ensuring that he did not make the hole any bigger than it was, and placed it back on his head as if nothing had happened, while Maleficent gave him an annoyed glare.

Zeromast walked toward the doorway, breaking his direct path to move as far out of the path of Cruella’s cigarette smoke as he dared without drawing too much attention to the action. When he reached the arched opening, he turned so that he was looking at everyone else in the room. All of their eyes were on him.

“As I explained before, there are many artifacts that we must collect to open the way to the power we seek,” he recapped. “There is one on every world, and they would be well-hidden and closely guarded. As items that truly hold the potential to destroy and create worlds, they have stood the test of time, surviving everything that would collapse and reform civilizations. They cannot be destroyed, but they can be reshaped with enough will.”

Pete raised his hand like a student wishing to say something to or ask something of his teacher. “In most of the files we found, there was something about a ‘Mysidian Crystal’. That Ansem guy seemed to think that it held some kind of power, but the only other thing he mentioned was that he was not supposed to study it. Is that one of your artifacts?” he asked.

In response to the question, Zeromast reached into his left pocket and pulled out a small leather sack. He untied the rope sealing the opening and pulled out a small blue crystal. He held his hand open, palm facing up, and let the crystal float vertically right above it. He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose, willing for some magic in or on the crystal to take effect. The crystal began to enlarge, until it was three feet long and four inches wide, with jagged edges and slowly coming to a point at either end. The translucent blue edges emitted a soft ethereal glow. Everyone stared with intrigue.

“Ansem the Wise knew my father, my predecessor, during his early years as a king and scientist. Although my father had tried to maintain his secrets, Ansem discovered the Mysidian Crystal, which, as legends said, was a remnant of a lost society of mages. Detecting its hidden power, Ansem wanted to study it, and asked permission to do so, only to be refused. He respected that; he knew where to draw the line, though he could not forget his curiosity and he was compelled to address it in his notes.

“This crystal is indeed one of the artifacts we seek. But it does not reflect the aesthetic of the other items. Even in the beginning, the items all had wildly different appearances. They could be as distinctive as an idol or an icon, or as innocuous as a spoon. But they will have a similar structure as this: a long, straight frame. Of course, they can be disguised, but their true shape will work in this formula.

“Remember: we need to gather all of these items so we can gain the power to rewrite reality. Any fewer and the rules of nature that have been tying us down will continue to write our fates.” He shrank the crystal back to pocket size and put it back in the sack, which he replaced into his pocket. “Now, we should begin our search in the morning. I will let you stew over what I have told you, and you may come to me if you have any further questions.” With that, he retrieved his laptop and walked out of the room, descending the spiral staircase.

Many of them looked between each other, realizing that everyone else was just as perplexed by the scholar’s exposition. Yzma finally broke the silence. “So then, how are we supposed to find them?” she asked angrily. “They can be anything, anywhere! What do we have to go on?”

“He said they were indestructible. We could always raze the land until they are all that is left,” the Horned King suggested, his gravelly voice cutting a chilling atmosphere as he spoke. Everyone was left shocked at his ruthless sadism, save for Kefka, who was laughing.

“Sounds fun, pal. But if that was something we could just ‘do’, neither of us would be here,” the insane clown taunted.

Pete, for his part, was mortified. “What in tarnation is wrong with you two?” he asked in a mix of genuine concern and exasperated horror.

Kefka shrugged. “Oh, you know. The Emperor decides he wants an army of soldiers with magic powers, so he drains some creatures made of magic and injects their power into me as the first test subject. I get some neat powers but lose a few marbles, but who needs a clear head when you can destroy anything that gets in your way?” he explained, capping it off with his unique laugh.

“I am the Horned King, master of the blackest of magic, disciple of the Death-Lord Arawn. By my fell armies the land of Prydain trembles in fear,” the sinister Lich intoned, his demonic voice making the shivering Pete regret asking.

“Uh, anyone here not planning on killing everything?” Pete asked around, hoping that he was not in a room full of homicidal maniacs.

Dr. Facilier tapped his foot and spun a deck of cards out in his hand. “Well, I’m a businessman by trade. I cut deals: deals with people and deals with my friends. My friends on the other side,” he explained. As he did a brief dance, his shadow, which sat against the wall and had previously been replicating his every movement, performed a different jig. The shadow jumped away, then stuck its walking stick out and bumped into the back of the head of Loki’s shadow. Loki lurched forward as if he had been hit for real, and rubbed the back of his head, unsure what had just happened. The voodoo doctor’s shadow returned to its master. “And pretty soon, I will be the most powerful witch doctor and the wealthiest man in Louisiana!”

“Well, here’s a story for you,” Yzma began. “I am the advisor to a pompous, childish, pathetic emperor! When he was put on the throne as a child when his father disappeared, I was stuck raising him. I wanted the throne for myself, but I couldn’t just get rid of him and take the seat without drawing suspicion, so I’ve been trying to sneak authority whenever he wasn’t looking.”

“So, then what do you bring to the table, grandma?” Mozenrath asked skeptically, wondering why a rail-thin wrinkly old dinosaur woman was even in the group.

Yzma glared at him. “I create potions in my secret lab, potions with transformative properties. What about you?”

Mozenrath gave a sinister smirk. “I am the ruler of the Land of the Black Sand. I command incredible magical power and possess a vast array of magical artifacts, and I control an army of undead warriors. My ambition is dominion over the seven desert kingdoms and anything else I set my eyes on.”

The next person to explain himself was Doug. “Hi. I’m from a city populated entirely by hyper-evolved and civilized animals, kind of like Fat Cat over there. It’s mainly the mammals, so nothing like the ugly eel over there,” he said stoically. Xerxes gasped and growled, offended. “Except we don’t have any of whatever you are… What species would you say you were a part of?”

“Human,” Cruella answered, though Kefka at the same time said “Hume”.

“Jotun,” Loki identified himself, much to the surprise of Hades and Mozenrath.

“Olympian god,” Hades said.

“I would be called an Unseelie Faerie,” Maleficent was the last to answer.

“Right,” Doug pretended like he understood what they were talking about. “No humans or anything like whatever you are, but we’re about as civilized. And probably about as socially developed.”

“Oh, I would not be surprised,” Dr. Facilier muttered under his breath.

“Basically, I make chemical weapons for whoever hires me out. Poisons, knockout darts, hallucinogens, pathogens derived from a naturally-growing plant that can turn those affected by them feral, you name it, so long as I get paid. I’m also a great shot, if I do say so myself.”

The next object of curiosity was Cruella De Vil. As far as any of them could tell, she had no special abilities to bring to the table beyond an interesting fashion sense. She noticed that all eyes were on her and chuckled. “I can’t say that I fit into a fantasy novel like most of you lot, but I have my wealth and resources. In my recent escapades, I desired a coat made out of Dalmatian fur. Oh, the spots would have looked lovely!”

Some of the other villains looked at each other uncomfortably. “Uh… okay…” was all Pete could think to say.

“But the fur would not have been nearly soft enough if I used adult dogs, so I tried to skin puppies. Ninety-nine of them.”

Nearly everyone was flabbergasted at this. “What the—?” Pete shouted in horror.

“I purchased eighty-four of them legally, but my dear old schoolmate and her husband refused to sell me the fifteen that their dogs just had,” she resumed, oblivious to the concerns of everyone else in the room. I had the puppies kidnapped, but the imbeciles I hired allowed every single one to escape!”

There was a long silence as they let Cruella’s description of herself sink in, before Loki broke the silence. “Well, I suppose we could just see how it goes with her around.” Then he turned to Dr. Facilier so that De Vil could not see his face, and mouthed Puppies? For clothing? in a disturbed tone. The witch doctor simply shrugged.

Loki realized that everyone was expecting him to say his piece. He cleared his throat. “I was raised as a son of Odin, the king of Asgard. My brother, Thor, was the heir to the throne, but I wanted to become a ruler who would make my father proud,” he began with a masterful flourish. “But then I came across a dark secret: I was not born Aesir, but I was the son of the Frost Giant king of Jötunheim, abandoned only to be found and taken in by Odin during Asgard’s war with the Jotuns. When my Father and brother were… indisposed, I led Asgard to the best of my ability, and I was sure that Odin would see me for what I was after I slew the Jotun king and destroyed the enemy realm. But as my plan to destroy Jötunheim failed thanks to my brother, Odin looked upon me with shame before I fell into the abyss.” His expression grew dark, his deep-seated rage and resentment starting to breach the surface. “I tumbled through space until I found myself on a planet inhabited by a warlike race that made a deal with me. I get an army with which to conquer the mortal world that my brother loves so dearly, and in return I deliver to them a source of great power.”

“I do hope that this artifact is not one of the artifacts we seek,” Kuja pointed out.

“I quite doubt it,” Loki quelled his concerns.

“And you intend to betray them when they exceed their usefulness before they do the same to you?” Kuja pressed further.

“Given the slightest chance,” the god of mischief answered bluntly.

“Well, sounds good. Who’s next?” Hades skipped through the closing argument and transition. “What about you?” he asked, “volunteering” Dr. Hämsterviel.

The gerbil scientist glared at him with his red eyes, though he somehow failed to be threatening. “Don’t patronize me, you flame-tipped dentist’s nightmare!” he shot back. “I am a brilliant evil scientist from a distant corner of the galaxy. I commissioned and worked with my old colleague to create an army of destructive genetic experiments. I did try to remove my colleague from the equation so I could use the experiments for my own ends, but I ended up in police custody instead. After learning that the most powerful and dangerous experiment had escaped from the Galactic Federation’s mothership on its way to banishment and has since been somewhere in this sector of space, I escaped. My cruiser was shot down and crashed on a large asteroid, and they believed me to be deceased, but I built a new ship from the wreckage, spent the following years amassing my resources, and continued my search for my experiment.”

“Neat story, Hamsterwheel,” Hades sarcastically complimented.

“That is Hämsterviel!” the gerbil corrected angrily. “Veal! Like the delicious meat speck!” This outburst only elicited laughter from the others, much to his chagrin.

Kuja chuckled into his hand. “Well, I suppose it is my turn,” he said. He waited until the laughter had died down and he had everyone’s attention. “I am a warmonger. I profit on donating my magic and weapons to powerful leaders so they can wage war and further my agenda of death and destruction. I have even swayed a few of them to their darker impulses to give them that extra push over the edge. War, it is my purpose, as I have made it since some time after I came into being. And when civilizations have been razed I shall make the world anew in my ideal vision,” he explained with a theatrical flair.

“So, I see we’re a bunch of destroyers, conquerors, and manipulators with a wide variety of talents and abilities,” Mozenrath observed. “Many of us want to rule the world, while some of us want to destroy it. I wonder what will happen should our goals clash…” The other villains looked at each other uneasily, realizing that at some point they might have to destroy their alliance and try to kill each other so they can keep the power they want for themselves.

“It will hurt bad,” Xerxes growled in a mix of uncertainty and slight fascination.

“We shall concern ourselves with a compromise or confrontation of our ambitions when the time comes,” Maleficent declared, alleviating their worries for the moment.

“In the meantime, what do you make of that Zeromast character?” Yzma asked, rubbing her chin curiously. “We know nothing about him, and he appears to have an agenda of his own.”

“Yzma is right,” Mozenrath concurred. “He knows very much about us, and knows nearly everything about our objective, whereas he remains an enigma. How can we trust him to work with us all the way through? We don’t know what he wants from this power. He has control over this situation, something which I am sure infuriates all of you.” He glanced at Doug. “Though as long as you get paid, I’m sure you don’t care,” he added snidely. Doug shrugged apathetically.

“True, he maintains a secrecy about him,” Maleficent admitted. “But bear in mind: we cannot do this without him, and he cannot do this without us. So let him keep his secrets for now. We may find out more over time, and if he turns out to be an enemy, we will treat him accordingly.” Diablo cawed in agreement.

Kefka cackled. “Yeah! We can always just kill him when we’re done with him! Or sooner, if anyone cares.”

“Then let us work together for now,” Hämsterviel declared, “and nothing will be able to stop us!” He let out a high-pitched laugh, and Maleficent, Pete, Kefka, Cruella, Yzma, Kuja, and Dr. Facilier saw fit to join in.

Chapter 18: Chapter 17: Organizing the Facts

Chapter Text

While the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, with the help of Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and the former Organization XIII members, cleaned up the wreckage from the battle, Aerith checked the civilians for any injuries, and guided those who were hurt in the struggle over to the infirmary for treatment. Lea and Ienzo accompanied her to check on his colleagues.

Mickey cast Zero Graviga on debris to lift them up while Yuffie searched beneath them for any surviving affects or in case anyone had failed to flee before the buildings collapsed. Fortunately, they found no one. Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Aeleus moved debris out of the streets and piled them up where Leon instructed, dividing the pieces up by material.

When the streets were cleared and the debris was arranged, Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Mickey met up with Kairi and Donald, who had been assisting the people whose homes and businesses were destroyed by the Raid Armor by helping them settle into the relief apartments, which Leon and Cid had set up for the returning citizenry after reclaiming the town from the Heartless. Kairi noticed that Sora and Riku appeared uneasy.

“You all right?” she asked, concerned. “You look like something’s bothering you.”

“Cid and Shera checked the security footage in the computer room. While we were fighting the Raid Armor, Pete and some gerbil wearing a cape accessed the files,” Sora said glumly.

“So? What does… that…” she began asking, only to trail of as it dawned on her what was going on.

“The Heartless was just a distraction,” Riku finished, a bitter tone in his voice. “Maleficent released a monster large and powerful enough to destroy the town just to distract us.”

Donald sighed. “If she can do that on a whim…” he moaned in resignation.

But Kairi saw a silver lining. “Actually, I don’t think it was that easy on her,” she reassured them.

“What do you mean?” Sora asked.

“Well, while we were helping everyone to the apartments, not a single Heartless showed up to attack,” she explained. “I only saw one of those CLAYMORE scanner things, as if it had gotten a break and hadn’t had to do much. Some of the people we were escorting said that one usually appears every few minutes, and everyone admitted that not a single Heartless came after them while they were panicking. Apparently, the streets cleared about a minute before the giant attacked.”

“What are you suggesting?” Mickey asked, curious about the situation. Wouldn’t the Heartless want to go after terrified, defenseless civilians? Wouldn’t Maleficent want to cause panic and let more people be swallowed by the darkness? Why would she miss that perfect opportunity?

“Maybe it took so much out of her to summon a Heartless that powerful, that she had to dismiss the rest of the Heartless into the shadow so she could do so and couldn’t summon any more afterward,” Kairi suggested.

Sora crossed his arms and Riku put his hand on his hip, both contemplating Kairi’s idea. “So Maleficent used so much of her power to bring in that giant that she can’t even summon any more Heartless?” Sora pondered.

“And she wouldn’t be willing to do so again unless it were extremely necessary,” Riku added. “Which begs the question: why not just bring in any other giant Heartless? Or even a bunch of them if she figured that one would go down too easy?”

“She, or maybe her new ally, might’ve wanted to see how strong we all were,” Goofy suggested. The others looked at him with a mix of surprise and confusion. “I mean, it took all of our power to bring it down. And we had been home for three months. For all she knows, we could’ve been training really hard, and by now the giant Heartless would have been no trouble.”

“Huh. That is possible,” Mickey admitted. “For now, let’s hope that we won’t be seeing too many big ones in the near future.”

Before they could think further on the matter, they heard footsteps and turned to see that Lea was approaching. Sora and Riku did not notice the shocked expression on Kairi’s face, which promptly morphed into one of anger.

“Hey guys—” Lea greeted, but he was interrupted when, before any of them knew what was happening, Kairi ran up to him and punched him in the face. The force of the blow caused him to stagger backwards.

Kairi pulled out her rapier and held it in a battle-ready position. “You have some nerve showing your face around here, Axel!” she said, seething with rage, remembering the time he kidnapped her to lure Sora into a trap and try to turn him into a Heartless. “I won’t let you hurt Sora!”

At first Lea was confused, but then realized that Kairi still remembered him as the creep who threatened her. “Listen, Kairi, I’m sorry about that. I—” He was not allowed to finish, as Kairi swung her sword at him, forcing him to take a few quick steps backward.

“Hey, Kairi, stop!” Sora called out. He ran up and grabbed her by the arm, pulling it away so she was not continuously inches away from stabbing Lea. “He’s a friend now. He helped me get to the Organization’s world to find you. He even gave his life to bring us together!”

That got Kairi to calm down. She stood unmoving, looking deep into Lea’s eyes. She saw his sincerity and remorse. She relaxed her stance. Figuring that this meant that she was not going to continue attacking him, Sora let go of her arm. She slid the rapier back into the scabbard. There was a moment’s pause before she finally said “Sorry.”

Lea waved his hands in front of him in a deflective manner. “No, it’s not… I’m the one who should apologize. I just wanted my friend back, and I didn’t care who I had to hurt to do it. But I realized I was wrong. I’m sorry,” he confessed.

Sora chuckled sheepishly. “I guess I kind of forgot to tell you about Axel after we got back home. My bad,” he said nervously. Kairi looked at him with a raised eyebrow, then gave him a slight mocking smile. Sora returned his attention to Lea. “So, Axel—sorry, Lea, were you going to tell us something?”

“Oh, yeah. The other former Organization members woke up. I already told Aeleus. We should go check on them,” Lea explained. “Uh, you might want to restrain Kairi when we get there.”

Sora and Riku nodded, understanding full well what he meant. But Kairi tilted her head in confusion. “Why?” she asked.

“Because Saïx is with them,” he replied.

On the way to the infirmary, Sora and Riku explained how Lea, Isa and Ansem’s apprentices, save for Xehanort, had been restored to their Somebody forms, but only Lea, Aeleus, Ienzo, and Braig had regained consciousness. Riku had vouched for Aeleus and Ienzo, saying that they did not act nearly as antagonistic as they did when they were Lexaeus and Zexion. Kairi wondered, if they had been villains before when they were Nobodies, what they would be like now that they have hearts again.

Lea knocked on the door while Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stood by the window so that Aerith would see them. Aerith opened the door and let them all in.

Even and Ienzo were busily studying his and his fellow patients’ vital readings. Aeleus was talking with Dilan. Isa was standing in the back corner of the room, lost in thought. They looked up when they heard the visitors arrive.

“How is everybody?” Mickey asked Aerith.

“Isa, Even and Dilan stabilized shortly after we left, and they regained consciousness half an hour ago,” the healer explained. “Vitals appear to be perfectly normal, apart from being famished. There isn’t even any indication of whatever injuries forced their Nobody counterparts to expire. It’s as if all injuries sustained since becoming Nobodies were undone, but they still retain their physical maturity. I don’t believe Even, Dilan or Aeleus aged since Vexen, Xaldin and Lexaeus came into being, but from what I understand Lea and Isa were teenagers and Ienzo was a child before Radiant Garden fell. I’m probably not the best person to determine how any of this makes sense, but whatever it means, they appear to be completely human and completely normal.”

Donald shrugged. “I don’t think there is a ‘best person’ to determine how any of this makes sense,” he remarked.

Aerith giggled. “True enough. But it doesn’t look like there would be any harm if you would like to talk to them. Maybe try to fill in the blanks as to what happened to them.”

Dilan glared at the group nervously, evidently still remembering his defeat at Sora, Donald and Goofy’s hands. They likewise were not keen on making small talk with him, and moved on to Ienzo, Aeleus and Even.

Even raised his eyebrow and smirked when they approached. “Well, I am glad to see that Marluxia’s master plot failed,” he told them. Sora stared at him blankly. Even frowned. “Of course, I have been informed that while your previous memories have been restored, you no longer remember your experiences in Castle Oblivion.” He turned to address Riku. “What, pray tell, became of my Replica of you?”

“He faded into the darkness after our last battle,” Riku answered solemnly.

“That’s a shame,” Even said, a hint of apology in his voice. “He was a promising specimen.”

“Naminé had to shatter his mind to prevent him from killing Sora,” Lea explained. “But he managed to pull himself together and came to Sora’s aid against Marluxia.”

This seemed to surprise Even. He pondered that revelation for a moment. “Interesting. He restored his own psyche from a catatonic state. But that should not have been. I created him as what was essentially a robotic organism, and I had to program behavioral responses and knowledge. He could develop memories or receive them via implantation, like what Naminé did when Larxene decided to pit him against Sora, but he had no heart, like a Nobody.”

“Roxas sure didn’t feel like ‘Nobody’,” Sora interjected. “And Axel seemed to care about him, and regret whatever harm he had done.”

“Intriguing. When I was acquainted with Roxas, he seemed to be an empty shell. He did not have your memories, and so he did not have any prior experience from which to imitate emotions. But he made friends? This warrants further analysis.”

Lea broke off from the conversation and approached Isa. The blue-haired man avoided his gaze. Lea tried to start up a conversation but he felt nervous and had difficulty finding a place to begin.

“Hey,” he finally said. Isa remained silent. Lea scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He knew that patching things up with his former best friend would not be easy, but he was hoping to at least find a point to jump off from.

“Hey,” Isa finally replied, weakly, still avoiding Lea’s gaze, though it seemed to be more out of shyness than scorn.

“So… we’re people again,” Lea said, trying to start a conversation. “We have our hearts back.”

“You don’t seem all that different,” Isa commented. Lea frowned, worried, but Isa clarified. “The last time I saw you, you weren’t very different from the way you act now. As for me… did I honestly treat you like that?” He seemed horrified as he remembered his prior actions.

Lea snickered. “Yeah, you were cold. I tried to get you to lighten up, but you just glared at me with those orange eyes. You didn’t even give me one of your cheap remarks.”

Isa smirked and finally made eye contact with Lea. Lea’s eyes widened in surprise. “And all the while you just went right back to trying to be funny,” Isa remarked. He furrowed his brows in confusion when he saw Lea’s dumbfounded expression. “What?”

“Y-your eyes…” Lea stammered, pointing two fingers at his own eyes.

Isa walked over to the window into the hallway and looked at his reflection. He was shocked when saw that his irises were of their natural green-blue color, as opposed to the yellow-orange hue that had developed over the last few years.

“I had always wondered how my eyes were changing,” he mused. He was joined by Even, who was examining his eye color as well, intrigued.

“I had been curious about the same thing,” the academic admitted. “None of us had met that transformation except for you. The only other members to have a similar eye color were Lord Xemnas and Xigbar, but their irises had been like that before becoming Nobodies.”

“Braig only earned that color a year before we had lost our hearts,” Dilan interjected, speaking in a distinctive oily English accent. “It was shortly after the accident that cost him his eye.”

“Which brings up the question: where are Xehanort and Braig?” Even asked.

“There was no sign of Xehanort. And Braig’s down the hall,” Riku answered. “We were trying to interrogate him earlier today. He seemed to know you would come back into being, and he said something about expecting someone to meet him when he woke up. But we couldn’t get anything out of him.”

Even crossed his arms pensively. “If it is as you have inferred, then perhaps there is more to the nature of Nobodies than what we have been led to believe,” he declared.

Isa, Lea, Ienzo, Aeleus, and Dilan took a moment to process that they had been played for ten years. Their hearts sank as they realized that everything they had done up to that point was likely all part of Xemnas’ twisted game.

“Now what are we to do?” Aeleus asked, finally breaking the silence.

Another silence followed, as no one knew how to answer that question.

“We spent ten years helping Xemnas with his plan, and before that we betrayed everything we worked for,” Ienzo lamented. “Where do we go from here?”

Even raised a single finger, to indicate that he has come up with an idea. “We are researchers. We could start by understanding our situation, and determining what secrets Braig is indeed hiding,” he suggested. “I for one would like to know how beings born without hearts could indeed demonstrate emotions of their own.”

The other former apprentices thought about what he said for a moment, then nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a plausible arrangement,” Dilan said.

“And maybe we can help Squall’s group put the town back together and look into whatever they people Sora, Riku and the others are fighting are after,” Lea added. He glanced around at the others, waiting for a response.

“I can work with that,” Isa agreed.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Aerith, who were watching the former Organization XIII members and listening to their conversation, looked at each other and gave each other a satisfied nod. “Glad to see that they’re working things out,” Goofy commented.

“Maybe they aren’t such bad people,” Kairi said with a smile. “I wonder what that means for the others, like that man with the playing cards, or the guy with the guitar?”

“Who knows,” Sora responded, wondering the same thing himself. At the same time, he remembered what Demyx had said before they fought.

Oh, we do too have hearts. Don’t be mad.

Could Nobodies have hearts?

They were drawn out of their thoughts when they heard someone rapping on the window. It was Yuffie, again. Aerith let her in.

“Sora! Guys! Come to Merlin’s House! We have something!” the ninja told them, hardly holding in her excitement.

Chapter 19: Chapter 18: The Mission Begins

Chapter Text

The door was thrown open, and the Restoration Committee saw Yuffie, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy running inside. However, there was not a lot of room to stop, and the anthropomorphic animals tumbled into each other as well as the humans ahead of them. They picked themselves back up, but had to lean against the wall as they were panting heavily from exhaustion, having run all the way from the infirmary.

Kairi had to take longer to catch her breath, as she was not as used to such activity as the others. When she and Riku could finally stand up straight, she saw to their curiosity three newcomers. They were each about two feet tall and female, and they all floated in midair. The girl in the middle had short brown hair and clashing eye colors, with a blue left eye and a green right eye. She wore a white halter-neck top with a black mark on the chest, a pink jagged bar at the bottom and a pink hoodie, tied together with a black ribbon just below the chest, a yellow armband on each arm, and two ropes tied at the base of her hairdo, one a light blue with a white fur tuft at the end and the other a red length with a hair clip shaped like yellow bird wings and a brown fur tuft at the end. She had a blue short skirt and a blue and white sash that looked like a cropped quarter of a dress over her left leg, as well as blue boots that reached almost all the way up to her knees and were tied with white laces. The girl on her left had green eyes and medium-length blonde hair tied in a ponytail with the bangs held up by a large blue headband. She wore a yellow midriff-baring tank top, an orange skirt with a jagged bottom edge and yellow ribbons on either side, cream-colored detached sleeves, white socks with yellow linings, white shoes with blue soles and shafts that went midway up her shins, and an orange scarf wrapped around her neck which levitated towards the ends. The third girl had brown-gray hair, red eyes, and a pair of black bat-like wings. She wore a black tank top with red shoulder straps, a gray shawl that wrapped over her left shoulder and under her right arm, gray shorts with a red belt wrapped loosely around her waist and a black belt, worn properly, with a skull-shaped buckle, dark gray stockings, evening gloves, and tall boots with black belts wrapped around the counter, vamp and sole.

The girl with heterochromia was watching the visitors regain their composure with polite concern; meanwhile, the blonde girl was in the midst of giggling and the red-eyed girl stared at them with stoic apathy. Riku and Kairi could not help but stare back in curiosity. Riku had never seen anything like them. The closest thing Kairi could compare them to was Tinker Bell, whom Kairi never really knew but had seen through Sora’s eyes during the latter part of his first quest (she had been extra aware while on the pirate ship, due to proximity to her own body).

The girl in the middle noticed their expressions. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, bowing respectfully. “I suppose you have never seen the likes of us before. My name is Yuna.”

“I’m Rikku!” the blonde girl said cheerfully.

“Paine,” the red-eyed girl muttered.

“We call ourselves the Gullwings,” Yuna finished.

“You never actually introduced yourselves to Donald, Goofy and me,” Sora commented. “You just said you were ‘nothing worth mentioning’, then the next time we met you threatened to extort us for all our treasure.” He chuckled at that, even while Kairi gave him a double take.

“So, Yuffie said that you found something out?” Mickey said to Leon in a questioning manner.

Leon nodded. “The Gullwings had been spying on Maleficent at our request,” he began. “It turns out that, including herself, Pete and the man who’s gotten them on this hunt, there are thirteen villains in total.”

“Some of them look pretty powerful,” Rikku interjected. “Others, not so much.”

“They are looking for a bunch of different objects all across the worlds,” Yuna continued. “They don’t look alike, and they are well-guarded. The man said that when brought together, they would be able to access a power that will allow them to change reality itself.”

Everyone’s eyes went wide. Mickey and Donald’s jaws dropped. But Goofy scratched his head with one finger, appearing confused. “Isn’t that pretty much the same as what they’ve been trying to do before?” he asked. “Maleficent wanted to plunge the worlds into darkness, and Xemnas wanted to create a new world that he would control, both by reaching and taking control of Kingdom Hearts.”

“Ah, yes. That’s true. But this time, the stakes are much different,” Merlin explained. “During their previous endeavors, you were allowed to intervene, and the worlds even put in their power to aid you, because there is a balance between light and darkness that must be kept. However, if one were to rewrite reality, then those rules might be changed. The balance could be rewritten. If Maleficent were to get her hands on that power, then she could snuff light out forever.”

With this explanation, Goofy came to share Mickey and Donald’s expression. Sora shook his head in disbelief. “Then I guess we need to make sure they don’t get there!” he declared.

“We’re still trying to find out more from the files on Ansem’s computer,” Cid explained. “Now that we have an idea what to look for, we can narrow our search down considerably.”

“In which case, I suppose we should start searching for the objects ourselves,” Mickey said. “We should find and protect as many of them as we can. Right, fellas?”

“But how are we going to do that?” Kairi asked, looking between Mickey and Sora for an answer.

Sora shrugged. “Same as we always do: fly to different worlds and wander around aimlessly until we find something,” he replied offhandedly.

Kairi raised an eyebrow and looked at Donald and Goofy. “Is this really how you get things done?” she asked.

The duck and dog thought for a few seconds before nodding. “Yeah, pretty much,” Donald answered. “Before, we just flew to whatever the nearest world was, or we opened a path and followed where it led. But we don’t have that restriction, I don’t think. So I guess we’ll just go in a random direction until we find something.”

When Yuffie, Aerith and Cid heard this description of how they conduct their business, they laughed out loud. “Oh, you guys are hopeless!” the ninja exclaimed. “Well, you do what you do best.”

“Good luck,” Yuna said, giving them another bow. Rikku waved good-bye and Paine gave them a nod.

“You might want to pick up some curative items and accessories from the marketplace,” Leon suggested.

Sora nodded. “We will. Thanks, guys! We’ll be back when we figure something out.” The party waved good-bye to the Committee and left the building. They passed through the borough and went through the marketplace, doing just as Leon suggested and stocking up on items, accessories and armor. Then they went down to the landing bay and climbed into the Gummi Ship.

“How about you let me do the flying this time?” Donald grumbled, taking the pilot’s seat.

Sora grinned and gladly strapped himself into one of the guest seats while Mickey and Goofy took their places in the Teeny command seat and the gunner seat. Donald initiated liftoff and the ship ascended above the town, before it flew through the world’s atmosphere and into the sea between worlds.

Chapter 20: Chapter 19: The Outlaw

Chapter Text

As the Gummi Ship approached the new world, the passengers looked out of the glass cover in curiosity. There was a large area of grassy plains. At what appeared to be the top of the sphere-shaped world was a large town with an ornate castle in the middle. The town was surrounded by a large body of water, and connected to the mainland by a bridge. At the “bottom” of the world was a tall tower. Donald checked the heads-up display on the ship’s console and was relieved to see that the walls surrounding the world had come down when the ship approached, allowing them to land without difficulty. A pillar of green light extended from a point on the world’s render, a distance away from the tower, that indicated the ideal location to disembark. He maneuvered the ship to a point above that corner of the world and parked at the edge of the world’s atmosphere. He typed in a few commands into the console and pressed a button labeled “DISEMBARK”. A circle of light began to glow in the back section of the co*ckpit.

“All right, everyone. Let’s head on down,” the duck instructed, unbuckling his seatbelt while the others did the same.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy stepped into the circle, while Sora led Riku and Kairi to join them. “This is going to be cool. Trust me,” Sora reassured his friends with a grin.

They heard a low humming and felt the air warm up around them. A pillar of light rose up surrounding them, briefly blinding them, all while they felt a vibration through their entire bodies. Then, for a split second, they felt nothing at all. After that, the light faded away and they were standing in a grassy plain, standing in the exact same position they were in before the light enveloped them. Riku and Kairi paused in confusion, noticing the trees and flowers and feeling a cool breeze blowing through their hair. Instead of the whirring of the ship’s engines they heard birds chirping, leaves rustling, and the clomping of hooves.

“What…” Kairi began to ask, but she could not understand enough of the experience to complete the question.

“This is actually why I never got used to parking on the ground,” Sora told them. “We would draw less attention if we left the ship in space.”

“We can transport ourselves down to the surface by locating one of these spots,” Mickey said, gesturing to the ground beneath their feet. There was a circle of green light growing from the grass and dirt, a green aura circling around their feet. “I’m not sure why, but they seem to have a stronger connection with the walls and roads than other spots, as if this is where the lanes meet. We can also use these points as a focal point to beam back up to the ship.”

“And the light fills you up like a Cure spell, so it will heal your cuts and bruises and restore your energy just by standing in it,” Donald said with a triumphant sigh.

“We like to call them ‘Safe Points’,” Goofy added.

After basking in the Point’s warm glow, the group stepped out of the circle and started to explore the forest clearing.

“So, how has nobody noticed these points all over their worlds? I’m pretty sure I never saw one before,” Riku inquired.

“Usually, they’re invisible to the naked eye. When people from outside of the world come near, the warmth becomes noticeable and they only start glowing when you step into them,” Mickey explained, and as he spoke, the glow faded away as they walked away from it.

“Neat,” Riku commented, impressed.

They heard the sound of hooves clomping grow louder behind them. Goofy turned around to investigate the sound. Three men came running from behind the trees. The man in front had brown hair and eyes as well as a scruffy goatee. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt underneath a turquoise vest, dark cream-colored pants, brown bucket-top boots, and a brown belt with a miniature satchel attached. Slung over his shoulder, he carried a light brown satchel. The two men behind him appeared to be siblings, possibly twins. They were burly and muscular, and they had red hair and blue eyes. They both wore black pants, and brown bucket-top boots. One of them had prominent sideburns and a slightly curved scar on the right side of his face, and he wore a green sleeveless shirt and had brown leather arm braces and a sword sheathed in a scabbard over his back. The other had an eyepatch over where his left eye would be, and he wore a long-sleeved shirt underneath his dark sleeveless shirt.

The lean man with the satchel deftly dodged around the group, saying “’Scuse me. Pardon me,” as he ran. The party was not so lucky with the other two. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey stepped out of the way but the brutes shoved Donald and Goofy to the ground as they plowed through.

Sora and Riku helped Goofy and Donald to their feet. Donald fumed in indignance. Sora simply looked in the direction of the three men with a puzzled expression. “What was that about?” he asked nobody in particular.

Goofy turned away when he realized that the sound of hooves were getting louder. He squinted to see what was in the distance, then his eyes widened in horror. “Everybody gangway!” he yelled. The others turned and saw five horses charging toward them, each horse carrying a soldier wearing red shirts, gray pants, black boots, white gloves, and gold armor breastplates and helmets. Each soldier carried a crossbow. The man who appeared to be the captain had a bushy moustache and rode on a white-furred Hanoverian horse while the other soldiers rode brown-furred horses.

Expressions of fear crossed the party’s faces as they ran to get out of the horses’ path as fast as possible. The soldiers and horses proceeded without much thought to the people who were nearly trampled, though one scrawny-looking soldier shouted a meek “Sorry!”

As the horses were about to disappear behind the trees again, Sora got an idea. “I’ll be back in a jiffy,” he told his friends before he turned and launched himself into a quick run, throwing himself several feet in a single bound, leaving his still-baffled friends behind.

Running like the wind, Sora quickly caught up with the rider in the rear, the same soldier who had shown brief concern for the group’s well-being. He slowed until he matched the pace of the horse and waited for the soldier to notice him. “What’s going on?” he asked, shouting above the noise of the wind and the hooves.

“We are trying to catch the thief Flynn Rider, and his accomplices, the Stabbington Brothers,” the soldier explained, after regaining his bearings from the shock of seeing a teenager running as fast as a horse.

“Good to know. Thanks,” Sora replied. He waved good-bye and stopped running, kicking up dirt as he skidded to a halt. He turned around and started to walk back to his friends, but by the time he was halfway back he met up with them, as they had started to follow him.

“Wow. You sure can run,” Riku commended, a smirk on his face. Sora, his pride fueled, simply crossed his hands behind his head and smiled.

“So, what were they doing?” Goofy asked.

“They’re chasing after a guy named Flynn Rider, and the ‘Stabbington Brothers’. The one guy said they were thieves,” Sora answered.

Kairi raised one eyebrow. “Were those two lunkheads seriously named ‘Stabbington’?” she asked.

Sora shrugged. “I guess so,” he replied bluntly. “Considering we just landed as this was happening, maybe it would be worth a look. What do you guys think?”

The rest of the group looked back and forth at each other and shrugged, though Mickey, Goofy and Kairi seemed to be more immediately receptive of the idea.

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt,” Mickey said. Sora turned around and they broke into a brisk jog, following the path cut by the horses and the sound of the chase. As they ran through the forest, they soon came across what appeared to be a giant dandelion head. They stopped and moved in cautiously to investigate.

“Have you ever seen oversized plant life in any of the worlds you’ve been to, Sora?” Kairi asked nervously, never taking her eyes off of the large sphere of dandelion seeds.

“Only in Wonderland, which was more due to us being small… I think,” Sora answered, then groaned from a mini-migraine as he was forced to remember the utter nonsense that was the second world he ever visited.

Kairi leaned in closer, believing that she saw something beneath all of the dandelion seeds, but suddenly sneezed. Her sneeze caused all of the seeds to fly off into the breeze. With the seeds gone, the party could see a black sphere with yellow dots like eyes. The giant leaves beneath the sphere waved up and down.

The seeds landed on the ground, and an orb of dark aura formed around them. When the aura faded, in the seeds’ place stood egg-shaped black objects with a deep blue disc on the front that had two smaller circles, like glowing eyes. At the top of each shape was what appeared to be a yellow flower head, and it wiggled green leaves like arms. Beneath the deep blue disc on the front, a Heartless emblem was visible.

“That’s new,” Sora commented, summoning his Keyblade while Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy summoned their own weapons and Kairi unsheathed her sword. The Dandelion Seed Heartless flapped their leaves like wings and lifted themselves a few inches off of the ground. Sora struck one of them but another Heartless spun itself at him, slashing at him with its leaves and throwing its body at him. He promptly counterattacked, sending the foe flying before he went back to fighting the first one until it exploded into dark smoke, releasing a miniature glowing heart.

Riku swung his Keyblade at another Heartless, sending it flying, then obliterated it with a burst of Dark Fire. Donald took out two with a few successive blasts of Fira. Mickey cut through his target with a single shot, then knocked another one away with a shot of Pearl. Goofy was tripped by an enemy, but he threw it into the air with his shield as he rose back up, then spun around in a tornado spin, hitting it several times with his shield until it was no more. Kairi stabbed at another one then sliced its leaves off. Within moments, the Dandelion Seeds were all gone.

By this point, Goofy noticed that the original Heartless had already regrown its seeds, which sat on its head like a large white afro. “Careful! If those seeds get planted, more of the things we just fought will appear,” he warned his comrades.

Mickey shared a knowing look with Riku, Donald and Sora. They circled around the Dandelion until they were facing it from four directions. They pointed their weapons at the Heartless and prepared to cast a spell. “Firaga!” they all shouted simultaneously. Large bursts of flame shot out of the tips of their weapons and engulfed the Heartless. When the fire died down, the Heartless was still there, though it appeared to have been weakened, and its seed afro was completely gone.

“Now! Before it tries to spawn more of them!” Mickey commanded. Goofy threw his shield to cut into the Dandelion’s “neck”. Kairi cut the leaf arms off and stabbed at the underbelly. Sora, Riku and Mickey took turns delivering combo attacks to the head until finally it dissipated, releasing a glowing heart.

Jiminy poked his head out of Sora’s pocket. “So, it looks like this Heartless is rooted into one place, but it can create more creatures subservient to it by spreading its seeds,” he observed. “They bear the Heartless Emblem but, being sprouts cloned from the original, they do not contain hearts like other Emblem Heartless. Very interesting.” He opened his journal and began writing notes down.

Riku pointed in the direction they were headed before the fight began. “We should keep moving if we want to catch up with them,” he advised. They wordlessly agreed and continued their pursuit.

After a few minutes, they came to a cliff wall that rose roughly fifteen feet high. The party could see three soldiers restraining the Stabbington Brothers against the wall, with one of them placing handcuffs on each of them.

“I’ll kill that no-good Rider!” the brother with the sideburns growled in fury. He struggled to escape the soldier’s grip, but he was held firm and prodded with the point of a spear to be made to settle down.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stood in a circle to discuss what was going on. “I guess that Flynn Rider guy ditched the brutes to get away,” Kairi noted.

“I wonder what his deal is,” Riku mused.

“Say, wasn’t Aladdin a thief who was chased down by the guards?” Goofy asked, remembering what he had heard from word on the street in Agrabah.

Donald looked at him in disbelief. “Not all charismatic thieves have good hearts, you know!” he scolded. “We know far too many scoundrels!”

“Maybe so, but I still think we should take a closer look before we judge,” Sora said. He studied the wall, gauging its height. “I think maybe we could make a ladder by standing on each other’s shoulders. Some of us can climb up to reach the ledge, and then we can pull each other up, one by one.”

“We can only reach down so far,” Riku reminded him.

“Then I’ll be at the bottom,” Sora answered. Everyone gave him a confused look. “Trust me,” he reassured him.

Riku glanced at the cliff wall and smirked. “I think I’ll be right above him. Then Goofy, then Kairi should be able to reach the top.”

They had come to an agreement. While the soldiers were too busy with the criminals, Sora took his position in front of the rock wall. Riku climbed up his back and stood on his shoulders, and Goofy did the same to stand on top of Riku’s shoulders. Next, Kairi climbed the stack of three until she stood firmly on Goofy’s shoulders and could easily lay her arms over the ledge. Riku noticeably struggled to not buckle under the weight, though Sora had less difficulty.

Mickey was the first to scurry up the impromptu ladder and get off on the higher ground. As Donald proceeded to do the same, one of the soldiers saw them. “Hey, what are you doing?” he asked, bewildered.

“Don’t mind us. Just passing through,” Sora replied. Kairi started to snicker at the ridiculousness of such a claim, and even more so when she realized that the soldier seemed to have bought it.

When Donald was safely at the top, Kairi pulled herself up. She turned around and knelt down to reach for Goofy. But she realized that he was too far down for her to reach while properly anchoring herself, not to mention she probably could not pull him up all by herself, so she called Mickey to help. She grabbed him by the ankles and held him upside-down over the ledge. He summoned his Keyblade, holding it by the teeth, and reached it down for Goofy to grab. Together, Kairi and Mickey, with some assistance from Donald, pulled Goofy up.

Sora let Riku go and the silver-haired boy dropped to the ground. They both stepped back thirty feet. Their friends, as well as the soldiers, watched them with interest, curious as to what they were planning to do.

“Think you can make it?” Riku taunted lightly.

“Try to keep up,” Sora retorted. They both crouched, their backs arched and their hands on the ground, as if they were ready to begin a footrace.

After ten seconds, they broke into a run. They closed the distance between them and the wall within seconds, and when it appeared as though they were about to hit it they pushed downward hard with one foot each, launching themselves almost vertically upward. They brought their legs up to catch onto the rough surface, and kicked out to throw themselves further up, almost as if they were running up the wall. As they reached the top, they brought one hand out to catch onto the ledge and vault themselves upward, soaring clear over the others.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi clapped, with Kairi even cheering, clearly impressed. Down below, the soldiers and criminals stared upward in utter disbelief. “What sort of training regimen do those two go through?” one of the soldiers asked. The scrawny soldier simply shrugged.

Riku studied the signs of travel, flattened grass, broken branches and twigs, and the scent of sweat and horse fur. He pointed in the direction in which Flynn Rider fled and the remaining soldiers pursued, which was to the right of the way they had come up. “That way,” he directed. Without a word, they followed the path.

After a few minutes, they came across the other two soldiers, one of them being the captain, and one of the horses. They were backed up against each other, surrounded by Shadow and Soldier Heartless, as well as two Heartless that looked like the Red Nocturne and its cousins but had a blue-green body with white swirls around it and it wore a pale green cap with a light blue curled antenna. The soldiers shook with fright in spite of themselves, holding their crossbows pointed at the nearest monsters, while the horse was completely spooked.

The party knew they had to do something, so they brought out their weapons. Sora pointed at the floating Heartless. “Emerald Blues,” he identified, explaining their nature to Riku, Kairi and Mickey. “They use Aero magic. Be careful of their tornado attacks.”

With the element of surprise as an advantage, they rushed in to the rescue. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi fought the Shadows and Soldiers, while Sora and Riku each engaged an Emerald Blues. The floating Heartless attempted to counter by conjuring blades of wind around themselves. This did knock the Keyblade wielders back, but it otherwise had little effect, and they swiftly struck back and vanquished the Heartless.

The captain approached Sora and Riku. “Thank you for your help,” he said, clearly embarrassed at his inability to protect himself but sincerely grateful for the assist. “We have never seen anything like those creatures before.”

“Huh. I guess the Heartless only showed up recently,” Sora pondered. He looked at their rescues and realized something was off. “Didn’t you have a white horse?”

“Indeed, I did. I was dislodged from my mount and we ended up being cornered by those, erm, ‘Heartless’ creatures. In the meantime, my steed, Maximus, continued his pursuit of the thief Flynn Rider,” the captain explained. He looked off into the distance for a moment. “However, I cannot imagine that the chase would have led them much farther, unless they were to go off of the cliff…”

Sora nodded, understanding. “We’ll keep a lookout. You be careful, now.” He turned to face the rest of his group. “Come on, guys.”

Much to the captain’s confusion, the three youths and the strange-looking warriors ran in the direction that Rider and Maximus had gone.

The group approached the cliff and looked down into the pit, which seemed to go down several hundred feet. They saw what appeared to have been a horizontally-growing tree that sprouted from the edge of the cliff. However, it was completely snapped as if it had failed to hold up a sufficient weight. They knew immediately that the thief and the horse had indeed fallen from the cliff.

“Judging from prior experience,” Donald judged from examination, “they might have survived mostly undamaged. Kairi gave him a perplexed look, but Sora, having fallen a great distance and into a tree house after crashing through the roof only to get back up and fight a wild animal before even learning Cure magic, was not keen to argue.

“But just to be safe…” Sora summoned his Keyblade again, and Riku and Mickey followed suit. Sora grabbed Kairi with his free hand and held her close, whispering “Trust me” into her ear. He backed both of them off of the cliff. After a few seconds, he dug his Keyblade into the rock wall. The blade continued to carve through the rock as they went down, but this was enough to slow their descent until they were almost completely stopped by the time they reached the ground. Seconds later, Riku, Mickey and Goofy came down. Goofy was using his shield to carve the way down, and Donald was hanging from his neck for dear life. However, the shield in the rock did not resist their motion as well as a sword stabbed into the rock, and the two of them hit the ground hard enough for Goofy to fall on his backside and Donald to lose his grip and hit the ground as well.

“We all right?” Mickey asked. The others nodded, though Donald grumbled. The mouse king seemed to take that as an “I’m fine”.

“Okay, let’s see what’s around,” Sora declared.

Chapter 21: Chapter 20: The Girl in the Tower

Chapter Text

While the Keyblade wielders and their companions were rescuing the soldiers from the Heartless, Flynn Rider and Maximus had indeed survived the fall with barely a scratch. As the white horse sniffed around for the thief’s trail like a bloodhound, Flynn had managed to hide behind a rock while his pursuer went by. When he was sure the horse was gone, Flynn snuck away, creeping through a tunnel concealed by a curtain of ivy. He soon came across a wide clearing enclosed on all other sides by a cliff. Some trees and bushes were strewn about, and a thin waterfall descended down the cliff wall toward the rear of the space, leading into a winding stream when the water hit the ground.

What drew Flynn’s attention was the tower in the center of the clearing. It appeared to stand about one hundred feet tall. Much of the wall was covered in moss. A conical purple roof sat on top of the top floor, which appeared wider than the rest of the tower’s height and was almost entirely cylindrical, albeit with an alcove jutting out of the side. In the front of the tower, halfway up the height of the top floor, was a window large enough for a person to walk through if the fact that it was seventy feet above the ground did not deter them.

Flynn approached the tower and walked around the circumference, only to find no other apparent entrance. When he had looped back around to the front, he looked up at the window and smirked. That should be safe enough until the guards give up and go home, he thought.

He pulled two arrows, which he had kept with him for the purpose of scaling walls, out of his belt satchel. Jabbing the heads of the arrows into the joints between bricks, Flynn climbed up the wall of the tower. When he reached the window, he grabbed onto the ledge and pulled himself in. He closed the wooden double doors behind him.

Opposite from the window, there was a white marble fireplace with a set of red curtains above it. On the right side there was a stairway that went up to a balcony that led into a door flanked by some more curtains. Beneath the balcony there was another door. Under the stairwell there were shelves with pots, cups and plates, and in front there was a dinner table, a chair with a red backing and seat, and a kitchen table. To the left of the window, there was a mirror stand and a blue-painted closet. Beyond that, there was another window. Every inch of the walls was covered in beautiful paintings.

Finally sure that nobody would find him, Flynn breathed a sigh of relief. “Alone at last,” he muttered to himself, unslinging the satchel from his shoulder and opening it to admire his latest steal.

CLANG!

The intruder fell forward, unconscious. A young woman stood behind him, a cast iron frying pan held above her head defensively and a scared expression on her face. She let out a high-pitched squeal and ran back to hide behind a mannequin torso.

The girl wore a purple dress with pink accents. The skirt of her dress extended all the way to her ankles, stopping high enough to show her bare feet. She had fair skin, large green eyes, brown eyelashes and eyebrows, light freckles around her nose, and a small overbite in her front two teeth. Most noticeably, she had seventy feet of golden hair growing from her head, the long strands bunched together so that there was not a single split end, and the hair gathered together like a long, thick rope.

The girl rolled the mannequin as she inched closer to the intruder to get a better look. Stepping out from behind the mannequin, she lowered herself down toward the man, tapping him on the back of the head with her frying pan to see if he would respond. When he did not stir, she shared a glance with her pet chameleon, a palm-sized reptile who stood on the floor a few feet away. The chameleon shrugged. The girl used the handle of the frying pan to tilt the man’s head and push some bangs out of his face. When she got a good enough look at his face, she stared in awe, admiring the handsome spectacle.

Then he opened his eye, and Rapunzel went right back to being scared. She gasped and hit him with her frying pan, knocking him right back out.

Realizing that she had an unconscious stranger, who may have been like one of the dangerous men that her mother had warned her about for her entire life, Rapunzel quickly hid the man in her closet and held the doors shut by pinning a green chair up to the handles.

“Okay, okay, okay. I’ve got a person in my closet. I’ve got a person… in my closet,” she muttered to herself nervously. She looked at herself in the mirror as she realized the flipside of what she just did. “I’ve got a person in my closet!” she repeated, this time proudly. “Too weak to handle myself out there, huh, Mother?” she bragged, flourishing her frying pan and chuckling. “Tell that to my frying pan—” She cut herself off when she tried to spin the pan in her hand but accidentally hit herself in the eye. She recoiled from the hit and rubbed the pain away.

While she was doing this, she noticed the open satchel reflected in the mirror. She reached into it and took out a gold band studded with small pearls, rubies and sapphires. There were three teardrop-shaped diamond insets on the front. Curious as to what it was for, she put it around her arm, but it was far too big. She then peered through the diamonds at the chameleon, but her pet shook his head. She then put the band upon her head. The crown fit perfectly on her head, and she certainly looked regal, but the chameleon still was not sure.

Just then, she heard a shout of “Rapunzel!” from outside of the tower. Rapunzel quickly hid the crown and the satchel in a pot and ran over to open the window.

“Let down your hair,” the woman’s voice continued in a sing-song tone.

“One moment, Mother,” Rapunzel replied. She threw her hair over a hook hanging out over the window and let the rest of it fall down to the woman’s level.

“I’ve got a big surprise,” the woman shouted upward as she grabbed hold of the hair.

“I do too,” Rapunzel said, walking backward as she pulled on her end of the hair.

“I bet my surprise is bigger,” the woman teased as she ascended the tower.

“I really doubt it,” the girl muttered to herself.

By then, Rapunzel had pulled the woman all the way up to the window. The woman let go of the hair and sat down on the ledge. Mother Gothel, a woman who appeared to be in her early- to mid-forties, had flawless, smooth skin that appeared to be a shade of pale ivory, and had prominent cheekbones. She had gray eyes and brown eye shadow. Her curly black hair was thick and glossy and fell past her shoulders, while three curls hung over her forehead. Her fingernails were a dark brownish-gray. She was a tall, slender woman with a curvaceous figure. She wore a flattering crimson dress with elbow-length sleeves, gold trim, and a matching sash with a gold buckle. She also wore brown, buckled shoes and she had on a hooded black cloak. She carried a wicker basket on her right arm.

“I brought back parsnips. I’m going to make hazelnut soup for dinner. Your favorite. Surprise!” Gothel said with a cheerful tone and a theatrical flair.

“Well, Mother, there’s something I wanted to tell you, so—” Rapunzel began, or at least tried to. Earlier that morning, she had asked her Mother to take her to the outside world for her birthday the next day so they could watch the festival where lanterns were sent to float through the sky, something which happened every year on the night of her birthday. However, Gothel rejected her wish and, to deter her further, sang another one of her lectures about how the outside world was full of dangers such as wild animals, deadly nature traps and most of all cruel people, and reassured her that she was safer in the tower with her. But since she had “handled herself” against an intruder, Rapunzel thought she could change her Mother’s mind.

“Oh, Rapunzel, you know I hate leaving you after a fight, especially when I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong,” Gothel interrupted her as she removed her cloak and hung it up on a hook on the wall.

“Okay, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier—”

“I hope you’re not still talking about the stars,” Gothel said dryly while taking the parsnips out of her basket.

“Floating lights,” Rapunzel corrected her. “And yes. I’m leading up to that—”

“Because I really thought we dropped the issue, sweetheart.”

“No, Mother,” Rapunzel said in exasperation, “I’m just saying you think I’m not strong enough to handle myself out there—”

“Oh, darling, I know you’re not strong enough to handle yourself out there,” Gothel cut her off while giving her a smarmy glare.

“But if you just—”

“Rapunzel, we’re done talking about this.”

Rapunzel started reaching for the green chair to remove it and open the door, intending to show her Mother her captive. “Trust me! I know what I’m—”

“Rapunzel. Rapunzel! Enough of the lights, Rapunzel! You are not leaving this tower! Ever!” Gothel shouted angrily.

Rapunzel stopped cold. Defeated, she retracted her hand, leaving the chair in its place.

Gothel slumped into the dinner chair and tiredly leaned her head into her hand. “Oh, great. Now I’m the bad guy,” she groaned.

Rapunzel glanced at the painting above the fireplace, one that depicted her sitting on a hill watching the floating lights in the sky, which she had only finished painting that morning. She closed her eyes dejectedly, realizing that her Mother was not going to allow her dream to come true.

“All I was going to say, Mother, is that…” she began weakly, then as she trailed off an idea came to her mind, “I know what I want for my birthday now.”

“And what is that?” Gothel asked bitterly.

“New paint. The paint made from the white shells you once brought me,” Rapunzel answered, the wheels turning in her head.

“Well, that is a very long trip, Rapunzel. Almost three days’ time.”

“I just thought it was a better idea than the… stars.”

Mother Gothel sighed, got up from the chair and approached Rapunzel. “Are you sure you’ll be all right on your own?” she asked, putting on a caring tone.

“I know I’m safe as long as I’m here,” Rapunzel replied, hugging her. Gothel hugged back, stroking the girl’s hair briefly.

Shortly afterward, Rapunzel had helped Gothel pack food into her basket. Gothel donned her cloak once again and took the basket. “I’ll be back in three days’ time. I love you very much, dear,” she reassured the girl.

“I love you more,” Rapunzel replied affectionately.

“I love you most.” With that, she descended down Rapunzel’s hair-pulley system and set off on her three-day trek.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy pushed their way through the vine curtain and passed through the tunnel until they came into the tower clearing. As they approached, a Dandelion Heartless appeared. It quickly dispersed its seeds and sprouted more Heartless. The group swiftly defeated the foes, but when they turned back to the tower they saw a cloaked woman standing at the base of the structure.

“When did she get there?” Goofy wondered aloud. Kairi then pointed above the woman, and they noticed something with a golden glint retracting into the window.

Riku guided the group away, and they hid behind a tree so that the woman would not see them. When the woman had passed through the tunnel, they stepped out and took another look at the tower.

“You sure that guy went in there?” Mickey asked.

“Well, I’m pretty sure that the horse went the other way, and if it’s that determined to catch him, then he would want to get as far away from it as he could. This is the only direction where he could have gone, and there’s nowhere else he could go from here,” Sora reasoned.

They approached the tower. Sora tugged on the moss to see if it would hold his weight. “I’m going to take a look inside. If I’m not back in an hour, or if I shout for help or send a flare or something, send reinforcements.” He did not wait for a response before he started climbing up the tower by the moss. There were a few points when his friends worried that the moss would not hold and he would fall, but this did not happen.

Sora climbed up to the window and pulled himself in. He looked around to see if anyone was home, and took a few steps in. The first thing he noticed was the large piles of what appeared to be straw or fair hair strewn about the floor, all in what appeared to be a continuous length. The second thing he noticed was the open closet. In front of the closet, Sora saw Flynn Rider, splayed about unconscious.

“Huh?” As soon as he uttered that confused remark, he felt something hard hit him on the head and everything went black.

Sora wearily opened his eyes. Everything was fuzzy, but he could have sworn that he had been on the other side of the room, but now he could see the closed doors of the window. He finally shot awake, and tried to stand himself up, but found that he could not. He looked down at himself. He realized that he was seated in a chair. His forearms and shins were tied down by the stuff that he had seen on the floor, which, feeling it against his skin, he determined to actually be hair.

He looked up to see what was going on, and he saw the thief seated in a green chair in the center of the room, also tied up in the golden hair. There appeared to be a small green chameleon on his left shoulder. The chameleon slapped his face with one of its paws, apparently trying to wake him up, but that had no effect. It did the same with its tail, to no avail. It then decided to shoot its tongue into the man’s ear, which caused him to wake up with a start, jolting so hard that the chameleon fell off of his shoulder. He took in his surroundings, terrified, and struggled to escape his bonds, only to fail to do so.

“Is… Is this… hair?” Flynn wondered aloud.

“Struggling… Struggling is pointless,” a voice came from up in the rafters. The voice seemed to be that of a young woman, who was trying to sound imposing but only betrayed that she seemed nervous. The two prisoners tried to get a good look at her, but could only see a silhouette hidden in shadows.

Sora and Flynn saw the figure of their captor jump from her perch to the floor as if it was nothing. “I know why you’re here,” she said. “And… I’m not afraid of you.”

“What?” was all Flynn could say in response, having absolutely no idea what was going on. He noticed Sora and looked at him as if hoping he knew what was going on. However, the boy did his best to shrug. They both looked back at the silhouetted figure.

The woman stepped out of the shadows. Both captives could tell that she was a pretty girl in her upper teens with long golden hair, which indeed was the source of the material holding them in place. She was carrying a frying pan, which made Sora wonder if that was the weapon used to knock him out. “Who are you?” she asked, directing her question more toward Flynn, as if Sora was only an afterthought. Clearly, he realized, the man had left more of an impression on her, even if he was unconscious the whole time. Of course, she also might not have realized that he was awake. “And how did you find me?” she continued, brandishing her frying pan.

However, Flynn was a bit too infatuated to answer properly. “A-ha,” he muttered.

“Who are you? And how did you find me?” the girl repeated, more forcefully.

Flynn cleared his throat. “I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you. But may I just say…” he began poetically, which Sora found amusing. The man spoke in a suave, confident tone. Then, he gave her a cheesy flirtatious grin. “Hi.” He winked an eyebrow enticingly, much to the girl’s confusion. “How you doing? The name’s Flynn Rider. How’s your day going?”

Sora snickered, causing the girl to finally notice that he was awake. She was utterly baffled, but she steeled herself, not wanting to lose focus. “Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?” she questioned, bringing her frying pan closer to Flynn’s face.

“All right, Blondie—” the thief began.

“Rapunzel,” she corrected.

“Gesundheit,” Flynn quipped. “Here’s the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower, and…” He stopped, realizing that something was missing. “Oh, oh no. Where is my satchel?” he asked Rapunzel, worried that he had lost the item he had stolen.

“I’ve hidden it,” Rapunzel retorted smugly, crossing her arms. “Somewhere you’ll never find it.”

Flynn looked to his right, then to his left. “It’s in the pot, isn’t it?” he guessed dryly, unimpressed, pointing at the pot as he spoke.

Angrily, Rapunzel hit him on the head with the frying pan, knocking him out once again. She reached into the pot and pulled out the satchel. She glared at Sora, and the boy obligingly closed his eyes. He heard Rapunzel move something made of stone.

“You can open your eyes now,” he heard her say moments later. He opened his eyes and saw Rapunzel standing in front of him, her arms crossed, trying to appear intimidating. “And why would you be here?” she asked him.

Sora decided that there would be no harm in being honest. “My name’s Sora. I’m actually new around these parts,” he explained. “I saw that ‘Flynn’ guy running past me, being chased by some people, so out of curiosity I followed him. His pursuers lost his trail, but I eventually tailed him here. I’m sorry to intrude.”

Rapunzel stared at him for several seconds, considering his words. “You’re… not here to hurt me? Or Mother?”

Sora was taken aback by this. “What? Why would I ever do that?” he questioned.

Rapunzel dodged his gaze, somewhat embarrassed. “Mother told me that the outside world is full of dangers, and everything out there would try to hurt me,” she explained somberly.

Sora frowned at this. “That’s a bit of an over-generalization,” he said. “Sure, there are plenty of bad people out there who would be more than happy to exploit and harm others, but there are also a lot of good people. You just have to go out and find the right ones.”

He looked around the room and noticed the artwork on the walls. “Did you paint those?” he asked.

“Huh?” Sora cleared up her confusion by having her follow his gaze to the painted walls. “Oh, yeah. I did,” she replied, smiling.

“They’re really good,” he told her.

“You really think so?” she asked him, cheerfully.

“Of course.” He then noticed that they covered every inch of the wall. “Wow. You sure did a lot.”

“Yeah. Well, I have a lot of time to myself when Mother is out,” she said.

Sora raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never been outside of the tower, have you?”

Rapunzel shook her head. Some of her hair that just reached the floor wiggled slightly. “Mother always warned me that I would never be able to handle myself out there, and I wouldn’t survive the dangers of the outside world.”

Sora wondered if the girl’s “Mother” was actually keeping her prisoner. He certainly had a few questions about her parental judgment. All the same, he felt bad for Rapunzel. She had been isolated from the world around her and all social interaction save for her “Mother”. And on top of that, the Mother left her alone for extended periods of time, leaving her in a tower with only so much to do. It was a wonder that the girl did not yet completely go mad.

He was going to continue the conversation when he looked past Rapunzel and back at Flynn. He realized that the chameleon was once again on his shoulder, sticking its tongue into his ear.

Flynn woke up and realized what the chameleon was doing. He jolted, knocking the chameleon off just like before, then rubbed his ear against the shoulder of his vest to try to get the reptile saliva out, muttering “Would you stop that?”

Rapunzel quickly retook her place in front of Flynn, crossing her arms confidently, still holding the frying pan under her arm. “Now it’s hidden where you’ll never find it,” she informed him. “So, what do you want with my hair?” Sora shook his head, realizing that he had not convinced her to shake off that paranoia; she seemed to have warmed up to him, but she was still skeptical of the other intruder. “To cut it?”

“What?!” Flynn gasped.

“Sell it?” Rapunzel guessed again, pointing the frying pan under the man’s chin.

“No! Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it! Literally!”

Rapunzel paused for a beat. “Wait… You don’t want my hair?” she asked, confused.

“Why on Earth would I want your hair? Look, I was being chased. I saw a tower. I climbed it. End of story.”

“Well, that lines up with what he said.” Rapunzel glanced over at Sora briefly.

“Who is that guy?” Flynn asked, exasperated. “Never mind.”

“You’re telling the truth?” Rapunzel figured she should check.

“Yes!” the man pleaded.

With a squeak, the chameleon crawled out from behind Rapunzel’s hair, having apparently been standing on the back of her neck for the whole conversation, and scurried down her arm and up her frying pan until it was at the point that was just a few inches from Flynn’s face. It stared intently at him, forcing him to lean his head back and stare, wide-eyed, at the reptilian. After a few seconds, the chameleon looked back at Rapunzel. She drew back and cupped the chameleon in her hands. Making sure she was far enough away from both of her prisoners, she faced away from them and brought her pet close to her face. They started whispering a conversation that neither Flynn nor Sora could make out, Rapunzel using words and the chameleon making squeaking noises. Sora was able to hear her say “Pascal”, which he guessed was the reptile’s name.

“Okay, Flynn Rider,” she began, returning to her conversation with the thief. “I’m prepared to offer you a deal.”

“Deal?”

“Look this way.” She tugged on her hair, causing the green chair to spin around, though this caused Flynn to lose balance and fall face-first on the floor. In the meantime, Rapunzel had climbed up onto the fireplace mantel and drew the curtains open. Sora glanced at the art, now illuminated by the glow from a skylight window. “Do you know what these are?” she asked Flynn sternly.

“You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?” he identified, his voice distorted due to having half of his face squashed against the stone tile floor. Sora raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. Princess?

“Lanterns… I knew they weren’t stars,” she said under her breath. “Well, tomorrow evening,” she directed at Flynn, pointing her frying pan at him as she did so, “they will light the night sky with these ‘lanterns’. You will act as my guide, take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and only then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal.”

“Yeah,” Flynn said, lifting himself up with his hands and pushing himself and the chair onto their side. “No-can-do. Unfortunately, the kingdom and I aren’t exactly ‘friendly’ at the moment, so I won’t be taking you anywhere.”

Rapunzel and Pascal traded glances. The chameleon made a very human gesture suggesting that she hit Flynn again, but the girl had other ideas. She jumped down and pulled at her hair until Flynn was upright again.

“Call it what you will, Flynn Rider,” she began, enunciating his name in a mocking tone. “Fate, destiny—”

“A horse,” Flynn quipped in a deadpan tone.

“So, I have made the decision to trust you.”

“A horrible decision.”

“But trust me when I tell you this,” she took on a more serious tone. She then pulled her hair until Flynn was about to fall forward, then leaned her hand against the back of the chair to keep up. She kept her eyes locked with Flynn’s. “You can tear this tower apart brick by brick, but without my help, you will never find your precious satchel.”

“Mm-hmm. Let me just get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you’ll give me back my satchel?” the thief clarified.

“Sounds about right,” Sora interjected.

“I promise,” Rapunzel declared, though Flynn did not seem too convinced. “And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise. Ever.”

Flynn stared at her blankly for another second. “All right, listen. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder.” He then put on the most over-the-top pleading pout that Sora had ever seen. The boy struggled to hold in his laughter. On Rapunzel’s end, the man’s blatant attempt at exploiting his attractiveness simply confused her, though she remained focused.

“This is kind of an off-day for me. This doesn’t normally happen,” Flynn muttered, disappointed. “Fine, I’ll take you to see the lanterns,” he finally relented.

“Really?” Rapunzel dropped her serious façade and let go of the chair, bringing her hands up beneath her face cheerfully. However, in doing so she dropped the chair, causing Flynn to fall on his face. Rapunzel and Sora winced at this. “Oops.”

“You broke my smolder,” Flynn whined.

“Say, would you mind if I tag along?” Sora requested. “You could probably use a bodyguard. There are these creatures called Heartless that have been showing up around here recently, and they cause trouble all over the place. Fighting them is kind of my thing, so I could keep you safe from them. Plus, my friends and I would really like to see the kingdom.”

“Your friends?” Rapunzel parroted.

“Yeah. They’re actually outside on the ground, waiting for me, and…” He realized something. “I said to send someone up if I took more than an hour. How long was I out?”

“About five minutes,” the girl replied.

“Oh, good. Plenty of time.”

Rapunzel looked at Pascal and thought for a moment. “Sure, come along. The more, the merrier!” she answered his request.

“Yeah, why not?” Flynn added cynically.

“Great! Now that we have that all settled, I have another question. Would you please untie us?” Sora all but shouted.

“Oh, right. Sorry about that.” Rapunzel got to work unwrapping Sora and Flynn. Since the hair was so long, it took a few minutes but eventually they were free.

Down below, Sora’s friends were doing whatever they could to allay their boredom. Goofy was snoozing on the hill. Riku and Kairi were sparring. Donald was patrolling the perimeter of the tower. Mickey was reading a book that he had brought in the event of moments like this.

When Donald finished his current lap around the tower, he stopped and addressed the group. “What’s taking him so long?” he asked in exasperation.

“He could have just run into more than we thought he would,” Riku suggested. “For all we know, he could be exploring. Regardless, we haven’t heard any signs of a struggle, and there’s still plenty of time before the point where he told us to check up on him. Just give it time.”

“Hey guys!” They looked up and saw Sora standing at the window, waving down at them. Goofy woke up on hearing the greeting and looked up as well. Riku and Kairi laughed, glad to see him no worse for wear.

Sora grabbed onto the moss and started to climb down. When he was thirty feet off of the ground he simply let go and dropped the rest of the way. He went up to talk to his friends.

“Things got a little strange,” he admitted. “But, good news! We’re going with Flynn and this girl, Rapunzel to see the kingdom.”

As he said that, Flynn climbed out of the window and started scaling back down using his arrows.

“Well, we might not be able to meet any high-level authority figures yet, but we can still get the lay of the land,” Mickey noted.

“And what’s more fun than seeing new sights?” Kairi added.

The discussion was interrupted when they saw an enormous length of golden hair fly out and wrap around the hook above the window. Rapunzel stepped onto the window ledge and grabbed onto the length of her hair that was beyond the hook. She stepped toward the edge, turned back briefly as if hesitating, then leapt off of the ledge, using her hold on the hair to keep her descent safe. She stopped just short of touching the ground and paused for a moment. She looked at the grass uncertainly, still nervous about her decision. Then, gingerly, she lowered one bare foot to the ground. As she felt the grass between her toes, she grew confident and planted her other foot on the ground. Cheerfully, she pulled her hair until it was all off of the hook and on the ground. In the meantime, Flynn climbed back down and was on the ground next to her.

Although they were not entirely sure about the new compatriots whom they had not even met, the party could not help but smile warmly when they saw Rapunzel’s innocence as the girl admired the grass, the blowing seeds of a dandelion (the weed this time), the flowing stream, and a bird fluttering nearby.

As they started walking out of the clearing, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy introduced themselves to Rapunzel and Flynn, and vice versa. The adventurers quickly grew fond of the kind and naïve girl, while Flynn remained aloof. Sora had explained what they were doing, why Rapunzel wanted to visit the kingdom, and how Flynn Rider got roped into all of this, though he omitted the part where he got knocked out with a frying pan.

One thing that the six adventurers could agree on: they made the right choice in following the thief into the tower.

Chapter 22: Chapter 21: Most Certainly Not a Stereotypical Pub Filled to the Brim with Violent Criminals

Chapter Text

In a not-too-distant field, roughly an hour’s walk from the tower, Maximus continued his hunt for the thief and the stolen crown. He sniffed around, trying to pick up his scent, when he heard someone’s footsteps. Judging from the loudness and the rate of the footsteps, whatever was approaching was most likely human. From what the horse could guess, there was nobody else who would be this far out into the forest, save for the guards, but they would be traveling in a group; if this was just one human, then it could be Flynn Rider. Quickly, he hid behind a large rock, where he waited for the person to come closer. This was his chance. In just a few seconds, the guard captain’s horse would capture the thief and return the stolen crown.

Patience. Just a few more seconds.

Maximus leapt over the rock and glared at what he thought was his quarry, letting out a triumphant whinny.

Mother Gothel recoiled in shock at the ambush. When the horse realized that he was scaring some lady instead of apprehending the criminal, his face fell in disappointment.

Gothel calmed down and gave the equine a look of disdain. “A palace horse,” she reassured herself, then she realized something. “Where’s your rider?” She gasped, her eyes opening wide. “Rapunzel.” She turned around, fear in her eyes. “Rapunzel!” she shouted as she ran back to the tower, leaving Maximus utterly bewildered.

Gothel hurried back as fast as she could. When she was at the base of the tower, she shouted upward “Rapunzel, let down your hair!” There was no response. “Rapunzel?” she pleaded.

When there was still no reply, she ran around to the opposite side, where the wall was covered in vines that sprouted purple flowers. She ripped a section of vines off, revealing an archway sealed entirely with rocks. She frantically tore the rocks out and opened the way, then ran all the way up the spiral stairs. When she reached the ceiling, she pushed upward, knocking a section out of its place, and pushed the stone trapdoor to the side. She climbed into Rapunzel’s room and searched frantically for the girl, calling her name as she went. She tore the curtains off of the second set of windows, illuminating the room with an almost haunting glow.

Gothel started to wander around the room, distressed. Then she noticed a glint under the bottom step of the staircase on the opposite side of the room. She investigated and lifted a stone that sat on top of a wooden slat right where it warped inward, allowing a glance into the space beneath the step. Inside that space, she found a brown leather satchel. She picked it up and opened it to see what it was that reflected the light, and she took out the crown.

It took a second for her to realize exactly what it was, at which point she gasped in fright and dropped it. That was the crown given to her when she was a newborn. How did it come to be here? If she finds out who she really is, then I will lose her forever!

She looked into the satchel again and drew out a parchment. It had a drawing of a man’s face. It said:

WANTED

DEAD OR ALIVE

FLYNN RIDER

THIEF

Adopting a shifty gaze, Gothel opened a drawer in the desk and took out a long, thin dagger with a cross-guard that curved toward the blade and curled at the ends.

No. I will have the Flower back, whatever it takes.

She sniffed the air, detecting something rather unusual.

I smell… magic. A magic I that has not shown itself in centuries.

“So, if you’re not from around here, where are you from?” Rapunzel asked Sora, Riku and Kairi. The party of eight (plus Pascal the chameleon) were trekking back through the forest. Mickey, Donald and Goofy were scouting ahead, checking to see whether the guards were still patrolling the area, leaving the Destiny Islands trio with the sheltered girl and the thief. They had been walking for over an hour. Much of the time has been spent by Rapunzel feeling conflicted over her decision, flip-flopping between feeling guilty over disobeying her Mother and celebrating at the top of her lungs. Flynn had also been trying to guilt her into giving up on her journey, while the others just rolled their eyes.

The three teenagers were taken aback by the question Rapunzel posed. Sora and Riku were not used to people asking such questions, and while Kairi knew that they were not supposed to tell others about the other worlds she did not know how to explain such things away. But she decided to come up with something anyway.

“We’re explorers,” she said, which was technically the truth. “We’ve wanted to travel and visit all the corners of the world, and now we’re finally getting the chance to do it together.”

Sora and Riku were surprised by how easily she was explaining the situation without revealing too much. Though, Sora noted, it was not too far off from what he said to Ariel when first arriving in Atlantica and asking her to teach him, Donald and Goofy how to swim underwater.

“It was originally just the three of us,” Riku added. “We met up with Mickey, Donald and Goofy along the way.” Again, this left multiple details out, but was technically true.

“Must be nice to see new places,” Rapunzel mused. “Meet new people, have a lot of fun.”

Sora smiled. “It sure can be fun,” he replied.

Just then, a Shadow Heartless materialized in front of Rapunzel. Sora, Riku and Kairi stopped, preparing to bring out their weapons. Flynn, meanwhile, looked at the creature in confusion. However, Rapunzel stared in fascination. She squatted down to the creature’s level and stared into its featureless round face with its simple yellow eyes.

“Aw, aren’t you a cute little thing,” the girl said, petting the Heartless on the head, much to the creature’s bemusem*nt.

“Rapunzel, be careful,” Riku warned. “That’s a Heartless, a being of darkness that will go after your heart.”

This did not seem to register with Rapunzel, however, until the Shadow tried to strike her with its claws. “Eep!” She jumped back up to her feet and backed away from the attack. The Shadow lunged forward, but the girl drew out her frying pan and crushed it with a single hit, disintegrating the enemy into black smoke.

More Heartless appeared, including Shadows, Soldiers, Emerald Blues, and Green Requiems. There was also a large Heartless that resembled a centaur with a red tail, hooves, and cape, wearing blue armor and carrying a staff with a yellow blade shaped like a blocky spiral design on the top.

Sora summoned his Keyblade and leapt at the Assault Rider. He swung hid weapon at the beast’s torso, pushing it backward, but the horse body remained stalwart. Before Sora could begin another combo, the Assault Rider twirled its staff in its hand, spinning it fast enough to hit Sora rapidly several times like propeller blades, ultimately throwing him to the ground.

“I hate these things,” he muttered as he brought himself to his feet, only to be sent flying once again when the Heartless stomped hard on the ground, throwing him off of his feet with a shockwave.

Riku and Kairi fought off the Shadows and Emerald Blues. Kairi sustained a few scratches and was sent flying by a tornado, but she caught herself on a tree branch and regained her bearings. As soon as the winds died down, Kairi retaliated, cutting the floating Heartless in two.

Flynn had taken a hunting knife from his belt satchel and was cutting his way through the Soldiers and some of the Shadows. He ducked when Sora flew past him from the force of the Assault Rider’s attack. He noticed that the Green Requiems were healing the Heartless’ injuries, so he leapt after and jabbed his knife into one of them, slamming it into a tree until there was nothing left of it, but this left the knife stuck in the wood. He tried to pull the blade out, but had to leave it to dodge a Soldier’s attack. He ran after the other Green Requiem, leapt and grabbed it by the feet. It tried to fly away, but his weight dragged it down. When his feet met the ground, he swung the Heartless through the air and bashed it into the same tree several times until it disintegrated.

Rapunzel helped Sora to his feet. “You okay?” she asked, concerned. Sora nodded. Rapunzel looked at the Assault Rider and got an idea. She grabbed a portion of her hair, swung her arm around a few times to flick it like a whip. She threw her hair to wrap around the enemy’s staff, then tugged, starting a tug-of-war with the Heartless, which it ultimately lost while falling forward. Sora caught the staff and slipped it out of the loop of Rapunzel’s hair. He thanked her, then ran straight at the beast, lunging and stabbing the tip of the spear into its leg. While it was thus incapacitated, Sora bludgeoned it with his Keyblade until it was slain.

Pretty soon, the Heartless were all gone. Sora cast Cura to heal whatever cuts and bruises were sustained. All weapons were dismissed or sheathed.

“Well, that was… mildly worrying,” Rapunzel stated. “But it wasn’t too bad.” On hearing this, Flynn rubbed his chin, pondering something.

At this point, Mickey, Donald and Goofy rejoined the group. “The guards seem to have gone elsewhere, though they’re probably still searching the forest,” Mickey explained. “But the way ahead is clear.”

Goofy noticed that the other five had recently been tensed up, and he saw a few scratches in nearby trees. “Did something happen while we were gone?” he asked.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Sora waved him off. “We took care of it.”

Donald felt his stomach growl. “Now would be a good time to get something to eat,” he said. The others could not help but agree.

Flynn snapped his fingers. “You’re in luck, boys, because I know the perfect place!” he announced, a devilish smirk on his face. “Follow me.”

“I know it’s around here somewhere,” Flynn said as they walked, scanning about the area. He looked to the left and, down a path lined with low-level fences not unlike highway guardrails, he saw a purple-roofed single-story building that looked like an architect’s nightmare, twisting and curving with the lay of the land, and it appeared to be built around a large tree. “Ah, there it is. The Snuggly Duckling.” Several yards ahead of the front door, there was a sign that hung at the side of the path, with a section in the middle cut out in which sat a painted planar carving of a yellow duckling surrounded by some cattails. There were some horses tied off at the front, indicating that the establishment was indeed occupied.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Donald shared suspicious glances.

“Don’t worry, very quaint place, perfect for you. Don’t want you scaring and giving up on this endeavor now, do we?” Flynn reassured Rapunzel.

“Well, I do like ducklings,” Rapunzel said with an innocent smile.

“Yay!” Flynn said with a sarcastic cheer.

As Flynn started to lead her inside, the other six hung back, still following but keeping a good enough distance to chat quietly amongst themselves.

“You know, I’m thinking it’s not as nice as it looks,” Goofy guessed. Donald rolled his eyes at how obvious a trick this was.

“I’ve never actually been in a bar brawl,” Sora mused. “Granted, not old enough to drink, of course, but still. And punching a guy that Sion is in the process of bouncing does not count.”

“They can be fun,” Riku said, earning an inquiring eyebrow-raise from Kairi.

“All the same, we’d better go in and watch their backs,” Kairi added. With that, they increased their pace as they closed the gap with Flynn and Rapunzel.

Flynn threw the door open inward. “Garçon, your finest table please!” he called out. Rapunzel gasped in horror.

The modestly-lit bar was filled with brutish-looking thugs decked in armor and warrior garb that some would find reminiscent of Vikings. One had a moustache divided into two sections at either side of his mouth; he wore an enormous brown spiked pauldron on his right shoulder, and he had a hook in place of his left hand. The enormous man next to him wore a helmet with a wide set of horns that curled up and inward at the tips. One of the scrawnier men, though only relatively, had a large red nose and uneven teeth. Another, who appeared to have some girth, wore a large metal, bucket-shaped helmet that covered his entire face and also had a pair of tiny horns at the top, and, interestingly, he had a tattoo of a cupcake on his right upper arm. Among other fearsome-looking ruffians, there was also a short old man who appeared to be in a senile and inebriated daze.

Afraid, Rapunzel held her frying pan out defensively. Flynn leaned on her shoulders as he led her through the crowd.

“You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose,” he said right into her ear, inhaling the smell when he said that. “Really, let it seep in. What are you getting? Because to me, it’s part man smell, and part really bad man smell. I don’t know why, but overall it just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?”

Rapunzel was yanked back as she felt something grab onto her hair. It turned out to be one of the thugs holding it. “That’s a lot of hair,” the guy muttered.

“She’s growing it out,” Flynn replied. He took a better look at the man. “Is that blood in your moustache? Blondie, look at all the blood in his moustache!”

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy made their way through the crowd, glaring confidently and warningly at any thug who dared to meet their eyes. One poked Mickey’s ears, but the mouse king glared upward at him, intimidating him into backing off. Another reached out toward Kairi, but she slapped his hand away.

Rapunzel had gathered up most of her hair into a large bundle and backed away quickly, only to bump back against another large thug who was sitting near the fireplace. She spun around to give him a quick warning frying-pan-point, then turned back.

“Ooh, you don’t look so good, Blondie,” Flynn teased. “Maybe we should get you home. Call it a day? Probably better off. This is a five-star joint, after all. And if you can’t handle this place, well, maybe you should be back in your tower,” he suggested as he led Rapunzel to the door, right past their glowering traveling companions.

“If he gets her hurt, I’m going to kill him,” Riku grumbled, balling his fists.

Before they could reach the door, however, the thug with the giant horns slammed the door shut, pinning a sheet of paper to the door with his hand. “Is this you?” he asked sternly.

The eight newcomers leaned in and noticed that the sketch on the Wanted poster greatly resembled Flynn. Nervously, Flynn pinched the thug’s index finger, which was covering the nose, and moved it out of the way. To his dismay he saw that the sketch was perfect except for the fact that the nose extended three inches. Sora, Donald and Goofy started laughing, while Riku, Kairi and Mickey entered their own fit of snickers.

“No, now they’re just being mean,” Flynn muttered.

“Oh, it’s him, all right,” Hook-Hand sneered as he approached the thief and grabbed him by the shirt. “Greno, go find some guards,” he ordered, prompting one of the patrons to run out the door. “That reward’s going to buy me a new hook.”

The helmet-wearing thug pulled Flynn out of Hook-Hand’s grasp. “I could use the money!” he shouted.

“What about me? I’m broke!” The enormous thug did the same. Almost instantly, the thugs swarmed on Flynn, trying to grab him so they could claim the reward.

Realizing the predicament, Sora and Riku cracked their knuckles, ready for a fight. Goofy summoned his shield and Mickey picked up a stool.

“Leave him alone! Pinocchio’s with us!” Sora called out, chuckling at his joke to which Donald and Goofy joined in. Then he stopped awkwardly. “They don’t know who that is.” He looked back at Kairi. “You don’t either.”

Rapunzel tried to get into the clump of warring brutes, trying to rescue Flynn, while the thief made his own attempts at pleading. “Guys stop! Hey, leave him alone! Give me back my guide! Ruffians!” She even started pummeling against one thug’s shield with her frying pan, to no effect.

Finally, she threw her hair over a support beam and let it wrap around a branch. She pulled her hair, using the beam like a pulley to pull the branch up. Just as Hook-Hand was about to punch Flynn while the others held him still, she released, and the branch fell back down and bounced off of Hook-Hand’s head. The other thugs stopped roughing Flynn about and stared in shock.

“Put him down!” she demanded. Hook-Hand turned to glare at her. “Okay, I don’t know where I am, and I need him to take me to see the lanterns because I’ve been dreaming about them my entire life! Find your humanity! Haven’t any of you ever had a dream?” she pleaded.

Hook-Hand unslung an ax from his back and started marching toward Rapunzel. The enormous thug lifted Flynn up and hung him by the shirt on a hook. Sora and Riku discretely summoned their Keyblades and Kairi placed her hand on the handle of her rapier, ready to come to the girl’s defense. As Hook-Hand approached, Rapunzel backed away in fear until she found herself leaning back over against a barrel.

When it looked like Rapunzel was about to get hurt, Hook-Hand said something surprising in his deep voice. “I had a dream, once.” He then threw his ax so that it hit the wall above a bard’s head, slicing the feather off of his green hat. A fearful stare in his eyes, the purple-and-green-clad musician, who was manacled by the ankle to a ball-and-chain, started playing on his accordion.

Hook-Hand: I’m malicious, mean and scary, my sneer could curdle dairy, and, violence-wise, my hands are not the cleanest. But despite my evil look, and my temper, and my hook… [He back up to a piano as a spotlight comes on and focuses on him] I’ve always yearned to be a concert pianist!

[While playing on the piano with both his hand and his hook] Can’t you see me on the stage performing Mozart/ Tickling the ivories till the gleam? [He strums across the keys, accidentally launching them out of the piano while Rapunzel and Goofy block them with frying pan and shield]

Yep, I’d rather be called deadly/ for my killer showtune medley. Thank you! ‘Cause way down deep inside I’ve got a dream!

Chorus of other thugs: He’s got a dream! He’s got a dream! [Flynn and Donald are confused, while all else look on in amusem*nt]

Hook-Hand: See, I ain’t as cruel and vicious as I seem. Though I do like breaking femurs/ you can count me with the dreamers. Like everybody else I’ve got a dream!

Big-Nose: I’ve got scars and lumps and bruises/ plus something here that oozes/ and let’s not even mention my complexion. But despite my extra toes, and my goiter, and my nose/ I really want to make a love connection.

Can’t you see me with a special little lady/ rowing in a rowboat down the stream? Though I’m one disgusting blighter/ I’m a lover, not a fighter. ‘Cause way down deep inside I’ve got a dream!

Chorus: He’s got a dream! He’s got a dream!

Big-Nose: [at the same time] I’ve got a dream! I’ve got a dream! [on his own] And I know one day romance will reign supreme. Though my face leaves people screaming/ there’s a child behind it dreaming. Like everybody else I’ve got a dream!

Others: Toll would like to quit and be a florist.

Gunther does interior design.

Urf is into mime. [A chubby man dressed and made up as a mime demonstrates in front of the party]

Attila’s cupcakes are sublime! [The helmet-wearing thug brings out a tray of cherry-topped cupcakes]

Bruiser knits! Killer sews! Fang does little puppet shows!

Hook-Hand: And Vladimir collects ceramic unicorns. [The enormous thug brings out a pair of tiny items of such description and clinks them together]

Hook-Hand: “What about you?”

Flynn: “I’m sorry, me?”

Big-Nose: “What’s your dream?” He takes Flynn off of the hook and sets him on the ground.

Flynn: “Sorry, boys. I don’t sing.” He finds himself surrounded by swords, along with one Keyblade and a staff.

Flynn: I’ve got dreams like you. No, really. Just much less… touchy-feely. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny. [He grabs one of Vladimir’s unicorns, earning a scowl, and places it in a bowl with a pile of oatmeal] On an island that I own/ tanned and rested and alone/ surrounded by enormous piles of money! [Some of the thugs grab him and throw him into the air, cheering]

Big Nose: [to Sora and the others] “What about youse guys?”

[An accordion solo swells up but Sora is left in silence]

Sora: I… don’t know.

The music came to an awkward halt.

“I mean, I’m enjoying my adventures, but in the long run, I’m not sure where to take it when there are no more monsters to fight and lands to save,” he explained somberly. Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy looked at him sympathetically. The former two knew better than anyone how he lived in the moment.

The elderly “thug”, nicknamed Shorty, shrugged. “Eh, we can’t all have it mapped out,” he said.

“Yeah, you’ll figure it out. I’m sure of it,” Hook-Hand reassured him. “Any other dreams about?”

Kairi snapped her fingers to signal for the music to start playing again.

Kairi: So, the three of us who were never apart/ planned to sail to lands great and far. But we were split and I couldn’t go with them to new stars. But now we’re together and ready for some fun/ and I’m ready to fly with them to each and every one! [she wraps her arms around Sora and Riku’s necks]

Can’t you see me running with my greatest friends/ fighting with the shadows’ darker schemes? I was just a simple girl/ now I’m soaring between worlds! Oops.

Sora: You’re fine.

Kairi: Like everybody else I’ve got a dream!

Thugs: Huzzah!

Rapunzel: I’ve got a dream! (She’s got a dream!) I’ve got a dream! (She’s got a dream!) I just want to see the floating lanterns gleam! And with every passing hour/ I’m so glad I left my tower. Like all you lovely folks, I’ve got a dream!

Chorus: She’s got a dream! He’s got a dream! They’ve got a dream! We’ve got a dream! So, our differences ain’t really that extreme. We’re one big team!

Call us brutal! Sick! sad*stic! And grotesquely optimistic! ‘Cause way down deep inside we’ve got a dream! I’ve got a dream. I’ve got a dream. I’ve got a dream. I’ve got a dream.

Rapunzel: I’ve got a dream!

Chorus: Yes, way down deep inside I’ve got a dream! Yeah!

The door opened, and Greno came back in. “I found the guards,” he announced. Realizing the predicament, Flynn pulled Rapunzel off of the table that she had been using as a center platform at the end of the song, and Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed them as they hid behind the counter. The captain of the guard and two other soldiers marched in, with the captain shoving Greno to the side.

“Where’s Rider? Where is he?” the captain demanded. “I know he’s in here somewhere. Find him. Turn the place upside-down if you have to!” He slammed his fist onto the counter to emphasize.

Once the captain had walked away, Flynn peeked over the counter, as did Riku. A couple other guards led the Stabbington Brothers, still in their custody but not yet back in prison, into the bar.

Hook-Hand held his hook in front of Flynn to get everyone’s attention. He glanced toward the back wall to indicate where to go. As they snuck toward the wall, Sora summoned his Keyblade and pointed. A beam shot out and hit a rectangular panel in the floor as it curved up to meet the wall, which opened backwards and downward like a trapdoor, revealing a hidden passage. The party of eight, with Hook-Hand behind Rapunzel and Flynn, crouched before the opening.

“Go. Live your dream,” Hook-Hand said.

“I will,” Flynn replied.

Hook-Hand glared at him. “Your dream stinks. I was talking to her.” Sora and Kairi wagged their heads from side to side as if conceding to the point. Disappointed, Flynn crawled into the passage.

“Thanks for everything,” Rapunzel said, giving Hook-Hand a kiss on the cheek before following Flynn. The thug smiled at this.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy started to follow, but Hook-Hand stopped Sora. “You’ll find your dream. And when you do, you follow it to the ends of the earth. Got it?” he said. Sora nodded. Hook-Hand glanced over the party. “You all, you’re pals. You stick together.” With those words, he shook hands with Sora and let them through, turning a blind eye as Donald and Goofy crawled through carrying some food. When they were all in the tunnel, Hook-Hand flipped a lever upward to close the trapdoor.

While this was happening, the other thugs were trying to distract the guards. Vladimir, holding the Wanted poster, picked up the diaper-wearing Shorty.

“I believe this is the man you’re looking for,” the enormous thug proclaimed.

“You got me!” Shorty said, holding his arms forward to get cuffed.

The captain could only look on, baffled, wondering if everything, including the guy in the blue shirt coming to alert them, was just an elaborate prank. A guard came back from his own search.

“Sir! There’s no sign of Rider,” he reported.

They heard a whinny coming from outside, drawing their attention. Maximus ran in and blasted the door open.

“Maximus!” the captain said, both glad to see his horse again and curious as to what he was doing.

Maximus sniffed the ground until he came upon a scent. He pushed a group of thugs aside with his forelegs and made his way to the counter.

“What’s he doing?” one of the guards asked. The captain, confident in his steed’s intuition, slammed his hand over the man’s mouth.

Maximus neighed, standing with his forelegs on the counter and pointing at the lever. The captain shook his head lightly in confusion. Maximus gave him a look as if to say Come on, you moron. It’s obvious. He pushed down on the lever, opening the trapdoor.

“A passage!” the captain said triumphantly. “Come on, men. Let’s go. Conli! Make sure those boys don’t get away!” The guards followed the captain and Maximus into the tunnel, leaving the scrawny guard who was armed with a halberd to watch over the hulking robber brothers.

Mother Gothel watched as the events unfolded inside the pub. She had trailed the party to the pub and was about to enter and retrieve Rapunzel but was stopped due to the activity that had developed inside, as she had arrived in the early stages of the musical number. Then she had hidden when the guards appeared, and waited for them to catch the thief, in which case she would not have to kill him and could drag Rapunzel back without trouble. However, she had still lost her target.

“I’ve got a dream… I’ve got a dream…” Gothel turned on hearing the drunken singing and saw Shorty stumbling around. When the little old man saw her, he smiled and leaned against the door frame. “Oh, somebody get me a glass, 'cause I just found me a tall drink of water,” he said flirtatiously.

Oh, stop it, you big lug,” Gothel replied, acting flattered. She laughed briefly, then drew out her dagger, pointing it into Shorty’s nose. “Where does that tunnel let out?” she asked sternly.

“…Knife!” the old man exclaimed hoarsely.

The tunnel was hollowed out of the earth, with stone all around leaving plenty of open space to carry in a cart full of supplies. Judging from the skeleton with a sword embedded in its chest as well as that observation, Riku determined that it must have been used for smuggling purposes, be it to smuggle items inside or to smuggle people outside, though the transport was not completely incident-free. Based on the layer of dust covering the skeleton and the sword and the cobweb connecting the skull and the handle of the weapon, this passage had been in use for a very long time.

Flynn carried a lantern as everyone made their way through the cavern. Sora was in front of Rapunzel and Flynn, keeping a lookout. Flynn carried a globe-shaped lantern to light the way. Next to him, Rapunzel was smiling giddily. Goofy and Riku were right behind them, then Kairi, then Mickey and Donald guarding the rear. Sora and Mickey reflected light off of their Keyblades, and Donald added illumination by filling the top of his staff with an aura of fire and thunder. Everyone made sure not to step on Rapunzel’s long hair.

“Well, I’ve got to say, didn’t know you had that in you back there. That was pretty impressive,” Flynn admitted.

“I know!” Rapunzel said excitedly. Her voice echoed a bit. She calmed down a bit. “I know…” Flynn smiled back at her.

“That was pretty amazing,” Sora commended. “Even though… I threw off the groove in the middle.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up over that,” Goofy reassured him.

“Kairi sure can sing,” Donald interjected.

“Oh, you should have seen her at the eighth grade talent show,” Sora said. “Ahem… When you walk away, you don’t hear me say…” he riffed.

“Please! Oh, baby. Don’t go. Simple and clean is the way that you’re making me feel tonight. It’s hard to let it go,” Kairi pitched in, only to start laughing, with Sora and Riku joining in.

Sora saw movement to the left and jumped out of the throng to strike down some Heartless.

Rapunzel nervously pushed some hair behind her ear. “So, Flynn. Where are you from?” she asked.

“Whoa, whoa! Sorry, Blondie, I don’t do backstory,” he interrupted. “However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I- I know I’m not supposed to mention the hair.”

“Nope,” the girl responded.

“Or the mother.”

“Uh-uh.”

“Frankly, I’m too scared to ask about the frog.”

“Chameleon,” she corrected.

“Nuance. Here’s my question though. If you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven’t you gone before?”

This took Rapunzel by surprise, causing her to chuckle nervously. The others in the group raised their eyebrows questioningly, wondering the same thing.

Before she could answer, a pebble fell on her head, and they heard a rumbling that shook the loose stones. Everyone turned around and saw the guards coming their way.

“Ryder!” the captain of the guard shouted, him carrying a torch.

“Run!” Flynn said. Riku and Goofy helped Rapunzel gather her hair up and the group ran through the tunnel. Sora rejoined the line and cast a Blizzard spell on the ground behind him to try to cause the guards to slip, though this did very little to impede them. Some Heartless appeared and tried to block their way, but Donald eliminated them with a Thunder spell.

Soon, they saw a light at the end of the tunnel, but when they came out they were standing at a rock ledge into a canyon. Behind them, a wall made of wooden boards formed a dam, while against the rock wall to their right, a complex system fed water from the reservoir down through a chute that led down through the canyon. They ran to the edge, but found that the only way out was down a long rope ladder and through a hole into another cavern on the canyon floor. And they did not have the kind of time to go down that way.

To the left of that passage, a boarded-up path was blown open, and out stepped the Stabbington Brothers, brandishing their swords. The one with the eyepatch held his with his right hand while his brother used his left.

“Who’s that?” Rapunzel whispered.

“They don’t like me,” Flynn replied, figuring that was all he needed to say.

“How did they get free?” Riku asked.

“Those guards must not be good at their job,” Sora observed.

The guards came out of the tunnel, leaving the party surrounded. “Who’s that?” Rapunzel asked.

“They don’t like me either,” Flynn said.

Maximus burst out of the tunnel as well. “Who’s that?!” Rapunzel asked again.

“Let’s just assume for the moment that everyone here doesn’t like me!”

“We’ll hold them off,” Riku said, the six adventurers brandishing their weapons.

The captain’s eyes went wide with surprise as he recognized the group. “You… You’re the young lads from before. The ones who fended off those monsters. You’re aligned with Flynn Rider?!”

Sora shrugged. “At present, it’s like an alliance of convenience. Sorry,” he said flatly.

Rapunzel shoved her frying pan into Flynn’s hands. “Here!” She threw her hair so it wrapped around a broken beam, then pulled it taut.

Sora saw what Rapunzel was doing and looked across the canyon, where he saw, on a ledge on the opposite side, Heartless materialized in wait for her arrival. He turned to address Mickey. “Your Majesty! Cover Rapunzel!” he told him pointing in the direction of the long-haired girl as well as the Heartless.

Mickey nodded in understanding and, just as Rapunzel began to swing across the canyon, jumped onto the girl’s back. This surprised Rapunzel, but she did not let it distract her, and it did not interfere with her swing. When they landed, Mickey dropped off of Rapunzel’s back and swiftly slew the Heartless on the platform.

The captain dropped his torch and pulled out his sword. “I waited a long time for this,” he said.

Before the fighting could begin, some Heartless appeared between both groups. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy quickly took on the Heartless, including some creatures resembling blue monkeys and others resembling orange monkeys with hair bows and slingshots. The five of them took out the brute force-utilizing blue Powerwilds, though some stragglers tried to flee by climbing the rock wall, while the orange Bouncywilds hung onto the canyon wall, firing glowing purple orbs at the party, forcing Sora, Riku and Goofy to run up the walls after them while Donald tried to take them out with Blizzard and Thunder spells. A Bouncywild began sniping at Mickey, who could only block the shots with his Keyblade. Rapunzel lashed her hair out, wrapping the Heartless up with one end, then she swung the hair and released the Heartless, letting it fall to the bottom of the gorge.

This left Flynn and Kairi alone with the guards. Kairi came to the thief’s defense but the captain easily swatted her aside. At first, Flynn was concerned, but then he remembered that he was holding a frying pan that had knocked him out a couple times already. So, when the captain charged at him, Flynn swung the pan, hitting his opponent in the face and knocking him to the ground. Another guard came at him, but he deflected the man’s sword and knocked him out as well, and did the same to the third and fourth.

When all of the guards were unconscious, Flynn looked at the frying pan in amazement. “Oh, mama! I have got to get me one of these!” he exclaimed.

“Glad to see you’re having fun,” Kairi quipped as she picked herself up.

A sword came into view, and Flynn brandished the frying pan, but was surprised to see that his opponent was Maximus holding a sword between his teeth.

Sora and Riku landed on the ledge. Goofy was not so close, and he hit the wall beneath, barely grabbing the ledge. Sora grabbed his hands and pulled him up.

Flynn started parrying Maximus’ sword strikes, running around to try to dodge the horse’s vicious charges. Sora, Riku and Goofy tried to knock the horse down, but he just kept getting back up. Donald tried to cast Fire on his tail, but he bucked and kicked him away.

Flynn continued to parry Maximus’ attacks. “You should know that this is the strangest thing I have ever done!” he shouted over the sound of iron and steel clanging. At the edge of the platform, however, the horse managed to knock the frying pan out of his hand. They watched as the cooking implement fell to the bottom of the canyon.

“How about two out of three?” Flynn suggested. Instead of taking him up on his offer, the horse pointed his sword at Flynn’s neck. Sora pushed the blade away with his Keyblade, then kicked the horse in the flank.

“Yeah, that was pretty strange,” the Keyblade wielder admitted.

“Flynn!” Rapunzel called. She had wrapped a section of her hair around a rock sticking out of her ledge, and threw the rest of her hair to wrap around Flynn’s hand. Much to Maximus’ shock and Sora, Riku and Kairi’s amusem*nt, Rapunzel pulled Flynn and swung him across the canyon. When she saw that he was headed right for the angry Stabbington Brothers, she shouted a warning and pulled her hair to shorten the length from the rock to the swinging object, pulling him out of the range of the brutes’ swords.

“Ha! You should see your faces, because you look—” Flynn started to gloat before finding himself hitting a wall. Everyone else, including the horse, winced.

Riku shook his head. “Ridiculous,” he said plainly.

Flynn let himself drop onto the water chute, all while Maximus kicked at one of the support columns holding the dam up. The column broke off, causing water to spill out of a hole in the wall, and landed evenly to create a bridge between his platform and Rapunzel’s, which he began to cross. Sora and Riku quickly followed, though Kairi, Donald and Goofy made their way across more cautiously.

“C’mon, Blondie! Jump!” Flynn called. Just as Maximus reached her, Rapunzel jumped off of the ledge and swung down. Mickey jumped and kicked the horse in the neck to stun him, then leapt off of the platform himself. Rapunzel swung down and when she reached the bottom of her swing, she landed and skidded in a puddle of dripping water. She pulled the rest of her hair down and ran. In the meantime, Flynn jumped into the chute and slid down the current of water, reminding Sora of a fondly-remembered escapade in a certain jungle. He jumped over the side and landed on another section of the chute, which started to collapse under his sudden weight. Using its collapse to guide his descent, he reached the ground and quickly joined Rapunzel.

Donald noticed the dam starting to collapse. He tapped his finger on Sora’s thigh, and when he noticed, he tapped on Maximus’ mane. The horse snorted angrily at him, only to notice the dam completely fall apart. The guards, who had just come to, saw the falling wall of water and screamed. Maximus snorted defiantly as everyone on the upper level was swallowed by an enormous wave.

The wave hit the Stabbington Brothers as well, and the massive torrent caused a boulder tower to fall down. Rapunzel and Flynn barely made it into the cave, and Flynn retrieved the frying pan, which had washed up to them, right before the boulder fell and blocked their way, leaving them in the dark.

Chapter 23: Chapter 22: Drying Off

Chapter Text

When the wall of water hit the party, Sora, Donald and Goofy were surrounded by a white light and glowing bubbles. When the light faded, the three of them had transformed. Their clothes had vanished, and parts of their bodies had been morphed. In place of legs, Sora had the back half of a dolphin, sleek blue-gray skin leading into a tail, with a dorsal fin on his lower back, and he also had gills on his neck. Donald’s flippers had morphed into six blue octopus tentacles with a yellow underbelly. Most of Goofy’s entire body had become that of a sea turtle with a green shell, an orange underbelly, and black limbs.

The three of them gained their bearings and realized that the spell that Donald had cast so they could safely enter the underwater world of Atlantica had kicked in automatically. They also realized that only they had been affected by this spell, and Riku, Kairi and Mickey were left helpless.

They cast their eyes about and saw their friends, the guards, and the Stabbington Brothers being carried about by the rapid current. Maximus was nowhere to be seen, but a quick glance upward showed that he somehow made it to the surface. Seeing he was fine, they ignored him.

“Donald, you have something that can keep the fluid out of their systems?” Sora asked with a sense of urgency as they swam toward Riku and Kairi.

“Yeah!” the cecaelia-duck confirmed. When they got close to Riku and Kairi, he pointed his staff at them. “Oxyale!” With that incantation, bubbles shot out of his staff and went into the unconscious teenagers’ mouths and nostrils. The bubbles expanded out of those orifices until they fused together and formed a large bubble surrounding their heads.

“Neat,” Sora said, before grabbing each of them by the hand. He carried them as he maneuvered through the current, avoiding rocks and pieces of wood caught in the current. Meanwhile, Donald swam around to each guard and cast Oxyale on each of the guards. A bubble formed around their heads, and the water that was forced into their airways was expelled.

Goofy searched frantically, looking for the King. He saw the Stabbington Brothers being carried along, and above them he saw the mouse king. “Down there!” he alerted the others, divebombing toward his friend as fast as he possibly could. Sora and Donald followed. Goofy swept under Mickey and caught him onto his shell. As quickly as he could, Donald cast Oxyale, encasing his king’s head in a bubble. He watched intently, hoping to see some sign of vitals. He relaxed when he saw Mickey take a soft breath.

“He’ll be fine,” Donald told Sora and Goofy. He offhandedly cast Oxyale on the Stabbington Brothers, then dismissed his staff as he had expended his mana creating the bubbles.

“What about Rapunzel and Flynn?” Goofy asked as the current carried them out of the crevasse and through a ravine.

“I lost sight of them when they got to the cave. They’re on their own for now. We need to worry about getting out of this flood!” Sora explained. He swung Riku and Kairi out of the way of a boulder.

Donald spun himself around an overhanging rock and launched himself above the surface of the water. He momentarily transformed back into his normal self, clothes and all, and took a look off into the distance. His eyes widened when he saw the edge of the ravine, dropping off into a river. But the river seemed pretty far down from the ledge…

He dropped back into the water and returned to his aquatic form. “We’re gonna go off a cliff!” he warned his friends. This earned panicked expressions from Sora and Goofy.

Sora beamed when he had an idea. “Donald! Take Riku and Kairi. I’ll latch onto the wall off to the side with my Keyblade right where we go off, then you and Goofy will launch yourselves out of the water before you fall in. I’ll reel you in.”

Donald was taken aback, and Goofy was just confused. But when they met Sora’s steely gaze, they trusted his judgment. Donald grabbed hold of Riku and Kairi’s arms. Sora let go of his closest friends, leaving them in Donald’s hands, and summoned his Keyblade. “A hundred feet ahead,” Donald informed him. After a few seconds, he shouted: “Ready, now!”

Sora cast Fire downward, creating a jet of steam that propelled him into the air, throwing him to the left of the water flow. He stabbed his Keyblade into the rock wall right at the ledge, then, since he was now a human again, set his feet on footholds on the wall. Donald and Goofy threw themselves out of the water just as it fell over the cliff. They soared through the air, terrified. Goofy held Mickey tight in his arms while Donald held Riku and Kairi’s wrists for dear life. Sora grabbed onto the cliff wall with his free hand, yanked his Keyblade out, and pointed it at his friends. “Magnega!” A vortex of white light materialized in front of the tip of his weapon. Light particles swirled in a sphere around the ovoid vortex. The airborne party members were pulled out of their trajectory and found themselves spinning around the vortex’s orbit.

As the vortex started to fade, Sora grabbed Riku and Kairi and wrapped their arms around his neck, using a Blizzard spell to freeze their fingers together so they would not fall off. Goofy grabbed onto the wall and Donald grabbed onto Goofy’s back, holding Mickey by the arm. The Oxyale bubbles had dissipated after everyone left the water.

“Everyone all right?” Sora asked. Donald and Goofy nodded. Riku, Kairi and Mickey started to come to.

“Ugh… My head,” Riku groaned. “Um, where are we? What happened? And why can’t I move my fingers?”

“Long story short, we got caught in a flood and separated from Rapunzel and Flynn, but now we’re holding onto a cliff for dear life,” Sora summarized. “Now you all hold on while we climb down to safe ground.

Despite the boulder sealing off the way they came in, Rapunzel and Flynn found themselves stuck in a pitch-dark cave with water filling up rapidly behind them. They turned to run, but quickly found a pile of the rocks sealing the way completely. Flynn dove under to find a way out while Rapunzel and Pascal searched the wall for a loose point to clear the way, but to no avail. Rapunzel started hitting a rock with her frying pan. Flynn forced himself against the rocks to try to dislodge them, but he ended up cutting his hand. He dove under again, but came back up with a distressed look on his face.

“It’s no use. I can’t see anything,” he said resignedly. Rapunzel started to dive under but Flynn pulled her back up. “Hey, there’s no point. It’s pitch black down there.”

Rapunzel leaned back against the wall as the gravity of the situation sunk in. “This is all my fault,” she whispered in despair. “She was right. I never should have done this. I’m so… I’m so sorry, Flynn.” She broke down into tears.

“Eugene.”

“What?”

“My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert,” the thief confessed. “Someone might as well know.”

Rapunzel giggled as the despairing moment turned sweet, even as the water was now at their necks. “I have magic hair that glows when I sing,” she said.

This flat-out confused Flynn. “What?” he asked.

At the same time, Rapunzel realized something. “I have magic hair that glows when I sing! Flower-gleam-and-glow-let-your-power-shine—” They took a deep breath and went underwater as the water level rose above their heads.

At first, there was no light down there, but then a golden glow began to emanate from Rapunzel’s seventy-foot-long hair, lighting up the entire cave. Pascal was treading right next to Rapunzel’s head. Flynn gasped in surprise at the sight of the glowing hair, forgetting he was underwater, and covered his mouth quickly. They followed the golden path of the hair until they saw a pack of rocks near the bottom of the cavern, loosely stuck together and appearing to cover up a way out. Without a moment to lose, seeing that this was their only shot at freedom, they swam down and started tossing the rocks out of the way.

The light of the magic hair faded, leaving them in darkness, but they knew what they were doing and kept working. Within moments, they pushed out the last wall of stones, and the force of the water pushed them out and into a pond.

Rapunzel and Flynn climbed up onto the shore, Pascal sitting on Rapunzel’s frying pan, and they laid there, catching their breath.

“We made it!” Rapunzel said triumphantly.

“Your hair glows,” Flynn said in shock.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy ran up to them. They were all soaking wet just like Rapunzel, Flynn and Pascal. For some reason, Rapunzel noticed, Riku and Kairi had their own fingers stuck together.

“Hey! Glad you made it out!” Sora greeted, relieved.

“Gosh, are you all right?” Mickey asked, concerned.

“We’re alive!” Rapunzel exclaimed, still celebrating their victory over the forces of nature.

“Never seen that coming. Her hair actually glows. Why does her hair glow?” Flynn asked the chameleon, gripping his cut hand protectively.

“Eugene!” Rapunzel called to him. “It doesn’t just glow.”

Sora, Riku and Kairi looked at Rapunzel in confusion. “Eugene?” Riku repeated.

Further into the forest, Gothel came across a hollowed-out tree. On the ground inside the tree, there was a circular trapdoor with a yellow duckling painted on it. With her hood raised, she drew out her dagger, waiting for her quarry to come through. But when the trapdoor was pushed open, it was not Rapunzel and Flynn Rider who came out, but the Stabbington Brothers. On seeing this, Gothel slipped behind a rock, watching the duo’s movements.

The brothers stopped to catch their breath, still recovering from the incident at the canyon. “I’ll kill him! I’ll kill that Rider!” the brother with the sideburns cursed. “We’ll kill him and get back the crown. Come on.”

“Boys!” Gothel called. The two scoundrels turned to get a look at the woman. “Perhaps you want to stop acting like wild dogs chasing their tails and think for a moment.” She held up the satchel containing the crown.

The brothers drew their swords, intending to just take it from her. She chuckled in response. “Oh, please. There’s no need for that.” She tossed the bag to the brothers, and they immediately began fighting over it until the one with the sideburns withdrew the crown. “Well, if that’s all you desire, then be on your way. I was going to offer you something worth one thousand crowns. Would have made you rich beyond belief and that wasn’t even the best part!” She laughed at this point. “Oh, well. C’est la vie. Enjoy your crown.” She turned to leave.

Their interests piqued, they looked at the crown uncertainly, then back at Gothel. “What’s the best part?” Sideburns asked.

With a wicked smile on her face, Gothel brought up the Wanted poster. “It comes with revenge on Flynn Rider.”

The brothers smiled evilly at each other. A Shadow Heartless rose up out of the ground, watching the group plot, drawn together by their own darkness.

“Well, that is intense,” Flynn commented while Riku added wood to the fire. After reuniting, they had found a Safe Point and decided to use it as a spot to camp and recover, electing to dry off and rest before completing the trek to the kingdom. Mickey sent a message up to the Gummi Ship, and a camping set materialized in front of him. Riku and Kairi’s fingers had thawed and they were able to separate them and move them freely. Riku and Mickey gathered firewood, which Sora lit, while Kairi and Goofy cooked dinner with the food that Donald and Goofy had smuggled out of the Snuggly Duckling. The group sat around the campfire, seated on a circle of rocks, and they traded stories of what happened during the flood.

“Wait, if everyone else was unconscious and you used the oxygen spell to save them from drowning, how did you survive?” Rapunzel asked. Riku, Kairi and Mickey turned to Sora, Donald and Goofy, as they were also curious about what happened.

“Well, Donald had cast this spell on me, Goofy and himself a while back so that we could survive underwater when we visited an undersea kingdom,” Sora explained.

Kairi stared in shock. “Sora! Orlds-way ecrecy-say!” she reminded him, concerned that he was violating the world order which she had been told was supposed to be maintained.

“Kairi, the first thing you need to know about the secret order kept between the worlds is that nobody cares,” Sora retorted.

“He’s right,” Mickey added.

“Besides, it’s not like they’re going to actually find their way to other worlds, let alone Atlantica,” Sora continued. “Anyway, this spell gave me the lower body of a dolphin, Donald the tentacles of an octopus, and Goofy the body of a sea turtle. And I guess it just kicks in whenever we get submerged in deep or turbulent water. So, it’s a good thing that happened.”

“And you two got out of that flooding cave because of Rapunzel’s magic glowing hair?” Riku asked for clarification.

“It didn’t glow when you were singing in the pub earlier,” Kairi noted.

“Well, it requires a specific song,” Rapunzel told them. “And it doesn’t just glow. Flynn, give me your hand.” With a raised eyebrow, Flynn held out the hand that he had cut while in the cave. Rapunzel grabbed a lock of her hair and wrapped it around Flynn’s palm several times. She pulled it too tight, causing Flynn to wince in pain.

“Sorry,” Rapunzel said. “Just, don’t… don’t freak out.” She then closed her eyes and started to sing a soft melody. As she did so, her hair began to glow. “Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse. Bring back what once was mine.” Flynn, as well as the onlookers, followed the path of the hair as the golden light slowly covered the entire length. Flynn finally looked at his hand as the hair wrapped around it began to glow, and he felt a warm tingle in the skin of his injured hand. “Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate’s design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine…” When she stopped singing, the glow faded.

The others stepped in behind Flynn to get a closer look. Flynn uncovered his hand and adopted a shocked and surprised expression. The others, having seen the effects of such magic at work already, merely looked intrigued and amused. Flynn’s hand was completely healed, the open wound closed and any signs of infection gone. Flynn stared at his hand in utter disbelief and started to scream.

“Please don’t freak out!” Rapunzel quickly said, interrupting the freak-out.

Flynn stifled a small version of the scream and tried to segue it into a comment. “I’m not freaking out. Are you freaking out? I’m just very interested in your hair and the magical qualities that it possesses. How long has it been doing that, exactly?” He put on a nervous grin.

Rapunzel relaxed and let out a small chuckle. “Forever, I guess. Mother said, when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves. But, once it’s cut, it turns brown and loses its power,” she explained, pulling back her hair to reveal a lock of short brown hair that reached below her right ear. “A gift like that, it has to be protected. That’s why Mother never let me… That’s why I never left, and…” She looked away shamefully.

“You never left that tower,” Flynn finished. Rapunzel looked back at him, the sad look in her eyes saying it all. “And you’re still gonna go back?”

“No. Yes…” She dropped her head into her hands. “It’s complicated.” Pascal leaned against her foot reassuringly.

The others considered what she had said. On top of what he had already been told while in the tower, Sora put together his own thoughts on Rapunzel’s Mother. She had kept Rapunzel in a secluded tower for eighteen years, which she was never permitted to leave, and often left her on her own for extended periods of time with barely enough to stave off boredom and keep from going insane. On top of that, she had instilled in her mind the idea that all people were inherently cruel and selfish and continually insisted that she was incapable of handling herself, probably tearing down her self-esteem in other ways as well. And she claimed that this was because evil people would exploit her healing powers, and the Mother kept her to herself to protect her and that “gift”. Sora shared a glance with Riku, Kairi and Mickey, and they all seemed to have similar suspicions. But before he could come to any definite conclusions, he wondered one other thing: If the power was to be “protected” for good use, then how had the Mother been using it? Clearly, it had been in use, as Rapunzel knew the song well enough to recite it herself

Rapunzel peeked past her fingers and realized that Flynn was still staring at her in sympathy. She decided to change the subject. “So, Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?” she asked, giving him a playful look.

“Ah, yeah. I’ll save you the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert. It’s a little bit of a downer,” he tried to brush the issue off.

However, Rapunzel inched closer to him, and Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy moved around until they were standing in front of both of them. This forced Flynn to relent.

“There was this book. A book I used to read every night to all the younger kids. ‘The Tales of Flynn Rider’, swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies either. Not that he’d ever brag about it, of course,” he explained.

“Was he a thief too?” Rapunzel asked.

“Uh… Well, no. Actually, he had enough money to do anything that he wanted to do. He could go anywhere that he wanted to go. Not too much unlike you guys,” he said, comparing the literary classical hero to the six adventurers in front of him. He faltered as he slipped back into his own childhood insecurities. “And, for a kid with nothing… I don’t know, it just seemed like the better option.” He looked to his listeners and held out his hand entreatingly. “You can’t tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation.”

“Ah. We wouldn’t want that, right?” Kairi teased.

“What book?” Riku added with a wink.

Flynn shrugged. “Well, a fake reputation is all a man has,” he said. This caused all eight of them to laugh.

Rapunzel and Flynn’s eyes met for an extended period. Sora and Kairi looked at each other knowingly, and Donald and Goofy snickered.

Flynn realized what he was doing and broke the eye contact. “Ahem. Well, I should get some more firewood.” He stood up, stepped over the strewn-about hair, and headed into the line of trees.

“Hey,” Rapunzel said, causing Flynn to turn back around. “For the record, I like ‘Eugene Fitzherbert’ much better than ‘Flynn Rider’.”

This definitely resonated with Flynn. “Well, then you’d be the first,” he said solemnly. “But thank you.” Sora, Kairi and Goofy nodded in agreement with Rapunzel’s statement. A soft smile appeared on Flynn’s face as he turned back to go get firewood.

“We should start keeping watch and getting ready to get moving in the morning,” Mickey said. The others agreed and split up in groups of two, leaving Rapunzel to watch the fire.

When she was alone, Rapunzel heard someone she was not expecting. “Well, I thought he’d never leave!” Mother Gothel said, revealing her presence.

Rapunzel turned around in shock. “Mother?”

Gothel lowered her hood, revealing that strands of her hair were turning gray. She had a few new wrinkles on her face. She was also wearing an obsidian bangle on her right wrist. “Hello, dear.”

“But I-I-I-I don’t… How did you find me?” she stammered as Gothel walked up and hugged her.

“Oh, it was easy, really. I just listened for the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that,” Gothel replied, clearly guilting her.

“Mother—”

“We’re going home, Rapunzel,” she said sternly, grabbing her by the arm and starting to drag her away. “Now.”

“You don’t understand!” the girl protested. “I’ve been on this incredible journey, and I’ve seen and learned so much. I even met someone.”

“Yes, the wanted thief. I’m so proud,” Gothel retorted sarcastically. “Oh, and a union of Keyblade wielders, too. How nice.”

This caught Rapunzel by surprise. “How do you know about that?” she asked, mystified.

“Oh, please. Rapunzel, my dear, I’ve been on this earth for a long time, and I’ve seen more than you will ever hope to understand. I had certainly hoped that those weapons were gone from this land for good.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Keyblade only brings destruction and despair, and its wielders claim to protect the light, but they only care to take whatever power they can for themselves and let the world burn. The fact that you failed to see that shows that I was right, and you are a hopeless fool for thinking you could do this on your own.”

“But—”

“Uh-uh-uh. No ‘buts’. These ‘friends’ of yours don’t care for you at all. You’re best off at home. In the tower. Come on, Rapunzel.”

“Mother, please. I think… Eugene… I think he likes me.”

Gothel scoffed. “Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that’s demented.”

“But Mother, I—”

“This is why you never should have left! Dear, this whole romance that you’ve invented just proves you’re too naïve to be here. Why would he like you? Come on, now, really? Look at you! You think that he’s impressed? Don’t be a dummy. Come with Mummy. Mother…”

“No!” Rapunzel said defiantly, standing firm.

“No? Oh… I see how it is.” Gothel sneered, intimidating Rapunzel. “Rapunzel knows best. Rapunzel’s so mature now. Such a clever, grown-up miss. Rapunzel knows best. Fine, if you’re so sure, now, go ahead, then give him this!” She pulled out the satchel and showed it to Rapunzel.

“How did you—?” Rapunzel began to ask, shocked that her Mother had found it, and also surprised that she knew what it was.

Gothel took the crown out and held it up for the girl to see. “This is why he’s here! Don’t let him deceive you! Give it to him. Watch, you’ll see!” Gothel tossed it to her, and she caught it.

“I will!” Rapunzel shot back.

A dark aura rose from Gothel’s person, though it burned into a black flame around her right hand. “Trust me, my dear. That’s how fast he’ll leave you. I won’t say I told you so! No, Rapunzel knows best! So, if he’s such a dreamboat, go and put him to the test!”

“Mother, wait!”

“If he’s lying, don’t come crying! Mother knows best!” She turned away, swinging the cape of her cloak dramatically, and vanished.

Rapunzel stared at the crown uncertainly for a moment. Was her Mother telling the truth? Was Eugene just using her? Were her new friends truly as wicked as she claimed? No. She refused to believe that.

“Hello? Hey, can I ask you something?” she heard Flynn calling from a distance. Rapunzel quickly put the crown back in the satchel and hid it behind a tree, then returned to the fire.

“Is there any chance that I’m gonna get super strength in my hand? Because I’m not gonna lie. That would be stupendous,” Flynn said as he approached the fire while carrying an armful of branches. When he noticed Rapunzel looking away silently, he looked at her with concern. “Hey, you all right?”

“Oh. Sorry, yes,” Rapunzel lied, turning to face Flynn. “Just lost in thought, I guess.”

Flynn seemed to buy that. He set the branches down and struck up conversation with the girl.

Sora and Riku watched Rapunzel return to the fireside. They had seen parts of the confrontation between her and an older woman, who they guessed was her Mother, but they did not get to hear the exchange. Riku thought he saw a dark aura around the woman, but it was already so dark out that he could not be certain. However, they had seen enough to support their suspicions about the woman.

“We can’t let Rapunzel go back to the tower and stay alone with that witch,” Sora declared.

“I want to hurt her for the way she treats her,” Riku affirmed.

But at the moment, they could do nothing about the abusive old woman, so they went back to patrolling the perimeter.

Not too far off, though far enough to not be spotted by either the duo at the campfire or the patrol group, Mother Gothel and the Stabbington Brothers watched Rapunzel and Flynn intently from behind some trees. The brothers prepared to move in, take Flynn out and grab the satchel while no one was watching, but Gothel held her hand up.

“Patience, boys. All good things to those who wait,” she calmly told them.

Chapter 24: Chapter 23: The Lost Princess

Chapter Text

Sora woke up and crawled out of the tent that he, Riku and Kairi had pitched and slept in the previous night. He felt refreshed after a good night’s rest and like a proper traveler after setting up a campsite for the first time in months. Ten feet to the left, Mickey and Goofy were dismantling the tent that they had slept in while Donald and Rapunzel cooked breakfast at the revitalized campfire. Eugene was content with sleeping outside of a tent, and Rapunzel wanted to lie under the stars for at least one night, resting on the soft grass. Everyone else was fine with that, so long as Rapunzel slept between the tents so that they would be nearby in case something were to happen.

“Happy birthday, Rapunzel,” Sora called out to the girl with magic hair when he saw her. She waved back then focused back on cooking breakfast.

He found Riku doing sit-ups and Kairi practicing with her rapier, using a tree as a training dummy. He noticed that the rest of his main party was accounted for, but there was someone missing.

“Hey, where’s Eugene?” he asked aloud.

His question was answered when they heard a scream. Donald and Rapunzel flinched and nearly spilled the food, and Pascal quickly turned red and turned to see where the sound was coming from. They all saw Maximus, soaking wet, apparently having not gotten out of the flood until much later despite being in a more advantageous position than most everyone else. He grabbed onto Eugene’s foot with his mouth and was angrily dragging him backward, Eugene scrambling to find something to grab on the ground to try to stop.

“No! No! No! Put me down! Stop it! Help!” he shouted, panicking. Sora quickly ran over to them and grabbed Eugene by the arms. He pulled him back, engaging in a tug-of-war with the horse. Riku joined, but Maximus still held his own.

“Let. Him. Go!” Sora shouted, struggling to pull the thief free. The contest was only broken when Eugene’s foot was pulled out of his boot, causing Sora, Riku and Eugene to go flying in one direction and Maximus to go in the opposite direction, his mouth still clamped on the boot.

Unperturbed, Maximus charged right back at his quarry, but Rapunzel jumped in the way, followed by Kairi. “Whoa, whoa, easy, easy. Settle down,” she told him, first severely, then more calmly and entreating. “Easy, boy. Easy.” She finally managed to calm Maximus down, with added encouragement from Pascal and a smiling Kairi.

The horse looked at the girl and the chameleon on her head in confusion. “Now sit,” she commanded. Maximus uneasily squatted his hind legs. “Sit.” He sat, almost ashamed, much to everyone else’s disbelief. “Now drop the boot. Drop it.” He dropped it. “Oh, you’re such a good boy. Yes, you are!” she said, starting to pet the horse’s head like she would a dog. Kairi soon found herself stroking his mane, and the horse found himself liking the affection, wagging his tail. Riku tilted his head, perplexed, as he was quite sure that horses did not do that.

“You all tired from chasing the bad man all over the place?” Rapunzel asked, as if talking to a pouting and tantrum-throwing child. Maximus nodded, frowning.

“Excuse me?” Eugene asked in disbelief.

“Nobody appreciates you, do they?” Rapunzel continued. Maximus shook his head.

“Oh, come on. He’s a bad horse!” Eugene complained. Sora and Riku crossed their arms in wonder, but soon started to smile at what was happening. Mickey and Goofy joined them and started chuckling.

“Oh, he’s nothing but a big sweetheart!” Rapunzel shot back as she and Kairi continued to pet the horse. Maximus lovingly rubbed the side of his face against Rapunzel’s. “Isn’t that right… Maximus?” she asked her new friend while reading his name on the bridle, right beneath a design resembling the sun that must have been the symbol of the kingdom.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Eugene groaned, earning a glare from Maximus.

“Look, today is kind of the biggest day of my life,” Rapunzel began, entreating the horse, “and the thing is, I need you not to get him arrested.” Maximus was taken aback and started to give her a glare. “Just for twenty-four hours. And then you can chase each other to your heart’s content. Okay?”

Reluctantly, Eugene held his hand out to shake on it, but Maximus stubbornly turned away. “And it’s also my birthday. Just so you know,” the girl added. Maximus let out a horse-sigh in defeat. He looked Eugene in the eyes and shook his hand with his hoof, though it was clear that neither horse nor thief was happy with this arrangement.

Rapunzel smiled, satisfied that they agreed to put their differences aside, but walked past them when something caught her eye. When she was not looking, Maximus punched Eugene in the gut with his hoof, and smirked proudly.

Sora approached him cautiously, his body language letting him know that he was a friend. “Hey, buddy. It’s nice to meet you. My name’s Sora,” he said, slowly getting close enough to pet him, which Maximus allowed. “Sorry about the beating we gave you back at the dam. We know you were just doing your job.”

After the party had become properly acquainted with the horse, they saw Rapunzel pointing at something past the trees. Sure enough twenty yards away, the line of trees ended, and the group could see a stone bridge spanning a lake, leading to a large city built on a small mountain. The houses in the city were built around the entire mountain, with a large castle surrounded by a stone wall at the top.

“What do you know? It was right there the whole time,” Sora commented.

“I suppose it was a good thing we got to dry off and rest before going in, though,” Mickey pointed out.

“Hold up, Rapunzel! We still have breakfast to finish, and we need to pack up the camping supplies!” Donald called out. Rapunzel thumped her forehead, embarrassed that she had forgotten, and returned to the site for breakfast, which Donald had finished cooking while she was negotiating with Maximus. Seeing that Maximus most likely had not gotten something to eat since before the flood, Goofy found an apple tree and punched the trunk with his shield, causing a reverberation that led to three apples falling off of their branches. Goofy held his shield up to prevent an apple from hitting him on the head. He gathered the apples and gave them to Maximus.

After breakfast, Sora, Riku and Kairi dismantled their tent and Mickey used the Safe Point to beam the camping supplied up to the Gummi Ship, much to Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, and Maximus’ amazement. Sora prepared to cast Blizzard on the campfire, but Mickey stopped him. Instead, he cast Aero, which created a vacuum of air around the blaze. When the fire consumed all of the oxygen available to it, it burned out and was gone.

Since Rapunzel could not contain her excitement any longer, the party left the site and began to cross the bridge into the city. Eugene saw a Wanted poster nailed to the side of the bridge next to him and quickly ripped it off and crumpled it up. Maximus glared at him, so Eugene shoved the parchment into his mouth. The horse spat it out onto Eugene’s face, and the two began to tussle.

“Hey! Behave, you two!” Donald scolded.

When they crossed the bridge and entered town, Rapunzel took in the sights with wide eyes and a huge grin on her face, and Pascal was similarly amazed. Strewn between the buildings, they could see rows of purple banners all marked with the sun design that was on Maximus’ bridle. All around, people went about their daily activities.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were also happy to take in the sights. It was not lost on Kairi that Sora was just as wonder-eyed as them all.

“What? In all your travels, you’ve never been to a festival like this before?” she asked him teasingly.

Sora shrugged. “To be honest, this is the most crowded town I’ve visited,” he replied.

Rapunzel tried to join the crowd, but jumped back in surprise when a cart full of goats flew by as fast as its driver pulled it. She then stumbled backward into a woman, and dodged to avoid a trio of ducks, though her long hair brushed by them and sent them into a panic. She bumped into a few more people, apologizing when she did so, and felt her head get yanked back as she walked, due to someone unknowingly stepping on the hair.

Seeing what was happening, Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Eugene helped her gather up her hair into large clumps, but it was still very cumbersome. Eugene scanned about for a solution, and saw four young redheaded girls sitting on the ledge of a fountain in the middle of the square, braiding each other’s hair. He whistled to get their attention and held up the hair for them to see. The girls gasped in amazement and wasted no time in coming to help.

The next few minutes were spent by the girls diligently braiding seventy feet of hair and decorating it with flowers until the hair was just barely off of the ground when Rapunzel stood up. The others watched this unfold, though Eugene hid behind a wall when a pair of guards made their rounds. Rapunzel admired her new hairdo and thanked the girls.

Eugene smiled when he saw the result, and Maximus gave him a teasing grin. Eugene shoved his face away, but Riku gave a knowing eyebrow-raise in his direction and Goofy chuckled at the reaction.

The group continued to explore the city. Rapunzel stepped away from the group when she saw a mosaic on the wall depicting what must have been the king, the queen, and their infant daughter. Kairi followed her gaze and got Sora and Riku’s attention, and they studied the mosaic curiously. Their main focus was on the baby girl, who had green eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. They noticed an uncanny resemblance to Rapunzel herself.

Sora stumbled when a woman bumped into him. “Oh, heavens. I am so sorry,” the woman said. “Are you alright?”

Sora regained his footing. “Yeah. I’m fine. Don’t worry about it,” he replied.

The woman studied his features and the clothing he and his friends wore. “Oh. Are you new here?” she observed.

“You could say that.”

“Well, then. Welcome to the Kingdom of Corona. I hope you enjoy your visit.”

“Thank you. Say, could you tell us what this festival is for?”

The woman blinked. “Oh, of course. You see, eighteen years ago, Queen Arianna grew ill due to complications during her pregnancy. So King Frederic sent the guards out far and wide to find a way to heal her. They found a magic flower out in the forest, said to have grown from a drop of sunlight and nourished in a spot of life-giving soil. There were rumors, albeit unconfirmed, that the flower could heal the sick and even restore youth. They harvested the plant, and returned with it to the kingdom. The flower was made into a medicine that healed the queen and her unborn child. The queen recovered and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The king and queen celebrated by lighting a lantern and releasing it into the sky.”

The woman’s expression turned sad. “But the night after that, tragedy struck. Someone snuck into the castle at night and stole the girl away. The king and queen were helpless to stop the abductor and when they sent the guards out, they were unable to find her. So now, every year on the anniversary of her birth, everyone in the kingdom makes their own lantern, and we release them into the sky in hopes that they will guide her home.” A tear went down her cheek as she gestured to a little girl placing flowers in front of the mosaic. “Well, I hope you enjoy your time here,” the woman said before leaving the group alone.

Kairi covered her mouth with her hands. “That’s so sad,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be lost from the place I was born. Only this princess has people available and waiting for her to come home.” She muttered the last part.

Sora and Riku put their hands on each of her shoulders comfortingly. They knew how, although she was happy at her home on the islands and remembered very little of her old home of Radiant Garden, when she was first returned there she found it a wasteland devoid of its original inhabitants, and her birth family was most likely gone forever.

They looked between the mosaic and Rapunzel, considering the resemblance between the princess and the girl, the likelihood of a newborn having a full head of hair, the circ*mstances of birth, and everything they already knew about Rapunzel’s past.

“So, that’s her?” Sora asked.

“Yup,” Kairi answered without hesitation.

“So, how do we tell her?” Riku questioned.

“I have no idea,” Sora admitted. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”

Then he considered what the woman had said about the flower’s supposed powers. The previous night, he had wondered how Rapunzel’s magic hair had been used for eighteen years. Now he had a pretty good idea as to the answer to that question, as well as an understanding of why her “Mother” had taken her in the first place.

“We can’t let that woman take her back,” Riku affirmed. “Rapunzel needs to know who she is, and she needs to come home.” This was met with agreement from his friends.

They decided to just enjoy the festival and wait for the lantern event. They explored the town, seeing what activities were available. A young boy wearing a backpack filled with purple flags gave each of them a purple handkerchief embroidered with the sun design. When people began painting the streets, Rapunzel colored in the sun emblem in the middle of the cobblestone road and painted an extravagant design around it, while Kairi added her own design nearby. Elsewhere, they were shown how to make the lanterns that would be released that evening, and they each got to make one of their own. After spending most of the day taking in what the city had to offer, they returned to the main square in the late afternoon.

Bouncing to the rhythm of a group of musicians, Rapunzel pulled various bystanders into a group dance. She got Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy to join as well. Eugene, Pascal and Maximus watched in admiration from the sidelines. Rapunzel invited Eugene to join in. He waved his hand as if to say I’ll pass, but Maximus pushed him into the crowd with his rear. Before Eugene could give him a dirty look, a woman pulled Eugene into a dance. Everyone traded partners several times, and Rapunzel and Flynn tried to reach each other only to be pulled away by other dancers. As the music rose to a crescendo, they tried to pair up, only succeeding just as the song stopped. They looked into each other’s eyes, their bodies pressed up against each other and their hands clasped together. The spectating crowd cheered

“To the boats!” someone shouted. The party saw that the sun was going down and everyone was headed for the docks, gathering their lanterns.

“C’mon!” Rapunzel said, excitedly pulling Eugene by the hand and following the crowd. The rest of the group gladly followed.

Couples and families climbed into boats that had elevated decorative points at the bow and stern. Others boarded large barges, while the rest of the townsfolk returned home to enjoy the coming event from there. Merchants supplied candles to everyone, one candle per boat party. Rapunzel and Eugene climbed into a boat, with Pascal tagging along and Maximus remaining behind due to, well, being a horse. Sora and Kairi climbed into another; they insisted that Riku join them but Riku politely insisted that he “didn’t want to get in the way of [their] moment”, instead climbing into a third boat with Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

As everyone rowed away from the dock, Eugene looked back and noticed Maximus watching them go. “Hey, Max!” he called, throwing a sack of apples onto the pier in front of the horse. The horse looked at the snack with suspicion. “What? I bought them,” Eugene claimed.

Satisfied to know that his food was not illicitly gained, Maximus began chowing down on the apples.

“Most of them,” Eugene shouted back as he rowed away, a puckish smirk on his face.

“I paid for the rest,” Riku whispered to Donald, and the two of them started laughing.

“Where are we going?” Rapunzel asked.

“Well, best day of your life. I figured we should have a decent seat,” Eugene replied.

Night had fallen, and three boats floated in the middle of the lake, Eugene, Sora and Riku having steered them to make sure they stayed close enough. The entire kingdom was reduced to a quiet hush as everyone looked toward the castle.

Eugene noticed Rapunzel looking sad. “You okay?” he asked.

“Terrified,” she answered.

“Why?”

“I’ve been looking out a window for eighteen years dreaming about what it would feel like when those lights rise into the sky. What if it’s not everything that I dreamed it would be?”

“It will be,” Eugene reassured her.

“And what if it is? What do I do then?”

“Well, that’s the good part, I guess,” Eugene answered. “You get to go find a new dream.”

Sora and Kairi listened to their conversation. “Wonder where I’ll find mine,” Sora mused.

Kairi raised her eyebrow. “What about this?” she asked, gesturing to all around them. “We’d always dreamed about going on a huge adventure together. And for the first time, we are doing this together. Right?”

“I know. But… These adventures are great and all. And I’m glad to have you and Riku by my side in this. But I’ve already seen it all. Twice. And yes, there are some things I just haven’t seen yet. But there has to be something for me beyond all of this, in the long run. You know what I mean?”

Kairi nodded. “I understand. I mean, my biggest dream was to travel the worlds with you two. Three best friends, together to the end. But when you and Riku had hung up your tights after beating Xemnas, I accepted that I might not get that chance, but I was satisfied that we were back together. Now, who knows what will happen after we finish this mission?” She placed her hand over Sora’s. “But like the guy with the hook hand said, you’ll figure something out. And we’ll be right here with you.”

Sora smiled, and placed his free hand over hers. “Thanks, Kairi,” he said. They looked up and saw an orange dot rise up from the castle. As this happened, hundreds of lights began to glow from the castle courtyard. “Nobody should be alone on a night like this,” he mused, smiling at the beautiful sight.

Rapunzel was lazily placing flowers in the water and watching them float when they saw the first lantern, set by the king and queen, no doubt, in the water’s reflection. She and Eugene looked up and saw the lantern float through the air. She quickly shot to her feet, rocking the boat as she did so and forcing Eugene to hold on tight, and wrapped herself around the bow ornament, watching in amazement.

All across the city, lanterns were lit and released into the sky. More rose from the barges around them and some of the smaller boats scattered around. Soon, the sky was filled with thousands of the beautiful floating lights, which up close resembled Chinese lanterns folded into cylinders, rectangles, and broken spheres and lit with a candle flame in the center, which heated the air inside and allowed them to ascend. Rapunzel stared in wonder and amazement. She turned around to see Eugene holding two such lanterns, having just lit them. Happily, Rapunzel sat down in front of him.

“I have something for you too,” she said, taking out the satchel with the crown. Eugene looked at it expressionlessly. “I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I’m not scared anymore. You know what I mean?”

“I’m starting to,” he answered, pushing the satchel down and out of view.

Rapunzel took one lantern from Eugene and they pushed them both into the air, letting them float up and join the others. Their friends smiled when they saw this. Sora snapped his fingers and ignited the wicks in his and Kairi’s lanterns, which they set into the sky. Riku and Goofy used the candle to light their lanterns, while Mickey and Donald used magic to do so with theirs, and they all set their lanterns to fly.

Rapunzel went back to taking in the scene. She saw one lantern, this one decorated with a purple version of the kingdom’s crest, descend until it was just above the surface of the water. She held her hand out and waited for it to float to her, and when it did, she lifted it back up into the sky.

Eugene took Rapunzel’s hand. When she noticed, she took his other hand, and they sat facing each other, holding hands. They started to lean closer to one another. Pascal, sitting behind Eugene, turned a shade of purple and covered his eyes, though he quickly let one eye peek through his toes.

Seeing this from her boat, Kairi giggled as Eugene brushed Rapunzel’s hair at the side of her face, then guided her in for a kiss.

Sadly, this had no payoff, as Eugene noticed two bulky figures on the opposite shore. The one with the sideburns carried a spooky green lantern, making them quite visible against the shadows of the trees. When they were sure that Eugene had seen them, they walked back into the woods.

“Is everything okay?” Rapunzel asked, turning to see where Eugene was looking, but the men were already gone.

“Huh? Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I just…” Glancing at the satchel, he came to a decision. He started rowing the boat to shore.

Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy saw the Stabbington Brothers, and they saw Eugene heading toward them, and silently agreed to keep an eye on them. Sora and Kairi looked toward them in confusion, unsure of what Eugene was doing.

“Leave it to us,” Riku assured them. “You head back to town. We still have to find clues about the artifacts.”

Sora and Kairi nodded. As the lanterns were already dispersing to follow where the wind would take them, Sora began to row back to the dock.

“So, where do we look first?” Sora asked.

“Well, I would suggest we find out more about the kingdom’s history,” Kairi suggested. “Want to see if the library’s still open?”

Sora sighed in disappointment. “I suppose,” he said in a tone that indicated that he most certainly did not want to.

When Eugene brought the boat onto the shore, he climbed out and grabbed the satchel.

“I’m sorry. Everything is fine. There’s just something I have to take care of,” he told Rapunzel.

Seeing his nervous expression, Rapunzel looked at him uncertainly. “Okay,” she said.

“I’ll be right back,” he assured her before turning and walking away, satchel containing crown in hand.

Pascal climbed onto Rapunzel’s shoulder and they both watched Eugene go, fighting with their own doubts.

“It’s alright, Pascal,” Rapunzel assured the chameleon, while also doing the same for herself.

Neither of them noticed Riku rowing his boat up to the shore and him, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy climbing out.

Eugene approached one of the Stabbington Brothers, who was presently sharpening his knife.

“Ah, there you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated. Hey, the sideburns are coming in nice, huh? Gotta be excited about that,” Eugene said to try to ease his way in. The brother simply glared at him out of the corner of his eye.

Eugene cleared his throat. “Anyhow, just wanted to say I shouldn’t have split. The crown is all yours,” he said as he threw the satchel over to the brother, letting the bag fall open and the crown fall out. “I’ll miss you. But I think it’s for—” he started to walk away but bumped into the other Stabbington brother “—the best…”

“Holding out on us again, eh, Ryder?” the elder twin asked.

“What?”

“We heard you found something. Something much more valuable than a crown.” He stood up and approached Eugene, ignoring the crown. “We want her instead.”

Eugene could only stare in horror. “I’m sorry, but I can’t let you do that,” he told them, trying to sound defiant and hide his worry. However, the other Stabbington hit him on the head, causing him to slump to the ground, unconscious.

Donald lunged out of the trees, screaming a battle cry, but the older thug simply swatted him into a tree. Goofy charged at them and managed to hit the same brother in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. However, the other brother grabbed him from behind by the neck and lifted him into the air.

A pair of Powerwilds materialized out in the trees. The older brother smirked. “Let them have him,” he told his brother, pointing his thumb toward the Heartless. The younger brother complied, throwing Goofy aside. He laid on the ground, panting to catch his breath. In the meantime, the Stabbington with the eyepatch lifted Eugene over his shoulder and carried him away, his brother following.

One of the Powerwilds slid leapt at Goofy, attempting to claw at him, but it was swatted to the side by a bat-wing-shaped sword. Mickey ran up to him and cast Cure, healing Goofy enough to breathe steadily again. Riku gave him his hand and helped him to his feet, then gave Donald a Potion and helped him up.

Before either animal could explain the situation, more Heartless, including an Assault Rider, materialized. The two Keyblade wielders, the court mage and the knight worked together and defeated the enemies as fast as possible. However, by the time the Heartless were vanquished, Donald noticed the Stabbington Brothers had doubled back and passed them again. Goofy realized that the Heartless were a distraction.

“They got Flynn! I mean Eugene. And they’re going after Rapunzel!” he warned the others.

“Goofy, you come with me and we’ll help Rapunzel. Riku, you and Donald go find Eugene and get him out of his bind,” Mickey ordered. The others agreed to these terms and split up accordingly.

Rapunzel was getting worried. Shouldn’t he have been back by now? What was it that had distracted him earlier? Why was he acting so strangely? Could he have abandoned her? Was Mother right?

She was put at ease when she saw someone approaching, though due to the fog and the poor visibility she could only guess who he was.

“Ah. I was starting to think you ran off with the crown and left me,” she admitted, embarrassed.

The figure, bulkier than the one she was expecting, split into two of equal size. Her look of relief turned into one of horror when the Stabbington Brothers came into full view, particularly after the next words spoken.

“He did,” the elder twin claimed, a sinister smirk on his face.

“What?” Rapunzel asked in disbelief. “No, he wouldn’t…”

“See for yourself,” the crook replied, gesturing for her to look across the lake.

Rapunzel saw a sailboat making its way across the water, and Rapunzel saw a familiar figure standing at the steering wheel. “Eugene?” she said uncertainly. “Eugene!”

“Fair trade, the crown for the girl with the magic hair,” the thug insisted, stroking at Rapunzel’s hair. She turned around to face the crooks in shock. “How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever? Maybe we can see if the key kids are interested.”

He brought out a large bag and held it open. “No!” Rapunzel ran. She could not believe what they had said. She could not bear to think that Eugene had sold her out for the treasure. And what was it that they said about Sora and the others? That they were willing to exploit her?

Eugene…

But she could not think about that now. She had to escape those men. So she ran. She stumbled, forcing her to hike up her dress so she could flee without tripping over her garment. She hopped over a log, but her hair got caught on a branch stump. She desperately attempted to pull it free before the crooks could catch up to her but stopped in confusion when she heard something hit the men and knock them out.

“Rapunzel?” a woman’s voice called out to her.

“Mother?”

Rapunzel went back the way she had come and saw the crooks lying unconscious, with Mother Gothel standing above them, holding a large branch. When the woman saw her, she dropped the branch.

“Oh, my precious girl,” she exclaimed in a worried and relieved tone.

“Mother.” Rapunzel ran into Gothel’s arms.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Gothel held Rapunzel’s face and looked at her with concern in her eyes.

“But how did you—?”

“I was so worried about you, dear. So I followed you, and I saw them attack you, and…” She hugged Rapunzel again. “Let’s go. Let’s go, before they come to.” She led Rapunzel by the hand. The girl stopped and looked back out at the boat that was carrying Eugene away. She entered a thousand-yard stare, realizing that what the crook said about him must have been true. She had no idea where her other supposed friends had gone, but they had promised to keep her safe, and they were nowhere to be seen. Maybe Mother was right about them, too.

She turned back to Gothel, who was now carrying her lantern, which gave off a sickly green glow. The woman put the lantern down and wordlessly invited her with open arms. Bursting into tears, Rapunzel ran to her and wrapped her arms around her for comfort.

“You were right, Mother. You were right about everything,” the girl lamented.

Gothel hugged her back, stroking her golden hair. “I know, darling. I know.” She picked her lantern back up and they began walking off, the woman holding Rapunzel’s head close to her chest.

After they passed by, Mickey forced himself to his feet, no small task considering that Goofy was stunned and lying on top of him. He berated himself over how the old woman had snuck up on them so easily. Of course, he was surprised by her strength. At that age, she should not have been able to hit anyone, not the hulking thieves and not Goofy, with that kind of force. He sensed some measure of darkness. That was it. She had to have been boosted by some dark power.

When Goofy could see straight, Mickey helped him to his feet. “Come on, Goofy. We have to find the others,” he told him.

Across the lake on the dock, two guards were on duty, keeping watch from a stone guard tower. Since just about everyone had gone home and the dock was otherwise deserted, the guards had taken to making small talk.

“That lantern show was quite the spectacle, wouldn’t you say?” one of them said.

“You could say that again,” the other guard agreed. “But, you know, I don’t know why, but I feel like this one might be something else.’

The guards turned and saw a sailboat approaching the dock. They took a closer look at the helm and saw Flynn Rider, his hands tied to the wheel and the crown in his right hand. His neck and torso were wrapped in rope that was tied around the mast behind him, forcing him to appear as though he was standing upright despite not being conscious.

“Look! The crown,” the first guard observed.

Eugene came to, wondering what had happened. When he was aware of his surroundings again, he noticed his predicament. He looked around frantically, remembering what happened before he was knocked out.

“Rapunzel!” he called out. He soon realized that the two guards, joined by two others, were coming right at him. They jumped off of the dock and onto the boat.

“Tch!” Riku cursed as he and Donald approached the scene. He patted Maximus on the neck, getting his attention and alerting him to what was happening. They saw the guards restrain Eugene and pull him up onto the dock. Eugene was still calling Rapunzel’s name.

“Well, now what do we do?” Donald lamented.

Riku looked out across the lake. Maximus followed his gaze. “First, we make sure Rapunzel’s alright,” Riku said. The horse gave him a double take, realizing worriedly that something had happened under his watch.

“Then we get to work.”

Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Rescuing the Rogue

Chapter Text

“There. It never happened,” Mother Gothel stated as she pulled the last flower out of Rapunzel’s now-unbraided hair. They were once again in the tower, and were seated on Rapunzel’s bed, the girl looking despondent. Gothel’s hair was once again completely black, free of gray strands, and her skin was flawless. Gothel had made Rapunzel sing the healing incantation to restore her youth as soon as they had returned.

Gothel stood up and started to exit the bedroom. “Now, wash up for dinner. I’m making hazelnut soup,” she said in a singsong voice. She stopped when Rapunzel did not respond, still lost in her own self-pity. “I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there. The world is dark, and selfish, and cruel. If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it.” She closed the curtains, leaving Rapunzel alone.

Rapunzel sat silently, reflecting on how all of her hopes of a wonderful world, great friends, and being with Eugene were dashed painfully. She unfolded her crumpled-up handkerchief and stared somberly at the sun design. Pascal did what he could to comfort her. She let herself fall backward onto her bed and let out a sigh.

She stared up at her paintings on the walls and ceiling. But as she gazed at her artwork, she noticed miniscule details that she had hardly considered beforehand. She looked at the symbol on the handkerchief again, then back at her paintings.

Hidden within many of the designs, she saw that she had painted in the exact shape of the kingdom’s sun crest. And this was not just a rare coincidence; no, there were dozens in her room alone. As she recognized them, they appeared to glow in her mind’s eye, as she compared the seven-pointed curved star on the handkerchief to the seven-pointed curved stars hidden all over her bedroom.

As she came to this realization, a memory bubbled to the surface.

The shape of the sun crest hanging above her head at the lowest point of a mobile that hung over an infant’s crib. She looked over to her right and saw a bearded man and a woman with long brown hair.

She saw the same man and woman depicted in the mosaic in the town square.

She saw her reflection, putting the crown on her head. It fit perfectly.

Rapunzel lost her footing. She stumbled backward, knocking over the stool and disrupting the mirror at her vanity table. She used the table to support herself as she caught her breath. She could not believe what she had just seen. What she had just found out about herself.

In a cell in the prison, Eugene paced back and forth, trying in vain to think of a plan. He knew he had to get back to Rapunzel, but he had no idea how. He was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard the cell door open.

“Let’s get this over with, Rider,” the captain of the guard said. He was flanked by two other guards.

“Where are we going?” Eugene asked.

In response the captain just stared at him without a change in expression. This was enough for Eugene to understand. “Oh,” he said, bringing his hand up to his neck. Things were not looking good for him.

Pretty soon, the guards were walking him down a hallway, one flanked by a row of cells. Eugene’s gaze was unfocused, as he was resigning himself to his execution. He could only hope that Rapunzel was alright.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Stabbington Brothers sitting in one of the cells. At the sight of them, he was overcome by anger. He shoved one of the guards into a cell door and headbutted the other, then hopped over the manacle cuffing his hands so that they were in front of him rather than behind. He reached into the cell, grabbed the elder brother by the shirt and pulled him against the bars.

“How did you know about her? Tell me, now!” he shouted in rage.

“It wasn’t us! It was the old lady,” the prisoner admitted, eyes filled with fear.

“Old lady…” Eugene realized what was going on. But before he could do anything, the guards grabbed onto him and tried to restrain him.

“Wait! No!” he protested. “You don’t understand. She’s in trouble!”

“Rapunzel?” Gothel called from downstairs, curious about the racket. “Rapunzel, what’s going on up there? Are you all right?”

Rapunzel stepped out of her room, staring at nothing. “I’m the lost princess,” she said to herself under her breath.

Gothel rolled her eyes. “Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling.”

“I am the lost princess. Aren’t I?”

Gothel could only stare in shock.

Rapunzel’s gaze turned onto Gothel, anger bubbling inside her. “Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?”

The woman regained her composure and tried to dismiss her claims. “Oh, Rapunzel! Do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?” She moved in for a hug, but Rapunzel was having none of it.

“It was you! It was all you!”

Gothel began to glare at her sternly. “Everything I did was to protect you,” she claimed.

Angrily, Rapunzel shoved her way past Gothel. “I’ve spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power.”

“Rapunzel!”

“When I should have been hiding from YOU!”

“Where will you go? He won’t be there for you.”

Rapunzel quickly realized that Eugene’s “betrayal” was another sham. “What did you do to him?”

“That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes,” Gothel declared without empathy or remorse.

Rapunzel gasped. “No…”

“Now, now. It’s all right,” she said in a soft voice. “Listen to me. All of this is as it should be.”

She went to pat Rapunzel on the head, but Rapunzel grabbed her wrist. “No! You were wrong about the world.” Her grip tightened, and Gothel struggled to try to escape. “And you were wrong about me! And I will never let you use my hair again!”

Dark fire flared up from the bangle around Gothel’s wrist, which she had neglected to remove upon returning. With the extra strength, she broke free from Rapunzel’s death grip, but stumbled backward. She knocked her mirror over, shattering it. Rapunzel gave her one last defiant look before turning to walk away.

“You want me to be the bad guy?” Gothel muttered to herself, holding in her anger. “Fine. Now I’m the bad guy.”

Eugene continued to struggle against the guards, who had to put all of their strength into holding him still to get him to stop. He fell into despair, as he realized that he would not be able to save Rapunzel. His despair turned to confusion when he saw a small object sitting in an alcove in the wall. It appeared to be… a ceramic unicorn?

Suddenly, the door in front of them slammed shut. The other doors closed, permitting no other exit. The keyhole on the door in front of them flashed a white glow, and the guards realized that it had been locked.

“What’s this?” the captain shouted in annoyance. He started banging on the door. “Open up!”

A slot at eye level on the door slid open, and the captain saw Shorty.

“What’s the password?” he asked before quickly closing the slot.

“What?” the captain asked in confusion.

The slot slid open again. “Nope.” Shorty closed the slot again.

“Open this door!”

“Not even close.”

“You have three seconds!”

This time, Donald opened the slot and made a funny face. “Try again!” he slammed the slot shut and froze it shut with Blizzard.

“One!” A hook reached down from the ceiling and grabbed the guard on Eugene’s left, lifting him into the air. “Two!” The side door opened and a large hand pulled the other guard, who was staring dumbfounded at the abduction of his friend, inside by the face, then the door shut again.

The captain turned to see what the commotion was, and realized that the thief was all alone. The door flashed white and was unlocked, and then it was opened. Attila, the baker thug, appeared and hit the captain on the head with the frying pan, knocking him out.

Eugene grinned. He never thought he would be glad to see any of the pub thugs. The door on the opposite end of the hall was smashed open, and four guards came running at them. Vladimir opened the side door and allowed Eugene and Attila to pass through.

The guards pursued them, but were stopped when they saw Ulf, the mime, performing an act right in front of them. First, he acted like he was inside of a box, then he glanced down the hall to the right. The guards followed his gaze, and screamed when they saw Goofy charging straight for them. The dog-knight plowed right through them, knocking them out in one go.

Eugene and Attila exited into a courtyard, but saw dozens of guards coming from the other direction. Hook-Hand picked Eugene up and put him next to him.

“Head down.” Eugene followed his instruction. “Arms in. Knees apart.” Eugene did a double take after the “knees apart” instruction, then realized that he was standing on a cart that was imbalanced and tilted down like a seesaw. Vladimir jumped from the upper level and landed on the raised section, launching Eugene into the air and over the wall.

Eugene screamed in terror as he flew, flipping three-hundred-and-sixty degrees about his side axis. He only stopped screaming when he landed, then realized that he was sitting perfectly in Maximus’ saddle.

“Max, you brought them here?” he asked in wonder.

Riku climbed up onto the patrol wall with them. “We all did,” he explained. “Though Sora, Kairi and Donald scouted the place out and secured extra horses. And actually, Maximus did most of the work in recruiting those guys.”

“How did he do that?” Eugene asked.

Maximus pushed the pub door open, getting the attention of the thugs.

“Eugene’s in trouble!” Mickey told them, stepping out from behind the horse.

“Who’s Eugene?” Big Nose asked. Goofy scratched his head in confusion. Riku facepalmed when he remembered that they only knew him by his criminal pseudonym.

Ulf approached the group curiously. Maximus stared at him seriously and snorted. Ulf posed as if to gasp, though he still did not make a sound. He turned to address the rest of the thugs and performed a series of gestures that left Riku, Mickey and Goofy confused.

“Flynn’s been arrested?!” Hook-Hand gasped.

“Set up to fall by Rapunzel’s wicked stepmother?” Big Nose continued.

“At this rate, he’ll be hanged by noon. We have to save him!” Vladimir finished.

Riku’s jaw dropped.

“Don’t worry about that,” was all Riku said in reply. Maximus smirked in confirmation.

“Thank you,” Eugene said. “No, really. Thank you. I feel this whole time, we’ve just been misunderstanding one another.”

The horse just gave him a snarky stare. Riku checked an imaginary wristwatch.

“Yeah. You’re right. We should go.”

Maximus charged as three guards came through the door behind them and started firing crossbow bolts. Riku cut the missiles out of the air with his Keyblade. More guards came to try to cut them off, but Maximus simply leapt off of the wall. Riku made a similar jump, bypassing the guards completely. Landing on a roof, the horse and the Keyblade wielder slid off of it and leapt out into the street.

They were quickly joined by three more horses, ridden by Sora and Kairi, Mickey, and Donald and Goofy. Riku pulled himself onto Mickey’s horse and took the reins, earning a quick thank-you from Mickey, who was too small to properly hold onto and lead a horse.

“So, here’s a question,” Eugene opened up. “I know that the old lady is bad news and that she set me up, but I don’t quite understand the urgency of the situation. Why would she lie to Rapunzel for all these years and go to such twisted measures to lure her back?”

“It’s not like she hasn’t done worse,” Sora replied.

“What do you mean?” Eugene asked.

“That woman kidnapped her when she was a baby,” Sora answered. Eugene’s eyes widened, and they would soon go even further. “Rapunzel’s the lost princess!”

“Well, then. We need to get to that tower, pronto! Giddy up, Maximus!” Eugene flicked the reins. Maximus neighed and started running faster.

The horses, at their riders’ direction, ran out of the city and into the forest, reaching the tower in less than an hour. When the horses had stopped in front of the tower, everyone dismounted.

Eugene ran up to the base of the tower. “Rapunzel? Rapunzel, let down your hair!” he shouted up to the window. He started trying to climb up, but seconds later, he heard the window opening. Rapunzel’s long, loose hair fell out and hung down at his level. Not wasting a moment, he grabbed onto the hair and began climbing up.

The others watched Eugene’s ascent, though there was an air of uncertainty. “Something’s not right,” Mickey voiced their concerns.

“You think it’s a trap?” Riku asked. Mickey nodded.

“Then we’ll split up,” Sora said. “Your Majesty, you, Donald and Goofy follow Eugene up. Riku, Kairi and I will try to get inside and go up from the inside. There has to be another way up that the woman used before Rapunzel could pull her up with her hair.”

“Then let’s move!” Kairi said hurriedly. She, Sora and Riku ran around the circumference of the tower until they found the door which had been previously hidden, while Mickey, Donald and Goofy climbed the wall using the vines.

Sora, Riku and Kairi clambered up the spiral stairs, ascending roughly eight floors’ worth of stairs in a few minutes. Kairi stopped when she saw a panel in the wall etched with a strange design. It appeared to be a circle with an X on the inside and several spikes all around the exterior.

Sora and Riku stopped when they noticed Kairi was distracted. “Kairi, come on!” Sora called.

“Sora, Riku, what do you make of this?” Kairi asked, pointing at the design. Her friends joined her and studied the etching. However, they had never seen anything like it.

“Who knows. Its significance might have faded with time, so it might not even matter anymore,” Riku said. “We’ll worry about it later.”

“Right. Sorry.” With that, the three of them resumed their ascent. They stopped when the stairway ended and it looked as though there was no way to go from there.

Sora scanned the ceiling and noticed a split in the stone. Realizing that it must have been a trapdoor, he pushed up on it. Just as he suspected, it budged upward slightly. Giving his friends a confident but serious smirk, he pushed upward with all his might, which was certainly more than enough. The stone flew to the ceiling and shattered into pebbles. Realizing what he had done, he cast Reflect, which created an umbrella for the pebbles to bounce off of, though the three of them had to cover their mouths and noses when the dust came down.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, his voice muffled by his hand. When the dust had settled, they grabbed onto the ladder that was hidden by the stone and climbed through the hole. Once they were inside Rapunzel’s room, they scanned the area for the girl and the thief, only to gasp in horror.

Rapunzel was chained by the wrists to a support pillar against the wall next to them, her mouth covered by a gag. By the window, Eugene lay unresponsive, and he had a bleeding wound in his chest.

Mother Gothel stood above him, a dagger in her hand. She glared at the newcomers and spoke, pure hatred in her voice.

“You supposed ‘Warriors of Light’ never learn. No matter. I’ll simply have to clean up your mess, Rapunzel.”

Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Magic Flower

Chapter Text

Sora summoned his Keyblade and lunged at the woman. However, she lifted her lantern, which shot a bolt of green fire at him. This caught him by surprise, and he was knocked back by the dark magic. He hit the wall and slumped to the ground. Kairi helped him to his feet. Riku shot a blast of Dark Fire to destroy the lantern, then ran in to strike Gothel. However, with a dark aura covering her hand, she blocked his Keyblade with her dagger, then threw him back with a shockwave.

“I had certainly hoped that I would never use the power of this Bangle again,” Gothel lamented. “But if it means keeping my flower and putting an end to the meddling of Keyblade wielders—” Numerous Heartless appeared around her “—so be it.”

She pointed at Sora, Riku and Kairi, and the Heartless began to move toward them. However, balls of Fire, Blizzard, and Light, as well as a spinning shield, destroyed the monsters.

“You know about Keyblades?” Sora asked, dumbfounded. He had recovered from the hit, though he felt a stinging sensation in his left shoulder.

“I have seen the fruits of your labors,” Gothel answered. “I was there when hundreds of Keybearers gathered light, saying it was in the name of protecting the world from the darkness. I saw them wage war for their greed of the light. I watched them destroy the world in their selfishness. I had hoped to never see another Key. Well, I suppose this can be the last time.”

Donald screamed and threw himself at Gothel, but she turned around and held her hand out. Her bangle glowed and a Blizzaga spell hit him and threw him out of the window, encasing him in ice.

“Donald!” Mickey called. Fortunately, the duck managed to use Firaga magic to thaw himself out. Unfortunately, he still fell seventy feet and hit the ground hard. He gasped out a Curaga invocation the moment he landed, so he managed to drag himself to his feet several seconds later.

Gothel snapped her fingers, and six Dandelions surrounded the duck. “Infernal creatures,” the woman muttered. Goofy jumped out of the window and landed neatly on the ground below to come to Donald’s assistance. Immediately following this, multiple Powerwilds and Emerald Blues materialized to engage the remaining heroes. Due to the tenacity of the monkey Heartless and the close quarters of the battlefield, Sora, Riku, Kairi and Mickey soon found themselves backed into the wall. Sora and Riku were forced to guard against attacks from several directions. Mickey fared slightly better, due to his own small size and mobility, however he was still unable to get free. Kairi did her best to fend them off and even try to go on the offensive, but her arm guard permitted little freedom to retaliate and the rapier, while also being poorly suited for defensive purposes, was not of the same quality and strength as a Keyblade, not to mention the fact that she had next to no experience in battle.

“Oh, don’t worry, dear. Our secret shall die with them,” Gothel remarked coldly. Rapunzel kept trying to run to Eugene’s side, but she was still chained to the wall. “And as for us,” Gothel continued while disconnecting the chain from the wall and starting to pull on it, “we are going where no one will ever find you again!” Pascal came to Rapunzel’s defense, biting and pulling on Gothel’s dress. But, since he was a tiny chameleon, the woman simply kicked him away. Rapunzel continued to struggle, refusing to go where Gothel pulled her, but the dark power in the bangle boosted the woman’s strength. “Rapunzel, really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!”

Rapunzel’s struggling managed to cause the gag to fall off of her face, allowing her to speak. “No! I won’t stop! For every minute for the rest of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!”

This inspired the others into a boost of strength. Sora shouted “Aeroga!” which conjured a gust of wind that blew the Powerwilds away from him. He was surprised by this, as he had not used Aero magic in over a year; it was not a spell that he had re-learned after awakening from his memory slumber, but the third-tier level of that spell came to him naturally. However, he thought that the spell was supposed to create a defensive wall around him, but he shrugged it off. Riku conjured a planar shield to block the frontal assault of the Heartless, then took out the ones that came at him from the side. Kairi pushed back against an attacking Powerwild with her arm guard, then sliced the head off of another Heartless with her rapier. Mickey blasted his attackers away with a light spiral, while shouting “Faith!” However, the assault was still overwhelming: the Emerald Blues enemies were unaffected by the Aero magic and threw themselves at him while surrounded by their own wind funnel; Riku’s shield came down and the Heartless in front came at him with full force; a Powerwild slid right at Kairi, knocking her off of her feet and leaving her vulnerable; as for Mickey, his foes just kept coming, leaving him no opportunity to retaliate in a similar fashion.

Rapunzel’s breathing steadied, and she came to a decision. “But if you let me save him, I will go with you,” she said.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey gasped in horror when they heard this. “No. No, Rapunzel…” Eugene croaked, trying to crawl toward Rapunzel but being unable to do so.

“I’ll never run. I’ll never try to escape. Just let me heal him, and you and I will be together, forever. Just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise. Just like you want.” This horrified Sora even more, as he remembered her saying that she never breaks a promise. Rapunzel looked to Gothel with pleading eyes, conveying the utmost sincerity. “Just let me heal him.”

“Rapunzel, no! Don’t go with her!” Sora pleaded while pushing back against attacks.

Gothel thought for a moment, then, without a word, unlocked the manacle around Rapunzel’s wrists. She went over to Eugene and locked the manacle around his wrist, connecting it to the wall. “In case you get any ideas about coming after us,” she whispered to him. She looked over to see that the others were still occupied with a score of Heartless.

Rapunzel ran over to Eugene. He winced in pain. She moved his hand and opened his shirt, and saw the blood-soaked wound.

“I’m so sorry. Everything is going to be okay,” she assured him.

“No, Rapunzel!”

“I promise, you have to trust me.”

“I can’t let you do this,” he pleaded

“And I can’t let you die,” she replied, tears welling up.

“But if you do this, then you will die.”

She placed his hand on his cheek reassuringly. “Hey. It’s going to be alright.”

He looked around the room. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey were busy fighting Heartless that refused to relent. As they fought harder in desperation to save Rapunzel from Gothel, the Heartless got stronger, apparently fueled by the dark energy seeping from the obsidian bangle around the woman’s wrist. Eugene knew that they would not be able to intervene. So, he had to do something, in spite of the fact that he was about to die.

He felt around for something he could use and found something.

Rapunzel sighed and opened her mouth to start singing.

“Wait, Rapunzel…” Eugene muttered. He brushed back her hair, then grabbed the golden locks at a spot below her neck. With his other hand, he picked up a shard of the broken mirror and swiped it back, cutting right through her hair.

Having used the last of his strength, he dropped the severed length of hair as well as the mirror shard, his arms falling limp.

“Eugene…?” Rapunzel felt her now-short hair, which quickly turned brown.

Gothel gasped in horror. “No!” Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey stared in shock. Fortunately for them, the Heartless had stopped fighting when they recognized their summoner’s distress.

Rapunzel picked up one end of her severed hair, and watched it quickly turn brown. Gothel tried to gather her end up, pleading for the magic to not fade away, but in seconds it had turned completely brown.

“No! What have you done?!” the woman screamed, watching as her smooth-skinned hand turned wrinkled and decrepit. Her black hair turned stark white and her perfect features became wrinkled and sunken. She ran over to the broken mirror and looked into her reflection. She was horrified to see her gorgeous features fade away. She pulled the hood of her cloak down in shame. Her wails of agony turned into a roar of anger as dark fire flared all around her body.

Brought back into focus by the woman’s wails, Sora raised his Keyblade backward, his weapon wreathed in fire. He threw it, and it went straight through three Powerwilds. Those Heartless exploded in fire, annihilating the other nearby creatures. Riku spun around, slicing through each of the Heartless, then lunged through three more, blinking out of sight as he did so. The Heartless surrounding him exploded into smoke. Kairi delivered quick stabs into the Heartless in front of her, then ran over to check on Rapunzel and Eugene. Mickey jumped over his opponents and cut them down from behind.

Gothel picked her dagger up, and it was covered in a dark aura so thick that it turned completely black. “You insolent—” she screamed as she delivered nine powerful spinning strikes. However, Riku called up his barrier and Sora cast Reflega. When the darkness-charged strikes were finished, the spell dispersed, blasting Gothel with retaliating force.

Gothel, her resilience enhanced by the dark power emanating from the bangle, stood firm and tried to stab at Sora. However, he cast Fire, knocking her back and igniting her cloak. She screamed in pure hatred, the fire of her bangle burning hotter. Kairi grimaced and held back a gag when she saw the woman’s veins, painfully visible through her wasting skin and muscles, turn black.

Despite having already transformed beyond the age she was at when she originally discovered the flower’s magic, Gothel continued to lash out. Swords of light materialized over her head. The swords, tinged with a dark cloud, flew straight for her enemies, but Mickey deflected them out of the air, and they dissipated into sparkles and smoke.

Riku realized that the bangle was the source of her power, its own magic fueled by her anger and hatred. He ran at Gothel and slashed at her wrist. The bangle broke open and a gash was cut in the woman’s wrist. She gasped in pain as her power faded. Dark fire was still wrapped around her hand, but it was apparent that it was consuming it. In seconds, the already-frail hand disintegrated into dust. The dagger hit the floor with a clang.

Powerless and her anger left useless, Gothel stumbled backward in pain and terror, heading toward the window. Mickey stuck his foot out, causing her to trip and fall out of the window. Rapunzel gasped and reached her arms out, but she was too far away to catch her, and it would have been useless anyway. Gothel screamed as she fell, her voice fading quickly as she had no energy left to hold a breath.

Mother Gothel’s flaming cloak hit the ground, laying open, flat and empty as a cloud of dust and smoke flew out from it. Donald, Goofy and Maximus gasped in horror at the sight, realizing what had happened. Goofy refrained from vomiting.

Rapunzel stared in shock for a moment, then remembered Eugene. “No, no, no, no, no, Eugene,” she pleaded, lifting up his limp body. He coughed and his eyes opened briefly. “Look at me! Look at me! I’m right here. Don’t go. Stay with me, Eugene!” She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her head. “Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine…” She quickly realized that it was not working.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey watched in horror. Sora raised his Keyblade. “Heal!” Sora called out. A green light fell over Eugene, but nothing happened. Frantically, he reached into his pocket and pulled out an Elixir. He made to uncork it, but Mickey put his hand over his.

“Cure and Potions can only do so much,” the mouse said sadly. “The wound’s too severe.”

Sora’s face fell, and he dropped the Elixir. A friend was dying right in front of him. And for the first time, he was helpless. For all his great power, he could do nothing to save him.

Eugene weakly touched Rapunzel’s face. “You were my new dream,” he whispered, his eyes barely able to focus on her.

Rapunzel grabbed hold of his hand. “And you were mine,” she replied, despairing.

Eugene slumped, the last of his strength leaving him, along with his life. Rapunzel held him, unmoving, for several minutes. She weakly recited the Healing incantation. The others in the room mourned silently. Kairi sought solace in Sora’s embrace, crying. He accepted, also seeking comfort. Donald and Goofy climbed into the room, having hurried up the inner stairway after seeing what was left of Mother Gothel. Goofy started to ask how everyone was but stopped when he saw what was going on.

Rapunzel finally broke down in tears. One of them fell on Eugene’s cheek. It sparked into a golden glow, then faded.

Rapunzel heard a series of gasps behind her and turned to see what caused the others to react in such a way. She noticed that the wound in Eugene’s chest was emitting a golden light. Yellow rays curled and spread about the room, all coming out of Eugene’s chest. A light image of a flower appeared over Eugene. With his keen eyes, Riku could see a shifting underneath the pattern, and he realized that the wound was healing.

The waving rays dissipated and the glow died down. Rapunzel checked where it had emitted. The wound was closed completely. The bloodstains had even disappeared. She looked back over at Eugene’s face anxiously.

Eugene’s eyes fluttered open, and he breathed. “Rapunzel,” he whispered.

Rapunzel gasped in delight. “Eugene,” she whispered back.

“Did I ever tell you I’ve got a thing for brunettes?” he joked.

Rapunzel and Eugene hugged. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy cheered at the miracle. They went up to Eugene to ask how he was feeling, and Sora helped him to his feet.

Chapter 27: Chapter 26: Rapunzel's Reunion

Chapter Text

The guard opened the door to address the king and queen. The king stood at the window, staring pensively out to the city below, while the queen sat in a chair, reading a book. King Frederic was a tall, well-built man with a thick moustache and beard. He wore a blue suit with a raised collar and loose shoulder sleeves with blue and yellow stripes, an open brown vest, a wide necklace made of square and circular gold pieces inset with blue gemstones with a medallion shaped like the Corona symbol inside of a circle attached, a leather belt, and brown leather boots. Queen Arianna was a slender woman with waist-length brown hair. She wore a purple dress embroidered with pale vine-like designs on the front as well as a pearl necklace with three pink, teardrop-shaped jewels attached.

When the guard came in, the monarchs looked at him intently, hoping that he had come to deliver the news that they had waited years for. The guard simply nodded. The king and queen looked at each other, their eyes filling with hope.

They stepped out onto the balcony, where Rapunzel and Eugene looked out over the city, waiting for their appointment, holding hands. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy stood to the side. The couple turned around when they heard the door open. Frederic and Arianna stared at Rapunzel, taking in her features. Arianna approached Rapunzel and touched her cheek. She smiled, realizing that she was indeed who she claimed to be. She pulled her daughter into a hug, which Rapunzel reciprocated. Frederic happily joined in. Arianna looked to Eugene and held out her hand. He took it, but to his surprise she yanked him into joining the group hug.

Sora put his hands behind his head, crossed his foot behind his other ankle, and grinned. Riku put his hand on his hip and smirked. Kairi brushed some hair behind her ear and smiled. Mickey, Donald and Goofy chuckled.

During the next few hours, the king and queen as well as a detail of guards gave Rapunzel, Eugene, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy a tour of the castle. During the tour, the group exchanged stories, and the monarchs thanked the travelers graciously for helping them reunite with their daughter.

It was evident that the captain still did not trust Flynn Rider… Eugene after years as a criminal, particularly after the humiliation he endured over the past few days. However, he could see that Eugene cared quite a bit about Rapunzel, and he did help bring her home. He could also tell that the newcomers had their hearts in the right places, and he felt grateful when he found out that they had saved him and his men from the flood. For similar reasons, he had forgiven Maximus for helping break Eugene out of prison.

When the tour ended and they exited into the castle’s courtyard, they were greeted by Hook-Hand, Big Nose, Attila, Vladimir, Shorty, and the other thugs from the Snuggly Duckling. After they had helped Eugene escape, the guards had apprehended them, but they were pardoned. Hook-Hand began playing on a piano, and Attila brought out some cupcakes that he was allowed to bake in the guard station’s kitchen.

Sora felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see the captain of the guard. “You six have done much good for the kingdom,” the captain said. “And you have all proven yourselves quite capable. I would like you to become a part of the royal guard. What do you say?”

Sora blinked and traded glances with his friends before turning back to the captain. “We’re honored, sir. But, I’m afraid we’re going to have to decline,” he answered. The captain raised an eyebrow quizzically at this. “The thing is, we sort of have other kingdoms to help out.” Sora pointed to Goofy. “And he’s kind of the captain of his own knighthood.” He pointed over to Mickey. “And he’s a king who those knights serve. So, I don’t know how that would even work if we were to sign up.” The captain blinked in surprise and gave Mickey a quick bow. Sora snickered at this.

“Well, then I wish you good luck,” the captain said. “I hope you can visit again sometime, and maybe show my men some of your training patterns.” He held out his hand, which Sora gladly shook.

“I’ll think about it,” the younger adventurer replied.

King Frederic chuckled warmly. “Is there any way we can repay you for all you’ve done?” he asked in a deep, kind voice.

Sora realized that this would be an excellent opportunity to get some clues. He and Kairi had researched the history of Corona the previous night but had found nothing about any well-guarded artifacts. Perhaps the king and queen could help them.

“Well, we’re actually investigating something. You see, there are these people who are looking for some hidden objects. They’re supposed to be scattered all over the place and well-guarded, and I think there’s supposed to be one in this land. I know it’s supposed to be a big secret, but if these guys find all of these objects, some pretty bad things will happen. Do you think you could help us out with that?” he asked.

King Frederic rubbed his chin, considering what Sora had said. “I’m afraid that I am unfamiliar with such an artifact,” he answered. He traded a thoughtful glance with Queen Arianna. “But we will let you know if we find anything.” Arianna nodded in agreement.

“Well, then I guess we should keep searching elsewhere,” Mickey said. He shook hands with the monarchs of Corona. “It was great meeting you.”

“You’re leaving?” Eugene asked. He and Rapunzel were saddened by the news.

Sora turned to answer him. “Yeah. We kind of have a quest to carry out.”

“But you’ll be back to visit, right?” Rapunzel asked.

“Of course,” Kairi answered. “You two take care.”

Pascal gave her a glance that seemed to simulate a raised eyebrow.

“Okay, Pascal. You three take care.”

Rapunzel gave each of them a hug. Eugene shook hands with them and even gave Sora and Riku a bro-tap. The pub thugs hollered and waved good-bye and good luck and Maximus let out an encouraging whinny.

Mickey led Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy to a Safe Point next to a grocer’s shop and, when he was sure that nobody was looking or would notice, beamed the group back onto the Gummi Ship.

Mickey took his place in the pilot’s seat, Sora sat in the Gunner’s chair, and Donald chose the copilot’s chair. Riku, Kairi and Goofy buckled themselves into the passenger chairs.

Sora and Mickey sulked, wondering how they were going to make any progress in their hunt. They did not even know what to look for. Not even the reigning monarchs of the Kingdom of Corona know about it. They had hoped that someone of such high authority would be the one to know about and watch over the items. If that did not fit the bill, then where would they even start?

Donald summed their concerns up quite nicely. “Well, now what are we going to do?” he groaned.

“Well, look on the bright side,” Goofy said. “Hopefully, this will mean that the bad guys won’t be able to find the items so easily.”

Riku disagreed. “Bear in mind that what little we know came from what that guy told the other villains,” he clarified. “We still haven’t found out what Ansem the Wise knew, but I’m sure that whoever is working with Maleficent, he knows far more than we heard. Odds are, he’s one of the people who were supposed to be guarding these things.”

Kairi busily sketched the symbol she found inside the tower and showed her drawing to Jiminy, who could only wonder at what it was. “Is there anyone we can ask who would know?” she asked.

“D’oh!” Mickey exclaimed, amazed that he did not think of it sooner. “Master Yen Sid! He should know something.”

“Who’s Master Yen Sid?” Kairi asked.

“He’s the one who taught King Mickey to use a Keyblade,” Goofy explained, “and he also taught him and Donald magic.”

“He watches over the state of the worlds, and he knows a lot about what’s going on everywhere,” Mickey added. “If anyone would be able to help us, it’s him.”

“And maybe he would be able to tell us about this,” Riku said, holding up the broken obsidian bangle. “He could tell us where that woman’s dark power came from.”

“Alright!” Sora cheered, then he took on a puzzled expression as he realized something that confused him. “Wait, are we going directly there, or will we have to go to Twilight Town and then taking the funny-looking train to get there?”

Mickey shot him a confused expression, then chuckled. “No, we can just go straight there. Yen Sid’s tower isn’t actually a part of Twilight Town or in a pocket dimension. It’s its own world; it just creates a link to Twilight Town,” he explained.

“Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going,” Riku said. “It will be an honor to finally meet the wise master,” he mused.

Donald nodded and plotted the course in his console. When the map was lined up, Mickey put the ship into gear. He gunned the engines, and the Gummi Ship shot toward its destination.

Chapter 28: Chapter 27: Wise Master Yen Sid

Chapter Text

Kairi felt a sense of vertigo when she took in her surroundings. The mustard-yellow tower bent off-normal and then back on-normal as she looked up at it. She realized that the entire clearing in which the tower was situated was a small, disconnected land mass with a few trees and bushes placed around the path and against the building. Said land mass floated in a surreal void in which flowed yellow and purple lights. She lost her balance from the sight and nearly fell, but Sora caught her.

“You alright?” he asked.

Kairi stood up with his help and shook her mind clear. “Yeah. Thanks. It’s just that this is so weird,” she told him.

Sora shrugged. “You’ll end up accepting that kind of thing. Wait ‘til you get inside,” he said with a smirk.

The tower had a green conical roof, with a thinner tower jutting out of it that had a similar roof attached. Another tower segment was attached to the left side of the edifice, with its own green roof, and there was a smaller version of the same design on the front of the upper portion of the tower. Windows were inserted around the upper section of the tower, and there were some with extruded frames built in elsewhere. At the front of the base was a tall set of wooden double doors with iron frames. The left door had a golden star design while the right door had a golden crescent moon design. On either side of the doors, a series of columns surrounded the circumference of the building. There was a set of miniature stairs in front of the tower, leading up to the door.

The party approached the tower and Mickey opened the door. Kairi raised an eyebrow, wondering if they were being rude by simply barging in. However, Mickey seemed to know what he was doing, and none of the others protested. They came into a circular room with a wide spiral staircase, surrounded by columns. In front of the light-blue-colored stairs with lilac walls were two objects that resembled blue conical wizard hats decorated with yellow star and moon designs.

Mickey led them up the staircase, and Riku and Kairi stared in confusion as what appeared to be a glowing green blob floated partway up the flight. Mickey, Donald and Goofy went through without hesitation, vanishing completely, but the teenagers were still perplexed. Sora snickered at this, stepped behind them, and shoved them through before walking in himself. They all found themselves on a section of stairway that floated in midair. The room area was much greater than in the section before. At the top of the section of stairs was a blue-green door with a golden star design. The area behind the door seemed to vanish into a similar void to the one they just stepped through.

The door led into a circular room with a green wall decorated with glowing star designs and a gray floor with a single large, barely-visible star outline. The green door ahead had an arrow design pointing up. Riku turned around out of curiosity and saw that the door behind them had an arrow design pointing down. The party went through the green door and found themselves back in the open area from before, on another section of stairs. These stairs turned counterclockwise rather than the previous section’s clockwise. Looking over the ledge, they could see the previous section of stairs beneath them, indeed disconnected from anything that would otherwise hold it up. Looking up, they could see a straight flight of stairs with a door on either end.

They stepped through a door with a golden moon design and found themselves in a room very similar to the Star Chamber, albeit with glowing crescent moon designs all over the wall, crescent moon outline on the floor, and a brown door with an up-pointing arrow. They passed through that door and found themselves on the straight flight of stairs. The door at the top had an isosceles triangle in the same place that the star and moon had been on the other doors.

“That leads into Yen Sid’s study,” Sora explained to Riku and Kairi, pointing up at the door.

“Cool,” Kairi simply replied.

The party climbed the final flight of stairs and Mickey knocked on the door. The door cracked open, and he opened it the rest of the way. They stepped into a circular room with a green floor and a dark-yellow wall. Several bookshelves were strewn about, some being simple ledges and others being unusually-shaped cubbies hanging on the wall. There were large yellow pots in several places against the wall, some of them containing brooms and staffs and others containing scrolls. On the opposite side of the room, two open windows were cut out of the wall, one shaped like a star and the other shaped like a crescent moon. On the right side was a green wardrobe, though Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy knew that it was actually a door to a larger dressing room. Across from the party was a wooden table with a skull-shaped candle on the corner. Behind the desk was a tall chair that rose over eight feet in height.

A tall old man with a long dark gray beard and large gray eyebrows sat in the chair. He wore a wide-sleeved blue robe with light blue trim, along with a blue cone-shaped hat decorated with star and moon designs. The man had sharp facial features and a constantly-stern expression. He had large eyes but small pupils, making him appear all the more imposing.

When the approached Master Yen Sid, Mickey, Donald and Goofy bowed immediately, with Sora remembering to follow a few seconds later. Riku was taken aback at the fact that Sora was actually showing respect, but soon followed suit. Kairi simply waved nervously. “Hello,” she said. Mickey, Donald and Goofy looked at her in shock. Sora chuckled under his breath, remembering something similar happening to him.

Yen Sid gestured for everyone to stand at ease, and they complied.

Mickey spoke up. “Master Yen Sid, we have come seeking your counsel,” he said. “Someone has recruited Maleficent and several others, and now they are looking for a bunch of artifacts that will let them change reality. We’re trying to head them off, but we have no idea where to start looking.”

Yen Sid closed his eyes pensively. “I have sensed this gathering, and I have heard of the threat it poses.” He hesitated for a moment. “However, I fear that there is very little I can do to direct your search.”

Mickey, Donald and Goofy gasped in shock. Not even the wise and knowledgeable Yen Sid could aid them? What sort of hidden power could even he not know about? And what did this say about the mysterious antagonist who sought these items and knew quite clearly of their nature?

However, Sora and Riku considered the sorcerer’s words with suspicion. He seemed to be dodging the question, but they could only wonder why he was keeping secrets. But they understood that something that could remake the laws of the universe was not something to be divulged easily, so they decided to respect his decision.

“When the stars showed me the alliance forming, I looked into the sinister benefactor and learned as much as I possibly could, though it is very little,” Yen Sid continued. “All that I was able to glean is that his name is Zeromast, and he appears to study the state of the worlds as much as I do. I cannot discern how much he knows, or how he knows so much about the worlds’ affairs, nor can I read what he intends to do with this forbidden power.”

His guests slumped and groaned in disappointment. The only thing they were getting out of this visit was the man’s name. Which was helpful, particularly when they return to Radiant Garden to update Leon and the others, but otherwise it did not help them understand what to do to stop him and Maleficent.

“I apologize for not being able to guide you, but perhaps I can prepare you for the struggle ahead,” Yen Sid said, regaining their attention. “Thirteen menaces align to a common ambition. These villains of a sort will use their dark powers and resources to attain their goal any way they can. This will be your greatest challenge yet, and the stakes have never been higher. For this reason, you will need new powers to ensure that you have what it takes to oppose this evil alliance. Sora, Riku, Kairi, step forward, Keyblade wielders of Destiny.”

Kairi blinked in surprise. “What?” she asked. Sora looked at her, confused. Mickey, Donald and Goofy traded bemused glances. “I’m a Keyblade wielder?”

Yen Sid nodded. “Yes. You were not awakened in your ability to use one, and the sole occasion in which you held a Keyblade, you did not know it was yours. But you have had the potential to use one since you were a child,” he explained.

Kairi turned to Riku, who she realized was the only one not surprised by the announcement. “Did you know?” she asked.

Riku nodded. “Do you remember when I gave you a Keyblade to help you fight the Heartless back at the Organization’s castle?” he asked. She nodded. “With Naminé’s help, I summoned that Keyblade from your heart. Then it vanished after you were done using it, because you unconsciously dismissed it.”

Sora’s mouth widened into a grin. “Wait, that’s what Kairi used to fight back there? That’s awesome! Do you know what this means? Now we’re all Keyblade buddies!” he exclaimed. Riku and Kairi laughed at his words, causing him to chuckle sheepishly.

Curiously, Kairi held her arm out, trying to summon a Keyblade. However, Yen Sid shook his head.

“I am afraid that you have yet to solidify your connection to your Keyblade,” he said, to Kairi’s confusion. He answered her questioning stare with a question to Sora and Riku. “Have either of you experienced a sort of dream prior to the awakening of your Keyblades?”

Sora crossed his arms behind his head and turned his eyes upward, thinking back to before he got his Keyblade. Man, that seemed like so long ago, he mused. “I did have this surreal dream with stained-glass platforms where a voice told me to choose between a sword, a shield, and a magic staff,” he answered.

“Was that when you were snoozing on the beach when you should have been helping us with the raft?” Kairi asked teasingly.

Sora chuckled, embarrassed. “Maybe…”

“I had a dream like that a couple days after Sora woke up from his year-long slumber,” Riku said. “When I woke up to a Heartless ambush, I found that my sword, the Soul Eater—” Sora made a quip about its ‘nice name’ “—had changed shape, and grew a handle guard, an angel wing on the tip, and a keychain. When I saw that my weapon had become a Keyblade, I understood my place.”

Sora and Kairi paused for a moment to take it all in. Sora had wondered how Riku managed to get his own Keyblade for real, since the Kingdom Key, which he had claimed to have been meant for him (according to Ansem/Xehanort’s Heartless), rejected him and returned to Sora. Then again, he had absolutely no idea how the whole Keyblade thing worked, considering his Nobody was able to use the same Keyblade while he himself used it, and on occasion both he and Roxas had used two Keyblade simultaneously. Due to this, he never really pressed the topic.

“So, how do I awaken mine?” Kairi asked.

Yen Sid stroked his beard. “We must put you through into a Dive to send you into your heart to complete the connection,” he explained. “Forgive me for being abrupt.”

“What do you mean send me—” Kairi’s question was interrupted when Yen Sid waved his hand, causing his desk to break in half and slide apart. He then stood up quickly and closed the gap between himself and her instantly. He pressed his fingers against her forehead, pushing her head backward. She gasped as her eyes glazed over.

Her surroundings faded away, and Kairi found herself falling through a black void. Her panic subsided as she realized that her descent was slowing down rather than accelerating. She remembered a similar sensation when she found herself thrust into Sora’s heart nearly two years ago. She craned her neck down and saw a bright circle approaching.

Within moments, she landed on the platform, and saw that, like Sora described, the surface was made of stained glass. The background was mostly a blue-green color. Around the circumference of the platform, Kairi saw multiple smaller circles, each containing items familiar to Riku from the island, as well as other objects she did not recognize. What caught her eye was that the platform depicted a full-color image of a sleeping Riku, in profile, his legs and head bent as if he were to be leaned against the edge of the circle. Next to his head was a circle with seven smaller circles inside. Aside from the center one, which contained an image of the Heartless emblem without the thorny X, each circle contained an image of a person’s face, someone closely connected to Riku. There were Sora and Kairi, as well as King Mickey, Naminé, a man whose face was covered in red bandages whom she guessed was Ansem the Wise in his identity of DiZ, as well as someone she did not recognize. Based on his facial features, the stranger appeared to be slightly older than Riku, and from the shading (the images were all in tones of blue-green), she guessed that he had shoulder-length brown hair that came into some small spikes.

Three grey pedestals appeared around Kairi, drawing her attention away from the designs. Three items materialized, each of them floating over a different platform. One appeared to be a double-edged sword with a blue grip, a gold handle guard and pommel, and a Hidden Mickey in a red circle on the handle guard. Another was a pentagonal black shield with a red border and a scarlet Hidden Mickey symbol with a yellow outline emblazoned on the front. The third was a green rod with tan ends, a wide brown disc at the top and a blue crystal shaped like King Mickey’s head on top of that.

Why is King Mickey’s head on so many symbols? she wondered.

She looked at each of the items and realized what she was supposed to do. She would choose one of them and determine how her strength would grow. And something in the back of her mind made her think that she would also have to give up one of those items. The sword would symbolize strength and offensive ability, the shield would focus on defense, and the rod would indicate magic capabilities. She studied each object intently, trying to decide what she would choose. Increased strength and offensive attacks held little value to her, and she would prefer to defend others and support her allies, so she decided that she would give up the sword when the time came. Developing defense would be beneficial, but she also valued agility, and she felt that remaining stalwart to constantly block attacks would limit her mobility. Besides that, she also wanted to work in conjunction with Sora and Riku, who were more offensive fighters and seemed to strike a balance between strength, defense and mobility. Lastly, she turned to the rod. She always thought it would be cool to be able to use magic. In terms of tactics and skills, if she became experienced enough, she could cast spells without compromising her mobility, she could hinder and overcome enemies while also providing support to her friends, and a mage who could hold her own in a sword fight would certainly complement Sora and Riku’s more warrior-oriented styles with some magic.

She stepped up to the rod and grabbed it out of the air. A voice rang in her mind as she held the staff.

The wand of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you choose?

Kairi nodded, and the rod vanished in a flash of light.

Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?

Kairi smirked, knowing that she had guessed right. She immediately went over to grab the sword.

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. You give up this power?

“I do,” she answered, even knowing that the voice was only in her mind. The sword faded away, and she found herself holding empty air.

You’ve chosen the power of the mystic. You’ve given up the power of the warrior. Is this the form you choose?

Kairi nodded. Just then, the pedestals sank into the ground, shaking the platform and causing her to stumble. She turned around and saw the stained-glass shatter. When the platform fell to pieces under her feet, she was sent falling into the abyss.

She soon landed on a blue-colored platform with the sleeping figure of Sora integrated into the design. The smaller circles around the edge all had the same crown shape incorporated within them. The circles near Sora’s head included head images of Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Roxas, another boy who looked exactly like Roxas, and a dark-haired girl who bore an uncanny resemblance to a slightly younger Kairi. Kairi smiled warmly when she realized that her own image was in the center, but she found herself looking at the two Roxas-es and the raven-haired Kairi clone curiously.

She was soon shaken out of her thoughts by the voice from before as the Dream Rod appeared in her hand.

You’ve gained the power to fight. Your magic is growing, and there will be times when you must use it to fight. Keep your light burning strong.

A Red Nocturne, a Blue Rhapsody, a Yellow Opera, and a Green Requiem appeared. Kairi smirked, as she knew how to handle these foes. The Nocturne and Rhapsody’s weaknesses were easy to exploit; the Opera could be harmed by Blizzard, but not to the same extent as the Nocturne; the Requiem absorbed all of the three main magic spells, so blunt attacks worked best. That worked fine for Kairi, since she wanted to be able to use physical sword-fighting along with incantations.

She decided to start with the Red Nocturne. She imagined a cold sensation, like touching metal, or eating ice cream and getting a brain freeze. She pointed the crystal head of the Dream Rod at the red Heartless.

“Blizzard!” she shouted. She knew that Sora usually said ‘Deep Freeze’, but it probably did not matter what she actually said. The ice crystal hit the Red Nocturne head-on and sent it through the air. However, the Green Requiem wasted no time in healing it.

Kairi turned and ran toward the green Heartless and jumped at it. She delivered a swift aerial combo that knocked it out of the air. Before it could regain its composure and heal itself, Kairi pointed her rod at it and, thinking of falling, like when Sora took her off the cliff in Corona, shouted, “Gravity!” A black hemisphere descended on the Heartless and pinned it to the ground, flattening it briefly. Kairi then leapt at it and brought the crystal head of her rod down on the Heartless, obliterating it.

The Yellow Opera surrounded itself in electric charge and threw itself at her, but she swung the Dream Rod like a baseball bat, hitting it and knocking it into the Blue Rhapsody. She turned around and cast Blizzard at the Red Nocturne. After the spell made contact, she ran up to it and jabbed the head of the rod at the Heartless, finishing it off. She then cast Fire at the Blue Rhapsody. She tried casting it a second time, but the crystal head went dull.

Right, magic power isn’t infinite, she thought. I’m going to have to let it recharge.

She rolled out of the way of a Blizzard spell cast by the retaliating Blue Rhapsody, cartwheeled away from a lightning strike, and leapt into the air to strike at the Blue Rhapsody, which dissipated when she dealt the combo finisher. The Yellow Opera hurled itself at her, once again wrapped in lightning. Instead of running away or trying to block it, Kairi ran toward it, then slid underneath it at the last second. The Heartless slowed down, confused. In the meantime, Kairi stood up behind it, then wheeled around and whacked it over the head. The final Heartless faded away before it hit the ground.

Before Kairi could breathe a sigh of relief, pools of shadow materialized on the floor, expanding until the platform was covered in darkness. Kairi began to sink into the pool, but she struggled.

Darkness! Get off of me! Wait, I’m a Princess of Heart. Darkness shouldn’t hurt me, she thought.

With a burst of determination, Kairi lifted her leg, and the pool of darkness exploded into a burst of light.

When the light faded, Kairi found herself on a pink and purple platform. There was a deep red silhouette that looked a lot like her. The bordering circles depicted images such as flowers, a drawing booklet, Thalassa shells, and Paopu Fruits. A set of pale yellow double doors appeared before her.

Kairi approached the doors and instinctively held her hand out toward it. A tilted rectangle with jagged edges like a crown on one of the shorter edges flashed in front of her palm, then the doors cracked open, and beams of light seeped out. When the doors fully opened, Kairi covered her eyes from the blinding glare, then stepped through the door.

She found herself in a square white room, which soon transformed into a representation of the islet on which she and her friends played. Glowing white chains flew around the area, then transformed into phantom representations of Mayor Braska, Selphie, and Naminé.

Kairi approached the figure of her adoptive father.

“What are you so afraid of?” he asked.

Kairi thought for a moment. “Being indecisive,” she answered.

“Being indecisive? Is that really so scary?” the figure of Braska asked before fading away.

Kairi stepped over to Selphie. “What do you want out of life?” the phantom of her friend asked.

Kairi answered without hesitation. “To see what the worlds have to offer, alongside my two best friends.”

“To see what the worlds have to offer, alongside your two best friends, huh?” Selphie parroted, before fading away.

Kairi walked over to Naminé, who looked at her nervously. “What’s most important to you?” she asked.

Kairi smiled. “Friendship,” she said definitively.

“Is friendship such a big deal?” Naminé responded uncertainly, almost as if she was obligated to respond cryptically like this. Unlike the other two, she did not vanish after saying her piece. Instead, she continued talking. “You’re afraid of being indecisive. You want to see rare sights. You want friendship. Your adventure awaits. As long as the sun shines upon you, may your journey bear fortune.”

The setting faded into a white light, followed by Naminé. Kairi found herself back on the same stained-glass platform from before she stepped through the door. The only differences were that the silhouette in the middle now contained a full-color image of Kairi herself, and that next to the silhouette was a circle containing seven more circles, much like with the Riku and Sora stations. The center circle contained a representation of her Lucky Charm. The other six circles contained head images of Sora, Riku, Naminé, Braska, Selphie, and the mysterious raven-haired Kairi clone. Kairi saw that the doors had changed into a deep red coloration and also bore a different shape and design, with heart-shaped crystals taking the place of doorknobs.

Kairi approached the doors and pulled them open. She stepped into the light and everything went blank.

“What did you do?!” Sora shouted in horror. Before his eyes, Kairi stood motionless, with her head tilted back, mouth slightly open, and eyes glazed over. Her breathing was steady but very weak. Even her arms and legs were in the same position they were in when Yen Sid put her into the trance, as opposed to falling limp.

“She will be alright. I merely placed her into a Dive to the Heart to awaken her Keyblade potential. Once she completes the test she will regain consciousness and return to us unharmed,” Yen Sid explained.

Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy remained tense, watching Kairi’s form uneasily. Minutes passed with no change.

“So, uh, how long is it supposed to take?” Goofy asked.

“Rarely has it been for longer than thirty minutes,” the sorcerer answered.

“In the meantime, could you tell us about this?” Riku asked, taking the broken bangle out of his pocket.

Yen Sid stroked his beard thoughtfully. “I have found sparse mentions of that bangle, but I am afraid that items like it are from a time before measurable history, and their nature has faded into obscurity long before anything in my library was ever written,” he lamented.

“What? But that means it could only be from before the…” Mickey trailed off, remembering that Sora and Riku knew nothing of the event he was talking about.

“Before the worlds were divided?” Sora finished. Mickey, Yen Sid and Riku looked at him with surprised and confused glances. “When Kairi was in my heart, I saw her grandmother telling her a story about how people fought over the light only for darkness to grow in their hearts and consume the world, but the light survived in the hearts of children,” Sora explained.

“Ah, yes. That became known as the age of fairy tales,” Yen Sid said, secretly glad that he did not have to go into too much extra exposition.

“That woman must have lived a long time, if she had this in her possession,” Riku mused, deciding not to press the issue of her knowing about Keyblade wielders.

The conversation ended after that, and they stood in silence. They continued to wait for Kairi to complete her Dive. Yen Sid had restored his desk into one piece. Riku took to reading through one of Yen Sid’s books. He read through the chapter titled “The Beginning” with curiosity, perused “The Interlude” in a mix of boredom and confusion, and simply skimmed through “The Future Story”. He showed it to Sora, wondering what the point of it was, to which Sora simply shrugged.

Within twenty minutes of the test’s initiation, Kairi gasped and returned to her feet, startling her comrades.

“You alright?” Sora asked, rushing to her side.

“How did it go?” Donald asked, intrigue mixed in with his concern.

“Now, Kairi, do you feel the power of the Keyblade coursing through you?” Yen Sid asked.

Kairi held her hand out and imagined a Keyblade in her hand. Nothing happened. “I feel something. But how do I get it to work?” she questioned.

“Focus on the power within you. Reach out to it. Allow it to take shape, and call it to your hand,” Yen Sid instructed. Kairi tilted her head in confusion.

“Imagine what gives your heart strength,” Sora advised. “What is it you fight for? What do you care about? Or, to say it another way, think lovely thoughts.”

He grabbed hold of her hand supportively. Immediately, a flash of light appeared in front of Kairi. She found herself holding a Keyblade decorated with warm colors. One side of the hilt was formed in the shape of a breaking ocean wave, and the other side was formed of a vine of sand that wrapped around the shaft, which was yellow toward the handle guard but turned red toward the tip, resembling a sunset. The teeth were shaped like a bouquet of colorful flowers that entwined to create the outline of a heart. The Keychain was a line of red silk, and the token resembled a Paopu Fruit.

When Kairi recognized the Keyblade from her fight at the Castle That Never Was, she gave it a flourish, getting a feel for handling the blade. It was perfectly balanced for her fighting style, deft, lightweight and aerodynamic.

Destiny’s Embrace, Kairi determined the name of her Keyblade’s form.

“There you go,” Riku said.

“Nice!” Sora complimented.

“Purdy,” Goofy chuckled.

“Excellent. Now, Sora and Riku, you must receive gifts of your own, that you may have the power to stand up to this new threat,” Yen Sid informed them.

Sora and Riku each raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Sora, you no longer require your Drive power to compensate for your imbalanced strength, now that your heart has fully sealed its synchronization to your body. But you will need to draw more strength from those whom you call friends than ever before. Enter through the wardrobe, where you will meet familiar faces and obtain new garments that will aid in unlocking this talent,” Yen Sid advised. Sora blinked and adopted an expression of worry and embarrassment. The sorcerer smirked, the first time he changed his expression at all during the meeting. “Do not worry. I have already helped them come to an agreement on the design.” Sora breathed a sigh of relief, causing Riku, Kairi and Mickey to look at him in confusion. Donald and Goofy, however, laughed amongst each other.

Sora, followed by his friends, entered through the wardrobe doors, which led to a round room littered with mirrors and mannequin torsos. The group saw three short old women with dark gray hair. They wore similar robes and pointed hats held on with thin sashes that wrapped under their chins, but they each wore a different color, either red, green or blue. They carried thin wands and had wings on their backs.

The Three Good Fairies turned around to greet the party. “Well, look who’s here, dears! Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey too! And you two must be Riku and Kairi,” Flora, the plump fairy in red, greeted.

“Oh, Sora, we are sorry about the colorful way we treated you the last time you were here,” Fauna, the thin fairy in green, said.

“But we’ve got it right this time,” Merryweather, the chubby fairy in blue, assured.

“Are you ready for your new clothes, Sora?” Flora asked. “I’m sure you’ve grown attached to your current garb and the powers that come with them, but you do need an update, if I say so myself.”

“Sure. Awesome magic clothes that let me absorb the power of a friend or two to transform and wield two Keyblades at once, with the occasional side effect of turning into a Heartless version of myself that is balanced out and rendered moot by a final form that lets me fly. So last season, right?” Sora joked.

“The rest of you might want to step back,” Fauna advised. “I don’t believe any of you would like to suddenly find yourselves in a ball gown.” This caused the others to warily step away.

“All together, now. One, two, three!” Flora instructed. The three fairies each sent a colored beam of magic straight at Sora. When they hit, his body lit up like a star, momentarily blinding his friends. When the dazzling glow faded, everyone stared in wonder at Sora’s new clothes.

Sora wore a black hooded short-sleeved jacket with grey pockets and red lining. There were three yellow buttons on either side, with the top buttons going through the upper flap. A dark gray stripe ran down either sleeve. The inside of the jacket had a plaid design, and underneath the jacket was a black V-neck shirt. He wore gray gauntlets with red lining, yellow buckled straps around the wrists, and grey circles on the back. His fingers and palms were exposed. He wore black baggy shorts with multiple gray pockets that had yellow buttons as well as a red strap going around each pant leg but stopping at the pockets. His pants were held up by a blue belt with a steel buckle. His shoes looked similar to the ones he wore before, but they were less baggy at the front and also lacked the blue straps and zippers. His crown pendant remained in place.

Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, as well as the three fairies, admired Sora’s new clothes. Sora did the same, flexing his muscles and moving around to test the feel of his new garments.

“Well, now that will do quite nicely,” Fauna commended.

“Now, we’ve got a little something extra for you,” Merryweather said. She waved her wand and a diamond-shaped spark of light appeared in front of Sora.

“Go ahead, dear. Grab the spark and think of one of your companions,” Flora advised.

Sora grabbed onto the spark. Energy coursed through his body. A soft halo also materialized around Goofy, which Mickey and Donald noticed curiously. Sora shook with the force of a new power coursing through him, with a whirlwind blowing around him as its effects took shape. A phantom image of Goofy appeared behind Sora.

Sora summoned his Keyblade, which to his surprise reshaped itself into a shield with a yellow outline, a silver front, and a crown design on the front. The keychain hung from the bottom of the handle.

“Awesome!” Sora shouted, impressed. “My Keyblade can change shape?!”

“Oh, yes. Unlike before, when you could change the appearance of your Keyblade with tokens in order to gain new abilities and adjust the power levels, you can form Dimension Links with your friends so your weapon can take on new functions based on the skills they possess,” Flora said.

“As an added bonus, you can take abilities and skills from your friends to use as your own,” Fauna added.

“Is that so…” Sora said to himself, then his face lit up with an idea. “Would you three mind stepping to the side?” The fairies looked at one another curiously and complied. Sora turned partway to the side, lifted his left leg, and threw his Keyblade Shield under his leg. The shield, facing upward, spun as it flew out the window, then stopped, while still spinning, then quickly returned to Sora’s hand.

“I can get used to this!” he cheered.

“But like your Drive Forms last time, that won’t last indefinitely; you’ll need to charge up your Dimension Energy by fighting alongside and bonding with friends,” Merryweather informed him.

Mickey seemed to look jealous. “Did Master Yen Sid happen to leave instructions to help others learn to do that?” he asked nervously.

The fairies frowned, embarrassed and apologetic. “Well, Master Yen Sid said that he had not seen a Keyblade wielder capable of Keyblade transformations in a long time, and he never learned to do that himself prior to abandoning the mantle, so this is more of an experiment for him,” Flora explained.

“Maybe you can figure it out from how Sora does it on your journey. Riku too,” Merryweather suggested.

“Speaking of which, you probably ought to get back to Yen Sid so Riku can receive his gift,” Flora said.

“Okay. Thank you,” Sora said, waving good-bye as he and his friends exited through the wardrobe doors.

When they had gathered in front of Yen Sid’s desk once again, the sorcerer pulled a strip of black fabric from his sleeve. “Riku, take this,” he commanded, throwing the fabric to the young man, who caught it. Riku examined it and recognized it as being very similar to the blindfold he had used when trying to contain the remnant of Ansem’s power.

“I am aware that the last vestige of Xehanort’s Heartless has been purged from your heart,” Yen Sid said. “That means that you are no longer tied so strongly to the darkness, and your power over it has greatly diminished, to the point where you can no longer conjure Corridors of Darkness. Wear that band. It will allow you to rely on your deeper senses, to recognize the light and darkness that surrounds you. It should reestablish your connection to the darkness, and you may access your dark powers once again.”

Riku nodded. “Thank you, sir,” he said.

Yen Sid stroked his beard. “Now, the dangers you face have increased greatly. To even hope to match this new challenge, you must learn to use your newfound abilities. To that end, I have requested Merlin’s assistance in reopening the Mirage Arena. That training ground will offer every eventuality necessary to ensure you learn what is necessary. And what is more, time that passes within that field is compressed significantly, so a day of training will constitute a mere minute in this plane, and whatever relative rate of time occurs in the other worlds.”

The six heroes stood at attention and gave Yen Sid a respectful bow. “Thank you, Master Yen Sid,” Mickey said. The sorcerer waved his hand and a rift opened in the air behind them. The six guests turned around and stepped through the rift. When they had all gone through the rift shrank to a small pinpoint, and the former Keyblade Master was left alone to think.

If this Zeromast character truly may be able to find the items, perhaps they should have been permitted to know the truth, he thought. However, I have been sworn to secrecy, and I have sworn not to delve into the secrets kept by the others.

Chapter 29: Chapter 28: Battle Rustling

Chapter Text

Cruella spat in disgust as she tracked dirt and dust on her boots. She pinched the bridge of her nose to block out the smell of farm animals and their fertilizer. She marched past the gate leading onto the dairy farm, passing under the sign labeled “Little Patch of Heaven”, but felt herself being yanked backward. She turned around and scowled when she saw that her coat had gotten itself caught on the fence. She angrily pulled at it to no avail. Doug removed the coat from the protruding wooden board, and she stumbled backward as it suddenly came free.

“I hate farms! All the mulch, bugs, and smelly animal pests!” Cruella complained. She then remembered that Doug, a sheep and therefore one such smelly animal, was standing next to her. “Ahem. No offense,” she muttered.

“No, go ahead. Let’s just get the job done,” Doug said bluntly. They walked over to the barn, and Doug pulled the door open. “You know, you could have changed into something less room-filling and less likely to get caught on something or chomped on,” he added.

“Never!” Cruella gasped, indignant. She scanned the inside of the barn, looking past the curious cows to try to locate the object she and Doug sought. “Can we be certain that it’s in here?” she asked.

“Based on Zeromast’s observations, quite likely,” the sheep answered. “Once the coast is clear, it should be simple to locate it with careful study in differentiating it from the other material. You just go distract the old lady.”

“Hmph.” Cruella went over to the farmhouse. She roughly threw the door open and stepped inside.

An elderly, overweight woman wearing a straw sun hat entered the room, glaring at the unexpected visitor.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” the farmer asked, her stern tone voicing her displeasure at the intrusion.

“Oh, hello. Are you the proprietor of this ranch?” Cruella asked, making little effort to act polite.

“That’s right. Pearl Gesner’s my name,” the farmer replied. “What do you want?”

“Oh, I was merely… admiring the livestock and produce you have put together here. You must be very proud of your work.”

“Why, thank you,” Pearl said, suspicious of the woman’s intentions. The fancy clothes, perfume and odor of tobacco gave her away as city folk, and someone with those kinds of furs and lacking the sense to wear more appropriate garb in this country would not have the best interests of the farm at heart. Pearl inched closer to the telephone, just in case.

Cruella thought back to the profile that Zeromast had given her on the farmer, as well as on the condition of the surrounding area, and decided how she would best keep the woman distracted. “You see, there are plenty of farms struggling around these parts, due to rampant cattle rustling,” she said in an entreating tone. “You don’t think you would mind selling some of your fine stock to help them back on their feet?”

Pearl was taken aback by this. She felt somewhat bad, though she was still a bit suspicious of the visitor. “Well, I’m afraid I can’t do that, ma’am. These animals are my family. I wouldn’t dream of selling a single one,” she answered apologetically.

Cruella smirked. “Now, I’m sure we can come to an agreement. How much would you like for them?” she asked, pulling a large wad of cash from her purse.

“What?!” Pearl all but screamed at Cruella.

While this was going on, Doug stepped into the barn and donned a gas mask with a transparent visor. Watched by the curious cattle, he took a metal canister out of his pocket. He punched a few buttons on the canister’s activation console and threw it into the middle of the barn. As a beeping noise emitted and a red light blinked repeatedly on the device, Doug exited the barn and hid to the side of the building.

The beeping stopped and the red light remained on continuously. The two ends of the canister expanded, leaving slight openings and allowing a red gas to billow out and fill the room. The cows breathed in the gas, and their eyes turned bloodshot. They convulsed and started roaring, thrashing about violently.

“Why, I oughta—” Pearl shouted angrily, but her threat was interrupted when she and Cruella heard a destructive crash, accompanied by the thundering sound of dozens of hooves. Her attention taken away from the rude intruder, Pearl ran outside and gaped in shock. “What in tarnation?!”

All of the cows were stampeding wildly, plowing through the farmland. Somehow, they had gone completely berserk! Pearl coughed from the dust cloud that the bovines were kicking up.

“I gotta warn the sheriff!” Pearl declared before running back into the house to dial on the phone.

Smiling proudly, Cruella entered the barn and started chuckling when she saw that all of the cows’ stalls had been torn down in the escape. The red gas had either dissipated completely or been mixed with the dust, which had started to settle after the escape.

An obese man with long red hair, a moustache and a short goatee, who wore a large brown coat, boots, gloves, and a gray Stetson hat, sat in his caravan. Alameda Slim was waiting until nightfall, when he would use his yodeling to hypnotize the cows and steal them away from the nearby farm. He heard one of his triplet nephews climb into the caravan with him.

“Wow, Uncle Slim. I thought we was going to wait until nightfall to bring them cows to us,” he said.

“Whatcha talking about, fool?” Slim asked. His nephew pointed backward with his thumb. Slim climbed out to investigate, followed by his mercenary Rico. When he looked toward the Little Patch of Heaven farm, Slim gasped in horror. The cows were all running straight for him!

Slim started to yodel in an attempt to pacify the cows, but realized that he had no time, and instead elected to run, followed by Rico and his nephews. However, the cows came too fast, and the crooks ended up caught in the stampede, and they had to wrap their arms around the cows’ necks for dear life.

In town, the sheriff had received Pearl’s call and already cleared the streets, then had tar poured out to catch the cattle before they could charge through town. As the cows came through, their hooves began to become stuck in the tar, forcing them to slow down to a halt. Fortunately, the gas that had sent them on a berserk run was wearing out of their system, so it was easy for the sheriff to calm them down.

Alameda Slim sighed in relief when he realized that the stampede had stopped, not even realizing that the sheriff was standing in front of him. He let go of the brown cow he held onto and dropped to the ground, making a splash in the mud.

This got the sheriff’s attention. “Well, if it ain’t Alameda Slim,” he said proudly. “Looks to me like you’ve got a date with the judge for all your rustlin’!”

Cruella and Doug searched the barn for the item they sought. Doug located a post, next to a fallen purple hat, that did not suffer a single bit of damage from the escape and picked it up.

“Mission accomplished,” the sheep announced.

“Hmph. What could possibly be so special about that piece of wood?” Cruella grumbled.

“If you paid attention, you would notice that, unlike the other boards and posts, this has suffered no weathering from age, not to mention the fact that in its current form, it is identifiably a different type of wood from the others, indicating that it is not from the same kind of tree as the others. And if you look at the holes or the edges, you would notice that it did not experience stress along the grain, meaning that it was not cut like this. Also, the markings on the side do not match the patterns of regular wood grain. All this evidence indicates that this post does not belong, and the stall was built in a way that would incorporate this and allow it to hide in plain sight,” Doug explained.

“I’ll admit, that was impressive,” Cruella said with a raised eyebrow, amazed at the sheep’s keen eye for detail and deductive reasoning.

“Well, let’s get back to base. Wouldn’t want anyone to figure out what we’re doing here,” Doug said. He took a piece of chalk from his pocket and, like Zeromast instructed, drew a line against the wall, long enough for him to step through the door it conjured. When the line was drawn, he and Cruella stepped through and returned to Villain’s Vale.

Chapter 30: Chapter 29: Hero Training

Chapter Text

Two weeks had passed within the Mirage Arena while only fourteen minutes went by in the Mysterious Tower. Continuous hours of sparring gave Sora the energy to test multiple Keyblade transformations, trying out the forms of a shield, a magic staff like Donald’s, a frying pan, a Gunblade, and a Fuuma Shuriken, with the links of the keychain transforming into smaller shurikens. It took him a week, but Riku managed to regain control over his old dark powers, and he demonstrated by conjuring a dark fire shock blast from beneath Donald’s rear end. Sora, Riku and Mickey taught Kairi many of their skills, then Sora, Mickey and Donald taught her many of the spells they knew. Kairi proved to be a prodigy and mastered the first-tier spells, leading them to teach her the second level of the spells’ power. The party of six spent the following week training to work alongside each other, using the holograms created by the arena to recreate past battles against giant Heartless enemies. However, they found that there was still plenty of room to improve, and they could not do so on their own.

They left the Mirage arena, gave their respects to Master Yen Sid, exited the tower, and climbed aboard the Gummi Ship.

After leaving the world’s atmosphere, everyone sat in silence for a few minutes, thinking of recent events. Jiminy climbed out of Sora’s pocket and jumped over to the pilot’s console.

“So, Master Yen Sid seems to know more than he’s letting on,” Jiminy began. The others simply nodded in agreement.

“Something tells me that he didn’t want to, but he felt he had to,” Riku said. “Which makes sense, if the stakes are as high as they seem, and whatever the artifacts are, they need to be scattered that thinly.”

“So, then how are we supposed to beat the bad guys to the artifacts?” Donald asked.

“Maybe the bad guys are the key,” Kairi suggested.

Everyone turned to her, curious. “What do you mean?” Sora asked from right next to her.

“Well, this Zeromast guy probably knows where the artifacts are, and he needs the bad guys to retrieve them. He would have told them what to look for and how to find them. So, we just need to track them as we visit each world. We’re bound to find something eventually,” Kairi explained. “Besides, there are only thirteen villains, including Zeromast and Maleficent, and there are who-knows-how-many worlds out there; it’s going to take them a while to find them all.”

They mulled over her idea, and realized that it was all they had to go on. Sora, Donald and Goofy were quick to concede, since running into their enemies as they traversed the worlds was exactly how they found out more of what was going on.

“And we could also ask around, like we did with King Frederic and Queen Arianna,” Mickey added. “Sure, they couldn’t help us, but someone might be able to, and possibly willing. We’re bound to figure something out along the way.”

The others voiced their agreement. “And I will gather whatever notes we find so we can piece everything together. Someone’s gotta be able to keep track of what’s going on!” Jiminy declared.

Donald raised his hand, still having a question. “So, what do we do next? Where should we go?” he asked.

That gave the others momentary pause before Sora answered. “Well, I think we could work on some of our technique, and train more to work better with our new skills. We’ll only be able to improve so much on our own. I say we find someone who can train us properly,” he suggested.

Donald and Goofy grinned widely and nodded excitedly. “Yeah! And we know just the person to train heroes like us,” Goofy said.

Riku and Kairi looked at them, confused. Sora chuckled nervously when he remembered that they had not been there with him, and he may have left out a few details when recounting his adventures to them. Mickey, having read Jiminy’s Journals, understood, however.

“Alright, fellas. Let’s set a course for Olympus Coliseum!” the mouse announced. Donald charted a path, and Mickey launched the Gummi Ship onto that trajectory.

“Olympus Coliseum… That’s the place where you guys fought in those tournaments?” Kairi asked for clarification.

“Yeah. There’s this goat-man, Phil. He’s a famous trainer of heroes. Though, it took him a while before he saw us as ‘True Heroes’,” Sora explained.

“Well, then I can’t wait to start,” Riku said.

“I suppose I’d better strap in,” Jiminy muttered to himself as he dropped down and climbed into Mickey’s pocket.

Riku and Kairi gaped in wonder as the party approached the coliseum. They admired the architecture with the Doric columns and tall, decorated doors, the fancy burning braziers, and the towering bronze gladiator statues.

Sora, Donald and Goofy admired the structure, but for different reasons. “Good to see that they put everything back together,” Sora commented, earning surprised looks from Riku, Kairi and Mickey. “Long story,” he handwaved.

They crossed the courtyard, and Sora pulled the doors open. They walked into the vestibule, a small room with alcoves in the wall where fires blazed in pits to keep the room well-lit. On the opposite side of the room, there was a passage leading into the arena. A sign tied to either wall by rope read “CLOSED”. To the left of the passage, a bulletin board listed several rules, such as “Rule 95: Concentrate” and “Rule 96: Aim”. On the right was a bulletin board depicting a tournament bracket. A short, fat man with the horns and lower half of a red-furred goat stood on a stool shaped like an Ionic column, facing the bracket and writing a series of names for different contestants.

“Hey,” Sora greeted.

“Ah, good timing, kid!” the satyr said without turning around. Sora quickly realized that he was mistaking him for someone else… again. “I need a hand in setting up the next games. These are gonna be the first games since reopening, and I need it to be just right!”

Sora traded glances with his companions. “Well, I’m sure with a little heavy lifting, we should be able to get everything set in no time,” he said, playing along, changing his voice so he sounded like a musclehead. In the meantime, he took on different poses, flexing his muscles playfully. The others struggled to hold in their laughter.

“That’s great! We’re going to need to work extra hard in bringing in new heroes, though. Thus far, most of the sign-ups are those Heartless things. I still don’t know how they even know how to enlist themselves. Probably that hothead’s doing. I hear Hades climbed out of the River of Souls a few weeks ago,” the satyr continued.

Sora put his hands on his hips and put on a cheesy grin. “Well, I’m sure I can rope in a few guys to help put on a show.”

“That’s great to hear, champ! And don’t forget how to encourage them. Four words: Determination is strength!”

Riku, Kairi and Mickey gave a look of utter confusion, then everyone burst out laughing. The satyr turned around to figure out what the commotion was, and he realized that Sora, Donald and Goofy, as well as three newcomers, were right there.

“Well, look who it is!” he jumped down and gave Sora a fist bump. “How are my new true heroes?”

“How’s it going, Phil?” Sora asked. “I see you got everything put back together.”

“Yeah. Took some work, but we’re finally back in business. Now who you got here?” Phil asked, sizing up Riku, Kairi and Mickey.

Kairi in particular seemed to get his attention. “Well, hello beautiful! You here for the games, or…” he began, but he was interrupted when Sora cleared his throat and glared at him. “Oh, uh, is she with you?” he nervously asked Sora.

“Quite,” Kairi said seriously, though she maintained a playful smirk. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kairi.”

“Riku,” the silver-haired boy introduced himself.

“Mickey,” the mouse greeted.

“Well, glad to see you brought some of your friends along. I’m Philoctetes, legendary trainer of heroes. You can call me Phil,” the satyr introduced himself. “So, what brings you guys back here?”

“Well, we kind of have some new abilities to work with,” Sora explained. “And Kairi’s new to the whole ‘hero’ thing.”

“And I see you got some new duds. We’re gonna need new action figures, heh. So, you came all the way to me for some mentoring!” Phil laughed cheerfully. “Well, I’m sure I can make room for you. And hey, Herc and the others will be glad to see you. Now, wait here while I set up some barrels, and you guys can show me what you can do, and then we’ll work from there.”

Chapter 31: Chapter 30: The Fallacious Wanderer

Chapter Text

The grey-skinned god watched the key kids training with the old goat. He snarled to himself when he realized that the three of them were really getting the hang of their new powers. And since when did the Princess get a Keyblade of her own? He rolled his eyes and turned to exit the coliseum, unnoticed by his enemies.

If only I had a powerful warrior under my control, Hades thought. Then I could teach those twerps a thing or two. As he crept over to the other end of the courtyard, he sighed. But where am I gonna get someone like that?

As he continued, someone passed him. Realizing this and sensing some kind of power, Hades turned to get a good look at him. The young man was slender and muscular, with brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a sleeveless blue shirt, gray pants, pointed boots, a blue sash around his waist, blue gauntlets that left his fingers and palms exposed, a thin brown headband with a blue gem, a pair of matching earrings with gems hanging off, and two waist-length capes held by a gray strap over his chest and a golden spiked pauldron on his left shoulder. In a scabbard, he carried a red and gold sword, and he also had a dagger sheathed at his hip.

“Hmm… Powerful, talented, naïve… He’s perfect,” Hades muttered to himself. He cleared his throat. “Yo, kid, hey, hold on.”

The young warrior turned around when the shady figure called to him. “Yeah?” he answered.

“Lemme guess. New around here? Here to join the big leagues? What’s your name, kid?” Hades asked.

“It’s Bartz,” the young man replied. “And yeah. I’m here to train with Hercules and Philoctetes.”

“Oh, well that’s great, kid,” the lord of the dead said with false kindness. “You just get here in preparation for the reopening Games?”

“Naw, Hercules scouted me out months ago,” Bartz said. Hades raised an eyebrow at this. “I was traveling around when I met him, and I took the long way to get here. So, the Coliseum just reopened? What happened?”

“Oh, you know. Maintenance, repairs, flesh-eating horses breaking loose, stuff like that,” Hades brushed that matter aside, leaving out his role in the Coliseum’s destruction weeks before. “Listen, Jer—Hercules is out of town right now, but he’ll be back later.”

“You know Hercules?” Bartz asked, curious, his attention fully on the god.

“Know him? I’ve known the runt since he was born! We go way back. Heck, I even watched over him on a lot of his fights, like with that centaur creep, and the bloodthirsty Hydra. And then there’s that punk with the giant key. Jeez, I was surprised when he didn’t come out on top in that one.”

Bartz’s interest was piqued. “Punk with the giant key?” he repeated. He was worried that there was a foe that had actually defeated Hercules.

Hades smirked wickedly, though he was careful not to let Bartz notice the sinister intentions behind the smile. “Oh, yeah. That troublemaker, always butting his head where it doesn’t belong. He killed a bunch of my old friends, and I think he’s back in town to do some more damage.”

“What?! If this guy beat Hercules and he’s back for more, I’ve got to do something!”

“Wait, you think you can take this guy on?” Hades asked, intrigued.

“Well… I have some… unique talents,” Bartz said, unable to hide a confident smirk.

Hades grinned as a plan came together. “In that case, come with me. I think I have an idea to draw him out.” He led Bartz out into the city, confident in his scheme.

Kairi leapt at Sora, twisting around in midair to deliver a spinning strike, but Sora blocked her weapon and stepped to the side. Kairi twisted too far as she fell forward, and she lost her grip on her Keyblade, which dematerialized as she hit the ground. Riku slid past Sora, raising a planar shield to defend against a possible strike from above. He spun out with his feet in an attempt to sweep Sora off of his feet, but Sora jumped over him, then shoved his Keyblade straight down onto the shield while he was upside-down in midair. As the energy charging from the shield tried to force him up, Sora cast Aero, creating a wind funnel that pushed down on Riku, who was pinned to the ground. As Riku’s shield dissipated, Sora applied an extra push to throw himself into the air. He twisted in midair to regain his balance and allow himself to land on his feet.

“Time!” Phil called out. He approached the trio as Riku and Kairi brought themselves to their feet. He faced Riku. “You’re doing great. You have finesse, conviction. You cover your side, and make sure to leave as few openings as possible. But you rely too much on others going for the obvious move. I saw your kip-up kick back then. You let yourself get thrown back and expect your enemy to take advantage of your apparent vulnerability and leave themselves open for a counterattack. But that doesn’t work when your foe won’t fall for it. Sora, I’m sure, had grown wise to that trick a long time ago, so he just stepped out of the way. You need to learn to cover all your bases, expect the obvious knee-jerk move but also the smarter, more focused moves. Don’t just plan for someone fighting recklessly, but also for someone who can see through those traps and respond to your strategy where it actually leaves you vulnerable. Got it?”

Riku nodded, a sheepish expression on his face. “Understood.”

Phil turned to Kairi. “You focus too much on your mobility. You try to deliver quick strikes and dodge attacks, but you aren’t balanced. If you don’t put your weight in your hits, or ground yourself when you attack, which would be preferable given your slight frame, you’ll just get tossed around like a rag doll.” He pointed to a nearby barrel. “Goofy, lob that at Sora.”

Goofy looked at him in confusion, but complied. He lifted the barrel and lobbed it lamely at Sora. Sora simply backhanded it without a thought, sending it out to smash against the wall.

“See what I mean?” Phil asked. “We can always work on building up your strength. But when you’re facing someone bigger and stronger than you, you can’t just throw yourself at them trying to strike faster than them. You use their size against them, and take advantage of the fact that you’re faster than them to hit them when they’re vulnerable. For now, we work on your strategy.”

“Got it,” Kairi agreed.

“Now then, let’s start with—”

He was interrupted by the sound of terrified screaming some distance away. They heard a thunderous rumbling and wooden stalls and carts being smashed. People were in danger!

“Heartless?” Sora asked.

“No. The Heartless never went into town,” Phil said. “You guys had better check it out.”

Without another word, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy ran out of the coliseum and out into the town. When they entered Thebes, they were taken aback by the sight.

The threat was an enormous centaur with blue skin and fur, as well as black hair on the back of his head and a black pointed beard. The creature had enormous muscles. Behind his purple lips, he had a row of razor sharp teeth. He stood over ten feet tall and was clearly large enough to wrap his entire hand around a person’s body. The centaur charged across the road and crushed a fruit stall under his weight.

“That’s Nessus. He’s one of the first guys Herc fought,” Phil explained.

“So, I guess he’s looking for some payback,” Riku guessed. He and his friends summoned their weapons.

“Sora, Riku, you and I engage the target and lure him away from town. Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Phil, you lead everyone to safety,” Mickey ordered.

“Take him that way. It leads out to the waterfall,” Phil said before he ran out with the others to guide the crowd.

Sora, Riku and Mickey positioned themselves so that they were between Nessus and the way they were supposed to guide him. The centaur was facing in the opposite direction, laughing at the panic he was spreading. Sora threw his Keyblade, hitting the centaur on his rear end. The centaur flinched and stumbled, then twisted his torso around to see who attacked him. He snarled at the three Keyblade wielders.

“Okay, now we’ve got his attention,” Riku said dryly. “Now what?”

“We run?” Sora suggested. Nessus turned the rest of himself around so he was facing them and began to charge.

“Sounds like a plan,” Mickey agreed. They turned tail and ran, the vicious centaur in hot pursuit. They ran through town as fast as they could, which happened to be roughly the same as their opponent’s top speed. Within minutes, they had exited the town and were heading through the woods. Soon, they came upon a spring leading out from a waterfall. They stopped when they reached the cliff wall, and they turned around to face the centaur.

Nessus cackled, thinking he had them cornered. “So, you’re the friends of that muscleheaded lard he told me about,” he snapped.

“Says the pot to the kettle,” Riku whispered to Sora.

“Well, I was hoping I’d get some payback against him. But how about I just crush his friends, for now?” Nessus laughed again.

Sora traded glances with Riku and Mickey. “Should we tell him that I beat Hercules in a tournament?” he asked them.

“What was that?” Nessus asked, hearing Sora’s boast. He then snarled in rage and charged at the trio. He swung a haymaker at Sora, but the hero rolled out of the way and hit him in the side with his Keyblade, while Riku and Mickey similarly got out of the way. Sora ran away from the cliff face, but Nessus kicked him, sending him flying.

Riku teleported over to Sora and helped him up when he landed with a splash. Mickey jumped on the centaur’s back half and hit his humanoid back with his Keyblade, but Nessus bucked, causing the mouse to lose his footing and fall off. Riku charged in and shot bolts of Dark Fire at the blue brute, but Nessus galloped out of the way. He closed the gap between him and Riku in seconds and hit him with a giant-fisted punch as soon as Riku finished casting his spell.

“Stopra!” Nessus stopped moving, his arm still raised in the air. Time had stopped for him, and while he was still in a position where he should have kept moving, the water’s surface around him began to settle. Sora and Mickey turned to see Kairi, Donald and Goofy arrive. It was clear that Kairi was the one to cast the spell.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Regroup!” Kairi said. Sora and Mickey ran to join their friends, though Sora stopped to help Riku to his feet, and quickly cast Blizzard on the water around Nessus’ hooves.

A few seconds after that, the spell broke, but to Nessus no time had passed at all, so he was surprised when he saw his enemies in a completely different position, as well as the fact that his back hooves were trapped in ice. He stomped with his front hooves in an effort to break the ice.

This left him vulnerable to attack, so Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Kairi hit him with Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder spells. Riku decided against using Dark Fire, not wanting to break the ice faster and give the centaur an opportunity to counterattack. But despite the clear physical damage that the centaur was suffering, he only got angrier, and when he finally broke his legs free, he charged at the group furiously. They escaped his path quickly.

Kairi quickly noticed that while he was incredibly fast, he had more momentum than he knew what to do with. His modus operandi seemed to be vicious assault, and he was unprepared for someone who could fight back. Remembering Phil’s words, she decided that she could work with that. She ran back over to Nessus just as he was coming to a stop, and she slashed her Keyblade across his upper hind leg.

Nessus howled in pain and tried to kick at her, but she had already rolled out of the way. She noticed that he was almost as slow in turning as he was in decelerating. When he had fully turned around, Kairi broke into a run in the opposite direction, pointing a Fire spell behind her to vaporize some water to create a smoke screen, which Nessus swatted through angrily. Kairi smirked as she kept running. When the centaur drew close, she Dodge Rolled out of the way and shot a bolt of Thunder at his flank.

As Nessus slowed down to try to set his sights back on the girl, Goofy jumped onto the centaur’s back and hit him on the head with his shield before putting him into a chokehold. Annoyed, Nessus twisted his head to make Goofy slide off of his back and force him to dangle from his neck. He then wrapped his fingers around the knight, pulled him off, and threw him aside.

However, this turned out to be a distraction, as Nessus found himself face-first with the blunt end of Sora’s Keyblade. Enraged from the pain, the centaur punched out at him, but Sora had already jumped away and he only just grazed him.

“Sora! This way!” Kairi called, running to the waterfall. Trusting her instincts, Sora complied and followed her.

Nessus pursued. Sora and Kairi sent back Fire spells to slow him down and create smoke screens so that he would not catch up to them and also to keep him off balance to their tricks. When they were right in front of the waterfall, Kairi stopped, leading Sora to stop as well.

“Now what?” Sora asked. Kairi smiled and pointed to the charging centaur. Sora realized what she was thinking. “Got it. So, a big one? I’ve got the perfect trick.”

They took a step back so that their legs were engulfed in the crashing water. Sora pulled Kairi close to him. They waited for Nessus to come closer, then Sora raised his Keyblade.

“Raging Storm!” Sora shouted. A twenty-foot whirlwind of fire erupted around him and Kairi. The heat caused the water falling on them to vaporize, creating an enormous steam cloud that billowed out and obscured everything for fifty feet around them. Nessus was blinded by the dense cloud, and could not see an inch in front of him. He felt an intense heat as he passed through where Sora and Kairi had been, but he did not hear the sound of bones crunching under his hooves. He had one second to realize what was wrong, before he reached the end of his charge.

Sora and Kairi heard a loud crash, and realized that their trap had worked. They cast Aero to disperse the steam cloud and expose the area previously covered. They had dashed out of the way just before the centaur had reached where they stood, immediately after the flames had started to dissipate, allowing Nessus to pass right by. Joined by Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, they crept around the wall of water and looked behind it.

Nessus lay crumpled against a severely damaged cliff wall, nasty bruises all over his body. They could not tell if he was merely unconscious, but the fact of the matter was that he would try to hurt anyone anytime soon.

“Nice going, Kairi, using his momentum against him to trick him into crashing into the rock,” Sora commended.

“Glad to be of help,” Kairi said in reply. “Phil’s advice really helped.”

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear that,” Donald added.

“Now that we’re done here, we should probably get back,” Riku suggested.

“But something’s bothering me,” Mickey muttered, drawing everyone else’s attention. “He said that someone told him about us. I wonder who that could have been…”

“Well, I have an idea,” Sora mused. “But what was the point? If Herc beat this guy before he even became a true hero, why send him to fight us?”

Their musings were interrupted when they heard an unfamiliar voice from behind them.

“So, you’re the ‘key kid’ I’ve heard about.”

They turned around and stepped out from behind the waterfall to see who had addressed them. They saw a young man none of them had ever seen before, carrying a red and gold sword.

“Hi. Can we help you?” Sora asked.

The young man simply glared at him. “I’m not going to let you cause any more trouble around here like what you did to Hercules.”

“Huh?” Sora was utterly confused. Before he could question him further, the stranger ran straight at him and swung his sword. Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and blocked the attack. The instant the young man let up to try to deliver another hit, Sora swung back, pushing him away. He stomped his foot and conjured four spheres of light around him, which spun around and exerted energy that launched his assailant away.

Sora threw his Keyblade, but the young man dodged the strike raid. Sora summoned it back to his hand and threw it at his opponent again, but the next three throws were easily dodged. The stranger turned to watch the Keyblade spin by on the last throw, his eyes briefly turning grey as he studied the weapon. The Keyblade returned to Sora’s hand a second afterward.

“Nice trick,” the stranger said wryly. “My turn.” He held out his hand. His blue eyes turned grey again, and the shape of the Kingdom Key appeared in front of him. He grabbed out of the air a weapon that looked exactly like Sora’s Keyblade, minus the keychain.

Sora’s jaw dropped. “Should… Should he be able to do that?” he asked, bewildered.

Mickey was having a similar reaction. “No. No, he shouldn’t,” he answered. “Different Keyblades exist in different forms, but there’s only one of yours and mine.”

The stranger smirked and threw his new weapon directly at Sora.

Chapter 32: Chapter 31: Champion

Chapter Text

Everyone ran to avoid the spinning Keyblade. Bartz summoned it back whenever it passed its targets and threw it again, sometimes aiming for Sora but other times aiming for his friends. Riku, Kairi and Mickey were able to avoid the attacks, but Donald and Goofy had much closer calls. Goofy managed to block the weapon with his shield, but he was sent flying back several feet.

Regaining his footing, Goofy threw his shield at Bartz. Bartz blocked it with his sword, but he was thrown off balance. Donald took advantage of the opening and cast Thunder, causing a bolt of lightning to hit Bartz in the foot, knocking him down. Goofy ran in, caught his shield, then threw it down and jumped on it. He slid across the water’s surface as if he were water skiing, and zoomed straight for Bartz just as he was picking himself back up. The shield hit him in the legs while Goofy’s flailing arms hit him in the chest.

When Bartz recollected himself from the attack, he raised his arm. His eyes flashed grey and a replica of Donald’s staff materialized in his hand. Yellow sparks surrounded the head of the staff. A bolt of lightning came down from above and hit Goofy, stunning him. Bartz dismissed the staff and conjured a shield shaped exactly like Goofy’s. He shoved the shield up against Goofy’s chin, sending him flying. He then threw the shield at Donald, hitting him square in the chest.

“Why are you attacking us?” Sora asked from across the spring.

“I heard you beat Hercules and have been causing trouble. Killed some people. I’m here to put an end to that,” Bartz answered, apparently trying to sound heroic. He threw the shield again, but Sora knocked it out of the air with his Keyblade.

“What? I think you’re mistaken. We’re fr—” But Bartz wouldn’t let him finish, as he summoned Donald’s staff again and cast Thunder at him, forcing Sora to flee the spell.

No use. He’s not going to listen to reason like this, Sora thought. Gonna have to fight.

Sora, Riku and Kairi jumped in and attacked Bartz from all sides, hoping to overwhelm him, but Bartz simply used his sword and the copy of Goofy’s shield to block the attacks, then kicked Riku in the stomach. However, this created a new opening, through which Mickey cast Pearl. Bartz was hit, but he landed on his feet and smirked. His eyes once again turning grey for a quick second, he conjured a copy of Mickey’s Keyblade, bewildering the mouse. He pointed the weapon at Mickey and shot a similar pearl of light at him.

Sora’s eyes widened when he realized what was happening. He’s copying our moves, just like my Dimension Links. He’s not a Keyblade wielder or anything, just a copycat. He dismissed his Keyblade and ran straight at his adversary. When he drew near, Bartz swung his sword at him, but Sora ducked to the side, vaulted himself over with one hand, and kicked Bartz in the stomach. Bartz took a step back to recover from the hit, then conjured two shields and punched at Sora with them.

“Hey, you’re pretty good,” Sora complimented, blocking each hit with his hands, though he could feel the pain and realized that he could not keep this up forever. So, instead, he shoved each shield to the side as they came in for a hit, then threw himself at Bartz, putting all of his weight into a brunt force shove with his upper arm, pushing him off-balance.

Kairi appeared and tripped Bartz while he was flailing about, then Riku grabbed him by the arm and threw him out of the spring and into the wooded area. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy followed him.

When they entered the woods, Bartz attacked with both Keyblades, but Sora and Mickey countered with their own. Since they were the genuine article, along with their own strength which was superior to their opponent’s, they easily overpowered him. Sora dismissed his Keyblade and shoved him with both hands into a tree.

“Gravity!” Kairi shouted, though instead of raising her Keyblade up and bringing it down on him, she pointed it forward, causing the black hemisphere to push g-forces horizontally, pinning Bartz against the tree, which started to creak as the force tried to tip it over.

“Now that we can actually talk now,” Sora began, approaching Bartz, “what made you think we were enemies of Herc?”

Bartz sighed. “Some guy with a flaming head told me that you beat Hercules in a fight, that you’d been butting your head where it didn’t belong, and you even killed some of the guy’s friends.”

“Was it a blue fire?” Sora asked.

“Yeah. And bluish-gray skin. He wore a dark robe.”

“Hades,” Sora, Donald and Goofy said at once.

“Hercules is a friend of ours. We actually teamed up with Herc to fight Hades,” Sora explained. “Hades kidnapped Herc’s girlfriend and sent the Hydra to destroy the Coliseum.”

Bartz’s eyes widened. “Aw, man. I can’t believe I let myself get tricked like that,” he lamented.

“Don’t beat yourself up over that. That’s something Hades just does. He finds a promising warrior, makes them an offer they can’t refuse, and tricks them into fighting for him.”

Bartz slumped, which made him realize that the Gravity spell’s effects had worn off. He picked himself back up and dusted himself off. “Well, sorry I attacked you like that,” he said. “I’m Bartz. Bartz Klauser.”

Sora shook his hand. “Sora,” he introduced himself.

“Riku.”

“Kairi.”

“Mickey Mouse.”

“Donald Duck.”

“Goofy.”

“It’s nice to meet you. And I’ve gotta say, you guys are pretty good in a fight,” Bartz commended.

“You’re not half-bad yourself,” Sora replied. “How did you copy our weapons and abilities like that?”

“Mimicry,” Bartz said with a proud grin. “Whatever skills and powers I see in action, I can recreate. This involves using a copy of the weapons and items used to carry out those skills.”

“That’s pretty cool. So, are you here to train with Herc and Phil?” Sora asked.

“Yeah, I am. I was just about to head in when Hades showed up,” Bartz answered.

“Well, I suppose we should head back and introduce you to Phil,” Sora said. Bartz nodded and joined them as they passed through the woods and reentered Thebes.

Phil saw the seven warriors enter the Coliseum courtyard and wiped sweat off his brow. “Phew. Glad to see you took care of that centaur all right. Don’t worry. Everyone’s safe. The people are even starting to pick up the damage that Nessus caused,” he informed them. He then did a quick double take as he realized that there was an extra person with them. “And who’s this guy?”

Bartz waved. “Hi, I’m Bartz. I’m the guy Hercules recruited months ago. He told you about me, right?”

Phil thought for a moment, but then remembered. “Ah, yes. Herc did tell you about me. He said you were going to take a while to get here. To be honest, I started training another guy about your age, thinking he was the guy Herc told me about, until he realized my confusion and cleared it up.”

By then, the party of six plus Bartz had met up with Phil in the center of the courtyard. “So, you’re the legendary trainer of heroes, Philoctetes?” Bartz asked.

“I’m your guy. Call me Phil,” the satyr replied. “Herc said you had a lot of potential. I’d like to judge that with my own eyes.”

Just then, several Heartless appeared around them. There were Large Bodies, Neoshadows, and Soldiers, as well as three other types: Lance Soldiers, skinny humanoids wearing what appeared to be bronze armor and carrying conical iron lances with zig-zagging tips and jagged “mouths” cut out; Trick Ghosts, white blob-like floating creatures with dangling arms, a jagged purple mouth, a pair of eyes above and a pair of eyes below the mouth (almost as if it could have a face both ways), and a striped stocking cap; and Aerial Masters, flying humanoids with purple armor, a pair of black, curled wings, and brass knuckles on its hands. Sora was not sure how the Aerial Masters seemed familiar, since he had never faced them before, but decided to worry about it later.

“Well, Bartz, now would be a good time to show off your skills,” Riku said before attacking a Lance Soldier. The lance jabbed forward, apparently of its own accord rather than its wielder’s. This grazed Riku’s side, but he retaliated by slashing at its head, putting a substantial dent in the helmet. The lance bounced around angrily and flew around, taking the flimsy Heartless with it. It’s like a Berserker Nobody, Riku thought, recalling the brutes’ cursed hammers. Riku dodged the point as it flew at him and grabbed the handle, kicking the Heartless free. The lance dragged him through the air, but Riku threw his own mass around to steer the living weapon, eventually driving it down onto the Lance Soldier. Lance Soldier and lance exploded into smoke. Immediately after landing on the ground, Riku turned around and slashed through a Soldier Heartless.

Bartz conjured a Knight’s Shield and threw it at an Aerial Master, clipping its wings and dropping it out of the sky. He dismissed the shield and pulled out his own sword, which he used to stab the Heartless in its exposed face, making it dissipate. He sheathed the sword, cupped his hands, and vaulted Kairi into the air and over a Large Body, allowing her to slash at the lumbering Heartless’ exposed back when she landed.

Donald cast magic on the Trick Ghosts while they were engaging Mickey at close range. Noticing the attacks, they flipped upside-down and drew out candled. Floating away from Mickey, they started blowing fireballs at Donald, forcing him to run and Goofy to come to his defense. Mickey took the opening to close in on the now-long-range-focused Trick Ghosts and cut through them.

Sora defeated two Neoshadows, but was knocked down by a Lance Soldier’s attack from behind. Another Large Body jumped, hoping to harm Sora and everyone nearby with a shockwave, but it suddenly exploded in a cloud of darkness. When the cloud disappeared, Sora saw a familiar face.

Where the Large Body once stood, there was now a very muscular man with broad shoulders. He wore sleeveless orange-brown armor on his torso as well as a metal kilt of the same color, brown knee-high sandals with cross-shaped straps, brown wristbands, a reddish-brown headband, a blue cape, and a brown belt with a gold emblem etched with a thunder cloud and lightning design. He had blue eyes, auburn hair, and a friendly smile.

“Hey, Sora,” Hercules greeted. “How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know. Fighting Heartless, saving people from horse people, the usual,” Sora replied, bringing himself to his feet and immediately stabbing a Soldier Heartless behind him with his Keyblade.

“Yeah. I heard about that on my way in. Sorry I couldn’t be there to help, but I guess you took care of it without me.” Hercules punched another Large Body, this time hitting it in the armor-covered front but still defeating it in one hit. When the smoke cleared, he saw a familiar figure. “Hey, is that Bartz?”

Bartz turned around and waved to Hercules. He conjured a copy of Kairi’s Keyblade and delivered quick slashes at a Neoshadow, then he switched to Riku’s Keyblade and launched a ball of Dark Fire at an Aerial Master.

“I see you’ve gotten yourselves acquainted,” Hercules said, throwing a Soldier through two Aerial Masters. An Aerial Master divebombed him, knocking him to the ground, but Sora helped him up and cast Fire to destroy the attacker.

The fighting continued until the courtyard was cleared of Heartless. The eight fighters took a minute to catch their breath. Hercules took notice of the three others who were fighting alongside Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Bartz.

“So, they’re friends of yours?” Hercules asked.

Sora nodded. “Yeah. Hercules, meet Riku, Kairi and Mickey. Riku, Kairi, Y—” he rolled his eyes as he caught himself before he addressed Mickey by his royal title “—Mickey, this is Hercules.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Kairi said.

“Likewise. So, Sora. You guys on another adventure?” Hercules asked.

“Yep. We’re all together this time. Our best friends by our side, saving the worlds from whatever threatens them, which happens to include a group of powerful villains that Hades himself is aligned with,” Sora replied.

“If that’s the case, then you’re going to need to get as strong as you can,” Hercules said.

“So we’ve been told,” Sora said with a grin. “So, Hercules, how do you know Bartz?”

Hercules aimed a smile at Bartz. “Well, some months back, Phil sent me to scout out warriors to train to be heroes. While I was out, I heard that a town was being terrorized by an Erymanthian Boar, pretty much a giant boar. So, I set out to hunt it down. It took me by surprise, and proved to be one tough customer. That’s when Bartz came in. He threw some rocks to get its attention and got it to chase after him, then ducked out of the way at the last second and sliced its leg. This incapacitated it and gave me the opening to finish it off.”

Curious, Goofy turned to Bartz. “Gawrsh, what were you doing hunting the Eri… the Ermine… the giant boar?” he asked.

Bartz shrugged. “I wasn’t. To be honest, me and Boko were just passing through,” he answered.

“Boko?” Kairi repeated, wondering who he was referring to.

“My chocobo. A faithful friend and trusty steed,” he explained. “I always wanted to go on adventures with my father when I was a kid. So, after my parents passed away two years ago, I climbed onto Boko’s back and rode off to see the world. Me and my chocobo just go wherever the trail leads us. I fought some monsters and bandits terrorizing people as I went, and I began to hone my powers. When I happened upon Hercules fighting that boar, I jumped in and helped him.”

“I told him he had skills, and suggested that he come here to train and become stronger with them,” Hercules continued from where he left off.

“And I agreed, after checking with Boko, of course,” Bartz picked up from there. “But I told him that we were going to take the long way and see what we could see, and it would be a while before we made it.”

“Well, you made it, kid,” Phil said. “So, how ‘bout we head inside and start training?”

As the nine of them turned to enter the vestibule, Hades stood in the corner, watching. He was not happy with the way things turned out.

He sighed. “Jeez, Louise, I’ve got to stop underestimating these heroes,” he muttered to himself.

Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Lord of the Dead

Chapter Text

Hades stepped onto the rocky path that arched over the Acheron, the river casting a sickly green glow in the air around him. Spirits swirled through the water, each one resembling an emaciated, dried-out corpse. The overseer of the afterlife, who did not care much for his job, had not cared enough to process the spirits into more suitable post-death arrangements, and as such they simply gathered and cluttered into the vast depths.

Hades walked across the path, passing over the River of Souls, where many spirits glared up at him in contempt. He dragged a mortally-wounded pig behind him. When he reached the top, he snapped his fingers and a set of doors opened. He climbed the stairs, still dragging the bloodied swine. He entered into a circular room made of black stone carved with haunting designs that brought to mind demonic imagery.

He approached a round window on the opposite side from the door and whistled with his fingers. An enormous black dog, with three fearsome heads, three pairs of blood-red eyes and three sets of razor-sharp teeth each as long as a human arm, approached the window, sniffing the air and snarling.

“Here. Got something for you,” Hades said, throwing the pig out to his pet, Cerberus. The right head grabbed the pig by the leg, and the other heads immediately began fighting over the meal, disregarding the fact that they all shared the same stomach and it did not matter which head chewed and swallowed the meal.

Hades walked over to his throne and sat down, slouching while Cerberus ran off with the meat. He pointed at a screen mounted on the opposite side of the room, and the screen lit up with a live video of the latest tournament in his own personal battle arena, the Underdrome. When the Coliseum was rebuilt following the destruction that he arranged at the same time as his plan to trick Sora into reopening the Underdrome for him, Hades realized that he would lose most of his competitors and living audience, so he repurposed the arena to let deceased warriors fight, and he also had a Jumbotron installed so the souls in the Acheron could have some entertainment. As it turns out, and as Hades began to understand, floating about in a pool of your own essence for eternity was pretty boring. He had also had to tone the violence down so that Zeus would not lock it up again.

Hades watched three centurions fight against two Vikings and a gorilla. However, he could not bring himself to be interested. The fights among the dead were not nearly as spirited, entertaining, or diverse as the ones that would be up in the Coliseum.

And I just gave them another strong warrior, on top of making an enemy out of him. As if a god didn’t have enough headaches, he thought. He yawned as the gorilla tore one of the centurions in half.

“Pity. I had hoped that the gorilla would have made things interesting,” Hades heard a new voice say sarcastically. The dour deity glanced to the right, where he saw Kuja watching the show, eating from a bowl of popcorn.

Hades groaned. “What are you doing here, Pretty Boy?” he asked.

“Observing your methods,” Kuja answered. “Clearly, the Keyblade master is too much of a benevolent influence for your deception of impressionable warriors to earn any long-term victories. Or short-term, even, particularly if you recall the failed guardian who simply rejected your offer. And yet you command the vast armies and powers of the dead. Why don’t you simply unleash all of your monsters and demons to overwhelm and destroy your enemies?”

Hades turned to scowl at him. “For starters, if I let the dogs out to destroy everything in their path, Zeus and the other gods will take notice. I was only able to gather monsters and enact my plan to free and control the Titans because Zeus thought I was a loving brother who wouldn’t dream of betraying him. Now that I’m exposed, the only thing I can do to stay off his radar is to sign fiends and Heartless up in the Coliseum and hope an ‘accident’ happens to Herc the Jerk,” he explained.

Kuja nodded in understanding. “I see. I prefer the theatrics, anyway, but I would rather have them be effective.”

“You have something to say, Pretty Boy?”

“If your breed of monsters and trickery fail, then how about we try one of mine?” Kuja suggested. He raised a finger, and the air in front of Hades shimmered. Four enormous, red, clawed fingers reached out of the fold in space, startling Hades before they receded back where they came from.

“What was that?” Hades blurted in shock.

Kuja chuckled. “A little something I conjured out of the Mist between planes of existence,” he answered. “I have been experimenting with these phantoms. They do not ‘live’ by the same definition as the rest of us, and they do not follow the same laws of magic as the Heartless or your monsters. I would be quite interested to find out how they stand against the wielders of the Keyblade.”

Hades stroked his chin, considering the offer. He wanted to get any edge on his enemies that he could get. He shrugged. “Eh, why not? Let’s give it a try.”

Kuja smirked. “Do try to show some enthusiasm. We have no reason to despair.”

Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Reunited Researchers

Chapter Text

Leon picked up the broken capsules and placed them on top of the bookshelves, making sure that the sharp edges of the broken glass were pointing down. Ienzo had spread fabric over the top face of the bookcases so that the glass would not cut or scrape the surface. Ienzo swept up the dust, glass shards and rubble crumbs and dumped them all in a waste bin.

In the computer room, Even was in the process of running an antivirus software. He was disgusted at the fact that, in ten years of Heartless influence and whatever Xemnas had been doing, so many of the files had become corrupt. Did that fool Xehanort not know how to use a computer? The installation had succeeded with no problem, so now he was waiting for the program to locate malware, which probably included the Program Heartless that he had been told about, and repair the data as best as it could.

“Thank you for allowing us to reclaim our old positions in the castle,” Ienzo told Leon. “I will be glad to renew my research. Though, I feel as though we don’t deserve it, after all the trouble we caused.”

“What do you mean?” Leon asked.

“We all betrayed our teacher, Ansem the Wise,” Ienzo admitted. “And we conducted the research that allowed Xehanort to release the Heartless upon this world, destroying your home and forcing you all into exile, on top of helping Xemnas with his plans.”

Leon shrugged. “We’ve all done things that we regret. We all have our failings. And Riku and King Mickey seem to be the only ones who know anything about what you did while in Organization XIII, and they seem to forgive you.”

“That doesn’t change what I did, what we all did.”

“Listen, Ienzo,” Leon said, putting his hand on the younger scientist’s shoulder. “You did bad things in the past. But you want to make up for everything you’ve done. That’s what matters. Now, you can beat yourself up over your past mistakes, or you can help us out here. We could really use all of you.”

Ienzo thought for a moment, then nodded. “Understood. Thank you,” he said, allowing himself to make a small smile.

Dilan and Aeleus opened a set of double doors and entered a dark room consisting of a circular area with a rectangular area extending out up to the door they entered. Aeleus approached a torch mounted on the wall. He pulled two blocks of flint out of his pocket and hit them together to create sparks until he ignited the torch. He took the torch off of the wall and walked around the perimeter of the room, lighting the other torches until the chapel was lit once again.

This place of faith has been poorly maintained,” Aeleus observed, noticing the heavy coating of dust and the signs of damage, some of which being burn marks from Sora’s battle with Maleficent.

“This place would have been of little good in a barren waste of despair,” Dilan commented. “A domain of darkness that none who had any faith would call home.”

Aeleus shook his head. “Every place deserves to be a home for faith,” the stoic soldier argued.

Dilan placed his hand against the back wall, feeling the air flow through the room. He quickly regretted it as he realized that he was covering the palm of his glove in ash and dust. “I feel a draft through the cracks in the wall. There is a room beyond here,” he said.

“Of course. Don’t you remember the botanical garden in the chamber beyond?” Aeleus asked. Dilan shook his head. “High priest Marcel Funebris maintained the plants and sometimes held sermons in there.”

“To be honest, I was never a very religious man in my old life,” the lancer lamented. “I would presume that this new player would not have been hiding out in here for so long.”

“If this man were as secretive as he seems, I would argue that he would have been found already if he were in there.”

“We are nearly at the top of the castle, and we have yet to locate this man’s hiding place,” Dilan growled.

The former castle guards had taken it upon themselves to search the castle for the residence of the mysterious character who had allied with Maleficent. The men who were once apprenticed to Ansem the Wise had concluded that, if he were to have known about the files kept on Ansem’s computer, then he would have to have lived within the castle walls. However, even though they were searching every nook and cranny for a hidden entrance where they could find his seclusive residence, their search had yet to turn anything up, and the guards were becoming increasingly frustrated. What sort of secret passage had any right to be concealed from the people whose job was to defend the castle from any threat, external or internal?

“Perhaps it is not to be accessed by traditional means,” Dilan finally said after a long silence, realizing something that they had not yet considered.

“What do you mean?” Aeleus inquired.

“You recall how there was no traditional passage by which to enter the Round Room in the Castle?” Dilan asked. Aeleus nodded. “We simply wrapped ourselves in a dark pod, and materialized upon our thrones.”

“You believe that there is a hidden room that is completely sealed off, only accessible by some mode of teleportation?” Aeleus began to understand. It would make sense: if someone were living in the castle and wanted to make sure that nobody would ever have any chance of finding him, he would make sure that no one could access his chamber by any traditional means.

“But if the room exists and is simply closed off…” Dilan began, leaving an opening for Aeleus to finish.

“Then it can be found in the architecture” Aeleus gasped in wonder. “And if I am not mistaken, the computer has a copy of the architectural layout.”

Dilan sighed. “But I’m afraid that was one of the many corrupted files that the Restoration Committee has tried and failed to access,” he said resignedly.

“But Even is in the process of repairing the damaged files,” Aeleus reminded him.

“Are you certain that he will succeed? We cannot be certain as to the extent of the corruption. Some of the data could be lost forever.”

“I am confident in his coding skills, almost as confident as he is.”

“Then let us return to the study and share what we have found,” Dilan decided. Aeleus agreed, and together they walked down the chapel’s hall back to the doors. Dilan raised his arm and clenched his fist, causing a powerful gust of wind to extinguish the candles.

As they were leaving, Aeleus turned and gave one final glance to the darkened chapel. “It has been too long since any of us have been here,” he mused.

“Perhaps,” Dilan agreed. They stepped through and closed the doors behind them.

“About time!” Even shouted. Ienzo entered the computer room to see if the academic had discovered anything. “The files were repaired as best as possible, and we can finally access all of them. Now we can figure out what we’re missing.”

“Well done, Even,” Ienzo commended. “While we’re figuring out what Maleficent and her new allies are up to, how about we uncover some other secrets?”

“What are you suggesting?” Even asked.

“You know what I want to know. Braig knows things about the Organization’s plan that we have been locked out of the loop on. Even Saïx… Isa… he didn’t know. Xemnas kept things from us. For ten years he had been manipulating us. I want to know why.”

Even nodded. “I do not like when people keep things from me. I end up feeling as though my vast intellect is wasted on falsehoods, questioning if my confidence in my brilliance is misplaced. It makes me feel like…”

“A tool?” Ienzo finished. “A trinket to be thrown away once its use has been dealt with?”

“Yes!” Even brought his fists down on the keyboard. A message box appeared, saying PLEASE DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN. The academic glanced back and forth in embarrassment. “Sorry,” he muttered.

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around that,” Ienzo admitted. He clicked the X to make the message disappear and then began typing into the search bar. “Let’s try something we have heard about and see if we find anything there.”

Aeleus and Dilan appeared from the passage. “Hello, Ienzo, Even,” Aeleus greeted. “Where is Leon?”

“Mister Leonhart returned to the town to oversee construction efforts,” Even answered. “Have you uncovered anything?”

“I’m afraid that we were unable to find any hidden room,” Dilan replied. “There were no hidden doorways.”

“But we believe that there still is a secret room that he has been entering and exiting without using a door, by way of teleportation,” Aeleus added.

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence,” Ienzo said. “We were just in the process of seeking out a hidden room as well.”

As he spoke, he finished typing “chamber of repose” into the search bar and hit ENTER. Only one result came up. Ienzo clicked on it, and a window with a text box opened up.

“Hmm… Only one text box. If I recall correctly, the original password to the DTD server was the names of the seven Princesses of Heart. But this one is for Xehanort only. What could he have made the password to be?” Even wondered.

“Try ‘Another’,” Dilan suggested.

“Pardon?” Even asked, having no idea where that idea came from.

“It is ‘Xehanort’ rearranged but without the ‘X’. It is a worthy guess, considering when we became Nobodies, he rearranged the letters in our names and added an X. It would be easy for him to remember, and it would indicate that it was something that he was keeping from us, by disconnecting it from the pattern of our names. ‘No Heart’ would be to a similar effect but I doubt that spaces are permitted. Along with that, he was obsessed with finding the Chamber of Awakening for years, and this, the Chamber of Repose, is ‘another’ hidden room. It’s worth a try,” Dilan explained.

Even and Ienzo could only stare in amazement, surprised that Dilan worked through such thorough logic so quickly. Even typed it in and hit ENTER. The window changed so that there were now six text boxes. This was not at all mentally taxing to figure out. In each box, not caring for the order but expecting that it was probably the correct one if there was one, he typed the names of Ansem’s six apprentices, in the numerical order of what Even considered to be their rank of authority in the Organization: ‘Xehanort’, ‘Braig’, ‘Dilan’, ‘Even’, ‘Aeleus’, ‘Ienzo’. When he switched to the next text box each time, a line extended from the box and connected to a circle in the middle. After typing in the last name, he hit ENTER. The text boxes and circle disappeared and a message appeared, saying “SYSTEM START”.

Even was confused when nothing seemed to happen. Aeleus looked out the window into the Heartless Manufactory. He saw a shape light up on the floor down below. “Down there,” he said, calling their attention to it.

They all looked out and craned their necks to get a good look. They traded understanding glances.

“Doesn’t that lead to our old secret laboratory where we studied the Heartless?” Ienzo recalled.

“Let us hurry and get down there!” Dilan said. The four researchers ran through the door to the right and entered the elevator. The elevator brought them down to the lower level. When they stepped out, Even stood on the glowing shape. When he did so, a large rectangle briefly lit up on the floor in front of them and two halves of the shape receded, revealing a hidden level beneath the floor. A ramp appeared in front of them, prompting them to descend. Once they had all gone down the ramp, the hidden door closed above them and the ramp vanished behind them. They found themselves on a path that spiraled around a wide circular shaft, going down so far that they could not see the bottom.

“I always hated this walk,” Ienzo quipped, shrugging. They walked, following the path for several minutes until they finally reached the bottom. To their right, they saw a set of double doors, which slid to either side once they stood in front of it.

They entered a white hallway lined with a row of metal cell doors on either side, each one having a diamond-shaped window with iron bars sealing the only view inside. Next to each door was a device with a screen and a keypad, requiring an entry code to open the door. Ienzo grimaced, remembering shamefully how he was the one who persuaded Ansem to construct the laboratory with which to research the darkness in people’s hearts, which Xehanort had repurposed to perform experimentations on innocent people and create Heartless. Even turned his gaze to the floor, not wanting a reminder of how their pursuit of knowledge had caused so much suffering.

At the end of the hall, they finally reached a set of doors decorated with black chain designs. As they drew near, the doors quickly slid apart, opening the way in less than a second.

The circular room was designed in a way very reminiscent of the Castle That Never Was, with sections of the wall and floor cut out to expose pipes. There were chain designs going up and down the wall and across the floor, sometimes connecting to a black version of the Organization XIII sigil. The room was empty save for a white metal armchair with three spires on top.

“Curious. Xigbar told me that, while he had been eavesdropping on Xemnas, he heard him talking to a ‘friend’, even though his was the only voice he heard,” Ienzo mused. “But there is nothing here.”

“Perhaps whatever is in here is meant to appear only when he has taken a seat,” Even suggested. “Notice how the chains are black when they are usually white, as if the mechanics of this room are inactive?”

“In that case, would you do the honors of testing your hypothesis?” Aeleus asked.

Uncertainly, Even stepped in front of the throne and sat down upon the metal seat. Instantly, a circle surrounding the chair lit up in a bright white, and a similarly white light extended from the circle along the chains. A panel against the opposite side of the room vanished, and a platform rose up to take its place.

Everyone gasped when they saw what rested on the platform. They saw a pile of blue armor with some silver, black and purple parts. The armor was dusty, cracked and rusted from disuse. Judging from the shape of various pieces, they guessed that it had been worn by a woman. Next to the helmet, a uniquely-shaped weapon, made with the same color metal as the armor, stood up, the tip embedded into the floor. The general shape seemed reminiscent of a certain other weapon that they were rather familiar with.

“I recognize that armor. Master Ansem, Braig and I found it at the same time and place when we first found Xehanort, in the central square on the day after the storm,” Dilan said.

“So, this is Xehanort’s ‘friend’,” Aeleus muttered. “If so, then who was she? Who was Xehanort?”

“Would Braig know what this was?” Ienzo wondered.

“Well, we are not going to get an answer out of him,” Even asserted. “But this is quite intriguing.”

“We should tell Leon and the others,” Aeleus suggested.

“I believe this would be more suited to Sora and Riku’s inquiry,” Even argued. “For now, we should leave the armor here for safekeeping.”

The other researchers nodded in agreement. Even stood up, deactivating the mechanism and causing the armor to descend back down into its hiding place and become sealed off by the floor panel. They exited through the sliding doors and proceeded back up to the study.

Chapter 35: Chapter 34: The Prelims

Chapter Text

Kairi stood her ground, waiting for her opponent to make a move. Bartz stood in a far corner of the square arena, his hands grasped onto a barrel as he waited for an opening. As he had discovered during their previous trial, their opponent could easily be stunned by a barrel to the head if he were distracted. Otherwise, he hoped to witness his enemy make a move that he could study and mimic in a way that would counter the opponent’s immense strength and also break through the godly yellow aura that rendered him invulnerable. Phil had advised him to not use the tricks he had copied from the other heroes during the previous day’s fight, so he was left with his own sword training and whatever abilities he could hope to glean from Kairi or his foe.

Hercules grunted and ran at Kairi, throwing a punch, which he had gauged so that it would not deal too much harm. Kairi smirked and ducked out of the way. As she did so, she stuck her Keyblade out in front of Hercules’ legs, tripping him.

“Now!” Kairi shouted. Bartz lifted the barrel over his head and threw it at Hercules, hitting him right on the noggin. Having lost focus, Hercules’ godly aura faded, signaling an opening to whale on him.

When Hercules’ head stopped spinning, he swung backward with his arms, throwing Kairi and Bartz off of him. Bartz drew out his dagger and spun around on his heels, moving around like a top as he went straight for Hercules. But the demigod drew his sword and deflected the blade as it drew near, knocking Bartz off-balance. Hercules shoved him across the arena, forcing Kairi to catch him.

“Try this on for size!” Hercules shouted as he jumped into the air, his godly aura reforming around him. Bartz stepped back and let his eyes turn grey. Hercules came down, slamming his fists to the ground as he landed. A wide hemisphere of golden light shot out of him, shattering most of the barrels and causing Bartz and Kairi to tumble backward.

Kairi cast Cura on herself and Bartz and helped him to his feet. Bartz smirked. “You might want to stand back,” he advised. Kairi complied. Bartz ran around the stage, kicking the remaining barrels at Hercules, who blocked them with his arms. But this was all the distraction Bartz needed, as he leapt high into the air, his eyes turning grey and his body emitting a golden glow. Hercules looked up to see what was happening, and gasped in horror as he realized that Bartz was using his own god-powered move against him. He backed away as Bartz came down, but the shockwave and aura blast that exploded outward as the boy slammed into the ground. Although it was not a direct hit, which might not have knocked him out anyway, it was still enough to blast him into the back wall, creating a sizeable dent in the bars closing off the entrance to the hypogeum.

Hercules regained his composure and brought himself back to his feet. He smiled at Bartz’s strategy before charging back into the fray. Kairi, having charged her magic back up, used Aero magic to push back against Hercules’ fists while she ducked out of the way. She cast Gravity, but he powered through the extra gravitational force as if it were nothing. She cast Thunder, but despite the fact that the lightning bolt made a direct hit it had absolutely no effect.

“Oh, sorry. That’s kind of my father’s area of expertise. Doesn’t work on me,” Hercules explained. Kairi hit him with Blizzard, which did have an effect, but not much of one.

Bartz ran in, his hand on his sheathed sword, to try to hit Hercules from behind, but Hercules ran up to Kairi and backhanded her back into Bartz. Both went tumbling down.

“Time!” Phil shouted as the two of them were struggling to their feet. The satyr stepped onto the square arena and addressed Kairi, Bartz and Hercules.

“You guys are fast learners. You recognized that your own skills held no weight against an opponent superior in strength and skill, but you watched and took every opening you could find. And although in the end it looks like you would have lost the fight, you held your own for five minutes against the reigning champ,” Phil commended.

“Not bad,” Sora congratulated, him and the others coming up and giving Kairi and Bartz some Potions.

“You have a lot to show, you two,” Phil continued. “And I know a place where you can test your might. How would you like to sign up for the Preliminary matches?”

Kairi and Bartz shared a confused glance. “What are the Preliminary matches?” Bartz asked.

“I’m glad you asked. You see, before I can properly sign prospective warriors up for the real deal, I’ve got to see if they have what it takes to go up against a wide variety of competitors. When Sora, Donald and Goofy came in the first time, I put them through my training course to see what they could do, and then I signed them up for the prelims. The seven-seed run tests the mettle of the fighters, and the audience and I judge who has what it takes to get into the actual tournament. Usually, it’s the last two or four groups, unless, in the case of some groups being Heartless, they don’t live to the end of the match. But since this is the entry course, that only happens to the Heartless. So, what do you think?”

Kairi and Bartz traded another glance, this time a confident one. “We’re in,” they said in unison. Sora pumped his fist in the air and Mickey, Donald and Goofy chuckled.

“Great. Say, how ‘bout another guy joins you? That way you have a party of three,” Phil suggested.

Kairi and Bartz looked around at their friends for a moment, considering who to invite onto their team. But it was Sora who spoke up with an idea.

“Riku, how about you join them?” he asked his best friend. “You can get more experience with working in a team, and you also have more skills to practice with than any of us save for Kairi.”

Riku smiled and shrugged modestly. “Okay, why not?” he replied. He raised his eyebrow at Kairi and Bartz.

“I’m game if you are,” Bartz said.

“Welcome aboard,” Kairi saluted.

“Ha-ha! That’s the spirit!” Phil cheered. “I’ll get it all set up. There aren’t really that many guys flocking in to sign up, but I guess we can let the Heartless be placeholders. Whatever makes you stronger and keeps the crowd entertained, I guess.” He turned around and walked off to the vestibule. “The matches start in the morning!” he called back.

The group laughed together and playfully showed off their moves. “So, anyone know a good place to spend the night?” Bartz asked.

“Actually, there is this inn we stayed at when we were in the Hades Cup. It was fifty seeds, so it went on for a few days. I’m sure the innkeeper will be glad to see us again,” Sora said.

“Well then, let’s go book some rooms for the night,” Riku affirmed. The others agreed, and they exited the Coliseum and headed into town.

As it turns out the townsfolk were very happy to see Sora, Donald and Goofy again. Not only were they famous as champions in the Coliseum, but they were hailed as heroes who helped out Hercules and even saved the town from Cerberus and the Hydra, and more recently, Nessus the centaur. The trio’s fans were eager to meet their friends who had come to join them in the Games. Mickey realized that with the crowd that had formed around them as soon as they entered town, Phil was going to have quite the audience turnout in tomorrow’s Prelims and the upcoming tournament.

As they squeezed their way through the crowd and finally reached the inn, they noticed a woman in her mid-twenties leaning against the wall, as if she were waiting for them. She had a thin waist and arms and wide hips, as well as thick brown hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a long pink dress with shoulder straps, orange sandals, and a loose purple sash around her waist.

“Well, look who’s here,” the woman said. “Good to see you again, junior heroes.”

“Hey, Meg,” Sora waved back.

“Junior?” Riku repeated, surprised and confused.

“Hey! We really are ‘true heroes’ now!” Donald retorted.

“Yeah. Didn’t you see the stars? And Phil even called us that yesterday,” Goofy reminded her.

The woman mockingly recoiled as if visibly taking her words back. “My bad. So, you brought some friends with you this time. Hi. Name’s Megara. My friends call me Meg,” she introduced herself to the others.

Sora took it upon himself to introduce his friends. “He’s Riku, she’s Kairi, he’s Mickey, and this guy’s Bartz. Bartz actually came separately, but we ran into each other yesterday,” he explained. Everyone traded pleasantries.

“I take it you saw the Coliseum,” Meg guessed. “Back in business. Really takes a load off my mind.”

“What do you mean?” Mickey asked.

Meg sighed. “If I hadn’t let myself get kidnapped, then Wonder Boy wouldn’t have had to leave the Hydra alone without making sure it was dead. Then it wouldn’t have destroyed the place and killed who knows how many people.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You couldn’t have controlled what happened. That was all on Hades, not you!” Sora consoled. “And Hades had been wearing Herc down with constant monster fights, so something like that would have happened eventually.”

“He’s right,” Riku agreed. “You can’t go blaming yourself.”

Meg sighed and shook her head lightly. “I guess you’re right.”

“So, you’re Hercules’ girlfriend?” Kairi guessed.

Meg looked flustered, then chuckled. “Busted,” she quipped, smirking. “And you’re Sora’s?”

Kairi threw her hands up as if she were caught by police. “You got me!” she replied.

Meg looked her over thoughtfully. “So, I hear you’re signing up for the Games?”

“Prelims first, then Games,” Kairi corrected.

“Well, good luck,” Meg said, before she started to walk away. “I’ll see you around.” With that, she was gone, lost from view in the crowd.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Bartz watched her go, noticing at the same time that the sun was going down.

“We ought to get settled,” Sora said.

At eleven o’clock, the seats were filled with chattering people. Men, women and teens had come to see the seven-stage tournament that would introduce newcomers into the line-up for the Games. Though the Preliminary matches were rarely as exciting as the main Games, they were something to look forward to as they introduced new competitors into the public eye. Those who earned the approval and applause enough to be allowed to compete in the Games were brought to the attention of the plebes, and some, such as the super-strong hero Hercules and the synchronized trio of Sora, Donald and Goofy, and the brooding Cloud had become dark horse contenders among the audience. And with three new competitors, all of whom appear to be friends with Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Hercules, the people were excited to see what they had to show.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Hercules sat in the club seating section in a balcony above the vestibule, watching as Riku, Kairi and Bartz stepped out onto the field. Phil stepped out into the center of the square stage.

“Welcome, all. Today, we introduce some new fighters. Will they make it into the Games? Or will they be ejected in humiliation? Well, I certainly hope you nincompoops didn’t come all this way for such a disappointment. Now, let the matches begin!” Phil shouted, his voice carrying out to everyone in the Coliseum. “For the first matchup in the first seed, we have the newcomers Riku, Kairi and Bartz!”

This was met by an enthusiastic peal of cheers and applause from all around them, particularly in the balcony above.

Phil waited for the cheering to die down before continuing. “And on the other side of the field,” he announced as the bars, which had been replaced or beaten back into shape so they appeared good as new, rose up to open the entrance to the hypogeum, “these little devils call their team ‘Soldier Legion’. Let’s see how their military might stands up, eh?”

Five Soldiers and an Armored Knight stepped out of the shadowed chamber. The Armored Knight brandished its sword. In response, Riku and Kairi summoned their Keyblades and Bartz drew out his sword. The humans and Heartless all stepped onto the stage. Phil looked back and forth from one team to another. He then raised his arm, indicating the beginning of the fight. He then turned and ran past Riku, Kairi and Bartz, heading for the door so as to stay out of the way.

The Armored Knight charged forward and swung its sword at Riku, but he deflected and pushed back, knocking the Heartless off-balance. Two of the Soldiers ran for Kairi and clawed at her, but she deftly dodged their swipes and hit one of them back with her Keyblade. The other one tried to strike at a perceived opening, but Kairi cast Aerora, creating a tornado around herself that lifted the Heartless off of its feet and spun it around her before throwing it away. Bartz defeated a Soldier with a sword strike and closed in on the one Kairi knocked away. He made sure to keep the other Soldier that had been targeting him within his peripheral while he matched his current adversary’s claw swipes with his dagger. When the other Soldier spun on one foot and threw itself in a sideways flip, swinging its other foot at him, Bartz jumped back and let it hit the Heartless that he had just been fighting.

The crowd cheered at his cunning, but he was not done. While the Soldier was delivering the cyclone, Bartz had studied the move with his Mimic ability. When he had backed up a good enough distance, he turned to the side and replicated the move. He vaulted himself in on the Heartless, who were struggling to separate themselves, and struck one in the head with his ankle, sending it tumbling away. As soon as he landed, he brought his sword out and cut through the other Soldier. This was met with even louder cheers.

The Armored Knight backed up, then jumped, and thrust itself toward Riku, pointing its sword for a stab. However, Riku dodged the attack and brought his weapon down on the Heartless’ blade, forcing it to go down and get stuck in the ground. While the Knight struggled to pull its sword out, Riku sliced it in two with his Keyblade, then spun around to obliterate the Soldier behind him.

Kairi delivered several quick strikes to her opponent, ultimately damaging it enough that it could not hold its body together and letting it disintegrate. She turned to the last Heartless, the one that Bartz had knocked away with his Mimicked Cyclone. It was trying to pick itself up and attack Bartz again, but Kairi cast Gravity, pinning it to the ground. With that, she strolled up and stabbed down into it, finishing it off.

The crowd broke into more cheers, rooting as Riku, Kairi and Bartz won the first match. Phil ran out to meet them and address the crowd. He declared the obvious, and led them back into the vestibule to make room for the next set of contestants to duke it out and see who moves on to the next seed.

The tournament continued, though whenever the main team of focus was not on the pitch it was either warriors fighting against the Heartless or Heartless fighting each other. There was one instance where human warriors went up against other human warriors. Whenever a Heartless team won the match against a human team, Hercules had to step in to make sure that the Heartless did not consume their opponents, much to the shadows’ evident frustration.

The second round put Riku, Kairi and Bartz against a team called “Wild Pride”, consisting of two Shadows, two Powerwilds, and two Bouncywilds. The main team got to show off more of their skills, such as by deflecting the Bouncywilds’ slingshot bolts, and Bartz even got to Mimic the attack to get one over on the hairbow-wearing Heartless, conjuring a slingshot with similar ammunition. Riku countered a Powerwild’s fierce attacks with his Dark Shield, and even cut through it with a darkness-infused Keyblade slash at superhuman speed. Whenever the others needed a pick-me-up, Kairi cast Cure. Bartz prevented a Shadow from escaping into the ground by throwing an Aero spell beneath it, lifting it into the air and allowing Kairi to finish it off.

The third round brought in “Spell Squad”, consisting of all of the spell-slinging Heartless that the team had faced thus far, along with a new breed called Violet Waltz, which even Sora and Mickey failed to recognize. However, from the color, Kairi correctly deduced that its specialty was in Gravity magic, and extra g-forces would heal it, so she decided to counter its tricks with a Magnet spell. Riku dispatched the Blue Rhapsodies with a barrage of Dark Fire spells. In the process, Bartz was able to learn and Mimic all of the basic spells. Physical attacks served them well as well, particularly against the Green Requiems, Emerald Blues and Violet Waltzes, and they let their magic recharge and whaled on the enemies whenever they ran out, with Kairi only using one Ether on herself.

The fourth round pitted them against “Shockwave”. This team was made up of two Large Bodies and an Assault Rider. All of their previous opponents were apparently ground-based fighters and Heartless, allowing them to take full advantage of their shockwave-inducing attacks. Since contenders rarely took the time to heal in between matches, particularly not the Heartless that did not have a Green Requiem, the damage dealt by previous opponents who had managed to get around the Large Bodies’ protected fronts allowed for one of them to be vanquished by a single attack from behinds courtesy of Bartz. Fortunately, the Large Bodies’ armor did not defend against magic spells, so Kairi and Bartz took the last one out with Fire and Blizzard magic. Riku then fought against the Assault Rider. While its frontal attacks were a pain, Riku managed to keep it busy and draw enough attention so that Bartz could attack from behind. When it hopped up to create a shockwave, Kairi called down a bolt of lightning, and Riku sent a dark orb that dispersed the lightning to all over the Heartless’ body, frying it.

The fifth round brought in “Death from Above”, consisting of four Aerial Masters and two Yellow Operas. Well-placed Gravity and Magnet spells completely took away what had given them an advantage in previous fights.

By the sixth round, Riku, Kairi and Bartz were the new sensation, to the point where the cheering was so loud that nobody could hear Phil announce the name of the rival team, but those that had paid attention to the matches where the Heartless won knew that they called themselves “Cold Death”, a rather chilling name but a befitting title for two Trick Ghosts and four Blue Rhapsodies. But the audience only cared to see their warriors win, which was exactly what happened.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey met Riku, Kairi and Bartz in the vestibule after their last fight. The V.I.P. audience congratulated the competitors for their skill and performance, though Donald appeared nervous. The court wizard was thinking of the monster that was likely to be their next opponent.

“The duck’s right,” Phil agreed. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s supposedly called a ‘Mistodon’. I have absolutely no idea what that’s supposed to mean.”

“It doesn’t look like a Heartless,” Sora noted. “And it’s pretty powerful. We saw it shred an Assault Rider with a single swipe from its claws.”

“Then I guess we’d better give it our all,” Riku said. Kairi and Bartz nodded in agreement.

“Good luck out there, fellas,” Mickey told them as Phil led them out onto the field.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey returned to their seats on the balcony, their gaze focused on the stage below. Phil stepped into the middle of the stage while Riku, Kairi and Bartz approached the square.

“And now,” Phil shouted for all to hear, “the match you’ve all been waiting for. The final round in the Preliminary tournament. In this corner, we have Riku, Kairi and Bartz! And in this corner, is the menacing Mistodon!”

But rather than the gate opening and the monster stepping out, a plane of air appeared to solidify, then shatter as a hideous monster crawled out. It appeared to be a shambling mass of blue scales, onion-red flesh, red and white feathers, and green fur. It had five scaly green spikes sticking out of its “head”. The “face” consisted of clouds of shadow in which hid roughly a dozen yellow eyes. Rather than feet, six enormous, bony fingers protruded from the base and pulled the body along, letting the tail drag along the ground.

Riku, Kairi and Bartz could feel a strange energy in the air, apparently emanating from the monster. Riku sniffed, then shook his head.

“Uh, what’s that mean?” Bartz asked.

“It means it’s not a being of darkness,” Kairi answered, worrying that they were facing something beyond their frame of reference.

Behind the gate to the hypogeum, Hades and Kuja watched with anticipation. “Hoo, boy. This is going to be a doozy of a fight,” Hades said with an evil grin. “You save any of that popcorn?”

“No,” Kuja answered. Hades growled, causing Kuja to smirk.

Phil raised his arm, signaling the moment in which the match would commence. Riku, Kairi and Bartz brandished their weapons. A hush fell over the audience, as everyone wanted to see what would happen. Phil ran back to the door to watch the event from afar.

With a terrifying pace, the Mistodon scurried forward. Kairi and Bartz dove out of the way, but Riku stayed behind. He stabbed his Keyblade into the ground, the weapon wrapped in a dark energy. As soon as the blade sunk into the stone, a pillar of dark flame shot up from directly beneath the monster. It was pushed into the air, but it did not go far and landed soon after. Instantly concerned by the durability behind the creature, Riku ran to the side. Fortunately, this trick had managed to disrupt it enough that it paused for a moment to figure out how to walk again.

It scurried right at Bartz, who dodged out of the way at the last moment, but it spun on its fingernails rapidly, hitting Bartz with its tail and smashing him into the wall beneath the audience stands. Bartz conjured the Way to the Dawn and repeated Riku’s trick, but this time jabbing at the edge between the ground and the wall, creating a pillar of dark flame that launched it several feet away. While it was regaining its mobility, Kairi struck down on one of the fingers, slicing a gash into it. Riku launched a Dark Fire blast into its “face”, which caused it to recoil. Kairi immediately jumped up to take advantage of this moment of vulnerability, leaping into the air and thrusting her Keyblade into the Mistodon’s face. She pulled back out and cast Fire in the same spot. When she landed, she and the others prepared to launch another attack, but they suddenly felt a strange disorientation, the strange energy that they had felt when the monster appeared being increased exponentially. This gave it time to recover and scurry backward, before going right back to charging at Riku and Kairi.

Phil clambered into the stands to get away from the monster attack. Kairi ran out of the way while Riku ran up the wall and leapt off and over the monster, swinging his blade at the spikes on top of its “head”. He managed to chop off the top part of the center spike, but the monster did not seem to react to the amputation. One of the beast’s fingers scraped Kairi’s leg, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground. Before the Mistodon could think to bear down on her in her weak state, Bartz jumped in, spinning a copy of the Assault Rider’s staff fast and hard enough to cut off two of the monster’s head spikes. It turned to face him, but Bartz thrust the head of the staff into its face.

Free to act without threat of harm, Kairi cast Cura on herself. The green light washed over her, filling her with an energizing warmth and closing up the cut on her leg. However, her moment of tranquility was cut short when she heard a terrible squeal coming from the Mistodon. She turned and saw that three of its fingers had shriveled up as bright tumors exploded from various parts including the joints, causing the fingers to crumple up.

While disturbed by the sight and curious by the incident, Kairi quickly realized that this had limited its mobility, and it was open to attack. “Boys, now!” she called out before downing an Ether.

Taking the hint, Riku and Bartz both stabbed their version of Way to the Dawn into the ground, creating an even stronger dark burst, which Kairi boosted with an Aerora spell, sending the Mistodon high into the air.

“Watch and learn, Bartz!” Riku called out. His aura turned purple and he began to float above the ground, his arms outstretched. A dark energy emanated from his body, depleting the ambient light. “Welcome, oblivion,” he muttered as soon as he was at the same height as the Mistodon.

Then, faster than anyone could realize it, he dashed right through the Mistodon. He teleported to a different point and shot through it again, wrapped in a powerful dark aura. This repeated eight more times, dealing painful-looking damage to the monster, before Riku at last appeared above it. “It’s over!” he shouted right before dropping straight through the creature, driving right through and striking the ground with a shockwave that shot rows of dark energy in all directions.

Bartz wasted no time in repeating the process. The barrage of dark cuts was just as brutal as before, even though they were not as strong as Riku’s. The audience stared in awe as the vicious attack cut pieces out of the Mistodon and bludgeoned it to a pulp. When Bartz finished the attack, the Mistodon crashed to the ground, slain, and disintegrated into fog.

The crowd cheered, enthusiastically applauding the trio. Sora, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Hercules traded high-fives. Down in the pitch, Phil climbed back down to the ground and led Riku, Kairi and Bartz onto the stage. The three fighters took in all the applause they were receiving.

Hades was fuming. “Are you kidding me, Pretty Boy? You promised me something that would crush them! But it hardly gave them trouble at all!” he complained.

Kuja smiled and brushed his hair back. “Calm down, my flaming friend. There’s more where that came from, I assure you. I simply wanted to see if they were worth the trouble for my Mistodon creations,” he told him. Hades raised an eyebrow at this.

“Bah! I can’t watch any more of this,” the god grumbled before he vanished in a puff of smoke. Kuja conjured a Corridor of Darkness behind him and backed through, not taking his eyes from the winners of the Prelims until he was enveloped in darkness.

When the cheering finally died down, Phil addressed the crowd. “Now, wasn’t that a show?” he asked. This was met with more cheering. “Give it up for Riku, Kairi and Bartz, our new Coliseum contenders!” He turned around to face the three fighters. “You’ll all be back for the next Games, right?” he asked.

They nodded. “Wouldn’t miss it,” Riku answered. “And I’m sure Sora, Donald and Goofy will be happy to join, too.”

“That’s great to hear,” Phil said. He looked back up to the audience. “Thank you all for coming, and thanks for your support. Be sure to come back here for the first tournament of the re-opening season, the Phil Cup! Stay tuned!”

The uproarious cheers resounded around the Coliseum. Kairi and Bartz waved to the crowd, with Riku resisting but joining in within moments. They looked up to the balcony and saw their friends applauding them as well. This made them smile even wider than before. Phil soon led them back into the vestibule, which signaled the audience to begin filing out of the arena. The V.I.P. guests went downstairs and met their friends in the vestibule. When they met, Sora, Donald and Goofy could not contain their excitement.

“That was awesome! You were like, BAM! Then again, BAM!”

“Then you went up and whoa! Then SLASH!”

“Then you went and did that spinning-thing, then POW!”

“And man, that darkness rush attack. That still haunts me from when Ansem did it, but you did it back-to-back and it was epic!”

“You did great!”

“Nice work out there, pals!”

Megara, who had been standing in the back corner next to the door, chuckled. “Not bad, you three,” she commended.

Kairi giggled. “Why, thank you,” she replied.

“We did our best,” Riku said modestly.

“That Mistodon thing really was something, right? My dad’s seen a lot of monsters, but he never mentioned anything like that,” Bartz said, thinking back to the nature of the fight. “And you’re right, it was nothing like the Heartless.”

“Maybe one of Hades’ new allies loaned it to him,” Mickey guessed. “If so, then this guy must have access to a power we’ve never seen before.”

“So, what do you mean, ‘new allies’?” Hercules asked. “I know you mentioned that Hades was part of a new evil alliance, but who are they? What are they after?”

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy turned to Hercules. Bartz simply looked confused, as he had forgotten that Sora had said such a thing due to it having no relevance to him.

“Well, someone teamed up with our old enemies Maleficent and Pete. You remember Pete,” Sora explained. “And they recruited a bunch of other bad guys, one of them being Hades. We don’t know who the others are, though one of them claimed to be a god from ‘Asgard’. Anyway, from what we understand, they’re after a bunch of artifacts, one on each world, and if they get them all together, somehow they’ll …” He trailed off and decided that Phil and Bartz are better off not hearing the last part. He inched in closer to Hercules and whispered into his ear. “They’ll have the power to change reality.”

Hercules’ eyes widened in shock at this. He thought over what he was saying for a moment. “Well, I haven’t heard of anything like that. But I’m sure my father, Zeus, would know. I’ll ask him when I get the chance,” he told Sora. Sora nodded in thanks.

“Well, I guess we’ll be seeing you at the Phil Cup,” Phil guessed.

“I suppose so,” Sora said. “We’ve got quite a mission ahead.”

“Well, I know whatever it is, you can handle it,” Hercules assured them. “In the meantime, we have someone to start training. Isn’t that right, Bartz?”

Bartz’s eyes lit up. “Yes, sir! Glad to be on board,” he said enthusiastically.

“Good luck out there, heroes,” Meg said. She locked eyes with Kairi. “You keep him out of trouble, understand?”

Kairi nodded. “Don’t worry. I will.”

“You gonna take the Safe Point?” Phil asked, gesturing to the swirling circle of green light surrounding Meg’s feet.

Meg raised an eyebrow, confused, but then she realized where she was standing. “Oh, my bad. Didn’t realize this was here.” She stepped out of the circle and moved to the other corner.

Hercules nudged Bartz with his elbow. “Check this out,” he told him with a knowing look in his eye.

Mickey stepped into the Safe Point, with the rest of the party standing around him. He took out his device and sent a signal up to the Gummi Ship. A pillar of green light enveloped them and carried them away. Bartz stared, mouth agape.

“Alright, chump, quit staring! We’ve got to set some regulations for the training,” Phil barked, snapping Bartz out of his shock and making him stand at attention.

Chapter 36: Chapter 35: Suspicions

Chapter Text

Zeromast climbed a ladder leaned against the wall in a tall, circular room. He ascended until he was next to an alcove marked with a placard labeled “LA CITÉ DES CLOCHES”. Several of the alcoves in the storage room were fitted with similar placards, marking the worlds where the items were retrieved. The scholar placed a crossbearer’s staff, condensed by magic to fit without difficulty, into the slot in the alcove, then climbed down. He stepped off of the ladder and found himself standing next to Maleficent.

“Well, it took more attempts than I would have liked and a few lessons in discretion, but this one is in our possession,” Zeromast told her.

“Yes. Who would have imagined that sending the Horned King into a church would cause such an uproar,” Maleficent said dryly. She looked up at the small collection they had thus far gathered. Five of the artifacts were in their possession, including the Mysidian Crystal that Zeromast had been watching over. They had yet a long way to go.

Diablo placed the stall post from Pearl Gesner’s barn in another slot, then flapped down until he was standing once again on Maleficent’s shoulder. He glared up at the empty spaces in the wall, disappointed that they were making what appeared to be good progress but actually had barely scratched the surface. He glanced at Zeromast. The enigmatic scholar’s stoicism annoyed him, as he was never able to get a read on him, and for an animal who had the purpose of spying on enemies that was the ultimate torture. He remembered when his mistress only had to collect seven girls and had been invading other worlds in the meantime. He knew that he ought to be patient, even with the minions he was forced to work with to get what Maleficent wanted, but he was starting to get irritated that they had to collect so many objects, each step seeming to come ever closer but actually not by too much, before he would even get an idea what they were for. But, alas, he was a mere familiar, a constant companion and enforcer of discipline but lacking in power to influence decisions or force inquiry.

“I can tell that you have a question,” Zeromast said aloud, without making eye contact. For a moment, the raven feared that he could read his thoughts, until Maleficent answered.

“How is it that you know about the whereabouts of these artifacts?” the fairy asked, also avoiding any attempt at eye contact.

Zeromast waited a moment before answering. “The same way that I know about all of you, and how I know everything that has happened before this endeavor began,” he said cryptically. “Your exploits are quite well explored. I know these things by studying the history of all. And I have an innate curiosity and a keen mind for the little details, ‘Horn girl’.”

Maleficent’s eyes widened in surprise. Although her memory of that age did not concern her in the slightest, it struck a nerve in that he knew so much about her past, particularly a detail that minor. It angered her that he would know everything about her but she knew absolutely nothing about him. She could not be sure what he was hoping to get out of the arrangement, and she knew that if she tried to get him to tell he would only dodge the question.

She was left to wonder what was going on in Zeromast’s mind while being forced to rely on him for intel on the other artifacts.

Above the storage room, in the chamber which had been unofficially made into the meeting room for the assortment of evildoers, a number of the villains were taking advantage of some downtime. Doctor Facilier assisted the Horned King in conducting a ritual to convene with what the lich claimed to be “demons”. Doug bided his time mixing chemicals. Loki walked by and, while Doug was looking away enough for the trickster god to be outside of his peripheral vision, in a single fluid motion, switched two bottles. Moments later, Doug grabbed one of the bottles and mixed some of its contents into a beaker containing an amount of another chemical. Doug stopped pouring and mixing when the solution began to release steam when it should have been an endothermic reaction, and stumbled backward when the solution crystallized and started bursting in sparks. Incensed at the tampering and Loki’s snickers, Doug grabbed a nearby knife and ran at the trickster with it, but Loki simply teleported out of the way.

Hämsterviel was studying the screen of a handheld computer device, clearly frustrated, while Pete looked over his shoulder nervously.

“Nothing! Merely simple details on the Crystal and theories on its nature. There is nothing in any of these files concerning Zeromast!” Hämsterviel complained.

“Well, like the guy said, the only information Ansem had to connect the Crystal to him is his old man telling him not to get more info on it,” Pete reminded him.

“That does not change the fact that we know nothing about this man. How does he know so much about all of us? I am not even from this pathetic stink-hole of a World yet he knew who I was. What are his intentions, even? I do not like when there is something that escapes my knowledge, particularly variables which I cannot control.”

“Yeah, I don’t trust him either,” Pete agreed. “But we’ve got a long way to go before we get what we’re after. I’m sure we’ll figure something out eventually.” However, this clearly did nothing to placate the arrogant gerbil, whose red eyes tightened in anger.

Doctor Facilier slinked over to the duo, having concluded his business with the Horned King. “Have you ever considered that perhaps there are more ways to gain knowledge than from your ‘computers’?” he asked, enunciating the last word due to not really understanding the system.

“What do you mean?” Pete asked, confused.

The Shadow Man grinned. “Well, the man is a scholar,” he said. “And, at least where I’m from, scholars use a different way to find the information they desire. He lives in the castle; there is a library in the castle. Perhaps try some of the books. You might find something of interest.”

Pete and Hämsterviel thought it over. “You sure he’d have an autobiography sitting on a shelf where anyone can read?” Pete countered.

“Perhaps not something so easy. But you never know what you could find. It could be enlightening,” Facilier suggested, pulling a book from behind him and opened it to a seemingly-random page. The title on the cover read Poetic Edda. “Let’s see… ‘Speak now, Eldir, for not one step farther shalt thou fare; what ale-talk here do they have within, the sons of the glorious gods?’ Eldir spake: ‘Of their weapons they talk, and their might in war, the sons of the glorious gods; from the gods and elves who are gathered here no friend in words shalt thou find.’ Loki spake: ‘In shall I go into Aegir’s hall, for the feast I fain would see’—”

His excerpt-reading was interrupted when Loki materialized next to him and yanked the book out of his hand. “Petty ramble of those who did not know what they were talking about,” the Asgardian commented before throwing the book out of the window.

Pete scratched his chin thoughtfully. “You know, you may be right. We’ll just hafta search the library whenever we can. And if we can’t find anything there, well, nobody can hide things forever,” he said.

“And if he attempts to prevent us from prying…?” Hämsterviel wondered.

“Gyah hah ha!” Pete laughed. “Like Maleficent said before, he can’t just get rid of us; he needs us for this as much as we need him. He’s just gonna have to put up with it.”

Satisfied, Hämsterviel opened another program on his device and began to hack into the castle’s computer network to develop a plan for when and how to sneak into the library to begin their investigation.

Chapter 37: Chapter 36: The Cursed Prince

Chapter Text

The next world that the Gummi Ship arrived at appeared to have a prominent Gothic castle, separated from a provincial town by a dark forest. Sora, Donald and Goofy smiled on seeing this world, as it was one that they knew quite well.

Kairi noticed this. “So, who’s the master of this house?” she asked.

“The Beast,” Sora answered.

This confused Riku and Kairi, but they felt that he was sure this ‘Beast’ was someone they would be familiar with. Then, Kairi remembered something. “Was he the hairy animal guy who covered our escape from Hollow Bastion?” she asked, remembering the noble monster who fended off the Heartless to allow her, Sora, Donald, and Goofy to flee the flood of darkness.

“That’s him,” Sora answered. Mickey selected the DISEMBARK command. Everyone climbed out of their chairs and walked over to the circle of light.

Riku quickly remembered something as well. “Hold on… When you first got there, he was there demanding that I return someone named ‘Belle’, one of the Princesses, I presume, to him. Oh, man. He is not going to be happy to see me…”

They beamed down and appeared in a parlor with a lit fireplace. They stepped out through an already-open door and into the vast entrance hall. Riku, Kairi and Mickey stared in wonder at the architecture, which had an elegant but haunting feel.

“So, where do you think we’ll find him?” Mickey asked.

“Well, if they’re doing their own thing, Beast would probably be in his room in the West Wing and Belle would be in the East Wing,” Goofy explained. “Together, they could be in the ballroom or the dining room, though I don’t know where the dining room is... Hmm…”

“We could just ask them,” Donald interjected, pointing toward the stairs.

“Who?” Kairi asked.

“Them,” Donald repeated. His companions squinted as they looked in the direction he was pointing. Two small white items hopped from one stair to the next. As they drew closer, the party could identify them as a teapot and a teacup.

“What in the world?” Riku wondered, utterly bemused at the sight.

“They were human,” Sora explained. “An enchantress cursed the prince for his selfishness and turned him into the Beast while turning the servants into appliances and ornaments. There’s a wardrobe with a face and a talking clock. Those two over there are Mrs. Potts and her son Chip.”

Riku and Kairi simply looked at each other, simultaneously mouthing Wow. Sora smiled to himself as he saw their reaction. He remembered his utter surprise when he first met the cursed servants; he was only able to wrap his head around it once he learned how they came to be that way.

He walked over to the teapot and teacup. “Hey, there,” he greeted.

Mrs. Potts and Chip turned to see where the familiar voice came from. “Hi, Sora!” Chip greeted back cheerfully.

“My, it’s nice to see you, Sora,” Mrs. Potts said. Sora crouched when he reached the two. Donald, Goofy, Mickey, Riku, and Kairi joined him seconds later. “Oh, and who are these dears?” she asked.

“Well, you know Donald and Goofy. And these are our friends, Riku, Kairi, and K—Mickey,” Sora introduced them, gesturing to each one as he said their names.

“Gosh, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Mickey said politely, holding his hand out. He pulled it back awkwardly when he remembered that they lacked the hands with which to shake.

Chip giggled at this. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” he said.

“How are things here?” Goofy asked.

“Quite well, thank you. The master’s behavior is certainly turning for the better, and he and Belle are growing closer by the day,” Mrs. Potts explained.

“Hey, that’s great! Where can we find them?” Sora asked.

“Well, the master is showing Belle around the library,” Mrs. Potts explained. “He decided to give it to her just yesterday.”

“Oh, that’s so romantic,” Kairi commented. Donald and Goofy chuckled.

“Yes, it certainly is,” Mrs. Potts agreed. “How about we take you there? I’m sure that they would be delighted to see you!”

Sora grinned. “That would be great!” he told them. Riku still looked somewhat nervous.

“Follow us, then!” Chip ordered. The sentient pieces of chinaware turned and hopped up the stairs. Sora grinned back at his friends and the party began following their guides.

The six visitors followed their guides through a door into a vast room. They all marveled at the size and contents, as the room was lined wall-to-wall with tall and vast shelves filled with books. There were even spiraling staircases all over the place leading up to another level to access even more books. To the left, there was a desk with a row of books lined up between bookends and a cup of ink with a writing quill. To the right, there was a globe set on a stand where it could be rotated to see the whole representation of the World. Mickey found this to be curious, as, while he had a similar globe in his castle, the layout of the worlds did not fit the globe format. Perhaps the globes remained from before the worlds became divided. Against the back wall, the endless bookcases were separated by two tall, thin windows with green curtains as well as a fireplace mantel that was nearly half the height of the room.

Two figures stood in between the two chairs in front of the fireplace. One was a slender brunette woman with hazel eyes. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail with a blue ribbon. She wore a medium-length sleeveless blue dress with a white long-sleeved button-up shirt underneath, a white apron on her waist, and brown ballet flats. The other one was a hulking creature whose body was covered in brown fur. He had the head shape and horns of a buffalo, the arms and body of a bear, the jaws and mane of a lion, legs and tail of a wolf, and the tusks of a wild boar. The only part of him that looked at all human-like were his blue eyes. He wore dark gray breeches, a white undershirt, and a purple cape with a golden circular clasp. He stood upright rather than hunched over as he had before, giving the appearance of being more refined than animalistic.

Belle stood next to the Beast, the bookworm holding a book open so that both she and the cursed prince could read. She read the words aloud, slowly, but at certain intervals he joined in, as if she were helping him learn, or relearn. A mantel clock and a candelabra with a golden body and three wax candles stood on a nearby staircase, watching them bond over their reading. The candelabra looked up for a moment and grinned with surprise, the lip of the center candle holder which made up his lower lip curling upward around the sides.

“Look, mon ami, what a splendid sight,” the candelabra, Lumière, whispered, nudging the clock, Cogsworth, with his “arm”.

“I can see it, Lumière. I can see the petals of romance blossoming,” Cogsworth retorted, annoyed. The candelabra pointed his candle “hand” in the direction that he was referring to, so Cogsworth looked in that direction. He smiled when he saw who had arrived. “Oh, this is a wondrous turn of events!”

Beast and Belle heard them talking and turned around to see what they were talking about. They each broke into a smile when they recognized Sora, Donald and Goofy. “Sora, Donald, Goofy, it’s so good to see you,” Belle greeted them warmly. Beast nodded in agreement. However, his expression turned sour when he saw a familiar head of silver hair.

“You!” he snarled. Angrily, he charged at Riku and swiped at him, forcing him and his friends to scatter. “Have you come to take everything away from me again? You and the Heartless are not welcome here!”

“Beast, wait!” Sora tried to reason with him, but the Beast would not hear reason. Not wanting any collateral damage in the library, they ran out into the hallway, where the Beast pursued them. He nearly took Riku’s head off with a swipe, but Riku teleported out of reach, landing right next to Kairi.

“So, what happened between you two?” Kairi asked.

Riku scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Well, when he tried to fight me to try to rescue Belle, I sort of… stabbed him,” he admitted.

“I guess he never found out that you’re not a bad guy anymore,” Mickey said. He gasped when he saw Beast barreling toward them, and he and Kairi dove out of the way, though Riku was not fast enough. Beast grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against the wall.

“I’m sorry,” Riku croaked. But Beast did not seem to hear him; he only began to tighten his grip. However, his hold on him broke when he felt a blunt force hit him in the back.

Beast whirled around and glared at Sora, who was holding his Keyblade in a battle-ready stance, though his face indicated that he did not want to fight. “What are you doing? He hurt you too!” Beast reminded him.

“He’s my friend! And he’s not like that anymore!” Sora countered.

Beast roared. Sora sighed and rolled his eyes. He knew that once he got worked up, it was not easy to calm him down. He nodded toward Donald and Goofy.

Goofy kicked his shield under Beast’s feet, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. Donald cast Graviga, holding Beast to the floor. Beast struggled in an attempt to bring himself to his feet, but Mickey and Kairi cast their own Gravity spells.

Riku drank a Potion and stood back up. Cogsworth ran up until he was standing face-to-face with Beast. “Master, please! Compose yourself,” he pleaded, soothingly. Sora and Riku crouched in front of Beast, having dismissed their weapons and making sure their body language indicated that they had no desire to fight.

“Riku’s on the right side now,” Sora explained. “He saw the error of his ways and helped us stop the Heartless from flooding the worlds. He’s been fighting his own inner darkness and now he’s helping to protect the worlds. He’s not an enemy anymore.”

Beast finally relaxed on hearing his words. He looked at Riku suspiciously, as if wanting to make sure that what Sora had said was true. He saw the sincerity in Riku’s eyes, and nodded himself. Donald, Mickey and Kairi lifted their Gravity spells so Beast could stand up.

“I’m… sorry. I should have heard you out. I have been trying to keep my temper in check,” Beast said nervously.

“Well, your anger wasn’t exactly unjustified,” Riku said, shrugging. “I’m sorry I stabbed you.”

“You what?” Belle asked, shocked.

Riku chuckled nervously. “He healed,” he joked.

“Too soon,” Sora whispered, his mind heading back to the events in the Kingdom of Corona.

Kairi walked up to greet Belle. “You must be Belle. I’m Kairi,” she said.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry we didn’t get the chance to meet back at Hollow Bastion,” Belle lamented. “But I’m glad you managed to get to safety before the darkness began to flood out.”

Beast noticed Mickey and politely bowed before him. “It is an honor to meet again, your Majesty,” he said respectfully.

“Gosh, there’s no need for that. We’re both royalty. And I’m the one visiting your castle. You can just call me Mickey,” the mouse king held out his hand to shake.

“Huh?” Beast gasped in confusion, before standing up and shaking Mickey’s hand. “Very well, Mickey.”

“I mean, it wouldn’t really be right if you called me ‘your Majesty’ and I just called you ‘Beast’, especially since I don’t know your actual name,” Mickey added.

Sora blinked, realizing that he never even considered finding out Beast’s real name. He looked over to Belle, who simply shrugged in embarrassment.

Beast hesitated, struggling with his memories of his human persona, who one could say was more beastly than he was now. “Adam. My name is… Adam,” he finally responded.

Mickey smiled. “Well, it is nice to meet once again, Prince Adam.”

“So, Sora, how did your quarrel with Xaldin’s Organization conduct?” Cogsworth asked, turning back to Sora.

“We beat the Organization and released the hearts they had gathered,” Sora recounted. “Leon and the gang are investigating to see if there are still any remnants of their plans, but right now we’re looking into something else.”

“Oh? And what pray tell is that?” Mrs. Potts inquired. She, Chip and Lumière had joined the group in the conversation.

“Well, first off, Maleficent’s back,” Sora began. Beast and Belle flinched in surprise. “She’s actually been back for several months, but for a while the Organization and the Nobodies were more of a priority. But now, she and several other villains have banded together, Maleficent’s regained control of the Heartless, and they’re up to some serious trouble now.”

Beast paused for a moment, thinking of what he had just been told. Belle sighed and held her head in one hand, apparently having trouble taking in the fact that the witch who had taken her captive and allowed her heart to be removed from her body was alive once again.

“Actually, things have been quiet lately,” Beast told Sora. “The Heartless have stopped coming here shortly after Xaldin was slain. There are no other monsters here.”

Belle swooned, losing her footing and falling, but Kairi caught her. Kairi helped her to her feet, but immediately after began to feel a migraine. Her Keyblade materialized in her hand.

“What’s the matter?” Goofy asked, noticing this.

“There’s something… here… in the castle,” Belle answered faintly. “A… strong darkness.”

Everyone tensed up. Cogsworth screamed when he saw the eyes of a gargoyle statue turn yellow and the head shift. Six statues gained a life of their own and broke off of the floor on which they had been mounted. All six statues had a tall square pedestal for the lower half. The three Gargoyle Knights had the upper bodies of monsters on top of the pedestals. They each had a pair of wings growing out of their backs and square curled horns on their heads, and each one carried a sword. The three Gargoyle Warriors appeared to be wearing heavy armor, though it was all the same stone from which they were carved, and they each carried a double-bladed axe. Clouds of darkness shimmered around the bodies.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mickey saw a glint of metal. He turned to the right and saw a razor-sharp foe charging toward them in a flash.

Chapter 38: Chapter 37: Castle Invaders

Chapter Text

Mickey blocked the sword strike from the Heartless that was dressed in silver and blue armor. A two-foot-long sword extended from each of its wrists, completely replacing its hands. The Zip Slasher swung its other bladed arm at Mickey, but Sora blocked that. Both Keyblade wielders pushed back, throwing the Heartless off-balance. Sora slashed at it and sent it across the hall.

The servants, being ordinary appliances, wisely fled back into the safety of the library. Belle followed them, with Kairi covering them and blocking a strike from a Gargoyle Knight. She stabbed at the chest and managed to make a crack that was an inch deep in the stone. Smirking, she stepped back and cast Blizzard right at its chest. Ice formed in the crack and expanded, creating a wider crack. She dodged a few strikes, though a few managed to connect. She retaliated by stabbing her Keyblade back into the statue’s chest, taking advantage of the enlarged split to make the Keyblade push everything around it apart, blasting it to pieces.

A Gargoyle Warrior spun around, swinging its axe with it as it struck out at Goofy. The canine knight blocked its attack, however, and punched back with his shield. Several punches later, the stone broke apart and collapsed in a pile of rocks. A cloud of black smoke with a red mouth and white eyes floated up and dissipated.

Riku looked up at the vanishing cloud in confusion. Jiminy hopped out of Sora’s pocket and jumped onto Riku’s shoulder. “Possessors. Looks like they’ve mixed in with the enchantment on the castle and gained the power to take command of statues and effigies,” the cricket explained. “Behind you!”

A Gargoyle Knight jumped into the air and dove at Riku, its wings helping it glide somehow and its sword pointed right at him. However, Riku struck the sword with his Keyblade, breaking the tip off and disrupting its aerial balance. It landed on the ground and the Possessor within it poked out, losing its hold on the statue.

“So if I just use the Keyblade’s magic to make the Possessor release its hold…” Riku considered as he pointed his Keyblade at the statue. A white light shot from the weapon into the statue’s chest, and the Possessor was launched out of it. As an effect from the whiplash of dark and light energy, the statue exploded into dust. Riku covered Jiminy with his hand to protect him from the debris.

Beast stood against two Gargoyle Warriors. The animated statues hefted their weapons, but Beast simply brought his hands against the sides of their heads, throwing them into each other and causing them to break into pieces. Donald jumped on Beast’s back and vaulted off of him, much to the latter’s annoyance, and leapt over the third Gargoyle Knight, then cast Fire at it from above. When he landed, he hit it over the head while it was recoiling from the blast, then cast Blizzard, freezing the wings. Mickey joined in and struck it right where the frozen wings met the body, shattering the wings and breaking the body to pieces, forcing the Possessor to flee.

The Zip Slasher returned, performing a lunging slash which Sora blocked. Before the Heartless could counter, Sora struck out at it. It hopped backward and delivered a spinning attack which knocked Sora back. In its brief pause after the attack, Riku teleported behind it and struck out. His attacks caused it to falter, and he followed his attack up with a Fire spell. However, the spell had absolutely no effect, and the Zip Slasher regained its footing and struck back at him.

Beast ran up and grabbed the Heartless from behind before it could hit Riku and lifted it above his head. He spun around and threw it to Mickey, who swatted it in the chest with his Keyblade, knocking it to the ground. It picked itself up and made efforts to block and counterattack strikes from Keyblade wielders on all sides. Eventually, it fell from the barrage of attacks and dissipated into black smoke, releasing a crystal-like heart.

After taking a moment to relax, in which Kairi cast Cure to heal any injuries, Donald and Goofy walked along the hall to check and make sure there were no other possessed statues in the area. They returned and reported that those were the only ones there. By then, Belle, Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and Chip had finally come out of the library to rejoin those who had fought off the Heartless. Jiminy finished writing his dossier on the Zip Slasher and returned to Sora’s pocket.

“Is everyone alright?” Mickey asked. Everyone nodded an affirmative.

Beast, however, was livid. “Heartless? In my castle?! I will show those creatures that they are NOT welcome here!” he shouted.

“So, I guess that if the mid-class ones are the starter pack, someone must have come here and brought them along,” Riku surmised.

“It looks like it,” Sora agreed.

“But where could they be?” Goofy wondered aloud. “This is a big castle. They could be anywhere.”

“Gosh, then I guess we’ll just have to split up,” Mickey suggested. “Sora, Kairi, Belle, you three search the East Wing. Donald, Goofy, you and I will check the courtyard, and—”

“Riku’s with me,” Beast interjected in an affirming tone. Sora, Riku and Mickey looked at him in surprise. “We shall search the West Wing for the intruders.”

After a brief silence, Cogsworth chimed in. “Very well, then. We shall wander the hidden tunnels. The Heartless should be unfamiliar with those crawlspaces,” he said.

“You sure you’ll be alright?” Belle asked.

“But of course. We ought to be beneath the notice of the invaders. If we find them, we will find the nearest group and let you know,” Lumière assured her.

“Okay, then, fellas. Let’s go!” Mickey directed. The groups each went their own way, with Sora and Mickey’s trios heading down one path while Riku, Beast, and the servants went the other way. Sora and Mickey’s groups diverged when they reached the stairwell at the entrance hall; Sora, Kairi and Belle went up the stairs to the opposite end while Mickey, Donald and Goofy went down the stairs and out to the door leading outside.

As they walked through the hall, Goofy realized something. “So, uh, your Majesty, how is it that you know the Beast… er, Prince Adam?”

Mickey stopped, realizing that he had not told of everything he had done during the last year. “Well, it was actually the last time you were here,” he admitted. Donald and Goofy each raised an eyebrow in confusion. “You see, after you guys woke up from your year-long sleep, I took to watching over you, making sure you stayed safe. Whenever you got yourselves into a jam, I was ready to help you out. I didn’t have to directly jump in very often. There was that time I saved you from the Nobodies in Twilight Town, but I was going to give you the Munny and the crystal orb anyway. The most I did aside from that and fighting in the Showdown at Hollow Bastion was when you were fighting Xaldin.

“His berserker rage proved to be too powerful even for you, and you guys barely held on. When he turned his lances into that dragon thing and hit you with the wind blast, you all were knocked into the side of the bridge, and Sora was knocked off. I grabbed him before he fell and threw him back up, but he was hurt pretty bad. You were all barely conscious. I fought Xaldin off and, in between hits, I gathered energy until I could heal you all to full health.

“After you guys beat Xaldin, I stuck around until after you were gone. Before I left, however, Adam stopped me. He saw me helping out during the fight, and wanted to know what I was doing there. So, I explained myself. I told him what I knew about him, how he helped you guys out at Hollow Bastion the year before. We developed a kind of respect for each other.”

Donald and Goofy remained silent for a moment. All that time, the King had been watching over them, and he even saved their lives at least once. “Gawrsh, we had no idea,” Goofy said. “Thanks, your Majesty.” Donald smiled and nodded.

“Just, could you please not tell Sora or Riku about that?” Mickey requested. The duck and dog nodded.

They continued their search, scanning around the hall and searching each room. On one side of the hall there was the parlor in which they landed as well as a lavatory and a kitchen, while on the other side the three doors led into the dining room. There was not a soul in any of the rooms, though they did fight off a few Shadows and Soldiers. Bizarrely, they found a Shadow on the toilet, which they were relieved to find was not also an enchanted servant.

“Well, I guess we ought to check outside,” Mickey decided. They walked through the large double doors, which had opened on their own accord for them. They paused for a moment before proceeding, wondering how far the castle’s enchantment actually went.

They stepped out into a vast courtyard surrounded by high stone walls. On the far wall, Mickey, Donald and Goofy could see an enormous door which they knew would lead out to the bridge from which they could leave the premises of the castle. As they stepped out into the middle of the area, they took notice of gargoyle statues placed around the courtyard. Donald and Goofy were not sure if those statues had been there previously; the first time they had been in the courtyard, they ignored the scenery as they were in a hurry to stop Xaldin from fleeing with the Beast’s rose and Belle, and afterward they were focused more on Beast and Belle sharing a dance.

They scanned the area for anything suspicious, but there was nobody in sight. While Mickey and Donald wondered where the intruders could be, Goofy turned around and looked up at the front face of the castle. “Huh?” he muttered when he saw a strange man dressed in colorful clothing dancing around on the balcony of Beast’s room. Mickey looked up in the same direction as Goofy, but before he could register the sight, he heard Donald shriek in fright.

Mickey and Goofy turned their focus to what had drawn Donald’s attention, Keyblade and shield respectively in hand, and they found themselves surrounded by animated Gargoyle statues.

Riku and Beast crept into the West Hall, which had a much brighter ambient feel than the rest of the castle, with the tan walls and dark red carpets. Riku noticed two rows of knight’s armor in front of him and worried that the setups would be possessed by Heartless and come to life.

Beast saw his concern. “Don’t be afraid of the armor. They wouldn’t stay together if something tried to control them. And besides, they are Cogsworth’s domain, rather than decorations,” he assured Riku. This caused the young man to relax, though he continued to keep an eye out.

They continued down the hallway and turned right into the wide-open room. Farther along the left wall was a green door which led to the undercroft. To the right, there was a wide stairway flanked by two statues of muscular satyrs holding up green columns.

Riku and Beast stopped in front of the stairs, and Riku admired the statues. He looked over at Beast, his guilt of his previous behavior and actions rising up again. “Look, I’m sorry for what I did back at Hollow Bastion,” he said solemnly. “I was trying to protect someone, too. But I let my arrogance and jealousy cloud my judgment and I hurt people, including my best friend… and you. I let my darkness consume me, and allowed a psychopath to possess my body. But Sora continued fighting to save me, and he eventually managed to free my body. Since then, I’ve been fighting my inner darkness, helping Sora from the shadows, but ashamed to let him see my face. I thought he would never forgive me for what I’ve done… I couldn’t even forgive myself. But he did, and he, Kairi, and Mickey encouraged me to do the same.”

Beast nodded. “I know how you felt,” he replied. “As a boy, I was selfish and cold. When the enchantress trapped me in this form, I was ashamed of myself. I threw tantrums, but that settled nothing and gave me no satisfaction. I fell into self-loathing, hating myself for the way I had been and feeling that my new face truly did fit who I was. The condition that the enchantress placed to lift the curse tortured me the most. ‘To love and be loved in return.’ But who could ever learn to love a beast?”

He sighed. “Belle was the only light in the darkness. I acted monstrously to her, but she came to see… something within me that I was sure did not exist. She helped me believe that I could be something more than just a horrible, monstrous beast. And she gave me hope… that I could be human again.”

Riku smiled, feeling a kindred spirit within the enchanted prince. “If it counts, I think that day won’t be far off, Prince Adam,” he assured the Beast.

“Thank you,” Beast said back. He breathed in, then his eyes widened as he smelled something. He sniffed further and his eyes narrowed. “This way!” he told Riku before running up the stairs, turning left to run up another set of stairs, and into the West Wing corridor. Riku quickly followed him.

They ran through the corridor, blasting aside any possessed statues that tried to attack them, and entered the Beast’s room. Riku looked around in surprise. The bedroom was a wreck; furniture was broken and split, wallpaper and sheets were torn and shredded, and books and debris were strewn all over the place. Riku saw a painting of a young prince’s face, but there were enormous claw marks that ripped through the image; he surmised that the Beast had damaged it himself out of shame.

His attention was drawn to the window, where, mounted on a small table, he saw a glass jar containing a glowing rose that floated in midair. The base of the jar was covered in dull petals, which appeared to have lost their magic, and the rose only had a few petals left. As soon as he had taken that in, Riku noticed two flamboyantly-dressed men standing to either side of the rose. One wore a slim suit and a top hat while the other was dressed like a court jester.

“Well, what do we have here? The Magician and the High Priestess,” Doctor Facilier said. “It is an honor to stand before the ruler of this domain.”

“Who are you?” Riku asked sternly, giving the two intruders a fierce glare.

“And what are you doing in my castle?” Beast added, his voice filled with rage.

Kefka Palazzo laughed. “Now, now. Is that any way to treat your guests?” he teased.

“Maybe if you hadn’t broken in and sent Heartless to attack us, we might be a tad bit more receptive,” Riku snarked.

“I suppose so, but would you have accepted our company anyway?” Facilier countered.

Beast growled. Riku scowled. “Depends. Are you with Maleficent and Zeromast?” Riku interrogated.

Facilier shrugged. “I’m impressed. You know who our ally is. Then I suppose that you know what our goals are?”

Kefka clapped to distract him from divulging too much. “Eh, there’s no need to concern him with that. They’re lower than the dirt on the bottom of my boot. Or perhaps the dirt on the bottom of that dirt!” He let out a chortle, one of such distinction that Riku and Beast were both taken aback by the strangeness of it. He turned a sly glance to his left and grabbed the jar containing the enchanted rose. Beast let out a gasp in horror, which transformed into a snarl of rage. “But this is something. I could just suck its magic dry. Oh? Are you fond of it? Yuck! Oh, well. Might as well burn it. No point in keeping it around. It’s not what we’re looking for, anyway.”

Facilier slipped the jar out of his hands and slid it back onto the table. “Now, now. No need for that,” he scolded the clown. “Like you said, what we’re looking for is not here, so let us conduct our business elsewhere. In the meantime, let us leave these two to our friends on the other side.”

“No!” Beast roared, lunging at the two villains, but Doctor Facilier and Kefka vanished through a Corridor of Darkness. Several Heartless materialized around Beast and Riku. The Heartless resembled blue bats, but instead of feet they had red hooks hanging from their bodies.

“Tch,” Riku grunted, summoning his Keyblade as he and Beast stood back-to-back against the Hook Bats.

“So, wait, you traded your freedom for your father’s?” Kairi asked for clarification. Belle had just told her and Sora how she had come to live in the castle.

Belle nodded. “When Beast refused to let him go, I offered to take his place. He agreed. Though at first he left me in the tower, he changed his mind and brought me to a room in the East Wing.” She chuckled. “I think Lumière convinced him to offer me more suitable accommodations.”

“It can’t have been easy,” Kairi commented, amazed at the ordeal she had gone through.

Belle shook her head. “For a while, I was terrified. And I was miserable, since I had signed my life away to save my father. The Beast appeared cold and unforgiving. I didn’t come out of my depression until Cogsworth, Lumière and the others invited me to dinner and put on a show to make me feel welcome. After that… I may have gotten a little confident, and a few days later I asked them to give me a tour of the castle. And later, in spite their warnings and the fact that the Beast had previously told me it was forbidden, I went into the West Wing.”

“So he gave a bookworm an open-world experience of the castle but specifically said ‘don’t go in this one place’ without explanation. Wise,” Kairi joked.

“Specifically his room,” Belle added.

“I see where this is going,” Sora said. “You find the rose, he roars at you and thrashes about, scaring you off. Is that right?”

Belle nodded. “I ran. I fled the castle, not caring what I promised. I climbed onto Philippe and rode into the woods. But then we were cornered by a pack of wolves. That would have been it, but then, he appeared. He fought the wolves to save me, but he got hurt. I was getting ready to get back on Philippe and head home, but…”

“You couldn’t leave him,” Sora finished. “Even after everything he’d done, you couldn’t let him die.”

Belle shook her head. “I brought him back to the castle, and Mrs. Potts helped me nurse him back to health.” She stopped walking and held her hand up, indicating for Sora and Kairi to stop as well. They turned their gaze to the right and realized that they were standing at the door to Belle’s room. They had been so engrossed in Belle’s story that they had not been watching where they were going; in fact, at an earlier part of her tale, Sora had nearly walked into the wall before Kairi reminded him to turn left.

“Well, I suppose I’ll finish that story another time,” Belle said. “Now, if you would follow me…” She opened the door and led Sora and Kairi inside.

Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Nothing was out of place, and there did not appear to be anyone who did not belong. The only other person in the room was the Wardrobe, who was previously the lady-in-waiting before the enchantment was placed.

Sora sighed, disappointed that their search of the East Wing had turned up empty. However, he quickly noticed something off about the Wardrobe. She appeared to be rather sullen, but her eyes held a sense of distress within them.

“Hey, are you alright?” he asked. Kairi and Belle quickly noticed her condition as well and looked at her with concern.

The Wardrobe did not answer, her expression unchanging. Instead, her doors opened up. Sora, Kairi and Belle gasped in shock and horror when they saw that instead of clothing, there were four white creatures hanging from her coatrack. The creatures were of a silvery off-white color with purple lines going down their sides. Their arms and legs narrowed into points. Their mouths appeared to be composed of zippers, and they lacked eyes, ears or noses. Each one had a flat forehead with a peculiar insignia printed on it, one resembling an upside-down white heart with two circles cut out of the sides and a cross-shape attached to the tip. The three of them were all too familiar with those creatures.

“Nobodies?” Sora exclaimed in confusion. Before he could question further, the Dusks slithered out of the Wardrobe and stood on their pointed feet. The Wardrobe gasped and slunk back into the wall next to Belle’s bed.

Sora and Kairi summoned their Keyblades. “Belle, get back!” Sora ordered. Belle nodded and ran to the balcony. The Dusks took long steps toward their quarry, moving as if they had no bone structure whatsoever. They started to slither around Sora and Kairi, preparing for an attack. However, Sora slid his way around to behind the Dusks. They were confused, wondering where he had gone. They shrugged it off and moved toward Kairi. She did the same thing as Sora, and the sudden reversal confused the Nobodies further. Sora and Kairi took advantage of this opening and attacked from behind. Pretty quickly, the Dusks exploded into white and grey flecks.

Sora traded a confused glance with Kairi. “What gives? I thought the Heartless and Nobodies hated each other,” Kairi asked.

Sora shrugged. “And I’m pretty sure that Maleficent isn’t a huge fan of the Nobodies, considering the whole Organization XIII situation.”

Before they could consider the matter further, Kairi’s eyes widened in terror. “Sora… Behind you!” she warned.

Sora was about to turn around and see what she meant when he felt a hand covering his mouth and nose and an arm wrap around his neck. He struggled against his assailant, but his eyes grew as wide as Kairi’s when he saw a Neoshadow rise up behind her and swipe her on the back of the head, causing her to fall to her knees. Sora tried to fight off the Neoshadow holding him, but two more and held his arms down. Due to the Heartless blocking his breathing, Sora’s vision turned fuzzy and he soon lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was one of the Neoshadows picking Kairi up and hoisting her over its shoulder.

Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Shadow Dance

Chapter Text

The Gargoyle Knights and Warriors closed in on Mickey, Donald and Goofy. The king, wizard and knight looked around at their adversaries, who remained still, as if both parties were waiting for the other to make the first move.

Mickey nodded to Donald and Goofy. One of the Gargoyle Knights stabbed at Mickey, but the mouse blocked the stone sword downward with his Keyblade, using it to vault himself into the air. Donald stood close to Goofy and cast Firaga, holding the statues back with a revolving circle of flame. Goofy held his shield up and Mickey bounced off of it, launching himself higher into the air.

“Faith!” he shouted, pointing his Keyblade down. He spun around and emitted a burst of light which released multiple orbs of light that showered upon the possessed statues. This damaged the statues and immobilized them, having countered the Possessors’ influence over them. Donald cast Magnera, pulling the statues up into a vortex that was just above Goofy’s head. Goofy stood in the eye of the storm with the Heartless revolving rapidly around him. He performed a tornado spin attack, spinning in the opposite direction to the Heartless, and broke through the rock with his shield. Before the vortex began to disperse, Goofy ducked out of the way and Mickey dropped down, driving the point of his Keyblade into the center of the spell. This created a blast that emitted radially from the disrupted vortex, shattering the stone into dust and dispersing the Possessors into specks of smoke.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy took a moment to catch their breath. “Everyone alright?” Mickey asked. Donald and Goofy nodded. “So, the intruders aren’t here, but they expected some of us to fall into a trap out here. That means they knew we would split up to cover more ground.” His eyes widened at the realization. “The others are in trouble!”

Goofy pointed up at the window to the Beast’s room. “I saw someone up there,” he informed Mickey.

Donald looked up to where he was pointing and gasped in shock. He saw two Hook Bats fluttering outside of the window, and realized that this could only be because there was not enough room in there for them. “Riku and the Beast are being swarmed!” he announced.

“Then we’d better get up there!” Mickey declared, running over to the west side of the castle. Donald and Goofy followed, running as fast as they could, though neither of them could tell what he intended. Mickey held his left hand out, palm face-down. He then tilted it upward ninety degrees so that his palm was facing the wall. “Graviga!” he invoked. A black-purple energy orb shot out of his hand and hit the castle wall. The surface and the vertical parts of its decorations turned black, though the slanted and curved surfaces retained their normal color, and a purple plane extended from where Mickey’s hand was. The air between the plane and the wall was filled with shimmering purple particles that flitted about. When Mickey, Donald and Goofy stepped through the magic plane, they felt a strange force pulling them to the wall. They were lifted off of their feet, no longer being pulled to the ground, and their bodies turned until their feet were pointed at the wall. They landed feet-first on the wall, feeling as though they had simply jumped from a slightly higher ledge.

“Nice trick,” Donald complimented, looking around to get an understanding of the spell that Mickey had used. Mickey had used a Gravity spell to distort the field of gravity in the localized area to change the direction of the gravitational force, specifically by ensuring that all objects within this area were drawn toward the south wall of the castle, while ensuring that the field ceased at the wall so that nothing beyond, particularly the foundations of the structure, were caught in this modified flow.

Mickey nodded, accepting the compliment, and began running up the wall as easily as if he were running on level ground. Donald and Goofy began to do the same. Donald suspected that Mickey would have been able to scale the building in almost the same way without a specialized Gravity spell, but he chose to account for his comrades following him. As they approached the balcony, Donald wondered if Thunder magic was affected in this field in any way, and decided to experiment on the Hook Bats, which had to their befuddlement found themselves floating sideways. The lightning appeared above the Heartless, appearing to be in front of Donald and his friends, and shot toward the ground. Mickey and Goofy had to frantically run to the side to avoid getting struck by bolts that flashed right past them. Donald chuckled nervously while still running. Of course lightning would not be bound to gravity; electricity would follow a path of conduction, and it would flow through the air or any interfering objects until it inevitably reached into the ground. He figured as such, but he probably should have considered that he and his friends would be in the path of the magic lightning.

Mickey leapt over the balcony ledge and pushed against the railing to vault himself over. He looked into the room and saw Riku and Beast completely surrounded by Hook Bats, and they barely had any room to move. Before he fell into the window, he shot a Pearl spell into the room. The sphere strafed a few Hook Bats and forced all of them to disperse, giving Riku and Beast room to breathe, at which point they started fighting the Heartless. Mickey dropped into the room, and normal gravity took over, dropping him into the ground. He quickly jumped in and joined Riku and Beast in fighting the Heartless. Donald fell in next and shot a few Hook Bats with Blizzard. When they tried to close in on the group and limit their range of motion, Donald cast Aero to scatter and disorient them. Goofy fell in next and threw his shield to destroy two Hook Bats. Between Riku and Mickey’s Keyblade strikes, Beast’s claw swipes, Goofy’s shield, and Mickey and Donald’s magic, it was not long before the Heartless were all gone.

When the fight was over, Mickey, Donald and Goofy turned to Riku and Beast. Beast roared in anger, indignant. Riku was covered in scrapes and cuts. Donald cast Cura on him and Beast.

“What happened?” Mickey asked. Goofy was busy trying to calm Beast down.

“A clown and a witch doctor were here. They’re definitely with Maleficent,” Riku explained. “Whatever they were looking for wasn’t here, and the rose was of no interest to them.”

“We were just ambushed by the Gargoyle statue Heartless things,” Goofy told him.

“By now, Sora, Kairi and Belle must have fallen into a trap as well,” Mickey warned. The mention of Belle in danger reignited Beast’s fury.

Before the Beast could enter another outrage, Cogsworth and Lumière entered. At first they peeked in nervously, but they were relieved to see that whatever danger the group in the room was facing had passed. Everyone turned to meet the servants, eager to receive whatever news they came to bring.

“What is it, Cogsworth?” Beast asked.

“Ahem. I regret to say that Sora and Kairi have been taken captive by the Heartless,” the timepiece majordomo revealed.

This took everyone aback. “WHAT?!” they shouted.

“What about Belle?” Beast asked, worried.

“Alas, we did not see her,” Lumière answered. “We only saw a group of the tall Shadows carrying Sora and Kairi off. I suspect that they are bound for the dungeon.”

“Wak! We’ve got to save them!” Donald said. He started to run for the door, rudely stepping past the clock and candelabra.

“Wait,” Mickey ordered. Donald stopped instantly, his hand only inches from the door. All eyes turned to Mickey, curious to hear what he had to say. “If Sora and Kairi are being taken to the dungeon, that means the Heartless are under orders not to kill them or at least take Sora’s heart, and the clown and witch doctor have no interest in taking them back to the Vale. That means the most they plan to do with them is to get them out of the way of their search and maybe distract us by letting us plan a rescue effort. They will be fine, and I doubt they wouldn’t be able to get out on their own. In the meantime, Belle is still unaccounted for, so it is entirely likely that she avoided capture and is on her own in a castle filled with Heartless. Not to mention, two members of Maleficent’s cabal are roaming around the premises in search of something, leading the Heartless. We need to coordinate our efforts on the infiltrators and thwarting their machinations.”

Riku nodded. “I hate to leave Sora and Kairi in their predicament, but Mickey’s right,” he concurred. “We need to stop these guys and make sure the castle stays safe from the Heartless.”

After a moment, Donald, Goofy and Beast nodded in agreement. “So, uh, where do we look?”

No one answered for several moments. They were thoroughly stumped. Then Cogsworth had an idea. “Well, there are a few places that we have not searched that they might not have been…”

Sora and Kairi struggled against their bonds. The two of them had been shackled by the wrists and the ankles, the manacles holding their limbs together and the chains pulling at them so that they were both stretched to their maximum length. Despite his great strength, the iron was still secure enough and his position was compromising enough that it served no use to him. Neither he nor Kairi were in any position to summon or wield their Keyblades.

Sora sighed in exasperation. “Well, this is a fine mess,” he griped.

Kairi chuckled. “You know, when I imagined going on adventures with you, I did not imagine it would involve this much trouble,” she told him, wiggling her wrists to make the chains jangle.

Sora did his best to shrug. “To be honest, it’s never been this difficult,” he admitted. “I mean, there was this time I had my memories messed with, but I don’t even remember that and I only have secondhand accounts from Lea and Even. But really, I’ve never been prone like this.”

They laughed together for a moment, then fell silent for a minute. It was a boring minute, and they both had trouble keeping their minds off of the uncomfortable feeling of their joints being stretched and the chafing of their wrists and ankles.

“So, now what do we do?” Kairi asked.

Sora thought for a moment. “I don’t know. If Riku and King Mickey didn’t fall into the same trap, they’ll probably figure out pretty soon what happened to us. So, unless they decide to keep looking for the guys who put us here, and one of them probably already met the guy, they’ll be here to rescue us.” He rolled his eyes as he realized something. “And they’re probably doing the first thing since if they are aware of our predicament they probably figured we’d get out of here ourselves.”

Kairi sighed in a more amused tone. “On the bright side, Belle didn’t get caught. If she did, she would be in here with us, or since she’s a Princess of Heart they would have brought her back to their base but that would be unlikely since I’m a Princess of Heart and I’m here.”

Sora chuckled. “Yeah. That’s one bright spot.”

Just then, they heard footsteps from behind the door. Sora tensed up, then remembered that there was nothing he could do, so he relaxed and decided to tense up only if it were actually necessary. He heard a lock mechanism turn, then the doors were pulled open. Sora and Kairi grinned when they saw that their visitor was Belle.

“Sorry, visiting hours start at ten in the morning. Come back tomorrow,” Sora joked.

Belle chuckled. “Are you two alright?” she asked, running up and setting a stool between Sora and Kairi. She stepped onto the stool and began using a key to unlock the manacle around Sora’s wrists.

“We’re fine, thanks,” Sora answered. The mechanism clicked and the manacles opened. He became slightly less fine when, with nothing holding him up, he fell forward and landed on his face. “Ow.”

“Sorry,” Belle said sheepishly. She stepped down and went to free his ankles, but Sora lifted himself onto his hands and knees.

“I’m good.” He rolled over onto his rear end and summoned his Keyblade. He pointed it at the ankle manacles and sent out a beam of white light, which caused the manacles to pop open. He rubbed his wrists and ankles, then stood up. Kairi wisely grabbed onto the chains above her wrists as Sora used the Keyblade to unlock her shackles. She let go and landed neatly on her feet. Sora cast Cure on himself and Kairi.

“What about you? Did the Heartless try to kidnap you?” Kairi asked.

Belle shook her head. “No. I did what you said when the Nobodies came out and hid. The Heartless didn’t see me, but I don’t think they were interested in me anyway,” she replied. “After I left my room to find and rescue you, I guess I got lucky.”

“Well, thanks for the save,” Sora said sincerely. “Now, let’s get back to looking for the intruder. We can take the secret passageway above the basem*nt and search in there.”

Belle raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What secret passageway?” she asked.

For a moment Sora was surprised by the question, but soon understood. “Oh, when we set Cogsworth and the others free and went to talk to the Beast—erm, Adam, the way up the stairs in the hall was blocked, so they led us through a passage above the door leading out of here,” he explained. “Come on. I’ll show you.”

He led Kairi and Belle out of the dungeon and into the main room of the undercroft. He jumped onto the stack of boxes, and Kairi followed suit. They then helped Belle climb up. After that, they stepped up to the ledge that hung over the doorway below. Belle mouthed “Oh” when she saw the door, which was flanked by two suits of armor. Sora opened the door and led Kairi and Belle into the passage.

They entered a large room that wrapped around itself and ascended on a ramp. Belle gaped in amazement, having had no idea such a corridor existed.

“You think the intruders might be in here?” Kairi asked.

“I can sense dark magic,” Belle told them. “But it’s all over the place in here, and I can’t tell where it’s coming from.”

Kairi took a calm breath and extended her senses. “You’re right. I think it’s above us,” she added.

“Is that so? Wait here. I’ll go check on something,” Sora said. He ran up to a wall and jumped, then spun in midair and pushed against the air beneath him to launch himself over the wall, landing on the higher area. He ran over to examine the back wall and saw that while the wall was closed up, the bricks were even.

He returned to the others, this time running around and down the ramp. “The exit’s closed off,” he informed them. “There are some enchanted lanterns above us that have to be lit in order to reveal the trick to opening it. When I was first in here, the lanterns were burning with a dark flame. I’m guessing that the intruder was in here earlier and corrupted the flames with dark magic.”

After taking a moment to process and understand what he said, Kairi nodded. “So, how do we fix it?” she asked.

Sora looked to the right and saw a crank mounted on the wall. “Belle, would you mind turning that crank?” he asked.

Belle saw the crank and went over to it. She tested to see which way it would turn and pulled it ninety degrees counterclockwise. The sound of gears and wheels turning reached them and a series of bowl torches descended from above, each one held up by a chain. The torches burned with an intimidating black flame. Belle felt a light pounding in her head from the dark energy radiating from the cursed blaze.

“When I was with Cogsworth and the others, I mixed the Keyblade’s magic with Mrs. Potts’ water and Lumière’s fire to extinguish the black flames and light normal ones,” Sora explained. “They aren’t with us, but I think we can manage with Princess of Heart magic and some Blizzard and Fire spells. Shall we begin?”

Kairi nodded. She and Sora walked over to the first lantern. Kairi summoned her Keyblade and pointed the tip at the edge of the black flame. She called upon her light, and the flowery tip glowed with a white light. The dark fire flickered away from the tip, as if it were afraid of the light. “Blizzard,” she whispered. The ice magic extinguished the flame.

Sora pointed his Keyblade into the torch. “Fire,” he called out, and the lantern was ignited with a healthy orange-white flame. They repeated the process with the other four lanterns. “Okay, Belle. You can let go now,” he shouted. A few seconds later, he heard wheels turning and the lanterns, now properly lit, were pulled back up out of sight. He looked over to the back wall and, to his satisfaction, saw that there was a single brick poking out of the wall. He nodded to Kairi, letting her know that it had worked. They walked back down and around and met back up with Belle.

“Do you think you can reach out and see where the intruder is now?” Sora asked.

Belle nodded. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply through her nose. She meditated for a few minutes, with Sora and Kairi waiting patiently. A few Soldier Heartless popped up around them, but the Keyblade wielders quickly defeated them.

Soon enough, Belle’s eyes snapped open. “There’s something going on in the ballroom,” she informed her companions.

“The ballroom? Then I suppose you should get over there and join the party,” a voice echoed around them. The shadow of a man in a top hat appeared on the wall behind Belle and leaned his elbow on the shoulder of her shadow. Belle gasped in surprise and backed away. Naturally, her shadow followed, backing away from the mysterious shadow and causing it to stumble forward. Once it regained its balance, the skinny shadow wagged its finger. It then grabbed its stomach and pulled outward, splitting open a Corridor of Darkness. The shadow’s master stepped out. He grabbed Belle’s hand and kissed it, then suddenly yanked it, pulling her toward him, and threw her into the portal. He lifted his hat with an air of politeness, revealing an afro of the exact shape and size to fill up the hat in its entirety. He backed into the portal, which his shadow closed before vanishing into the cracks between bricks.

For a moment, Sora and Kairi simply stared in confusion at what happened, but soon came to their senses. They nodded to each other, realizing that they did not have another moment to lose, and ran back up and around to the back wall. Sora punched the brick that jutted out and it slid into the wall. A section of the wall sank into the floor, revealing a tunnel that led out of the secret passageway. Kairi willed her Keyblade to glow at the tip so as to light their way through the pitch-black tunnel and led the way through.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, they found that it was closed off. Sora rectified this by pressing in another brick, causing the wall to sink into the floor like the previous one. They stepped out and found themselves on the platform halfway up the West Hall stairs. They glanced around the hall and saw some familiar figures walking down the area below, heading out into the rest of the castle.

“Hey, guys!” Sora called out. Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Beast, Cogsworth, and Lumière stopped and turned around when they heard his voice. Sora and Kairi ran down to greet them.

Riku chuckled. “We knew you’d get out of there no problem,” he said confidently.

Sora scratched behind his head. “Actually, we were kinda tied up in there. Thankfully, Belle came back for us,” he admitted.

“Belle? But why isn’t she with you?” Beast asked.

“This shadow guy in a top hat grabbed her,” Kairi told them, to Beast’s horror. “But right before that happened, Belle detected dark energy coming from the ballroom.”

“That had to have been the witch doctor Beast and I saw,” Riku mused. “Belle must have sensed the clown in the ballroom. We need to get over there, fast.”

“Clown? Witch doctor?” Sora asked.

“We have to get to the ballroom and save Belle!” Beast declared. Before anyone could even agree, he ran down the hall. Mickey cast Magnera, pulling him back to them. The spell dispersed as soon as Beast was brought back so he was not forced to spin around a vortex. He turned and growled at Mickey, forcing Donald, Goofy and Kairi to take a step back reflexively.

“We can’t just charge in without a plan,” Mickey advised. “We need to talk things through before we head into a fight with these two.”

“He’s right,” Riku agreed. “We need to know every possible angle to consider.”

Sora nodded. “Okay. So, where do we start?”

Chapter 40: Chapter 39: Ballroom Blitz

Chapter Text

Kefka hummed a tune as he busily tied Belle to the neck of the ornate chandelier. Doctor Facilier had gagged her with a handkerchief, so all she could do was stare in bewilderment and fear at her lunatic captor. Doctor Facilier leaned against the railing at the edge of the balcony on the front end of the room. He watched Kefka at work with a bored expression, though his gaze sometimes shifted to the view of the cloudy sky outside through the windows that lined the back end of the room up to the ceiling.

“We searched all around the place. What are we even supposed to be looking for?” Facilier asked. “Supposedly, it’s in the form of a clock, but we have yet to find anything of the sort with a substantial-enough aura.” He looked over to his shadow on the wall, who simply shrugged. He pulled a small painted voodoo doll out of his pocket and contemplated it. “So, once we catch the Keyblade wielders and their friends in our net, what do we do then?”

“Ha!” Kefka retorted. “Well, then we’ll just have to tear this place to pieces until we find it.” Belle’s eyes widened in terror at Kefka’s comment. The jester saw this and briefly made a scary face to taunt her. He looked back at Facilier, who simply raised an eyebrow and slipped the doll back into his pocket. Kefka saw the door begin to open and studied it with intrigue. When he saw who was on the other side, he gasped and pointed at them.

Sora, Mickey, Kairi, and Goofy ran into the ballroom and gave a quick sweep to find their enemies and captive friend. Goofy was the first to see Kefka and Belle on the chandelier and let out a loud gasp, alerting them to the situation above. Angered, the four of them summoned their weapons.

“Let Belle go!” Sora shouted up to the clown.

Kefka appeared to think about it for a moment, but shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m not really one to take orders,” he spat back.

“Welcome, one and all,” Doctor Facilier called from above. “It is a shame that our communion could not be under warmer circ*mstances, but we have our own business to care for. And you have no business in that.” He flicked his wrist, and the group was surrounded by six Hook Bats, two Lance Soldiers, two Neoshadows, and a Zip Slasher.

Sora and Mickey focused on the Zip Slasher. It blocked their first swings and performed a spinning attack to retaliate. Sora pointed his Keyblade at the floor and cast Blizzard, freezing the surface beneath the spinning Heartless’ feet. Due to the decreased friction, the Zip Slasher traveled faster than it intended, and careened into the Neoshadows, cutting them to ribbons. When it finally stopped itself, Sora leapt at it and slashed at it in the back of the head, putting an end to it.

Kairi cut two of the Hook Bats out of the air. One stopped in midair and let out an ultrasonic scream in her face. She ducked to the side and grabbed the Heartless by the hook while it was immobile and swung it around, using the wider area offered by the wings to swat the other Hook Bats out of the air, stunning them. She then cast Thunder, destroying the Heartless.

Goofy blocked the Lance Soldiers’ attacks even when they were on opposite sides to him. A few jabs struck him, but he was otherwise consistent. He noticed when both lances lost patience and took control, signified by the Soldiers struggling to keep them in place. He waited for the right moment, then dove out of the way. The Soldiers’ free arms were caught in the “mouths” of the others’ lances, and they were tangled up together. The lances thrashed about, trying to get free, but to no avail. Goofy pounded the Heartless with his shield until they were no more.

The door up on the balcony opened up. Oblivious to this, Doctor Facilier took a pair of white-and-purple dolls out of midair and dropped them off of the railing. The dolls expanded into humanoid creatures with what appeared to be a purple and silver bodysuit, arms broken up into alternating silver and purple segments, each arm lined with four blades, and a small cap strapped by bandages with a long cloth hanging down in front of its face. The Nobodies dropped through the ground as if it was not even there. A few seconds later, the heads poked up out of the floor and stared at Sora and Kairi, who were now standing back-to-back.

“Assassin Nobodies,” Sora grumbled. “When they raise their arms up, that’s when they’re about to strike. But it’s also an opening to attack and bring them above ground, so take it. And watch out for when they run at you, because that’s when they will try to explode along with you.”

“Got it,” Kairi affirmed. One of the Nobodies started waving its arms slowly. Kairi brought her Keyblade under one of the spikes and pulled it up, dragging the Assassin out of the ground and throwing it to Mickey, who sliced it in midair. Sora did not get to the other Assassin before it started slashing its arms around while “swimming” toward him, so he was forced to guard against its attacks. When it stopped attacking and rose up out of the ground, it stood there for a second before thrusting a quick punch at him. Sora twisted and leaned backward so that the jab went above his stomach, then swung his Keyblade to hit it in the gut, sending it flying.

It shifted into a diving position and tried to land back in the ground, but Mickey had other ideas. “Zero Gravity!” he shouted, pointing his Keyblade in the direction of the Nobody but at a slightly higher angle. A transparent sphere surrounded the Nobody and its projectile motion stopped, though it began to slowly rotate in the sphere.

“Nice,” Sora complimented. He threw his Keyblade and the Strike Raid cut right through the Assassin. The sphere that had encased it collapsed upon itself when the Nobody disintegrated.

Doctor Facilier frowned, but his attention was drawn from the action below when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and gaped in surprise.

Riku, Donald and Beast stood on the balcony, and they had spaced themselves around the landing. Donald stood in front of the door; Beast stared in horror at the way Belle was restrained from the opposite end of the balcony; Riku, in the meantime, was running straight for the witch doctor, Keyblade in hand.

Facilier fumbled for something to counter the Keyblade wielder’s assault, but he was set off-balance when Donald shot a Blizzara spell that hit him in the arm. He stumbled backward to try to avoid Riku’s strike, but he was still hit with a grazing blow that knocked him off of his feet. He tumbled over the railing and fell to the floor below.

Sora ran over to Kairi and covered her eyes, bracing himself for a crunch, but saw wisps of dark smoke wrap around the witch doctor, adjusting his position and slowing his descent, until he landed softly on both feet. He uncovered Kairi’s gaze and let out a quick apology.

“Kefka!” Facilier called up to the clown. “I believe that it is time for a change of pace!”

Kefka considered his options, then snapped his fingers. “Come on out! Time for a ballroom blitz!” he shouted to what appeared to be nothing.

Just then, the room shook. Circular shockwaves appeared across the floor, materializing in a seemingly random pattern, but Kairi soon noticed a rhythm in each step. It’s as if someone’s dancing along to a song, she thought. She gasped when she realized that was exactly what was happening, and something was about to make an appearance. She followed the shockwaves, noticing a quick series of them breaking a few feet apart in the same two spots, then continue taking larger leaps in between steps. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized where the next one would be.

“Sora, move!” she warned as she pushed him out of the way, running along with him. She did so just in time, too, as they narrowly avoided being hit by the shockwave.

But instead of a phantom burst, a leg popped out of thin air. It stood four feet tall, had pitch black skin, and wore a light grey stocking, a pitch black dance shoe, and the leg of light grey tight shorts. With the next step, the other leg appeared, and a waist materialized to join it. A yellow belt appeared at the top of the pants and a blue skirt with pointed tips spread out around it. It spun around on one foot, spreading out a continuous stream of shockwaves, and the top half of its body appeared. It wore a blue long-sleeved suit adorned with the Heartless emblem on the front, a yellow band around the top part of the waist and another around the right upper arm, three loose ribbons that looped around the left shoulder and joined at the armpit, and a tall conical hat with a tan-colored decoration on top that resembled a closed-up flower head. It had a round black-colored head with yellow eyes, much like nearly all Heartless, and bare black-colored hands. In its right hand it held a yellow handle attached to a long, thin, white ribbon with a red metal square strapped to the end. The Heartless stood ten feet tall and the ribbon was twenty four feet long.

The giant Heartless danced around the ballroom, creating shockwaves with each step and swishing its razor-sharp ribbon around. Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Goofy ran around to avoid getting stepped on. Fortunately, the shockwaves did not have a wide radius and dissipated quickly, and the ribbon almost never went down to their level, though Goofy once had to duck to avoid getting his head and hat sliced.

Up above, Beast roared at Kefka, who simply laughed and shouted banter at the party on the floor. He willed himself to calm down and remain focused. Childish tantrums would get him nowhere. No, he needed to keep a level head if he wanted to save Belle. But first, he had to get the clown out of the way. He gauged the distance between him and the chandelier, then looked behind him. Donald noticed his sly look and tilted his head in confusion, then quacked in surprise when Beast ran straight for him.

Beast grabbed Donald by the arm and ran back to his previous position. As soon as he reached the farthest point he could run, he threw Donald off of the balcony. The screaming duck soared through the air until he landed roughly on the chandelier. The chandelier began to sway from the force of the landing. When Donald regained his bearings, he clambered around and swung his staff at Kefka, who blocked the hit. Donald cast Blizzard spells, one of which the jester simply slapped aside and the others he was forced to back away. Donald smirked, knowing that this at least got Kefka further away from Belle, so she was out of the line of fire. Donald shot a fire spell, but Kefka deflected it while giving him a smug smile. Angered by the clown’s arrogance, Donald leapt at him and attempted to assault him. However, Kefka flipped upside-down, balancing himself by two fingers, and kicked Donald off of the chandelier.

Mickey leapt and grabbed onto the Heartless’ skirt. He used it to pull himself up and then kicked off of its back. He grabbed Donald and then cast Reflect to protect them from the ribbon. However, when it did make contact with the sphere, it wrapped itself around it and carried them with it. Mickey maintained the spell until the Heartless slackened the ribbon and dropped them. The Reflect spell protected them when they hit the ground and also when the Heartless stepped right beside them. The barrier dissipated and sent blasts at the foot, twisting it and disrupting the Heartless’ balance. This moment of confusion gave them time to reunite with Sora, Kairi and Goofy.

“Any ideas to stop this Blitz Dancer?” Sora asked.

“Blitz Dancer?” Donald asked, bemused by the name choice.

Sora shrugged. “If there was anything wrong with naming each unique Heartless, Jiminy wouldn’t have been doing it.”

Donald conceded the point. Goofy observed the movements of the ribbon. “Say, maybe if we wrap up that ribbon somehow, we can make sure it doesn’t cut us to pieces,” he suggested.

Kairi noticed the pillars all around the perimeter of the room. “Sounds like a plan,” she agreed. “But we’d have to jump into the line of fire to trick the Blitz Dancer into getting its ribbon stuck.”

Sora looked at his Keyblade. “Let me see what I can pull up…” He concentrated, imagining what sort of tricks would work to counter the lightning-fast lashings of the razor-sharp ribbon. He realized that only a whip would be fast and flexible enough to match it, and considered which of his recent allies would have been able to use a similar skill. He remembered one person who was able to swing across a chasm, ensnare enemies, and simply lash out at them.

Hoping that losing her magic hair and healing powers did not change things with the Dimension Link, Sora reached his heart out to Rapunzel and drew on her strength. He watched his Keyblade transform into a ten-foot bullwhip made of silver-colored metal fibers. At the moment, the whip was coiled up to make it easy to carry.

He smirked and turned to his friends. “Someone give me a boost,” he requested. Kairi pointed her Keyblade beneath him and cast Aerora. A wind funnel lifted him off of the ground. Mickey and Donald pointed their weapons above Sora and cast Aerora as well. The wind funnel expanded into a tornado that lifted him up to chest level with the Heartless and which he was able to steer mentally.

“On, Blitzen!” Sora called, getting the Blitz Dancer’s attention. Kairi giggled at this taunt. “Let’s dance!” he challenged, taking on a stance similar to Riku’s battle pose and curling the fingers of his left hand up a few times in a daring manner. The Heartless danced around and flicked its ribbon at Sora, but he uncoiled his own whip with a flourish and cracked it through the air, deflecting the razor-sharp tool. He rode the wind, maneuvering his tornado around the ballroom, getting his foe to focus solely on trying to hit him wherever he may be, but however fast the Blitz Dancer lashed out, Sora lashed back just as fast.

Satisfied that his enemy was so blindly focused on him, Sora drove his tornado at a backward-diagonal path behind one of the pillars, which the Heartless followed with its ribbon. He swung his whip from left-to-right and swatted the ribbon around the pillar. When it came back around, he willed the tornado to push him upward. Seeing that this attack failed to do anything, the Blitz Dancer pulled on its handle to try to swing the ribbon back up, but found that it was stuck, having wrapped around the pillar so many times that it wrapped upon itself.

Sora jumped out of the tornado and changed his whip back into the Keyblade. He bounced off of the pillar and, imagining a touch of Blizzard magic to attach slick ice to the bottoms of his shoes, slid on the flat surface of the taut ribbon. When he reached the Heartless’ hand, he swung his Keyblade down and sliced through the ribbon right at the handle, letting it fall limp against the pillar, and leapt into the air. The Blitz Dancer stared up at him in shock and fear. Sora came back down and brought his Keyblade down square in its face.

The Blitz Dancer stumbled back, dazed and clearly hurt by the blow. When it came to its senses, it realized that it had just lost its weapon and would have to improvise. It made leaping steps all over the ballroom, but once in a while it jumped across the room, right at the party, creating a much larger shockwave than before.

Sora met up with Mickey. “I only got one hit in and it’s already going nuts like some of the other big guys,” he observed. “And I don’t think I’ll be able to pull off another D-Link, so I don’t really have anything that can keep up with it.”

“You don’t have to. We just need to keep it in one place,” Mickey told him. “But how do we restrict its mobility?”

“We could make its shoes heavier,” Kairi suggested. “It’ll be like walking in deep mud.”

“That could work,” Mickey said. He, Sora, Kairi, and Donald pointed their weapons at one of the Heartless’ feet. “All together now.”

“Graviga!” Sora, Mickey and Donald shouted. Kairi was only able to shout “Gravira”, but the imbalance might have served to disrupt the Heartless’ balance further. Dark purple orbs shot out of the tips of the Keyblades and staff and hit the dancing monster’s feet at an instant when both feet were on the ground. The Blitz Dancer tried to take another step, but found it to be much harder than it was a few seconds ago. It lifted one leg with all of its might, but this caused serious pain in its foot.

“Now!” Mickey directed. Donald cast Thunder to put a charge on Goofy’s shield, then the knight threw the shield, which now had an immense speed and power boost, at the Heartless’ ankle. Suddenly unable to support itself on one foot, the Blitz Dancer collapsed. The five heroes immediately started attacking the prone giant.

Up above, Beast was focused on finding a way to rescue Belle. He noticed that Kefka was distracted by the action below, and decided that now was the time to act. He backed up a few feet, then ran to the edge and leapt off. He grabbed onto the wall, then jumped off from there and landed on the chandelier. The chandelier shook violently and a few pieces broke off and fell to the floor. Goofy blocked some from hitting him and Donald with his shield while Sora cast Reflega to protect himself and Kairi and Mickey cast Reflega to protect himself. Some pieces impaled the Blitz Dancer. Kefka grabbed onto the chandelier for dear life, but Beast clawed at him.

“Whoa! Not nice! Bad Beast!” Kefka scolded while clambering around the chandelier to avoid his attacker, who only pursued him with fiery anger.

Mickey delivered one last slicing blow to the Blitz Dancer, cutting it from its left shoulder to its right flank. The Heartless faded into nothingness, leaving behind only a crystal-like heart that floated up and faded into the in-between.

Riku watched the chandelier sway erratically as Beast continued his attempts on Kefka’s life. Considering the thin area of the chandelier arms, the wild movements and the probability of them breaking off with substantial force, he realized that trying to jump to it would be a risky maneuver. So, he decided to try something that he had not practiced with the blindfold. He was sure that, with his regained affinity for his dark powers, it would be no trouble. He judged where he should come out, then held his hand forward and concentrated on the darkness.

A corridor of darkness appeared in front of him. A similar dark portal appeared near the ceiling, right next to the trunk of the chandelier. He ran through the portal and, after a brief moment of running in utter darkness and cold, dropped out of the other portal. He grabbed onto the trunk and let himself slide down, then stopped himself when he was level with Belle. He inched around until he was face-to-face with Belle.

Igniting his finger with a dark flame, Riku scratched the ropes binding Belle, burning through them until they simply fell away. Belle started to drop, since there was nothing holding her up, but Riku caught her in his other arm.

“Hmm?” Kefka noticed Riku freeing Belle. He screamed in anger. “No fair!” he pouted. Beast turned his head to see what he was whining about, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Belle was about to be brought to safety.

But Kefka would have none of it. He jumped off of the chandelier and threw a large ball of fire at the point on the ceiling where the chandelier hung. Everyone watched in horror as the fireball sailed toward its target.

“Go!” Beast commanded Riku, gesturing for him to save Belle. Riku swept Belle up and jumped away from the chandelier. Belle screamed, realizing that Beast would not get to safety in time.

The fireball exploded on impact. Sora turned to Mickey, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. “Run!” he shouted. He, Kairi and Goofy ran for the door as fast as they could. But Mickey stayed where he was as the chandelier began to fall. Riku landed on the floor and ran beside Sora and Kairi. Belle simply stared up in horror as the chandelier fell with Beast still on it.

Mickey pointed his Keyblade up at the damaged decoration. “Zero Graviza!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. Particles of silver light shot out of the tip and wrapped themselves around the chandelier until it was encased in an enormous transparent silver sphere and was entirely motionless.

Sora stared at Mickey’s work, impressed. Riku set Belle down on her feet. Goofy pointed up at Beast. “He’s still stuck in the spell!” he shouted.

“Goofy!” Riku called out to the knight. He crouched and cupped his hands together in front of him. Goofy nodded and ran toward him. He stepped into Riku’s hands, and Riku vaulted him up and over the chandelier. He wrapped his arm around Beast’s and pulled him out of the spell as he soared over. They landed together and, as soon as Beast regained his bearings, ran to hide behind the side pillars.

The others decided to follow their example. Mickey backed away slowly while they reached a safe position, holding up the Zero Graviza spell for as long as he could. Finally, he withdrew his Keyblade, turned around, and ran to join the others. Riku conjured a Dark Shield while Sora and Kairi cast Reflega to maximize defense.

The chandelier crashed to the floor and exploded into many pieces that were blasted in every direction. Some embedded themselves into the walls or pillars; a few bounced off of the magic barriers; others punched holes through the windows leading to the outer balcony. The damage was immense. Huge cracks were broken in the floor, spreading out from the very center.

As the dust cleared, Sora, Riku and Kairi let their barrier spells dissipate. They, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Beast collapsed in exhaustion. Belle and Beast were simply amazed that everyone was unharmed.

On the other side of the room, Kefka laughed and danced about. Even though nobody was killed, the destruction he had caused still offered amusem*nt. Doctor Facilier tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention.

“Perhaps now that you have had your fun, we should take our leave before they recover,” the witch doctor advised. Kefka shrugged, which Facilier took as an agreement. He snapped his fingers and a Corridor of Darkness appeared behind them. They stepped through and exited the ballroom.

Chapter 41: Chapter 40: Belle's Longing

Chapter Text

Everyone spent the next few hours cleaning up the mess. Belle had gone out to tell the servants what had happened, with Kairi accompanying her to make sure nothing attacked her on the way. Mickey pulled a pair of shrunken brooms out of his pocket. He placed them on the ground and tapped them with his Keyblade. They expanded to normal size and grew arms. The Magic Brooms set to work sweeping the shards and fragments of the chandelier into a pile. Cogsworth and the Wardrobe came in with miscellaneous appliances to help with the clean-up, ordering them to assist the party any way they could before leaving to search the castle for the intruders, not believing that they would have simply fled the grounds after the battle.

Eventually, the debris was gathered up and the dust was swept out. The pillars, wall and floor were still cracked and split, the windows still had holes in them, and the ceiling still had a massive scorch mark in the center, but the remains of the chandelier and the crumbs of the damaged architecture were gathered into a container and the area was otherwise clean. Whatever damage had been sustained and whatever fatigue they felt was washed away with a Curaga spell.

While they worked, they discussed the events that had occurred during that day. The clown—Kefka, he had been called—and the witch doctor were working with Maleficent, they had admitted to that. Belle told them that the witch doctor had mentioned that they were looking for a clock, but what could that mean? The only clock they were aware of in the castle was Cogsworth. Mickey had inquired about the Assassin Nobodies that the witch doctor had released to fight them, and Sora and Kairi had told the others about the Dusks that attacked them in Belle’s room. This led them to question why Maleficent and the Heartless are working with the Nobodies and how they got them to side with them. However, there were no answers to any of these questions.

While everyone was relaxing after the clean-up and trying to process everything that was going on, Belle led Beast out to the balcony, and they sat down to look out at the night sky. Sora and Kairi smiled warmly at this, and Sora wrapped his arm over Kairi’s shoulder.

Just then, Cogsworth and Lumière came in. “Master! Sora! We have news!” Cogsworth shouted. Sora, Kairi, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy turned to them. Sora crouched so that he was not looking so far down at them. Cogsworth looked around and noticed that one of his addressees was nowhere to be seen. “Ahem. Where is the master?”

“He’s out there with Belle,” Sora answered, pointing with his thumb out to the balcony. “I’d say it’s best not to disturb them.” He gave the majordomo a knowing smirk. Cogsworth and Lumière smiled widely at this. “So, what were you going to say?”

“Well, see, we have some bad news, and we also have good news,” Cogsworth began. Sora raised one eyebrow. “The bad news is that, no, the intruders have not fled the grounds following the earlier confrontation. But the good news is that we know where you can find them. They are in the one place that from our understanding they have not yet explored: the library!”

“Thanks. We’ll go make sure they use their inside voices,” Sora replied. He stood up and, accompanied by his friends, ran out the door and up the western stairs.

Doctor Facilier skimmed through multiple books and, when each one proved to be unhelpful, placed them back on the shelf and took out the next one. Kefka, in contrast, looked at the cover of each book he found and threw the book aside when he was dissatisfied.

“You know, some light reading would be good for you,” Facilier told his compatriot. “It might show you that there’s more to life than senseless destruction.”

“Bah! That’s what everyone says, Doc, but one way or another that’s what it all comes down to,” Kefka countered.

The heroes watched from behind the door. Sora wondered if they could just rush in and fight them. Odds were that they would retaliate with destructive force, with Kefka being more likely to do so, and they might also complicate things by summoning more Heartless and Nobodies. There were also two outcomes that he considered equally probable: either they defeat and capture the fiends, at which point they may begin to interrogate them and use Beast as a bad cop in the scenario, or the villains escape moments before that happens. In the latter case, that would mean that Sora and company are no closer to figuring out what they are after, but it will set Kefka and the witch doctor back and buy the party time to figure out what they were trying to find and protect it accordingly.

Riku considered the consequences of opening a sudden fight in the middle of the library, and so gauged other options. A sneak attack would be unlikely to work due to Kefka’s erratic personality and the fact that the witch doctor had a living shadow that would most likely see them however they tried to approach. Perhaps they could lure them out and trap them from there. But how would they even do that? Would it even be possible to simply lead them away, would they even fall for a trap, and would any sort of trap even hold them? There were too many uncertainties, and there was only one way to actually get into and out of the library. Unless he used a Corridor of Darkness… No, the witch doctor might detect it, and either of them would easily hear the other end of the portal open.

The six heroes huddled up to discuss their options, but they could all tell from each other’s expressions that there was only one that was sure to get anywhere. Sora looked down when he felt something with two sharp points nudged up against his ankle, and the others looked down at it. It was Chip, trying to get their attention. Mrs. Potts stood behind him.

“I see Cogsworth and Lumière told you. They have been here for some time,” Mrs. Potts told them.

“Do you think you can beat them?” Chip asked.

Mickey sighed. “Probably,” he answered. “But we’re afraid the library might get wrecked.”

“Hmm…” Mrs. Potts contemplated their concerns. “I know! Do any of you know about barrier magic?”

“Well, we know Reflect. And I have seen a lot of people create walls that closed off an area. Man, those are annoying, especially when Donald and Goofy are on the other side,” Sora answered. Donald and Goofy shook their heads at the mention of those traps, agreeing with Sora’s assessment.

“I can create planar shields, but only for a few moments at a time,” Riku added.

Mrs. Potts considered that for a moment. “Perhaps I can seal your shields onto the bookshelves if one of you would mix your light magic with my water.”

“Like when we extinguished the black flames in the passageway?” Sora asked, comparing the incidents.

Mrs. Potts nodded. “We do carry the enchantress’ magic in us; it just takes a little light magic to reach it out to other parts of the castle.”

“Okay,” Mickey said. “I’ll go with Riku and Mrs. Potts, and we’ll put shields on all of the bookshelves, then we can all rush in and take the clown and witch doctor out.”

“Right!” Sora affirmed. He and Kairi stood on one side of the door while Donald and Goofy stood on the other side.

Riku, Mickey and Mrs. Potts slipped into the library. Making sure that neither foe was watching, they snuck over to the left row of shelves. Riku placed his hand in front of one shelf and conjured a transparent wall between hand and shelf. Mickey pointed his Keyblade at the wall and let the Keyblade glow white. Mrs. Potts sprinkled some water on the wall. The Dark Shield expanded and wrapped around every surface of the shelf. They repeated this process with every other shelf, silently thankful that their enemies were still at the back wall. A few times, Riku and Mickey took a sip of Ether to replenish their magic so that they could continue.

Mickey gave the others a thumbs-up when they had shielded the last of the bookshelves, signaling them to enter and hide behind the nearest shelves. Next, Riku, Mickey and Mrs. Potts worked their magic on the bookshelves that wrapped around the walls, hoping to seal them off in one fell swoop.

Doctor Facilier finished skimming through his current book and replaced it on the shelf. He reached over to pull the next one out, but his fingers bounced off of an invisible flat surface that was only millimeters in front of the book. A pink circle radiated out from where he touched, to his curiosity. He tapped the barrier several times, confirming that the shelf had been closed off somehow.

A voice boomed in from near the entrance. “Now, that’s not right. Looks like we should take away your library cards!” Facilier and Kefka turned around and were shocked to see Sora standing at the other side of the library, taunting them with his Keyblade. Kefka heard a whooshing sound and turned to see the books that he had haplessly discarded become wrapped up in a dark shell, much like a Corridor of Darkness used on a nonmoving person. The books appeared outside of the library, neatly stacked.

“Move!” Kefka shouted. He leapt away, throwing a fireball at Sora as he went, but Sora deflected it with ease and ran straight for him. He tried to flee down the aisle between the row of bookshelves and the wall, but Kairi appeared from between two of the shelves and swung her Keyblade into the jester’s gut. Kefka flipped over but still landed on his feet and kept running. Kairi shot a few Blizzard spells at him, but only one of them hit.

Doctor Facilier shuffled cards and swung some voodoo dolls around to counter Donald’s spell attacks, but he was knocked off of his feet when Riku materialized behind him and kicked him in the back. He slammed his hand onto the ground and conjured pillars of fire to shoot up around him, forcing Riku and Donald to fall back. Standing back up, Facilier threw a voodoo doll painted red with fire designs at Donald, but it was knocked out of the air by Goofy’s shield. The witch doctor spun around on his heel and fell through a portal opened by his shadow, coming back out in another corner of the room.

Kefka ran for the door, throwing Thunder spells behind him, but before he could reach the exit, he felt something pulling him backward. He was lifted off of his feet and fell toward a Magnet spell cast by Sora. Rather than becoming stuck in a vortex, Kefka threw a Zero Gravity spell at the vortex. Both spells canceled each other out, and Kefka soared over Sora’s head. Sora turned to run after him, joined by Kairi, but they stopped when they heard someone shout “Watch it!” from below.

They looked down and saw Chip next to his foot. “Chip? What are you doing? You could get hurt!”

“I didn’t want to be left by myself,” the teacup said apologetically.

Sora sighed and shook his head. “You need to be more careful. It’s dangerous in here for someone as small and fragile as you,” Kairi warned him.

“Yeah. I know. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Kefka landed near Doctor Facilier, who regarded him with worry. “I’d say it’s time we leave,” Facilier suggested. “We can always come back another time.”

The clown shrugged. “Fine, but that doesn’t mean I’ll go quietly!” He stepped away and started lobbing different spells around, stirring their enemies into a panic. Donald barely avoided a Blizzaga rock. Riku had to conjure a Dark Shield to block a massive Firaga sphere. Mickey deflected a series of rainbow-colored orbs of light. Goofy was hit with a silver-colored cloud that instantly caused him to fall asleep.

Sora and Kairi dodged a few lightning bolts, but within seconds, Kairi was hit in the armpit with a purple bolt of magic. Sora caught her, but his arm made contact with the same area where the spell had not fully dissipated. Both felt an extreme disorientation and a sort of cold sensation. They saw the entire room growing at an alarming rate. They felt themselves being lifted off of the ground. When the cold sensation faded, they started to fall.

“Uh oh!” Chip cried. He alternated between looking up at them and setting himself upright and hopping around to try to be in the right place. He felt something hit in his inner bowl and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Got you!”

The shrunken Sora and Kairi groaned in pain and disorientation and fainted in their daze.

Kefka belted out his distinguishing laugh before he and Doctor Facilier backed into a Corridor of Darkness.

“Rats!” Riku shouted in frustration. Mickey raised an eyebrow at this remark. Riku sighed. “Oh, well. At least they won’t be causing trouble around here for a while.” He looked around the room, counting heads. “Where are Sora and Kairi?”

Mickey, Donald and Goofy looked around frantically, concerned that their friends were nowhere to be found. Chip hopped over to Riku and tilted his head down so that Riku could see into the teacup.

“Is that…?” He picked Chip up and peered closer at the contents. “How did they get so small?”

Mickey approached Riku and held out his hand. Riku placed Chip in Mickey’s hand and the mouse peeked inside to investigate. “Gosh, looks like a Mini spell,” Mickey identified. “The ones I was shown only last for a minute, but this one seems to be more potent. Which I guess makes sense, if it hit both of them.”

“So, what do we do?” Goofy asked.

“I guess we should just leave them with Chip until we figure out how to return them to normal size,” Mickey replied. He set Chip down.

Donald walked over and stared at Chip with a serious expression. “You keep them safe, alright?” he ordered.

Chip nodded. “Yes, sir! You can count on me!” Chip said enthusiastically.

When Beast and Belle had gone out to the balcony, they sat down on the bench and looked out at the night sky. Snow was falling from the dense clouds, making a beautiful scene. Soon, they wound up holding hands.

Beast worked up some courage. “Belle, are you happy here with me?” he asked.

Belle smiled. “Yes,” she answered. However, her mind wandered and her smile faded.

Beast smiled at the response, but quickly noticed her turn to look out longingly. “What is it?” he asked, empathetic.

“If only I could see my father again, just for a moment. I miss him so much.”

It was true. Belle had not seen her father since the day she had first come to the castle, which was the day that she had traded her freedom for his. The more he thought about it, the more Beast wondered how he was feeling about the circ*mstances that Belle had been left in when he had been returned to the village. He had not even offered them a moment to say good-bye.

His eyes widened as he remembered something. “There is a way,” he told her. “Come with me.” With that, he led her back inside and up the west-facing staircase. They had noticed that Sora and the others were no longer in the ballroom, but they paid it little mind.

Beast led Belle up into his room, and he searched around for something. He finally found the object he was searching for, and drew out a silver handheld mirror. “This mirror will show you anything,” he explained, holding it up so that Belle could see her own reflection, “anything you wish to see.” She took the mirror in her hands.

“I’d like to see my father, please,” she told the mirror, not entirely sure how it operated. The mirror lit up with a green glow that shone in her face. She briefly averted her gaze from the blinding light, and turned back to the reflective surface when the glow faded.

Instead of her reflection, the mirror showed a snow-covered wood. A chubby older man with white hair, a moustache, and a bald scalp struggled as he braved the snowstorm. He wore a pale green shirt, a brown vest, green pants, brown boots, and a heavy green cloak, though it was not quite enough in the face of strong winds. He was sick, and, suffering from his cold and the cold, he collapsed to the ground, coughing.

“Papa! Oh, no!” Belle looked at the image in horror. Beast looked on in concern. “He’s sick. He may be dying, and he’s all alone!”

Beast turned to look at the enchanted rose. The wilting flower only had a few petals left. If he did what he was thinking of doing, he might never see her again, and the curse might never break. But…

“Then… y-you must go to him,” he said, his expression turning sad.

“What did you say?” Belle asked, shocked.

“I release you. You are free to go. Go to your father.”

Belle stood in silence, processing what she had been told. Then she sighed. “Oh, thank you. Hold on, Papa. I’m on my way.” She turned to leave, but then remembered that she was still holding the mirror. She turned back to return it.

“Take it with you,” Beast told her, “so you’ll always have a way to look back and remember me.”

Belle smiled. “Thank you, Adam. Thank you for understanding how much he needs me.” She put her hand comfortingly to Beast’s face and gave him a reassuring smile before leaving.

Cogsworth watched her leave the room, a smile on his face. “Well, your Highness, I must say everything is going just swimmingly. The danger has passed, from what I can tell, and you and Belle seem to be coming along quite nicely. I knew you had it in you,” he commended.

“I let her go,” Beast said, resignedly.

Cogsworth chuckled. “Yes, yes. Splen…” He trailed off when he realized what Beast had said. A look of horror crossed his face. “You… what?! How could you do that?”

“I had to.”

“Yes, but-but… why?”

“Because I love her.”

Riku and Mickey began searching through the library for anything that could undo the Mini spell on Sora and Kairi, as well as anything that would refer to the item that the intruders sought. However, the library was huge, and there were far too many books to read in one sitting.

Lumière called for everyone’s attention when Cogsworth walked in, a despondent expression on the clock’s face. Everyone went over to meet him.

“My friend, what is wrong?” Lumière asked.

“Th-the Master… He let Belle go,” Cogsworth explained.

“He did what?!” Lumière, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Wardrobe gasped in shock.

“Yes. I’m afraid it’s true,” the clock answered sadly.

“She’s going away?” Chip asked, saddened at the idea that his friend was leaving.

“But we were so close,” Lumière lamented.

“After all this time, he’s finally learned to love,” Mrs. Potts said.

“That’s it then!” Lumière exclaimed in a hopeful tone. “That should break the spell!”

“But that’s not enough. She has to love him in return,” Mrs. Potts reminded him.

“Hold on,” Riku interrupted. “Can someone explain how this whole ‘spell’ works?”

“Did you see the rose?” Lumière asked him. Riku nodded. “If the master learns to love and is loved in return before the last petal falls, the spell will be broken.”

“You know, I’m confused,” Goofy said. “The way you’re saying it, the spell should break when both of them love each other. But isn’t that what they’ve been doing the whole time we’ve known them?”

“Who knows? It may be too late now,” Cogsworth said resignedly.

Unbeknownst to them, Chip had left the room and hopped out to follow Belle. It took a little more effort since he now had some extra weight to carry, but he soon found Belle at the stable, untying her horse, Philippe. Belle wore a green cloak and had a brown leather satchel slung over her shoulder. Worried about her, Chip hopped up onto a stool and jumped again so that he landed inside the pouch of Belle’s satchel.

Moments later, Belle, not noticing the extra weight, mounted Philippe and rode off, soon crossing the bridge and leaving the castle grounds. She could hear Beast roar in anguish from the castle.

Chapter 42: Chapter 41: No One Causes Trouble Like Gaston!

Chapter Text

Belle rode through the woods, looking around every corner and squinting as she peered through the snowstorm. She took another look at the mirror, silently asking for it to guide her. The image in the mirror zoomed out from her father’s prone body and backed away until it depicted the area directly in front of her. She flicked the reins and spurred Philippe onward, continuing in as straight a line as possible.

Soon, they found her father unconscious in the snow. “Papa!” she gasped. She climbed off of Philippe and ran over to him. She checked his pulse and breathing. Both were weak, but there. She sighed in relief and started dragging him over to the horse. With difficulty, and using a rope pulley she hastily fashioned over a tree branch, she managed to hoist him onto Philippe’s back, then rode off to the village she once called home.

The streets were empty. Given how late it was into the night, most people were in their homes. There were lights coming from the windows of the pub. As she passed the church, the pastor, Père Robert, who kept a library from which she would borrow books, saw her as he was locking up and waved as she went by, not noticing her plight.

Belle rode to the other end of town and stopped Philippe in front of her house. She dismounted from the horse and secured his reins, then pulled her father off of the horse’s back and led him inside. She laid him on his bed and lit a candle next to him. Then, she set to work tending to him.

Someone had walked by as they made their return. He was a slightly chubby man with brown eyes and black hair tied into a ponytail. He wore a brown buttoned-up shirt, a white undershirt, a blue blazer, black pants, brown boots, and a red bow tie. LeFou gasped in surprise as he watched Belle carry her sick father inside, both of them wearing cloaks and covered in snow. While he had initially subscribed to the belief that the old man was delirious when he claimed that Belle had been imprisoned by a beast, as the months went on and Belle remained unaccounted for he began to wonder if there was any weight to his ramblings.

“They’re back,” he said to himself. He immediately turned around and ran down to the pub.

Shortly after, Maurice woke up. Even when he was unconscious, the same thought remained in his mind, one that had spurred him on through his dangerous quest up until the point where he could not move any further.

I must find Belle…

After he was returned to the village by that horrible Beast at the cost of his daughter’s freedom, Maurice had immediately run to the pub to explain what had happened and ask the townsfolk, particularly the hunter Gaston and his compatriots, for help in rescuing Belle. They had promptly laughed him off and kicked him out. But he had persisted for days. Eventually, Gaston had agreed to take some friends, LeFou, Tom, Dick, and Stanley, and go with him into the woods to search for Belle and find the Beast’s castle, but after several hours it became apparent that he did not actually believe his claims and was only assisting him in an attempt to get into his good graces in his plans to woo Belle. They were forced to return to the village as exposure to the elements had begun to have an effect on Maurice’s health, despite his insistence in finding Belle. Père Robert tended to him for weeks and insisted that he remain in bed until he was back to full strength. During his rest, he suffered a bizarre fever dream where the village was invaded by mysterious dark creatures, among them small, black, animalistic humanoids, blue bats, and what appeared to be a giant snowman. In that dream, Gaston led the defense, but Maurice, screaming about “No more beasts”, ran out into the snow with a kitchen knife in hand and struck some down. Perplexed by the nature of the dream, Maurice decided that he would be of no help to Belle in his condition and finally agreed to get some rest. But recently, he remembered the look of fear on Belle’s face when she saw him imprisoned and when she stared into the Beast’s menacing visage, and he resolved to go out and save her by himself. Even when a storm fell over the woods, he persevered.

“Belle…” he muttered, half awake.

“Papa!”

His eyes shot open. He saw Belle standing over him, looking down at him comfortingly. “Belle?”

“It’s all right, Papa,” she said soothingly. “I’m home.”

Maurice smiled and sat up, pulling her into a hug. “I thought I’d never see you again,” he said happily.

“I missed you so much.”

Maurice pulled back to look Belle in the eyes. “But the Beast! How did you escape?” he asked.

“I didn’t escape, Papa. He let me go,” she replied.

Maurice gaped in confusion. “That horrible beast—”

“But he’s different now, Papa. He’s changed somehow,” she explained.

Before she could elaborate, she heard a rustling sound from her satchel. She turned to it and saw the flap fall open. The mirror was the first to slip out, followed by a very dizzy Chip.

“Hi!” the teacup greeted.

“Oh, a stowaway,” Belle teased.

Chip hopped across the bed and landed in Maurice’s lap. “Why, hello there, little fella,” Maurice said, amused at the china child. “Didn’t think I’d see you again.”

Chip turned to Belle. “Belle, why’d you go away?” he asked. “Don’t you like us anymore?”

“Oh, Chip, of course I do… Wait a second,” she said, peeking over Chip’s rim. She noticed something inside, which appeared to resemble two bodies crumpled together. “Sora? Kairi?”

Awakened at the sound of their names, Sora and Kairi brought themselves to their feet, but stumbled and slipped when they attempted to stand up on a smooth, concave surface. They fell against one another, then backward on the wall of the cup. Noticing that they were no longer in the library but rather within an enclosed space, they looked around, wondering what was going on. They looked up and saw that the wall surrounding them only went up a foot above their heads, and the rim was lined with a gold strip. Turning around to get a full idea, they stopped when they noticed a triangular chip cut out of their container. Looking higher, they saw an enormous face which, after recovering from the initial shock, they recognized as Belle’s.

“Belle? What happened? Where are the others? What happened with the clown and the witch doctor?” Sora asked. Then, thinking of a slightly more pressing matter, “How did you get so huge?”

“Oh, good! You’re awake!” They heard a voice coming from directly in front of them, and the container they were trapped in shook about as the high-pitched childlike voice spoke. “The clown guy hit you with some sort of spell and shrunk you. I caught you and decided to keep you safe until Mickey and the others could find a way to fix you.”

Once he regained his balance, Sora recognized the voice. “Chip?”

“Oh! Hold on,” Belle said. She picked Chip up and tipped him upside down. Sora and Kairi tumbled out of the teacup and landed on the blanket of Maurice’s bed. They stood back up and took in their surroundings. They stumbled backward when Belle set Chip back down and they saw that they were now smaller than he was. They guessed that they were now only three inches tall, but they feel no different, in spite of their mass being compressed into a much smaller size.

They turned to their right and saw Maurice. The size difference between him and them was even more jarring, but they were coming to understand their situation more and were not taken aback quite as much.

“You must be Belle’s father,” Kairi guessed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kairi, and this is Sora.” Sora waved in greeting.

“Why, it’s nice to meet you, too. You can call me Maurice. Now, Belle, you must tell me what has happened to you while you were held prisoner.”

Before Belle could explain herself, she heard a knock at the door. She shushed her visitors and went over and opened it, revealing a tall, incredibly muscular man with a pronounced double chin, blue eyes and long black hair tied into a ponytail. He wore a red tunic, black tights, and brown boots. He gave her a smile that seemed meant to appear sweet and entreating but carried too much confidence to truly come across as such. Maurice’s pleasant expression turned into a glare when the man came into view.

“Gaston…?” Belle said, wondering what he was doing there.

“Oh, Belle! When I heard that you had returned, I ran over as fast as I could!” Gaston, the renowned hunter, said. “I was so worried that something might have happened to you.”

“Well, thank you,” Belle said uncertainly.

“I mean, at first I couldn’t be sure. When Maurice said that you were taken prisoner by a monstrous beast, it did seem rather far-fetched.”

“Thank you for checking up on me, but as you can see, I am perfectly fine, now.

“When he went out to look for you yesterday, I tried to warn him that it was dangerous to go alone, fearing for his health, but he refused to listen,” Gaston claimed. “I tried to help him, but he shoved me away and ran out into the woods.”

“You lying, conceited swine!” Maurice shouted angrily, climbing out of bed and running to the door. Positively incensed, he moved as if to lash out at the hunter, but Belle held him back.

“Whoa! Slow down, Maurice. You need your rest. All this running around and ranting about made-up monsters can’t be good for your health,” Gaston said in a calming tone. “And now you’re going and assaulting people? I’m starting to fear that your jumbo-sized toys blew up in your face one too many times!”

Maurice’s anger faded and morphed into confusion when he glanced past Gaston and saw a crowd had formed in front of the cottage. Sora and Kairi glanced out the window and saw dozens of people standing out front. They could see that the crowd was standing around some sort of horse-drawn carriage, and were worried that Gaston had something wicked up his sleeve.

“I’m starting to think you need some help, Maurice,” Gaston said, a smirk forming. He stepped off to the side, revealing an elderly man standing behind him. Belle and Maurice shivered as soon as they saw him, as did Sora and Kairi.

The man was tall and thin and he wore a gray suit with a white undershirt and a thin black bow tie. He was a balding man with long grey hair and thick eyebrows. He was a frail man with grey skin, and his gaunt features made him appear almost like a walking corpse.

“May I help you?” Belle asked in a fearful tone.

“I’ve come to collect your father,” the old man, Monsieur D’Arque, answered in a gravelly voice. “Don’t worry, miss. We’ll take good care of him.” He stepped to the side to reveal the carriage, which was an iron prison box marked with the words “Les Maison des Lunes”.

Belle gasped, then her expression turned from horror to anger. “My father’s not crazy!” she insisted, taking a step toward Monsieur D’Arque and forcing him to take a step back.

“Sora, look!” Kairi pointed at the man. Sora squinted and noticed that there was a bulge in his left pocket. “That Gaston creep must’ve paid him off.”

“Good eye, Kairi,” Sora commended.

“He was raving like a lunatic,” one of the villagers, Gaston’s friend Tom, shouted. “We all heard him, didn’t we?” A number of villagers shouted in agreement. “Isn’t that right?” he continued, leaning his elbow on LeFou’s shoulder, insisting that Gaston’s closest friend take his side.

“Uh, well…” LeFou stammered, not liking where this was going. He watched as two orderlies jumped out of the carriage and marched toward the cottage.

“No! I won’t let you!” Belle protested. Maurice peeked outside, trying to wrap his head around what was going on.

“Maurice!” another of Gaston’s friends, Dick, called out. “Tell us again, old man. Just how big was the beast?” He chuckled, and some of the others broke into chortles.

“He was… I mean he was… he was enormous,” Maurice stammered, trying to keep his wits about as it became apparent that this was not going to turn out well. “Fur, and fangs and horns… and…” The crowd broke into even greater laughter, and the orderlies grabbed Maurice by the arms and began hauling him to the asylum carriage. “Let go of me!” he resisted, to no avail. A smirk plastered on his haunting visage, Monsieur D’Arque strolled back to the carriage.

“No!” Belle protested, grabbing D’Arque by the shoulder. “You can’t do this!” D’Arque regarded her coldly, shook himself free, and continued walking.

Père Robert followed D’Arque, pleading for him to reconsider Maurice’s fate. “This man is harmless. He needs medicine and therapy, not confinement,” he insisted, but the asylum keeper ignored him.

“Poor Belle. It’s a shame about your father,” Gaston said sympathetically, throwing his arm around Belle’s shoulder.

Belle ducked out and stepped away. “You know he’s not crazy, Gaston,” she told him sternly.

“I might be able to clear up this little misunderstanding, if…” he suggested, a scheming smirk coming onto his face.

“If what?” Belle asked, not liking where this was going.

“If you marry me,” Gaston finished.

“What?” she gasped.

“Uh, Gaston, I’m not entirely sure that this is the right way to go about this,” LeFou whispered, attempting to reason with his friend.

Gaston ignored him. “One little word, Belle. That’s all it takes.”

“Never!” She ran back into the cottage.

Père Robert glared at him. “If you intend to go through with this, then you will have to find another priest,” he said calmly.

Sora and Kairi traded worried glances. “We need to do something!” he said. He ran for the door, but he forgot that he was still three inches tall, and five seconds later he tumbled off of the bed.

They saw Belle run inside, pack up her satchel, and hoist it over her shoulder. “Belle? What are you doing?” Kairi asked. Belle did not answer, and instead ran back outside. Sora struggled to maintain his balance due to the floorboards creaking with her steps.

As the orderlies were about to close the carriage door on Maurice, Belle ran back outside and stood in front of the crowd. “Let him go! My father’s not crazy!” she demanded. “I have just come from the castle in the woods and there is a Beast!”

Gaston had reentered the crowd and was adopting the voice of reason once again. “We all admire your devotion to your father, but you’d say anything to free him. Your word is hardly proof.”

Belle’s stare turned to anger. “You want proof? Fine.” She took the magic mirror out of her satchel. “Show me the Beast!” She held the mirror up for all to see.

The reflection showed Beast, who stood somberly at the balcony. The crowd gasped. Gaston’s face took on an expression of shock. He had never seen anything like it, and he would not have imagined that they truly were telling the truth about the Beast.

“Is it dangerous?” a woman asked.

“No,” Belle insisted. “He’d never hurt anyone. Please, I know he looks vicious, but he’s really kind and gentle. He’s my friend.”

“The monster has put her under a spell!” Gaston accused. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say she even cared for him!”

Belle stomped up to Gaston. “He’s not a monster, Gaston. You are!” she shot back.

Gaston’s face twisted in rage. He grabbed the mirror out of her hand. “She’s as crazy as the old man! The beast will make off with your children! He’ll come after them in the night.”

“No!” Belle argued.

“We’re not safe 'til his head is mounted on my wall! I say we kill the beast!” he declared. This was met with raucous cheers from the mob.

“We’re not safe until he’s dead,” one man moaned.

“He’ll come stalking us at night,” another man said.

“Set to sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite,” a woman said as she held her son close protectively.

“He’ll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free!” a third man insisted, starting to agree with Gaston’s plan.

“So, it’s time to take some action, boys!” Gaston shouted. “It’s time to follow me!”

“No! I won’t let you do this!” Belle protested.

“If you’re not with us, you’re against us! Lock her up too! We can’t have them running off to warn the creature!” Gaston grabbed Belle by the arm and threw her into the asylum carriage with her father and closed the door. Tom locked the door.

Kairi jumped off of the bed, and she and Sora began running toward the door.

“Let us out!” Belle pleaded.

“Gaston, with all due respect—” LeFou began.

“Do you want to be next?” Gaston interrupted, shooting him a fierce glare. LeFou shut up instantly. “Fetch me my horse.” LeFou turned and ran off. He turned back to the mob. “We’ll rid the village of this beast! Who’s with me?”

More cheers were let out. Gaston’s friends, Tom, Dick and Stanley, joined him at the front. Dozens of other men stepped up. They all armed themselves with pitchforks, swords, knives, shovels, and rolling pins. Gaston pocketed a dagger and a gun, and slung a quiver over his shoulder. Père Robert attempted to calm the frenzy, but the force of the mob pushed him back. Some of them lit torches and carried them to light the way. Those who did not join in the charge helped by readying the horses. LeFou let Gaston’s horse out and mounted his own.

Sora and Kairi got to the bottom of the stairs outside of the cottage just as the mob mounted their horses and rode off. Amongst the anxious and fearful villagers who remained, they noticed three attractive blonde women who were identical save for the color of their dresses. They fawned and cheered for Gaston as he rode off, clearly infatuated.

Kairi rolled her eyes. “Fangirls,” she grumbled.

But due to their small size, they were helpless to stop the angry mob as the incensed villagers rode off to lay siege to the Beast’s castle and mount an attempt on their friend’s life, and they had no way to warn everyone there.

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Kill the Beast!

Chapter Text

Back at the castle, the servants lamented the past events to have transpired. Judging by the condition of the rose, only a few hours remained before the last petal fell and the curse’s time limit ended. As far as they could tell, unless Belle had a change of heart and returned out of love for the Beast, then the curse would never be broken, they would remain trinkets and furniture forever, and the Beast would never become Prince Adam again. Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and the Wardrobe had gathered in Belle’s room, along with Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, reminiscing their time with the young woman who had brought so much light into their world.

“Is there anything we can do?” Mickey asked, concerned at the sight of the despondent servants.

Mrs. Potts shook her head. “I’m afraid not,” she said sadly. “If only Chip were still here, so we could spend our last moments together.”

Cogsworth kicked the bedpost in frustration and crossed his arms. “I knew it! I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up,” he said.

“Maybe it would have been better if she had never come at all,” Lumière said in mock agreement, disgusted at Cogsworth’s attitude.

“And then what?” Riku countered. “You’ve spent so many years in despair at your condition. But then Belle comes along, and you start having fun again. You begin to have hope that you will get to live as humans again. Even if those hopes are dashed at the last minute, would you really like it better that you never had that time spent with her? That she never met Adam and taught him to love? Would you really give all that up?”

Cogsworth was left silent at this, before he finally shook his head weakly.

Goofy noticed something out the window and pointed. The others turned to see what had caught his eye. They rushed over to the window when they caught sight of something moving through the woods.

“Could it be?” Lumière wondered.

“Is it she?” Mrs. Potts added.

They gasped in horror when the object of their interest was revealed more fully and, in the light of torches, they saw a mob of men on horseback carrying weapons. The man in front held the enchanted mirror and studied it every so often to make sure he was going the right way.

“Invaders!” Lumière identified.

“Encroachers!” Cogsworth said in the same vein.

“And they have the mirror!” Mrs. Potts noted.

“Warn the master!” Cogsworth ordered. Mrs. Potts and Goofy turned and exited the room. “If it’s a fight they want, we’ll be ready for them! Who’s with me?”

Riku, Mickey and Donald summoned their weapons.

The mob crossed the bridge, raucous cheers belting fifty strong. The horses rode through the open gates and into the courtyard. Eight of them carried a battering ram made from a felled tree between them.

Gaston turned back to address his army. “Take whatever booty you can find! But remember, the Beast is mine!”

On the other side of the doors, the servants had gathered and were barricading the entrance with everything they had. Riku, Mickey, and the Wardrobe even leaned her body against it. Donald cast Blizzard on the hinges and lock in an attempt to freeze the joints in place. When the mob reached the door, they began ramming their felled tree into the door in an effort to break it down.

Goofy and Mrs. Potts rushed into the Beast’s room. The cursed prince did not appear to register their presence.

“Uh, excuse me,” Goofy said nervously.

“Leave me alone,” Beast said sadly.

“But sir, the castle’s under attack,” Mrs. Potts pleaded.

The chanting had grown loud and close enough for them to hear from there. “Kill the beast! Kill the beast!” the mob repeated.

“What shall we do, master?” Mrs. Potts asked.

Beast sighed. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “Just let them come.”

Mrs. Potts was crestfallen. Belle leaving had left the master of the house as a sad shell of a man.

Goofy nudged her with his foot, causing her to turn and look up at him. The knight simply stared at her resolutely. Understanding, she nodded. They turned and left, deciding to head downstairs. They were not going to give up that easily.

The battering ram continued to pound on the door. Unbeknownst to the mob, Gaston’s shadow darkened, and black figures began to materialize around them.

The servants could not hold the door up for much longer, despite Goofy adding his strength. The ice had already broken off of the door entirely, and Donald knew it would be a waste of magic to try to bolster it further. “This isn’t working,” Lumière groaned.

“Well, we have to do something!” Mickey said.

The maitre’d’s face lit up almost as bright as the candle on his head. “Wait, I know!” he exclaimed.

While this was going on, Sora and Kairi reached the asylum carriage. Sora let Kairi catch her breath, while Chip caught up to them. They looked up at the lock on the door. Sora guessed that it should be simple to unlock, assuming that he could summon his Keyblade while in his small size. If it appeared and was still full size, there was going to be a problem.

He bade Kairi and Chip to step back, just in case. He raised his hand and concentrated on the Keyblade materializing in his hand. There was a flash of light and he was holding his Keyblade, which fit perfectly in his hand. He breathed a sigh of relief, glad that his weapon resonated with him enough that it would change size if he were too small to use it normally. Then he remembered that it worked the same way in Wonderland, when he drank the potion that shrank him to a foot in height.

He pointed the Keyblade at the padlock and fired a beam of white light out of the tip. The beam went right into the keyhole and the padlock popped open. Realizing that they still had to manually remove the lock, Sora sighed in annoyance.

“Can’t make it easy on us, can it?” he joked to Kairi.

“Not to worry, because I think a simple Aero spell can launch you up there no problem,” Kairi said, smiling. Sora nodded and stood underneath the padlock, his Keyblade held at the ready. Kairi summoned her own weapon and pointed it at a spot between Sora’s feet. “Aerora!” A gust of wind shot up from the ground and pushed Sora into the air.

“Wow!” Chip said in amazement. Kairi guided him to step back again and raised her Keyblade in preparation for defensive measures.

Sora shot up until he was at the window. He landed on the ledge, surprising Belle and Maurice. “Hey. Just give me a second, then you’ll be free,” he told them. Belle nodded in understanding. Maurice stared in wonder at Sora’s weapon. Sora turned so that he could see the padlock. Raising the Keyblade in his left hand, Sora threw it straight at the padlock, shattering the iron into pieces. Kairi cast Reflera to deflect a piece of the lock as it fell toward them. Chip giggled when he saw the spell in action.

Belle pushed the carriage door open, and Sora held onto one of the bars for dear life as the door swung around. Kairi and Chip stepped back so that neither former prisoner would step on them. Belle noticed them and reached down to pick them up. Kairi grabbed onto Chip’s handle and climbed into his bowl, allowing Belle to simply pick him up. She held Chip next to Sora, and he slid inside.

“What is all that racket?” Monsieur D’Arque asked, marching over to the back of the wagon. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Belle and Maurice standing outside of their confinement.

Belle held the teacup close to D’Arque’s face, allowing the asylum keeper to get a good look at Chip’s blinking face. Sora and Kairi poked their heads over the rim and waved.

“Hi,” Sora greeted sarcastically, his voice sounding like a high-pitched squeak from the old man’s perspective. “Sorry, who’s the crazy old man?” He summoned his Keyblade and lit the tip on fire.

Monsieur D’Arque turned and ran away. Sora and Kairi high-fived.

They turned back to Belle. “We need to stop Gaston,” Sora said. Belle nodded. Père Robert ran over to the cottage and untied Philippe, then led the horse over to Belle. Belle put Chip, with Sora and Kairi inside, in her satchel for safekeeping.

“Be safe, Belle,” Maurice said.

“I will,” she promised. She hugged her father. “I love you, Papa.”

“I am so proud of you,” Maurice said. They broke the embrace. Belle climbed onto Philippe and flicked the reins. The horse galloped off as fast as he could, understanding the urgency of the situation.

Philippe had actually grown fond of the castle during his time there, curse or no curse. And he could certainly tell that Belle had grown fond of the Beast, so he was willing to head back and help out for Belle’s sake.

The mob continued slamming the battering ram into the door, until finally it went through. But it was not because the door had finally been broken down, but rather because the door had opened just before the ram hit, causing the villagers carrying the felled tree to stumble as it went farther than they expected.

They were certainly surprised when they saw that the entrance hall was empty. There was not a soul to be seen, nor was there any sign of a barricade being in place. Torches were mounted on the walls, but all had been extinguished, leaving the foyer in darkness. There were only sets of furniture strewn about. The villagers walked around nervously, unnerved by the quiet.

“Are-Are you not the least bit concerned that this castle might be haunted?” LeFou asked Gaston.

“Don’t lose your nerve, LeFou,” Gaston said. He walked ahead of the mob and, holding the mirror to guide him, walked toward the stairs.

As the torches had been abandoned once they exited the darkness of the woods, LeFou decided to grab the nearest source of light he could find, a single three-headed candelabra.

A face melted out of the center head. Lumière smirked wickedly. “Now!” he shouted.

The furniture and ornaments sprung to life. The wall-mounted torches burst to life. Cogsworth shouted and the chairs kicked out at some villagers. Mrs. Potts spun around and summoned dishes, cookware, and silverware which flew at the invaders.

Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy barged out of the dining room. Donald cast Blizzard spells around, blasting the encroachers back. One of the villagers swung his shovel at Cogsworth, but Goofy blocked the attack and shoved him back with his shield.

More shadows materialized, and a Shadow Heartless pounced on one of the villagers. Those around him screamed in terror, but Mickey jumped in and slashed it into nothingness.

A coat hanger stepped in front of Gaston and LeFou and brought its “arms” at Gaston, but the hunter pulled LeFou in front of him. As a result, LeFou was slugged in the face multiple times. Wardrobe ran at both of them, screaming. Gaston stepped away, leaving LeFou in the Wardrobe’s shadow. She hit him and pinned him against the wall. Gaston looked over at his friend.

“Gaston… help…” LeFou pleaded weakly.

Gaston looked at LeFou for a second longer, then looked at the mirror, then the stairs. He shrugged. “Sorry, old friend. It’s hero time,” he said before running up the stairs and taking the left branch.

Wardrobe’s jaw dropped. “Wow. I am so sorry,” she said sincerely. She stepped away from LeFou, who tumbled to the ground. She scanned the room for assistance. “Mickey! We need some healing over here!” she called. Mickey ran over and cast Cura on LeFou. He saw more Heartless appearing up the stairs and defeated them.

Riku deflected a pitchfork strike. “Guys, can’t we talk about this?” he asked. Someone hit him over the head with a rolling pin, which cracked from the blow. He cricked his neck in response and rubbed the back of his head in pain, then whirled around and thumped his wrist against his attacker’s head, knocking him out instantly.

Cogsworth commanded an array of books to soar into the fray, and they hit several of the villagers. “Yes, those are called books, you third-rate musketeers!” he taunted.

Tom, Dick and Stanley turned and saw him. Cogsworth shuddered, realizing that he had drawn their ire. They ran straight at him, but Wardrobe jumped in the way. Her doors blasted open, and fabric flew out and weaved their way around the brutes. She laughed as she did so.

Tom, Dick and Stanley found themselves wrapped up in colorful, decorative dresses and make-up. Tom and Dick looked at each other and shrieked in horror. They turned around and ran. Stanley, however, looked himself over and smiled up at Wardrobe before walking away elegantly. Wardrobe giggled and cooed at her handiwork.

Belle ran inside, but was soon beset by Hook Bats. Sora climbed out of the satchel and leapt at one of the Heartless. He grabbed onto its hook and, using his weight, swung it around and threw it at another, causing the second Bat to shriek and disrupt the others. He jumped off and landed on Belle’s shoulder.

“Mama!” Chip shouted, jumping out of the satchel and hopping across the entrance hall, bouncing through the chaos until he reunited with his mother. However, the reunion was interrupted by the appearance of a Heartless that resembled a giant red hammer with black arms and legs, which had the emblem on the front plate. It leaned back, ready to smash the teapot and cup to pieces, only to be knocked to the side when a knife was shoved into its left eye.

LeFou stood over the Hammer Frame and kicked it in its slender body until it dissipated. He turned to Mrs. Potts and Chip. “Are you two alright?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you,” Mrs. Potts replied. She gasped when she saw two Soldier Heartless coming up behind her rescuer. LeFou picked the teapot up, then whirled around and kicked one of them, knocking it away, and dodged a strike from the other. Mrs. Potts snorted hot water out of her spout, spraying the second Soldier, scalding it and causing it to stumble back in pain. LeFou picked his knife back up and stabbed it through the head, destroying the Heartless.

“Nicely handled,” the teapot commended.

“Well, I used to be on Gaston’s side,” LeFou admitted, “but we are so in a bad place right now.”

“You’re too good for him anyway,” Mrs. Potts reassured him. LeFou nodded.

He gestured to the monsters swarming the area behind him. “So, those things…”

“They’re called Heartless. They’re drawn to the darkness in men’s hearts,” Mrs. Potts explained.

“That Gaston must be a pretty bad man,” Chip added. “Those things were popping up wherever he went.”

“So, then I guess we should fight back?” LeFou guessed. Mrs. Potts nodded. He tilted his head to the side as if to say Sounds fair. He spun around, holding Mrs. Potts out while she sprayed hot water over the Heartless and the few villagers who were still attacking.

At this point, most of the villagers had dropped their weapons and were running out of the castle. Cogsworth and Lumière waved them out and shouted jeers. A Shadow came up behind them, but Lumière turned around and stuck his burning candle arms into its eyes. Cogsworth promptly headbutted it. Wardrobe jumped on top of it, crushing it. Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy fought off the Heartless and allowed the villagers room to leave.

While the battle raged downstairs, Gaston made his way through the West Wing. He marched into the Beast’s room and pulled out his bow. He nocked an arrow, drew it back, and aimed at Beast.

“Hello, Beast,” the hunter said. “Belle sent me.”

Chapter 44: Chapter 43: As the Last Petal Falls

Chapter Text

On seeing Belle, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy ran up to meet her. Sora waved from atop Belle’s shoulder and Belle picked Kairi up out of the satchel.

“Sora, Kairi! We found something about the Mini spell,” Mickey said. “There’s a spell that undoes a variety of status ailments, both magical and chemical. It’s called Esuna, and it would easily undo a more temporary Mini spell. From what I can surmise, we can use that spell to restore you to your normal size, if we boost it with a lot of light magic.”

Sora grinned. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I have the Keyblade of Light and there are two Princesses of Heart right here,” he responded confidently.

“Alright, then. Let’s find a place to work,” Cogsworth said.

Belle set Sora and Kairi down on a table and placed her hand in front of them. She thought hard about light, not having as good an idea of how to draw on her innate magic as Kairi, and hoped it would do.

Sora raised his Keyblade and imagined returning to his normal state. “Esuna!” he shouted. A white light washed over the Keyblade, and a warmth fell over him and Kairi, and they felt themselves growing. Belle stepped back as they both grew over a foot in height. Sora and Kairi jumped off of the table when they realized that their weight was putting stress on it. In seconds, they had grown back to their normal size, along with Sora’s Keyblade, and everything looked normal to them.

“Aw, yeah! We’re tall again!” Sora cheered. Belle snickered, inwardly noting that Sora was still shorter than her.

LeFou ran over, offering an awkward wave to Belle. “You should know, Gaston’s gone upstairs. He’s heading for the Beast,” he warned.

Belle gasped. “I have to stop him!” she said.

“We’re with you,” Riku affirmed.

Mickey noticed a Heartless waddling out the front door. “The Heartless could still hurt the villagers,” he muttered loud enough for the others to hear. Then, more loudly, “We need to cover their escape.”

Sora saw a sword that had been discarded. He picked it up by the handle, holding it upside-down, and held it out for LeFou. “In case there are some in the woods, someone’s going to need to protect them. That’ll be you,” he said.

“Me?” LeFou asked, surprised.

“You can do it,” Mrs. Potts encouraged.

“Can we trust you?” Sora asked. Nervously, then resolutely, LeFou nodded. “Alright. Let’s move.”

They moved to conduct their tasks, but LeFou stopped and turned back to Belle. “Oh, and Belle,” he called. She stopped and turned to hear what he had to say. “Can you tell Gaston that he’s on his own?” he requested, his eyes showing his newfound disdain for his former friend. Belle raised an eyebrow, to which LeFou gave her a puckish smile. “No one sees the monster in the man like LeFou!” He waved, then turned and ran out to join the fleeing mob.

Belle smiled at him. She had always been fond of him, even in spite of his slavish devotion to the boorish Gaston. She was glad that he had finally grown a backbone. Deciding that taking a weapon was not a bad idea, she picked up a shovel that had been discarded by one of the invaders. She turned and ran up the stairs, accompanied by Riku and Goofy.

“Hello, Beast.” Beast turned to see who it was, and realized that the newcomer was here to kill him. He sighed and turned away, looking out to the horizon. “Belle sent me,” Gaston’s claimed.

Beast shook his head. “No…” he whispered. She would never do such a thing. But he did not bother arguing the fact.

It would not be long before the time was up. What would happen to him? The Enchantress had said that if he did not love and be loved before the last petal fell, he would remain a beast for eternity. He had never understood the specifics of that last part entirely. Would he remain in the same state, sapient but monstrous, for the rest of his life? Or would he lose the last remaining pieces of his humanity and become a feral monster? He had decided long ago that the latter possibility was the fate that would befall him. No one had any idea what would happen to the servants, whether they would remain the same or become inanimate, lifeless trinkets, but he figured that it did not make a difference if he turned into a rampaging monster that would not recognize them. He believed that he was living his last moments as his own self. So, he wanted the hunter to make it quick.

Gaston released the bowstring. The arrow hit Beast in the shoulder. Beast roared in pain. Gaston rushed him and knocked him out the window, laughing. Beast tumbled down the roof before stopping on a landing below and to the left of the window.

Hearing the Beast’s scream, Belle, Riku and Goofy quickened their pace. Gargoyle statues broke from their places to attack them, but Belle knocked one down and caused it to break apart with a swing from her shovel, while Riku sliced the other one in twain with his Keyblade.

Gaston cornered Beast, daring him to attack. He grew frustrated when the Beast continued to lie there in pain and despair.

“Get up! Get up! What’s the matter, beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?” he taunted. When he received no response, he reached down and broke a spire off of the side of the roof with ease. He raised it above his head to smash Beast’s with it.

“No!” a familiar voice ordered from behind him as the plate of a shovel hit him in the back of the head. He turned around and saw Belle glaring defiantly at him. She had set the shovel down and pulled all of the arrows out of his quiver. Gaston watched as she broke them all over her knee. “Stop this, Gaston!”

“Belle…?” Beast muttered, hearing her voice.

Gaston grabbed her by the arm. “No. I am done playing games. When we get back to the village, you will marry me and the beast’s head will hang on our wall!” he yelled.

“Never!” she shouted defiantly, struggling to escape his grip. “Don’t you get it, Gaston? You disgust me! And not just me. Everyone has abandoned you. By now, LeFou’s already telling them all about you!”

“LeFou?” he asked.

“He said you’re on your own,” she spat. She continued to struggle, until Gaston threw her aside. She fell to the ground but soon started to pick herself back up.

“That’s enough!” Riku shouted. He ran at the hunter and swung his Keyblade at him, but Gaston blocked the strike with the spire and pushed him back. Goofy charged in, his arm drawn back to bash him with his shield, but Gaston swatted him in the chest with his makeshift weapon, hitting him so hard that he flew back into another wall, leaving a sizeable dent. Dark smoke visibly bled off of Gaston, and his pupils and irises turned a solid black.

Riku’s eyes widened when he saw just how strong Gaston was. “Wow. What do they feed this guy?” he wondered aloud.

“Five dozen eggs a day, so they say,” Belle grunted.

Riku and Goofy regained their bearings and rushed Gaston. However, at the last second, his body was covered in a black silhouette, which exploded outward, launching them off of the roof.

Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Donald had finally cleared the last of the Heartless from the bridge and had reentered the courtyard only to see Riku and Goofy tumbling through the air straight at them. Kairi and Donald cast Aeroga magic to slow their descent, but they still landed with a thud. Mickey looked up at the scene on the roof and his jaw dropped.

A giant Heartless had grown out of Gaston’s body. It resembled the hunter greatly, except that it lacked legs, leaving its waist to taper out into ragged shreds almost like a ghost, it had dark blue-gray skin, and it wore a giant elk skull on its head, obscuring its eyes. It even held an enlarged version of the spire that Gaston held. The hunter still stood on the roof, a bit woozy but still very much human.

“I thought when a person turned into a Heartless, his body disappeared,” Mickey said, perplexed.

“If that person has his heart stolen or lost to darkness right then and there, yes,” Jiminy said, poking his head out of the mouse’s pocket. “But I guess if they go the long way, and the Heartless grows out and detaches itself, the body sticks around. Like with Scar, whose body stuck around to fight and die before his Heartless revealed itself. The same could be said for Clayton, in the Deep Jungle.”

“So, we’re fighting the really big Heartless of a really strong dude, and the really strong dude is still up there attacking our friend,” Riku summed the situation up, grunting from the pain. Kairi cast Cura on him and Goofy, and they stood up as if they had not just fallen a hundred feet.

Gaston’s Heartless swung its club, but its targets ran closer to it so that they were perfectly safe from the attack. Donald cast Thundaga while Sora cast Firaga and Mickey shot Pearl spells at its arms. Goofy threw his shield, hitting the monster’s jaw. Riku jumped at it and slashed its chest, while shooting Dark Firaga balls at its head with his free hand.

The Heartless punched down with its free hand, but the party dodged easily and began wailing on the fist. Sora grabbed onto the thumb as the Heartless drew its arm back up, then he climbed up to the shoulder and ran up to the head. He struck the back of the neck as hard as he could. This caused the Heartless to falter, and it let the club bend to the ground. Riku and Mickey jumped onto the club and ran along it, then they jumped off of its hand and struck it in the face. Kairi threw her Keyblade and cut through the free hand.

Gaston’s Heartless collapsed from the injuries it was sustaining, though everyone made sure that they were not under the body when it landed. A few more blows and the Heartless disintegrated. Not taking a single moment to catch their breath, the party ran back into the castle to try to reunite with Belle and Beast before it was too late.

Recovering from the wave of darkness that washed over his senses, Gaston turned his attention back to the Beast. He raised his weapon up above his head and brought it down, but a large, hairy hand grabbed it.

The Beast, reinvigorated by Belle’s return, stood up and grappled the weapon with Gaston. Gaston adopted an expression of pure terror when he saw the Beast snarl at him in pure rage. Realizing that he was outmatched, Gaston broke free and scrambled away, climbing up a cone roof and clambering around it, but the Beast followed.

Gaston swung his club at his opponent, but Beast dodged and then grappled with it again. Gaston lost his footing and slid down the roof, dropping the spire. He just managed to grab onto the roof before he tumbled off, but Beast lunged at him and carried him off, tumbling down another section of roof until they landed on another flat area, on the western side of the castle. Gaston kicked Beast off of him and picked the club back up. He ran for the grotesque figure silhouetted in the dark of the night, and smashed its head with his weapon.

Stones crumbled from the face of the griffin-shaped statue. Gaston was surprised to see that he hit the wrong target.

“Come on out and fight!” Gaston taunted. He glared around the roof but only saw more griffin statues. He heard a crackling sound in the distance and rolled out of the way of a fireball which destroyed the remnants of the grotesque. He turned to the source and saw Donald on a separate landing; the hunter and beast had gone too far across the roof for the others to easily join them, which was why Donald could only perform magic spells from a distance while the others tried to reach them.

Gaston ignored the duck and continued hunting the beast, his club raised. “Were you in love with her, Beast?” he taunted. “Did you honestly think she’d want you, when she had someone like me?”

Beast growled and crept from his hiding place behind one of the statues, approaching his foe from behind. Gaston heard his footsteps and turned around, swinging his club at Beast unsuccessfully. Beast circled around him, and Gaston followed his movements. Beast threw himself at his enemy and grabbed the club in his mouth as he forced his enemy back. Gaston pulled the weapon loose and swung a few more times, though Beast backed away until he was standing at the edge of the roof, with only a steep roof and an abyss on either side of him.

“It’s over, Beast! Belle is mine!” Gaston yelled, raising his club. Beast swatted him into the steep roof, causing him to drop the club, then lifted him by the collar. He held Gaston over the ledge by the neck, grabbing onto a statue with his free hand to keep his balance. He glared at the man who tried to kill him with all of the rage in his heart.

The hunter’s bravado dissolved instantly, and he quickly began to fear for his life. “Let me go! Let me go!” he begged. “Please! Don’t hurt me, beast! I’ll do anything! Anything!”

Beast’s vicious expression faded, and he realized that if he did this, if he murdered this man, no matter what he did or tried to do, then he would be nothing more than the monster everyone saw him to be. “I am not a beast,” he muttered. He stepped back onto the roof and lowered Gaston onto his knees, his palm still grasped onto the man’s thick neck.

“Get out,” he commanded, staring right into Gaston’s eyes. He let go, dropping Gaston to the ground. The hunter breathed heavily to catch his breath.

“Adam!” a voice called from above. Beast turned and saw Belle standing on the balcony of his room above. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, and Goofy were with her. The servants were just on the other side of the window, distracted by the sight of the rose only having one petal remaining, which hung onto the wilting stem weakly.

“Belle,” Beast said, smiling. Belle held her hand out to him. Beast clambered up the roof to meet her. He wrapped his hand around hers and touched her cheek. “Belle, you came back.” Belle smiled and wrapped her arms around Beast’s. They continued to stare passionately at one another.

“Huh? Where’d he go?” Goofy whispered to his friends. Riku gasped when he saw something coming up behind Beast.

SHINK!

Beast roared in pain as Gaston pulled a blood-specked dagger from Beast’s back. With a wicked sneer on his face, Gaston flipped his dagger back around in his hand to slash at Beast. The Beast lashed out blindly, swinging his arm back. Gaston shuffled to avoid being hit, but he lost his grip on the balcony banister. He dropped the dagger as he flailed wildly in an attempt to maintain his balance, but he fell. He screamed as he tumbled into the gorge below.

Belle grabbed Beast by the cape to prevent him from falling as well, and Sora, Riku and Goofy hauled him over the banister and laid him down. Cogsworth, Lumière, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and Wardrobe gasped in horror at the state of their master. Donald rushed in and quacked in shock at the sight of the injured Beast. He cast Curaga, but nothing changed.

In spite of the pain, Beast smiled at Belle. “You came back,” he said.

Tears rolled down Belle’s face. “Of course, I came back. I couldn’t let them… I’ll never leave you again,” she said soothingly.

Beast nodded weakly, but cramped as he felt the pain flare up. “But I’m afraid it’s my turn to leave,” he muttered resignedly.

Sora shook his head. “No. You’ve come too far to go out like this. Belle came here to fight for you,” he told him. “Now we’re here with you. You’re not here alone. Now fight. Stay with us. We’re not leaving you.”

Beast regarded these words warmly, reminded of the speech that he had given the boy when they had first met.

“Sora’s right. You’ll be alright. We’re together now. Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll see,” she assured, though she sounded more like she was trying to convince herself.

“At least I got to see you one… last… time…” Belle held Beast’s hand up to her cheek, and he held it there for a second. Then he dropped it, the strength leaving his arm. His head dropped back and his eyes closed.

Belle dropped his paw and put her hands to her mouth. Sora stumbled back, a look of tragic horror on his face. Kairi pulled him into a comforting hug, tears streaming down her face. Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy could only stare, unresponsive. The servants looked mournfully at their dying master. Cogsworth glanced up and saw the final petal wiggling on the stem, its glow beginning to fade.

“No, no! Please! Please! Please don’t leave me!” Belle begged, crying. She laid her head down on Beast’s chest, which no longer rose and fell from breathing. “I love you…”

Goofy glanced over and saw the final petal break off and fall to the bottom of the case. Its glow faded and it turned dull. The thorny stem curled up and fell, dead. The servants bowed their heads sadly. Cogsworth sighed in resignation. It was all over now. Belle continued to cry, while Sora and the others tried to process their friend’s death.

A ray of pink-colored light fell, catching Donald’s attention. More beams fell, like shooting stars. Mickey and Goofy took notice of this. When more beams fell in different colors, Kairi noticed and patted Sora on the shoulder to get his attention. He pulled out of their embrace and turned around. The rays were falling even faster and in greater numbers than before. Soon, everyone had noticed, even Belle, who stared perplexedly at the sparks left on the ground.

Belle felt something pushing up at her, and she realized that Beast’s body was rising into the air. She shuffled backward to let it happen and they all watched as he was magically raised into the air, the beams of magic light still falling around him and a mist forming around him. His body began to glow, and everyone gasped when they saw what appeared to be him taking a breath. He shook about, as if waking up from a nap, and raised his arm up.

All eyes were on the Beast, staring in wonder, as his form shifted. His arm shrunk, the fur faded away, and the claws turned into fingernails. Rays of yellow light shot out of the tips of his fingers. His canine legs shifted into human feet, and rays of light shot out of the toes. His hulking frame shrank down, and his tail shrank out of existence. Lastly, his head transformed from its monstrous shape into a human one. The transformation complete, the former beast sank back down to the floor, lying on his detached cape. The tears in his now-oversized shirt remained, but the blood was gone.

Belle reached out to him, but the man brought himself to his feet. He paused in the midst of doing so for a brief second when he saw his hand, then stood up. The man with long auburn hair studied his hands, then looked the rest of himself over, kicking his feet out in wonder. He turned around and faced Belle. Belle and the others took in his new, handsome visage.

“Belle, it’s me,” he said, taking her hand in both of his own. Belle studied him closely, still amazed at what had happened. His entire form was strange and new. She felt through his hair, trying to develop a sense of familiarity. She looked into his blue eyes and knew for certain.

“It is you!” she exclaimed. They stroked each other’s hair while staring into each other’s eyes. He leaned in and they kissed.

Swirls of blue magic light flew around them and shot up, exploding over the castle like a firework. The magic rained down on the castle, and all structural damage was undone. The clouds above parted and the sun rose over the horizon, though there was a moment of rain over the party as the magic eruption caused a cloudburst. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy looked around in wonder as the demolished furniture rose up and restored itself all on its own, even though the damage had been dealt years ago. Belle and Adam broke off their kiss to watch everything change around them.

Lumière laughed mirthfully as the blue magic swirled around him. His candelabra form glowed blue, then vanished. In its place stood a lanky man with light brown hair in a ponytail and a long, pointed nose. A fat man with a long, pencil-thin moustache popped up next to him, standing where Cogsworth did.

“Lumière! Cogsworth!” Adam said to each in turn. A middle-aged woman with graying brown hair popped up in front of them. “Mrs. Potts! Look at us!” He pulled all three of them into a group hug.

The teacup changed into a seven-year-old blond boy with a missing tooth, who ran in and hugged his mother. The Wardrobe, who had turned into a tall, stocky woman wearing a large white-and-gold wig, pulled everyone into an enormous hug. Mrs. Potts broke off to pull Chip into a proper hug, one that they had not shared in ten years.

“We’re human again!” Cogsworth exclaimed. Donald snickered as he noticed that Cogsworth looked almost exactly like he did when he was a clock, right down to the clothing and hairstyle.

“It is a miracle!” Lumière cheered. Sora gave Adam a heavy pat on the back, and Mickey and Riku shook the restored prince’s hand. Kairi and Belle shared a quick hug.

They spent the following hours catching up on recent events. The guests learned that the former Wardrobe’s real name was Madame de Garderobe. Now that the Beast was human again, it became much easier for them to get used to calling him “Adam”. Belle and Cogsworth rode out to the village to tell them that the curse had lifted and explain what had been going on. A group of villagers followed them back to scout the place out, led by LeFou. Maurice rode back with Belle, and he had the chance to formally get to know what kind of man the “Beast” truly was. The villagers were saddened to hear of Gaston’s death, but, after learning of what he had done and what he had tried to do, many of them came to agree that he had gotten what he deserved. Père Robert prayed for his soul.

Lumière, Mrs. Potts, and Chef Bouche, who was the head chef before the spell hit the castle and had spent the last several years in the form of a stove and oven, prepared a large feast to celebrate the breaking of the curse, to welcome the people who had long since forgotten about the castle and its cursed inhabitants, and also because none of the staff had actually eaten anything in a decade. Chef Bouche almost cooked some duck as part of the banquet until he was made aware that one of the guests actually was a duck. Since they had grown used to controlling enchanted utensils to perform their duties, and had also likely lost their edge due to the Beast simply hunting for his food for years rather than letting them cook for him, they gladly accepted Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Belle’s assistance.

When everything had calmed down and the visitors returned to the village, Adam took Sora and his friends aside and asked them about what the two magically-powered intruders from the previous night were doing in the castle. Riku and Mickey took their turn explaining what they knew about the assortment of villains and what they were trying to do.

“The guy in the top hat said that they were looking for something in the form of a clock,” Belle recalled. “So, one of the items that will supposedly give them the power to change everything is a clock, and it’s supposed to be in the castle?”

Cogsworth winced at that, though anyone who noticed decided that he must have just had some PTSD from his years as a clock.

“Yeah. But for some reason, even though they searched the entire castle, they couldn’t find it for some reason,” Riku replied. “And frankly, we haven’t actually seen any of these artifacts, so we wouldn’t really be able to know how to find them.”

“I suppose that means you’re going to have to leave,” Belle guessed, a sad tone in her voice.

“Afraid so,” Kairi said, shrugging. “The clown and the witch doctor giving up here would only mean they’ve gone somewhere else, and taken the Heartless and Nobodies with them.”

“But we’ll be back before you know it,” Sora assured them.

“Well, we’ll do what we can to find what you’re looking for,” Adam promised. He smirked, an animalistic look in his eye. “And I would be happy to get some payback against those two.”

Sora and Adam shook hands. “Take care, Prince,” Sora said.

After saying their good-byes, Sora and his friends transported to the Gummi Ship from the parlor. Meanwhile, Lumière noticed Cogsworth looking rather nervous.

“This does seem to be a noble cause, Cogsworth,” the maitre’d said. “Perhaps it would be wise to speak.”

Cogsworth shook his head. “I mustn’t, my friend. You know I have been sworn to maintain the world order,” he reminded the other.

Chapter 45: Chapter 44: Jiminy's Journal #1

Chapter Text

Beast’s Castle

Story

Mrs. Potts and Chip directed us to meet Beast and Belle in the library. Aside from the Beast mistakenly believing Riku was still an enemy, the reunion was a warm one indeed. However, a sudden Heartless ambush revealed the presence of two of Maleficent’s new allies in the castle, so we split up into three groups to track them down. The intruders, a clown with powerful magic and a sort of witch doctor, abducted Belle and held her captive in the ballroom to lure us into a trap, but our heroes managed to defeat the Heartless and Nobodies they summoned, rescue Belle, and survive the final trap of a falling chandelier.

The party tracked the intruders to the library, where they were trying to find information on the artifact they had come to claim but thus far had no luck in locating in spite of searching every corner of the castle. At first, we had the upper hand due to the element of surprise, but the intruders managed to escape. Before they fled, the clown sent out an array of spells, including one that shrunk Sora and Kairi to three inches tall.

While the party took the opportunity to search for information, as well as a way to restore Sora and Kairi to their normal size, Beast and Belle shared a tender moment. When Belle expressed a desire to see her father again, Beast showed her a magic mirror that would show her whatever she wished. She saw that her father was caught in a snowstorm trying to reach the castle and save her. Seeing that she needed to help him, the Beast let her go, even knowing the possibility that he would never see her again.

Belle found her father, Maurice, and brought him back to the village to nurse him back to health, but soon after, a hunter named Gaston convinced the villagers that Maurice was insane and threatened to have him put in an asylum to blackmail Belle into agreeing to marry him. To exonerate her father, Belle used the magic mirror to reveal the existence of the Beast, but Gaston managed to rile the villagers into a mob to storm the castle and kill the Beast, and locked Belle and Maurice up to prevent them from stopping him.

Unbeknownst to Belle, she had a stowaway: Chip the teacup, who also happened to be holding the shrunken Sora and Kairi. They managed to free Belle and Maurice and rode back with her to prevent the mob from invading the castle. Meanwhile, the rest of the party helped the castle servants fight off the invaders, and ended up helping them escape unharmed when Gaston’s fury and jealousy drew Heartless into the field. Belle arrived to help, and Mickey taught Sora and Kairi to use a Princess of Heart-light-infused Esuna spell to restore them to their original size. Gaston made his way to the Beast’s room and attacked him, and Beast was in too much despair to fight back, but Belle’s arrival and attempt to help him motivated him to stand up against the hunter while the party fought against Gaston’s manifesting Heartless. Beast got the best of Gaston and held him over the edge of the roof, but on seeing Gaston beg for his life he decided that he would not be the beast and simply told the hunter to get out. He shared a tender reunion with Belle, but Gaston stabbed him in the back, though this got him thrown to his death anyway. As Beast passed away, Belle said pleadingly “I love you.” At this moment, the last petal fell from the enchanted rose, and a shower of magic fell over the Beast. He transformed into a human, his wounds healed, and the castle servants followed suit. The curse was broken at last!

Characters

Beast / Prince Adam

A prince cursed for his selfishness and transformed into a hideous beast by a powerful enchantress. He spent ten years in self-loathing fearing that he would never be able to learn to love and be loved, until Belle came into his life. She became the brightest spot in his life and inspired him to become better, and he came to love her so much that he was willing to claw his way through an endless sea of darkness if it meant rescuing her, which is actually how we all first met him. His hope and determination to love and be worthy of love paid off, as the curse is finally broken and he is human once again.

Belle

A bookworm from a closed-minded village who traded her freedom to free her father from the Beast. Although she was terrified of him at first, she helped him develop into a better person and calm his temper, and in turn came to see that there was more to the man than his monstrous exterior. As one of seven Princesses of Heart, Belle has a heart of pure light.

Maurice

Belle’s father, an eccentric inventor who is ostracized and mocked by most of the villagers, and is devoted to his daughter. When he got lost riding his horse through the woods to the fair, he found himself at the Beast’s castle and became his prisoner, until Belle traded her own freedom for his. Since then, he has dedicated himself to rescuing her, even crossing Gaston.

Gaston

A self-absorbed hunter who has gained the appreciation of his entire village. He is infatuated with Belle, and makes several attempts to woo her and make her “his little wife”, despite her obvious lack of interest. He arranged for her father to be sent to an asylum to blackmail her into marrying her, and when he realized that she was in love with the Beast he riled up an angry mob to try to kill him. His jealousy filled his heart with darkness until it manifested into a mighty Heartless, but neither man nor monster was a match for the Beast and the Keyblade wielders, and in spite of Beast deciding to spare him, his hatred still led to his demise, falling off of the castle roof into a gorge.

LeFou

Gaston’s sidekick, LeFou has served as a supporter and accomplice to boost his friend’s ego, even when he served as a punching bag. However, when he saw the twisted lengths he would go to get what he wanted, and after being left to suffer at the devices of the castle servants defending against the mob, LeFou came to understand the horrible person that Gaston truly was, and he promptly joined forces with Belle and the servants.

Kefka

A clown with command of powerful magic and a sad*stic sense of humor. Little is known about him or why he is allied with Maleficent and Zeromast, but given his thirst for destruction, those reasons cannot be any good.

????? [Witch Doctor]

A voodoo practitioner with a keen showmanship, formidable magic and a living shadow. Little is known about him or why he is allied with Maleficent and Zeromast.

Heartless

Blitz Dancer

A large Heartless conjured by Kefka to fight the party in the ballroom of Beast’s Castle. Each dancing step created a shockwave, and it constantly waved a razor-sharp ribbon around to try to slice through its enemies. However, once Sora, while wrapped in a magic tornado created by King Mickey and Kairi, tricked it into snaring its own weapon, it proved easy to end its one-man dance party.

Enraged Elk

Gaston’s Heartless, spawned from his growing hatred and jealousy of the Beast. It was in essence a larger version of the hunter himself, complete with an enlarged replica of the broken architecture the original was using as a club, and was strong and vicious, but ultimately no match for stronger and more skilled opponents.

Magic

Esuna

Heals status ailments, magical or chemical. Usually only works on magic effects that only last for a limited time. To undo more powerful ailments, the spell would have to be boosted with a significant amount of light magic (for example, two Princesses of Heart).

Beast’s Curse

A curse placed upon Prince Adam and his castle by a powerful enchantress, turning the prince into a monstrous Beast and transforming his servants into furniture, utensils and decorations. A rose was enchanted as a lynchpin to the curse, with the fate of the castle’s inhabitants tied to its lifespan. If the Beast learned to love and was loved in return before the last petal fell, the curse would be broken and everyone would become human again, but if that did not happen before the deadline, then the curse would never be broken. It is not known if failing to break the curse would mean that the prince and servants would remain in their current states forever or if it meant the Beast would lose what was left of his humanity and become a feral animal and the servants would become inanimate trinkets and their lives extinguished. Fortunately, we will never have to find out, as, in what appeared to be the nick of time, just as the rose died, the curse broke and all afflicted were returned to human form.

Jiminy pocketed his pen and shut his journal. He sat in the cupholder on the dashboard and thought back on the recent episode. He was trying to piece together any clues he could to understand what was going on and what to do about it.

There were thirteen members of this new cabal. They were already familiar with Maleficent, Pete and Hades, and there was also their enigmatic benefactor who led them on their scavenger hunt. Since then, the party has encountered Loki, the so-called God of Mischief, when the villains made their first attempt to access the files on Ansem’s computer, presumably to understand more about the artifacts they sought. And only yesterday, they met two new villains, a powerful mage dressed like a clown, who had been called Kefka, and a talented witch doctor. That was seven who could be identified, and six whom they have already confronted, and those six were all evidently competent threats. Clearly, they had been gathered due to their powers and abilities, which made Jiminy wonder what sorts of talents the other villains possessed.

The other matter of contemplation, the artifacts, left him quite befuddled. The party had no way of determining who would be protecting them nor did they have a clue as to where to look or how to even identify them. In the meantime, the villains already had a guide to locate them and, in some cases, even knew what they looked like. The clown and the witch doctor had mentioned that the artifact in Beast’s Castle was a clock, but as far as he could recall, there had never been a clock lying around anywhere in the castle, and both sides had been to just about every room in the castle.

Jiminy groaned and rubbed his forehead. This was getting nowhere.

“You all right, Jiminy?” Mickey asked, his focus on steering the ship but dividing enough attention to notice Jiminy’s distress.

“I’m fine, your Majesty,” the cricket answered. “It’s just that I can’t seem to make any sense of this search.”

“I know how you feel,” Sora said from the copilot’s chair. “We spent most of our other quests blindly running around to try to figure out what’s going on, when the bad guys had all the clues. Remember how we went around trying to figure out what Organization XIII was up to all while we were unknowingly giving them exactly what they wanted with each Heartless we fought? Remember how, the year before that, we didn’t even know about the Princesses of Heart until we had already lost Alice, Maleficent’s gang had already captured four beforehand, and they were in the process of kidnapping Jasmine?”

Jiminy nodded and rolled his eyes. Donald groaned.

“Actually, that last part was on me,” Riku admitted. This drew shocked looks from Sora and Kairi. “Maleficent told me to do it in exchange for helping me locate Kairi’s body. I snuck in while you were fighting Jafar after he turned himself into a genie and pulled her into a portal.”

Kairi continued to stare at Riku, not sure what to think. Sora had already turned back to the path ahead to make sure he did not let the Teeny Ships crash into any asteroids. “So, while you were so concerned with finding me, you were perfectly fine with another girl suffer a potentially worse fate,” she softly scolded him.

Riku shrugged sheepishly. “I was pretty myopic back then. I can admit that now,” he replied in a half-joking tone.

Sora smacked the console in excitement, accidentally causing the Teeny Ships to shoot inward and bump against the Gummi Ship. Everyone glared at him, and he chuckled in embarrassment.

“So, I just had an idea,” he began, clearing his throat to get back into the right tone. “What Riku said reminded me of something we could do to get a lead on this search.”

“What do you have in mind?” Goofy asked, glancing over at him but making sure that he could still keep an eye on the targeting system.

“We ask someone old enough to have heard about these things and powerful enough to probably help us find them,” Sora answered. His grin faded when he was only met with silence and confused looks. He sighed. “Okay, guys. I’m thinking of someone who already has reality-warping powers and who has been around for tens of thousands of years. Someone who knew about the Keyhole, and would probably know about a lot more. Someone whom most of us met in the incident that Riku was just talking about.” Still more confusion. Sora hung his head, unable to believe that nobody could pick up what he was putting down. “The Genie of the Lamp! You know, big blue guy, PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWER, itty-bitty-living-space? Teleports and jokes around and makes a bunch of references that nobody around him would understand in their context? Remember?”

Now Donald, Goofy and Jiminy understood. Kairi waved her hand in an “eh” way, since she had caught bits and pieces from when she was in Sora’s heart. Mickey simply said “huh”, since he only knew about the Genie from what Donald and Goofy had told him, as well as Jiminy’s second journal. Riku simply shrugged, as he had never actually met the friendly genie.

“We can just head for Agrabah, say hi to Aladdin and Jasmine, and ask Genie about the things that Maleficent’s crew is looking for,” Sora continued, already plotting a course for the desert world. The map calculated the paths that the asteroids and debris would take in floating through space and projected an ideal course to follow.

“Well, fellas, are we in agreement? We going to Agrabah?” Mickey asked the ship’s crew. Everyone nodded. “All right, then. Let’s go!”

“Just letting you guys know, this is going to be a sixteen-hour flight,” Sora said.

“Hey, Sora, Riku, do you think we should check in on our classes?” Kairi suggested.

“Good idea. Donald, can you take over for me?” Sora asked. The duck nodded and swapped with Sora in the copilot’s chair. Sora, Riku and Kairi went deeper into the Gummi Ship to check on the videos of their classes and check the mailbox for assigned homework.

Jiminy simply sat back in the cupholder and reopened his journal. He bookmarked a page in the STORY section for Agrabah, and even took the time to doodle a sketch of the world as it appeared on the computer display.

Chapter 46: Chapter 45: Riff Raff Street Rats

Chapter Text

Sora opened the door and immediately felt the wind blow sand into his face. He led his friends out of the storage closet that they had beamed down into and stepped out into the bustling streets. The yellow-orange buildings of the city were constructed upon the desert sand. There were several market stalls lining various buildings, where merchants offered their wares. Once they had stepped out into the city they immediately felt the sweltering heat come down upon them.

“Phew! It’s a good thing we put on sunscreen before we came down!” Kairi exclaimed, fanning herself with her hand.

“Welcome to the grand city of Agrabah,” Sora said, spreading his arms out to gesture to the desert city. “Be wary of which pot you stand next to, keep an eye on your pockets, and always be ready to jump across rooftops. Come on. I’ll show you—”

He was cut off when he felt something shove him aside, knocking him to the ground. He picked himself up, Riku and Goofy helping him to his feet, and brushed the sand off of his clothes, and he even spat some of the silicon dust out of his mouth. He looked around to try and find whoever it was who rudely knocked him down, his hands balled up into fists in irritation. On his second look to the left, his expression of annoyance turned to one of slight fear and he backed out of the way as a burly man with a scimitar ran barreling at him.

“Stop! Thieves!” the man called. Like everyone else in the city, he had medium-brown skin, and he had a black beard and moustache and appeared to be missing a tooth. He wore a black sleeveless tunic with flared-up shoulders, white pants, a red sash around his waist, brown shoes with curled-up toes, a strap that went over his right shoulder and under his left arm, and a white turban. He was followed by two similarly-dressed men, though neither were built like him; one was thin and lanky while the other was quite fat.

Sora tilted his head slightly. “So, I guess these are the guards,” he guessed.

“You didn’t meet them when you were here before?” Riku asked, surprised.

“No. I think Jafar locked them up when he took over before we first arrived, along with most of the people, so it was a sort of a minimalist cast when we first got here,” Sora explained. “The last couple times, I guess we just didn’t run into them, and Jafar might have incapacitated them after he tricked the Peddler into letting him out.”

The crowd shuffled out of the way as the thieves and guards doubled back around and the chase continued through the streets.

“We should probably find someplace to duck until this blows over,” Mickey suggested. The others nodded and found a market stall to hide behind. Sora took a few apples and dropped some Munny in the shopkeeper’s hand as payment. He handed one each to Riku and Kairi and then began munching on the third.

“Hey, guys. Fancy meeting you here,” a voice came from behind Sora, startling him and almost causing him to choke on his snack. He turned around and saw a young man with brown eyes and messy black hair, who wore a purple vest, baggy white pants with a tan patch sewn on one leg, and a small red fez cap.

Sora grinned, then realized that he was no longer holding his apple. He glanced to his left and saw a small monkey with light-brown fur that wore a red-violet vest and a fez cap that was purple at the bottom and red at the top. The sticky-fingered monkey, Abu, was munching on Sora’s apple. Sora rolled his eyes, then turned his attention back to the former street rat.

“Good to see you, Aladdin,” Sora greeted, swinging his hand in and clasping Aladdin’s confidently. “How have things been? Staying out of trouble?”

“Ha! You know me. I can’t help but get into trouble. Discovering hidden treasure, saving Agrabah from neat-freak inventors, mud monsters and evil sorcerers, you know,” Aladdin boasted.

“Same here. Aladdin, I’d like you to meet Riku, Kairi, and Mickey,” Sora introduced his friends.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you all,” Aladdin said to the three newcomers.

“Likewise,” Riku returned.

“So, what brings you guys here?” Aladdin asked.

“A bunch of bad guys stirring up trouble with the Heartless again. This time they’re after a bunch of items that are some sort of key to a great power,” Sora explained. “We’re trying to stop them, but we don’t know how to catch up. We were thinking we’d ask Genie if he knows anything.”

“Huh. Not a bad idea,” Aladdin replied. Abu nodded and let out some squeaking noises that indicated that he agreed.

He glanced back out at the chaos in the streets. The party finally managed to get a good look at the thieves. One was a short, fat man with a thick moustache and chin-beard. He wore a baggy gray shirt, gray pants, a blue vest with flared shoulders, a red sash around his waist that wrapped over the vest, red shoes, and a turban with a white veil wrapping around the back of his head. The other one was tall and thin and had much darker skin and a bisected moustache. He wore a yellow robe, a green striped vest, a white hat, and a bronze earring.

Aladdin sighed. “Abis Mal and Haroud,” he identified. “Biggest thugs in Agrabah.”

Riku shook his head. “Doesn’t look like they’re very good at it,” he observed.

Sora held his hands up. “Hold on. That guy’s name is Abis Mal?” he checked.

“Yeah?” Aladdin answered, wondering what he was getting at.

Sora blinked, realizing that Aladdin did not understand what he was thinking. “I guess it’s funny in my language,” he muttered, giving up on the topic, though he took some satisfaction in hearing Kairi giggle.

“You think we should do something about it?” Mickey asked.

“I’ve got it,” Donald said, summoning his staff and twirling it around a bit. A wind funnel appeared around Abis Mal and Haroud, lifting them off of their feet and spinning them around. The guards stopped and stared in confusion. The wind carries sand into the air, wrapping it around the thieves. Moments later, the wind died down, and the thieves were dropped to the ground, spitting and coughing and covered in sand. The lead guard and the skinny guard hoisted them up and carted them away, while the fat guard returned the stolen goods.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Aladdin said, amused. He turned back to the party. “Hey, how about I take you to the palace to meet the others?”

Everyone nodded immediately. “Lead the way, Aladdin,” Sora responded.

With that, Aladdin led the group through the streets as they made their way toward the palace.

“Well, I see nothing stays boring with you guys,” Aladdin commented, after Sora explained what had happened since they last met, in a way that did not reveal too much about the other worlds, of course. As for Aladdin, his adventures did not end after Jafar’s demise, and he had gone on many adventures and fought all sorts of villains over the last few months.

“And I see you’re staying one jump ahead as always,” Sora replied, chuckling.

“So, have the Heartless been an issue?” Riku asked.

Aladdin shook his head. “Not really. I mean, they’ve sometimes come out, but since Genie’s been a part of the team more often and Iago’s been keeping an eye on them from above, they’ve kept a low profile.”

Mickey nodded, smiling. “That’s good to hear,” he said. His smile faded when Aladdin put his arm out to the side, stopping them in their tracks. Aladdin scanned the ground ahead. Following his gaze, Riku and Mickey noticed the sand shifting irregularly in isolated areas, each one about two-and-a-half feet in diameter.

Everyone stepped back when six Heartless jumped out of the sand, each one brandishing a scimitar. They had blue skin, and they wore purple vests and baggy pants as well as numerous golden bangles, bracelets and rings. Their heads were wrapped up in bandages, exposing only a slit of black skin and gold eyes. The Bandit Heartless swung their swords around, possibly attempting to look intimidating.

Aladdin drew his own scimitar from his belt sash while the others summoned their weapons. Sora and Aladdin clashed blades with two of the Bandits, quickly throwing them off balance and cutting through them.

Seconds afterward, two enormous Heartless, not unlike the Large Bodies, materialized. They wore orange vests, green pants, yellow sashes around the waists, white soles, yellow arm bands, necklaces made of large off-white rocks, and similar-looking turbans. While they did not wear the same body armor as the Large Bodies, the Fat Bandits were just as resilient against frontal attacks.

Abu screeched in terror and leapt off of Aladdin’s back. He ran around the bandits and clambered up the side of a red pot. He lifted the lid and dropped himself into the pot, hoping that it would be a good hiding place.

Donald and Goofy ran around the Bandits and went straight for the Fat Bandits. Goofy ran around the back and hit one in the back with his shield. His enemy balled its fist, charged it up with fire, and swung his arm over and down, punching the ground and creating a shockwave that knocked Goofy back. Donald cast Blizzard at the other one, knocking it back.

Mickey jumped around two of the Bandits, parrying their strikes and keeping them off balance. Riku alternated between blocking whatever attacks one of those Bandits dealt and striking it. Kairi dodged around the other Bandit and stabbed at it several times with her Keyblade. Sora drew the attention of the other two Bandits and parried both scimitars while Aladdin ran past them and delivered quick slashes to their legs and arms. When one of them swung its sword down at Aladdin’s neck, Sora cast Fira, destroying it just in time, then spun around and vanquished the other Bandit. Riku, Kairi and Mickey backed their Bandits up against the wall and Kairi stabbed her Keyblade through the arm of one of them, pinning it to the wall. Mickey slashed through it, finishing it off. Riku locked blades with the other one but vanquished his opponent by launching Dark Fire underhanded at it while it was too busy pushing back against his Keyblade.

Meanwhile, Donald had managed to get a few Blizzard spells in, but he was hit by his foe’s swinging arm and had to heal, so he was now out of mana. He ran away when the Fat Bandit started to breathe fire. Mickey came to the rescue and shot a Pearl spell at it, blasting the Heartless into smoke. At the same time, Goofy defeated his opponent.

With the streets cleared, the party regrouped. Sora noticed that Goofy had suffered some burns and cast Cure to undo that. Aladdin gathered all of the Munny he had taken from the Heartless while he was strafing them and divided them evenly amongst everyone.

“Well, now that that’s over with,” Aladdin said, “let’s head on over to the palace. Come on, Abu!” The party started walking.

Abu clambered out of the pot and stopped, shivering. He looked back at the pot with a terrified expression. He had felt some sort of dark power in there. He had no idea what it was, but he was not eager to find out. He ran to rejoin Aladdin.

Chapter 47: Chapter 46: The Sultan of Agrabah

Chapter Text

Aladdin led the party into the walled courtyard in front of the palace. As they approached the large door leading into the palace, their way was blocked by the muscular guard that they had seen earlier.

“Hold it!” the guard shouted, glaring down at Aladdin. He gave the others a suspicious look, but he mostly kept his eyes on Aladdin, giving the party the impression that they had a long-standing rivalry.

“What are you doing, street rat, bringing outsiders into the palace?” the guard questioned. Riku gave a contemplative nod, silently admitting that he had a valid point.

“Hey, Razoul. Don’t worry. These are Sora, Donald and Goofy, and their friends,” Aladdin explained. Mickey raised an eyebrow, doubting that his argument would be a viable enough excuse to let them in.

Razoul gave Sora a distrustful glance. “This runt is the so-called warrior who helped liberate Agrabah from the monsters?” he asked skeptically.

Sora rolled his eyes. “He and Jasmine aren’t much older than me,” he complained. To prove Aladdin’s claims before an argument escalated, he summoned his Keyblade, held it up above his head for a few seconds, then dismissed it. “Listen, could you tell Jasmine that we’re here? I’m sure she would be glad to see us.”

Razoul’s expression remained unchanged for a moment longer, then he started to turn around. “Very well. But stay right here!” he ordered. Sora, Donald and Goofy gave a salute. Razoul turned around and walked over to the doors. He pulled one open, stepped through, and promptly closed it behind him. As soon as the door was closed, Sora, Donald and Goofy brought their hands back down and stood at ease, and Riku and Kairi laughed at their gesture. Sora turned to them and shrugged playfully.

“So, you and that Razoul guy know each other?” Goofy asked Aladdin.

“For most of my life, I had to steal to survive. The last few years, the guards started catching up, and it usually ended up being Razoul taking charge, since he is captain of the guard and all,” Aladdin explained. “But he never really caught up. I guess he doesn’t really like it when a street rat half his size makes a fool out of him.”

“Understandable,” Riku said. “And I guess you becoming the hometown hero only exacerbated your rivalry with the guy who looked down on you for so long.”

“And you’re engaged to the princess, which means he can’t touch you, period!” Sora added, chuckling at the twist of fate.

They waited for several minutes longer before they saw the door open once again. Razoul marched out, working to keep an expression of either contempt or embarrassment, or possibly both, from crossing his face.

“My apologies. Right this way,” he said. He turned around and led the party into the palace.

The guests marveled at the ornate architecture and designs of the palace’s interior. Aladdin smiled when he noticed their amazement. “Pretty cool, right?” he asked. The others could only nod. Razoul scowled ahead of them.

A few minutes later, they approached a set of large double doors. A guard stood on either side. Razoul nodded to them and they each pulled a door open. As the doors were opened, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy got to see inside the throne room. The carpet on the floor extended into the room all the way up to a gold-colored throne.

Seated upon the throne was a fat old man with a large white beard. He wore a cream-colored robe, a cream-colored turban with a red gem and large blue feather inset, an ochre-colored sash slung over his neck, an ochre-and-blue striped belt, and brown shoes. Sora guessed that he must have been the Sultan. Next to him stood an attractive young woman wearing a light blue bedlah outfit with long poofy bustle pants and a midriff-baring top that had straps wrapping around her upper arms, leaving her shoulders bare, as well as a blue headband with a sapphire set into a gold frame, golden earrings, a gold necklace, and gold slippers. Her long black hair that extended down to her legs was tied into a low ponytail with a blue ribbon.

Razoul led the group into the throne room. As they drew nearer to the throne, the guests noticed a Bengal tiger sitting next to the woman.

The party stopped in front of the throne. Razoul dropped to one knee and bowed. Mickey, Donald and Goofy followed, as did Riku and Kairi.

“Hey, there,” Sora waved casually. The others looked at him in disbelief, with Razoul’s face even being stricken with horror. The tiger growled quietly at him. However, the Sultan, the woman and Aladdin simply chuckled.

“Calm down, Rajah. They’re friends,” the woman assured the tiger. “Sora, Donald, Goofy, it’s so good to see you!” She noticed Riku and gasped. “You—”

“He’s cool now!” Sora said rapidly, waving his hands in front of him, recalling how the Beast had reacted. “Don’t worry, Jasmine. He’s not with Maleficent and the Heartless anymore,” he assured her, this time speaking at a normal rate.

Princess Jasmine traded a glance with her father, and they chuckled. The Sultan gestured for them to stand up.

Sora gestured to his friends while still facing Jasmine and her father. “These are Riku and Kairi,” he introduced. Kairi gave a smile and a wave. “And this is Mickey Mouse, king of Disney Castle.”

Razoul gasped in embarrassment. “Forgive me. I did not realize you were visiting royalty,” he stammered. He bowed nervously, but Mickey waved his hand up, gesturing for him to remain standing.

“Well, I must say it is an honor to have you all in our company,” the Sultan greeted. “And I am sure that Razoul can understand that the heroes who liberated Agrabah from Jafar and defended us from the Heartless are all welcome here. Isn’t that right, Razoul?” He glanced at the guard mischievously. Razoul grinned nervously and nodded. “Now, what matter brings you here?”

Mickey stepped forward. “Your Highness, over the last few days, we have been traversing the lands to oppose an assortment of evildoers led by Maleficent,” he began.

At this point, Jasmine, who had been pondering Sora’s earlier choice of words, had a question. “But I thought Maleficent was dead,” she interjected.

“Right. She’s alive again, somehow,” Sora answered. “Months ago, in fact. Remember Pete? That big fat cat guy? He’s been helping her out through it all.” Jasmine mouthed “Oh”, understanding.

“You see, this band of villains is using the Heartless to cause trouble, and they are looking for a lot of ancient artifacts across all the words so they can access a dangerous power,” Mickey continued.

Jasmine and Razoul gasped. Aladdin raised his eyebrow in amazement. Even Rajah adopted a surprised expression. The Sultan looked from side to side nervously. They remained silent as they processed the information.

Abu shivered and looked around fearfully. Sensing something as he looked to the right, he scampered off and slipped through a door into the hallway.

If anyone were near the window, they would have heard a sound like metal scratching on stone. The sound persisted for several minutes, gradually growing closer. Finally, a spider-like leg threw itself over the window ledge and grabbed on. Several seconds later, another leg managed to throw itself over. It soon managed to pull itself up and inside. A red pot with four spider-like legs landed on the floor in the palace hallway. The lid turned around from side to side while on the lip of the pot, and it settled on ninety degrees to the left. It scurried down the hall. It heard footsteps coming from down the hall and ran over to a row of pots. It retracted its legs and landed at the end of the line, appearing like any other pot. A guard passed by, not noticing anything strange happening. A minute passed until the pot was certain that the way was clear. It popped its claws back out and resumed its trek down the hall. It resumed the process of hiding and waiting whenever a guard drew near.

The third time, the guard thought something was amiss. He opened the pot on the end of the row and peered inside. He saw nothing, though he did notice that it was unexpectedly dark within. Suddenly, he felt something grab him by the neck and pulled him down. His entire body fell into the pot, which trembled with energy. The Pot Spider continued its journey.

It passed by an open door, then doubled back and looked inside. The room was filled entirely with pots. It tapped the tips of its spider legs in excitement. Its lid flipped up and dark smoke bubbled from the opening. Blobs of darkness shot out and entered each of the pots. When a pot was filled with darkness, it rattled with the power. A moment after the last of the pots was empowered, a set of four spider legs sprouted from one of the pots. The original Pot Spider gestured with its legs, as if communicating with its newly-made brethren, then turned around and exited the room.

“Whoa, slow down, monkey! Run that by me again,” Iago said to Abu. Abu had found the macaw and screeched about what he had sensed, then dragged him by the wing down the hall. But now that he had gained his bearings, Iago had planted his feet and would not go any further until the monkey explained himself.

After hearing Abu screech more, Iago considered what he was hearing. “So, you felt something creepy and you need my help to check it out?” he parroted. Abu nodded. Iago shrugged. “Listen, pal. I’d be glad to help, but you can’t be so rough like that. Just stop and ask nicely, all right?” Abu nodded. “Great! Now, let’s see what’s making you so antsy.”

They crept down the hall for a few minutes, but stopped and hid behind a column when they heard a guard walking by. They peered around the column, waiting for the guard to leave. Instead, the guard stopped and turned his gaze to a row of pots. He walked over to the pot on the end and lifted the lid to investigate. Abu and Iago saw the guard getting pulled into the pot, sucked in completely even though he was too large to fit inside. The lid fell back into place. The animals gasped in horror.

When the pot stopped rattling, the lid lifted up a few inches. Black fingers poked out from inside, then arms and a head with large antennae rose out, the lid sitting unevenly on the head. The Neoshadow climbed out of the pot and landed on the floor. It gingerly put the lid back on the pot, then marched down the hall in Abu and Iago’s direction.

Rather than recognize the benefit of stealth and discretion in the face of a human-sized Heartless, Abu and Iago screamed in terror and fled in the way they had come.

“So, you were hoping to find clues about the artifacts by traveling to other lands?” The Sultan asked after Mickey had explained their quest and how they had no idea how to find the items.

“Actually, we came here thinking that Genie could tell us something,” Sora answered. “Considering how long he’s been around and how many times he’s seen the world develop, we were sure he would at least have heard something.”

“Well, how about we ask him?” Aladdin suggested. “He’s napping right now, but I can wake him up for you.”

“I didn’t know that Genies needed sleep,” Goofy commented.

“Well, remember, he did spend hundreds of years at a time waiting for someone to rub his lamp, so yeah, I guess he would use some of that time to sleep,” Aladdin replied. “I’ll get him now.”

Before he could do anything, however, everyone heard monkey screeches and parrot screams and turned to see Abu running and Iago flying in, both in a panic. Abu ran up to Aladdin, who caught him up in his arms. The monkey chattered as he tried to explain what was going on. Iago was somehow less clear, stammering “Hear… Hear…. Pot… eating guy…” Sora, Riku and Kairi traded befuddled glances.

All became mostly clear a few seconds later, when dozens of Pot Spiders poured out of the hallway and surrounded everyone. A few Neoshadows joined the Pot Spiders, and everybody found themselves surrounded by Heartless.

A Corridor of Darkness opened in front of the center group of Heartless, and Loki stepped out, this time wearing a gold helmet with large curled horns on top.

“Greetings, royals of Agrabah. I am Loki, of Asgard, and I must say it has been a long time since I overthrew a kingdom,” the trickster god boasted.

Chapter 48: Chapter 47: The Genie Trap

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, but we still don’t know what Asgard is,” Sora said bluntly. “Could you elaborate a little, maybe?”

Loki gritted his teeth, then took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Very well. My father is the All-Father of Asgard, one of the Nine Realms which include this realm Midgard.”

The audience traded glances with one another. “So, by ‘Midgard’, do you mean just Agrabah or all of the worlds?” Goofy asked.

Loki sighed. “I was but a child when your World became divided, and my people have included it in that count then. So yes, I mean all of the worlds.”

“All-Father? So, you’re like the prince? Shouldn’t you be leading your own world’s army?” Sora asked.

Loki shifted his gaze. “Actually, no… I’m in exile because my father and brother did not approve of my recent actions and my attempt to wipe out the enemy.”

Sora smirked. “Oh, so you never even had claim to the throne and you don’t even have any of your royal resources,” he taunted.

Donald chuckled mockingly. “Yeah, not even a real army!” he added.

“SILENCE!” he shouted. “You dare to make a mockery of me? I am a god! And I do have an army, one the likes of which you have never seen.”

Unfazed, Sora crossed his arms and gave him a co*cky smirk. “Really? Then why didn’t you bring them?” he asked.

Kairi giggled. “Yeah. They might be a bit more intimidating than some ceramic jars.”

“It’s… not their time yet,” was all Loki could say.

Aladdin raised his eyebrow. “It doesn’t look like you came here with enough to start an invasion, so you’re not here to pick a fight,” he observed. “What are you after?”

“Astute deduction, commoner,” Loki commended. “No, I’m here for something that would waste less effort for all of us. I hope you would be willing to cooperate and offer me what I seek.”

Jasmine clenched her fists. “How dare you come in here uninvited, attack our guards with your Heartless and make demands of us?! If you know what is good for you, you will leave and never return!” she challenged.

Loki let out a small chuckle. “Oh, I like her,” he said.

Mickey stared him down. “Tell us what you’re after!” he demanded.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s how we play this game. If you try to do things by force, then you may force my hand.”

“Then what game would you like to play?” Kairi asked with a thin layer of derision in her voice.

“He’s stalling,” Riku interjected. Everyone turned to face him. Loki’s expression went blank as he realized that the young man had seen right through him. “He’s buying time while one of his buddies looks for something. What is it?” He entered his battle stance but did not summon his Keyblade, choosing instead to threaten action before outright interrogation.

The answer came in the form of a flying brown moray eel. Riku and Kairi eyed it curiously, unsure what to make of it. Sora, Donald and Goofy glared at it, remembering Ursula’s pets Flotsam and Jetsam, and guessing that this one filled a similar purpose. Aladdin and Jasmine gasped. Abu and Iago screamed. The others in the party quickly realized that the people of Agrabah were quite familiar with this creature.

Loki smiled when he saw the eel. “Why, hello, Xerxes. Have you found it?” he asked.

His smile faded when the eel shook his head. “No luck, no luck,” he said apologetically. “The lamp is nowhere to be found.”

Aladdin let out a laugh. “You want Genie? Good luck!” he mocked. “Even if you did find him, he’s not going to do what you want. He’s free. He has no master!”

Loki smirked. “Oh, but I don’t want his wishes, boy. I want his power!” He studied Aladdin for a moment. “And I believe I know where I can get it. He has the lamp! Attack!”

The Heartless rushed forward. Everyone who had a weapon took it out. Sora raised his Keyblade above his head and shouted “Magnega!” A vortex appeared a few feet above his head. All of the Pot Spiders were lifted up and pulled into it. A third of them shattered against each other and vanished. Mickey shot Pearl at a few while Donald cast Thundaga, and soon they were all vanquished.

The Neoshadows remained, but Riku, Goofy, Kairi, and Razoul engaged them. In spite of the Heartless using gymnastic maneuvers to attack and dodge their opponents’ strikes, it was clear that they stood no chance.

Aladdin swung his scimitar at Loki, but the trickster god blocked it with his scepter. Loki ducked out of the way and sidestepped around him. Aladdin spun around and slashed back at him, though Loki dodged that as well.

“Shame,” Loki said, confusing Aladdin. “I would have thought that a thief would think to keep his pockets secured.” He pulled his hand out from behind him, a golden oil lamp dangling by the handle from his little finger.

Aladdin did a double take and felt his pockets. He sighed and shook his head. “Man, I really need to keep a better grip on that thing,” he grumbled. He threw himself at Loki and swung his hand out to grab the lamp, but Loki stepped away, letting him stumble forward.

Loki dismissed his staff and swung the lamp up and caught the base of it in his now-free hand. He cleared his throat. “Spirit of the lamp, come forth!” he shouted, fiercely rubbing the smooth metal.

The gold began emanating a bright aura. The lamp shook violently in his hands. Blue smoke poured out of the spout, lightning flashing around the clouds. The clouds took shape and solidified into a humanoid form. The being had a pear-shaped head that was entirely bald save for a black ponytail of hair and a beard. It wore a golden band on either wrist and a red belt sash around its waist. Below the sash, legs did not form, it had a wispy tail that was a slightly darker shade of blue than the rest of the body.

The Genie of the Lamp stretched his arms and yawned. “Woo, Al, you just woke me from quite the nap,” he said. He looked around at the group that was gathered. “Hey, Sora! My man! Keyblade master extraordinaire! How go things?”

“Well, I must say he is more talkative than I was told,” Loki commented.

Genie leaned down to study the stranger. “Well, if it isn’t one of the Norse gods or whatever people call you,” he said. Sora crossed his arms and shared a knowing grin with Mickey. He might actually have been onto something with his hunch.

“How nice of you to grace us with your presence, spirit of the lamp,” Loki greeted with a flourish. “I shall be taking your power now.”

“Oh, yeah?! Well, here’s a taste of some power!” Genie shouted. He spun around and transformed so that he was now dressed like a 1920’s-era gangster and carried a Tommy gun. Gripping the handle and trigger with one hand and holding the barrel up with the other, Genie pointed it at the trickster god. “What do you have to say to this, see?”

Unfazed, Loki pulled out an emerald crystal and held it up for all to see.

Genie gasped in horror and changed back to his normal appearance. “The Crystal of Ix!” he exclaimed.

Donald ran in and shot a Firaga spell at Loki, but the trickster god held the crystal in the spell’s path. As soon as the fireball hit the crystal, it was absorbed into the reflecting surfaces. Donald, Sora and Mickey gasped when they saw this.

“Ah, yes. The Crystal of Ix. A loan from an acquaintance. Ensnares any being, magical or otherwise, though it certainly works better with magical entities.” The fire burned within the crystal for a few seconds before fizzling out. “Not even a genie can escape it. Shall I show you?” He pointed the crystal at Genie, who was trying to back away. The crystal glowed with a bright green light and a laser shot out of the tip.

Genie covered his face as he realized that there was no escaping the crystal’s magic. Almost everyone else watched helplessly, aware that there was nothing they could do to stop the crystal from imprisoning Genie.

Almost everyone. That same amount of people watched in shock as the one other person present jumped in the way of the laser just before it reached Genie. King Mickey was hit square in the chest with the magic beam. The spell enveloped him in green light and slowly pulled him toward Loki. The laser wrapped around him into a sphere, which then shrank and zipped right into the crystal. When the Crystal of Ix stopped glowing, it showed Mickey trapped inside.

“Mickey!” Riku called out.

“Your Majesty!” Sora shouted at the same time.

Loki examined his catch. “Not quite what I was hoping for, but that should do,” he said.

He was thrown back when a large red spring-loaded boxing glove hit him in the face. When he got up and regained his bearings, he saw said boxing glove change back into Genie’s hand, which launched a series of fireworks all over the place.

“Oh, no you don’t! I have had enough of that Crystal for an immortal lifetime! Now, let him go or taste the rainbow!” Genie shouted, launching fireworks blasts of multiple colors all around him, as well as a few Fire and Gravity spells directed specifically at Loki.

The trickster god danced around to avoid the attacks, only to see Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Aladdin running straight at him, all of them baring their weapons to attack. Understanding that he had to retreat, he threw the crystal into the air. Xerxes air-swam in and caught it between his teeth.

“Go bring that to your master, worm,” Loki ordered. Xerxes nodded and sailed away. “I’m afraid this is where we part ways. May we meet again.” With that, he conjured a Corridor of Darkness and backed into it.

Abu screeched and leapt at Xerxes, but he could not go high enough. Iago could and soared right for the eel, but Xerxes ducked out of the way. Rajah lunged and swiped at him, but the eel narrowly avoided that. Making off with only a scratch across his tail, Xerxes flew out the window.

“Tch!” Riku cursed. “We have to follow the eel!” Sora and Kairi nodded in agreement.

Donald had already started running for the door. “Hurry, before it gets away!” he shouted. Goofy began to follow him.

“No need,” Aladdin said, causing the wizard and knight to stop and all eyes to turn on him. “I know exactly where he’s going.”

Chapter 49: Chapter 48: Into the Land of the Black Sand

Chapter Text

The party studied the diorama of a city of black stone, which Genie had conjured up on top of a table. The building models sat on a layer of black sand. Sora, Kairi and Donald were engrossed in the makeup and color of the stone and sand. Riku and Goofy studied the road maps, building levels, and vantage points. Aladdin and Jasmine did not need to study the diorama, as they were quite familiar with the location.

“So, this Mozenrath guy, you’ve fought him before?” Sora asked.

Aladdin nodded, a scowl on his face. “We faced off a couple times over the last few months. He possesses powerful dark magic and controls an army of undead Mamluks, but he wants more power,” he explained.

“Such as the phenomenal cosmic power of a genie,” Sora finished.

“Particularly one who’s been freed and whose magic is no longer bound by the restrictions of his enslavement,” Riku added.

“And if he’s working with Maleficent and the Heartless, then he’s certainly capable of causing a lot of trouble on the way,” Kairi noted.

Donald frowned at the city model. “So, how do we save the King?” he asked.

“We have to assume that Mozenrath is expecting us, and is in fact leading us into a trap,” Jasmine said. She pointed to a bunch of brown sticks with green tips interspersed around the diorama. “He has devices that detect magic at these points. They are designed to tune out dark magic, because otherwise they would light up whenever a Mamluk patrol drew near.”

“We should do everything we can to stay out of sight and hope we can avoid the trap altogether,” Aladdin added.

Riku crossed his arms pensively. “You, Aladdin and Goofy don’t have any magic to sense, but the rest of us do,” he said. “If we don’t get into trouble, we should be able to suppress our magic so it was like we were out of mana. But that still leaves Genie. Also, you and Kairi are Princesses of Heart, with some pretty strong light magic that I don’t think we’ll be able to just shut down; you’ll be like walking neon signs.” He went silent for a moment longer. “But I think I can cover up your scents with my dark powers.”

“So, I guess I’m staying here?” Genie asked. “I mean, I’m not exactly one for stealth.” To demonstrate, he changed shape so that he was wearing a rainbow-colored costume and holding a set of musical instruments. “I’d only give us away,” he lamented.

Aladdin shook his head. “No. Mozenrath and Loki could just come back and nab you while we’re gone,” he said. “We’re going to have to take you with us.”

Goofy punched his fist into his palm, an idea sparking. “Donald and I can hold onto the lamp!” he suggested. “Then we’ll draw their focus, head right to where they’re keeping the King and spring the trap before you guys get there.”

Donald nodded, agreeing with the plan. “Yeah! And we’ll make it look like we’re trying to not be seen, even though that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he added.

“Then the rest of us will follow from different sides of the city, making sure we don’t get caught,” Sora said.

“Be careful, everyone,” Aladdin warned. “Mozenrath is not someone we can underestimate. He’s a cunning and powerful foe who makes Jafar look like an amateur.”

Sora nodded. “Understood,” he replied. He looked out the window at the late afternoon sun. “We should probably get going and get to the Desert of Black Sand before they start to suspect that we’re coming up with an elaborate rescue plan.”

Everyone else agreed to this. “Don’t worry friends, I can get us out there, and you can walk the rest of the way under the cover of night!” Genie said. He vanished and reappeared on the balcony, taking the form of an eight-seater convertible sports car with rocket thrusters on the back. “Strap in, everyone.”

“Good luck,” the Sultan said as the party of seven, plus Abu and Iago, climbed into the magic rocket car. Jasmine hugged her father before climbing in and buckling up next to Aladdin.

“Uh, does he do this a lot?” Donald asked, noticing Aladdin and Jasmine’s second-nature familiarity with Genie’s transformation.

“Definitely a lot,” Aladdin answered.

Then the rocket car levitated until it was above the palace, then shot off into the distance, vanishing on the horizon within moments.

Loki walked into the darkened citadel’s throne room to find Mozenrath slouching in the seat, examining the Crystal of Ix with a bored expression. Xerxes floated next to Mozenrath, a nervous and fearful expression on his face. Loki bowed politely but Mozenrath held his hand up, gesturing for him to save it.

“I’m disappointed, Loki,” Mozenrath said. “I expected a sorcerer such as yourself to be able to pull off such a simple task as trapping the Genie in the Crystal. You point, and you shoot. Point and shoot. That was all. But you got the wrong target, and you didn’t even bother getting the right target after that.”

“With all due respect, it was half a second from getting the Genie, but the mouse king decided to be a hero and jump in the way of the beam. Then they retaliated and forced me into retreat,” Loki explained, a biting tone in his voice. He did not like to be disrespected. “Besides, I recall rumors that you found yourself trapped in the Crystal,” he retorted.

Mozenrath turned his head to glare at Loki. He did not like to be reminded of that. Xerxes snickered, but stopped when Mozenrath reached over and wrung his hand around his neck.

“Well, then, since this was your job, how would you suggest fixing it?” Mozenrath challenged.

Loki smirked, glad that he asked. He had actually been thinking the whole way from Agrabah. “It’s quite simple, really. We use the mouse as bait and set a trap for them,” he said. “And as an added bonus, while we have them tied up in here…”

Mozenrath grinned wickedly. “We head back to Agrabah and storm the city unopposed,” he finished.

Loki smirked. “They know about your security system, I trust?” Mozenrath and Xerxes nodded. “Then there is the chance that they will leave the Genie behind to avoid him triggering the crystals, in which case we can trap him when we go back. But if they take him or send him elsewhere to avoid such an eventuality, we can still isolate and trap him and then absorb him into the Crystal.”

Mozenrath conjured an orb of darkness in his hand. “Excellent. Now, it will take some time before they arrive. Here. Deliver this to the ‘guest chamber’, if you will.” The orb of darkness formed into a Possessor. “It should be ready with one more of these in its system.”

Loki took the Possessor and regarded it with amusem*nt. “Very well. I do look forward to our plan’s success,” he said before turning around and leaving the chamber.

Like Genie said, night had fallen as the party trekked across the black sand. The air was cool, a stark contrast from the midday swelter in Agrabah, but it had also been warm at the entrance to the Cave of Wonders, which Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Aladdin had also visited at night, so the refreshing cool was certainly a surprise. The only sources of illumination were the moonlight and the faint glow of the crystals that Mozenrath had installed to detect foreign magic.

Riku put either hand on Kairi and Jasmine’s shoulders. He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. In moments, a dark aura had wrapped around the two women, though it was clear that neither of them felt it affect them, meaning that it only sat over them.

“Now, that’s great! We can sneak in, grab the mouse guy and get out without Mozenrath even knowing we’re here!” Iago exclaimed. Aladdin and Jasmine facepalmed, realizing that they probably should have left the loudmouthed bird back in Agrabah.

Riku shook his head lightly. “Not with you yapping like you have a megaphone,” he muttered. He made a pinching gesture with his hand, almost like an “OK” sign but with his finger and thumb an inch apart, and tilted his hand counterclockwise. Iago tried to ask him what he was doing, but no sound came out. There was not even the sound of his wings flapping.

“Wow. What was that?” Aladdin asked, impressed.

“Just a ‘Silence’ charm,” Riku answered. “It’s a weak enough spell that it should easily hide under my dark aura.” Iago glared at him as he realized what had happened.

“If only we could do that on a regular basis,” Aladdin mused, smirking. Jasmine nodded in agreement while Abu laughed from on top of Aladdin’s shoulder.

The group of Riku, Kairi, Jasmine, and Iago looked at both of the other groups. Sora stood with Aladdin and Abu, while Donald stood next to Goofy and zipped Genie’s lamp up into his hat. Donald and Goofy saluted, and the other two groups waved each other off.

“Good luck, guys,” Sora said. Riku nodded back. Sora and Aladdin walked off to the left while Riku, Kairi, Jasmine, and Iago went around to the right. Donald and Goofy turned around to look at the dark city filled with undead warriors and, most likely, Heartless. They waited a few minutes before they made their way to the first buildings.

Slowly and silently, they crept past one building, staying close to the wall. When they reached the edge, Goofy took a quick peek around the corner, but drew back when he saw the first of the guards.

The Mamluk resembled a lanky human, dressed in garb that was somewhat similar to the guards in Agrabah. It even carried a scimitar. However, it became quite clear from a single glance that this creature was not human. Its skin was blue and partially-decayed. Its features were gaunt, its flesh conforming to the shape of the bones underneath. Its lips were folded up around the jaws like an elderly man without teeth. Its eyeballs were jaundiced and its pupils and irises were shrunken to pinpoints. Goofy gulped, horrified by the sight. Aladdin had been spot-on with his description of the zombified creature.

Goofy peeked around the corner again, and saw that the Mamluk continued its lumbering route. Figuring that if its arthritic steps made it tedious and slow to walk, it would take several seconds to turn, he beckoned for Donald to follow him as he crossed the street over to the next building. This process continued for a good while. They made sure that the Mamluks were far enough away that they would not notice the crystals glowing at the top of the security posts until they were already gone. However, there were times when they came upon a corner just as the zombie was passing by and the magic-sensing crystal was right at the corner they were approaching. When the Mamluk turned to investigate and saw them, Goofy grabbed it, ripped it to pieces with surprising and unnerving ease, and buried it in the ground. As far as he and Donald could tell, no one was the wiser. With that obstacle cleared, they made their way to the citadel at the center of the city.

Sora and Aladdin looked over the edge of the roof of one of the tallest buildings, watching the Mamluks make their rounds. They watched Donald and Goofy’s path, and saw that they had almost reached the citadel with little difficulty. Riku, Kairi and Jasmine were halfway there on their side.

“So, when Donald and Goofy go in the front and spring the trap, Riku, Kairi and Jasmine will head in from the side, then we’ll drop in from above,” Aladdin reminded Sora.

Sora nodded in understanding. “We’ll wait a few minutes after they’re all inside, then slip in,” he said back. Aladdin nodded in agreement.

There was silent for a few more minutes as they watched and waited for the others to make it inside. Aladdin flicked dates into the air, which Abu caught and ate. Sora simply stared blankly. He was not used to stealth missions.

“So, you guys have a date set?” Sora asked out of the blue.

Aladdin was taken by surprise. “What?” he asked.

“For the wedding,” Sora replied. “It’s been over a year now. Is anything big happening anytime soon?”

Aladdin took a while to answer. “I guess we’re waiting until everything’s figured out. We still have plenty of things to sort through, and we have a lot of enemies ready to cause trouble. Like Mozenrath, and those two crooks Abis Mal and Haroud, for starters. And we’ve been going on some diplomatic missions to the other desert kingdoms. I guess we’re just waiting until we know where to go with it. Or making sure we can survive until then.”

Sora nodded. “Makes sense. You need to find a balance between the street rat, the prince and the hero.”

Aladdin raised an eyebrow. “You have something on your mind?” he asked.

This time it was Sora who hesitated in answering. “After we finished our last big adventure and reunited with our friends, that was supposed to be it. We go home, reunite with our families, and settle in the peace. But I’ve missed hanging out with Donald and Goofy, exploring worlds, fighting monsters, and helping people. I should have been glad to be home, and believe me, I was, but I was anxious for another adventure. So, when the King sent us the letter calling us out for this, I jumped at the chance.”

“I see. I think I have an idea sort of like that. While I love palace life and my life with Jasmine, I still head back out to the city to jump across rooftops and make the guards and some of the crooks look like fools. I don’t think I’m the right person to ask about your issue, but maybe you should try to find a balance.”

“A balance?” Sora asked.

“A balance between your time at home and your time out adventuring,” Aladdin clarified. “You’ve only been back home once after two years of this.”

“One year, technically,” Sora corrected. “I slept for a full year. Long story.”

“You’ve only been back home once after a year of adventuring. You weren’t used to the change. And from what I understand, when your journey started, you didn’t exactly have a place to go back to. You need to figure it out for yourself, where you fit at home and out here.”

Sora smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Aladdin.”

They noticed that Donald and Goofy had already entered the citadel while Riku, Kairi, Jasmine, and Iago were approaching their entrance. “We should probably start heading over there,” Aladdin said.

“Yup,” Sora replied. They looked down to see if there were any Mamluks who might see them (which they doubted they would), then walked back across the roof. Once they were on the other side, they turned back around and sprinted. When they reached the edge, they leapt across the gap to the next roof. They continued running across and jumping between roofs until the final jump. The citadel stood taller than most of the other buildings, but fortunately they could find sufficient ledges on the wall. Sora guided Abu to climb into his hood so that he would not fall off. Sora and Aladdin shared confident glances, then sprinted across the roof and jumped. They hit the wall and grabbed onto one of the ledges. After taking a few seconds to catch their breath, they began climbing up the wall. When they reached the top, they pulled themselves over the ledge and rolled themselves onto the roof.

Sora and Aladdin brought themselves to their feet and Abu climbed out of Sora’s hood and stood on his shoulder. They all started laughing. When the laughter had died down, they remembered they were trying to be sneaky and shushed each other.

Jasmine led Riku, Kairi and Iago through the corridors until they came into the grand hall of the citadel. They saw Donald and Goofy standing in the middle of the room, but there was no trap that had been sprung. They stepped into the room, confused. As they did so, they heard a sound like stone scraping against stone for a few seconds, but otherwise nothing happened.

“What’s going on?” Kairi asked, her voice kept to a whisper.

Donald and Goofy shrugged. “Gawrsh, we came in here and heard that scraping stone sound, but nothing happened,” Goofy said.

“They must’ve wanted to make sure we were all here first,” Riku guessed, realizing the extent of the trap. “Which means we can go find Mickey before Sora and Aladdin get here and avoid the trap altogether.” He smiled, thinking that he had the god of mischief and the cunning sorcerer beat.

“Oh, I’m afraid that won’t be so easy.” Everyone turned to see Loki and Mozenrath. The ruler of the Desert of Black Sand held the Crystal of Ix, the shrunken mouse still inside, in his left hand. Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy noticed that Mozenrath’s right hand was gloved while his left hand was bare, which made them wonder why he did not simply hold the crystal in his gloved hand. Donald hypothesized that either his right hand or his glove was magic and he was planning on using it for offensive purposes.

“Thank you for bringing the Genie here. That was thoughtful of you,” Mozenrath said, a wicked grin on his face. “I’m sure your king would be happy to have some company. Loki, would you mind letting the Genie out of his lamp?”

“Done,” Loki replied, all of a sudden holding and unzipping Donald’s hat. Everyone looked at Donald and they were surprised to find that Loki had indeed taken Donald’s hat while no one was looking. In fact, they had assumed that the trickster had not even moved from his original position.

Loki took the lamp out of the unzipped hat and rubbed it. Unable to resist the pull, Genie appeared out of the spout. He looked around and gasped in horror to find he was hovering over Loki and Mozenrath, and Mozenrath still had the crystal.

“What did I tell you? When I want something, I take it,” Mozenrath bragged, raising his hand to point the crystal at Genie.

“Magnega!” Suddenly, the crystal was ripped out of Mozenrath’s hand. The confused sorcerer looked up to see what had happened. Sora and Aladdin stood up at the skylight, and Sora was holding his Keyblade, ready for a fight.

Sora caught the crystal in his free hand. He regarded it for a split second. “I gotcha, your Majesty. Don’t worry,” he assured Mickey, not sure if he could hear. He dropped the crystal and then stepped off of the ledge after it. He swung his Keyblade down at it with all his might and hit it with the blunt end of the weapon. The force sent the crystal straight down to the floor, where it shattered on impact. A sphere of green light rose from the crystal, taking a few seconds to expand. When it dissipated, Mickey Mouse dropped to the ground, landing on all fours. He took a few seconds to catch his breath. Donald, Goofy and Riku ran to his side.

Sora and Aladdin landed on the floor and pointed their weapons at the two villains. “Game’s up, Mozenrath!” Aladdin said.

Mozenrath was somewhat taken aback by the turn of events, but a smirk soon appeared on his face. “I wouldn’t count on that. Listen. Take a look around,” he retorted.

Confused, everyone listened. They heard the same stone-scraping-on-stone noise and, on looking around realized that the section of floor they were standing on was sinking into the ground. The trap was being sprung by all of their weight on the platform at the same time!

A force field pushed the party into the center, where they crashed together and landed in a heap. Looking up, Sora gasped as he saw a semi-spherical cage materialize above them and drop around them.

They stood up, untangling themselves with some difficulty, and ran to the bars. They tried to move the cage, but even with all their might it refused to budge. Riku, Mickey and Kairi tried to summon their Keyblades, but nothing happened. Sora tried calling his Keyblade, which he had dropped when hit with the force field and sat outside of the cage, but nothing happened.

“You like it?” Loki asked rhetorically, amused. “Its special magic cuts off the link between this plane and the dimension where your weapons vanish to. It looks like you’re stuck in there.”

“Don’t worry, Al! I’ll get you out!” Genie shouted. He flew toward the cage but crashed and flattened himself against an invisible wall. He dropped out of flight, his blue tail transforming into a pair of legs with red shoes, and landed a few feet down on a concave surface. “What the…?”

Loki waved his hand and an invisibility glamour faded, revealing Genie to be inside a giant bottle, which floated softly to the ground. A Fat Bandit appeared and put a cork over the opening of the bottle.

“Are you ever not going to fall for that?” Loki quipped dryly. “But how are you going to take his power after this?” he asked Mozenrath.

“That was only a small piece of the full Crystal. There’s more where that came from,” the sorcerer explained. Loki nodded and smirked.

Abu screeched some angry words, and Iago attempted to spew out a range of expletives, but still no sound came out.

“Huh. About time someone shut that bird up. Well, I’d hate to leave you, but we’re looking for something in Agrabah, and we’re going to find it, even if we have to destroy it,” Mozenrath said.

“Oh yeah? How are you going to do that?” Aladdin asked.

Mozenrath whistled and shouted “Sirocco!” A blue wolf-like creature with a pale mane around its neck that grew so far that it resembled a scarf leapt in. It had a Heartless emblem on the tip of its snout. “Meet Sirocco, the wind jackal. A fierce demon, I found him, captured him, and… trained him until he was completely loyal to me. Then I started fusing him with Possessors, slowly transforming him while still disciplining him until he became a Heartless, at which point he is still loyal to me. Now, Sirocco, destroy!” He gestured to a stone pillar. The jackal lunged at the target and spun around it, moving so fast that it was only a whirling blur. Within seconds, the pillar crumbled to dust. The jackal stopped moving and landed on its feet, then snarled at the captive heroes. Mozenrath smirked confidently. “Sirocco can reduce an entire kingdom to dust. It should only be a few hours before the entire city of Agrabah is sand, all save for the object of our interest.”

Jasmine and Kairi gasped in horror. Sora, Riku and Mickey glared at the villains. Aladdin clenched his fists around the metal bars. “You won’t get away with this, Mozenrath!” he shouted.

“Good luck trying to stop me!” Mozenrath retorted confidently. He snapped his fingers and dozens of Heartless, from Shadows to Bandits to Fat Bandits, materialized. “Have fun,” he said to the monsters. He and Loki exited the room, the sorcerer beckoning for the Heartless jackal to follow.

The party stood there, unable to access their weapons, watching their enemies go, while the Heartless closed in on them.

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: Sirocco the Wind Demon

Chapter Text

It was not long before the first Shadows crept through the space between the bars. They crawled toward the unarmed heroes. One of them prepared to pounce on Sora, but Sora grabbed its left shoulder with his left hand and the right side of its head with his right hand. He brought both hands toward each other, pulling the body and head in opposite directions with them. There was a popping sound and the Shadow dissipated into smoke.

“Remember, everyone. We may not have our weapons, but we do have our strength and fighting skills, and some of us have our magic!” Mickey said. To demonstrate, he shot a Pearl spell at one of the Shadows, vanquishing it.

Donald nodded and shot Blizzard at another Shadow. Riku destroyed another with a Dark Fire spell and Kairi took another out with a Thunder spell. Turning to the imprisoned Genie, she came up with an idea. She held her hand out toward him and concentrated on what she was trying to do.

When the Shadows were gone, the Bandits slipped between the bars, with much difficulty. One of them swung its sword at Sora, but he ducked under it and kicked the Heartless in the chest. Mickey jumped over another attacker and, grabbing it by the head as he came back down, pulled it down with him. Goofy punched another several times in the gut until it fell down, then Donald jumped up and down on top of it over and over.

Aladdin nimbly dodged the attacks of another Bandit and grabbed it by the wrist. He wrestled with the Heartless until he managed to steal its scimitar. “And we have their weapons!” he told the others. Remembering that the swords vanish with the Heartless when they are slain, Aladdin simply kicked the Heartless whose sword he stole and then chopped off the head of a Heartless behind him. He swung the sword at one of the bars, but it only made a small dent and dulled the blade where it met. Giving up on that plan, Aladdin sliced down to the forehead of the Bandit from whom he had stolen the scimitar. As he suspected, the sword vanished as soon as the Heartless had been destroyed.

Soon, all of the Bandits had been eliminated. The Fat Bandits looked around at each other, not sure what to do. One of them inhaled, resolving to burn them to a crisp with flame breath, but Donald destroyed it with Blizzaga. One of the others spat a fireball at Riku, but he simply pulled up a wall and let the fireball bounce back at it, sending it flying. This convinced them to go for a direct approach, in close range. One of them charged right at them, but forgot about the cage and stopped when it hit them, though this caused the metal to rattle. Two more grabbed onto the bars and tried to rip them apart, but this seemed to be counterproductive.

At this point, Sora noticed Kairi and wondered what she was doing. He followed her gaze and saw the giant bottle floating ten feet in the air, suspended in a transparent sphere. Genie seemed to be looking around in confusion.

“Prepare to shield yourselves, guys,” Kairi warned. Everyone saw what she was doing and realized what was about to happen, so they were prepared when she shouted “Gravira!”

The g-forces pressed down on the bottle, breaking the Zero Gravity spell, and pushing it right to the ground. The magic users barely had time to cast Reflega when the bottle shattered into a thousand pieces on the ground. The glass shards scattered outward, slicing through the Heartless and leaving only two left.

Genie grew to giant size, letting out a booming laugh. “Nice move, kid! Now, let me take care of these guys for you,” he said. He leaned over the cage and looked down at the now-terrified Fat Bandits. “You know, I was considering whether to sign you up for Weight Watchers or The Biggest Loser, but I think I’ll just do this.” He extended to enormous index fingers and poked down on the Heartless, squashing them flat. When he lifted his fingers, there was nothing left.

With the enemy out of the way, Genie transformed himself into a crane and latched a hook onto the top of the cage. Then, cranking his arm like a winch, he raised the cage up, freeing the party.

Sora summoned his Keyblade back to him, and Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi conjured their weapons as well. “Thanks, Genie,” Aladdin said. He went to pick up his scimitar.

“No problemo, Al. Just glad to be of help,” Genie replied modestly.

“We need to get back to Agrabah,” Jasmine reminded everyone.

“She’s right,” Riku said. “Let’s get out of here!” All in agreement, they ran for the door, Sora and Riku in the lead.

Hearing a sort of ragged breathing from up ahead, Riku shot Sora a cautious glance and readied his Keyblade. Sora nodded and did the same. As they passed through the doorway, two scimitar blades swung around towards them at neck level. The Keyblade wielders blocked the attacks with their Keyblades and pushed hard enough to knock the swords out of their wielders’ hands.

Or, that was what would have happened if said wielders’ wrist tendons were stronger than their grip. What actually happened was that the Mamluks’ hands broke off and fell to the ground, the fingers still wrapped around the sword handles. Sora and Riku turned to face their would-be-ambushers and delivered swift retaliation. Sora sliced across the stomach region, then swept his enemy’s legs out from beneath it, causing both halves of the undead warrior to tumble to the ground. Riku slashed vertically, bifurcating the Mamluk cleanly.

When the others got outside, they took a quick look at the enemies that had been placed as a contingency in the instance that they did manage to escape from the cage. Kairi looked queasy, but she recovered. Abu stuck his tongue out in disgust.

“Alright, guys. Not a moment to lose!” Aladdin said. Genie nodded and retook his rocket car form. Everyone climbed in and buckled up.

Iago, secured next to Riku, pointed at his beak. Riku grinned sheepishly. “Oh, right. I forgot about that. He performed his earlier gesture, but instead turned his hand clockwise.

“Hello? Ah, I missed the sound of my voice,” Iago said. Abu rolled his eyes.

“So, anyone know how to stop a Heartless-ified wind demon?” Sora asked right before Genie took off.

They drew near the city of Agrabah as the sun was coming up. Despite the solar illumination, they could not see the city, as it was wrapped in an enormous sandstorm. The dust clouds were tinged with a dark aura, giving them a decent idea as to what was causing the storm.

“We can’t just fly right into the storm. We won’t be able to see a thing,” Kairi said.

“Even if we do get to them, we’re still not going to be able to survive the storm while fighting them,” Donald added.

Everyone gauged their options, thinking of how they were going to get into the eye and stop Mozenrath and Loki. Mickey pointed a finger into the air and smiled. “Genie, take us above the cloud. Make sure we’re directly above the very middle,” he told the rocket car.

“Got it!” Genie replied. The front end of the rocket car bent upward as he flew over the edge of the cloud and stopped right above the dead center.

“What’s the plan?” Goofy asked.

“We’re gonna drop down as fast as possible with as much force as possible, ah-ha!” Mickey answered.

The others looked at each other in confusion, then Sora, Riku and Donald smiled knowingly.

“What?” Aladdin asked, confused.

Sora demonstrated by grabbing a date and dropping it. The others nodded in understanding.

“Keep your seatbelts secured,” Riku advised. Everyone made sure of that.

Mickey, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Kairi summoned their weapons. The middle three shouted “Graviga!” at the same time, though Mickey shouted “Graviza!” and Kairi shouted “Gravira!” An enormous hemisphere of purple energy materialized over them and pushed down on them. The rocket car dropped out of the sky, hitting what would normally be terminal velocity within seconds. Before anyone realized, they had hit the ground with tremendous force, though a quick cushioning transformation and spell by Genie made sure that nobody inside felt it.

On the outside, however…

The sandstorm had dispersed. The buildings and stalls were all heavily covered with sand, but it was not blowing all over the place, obscuring vision and clogging breath. The rocket car sat in a crater in the middle of the road, which had become so wide that some stalls collapsed into it. There were some giant piles of sand where buildings used to be.

Looking around, the party saw Sirocco splayed on its side, disoriented. Further back, they saw Loki’s boots sticking out of the sand, the rest of him completely buried. In the other direction, Mozenrath had crashed into a watermelon stall, and was covered in sand and fruit guts.

Mozenrath stood up with some difficulty. Xerxes rose up into the air, floating upside-down, clearly disoriented. The sorcerer glared at the party, his face contorted in anger. After a moment, he relaxed and started laughing. “Well, this is a pleasant surprise. I guess I can just destroy you all here and now,” he said.

Genie teleported in front of him, now dressed in knight’s armor and wielding an oversized broadsword. “Prepare to defend thyself, knave!” he shouted.

Mozenrath chuckled. “Consider me prepared. Sirocco!” The Heartless jackal jumped to its feet and whirled itself around Genie, causing the armor and sword to dissolve. Genie stumbled, dizzied, and fell down. “You have to do better than that!” the sorcerer boasted. Xerxes laughed.

“How about this?” Jasmine retorted. She ran straight at him and swung a pair of knives his way. Mozenrath backed away and Xerxes wrapped himself around her wrist and pulled her arm back. Kairi swatted the eel in the face with her Keyblade, forcing him to slacken his grip. Jasmine shook herself free and Abu lunged at Xerxes, grabbing him and holding him to the ground. Mozenrath shot a spell that blasted Jasmine back, but Aladdin used this as an opening to tackle the sorcerer to the ground.

Sirocco snarled at the people attacking its master, but it found its view obstructed by a pair of Keyblades crossed together. It looked at Sora and Mickey with vicious eyes and bared teeth.

“Heel, boy!” Sora said in a flat tone. “You’re not going anywhere!”

Riku shot a series of Dark Fire blasts as the Heartless’ rear end. Sirocco turned around and threw itself at him, but Goofy charged in at the right instant and slugged it in the side with his shield. Donald shot a Blizzara spell at it, but it dodged and spun around him. Donald cast Aero, creating a wind shield, then unleashed a massive lightning blast above him. The electricity burst in a condensed field and sparked in all directions. The wind demon was launched out if its spin and thrown to Sora and Mickey, who started hitting it.

“Sirocco! Get up! Destroy them!” Mozenrath commanded. Sirocco shot to its feet and lashed out at its attackers, knocking them back. It homed in on Sora and pinned him down. It tried to bite down on him, but Sora pushed him back by holding his Keyblade in its teeth. Goofy knocked it off of Sora. The Heartless spun around him, but Goofy countered with a tornado attack in the opposite direction. Mickey helped by swinging his Keyblade below the shield, knowing that the jackal was so fast that it would run straight into the weapon at least once. Sirocco flipped out of its run, but landed on its feet right in front of Donald. Donald tried to get a spell off but the jackal snapped at him, biting a few feathers off and scaring him away.

Riku helped Sora to his feet. Sora cast Cura on himself. “Thanks. Any ideas?” Sora asked his friend.

“I’m thinking I might practice a new trick with the powers of darkness,” Riku replied. He ran off before Sora could ask what he meant.

Meanwhile, Mozenrath threw Aladdin off of him and knocked him back with a magic blast. Kairi ran to attack, but he summoned a Fat Bandit for her to run into. She stumbled back on the rebound and fell down in the sand. The Fat Bandit ignited its fist and punched at the ground. She rolled out of the way but the shockwave still hit her. Genie transformed into a sling and caught the Fat Bandit. He spun himself around before throwing the Heartless at Mozenrath. The sorcerer nonchalantly blasted the Fat Bandit into oblivion. Jasmine slashed at him, cutting into his robe, and kicked his leg to throw him off balance.

“Sirocco! Kill the mouse!” the sorcerer ordered while picking himself up off the ground and hitting Jasmine with a magic blast over his shoulder.

Aladdin swung his scimitar, but Mozenrath caught the blade with his gloved hand. However, Aladdin kept pushing against him, causing sparks to shoot out as Mozenrath tried to push back. Iago fluttered in front of the sorcerer’s face. “Attack this, destroy that, kill this! And people say I have a big mouth!” he said. This distracted Mozenrath, allowing Aladdin to force him down.

Sirocco turned and lunged at Mickey, who jumped out of the way. The jackal swiped at him, cutting a gash in his leg. It took another bite, but Mickey parried it with his Keyblade.

“Sirocco! Back down!” Mozenrath’s voice called. Surprised but loyal, Sirocco stopped attacking and backed away. Mickey followed the sound of the voice, wondering what had happened, and he saw something he was not quite expecting.

Riku glared at the jackal and barked another order. “Sirocco, lie down,” he commanded, Mozenrath’s voice coming out of his mouth. Sirocco did as it was told.

“What? That wasn’t my order. Nobody commands my minion but me! Sirocco! Destroy them!” the real Mozenrath shouted, struggling to stand up. However, Genie tied a two-ton weight to the hem of his glove, meaning he could not do much. Sirocco turned to its master in confusion. Why was he giving him conflicting orders?

“Sirocco! Lie down!” Riku ordered.

“Sirocco! Crush them!” Mozenrath countered, trying to shout louder than Riku.

“Sirocco! Roll over!”

“Sirocco! Turn them to dust!”

Sirocco looked back and forth, unsure what to do. It was in this extended moment of indecision that it felt a stabbing pain in its back. It collapsed to the ground, a wing-shaped blade sticking out of its back. Purple-colored flames rose from its body.

Sora, Mickey and Goofy ran in, attacking the jackal from all sides. Donald cast Firaga and Blizzaga spells. Sirocco tried to spin around and defend itself, but it could not move its body due to the fact that Riku held Way to the Dawn firm and had used fire magic to turn the sand beneath both of them into glass. It stretched its neck out and bit down on Sora’s leg, but that was its last move before Mickey delivered the final blow to the Heartless’ head. Sirocco dissipated into black smoke, its crystal heart being carried off in the wind before vanishing in a swirl of sparkles.

Mozenrath’s face twisted in anger. “No!” he shouted, struggling against Aladdin and Jasmine’s efforts to hold him down. His job became more difficult as they were joined by Razoul and two other guards.

Iago flew up to Riku. “That’s a neat trick, pal,” he commended, genuinely impressed. “How’d you do it?”

“I distorted my voice with some dark magic,” Riku explained. “I met someone who cast an illusion to look and sound like someone else. And I did switch between my own voice and another’s when I was trapped in a different form.”

“Not bad,” Iago said. Sora and Mickey nodded in agreement.

Everyone turned their attention back to the other group, which was still working to restrain Mozenrath. Xerxes tried to get in and help his master, but Kairi wrangled him and threw him over to Genie, who tied a leash around his neck and hooked a leash up to it.

“Now, let’s do something about that Mozenrath!” Genie said. He pointed his finger and shot a beam of light at the sorcerer. Mozenrath’s hands, including the entire length of the magic glove, were encased in heavy iron manacles that were bound together. With the extra weight and the inability to use his magic, Mozenrath stopped struggling. Aladdin and Jasmine stepped back and allowed the guards to restrain him.

Sora, Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy approached the group. “This might be an even better opportunity than we hoped,” Sora said to his friends.

“Okay, Mozenrath. We have a few questions for you,” Mickey said assertively.

However, before anything further could be said, Mozenrath vanished in a green light. The manacles fell to the ground. A sphere of green light followed a green line until it disappeared into a green crystal shard.

Everyone gasped when they saw Loki holding a fresh shard of the Crystal of Ix, which now had a miniaturized Mozenrath trapped within. Donald looked back at where he thought Loki had been buried for the entire battle, but only saw a sand mound with no feet sticking out.

“Well, he did say that there was more where that came from,” Loki quipped. He pointed the Crystal and a laser shot out and hit Xerxes. The eel was pulled in and sealed with his master.

The party as well as the guards raised their weapons. Genie shapeshifted until he was dressed like a pro wrestler. Even Abu cracked his knuckles.

Loki shrugged. “Sorry. Maybe another time.” He gave a two-fingered salute before a dark shroud wrapped around him, teleporting him away.

Sora rolled his eyes and gave his friends a look that said Can you believe this?

Aladdin and Jasmine turned to the others. “Thank you for helping us protect Agrabah once again,” Jasmine said, giving them a bow. The guards bowed in turn, though Razoul was half a second more hesitant.

Aladdin looked around. “Now that we’ve got a moment to breathe, I think we should start cleaning up,” he suggested.

Mickey nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” The group broke up into groups of three and split up to get to work.

Chapter 51: Chapter 50: The Sultan's Treasure Vault

Chapter Text

“Just hold it steady, Spike,” Genie told Sora, who was holding up a section of wall that had previously fallen when Sirocco took out chunks of the building. Genie transformed into a cement mixer truck and gathered up large portions of sand. He poured sand in areas around the wall, which fused together to create a stable wall. Genie continued this until the building was good as new.

Mickey, Kairi and Donald used Aero spells to gather sand up into wind funnels. Aladdin had whistled for the Magic Carpet, a sentient Persian carpet with gold lining and tassels at each corner, to fly in. They dropped the sand on the carpet, who flew around and spread the dust evenly around the street and dumped the excess outside of the city walls. Riku, Aladdin and Goofy helped the people put the broken stones back together, then Riku welded them together with magic.

By the early afternoon, most of the damage had been repaired. A couple buildings had been entirely demolished, but Genie simply conjured up new ones in their place, though the residents were quick to notice that the internal layout was not the same. Aladdin, Jasmine, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Genie, Abu, Iago, and Carpet reunited in front of the palace gates. Carpet stood up vertically, but the upper end slouched forward.

Aladdin looked around to make sure that nobody could overhear them. “So, what do you think it was that Mozenrath wanted to destroy Agrabah to get?” he asked.

“Perhaps it is whatever King Mickey said that Maleficent and her allies were searching for,” Jasmine guessed.

Sora nodded. “You’re right on that one,” he affirmed. “We met Loki before, and he was definitely a part of Maleficent’s gang.”

“Mozenrath said that the artifact was in the palace,” Riku said. “He specifically said they would sift through the remains of the palace, not just the city.”

“Then perhaps my father would know about it. We should ask him,” Jasmine said.

“He seemed pretty nervous when we brought it up,” Goofy told her. “Seems like something no one wants to talk about.”

“Well, regardless, we need to stop Maleficent and her club from getting to these things, and we need to know everything we can about them,” Mickey declared.

Sora turned to look up at Genie. “Say, would you happen to know anything about this?” he asked.

Genie shrugged. “Maybe. Can you give me the run-through?”

Sora and Mickey explained the situation as best they could. Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and Iago’s jaws dropped when they got to the part about the mysterious power being able to change reality to an even greater extent than what the Genie could do.

Genie rubbed the back of his neck. “Phew, that sounds like a doozy. Now let’s see… I’m sure that none of my masters have told me about it directly, but would I have heard a mention of it?” he wondered to himself. After a moment, he shrugged. “I’m sorry guys. You’re gonna have to check in with me on that.”

“No worries,” Sora reassured him. “But we should still see if we can figure anything out while we’re here, especially in case Mozenrath and Loki decide to try something again.”

“Then we should speak with my father again,” Jasmine said. “Perhaps we can convince him to tell us what he can.”

“And see if he’ll let us look in the treasure vault,” Aladdin added. Jasmine turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Well, you know, if you want to keep something safe, hide it in the most secure room in the palace.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. With their next course of action settled, they approached the palace doors and asked the guards to open the way for them.

Loki swatted the Crystal of Ix shard into his hand, but nothing happened. He banged it against a table, but that only chipped the table. Rolling his eyes, he pointed the crystal back over his shoulder and concentrated. He heard sparks of magic charge up in the crystal, which shot a beam out behind him. A green sphere of light expanded against a wall. When it faded, Mozenrath and Xerxes were splayed flat against the wall. A few seconds later, they dropped to the ground and slumped down. Mozenrath rubbed his wrists and Xerxes cricked his neck.

“You dare to demean me like that?” Mozenrath shouted in anger.

Loki turned to face him, his expression still neutral. “You’re quite welcome,” he replied flatly. “I had to get you out of there somehow. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to break off a piece from the Crystal of Ix without getting sucked in?”

Mozenrath stood up and brushed his robe down. “Where are we, anyway?” he asked.

“A storage building on the edge of the city,” Loki answered. He wrapped the crystal shard in a handkerchief. “Should give us enough time to come up with a plan to fix your mess.”

Mozenrath was indignant. “My mess? Don’t you dare place the blame of our defeat on me, particularly when you failed to assist.”

“Our failure with Sirocco was no one’s fault. But you made a significant error. You blabbed about how the artifact was in the palace,” Loki explained. “Now they will have increased security. Aladdin and the Keyblade wielders will almost certainly be in the vault, both in search of the artifact and waiting for us to enter so they can ambush us.”

Mozenrath blinked. Xerxes looked at him worriedly. The trickster did indeed have a point. Mozenrath had been confident in his victory over the heroes, so certain that his trap would succeed, that he abandoned all caution. He had said too much. But he had really wanted to rub it into his nemeses’ faces that everything they fought for would be lost. They were far more resourceful than he had considered.

“Fair enough,” Mozenrath said in resignation. “We will simply need to keep them busy while we do our own search. All we need is a suitable distraction.”

Xerxes floated up to a window and took a glance out. His gaze fell upon two figures crouched behind a row of pots. He was familiar with Agrabah’s two most infamous criminals. A sinister smile developed upon his malformed face.

The Sultan scratched his beard, deep in thought. Sora and Aladdin had asked him for permission to search for the artifact that Mozenrath and Loki sought, and they were patiently awaiting his answer. Sora had trouble hiding how anxious he was for the answer, though.

Eventually, the Sultan sighed. “Very well,” he said, much to the surprise of the nearby Razoul. “There may not be much that I can say to help you, but I can allow you to conduct your own search, and make sure those fiends to not get their hands on it.”

Sora and Aladdin nodded. “Thank you,” Sora said. They turned and exited into the hallway to the left, where their friends waited. “He said yes,” he told them.

The group smiled. Mickey turned to Jasmine. “Well, lead the way, Princess,” he said.

Jasmine led the group through a series of corridors until they reached a set of large double doors with a bar drawn across them. She addressed the guards who stood on either side of the doors. They immediately stood at attention.

“Let us in,” she ordered. The guards blinked in surprise, but they did not question and instead did as she asked. They removed the bar from the slots on the doors and set it to the side, then they pulled the doors open. The party entered the treasure vault. Jasmine turned around and addressed the guards again. “Keep the doors sealed. Do not open them until I give the signal.” The guards nodded and closed the doors.

Riku, Kairi and Donald’s jaws dropped when they saw the inside of the vault. The room was absolutely filled with treasure and artifacts of all shapes and sizes. There were gold statues, silver ornaments, and enormous jewels of many different colors. While Riku and Kairi were amazed at it all, Donald’s expression of shock slowly morphed into a smile. The others were not perturbed; Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and Iago had been in the vault many times, while Sora, Mickey and Goofy had seen other mounds of treasure and none of them were as greedy as Donald.

When they heard the bar slide back into place, the party huddled together. “All right, fellas. This is a big place. Whatever it is we’re looking for, it could be anywhere,” Mickey explained. “It’ll take us a while to check everything, and Mozenrath and Loki could use that time to come in and look for it themselves. I propose some of us keep a lookout. Goofy, you’re with me. We need to see the bad guys as soon as they show up. Everyone else, split up and search every corner. I don’t know how we’ll know when we find it, but we have to find it before our enemies do. Got it?” Everyone nodded. “Good. Now, let’s get going.”

Everyone nodded and quickly got to work. Mickey and Goofy patrolled the perimeter to count the number of possible entrances. There were only two windows as well as the door they came in from, though that might have been a bit too lax, so it should have been easy to guard all entrances. Meanwhile, everyone else carefully examined each item in the room. Sora, Aladdin and Jasmine picked up the smaller objects and studied them closely, while Riku and Kairi extended their dark and light senses around the larger objects to detect if they have some sort of power. A few times, they called to Aladdin and Jasmine when they thought they had found something, but they were quick to explain what it actually was and rebuke their guess.

Donald and Iago were less interested in locating a certain item, more concerned with taking advantage of the fact that they were in a room full of treasure. Donald began filling his pockets with whatever jewels and coins he could find. Iago snickered as he watched Donald try to stuff a ruby in his sleeve.

During this fit of giggles, he noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye. The parrot turned around and saw Abis Mal and Haroud Hazi Bin sneaking around the vault and stuffing their pockets with treasures. They must have snuck in through the window before Mickey and Goofy had completed their initial perimeter check.

“Hey! Hands off!” Iago shouted. Abis Mal jumped and fumbled with a golden idol, shocked at the sudden outburst.

“The parrot’s here?” Abis Mal said in surprise. He looked around and gasped. “Aladdin’s here? This is not what I signed up for!”

“Agreed,” Haroud said calmly.

Donald finally noticed the criminals. He let out a battle cry and ran straight for them, though he was slowed down by the added weight of all of the loot he was packing. Abis Mal and Haroud saw the incoming threat and quickly turned around to run away. Donald and Iago pursued them, the chase weaving around the statues and display pedestals, neither party gaining the advantage.

The commotion drew the attention of Goofy, who was baffled to see the intruders. Nevertheless, he joined the pursuit. He threw his shield to knock a statue over in an effort to block the criminals’ path, but they simply ran around it.

Sora and Aladdin looked up from the scepter and statuette they were examining and saw what was going on. Aladdin ran to join the chase, though it took Sora a few seconds before he recognized the thugs from the previous day, at which point he followed suit. Sora cast Blizzard to freeze the ground in front of Abis Mal and Haroud, but they simply slipped and slid across the stretch and continued running when they reached the end. Mickey soon jumped into the fray, as did Jasmine, and eventually so did Riku and Kairi. Within minutes, the chase degenerated into a line of people running after each other like something out of a cartoon.

While this was going on, Xerxes flew through the window. He saw what was happening and chuckled mischievously. He flew over everyone’s heads and sailed halfway through the room. He had been watching the party search each item and knew where they had stopped. That left him to check everything else. Fortunately, Zeromast’s explanation and Mozenrath’s magic gave him enough of an idea of what he was looking for.

Riku tackled Haroud and pinned him to the ground, crossing the man’s arms behind his back. Sora and Aladdin hopped over them and continued their pursuit of Abis Mal. Donald broke off from the line and ran around a different way to try to cut the thief off. However, he tripped and ran into Kairi, knocking her down and landing on top of her. Kairi tried to push him off but found that he was heavier than she thought. After a moment of struggling, she paused and glanced at his sleeve, noticing something red poking out.

“Donald, drop the treasure,” she said sternly. “It’s not yours to take.” Donald sighed and started unzipping his pockets and taking coins and jewels out.

“Wow, Donald! Shame on you! I can’t believe you would do such a thing! I mean, I would never…” Iago said, the tone of his voice decreasing until no sound came out of his mouth as Kairi pointed her hand at him and did the same pinching-and-turning motion that Riku had done earlier.

Xerxes returned to the middle of the room, frowning in disappointment. “No good, no good,” he muttered to himself.

Mozenrath appeared beside him. “What do you mean, ‘no good’?” he asked.

Xerxes pouted apologetically. “It’s not here. None of these are it,” he clarified.

“That’s ridiculous!” Mozenrath then went around the room searching each and every artifact while carefully avoiding the chase. Fortunately for him, nobody noticed he was there. After several minutes, Mozenrath clenched his fists in annoyance. “It isn’t here?! None of these treasures are the one we’re looking for?” After a moment of venting by way of firing magic blasts at random and throttling Xerxes, Mozenrath calmed down. He glanced over at the party, which was still chasing Abis Mal. He rolled his eyes, amazed that they still had not noticed his presence. “Wow. They really are idiots,” he mused.

At that moment, Donald threw a jewel at Abis Mal, hitting him on the head and knocking him out. Everyone stopped to catch their breath, the relentless chase having finally come to an end after several minutes. Aladdin saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked up. He was taken aback to see Mozenrath standing several feet away from him.

“Mozenrath!” he shouted, alerting the others. Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Kairi summoned their Keyblades while Donald summoned his staff and Goofy brandished his shield.

Mozenrath held up his bare hand. “Don’t bother. It’s not here anyway,” the sorcerer said. A Corridor of Darkness appeared behind him. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going back to base, and we’ll try again another time. So long.” He walked through the portal, followed by his eel, and the shadowy doorway closed in on itself.

After a moment of silent confusion, everyone dismissed their weapons. Sora turned to face his friends, only to find that they all shared the same expression as him.

“I guess these two dunderheads were a distraction while Mozenrath searched the vault,” Riku surmised, gesturing to Abis Mal and Haroud, the latter of whom Riku had immobilized with Stopga while Jasmine tied him up. She had just finished right before they had noticed Mozenrath, so both thieves were incapacitated and secured. “Nevertheless, they still escaped custody and attempted to commit theft.”

“Turns out it was a moot point, anyway,” Kairi added. “Whatever we’re all supposed to be looking for, it’s not here.”

“Could he have been lying to throw us off?” Donald asked.

“No. Mozenrath actually called a draw. Mozenrath. He never gives up, and he’s too arrogant to even fake it,” Aladdin said.

“Aladdin’s right,” Jasmine agreed. “Mozenrath has no idea where to look next. His original idea was to destroy the city and not worry about searching every corner. Since that failed, and searching the most secure place in the palace proved to be fruitless, he’s out of better options.”

“So, I guess we call it a day?” Sora guessed, crossing his arms.

“Looks like it,” Mickey answered. He extended a hand to Aladdin and Jasmine. “Well, it’s been nice meeting you.”

Jasmine knelt down and shook hands with Mickey, and Aladdin followed suit when she was done. “Likewise. Thank you again for assisting us against Mozenrath,” Jasmine replied.

She turned and walked up to the door leading out of the treasure vault. She rapped her fist against the door, and a few seconds later they heard the bar being slid out of the slots. The doors opened, and the party stepped out, at which point the guards closed the doors again. Jasmine led them down the hall, but they stopped when Genie appeared in front of them.

“Any luck?” the blue spirit asked. Aladdin shook his head and explained what happened. “Well, sit tight, guys. I’m sure I’ll remember something. Oh, I take it you’re looking for a way back up to your ship?” Aladdin and Jasmine looked at Sora quizzically. They knew that they traversed between worlds, but they were not made aware how. Ignoring this, Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy nodded. “Well, then follow me! I know the way to the nearest Safe Point!”

They all followed Genie through the corridors until they reached Jasmine’s bedroom. Mickey approached the balcony and a spiraling green circle materialized around his legs. Jasmine and Aladdin flushed self-consciously when they realized that their guests could appear there at any time, though Sora quickly said that they would not even land inside the palace.

“Well, see you real soon,” Mickey said.

“Good luck, all,” Genie returned with a wave.

“You are always welcome here,” Jasmine assured them. She shot a quick glance down at the Safe Point. “But do please knock first.”

“We’ll keep searching for that thing Mozenrath was trying to find,” Aladdin promised.

“Great seeing you again,” Sora said. He shook hands with Aladdin and Jasmine in turn, as did Riku and Kairi. Donald and Goofy waved good-bye. Kairi lifted Donald’s hat off of his head and grabbed a sapphire which he had hidden, then tossed it to Jasmine, who caught it.

Mickey punched a few commands into his device and a pillar of light materialized around him, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. A moment later, the pillar of light vanished and they were gone.

Iago tried to start up a conversation with Abu, but no sound came out. He started silently panicking as he remembered that he was still Silenced.

Aladdin, Jasmine, Abu, and Genie laughed. “Music to my ears,” Genie joked.

Chapter 52: Chapter 51: The Emperor's Advisor

Chapter Text

Yzma stood at a desk, mixing chemicals and concocting potions. She wore a white lab coat, black rubber gloves, black boots, sunglasses, and a blue headband. Her hair extended straight backward a few feet in length, remaining straight and defying gravity. Her assistant, Kronk, watched her work. He was a muscular man with a thick jaw and black hair kept in a mullet. He wore a similar uniform to her, though rather than a headband he wore a short conical hat with a feathery antenna on top.

“Kronk, bring me the extract of cat,” the elderly alchemist ordered.

“Cat extract. Got it,” Kronk affirmed before running over to the cabinet to search for the sample.

A man with long silver hair who did not follow the proper safety dress code for a laboratory environment approached Yzma from behind. “I must say, this is an interesting backstage you have here,” Kuja said, getting her attention.

“What are you doing here?” Yzma asked, a biting tone in her voice, not bothering to turn her attention away from her experiments.

“Oh, I don’t mean to disrupt. I merely wished to see how you were faring,” Kuja replied. “I already completed my assignment for the day. As it turns out, when you spend the morning starting a war in a Germanic nation and then rip your target right off of the throne of the monarch whose army you incensed, the afternoon becomes rather droll.”

“Fascinating. How did you even find my lair?”

“I asked the guards where I could find you. They told me you were in your secret lab and pointed down the hall. Three of them also warned me not to pull the left lever. I tested it with a Shadow simply out of curiosity and I was left to question its necessity.”

Yzma let out a tsk. “Well, if you must know, I used my authority to search the palace for the item. However, the emperor twit had taken notice of the fact that I had been… How did he put it? Ah, yes. Doing his job. Handling the matter of starving peasants and political responsibilities behind his back. Like that impulsive moron could do any better. And so, he fired me! Me! I practically raised him! This kingdom would be dust without me!”

Kuja frowned. “The nerve of those emperors,” he snarked. “I suppose that makes your part of the job a little bit harder.”

Kronk returned, holding a small vial containing a few long white hairs. “Cat extract, coming right up,” he said. He looked up slightly when he noticed Kuja. “Hey. You should probably wear something a little more protective in here, ma’am.”

Kuja narrowed his eyes in mild annoyance. “I thank you for your concern,” he said dryly.

Yzma took a set of tweezers and pulled a single cat hair from the vial, then dropped the hair into the beaker. The concoction bubbled and a pink cloud burst from the opening. She chuckled, then poured the contents of the beaker into an empty vial with the illustration of a cat taped onto it. She stuffed a cork into the opening of the vial and handed it off to Kronk, who ran over to place it in the cabinet, then returned to her side.

“So, what shall you do next?” Kuja asked. “Will you pack your chemistry set up and cart it off to the fortress? Because it appears as though if he’s still around to find out you’re still around, you won’t be around here for much longer.”

Yzma stood up straight and grinned wickedly. “That’s it! I’ll get rid of him!” she exclaimed. “You see, it’s perfect. With him out of the way and no heir to take the throne, I’ll take over and rule the empire. Brilliant!”

But Kronk was confused. “So, how will that work with you being fired and all?” he asked, noticing an obvious hole in the plan.

“The only ones who know about that are the four of us,” Yzma explained, holding up four fingers, “soon to be the three of us.” She lowered one of her fingers.

“And I’m one of those three, right?” Kronk double-checked.

“Of course not. The third one would be the emperor whom she just voiced her intent to kill,” Kuja responded sarcastically.

Yzma grinned mischievously. “Ooh, how shall I do it?” she muttered to herself. “Oh, I know. I’ll turn him into a flea. A harmless little flea. And then, I’ll put that flea in a box. And then I’ll put that box inside of another box. And then I’ll mail that box to myself. And when it arrives, I’LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER! It’s brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say!” She laughed maniacally.

“Well, points for the theatricality,” Kuja commended.

Yzma shrugged quickly and ran over to the cabinet. “Or to save on postage, I’ll just poison him with this,” she said, reaching in and pulling out a tall pink vial, holding it up for both Kronk and Kuja to see.

Kuja clapped. “Subtle and quiet, but I like it. Not only will you have free access to wherever the artifact may be hidden, but we will have a world to control in the process.”

Yzma handed the vial to Kronk. “Take it, Kronk. Feel the power.”

“Oh, I can feel it,” Kronk said.

Kuja held his hands out. “May I?” he requested. Kronk handed the vial to him, and he examined the potion and vial. He studied the label and smirked with amusem*nt. He handed the vial back to Yzma. “Well, then, madam, I wish you well in your game. Good luck claiming the throne and the treasure to our victory. Now, I bid you farewell.” A Corridor of Darkness appeared behind Kuja, and he walked backwards into it.

Kronk stared in awe as the portal closed. “Well, you don’t see that every day,” he said.

“Now, Kronk. Our moment of triumph approaches!” Yzma said, letting out another cackle. “It’s dinner time!”

Chapter 53: Chapter 52: Secret MacGuffins

Chapter Text

Mickey spun the captain’s chair so that he could face Donald and Goofy. Jiminy sat cross-legged on the arm of the captain’s chair. All present pondered deeply on recent matters. Sora, Riku and Kairi were downstairs reviewing their classes and working on their homework, so it was the Disney Castle quartet working in solving their mysteries.

“We need to understand our enemies’ next moves,” Mickey announced. “We need to know where they are going to look and how they are going to look, and we need to get ahead of them.”

“I know. But how will we find the things?” Donald asked.

Jiminy opened his journal. “I have been taking notes on the subject as we have been going along,” he explained. “What we know thus far: one of these artifacts appears to exist on nearly every world, if not every world period. It appears that someone guards the artifacts and the role of protecting them is passed down through the generations, and we can presume that it is someone with a high level of authority, as then they would have the resources to guard them.”

“But the King of Corona didn’t know anything about them,” Goofy reminded him.

Jiminy nodded. “Correct. So that indicates that this person of authority does not necessarily have to be the ruler. But the Sultan of Agrabah is, and he most likely knew about the artifact, going off of the way he avoided discussing the matter.”

“Like Master Yen Sid,” Goofy added. Everyone looked at him. “He knew something but didn’t want to tell us anything. That could be because he is one of the guardians.”

“Yeah. Remember how he didn’t say anything about how Master Xehanort might be connected to the Unversed even though he knew what he had been trying to do years before because he didn’t want to jump to any conclusions about his old colleague?” Donald recalled. “That could be the same thing here.”

Mickey pondered the idea for a minute, then his face fell. “Then, could that mean…” He struggled to even consider what he was saying. “Could Minnie be hiding something from me?”

Donald, Goofy and Jiminy frowned. They had no idea what to say in response.

After a few minutes, Jiminy spoke up. “We should explore more worlds, ask around, and research histories,” he said. “We’ll figure things out as we go along, in time, particularly if we run into more of Maleficent’s allies.”

Mickey, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement. Mickey spun the captain’s chair around and the three crew members manned their stations. Mickey piloted the ship through the cosmos. They traveled for a few hours, shooting down debris and enemy ships that drew near. After two hours, Sora, Riku and Kairi ascended to the co*ckpit.

“We finished our homework and slipped it into the mailbox,” Kairi told them.

“We can take over if you guys want to rest or get something to eat,” Riku suggested. After a moment, Mickey, Donald and Goofy nodded. Mickey parked the Gummi Ship on the surface of an asteroid. They got out of their chairs and headed downstairs. Sora, Riku and Kairi took their places in the captain, gunner and copilot chairs, respectively. Sora pulled the ship out of park, drew the landing gears up, and disembarked from the asteroid. Kairi and Riku used the Teeny Ships to destroy an enemy ship that approached in Sora’s blind spot, which Sora would have surely crashed the ship into if they had not noticed and taken action.

“Nice save,” Sora thanked them.

They continued the journey for two more hours, following the map coordinates to an unidentified world. Mickey, Donald and Goofy returned to the co*ckpit a few minutes before the world came into view. When they could see it, everyone looked on with intrigue at the sight of a hilly landscape with a large golden structure vaguely resembling a head sitting on top of the highest hill. The hills surrounding the structure were covered in huts, apparently making up a village or a series of villages. On the underside of the world, they could see a dense jungle with a waterfall.

Sora fiddled with the interface. “So, where should we land?” he asked.

“I think we should ease our way into civilization,” Mickey said. “So, how about we drop ourselves off at the edge of the jungle?”

“Got it. Hmm… There doesn’t seem to be a Safe Point that far up, but there is a clearing in the jungle,” Sora told him, checking the display.

“Then let’s land there and work our way out.”

“On it, your Majesty.” Sora selected a point on the bottom of the world render and hit DISEMBARK. A circle of light lit up behind them and they used that to transport themselves down.

Sora pushed bushes and branches out of the way as the party trudged through the swamp, stepping through rain puddles and mud patches. Kairi swatted bugs away from her face and slapped some off of her arms.

Kairi groaned. “We should have brought bug spray,” she complained. Donald pulled an aerosol can out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Wow, thanks,” she said as she began spraying her arms, legs and neck. She passed it to Sora and Riku, who applied the bug spray on themselves.

Jiminy coughed. “I guess I should switch out,” he said, climbing out of Sora’s pocket and jumping onto Mickey’s shoulder. Mickey then guided him into his own pocket.

“Sorry, Jiminy,” Sora said sheepishly.

They marched on, pushing their way through the jungle. After a while, Riku held up a clenched fist, signaling for them to stop moving. They listened closely. They heard trees and bushes rustling. Donald looked up and quacked in alarm, pointing up. Everyone followed his gaze and saw three Powerwild Heartless sitting on tree branches above them. Realizing that they had been spotted, the Heartless jumped down to attack. Sora, Riku and Mickey reacted quickly, cutting them down in a single blow.

Still uncertain about the sound they heard a moment ago, Kairi turned as she scanned around, then yelped in surprise. A black-furred jaguar growled as it lunged at the party. She pointed her Keyblade and shot a ball of Fire at it, knocking it through the air into a tree. Two more jaguars revealed themselves, circling the group, eyeing them hungrily and sniffing the air, trying to understand the manner of prey that had stumbled into their hunting grounds.

Sora, Riku and Mickey shot glares at the feline predators. Donald and Goofy shivered fearfully, but Mickey shot them an encouraging smile, and they steeled themselves to fight.

Sora waved his hand and summoned an orb of fire to hover over his open palm. Donald pointed his staff forward and released a stream of electric bolts downward. Kairi blew out through her mouth, causing the wind to pick up. Intimidated by the supernatural command over the elements which these bipedal creatures displayed and noticing the damage dealt to their brother, the jaguars ran off into the night, soon followed by their wounded companion.

“Good kitties,” Kairi teased. The group walked on, traveling in the opposite direction of the predators.

They walked for an hour, encountering a few critters, but none that would bother confronting them. The Heartless did not show themselves either, leading them to believe that the Heartless had only recently taken interest in this world, or that they had little interest in the creatures of the jungle. The only thing they had to worry about was stepping in mud or cutting themselves on tree branches.

Eventually, they heard a rustling noise ahead of them. The sound was loud and clumsy, suggesting that whatever made the noise was unused to hiking through a danger-filled jungle at night. Everyone kept their guards up, not knowing what to expect.

Finally, two figures pushed their way through a wall of bushes and tree branches. When they saw the six strangers, the figures stopped and screamed in fright. One was a portly man with black hair who wore a white shirt, green poncho, brown shorts, brown leather cap, and black sandals. The other was a skinny llama with black fur around the head, neck and tail and red fur on the body.

The llama whimpered in panic for a few seconds before it stopped to examine the newcomers closely. “Oh, man! People! I’m saved!” it said, sounding like an adolescent man.

Sora, Riku and Mickey’s eyebrows shot up. Kairi’s eyes widened. “Did that llama just speak?” she asked.

“The Keyblade can sometimes translate animal language, but only if the animal is addressing us,” Mickey explained. “And it often takes some time to get used to animal interactions before it starts translating them, so it should still take at least a minute before it learns to understand a llama.”

“But the llama didn’t directly speak to us,” Riku pointed out. “So how did we understand it?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were animals that spoke human language,” Sora suggested. “I mean, look at you guys.”

The llama looked offended. “Llama? Animal?” it parroted in disbelief. “No! You’ve got me all wrong. I’m the emperor!”

Chapter 54: Chapter 53: The Llama Emperor

Chapter Text

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy sat around the campfire with the man and the llama, who had introduced themselves as Pacha and Emperor Kuzco. Pacha, who was the leader of the nearby village, and Kuzco had explained their stories, how Kuzco had up until the day before been a human only a few years older than Sora, Riku and Kairi, but he had somehow transformed into a llama. The party of newcomers listened patiently, much to Kuzco’s surprise.

“Wait, you believe me, just like that? You don’t find any of this weird at all?” Kuzco asked in disbelief.

Sora shrugged. “Let’s face it, a talking llama and transformation potions aren’t the strangest thing I’ve ever seen,” he answered.

“That honor would have to go to the talking doorknob,” Donald snarked.

“Exactly,” Sora said.

“The talking… okay?” Kuzco stammered, bewildered at the claim and still trying to wrap his head around the situation at hand.

“So, Pacha,” Kairi addressed the villager, “what brings you out here with him?”

Pacha glanced at Kuzco somberly. “I found him tied in a bag that had somehow ended up on my cart on my way home. He tried to get home on his own, but wandered in here instead, so I came to his aid,” he explained. “I told him that I would help him get home if he changed his plans to build a summer home and didn’t level my village to do it.”

Everyone else save for Kuzco, who was smiling maliciously, gasped. “What?!” they shouted. Leaves rustled as the noise disturbed nearby critters.

Kuzco held his paws up defensively. “Whoa, hey, I said sure. We shook hands on it,” he said, clicking his hooves like fingers. Riku raised an eyebrow suspiciously. The llama emperor shrugged. “Whatever. Listen, I need you to get me back up to the tallest mountain so I can make Yzma take me to her ‘secret lab’—” he made air quotes with his hooves “—and change me back.”

“Who’s Yzma?” Mickey asked.

“Oh, she’s just my advisor. Oh, wait, I guess not anymore, since I fired her this morning. But she’ll definitely do what I say. Now, chop-chop. Let’s hurry on back.”

The party shared glances, recognizing the uncertainty in each other’s expressions. Mickey turned back to Kuzco and Pacha. “One moment, please,” he said. The six of them stepped away and huddled up.

“I’m not sure about this Kuzco guy,” Riku whispered.

Donald nodded in agreement. “I doubt he’ll keep his promise.”

Goofy shrugged. “Sure, but we can’t just leave him here, can we?”

“Well, we’re going that way anyhow,” Sora said. “No reason not to accompany them.”

“And who knows? Maybe we can get him to change his tune,” Kairi suggested.

The others mulled this over for a moment. They considered this possibility, all save for Donald. The grouchy, skeptical waterfowl scowled, shooting a quick glare at the llama.

Mickey nodded. “Sounds like a plan.” The others nodded, though Donald was more reluctant. They broke apart and turned back to Kuzco and Pacha. “Well, we’ve got some good news.”

The party, now joined by the peasant leader and the selfish talking llama, made their way through the jungle. Pacha took the lead, guiding them in the right direction. Kuzco held himself up with an air of authority, even though he was still unused to walking on four legs, particularly with hooves. Riku, Mickey and Goofy scanned around and listened to all ambient sounds, hoping to make sure that nothing gets the drop on them. Kuzco spent most of the time complaining, while the others either pretended to listen or outright ignored him as they were instead focused on making their way out of the jungle.

Riku held his hand up. “Wait,” he said. Everyone stopped, except for Kuzco. The transmogrified emperor walked a few yards ahead, complaining still, but it soon registered that everyone else had stopped, so he did as well.

“Whoa, whoa, wait? We’ve got places to be! I need to get out of this place and get my old body back! I can’t just—” he protested until Mickey hushed him. He put a hand to his ear, indicating for him to listen. Kuzco paused for a moment and listened, an annoyed scowl on his face. The scowl faded into a look of fear as he took notice of rustling nearby, a noise that seemed to grow louder as the source moved closer.

Powerwilds and Bouncywilds burst out of the underbrush, lunging at the group. Some targeted the more experienced members, either as a distracting maneuver or out of general stupidity, but most of them converged on Kuzco and Pacha. Pacha took up a defensive posture and punched a Powerwild away, but he was then hit in the arm with a slingshot ball. Kuzco screamed like a little girl and ran, stumbling over his hooves, trying to get away from the assailants.

Kairi and Goofy saw some Heartless run after Kuzco and broke away from the fight to rush to his aid. They made short work of the Heartless, only sustaining a few scratches themselves. However, Kuzco was oblivious to his rescue and continued running, until he charged face-first into a tree. Kairi winced at the clear pain.

Riku and Mickey came to Pacha’s aid and defeated the Heartless assaulting him. It was not long before Sora and Donald had finished off the last remaining Heartless. Sora cast Cure to heal all injuries. The healing mist caused Kuzco to wake up from his head injury.

Kuzco looked around in a daze, not sure what had just happened. He did not see the creatures that he was sure had been chasing him a moment ago, so he could only try to understand what had occurred. He narrowed his eyes at his guides. “Not cool, guys,” he said.

“What?” Sora asked, confused.

“Fine. You’re not going to help me? Then I’ll just find my way back myself,” Kuzco said, turning and walking away.

“Hey, hold on, your Majesty,” Pacha pleaded, but Kuzco ignored him.

“No touchy. Buh-bye. I’m off!” Kuzco declared. He heard the others offer their protests and warnings, but he ignored them and continued walking. However, he stopped when he realized that he could no longer feel the earth beneath his feet. He looked down and saw the ground several feet below him. He looked back and realized that he had walked right off of a cliff ledge. He let out a yelp as gravity took hold and he fell.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Pacha ran to the edge and watched him fall. Riku raised his eyebrow as the llama landed. “Anyone have a coin?” he asked abruptly. Donald raised his hand. Riku nodded. “So, heads we help him, tails we leave him?” Donald reached into his pocket, but everyone else shook their heads. “Yeah, didn’t think so. Kidding, anyway. C’mon.”

Kuzco stood up with some difficulty and rubbed the back of his long neck with his right hoof. He opened one eye and stifled a gasp when he saw a jaguar sleeping a few feet away from him. He looked around and saw many more jaguars around them. Fortunately, they were all asleep, but the slightest noise could awaken them.

Kuzco tiptoed, or tip-hoofed, around the sleeping animals, being careful to avoid making any disturbing noises. He nearly jumped when he heard a twig break under his foot. He stared at the nearest jaguar in suspense. Several seconds passed, feeling like an eternity, before he was satisfied that the predator would not awaken. He continued to maneuver around the slumbering pack until he bumped into a tree. He stumbled and collapsed against it, shaking it hard enough to rustle some branches and leaves. He gaped, noticing a jaguar sleeping on one of the tree’s branches. However, it did not seem to notice the disruption. Kuzco began to relax until he saw a fruit fall from the end of a branch. He held his breath, wide-eyed in terror, as the fruit fell. It landed and broke open with a thud. However, this still did not disturb the jaguars.

“Ha-ha!” he chuckled triumphantly, then immediately covered his mouth as he realized what he had just done. In an instant, the jaguars shot to their feet, awake and angry. A jaguar with singed fur stood closest to Kuzco, looking right into the terrified llama’s eyes. Kuzco turned around and ran as fast as he could, somehow staying just ahead of the pack. Kuzco jumped off of a ledge and landed on another, with the jaguars still in hot pursuit. Kuzco shot a glance back and wished he had not upon seeing the jaguars’ bloodthirsty eyes and sharp teeth. He returned his gaze to the path in front of him just in time to see a branch right in front of him. He ran right into it, hitting his neck against it, and spun around about it before landing on the back of one of the jaguars. Kuzco screamed. The jaguar noticed him and stopped running allowing itself to skid to a halt. Kuzco’s momentum caused him to fly off of its back. He tumbled through some foliage and rolled across the ground, coming to a stop at the thin ledge of a cliff.

He shook his head until his vision cleared and shot to his feet when he saw the jaguars inch closer to him. He chuckled fearfully. “You… killer… jaguars… me…” he stammered. He tried to back away, but found that there was nowhere to go but down. He closed his eyes and waited for the beasts to finish him off when he heard a strange holler.

Kuzco and the jaguars turned to identify the source, and they saw Pacha swinging on a vine, headed straight for the jaguars. Kuzco smiled and glared at his attackers. However, the jaguars simply moved out of the way, and Pacha sailed right by them. Kuzco and the jaguars stared in bemusem*nt as Pacha went by, then returned to their previous business. But then, Pacha swung back and grabbed onto Kuzco, taking the llama with him.

“Don’t worry, your Highness. I gotcha! You’re safe now!” Pacha reassured Kuzco, who simply stared in fear and surprise as the ground below flew by at a rapid pace.

However, there was another hurdle for them. They flew past the spot from which Pacha had stepped off with the vine, sailing right past Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Goofy had stuck his arms out to grab them, but they were too far out. Pacha and Kuzco swung up too far and too fast, and the vine ended up wrapping around a two-foot-thick tree that appeared to be in the process of rotting. The top end of the vine snapped off and wrapped around the tree as well, tying both of them down.

Kuzco and Pacha looked around, dumbfounded, while the others could only stare with similar expressions. Kuzco quickly shifted his expression to a dull one of apparent disinterest. “Maybe I’m new to the whole ‘rescuing’ thing, but this, to me, might be considered kind of a step backward. Wouldn’t you say?” he quipped.

“No, no, no! It’s… it’s okay! This is alright! We can figure this out,” Pacha covered, attempting to restore confidence in both Kuzco and himself.

Suddenly, they heard a cracking sound. Their added weight on the dense but weak wood was causing it to break.

“I hate you,” Kuzco said, seconds before the tree broke completely and they were sent falling.

The others looked at each other with panicked expressions. “Down we go!” Sora said. He jumped off of the ledge and fell down to follow them.

“Wait!” Riku tried to stop him and make him exercise caution, but it was too late. He shook his head and jumped after him. Mickey, Goofy, Kairi, and Donald followed him.

Sora nimbly jumped from rock to rock as he made his way down, though he stumbled at a few points, but he made it down safely and stopped momentarily when he saw Kuzco, Pacha and the tree floating down a river. His friends followed suit, but only Riku and Mickey matched his level of balance. After the first landing, Kairi tumbled and nearly fell off, but Riku caught her and soon resorted to carrying her bridal-style. Donald and Goofy stumbled the whole way down and ended up falling into the river. A blue tentacle popped out above the water for a second, offering a quick indicator that they would be fine.

“Uh-oh,” Sora muttered on looking past the floating tree.

Kuzco saw Sora’s expression and also heard Pacha utter the same confidence-boosting oath. “Lemme guess. We’re about to go over a huge waterfall?” he asked.

“Yup,” Pacha confirmed with a resigned expression.

“Sharp rocks at the bottom?” Kuzco guessed again.

“Most likely.”

“Bring it on.”

They went over the side, tumbling along with the water. Sora, Riku and Mickey sprang into action. Mickey jumped into the river and landed on Goofy’s shell. Riku set Kairi down and ran to join Sora, sprinting down the bank straight for the cliff. Donald swam beside them. Kairi slipped and fell into the river. Mickey saw this and pointed his Keyblade back at her. He shot a beam of light from the tip. When the beam reached Kairi, a glowing sphere materialized around her. The sphere, attached to the string of light, lifted Kairi out of the river and drained water out of the bottom. Kairi coughed and sputtered as she tried to get oxygen back into her lungs.

Riku jumped off of the ledge and fell upside-down. Show-off, Sora thought. He hopped off of the ledge and did an aerial front-flip, then ran vertically down the side. He dug his Keyblade into the rock to minimize his downward acceleration; he did not want to hit the ground in a splatter of gunk at terminal velocity while trying to pull off a rescue. Donald gulped and allowed himself to fall off with the water. He watched Sora and Riku’s progress and spied for Kuzco and Pacha. Mickey held tight to both shell and Keyblade and cast Oxyale on himself as he and Goofy went over the cliff.

Riku reached the water first, and cast Aeroga around himself to slow his fall. Because the surface was already rough from the waterfall, he did not have to worry nearly as much about the force from breaking the surface tension, but the Aeroga spell helped, and he dove under the water. He quickly angled himself horizontally and swam straight on, only a few feet above the riverbed at this point. Donald did the same thing, as did Mickey. The latter made sure that Kairi floated above the water’s surface.

Sora took a different approach. As he approached the bottom, he spun his Keyblade around to his right, putting Gravity and Aero magic into its centripetal motion. Before he made the jump, he had thought his plan through. Normally, momentum and inertia are on a vector. As in, a specific direction. Send an object in one direction, and it will try to keep going in that same direction at the same speed. But if I bend space and distort the axes of motion, I might be able to change my direction of momentum smoothly, without going SPLAT. Of course, after he made the jump and was rapidly approaching a potential death, his only thoughts were: Don’t die, don’t die, don’t die…

As he drew near, he saw broken pieces of wood, but no hint that Kuzco and Pacha had met their end on the sharp rocks. That was a good sign.

At the moment of truth, Sora dispersed his wind and gravity magic into a disk of magenta light. If a keen-eyed onlooker paid close attention to what was happening, they would see that he rotated about the top of his head in the span of a single step. When that transition went through, he shot off, running along the water at the same speed in which he had previously been running down the rock face. As he ran, he cheered in excitement, amazed that it had actually worked. He did not care that he had probably awoken the entire jungle and possibly some of the nearby villages; he was just that excited. He scanned ahead and saw Kuzco and Pacha, as well as the broken remains of the tree, floating down the river, and continued to follow them.

A few minutes later, Sora saw Kuzco and Pacha sitting on the shore, and ran to meet them. Riku walked up out of the river moments later, soaking wet. Donald crawled ashore a few minutes after that. His tentacles changed back into legs and his clothes rematerialized as soon as he was fully out of the water.

“Everyone alright?” Donald asked. Sora, Riku and Pacha nodded.

“Where are Kairi, Mickey and Goofy?” Riku asked, noticing that they were nowhere to be seen.

“They must have ended up somewhere else, maybe floated further down,” Sora guessed. “They looked like they would be fine. The King had Kairi in a magic bubble to keep her out of the water, and he used that Oxyale magic on himself. They can take care of themselves, so we’ll just meet up with them later.”

“Hold up,” Kuzco interrupted. “Did you say ‘King’?”

Riku and Donald nodded. “Yeah. Mickey is the king of… a distant land,” Riku explained. “Unlike some sovereigns, he’s kind, brave and selfless.”

“Uh-huh,” Kuzco responded, somewhat uninterested. So long as he doesn’t mess with what I do, and so long as he gets that it’s about me, he thought.

“Technically, he married into power,” Donald added.

“But the queen’s no different!” Sora said sternly.

“Meh,” Kuzco grunted.

Riku turned and stared down the river. “We should probably stay here until morning,” he suggested. “Rest up. We won’t be getting out of here if we’re all exhausted.” He turned back to the others. Sora, Donald, Pacha, and Kuzco looked at each other for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

They proceeded to check the area and clear it so they could sleep there. Well, all except Kuzco, who had never worked a day in his life, and Riku and Donald were unable to persuade him into helping. By the time they were done, Sora was already lying down to fall asleep and Kuzco had slumped down near a rock. Donald was walking the perimeter of the site, patrolling to make sure they would not be disturbed.

Riku turned a glance toward Kuzco. Part of him wanted to simply leave him be, but another part wanted to understand him. Was he truly as selfish and cold as he let on? Riku walked over and sat a few feet away from him. Kuzco’s llama ear flicked as he registered his presence, but he said nothing that would otherwise acknowledge him.

“Emperor Kuzco? May I ask you something?” Riku asked, hoping to spark a conversation.

“Shoot,” Kuzco said without changing expression.

“Is this summer home really so important?” Riku asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Kuzco said this as though it should have been obvious.

“But you realize that if you put it on Pacha’s village, or any populated hill for that matter, you’d be forcing a lot of people out of their homes and pretty much ruining their lives just for you, right?”

There was a pause. “And that would be… bad?”

“Yeah,” Pacha chimed in, speaking in an amiable tone, since he also wanted to appeal to Kuzco’s better nature. “Nobody’s that heartless.”

Riku raised an eyebrow in his direction. “I’ll get back to you on that,” he muttered.

Kuzco seemed to think about it. “Right. Well, soon as the sun’s up, take me back,” he ordered.

Riku scoffed. Pacha’s jaw dropped. “Wait, wait! How can you be this way? All you care about is building your summer home and filling it with stuff for you.”

“Uh, yeah. Doi. Me,” Kuzco replied, acting once again like it should be obvious. “Everyone else in the kingdom gets it. You guys are the only ones who don’t seem to be with the program.”

Pacha facepalmed and sighed. “You know what? Someday, you’re gonna wind up all alone, and you will have no one to blame but yourself.”

“He’s right, you know,” Riku agreed.

Kuzco rolled his eyes. “Thanks for that. I’ll log that away,” he said sarcastically. “Whatever. I said I’d leave your little village alone, so you’re gonna take me back.” He walked further away from Riku and Pacha and laid himself down closer to the rock, then began to fall asleep.

Riku watched him pitifully, then found a place to lie down and fall asleep.

Half an hour later, Pacha was the only one still awake. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open, and was getting ready to fall asleep, when he heard something to his left. He glanced over and saw the sleeping Kuzco shaking, shivering in the cold. Feeling sorry for him, Pacha removed his poncho and draped it over Kuzco’s body like a blanket, then retook his place. Kuzco woke up and looked down at himself, noticing Pacha’s poncho. He looked over at Pacha, surprised by the gesture.

Kairi leaned against a tree for support, trying to regain her bearings. Mickey gave her a tissue, which she used to wipe traces of vomit from around her mouth. The mouse also handed her a canteen, which she drank to stay hydrated and also to wash her mouth out.

“Thanks,” she said, handing the canteen back to Mickey. “I have to say, almost drowning twice in a week is not something I was expecting.”

“Well, at least we haven’t crashed the Gummi Ship and fallen several hundred feet,” Goofy consoled her. “And I heard Sora almost got mauled by a leopard.”

“That, I actually remember, for some reason,” Kairi replied. “Any idea what happened to Sora, Riku and the others?”

“They must’ve ended up at a different bank,” Mickey guessed. “But I’m sure we’ll find them again by the time we get out of this jungle.”

“I guess so, barring any unexpected encounters that might delay us. Speaking of which, do you hear that?” Kairi glanced around and started creeping into the trees. Mickey and Goofy traded quizzical glances and followed her.

“Are you certain that he is in here?” an old woman’s voice asked.

“Well, my Squirrel Scouts training gives me exceptional tracking skills, so yes, I am,” a deep masculine voice replied. “Though, it’s getting pretty dark. I think we should make camp and wait until morning.”

Kairi pushed some leaves aside and saw a grey-skinned, wiry old woman wearing a purple dress, a purple, bowl-like cap with a pink jewel in the front, and purple shoes, and a muscular man with a prominent chin. The muscular man wore a backpack that carried a chair inside of a picture booth-sized purple tent, in which the old woman sat. They were being followed by a pair of Powerwild Heartless. Mickey and Goofy joined her and they studied the two with interest.

“Since when do you do the thinking, Kronk?” the old woman shot back. “I can hardly stand it out here, with all the dirt and bugs. And we can’t let the emperor find his way back to the palace. If he talks, we’re through! The sooner we find him, the sooner I kill him—or I let these things eat him, I’m not sure yet—and the sooner we can head back and I can live it up as Empress Yzma.” She yawned. “But I am getting sleepy, and I suppose we ought to set down for the night.”

“Great idea, Yzma,” Kronk replied.

Kairi, Mickey and Goofy backed away from their vantage point and huddled up. “Yzma? Isn’t that Kuzco’s advisor?” Goofy asked for clarification.

“Ex-advisor,” Kairi corrected. “And it looks like she won’t be quite as willing to change him back as he thinks.”

“I guess we now know how he got turned into a llama,” Mickey surmised. “But we might still be able to get into her hideout and find a way to turn him back to normal.”

“We should probably warn them. Especially Kuzco, since it’s his closest confidante who wants him dead,” Kairi suggested.

“As soon as we find them, let’s. In the meantime, let’s keep an eye on these two. Make sure they don’t find the others.”

“Starting tomorrow,” Kairi added, aware that Yzma and Kronk were busy making camp.

Beams of sunlight shone through the trees above, illuminating the dense jungle. A bolt of lightning came down from one of the openings between overhanging leaves and struck an Emerald Blues Heartless. Sora threw his Keyblade and vanquished a Bouncywild, and Riku cut down a trio of Powerwilds.

Donald turned to check on Pacha and Kuzco once the Heartless were all destroyed. He leaned to the right to locate Kuzco, who was cowering behind Pacha.

“It’s all right,” Sora reassured them. “The Heartless are gone.” After a moment, Kuzco seemed to relax, and he started walking again, keeping pace with the others.

“Strange. There weren’t nearly as many Heartless around last night,” Riku observed.

“Yeah. I noticed that too,” Sora agreed. “I guess they realized we were here. Not hard to believe, since we’ve been casting spells all night.”

“Or maybe…” Riku began. Sora raised an eyebrow, but his friend did not finish, leaving the implication open.

“Someone brought them here?” Sora came to realize. He scanned the ground and the trees. He saw broken twigs, fresh footprints, and blood from recent scrapes. Bugs and birds took flight, and there were a few squirrels and lizards running by them. Usually, the Heartless pop out of the shadows to attack the quarry they found, and the party had already determined that they have not been going after the wildlife. However, something foreign was disturbing the creatures. The Heartless were moving around as though they were in a pack.

“Have you ever seen Heartless move around as a unified force?” Riku asked.

“I saw them stand in wait and take orders from Clayton in Deep Jungle,” Sora answered. “They probably ran around searching for gorillas before I met them at the cliff, too. And Shan-Yu led an entire army of Rapid Thrusters. There was also that swarm of Shadows that chased us up the Organization’s castle, but it was in a world close to the darkness, so I guess they were more comfortable there.”

Riku nodded. “So, aside from that last one, they only acted like this when they had someone ordering them around.”

Donald groaned. “They must be looking for something,” he surmised. “Or someone…” He, Sora and Riku turned to look at Kuzco. The transformed emperor did not seem to notice they were looking at him in worry, and was utterly oblivious to his life being in danger.

“Something tells me that turning him into a llama and dumping him in the jungle wasn’t the original plan,” Riku said gravely.

“Unless someone likes making things complicated,” Sora countered jokingly. “They’d fit right in here, though.”

“Let’s be on our guard,” Riku said. Sora and Donald nodded in agreement.

Pacha pushed some leaves aside. “Okay, we should be out of the jungle now,” he said. Everybody trudged through and caught a glimpse of the open sky. They were beyond the line of trees, and there was no obstruction in front of them.

Okay, there was a ravine whose two sides were connected by a thin, old-looking rope bridge, but assuming that there was no danger in that, there was no obstruction in front of them.

Pacha smiled back at the group. “Okay. Once we cross this bridge, it’s only an hour to the palace,” he informed them. He took the first step and started crossing the bridge. Kuzco followed him. Sora started to do the same, but Donald pulled him back by his shirt.

“Wait,” the duck warned him. “Who knows how much weight this bridge could take?” Sora nodded in understanding and watched Pacha and Kuzco make their way across.

“Good. Because, believe it or not, I think I need a bath,” Kuzco replied to Pacha’s declaration, a look of shame on his face.

“I believe it,” Pacha muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

When Pacha took his next step, however, the wooden board under his foot snapped. As he fell, another board fell out of place. Pacha tumbled through the newly-made hole, but he fortunately fell into some ropes that had come undone due to no longer being able to hold the boards up and dangled below the bridge. Sora, Riku, Donald, and Kuzco jumped in surprise. The former three watched in shock, trying to find a way to save him from falling into the ravine.

“Kuzco!” Pacha called up. “Kuzco!”

Kuzco tapped his chin with his hoof, then smiled. He poked his head down through the hole. “Yeah?”

“Help me up!” Pacha pleaded.

Instead, Kuzco hopped over the hole. He turned his head to look back down at Pacha. “No, I don’t think I will.”

Riku clenched his fists. That backstabbing…

“What? You’re gonna leave me here?” Pacha asked, incredulous at the betrayal.

“Well, I was gonna have you imprisoned for life, but I kinda like this better.”

“I thought you were a changed man,” Pacha growled.

“Oh, come on! I had to say something to get you to take me back to the city,” Kuzco gloated guiltlessly.

“So all of it was a lie?!”

“Well, yeah. No, wait.” Kuzco pondered for a moment. “Uh, yeah. Yeah, it all was a lie. Toodles!” He turned away and trotted across the bridge, stepping off onto sturdy ground. He turned his head back, remembering Sora, Riku and Donald, who were seething with rage. “Oh, and you guys, so long. Have fun doing whatever it was you were going to do.” He turned and started to leave.

“WE SHOOK HANDS ON IT!” Pacha shouted in rage.

Kuzco stopped when he heard this. He walked back across the bridge until he reached the hole. Sora was in the process of taking his first step on the bridge in hopes of rescuing Pacha, but he was forced to draw back when he saw Kuzco.

“You know, the funny thing about shaking hands is…” Kuzco stuck his front legs out toward Pacha, showing him his hooved feet. “You need hands!” He stood back up and turned around. “Okay, buh-bye.” He took a step, but the board broke beneath him, dropping him and putting him in the same predicament as Pacha, except that his ankles were tied up around the top of his neck.

“Are you okay? You alright?” Pacha asked.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m alright,” Kuzco replied, a rope wrapped around his mouth.

“Good!” Pacha punched Kuzco in the face. Kuzco spun out of the ropes until he laid on the ropes, one loop holding up each limb. “That’s for going back on your promise!”

Kuzco kicked him, sending him swinging away, then rocked himself back and forth as though he were on a swing set. “Yeah. That’s for kidnapping me and taking me to your village,” he retorted. “Which I’m still gonna destroy, by the way.” His smug smile faded when he saw Pacha’s next move. “No touchy…” Pacha swung back and head-butted him in the stomach, knocking him into the cliff face.

Sora, Riku and Donald looked at each other in confusion. “I’m pretty sure Pacha wouldn’t and didn’t do that,” Sora commented.

Pacha flew back to the opposite face. “Why did I risk my life for a selfish brat like you?” he asked, both to Kuzco and himself. “I always thought that there was some good in everyone, but you proved me wrong.”

“Oh, boo hoo. Now I feel bad. Bad llama,” Kuzco said in a mock whiny voice.

“I could’ve let you die out there in the jungle, and then all of my problems would be over!”

“Well, then that makes you ugly and stupid.”

“Let’s end this!”

“Ladies first.”

Pacha and Kuzco threw themselves at each other, arms and legs flailing. When they made contact, they slugged it out. Punches and kicks and the occasional bite went flying. Sora and Riku watched in horror, though Donald seemed rather amused. The tussle continued, soon devolving into eye pokes and ear pulls. Sora looked down past them and gulped. Riku looked at him in confusion and Sora pointed down. Far below them, at the very bottom of the ravine, a river flowed. Half a dozen crocodiles swam in the river, and they would be more than eager to have a quick meal fall from the sky.

All movement stopped when they heard a cracking sound. Pacha and Kuzco looked up, while Sora, Riku and Donald followed their gaze to the bridge. The ropes were pulled taut and at some points were starting to rip. Another cracking noise sounded out as more boards split. In seconds, the entire bridge came undone and fell away. Pacha and Kuzco remained in midair long enough to realize what was going to happen before they too fell.

They tumbled against the cliff walls and their heads soon started to smack together. Their feet caught on the rock, causing them to skid to a stop, at a point where either side of the ravine was only a few feet apart. They were lucky to have stopped then, as a few feet below them, the cliffs split back apart, at which point they would have been crocodile chow. But they stayed where they were, leaning against each other’s backs with their feet planted against the rock, they held themselves and each other up without seeming to realize it. The crocodiles noticed this and converged below them, waiting for them to slip and fall in.

While Riku and Donald were mesmerized by the horror, Sora scanned around and saw a long rope still hanging from one of the bridge’s end posts. He untied it and held one end in his hand. “Donald, Riku, we need to do a reverse Trinity Ladder!” he barked.

Donald looked at him and nodded, but Riku was confused. “What’s a Trinity Ladder?” he asked.

“Donald, Goofy and I would reach high ledges or ceiling trapdoors by getting up on each other’s shoulders,” Sora explained. “This time, we need to go down. Hold this rope as far down as we can get it. Riku, you stay here and hold onto my ankles. Donald, I’ll hold onto yours, and you hold this rope down for Pacha and Kuzco.”

Riku and Donald nodded. Following Sora’s lead, they got into formation, and within a minute, Riku was holding Sora and Donald down over the side of the cliff. Donald held the rope tightly in both hands and lowered it down as far as he could. However, it was still several feet above Pacha and Kuzco.

“It’s not long enough!” Donald shouted up to Sora and Riku.

“What are we gonna do? What are we gonna do? We’re gonna die!” Kuzco cried. “We’re gonna die! That’s it for me.”

Pacha looked up and saw the rope. “No, we’re not,” he said. “Calm down. I have an idea.” He mounted his feet firmly against the cliff. “Give me your arm.” Kuzco weakly lifted his right foreleg, and Pacha wrapped his left arm around it. “Okay. Now the other one.” He wrapped his other arm around Kuzco’s left foreleg, then hoisted himself up. “When I say go, push against my back and we’ll walk up the hill. Ready?” Kuzco shook his head. “Go!” He pushed back, accidentally slamming an unprepared Kuzco into the wall.

“Ow! You did that on purpose!” Kuzco accused. He shoved back, slamming Pacha against the opposite wall.

“No I didn’t! Now, we’re gonna have to work together to get out of this. See those guys up there? They’re trying to get us to safety, but they need us to get in reach. Now, follow my lead. Ready?” He pushed back until they were back in center, with Kuzco putting in his work. “Right foot.”

“Whose right?” Kuzco asked nervously. “Your right, or mine?”

“I don’t care… Mine.”

“Well, why yours?”

“Okay, your right! Ready?”

“Okay, got it!” Kuzco said, satisfied.

“Okay. Right. Left,” Pacha said, making sure that they both took each step in time with each other. “Right. Left.”

Kuzco chuckled in relief. “Look, we’re moving!” He looked down and screamed when he saw the crocodiles.

“Don’t look down! Now, stay with me. Stay with me,” Pacha said, getting Kuzco to calm down. “Right. Left. Right. Left.” They continued moving until they were at a point where they had extended themselves as far as they could while their shoulders were still touching. They stopped moving when they realized that they could not go any farther.

“Now what, genius?” Kuzco snarked, struggling to stay straight lest they fall to their deaths.

“Working on it,” Pacha replied. There was a brief pause as he considered what to do. “Okay, here’s the deal. Stretch out your neck, and I’ll grab the rope—”

Kuzco’s eyes widened. “How do I know you won’t let me fall after you grab the rope?” he asked in a sharp, distrustful tone.

“You’re just gonna have to trust me!”

Kuzco pushed Pacha with his front hooves, then situated his head under his back. He stretched his neck, pushing Pacha further up.

“They’re doing it!” Donald cheered.

Pacha swung his arm to try to grab the rope while Kuzco struggled to push him closer. “You know, it’s a good thing you’re not a big fat guy, or this would be really difficult,” Kuzco said sarcastically.

Pacha ignored him. “Almost… got it!” he grabbed the rope and tugged on it.

Donald smiled widely. “He’s got it!” he shouted up to Sora and Riku. Realizing that he had forgotten to consider the extra weight, he pulled with all his might.

“Okay, Pacha. Now grab Kuzco, and we’ll pull you both up!” Sora shouted down.

Pacha nodded. He reached down with his other arm to grab Kuzco. Kuzco stumbled and began to fall, screaming. However, Pacha wrapped his arm around the llama’s neck and pulled him close.

Riku, Sora and Donald pulled up with all their might. It took a lot of effort, mostly due to the inconvenient positions they were in making it difficult to properly support themselves, but they soon managed to pull Pacha and Kuzco to safety. Once everyone had been brought up to the top of the cliff, they all tumbled over each other in exhaustion.

“Nice teamwork, guys,” Riku complimented as soon as he had caught his breath.

“Yeah. That was pretty cool,” Sora agreed.

“Well, you know, I couldn’t have done it without you, your Majesty,” Pacha told Kuzco. Kuzco looked at him, dumbfounded by the sincere compliment. Pacha smiled and stood up. “Now, we really should get moving. Let’s… Whoa!” Some of the dirt under his foot gave way and he stumbled.

He nearly fell off of the cliff, but Kuzco bit onto the back of his poncho and pulled him up. Sora and Riku quickly came to their aid. Kuzco was clearly struggling to hold Pacha up. Sora and Riku each wrapped their arms around one of Pacha’s and hoisted him up. To be safe, the three of them dragged Pacha a few feet away from the edge.

Kuzco walked over to the edge and watched the rocks fall into the river below. He cheered. “Woo-oo-yeah! Look at me and my bad self! I snatched you,” he shouted, pointing at Pacha at that point, “right out of the air!” He turned back to the cliff and adopted a mocking expression. “‘Ooh, I’m a crumbly canyon wall and I’m taking you with me.’ Well, not today, pal! A-huh! A-huh, a-huh, a-huh!” He strutted in confidence.

Pacha looked at Kuzco with a look of surprise. “You just saved my life,” he said.

Kuzco put on a blank expression, trying to treat is as no big deal. “So?”

“I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“That there is some good in you after all.”

“Oh, no.”

“Admit it!”

“Wrong.”

“Yes, there is.”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Hey, you could have let me fall.”

“What’s the big deal? Nobody’s that heartless!” Kuzco gasped and shut his mouth, realizing that he had said the exact same thing that Pacha had said the previous night, but it was too late.

Riku smiled. “I won’t argue on that one,” he muttered.

“Yeah, don’t read too much into it. It was a one-time thing,” Kuzco insisted.

Pacha nodded, not buying it. “Right. Sure.” He smiled with pride. “Well, we better get going. With that bridge out, it’ll take a four-day walk to get to the palace.” He turned and began to walk down a path that went parallel to the cliff.

Kuzco did a double take in Pacha’s direction. “What?” he said in disbelief. “You mean you’re still taking me back?”

Pacha shrugged. “I shook on it, didn’t I?”

Kuzco looked at Sora, Donald and Goofy with a raised eyebrow. “You guys too?”

Sora shrugged. “Hey, we were hoping for a tour of the area, anyway,” he answered casually. “And there’s no point not helping a guy get back home, right?” Riku nodded, and Donald hesitantly did the same.

Kuzco was taken aback. “Uh, but I hope you realize that doesn’t change a thing. I’m still building Kuzcotopia when I get back.”

Pacha started walking along the path, not letting Kuzco’s claim bother him. “Well, four days is a long time. Who knows? Maybe you’ll change your mind.”

With that, Kuzco, Sora, Riku, and Donald followed Pacha down the path, taking the long way to the palace.

Yzma’s rage-filled screams rang out through the jungle. Mickey, Kairi and Goofy ran away and hid behind a trio of trees. When they were sure they were in the clear, they started laughing.

“Wow, your Majesty. I never would have thought you were such a trickster,” Kairi said in between giggles.

Mickey shrugged. “Well, I was plucky and a bit of a troublemaker in my youth,” he admitted. “I gave Pete a lot of trouble long before he started doing the same to the rest of us.”

Goofy chuckled. “But that was a good joke, convincing all those squirrels to throw their acorns at her,” he commended.

“It wasn’t too hard; at least one of them already hated Yzma,” Mickey replied. “Though, they seemed to like Kronk.”

Kairi giggled. “I wish Sora and Riku could have seen that!” A squirrel scurried down the tree trunk and stood on Kairi’s shoulder, chattering enthusiastically. “Yeah. That mean old lady really should think before yelling at you, right?” she cooed. The squirrel nodded happily, though this was soon followed by more apologetic chattering. “Huh. He’s saying that he told them which way Kuzco and Pacha went. Well, don’t worry about it. We were hoping to catch back up with them anyway.” The chipmunk chattered some more. “The bridge is out? But everyone made it okay, and they’re taking the long way? Thanks, little guy!” The squirrel perked up, glad to have been helpful. He raised his paw for a high-five, which Kairi met with her index finger, then he scurried back up the tree. “Bye, now,” Kairi said, waving up to the squirrel. She turned back to Mickey and Goofy, who were staring in bemusem*nt, and grinned. “You know, this animal translation thing the Keyblade gives you is pretty fun. Though, it didn’t look like that Kronk guy really needed it.”

Goofy tilted his head slightly, but Mickey shrugged it off. “Come one. Let’s get ahead of these two and find the others.”

Kairi and Goofy nodded in agreement, and they took to a jog through the jungle, making sure not to be spotted by Yzma and Kronk.

Sora, Riku and Donald looked across the diner in utter disbelief. “You know,” Riku said, “when I suggested we find a place to stop and eat while we waited for Kairi, Mickey and Goofy, and we saw that sign that said that llamas were not allowed, I thought we would have to leave Kuzco outside and take food to go. I was not expecting… that.”

Kuzco and Pacha sat at a booth halfway across the diner, which was known as “Mudka’s Meat Hut”. As a disguise, Kuzco wore Pacha’s poncho and hat, but he also had applied red lipstick and blue eye shadow. With the emperor “sufficiently” disguised as a human woman, the two of them were acting like lovesick newlyweds. Their overly-sweet act seemed to create an awkward atmosphere that would keep people from noticing anything off, but knowing the truth seemed to make things worse for Sora, Riku and Donald. No one had argued when Donald suggested finding the furthest possible table away from them.

“If anything, we could have said we were a bunch of guys on a road trip, and we got separated from some friends, and that would not have raised too many questions,” Sora said, agreeing with Riku.

“Ordering! I need two heartburns and a deep-fried doorstop!” the waitress called as she left Kuzco and Pacha’s table and headed for the kitchen. Kuzco and Pacha started laughing.

Riku shrugged and raised a menu, hoping to block them from his view. “I guess we should decide on what to eat,” he suggested, turning the focus away from the llama and the villager.

Sora nodded and raised his menu. “Hmm… Pill bug? I take it that’s the heartburn,” he commented. He took a whiff and took in the ambient aroma. “Smells pretty good.”

Riku looked at him in surprise. “Wait? You’re actually going to eat this stuff without a second thought?” he asked in amazement.

Sora shrugged. “I’ve been to a lot of worlds with a lot of different cultures. Some of them serve some interesting things as ‘food’. If they can make giant pill bugs appetizing, who am I to argue?”

“Well, in that case, put one down for me.” Sora, Riku and Donald turned and saw Kairi standing next to Sora. Mickey and Goofy stood behind her.

“Hey! What took you so long?” Sora greeted. He scooted down to make room for Kairi to sit.

“We ran into someone controlling the Heartless,” Mickey answered. “And you won’t believe who it was.”

“Who?” Donald asked.

“Kuzco’s advisor, Yzma!” Kairi told them.

“What?!” Sora, Riku and Donald shouted at once, drawing the attention of everyone in the diner. The six of them looked out at the crowd with sheepish grins until they all returned to their usual business.

Kairi opened her mouth to continue, but stopped. She looked back out into the room, then turned back, now wearing a bemused expression. “Is that Kuzco in drag?” she asked. Sora, Riku and Donald nodded. After a few seconds of silence, she shrugged. “I take it he saw the sign?” Again they nodded. After a few more seconds, she shrugged again and said “Okay.”

Mickey took the opportunity to continue. “We think she and her assistant Kronk turned him into a llama while trying to poison him,” he explained.

Donald tilted his head. “Doesn’t sound like they’re smart enough to control the Heartless,” he commented.

Sora, Riku, Mickey, and Goofy all coughed at the same time, hacking out something that sounded like “Pete” under their breaths.

Donald sighed. “Point taken,” he said resignedly.

Meanwhile, the waitress had brought the “special” over, and I was quite disgusted. I mean, who calls this stuff “food”? But Pacha didn’t seem to mind. Of course he wouldn’t. So, I went back to the kitchen to have a word with the chef. Now that I think about it, no one seemed to notice that I was walking on all fours. Oh, well. Hey, wait a minute! This story’s supposed to be about me! You guys should be reading this through my perspective, not some third-person narration about the lamers across the room. Oh, the others made it back. I guess that should probably be… good? I don’t really care either way, especially since it’s taking time away from me. Urgh, this is worse than that time I screamed and the camera zoomed out until it focused on a chimp eating a bug.

Jiminy poked his head out of Mickey’s pocket. “Is it me, or did someone hijack the narration?” he asked.

“Did who what?” Goofy asked, utterly confused by Jiminy’s comment.

“It’s just that the narrator started to sound a lot more snarky and self-absorbed for a moment,” the cricket tried to explain.

“Jiminy, we have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sora said.

Jiminy shrugged and disappeared back into Mickey’s pocket.

“Look,” Goofy whispered, pointing toward the door. Yzma and Kronk had entered the diner and taken their seats at a table behind Pacha.

“We’ve been walking around in circles for who knows how long,” Yzma complained. “And those Heartless have been of no help in finding him. That is the last time we take directions from a squirrel! I should have done away with Kuzco myself when I had the chance!”

Pacha, who had up until this point been obliviously eating his dinner, stopped dead and nearly gasped when he heard that. Of course, since he had food in his mouth, he was left having to cough his meal up.

“You’ve really got to stop beating yourself up about that,” Kronk assured his boss. Still frustrated, Yzma bent her fork. “Uh-oh. I’ll get you another one there, Yzma.” He turned around and tapped a nervous Pacha on the shoulder, causing him to jump. “You using that fork, pal?” Pacha grabbed his fork and held it up for Kronk, looking away quickly as he did so. Kronk raised an eyebrow, as the sweating man seemed to be familiar to him. “Hey, don’t I know you?”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Pacha answered nervously.

“Wrestled you in high school?” Kronk guessed, taking the fork out of Pacha’s hand.

“Don’t remember that, no,” Pacha said rapidly.

“No? Metal shop?”

“Uh, no…”

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy watched this exchange occur, curious. “Oh! That must be how Kuzco ended up with Pacha,” Kairi whispered. “Kronk was trying to get rid of him and lost him on Pacha’s cart.”

Mickey’s eyes widened. “In that case, we have to get them out of here before Kronk figures out where he’s seen Pacha.”

“Uh, no, look. I don’t think we’ve ever met, but, I gotta go,” Pacha stammered before he stood up and snuck back to the kitchen.

“Don’t worry. I’ll think of it,” Kronk said, waving as Pacha walked away.

“Where is Kuzco, anyway?” Sora asked.

“I think he went to the kitchen,” Goofy answered.

Finally. Back to me. Yeah, I was in the kitchen. Thank you very much, a-hyuck. I was just checking with the chef, this huge guy with pretty impressive sideburns, and making sure that the food here actually did fit my reasonable standards.

“Look, all I know is the food looks iffy. All right? And I’m not the only one who thinks that, I’m sure.”

Pacha poked his head through the door. “Psst! Hey!” he whisper-called, trying to get Kuzco’s attention.

“So, I’m just checking to make sure that you’re gonna take the main course up a notch.”

Out in the dining area, Yzma looked through the menu. “Is there anything on this menu that is not swimming in gravy?!” she asked aloud in bewilderment.

“Hang on. I’ll go ask the chef,” Kronk said. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen doors. The six customers who sat in the distant booth gave each other panicked expressions.

“It’s a simple question. Is there or is there not anything edible on this menu?” I continued with my reasonable questions voicing my reasonable concerns. However, Pacha grabbed me and dragged me back.

Pacha looked back through the window and gasped, as Kronk was on his way. He pushed Kuzco through the kitchen and into a storage closet. “Hey, I didn’t ask about dessert yet!” Kuzco complained.

Kronk entered the kitchen, unaware of anything amiss, and approached the chef. “Hey, pal. What’s your policy on making special orders?” he asked.

Even though Kronk meant no trouble, this was the last straw for the chef. “Alright, buster, that’s it! You want a special order? Then you make it! I quit!” the chef shouted, taking his hat off and bringing it down on top of Kronk’s head. He began to quickly pack his things up into a suitcase. “You know, I try and I try, but there’s just no respect for anyone with vision. That’s it! There’s just nothing I can do about it!” He put a teal hat and marched off.

“Wait a second. Please, don’t go,” Kronk pleaded, but his words fell on deaf ears.

“Ordering.” He turned and saw the waitress, a heavyset elderly woman with pale ginger hair, at a slot window leading out into the dining area. “Three pork combos, extra bacon on the side, two chili cheese samplers…” She rattled off the order in a dry tone.

“No, no…” Kronk tried to explain.

“…A basket of liver and onion rings, a catch of the day, and a steak cut in the shape of a trout.”

Kronk blinked.

“You got all that, honey?” the waitress asked, not changing her tone of voice at all.

Kronk steeled his gaze. “Three oinkers wearing pants, a plate of hot air, a basket of Grandma’s breakfast, and change the bull to a gill. Got it,” he replied in rapid-fire lingo before he set to work.

In the closet, Pacha struggled to open a tightly-closed window.

“What’s going on?” Kuzco asked.

“No time to explain! We gotta get out of here!” Pacha replied, lifting the window open. “Come on!”

“In a minute. I’m still hungry,” Kuzco said, not noticing the urgency in Pacha’s voice. He walked back out into the kitchen.

Yzma rapped her fingers on the table impatiently. “What is he doing in there?” she asked herself. She got up and made her way to the kitchen. This did nothing to help Sora and friends’ nerves.

“Okay, I’ll make it simple for you,” Kuzco said, not noticing that the chef was a different person, nor that it was Kronk. “I’ll have a spinach omelet with wheat toast. Got it?”

“Can do,” Kronk replied, not recognizing his boss’ old boss’ voice.

Pacha tiptoed back into the kitchen as Kuzco walked out into the dining area. At the exact same moment, Yzma entered through the adjacent door, which opened on the same axis as the one that Kuzco went through, so neither of them saw the other. Pacha promptly hid under the chef’s table.

“What’s taking so long?” Yzma asked.

Kronk approached the slot and rang the bell sitting on the ledge. “Pickup!” he called.

“Kronk, what are you doing?”

“Kinda busy here.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Yzma rolled her eyes.

“Yo! Order up!”

Yzma groaned. “Oh well. While you’re at it, make me the special. And hold the gravy.” She turned and exited the kitchen.

“Check. Pickup!”

Kuzco entered as soon as Yzma exited. “You know what? On second thought, make my omelet a meat pie,” he said before leaving again.

“Meat pie. Check.”

Pacha crawled out from under the table and ran after Kuzco, but stopped and hid when Yzma entered again. At the same time as Kuzco.

You know what? You get the picture.

“Kronk, can I order the potatoes as a side dish?” Yzma asked.

“I’ll have to charge you full price.” Kronk began chopping carrots as he said this.

Kuzco: “Hey, how about a side of potatoes, my buddy?”

Kronk: “You got it. Want cheese on those potatoes?”

Yzma: “Thank you, Kronk. Cheddar will be fine.”

Kronk: “Cheddar spuds coming up.”

Kuzco: “Spuds yes, cheese no.”

Kronk: “Hold the cheese.”

Yzma: “No, I want the cheese.”

Kronk: “Cheese it is.”

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy watched this cycle take place with bemusem*nt, which soon turned into amusem*nt. After three cycles, they had difficulty holding in their laughter.

“Well, I guess this buys us some time,” Sora said with a chuckle. “We might as well eat.”

Right on cue, the waitress appeared. “How may I help you?” she asked dryly.

Sora glanced at his menu again. “I’ll have the special.”

“Make that two,” Kairi added.

“I’ll have a catch of the day,” Donald said.

“Potato salad, please,” Mickey requested.

“Pork combo with onion rings,” Riku said.

“I’ll also have a pork combo,” Goofy finished up.

“Happy to oblige. Ordering!” The waitress took their menus and left.

Riku sniffed the air. “I don’t smell any Heartless nearby,” he observed. “The only darkness I can detect is coming from her.” He pointed at Yzma, who had entertained another trip into the kitchen.

“Okay. So we eat, pay, get Kuzco and Pacha, and get out of here before Yzma finds anything out,” Mickey affirmed. Moments later, the waitress brought their meals over.

“Let’s see. I saw Pacha open this up to eat,” Sora muttered, holding a straw as he studied the giant pill bug. “Now to put my treasure-opening skills to good use.” He hit the top of the crustacean with his straw, causing the exoskeleton to unfurl, revealing yellow mush inside.

Kairi laughed. “You’re such a goofball!”

Sora shrugged and smiled proudly. “Well, let’s dig in.”

By the time they had finished eating, Kuzco and Yzma had finished their roulette through the kitchen doors and had sat back down to wait for their meals. Yzma was looking over the menu again when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She moved the menu out of her line of sight and noticed what to her appeared to be a strange-looking woman with a long face wearing a brown cap and a green poncho. She began to study the “woman” curiously.

Sora and Mickey slipped out of the booth and found Pacha coming out of the kitchen door. “Any ideas?” Mickey whispered.

Pacha looked to the side and smirked. He walked over to a waitress and whispered something in his ear, pointing in Yzma’s direction.

“No problem, hon. We do that all the time,” the waitress said in reply.

Yzma thought there was something vaguely familiar about the woman across from her, but she could not figure out what.

“One, two, three, four!” Yzma turned with a start and yelped in surprise as five waiters stood by her, dancing and singing. One of them held a cake adorned with dozens of candles. “Happy, happy birthday, from all of us to you! We wish it was our birthday so we could party too!”

Pacha ran over to Kuzco and grabbed him, pulling him out the front door. Sora and Mickey left Munny to pay for the meal, then the rest of the party followed them. Goofy ducked back in to leave some more Munny as a tip. He caught a glimpse of the waiters singing for Yzma, who now wore both an enormous sombrero and an enormously peeved grimace.

“Happy, happy birthday. May all your dreams come true! We wish it was our birthday so we could party too!”

Kronk stepped out of the kitchen when he heard the commotion. He chuckled. “It’s your birthday?” he asked in amusem*nt, not noticing Yzma’s less-than-jovial reaction.

Once everyone was outside, Pacha huddled the group behind a wall. “Is everyone okay?” he asked.

Riku wagged his head lightly back and forth. “Well, it’s no Gusteau’s, but the food was pretty good,” he answered. Sora and Donald looked at him in confusion. He felt embarrassed as he realized what Pacha was referring to. “Oh. You mean with those two. Yeah. We’re fine.”

“What are you doing?” Kuzco asked in confusion.

“Look, there’s two people in there, looking for you,” Pacha explained.

“What?”

“A big guy and a skinny old woman,” Pacha elaborated.

Kuzco recognized the description. “Wait. Was this woman scary beyond all reason?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Pacha agreed with the description.

“Like Dracula’s ugly grandmother,” Kairi added. Sora, who had seen many things that were scary for pretty good reasons, agreed.

“So old that your brain gets wrinkled,” Donald added.

Kuzco’s face lit up. “That’s Yzma and Kronk! I’m saved!” he cheered.

“Trust me. They’re not here to save you,” Riku warned.

“They’ll take me back to the palace!” Kuzco continued, not heeding the warning. “Thanks for your help. You’ve been great. I can take it from here.”

“No, no, you don’t understand. They’re trying to kill you!” Pacha explained.

Kuzco scoffed. “Kill me? Their whole world revolves around me.” He tried to walk past Pacha to go meet up with Yzma, but Pacha stood in his way.

“No. I can’t let you!”

“What?” Kuzco’s eyes narrowed. “Oh. Oh, I get it.”

“What?” Pacha asked, confused.

“You don’t want to take me back to the palace,” Kuzco accused, pointing a hoof at Pacha. “You want to keep me stranded out here forever.”

“No!” Pacha protested.

“This has all been an act. All of you! And I almost fell for it.”

“No. Kuzco, we’re trying to help you,” Sora said.

“Will you just listen to me—” Pacha pleaded.

“No. You listen to me,” Kuzco spat. “All you care about is your… your stupid hilltop.”

“What?”

“You don’t care about me. Now, just get out of here. Go!”

“But… but…” Pacha stammered.

“Kuzco, don’t go down this path,” Riku pleaded. “We’re on the same side. You’re just misunderstanding.”

But Kuzco would not listen. “Go on. Get out of here!” he yelled.

Pacha stared in shock. Sora looked back and forth from the despondent Pacha to the angry Kuzco. Kairi reached her hand out as if to try and start explaining. “Fine,” Pacha said, catching the others off guard. He started to walk away.

Donald was the first to follow him. Riku regarded Kuzco solemnly, then started walking after them. “Suit yourself,” he said.

Mickey was next, reluctantly. “Come on, Pacha. Your family must be worried about you,” he consoled the villager. Sora, Kairi and Goofy followed them. Goofy stopped and looked back at Kuzco sadly before continuing.

Kuzco’s ear pricked up when he heard the diner’s front door open. He turned and saw Yzma and Kronk exit the building. Kuzco took a step to start following after him.

“Oh, this entire mess is your fault,” Yzma complained. She ripped the sombrero off of her head and threw it aside.

“What did I do?” Kronk asked.

“If you hadn’t mixed up those poisons, Kuzco would be dead now!” Kuzco stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped. Had he heard correctly?

“There’ll be no more diversions until we track that llama down and kill him!” Yzma continued. Yep. Kuzco had heard right. He could not believe what he was hearing.

“I said I was sorry,” Kronk said. “Can’t even let it go, not even on your birthday.”

“Now where are those Heartless? Can’t get good help even from demonic slaves. Bah! Kuzco must be eliminated! The empire will finally be rid of that useless slug!”

“Well, you got a point. Nobody really cares that he’s gone, do they?”

Yzma and Kronk were out of sight, and Kuzco could hear no more of their conversation. Kuzco could not believe it. His most trusted subjects really were out to kill him. Yzma was using the Heartless too? Those were the creatures that had been attacking them all the way up here! And what was that last part? Nobody cared that he was missing or dead? Nobody cared? But… everybody loved him. Right?

Kuzco backed away, staring in horror out into space. Nobody cared. He always thought he was the best thing ever, but nobody cared that he was gone. Could he really have been that heartless? Was he so bad that nobody wanted anything to do with him?

He stopped and realized something. Pacha had been there for him. And Sora, and Riku, and Donald. Mickey, Goofy and Kairi, too. And he had just sent them away. He sent them away so callously.

He turned around and ran in the direction they had gone. “Pacha!” he called. He ran further, but his friends were nowhere in sight. “Pacha?” His run weakened into a halfhearted trot as he realized that they were all gone. He had driven them off. He was all alone.

He moseyed off, sulking, not paying attention to where he was going. He soon wandered into another section of jungle. Eventually, he just gave up on moving and sat down, reflecting on his past attitude. Could it get any worse, he wondered. It immediately started raining, skipping past the first scant drops and going right for a heavy downpour.

Well, you see? This is how I got to my lowest point. I’m the victim here. I didn’t do anything, and they ruined my life and took everything I had.

“Will you just give it a rest up there?” Kuzco asked somberly.

What? I’m just telling them what happened… Wait. Did I tell them what happened? Hold on. They didn’t see this from the beginning, did they? Ugh, those other guys took away my screen time.

“Hey, they’ve got their things to show. And I’m starting to wonder if I’m really worth seeing.”

Nonono. I’m taking this back to the beginning. They need to see me when I was on top of the world, not this sad load.

“Who you kidding, pal? They already read everything they needed to know. They know what happened.”

Well, yeah, but… but…

“Just leave me alone,” Kuzco sighed.

In a different, drier corner of the jungle, Kronk slept in the open air while Yzma rested in an extravagant purple tent. Kronk wore striped pajamas and held a teddy bear close to his chest. He woke up with a start when he realized something.

“The peasant at the diner! He didn’t pay his check.”

Kronk fell back to sleep and snoozed for several more seconds before he awoke once again, realizing something a tad bit more important.

“He’s the peasant who I saw leaving the city who disappeared into the crowd with Kuzco on the back of his cart,” he muttered to himself. “He must have taken him back to his village, so if we find the village, we find him.” He snapped his fingers. “And if we find him, we find Kuzco! Oh, yeah. It’s all comin’ together.” He threw the flaps of Yzma’s tent open to tell her what he had figured out.

The sun rose over the trees and illuminated the jungle. Kuzco stood up and wandered out of the trees. He found himself in a llama pasture. Well, this would be a good place to start anew, he thought. He waved nervously to the other llamas, who all glared at him, then turned and walked away, leaving him with fresh feelings of rejection. These were llamas, of all things, and even they knew he was a horrible person. He watched the llamas stop and start eating grass. Kuzco looked down at a clump of grass and decided to give it a go. He leaned down and took a bite, ripping it out of the ground. He chewed and swallowed. It left a bad taste in his mouth.

He heard a familiar voice, causing him to look up. Looking past a group of llamas, he saw Pacha sitting by some more llamas. He seemed to be regaling the story of their journey to them. The others were further back, packing up a tent and… Did Mickey just call a beam of light from the sky to make the tent disappear? Kuzco decided not to worry himself about that.

“You know, call me crazy for following that guy all the way out here,” Pacha told the llamas, “but as much as he tries to deny it, I know there’s some good in him. Besides, I couldn’t just leave him out here all alone. He’s a lousy llama. And I mean a really lousy llama.” He chuckled.

Kuzco smiled, touched. He walked toward Pacha. Pacha saw Kuzco and smiled back. He stood up and dusted his poncho off. Goofy noticed Kuzco from a distance and waved cheerfully. This let the others know that he was there, and they all offered a similar greeting.

“Hey, listen, Pacha. You know, what I said to you, back at the diner, that… that… I didn’t really…” Kuzco stammered, trying to find the words for an apology.

Pacha raised his hand, letting him know that he did not need to say any more. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy walked toward them.

“So, are you tired of being a llama?” Pacha asked.

Kuzco’s eyes watered up. He sniffled briefly. “Yes,” he answered.

Sora nodded and held out a scroll. He unrolled it and crouched down so that everyone could see it. It was a map of the mountain region.

“Where did you get that?” Kuzco asked.

“From that big chest over there,” Sora replied, nodding his head to the side to indicate where it had been.

“All right, then. We’re just gonna stop at my house and get some supplies,” Pacha explained. “Then we’ll be on our way. If we really hurry, we can make it back to the palace by noon tomorrow. If we really, really hurry, as in a constant sprint, we can make it back by dusk.”

Kuzco laughed. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Chapter 55: Chapter 54: To the Secret Lab!

Chapter Text

Not wanting to waste any more time now that they all know that they were being pursued, Pacha led the party in a run up the hill leading into his village. They stopped when two old men called out to Pacha.

“Hey there, Pacha,” one of them greeted. “Hey, you know, you just missed your relatives.”

“My relatives?” Pacha repeated in confusion.

“Yeah. We just sent 'em up to your house.”

“What did they look like?” Pacha asked, starting to worry that something was amiss.

“Well, you see, there was this big guy, and this older woman who was, uh… How would you describe her?”

“Scary beyond all reason,” the other man answered.

“Yeah. That’s it.”

Kuzco gulped.

Yzma sat a table, smiling, while Pacha’s wife, Chicha, poured her some tea. Chicha was a heavily-pregnant woman wearing a yellow dress, a green headband, brown sandals, and gold earrings.

“So, remind me again how you’re related to Pacha,” Chicha requested, skeptical of her new houseguest.

“Why, I’m his third cousin’s brother’s wife’s step-niece’s great aunt,” Yzma replied. “Twice removed.”

“Uh-huh.” Chicha clearly was not buying it, but she did not know what to make of this old woman.

“Isn’t that right, Kronk?” Yzma asked her assistant, hoping to get him to back her up.

Kronk, however, was not listening. He was busy playing double-dutch with Chicha’s children, a girl with pigtails and buckteeth named Chaca and a shirtless boy with his hair tied up on top named Tipo.

“Ninety-nine monkeys jumpin' on the bed,” Chaca and Tipo sang as they swung the jump rope around.

“One fell off and bumped his head,” Kronk sang along as he hopped over the rope.

Yzma groaned silently.

“You know, I am so sorry that you had to come all this way, but as I said to you before, you may recall, Pacha is not here,” Chicha explained. “I’ll be sure to tell him you came by.”

“Oh, would you please? That would be just great.” Yzma waved her hand and “accidentally” knocked her cup over. “Oops. Silly me.”

“No, no. Allow me,” Chicha said in an almost bored and annoyed tone. She leaned back against the table and, with some difficulty, stooped down to reach the cup.

Yzma used this distraction to sneak away and hop into the jump-roping loop to speak to Kronk. “She’s hiding something,” she whispered. “When I give the word, we search the house.”

“Okay. But I still have ninety-four monkeys to go,” Kronk replied. Yzma seethed briefly before jumping back out to retake her seat. By this moment, Chicha had grabbed the cup, and promptly rose back into a standing position.

“So, while we’re waiting for Paca—”

“Pacha,” Chicha corrected her.

“Yeah, I, oh, yes. Um, perhaps, we can have a tour of your lovely home,” Yzma suggested.

“You know, why don’t you just come back when Pacha gets home?” Chicha interrupted. “I’m sure he’d love to show you the…” She trailed off when she glanced out the window and saw Pacha, swiping his hand in front of his neck in a gesture telling her to stop. Chicha got the hint. “Uh, excuse me, won’t you? I think I left something in the oven.” Chicha slipped away and met her husband in the kitchen.

Pacha explained the situation. “…We have to get back to the palace, find the lab, and change him back,” he finished.

“Hi there,” Kuzco greeted, sticking his head up into the window. Chicha yelped in fright and hit him in the face with a frying pan, causing him to fall down.

Pacha winced. “That was him,” he said weakly.

“Whoops.” For a moment, Chicha regarded her frying pan with confusion and looked back at the spot on the counter where she had picked it up. “Strange. I thought I left this hanging up after I used it yesterday… Oh, well.” She looked back out the window to see if Kuzco was okay, then saw Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy standing a short distance away. “Are those guys with you?” she asked. She watched Sora summon his Keyblade and bring it down on a Shadow Heartless’ head. Kairi waved amicably.

“Those guys, yes. Heartless things, no,” Pacha answered.

Chicha nodded. “Okay. Go. I’ll stall them long enough for you guys to get a head start.”

“Thanks honey,” Pacha said. He gave Chicha a kiss, slung a bag of tools over his shoulder, and exited the hut.

Kuzco stood up but started wobbling, still dizzy from the blow by the frying pan. “You have a lovely wife. Both very pretty,” he said in a daze. Pacha grabbed him by the neck and dragged him out. He beckoned the rest of the party to follow him.

Chicha smiled, then went to attend to Yzma. “So, where were we?” she asked.

Yzma was in a much sourer mood due to having to put up with the kids’—and Kronk’s—antics. “Listen, sister. We’re not leaving until—“

“I show you the house. Of course!” Chicha finished, grabbing Yzma and dragging her along.

Pacha, Kuzco, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy began running down the hill. “Hey, was it a good idea to leave your family with those two?” Kuzco asked, mildly concerned.

Pacha waved him off. “Oh, don’t worry. They can handle themselves,” he replied. As if on cue, they heard Yzma’s screams as she was sent down another side of the hill in a cart. She flew past Tipo, who was holding a beehive on a stick. Yzma hit the beehive, which became stuck on her head. She pulled it off and threw it away without being stung, but she was completely covered in honey. She then passed Chaca, hitting a pillow that she was holding in her path, and was covered in feathers. The cart’s wheel hit a rock, and the sudden stop sent Yzma flying. She flew into a child’s birthday party, where she knocked a piñata off of its string, only to get stuck to it herself an instant before an adult gave the kids the word to start swinging their sticks.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey stopped to watch this comedy routine take place and laughed. “This whole place is like a cartoon,” Riku commented. The others voiced their agreement.

Yzma steeled herself against the hits, which, due to the “attackers” being small children, were not too painful. She noticed several sets of footprints in the road a short distance away, and that one set consisted of hoof prints. She followed the trail until she saw a party of eight, one of which being a llama and three others being anthropomorphic animals, fleeing the scene.

She growled in rage. “KRONK!” she shouted. However, her assistant was watching her in her predicament with amusem*nt. She gritted her teeth, which soon began clattering due to the fact that she was still being hit by the children and the adult had not noticed that anything was wrong.

“All right, that’s it,” she grumbled. “HEARTLESS!” Several seconds passed, but nothing happened. She blinked a couple times in bewilderment, before she came to a realization. “Bah! The Key kids got rid of them all”, she muttered in annoyance. “Very well. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Bring out the big guns!”

Responding to her words, and not bothering to wonder how she knows what guns are, a large shadow fell over the hill. The adult pleaded for the children to stop, at which point they removed their blindfolds. After briefly wondering why their piñata looked different, they looked around and saw a bunch of purple monkey-like Heartless wearing witch’s hats and skirts made of leaves. The Heartless stretched their arms out, and glowing green orbs materialized in their hands. One by one, they threw the orbs around. The orbs exploded in flashes of light or green smoke when they hit, burning patches of grass and breaking cracks in the stone walls. The children and their chaperone fled the scene, to Yzma’s slight satisfaction. One of the Heartless threw a green orb that melted the string, causing her to drop to the ground. She pushed herself to her feet, at which point one of the Heartless ripped the feathers and honey off of her.

She pointed at her fleeing quarry, and the Heartless threw their orbs across the hill, causing explosions to take place all around them. Riku was hit in the side and fell to his knee in pain. Donald cast Cure to heal the burn.

Sora, Mickey, Kairi, and Goofy got to work. As the Heartless, which Jiminy sketched in his journal and nicknamed “Wild Shaman”, approached, the four heroes fought them off. Sora and Kairi used Reflect to bounce the green orbs back at their throwers. As soon as Riku recovered from the burning sensation, he shot a volley of Dark Fire to blast a few of the monkeys to kingdom come. Donald hung back, since he had used up his mana with the Cure spell, though he did hit an enemy on the head with his staff when it came close. Some of the Heartless jumped on Pacha, but the man grabbed them and threw them off. There was one that he could not reach, but Kuzco bit onto its leg and yanked it off. Another tried to sneak up on him, but the llama bucked and kicked it away.

Soon, all of the Wild Shaman Heartless had been vanquished. Yzma clenched her fists and growled. “Okay, buster! Your move!” she shouted. On cue, a dark portal appeared on the ground behind her. Tendrils of dark smoke floated about and congealed until they formed a shape. That dark shape melted away to reveal a humanoid figure. It stood twenty feet tall, had a bushy grey beard growing out of its standard Heartless face, and wore a white lab coat, black rubber boots and gloves that fit over its clawed four-fingered hands, and a tall, lavender, slightly-tapering hat. In front of it sat a black cauldron emblazoned with a Heartless emblem. The cauldron was filled with a pink bubbling liquid not unlike the fluid in Yzma’s potions.

The Heartless conjured a glass vial in its hand. It dipped the vial into the cauldron and filled it up with potion, then willed a cork to appear and stopper it. It then threw the vial in a random direction. The vial exploded into a conical burst of flame. Villagers scattered in a panic. Some stopped to untie their llamas so they could flee as well, but others ran only on base self-preservation instinct.

“Uh-oh,” Kuzco remarked. “That doesn’t look good.”

“We have to save them,” Pacha said. The others nodded in agreement, though Kuzco quaked in fear.

Sora turned to his companions and started throwing out orders a split second faster than Mickey could. “Kairi, Donald, get the people to safety. Goofy, stay with Kuzco and Pacha. Riku, your Majesty, let’s take this thing down.”

Mickey smiled in approval. “Right behind you,” he said. The three experienced Keyblade wielders summoned their weapons and charged at the Heartless. Kairi and Donald ran around the buildings, making sure everyone could get to safety. Goofy summoned his shield and stood his ground, looking in every direction to make sure no one could get to Kuzco and Pacha.

Sora dodge-rolled out of the way of a potion, which exploded into an upside-down pyramid of ice. The ice scraped his knee and left a freezing burn that made it difficult to move his leg. He stumbled and hit the ground. Mickey came to his aid and inspected the injury, noticing that there appeared to be frost around his knee.

“Esuna,” the mouse muttered, waving his hand over Sora’s knee. Almost instantly, Sora could feel his toes again as the frost melted away. Sora thanked him and jumped into the fray.

“Hmm,” Mickey mused. “Fire and water are signified by a right-side-up and an upside-down triangle, respectively, in alchemy. This thing’s mixing chemicals and elements to create effects, like some sort of alchemist.”

“I’ve already got the name down,” Jiminy said, writing in his journal. He looked up for a brief second. “Look out!”

Mickey cast Reflect, bouncing a potion vial away harmlessly. It was a good thing, too, because the grass it exploded on turned into brittle stone. “Gosh. Thanks, Jiminy.” The cricket gave him a thumbs-up.

Riku attacked the Alchemist from behind, but the Heartless swatted him with his hand, then tossed a potion over its shoulder for good measure. The potion broke on Riku’s head, and he stumbled back in surprise and confusion. He turned his head in multiple directions, then put his hand in front of his face. However, he could see almost nothing. The effects of the potion had almost completely blinded him, though there were some small, fuzzy specks that he could make out with considerable effort.

“You know what? I can handle this,” he said to himself. He closed his eyes completely and breathed through his nose. Relying on the senses that drove him during the months he spent wearing a blindfold, Riku jumped back into the fight.

Sora jumped up and landed on the lip of the cauldron. He flailed his arms to avoid falling in, then leapt again to throw himself at the Alchemist’s face, swinging his Keyblade. Mickey climbed up the Heartless’ body and attacked its wrists whenever it conjured and filled vials, forcing it to drop them harmlessly into the cauldron. However, it responded to this strategy by trying to swat them away. Sometimes that worked, but whenever that failed, it simply crushed the vials in its hands. Sora and Mickey were forced to jump away to avoid the explosions of fire, bursts of ice, and blasts of toxic gas.

At one point, Sora was caught in the blast of a breaking vial and hit the ground hard. He tried to get up, but found it much harder. It took much of his strength just to get to his feet, and it was incredibly difficult to even walk. Potion must’ve made me heavier, he thought. He flexed his arm muscles. But only in my legs. Which means I can still use magic.

He pointed his Keyblade at the Heartless and cast Fire. The spell launched successfully, and the fireball hit the Alchemist under the armpit, causing it to lurch and drop the vial it was holding. Sora smirked and cast Thunder, bringing a bolt of lightning down on its head.

Donald charged in, screaming. He cast Blizzard, sending a chunk of ice right into the Heartless’ beard. It responded by lobbing a potion, which hit Donald dead on and shrunk him to three inches in height.

Sora saw him disappear into the grass and turned to Mickey, who had been thrown a few feet away from where Donald was. “Watch your step, your Majesty! Donald’s been shrunk. He’s right over there!” he warned, pointing to where he had seen Donald vanish. Mickey peered closely at the spot and saw what Sora meant. He nodded in thanks and picked Donald up. The duck crossed his arms in annoyance as Mickey held him by the collar. Mickey chuckled at Donald’s expression, then walked over and placed him on Sora’s shoulder.

Sora craned his head to address Donald. “So, you have any ideas to turn the tables on this mixologist?” he asked.

Donald thought for a moment, tapping his foot, then smiled as an idea came to mind. “Maybe we can make the potion go off while it’s in the cauldron,” he suggested. “We just cast Fire and Thunder, and maybe mix it up with Aero.”

Sora smiled. “Works for me,” he said. “Now, if only I could actually move my legs…”

Mickey, hearing this, ran up to him, pointed his Keyblade at Sora’s feet, and said “Esuna!” Sora lifted one leg, then put it down and lifted the other. The extra weight was gone!

“Thanks,” Sora said. “Hold on, Donald.” Donald grabbed tightly onto Sora’s hood as Sora jumped high into the air. He spun in midair to give himself an extra boost and landed on the Alchemist’s shoulder. “Now, let me see. Fire! Aero! Thundara! Fire!”

The Alchemist tried to knock him off, but the damage was done. The potion fluid in the cauldron bubbled and steamed more violently. Geysers of flame and noxious gas shot up. The Heartless gripped the sides of its head in a panic, instantly regretting it as smoke rose up due to the fluid on its gloves reacting.

“All together, now!” Mickey called. He, Sora and Riku jumped up and body-slammed into the Alchemist’s back, knocking it over and causing it to fall headfirst into its own cauldron. They ran as this caused potion liquid to splash out and spill over the side. Fireworks burst out of the cauldron. The Heartless’ legs, which were the only parts of it that were visible, twitched and convulsed. Fire and frost spread all over it. Mickey winced when he saw the left boot turn to stone. Another convulsion and the boot crumbled to dust, and the potion fizzled where the dust hit.

Realizing that there could be a lot of damage if the potion continued to erupt before the whole thing faded away, Sora pointed his Keyblade at the cauldron. He levitated a few inches off of the ground as a sphere of red-orange light formed at the tip and grew until it was a foot in diameter. At this point, Sora pushed the Keyblade into the center of the sphere, which burst into dozens of tiny orbs that flew through the air, leaving glowing trails, before they all hit the cauldron and what was left of the Heartless. The energy bursts hitting the cauldron from all sides split and caused it to burst, and the potion liquid reacted instantaneously in a contained eruption. Sora shot a final beam of light, causing the whole thing to explode into vapor. A crystalline heart floated away and faded away.

Mickey cast Esuna on Riku. Donald jumped off of Sora’s shoulder and returned to his normal size, the effects of the Mini potion wearing off. The four of them reunited with Kuzco, Pacha and Goofy, and they were soon joined by Kairi.

“That was interesting,” Donald said, baffled by the Heartless’ unique gimmick.

Kuzco laughed. “Okay, that was awesome!” he cheered.

They heard Yzma scream with rage. “KRONK!” she yelled. Kronk appeared in front of her, carrying the backpack tent, which Yzma climbed into from behind. “After them!”

“Aaaand that’s our cue to go,” Sora said. No one bothered to reply; they all turned and ran down the hill. Sora unfurled the map and the group studied it quickly while running. He put it away, confident that they have the route memorized. A quick glance over their shoulders told them that Yzma and Kronk were in hot pursuit.

The party ran all across the mountain range, heading up and down hills as they made their way toward the tallest mountain. Everyone kept at a sprint; though Sora and Riku intentionally held themselves back, the entire group was able to keep pace without getting tired. Unfortunately, so did Kronk, who followed their every twist and turn while carrying Yzma in a box on his back. Riku had to silently admit that he was impressed.

They eventually reached a ravine. But Pacha was prepared. He pulled a bow and arrow out of the pack he had slung over his shoulder. A rope had been tied to the back end of the arrow ahead of time. He nocked the arrow and fired it at a tree on the other side. Donald and Goofy quickly tied the other end of the rope to a nearby tree and made sure it was secure. Using some more lengths of rope, he, Kuzco, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi used the long rope as a zip line to reach the other side. Sora, however, opted to glide across while Riku decided to launch himself across with a burst of darkness propelling him.

When Kronk and Yzma drew near, Kuzco chomped on the rope, snapping it and rendering the zip line unusable. He smirked confidently, considering whether to keep going or stay there to watch Yzma’s frustration. Pacha made the decision for him by grabbing him by the neck and dragging him along while everyone else was already going ahead.

However, Yzma seemed to be prepared. She signaled to Kronk, put on a pair of aviator goggles, and pulled a cord. A pair of purple wings sprouted from the box. Kronk leapt off of the ledge and let the wind carry them across.

Halfway across, they were both hit with a bolt of lightning that reduced the box’s entire frame to skeletal sticks. They both looked up in bewilderment to see a single dark cloud hovering above them. A second later, they fell into the ravine.

Riku stopped to watch this happen, staring dumbstruck. “What the actual…” he wondered aloud, but stopped and understood when he heard Donald snicker. He shrugged and joined his friends in completing the journey. Within a few minutes, they were running up the tallest mountain, heading straight for the golden palace.

“All right,” Kuzco said. “Once we’re in the city, I’ll lead you to the ‘secret path’ to Yzma’s ‘secret lab’.”

“Side entrance two-hundred feet to the right of the main entrance, down a stretch of corridor, second left, third right, pull-the-lever-Kronk?” Sora guessed.

Kuzco stopped and looked at him in awe and bewilderment. “How did you…”

Sora shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I’m just used to this kind of thing by now,” he replied. After spending a moment trying to comprehend this, everyone shrugged and continued into the city.

Several minutes later, Sora, Riku and Kuzco walked into the dark chamber containing the entrance to the secret lab. They were soaking wet, with a shared look of annoyance on their faces. Sora held a crocodile in a headlock.

“Okay, why does she even have that lever?” Kuzco asked.

“Say, Sora, you want to let him go?” Riku asked.

Sora looked at him in mild confusion, then remembered the crocodile. “Oh. Sorry, buddy,” he said. He released the reptile, which whimpered and scuttled out of the room.

They rejoined Pacha, Mickey, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy at the boar-head statue on the opposite wall. Pacha pulled the tusk on the right, which came down like a lever. The wall and floor around them flipped inward, dropping them all into what appeared to be a roller coaster car. A second cart was attached as they landed in, possibly as an effect of the mechanism detecting their total weight, and half of the group fell backward into that cart so that the first one was not crowded.

Please remain seated and keep your arms and legs in at all times, a mechanical voice chimed from around them. Water was poured along the landing the cars sat in, and the carts were sent down a winding chute. Kuzco and Pacha screamed in terror and bewilderment, while the younger trio and the anthropomorphic animals cheered and screamed with excitement.

When the carts stopped in a slot at a vertical angle, everyone fell out, but they all landed on their feet. After taking a moment to regain their bearings, they ran toward the laboratory station and perused the tables and drawers.

“What does it look like?” Goofy asked.

“I don’t know. Just keep looking,” Kuzco replied.

“Probably something like the vials the Heartless was throwing,” Mickey suggested.

Kairi turned and saw a tall, owl-shaped cabinet. “Over here!” she called, pointing. As everyone ran over to the cabinet, she noticed a pair of gloves on a nearby table and decided it would be wise to put them on.

Sora pulled the doors open, revealing entire shelves of vials filled with pink potion. Under each set of potions, the shelves were marked to indicate which animal it represented. He raised an eyebrow. “No other method of compartmentalization? No wonder she got the poison and llama mixed up,” he commented.

They scanned the shelves, looking for the label for human potions. Looking across one row, Pacha pointed them out. “Lions, tigers, bears…” he finally found a stick figure carving of a human frame, only to find that the space above it was empty.

“Oh, my,” a voice rang out. Everyone turned around to see a thin figure standing in the shadows. Yzma stepped into the light and held up a vial filled with the pink liquid. “Looking for this?” she asked mockingly, flashing a wicked grin.

The party was utterly dumbfounded. “No. It can’t be,” Kuzco gasped. “How did you get back here before us?”

Yzma raised her finger and prepared to explain, but she was at a loss for words. She turned around. “Uh, how did we, Kronk?” she asked her accomplice.

Kronk, still wearing the ruined harness, tapped his chin, thinking. “Hold on a second,” he said, before he— Wait, what’s happening? What’s going on? What are you doing here? Hey!

“’Scuse me, pal.”

Hey! You can’t be up here! How are you even—?

“Just checking a few things.”

Ugh, not this again. Get down from there!

“Wow. You really didn’t show the dinner potion scene.”

Too far back, Mr. Barkin. Too far back.

“Oh, thanks, pal. Now, let me see here…”

I’m getting Deadpool on the phone. He is not going to be happy. Okay, he’ll probably find it hilarious, but he’ll still—

“Found it.”

OW! Watch it, buster!

“My bad.”

Kronk rejoined a baffled Yzma and shrugged. “Well, you got me,” he answered her question. “By all accounts, it doesn’t make sense.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t use a Corridor of Darkness?” he asked.

“I don’t… think so,” Yzma replied uncertainly. She shrugged. “Oh, well. Back to business.”

“Okay, I admit it. Maybe I wasn’t as nice as I should have been,” Kuzco said. “But, Yzma, do you really want to kill me?”

“Just think of it as ‘you’re being let go,’ that your life is going in a different direction, that your body is part of a permanent outplacement,” Yzma taunted.

“Hey, that’s kind of like what he said to you when you got fired,” Kronk interrupted.

Yzma gritted her teeth. “I know,” she replied. “It’s called a cruel irony, like my dependence on you.”

Goofy scratched his head in confusion. “Well, I guess it would work better if the rest of us weren’t out of the loop on the joke,” he commented.

“You want me to get the aide to show them the list?” Kronk asked.

“So they can tell him to tell the guards about our murder attempts?” Yzma retorted.

“So… no on the aide, then?”

“I can’t believe this is happening!” Kuzco panicked.

“Then I bet you weren’t expecting this!” Yzma said. She pulled up the bottom of her dress. Her audience screamed in terror. Pacha covered his eyes. Sora closed his eyes and covered both Kairi’s and Goofy’s. Riku quickly put his blindfold on. Donald covered his eyes. Kuzco and Mickey cowered, their vision unobscured.

Yzma pulled the dress up further to reveal a dagger held by a strap against her thigh. She pulled it free and let her dress fall back down. Everyone sighed in relief. She laughed and tossed the dagger over her shoulder to Kronk. “Finish them off,” she ordered. Shadow Heartless rose out of the ground around the room.

Kronk looked at the dagger in his hand uncertainly. He never really signed on to murder people…

“You’re not backing down now, are ya, big guy?” A smaller version of Kronk dressed in a full-body devil costume, complete with horns, wings and tail, appeared on Kronk’s left shoulder in a burst of flame. He held a three-pronged trident in his left hand.

Kronk looked at his shoulder devil in confusion. “Uh, where’s the other guy?” he asked. At that moment, another version of Kronk, dressed in an angel’s robe complete with wings and a halo ring, appeared on his right shoulder in a puff of sparkling clouds. The shoulder angel was sitting in a hair dryer chair while reading a magazine. “Yo!” Kronk shouted, getting his conscience’s attention.

The shoulder angel threw the chair, helmet and magazine to the side. “So, what’d I miss?” he asked.

“Well, Yzma just tossed me this knife and asked me to, you know, take them out,” he explained. Yzma and the party watched in confusion, as they were unable to see the angel and devil on Kronk’s shoulders and were only aware of him talking into the air. Yzma turned to the party and pointed her thumb at him in bewilderment. The others shrugged. “…And then this guy popped up, and then we waited for you, and quite honestly…”

“Hold it!” Jiminy interrupted. He climbed out of Mickey’s pocket, dropped to the floor, and ran over to Kronk. He hopped up and scaled the man until he stood on Kronk’s wrist, right next to the dagger. “Sorry to interrupt guys, but we’re kind of doing this in public.”

“You can see them?” Kronk asked, mildly surprised.

“You can see us?” the shoulder angel and shoulder devil said simultaneously, greatly surprised.

“Well, of course,” Jiminy answered. “I’m an official conscience, after all. Lord high keeper of the knowledge of right and wrong, guide along the straight and narrow path, and all that. I’m kinda freelancing for the moment, but I still have the medal.”

“Ooh. Can I see it?” the shoulder angel asked, fascinated.

“Maybe later, angelface,” the shoulder devil interjected to bring him back to the topic. “We kinda have a moral debate going on.”

“I understand,” Jiminy agreed. “Now, I’d like to hear Mr. Kronk’s viewpoint on the whole thing. From what I understand, you are Yzma’s assistant, correct?”

Kuzco leaned over to whisper into Mickey’s ear. “He usually like this?” he asked. Mickey shrugged.

“Well, yeah. I do her cleaning, help in the lab, this lab, actually, and cook meals,” Kronk replied. “Basically, whatever she needs help with, I help. I really enjoy the cooking part.”

“See? Real nice guy here,” the shoulder angel added.

“But he’s making his way up in the world doing the kind of thing we’re dealing with now,” the shoulder devil countered.

“Hey, you see those little black things over there?” the angel asked.

“Yeah. Cute little things, aren’t they?” the devil replied.

“Yeah. They are pretty cute with their little antennae and glowing eyes,” Kronk agreed.

The angel facepalmed. “Creatures of DARKNESS, people! They follow the darkness in your hearts and eat you when you let it get ahold of you.”

Kronk gave the Heartless a double take. “Oh, yeah. I guess there’s that,” he concurred.

“There most certainly is that,” Jiminy agreed. “But let’s talk about the task at hand.” He rapped his knuckles on the flat side of the dagger blade. “Murder. Assassination. Stabbing people to death. Is that really the kind of guy you are? The kind of guy you want to be?”

“Uh, well, this is kind of new territory for me,” Kronk replied nervously. “And, well… uh…”

Yzma groaned and shook her head in disappointment. “Kronk!” she shouted. All three Kronks as well as Jiminy looked up at her. “Why did I think you could do this? This one simple thing? It’s like I’m talking to a monkey!”

“Whoa, now,” the angel interjected, not liking her attitude. But, of course, she could not hear him.

“A really, really, big, stupid monkey named Kronk!” Yzma elaborated.

“Ouch,” the devil remarked pitifully.

“And do you want to know something else?” Yzma asked. “I’ve never liked your spinach puffs!” The Kronks gasped. “Never!”

Kronk began to cry. The angel touched Kronk’s cheek comfortingly. Jiminy patted Kronk’s arm in a there, there gesture. Sora and Goofy’s jaws dropped. “Wow. And I thought Maleficent was mean,” Riku remarked. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

The devil brandished his trident. “That’s it. She’s going down,” he muttered angrily.

“Now, now, remember guys,” the angel called their attention. “From above, the wicked shall receive their just reward.” The three Kronks and Jiminy looked up and saw a candle-lit chandelier hanging several feet above Yzma.

“That’ll work,” they all said in unison. Kronk switched the dagger to his right hand and slashed the rope that led down from above the chandelier to a column nearby. Jiminy jumped off from Kronk’s arm so that he would not fall off.

Sora followed Kronk’s gaze and noticed the chandelier. He raised his finger to interject. “Uh, Kronk…”

The chandelier fell, and Yzma and the heroes could only watch it come down. It crashed into the floor. The force of the landing caused the candles to become extinguished.

Yzma stood in the middle of the chandelier, completely unharmed. She was so thin that she passed harmlessly through the center circle. She was still holding onto the human potion, which meant that it was probably a good thing that the attack failed.

“Strange,” Kronk remarked. “That usually works.”

“And so does this!” Yzma retorted, running over to a table and pulling on a lever disguised as a potion beaker.

A trapdoor opened up beneath Kronk’s feet. He looked down and realized what was about to happen. “Ah. Should have seen that coming.” He fell through the newly-made hole. The shoulder angel and shoulder devil looked down and hugged each other in fear before they fell as well. Jiminy walked over to the edge and looked in, watching them fall.

While Yzma was distracted with punishing Kronk for his betrayal, Mickey leapt to grab the vial. However, Yzma called a trio of Heartless to knock him out of the air. Pacha managed to sneak up on her and pull the vial out of her hand.

“Give me that vial!” she shouted, jumping on his back and pounding on his head. This forced him to accidentally throw the potion. Sora dove down and caught it before it hit the ground. Yzma brought her knee up and hit him under the chin, then took the vial out of his hand. Donald swatted her in the leg with his staff, and Yzma dropped it from the pain. A Shadow Heartless tugged at his coat as he tried to go catch it, but Goofy came to the rescue. He was soon dogpiled by more Heartless, and one of the Shadows pulled the vial out of his hand and handed it to Yzma. As soon as she took it, Kuzco rammed into her, throwing her across the room and causing the vial to fall to the floor harmlessly. Yzma crashed into the cabinet, knocking a few potions off of the shelves (also harmlessly). She looked down and around at the identical potions as the wheels began turning in her head.

The party ran after the vial as it rolled across the floor. Yzma stood behind the cabinet and pushed it. Every single potion fell off of the shelves and landed on the floor around the human potion.

“Oops,” she said mockingly. “Clumsy me.” She watched as her foes got down on their hands and knees and inspected each potion, not sure which was which. “Which one? Which one?” she sang. She pulled on a cord to her left and an alarm sounded. “Better hurry. I’m expecting company.”

Three of the walls were carved to resemble a large, imposing face baring sharp teeth. Those teeth opened in two parts vertically, like three doors. Standing behind each entrance, the party could see half a dozen muscle-bound warriors carrying a variety of weapons. Each guard was painted so that the left side of his body was blue and the right side was red. They wore, aprons in front of their legs, helmets, and arm bands.

“Kill them!” Yzma ordered. “They murdered the emperor!” The guards let out a battle cry and charged forward.

“No! Wait! I’m the emperor! It’s me, Kuzco!” Kuzco tried to explain. But the guards ignored the talking llama. “They’re not listening to me!”

“Just take them all!” Pacha advised. Kairi reached down toward one of the vials. Sora stood up, unbuttoned and opened one of his pockets, and reached his hand out toward the vials. Every one of them floated up and spun around Sora before inserting themselves into his pocket. The magic of the clothes allowed them to fit in the small space as if his pocket had greater volume.

“What?!” Kuzco remarked, bewildered by what he had just seen.

The guards charged at them with the same level of fury. A few of them attacked the Heartless as they went by, evidently recognizing them as threats, which Yzma did not seem to mind. Pacha saw a table lined with a multitude of experimental potions in front of him. With Riku’s help, he pushed it over, tossing the potions on all of the guards, who each turned into a different animal. The guards stopped and looked at themselves in surprise.

“Get them!” Yzma insisted.

One of the guards, who had taken on a bovine form, regarded is new shape nervously. “Hey, I’ve been turned into a cow. Can I go home?” he asked.

“You’re excused,” Yzma politely relented. The cow guard walked away, waddling on his hooves. “Anyone else?”

“No. We’re good,” the remaining guards answered. Sora smiled, amused at how unperturbed they were at the situation.

“Get them!” Yzma ordered again. The transmogrified guards charged forward. The party turned and ran for the exit.

“Sora, I was about to grab the right potion before you did that!” Kairi scolded as they ran down a set of stairs. “I had my eye on it the whole time from before Yzma dumped the other potions.”

“What? Really?” Kuzco remarked. “Wow. You have a good eye.”

“Why, thank you,” Kairi replied.

“Sorry,” Sora said. “But that means we have it somewhere in here, so we have the advantage. Now, we just have to get to safety.”

“If we use the right potion and change Kuzco back, we can clear up this mess before it gets out of hand,” Riku suggested.

“Fine. Give me a potion,” Pacha said. Sora reached into his pocket and grabbed a random potion. He handed it to Pacha, who popped the cork out and poured it down Kuzco’s throat. There was a puff of pink smoke as the potion took effect, but a second passed and Kuzco was nowhere to be seen.

“Uh, guys? A little help here?” Kuzco croaked. They all stopped and turned around, and were shocked to see that Kuzco had turned into a small turtle. The guards were catching up to him fast!

Pacha reached down and picked him up, then turned back around to start running again. They came out to a stairwell, but saw that some of the guards were coming down the stairs to either side of them. Pacha put Kuzco on the ledge next to the stairs going down and hopped on his shell, surfing down the length of the stairs just as a guard, who had been turned into an octopus, brought three axes down where they had been. Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi ran down the stairs while Sora cast Blizzard on the opposite ledge, then he and Mickey surfed down the frozen surface just like Pacha and Kuzco did.

Three guards showed up at the bottom, waiting to intercept them. Pacha held his arm out in Sora’s direction, beckoning for another potion. Sora complied, and threw a vial to Pacha.

“Please be something with wings,” Pacha muttered. He ducked down and shoved the potion into Kuzco’s beak.

Donald cast a Fire spell to knock the guards away, and Kairi cast Aerora at the same time. Both spells blasted the guards off of their feet, and they had the added bonus of vaulting Pacha and Kuzco into the air. Kuzco was enveloped in a cloud of pink smoke.

Kuzco flapped his newfound wings. “Yeah! We’re flying!” he cheered. He looked down and realized that he was a tiny red bird that was about the size of Pacha’s hand, and Pacha was holding onto him by the tail feathers. “Uh-oh…” They fell and slammed onto a statue that hung over a doorway. They slid off and hit the ground.

“Ouch,” Sora muttered sympathetically. He and Mickey jumped off and soared through the air, landing right beside them. The guards came after them, but they stopped and fell backwards, as if they had hit an invisible wall. Riku’s shields flashed and disappeared as he, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy leapt past them and joined their friends.

Kuzco screamed as a Soldier Heartless appeared above him, but Pacha kicked it into the wall with no effort. Sora picked Kuzco up and let him stand on his index finger.

The party ran, coming onto a narrow bridge. “We’re not getting anywhere with you picking the vial,” he complained. “I’m picking the next one!”

“Go right ahead,” Sora replied, lowering the bird down to his pocket. Kuzco poked his head in and grabbed a random vial with his beak. He pulled his head out and showed it to Sora. Riku uncorked it and fed it to Kuzco.

There was an enormous cloud of pink smoke. When it cleared, Kuzco was a giant red whale. Everyone looked at his new form in utter shock.

“Don’t you say a word,” Kuzco warned. They all looked down and saw the stone cracking beneath Kuzco’s weight. The bridge broke and everyone fell into a canal below.

Yzma ran to the bottom of the stairs and looked down over the edge of the broken bridge. She turned to the guards. “Quick! Drain the canals!” she ordered.

Kuzco sank into the water, but soon started swimming with ease. Even though everyone was submerged when they landed, they got their bearings and started swimming as well. Sora, Donald and Goofy decided against entering their Atlantica forms, reasoning that it would be prudent that they retain arms and legs through the whole escapade. That, and if Sora’s clothes disappeared, the potions would as well.

Sora grabbed onto Kuzco’s tail and clambered up onto his back. He took a potion out of his pocket and leaned over to look Kuzco in the eye. “Open wide,” he said, before throwing the bottle into his mouth. There was a puff of smoke and Sora fell into the water.

A llama head popped out of the water. Kuzco looked at his hooves and smiled. “Yay! I’m a llama again!” He paused in his celebration as he realized that it was no reason to celebrate. He was a llama again. “Wait…”

They all heard a sound like stone grinding and water draining out of a sink. Before they could realize what was happening, they were all caught in a whirlpool that pulled them down to a hole in the bottom of the channel.

Wide jets of water poured out of the nose of the top part of the palace. The water ran down the stairs and into the city, sure to leave a lot of people bewildered and panicking.

As the last of the water flooded out of the channel, the party went through, but half of the group grabbed onto the ledge and held on, then caught the other half by the arms when they went through.

Yzma hopped down and pointed down the hole they fell through. “There they go! After them!” she shouted back to the guards.

“Come on, men!” one of the guards, who had been turned into a lizard, said encouragingly. “No one lives forever! Charge!” The guards ran down into the funnel leading down and out of the channel, but they all lost their footing and slid through the hole. Meanwhile, the party had managed to climb over to the wall on the side.

Heartless poured out of the palace’s front door, some of which began to climb the wall to try and reach the party. Spellcasting Heartless floated out of the nostril holes and pursued them. Mickey and Donald fought them off while Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Goofy helped Kuzco and Pacha climb up the outer face of the building until they came upon a flat landing which made up the palace’s unibrow.

Angry at the failure of the guards, Yzma pulled a curtain down, tied it to a statue above the funnel, and, holding onto the other end and placing a discarded sword between her teeth, dropped through the hole. In a mad rage, she ran up the side of the building, still holding onto the curtain, and quickly made her way up to the landing.

Sora took out the remaining potions, which counted to about a dozen. “Okay, just to be safe,” he said, then popped the cork off of one of them and poured a drop on Donald’s beak. Donald instantly transformed into a turkey. “No…” He dropped the vial over the side, seeing no further use for it, and tried another one. Donald became a rabbit. “No…” Another one turned him into a Billy goat. Then a horse. Then a squirrel. Then a llama. “Wait. How many llama potions does Yzma have?” Sora asked aloud. He shrugged and continued, turning Donald into a lion, a bear, an ermine, and then a horse-sized bird with yellow feathers and long legs.

“Wark?” Donald crowed in confusion.

“Try again,” Sora muttered. The next potion turned Donald back into a duck. He reached for more only to pull out the last two. He showed them to Kuzco and Pacha.

Pacha took the potions and turned to Kuzco, who looked at them joyfully. “Okay, two left. It’s got to be one of these,” Pacha told him.

However, Yzma would have none of it. She swung over the group and came down in between Kuzco and Pacha, kicking out with both legs to knock them away. Pacha dropped the potions as he was sent back, and they landed in between Kuzco and Pacha. Kuzco gasped and ran for it, while Yzma made her way toward it. Sora ran after her, Keyblade in hand, but Yzma took the sword from her mouth and fought him back. Sora did not put much strength into his swing, as he did not expect a rail-thin old woman to put up much of a fight, so he was surprised by the deftness in her swing and the strength of the blow, and he was sent reeling back.

Yzma turned back around and dove for the potions, at the same time Kuzco did as well. They bumped into each other and tumbled on the landing for a moment. They pushed the other off and Yzma inadvertently fell backward onto one of the potions.

“No!” Pacha called, but it was too late. The potion burst in an enormous blast, one tinged with a dark aura. Purple smoke fell over the landing, a haze that no one could see through.

A sinister laugh echoed from the center of the cloud, a bone-chilling cackle that, if one listened very hard, almost sounded as though there was something caught in the person’s throat.

The smoke cleared, revealing a small white kitten. Yzma let out a soft meow. Sora, Riku and Donald laughed. Kairi and Goofy cooed at Yzma’s fluffy new form. Even the Heartless that had made their way up to the ledge with them stared in bewilderment.

Kuzco leaned in and grabbed the remaining vial, which would turn him back into a human. “I’ll take that,” he gloated. He held it up triumphantly.

“This is the one,” Pacha said. “This’ll change you back to a human.”

Yzma threw herself at Kuzco and started clawing at his face. “Ow! Hey! Get her off me!” Kuzco screamed. Pacha pulled her off but she started clawing at him. Sora pulled her off of his face and held her at a distance, but she bit his arm, causing him to drop her. Goofy grabbed her in a bear hug, but she squeezed her way out. She jumped on Kuzco again. Pacha pulled her off again, but Yzma drove her claws into his arm. He stumbled back and fell off the ledge. Luckily, he managed to grab onto a ledge around the shape of the right eye. Mickey ran to help Kuzco, but Heartless jumped in his way.

Kuzco shook his head trying to shake Yzma off, before he finally slammed his head into the wall, causing her to let go and fall off, stunned. He ran over to check on Pacha.

“Drink the potion!” Pacha shouted.

“Okay, okay,” Kuzco replied. He raised up the leg holding the potion, only to find that he was not holding the potion. He gasped and looked around frantically. “Where did it go? Where is it?”

“Looking for this?” Yzma teased, holding the vial in one paw and speaking in a high-pitched squeak. Kairi giggled. Yzma stopped when she heard how she sounded. “Is that my voice? Is that my voice?” After a second, she shrugged. “Oh, well.” She held it up and shot Kuzco a wicked grin.

Sora held his bleeding arm, which still stung with pain from Yzma’s bite. He turned to his friends. “Riku, Goofy, go down and help Pacha,” he instructed. Riku nodded and Goofy saluted, then they both started to climb down the building.

“No, no! Don’t drop it!” Kuzco begged.

“I’m not going to drop it, you fool!” Yzma shot back. “I’m going to drink it. And once I turn back into my beautiful self I’m going to KILL YOU!” She flashed a surprisingly terrifying grin full of sharp teeth and laughed. She bit onto the cork and tugged, but it stretched, refusing to come out. She pulled with her paw, but it still would not budge. She put it down and stomped on it, then threw it against the wall in frustration. It bounced off and went flying out. Yzma gasped and jumped after it, only to then remember that there was nothing below her for several hundred feet. “Uh-oh,” she muttered before she fell, screaming all the way down.

The potion bounced off a wall and slid off a curved ledge which sent it flying parallel to the wall but still within range, though Yzma sailed past that ledge. It bounced off of walls until it landed on a small ledge.

Kuzco gasped and ran after it. Heartless tried to impede his progress, but Kuzco head-butted one, bit the arm of another, and slapped a third off of the building.

Sora, Mickey and Kairi ran to the other side and clambered after the vial as well. Heartless tried to get to the potion before them, but Donald pulled them up into a Magnera spell, getting them out of the way. The Magnera spell happened to be close enough to the wall that the Heartless repeatedly hit their heads and limbs on the stone. They landed on a ledge above the vial, but before any of them could drop down and retrieve it, a Hook Bat flew into Sora’s face. He was caught off guard and stumbled backward, accidentally knocking Mickey and Kairi over, and they fell off, though they managed to grab onto a ledge. Sora hopped down and started to help Kairi up. Donald climbed down and reached for Mickey as well.

Kuzco reached the nearest ledge to the vial and stretched out to grab it, but it was just out of reach. He looked down to see how far the drop was and noticed Pacha start to slip down the curved side.

“Kuzco!” Pacha called. He was starting to lose his grip. Riku and Goofy watched in horror. They were not going to make it in time!

“Be right there. Gimme a minute,” Kuzco said, reaching as far as he could for the potion, which rocked back and forth as if it was having trouble staying balanced on the ledge. Despite his desperation, he was starting to realize that it was a lost cause.

“Kuzco! Kuzco!” Pacha’s arm slipped, and he was left to hang on with one hand. A few seconds later, his fingers slipped and he lost hold. But before he fell, two hooves clasped themselves over his hand. Pacha looked up to see that Kuzco had come back for him, and sighed in relief. He mounted his feet on the side of the ledge and climbed up with Kuzco’s help.

At the same time, Sora and Donald pulled Kairi and Mickey up to safety.

Pacha looked over to the potion and saw that it was about to fall. “The vial!” he gasped, pointing this out. The vial tilted and fell over the ledge.

Riku appeared out of thin air and reached down to catch the vial. “I got it!” he shouted. He held the potion up triumphantly. He beckoned to Kuzco. “Come on up!”

Meanwhile, Yzma was still falling. At the bottom, near one of the side entrances to the palace, a guard was in an argument with a delivery man.

“For the last time, we did not order a giant trampoline!” the guard complained.

“You know, pal, you could have told me that before I set it up, the delivery man retorted.

Yzma landed in the center of the trampoline and bounced back up, saving her from broken bones and non-comical injury. She was still screaming in terror. After several seconds, she flew past Kuzco and Pacha, who looked up after her in bewilderment, and right by Riku. It took a few seconds for Riku to notice that something was wrong, and he realized that he no longer held the potion vial in his hand. He looked up and saw it in Yzma’s paw. He looked down, wondering how she was sent back up. He looked up again, then down again. He raised an eyebrow.

“Is that a giant trampoline?” he asked. He looked back up at Yzma and shook his head.

Yzma stopped screaming and noticed that she was holding the human potion. She started laughing victoriously, until she crashed into the bottom of the unibrow section, leaving a sizeable crack in the stone and dropping the potion. It bounced around some more until it settled on another ledge. Yzma popped free from the ceiling and landed safely on the next ledge below, her head spinning from the concussive blow.

Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Donald scrambled along the building to try and reach it. Riku and Goofy, meanwhile, reached Kuzco and Pacha and began to help them up and over. Yzma regained her senses and, scanning about, located the potion. Using her newfound nimbleness, she jumped around and caught up to the heroes as they got close to the vial. Mickey jumped over to it, but he did not quite clear the jump and grabbed onto the ledge. He reached up to grab the vial, but Yzma hopped down and grabbed it before him.

With the vial in hand, Yzma jumped to a decoration just above and to the left. She cackled in her high-pitched voice. “I win,” she said, smiling wickedly.

A blue circular window opened suddenly, slamming her against the wall and causing her to throw the vial inadvertently. Kairi jumped onto the ledge above Mickey and caught the vial out of the air. “Got it!” she cheered.

Kronk looked around, chuckling as he leaned out of the window. “Whoa,” he remarked. “What are the odds of that trapdoor leading me out here?”

Kuzco and Pacha arrived at the ledge with Kairi and Mickey. Around them, Sora, Riku and Donald were clearing out the last of the Heartless. Kairi smiled and wagged the vial in Kuzco’s direction. “Your Highness, I believe this is for you,” she said. She popped the cork off and handed it to Kuzco.

Kuzco took it and raised it up as if for a toast. “Well, guys, I’ll see you on the other side,” he said before drinking the potion.

While this was happening, Yzma dropped off of the wall. Kronk climbed out to the ledge she was on and chuckled when he saw her. “Well, Yzma. Fancy seeing you here,” he greeted. He picked her up and petted her like a housecat.

Yzma grumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes. As she did so, she noticed a familiar figure sitting up on the “ear” of the palace. The silver-haired figure giggled at the spectacle.

Chapter 56: Chapter 55: The Emperor's New Groove

Chapter Text

Mickey, Donald and Goofy watched in astonishment as Kuzco’s servants remodeled the rooms and replaced the purple and blue walls with red and gold. “Gawrsh, how are they changing all this so fast?” Goofy asked.

The now-human Kuzco shrugged. “I dunno. Probably the same way they changed it in a few hours the first time when Yzma took over,” he replied. Kuzco was a slim young man with a pointed chin and shoulder-length black hair. He wore a red tunic with a yellow collar, yellow feathered anklets, black sandals, a pair of blue disc-shaped earrings, and a gold crown that consisted of a hollow hemisphere and a wider half-circle which made it look like a rising sun. After he turned back into a human, Kuzco revealed himself to the guards and aides, who immediately sent out word that Kuzco was alive. After that, Kuzco offered to give his friends a tour of the palace.

“So, Kuzco, what’s next?” Mickey asked.

“The last few days taught me that, despite what I always thought, I was not the best guy around,” the emperor admitted. “And from what I heard back at the diner, the people weren’t too happy with how I’d been running things. Well, that’s all gonna change, pal. I’m turning myself around. I’ll be making things right. No more ‘no touchy’, no tossing old guys out my windows for throwing off my groove, none of that jazz. I got a new groove to dance by, baby!”

Sora smiled at this. “Glad to hear that,” he said.

Mickey chuckled. “Gosh, I think you’re gonna do great,” he assured him.

“Thanks for everything, guys,” Kuzco said sincerely. He noticed everyone smiling warmly and realized he was getting emotional. He cleared his throat. “So, uh, guys. You said you’re from way outta town, right? Anything special bring you to visit? Anything I can help you with?”

“Well, actually, there is something we were hoping to take a look at,” Sora answered. “You see, there’s this group of bad guys that’s controlling the Heartless. We think Yzma might be part of the group. They’ve been going around a bunch of worlds searching for some closely-guarded artifacts. Like, centuries-old, no-one-can-know, artifacts. We’ve been trying to track them down and get ahead of them before they can gather them all, but we don’t really know what it is we’re supposed to be looking for. Would you happen to know anything that might help?”

Kuzco pondered the question for several seconds, then he snapped his fingers when he came up with something. “I don’t know anything specific, but I do remember one of the guards telling a new guy about some things in the dungeon’s vault that are no-touchy,” he told them. “There had been one guy who touched this really big, really old tablet thing the wrong way, or something, and that guard arrested him. I don’t remember what happened to him. Does that help?”

Sora traded glances with Mickey, Riku, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi, then turned back to Kuzco and nodded. “Well, that’s a good place to start,” he said. “Can we ask him about it?”

Kuzco averted his gaze. “Uh, I think we lost him during the chase yesterday,” he answered. “I think he was the guy who got turned into a lizard.”

“Oh…” Sora scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

“But I’ll give you permission to take a look around, if you’d like,” Kuzco said.

“Thank you, Kuzco,” Mickey replied. The others nodded.

Riku turned to Donald and Goofy. “Hey, how about you two check out Yzma’s lab. Maybe she left something that could give us clues,” he suggested.

Donald and Goofy nodded. “Good idea, Riku,” Donald said.

“Okay, guys. Let’s go take a look,” Mickey affirmed.

They turned to leave, but Sora realized something. “Uh, how do we get to the vault?” he asked.

“Oh. Right. Hey!” Kuzco called to one of the guards. “Show these guys to the treasure vault.”

The guard nodded and led them out of the room and down the hall.

“Wheeeeeeeeeee!” Goofy screamed as he and Donald rode the roller coaster into the laboratory. Donald was less cheerful, having lost a few feathers trying to get into the lab.

When they landed, they found themselves dressed in Yzma and Kronk’s lab uniforms. On noticing this, they simply shrugged.

“So, where do you think we should look?” Goofy asked.

“Well, first we should check where she keeps her equipment and the materials she mixes to make the potions,” Donald suggested. He shrugged. “Who knows? We might be able to find something about the bad guys lying around. We did make a mess of the place.”

Goofy crouched when he approached the potions cabinet and lifted it so it stood upright again. He studied the markings on the shelves. “You know, Yzma might not have been the brightest plotter, but she was good at what she did,” he commented, amazed by the wide range of potions she had concocted all by herself.

“Yeah,” Donald agreed, perusing a scroll of notes that he found in one of the drawers in the desk that Riku and Pacha had knocked over the day before. She was resourceful, he had to admit. She had access to a wide range of ingredients.

Goofy glanced around the room for other places in which Yzma might hide her secrets. While scanning the area, his attention was drawn to a small item resting on the floor. What could that be? he wondered.

Donald read the scroll further, wondering why there had only been a single vial of human potion. He read the list of ingredients, many of which were quite common on other worlds. In fact, if they only had the recipes, he and Sora could have hypothetically had the Moogles create it in large amounts. He noticed that Yzma had added side notes next to most of the ingredients. From what she had determined, the ingredients were incredibly rare in this world. Makes sense, he thought. Now that I think about it, we haven’t picked up any Lightning, Power or Serenity elements at all. Even Mythril was in short supply.

“Hey, uh, Donald,” Goofy called to his companion. Donald turned to see what Goofy wanted to tell him. The duck tilted his head in confusion when he saw what Goofy was showing him. In the knight’s hand was a large white feather with purple edges.

“What’s that supposed to be?” Donald asked.

“Um, I think someone else had been in here,” Goofy answered, a worried look on his face.

Sora, Mickey, Riku, and Kairi split up to search the entire treasure room. Mickey had advised them to look for the tablet but also to keep an eye out for anything else that might be of importance. Sora was fascinated by the sight of many large statues. Kairi saw a wall lined with a large number of jewels. While she did think they looked nice, she decided that none of them would be the kind of thing they were looking for, so she passed them. Mickey and Riku went to the opposite end of the room, which was lined with statues, tablets and steles depicting historical and religious documentation.

Riku came across a large tablet that appeared to depict what appeared to be two deities. From some text, Riku had guessed that the two deities were the sun god Inti and the death god Supai. He sniffed and found an interesting odor about it. He looked down and noticed that there was a ribbon barring him from stepping closer.

“Hey, I think I found it,” he shouted, alerting his friends to his discovery.

Sora and Mickey ran over to join him. Kairi began to do so as well, but she sensed something amiss. She felt a strange power, a mix of darkness, nothingness, and something else she could not put her finger on. Realizing that the power hovered above her, she looked up.

The silver-haired man lounged on the shoulders of an enormous stone idol that was in the shape of a hooded figure. He giggled. “How amusing, thinking I sought the tablet,” he said. He sat up and caressed the head of the statue. “It was merely a stage prop to set the scene. Alas, it will serve no purpose in the legend that shall be written.” He conjured an enormous ball of ice, which he threw at the tablet with little effort. The ball of ice crashed into the tablet and broke it into many pieces. Riku ran away to avoid the stone remains from falling on top of him.

Sora, Riku and Mickey met up with Kairi by the idol. Sora glared up at the stranger. “Who are you supposed to be?” he shouted.

The silver-haired man flipped his hair back. “I am known as Kuja,” he replied. “But you may know me as your Angel of Death.”

“Try me! Firaga!” Sora summoned his Keyblade and fired the spell at him. The fire ball hit Kuja square in the chest and sent him flying back into the wall. Despite leaving a sizeable crack in the stone, Kuja pushed himself away and dusted himself off. Sora cast Thundaga, and a lightning bolt came down on Kuja’s head. However, he did not seem to notice.

“If you’ll excuse me, I shall be taking this,” Kuja said. He waved his hand and a dark portal opened up beneath the idol, which started to sink into the gateway.

“We can’t let him get away with that!” Mickey gasped. He cast Zero Graviga, but Kuja fired a bolt of energy that broke the spell’s field. Kuja fired another spell that shrank the idol to human height.

Riku fired a Dark Firaga spell at Kuja, but this time he did not budge from it. Sora cast Blizzaga and Thundaga at him, but the ice crystal shattered against his skin and he did not react to the lightning surging through his body.

Kuja chuckled. “My, my. That tickles,” he teased.

Sora gasped, unable to believe it. “She… she doesn’t even feel it! It’s not doing anything to her!”

Kuja raised an eyebrow. “She? You should know that I am a man,” he remarked.

Sora tilted his head. “Wait… what?” he said, flabbergasted. “Oh. Um, you mean you identify as…”

“No,” Kuja interrupted him. “I am actually biologically male. For real.”

Sora was even more confused. He stared at Kuja in bewilderment, trying to reconcile his claims with everything that his entire appearance would imply. “But… you… you have… are…” Unable to come up with the right words, he simply moved his arms up and down in a wavy motion.

Kuja sighed. “Don’t worry. I get that far more often than you can imagine. Now, back to business.” He waved toward the idol, which was now neck-deep in the portal.

“I think I can get it,” Riku said. He ran into the pool, but Kuja snapped his fingers and a pillar of fire blasted him into the air. The idol vanished into the portal and vanished.

“Don’t let him get away!” Mickey shouted. He jumped up multiple statues, then leapt up to engage Kuja. He swung his Keyblade at him, sending him flying, but Kuja regained his balance and flew straight toward him. Kuja conjured a circle of glowing white orbs of light, which he sent right at Mickey. The orbs exploded and sent the mouse flying across the room.

“Give me a boost!” Kairi called. Sora threw his Keyblade at Kuja, then crouched and cupped his hands for Kairi to step in. He threw her up and she slashed Kuja in the back while he was on the recoil from getting hit in the side by the Kingdom Key. Instead of cutting his skin like she intended, however, the Keyblade bounced off of him, and Kairi lost her aerial balance. Kuja turned around and smirked, before he backhanded her, knocking him down to the ground. She laid prone, groaning in pain.

“Kairi!” Sora gasped. He glared up at Kuja, gritting his teeth. He jumped high into the air, leaving shoe-print-shaped indents in the floor. As soon as he got within range of Kuja, he swung his Keyblade at him with all of his strength. He struck Kuja several times in the span of a few seconds, then sent him flying with a finisher. But he was not finished yet, and he flung himself at Kuja for a prompt encore. The finishing blow sent Kuja straight through several statues and tablets before he finally crashed into a wall, leaving a huge imprint.

Sora fell to the ground and barely stuck the landing. He swung his arms around to get his joints back into gear. The Limit Break had taken a lot more out of him than he had thought. Seeing Kairi get hurt must have provoked him into putting more into each swing than usual. He breathed heavily, realizing how much energy he had burned with that. He allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. That ought to have done something to him/her, he thought to himself.

Kuja walked out of the dust and rubble, appearing to be unharmed, though he seemed to be breathing a bit heavier and there may have been a slight limp in his step. Sora’s eyes widened in fear.

“Hehe. Impressive,” Kuja commended, clapping his hands. “But it appears that your performance is not quite up to snuff.” He threw a fireball and a giant ice crystal, both of which hit Sora and sent him flying. He crashed into a statue and slumped to the ground.

Riku warped in and threw himself at Kuja, but the sorcerer was ready for him. Kuja spun around and shoved his hand into Riku’s gut. A blast of silver light exploded and sent Riku tumbling through the air.

Mickey leapt through the air and threw three Pearl spells at Kuja, but the man swatted them aside like they were nothing and raised his fist. A Flare spell exploded above Mickey, launching him into the ground at great speed.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey were all down for the count. Kuja walked over to Mickey and smirked.

“Such a shame,” he lamented. “I had expected more from you all. No matter. I suppose that your power simply cannot approach mine.” He turned around and walked away. A Corridor of Darkness appeared in front of him.

“You’re just gonna leave us?” Mickey choked.

Kuja smirked back at him. “Killing you would be beneath me,” he replied confidently. “Besides, I did not come here for you. You were merely an amusing diversion.” He walked through the Corridor, which closed behind him.

Mickey groaned. He tried to force himself to his feet, but soon fainted from the pain.

“Curaga.”

Mickey opened his eyes. Three fuzzy images hovered in front of his vision. He blinked several times until his vision cleared. Sora, Riku and Kairi looked down on him, their eyes filled with worry. He groaned and started to stand up. His friends smiled on seeing that he was okay. Riku helped Mickey to his feet.

Mickey groaned. “Where’s Kuja?” he asked.

Riku shook his head. “He’s long gone,” he replied solemnly. “And he got the idol.”

“I can’t believe it,” Sora lamented. “He beat us without even trying. We didn’t even do anything to him.”

“If this is really the kind of power Maleficent has aligned with,” Kairi said, “then this is going to be a lot harder than we thought.”

Mickey surveyed the immense damage and sighed. “We should meet up with Donald, Goofy and Kuzco,” he told his friends. “Tell them what happened and plan our next move.”

Sora sighed, surveying the damage. “I don’t know about Kuzco, but I doubt the guards and custodians are going to be happy about all this.”

Kuzco found Pacha sitting next to a diorama of the hills that Pacha’s village was built on. Instead of Pacha’s hut, Kuzco had placed a model of his prospective “Kuzcotopia” water park summer home. Kuzco frowned, remembering the way he had acted previously. Now was time to change things. He walked up to Pacha.

“So, you lied to me,” he said.

“I did?” Pacha asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Kuzco replied. “You said, ‘when the sun hits this ridge just right, these hills sing. Well, pal, I got dragged all over those hills and I did not hear any singing.” He put on a mock pout. Pacha raised his eyebrow in confusion, but then understood what he actually meant. “So, I’ll be building my summer home on a more ‘magical’ hill, thank you.”

He reached his hand out, and Pacha handed him a model of his own hut. “Couldn’t pull the wool over your eyes, huh?” Pacha said, keeping up the act.

“No, no. I’m sharp. I’m on it. Looks like you and your family are stuck on the tuneless hilltop forever, pal.”

Pacha smiled warmly. He tilted his head to look past Kuzco and his smile faded. Kuzco turned around, curious, and saw Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey enter, looking rather beat up. Donald and Goofy walked in from the opposite direction and, on seeing the state their friends were in, ran over to check on them.

“Hey, what happened?” Pacha asked.

Sora and Mickey explained what happened. Donald and Goofy winced at multiple points throughout.

“Ouch,” Kuzco sympathized. “You guys all right?”

“Yeah. We’re fine now,” Kairi answered.

“You guys find anything?” Riku asked Donald and Goofy.

“Well, we didn’t find anything about the bad guys or what Yzma knew about what they’re doing, but we found this,” Goofy told them, holding up the feather.

Sora nodded. “That matches the ones in Kuja’s hair,” he affirmed. “That means Yzma was working with them.”

“And I found Yzma’s notes on all the potions she made,” Donald added, holding up the scrolls. “I figured we could learn a few tricks from them.”

“That’s pretty interesting, Donald,” Mickey replied, intrigued by the possibilities.

“You know, guys, there’s something eating at me,” Kuzco said. Everyone turned their attention to him. “You said he started dropping the idol through a dark portal thingy, and then shrank it, right? Why would he need to shrink it?”

The others pondered this question, realizing that he was right. “Maybe for easy storage?” Goofy guessed.

Riku shook his head. “If it was so hard to move and store, he would have shrank it and then carried it out with him,” he countered. “And even then, he shrank it until it was as big as him, not into anything that would actually be easy to carry. It seemed like more of an afterthought, like he remembered that he was going to need it to be that exact size later, so he decided to get it over with.”

“Maybe all of these artifacts, while they’re in different shapes and sizes for safekeeping, have to be in the same size and general shape to work well together,” Kairi suggested.

Mickey gripped his chin, considering what she had said. “You know, Kairi, you might be on to something,” he said. “But I guess there’s nothing else we can find here.”

“You’re leaving?” Pacha asked, sad to see them go.

“Yeah. We have to figure out what their endgame is and how we can stop them from getting there,” Sora replied.

“Well, good luck, you guys,” Kuzco said, waving. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“Thanks, Kuzco, Pacha.” Sora waved good-bye, as did his friends. They turned and left the room, heading for the exit so they can use the Safe Point they found when they first entered the city to return to the Gummi Ship.

After a moment of silence, Kuzco walked over to sit next to Pacha.

“You know, I’m pretty sure I heard some singing on the hill next to us,” Pacha said, almost out of nowhere. He shrugged. “In case you’re interested.”

Chapter 57: Chapter 56: Cat Yzma

Chapter Text

Kronk stood in front of his Squirrel Scout troop, which consisted of half a dozen children, including Chaca and Tipo, all dressed in Squirrel Scout Class A uniforms. Kronk, wearing his counselor’s uniform, was teaching his first squirrel-speaking lesson since signing up a new scout. A familiar, chipper squirrel, which the troop had come to name “Bucky”, stood on Kronk’s shoulder.

“My acorn is missing,” Kronk said.

“Squeak, squeakin’, squeak, squeakity,” the scouts, save for the grouchy new member, repeated in squirrel “language”.

“Did you eat the acorn?” Kronk continued.

“Squeaker, squeak, squeak, squeakin’?” the scouts translated.

“You owe me a new acorn.”

“Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak, squeaker…” One of the scouts noticed that the white-furred kitten next to him, who was also wearing a scout uniform, was not participating. He nudged the grumpy cat and held up an acorn. Yzma sighed and did the same, along with the other scouts. “Squeakin’,” they all finished.

Kronk sniffled and wiped a tear from his eye. “I’m so proud of you guys,” he said.

After the meeting had been adjourned, Yzma stalked away. Once she was out of view of the scouts, she violently threw the uniform off and screamed in indignant rage. She clawed deep gashes in a nearby tree, venting her rage. While she was still slashing fiercely even after cutting off a large amount of bark, she stopped immediately when a red dot on the ground drew her attention. She approached it curiously, then jumped after it when she saw it move. She followed it for a few seconds before she noticed someone standing nearby.

“My, aren’t you adorable,” Kuja said. He held a laser pointer in his hand. He dropped it and stooped down to gather Yzma in his arms. “And soft, too.” He stroked her fur. Yzma was annoyed to be subject to such disrespectful treatment.

“What are you doing here?” Yzma asked coldly.

“I take it your plan of murdering your ex-boss did not go so well,” Kuja teased. “Never fear, however. I have succeeded in our main objective and retrieved the artifact, at the expense of all the other treasures.”

“Great,” Yzma mumbled. “Now, if we’re done here, change me back!”

Kuja sighed and shook his head. “I’m afraid that the emperor used up all of the human potion, so it appears as though you will be stuck like this for a while.” Yzma growled. “But you’re right. We are done here. So, let us return to the Vale.” He opened a Corridor of Darkness and stepped through, still cradling Yzma.

Zeromast, Maleficent, Pete, Hades, Loki, Kefka, Mozenrath, Dr. Hämsterviel, Horned King, Cruella, Dr. Facilier, and Doug turned when they heard a portal open, and they saw Kuja step through, holding a white cat. Facilier smiled, understanding the situation, but the others were confused.

“Say, uh, Kuja, what’s with the kitten?” Pete asked. The white cat hissed at him.

“Let’s just say that not all of us came out of our altercations in the Empire of Llamas unscathed,” Kuja said cryptically.

Some of them were still perplexed for a moment, but then they watched the cat scowl at them and it dawned on them that the cat was Yzma. Maleficent, Pete, Hades, Loki, Kefka, Mozenrath, and Dr. Facilier burst out in laughter. Yzma rolled her eyes.

Zeromast allowed himself a soft smile and shook his head lightly. “I see that you delivered the idol. Good work,” he said.

“Why, thank you,” Kuja bowed, giving Yzma the opportunity to escape. “I received some resistance, but I found it… lacking.” He shot Maleficent a pitiful stare. “They put on a good show, but I would have thought someone strong enough to give you a grand finale would have posed a challenge to me.”

Maleficent’s eyes widened. Pete looked back and forth from her to Kuja, utterly baffled by the latter’s claim. Maleficent regained her composure and looked at him with mild annoyance. “Do you mean to inform us that you defeated Sora and his friends and yet neglected to put an end to him?” she asked.

Kuja shrugged dismissively. “They were undeserving of my blessing,” he replied. “You might be more forgiving, however.”

Pete shrugged. “Well, at least we’ll actually get to go up against them again,” he admitted. “It kinda woulda been disappointing if we got all riled up and then he came back and told us they were done for.”

Maleficent seemed to agree, though her hatred of the Keyblade wielder, particularly after yet another mention of her demise, seethed. “Very well. We will have multiple opportunities to destroy him in the future,” she conceded.

“They deserve the fires of pandemonium to consume their very souls,” the Horned King muttered.

“By the time I showed up, the Keyblade wielders were already exploring the vault,” Kuja added. “It appears that they know we are seeking to gather the artifacts.”

Mozenrath stroked his chin. “Interesting,” he said. “Makes sense, though. After our first attempt to retrieve the artifact in Agrabah failed, Xerxes and I found them in the treasure vault conducting their own search.”

“And we may have dropped a few hints when we clashed in the cursed prince’s castle,” Kefka said.

“But they definitely knew about us from the start,” Loki pointed out. “By the time we fought in the castle, they had already determined that Hades was among our ranks, which meant that they had already determined that said ranks existed.”

“Of course. They had to have known that something was amiss, else there would have been no reason for them to gather together like they had in the previous conflicts,” Hämsterviel deduced.

“However, they did not seem to have any idea as to what sort of artifacts we sought,” Kuja said. “They sought out a religious tablet based on a hunch, which means that they have not yet determined how to find these artifacts.”

“But if they are taking notes based on each encounter, it is likely that they will come to understand our search patterns soon,” Zeromast warned. “If that happens, they will start gathering the items, and that will prove to be a significant obstacle.”

“Huh. If only we knew how much they know,” Pete mused. “Then we can make sure to keep a lid on how much we spill, and we can be ready for when they’re ready to catch up to us.”

“Exemplary idea, Mr. Pete,” Zeromast said. Pete looked at him in confusion. “Perhaps we should follow them and determine just how much they know of our search. Would you like to volunteer yourself for the task?”

Pete took a step back, taken by surprise. “Well, I… I mean… well, you see… huh?”

“You might as well, cat,” Doug said with a chuckle. “That way, you can get them to spill the beans while they beat you up.” He took a sip of extra-foamy coffee.

“Hey, you don’t have to get right up in their faces if you don’t want to,” Hades assured him. “Probably better that way, 'cause then you’d probably screw it up. Just tail them from a distance. Think you can handle that, big guy?”

Pete rubbed the back of his head nervously. “So, um, how do I know where they’re gonna go?” he asked.

“Excuse me one moment,” Zeromast said. He walked upstairs and inspected a model of all of the worlds. The models were mounted on rings that moved by a mechanism that simulated the worlds’ motion and paths around the stellar system over time. He located the model of the Empire of Llamas and then found the nearest worlds. He had a good idea which world his enemies were most likely to visit in their next trip. Satisfied with his conclusion, he descended into the meeting room to inform Pete of his destination.

Chapter 58: Chapter 57: Pure of Heart

Chapter Text

Mickey pulled Sora out of the MRI machine and Sora turned to sit up. “How’s it look?” Sora asked.

Mickey examined the X-Ray images. He smiled when he saw that there did not seem to be anything out of the ordinary. “Looks like you’ll be fine,” he said. “Whatever injuries you sustained during the fight with Kuja, they’re all healed up.”

“Really?” Sora stretched his arms over his head. “Then why do I still feel like I got hit by a truck?”

Mickey shrugged. “Fatigue,” he guessed. “Your muscles are sore. Curaga might have repaired all damage, but the beating we got left us all physically exhausted. I guess the best thing we can really do for ourselves is rest.”

Sora shrugged. “Well, then, I’ll see you when I wake up,” he said as he began to walk out of the medical bay.

As he turned to walk down the hallway to his room, Kairi walked by him from that direction and grabbed him by the arm. “Oh, no you don’t, you lazy bum,” she scolded as she dragged him along. “Riku’s piloting the ship, Mickey’s keeping everything running, and I’m cooking dinner. We’re just as exhausted as you. You are not leaving all the work to us while you take a nap. The least you can do is help me in the kitchen.”

Sora sighed and shook his head. “So close,” he mumbled to himself before he turned to walk alongside Kairi semi-willingly.

Sora set the table while Kairi passed the food around. “Okay, a Lasagna al Forno for me, Sora and Riku, a Taelpar Harvest Galette for the king, an Oil-Drizzled Steamed Fish for Donald, and Prairie-Style Skewers for Goofy. Enjoy,” Kairi said. She sat down and everyone began eating. Mickey and Donald tied their napkins around their necks while Riku opened his napkin up and laid it in his lap. Sora had removed his gloves and jacket before he and Kairi started cooking, and at the start of the meal Donald and Goofy removed their hats.

“Mmm… This is delicious. Thanks, Kairi,” Riku complimented.

“A-hyuck. Yeah, this is really good,” Goofy agreed. Donald nodded.

“Hey! I cooked too!” Sora protested. Mickey and Kairi laughed, followed by Riku, Donald and Goofy. Sora pouted for a brief moment before joining in as well.

While everyone was eating, Jiminy hopped up onto the table and took out his journal. Everyone gave him their attention, recognizing that he wanted to discuss matters

“So, Jiminy, what’d you figure out?” Goofy asked.

Jiminy opened the journal to the section dedicated to notes on the artifact hunt. “I believe that I’ve made sense of a few more details that would help us on our search,” he said. “It appears we finally have confirmation on the qualifications of a so-called ‘guardian’ of these items. Specifically, they are highly-trusted figures. Our conversations with the king of Corona and Emperor Kuzco proved that this does not mean they are all rulers of their respective worlds, but they must possess the resources to hide and protect it.”

“Yeah. We already figured that,” Riku pointed out. “But it’s good to know for sure.”

“Next, I have gathered multiple key points on the nature and characteristics of each individual object,” Jiminy continued. “First off, they are indestructible. We know this because Mozenrath intended to use a wind jackal to disintegrate the entire city of Agrabah, but he was confident that the artifact would remain intact.”

“That would definitely make sense,” Donald agreed. “Something that could let you change reality isn’t going to break just like that.”

“Second, they can be made to take on different forms to better conceal them. This was confirmed when Kefka and the witch doctor mentioned that the item in Beast’s Castle was in the form of a clock. And, obviously, the artifact in Empire of Llamas did not bear a similar form.”

“That still leaves the question of how we’re going to track them down,” Kairi reminded him after swallowing a bite of her lasagna.

“True. That’s still a conundrum. But there might be a way to narrow the search.”

“How do you mean?” Mickey asked.

“Kuja mocked you for thinking that the artifact could be a large tablet,” Jiminy explained. He began to pace back and forth. “He didn’t just say that you were looking at the wrong thing, or that you were close but not close enough; he just plain made fun of you for being so far off. It’s as if he expected someone who was following their trail to have the sense to look for something that looked something even remotely like the actual thing.”

Goofy scratched the top of his head contemplatively, then his eyes widened and he gasped at a realization. He grabbed one of his skewers and held it vertically upward. “Maybe it’s supposed to be shaped kinda like this,” he suggested.

The others looked at the skewer in confusion, trying to see what he was getting at, but they soon understood. “You mean tall, straight and thin, like how that idol looked like a man standing upright?” Sora asked. Goofy nodded.

“Huh. I guess that makes sense,” Mickey said. “But why would they keep them in that shape? And why would they all need to be in that shape? If their guardians can change them into any form, why leave them in that frame?”

“That’s a question for another time,” Riku said. “Nice work, Jiminy. That really helps. It at least gives us something to keep an eye on as we continue our journey.”

“Yeah. And if we keep traveling to other worlds and running into those guys, we’re sure to make sense of it all, and maybe even get ahead of them,” Sora affirmed, his mouth full of food and sauce around his lips. He finished chewing and swallowed his food and burped.

Kairi giggled. “So, what’s our next destination?” she asked.

“Castle of Dreams,” Donald answered. “That’s where Cinderella lives.”

“Huh. You know, I never actually got the chance to meet Cinderella,” she admitted. “And Naminé didn’t get any memory data from Sora on her, so I can’t even picture her from what she knew.”

“Really?” Sora said, puzzled. “Oh, yeah. I guess you didn’t. We sort of had to get out of Hollow Bastion before Cinderella and the other Princesses really woke up. And I didn’t really talk to her much when we went back. We were more concerned with sealing the Keyhole and seeing that Jasmine and Alice were okay.”

“Uh, I’m still kinda confused,” Donald admitted. “Why did Ansem need the Seven Princesses of Heart again?”

Silence fell over the group as they tried to remember and piece together what had actually happened. After a minute, Sora began his attempt at explaining.

“Ansem wanted to open the Door to Darkness to get more dark power, but he seemed to think it was Kingdom Hearts, even though Kingdom Hearts was light,” he began, speaking slowly, somewhat uncertainly. “Somehow, that involved unsealing the Keyhole in Hollow Bastion, which he needed the Seven Princesses of Heart to do. He had Maleficent, the Heartless, and Riku kidnap the Princesses and gather them in front of the Keyhole. He also created a dark Keyblade that could unlock people’s hearts, and took out six of the seven princesses’ hearts with it, and wanted to use it to get Kairi’s heart out of me. Since they all have hearts of pure light that couldn’t be corrupted by the darkness, the hearts didn’t become Heartless but they instead got trapped inside the Keyblade, or something. I beat him and used the Keyblade of People’s Hearts to set Kairi’s heart free, removing my heart as well, and that destroyed Ansem’s Keyblade… somehow…”

“Let’s just chalk that up to ‘Heroic Sacrifice Light Magic’,” Kairi said.

Sora shrugged. “The Keyhole was still unsealed because the Seven Princesses were all together, even though the Keyblade that housed six of their hearts was destroyed, so Ansem didn’t really need that Keyblade in the first place,” he continued. “So he went to the Door to Darkness, we beat him, and he caused the Door to open. He thought he would be filled with whatever dark power was in Kingdom Hearts, but then he was destroyed by the light of… what I think was the actual Kingdom Hearts… but then the light faded and on the other side of the door was the Realm of Darkness. Then we closed it, and Mickey and I used our Keyblades to lock it.”

Goofy scratched the top of his head again. “Uh, I still don’t get it,” he admitted. “For one, why did Kingdom Hearts shine out of the Door to Darkness, then disappear?”

“Well, you see, the Door to Darkness bridged the dimensions between light and dark,” Mickey explained. “And, from what I’ve been able to guess, the Kingdom Keys, the Keyblade from the Realm of Light and the Keyblade from the Realm of Darkness, have some connection to Kingdom Hearts, though I’m not entirely sure how.”

“So, the proximity between both Kingdom Keys, on either side of the Door to Darkness bridging between dimensions, reached out to Kingdom Heats and bade it to shine its light through the Door, if even for a moment?” Jiminy suggested. “I guess it makes sense that it would show up long enough to prove Ansem wrong and vanish as soon as he was destroyed, then let you guys finish the work yourselves, if Kingdom Hearts had a level of sentience. It could have shown up just to pass judgment on Ansem and also make your job a bit easier.”

“Yeah. I guess that makes sense,” Sora agreed, nodding. “Sort of. Maybe. So, Ansem needed the Seven Princesses of Heart, Kairi, Cinderella, Jasmine, Belle, Alice, Snow White, and Aurora, to unseal the Hollow Bastion Keyhole, which somehow unlocked the Door to Darkness, and tried to get power from the Realm of Darkness, while convincing himself for some reason that it was Kingdom Hearts. Anyone still confused?” Everyone hesitantly raised their hands. Sora breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. It’s not just me.”

Everyone voiced their questions and concerns regarding Ansem’s bizarre plot.

“Why did the Door to Darkness appear on the Heartless world?”

“How did Ansem make the Keyblade? I’ve been wondering for most of the time I was possessed.”

“If he knew that much about the Heartless and Kingdom Hearts, why did he think Kingdom Hearts was darkness?”

“Why did he need the Keyblade of Hearts? Did he want to do something with us after the Door to Darkness thing was over?”

Jiminy whistled, encouraging everyone to quiet down. “Kairi raised an excellent point,” he said. “Why did he need the Princesses’ hearts trapped in the Keyblade? He could have had Maleficent keep the Princesses in stasis until they were all gathered together, then the Keyhole would have been opened automatically. Granted, Kairi’s heart being within Sora proved to be cause for a change in plans, but I doubt there was only one way of doing that. Perhaps… Perhaps he had a further use for the Princesses. Perhaps there was more to their pure lights that Ansem hoped to take advantage of.”

Mickey shifted his gaze nervously. Riku noticed this, but he was more focused on Jiminy’s words and thus did not press him.

Donald shrugged. “I guess we might never know,” he said. “Ansem’s gone, isn’t he?”

“He is, but when a person’s Heartless and Nobody are destroyed, the Somebody is reborn,” Riku reminded him. “And we beat both Ansem and Xemnas, but the original person, Xehanort, was nowhere to be seen.”

“Correct,” Jiminy affirmed. “But for now, I guess there’s nothing we can do to explore the matter further unless something else comes to light.”

Mickey nodded. “You’re right. The most we can do is focus on our current objectives and keep an eye out for anything unusual.”

Everyone nodded in agreement. They could not think of anything to continue the conversation, so they finished their dinner in silence.

Riku yawned. “That was delicious,” he said. Sora and Kairi thanked him. Riku stood up and departed from the table. “Well, I think we might as well take a nap. We’ve been up for two days straight and we still need time to recover from the fight with Kuja.”

Sora wiped the sauce off of his mouth. “Fine by me,” he agreed. He and Kairi cleared the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher, then they all exited the kitchen and headed for their rooms.

As everyone was entering their rooms, Kairi stopped with one foot in the doorway and poked her head back out. “You know,” she said, getting everyone’s attention and causing them to stick their heads out to hear her, “I think it’d be nice to pay Cinderella a visit.”

Sora smiled and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do that, ASAP,” he agreed. They all went in and closed their doors, then kicked their shoes off and laid in bed. They clapped their hands simultaneously, causing the lights to turn off.

Chapter 59: Chapter 58: Jaq the Mouse

Chapter Text

Riku whistled, impressed by the view of the castle in the distance. Kairi traced her finger arcing over the castle like a shooting star. Sora crossed his hands behind his head and enjoyed the view and the sight of the castle’s white stone contrasting against the deep blue of the night sky.

“Gosh, this is a nice view,” Mickey said, voicing everyone’s sentiments.

“Cinderella’s in there, right?” Sora asked. He had only met Cinderella one time, very briefly, and thus he had never learned her story. He had met her Fairy Godmother, who had taken up residence in Merlin’s house to aid him in his first adventure. She had mentioned that she guided Cinderella on a path from her life under her abusive stepfamily to marrying the prince.

“She should be,” Goofy confirmed. “You think they’ll just let us in?”

“Let’s see how far asking nicely will go,” Kairi suggested.

“That’s always one way to go,” Sora agreed.

The party walked down the path and came across the main gate leading onto the castle grounds. They noticed that the gate was unguarded and ajar, but Sora simply shrugged and led his friends through.

“You’re not concerned that there aren’t any guards here?” Riku asked, bemused by Sora’s nonchalance.

“Hey, it was even easier getting into the Imperial City in The Land of Dragons,” Sora countered. Donald and Goofy nodded in confirmation. “The second time, when it wasn’t open for celebration.”

Riku had to concede the point, having snuck into the city and walked right into the palace himself.

They walked into the courtyard and walked around a fountain that sat in the center. Looking up at the porch along the front face of the castle, they noticed that there were still no guards keeping watch.

“Huh. I guess this world is usually peaceful enough that they don’t have to worry so much about intruders,” Mickey guessed.

“I wonder if they’ve had to worry about any Heartless,” Sora mused. Donald patted him on the arm and pointed off to the right. Sora followed his gaze and, speak of the devil, saw some Heartless. There was half a dozen of them. They appeared to be oblong balls of yarn, each with four enlarged clothing buttons acting as wheels and two more sitting on top, resembling mouse ears. One end of the yarn stuck out of the back and took on a zig-zagging shape as the tail, and there was a jagged opening in the front to reveal Heartless eyes.

Sora crossed his arms and watched them curiously, wondering why they were zooming around the courtyard like they were without turning their attention to them. Looking at the ground ahead of the Heartless, he saw a mouse with brown fur, running away from the monsters on its hind legs. The mouse wore cloth that was made into a miniature shirt, shoes, and a stocking cap.

Sora looked at his friends and saw that Riku, Mickey and Goofy were just as confused as he was, though Kairi and Donald were simply surprised. “You know, I’ve never seen Heartless go after regular animals like that,” Sora pointed out. “Even if they did, normally, they should turn on us the moment we show up.”

“You see the clothes he’s wearing?” Kairi asked. Sora looked back at the mouse, then turned back to Kairi and nodded. “Maybe he has a strong heart from a strong friendship.”

Sora raised his eyebrow and turned back to the chase. “In that case, we should help him.” He summoned his Keyblade.

The mouse turned and ran around the Ratty Rats. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sora and his Keyblade. Smiling with relief, he ran toward him. “Venven!” he chirped in a high-pitched cheer as he ran between Sora’s legs.

Jiminy jumped out of Sora’s pocket and landed beside the mouse. “This way!” he said. “Donald, stick with us!” Donald nodded and followed Jiminy as he started running to safety.

“Zugk-zugk!” the mouse agreed, following Jiminy.

The Ratty Rats tried to follow the mouse through Sora’s legs, but Sora jabbed his Keyblade into the ground between his feet. The first Heartless ran straight into the Keyblade’s teeth and dissipated, but the others managed to stop and back up. The Heartless sized up their new enemies, then, on realizing how much larger they were, started riding around each of them at high speeds.

The party tried to follow the Heartless’ movements, but there were so many going so fast that it was impossible to do so. One of the Ratty Rats cut a wide arc, then turned in and jumped at Mickey, knocking him down. Riku slashed at a Heartless as it went by, but it was too fast and he only just clipped the tail. He was then promptly knocked down from behind in the same manner as Mickey. Kairi dodged a lunge and struck back, knocking the Heartless aside, but another one simply ran into her legs, causing her to lose balance and fall down. Goofy was strafed three times, and while he had trouble maintaining his balance, he somehow avoided falling down. Sora sidestepped to avoid getting hit in the back, but this opened him up to get hit in the stomach, sending him sprawling on his back.

Sora rolled over and pushed himself to his feet, his teeth gritted in irritation. “Okay, that’s it. You like to hit fast? Fine. Everyone, get down!” At his command, Riku, Mickey, Kairi, and Goofy crouched to the ground.

Sora held his arm out and stared in one direction. He Scanned each of the Ratty Rats that zoomed by and willed energy gathering in his Keyblade to focus on them. Then, he spun his Keyblade around in his hand, allowing it to build up power, then swung it in the direction of a Ratty Rat in front of him. A bolt of energy shot out of the tip and arced around, tracking the Heartless at lightning-fast speed. He swung his Keyblade wildly, unleashing even more energy bolts, which followed and struck the Ratty Rats. Next, he jumped over his friends and hovered outside of the ring of Heartless. He pointed his Keyblade toward the center of the group and willed energy to charge up in the tip. When the energy was at critical mass, he twisted the Keyblade and released a dozen bolts of energy which homed in on the Heartless, blasting them into the air. With that finished, he landed on his feet and bared his Keyblade.

The Heartless landed hard, two of them bursting into dark smoke. Riku, Mickey, Kairi, and Goofy took the opportunity to counterattack and get some payback. With the trio of Ratty Rat Heartless incapacitated and unable to defend themselves, they were defeated with ease.

After the last freed heart vanished, Sora, Riku, Mickey, Kairi, and Goofy turned and walked over to Donald, Jiminy and the mouse. The mouse stared at Sora’s Keyblade in wonder, then looked up at Sora’s face.

“Thanksa Venven,” the mouse said. “Hey, you gotta big!”

Sora looked at the mouse in confusion. “Excuse me? What’s a ‘Venven’?” he asked.

“Huh?” The mouse studied Sora further and realized that he was not who he thought he was. “Oh, whoopsie. Jaq-a thought you was sutta else.”

“Oh. Yeah. I kind of get that a lot,” Sora replied. He bent down on one knee to get a closer look at the mouse. “My name’s Sora.”

The mouse smiled. “Zugk-zugk. Name-a Jaq,” he introduced himself.

Kairi leaned over and smiled at Jaq. “It’s nice to meet you, Jaq. My name’s Kairi,” she said. “Are you a friend of Cinderella’s?”

Jaq perked up at this. “You know-a Flinderelly?” he asked.

“A little bit,” Sora answered. “We met over a year ago, and we even helped her out of some trouble.”

“Oh, thassa good. A friend a Flinderelly is a friend a Jaq. Come on. Jaq-a sure she’d be happy to see you! Zugk-zugk.” He jogged over to the doors leading into the castle, beckoning for Sora and company to follow. He stopped in front of the door and waited for his new friends to catch up. Sora opened the door and Jaq led them through.

“Say, that-a thing you have, thassa like Venven’s,” Jaq said.

Sora raised his eyebrows in amazement. “Wow. You knew a Keyblade wielder?”

“Zugk-zugk. Venven help-a Jaq fix Flinderelly dress for the ball. Got a dream, he said. Dream-a be a Keyblade Master.”

“Aw, that was nice of him,” Kairi said.

“I wonder where he’s been all this time,” Riku mused. Mickey looked down in what might have been sadness, but no one noticed.

Jaq led them to the end of the corridor and they entered the foyer. The floors were made of blue tile and laid with a red carpet, and the walls and curtains were salmon and pink. A set of stairs went in straight up, then branched off in two directions before reaching the upper level, where a doorway led into a ballroom.

“You there! Hold it!” The party turned to see two guards approaching them. The guards studied them suspiciously. “What business to you have here?” one of them, the same one who had spoken previously, asked.

“Uh, sorry to intrude,” Sora said. “We’re friends of Cinderella’s. We were, um, in the neighborhood, and we thought we’d pay her a visit.”

The other guard raised his eyebrow. “Friends of the princess’, eh?” he questioned, skeptically. “Truth be told, I have made rounds all over town, and yet I have never seen any of you before.”

“What is your name, young man?” the first guard asked.

“Uh, Sora, sir,” Sora replied.

The guards looked at each other curiously, then turned and started whispering between themselves.

“Miss Cinderella mentioned someone by the name of Sora while disclosing her ordeal.”

“Truth be told, I had not entirely believed her claims, though the recent sightings of dark creatures similar to those which she had described made me wonder.”

“Perhaps he is an outsider, from another land not unlike those who visited on the eve of that ball. Those companions of his were unusual, and reminded me of two of the figures she told us about.”

“You may be right. And perhaps this Sora could be the ‘defender of worlds’ that Miss Cinderella described.”

“Perhaps we should inform her, as well as the king and the prince.”

They finished talking and turned back to face Sora and his friends. We will inform the royal family of your arrival,” the first guard told them. “Wait here until we return.”

“Thank you,” Mickey said politely. Sora nodded in affirmation. The guards turned and marched up the stairs, heading for the ballroom. The party members turned to face one another.

“So, Cinderella told them about us,” Donald beamed with pride.

“Gawrsh, it sounded like they said Heartless have been showing up lately,” Goofy noted.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing we came when we did,” Mickey said.

“I hope we don’t get in too much trouble for showing up on such short notice,” Riku mused.

While they continued to wait for the guards to return, something had spied them from above. The observer eyed them curiously, wondering who these new characters were. Three of them were human, and one of them seemed vaguely familiar. Another stood up like a human, but its face reminded it enough of a familiar rival that it growled with a basic anger. Deciding to ignore the offending one for the moment, the observer turned to the shorter duo, and licked its lips. Those two will be fun to chase around, though they might be too big to work as a midnight snack. It noticed something on the floor in front of the group. Squinting its eyes, it smiled wickedly when it saw the mouse. Time and again, it has tried to catch and eat that mouse, along with his little friends, but it had always failed. But it could not resist another try.

Mickey looked up and tilted his head curiously when he saw a fat black-furred cat leap off of the balcony high above and run toward them. Everyone turned their attention to the cat. Jaq jumped and squeaked in fright.

“Look out! Roosafee!” he cried. He turned and ran off.

“Wait, Jaq!” Sora called after him, but the mouse was already halfway across the room. He sighed and turned back to the cat, which had changed its direction to pursue Jaq. “Hold it right there!” He jumped in front of the cat and grabbed it, holding it in the air. The cat thrashed about and slashed at his arm. Pain shot up his arm and he let go of the cat.

The cat ran after Jaq, but Kairi had already reached him. She picked the mouse up and held him protectively. The cat skidded to a halt and growled at her in frustration. Its eyes shifted from side to side until it remembered the large mouse and duck. It might as well try to get something out of them.

The cat turned and stalked toward Mickey and Donald. It hissed menacingly, then lunged at them. Donald quacked in surprise. Mickey braced himself. The cat charged, but it was jerked to a stop by something pulling on its bushy tail. Sora, having used Cure to heal his arm, was kneeling down and holding tight onto the cat’s tail.

The cat pulled angrily, trying to break free, but stopped when it heard a growling sound. It looked up at the tall animal-headed one, who was glaring at it and baring his teeth. Goofy let out a loud, sharp bark, which took even his friends by surprise. Goofy barked some more, scaring the cat, which decided to cut its losses and turned to run away. Sora let go of his tail as this happened and watched it flee.

Kairi rejoined the party and set Jaq down on the floor. Jaq laughed at the sight that he had beheld a moment before. Riku looked at Goofy warily, though the knight did not seem to notice.

Moments later, the guards returned. When they had approached the party, they each offered a respectful nod. “You may proceed to meet the royal family,” the first one said. “Come with us.”

Each member of the party offered a quick thank you and followed them up the stairs. The guards noticed strands of fur lying on the floor, and one of them saw the cat out of the corner of his eye, watching them.

“I always hated that cat,” the first guard muttered to his friend.

The other guard nodded. “I can see why. Who names their pet ‘Lucifer’?”

Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Cinderella

Chapter Text

The guards led Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy into the ballroom. They could see four figures at the other end. Seated in a throne was a portly older man with white, balding hair, a thick moustache, and bushy eyebrows. He wore a white suit not unlike a military uniform with gold buttons and epaulets along with brown shoes. On his right stood the Grand Duke, a tall, skinny gentleman wearing a light blue suit with silver epaulets and a red sash, a silver belt, black shoes, and a monocle over his right eye. He had thinning black hair, thick mutton chops leading into a thin moustache, a slightly-long neck, and a large nose. To the left of the king stood his son. Prince Charming was taller and more physically fit than his father. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, and wore a cream-colored royal jacket with gold epaulets, red pants with a gold stripe along either side, a golden belt, black boots, and opera gloves.

Cinderella stood next to her husband. She had her long blonde hair tied into a bun and held back with a white headband. She wore an elegant, shimmering white dress that had puffy disks decorating the shoulder straps, long white gloves that reached halfway up her upper arms, white pearl earrings, a black choker, and, hidden beneath her dress, a pair of perfectly-fitting glass slippers.

Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and even Jaq dropped to one knee and bowed. Sora simply waved. “Hello.” Mickey, Donald and Goofy groaned. Kairi giggled. The King and the Grand Duke recoiled indignantly. Prince Charming and Cinderella, however, laughed.

Sora realized what he had done and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Uh, sorry,” he said sheepishly.

His friends stood up. “Don’t mind him, your Highness,” Mickey said defensively. “He still needs to work on his manners.”

After a moment, the King chuckled. “Well, I presume that this impolite young man is the ‘Sora’ chap my daughter-in-law has told me about,” he guessed. “I suppose I can let that slide, though I would advise you to mind yourself around persons of authority, particularly those who can have your head chopped off if they are in a bad mood.” He winked mischievously.

“Uh, thank you,” Sora stammered. He mentally chided himself for his inadvertent disrespect. He had been lucky that Yen Sid, Queen Minnie, and the Sultan of Agrabah had given him a pass without much of a thought, but he did not want to push his luck too often, in case certain figures took his casual reaction to meeting someone of such esteemed veneration a little too personally.

Cinderella clasped her hands together and smiled warmly. “It is so good to see you again,” she said. She sized up each member of the party. She recognized Sora, Donald and Goofy, having met them before back at Hollow Bastion. She had not met the other three, but from what she had heard from conversation with the former trio, the other princesses who had worked alongside her in pushing the darkness back after the Keyhole had been opened, and the warriors who returned to the castle to reclaim their former home, she was able to guess who was who. “You must be… Kairi… Riku… and King Mickey,” she guessed. Kairi, Riku and Mickey nodded in confirmation.

“It’s a pleasure to finally get to meet you, Cinderella,” Kairi greeted.

“Likewise.”

“Just a heads-up,” Sora chimed in, “your cat could learn to behave himself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about Lucifer. Actually, he was my stepmother’s,” Cinderella explained. “He was spoiled, and he could be quite troublesome for me and my friends. But after my stepmother and stepsisters passed, I was the only one left to take care of him.”

“Ah. Sorry to hear about that,” Sora said sympathetically. He had heard that Cinderella’s stepmother and stepsisters had been cruel and domineering toward her, but he could tell that she had cared about them at least to some degree.

“Oh! And I was worried that there was a serious matter that warranted the Keyblade Master to visit me personally,” the King grumbled. “But it appears to just be a social visit with my daughter-in-law.”

Prince Charming chuckled. “Lighten up, Dad,” he said.

“Ahem. Actually, your Highness,” Mickey addressed the King, “there has been a matter that we have been traveling around to explore.”

The King raised an eyebrow. “You are their king?” he asked.

Mickey nodded. “Yes, sir. Mickey Mouse, king of Disney Castle,” he replied.

The King chuckled. “Well, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. Now, tell me: what severe matter brings you to my kingdom?”

“We have come across an organization of evil characters who are using the Heartless to further their schemes,” Mickey began.

Cinderella and the Grand Duke gasped in horror. Cinderella had seen the danger such entities posed firsthand, and while the Grand Duke possessed no recollection of the attack on his world, he knew from Cinderella’s tale, as well as experience in the field of a different variety of demon, that this was indeed a severe matter.

“Have the Heartless been a problem lately?” Mickey asked.

“Oh, why, yes, they have,” the Grand Duke answered. “You see, over the past few days, those creatures that you call ‘Heartless’ have been sighted all around the town, and these sightings have only become more frequent over time. However, they appear to be roaming about on their own, as no one has been seen controlling them. We can presume that their recent encroachment is a gradual process of their own curiosity and accord. Early on, they had either been too far away to notice the civilians, or the townsfolk have fled from the scene before the creatures could properly attack, but some guards have reported that the monsters have become more numerous and violent.”

“That sounds like a problem,” Riku commented. “Has anyone been hurt?”

“Fortunately, there have not been any severe injuries,” one of the guards answered, “nor have there been fatalities, or whatever would occur once a Heartless has had its way with its victims. However, they become more vicious by the day, and that will surely change if they are allowed to—”

“Look out!” Prince Charming shouted. Everyone turned around and saw an Armored Knight sneaking up on the guard. It began to swing its sword, but Riku teleported between the guard and the Heartless and blocked the blow. He threw the Heartless off balance and sliced it in two.

Cinderella gasped and the King screamed in terror as more Heartless appeared by the droves. There were four Heartless shaped like giant brass bells, each with a shadowy face on top. Three Heartless had the shape of a Blue Rhapsody but were colored in stripes of different shades of blue. Some part of Sora identified them as “Turquoise March” types, though he could only guess why. Two more appeared, resembling six-foot-tall candelabras with high-collared coats, a single eye each, and bushy moustaches. The last two to materialize were a pair of Soldiers.

Sora, Mickey and Kairi summoned their Keyblades. Cinderella gasped, surprised to see that Kairi also held such a weapon. Donald and Goofy conjured their weapons as well.

The Turquoise Marches shot spheres of water at Donald and Goofy. Donald got out of the way, and the sphere exploded into a pillar of water when it hit the floor. Goofy was hit and engulfed in an explosion of water, blasting him across the room.

Sora’s eyes widened as he felt a twinge of jealousy. Wait, there’s water-based magic? he thought. Why can’t I use water-based magic?

He rolled out of the way of a torch-tipped swipe from one of those Wicked Wicks (Jiminy had been in the process of trying to think of a better name, but the near-miss of the fire brushing near Sora’s pocket forced him to mentally settle on something, and he went for an alliterative appellation). On his way to stand up, he shot a Blizzard spell at it, doing his best to aim for its head. The Wicked Wick was not only knocked back, but the freezing effect caused it to move more slowly. Sora considered whether to take advantage of it being a lesser threat to move on to more serious enemies, but ultimately decided to just cut it down.

Mickey threw himself at the giant bells, but when he hit one of the Ring-a-Dings with the rounded end of his Keyblade, which for the moment treated itself as a blunt object, the Heartless shook with a loud reverberation and reflected him back. Kairi watched this happen and, regarding the thinner blade of her Key, decided to give it a go. She ran at the Ring-a-Ding and thrust the point of her weapon into it, willing it to cut right through rather than bat it about. As she hoped, she pierced straight through it. She then pulled her Keyblade down, cutting a sizeable gash through the metal. Once her Keyblade had exited the metal, she brought it up and swung it horizontally, chopping the head off of the body and destroying it. One of the guards, inspired by this tactic, carved through one of the other Ring-a-Dings.

Riku fought with the second Wicked Wick, which deftly dodged his attacks and launched some fireballs out of its candle hands. Soldier Heartless sought to ambush Riku while he was busy and slashed him across the back. This allowed the Wicked Wick to swat him aside. Both Heartless converged on him when he was down, but Riku created a shield to block the Wick’s fireballs while he slashed the Soldier into oblivion. He followed this up by leaping over his own shield and stabbing his weapon vertically down through the Wick.

Sora ran after a Turquoise March. Unsure of how water magic worked, he took a logical guess and shot a Fire spell after it. The spell hit and sent the Heartless spinning, but Sora noticed that it only did an average amount of damage. He decided to Scan the Heartless and figure out how it all worked. He saw that it possessed a pale blue aura, which suggested a water specialization. Looking more closely, he saw weak links of honeycombs for every known color, except one: yellow.

Thunder? Let’s see… water shorts out electronic devices, and electricity conducts through water, sometimes with painful effects if it is not pure H2O… Worth a shot.

He cast a Thunder spell and a bolt of lightning struck the Turquoise March. The Heartless burst into spasms and was thrown back hard. He smiled triumphantly, then he ran after the Heartless and finished it off.

Donald cast Blizzard on one of the remaining Ring-a-Dings, immobilizing it, and Goofy shattered it with a well-placed strike from the edge of his shield. They watched one of the guards fight a Turquoise March.

A Soldier Heartless took notice of Cinderella and ran after her. She backed away and turned to start running, but she tripped and fell to the ground. As it drew near, she rolled over so she was facing up and brought her leg closer. When it was just about on top of her, she pulled her dress up and removed one of her slippers. It drew its arm back to swipe at her, but it was sent reeling back when she shoved her slipper heel-first into its eye. It stumbled backward in pain while Cinderella pulled her glass slipper, quite roughly, out of its head. Jaq jumped up and started tugging on the antenna of the Soldier’s helmet, disrupting its balance even further and causing it to fall backward. Prince Charming ran in, sword in hand, and finished the fiend off.

“Are you alright?” Charming asked, offering her his hand. Cinderella nodded and, after putting her slipper back on, took his hand. He helped her to her feet and led her back to the throne with his father and the Grand Duke.

Mickey cast Thundara to eliminate the remaining Turquoise March while Riku and Kairi defeated the last Ring-a-Ding. Goofy vanquished the last Soldier Heartless.

After making sure that there were no more Heartless in the ballroom, everyone relaxed and dismissed their weapons.

“What?! What is the meaning of this?” the King asked furiously. “How did these Heartless creatures get into my castle?”

“They teleported,” Riku explained dryly. “It’s what they do. No amount of vigilance or locked doors will keep them from getting in.”

“Your Highness,” Sora addressed the king, “do you know if the Heartless have been swarming around a specific point, as if they were looking for something?”

The Grand Duke raised his eyebrow in nervous intrigue. The two guards traded uncertain glances. “No. Not from what we could see,” one of them answered.

Before the matter could be discussed further, they heard the clank-clank-clank of metal footsteps running into the ballroom. All present turned around and saw a guard approaching them at full sprint, a panicked and worried expression plastered across his features. The two guards who were already present stood on guard.

“Y-Your Highness…” the newcomer panted, “the creatures… they are attacking the town! We cannot face them and defend the people on our own! We require reinforcements!”

The King nodded toward the other two guards, who marched over to join their comrade. “We shall lend the defense our blade,” one of them said. The other nodded in agreement.

Riku nodded toward Sora. “We’ll come with you,” he said. Donald walked over to stand beside Sora and gave the guards a supportive nod. Mickey, Goofy and Kairi took a step forward, but Riku shook his head. “No. You guys stay here, in case more Heartless show up.” Reluctantly, Mickey nodded.

Sora turned to the guards. “Okay. Lead the way,” he directed. The guards nodded and led them out of the ballroom and out of the castle.

When the six of them had left, Mickey, Kairi and Goofy turned back to the King, Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Grand Duke.

Charming gave them an approving nod. “Your friends are very brave, and dependable as well,” he complimented.

“Thanks,” Mickey replied. “They’re good at what they do. I’m glad to be able to count on them.”

“Kairi,” Cinderella addressed the redhead, “you and your friends, and the way you use your Keyblades, you remind me of three people I knew a long time ago.”

“Oh?” Kairi’s interest was piqued.

“Now that I think about it, Sora looks a lot like a boy named Ventus. He was very small, and I never really saw him use his Key, but Jaq mentioned that he told him about his dream of being a Keyblade Master,” Cinderella continued. Mickey turned his gaze down nervously, and with a hint of sorrow, but no one noticed save for the Grand Duke. Goofy also looked sad for some reason. “Ventus helped Jaq make me a wonderful dress for the ball.”

“Yeah, Jaq told us about that. Would that be it?” Kairi asked, eyeing the dress Cinderella was wearing.

“Oh, no. Things… didn’t go as expected,” Cinderella admitted. Jaq growled in anger at this, apparently at a rotten memory, making Kairi wonder if that had something to do with her wicked stepfamily. “But my Fairy Godmother made me this new dress.”

“Well, glad to hear things turned out all right. But what about the other two?”

“This man, Terra, he helped me get to the castle safely so I could join in.”

“And he restored order when monsters attacked,” Prince Charming added.

“And the third, a woman named Aqua, she helped me get down to meet the Grand Duke and try on the slipper when my stepmother tried to keep me from my prince,” Cinderella continued. “Then she protected me from a horrible monster that was born from her jealousy and rage.”

“Wow. They’ve been on adventures across the worlds just like us. I wonder where they’ve been all this time,” Kairi mused, oblivious to the fact that Mickey had all but isolated himself, his eyes lowered in shame. Then she realized that one of the names sounded familiar. A flicker of a memory resurfaced, showing a woman with a unique hair color. “Aqua… Say, did that woman have blue hair?” she asked.

Cinderella nodded. Kairi gasped as the full memory formed. She was four at the time. She was picking flowers in the garden near the front gates of Radiant Garden’s castle, when strange blue monsters appeared around her. The menacing creatures converged on her, and Kairi fled to the castle gate, hoping to get to safety. That was when a woman, who appeared to be at the edge of adulthood, appeared and fought the creatures off. The woman carried her to safety and proceeded to defeat the monsters that were threatening her. Kairi thanked the woman by giving her the flowers that she picked, and the woman placed some sort of spell on her, which she said would take her to someone who would protect her when she was in danger.

No… The blue-haired woman was not alone. The woman had been backed into a corner by the creatures, trying to fight them off while keeping her safe. Then someone came to help her fight. A funny-looking guy with a round head and two circles for ears…

Kairi turned to Mickey. “Your Majesty, did you know those three?” she asked.

Mickey flinched in surprise. It took him a moment to process Kairi’s question. He realized that she must have remembered her childhood encounter with Aqua and himself, so the proverbial cat was out of the bag.

He sighed. He did not turn around. He did not dare to show the turmoil he was facing from old memories resurfacing. “I did,” he answered. “I knew Aqua and Ventus, twelve years ago. I never got to meet Terra. But I made friends and fought side-by-side with the other two.”

Mickey had done a poor job of concealing the sadness in his voice, and Kairi took notice. She hesitated for several seconds before voicing her next question, afraid of the answer. “So, what happened to them?”

Chapter 61: Chapter 60: The Lost Masters

Chapter Text

The Ratty Rat chased its prey down the street, its wheels bouncing on the cobblestones. Both hunter and prey were illuminated by evenly-spaced street lamps. The terrified woman ran as fast as she could, but the Heartless was confident that she was not fast enough. The woman ran around a corner, and the Heartless followed. It promptly exploded when it zoomed straight into the teeth of the Kingdom Key.

Sora swung his Keyblade back up and struck a Turquoise March, sending it flying. Noticing more Heartless on a nearby roof, he hopped onto a nearby stack of crates and the jumped up to the roof of the house beside him. He ran across the roof and leapt over the street to reach the next roof, where he confronted a trio of Armored Knights. He parried the first sword strike and retaliated with three swings, destroying one of the Heartless on the finisher. One of the other Knights cut into his back. Sora tumbled forward, but spun around and swung a wide arc at the third Knight, obliterating it. He took a Potion out of his pocket and drank the contents. Instantly, he felt the gash close up and the pain vanished. He also faintly heard the self-repairing fabric of his shirt weave itself back together. He turned around and matched blades with the final Knight. They parried each other’s blows until the Knight put some extra weight into one swipe, pushing Sora back. It proceeded to spin on one pointed foot and make its way toward Sora, but the Keyblade wielder swung his weapon down, landing a direct hit on the flat of the blade, causing his foe to fall down. Sora then swung a final blow right onto the Heartless’ head.

Donald allowed all bystanders to get to a safe distance before he cast Thundaga, shocking and annihilating a half-dozen Turquoise Marches. He cast Blizzard to defeat a Red Nocturne and a similar-looking Heartless with an orange hat and a black body with orange edges. He was not quite sure what the difference between the Red Nocturne and the Scarlet Tango was, but he did notice that the Scarlet Tango’s orange fireballs flared longer and were more likely to ignite the flammable wood. That meant they had to go, and fast. He could not waste a single spell. He rearranged the items in his pocket so that his ethers and elixirs were in easy reach. He launched a Blizzaga spell that encased a Scarlet Tango in ice. He jumped and used it as a stepping stone to launch himself higher, then summoned a hammer which he brought down on the head of another Tango, sending it exploding into the ground at the same time that the frozen Heartless shattered against the cobblestones.

Riku came across a new variety of Heartless that looked like the Lance Soldiers, except that they were unarmed, their armor was grey, and their shoulders were covered in purple epaulets. The Heartless squatted and stretched back up like springs. One of them jumped, then stretched itself to its full length and closed its legs together, creating a pointed spearhead with its feet, aiming itself directly at Riku. Riku jumped out of the way and struck back when it pierced its way into the roof’s shingles. His Keyblade pierced the knight and, after about five swings, destroyed it. He ran after the other Piercing Knight and swung his weapon at it, but it stepped back with a bounce to avoid him. Riku threw a wide strike at it, but it crouched down as far as it could go, then bounced back up, striking the rim of its helmet into his chin.

Riku was sent flying backwards into a bakery. He brought himself to his feet, using the worktable as support. The Piercing Knight ran up to him, but soon realized that it could not use its jumping attack due to the low ceiling of the section they were in. Riku swung his Keyblade, but the Knight ducked and rose back up, bumping the Keyblade with its shoulder into the ceiling, where it was pinned. Riku tried to force his weapon free, but to no avail. The Heartless drew its arm back for a punch. Riku reached around behind him for something he could use and found his hand wrapped around the handle of a bread knife. He picked it up, spun it in his hand so that he held it upright, and jammed it into the Heartless’ side. The Knight stumbled in pain, allowing Riku to move his Keyblade again, though it ended up slipping out of his hand by mistake and falling to the ground. Unperturbed, he grabbed the Heartless and spun around, slamming it onto the table. He then placed the tip of the bread knife on the table and pulled it, sawing through the Piercing Knight’s neck in three strokes.

Sora and Donald found Riku in the bakery, wiping off the knife even though all remains from the Heartless had vanished when it was slain. “Heartless all taken care of?” he asked without bothering to turn around.

“All clear,” Sora answered. “The guards are looking for stragglers, but I doubt there’ll be anything more than a Shadow or two.”

“Good work,” Riku replied. Satisfied with his not-quite-necessary cleaning job, he put the knife back down and willed his Keyblade to vanish.

The three of them turned around when they heard footsteps and saw a portly man whom they presumed to be the baker.

“Are you the ones who fought off those monsters?” the baker asked. Riku, Sora and Donald nodded. “Well, thank you. You really saved us all.”

Sora waved it off. “Don’t mention it.”

“I should repay you for what you’ve done,” the baker said, walking past them and into the bakery.

“Oh, uh, that won’t be necessary,” Sora said.

“No, no. I insist.” The baker opened a cupboard and examined its contents. “I don’t have much, but I’m certain you will like this.” He grabbed a tray off of the table and pushed a bunch of bread loaves, pastries, and other baked goods onto the tray until there was a sizeable pile. He then carried the tray over to the three heroes, who were quite taken aback by this gift.

“Whoa! Hey, uh, don’t you need these to sell?” Sora asked, nervous but also inwardly flattered that this man was willing to offer such a handsome reward for their deeds.

“Don’t worry about me. I have plenty extra,” the baker replied. “You could use a snack after all that. And take some for the road. I insist.”

Hesitantly, with some silent encouragement from Donald, Sora and Riku took the tray from the baker. “Thank you,” Sora said politely.

“Thank you,” the baker reiterated. “And be sure to let me know how you like it.”

Sora munched on a Danish, savoring its delectable taste. Riku and Donald enjoyed slices of bread, which Riku had sliced with his Keyblade. They had estimated how much they were going to eat right there and set those loaves and pastries on the table at which they currently sat, then slipped the rest into one of Sora’s magic pockets to bring back on board the Gummi Ship.

“Okay, I’ve got to admit,” Riku said after swallowing his bite. “This stuff is really good.”

“Yeah,” Sora agreed, not following Riku’s example in table etiquette. “He puts a lot of effort into making everything delicious, and he still manages to turn out a lot of food.”

“You know,” Donald interjected, “something’s been bothering me about the attack tonight.”

“How so?” Sora asked.

“The guards said that up until now, the Heartless haven’t been causing too much trouble,” Donald explained. “But suddenly, they’re swarming all over the place and overwhelming the guards.”

“You think they sensed we were here?” Riku wondered.

Sora shook his head. “That could be true for the fight in the ballroom. But we didn’t even set foot in the town before the attack.

“And there were a lot of Heartless that could start fires,” Donald added. “It’s almost as if they were more interested in causing a scene than actually hunting for hearts.”

Sora and Riku contemplated what Donald said. He had a point: the Scarlet Tangos started a few fires, and there were few reported casualties. For the most part, the Heartless seemed to allow the civilians to run and cause a panic. “So, maybe they were trying to lure us out here?” Riku guessed.

Sora nodded. “So it looks like they are organizing,” he affirmed. “Which most likely means that someone from Maleficent’s club is around here.”

“And that would mean that they’re looking for the artifact,” Riku agreed.

“You think it might be at the castle, or out here?” Sora asked.

“The Heartless were causing chaos all around town without a care in the world,” Donald argued. “We already figured that they know roughly where the artifacts are, so if they were trying to find it in the town, the attacks would be more focused on a single location.”

“And from what we’ve seen around town, there isn’t really anyone who would be so important as to be the one guarding it,” Riku added.

“So they could only have been attacking like this to lure us away,” Sora muttered, understanding. “Maybe the Heartless attack in the ballroom was supposed to be their advance scouts. These guys were supposed to draw away the castle’s defenders.”

“It’s a good thing we left Mickey, Kairi and Goofy in there,” Riku said.

Sora nodded in agreement, then noticed something in the distance. Some black stubs stuck out over a pile of crates, and he thought he saw the tip of a large shoe sticking out of the side. He wondered what that could possibly be.

“But that means whoever is here will be heading up to the castle, if they’re not there already,” Donald pointed out.

“Then we should head back,” Riku said. “If there are Heartless there and some avoid a fight, we can follow them and see if they lead us to the artifact.”

Sora nodded, returning his focus to the conversation at hand. “And if not, we can ask for a tour of the castle, and keep a lookout for anything that fits the general shape,” he added.

He heard a shuffling sound up ahead and looked back at the crates, but whatever he had thought he saw was gone. He was apprehensive, but he did not feel any sense of creeping danger. He pushed it to the back of his mind. He did not want to worry his friends until he knew something was wrong.

They finished their food and got up from the table. Sora thanked the baker and told him that the treats were delicious. Riku tossed a tip onto the worktable and they left before the baker could protest. They found the guards and told them that they were heading back, and two of the guards agreed to accompany them. They walked through town and through the woods until they came upon the castle. From looking up at the clock at the top of the castle, they could tell it was ten minutes until midnight.

As they entered the ballroom, they heard something that caught them by surprise and filled them with worry.

“Your Majesty, what’s wrong? What happened to them?” Kairi asked.

Sora, Riku and Donald ran up to Kairi, Mickey and Goofy. They noticed that Mickey had his eyes lowered, sadness and shame on his face. He refused to even face Kairi and Goofy. Something was not right.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked. “What happened to who?”

Mickey remained silent. Kairi answered for him. “There were three other Keyblade wielders that the king knew about a decade ago, Terra, Ventus and Aqua,” she explained. “I think something bad happened to them.”

Sora crossed his arms and looked up pensively. “Ventus? Oh. Maybe that’s who Jaq was talking about when he was saying ‘Venven’,” he said to himself.

Kairi nodded. “Yeah. Cinderella said that she met him,” she confirmed.

“Aqua… That name sound familiar,” he mused. He shrugged lightly, figuring he would worry about that part later. He turned to Mickey. “So, your Majesty, what did happen to them?”

There was no dodging it now. After a minute of hesitation, Mickey sighed and began the story.

“Terra, Ventus and Aqua were Keyblade wielders being trained by a Keyblade Master named Eraqus. He was an old friend of Master Yen Sid’s. I think they trained together, along with a man named…” He hesitated, feeling a swell of embarrassment and shame as he reflected on the connection between those past events and the more recent years.

“Along with who?” Riku pressed him.

“Xehanort,” Mickey finished his sentence.

“WHAT?!” Sora, Riku and Kairi blurted. Could he be the same person as the man who they knew as Ansem and Xemnas? No, he would have been an old man by now, whereas the Xehanort they were familiar with was much younger and was even the real Ansem’s apprentice. But could there be a connection?

Weakly, Mickey raised his head and turned around so that he was at least looking at them. “Yen Sid sensed the worlds were in danger from creatures he called ‘Unversed’, so he told Eraqus, who sent Aqua and Terra to investigate. Ventus went off on his own to follow Terra. I had also run away from my training to figure out what was going on,” Mickey continued. “I ran into Ven when he was in a fight with a masked Keyblade wielder named Vanitas. We got separated shortly after, and I ended up in Radiant Garden. There, I met Aqua and we fought the Unversed to protect Kairi. We decided to team up afterwards, but I was pulled away to another world by the Star Shard—that’s the thing I was using to travel between worlds. After a few more jumps, I was ambushed and taken prisoner by Vanitas, who was working for Master Xehanort. Xehanort wanted to use me as bait to lure Ven. I didn’t really make out the full conversation, but I was told later that Xehanort wanted Ven and Vanitas to fight and create the χ-blade.”

Sora, Riku and Kairi looked at each other in utter confusion, as they did not understand that statement at all. Even Cinderella, Prince Charming and the Grand Duke were befuddled. Did they not already have “Keyblades” of their own? Was there something special about this new “Keyblade”?

Mickey did not notice their expressions, so Sora took it upon himself to address the problem. “What do you mean by ‘the Keyblade’?” he asked.

“Oh,” Mickey gasped as he realized his mistake. “Sorry, fellas. The χ-blade, the 'key' sound being written like an ancient letter, shaped like an X—” he drew an X in the air with his finger to demonstrate “—was older and more powerful than the Keyblades we use. It serves as a counterpart to Kingdom Hearts. Never mind, I’ll explain it all later.

“Anyway, at some point afterward, I was thrown into the Lanes Between. Aqua rescued me and brought me to Yen Sid’s tower to recuperate. When I woke up, I learned that Xehanort had manipulated Ven and Terra so he could kill Eraqus, and was luring them to this place called the Keyblade Graveyard for the final showdown. Yen Sid warned me that I was not well enough to go, but I ran off to help them.” He sighed deeply, the memory clearly proving to be difficult for him to discuss. “But I was too late. Vanitas had already merged with Ven and created the χ-blade. Aqua and I fought him, and the χ-blade broke. The whole place was engulfed in an explosion. I found Aqua and Ven floating in the Lanes Between and brought them back to Yen Sid’s tower, but we realized that Ven’s heart had broken and disappeared. Terra was nowhere to be found.

“The last I saw of Aqua, she had gone to take Ven to a safe place before going to find Terra,” Mickey concluded his story.

Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Midnight

Chapter Text

Everyone present remained silent, stunned by the tragic tale that Mickey had told. Sora, Riku and Kairi stared, the former two with their jaws agape. Riku noticed that Donald and Goofy looked down in sorrow. He was not surprised, as he did not doubt that Mickey’s oldest friends, who might as well have been with him during that time, would know the story.

“I’m sorry,” Sora finally said. “That had to have been really hard to go through.”

“And to have it weighing on your mind for twelve years… I couldn’t imagine that sort of trauma,” Kairi said sympathetically.

“That’s so sad,” Cinderella agreed.

“Poor, poor Venven,” Jaq added.

The King cleared his throat. “Yes, that is quite tragic. While we cannot do anything to help you with that, or to undo what has been done, perhaps there may be a way we can assist you in your current task.”

“Hm?” Sora, Riku and Kairi turned to face the King. Donald and Goofy soon followed their example, while Mickey was lost in his despair.

“Please, my boy, tell us more about the fiends who are controlling the Heartless,” the King elaborated. “What are they plotting? And how may we be of assistance?”

“Oh. Well…” Sora took a moment to get his thoughts in order. “Well, they’re trying to get to a dangerous power, and to do that they’re looking for these artifacts,” he explained, careful not to say more than necessary out of respect to the need to keep it a secret. “There’s one on each world, and from what we’ve figured out, someone’s been tasked with guarding it. We haven’t really figured out all the details, but we do know that we need to stop them from getting them all.”

The King raised an eyebrow quizzically. “So, you have come to the conclusion that the artifact the enemy seeks is within these walls?” he surmised. Sora nodded. “Well, I am sorry, but I know nothing of any such item.” Prince Charming shook his head, confirming that he knew nothing of the matter, while Cinderella merely followed the conversation with eyes full of intrigue.

Sora was not thrown by this statement. In fact, he, as well as some of his friends, were already suspecting that there was someone else who would be dedicated to ensuring the artifact’s security. “We’ve been to some other worlds and realized that it’s not always the ruler who’s in charge of it, so I’m not totally surprised you didn’t know.”

The Grand Duke harrumphed. “Well, then, suppose you do find these artifacts: what would you mean to do with them?” he asked strictly. Riku shared a curious look with Kairi and Goofy, and it was apparent that they had noticed it too. He had given himself away without even thinking.

“Well, we’re not really sure what we would do with them, exactly,” Sora admitted, “but we would do everything we can to keep them safe.”

All eyes turned on the Grand Duke. It was clear to everyone that he knew more than he had been intending to share. But, at least to Sora and Riku, and even Mickey, who had finally been brought back to the present, he was more concerned with the sanctity of the worlds and making sure the warriors who stood before him were trustworthy.

“My friend, do you know something about this?” the King asked.

The Grand Duke gasped and flinched. His monocle fell off and he fumbled to catch it. Once that had been done, he took a handkerchief from his pocket, cleaned the lens, and placed the glass back over his eye as if nothing was wrong. “Well, ahem…” he stammered, realizing that he could no longer maintain his secret until the moment he deemed the Keyblade wielders to be the best option available.

“Oh, please, sir,” Cinderella entreated. “They are trying to help us.”

“Well, I’ll have you know that the item is quite safe as is,” the Grand Duke told them. “In fact, its safety is affirmed every hour.”

The party pondered this clue. How would he know that it was safe every hour?

Donald’s eyes widened as he realized something. Or, to be more specific, he noticed something. “You mean that hour?” he asked, pointing his finger upward.

This only confused the others more, but Cinderella seemed to understand. “Would anyone know what time it is?” she asked.

Mickey pulled out a pocket watch, which he had wound and set so that its display lined up with the time in Castle of Dreams, like he did every time he arrived on a new world. During the last few trips, he used the Gummi Ship’s computer to check the time of day on the point where they would land. Before that, when he was soaring between worlds with his Keyblade Glider, he either improvised or did nothing about it.

“It’s a minute after midnight,” he announced. His eyes widened as he understood what that meant. “Shouldn’t the bell have rung to mark the hour?”

Kairi gasped as she realized something. She whirled around and looked one of the guards in the eye. She shifted her gaze to the other guard, not sure which one she was thinking of before settling back on the first guard. “You said that the Heartless weren’t swarming around any place that you could see, right?” The guard nodded nervously. “What if they were searching someplace that wasn’t on your patrol routes?”

Everyone suddenly understood what was going on. “The clock!” Mickey blurted.

“The minute hand,” Sora guessed. The Grand Duke jumped, surprised that he had figured it out. He gulped when he realized what his body language had conveyed, and he realized that he was going to have to come clean. He then remembered the slightly more crucial part about the fact that the artifact had been stolen.

“They must have dismantled the clock mechanism when detaching the hand,” Mickey surmised. “That’s why the bell didn’t ring.”

“It was still on when we came in,” Riku said. “Whoever took it couldn’t have gotten far.”

“Let’s go!” Sora said. With that, everyone turned and ran out of the ballroom.

They exited into the courtyard and found a familiar figure jogging away. Their chubby rival carried a large clock hand.

“Hold it right there, Pete!” Sora shouted. He brandished his Keyblade, as did his friends.

Pete stopped mid-stride and turned his head to see who all was behind him. He found that all were behind him. “D’oh! This was supposed to be a simple mission. Spy a bit, then a grab-and-go job,” he complained to himself.

“Drop the art… arti… Drop the thing and go, Pete,” Goofy ordered.

Pete chuckled nervously. “Oh, hey, neighbor. I heard your boy Max made knight. Congrats, pal!”

“A-hyuck! Thanks,” Goofy replied. After a split second, he remembered what they were doing and reclaimed his battle-ready expression.

Sora was confused. “Wait. What did you mean by ‘spy a bit’?” he asked.

Pete realized that he had said too much. He would have facepalmed if he was not holding onto the clock hand. “Well, uh, about that…”

“You were eavesdropping on us at the bakery!” Sora accused, remembering the stubs he had seen poking out from behind the crates and realizing that they were Pete’s ears and the tip of his shoe. “You wanted to see how much we knew about these,” he guessed, waving his hand at the clock hand as he said “these”.

Riku raised his Keyblade. “Put it down and leave, and we won’t give you too much trouble.”

Pete shook his head. “Oh, no. I’m not letting you bozos take the point!” He let out a whistle. “Come on, chump! Get over here! Tick-Tock! Hurry up, Midnight Ball!”

The Keyblade wielders and their companions tensed up. They knew what that meant. Pete was summoning a semi-powerful Heartless to fight them.

Huh. Pete names them too, Sora thought.

The Heartless that appeared looked distinctly robotic. Its main body was a large off-white box with a working clock face on the front. The inner circle, flanked by a ring marked with the Roman Numerals I through XII, was clear, almost glass-like, offering a look into the machine’s inner workings, which appeared to run based on clockwork gears. The head appeared trapezoidal and of a deep shade of blue, with a vertical triangle in front where a “mouth” would be. Aside from the circular eyes sticking out of the tapering head with asymmetrical pieces of metal rotating around the inner ring, the head looked a lot like a frontal section of roofing on the castle. Its limbs’ movement seemed to work around a pin-and-joint system. The right arm came out into a blocky hand, and the fingers were made of cylinders joined together by cables. The left arm, however, ended in a large metal ball that was the same color as the head. A silver band marked with thorns not unlike the marks on the Heartless emblem wrapped around the ball. Beneath the main body, a pyramid shape tapered inward until it met a blue gear, which turned along with the gears inside the main body. The whole body balanced on a transparent blue sphere. Two metal rings wrapped around the inner face of the sphere and spun at different speeds.

Pete cackled. “Well, good luck beating this guy,” he boasted. “Later, losers!”

“We can’t let him get away!” Mickey said.

“We shall deal with him,” one of the guards assured. He and his companion ran around the Heartless in pursuit of Pete. Prince Charming drew his own sword and followed them.

Sora led the attack on the Heartless. He noticed that the clock on its chest had only two hands, and the minute hand was ticking with every second, reminding him of a fiend he had faced before. He could only hope that this creature’s gimmick was not anything like before.

The Midnight Ball swung its right arm at him, but Sora rolled to safety and swung his Keyblade at the hand. It swung its left arm down and hit him in the side with the wrecking ball. Donald cast Firaga and Blizzaga at the ball. Kairi stood at a distance and cast Thunder. She watched the clock on the Heartless’ chest curiously. She noticed that the hour hand was almost at twelve.

Riku struck the right arm, but realized that physical attacks were not affecting the robotic Heartless as much as magic was. He pointed his Keyblade at the chest and prepared to launch a volley of Dark Fire when he heard a humming sound, a sound distinct from the tick-tick-tick and grinding of the gears. He lowered his gaze toward the sphere beneath the main body and realized that it was pulsing with multicolored light. He did not have enough time to get out of the way before the built-up energy shot out of the sphere and blasted him across the courtyard.

Mickey ran to his aid. Sora prepared to launch a string of Blizzaga spells. Kairi willed lightning to envelop her Keyblade and prepared to throw it at the Heartless.

Then both the minute and hour hands on the Heartless’ clock hit twelve. A dome of indigo light expanded from the crystal sphere. The wave passed through everyone, seemingly harmless. However, they were quick to notice that something was wrong. Sora watched one of his Blizzaga spells vanish in midair, and he found himself unable to cast more. Kairi arced her arm to throw her Keyblade just as the wave passed her. To her surprise, the lightning crackling around her weapon fizzled out and the Keyblade fell to the ground unceremoniously like dead weight. Mickey reached Riku two seconds after the wave passed both of them and raised his Keyblade to cast Curaga, but nothing happened.

“What the—?” Sora wondered aloud. He felt the Keyblade grow heavier in his hand, though it was not much of a burden aside from the fact that it felt slightly unbalanced. He jumped out of the way as the Midnight Ball swung its hand at him again.

Kairi stretched her arm out and willed the Keyblade to return to her hand, but nothing happened. She ran over to pick it up and found that it was heavier than she remembered it being.

Donald swung his staff and tried to cast spells. “Fire! Fire! Blizzard. Thunder. Aero?” Nothing happened. “What’s going on? Wak!” He ran away before the Heartless could bring its wrecking ball down on him.

Goofy was confused as well, but unperturbed, as he was the only one in the party who relied solely on his own strength. He swung his shield at the joint of the Heartless’ arm, but he was not able to do much before his foe swung its arm back.

Sora, Donald and Kairi regrouped with Mickey and Riku, the latter of whom was still aching from some broken ribs and possible bruising and was barely able to keep sitting up. Cinderella joined them and helped stabilize Riku.

“How are you doing?” Kairi asked, concerned.

“Never better,” Riku said sarcastically. Kairi rolled her eyes.

“What just happened?” Sora asked in regards to the broader situation at hand. “It just shut off all our magic. Even the Keyblade’s drained. How is that even possible?”

“That anti-magic pulse must have gone off when the clock in its chest struck midnight,” Kairi explained.

“Just like how my coach turned back into a pumpkin and the horses became mice again after midnight during my ball,” Cinderella agreed.

“And go figure, magic works better on this thing than blunt force,” Riku groaned.

“Look. The Heartless’ clock is still stuck at midnight!” Mickey pointed out. They all looked at the Midnight Ball and realized that he was right. They also noticed that the bands inside of the crystal sphere were glowing with the same indigo light.

“Maybe if we reset the clock, the magic will come back on,” Sora suggested.

“How did you figure that out so quickly?” Cinderella asked, surprised.

“I’ve been doing this for a while,” Sora replied bluntly. “Cover me, okay?”

He ran straight at the Heartless, followed by Mickey, Kairi and Donald. He rolled under a swiping arm and jumped up to his foe’s chest, grabbing onto the shoulder to hold himself level with the clock.

Donald swatted the hand ineffectually with his staff, hoping to at least get its attention. It worked too well, and the Heartless backhanded him. Mickey jumped around and swatted its left arm with his Keyblade, daring it to attack with its wrecking ball. He knew that it would not use the wrecking ball on Sora, lest it deal damage to itself, but drawing its fire was a good way to keep it distracted from attempting to thwart Sora in his goal. Goofy threw his shield repeatedly, trying to break through the crystal sphere. Kairi swung her Keyblade at the fingers, hoping to slice through the cables. She swelled with confidence when she made a cut into one of the cords, but it was not at the proper angle to break through.

Sora dropped his Keyblade and grabbed onto the minute hand with his now-free hand. He pulled on it, making it turn counterclockwise. When he had turned it a quarter of the way around, the hour hand clicked away from the twelve.

The light emanating from the bands faded. Sora smiled as he felt a power surge through him. It had been a long time since he had even registered that energy; since at least the point when he first learned Cure, he had grown used to that power flowing through his system. It felt like things were returning to normal in his body. With this swell of confidence, Sora lifted his leg up and kicked the minute hand down, spinning it around the clock until it was back at the twelve and the hour hand was now at eleven.

The others felt their strength returning. Mickey and Kairi felt their Keyblades become lighter and more balanced. Remembering that there was some need for magic aside from combat, Mickey ran back to Riku and cast Curaga. Riku breathed a sigh of relief and stood up. He flourished his Keyblade and ran to rejoin the fray.

Sora managed to bring the clock back to 10:50 before the Heartless’ hand grabbed him, yanked him off, and threw him aside. He tried to do more to disrupt the Midnight Ball’s clockwork before he was thrown away, but he only managed to crack the glass behind the hands.

Donald launched a series of Fire and Blizzard spells at both the crystal sphere and the wrecking ball arm. Mickey fired Pearl spells at the Heartless’ face. Kairi cast Gravity on the hand, pulling it down to the ground. Goofy worked his way around and, noticing the crack in the glass, threw his shield to break a sizeable hole.

Sora saw that while they were working, the clock on the Heartless’ chest had gone back to 11:30. He pointed his Keyblade at the clock and shouted “Stopga!”

The clock hands stopped moving, and for a few seconds it appeared to have worked. However, the gears inside the Heartless were still turning, struggling to make the hands move. Soon, they succeeded, and broke the clock free from the spell’s effects.

Sora’s eyes widened. “We need to beat this thing before it shuts our magic down again!” he shouted. He shrouded his Keyblade in fire and threw it at the crystal sphere. He then jumped toward the Heartless to try to crank its clock back, but he was knocked aside with the wrecking ball. With five seconds left on the clock, he cast Cure on himself.

The clock struck midnight and magic was turned off once again. The party regrouped.

“We can’t keep fighting like this,” Donald complained.

“There has to be some way to keep it from cutting off our magic,” Kairi said.

Cinderella studied the Midnight Ball. She examined the system of gears behind the clock and saw the hole that Sora and Goofy had made in the glass. Her mouth curled into a smile as an idea came to her mind. She looked around on the ground until she found Jaq, then crouched down to talk to him. “Jaq, can you get the others and bring them out here?” she asked.

Jaq nodded. “On it, Flinderelly!” He turned and ran over to the wall, then clambered through a hole that he and the other mice used to enter the castle.

Sora looked past the Heartless and saw that Pete was cornered by Prince Charming and the guards, but he was fighting back using the clock hand like a sword and occasionally dropping a few exploding balls.

“Kairi, Goofy, go help them,” he ordered. “We’ll try to get an edge on this thing.”

Kairi and Goofy nodded and ran off to assist against Pete. The bully swung the clock hand with enough force to knock one guard aside. Goofy threw his shield at Pete’s shoulder, throwing him off balance. Prince Charming kicked him, knocking him down and making him drop the artifact.

Pete grumbled in frustration and stomped hard on the ground, creating a shockwave that caused the prince and the guards to stumble. He stood up and threw a half dozen balls, which exploded on the ground and forced his foes to scatter.

Goofy ran over to the clock hand and tried to pick it up, though he had difficulty getting a good grip. Kairi ran up to Pete and swung her Keyblade at him. She hit him in the gut, causing him to grunt in pain. However, he noticed that she was not causing nearly as much pain as Sora, and simply picked her up by the arm.

“So, uh, who are you supposed to be?” he asked.

“Kairi,” she answered, struggling in his grip.

“Kairi, huh? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before… Oh! You’re the girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“Yep. So, what’s so special about that thing?” Kairi asked, nodding over to the clock hand.

“Oh, that? See, this strange feller told us that if we get that and things like it around the worlds, then we’ll be able to find and… I’m about to spill everything, aren’t I?”

“No, no. Please, continue.” Kairi smiled playfully. “This is very interesting.”

Pete cackled in amusem*nt and mild confidence. “Oh, no. I’m not spoiling the ending like that! You won’t beat me that easily!” With that, he tossed Kairi aside, causing her to land on her rear end. He clapped his hands and the artifact magnetically flew into his hand, thumping Goofy in the chin as it flew up. He caught it slightly clumsily but managed to get his bearings. He tapped his foot to conjure a Corridor of Darkness, but then remembered that magic was still not working. “Whoops,” he muttered.

Kairi picked her Keyblade up and, holding it by the front end of the shaft, thumped Pete in the forehead with the butt of the weapon.

Meanwhile, while dodging attacks from the hand, wrecking ball, and crystal sphere with help from his friends, Sora managed to grab onto the Heartless and turn the clock back around. After kicking the minute hand back around to 11:00, he summoned his Keyblade to his hand and started smashing the glass, making the hole as large as he could. He managed to take out nearly a quarter of the glass disc before the Midnight Ball grabbed him and threw him off. However, the damage was done. Magic returned to the area and the party began barraging the Heartless with magic spells.

Kairi smirked at Pete and cast Thundara. A bolt of lightning came down and connected with the clock hand, which was raised like a lightning rod. Pete shook in pain and, after the strike left him scorched and smoking, stammered incoherently. Kairi then cast Aerora, which spun him around in a tornado, making him dizzy.

Pete groaned. “Don’t remember the kid knowing that when we met,” he remarked.

Kairi shrugged. “He remembered it a couple days after you last saw him,” she explained. “I’ve been catching up.” She cast Zero Gravity, lifting him in the air and leaving him to spin around slowly.

“Oh, that’s no fair!” Pete complained. Kairi and Goofy simply laughed.

Meanwhile, Mickey had lobbed a Pearl spell into the Heartless’ right eye when he noticed Jaq returning out of the corner of his eye. Jaq approached Cinderella, followed by five other mice. Mickey beckoned Sora and Donald to join them while Riku continued to attack the Midnight Ball.

“So, Flinderelly, how may Jaq and friends help-a Sora?” Jaq asked.

Cinderella shot a glance at Sora to include him in the plan as well. “If Sora can get you inside the Heartless, you can disrupt the gears and stop the clock from reaching midnight and depowering everyone,” she explained.

“But how do we do that?” Donald asked.

“I know,” Sora said, an idea forming in his head. “You guys create a distraction, keep it from focusing on us, then Jaq and his friends can climb into my hood. I’ll jump onto that thing’s chest and they can climb in.” He looked at Jaq and smiled.

Jaq looked at his friends, who all nodded. He turned back to Sora and nodded. Sora cupped his hands and the mice stepped in. He brought them up to his shoulder and they climbed into his hood.

“Alright. Let’s go,” Mickey said. He ran over to the Midnight Ball. The Heartless brought its hand down to try to smash Riku, but he leapt out of the way. Mickey hopped onto the hand and ran up the arm. Donald ran up and started casting Blizzard on the arm while Mickey jumped onto the head and then on top of the wrecking ball. He conjured fireballs to revolve around him and attack the wrecking ball.

With thirty seconds on the clock, Sora charged in and threw himself at the unprotected chest. He grabbed onto the shoulder and planted his right foot on the minute hand, keeping it from ticking further. He stuck his arm into the hole in the glass and whistled for the mice. Jaq led his friends out of Sora’s hood and along his arm. Jaq hopped off of Sora’s hand and grabbed onto the teeth of the large central gear. He climbed up and grabbed onto the gear to the upper left, allowing the next mouse to hop in and follow suit. The third mouse dropped down to the gear directly below and hopped off to a horizontal gear.

The rest of the mice had jumped into the Heartless’ machinery and found a place to work, and they had begun pushing and kicking the gears to try to dislodge them. Sora did his best to hold on and keep the minute hand stuck, but the Midnight Ball soon grabbed him and threw him off again. As he flew through the air, he pointed his finger at the Heartless’ head and shot a beam of concentrated fire into the left eye. The eye burst into flames as Sora landed with a thud.

The party continued fighting while Kairi was busy messing with Pete. The Zero Gravity spell had worn off, but she simply cast Magnet to pull him into a vortex. Prince Charming and the guards were waiting for Pete to drop the clock hand so they could take it back, but his grip stayed firm, as if it were still magnetized to his gloves.

As Pete spun around the vortex, a large ball fell out of his back pocket. When it landed, it rolled a few inches, then started releasing smoke. Goofy gasped. “Everyone down!” he shouted. Kairi, Charming, and the guards threw themselves aside as the bowling ball exploded.

The Magnet spell faded and Pete landed on his feet. Without waiting for his opponents to get to their feet, he turned and ran, expecting that the Heartless would hit Midnight in moments.

In the last five seconds of magic, Sora, Mickey, Riku, and Donald fired third-tier spells at the crystal sphere. Sora and Mickey nervously watched the clock tick down. At three seconds left, they saw the gear on the top right pop loose and stop moving, and the wrecking ball arm froze. But the clock ticked down another second. Another gear, this one in the top left, was dislodged, and the right arm stopped moving. The clock ticked down to the last second.

Then it stopped. The minute hand did not move. The large gear behind it froze as well, as did the two gears below. The bands within the crystal sphere stopped spinning, and the entire Heartless dropped to the ground. Aside from the metal around the right eye which continued to spin, the Midnight Ball was completely immobile

It started to arch forward. Realizing that if it falls forward, the mice would not be able to get out safely, Sora and Mickey threw themselves at the Heartless’ head and chest. They hit it with all of their strength and succeeded in sending it rolling backwards. Riku and Donald ran out of the way as the Heartless came crashing down.

Jaq and his mouse friends climbed up onto the central gear and jumped up through the hole in the glass. “Did we do it?” Jaq asked.

Sora nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. “You did it,” he replied. “Thanks.”

Kairi and Goofy smiled as they watched the Heartless go down. Pete gulped. While his foes were looking the other way, he tapped his foot on the ground. This time, a Corridor of Darkness did materialize behind him. Kairi and Goofy heard this and turned back to Pete.

“Well, see you later,” Pete said with a chuckle. Glad to finally have a victory, he turned and ran into the portal. Kairi and Goofy ran after him, but the portal closed before they could reach it.

“Nuts,” Kairi said under her breath. She shrugged. “Oh, well. I guess we’d better help them finish it off.

In less than a minute, with the combined power of all magic users as well as the sword and shield attacks by Goofy, Prince Charming, and the guards, the Heartless soon could not take any more damage and faded into dark smoke, leaving a crystalline heart behind to float away.

Mickey looked past Kairi and Goofy. “Where’s Pete?” he asked.

Kairi and Goofy looked down shamefully. “He got away,” Goofy replied.

“Well, no use wallowing in it,” Riku said. “Let’s head back inside and talk to the Grand Duke.”

His friends nodded and, accompanied by Cinderella, Prince Charming, Jaq and the mice, and the guards, they reentered the castle.

“I see,” the King said after they explained what had happened. “Well, that is unfortunate.”

“Oh, now what shall we do?” the Grand Duke lamented. “If they commandeer all of the artifacts, well… well…”

“Hey, they still have a long way to go,” Sora interrupted. “We’ll get ahead of them and make sure they don’t get them all.”

“Would you be able to give us any information to help us on our own search?” Mickey asked.

The Grand Duke sighed. “To be honest, when I was entrusted with the responsibility, I became so afraid of the power that it safeguarded that I refused to allow myself to learn more,” he admitted pitifully. “But, seeing how the artifacts are being sought out by a sinister party, and how you seek to thwart them, I now realize that it was a mistake to shirk the full responsibility.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it,” Riku replied. “We all make mistakes and do things that we realize later on that we shouldn’t have. You did what you thought was right. You couldn’t have expected that someone who knew about the artifacts would use the Heartless and try to take advantage of them.”

The Grand Duke sighed. “I suppose you’re right,” he said.

“Well, I suppose we should get going,” Mickey said. He knelt before the King, and the rest of the party followed suit, including Sora.

“We’ll do whatever we can to bring the artifact back,” Sora promised.

The King nodded. Cinderella smiled. “Good luck. We’ll be right here, offering whatever strength we can,” the Princess of Heart assured them.

The King bade them to stand, then waved them off. “We’ll be fine here,” he told them. “We have faith in you.” Prince Charming and the Grand Duke nodded in agreement.

Sora waved good-bye and the party turned and walked out of the ballroom. They walked through the front door and found a Safe Point to the right of the fountain, which they used to beam up to the Gummi Ship.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy stood around the co*ckpit, contemplating recent developments. They were all aware that, while Pete had gotten away with the artifact, they were now close to understanding how to find the others. But there was one more thing that they had discussed that continued to eat at Sora, Riku and Kairi.

Sora turned to Mickey. “Hey, your Majesty,” he addressed the mouse. “What were you saying earlier about the χ-blade thing? And how does Xehanort fit into all this?”

Chapter 63: Chapter 62: The Black Pearl

Chapter Text

“So, what you’re saying is,” Riku began after Mickey finished telling him, Sora and Kairi everything he knew about Master Xehanort and the χ-blade, “this Master Xehanort guy is the reason that Terra, Ventus and Aqua met such horrible fates, and you had no idea what happened to him after the dust settled?” Mickey nodded. “And you never bothered to follow up on it?”

Mickey sighed, ashamed of himself. “No, I…”

“You even met a guy named Xehanort, who was already experimenting with the darkness in people’s hearts!” Sora added, not happy with this revelation. “That didn’t even make you suspicious?”

“I was surprised when Ansem said the name,” Mickey admitted, “but I figured it was just a coincidence when I saw a young man. Now I know that Master Xehanort and that Xehanort were one and the same. But I didn’t know then. I couldn’t have known where the name ‘Xehanort’ would have been a thing. I don’t even know what world he was from originally.”

“Ours,” Riku said. All eyes turned to him in surprise. “There’s this seventy-something-year-old story about a kid who wanted to go beyond the limits of the islands, and he found a way to leave for good. I didn’t know that much when I first heard it, but after we returned to the islands, I decided to look it up. Turns out he was this silver-haired kid named Xehanort.”

“Oh. I had no idea,” Mickey said. “Master Yen Sid only mentioned him and Eraqus a few times. I never met either of them. I didn’t even know what Xehanort looked like until I got to the Keyblade Graveyard while everyone was fighting.”

“Again, why didn’t you even try to find out what happened to Xehanort, or even Terra and Aqua for that matter?” Sora asked.

Mickey sighed. “I waited with Master Yen Sid until Aqua came back with Terra, but after a few days, Yen Sid read the stars and told me that neither Aqua nor Terra were anywhere to be found. And… I guess I wanted to believe that their sacrifice wasn’t for nothing. I made myself believe that Xehanort was gone for good.”

“But instead of honoring their sacrifice by making sure the job was done, you stayed ignorant and let Xehanort run rampant for a decade!” Riku lambasted him. “You could have stopped everything Xehanort’s done before it even started. Countless worlds fell into darkness, thousands have lost their hearts and the Heartless have been allowed to run free because you let yourself be ignorant!”

Mickey’s heart sank. He knew that every word he said was true, as were every word that he did not say but deserved to, but they stung all the same. “I know,” he said weakly. “How could I be so blind?”

“I don’t know,” Sora answered. He was upset with Mickey, but he was not as bitter as Riku. In truth, he was not sure what to think. “But you’re supposed to be leading us. You’re supposed to be the wise king. We’re supposed to trust you to make the right choices for the good of everyone.” He looked Mickey dead in the eye, his gaze tinged with concern and disappointment. “How could you knowingly ignore something that could put everyone in danger, Mickey?”

Mickey gasped. Sora still had not gotten used to calling him by his given name, following Donald and Goofy’s example of addressing him as “your Majesty”. He had given Riku permission to be less formal with him, and he soon learned to call him by such familiarity. But hearing Sora just now drop the regal title, due to losing faith in his wisdom and leadership, just hurt.

Meanwhile, Donald, Kairi and Goofy flew the ship, listening regretfully but not interjecting. Not even Jiminy was sure how to best defuse the situation.

Kairi traced her finger on the copilot’s display sadly. She had almost never heard Sora and Riku so upset. They trusted Mickey so much until now, and she had a feeling that unless something happened soon, the argument was only going to get worse.

“Radiant Garden was in ruins for a decade!” Riku continued, his voice rising to a yell. “Our islands were destroyed, and Xehanort manipulated me into helping him, then possessed my body! Ansem the Wise is dead! So much suffering happened because of Xehanort, and you could have stopped it!”

“We’re here!” Kairi shouted abruptly, getting everyone’s attention. She breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that she managed to halt the argument, at least for the moment.

This world was familiar to half of the party. It consisted of a number of islands on a sea dotted by large ships and barges. The image on the heads-up display showed the same thing, but superimposed the head-on view of a ship as well as a skull and crossbones.

Sora chuckled. “Port Royal,” he identified. He began to hum a tune. Donald and Goofy bobbed their heads along.

“Okay, let me propose an idea,” Kairi said. “I think we should split into two groups.”

“Why’s that?” Mickey asked.

“What we just discussed now, it’s some heavy stuff,” she explained. “We all need time to process it, give us time apart from the issue so we don’t snap and kill each other.”

“Okay. What do you suggest?” Riku asked.

“Hmm… How about you go with Donald and Goofy, take a deep breath and see what they think about all this, and Sora and I will go with the King. Deal?”

Her friends mulled over the setup, then nodded. “I think we can manage,” Sora said.

“Okay, then. Eeny-meeny-miny-mo,” Donald chanted in a sing-song tone, picking points to disembark. “Alright, then. Your Majesty, Sora, Kairi, you guys go first.” He tapped on a green dot on a more civilized island and hit DISEMBARK. A white circle lit up behind them. Mickey, Sora and Kairi stepped on and vanished in a column of light. Donald pressed another green dot, this one sitting on an island that was more densely packed with trees, then hit DISEMBARK again. He, Riku and Goofy stepped into the circle of light and were beamed down.

Sora, Kairi and Mickey quickly noticed that they were on a dock. Dozens of sailors mulled about, almost all of them appearing to be pirates and roughly half of them stumbling around drunk.

“Yo ho, yo ho,” Kairi muttered when an old man with a dirty beard and an eyepatch tripped and nearly stumbled into her.

Sora, however, was looking around with a huge smile on his face. He was going to sail the seas like a pirate again! He spun around, taking everything in, but stopped when he saw a familiar ship docked at the end of the pier he was standing on.

Were it not for the nearby lanterns and the fact that it was so close to them, the ship would have blended in with the night sky. It had a soot-colored hull. Its three masts were adorned with tattered black sails. Sora could count sixteen cannons: nine on the gun deck and seven on the upper deck. The figurehead was carved in the shape of a woman with angel wings holding up a dove in her left hand.

Sora laughed at the unforgettable sight of the Black Pearl. Kairi and Mickey followed his gaze and stared at it with intrigue.

“You know this ship, Sora?” Mickey asked.

“This ship belongs to Captain Jack Sparrow,” Sora answered, “the greatest pirate who ever lived.”

“So, this is the famous Black Pearl,” Kairi mused. “A lot cooler than I imagined it.” She turned to face Sora. “That means your pirate friend is here, right?”

Sora nodded. “Well, unless someone mutinied against him and took the ship like last time, but I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Well, then let’s head into town and see if we can find him,” Kairi said.

They trekked along the pier, taking in the sights. They noticed that there were far more pirates roaming the streets than regular civilians. Some were rowdy and obnoxious, while others were just having a good time. A few got into fights. They passed an alleyway where a man with messy stubble was roughly pulling a woman along despite her protests. Kairi pointed her thumb in their direction and whispered “Gravity”. A sign hanging above them broke off and fell on the man’s head, knocking him out. The woman stared in confusion, then shrugged, lifted her dress, and marched off indignantly.

“So, where do you think we’ll find him?” Mickey asked.

Before Sora could come up with an answer, he heard a panicked scream. “Monsters!” The trio immediately ran through the crowd in the direction of the shout. Some people were running away and pushed past them as they fled. A few of them were pirates. Other pirates remained and stood their ground, holding their swords and pistols up in defiance. It was then that they finally saw the monsters in question.

There were roughly eight of them. The Heartless emblem was visible on their chests. They each wore brown pants with patches of tan, matching pointed shoes, a black turtleneck shirt that left the chest opened, a red sash around the waist, bright yellow wristbands, skull-shaped pauldrons, a red bandana covering the entire top half of the head with an angular black spiral over the left eye, and a black eyepatch decorated with a white cross over the right eye. They carried swords with wide, curved blades, which lacked hilts but were bound to the handles with heavy-duty clips. The grips were covered in a bright red fabric, and the blades were etched with red cracks and angular yellow spirals, making it appear as though each blade had a frowning face.

“Sod off, scurvy fiends!” one of the defending pirates slurred. “Rotten beasts like ye have no place in Tortuga!”

Sora ran up so he stood beside him, raising his Keyblade. “We’re with you!” he assured. Kairi and Mickey joined him, standing next to a man who brandished a shovel, who apparently decided to take the first “weapon” he could find.

“Aye!” the pirate snarled approvingly.

The Pirate Heartless in the middle was the first to strike. The pirate next to Sora parried its blow, and the fighting began. Some of the defenders were dizzy from being pulled out of what they presumed would be no more than a full night of drinking and social revelry, while a few others had simply taken up position in inconvenient spots, and they were quickly knocked down. The Heartless stepped over them and went for the defenders behind them. However, this also gave Sora, Kairi and Mickey the opening to enter the fighting as well.

Sora was quite used to parrying the Pirates’ attacks and retaliating. The weight he puts into his Keyblade swings makes it difficult for the Heartless to power through and they quickly get knocked off guard. Mickey’s small size meant that the Pirates had to strike low, which made things difficult when their weapons were large swords which they had to raise back up each time with one hand, and his fast movements meant that they could almost never hit him and he kept attacking them from behind. Kairi clicked and parried her Keyblade with her opponent’s sword like something out of a swashbuckling adventure film. As soon as she swatted the Heartless’ blade aside, she took the opening to stab right into its chest.

Sora allowed his second Heartless to push against him, seemingly forcing him back. The Pirate swung its sword down at him, and he blocked and made a show of putting all of his effort into holding the attack back. At the last second, he smirked, right before one of the pirates stabbed it in the back. The pirate pulled his cutlass back out of the Heartless’ body and Sora cut right through it, causing it to dissipate.

“Ye ain’t bad with a sword, kid,” the pirate complimented.

Sora nodded respectfully. “Thanks. You’re pretty good yourself,” he replied. With that, he jumped over his head and brought his Keyblade down over a Pirate’s sword right after it had made a failed attempt on Mickey’s life. He pinned the sword down, then kicked the Pirate in the side, pushing it right into Mickey’s Keyblade.

The pirate with the shovel brought his weapon down on the last Pirate’s head, stunning it. Two other pirates sank their swords into it, and Kairi finished it off with a stab through the back.

Once all of the Heartless were vanquished, the pirates cheered and patted each other on the back. Some of them helped their fallen comrades to their feet. Others simply stumbled over them without thinking.

The pirate who had fought beside Sora turned to him, Kairi and Mickey. “I haven’t seen any of you 'round here,” he noted. “This your first time in Tortuga?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah. We were actually looking for a friend of ours. Captain Jack Sparrow.”

The pirate’s eyes widened with amusem*nt. “Aye, you lookin' to join his crew?” he asked. “Well, he’s down that way in the Twelve Daggers cantina, looking for blokes to join.” He pointed toward a building that was lit up and seemed full of activity.

“Thanks,” Sora said. He waved him off as he, Kairi and Mickey walked over to the tavern that had a sign depicting two crossed daggers with ten more blades surrounding them in a half-circle, all pointed toward the center. He pushed the doors open and stepped in.

The tavern was filled with pirates, though there were some other sailors and civilians. Most of them stood all over the place, talking amongst themselves and telling stories but otherwise disorganized. Many were drinking from bottles or mugs of rum, even though some of them clearly had more than their fill. Three musicians played together with a cuatro, a concertina, and a fiddle. The establishment seemed to exemplify the purpose and nature of the island of Tortuga, serving as a place for seadogs and scoundrels to eat, drink and have fun while taking a break from all of the sailing and pillaging.

Across the main room, the three newcomers saw some men lined up in front of a table, at which sat an older man with blue eyes as well as gray hair and white sideburns. The man wore a white dress shirt, a teal vest with silver buttons, and brown boots. Curious about what was going on, Sora led Kairi and Mickey over to the table.

“So, what makes you think you’re worthy to crew the Black Pearl?” the man asked, drawing Sora’s attention further. He studied the men in the line, who appeared to be enlisting for the crew Jack was gathering. Kairi looked at Sora in bewilderment, as the “sailors” did not appear very “ship-shape”. Sora simply shrugged.

“Truth be told, I never sailed a day in me life,” a thin, elderly man said. “I figure I should get out and see the world while I’m still young.”

The man at the table simply gave him a smile. “You’ll do. Make your mark. Next!”

Sora gave Kairi a bigger shrug. He had no idea why Jack was gathering and accepting such a pathetic crew. He looked past the line and, after the third man, one who was missing an arm, had been approved, saw a face he had been hoping to find.

The man had long brown hair tied into dreadlocks with beads. He had a moustache and a beard that was also tied into two smaller dreads. He wore a faded, loose white shirt that was opened by a few buttons, a black jacket, a tan belt and a tattered white piece of cloth tied around his waist, a faded red bandana with a small beaded ornament and a silver coin on his head, black pants, and brown boots. He wore a scabbard on his left hip, attached to a black strap that wrapped over his right shoulder, in which sat his cutlass, and he had a pistol holstered at his right hip.

“That’s him,” Sora told his friends, his gaze fixed on the legendary pirate.

Captain Jack Sparrow studied the compass in his hand. He flicked it in mild frustration. “I know what I want,” he muttered irritably.

The fourth volunteer stepped up to the man at the table, whom Sora guessed was Jack’s first mate. The volunteer had a dreamy look in his eyes and a wide grin.

“Ever since I was a little lad, I’ve always wanted to sail the seas. Forever,” the wide-eyed man said.

“Sooner than you think,” the first mate replied. “Sign the roster.”

“Thanks very much.” The wide-eyed man walked off.

“How we going?” Jack asked, flicking his gaze upward.

“Including those four? That gives us… four,” the first mate answered. He looked to his right and saw Sora, Kairi and Mickey walking toward him. “Hmm, maybe make that seven.”

Jack looked ahead and raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps those two; I’m not sure if he’ll take the boy,” he muttered. “But then again, with him here, we might not have to concern ourselves with that.” The first mate looked back at him in confusion. The pirate captain stood up and put on a smile. “Sora, my boy! What can an old pirate do for you?”

“Good to see you, Captain,” Sora greeted back. “What’s going on here? I didn’t expect you to be looking for a crew that was so...” he looked back at the four volunteers and lowered his voice to a whisper so that they couldn’t hear him, “unequipped for the job.”

Jack chuckled. “Well, you see, I’ll need all the hands I can get for this game,” he explained cryptically. He looked past Sora and noticed Kairi and Mickey. “And who might you be?” he asked.

“I’m Kairi.”

“I’m Mickey.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure,” Jack said with a light bow. “What of your funny-looking friends?”

“Our group split up as we arrived. Donald and Goofy went somewhere else with our other friend Riku,” Sora explained. “So, why do you need all these people? What’s happened now?”

Before Jack could explain, his gaze fell upon a man approaching his first mate’s table and sitting in a chair in front of it. He wore a blue rum-soaked jacket and a hat that obscured his face. Under the hat, he wore what appeared to be a powdered wig, but it had become muddy and disheveled. His brown hair and beard grew long and unkempt. A pistol sat in a holster at his right hip while he held a bottle of rum in his left hand.

“So, what’s your story?” the first mate asked enthusiastically.

“My story…? It’s exactly the same as your story, just one chapter behind,” the man began. Jack studied his shadowed face intently, finding some modicum of recognition in the stranger. His voice certainly sounded like someone he had previously met. “I chased a man across the Seven Seas. The pursuit cost me my crew, my commission, and my life.”

The first mate squinted his eyes, trying to find any semblance of the man he thought this figure was. “Commodore?”

“No, not anymore. Weren’t you listening?” James Norrington, former commodore of Port Royal, shot back. He stood up abruptly. Jack tiptoed away, hoping not to be noticed. “I nearly had you all, off Agrabah. I would have, if not for… the hurricane.”

The first mate’s eyes widened. “The sunlight storm? Lord. You didn’t try to sail through it?”

So do I make your crew, or not?” Norrington asked. “You haven’t said where you’re going. Somewhere nice?”

The band stopped playing and all of the tavern’s somewhat coherent patrons turned their attention to the budding confrontation. Jack ripped a large palm branch from a potted plant and held it in front of him, hoping to sneak out unnoticed. However, Norrington noticed him.

“So, am I worthy to serve under Captain Jack Sparrow?” Norrington asked mockingly. He took his gun out and pointed it at Jack. Sora took a protective step forward. “Or should I just kill you now?”

Jack stopped. He dropped his branch and stared warily at Norrington. He ducked behind a column and peeked around the other side. Norrington moved his arm so that he was still pointing his gun at him. He tried to duck around the other side, but he was still looking down the barrel of the gun.

“You’re hired,” Jack said with a grin.

“Sorry. Old habits and all that,” Norrington retorted. He drew the hammer back.

Sora jumped in and pushed his arm up. “Hold it!” he shouted as he sent the man’s arm pointing straight up just as Norrington pulled the trigger. The bullet bounced off of the chandelier and found its way across the room, shattering a man’s bottle. Already quite tipsy and looking for some form of retaliation, the man slugged the man in front of him.

This was enough to incite a full-on brawl. Pirates started punching each other, women engaged in cat fights, and bottles were thrown all over the place. The three-man band started playing again, adding upbeat music to the brawl. One man jumped off of a balcony and started swinging on a chandelier for some reason.

“Time to go,” Jack said, nodding to his first mate. The two of them walked around the action and traipsed up the stairs to find an exit. Jack ducked as a bottle flew over his head. At a few points, they stopped as a group of brawlers passed in front of them as they duked it out.

One man punched Norrington, sending him reeling away from Sora. The boy ducked out of the way of another pirate taking a swing at him. Sora broke into a wide grin and stuck his elbow back into the man’s gut.

Kairi and Mickey held their arms out to summon their Keyblades, but Sora grabbed them to stop them. “Don’t,” he said. “This isn’t something where everyone’s trying to kill you. This is just a free-for-all.” He smirked. “Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else if you brought them out.”

Kairi felt someone grab her wrist and try to pull her back. She turned and saw a man leering at her. “Come along miss. This doesn’t look like a place you should be,” he said, still maintaining his co*cky grin.

Kairi snorted, and ducked under his arm. She turned around, grabbing onto the man’s own wrist as she did so, and stood up. She tugged, twisting his arm and causing him to wince in pain and loosen his grip. She smiled sweetly at him, then raised her left foot and kicked him in the gut, sending him tumbling backward over a chair.

An overweight drunkard picked Mickey up by the collar of his shirt and chuckled at him. Mickey punched him in the face, stunning him and causing him to let go before falling backward.

It soon came to the point where a number of patrons were surrounding Norrington. Norrington had lost his gun at some point and was waving his bottle around threateningly.

“Come on, men! Who wants some? Form an orderly line. I’ll have you all one by one! Come on, who’s first?!” he dared dizzily.

Sora saw someone whom he had not seen in the cantina yet, but his face seemed familiar. It took him a few seconds to realize for certain that the newcomer was a woman dressed in a white dress shirt, a brown jacket and brown pants to pass for a man, her dirty blonde hair tied into a bun and hidden under a black tricorn hat. It took a second longer of studying her pretty face for him to recognize her.

Elizabeth Swann, the daughter of Port Royal’s governor and a friend of Sora and Captain Jack Sparrow’s, walked up behind Norrington, grabbed the bottle out of his hand, and smashed it on his head, knocking him out. The patrons looked at her, dumbfounded, as they were hoping to get a piece of the former naval officer themselves.

Elizabeth shrugged lightly. “I just wanted the pleasure of doing that myself!” she admitted, not bothering to disguise her feminine voice.

The crowd cheered and raised their mugs for a toast. Four men marched over to Norrington and grabbed him by the arms and legs. They carried him out through the doors and threw him into a muddy pig pen. Laughing amongst themselves, the majority of the crowd dispersed. Elizabeth remained, and walked over to Norrington. She rolled him onto his back and stared sadly into his face.

“James Norrington, what has the world done to you?” she asked sorrowfully.

Sora, Kairi and Mickey walked up behind her. “Elizabeth?” Sora called out.

The young woman gasped and looked over her shoulder to see who had recognized her. She let out a sigh of relief when she recognized the spiky-haired boy. “Oh. Sora. And are these your friends?”

Sora nodded. Kairi and Mickey introduced themselves. “So, what are you doing here, Elizabeth? How’s Will?” Sora asked.

Elizabeth sighed. “Will and I were supposed to be married,” she lamented. “But on the day when we were to have our wedding, we were arrested by Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company for helping Jack escape from the authorities.”

“That’s awful,” Kairi gasped.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. “Beckett cut a deal with Will,” she continued. “If he found Jack and brought back his compass, our crimes would be forgiven.”

Sora raised his eyebrow. “Well, I didn’t see him in there with Jack,” he said.

Elizabeth shook her head. “Regardless, I intend to find him. My father risked himself so I could escape, and I will reunite with Will.”

Sora nodded. “Agreed. So, what’s with that guy?” he asked, looking past Elizabeth and at Norrington.

Elizabeth turned to look back at the man sadly. “Commodore James Norrington was dedicated to putting an end to pirates, and made it his mission to arrest Captain Jack Sparrow,” she explained. “He was also my fiancée.”

“Arranged marriage?” Kairi asked. Elizabeth nodded. “I can see that didn’t work out. So what happened?”

“Shortly after we worked to defeat the cursed pirates and those Nobody creatures, Jack was arrested and sentenced to hang. James was the arresting officer. But Will and I helped him escape. James set off to chase him down shortly thereafter. The next time I heard from him, I learned that he had resigned from his commission.”

“And I guess we know why,” Mickey added solemnly. “Poor guy. He did what he thought was right and it - it cost him everything.”

Kairi frowned as she heard Mickey choke up for a moment, knowing full well what he was thinking.

“Urgh… Take that… you no-good… pirates…” Norrington grumbled groggily, starting to come to. He opened his eyes and saw the face of the woman he loved. “Elizabeth?”

“Come on. Let’s help him up,” Sora said. “Then we’ll ask Jack about what happened to Will.”

They found Jack near the Black Pearl, walking down the pier with his first mate as they saw the new crew members aboard. Elizabeth took a step ahead of Sora.

“Captain Sparrow!” she called.

“Come to join my crew, lad?” he asked. “Welcome aboard. And you three can climb on too.” He wagged his fingers above his head as he addressed Sora, Kairi and Mickey without turning around.

“I’m here to find the man I love,” Elizabeth corrected. Sora raised his eyebrow, surprised that he did not recognize Elizabeth’s voice.

Jack stopped and shifted his gaze from side to side. This was unexpected. “I’m deeply flattered, son, but my first and only love is the sea.”

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, as did Sora. They heard Norrington vomiting over the side of the pier. “Meaning William Turner, Captain Sparrow,” Elizabeth clarified.

Jack stopped and turned around. “Elizabeth?”

The first mate took note of Sora and traded uncertain and bewildered glances with Jack. “He the lad with the…” he whispered, making gestures with his hand to mimic using a key to unlock a door. Jack gave him a quick and slight nod. The first mate looked at Sora again, aghast, though he appeared reflective. Sora could only wonder what he was thinking.

“Jack, I know Will came to find you. Where is he?” Elizabeth insisted.

“Darling, I am truly unhappy to have to tell you this, but…” Jack began, “through an unfortunate and entirely unforeseeable series of circ*mstances that have nothing whatsoever to do with me”― Sora rolled his eyes, figuring that everything that came out of the brigand’s mouth was a blatant falsehood ―“poor William has been press-ganged into Davy Jones’ crew.”

“Davy Jones?” Elizabeth repeated, incredulous.

“Who’s Davy Jones?” Sora asked.

Norrington spat in disbelief. “Oh, please. The captain of the Flying Dutchman?”

Jack turned his attention to Norrington. “You look bloody awful. What are you doing here?” he asked.

“You hired me,” Norrington shot back. “I can’t help it if your standards are lax.”

“You smell funny,” was apparently the best comeback Jack could come up with.

“Guys! Your BAC is too great for barroom banter,” Sora interjected. “And I’ll ask again. Who is Davy Jones?”

Norrington rolled his eyes. “They say that Davy Jones sails the dark seas, delivering the souls of those who died at sea into the afterlife,” he explained, a snide tone in his voice. “But when his girl left him, he abandoned his mission and started cutting bargains with doomed sailors to stay their ends and make them part of his monstrous crew. Not like that old wives’ tale is any more than that.”

“If you were a bit more wary at sea, you’d still have a crew,” Jack spat.

“Well, that’s twisted,” Sora commented, disturbed.

“Jack. All I want is to find Will,” Elizabeth pleaded.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Are you certain? Is that what you really want the most?” he asked her. Sora and Mickey could see the wheels turning in his head, though neither of them knew what he was thinking.

Elizabeth nodded. “'Course,” she replied.

“Because I would think you would want to find a way to save Will the most,” Jack suggested.

“And you have a way of doing that?”

“Well, there’s a chest,” Jack began.

Norrington groaned. Sora, Kairi and Mickey looked at him in confusion.

“A chest of unknown size and origin,” Jack continued.

Two pirates, a fat, balding man with his shirt open and a tall, skinny man with dirty blond hair as well as a moustache and goatee, walked by carrying a crate of bottles. They overheard the conversation and stopped on their way to the Black Pearl’s gangplank so they could pitch in. “What contains the still-beating heart of Davy Jones,” the fat one, Pintel, said. His companion, Ragetti, vocally imitated the sound of a beating heart. Kairi leaned back, somewhat disturbed.

“He doesn’t have his heart? So he’s like a Nobody? Or is he a Heartless?” Sora asked.

The first mate shook his head. “It ain’t like that, my boy. It’s not like those kinds of hearts. It’s his actual, living, beating heart. As in the vital organ,” he explained. Sora and Kairi winced. Mickey gagged.

“And whoever possesses that chest possesses the leverage to command Jones to do whatever it is he or she wants,” Jack continued, “including saving brave William from his grim fate.”

“Okay, someone’s going to have to explain this guy to me,” Sora moaned.

Norrington scoffed. “You don’t actually believe him, do you?” he asked mockingly.

“Seen weirder,” Mickey retorted.

“How do we find it?” Elizabeth asked, actually believing him.

“With this.” Jack held up his compass, which had been hanging from his belt by a length of twine. “You see, my compass is… unique.”

“‘Unique’ here having the meaning of broken,” Norrington retorted.

“I wouldn’t count on that,” Sora countered. “It certainly seemed special enough to react to my Keyblade.” Norrington gave him a double take, having no idea what he was talking about.

“True enough,” Jack conceded the point. He could not blame Norrington for his presumption. “This compass does not point north.”

“Where does it point?” Elizabeth asked.

“It points to the thing you want most in this world,” Jack answered.

“That sounds cool,” Kairi said.

“Aye,” Jack agreed. He turned his attention back to Elizabeth. “And what you want most in the world is to find the chest of Davy Jones, is it not?”

“To save Will,” Elizabeth corrected.

“By finding the chest of Davy Jones,” Jack clarified. He handed the compass to Elizabeth, then took a giant step back so that he would not influence it.

“Wait. Why can’t you use it?” Mickey asked.

“And why do you want the chest, anyway?” Sora added.

Jack ignored their questions, keeping his gaze focused on the compass in Elizabeth’s hands. The needle spun around. The first mate stepped up to Sora and leaned into his ear.

“Captain Sparrow made a deal with Davy Jones, to raise the Black Pearl from the bottom of the ocean and make him captain for thirteen years, after which Jack would join his crew on the Flying Dutchman,” he explained.

“But Barbossa mutinied and threw him off a decade ago,” Sora pointed out.

Don’t matter to Jones. Now he’s coming to collect, and Jack aims to get out of his end of the bargain.” Sora nodded, understanding the situation. The first mate took a step back and then smiled jovially. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Joshamee Gibbs, first mate of the Black Pearl.” He stuck his hand out. Sora shook it.

“Sora,” the boy returned.

Jack’s eyes widened when the needle of the compass settled on a direction. He looked up at Gibbs. “Mr. Gibbs!” he called.

“Cap’n!” Gibbs returned.

“We have our heading!” Jack announced, excited.

Gibbs sighed in relief. “Finally. Cast off those lines, weigh anchor, and prow that canvas!” he barked orders around.

Jack beamed at Elizabeth, Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Norrington, the latter of whom could hardly believe what was happening. “Welcome aboard, men!” He turned and sauntered up the gangplank, keeping pace with Gibbs.

“So, Cap’n,” Gibbs whispered to Jack, “in the possibility that this endeavor goes south, though I would rather it not, how many souls do you suppose that boy would equal to in Jones’ eye?”

“I’d give him a modest forty to fifty, though I’m not sure how Jones counts it. However petty he decides to be, he’d have to count”― Jack shrugged ―“at least four.”

Gibbs frowned. “Well, we’d better find this chest.”

While Sora, Kairi and Mickey were joining the crew of the Black Pearl, Riku, Donald and Goofy pushed their way through foliage of palm fronds.

“I smell fire,” Riku said. “I think we’ll be coming across some form of civilization in a second.”

They pushed out of the line of trees and found themselves standing next to a hut made of wooden sticks. They walked further and found a couple dozen tribesmen standing and dancing around a fire pit. From what Riku could see, illuminated by the glow of the fire, they all had very dark skin and were covered in painted tattoos, and they were dressed in clothing made from leaves, feathers, and bones.

The tribesmen stopped chanting and turned around to identify the newcomers. Their gaze was intent and curious, though there was something else to it. Some of them picked up spears and knives, while others still held plates filled with leaves and nuts.

Goofy gulped, and Riku and Donald glanced past the closest natives to examine the fire. Mounted on a spit over the flames, they saw a large length of meat that did not look like it was pork or steak.

“Well, that’s the last time Donald picks our coordinates,” Riku muttered. Donald grumbled.

Chapter 64: Chapter 63: Pelegostos

Chapter Text

Riku, Donald and Goofy stood absolutely still, shifting their gaze between each of the tribesmen. The tribe did not move, studying the newcomers as well until they could figure out what to do about them. There was only a single torch behind Riku, Donald and Goofy, so the tribesmen could not make them out in the dim light at this time of night as the trio could them in the light of the blaze. However, the cannibals did not need to seek as many details as their quarry.

The villager in front started shouting to his companions, who started speaking back. Donald and Goofy looked at each other in confusion, unable to understand the language.

“Uh, did you get that?” Goofy asked.

“No,” Donald answered curtly.

Riku tried to hide the worry that was welling up from showing in his eyes. “They’re planning to capture us and hold us prisoner until their next convenient meal,” he told Donald and Goofy, translating the grunts. “Then, they’re going to kill us, cook us, spread some rich seasonings over our meat, and… eat us.”

Donald and Goofy were taken aback. “How did you understand that when we didn’t?” Donald asked.

“No idea,” Riku replied.

“Maybe they’re so disconnected from other human civilization that it’s not so easy for the Keyblade to translate their language, so it’s only putting the work in for the one wielding it,” Goofy guessed. “Or just for the human of the group, or something.”

“However it works, we need to get out of here before any of that happens,” Riku cut him off.

“But how do we get away from them without any trouble?” Goofy asked, fear and worry clearly visible even in the darkness.

“We could go back to the Gummi Ship and go somewhere else,” Donald suggested.

Riku nodded, and they started to slowly back away from the villagers. The tribesmen watched them go, seemingly not bothering to pursue. Riku kept eye contact with the man closest to him, deciding that he would only turn away once they were hidden in the trees again. He heard Goofy stumble and turned to see that he had bumped into one of two child villagers standing behind the adjacent hut. The one child fell while his friend helped him to his feet.

Riku heard the villagers’ muscles tense. He breathed a curse. Goofy gasped. The tribesman in front shouted a war cry.

“So much for that idea,” Riku groaned. He, Donald and Goofy broke into a sprint. The cannibals entered pursuit, screaming all the way. Riku led his companions onto the main path, figuring that it would be wiser to flee in a direction that they could see rather than attempt to escape through the trees and underbrush from an entire tribe of man-eating warriors who knew the terrain far better than them.

Fortunately, most of the tribesmen were dancing around the dinner flame, so there were only a few in any position to get the jump on them. They ran through the village, keeping at a great enough distance from their pursuers. The crowd ran into each other, so only the ones in front could run at their full speed freely while the rest had to avoid tripping over each other. On his own, Riku could easily lose them, but he had to keep pace with Donald and Goofy, who were not nearly as fast. Some of the tribesmen stepped to the side and fired blow darts at them, but Goofy brought his shield out to block it and Donald cast Reflect to bounce them away. One of the villagers was hit by the rebound and fell unconscious, and was trampled by his oblivious neighbors.

Riku, Donald and Goofy came upon a long, narrow rope bridge crossing over a ravine hovering over a river. It was only wide enough for one person to cross at a time, which might not have been the most prudent decision when the hungry cannibals might need to chase down a quarry to capture and roast. Riku decided to stop thinking about the consumption of human flesh and simply count his blessings. They would have to cross carefully, one after the other, but so would the tribesmen, who would be at a greater disadvantage because they could not all go at once, lest the added weight cause the ropes to break and everyone to fall to a likely end.

Riku and Goofy slowed down as they tread across cautiously, though Donald kept going without slowing down. The tribesmen did not reach the bridge until Donald was already halfway across and Donald and Goofy were a third of the way across. Most of the villagers came to a dead stop, watching the rope bridge sway and strain as three of their own started walking across. Three tribesmen pulled out their bows and nocked an arrow each, aiming at their quarry. Goofy turned to look back and yelped. Riku turned his head so that he could see one of the archers even in near-total darkness. On the plus side, it was unlikely that any of the arrows would come close, but they had to stay on their guard.

Goofy heard the whistle as the first arrow was launched. He watched it sail over his head and land in the rock wall ahead. The second one was launched, but it was not set to miss. He summoned his shield and blocked the arrow, which shattered against the metal. He threw the shield at the third archer before he could release the bow, breaking the weapon and knocking him down. He caught the shield and continued crossing the bridge.

By the time the three of them had stepped off of the bridge, eight villagers were walking across the bridge. Donald waited for Riku and Goofy to catch up before they all broke into a fierce sprint yet again. As they ran, they heard the tribesmen start hollering in frustration. Goofy started to slow his pace when he detected a change in their tone.

“Hey, uh, guys?” Goofy called. Riku slowed to a stop while Donald kept running for a few more seconds before stopping himself. They turned around and looked back at the tribesmen, though they would not expect to see much in the darkness. Unfortunately, the problem became apparent in that there was more light that they could make note of. Dozens of yellow dots floated around the throng on the opposite side of the ravine. The tribesmen started screaming in terror and shuffling around in a panic. The eight villagers who had crossed the bridge in pursuit stopped in confusion when they noticed their prey’s expressions of worry. They slowly and uncertainly turned to see what they were looking at. Their eyes widened when they saw the pinpoints. They did not know what was going on, but they could tell that their people were in danger.

“We have to help them,” Riku asserted.

“What? Are you crazy?” Donald asked in disbelief. “They want to eat us!”

“True, and I can’t really condone how their society developed that idea, which is disturbing,” Riku conceded, “but we can’t let them get consumed by the Heartless. I’m not the kind of guy for that kind of irony, when they’re flat-out terrified like this.”

Goofy nodded and ran past the eight villagers and crossed the bridge without a word. Riku followed him while Donald stared after them, jaw agape. He sighed and summoned his staff, then followed them.

“Everyone back!” Riku shouted, addressing the tribesmen specifically, hoping that they would hear his words in their language. When the villagers had backed up enough to give him room, he summoned his Keyblade and spun around slashing through the Shadows on all sides. Goofy shoved a Neoshadow off of the cliff. When Donald caught up with them, he cast Thundaga, bringing bolts of lightning down on the remaining Heartless.

The tribesmen stood still, staring silently at the three strangers who had just slain the shadowy monsters. They had been fleeing from them and yet came back to destroy the fiends that were attacking them; they had saved all of their lives.

Riku, Donald and Goofy held their weapons warily, waiting for the cannibals to make the next move. Donald was skeptical, expecting the man-eaters to still come after them for a meal, but Goofy wondered if they would show a little more gratitude, and Riku was just not sure. They got their answer when the closest villager set his spear down and dropped to one knee. Half a dozen others followed suit, and soon the entire tribe was kneeling before them, even the eight that stood across the bridge. The trio looked around at all of them, surprised and amused.

“Well, it looks like we have some fans,” Riku muttered.

The nearest villager said something in the tribe’s language. Donald and Goofy raised their eyebrows in confusion, but Riku did the same with intrigue.

“He asked how they can serve us,” Riku translated.

Donald gulped. “Tell them we’re not interested in what they have to give,” he said.

Goofy shook his head. “Maybe they can help us find a way off this island,” he suggested.

“Good idea,” Riku agreed. He turned back to the tribesmen and addressed them. “Take us to the sea, so we can hail for transport.”

The villagers shot to their feet, taking Riku by surprise, but they did not reclaim their weapons. The nearest villager chattered something, then walked past Riku and across the bridge.

“Follow him,” Riku translated. He and Goofy started following their guide. Donald groaned, but followed.

Riku began to develop question about the tribe. They were an organized community that held campfire feasts, but they did not seem to have a designated leader amongst their numbers. Recalling the scene at the fire, he noticed that there was a large chair fit for a chief, but no man sat upon it. Focusing on the image in his mind, he realized that there was a hairy bulk on the chair. Was that a dog?

The other question nagging at him was where they got their meat. They were certainly able to sustain themselves on cannibalism, but the tribe was rather large, with several dozen members. Did they actually decide who would be killed and cooked? Or did a portion of their meals come from unsuspecting visitors. Were there other tribes on the island that they did battle with?

He repressed a shudder. There was a good reason why he never contemplated even the topic of cannibalism, aside from the fact that it was intrinsically sick and wrong. As a result, he decided to stop thinking about it and direct his thoughts to other matters, such as what they would do once they reached the beach.

Perhaps they would gather wood to start a signal fire and hope that a ship would come by. Assuming that the island’s population was not so notorious that all ships would cut as wide a berth around it as possible. Or, with extreme luck, they would find a Safe Point on the beach and they would go with their original plan to just return to the Gummi Ship and find another place to land. He was still getting used to taking Corridors of Darkness again, and he was not eager to try jumping to new locations on a world that he knew nothing about, particularly one that, from Sora’s description, was in large parts covered in water.

As the trees opened up and a sandy beach came into view, Riku decided he just had to hope for the best.

Dawn started to break as they walked across the beach. The waves crashed roughly and receded quickly, as if even the sea itself was not happy to be anywhere near the island of cannibals. Riku scanned the area and saw some dying trees lining the jungle. He had a feeling that he could cut them down and they could pile them up so they could light a fire large enough to draw any ship near. Turning around, he saw that a number of villagers were already carrying logs and long pieces of straw. He had to admit, they were good at what they did.

They marched around the beach until they could no longer see where they came in. Riku noticed a rut in the sand where a ship appeared to have run aground some time ago, possibly by only a few days at the longest. Determining this to be a good place to set up, the tribesmen set the logs down and put them up together. Riku used his Keyblade to cut down a few dying trees, and he and Goofy carried them one at a time over to the site, shearing off the bark and clipping the leaves. Some of the villagers spread the straw around the base of the structure to make for good kindling, and Donald climbed the logs to set more straw around the height of the structure.

With the tower complete, Riku and Donald cast Fira around the base to ignite the straw and wood. Flames spread around the structure, burning the kindling and lighting parts of the dry wood. Within minutes, the whole structure was ablaze, creating a towering fire whose light and smoke could be seen from far away.

“So now what?” Donald asked.

Riku sat down and crossed his legs. “Now, we wait for a ship to come,” he replied.

A few hours passed. Whenever the flames started to wear down and the burnt wood crumbled, Riku would cut down some more trees and add them to the fire to keep it blazing. Soon, it was nearing midday.

Riku and Goofy waited patiently, Donald less so. Goofy listened to the villagers’ curious chattering, though he could not understand what they were saying. He heard their tone shift from curiosity to nervousness, until he could almost make out a sense of paranoia.

Finally, Riku spied a silhouette in the distance. After a few minutes, he saw that it was a large boat, and it was sailing in their direction.

“We’ve got incoming!” he announced.

Goofy peered over the horizon and smiled when he saw the ship. “Great!” he exclaimed. He glanced back over at the tribesmen. “Say, uh, Riku, these guys seem to be talking about something worriedly.”

“Really?” Riku listened in on their conversation. While Goofy could only hear their unique language, Riku heard their words in English. His eyes widened in horror as he heard the full extent of their discussion.

“What did they say?” Donald asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Riku sighed. “Well, it seems as though they watched us use magic and, through some logic, have determined that we are dark spirits,” he paraphrased. “So, it looks like they’re thinking of killing us anyway.”

“Oh. That’s not good,” Donald replied.

“Don’t worry. We should have plenty of time for the ship to come in so we can climb aboard before they start doing anything rash,” Riku assured him.

“Uh, the ship’s turning away,” Goofy said.

“Probably because they saw the entire tribe of cannibals here,” Donald deadpanned.

“Oh.” Riku closed his eyes and considered what he should do. In hindsight, he probably should have thought the matter of getting the tribe to help him build the signal fire and then stay with them through a bit more. He scanned the surface of the water, measuring the distance between the beach and the ship.

Hopefully, they will be a bit more understanding of what I will be doing, he thought to himself.

“I have an idea,” he told his companions. “When I break the signal, run to the ship.”

“Uh, okay,” Donald replied.

“Wait, did you say ‘make the signal’, or ‘break…’” Goofy began to ask.

Riku summoned his Keyblade and struck one of the logs forming the external frame. The burning log broke to pieces and fell, startling the nearest tribesmen, and the entire structure collapsed a few seconds later, lurching in their direction. The villagers backed away and ran as the flaming wood crashed to the ground.

After staring in shock for a few seconds, Donald and Goofy remembered Riku’s instructions and started running toward the surf. Riku ran just behind them. He jumped high into the air and shouted “Blizzaga!” Cold magic shot toward the water and began to freeze an extended section on the surface. He landed alongside Donald and Goofy, who had jumped onto the newly-formed ice platform, and continued running. He and Donald took turns casting Blizzaga to extend the block of ice. Soon, they drew near to the ship, and were nearly able to make out the shapes of the crewmen who watched their dash from aboard.

They became worried when they saw the sailors shift around fearfully, until they heard a voice which Donald and Goofy recognized.

“Throw them a rope! Come on, men! Throw them a rope!”

After a moment of uncertainty, three members of the crew scrambled to retrieve a rope, then two of them threw one end over the side, reaching down to a foot above the water.

When the ice platform stopped twenty feet from the hull of the ship, Riku and Donald stopped casting Blizzaga and, along with Goofy, jumped off into the water. They swam the rest of the way. Donald grabbed onto the rope and started climbing first, followed by Riku and then Goofy. Far behind them, the ice platform started to melt and crack apart. Soon, it would be no more.

When the trio had climbed to the deck, they tumbled to the floor and took time to catch their breath. They noticed that the sailors were staring at them in bewilderment. Only one man had a different expression, one that mixed bemusem*nt with relief. Donald and Goofy realized that he was exactly who they thought they had heard moments before.

The man had brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. He had a moustache and a goatee. He wore a white button-down shirt with an unbuttoned black jacket over it, black pants, and black boots. He wore a scabbard that wrapped over his right shoulder and under his left arm, in which sat a cutlass. A knife was sheathed and attached to his belt over his left leg.

“Donald, Goofy,” the man greeted. He set his eyes on Riku, and his expression betrayed his surprise. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met. Honestly, I saw these two first, and I expected that Sora would be with them.”

“Well, sorry to disappoint,” Riku quipped. “He went with our other group. I’m Riku.”

The man smiled and nodded, then held his hand out. Riku took it, and the man helped him to his feet. “My name is Will Turner,” he introduced himself.

“Pleased to meet you,” Riku replied.

“So, you’re friends with this man?” one of the sailors, who appeared to be the captain, asked.

“Uh-huh,” Goofy answered.

The captain laughed. “Well, then. Welcome aboard the Edinburgh Trader,” he greeted.

One of the nervous crewmen raised his hand. “Say, we didn’t see no ship 'round here. How did ye end up on the island of the Pelegostos?” he asked.

Riku raised his eyebrow. “That’s what the cannibal tribe is called?” he asked. The sailors nodded. He shrugged. “Bad luck, I guess. Donald picked the wrong spot for us to land.”

Another sailor raised his hand fearfully. “Um, what was that you was doing? You turned the water to ice like that. Like magic.”

Riku sighed. He was not going to get around this one. Then again, if they encountered Heartless, the cat was going to have to come out of the bag in front of the sailors regardless. “Yeah. That was magic,” he answered, cutting off Donald’s protests. The crewmen back away fearfully. “But we use it to help people and fight monsters.” The crewmen started to relax.

“Well, this is indeed a strange turn of events,” the captain groaned. “First, a haunted wedding dress leads us to making a stop at the pirate port of Tortuga, where a feminine-looking stowaway jumped ship, then this man comes aboard, claiming to have evaded the reaper, and now strangers throwing magic about seek escape from the Pelegostos aboard my ship.”

This comment got Donald and Will’s attention. “Haunted wedding dress?” Donald asked.

“Aye!” one of the crewmen said. He ran across the deck, then returned a moment later, carrying a gold-and-white lace dress.

Will’s eyes widened. “That dress! Where did you get that?”

“It was found aboard the ship,” the captain explained. “The crew thought it was a spirit bringing some omen of ill fate.”

“Was that Elizabeth’s?” Donald asked.

“Indeed,” Will replied.

Goofy turned to face Will. “So, uh, what are you doing out here?” he asked.

Will sighed. “Elizabeth and I were arrested on our wedding day for helping Jack Sparrow escape custody,” he explained. “Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company roped me into his schemes, offering freedom in exchange for retrieving Jack’s compass. I’m not quite sure what he intends to use it for, but I had to do something. I found Jack and the Pearl on this very island, then I got pulled along in Jack’s schemes to get out of his debt with Davy Jones.”

The crew stopped dead. The wedding dress dropped out of the sailor’s hands.

“I heard about him during my time aboard Hook’s ship,” Riku said bitterly. “What happened then?”

“Suffice to say, Jack set me up, and I was press-ganged aboard the Flying Dutchman,” Will answered.

Chapter 65: Chapter 64: Turbulent Seas

Chapter Text

Sora walked around the Black Pearl, helping out wherever he was needed. He also showed Kairi the different roles to fill on the ship. They were introduced to the rest of the pirate crew. Mr. Gibbs had been a sailor in the Royal Navy before deserting and turning to piracy, and he was a longtime friend of Jack Sparrow and had known Elizabeth since she was a child. Pintel and Ragetti were among Jack’s original crew who had been cursed along with Barbossa. They had snuck away from prison and avoided the gallows amidst the chaos of the curse’s resurgence. Ragetti’s right eye was replaced with a wooden eye that would sometimes fall out of its socket, much to Kairi’s disgust. There was an older, bearded sailor, named Cotton, who had a parrot on his shoulder. Apparently, his tongue had been cut out, so the parrot would speak for him. The last member of the main crew was a short, bald man named Marty, whose weapon of choice was a large gun. Kairi wondered why he used such a bulky and powerful weapon when he did not have the mass to hold up against the recoil.

Mickey set to work maintaining the rigging and checking the stock. Gibbs watched him get into gear enthusiastically.

“Lad seems pretty comfortable on a ship,” the first mate commented.

“Well, he did work as a boathand a long time ago,” Sora explained. “I guess he’s getting back into the groove.”

“Interesting. What about you? You have any experience on the sea before you met Jack?” Gibbs asked.

“Not really,” Sora admitted. “Me and Kairi, and our friend Riku, too, built a raft that we wanted to use to sail to new worlds. But we never got to use it, since a storm hit and our islands were swallowed by Heartless.”

“Well, Jack seemed to think of you and your friends as a good crew. Shame I couldn’t meet them.”

“Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll catch up soon.”

Sora broke off from Gibbs and walked across the deck. He found Jack standing at the prow. The captain alternated between staring at the horizon and studying his shifting compass. He walked over to join him and leaned against the railing.

“So, that compass leads you to what your heart desires most, huh?” Sora asked.

Jack nodded. “Aye. I’ve been using it as a guide to find the Pearl since I got off of that godforsaken island,” he replied. “But now, when I need it most, it refuses to help me.”

Sora shrugged. “Hearts can be tricky things. Maybe what you think you want isn’t quite what you really want the most, deep down.”

Jack chuckled. “When did you become so wise, lad? I remember it taking you a while for you to realize that pirates aren’t to be trusted.”

“Says the guy who sold his soul to an evil immortal Nobody,” Sora retorted.

“Davy Jones ain’t one of those white monsters. His heart that he has in that chest of his is the beating variety, not the kind you lot preach about.”

“How does that even work?” Sora asked, disgusted. “How do you even live without an ‘actual’ heart?”

“They say it still beats for him even when outside. But if you stab the heart, Jones will die.”

“So that’s why you want the chest? To kill Davy Jones and weasel your way out of your deal by default?”

“No, lad. I want the chest because I want Jones to not want me to do that. You see, I’m not afraid of Jones or his Flying Dutchman. But Jones has a beastie, which he sends after those who get on his bad side.”

“A ‘beastie’?” Sora repeated questioningly.

“The fearsome Kraken!” Pintel answered, approaching from behind. He pronounced it as “Kray-ken”.

“It’s pronounced ‘Krah-ken’,” Ragetti corrected.

“Eh, shut up,” Pintel shot back.

“Now, you see, Jones might not want his heart, but he also doesn’t want any harm to come to it,” Jack continued, ignoring the interruption. “If we can get our hands on that chest, his heart would be at a risk that would force Jones to do whatever we asked. Such as, say, sinking that dread beastie. Savvy?”

Sora nodded. “Or make him free someone from his service,” he added. “You could order him to completely forget your contract with him, and also free Will.”

“Exactly.”

“So, wait. Why did he cut his heart out, anyway?” Sora asked, afraid to hear the story.

Kairi walked up beside Sora, wanting to hear the story as well.

Jack sighed. “The legends tell that Davy Jones loved a woman as fierce as the sea. He sailed in duty to her, even taking up the job of ferrying the souls of those who perished at sea, in which he would spend ten years at sea, only able to set foot on land for a single day after that time. But when he returned, his lover was nowhere to be found. The betrayal caused him more pain than he could bear, so he carved his own heart out and locked it away from the world.”

“That’s so sad,” Kairi said sorrowfully.

Sora raised his eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something, but he remained silent for several seconds as he attempted to process the tale. “So, he cut out his physical heart… to cut himself off from his emotions? It sounds to me like he confused the spiritual and organic hearts too.”

Jack chuckled, realizing that he was right. “I suppose. One can hardly understand the logic of a heart in turmoil, especially one that belonged to a monstrous tyrant.” He turned around and leaned his back against the railing. He glanced over at Sora, studying his expression. “Speaking of which, something tells me that your crew is not so ship-shape.”

“Huh?” Sora turned to face Jack. “What gave you that idea?”

Jack shrugged. “For starters, it seemed to me as though you and your friends, Donald and Goofy, were an inseparable team, and I’m sure the same fit for the other guy you said had been with you. But when you land in this corner of the world where you need as much loyalty as you can get, you split up. Second—” he turned his gaze over to Mickey “—it looks as though he’s trying to keep himself distracted. So, mind telling me what’s wrong?”

Sora allowed himself a soft smile. “Keen-eyed as always, Captain.” He sighed. “It’s kind of complicated. We found out that he knew things that he could have used to prevent a lot of bad things from happening in the first place, but he didn’t because he felt guilty for not being able to stop some previous suffering and made himself believe that all the earlier trouble wasn’t in vain.”

“I see,” Jack replied. “And what do you think of the matter?”

Sora shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not too sure. Riku was hit hardest, since the guy responsible for everything bad that happened took over his body. But really, I don’t know what to think. I mean, I know Mickey shouldn’t have kept all that to himself, and he should have done something before things went wrong, but… I don’t know…”

Jack contemplated his indecisive compass. “But, I would surmise, deep down you wonder, if the bad things hadn’t happened, would you be who you are today?” he finished for him.

Sora nodded. “Yeah. I guess you’re right,” he said.

“And I guess that if none of that had happened, I might never have met Sora and Riku,” Kairi added.

Jack snapped his compass shut and tied it around his belt. “Let me tell you something, lad. So much has happened to all of us. Even if we wanted it, we can’t take it back. All we can do is learn from our pasts, for better or worse, and sail onward. But you can’t do that with a divided crew. Savvy?” Sora and Kairi nodded. “Now, you can tear yourselves and each other up over it, or…” Jack shook his head. “Actually, I don’t know. I suppose that’s all up to you lot.”

Sora and Kairi contemplated the captain’s words for a moment. They turned to look back out across the sea. The corner of Sora’s mouth curled into a slight smile.

“You’re right,” he said. “Thanks, Captain.”

“So, you all went to that Tia Dalma lady to find out how to find the key, and she told you where to find the Flying Dutchman,” Goofy paraphrased the story that Will had recounted to the trio. “Then Jack told you to go on board, and you were put on the crew in his stead?”

Will shrugged. “That’s not quite it. Jones said that Jack’s soul was worth one hundred others, and he only counted me as one,” he corrected. “But the old pirate’s a sly dog. He didn’t really leave me to take the fall for him; he just wanted me to get the key!”

“The key to the Dead Man’s Chest?!” the ship’s captain asked in bewilderment.

“Aye,” Will replied.

Riku laughed. He held his hand up and summoned his Keyblade. “Kinda redundant now, huh?” he joked.

Will let out a chuckle. “I suppose. But it was worth it,” he admitted. “I got to meet my father.”

Riku raised an eyebrow. Goofy stroked his chin, remembering something that had been mentioned during a previous visit to this world.

“Your father? You mean Bootstrap Bill Turner? The one guy from the Black Pearl whose blood Barbossa needed to lift the curse?” the dog knight asked.

“Yes. Thing is, after Barbossa and the crew dropped him to the bottom of the ocean, where the curse kept him alive but he was unable to free himself, Davy Jones found him and offered to get him out of his prison in exchange for a century of servitude,” Will explained. “While I was on the Dutchman, I got to know him a bit. When I challenged Davy Jones to a game of Liar’s Dice to trick him into showing me where he keeps the key, I wagered against myself an eternity of servitude. But my father joined the game and let himself lose, so that I would be free at his own eternal expense.”

The crew of the Edinburgh Trader frowned, sympathizing with the blacksmith. One even sniffled, and another started weeping.

Riku put his hand on Will’s shoulder reassuringly. Donald’s face fell. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” the duck told him.

Will nodded toward him appreciatively. “Not to worry,” he said. “We’ll catch up with Jack, and we’ll find the chest. And when we open it, I will sink my knife into Davy Jones’ heart. Then, my father will be freed.”

The crew traded confused and uneasy glances. Riku took notice and wondered what they were concerned about. “Ahem, 'scuse me…” the captain began. However, he would not get to finish his thought.

“Captain! A ship’s been spotted!” a sailor shouted from the crow’s nest.

“Colors?” the captain asked.

“She isn’t flying any,” the observant sailor answered.

A look of fear crossed Will’s face. Riku, Donald and Goofy turned to follow the sailor’s gaze. Silhouetted in the distance, they saw an ominous ship. They noticed that the ship was not coming any closer; rather, it stayed in place, as if watching them menacingly.

“Pirates!” the captain gasped.

“Or worse,” Will muttered.

On the other ship, the fearsome captain glared at the trading ship. A blurry eye would notice a humanoid form, but his features were actually a mix of human and various forms of sea life. His head resembled a yellow-green octopus, with forty-six tentacles making up a “beard”, and he lacked a nose. His right hand was covered in scales, and his index finger extended into a long tentacle. His left hand was replaced by a large crab claw. His right leg was distorted to resemble a crab’s leg, making it evoke the imagery of a peg leg. His tricorn hat split at the larger front corn into two points.

Davy Jones, monstrous captain of the Flying Dutchman, crumpled a parchment depicting the key that he had always kept close at hand, or rather, tentacle. He turned to face his treacherous slave, Bootstrap Bill Turner. Turner appeared pale and sunken, as if he had been drowned, and his face was covered in barnacles, with a starfish attached to his right temple. The previous night, Turner had helped his son off of the ship, and Will Turner took with him the key to the Dead Man’s Chest. Two members of the Dutchman’s crew, who, like everyone else, had been mutated to resemble fusions of man and sea creatures, flanked Turner. One of them held a sawfish rostrum bone against Turner like a sword.

Jones clamped his claw around the bottom half of Bootstrap’s head and pressed his face close to Turner’s. “You will watch this!” Jones croaked viciously. He let go and turned away, directing his attention to eight barnacle-encrusted mutant crew members who were turning a large wheel while being whipped by another monstrous sailor. The turning of the wheel raised an enormous pin from the center of the wheel.

“Let no joyful voice be heard!” Jones shouted. “Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake…” The hammer reached its apex. “…the Kraken!”

“No!” Bootstrap yelled, knowing that his son was doomed and there was nothing he could do about it. He struggled to break free, but his captors held him fast.

The hammer dropped, striking the bottom of the ship with a resounding boom.

The crew of the Edinburgh Trader heard the noise, and they all rushed to the side of the ship to get a look at the strange ship. The captain took a telescope and peeked through it, making out a barnacle-encrusted ship with tattered, mildew-covered sails.

A sailor screamed “Demons!” Riku, Donald and Goofy turned to see what he was referring to and saw half a dozen Shadows forming from the deck. Three Pirates materialized from thin air around them.

“Heartless!” Riku corrected, summoning his Keyblade. “Leave them to us!” The sailors wisely backed away, allowing the three world travelers to do their job.

Riku locked blades with a Pirate and pushed back against it. As it walked back to evade Riku’s onslaught, the Heartless tripped and lost its balance. Riku cut straight through it before it hit the ground. Donald cast Fire to blaze through the Shadows surrounding him. Goofy blocked against a Pirate’s strikes, causing it to reel back. He then spun around and brought the side of his shield into the Heartless’ neck, knocking it down. He then pounded into its chest until it dissipated. He whirled around and shield-punched a Shadow in the face, destroying it in a single blow. Riku jumped up and drove his Keyblade into the final Pirate’s head, blasting it to bits in a fiery burst.

Donald looked up at Will, who had climbed up to the top of the mast and was staring at the strange ship. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“I’ve doomed us all,” Will muttered. “It’s the Flying Dutchman!” he shouted down to everyone.

Suddenly, the ship lurched, causing everyone to stumble. Will fell from his perch but caught himself on a rope.

“Mother Cary’s chickens!” one of the crewmen cursed. “What happened?”

“Must’ve hit a reef,” another sailor guessed.

Riku sniffed the air. He smelled a new kind of darkness, a scent mixed with what he thought smelled like raw sushi and dried blood (the sushi smell he had picked up during his time aboard the Jolly Roger, the dried blood being from his year as a spy when he had visited some places that had not been all sunshine and forest critters). Something told him that this was not a reef.

The captain got to his feet and ran to the rail, taking a look overboard to assess the situation. He did not see anything other than water. “Free the rudder! Hard to port, then hard to starboard!” he barked orders. The sailors next to him repeated his message. They did not notice a tentacle rise up above the water and grab the captain around the waist, pulling him overboard.

Goofy gulped, having seen this occur. “Everyone away from the rail!” he shouted. The sailors looked at him in confusion, but turned around when they heard something break the surface of the water in confusion, accompanied by a high-pitched scream. They only had a second to take the sight in before it retreated underwater, but it was enough to identify an enormous tentacle which held onto their captain.

“Kraken!” one of the sailors screamed. The crew broke into a panic. One man rang a bell to rally everyone, and they all gathered whatever weapons were available, such as spears, axes, swords, and guns.

In the meantime, tentacles slithered up the sides of the hull. Soon, they rose up high into view. Some of the crewmen swung their weapons, while others threw their spears. A particularly superstitious sailor raised Elizabeth’s wedding dress, pleading for the Kraken to take it, thinking that it would leave them alone. However, the tentacles lashed around, grabbing multiple crew members and dragging them to their doom. One man brought his ax down onto a tentacle and grinned triumphantly before the tentacle whipped back and grabbed him.

Riku slashed at the tentacles and launched balls of Dark Fire. A tentacle wrapped itself around Donald, but the duck cast Reflega at the last second. The tentacle failed to squeeze through the force field and was blasted back by the kinetic recoil. Goofy ran to the sailors’ defense, but he was unable to do anything against the lightning-fast appendages. He was quickly grabbed himself and pulled overboard.

“Goofy!” Riku shouted, horrified. Donald screamed in rage and unleashed multiple Thundaga and Firaga spells in quick succession, singing and burning the tentacles as they hit.

One tentacle wrapped itself around the center mast and snapped it with ease. The mast tilted and began to fall. Will jumped off and fell into the sail of the next mast, but slid down. He pulled his knife out and stabbed the sail, hoping to slow his descent, but things did not work that way in any sense of reality. He passed the bottom of the sail but caught a rope beneath that. Another tentacle crushed the lower part of that mast. Will put his knife between his teeth to free his right hand and pulled himself onto the frame of the sail. As he stood up, a tentacle rose up to his level. He pulled his sword out and slashed at it before it eventually grabbed the blade and pulled it out of his hand.

While everyone on the deck dealt with the smaller tentacles, larger appendages rose up over the deck, only this time they rose much higher until the tips were level with the top of the remaining mast. They then curled over the ship and came down. They crashed into the deck and crushed the ship in one fell swoop, breaking the hull in two. Most of the remaining sailors lost their footing and fell into the water, followed by much of the cargo.

Donald stumbled and fell overboard, screaming. Riku reached out to grab him, but he was too far away. The Keyblade wielder whirled around, watching the carnage unfurl around him. He couldn’t save everyone. He couldn’t save anyone.

Actually, there was one person he just might be able to get to.

He looked up and saw Will, still standing on the mast frame. He heard a crunch and turned to see Will’s mast snapping in the coils of a tentacle. Will held on for dear life as the mast began to fall.

Riku knew what he had to do. He had to try. He ran over to the mast and jumped. He set his feet against the wooden pillar and began to run up its height. As he drew near to the horizontal frame, he jumped and squeezed the sail between his fingers. He dropped down and landed on the frame, then ran straight for Will. The instant he reached him, without breaking pace, he looped his arm around his back and under his arm. Then, he jumped, carrying Will a great distance away from the destroyed ship.

They hit the water and went under, but fortunately, they were out of the Kraken’s reach. After swimming frantically for a few seconds, they swam up and broke the surface. They saw a piece of flotsam floating nearby and swam over to it, then grabbed onto it. They took a minute to catch their breath and process the ordeal.

“You okay?” Riku asked, panting.

Will shrugged as best as he could. “Been better,” he replied flatly.

Riku nodded. “Same.”

They saw a pair of shadows in the water drawing near them. Will tensed up, but Riku remained calm. A small purple tentacle broke the water’s surface, causing Riku to breathe a sigh of relief. An orange shell appeared, followed by Goofy’s head attached. Donald stuck the top half of his body out of the water and grabbed onto the flotsam.

“What on Earth?!” Will gasped, surprised to see Donald and Goofy in these forms.

Riku chuckled. “Should’ve figured,” he said. “Goofy’s handled worse, and try as you might, you can’t get rid of Donald so easily.”

Donald glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Goofy shushed them. “Look! It’s the Flying Dutchman!” he warned them. The group turned and saw that the cursed ship was indeed close by. Hovering just off from the deck, muscular Heartless dressed in blue clothes with blue and white striped bandannas and purple glider wings sprouting from their backs flew around. They saw some surviving crewmen treading water nearby before being pulled up by the Air Pirates, which had swooped down to grab them.

Goofy heard a splash near him. He looked back at the flotsam and noticed someone was missing. “Uh, Riku?”

“Wak!” Donald pointed in the direction of the ship, alerting Will and Goofy to Riku swimming toward the Dutchman. They watched Riku grab onto the side of the ship and begin climbing.

“After him!” Will said. He let go of the piece of wood and swam over to the ship. Goofy followed, changing back to normal the instant he launched himself out of the water. Donald sighed and reluctantly went after them.

They scaled the side of the cursed vessel and reached the deck, peering through the railing to get a good look at what was going on. The Dutchman’s crewmen held the survivors of the wreck prisoner as Davy Jones studied them individually. Chills went down Riku’s spine, as the mutated captain was even more monstrous than he ever imagined. Will’s expression made it clear that he had no desire to lay his eyes upon the terrible figure again.

The boatswain, Maccus, a muscular figure with a head contorted into that of a hammerhead shark, glared up at the Air Pirates for a moment. He turned his attention to the captive sailors, then turned to address Jones.

“The boy’s not here,” he reported. “He must’ve been claimed by the sea.”

Davy Jones scowled. “I am the sea,” he scoffed. He marched over to Bootstrap, who was still being restrained even though he had stopped resisting. “You need time alone with your thoughts,” he said matter-of-factly, his tone lacking any genuine sympathy.

Goofy studied Bootstrap’s heartbroken expression and felt sorry for him. The man had only just gotten reacquainted with his son and he now believed him to be dead.

“What of the survivors?” Maccus asked.

“There are no survivors,” Jones replied. Riku tensed up, sensing the need for an immediate rescue, but there was no time to do anything. The cursed crewmen drew hatchets and raised them above the heads of the captive sailors who apparently were not meant to have survived the wreck.

Donald and Goofy turned away and lowered themselves down, not willing to bear the sight, whereas Riku and Will could only look on in horror. They quickly ducked out of sight as Jones turned around.

Jones turned and marched off. “The chest is no longer safe,” he announced. “Chart a course for Isla Cruces. Get me there first, or there’ll be the devil to pay.”

“First?” an accompanying crewman asked.

“Who sent that thieving charlatan onto my ship? Who told him of the key?” he asked rhetorically. “Jack Sparrow,” he spat.

As the mutated crew set to work, Riku, Will, Donald, and Goofy climbed along the barnacle-laced hull until they found a section at the prow resembling an elongated jaw full of sharp teeth. They climbed into that opening and decided it was a good place to stand and rest.

“Sorry you had to see that,” Will told Riku sympathetically.

Riku nodded, appreciating the gesture. “What is he?” he asked. “What kind of monster kills so many innocent people for just one man? And those men on the deck… he had them killed just because he could…”

Donald shook his head. “I don’t know, Riku. I don’t know…” he muttered.

Will decided to try to get their minds off of what had just happened, and he figured that a good way of doing that would be to address a task that they could complete. “They’ll be sailing for Isla Cruces. That must be where the chest is buried,” he said. “Let’s hitch a ride until we get there. With luck, Jack will already be there, and maybe Sora will be with him too, and we can put an end to this.”

Riku nodded, his hand clenched into a fist, and turned to stare at the horizon, waiting for the island to come into view.

Kairi found Elizabeth sitting on the stairs to the right of the door to the captain’s quarters, staring off into the distance sadly. Kairi frowned, recalling her recounted circ*mstances, and decided that she could use a shoulder to lean on. She walked up and sat down next to her.

“You doing okay?” she asked sympathetically.

“I just thought I’d be married by now,” Elizabeth replied solemnly. “I’m so ready to be married.”

“Chin up. Sure, things haven’t been smooth sailing. But we’ll save Will, and you two can get married as soon as you like,” Kairi asserted encouragingly.

Jack Sparrow heard the conversation and sauntered up to them. “You know, Lizzy, I am captain of a ship,” he said. “And, being captain of a ship, I could in fact perform a marriage. Right here.” He started to lean closer. Kairi raised an eyebrow. “Right on this deck. Right… now.”

Elizabeth recoiled from his breath. Kairi stood up and took a step away, crossing her arms as she turned to glare at Jack. “No thank you,” Elizabeth retorted. She stood up and started to walk away.

“Why not? We are very much alike, you and I,” Jack claimed.

“Oh, except for a sense of honor, and decency, and-and a moral center,” Elizabeth shot back. “And personal hygiene.”

Jack sniffed his armpit and shrugged. He strutted quickly until he was in front of her again. “Trifles. You will come over to my side. I know it,” he said with a smile.

Kairi, meanwhile, was starting to regret declining Lulu’s offer to let her take her mace while she was packing for the journey.

Elizabeth matched his gaze, as if daring him. “You seem very certain,” she said.

“One word, love: curiosity,” Jack replied. “You long for freedom. You long to do what you want to do because you want it. To act on selfish impulse. You want to see what it’s like. One day you won’t be able to resist.”

“Why doesn’t your compass work?” Elizabeth asked.

Jack recoiled, offended. “Oh, my compass works fine.”

“Because you and I are alike,” she shot back, turning his speech back onto him, “and there will come a moment when you have a chance to show it. To do the right thing.”

“I love those moments. I like to wave at them as they pass by.”

“You’ll have the chance to do something… something courageous. And when you do, you’ll discover something: that you’re a good man.”

“All evidence to the contrary.”

Elizabeth let out a soft laugh. “I have faith in you. Want to know why?”

“Do tell me, dearie.”

Elizabeth turned so that this time she was drawing close to his face. “Curiosity. You’re going to want it. A chance to be admired. And gain the rewards that follow. You won’t be able to resist. You’re going to want to know what it tastes like.”

Jack leaned closer. “I do want to know what it tastes like,” he said, caressing her face.

“But, seeing as you’re a good man, I know you will never put me in a position that would compromise my honor,” Elizabeth teased. She waited for him to make his move, testing him.

Jack leaned in to kiss her, but noticed something on his left hand. He leaned back slightly to get a better view of it. To his horror, a gnarly black scar formed on his palm.

The Black Spot, he thought. The hunt is back on…

He closed his hand to hide the Black Spot, which marked him as prey for the Kraken, and leaned back, working to conceal his horrified expression.

Elizabeth noticed that he was backing away, and smiled, not noticing his fear. “I’m proud of you, Jack,” she said.

“Land ho!” Gibbs shouted. Elizabeth walked away, getting ready to get to work.

Kairi noticed the terror plastered on Jack’s face. She walked up to him, accompanied by Mickey, concerned for him.

“What’s wrong, Captain?” Mickey asked.

“I want my jar of dirt,” Jack said before dashing off.

Mickey and Kairi traded confused looks. Jar of dirt?

The crew readied longboats, which Jack, Elizabeth, Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Norrington, Pintel, and Ragetti piled into, and which the rest of the crew lowered into the water. With the Pearl waiting in the shallows, the landing party rowed off to reach the beach.

Chapter 66: Chapter 65: Isla Cruces

Chapter Text

Aboard the Flying Dutchman, Davy Jones spied the longboats hitting the beach through his telescope. He lowered the telescope and handed it off to a crewman next to him.

“They’re here,” he announced, “and I cannot set foot on land again for near of a decade.

“Do you trust us to act in your stead?” Maccus asked.

“I’ll trust you to know what awaits you should you fail!” Jones spat back angrily. “Down, then!”

The monstrous sailors surrounding him relayed the message. The ship pitched forward and lowered bow-first into the water.

Riku cursed as he saw the water approaching fast. His obscenity was drowned out by Donald shouting “Oxyale”. As the Dutchman submerged beneath the waves, Riku, Will, and the transformed Donald and Goofy swam out of the maw structure and away from the ship.

Pintel and Ragetti, who had agreed to remain behind to guard the longboats, stared in shock as they witnessed the Flying Dutchman disappear under the water. After a moment of bewilderment, they clambered up and ran to warn the others that the Dutchman had arrived.

Mickey and Norrington carried shovels as the party walked across the beach. The occasional Pirate and Emerald Blues appeared to try to attack them, but they were quickly vanquished. Elizabeth held the compass and led the group in the direction it pointed. After crossing a certain point, the needle suddenly turned backwards. Confused, she turned around and walked in the other direction, only for the needle to point the opposite way again.

“This doesn’t work,” she said, annoyed. “And it certainly doesn’t show you what you want most.” She dropped the compass into the sand and sat on the ground in a huff.

Sora crossed his arms, confused. “It’s buried, right? What would happen if you hold the compass vertically?” he asked, curious as to how the compass worked.

Mickey frowned and regarded the compass, taking care not to touch it and throw it off. Jack did the same, and they both noticed that the needle was pointing directly at Elizabeth.

“Yes it does,” Jack said, arguing against Elizabeth’s complaint. “You’re sitting on it!”

“Beg your pardon?” Elizabeth asked.

“Move,” Jack ordered, waving his hands. Elizabeth stood up and stepped away. Mickey and Norrington took their shovels and began to scoop sand from the spot where Elizabeth had been sitting. Jack sat down nearby and waited patiently for the act to yield results.

Jack’s eyes shot open when they all heard Norrington’s shovel striking metal. The group dove in and brushed the sand away, revealing a black iron surface. Sora and Jack reached around and found a handle on either side. They closed their hands around the handles and hoisted the object out of the hole, revealing a large chest, then dropped it onto the ground near the others.

Sora summoned his Keyblade. He swung it around with a flourish and threw it slightly, letting it spin in the air before catching it again, then brought the rounded side down on the box’s lid, shouting “Okay!” A thin white light illuminated from the slit where the box would be opened, and the lid tilted backward on a hinge.

The first things they saw when the chest had opened were a pearl necklace, some old documents, and other miscellaneous items. Kairi took one of the documents and examined it curiously. She recognized it as a love letter and squinted to read the name of the addressee.

“Who’s Calypso?” she asked. This prompted a raised eyebrow from Jack and a bemused look of contemplation from Mickey, but no one else had the slightest recognition of the name.

Sora and Jack pushed the extra items aside and found a smaller chest hidden within. They lifted it up and put it down a short distance away. They all leaned in close until they could hear a distinct thump-thump of a regular, relaxed heartbeat.

“It’s real!” Elizabeth exclaimed, amazed.

“You actually were telling the truth,” Norrington conceded, impressed.

“I do that quite a lot, yet people are always surprised,” Jack admitted.

It was then that they heard a familiar voice (well, familiar to all save for Kairi and Mickey) call out from a distance. “With good reason!”

They all turned around to see Will Turner marching across the sand, accompanied by Riku, Donald and Goofy.

“Will!” Elizabeth shouted in delight. She ran up to him and embraced him. “You’re alright! I came to find you!”

The star-crossed lovers kissed. It warmed Sora, Kairi, Mickey, and Goofy’s hearts to see them together, particularly Sora and Goofy, who had already gotten to know them both previously.

Sora, Kairi and Mickey met up with Riku, Donald and Goofy. “Where’d you guys end up?” Sora asked.

“An island populated by a tribe of cannibals,” Riku answered. Sora and Kairi grimaced. “Fortunately, we were able to hold off on danger after saving them from some Heartless before we were picked up by a trading ship.”

Jack chuckled. “Would you believe those Pelegostos thought I was a god in human form and made me their chief?” he asked mirthfully. His grin quickly faded as he recalled the events that had transpired on that island. “Then they tried to cook me for dinner.”

Kairi stuck her tongue out in disgust. “So glad I wasn’t there,” she remarked. She turned back to Riku. “We got into a bar fight.”

Will broke off from kissing Elizabeth and turned to look at Jack. “I owe you thanks, Jack,” he said sincerely.

“You do?” the captain asked, surprised.

“After you tricked me onto that ship to square your debt with Jones…”

“What?!” Elizabeth gasped.

“What?” Jack asked, doing a poor job of feigning ignorance in front of the others. Norrington snickered.

“…I was reunited with my father,” Will finished.

“Oh! Well, you’re welcome, then,” Jack replied.

Elizabeth turned to face Jack, her mouth agape in shock. “Everything you said to me, every word, was a lie!” she accused.

“What?!” Sora blurted in mock surprise, putting his hands on his cheeks and affecting a slack-jawed stare. “What a twist! I can’t believe I never saw that coming!”

“Pretty much,” Jack admitted. “Time and tide, love.”

Will approached the Dead Man’s Chest, taking a unique iron key, which had two shafts attached to the same head with teeth on either side, from of his pocket as he did so. He stopped mid-stride, realizing that Sora was with them. He looked down at the key and grinned in amusem*nt.

“Yeah, that job Jack gave you must be getting more redundant by the minute,” Riku quipped. He shrugged. “But, since you went to all that trouble, you might as well do the honors.”

Will nodded toward him, then completed his march to the chest and crouched down to one knee. “Now, to kill Jones,” he resolved.

Jack drew his sword and held it so that the tip was pointed at Will’s neck. “Can’t let you do that, William,” he said. “’Cause if Jones is dead, who’s to call his terrible beastie off the hunt?” Will sighed, apparently conceding, and stood up. Jack held his free hand out. “Now, if you please, the key.”

Will suddenly took Elizabeth’s sword and pointed it at Jack, much to the woman’s surprise. “I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father. I hope you’re here to see it.”

Norrington drew his own sword and pointed it at Will’s neck as well. “I can’t let you do that either. So sorry,” he said. Sora and Riku tensed up, ready to intervene, though Riku could only wonder who this man was.

Jack smiled at him. “I knew you’d warm up to me eventually.”

Norrington rolled his eyes and turned his sword toward Jack, catching him by surprise. Will turned his sword at Norrington and Jack uncertainly pointed his sword back toward Will. “From what I have been able to ascertain, Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it, and I get my life back,” he asserted.

Riku glared at him. “The dark side of ambition, I see,” he said in a deadpan tone, recognizing his motives all too well.

“I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption,” Norrington clarified. He swung his sword at Will, who parried the blow. Jack desperately thrust his sword in to get an edge, and the three started clashing swords together. Will ducked under Jack and Norrington’s blades and made a break for it. The others pursued him.

“Stop it!” Elizabeth yelled, but to no avail. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy could only watch as the fighting continued, trying to process what was going on.

Norrington went after Will, but the younger blacksmith pushed him to the ground. Jack grabbed the key out of Will’s hand and ran away. Norrington ran after him, but then noticed that Will was behind him and swung at him. Will ducked, but Norrington kicked him in the stomach, knocking him down.

“Will!” Elizabeth called, running to see if he was alright.

“Guard the chest!” Will ordered, before picking himself up and giving chase again.

Elizabeth could not believe how childish he was acting. “No!” she shouted defiantly. As she watched the three men fight over the key, she groaned, stood up, and walked over to join the others who had abstained from the ludicrous battle.

“This is barbaric!” she complained. “This is no way for grown men to settle…” She threw her hands up in exasperation, shooting a glare at Jack, Will and Norrington. She ran out into the open and continued shouting her gripes.

Sora shrugged and turned to Riku, a thought coming to mind. “So, how did you guys get here, anyway?” he asked.

“We hitched a ride on the Flying Dutchman,” Riku answered. Sora, Kairi and Mickey’s eyes widened. “Yeah, we should probably get ready for a fight.”

Donald nodded. “Right. We need to hold down the fort until those nincompoops finish with their slap-fight,” he asserted.

As the sword fight continued and the sensible heroes set up their defense, Pintel and Ragetti ran up along the beach, meaning to warn everyone about the arrival of the Flying Dutchman. However, they stopped and noticed the silly squabble, with Elizabeth throwing rock-shaped tantrums in the foreground, which flew about as far as they would have when she was six.

“How’d this go all screwy?” Pintel asked, utterly baffled.

“Well, each wants the chest for hisself, don’t 'e?” Ragetti guessed. “Mister Norrington, I think he’s tryna regain a bit of honor. Old Jack’s lookin' to trade it, save his own skin. And Turner there, I figure he’s tryna settle some unresolved business 'twist him and his twice-cursed pirate father.”

“Sad,” Pintel lamented. Even he could tell how silly the situation had become. Then, an idea came to his head. “That chest must be worth more than a shiny penny.”

“Oh! Tsk-tsk-tsk. Terrible temptation,” Ragetti agreed.

“If we were any kind of ‘decent’, we’d remove the temptation from their path.”

The two scoundrels giggled and ran over to the chest. Each grabbing a handle, they lifted it up and began running up the beach, heading into a wooded area rife with trees and shrubbery.

Elizabeth sat down and crossed her arms and legs, pouting irritably. She heard Pintel and Ragetti run by with the chest and turned to see what was going on. She stood back up and ran after them.

Mickey watched this occur. “We should keep an eye on them,” he suggested. He ran off after them, followed by Kairi and Donald. Sora, Riku and Goofy remained, waiting for their enemies to arrive.

An Air Pirate and two Heartless resembling small blue cannons materialized to keep them busy. One of the Cannon Guns leaned forward and fired a projectile at Goofy, but the knight blocked it. The force of the blow pushed him back a few feet in the sand, but he remained standing. Sora swung his Keyblade at the Air Pirate, but it soared over his head. It turned around and flew right at him, its feet pointing in his direction. Sora failed to recover in time and was kicked across the sand. Riku hit one of the Cannon Guns, destroying it in a combo, and Goofy defeated the other one with several hits. Sora retaliated against the Air Pirate, dealing a combo that sent it flying. Riku went after it, but the burly flier punched him in the chest, knocking him down. It hovered in the air, preparing to deliver a flying punch at Sora, but Goofy threw his shield, hitting it in the wing and throwing its balance off. Before it could regain its bearings, it was hit in the face with a Blizzara spell, slammed into the ground with a Gravira spell, and then carved through with a Sonic Blade thrust.

In the meantime, the swordfight continued. Jack and Norrington tripped over each other and fell to the ground, giving Will an opening to retake the key and run. They clashed swords in circles. Jack ducked and sliced at Will’s leg, stunning him long enough to steal the key again. Will parried a few blows from Norrington before running after Jack, but Norrington grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him to the ground, then kicked sand into his face for good measure.

“By your leave, Mister Turner,” Norrington taunted with a mock bow before running through the shrubbery and pursuing Jack to an old abandoned church with a defunct waterwheel. Will quickly regained his footing and followed after them.

Returning to sanity and seriousness, Sora, Riku and Goofy watched as the coral- and barnacle-covered crew of the Flying Dutchman marched out from under the surf and up the beach. One of the cursed sailors growled when he took notice of the beach’s defenders and drew his sword, prompting the others to do the same.

“Here’s hoping that there’s no gimmick like needing to fight only under the light of a full moon,” Sora griped. Goofy groaned, remembering their struggles with the skeleton pirates that had served under Barbossa.

The crewmen charged. Sora, Riku and Goofy stood their ground. The first few swung their swords and whatever weapons they had on hand at their foes, but the heroes expertly parried each blow and retaliated swiftly. Recalling how magic affected the skeletal pirates and how lightning reacted to the Turquoise March, Sora beckoned for Riku and Goofy to step back. Once they were far enough away from the attackers, Sora cast Thundaga. The electricity struck all of the mutant sailors, sending some of them into a shock, but the rest shook the pain off and continued charging.

A green-skinned man with a conch shell on his head noticed the hole that had been dug up and saw the footprints leading up to the trees. “Forget this lot! Find the chest!” he barked. He broke off from the group and ran up the beach.

“You heard Hadras!” another crewman shouted. As an effect, most of the mutant sailors separated from the fight to charge up the beach. Enough of them remained, however, to keep Sora, Riku and Goofy occupied.

Sora, Riku and Goofy proved to be more than a match for their enemies, who largely lacked the combat experience necessary to go up against regular pirates and soldiers, let alone Keyblade wielders and a shield-bearing knight. Sora cast Stopga on one of them and delivered an Ars Arcanum onslaught, then moved onto the next guy while he waited for the spell to wear off and the damage to pile onto him all at once. Riku sliced his opponent’s stomach open, not expecting it to cut so easily, and gagged as dozens of fish poured out. The opponent blurted a complaint and turned his attention away from the fight so that he could collect the fish back up. Riku took a step back, seeing no need to continue fighting this man while also withholding the urge to puke his guts out. Goofy blocked a punch from his opponent with his shield, wincing as he heard a sickening crunch from the guy’s wrist, then pushed him into his compatriots.

With those foes defeated, Sora, Riku and Goofy turned and looked in the direction that the others had gone. “Come on!” Riku said sharply. Sora and Goofy nodded, and the three of them charged up the beach to join the fight further up.

Elizabeth continued her chase of Pintel and Ragetti through the trees. Since they were weighed down by the chest, she was able to gain ground. She ran around some trees until she had gone past them, then jumped in front of them, blocking their path.

Pintel and Ragetti dropped the chest and drew their swords. Elizabeth reached for hers only to remember that it was not in its scabbard. Her confident smirk faded, then turned into a nervous smile.

“’Ello, Poppet,” Pintel greeted maliciously.

Mickey, Donald and Kairi stepped out from behind some trees and surrounded the scoundrels, raising their weapons at them. Pintel and Ragetti’s grins faded.

They heard a rumbling noise and turned to locate the source. They watched an old waterwheel roll across their view. Will and Norrington stood on top, clashing swords and adjusting their footing so that they remained on top. Jack followed behind on foot. Kairi and Donald tilted their heads in bemusem*nt. Just what in the world had those three gotten themselves into?

Pintel shrugged. All present turned their attention back to the confrontation at hand. Ragetti was quick to notice that he and Pintel were sorely outnumbered and outmatched, though he also realized that Mickey, Kairi, and the funny-looking short one seemed to only be positioned in defense of Elizabeth. He reasoned that the best option would to avoid threatening anyone and simply try to find a way out of conflict.

Before any resolution could come to the confrontation, however, an ax flew by and embedded itself in a tree. Everyone turned around and saw Jones’ crew charging through the shrubbery and barreling toward them, screaming angrily. Mickey, Donald and Kairi took up defensive positions while Pintel and Ragetti turned and ran, passing their swords off to Elizabeth and grabbing the chest. After looking back and forth from the swords to the mob in shock and confusion, Elizabeth turned and ran as well. Mickey, Donald and Kairi traded glances, shrugged, then followed their example.

As they ran, a tree appeared directly in their path, and the two scoundrels did not have time to consider maneuvering around it to compensate for the chest and proceeded to run past it, dropping the chest when it hit the tree. They, Elizabeth, Mickey, Donald, and Kairi stopped when they realized that the chest had fallen. The mutant crewmen ignored the chest and charged at them, and an inevitable fight broke out. This time, the heroes did not hold their own as deftly as Sora, Riku and Goofy had; Mickey was the only powerhouse, Donald had to keep a distance so that he could use his magic without getting lopped to pieces, Kairi resorted to dodging brute strikes and delivering quick blows in an unsuccessful effort to disable the attackers, and Elizabeth, Pintel and Ragetti had to trade two swords between the three of them in order to fend for themselves. Sorely overwhelmed, they deemed that the best course of action was to make their way back to the beach while fighting off the onslaught.

Only one crew member avoided the battle and remembered his goal. Hadras found the chest, picked it up, and started to run off with it.

In the meantime, Jack had managed to take the key for himself and hopped off of the waterwheel, leaving it to roll through the landscape with Will and Norrington still trading blows inside. As he sheathed his sword, he saw Hadras running off with the chest. He looked down and saw a coconut on the ground. He picked it up and threw it at the crewman, knocking him down. The chest fell out of Hadras’ grip and his head rolled across the ground, spitting out complaints. The head shouted orders, giving directions for his body to follow, but the still-moving body walked around aimlessly, unable to locate the head or, of course, hear its instructions.

Jack crouched down in front of the chest and put the key into the two keyholes in the center, then turned. The mechanisms spun and block-shaped knobs shot out around the base of the lid. He opened the lid and peered inside. However, he frowned when what he saw did not at all match what he had expected: the chest was empty!

“Ahem!” Jack turned around to find where the voice had come from. Sora stood over him with his arms crossed, flanked by Riku and Goofy. Sora and Riku were glaring at him disapprovingly.

“You morons do remember that there are four Keyblades between us, right?” Sora asked rhetorically in a deadpan tone.

Jack’s gaze shifted from side to side, betraying his embarrassment. He made eye contact with Sora and held his hand out. “So, what’d you do with it?” he asked.

Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather pouch that was slightly larger than a fist. The leather rippled, indicating that the beating heart of Davy Jones was inside.

“To be honest, we think you have the best idea,” Sora admitted. “But don’t you think we can take Davy Jones and his crew? And Donald, Goofy and I can probably beat that Kraken head-on.”

Jack shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it, mate.”

“No you can’t,” Riku agreed sternly. Goofy shook his head, agreeing with Riku’s assessment.

“So while we’re at it, it might be better if that were in my hands,” Jack suggested, gesturing for Sora to give him the pouch. Sora shrugged and complied. Jack stuffed the pouch into his jacket.

They heard a commotion and realized that the cursed crew was charging back. Jack quickly closed the lid down and ran. Sora, Riku and Goofy followed.

Mickey, Kairi and Elizabeth fought back any fiend that drew too close. Elizabeth, who was now in possession of both swords once again, blocked an ax with both weapons and kicked the attacker to the ground. She quickly turned around and positioned the swords so that they were pointing backward under her arms. Two crewmen charged after her and found themselves impaled. She pulled the blades out and let them fall. Kairi slashed at one sailor’s leg and cast Blizzard at the wound. The sailor screamed in pain, and Mickey pushed him, sending him tumbling into the mob. Pintel and Ragetti grabbed the chest and continued to run off with it.

Jack, Sora, Riku, and Goofy bolted back to the beach. Jack made a beeline for his longboat and searched it for something. The only clue that he gave the others as he searched was a muttered “Jar of dirt,” which only left them confused. A moment later, he found what he was looking for. He popped the lid off of the jar and poured some dirt out. He took the pouch out of his jacket and stuffed it into the jar, then put some dirt back in to cover it.

A crew member charged at Jack, screaming, ready to bring his sword down on him, but Jack dodged to the right. He grabbed an oar and held off the crew member’s attacks until Sora and Riku joined the fight, overwhelming the attacker and knocking him down. Sora cast Graviga, causing the crew member to sink halfway into the sand.

Goofy turned and saw that Mickey, Kairi, Donald, Elizabeth, Pintel, and Ragetti were also making their way back to the beach, with the sailors in hot pursuit. The fight spilled out to where the sand met the surf. It became apparent that whatever injuries had been sustained did nothing to put the crewmen down for good or even for long. Pintel and Ragetti ran off with the chest, leaving Elizabeth, Mickey, Kairi, and Donald to face the increasingly-temperamental mob.

As the good guys were about to be overwhelmed, the waterwheel came barreling down the beach and ran over almost all of the crewmen, much to everyone else’s bewilderment. Will and Norrington were still inside, but now they could only hold on for dear life. Everyone watched in bewilderment as the wheel rolled through the water until it finally stopped and fell over on its side. Donald took a moment to remember that one of the crewmen was still standing next to them and cast Zero Gravira to lift him into the air where he could not try to attack them.

Kairi realized that her muscles were aching and that she had a bruise on her left arm. She also noticed that Mickey’s ear was bent slightly, Donald had a few feathers ruffled, and Elizabeth had cuts on her hands and face. She raised her Keyblade and shouted “Heal!” A shower of green light dust fell over them and all injuries were repaired.

Will and Norrington climbed out of the wheel. Will slumped over the side, exhausted, but Norrington made a break for the longboat. He ran past Sora, Riku, Jack, and Goofy, who had gotten into a fight with more of Jones’ crew. As he leaned over the side of the longboat, panting heavily, he noticed the jar filled with dirt. He remembered Jack being meticulous about stocking the jar in the longboat, not that he understood why, but he was quite certain that it did not get spilled on the way to the island. And the lid was still secured…

Will saw Pintel and Ragetti put the chest in their longboat and confronted them. The scoundrels reached for their swords only to realize that they were gone once again. They chuckled and dodged aside. Will looked at the chest and realized that the key was still in it. He reached over to turn it, his other hand reaching for his dagger, when he felt something hit him from behind and lost consciousness.

Jack dropped his oar into the longboat and shoved Will inside, making sure nobody noticed what he had done.

The party finally had a chance to reunite at the longboats, giving them an opportunity to assess their situation.

“We’re not getting out of this,” Elizabeth observed.

“If we even get the chance to set off, they’ll just come after us and capsize us,” Mickey agreed, worried.

“We won’t make it with the chest,” Norrington advised. “Into the boats.”

“What?” Sora asked. However, after a stern glare from Norrington, they all piled into the boats.

Norrington grabbed the chest. “Don’t wait for me,” he ordered before he turned and ran.

“I say we respect his final wish,” Jack said. Pintel nodded in agreement.

“Whoa! Hold it! I won’t let anyone get left behind!” Sora protested.

“Suit yourself then, mate,” Jack said sarcastically.

“I’m sorry, Sora, but I’m afraid we don’t have a choice,” Riku retorted.

Sora held one last stare as he watched the Dutchman’s crew chase Norrington back into the jungle. He sighed and turned his gaze away. Resignedly, he pushed the longboat, now cramped by the added presence of Riku and Donald, out to sea, then climbed in and helped Mickey row back to the Black Pearl.

Norrington ran through the trees but stopped when he found himself confronted by Hadras, who held his still-dislodged head under his arm.

“Your bravery is wasted,” the head taunted. “I shall pry that chest from your cold dead hands!”

Norrington looked around, noticing that he was surrounded. He wagged his head to the side, conceding that he was outmatched, and shoved the chest into Hadras’ chest, causing the crewman to drop his head and catch the chest with both arms. “Here you go,” he said. He bolted before the crew members had time to realize what had happened.

The crew members cheered, seeing that the chest was in their possession again. They seemed oblivious to the fact that the key was in the keyhole and ignored how easily their enemies had given up the object of their hunt. They marched off to return to the Flying Dutchman, victorious, forgetting about Hadras’ head which laid on the ground, shouting pleas for assistance. Eventually, the head sighed and turned around in its shell. The head and legs of a hermit crab crawled out of the back of the head and began scurrying after its body and companions. Hopefully, it could catch up before they went into the water.

While both crews returned to their respective ships, Norrington ran through the jungle, satisfied that he had gotten what he had wanted, with no one the wiser. All he needed now was an appointment with Lord Beckett, and his honor will be restored.

Chapter 67: Chapter 66: The Kraken

Chapter Text

Aboard the Black Pearl, the party explained what had occurred on Isla Cruces to the rest of the crew, and everyone began to set sail. Elizabeth, Kairi and Donald knelt by Will, waiting for him to regain consciousness. Sora leaned against the railing on the back of the ship, staring regretfully at the fated island. Riku joined him, as did Mickey, who pulled himself up so that he was also leaning over the railing. They could tell what Sora was thinking.

“Gosh, I really wish we coulda done something about Mr. Norrington,” Mickey lamented.

Riku nodded. “But there wasn’t anything we could have done,” he said shamefully. “We couldn’t have lasted out there against all of those mutant unkillable fish people.”

Sora sighed. “I know. It’s just, I don’t want to see people die on my watch. In the last few days, I was helpless as I watched two friends die right in front of me. Now, even though I never really got to know Norrington, and I didn’t really like him much, I just couldn’t bear to watch him go off to die for our sake.”

“But Eugene and Adam came back,” Riku reminded him.

“By a miracle that none of us could control,” Sora shot back. “What happens when we run out of miracles? What happens when there aren’t any lucky breaks?” He sighed. “How can I be called a hero if I can’t keep the people close to me from dying?”

Mickey’s face fell. “And it all turned out to be for nothing, anyway,” he lamented.

“Huh?” Sora wondered what he meant.

“We went to all that trouble to get Jones’ heart, and we failed,” the mouse elaborated. “Now what’s going to happen?”

Sora raised his eyebrow as he realized that there was still a glimmer of hope. “Mickey, we didn’t fail.” Mickey turned to look at him in confusion. “We got the heart out of the chest. Jack put it in a jar of dirt for safekeeping.”

Mickey chuckled as he realized that they might just win this fight yet. Sora laughed along, but Riku was deep in thought. “Hold on, guys,” he interrupted. “Norrington wasn’t with us when we opened the chest, or when we gave the heart to Jack. Does anyone else find it weird how quickly he decided to abandon the chest?”

In the meantime, Will woke up. Elizabeth helped him into a sitting position. Seeing him hold the back of his head, which still hurt from when he was knocked out, Donald cast Cure, easing the pain. Will looked around to find that he was back on the Black Pearl.

“Where’s the chest?” Will asked.

“Norrington took it to draw them off,” Elizabeth explained.

“At least we got away safely,” Donald said, looking on the bright side.

They heard an enormous splash. Everyone got up and looked over the side to find the Flying Dutchman right beside the Pearl.

“Really, Donald?” Kairi asked in exasperation. Donald shrugged in embarrassment.

Davy Jones, flanked by the majority of his monstrous crew, glared at Jack. Jack seemed unperturbed. “I’ll handle this, mate,” he said confidently to Gibbs. “Hey! Fishface! Lose something?” he taunted, flaunting the jar of dirt. He marched across the deck, his eyes locked on Jones, a mischievous smile on his face. “Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git?”

Riku sniffed the air, realizing that while he smelled something fishy (figuratively and literally) from across the water, he smelled nothing out of the ordinary from Jack’s direction. He gave Sora a worried look, letting him know that something was not right.

Jack continued his taunt. “Look what I got! I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt! And guess what’s inside it!” he yelled, to the utter confusion of everyone on board, even those who were aware that he was in possession of a jar of dirt for more than a few hours. The Dutchman’s crew was similarly perplexed. A few of them silently wondered if Jack was taking a jab at how Davy Jones could only set foot on land for one day every ten years, but others saw it only as mindless teasing.

“Enough!” Jones barked back at his crew. As if acting on their own, the cannon covers on the Dutchman, which resembled sullen faces, slid down and cannons stuck out.

Realizing that he probably should have gotten to the point rather than dawdle on silly buildup, Jack muttered an order. “Hard to starboard!”

“Hard to starboard!” Sora relayed the message. He, Riku and Mickey summoned their Keyblades. Things were about to heat up.

“Brace up the foreyard!” Will added. Gibbs took the wheel from Cotton and spun it hard to the left. The Pearl banked right setting to sail away from the Dutchman.

“Hard to starboard! Send his beloved Pearl back to the depths!” Jones ordered. “Fire!”

The cannons fired, blasting holes into the Black Pearl’s hull. One cannonball carved through the captain’s cabin. The Flying Dutchman turned and gave chase to the Pearl. The majority of the Pearl’s crew dedicated their efforts to steering the ship away from the Flying Dutchman. However, they found their efforts impeded by the appearance of Heartless. Pirate, Air Pirate, and Cannon Gun enemies did everything in their power to disrupt the crew’s escape attempt. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Donald turned their attention to clearing the deck of the creatures of darkness. Mickey ran down below deck and used his magic to try to destroy the cannonballs in midair before they hit the ship.

“Let them taste the triple guns,” Jones commanded. At his word, a triple-barrel cannon stuck out of the front of the cursed ship and started firing at the Pearl, doing quite a bit of damage. Mickey jumped into the air and cast Reflega, blocking and blasting a few shots away.

By the time the deck had been cleared of the Heartless, the Black Pearl had gotten out of range of the Flying Dutchman’s cannons. The cannonballs now fell harmlessly into the water.

“Ay! We’ve got her!” Gibbs cried triumphantly.

“We’re faster?” Goofy asked, surprised.

“Against the wind, the Dutchman beats us. That’s how she takes her prey,” Gibbs explained. “But with the wind…”

“We take away its advantage,” Donald finished, impressed.

“Ay,” Gibbs confirmed. Elizabeth smiled, realizing the victory. Will, however, continued to stare back at the ship on which his father had been enslaved.

One of the Dutchman’s crew members saw that the cannonballs were falling far behind their quarry. “We’re out of range!” he announced.

“Break our pursuit!” Davy Jones ordered.

“We’re giving up?” Maccus asked. Jones simply shot him a knowing smirk. Maccus grinned, knowing full well what his captain intended.

Encouraged by a strong lashing, the cursed crew began turning the wheel and raising the hammer once again.

The crew of the Black Pearl watched as the Flying Dutchman fell behind. They noticed that the cannons ceased firing and the evil vessel had stopped moving.

“They’re giving up!” Marty cheered. The rest of the crew burst out in victorious celebration. Will walked up beside Jack, not satisfied with the outcome.

“My father is on that ship. If we can outrun her, we can take her. We should turn and fight!” he insisted.

Jack shot him a confident smile. “Why fight when you can negotiate? All one needs is the proper leverage,” he said, setting the jar of dirt onto the railing in front of the wheel.

Sora and Riku ran up beside Jack. “Captain, I think we need a change of plan,” Riku said in a concerned tone.

“How so?” Jack asked.

Before Riku could answer, the ship suddenly lurched roughly. Jack stumbled and dropped the jar over the railing. It hit the deck and shattered, spilling sand and glass shards everywhere. Jack looked down at it in shock, worried that the contents had been damaged. But after a second of staring, he noticed that something was wrong. He ran down the stairs and ran his hands through the spilled dirt, searching frantically for the heart. But it was nowhere to be found.

“Where is it? Where’s the thump-thump?” he asked worriedly.

“The thump-thump?” Will parroted in confusion.

“Jack put the heart in the jar,” Sora explained.

“Then where is it?” Jack asked, still terrified that he had lost his leverage against Jones.

“James…” Elizabeth whispered, having come upon the scene and realizing what was happening.

“What happened?” Goofy asked, picking himself and Donald up after the jarring lurch caused them to fall on their faces.

“We must’ve hit a reef,” one of the sailors from Tortuga guessed, peering over the railing.

Will’s eyes widened as he heard the sailor’s assumption. Riku tensed up while Donald’s jaw dropped, as they as well as Goofy understood what was going to happen. Those near the railing heard a low rumbling from beneath the waves.

“No. It’s not a reef. Get away from the rails!” Will warned, pulling Elizabeth away from the side.

“What is it?” Elizabeth asked.

“The Kraken. To arms!” Will called.

It quickly hit everyone just what sort of danger they were all in. Gibbs relayed orders. “All guns, defend the masts!”

“It’ll attack the starboard! We’ve seen it before! Run out the cannons and hold for my signal!” Will continued, drawing a sword.

The dozens of sailors complied, running around the ship and finding some way to assist. Donald, Goofy, Pintel, and Ragetti ran below deck and opened up the cannon covers, then pushed the cannons so that the barrels stuck out of the windows.

As they worked, enormous tentacles crawled up the hull of the ship, slowly wrapping their way up the side. Pintel and Ragetti gulped when they saw the suckers on one tentacle push their way around their cannon. Donald groaned fearfully.

Will dropped down from above to give orders. “Easy boys,” he advised.

The rest of the crew leveled spears at the tentacles, which proceeded to rise above the deck. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey held their Keyblades. Elizabeth looked down at Will, waiting for him to give the word as each second seemed to draw itself out.

“Steady! Steady. Hold… Hold…”

“I think we’ve held fire long enough,” Pintel complained. Donald nodded in agreement.

Finally, when the suspense seemed to reach its boiling point, Will gave the order. “Fire!”

Everyone below decks lit the fuses on the cannons, which promptly launched their projectiles at the tentacles directly in front of them. The tentacles were blasted back, recoiling in pain. A bloodcurdling shriek was audible each time a limb was struck. The tentacles, burning at the points of impact, curled up and retracted into the water. The crew cheered at the successful attack, for a moment thinking that it was over already.

However, Will, who watched the tentacles recede from over the railing, was less confident. “It’ll be back,” he warned. “We have to get off the ship.”

“There are no boats,” Elizabeth told him. She pointed to the remains of the longboats that had been wrecked by the cannon attack.

Sora approached them, followed by Riku, Donald and Goofy. “No need for that. We can go under and bring that thing down head-on,” he said confidently.

“No, we can’t!” Riku, Donald and Goofy argued, pretty clear about their perception of the odds of victory.

Will’s gaze fell on a barrel rolling across the deck. An idea came to his mind. “Pull the grates! Get all the gunpowder onto the net in the cargo hold!” he ordered. The crew immediately set to work. He grabbed a rifle and held it out to Elizabeth. “Whatever you do, don’t miss.”

Elizabeth nodded, understanding his plan. “As soon as you’re clear,” she replied. She took the rifle and marched off.

Will patted Sora and Riku on the shoulders. “You men, keep the crew safe. Don’t let us all go down to Davy Jones’ Locker.”

Sora nodded. “Aye-aye.” His Keyblade rematerialized in his hand. Donald and Goofy dropped back down into the cargo hold to help gather the gunpowder. A large grate in the middle of the deck was pulled away, offering a large opening into the hold.

The crew threw barrels into a large net which Will and Mickey set to work securing. However, they soon approached a conundrum.

“There’s only half a dozen kegs of powder!” Gibbs announced, realizing that there was not enough for what Will had planned.

“Then load the rum!” Will responded.

The pirates in the hold looked at them in surprise and confusion. Load the rum? Was he crazy?

Riku rolled his eyes. “Come on, men! You can drink when we’re safe! And you won’t need it when you’re dead!” he shouted down to them.

Hearing the advice, Gibbs turned back to the others. “Ay! The rum too!”

Groaning in annoyance, the crew did as they were told. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Elizabeth kept an eye out in case the Kraken came back.

“Wait a minute. Something’s not right,” Sora observed. He looked around a bit before he figured out what was wrong. “Where’s Jack?”

Elizabeth ran to the railing and peered across the water. She squinted her eyes when she saw something on the surface in the distance. Her stare turned into an angry glare as she realized that Jack was rowing away in a small boat.

“Oh, that coward!” she spat.

Sora’s face fell when he heard this. He glared out across the water in disappointment. “You old pirate,” he muttered.

“It’s coming back!” Kairi shouted. They all looked down and saw that the tentacles were rising back up around the ship. They stepped away from the railing. Sora regarded his Keyblade, thinking of something that he could do to fight this threat.

The tentacles stopped ascending and curled themselves so that they pointed at the ship. One-by-one, they crashed through the cannon windows, taking huge chunks out of the hull and destroying the cannons. Some tentacles wrapped themselves around crew members and pulled them out, while others crushed pillars.

Fortunately, the net had been loaded and secured by then. “Haul away!” Will shouted.

Gibbs turned to relay the message. “Heave! Heave like you’re being paid for it!” he ordered.

“Put your backs into it!” Marty added, standing on top of a horizontal wheel that other crew members turned, causing a winch to raise the net up through the layers of the ship and out through the deck. As this happened, the tentacles lashed around inside the ship, grabbing numerous crewmen and dragging them to their doom. Donald and Goofy did everything they could to save them, but their endeavors were fruitless. Only a few made it back up to the deck. All they could do was make sure the net and payload was not compromised while Will held onto it.

As this took place, Jack rowed away. He was heartbroken as he watched the beastie attack his beloved Pearl. He turned around and saw an endless ocean. Uncertainly, he pulled his compass out and popped it open. He raised an eyebrow as the tool which he used as a guide for heading finally settled on a direction.

He made his decision, and as he set about rowing, something appeared in the boat in front of him, piquing his fancy.

Chaos raged on the deck as the Kraken’s tentacles lashed around. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey fought the appendages off as best they could. Sora tripped and fell down. As he started to pick himself up, he regarded the deck of the ship, then looked at his Keyblade curiously. An idea coming to mind, he grabbed the handle and picked himself up.

Holding the Keyblade up, he concentrated on a shape. As he concentrated, his hand began to glow with a blue-white light. The Keyblade’s handle guard expanded and wrapped around and under Sora, forming the hull of a boat. The handle expanded into a mast, complete with sails. The shaft exploded and reshaped itself into four cannons, which dropped onto the sides of the deck. A helicopter rotor appeared at the top of the mast and a steering wheel appeared in front of Sora. A battle-ready grin plastered on his face, Sora flew his mini-ship up and around the Black Pearl.

As he flew beside the full-size ship, Sora pointed to his left, causing the two cannons on the port side of his Keyblade-Pirate-Ship to fire explosive energy orbs at the tentacles. The limbs shook from the pain and dropped the crew members they had latched onto, including Goofy and Cotton. He sailed around to do the same to the other tentacles.

Just then, a large tentacle wrapped around the mast to which the large wheel mechanism was attached. Realizing what was about to happen, everyone ran clear just as the tentacle dropped down, smashing the wheel. The destruction of the mechanism caused the net to drop down a few feet. Despite the unexpected jolt, Will held on tight.

Will swung his sword around, shouting taunts and trying to get the Kraken’s attention. Riku watched this and wondered if the monster could actually hear him.

It apparently did, as a new tentacle launched up over the side and grabbed the net. Will lost his grip, but his foot became stuck. He pulled his dagger out and began sawing at the rope, working to cut himself free.

The tentacles continued to lash. Sora blasted them with his Ion Cannons, but for as many people as he was able to save, just as many were dragged away. He gritted his teeth and hoped Will’s plan worked. He could not wait to go down and finish the monster off while it was incapacitated.

Elizabeth raised her rifle and pointed it at the net. However, she hesitated, unwilling to let Will get caught in the blast.

“Shoot! Elizabeth, shoot!” Will yelled.

Elizabeth still hesitated, following the net’s movements as she aimed the gun. While she waited for him to get free, a small tentacle wrapped itself around her ankle and dragged her away, causing her to drop the rifle. She screamed as the tentacle dragged her into the cabin, until Ragetti chopped the tentacle off with an ax, saving her.

Kairi watched this transpire and turned to Mickey. “We need to cover Elizabeth,” she told him. He nodded in agreement.

Elizabeth ran to the gun, but another crew member picked it up, seeking to do the job quickly. However, a tentacle grabbed him and pulled him around, causing him to drop the gun onto the upper part of the deck. Sora blasted the tentacle with his cannon, causing it to drop the sailor, who avoided falling into the water by having his leg snared in the railing.

As Elizabeth made to run up the stairs, she stumbled as the ship lurched again and fell. A tentacle moved to grab her, but Kairi blasted it away with Aerora while Mickey shot it with Pearl. Elizabeth crawled up the stairs and grabbed the handle of the rifle, but someone stepped on it. She pulled violently and tried to push the foot off, but stopped when she saw whom the foot belonged to.

Elizabeth, as well as Kairi and Mickey, stared in awe as they realized that Captain Jack Sparrow had returned. He raised his weapon, eliciting a quick gasp from Elizabeth, and pointed it at the gunpowder barrels.

Will cut the rope until it snapped. His foot free, he dropped from the net and landed on the deck. More tentacles wrapped around the payload as a few barrels started to fall out.

Jack took aim and fired his weapon. It was a direct hit. One of the falling barrels exploded, igniting the other barrels right under the tentacles. Will braced himself as pieces of burning wood hit the deck, but none of them hit him. He looked up and saw that the tentacles were badly burnt, with sections around the center frame having been blasted off. They sank weakly back into the water.

After a moment of stunned silence, Marty raised an important question. “Did we kill it?”

Gibbs shook his head. “No. We just made it angry,” he answered. “We’re not out of this yet.”

Sora landed on the deck, his Keyblade taking its normal shape again. “Nice going, Captain!” he congratulated. He turned to his main companions. “Okay. Donald, Goofy, let’s go under and hit this thing head-on,” he insisted. “We can put an end to this fight!”

Gibbs and Marty groaned. Mickey shook his head sadly. Riku, Donald and Goofy took the direct approach. “No. We. CAN’T!” they shouted. “Trust us on this. We’re not going to be able to kill this thing on our own,” Riku added.

Sora sighed. “Fine,” he caved in. He turned to Jack. “Captain. Orders?”

“Abandon ship. Into the longboat,” Jack answered.

“Jack! The Pearl!” Gibbs cried, aghast that his friend was proposing to abandon his cherished vessel.

“She’s only a ship, mate,” Jack consoled.

“He’s right,” Elizabeth agreed. “We have to head for land.”

“That’s a lot o' open water,” Pintel complained worriedly. Ragetti nodded in agreement.

Sora’s eyes widened as he realized that there was a better option. He remembered that there was a Safe Point in the captain’s quarters. If they could get everyone into the Gummi Ship, they could all get to safety.

“I have an idea,” he said. “Everyone into the cabin!” As he took the first step, he heard a creaking noise and the arch over the opening to the cabin collapsed. They would not be able to move the debris in time. He sighed, abandoning the idea. “Longboats it is.”

“That’s a lot o’ water,” Ragetti reiterated.

“We have to try,” Will said. “We can get away as it takes down the Pearl.”

Gibbs nodded. “Abandon ship,” he ordered. “Abandon ship or abandon hope.”

The remaining crew solemnly set about loading the barest essentials into the last longboat. In order to make room for as many people as possible, Sora, Donald and Goofy opted to enter their Atlantica forms and swim alongside the boat. While everyone else climbed into and started lowering the boat, Elizabeth approached Jack, who was walking around the deck, taking one last look at his beloved ship.

“Thank you, Jack,” she said.

Jack turned to Elizabeth, not bothering to conceal his sorrow. “We’re not free yet, love.”

“You came back.” She took a step toward him. “I always knew you were a good man.” She leaned in and kissed him.

Gibbs handed the rifle to Will, who passed it to Marty, as they were climbing down into the longboat. Will caught a glimpse of Elizabeth kissing Jack and stopped in bewilderment. Sora, hanging onto the railing next to him, saw his shock and followed his gaze. He raised an eyebrow in confusion at how Elizabeth, who only an hour ago had been overjoyed to be reunited with Will, her fiancée, and took time to kiss him passionately, was now kissing Jack.

Both were interrupted from their thoughts by Gibbs. “Prepare to cast off! There’s no time to lose!” he barked, not noticing the display by the mast. “Come on, Will, Sora, step to!” Conceding the point, they continued climbing down. Will and Gibbs dropped into the boat while Sora sank into the water, popping back up with a dolphin tail and treading beside the transformed Donald and Goofy.

Elizabeth continued to kiss Jack and walked him back against the central mast. Jack enjoyed the gratitude, seemingly not taken aback by it. He stopped reciprocating when he heard a metal sound. Elizabeth pulled back and, with an expression that made it quite clear what she was really doing, closed a shackle around Jack’s wrist. He smiled with amusem*nt, realizing that he had been played. He tugged on the chain, confirming that he had been bound to the mast.

“It’s after you, not the ship. It’s not us,” Elizabeth explained. “This is the only way, don’t you see? I’m not sorry.”

Jack grinned, proud of her pragmatism and trickery. “Pirate,” he spat back.

Elizabeth turned and marched away, leaving Jack alone to his fate. She climbed down into the boat. Marty set to untying the rope holding the boat to the ship.

“Where’s Jack?” Will asked, a neutral expression concealing his jealousy.

“He elected to stay behind to give us a chance,” Elizabeth lied.

Sora, Gibbs, and Mickey frowned, understanding that there were no good options. They had lost the fight. Now, all they could do was survive the day.

Elizabeth turned to the rest of the crew, who looked up as if still waiting for Jack, and in particular Marty, who still held the rope. “Go!” she ordered. Marty let go of the rope. Pintel and Ragetti started rowing.

Jack struggled with his manacle, trying to at the very least get free. He attempted to push himself away with his foot to see if he could break the chain off of the mast, but stopped as he remembered something. He picked his weapon up with his left hand and batted it against the manacle. After a few good tries, the shackle popped open. He smiled at his small victory, but soon noticed something rising up behind him. He turned around and saw the enormous pink, fleshy maw of the Kraken, its mouth filled with rows of long, sharp teeth encircling its maw.

The Kraken roared at him, spraying huge amounts of monstrous, disgusting saliva all over Jack. At the end of its roar, a tricorn hat fell out of its mouth. Jack recognized his prized hat, from which he had been separated both prior to the attack of his cursed former crew and the Heartless and shortly after he had first gained the Black Spot and learned that the Kraken was coming for him, when it had been accidentally lost at sea. He wiped the saliva off of his face and leaned down to pick his hat off. He shook off as much goo as he could before putting it on his head where it belonged.

He stared into the ferocious maw of the monster that had been pursuing him for days and smiled mischievously. “Hello, beastie,” he greeted. He raised his weapon and charged in, swinging his weapon in an effort to make the meal as painful for the wretched beast as possible.

The crew watched the Kraken entangle the Black Pearl and drag it below the depths of the ocean. Sora and his friends gaped in horror as they took in the sheer enormity of the monstrous cephalopod. Sora now understood that his friends were right to warn him that they would not stand a chance in fighting it. All the while, they could do nothing else but lament how everything had gone wrong.

Chapter 68: Chapter 67: Calming Tides

Chapter Text

Davy Jones watched the Pearl sink through his telescope. He knew now that Jack was gone; he and his ship were bound for Davy Jones’ Locker. He stood flanked by some of his crew, including his first mate Maccus. The Dead Man’s Chest sat on a table, its key still in the lock, secured from any who would try to claim its contents.

“Jack Sparrow, our debt is settled,” he declared.

“The captain goes down with his ship,” a crew member lamented.

“Turns out not even Jack Sparrow can best the devil,” Maccus proclaimed.

Jones stopped dead as Maccus’ comment made him realize something. He whirled around and faced his crew. “Open the chest,” he ordered. His crew looked around, surprised by the demand. “Open the chest. I need to see it!”

Maccus quickly ran over and unlocked the chest. Jones shoved past and lifted the lid. The surrounding crewmen gasped as they looked inside and realized it was empty. Jones promptly looked up, horrified, looking as though he was about to spit up.

“Curse you, Jack SPARRROOOOOWW!” the captain screamed. It looked as though the greatest pirate who ever lived had gotten one last laugh against his foe.

For hours, the crew rowed (and swam, in Sora, Donald and Goofy’s case) across the sea. The silence persisted amongst the fourteen sailors in the crowded longboat and the three who swam beside as everyone mourned the captain.

Finally, the silence was broken, though the mood did not change. “So, now what?” Sora asked.

Gibbs sighed. “If we’re lucky, we’ll be able to hail a ship to pick us up. Then, we’ll go to Tia Dalma’s and break the bad news,” he replied.

“Tia Dalma?” Kairi asked, curious as to who this woman was.

“Ay. A voodoo lady who had a complicated history with Captain Sparrow,” Gibbs explained. “She told us how to locate Jones, and even explained to those of us who were less informed of how he came to be.”

“So, she knows her way around the sea’s supernatural elements,” Riku deduced. “I guess she could give us an idea what to do next.”

“And maybe help us out with our other mission,” Donald added. Gibbs raised an eyebrow, but decided not to pursue the subject.

“Gawrsh, I suppose we shouldn’t just assume that the heart’s lost,” Goofy said.

“It’s not,” Elizabeth affirmed. “James Norrington must have taken it.”

“And awfully soon, he’ll be bringing it to that Beckett chap,” Ragetti added.

“Great. Not only did we fail to save Jack from his fate, but we let that guy get his hands on the leverage he needs to get Jones to do what he tells him to,” Sora lamented bitterly.

“We made it out alive,” Mickey said. “Let’s just say that and… and figure out what we can do from here on out.”

Riku nodded, agreeing with Mickey’s assessment.

In his office in Port Royal, a high-ranking uniformed man sat at his desk in front of a map of the world. A harsh-faced man in a brown coat walked into the office, bearing news.

“The last of our ships has returned,” the officer, Ian Mercer, informed him.

“Is there any news on the chest?” Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company asked.

“None. But, one of our ships picked up a man adrift at sea. He had these.” Mercer placed a set of Letters of Marque on Beckett’s desk. Beckett recognized these letters. He had prepared them for granting William Turner, Elizabeth Swann, and Jack Sparrow amnesty as part of his bargain with William for Jack’s compass. After escaping from prison, Elizabeth forced him to sign them for her and William, but the third remained blank. A new name had been signed on this letter.

“I took the liberty of filling in my name.” James Norrington entered the office, his arm held by a soldier in a blue uniform.

Beckett beckoned Norrington to come closer. “If you intend to claim these, then you must have something to trade. Do you have the compass?” he asked.

Norrington shook his head. “Better.” He dropped a fist-sized pouch onto the desk. “The heart of Davy Jones.”

Beckett leaned in to examine the pouch. He saw the leather rise and fall with the regular heartbeat. “It’s remarkable,” he admitted.

“It take it I’ve won the commission as a privateer?” Norrington quipped.

Beckett smiled. “Oh, I think better.” He opened a case revealing Norrington’s old sword which he had used when he was in the Royal Navy. He walked over to look out the window while Norrington admired the blade. “Reinstatement to your former rank and status, all rights and privileges attended.” He turned back around to address Norrington directly. “And I think a promotion is due as well. Do you agree, Admiral Norrington?”

Norrington took his sword up and stared at it, hardly believing that this was real. His position restored? Admiral? It was almost too good to be true.

He tilted the blade over his left wrist, pointing the tip at the wrapped-up heart. “Give the order, sir,” he requested.

“Oh, no, no, no. That would be terribly imprudent,” Beckett argued. Norrington looked at him in surprise. “Where’s the profit in killing Jones when instead we can add another ship to your fleet?” He opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony as a spooky, mildew-covered ship rose out of the water in the harbor. Norrington and Mercer stepped out and joined Beckett. “The Flying Dutchman. Whoever controls the heart of Davy Jones controls the sea between worlds.”

They already knew.

As the crew rowed through the swamp, they saw, sitting outside of numerous huts, dark-skinned men, women and children holding candles and watching the company pass through. Some even stood waist-deep in the stream water only a few feet away from the entourage. They seemed to have been mourning someone’s death since before they arrived.

The sailors recruited from Tortuga who survived the Kraken attack had decided to leave the crew after they had found a vessel to carry them the rest of the way. With the extra spots opened, Sora, Donald and Goofy decided to finish the journey in the boat.

They reached their destination and exited the boat, entering a large but humble shack. The shack was filled with an assortment of odd items, some of which seemed to be used for voodoo rituals. Riku noticed that some of them reminded him of the witch doctor they had fought in Beast’s Castle and wondered if what this woman did was anything like what his powers come from.

Tia Dalma was a slender woman with dark skin, black dreadlocked hair. She wore a tribal dress and cloak with a crab-shaped pendant on a silver chain, illustrating her spiritual occupation. She wore makeup which gave her black lips and dots arcing under her eyes.

The crew sat around the shack wherever they could find a chair. Tia Dalma carried a tray holding mugs, which contained rum for the grown-ups and, at their request, tea for Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, and Donald. Will absently tossed his dagger into the table over and over.

Tia Dalma walked over to Will and offered him a mug. “It’s a shame,” she said sympathetically. “I know you’re t’inking that wid the Pearl, you coulda captured the devil and set free your fadder’s soul.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Will lamented. “The Pearl’s gone, along with its captain.”

Sora held his hand over his heart and bowed his head, his eyes closed in prayer for the old pirate, who knew of honor though he would not say it. Mickey did the same, and Riku and Kairi were inspired to follow suit.

“Aye,” Gibbs agreed, standing against the frame of the door. “And already the world seems a bit less bright.” He took a step back into the shack, addressing the crew. “He fooled us all right to the end. But I guess that honest streak finally won out.” He raised his mug in a toast. “To Jack Sparrow.”

Ragetti gulped, holding in his tears. “Never another like Captain Jack,” he replied, holding his mug up as well.

“He was a gentleman of fortune, he was,” Pintel said.

“His heart knew what he wanted, even when he didn’t,” Donald saluted.

“He cheated and lied, and labeled himself a crook,” Sora said sadly but with a hint of pride, “but he couldn’t hide the kind of man he was.”

“He was a good man,” Elizabeth finished, avoiding everyone’s gaze.

Everyone drank to that. Will felt uncertain, as hearing Elizabeth’s comment reminded him of the incident the last time he saw Jack. He was having trouble figuring out what to make of that moment. He turned to look at her and saw that she seemed distraught.

“If there was anything could be done to bring him back… Elizabeth…” he began his question, for the moment deciding to put his feelings for Elizabeth and his complicated respect for Jack above any jealousy and uncertainty.

“Would you do it?” Tia Dalma finished, catching him by surprise as she directed the question back to him. She turned to address Elizabeth. “What, would you?” She took a few steps around, sending the question to the rest of the crew. “What would any of you be willing to do? Hmm? Would you sail to the ends of the earth, through the darkest and most ferocious of seas, and beyond, to fetch back witty Jack and 'im precious Pearl?”

There was a brief moment of stunned silence as they processed what she was suggesting. Would it really be possible to bring Jack back from the dead? Did such a miracle truly exist?

Gibbs came to a decision and took a step forward. “Aye,” he replied.

Pintel stood up. “Aye.”

Ragetti did the same. “Aye.”

Cotton silently raised his mug. “Aye,” his parrot squawked.

Sora, Mickey, Riku, and Kairi each raised their Keyblades. “Aye,” they said in turn.

Donald and Goofy stood up and stood at attention. “Aye,” they said simultaneously.

Elizabeth nodded. “Yes,” she said quietly.

Tia Dalma turned to Will, her eyebrow raised inquisitively. He nodded. “Aye.”

Tia Dalma smiled. “Alright. But if you’re goin’ brave the weird and haunted shores at world’s end, den you will need a captain who knows dose waters,” she explained. She turned to face a set of stairs, drawing their attention as well.

They heard the sound of heavy footsteps as they glimpsed a pair of black boots appear on the top visible step. As the figure descended the stairway and came further into view, a look of surprise came over everyone. Half of them recognized the thick, wiry brown beard and distinctive wide-brimmed black hat, while Mickey, Cotton and Marty knew the face from sketches (via Jiminy’s Journal and wanted posters, respectively), whereas Riku and Kairi never knew him but could easily infer his identity based on Sora, Donald and Goofy’s reactions.

“So, tell me,” Hector Barbossa, former first mate and captain of the Black Pearl began, “what’s become of my ship?” He took a bite of a green apple, letting the juice run down his chin.

The crew before him stood in shocked silence.

Chapter 69: Chapter 68: Back to the Sandlot

Chapter Text

“Oh, no! No, no, no! I am not working with him!” Sora yelled in protest.

“But, boy, it is de only way—” Tia Dalma tried to calm him down, but was interrupted.

“He used the Heartless to terrorize the town and tried to blow us to bits!” Sora ranted.

“Yet I get a pass when I decide to help you?” Riku quipped, pointing out a notion of irony.

“You saw the error of your ways and did what you could to fix it,” Sora countered. He pointed an accusing finger at Barbossa while directing his gaze partly toward Tia Dalma. “He was cruel and brutal up to his death! And you expect us to believe he’s on our side just like that and zip-a-dee-doo-da, it’s all well and good like nothing happened?!”

“He is here on a bargain,” Tia Dalma explained. “It is not needed that you forget him past actions. Give him time to prove himself…”

“Listen, Tia,” Sora pinched his fingers to cut her off, “we’ll root for you to find the way to get Jack back. Let us know when you’re ready to do it, and we’ll fly right on over. But we have other things to take care of, and better things than sailing for who-knows-how-long with him as our captain!”

Tia Dalma was unbothered by the outrage. “Ah, yes. Of course,” she said with a chuckle. “I do wish I could help you out, tell you more den you already know, but I fear it is not my place. Good luck, children, on your quest.”

Sora tugged his friends on the arms, signaling for them to get moving. As he began to march out, he stopped next to Elizabeth and leaned in to talk to her. “By the way, Will saw you kissing Jack. Just so you know. Now, please don’t spend the next few weeks not talking about your issues and letting him pout silently thinking the worst of you,” he whispered. “Thanks. Bye.” With that, he stormed out, leading Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, and used the Safe Point on the deck outside of the shack to beam up to the Gummi Ship.

The following flight through the Lanes Between was filled with a palpable silence. Sora piloted the ship in an only slightly imperfect beeline, not really regarding the direction as he continued to quietly fume. Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy simply sat in shock, still taken aback by Sora’s outburst.

Aside from a few enemy ships and asteroids, the flight was uneventful.

The first world that appeared in their direct path sat at a tangent so that the landscape was bathed in the constantly-parallel glow emanating from the adjacent star to the direct west of it. Just by looking at it, they could see that it was a small hamlet filled with houses and other establishments. The most prominent feature was a large clock tower which was connected to a railway that wrapped around the town.

“Twilight Town, huh,” Kairi identified wistfully. “Brings back memories.”

“Weren’t you only in the hangout for a little while before Axel nabbed you?” Goofy asked, remembering the story Hayner told them of how he and his friends knew Kairi.

“Well, yeah,” Kairi admitted. “I wish I’d gotten to see more of the town. But Hayner, Pence and Olette, they seemed nice.”

“You know, they were pretty worried about you after you were kidnapped,” Donald told her.

“Yeah. They helped us find the way into the World That Never Was because they were looking for a way to find you,” Mickey added.

“Oh. Then I guess we should head on down and let them know everything turned out alright,” Kairi said.

“It’ll be great to see how everyone’s doing,” Goofy said.

“What do you say, Sora?” Riku asked.

By that point, Sora had calmed down, and his heart filled with warmth at the sight of the tranquil town. He smiled at the idea that his friends were suggesting. “Alright. Let’s go say hi,” he said. He punched in commands to disembark in the Central Station and the six of them stepped into the white circle behind the three main chairs.

When they stepped out from the glass double door that served as the front entrance to the train station, Kairi’s jaw dropped when she saw the view of the landscape beyond the town. Beyond the ledge on the cliff upon which the station plaza was built, a dense forest spread as far as the eye could see. A large, stone, arch-set bridge looped around in the middle of the forest, carrying an elevated railway on which an orange single-car train rode. The view was made even more beautiful by the orange glow of Twilight Town’s perpetual sunset.

“Pretty nice, huh?” Kairi turned around to find Sora standing right beside her, smiling nostalgically as he admired the sunset.

Kairi giggled. “Yeah. It’s so warm and peaceful,” she replied.

“According to the clock on the wall in the station, everyone should be done with school,” Riku surmised. “And if they’re anything like you, Kairi, they might be done with homework, too.”

“I’d say so, too,” Sora agreed. “Something tells me that Olette is the kind of person to make sure the others get their homework done.”

“A-hyuck. Well, then let’s head down and say hi,” Goofy said.

With that, Sora, Donald and Goofy led Riku, Kairi and Mickey down the slope leading away from the plaza and into town.

As they passed a garage door, the party came upon Market Street. The Station Heights proceeded down a hill, flanked by multi-storied residential buildings and shops, its streets lined with brown tiles. The street split off into three directions: a path to the right halfway down leading into a back alley, and two exits on the lowest level, one leading to the more open section of Market Street known as the Tram Common to the left and the other to the Sandlot. At the bottom of the Heights, two shops were in business, an armor shop run by a middle-aged heavyset man with a beard, and an item shop that seemed to be run by a twelve-year-old boy.

Sora saw a white skateboard, which had fin shapes toward the back and blue markings painted on the top, on the ground in front of him and looked back at his friends with a confident smirk. “Watch this,” he told them. He put his right foot on the skateboard and pushed off with his left foot. He swerved from side to side as he rolled down the hill, performing a heel flip a quarter of the way down. When he was at the halfway landing, he jumped on a ramp ledge, still riding the skateboard, and grinded down, before kicking off at the bottom and leaping into the air. His friends ran down the hill to follow his progress, amused and impressed. While in the air, he bent down and grabbed the skateboard, tilting it up at an angle. When he landed, he quickly looped around and pushed himself in the direction of the Sandlot.

He realized too late that there was someone in his path, and his friends did not have time to warn him before he crashed into that person.

“Ouch. Sorry about that,” Sora said as he picked himself off of the person he had unwittingly knocked over. Before he could get a good look at the person, he felt something grab his arm and throw him into a nearby wall.

His attacker stood in front of him, an angry scowl on his face. He was a muscular young man, most likely either at the tail end of his teenage years or having already aged out, and he was about Riku’s height. He had tan skin, brown eyes, short black hair with long sideburns, and a stubble on his chin. He wore an orange tank top, baggy black sweatpants with a pair of red stripes on the sides of his legs and the number 8 printed at the top of the left leg, wide yellow-and-white shoes, a pair of blue wristbands, and a thunderbolt necklace.

“Watch it, y’know?” the young man shouted.

Sora stifled a groan. He remembered Rai, though admittedly he did not know that much about him aside from his choice of companions and his tendency to end his sentences with “y’know”.

Looking past Rai, Sora recognized a skinny girl who was about as tall as Kairi. She had short silver hair that covered her left eye, but her red eye and the stoic gaze that it carried was piercing enough for the pair. She wore a sleeveless blue turtleneck jacket, light-beige Capri pants, and a pair of Crocs. The girl, Fuu, took “taciturn” to a whole new level, speaking only in very brief, two- to three-word sentences.

As he identified these two individuals, Sora realized who he had run into. A young man who wore a blue crop-top vest, a long white sleeveless jacket, baggy aubergine-colored pants, a pair of black combat boots with blue shoelaces, and a black tuque hat designed with a white “Ore” kanji, pushed himself to his feet, brushing off Fuu’s offer of assistance. He glared at Sora, giving him a good look at the diagonal scar cut between his blue-green eyes.

“You want to watch where you’re going?” the thuggish young man asked angrily.

Sora rubbed the back of his head, making sure that the pain would go away. “I’m sorry, Seifer. It was an accident,” he said. Of course, he did not expect to be let off so easily. The highly-confrontation Seifer was a member and the self-proclaimed leader of the local disciplinary committee, who has decided to carry his “authority” out to the rest of the town. Despite holding himself as a keeper of order, most of the younger generation can tell that he is just a thug bullying others into doing what he says. And, of course, that tends to mean that he would pick a fight with anyone who gets on his bad side, even inadvertently. Sora had almost gotten into a fight with him on their first meeting before they were interrupted. In a later encounter, they had developed a sort of grudging respect for each other, but that was not likely to save the moment this time.

“Well, then I guess you should have been a little more careful, huh?” Seifer scoffed. “Now you’ve run into a bit of trouble, and I’m not letting you off easy.”

Sora was surprised by his bravado. He was honestly curious if he was actually planning to start a fight. Not only was it likely that someone would come and see it, but he should seriously know better than to pick a fight with him. But Sora supposed that his pride would not let him let this go so simply.

“Hey!” Sora and Seifer turned to see where the voice had come from. They saw an overweight teenager who was about Sora’s age. The boy had brown eyes and messy black hair. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt underneath a sleeveless red jersey with a cartoonish black silhouette of a dog with three bones above it designed on it and the words “Dog Street” printed vertically in large white letters to the right of the design, as well as blue jeans, blue and white shoes with gray soles and a raised tongue, a black headband with white edges, and a small purple bandanna around his neck. Seifer scowled but Sora, for his part, was glad to see him.

“He said it was an accident,” the boy continued defiantly. “And he said sorry.”

Seifer grunted. “Well, who asked you?” he retorted disdainfully.

“Yeah! Get lost, y’know?” Rai added.

“Excuse me?” Hearing this new voice, Seifer looked up and glared at the five individuals standing over the scene of the confrontation. Riku, the one who had spoken, glared back. He started to walk down the ramp, followed by Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi. “I suggest you accept his apology and go find something better to do. He and the others stood alongside Pence and proceeded to stare Seifer and his posse down, making it clear that they did not intend to take “no” for an answer.

After a moment of staring back at his challenger, Seifer scowled and started to turn away. “Whatever,” he snarled, clearly annoyed.

Rai was taken aback. “What? We’ve gotta show these punks that we’re in charge, y’know?” he protested.

“You try,” Fuu snarked. Rai took a step back in surprise and waved his hands in front of him, indicating that he would rather not face the newcomers on his own.

Seifer gave Sora and his friends an aside glance. “I’ll let you off with a warning. But be sure that you know the rules around here,” he scolded. With that, he walked off to the sandlot, trailed by Rai and Fuu.

After they were gone, Sora turned to his friends and gave them a cheeky smile. “Thanks for backing me up, guys,” he said. He turned to the boy who had taken the first step in defying Seifer. “You too, Pence. How have things been?”

Pence grinned. “Not too bad,” he replied. “What about you? Did you find your friends?”

“See for yourself.” Sora pointed to the group standing around Pence. Pence turned around and nearly jumped in surprise. Since they had been on the level above him when he arrived on the scene and he had been focused on the altercation between Sora and Seifer the whole time, he had not really noticed them as they came down around his peripheral. For a moment, he had simply assumed that they were random passerby, possibly just one or two, who had come upon the conflict. But now that he had gotten a good look at them, he recognized four of the five. The tall guy with the silver hair was a complete stranger, but he knew Donald, Goofy, King Mickey, and…

“Kairi?!” Pence gasped. “You’re alright! What happened?”

Kairi giggled. “I’m fine, Pence. I was told that you and the others helped Sora, Donald and Goofy find a way to the Organization’s stronghold all to rescue me?” Pence nodded. “Thanks.”

Riku held his hand out. “I’m Riku. Nice to meet you, Pence,” he greeted.

Pence’s eyes widened. He took Riku’s hand and shook it. “So, you’re Riku,” he mumbled. “Nice to meet you, too.” He turned to look at Sora. “I’m glad to see that you were able to find your friends.”

“Thanks,” Sora replied. “So, are Hayner and Olette at the Usual Spot?”

“Oh, yeah,” Pence answered. “C’mon! They’ll be glad to see you.” He then led the party up the ramp and through the back alley, stopping at a metal gate whose door hung wide open. Past this gate was a skinny path between two houses, forcing the party to pass by in a single-file line rather than a bunched-up throng.

Once they reached the end of the path, they came out into an alcove that sat beneath the train tracks. The alcove had been set up into a makeshift hangout, with an old sofa set up against the right wall, a dartboard on the left wall, and a worn-out poster advertising Twilight Town hanging above the sofa. Three large ventilation grates were lined up on the rear wall, a yellow radiator was installed beneath the central grate, and a rusted metal pipe connected from the left wall into the floor. Boxes, thin shafts of wood, and traffic cones had been tucked away in the corners and against the walls. An empty oil drum sat to the left of the entrance, and a stepladder stood near the back left corner.

There were two teenagers in the so-called “Usual Spot” already. Both of them were the same age as Sora, Kairi and Pence. A boy with moderately spiky blond hair and brown eyes, wearing baggy camouflage pants, a black muscle shirt decorated with a crudely-drawn skull-and-crossbones, a sleeveless grey vest, camouflage-patterned shoes with white tips and a pair of intersecting black belts in place of laces, a white necklace with a yellow “X” charm, and a brown bracelet on his left arm with several silver pins in it, stood close to the entrance, throwing darts. A girl with green eyes and short brown hair with two strands draping over her shoulder, wearing an orange tank top with a white floral pattern at the bottom, khaki-colored Capri pants, orange socks with white hems, cream, black and yellow-colored shoes, a beaded, sky-blue bracelet on her right wrist, and a black necklace with a sky-blue charm, sat on the couch watching her friend.

The girl, Olette, saw the group arrive. “Hayner!” she called her friend. Hayner stopped just after throwing another dart and turned to face Olette. He saw that she was looking past him and turned around to see what it was. His eyes widened when he saw the party.

“What’s up?” he greeted. He then did a double take when he saw Kairi. “Wait, Kairi?!” He pumped his fist in excitement. “You’re alright! That redheaded punk didn’t hurt you, did he?” A hint of anger crept into his voice as he remembered the incident where Axel had arrived to kidnap Kairi and he had been helpless to stop him.

Kairi smiled and shook her head. “I’m fine, Hayner. Thanks.”

Olette ran over and hugged Kairi. “We were so worried about you,” she said.

“So? What happened?” Hayner asked insistently.

Sora, Kairi and Riku, with some input from Mickey and a few comments from Donald and Goofy, told them how they had reached Organization XIII’s castle, reunited, defeated the last members of the Organization, and returned home.

“Wow. That is so cool!” Pence squeed.

“Glad you showed those creeps what’s what,” Hayner commended.

“Wait, wait,” Kairi interrupted the praise, as she found herself unable to restrain her curiosity and confusion regarding a particular detail of the story. “‘Other Twilight Town’?”

Sora shrugged. “Yeah, I didn’t really understand that, either,” he admitted. “What was that about, Riku?”

Riku scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Oh, yeah. I guess I never did explain that. After I captured Roxas, DiZ, ahem, Ansem the Wise put him in a simulated copy of the town, both in an effort to hide him from the Organization and to keep him docile until your memories had been put back together,” he explained. “But when Axel got in, I guess he created a breach in the code leading right to the Dark City.”

“Oh, gotcha. I think.” As he thought about the topic of the Simulated Twilight Town, a thought occurred to him. He turned to face Hayner, Pence and Olette. “Say, did you guys ever meet Roxas?”

The three teens were perplexed. “Should we have?” Pence asked.

Goofy tapped Sora on the shoulder to get his attention. “Do you still have the photo?” he asked. Sora took a moment to consider what he was talking about, then understood. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a photograph.

“I was just wondering, because in the ‘other’ Twilight Town, you were his friends,” he said, showing off the picture. Pence took the photo and studied it, with Hayner and Olette looking over his shoulders. The photo depicted four teens grouped together in front of an old mansion: Hayner, Pence, Olette, and a boy whom Sora and Riku knew full well as Roxas.

“Weird,” Hayner commented. “We have a photo just like this, but with just the three of us.”

“That Ansem guy must have doctored the other kid in,” Pence guessed. “You said his name was… Roxas?” Sora nodded. Pence studied Roxas’ face and gasped. “Wait a minute! I think we did meet him before!”

Hayner raised an eyebrow. “You sure?” he asked, skeptical.

Pence nodded and showed him the photo again. “He showed up when you were trying to beat your Grandstander record.”

Olette examined the face in the photo again. “You’re right! I think he was wearing a black hooded coat,” she added.

Hayner crossed his arms in contemplation. “Oh, yeah. Weird kid. He just showed up then. Didn’t really look like he knew what to do.”

“I also ran into him a few weeks before,” Pence continued. “And there was a tall guy with him.” His eyes widened as he realized something. “Wait, I thought that creep who grabbed Kairi looked familiar.”

“What do you mean?” Olette asked.

“He was the guy with Roxas when I first met him,” Pence explained.

“What?!” Hayner and Olette gasped.

“Roxas and Axel were best friends, once upon a time,” Sora said sorrowfully. “But they had a bit of a falling-out, around the same time he left the Organization.”

“Axel said something about wanting to use me as bait for Sora so he could get Roxas back, or something like that,” Kairi added.

“I still don’t get it,” Hayner complained. “What’s the big deal about Roxas? Who was he?”

Sora could understand his confusion. The same questions had been bothering him for most of his second journey, starting when Demyx appeared and called him Roxas. His bewilderment was only exacerbated when Xigbar, Luxord, and Saïx insisted on referring to him by the same name, much to his escalating annoyance. He decided that he should tell Hayner, Pence and Olette the full story.

“You remember those creatures that attacked you outside of the mansion? The Nobodies?” he asked. The three teens nodded. “You see, when a person loses his heart and forms a Heartless, sometimes his body and soul gain a life of their own and become Nobodies. Axel was a Nobody strong enough to retain a human form. He and twelve others were brought together as the Organization XIII.”

“Yeah, so what does that have to do with this Roxas guy?” Hayner asked impatiently.

Sora nodded, indicating that he was getting to that. “The same thing happened to me, well over a year ago,” he continued. “Roxas was a result of that transformation.” He noticed the teens’ eyes widen as they put two and two together. “Roxas is my Nobody.”

Chapter 70: Chapter 69: Lazy Afternoons

Chapter Text

Sora and his friends stood patiently, waiting for Hayner, Pence and Olette to pick their jaws up off of the floor. They were not all too surprised that the three teens had been so taken aback by the revelation. Donald snickered, amused by the reaction.

Pence was the first to regain his bearings. “So, he’s your Nobody? Does that mean he can do what you can do?” he asked.

Sora nodded. “Yeah. He can use the Keyblade,” he answered.

Hayner gathered himself up and took on a posture as if acting as though he had not lost his composure. “If he was part of you, and he also had that power, that explains what made him so important to everything going on,” he surmised.

He sighed. “You know, he didn’t seem like too bad a guy. I kind of wish we could have gotten to know him.”

Sora smiled, touched by that statement. “I’m sure he’d be glad to hear you say that,” he told the blond.

Hayner raised his eyebrow in confusion. “What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“It’d be hard to explain, but you could say that he and I have a sort of connection,” Sora replied.

Hayner smirked in amusem*nt. “Whatever.”

“Say, while you’re all here,” Olette began, “how about we give you guys a tour of the town? I know Kairi didn’t really get the chance to see Market Street when she was first here, and I don’t think you guys ever crossed over to the other side of town. So? How about it? We have plenty of time.”

The guests traded glances with one another, wordlessly gauging each other’s opinions of the offer. After seeing that they were like-minded on the idea, Sora and Kairi turned back to Olette. “Alright. Let’s do it,” Sora said.

“Sounds fun,” Kairi agreed.

“Cool. You up, Hayner?” Pence asked.

Hayner chuckled. “Of course,” he replied. “Let’s take the six o’clock train to Sunset Station. Don’t worry. Train rides within the town border are free.”

Donald looked surprised. “That sounds like a curious business model,” he commented.

Pence shrugged. “It seems to work for them, particularly with the other lines leading elsewhere. Like that funky ghost train.”

Hayner, Pence and Olette led Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy out of the alleyway and back up to Central Station. They picked up their tickets, which of course were completely free, and boarded the first train. The only other passengers were a woman and her young son. The boy watched the six strangers in wonder as they boarded the train and sat down on the seats lining the walls, until his mother advised him not to stare.

The party of nine sat patiently as the train continued along its path. The visiting six turned to look out the windows and watch the scenery go by.

Kairi decided to make small talk. “So, what’s on the other side of town?” she asked.

“Sunset Terrace is mostly a residential district,” Pence explained. “Aside from the rail system, it’s connected to the market and event areas by an underground concourse. Some people tend to use that to cross from one side to another if they want to get their exercise. After all, not even Hayner can challenge you to a race if you’re both sitting on a train.” He let out a laugh to accompany the joke. Kairi giggled as well.

“A few months ago, the concourse was closed off for maintenance,” Olette added. “But now they’re back open.”

Pence leaned in and affected a spooky campfire voice. “You know, some say that it was being haunted by phantoms that appear out of the shadows to target their prey,” he said hauntingly.

Hayner rolled his eyes. “Please! Not another one of those bogus rumors,” he complained.

Sora raised his eyebrow. “Rumors?” he parroted, curious. Next to him, Riku sighed in apparent exasperation. He seemed to know a thing or two about what Hayner was talking about.

Before the discussion could continue, the train slowed down and the driver announced that they were pulling into Sunset Station. Moments later, the train came to a stop and the doors opened. The passengers stepped out of the train and allowed a new group of people to board.

They stood on a platform that led down to the street via a few flights of stone steps wrapping around the platform; the platform was raised up so that the train would ride along a track that went over and around the town. To their left was a large yellow clock with brown hands. Down a short set of steps, a ticket booth not unlike the one at Central Station sat on the right. A waist-high railing secured the platform ahead of them.

As they began to walk down the flight of stairs, Sora noticed some graffiti on the wall next to him. It said “SPOOKY STAIRS”.

“Hey, Pence,” Sora called. Pence stopped in his tracks at the bottom of the stairs and turned around. “What’s this?” Sora pointed at the graffiti.

Hayner scowled. “One of Pence’s dumb rumors,” he griped. Clearly, he was tired of the so-called rumors and Pence’s apparent fascination with them.

Pence smiled in mild embarrassment. “Well, he’s not wrong,” he admitted under his breath. “You see, there were these surreal stories going around town. Some of my classmates and I called them ‘The Seven Wonders of Twilight Town’. Since people pass through here every day, this has become the most famous one.”

“What makes them so spooky?” Goofy asked.

Hayner groaned, knowing that he could do nothing to stop this discussion.

“Well, the story is that they count differently every time you go up and down,” Pence explained. “But here’s the kicker: Rai was the one who counted them.”

Sora, Kairi and Mickey were unimpressed. Riku was simply unfazed, apparently having heard about the so-called rumor. Goofy tapped his noggin curiously, trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. Donald crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “Every time?” the duck asked.

Pence sighed. “Yeah. Every time,” he answered lamely. “He was like, ‘every time I count, it’s different, y’know’. No one else really bothered counting more than once.”

“Rai,” Sora reiterated, disappointed. “Seifer’s lackey? Not too bright? Apparently made it to high school without knowing how to count?”

Hayner waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t get your hopes up with the other six,” he said in a harsh tone. “They’re all dumb tabloid tales told by people who don’t have the motivation or common sense to figure out what’s really going on. The Friend from Beyond the Wall? Someone throwing balls from a bricked-off alley. The Moans from the Tunnel? Wind blowing through a vent in the underground tunnel. The Doppelganger? A reflection in the waterfall. The Animated Bag? A dog somehow got stuck in that sack. The Ghost Train?” He paused as he remembered the purple and yellow train that Sora, Donald and Goofy boarded. “Okay, I guess there was something fishy about that. But the last one? The Lonely Girl? That was just a curtain blowing from a draft. You even started going behind our backs to look into that so-called ‘Eighth Wonder’ way back when and then everyone shut up about it. Let’s just forget about your mysteries and fantasies!”

Pence appeared hurt by Hayner’s tirade. Olette put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.

“Now look what you did,” Sora scolded Hayner. “That’s no way to talk to your friend.”

Hayner jumped in surprise. He turned back around and saw Pence’s sad expression. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, ashamed of himself. “Sorry, Pence,” he said. “I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”

“Don’t feel bad, Pence,” Olette said soothingly. “Some of your research turned out to be interesting. Your parallel dimension theory helped Sora find Kairi. And Mrs. Tweigel liked your ideas on emotional feedback in relation to it.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a healthy curiosity,” Mickey assured him. “At least, so long as it doesn’t get out of hand.”

After a moment, Pence smiled back at his friends. “Thanks, guys.”

“A dog got stuck in a bag?” Goofy asked, horrified by Hayner’s explanation of the fifth rumor.

Hayner shrugged. “Honestly, I couldn’t tell you how that happened. I don’t even know the actual details,” he admitted.

“How long had that been going around before Pence figured it out?” Donald asked.

“Reports had been going around for a few weeks, on and off, before I figured out what was going on,” Pence explained. “I told the dog’s owners after I found out, and they had no idea how she kept getting stuck in there.”

“Gawrsh,” was all Goofy could say in response.

“So, yeah, other than that, the ‘Seven Wonders’ are pretty mundane misconceptions,” Hayner concluded. “Let’s not worry about them. Come on!” He beckoned the others to follow as he started descending the remaining stairs. Deciding to end the discussion right there, the rest of the group followed after him, though Sora and Kairi wondered where the other rumors came from. Riku, however, seemed to be stuck on a specific rumor that Hayner had complained about and debunked.

The Sunset Terrace was just as lively as Market Street. Friends talked on street corners and grown-ups took walks around the district. Some families spent the hour eating dinner together. A single-car tram, the same color as the train, drove back and forth along a straight line from one end of the terrace to the other. Sora noticed that it did not seem to be the most practical mode of transportation, nor the most convenient use of a tram system, but Olette explained that the more athletic youths liked to climb onto it and hop across rooftops. She also told him that the tram, on both sides of town, moved slowly enough so that the driver could stop it whenever someone stepped in front of its path.

Sora decided to try it out. One second after he stepped on the path, the tram stopped. He grabbed onto the lip above the windshield and vaulted himself up onto the roof. With him no longer in the way, the tram continued along. Sora looked around, considering where to go from there. When the tram reached the end of its track, he saw a house to the right and jumped over the gap, landing on its roof. From the perspective of his friends on the ground, the house’s residents did not seem bothered by the thump audible from the roof; they seemed used to people jumping across roofs.

Sora beckoned his friends to follow along before jumping to the next roof. With the exceptions of Pence and Olette, who politely refused based on personal fitness and preference, respectively, and Donald, who had no chance of keeping up, the gang jumped on top of the tram car one-by-one and started crossing roofs after Sora. Kairi, Goofy and Hayner landed on different roofs at their first jumps, as the tram had started going back in the other direction.

Sora jumped across roofs until he came near a large entrance to a tunnel built into the hill. He stopped and listened when he heard what seemed to be an eerie moaning sound. After a short moment, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Hayner, and Goofy had joined him on the roof. Pence, Olette and Donald, meanwhile, had followed their path on the ground.

“So, I take it these are the fabled ‘Moans from the Tunnel’?” Sora asked.

Hayner nodded. “Yep. Of course, that’s just the noise the ventilation makes just inside. I guess it reverberates enough to come out as that creepy echo.”

“Huh.” For some reason, Sora could only imagine a kid with a funny-looking witch’s hat carrying a Struggle bat. He did not know what that had to do with the rumor, and he did not know who the kid was, so he put the thought to the side.

He walked over to the ledge and hopped off of the roof, landing in the street near Pence, Olette and Donald. The others followed suit.

“Come on,” Pence said. “You’ve got to see the view from Sunset Hill.” He beckoned for the others to follow and led them down to the end of the tram track. The party walked up the nearby path leading up and around the northern hill at the edge of the terrace. When they reached the top, they could see the dusk sun in the distance. The summit was fenced around by guardrails made from pieces of wood. To the right of the center was a construct reminiscent of the Central Station clock tower.

None of them could help but smile at the view. The sight of the perpetual sunset over a serene landscape captured the feel of the entire town for the visiting party: peaceful and wholesome. Even though it lacked the sound of seawater lapping on sand and the feeling of an ocean breeze, it reminded Sora, Riku and Kairi of home.

“Hard to beat this view, huh?” Olette said. Sora, Kairi, and Goofy shook their heads, smiling. They all sat down and stared into the distance, enjoying the sight.

Every few minutes, they saw a train go by on an elevated track in the distance. The third train to go by was different from the others; it was purple and yellow rather than orange, and it had what appeared to be a conical hat with star-and-moon designs above the windshield.

“That’s the train you got on after we first met, right?” Pence asked. Sora nodded. “Remember the Seven Wonders we were talking about earlier? Well, we call this one ‘The Ghost Train’. What can you tell us about it?”

Sora chuckled, remembering the strange train ride. He recalled that, while he, Donald and Goofy did ride it, there was no one behind the controls. It also passed through the sea between worlds in seconds and vanished as soon as they had disembarked. He could tell that it would be fun to see how Pence, Hayner and Olette react to what he says.

“Well, it didn’t take us anywhere in town, or on this world, even. A few minutes after leaving the station, it jumped through dimensions and brought us to this land mass that was just floating in the middle of nowhere. And there was this tower where an old wizard lived, and he briefed us on our mission to stop the threat of Organization XIII,” he explained.

As he had expected, Pence, Hayner and Olette’s eyes had widened as much as humanly possible. Donald snickered at this.

“Then fairies made me new clothes and we flew off in a rocket,” Sora added.

This broke the ice and caused the three teens to burst into laughter. The rest of the group soon joined in, and they laughed together until they got tired of doing so.

“Well, I can say I’m glad that our town sticks to the simple life,” Hayner said. “I don’t know how I would take it if creatures from other dimensions just started running around willy-nilly.”

“Uh, yeah…” Olette seemed to agree, all while images of a green two-legged dragon flying around Market Street played in her mind.

Riku was deep in thought. The topic of the sixth Wonder brought a resurgence in his earlier curiosity, and since the topic was still fresh in everyone’s minds he decided to ask about it. “Hey, Hayner, about the other ‘Wonders’…” Hayner raised an eyebrow at what Riku was saying. “Can you tell me about the last one you mentioned? The Lonely Girl?”

“Oh? Sure.” By that point, Hayner had calmed down from his prior outburst at the discussion of the Seven Wonders, so he was willing to talk about it in a calm fashion. “There’s this old mansion deep in the woods. It’s supposed to be abandoned, though a few months ago Pence, Olette and I, with Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey coming along, found working computers in the basem*nt. But before we did that investigation, everyone thought that it had been long since abandoned. However, starting a little over a year ago, whenever people went out to the woods and got a look at the mansion, they would come back and say that they saw a girl standing in the second floor window. I think they said that she looked like she was blonde and wore a white dress, making her almost look like a ghost or something.”

Kairi raised an eyebrow quizzically, a sense of recognition slowly creeping in on hearing the description of the girl. “So, Pence, didn’t you say that you investigated the Wonders?” she asked.

Pence nodded. “Yeah. Though, I didn’t actually go inside. Even if I wanted to, the gate had a huge lock on it. Olette maybe could have fit between the bars, but I definitely couldn’t. So I just looked into the window from outside. And, on first glance, it definitely looked like there was a girl standing at the side. But it was so far away that I couldn’t really be sure that it wasn’t just my eyes playing tricks on me. So I pulled out my binoculars to get an enlarged and clearer view.” Kairi and Olette traded glances and both looked befuddled by the last thing he had said. “Turns out, it was just the curtain shifting. I guess there was a draft in there, or something.”

Riku, Kairi and Sora traded curious glances. The description of the girl in the mansion seemed familiar.

“A blonde girl in a white dress? Does that sound like anyone we know?” Sora asked his friends.

Riku nodded. “Sounds a lot like her,” he replied.

Hayner was taken aback. “Wait. You know that girl?” he asked in surprise.

Sora nodded. “We figured out that the computers in the basem*nt belonged to Ansem the Wise, right? Well, he and Riku were working together to investigate the Organization for a year, and to make sure that Donald, Goofy and I were able to regain our memories properly and wake up,” he explained. “There was also a girl with them, doing most of the work in putting my memories back together. Her name was Naminé.”

Hayner and Pence raised their eyebrows, intrigued. “Well, two points to the Wonders, I guess,” Hayner commented. “So, what was Naminé’s deal? Let me guess: long-lost childhood friend with magic powers? No, wait. Kairi’s Nobody?”

Kairi smiled. “The second one,” she answered.

This simply drew a chuckle out of Hayner. This revelation had not shocked him as much as the one about Roxas.

Olette, meanwhile, was only more curious about both Nobodies. “Maybe one day you can bring them so we can all meet,” she suggested.

Sora smiled. “I’m sure they’d like that,” he said.

They spent a few more minutes watching the sunset before they decided to return to the other side of town and finish the tour at the Tram Common. They elected to take a walk through the Underground Concourse. In the tunnel system, they heard the hum of ventilation and the slosh of water running through the sewage system beneath the floor. They could also faintly hear the rumbling of one or two of the trains driving around aboveground. Each footstep echoed through the winding pathways. At first, there was only a long hallway with a few short branches leading to exits or maintenance points. Eventually, the paths opened up in multiple directions, the paths turning and intersecting. There were multiple points that lead out and up a flight of stairs to the surface. Each exit was numbered so it would be easy to tell which paths led where.

Despite what Pence said about supposed monsters roaming the tunnels, nothing rose up to attack them, though Goofy stopped and turned around a few times when he thought he detected something out of the ordinary.

They stepped through the archway labeled “4” and climbed the steps up to the Tram Common. Everyone climbed into the tram as it came by and stared out the windows as it drove around the town, taking in the sights. After the first loop, they stepped off and passed the Moogle Shop, which was in a cylindrical building not far from the tunnel entrance, and made their way to a stall selling ice cream.

“Okay, Kairi, you’ve got to try the Sea-Salt Ice Cream,” Sora insisted.

“I can’t wait to try it,” Kairi replied.

“Say, did Scrooge ever recreate that recipe?” Mickey asked.

“Yeah! It took him a while, but he got it,” Donald answered.

Hayner flashed the cashier a smile. “Nine Sea-Salts,” he told her.

“Sea-Salt Ice Creams coming right up,” the cashier replied.

“You sure you can pay for that?” Olette asked.

Hayner chuckled co*ckily. “Of course I…” He felt around in his pocket and realized that she had a point.

Sora noticed this and decided to step in. “Let me help you with that,” he said. He took a sum of Munny out of his pocket and showed it to Hayner.

Hayner nodded in thanks. “You sure come prepared,” he commented.

A few minutes later, the cashier returned and handed a stick of blue ice cream each to Sora and Hayner. They took the ice creams and the cashier went back to grab two more. She handed out ice cream until each customer had one.

“That’ll be 1,800 Munny,” the cashier said. Sora and Hayner handed the Munny over. The young woman noticed Sora and his friend. “Don’t believe I’ve met you all. You from out of town?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah. I’m Sora.” The other five introduced themselves in turn.

“Well, nice to meet you all. I’m Xu,” the cashier introduced herself. “I take it this is also your first time having Sea-Salt Ice Cream?”

“Actually, Donald’s had one before,” Sora clarified. “And I’ve heard good things about it.”

“Well, then take a bite and let me know how you like it!”

Sora and Kairi took their first bites. “Mmmm…” they hummed as they savored the taste.

“Salty…” Sora began.

“Yet sweet,” Kairi finished.

Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy tasted their treats next, and practically melted in ice cream bliss.

Xu giggled. “I take it you like it,” she surmised. They nodded in confirmation. “That’s great. Well, enjoy!”

“Thanks!” Sora replied. The party began to take their leave, but Sora noticed something pinned up on the wall next to the shop window. At the top, it read “CUSTOMER OF THE MONTH”. Below that, in a list labeling months from the current and previous year, were a series of names. The name “Axel” seemed to be on the list for several months straight, up until November of the previous year. On a few lines, there were one or two other names beside his. One of them was “Roxas”, which made sense, since they would both eat ice cream together after each day’s missions. Since ice cream was practically part of their daily routine, it was only natural that they would win the “Customer of the Month” by a landslide.

But there was a third name that was unfamiliar to Sora. Written in katakana at a small distance away from Axel and Roxas’ scripted names, Sora tried to make out who this third person was.

Shi…on…

Sora tapped Riku on the shoulder. If anyone was going to know about what Roxas had been up to during his year in the Organization, it would be him.

Riku turned around. “Yeah, Sora?”

Sora pointed at the bulletin. “You see these names?” he asked.

Riku studied the list his friend was showing him. “Roxas and Axel, right? I guess they did eat a lot of ice cream,” he joked.

“But, see, on a few of these, there’s another name,” Sora clarified. “Does the name ‘Shion’ sound familiar to you?”

Riku thought hard about the question, recalling all of his time spying on Roxas. However, the name did not even raise a spark of recognition. He shook his head. “Sorry. I got nothing.”

Sora shrugged. “Oh, well. Could be a coincidence,” he said in resignation. He took another bite of his ice cream.

“But you don’t think so?” Riku asked, raising an eyebrow in his friend’s direction.

“Just curious,” Sora replied. He did not know what to make of it himself, so he decided to put the thought aside and maybe look into it later.

Sora and Riku rejoined the group, and they all returned to the Usual Spot, where they finished their ice cream and spent the rest of the evening talking and laughing together.

Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Dive to the Cards

Chapter Text

As the hours had gone by, the nine of them decided to call it a day. Hayner, Pence and Olette showed the others to a hotel, where the six visitors decided to check in for the night. They ended up renting out two separate suites next to each other, with Sora, Riku and Kairi in one room and Mickey, Donald and Goofy in the other. Soon, they had turned off the lights and gone to sleep.

Sora’s dream began with him standing on the surface of an ocean. Moments later, he dropped through and started sinking, soon tumbling until he was upside-down while still descending. Eventually, the water faded into a void and his fall began to slow. Something caused him to slowly turn back around until he was going in a feet-first direction. Looking down, he saw a circular platform embedded with stained-glass pieces. The main focus of the artwork depicted his own sleeping form, wearing the clothes that had granted him Drive power during his previous adventure. Seven circles sat in a larger circle toward the top of the image, though three of them were obscured by Sora’s body. The uncovered circles depicted Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy’s faces.

Sora landed softly on his feet, standing on the stained-glass image of his shoes. He saw another boy standing directly across from him. They boy, who appeared to be the same age as him, wore a black coat not unlike Lea and Isa’s. His face drew similarities to Sora’s own, though his spiky hair was different; the hairdo was tamer than Sora’s and it appeared to be more dirty blond than brown.

Sora and the other boy both walked toward the center. A table and two chairs appeared in the middle of the station. They pulled their respective chairs out and sat down. The other boy pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and removed a rubber band holding them together. He began to shuffle the deck, rearranging the cards in a practiced manner.

“So, Sora, how’s your adventure going?” the boy asked as he began dealing the cards.

“We’re having fun. Aside from watching three of our friends die, though two of them came back,” Sora told his other half. Or was it ‘other two-thirds’? No one ever really explained how important the ‘soul’ was.

“I see. Any luck figuring out what the bad guys are looking for?” Roxas asked as he finished passing the cards around. They each had ten cards. Roxas put the remaining cards in the middle and flipped the first one over beside it.

Sora shook his head. He took a card from the pile and discarded one from his hand. “We have an idea on what to look for, but we have no idea how it’s all supposed to fit together. And, of course, nobody actually wants to tell us anything.”

Roxas snickered. “Welcome to my world,” he retorted. He drew Sora’s discarded card and laid down a run of 3, 4, and 5 hearts, then discarded a Jack of Clubs. “You know how I left the Organization because of all the secrets.”

“And the lack of trust, even from your best friend. And the manipulations. And because Saïx was a total jerkwad,” Sora added. “Did I miss anything?”

Roxas shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

“You know, maybe you should come along to help us with our pitch: don’t tell us what we need to know to help you, and we’ll just give up on the universe,” Sora joked. He drew a new card, laid down a meld of three Kings, and discarded a card.

Roxas laughed. “That might get you somewhere.”

They fell silent and continued playing for a few turns, adding to and creating runs and melds.

“So, we met Hayner, Pence and Olette today,” Sora said.

Roxas nodded without answering. He drew a new card and slipped another one from his hand into Sora’s run.

Sora noticed that his Nobody was nervous. “You don’t want to talk to them?” he asked.

Roxas sighed. “They’re not the gang I know. They don’t know me.”

“That doesn’t mean they can’t,” Sora countered. “Hayner even said he’d like to meet you.”

There was a brief silence before Roxas replied. “But I’m deep inside you. We joined back together. What will happen to you if… and how would we separate?”

“We can figure that part out. And you stepped out to talk to me and Naminé just fine.”

“But what if—”

“Roxas,” Sora interrupted.

“Huh?”

“You’re dodging the question.”

Roxas was taken aback. “What?”

“Don’t you want to meet them?”

There was a brief moment of silence. Roxas sighed. “I don’t know. I guess I’m not sure I can really…” Roxas trailed off, not sure what to say.

“You’re afraid to try?”

Roxas was surprised. “What? You think I could?”

“Ansem seemed to think it could work. Or Naminé, maybe, considering how… standoffish Ansem was as DiZ. Maybe she saw you meet the real ‘them’ the first couple times and that gave her the idea to make them your friends in the virtual world. She probably figured that if you had a fully-developed heart then and you got to meet them a few more times, you’d be fast friends”

“Maybe that’s how she saw it then. But that was before… Now…”

Sora raised an eyebrow. “You’re afraid to try to make friends?” he surmised. “Since Axel kept secrets from you and drove you away, and since you thought you could be friends with Hayner, Pence and Olette only to find that it was all an illusion, you’re afraid that any attempt at friendship will fail.”

After a moment, Roxas nodded. “I guess so.”

Sora looked into his eyes solemnly, before giving him a smile. “I think you can manage,” he said. “After all, I’m your friend, right?”

Roxas was mildly surprised. He allowed himself a small smile and offered a soft nod. “Yeah, I guess.”

Sora drew a fresh card from the deck and analyzed his hand. “Or, maybe not anymore,” he joked as he showed Roxas his hand, added three cards to a run, and discarded his last card, thereby winning the game.

Roxas let his jaw drop in mock horror. “Wow, talk about heartless!” Roxas quipped. They both started laughing.

“Well, at least I never had mine sitting in a jar of dirt!” Sora retorted.

Roxas appeared confused. “Pardon?”

Sora caught himself. “Oh, right. Well, the last couple days, we helped Captain Jack try to get ahold of the heart of Davy Jones to get Jones and his Kraken to stop hunting Jack,” he recounted. “Jones had his actual heart locked away in a chest, and Jack was trying to get it as leverage, since killing the heart would kill Jones himself.

“How’d that go?” Roxas asked, curious.

Sora frowned and looked down. “It didn’t work out.”

“Sorry,” Roxas said sympathetically. After a sorrowful pause, Roxas started to wonder something. “So, is there a difference between losing your heart and whatever was going on with Davy Jones?”

Sora nodded. “It wasn’t like the glowing orb/spiritual heart. It was the blood-pumping organ. But he apparently thought there wasn’t a difference.”

“You mean that he thought removing his beating heart would leave him without having to deal with emotions?”

Sora nodded. “Of course, someone should have told him that it doesn’t actually work in the long-term, even if he got it right the first time.” He gathered up all of the cards and started re-shuffling them.

Roxas laughed. “You think Xemnas and Xigbar knew?” he asked.

Sora shrugged. “Xemnas probably figured it out at some point. And if anyone else was in on it, it would be Xigbar.” He dealt the cards out and flipped another card to create the discard pile.

“Yeah. He seemed to know way more about Xemnas’ plans than he was letting on.”

“He seemed to think Xemnas, or rather Xehanort, had something else planned after we beat them, at least as a backup.”

Roxas made his first turn. “You think Xehanort came back like the others?”

“One would assume. But you’d think we’d have caught wind of something. Hopefully, Leon and the others will have found something out by the time we see them again.”

“We’ll see, I guess.”

They played a few turns. While they played, Sora thought back to what he had seen while getting ice cream earlier that day.

“Say, Roxas?”

“Hmm?”

“Does the name ‘Shion’ mean anything to you?”

Roxas thought hard about the question. The name did not ring any bells, but something tugged at him when he thought of the strange name.

He shook his head. “I… can’t say that it does. Sorry,” he answered. “Why do you ask?”

Sora shrugged. “I just saw the name somewhere today. I was just curious,” he replied.

They let the topic drop, and continued to play for the rest of the night.

Chapter 72: Chapter 71: The Old Mansion

Chapter Text

It took Goofy shaking him for Sora to know that it was a good time to get up. Since the sun was always in a twilight position, it proved unhelpful in providing an indicator for when morning had come. And since Sora had for a long time back home been known for taking naps on the beach, that meant Sora was the last one still asleep by the time Donald had gotten fed up with waiting for him. The duck had wanted to cast Thunder to jolt him awake, but Goofy managed to convince him to let him try a gentle nudge.

“Morning,” Kairi said when Sora finally opened his eyes. “This place has a cafeteria. Now that you’re awake, we can all go get breakfast.”

Sora got out of bed and stretched. “Sure thing,” he yawned.

After breakfast, they checked out of the hotel and took a walk around Market Street. They ran into Hayner, Pence and Olette as they were coming down from the train station. It was Sunday, so the three of them did not have school that day.

“Hey, guys,” Sora greeted. “What’s up?”

“Morning,” Hayner returned the greeting. “So, we were thinking about what you told us yesterday, about Roxas and Naminé, and we were thinking of going into the Old Mansion to check it out, figure out more about them and everything that had been going on.”

“You want to come?” Olette asked.

“Sure,” Sora replied. He looked to his friends for confirmation, and they all nodded in agreement.

“Great! Follow me, then!” Hayner said as he began marching past the group and walking toward Tram Common. The others began to follow him.

“Why are we going this way?” Kairi asked.

“Did you see the hole in the wall on the far end of Tram Common?” Sora asked. Kairi nodded. “Well, that leads out into the woods. Go through the woods, and you’ll find the mansion.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

The party of nine passed through the Common and, sure enough, came to a hole in the far wall large enough for a person to walk through. Kairi wondered what sort of force could have made a hole like that. They passed through one at a time and came into a thick wooded area. For the most part, the heavy canopy of the trees blotted out the sky, and the dense amount of trees prevented almost any sunlight from coming in horizontally, though some light was able to shine through the treetops, allowing the group to see in front of them.

They walked a short distance straight ahead, then gradually arced toward the left. Soon, they could see, through an open path free of trees, a clearing in which sat an old mansion. With their target in sight, they made their way toward the clearing.

A brown brick wall extended beyond the front doors on either side of the building and came together, meeting in the middle at an iron gate, creating an enclosed front yard. The gate hung wide open, having been left that way since some time before Sora, Donald and Goofy had woken up in the basem*nt. Stone structures resembling archways sat between the gate and the mansion itself, but they had suffered extensive damage to the point that they were hardly recognizable beyond appearing as a few broken columns. A row of bushes sat against either side wall.

The mansion stood two stories, with gable roofing on the sides and a single-story-size tower in the center with flanking spires. There was a round stained-glass window in the center of that tower. A small turret with a tall conical roof stood on the roof on the right half of the building. There were windows on either side on the second floor; the window on the right offered a look into a brown-decorated room with brown curtains while the window on the left offered a look into a white room with white curtains.

Once the party and stepped past the gate, Pence pointed at the window to the white room. “So, that was Naminé’s room?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Riku answered.

“Must’ve been lonely,” Olette said sympathetically, “being up there all by herself.”

Riku nodded. “Yeah,” he agreed.

“Alright. Let’s check it out,” Hayner said. “But watch out for those ‘Nobody’ things. Remember last time?”

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey remembered finding Hayner, Pence and Olette injured in the yard, surrounded by a group of Dusks that had ambushed them when they had come to investigate the “Second Twilight Town”. Pence and Olette adjusted their positions so that they were safely enclosed between the Keyblade wielders, the wizard and the knight. Olette tried to pull Kairi into the safety circle, but the redhead gave her a confident look that let her know that she could handle herself against possible attackers.

Hayner, either in his confidence or bravado or due to simply missing the visual cue, remained in the lead. He led the group to the front doors and pulled them open. In the center of the foyer was a table with a metal-rimmed glass case, in which sat a bronze model of some sort of building. There was a set of stairs on either side leading up to a higher level which overlooked the lower section of the room. There was a door on either side wall, next to each set of stairs, though debris blocked access to the door on the right wall. In the back, between the staircases, a glass double door led out into a courtyard behind the main building. A chandelier hung from the ceiling above the glass case. On the front-most wall directly across from the upper landing, a golden coat of arms depicting two unicorns was mounted.

The group climbed the leftmost stairs and turned to approach the door leading to the room on the southern side of the building. Kairi stepped forward and opened the door, being the first to enter the room in which her Nobody had lived.

The entire room was white, even the table, the chairs, and a statue on the table resembling a potted flower. It was eerie how there was no color in the furniture.

“Jeez, I can see where the idea that she was a ghost girl came from,” Hayner remarked. “This place doesn’t have a spot of life in it.”

However, that was not entirely true. A few seconds after Hayner made that comment, Pence, Olette and Kairi noticed numerous pieces of paper strewn about the place, each one scrawled with crayon drawings. Most were taped to the walls while a few lay on the floor. Riku had already been in this room before, with and without a blindfold, so he already knew what he would find.

Pence walked to the wall opposite from the door and examined the pictured taped there. “Hey, take a look at this. This one looks like you three,” he said. Sora, Donald and Goofy stepped up, with Kairi and Mickey not far behind, and saw that Pence was right. The crayon sketch showed Sora, Donald and Goofy, with Sora wearing his original red jumpsuit, blue vest and yellow shoes.

“She really was quite the artist,” Kairi commented.

“Hey, take a look at this!” Olette called from the other side of the room. The others walked around to see what she was drawing their attention toward. “Aren’t these two Roxas and Axel?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah. That would be them,” he answered.

“Then I wonder who these two are,” Olette mused.

The rest of the party examined the sketch closely. They realized that the drawings of Roxas and Axel were from a rear view, and they were facing two other characters who appeared to be wearing black hooded coats.

“Organization XIII?” Goofy guessed.

“Those guys weren’t the only ones to wear the coats,” Mickey reminded him. “And why would other Organization members keep their faces concealed around Roxas and Axel?”

Kairi noticed one character’s figure. “Did the Organization have women in their group?” she asked.

Mickey took a moment to ponder the question. “Well, I think there was one. I never met her, but Larxene was number twelve, the most recent member before Roxas.”

“Larxene?” Sora repeated, recognizing the name. “Wasn’t she at Castle Oblivion working with Marluxia?”

“Castle what?” Hayner asked, having no idea what he was talking about.

“Long story,” Riku waved the question off.

“From what I heard, she was an utter sad*st with lightning powers who toyed with your jumbled memories and emotions. I also heard that you were the one to defeat her,” Mickey explained.

Sora imagined the scenario. “Huh. Almost makes me wish I remembered doing that,” he mused.

“If she came back as a Somebody, maybe one day you’ll get the chance to do it again,” Donald suggested.

“Thing is,” Kairi said, bringing the conversation back to its original topic, “Roxas wasn’t in the Organization that long before Larxene was eliminated. And Naminé didn’t really have a full sense of self then, either. So I can’t imagine it being her.”

“Say, Riku,” Mickey said, getting the silver-haired teen’s attention, “you think the other figure might have been you?”

Riku shrugged. “Maybe. I kind of remember running into the two of them together, and then fleeing. But the details are fuzzy. I’m not quite sure what they were looking for when they tried to chase after me.”

Sora raised an eyebrow, quite curious by this statement. He had noticed the previous night that Roxas had claimed to be unfamiliar with the name “Shion”, but he looked as though something inside him had resonated to the name, as if there should have been something there but any memory was inaccessible. He wondered if something similar had happened to Riku, much like how his own memories had been messed with previously.

Looking around at the rest of the drawings, Sora, Donald and Goofy recognized scenes from their first adventure. It made quite a bit of sense that Naminé would have drawn those scenes, as those had been Sora’s most recent memories prior to her coming into existence, and those would have been the among the most prominent scenes she would have seen. When Hayner, Pence, or Olette inquired about a page, Sora, Donald and Goofy would explain what had happened as best they could.

“Hard to believe that there are so many different worlds beyond our own,” Pence said.

“That was a story we had all been told back on our island,” Riku told him. “But it is pretty darn cool when you get to see your first new world.”

“It’s never not cool,” Sora agreed wholeheartedly.

“So, Naminé had ‘visions’ of your memories, and she could rearrange your memories and your friends’ memories?” Hayner asked for clarification.

“She could also synthesize memories that weren’t already there,” Riku added.

“Freaky,” Hayner muttered. “I guess, even though she wasn’t a ghost, there sure was enough about her to make a Wonder.”

“I wonder what else they had in this place, putting together an entire copy of the town,” Pence mused.

Sora crossed his arms, slightly confused. “Didn’t you take a look at Ansem’s computer in the basem*nt?” he asked.

“Well, I tried, but the rest of the data was heavily encrypted,” Pence explained. “I couldn’t get much farther than turning on the portal with the password you gave me and a medium-quality rendering of the town.”

Riku chuckled. “DiZ told me after the fact that ice cream was a stupid password, but I convinced him to keep it. I said: ‘Nobody would ever figure out that the secret code to your super-secure computer would be a snack that everyone loves!’ And he bought it.”

Everyone laughed. “I guess that explains the hole between dimensions in that simulation,” Sora joked. “I wonder what other kinds of bugs he let get into the system when he was in one of those moods.”

“Hey, you know, since Riku was working with Ansem during that time, he might be able to help you look further into the computer files,” Goofy suggested.

“That’s a good idea. Thanks, Goofy,” Pence said. “Come on!” He led the group out of the White Room. Kairi followed a few seconds after and was the last to leave her other half’s room.

When they took their first steps through the upper level of the foyer, they saw a swirl of grey thorns materialize in front of them. When the swirl faded, a trio gray humanoid figures with strange-looking heads and traditional-looking robes stood in front of them. These figures had a pair of sheathed swords slung over their backs.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey jumped in front of Hayner, Pence and Olette and summoned their Keyblades, with Donald and Goofy a step behind them in defensive positions and summoned their staff and shield.

“Great! More of these things!” Hayner complained. “What’s their quirk?”

“The Samurai Nobodies attack with both of their swords, and also the sheathes,” Riku explained.

“How does that work?” Hayner asked, baffled.

“How does anything work with these things?” Sora countered. “Some can swim halfway through the floor, and others get dragged around by giant living hammers. At some point, you learn that there are things that you just don’t question.” He raised his Keyblade to deflect a sword strike and retaliated with a strike that sent his opponent reeling.

Kairi parried each of her adversary’s strikes, which was not easy when it was slashing rapid-fire with both its swords and its sheathes. Riku’s enemy found itself on the defensive when he blocked it from striking with a Dark Shield and teleported behind it to strike. Mickey was left as the odd swordsman out, so he decided to help Kairi rebound after her Samurai broke past her defenses and slashed her across the leg. He attacked the Samurai from the side, catching it off guard as he struck it in the arm. The first attack knocked it off balance, and he dealt a vertical swing that knocked it over the railing. Kairi recovered and cast Zero Gravity on the Samurai, bringing it back up to her level. She delivered a series of slashes and stabs until the spell faded, at which point the greatly-wounded Nobody dropped to the floor and disintegrated into clouds of a paper-like substance when it crash-landed.

Sora’s Samurai took a duel stance, and Sora took a similar pose to meet its challenge. He waited for the right instant to clash with its strike. However, he was half a second too slow, and it attacked as he was beginning to raise his counter. The Samurai slid by him at lightning speed, dragging its blade through his gut. However, aside from some broken tissue and a bit of bleeding, Sora was not harmed too badly.

“The timing always gets me,” Sora grunted. He spun around and delivered three hits. As he moved in as if to finish the combo, he took a step forward as if breaking into a run, then vanished. Half a second later, he reappeared behind the Samurai, in a position indicating that he had just finished an attack. The Samurai exploded, the unseen attack having brought an instantaneous victory.

“Whoa!” Hayner gasped. “What was that?”

However, Sora was too busy fighting to answer. Just as Riku had vanquished his opponent, six more Nobodies appeared, each resembling a tiny mercury-colored humanoid with a teardrop for a head and shoes for hands. One of the Creepers shifted into a floating sword and swiped at Sora and Mickey. Mickey parried the blow, sending it off balance. Sora struck while it was trying to regain its wits and it fell back to its normal form. Mickey, Donald and Goofy began attacking some of the other Creepers. Two of the creatures collapsed into balls, pulsed like beating hearts for a second, and then vanished. They came down from above in the form of spears. Kairi screamed in pain as one impaled itself into her foot. She sliced through the transformed Creeper several times with her Keyblade until it faded to nothingness. Donald noticed the injuries being racked up and cast Curaga, healing all wounds.

Noticing the hole in her shoe, Kairi glared at the other Creepers. “I really liked that shoe!” she yelled in frustration. “Aerora!” A powerful gust of wind blew through the mansion lifting the lightweight Creepers into the air. As the Nobodies were unable to defend themselves in this condition, the party struck them in midair until they were no more.

Once everything had calmed down, the heroes dismissed their weapons. They turned around to find Hayner, Pence and Olette, whose jaws had dropped in amazement.

“That was so cool!” Pence shouted excitably.

“Seriously, what was that when you just disappeared and reappeared and that thing went kablooey?” Hayner asked.

It took Sora a moment to figure out what he was talking about. “Oh. That? Our friend Leon called it ‘Zantetsuken Slash’. I don’t really know how it works. Best I can tell, I warp into a different plane where my speed increases for a few feet. My physical form doesn’t connect with anything in front of me, but the Keyblade’s energy reaches back to this plane. Since I don’t actually touch the Nobody, or Heartless otherwise, so the Keyblade’s raw power still slices through it. So, I guess that does more damage, somehow,” Sora explained, with some difficulty.

“Huh. Well, that is a pretty neat trick,” Hayner said.

Kairi pouted at the stab hole in her shoe and looked at Sora enviously. “How come your clothes don’t get damaged?” she asked.

Sora shrugged. “I think I got a few cuts and holes over the last few months,” he admitted. But I guess the fairies’ magic made it so they repaired automatically.”

Kairi crossed her arms in annoyance. “How come you’re the only one who gets the magic clothes?” she muttered.

Sora shrugged. “Next time we see them, I’ll ask them to do something for you.”

“Either way, we should get to the computer room before any more of those Nobodies appear,” Pence reminded them. The others nodded in agreement and continued walking around to the door on the opposite side of the foyer from the White Room.

The walls of the library were lined with shelves upon shelves of books. An alcove set into the wall in which the door was built held a statue resembling a unicorn head with wings. A significant portion of the floor was gone, leaving a staircase leading down two floors into a room with dark blue metal walls and floor with glowing green lines and squares around the place.

The party of nine descended into the highly-advanced basem*nt where Ansem the Wise, in his guise of DiZ, conducted his work on the Simulated Twilight Town, ensuring that Sora’s memories would be restored, and spying on Organization XIII via Riku. Riku knocked on a door beside the stairwell. The door slid open and they walked through one-at-a-time. They entered a room containing a large computer console with screens mounted above it and a small circular alcove to the right. None of the screens were active, as Pence had shut the computer down after he had finished using it months ago.

“Alright, let me turn this thing on,” Pence said as he sat down in the chair and started pressing buttons to activate the computer system. A few seconds after flipping the Master switch and pressing the power buttons, the console started to light up. The screen directly in front of Pence lit up and, after a moment of loading, brought up a text input box requesting a password. “Okay, ‘Sea-Salt Ice Cream’, and…” He typed the password in and hit ENTER. The box disappeared and the screen remained blank while the computer loaded. The other screens gradually came online. One depicted a silhouette of Sora, with a blank graph that looked as though it was supposed to monitor vitals. “We’re in!” Pence shouted triumphantly.

“Let’s start with the Other Twilight Town,” Hayner suggested.

Pence nodded. He double-clicked on a folder labeled “TT_Sim”. A text input window appeared, requesting a password. “Hey, Riku?” he called out, prompting him for something to type in.

“Grid-nine-five-D-greater-than-sign-zero,” Riku instructed. Pence nodded and typed it in: “Grid95D>0”. He hit ENTER.

A window opened up showing numerous .exe files, many of them sharing names with the town’s citizens. At the top of the list, Pence noticed a folder labeled “Footage”. He double-clicked on that and uncovered six files, “Day_1.mp4”, “Day_2.mp4”, “Day_3.mp4”, “Day_4.mp4”, “Day_5.mp4”, and “Day_6.mp4”, as well as a seventh, apparently AutoSaved, file, “Video1.mp4”.

“Freaky,” Hayner said. “He had a copy of everyone, right down to Mrs. Cole’s cat. And he used it to create a duplicate of our world.”

“Why is it still recording?” Olette asked, noticing that the file size for the “Video1” video file increased all on its own. The file seemed to be far larger than the other files.

“Let’s find out,” Pence said. He double-clicked on the video file and a window popped up. A video played, with the screen segmented into nine sections. Each section showed a different part of town. The audience at the computer could see shoppers milling about Tram Common, an older woman swatting at bees with a broom, Seifer and his partners sparring in the Sandlot, Hayner, Pence and Olette themselves chatting in the Usual Spot, business as usual in the train station, people walking around and talking amongst friends at Sunset Terrace, a kid skateboarding at the Station Heights of Market Street, and a kid with a funny-looking witch’s hat swatting trees with a foam bat in the Old Woods.

“They’re just going about their business…” Sora observed.

“One would have thought Ansem would have shut this thing down after Roxas was done in it,” Donald commented.

“Maybe he just left it alone when he left and it was just running on its own,” Goofy surmised.

“And they’re acting all on their own. Ansem did this at the end of the summer, right? He didn’t install any conditions for the rest of the year,” Pence mused. “And yet they’re acting as if they’ve been doing this stuff their entire lives.”

“Maybe from their experiences during the first week, acting out what they were programmed to do and how they were programmed to react, they developed a will to do those things on their own and have just been doing what to them is their everyday lifestyle,” Kairi suggested.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hayner asked.

“Kairi thinks they developed hearts of their own and are following their own will rather than what Ansem programmed into them,” Sora summarized.

“What do you mean by ‘developed hearts of their own’?” Olette asked.

“We’ve started to think that anything with a mind of its own, such as Nobodies or programs for example, can have a heart of its own, even if it didn’t start out with one,” Riku explained.

“Yeah, I’m just going to pretend I understand that,” Hayner remarked.

“Hold on. Pence, can you go back out of the video folder?” Sora asked. Pence nodded, closed the video window, and click the back arrow on the file explorer. Sora took the mouse from Pence’s hand and scrolled down past the names until he could see a list of locations. “Quick question, is there a beach around here?”

Pence nodded. “Yeah. It’s outside of the town line, and you take the second train to get there,” he explained. “Why do you ask?”

“Because it looks like there isn’t one in here,” Sora answered, pointing to the list of files named after locations.

“You’re right!” Pence said on closer examination. “Why isn’t there a beach?”

Riku chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Ansem said that it would only give the Dusks another access point to breach the system,” he explained. “So I had to go to the trouble of tripping Roxas and stealing his Munny on his second day when he and the digital versions of you guys wanted to go to the beach so that you wouldn’t fall into a void of a hanging hyperlink just because Ansem couldn’t invest in securing his system.”

Sora laughed. “He might as well have risked the extra access point since the Dusks breached the system on day one!” he quipped.

“What? Really?” Hayner gasped, amused.

“Play the video, Pence,” Sora requested.

Pence entered the footage folder and double-clicked on the first file. They watched footage from Roxas’ first day in the simulation. After it was over, everyone burst out laughing.

“It wasn’t even ten minutes before the Nobodies had started messing around!” Hayner teased between fits of laughter.

“And he couldn’t be bothered to make a beach!” Sora added.

“I called him out on it,” Riku claimed. “It was pretty ridiculous. And then he told me to get rid of the Munny pouch because it ‘didn’t belong in the real world’. I mean, come on!”

They continued laughing, until they grew tired of it.

“Hey, what else do you think is on here?” Hayner asked.

Pence closed the video window and the file explorer and scanned around the desktop, looking for interesting shortcuts. He hovered the cursor over a folder labeled “Secret Ansem Reports”. “What do you make of this?” he asked.

Sora waved it off. “Eh, we already found all of them,” he said in a disinterested tone.

“Okay…” Pence hovered over a folder labeled “Xehanort ORG”. “What about this?”

Mickey’s face lit up. “That might be helpful,” he said.

Pence double-clicked on the folder and a text input box appeared. “Password?” he requested.

“Revenge, all in capital letters, then the number thirteen,” Riku answered.

“This guy had issues,” Pence muttered. He typed the password in and hit ENTER. A file explorer opened up. “So, what’s a ‘Xehanort’?” he asked.

“Long story short, he was responsible for a lot of suffering in the past several years,” Riku explained. “His Nobody was the leader of Organization XIII.”

“When we defeat a Heartless and its corresponding Nobody, they reform as the original Somebody,” Donald added. “But we haven’t found anything about Xehanort coming back, even though a lot of the other Organization XIII members returned to normal. So, we’re hoping to get some answers.”

“Got it,” Pence said, sort of understanding. He scrolled through the list of files. “Say, you want a copy of these files?” he asked. “Might give you some clues.”

“That would be great,” Sora said.

“Use this,” Mickey said, taking a flash drive out of his pocket and handing it to Pence. Pence plugged it into a USB port and began dragging the files into the drive. When the progress bar filled up and the files were all copied, Pence ejected the drive and handed it back to Mickey, who pocketed the drive.

“I’m afraid that’s all I’ll be able to help you get into,” Riku said apologetically. “I didn’t really spend a lot of time in here, mostly providing updates and overseeing Roxas’ week in the simulation.”

“That’s alright,” Pence assured him. “I’m glad we got to see what we could.” He started to begin shutting the computer down, but Riku stopped him.

“Hold on a moment,” Riku said. “There’s one thing I’d like to do. You guys go on ahead. I’ll join you when I finish up.”

Pence nodded and made room for Riku. The party then exited the room and returned to the mansion’s foyer. They waited by the display until Riku rejoined them.

“You sure the stuff on that little stick will help you?” Hayner asked as they stepped out the front doors.

“Could give us a few leads,” Mickey said. “If Ansem had figured out any of Xehanort’s greater plans, this might help us understand what happened to him.”

Sora crossed his hands behind his head. “It was interesting taking another look through the old mansion.”

“Sure was,” Goofy agreed.

As the group exited through the woods to return to town, Kairi remained behind for a moment. He opened up her tablet pouch and pulled out a piece of paper. She held the paper in front of her and stared at the two hooded figures in the drawing with Roxas and Axel, wondering what it all meant.

“Naminé, why aren’t you answering me?” she asked in a mumble. “Who is this girl?”

When her questions were met with silence and a hesitation that she could clearly feel within her heart, Kairi sighed. She slipped the drawing back into her pouch and ran to rejoin her friends.

Chapter 73: Chapter 72: Let's Struggle!

Chapter Text

As they entered town and began to make their way back to the Usual Spot, they took a shortcut through the sandlot. When they noticed that Seifer and his gang were still there, they stuck to the opposite corner, hoping to avoid an unnecessary confrontation.

However, Seifer noticed them and scowled. “Hey!” he barked, causing them to stop. He still seemed sour from the run-in the previous day. He sauntered up to them, a glare on his face. His cohorts followed right behind him. “You’ve all got a lot of nerve showing up here after what you pulled yesterday.”

“Pulled what?” Sora groaned.

“What? You want some more?” Seifer threatened.

Goofy shot a glare letting Seifer know that he was not amused. He was starting to sound like someone he knew.

“Uh, Seifer, I’m not too sure this is a good idea, y’know?” Rai warned.

“Overshooting,” Fuu agreed.

Sora glared back at Seifer, expecting the older teen to start something and preparing to act accordingly. However, Riku stepped forward and met Seifer’s gaze. He maintained eye contact, keeping a neutral but stern expression.

“What are you looking at?” Seifer growled.

“Oh, nothing,” Riku said calmly. “Just wondering where you got that beauty mark.” He pointed at Seifer’s scar.

“Hmph. Some troublemaker came to school with a knife. I showed him what’s what,” Seifer replied.

“Okay, not bad,” Riku conceded. “But the way you said that would imply that you actually know how you should treat your peers.”

“Well, don’t you think you’re so big and bad for a new guy in town? You may be senior age, but that doesn’t mean you can just tramp through here like you don’t need to listen to the big guys.”

“Oh, then by all means. But I don’t think most respected authority figures are known to call other people ‘lamers’.”

Hayner and Pence laughed at the retort. Rai stepped back in shock. Fuu shrugged, as if conceding the point. A couple random passerby stopped to watch the verbal clash.

Seifer was getting irritated. He did not like this stranger waltzing in and acting like he was better than him. “I don’t like people trying to tell me how to do my job. But I’ll give you one last chance to apologize and get lost before I show you what it is.”

“What are you? The mayor? I don’t see anything saying you get to decide who can go where they please and say their piece.”

Seifer balled up his fists, but he quickly realized that a crowd was forming around the sandlot. He couldn’t lose his cool like this. Of course, the fact that he was harassing a group of nine would make it difficult for him to save face. But he knew that they would not try anything too rash either, so it was up to him to take control of the situation.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you. But, I guess if you get on your knees and beg, maybe I’ll let it slide,” he offered mockingly.

“Hmph,” Riku grunted. “Thanks, but not my style.”

A cold silence fell between them. Rai and Fuu were nervous, but they put up a tough façade to support their friend. The crowd steadily grew. They started to chant something.

“Struggle. Struggle. Struggle.”

Sora knew what they were doing. When he had almost gotten into a fight with Seifer, a man interrupted the confrontation and suggested that they settle their differences in a Struggle match. Granted, that match had not come until a later visit, but Sora understood the intention. Every year, during the summer, the town put together a tournament where competitors would compete in one-on-one matches. At the end of the summer, the top four challengers would clash, and the top two would fight to decide who would win the Struggle Trophy, and also get the chance to go up against the reigning champion. He knew that on the fourth day of the simulation, Roxas had won the tournament and become the new Struggle champion. He could tell that the people wanted Riku and Seifer to duke it out in a Struggle match.

“Struggle! Struggle! STRUGGLE! STRUGGLE!”

Seifer threw his hands up. “Fine. You all want it? You’re gonna get it.” He pointed a finger at Riku. “You better get ready. 'Cause I’m about to own you in this.” He walked off to prepare. Rai and Fuu followed him.

A child who appeared no older than nine, wearing a denim jacket, a yellow-tan witch’s hat with an opened zipper on the stocking part, brown gloves and shoes, and green pants approached Riku, holding a blue foam bat with a plastic handle. To Sora, Riku and Kairi’s bemusem*nt, his head appeared entirely black with yellow oval-shaped eyes, but his gaze was full of innocence. The boy handed the foam bat to Riku, adjusted his hat, then ran off to follow Seifer and his partners.

Riku turned to his friends, holding the foam bat uncertainly. “So… how does a Struggle work?” he asked.

Sora took the bat from Riku’s hand and swung it around a bit. “You hit the other guy with the foam bat and try to knock his balls off,” he said.

Riku stared at Sora for a long minute, trying to process what he said. “What?” he finally said.

Hayner took the bat from Sora. “You and your opponent wear Velcro suits, and one hundred orbs are attached to each of you. The match lasts one minute. The objective is to fight your opponent and try to knock off as many orbs as you can with your bat, and attach them to your suit. The challenger with the most orbs when time is up is the winner,” he explained.

Riku regarded the foam bat and nodded. “Alright. Let’s give it a go,” he said.

Within an hour, word had spread of the day’s Struggle. A team had raised a stage in the Sandlot, taking up most of the area and leaving the perimeter for the audience to stand around and watch.

Riku wore bands of Velcro around his arms, legs, torso, and forehead. Sora, Kairi and Hayner helped him attach small blue orbs. Seifer was already wearing his suit, and Rai and Fuu were busy attaching the last of his red orbs.

When they were done, Riku and Seifer approached an obese man with a bisected moustache and a yellow-and-green track suit. “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” the man greeted. He turned to look at Riku directly. “Name’s Dio. It’s a pleasure to have you in this match.” He turned back to include Seifer in the conversation. “Now, I’m sure you both know the rules, but let me explain them again.” He explained the rules. “Now, are you two ready?” Riku and Seifer nodded. “Alright, then. Now, you get up there, and I’ll talk to Biggs so we can get this match going.”

The two competitors nodded and parted ways. They took their Struggle bats from their respective companions and climbed the steps up to the stage, facing each other on opposite sides. This was met with some applause.

A man who appeared to be in his mid- to upper twenties stood on a wooden podium on the side where Seifer stood. He had brown eyes and dirty blond hair, and he wore a black jerkin with white sleeves and a yellow stripe across the chest, red shorts, two-shade orange shoes, and a blue armband. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Biggs, and I’ll be your ref for today’s match,” he said. “On this fine Sunday afternoon, a local resident and a newcomer are about to settle their differences on the stage. Over here, we have our current tournament champion, Seifer Almasy! When he finds something he doesn’t agree with, he clashes with it head-on. And on the other end of the Sandlot, our town has a new visitor, and he’s got a problem with Seifer’s attitude, Riku!”

Seifer pointed his bat at Riku tauntingly. Riku held his over his head like he would his Keyblade. A portion of the crowd, including Rai, cheered Seifer’s name, while Sora, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Hayner, Pence, and Olette called out in support of Riku.

Biggs cleared his throat to indicate that the crowd should quiet down. “Alright, then. Put one minute on the clock and let’s STRUGGLE!”

A horn blared and the fight commenced. Seifer lunged at Riku and swung his bat downward, but Riku stepped out of the way, letting him stumble past him. He then struck Seifer in the arm, sending a dozen orbs flying across the stage. He swung again, but Seifer blocked and retaliated with a blow to the side. They took a moment to try to gather up as many orbs as they could, but Seifer launched into a spinning attack to try to stop Riku. Riku parried the attack and delivered a combo, knocking thirty-four orbs loose from Seifer’s person. Seifer struck back and knocked eleven orbs off of Riku.

Seifer jumped back while Riku set about gathering the fallen orbs. He jumped into the air, pointed his bat at Riku, and dove toward him. “Isn’t this romantic?!” he shouted as he came down.

Riku brought his hands to his cheeks in mock surprise. “Really? I didn’t know you felt that way,” he joked as he stepped out of the way of the attack, letting Seifer pass harmlessly by. “I-I don’t know what to say.” He attacked Seifer, knocking him across the stage and making him drop more orbs.

Enraged, Seifer picked himself up and charged at Riku. He struck Riku in the gut, then in the leg, but Riku retaliated and hit him in the chin, shoulder, and side, sending him flying. As they realized that time was winding down, they stopped what they were doing to gather up the scattered orbs and attach as many as possible to their suits.

A bell rang, signaling the end of the match. Riku and Seifer stopped collecting the orbs and stood straight up. A quick glance made it obvious that Riku was the winner, having far more orbs on his suit than Seifer. But Biggs stepped up, carrying two buckets to make a point of counting how many orbs they each had. When all was said and done, Seifer had only sixty while Riku had one hundred and twenty. Dio marked the score off on the bulletin board, showing all that Riku had won with twice as many orbs as Seifer. Riku’s friends, as well as a number of townsfolk who had turned to his side, cheered.

“Well, it looks like a classic dark horse victory,” Biggs announced. “The winner is Riku!” He grabbed Riku’s wrist and held his arm up. This announcement was met with even greater cheers.

“Way to go, Riku!” Sora called.

“We knew you could do it!” Mickey shouted.

“Yeah! Riku!” Kairi cheered.

Riku enjoyed the cheers and the feeling of triumph. His competitive spirit had been riled up by his banter with Seifer and it had been stoked even more as the anticipation for the Struggle built up. He had not felt this confident and proud since before he had first left the islands. It felt good.

Riku climbed down and joined his friends. Sora pulled him into a headlock while Kairi and Mickey gave him pats on the back.

“You sure showed him!” Sora congratulated.

A man with long silver hair, purple eyes, and several thin scars on his face approached them, prompting Sora, Kairi and Mickey to stop horsing around. The man wore a loose shirt that was lilac in the front and purple in the back, black pants, knee-high lilac boots with swirly lavender designs, a han purple sash around his waist and covering part of his left leg, a black belt with a skull-shaped buckle, and a long black coat with yellow lining which he wore as a cape and kept in place with a short silver chain.

Sora had seen him around town a few times, though he had never met him personally. Roxas, however, had encountered him in the Simulated Twilight Town. Setzer was the Struggle champion until Roxas faced him and won.

“You were pretty good up there,” he told Riku. “I always enjoy an unexpected challenge to place my bets on.”

Mickey raised his eyebrow. “Do you actually gamble on these?” he asked.

Setzer chuckled. “Not in that sense, no. But wondering who will come out on top, between the familiar champion and an unknown challenger, is half the fun.” He turned back to address Riku. “And it sure was fun.”

“Uh, thanks,” Riku replied.

“Never be afraid to face the unknown,” Setzer advised. “But be sure you know what chips you are putting in the pile when you do so.” With that, he walked off.

A moment later, Seifer approached them, not looking too happy that he had lost. He was followed by Rai, Fuu, and the Shadow-faced kid, Vivi. “Hmph. You got lucky,” Seifer said coldly, trying to maintain a confident appearance. “But don’t let this win go to your head. I’ll show you, one day.”

He walked off, leaving his companions. “That was a good fight, y’know? I mean—” Rai blurted as he realized that he was praising Riku.

“Unanticipated performance,” Fuu said, maintaining a little more ambiguity in what she had meant, though the party could easily guess. Rai ran off in embarrassment while Fuu simply walked away calmly.

That left Vivi, who looked up at Riku. “That was cool, Mister,” he said sincerely. He adjusted his hat and ran off to rejoin Seifer’s gang.

“Do you know what you just did?” Hayner asked. Riku looked at him in confusion. “You just beat Seifer in a Struggle match.” He punched Riku lightly on the arm. “You know what that means?”

Pence and Olette pointed their thumbs back over their shoulders, in the direction of Market Street. Sora nodded in understanding.

“You just earned ‘the icing on the cake’,” Sora said.

The party of nine had purchased Sea-Salt Ice Cream and leaned back against the nearby wall. They enjoyed the salty-and-sweet taste in each bite. They mostly remained silent, replaying the match in their minds, though Sora, Kairi, Hayner, Pence, and Olette momentarily contemplated the discoveries made and questions raised in the mansion that morning.

Sora looked up at the sky and a thought occurred to him. “Say, have you guys ever gone up to eat on the clock tower?” he asked.

Hayner, Pence and Olette were surprised by the question. Pence wondered why he would ask something like that, while Olette worried that something like that would be dangerous.

“No, why?” Hayner replied.

Sora shrugged. “It’s just… I know a guy who would tell you that the view up there is great.”

Riku, Donald and Goofy smiled. Kairi giggled. Hayner raised an eyebrow while Pence and Olette looked at each other in confusion, before the three of them finally mouthed “Oh”. They had gotten an idea as to who Sora was referring to.

Chapter 74: Chapter 73: Photos

Chapter Text

Sora, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy went around stocking up on items, armor, and accessories from the shops. They had already gone through most of the wares on previous visits and found better armaments, but Sora figured that he ought to give Riku and Kairi some more options, especially since Kairi had barely upgraded from the kneepads and armguard that she had picked up in Radiant Garden. And, of course, it was always good to support local businesses, especially when they could do well to make use of the vast amounts of Munny that they had accumulated through defeating Heartless.

They met up with Riku, Kairi, Hayner, Pence, and Olette at the train station. The Twilight Town trio looked sad. They knew what was going on.

“So, time to go, huh?” Hayner asked.

Sora nodded. “Yeah. We have work to do,” he replied.

“But I’m sure we’ll stop by again to say hello,” Kairi assured them.

“Good luck!” Pence said.

Riku took out a small piece of paper and handed it to Hayner. “Take this,” he said.

“What’s this?” Hayner asked as he took the paper.

“A parting gift,” Riku answered. “A bit of a reminder of what might have been, in another life.”

Hayner, Pence and Olette examined the paper. On it was a printed copy of the Other Twilight Town’s photo of them posing with Roxas in front of the old mansion.

“That’s what you were doing on the computer?” Pence asked, understanding what he had been doing as they left the mansion that morning. “Printing this out?”

Riku nodded in confirmation. “Well, take care, you guys.” He gave them a little wave as he took a few steps back.

Mickey shook hands with the three of them. “It was nice seeing you again,” he told them.

“You too,” Olette returned the favor.

“Let me know how Ansem’s files work out,” Pence made Mickey promise.

“Sure thing,” Mickey replied.

Sora and Hayner raised their arms so that their forearms crossed in front of them. Hayner was not sure what had prompted him to do that with Sora, but Sora recalled the digital Hayner and Roxas doing that one time, and was thinking that Hayner’s heart was sharing the feeling with his digital counterpart somehow and was reacting as the digital Hayner would have with Roxas.

“Stay cool,” Hayner said.

“Keep your head on,” Sora shot back.

Pence gave Kairi a pat on the shoulder, then Olette gave her a hug. “Be safe,” Olette wished her. “Of course, if you’re fighting with a key like Sora, you’ll be fine, I suppose.”

“It was good to see you again,” Kairi said with a smile.

Donald and Goofy waved good-bye. With that, the six travelers went into the train station and used the Safe Point to beam up to the Gummi Ship.

Mickey held the flash drive up for the rest of the crew to see. They regarded it long enough that they could make out most of its details. The body was black with red lines down the middle. The cap was engraved on both sides with his ever-present head-shaped logo, and the indents were painted blue. A brand name was printed on one side, “Hackwrench”.

“So, that’s everything Ansem had on Xehanort?” Riku asked for clarification.

Mickey nodded. “That’s what it looks like,” he answered.

“You think Ansem figured out what Xehanort had planned for after we beat Xemnas?” Goofy wondered aloud.

“It’s worth a try,” Jiminy said from on top of Sora’s shoulder. “Might help Leon and the others with their investigation.”

“Well, then let’s get this to them,” Sora said with certainty.

Mickey nodded. “And we can update them on what we’ve found out about Maleficent’s scheme,” he added.

“Right. So, who’s flying?” Donald asked.

On that cue, Jiminy hopped onto a button, which revealed a cupholder in which sat six ice cream sticks. “I wrote the jobs on three of these sticks,” he explained. Now, you each take one, and if you get one with a role on it, that’s what you do for the trip. Anyone with a blank stick gets to sit and relax.”

Seeing no fault in that system, the six crew members each took a stick. When they saw what they took, Donald took the pilot’s chair, Sora took the gunner seat, and Goofy took the copilot’s chair. Mickey, Riku and Kairi were left to take their spots in the passenger seats.

A few moments after Donald started flying, Riku started to feel uncomfortable as he realized that he was sitting next to Mickey. The air between them had been tense since their argument after they left Castle of Dreams. As he had since had time to calm down and think about how he acted, he felt guilty for flipping out at him like that. He could tell how badly his outburst had hurt him, and he now understood that the mouse was haunted by his failure to keep his old friends safe.

Kairi nudged him with her elbow. He turned to see what she was trying to get his attention for. She cast her gaze to Mickey for a brief instant, then back to Riku. “Talk to him,” she whispered.

Hesitantly, Riku nodded. He knew she was right. He had to resolve the issue.

“Mickey… I’m sorry… about before…” he said. “I wasn’t even thinking about how the whole thing with Terra, Ventus and Aqua affected you. And I don’t know what I would have done in your position, if I would have done what I said you should have done. I guess if I had been through the sort of trauma you had, I would have tried to find any sort of bright spot.” He sighed. “I really am a hypocrite, huh? When I went through trauma, it was my own doing, and I kept blaming myself. I didn’t want Sora and Kairi to see me. I was afraid to face my worries head-on. I guess we took two different approaches to our problems, neither of which was better.” He paused for a moment, waiting to see if Mickey would respond, though the mouse did not move. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, and probably making you think I was blaming you for everything that happened with Ansem. And I’m sorry you had to go through all that on your own.”

Riku was met with a somber moment of silence. He sighed and looked away. He was not sure if his speech would ease Mickey’s mind, but he felt good to get it off his chest.

“It’s not your fault,” Riku heard Mickey say.

“Hm?” Riku grunted, wondering what Mickey meant.

“You had a pretty good reason to be upset,” Mickey elaborated. “Out of everyone here, you were affected the most by Xehanort’s machinations since my failure to stop him. There’s no reason you shouldn’t have been mad when you found out that I could have prevented it.”

“But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” Riku countered. “You were hurt even more than me. You lost your friends, and you still haven’t found out what happened to two of them.” He did not notice Mickey shift about nervously when he said the last bit. “And yeah, maybe you should have checked, but after what you went through, can I really blame you for hoping that all that trauma wasn’t in vain?”

After a moment, Mickey sighed. “Thanks, Riku,” he said. “And I know you weren’t blaming me for what happened with Ansem. It’s just that I could never forgive myself for not being able to help my friends. The old wound opened up when Cinderella brought them up, and it just hurt more to think that I’d lost your faith and trust.”

Riku shrugged. “Well, I haven’t entirely lost my faith in you,” he quipped.

He and Mickey started laughing, and Kairi joined it for a bit. She was glad to see that they were mending fences.

In the Disney Castle library, Queen Minnie Mouse perused the books on the shelves. She saw a spine labeled “Photo Album” and took it off of the shelf, deciding to take another look through it. She turned the pages, examining the pictures that her husband had taken during his quest to close the Door to Darkness.

After flipping past the last page she had turned during her first examination, Minnie stopped dead. She gasped at a sight that she could not explain.

She fully identified the acrylic and aluminum object as a star-shaped trinket with a symbol in the center, a shape she had seen a few times but of which she did not know the significance. It was being held in a white gloved hand that no doubt belonged to Mickey. Mickey was in the process of handing it back to its owner.

The figure who took up the majority of the image was a human woman with blue eyes and blue hair. Minnie was shocked at the sight, as she recognized this woman. She looked as though she had not aged much since they had met so many years ago.

The most surprising part was when she realized that this had to have been in the Realm of Darkness.

Is that… How was she there… And Mickey saw her?

Using a letter opener, Minnie removed the picture from the album. She took a piece of parchment and wrote a letter. She taped the photo to the bottom of the paper and stamped the top of the back side of the paper. She found a bottle and, rolling the parchment up and pinning it with a rubber band, slipped the letter into the bottle. She ran out to drop it into the lake, wishing for it to reach Mickey.

Chapter 75: Chapter 74: So Very Much to Learn

Chapter Text

When they stepped out of an alleyway near the clinic, they saw Aerith running past them, carrying a six-foot metal rod. Kairi was about to wave and greet her, but then the party saw Soldiers, Armored Knights, and Air Soldiers, Emblem Heartless resembling Soldiers except with pilot hats and goggles and makeshift wings, pursuing her. Without a word, they all conjured their weapons and charged into action.

Kairi prioritized using Gravity spells to bring the Air Soldiers down to her level, while Donald sought to do the same thing with the use of Thunder magic. Sora and Riku clashed blades with the Armored Knights while switching back-and-forth to fighting Soldiers. Mickey fought mostly Soldiers but also dueled with an Armored Knight.

Goofy ran to Aerith’s aid as the remaining Soldiers surrounded her. However, just as one of them leapt in to strike, Aerith swung her quarterstaff, so that the lower end hit the Heartless in the chest and sent it flying. A Soldier leapt at her from behind, but Aerith spun around and swatted it away. Another Soldier hopped back and delivered a Cyclone kick, but Aerith hooked her staff under its swinging foot and lifted up, sending it spinning out of control. Without waiting for the last one to try anything, Aerith spun around again and hit it in the chin, sending it flying toward Goofy. The knight slammed his shield into the oncoming Soldier, blasting it to bits on contact.

When all of the Heartless were defeated, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy gathered in front of Aerith. “Those were some nice moves,” Sora complimented.

Aerith smiled and, holding the quarterstaff behind her back, leaned in coyly. “Thanks. Can’t let the others fight my battles for me, can I?” she replied. “I assume that you’re here to check in with the committee, not just to see little ol' me?”

Mickey nodded. “We actually landed over here to see how reconstruction has been going,” he explained, recalling the major destruction that resulted from the Raid Armor attack, “and also because we were curious if the Heartless have started reappearing since the battle. It looks like that’s a yes.”

Aerith nodded. “Yes. The Heartless started reappearing a few days ago. At first, it was just Shadows and Soldiers, but it wasn’t long before bigger types showed up.”

Sora crossed his arms. “Hopefully, Maleficent won’t be inspired to summon any more skyscrapers,” he said.

Aerith sighed, and her expression turned sad. “We’re still in the process of rebuilding the destroyed homes, and everyone who had lived there is still living in the group homes. At least those areas are heavily-fortified, with Lea and Isa on patrol to keep everyone safe.”

“Gawrsh, is there anything we can do?” Goofy asked sympathetically.

Aerith smiled and shook her head. “Thank you, but this isn’t something we can’t handle,” she replied.

The party nodded, seeing her point. Even now, Radiant Garden was still trying to pick up the pieces from the apocalypse that Maleficent, Ansem and the Heartless had unleashed upon the world and which had forced the survivors to become refugees for nine years. With Heartless still roaming the streets, some collateral damage was par for the course. Besides, Sora, Riku and Kairi did not know too much about construction work.

“Well, let’s get going,” Aerith said, waving her arm to beckon them onward. “Everyone’s at Merlin’s house.”

They followed Aerith up to the Borough, fighting the occasional heartless along the way, and entered Merlin’s house, where they found Leon, Yuffie, Cid, Shera, and Merlin. The crew turned around when they heard the door open. Aerith gave them a finger-wagging wave in greeting.

“Good to see you,” Leon greeted the party. “Did you find anything?”

Sora nodded. “We actually figured out quite a bit about the things that Maleficent’s gang is looking for,” he told him.

The party told the committee what they had learned.

Leon crossed his arms in contemplation. Cid scratched his chin and fiddled with a toothpick between his teeth. Shera sipped some tea pensively. Yuffie took on a “deep thinker” pose, though she seemed to be exaggerating.

“Interesting,” Leon finally said. “If we only knew how the artifacts fit together, we could be that much closer to figuring this all out.”

“It’s a shame we couldn’t do much on our end,” Cid lamented, “not with this nor the whole Xehanort debacle.”

Mickey raised an eyebrow. “Really? You haven’t found anything?” he asked.

Cid shook his head. “That freak didn’t keep that much written down. He didn’t have that many files on what he was doing even as Ansem and Xemnas.”

“Not to mention, Braig still refuses to divulge any information,” Leon added. “So that means we don’t have much to go off of.”

Mickey pulled the flash drive out of his pocket. “Maybe this will help,” he said.

Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Merlin looked at the stick in confusion, but Cid and Shera raised their eyebrows in intrigue.

“Whatcha got there?” Cid asked.

“Files from Ansem’s computer in Twilight Town,” Mickey answered. “The real Ansem, I mean, not Xehanort’s Heartless.”

“Well, I’ll be. Mind if I take a look at that?” Cid asked.

“Sure thing,” Mickey replied. He walked over and handed the flash drive to Cid. Cid plugged the drive into his computer and opened it up in a file explorer.

“Just gimme a minute to look through everything,” Cid said.

Leon turned his attention back to Sora and the others. “So, did you come across any more of Maleficent’s new friends?” he asked.

Sora nodded. “Yeah. We’d already met Pete and Loki, and we already knew about Hades. Then we ran into a crazy court jester named Kefka, and some sort of witch doctor. We didn’t catch that guy’s name.”

“An evil sorcerer named Mozenrath, with his pet eel,” Riku added, “a psychotic old woman named Yzma, who seemed to be a mad scientist or alchemist of some sort…”

“And an androgynous mega-sorcerer who we could barely do anything to,” Kairi finished. Sora, Riku and Mickey winced at the memory of that humiliating defeat.

“I see,” Leon said, realizing that with foes like this, and five others that they still knew nothing of, it will not be easy to win this conflict.

“Well, then I suppose you could use some more training,” Merlin suggested cheerfully. Donald noted that he did not seem too concerned with the threat level, and only cared about teaching Sora and company some more magic.

“That reminds me,” Sora muttered. He approached Merlin. “You’ve been holding out on us,” he whispered into the old wizard’s ear.

“Uh, pardon?” Merlin asked, not sure what Sora meant.

“You never told us about water-based magic,” Sora explained.

Merlin’s eyes widened. “Ah, yes. I had a feeling that there was something I had forgotten to mention. Not to worry. That should not be a challenge for you.”

Toward the conclusion of the lesson, Yuffie, Aerith and Shera set ceramic pots around the street in the Borough. There was one for each of the five magic users, and Yuffie had applied tape labeling which one was meant for whom.

“Now then, your final task will be to fill your pots with water,” Merlin instructed. “Sora, how about you go first.”

Sora aimed his Keyblade so that it was aimed toward his jar but at a thirty-five degree angle rather than directly at it. When he was sure about his measurements, he shouted “Agua!”

A jet of water shot out of his Keyblade, the liquid swirling around itself as it arced through the air, dropping very little spray. The arc led right into the opening of the pot. Sora timed the conclusion of his spell so that the last drops would fill the pot all the way, though he realized afterward that it was about an inch under the lip.

Donald cast Agua and a stream of water shot out of the head of his staff, filling the pot about as much as Sora, though the water struck hard enough that little bits sprayed off of the surface constantly, so that the ground around the pot was damp.

Mickey’s stream was more focused, though he added his own twist by directing the flow to swirl around in a few loops before entering the pot. The pot was filled completely, and a bubble of water formed, not flowing over the lip due to the surface tension.

Riku had to mentally adjust the path the water took as it went through the air, realizing that his initial calculation was sure to miss. After a few turns, he managed to get the water to go straight down into the opening. However, Merlin quickly noticed that his stream was a half of an inch wider than the opening itself, and the edge of the stream doused the lip.

Kairi’s stream swirled around itself much like Sora’s. When it filled her pot, it came closer to being full than Sora and Donald’s, but not perfectly full like Mickey’s.

Merlin, Goofy, and the girls clapped. “Well done! Donald, that was very close, but you need to be more focused and disciplined if you want to get it perfect. And Riku, your aim needs improvement, as well as your depth perception,” he advised.

“That’s probably what happens when you spend a year with a blindfold on,” Sora joked.

“Yeah. I really need to forget about the Memory Skyscraper fight and get a grasp on physics,” Riku agreed.

He, Sora and Kairi laughed. Yuffie and Aerith giggled as well.

“Look out!” Shera shouted suddenly, pointing into the air. Everyone looked up and saw a trio of dark red draconic creatures circling above them. The creatures had human-like torsos, but instead of arms they had tattered wings and their legs ended in feet with two front toes and one rear toe each, and each toe had a large black claw. At the back of their heads, spikes flared out on either side, and a large, slightly curved spike protruded from each shoulder. A tail extended from each beast’s rear end, extending about as long as the legs. Each creature brandished a familiar insignia upon its breast.

Sora scowled at the Heartless. He remembered the Wyverns all too well. They had been particularly aggravating when he had to fight them at the castle gates during his first visit to Hollow Bastion, due to their tendency to attack and then fly away so that they hovered safely over the abyss and forced him to wait for them to come back for another attack, never mind the fact that when he first encountered them he had lost his Keyblade. He had not faced against them at all during the last several months, although he did spy a few flying around during Maleficent’s attempted siege on the town.

He heard a whirring noise and glanced across the street. He saw a pair of green spiked balls spinning across the street like tops, shattering the pots as they drove through them. When they came to a stop, a pair of long, thin arms and two short legs with large metal feet popped out. The top spike lifted up slightly to expose a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

Yuffie, Aerith and Shera ran back into Merlin’s House. A few seconds later, Yuffie came back out, with Leon following right behind her. It did not take the party long to come up with a strategy: Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Yuffie, and Merlin would fight the Wyverns while Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Leon would fight the Morning Stars.

Kairi cast Gravity and Aero spells to try to bring the Wyverns down to size while Mickey and Donald sought to do lasting damage with Thunder, whereas Merlin launched a wider array of fireworks-type spells and Yuffie threw her shurikens. The Wyverns descended to engage their enemies. One flew toward Donald, spinning about itself in a corkscrew fashion. Donald dove to the side but was strafed. As it slowed down, it was hit in the left wing by Yuffie’s Fuuma Shuriken. Another Wyvern dodged Merlin’s spells and came down upon Kairi, attacking with a flurry of kicks. Kairi backed away to avoid getting clawed and attempted to parry each strike. A successful swipe caused it to falter, and, along with Mickey, she cut through the Heartless with her Keyblade until it was no more. Donald and Merlin ganged up on the third Wyvern with magic spells, hitting it with a continuous barrage until Donald realized that no more magic was coming out of his staff. He brandished his staff, ready to bludgeon it if necessary until his mana replenished, but Merlin delivered a final burst of white fire that caused the Wyvern to explode. The last remaining Wyvern, flying unevenly due to its injured wing, went after Yuffie, but Kairi cast Stop just as it reached her, allowing the ninja to get away. Mickey jumped on top of the Heartless and started hitting it in the head with his staff. When the spell wore off, its head shook violently from all of the concussive blows piling up and it crashed to the ground thanks to the sudden weight. Yuffie threw a trio of small shurikens into the Heartless’ body while Kairi slashed and stabbed at it until it faded away.

Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Leon used brute force attacks on the Morning Stars. When Sora drew near, one of the Morning Stars retracted its arms and stuck out two thick metal rods with large iron balls attached. It leaned its entire body to swing its right arm, hitting Sora in the chest and knocking him across the street. Leon took Sora’s place, slashing through the Heartless with his Gunblade. When it swung its other arm, he hopped back as Goofy stepped in front of him to block the blow. Leon helped Sora to his feet and shot a fireball at the Heartless. Riku fought the other Morning Star, delivering a flurry of attacks. The Heartless replaced its arms with large maces. Riku jumped back as it began to spin these deadly arms at a very fast rate. When it had stopped and retracted the maces, Riku sent a volley of Dark Fire balls at the Heartless. It retaliated by retracting its limbs and spinning around him like a top. Riku tried to block, but he was hit from all sides.

Sora threw himself at the spinning Morning Star to help Riku and sent the Heartless careening down the road with a heavy strike. When it regained its bearings, it leapt high into the air and came down right above Sora. The Keyblade wielder, however, was familiar with this tactic and knew how to use it against the enemy. He blocked its descent by bumping it with his Keyblade. As it was tossed into the air by the hit, he jumped up and grabbed it by the legs. He then threw it hard into the ground, smashing it into the cobblestones and causing it to bounce back up. When it returned to his level, he caught it again and slammed it to the ground again. He did this two more times until the Heartless finally dissipated above a small crater. He turned around and saw the other Morning Star attempt a similar attack on Leon, but the swordsman dodged the first landing and met it with four quick slashes even as it prepared to jump again. When it did so, he simply raised his weapon to stab into it as it came down, then finished it off with three explosive gunshots. The last fireball proceeded to soar through the air as it caused the Heartless to disintegrate.

When the party was aware that the Heartless had been defeated, everyone reconvened. Sora noticed the injuries sustained and cast Curaga, healing everyone right up. Aerith, Cid and Shera stepped out of Merlin’s house to confirm that the battle was over.

“Is everyone alright?” Aerith asked.

Sora set the business end of his Keyblade to the ground and leaned his arm on the handle guard in a relaxed position. “No sweat,” he replied.

Mickey turned to face Cid. “Did you find anything?” he asked.

Cid nodded. “Well, there is some pretty funny stuff on here,” he said, waving the flash drive around. “Though, I don’t think I can fully understand what to make of it. I think you should take it to the guys who were apprenticed to him. They’re up in the castle. Should be in the study.”

“Thanks,” Mickey said. “We’ll get it to them right away.” He approached Cid, who stooped down and handed the flash drive to him.

“Well, see you later,” Sora said, waving good-bye. He and his friends turned and started walking away from the house. As he remembered something, he stopped and whirled around. “And thanks for the water magic lesson, Merlin,” he shouted.

“Yeah, thanks!” Kairi agreed. Mickey, Donald and Riku waved back to Merlin in gratitude as well.

After they had disappeared around the corner, Yuffie stretched her arms above her head. “Well, now that that’s done with, it looks like I’ve got some dirt to wash off,” she announced. She walked into Merlin’s House and started washing her hands in a water basin.

Suddenly, there was a splash and Leon, Aerith, Cid, Shera, and Merlin heard the ninja let out a surprised yelp. They ran inside to check on her. She seemed unharmed, save for some water covering her face. She held a corked bottle in one hand and pressed her other hand over her rapidly-beating chest.

“What happened?” Leon asked, concerned.

Yuffie held the bottle out for her friends to see. “This thing just popped right out of the bowl!” she answered, hyperventilating from the shock.

Chapter 76: Chapter 75: Abandoned Armor

Chapter Text

Sora knocked on the study door before letting himself and his friends in. He noticed that the room was far cleaner than it was during his last visits. The broken glass had been removed completely and replaced with new beakers and test tubes. The portrait of Xehanort was gone completely, and someone had drawn over the DTD diagram on the wall to make the faded pictures and words more legible.

“Hello, Sora, Riku, your Majesty, Donald, Goofy, Kairi,” Ienzo greeted when he saw them come in. “Welcome back. Thank you for knocking.”

“Hello, Ienzo,” Sora returned the greeting.

“I regret to inform you that, while we have done a thorough search, we have not found any trace of Xehanort nor uncovered any clues regarding what he may have intended,” Ienzo lamented.

“We heard,” Sora replied.

“But we found something that might help,” Mickey said. He took the flash drive out of his pocket and held it up for Ienzo to see.

At the same time, Aeleus came in behind them, forcing the party to make way for him to enter. The hulking man gave them a respectful nod.

“Hello, Aeleus. One moment, please,” he said, raising a finger in Aeleus’ direction. He turned his attention back to Mickey. “What is that?”

“We took a look at Ansem’s computer in Twilight Town and copied everything he had on Xehanort,” Mickey explained.

“Intriguing,” Ienzo muttered thoughtfully. “Perhaps this could indeed provide the clues we need.” He crouched down and took the flash drive from Mickey.

Dilan walked in from behind the group. Donald and Goofy stepped aside to make room for him to pass through. The lancer nervously stuck to the wall and made sure to stay as far away from Sora, Donald and Goofy as possible.

“Hello, Dilan. Have there been any patterns in the Heartless appearances in the castle corridors?” Ienzo asked.

Aeleus and Dilan shook their heads. “Only a scarce few have been found scouting out each floor, only appearing in larger droves when they spotted us,” Dilan explained.

“Then I suppose Xehanort and Maleficent have not left any more secrets or sources of dark energy within the greater part of the castle,” Ienzo surmised. “In any case, we might come across leads for our other examination. Even!”

The blond scientist entered the circular room through the steel-lined hallway behind Ienzo. “What is it, Ienzo?” he asked.

Ienzo showed him the flash drive. “Our friends managed to retrieve some of Master Ansem’s files from a computer he had set up in Twilight Town. This contains information that he was able to gather on Xehanort.”

Even raised an eyebrow. “Fascinating,” he said as he took the flash drive from Ienzo. “Perhaps this will finally push our investigation along. I shall start looking through it right away.”

“Before we do that,” Aeleus interrupted, “isn’t there something you wanted to show them, Ienzo?”

“Oh, of course!” Ienzo exclaimed, recalling what Aeleus was talking about. “You will not believe what we found.” He walked through the hallway to the computer room, and the party followed him. He typed something into the search bar and hit ENTER.

“Chamber of Repose?” Sora read, wondering what that meant.

“It is a hidden room far below us where Xemnas would often go to meditate,” Ienzo explained. He typed a password in, then typed six more words, then proceeded with the operation. “Follow me.” He led the party and his colleagues out of the room and to the elevator that led down to the Heartless Manufactory platform.

When they stepped out of the elevator, they saw two panels slide apart, creating an opening in the floor. A ramp materialized leading down into the hole, so Ienzo led them down. The last ones to get on were Aeleus and Dilan, and once they had stepped off at the bottom, the ramp vanished and the panels above closed up.

Sora, Donald and Goofy looked over the ledge and saw that the spiraling ramp went down so far that it was too dark for them to see the bottom.

“How deep do you think it is?” Donald asked.

“You can find out and tell us,” Riku jokingly suggested.

“That’s not funny,” Donald shot back, annoyed.

“I dunno… Anyone have a stopwatch?” Sora joked.

“As interesting it would be to take that measurement, we need not concern ourselves with it at this moment,” Even interrupted the banter that they were having at Donald’s expense.

“Come along. The exercise is good for you,” Aeleus advised.

“I climb mountains,” Sora complained. “And there’s usually something to see along the way.” Nevertheless, he started the slow, tedious descent along with the others. After a minute, he found himself getting incredibly bored. He tried to pass the time by thinking of other things, such as the mystery of Xehanort. He knew so little about Xehanort. What he seemed to have wanted twelve years ago clashed with Ansem and Xemnas’ goals. For instance, if Xehanort knew what Kingdom Hearts was and wanted to reach its power of light, why was his Heartless so convinced that Kingdom Hearts was pure darkness, particularly when all he was doing was opening the door to the realm of darkness? How did he become a seemingly-amnesiac young man? And how did his later plots as Xemnas correlate to what he had been up to so long ago? If they could understand what he had been planning, perhaps they could figure out why he had not reappeared with the rest of the apprentices, and maybe stop whatever he was planning…

Finally, they reached the bottom. They turned and entered a hallway with white walls. The sudden light caught Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy by surprise, and it took them a moment for their vision to adjust. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy gulped when they saw the doors with barred windows, which gave off the impression that they were walking through a prison hallway.

“Gawrsh, what is this place?” Goofy asked fearfully.

Ienzo sighed. “This is where we conducted our early experiments on the Heartless, and our forbidden research into the nature of the heart,” he explained, his voice filled with regret. “I was the one who convinced Master Ansem to install this heinous laboratory, before he realized that the heart was not to be tampered with. The rest of us did not listen, however.”