Let Me Face My Fears

by SepticAbzies

With Sora and Riku 'preoccupied' with other things, it's up to Kairi to gather all seven lights, but even as things go well, everyone can't help but feel a foreboding sense of danger as Kairi's insecurities and past bring her closer to Xehanort's darkness. / Kairi-centric / KH3 Rewrite / Current World: Moana/Motunui

2. Chapter 1: Metanoia

A/N: Here's the next chapter. First world: Tangled!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Disney in any way, shape, or form! I only owe an OC who will appear later in the story.

Note: I changed the cover of this story (see above). It's what Kairi looks like in this story.

!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!

Let Me Face My Fears

Chapter 1: Metanoia

"The journey of changing one's mind, heart, self, or way of life."

~Kingdom of Corona~

"Why can't I go outside?"

"The outside world is a dangerous place, filled with horrible, selfish people. You must stay here, where you're safe. Do you understand, Flower?"

"Yes, Mommy."

A young teenage girl with very long blonde hair sat by her window one night. Suddenly, the dark night sky was lit up with millions of golden lights.

And that's when she knew. She was now 17 years old:

"Every year, on my birthday, those lights appear, and only on my birthday. Mother calls them stars, but I know that's not true. I know they're something else. And, somehow, I can't help but think that...they're meant for me. I need to see them, and not just from my window. In person. I have to know what they are."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Lanes Between~

Goofy and Donald sat in their Gummi Ship, one of the three that Chip and Dale had revved up an hour prior to this moment.

Well, Donald sat, and Goofy stood next to Donald's chair. There was one empty seat, and it was usually filled by Sora – the person whose heart the duo was assigned to locate.

The atmosphere was solemn as the two brainstormed, floating in the dark atmosphere of the world between worlds.

"Where to first?" Goofy asked.

"Let's see," Donald pondered. "If I were Sora's heart, where would I be hiding?"

Goofy said the first thing that came to his mind, "At home. Y'know the old phrase: home is where the heart is."

Donald questioned his companion, "Wouldn't that be the first place Xehanort would look?"

"All the more reason to get there first."

Donald immediately agreed with that. Goofy did have a point.

After all, it was only a matter of time before Xehanort had control over Sora's body. If the old coot got Sora's heart too, then Sora was beyond saving.

That's how the duo's first destination became the place that Sora called home: the Destiny Islands.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kingdom of Corona~

Kairi and Lea had no idea where they were, but they did know they were in a forest, with lush, green trees that were clearly ancient. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was bright and shining without remorse.

"Beautiful day, huh?" Lea asked.

Kairi replied, "Yeah, it'd be perfect for a picnic. Isn't that right, Pluto?" She bent over to pet the dog that was walking in between them. Pluto barked in happiness.

"Fine with me," Lea said. "As long as we can trade in the Heartless for sea salt ice cream."

"'Sea salt ice cream'?"

"Yeah."

"I've heard of it, but I haven't tried it. Is it any good?" Kairi asked.

"I think so, but it's not the ice cream that's important to me. It's the memories that go with them." Kairi instantly took notice of how sad Lea looked and sounded, so she took up the initiative to cheer him up.

"Lea...there is such a thing as making new memories, y'know."

"I know," Lea replied, "but we both know that letting go of the past isn't something somebody can do at the drop of a hat."

The two were obviously thinking of the same thing: the day Radiant Garden became Hollow Bastion. Lea was right. Even after ten years, Kairi still had nightmares about it, a side effect of something Master Yen Sid called 'survivor's guilt'.

Sora and Riku didn't know about it, and she planned on keeping it that way.

Lea had been turned into a Nobody, along with his friend Isa, as well as many others, while others were turned into heartless. Kairi, on the other hand, was merely sent to the Destiny Islands, far away from harm and safe in the strong, yet gentle hands of Sora and Riku.

She wouldn't give up Sora and Riku for anything, but there were many times where she wished she could do something more to save her neighbors from their fates.

Why did she have to be so lucky? Why couldn't it have been her?!

Pluto broke the tension with a bark – a bark of warning – just as a man with brown hair, a green vest, and a satchel appeared in front of them. He was running towards them, as if he were being chased.

And he was being chased. By Heartless.

Puffball heartless, to be exact.

"HELP!" The man cried out once he got closer to them.

Immediately, Lea and Kairi produced their Keyblades. As the man ran past them and took a moment to breathe by leaning against a boulder behind them.

Kairi said, "Don't worry. You go find a place to hide. We'll take care of them."

"Great! You have my thanks!" the man said, before mumbling, "And that horse chasing me was enough..."

"What was that?" The man was startled when Lea suddenly spoke up.

The man quickly said, "Nothing! Nothing. I was just...finding a place to hide."

He then turned around slowly before quickly running away.

Lea turned to Kairi, "Princess? I think that guy was a thief."

Kairi brushed it off, "Let him be, Pyromaniac. He's not our primary concern. Let's send these guys packing first."

"Right."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kairi's Heartscape~

Sora had never seen Kairi fight before, but the way she handled her Destiny's Embrace was flawless. She was graceful yet delivered swift, powerful strikes, just like the sea, her namesake.

After Kairi cast a Curaga on Axel – or Lea, as she called him – Sora sighed. Kairi was just...so amazing.

"You okay over there, Sora?" Roxas asked, as he was sitting on the bench next to Namine, watching her draw Sora's latest memories – of the five of them resting within Kairi's heart.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora replied, placing his hands behind his head. "It's just relieving to know that Kairi can handle herself. Even though..."

"Even though?" Xion gently urged to continue his thought.

"Even though," Sora continued, "I'm still worried about what other enemies she'll encounter. There are worse creatures of darkness than heartless out there."

"She'll be fine," Namine reassured him. "After all, worst case scenario, they have to face five Keyblade wielders taking shelter inside her heart."

"Yeah!" The other four agreed.

Roxas paused, however, and took quick note of what Namine said.

Sora had Kingdom Key, Roxas had Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Ventus had Wayward Wind, and Xion had just produced her own Keyblade, called Remembrance, with a thalassa shell as her charm.

That was four. Who was the fifth? She wasn't talking about Kairi.

That could only mean...

"Wait, five?" Roxas spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Namine, you have a Keyblade?"

The other three turned to Namine with varying degrees of shock and excitement, as Namine shyly nodded.

"Congratulations!" Sora immediately spoke up. "You're officially one of us now!"

"Thank you," Namine quietly replied, her smile genuine.

"What's your Keyblade called?" Xion asked.

Namine materialized a white-colored Keyblade, with a miniature sketchbook as the charm. "Chain of Memories."

Xion immediately fawned over it. "Wow! It's so pretty!"

"Thank you."

"Nami," Roxas spoke up, "how did you get a Keyblade?"

"I am Kairi's Nobody," Namine replied. "Obviously, she and I would share similar abilities."

"Who gave Kairi a Keyblade, though?" Ventus asked, before explaining, "When someone gets a Keyblade, it's because a Keyblade wielder passed their power onto them. It happened between Sora and me, and Terra and Riku."

In response, Namine simply de-materialized her Keyblade and opened her sketchbook to a page, which contained an illustration of little Kairi giving flowers to a woman with blue hair.

"Aqua!" Ventus gasped, before quickly sobering up. "Though it does make sense."

Namine nodded before closing her sketchbook. The quintet's attention was brought back to the fight when Kairi called out one of Axel's names.

"Lea!" Axel looked back at her, preparing to bust her out of trouble. "They're plant-based! Which means they're weak to fire!"

In response to this, Axel merely smirked, "Watch your head, Princess."

And Kairi ducked as Axel produced a storm of flames that wiped out the remaining heartless.

And they didn't come back.

Roxas and Xion clapped for the show Axel just gave with his Flame Liberator.

"Wow," Sora said. "They're both awesome."

The others nodded in agreement.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kingdom of Corona~

Flynn slowly woke up to find himself in a bind, quite literally. "Huh? Is this hair?" He asked, as he struggled.

A female voice spoke from the shadows, "Struggling is pointless."

"Huh?"

"I know why you're here," the voice continued. "And I'm not afraid of you."

"What?" Flynn was confused beyond belief.

The owner of the voice finally emerged from the shadows, revealing a small girl with long blonde hair, hair that was currently keeping him tied up. Wielding a frying pan, she asked, "Who are you, and how did you find me?"

"Umm..."

"Who are you?" The girl repeated, her voice a little harder this time. "And how did you find me?"

"Mm-hmm," Flynn finally replied. "I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say..." He then put on a flirty face. "Hi. How ya doin'? The name's Flynn Rider. How's your day goin'? Huh?"

The girl scowled and merely put her frying pan in his face. "Who else knows my location, Flynn Rider?"

"Alright, Blondie–"

The girl cut him off, "Rapunzel."

"Gesundheit," Flynn replied. "Here's the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower and..." He realized that he was missing something, "Oh no...where is my satchel?"

"I've hidden it," Rapunzel said, with a smile. "Somewhere you'll never find it. So, what do you want with my hair? To cut it?"

"What?"

"Sell it?"

"No!" Flynn cried, before explaining, "Listen, the only thing I want to do with your hair is to get out of it. Literally."

"Wait," Rapunzel paused, rethinking her choices, "you don't want my hair?"

"Why on earth would I want your hair?" Flynn asked. "Look, I was being chased, I saw a tower, I climbed it, end of story."

Rapunzel realized something. "You're...telling the truth...?"

"Yes."

The chameleon on Rapunzel's shoulder lowered his eyes at Flynn, obviously distrusting him, before pointing at Rapunzel to go off to the side with his tail. Rapunzel followed the motion.

While the two were having their verbally one-sided conversation, Flynn tried and failed to get out of his predicament.

Rapunzel turned back to him, "Okay, Flynn Rider, I'm prepared to offer you a deal."

"Deal?"

"Look this way," Rapunzel used her long hair to turn his chair to a wall covered by curtains, but the action made Flynn fall flat on his face. Rapunzel opened the curtains, just enough to show the mural of the lights she loved painting. "Do you know what these are?"

"You mean the lantern thing they do for the princess?" Flynn asked.

"Lanterns?" Rapunzel smiled. "I knew they weren't stars." She shook it off, continuing with her explanation, "Well, tomorrow evening, 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, no can do," Flynn finally managed to get off his face and onto his side. "Unfortunately, the kingdom and I aren't exactly 'simpatico' at the moment. So I won't be taking you anywhere."

The chameleon motioned to Rapunzel to toughen up, by punching his fist in his hands. So Rapunzel used her hair to stand Flynn up and bring him closer and closer to her.

"Something brought you here, Flynn Rider. Call it what you will: fate, destiny..."

"A horse," Flynn said.

"So I have made the decision to trust you."

"A horrible decision, really."

"But trust me when I tell you this." Rapunzel tugged on her hair, causing Flynn to fall forward, but she caught the chair in time, and Flynn immediately noticed the two were face to face. "You can tear this tower apart brick by brick, but without my help, you will never find your precious satchel."

"Hmm-mm, let me get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you'll give me back my satchel?"

"I promise." Flynn didn't look convinced. "And when I promise something, I never, ever break that promise." He stared at her in further disbelief. "Ever."

Flynn looked down at the chameleon, who nodded.

Flynn took to his thoughts, 'What do I do? If I help her, I get my satchel back, but then those monsters might come back...' His mind went to the two redheads with weirdly shaped swords, the two that allowed him to come here in the first place. 'Hmm...what about those two weirdly dressed people and their dog? They could take care of the monsters, no problem!'

Rapunzel was still waiting for his answer.

"Fine, I'll take you to see the lanterns," Flynn said, and Rapunzel smiled. "On the one condition that you let my sidekicks come along too."

Rapunzel's smile fell into a confused frown, "Sidekicks?"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Lea and Kairi dusted themselves off after the fight. For their first fight, the two didn't do so bad, complete with very little injuries, which were minor more than anything, nothing a Hi-Potion couldn't fix.

"Nice job there, Princess," Lea's nickname for her made her smile.

"Thank you, Pyromaniac," Kairi returned the favor with her own nickname for him. "Now, let's find that guy and see if he's okay."

"And figure out what the heartless want with him."

"Yeah, let's go."

The two took off in the direction the guy they saved went in, but they didn't go very far. They just ran into a stone wall covered with vines and plants.

"Now what?" Lea spoke what was on both of their minds. "He can't have gone far. It's a dead end."

Kairi immediately noticed Pluto sniffing around. "Pluto?" She asked. "What is it, boy?"

In response, Pluto pointed an ear in the direction the guy went – towards the wall. Lea and Kairi both were weary of this, until Pluto ran through the wall of vines, revealing that the dead end was not a dead end at all.

But a secret passage.

Kairi turned to Lea, "Always trust the dog," before following Pluto.

Lea called as he raced after the two, "Easy for you to say! The dog likes you!"

After going through the tunnel, Pluto led the two Keyblade wielders to an amazing sight.

It was a valley, with tons of flowers surrounding a beautifully built tower. It was a sight to behold, and it immediately reminded Kairi of her favorite place in Radiant Garden: the courtyard, where all the flowers grew.

The trio slowly walked closer to the tower, because they were brought here for a reason, and Kairi had a feeling that the tower had something to do with that reason.

Near a river, they found the guy, but they also found a girl with extremely long blonde hair, who seemed happy one moment and sad and depressed the next. By the time the trio reached them, the girl was sobbing against a boulder.

Feeling her heart go out to the girl, and feeling obligated to cheer her up, Kairi gently spoke up, "Hey, there. You seem to be at war with yourself. Are you okay?"

"W-What?" The girl looked up, but when she saw strangers standing there, she immediately stood up, her frying pan in hand, "W-Who are you?!"

The guy they saved automatically stepped in between them, "Woah, take it easy there. Remember the sidekicks I mentioned? This is them."

"Excuse me?" Lea blinked. "'Sidekicks'?"

The guy turned to Lea and Kairi, "Please go along with it. She wants to see the lanterns tomorrow, and me being a nice guy, I've decided to help her. But those monsters might come back, and when they do, we don't stand a chance. But if we have you two, then we can all continue about our merry way."

Lea motioned to the guy to give him and Kairi a moment, and he immediately pulled Kairi to the side, and asked, "What do you think? We have to figure out why the Gummi Ship brought us here. We can't just run errands for some guy just because he made up a story that he wants to be true."

Kairi paused, however, and brought up a point Lea hadn't considered: "...You mean you can't feel it?"

"Feel what?" Lea asked.

Kairi merely gave him a look that was hard to describe – between composed, confused, and amused, "The light coming from the girl?"

Lea paused, looking back at the girl with the long blonde hair, finally feeling her light. "Her light...is a lot like yours."

Kairi corrected him, "Exactly like mine. Which means..."

Lea quickly connected the dots, "...She's one of the New Lights." Kairi nodded, a gentle smile on her face. "So we have to go with them." Kairi nodded again, making Lea sigh. "Fine. But I refuse to be called a 'sidekick'." He then turned to the two strangers waiting for them. "Alright. We'll go with you. On the one condition that you call us 'bodyguards', instead of 'sidekicks'."

The guy found their 'one condition' rather humorous, "Really?"

Kairi shrugged at her partner's antics, "It is more accurate." She then turned to her fellow Princess of Heart. "I'm Kairi."

"Lea. Get it memorized."

Kairi motioned to their dog companion, "And this is Pluto." Said dog saluted with his ear.

The girl smiled brightly, "Pleasure to meet you, Kairi, Lea, and Pluto. I am Rapunzel." She motioned to the chameleon that sat on her shoulder, "And this is Pascal."

"Flynn Rider, if anyone was curious," the guy spoke up.

Lea quickly spoke up, "Trust me, no one cares." He turned to Rapunzel, "So what's your civil war about?"

Rapunzel's smile fell but she found it easy to talk to Lea and Kairi, so she spilled, "Tomorrow's my 18th birthday. All I asked Mother for as a gift was to see those lanterns, but she refused. She said it was to protect me, but she just doesn't understand that this is something I have to do. So, I sent her away on a three day journey, so I could sneak out and see the lanterns."

"Ah, I see now," Flynn said. "Overprotective mother, forbidden road trip. I mean, this is serious stuff, but let me ease your conscience. This is part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little adventure – that's good. Healthy even!"

"You think?" Rapunzel asked.

Kairi was quick to speak up, "Don't listen to him." Kairi buckled up and told the girl the truth. "Yes, this would probably break your mother's heart, but you said it yourself that seeing those lanterns is something you have to do. Right?"

Rapunzel looked to Pascal, who nodded, and she turned back to Kairi. "Right."

"I rest my case," was all Kairi said.

There was a rustling sound in the nearby thicket, and the group immediately jumped into action, as Lea and Kairi produced their Keyblades, and Pluto took a defensive stance, growling.

Rapunzel leapt onto Flynn's back, gasping, "Is it ruffians? Thugs? Have they come for me?"

A rabbit hopped out, and Lea and Kairi breathed a sigh of relief, de-materializing the Keyblades.

"Stay calm," Flynn sarcastically told Rapunzel, who slowly felt comfortable with getting off of Flynn's back. "It can probably smell fear."

"Oh, huh, sorry," Rapunzel sheepishly smiled. "Guess I'm just a little bit...jumpy."

"It's okay," Kairi gently told her. "I know how you feel. Being forced out of my home and immediately coming face to face with the real world. But it's not a bad thing. Because in the end, you come back home knowing way more than when you left. Trust me, it's worth it."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Their strange-looking group had quickly become friends in such a short time. Kairi and Rapunzel were chatting a mile-a-minute, with Lea and Flynn cutting in whenever they could, even though Lea's interjections were natural and comfortable, while Flynn's weren't. Meanwhile, Pascal sat comfortably on top of Pluto's head, content with how things were turning out so far.

The six stumbled on a clearing, where they found what looked like a giant dandelion.

"Look!" Rapunzel cried out in happy curiosity. "What is that? It's so fluffy!"

"Be careful," Lea warned. "It doesn't look natural."

But as soon as Rapunzel touched it, the giant dandelion exploded into a lot of smaller dandelions. Rapunzel was in awe at the sight, until all the dandelions turned into Puffball heartless, and one revealed itself as the Chief Puff.

Rapunzel stumbled backwards. Lea and Kairi immediately ran forward, producing their Keyblades on the way.

"Watch out, guys!" Kairi called back to Flynn and Rapunzel.

"W-What are those?" Rapunzel asked.

"They're called Heartless," Lea explained. "Be careful."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed in determination, before she grabbed her hair and ran forward, standing next to Kairi, her frying pan in hand.

"Rapunzel!" The other three called out.

"It's okay," Rapunzel calmly said. "I'm not afraid to face them."

Kairi simply smiled at her, before facing back towards the heartless.

"Princess?" Lea asked.

"Don't worry, Pyromaniac," Kairi replied. "Let her fight. It's obvious that she has something to prove, too."

And the look in his eyes told her that he understood what she meant. He let out a small smirk before facing back towards their enemies.

Flynn took to hiding, but Pluto and Pascal kept their eyes on him, to ensure that he didn't run away.

Rapunzel used her frying pan, and Kairi her Keyblade to beat on the Puffballs, while Lea used his fire on the Chief Puff.

This was the first time Lea felt comfortable fighting enemies since he met Roxas. Kairi was graceful, just like the ocean, and Rapunzel, however unexperienced she was in fighting, could obviously handle herself. The two ladies were very similar, bright, sensitive, and very empathic, but also very spunky and stubborn, as well as tougher than they looked, which allowed them both to use people underestimating them to their advantage. For the first time in a long time, the smile on Lea's face was real.

After Lea used his old chakrams to destroy the Chief Puff, the trio reunited with Flynn, Pascal, and Pluto.

"Great job, Rapunzel," Kairi said.

"You were pretty good for your first fight," Lea said. "Probably be best if we avoid ruffians and thugs, though."

Rapunzel smiled at the praise, and agreed with Lea's sentiment, "Uh-huh, yeah, that'd probably be best."

Flynn paused, before asking, "Are you guys hungry? I know a great place for lunch."

"Oh. Where?" Rapunzel asked.

Flynn smiled, "Oh don't you worry. You'll know it when you smell it."

Lea and Kairi shared an amused look before following them.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Mother Gothel looked around the tower frantically. Where was Rapunzel?!

A shine in her eyes brought her attention to something hidden under the stairs. The woman took out Flynn's satchel and looked at the crown he had stolen, along with a wanted poster, showing Flynn's face with his badly-drawn nose.

Her face lowered into a death glare, as she brought out a knife from her pocket.

"Missing someone?"

Mother Gothel was immediately freaked out at the voice that seemingly came from nowhere. "Who's there?!"

Out of the darkness, literally, a man in a black coat with pink hair appeared. "She's such a precious gift," the man slowly closer and closer to her. "Allow me to assist you in getting her back."

Mother Gothel's eyes were filled with fear as the man got closer and closer, and they slowly turned pink.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Flynn looked around the forest, "I know it's around here somewhere." He found it, and pointed everyone's attention to the cottage in the forest they were coming upon. "Ah, there it is, the Snuggly Duckling. Don't worry, a very quaint place, perfect for you two ladies. Don't want you scaring and giving up on this whole endeavor, now do we?"

"Well, I do like duckling," Rapunzel said with a smile.

"Yay!" Flynn replied sarcastically, copying Rapunzel's motion.

It was at this moment that the group stumbled upon across another weird-looking flower. The group immediately stopped upon seeing it.

"Okay," Flynn said. "That's suspicious."

"Rapunzel..." Kairi warned.

"Don't worry, Kairi," Rapunzel smiled at her. "I know to be careful around flowers now."

"Whatever it is, it's not normal." Lea volunteered, "I'll take a look."

"Be careful," Kairi called out as Lea slowly approached the weird flower.

There were a few moments of silence, as Lea inspected it closely, but no matter what he did, it didn't react. He had a bad feeling about it, since to him, it looked very familiar.

"Well, it seems like we're all clear," Lea said, and the others all breathed an audible sigh of relief.

As soon as Lea turned his back on it, it pulsated and transformed into a monster.

"Lea, look out!" Kairi shouted out, terrified for him.

Fortunately, it seemed like Lea was expecting something to attack him from behind, as he quickly dodged the creature's scythe attack.

Kairi immediately joined him, both Keyblades out and ready to strike down the three monsters that now stood before them.

"W-What are those?" Flynn asked.

"Nobodies," Lea replied.

"That's rude!" Rapunzel called out.

"Not a joke!" Lea shot back. "That's really what they're called!"

"You guys might want to take cover now," Kairi warned.

"No!" Rapunzel said. "I want to help you fight!"

Lea replied, "We know, but you can't hit these guys with a frying pan and survive to tell the tale. Trust us on this."

"Flynn, could you help us out?" Kairi politely asked.

Flynn stuck out his chest, "No problem. Knowing when to flee is one of my specialties." He placed what he hoped was a calming hand on Rapunzel's shoulder, "Look, I want to stay and slug it out too, but my sidekicks are better at this than I am."

"BODYGUARDS!" Lea shot back.

"Same difference!"

"No it's not!" Kairi yelled at Flynn, before lowering her voice for Rapunzel, "Get to safety, Rapunzel. We've got this covered."

Rapunzel nodded, "All right. Please be careful, you two."

Lea shot back a confident smirk, "Don't worry about us. We've trained for this."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kairi's Heartscape~

All throughout that fight, the five residents within Kairi's heart were on edge. Nobodies meant the Organization was nearby.

Fortunately, Axel and Kairi managed to defeat all of the Nobodies without a major injury. Kairi got a cut on her arm from one of her opponents' scythes, but she quickly shook it off like it was nothing and continued to fight.

As soon as the fight was over, Axel and Kairi regrouped to discuss what their current situation was.

"Princess," Axel was solemn, and the five within Kairi's 'apheartment' knew and understood why, "you are aware of who uses Nobodies, right?"

"Yeah," Kairi replied. "The Organization. Which means they're here, too."

Sora wondered if Kairi could feel all of their stress and worry. Namine had warned them that Kairi could feel her Nobody's emotions if they were strong enough, as it had happened before, more than once, with the added factor that Kairi was both an empath, able to sense the emotions of others, thanks to her status as a Princess of Heart, as well as being rather empathic herself. But now there were five people inside her heart, and they were all very emotional people, Sora especially.

Were they hurting her right now?

"Yeah," Axel said, before calling out loud, "We know you're there, Marluxia! Come out, you has-been!"

A tall man with pink hair appeared out of a Corridor of Darkness, and Sora was immediately on edge. He knew this man. But why? Where did they meet?

"Marluxia," Roxas growled out.

"W-Who?" Sora couldn't help but ask.

"'Has-been'?" Marluxia asked. "Now why would you say that?"

"Because, bossing around Nobodies? That's the old Organization," Axel sassed back. "What, is the new Organization scrapping the bottom of the barrel to win this war?"

Marluxia let loose a single chuckle, "I missed your sense of humor, Axel. Do you miss it too?" It was then that he seemed to notice that he and Axel were not alone, "Ah, forgive me, Princess Kairi, and my terrible manners. My name is Marluxia. I am one of the thirteen members of the Real Organization XIII. How interesting it is to finally meet you after Sora has talked about you."

Sora felt a tremendous surge of anger immediately shoot through him. Marluxia had just mentioned him, to Kairi, and that did not sit well with him, at all.

"You and Sora know each other?" Kairi asked, her voice trembling with fear.

"Yes," Marluxia confirmed. "A shame he's no memory of me, because I remember him exceedingly well. Though, it's those memories I'd soon erase."

"What are you talking about?" Kairi was understandingly confused.

Marluxia shrugged it off, "Not important, Your Highness. Now, if you'll permit me, I've come to ask a favor."

Sora did not like how Marluxia was constantly referring to Kairi as 'Princess' or 'Your Highness'. When Axel called her that, he was being friendly, and Sora felt comfortable with that. But Marluxia...it was as if he was patronizing her.

"Favor?" Kairi asked.

"What kind of favor?" Namine growled out.

Not to mention, seeing Namine this mad was unusual and very concerning. None of them were used to seeing the quiet, artistic Nobody so vocal about her anger. Roxas was especially worried, because it was obvious that Namine's time in the Organization was not pleasant either.

"You've got to be kidding!" Axel shot back.

"Please, hear me out," but Marluxia was calm. "I'm sure you've noticed...that the maiden with you, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world. Her heart is the same as your own, Princess Kairi."

"Yeah, we've noticed," Kairi said, before tightening her grip on her Destiny's Embrace. "And there's no way you're laying a single finger on her!"

"Easy now," Marluxia replied, trying to obviously keep the peace and not wanting to fight. "All the Organization seeks is balance. Please understand that our ultimate objective is not to clash with the light. We seek to complement it. Use those Keyblades of yours...to keep Rapunzel safe."

He then disappeared in another Corridor of Darkness.

Axel and Kairi just stood there, with solemn moods, as they thought about what Marluxia just said.

Their bad moods were fortunately interrupted by Pluto's barks, who quickly led them to Flynn and Rapunzel's hiding spot.

The five residents in Kairi's apheartment tried their best to snap out of their foul moods so that the emotions wouldn't affect Kairi, and Sora tried his best but just couldn't conceal his anger at the new Organization.

Their nickname for her was downright mean and condesending, and them targeting Kairi just to get to Sora was extremely low, and Sora absolutely despised that it always worked.

"You okay?" They heard Rapunzel ask Kairi. "Is your heart hurting?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kairi replied, a little too forcefully, and it was obvious to the five watching from within that she was hurting. "Just a little disoriented from the fight. That's all." Her vocal tone said it all.

Their emotions did hurt Kairi, and all five of them knew it.

"Sorry, Kairi," Sora quietly apologized, feeling a tremendous amount of guilt. "I'm sorry."

The other four had no words to cheer him up, but Roxas placed a gentle hand on Sora's shoulder, and everyone, seen and unseen to Kairi, immediately felt better when Rapunzel changed the subject by immediately fawning over how pretty Kairi's Keyblade was.

All five breathed a sigh of relief when Kairi did not hesitate to accept the subject change and happily explained the aspects of her Keyblade, the one Aqua had passed down to her.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kingdom of Corona~

Flynn opened the door to the Snuggly Duckling, and immediately the group was introduced to a bad smell.

"Garcon, your finest table please!" Flynn called out. Flynn turned to Rapunzel, who gasped. "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose." He sniffed. "Really let that seep in." It was a very foul smell, and apparently, only Flynn was used to it. "What are you guys getting? Because to me...that's part man-smell, and the other part is really bad man-smell. I don't know why, but overall..." Pascal hid in Rapunzel's hair, "It just smells like the color brown. Your thoughts?"

Rapunzel gasps, and began running with her hair in her arms. She was stopped by a thug.

"That's a lot of hair."

"She's growing it out," Flynn defended her. "Is that blood in your moustache? Goldie, look at this. Look at all the blood in his moustache. That, sir, is a lot of blood. Hey, you don't look so good, Blondie. Maybe we should get you a home. Call it a day. Probably be 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."

Rapunzel gasped as the pub door shut.

"Is this you?" A guy named Vlad asked, holding up a poster of Flynn's face on a wanted poster.

Flynn moved Vlad's finger off the poster, revealing the badly-drawn nose even worse than it was before. "Aw, now they're just being mean."

Hook laughed. "It's him all right. Greno, go find some guards! That reward's going to buy me a new hook."

Attila spoke up in protest, "I could use the money."

Vlad also protested, "What about me? I'm broke."

Lea leaned towards Kairi and whispered, "I knew he was a wanted man."

There was a clamor as the thugs all grabbed a firm hold of Flynn, all intending to turn him in for their own personal profit.

"Please, stop!" Rapunzel cried out.

"We can work this out," Flynn pleaded.

"Please, leave him alone!" Rapunzel said.

"Gentlemen, please!" Flynn pleaded.

"Give me back my guide! Ruffians!" Rapunzel cried.

Flynn continued to struggle, "Not the nose, not the nose, not the nose!"

Rapunzel stood up on the counter, frying pan in hand, "Put him down!"

Instant silence. Hook turned to her.

"Listen," Rapunzel began to explain, "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?"

Hook approached Rapunzel threateningly, but stopped just in front of her.

And what happened next really surprised Lea and Kairi, who were prepared to materialize their Keyblades in case there was trouble.

"I had a dream...once," Hook revealed. A pause, before Rapunzel nodded, urging him to share it, "Well, don't laugh, but, umm...I know I'm malicious, mean and scary, but I've always yearned to be a concert pianist." He climbed to stage and sat in front of the piano. "I'd rather be known for my killer melody."

A big nose thug went next, "I've got scars and lumps and bruises, but despite my complexion, I really want to make a love connection. Though I'm one disgusting blighter, I'm a lover, not a fighter."

One by one, all the thugs revealed their dreams.

Tor wanted to be a florist. Gunther did interior design. Ulf was into mime. Attila's made mean cupcakes. Bruiser knit. Killer sewed. Fang did little puppet shows. And Vlad collected ceramic horses.

Hook turned to Flynn, "What about you?"

"I'm sorry, me?"

"What's your dream," the big nose thug asked.

"No, no, no," Flynn refused. "Sorry boys, I don't get personal with anybody." He changed his attitude when swords were immediately pointed at him. "Well, I've always wanted to live somewhere warm and sunny, on an island I own, tanned and rested and alone, surrounded by enormous piles of money."

Rapunzel turned to Kairi and Lea, and asked, "What about you two?"

Kairi took a moment to think, "Well...I've never really thought about it..."

Lea spoke up, "Keep thinking, then. I dream of reuniting with two of my dearest friends. We were separated some time ago, and I miss them."

Rapunzel gave a warm smile, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find them soon!"

Lea returned her smile, "Oh, I know right where they are. They're just kind of...trapped, I guess."

Kairi was the one who spoke up next, "Don't worry, Lea. The pieces will all fall into place once we find Sora." Lea turned his smile towards her.

Kairi distinctly felt a deep sense of longing from within her, but she didn't get the time to wonder why.

Because Rapunzel turned to Kairi next, "Have you found your dream yet?"

Kairi seemed to start, and immediately slapped a smile on, "Yeah. To be the guardian of everyone's smiles. All of your dreams, I'll do everything in my power to ensure that they come true."

It was true. She just wanted everyone to be happy and alive.

Several thugs found this endearing, "Aww. How sweet!" To them, it was obvious that both Rapunzel and Kairi were people worth protecting.

"I found the guards," Greno announced. And Flynn immediately pulled Rapunzel away.

"Where's Rider?" They heard the Captain of the Guards ask. "Where is he? I know he's in here somewhere. Find him; turn the place upside down if you have to!"

Flynn, upon seeing his former accomplices, the Stabbington Brothers, gasped. Knowing of the impending danger, Hook took Flynn, Rapunzel, Kairi, and Lea to a hidden passage.

"Go, live your dream," Hook told them.

"I will," Flynn said.

Hook immediately replied, "Your dream stinks. I was talking to the other three."

"Thanks for everything," Rapunzel said, before the four went through the tunnel.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kairi's Heartscape~

Flynn, Rapunzel, Kairi, Lea, Pascal, and Pluto were in the tunnel now, and now they were taking a nice stroll towards the kingdom, relieved that they could take a breather.

"Well, I've got to say," Flynn told Rapunzel, "didn't know you had that in you back there. That was pretty impressive."

It was typical of a Princess of Heart, at least. But yes, it was rather impressive.

"I know! I know," Rapunzel smiled. "So, Flynn, where're you from?"

"Aren't they curious about Axel and Kairi?" Xion asked. "And their Keyblades?"

"Most likely," Namine replied. "But perhaps they choose not to say anything, because they know it's not that important."

Flynn immediately backed up from Rapunzel's question. "Woah-ho! Sorry, Blondie, I don't do backstory. However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I-I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair."

"Nope."

"Or the mother."

"Nuh-uh."

"Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the frog."

"Chameleon," Rapunzel corrected.

"Nuance," Flynn replied. "Here's my question, though: if you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven't you gone before?"

Rapunzel stuttered, trying to find an answer that would satisfy both of them.

"Too far, man," Roxas muttered. "Too far."

It was clear the girl with the long hair was uncomfortable with that question.

Fortunately, Axel pulled Flynn to the side, saying, "Leave her alone. It's obvious she doesn't want to talk about it." His voice got quieter and quieter as the two males walked farther and farther to the side, leaving the two females to themselves.

Rapunzel took this opportunity to talk to Kairi, "So what's your real dream?"

"Huh?" Kairi asked.

The five people watching this conversation were curious about Kairi's answer to this question, as they knew Kairi was hesitant to answer the question before and were worried as to why.

"I saw how sad you really were back there," Rapunzel explained. "I saw it in your eyes. Like your answer was a misdirect. So, what's your real dream?"

Kairi sighed, "You're right. It was a cop-out. Because my dream, the way things are now, the reality of it coming true is...fading."

"Fading?" Rapunzel repeated, confused and filled with sorrow.

"Kairi..." Namine softly, sadly, spoke her Somebody's name once.

Sora turned to Namine, "You know what her dream is?"

Namine only nodded.

"Yeah..." Kairi materialized her Keyblade. "You see the keychain there? This keychain is what makes my Keyblade the way it is now."

"Is that a star?" Rapunzel asked, after taking a good look at it.

"Yeah," Kairi explained. "Or rather, it's a paopu. It's a star shaped fruit that grows on my home island. The legend goes that...if you and one other person share one, then your destinies will be forever intertwined."

A little smile came to Rapunzel's face, "So you dream of sharing one of these fruits with someone."

Kairi was sad, however, "Yeah. His name is Sora. And right now...I guess you could say that he's missing and it's unlikely that he'll return anytime soon."

A sharp pain of sorrow immediately struck Sora's heart, and his hand automatically flew to his pocket, searching for Kairi's lucky charm.

Rapunzel offered Kairi a comforting smile and side hug, "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Sora clutched Kairi's lucky charm tightly to his chest. "I will, Kairi. Soon. I promise."

Kairi smiled, grateful for Rapunzel's optimism, "Right. I just have to keep believing."

Everyone watching this scene, in Kairi's heart and in the real world, immediately felt comforted by the light radiating from the two purest hearts in the entire known universe resonating with each other.

Unfortunately, the moment was ruined was the Captain of the Guard calling out in the distance, "Rider!"

The unusual six companions turned around, and saw a light at the end of the dark tunnel getting brighter and brighter.

"Run!" Flynn called, and they all began running towards the exit, and didn't stop until were out of the tunnel, and into direct sunlight. But they were forced to stop when they ran into the dead end that was a cliff.

Down below them, two thugs appeared, twins, with one wearing an eye patch.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked.

"They don't like me," was Flynn's answer.

The palace guards appeared on the same precipice as them.

"Who's that?" Rapunzel asked.

"They don't like me either," Flynn replied.

A horse appeared right in front of them.

"Who's that?!" Rapunzel asked a third time.

"Let's just assume for the moment that everyone in here doesn't like me!" Flynn cried.

"Fair enough," was all Axel said.

"We're trapped!" Kairi brought their attention to their primary problem.

Rapunzel's face light up right then as if she got an idea. "Here!" After throwing her frying pan at Flynn, she used her hair as a grappling hook, "Kairi! Hold onto me!", and swung herself and Kairi to a nearby rock.

"I've waited a long time for this," the Captain of the Guards said, as Flynn used the pan and smacked all the guards surrounding him with it.

After this, he looked at it in awe, "Oh mama, I have got to get me one of these!"

The horse in front of him, Maximus, drew a sword off one of the fallen guards. He neighed before the strange duo dueled, the horse with a sword and Flynn with the frying pan.

"You should know that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!" Flynn commented.

"You'd be surprised, Flynn," Ventus couldn't help but reply, even if the one he was speaking to couldn't hear it. "This is not the strangest thing we've ever seen."

The horse flicked the frying pan out of Flynn's hands, making the thief go quiet. "How 'bout two out of three?"

The horse did not buy it. He just angrily shoved the tip of the sword in Flynn's face. He had him cornered.

"Flynn!" Rapunzel called. She wrapped her hair around Flynn's hand, and pulled him away from the cliff. The horse's mouth dropped open in astonishment as Flynn saluted him. "Flynn, look out!"

He was swinging straight towards the two brother thugs.

"Whoa, woah..."

"Ngh!" Rapunzel used her hair to pull him up slightly, just in time for the two to miss him with their swords.

"Ha!" Flynn cried in triumph. "You should see your faces because you look–" Sora and co. winced as Flynn hit the plank "–ridiculous."

Rapunzel mentally apologized to Flynn, before looking over at the horse when she heard a loud crack in his direction.

The horse hit one of the planks holding up the dam, making a bridge to get to her and Kairi.

"Come on, ladies!" Flynn called up to them, as he and Axel stood on the trough, Flynn holding the end of Rapunzel's hair.

"Jump!" Axel called.

In response, Kairi held onto Rapunzel and the two swung to the ground, Pascal clinging onto Rapunzel's shoulder for dear life, and Pluto clutching Kairi's back. The horse was close to grabbing her hair with his teeth. He could almost feel it there, but he chomped down and bit nothing. The two girls were out of his grasp.

Rapunzel and Kairi ran, making their way to the cave up ahead of them, as Flynn and Axel were right behind them, surfing down the trough, which unfortunately, made the whole dam fall apart.

The large wave hit the rock column right behind them, which crashed down right after the four had entered the cave, with Flynn grabbing the frying fan just before it did. They were safe from being crushed by a giant rock, but, unfortunately, that giant rock had sealed them inside the cave.

Now, water was flooding the cave, and the group had gotten has high as they could, but there was no way out.

As the water level rose slowly and slowly, Axel and Kairi dove several times to try and find a way out. Meanwhile, Flynn and Rapunzel tried banging on the rocks, Rapunzel with her frying pan, and Flynn with his hands/fists.

Flynn cried out in pain as one of the rocks cut his hand.

After the third dive, Axel and Kairi resurfaced with bad news.

"It's no use," Axel said. "We can't see anything. And my flames are useless with all this water around."

Well, that was the problem with his affinity over fire, Roxas thought. He was useless when it was wet.

Rapunzel dove, but Axel pulled her back up.

"Hey, there's no point," Axel solemnly replied. "It's pitch-black down there."

Rapunzel sniffed. "This is all my fault. Mother was right. I never should have done this." She sobbed, as Kairi placed a gentle, comforting hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I'm so...I'm so sorry, Flynn, Lea, Kairi, Pluto..."

"Eugene," was all Flynn said.

"What?" Rapunzel was surprised, as were Kairi and Axel.

"My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Someone might as well know."

"Hmm," Rapunzel smiled, before nonchalantly saying, "I have magic hair that glows when I sing."

"What?" Now it was Flynn's turn to be surprised.

"What now?" Roxas asked, he and the other four not lost at all with what she just said.

Rapunzel seemed to realize what she just said, and repeated, "I have magic hair that glows when I sing!" She took a deep breath, the water reaching their chins now, and sang, "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine..."

The four took a deep breath, as the cave was completely submerged in water.

One moment, it was pitch black. The next, Rapunzel's hair was lit up like the sun itself.

Kairi's eyes widened in surprise, as did Axel's, but Flynn was full on shocked.

"Woah!" He exclaimed, but seeing as how he was underwater, all he got was a mouth full of water.

Axel and Kairi followed Rapunzel's hair as a trail and found that there was an opening that was blocked with rocks, but whatever was on the other side was sucking in her hair.

It was a drain of some kind.

The four swam down to the blocked opening, and Kairi wordlessly called upon her Destiny's Embrace, and used a simple light-based shotlock to destroy the rocks, allowing the four to escape.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

~Kingdom of Corona~

The four heroes and their two animal companions all washed up on the river bank.

"We made it," Rapunzel said, smiling at Kairi and Lea.

"We did," Kairi agreed, with a smile mirroring the other girl's.

"Her hair glows," Flynn said, breathlessly, still shocked at what he just saw.

"Thanks, Rapunzel," Lea said. "We're alive because of you."

"Yeah, we're alive," Rapunzel said, standing up as Kairi tiredly scratched Pluto's equally exhausted head.

"I didn't see that coming," Flynn muttered to Pascal.

"Eugene," Rapunzel gently called.

"Why does her hair glow?" Flynn asked Pascal.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel called. Flynn looked up, as Kairi and Lea both stood up next to Rapunzel.

"What?"

"It doesn't just glow."

Flynn did a double take when he saw Pascal's smirk. "Why is he smiling at me?" He asked, motioning to the chameleon.

"Then, if you don't mind us prying," Lea asked, "what else does it do?"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Rapunzel didn't seem to mind answering that question. The four were huddled around the fire Lea had made, drying off as the sun went down, revealing the night sky in its wake.

"So you're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hand," Flynn said, trying with all his might to be casual. "Agh!" he winced as Rapunzel accidentally hit the sore spot.

"Sorry," the blonde swiftly apologized, before sighing. "Just don't...don't freak out." She sighed again, before singing, making her hair low once again, "Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, Bring back what once was mine." As Kairi and Lea watched with intrigue, Pascal motioned to Flynn to look at his 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..."

So that's what she meant by magic hair.

Flynn gasped in horror. "Please don't freak out!" Flynn's mouth was wide open, as Rapunzel quietly pleaded, "...Please."

"Aaaggghhh," Flynn was freaking out, and was failing to let conceal it, "I'm-not-freaking-out-are-you-freaking-out-no-I'm-just-very-interested-in-your-hair-and-the-magical-qualities-that-it-posesses!" he said in one breath.

"How long has your hair been doing that exactly?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, forever, I guess," Rapunzel replied, no smile on her face. "Mother says 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. A gift like that has to be protected. That's why mother never let me..." She sighed. "That's why I never left the...hmm."

"That's why you never left that tower." Lea said, and Rapunzel nodded. "And you're still gonna go back?"

Rapunzel scrambled to find an answer, "No! Yes. Ugh! It's complicated."

Kairi saw that her fellow Princess of Heart was uncomfortable, so she quickly changed the subject. "Hah. So, Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," Flynn said. "Well. I'll spare you all the sob story of poor orphan Eugene Fitzherbert, it's a little bit of a...that's a little bit of a downer." Rapunzel scooted closer to Flynn, as Kairi and Lea kicked back. They all wanted to know more. "Okay. There was this book I used to read every night to all the younger kids – 'The Tales of Flynnigan Rider'. Swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies, either. Not that he would to brag about it, of course."

"Hmm. Was he a thief too?" Lea asked.

Flynn paused a moment before answering, "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. And, and, and for a kid with nothing, I don't know, I...Just seemed like a better option."

"Hmm," Rapunzel acknowledged, as Kairi lowered her gaze to the ground. She knew how he felt, except she was lucky to be raised by the non-blood related woman know as her grandmother.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay? It could ruin my whole reputation," Flynn quickly said.

"Ah. We wouldn't want that," Rapunzel winked at him, as Lea smirked to himself – the perfect blackmail.

"Well, a fake reputation is all a man has," Flynn said. After a moment of awkward silence, he said, "Ahem. Well, I should, um...I, I should...I should get some more firewood."

"I'll come with you," Lea said, the two guys standing up.

"Hey," Rapunzel called back to Flynn. "For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider.

"Well, then you'd be the first...but thank you," Flynn smiled at her.

Rapunzel smiled back, as the two left.

"Well! I thought they'd never leave!" Came a voice Kairi had not heard yet. A woman's voice.

Kairi turned around, facing the owner of the voice – a young woman with curly black hair – and she materialized her Keyblade. "Who are you?!"

"Mother!" Rapunzel cried out.

"Huh?" That was Rapunzel's mother? The two looked nothing alike.

Then again, neither did Kairi and her grandmother. And there was nothing wrong with being adopted.

But Rapunzel had mentioned that her own mother had locked her away in that tower, never to be seen by the outside world.

"Hello dear," Mother Gothel said.

Rapunzel stuttered, "But I, I, I, I don't, uh...How did you find me?"

Mother Gothel scoffed, "Oh, it was easy really. I just listened to the sound of complete and utter betrayal and followed that."

Rapunzel sighed, "Mother..."

"We're going home, Rapunzel. Now."

"You-you don't understand. I've been on this incredible journey and I've seen and learned so much. I even met a few people," Rapunzel replied, with a find smile at the thought of Lea, Kairi, and Flynn.

Mother Gothel faked a smile, "Yes, the wanted thief, the useless princess, and the traitorous assassin. I'm so proud." She didn't sound proud to Kairi. "Come on, Rapunzel."

"Mother, wait. I think...I think Flynn likes me." There was a blush on the blonde's face, and it reminded Kairi of her own face whenever she thought about Sora.

"Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that's demented."

Kairi kept quiet throughout this whole exchange, feeling rather out of place, but Mother Gothel herw was saying things that hit Kairi a little too close to home.

"But mother, I..."

"This is why you never should have left," Mother said and Rapunzel sighed in exasperation. "Dear, this whole romance that you've invented just proves you're too naive 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. After all, Mother knows..."

"NO!"

Their relationship was not a healthy one. Kairi could see that now, as well as why Rapunzel needed to go see those lanterns. And she was incredibly proud of Rapunzel for finally standing up for herself.

Kairi's grip on her Keyblade tightened. She was ready if Mother Gothel ever decided to hurt Rapunzel.

"No?! Oh. I see how it is," Mother Gothel said. "Rapunzel knows best. Fine, if you're so sure now. Go ahead, and give him this!" She threw a satchel at Rapunzel.

And Kairi instantly recognized it. It was the same satchel Flynn had when he was running away from the heartless earlier.

Rapunzel took out a crown, and Kairi's eyes widened, as Rapunzel asked, "How did you…?"

Flynn was a thief, she and Lea both knew that. But he had stolen from the royal family.

Mother motioned to the crown. "This is the only reason why he's here! Don't let him deceive you! Give it to him, watch, you'll see!"

"I will!"

"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–" Rapunzel made to go after her, but Kairi put her hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place.

"If he's lying, don't come crying, 'Mother knows best'!" And then Mother Gothel just vanished into the night.

Rapunzel looked down at the crown.

"You okay?" Kairi asked, noticing at distraught the blonde was.

Rapunzel started when Kairi spoke to her, "Y-Yeah...I'm fine."

"So..." Rapunzel and Kairi both gasped. Lea and Flynn had returned, with their arms full of firewood. "Hey uh...can I ask you something?" Flynn asked. "Is there any chance that I'm gonna get super strength in my hand because I'm not gonna lie. That would be stupendous." He paused when he saw Rapunzel's distracted face. "Hey, you all right?"

"Oh! Sorry, yes. Just, um, lost in thought, I guess," Rapunzel quickly replied.

Lea turned to Kairi, "You okay there, Princess?"

"I'll tell you later," was all Kairi said. There was no way she was going to keep quiet about what she just witnessed.

Flynn continued, "I mean because here's the thing. Superhuman good looks, I've always had them – born with it, but superhuman strength? Can you imagine the possibilities of this...?"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Lea and Kairi woke up the next morning to Flynn crying out for help.

"No, no, no, put me down! Let me go! Let–me–go–!" The horse was back and he was dragging Flynn off to wherever the castle was to face justice.

"Release–him–" Rapunzel cried.

The horse shook Flynn from side to side. Rapunzel managed to pull Flynn away, and the horse, Flynn's boot in his mouth, ran to confront the blonde.

"What's going on?" Lea asked.

Rapunzel didn't grace them with an answer. Instead, she focused on the calming the horse down, "Whoa, whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Easy, boy, easy! Settle down! Whoa, whoa! Easy, boy, easy. Easy."

The horse stopped.

"That's it."

Atop Rapunzel's head, Pascal stood and faced the horse, motioning the bigger animal to sit down.

Kairi rose an eyebrow, watching the scene play out.

"Now sit," Rapunzel said. The horse assumed a sitting position. "Sit!" He sat like a dog. "Now drop the boot." The horse stopped. "Drop it!" The horse dropped Flynn's boot. "Aww, you are such a good boy! Yes you are." The horse wagged its tail. "You're all tired from chasing the bad man all over the place?" The horse nodded.

"Excuse me?" Flynn asked, not believing what he was seeing.

Rapunzel continued, "Nobody appreciates you, do they?" The horse grunted. "Do they?" The horse grunted again.

"Oh come on, he's a bad horse!" Flynn tried to object.

"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart!" The horse neighed in delight. "Isn't that right? Maximus?"

Kairi smiled. "See? He's not bad at all. He's just like Pluto." She leaned down and scratched Pluto's chin, who wagged his tail.

"You've got to be kidding me," Flynn muttered.

"Don't worry," Lea leaned into Flynn and quietly said, "Pluto doesn't really give me any kindness either. Though, for good reason."

Maximus hit Flynn.

"Look," Rapunzel began, talking to the horse, "Today is kind of the biggest day of my life, and the thing is, I need you not to get him arrested." Maximus grunted. "Just for twenty-four hours and then you can chase each other to your heart's content, okay?"

Flynn sighed, but stretched out a hand nonetheless. Maximus turned away defiantly.

Rapunzel and Kairi shared a knowing glance. "And it's also my birthday. Just so you know," was all Rapunzel had to say.

Maximus reluctantly agreed. Rapunzel heard distant bells and walks away with Kairi, knowing those were the bells for the lantern festival. When her back was turned, Maximus hit Flynn in the chest.

Flynn immediately crashed to the ground, as Maximus neighed in delight again.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was at least thirty minutes later when the group finally reached the kingdom gates.

Rapunzel was practically bouncing up and down on her heals with excitement, saying, "We're actually here!" before linking her arm through Kairi's and pulling the redhead with her into the plaza.

Lea whispered to Flynn and Maximus, "Behave," before following the two girls.

One long braiding train on Rapunzel's hair later, done by a group of little girls, Kairi had gotten a flower crown and was looking a mosaic, which people were bringing flowers to.

"It's for the lost princess," a little girl said, as Rapunzel joined Kairi at the mosaic, with depicted what must have been the King and Queen and the lost baby princess.

Rapunzel looked at it a little closer. The baby princess had golden hair and green just like her.

What struck Kairi the most was the fact that the baby was blonde, but both her parents were brunettes. Was the lost princess adopted to? Or was there more to this that she first thought?

"You okay there?" Lea asked the two.

"Yeah!" Rapunzel said, as Kairi shot him a smile. Some festive music started up, and Rapunzel slapped another exicted smile again. "Kairi! Come on! Let's dance!"

"Okay!"

Lea and Flynn watched as the Princesses of Heart danced to their pure hearts' content, their own faces donned with gentle, fond smiles, watching as their happiness attracted everyone else in the area.

After a while, when the sun was setting, someone shouted, "To the boats!"

Kairi and Lea stayed behind on the docks, as Flynn and Rapunzel got into their own boat.

"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked him.

"Well, this is the best day of your life," Flynn replied. "I figured you should have a decent seat."

Out on the water, in the boat, Rapunzel thought of something disturbing.

"You okay?" Flynn asked.

"I'm terrified."

"Why?" He asked, concerned.

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen years, dreaming about what it might feel like when those lights rise in the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?" She asked him.

"It will be."

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

"Well, that's the good part I guess," Flynn replied. "You get to go find a new dream."

Rapunzel smiled, as from within the city, the lanterns were launched. She stood up on the front of the ship, watching the lanterns with a smile on her face.

This was it. This is what she had been dreaming about.

"Ahem," she heard Flynn clear his throat. She turned and saw him holding two lanterns.

Rapunzel sat back down. "Um, I have something for you, too." She took out Flynn's satchel. "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?"

She trusted him. Completely.

Flynn refused to take the satchel. "I'm starting to."

Rapunzel smiled, before the two launched their lanterns together.

Both Lea and Kairi were in awe at the sight from their perch on the docks.

"Wow," Lea commented. "This certainly is a sight worth fighting for."

"Yeah..." Kairi trailed off, and that was not lost on Lea.

"You okay there?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kairi said, wiping away a tear. "I just wish Sora was here to see this."

"I know how you feel," Lea shot her a gentle smirk. "I wish Roxas and my other friend were here to see this too."

"We are here," the trio's words were spoken in unison, but sadly went unheard by the two people they were talking to.

Kairi felt a warm light radiating from her heart. It felt a lot like Sora's light, and she smiled.

Wherever Sora was, he was still thinking about her.

Kairi took out her Gummiphone and recorded the rest of the light show.

"I know it's not the same," Kairi said, before Lea could speak up. "But it's better than nothing. I'll send it to Riku, and when Sora gets back, I'll show him."

"I wasn't going to object," Lea reassured her. "I was just wondering if you could send the video to me too."

"Of course," Kairi replied. "I'm sending it to everyone."

"Even Master Yen Sid?"

"Especially Master Yen Sid."

Meanwhile, Flynn was about to kiss Rapunzel when he saw two certain somebodies on the nearby shore.

His two accomplices, the twin thugs known as the Stabbington brothers.

Rapunzel noticed him hesitating, and asked, "Is everything okay?"

She had no idea who was waiting for them. They were after her because of him, and he needed to put a stop to that.

"Huh? Oh, yes, uh, huh. Yes, of course. I just..." he stuttered, before rowing Rapunzel back to shore. "I'm sorry, everything is fine. There's just something I have to take care of."

"Okay."

He didn't deserve her trust, but he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

"I'll be right back," Flynn said, taking the satchel. "I promise."

Rapunzel watched him walk away with the satchel, before reassuring her chameleon friend, "It's all right, Pascal. He'll be back before we know it."

With the lantern launching having ended a while ago, Lea yawned, "Well, I'm ready to call it a day whenever you are."

Kairi held up her hand, as the two stood up on the docks, "Hold on. I want to make sure Rapunzel and Flynn come back okay first."

Kairi's gaze led her to the shoreline, where she saw Rapunzel walking into the forest with Mother Gothel.

"Rapunzel!" Kairi called, forcing Lea to follow Kairi's line of sight. He immediately jumped into action once he saw the same thing she did.

"We have to stop her!"

"Right!"

The two ran forward, but were quickly stopped by Reaper Nobodies.

Lea cursed under his breath. "Dammit...I told you we should've gone with them, Princess!"

"I know! But fight now, talk later!" Kairi ordered. "Rapunzel's safety is our top priority!"

As they began the fight, Lea couldn't help but wonder where Flynn was.

Did he actually leave? Like Mother Gothel said he would – as she told Kairi and Rapunzel?

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It took them about five minutes, at least, to take care of the Nobodies. Lea and Kairi were running on the shoreline, and they had finally caught up to the place where they saw Rapunzel leave with Mother Gothel.

Kairi cried out, "Wait! Rapunze–!"

Marluxia appeared from a cloud of darkness, "Show some decorum."

"Marluxia!" Lea exclaimed.

Marluxia continued, "The girl has found her dear mother. You should let them be."

"And why should we do that?! I've met her mother! She's not a nice person!" Kairi said, her heartbeat speeding up due to adrenaline and fear, something she was not used to.

"Because Rapunzel is far too important," Marluxia explained. "Atop her tower, she must remain out of sight, and live out her days with Mother Gothel."

Kairi didn't agree with that, "But that's like locking her in a prison! Rapunzel is a person, not an object!"

Her mind flashed to a memory Namine had accidentally showed her once, when the Nobody's emotions concerning loneliness had gotten a little out of hand. A memory that showed Namine sitting in a white room, sadly drawing in her sketchbook, all alone as she manipulated Sora's memories against her will.

She didn't want anyone else to go through with that. Never again.

"That is exactly what it's like," Marluxia confirmed, before explaining, "Rapunzel's hair holds the powerful magic of healing. And yes, Mother Gothel wants it for herself. As do others. And, if Mother Gothel's actions will protect Rapunzel, preserve her...then she is doing the Organization and you all a big favor. You could say she's keeping Rapunzel on the shelf for us. An extra pawn in case you fail to find the remaining guardians of light, and we have occasion to call on other hearts of light instead. A New Seven Hearts to fill out the ranks."

Lea was angry. "Why you–!"

But Kairi was downright pissed, "If Rapunzel is locked back in that tower, she's as good as dead!" Kairi drew her Destiny's Embrace. "Now I can see why Namine hates you so much. It's obvious that Lea and I are the only ones who really care about Rapunzel! It's time for you to go now! You've overstayed your welcome!"

Lea was surprised by Kairi's outburst. He knew Kairi cared about other people, but he didn't really see just how much she cared until now.

But Marluxia was not at all fazed by Kairi's anger one bit, "Hmph. It's not very...elegant of you to go and make a scene, Your Highness."

"Stop calling me that!"

Lea paused. Did Kairi...forget?

"Can't stand the truth? You are the lost Princess of Radiant Garden, are you not?" Marluxia asked, asking what Lea wanted to ask, but a lot meaner than the redhead would have.

He glanced over Kairi worriedly, and warned, "Back off, Kairi."

Marluxia calmly said, "No need, Axel. It's lights out for Princess Kairi."

The pink-haired Nobody threw a pink mist at Kairi, who blacked out and crashed to the floor, her keyblade dematerializing on her way down.

"Kairi!" Lea called out.

Sora went unheard by Kairi as well, as well as Lea and Marluxia, "KAIRI!"

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It was morning now, and Mother Gothel had just undone Rapunzel's braid, and had taken out all the flowers.

As Rapunzel lie down in her bed, clenching a purple handkerchief with the Kingdom of Corona's logo on it, her mother's words burned in her memory, "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 noticed something within her ceiling paintings, took another look at the handkerchief in her hand, before staring up at her mural.

The emblem of Corona was found in literally every nook and cranny within her paintings.

And it was then that everything seemed to click.

Why the lanterns only appeared on her birthday, why the baby in the mosaic looked just like her, why putting on the crown Flynn had stolen the other day felt so right.

This realization made her stumble backwards, and her knocking into her dresser caught her mother's attention.

"Rapunzel?" the woman asked, climbing the stairs, as Rapunzel exited her room through her curtains. "Rapunzel, what's going on up there?" Rapunzel gasped, and the woman asked, "Are you alright?"

"I'm the lost princess," the blonde quietly revealed.

Mother Gothel sighed in exapseration, "Oh, please speak up Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling."

"I am the lost princess!" Rapunzel repeated, a little louder this time. "Aren't I? Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?"

"Oh Rapunzel, did you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?"

"It was you! It was all you!" Rapunzel would never forgive herself for being so blind all this time.

Mother Gothel approached her, and offered a gesture of comfort, "Everything that I did was to protect... you."

Why did she hesitate? Rapunzel asked herself before pushing her 'mother' away.

"Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel descended the stairs, fully intending on getting out of here, back to Kairi, back to Lea...back to Eugene. "I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power..."

"Rapunzel!"

"...but I should have been hiding...from you!"

"Where will you go?" Mother Gothel demanded, as if she knew something Rapunzel did not. "He won't be there for you. None of them will."

"What did you do to him?" Rapunzel demanded, worried about her three friends. Where were they? Where did they go?

"That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes," Gothel informed her. "And the other two have been swiftly taken care of by a colleague of mine."

Rapunzel gasped. "No..."

'Hanged' meant Flynn was going to be executed. 'Taken care of', in that context, meant that Lea and Kairi had been defeated by those Heartless and Nobodies they were protecting her from.

"Now, Now. It's all right. Listen to me. Everything is as it should be," Gothel said, going to pat Rapunzel's hair.

Rapunzel, however, stopped Gothel's hand before it could touch her, "No! You were wrong about the world. And you were wrong about me. And that 'useless princess'? Her name is Kairi! I can tell that she and I are the same! She's bright and kind and strong, and so am I! And I will never let you use my hair again!"

With one swift burst of strength, Rapunzel violently shoved her 'mother' away from her, causing the woman to cry out and the mirror she crashed into to shatter into pieces.

As Gothel panted, Rapunzel walked away, full intending on getting out her prison.

When Rapunzel's back was turned, Mother Gothel stood up, surrounded by darkness, "You want me to be the bad guy? Fine. Now I'm the bad guy..."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi stirred when she felt Pluto's tongue on her cheek, drowsy with sleep. Apparently, Marluxia could make people fall asleep. That was good to know.

When she was finally aware of what was going on, Lea and Pluto were standing over her as she lie on the ground. But there were other people with them.

The thugs from the Snuggly Duckling.

"Lea, guys, we have to go! Rapunzel is in danger!" She exclaimed as she remembered why they were even here in Corona.

"We know," Lea said, as he helped Kairi stand up. "But so is Flynn. He's about to be executed."

"Split up?" Kairi suggested.

Lea nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I'll go with these guys to help Flynn. You go and save Rapunzel."

Kairi nodded, before saying with an encouraging smile, "Good luck, Pyromaniac."

Lea returned her smile with his signature smirk, "You too, Princess."

And the two went their separate ways.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The thugs led Lea through the castle. But when were on the bridge in front of the gates, the group stopped when a certain pink-haired Nobody emerged from a black cloud.

"Marluxia," Lea growled, as he stepped in front of the large group of thugs.

"Axel, Mother Gothel has fully succumbed to the darkness inside of her. There's no way we can let her near our pure light now. She must be stopped."

That was bad. If Mother Gothel had succumbed to the darkness when she was meant to protect Rapunzel for the Organization, then Rapunzel sincerely was in grave danger.

But he had faith in Kairi.

Lea smirked as he materialized his Flame Liberator, "Unfortunately, so must you." He turned the thugs. "You guys go on ahead and save Flynn. I'll take care of this guy."

Marluxia let the thugs go on past him, making no move to stop him.

"One quick question before I defeat you," Lea said, "why is the Organization after Kairi?"

"Master Xehanort has an interest in her," Marluxia revealed, "but the reason why is a secret to even us."

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Rapunzel was in trouble. Mother Gothel had told the Stabbington brothers about Rapunzel, all about her, including her magic hair.

If the old lady really was Rapunzel's mother, and was trying to protect her, then why did she place Rapunzel in even more danger by revealing Rapunzel's secret to people Flynn knew were bad, to people who deserved to be in this prison?

The guards had Flynn pinned, unable to fight them back anymore.

They had a cell ready for him, but all the doors in the hallway they were in suddenly closed without warning.

"What's this?" The Captain asked Flynn before pounding on the door. "Open up!"

"What's the password?" It was Shorty.

"What?"

"Nope."

"Open this door!"

"Not even close!"

"You have three seconds," The Captain said. "One!" The guard on the left was hooked away. "Two..." The guard on the right was whisked away. "Three..." The Captain turned around to see Flynn, all by himself, who merely waved at him.

Flynn winced as Attila hit the Captain with a frying pan.

"Frying pans! Who knew, right?" Flynn said, glad that someone had come to help him.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

Kairi fought off Heartless after Heartless, as she ran after Pluto, who was leading the way back to Rapunzel's tower.

When she reached a familiar clearing, she knew she had made it.

Yes! There it was! Rapunzel's tower!

Kairi wasted no time whatsoever, and she ran towards the tower, Pluto hot on her heels.

But the two immediately halted when the boss Heartless stood in their way, between them and Rapunzel.

The Grim Guardianess...the manifestation of Mother Gothel's darkness.

She wanted to save Rapunzel, but Pluto couldn't fight this Heartless off by himself. She needed to fight this thing off first.

She cupped her mouth to amplify her voice, and called up to the tower window, "Rapunzel! I know you're up there! Keep fighting and I'll find a way to get you out soon!"

There was a moment of silence, before a familiar frying pan flew out of the window and landed on the ground next to Kairi. The redhead glanced back up at the window. She briefly got a glimpse of Rapunzel, before Mother Gothel pulled her back by tying a cloth around her neck.

Rapunzel was in trouble, but she had given Kairi her frying pan. A way to fight.

Kairi grabbed the frying pan, and soon a light surrounded the object, transforming it into a miniature version of a frying pan, like a keychain.

A keychain...

Kairi got an idea, hoping it would work. She hooked up the new keychain to her Destiny's Embrace, and light surrounded it.

When it faded, Kairi's keyblade had transformed.

The Ever After keyblade...

Yes! It had worked.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It emotionally hurt Lea to fight against a former friend, but considering what had happened to him – he had gotten his old identity back – Lea was not at all worried that Marluxia would be suffering anymore.

He had done it. As Marluxia slowly faded in a cloud of darkness, he laughed, "Oh...So, now it all comes back to me."

Lea smirked, "Hey, was that a real laugh, there, Marluxia?"

"Yes...my heart is remembering how to feel," Marluxia replied.

"Don't fight it," Lea advised. "It's a good thing." Take a look at me, Marluxia. I have my life back.

"Indeed," the pink-haired man said. "And now, I am on the cusp of reclaiming my identity...my purpose for being...like you...Thank you, Axel...thank Princess Kairi for me too...and take good care of her...Whatever Xehanort has planned...cannot be pleasant..."

"I will," Lea vowed as Marluxia disappeared for good.

Lea snapped out of his reverie when he heard a yell that grew louder and louder until it stopped right next to him. The redhead turned and saw that it was Flynn who just landed on Maximus neatly and safely.

The thugs had done it.

Maximus neighed when Flynn had taken in the scene and what had just happened.

"Lea! You made it!" Flynn cried, a happy smile on his face.

"Thank Maximus. He's the one who brought everyone here," Lea replied.

"Max. You brought them here?" Maximus neighed. "Thank you." Maximus smiled, before he motioned for them to get going. "No really. Thank you. Uh. I feel maybe this whole time we've just been misunderstanding one another, and we're really just–"

Maximus was getting frustrated, and Lea noticed.

"Ahem. Gratitude later. Save Rapunzel now," Lea ordered as he got on Maximus's back behind Flynn.

"–Yeah, you're right, we should go." Flynn turned to Maximus. "Okay Max, let's see how fast you can run."

Maximus neighed his reply.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

The trio reached the tower, just as Kairi stood over the defeat Grim Guardianess, her new keyblade in hand.

"Hey, Flynn! Good to see you again!" Kairi said, before turned towards the tower. "But Rapunzel's still in danger."

"We know," Flynn said. "That's why we're here." He called out, "Rapunzel? Rapunzel, let down your hair!" He attempted to climb the tower on his own, when Rapunzel's hair suddenly fell from the window. Flynn, Lea, and Kairi – with Pluto on her back – all climbed the rest of the tower using Rapunzel's hair. Flynn slapped on a relieved smile when the trio was inside the tower. "Rapunzel, I thought we'd never see you again. Huh?"

The three noticed that Rapunzel was chained and gagged. She was screaming, muffled, obviously trying to warn them about something.

But they couldn't discern what she was trying to tell them.

Flynn let out a cry of pain as Mother Gothel stabbed him in the back.

"Flynn!" Kairi and Lea both cried out.

Rapunzel let out more muffled screams, and Kairi would never get Rapunzel's terrified face out of her mind.

"Now look what you've done, Rapunzel," Gothel said, as Flynn struggled. "Oh, don't worry, dear. Our secret will die with him. With all three of them." Flynn continued to struggle as Rapunzel continued her muffled screams. "And as for us, we are going where no one would ever find you again!"

Pascal bit a piece of Gothel's dress in an attempt to stop her, but Gothel merely shook him off. Pascal crashed against the wall.

"Now, to take care of the useless princess and the traitorous assassin."

Kairi and Lea readied their Keyblades, "Not if we have anything to say about it!"

"You're going down!" Lea added. "And there's no way you can win. Marluxia's gone now. There's no one else who can help you."

Mother Gothel sent a strong burst of dark energy at the two. Lea smashed against the wall, where Pascal was just moments before, and Kairi smashed her back against the already shattered mirror.

Rapunzel screamed in horror at the sight and struggled even more, mainly to get the gag off.

"Rapunzel, really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!" Gothel demanded.

Rapunzel was successful in getting her voice back, "No! I won't stop. For every minute of the rest of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you!" She caught her breath. "But, if you let me save them all, I will go with you."

Flynn continued to struggle, "No! No, Rapunzel!"

Pascal woke back up, as Lea growled out, "Rapunzel. Don't."

But Rapunzel continued to speak as if they hadn't said a word, "I'll never run, I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal my friends, and you and I will be together. Forever, just like you want. Everything will be the way it was. I promise."

Pascal was confused at this. Rapunzel was willing to risk her freedom for three people she met not even a week ago?

"Just like you want. Just let me heal them."

Mother Gothel approved, apparently, but she chained up Flynn, Lea, and Kairi rightly. "In case you get any ideas about following us." She then walked to the side, letting Rapunzel take over.

Rapunzel went to Flynn first, "Eu–Eugene!"

Flynn coughed before wrenching.

"I'm so sorry. Everything is gonna be okay–"

"No, Rapunzel–" Flynn protested.

"I promise you. You have to trust me–"

"No–"

"Come on. Just breathe–"

"I can't let you do this," Flynn confessed.

"But I can't let you die," Rapunzel countered, softly.

Flynn coughed, ignoring Rapunzel's shushing, "But if you do this, then you will die."

Kairi agreed with Flynn one hundred percent, but he was dying and she couldn't let that happen either.

"Hey. It's gonna be all right."

Flynn forced a smile. Rapunzel prepared to sing the incantation, when Flynn stopped her. "Rapunzel, wait..."

Then without warning, he sliced off Rapunzel's hair with a broken shard of the mirror.

Rapunzel looked at him, shocked, as her hair turned dark brown from the cut ends to the roots. "Eugene, what...?"

Mother Gothel let out a big, "No!"

Lea and Kairi watched as Rapunzel's golden hair turned dark brown quickly along its length.

Gothel tried to wrap herself around remaining golden hair. "No, no, no..." her hand immediately aged as Rapunzel's hair was completely brown. "No! What have you done? What have you done?" Her hair had turned white. "No!"

Pascal and Pluto both shared a look, before both pulled a length of hair, tripping Gothel. The group watched as the woman fell from the tower.

Lea peaked out the window, watching Gothel and her dress turn to dust before her cloak hit the ground. Rapunzel returned to Flynn, as Lea and Kairi used their Keyblades to break everyone's chains.

"No, no, no, no, no, Eugene," Rapunzel frantically scrambled to make sure he was still alive. Flynn coughed. "Look at me, look at me, I'm right here, don't go, stay with me, Eugene." She placed Flynn's weak hand on top of her brunette, magic-less head. "Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine–"

"–Rapunzel," Flynn gently called out.

"What?"

"You were my new dream," he revealed with a smile.

Rapunzel sobbed, "And you were mine."

Flynn breathed his last and his hand fell to the side, completely lifeless. Lea and Kairi were quiet as Rapunzel's eyes welled up with tears.

Flynn's swansong...he risked his life to set Rapunzel free.

Rapunzel finished her song, "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."

Kairi fell to her knees, tears welling up her eyes. Pluto slowly walked over to her as Lea kneeled next to her, both unsure of what to do to comfort her.

One of Rapunzel's tears – her first one – fell on Flynn's cheek. She didn't notice it absorb into Flynn's cheek, breifly shining like the sun before fading. A moment later, Flynn's wound lit up like the sun, and light engulfed the entire room.

The light faded, and Rapunzel watched it carefully as it did. Flynn's wound was gone.

"Rapunzel," came Flynn's voice, as he opened his eyes.

Rapunzel gasped in happiness, "Eugene."

"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?"

Lea scoffed, his signature smirk back on his face, as Kairi's tears of sorrow turned into tears of joy, and Pluto began wagging his tail.

Kairi knew what had happened. Rapunzel had unknowingly used her Princess of Heart powers to revive him.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel gasped, before embracing him, and then kissing him.

Kairi happily wrapped Lea and Pluto up in a big hug, crying tears of joy, as the trio celebrated their well deserved victory.

The red-haired princess wasn't the only one crying tears of joy. Within her heart, five individuals were letting pure happiness consume their own hearts, all five in one big hug.

Sora had fallen to his knees the exact same way Kairi had, causing the other four to worry about him. He had escaped to Kairi's heart to avoid this kind of stuff.

But Flynn had been revived. By risking his own life to ensure Rapunzel's freedom, he had deserved his happily ever after.

And now, knowing that everything was okay now, Sora let tears of joy freely fall down his face, letting his own tears mix in with Kairi's.

!~~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~~!

It had taken at least an hour to get Flynn and Rapunzel off of each other. But now, the group was standing outside the tower, and Lea and Kairi had to go, because they're mission here was over.

"You'll visit soon, right?" Rapunzel asked them.

"Of course," Kairi said. "You can always count on us whenever there's trouble."

"The most important thing, Rapunzel," Lea said, "is that you're free. You can now do whatever you want, and go wherever you want."

"I know!" Rapunzel exclaimed. "I still can't believe it. But thanks to you, Kairi, I know that I can be strong."

Kairi smiled. "Your strength comes from your kindness, Rapunzel. Don't ever lose that."

Rapunzel nodded, as Eugene said, "We hate to see you guys go so soon."

"We have other places to go, other people to meet and save," Lea said.

"Right," Rapunzel said, before reassuring them, "Don't ever lose sight of your dreams, both of you. They will come true one day."

"We know they will," Lea replied. "Thanks to you."

Kairi then turned to Flynn and said, "Take care of Rapunzel. She's the sole light of this world, which means she's very precious."

"Don't worry. I will. I have no intention of letting her go."

The two turned to each with a fond smile before embracing again.

And that was the note Lea, Kairi, and Pluto left Kingdom of Corona on, zooming off in the Gummi Ship to the next world that needed their help.

To Be Continued…

!~~K~I~N~G~D~O~M~~H~E~A~R~T~S~~3~~R~E~W~R~I~T~E~~!

A/N: Sorry that it's so long. I didn't feel like splitting it up into smaller chapters. While I am a big fan of Kingdom Hearts, I just recently got into the fandom. So if I get anything wrong, I'm sorry. Please, no flaming. Instead, just politely inform me in a PM or a review, so I can correct any mistake I make.

Yes, the first of the six new Hearts is Rapunzel from Tangled. Next World: Moana/Motonui

The term "apheartment" belongs to whoever came up with it, because I did not.