Hello guys! And I'm back at it again with another chapter. I might take a day or so to craft these, so if uploads ever get slow, it's cause I'm sorting some ideas out. And I really had fun with working on a future chapter/scene, so can't wait to share that when it's the right time. Anyway, review round at the end and a surprise appearance await toward this chapters conclusion.
Edit - Thanks to Setinel for the points on some minor typos/mistakes, they should be patched up now.
Riku simply smiled seeing Kairi and Rapunzel climbing the tall tower together, his arms folded and imaging Sora in Rapunzel's place for a moment. "Man… This is a great view." Riku said aloud, with Eugine elbowing him. "What? It is, the tower looks…"
"It's nice seeing Blondie happy. Things have been a bit touch and go lately." Cass walked up to them, eyes rolling. Eugine simply sighed, throwing an arm around Riku's shoulder. "So… Is it true that one of my sidekicks is gone?"
Riku bit his lip but decided to just be honest. Why not? These guys are Sora's friends too. "Yeah, he tried saving everyone but couldn't save himself." Eugine just gave a somber expression, patting Riku's shoulder and his eyes looking at Kairi, seeing the girl use the Keyblade as a makeshift pickaxe. "Kairi is taking it the hardest if you couldn't tell."
"Poor girl…" He said aloud, but Cass just looked at Riku, her expression downcast. Seeing her somewhat annoyed expression, Eugine just gave her a look himself. "Annnnd sorry for your loss too, new sidekick."
"Oh, I dare you to call me that again, Pretty Boy." Riku teased, elbowing the man. Cass saw the two bicker as they followed Rapunzel and Kairi, her face twitching a fond smile. Just not that long ago, she remembered going on adventures with her best friend and her best friend's duffus, getting into all kinds of trouble. Looking at her blade, she frowned, remembering that she lost her title as a defender of the Princess. Taking a deep breath, she walked ahead, ignoring her inner worries so she could protect her friends. Something made her pause though, eyes darting around.
"Someone is here." She announced, with Eugine readying his frying pan and Riku brandishing his keybalde. Kairi and Rapunzel were in the tower, so they didn't notice a man in a black hood walking toward their friends. "You show yourself, good." She pointed her weapon at the hooded man. "Now, fight like a man!"
"I take it you are trying to be a man yourself? I had a friend who had to blend in and let me tell you…" The masked man summoned his kingdom key, making Riku grit his teeth. "That get up isn't helping." Eugine blinked at the man's voice, eye slightly raised. "Oh, nice to see you to Flynn."
"You… Know my name?" He blinked, pure confusion evident on his face before he snapped his fingers and made a good-natured grin. "Well, I'm a wanted man, so I'm kinda everywhere." The Hooded Man snickered, sighing at his old friend. Turning to Riku, both just glared at one another. Riku marched forward, pointing his keybladed at the hooded man.
"Why are you here?" Riku demanded, eyes narrowing like daggers. "It wasn't fun blowing you up at sea." Eugine and Cass looked at the two of them in confusion, telling some unsaid history is at work here. The hooded man simply folded his arms behind his back, casually walking around.
"While you three play 'Who is the Hooded Man and why is he here', I think you should check on your friends." As if on cue, Rapunzel fell out of her tower, with Kairi just barely catching her as a massive heartless reindeer charged out of the tower. Everyone but Riku dashed toward the falling princesses, with the hooded man smirking underneath his hood. "You aren't going to be the hero? I can understand Riku… It sorta sucks being that sometimes."
"Why are you doing this, Sora?" Riku asked, making Master Sora pause. The tone of his voice was so genuine, a tone Sora himself heard so often growing up. Actually being taken off guard, Master Sora just let his arms dangle to the sides before walking up to Riku, uncaring of the warriors brandished their weapons.
"Because…" He pushed Riku back with a pulse of dark magic, making him nearly stumble into Eugine. The two looked at the hooded man, with said man smiling back beneath his hood. "Some of you new friends here aren't showing their true colors. Gotta help a kid thaw out his dad, so have fun with my pet." Master Sora whistled, with the heartless rushing toward him. "Now, Olaf, be a good little heartless and fight those mean jerks, okay?"
It made a demonic bark for whatever reason, with Master Sora smiling. Walking in a corridor of darkness, Kairi helped Rapunzel up and used Cura to heal their wounds. "Him again?" Kairi groaned, with Riku nodding. Simply giving Riku a knowing grin, the two huddled together and stood before their new friends. Flicking her weapon, Kairi's Destiny Embrace transformed into a proper sword, having vines forming around its hilt. Charging into battle, Kairi made a skillful three-slash combo, hostile green magic emanating from her weapon. The reindeer stumbled back, but shaking its antlers, it made a mighty roar before charging into Kairi. Riku used a dark Reflectra to block the attack, with Rapunzel throwing her hair onto the hook by her tower. Spinning like a top, she landed various kicks toward the heartless, with one final kick sending it flying. Landing with grace, the princess gave Kairi a wide toothy smile, the two nodding at each other.
"Let's go!" Rapunzel shouted, throwing her hair around Kairi, then chucking the girl in the air. Kairi shoots a barrage of light magic balls at the deer, with a final massive strike finishing her strike. Eugine used a nearby barrel to take care of weaker heartless that seemingly popped out of nowhere, leaving Riku and Cass standing back-to-back. They struck each heartless with careful strikes as they circled around them, with Riku taking Cass's hand. She swung him around before letting him go at massive deer heartless. Riku used his flowmotion to spin around its antlers, making strike after strike before said antlers fell off. Dashing away from the monster, Eugine kicked his barrel toward the creature, with Kairi and Riku shooting blasts of light and dark magic at the object, it making a powerful explosion.
The dust seeping away, the deer heartless fell, leaving a giant glowing heart leaving its body. Whatever heartless that remained just left out of fear, making Eugine smile proudly. "And that's how you become a hero, beating up on hostile shadow creatures." Rapunzel giggled at Eugine, seeing him pose heroically. She kissed his cheek, the two share a loving hug. Cass gagged before turning to Riku and Kairi. "Who was that? You two never mentioned a hooded man running around Corona."
"I honestly didn't expect him to follow us." Riku replied, through part of him figured this would happen. Kairi just held her arm, face both relieved and worried. "Kairi, you alright?"
"Yeah, but I think the heartless trashed Rapunzel's home." She pointed behind her, parts of the tower now cracked and a gaping hole on its side. Rapunzel let go of Eugine and frowned at the sight. "I'm sorry, but that heartless just came out of nowhere and…"
"It's fine." Rapunzel cut Kairi off, a hand holding one of the stone bricks. It had part of one of her many paintings. "Maybe it's meant I leave this part of me behind." Looking toward Kairi, her face grew a warm smile, though Kairi saw right through it. The girls hugged one another, with Riku looking toward Eugine.
"We set up camp deeper in the forest, so we can rest there." Riku nodded but Cass yanked his arm, pulling him away from the group. She looked around in alert before she jabbed a finger into Riku's chest.
"Why is that hooded man helping Varian?" She asked silently, with Riku tilting his head. "You know, the guy we told you about on the way here?" Riku made an 'oh', nodding his head. He remembered hearing about this kid on the walk to the tower. Apparently, he used science which others dubbed 'magic' to figure out why Rapunzel's hair grew again. But somehow, this, later on, made his dad got encased in a glowing yellow rock. The boy tried getting help from Rapzunel and her friends, but Cass told her that he 'double-crossed' them, though Riku could tell there was more to this story. LIke the older Sora said earlier… Instead of jumping to conclusions, Riku just folded his arms, thinking of an answer that would make Cass happy.
"That masked man is someone that both Kairi and I ran into somewhere else. We were surprised to learn he's someone we actually knew." Riku bit his lip, having a hard time keeping an honest expression. "This someone helps people often, so no wonder he's helping that kid out. What does Varian want anyway, aside from his dad being free?"
"He wants revenge and he nearly kidnapped my best friend," Cass said dejectedly. "I lost my job as a royal protector, so it's hard keeping an eye on her now." Riku frowned in understanding, putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't take it off, surprisingly.
"Kairi and I will make sure Rapunzel is safe." He looked at Kairi talking with her and Eugine, his free hand clenched into a fist. "I won't lose my other best friend." Cass smiled at Riku, the two walking toward the group and heading away from the tower.
Varian looked at the golden flower resting gently within a stand, rubbing his chin. "I never tried this yet… Maybe…" He was going to crush it up and spread its mush on his drill, but a loud cough got his attention. "Sora! How did things go?"
"Oh, I sent my own pet to give them attention." The man threw up his hood and gave his toothy smile. He leaned on the wall, seeing Varian playing with a golden flower. "I didn't know you are into plants. I could have gotten a few of them on my little frolic through the forest." Varian felt a smile twitch on his face but kept a neutral expression. He passed Sora some notes, the Keybalde Master reading it. "Huh, so this has the same magic as Rapunzel's hair."
"No, the flower gave her the magic." Varian corrected, making Sora fold his arms. "Yeah, she never told you how she got that power, huh?" Sora shook his head, remembering the girl just happy to simply walk on grass and splash around with water. He shrugged his shoulders, figuring she told the full story about her origin to Eugine while him, Donald and Goofy were looking for them. "I take that as a no then."
"Well, if that flower gave her the healing magic, don't you think a nearly decade-old plant has power still?" Sora said bluntly, making Varian blink. The boy put on his goggles and mashed the flower up, mixing some chemicals into the mixture. Walking toward the drill, he spread the formula over it, powering the object up. He tried drilling into the crystal but the drill simply shattered. "Ooh, that doesn't look good."
"Oh really?!" Varian shouted, with Sora not moving an inch. "Why can't you use that waking power already?" Sora frowned, his harsh look pinning Varian in place. "S-Sorry, didn't…"
"I get being frustrated." Sora summoned his Dual Disk keyblade, the object lightly tapping the drill, completely repairing it with computerized effects. Making the object vanish, he put a hand on Varian's shoulder. "We need the keyblade wielders to come here and using waking themselves. And no, the actual Keyblade Master isn't going to cut it."
"You mean the girl that's with him?" Varian suggested, with Sora nodding. "How can we get her to help us?" Sora smirked, making another Corridor of Darkness.
"Just let me guide them toward you, that forest is pretty easy getting lost in." Sora peaked his head out of the portal. "Oh, make sure you get that pet of yours ready. I don't think Eugine and that brown haired girl like you very much."
"Yeah, I know…" Varian groaned but was surprised with Sora shot a rainbow beam at Varian. The boy didn't flinch, as if the blast didn't hurt. He grabbed his staff and pointed it at Sora… The thing glowing various colors. "What the…"
"My little… Gift to you. Just don't blow up the place while I'm gone sport." Sora vanished into his portal, leaving Varian alone with a magic-empowered chemical staff.
Flowers are a beautiful thing, one that you could simply get lost in. All kinds of shades, colors and species make it a fascinating creature to be interested in. But being around so many of said creatures? It can make you sneeze. "Acho!" A pink haired man uttered as he slowly woke up, head throbbing. "Where…" He got on his feet, taking a look at his surroundings. He was in the few bright patches of a seemingly isolated forest, fog coating everything like a heavy blanket. As he got up, he was surprised by his appearance.
"Where is my black robe?" He asked, only seeing light purple pants and a fancy black and white long-sleeve shirt covering him. The most shocking thing to the man was the weapon in his hands. It was a purple and black sword, with a rose at the tip of the blade. It had a dangling star keychain at the bottom of the hilt. "Why am I using a keyblade? I shouldn't…"
Memories of two lives danced in his mind, seemingly at war with one another. Unions… Organization… Marluxia… Lauraim… Those topics in particular really rattled his mind. Groaning, he shook the confusion off and readied his weapon, sensing someone was coming toward him. "Who's there?!"
No one was, just the sounds of an isolated fog echoing his voice back at him. Laurium simply sat down on a patch of flowers, keyblade firmly in his right hand, and waited. "I need to figure who I am and... " An odd tear came down his cheek, making the man blinked. "Process having a heart again."
"Huh…" Laurium remained still, trying to pick apart the shadow coming his way. "I had no idea Marluxia was a keybalde user. Small world." The shadow became clearer, the iconic black robe catching Laurium off guard. "I can tell you are confused, but let me help you."
"Sora?" The man asked in confusion. Sora was a teenager when he fought him before, not a grown man… "Is that you?"
The man threw his hood off and met the man at eye level. "You could say that. How about I get you out of this forest if you just do me a little solid." Laurium narrowed his eyes at Sora. "I remember that little Castle of Nightmares adventure you made me suffer through, so you owe me."
"Fine… Who do you want me to fight?" Laurium asked, standing up and feeling magic coursing through him. Sora smirked, as five figures entered the fog.
ThePsychoPath96 - Our good Master of Masters is going to be up to his own adventures, trust me on that ;).
prince of underbrush - I never expected the Master of Masters being this fun to write, so I can't wait to work him into the story more as this continues. And yeah, his students are characters for sure. And like I told you in PM's, I was really inspired by your theory and played with that for my own head-canon for the story here and future KH games.
redlox2 - Just imagine the Master of Masters this way; a man that lost a lot and saw how the world really works after decades of adventure... He's going to be a bit jaded and has a less 'morally right' angle to save everyone. That's the best kind of opposing force to write, as they THINK they are the hero still. It's a ton of fun :). Regarding the Gummi Phone, I rather we simply have intermission chapters to explore what everyone else is doing instead. The KH cast is huge now, so you have a lot to play with.
H.R.C. Stanley - The Tangled Cartoon is really damn solid, actually being something that adds to the film and is a great continuation of it. Think the "Legend of Tarzan" or "Aladdin The Series" Cartoons, shows that add to the story and world said film created.
Spartan719 - One of your questions got answered in this chapter ;).
blackpackager - Aqua and Ven just doesn't seem right to me, simply because I see a brother/sister dynamic with them. And it's honestly interesting playing around with Aqua and Terra's dynamic, both want love and affection (more so after the hell they've experienced all these years) but they can't really get it from one another due to varying levels of fear. It's a great dynamic to play around with and I will toy with that, so sorry if you aren't a fan of that. Regarding Master of Masters... I actually have some ideas in my head about that but nothing is firm at this point.
TaitanoRules555 - Thank you :).
Sentinel07 - I will make you care about Star Vs by the time I'm through writing those chapters here, I will just say that ;). And I highly recommend the show, more so now that its fourth season is coming pretty damn soon. Yeah, it has a love triangle for one and half seasons. Yes, it's annoying seeing characters act stupid. But the end result is a good ride and I highly recommend it. Just don't get overly annoyed when something doesn't play out like your mind is assuming (I fell into that trap and nearly left the fandom in S3).