The City of Randgriz

(I decided for this chapter to make it a little cute and chose a very special song for this section of the story from a classic: the Jungle Book!! If you have this song I would listen to it, download it or do whatever. I didn't change anything of course and this is exactly the same as that other tidbit chapter I posted up a couple of weeks before. So that aside, without further or due, enjoy this chapter of Kingdom Hearts: the Eternal Beyond.)

Victor, Sora, Donald and Henry arrived in the past of the Anime Planet, but definitely not in a peaceful place either. The people that were in the vicinity of the main plaza of the city they were in raced to their doors and closed up shop everywhere: The Patisserie closed up for the day, the Pizzeria, The Flower Shop, everything was boarded up. Victor also noticed a hint of fear in the peoples' eyes as they did so. Henry asked, "What's got them in a bind eh?" Victor was puzzled as to where they were and why the people were shocked and answered, "You got me? Of course we entered this land from a portal so anyone could get scared off." Sora turned to Victor and asked, "Where are we Victor?" Victor took a good look around and turned around to notice a giant road leading from the main plaza of the city towards a giant castle of the sort. It was over three hundred feet wide, carved of very special grey brick with blue shingles across the roof tops of the castle's towers, and its largest tower stretched over a hundred feet in length. On each of the walls of the castle were blue and white flags with a crown and two lions at each representing the coat of arms for the castle. Victor snapped his fingers and said, "I got it. We're in the City of Randgriz fellas." Donald gasped and said, "What? The City of Randgriz?"

Henry curious as to what the fuss was about asked, "What's the big deal about the City of Randgriz?" Donald soon explained about his knowledge of this world since he of course studied about many of the foreign worlds located in Victor's quadrant, just outside the Solar system and explained that at this time in the Anime Planet's history was a was like none other: The First Europan War. It claimed many lives and cost the Atlantic states and the Imperial states billions in damage and war costs. The City of Randgriz was something else. It was a huge metropolis in the great state of Gallia in the midst of Europa, a place that was soon to enter conflict as well. Randgriz was encircled by a giant wall of white brick, closing off the rest of the town and Castle Randgriz itself from conflict from the outside. Victor then said, "I knew I recognized this place. You see in my world this is actually a videogame in my world. This just goes to show even my people back home and anyone anywhere else can create worlds just with a little technology and a good story." "I don't see what's so fascinating about this. We are in the past and any wrong move here could likely change the timeline for this world all together, remember that Victor.", Donald quacked with seriousness.

Victor attempted to calm Donald down, Meanwhile Henry and Sora found a nice set of tables with chairs nearby the closed Pizzeria to sit down and rest. As Sora caught his breath and relaxed, Henry stared into space thinking about his family. His almighty dad, the King of Sanshobi and his mother the Queen of Sanshobi had gone nearly half a year without seeing their beloved son and he wondered if he could let them know he was alright along with Victor and the others. Yet almost as enchanted as he was with his daydreaming as well, he heard a wonderful singing voice as well. It was very faint at first, but slowly it began to grow and grow, like a flower when it's watered with tender care and affection.

Henry stood up and caught the attention of Sora and eventually Victor and Donald who stopped squabbling to hear the voice sing:

'My own home, my own home
My own home, my own home'

The voice was radiant, youthful and vibrant and the song was so enchanting a man's heart could melt from hearing such beauty. Henry raced off with Victor, Sora, and Donald racing off after him across the city to the near end of the gates itself. There was one single, sky blue house just five minutes from the gate of Randgriz. The house was not boarded up like the others, along with half the other houses almost as if they weren't afraid or did not know of Victor's prescence. This sky blue house also had a well in the backyard of this peaceful little house, to which Henry ran towards where the song was coming from. Yet covering his tracks was a giant rose bush stretching to the other side of the castle's right wall.

Sora then said panting and catching his breath again, with Victor and Donald, "You know if you were going to race off like this, you could have…" Henry shushed him and said, "Listen."

'My own home, my own home
My own home, my own home'

Henry dove into the bush saying, "I have to know who is making that wonderful music. Before Donald could react Victor held his chest and Donald quacked silently, "Why are doing this? You know as well as I do we'll get in trouble for breaking and entering. That's against your rules too isn't it?" Victor then said quietly, "Aha, but we're on the outside though. We're just patrolling the streets, a common initiative for defending people, now let's listen."

'Father's hunting in the forest

Henry peered from the bush to lay eyes on a gorgeous, young pre-teen girl, about his age if not exactly his age. She wore a plum purple dress with a white apron with a rose at its center covering her chest and held a brown wooden bucket used for collecting water. She was collecting water from her giant blue brick well that had a hole over fifteen feet deep. Henry gazed into her pine needle green eyes and upon her gorgeous afternoon blonde hair and felt the same way he did with Princess Angelica. He crept closer until he was just a few feet behind the well and that beautiful young lady.

Mother's cooking in the home

The boy kept staring as she kept collecting water in the brown bucket and tossed it into a ten pound grey pot. He became entranced by her. Meanwhile, Sora and Donald stared at this affection and Sora asked, "I hope this doesn't end like how it did with Princess Angelica. Maybe we should…"Victor held Sora's shoulder as he said, "Let it go buddy. This'll be good for the kid. I let my heart get closed off from women for a good long time before I met Anastasia. Let's see where this goes."


I must go to fetch the water
'Til the day that I'm grown

Henry blushed as the girl took out her worn out green rags off a clothes hanger and also began folding them up together and piling them on top of each other. The boy noticed she was wearing white black slippers covering her white socks that shown through the dark velvet.


'Til I'm grown, 'til I'm grown
I must go to fetch the water
'Til the day that I'm grown

The lovely girl looked to her bucket of water before tossing it into the pot and noticed his reflection in the water turned around to her side and saw the boy looking towards her way and Henry tripped on a rock and fell into some mud. The girl giggled a little at this display and Henry ran off diving into the bush and back towards Victor and his group.

Then I will have a handsome husband

She closed her eyes and began to brush her hair with a long wooden hairbrush of her own. Henry looked back up, shy and quiet as could be as he went closer again. Sora smiled at this and noticed Victor smiled as well, with a slight tear to his eye. Sora asked smugly, "Are you okay bud?" Victor wiped away his tear quick and said, "Come on, can't a guy be happy for a kid like Henry. It's awesome."

And a daughter of my own
And I'll send her to fetch the water

The girl purposely dropped her bucket of water and it landed near Henry as he picked it up kindly. "She did that on purpose.", Donald exclaimed. "Obviously.", Victor responded. Henry grabbed some water and poured it into her pot. As he grabbed the pot itself, his hands met with the girls tender little hands as well. He could not get over this wonderful moment they were sharing.


I'll be cooking in the home
Then I'll send her to fetch the water
I'll be cooking in the home'

She lifted it as best she could and Henry helped her out and they both dropped it onto her table just on the veranda of the girl's house. She smiled and Henry blushed evermore with his left arm crossed around the back of his neck saying, "You have a great singing voice you know." The girl hushed his lips and spoke while Henry stared into her rosemary pink lips as she said, "My name's Isalis, Isalis Laterose. What's yours?" "Henry Capulet. Although I wish I did not step in that mud. I'm all messy.", Henry shyly said leering his away from the girl's sight. The girl smiled at this and giggled sweetly as she heard a twig branch snap.

Soon Victor, Donald and Sora appeared from the bushes as Victor said, "Henry's a little shy when it comes to girls. He had a rough experience a while back." The girl noticed the others and asked, "So who might you be?" After some brief introductions they all went inside her serene house which of course resembled that of any 1930 house inside. There were a few animal head trophies of wild boars, deer and even a mountain lion and a grizzly bear hanging just over a warm fireplace. Next to that were a giant section of library books and a man sitting in his chair drinking some champagne when he overheard his daughter sit on his lap and gave him a big hug. This a man at thirty five years of age was a redhead, his face covered with a thick mustache, and a short beard stood up wearing a brown set of clothes and carried his wonderful daughter across to the living room: a short tiny room with a couple of red couches and a green carpet underneath them. There Victor and co. rested while just across the wooden hallway into the bright 1930s kitchen the pot with water was coming to a boil smelling of a meat and vegetable stew brewing.

The man startled to see the group asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?" "I'm sorry sir. It's my fault. I saw my little green haired buddy here, Henry get entranced by your daughter's singing…" Victor said stroking Henry's hair as he rested on his right shoulder. "And one thing led to another and we really have nowhere else to go." The man seeing Donald and Sora rest on the other couch against each other's backs said, "You all seem like nice folk so I'll let you stay for the night. Just don't go into my private storage room: it's where I keep all my animal skins and rugs. My name is Benjamin Laterose, but you can call me Ben." Victor soon introduced himself and the others to him and explained their situation with the Squadron to which he said, "Sounds like terrible stuff. Luckily I trained myself to be fearless and strict. It's why I never let my daughter near a boy ever. Ever since her mother died three years ago, things have never been the same for me really." Victor then replied saying, "And yet she has such a wonderful singing voice, like that of an angel. Believe you me I know one myself. I'm surprised a guy didn't notice her sooner for that voice. Where'd she learn to sing like that?"

Ben replied, "It was an old tune my grandmother sung to me as a boy. It's been passed down from generation to generation and now Isalis learned it because I wanted to honor my family name, that sweet little angel." A moment later Ben then asked Victor, "Do you love this 'angel' of yours?" Victor nodded with a slight sigh knowing Anastasia was still captured by the Squadron. Ben then said, "If there's one thing I know is this, you can never leave your loved ones for too long. Sometimes down the road of life, it can make you regret things sometimes even curse it too. Remember that for me, will you Victor?" Victor nodded as he looked upon Sora and Donald snug as two peas in a pod and Henry who smiled in his sleep as Victor stroked his right shoulder.

Later they all ate supper and went outside to enjoy the crisp night time air before heading off for bed. Victor noticed Henry playing tag with Isalis and the boy and girl just laughing and enjoying their company together to which Ben said to Victor, "I'm so happy for her. She's finally got a boy who can respect her. I always was afraid without her mother she wouldn't develop into a strong woman, but she has always been supportive of me when I was alone and that boy Henry seems like a fine lad." Victor explained to him saying, "Prince or no Prince he is a good guy. I know I'm not related by blood, but he still is always a good kid that I gotta tell you." Ben smiled as he gazed upon his daughter Isalis hugging Henry and felt at peace with himself. "I have to thank you Victor.", Ben said. "For what Ben?", Victor asked.

"Thanks to your friend Henry Capulet I can leave this place. I was always sad living in this city as a boy. I lost my parents in the First Europan War and I was only fifteen too when I was enlisted. I promised I would not let it get in the way of forming my own family and I have with my wife and daughter. Now Isalis is all I have left. I want her to be happy and if this boy can do that, I would die a happy man.", Ben said. Victor held the man as he happily smiled to his waving daughter and Henry waving to Sora, Donald and Victor too. Victor asked, "So where do you plan to go? It might be hard to break your daughter of her home you know." Ben soon explained that he heard of a peaceful kingdom known as Sanshobi, the same place his wife was born in and the same place his daughter was also born in. He explained that he would take her there and live happily together away from conflict.

Victor also explained that Henry was from there as well and that also brought relief to Ben. Clearly this man could see no harm in the boy being here holding his daughter's hand. Then a bell rang like wildfire as the group got stirred up over it. They ran to the gates and sure enough were groups of people coming from the North of Gallia as the drawbridge lowered. Sora asked Victor, "What's happening?" Victor said, "Trouble. This is isn't just people moving into this city. I got a bad feeling about this." Behind them was a group of people with a giant blue and grey tank that was known to the people of Gallia as the Edelweiss. It reflected Gallia's flag on its sides and shown valiantly in the sunset glimmer. Around the tank were various people from the North. From the Edelweiss came a light brunette girl and from the tank a tall brunette university student jumped down to the ground. Amongst them with a dark brunette girl in a blue dress and a light wool coverup on her chest and around her shoulders jumping down from the tank as well all three of them walking towards our heroes. Little did they know there was bound to be trouble ahead, with the news in Randgriz looking as grim with people crying and men getting dragged off towards the army enlistment camps near the castle. The Second Europan War had begun in Gallia and our heroes would later become part of that same resistance as would the Squadron when they armed themselves with the Empire.

(A fantastic chapter if I do say so myself. Henry finally gets the girl!! I really felt sorry for the poor lad and gave him a second shot at love and decided what better way than use a song from a classic Disney movie that we all know and love. My female character Isalis I sort of based off of someone very special I know in my life. This girl was always a sweetheart and is to this day. Call me whatever you want here as well, but of course this chapter reflects my respect for women and why I treat them as if they were my own sisters. As the chapter indicated as well this is during Valkyria Chronicles and pretty soon our heroes will become involved in the fight against the Empire. There's more to come, so stay tuned.)

(Next Time: Off to War.)

(Review.)