Chapter 48: Realization and Escape:
Kingdom of Corona – Docks
This was fun, today, Sora thought to himself as he, Donald, and Goofy stood on the pier with Pascal and the horse, Maximus, while Rapunzel and Eugeine rowed a boat out into the lake to watch the floating lanterns up close. Maximus had caught up with them that morning, but Rapunzel had managed to convince him not to drag their criminal companion off to prison until after her birthday was over. The group had a fantastic time as they arrived in the city nearby in time for what was apparently an annual festival. There'd been food, dancing, painting. Rapunzel even had her hair braided and plaited so that she wouldn't have to carry it around everywhere. The only dark note was when Sora overheard the mention of something being for "the lost princess."
While Rapunzel and Eugene watched the lanterns float into the sky together, the others waited over by the shore outside the city gates. As they sat and waited, the three who could talk were comparing notes about Rapunzel's hair and what Xehanort and Maleficent were after. Sora brought up his suspicions about there being more to why Rapunzel was never allowed to leave the tower, and the story he'd heard about the lost princess that he'd heard when he'd asked a few townspeople about it. Donald and Goofy agreed that while they had no definitive proof, there was a strong possibility that Rapunzel was indeed this lost princess. The fact that her birthday was on the same day as the festival held for the lost princess's birthday only added to the theory. They'd have to talk to Rapunzel about it and hopefully get a chance to meet her "mother."
As they held their breaths in anticipation as they watched Eugene and Rapunzel about to kiss through the telescope they'd bought in town, Eugene paused and looked behind the boat. Sora turned the spyglass in the direction the thief was looking in to see the two red-heads he'd referred to as the Stabbington Brothers glaring menacingly at the man as they stood on the shore with a green lantern. They must think that he still has whatever it is he stole that Rapunzel hid, Sora realized as he told Donald, Goofy, Maximus and Pascal what he'd seen. As the two lovebirds (and while the two may deny it the three-off worlders knew it when they saw it) rowed to shore, Sora, Donald, and Goofy told Rapunzel what they'd seen, and Rapunzel told them what she'd done as well. Apparently she'd kept Eugene's satchel hidden with her the whole time, and she'd given it back as a gesture of trust. After Eugene explained that he was going to give the Stabbington Brothers the loot and apologize for backstabbing them, Sora insisted on accompanying the man while Donald and Goofy stayed with Maximus to guard Rapunzel.
Sora stayed behind in the bushes as Eugen slipped back into his Flynn Rider persona and nonchalantly gave them the tiara hidden in the bag while apologizing for his betrayal. But to the thief and the Keyblade Master's collective horror, they didn't want the crown. They wanted Rapunzel. But the only way they'd be able to know about her hair when her mother wouldn't let her leave the tower is if… Sora thought as he raced to process everything and the brothers carried Eugene over to a boat tied up nearby. Her "mother" told them about Rapunzel's hair so she can rescue her from them and manipulate her into coming back of her own free will. Either her mother is extremely overprotective, or Rapunzel really is the lost princess, and my Munny's on the latter. With a shout, he raced over and cast a Thundara spell on the brother carrying Eugene before he began dueling the other one. After a few minutes of back and forth, that guy ran off to try and nab, freeing Sora to focus on the one carrying the former thief. He wasn't worried about her. Donald and Goofy would be able to take care of that brother. Right now he needed to make sure that Eugene didn't get shipped across the lake to prison.
Meanwhile, Rapunzel was waiting on the beach near the boat when she saw a shadow coming towards her.
"There you are," she said. "I was beginning to think you'd ran off with the crown and left me." To her horror however, as the figure approached, one shadow morphed into two, as the Stabbington brothers walked towards Rapunzel.
"He did," the one without the eyepatch said. When Rapunzel denied this, the two thugs gestured across the lake at a boat sailing back towards the city.
"EUGENE!" She shouted sadly. Where are Donald and Goofy? Where's Sora? She wondered as the brothers explained that he'd traded her for the crown to get them off his back. When the two tried to stuff her into a sack, she ran for her life. She panicked when her hair got caught on a rock, only to be confused when she heard what sounded like the two men being beaten up, followed by her mother calling out for her. But is she really my mother though? She wondered as she walked cautiously towards the sound of the older woman's voice. Donald and Goofy had explained their theory to her, but while she still felt like all the evidence that pointed to her being the lost princess was just a coincidence, a part of her was doubtful. Well, she thought as she walked into the clearing to find the two brothers knocked out with her mom standing over them with a club, there's only one way to find out.
"Are you alright?" her mother asked as Rapunzel pushed those thoughts aside as she raced forward and hugged her mother, relieved that she was safe from the two Stabbington brothers, only for those doubts to rise up again when she noticed Donald and Goofy lying unconscious at the edge of the forest. "Are you hurt?"
"Mother…" she began. "How did you?"
"I was so worried about you that I followed you," Gothel explained. "Then I saw them attack you, and I… Let's go, let's go, before they come to."
"But wait," Rapunzel interrupted, pointing at Donald and Goofy. "Why did you attack them? They didn't try to attack me. They're my friends."
"They were going to betray you and cut your hair," the older woman explained.
"No," Rapunzel retorted. "Eugene may have betrayed me, but Donald and Goofy would never do that. They're too nice to do anything like that." Suddenly, two familiar voices rang out through the night.
"RAPUNZEL! WAIT!" She heard Eugene shout as he turned in his direction.
"IT'S A TRAP!" Sora shouted as the two raced into view.
"Get away from my daughter!" Gothel shouted as she put herself between Rapunzel and the others. Suddenly, a voice familiar only to four out of those assembled rang out.
"Must you maintain your charade even as the threads unravel?" Maleficent asked as she stepped menacingly out of the forest. "Almost everyone here has already figured out she isn't really your daughter." Amid demands by the three interstellar travelers to know what she was doing there, Rapunzel voiced what they were all thinking.
"I am the lost princess. Aren't I?" Maleficent grinned in satisfaction, knowing she didn't need to say anything. The look of fear and anger on Gothel's face was all the answer anybody needed. Her attempt to deny it by asking why Rapunzel would say such ridiculous things only dug herself deeper.
"It was you!" Rapunzel shouted. "I spent my entire life hiding from people who would use my power, when I should have been hiding from you! You were wrong about the world! You were wrong about me! And I will never let you use my hair again!" While her outburst might have seemed sudden and angry, the conversation with Donald and Goofy had helped her to prepare for the moment when she found out the truth, and now she was letting it all out. Donald and Goofy heard everything as they regained consciousness and quickly froze the Stabbington Brothers to keep them from interfering.
"You want me to be the bad guy then?" Gothel growled menacingly as she advanced towards the group. "Fine, then I'M THE BAD GUY!" As she walked towards Rapunzel, dark whips of smoke curled around her feet, causing a powerful Heartless to form. Sora, Donald, and Goofy were torn. On the one hand, they need to stop that Heartless before it could attack the city, but on the other, they couldn't leave Rapunzel and Eugene unarmed against Gothel as she advanced on the golden-haired girl with a dagger in hand. Suddenly, a wall of green fire appeared between Gothel and Rapunzel, making that decision for them.
"Go," Maleficent commanded as she walked towards Gothel. "I'll handle this."
"We don't take orders from you," Sora retorted, angry that she expected them to just let her take Rapunzel.
"I am not interested in the hair," the dark fairy snapped. "Mr. Goofy, you of all people should understand the lengths to which a parent will go to protect a child, whether it's their own or not. Now go!" Surprisingly, Goofy nodded and led Sora and Donald into the trees to fight the Heartless.
"What was that all about, Goofy?" Sora asked as they dove beneath the giant monster's long legs. "How could you tell Maleficent was being sincere? How do we know she won't try to take Rapunzel later?"
"Because," Goofy answered as he blocked a fireball launched from the beast's mouth. "I know that look she had on her face. I've seen it in the mirror whenever Maxie gets in trouble. It's the look of a parent who will do whatever it takes to protect a child, whether it's their own or someone else's. Maleficent used to be a mother once. It easy to recognize a fellow parent. And I'm willing to bet that losing her kid was what made her the way she is today." As they finished fighting the Heartless, Sora realized what exactly Maleficent was planning: to cut Rapunzel's hair so that Gothel wouldn't be able to use it anymore, and Rapunzel could go and meet her real parents. Once they finished off the Heartless, they raced back to the clearing to find Eugene lying on the ground with a stab wound while Maleficent lifted Gothel up by the neck with one hand and conjuring a fireball in the other. Sora quickly cast a Curaga spell on Eugene before Rapunzel could kneel and sing her healing incantation. Rapunzel kissed Eugene as she helped him off the ground, while Maleficent extinguished her fireball, grabbed Gothel's knife, and cut the girl's hair.
"NO!" Gothel shouted as Rapunzel's golden hair quickly turned brown, and the woman frantically tried to grab clumps of hair before the healing power faded. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" she screamed as her skin began to wrinkle and her hair turned from black to white. As the woman continued to wither and age, Pascal pulled on a section of hair and caused the ancient woman to trip backwards. As she fell her centuries of abusing the healing power of the magic flower that Rapunzel's power originated from finally caught up with her, and she turned to dust before she hit the ground. Rapunzel reached out her arms, sadly. Emotionally abusive she might have been, Gothel had still raised her, and her sudden death shocked the eighteen-year-old. As Eugene and Goofy talked to Rapunzel to help her work through the shock and confusion of it all, Sora noticed Maleficent walking off into the trees.
"You were a parent once, weren't you?" he asked as before she could conjure a Dark Corridor and leave. "Goofy figured it out." Mentally cursing at herself for letting her mask slip, Maleficent took a deep breath.
"I was," the dark sorceress replied, "until Aurora's father sacrificed the life of my infant son to save his newborn daughter. I may be the Mistress of All Evil but I am not so cruel that I would force fellow parents to share my pain." With that, she disappeared in a green flash. Sympathizing with the fairy, Sora made his way back to the group. They helped Rapunzel start working through the trauma of her whole life with Gothel being a lie until the sun began to climb into the sky. As the sun rose, Rapunzel ultimately decided that it was time for her to meet her real parents.
Kingdom of Corona - Palace Gates
Sora, Donald, and Goofy smiled as they stood on the sidelines watching Rapunzel reunite with her parents. Even more so when Eugene was pulled into the group hug. Before the celebrations could begin, the three off-worlders met with the king and queen of Corona and gave them the whole Coalition recruitment speech. They thanked them profusely for helping their daughter and gladly pledged their support in the fight against Xehanort. Because they needed to hurry to their next destination, they couldn't stick around for the festivities, but they manage to say goodbye to Rapunzel and Eugene before they left, promising to come to the inevitable wedding if time permitted (and if they weren't busy fighting bad guys). As they boarded their Gummi Ship, Sora caught sight of a familiar, green-skinned figure dressed in black looking down on the celebration of the princess's return with what appeared to be the ghost of a smile on her face.
I figured that having Sora, Donald, and Goofy would change the ending a bit, so the big confrontation happens earlier than in the movie.
And as for Maleficent's thing about not forcing other parents to share her pain and how that might contradict the curse on Aurora, remember that she cast the curse out of revenge, to balance the scales. To quote Sportsmaster from Young Justice, "an eye for an eye, a kid for a kid." But beyond that she's unwilling to force other parents to go through what she went through.
Next chapter we're switching back to Riku, Mickey, and Kairi. As for what world they're going to, I hope you've all been paying attention to Braig's monologues about the Keyblade War this whole time.
