A beach in chaos.
The frantic scramble of uncertain combat.
Sora, Lea, Donald and Goofy had faced off against Brylissa, only to discover an unexpected challenge. The Nobody of Belle had greater control over plants and their manipulation than they thought.
Palm trees at the jungle's edge twitched at-the-ready to bring their heads down like hammers on anything that came near. But the palm trees weren't really the problem. While they did limit the size of the battlefield they themselves could not move. No, the problem was the vines. They. Were. Everywhere. Many were no larger than a garden hose while others were roughly the length and width of an adult anaconda.
Needless to say there was a lot of ridiculous jumping around to avoid a vine, or five, from finding its way around your ankle. This setup also made it tricky to actually land a hit on Brylissa. Obviously she was in no danger and primarily attacked long-range.
Cutting the smaller vines wasn't hard. However, after a moment of writing it would begin to grow back. Lea made the most headway with fierce attacks of fire. Only his tactic faced the same problem. A vine could get burnt to ash but where the damage ended a new shoot would grow and the problem would start all over again.
"Sora!" Goofy shouted. "Go get her!"
With only the strange and unique and unspoken language between battle companions Sora somehow understood what to do when Goofy ran at him. Sora raced forward. Goofy skidded to a stop. He braced himself and held his shield over his head. Sora leapt high, keeping his feet together when gravity called him back down. Vines reached for him. Blessedly their swipes missed. Sora came down on the shield. He and Goofy pushed off at just the right time to launch the young Master further over the fight of man VS nature.
"Here!"
Donald cast Aeroga just under Sora for another boost. Lea tried to do the same only his reaction time wasn't fast enough for the boost to have the same strength.
"Yeah! Go Sor-ah-yah!"
Goofy's cheer was cut off with a yelp. The spectacularly timed combo stole precious seconds from his focus. In that window the vines advanced unhindered. Wrapping around his feet the vines pulled hard, sending the captain flailing flat on his back.
"Goofy!" Donald cried.
Seeing the danger the royal magician did all he could to get to his friend and free him from the advancing vines. Goofy struggled in the sand. Thick tangles of plat matter were not easy to cut through with a shield. Of course they were no picnic physically struggling against either. Donald went crazy with magic to aid Goofy to at least get to his feet. Ice proved effective. So long as a portion of a vine was encased completely the rest of it had reduced mobility. After all, few plants like the cold. Lea hurled his chakram so it spun vertically like a runaway wheel across the vines. Blazing with flame it scorched and cut anything it touched. Arcing the attack away from the heart of the fight made for longer lengths of dead of weakened vines. Slowed or damaged plant ropes did make it easier for Goofy to get back on his feet. But freeing the lovable clutz wasn't the only thing going on. One of the thickets vines held tight around Goofy's ankle. What neither he or his friends noticed another thumb-widthed woody vine snake and spiral its way along the length of the larger ones around it. As it neared, the end became leafy, then bulbous until a very large orange but went into full bloom in a matter of seconds. Just as Goofy was about to pull himself to his feet he looked up, finding himself face-to-face with a gorgeous multi-layered lily.
"Huh?"
With a jerky movement similar to a sneeze the whole flower shook. As it did a large cloud of yellow dust puffed right in Goofy's face.
"Hey! What wa-ah-ah-chew! Et-chew! Oh…oh,"
And just like that Goofy dropped to the ground, glazy-eyed and not moving.
"Goofy, no! FIRE!" Donald shouted.
The flaming ball incinerated the flower. That small victory amounted to nothing as more wooded vines snaked their way from the jungle. On top of that, other vines had continued advancing toward Goofy. Only now massive fronds were growing from the ends, wrapping him up in a leafy cocoon and slowly pulling him away.
"No you don't!"
Lea scorched the vines trying to ensnare him before trying to free Goofy. Wash, rinse, repeat. Cut vines. Vines grow back. And Lea couldn't arc an attack just right so it damaged enough of the vines to stop them from pulling Goofy back into the jungle. All the while beautiful lilies with wooden vined stems grew in large circle around them. Some were blazing orange. Others were snowy white or vibrant purple.
"This isn't working!" Donald cried, swinging his wand madly.
"Donald! Duck!"
"What? WA-AAH!"
Lea's chakram flew straight at him. Barely a second to spare Donald was able to get out of the way. He didn't see the worlds' most dangerous Frisbee decapitate a white blossom that had been approaching from behind.
"What's the big idea!"
"I warned you to-ah. Retrospect: poor choice of words. But that flower was-agh! Pay attention!"
"Wha-? Ahh!"
The beach filled up fast. Writhing, green snake-like bodies hid nearly all of the white sand. Beyond that the palms swayed at the ready.
"We may have to consider a retreat," Lea said. "If we can get the water the ocean might help us get back to the boat."
"Not without Goofy! BLIZZARD! There's gotta be a way to get the better of them!"
"Well…I might have one idea."
"Let's hear it!"
"First we need t-gah!"
Amidst the hacking, slashing and staying on the move it was Lea's turn for a flower to get the better of him. After blasting back more vines Lea turned and was face-to-face with a violet blossom. The flower shook, releasing a powder blue dust. Every muscle in Lea's torso seized with panic. Immediately the lily was incinerated and Lea recoiled.
"What happened?"
Lea quickly shook his head and brushed his face. "It got me. But I think I'm all right. Get to Goofy."
"But the vines are still-!"
"Don't worry just go!"
Cutting, freezing or burning the best path they could Lea and Donald ran across the beach to where the leafy cocoon was still being slowly dragged away. Lea put a foot right on the foliage that kept Goofy captive. Near his head the vines and leaves didn't cover him completely. He still looked dazed and incapable of speaking. The new orange flower probably had something to do with it.
"Stay close to me. Keep down and don't move."
"Ah," Donald looked around nervously at the encroaching growth. "Lea, are you sure-?"
"Stay low,"
Lea shook his head again as though trying to rid himself of a persistent fly.
Keyblade in one hand and chakram in the other Lea extended both arms in front of himself. He closed his eyes, raised both arms and weapons above his head while taking a deep inhale through his nose. Just a breath seemed to stoke the fire in his belly and awaken the flame woven to his very soul. His entire torso began to burn. That kind of power felt so good. Little tongues of flame licked across his body and across his hair. Lea opened his eyes and exhaled. A small flicker of flame danced over his lips.
In one swift movement Lea thrust his arms down and out. As he did so did a massive and intense wall of flame. The wall forcefully circled outward, completely scorching everything in its path to ash. Twenty feet in every direction all vines had been obliterated. The entanglement around Goofy had been dried out and turned brown. Goofy himself did not appear to be hurt. Donald had assumed something of an ostrich pose with his head down and covered with both hands. The very tip of his tail feathers smoked lightly.
"Eh? Whoa!" Donald exclaimed when he looked up. "That's amazing! Goofy? Goofy!"
Right way he got up and began tearing the crispy vines off his friend. Beneath him the ground crackled. The intense heat had turned the topmost layer of sand into glass which broke as weight was applied.
The captain of the guard groaned as the vines were removed.
"Get up! We're not safe yet."
Donald swatted Goofy several times across the snout. He moved stiffly but came about.
"Gnn," The captain groaned. "That was, whoa,"
Donald did what he could to help Goofy to his feet.
"Can you still fight?"
"I-I think so. That posie got me then I felt all stiff and weak-kneed. I think it parlasized me."
A sparkle of light caught their attention. Lea had dropped his chakram. He swayed on the spot a little.
"Lea?" Donald said, concerned.
"I think I know what the purple one does," He said faintly.
With no further warning Lea dropped to his knees. His Keyblade plunged in the sand. He leaned heavily against it.
"What's wrong!" Goofy exclaimed, shaking off the remaining effects of the flowers pollen.
"Just…give me a…second,"
"We don't have a second!" Donald cried. He cast several fireballs to keep the reviving vines at bay. "Move! Wha-!?"
The Keyblade vanished and Lea slumped to the ground, asleep.
"Nonono! Not again. We gotta get Sora and get out of here!"
"Wake up! Come on! Wake up!"
Goofy tried and failed to wake Lea by shaking him. He tried knocking hard on his shield. No dice.
Donald's signature outcry filled the air. "All the scary things we've won against and we can't beat plants!? Can you carry him? We have to try som-SORA!"
The vines on the inland side of the beach suddenly pulled away only to be thrust in another direction. Sora and Brylissa had been battling that way. Though something had taken a turn for the worst. A massive cluster of vines had coiled firmly around Sora's chest. Still gripping him firmly the vines thrust the young Master into the water and held him there.
"Wa-ah! I'm comin', Sora!"
Donald died his best to dash to the water, wand held high. His wand sparked and trailed glowing bubbles. If he couldn't obliterate the vines holding his friend underwater perhaps the spell for their aquatic form would at least keep Sora from drowning.
"Whoa! UMPH!"
Clever and thoughtful idea to be sure but only if you are also vigilant for living plants looking for an opportunity to trip you spell released and went wide. The glowing ball of magic hit the vine cluster holding down Sora. From the impact point down to the ends the jungle vines became dry kelp. Interesting but not helpful.
"Let him go!" Donald demanded.
Brylissa turned only her head to face him. Her beautiful face wore no expression at all. No cocky grin. No triumphant smile in her eyes. Nothing except subtle impatience or boredom.
"I no longer have a need to be here,"
That was it. The false princess made a motion with one hand. The snake pit of vines writhed to life with new energy. Wooded vines anchored themselves to larger ones and blossomed into a thick ring of flowers. Brylissa made to return to the jungle and continue her work.
"Hey! Get back here!"
She ignored him. No surprise. However, what was a surprise was the explosive rise of water that erupted just where Sora had fallen.
Title Translation: The Trail Leads To A Diving Place; Do Not Follow After
