I apologize immensely for taking so long with new chapters!

First I had a bit of an emotional crisis, then after I recovered, I got sick! I'm still recovering from being sick, but now I'm well enough to update.

So, Eugene?

Eugene: "Couldn't have picked a better guy for the disclaimer. GamePsycho11 doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney or Square Enix."

Chapter 7: Kingdom of Corona Part II:
Strange Request

The heroes trekked further, but then found their path blocked by another big flower.

But, this one was silvery-white.

"...Something's not right here," said Terra.

"Yeah...doesn't something about that look kinda familiar?" asked Riku.

Rapunzel went up to get a closer look...but then, the flower shot up into the air and turned upside-down. It almost looked like a Reaper...complete with a scythe!

"It's a Nobody!" Sora shouted.

One he'd never seen before. He jumped back as it swung it's scythe at him, and a few more appeared.

"So, these are Nobodies," Aqua muttered as she summoned her Keyblade.

"They look like SOMEBODIES to me!" Flynn exclaimed.

"It's more complicated than that," Axel told him, summoning his Keyblade. "Blondie, you and pretty-boy need to get out of here!"

"No, I want to help you," Rapunzel argued.

"I know, but you can't hurt these things with a frying pan," Riku said.

"Just go! We'll handle this!" Kairi said.

"You heard them, come on," Flynn urged Rapunzel.

Reluctantly, she agreed, "Alright, but be careful guys."

"We will, don't worry," Mickey assured her.

Rapunzel and Flynn ran on ahead, while the heroes engaged the Nobodies.

"Let's go!" shouted Riku as the group charged at the Nobodies, managing to block one of them with his keyblade.

"Hey Sora?!" Donald called, after zapping one with Thundaga. "Let's see if they like fireworks!"

"Good idea!" Sora grinned, before the little duck jumped onto his shoulders.

Donald waved his staff, making a bunch of fireworks appear in circle around him and Sora.

"Nice!" Sora grinned before he and Donald fired off the fireworks together, causing the Nobodies to get burned.

Some of the fireworks caused regular firework explosions when they hit there mark.

Some made even bigger ones, creating a spectacular light show. Hell, one of them even made Sora's face!

All the Nobodies were destroyed, but no one lowered their guard.

"If Nobodies are here, then the Organization can't be far, right?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah," Sora responded. "But I've never seen those kind of Nobodies before."

"Only one person uses the Reapers," Axel said. "Come on out, you pink-haired asshole!"

"Well, well...clever deduction...Axel."

Sure enough...Marluxia appeared.

"You," Sora growled.

"Nice to see you again, Sora," Marluxia smiled, then looked at Kairi. "And you, Princess Kairi, nice to meet Naminé's other half."

Kairi glared at Marluxia while Sora stood in front of her, protectively, then their Nobodies appeared beside them.

"Marluxia...!" Naminé hissed while Roxas glared.

"Ah Roxas, good to see you again," Marluxia smiled again.

"The feeling's not mutual," Roxas growled back.

"So, what do you want?" Terra questioned.

"Only to ask a favor," Marluxia responded.

"Forget it!" Naminé shouted. "We're not doing any favors for you! At least not again!"

"That girl, Rapunzel, is the very light of this world," Marluxia explained. "Protect her from the dark horrors of this world."

With that, he left through a portal of darkness.

"The light of this world..." Mickey wondered. "But why would he make such an odd request?"

"He's always been devious," Axel said. "Couldn't always tell what he was thinking."

Kairi looked like she was deep in thought.

"What's up, Kairi?" asked Sora.

"Huh?" Kairi muttered as she looked up. "Oh! N-nothing...it's nothing."

"Well, how're we supposed to find Rapunzel and Flynn?" Aqua asked.

"Actually, I can sense Rapunzel's heart, even from here," Kairi said. "I should be able to find her."

"Then lead on, Princess," Axel quipped.

Soon, Kairi led the way...but even then, the others couldn't get what Marluxia said out of their minds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The heroes made their way deeper into the forest as it got darker.

Then, they heard a girl's voice singing,
"Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine~"

"Do you hear that...?" Kairi whispered.

"It sounds like Rapunzel," said Goofy.

Everyone followed her voice as it continued singing,
"Heal what has been hurt
Change the Fates' design
Save what has been lost
Bring back what once was mine
What once was mine~"

They saw two glows as they got closer, the glow of campfire, and some golden glow of unknown origin.

"Whoa...!" Yuffie whispered. "What is that?"

The glow started to fade away, but the group finally found the source of it: Rapunzel's hair.

She had it wrapped around Flynn's left hand as they sat on a log by a campfire.

"Whoa...!" whispered Sora.

"Did you see that?" asked Donald.

Rapunzel gasped and turned around, smiling,
"You're back! I'm glad you're all okay!"

"Eh, dealing with those guys is an everyday thing for us," Riku said.

Everyone sat down around the fire, then Mickey asked,
"Your hair was just glowing..."

"Not only that; I got a cut on my hand, and look!" Flynn showed his left hand to everyone. "Now it's healed."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Aqua exclaimed. "How long has it been doing that?"

Rapunzel gasped silently before she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked.

"Well...now you know," Rapunzel said. "My hair has the power to heal...and...that's why my Mother told me to never leave the tower. People will want to use my hair for their own selfish reasons...that's what she told me, anyway."

She pushed some her hair away from the back of her head, revealing a dark brown strand amongst the blond,

"She said when I was a baby, people tried to cut it. But, once it's cut, it turns brown and loses its power. That's why Mother...*sigh* that's why I never left..."

"And, you're still gonna go back?" Yuffie questioned.

"No," Rapunzel said. "Yes?" Then she put her face in her hands. "It's complicated."

Once she calmed down, she looked at Flynn in a playful manner,
"So, Eugene Fitzherbert, huh?"

"Shh~!" Flynn shushed.

"Who's Eugene Fitzherbert?" Kairi repeated.

"...He's me," Flynn answered. "My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. You may laugh, now."

"Why would we laugh?" Aqua asked.

"So where'd you get the name "Flynn Rider"?" Goofy asked.

"Well, I was an orphan," Eugene began. "And, there was this book that I read every night to all the other kids, "The Tales of Flynnigan Rider". Swashbuckling rogue, richest man alive, not bad with the ladies either."

"Was he also a thief?" Riku asked, pulling out a wanted poster with Eugene's face, except the nose wasn't right.
"Also found this in your satchel. Don't worry, we're not gonna turn you in."

"They didn't get your nose right," Axel noticed.

"I know, they never do!" Eugene exclaimed. "But no, Flynn Rider wasn't a thief. Actually, he had enough money to do anything he wanted to do; he could go anywhere he wanted to go. And...for a little kid, with nothing...I don't know, I just...just seemed like the better option."

"...Wow..." Sora whispered. "I guess I can see where you're coming from...but...you shouldn't change who you are, just because you're not satisfied with it. That's like hating yourself."

"And I know from personal experience, that can have bad consequences," Riku said.

"They're right," Rapunzel smiled. "Besides, I like "Eugene Fitzherbert" much better than "Flynn Rider"."

"Well, you'd be the first, but thank you," Eugene smiled back.

"So, what about you guys?" Rapunzel asked the off-worlders. "You took care of those monsters like you'd done it before."

"Oh we have, hundreds of times," Donald responded.

"Not sure you should know the full story on those things, but, the plant ones are called Heartless, and those previous ones are called Nobodies," Kairi explained.

"Nobodies are created when people become Heartless," said Sora. "They're kind of like what's left behind."

"Wait...people can turn into Heartless?" asked Rapunzel.

"By giving into the darkness in their own heart, or if their heart is stolen," Mickey explained. "Nobodies are created when someone with a strong heart becomes a Heartless."

"The heart is consumed by darkness and leaves the body behind, where it fades away," Riku continued. "But, in some cases, the body doesn't fade away, and begins to act on its own."

"Believe it or not, Axel used to be a Nobody," said Kairi. "Before he was, he went by a different name: Lea."

"Really?" asked Rapunzel.

"Finish this when I get back," Eugene said, getting up. "I'll go get some more firewood."

"I'll go with you," Terra got up, and they left.

Sora handed Eugen's satchel to Rapunzel,
"When you get the chance, give that back to him."

"Hey, what if he leaves?" Riku questioned.

"He won't," Kairi said. "He has a good heart."

"Yeah," Rapunzel smiled. "And, I think he likes me."

"Oh, he does," Aqua smiled. "I can see it in his eyes."

"Really?" asked Rapunzel.

"And...I think you're starting to like him, too, aren't you?" Aqua inquired.

Rapunzel giggled with a blush on her face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, only Terra was still wide awake. Being just his heart and mind in armor, he didn't need food or sleep. He volunteered to watch for any enemies while everyone slept.

Kairi had slept on Sora's chest, and he held her. Yuffie had inadvertently fell asleep against Riku's shoulder, but he hadn't noticed yet.

Then, everyone was startled awake by the sound of Eugene screaming!

"WAAAAH!" Donald quaked in alarm.

"Eugene?!" Rapunzel asked, wrapped up in her own hair.

"Is it Heartless?!" Kairi asked.

"A horse?!" Axel questioned, perplexed.

Indeed, a white horse with a dark brown saddle was dragging Eugene away by his right foot with its teeth.

Rapunzel, Sora and Kairi ran over to pull Eugene back.

"Give me him!" Rapunzel grunted, struggling with the horse.

"Hang on!" Sora cried as he and the others ran to help Rapunzel, forming a chain behind her and pulling with all their might until Eugene's boot fell off, causing the horse to fall backward. However, he growled at Eugene before he tried to charge at him, but Rapunzel got in his way.

"Whoa, whoa!" she cried while the horse tried to get past her. "Easy, boy! Easy!"

"Hey, settle down!" Kairi ordered him as well.

"Easy boy! Easy!" Rapunzel told him again. "Easy." The horse got captivated by her big green eyes. "That's it."

Pascal sat on her head, glaring at the horse, and motioned for him to calm down.

"Now sit," Rapunzel told the horse. "SIT."

And the soon sat down on his haunches like a dog.

"Good," Rapunzel praised. "Now drop the boot."

The horse gave her look that said "Are you kidding?".

"Drop IT," Rapunzel commanded, again, and the horse dropped the boot in the grass. "Aww, you are such a good boy!" She then began to pet the horse, who started to wag his tail like a dog.

"You all tired from chasing this bad man all over the place?" She asked him, with a cute pout in her mouth.

The horse nodded, looking a little sad.

"Excuse me?" Eugene questioned incredulously.

"Aww, nobody appreciates you, do they?" Kairi asked as she and Rapunzel hugged the horse. "Do they?"

The horse shook his head.

"Aww, you poor thing," Aqua said as she gently pet his snout.

"Oh, come on, he's a bad horse!" Eugene argued.

"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart!" Rapunzel replied, causing the horse to whinny happily. "Isn't that right?" She looked at the horse's harness and saw his name. "Maximus?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Eugene complained, causing Max to glare at him.

"Listen, today is kind of the biggest day of my life," Rapunzel said. "And the thing is, I need you to not get him arrested."

Maximus got a mad look on his face, like he was asking "You can't be serious".

"Just for 24 hours, and then, you can chase each other to your heart's content, okay?" Rapunzel told him.

Eugene sighed and held out his hand to Max, but the horse turned away.

"Hey Max, chill," Axel chastised him.

"It's...also my birthday," said Rapunzel. "Just so you know."

"Oh! Happy birthday!" Goofy spoke up.

"Eighteen?" Yuffie asked.

"Yes~!" Rapunzel exclaimed.

Maximus reluctantly gave in, and put his hoof in Eugene's hand to shake, but they still glared at each other.

"Okay, break it up," Riku told them.

"Hey, there's the kingdom!" Donald pointed.

"And I think I can hear music, too!" Kairi added.

"Let's get going, then!" Sora said as they walked off...but when their backs were turned, Maximus punched Eugene in the stomach, causing him to fall over while he smirked.

Rapunzel led the way across the long stone bridge, which led into town.

Eugene saw another wanted poster and took it down, but Maximus glared at him, so Eugene crumpled up the paper and stuck it in the horse's mouth.

But Maximus spat it out in his face, which caused the two to start fighting again.

"Hey!"

Eugene and Maximus looked up to see Aqua, who gave them the "I'm watching you" gesture.

The two let go of each other, but still hit each other one more time.

"That horse seriously needs to chill," Axel said. "It's like he has a stick up his ass."

"You're telling me," Riku agreed.

Rapunzel looked around happily at everything she saw.

However, because of her long hair, people kept tripping over it and dropping things.

"Whoa!" Sora cried as he grabbed some of Rapunzel's hair along with Eugene.

"Yeah, definitely need to fix this," Kairi said.

Eugene looked around, then spotted four little girls that all looked practically the same, tying their hair into different styled braids.

He whistled to get their attention, then held up Rapunzel's hair.

The girls gasped.

Soon, they started to braid Rapunzel's hair and even decorated it with pretty flowers.

Eugene made sure to stay out of sight from the guards, then he saw Rapunzel's hair was finished.

She twirled around, looking at it,
"Oh, thank you."

Eugene stared at her, and everyone looked at him mischievously, but he shoved them playfully.

They went around the town, checking out every stand. Rapunzel then spotted a mural on a wall. It was the king and queen of Corona, and the queen was holding a baby. It was a girl, with blond hair and green eyes.

Some people were gathered in front of it, a mother knelt in front of it, holding a baby, as a little girl placed a flower in front of the mural, next to the rest of the flowers.

"It's for the lost princess," The girl said.

"Wow...she kinda looks like you, Rapunzel," said Kairi as she looked at the mural.

"...She does...huh?" Rapunzel asked.

She looked a bit closer, but then some musicians passed by, so she went over to them.

Eugene finished paying for the food, then turned to see Rapunzel dancing to an Irish-sounding melody provided by the three musicians. She even pulled a little boy over to dance with her. Then she got even more people over to dance, and they were more than happy to.

Sora offered Kairi his hand, which she took, and went over to join. Yuffie pulled a surprised Riku over, followed by Donald, Goofy and Mickey.

Even Roxas and Naminé joined, but only Sora and Kairi saw them.

Soon, the other townsfolk started to join in, too. Everyone began to clap their hands and stomp their feet to the music as the dancers joined up in a circle. Rapunzel gestured for Eugene to join them, but he shook his head no. However, Maximus wasn't having any of it, so he pushed Eugene into the dance. He glared at the horse as Sora pulled him along, which caused Maximus and Pascal to laugh.

Everyone alternated dancing partners regularly, be it man or woman. Rapunzel and Eugene reached for each other to dance with, but were pulled away by other people.

She looked at him like "Sorry", but he gave her a reassuring look.

Riku actually enjoyed dancing with the ninja girl, and she was most definitely enjoying herself.

Sora had put another flower in Kairi's hair as they danced.

Kairi smiled as Sora twirled her around, then he jumped onto a barrel and pulled a breakdancing move!

Everyone cheered at that.

Eventually, the crowd began to move away as the melody was ending, then Rapunzel and Eugene twirled into each other.

They looked at each other, panting a bit as everyone applauded and cheered.

"To the boats!" A man yelled.

I prefer the Irish melody in the movie compared to what was in the game.

I'm part Irish, so I've always loved that kind of music.

Read and review, please!