KINGDOM HEARTS III: Final Mix
Disclaimer: I do not own the story or characters featured in this story. They are the sole creation of the Walt Disney Co., PIXAR, Marvel Comics, Tetsuya Nomura, and Square Enix. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy.
WARNING! Contains story spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III, so read with caution if you haven't played the game yet.
Chapter 17: Riku vs. Lucifer
Meanwhile in another part of the castle later on, Cinderella passed by a corridor, looking to see where the Prince could possibly be, when she heard the voices of her stepmother and two sisters getting closer as she quickly hid behind a statue in the hallway. After their steps faded out of hearing range, Cinderella began to approach the door only to duck back behind into hiding as she saw Lucifer the cat leave the room, stopping in suspicion before he slowly started to approach Cinderella's hiding spot.
"Lucifer, come here at once," Lady Tremaine called out as the cat stopped in its tracks and then scampered off to join the stepmother. Breathing a sigh of relief, Cinderella was ready to check her stepfamily's quarters when the Prince walked by her into the balcony hall. Happy to finally see her beloved, she followed after to speak with him.
"Your Highness," Cinderella addressed the prince cordially. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"Ah, not to be rude, but have we met before?" the Prince asked.
"Oh, we danced last night, remember?" Cinderella replied. "You were wonderful." Taken in the moment, Cinderella ended up dropping the net for mice catching to the ground.
"Well, I can't take all the credit," the Prince modestly answered as he knelt down to pick the net up, right as Cinderella did the same thing, with their hands making contact with other. "It was the girl I danced with that made it memorable..." The two then looked into each other's eyes, a spark of familiarity with Cinderella shining through for the Prince, only for it to fade away from Tremaine's spell shortly after. "In fact, I'm going to marry her tonight."
"Tonight?" Cinderella asked, hoping that she got through to him.
"Yes, once you dance with somebody like Anastasia, you don't want to waste any time," the Prince explained as Cinderella's confidence faltered. The Prince, noticing Cinderella's discomfort, then spoke again. "Well, I'm sorry to hold you up from your work. I guess I should go prepare for the ceremony."
"Yes, I suppose," Cinderella solemnly replied as she left the balcony to go meet back up with Jaq and the others. As she went down to the cellar to reflect, Jaq, Riku and the others scurried in.
"Cinderella! We saw the Prince!" Mickey told the Princess of Heart.
"So did I, Mickey, but... he's obviously not the same person I remember," Cinderella answered sadly.
"No, it was the Stepmother! She used your Fairy Godmother's wand again to change his memory!" Aqua told her.
"So she really does have it; this explains things," Cinderella pondered out loud. "Guys, we need to get that wand back, now more than ever."
Time had passed with Cinderella and the others laying low to avoid running directly into the Stepmother, as the group headed over to Tremaine's chambers, with Cinderella peering through a keyhole to see Drizella using the wand to create an overtly fantastical dress for herself.
"Drizella!" Lady Tremaine chastised. "This wand is more important to us than your trifling games. If it breaks, then all our efforts will have been pointless." Tremaine then proceeded to stick the wand in a dresser drawer and lock it with a key she stuck in her dress pocket.
"Well then, here goes nothing," Cinderella whispered to herself as she was ready to enter the room.
"Wait!" Aqua warned. "If you go in no without a real plan, she'll think something's up. Let us get the key for you."
"But Aqua, won't that key of yours get drawer unlocked for us?" Jaq asked.
"I don't think it'll work that way," Riku told the mouse. "But we'll need to make a distraction once we're in there." In the distance, Anastasia could be heard reciting her marriage vows. "Anastasia's coming. We'll handle the key, you'd better go and hide, Cinderella." As Cinderella hid behind a drapery, Riku and the others squeezed under the undercrack of the door, getting through before Anastasia entered the room.
"Oh, mother, I just had a nice conversation with the King. He didn't mind too much about that ballroom fiasco..." Anastasia started telling her mother and sister as Riku, Jaq, Mickey and Aqua snuck through the room, fighting small Heartless and Unversed that crossed their path on occasion. "...and he even gave me his most prized possession!" Anastasia remarked as she showed Tremaine a conical white seashell.
"How quaint," Tremaine remarked dryly, as she could really care less about the shell.
"How special," Drizella said to her sister sarcastically.
"Don't you see? He said it's a symbol of true love. He kept it since the day he met the Queen at the beach when they were young-" Anastasia continued as Riku and Aqua listened in from their level.
"The King sounds a little more humble than I'd take him for," Riku whispered until the group came to a stop noticing Lucifer sitting in front of the fireplace and tried to sneak past. They were momentarily stuck when Lucifer rolled over on them, until Riku and Jaq lifted his tail off of them. Unfortunately, his tail was placed on top of the coals of the fireplace, causing the cat to yelp in pain and scramble through the room. Riku and the others took this opportunity to grab the key and skitter away under a dropped teacup towards the door to give it to their friend. Once the cat was finally calmed down, the room was left in a chaotic state. Before the sisters could call out for a maid, a knock at the door was heard as Tremaine opened it to see a maid at the ready.
"You certainly arrive quickly," Tremaine remarked.
"Ah, we take a lot of pride in our work," Cinderella answered, disguising her voice as the bonnet on her head hid her face as best as it could. She then gave an aside glance to Jaq and the others while Tremaine had her back turned.
"Clean up this mess quickly, my daughter needs her beauty sleep for tonight," Tremaine instructed, as the heroes managed to unlock the drawer and reclaim the wand, but only to see things start to unravel quickly. "You understand, don't you, Cinderella?" Tremaine said as she pulled the bonnet away revealing the princess's face.
"I didn't know you worked here!" Anastasia remarked absentmindedly, earning a glare from Drizella.
"Where do you get the gall to go behind my back, dear, and blatantly seek out the prince when I told you not to?" Tremaine glowered angrily.
"You haven't won yet, mother," Cinderella told the old woman.
"As long as we have the wand, my dear, you are powerl-" the stepmother continued, only to see Riku and the others make off with the wand. "Vermin!" The heroes then ran off as quick as they could, leaving as Cinderella closed the door before Lucifer could get to them. However, Tremaine called out to the guards to pursue Cinderella, as Lucifer chased after the others. "That servant girl is a thief; stop her!"
"Cinderella, keep running!" Mickey cried out to Cinderella as she went out ahead and the others stopped to confront Lucifer the cat. "We'll take care of this overgrown tabby!" {*Play Desire for All that is Lost (KH3 version)*}
Riku and Aqua both teamed up to use some skillful finesse as they parried the cat's claw swipes and dodged its lunging jumps to knock it dizzy, however, because of their size, the battle took longer to complete than it would at their normal size. Soon enough, the cat was sent running away and the group sighed in relief.
"Yep, look at that mean 'ol kitty run!" Jaq said as he twirled the wand around.
"Jaq, quick! Make us normal size again!" Riku told the mouse.
"Okay, sorry," Jaq apologized as he shakily aimed the wand at the heroes. "Ah, Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo." With a spark of magic, the heroes were put back to normal as Jaq climbed up on Riku's shoulder and they began to go after Cinderella again.
"Not so fast, boy, your meddling here is at an end," Lady Tremaine remarked from behind the Keyblade wielder as she grabbed Riku by the wrist, waiting for some of the remaining guardsmen to arrive. "Throw these intruders into the dungeon; they have conspired with the thief to deceive his Highness and spirit him away."
"Yes, madam, it shall be done at once," they replied as the lead soldier escorted Riku and Mickey away, with Aqua being led behind.
"If you do anything to hurt Cinderella, I'll make you regret it!" Riku shouted, as Anastasia saw the two heroes that previously tried to warn her against trusting the hooded man being led to the dungeons below, and began to feel guilty.
And that finishes this another chapter. I hope you enjoyed this little update, and please remember to leave a review! See you all next time, and may your heart be your guiding key.