Chapter 3: Journey to Fort Francis
"Sora, Mario, Donald, and Peach opened the door, unsure of what they would find. All the while, Merlee's words about finding the 'other three heroes' rang in their minds. Were these other heroes somewhere in this new world? If not, where? Meanwhile, the creeping void grew larger in the skies above Flipside. The hopes of all worlds rested on the heroes finding the next Pure Heart..." Jiminy wrote in his journal.
In what looks like a plain that's all pixelated with pixelated grass, hills, trees, and even the sky and clouds, the yellow door appears and Sora, Mario, Donald, and Peach walk out of the yellow door before it disappears.
"Whoa. Get a load of this world." Sora said, looking around.
"It's all...blocky." Donald said and Mario nods.
"So this is where that door leads... I suppose the next Pure Heart is nearby..." Tippi said.
"What's up, Tip?" Sora asked.
"It's strange... I can feel the Pure Heart nearby, but I don't know where it is..." Tippi said.
"Don't worry. I'm positive we'll find it." Peach said and Mario nods.
"Yeah! We just gotta..." Sora was cut off as something takes Tippi.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Tippi screamed.
"Tippi!" Donald cried.
"Who did that?" Peach asked.
"A Heartless?" Donald asked.
"Show yourself and give Tippi back!" Sora yelled, taking out his Keyblade.
"Ner-herrr herrr herrr herrr!" A voice laughed, revealing to be what looks like a green chameleon wearing glasses, a yellow shirt with a mushroom and star, and a fanny pack.
"What the...?" Sora asked.
"A chameleon?" Donald asked.
"HI-TECHNICAAAAAAAAL! I caught myself a super-rare pixelated butterfly! My friends at are going to freak when they get word of this find!" The chameleon said.
"Hey! Give Tippi back or else!" Sora yelled, pointing his Keyblade.
"Hmm? Who are you? No matter! I must bring my new find back home! I can't miss this week's episode of 'The Grodus Chronicles'! It's going to involve a very epic crossover involving a new character Yozora and Gigabots! No way I'm going to entrust my digital Recordmeow to tape an episode so epic!" The chameleon said, vanishing.
"Get back here!" Sora yelled, charging to attack the chameleon, who is already gone.
"Nuts! He got away!" Donald said.
"Come back here! Don't hide from me! Show yourself!" Sora yelled.
"Sora, he's not coming back." Peach said.
"Man, this bites! We just got to a new world and already Tippi got butterflynapped!" Sora said.
"Dont worry, Sora. We'll find her and get her back." Donald said and Mario nods.
"Oh, no! A kidnapping! Oh, the despair! The awful spectacle of it all!" A voice said.
"Huh?" Sora asked, looking around and they find a bush.
"The shocking scene occurred right before my very own eyes! I guess that's a wrap for that poor Pixl now that freak Francis has her..." The voice said from the bush.
"Hey, who's that Francis? You're talking about that chameleon nerd guy?" Sora asked.
"Whoa-ho!" The voice said, coming out from the bush, revealing to be another Pixl that looks like a spiked ball. "Are you friends with that butterfly Pixl that got nabbed?" The spiked Pixl asked.
"Yes we are." Peach answered.
"What a pity... That geek that nabbed her was Francis. He's the nerd of all nerds. He even has a thing for butterflies and obviously things nerdy too. Once he gets his sweaty mitts on something he likes, you can't get it back. He takes stuff and keeps them in his fantazy fortress. It's a geek paradise." The spiked Pixl said.
"Yeah, great, but guess what, I'm gonna find that fortress and we're getting Tippi back!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Wait, you're seriously going to Fort Francis?" The spiked Pixl asked.
"Yes! Tippi's our friend and we're NOT leaving without her!" Donald said.
"I see. If you go ALL the way down ahead for miles and miles, you'll find it, but you're dead-set on saving her?" The spiked Pixl asked.
"Do we have to repeart ourselves? Yes! We're gettin' Tip back no matter what!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Listen, I know how important your friend is to you, but the way to Fort Francis is dangerous." The spiked Pixl said.
"We don't care. We're still going." Peach said.
"Wow, friends still willing on getting their lost friend back, regardless of danger. I think I have something in my eye." The spiked Pixl said.
"Hey, why don't you come with us? We could use your help." Sora said and Mario nods.
"Hmm, I guess I can come along while also giving you some travel tips. There're three critical tips. The first one is this; a bunch of no-class jerks are holed up in this castle up ahead. It woon't be easy gettin' passed them, but the castle they're living in now is old. Find a red X and something should happen. Second tip; after dealing with those clowns, you'll find a big ocean. There's some really scaaaaaaary monster down there recently. It's huuuuge and really bad! If you give it a good strike at its red spot, you'll get through no problem. Last tip; after swimming through the ocean, you'll find a giant tree. There's a huge gorge on the other side and you'll find red wind and if you ride along it, you'll get across." The spiked Pixl said.
"Okay, I think we got all those." Sora said and Mario nods.
"Great! Just remember the tips your new friend, Barry taught you! Let's get on over to that Freak Francis!" Barry said, as he joins Mario.
"Okay, so we know what to do. Let's go find Tippi!" Peach said and they nod.
(Field Theme: Bitlands)
(Bitlands)
The group begin moving through the bitlands, where they find many Shadows, Soldiers, Koopa Troopas, and Paratroopas and they attack, only for Sora to cast Blizzard while Mario uses Multibounce while Donald casts Thunder while Peach unleashes heart orbs and they defeat the enemies and keep moving. As they keep moving through the bitlands, the group find a pipe and use it to take them down, taking them to a different area, where they come across a Koopa Troopa, who jumps for a block, transforming him into a giant Koopa Troopa. Sora and Mario find a star and transfrom them into giants and counter against the giant Koopa Troopa, defeating him and they keep moving through the bitland plains and they later find a door and use it to take them somewhere else. The group keep going and they find two red pipes and a pit between them, so they jump down the pit, taking them underground and keep moving while fighting off Heartless and Goombas until they later find a pipe and use it to take from underground and arrive at a different part of the plains.
"How much longer until we find that old castle?" Donald asked.
"Hopefully, not too far." Sora said.
"HAAAAAALT!" A voice shouted and they see a Koopa Troopa. "Hey, you! Yeah, you! This is Bowser's castle!" The Koopa Troopa yelled.
"Bowser?!" Sora and Donald asked shocked and Mario is also shocked.
"He's here too?" Peach asked.
"His Burliness doesn't like chumps like you geekin' up his place! Prepare to get a new nose job...from my shell!" The Koopa Troopa yelled.
"Yeah? Eat THIS!" Sora yelled, casting Thunder on the Koopas, defeating them.
The group continue moving while fighting off Koopa Troopas, but then they arrive at the big castle, where many Koopa Troopas, Goombas, Paratroopas, and Magikoopas surround them.
"Looks like we'll have to fight!" Donald said.
"Bring it on!" Sora said, taking out his Keyblade.
(Battle Theme: Vim and Vigor)
The Koopa Troopas spin and attack the group with their shells while the Goombas deliver headbonks, but Sora delivers slashes with Kingdom Key followed by two cross slashes and then casts Aero, sending the enemies into the air, allowing Donald to cast Thunder, striking the enemies, but the Paratroopas fly around and deliver diving shell attacks while the Magikoopas unleash magic blasts. Mario uses Barry's reflect ability to deal spike damage while Peach attacks with her parasol and then uses Peach Bomber, only for the Goombas to multi bonk while the Koopa Troopas slide their shells all over to attack while the Magikoopas unleash lightning magic, but Donald casts Fire while Sora delivers four slashes with Kingdom Key followed by Blitz and then casts Water. The Paratroops fly around and dive shell attack while the Goombas deliver more bonks, only for Mario to use Power Jump and deals great damage while Peach unleashes heart orbs and sends them to strike, but as the group keep fighting, more enemies keep coming out from the big castle.
"They just keep coming!" Donald said, but Mario finds what looks like a red X mark on the castle.
"Hey, that must be the red X!" Sora said.
"Mario!" Peach said and Mario nods while using Boomer to blow up the red X, causing an explosion.
The castle starts to explode and later, the castle is destroyed.
"That did it." Sora said.
"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWW!" A voice screamed, as someone is falling and it's Bowser, who lands on the ground.
"Bowser!" Donald yelled.
(Theme: Enter Bowser!)
"Bwarrgh! Don't tell me someone just blew up my awesome lair!" Bowser said and sees the group. "HEY! I know that 'stache and spiky hair anywhere...! MARIO! SORA! DONALD! And Princess Peach?!" Bowser said.
"Yeah, hey, Bowser! Nice to see ya too!" Sora said, crossing his arms.
"Shut up! Why do you and Mario have to show up and ruin everything?! I'm TIRED of it!" Bowser yelled, stomping, sending Peach away and then creates a barrier around him, Sora, Donald, and Mario.
"We're trapped!" Donald said.
"Oh, no!" Peach said.
"Now you're all in my fortress of PAIN! No more sequels! This is gonna end right NOW!" Bowser said.
"Heh, you're really confident, considering you forgot that we beat you before!" Sora said.
"Not this time! This time, you're all TOAST!" Bowser yelled.
(Boss Theme: Vs. Bowser)
Bowser breathes fire at the trio, who avoid him and Sora casts Water to deal damage to the Koopa King while Mario uses Power Bounce and jumps on Bowser many times, dealing damage, but Bowser retaliates with slashing with his claws followed by biting with his teeth, only for Donald to cast Blizzard to deal more damage to Bowser, who jumps and delivers a bombing strike. The trio dodge Bowser's bomb attack and Mario uses Boomer to explode while Sora delivers four slashes with his Keyblade followed by rapid slashes and enters Second Form and delivers stronger slashes followed by Ripple Drive, but Bowser gets into his shell and delivers a spinning strike to get the trio, dealing damage, only for Donald to cast Cure and then casts Thunder while Mario uses Spin Jump and double jumps. Bowser breathes fire at the trio again, only for Sora to cast Blizzard to stop the fire breathing and then uses Sonic Blade and dashes all over, getting the Koopa King and delivers the final dashing strike while Donald casts Aero to send Bowser into the air and dealing damage. Bowser reatlaites with trying to bomb at the trio, who dodge and Mario uses Power Jump and jumps on the Koopa King, dealing more damage while Sora triple slashes with his Keyblade followed by casting Thunder, but Bowser slashes with his claws and then delivers his spinning shell attack, only for Donald to cast Blizzard to stop the shell attack and dealing more damage. Bowser roars in rage and breathes more fire and then delivers his bombing attack, but Donald casts casts Thunder to strike at the Koopa King while Mario uses Power Bounce and jumps on Bowser many times, only for Bowser to retaliate with trying to bite at the trio, but Sora delivers four slashes with his Keyblade and then casts Water and finishes off Bowser, ending the fight.
"Noooooo! I HATE you all! It's NOT FAIR!" Bowser said now on the ground.
"Told ya you can't beat us!" Sora said, as the barrier disappears.
"Mario, Sora, Donald! Are you all okay?" Peach asked.
"Yep and beating Bowser was satisfying!" Donald said.
"Princess Peach! My wife!" Bowser said.
"What? Your WIFE?!" Peach asked.
"Peach isn't and NEVER will be your wife!" Sora yelled.
"You, shut up! Princess, how could you forget our big day?" Bowser asked.
"That sham was NOT a wedding!" Donald said.
"Bowser, how did you even get here?" Peach asked.
"Well, last I remember was bein' locked up in Bleck's stupid castle. All of the sudden, BAM! Me and minions woke up here. Then I found this awesome castle and decided to make it my lair until those three clowns blew it up!" Bowser said.
"If Bowser ended up here, do you think..." Donald stops talking.
"Maybe Goofy ended up here too..." Sora said.
"Listen, Bowser, we...really need your help. Please come with us." Peach said.
"Wait, what?!" Bowser asked.
"Here's the thing, Bowser. Count Bleck forced you and Peach to get married so he could create the Chaos Heart and with it, he'll destroy all worlds." Sora said and Mario nods.
"Are you serious?" Bowser asked.
"Yes and we need your help in finding the Pure Hearts." Peach said.
"No! I don't wanna! I'd do it for you, but NO way I'm helping Mario, Sora, and Donald!" Bowser said, turning away.
"You're such a big baby!" Donald yelled.
"Look, I'm not entirely happy about this idea either, but we gotta work together to save the worlds." Sora said and Mario nods.
"Please, Bowser?" Peach asked.
"I'm Bowser! I'm a grade-A and 100% prime-cut final boss! I'm gonna take over the world!" Bowser said.
"Yeah? Well, if you don't help us stop Count Bleck, there won't be a world for you to rule over." Sora said and Mario nods.
"Oh, and let's not forget that most of your minions got brainwashed to serve Count Bleck." Donald said.
"He's right. Now they're doing Bleck's evil bidding, not yours." Peach said.
"So, if you don't do something, they're gonna toil under a different cruel and merciless master." Sora said.
"B-But...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH! FINE! I'll join your stupid quest! Happy?!" Bowser asked.
"Not really, but thanks, Bowser." Sora said.
"Shut it! This doesn't make us friends and I'm NOT helping you and Mario save a bunch of stupid worlds! I'm only helping so I can take over everything! That's it!" Bowser yelled.
"Whatever you say, ya big palooka!" Donald said.
"Thank you, Bowser, you big sweetie!" Peach said.
(Bowser has joined you!)
"Lord Bowser!" One of the Koopa Troopas said. "You're really leaving us?" The Koopa Troopa asked.
"That's right! Minions! Hold down the fort until I return!" Bowser ordered.
"Yes, Your Crabbiness!" The Koopa Troopa said.
"Also, since some of the others were brainwashed by Count Bleck, feel free to dole out punishment!" A Hammer Bro. said.
"Clobber the Count!" A Goomba said.
"Long live King Bowser!" The minions said.
"Okay, let's go and grab those stupid Precious Hearts or whatever!" Bowser said.
"PURE Hearts!" Sora said.
"I don't care! LET'S GO!" Bowser yelled.
"This is gonna be annoying..." Donald said.
The group begin moving through the bitlands and later, they come across what looks like a giant ocean.
"Hey, that ocean..." Sora said.
"Oh, yes. I think the ocean is our next part of the journey." Peach said and Mario nods.
"Well, let's go." Donald said.
"In the water?" Bowser asked.
"Yeah, that's where we're going. Why? Ya scared?" Sora asked, grinning.
"SHUT UP! I'll show ya who's scared!" Bowser yelled, going for the water.
"Ready?" Sora asked and Mario nods, as they go for the water.
(Field Theme: Tile Pool)
(Tile Pool)
The group begin swimming through the ocean while dealing with Bloopers and Cheep-Cheeps in their way andcome across many jellyfish blocking their path, so Sora casts Blizzard to make the jellyfish disappear and keep swimming through the water, taking them to a different part of the ocean, where they find small whirlpools, but they avoid the whirlpools and keep swimming across, only for black tentacles to attack the group, who avoid them.
"What was that?" Donald asked.
"Dunno, but we'd better watch for it." Sora said and Mario nods.
The group later arrive at a tunnel and swim through it until they reach what looks like the end, but then Water Cores appear and surround the group.
"Here we go!" Sora said.
"Time to Bowserize these traitors!" Bowser said.
The Water Cores unleash water to attack the group, who dodge and Sora delivers slashes with his Keyblade followed by a somersault slash and then casts Sea-Fire while Donald casts Sea-Thunder, only for the Water Cores to create bubble shields and then unleash more streams of water, but Mario uses Barry to create a spiked shield to attack the Heartless while Peach unleashes heart orbs, but the Water Cores unleash storm clouds to attack. Bowser breathes fire to deal burning damage while Mario uses Boomer to throw a bomb to deal exploding damage, but the Water Cores move in water while unleashing streams of water, only for Donald to cast Sea-Blizzard to freeze the Heartless, allowing Sora to deliver rapid slashes with his Keyblade followed by two somersault slashes and then delivers a light slam. The Water Cores unleash more storm clouds to attack the group, only for Peach to use her parasol as a shield and then uses Peach Bomber while Bowser delivers a spinning shell strike while Donald casts Sea-Aero, but the Water Cores fire rapid water, only for Mario to use Boomer to throw bombs while Sora casts Sea-Fire and they defeat the Heartless.
After the fight, a chest appears, so Sora opens it, revealing another Pixl that looks like an anvil.
"Hey! In case you ain't heard, I throw a lot of girth around these parts. I'm gonna check you guys out to make sure you got the weight to hang around with me. Let's with your faces. Dude's got shaggy eyebrows, not girthy. You get 50 girth points! Also, the kid's hair is way too spiky. Not girthy. 40 girth points. Also, the duck has too much feathers. Totally ungirthy. 20 girth points. Now, let's look at your clothes. Red shirt and overalls are not girthy enough! 50 girth points. The kid's clothes are too weird for me. 30 girth points. The girl's dress is too frilly, so 20 girth points. But the big guy's spiky shell is worth 100 girth points. Now weight, but ya know what, the big guy's worth 10,000 girth points while the rest of you each get 10 girth points! Still, I like those that try to have some girth, so I'll tag along! Thudley's gotta give you more girth!" The Pixl said.
"Enough with the girth!" Donald yelled.
"Welcome aboard, Thudley!" Sora said, as Thudley goes for Mario.
The group leave the tunnel and swim through the water while reaching a different area and come across six bars and so Mario uses Thudley to strike down at the bars, making a hole appear, so the group swim for the hole, taking them to what looks like a shipwreck and continue swimming.
"Am I the only one, who feels like we're being watched?" Peach asked.
"What do you mean?" Donald asked.
"Like something watching from the shadows?" Sora asked.
"I don't see anything." Bowser said.
Just then, black tentacles rise from the ground and appearing is what looks like a giant Heartless with ten black tentacles, but five of them have red marks while the other five have blue ones, the upper body of the Heartless is what looks like a giant shark with glowing yellow eyes and two giant crab claws, and the Heartless symbol is on its head.
"Heartless!" Sora said, taking out his Keyblade.
"Pfft! Like some big ugly thing's gonna stand in my way!" Bowser said.
"We gotta stop it if we wanna continue on!" Donald said and Mario nods.
(Boss Theme: Squirming Evil)
The Heartless known as Hydrosity attacks the group with its crab claws and then uses its tentacles to lash at the group, who dodge and Sora casts Sea-Fire at one of the red tentacles, casuing damage to the giant Heartless while Mario uses Thudley to slam at another red tentacle, causing more damage, but Hydrosity unleashes bubble bombs to attack the group, who dodge and Bowser uses Bowser Bonb to strike at another red tentacle. Hydrosity attacks with its crab claw followed by delivering a giant bite with its shark teeth, only for Donald to cast Sea-Thunder at the red tentacles to deal more damage while Peach attacks another red tentacle with her parasol, only for Hydrosity to lash at the group with its blue and red tentacles. Sora swims for one of the red tentacles and delivers four slashes followed by somersault slashes and then delivers a slamming light slash while Bowser slashes at another red tentacle with his claws, but Hydrosity unleashes more bubble bombs to strike at the group, only for Peach to use her parasol to protect against the bubble bombs and unleashes heart orbs. Hydrosity delivers giant attacks with its crab claws followed by biting with its shark teeth, but Donald casts Sea-Fire to strike at the red tentacles, only for Hydrosity to use its blue tentacles to try and impale the group, who dodge and Mario uses Boomer to throw bombs at the red tentacles to deal exploding damage while Bowser breathes fire at the red tentacles. Hydrosity unleashes bubble bombs to attack the group, who avoid the bubble bombs and Donald casts Sea-Blizzard while Sora casts Sea-Thunder, delivering a strike at Hydrosity, who roars in rage and uses its tentacles to impale at the group all over the shipwreck, only for the group to dodge.
Hydrosity keeps trying to impale the group with its tentacles and then unleashes water missiles and sends them to attack the group, only for Peach to use her parasol to protect against the attacks and uses Peach Bomber to strike at the red tentacles while Mario uses Thudley to slam at the red tentacles to deal damage, but Hydrosity delivers giant strikes with its crab claws followed by biting with its shark teeth. Donald casts Sea-Thunder to attack the red tentacles while Bowser delivers his spinning shell attack at the red tentacles, only for Hydrosity to spin attack with its blue and red tentacles while unleashing bubble bombs and then unleashes more water missiles, only for Sora to deliver slashes at a red tentacle with his Keyblade followed by casting Sea-Aero. Hydrosity retaliates with striking Sora with its blue and red tentacles and then delivers big attacks with its crab claws, but Peach unleashes heart orbs to strike the red tentacles while Bowser attacks with his claws, but Hydrosity tries to impale the group with its tentacles followed by unleashing bubble bombs, but Mario uses Barry to deliver a spike shield attack at one of the red tentacles, dealing more damage. Hydrosity roars in rage again and then delivers a giant bite with its shark teeth and then unleashes water missiles, but Donald casts Sea-Thunder to strike down at the red tentacles while Sora delivers five slashes with his Keyblade followed by rapid slashes and casts Sea-Fire. Hydrosity unleashes bubble bombs and then delivers impaling strikes its tentacles, but Bowser uses his spin shell attack to strike at the red tentacles while Peach uses Peach Bomber, only for Hydrosity to unleash water missiles, but Donald casts Sea-Blizzard at the red tentacles while Mario uses Thudley while Sora delivers five slashes and they finish off Hydrosity, who falls while a giant heart leaves while disappearing.
"That's a wrap for that Heartless!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Now let's get outta here!" Bowser said, as they swim to leave.
The group keep swimming through the ocean until they reach the surface and manage to get out of the water and are back on land.
"Finally outta that stupid water!" Bowser said.
"Just how farther until Fort Francis?" Donald asked.
"We shouldn't be far now. We're supposed to be going for that giant tree with thered wind." Sora said.
"I think this is the only giant tree I see." Peach said, looking at a very tall tree.
"Looks like our only way." Sora said and Mario nods.
"Oh, boy. Climbing..." Donald said.
(Dotwood Tree)
The group begin going for the tree and start climbing up while dealing with Air Soldiers and Paratroopas while using platforms to get up the giant tree with Mario's 3-D powers and Peach's parasol gliding and later, they manage to reach higher up the tree and they find bark blocking their way, so Sora, Donald, and Bowser use their fire to burn down the bark, revealing a hole, taking them somewhere else. The group are now inside the tree and continue to climb up while dealing more enemies in their way and they also find blue and pink platforms and use them to reach the top of the tree while also avoiding traps such as spikes and continue going up the tree while fighting off more Air Soldiers and Paratroopas in their way and later, after minutes of climbing, they manage to reach the higher part of the tree and go for the next area.
The group are back outside the tree and are now at the top of the tree itself and continue moving.
"That climb was really annoying." Donald said.
"Yes, but we appear to be making progress." Peach said and Mario nods.
"Now all we gotta do is..." Sora was cut off.
"Ah ha ha ha! Finally, you have arrived!" A voice said.
"Huh?" Donald asked, as they look up to see Dimentio.
(Theme: Dimentio, Charming Magician)
"You don't wear tardiness well!" Dimentio said.
"And who're you, Mr. Frillypants? You gonna tie a balloon animal?" Bowser asked.
"Hey! I remember you! You're that lunatic that messed up Fracktail!" Sora yelled, taking out his Keyblade while Mario gets into his fighting stance.
"Ah ha ha ha ha! So, you remember me? I'm flattered! I, too, could not forget your spiky hair that resembles a hedgehog's." Dimentio said.
"Enough! Who are you?!" Donald demanded.
"I am a humble servant of Count Bleck. Master of dimensions. Pleaser of crowds. I am Dimentio." Dimentio introduced.
"Dimenti-who?" Bowser asked.
"That name rings familiar..." Peach said.
"It is truly enchanting to meet my hapless victims! I have prepared a special morsel of a treat for you!" Dimentio said.
"Not so fast, harlequin." A voice said.
"That voice...!" Sora said, as a corridor of darkness appears, revealing Ansem.
"Ansem?!" Donald asked shocked.
"What're YOU doing here?!" Sora demanded.
"Ah, so you are in this dimension as well, Sora, Donald. Excellent. This is the perfect time to finally test your strength." Ansem said.
"Ah ha ha ha ha! I, too, look forward to such a test! Let us begin!" Dimentio said, casting a spell, sending everyone to a different realm, which is a green space.
"What...?" Peach asked.
"How about some...MAGIC! Voila! You are now in Dimension D, a dimension of my making. In this mind-bending realm, my attacks are 256 times more potent, as is Ansem's! We are much more powerful. Why, I could destroy you with a raise of an eyebrow!" Dimentio said.
"No matter what you do, the darkness will consume you all!" Ansem said, removing his black coat and revealing his own clothes.
"Yeah? Well, no matter what YOU do, we'll win this fight!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Then, let us duel, like two gleaming banjos on a moonlit stoop!" Dimentio said.
"Behold the power of DARKNESS!" Ansem said.
(Boss Theme: It's Showtime/Forze del Male)
Dimentio unleashes two magic bolts and throws them at the group, who dodge, only for Ansem to unleash lasers of darkness and sends them to attack the group, who dodge and Sora aerial slashes at Ansem with his Keyblade followed by a spinning slash and then casts Aero while Mario uses Power Bounce and jumps on Ansem many times, but Ansem teleports away while Dimentio conjures boxes around the group to cause explosions. The group manage to avoid the boxes and Donald casts Thunder on Dimentio while Peach unleashes heart orbs to attack the jester, who teleports while Ansem unleashes waves of darkness and then unleashes a tracking shadow to create a dark claw, only for Bowser to breath fire at the Heartless, who retaliates with charging at the Koopa King, dealing damage while Dimentio throws more magic orbs. Peach uses her parasol to block Dimentio's attacks and then attacks the jester with her parasol while Mario uses Tornado Jump and strikes Dimentio, who teleports and conjures another exploding box, but Sora aerial slashes at Dimentio with his Keyblade and enters Second Form and delivers stronger aerial slashes followed by Magnet Burst. Ansem conjures a barrier of lasers and charges at Sora and Mario to attack, only for Donald to cast Blizzard to stop the Heartless while Bowser delivers his spinning shell attack, only for Ansem to retaliate with conjuring dark crystal barriers while Dimentio creates illusions of himself and they fire magic shots at the group, who dodge. Donald casts Thunder to strike at the Dimentio clones and gets the real Dimentio while Mario uses Multibounce and strikes both Dimentio and Ansem, but Ansem unleashes dark discs and sends them to strike while Dimentio unleashes two giant magic shots and throws them.
The group dodge their attacks and Peach unleashes more heart orbs to attack the two villains, only for Ansem to create a suction attack while coating himself in darkness and unleashes a powerful dark explosion, causing great damage to the heroes, but Donald casts Cure and then casts Fire at the Heartless while Bowser attacks with his claws, but Dimentio creates clones of himself and the conjure more exploding boxes to try and attack the group. Mario uses Power Jump and manages to jump on the real Dimentio, dealing awesome damage, only for Ansem to create another tracking shadow at Mario to unleash a dark claw, but Sora aerial slashes at Ansem with his Keyblade followed by rapid slashes and then delivers a slamming light attack, but Dimentio conjures a giant magic orb and throws it at Sora. Donald casts Blizzard to strike at the jester while Bowser uses Bowser Bomb to strike Dimentio as well, only for Dimentio to teleport away while Ansem unleashes lasers of darkness and then unleashes waves of darkness, but Peach uses Peach Bomber at Ansem while Sora vertical slashes with his Keyblade followed by cross slashes and then casts Aero. Dimentio creates more clones and they surround the group and unleashing homing magic bolts at the group, only for Donald to cast Thunder to attack the clones and the real Dimentio himself while Mario uses Spin Jump and double jump attacks, but Ansem conjures dark lasers and dark discs, only for Bowser to breathe fire at the Heartless, who teleports. Dimentio conjures more explosive boxes while Ansem creates tracking shadows to create dark claws, only for Bowser to spin shell attack while Donald casts Fire while Peach unleashes heart orbs while Mario uses Power Bounce while Sora delivers many slashes with his Keyblade followed by unleashing light orbs and they finish off both Ansem and Dimentio.
"Im..possible...!" Ansem said, holding his chest.
"Your blows... They are like miniature jackhammers wielded by tiny angry road workers!" Dimentio said.
"How can this be? This dimension was supposed to make us more powerful!" Ansem said.
"Yeah? Well, maybe since we're also here, I guess we're just as more powerful!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Ah ha ha ha! Yes! This was simply an amusement that played as I planned! That was nothing more than an hors d'oeuvre!" Dimentio said.
"You may have triumphed here, but you still have not succeeded in your quest." Ansem said.
"The next time we meet, you'll be feasting on a deadly eight-course meal!" Dimentio said, casting a spell to return everyone back to the dotwood tree. "And with that, my friends, I must say... Ciao!" Dimentio said, disappearing.
"Just what're you up to, Ansem?" Sora asked.
"I am merely a helping hand. To assist in bringing about the darkness of destruction. Be warned, Sora, if you continue helping the foolish plumber on this vain quest, you, too, shall suffer the same fate of the worlds. You will never stop the coming darkness of prophecy!" Ansem said, disappearing in his dark corridor.
"I can't believe Ansem's here! That means more trouble!" Donald said.
"Yeah and I bet he's helping Count Bleck!" Sora said.
"Pfft! Please, they're just a bunch of lame villains!" Bowser said.
"Says the tyrant, who loses to Mario a lot." Sora said.
"SHUT UP!" Bowser shouted.
"They were very powerful, so we'd better careful around them..." Peach said and Mario nods.
"Don't worry. Donald, Goofy, and I beat Ansem before, so he won't be much of a problem." Sora said, grinning.
Meanwhile, Dimentio and Ansem are at the different part of the bitlands.
"So, what do you see in Sora, harlequin?" Ansem asked.
"I'll admit, he is indeed strong, but...judging from what you and Xemnas said, he'll need to be much stronger to defeat Count Bleck. The same goes for the other heroes with him." Dimentio said.
"Then we'll need to make sure they can face him when the time comes." A voice said, as Xemnas appears. "We will still need them in order for our plan to succeed." Xemnas said.
"Ah ha ha ha! I couldn't agree more!" Dimentio said, as he vanishes.
"Shall we?" Ansem asked, as he and Xemnas disappear in their dark corridors.
Back with the heroes.
"Well, enough standing around, let's get going to save Tippi." Donald said and they all nod.
The group start climbing up the top of the tree and they later see what looks like red wind blowing, so they get on the red wind and ride along it, taking them through the air while leaving the tree and after getting off the red wind, they see something from afar and it's what looks like a big pixelated castle.
"That castle..." Sora said.
"You don't think..." Peach stops talking.
"Only one way to find out!" Sora said, as they continue moving and reach for the castle.
The group later reach the pixelated castle and arrive at the castle entrance.
"So, this is where that tweeb Franics lives?" Bowser asked.
"Looks like it. Look at it! It's huge!" Donald said.
"Meh, Hollow Bastion was waaaaaay better." Sora said.
"Pfft! This castle's got nothin' like mine!" Bowser said.
"Please, King Mickey's castle's much better." Donald said.
"I'm really worried about Tippi..." Peach said.
"Don't worry, Princess. We'll find her." Sora said and Mario nods.
Meanwhile in Fort Francis, Francis is in his room and taking photos of Tippi, who is in a cage.
"Nerrrrr herrrr herrrrr herrrrrr! This is sooo hi-technicaaaaaaal! It's a totally undiscovered digibutterfly species! Nerrr! I MUST document it!" Francis said, taking more pcitures.
"Mario... Sora..." Tippi said.
"Yessss! Shake that thorax! The forum guys will be sooo jealous when I post these online!" Francis said.
(Fort Francis-Entrance)
Back outside, the group go for the doors, but it's locked by a strange lock.
"This lock's unusual..." Donald said.
"I don't think my Keyblade'll unlock this." Sora said.
Mario flips 3-D and finds a pipe, so the group go for the pipe and go down underground and they find a chest, revealing to what looks like a keycard.
"That might help unlock that door." Peach said and Mraio nods.
The group head back for the entrance and Mario uses the keycard to unlock the door.
"It worked!" Bowser said.
"Now, let's go in!" Sora said, as they go into the castle.
(Field Theme: Fort Francis)
(Fort Francis-Foyer)
The group are now in the castle of Francis and while exploring, they find a pipe and use it to take them to a different area.
(Fort Francis-Dungeon)
The group arrive at what looks like the dungeon of the castle, where they come across catbots, but they fight off the catbots and keep going through the dungeon and they later find a giant cage and in the cage is Goofy.
"Fellers!" Goofy said.
"Goofy?!" Sora and Donald asked.
"You ARE here!" Peach said.
"Am I glad to see y'all! I was worried ya wouldn't find me!" Goofy said.
"But how'd you end up here?" Sora asked.
"The last thing I remember was that Donald, Luigi, and I tried to save Peach from that bad ol' Count Bleck, but then that explosion occured and next thing I knew, I ended up here, but then those catbot things came and threw me in here." Goofy explained.
"Well, ya won't have to be in here for long." Sora said, looking around and finds a giant switch.
"Mario!" Peach said and Mario nods while using Thudley to hit the switch, opening the bars, freeing Goofy.
"Thanks, fellers! I'm glad to be back!" Goofy said, but Donald whacks the knight captain's leg with his staff. "Owww! That hurt!" Goofy said.
"Don't EVER make me worry again!" Donald yelled, jumping up and down.
(Goofy has joined you!)
"Um, hello?" A voice said.
"Huh?" Sora asked and they see what looks like a Pixl looking like a lift.
"You guys're friends with that guy, right? He's friendly! You seem friendly too, since you freed him! If he's coming, I wanna come too." The Pixl said.
"Sure. Any friend of Goofy's is a friend of mine." Sora said and Mario nods.
"First, lemme ask you something. What do you think of Francis?" The Pixl asked.
"Well, he's a nerdy butterfly fanatic and also a tech geek." Sora said and Mario nods.
"I feel the same way. We've got great harmony. I'm SOOOOO coming with you!" The Pixl said.
"Welcome aboard, Carrie!" Goofy said, as Carrie goes for Mario.
"Great, we found your stupid dog knight! Can we move on now?" Bowser asked.
"Right, we still gotta find Tippi." Donald said and Mario nods.
"Let's go and find your new friend!" Goofy said.
The group leave the dungeon and return to the castle foyer to find Francis and they later find a giant cat like door with two more strange locks.
"That door must mean something." Sora said.
"Francis oughta be in there." Goofy said.
Mario looks through the door and sees Francis taking photos of Tippi.
"So Tippi IS here!" Peach said.
"We gotta save her!" Sora said and they nod.
"But we gotta more keycards first." Donald said.
The group start moving through the castle while dealing with giant gaurd catbots and they find hanging doors so Mario uses Thudley to bring the doors down and use one of the doors to take them to a different room with spikes on the floor, so they use Crarie to get through and head for the next room, where they find what looks like a catbot maid.
"Halt! Only Master Francis is allowed inside! Confirm your identity. You must confirm what's 'true' or 'false'." The catbot maid said.
"Fine by me." Sora said.
"'Starship X-Naut' comics are never to be removed from their plastic sleeves." The catbot maid said.
"True." Sora said.
"Role-playing games should be no less than 180 hours long, not counting side quests!" The catbot maid said.
"True." Sora said.
"Fanny packs are both practical and stylish!" The catbot maid said.
"Er... True." Sora said.
"Now, enter passcode." The catbot maid said.
"2323." Sora said.
"Welcome home, Master!" The catbot said, as a lift appears.
"C'mon." Donald said, as they go for the lift.
The lift takes the group to an upper room with posters of Bow, Punis, Goombella, and warrior characters and Mario finds a keycard.
"One keycard down." Bowser said.
"Let's find the other." Goofy said.
The group make their way back to the foyer and head for the next door, taking them a different part of the castle, which is outside with a bridge and cross it while fighting off more catbots in their way and head for the next room, where they find another catbot maid.
"Halt! Only Master is allowed inside. Confirm your identity. Answer with either 'true' or 'false'." The catbot maid said.
"Again...?" Donald asked.
"Video game soundtracks are hi-technicaaaaaaaaaaal!" The catbot maid said.
"True..." Sora said.
"Episode 127 of 'The Grodus Chronicles' is pretty much the schweeeetest thing ever." The catbot maid said.
"True." Sora said.
"One day, I will own all of the 'Starship X-Naut' Series 3 collectable action figures." The catbot maid said.
"Er, true..." Sora said.
"Now enter passcode." The catbot maid said.
"2828." Sora said.
"Welcome home, Master!" The catbot maid said, as the lift appears.
The group go up the lift, which takes them to a different room with many dolls of mouse kings, duck mages, dog knights, anime like teens wielding weapons such as key weapons and gem weapons, Yoshis, mushrooms, Toads, and demonic like creatures and they find another keycard.
"That's two of 'em." Sora said.
"Let's go find Francis and teach him a lesson about stealing our friend." Donald said.
The group make their way back to the giant cat doors and Sora and Mario use the keycards to unlock the doors.
"Meeeeeeeoooooow! Keycards confirmed! Wait, you are not Master Francis! Only Master Francis and 'totally hot babes' are allowed to enter!" The cat door said.
"Wait! I'm a...totally hot babe..." Peach said.
"Meeeeeooooow! So, you are! Very well, you may enter, but you must prove you're worthy of Master Francis." The cat door said.
"Don't even..." Bowser was cut off.
"Please answer with 'true' or 'false'." The cat door said.
"NOOOOOOOO!" Sora, Donald, and Bowser shouted.
"Video games and hot babes are hi-technicaaaaal!" The cat doors said.
"True..." Peach said.
"If it's limited edition, buy it!" The cat doors said.
"True..." Peach said.
"I have bought games that I've never played." The cat doors said.
"True." Peach said.
"If it's got fietce giant robot on giant robot combat, it's an insta-buy!" The cat doors said.
"True." Peach said.
"They're NOT dolls! They're ACTION FIGURES, WITH REAL FIRE-PUNCHING ACTION." The cat doors said.
"True." Peach said.
"I have dumped a friend over an arguement about 'Starship X-Naut' propulsion techology." The cat doors said.
"True..." Peach said.
"A schweeet cover illustration is way more important than the story line." The cat doors said.
"True." Peach said.
"Never pull the top copy from a pile of comics! Find the mint-condition one!" The cat doors said.
"True..." Peach said.
"My first love was an anime character!" The cat doors said.
"True..." Peach said.
"I love going on message boards and complaining about games I've never played!" The cat doors said.
"True." Peach said.
"MRRRRRROOOOOW!" The cat doors said, opening.
"Finally." Donald said.
"If anything goes wrong, we got your back." Sora said.
"Thank you. I'll get Tippi back." Peach said, going through the doors and enters Francis' room.
Peach enters Francis' room and finds Francis.
"Nerrrr! Who are YOU?! H-Hey! What are you doing sneaking into my room, huh? Haven't you heard of privacy?" Francis asked.
"There you are, Francis! I've been looking all over for you!" Peach said.
"For...ME?" Francis asked.
"Huh?" Peach asked.
"O-O-O-Oh, my gosh...! It's...a HOT BABE! HOT BABE IN ROOM! I can't...believe it...! A REAL girl in MY room! This is hi-technicaaaaaaaaal! Must...calm down...! G-Getting sweaty! Can't talk to girls... Must get my laptop!" Francis said, taking out a laptop. "Booting up ! Activating Nerr2Babe interface mod with real-time wooing!" Francis said, activating his laptop.
(Theme: Swoon. exe)
Peach and Francis are now in what looks like a computer screen.
"Welcome to my castle! How do you do?" Francis asked.
"What's going on here? What is this?" Peach asked.
"Nerrrr... I boot this baby up whenever it's time to talk to the ladies... Time for the program to work its magic! Now, where to start?" Francis asked while selecting an option and chooses talking. "What is your name?" Francis asked.
"M-My name...?" Peach asked.
Oh, me? I'm Peach.
Tell me your name first!
You can call me...annoyed!
"Oh, me? I'm Peach." Peach said.
"Peach? Well, that name is just peachy! I'm drooling at the sound of it! Now, what next?" Francis asked and chooses looking. "You're cute, like a princess straight out of an anime or video game. You can feisty, but I must say it adds to your charm." Francis said.
"You think I'm...charming?" Peach asked.
Am I really cute? Tee hee!
You're making me blush!
I'll show you feisty!
"You're quite the sweet talker, Francis." Peach said.
"Awww, thank you." Francis said.
"Do you say that to other girls?" Peach asked.
"Oh, not at all. You're actually the first. Okay, now what?" Francis asked, looking through his inventory and decides to give an item, which is a Pink Princess signed poster. "As a token of my affection, I'd like to give you a gift." Francis said.
"Oh, um..." Peach said.
Thank you, Francis!
I appreciate the thought...
This junk won't win me over!
"Thank you, it's really nice." Peach said.
"You really like it? I knew a hottie like you would love it! I got this baby at a totally hi-techincal 'Pink Princess' anime event. I was going to get a CD, but I freaked when I saw this super-rare poster! The vooice actor for the princess AND the director signed it, as you can see. The director changed after season three, so it's rare. The logo was even done in extra-premium gold holographic foil! The paper is even UV resistant! You won't have to worry about it fading!" Francis said.
"That's...great..." Peach said. "What is he even talking about...?" Peach asked in her mind.
"Let me just take it back for a few more minutes." Francis said, taking the poster back. "Now what should be next?" Francis asked and decides the future. "You know, we're perfect for each other. It's destiny! We should get married!" Francis said.
"M-Married...?" Peach asked
If you would have me...
Let's think this over...
How much do you make?
"Um, that's a nice thought, but don't you think we should think this over first...?" Peach asked, but realizes. "Hey! Who's picking these responses for me?! I'm not marrying this dork! I shouldn't even be having this conversation! I'm here for Tippi! Where is she?!" Peach demanded.
"Tippi...? Tippi? There's no Tippi command here..." Francis said.
"That's IT! Bring her out NOW!" Peach yelled using Boomer to destroy the Swoon. exe.
"NOOOOOOOO! MY GRAPHICS CARD!" Francis cried.
Peach and Francis are no long in the Swoon. exe.
"Peach!" Sora called, as he, Mario, Donald, Goofy, and Bowser enter.
"Are you okay? We heard an explosion." Goofy said.
"Nerrrr! That was the only known copy of the Nerr2Babe patch and it's gone forever! Real babes are scary..." Francis said.
"What a wimp...!" Bowser said.
"Mario! Sora!" Tippi said.
"Tip! You're okay!" Sora said, grinning.
"We were so worried!" Peach said.
"You came to save...me?" Tippi asked.
"So, all this time, you raided my fort to steal Francine? No! I won't let you!" Francis said.
"Francine?" Donald asked, crossing his arms.
"Yes, I came up with that name on my own! It's schweeet. At first, I thought it was weird that you could talk and everything, but the forum reaction convinced me you were hi-technicaaaaal! You're my only...real offline friend...!" Francis said.
"Look, Francis, you can have more offline friends. You just gotta learn how to do that and work more on your self-esteem." Sora said.
"Silence! No one will take Francine from me! NO ONE!" Francis said, lowering the cage and then turns invisible.
"We don't hafta do this." Goofy said.
(Boss Theme: Vs. Francis)
"Nerrr herrr herr! You can't see me because my invisibility powers are hi-technicaaal! Feel the wrath of the jilted X-Naut in the season finale of 'The Grodus Chronicles'!" Francis said.
"ENOUGH WITH THE REFERENCES!" Donald shouted.
The group wait for Francis to become visibile and takes out his laptop to summon catbots to attack, but Sora casts Thunder on the catbots and Francis himself while Mario uses Power Jump and delivers powerful jumping damage, but Francis turns invisible again and moves around the room turns visible again to summon more catbots, only for Peach to attack Francis with her parasol while Donald casts Fire to get the chameleon, who turns invisible again. As the group follow Francis and wait for him to turn visible, Francis appears and takes out a camera to take a snapshot to blind the group, but Goofy uses Goofy Discus to throw his shield wuickly to attack Francis, allowing Bowser to breathe fire at the chameleon, who turns invisible again. Francis moves around while still invisible and then becomes visible and uses his tongue to grab Sora to swallow him, only for Mario to use Tornado Jump while Donald casts Aero while Bowser attacks with his claws, but Francis disappears again and moves and then uses his camera to try and blind the group, only for Goofy to use Goofy Turbo and strikes the chameleon while Peach uses Peach Bomber. Francis turns invisible again and moves before appearing again and summons more catbots to attack, only for Bowser to breathe fire at the catbots, allowing Sora to deliver slashes at Francis with his Keyblade followed by Blitz, but Francis disappears and then reappears and tries to use his tongue again, only for Goofy to use Goofy Tornado while Peach unleashes heart orbs to attack. Francis turns invisible and moves around before turning visible again and tries to use his camera to try and blind them, only for Bowser to deliver his spinning shell attack while Donald casts Blizzard while Peach attacks with her parasol while Goofy uses Goofy Discus while Mario uses Spin Jump while Sora attacks with his Keyblade and they finish off Francis, who falls.
"Had enough?" Sora asked.
"You're not so 'hi-techincal' now, are ya?" Bowser asked.
"Nerrr! MERCY!" Francis cried, running away.
"Gawrsh, I kinda feel bad for him." Goofy said.
"Yeah, me too. Hopefully, he'll learn to make real friends, who understand him." Sora said.
Just then, Tippi's cage rises and the group go for her and Sora destroys the cage.
(Theme: Soft Light)
"Mario... Sora... You came all this way to save me..." Tippi said.
"Of course, Tip! You're our friend!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Th-Thank you...! Thank you all so much...!" Tippi said, starting to cry and just then a bright light occurs.
"Whoa!" Goofy said, shielding his eyes.
"What's goin' on?" Bowser asked.
After the light vanishes, a green Pure Heart appears from Tippi.
"A...Pure Heart?!" Peach asked shocked.
"But how?" Donald asked.
"How is this possible...?" Tippi asked.
"Maybe Tippi's heart bursted with happiness and released it." Goofy suggested.
"I guess." Sora said.
"Mario... Sora... I'm so happy you came all this way for me. Please, take it." Tippi said.
"Don't have to tell us twice!" Sora said, as he and Mario take the fourth Pure Heart.
END OF CHAPTER!
"The fourth Pure Heart appeared in a dazzling flash of mysterious light. What made it appear? The group was puzzled by this and many other riddles. What's more is Tippi seems to be very different than before. She started to change. Mario, Sora, and their friends began to head back to Flipside, but a thought reached Sora's mind; what was Ansem doin' in the same realm? What could he be up to? There's no tellin' what the New Organization is planning with them involved." Jiminy wrote in his journal.
(Theme: Count Bleck's Evil Plan)
Meanwhile in Count Bleck's castle, Count Bleck is having his meeting with his minions and Ansem and Xemnas are with them.
"...And that is how those ruffians managed to best me and Ansem." Dimentio said.
"They are strong, to be sure. Quite strong, but not vast enough to stand against the darkness." Ansem said.
"Dare I ask, do you think they'll be able to defy the prophecy?" Dimentio asked.
"Spare Count Bleck your theatrics. The Light Prognosticus is false. Ansem and Xemnas. You both have proven your loyalty to Count Bleck! I shall trust your assistance to dispatch this fool, Sora!" Count Bleck said.
"It is an honor, Count." Xemnas said, bowing.
"We shall not disappoint." Ansem said.
"Ah ha ha ha! You are right to have them at our disposal! They are quite powerful! Their Heartless and Nobodies provide great service!" Dimentio said.
"Yes, indeed. Nastasia, it's time to send 'him' on the pests." Count Bleck said.
"Yeah, I can take care of that, Count." Nastasia said.
"Now, return to your post, minions!" Count Bleck commanded.
"As you command! HAIL BLECK!" O' Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio said, as they leave.
"We shall depart as well." Xemnas said, as he and Ansem disappear in their dark corridors.
"Um..." Nastasia said.
"Is something troubling you, Nastasia?" Count Bleck asked.
"Yeah, Count... You know there's still time... You can change your mind..." Nastasia said.
"That is enough, Nastasia. We've already come this far, so we forge on. You needn't stay by Count Bleck's side. You may depart with my blessing." Count Bleck said.
"Um, no! I won't be doing that. My life is sworn to you. It belonged to you the day you saved me. I'll be sticking with you until my game ends." Nastasia said.
"If that pleases you." Count Bleck said, leaving and Nastasia also leaves.
"My my my! VERY interesting! The Count and Nastasia have such DEEP conversations." Dimentio said, as he, Ansem, and Xemnas appear.
"Just what is that foolish count playing at?" Ansem asked.
"Ah, let him worry about that. I have my own projects to attend to." Dimentio said.
"Very well, as do we." Xemnas said and just then, another dark corridor appears, revealing Young Xehanort.
"I think it will be your turn to confront Sora." Anem said.
"Very well. I'll remind him of his futility on his nonsense. Keep your further eyes on the Count. We'll still need him until we're done with him." Young Xehanort said, disappearing in his dark corridor.
"Ah ha ha ha ha! You have quite an organization! Maybe once we're finished here, we'll have LOADS of fun in the Realm of Light itself!" Dimentio said.
"We will see, harlequin." Ansem said, as they vanish.
(Theme: Memory 3)
"Timpani, why? Why do you avoid me?" Blumiere asked.
"Ow... Ow! Unhand me!" Timpani yelled.
"You're crying! Why? Timpani, you must tell me what has happened!" Blumiere said.
"It's nothing... Don't worry about it... Just forget it..." Timpani said.
"Timpani, is my father behind this?" Blumiere asked.
"I'm just an ordinary girl. No matter how much I love you, we must part..." Timpani said.
"Timpani, I..." Blumiere stops talking.
"This is goodbye, Blumiere... There's no choice. This is fate." Timpani said.
Sora, Mario, Donald, Peach, Goofy, and Bowser return to Flipside.
"That was a little weird for a while, but everything worked out okay." Peach said.
"You can say that again." Donald said.
"I'm sorry. It was all my fault." Tippi said.
"Don't say that! What matters is you're safe, Tip!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"Thank you... All of you..." Tippi said.
"Pfft! Wanna know how to thank me, bug face? Stay outta my way!" Bowser said, but Donald casts Thunder, striking the Koopa King.
"You're gonna be nice to Tippi if you're gonna remain with us!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"You know I will! It's nice to finally meet ya, Tippi!" Goofy said.
"Hmm..." Peach said.
"What's up?" Sora asked.
"Do you suppose Bowser and Goofy are our fifth and sixth heroes?" Peach asked.
"Goofy, yes! Bowser, no way, but he's helping now, so whatever." Sora said.
"Ho there!" A voice said and they see Merlon. "I have been waiting for you, heroes! Did you succeed in finding the next Pure Heart?" Merlon asked.
"Yep!" Sora said and Mario nods.
"The thing is, when we saved Tippi from Fort Francis, a Pure Heart appeared outta nowhere." Donald said.
"I see. Intriguing... I do believe that fort you mentioned might have been a dwelling of the Ancients I told you earlier. It seems my ancestors have roamed far and wide in their dimensional travels. 'In the castle beyond the great sea, we hid a Pure Heart and sealed it safely...' Yes, I remember reading such a passage in the Light Prognosticus. The seal might have been broken by a powerful pulse of love and trust." Merlon said.
"So, you're saying it was because Tippi began to trust us that we found this Pure Heart?" Peach asked.
"Sounds amazing." Sora said.
"Oh ho! I see we have SIX heroes now! I know not who the last one is, but don't waste time searching, friends." Merlon said.
"Hey, with me around, you won't need anyone else! Whatever problem comes up, I'll Bowserize it!" Bowser said.
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, this is an actual friend of ours. This is Goofy." Sora introduced.
"Howdy there!" Goofy said, waving.
"Oh ho! Well met, Mr. Bowser and Mr. Goofy! May your strength protect the grou..." Merlon was cut off, as the Void is growing.
"Wak! The Void!" Donald said.
"It's getting bigger...!" Peach said.
"Time is short!" Merlon said.
"C'mon, let's find that next Heart Pillar!" Sora said and they nod.
"Good luck to you all. I have matters to attend to as well. I must search for an item that can help with the Prognosticus." Merlon said, leaving.
The group go through Flipside to find the next Heart Pillar and head for the outskirts and they find the next Heart Pillar and Mario places the green Pure Heart onto the pillar, making a green door appear.
"Great. It worked." Donald said.
"Guess we'd better head back for that there door." Goofy said and Mario nods.
The group head back for the tower and head for the green door.
"Ready, guys?" Sora asked and they nod.
"Let's go!" Tippi said, as they open the green door and head for the next world.
And that's Chapter 3 for Darkness of Destruction! Hope you enjoyed the third chapter, hope this was worth the wait, and hope you'll look forward to what's gonna happen next! Let me say I'm SUPER sorry for not posting after Febuary, cause I was really busy with irl stuff and was also focusing on Two Chosen Heroes and wanted to finish that story, but I hope this chapter was somehow worth the wait. I'm gonna try and keep working on the action for this story and try to do what's natural and also fun to read as well. Will Sora, Mario, Donald, Peach, Goofy, and Bowser find the fifth Pure Heart? Who will they encounter along the way? Will they be able to find the final hero in the next world? See ya guys in the next chapter, where we head for Chapter 4! Bye for now!
