DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of the Disney/Square Enix characters that appear in this work. Please support the original releases.


Chapter 19: Maroon Studios


Ralph hesitated in at the terminal. Up ahead of him, Felix turned around from the gateway that led back to Game Central Station. Vanellope put a hand on Ralph's arm and the big man started.

"Sorry," she grinned, "you okay?"

Ralph shrugged. "Fine."

"The arcade is going to open soon," Felix called. "We'd better hurry up!"

"I know." Ralph sighed. "I just worry about things going back to the way they were."

Felix crossed his arms. "Now Ralph, that's twice you've gone out of your way to help others. If the nicelanders don't start showing you some due respect, then..."

Felix's face reddened, his facial muscles twitching.

Ralph took a step back. "Whoa! Calm down, buddy."

"Oh no, watch out," Vanellope said in a bored tone, "he's gonna blow."

"It's just, now pardon my potty mouth, such gobbledegook! If the nicelanders don't treat you well then I will stop talking to them."

Ralph let out a small chuckle.

"You really are a good guy, Felix."

"So are you, Ralph," Sora said.

"Yup! A hero looks out for their friends," Goofy added.

Ralph turned faced the trio. "You know, even if I'm the bad guy in my game, it's great to know that my real friends see me for who I am and not what I do."

Felix, Ralph, Vanellope, Sora, Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement, falling into a comfortable silence as all six of their faces melted into the dorkiest of smiles.

At the tram, Calhoun groaned, despite the fact that the corners her lips curved upward.

"Oh brother. Hey, ladies, when you're done with the mushy stuff, can we head back to our games before the arcade realizes what's up?"

Vanellope gave Ralph a hug.

Before he boarded the tram, Ralph waved at the trio. "You guys, I don't know what game you're from, or what you do there, but you are true heroes in my book."

Sora scratched the back of his head.

Goofy blushed. "Gee."

Donald put his hands on his hips. "Now if only Phil agreed with that."

Calhoun saluted. "Hey rookies, don't be strangers!"

The trio stood straight, with their hands at their sides. "Yes, ma'am!"

After Felix, Ralph and Calhoun vanished into the tunnel Vanellope let Sora, Donald and Goofy escort her back to the race track.

"Thanks again for helping to rebuild the game," Vanellope said.

"No problem." Sora winked. "Though it was Felix's hammer that did most of the work."

Goofy pretended to hammer a nail. "Gee, I wish I had a magic hammer that can fix anything. Then I wouldn't have to always fix all the dents in Max's armor."

Donald rolled his eyes. "You spoil him too much."

"Well anyway," Vanellope began, "I owe you guys big time for saving my game and helping me get Ralph back to his senses. Next time you come around, candy feast on me."

"Forget that." Sora held out his hands as though he were holding an imaginary steering wheel. "I want a race. Hey Donald, is there any chance we can get the gummi ship to-"

And with that, both Donald and Goofy covered Sora's mouth. "That's a secret!"

Vanellope raised an eyebrow. "You guys are weird, but cool, in a dorky way. All right, you got yourself a race. But I'm warning ya: you're so going to lose."

Sora never got the chance to retort. By the time he wrestled Donald and Goofy off him, Vanellope was already gone. He also never got the chance to pin Donald and Goofy with an annoyed glare. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a trail of black smoke moving under the giant popcorn box by the race track.

Sora made a mad dash toward the box, ducked under its white and red stripped cardboard, and froze.

Hades was there, standing in front of the door that led back to Castle Oblivion. Donald and Goofy caught up and brandished their weapons.

Hades looked at his sharp nails. "Oh, look at that. You guys, found me. What do ya want, a gold star?"

"You sure are confident after your plan failed." Sora crossed his arms.

"And what plan might that be, squirt?"

"To cause all that mayhem," Goofy said.

"To get rid of us," Donald added.

"You three olives-for-brains couldn't possibly know, could you?"

"Then why don't you tell us?" Sora summoned his keyblade, aiming it at Hades' head. "Are you working for Dr. Facilier too? Why are you here?"

"The only person I work for is myself."

"Yeah, sure. I bet you came here for revenge like Cruella did."

"Nope. In fact," Hades opened the door that led back to Castle Oblivion, "the only thing I was supposed to do, was distract you."

He jumped through the door.

"Wait!"

Sora, Donald and Goofy were blinded by white light as they moved through the dimensions. When they crashed into the foyer of Castle Oblivion, it wasn't Hades standing in front of them. It was Dr. Facilier.

"Now wasn't that a fun world," he sang.

Just as the trio regained their feet, the doctor had teleported to stand in front of the dimensional door. Hades lay in the air next to the door, his expression sleepy, his hand holding up his head.

"Well, Shadow Man, I did my part, even roughed them up for ya. Now, about my reward."

Dr. Facilier tapped the castle door with his cane. "Of course. I am a man of my word."

Hades flipped, landing back on his feet. Dr. Facilier dropped something smokey and red in Hades' hand. The castle door swung open and Hades looked in.

"Well, well, you actually can control it." He waved at the trio. "Hey squirts. I really should thank you, but I have a hostile takeover to get to. See ya never, zeroes."

Sora dashed forward, but was blocked by Dr. Facilier's shadow. Its skinny leg whipped him across the face, throwing him back into the waiting arms of Donald and Goofy. At the top of the stairs, Dr. Facilier wagged his finger.

"Now be a good boy and see your elders off politely, won't you?"

"I can't say it's been pleasant, doc," Hades walked into the door, "but for icing on my cake, I would really enjoy if you toasted those three for good."

The door closed behind Hades.

Dr. Facilier twirled his cane and slammed it against the door one more time.

"What's going on?" Sora growled. "What did you give Hades? Just what do you want?"

Dr. Facilier put his finger to his lips. "Now don't spoil the suspense young, man. Just play along," his voice lowered, "and enjoy the show."

Something blocked the light from overhead, and Sora made the mistake of looking up just in time to see Dr. Facilier's shadow looming over them. The shadow swept up the air behind the trio and they were blasted across the room straight through the door Dr. Facilier was so nicely holding open for them.


The stench of melted, rotting, meatloaf surprise made Sora want to barf. He pulled his head out of the trashcan, only to have his feet slip on the wet floor. His back slammed into the wall of an alley. Sora waited for the stars to stop shining in front of his eyes before he shook off the banana peel and the cheesy napkins from his hair.

"Gross! First Hades, now, Dr. Facilier. I'm getting real tired of being thrown around like last week's garbage."

"Sora, I could use a hand."

Looking up, Sora spotted Goofy's head stuck in the ladder of a fire escape. Donald, on the other hand, was hanging, upside down, by his flipper, on bottom handle of the ladder. Now normally, Sora would waste no time in helping his friends out of their predicament, but at that moment, all he could do was stare with his mouth hanging open.

"What happened to you two? Why do you guys look like moving drawings?"

Donald flapped his arms, trying to keep himself from swaying too far and letting his webbed foot slip from the ladder. "Stop gawking and help us already!"

The second he reached to help Donald out, Sora pulled his arms back and screamed.

"What's going on? Why are my arms so flat?"

"SORA! Figure it out later!"

Donald's foot slipped from the metal stair. He fell, wriggling and screaming until Sora caught him right before he could hit the ground. Putting the duck down, Sora climbed the fire escape to move the ladder so Goofy could free his head. With his friends out of harm's way, Sora inspected his hands.

Everything, from the tips of fingers to his shoes, was completely flat, as though he had been smoothed over by a clothing iron. He flexed his fingers and was amazed that the movement felt completely normal, and not like he were folding a piece of paper.

Brushing aside the dust on one of the old windows in the alley, Sora marveled at his reflection. His entire body looked like a drawing, and he was ridiculously colorful. Compared the dingy, grey, dark browns and faded reds of the alley, Sora, Donald and Goofy looked like a rainbow that had crash landed on earth.

"What's wrong, Sora," asked Goofy.

Unable to keep it in any longer, Sora whirled around and poked Donald's bill.

The duck took a step back, covering his mouth. "What did you do that for?"

"You guys aren't freaking out? Why do we look like comic book characters that have come to life?"

Goofy shrugged. "Ya know, I can't explain it but something about this feels very, um..."

"Familiar?" Donald finished.

"Yeah, that's it."

Sora turned toward the door that led to back to Castle Oblivion. He tried to pull it open, but once again the door did not respond, even when he summoned his keyblade and tried to force it open. Sora looked at his weapon. It too, looked like a drawing. But everything else around them was three dimensional, from the trash, to the buildings, to the fedora wearing man that was stomping into the alleyway.

A flashlight shined right into Sora's eyes.

"Hey! What are you toons doing out here the middle of the night?"

"Toons?" Sora snapped his fingers. "Oh, like cartoons! That's what we are!"

"Why are you on Maroon's property?" The man clicked his teeth. "Dang toons. Pretty stupid to be here after what happened."

"And just who are you?"

"Eddie Valiant. Private detective. And you three-"

The most annoying of screams, more irritating then a crying baby on a crowded thirteen hour flight, echoed from the street at the end of the alley. Sora covered his ears, staring wide-eyed into the mouth of the alley where a white, cartoon rabbit in red overalls came scrambling in. He jumped onto the private detective's chest.

"Eddie! Oh thank goodness," the rabbit lisped. "Don't leave me behind! I'm begging ya for your help!"

Eddie Valiant grabbed the rabbit's blue, yellow polka-dotted, bow tie. He held the flailing rabbit out at arm's length. "Did you follow me all the way from my apartment? I already told you, I don't work for toons!"

"P-p-pwease Eddie, you've got to help me! If you don't, I'll get turned into, into-"

"Spit it out, rabbit, before I throw you into the trash."

Speaking of trash, the garbage bags in the alley shivered and rolled even though there wasn't any wind. Sora felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Clawed, inky, black hands ripped out of the black plastic. Then the bags burst, and the rubbish splattered against the alley walls and floor. The fresh stink of garbage brought a dozen cartoon-weasel, emblem heartless with it. They crawled toward Valiant.

The rabbit pointed. "Those, Eddie! I'll get turned into one of those!"

He wrapped his arms and legs around Valiant's face and neck. The detective growled as he tried to pry the rabbit off. "Get off me, Roger!"

The heartless reached out with its golden claws and slashed at the rabbit's tail.

Sora shoved his way passed Valiant and smashed his keyblade on the head of the toon weasel heartless. The heartless' head flattened into the ground. Then it stood back up straight and its head re-inflated as though nothing had just happened. Donald threw a lightning spell at the weasels, and they twitched as the electricity zinged through the bodies. Yet, once the lightning had run out, the heartless advanced as though they had only felt a minor static shock. Goofy charged into one of the heartless, but both him and his shield bounced off as though the heartless were made out of rubber.

"What's going on? Why can't we hurt them?"

Sora slashed at a heartless, but instead of injuring it, he watched in total confusion as the heartless' head vibrated back and forth as though it were on a metal spring. Then the heartless bounced back into its regular shape and began slashing at Sora with its claws, leaving him no choice but to defend.

"The keyblade is not working!"

Eddie Valiant had finally succeeded in prying the rabbit off him.

Held up in midair, the rabbit whimpered and covered his eyes. "What do we do, Eddie? We're trapped!"

With his jaw tight, Valiant looked at the heartless, closed his eyes, and took an tense, deep breath. "Hey Roger, why don't you use your head for once?"

Valiant grabbed the rabbit by the scruff of his neck and tail.

"Oh no! Don't tell me you're going ta do what I think you're going ta do?"

Valient sprinted out of the alley, using the Roger's head like a battering ram as he crashed through the heartless, knocking them up in the air. Sora, Donald and Goofy took their chance. They raced out of the alley and into an abandoned movie studio parking lot.

Valiant booked it to a nearby car and jumped into the driver's seat. The tires screeched as the car swerved around to a stop in front of Sora, Donald and Goofy, and Roger.

"Get in!"

Sora and the others barely had seconds to hop into the car before Valiant crushed the accelerator under his foot. They lurched out of the parking lot so fast that Donald and Goofy slammed into the car's rear window. Meanwhile, Sora and Roger literally bumped heads every time the car swerved. Finally, Valiant slammed the breaks, making Donald and Goofy crash into Sora and Roger, leaving all four of them in a tangled mess of arms and legs.

In the front seat, Valiant panted, leaning against the steering wheel. "What kind of toons were those?" He opened the car door and stumbled out, leaning forward, hands on his knees. "Crazy, I can understand. But downright violent? I haven't seen a toon like that since-"

Valiant stopped for a moment and looked around the street, his back tight. Then his eyes locked onto the confused ball of toons that were staring at him from the backseat window of his car.

"Get out of my car, morons."

Roger, somehow, was able to detangle himself from the trio, roll down the window, and flop out of the car. Pressing his palms together, he knelt in front of Valiant.

"You gotta help me Eddie. Judge Doom is out to get me."

"Gee, I wonder why."

"I didn't do anything to make Acme or Maroon disappear. I swear!"

"Yeah, but you were the one that had the most motive." Valiant pointed to Roger's hands. "And your yellow glove paint was found at the scene where Acme disappeared, not to mention Maroon's office. I've had enough of this."

He stomped toward the fire station across the street.

Roger ran after him.

By this time, Sora, Donald and Goofy had finally managed to get out of the car. Before Valiant could walk through the door next to the fire-station, Sora stepped in his path.

"Hold on! Can you explain what's going on? Who's Acme? Who's Maroon? Why is, uh, Roger a suspect?"

"I ain't got time to explain to you, kid."

"But he's been begging for your help all night. And if it weren't for his head, we would still be fighting those heartless toons back there. You owe us an explanation, at least."

Eddie Valiant's eyes narrowed. "Heartless? Yeah, that sounds about right."

Roger's long ears flopped down behind his head. "You can't really think of all toons like that, can you, Eddie?"

"That's low," Sora glowered, "what did toons ever do to you?"

The sudden rush of red in Valiant's cheeks, the winkling on his forehead, and vein pulsing in his thick neck, made Sora realize that he had breached a touchy subject. Valiant squeezed between Sora and Roger and walked into the door next to the fire station. Roger and the trio chased after him. After going up a set of stairs, they found themselves in a saloon. The patrons, firefighters and mechanics, stood around wooden tables exchanging stories over cold brews. A train roared by, shaking the entire bar. The waitress behind the counter had to press some glass bottles against the back wall to keep them from flying off and shattering.

Valiant made his way over the counter and sat down. The waitress placed a glass in front of him.

"Water? Come on, Dolores, I need more of a pick me up then that after the night I've had."

"I'm cutting you off, Eddie," said Dolores. "You're not getting anything until you've paid me back all the money you owe me. Besides," Dolores nodded her head in the direction of Roger, Sora, Donald and Goofy, "looks like you've got company."

Valiant turned around with a sigh.

"Aw come on."

Roger bumped a table as he moved toward the counter, causing a bottle to fall off. It rolled under Roger's foot. He tripped and skidded over the floor, heels over his head twice before he landed in a heap at Valiant's feet. Little birds chirped around Roger's head. The men in the bar pointed and laughed.

"Thank you, thank you," Roger saluted from his position on the floor. "I'll be here all week."

Goofy reached down, grabbed Roger's shoulders and pulled him up to his feet.

"Gee, that didn't hurt, Roger?"

"Not at all, nothing really hurts if it's for comedy."

"Are you sure?" Sora looked down. "Your face just sandpapered the floor."

"Naw, I'm fine. We're toons remember? We take damage all the time. See?"

He grabbed a plate from the counter and smashed it on his head. The broken porcelain gathered around his feet.

Roger picked up another plate.

Smash.

"I got a lot on my plate, but no pain."

The bar patrons slapped their knees, roaring happily.

Dolores let out an angry cry. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, s-s-sorry."

Before Dolores could scold Roger, the sound of screeching tires silenced the bar. Donald and Goofy went down the stairs to investigate.

"It's some tall guy in black clothes," Donald announced.

"He seems mighty annoyed." Goofy added, "Why is he wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night?"

Roger screamed and jumped into Valiant's arms. "Hide me, Eddie, p-p-please! It's Judge Doom! He hates toons!"

"You moron, if he sees me with you-"

Dolores grabbed Roger and Valiant's wrists. "Quickly, this way."

She led them through a hidden door behind the counter. Valiant, Roger, Sora, Donald and Goofy entered a secret room full of barrels, crates and all kinds of bottled drinks for the bar. Dolores closed the door, blocking the view of the bar and the patrons. Luckily there were two eye holes in the wall. Valiant and Sora peeked through the holes, watching the scene unfold outside.

The patrons were quiet and stiff, their eyes following a tall, slender man as he walked around the room.

Judge Doom, Sora realized.

The judge wore all black. His suit, tie, fedora, and clean shaven face made him look distinguished. Yet, Sora felt a skin-crawling itch whenever he looked at the judge's face. His eyes were barely visible behind his perfectly round, yellow glasses. He had the whitest, straightest, most perfect looking teeth Sora had ever seen, so why did he feel oddly uncomfortable whenever the judge opened his mouth to take a breathe. Even his face seemed too perfect, with barely any blemishes or discolorations, like a doll's.

The judge's voice was low and had a sense of finality to it, like an interrogator that had already decided you were guilty.

"I'm looking for a fugitive of the law."

Roger began biting his fingernails.

"Goes by the name of Roger Rabbit." He paused after each word, either because he believed everyone around him was too stupid to string the words in a sentence, or because he wanted to make each harsh syllable send warning shivers through his audience. "Of course, any information about him would be handsomely rewarded."

"Great," Valiant whispered, "They're going to sell us out."

"No way. They laughed at my pitfall earlier. They wouldn't rat us out."

"Sure they wouldn't."

"You'll see. Laughter is the thing that bonds us together. Why sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

A fireman smirked. "Yeah, I've seen a rabbit."

Valiant, Roger and the trio held their breaths.

Judge Doom leaned down toward the man. "Have you now?"

"Yeah." The fireman put out his arm as though he were holding an invisible friend next to him. "It's my old pal, the Easter Bunny. Say hi, buddy."

The bar patrons chuckled. Their mirth was silenced a second later when Doom slammed his cane down hard on a table. The wood cracked and then the table split into two pieces with a snap. The patrons stiffened.

Judge Doom walked by the counter, his arm outstretched, tipping over the plates and glass cups on the counter. Dolores cringed as the glasses shrieked and shattered. The patrons gritted their teeth.

"I've heard news of terrible events recently. People vanishing without a trace, and every time, toon paint at the sight they were last seen. Witnesses are reporting that toons attacked the good folk of this town in broad daylight. Now, I ask you, gentleman, and lady, these insane creatures have never had respect for the law, and now they are acting violently. Is it really worth protecting one suspect? After all," Doom looked at Dolores, "it isn't the first time that we've lost someone because of a toon."

In the hidden room, Eddie Valiant balled his hands into fists, his lips peeling back into a silent snarl. Sora and Donald glared at Judge Doom, while Goofy comforted a shivering Roger.

"Until that rabbit is found, the authorities will have an eye on this establishment. That is, of course, unless I get a report as to the rabbit's whereabouts." He tipped his hat. "Gentleman."

Judge Doom descended the stairs. Minutes after he was gone, the bar patrons finished their drinks, and left one by one. When Dolores was alone, she went down the stairs and locked the bar door. Only then did Valiant and the toons leave their hiding spot.

Once they were all out, Dolores handed each of them a broom, mop, or a dish towel.

As Sora swept the broken glass into a dustpan, he spoke to Donald and Goofy. "So toons can't be hurt? Like when Roger fell over earlier. So we can't do any damage to the toon heartless?"

"You can do damage," Roger said. "Toons get hurt all the time. If it makes you laugh, I'd jump off a bridge."

"Please don't. Back to the topic, you're saying nothing can actually destroy a toon, right?"

"Well, almost nothing." Roger clasped his hands. His shoulders shook and his teeth chattered. "Except the dip."

"What's the dip?"

"Only the most horrible substance known to toon kind! It's an evil poison that melts any toon that so much as touches it!"

"So it must work on the heartless too. Where do we get some of that?"

Both Roger and Eddie Valiant looked at Sora with an "are you crazy" look.

"Kid," Valiant shook his head, "that stuff can kill ya."

"Besides, only Judge Doom has it," Roger added.

"So that's why you were so afraid of him. What's his deal? Why is he so suspicious of toons?"

"Weren't you paying attention to what he said about people vanishing and toons attacking?" Valiant huffed. "Seems like every toon has gone crazy."

"That's not true Eddie," Roger said. "Toons have been disappearing from Toontown as well, but no one's talking about that in the news. And what's worse, it seems as though they've been turning into those rubber monsters."

"They're called heartless." Donald explained.

Goofy scratched his head. "I'm confused, why is this Judge Doom fella after Roger then?"

"Because the dang rabbit got jealous after his wife, Jessica, was caught playing patty-cake with Marvin Acme. The next day, both Acme, and his friend RK Maroon, who just happened to show Roger the pictures of his wife and Acme playing patty-cake, have disappeared."

"Which makes me suspect numero uno." Roger rubbed his arms. "But I would never do anything to hurt Acme and Maroon."

"So where did you go after you saw those pictures, huh?"

Roger blushed. "I figured someone must have made Jessica play patty-cake, because I know my smoochziepoo would never do anything to hurt me. I went to her dressing room to tell her how much I love and trust her but she wasn't there." He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "But I did find a nice, clean piece of paper while I was there. So I decided to write her a love letter."

Valiant rolled his eyes. "You're telling me that in a fit of jealousy, you wrote your wife a love letter?"

"That's right! I was waiting to give it to her, but then those creatures-"

"Heartless," said the trio.

"Those heartless came to attack Jessica's dressing room. I barely escaped and then I found out I was wanted for Maroon and Acme's disappearance. And worst of all, I don't know where my wonderful wife is."

Roger pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and obnoxiously blew his nose.

"So, all we need then," Goofy said, "is find a way to prove that the heartless are the reason Maroon and Acme disappeared, right?"

"Good luck with that boys," said Valiant. He dropped his dishcloth and moved toward the exit.

"Oh no you don't." Sora got in his way. "Roger came to you for help. You can't just sit here. We have to go after that Doom guy, we have to investigate the heartless."

"And we have to find Jessica! I couldn't bear it if something happened to my dear wife!"

"Didn't you hear me before, kid? I don't work for toons."

"But you're totally curious, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You said so earlier. Toons aren't usually violent. Don't you want to know what's making these toons go crazy? And why were you on Maroon's property? You want to know why he and Acme have disappeared, otherwise you wouldn't have been there. Am I wrong?"

Valiant crossed his arms. "So what if I do? What makes you think I'll work for you?"

"With. Not 'for.' Why don't we work together to get the bad guys and once we're done, you can go back to never working for, or with, toons again."

Sora caught Donald and Goofy staring at him.

"What?"

"Uh nothing." Goofy said hastily.

Donald crossed his arms, smirking. "We're just impressed you figured all that out."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Donald and Goofy shared a laugh. "Oh just that you're growing, is all," they said together.

Valiant poked Sora in the chest. "Fine, I'll work with ya. But on one condition." He pointed at Roger. "When we're done, you're going to tell all the toons in Toontown that I'm retired. You will make sure no toon ever comes to ask me for help ever again."

Roger looked sad. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Don't make me change my mind."

"Okay Eddie. I'll do it."

"Good. Our first stop should be Toontown. The last person to see Acme was Roger's wife. We're going to see if we can talk to her. Hurry up."

Valiant stomped out of the bar.

Sora winced when the front door slammed shut.

"What a sourpuss," Roger sighed, "and he used to have such a great sense of humor."

"Really?"

Roger nodded. "Valiant was a great detective that helped so many toons during their times of crisis. What could have happened to make him so mean?"

Dolores stopped running the sink and looked out into her empty bar. "Eddie lost his brother because of a toon."

Sora hung his head. "Oh. So that's what Judge Doom meant."

Dolores nodded. "This whole thing has Eddie on edge, but I'm glad you convinced him to take the case. Maybe you can help him find some closure."

And bring back his sense of humor before the darkness of grief got to him, Sora thought.


Mary made Max and Kairi face each other, positioning them just a few feet apart.

"Back straight, Max, we don't slouch."

Max stiffened. "Yes ma'am."

"Now then, before you begin instruction, I would like to see Kairi test out her skills against a close range opponent. So far she has only fought against magic, but there are many dangers out there that she may need to prepare for."

Max scratched the unruly hair on top of head. "I'm not sure I'm down for this. I mean, she doesn't even know how to use a sword. I don't want to attack someone that's defenseless."

Mary simply raised her eyebrows at Max's objection. Then, she looked at Kairi and nudged her head as if to say, "well?"

"You think I'm defenseless?"

"You don't have a weapon."

"So? I can take you on. What's the matter? Scared?"

Max's eye twitched. "Dude? Me? Scared?" He put on his helmet and unsheathed the pair of swords at his hips. "Bring it."

"Splendid." Mary sashayed out of Kairi and Max's way. She pulled out a nice, wide ottoman from her carpet bag, as well as a full cup of tea.

"Begin, please."

Max charged, his blades thrust out before him. Kairi jumped back just as he sliced through the air with his swords. She retaliated, shooting several fire spells at him. Max ducked and rolled, dodging all of Kairi's attacks. While he was distracted, Kairi jumped up onto the topiary castle, and sent a water spell crashing down on Max's head.

He reacted in the last second and narrowly avoided getting drenched. Too bad his foot slipped in the puddle. He flipped two whole rotations in the air before landing on his back. Kairi took advantage of the opening. From her vantage point, she sent a thunder spell crashing down toward the puddle.

Max wasn't fast enough to dodge that. He rolled out of the puddle but his arm was still in the water when the lightning hit. His arm zinged and tingled. He lay flat on the ground, dizzy.

"Ouch."

"Oh sorry! I didn't mean to hit you that hard." Kairi jumped down from the topiary castle. "Are you okay?"

Before she could reach him, Max flipped back onto his feet.

"Guess I should stop going easy on you."

Kairi fumed. "What? Going easy on me? May I remind you that I nearly toasted you a second ago?"

Max shrugged. "One thing I learned from my dad: always let your opponent underestimate you."

Annoyed, Kairi gathered energy and threw a fire, water and lightning spell, one after the other at Max. He sliced through the fireball, rolled out of the way of the water spell and, once the water had covered the floor, Max used it to slide toward Kairi, avoiding the lightning spell in the process.

It only took a few seconds for Max to close the distance between them, which gave Kairi less time to cast and aim. She blasted him back with a water spell, and gathered magic for another attack once he was pushed back. In that same second, Max took off his helmet at hurled it at Kairi's hand.

The metal slammed into her open palm. Kairi's spell careened out of control as she shook her hand, biting her lip from the stinging pain.

Something flashed at her.

Kairi threw a reflect spell around herself just Max's swords came down on her head. From behind the spell he grinned.

"Nice."

"Thanks."

He slammed his swords down on the magic glass, over and over, cracking it.

Kairi gathered magic.

The glass broke.

She hurled a fire spell at Max, making him jump back. She threw spell after spell at him and he danced and ducked away from each one. Kairi didn't let up, but gathering energy for spells one after the other made her head spin. Her attacks slowed down and Max was gaining on her every time there was a gap between spells. Soon, Kairi was backed up against the castle wall. Desperate, she threw another thunder spell.

Max dodged and threw one of his swords at her. Gathering the last of her energy, Kairi protected herself with a reflect spell. The sword bounced off her shield. Completely winded, Kairi let the shield drop and looked around for her opponent.

A blade appeared under her neck.

"I win," Max said from next to her.

"Cheap trick," Kairi huffed. She raised her hand, but no magic came forth.

"Looks like you're all out."

"I lost." Kairi clicked her teeth. "Fine, you win."

Max lowered his sword. "That was the most fun I've had in a while."

He held out his hand.

Shaking it, Kairi smiled. "Thanks for not going easy on me."

"Sure thing."

"Indeed. A fellow warrior always gives his all to a worthy opponent," said Mary.

She walked over to Max and Kairi, clearing her throat and nodding toward the damaged garden. The topiary animals were smoking, the leaves still crackling from the after effects of Kairi's magic. Branches littered the floor, all cut off by Max's swords.

Kairi and Max hung their heads.

Mary snapped her fingers at each damaged bush and suddenly the garden fixed itself until it was as good as new.

"A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down," Mary sang. Then she faced Kairi and Max. "Now, to review. Kairi, as a spell caster, you are only powerful as long as you do not run out of magic power. You can always carry ethers with you, but I believe that any respectable mage has more then magic up her sleeve."

"So that's why you had me take on Max? To see how I do once I'm out of magic?"

"Well yes, but it was also to show Max what you're capable of. So what do you say, young man? Will you teach Kairi how to wield a blade?"

Max picked up his other sword from the ground and handed it to Kairi.

"I've been looking for a worthy sparing partner. PJ doesn't use a sword and King Mickey has been off on his mission for ages."

Kairi tested the weight of the blade in her hand. Then she swung it. The blade went down a lot faster then she expected. The tip of the sword poked through the grass.

"This is a lot heavier then the toy swords Riku and Sora used back on the islands." Lifting the blade, Kairi rotated her wrist, watching the metal move. "Can you teach me to dual wield too?"

Max reached out and fixed Kairi's arm, making sure she was holding the sword properly.

"First, you need to learn how to use one sword before you can learn how to use two."

As Max began explaining the basics of using a weapon, Kairi closed her eyes.

Sora, Riku, Oswald. I'm catching up to you guys.


Jiminy's Journal

Eddie Valiant (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): A private detective with a chip on his shoulder. He was once a well known investigator that loved to joke and help toons alongside his brother, Teddy Valiant. After he lost his brother at a toon's hands, Valiant swore never to work a toon case again. Yet, he still entered into a tense agreement with Sora and the others to clear Roger of a crime he didn't commit.

Roger Rabbit (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): An over the top, hyperactive, cartoon rabbit who's life's mission is to make people laugh. He's a bit anxious and panicky, which makes sense since he's the prime suspect in the disappearance of Marvin Acme and RK Maroon. Despite this, Roger is always trying to brighten people's day with a jokes or slapstick. Anyone would be crazy to think him capable of committing a crime.

Dolores (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): Eddie Valiant's girlfriend. She's runs a bar across the street from his detective agency. Dolores always has Valiant's back, whether it's on a case, taking care of his health, or making sure he isn't in over his head.

Judge Doom (First Appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988): Though he is a judge of Toontown, Doom is completely prejudiced against toons and will stop at nothing until he has Roger dipped for his "crime." Something about him is just...off.

Maximilian Goof (First Appeared in Goof Troop, 1992): Goofy's son and a knight at Disney Castle. Max has taken over Goofy's responsibility of leading the castle guards until his father returns home. Although he doesn't like being compared to his father, Max shares the same penchant for clumsiness. Despite this, he is thrill-seeker with a talent for the sword that is only outmatched by King Mickey himself. He's agreed to be Kairi's sword instructor and it seems like the two of them get along well.