Their next encounter took place at a white castle near the tiny little town of Maple's Well.

"I am afraid this is not the best time, monsieurs," said the slender man who greeted them just inside the entrance. "The master is with other visitors."

"This is urgent," Knosis said. "He'll just have to forgive us for interrupting him."

A raised eyebrow implied that that might be easier said than done, but he simply gave a small bow and said, "Very well. Follow me, monsieurs."

The door to the small audience chamber he led them to was slightly open, allowing a man's voice to drift out. "I still do not see how allowing you to do this is to my advantage."

"Prince Vincent, please reconsider," Rufus said smoothly. "It would only take one small scrap of darkness gaining a foothold here to spell disaster. You have a young son, I believe? What would happen to him if the worst should occur?"

"Lumiere and Cogsworth would provide for Adam in a manner benefiting his station," the prince snapped.

Their escort tapped on the door.

"I said I was not to be interrupted!"

Rolling his eyes, Ais stepped past the servant and pushed the door all the way open. "You'll have to forgive the intrusion, Your Highness. We are in pursuit of dangerous criminals, and wanted to ensure your safety."

"Criminals!" Lily sputtered, leaping to her feet. Her green eyes were wide in outrage.

Prince Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let me guess. You are going to tell me that under no circumstance should I allow them to lock the heart of this world, correct?" The three Chasers nodded.

The prince promptly shouted for his guards.

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"Nice going, Ais," Izenu said, trying to smooth down his helmet-rumpled hair. Ais, having retreated to the barred window, ignored him in favor of staring out. The dungeon was crowded with the six of them inside of it.

"Don't blame him for everything," Lily told him. "Prince Vincent is a pompous, arrogant-"

"Lily," Lulu said warningly.

"Can't you use your Keyblade to unlock the door and let us out of here?" Knosis asked Lily.

She shook her head. "It can't unlock things, only lock them."

"That's ridiculous," Izenu said. "What good is a key that can't unlock?"

"The purpose of the golden Keyblade is to lock things, be it worlds or doors...or hearts," Rufus pointed out. "But everything has its opposite. Perhaps you should try your Keyblade on the door."

Ais could see Izenu's jaw clench from across the room. With a flash of light, his silver weapon was in hand. "How do I do this, then?" he asked Lily. "Somehow, I doubt it'll fit into the keyhole."

She rolled her eyes. "Point and shoot is how I usually use it. Just aim it at the hole and will it to open."

"Sounds..."

"I know. Just try it, will you? This place reminds me of one of one of my classrooms."

"You had a class in a dungeon?"

"You'd be surprised where I've had classes. Can we go now?"

Izenu shook his head and pointed the key at the door. A thin beam of white light shot out of the tip, connecting with the lock. The click was loud in the quiet room.

Ais was the first one out of the room, breathing deeply and retrieving his claymore and spiked helmet from where the guards had placed them on a table in the antechamber. Knosis followed more slowly to pick up his confiscated items. Izenu, lacking an apparent weapon when they were locked up, only had to take back his helmet. Ais fastened his helmet on and turned around just in time to see Lily and her companions vanishing down a half-hidden stairwell. "Where do you think you're going?" he called out, chasing after them. The sound of boots against stone behind him indicated that Izenu and Knosis were following.

Lily's voice drifted up to them. "We're going to find the door to the world and lock it, of course!"

"That won't work very well with us right behind them," Izenu muttered. Ais was inclined to agree.

They came out into a small chamber that looked like it might have once served as a chapel, but had long since fallen into disuse. Still, there were a few torches lit here and there, allowing them to make out most of the room. Behind where the alter once stood was a wooden door, edged in gold and lacking a handle. "That's it," Lily said, Keyblade appearing in a flash of gold.

"So, you would come here, with or without my consent," Prince Vincent said, rising from the first pew and turning to face them.

"It's for the good of your world, and your people," Rufus told him.

"So you claim. And yet, these others are inclined to disagree. Who should I believe?"

"Look, I'm locking that door, whether you like it or not," Lily said.

"Such arrogance from a girl of such low birth." Disdain dripped from each word.

Lily made an incoherent sound of anger, then snapped her Keyblade at the door. Light gathered at the tip, then shot out. Instead of hitting the door, though, it pierced the chest of the prince, who had stepped between Lily and the door at the last instant. When the light faded, she lowered the key, breath coming in little pants as if she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Prince Vincent was gone.

Izenu stepped up and placed his weapon against her throat. "I think you've caused enough damage here," he told her.

Rufus's gun was cocked and aimed at Izenu, making Ais tense and shift his grip on his claymore. "I'd consider moving away from her if I were you," the gunman warned.

"Stop it." Lily pushed Izenu's Keyblade away from her, letting her own vanish as she stepped back. "Let's go," she said.

"Are you sure?" Lulu asked her.

"Yeah." Turing to look at the Chasers, she promised, "Next time, though, I won't just walk away."

Ais watched them disappear up the stairs. "We should go after them," he said.

"We need to deal with this first," Knosis told him. "The family and servants need to be notified that Prince Vincent is gone."

"I think she turned him into a summon gem," Izenu called out from the front of the room. He held up a stone about the size of his fist that was the same deep blue as the prince's coat. "Look, a locked heart. I've always wondered how they were made."

Ais mentally heaved a sigh. My brother, the perpetual scholar.

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Though some of the servants eyed them suspiciously, the Chasers were assured that the bodiless funeral would be taken care of. When Knosis inquired about Prince Vincent's wife, he was told that she had died giving birth to their only child, a son. "The young master is hardly more than a baby, monsieurs," Lumiere said. "But, since we are all he has left now, we will take very good care of him, give him whatever he desires. It is what the master would have wanted."