Book I: Serial Dilution
Chapter IX: Night
"I hope you guys will be okay all sharing one room."
"Trust me, we've had worse."
"Yup! Wouldn't be so bad if Donald didn't snore so much…"
"I DON'T SNORE!"
"Ah. Denial. The First Sign of a Snorer."
"Is that experience talking, Your Majesty?"
"No, that's my wife talking."
Donald Duck pouted while his companions chuckled. He, along with Sora and Goofy, were following another trio: King Frederic, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider. (Pascal the chameleon, seated on Rapunzel's shoulder.) The King had offered the group a room in the castle to stay, at Rapunzel's behest, and offered to bring them to the room himself.
The King of Corona stopped before a lavender-colored door, which he opened with a golden key, then stepped aside, hands behind his back as he kept his posture straight. The remaining five all stepped into the well-furnished, well-kept guest room beyond. It was a charming chamber: a large bed with purple and gold covers and pillowcases, set in a huge brass-lined frame, sat between two mahogany dressers. There was a quaint little fireplace, and the fire had been prepared ahead of time; it crackled pleasantly, giving the whole room a warm, orange glow. A wide, elliptical window with huge purple curtains could be spotted at the far end of the room; the view of Corona at night just beyond was quite staggering, the lamps and lanterns from the town and candlelight hues from other visible rooms of the castle all speckling the inky darkness like spots of gold on a sheet of black velvet. The moon and stars shimmered like silver trinkets overhead.
"Wow," Sora breathed.
Flynn Rider whistled.
"Wow is right," he murmured, then looked to Rapunzel. "Hey, Blondie, how come THEY get a nicer pad than me? Seriously."
Rapunzel giggled and gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek, while the King just rolled his eyes.
Goofy lumbered over to the bed and sat upon it; he bounced a few times and poked the mattress.
"Gawrsh," he mumbled, then chortled. "A-Hyuck! Nice an' comfy!"
Donald happily waddled over to the fireplace and began warming his tailfeathers with a sigh.
"I hope everything will be to your satisfaction," the King said with a bow of his head, then gestured for Rapunzel and Flynn to follow him out. "Come along, you two…"
"Ah, actually, Dad," Rapunzel spoke up, somewhat shyly, holding up a finger in emphasis as she spoke, "Do you mind if Eugene and I stay a little longer? We just…need to have a little chat with our friends."
"After all," Flynn smirked, "How can we POSSIBLY expect my sidekicks to get along here without a rundown of the rules from their fearless leader?"
"You mean the rules you constantly break, Fitzherbert?" the King retorted in a bland but not unkind sort of voice.
"Details, details," Flynn snorted, waving a hand dismissively.
The King raised an eyebrow, looked back to Rapunzel, then shrugged.
"Very well. Your mother and I will be retiring to bed shortly. We want to make sure we've packed thoroughly for our journey tomorrow…"
The King paused, a look of concern in his eyes.
"…You're…sure you'll be alright?"
"I'll be fine, Dad, I promise," Rapunzel nodded.
The King nodded back, uttered an unusually quiet "Goodnight," and then closed the door behind him as he left.
As soon as the King was gone, a serious look came to the faces of Flynn and Rapunzel. They moved across the room towards a large chest with a cloth-covered lid that sat by the window, and sat upon it. Sora sat on a stool nearby, while Goofy retained his place on the bed, and Donald began to warm his feathery hands.
"So," Rapunzel began, in an almost business-like way, "I'm guessing those Dark Creatures are the reason you're all here?"
"There's only so much we can tell you," Sora admitted. "But yes, that's the long and short of it."
"We were kinda hopin' you might have some information on why they're here," Goofy put in.
"The Heartless seek hearts to feed upon; they consume entire worlds and plunge them into darkness," Sora warned. "If they're in Corona, either someone let them in, or they're seeking a way to tear this world to pieces."
"Oh, well that's pleasant," mumbled Flynn. "You know, a year or so ago, if you told me little black devils were going to destroy the entire world, I probably would have looked at you like you're crazy."
Pascal, who had been quiet and still for much of this time, suddenly stood up on his hind legs, his scales turning black as he tried his best to look like a heartless, baring his scaly paws like claws. Rapunzel rolled her eyes with a light smile.
"Varian said the Heartless were moving closer to the capital," Donald observed.
"Closer to the Castle," Goofy put in with a nod.
"Any idea of what they could be seeking?" Sora asked.
Rapunzel's smile faded. She brushed a hand through a loose curl of hair that had fallen over her face, moving it aside.
"I was adventuring beyond the capital city, at the outskirts of Corona," Rapunzel started to say, quietly, "Near where Varian's village is. I found this weird outcropping of what looked like black rocks. I touched the rocks…and the following day, I woke up to find my hair had grown back. The rocks disappeared…and that's when the Heartless did appear."
Sora frowned and placed a hand to his chin in thought.
"Well, that's too obvious to be a coincidence," he murmured, but silence prevailed after that. He found he had nothing else to say.
It was Flynn Rider who broke the silence, clearing his throat and standing up, straightening his vest and running a hand through his well-groomed hair.
"Well!" he grinned, perhaps a bit more awkwardly than he personally liked, "Considering Sunshine here is going to be playing Queen for a Day tomorrow, I think it's time we all turned in. After all, I need my beauty sleep; as King for a Day, I'll have to make sure I'm all set to look good while relaxing on the royal throne!"
Rapunzel rolled her eyes as she rose and nudged her beau in the ribs. Donald, Sora, and Goofy all chuckled.
"You're sure you'll be okay here tonight?" Rapunzel asked gently.
"Better!" Donald smiled.
"We'll be okay, Princess!" Goofy nodded.
"You just get a good night's rest; we can talk between things tomorrow," Sora agreed.
"I'll do my best," Rapunzel said, and she and Flynn began to head toward the exit…
…But just before leaving, Rapunzel stopped…and turned back around.
"There's one more important thing…"
"Sunshine…"
"No, Eugene, they probably should hear this."
Flynn frowned and backed away, head dipping in an expression of surrender as he sighed through his nose. Sora, Donald, and Goofy looked at the pair, then to each other, then back to Rapunzel.
"What is it?" Sora urged, gently.
Rapunzel took a deep breath. Pascal smiled soothingly and patted the shoulder he sat on, as if to encourage her and comfort her.
"For the past couple of weeks," she said at last, "I've been having nightmares. Or, I guess, more like one recurring nightmare. It's always the same each night…"
Rapunzel opened her eyes and blinked them blearily. She rubbed at them as her senses steadily returned to her. The golden-haired princess could hear enchanting music coming from just beyond her door. She glanced about, looking for Pascal, but the little chameleon was nowhere in sight.
The music seemed to grow louder, rising to a grand, symphonic swell. Curiosity enticed, Rapunzel rose and approached her bedroom door.
There was a flash of yellow light…and then she gasped as she found herself suddenly standing in the grand ballroom of the palace. All of the court was gathered, dancing gracefully in spiraling patterns around the room. She spotted Eugene laughing and chatting with a friend of his – a dark-skinned man dressed in red – in a corner of the ballroom, each with a glass of champagne. Her mother, meanwhile, stood in another part of the room, speaking with a pair of prim-and-proper duchesses. The princess quickly turned, and found that her bedroom had disappeared.
Before she could question the anomaly, Rapunzel felt a hand gently clasp her shoulder and turn her around.
"There you are!" chuckled a deep, affectionate voice. "I was wondering when you'd arrive…"
Before she knew it, Rapunzel found the hands guiding her in careful circles, and was dancing across the ballroom. She and the figure twined between the other partygoers, brushing past Fitzherbert and Queen Arianna a few times, but they didn't seem to notice…or, at least, didn't seem to care. The princess felt as if her feet barely touched the floor; there was a warmth and a safety that she felt in those hands – a sense of tender but passionate care. Not romantic – hardly that at all. More protective and…nostalgic. Like a memory long since passed.
She looked up…and found the hands belonged to her father, who smiled somewhat mischievously as he led her in an elegant waltz.
"You seem surprised, darling," the King smiled.
"Dad, what is all this?" Rapunzel gasped.
The King's smile became somewhat sad.
"I'm…sorry for not sharing things with you sooner, Rapunzel," he said quietly, as if they had been talking about such a thing moments before. "But I promise, it was only for your own good."
"Not…for my…? Dad, I don't-"
The King gave her a fatherly kiss on the forehead.
"It's fine," he whispered. "I'm going to make it up to you. I'll keep you safe, my dear…"
Then, the hands suddenly gripped hers tighter, and the dance stopped. The fingers seemed to become bony, and more possessive; like a dragon clutching a handful of gold.
And a half second later…her father disappeared…as Rapunzel found herself gaping with horror into the face of the wrinkled, aged Mother Gothel. Gothel smiled with crooked teeth, her old eyes alight with deadly fire.
"…I'll do anything to keep you here with me," the witch hissed.
And that is when everything went horribly wrong.
With a BANG! like a firecracker, three black rocks burst from the ground directly under Gothel's feet, and the witch let out a bloodcurdling shriek as she crumbled into gray-white ash. Rapunzel stumbled back, and gasped with shock as the ballroom candles were suddenly blown out, as if by a cool, wet wind, leaving the room gray and lifeless looking.
A pool of darkness formed in the very center of the ballroom, and the Dark Creatures – the Heartless – sprang from the abyss. They were the Shadows; dark, insectoid imps with no armor and no markings, their yellow eyes unblinking as they began to scramble from the abyss and move towards the partygoers, like rats scampering from a hole in a ship. The ballroom erupted into panic as guests screamed and fled, flailing their arms as they tried to escape the black imps.
The Queen and Eugene came running up behind Rapunzel, clearly intent on helping her…but then suddenly stopped in place. It was as if their feet were glued to the ground. A second or two later, the same pools of blackness formed beneath them…and dark, shadowy talons clutched at them and began to drag them into the floor.
"RAPUNZEL!" Arianna wailed, as she fell onto her belly, and began clawing at the floor, trying to get away. "RAPUNZEL, HELP!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Eugene spat, trying to kick at and pull away from the dark talons, but they only pulled him into the blackness faster. He reached out a hand towards Rapunzel. "BLONDIE!"
Rapunzel wasn't sure when her hair was undone, but it suddenly trailed behind her as she flew towards her mother and her fiancé…but it was too late. Both let out a final howl…before disappearing into the darkness. Rapunzel collapsed to her knees, locks of glittering yellow hair falling about her face as she pounded at the floor, the dark pools disappearing as if they were never there at all.
"NO! NO, GIVE THEM BACK!"
Tears sprang to the princess' eyes as she felt sobs heave through her.
"…Give…give them back…"
For a moment or two, she cried in silence, the room suddenly deathly still and quiet…then, she felt a light tug on her hair, a few yards behind her.
"Be careful, Rapunzel."
Rapunzel, eyes still brimming with tears, turned fast…
…And found Varian standing behind her, some of her hair clenched tightly in one gloved hand. His expression was hollow, his voice empty and almost mechanical. The alchemist's baby blue eyes, once filled with light and life, were as cold and sharp as shards of ice.
"Be mindful of your choices," Varian droned. "Or everything you hold dear to your heart will be in grave danger…"
Then came the final horror: Varian released her hair…and a moment later, seemed to grow larger and darker. A horse with burning red eyes seemed to form beneath him from a cloud of foul black smoke. It rose on its hind legs…as its rider's head seemed to catch fire! The rider then removed his own head…
…And Rapunzel screamed, as the fireball came careening towards her, the sound of a bone-chilling laugh filling the air around her…
"Then I wake up," Rapunzel said quietly, staring at the floor.
She lifted her eyes to look at her friends.
Donald had jumped into Goofy's arms, the pair hugging each other and shaking with terror.
Sora, meanwhile, looked more intrigued than afraid, leaning forward with interest.
"Anything else?" he asked.
"Yeah," Flynn answered for the young lady. "Anytime she wakes up, her hair goes absolutely nuts."
Sora raised an eyebrow.
"The last time I woke up," Rapunzel elaborated. "My hair…it's like it had a life of its own. I woke up and it had coiled around different objects in my room…including Pascal…"
The lizard let out a soft, comforting, almost forgiving squeak as he nuzzled against Rapunzel's neck. Rapunzel smiled nervously and lifted a hand, cupping it against her friend.
"…I would never want to hurt Pascal," she murmured, sounding shaken.
"What do you think it means?" Sora inquired.
"I was hoping you could tell me," Rapunzel answered.
Sora bit his lip, then looked at Flynn Rider.
"What about you?"
"I think it's a warning," Flynn said. "That much seems obvious. But I'm not exactly a fortune teller or whatever, so I can't say what the warning is ABOUT."
"Anyway, I…thought you might need to hear it," Rapunzel shrugged.
Sora stood up and moved over to her, and took her hands carefully.
"We'll stop the Heartless," he whispered. "And whatever happens tomorrow, we'll be here for you. We're not leaving till we figure out the answer to what our Master said was happening here."
Rapunzel nodded, and without another word, she and Flynn left the room.
Once they were gone, Sora turned…and smirked as he saw Donald and Goofy still trembling in each other's arms.
"Oh, come on, you guys! It wasn't THAT scary."
"YES IT WAS!" both yelled.
Sora laughed, then clapped his hands together, shaking off his worries.
"Well! We'll figure it out later. One bed, three of us, so…Rock, Paper, Scissors for who gets it?"
"You're on!"
"I'll play ya!"
Goofy won.
Meanwhile, miles away in Old Corona…
Quirin's chest moved up and down as he slept soundly in his bedchamber. The moon was half-obscured by the still gathering clouds above, the stars beginning to wink out, one by one. The old knight had informed the people of Old Corona, upon his and Varian's return, that the King had given them new land to encamp upon, until the problem of the Heartless had been solved. The moving process had begun immediately; helping his fellow villagers haul crates and load wagons all afternoon and part of the evening had been most tiring, and the retired soldier had happily collapsed into his mattress after blowing out his candle.
The ex-knight was so deep in slumber, he never heard the faint creak of the hinges of his bedroom door…and only grumbled in his sleep and rolled over as a scant beam of amber light fell across his face.
Varian's eyes were narrowed almost into slits as he peered into his father's room. He paused for a moment to make sure Quirin would not awake…then tip-toed inside, holding his lantern in a trembling hand.
"Running away from the problem won't solve anything," he murmured to himself. "You know that, Dad. You had to have a reason…"
He approached his father's old chest.
"…And I'm going to find out what it is."
He placed his lantern on the floor, and picked the lock with a bent pin he'd taken from his workshop. The rusted lock made an unpleasant "clacking" sound as it opened. Varian winced and glanced back towards his father.
Quirin slept soundly, even snored.
Varian let out an unsteady sigh of relief, and opened the chest.
"I will find out the truth," he whispered. "I'll find a way to help; I won't screw it up this time."
He pulled a scroll from the chest, and clutched it tightly.
"I Will Make You Proud."
As Varian re-locked the chest and crept back out of the room…just outside the window, one might have seen the clouds swallow up the moon, bathing everything that had once seen light in total darkness.