Book I: Serial Dilution
Chapter XVIII: The Clouded Mind Sees Nothing
Several Minutes Earlier…
King Frederic gazed out from his chamber window, staring up at the moon high above. The crescent high above seemed to grin down at him mockingly, his moustache bristling as he scowled, bushy eyebrows nearly blotting out his eyes. He tightened the grip of his hands, clasped behind his back.
"Frederic?"
The King looked back over his shoulder, the Queen was seated on a chair in a corner of their chambers, reading silently. Though they had supposedly retired for bed, neither had bothered to get into their bedclothes, still dressed in their finery.
"Yes, my darling?" the king intoned.
"You've been standing at that window for a half hour," the Queen observed, quietly. "You haven't moved a muscle."
"Oh, I've moved a muscle or two," the king said, a smile flickering over his lips, the edges of his beard curling as a result. "See? I've moved my lips, and I've blinked a few times. Heh…"
The Queen just looked back at him dryly.
The King's smile fell, and he dipped his head momentarily, before looking back up at the grinning moon.
"It's been three days, sweetheart," the Queen said, placing her book on the nightstand, beside the candle. "You should talk to her, at the very least."
"I doubt Rapunzel would WANT to talk," the King said, solemnly. "Not after our last…conversation."
"Fred, you confined her to a tower the morning after she and one of her friends saved the castle," the Queen scoffed. "If that's your idea of a daddy-daughter conversation, I REALLY don't want to know what a strict talking-to would be like."
"Just because it was a difficult choice, doesn't mean it wasn't the right one," the King said, crisply, looking back over his shoulder once more. "I'm grateful for what was accomplished, but…perhaps it was best if it had been avoided. She could have been killed, Arianna, or worse."
The Queen sighed and shook her head, before reaching for her book once more…
Suddenly, there came a tapping at the chamber door. Both royals looked to it with some surprise.
"Your Majesties," came the gruff voice of the Captain of the Guards beyond, "Permission to Enter?"
"Granted," Arianna called.
The brawny Captain opened the door. He glanced towards the Queen, bowing his head respectfully, then looked to King Frederic and straightened his posture.
"Your Majesty," he reported, "It's happening."
"Happening?" the Queen murmured, but Frederic stopped her from asking any further questions with a wave of his hand and a gentle smile. The Queen glared at him, feeling suspicious and a little affronted at his desire to keep her quiet, but said nothing.
"So, they're putting their plan into action, are they?"
"Yes, sire. It's exactly as you thought; they're reacting just as you expected,"
"Very good, Captain. We must assemble some of your men."
The Captain bowed, smiled to the Queen almost apologetically, then turned on his heel and marched out of the room. The King moved closer to Arianna, who stood to meet him. He took her hands gently.
"Please, stay here," the King said, softly. "I won't be long. I think our recent guests have decided to pull a fast one on us before leaving."
"Somehow, I don't think I blame them…"
"What?"
"Nothing, dear," Arianna said with a thin-lipped smile. "Just…try to consider all your options, whatever comes, okay?"
The King nodded slowly, looking a little confused by his bride's words; nevertheless, he gave her a peck on the lips, and then strolled out of the chambers, shutting the door behind him.
The Queen watched him go with a slight frown…then turned away, looking down at the floor thoughtfully; her husband was hiding something – SEVERAL somethings, she could tell. He almost never tried making decisions without consulting her or telling her all the facts; he was a strong leader, but he trusted his wife's judgment, and they discussed many things. More and more recently, however, he'd been stubborn as a mule, and it was getting out of hand. She knew he only had the best of intentions, but many a human being knows the saying about what road those can pave…
As the Queen mulled things over, she was unware of the chamber window slowly opening a slight crack…unaware of the soft-soled footsteps that tread upon the royal carpet…until…
"Good evening, Your Majesty."
The Queen whipped around…and gasped in surprise at the sight of the small figure, shrouded in a dark cloak…and an iron mask, with glowing green lenses.
Before the Queen could inquire anything of the masked intruder – how he got in, what he wanted, who he was – he reached into the folds of his cloak…and then thrust out one arm.
"Sleep," the masked intruder hissed.
Something green and glittery dusted the Queen's face. Arianna coughed three times…then, her knees seemed to turn to jelly under her…the world began to spin and grow bleary…she suddenly felt as if she hadn't slept in weeks…
With a light, soft moan, the Queen of Corona fell. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.
Now Back to the Present…
Sora glared daggers, tossing his head to knock some of his spiky hair out of his face as he lifted his keyblade a little higher in a threatening gesture. Donald and Goofy readied their Mage's Staff and Knight's Shield, respectively, quickly moving to guard their comrade's flanks. Max let out a warning call, snorting through his nostrils, as he and Eugene moved to protect Rapunzel…
…From her own father and the guards.
"Under different circumstances," the King said, smoothly, "I could have you all imprisoned for conspiracy and-or treason. I hope you realize that."
"Dad, leave them alone!" Rapunzel called, peeking out between the group. "I'm the one who came up with this entire-"
"I never doubted that, my dear," Frederic interjected, just as smoothly. "Next time, perhaps leave the planning to someone who isn't known for being locked in towers and seeking any avenue to escape from them? Just a fatherly suggestion."
"Look," Eugene spoke up, "I don't know what's got you so worried, Your Majesty, but you are NOT locking her back up in that tower. Not tonight. Not like this."
"I only want what's best for her," Frederic insisted.
"Then try another method," snapped Sora. "If you want her, you'll have to go through us, first!"
"Yeah!" cheered Donald and Goofy.
The King glanced at the different members of the party, then sighed and shook his head, pinching his brow.
"I hate it when things like this happen," he murmured, and waved a hand to the Captain of the Guards. "Captain? Take them all."
The Captain grunted in the affirmative, and he and the guards began to close the circle. Sora lifted the keyblade higher still, in a threatening gesture.
"If you all come any closer…!"
Sora never finished his warning.
In that very instant, a sudden, low, droning sound was heard; like a wind or an ocean tide rolling closer and closer. The sound echoed through the courtyard, causing all to lower their defenses, glancing about in surprise. They didn't know it, but in the village just beyond the castle walls, the droning was accompanied by the oncoming of a great, dark fog, which rolled across the kingdom, spreading a sickly-sweet smell in its wake as it smothered the starlight and blotted out the smirking moon. The mist flooded the streets, and the sound, smell, and sight alike all had the various citizens leaving their homes, grumbling and mumbling with confusion as they chattered amongst themselves to try and work out what was going on.
Soon the fog reached the castle; it slithered through the cracks in the walls, slipped through the spaces in the woodwork, even seemed to climb over the gates as it fell into the courtyard.
"What in the world…?" Donald gasped.
THWOOMPH!
The castle gates suddenly swung open, seemingly on their own accord, and a huge, thick cloud of the strange, dark blue-violet fog poured into the courtyard. The guards broke formation as their Captain instinctively found the King in the sudden change of atmosphere, adopting a ready position as he set to do his duty.
Sora, Rapunzel, and their allies relaxed their own postures, glancing about and peering into the mist with confusion in their eyes…and rising dread in their own hearts.
"What is this?" murmured Flynn.
"Bad news," Sora snorted. "What else?"
"Hello, Corona."
Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the entire kingdom. Everyone gasped in fright and moved closer together, stunned as the voice filled the air, rising from the mists and resounding through the streets. The voice was sly and yet had a tremulous edge; the voice of a person barely holding on to whatever scraps of sanity and reason they had left, determined to make it clear that they're voice mattered.
And it was a voice the group of heroes at the Castle knew well. Sora and Rapunzel looked at each other with matching expressions of shock.
"Varian!" they both gasped at once.
"Something dark is coming your way,"Varian's voice rang out. "Your king refuses to acknowledge it properly. In hopes of keeping his secret, he has tried to suppress those who could help him most. In a matter of days, it is likely this kingdom – this entire WORLD – could be overrun by the Dark Creatures I now call 'Heartless.' They have already done well, terrorizing and overtaking the Kingdom's outskirts. The key to stopping them…is Princess Rapunzel Herself. The Boy With the Keyblade knows something about it all."
Varian's voice paused impressively, as if to let this sink into the minds of everyone who heard. Then it came again, and one could hear the way he grew more frenzied and emotional with each passing word.
"I have asked for help, and I have been ignored. I will NOT be ignored any longer! So, to make sure I have your attention, I have devised a new formula, and created something…SPECIAL for you all. Have fun..."
Varian's voice went silent. At almost the exact same time, the droning noise stopped…and was immediately replaced by a new sound. Through the courtyard echoed a low, guttural growl – bestial and predatory; hungry and aggressive. Even the most hardened guards found a chill running up and down their spines at the noise.
Then…a shadow suddenly flickered in the mist, making Rapunzel jump. Pascal, perched upon her shoulder, let out a startled squeak.
"Ahhh…h-hey, everybody?" Rapunzel peeped. "There's something in the fog…"
"Captain!" the King thundered. "Seek it out!"
"On it, sir!" the Captain of the Guards declared, and pointed to three of the men who stood close by. "You three! Move to the left of the-GACK!"
Before the Captain could finish his sentence, a huge, gray paw, with long, jagged claws stretched out from the fog and snatched him away, pulling him into the mist. Both the paw and the Captain vanished from sight.
"CAP!" exclaimed one of the men he had been addressing, and he and the other two started to hurry towards the spot where he had stood…only for, a second later, the helmet-less Captain to come flying through the mist like a rocket. He crashed into the other three guards, and they all hit the floor, groaning as the sweet blackness of unconsciousness blanketed them.
The rest of the guards, unsure of what to do, fanned out, swords at the ready. For seven straight seconds, nothing happened…then, one by one, all of them were jerked into the shadows, then tossed aside, slamming into the walls and flying into bushes. The misshapen silhouette of a huge animal – nearly the same elephantine size as the Stormbringer had been – could be seen grasping one of the guards, before hurling them away like a broken doll. The man was sent pinwheeling into garden sculpture.
"More Heartless?" Goofy murmured, as the shadow vanished once more.
"With Varian?" Eugene gasped. "But…the kid would never…!"
"WATCH OUT!" Rapunzel shouted, as a huge paw suddenly loomed over the group.
WHAM!
The paw slammed into the ground, and its claws scraped over the stones with a sound like nails on a chalkboard. The group had scattered; Sora, Donald, and Goofy had jumped to one side, Max had scrambled back in another, while Rapunzel, Flynn, and of course Pascal all dove in a third direction.
They all looked up…and gaped with horror at the sight that now leered down at them: a massive beast, looking something like a cross between a raccoon and a sabertooth cat. Its limbs were oddly proportioned with long, muscular forelimbs and much shorter, scrawny hindlegs, causing it to move almost like a gorilla as it darted about, dark, crooked talons scratching at the ground. Its eyes were a pale green in color, and seemed to have neither irises nor pupils, and a similarly-colored fluid oozed from its fanged maw, massive teeth bared in a ferocious snarl. Its shoulders were covered in what looked like blisters or boils. The hideous brute roared, then ducked back into the fog.
Sora shuddered and flexed his fingers around the hilt of the Kingdom Key.
"Nope…not a Heartless…but I guess one giant monster in the courtyard is as good as any other."