Book I: Serial Dilution
Chapter XXIV: The Battle of Old Corona
While Sora and the Royal Family dealt with Varian inside the laboratory of the Old Castle, the rest of the team outside had arguably larger problems to deal with.
CLANG! BANG! SCHLANG!
The sound of metal against metal rang through the air, as the music-box-powered Automatons lumbered around the field surrounding Quirin's Castle. The sounds were the result of the swords of Flynn Rider and the Guards as they tried to hold back the tide of robotic rogues.
"Don't let up!" Flynn called back over his shoulder, as he rode Maximus through the fray.
He hardly needed give such a demand; behind him, the others in the party were already fighting as hard as they could. The soldiers thrust their blades into the air, ducking and jumping away from the swinging fists of the clockwork abominations. Stan & Pete led the battle, working together as they clumsily dodged a meteoric punch from the droid that had cornered them.
"Take the right!" Stan shouted.
"Your right, or my right?" Pete called back.
"It's the same right, Pete!" Stan snapped.
"Oh! Right!"
Pete swerved to the right flank of the Automaton. The mechanical monstrosity lifted one heavy arm, ready to hammer it down upon the gangly guard…
…But Stan was a tad bit quicker; he dove to the left, and slashed his sword at one of the bot's legs.
He didn't make a dent, but the clockwork creature must have felt it, somehow, for it turned around fast, and lifted its arm to try and strike him instead.
Pete took the initiative and struck at the Automaton's other leg. Once again, he barely so much as scratched it, but the attack distracted the Automaton. It let out a deep bellowing sound, as if it were agitated…then, it lifted both of its weighty limbs high over its head, before bringing them down.
BOOM!
Stan and Pete yelped and flailed their arms cartoonishly before falling back as the shockwave knocked them both down. Both barely had time to roll out of the way, as the Automaton then lifted both arms again, but this time, brought its fists down directly towards them. A cloud of dust billowed up from the impact spots, but the pair of dunderheaded guardsmen were able to avoid being crushed.
Amidst Corona's palace warriors, struggling for all they were worth, Donald Duck and Goofy were not idle. Donald let out an angry "WWWAAAAAAK!" and tore free of his Rapunzel costume, hurling the wig and now-shredded dress up at the nearest Automaton. The robot stumbled back, as the garments flopped over its five green "eyes," and it tried to shake them off…
Donald thrust his staff outwards, summoning a barrage of firework rockets that blasted towards the Automaton like mighty missiles. They burst into colorful sparks and clouds of black smoke as they struck the creation…and the Automaton stumbled back, but still held its ground, soon regaining its balance and shaking off the dress shreds.
"OH, COME ON!" Donald squawked…then let out a frightened quack as the Automaton slammed its fist down near him.
Goofy held his shield out before him, and used his "Tornado" technique: he twirled about like a whirligig, spinning like an oversized top towards the Automaton. He crashed into one side, his powerful shield banging into its right…then whirled about to its left…he struck its front, then spun towards the back again…
The Automaton's fists flailed as it tried hard to squash its attack – THOOM, THOOM, THOOM, THOOM! – but it never once landed a hit on the dog-like knight.
Finally, Goofy's spin slowed to a swift halt…and he shoved his shield forward with all his might, bashing it into the "stomach" of the Automaton. The clockwork menace groaned and fell back, hitting the ground with a terrific crash.
Goofy smiled proudly…but his pride was short-lived, for the Automaton soon, albeit somewhat unsteadily, rose back up again.
"WHOA-OA-OA!" Goofy hollered and clumsily fumbled out of the way, flopping onto his face as the bot BASHED its wrecking-ball-esque fist into the ground, and tripped him up. "Ow…that kinda hurt…"
Flynn Rider ducked away from one swinging metal arm; he tugged at the reins, and Max neighed loudly as they swerved away from another. The horse's nostrils flared; one almost swore they saw clouds of steam bursting from his muzzle as he galloped around the war zone.
An Automaton soon barred their way.
"Now!" Flynn hissed to Max, who stopped short and bucked his hips upward. His back hooves smacked into another Automaton, making it fall back…while Eugene flew through the air, sword held high over his head. He slashed it across the helmet-like head of the Automaton…
…And as he dropped nimbly to the ground, snarled slightly when this had absolutely no effect beyond breaking one of the green sensors, which didn't seem to faze the mechanized monster in the least, as it swung a punch towards him. He somersaulted away.
"Cripes!" he exclaimed. "What did the kid MAKE these guys out of?! They're tougher than Blondie's hair!"
Max snorted in agreement as he cantered over to Eugene's side. The former thief held his sword at the ready as four Automatons surrounded them both. The horse snorted and ground his teeth, adopting a pose more like a guard dog than a normal equine.
All four of the droids lifted their demolishing fists…but before they could bring them down…
"NOT SO FAST!"
Suddenly, Donald and Goofy skidded onto the scene; they slid into the center, using Goofy's shield as if it were a small sled. They raced between the Automaton fighters, and came to a halt about a foot in front of Fitzherbert and the white stallion.
"BARRIER!" Donald quacked, holding his staff upwards. Just in time, too, it seemed, for the fists came swinging down…
ZZZAMPH!
The Automatons all stumbled back a pace or two, twitching slightly as their eyes flickered; an electrified grid of pale energy had appeared over the heads of the four allies…but it disappeared a moment after contact.
"They've gotta have a weakness somewhere!" Goofy said, standing up and holding his shield out defensively. "Varian an' Sora beat one o' these guys on their own!"
"That explains how he was able to make these," sighed Flynn. "I'm guessing Sora never bothered to tell you HOW he beat the one he saw?"
Donald and Goofy shook their heads.
Flynn grumbled to himself…then, a lightbulb seemed to go off over his head.
"Wait a minute! I might have an idea!" he said, and gestured to the valiant horse who stood nearby. "Max? Draw their attention!"
Max nodded, and galloped towards the left. The Automaton saw the moving target, and all four of them turned…
…And that was when the team saw the music boxes that spun across their backs, in-between their burly shoulders.
"AHA!" Flynn exclaimed. "Timing cylinders! And the kid didn't bother to cover them up!"
"Now we've got 'em!" laughed Donald, and pointed his staff at the Automatons. He gave it a twirl, once again summoning four fireworks…then, with a flick of the wrist, two of the rockets flew at one Automaton, and two more jetted towards another.
At the same time Donald's fireworks blasted, Goofy and Flynn jumped into the air, each raising their weapons high over their heads, and aiming the sharp edges towards the music box cylinders…
SCHLANK!
KA-BOOM!
The shield's edge and the sword's point cleaved clean through the music boxes like a pair of hot knives through butter. The rockets, meanwhile, burst the cylinders on the other two into about fifty pieces.
The robots shuddered, groaned…and crashed to the ground, totally out of commission.
Donald cheered and pumped his staff with excitement, while Flynn once again agilely landed on his feet like a nimble fox.
Goofy, meanwhile, tried to mimic Flynn's actions…and ended up smacking into the ground face first. Again.
"Gawrsh…he makes it look easy," the knight mumbled, as he sat up and massaged his aching nose.
Donald Duck snickered, while Flynn stood up and called to the soldiers.
"LISTEN UP, BOYS: YOU'VE GOT TO HIT 'EM FROM BEHIND! HIT THEIR TIMING CYLINDERS!"
Stan and Pete turned around as they heard Eugene's cry, then looked to each other with confusion.
"Timing cylinders?" they repeated in unison…then yelped as the Automaton before them "clapped" its huge, ball-shaped fists together, nearly smashing their skulls like a couple of watermelons. The two leapt around its side towards the back…and their eyes widened as they saw the steadily turning brass music box between the shoulders of the behemoth. Thinking fast (which wasn't easy for either one of them), both adjusted their grips on their short swords and flung them like a couple of javelins at the Automaton. Once stabbed into the top, the other to the bottom, jamming up the cylinder.
The Automaton groaned; it stumbled klutzily as its gears tried to work…then, there came a loud, ugly CRACK! from somewhere inside the creature…and it thudded "face-first" into the dirt.
Stan and Pete smirked, gave each other a high-five, and then hurried to get back their swords.
Maximus galloped in circles around one Automaton. He neighed tauntingly, and the thing whirled about to try and bash at the horse…only to club one of its own in the metal-plated noggin. The Automaton it had struck dropped to the ground…and the horse promptly loped onto its back. He reared up fiercely and SLAMMED his hooves down…crushing the music box, silencing it and destroying the Automaton.
The one that had accidentally laid low its ironclad comrade was quick to seek retribution, and hoisted its arms high. Max jumped off the back of the broken down construct, but the Automaton must have expected this, for it readily adjusted its aim, and THEN swung down towards the seemingly helpless white steed…
THOOM!
A cloud of dust flew up from the ground, blurring the Automaton's sensors…so it did not see the daring horse dive between its relatively short legs before leaping onto its back. The Automaton stumbled forward; its arms swung wildly, but it could not get at Max. It could not turn itself around enough, and as its fists were forged, it had no fingers to try and grasp with, anyway.
The bold equine grinned as he lunged forward, and chomped his huge horse teeth around the music box. Then, with a grunt and a whinny, the horse jumped back and off of the Automaton.
CRUNCH!
The cylinder was torn from its sockets violently, and the Automaton immediately went limp and smashed to the ground.
Goofy and Donald used the newfound information to their advantage right away. The duo spotted a pair of Automatons, lumbering side-by-side across the battlefield as they charged at a group of soldiers, who backed up fast in fright, their swords useless against the armored facades of the creatures.
"Hey! Right-Wing!" Donald called out, shaking his fist. "Come an' get me!"
"Over here, Lefty!" Goofy shouted, waving his arms. "Ya don't look so tough to me!"
The Automatons turned in different directions to face the distractions…and that was the moment Donald and Goofy chose to strike. Goofy hurled his shield like a boomerang, and Donald once again blasted his rockets, as each turned droid their back to the other opponent…
SCHWING!
KABOOM!
And that was the end of two more mechanized meatheads.
Flynn Rider soon spread the word of the weakness to the other soldiers; already, nine of the Automatons were down, and it wasn't long till the remaining five were soon tumbling like ninepins. Eugene and the Guards jumped onto the backs of the robots, stabbing and jabbing with their weapons till the clockwork cylinders fell apart.
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
Like dominos dropping to the ground, each Automaton hit the ground with a thunderous crash.
"Smart thinkin', Flynn!" Goofy called to the ex-robber.
"Well, I'm a problem solver," shrugged Flynn, cockily. "It's what I do-"
The music box tune began again…and all eyes turned.
Many groaned as they soon saw the source of the sound: thirteen more Automatons, which must have spawned from another spot in the village, all careening towards them like a Baker's Dozen-worth of oversized apes.
"Oh, for the Love of-HOW MUCH TIME DID IT TAKE THE KID TO MAKE ALL OF THESE?!" Flynn exploded.
"Well, we can't call victory yet," Donald grumbled.
"Maybe not," Goofy smiled, "But we know how to beat 'em now!"
"Right!" Flynn nodded, and hoisted his weapon high as he called to the Guards. "Don't give up yet, guys! We're just getting started!"