Chapter 58: Goin' Down the Bayou

"No… No, no! Oh no!"

Facilier paced around the room nervously, his arms behind his back and his eyes glaring down at the floor. He muttered to himself in Creole, occasionally interjecting with a short shout in English. The back room of his shop darkened with every step, the only source of light a handful of torches. As Facilier continued to brood, his animated shadow watched from the wall, occasionally shooting a nervous glance to the tiki masks hanging on the wall.

Sitting on a chair in the corner, Diablo stared down at his hand as black smoke lifted off of his body. His skin tone transformed, shifting from a brown shade back to the pale white he was used to. His clothes transformed, too: from regal, stifling ball attire to his loose black outfit. As the lasts wisps of smoke faded into the air, Diablo turned to the nervous Facilier.

"I didn't enjoy tonight." Facilier looked up at Diablo for a moment, but spared him over a passing glance. Diablo frowned at the halfhearted gesture and then shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "She smelled like sweat, and I'm pretty sure she had stuffed her brassiere. With napkins."

"You sure must feel fancy not just calling it a bra," Facilier muttered without looking up from the floor.

"I would never be so crass."

"Whatever." And with that, Facilier was back to muttering to himself in Creole. Diablo raised an eyebrow and shook his head while resisting the urge to sigh.

Facilier's mood was brought on by his plans going awry. It was a plan that Diablo thought needlessly complex, but he had come to accept those as being the norm in his line of work. It seemed to him that those who dealt with the darkness tended to overcomplicate things, piling gambits and schemes in their efforts to gain control. Even Maleficent was guilty of it to some extent; not just anyone would lay out a plan to kill a princess sixteen years in advance.

Regardless of his own misgivings about Facilier's scheme, however, Diablo had gone along with it. He needed to; Maleficent had told him to figure out how Facilier was handling the Heartless, and he needed to be on Facilier's good side to figure it out. He was already starting to have some ideas—his eyes watched Facilier's red pendant bounce against his chest as he walked—but nothing concrete.

The plot had been instigated earlier that day, when a foreign prince came to New Orleans just in time for this Mardi Gras festival that they held. Prince Naveen had quickly evaded his caretaker and lost himself in the city. Diablo had watched, in his bird form, as the prince had danced around happily with the locals and played that horrible, grating excuse for music that this world called 'jazz'.

He had watched as Facilier had positioned himself so that Prince Naveen bumped into him in the crowds. He had watched as Facilier introduced himself and led the rich boy into the back alley where his shop was located. Facilier had told the prince his future and buttered him up, getting him to admit that his parents had cut him off and he needed to get married if they were going to give him his fortune back. Diablo could swear Facilier's eyes turned into munny signs at the prospect and, promising green in Naveen's future, he had transformed the prince into a frog. It was, Facilier had said, to keep his Friends on the Other Side—the Heartless—content until he could deliver the world's heart to them.

Somehow he had been able to strike a deal with the Heartless. They weren't servants, like Maleficent and Diablo had suspected. They were partners and, if anything, Facilier worked for them. It wasn't the answer Diablo was looking for, Maleficent would never accept anything less than commanding the darkness, but it intrigued him nonetheless. All that Diablo needed to know was how.

After the newly amphibious Naveen was imprisoned for the time being, that was where Diablo had come in. Facilier wanted the prince's fortune, and there was still only one way to do that: Naveen was to marry. Luckily, Facilier knew all too well that the city had an eligible young bachelorette who was all too willing to marry a prince. Diablo had used his shapeshifting powers to take on Naveen's form and woo her at her father's masquerade ball.

The night had been, as Diablo had already put it, awful. Miss La Bouff was far and away the most cheerfully annoying person Diablo had ever had the displeasure of knowing. She even gave that spiky-haired Keybearer a run for his munny. Besides reeking of sweat in her ridiculously poofy dress, she had been overly energetic and eager to dance with him. He could still feel her hands clinging onto him.

But Diablo could deal with it if it meant Facilier's plans being completed, so that his plans could be completed. Unfortunately, things had gone awry. Somehow, neither Diablo nor Facilier could say how, Naveen had escaped his prison. He and some other frog had caused a gigantic commotion before escaping out into the bayou, and Facilier had been furious. And now that their offering had escaped, so were the Heartless; at least, as furious as creatures so base could be.

Making up an excuse to get away from that annoying woman, Diablo had joined Facilier at his shop in the heart of New Orleans. And there they were now, with Facilier having kept to himself the entire time.

"You know…" Diablo turned back to Facilier as, to his surprise, the witch doctor finally stopped pacing. He was tapping his chin in thought before speaking again. "You know that this frog's escapin' doesn't mean a thing. You still need to pretend to be Naveen. Diablo my man, you know as well as I do that magic isn't the real power in the world; munny is. And we need that royal munny."

Diablo smirked. "Well, I would argue that hearts hold more power."

Facilier's expression faltered. "Hearts, you say? Yes, I suppose you might think so." Facilier fingered the pendant around his neck while his shadow snapped its fingers in a silent declaration. "Well now, I believe I—"

The shop's torches were blown out by a sudden wind, plunging the entire room into total darkness. Frowning in confusion at the sudden shift, especially when there was nowhere that wind could have come from, Diablo stood up from his seat and conjured a ball of green flame. The light cast eerie shadows on the circular room, especially on Facilier who seemed to grow three more besides his animated one. The red glow from his pendant mixed with Diablo's flame as the latter walked over to join the Shadowman. And that was when he heard it, faint at first: a soft beat.

Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum…

"What happened?" Diablo asked. "And what the devil is that noise?"

Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum…

The beat was growing louder. Facilier glanced around nervously, but he clutched the pendant and swallowed. Then, nodding, Facilier held out his hand as his shadow tossed over his top hat and cane. "We have visitors."

"Visitors?"

ARE YOU READY?

Golden lights flashed up above, followed by the air growing heavy with the power of darkness. Diablo watched as the lights revealed themselves to be the shining eyes of several Heartless, some resembling flying tiki masks and some drum-beating Voodoo dolls. And all of them were singing that same tune.

Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum …

Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum…

ARE YOU READY?

Bum bum bum bum, bum bum bum bum…

"Friends!" Facilier bowed low even as his shadow cowered and slid behind the nearby curtains. "What expert timing. You see, I have a little proposition for y'all." Diablo watched as the Heartless quieted down. They were acting remarkably uncharacteristically; instead of charging right for Facilier, they just sat and listened. The red pendant around the Shadowman's neck was glowing brighter.

"Now Friends, I know I'm debt to y'all pretty deep already, but it seems our little froggy prince has lost his way." Facilier spoke with confidence, but it was a ruse. This close to the Shadowman, Diablo could see beads of sweat collecting at his brow. "And I need your generous assistance in getting him back.

There was a low rumble that came from the darkness itself. The atmosphere grew even heavier, and the Heartless narrowed their eyes. Diablo watched as a drop slid down Facilier's cheek. "Aha, I hear ya!" Facilier nodded eagerly, perhaps too eagerly. The tiki mask Heartless seemed to grin as the shadows closed in around him. "What's in it for y'all? Well, as soon as I dispose of Big Daddy La Bouff, and I run this town…"

Facilier spun around, conjuring up an image of the city and surrounding bayou with some of his Voodoo magic. "I'll have the entire city of New Orleans in the palm of my hand. And you… My Friends, you'll have all the hearts you desire as willing sacrifices. And don't worry, I still plan on deliverin' the city's heart itself to ya as well."

The doll Heartless began beating their drums and Facilier laughed. "Y'all love that, don't ya?" Slipping the pendant off from around his neck, he held it up to the Heartless. The red glow cast shadows on the shadows. "Now, do we have ourselves a deal?"

"A moment, Facilier, if you please." Before the Heartless could respond to the bargain, Diablo made his move. He swiped the pendant out of Facilier's hands and, dismissing his own fireball, held it up close to examine the glowing red markings. Now that he could see clearly, he could tell that the pendant was more of a totem. It was carved into a stylized skull, and the glow was coming from beneath the carvings—from something inside. Diablo's brow furrowed; that glow was incredibly familiar.

"CAREFUL WITH THAT!" Facilier shouted, what was left of his charisma fading away. Diablo raised an eyebrow and dropped the pendant to the floor, causing Facilier to gasp and dive down, grabbing the pendant moments before it shattered. "If anything happened to this, I would be…!"

Feeling his shadow tap his shoulder, Facilier glanced back up at his Friends on the Other Side. They were closer than ever; in fact, Diablo had observed it the instant the totem had left Facilier's hands. They had come right for him, acting like any other Heartless that Diablo had seen. Now Diablo was sure. That totem, somehow, kept Facilier safe from them.

"W-Well, what are y'all waiting for?!" Facilier jumped up straight and held the glowing pendant out toward them, as if in protection. "Search the bayou, search the city, I don't care! Just bring that froggy prince back! Get goin'!"

The Heartless reacted to the commands. They drummed on their drums and began the beat from before, fading off into the darkness over the sound of their song. The torches lit up once more, and Facilier let his façade fall as fear and relief washed over his features.

x-x-x

Twilight Town had been a real good news/bad news situation once it was all over. The good news was that Xion's mood had improved dramatically after she had time to breathe following Braig's attack. That morning, with Olette's pushing, she had gone and spoken to Hayner and Pence as well. It was still somewhat bittersweet, having them only really getting to know her for the first time, but it felt good nonetheless. It helped a lot, and now she could count them among her friends twice over.

On the other hand, the gang had never found a way into the Realm of Darkness. There was no door in the tunnels, in the city, or even in Ansem's old mansion. They had searched the town up and down to no avail, and their moods were all rather shot. After bidding goodbye to Hayner, Pence, and Olette, the gang had returned to the Gummi ship and taken off for the next world.

It didn't take long for a world to catch Xion's eye, for it was one that she had seen before—just not in person. As they had flown through the stars and twisting colors, she had noticed a storm raging above a new world, swirling black clouds in the shape of a vortex accompanied by purple lightning. It took Xion a moment to realize it, but she did recognize it. She had seen it on the map back at Treasure Planet.

The Gummi ship's new system that Cid had installed some time ago identified the world as Voodoo Bayou, and the darkness readings coming off of it were enormous. While not as strong as those in some other worlds they had been to, Hollow Bastion for instance, it was still much higher than the average world out there. Everyone had agreed after Xion pointed it out: this was their best bet. Deeming it too dangerous to land the ship, they had opted instead to beam down.

The name Voodoo Bayou was an apt one. From their position on a fallen, moss-covered log, brown water surrounded them on all sides. Reeds, algae, and lily pads dotted the water with green, accentuating the large variety of trees that sprang up from the murky depths on their elevated roots and sent their leaves cascading down like a veil. It all seemed normal, except…

"Does anybody wanna tell me how we got so SMAAAALLL?!"

Donald's screeching voice rang out all around them, and he was right: they were small, only a couple inches high in fact. The log they were on may as well have been a road, the moss extending out like a small field of grass. The water was a vast lake, the lily pads islands and the reeds forming a wall. The trees may as well have been redwoods, and their leaves blotted out the sun. What had happened?

As Donald continued to rant away and the others took in their surroundings, Goofy laughed. "Gawrsh, are we sure this isn't Wonderland?"

"The ship's beam must have malfunctioned. We should probably tell Chip and Dale about it…" Sora looked around at the massive bayou with wonder and awe, then held his hands up behind his head and grinned widely. "Well, as long as we're here, let's take a look around!"

Xion giggled. "Doesn't worry you at all, does it?"

"C'mon, you should know by now it won't!" Sora said with a wink. With his hands still behind his head, he turned to Donald. "Although him…"

"What happened?!" Donald screamed at the top of his lungs into the swamp. "And how are we supposed to go around looking for a door into the darkness when we're three inches high?! I wouldn't wanna wade through that stuff, let alone swim in it!"

Goofy frowned and approached the ranting duck with a tap on his shoulder. "Hey, a Donald? Don't ya think ya oughta quiet down? I mean, we don't wanna attract—GATORS!"

Goofy's exclamation was quickly followed by Donald screaming in fear, prompting Sora and Xion to whip into action. Lights flashing in their hands, they spun around with Keyblades at the ready and found themselves face to face with a gigantic alligator. Its eyes were half their height, and it grinned at them like it had just found its dinner. It opened its mouth wide, showing off its dozens of sword-like teeth, and…

"Hey, you're human! Did you fellers find Mama Odie? Gosh, humans sure look smaller up close." The atmosphere changed the moment the alligator spoke—spoke! Instead of some threatening predator with a deep growling voice, it broke into a wide, goofy smile and spoke like a lovable oaf who was excited to get a present. He jumped up and down in front of them, splashing in the water and clapping his hands. "Anyway, which way is Mama Odie?!"

"U-Uh…" The four of them stared at the alligator in slack-jawed astonishment, and Xion's Keyblade dropped down onto the log with a clunk before vanishing. She stepped forward and held a hand out to the awaiting gator. "Come again?"

The gator's excitement didn't seem to drop any bit as his impatience increased. "Mama Odie! You know, the Voodoo Queen of the Bayou? She got all kinds of magic and hoodoo. We're going there to turn us human!"

As they took in his words, some among them hadn't quite moved on from the fact that they were speaking to a giant alligator. Donald had gone from ranting and raving to shaking in his metaphorical boots, and he had somehow grown even paler than his white feathers had been moments before. As he stared up at the gator with wide eyes and a chattering bill, he choked out a horrified "M-Mama Whodie?"

"You want to be human?" Sora asked.

"Well sure! See, I love jazz music," the gator twirled a small trumpet in his fingers and played a short tune before continuing, "but humans don't exactly take kindly to alligators in a band. Believe me, I tried! Oh, Louis would give anything to be up there playing with the big boys…"

"Louis?"

"Yes?"

"Oh, you're Louis…"

"That I am, born and bred in the bayou!" Louis fell back into the water, narrowly avoiding splashing the group as he did so, and began to play an upbeat tune as he floated there in front of their log. "See, I met these friends—"

"Louis, didn't you tell us you knew where— Oh!"

A woman's voice called out to the jazz-playing gator, but cut off in surprised as she and another companion broke through the reeds and found the gang in front of them. Unlike Louis, these two were frogs, but they moved awkwardly as if not used to hopping around. The two frogs' jaws practically dropped as they took in the sight of four miniature people, then the female one shook her head to wake herself up and hopped up onto Louis's belly. The male said something under his breath before hopping up to join her.

"Louis, Louis, what is this?" he asked, pulling Louis's trumpet away from him and gesturing over to Xion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy. "Is the black-haired one Mama Odie?"

"Not unless Mama Odie used her magic to de-age—which is entirely possible." Louis climbed back onto his legs, causing the two frogs to fall into the water as he did so, and then held his hand out to the group. "Naveen, Tiana, allow me to introduce…" He paused and blinked. "Uh…"

Confusion flittered across everyone's faces, until it was broken by Goofy's laugh. "Gawrsh, we haven't introduced ourselves! Nice to meet ya everyone! I'm Goofy, these here are my pals Sora, Xion…" Goofy grabbed the still shell-shocked Donald moved him forward, "and Donald!"

The two frogs—Naveen and Tiana, as Louis had called them a moment ago—exchanged glances. "Uh…" Tiana stared at the four of them with a raised brow. "I don't suppose you guys have any reason you're so small?"

Sora shook his head, and Xion shrugged. "We're not normally this tiny," she said slowly, trying to find the best way to put it. "We're…not really sure what happened. We kind of just appeared on the log a few inches high."

"Oh, well alright then." Naveen shrugged as best a frog could. Louis and Tiana had similar reactions.

Donald, shaking off his fear of Louis, frowned at the calm trio. "Wait, you accept it that quickly?"

"Of course, for we have seen much stranger. Brace yourselves, my friends…" Naveen stood up on his hind legs and gestured to himself. "We are not frogs. We, too, are human! I am Prince Naveen, of Maldonia!" The four of them glanced at each other, then at Tiana and the awaiting Naveen. Naveen frowned. "Are you not weak in the knees? No?"

"Is this like that old fairy tale?" Xion asked with suspicion. She, quite frankly, didn't believe a moment of it.

Goofy clapped his hands together once. "Maxie just loved The Frog Prince when he was little!"

"You wouldn't be the first to make that comparison." Tiana glared at Naveen, who smiled sheepishly back at her. "Listen, Prince Charming here got himself involved with the Shadowman, a Voodoo witch doctor back in the city, and got turned into a frog for his troubles." She glared at Naveen, who recoiled.

"He was very charismatic!" Naveen shot back at her.

Tiana rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he convinced me to kiss his gross froggy lips to turn him back to normal, but instead it turned me into a frog too!"

"It would have worked if you had not lied about being a princess!"

"Hey, no, I never said I was a princess!"

"What kind of waitress goes around dressing in such a fancy, sparkly dress?!"

"It was a costume party!" Tiana turned away from Naveen with a huff and crossed her arms. "I'm never gonna reach my dream like this…"

"You have a dream?" Sora asked. Tiana glanced at him for a moment, then turned back to herself, her brow creasing in thought. Finally she turned to the group in full and smiled.

"Well sure, doesn't everyone? My dream is to open my own restaurant using the recipes my daddy taught me as a little girl. I was almost there, too, but…that didn't work out too well in the end."

"Yes, because owning a restaurant is such a worthwhile goal," Naveen deadpanned. Tiana chose to ignore him, but she was obviously trying very hard not to snap back.

Xion shook her head. "Tiana, I think that's a great dream. Did you wish on a star for it?"

Tiana immediately flushed, her green skin darkening. "N-No… Well, uh, yes actually, but…" She shook her head. "My daddy always said you gotta work for your dreams. Wishin' on a star can only get you part of the way there." At Tiana's words, Naveen groaned and leaned back. "You got something to say, rich boy?"

"Just how boring you are." Naveen reached up above him and pulled a forked twig off of a tree, one that was coated in spider silk. He began drumming on it like a guitar as Louis slowly swam in circles.

"Well gee Naveen, do you have a dream?" Donald asked.

"No, why should I?" Naveen responded without stopping his music. "Life is short, when you're done you're done. We're on this earth to have some fun. And when I'm human again, I'm going right back to the nightlife I had before."

Tiana rolled her eyes. "With what munny? And don't you have to get married? Your future wife isn't going to let you go partying with floozies."

Naveen shrugged. "Then I'll just have to leave a string of broken hearts behind me—Whoa, WHOA!" Naveen's makeshift guitar flew from his hands as he toppled back into the water, Louis having stood up once again.

Louis jumped from one foot to the other while raising his hand like a kid in class. "Ooh, ooh, my turn! I have a dream too!" With all eyes on him, Louis gave an embarrassed grin and awkward laugh. "Like I told you fellas a minute ago, I wanna be human! Though I wasn't human before like Naveen and Tia were. Anyway, that's why we're goin' to Mama Odie's!"

Sora and Xion glanced at each other. While transformation magic was hardly new to them, it had always been in an inter-world situation or from someone who at least knew about other worlds. Did some old lady living in a bayou really know how to change someone's species? "You're sure about this?" Sora asked.

"We have to be," Tiana responded. "If Mama Odie can't help us, then who can?"

Xion shook her head and spoke softly to Sora. "I think Riku mentioned this world; he mentioned meeting this Mama Odie before." Shrugging helplessly when Sora looked at her, Xion continued. "She couldn't help him when he looked like Ansem, but maybe with them…"

"I'm sure she could help you fellas too!" Louis added in. "Turn y'all back to normal size, I mean."

That got their attention for sure. The gang exchanged silent glances at each other, contemplating it. While if the shrinking was the fault of the Gummi ship, porting back up to it should fix the problem. But in that situation, they'd have to leave this world behind when so far it seemed to be their most likely shot to getting into the Realm of Darkness. And staying small while looking for the door wouldn't be easy.

"Sounds like a good idea to me!" Donald said.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, we'll go with you guys!"

"Alright!" Louis jumped up into the air and fell back down into the bayou. As he rose back up to the surface, only his back, head, and tail stuck above the water. Moving his tail to the log, it formed a makeshift bridge that allowed them to climb onto his back. At the same time, Naveen hopped out of the water to join them and Tiana. "All aboard then, boys and girls. Next stop, Mama Odie!"

x-x-x

"So this Charlotte girl, she's your friend?"

"Mhm. Me and Lottie, we've been friends since we were little girls."

A few hours had passed as they moved down the bayou on gatorback. The water had cleared up considerably, and the sky had darkened even more so. The stars that still remained glittered and shone up above as bright as ever, and cast their reflections onto the water so that it seemed that Louis was swimming through space. The chirping of crickets and croaking of frogs (present company excluded) seemed to have come out of the woodwork after the sun set, forming a sort of song around them.

Donald looked to Tiana with a sly grin. "So, she's rich then?"

Tiana shrugged. "Well, her father is anyway. Mister La Bouff is a sugar baron; he's the richest man in New Orleans."

"Which is why I would be more than happy to marry Miss Charlotte and graciously accept her father's munny in place of the riches my parents denied me," Naveen added from his position on Louis's tail. Tiana rolled her eyes in disgust at Naveen's callousness, and more than that seemed almost upset at his words.

"You're still planning on that?"

"If the Shadowman was right about one thing, it is that my parents cut me off. It was his own words, I am afraid: I must 'marry a little honey whose daddy got dough.'" He stopped playing his makeshift guitar and glanced up at Tiana. "Why, did your friend not always dream of marrying a prince? Are you not, perhaps…jealous?"

"W-What?! No, I'm not…" Tiana turned away and crossed her arms, ending the conversation then and there. Naveen didn't seem to mind and went right back to strumming.

Xion, who up to now had occupied herself by speaking with Tiana, suddenly found herself with nothing to do given the other girl's sour mood. Standing up, she walked down Louis's back until she was up near the back of his head. "Louis, are we there yet? I wouldn't think this Mama Odie would live so far away…"

"Huh? O-Oh, yeah, yeah. We're just about there, give us, uh…" Louis's eyes nervously shifted back and forth. "Just give us another mile or two…or five. Or twelve?"

"Are you lost?"

"Hey now, who's the one who's lived in the bayou his whole life?"

Xion shrugged wordlessly; he had her there. She made her way back to Sora and the others, but as she did so a certain sound caught her attention; or rather, a certain lack of sound. The frogs and crickets had halted their chorus at the drop of a hat, and Xion wasn't the only one who had noticed. But before anyone could voice the question on all their minds, something else happened.

One moment the bayou was lit up by the starlight, the next it was as if a massive shadow had fallen over them. The reflection of the starlight in the water vanished, while the stars up above seemed to dim. A cold wind blew around them but did not cause the water to ripple or the plants to shake. Coming to a nervous stop, Louis looked around at their eerily still surroundings.

"What…"

ARE YOU READY?

Voices boomed at them from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, earning a reaction from Louis who practically jumped out of the water and sent his passengers tumbling off of his back. While Tiana and Naveen splashed into the still water, Xion, Sora, Donald, and Goofy landed on a series of lily pads that stayed undisturbed on the surface.

"W-W-What was that?!" Louis asked, frantic.

Naveen burst his head out of the water and whipped his head back and forth, searching for the source. "I heard those same voices when Facilier turned me into a frog!"

Tiana breached the surface a moment later. "This is why you don't get involved with the Shadowman!"

"Then did he track us?" Xion looked up at the darkened sky, but saw nothing and heard nothing. "I don't see any—"

ARE YOU READY?

"We've got company!" she heard Goofy shout over the voices. Calling on her Keyblade, Xion whipped around just in time to see darkness coalescing above the waters before their lily pad. From out of the shadows came technicolor tiki masks and Voodoo dolls pounding on drums. Confusion gave way to determination as Xion registered the golden eyes and red and black emblem that each of these newcomers had.

"Heartless!"

As if in response to Donald's cry, the drum-beating Heartless pounded harder while the masks began singing a beat in time with it. As their mouths opened and shut again and again, the darkness crept up around them. Their singing itself was an attack!

Two dimensional shadows shot out along the surface of the water, called on by the masks' song. Xion and Sora quickly jumped out of the way—or so they thought. Though their bodies escaped the attack, their shadows did not. The masks' shadows connected with their own, and Xion felt her own body being tugged backward. She and Sora fell back onto the surface of the lily pad just in time for a second wave of the weaving shades to strike them dead-on.

"Firaga!" Streams of flame flew out from Donald's staff, assaulting the first line of singing tiki masks. While it hardly destroyed all of the Heartless, those nearest to the heat returned to the shadows. It did something more, too: as the fire streaked through the air, the light it cast dissolved the shadowy attacks of the masks that were heading toward them.

"Xion, did you see that?" Sora asked beside her.

"I did. And it gave me an idea!" Casting Pearl in both of her hands, Xion sent the twin orbs of light high into the sky. The two collided and exploded, sending waves and sparkles of light across the immediate area. All the shadows sneaking around them immediately dissolved, and the masks that were their source recoiled. Taking the initiative, Sora and Goofy charged at the opening and struck out at more of the mask Heartless.

But in the middle of their attack, a focused force of sound assaulted them from all sides. The drumming doll Heartless approached Sora and Goofy with sound waves radiating out from their instruments. The circles of energy sent Goofy and Sora flying, but Xion reached up and caught Sora by the hand. Using the momentum, Sora then proceeded to fling Xion forward as she charged her Keyblade with light.

Two Become One beheaded the nearest drumming doll and Xion used its dissolving body as a springboard. Hanging in the air for a moment, she held her Keyblade out and launched a ring of lights. Ragnarok flew through this way and that through the air, piercing Heartless after Heartless. Down below Goofy spun around on his feet, using his shield to deflect any lights that came for him back to the enemy. Soon enough, the Heartless threat had passed for the time being.

"Woo-wee, would you lookit dat light show! Ain't nothin' like anythin' I've ever seen! An' I know my lights."

"Huh?"

The voice, a new voice, had come from behind some nearby reeds. A golden light flickered to life beyond the tall plants, illuminating them a bright green for a moment before it flew forward. The little ball that shot toward them caused the water beneath it to ripple, the droplets that were sent flying shimmering and sparkling in its light.

As the light grew closer to the group, it faded away to reveal its source: the rear end of a little firefly. Well, maybe 'little' wasn't the right word given their own current size. His thin wings seemed to have holes in them, his antennae were uneven, and the strands of red hair atop his head shot up haphazardly. When the firefly grinned, he revealed a mouth full of uneven and missing teeth.

"Well now! What are y'all fellas doin' out here? Includin' the tiniest humans I've ever done see! What's yer story? Where y'all from?"

"Uh…" Sora looked around at their group, then up at the awaiting firefly. "Well, we're from somewhere far, far away from here."

The firefly broke into a huge smile and pointed back over his shoulder. "Go to bed! Y'all from Shreveport?!"

Sora and Xion looked at each other and shrugged. "Um, no?"

Beside them Goofy laughed. "Gawrsh, maybe we should introduce ourselves! I'm Goofy, and this is Sora, Xion, Donald, Tiana, Naveen, and Louis!"

The firefly winked at Xion. "How ya doin' there, cher? Guess I should also introduce myself…" His light lit up again and he flew around, running his rear end through the water and leaving behind sparkling residue on the smooth surface that spelled out a word: Raymond. "My name Raymon', but everybody call me Ray."

Resounding calls of "nice to meet you" rang up among their group before Ray settled down atop a reed. "So like I was sayin', what's y'all's story?"

Naveen cleared his throat and hopped forward before he stood up on his hind legs. "It is a good thing you are sitting, my friend, for this news will knock you into your seat." Gesturing to himself and Tiana, he smiled. "We are not frogs. We are human!"

"Get outta town!"

"It's true," Donald chimed in, "at least I think it is. They got involved with a witch doctor who turned them into frogs, and he sent those Heartless after us!"

Ray nodded to himself. "Yeah, I been seein' those shadow things 'round the bayou. Mama Odie been fightin' 'em off too!"

Tiana smiled. "Well we're actually headed to see Mama Odie now—"

"Whoa, whoa, Mama Odie?" When Tiana nodded at Ray's sudden outburst, Ray shook his head and flew up to them while clicking his tongue. "You're goin' the wrong way, cher! What kinda dunderhead told y'all to go thisaway?!"

All of them turned immediately to Louis, who began to laugh nervously as Tiana crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Aheh… Well, listen. I was confused, by-by the topography, and the geography…and the choreography!"

"First rule o' the bayou, never take directions from a gator," Ray said to them. Then he shot up high and clicked his light on once more, illuminating the immediate area. "I'd be happy to show y'all the way!"

"You'd do that for us?" Tiana asked.

"Why sure! Just follow the bouncin' butt! Ooh, women like a man wit' a big back porch!" Ray laughed and shot down to Naveen. "I bet you an' your girl know all 'bout that, huh?"

Naveen and Tiana's eyes both shot wide open. "Ick, no…"

"We're not…"

"Someone so naggy…"

"Excuse me?"

Ray laughed at their stuttering and tied tongues, then turned to Sora and Xion. "And I s'ppose you two ain't neither?"

Xion felt her cheeks heat up immediately, and Sora looked much the same. "Uh, no, we're not… Um, I mean, we've lived together but it's more like…"

Amidst more laughter, Goofy spoke up. "Sora's special sweetheart is named Kairi!"

Sora's face may well have been glowing, he was turning so red. Defending his embarrassment, he was a little too quick to shoot Goofy's claim down. "K-Kairi isn't my—"

"Aw, love ain't nothin' to be ashamed of, friend! Why I bet your Kairi is as lovely as my own Evangeline!"

"Evangeline?" Donald asked. "Does she live near here?"

Ray shook his head, but it was more the kind of gesture one gave to a kid who didn't know any better. "How you can miss her? Jus' look up there! She only the brightest firefly in the bayou!" Ray gestured up above and they all followed his motions, but they saw no fireflies up there, only stars. Xion raised an eyebrow and looked around trying to find this Evangeline girl, but there was no sign. And Ray kept sighing lovingly…

Louis laughed out loud. "Those ain't no fireflies! Those are—" He was quickly shut up by a small bolt of Thunder from Donald, but the outburst was enough for Xion to realize what Ray had been talking about. Evangeline was a star in the sky…

"What world is that?" she whispered to Sora.

"I'm not sure," he replied with a shake of his head.

Ray sighed again. "Even when all other fireflies up there have gone away, my dear Evangeline is stayin' just fo' me! That's how y'all know it's true love." Beginning to hum a tune, Ray slowly fluttered this way and that through the air.

"Look how she lights up the sky,
"Ma Belle Evangeline.
"So far above me yet I,
"Know her heart belongs to only me."

His sudden song caught them all by surprise, but at the same time caught them all in its music. Evangeline may have been a simple star in the sky, but Ray still had a spot in his heart for her, that was as clear as anything. Using his light to draw a heart, he continued.

"Je t'adore,"

"I adore you," Naveen whispered to Tiana.

"Je t'aime, Evangeline,"

"I love you." Tiana glanced aside at him and scooted away, causing Naveen to hurry and defend himself. "I am just translating!"

"You're my queen of the night,
"So still,
"So bright."

As they continued to watch Ray sing and dance through the night sky, with Donald and Goofy absolutely captivated, Xion's attention was pulled away for a moment. Sora wasn't listening to the song; no, his shoulders were slumped and his half-open, wet eyes were focused on the Wayfinder in his hand.

"Sora…"

"That someone as beautiful as she,
"Could love someone like me.
"Love always finds a way it's true!
"And I love you, Evangeline."

On the next lily pad over, Naveen and Tiana had begun dancing after a hushed discussion between them. Behind the group, Louis had started playing his trumpet alongside Ray's lyrics. Taking in a deep breath, Xion turned to Sora and took both of his hands in hers. "Sora."

"Huh?"

"Love is beautiful,
"Love is wonderful!
"Love is everything, do you agree?
"Mais' oui!"

"Come on." She tugged on him, trying to get his attention, but Sora just stared at her in confusion. It gave way to dawning realization as he saw the two frogs a ways over, and he tried to pull away.

"Xion, I'm fine…"

"Pretend I'm Kairi, okay?"

She didn't give Sora a chance to respond, her next tug successfully getting him up off of his feet. To the tune of Louis's trumpet, the two of them moved awkwardly in the light of the stars and glowing flowers, turning this way and that on the somewhat springy floor of the lily pad beneath them. Sora's moping vanished in an instant, replaced by laughter and smiles that Xion quickly found herself reciprocating.

"Look how she lights up the sky,
"I love you, Evangeline."