DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT MY ORIGINAL CHARACTERS!
A/N: Okay... I'll be honest! It took me nearly TWO WEEKS to write this chapter! Trust me, it isn't fun when you get stuck with a sudden wave of WRITER'S BLOCK and lose track of what you wrote in your story!
Fortunately, since Chapter 5 was SOOO LONG, I decided that might account for the slower writing process... AND THE FEWER NUMBER OF REVIEWS! I Could've Sworn you actually LIKED my story, but your lack of reviews probably is the cause of the delay and the Writer's Block I had to ENDURE - Or Probably NOT...
Anyway, I just wanted to point out THREE MAJOR REASONS why I switched out the Hunchback of Notre Dame for Tangled - AT LEAST FOR THIS STORY!
(1.) I noticed how there wasn't a single Fairy-Tale-based world in KH3D, so I decided this would work well - especially since it seems to be one of the "darker" Disney ones.
(2.) The plot of the Hunchback of Notre Dame just made KH3D seem a little TOO DARK in my opinion. Therefore, I decided to strike more of a balance between light and darkness with my own version.
(3.) IF you ever were to compare TANGLED and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, you might discover how similar their storylines are. For instance, Mother Gothel's character was partially inspired by Judge Frollo; she even acts like him from time to time. Also, both of these stories involve someone wishing to explore outside the boundaries of where they are allowed to go.
I believe I might have been rambling on a little TOO MUCH! Last, but not least, I wanted to clarify that this chapter opens with a FLASHBACK.
That's all for now! SEE YOU AT THE END!
CHAPTER 6
Longing For Freedom
"I need to see them, Mother," Rapunzel exclaimed, still unsure if her point had been delivered effectively. "Not just from my window… in person. I have to know what they are."
"You want to go outside?" Mother Gothel jeered. She shook her head in disbelief with a sound of, "Tsk, tsk, tsk!" She closed the tower's main entranceway — a window — before returning to face Rapunzel. "Why Rapunzel, you know why we stay up in this tower!"
With a deep feeling of uncertainty, Rapunzel stammered, "I know, but… "
"That's right!" Mother Gothel declared, not letting Rapunzel finish her own thought. "To keep you safe and sound, dear! Guess I should've known this day was coming. I have one request… "
Rapunzel threw herself into Mother Gothel's arms. After the two had embraced for about two minutes, Mother Gothel finally said, "Rapunzel?"
"Yes?" Rapunzel returned, her eyes full of hope.
"Don't ever ask to leave this tower," Mother Gothel sternly stated. "Again!"
The hopeful glimmer in Rapunzel's eyes faded out of view with a disappointed sigh. "Yes… Mother."
Gothel's embrace tightened. "I love you very much, dear!"
"I love you more!" Rapunzel returned with a smile.
"I love you most!" Mother Gothel finished with a kiss.
"Time to rise and shine!"
With a groan of aggravation, Riku slowly sat up, yawned deeply with a full stretch of his arms before his eyelids sluggishly fluttered open. He was downright shocked, expecting Sora to be the voice calling everyone to awaken. However, Sora was still lying three feet away; his head still rested directly against the hard stone he had used for a pillow. Riku had curled up in a patch of wildflowers while Eugene had laid his head upon another smooth rock near Sora, and Rapunzel had snuggled up inside her hair. The only one left happened to be Violet, the Angel of Dreams.
The very sight of the angel announcing it was time to wake up puzzled Riku. Why would she wish for them to stop dreaming during their sleep? It didn't make any sense.
Riku carefully climbed onto his hands and knees, noticing he and the angel were the only ones awake. He carefully stood up onto the grass and tip-toed over behind Violet as soundlessly as he could, a smirked smile forming upon his lips. When he reached the spot he desired, the Keyblader squatted down, taking a few seconds to make certain the angel was unaware of his presence.
As expected, Violet was already showing evidence of frustration in her voice as she continued to shout for the others to wake up, to no avail. When she finally was ready to give up, Riku seized the moment of opportunity. He leapt onto his feet, tapped Violet on the shoulder, and hollered, "Gotcha!"
Violet let out a startled scream as she jumped into sky and spun around, hovering at the same time. She looked down to see who had startled her, only to recognize the chuckling image of Riku. Her eyes started to glare as she flapped her wings gently downwards until her feet had touched the security of the grassy clearing. As she could do was snap, "That was not silly! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Riku gave a shake of his head in reply. "So, I guess I'm the only one with a sense of humor?"
Violet was taken aback; this was easily expressed upon her face, though Riku failed to notice. "You're just as lazy as he is," the Keyblade Wielder remarked in amusement, gesturing his hand in the direction of where Sora was sound asleep.
All this did was cause Violet's glaring eyes to flare up. For a few minutes, the angel sustained her glowering eyes at the silver-haired teenager's giggling behavior. As far as the latter could tell, this was no different from Sora's reaction to the legend surrounding the Paopu Fruit. At a mere mention of sharing it with Kairi, Sora had nearly gone bonkers and physically injured his friend. Fortunately, Riku had admitted to basically teasing Sora rather than the other way around.
Their confrontation came to an abrupt halt when a desperate voice shouted, "Let me go! Let me go!"
The pair whirled their focus from each other and spotted the same, white horse they had seen in the saloon now dragging Eugene Fitzherbert away from the clearing. In the blink of an eye, both Riku and Violet were sprinting after the wanted criminal. At that exact moment, Rapunzel and Sora sprinted directly in front of them and grabbed Eugene's outstretched arms as the horse was dragging him by the thief's right boot.
"Give me… him!" Rapunzel demanded while pulling extra hard. The horse shook its head in return, causing Sora and Rapunzel to pull with as much strength as they could muster. Eugene came flying into both Sora and Rapunzel while his boot had remained ensnared in the horse's teeth. Not willing to yield easily, the horse quickly charged back at them.
As Eugene scrambled onto a patch of grass behind Sora, Rapunzel rushed forwards to block the animal's path. The horse tried to desperately step around the young woman, but Rapunzel kept stepping in front of its path. Riku and Violet had just reached the spot where Eugene was lying when Rapunzel placed her hands up at the horse's snout. She reassured, "Easy… "
The horse relaxed and stared back in confusion. At the same time, Riku turned to Eugene and asked, "You alright?"
Eugene nodded, though it was quite clear his eyes were filled with fear. He continued to stare at the horse until Rapunzel had persuaded the animal to sit down and drop the boot from its teeth. Rapunzel began to pet the horse's nose as it wagged its tail. "You are such a good boy!" she comforted. "Yes, you are!"
"Huh?!" was the only thing that escaped Sora's lips. It was obvious — at least to Riku — that this whole turn of events was mind-boggling. He continued to stare before sputtering, "But he's… he's a bad horse, right?!"
Violet stepped up to the horse, took a few moments to observe the creature's reaction to Rapunzel's petting, and smiled. "He is an enormous sweetheart," she remarked. "Nothing 'bad' about this creature."
Rapunzel glanced at the horse's collar before adding, "Isn't that right,… 'Maximus'?"
The horse nodded happily in return. From where he sat, Eugene muttered, "You've got to be kidding me!"
At that precise minute, a group of creatures emerged from the trees at the edge of the clearing. One glance and Riku was certain they were trouble-makers. The circus-colored frogs wielding swords and shields came hopping over, startling Rapunzel, Maximus, and Eugene. The former exclaimed, "Who's that?!"
"Nightmares!" Violet replied as she raised her right hand into the direction of the enemies. A goat with red horns, green hooves, a blue body, and a yellow tail appeared. The angel shouted, "Go, Billy!"
Billy charged at the monsters and began to toss them every-which-way as Sora and Riku summoned their Keyblades and charged into the horde. Sora swung his weapon at one of the frogs, only to have the enemy's shield block him. Instead, Riku took the opportunity to strike the Nightmare from behind, destroying it in a flash.
"They keep coming!" Sora shouted as he identified another group of frogs charging towards them. One of these frogs had a crown upon his head and appeared to be leading the others. Noticing this, Sora charged at the leader, only to get thrown back by a powerful block of a shield and swipe of a sword. Riku was about to attack next when Billy charged at the frog and grabbed it with his horns. He tossed it into the air before jumping and kicking it multiple times. After one final kick, the frog leader magically vanished. Violet ran over, awestruck at having seen the creature. "Lord Kyroo," she marveled. "That was him… "
"Lord Kyroo?" Riku questioned when both he and Sora turned to face the angel with Billy. Violet quickly told them about how she had once encountered a strange Nightmare calling himself 'Lord Kyroo' and was challenged in a match instantly. After a long, tiring battle, the Nightmare had vanished — vowing to return one day and seek another battle with her.
"That's quite a story… " Sora commented.
"Yeah," Riku affirmed, placing his right hand against his waist and his left hand at his side. "We might not have seen the last of him. We'll have to be ready."
At that moment, the group heard Rapunzel say, "Today's kind of the biggest day of my life, and the thing is, I need for you not to get him arrested — just for twenty-four hours. Then, you can chase each other to your heart's content. What do you say?"
The three turned their attention back to where Rapunzel was trying to have Maximus and Eugene issue a 'peace treaty'. When Eugene raised his hand, the horse turned away, causing Rapunzel to add, "And it's also my birthday — just so you know."
In response, Maximus sighed before placing his paw into Eugene's hand. The two shook reluctantly when the sound of ringing bells echoed in the air from somewhere close by. Rapunzel set off with a look of determined curiosity while Sora, Riku, and Violet followed along behind.
As it happened to be, the ringing bells were coming from a town carefully constructed upon a mound on an island. A tall, stone castle with lime-green colored roofs was situated at the peak of the hilltop.
As Rapunzel excitedly sprinted across a long, arched, stone bridge towards the town, Sora paused briefly to admire the scenery scattered about the sea surrounding them. He peered out over the water and towards the distant shoreline along the coastal forests. Knowing how much this made him think of his last visit to the world of Twilight Town, Sora beamed. He recalled how the woods surrounding the mountain slopes of the town's streets were no different than the ones he was looking at now. The layout of the town, he assumed, was also going to be similar to the world where the sun would never set nor rise. Nevertheless, he was positive this would be quite the adventure.
As the group neared the middle of the bridge, Sora and Eugene caught a glimpse of another wanted poster. At the mere glance of it, Eugene ripped the poster off the bridge, crumpled it up into a wad of parchment, and placed into Maximus's snout. In turn, Maximus spat the poster onto Eugene's face, which only resulted in the pair beginning to pull punches at one another. Thanks to some minor intervening from Riku (and Pascal's scowling eyes), the two reluctant allies halted in their quarrel.
Upon reaching the other side of the bridge, the group walked through a gigantic stone archway and into a plaza. The entire square was filled with the hustle and bustle of townspeople as they were going about their usual daily activities. Sora swept his eyes across the scenery, amazed by all the festive banners strung up all around the various streets, between buildings, and on the peaks of maypoles. The whole sight reminded him of the Seaside Festival of Twilight Town.
As they all stepped around the thick crowds, several people casually strode across Rapunzel's hair, forcing Riku and Violet to help Eugene collect it all up into a huge ball of golden hair. Spotting some nearby girls playing with their dolls' hair, Violet called them over with a small bit of persuasion. After Rapunzel's hair had been braided several times over with small flowers to hold it together, Sora smiled. Riku rapidly noticed this and nudged his friend a little, causing Sora to partially blush.
As they were waiting in a line for some grub, Sora noticed Rapunzel stepping over to a nearby mural. On the painting was a portrait of a king and queen holding a small girl with golden hair.
Sora turned to one of the shopkeepers beside him. "What's that?" he asked, indicating the mural.
The shopkeeper looked at the mural for a moment before he answered, "It's a painted portrait of the Royal Family of Corona. That little girl is their lost princess."
Sora was astounded. "Their 'lost princess'?"
The shopkeeper nodded. "She was kidnapped one night and no one has seen her since. They still cannot find her anywhere. That was eighteen years ago — today."
As the shopkeeper turned back to his customers, Sora took a closer examination of the painting, wondering if there was any connection between the 'lost princess' and the irony involving Rapunzel's story. He continued to stare at it in thought when the sound of playful music echoed in his ears.
Sora turned to face a nearby plaza, awestruck by what he saw there. There was a small group of musicians playing along while Rapunzel was twirling around in a dance within the square. She grabbed his arm, pulling Sora into the dance alongside several other spectators. Thus, the dance party grew and grew until everyone in the vicinity was engulfed in the celebration. Everyone that is, except for a baffled Riku, confused Violet, and surprised Eugene.
As Sora signaled for his friends to join in the merriment, Riku shook his head, claiming, "I've never danced."
"I am content where I am," Violet speedily stated. "Just spectating."
Eugene held up his hand and was about to shake his head when Maximus shoved him into the dancing crowd and neighed in excitement. The wanted thief gave Maximus a disapproving frown as he was dragged off into the festivity by Rapunzel. At the same time, Riku mischievously pushed Violet into the dance, causing Sora to lead the angel along. Riku gave a smirked grin as Violet snorted in dissatisfaction while stuck dancing with everyone else.
It was nearly sunset when the party died down, allowing Violet a chance to rest. Well, not exactly 'rest'; her legs instantly collapsed from under her the second the music ceased. Next to her was a worn-out-from-dancing Sora; he was still trying to catch his breath while sitting upon the plaza with his legs stretched out. He wiped a patch of sweat from his forehead as Rapunzel and Eugene stepped over with Riku and Maximus.
Noticing the angel's exhaustion, Riku reached out his hand for her. She graciously accepted it, resulting in the Keyblade wielder and the angel looking straight at one another with relief. Violet's wings slowly flapped a few times as she gave a deep smile without hesitation. This was a moment she suddenly had the urge to desire wishing would last for eternity.
Sadly, that moment came to an unexpected close when the sounds of screams took everyone's attention. The shopkeeper Sora had spoken with earlier was frantically shouting, "Monsters! Someone, get the guards!"
Violet's ears perked up at the mention of the term 'monsters'. She heard Sora exclaim, "Monsters?!"
He summoned his Keyblade while Riku did the same with his own. Violet nodded with a call of, "Must be some Nightmares. Let's go!"
With that, the Angel of Dreams led both Sora and Riku straight through the parting crowds of terrified townspeople. In no time, they reached another plaza, only it was full of circus-colored frogs with chef hats and wielding frying pans and spatulas. One frog, however, stood out amongst them all; Lord Kyroo.
Lord Kyroo shouted out to the horror-stricken faces of the townspeople, "Ribbity-Ribbit! I challenge Thee!"
At the very sound of the frog's voice, Sora charged at the creature, with his Keyblade poised to attack on a moment's notice. Yet, Lord Kyroo noticed this 'ambush' and dodged the attack. Rather, Riku and Violet charged from the mass of people and began fighting back. When the enemies charged at her, Violet re-summoned Billy to assist.
After watching Sora, Riku, and Billy destroy numerous "Frog-Chefs", Lord Kyroo apparently decided it was time to flee. He leaped into the air, disappearing through a mysterious dark portal. After the enemy was gone, Violet sighed deeply. Spotting this unusual state of depression, Riku turned to her and asked, "Is something wrong?"
Sora paused for a brief minute to observe the angel's uncomfortable behavior. He finally said, "Hey, what's up?"
Violet didn't even give one indication of acknowledgement to the pair. Instead, she continued to look down towards the cobblestone plaza they were still standing in. This only made both Riku and Sora more puzzled.
All at once, a voice shouted, "To the boats!"
A few minutes later, Riku, Sora, and Violet were gathered with Maximus along the wooden pier of one of the kingdom's dockyards. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Pascal had all climbed into a large, wooden canoe for a miniature excursion into the sea around the town. As he began to paddle, Eugene reached into the canoe and tossed a burlap sack of fresh, red apples onto the dock — straight in front of Maximus. The horse eyed him warily until Eugene confirmed, "What? I bought them!"
Believing the wanted criminal's words, Maximus began to gobble up each individual apple one-by-one. After the horse had devoured five of the apples, Eugene called from a short distance away, "…Most of them!"
Dumbfounded, Maximus froze in his movements, questioning which apples were paid for and which had been stolen — IF they were stolen. The prospect of such events unfolding made even Riku shake his head, especially since Sora was already doing the same. To the former, witnessing the unexpected was something he often would've naturally ignored instead of attempting to piece together any 'clues' involved. The only exception to that happened to be soon after Kairi had first arrived on the islands and not a soul knew precisely where she had originally come from. Though, there was also that deep, hidden, confidential… secret he'd always been keeping within. Yet, that was a completely unrelated piece of information, wasn't it?
Riku continued to watch with both Sora and Violet as the sun steadily dissolved beneath the horizon, the shadows of the night came into focus, and a lukewarm wind blew across the water — gradually transforming into a cool breeze as the darkness of the night finished setting in. He and the other two were constantly gazing up into the deep-indigo-colored sky, waiting for when the floating lanterns Rapunzel had been talking about would finally appear high up above their heads.
As he waited extra patiently, Riku spotted Violet sitting on the edge of the pier, gazing out over the deep, blue water with closed eyelids. She released a deep, sigh of depression as Riku asked, "Are you alright?"
With her eyes still closed, Violet sighed, "I am… very terrified."
"Why?" Sora questioned, now wondering himself why the angel was acting so gloomy. The only other friend of his that traditionally behaved in such a gloomy state was Eeyore. Yet, even that donkey was almost happy from time to time.
After a long pause, Violet took a deep breath. "Remember how Rapunzel has been waiting for eighteen years to witness these lanterns," she explained. "What if it is not everything she dreamed it she intended it to be?"
"Don't worry," Sora cheerfully encouraged. "It will be!"
Violet smiled despite the fact it was short-lived. She still seemed depressed.
"Could you tell us what's been bothering you?" Riku inquired, kneeling down to ensure he was at eye-level with the angel. He watched as Violet slowly opened her eyelids, revealing a tear-stricken set of eyes.
She took a deep breath once more. "Riku," she began. "Recall how earlier I said you were 'the lucky one'?"
Riku paused to double-check his memory-bank. When he had first met Violet, she had verbally publicized his deepest, most-confidential wish — right in front of Matt, Jackie, and Digit. After that, he had learned about who she was (the Angel of Dreams) and had wished his life was just like hers. However, she had muttered something about how Riku was still better off than she was.
His eyes grew big in realization. Riku turned to Violet and asked, "Is this why you said my struggles with the Darkness are better than my life would've been as a dream?"
Violet nodded. "I am the Angel of Dreams," she solemnly professed. "I always witness the dreams of others and experience stuff in them. Yet, I have never had a single dream of my own. If everyone were to simply stop dreaming… "
Her voice trailed off, resulting in a sudden sob of tears. Riku glanced at Sora; his best friend nodded in agreement. Riku turned back to Violet. "Sounds like you'd like to have your own dreams."
"Yeah," Sora affirmed. "I once had a friend who wished to be free of a lamp's spell. His last 'master' set him free with his last wish. Genie would've understood your problem."
Violet stared at him, confusion showing across her face. "Who is 'Genie'?!"
Sora hesitated, finally stating, "…I'll get back with you."
Riku shook his head; this was one quality of Sora's that would never alter in the least, little bit. The former turned back to Violet. With look of reassurance, he said, "Perhaps there's a way we could help you get out of this dilemma?"
Violet stared in shock. "You would really do that — for me?!"
"Are you sure?" Sora questioned, astounded by Riku's sudden decision-making.
Riku nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "No one should make their heart a prison, right?"
Violet gave a nod in return. As Riku stretched out his hand, the angel took it, allowing the Keyblade wielder to help her back onto her feet. With a grateful smile on her face, Violet swiftly hugged Riku; the latter was flabbergasted for a second until the comfort the angel always was emitting soothed him completely inside and out. They remained this way until Sora's voice proclaimed, "Whoa! What is that?!"
The duo whirled their attention back to Sora, noticing the teenager pointing into the sky above the castle. The item of interest happened to be a small, glowing lantern. It was followed quickly by countless others, rising from the town's buildings, castle, ships, and even the nearby forest areas. They continued to watch as the lanterns rose higher and higher into the air, forming what one could have easily described as a swarm of beauty over a sea of glass.
While the lights of the lanterns continued to fill the sky above, Riku could detect a rare moment of tranquility he might have been wishing he knew for the full duration of his lifetime so far. He was still watching in awe when smaller glimmers of light caught his eye. He turned around, noticing Violet holding up a trio of lanterns bearing the kingdom's symbol — the sun's outer-most layer.
As both Riku and Sora turned to face the angel, Violet spoke up, "I thought it would be nice for us to take part in this occasion. I just… did not know before if it was a good idea. Now…, I believe it is a great idea. You know what I am saying?"
"Don't worry," Riku soothed. "We'll be here for you."
"Yeah," Sora added. "Count on it!"
In response, Violet's smirked grin instantly transitioned into a deep, joy-filled smile. She handed each of the two a lantern while keeping one for herself. At the count of three, the trio sent their lanterns flying up, up, up into the air to join the gathering of the others. Even so, it was the movement occurring about their lanterns that snatched both Riku and Sora's eyes; Riku and Violet's lanterns were circling each other whilst Sora's was continuously orbiting the other two.
Riku glanced over to where Violet was currently attempting to prevent a drifting lantern from landing into the waves below. She hopped over, flapping her wings as she swooped into the air and caught the lantern; she gently pushed it back into the sky above to rejoin the multitude grouping together. As the angel set her feet back upon the docks, Riku sneakily approached her and took her hands. Startled, Violet spun around to face him; she relaxed, knowing he meant her no harm. The two continued to stare at each other calmly for several, lengthy minutes had passed.
"I spy with my little eye, two 'lovebirds' sticking together!"
Riku and Violet jostled around for a moment before seeing Sora's amusing smirk; they immediately knew he was the one who had spoken. All Riku did was shake his head in return.
"No! Wait! Guys!" The sound of the voice caused everyone — including Maximus — to turn their focus into the direction of another pier further down the dockyard. To their shock and bewilderment, a group of soldiers were currently dragging off a figure that strongly resembled Eugene Fitzherbert. It wasn't confirmed until the strange captive exclaimed, "Rapunzel!"
At the mere sight of Eugene being apprehended by the soldiers, Riku automatically had the feeling something had definitely gone wrong. His feelings were strengthened when Maximus stared out into the forests beyond the bridge. "Something's happened… " he muttered aloud.
At the exact moment, the charm situated around Violet's neck began to glow brilliantly, startling everyone. A beam of light shot out towards the closest stone wall like a laser, turning into a projection against the wall. Baffled beyond belief, Riku sputtered, "What is… "
"It is a flashback," Violet recognized, her eyes growing big in anticipation. "They usually appear whenever a certain turn-of-events can be shown visually."
Knowing this information, Sora, Riku, and Violet all watched as an image of Rapunzel and Eugene sitting together in their canoe came into focus. Eugene was holding a lantern for each of them.
As Rapunzel looked at Eugene, she smiled before speaking. "I have something for you, too."
She reached behind her back, grabbed something, and pulled it out to show the wanted criminal; it was his satchel. For a moment, Rapunzel was still overly hesitant. "I should've given it to you before, but I was just scared. The thing is… I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"
Eugene placed his hand upon the brown satchel, sliding it off with the words, "I'm starting to."
Rapunzel cheerfully grinned all the more.
"That doesn't show us anything," Sora blurted. "She just gave him back the satchel! So what?!"
"Hey," Riku sharply growled. "Just watch the rest of it!"
As Rapunzel and Eugene continued to look each other straight in their eyes, Pascal (who was sitting on the canoe's railing) turned as red as fire, covering his eyes with his feet. Yet, moments before the two could share a kiss, Eugene paused, noticing something on the distant shoreline. Spotting his unprecedented behavior, Rapunzel asked, "Is… everything alright?"
After a brief pause, the young man nodded. "Yeah… everything's fine," he stammered. "It's just… "
Eugene glanced at the satchel, clearly knowing he still had to do something important.
A few moments later, the canoe was resting against the banks of the shoreline. Eugene clambered out of it, snatching the satchel in the process. He stated as confidently as possible, "…There's something I still need to take care of."
For nearly a minute, Rapunzel froze, thinking of how to respond. "Oh… okay!" she finally spoke up.
As Eugene marched off into a patch of thick fog, Pascal turned to Rapunzel; the latter smiled at him. "It's alright, Pascal." She reassured, though it was still quite clear that even she wasn't so convinced.
At least five minutes passed before the shadow of a figure emerged from the fogbank. Rapunzel let out a sigh of relief. "I thought you'd taken the crown and left me!" she announced.
To her shock and surprise, the figure turned out to be two people; two men. One had mutton chops, was wearing green, and wielding a sword. The other had an eye patch, was wearing black, and wielding a dagger. The first of the two declared, "He did! See for yourself!"
Rapunzel took a look out into the sea. Out in the middle of the smooth, calm waters was a small, wooden sailboat heading in the direction of the kingdom. The 'captain's' silhouette greatly resembled that of Eugene himself. Rapunzel was now frightfully alarmed. At that moment, one of the two men said, "A fair trade — a crown for the girl with the magic hair."
Upon hearing this, Rapunzel gasped and she whirled around to face the pair. One of the men smirked, "How much do you think somebody would pay to live strong and healthy forever?"
The other man pulled out a gigantic, burlap sack as the two moved in to capture Rapunzel.
"No!" Rapunzel desperately pleaded. "Please! No!"
Realizing her words were falling upon deaf ears, Rapunzel ran for her life. In the process, her hair got caught upon a log. She frantically tried to yank it free — to no success.
To say Sora's mouth was literally agape would be only partially correct; he was both mystified and speechless as the projection suddenly blurred and faded away. Everything turned dark once again as the Keyblader began to ponder. Why would Eugene reveal Rapunzel's secret to a pair of outlaws? Why would he abandon her? Even more importantly, why did he call out her name as the guards arrested him? Something about the whole situation seemed very far-fetched.
Before Sora (or anyone else) could say anything, a second gathering of soldiers emerged from the bridge. They were escorting two men into the town to be taken to the castle's dungeon as quickly as possible. Spotting them, Sora exclaimed, "Hey! Those are the two who went after Rapunzel!"
"You are correct!" Violet exclaimed a moment later.
"Yeah," Riku added. "But there's no sign of her."
Acting quickly, Sora summoned his Keyblade and charged over to the convoy. He was moving so fast that Riku and Violet's shouts did not register within his brain. Rather, when he reached the soldiers, Sora pointed his Keyblade at the escort. Instantly, the guards gasped in fear at the very sight of such a young man wielding a strange weapon. Sora glared at the pair of bandits he had just seen in the flashback. "Where is she?!" he snarled.
The one with the eye patch replied, "Look! It wasn't us! It was that old lady! She set us up!"
Confused, Sora stared for a brief second before sprinting away from the escort. He reached the others in no time at all. Riku exclaimed, "Sora! Don't run off like that again! What would Kairi say if you got arrested?!"
"Forget about it," Sora interrupted, though there was nothing to interrupt. "They said something about an 'old lady' setting them up. What's that supposed to mean?"
"Old lady," Violet murmured softly. After a few minutes, she exclaimed, "I got it!"
Riku looked up in shock. "I got it!"
Sora looked at each of his friends in surprise; Riku and Violet had each said the same exact thing at the same exact time. The latter two looked at each other in bewilderment. At that moment, Sora inquired, "Got what?"
"Rapunzel's mother," Riku explained. "She looked like an old lady."
"Mother Gothel," Violet elaborated. "Would she really set up her daughter to get captured by two thugs?"
"Unless…," Sora paused, recalling the strange mural in the town. There was something strange about the painting. Why had Rapunzel been examining it so carefully? Perhaps there was a connection between the lost princess and Rapunzel after all. Still, why would Rapunzel's mother keep her locked away inside a tower for years and years if she was trying to keep her safe?
Sora stared out towards the shoreline. "…Rapunzel isn't her daughter!"
A/N: CLIFFHANGER! HANGING FROM A CLIFF! AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED 'CLIFFHANGER'! Sorry! I just HAD to add that Between The Lions joke - for now reason in particular!
As it is, you might have noticed the sequence involving a "projection". From here on out, keep your eyes peeled for such scenes as they WILL be popping up at various intervals.
Also, I sincerely apologize for the EXTREME LENGTH of Chapter 5. Since TANGLED happens to be one of my favorite Disney Movies, I just got carried away and probably wrote what should've been two chapters instead of one.
As I always say, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE WITHOUT REVIEWING! THE FATE OF THIS STORY DEPENDS ON IT!
This is SoraLego278 saying, "See Ya Later, Keybladers!"