Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or anything Disney. Only Nairbix. There will also be another author's note at the end of the chapter for more details.
At the Mysterious Tower everyone was at their wits end in looking for Nairbix. It had been two days since they last saw him and now they were beginning to worry.
"Hey, fellas!" Mickey shouted as he barged through the door of the study. "I found out where Nairbix is!"
"What, where?!" They all shouted.
"He's heading to a world known as Corona. We may be able to catch up to him this time!" Mickey said cheerfully with a chuckle.
"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go get em'!" Sora said. Once they all had gotten on their Riders they made their way to Corona, after they landed they found themselves at the base of an incredibly tall tower with a man and a young woman coming down from it. There was only one strange thing about them, or rather only one strange thing about the girl, she had extremely long golden hair as though it had never been cut once in her life, and that she had a little green Chameleon on her shoulder.
"Hello, are you people lost?" The girl asked sweetly.
"Um, sort of." Aqua answered, "Actually we're looking for someone."
"Oh, and who might that be?" The man asked nervously for some reason.
"That would be us." Came two voices from behind everyone. They all turned to see both Elsa and Scarlet Rose with both General and Catastrophe at their sides. "Excuse me, Miss? What is your name?" Elsa asked the young lady.
"Um, Rapunzel." She answered with confusion.
"And I am Flynn Rider, perhaps you've heard of me?" He asked with a charming smile only to receive blank stares from the two sisters. "Or not." He answered dropping his smile.
"And pray tell, Rapunzel, does your hair have magical properties?" Scarlet Rose asked.
"Yes…" Answered Rapunzel hesitantly.
Scarlet Rose then grew a satisfied look on her face and said, "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be. In that case we need you to come with us."
"Fat chance!" Sora retorted jumping in front of Rapunzel with his Keyblade in hand. "If you want to take her for your stupid plan you'll have to get through us!" He cried.
"Please come with us." Elsa begged, "It's a matter of life and death!"
"Rapunzel, don't listen to them! They just want the magic in your hair and they will do anything to get it." Aqua informed as she guarded them with her Keyblade out.
"You don't understand, we need her magic before it's too late!" Elsa argued.
"Um, if I may make a suggestion?" Flynn asked Rapunzel in her ear.
"What?" Rapunzel asked just before Flynn pulled on her arm and began to run.
"Get out of here and run!" He screamed, but General and Catastrophe cut them off.
"You. Stay." They both growled.
"Okay, fine." Flynn said with his hands raised in defense. "Look behind you!" He shouted pointing, they looked and they ran past them. "See ya suckers!" Once they got to the forest the two of them just kept running as fast as they could, after a while they stopped. "Okay, I think we lost them." Flynn said trying to catch his breath. "Okay then, blondie, let's get you to see those lanterns so I can get my satchel back." Hearing no response. "Uh, Rapunzel?"
"Whoohoo!" She yelled as she was swinging around a tree with her hair, "Best. Day. Ever!"
Back at the base of the tower, everyone was at a stalemate that is until Nairbix arrived through a Corridor of Darkness.
"Why is it, that every time any of us go somewhere, we are always interrupted by you meddling pests?!" Nairbix asked. "Have you found the princess yet?" He asked Elsa.
"Yes…but thanks to her companion she escaped into the woods." She admitted in shame.
"STOPZA!" Mickey yelled with his Keyblade in his hand pointing it to the sky. The spell kept everyone but Sora and his friends frozen in time. "Come on, fellas! This spell won't hold them for long!" he warned. So they all left in the same direction that Flynn and Rapunzel went, not too later they found them and Rapunzel seemed to be having an emotional breakdown.
"Um, is she okay?" Kairi asked Flynn who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and a bored look on his face.
"Not sure, she's kind of conflicted about sneaking out of that tower and disobeying her mother." He replied. "By the way who are you guys? And who were those two babes with the freaky monsters?"
"I'm Sora." He said. "These are my friends Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, Aqua, Mickey, Terra and Ven. The girl in the blue dress is called Elsa and the other one is her sister Scarlet Rose, they're the daughters of a man named Nairbix VanSull. They've been going around collecting objects with magical properties to use for some kinda plan of theirs. We think they want Rapunzel's hair for some reason."
"In that case we better find someplace to hide to keep them off of our tails." Rapunzel suggested after she was finished with her breakdown.
"I know just the place." Flynn said with a snap.
"Where?" Donald asked.
"Oh, you'll know it when you smell it." After a while of walking through the woods they found an old tavern, "Ah, there it is, the Snuggly Duckling. Don't worry, very quaint place, perfect for you." Flynn said to Rapunzel.
"Are you sure you want to hide here?" Riku asked her.
She replied, "Well, I do like ducklings."
"Yay!" Flynn cheered mockingly only convincing Rapunzel he was happy. Once they made it inside they found that this was a thug bar! The whole party made their way past angry thugs and bandits while dodging flying bottles, chairs, tables, food and people that were tossed around by those who were fighting. Unbeknown to them, Nairbix and his daughters walked into the bar looking for the Keyblade wielders.
"Spread out and find them." He said to them, he then looked at the stage at the end of the bar and saw a guy playing the piano singing off key, this put an idea in Nairbix's head. Donald was walking over to the large table where his friends were sitting with a few mugs in his hands, he looked around to see if he needed to duck his head in case something came flying at him, but instead he saw Nairbix and the girls looking around.
"Uh, oh." He squawked. "Sora, they're here!" Donald yelled to his friend who was drinking, once he heard this he did what anyone would do, he did a spit take.
"Oh, crap." Riku muttered, "What do we do now?" He asked his comrades.
"I'll handle this." Sora stated as he got up and went to the stage. "Cut the music!" He said to the pianist. "Everyone listen to me! There are three people in here who are trying to attack me and my friends and steal the magic from one of my friend's hair. Their names are Nairbix, Elsa and Scarlet Rose VanSull!" Sora addressed once he gained all of the thug's attention, "And they're over there!" He said pointing to the trio, the people surrounding them backed away and a stage light was now on them showing each of the VanSulls to the crowd.
Nairbix stepped forward and said, "Thank you, Sora, for that marvelous introduction." Everyone else chuckled at that, then out of the blue Nairbix began to sing.
"I put a spell on you. And now you're mine!" The thugs were now laughing thinking that this was an act.
"You can't stop the things I do, I ain't lyin!" He continued.
"No! No, don't listen to him!" Kairi yelled while she and her friends covered their ears.
"It's been ten years right down to the day! Now VanSull's back! And there's hell to pay. I put a spell on you." He sang as he and his daughters made their way to the stage. "And now you're, MINE!" They then got on stage ready to cast their spell on everyone.
"Hello, Corona! My name's Nairbix what's yours? I put a spell on you and now you're gone!"
"Gone, gone, gone so long!" The girls sang waving their hands cutely.
"My whammy fell on you and it was strong!"
"So strong, so strong, so strong, so strong!"
"Your wretched little lives have all been cursed, 'cause of all the VanSulls working, I'm the worst! I put a spell on you and now you're mine!"
"Pascal, where are you?!" Rapunzel called for her chameleon who jumped over to them.
"Watch out, watch out, watch out, watch out!" Elsa and Scarlet Rose sang while making poses on each side of Nairbix.
From behind them all, General and Catastrophe jumped out snarling at the party causing them to scream and run.
"If you don't believe you better get superstitious, ask my daughters!"
"He's so vicious!"
"I put a spell on you! I put a spell on you! Daughters!" He cried, now all three of them sang with the crowd repeating them.
"Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi!"
"Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi!"
"In comma coriyama!"
"In comma coriyama!"
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
"I!"
"I!"
"Say bye-bye! Bye-bye!" And with that the song was finished and the spell was cast. Everyone who was in the tavern was dancing uncontrollably, Nairbix then began to laugh maniacally, "Dance, dance you fools, dance until you die! Hahaha!"
"Um, Dad." Elsa said poking her father's shoulder.
"What?"
"They left." She said pointing at the table where the teens used to be sitting. A few seconds passed before Nairbix finally said something.
"SON OF A-ARGH! Come on!" He yelled as they headed to the back door to head them off. Behind the back door one of the thugs led them all to a secret passage.
"Go, show 'em your strength and protect her." He said.
Flynn replied, "I will."
"You're a pansy, I was talking to them." He corrected bluntly before he pushed them all through the opening, then Nairbix caught up to them after the door was shut.
"Where did they go?" He asked the hook handed thug who said nothing, "Oh, silent, eh? Elsa, freeze his crotch." Nairbix ordered.
The thug then moved out of the way with his real hand covering his crotch and his hook pointed at the door, "They went that way."
Once they got inside the tunnel, the party was beginning to get to know their new friends a little better, and surprisingly Terra was the first one to start up a conversation with Rapunzel.
"So, any idea why Nairbix and his daughters would want your hair?" He asked.
"Well," She dragged, "There is its ability to heal people, but he seemed fine to me."
"Well, to be honest, I think you have very lovely hair." Terra said not realizing that he was pretty much flirting.
Rapunzel then looked at Terra slyly and asked a question of her own, "So, what's your story, Terra?"
"There's nothing much to tell really, well actually that's not completely true but I don't think you could handle any of my stories." He teased as they kept walking.
"Try me." She retorted with a smirk.
"Maybe some other time, I got to admit getting that thug to get us past Nairbix like that was impressive, I didn't know you had it in you." Terra smoothed talked unintentionally.
"I know!" She replied ecstatically but then composed herself and said coolly, "I know." But before they could continue their chat, everyone could feel the tunnel shaking and the sound of angry people in the distance. "Um, guys!" Rapunzel said fearfully, "I think we should run!" And run they did.
Once they got outside, everyone found themselves was being surrounded by a group of soldiers, two criminals and a horse at the base of a large dam, basically people that apparently did not like Flynn.
"Hold this!" Rapunzel said to Flynn smacking him with a frying pan just before she swung onto another cliff with her hair.
Flynn was now left to defend for himself, "Listen, boys. I don't want to intimidate you or anything, but my friends and I would rather not fight you." He said waving the pan around like a sword.
"You mean those friends?" The Captain said pointing to the other side of the cliff where Sora and the others were.
"…Yeah, them." Flynn replied with a look that said "you've got to be kidding me." Then he started to hit the soldiers with the frying pan until they all were out cold, "Oh, mama, I got to get me one of these!" He shouted happily, that is until the horse was pointing a sword at him in its mouth.
Then they began to fight, "You should know, that this is the strangest thing I've ever done!" Flynn shouted as he was fighting, that is until the horse knocked the pan out of his hands and into the ravine. "How 'bought two out of three?" He asked as the horse was once again pointing the sword at him.
"Flynn!" Rapunzel shouted before she threw her hair like a lasso around his hand pulling him, he was now swinging through the ravine past the soldiers.
"Ha! You should see your faces 'cause you look-" He was cut off from taunting because he had ironically swung into a plank of wood sticking out of the wall, "Ridiculous." He wheezed.
The horse then kicked a support beam to the dam, everyone was now trying to out run both the guards and the incoming water from the dam, after barely making it through a small tunnel the water began to flood it. But when all hope seemed lost, the water was being sucked back from the entrance, and at the entrance, the rocks that were blocking it were pulled away. Once the water was no longer there sunlight could be seen, and in front of that sunlight was Nairbix with a massive swirling sphere of water hovering in his hand.
"Well now, that was close. We can't let the flower have too much water now, can we?" He asked.
"Flynn, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." Rapunzel whispered to her friend on the verge of tears.
"Eugene. My name's Eugene Fitsherbert, thought someone should know." He whispered causing Rapunzel to give a small smile.
"Now then, my dear. I need you to come with me." Nairbix said to Rapunzel with an outstretched hand.
"Forget it, Nairbix, none of us would let you or your crazy daughters anywhere near Rapunzel!" Sora shouted, "Right, guys?" He asked.
"Right!" Kairi and Riku agreed.
"Right!" Said Donald and Goofy.
"Right!" Aqua, Terra and Ven replied.
"Wrong." Someone said as they walked over to Nairbix and his daughters. It was Mickey!
"Mickey? Why?" Riku asked in shock at what his friend was doing.
Mickey stopped and bowed his head sadly, "I'm sorry, Riku, everyone. I want you all to know that I still see you as my friends." He informed as he turned to look at them, "But Nairbix is still my brother."
"Now then if we can get back on track, let's-" Then Nairbix was having yet another episode, the darkness was seeping out of his skin again and he was having a hard time standing up, as he was staggering the water sphere was beginning to collapse and release the water back into the cave.
"Guys! Come quick, I found a way out!" Terra called deeper into the cave as he was pulling out rocks that led outside. Nairbix was now spitting up blood and losing control of the water, and so the water was released back into the cave engulfing the party and pushing them out into a river.
"We made it!" Rapunzel said catching her breath.
"I can't believe that there really was a spy." Aqua said wringing out her hair, "And it was Mickey of all people."
Goofy and Donald were now sighing sadly at this news, "Gawrsh, I can't believe the king lied to us like that." Goofy said sadly.
"I wonder." Kairi muttered.
"What?" Ven asked.
"Well, Scarlet Rose said that there were two spies. And if Mickey was one of them, then who's the other if there is one?" She asked. Now there was both tension and silence in the air that is until Rapunzel broke it.
"Oh, my, Terra, what happened to your hand?" She asked once she saw a cut on his right palm.
"I guess I must have cut it when I was moving the rocks."
"Here, let me take care of it." She said to him as she wrapped a few locks of her golden hair around his palm.
"So you're being extremely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around his injured hand." Eugene remarked as Terra winced.
"Sorry," She apologized, "Just don't freak out, okay?"
"Believe me, I've seen plenty of freaky things so I doubt whatever it is you want to do will top them." Terra retorted, but Rapunzel ignored him and began to sing and as she was singing her hair was glowing and her little Chameleon was pointing to his own little hand to attempt to explain what was going to happen.
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fate of time. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." Once she was finished singing in her beautiful voice, her hair was no longer glowing and the wound on Terra's hand was gone as though it had never been there.
"Wow! I take back what I said." Terra admitted in surprise, "Thanks."
Rapunzel then blushed and gathered her hair quickly and said, "Don't mention it, you would do the same for me." This did not go unnoticed to Aqua and Ven who were now smirking at the sight of a budding romance for their closest friend.
"That's it!" Sora shouted scaring everyone.
"Geez, Sora- you gave us all heart attacks!" Ven exclaimed clutching his heart, but Sora ignored him.
"I get it now! Nairbix doesn't want Rapunzel's hair for his plan at all!"
"Then what does he want it for?" Eugene asked.
"Of course, it all makes since." Aqua said once she realized the answer.
"What?" Eugene asked again.
"He doesn't want it for his plan." Riku added.
"Hello! Normal confused person here!" Eugene said raising his voice.
"He wants it to heal himself." Kairi gasped.
"Why?" Rapunzel asked.
"Because Nairbix is dying." Came a voice from above, the voice belonged to Mickey! He then jumped down from the ledge he was on and stood in front of everyone.
"Please, Rapunzel, just come with me for a while so we can heal him. Please. Jumba and I just got our brother back and Elsa and Rosie just got their father back. None of us can bear to lose him again." He begged.
"Why should we help you?!" Aqua asked now standing up to her old friend, "You lied to us, you've been lying to us from the start! This man has hurt and killed innocent people and you want us to let him live?!"
"I lied to you to help my brother. We were going to get those objects without causing any fuss if we could. It was you!" He said pointing his gloved finger at them, "That started all of those fights! Sora, you were the one who threatened Scarlet Rose at Destiny Islands when she was collecting the sand! Then all of you attacked her when she went to get the chains, not once in those two times did she draw first blood, you did!" He shouted as he continued. "Then you four," He said to Riku, Terra and his palace guards, "Attacked Nairbix after he picked up Maleficent's staff, he warned you that he meant no harm and would not attack you unless you provoked him! And then the rest of you nearly killed Elsa at Camelot, if it hadn't been for her ability to regenerate you would have murdered her!"
"Yeah?! And what about when Scarlet Rose took Belle hostage?! She threatened to kill her and her unborn baby!" Sora shouted.
"Well, you certainly got back at her by breaking her heart!" Retorted the little mouse King. "You made my niece cry!" He then gave a frustrated sigh before he spoke to Rapunzel again, "I didn't come here to take you by force. But you have the power to save him, I won't force you." He said as he summoned a Corridor of Darkness and began to walk backwards into it. "Just don't make his daughters orphans again." And with that, King Mickey was gone.
"What do you think I should do?" Rapunzel asked her friends, no one answered for a few moments that is until Terra spoke.
"It's your choice, you don't need our permission to help people, and we have no say in that and no right to tell you what to do. But Nairbix is planning something and we don't know what it is. If you want to save him you can, we won't think any less of you." All of the others nodded towards her.
"Um, how long is it to where the lanterns are, Eugene?" She asked.
"Well, about a few hours away, and luckily tomorrow night is when they're lit. I think this Nairbix guy can wait a day or two for your magical freaky hair. So what do you say, ready to see some lanterns?" He asked receiving a nod.
The next day they made it to the town of Corona and everywhere purple merchandise and banners with golden suns decorated the whole town, unfortunately there was a very large crowd so Rapunzel's hair kept getting stepped on, then Terra noticed a few young girls who had braided hair. He whistled to them and directed their attention to the mile long hair, so they girls happily braided her hair into the largest braid, woven into it were flowers of many kinds. Terra could only stare at her new look with a dumbstruck look on his face.
"Well, what do you think?" She asked him.
"Well you look- I mean it looks- what I mean to say, it great." He said nervously, "Why am I acting like this?" He asked in his head.
Then Ven got up to him and bumped his shoulder and said, "Whoa-hoho!" This caused Terra to punch him to the ground and nervously laugh, as they continued down the street Rapunzel noticed a mural of the King and Queen holding a cute little golden haired baby girl.
She was then brought out of her daze once a group of minstrels walked past her playing a lovely tune. She then began to dance around happily to the song pulling in almost everyone to join her, clapping along to the tune and dance. She then motioned for Terra to come and join in but his just waved her off while smiling, then Ven and Aqua pushed him in forcing him to dance with her. Off to the side Eugene and Aqua were enjoying the sight and the food.
"So you don't have a problem with them?" Aqua asked smirking as she ate her snack.
"What, those two? Nah, don't get me wrong she's a great girl and I'm glad she's my friend but hey if he makes her happy, then I'm happy. Besides, I'm more into brunettes than blondes." He said to the Keyblade Master.
"Good, I'm glad he has finally found someone nice. That stick in the mud needs a little romance in his life." She said happily holding hands with her boyfriend.
After spending a whole day of dancing, exploring and hiding Eugene from the soldiers, everyone was back to where they started dancing in the square. After passing through partners left and right, Terra and Rapunzel danced right into each other's embrace smiling. Later that evening, the large group of friends each rented a gondola to ride on the water to see the lanterns, Sora and Kairi were in one, Ven and Aqua were in another while Donald and Goofy shared one and Riku and Eugene kept their distance pouting that they had no women in their boat and that they had to share one together. Once night fell everyone waited for the lanterns.
Terra noticed that the golden haired beauty was a little on edge, so being a gentlemen he broke the ice. "You okay? He asked.
"I'm terrified." She replied, "For eighteen years I've been looking out a window, dreaming what it might be like to see those lights rise into the sky. What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?" She asked looking at the night sky.
"Dreams are funny things, you can go your whole life searching for one and be either utterly disappointed by the outcome or you can feel complete once you've fulfilled it. Sure there are bumps on the road to making it come true, but if you put your heart into it then you will feel even more complete than you ever thought you could be." Terra explained smiling at the blonde.
"Do you have a dream?" She asked.
Terra took a deep breath and replied, "Yep, and believe me there have been a lot of bumps on the road. I lost my way trying to redeem myself after failing to accomplish it, but my friends were always there for me in person and in spirit to pick me back up. It might take me awhile, but I will become a Keyblade Master." He declared with determination.
"But what if mine doesn't turn out the way I want it?" She asked again.
"Then you get to find another dream." Terra answered softly. And then, a single lantern was lifted into the sky from the castle and following it were hundreds more flying into the sky and shining like stars. As they floated up, Rapunzel got up shaking the boat to gaze at the lanterns, she then noticed two brighter lights behind her and saw that Terra had two lanterns for the both of them to lift, even her other friends all had lanterns of their own to show that they were all Rapunzel's friends.
"Is it what you thought it would be?" Terra asked.
"It's better." She replied with tears of happiness in her eyes as they all lifted their lanterns into the air, and though they did not know it, Terra's and Rapunzel's danced together in the sky. The two of them then began to lean in to kiss each other, but then a single fluttering glowing rose petal fluttered in between them, all around them the petals fluttered beautifully.
"Oh, wow, I didn't know they used rose petals too!" Rapunzel said cheerfully, but Terra and his comrades knew what these really were. Terra then grabbed the oar and began to paddle as fast as he could.
"Rapunzel, we need to get out of here, we're in danger!" He cried.
"Danger, from what?" She asked.
"Terra, look!" Aqua shouted pointing over to the shore. What they saw next brought even more fear, it was another experiment! This one was new to them, it was light purple and had a stupid, evil toothy grin on its face, and it had a large beach-ball shaped butt and the weird thing was the experiment was bouncing up and down on it like a hippidy hop ball children could ride on.
"Bonachu!" It yelled cheerfully as it bounced high into the air and landed butt first onto the water causing a massive wave to envelope the party in water. Now the boats were flipped and only Rapunzel was to be seen gasping for air as she held onto the boat.
"Terra!" Cough, "Eugene! Anyone?!" She called but received no answer, then in front of her on the other side of the boat, a swarm of the rose petals formed a cyclone reveling Scarlet Rose once it cleared, grinning like a madwoman.
"Hello, Princess." She greeted, "You're coming with me!" She declared as she grabbed Rapunzel's arm as the petals engulfed them whisking them away. Not a second later, the others rose out of the water gasping for air as they coughed out the water in their lungs.
"Rapunzel!" Terra called but received no answer, the others called out for her as well but had the same result.
"Where did they take her?" Eugene asked.
"Guys, look!" Ven shouted as he pointed towards the sky, only over one small area did a swirling vortex of black thunder clouds cover. Seeing this brought only one thought to everyone's minds, "The tower!" They all exclaimed, they summoned their Riders and headed straight for the tower.
Over at the top of the tower that once held Rapunzel now held her, Elsa, Scarlet Rose, Jumba, Mickey and a dying Nairbix inside the healing chamber once more with an oxygen mask over his face.
"Now all we need you to do is heal him and we will bring you back to your friends once he is in stable condition." Scarlet Rose explained to a very frightened Rapunzel.
"We must be hurrying! We are running out of time!" Jumba shouted while reading the monitor showing Nairbix's condition.
"Please heal him!" Elsa begged as she and her sister were down on their knees.
"We just got him back, we can't lose him again, not to this!" Scarlet Rose pleaded as she and her sister began to cry. Rapunzel looked back and forth between the two sisters and their father who was slowly slipping away, she took a deep breath and undid her large braid letting all of the flowers fall with her long locks of hair to the ground.
"I'll do it." She declared, she then gathered up her hair as Jumba opened the chamber and lifted Nairbix up allowing Rapunzel to wrap her hair around Nairbix's body, she then began to sing.
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fate of time. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." Once she was finished singing and her hair stopped glowing Nairbix's breathing was steadying! The monitor had now shown that Nairbix was at full heath, even better than ever!
"Haha! Eureka it worked! There are no signs of the virus, he is cured!" Jumba cheered with his fists raised in the air and Mickey hugging him and the girls crying in relief while hugging each other. Nairbix on the other hand was sleeping peacefully as his strength and life force were returning to him.
"Thank you." They all said to Rapunzel in full gratitude at this deed. But then the sound of clapping could be heard from the shadows in the corner of the room, the clapping came from a middle aged woman with curly black hair in a long red dress and from the look on her face she was not happy.
"Well now, dear, I'm so happy that you have put your powers to good use for the needs of others over your own mother." She said sarcastically, "Oh, by the way, I'm just teasing." She said sourly with a scowl.
"Mother?" Rapunzel asked.
"Oh, so you do remember me!" She mocked, "I would hope so seeing how I have been the one protecting and raising you after all these years."
"Rapunzel!" Shouted the voices of her friends at the base of the tower.
"Oh, so you've brought friends? How delightful." Gothel said in disgust. "You might as well say good bye now, because once we leave here you will never see them again." She then snapped her fingers and caused both her and Rapunzel to be outside at the base of the tower.
"How did you-" Rapunzel began before Gothel cut her off.
"Oh, please. I've been absorbing the magic from your hair for centuries, did you honestly think that I wouldn't have picked up at least some magic after all this time?" She asked her prisoner of a daughter.
"Rapunzel!" Terra shouted once he saw her. She looked at him sincerely and breathed his name, she was about to run to him but Gothel stepped on her hair stopping Rapunzel.
"Let her go!" Riku yelled as he summoned his Keyblade ready to fire a spell, but Gothel snapped her fingers again which caused all of their magic except Rapunzel's to be nullified.
"Imbeciles." She muttered as she rolled her eyes.
"Let her go, you old hag!" Aqua shouted, this had struck the final nerve in Gothel, she was now seething in anger at this insult.
"Old hag?!" She cried with a knife above her head, she then threw it at Aqua but Rapunzel tried to get in the way of it. However it missed her and cut her hair causing it to be neck length like Aqua's, her hair was now turning brown including the long locks that were cut off.
"No!" Gothel shouted as she began to rapidly age now that the magic was gone, but before she aged to death Nairbix stood behind her and grabbed her white head and wrinkled chin like he was about to snap her neck.
"Blow away in the wind like the dust you are." He whispered in her ear right before he snapped her neck turning her body into dust in the wind.
"Terra!" Ven shouted in horror as he saw his best friend clutch his heart and collapse to the ground. Rapunzel then rushed over to him and put his head in her lap, she then saw the knife Gothel had thrown in his chest.
"Oh, no, this is all my fault!" She wept.
"Hey it's okay, it's not your fault that hag had terrible aim." He joked. Rapunzel then tried to sing but they all knew that she had no magic left.
"Can't we do something?" Donald squawked.
"My magic's still nullified." Aqua chocked through her tears at the sight of her oldest friend.
"Mine to." Kairi said sadly.
"This is not happening." Sora refused, "It can't be happening, it can't."
"Rapunzel." Terra said stopping her attempts at healing him. "You were my new dream." He whispered lovingly. She sniffled and gave a sad smile.
"And you were mine." Then Terra went limp as death claimed him. His lover and his friends all wept at the sight of his lifeless body. Nairbix then walked over to Terra's body and kneeled on the opposite side of where Rapunzel was holding him.
"Get away from him!" Aqua shouted through her tears in Ventus's embrace but Nairbix ignored her. He then closed his eyes before he opened them again to show that instead of their usual emerald green they were now golden and faintly glowing, as were his hands. He then put them on Terra's wound and began to sing the very song that had healed him.
"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, change the fate of time. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." While he was singing, the wound had closed and Terra was breathing again. "A life for a life." Nairbix sated as he stood up with his eyes turning back to emerald, "My debt is repaid." He said before disappearing in a wisp of darkness.
"Ugh." Terra groaned as he regained consciousness. "Rapunzel?"
"Terra." She whispered happily as tears of joy replaced the ones of sorrow.
"Did I ever tell you that you look good with short hair?" He joked.
"Terra!" She cried as she hugged him, and then finally kissed him. All of his friends were now crying at the happy sight of their friend and the one he loved. The next day, they all returned to Corona Castle for Rapunzel to finally meet her real parents.
It was just her and Terra on the balcony waiting for the King and Queen to show up and see their daughter, once the doors opened, the King and Queen looked at Rapunzel trying to recognize her as their long lost baby. It was then that the Queen slowly walked up to her and then held her in her arms, then the King joined in the hug.
The Queen then noticed Terra and held out her arm for him with a welcoming smile, he smiled back at her just before she pulled him down to join the hug. Once the Kingdom had heard the news that their Princess had returned they partied for a whole week and quite frankly, none of the Keyblade wielders could remember half of it. When it came time to leave it was a sad goodbye for Terra and Rapunzel.
"Promise you'll come back to me?" She asked with a smile already knowing the answer.
He then kissed her hand and replied, "Promise." He then turned to Eugene and said, "You'll look after her?"
"Promise, take care, pal." He said as they shook hands. Everyone waved goodbye as the Keyblade bearers left, but Terra could only smile as he thought about his love.
Several days had passed since the Corona incident, Nairbix was still under watch in case the disease returned. Geppeto had finally finished Nairbix's order, leaving only three necessary items left for their grand plan, speaking of which, once Nairbix was feeling better he made his way to the next world on his list, Olympic Greece.
Down below in the underworld, Hades was sitting in his throne room grinning like a madman. That is until, a Corridor of Darkness opened up on the other side of his giant table, and guess who walked out of it? Nairbix VanSull, with a bag in his hand.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Maleficent's little boy, Nairbix." Hades teased as he got up from his chair. "What can I do for you?"
"I have come to make a deal with you, Hades. And I think you will love what I have to offer." He said as he reached into the bag to pull something out, what it was, was a single golden apple. "My first offer in the deal, an apple from the Garden of Hesperides. I know just how much death Gods like you love apples. And I'm sure, that you would definitely enjoy this one." Nairbix pointed out as he examined the apple like he was about to eat it.
"You've done your homework." Hades said, licking his lips at the sight of the apple. "What else have you got?"
"Something that belongs to you." Nairbix said as he tossed over the bag to the God. He pulled out the bags contents and saw an item that stopped his heart. It was a black round neck length helmet, with a white metal outline, it was Hades' Helm of Darkness. "Believe it or not, that was actually very easy to get. I suppose Olympus isn't as hard to get to as everyone thinks." Nairbix said nonchalantly.
"I thought I would never see it again." Hades whispered as he stroked the helm fondly, as though it were an old friend. He then looked up at Nairbix and asked, "What do you want for it?"
"Well, for both the apple and your helm…I want your fire."
"My fire?" Hades asked clutching his flaming head, "What do you need my fire for? Look kid, the flames for hair is my thing."
"Oh, no, nothing like that." Nairbix reassured while shaking his head, "You see, I am in possession of two types of magical metals, so I need an incredibly powerful flame to melt them down. Yours fits that category quite well. All I ask for, is just temporary use of your flames and once I am no longer in need of it, I will send it back to you."
"Hmm, donating my fire over to the embodiment of an entire world's darkness temporarily, and in return I get to have a delicious golden apple and have my Helm of Darkness back." Hades muttered as he thought about the deal.
"I honestly don't see why you would not take the deal. I am the one who only gets something temporarily, while your ends of the bargain are yours forever. Oh, and that apple will replenish itself after you have eaten it down to its core." Nairbix explained making the deal even better, but Hades was silent while he was tapping his chin as he thought. After a few brief moments, Hades did not give Nairbix his answer so Nairbix began to give the god one last warning, "Going once, going twice!"
"Okay, okay you get my fire and I get my helm and the apple."
"So, do we have a deal?" Nairbix asked with a wicked smirk, Hades then slinked over to Nairbix and extended his gray boney hand with an evil smile on his face. Nairbix then raised his own hand and put in the God's.
"We have a deal." Hades answered, the two then gave a single shake which caused a flash of dark energy from the transfer of powers. The deal had been struck.
Obviously, I wasn't going to kill Nairbix, but I bet no one thought I was gonna pair Terra with Rapunzel! Truth be told, that little detail practically wrote itself, to this day I have no idea why I wrote that. What's more, I realize that I forgot to explain the appearances of General and Catastrophe. They are not my own. I based them off of the appearances of the antagonist from one of the Sgt. Frog movies. The one on Easter Island (or whatever).
Also, the reason that I put "I put a spell on you" from Hocus Pocus was because I wrote this chapter last year around Halloween and the movie was on ABC Family and a long forgotten Disney movie so I thought, what the heck? The experiment that created the wave while they were in the boats was from the Lilo and Stich series, I cant remember its number but its given name is Cannonball (I think).
And finally, considering that Hades' Helm of Darkness never had a clarified appearance in Greek Mythology, I went with a suitable design and chose the helmet from X-Men First Class before Erik changed it. Also, the death god and apples thing was a little detail from Death Note in case anyone picked up on that. Again I watched that show around the time I wrote this last year, even though I don't really like it.
The next chapter has a lot more violence than any before and its not set in any move. There will be a reference to one or two but that's it. And, you will finally see Nairbix summon his Keyblade for the first time in ten years and use it against someone he loves dearly. Oh, and if you want, you can try and guess who Scarlet Rose actually is and who is Nairbix's wife too.