In the middle of an expansive forest alight with rays of sunshine and woodland creatures, the bright woodland setting was marred by the sudden opening of a Corridor of Darkness, depositing Prishe and a hooded Namine before closing. Prishe took in a deep breath before letting out a contented sigh.

"Man does it feel good to be out of that castle! Gets so~oo boring being cooped up in there for months on end!" Prishe groaned, collapsing onto her back in the grass. Namine couldn't help but look around nervously.

"Where are we exactly, Prishe?" Namine asked before suddenly being pulled backwards onto the ground.

"Ah sit your butt down and relax a little. Take in the scenery for a moment and enjoy the peace and quiet. Besides, we aren't exactly on a timetable." Prishe said as Namine looked straight up at the sky.

"Well I'm so happy to hear that the Sisterhood sends its two laziest members here to help." A woman's voice said from nearby, causing Namine to leap to her feet, startled. She spun around to see a young and attractive woman with long curly black hair in red luxurious clothes standing behind them. Prishe let out a long groan as she remained on the ground.

"I-I'm sorry." Namine said as the woman rolled her eyes in contempt.

"Oh tut-tut little sprout. You're with this abomination, I hold her responsible." The woman said, glaring at Prishe who smirked up at her.

"Wow you really know how to motivate people who have agreed to help you, Gothel." Prishe said leaping to her feet.

"Gothel?" Namine asked, curiously as the woman smiled at her.

"Yes, that would be me. I am Mother Gothel, and I'm the one you were sent to help." Mother Gothel (from Disney's Tangled) said as Namine gave a nod.

"I'm sorry, I'm still new to the Sisterhood and they haven't been forthcoming with details and particulars. I understand you have a problem that needs dealing with?" Namine asked as Gothel gave a nod.

"Yes it's…rather an irritating problem. You see, I have this child under my care and she has designs on… let's call it, leaving the nest." Gothel explained as Namine arched a curious eyebrow.

"And you want us to make sure she doesn't?" Namine asked, Gothel nodding in response.

"If it's not too much trouble." Gothel replied with a smile.

"Uh…I'm confused. Why is her leaving her home such a bad thing?" Namine asked as Prishe put her arm around Gothel.

"This wouldn't happen to be that same girl with the hair would it?" Prishe asked as Gothel sneered at her, brushing away her hand.

"It's the same girl so you understand why I cannot allow her to leave me." Gothel replied as Prishe approached Namine.

"Leave her to us, Gothel. We'll give her a righteous scare that will send her running back into your arms." Prishe said as Gothel smiled in satisfaction.

"Excellent. I'll be off getting her a birthday present for her eighteenth. Some lovely seashells from the shore. I expect her to still be at home when I get back." Gothel said, pulling a dark grey cloak out from a nearby basket and putting it on, pulling the hood up and picking up the basket before walking off.

"You got it!" Prishe called, waiting before Gothel was out of sight before calling her a "miserable old dinosaur" under her breath. She then turned to Namine who was still confused.

"Okay, we've got our mission, Sev, come on." Prishe said as they started heading for the base of what appeared to be an ordinary cliff face.

"So who exactly was that, and who are we supposed to keep an eye on?" Namine asked.

"Oh ri~ght you weren't here for all that nuttiness. Okay, that old hag back there is the mother of this child with magical hair. She's just your typical overprotective mother and doesn't want her daughter to get used or abused…you get what I'm sayin'?" Prishe asked, earning a quiet glare from Namine.

"I feel there's more to it though." Namine replied as Prishe smirked at her.

"Ignorance is bliss in this case, Sev. Probably will help you sleep better at night too." Prishe said as Namine held tightly to her coat as they passed through into a thick wall of vines that hid a secret entrance to a short cave that led into a large enclosed valley where a lone tower sat near the center of the valley, a small stream running through the valley.

"So…you mentioned magic hair?" Namine asked as Prishe chuckled.

"If ya don't get to see what I mean while we're here, you'll have to-…oh check this out." Prishe said, pulling Namine into the bushes.

"What? What is-MUMPH!" Namine yelped as Prishe covered Namine's mouth and pointed to near the top of the tower. Namine looked carefully and saw what appeared to be a young woman in a pink dress with long blond hair of indeterminable length due to the fact she was standing just inside the window. Namine quietly looked at the tower for a moment before realizing that there was something missing.

"Why doesn't she just use the door to get out?" Namine asked as Prishe smirked.

"There is no door. She's trapped up there." Prishe said, confusing Namine.

"Then…how does she, how does anyone get in or out of there?" Namine asked as Prishe motioned to wait and pointed towards the tower. After a moment, Namine saw the girl look around cautiously for a second then throw what appeared to be a long yellow rope out the window, hanging it on a hook for extra support, before stepping out onto the windowsill and cautiously lowering herself down, a frying pan under one arm. That's when Namine noticed something that made her eyes widen. The girl wasn't using rope; she was using her own hair! Seventy feet of a beautiful golden blond hair.

"What?!" Namine asked in an awe filled whisper. By now the girl was hovering low to the ground, not touching it with a look of hesitation on her face.

"Uh-huh. Well, go get 'er champ." Prishe said as Namine looked at her curiously.

"What do you mean?" Namine asked as Prishe rolled her eyes.

"Not the real 'sic 'em' type huh? That's fine. Luckily we have these." Prishe said as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small pendant with the Heartless insignia on it. Namine's eyes widened in realization as the pendant started glowing with a swirling black aura. (Battle Music Cue: Extreme Encounters – BBS) A strange bolt of black energy suddenly flew towards a nearby tree which turned black at the bark, the leaves turning a bright red. Suddenly the tree let out a roar as it came alive, a pair of glowing yellow eyes and a large snarling mouth. The girl's head snapped around to see the large heartless tree uprooting itself on a pair of stumpy legs with two of its lower branches serving as hands and arms. The girl quickly began climbing her hair in fear of the Heartless.

"And back up she goes. That was easy." Prishe said as Namine watched helplessly. The girl was less than halfway up the tower when she lost her grip on her hair and fell to the ground in front of the heartless.

"Whoops. That wasn't supposed to-SEV!" Prishe exclaimed as Namine summoned her Keyblade and leapt out from behind the bushes, running towards the Heartless. The Terror Tree started to reach for the girl when Namine slid across in front with her Keyblade summoned.

"Get back!" Namine commanded, her hood still up. Prishe blinked, dumbfounded for a second then shrugged.

"Okay, have it your way." She said, reaching behind her back and pulling out a pair of metal plated brass knuckles. (A/N: They're the Destroyers from FFXI). Namine immediately started casting a Firaga at the tip of her Keyblade, using it as a torch and trying to frighten off the Heartless but the Terror Tree snarled at her and reared back one arm and swung at Namine who was unable to block or dodge the attack but was stunned when the attack was stopped midway.

"Man this guy's a pushover!" Prishe exclaimed with a grin as she stood next to Namine, having blocked the blow by punching the arm with only her plated fist. For a girl her size, she possessed impressive strength.

"Who are you two?!" the girl asked, startled. Prishe glanced at her with a grin.

"I'd tell you but then we'd have to kill you!" Prishe replied as Namine launched the Firaga from the tip of her Keyblade at the Terror Tree Heartless, the fireball impacting its face, causing it to stagger backwards with a roar of pain. Namine was drawing on as much of the memories she had retained from Sora and Kairi that she could and while her magic skills were formidable, she just couldn't call upon their special abilities due to the fact she lacked a heart. Namine quickly dodged an attack from the Terror Tree but just barely.

"Geez, Sev you're awful at this!" Prishe yelled as she ran in and socked the Terror Tree in the "jaw," causing it to fall over.

"I'm trying! I'm not really a fighter!" Namine yelled as she climbed to her feet, watching as Prishe nimbly evaded the attacks from the Terror Tree.

"Come on, Namine, think! You have all of these memories but most of them aren't fighting styles! I'm not a fighter like Riku…wait a minute." Namine said mentally as her eyes lit up in realization. Suddenly a white and yellow aura started to appear around her.

"Prishe! Back off, let me try something!" Namine said as Prishe grinned and leapt back and landed near the girl who simply sat on the ground, watching.

"All yours Sev!" Prishe called as Namine watched the Terror Tree start approaching her, its hands raised and ready to grab her when Namine threw her hands out to the sides, the glow around her becoming blinding.

"GIVE ME STRENGTH!" She yelled as a series of yellow triangular markings appeared on her white coat. She suddenly dropped into Riku's fighting stance and began nimbly dodging the attacks from the Terror Tree, leaping up and landing on one of its branches. She suddenly lunged forward and started unleashing a vicious barrage of swings at the Terror Tree's face, leaving burning black flames wherever she swung the Keyblade.

"Whoa, now that's impressive." Prishe commented as Namine ducked a swing from the monster and came around with an upwards swing from below its arm, slicing off the branch-like arm, the severed limb dissolving away in seconds while the Terror Tree roared in pain. Namine quickly scrambled up on top of the creature but suddenly found herself grabbed by the Terror Tree's remaining arm.

"NGH! HELP!" Namine cried out but suddenly saw a white blur fly past, smashing through the Tree's arm near the shoulder, turning it to dark splinters.

"YEAH!" Prishe cheered as she landed nearby behind the heartless and spinning towards it as Namine climbed out of the severed and quickly vanishing arm. She was about to attack when she saw a long strand of golden hair fly in and ensnare the Heartless around the legs, the strand effectively tying it up and causing it to topple over forward.

"TIMBER!" Prishe cheered as Namine scrambled up onto the Terror Tree's back and plunged her Keyblade into the center of its back, causing it to let out a pained roar and death rattle before splitting in two down the center and dissolving away, releasing a large pink heart into the air. (End Battle Music.) The girls approached the defeated Heartless, Prishe giving an impressed whistle.

"Wow nice skills there, Sev." Prishe said as Namine's coat resumed it's strictly white coloring.

"I guess I drew on some old memories." Namine said with a smile and a shrug.

"How'd you do…whatever that was?" Prishe asked curiously as Namine smiled, glancing at the blond girl's frying pan in her hand.

"It's called a Drive Form. It comes with the coat." Namine said as Prishe chuckled, and turned away to look towards the entrance to the valley.

"Well considering you made it yourself I bet there's possibly all sorts of interesting-." GONG. Prishe's eyes suddenly crossed before she flopped over onto the ground, revealing Namine holding the frying pan in both hands, having knocked Prishe unconscious with a blow to the back of the head.

"Sorry!" Namine winced apologetically.

"What was that about?!" the girl asked, startled as Namine handed her the frying pan back.

"Look, there's little time to explain, but you need to go back into your tower right away!" Namine instructed, the girl looking at her in confusion.

"Who are you exactly? Where did that monster come from?" the girl asked as Namine sighed heavily.

"My name is Namine. I was taken against my will from my friends and family to join an evil group of witches with a number of evil schemes. Why would someone want to kidnap you? I understand it has something to do with your hair." Namine said as the girl shrugged with an innocent grin.

"Well…my hair glows when I sing." She replied sheepishly.

"That's not particularly special, no offence." Namine said as the girl looked hesitant to answer.

"Well there is more to it than that." She said as Namine pulled back her hood.

"What do you mean? AHH!" Namine winced as she felt a sharp pain in her left arm. She looked and saw a fairly large splinter sticking out of her arm near the wrist, causing a small trickle of blood to flow.

"Ooh I must have gotten hit by that monster." Namine said but the girl gently grabbed her wrist.

"Wait, I can help." The girl said as she gently pulled the splinter out, causing it to bleed a little more. The girl quickly dried off the wound before beginning to wrap her hair around it.

"What are you doing?" Namine asked as the girl looked at her hesitantly.

"Just…promise me you won't freak out." She said as Namine gave a nod. The girl then took a breath, closing her eyes before starting to gently sing…

"Flower gleam and glow,
let the power shine,
make the clock reverse,
bring back what once was mine."

As she sang, Namine watched in awe as her hair started to glow with a golden light.

"Heal what has been hurt,
change the fates' design,
save what has been lost,
bring back what once was mine,
what once was mine."

At this the light in her hair slowly faded away and she opened her eyes, carefully removing her hair, revealing the wound had healed completely with absolutely no trace of it ever having been inflicted. Namine's eyes widened in awe of her power.

"I see now. Your hair's power can restore a person's health and vitality, essentially making them young forever." Namine said as the girl ran a hand through her hair.

"It's been that way since I was born. That's why Mother keeps me here, so that no one can abuse my power for themselves." The girl said as Namine glanced at her with a skeptical look.

"Or so she can use your power for herself." Namine said mentally.

"Before I go, what is your name?" Namine asked.

"Rapunzel." The girl replied as Namine gave a nod.

"Rapunzel, I'm sorry for this." Namine said, confusing Rapunzel.

"Sorry for what?" she asked as Namine placed her hand on Rapunzel's forehead.

"For this." She whispered, closing her eyes. Rapunzel's eyes suddenly crossed before she passed out on Namine's command. Namine then knelt down to the unconscious girl and placed her hands on either side of her forehead. In a flash, Namine began peering through Rapunzel's memories, removing her memories of Namine, Prishe, and the heartless.

"Rapunzel, you must forget all that has happened here but you mustn't lose your desire to see what lies beyond your tower. There is something special about you, a secret that has been kept from you. You must find this secret out for yourself." Namine said to Rapunzel through her memories. Namine then found an eighteen year old memory buried within Rapunzel's own memories of a man and woman standing over her, both wearing crowns, placing a crown on her head. Namine quietly realized what this meant: Rapunzel was a princess and had been kidnapped by Mother Gothel as an infant. Namine quietly left the memory alone but brought it slightly higher to the surface of her mind so that when the time came, Rapunzel would remember it more easily and hopefully come to the same realization, giving her the courage to rebel and escape Gothel's clutches. She then inserted one extra memory, something that would trigger when or if Rapunzel ever saw a specific symbol. At that, Namine opened her eyes, finding them both inside of Rapunzel's tower, the long haired maiden asleep in her bed. Namine smiled at her as she pulled her hood up over her head, departing the tower. Namine leapt from the top of the tower, landing perfectly on one knee. She then heard Prishe let out a moan.

"What…what the hell was that?" she grumbled as she rubbed the back of her head.

"That girl hit you with her frying pan out of fear. She tried to do the same to me, but I was able to stop her and knock her out. I removed her memories of the encounter, she won't do it again." Namine said as Prishe climbed to her feet, dusting herself off.

"Not bad, Sev. Looks like you're becoming one of the gang." Prishe said as they started to walk out of the valley.

"Thanks." Namine said with a devious smile.

"What's say we get something to eat? There's a great little tavern nearby that has great food. I'm famished!" Prishe said as Namine laughed and nodded.

"Sure, let's go." Namine said as Prishe glanced at her.

"What's got you so cheerful?" Prishe asked as they exited the valley.

"Oh I'm just beginning to enjoy my work." She replied, glancing back towards the valley entrance. At that moment, she realized what she could do to stop the Sisterhood: she would work to sabotage them from the inside through acts of subterfuge.

Meanwhile in the Palace of Eternity…

First sat in her private chambers, sweetly whispering to a small black dragon hatchling and scratching its head at the soft spot behind its neck. Her hair was draped over her wounded eye like it was in Sublime, the eye patch sitting on the table nearby as the hatchling sat on her left arm. That's when Third entered the room.

"Sister, the Apprentice is taking too long in her first world." Third said as First whispered something to the dragon which flew off her arm and landed on a perch nearby while First began putting her eye patch back on, her back turned to her sister as she did so.

"Then we must accelerate our plans. Dispatch the Phantom…and also send our slave to deal with her. She will be no match for the both of them combined." First said as she turned towards Third who pouted slightly.

"Ooh I'm so jealous. He gets all the fun roles." Third said but First smiled and chuckled.

"Ah but he has a penchant for being…lucky. Let's see if that luck holds out." First said as she headed for the door.

End Chapter 20.

The name of the Tangled world is "Lantern Kingdom" and the world theme for it is "Kingdom Dance" from the Tangled Soundtrack. As with most of the Disney themed worlds in this story, we'll be revisiting this one later on.