In Lantern Kingdom, Sora touched down within the forest, looking around curiously.
"Where are we?" Roxas asked as he and Xion materialized.
"This is where Laguna said to go. Apparently things are really out of control here for the Sisterhood." Xion commented.
"Funny, because it doesn't look that way." Sora said, noticing the calmness of the forest.
"Wait, you hear that?" Roxas asked. It was a set of footsteps rapidly approaching. They turned and saw Eugene Ryder running towards Sora but he didn't seem to be paying much attention to him. Roxas and Xion instantly vanished from Sora's sight as Eugene passed.
"Out of my way! She's in danger!" Eugene exclaimed. Sora was immediately intrigued.
"Danger? Who's in danger?" Sora asked, chasing after him.
"Rapunzel! She's taken her!" Eugene replied as they ran towards what looked to be a solid rock wall with a few vines disguising a hidden passageway.
"Rapunzel?" Sora asked back.
"She's this girl I met! She's got this long blonde hair that's magic! I know it sounds crazy but she's been kidnapped by this woman!" Eugene explained.
"Sounds like there's more than just chivalry involved here." Xion commented.
"Is she your girlfriend or something?" Sora asked.
"I dunno about that, but I love her and that's all that matters!" Eugene replied as they ran through the passageway, entering into a large and wide-open space surrounded by steep cliff ledges with only a single tall tower in the center. There was no noticeable entrance to the tower on the ground.
"Then I'll help!" Sora replied, summoning his Keyblade. When Eugene saw it his eyes widened.
"Hey, you're not friends with that Nixe girl are you?" he asked.
"Yeah! You know her?" Sora asked back.
"She helped Rapunzel and I out not that long ago! Listen we can sort this out later, just help me out!" Eugene argued as they reached the base of the tower. Eugene looked upwards towards the tower.
"Rapunzel! RAPUNZEL! Let down your hair!" Eugene yelled.
"Hair?" Roxas asked, confused. After a moment's silence, they heard the creaking of windows opening up near the top followed by a long bundle of long blonde hair that went all the way to the ground. Eugene quickly grabbed hold and started using it to climb like a rope. Sora blinked at the sight before shrugging and starting to climb along behind him. Eugene made it to the top first, and was just starting to climb inside.
"Rapunzel? RAPUNZEL!" he exclaimed before letting out a pained grunt along with muffled screaming. Sora paused in alarm at the sound.
"Uh-oh." He muttered, quickly climbing up towards the window and grabbing onto the windowsill.
"Now look what you've done, Rapunzel. Now our secret will die with him." A woman's voice said from inside the tower. Sora peaked inside and saw a wounded Eugene lying on the ground near the window, Rapunzel bound and gagged on the opposite side of the room, and Mother Gothel stepping over Eugene's wounded form, a dagger in her hand. She proceeded to grab the chains binding Rapunzel, the blonde haired youth trying to rush to Eugene's aid, as Gothel unhooked her and started to drag her towards a hidden door in the floor.
"As for us, we are going where no one will ever find you again!" Gothel hissed as Rapunzel struggled against her. At this, Sora leapt into the room.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" He yelled, Keyblade summoned and in his fighting stance. Gothel glared at him with widened eyes.
"One of the meddlers with the keys! Look what you've done now, Rapunzel! Now his blood will be on your hands too!" Gothel snarled as she stepped away from Rapunzel, drawing her dagger again but Sora deftly batted the dagger from Gothel's hand, the dagger landing next to Eugene. Gothel immediately flinched and started backing away from Sora in fear.
"What!" she yelped.
"You're working with the Sisterhood, aren't you?!" Sora asked as Gothel continued to back away.
"Yes and when they get here, you'll be sorry you interfered with my plans!" Gothel said, getting backed into the corner.
"Well they're not here yet, so until then, I'm taking Rapunzel and Eugene with me!" Sora said, hurrying towards Rapunzel.
"NO!" she screamed as she tried to stop him but with a single mighty swing, his Keyblade shattered the chains holding Rapunzel, the cuffs breaking open, allowing Rapunzel to scramble over to Eugene, ripping off her gag in the process.
"Eugene! Please! I can heal you!" She cried, attempting to bandage his wound with her hair.
"No! Rapunzel!" he weakly pleaded. Gothel could only glare in fury as Sora kept his Keyblade trained on her. Before Rapunzel could start to sing, Eugene quickly grabbed the dagger off the ground and with a single swift stroke, cut through her hair.
"NO!" Gothel screamed, watching as Rapunzel's long blonde hair started to turn brown, her magic power now gone.
"Eugene! What did you-?!" Rapunzel gasped. Sora was blinking in surprise at what was transpiring but soon felt his Keyblade start to vibrate in his hand.
"Huh?" he asked as he looked and saw Mother Gothel was starting to emanate a dark aura. Darkness rising from her back and shoulders, her skin starting to turn black, eyes starting to turn yellow as she seethed with rage. (Battle Music Cue: The Encounter – KH2)
"What have you done?!" she screamed. Sora knew immediately what was happening, especially as the entire tower started to shake.
"Time to go!" he yelped, hurrying forward and grabbing a long length of Rapunzel's cut hair, throwing one end out the tower while quickly tying the other end to a hook hanging outside the window. He then moved to help Rapunzel lift Eugene off the ground. He took one last look back to see Gothel starting to thrash about, pulling the hood of her cloak up over her head as Darkness emanated from her, seeping into the tower around her.
"Hang on!" he exclaimed, the trio quickly leaping out of the tower, sliding down the length of hair towards the ground. Once they landed, Rapunzel and Sora quickly pulled Eugene away from the tower as Gothel's darkness began to envelop the tower itself.
"What's happening to her?!" Rapunzel asked as Sora stood ready with his Keyblade.
"She's turning into a Heartless! There's no telling what might happen now!" he replied. The ground suddenly shook as a monstrous roar bellowed from within the tower. Two large dead trees were suddenly ripped from the ground and slammed into the side of the tower but the tower didn't buckle as the trees suddenly morphed into a pair of gnarled hands and arms, the window in the tower starting to glow with a bright yellow light. An explosion near the window allowed another yellow light to appear. The bricks beneath the window sill began to crack and bend backwards, the window and two holes forming a pair of eyes and a large mouth, the tower beginning to creak and groan as it began moving and slowly thrashing about. As it moved, bellowing a roar of pain and fury, Sora spotted a weathervane atop the tower that confirmed Sora's suspicions. The top of the vane had taken the shape of a Heartless emblem.
"She's become the tower?!" Rapunzel asked in disbelief.
"No, it's become a Heartless! Stand back! I'll take care of this!" Sora yelled, slapping his armor guard and rushing towards the tower, clad in his armor. He took a swing at the Trap Tower but his Keyblade harmlessly bounced off.
"Okay, new plan!" Sora yelped as the Trap Tower glared down at him and took a swing at him with one of its massive arms. Sora quickly shielded himself with his Keyblade but the force of the blow knocked him backwards and into the air. He quickly recovered in midair and pointed his Keyblade towards the tower.
"LIGHTNING!" he yelled, firing off a volley of Thundaga spells, the bolts of lightning raining down on the Trap Tower, causing it to recoil with a roar of fury. Sora proceeded to land on and then leap off the steep cliff wall, launching off of the wall towards the Trap Tower, his Keyblade reared back for a particularly powerful blow.
"Take this!" he yelled, slashing the Trap Tower across the face as he flew past. The Trap Tower roared again but as Sora bounced off of another wall for a second attack, the Trap Tower raised an arm to swat him out of the air. He quickly summoned Two Become One to shield himself from the attack, the Trap Tower knocking him towards the ground, landing in a crater near where Rapunzel and Eugene were huddling.
"Sora!" Eugene rasped weakly, seeing only a cloud of dust from Sora's landing. The dust quickly settled to show Sora was down on one knee in the center of the shallow crater, fully armored and glaring towards the Trap Tower. His armor disappeared as he rose to his feet, his armor having borne the brunt of the attack.
"Sora look out!" Rapunzel yelled, the Trap Tower rearing back one arm and throwing a punch towards him. Sora quickly took a defensive stance but before the punch could land, there was a bright and blinding crisp white light between him and the massive fist. When the light faded, there was a Keyblade stabbed in between the knuckles of the giant fist…
…but it wasn't Sora's Keyblade.
The Trap Tower recoiled, cradling its fist, the Keyblade disappearing and reappearing in its owner's grasp.
"Hope I'm not too late to help ya, pal!" Mickey said with a determined glare, staring at the massive Heartless.
"Your highness!" Sora yelped, pleased to see the King.
"Aww, you don't have to call me that, Sora. Plain ol' Mickey Mouse will do just fine. But we can discuss that later! For now, we have a Heartless to stop!" Mickey said as Sora dropped back into his fighting stance.
"Got any ideas?" Sora asked with a smile as Mickey pointed his Keyblade at the Trap Tower.
"Uh-huh! Spectromagic – Big Thunder!" Mickey declared as the sky suddenly darkened slightly and his Keyblade starting to release a massive swarm of small multicolored shining specks of light. The specks quickly started moving and shifting, the thousands if not millions of lights taking the shape of what looked to be a small red steam locomotive with a train of several amber colored open freight cars all resting on a set of glowing blue rails that seemed to magically appear and disappear from out of nowhere. (A/N: It's the Big Thunder Mountain ability as seen in the KH3 trailers) Mickey quickly leapt into one of the cars.
"Hop on, Sora!" Mickey called, Sora quickly leaping on after him. The train suddenly bolted forward, the rails forming ahead of it and disappearing behind it as the train started to coil and twist around the Trap Tower.
"Give it everything you've got, Sora!" Mickey said as he started barraging the Trap Tower with Holy Spells.
"Right!" Sora replied, firing off Thundaga spells until he entered the Thunder Bolt Command Style. The Trap Tower howled in pain, trying to swat the Big Thunder Train from out of the air but whenever it swung, the rails suddenly pointed down, the train narrowly dodging the swing.
"We're not doing much against it! More steam!" Mickey yelled, the train letting out a whistle of confirmation, speeding up and banking hard around to start heading straight towards the Trap Tower. The Trap Tower tried to swing at the train but the train sped up again and smashed into the Trap Tower's hand, head on and at full speed. The train was unharmed but the Trap Tower roared in fury again.
"We're hurting it but we're not stopping it!" Sora exclaimed.
"It's taken over the whole tower! We'll need to hit it really deep to stop it!" Mickey replied, Sora glaring at the tower as it watched them race past on the Big Thunder Train. Sora narrowed his eyes with determination.
"I know what to do! Get us higher!" Sora called back, the train whistling back in response, the tracks suddenly veering upwards, taking them straight over the tower. Before the train could start heading back down, Sora slapped his armor guard again, armoring up while dismissing both Keyblades. He then summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion before leaping straight into the air, a glow of white light appearing around him. He then turned his body in midair so it was pointed straight down towards the Trap Tower below him, both Keyblades pointed forward. The Trap Tower started to reach up towards him with both arms in an attempt to smash him but before it reached him he shot straight down, leaving a trail of white light behind him. He proceeded to fly straight into the Trap Tower's window eye, shattering through it and into the tower, pure and crisp white light starting to shine through from between every brick, plank, and crack in the tower itself. The light suddenly became blindingly bright, forcing Rapunzel and Eugene to shield themselves, Mickey landing near them as the Big Thunder Train dissipated overhead (End Battle Music).
When the light faded, they all looked to see the tower had reverted to normal, a large glowing pink heart floating upwards into the sky before disappearing. The sky had returned to its earlier brighter phase from before Mickey had summoned the Big Thunder Train.
"Sora…is he alright?" Rapunzel asked. Mickey didn't reply, merely staring at the window at the top of the tower. Finally, after a moment's silence, a familiar spiky haired Keyblade Master appeared at the window, Keyblade resting on his shoulder.
"I knew you could do it, pal!" Mickey cheered as Sora leapt down from the tower, landing safely below in spite of the steep drop, his landing sending out a light shockwave. His armor disappeared into his guard as he approached but his expression was one of worry.
"Is he going to be alright?!" Sora asked, pointing towards Eugene. Rapunzel quickly looked down and saw Eugene lying limp next to her. A look of panic swept her face and she quickly moved to hold him in her arms.
"No-no-no-no-no! Eugene! Look at me! Look at me! I'm right here! Stay with me Eugene! Don't go! Don't go!" she pleaded, putting his hand on her brown haired head, quickly attempting to recite the Healing Incantation but nothing happened as tears started to flow.
"Rapunzel!" Eugene gasped weakly.
"What?" she asked back, tearfully.
"You were my new dream." He whispered.
"And you were mine." She whispered back, watching with grief as Eugene's eyes closed and his body went limp. Sora and Mickey both exchanged saddened looks as Rapunzel wept over his form. She then started to softly sing the healing incantation…
"Flower gleam and glow,
let the power shine,
make the clock reverse,
bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
change the fates' design,
save what has been lost,
bring back what once was mine,
what once was mine."
Her tears dripped down onto his cheek as she wept. Sora and Mickey however saw something that made them blink in surprise. Rapunzel's tear had rapidly absorbed into Eugene's cheek with a golden glow and a sun shaped burst of magic.
"Did you see that?" Sora asked softly. Suddenly Eugene's stab wound started to shine with golden pure light, Rapunzel watching in amazement as long golden strands of light started spiraling up into the air from the wound, a golden flower pattern appearing immediately over his wound. Finally, the strands disappeared and the glow vanished. Eugene's eyes started to flutter slightly before they finally opened, Eugene looking up at her with a pair of tired but confused eyes.
"Rapunzel?" he asked weakly.
"Eugene!" she gasped in shock. He stared at her hair curiously for a moment.
"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?" he asked, Rapunzel smiling with joy before embracing him with tears of joy and relief.
"Eugene!" she cried, Sora and Mickey both watching from the sidelines with smiles on their faces.
"I wish Kairi were here to see this. She loves happy endings." Sora commented as Mickey chuckled. Rapunzel quickly helped Eugene to his feet, the two turning towards the Keyblade Masters.
"Thank you for your help. If it wasn't for you and your friends, I would probably still be in that tower." Rapunzel said as Sora rested his hands behind his head.
"Not at all. It's the least we could do." Sora replied. Rapunzel then noticed his crown necklace, the sight of it causing her to gasp.
"That symbol, that crown symbol! You're Sora! You're Namine's friend!" Rapunzel exclaimed, surprising Sora.
"You've seen her?! When?!" he asked anxiously.
"It was before I met Eugene! She tried to scare me back into my tower but she did something! She pulled memories from my childhood into my mind! I'm a…I'm a lost princess!" Rapunzel exclaimed in disbelief.
"A Princess?!" Sora asked as Rapunzel nodded.
"I know, right?! Gothel kidnapped me when I was an infant from the King and Queen, all because of my hair's power! Namine helped bring the right memories up so I'd remember!" Rapunzel explained.
"I knew Namine wouldn't let the Sisterhood push her around." Sora said, although Roxas briefly manifested over him as he said it.
"She wanted me to pass along a message, too. She said that she's waiting for you, Roxas." Rapunzel said, confusing Eugene.
"Roxas? Who's Roxas?" he asked, confused.
"It's a long story, but he got the message regardless." Sora replied.
"Well, we should probably get you to your family then, Princess." Eugene said as Rapunzel nodded.
"Yeah, I suppose we should. Oh, Sora, will you tell Namine, Nixe, and Riku that we said thank you." Rapunzel said as Sora gave a nod.
"You bet. Take care you two!" Sora called as they started to leave. Rapunzel then paused with a yelp of surprise before running towards a nearby bush, reaching in and pulling out a satchel.
"I think we'll be needing this." She said, reaching into the satchel and pulling out a tiara, putting it on. Eugene gave her a blank stare for a moment.
"So that's where you hid it." He commented with a slight smirk.
"Well it's mine now." She replied with a cheeky smile.
"It always was, princess." He commented back, the two continuing on their way.
"Welp, I suppose I better be going. I need to find who I'm looking for. I just happened to be in the neighborhood." Mickey said as he pulled the Star Shard from his pocket.
"Right. Thanks for the help your majesty." Sora said but Mickey smiled up at him.
"Any time pal. Good luck on your own quest." Mickey said before raising the Star Shard, the shard shining brightly in hand before he disappeared into the sky, the star bouncing around in the air before finally disappearing.
"Well that's another world saved. We're on a roll, aren't we?" Xion asked as she and Roxas manifested.
"I'm just glad that Namine's been able to do all this sabotage against the Sisterhood. I just hope she doesn't get into trouble for it." Roxas commented.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She can take care of herself." Xion said, Sora nodding.
"Yeah, don't worry too much about her, Roxas." Sora said.
"Worry about who?" a voice asked from behind him. Roxas and Xion immediately vanished, Sora spinning around to see Shiki standing behind him, clutching Mr. Mew in her arms.
"Are you my knight in shining armor?" Shiki asked with a smile, confusing Sora.
"Uh…" he stammered. Shiki merely giggled in amusement.
"Don't worry, you might be a knight in shining armor but I know you're not mine. I'm Shiki, Reaper 2. It's nice to finally meet you Master Sora." Shiki explained as Sora smiled at her.
"Oh, you're with the Reaper's Game. I get it. Is there anything new to report?" Sora asked as Shiki checked her phone.
"Well, Neku reports that Nomanisan has been secured. Masters Si'Lea and Aqua defeated the Sisterhood Minion there. He's returned to Steadfast Stadium. I guess I will be too now that everything here is secure. Thanks for that, Sora. Thanks to you, my mission here is complete." Shiki said as Sora rested his hands behind his head again.
"Not a problem. If completing the missions of the Reaper's Game gets me one step closer to Namine, then I'm more than happy to assist." Sora explained as Shiki giggled appreciatively.
"Then maybe you should check in with Beat and Rhyme in the Black Castle. I haven't heard anything from them in a while and they're due for a check-in fairly soon." Shiki explained as Sora gave a nod, summoning his Keyblade.
"You got it. I'll go check on them. Maybe they have some new information. Do you need a lift back to Steadfast?" Sora asked but Shiki shook her head.
"No thanks. I've got that taken care of. Take care, Master Sora!" Shiki replied as Sora summoned his Keyblade Glider, armoring up as he climbed onto it and taking to the stars.
Meanwhile in the Palace of Eternity…
First sat upon her throne, alone in the battered commons room. The room was still damaged from her prior outburst upon witnessing Second's death at Sora's hands. The room was dark but her lone yellow eye practically glowed, piercing through the darkness as she stared at four magic spheres, one depicting a looping image of Shere Khan's defeat in Jungle Book, another depicting Gothel's defeat in Lantern Kingdom, and the third depicting Cruella's defeat in the Dalmatian Plantation. The fourth, which hovered above the rest, played a looping image of the Second Sister fading into Darkness.
"Sora…" First said softly yet angrily as she watched the four scenes over and over again, "…his name is Sora."
With a wave of her hand, the four spheres became one larger sphere, showing images captured of Sora himself as he traveled.
"It started with Shere Khan…then he defeats Cruella…and then he takes away my Sister. And now he eliminates Gothel. How can a mere boy possibly be so powerful?" She pondered to herself. The sphere then shifted images to the scene depicting Sora fighting the Second Sister, with all four Keyblades summoned.
"Four Keyblades. He cannot be that powerful. How was he able to resist Second's power? Was he simply not lazy?" First asked as the image shifted to a live view of Sora as he traveled through the stars.
"He seeks to claim that which we took from him. To claim…Namine." She said as she rose from her throne, staring at the image as a small but sinister smile appeared on her lips.
"He claims to never rest. That was Second's failure. She tried to empower indolence where it might not have existed. But as we took something from him, then perhaps he has reason to be…wrathful." First said before disappearing in a Corridor of Darkness.
End Chapter 52
Uh-oh, looks like First has got vengeance in mind. Is Sora about to walk into a trap? We'll find out soon enough!
And this chapter also ends the Tangled world too.