AN: Finally finished! At least with this chapter. I'm sorry for taking so long, because in all honesty, I thought I'd have this chapter done a few days ago, but it turned out that writing this really long chapter was a bit more difficult than I originally thought it would be. I had one idea that came up for a situation, only to later realize that it would never work, and then I had to think of a variety of other variables involved, but you don't want to hear about all that, you just want to get on with the story. So with that said, I won't keep you any longer.
Sora: Isn't there something else that you should mention to them before getting the show on the road?
AN: Oh right. Thanks for the reminder. What our favorite main hero of Kingdom Hearts is referring to is the fact that we are nearing the end of this grand adventure, as the number of chapters until this story is finished can be counted on one hand. So while you guys are enjoying this chapter, the cast and I will be having a little...[hits his control] PAAAAAAARTYYYYYYYYYYYY!
[Music starts playing as streamers fly and everyone on the cast starts enjoying snacks or just busting moves on the dance floor]
Terra: Now this is what I call having a good time!
Ven: You said it!
Aqua: Hey you two, one of boys care to share a dance with me?
[Terra and Ven glance at each other before immediately starting a contest to see who dances with Aqua, much to said girl's amusement]
AN: Well, while we're having a good time [blows a party horn at Riku and Xion, who were making out a short ways off until he did] Enjoy the chapter folks!
I do not own anything from the Kingdom Hearts franchise or any other franchise mentioned in this story.
*IMPORTANT EDIT 6/27/2018*After seeing the recently unvielled trailers of Kingdom Hearts 3, this chapter, as well as related moments in the story, will be soon undergoing some serious revision, right to the point where nearly this entire chapter may very well seem to have been rewritten, save for one or two scenes. If this is you're rereading this after the fact, don't worry about it too much, because I can promise that the story Frozen will be explored again in the Keyblades Unleashed series, when we reach the point of Kingdom Hearts 3. I'm mainly rewriting this chapter and other related moments because I don't want to go too extreme with the AU elements of the series, which I will most certainly have to if I don't go through with said plans. Thank you for your attention to this notice, and I hope you enjoy the revised version of this chapter when it is posted.
*IMPORTANT EDIT 2/18/2019* This chapter has now been rewritten, but if you wish to read the original version, I will be posting that and other scenes in this story that were related to it in a separate story document, so keep your eyes open for that. Thank you and enjoy the new version of this chapter.
Chapter XV
Though Sora and Kairi were both a bit startled by Terra, Aqua, and Ven's sudden call from the future, when they heard about the reason for it, they immediately relaxed and just laughed at how the three had freaked out over something that was rather normal for the two of them. Kairi was honestly not ashamed to admit that she ended up laughing so hard when Sora had thrown the joke Aqua once used on them right back at her, and the blunette's subsequent reaction, but all laughter immediately halted when they lost contact with the three a minute later. They were both a bit worried about the three, but they knew that if Roxas was with them that they would be alright, and at the moment, they had bigger things to deal with because they could see their destination approaching. When they first saw the world, they first thought that it would be a rather warm world, despite what Mickey had told them, but as soon as they were through the world barrier, they found that it was quite the opposite.
The place they arrived in was definitely a town that was by the water front, and was clearly in business of trading with other countries from overseas if the port was any indication, but everywhere Sora and Kairi looked, they saw snow and ice covering the kingdom, and it looked like the cold weather was still coming down. Thankfully it did not seem to be a full-on blizzard, but from what the two could see, it was very clear that this place was right in the middle of winter, or at least beginning to transition into the cold season. Of course, that also led them to learn something very important after arriving, dismissing their armor, and then feeling a very cold wind blow past them.
The minute that he felt what the chill of air that was likely well below thirty degrees, Sora jumped in sudden shock before wrapping his arms around himself as he tried to warm up, shouting, "IT'S COLD!"
"N-n-no kidding," Kairi grumbled as she began dancing in place a little in an effort to warm up. She was mainly doing more than Sora because her outfit, even with its recent changes, was decidedly less warm than Sora's. "So the magic that changes our appearances gives us cool new armors and stuff that would be typical of Keyblade wielders of this time, but it can't give us a jacket on a world that's like an icebox?"
"Yeah, I don't get it either. When I asked Donald about it once, he just grumbled at me before shouting 'the magic doesn't work that way,'" Sora stated, making sure to do his best impression of said magician at the end, and earning a small giggle from Kairi.
The redhead ceased laughing when she noticed that Sora was shivering almost as much as her, despite being dressed in warmer clothes, and she had to ask, "But why do you look like you're as cold as me when you've actually got a coat and long pants?"
"Hey, born and raised islander, what can I say," Sora shrugged.
Kairi would have to give him that, but still, there was also the fact that Sora did not seem to be bothered by the cold too much when they went to Christmas Town. She was about to point this out when someone called out, "Hey strangers! What brings you folks to Arendelle at this time of year?"
The two immediately turned and saw that they were being approached by a young man dressed in blue pants, a dark red shirt, dark colored boots, and a black coat that was left unzipped, with brown hair, bluish-green eyes, and a kind smile on his face. "Oh, hi there," Sora greeted in return. "We're just here to find…uh, a very good friend. One that we really need help from if we want to help some other friends of ours."
"Well, that's a first. Haven't been too many people coming out here just looking for a friend, let alone one that they need help from in a while," the man commented, confusing the two a little bit. "Oh, excuse me. I haven't introduced myself yet. Call me Dave. I'm the shipyard master and something of a part time ice harvester."
"Nice to meet you, Dave. I'm Kairi, and this is Sora," Kairi nodded in return before going on to their original question. "I don't suppose you've seen our friend. He's kind of hard to miss. He's comes up to Sora's waist in height, at most, has big round ears, and is probably carrying an oddly-shaped sword."
"How odd are we talking here," Dave asked.
"It probably looks something like a key," Sora clarified.
"Yeah, that's definitely odd. Sounds cool, but definitely odd," Dave muttered. He then thought over the description for a minute before he replied, "Well, a friend of mine did mention seeing a strange figure in a cloak tumbling down the mountain a few days ago, but he's got a bit of a crazy imagination. Thinks he's being raised by trolls up near the North Mountain and talks for his reindeer from time to time. Other than that though, I haven't heard of or seen anyone matching that description."
"I see," Sora sighed, sadly, but true to his nature, he was also quick to snap out of whatever sadness he may have been close to falling into and was smiling wide once again as he pressed on with another question. "Do you know of anyone who might be able to help us find him?"
"Honestly, not really," Dave shrugged. "A few years ago, I would've said that you could try your luck up at the palace, but hardly anyone's ever been able to get in or out the castle for a couple of years now. In fact, that's also part of the reason as to why most the ships we see coming in these days are only vessels carrying the barest of most essential, tradable goods. Arendelle's become a very big mystery even to her own people as of late, but not in what I would consider a good way."
"Why? What happened," Kairi inquired.
"That's a very good question, but I have about as much of a clue as you do," Dave admitted. "One day, everything's just fine, the kingdom's all sunshine and rainbows, and the gates are up for all to come and go as they please, and then the next, the king and queen had reduced the castle staff to the barest minimum, practically barricaded the castle shut, and the gates have remained closed to everyone ever since. Rumor has it that it may have something to do with one of the princesses, but I don't really put much stock into that. Even so, it's not like I haven't been tempted to at least try and think of a few theories on why their majesties suddenly decided to close us and their castle off from the rest of the world."
It certainly was an intriguing mystery, both Keyblade masters could agree with that. Maybe the king and queen had an encounter with some creatures like the Heartless or the Unversed and got scared into closing themselves and their people off for the sake of their family and kingdom. Perhaps there was some kind of attack that made them feel that they could not trust anyone who was not from Arendelle. They also began to think that this might even have something to do with Ansem and Xemnas, but both Sora and Kairi dismissed that theory since Dave had said that the gates have been closed for a few years now, and the two villains of darkness had only been in this time for a short while, as far as they knew. At another time, the two would probably have looked into it to see if they could do something to help out, but right now, they had a mission to take care of, and in order to do so, they had to find Mickey, and from the look of things, there seemed to be only one place where they may be able to get some kind of lead, even if it was closed off from everyone else.
"Thanks Dave. You've been a big help," Sora stated as he and Kairi took off towards the castle, thinking that they would try their luck there even with such slim odds.
"Best of luck you guys," Dave called out to the duo. He watched them go for a few minutes, noting how they were rushing to the castle, and he could only hum in thought before he whispered, "Maybe…Just maybe…Nah, it's gotta be a coincidence. Still…You never know. Maybe I should at least try and track down that one vial Mom and Dad always said was meant for some extra special people."
"He seemed nice," Kairi commented, referring to Dave as she and Sora raced through the streets to the castle.
"Yeah, but I kind of got the feeling there was something strange about him," Sora commented. The two though about it for a minute before they just shrugged and looked forwards again at the closed-off castle, fully intent on getting inside, even if no one else had been able to before.
Getting into the castle was actually a lot easier than Sora and Kairi thought it would be. Considering how closed off Dave had told them it had become to the rest of the world, they thought for sure that the guards would come in greater numbers, or that there would be at least one at every gate, but instead, they barely saw anyone guarding most of the entrances that were not mainly used. Sure, the strange, yet nice man had mentioned that the king and queen had reduced the castle staff to the barest minimum, but they had thought for sure that there would be a few more guards for the palace if they really were trying to shut themselves off from the rest of the world. They did not pay it too much mind though, as they just needed to get inside and speak to the rulers of Arendelle as soon as possible, and being ever impatient, Sora decided to not wait around for someone to just let them in, and just opened the locked door with his Keyblade. Not that Kairi really minded too much, but she was sure that getting in like this was more than likely going to get them into a lot of trouble if something did not happen that would save them from being locked in a dungeon at best.
As it turned out, they did land into another load of trouble, but this was more of the typical variety that they dealt with, and it also had the added benefit of giving Kairi a sense of déjà vu when it happened. Just as they were entering one of the larger rooms in the castle, they heard someone let out a frightened scream, and they quickly raced towards the source of said scream to see what had happened. They ended up getting a little turned around and had to split up in order to find whoever was obviously in trouble, and as a result, Kairi was the one who came upon the person in distress first. What she found when she arrived was a young girl with red hair that had a white streak in it, running as fast as she could to get away from a pack of Unversed, and unfortunately for the child, she was running straight for a dead end.
"No! Not that way! Run in a different direction," Kairi shouted, but it was already too late, and the girl was soon boxed in. With no time to think, Kairi immediately summoned out her Keyblade, and fired off a blast of Blizzara, destroying several Unversed, and making an opening for the girl to use in order to dash behind the auburn haired girl. The minute that the little girl was behind her, Kairi immediately picked up on a familiar feeling. It was one that was incredibly faint, and not very likely to fully form for a very long time, but it was still there. 'This light I'm feeling…Could this girl possibly be a future Princess of Heart,' Kairi quietly wondered as she studied the girl. She then glanced up to see the Unversed drawing in, and all at once, she was reminded of what it was like when Aqua had first appeared to her in a similar situation. 'There's no way I can fight these guys off and keep the girl safe like this.'
Just then, one of the larger Unversed jumped at the girl, and Kairi was already raising her Keyblade in an attempt to block the oncoming attack, even if it was going to prove futile, when a familiar voice shouted, "Zero Gravity!" The minute the spell was cast, the Unversed found itself stuck in midair, and in perfect position for Sora to jump in and hit several times over with Kingdom Key before he finally kicked it away as hard as he could. Much to his and Kairi's surprise, the kick ended up being the thing that destroyed the monster, but they figured that the Keyblade had already softened it up quite a bit, so they did not pay it too much mind and went on with their regular business. "Kairi, get that girl somewhere safe. I'll keep these guys busy," Sora ordered.
"I'm on it," Kairi nodded in reply, scooping the girl up in her arms and racing out of the room without a second's hesitation.
With Kairi and the girl now both out of the way, Sora did not hesitate to engage the Unversed using almost every spell and attack at his disposal. Whether it was a brilliant show of swordsmanship, or an incredible blast of magic, Sora seemed almost unstoppable when confronting the vile creatures that some had come to consider the predecessors to the Heartless, an idea that still made him roll his eyes a little to this day. Still, there was no denying that he was out numbered, or that for every Unversed he destroyed, another five seemed to take its place, and Sora was only able to do so much on his own. Thankfully, he did not have to fight alone for long, as Kairi was quick to rejoin the fight after she had returned from carrying her charge to safety.
When he saw Kairi enter the room again, cutting down some Scrappers and then blasting a Bruiser with light magic when she did, Sora made sure to block and then push back the Shoegazer that was about to hit him before he made his way over to her so that they were standing side-by-side. "Is the girl okay," Sora asked once he was next to Kairi.
"Yeah. I left her with her parents. They seemed a little surprised and worried when they first saw me, but they were just happy to see their daughter was okay. I left before they could ask too many questions," Kairi informed him.
Sora nodded in response to that, and then returned his focus to the battle at hand. He had a feeling that they were not going to be avoiding the girl or her parents for too long, but he could not afford to worry about that at the moment. All that mattered was getting rid of these monsters that were intruding upon a royal's home. With that said, the two went to work again on taking down the Unversed, and with them both now in the fight, it was proving much easier to eliminate the monsters, but they were still reappearing at a rapid rate that was beginning to try each of their nerves a little. For Kairi, this was not too much of a problem, considering that she was able to just shrug off a little irritation and calm her mind quickly if she had to, a trait that was typical of anyone who practiced magic a lot, but she was really more concerned about how Sora would react. In the past, Sora's irritation had often led to him unintentionally using Anti-Form, even if he was not too tired or exhausted of energy, and ever since they realized this would be a problem, Kairi could not help but be concerned when something might come along and so much as seriously annoyed Sora, beyond a point that some their friends' pranks could. Luckily, it turned out that Kairi did not have to worry too much, because while Sora did eventually snap, when he changed forms, it was not into Anti-Form, but rather, into the one form he had that she did not.
"Limit Form, drive on," Sora shouted, and the minute the light that had erupted from his form change had died down, one could see that Sora's attire had changed to be a near match to that of the clothes he wore on his very first adventure, with the exception of having a red crown emblem on his sleeves and knees. A second later, Sora was blazing across the battlefield, unleashing various different special abilities that he had learned on that first trip across the worlds, all of which were more powerful versions than the original ones. He felled several Scrappers and Floods with the speed of Sonic Rave, beat down nearly three Bruisers with Last Arcanum, grounded a few Archravens with Strike Raid and Infinity, and to finish the last few off, he unleashed the power of his own Zantetsuken, destroying several Unversed at once with a single, high-speed slash.
After Sora's sudden blitz of special attacks, there were barely that many Unversed left, and not a single one had appeared to replace the ones that were destroyed, so Kairi was able to make quick work of the stragglers before they could take the opportunity to get away. After using a quick burst of Fira to destroy the last Flood, Kairi turned to see Sora power down his Drive Form, and was about to check to make sure he was okay when they heard someone step into the room. They immediately turned around and saw the girl from earlier entering with her parents, both of which were dressed in very regal attire, and it was at that point that Kairi finally started to figure out who they were, much to her shock.
"I'm not sure how you two got in here, but all the same, I must thank you both for saving my daughter's life," the man smiled to the two Keyblade wielders, but there was still a cautious look in his gaze, and the woman that was obviously his wife was regarding them with just as much concern.
"No problem. Saving lives and fighting off creatures of darkness like those is all just part of the job for us. Not that we wouldn't try and help out even if it wasn't," Sora reassured him with his usual easy going smile.
"Still, you've done the kingdom a great service today," the man insisted. "I'm King Agnarr of Arendelle. This is my wife, Idunna, and of course, you've already met our daughter, Princess Anna."
"King…" Sora repeated in surprise before he snapped to attention, with Kairi following soon after.
"So sorry for our rudeness, sir, but mostly my friend's. He's not really all that used to using proper etiquette when the situation calls for it," Kairi immediately apologized on both hers and Sora's behalf.
"Hey! What do mean 'mostly my rudeness?' I've barely talked to them before now, unlike you," Sora snapped.
Kairi's retort went unsaid as little Anna was soon giggling happily at the two while the king and queen were both smiling in amusement as well. "There's no need for that. After all, I'm sure a few things can be forgiven under the circumstances," the king reassured them.
A minute later, Anna had left her parents' sides and approached Kairi, holding out a paper snowflake that she had clearly made herself to the auburn haired Keyblade master. "Here, this is for you. Consider it my thank you for saving me," Anna told Kairi.
Kairi could only smile as she knelt down and accepted the gift, and could not help but marvel a little at how lovely it looked, even if it was just something made with folded paper and scissors. Looking it over though, Kairi could also see that it had quite a bit of glitter on it, along with some light blue coloring, obviously from some hard worked crayons, all to make it look a little more like an actual snowflake. "Oh, it's lovely. Thank you," Kairi smiled in return.
"So, what's your name, Miss," Anna asked.
"I'm Kairi, and this is my friend Sora," the auburn haired girl replied, just missing the surprised looks that the king and queen shared when they heard her. Sora did take notice, and could only furrow his brow in confusion until he heard Anna's next sentence.
"Hey, you have the same names as the characters from Elsa's favorite story," Anna exclaimed. "Does that mean that you and Sora are gonna get married someday like them, too?"
Both Keyblade masters immediately blushed in response, completely caught off guard by the child's question, no matter how innocent it may have sounded to her. Before they could stutter any kind of excuses, be it ones that they had tried in the past or even a new half-baked one, the queen intervened and said, "Anna, why don't you go and see if Elsa wants to play with you while we talk with Sir Sora and Lady Kairi?"
"Awe, but I want to talk with them a little more too," Anna whined.
"I know, sweetie, but I doubt you want to hear anything about some boring grown up stuff, and that's all we're going to be talking about right now," Agnarr told his daughter, obviously just saying that to get her to forget about staying with them, even if it was true. His little white lie did the trick, as Anna was quickly dashing out of the room again, saying that something about wanting to see if Elsa wanted to play in the snow today as she left, and with that, the Keyblade masters were left with the rulers of Arendelle. "I'm sorry about that. Anna's always had a very grand fascination with stories of romance and true love. Sometimes I feel it might be to worrying levels."
"Don't worry. We actually get that kind of thing a lot for some reason," Sora reassured him. He then thought back to what Anna and her parents were saying, and felt that he had to ask, "So who's Elsa?"
"Elsa is our oldest child, and Anna's older sister," Idunna revealed, but the two could not help but notice that her face had turned quite sad at the mention of this. "And unfortunately, she also has a small problem at the moment. One that you might be able to help us with."
"You see, Elsa was born with the incredible power to control snow and ice, but one day when they were playing together, she accidentally struck Anna's head. Ever since, we've been doing everything we can to help her learn to control the power, but until she did learn, we felt it was best to keep her hidden away, for her safety and that of everyone around her," the king explained.
"Is that why you suddenly closed off your kingdom to the rest of the world," Kairi guessed.
"Not the whole kingdom, but certainly the palace," the king corrected. "It's too dangerous for Elsa to be around others right now, and after what nearly happened to Anna, Elsa just hasn't been able to control her magic at all. Since you two clearly possess powers of your own, do you think you might be able to do something for her?"
Sora and Kairi immediately shared a small look with one another at that, and it was not one that filled the king and queen with much confidence. Yes, the two had often dropped what they were doing to help out when they could, but right now, they could not afford to do that. Not with Terra, Aqua, and Ven stuck in the future, and with the two of them and Mickey so essential to getting them back. Besides, there was no way that Elsa's magic was anything like what they used or had seen in the past, so there was also the chance that they would not be able to help Elsa learn to control her powers even if they did try. They did not like it, but they knew that they could not lie and say that they could help, even if it did go against their typical instincts to stop and help out whenever they could.
In the end, Sora was the one to break the news, and replied, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid we can't help. We may possess magic powers, but from what you're saying, it sounds like your daughter possess magic that's a lot different than ours, so I don't think we'd be of much help, anyway. Besides, even if we could, we don't have much time to do so anyway. We're in the middle of a problem of our own that we need to resolve as quickly as possible."
"Some friends of ours are in really big trouble, and in order to help them, we need to find another friend of ours and get his help, otherwise, there's a chance a lot of people could get hurt," Kairi explained. "That's the whole reason we came here in the first place: to see if you could do anything to help us find him."
The king and queen were a little hesitant to try and help after hearing the Keyblade masters' response to their request, but then again, these two did just save Anna's life, so they were willing to return the favor by at least offering whatever services that they could. "Perhaps if you could describe your friend for us," the king asked.
"Well, he's about this tall," Sora started, holding his hand down low to where he knew Mickey's head would be if he was standing next to him. "And has big, round ears, and carries a weapon like ours."
The king and queen seemed to pause and think this over for a minute before the latter replied, "I don't know anything about anyone with a weapon like yours, but the rest of your description does sound familiar. Almost like that new toy we saw in Elsa's room the other night."
"Toy," Kairi repeated in question.
"Oh, yes," Idunna smiled. "Elsa told us that she thought Anna left it at the door for her as a present, and while it was cute, I still feel like the outfit it was wearing could use a little more color. Of course, I doubt it was anything like your friend, considering it looked like a large mouse, in an odd way."
The minute they heard the queen say that the toy looked a lot like a mouse, only one thing came to Sora and Kairi's minds, and they did not need to use the D-Link to know that they had the same thought. In point of fact, they barely even had to glance at each other to know, and the minute they realized that they did have the same idea, Kairi looked to the queen and asked, "Would you mind if we talk with Elsa for a minute? Our friend likes to leave secret messages in things that have a small resemblance to him, and there may be a chance that there's one inside that toy, if it really does look a lot like him as you say it does."
"I'm don't know," Agnarr said, his tone very hesitant, though obviously indicating that he could simply be baiting the two into trying to help his daughter despite what they had said earlier. Sora and Kairi both knew this and that he was only trying to bait them because he wanted to help his daughter, but they did not want to waste too much time bargaining with someone if they were close to at least a clue on where Mickey was. So, it made sense that they would play along with this game for the moment.
"It would also help us to know for sure if there was something we could do to help Elsa or not," Sora added, knowing that was what the king was fishing for.
The minute that Sora said that, the king and queen both smiled and readily agreed, and they quickly proceeded to lead the two to their eldest daughter's room, both knowing that Anna was likely still there right now. As they did, they did not notice that Sora and Kairi exchanged a knowing smile between them, indicating that they knew what the king and queen had been doing, but they were still happy to go along with it. After all, this way they could kill two birds with one stone. They'd be able to try and help out the princess with her powers, at least a little bit, and they would not have to abandon their search for Mickey in order to get Aqua, Terra, and Ven home. What could go wrong?
It did not take too long to reach Elsa's room, but to everyone's surprise, it looked as though Anna had gotten there just a few seconds before them. Sora and Kairi were about to question how that was possible when the younger princess had left a good while before them, until Idunna explained that Anna would sometimes take a longer way around in order to marvel at some of the paintings, or to look outside to see what the weather was like, especially when it was snowing outside, since winter was one of her favorite times of the year. The Keybearers soon learned why that was the case after they stopped to listen as Anna tried persuade Elsa to come out and play with her.
"Elsa," Anna called once she had knocked, and then started singing, much to Sora and Kairi's amusement. "Do you wanna build a snowman? Come on, let's go and play.
I never see you anymore,
Come out the door,
It's like you've gone away.
We used to be best buddies, and now we're not. I wish you would tell me why.
Do you wanna build a snowman?
It doesn't have to be a snowman."
"Go away, Anna," a voice said from the other side of the door, and though little Anna probably could not hear it, Sora and Kairi could definitely hear a good deal of sadness in that voice that they could safely assume was Elsa's. The sad looks on the king and queen's faces were solid confirmation of that.
"Okay, bye," Anna sadly sang back before turning and trudging off, sadly.
As the two watched Anna walk away, Kairi tried reaching out with her senses to see if she could feel the light she had picked up on earlier when she first ran into Anna. She did not get any results though, as it seemed like the light in Anna's heart right then was no different than anyone else's, but Kairi had been so sure that she had sensed a slightly stronger light from the little girl than there should have been in others earlier. Then again, after thinking back to her grandmother's story, she had to figure that kids Anna's age or younger probably had a larger amount of light in them than most people do, and Anna's probably just grew a bit brighter because someone had come to save her. Still, it could not hurt to keep an eye on the girl, and maybe her sister too, just in case she was not wrong. With that settled for now, Kairi filed all other thoughts on the matter away in favor of the meeting they were about to have, and she quickly followed the king, queen, and Sora to Elsa's door once they were all sure that Anna was long gone for the moment.
The king gently knocked on the door, but before he could say anything, he heard his daughter say, "I said not today, Anna. I'm sorry."
It broke Agnarr's heart a little to hear how sad his daughter sounded, and having to hear her dismiss her sister like that twice, even if the second time was only due to a mistaken assumption, but he had to bury that feeling for now and focus on what was important. "Elsa, it's just Mom and Dad. Can we come in," the king inquired.
"Um…Just a minute," Elsa hurriedly replied, and they all soon adopted confused expressions as they heard the girl apparently rush around the room in an attempt to make it look nice, or something similar. At one point, Sora and Kairi could have sworn they had even heard her whispering to someone on the other side of the door, but before they could really think on it too much, the door slowly opened to allow the future queen to peek out from inside her room.
Looking down at Elsa, Sora and Kairi were both amazed at how cute and pretty she looked, even at such a young age. Of course, Sora would insist that Kairi was just pretty if not more so when she was Elsa's age if someone asked, but that did not mean he could not find this little girl just as pretty. Between her pale blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, the two could tell that the girl was likely going to grow up and be a very lovely queen one day. It actually made it all the more sad how scared she looked as she peeked out her door, and then retreated away from it when she noticed that her parents had guests with them.
"It's all right, honey," Idunna reassured Elsa. "These two are very special new friends who want to try and help you."
Seeing Elsa was still hiding herself in her room, the king motioned for one of the two Keyblade masters to say or do something to help make his daughter relax a little more, and Sora was more than happy to volunteer, being a master at getting folks to calm down and cheer up when he was around. "Hiya, Elsa," Sora waved. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sora, and your parents tell me you have a really cool magic power. Would you mind if we come in talk for a minute?"
Elsa was still a little hesitant to allow anyone entry to her room, but after a minute or two, she did open the door all the way and let her parents and the Keyblade masters in. Once they were all inside, Kairi and Sora took a quick glance around the room, noticing the small layer of ice that was on various surfaces as they did, until Kairi finally spotted the "toy" that Idunna had mentioned to them, and she did not need any special senses, be it those of a Keyblade wielder or of a Princess of Heart to know that it was not a toy that was sitting on Elsa's bed with arms wide and a fake smile plastered on its face.
Having found their target, Kairi gave discreetly elbowed Sora and used the D-Link to point out the large mouse on the bed before helping him come up with a plan to show that they were here as friends. It may have been a little more obvious than it probably should be, but it was the best one they had at the moment, and Sora had no problems with it either. Taking the lead, Sora moved to kneel down in front of Elsa, his smile unfaltering as always, and tried to strike up a conversation with her. "So, can you tell me a little about your gift," Sora asked.
"It's not a gift," Elsa immediately denied, almost startling Sora a bit with how sure she sounded. "It's a curse. I hurt my sister because of these powers."
"Hey, I get it. Believe me, I get it," Sora reassured her with a placating wave. "I've seen some of my own friends get hurt, both directly and indirectly because of the powers that my friend and I have too, including my best friend. But that doesn't mean you can't make it into a really special gift." Seeing that Elsa did not seem to believe him, Sora decided to change tactics and said, "Would you mind showing me some things that you can do with your powers? It might help me to better understand how to help you control them."
Elsa jumped a little at that request, and her eyes immediately went to both her parents and Kairi, indicating just what had her so worried. "Don't worry, everyone will be fine," Kairi reassured the girl. "Sora and I have powers too. In fact, our magic keeps us safe from other people's powers, so we can make sure that your parents won't be hurt while you're showing us your magic."
"What…What kind of magic do you have," Elsa asked, now looking a little more curious, despite still being worried.
Sora took that as his cue to move back a little, raise his hand in front of him, and then summon forth the Kingdom Key to his hand. When he did, everyone heard a surprised not one, but two surprised gasps, and when they turned to the where the second one had come from, all any of them saw was the toy on Elsa's bed, still in the same pose as before. That did not mean that Sora and Kairi missed the discreet signal to be quiet that Elsa was giving to the toy, which she immediately stopped making when they turned back to her.
"Pretty amazing, huh," Sora asked. "This is a powerful tool known as the Keyblade. It's meant to destroy creatures of darkness and open the path to light, or so legends say, and with it, I can do all kinds of things."
Elsa looked at the Keyblade in awe, but it was not the kind that one has after seeing such a thing for the first time. No, it was a little too subdued to be that, and Sora easily noticed this, which meant that Elsa had seen a Keyblade before, and he and Kairi both had a feeling that they knew where from. Before they could ask her about it, Elsa had already turned to the auburn haired girl and asked, "Do you…have one of these too?"
Kairi immediately nodded with a smile and summoned out Destiny's Embrace just to prove it, surprising Elsa a little more. "I know it's not the most impressive looking thing, assuming you think flowers aren't really impressive or something, but it is a really great Keyblade for me, and it also allows me to perform a lot more magic than Sora's can," Kairi explained.
Elsa just nodded in response before she seemed to notice something that she had not before. "What's your name, Miss? You never said when you and Mister Sora came in."
Kairi just smiled a little more before dismissing Destiny's Embrace, and replied, "I'm Kairi, and I'm one of Sora's best friends."
"Sora and Kairi? But that's…" Elsa stopped as she glanced at the two for a minute in awe, confusing the two Keyblade masters as she did.
"Is something wrong," Sora asked.
"It's just that…you have the same names as the characters in my favorite story," Elsa explained, bringing up something that the two had meant to ask about before.
"Yeah, I think Anna mentioned that earlier when we met her. What is this story you all keep talking about, anyway," Sora finally inquired.
"It's an old legend that has been passed down for ages, even before Arendelle was the kingdom it is today. It tells of a boy and a girl who would one day travel across many different lands and attempt to save them all from a great darkness," Agnarr revealed. "The boy's name was Sora the Brave and the girl's was Princess Kairi."
"Wait…Are you saying that you think we're the same people as the ones in that legend," Kairi asked in slight disbelief. Eventually though, she and Sora had to chuckle a little in amusement along with the three royals. Clearly, none of them would have ever expected such a strange thing. Still, it was clear that Sora was interested in hearing a little more about this legend, and was about to ask if they could hear a bit more until Kairi intervened, feeling that they needed to stay on track. "Listen Elsa, Sora and I really want to help you at least get closer to controlling your magic so you can play with your sister again, but first we need a little help finding a friend of ours," Kairi explained. "His name is Mickey, and we think there might be a chance that he left a message of some kind in that toy you recently found."
Elsa's face immediately gained a shocked expression, but she was quick to make it disappear, thinking that Sora and Kairi had not noticed as she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible. I've looked the toy over a few times myself, but I haven't found anything to indicate someone had left a message anywhere on it."
"Well, he makes it hard for most people to find unless they know him. Would you mind if I at least hold the toy for a minute," Sora asked in the hopes of at least getting closer.
"No," Elsa quickly cried out, surprising everyone a little before recomposing herself. "I mean, that doesn't really seem necessary, Mister Sora, sir. I'm sure there isn't anything to find."
"I don't know. It kinda looks like a toy I have at home," Kairi revealed, exchanging a quick wink with Sora via the D-Link to indicate she had a sneaky plan up her sleeve. "Only mine is a bit more colorful and can laugh when you press or tickle its belly. We could try that."
"Really? You have toys where you're from that can do that," Elsa asked, slightly awed at the idea, and not suspecting anything as Sora moved a little closer.
"Sure. It works with a special kind of magic, but you have to be really quiet before you do it, otherwise, it doesn't work," Kairi whispered, keeping the girl's attention fully on her, and allowing Sora to sneak closer to the toy. The king and queen did notice this though, and could not help but stare in confusion, wondering what the boy was up to. "Don't give any signs of something about to happen, moving slowly as possible to ward off any chance of being given away, and then…you…jump him with a tickle attack!"
At that moment Kairi's hands had dived towards Elsa's sides, tickling the little princess until she had burst out laughing like no tomorrow, much to her parents' amusement and slight relief. It had been a long time since they had heard Elsa laugh at all, let alone like she did not have any cares in the world as she was doing right then, but their enjoyment did not keep them from noticing that there someone else laughing just as hard as the two girls, and this person was definitely not Sora, as the protests came from a voice that was much higher pitched and squeaky.
"H-hey! Come on! Hahaha! St-stop! Hehe! T-That tickles! Hahahahaha," one Mickey Mouse cried out as he attempted to bat Sora's hands away from him, earning a smug smirk from the Keyblade Masters, surprised looks from the king and queen, and an equally surprised yet worried look from Elsa.
"Gotcha, Your Majesty," Sora teased as he slowly let up on his tickle attack.
When he noticed that Sora had let up and gotten his breath back, Mickey immediately froze in shock at he realized that he had also been exposed, and he slowly glanced around the room before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and muttered, "Uh…Oops. Busted."
"…The toy is talking," was all Idunna managed to say in shock.
"And moving…All on its own," Agnarr muttered, still just as shocked as his wife.
"He's actually not a toy…He's my friend," Elsa revealed, surprising her parents. She then gave her parents an apologetic look as she said, "I'm sorry I lied to you, but he told me that people weren't supposed to know he was here, and I wanted to help him somehow. Plus, he had powers like me and looked so sad and lonely that I couldn't help but feel really sad too. He said that something happened to him that made him feel like he had failed some friends of his and he didn't want to cause them anymore problems by being around. I only lied about not knowing anything about him because I thought that Mister Sora and Miss Kairi were those friends."
"Well you're not really that far off," Mickey replied solemnly before looking to the two Keyblade Wielders in question. "Tell me, where'd you get those? Keyblades are not something that just anyone can use after all."
"They chose us," Sora replied as simply as you please. "But that's not important right now. Mickey, we really need your help."
"What kind of help, exactly," Mickey asked, his voice indicating just how cautious he was about offering his services.
"It's a long story," Kairi stated, throwing a nervous glance at the king and queen. She was not too sure about telling their story with them and Elsa still present, but they had already been so kind to her and Sora that it felt a little wrong to just ask them to leave. So, she figured she might as well bite the bullet and get it all out there. The only thing that was really surprising to everyone was that she gave the entire summary in one breath. "The short version is that we're Keyblade Masters from the future, which is completely messed by the way, and we were sent back in time to change the past, but now Terra, Aqua, and Ven have all been sent to our future where they're now trapped unless you can help us open the gate that is literally their only chance of getting back."
Mickey looked between the two Keybearers for a minute before he finally said, "As entertaining a story as that is, I'm afraid that I can't help you even if you weren't possibly out of your minds. Why don't you just go back to Yen Sid, because I know he sent you, and tell him that I can't come back unless he wants everyone to suffer because of me."
"We can't go back to Yen Sid and tell him that because he didn't send us," Sora immediately retorted. He then adopted a slightly sheepish expression before adding, "Well I mean he did send us, but it wasn't the Yen Sid of this time, it was the one in the future, and he wasn't the only one who sent us."
"Sora, please get to the point before you give everyone a headache of confusion," Kairi whispered, clearly seeing that their story was already getting wide-eyed looks from Agnarr, Idunna, and Elsa.
Sora took a deep breath to calm himself down and did as Kairi asked by turning to Mickey and saying, "The person who sent us was you."
That drew a surprised look from Mickey, because he was not expecting that at all. All of a sudden, it made sense as to how they had found him, because he had done everything he could to make sure that Yen Sid could not find him. Sure, his master was powerful and likely would have determined his location eventually, but even Yen Sid would not have done so this fast. It actually made a little sense if his future self had been the one to tell these two where he was, assuming that he could believe this time travel story. Then again, it was still really hard for him to believe, and among the people in this room, he should have had the easiest time believing it. From the look of things, Elsa and her parents were still having trouble processing it all, but the sincere looks that these two kids were giving him showed that they were either telling the truth or actually believed the crazy story they were selling. One way or the other, he knew that he could not stay here anymore, but he did not want to leave with these two. Part of it was because he felt that he had to stay a little longer for Elsa, but there was also one other, much more personal reason as well.
Just as Mickey was about to tell them this, a loud noise suddenly rang out from somewhere in the castle, making everyone jump in fright. "What was that," Idunna managed to ask, despite her frightened state.
"It might have been more of those creatures," Kairi stated. She knew that was probably not going to ease anyone's nerves, but it was not like she could have sugarcoated it or anything, so why bother trying?
"I'll go and see for myself," Agnarr decided, worrying his wife and child a little more when he did. Before either of the two could say even a word of protest, he looked to them reassuringly and said, "I'll be fine. I promise. You all just stay here where it's safe."
Both girls nodded in response to that, feeling a little more reassured by the king's promise, but Sora never was one to just sit around and wait if he felt that he could do something to help. "Actually, Your Majesty, you should stay here and protect your family," Sora insisted. "Kairi, Mickey and I will handle the Unversed, ourselves."
"I can't ask you to stand and fight for my kingdom. What sort of ruler would I be if I let others fight my battles," Agnarr tried to argue.
"But we can't ask you to go out there and risk leaving your daughters without their dad," Sora countered. When he saw that the king was still going to be a little stubborn, despite looking like he was going to listen to him, Sora then added, "Trust me, your family needs you with them a lot more than they need you out there. Plus, we're better equipped and trained to handle those creatures than you and your guards. No offense."
"None taken," the king reassured Sora, having finally seen the boy's point. "All right. I'll leave it to you. Just do what you can to make sure they stay away from my people and family."
"We will. Like I said, you can just leave it to me, Kairi, and Mickey," Sora promised.
Kairi immediately nodded in agreement with this as she and Sora both summoned their Keyblades, but just as they were about to charge out into the battle, they immediately froze when they heard Mickey say, "No, I can't help."
Sora looked at Mickey in shock for a full minute before he finally moved to clean his ears out and say, "I'm sorry, I must've had something in my ear. I could've sworn you just said you can't help."
"That's exactly what I said," Mickey replied as he looked away in shame.
"Why not," Kairi asked. "You're Mickey Mouse, the king of Disney Castle, and a master of the Keyblade. You're the guy that Donald and Goofy can always count on to pull them out of the most dangerous situations. You're the one who helped Aqua to save a little girl from the Unversed in Radiant Garden. You can do anything."
"No I can't," Mickey replied. "Maybe I could have before, but that Mickey Mouse is long gone. All I can do is cause friendships to fall apart, bring pain and misery to everyone around me, and hurt the ones close to me."
Sora and Kairi could hardly believe what they were seeing or hearing. Mickey Mouse, one of the most powerful Keyblade Masters they had ever known, and the same person who had inspired them to keep going no matter what, was actually talking like he had already lost every battle he would enter before they had even started. The sad and depressed look on his face was shocking to say the least, but this was far worse than anything they could have ever imagined as an ultimate low point for their friend. The sight of this nearly drove Kairi to tears, and the fact that she turned away to start running out to the battle that laid before them was indication enough that she was not just saddened by the sight, but that she was also terribly, terribly disappointed.
That feeling was shared by Sora who instead of running off along with Kairi just turned an angry glare at the mouse and said, "Fine, if you want to waste away and give up without even trying, then go ahead, because if that is the case, then you're right about being someone else. In all honesty, I can't see how you could possibly have ever become the Mickey Mouse I know, especially if you're really going to be like this; someone who just gives up and doesn't help his friends when they need it."
Mickey did not need to look at Sora to know that the boy had tears beginning to form in his own eyes as he too turned away and took off to the battle outside where they could already hear Kairi fighting back against the Unversed that had apparently materialized just a short way down the hall. The small king was not sure what he was like in Sora and Kairi's time, that is assuming that their story of being from the future was true, but he knew that the two likely had every right to react in the way they did if the Mickey Mouse they knew or heard of was anything like they had just indicated he was. It was enough to drive poor Mickey to tears as well over the fact that he had let down two more people once again, only this time because of the fact he was not even trying to do something to help.
Seeing the poor Mouse's distress, Elsa could not stay where she was for long and quickly walked over to give Mickey a small hug, much to his surprise, and even more so to her parents', since her powers did not seem to be affecting the mouse. "I don't think you're a bad friend," Elsa told him, confusing Mickey a little more. "When you told me you were hiding because of some things that happened to your other friends, I knew you were just doing that because you thought that would help them, even if there was a chance it wasn't your fault. Besides, you stayed here with me all this time and didn't leave. Why did you do that?"
"Well, like I told you when I first came here; it looked like you could use a friend," Mickey reminded the girl.
"And because no one deserves to be alone. At least not entirely, right," Elsa added, earning a nod from Mickey. "You could have just ignored that, or even have left the very next morning and left me thinking that I had dreamed you up, but when I woke up, you were still here, and you were still happy to tell me about all the adventures you've been on with your friends. Only someone who really cares about others, be they friend or stranger would do that, and you definitely care a great deal. But you shouldn't blame yourself just because something bad happened. I mean, wouldn't it be better if you tried to find your friends and make things right with them?"
"But I…" Mickey tried to argue, but he found that he could not. Partly because he could not come up with anything and partly because Elsa had preempted him before he could speak.
"If no one deserves to be alone, then why should you be alone," Elsa asked as she pulled back from the hug and looked the mouse straight in the eye, just to make sure he was paying attention to what she was saying. "You're probably one of the nicest people I've ever met besides Mama and Papa. You shouldn't be sad or cutting yourself off from your friends like this. Every time I heard Anna outside my door asking if I want to play, I'm always tempted to say yes and go outside with her, but I know that I can't because I still can't control my powers and I might hurt her because of them, but unlike me, you can do something to help your friends, and you're able to control all of your powers without worry. I know that you would have to leave to help them, and even if that wasn't the case, I knew that you couldn't stay forever, but it never mattered to me. Every time I thought of it, you always found a way to cheer me up, make me smile, and just forget about that for a little while with a good story, a funny joke, or even a silly face. You helped me to just live in the moment and enjoy the time I had with you right now in the present, and that's why I know that when you do leave, while I will be sad, I know that you'll still be my very good friend."
Agnarr and Idunna were both happy to hear that Elsa believed that she and her sister would not have to remain separated forever, and more than that, they were proud of her for being such a good friend to Mickey by saying she would be willing to let him go if and when he eventually had to leave. It really showed that Elsa cared a great deal about the people in her life, even if she could not be with them due to her powers, and more than anything, it gave them hope that someday, their daughters could be as close as they once were before the accident that led to them being separated. They just had to hope that Elsa would learn to control her powers and not become even more of a shut in if they grew to be too much for her alone.
Mickey on the other hand was shocked by how much faith Elsa had in him. He had not really known this sweet little girl for too long, and yet she still had so much faith in him being able to do the right thing, even though she did not know very much about what had brought him to Arendelle in the first place. It was very flattering, and it made his heart warm quite a bit, giving him a feeling that he had not really experienced too much since before the events that had broken Terra, Aqua, and Ven apart from each other. Thinking over what Elsa said, Mickey then turned his thoughts to Sora and Kairi, and how they seemed to have so much faith in him as well. Could these children really believe these things about him when he did not even believe them himself? And if so, did he have the heart to keep telling them that they were wrong to think like that? Mickey just was not sure, at first, but after a few more moments' thought, he found himself making an important decision.
Kairi would be the first to admit that running headlong into the battle in the way that she did probably was not the best idea she ever had, but at the moment she did not really care, as she really had to work off some anger after what she had just heard from Mickey, and thus she was quick to charge in and start slashing through Unversed with Destiny's Embrace while shouting for any guards that were close by to clear out and make sure the other castle residents were safe. Of course, she did not count on Vanitas suddenly appearing out of thin air and attacking her from behind. Thankfully, she managed to deflect his attack, and then rolled away from the masked boy once she pushed him back, but she quickly realized that doing so gave Vanitas a chance to send out more Unversed that were quickly starting to move towards the exits that led to the rest of the castle.
"So, the little princess thinks she can stop me alone? Humph, pathetic," Vanitas mocked as he silently instructed his monsters on what to do.
"Please. We both know who the pathetic one is between the two of us, and it's not me," Kairi retorted as she charged in, intent on attacking Vanitas while stopping his creatures from escaping. When the two locked Keyblades again, Kairi decided to add to her point, and snarled, "At least I'm not just half a man, literally and figuratively."
"Excuse me," Vanitas growled as he pushed back on Kairi's Keyblade.
"Why else would a coward send out his pets to hurt innocent people for no reason instead of owning up and doing it himself," Kairi questioned before she broke the lock and fired off several blasts of Holy and Pearl, destroying the Unversed that were just about to slip out of the room. That remark had earned her Vanitas's full wrath, as the masked boy was quickly bearing down on Kairi with everything he had, making it even more difficult for Kairi to keep the Unversed from escaping into another part of the castle. At that point, Kairi wished that she knew how to conjure up a battlefield barrier, because such magic would really have helped right now, but her wish was soon forgotten when she saw a few Bruisers nearing the exits, and she knew that she was never going to be able to destroy them or stop them before it was too late. What was worse was that they were heading down a route that would lead them straight to Elsa's room where the princess and her family were likely still hiding.
Kairi could do nothing to stop them since she was too preoccupied with trying to fend off Vanitas and the Unversed that had surrounded her, so she could do nothing more than fearfully watch as they made their way up until a silver and gold blur suddenly destroyed them both before revealing itself to be the Kingdom Key after returning to Sora's waiting hand as he jumped down into the battle as well, forcing Vanitas to back away from the auburn haired girl. "We're not going to get anywhere like this," Sora quietly stated.
"Then how about we give them a little taste of the Blue Burst," Kairi suggested with a smirk.
Sora returned the girl's smirk and then said, "As much as I hate being on the supporting role, I can't really say that I'd disagree with you on that idea this time. Plus I already know that I shouldn't argue with you."
Kairi only giggled in reply before they both shared a nod and shouted out, "Wisdom/Valor Form, drive on!"
One burst of light later saw Sora charging out into the battlefield firing a series of magic darts from his Keyblade as he seemed to skate across the ground in the blue and black styling of his Wisdom Form, and before anyone could attempt to try and close in on him, he would either dash away and fire off a Blizzard-Thunder spell combo or just let Kairi rush in with both the Destiny's Embrace and Pixie Petal Keyblades spinning and striking out at any opponent she got close enough to, with the light blue and purple colors of her Valor Form shinning as she did. The two Keybearers' combination of attack patterns made things nearly impossible for Vanitas or the Unversed to do much of anything at that point, especially since Kairi was using her boost in strength to give her more of an edge against Vanitas, but the masked boy was not about to go down without a fight, and he proved it when he unleashed a blast of dark lightning that tripped Sora up enough for some Scrappers to catch him in the side. Hearing Sora cry out in pain proved to distract Kairi just enough for Vanitas to finally get an opening and blast her back again, and since Valor Form kept Kairi from using any magic, she was unable to activate any kind of defensive spells to protect herself, or even a simple healing spell to help her recover after she was hit.
"Ha! Like I said before: pathetic," Vanitas scoffed. "Those old coots from the future actually believed you guys could stop us? As if! Once I'm done with you, there's no chance of those three making it back."
"Funny, last time I checked, you need at least two of those two to come back for your master's plans to work," Sora groaned as he sat up, only to get punched back down again by a Scrapper from behind.
"And I should care because," Vanitas asked. "All I ever really needed was Ventus, but let's face facts. I'm so much better off without him, but then again, maybe I should let them come back or at least the idiot. Once we've battled each other and fused together again, the χ-blade will be forged, and then nothing can stand up to me. Not even the old man."
"You'll never be able to get Ven or any of the others back. Not if you get rid of us, and we won't help you get them back if you keep attacking this world," Kairi then revealed, hoping that could get him to cease his attack, or at least drop his guard long enough for them to catch him by surprise. It did not work.
"Do you honestly think that would actually work," Vanitas asked. "I can already do plenty without anyone's help. Who's to say I can't pull the idiot back from wherever the future boys sent him? Besides, why stop something that's just so much fun?"
Hearing Vanitas say that certainly reaffirmed for the two that he had always been just as awful as they had knew him to be in the future, but seeing him pin Kairi under his boot after she was slashed at again by another Scrapper definitely reaffirmed that. When he summoned his Keyblade, neither Keyblade Master needed to think too much on what he was planning, and Sora's efforts to get up again were quickly redoubled, but the Bruiser that had started holding him in place just would not move. The masked boy then moved to bring his blade down, forcing Sora to watch as he prepared to end Kairi's life, until suddenly, he was blasted away by an orb of light that could only come from a light spell.
Vanitas looked on in stunned shock as he tried to close in on Kairi again and again, only to be met with more light spells, until he heard the sound of the Unversed being destroyed, and turned to see a fast moving figure slashing through the creatures trying to escape into the castle before casting a fire spell to free Sora from the Unversed that was holding. Vanitas then broke into a run, thinking he would be able to finish off one of the two if he moved fast enough, but only ended up getting blown across the room when someone jumped in front of him and knocked him away as hard as they could. The two Keyblade Masters were completely confused as to what just happened until a familiar voice squeaked, "You haven't gotten away with it yet!"
"Mickey," Sora and Kairi both cried out in relief as the former cast a quick healing spell to get Kairi back on her feet again, for there, standing between Vanitas and the two of them with his arms spread out defensively, and his Star Seeker Keyblade in hand, was none other than the king of Disney Castle himself, laying a very angry glare on Vanitas's form.
"I thought I told you already, Keyblades are not something you use just to bully somebody around," Mickey shouted as he jumped into a battle stance. "Guess I'll just have to show ya again!"
"You mean WE will," Sora corrected as he and Kairi quickly ran to stand on either side of Mickey with their own Keyblades at the ready. Mickey looked at the two in surprise for a minute until they gave him a thumbs-up and readied their Keyblades for battle alongside the now smiling mouse.
The battle that ensued saw Sora and Kairi fighting off the last of the Unversed while Mickey met Vanitas head on in sword combat, and it was clear to see that the mouse had an advantage over Vanitas, as Mickey was able to easily weave and roll between Vanitas's strikes before slashing out with some of his own due to the mouse's smaller size. Seeing as Vanitas had not usually fought against someone so much smaller than him, he was completely thrown off balance the more he fought against Mickey, although from where Sora was watching as he continued to skate around the battlefield firing spell after spell along with a continuous stream of magic darts, it honestly seemed like Vanitas was apparently weaker than normal. He figured that it may have had something to do with Ventus being in a different time, because as far as he knew, the two could not be separated from the other for too long a time, at least not to as great of an extent as they currently were, but with that in mind, Ven should have been just as seriously affected as Vanitas was while he was stuck in the future, and from the sound of things, the blonde was doing just fine. Sora was brought out of his attempts to figure out why Vanitas was not fighting at full strength when he noticed that the colors of his outfit were beginning to fade out between his Wisdom Form and that of his normal attire, indicating that he was about to change back to normal, a fact that also held true for Kairi as her attire did the same, immediately letting the two know that they would have to hurry and finish their fight quickly before joining Mickey.
With this in mind, Sora immediately raced in and unleashed a much more devastating barrage of Thundaga spells on the Unversed, which brought up a massive snow cloud to cover Kairi as she raced in to unleash a powerful series of dual-slashes on the few Unversed that had survived. When the Drive Forms finally vanished, Sora and Kairi saw that they had finally cleared out the last of the dark creatures, and they immediately ran to assist Mickey in his fight, with Sora parrying a strike from Vanitas that nearly hit Mickey, allowing Kairi to strike him in the back with her own Keyblade. The one-on-one between the mouse king and the dark half of Ventus then quickly turned into a three-on-one that Vanitas was quickly beginning to lose, as the combined efforts of the three Keybearers was proving to be unlike anything Vanitas had ever dealt with up until now. Whenever Vanitas deflected a strike from above, Mickey hit him low, whenever he tried to defend himself from bellow, Sora struck him from above, and whenever he somehow managed to deflect both, Kairi was able to hit him from behind. Eventually, the efforts of the three paid off as Vanitas finally fell to his knees, with the Star Seeker and the Kingdom Key holding him at bay and keeping him from getting any ideas of trying to get back up.
Seeing that they had managed to subdue their opponent, Kairi prepared to go and check to make sure there were not any Unversed still in the castle. She stopped short when Vanitas suddenly laughed like he had just had the time of his life, surprising his captors and making them drop their guard long enough to bat their Keyblades aside and then spring back with some easy flips. "Is that really all you've got," Vanitas questioned, mockingly, proving to them that he had just been toying with the three. He then aimed his Keyblade at Sora and Mickey, an orb of dark magic already forming at the tip, as he said, "Let me show you some real power."
Sora and Mickey were both frozen where they stood, hardly able to believe how easily their opponent had just shrugged off a combined assault from three Keyblade Masters. It should not have come as too great a surprise though, considering that he had been contending with Ventus, Terra, and Aqua for a while, but then again, he had never dealt with all three of them at the same time. Still, it was certainly a testament to his ability for him to take such punishment and still carry on like it was nothing, and that was the whole reason why the two were too stunned to think properly and try to move clear of the oncoming attack. Thankfully, someone else managed to come to their rescue, but they were even more surprised that it was not Kairi.
"Leave my friends alone," a voice shouted before Vanitas was suddenly showered by a storm of icy winds and snow, and when the three turned to the source, they were all shocked to see none other than Elsa with her gloves off and hands pointed right at Vanitas in order to direct the freezing cold stream of snow and ice at the masked man who had dared to invade her home and attack the people she cared about.
Under such a constant and powerful stream of magic, Vanitas was just barely able to open up a dark portal beneath his feet that he drop down through, but he still somehow managed it all the same. Kairi was instantly by Elsa's side, thinking that the villain was going to hurt the girl in retaliation, but thankfully, it turned out that he was just putting some distance between himself and the four so that he could open a proper dark portal in order to escape. Just before he disappeared though, he leveled a look at the three Keyblade wielders, and said, "We'll be in touch soon, kiddies."
None of them were sure what to make of that, but right now, the three Keybearers were more concerned about how Elsa had left her room to come and help them. Fearing that she had encountered one of the Unversed and got hurt, they all quickly ran over to make sure she was okay, and thankfully, they saw absolutely no sign of injuries. That did not mean that they were not still a little upset with her though. "Elsa, I told you to stay in your room with your parents. What if you had gotten hurt," Mickey scolded.
"But I couldn't just let you fight those monsters or that bad man by yourselves. After all, you're my friend, Mickey," Elsa argued.
Mickey was about to say something in retort, when Sora put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, and then smiled as he said, "Hey, don't you think you're being a little hypocritical? After all, you would've done the same thing in her place, wouldn't you? Then again, I'm not that much better myself, since I'm the same way."
"But still, even you know when you need to take a step back, Sora," Kairi lightly admonished her friend. She then knelt down in front of Elsa and said, "It was really brave of you to come and help, but it was also incredibly risky. If you had gotten hurt, then Mickey, Anna, and your parents would all have been really sad, and so would me and Sora."
"I know, but…I just…" Elsa stuttered.
Kairi made the girl go silent by placing a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and saying, "I know, Elsa. Besides, if anything, I think this may have helped you a little. I don't know if you've noticed, but none of the ice you threw at him is still there. It's all gone now, so maybe you're starting to get a better understanding of your powers."
Elsa gasped in shock and then looked to see all the ice she had created was beginning to melt away or had simply vanished already, and she could not help but smile a little at seeing this. That smile quickly faded though as she realized something else. "Does that mean you guys aren't going to stay?"
As much as he hated to admit it, Mickey knew that he could not hide the truth from her. "I'm afraid so, Elsa, but like you said, even if we're far apart from each other, we'll still be good friends."
"And besides, maybe someday soon, you'll have total control of your powers and be able to play with Anna again like you used to," Sora added. "Just gotta keep at it, and never stop believing that it will happen, because sometimes, just believing is enough."
Elsa smiled with a nod of thanks for that sentiment, and then looked between Kairi and Sora, letting them know that there was something else that she wanted to ask them before she had even said so. What they did not expect was what the question would be. "Miss Kairi, are you and Mister Sora going to get married someday soon?"
Mickey could not help it. He just had to chuckle a little at the brilliant blushes that the two teen got when the girl had asked them that. Though part of him did feel that it was a nice dose of payback for the earlier tickle attack, so he was also giving a silent note of thanks to Elsa underneath all that laughter. "Wh-what? Where on earth did you get that idea from," Sora questioned.
"Well, in that story Papa and I were telling you about, Sora the Brave and Princess Kairi were deeply in love with each other, and you two look like you love each other very much too, so doesn't that mean you're going to get married someday?"
While her face was still burning with embarrassment, Kairi could not help but sigh a little at the childish innocence that had sparked this line of questioning. "Elsa, just because someone loves a person, doesn't mean that they need to get married," Kairi started to say. When she realized what that probably implied, her blush returned in full, and she was soon stuttering, "Not that I'm saying Sora and I love each other, but I'm just saying…well, that is…"
"What? Don't people who find their true love eventually get married to each other," Elsa questioned.
Kairi shook the embarrassment off again, and then returned to what she was originally saying. "There are a lot of different kinds of love, Elsa, both regular and true. For example, you love your parents and sister, but you don't want to marry them, do you?"
"Ew, no," Elsa cringed. "Mama and Papa are both old, and Anna's a girl like me."
Kairi was amused by the first half of what Elsa said, but all humor vanished when she quickly noticed that the second thing seemed to be prompting Sora to say something, and she knew it likely had to do with an old joke that they and their friends had started up regarding Lea and Isa, so she just had to say something before he started. "Not the time, Sora," the auburn haired girl cautioned, making him pout a little in response, much to her slight amusement. "Well, another example would be mine and Sora's best friend. We both love him like a brother, but that doesn't mean either of us want to marry him. Besides, for all you know, you could meet someone the next day and think you love them, but that doesn't mean you should marry them right then and there. You need to spend time getting to know them, seeing if you have things in common, and if you still care about each other after a good amount of time has passed, and once you're old enough, then its okay to get married. Understand?"
"I think so. It just sounds really confusing," Elsa shrugged.
"Well, if you did get it right away, you would definitely know a lot more about love than most people in general do. As a friend of mine and Sora's used to say, the heart is a very strange and curious thing that we can never truly understand. Just give it a little time, and you may start to get a better idea about it," Kairi promised.
"Okay," Elsa nodded. "But I do think I know at least a little bit of what you're saying. Simply put, I shouldn't get married to someone I've just met, even if I do think that they could be my true love, right?"
"Pretty much. That kind of thing may work in fairy tales, but in real life, it's just silly, and often dangerous," Kairi chuckled.
That stirred up a round of laughter from everyone that lasted a good long while, before the three Keybearers finally calmed down enough to escort Elsa back to her room where her parents were doubtlessly waiting.
After getting Elsa back to her parents and assuring the king and queen that everything was okay again, the Keyblade wielders excused themselves to look for someplace a little more private in order to talk freely. After all, despite what had just happened, there were a few things that they needed to go over before they could really move forward with any plan, let alone the current one that had brought Sora and Kairi to Arendelle in the first place. Mickey looked between Sora and Kairi for a minute, not entirely sure what to expect or even say to them, while the two from the future looked back with neutral expressions until Sora finally broke the very tense silence by asking, "Why'd you do it? Come help us at the end there, I mean."
Mickey looked down in thought for a minute, even though he knew deep down that it was not too hard a question to answer, but he was still having trouble saying it aloud. "I guess…I realized that you were right to call me a coward. I know you never actually said it, but you didn't need to, because only a coward would refuse to help his friends. After that, I just moved and reacted, not really sure what I was doing but still feeling like it was natural for me. I know you're probably thinking that this means I can come help you now, but I'm honestly not sure of that myself. I want to help, but I can't help feeling that I'd just cause more problems."
"Even if you do cause a problem, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that you at least try and be there for your friends. That way, you'll have already helped them a great deal," Kairi told Mickey.
"But how can I really help if I don't even know how to believe in anything anymore, including myself," Mickey asked, his eyes pleading the two for an answer.
Sora and Kairi glanced between each other for a minute before Sora knelt down to Mickey and said, "Somehow, I get the feeling that we're not the ones you should be asking the question to, but I do know how you can ask that question to the person you need to ask. Use the D-Link with me, and reach out beyond it to who you need to talk to."
Mickey nodded and closed his eyes as he raised his hand up to Sora, initiating a D-Link as he did. A minute after he did, a flurry of images flashed before him, starting with Sora's life on Destiny Islands before his adventures started, to when the Islands first fell to darkness and his separation from Riku and Kairi, to when he fought against Riku and gave himself up to darkness in order to free Kairi's heart, to nearly every single event that Sora had been through, including all the tragedies and hardships he had faced in the war between light and darkness. "No, stop it," Mickey shouted. "STOP IT!"
"Mickey, just calm down and stay focused," Sora soothed.
"No! I don't want to see this," Mickey protested. "I don't want your suffering! I don't want your future!"
"You can stop it from happening," Kairi calmly stated. "But right now, you need to look past our future, and find yours."
Mickey's distressed state slowly started to calm as he looked for him in Sora's memories, and every event that pertained to him, until finally, the world of Arendelle faded from around him, and he soon found himself lying in what appeared to be Yen Sid's tower, but he was able to tell that it was not because Yen Sid did not seem to register he was there, and he could hear the faint, muffled sounds of a battle being fought close by. He then glanced around the room to see a blonde girl standing to his left, while Kairi lay on a bed opposite of the one he was on, and then looked to see the nearly starless sky out a nearby window before his gaze finally settled on the person he was looking for. Mickey immediately stood up from where he was and walked over to the person before he finally called out, "Mickey?"
The red and white clad version of Mickey Mouse from the future perked up at the sound of his past self's voice, turned around, and then smiled brightly when he saw said past self as he said, "Hello Mickey. It's good to see you're doing alright, given the circumstances."
"How can you say that I'm doing alright after all that I've been through, and all you've been through," Past Mickey asked. "Everything either of us has done has all been for nothing, and now you're in the middle of a war between light and darkness which the light is losing."
"Because I know that we won't lose," Future Mickey replied with absolute certainty. "And that's because we have Sora, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, and Ven to help us, and so many other people as well. You may want to deny it, but I know that deep down, you still believe in the hope that no matter how dark things get there will always be a bright light to guide the way."
"How can I really believe that though? How can I be who you are now, the mouse that I used to be and who you seemed to have become again," Past Mickey asked, showing how desperate he was for the answer with every word. "I can't just keep going without knowing if what I'm doing is right or if it'll only make things worse."
"You're afraid," Future Mickey softly whispered. "I remember all too well, and I know for a fact that I never was who we once were before the point in our lives that you're at. Even though that is the case, that doesn't mean that you can't become better than before. We all face difficult trials in our lives, but it's how we come out of those trials after they're over, and how we chose to live our lives afterwards that really tell us who we are. I may have already come out of that trial, but your history is changing from the one I know, so I can't really say that you'll come out the same way. Even so, I know that you'll make the right choice."
"How can you be so sure," Past Mickey asked.
"I'm not. To quote Sora, I just believe that you will, and sometimes that's enough," Future Mickey smiled, and soon after, that smile was immediately reflected on his past self's face. "There's one other reason as well," the future version of the two then added. "You're Mickey Mouse. You can do anything."
The world of the future then vanished from around Past Mickey, and he opened his eyes to see Sora and Kairi looking down at him in apprehension, barely containing how concerned they were for what had happened to the mouse king. Mickey looked from one to the other of the two before him before he finally gave them the smile that they had long since come to associate with Mickey and said, "Gosh Sora, Kairi. You two sure have a lot of friends that are counting on ya to help get this job done, but it looks like you're able to handle it pretty well so long as you know that they believe you'll make it. So since we're pretty much the same, I guess I have to start being like you two and doing everything I can since I know my friends believe in me too."
"So you'll help," Kairi asked, her excitement barely contained within her as she asked.
"You betcha," Mickey replied. "And we'll have everything worked out for the better in no time. I truly believe that."
"Hot dog," Sora exclaimed happily in a slight amount of imitation of the mouse king. The group then heard a loud explosion from out in the city, and quickly looked to see that there was smoke rising from the town square.
"Well no time like the present to get started," Kairi said as she summoned Destiny's Embrace. The two boys both nodded in agreement as they summoned their own Keyblades as well and raced forward towards the site where the explosion had originated from.
As he went, Sora took a moment to use the D-Link and let Aqua, Terra, and Ven know of their progress. "Guys, it's Sora. We've got Mickey with us. We've just got to deal with a little situation that likely involves the Unversed and we'll be ready to head out to find that Time Window," Sora reported.
"Got it Sora," Aqua replied. "Oh and I think you'll be happy to know that we're making our way through the Castle That Never Was now, and that we've got an old friend of yours with us now thanks to Terra."
"An old friend," Sora thought to himself before his eyes widened in shock. "Do you mean Riku?! Riku's with you guys?!"
"Yeah, he's with us," Ventus replied. "A fact that Roxas is clearly not enjoying all that much seeing as he just learned that Riku is going out with his now freed friend."
"You guys saved Xion too," Sora exclaimed in his mind. "That's great! This means that Xehanort won't stand a chance against you guys if you run into him while you're there."
"Actually, Xehanort isn't what really concerns us anymore," Terra's voice then revealed, much to Sora's confusion. "According to Riku, Xion, and Axel, who was apparently working for Yen Sid as a spy, Xehanort's not the one behind all this. There's someone else that Xion says is even more powerful than him. Do you have any ideas who it might be?"
"This is the first I've heard of it," Sora replied. "If that is the case though, just be careful. You never know what might be lurking around the next corner in that place."
"Not a problem," Aqua replied. "We're already bracing ourselves for anything as it is, seeing as we may run into Vanitas at any moment now. We'll let you know as soon as something happens."
With all that said, the group ended the connection, leaving Sora to focus entirely on the upcoming battle, and to also worry a bit both for the safety of his friends in the future, and about the identity of just who this mystery leader that had been pulling the strings of Xehanort's forces really was.
AN: Aaaaaaand done! I know that a lot of things changed in comparison to the story of Frozen, but did you really think all that much would stay the same if that world made it into a Kingdom Hearts adventure? Originally, I actually was going to include the trolls in this chapter, but doing so would've made this chapter a little too long for my tastes and probably yours as well.
Also, yeah, the two Mickeys had a little chat so that past Mickey could get his fighting spirit back, and good thing too. That was actually one of the most difficult things involved with writing this chapter, depicting Mickey Mouse in a way that shows him as being a sad, broken, shell of who he once was, because let's face it, that kind of thing just doesn't seem possible with Mickey Mouse simply because he's Mickey Mouse. Nuff said.
Finally, you know that little character Sora and Kairi met at the beginning there? Surprise! That's ME! In a manner of speaking. You see, I came up with that particular OC as a way for me to pull a Stan Lee in my stories, and this was his big debut appearance. For those of you who are confused by the saying "pull a Stan Lee" I'm talking about how Stan Lee is always able to make some sort of cameo appearance in almost every MARVEL franchise, whether it be the movies or a TV series. So yeah, Dave is an OC avatar that I will be using to put myself in my stories like that, but don't be fooled, he's nothing like I am in real life. Personality wise, yeah, but when it comes to everything else about the guy, he's pretty much just what I wish I could be. A little heads-up, his next appearance will be in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Prime: Chaos Hunters, shh.
Now with all those little mysteries cleared up, and the unveiling of my newest OC, Onto the Preview!...
The adventure in two different times continues to unfold, as both the groups in the past and future race against overwhelming odds and face terrible opponents in an effort to return Aqua, Terra, and Ventus to their own time. While the team in the future is able to fight off Vanitas thanks to the combined efforts of Roxas, Riku, and Xion, and then somehow defeat Xehanort in the future as well, they are soon met with a startling revelation that will horrify them to their core. Meanwhile in the past, Mickey, Sora, and Kairi are faced with a terrible Unversed that they can barely stand against, until Sora awakens the next level of his Command Styles. Kairi is then forced to do the same when the three find themselves face to face with none other than Xehanort and Vanitas, but they too are met with a surprise from the two warriors of darkness, and are then frozen in fear when they learn of the discovery that had been made in the future. The discovery of the mysterious leader's identity. Just who is this person that his identity would cause such an upset in our heroes' resolves? Find out the answers next time.
Ooooh, the plot thickens! I can barely contain my own anticipation, and I'm the one writing the chapter! But anyways,
Please read and review, and see ya real soon!
*Important Edit 2/18/2019* As I am sure you have now noticed, this chapter has now been rewritten into something different than it was before, as it was mentioned that it would be earlier in the chapter, so I will be going over a few details regarding this chapter as it is now.
First off, those are the actual names of Elsa and Anna's parents. I looked it up just to be sure, and you can see for yourselves if you'd like. Second, I'm sure you all caught the various references that were made in the chapter, some of which were to the events of "Frozen", along with at least one reference to the events of "Birth By Sleep". And yes, Vanitas took Hans's place in that last battle that Sora and Kairi had alongside of Mickey. It only made sense seeing as Hans wouldn't even show up until the story of Frozen had taken place, ya know. There are some details that remained the same as before, like the meeting between Past and Future Mickey, but you can see all of those for yourselves a little later, because I will be posting the original version of this chapter, and all related moments in a separate story on my profile. I'm thinking of calling it "Keyblades Unleashed Original/Deleted Scenes", or something along those lines. Keep an eye out for that if you enjoyed the original version of this chapter, and here's hoping you enjoyed this new version as well.
Once again, Please read and review, and see ya real soon!