A robed figure watched in confusion at the spectacle before him.

The eight (weren't there supposed to be seven?!) Princesses were doing a strange obstacle course with Hades, Pirates, and Oogie Boogie off to the side as they progressed.

They have appeared to start at the waterfalls and are making their way up the castle.

With Hades, Captain Hook and his crew, and Oogie Boogie attacking any Heartless getting near them, while one of the girls (Kairi?!) would occasionally get the stragglers with a (a.. a Keyblade?! It's too soon!)

The robed figure could only stare at the strange sight.

Eventually they made it to the top, only to repeat it the next day.

After they made it to the top, they rested and ate before Maleficent, Jafar and Ursula took over.

Are they teaching them magic?

Is this… some sort of training?

The robed Heart of an old man just floated there. Stamped at these strange turns of events.

Also-

Where's Riku?! He was supposed to be susceptible to possession by now.

Wait-!

Where's Sora?!

~/~

Kairi huffed with exhaustion.

Wiping her brow of sweat, she thought back to the day.

During breakfast, Captain Hook arrived in a huff and jokingly suggested an obstacle course.

Which… They all thought about it seriously. After all, the castle was one giant maze!

And so, the captain excused himself with a grin to gather his crew and Oogie Boogie went to get his lackeys.

And thus, the most sadistic obstacle course was born!

One portal later found them at the waterfalls below.

All eight of them stared at what looked like waterfalls going up!

Well, their awe turned into frustration pretty quick.

While trying to figure out how to progress, they were getting drenched from all the water.

Lock, Shock and Barrel were NOT helping and won't stop laughing at them.

The Pirate crew were taking great enjoyment of their misery. (With nothing to do on Neverland, they were very short on new entertainment!)

And Hades just provided endless commentary.

Anyway,

Jasmine spotted Alice shivering from the water under a floating bubble, making her think of the fire spells.

Then she looked up at the bubble.

Could they freeze the moving bubbles?

Cinderella caught her gaze.

They shared a look before turning back to Kairi helping Snow White up from where she tripped in the water..

"Kairi! Can you freeze the bubbles?" Cinderella pointed to said bubbles.

Hades smirked proudly.

Kairi then looked determined.

It took a few attempts, the first few only made frost. Then sheer frustration from the leering of the Pirate crew made her freeze the bubble solid. It still went up and down.

The girls cheered. There were tears of joy (Being soaked made them frustrated easily.)

Although, Ariel was the only one having a good time in the strange waterfalls.

Speaking of which, where did she go?

Looking around, spotted Ariel leaping out of the top of the waterfalls like a dolphin to knock the trick or treaters off of one of the rocks and into the water before she dove back under. She popped out again to stand on the rock with a pleased grin.

She waved. Before diving back under to help any who fell in.

The girls were instantly cheered up and made their way (finally!) across the bubbles and onto the rocks/ruins before the weak spell made the bubble melt. (They had to backtrack a few times.)

The tricksters vowed revenge.

Hades gave two flaming thumbs up at the siren.

After another hour of trying to navigate that one area, they (FINALLY) made it to the archway leading to the castle gates.

The girls slumped with exhausted cheers.

The spectators boarded the Jolly Roger to meet them there as Kairi cast a few fire spells to warm/dry them up.

Ariel just looked excited at an entirely unexplored ocean surrounding the castle.

But also, a castle full of Human things!

She, Belle and Jasmine were fast friends at breakfast. (Belle won her over trying to explain what a book even was and Jasmine for trying to explain the desert landscape of Agrabah, a total opposite of the underwater Atlantica!)

Aurora, Snow White and Cinderella found they had a lot in common. And Alice just stayed near Kairi as she was the most mysterious. Kairi was flattered.

During the course it was discovered that Ariel can also perform magic already and was giving Kairi pointers for her spells.

Since Ariel didn't use a Keyblade, she spent the course helping the others figure it out.

~/~

Caste Gates.

Once getting their second wind, they boarded the lift and traversed the distance with the Jolly Roger racing ahead of them.

They collectively groaned when they saw everyone disembarking, spread out with gleeful enthusiasm.

Time for Round 2…

By the time it was near lunch, they only just figured out they had to go to the waterway to even open the entry doors!

Taking pity, the pirates gave them a ride back to the top of the castle.

The higher they went the more miserable the girls were when how massive the castle was finally sunk in for them.

Determinedly going through their meal with gusto, they thanked the goons and the one or two Pirates on lunch duty and braced themselves.

Ursula and Jafar greeted them with unimpressed looks and boredly told them that their magic lessons were in a few hours.

After lunch, they were dropped off at the gates, blessedly, the entry doors were still open!

They wanted to cry, they were so happy!

Opening the doors to the library was like Christmas came early for most girls.

Also, the library having secret passageways put Alice's curiosity into overdrive!

She was pulling out books, rearranging some and became more energetic at each new mystery.

Then Snow White spotted the trickster trio. She got Cinderella's attention and the two stood guard.

The trio went around on top of the shelves sabotaging everything they did!

Then, Aurora got fed up, grabbed one of the small explosives they loved to soss, and threw it right back at them!

The girls shared a look.

The trio shared a look.

Everyone grinned.

At one point, Alice and Snow White dragged Barrel into one of the spinning pillars and kept spinning it, making Barrel dizzy.

Every time Shock tried to destroy a book, Belle or Ariel would pick her up and toss her out of the room. She kept finding a different way in!

Eventually, while having way too much fun, Kairi ran past a desk under the stairs.

Her heart gave a jolt and she spotted an elderly woman sitting there in the corner of her eye.

Stopping briefly, the woman was gone. Was that her grandmother..?

A hand on her shoulder startled her. She noticed Jasmine staring at the desk as well, with an understanding nod, she gestured back into the fight.

Wielding the book in her hand, she held it back, to swing it enough to hit another small explosive right back at Lock.

~/~

After a while, they finally advanced with all the needed puzzle pieces to the main door.

The Pirates were back to fend off the Heartless.

Thankfully, they only had to figure out the Lift puzzles on navigating.

But the rest of the way was a lesson on stamina and endurance for they had to run most of it!

After arriving on the giant Lift at the Great Crest, they literally collapsed to catch their breath!

Groaning, they stood again to disembark.

A little while later, Aurora and Cinderella were pushing open the doors to the Castle Chapel.

"We made it!" Kairi shakily cheered as she bent over to catch her breath.

Looking up, none of the villains present were impressed.

"We have a lot of work to do." Capt. Hook took a swig from the bottle he was drinking.

The girls groaned.