Chapter 23
Return to Brighton
As their gummi ship left Duckburg and returned to space, Molly and Libby reverted back to their normal human forms. Mollibby flew through space once again before Libby stared at the controls in confusion.
"Huh?" Libby pressed various buttons, wondering what was going on.
"What's wrong, Libby?" Molly asked, noticing Libby's confused expression.
"I can't control Mollibby anymore. It's like the ship is moving on it's own." Libby explained.
With Molly and Libby no longer in control of their ship, they had no choice but to sit down and watch as the ship brought them to their next location. A few minutes had passed before Molly and Libby noticed a familiar tower in the distance.
"Hey, isn't that Yen Sid's tower?" Molly asked, surprised to see it again after so long.
"It is! Yen Sid must be the one who is controlling our ship." Libby realized. "He must want to tell us something."
Once the gummi ship flew to the top of the tower, Molly and Libby stepped through the window and made their way to Yen Sid's room. Just like last time, Molly and Libby found Yen Sid waiting for them behind his desk.
"Master Yen Sid, did you want to see us?" Libby asked.
Yen Sid nodded. "Yes, I have heard about all that you have done throughout your journey! You two have done well so far! Not only have you sealed the keyholes and saved countless worlds, but you have also made new friends throughout your journey!"
"We have! Libby and I have come a long way to keep our new friends safe." Molly explained.
"Indeed, you have! However, there is still one more world you need to save, and I'm sure you already know which world that is!"
"Brighton!" Molly and Libby said in unison.
"Precisely! The time has come for you to save your home, but it won't be easy." Yen Sid cautioned. "Brighton has been taken over by countless Heartless, and there is no doubt that Xehanort would be there, waiting for you."
The fact that Xehanort might be in Brighton right now only made Molly and Libby even more worried for their loved ones. After all the trouble Xehanort caused throughout their journey, they could only imagine the terrible state Brighton was in right now.
"Master Yen Sid, we are ready to save our home!" Molly said, now more determined than ever to save her friends and family.
"Very well! Take the gummi ship and you will both return to Brighton. Good luck out there, and may yours hearts be your guiding key." Yen Sid wished Molly and Libby luck.
"Thank you for everything, Master Yen Sid!" Libby thanked before turning to Molly. "Are you ready to go back home, Molly?"
Molly nodded. "Yes. Let's go save Brighton!"
With that, Molly and Libby rushed back to their gummi ship and left the Mysterious Tower. After traveling through space for a couple of hours, Molly and Libby finally found their familiar home town, Brighton. That was when they knew that it was time for them to save their friends and family from the Heartless.
They landed the gummi ship and got out before taking a look around. Brighton was no longer the same home that Molly and Libby remembered. There was not the tiniest bit of sunlight anywhere, and Heartless were swarming the town in search of hearts to consume.
"This is horrible!" Libby couldn't stand the sight of what her home had become.
Molly was just as horrified by what had happened to her home. Things have gotten a lot worse since she and Libby ended up leaving Brighton. With all of the Heartless roaming around, Molly hoped that her family was okay.
"It's going to be okay, Libby!" Molly assured Libby. "Let's go find our families! They have to be around somewhere!"
After summoning their keyblades, Molly and Libby traveled further into their hometown. They fought off any Heartless that attacked them before making their way over to Molly's house. Unlike the last time she was here, Molly's house was in shambles. The yard was a mess and all of the windows have been boarded up.
It broke Molly's heart to see her house in a broken state. She walked up to the front door with Libby to see that it was locked, so they decided to use their keyblades to unlock it. As Molly and Libby stepped in the house, they noticed that the inside was dark and depressing, as if nobody have lived here in years. Worried for her family, Molly decided to call out for them.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
The silence of the house was soon broken by another voice.
"Molly? Is that you?"
"Scratch?" Molly perked up upon hearing Scratch's voice.
At that moment, Molly's family, and Leah came out of hiding. Pete, Sharon, and Darryl all stared at Molly in surprise, while Leah started to tear up, happy to see her daughter again. Overcome with emotions, Molly and Libby's eyes welled up with tears before they embraced their families in a couple of hugs, both of them sobbing uncontrollably. It felt like a dream come true. After all this time, Molly and Libby were finally reunited with their loved ones.
"Oh, Libby! I was so worried!" Leah hugged her daughter tightly. "With all those creatures everywhere, I had no idea where you were!"
"It's okay, Mom! I'm here now!" Libby comforted her mom, unable to stop the tears from running down her face.
"Molly, we are so happy you are safe!" Sharon exclaimed. "We all feared the worst, but Scratch has been assuring us that you and Libby were going to be okay!"
Molly sniffed before wiping the last of the tears from her eyes. "Did you really comfort everyone this whole time, Scratch?"
Scratch awkwardly looked away before he said, "Uh, kind of. You have been gone for so long, and I guess I kind of needed to hear myself say that you would return."
Soon, Molly started to feel guilty. After all the time she and Libby had been gone for, she could only imagine how worried their families were.
"I'm so sorry. I know that you have all been worried about us." Molly apologized.
"It's okay, Molly! You and Libby are safe, and that's all that matters!" Pete assured.
"I'd like to believe that, but I don't think any of us are safe with the Heartless still here." Libby explained.
"The Heartless?" Darryl repeated. "Is that what those creatures are called."
Molly nodded. "Yes. This whole time, Libby and I have been learning to defend ourselves against the Heartless. It was a long and tough journey."
Molly and Libby's families were surprised by what they heard. They couldn't imagine what Molly and Libby went through on their journey.
"You two must have been through a lot!" Sharon spoke up. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest?"
"That sounds like a good idea, Mom! Let's go, Libby."
At that moment, Molly and Libby made their way to the attic with Scratch. Molly opened the door and took a look around her room. It felt strange for Molly to be in her room again after being gone for so long. She and Libby sat down on the bed together before Scratch decided to ask them what was going on.
"Okay, so where have you two been? We have been worrying about you for several weeks straight!"
"It's kind of a long story, Scratch! Like, a really long story!" Molly explained, not knowing where to even begin. "To put it simply, Libby and I have been traveling to different worlds, fighting against the Heartless."
As Molly was explaining everything to Scratch, Libby just realized something.
"Hey, Molly! You know how we have been looking for keyholes throughout the worlds we visited, right? Don't you think there is a keyhole here in Brighton too?"
"Of course! Libby, you're a genius! If we can seal the keyhole, the Heartless will go away!" Molly exclaimed.
Scratch was confused from hearing Molly and Libby's conversation. "What? Keyhole?"
"I don't think it's going to be easy though! If there is this much darkness here, it is very likely that Xehanort is here too!" Libby warned.
"If Xehanort is here, then it means that we might have to eventually fight him." Molly realized.
"Wait! Slow down! I'm not following any of this! Who the heck is Xehanort?" Scratch asked, now more lost than ever.
"Sorry, Scratch. There's no time to explain. Molly and I have to find that keyhole and save Brighton." Libby explained. "Are you ready, Molly?"
At that moment, Libby noticed a sad look on Molly's face. For the first time on their journey, Molly looked as though she didn't want to go.
"W-We just got back." Molly sniffed as tears started running down her face. "We finally reunited with our families after so long, and we have to leave them again!"
Seeing her girlfriend so distraught broke Libby's heart. After all the times Molly has been positive throughout the journey, Libby forgot that even Molly's positivity had its limits. That was when Libby walked up to Molly and gave her a comforting hug.
"Listen, Molly! We just have one more world to save! I promise once this is all over, we won't have to worry about the Heartless anymore and we can finally have our date together!" Libby assured.
Upon hearing Libby's comforting words, Molly started to relax before she smiled.
"You're right, Libby! I think I'm ready now!" Molly said before she summoned her keyblade, leaving Scratch surprised by the key-shaped sword that suddenly appeared in her hand. "Bye, Scratch. I promise that Libby and I will be back soon!"
With that, Molly and Libby sneaked through the window. As they made their way outside, Molly and Libby got ready for their battle with the Heartless, leaving Scratch calling out for them from Molly's room.
"Wait! Come back! What am I supposed to tell your parents?"
Determined to save their home, Molly and Libby ran to the center of town as they were both ready to fight against the very Heartless that attacked them before their journey began. It wasn't long before Heartless appeared in front of them, so they raised their keyblades in defense.
As soon as the Heartless pounced, the girls swung their keyblades at them. This caught the attention of a bunch of nearby Heartless that soon surrounded Molly and Libby. As the Heartless slowly approach them, Molly and Libby started to get intimidated as they hadn't fought so many Heartless before.
"Do you think we can defeat this many Heartless?" Libby asked.
"I know we can! We made it this far, and we're not giving up now!" Molly encouraged Libby.
The girls stood by each others side as they defeated as many Heartless as possible. Despite the best efforts of the Heartless, more and more of them disappeared as Molly and Libby gained the upper hand. The battle went on until the rest of the Heartless suddenly flew in the air and swarmed together, forming an entity known as, The Demon Tide. Molly and Libby watched in shock as the Demon Tide transformed into a tornado of Heartless.
"Uh oh! I think we just made them mad!" Libby gulped, knowing that she and Molly were in for a tough fight.
"Don't worry! We can handle this! After all, this isn't the first time I had to deal with a tornado!" Molly explained, remembering the day she dealt with the ghost of Ezekiel Tugbottom.
Molly and Libby tried hitting the Heartless with their keyblades, but they were too fast. Before Libby could react, she was suddenly hit by a wave of Heartless.
"Libby!" Molly rushed over to help Libby, but ended up getting knocked to the ground shortly afterwards.
Feeling weak from the fight, the two friends helped each other back up, both of their keyblades shaking in their hands.
"This isn't good, Molly! They are too strong!" Libby said before she noticed something in the center of the Demon Tide. "Look! There is some kind of core in the center of the Heartless! Maybe that's its weak spot!"
"It's worth a try! Let's aim for the core before the Heartless can get a chance to hit us again!" Molly replied.
It was at that point when Molly and Libby ran towards the Demon Tide as fast as they could. They dodged all of the Heartless that were flying towards them before they leaped into the air and slashed the core with both of their keyblades at the same time.
With the core destroyed, the Heartless of the Demon Tide disappeared one by one until not a single Heartless could be found. Molly and Libby panted heavily, exhausted from the fight until they noticed a shining light above them. They looked up and were happy to see that it was the keyhole they were searching for. After raising their keyblades, a couple of beams of light fired into the keyhole before a locking sound can be heard.
Once the keyhole was sealed, the dark clouds floating above Brighton disappeared, allowing the bright blue sky to return. Now that Brighton was finally saved, Molly and Libby cheered before hugging each other in joy.
"Libby, we did it! We saved Brighton from the darkness!" Molly exclaimed.
"I know! Let's go home and tell everyone the good news!"
Molly and Libby were about to return to Molly's house to celebrate, only to end up feeling a dark presence. Fearing the worst, they turned around to realize that they were face to face with Xehanort.
"So, you have freed your home from the darkness." Xehanort spoke up. "Impressive! You two are a lot stronger than I thought!"
"What do you want, Xehanort?" Molly asked as summoned her keyblade.
"What I want is for us to finally settle this!" Xehanort answered. "It is time for the fated battle between light and darkness! However, this is not the place to have our battle! I shall be waiting for you at the very place where the Keyblade War took place at, The Keyblade Graveyard! Do not keep me waiting!"
Xehanort then summoned a corridor of darkness before he left Brighton. Once Xehanort was gone, Molly and Libby were left wondering what to do next.
"What are we going to do? If we don't fight Xehanort, he is just going to spread darkness throughout even more worlds." Libby pointed out.
As much as Molly didn't want to leave Brighton again, she knew that Libby was right. If they didn't stop Xehanort, other worlds would end up being consumed by the darkness, just like what nearly happened to Brighton.
"You're right, Libby! I hate that we have to leave our families again, but we need to stop Xehanort and finally end this!"
Libby nodded in agreement. She did her best to be brave, but couldn't hide her true feeling.
"Molly, I'm scared. I have a feeling that this is going to be our toughest fight yet."
"Honestly, I'm scared too." Molly admitted. "It's going to be okay because we have each other and we will always be by each others side no matter what, right?"
At that moment, Libby started to relax. "Right! I will be by your side until the very end!"
"That's the spirit! Come on! Let's head back to the gummi ship!"
After taking her girlfriend's hand, Molly led Libby back to the gummi ship. They both entered the ship before it took off into the sky. With their journey nearly over, Molly and Libby guided their gummi ship to the Keyblade Graveyard.