Chapter 23

The Lost Princess

Sora woke up and crawled out of the tent that he, Riku and Kairi had pitched and slept in the previous night. He felt refreshed after a good night's rest and like a proper traveler after setting up a campsite for the first time in months. Ten feet to the left, Mickey and Goofy were dismantling the tent that they had slept in while Donald and Rapunzel cooked breakfast at the revitalized campfire. Eugene was content with sleeping outside of a tent, and Rapunzel wanted to lie under the stars for at least one night, resting on the soft grass. Everyone else was fine with that, so long as Rapunzel slept between the tents so that they would be nearby in case something were to happen.

"Happy birthday, Rapunzel," Sora called out to the girl with magic hair when he saw her. She waved back then focused back on cooking breakfast.

He found Riku doing sit-ups and Kairi practicing with her rapier, using a tree as a training dummy. He noticed that the rest of his main party was accounted for, but there was someone missing.

"Hey, where's Eugene?" he asked aloud.

His question was answered when they heard a scream. Donald and Rapunzel flinched and nearly spilled the food, and Pascal quickly turned red and turned to see where the sound was coming from. They all saw Maximus, soaking wet, apparently having not gotten out of the flood until much later despite being in a more advantageous position than most everyone else. He grabbed onto Eugene's foot with his mouth and was angrily dragging him backward, Eugene scrambling to find something to grab on the ground to try to stop.

"No! No! No! Put me down! Stop it! Help!" he shouted, panicking. Sora quickly ran over to them and grabbed Eugene by the arms. He pulled him back, engaging in a tug-of-war with the horse. Riku joined, but Maximus still held his own.

"Let. Him. Go!" Sora shouted, struggling to pull the thief free. The contest was only broken when Eugene's foot was pulled out of his boot, causing Sora, Riku and Eugene to go flying in one direction and Maximus to go in the opposite direction, his mouth still clamped on the boot.

Unperturbed, Maximus charged right back at his quarry, but Rapunzel jumped in the way, followed by Kairi. "Whoa, whoa, easy, easy. Settle down," she told him, first severely, then more calmly and entreating. "Easy, boy. Easy." She finally managed to calm Maximus down, with added encouragement from Pascal and a smiling Kairi.

The horse looked at the girl and the chameleon on her head in confusion. "Now sit," she commanded. Maximus uneasily squatted his hind legs. "Sit." He sat, almost ashamed, much to everyone else's disbelief. "Now drop the boot. Drop it." He dropped it. "Oh, you're such a good boy. Yes, you are!" she said, starting to pet the horse's head like she would a dog. Kairi soon found herself stroking his mane, and the horse found himself liking the affection, wagging his tail. Riku tilted his head, perplexed, as he was quite sure that horses did not do that.

"You all tired from chasing the bad man all over the place?" Rapunzel asked, as if talking to a pouting and tantrum-throwing child. Maximus nodded, frowning.

"Excuse me?" Eugene asked in disbelief.

"Nobody appreciates you, do they?" Rapunzel continued. Maximus shook his head.

"Oh, come on. He's a bad horse!" Eugene complained. Sora and Riku crossed their arms in wonder, but soon started to smile at what was happening. Mickey and Goofy joined them and started chuckling.

"Oh, he's nothing but a big sweetheart!" Rapunzel shot back as she and Kairi continued to pet the horse. Maximus lovingly rubbed the side of his face against Rapunzel's. "Isn't that right… Maximus?" she asked her new friend while reading his name on the bridle, right beneath a design resembling the sun that must have been the symbol of the kingdom.

"You've got to be kidding me," Eugene groaned, earning a glare from Maximus.

"Look, today is kind of the biggest day of my life," Rapunzel began, entreating the horse, "and the thing is, I need you not to get him arrested." Maximus was taken aback and started to give her a glare. "Just for twenty-four hours. And then you can chase each other to your heart's content. Okay?"

Reluctantly, Eugene held his hand out to shake on it, but Maximus stubbornly turned away. "And it's also my birthday. Just so you know," the girl added. Maximus let out a horse-sigh in defeat. He looked Eugene in the eyes and shook his hand with his hoof, though it was clear that neither horse nor thief was happy with this arrangement.

Rapunzel smiled, satisfied that they agreed to put their differences aside, but walked past them when something caught her eye. When she was not looking, Maximus punched Eugene in the gut with his hoof, and smirked proudly.

Sora approached him cautiously, his body language letting him know that he was a friend. "Hey, buddy. It's nice to meet you. My name's Sora," he said, slowly getting close enough to pet him, which Maximus allowed. "Sorry about the beating we gave you back at the dam. We know you were just doing your job."

After the party had become properly acquainted with the horse, they saw Rapunzel pointing at something past the trees. Sure enough twenty yards away, the line of trees ended, and the group could see a stone bridge spanning a lake, leading to a large city built on a small mountain. The houses in the city were built around the entire mountain, with a large castle surrounded by a stone wall at the top.

"What do you know. It was right there the whole time," Sora commented.

"I suppose it was a good thing we got to dry off and rest before going in, though," Mickey pointed out.

"Hold up, Rapunzel! We still have breakfast to finish, and we need to pack up the camping supplies!" Donald called out. Rapunzel thumped her forehead, embarrassed that she had forgotten, and returned to the site for breakfast, which Donald had finished cooking while she was negotiating with Maximus. Seeing that Maximus most likely had not gotten something to eat since before the flood, Goofy found an apple tree and punched the trunk with his shield, causing a reverberation that led to three apples falling off of their branches. Goofy held his shield up to prevent an apple from hitting him on the head. He gathered the apples and gave them to Maximus.

After breakfast, Sora, Riku and Kairi dismantled their tent and Mickey used the Safe Point to beam the camping supplied up to the Gummi Ship, much to Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, and Maximus' amazement. Sora prepared to cast Blizzard on the campfire, but Mickey stopped him. Instead, he cast Aero, which created a vacuum of air around the blaze. When the fire consumed all of the oxygen available to it, it burned out and was gone.

Since Rapunzel could not contain her excitement any longer, the party left the site and began to cross the bridge into the city. Eugene saw a Wanted poster nailed to the side of the bridge next to him and quickly ripped it off and crumpled it up. Maximus glared at him, so Eugene shoved the parchment into his mouth. The horse spat it out onto Eugene's face, and the two began to tussle.

"Hey! Behave, you two!" Donald scolded.

When they crossed the bridge and entered town, Rapunzel took in the sights with wide eyes and a huge grin on her face, and Pascal was similarly amazed. Strewn between the buildings, they could see rows of purple banners all marked with the sun design that was on Maximus' bridle. All around, people went about their daily activities.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were also happy to take in the sights. It was not lost on Kairi that Sora was just as wonder-eyed as them all.

"What? In all your travels, you've never been to a festival like this before?" she asked him teasingly.

Sora shrugged. "To be honest, this is the most crowded town I've visited," he replied.

Rapunzel tried to join the crowd, but jumped back in surprise when a cart full of goats flew by as fast as its driver pulled it. She then stumbled backward into a woman, and dodged to avoid a trio of ducks, though her long hair brushed by them and sent them into a panic. She bumped into a few more people, apologizing when she did so, and felt her head get yanked back as she walked, due to someone unknowingly stepping on the hair.

Seeing what was happening, Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Eugene helped her gather up her hair into large clumps, but it was still very cumbersome. Eugene scanned about for a solution, and saw four young redheaded girls sitting on the ledge of a fountain in the middle of the square, braiding each other's hair. He whistled to get their attention and held up the hair for them to see. The girls gasped in amazement and wasted no time in coming to help.

The next few minutes were spent by the girls diligently braiding seventy feet of hair and decorating it with flowers until the hair was just barely off of the ground when Rapunzel stood up. The others watched this unfold, though Eugene hid behind a wall when a pair of guards made their rounds. Rapunzel admired her new hairdo and thanked the girls.

Eugene smiled when he saw the result, and Maximus gave him a teasing grin. Eugene shoved his face away, but Riku gave a knowing eyebrow-raise in his direction and Goofy chuckled at the reaction.

The group continued to explore the city. Rapunzel stepped away from the group when she saw a mosaic on the wall depicting what must have been the king, the queen, and their infant daughter. Kairi followed her gaze and got Sora and Riku's attention, and they studied the mosaic curiously. Their main focus was on the baby girl, who had green eyes and shoulder-length blonde hair. They noticed an uncanny resemblance to Rapunzel herself.

Sora stumbled when a woman bumped into him. "Oh, heavens. I am so sorry," the woman said. "Are you alright?"

Sora regained his footing. "Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about it," he replied.

The woman studied his features and the clothing he and his friends wore. "Oh. Are you new here?" she observed.

"You could say that."

"Well, then. Welcome to the Kingdom of Corona. I hope you enjoy your visit."

"Thank you. Say, could you tell us what this festival is for?"

The woman blinked. "Oh, of course. You see, eighteen years ago, Queen Arianna grew ill due to complications during her pregnancy. So King Frederic sent the guards out far and wide to find a way to heal her. They found a magic flower out in the forest, said to have grown from a drop of sunlight and nourished in a spot of life-giving soil. There were rumors, albeit unconfirmed, that the flower could heal the sick and even restore youth. They harvested the plant, and returned with it to the kingdom. The flower was made into a medicine that healed the queen and her unborn child. The queen recovered and gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The king and queen celebrated by lighting a lantern and releasing it into the sky."

The woman's expression turned sad. "But the night after that, tragedy struck. Someone snuck into the castle at night and stole the girl away. The king and queen were helpless to stop the abductor and when they sent the guards out, they were unable to find her. So now, every year on the anniversary of her birth, everyone in the kingdom makes their own lantern, and we release them into the sky in hopes that they will guide her home." A tear went down her cheek as she gestured to a little girl placing flowers in front of the mosaic. "Well, I hope you enjoy your time here," the woman said before leaving the group alone.

Kairi covered her mouth with her hands. "That's so sad," she said. "I know what it's like to be lost from the place I was born. Only this princess has people available and waiting for her to come home." She muttered the last part.

Sora and Riku put their hands on each of her shoulders comfortingly. They knew how, although she was happy at her home on the islands and remembered very little of her old home of Radiant Garden, when she was first returned there she found it a wasteland devoid of its original inhabitants, and her birth family was most likely gone forever.

They looked between the mosaic and Rapunzel, considering the resemblance between the princess and the girl, the likelihood of a newborn having a full head of hair, the circumstances of birth, and everything they already knew about Rapunzel's past.

"So, that's her?" Sora asked.

"Yup," Kairi answered without hesitation.

"So, how do we tell her?" Riku questioned.

"I have no idea," Sora admitted. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."

Then he considered what the woman had said about the flower's supposed powers. The previous night, he had wondered how Rapunzel's magic hair had been used for eighteen years. Now he had a pretty good idea as to the answer to that question, as well as an understanding of why her "Mother" had taken her in the first place.

"We can't let that woman take her back," Riku affirmed. "Rapunzel needs to know who she is, and she needs to come home." This was met with agreement from his friends.

They decided to just enjoy the festival and wait for the lantern event. They explored the town, seeing what activities were available. A young boy wearing a backpack filled with purple flags gave each of them a purple handkerchief embroidered with the sun design. When people began painting the streets, Rapunzel colored in the sun emblem in the middle of the cobblestone road and painted an extravagant design around it, while Kairi added her own design nearby. Elsewhere, they were shown how to make the lanterns that would be released that evening, and they each got to make one of their own. After spending most of the day taking in what the city had to offer, they returned to the main square in the late afternoon.

Bouncing to the rhythm of a group of musicians, Rapunzel pulled various bystanders into a group dance. She got Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy to join as well. Eugene, Pascal and Maximus watched in admiration from the sidelines. Rapunzel invited Eugene to join in. He waved his hand as if to say I'll pass, but Maximus pushed him into the crowd with his rear. Before Eugene could give him a dirty look, a woman pulled Eugene into a dance. Everyone traded partners several times, and Rapunzel and Flynn tried to reach each other only to be pulled away by other dancers. As the music rose to a crescendo, they tried to pair up, only succeeding just as the song stopped. They looked into each other's eyes, their bodies pressed up against each other and their hands clasped together. The spectating crowd cheered

"To the boats!" someone shouted. The party saw that the sun was going down and everyone was headed for the docks, gathering their lanterns.

"C'mon!" Rapunzel said, excitedly pulling Eugene by the hand and following the crowd. The rest of the group gladly followed.

Couples and families climbed into boats that had elevated decorative points at the bow and stern. Others boarded large barges, while the rest of the townsfolk returned home to enjoy the coming event from there. Merchants supplied candles to everyone, one candle per boat party. Rapunzel and Eugene climbed into a boat, with Pascal tagging along and Maximus remaining behind due to, well, being a horse. Sora and Kairi climbed into another; they insisted that Riku join them but Riku politely insisted that he "didn't want to get in the way of [their] moment", instead climbing into a third boat with Mickey, Donald and Goofy.

As everyone rowed away from the dock, Eugene looked back and noticed Maximus watching them go. "Hey, Max!" he called, throwing a sack of apples onto the pier in front of the horse. The horse looked at the snack with suspicion. "What? I bought them," Eugene claimed.

Satisfied to know that his food was not illicitly gained, Maximus began chowing down on the apples.

"Most of them," Eugene shouted back as he rowed away, a puckish smirk on his face.

"I paid for the rest," Riku whispered to Donald, and the two of them started laughing.

"Where are we going?" Rapunzel asked.

"Well, best day of your life. I figured we should have a decent seat," Eugene replied.

Night had fallen, and three boats floated in the middle of the lake, Eugene, Sora and Riku having steered them to make sure they stayed close enough. The entire kingdom was reduced to a quiet hush as everyone looked toward the castle.

Eugene noticed Rapunzel looking sad. "You okay?" he asked.

"Terrified," she answered.

"Why?"

"I've been looking out a window for eighteen years dreaming about what it would feel like when those lights rise into the sky. What if it's not everything that I dreamed it would be?"

"It will be," Eugene reassured her.

"And what if it is? What do I do then?"

"Well, that's the good part, I guess," Eugene answered. "You get to go find a new dream."

Sora and Kairi listened to their conversation. "Wonder where I'll find mine," Sora mused.

Kairi raised her eyebrow. "What about this?" she asked, gesturing to all around them. "We'd always dreamed about going on a huge adventure together. And for the first time, we are doing this together. Right?"

"I know. But… These adventures are great and all. And I'm glad to have you and Riku by my side in this. But I've already seen it all. Twice. And yes, there are some things I just haven't seen yet. But there has to be something for me beyond all of this, in the long run. You know what I mean?"

Kairi nodded. "I understand. I mean, my biggest dream was to travel the worlds with you two. Three best friends, together to the end. But when you and Riku had hung up your tights after beating Xemnas, I accepted that I might not get that chance, but I was satisfied that we were back together. Now, who knows what will happen after we finish this mission?" She placed her hand over Sora's. "But like the guy with the hook hand said, you'll figure something out. And we'll be right here with you."

Sora smiled, and placed his free hand over hers. "Thanks, Kairi," he said. They looked up and saw an orange dot rise up from the castle. As this happened, hundreds of lights began to glow from the castle courtyard. "Nobody should be alone on a night like this," he mused, smiling at the beautiful sight.

Rapunzel was lazily placing flowers in the water and watching them float when they saw the first lantern, set by the king and queen, no doubt, in the water's reflection. She and Eugene looked up and saw the lantern float through the air. She quickly shot to her feet, rocking the boat as she did so and forcing Eugene to hold on tight, and wrapped herself around the bow ornament, watching in amazement.

All across the city, lanterns were lit and released into the sky. More rose from the barges around them and some of the smaller boats scattered around. Soon, the sky was filled with thousands of the beautiful floating lights, which up close resembled Chinese lanterns folded into cylinders, rectangles, and broken spheres and lit with a candle flame in the center, which heated the air inside and allowed them to ascend. Rapunzel stared in wonder and amazement. She turned around to see Eugene holding two such lanterns, having just lit them. Happily, Rapunzel sat down in front of him.

"I have something for you too," she said, taking out the satchel with the crown. Eugene looked at it expressionlessly. "I should have given it to you before, but I was just scared. And the thing is, I'm not scared anymore. You know what I mean?"

"I'm starting to," he answered, pushing the satchel down and out of view.

Rapunzel took one lantern from Eugene and they pushed them both into the air, letting them float up and join the others. Their friends smiled when they saw this. Sora snapped his fingers and ignited the wicks in his and Kairi's lanterns, which they set into the sky. Riku and Goofy used the candle to light their lanterns, while Mickey and Donald used magic to do so with theirs, and they all set their lanterns to fly.

Rapunzel went back to taking in the scene. She saw one lantern, this one decorated with a purple version of the kingdom's crest, descend until it was just above the surface of the water. She held her hand out and waited for it to float to her, and when it did, she lifted it back up into the sky.

Eugene took Rapunzel's hand. When she noticed, she took his other hand, and they sat facing each other, holding hands. They started to lean closer to one another. Pascal, sitting behind Eugene, turned a shade of purple and covered his eyes, though he quickly let one eye peek through his toes.

Seeing this from her boat, Kairi giggled as Eugene brushed Rapunzel's hair at the side of her face, then guided her in for a kiss.

Sadly, this had no payoff, as Eugene noticed two bulky figures on the opposite shore. The one with the sideburns carried a spooky green lantern, making them quite visible against the shadows of the trees. When they were sure that Eugene had seen them, they walked back into the woods.

"Is everything okay?" Rapunzel asked, turning to see where Eugene was looking, but the men were already gone.

"Huh? Oh, yes. Yes, of course. I just…" Glancing at the satchel, he came to a decision. He started rowing the boat to shore.

Riku, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy saw the Stabbington Brothers, and they saw Eugene heading toward them., and silently agreed to keep an eye on them. Sora and Kairi looked toward them in confusion, unsure of what Eugene was doing.

"Leave it to us," Riku assured them. "You head back to town. We still have to find clues about the artifacts."

Sora and Kairi nodded. As the lanterns were already dispersing to follow where the wind would take them, Sora began to row back to the dock.

"So, where do we look first?" Sora asked.

"Well, I would suggest we find out more about the kingdom's history," Kairi suggested. "Want to see if the library's still open?"

Sora sighed in disappointment. "I suppose," he said in a tone that indicated that he most certainly did not want to.

When Eugene brought the boat onto the shore, he climbed out and grabbed the satchel.

"I'm sorry. Everything is fine. There's just something I have to take care of," he told Rapunzel.

Seeing his nervous expression, Rapunzel looked at him uncertainly. "Okay," she said.

"I'll be right back," he assured her before turning and walking away, satchel containing crown in hand.

Pascal climbed onto Rapunzel's shoulder and they both watched Eugene go, fighting with their own doubts.

"It's alright, Pascal," Rapunzel assured the chameleon, while also doing the same for herself.

Neither of them noticed Riku rowing his boat up to the shore and him, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy climbing out.

Eugene approached one of the Stabbington Brothers, who was presently sharpening his knife.

"Ah, there you are! I've been searching everywhere for you guys since we got separated. Hey, the sideburns are coming in nice, huh? Gotta be excited about that," Eugene said to try to ease his way in. The brother simply glared at him out of the corner of his eye.

Eugene cleared his throat. "Anyhow, just wanted to say I shouldn't have split. The crown is all yours," he said as he threw the satchel over to the brother, letting the bag fall open and the crown fall out. "I'll miss you. But I think it's for—" he started to walk away but bumped into the other Stabbington brother "—the best…"

"Holding out on us again, eh, Ryder?" the elder twin asked.

"What?"

"We heard you found something. Something much more valuable than a crown." He stood up and approached Eugene, ignoring the crown. "We want her instead."

Eugene could only stare in horror. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that," he told them, trying to sound defiant and hide his worry. However, the other Stabbington hit him on the head, causing him to slump to the ground, unconscious.

Donald lunged out of the trees, screaming a battle cry, but the older thug simply swatted him into a tree. Goofy charged at them and managed to hit the same brother in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. However, the other brother grabbed him from behind by the neck and lifted him into the air.

A pair of Powerwilds materialized out in the trees. The older brother smirked. "Let them have him," he told his brother, pointing his thumb toward the Heartless. The younger brother complied, throwing Goofy aside. He laid on the ground, panting to catch his breath. In the meantime, the Stabbington with the eyepatch lifted Eugene over his shoulder and carried him away, his brother following.

One of the Powerwilds slid leapt at Goofy, attempting to claw at him, but it was swatted to the side by a bat-wing-shaped sword. Mickey ran up to him and cast Cure, healing Goofy enough to breathe steadily again. Riku gave him his hand and helped him to his feet, then gave Donald a Potion and helped him up.

Before either animal could explain the situation, more Heartless, including an Assault Rider, materialized. The two Keyblade wielders, the court mage and the knight worked together and defeated the enemies as fast as possible. However, by the time the Heartless were vanquished, Donald noticed the Stabbington Brothers had doubled back and passed them again. Goofy realized that the Heartless were a distraction.

"They got Flynn! I mean Eugene. And they're going after Rapunzel!" he warned the others.

"Goofy, you come with me and we'll help Rapunzel. Riku, you and Donald go find Eugene and get him out of his bind," Mickey ordered. The others agreed to these terms and split up accordingly.

Rapunzel was getting worried. Shouldn't he have been back by now? What was it that had distracted him earlier? Why was he acting so strangely? Could he have abandoned her? Was Mother right?

She was put at ease when she saw someone approaching, though due to the fog and the poor visibility she could only guess who he was.

"Ah. I was starting to think you ran off with the crown and left me," she admitted, embarrassed.

The figure, bulkier than the one she was expecting, split into two of equal size. Her look of relief turned into one of horror when the Stabbington Brothers came into full view, particularly after the next words spoken.

"He did," the elder twin claimed, a sinister smirk on his face.

"What?" Rapunzel asked in disbelief. "No, he wouldn't…"

"See for yourself," the crook replied, gesturing for her to look across the lake.

Rapunzel saw a sailboat making its way across the water, and Rapunzel saw a familiar figure standing at the steering wheel. "Eugene?" she said uncertainly. "Eugene!"

"Fair trade, the crown for the girl with the magic hair," the thug insisted, stroking at Rapunzel's hair. She turned around to face the crooks in shock. "How much do you think someone would pay to stay young and healthy forever? Maybe we can see if the key kids are interested."

He brought out a large bag and held it open. "No!" Rapunzel ran. She could not believe what they had said. She could not bear to think that Eugene had sold her out for the treasure. And what was it that they said about Sora and the others? That they were willing to exploit her?

Eugene…

But she could not think about that now. She had to escape those men. So she ran. She stumbled, forcing her to hike up her dress so she could flee without tripping over her garment. She hopped over a log, but her hair got caught on a branch stump. She desperately attempted to pull it free before the crooks could catch up to her but stopped in confusion when she heard something hit the men and knock them out.

"Rapunzel?" a woman's voice called out to her.

"Mother?"

Rapunzel went back the way she had come and saw the crooks lying unconscious, with Mother Gothel standing above them, holding a large branch. When the woman saw her, she dropped the branch.

"Oh, my precious girl," she exclaimed in a worried and relieved tone.

"Mother." Rapunzel ran into Gothel's arms.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Gothel held Rapunzel's face and looked at her with concern in her eyes.

"But how did you—?"

"I was so worried about you, dear. So I followed you, and I saw them attack you, and…" She hugged Rapunzel again. "Let's go. Let's go, before they come to." She led Rapunzel by the hand. The girl stopped and looked back out at the boat that was carrying Eugene away. She entered a thousand-yard stare, realizing that what the crook said about him must have been true. She had no idea where her other supposed friends had gone, but they had promised to keep her safe, and they were nowhere to be seen. Maybe Mother was right about them, too.

She turned back to Gothel, who was now carrying her lantern, which gave off a sickly green glow. The woman put the lantern down and wordlessly invited her with open arms. Bursting into tears, Rapunzel ran to her and wrapped her arms around her for comfort.

"You were right, Mother. You were right about everything," the girl lamented.

Gothel hugged her back, stroking her golden hair. "I know, darling. I know." She picked her lantern back up and they began walking off, the woman holding Rapunzel's head close to her chest.

After they passed by, Mickey forced himself to his feet, no small task considering that Goofy was stunned and lying on top of him. He berated himself over how the old woman had snuck up on them so easily. Of course, he was surprised by her strength. At that age, she should not have been able to hit anyone, not the hulking thieves and not Goofy, with that kind of force. He sensed some measure of darkness. That was it. She had to have been boosted by some dark power.

When Goofy could see straight, Mickey helped him to his feet. "Come on, Goofy. We have to find the others," he told him.

Across the lake on the dock, two guards were on duty, keeping watch from a stone guard tower. Since just about everyone had gone home and the dock was otherwise deserted, the guards had taken to making small talk.

"That lantern show was quite the spectacle, wouldn't you say?" one of them said.

"You could say that again," the other guard agreed. "But, you know, I don't know why, but I feel like this one might be something else.'

The guards turned and saw a sailboat approaching the dock. They took a closer look at the helm and saw Flynn Rider, his hands tied to the wheel and the crown in his right hand. His neck and torso were wrapped in rope that was tied around the mast behind him, forcing him to appear as though he was standing upright despite not being conscious.

"Look! The crown," the first guard observed.

Eugene came to, wondering what had happened. When he was aware of his surroundings again, he noticed his predicament. He looked around frantically, remembering what happened before he was knocked out.

"Rapunzel!" he called out. He soon realized that the two guards, joined by two others, were coming right at him. They jumped off of the dock and onto the boat.

"Tch!" Riku cursed as he and Donald approached the scene. He patted Maximus on the neck, getting his attention and alerting him to what was happening. They saw the guards restrain Eugene and pull him up onto the dock. Eugene was still calling Rapunzel's name.

"Well, now what do we do?" Donald lamented.

Riku looked out across the lake. Maximus followed his gaze. "First, we make sure Rapunzel's alright," Riku said. The horse gave him a double take, realizing worriedly that something had happened under his watch.

"Then we get to work."