Hundreds of bolts shot forth from the electrified ring, racing in erratic jagged lines towards the middle. In a flash, Axel had scooped Elsa up princess-style and sprang with every last ounce of strength in his legs. The lightning all came crashing together where they'd once stood, licking at the soles of his bright red Converse as he leapt away, barely escaping in time. Larxene snarled, summoning her daggers between her knuckles once more and launching herself after them.
Even before they'd landed, Elsa was already scrambling awkwardly in Axel's arms, trying to reach over his shoulder and take aim at their pursuer, blasting off a barrage of razor-edged icicles. Larxene didn't even slow, wielding her daggers like claws and slashing the ice to mere powder, the air fizzling with electricity in the wake of each swing.
Axel's feet hit the ground and he hastily released Elsa so he could summon his chakrams back to him once more. The two of them faced their charging enemy, muscles tensed as they prepared to resume the fight. Larxene all but blurred to appear before them now, knives raised high over her head and-
"'Scuse me, coming through!"
-was brought up short by Rapunzel! Swinging from her hair, she flew by in a rush directly between them, cutting Larxene off from her prey and forcing her to stumble back a step. Only a few steps behind her came Sora and Kairi next, the latter doing her best to chase after and capture the airborne girl while the former was doing everything within his power to make sure that didn't happen. The dueling pair rushed past in a tangle of clashing weapons, and close on their heels? A chaotic mess of Heartless and Nobodies trying and failing miserably to do their respective masters' biddings.
As the last of that little stampede passed, Larxene glowered after them, teeth gnashing as the air started to crackle dangerously around her again and she roared, "That! Little! Worm!" Her eyes had zeroed in on Kairi, leaving little question as to who said worm was. "I told her already that Lite-Brite was off limits and to back the hell off! But did she listen? No! Fine then, I'll just have to make that little twerp listen!"
As abruptly as the tantrum had began, it came to an end. Larxene was eerily cool and collected now as a bone-chilling little smile tugged at her lips. "Please hold," she addressed Axel and Elsa, her voice unnaturally chipper and all sugary sweetness, "your death and dismemberment (not necessarily in that order) is very important to me, but I have other pressing business to attend to. Ta!"
At that, her entire being exploded with lightning that wreathed her body before she burst up into the night sky.
That's right.
Apparently, the psychopath could freaking-
"Fly?!" Elsa watched the Nobody soar away, mouth agape. "She can do that?! Lightning, lightning… can do that?! Make people fly?! Wha… How… I don't even… It just doesn't… What?!"
"Technically it's possible!" Rapunzel chirped as she swung by once again, this time going in the other direction and with the same parade of Sora, Kairi, Nobodies and Heartless trailing behind her. "I mean, obviously it's possible, we just saw it! But I mean, the science is there to back it up and she has loads of ways she could pull it off. For starters, she could use her electric current to generate opposing magnetic fields that-"
"Sorry, Professor Goldilocks, but gonna have to cut short your lil crash course on Electromagnetics 101, cuz now…" Axel planted his feet apart for a wider stance, hands down low near his waist and aimed at the ground, eyes pointed up at the sky with a little half-smirk, "...it's time for a lesson in rocket science. Lift off in T-minus three, two-"
"Hold it!" Elsa snapped, bringing her hands up in a stopping gesture as she shook her head in disbelief. "You're able to fly with your powers too?!"
He shrugged. "Not sure. Never tried before, so guess we're about to find out. BLAST OFF!" Huge jets of flames burst from his palms, setting the ground beneath him ablaze as he propelled skyward like a spaceship. Elsa staggered away from the heat, one hand fanning away the smoke left behind in his launch as her wide stunned eyes watched him race off in pursuit of Larxene.
Insane.
That's what he was.
That's what this whole damn night had been.
Pure, unadulterated insanity.
…and it seemed like Elsa had little choice but to get swept up into that madness along with everyone and everything else.
Alright, so… the battle had taken to air, huh? Well then, guess that's where she'd have to go too.
Elsa narrowed her eyes up at the stars as her hands waved towards the ground, creating a thick platform of ice beneath her feet. She bent her knees, bracing herself for what she planned to do next. Wow, she really had caught everyone else's crazy, huh? No time to think too hard about it. Inhaling and exhaling, she gave herself a tiny nod. Then with a flick of her wrist, the platform rapidly shot up as if it were spring-loaded, like a giant frozen catapult hurling Elsa to the heavens.
The wind whipped her braid about as she soared upward, her eyes hastily scanning about for… there! Straight ahead! Larxene, still held aloft via her lightning, was hovering above where Kairi was still locked in combat with Sora and Rapunzel. The Nobody seemed to be channeling currently, charging up for a big attack. Axel was closing in on her, burning chakrams swirling around him to form a barrier of metal and fire, keeping his hands free to continue igniting the scorching blasts that kept him in the air. Any second now, he would intercept to try and stop Larxene.
…which was a thing they wanted to do… right?
I mean, they did need to put a stop to Kairi since she seemed so focused on kidnapping Rapunzel still. And Larxene would certainly put a stop to her, no doubt about that! But Sora wanted to save Kairi, if she even could be saved… or rather, if she even wanted to be saved. Either way, they probably wanted a more… non-lethal way of subduing her. And Elsa was pretty sure 'non-lethal' was not a word Larxene possessed in her vocabulary. So as nice as it would be to get Kairi out of the picture and have one less thing to worry about, Larxene was definitely not the way to go about it and-
-and crud, Elsa had just lost her upward inertia and was now plummeting back towards the ground. She really should have thought this whole terrible plan through better!
Hurriedly she thrust her hands out, casting a frosty beam from her fingertips that conjured a frozen slide below to catch her and control her descent. Elongating the slide with her magic even as she glided down it, she kept the slope steep so she would gain speed before she had it ease into a curve that pointed back up, using her momentum to fling herself up into the air once more.
Repeating this somewhat awkward solution to keeping herself airborne, she developed a bit of a rhythm that started to bring her closer to the others. However, she was still a ways off and she could spot Axel just now getting into attack range.
"Yo! Wall Socket!" he could be heard shouting with what was apparently his latest nickname for Larxene. "Special delivery! Fresh outta the oven, piping hot and brought to your door in under thirty minutes with a no munny back guarantee!" His flame jets abruptly died and he used the split second he had before gravity grabbed hold of him again to stab his hands towards his fellow Organization member, firing off a massive gout of flame that lit up the night sky as brightly as the sun.
Hissing through her teeth, Larxene broke her concentration, losing what charge she'd built up to dodge the raging inferno hurtling straight for her. It missed but only just, singeing one of her antennae as she hovered out of the way. The lightning around her that was helping her fly grew more wild, sparking out in spindly claws as she whipped around to face her attacker. "Screw off, Red, can't you see I'm busy?!" she shrieked, sending a barrage of thunderstrikes his way.
Fire came exploding from his hands once more as Axel tried to use it to maneuver himself out of harm's way while his chakrams furiously whooshed about in a frenzied defense. They deflected the first couple dangerously charged projectiles, but a lightning bolt managed to break through and hit him.
"No!" Elsa breathed as she watched his muscles go limp and the flames die out on his chakrams as both he and his weapons began to free fall.
Luckily it seemed the strike he'd taken was just a glancing blow that had only temporarily stunned him from the jolt to his system. He nosedived for barely a second before he shook the shock off and his fire burst to life once more to get him airborne again. Elsa puffed out a relieved sigh on seeing this.
Good news was Axel was safe.
The bad news? His drop had put enough distance between him and Larxene for her to finish her attack unhindered now.
And she wasted no time completing it with a newfound fervor, thrusting her hands up over her head to call forth a mammoth column of lightning from the angry swirling clouds above. It pierced like a ginormous lance down towards the earth, straight through her and streaking onward, racing straight for Kairi directly below.
Rapunzel stopped mid-strike with her hair, squinting against the blinding light suddenly coming from above before glancing up. Gasping, she shouted, "Sora!"
He was currently caught in another stalemate with Kairi, their weapons locked together as they pushed against each other with all their might, neither budging or gaining any ground. On hearing Rapunzel cry out, he shot a quick glance back out of the corner of his eye to see her hysterically pointing overhead. Then he looked up, eyes widening as he saw the behemoth lightning strike plunging straight for them.
"Kairi!" he yelped, no time to think, only act. All the strength fled from his arms, no longer countering Kairi's weapon with his own. Caught off guard by the abrupt disappearance of the force opposing her, Kairi began to stumble forward even as she tried to stop and catch herself.
But Sora wouldn't let her stop. Not when the place she was trying to stop was about to get royally fried.
His hand shot out and grabbed the first thing it could - the blade of her bat-winged weapon. He winced as the steel bit deep into his fingers but still he held fast, squeezing his now bloodied grip even tighter before yanking the weapon towards him as he leapt backwards, pulling both it and its wielder with him.
That's when the monstrous thunderstroke crashed into the earth.
The collision was enough to make the ground shudder and quake, sending stray bolts rampant every which way. Fortunately, Sora had managed to pull both him and Kairi far enough back to avoid taking a direct hit from the main attack. Not so fortunately, Kairi was still close enough to get struck by the collateral electricity chaotically spraying and ricocheting off and around the epicenter of the blast site. Her whole body went rigid as lightning coursed through her. Less fortunately still, the charge went straight through her and passed on to her sword as well. The very sword that Sora still had a firm grip on. With a resounding zap, his grasp loosened and he was sent flying backwards, crashing into a tree hard. Static buzzed up and down his body as he slumped down to the ground in a heap, the Keyblade tumbling from his hand and vanishing in a flash of light.
Elsa slipped and nearly lost her concentration as she witnessed all of that occurring below. However, she managed to regain her footing and keep her ice slide momentum going, closing in on Larxene now.
"Get wrecked, key runt! Now enjoy your widdle nap while I fricassee the everliving hell outta your schmoopsie-pooh!" Larxene's cackle echoed throughout the night as she continued to pump all of her power into keeping this immense spire of lightning surging from the black clouds above to the earth below where Kairi continued to writhe in agony, trapped in the excess energy splashing off the impact. Although Axel had recovered and was barreling back up towards the enemy, he was still too far away to offer any backup. Elsa was now the closest and it was up to her to… to… do something!
As she squeezed her eyes shut and jabbed her hands forward, that something came in the form of her summoning and blasting off a cannonball made of pure, solid ice.
Oh, and that cannonball? Roughly the size of an elephant.
"Wh-" was all the reaction Larxene could muster to the bit of motion she caught blurring towards her out of the corner of her eye. Then-
WHAM!
The gargantuan frozen wrecking ball slammed into her hard, knocking her out of the air like a ragdoll. The goliath lightning bolt sparked out of existence, freeing Kairi at last of its crackling hold.
Sora came to just then. Just in time to watch Kairi crumple unconscious to the ground. Rapunzel had just skidded to a stop next to him, having rushed to his side to make sure he was okay after the jolt he'd taken. He hardly noticed her however even as he scrambled to push past her in an attempt to get up and dash toward Kairi.
"Wait Sora, your hand! I need to heal it!" Rapunzel called after him.
His hand was indeed not a pretty picture at the moment. It was scorched and smoking from the electrifying shock he'd taken, plus cut up and bleeding to boot from when he'd seized the sharp end of Kairi's sword. He didn't care though. It didn't matter.
All that mattered at the moment was whether or not Kairi was okay!
As he fell to his knees beside her prone body, he gathered her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest. Frantic and not quite sure what to do, his first instinct was to summon his Keyblade so maybe he could banish some of that Darkness out of her. But looking at her motionless form now, so pale and fragile and helpless with her eyes shut against the world, something just didn't quite feel right about stabbing her with a Keyblade in this very moment.
As Rapunzel ran up and joined him, crouching down next to Kairi with Sora across from her, he looked at her desperately. "Heal her! Heal her now!" he pleaded, his voice cracking.
She grimaced, glancing between him and Kairi's unconscious face. "Sora, I… it didn't seem like she took the full force of Larxene's attack, so that's good at least. I think my magic can heal her physically, but… I'm still not so sure if I'll be able to do anything about the Darkness, I… I just don't want you to get your hopes up or… or-"
"Just try!" he cut her off, hugging Kairi more tightly in his arms before adding in a weak whisper, "...please…"
Tucking in her bottom lip, she wavered for a second more before giving a tiny, hesitant nod. Then she started gathering her hair, frowning as she considered what might be the best way to go about it before settling on wrapping it a couple times around the comatose girl's shoulders. Clearing her throat nervously as Sora watched and waited, she then weakly started to hum and a golden glow began to flow down the strands once more to embrace Kairi with their light.
High up above, Larxene was nowhere to be seen. Elsa and Axel hastily searched the murkiness of the night, but to no avail. It was as if she'd completely vanished into thin air and quite frankly, she just might have. It was unsettling, because they just knew that evil hag still had to be lurking about, preparing to lash out from the shadows once more. But there was little they could do about that besides be on their guard and ready to strike back when the time came.
For now, they glanced down towards the blinding radiance coming from Rapunzel as she attempted to heal Kairi. Then Axel and Elsa exchanged a look before he smirked, casually stretching a hand out towards her. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously at it before tentatively placing her own in his. He yanked her towards him, pulling her off the ice slide holding her aloft and into his arms, hugging her tightly against his chest.
Wriggling in vain as she tried to free herself from his grasp, she snapped indignantly, "What the heck do you think you're-?!"
That's when the flames keeping him (and consequently her now as well) afloat abruptly winked out and they began to plummet.
With a startled squeak, she immediately stopped fighting him and instead clung onto him for dear life, ice forming on the back of his hoodie where her nails were digging into the fabric, her braid flying up as wind rushed passed. Right before they would have splattered against the ground, flames erupted to swirl around them both, catching them and slowing their fall into an abrupt but otherwise soft landing on the ground next to their friends.
Elsa warily peeked one eye open. Then the other. Now that it fully dawned on her that she once again had solid earth beneath her feet, she pushed herself out of Axel's arms with an irritated huff. His low chuckle swiftly ended in a pained hiss as she gave his arm a sharp pinch for his antics. Then the pair were turning their full attention to watching Rapunzel wend her healing spell.
Some of the color had returned to Kairi's cheeks, but unfortunately it was nowhere near enough. Though she hadn't awakened yet, her brow was furrowed, her expression twisted as if she were dreaming of something unpleasant. Her body was growing clammy and shaking slightly. It was as if something inside her didn't like the purity of Rapunzel's magic and was rebelling, fighting back. As Kairi twitched and squirmed harder, Rapunzel stubbornly hummed louder, the light of her hair growing brighter in response. Sora embraced his friend harder, hugging her like he never planned on letting her go, never ever again.
Kairi's contortions were becoming violent now, her back arching as she suddenly sucked in a loud raspy breath. Then her eyes flew open, completely shrouded in obsidian and her mouth opened wide before a putrid, dark miasma exploded out of her in a billowing rush. It poured from her lips, her nostrils, her pupils and gushed towards the skies in undulating puffs of thick, acrid smoke. This went on for several seconds before the last of it seemed to escape her body, thinning into wisps before dissipating altogether as Kairi's body fell completely slack once more.
As everyone just stared down at her now with wide, unblinking eyes, a hush fell over the group. Total silence. Not even Rapunzel was humming anymore. Axel was the first to shatter the quiet, asking, "So… that it? She all better now?"
As Rapunzel just gave a small shake of her head with a shrug to indicate she had no clue, Elsa pointed out, "Her hair is still black."
"Aw, that doesn't mean nothing. Maybe she just needs to grow it out," Axel batted a dismissive hand through the air.
Delicately sweeping away a stray bang that had fallen into Kairi's face before gently stroking her hair, Sora murmured hopefully, "...Kairi? …can you hear me?"
For a second - one of the longest seconds of Sora's short life so far - there was no reaction. She just laid there lifeless in his arms. But then her eyes burst open once more, this time their normal color, and she inhaled sharply, gulping down air like a drown victim. Panting now, she glanced around in confusion as she took in all the faces gathered round. Then her eyes grew round and she gasped, clambering to free herself of Sora's grasp and stumbling to her feet with a frantic, "No, get away from me! It isn't safe!"
Sora scrambled to rise as well, following her as his hands came up in a placating gesture, "It's okay! You're all better now, Punzie's cured you and-"
"Not me, you!" she rounded on him, making his feet falter awkwardly to a halt. "You're the one who's not safe from me!"
"Huh? What do you mean, we're not safe…?" he blinked a couple times before shaking off his bewilderment to beam brightly at her. "We're fine! Didn't you hear me? Punzie healed you, you're Darkness-free now! And all that earlier, everything you did? I know that wasn't you, so-"
"But it was me, Sora!" she snapped, a huff of frustration escaping her at the same time her eyes began to brim over in held back tears. "I may not have been in control, but it was my body! My body, getting its strings pulled by that… that… thing that was inside me! Is still inside me! I can feel it in there, Sora, it- no, not it, her. I can still feel her in there, crawling around in the shadows of my mind just waiting to take over again. Cured me? You haven't cured anything, just loosened her hold on me for a few seconds!"
Shaking his head and reaching a hand towards her, he said, "We can try again! I'm sure Punzie can-"
"No, Sora!" she slapped his hand away, turning her back on him. "You… all of you, should just go. Get as far away from me as possible. It's the only way you'll all be safe."
"But Kairi-"
"I told you already I'm not her!" she shouted, her hands clenching into fists at her side.
Sora looked like a kicked puppy. Face crestfallen, he scratched his cheek then shrugged. "Okay… then who are you?"
She stiffened, then her shoulders sagged as she hung her head. "I… I don't… I'm just… no one. I-" she suddenly seemed to choke on her own words as a fierce shudder wracked her from head to toe. Her hands flew up to grip the sides of her head as she hunched forward, her body convulsing in on itself.
"Kairi!" Sora gasped, the entire conversation they'd just had about who she may or may not be already banished from his mind. He ran towards her, reaching for her shoulder, "What's wrong?! Kairi!"
Her body whipped about as she cried out seemingly in pain, her knuckles going white in stark contrast to the raven strands of her hair as her nails dug into her scalp. Then abruptly, she quieted and fell eerily still. Her posture straightened as her hands fell limp at her sides. When she slowly turned to face Sora once more, he staggered back in surprise. Kairi's eyes had filmed over once again in inky Darkness as in a voice barely above a whisper, she uttered merely two words.
"She's coming."
Behind her, a massive earth-shattering explosion suddenly went off. Even though it seemed to be far off, beyond the cliff overlooking Corona, it set off a shockwave of pure evil that rushed towards their group, hitting them all like a mack truck and knocking everyone off their feet. Since Kairi was the only one facing away from it, it struck her in the back and sent her flying straight for Sora. Without even thinking, he opened his arms wide to catch her even as the invisible, malevolent wall of in force sent him crashing backwards and he tumbled hard across the dirt, hugging Kairi tightly the whole way and doing his best to shield her with his own body. Finally, he as well as the others skidded to a stop and the dust slowly began to settle around them all.
"Sound off. Everyone okay?" Axel's pained grumble could be heard cutting through the quiet as he weakly gathered himself up into a crouch, his whole body aching in protest. A chorus of groans from everyone else greeted him in response - sounded like none of them were doing too hot after taking that hit.
"What even was that?" Elsa moaned from the ground, propping herself shakily up on her elbows and glancing over to Rapunzel, who didn't even bother to move. Not just yet. She just laid there on her back like a lump, too sore to even contemplate picking herself up just yet.
After taking a quick second to check on Kairi and make sure she seemed okay, Sora pulled himself up. Or tried to. Whatever that shockwave was, it felt like it had practically broken every bone in his body. Wincing against the pain, he finally managed to soldier through it, still holding Kairi in his arms and keeping her cradled in his lap as he sat up at last.
That's when he saw it. What had caused that explosion. And it made his mouth go dry and his blood run cold.
Now hanging in the air above the quiet sleepy city of Corona was a chaotic swirling sphere of Darkness. It hovered there, impossibly vast, perhaps even bigger than the town itself. At the core of the sinister vortex, a giant mass of raging clouds stirred and seethed, glowing an ominous blood red. Gusts of wind whipped and blurred around it as it seemed to suck its surroundings into itself like a black hole. Below, bits of Corona could be seen tearing and breaking away, getting caught up in the squall and pulled into the immense ball of corruption. Even all the way up here at Mr. Tyrann's mansion, Sora and the others could feel the gales pulling at them as well, though it wasn't strong enough to carry them off. Not yet anyway. For now, all it could do was tug at their clothes and their hair. Rapunzel's miles of golden locks were drifting up and away into the heavens because of it.
Sora had seen one of these maelstrom's of Darkness before. Back on…
"...Destiny Islands," he whispered hoarsely, blinking back some wetness in his eyes. "Th-this is just like back on-"
"That's right, key-wuss, you're too late!" Maniacal laughter suddenly pierced the air around them and in a flash of lightning, Larxene appeared before their group once more, looking quite gleefully deranged. "While I was toying with your hapless little band of halfwit hero wanna-bes up here, the Heartless down there found the heart of the city and gobbled it up like a buncha greedy six-year-olds going to town on the goddamn mother lode of Halloween candy!"
"Wha…? No, but…" Sora shook his head slowly, his bottom lip quivering for a second. "...but the Waypoint Keyhole! It always appears to me before things get too bad, always! It never… I never got to-"
She sneered, her antennae flailing wildly in the tempestuous winds. "You mean the Keyhole you buncha bozos were supposed to be hunting down and locking but were instead letting me distract you and keep you busy? That Keyhole? Forget it, lamebrain, that ship has sailed. Can't lock what don't exist anymore!"
Sora stammered somewhat desperately now, "Then w-we'll find another way! There must be another way! We'll save Corona and-"
"Oh hon, there's no saving this wretched dumpheap now. This place's cork has been popped and there is no un-popping it. Face it, you pathetic loser, you dropped the ball. Big time! Now there's nothing you can do but just sit back and watch as this stupid little town gets sucked into oblivion and it's all thanks to you! Good job, champ, you really knocked this one outta the park!" Larxene gave a derisive snort before breaking down into raucous, uncontrollable giggling once more.
Her words struck Sora like a blow. But then he scowled, lips parting to make some snappy comeback only to be brought up short as he felt shifting in his arms. Kairi was huddled up against his chest, rocking back and forth in the fetal position in his lap, muttering something. It was too soft to make out the words and he ducked his head down, trying to hear her better.
"She's coming. Run. Please just run away. She's coming. Run. Please just run away," she chanted over and over again in a trembling whisper. "She's coming. Run. Please just-"
"Rapunzel!"
"Eh?" The blonde girl in question stiffened upon hearing her name, finally having managed to stand up after much struggling against her rioting, aching muscles. Hurriedly snatching at her windswept hair to get it somewhat under control so it would stop blocking her vision, she looked to her left first, spotting Axel help Elsa up to her feet. Since they didn't seem like the ones who'd called out to her, she then looked to her right to see-
"Dad?!" she gasped in horror as she saw Mr. Tyrann running across the backyard towards her, arm held up to shield himself against the furious bluster trying to blow them all over. "What are you doing here?! I told you to get yourself to safety and hide!"
He reached her, coming to a stop before her as he doubled over, panting and shaking his head. "There was that awful explosion that made everything quake and I got worried for you, honey! You shouldn't be out here, you could get hurt." He stretched his palm out towards her, "Take my hand, dear, and let's get out here!"
Her head rocked back at that. "What?! No! I'm sorry, Dad, but I can't just abandon my friends! They need my help! All of Corona needs my help! I won't turn my back on that just to save myself! Please, Dad, just get back into your hiding spot and I'll come get you when the coast is clear, I promise, okay? Now please just go! Hurry!"
"I refuse to just leave you here! I know I haven't been at this whole parenting business for long, but what kind of father would that make me if I did?" He pressed his hand harder towards her. "I beg of you, just come with me!"
She took a step back, squaring her shoulders stubbornly. "Dad, I can't! I-"
"She's coming. Run. Please just run away," Kairi's droning was growing louder and faster, her rocking more agitated as Sora hugged her more firmly, not quite sure what else to do. "She's coming. Run. Please just run away. She's-"
Larxene's laughter had become unhinged at this point as she continued to cackle away, her back framed with the sight of Corona getting ripped and torn asunder as the pieces flew up to be swallowed by the terrifying maelstrom above.
"Please, sweetheart, just take my hand!"
"She's coming. Run. Please just run away. She's c-" Kairi abruptly stopped, her spine going ramrod straight and all the color draining from her face.
"...she's here."
Behind Larxene, a Corridor of Darkness suddenly ruptured into existence. It finally brought the Nobody's howls of glee to an end as she whipped her head around, cocking an eyebrow. "The hell? Who the-?!"
She got cut off in a strangled choking noise as something shot out to seize her by the throat, her feet dangling and kicking beneath her as it lifted her up into the air. That something was an arm. An arm, powerful and muscled and covered in scales blacker than night, with long, knife-like talons growing out the fingertips, their deadly points digging into the flesh of Larxene's neck. A dragon's arm. No one had stated that's what it was, and yet there was no doubt in anyone's mind that that is exactly what it was. A dragon's arm.
The owner of the arm regally stepped out of the portal of Darkness to reveal herself. The rest of her body was absent of scales currently, but her eyes glowed a putrid, unnatural green with luminescent wisps trailing off them. She was a tall woman, with an ageless beauty about her and dressed looking like a powerful CEO. Her skin was like ivory and her hair as dark as moonless midnight, done up into a tight bun held in place by a hair clip crafted into the shape of a finely detailed raven.
"You!" Sora shouted in wide-eyed disbelief. "I… I bumped into you a few nights ago, in the streets of Corona! You're the lady who told me about the Starlight Festival!"
Tearing her gaze away from Larxene's futiles struggles in her grasp, she redirected those eerily burning eyes of hers to instead settle on Sora. Almost imperceptibly, her lips twitched into a little smile that made his skin crawl.
"It's about damn time you showed up!" Mr. Tyrann huffed out in annoyance at the newcomer. Then with a grumble under his breath, he snapped his fingers.
Thick, unbreakable coils of Darkness suddenly conjured into being, wrapping around Sora, Elsa, and Axel like giant boa constrictors, binding their arms to their sides and making them all fall back to the ground. Rapunzel was the only one in their group who hadn't been restrained.
"What the-?!" her mouth hung open aghast at what had happened to her friends before her gaze whirled around to zero in on Mr. Tyrann in shock. "Dad?!"
He chuckled, "Surprise, sweetie! We, uh, heh… there's a lot you and I need to discuss."
Author's Note: BUM BUM BUM! xD Oh wow, action packed chapter, so much going on! Air battles, girl in Riku's hoodie getting zapped, Punzie performing an exorcism on her, an explosion of Darkness and Corona starting to get shredded to nothingness, mystery woman (you gotta know who she is by now, right?) is back and has a dragon arm, and Mr. Tyrann, well... we'll find out his deal next time, as well as see if team Good Guys still has a chance to save Corona! Plus, hey... where has Flynn been this whole time? Maybe you'll discover that too if you all tune in for the next exciting, not to mention FINAL installment of Book 2! That's right, next chapter is the last one, so prepare yourselves for the thrilling conclusion!
If you've read all of my Heart of All Worlds series up to this point and have been enjoying it so far, it would mean the absolute world to me if you left a review and let me know!
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