Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Harmonic Hearts Redux! Real quick, what do we have:
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Chapter 2: Darkest Fall
"All right. If I remember correctly, the cafe should be near the mall."
Stylite was walking down the sidewalk in the northwest area, passing by a couple of buildings when he hears a familiar voice nearby:
"You won't get away with this!"
An unfamiliar voice answered in return, "I already have."
Deducing that the voices were coming from above, he looks up just in time to see Sunset get knocked off the roof! His body moved on its own, using his ice to slide fast enough to catch her in time! He slowed down to a halt upon doing so before speaking:
"I thought I was the one dropping by. You all right?"
"Y-Yeah." Sunset answered, a bit winded from the fall.
Putting her back on her feet, the two then see a green flame appear a few feet away before fading to reveal the enemy:
"Yet another 'hero' of this world, I presume?"
Stylite connects the dots of who that other voice was, belonging to this devilish sorceress. He is understandably angry as he retorts back:
"I might be. I'm guessing you're the one behind the Heartless invading our home?"
"And perceptive as well. I only seek the hidden power this world hides, one far beyond your feeble minds. The Heartless just do as they please."
Stylite rolls his eyes at her ego before glancing at Sunset, "You know who she is?"
"Wasn't hard to get her name." She answers bluntly, "Calls herself Maleficent."
"Even her name sounds evil." He then speaks up at the horned fairy, "I'm only warning you once! If you don't stop now, I can't guarantee that you'll leave this place alive!"
She laughs at such a threat, "Foolish boy! You really think you can defeat me? The mistress of all evil!?"
"Maybe, but I do know like three people that can easily destroy you and the Heartless you brought along! So I recommend cutting your losses!"
"Hmph. Clearly you need convincing."
Channeling that green flame from earlier, Maleficent swipes her staff horizontally to send a wave of fire towards the duo. Stylite was quick to counter, slamming his fist into the ground to shoot a wave of water. The two elements clash, creating a puff of steam that clouded their vision.
Sty could barely see it, but he sees the sorceress preparing another attack in her flaming aura. Taking advantage of the opening, he slams his fist into the ground again, this time firing a wave of ice to try and freeze her. The steam was dispersed, revealing that she was gone as the ice dissipates into the air.
"Shoot, she escaped." He mutters in annoyance.
Sunset lets out a sigh before feeling some pain in her wrist, which Stylite notices:
"Are you hurt?"
"Not really." She tries to sugarcoat, "She just managed to disarm me before you showed up."
"Ah. Must be a tricky witch, I bet."
"Yeah. Anyways, let's head to the cafe. I'm a bit hungry from today."
"Same here."
The two arrive at the Sweet Snacks Cafe, a diner with the aesthetics you see from the fifties. Stylite and Sunset enter to go sit at a booth, sitting across from each other as the waitress came to take their orders. They decide to just start with drinks for now, wanting to get the conversation going. Once the waitress was gone, Sunset was the first to speak:
"It's been almost four months, or is it five now? You were gone for the whole summer."
"Yeah. At first it was just simple missions." Stylite clarifies, "Recon, cleanup, a couple of rescues here and there..."
"Sounds kinda boring."
"Most of them were. Then about three months in... we found my younger brother."
Sunset was surprised by this, "Your younger brother? You never mentioned him before."
"Honestly, that's because we weren't sure what happened to him. Just vanished without warning almost a year ago."
"Where did you find him?"
"In some fortified city called Green Harbor, located pretty far away from here. While that world had a couple of heartless running amok, our main concern was the rampant crime that was spawning them. It took a week to get it under control."
The waitress from earlier came back with their respective drinks, a lemonade for Sunset and a root beer for Stylite. After placing their orders for food, the waitress left again before they went back into conversation.
"Did he come back to Canterlot with you?" Sunset wonders.
Sty took a few sips of his drink before answering, "No. My father is training him on how to use his powers properly. I'm planning on going back there in a month or two to check on his progress."
"Oh come on, you just got back!"
"Don't worry, I'm just visiting for a couple of days. I'll be back to spent the holidays with you."
"Good. I prefer talking to you in person than over the phone."
He chuckles as to why that is, "Still not used to the 'strange device' of our world?"
"Can you blame me? The only way we communicated in Equestria was letters."
"Ah yes, the ye old way of writing on paper. Why not just teleport them to your intended person?"
She had a blank face to that, "Uh..."
"...You never thought of that, did ya?"
"Shut up." She playfully answers before sipping her lemonade.
The two let a moment of silence pass by before Sty brings up another topic, "So, how's school so far?"
Upon hearing that, Sunset had almost forgotten why she accepted his invite. Not wanting to make him suspicious, she quickly answers:
"Uh, it's been... not so great."
He was a little concerned now, "How so? Wouldn't be like you to be behind on your grades."
"Oh no, I'm doing fine with my classes. It's uh... kinda hard to explain."
She notices Stylite scooting his drink a bit to the side, a sign that his attention is squarely on her as he asks why:
"Does it have to do with the rumors I've been hearing about? About your... bullying?"
"...Unfortunately. But, I don't know why it's happening! For the past three months, I've been responsible for things I don't ever remember doing at all!"
"Don't remember? Like, some sort of out-of-body experience?"
"Something like that, I guess. Before all this started, I can only recall seeing some green flame before waking up somewhere else. And every time since, I would always see that same green flame..."
He was smart enough to put two and two together, "Maleficent, she must be controlling you! But why?"
"I wish I knew. It's scarier being left in the dark..."
Sty notices tears start to form in her eyes, moving his hand over hers as a sign of comfort. "Hey. Until that witch is gone, I'm not leaving your side. All right?"
Sunset was taken aback by his sincerity, making her smile before wiping the tears away. "Thanks."
"Of course." He assures her before moving back, "Now with both sides accounted for, best that we meet up with the others after we eat."
"The others?"
"Yeah. You've met them already, right? Sora, Twilight, all those guys. By telling them what you told me, we can team up and have a better chance of taking down Maleficent. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they met her too."
"Uh, right. Might be a bit difficult since they may not be... open to the idea."
Seeing where she's going with this, he bluntly states the situation. "This truce is necessary for us to save our world. Whatever you did, I'm sure that Maleficent was involved in some way or another. If they don't want to trust you because of her meddling, that's their problem."
"I suppose so."
She then sees him show a smile, which made her curious. "Something funny?"
"No, just that... I'm glad to see you haven't changed much since I left. I've missed ya."
"Oh. Y-You're just saying that."
Their food came soon after as their conversation became more jovial, sharing some funny stories and memories as they dig into their meals.
Meanwhile at the Sweet Shoppe, our main group was discussing their next move. After everyone placed their orders, Applejack spoke up on their situation:
"All right, ya'll. The dance's tonight and we need to get at least the majority of the school on our side. Because of that video Sunset made, the students only see Twilight as what they saw."
"Unfortunately, we gonna need something that really pops." Rarity adds, "Something that shows them the real you."
"The real me? How?" Twilight understandably questions.
The group brainstorm ideas for a good minute until Rarity shot up from her seat with a triumphant cheer:
"I'VE GOT IT!"
This got everyone's attention in the shoppe, which she notices and sheepishly chuckles before sitting back down.
"OK..." Sora eventually comments, "Whatcha got?"
"I got a solution." Rarity answers before reaching into her bag, "What if we all wore these?"
She pulls out a headband of pony ears and a pony tail, both colored in blue and yellow. While the girls recognize them, the trio and Twilight were confused as Spike comments on this solution:
"You want us to become ponies?"
"No no, these are what the students would wear to show Canterlot High's school spirit." Rarity then passes more of them out to the others, "I like to interpret it as despite our differences, we all unite as Canterlot Wondercolts."
The others tried them on, which included Sora, Donald and Goofy. Needless to say, it looked really weird on the trio.
"I like to believe they still mean something." Rarity admits, "I used to sell them during freshman year, but Sunset wanted them discontinued for some reason..."
"Either way, this is your plan?" Rainbow asked.
"I like it!" Pinkie chimes in, "We can do a pep rally with the students!"
"Actually, I want to hear Twilight on this." Rarity reveals.
"Me? I like it." The bookworm admits, "But, I doubt just passing these around are gonna do much."
"Darling, that's where you come in. Think about it, a new video of you leading the charge to revive the school's spirit and challenge Sunset! Once the students see that, you're a shoe-in!"
"You really think it'll work?"
"Thanks to you and the trio, we're back together stronger than ever. Sunset was the one who divided us, but you have the potential of leading the way against her tyranny!"
Twilight looks around to see the others in agreement, soon hearing Spike affirm his confidence in her:
"Show that Sunset what a real princess can do."
"Right!" She agrees before getting an idea, "And I know just what to do!"
The group return to the school after getting preparations ready, where it was thankfully peaceful for the time being. To make sure it stayed that way for the plan to work, the trio went Heartless searching as the girls do their thing. They were thorough by going through the halls on both floors, eventually climbing up to the roof where no Heartless was in sight.
"Something's off..." Donald comments.
"Yeah, something doesn't feel quite right." Goofy seconds the notion.
Before Sora can comment on what they meant, he sees something down in the courtyard below. Despite the distance, he recognizes the familiar faces:
"Hey, isn't that Stylite? And Sunset?"
Donald and Goofy follow his gaze, with the latter confirming it. "It is!"
"Looks like they're having a good conversation." Sora notes, seeing the duo sharing a small laugh.
Speaking of said duo, they soon notice that they're being watched and look up to see the trio. After a brief exchange, Sunset hops on Sty's back before he launches himself into the air by conjuring an ice pillar under his feet. The duo went over the trio before landing on the roof themselves.
"Thanks for the lift." Sunset said as she got off his back.
"Anytime." Stylite stood back up before turning around, "Glad we found you guys. We got some serious trouble."
"How bad are we talking?" Sora asked.
"Depends. We found out who's behind the Heartless invading. Any of you heard of some witch named Maleficent?"
Their reaction was evident, "Maleficent!?"
"I'll take that as a yes. Turns out, she invaded to find some hidden power in our world. More importantly, she's using Sunset as some puppet..." Sty's growl near the end was clear to hear, which he covers by clearing his throat.
It was a bit to take in, but the trio got the picture. Maleficent is known to be associated with the Heartless at this point, using them to invade worlds like in their last journey. She has also used people for her own gains, most evident with Sora's friend Riku. That made them realize the parallels happening here, but Sora saves that for later as he assures them:
"Don't worry about her too much. We've dealt with her plans before."
"If only we knew what they were..." Sunset laments.
"True, it's not like we can just ask her." Sty agrees.
"As if I ever tell you."
The group turn towards the stained glass dome to see Maleficent appear from her green flame, summoning their weapons for anything she might pull. Well most of them did, as Stylite just gets into a fighting stance with his fists clenched tight:
"Well, speak of the devil and she shall appear."
The sorceress rolls her eyes at this, "Must you always have a quip to retort with?"
"Trust me, this is tame. I'd rather not use more vulgar terms in front of my new friends here."
"Guess cause you couldn't get the castle, you're taking your anger out on this world!?" Sora questions.
Maleficent scoffs at that, "You can keep that silly castle, far too cheery for my tastes. And yes, this is what happens when you meddle with my plans!"
With that said, she snaps her fingers to summon a swarm of Heartless to surround the group. The trio ready themselves as Sty and Sunset stood back to back with them. The swarm was mostly Shadows and Soldiers, with a couple of Assault Riders in the back.
They see her disappear in green flames right before the fight begins. Not much to say from here, as the group held their own against the incoming swarm. We already know how the trio fight, so it's worth noting how Stylite and Sunset handle themselves:
Stylite was a brawler, attacking with his fists and kicks combined with his dual power of water and ice. Showing off his self-taught style, he also showed experience with well-timed strikes and using his powers for defensive purposes. He's also flexible, ducking and weaving most attacks to dodge close shaves.
Sunset was quite the fencer, swiftly dealing slashes and thrusts from her blade. To their surprise excluding Sty, she even knew basic magic spells like Fire and Aero to extend her range. Despite her graceful mobility, she didn't mind letting Sty step in to either create openings or protect her from attacks. In fact, their synergy could be mistaken as a limit of sorts.
Eventually, it came down to the Assault Riders left standing. The trio took two of them out, due to already facing them before, as Sty and Sunset had the last one. The two were efficient in their approach. Using ice to make the rider lose balance, disarming it of its spear, and taking it out with a combined attack.
Stylite casually dusts his hands off afterwards with a smirk, "Like old times. Though, I think you're a bit rusty."
"I just have other priorities over training right now." Sunset retorts, "School, remember?"
"We'll squeeze it in the schedule then. What day are ya free this week?"
"Uh, Sunday can work."
The trio watch this conversation unfold before the duo notice them, which Sty plays it off cool:
"Can't afford any risks with the Heartless. You guys should know that."
"We certainly do." Goofy agrees before he notices something behind them, "Look out!"
The five turn to where he gestured, just in time to see Maleficent fire a charged up shot of dark energy from her scepter. The dark shot was like a bullet, almost like a bolt of lightning as it flew towards its intended target:
Stylite.
"No!" To everyone's surprise, Sora was the quickest to react as he pushes him out of the way.
However, the shot hits him instead and blasts him off his feet. Donald and Goofy were quick to check on him, leaving Sty and Sunset to react at what just happened. The latter was in shock, but the former...
"You'll pay for that!" Sty shouts in retaliation, firing off a misty water rocket at the evil fairy.
His attack almost hit, but she managed to teleport away at the last second. Regaining his composure, he quickly checks on Sunset:
"You all right?"
"Y-Yeah, just... caught off guard." She answers, "What about Sora?"
Her concern was honestly genuine, as she wasn't expecting that at all. The duo go to check on him, only to stop halfway as Sora starts to writhe in pain. His hands clutch his chest, where darkness starts to seep out before his clothes started to glow. Both Donald and Goofy were worried, unsure on what to do.
Next thing they knew, Sora activated his Drive as his clothes shined bright... before getting consumed by darkness. The shadows swirled around him, cloaking him in a form of a humanoid heartless. He was still recognizable, only now his skin and hair were a shadowy black as his clothes were black with deep blue accents.
They were kinda disturbed at the sudden turn, as Donald and Goofy are now nowhere to be found and Sora is... not himself.
"I don't think he's fine..." Sty whispers, "Stay close."
The duo were wary of 'Sora' as his head shows the slightest hint of twitching, slowly rising up to reveal his face. Instead of his blue eyes, they were yellow like the heartless creatures. His eyes then focuses on them, showing no sign of emotion, yet they felt a strong urge to run.
"...Sora?"
Right after he said that, the possessed Sora went on the attack!
Objective: Knock Anti-Sora out! (BGM: Eye of the Storm - KH3)
The duo went on the defensive, doing their best to avoid the sudden assault of Anti-Sora. However, he was immensely fast. Despite their efforts, he easily caught up and landed powerful blows on them. Sty soon realizes that they have to fight him, going on the offense this time to try and match their opponent in a series of blows.
Sunset was honestly just in shock, processing what is going on. Moments ago, this kid was the same keyblade wielder that stopped her from attacking Princess Twilight, the one who came off as the optimist. Now... whatever Maleficent did, it seemed to have awakened a feral beast.
"Look out!" Sty shouts a warning, snapping her out of it.
She was quick enough to deflect an incoming attack, swinging her blade with a cast of Aero. Anti-Sora came in with a flurry of slashes, making her guard the best she could as his speed was overwhelming. Before he could finish with a dark orb, a hand grabbed his ankle before the anti-form was thrown across the roof!
Sty was panting, showing that Anti-Sora got a few good hits in their previous scuffle. Speaking of Sora, the dark form managed to recover and was ready to pounce again.
"Sunset... find the girls. Tell them what's happened." Sty requested.
She was understandably surprised and worried, "W-What!? But-"
"GO!" His tone left no room to argue.
As much as she didn't want to, she ran off into the school to find the others. Anti-Sora tried to follow, but Stylite wasn't having it as he punches him back:
"Your fight's with me, Sora! And I won't hold back!"
The dark form seemed to glare at him before the two rush in once more, landing blow after vicious blow on each other. Each punch landed was followed by another, each kick landed was followed by another, even counters and feints were thrown into the mix. Eventually, Anti-Sora got the upper hand and lands an uppercut to send Stylite flying.
As the dark form gives chase via Anti-Glide, Sty was quick to recover and used water under his feet to redirect his trajectory. A moment was all he needed to catch 'Sora' off guard, landing a haymaker into his jaw to stun him and swiftly moves to grab his legs, swinging him into the roof itself and causing it to collapse!
The two fall through the hole to land in the gym, where the dance decorations were already set up, as they continue the fight. However, it was clear that Stylite had to step up his game to actually knock him out. With a bit of hesitation, he taps into some power to gain an advantage:
In a burst of dark energy, Sty's hair was now snow white as the ponytail was released to let his hair flow. The pupils in his eyes are now slits of a beast, narrowing in their ferocity. Water and ice form around his arms and feet, creating form-fitting makeshift claws and greaves themed after a werewolf.
"Come, beast of darkness!" He spoke in a more sinister tone, "This battle hungers the wolf..."
Anti-Sora accepts the challenge, powering up himself with a distorted roar to match. The two brandishes their claws before they clash once more. Water splashes against the walls, the icicles shatters the floorboards, and dark energy shredded through anything in their way.
'Sora' delivers a mighty kick to send Sty into the closed-up bleachers, denting him into it before he grabs his leg and slams him into them as well. Keeping a grip on the leg, Sty swings him through said bleachers before viscerally throwing him into the bleachers on the other side.
It wasn't enough as Anti-Sora leaps back out to attack, but Sty was actually ready for that as he grabs him mid-flight and spinebusters him into a broken table. 'Sora' pushes him off with his giant shoes, but Sty was still ready as he leaps over him on the rebound. Grabbing him by the hoodie, he flips forward to slam him so hard that he bounces off the floor before landing a vicious roundhouse into his side.
The attack sent 'Sora' flying straight into the stage, leaving a crevasse in his path before he stopped himself. After pulling out of the crevasse, he was enraged at this point and just charges back in with more ferocity. However, this was also read by his opponent who readied a powerful attack:
"LUNAR WOLF!"
In a blitz of speed from his combined water-ice propulsion, his charged-up fist slams viscerally into Anti-Sora's jaw before a swirling vortex of his two elements exploded from the impact. The result was damaged property, a worn-out Stylite as he reverts back to normal... and a knocked out Sora at last.
Earlier, with Sunset...
"T-This wasn't meant to happen! Why did Sora transform like that!?"
Her thoughts were running a mile a minute, almost faster than her feet running through the halls of the school. In her panicked state, she barely heard the school bell ring to signal changing classes. It was here that she was reaching the lunch room, seeing students to flood the hallway as the doors open.
She was about to curse her luck, but it seems that luck was on her side as the girls were among the crowd. Right after seeing them, she was quick to remember a certain perk of her current status:
"MOVE. NOW!"
The crowd was silent and parted like waves as she sped walk through, approaching the girls who were understandably on guard. Sunset did her best to calm herself before speaking:
"There's a very urgent situation, and I need your help."
Those words were weird coming out of her mouth, but she didn't care. The girls were rather skeptical on what she meant:
"What situation?" Twilight questions.
"Heartless. Sty's fighting a powerful one right now."
Rainbow was confused now, "Why not get Sora, Donald and Goofy for that?"
"...The Heartless IS Sora."
BOOM!
Right after she said that, they heard something fall from a tall height in the distance. Pinkie managed to deduce where it might be from memory:
"The gym!"
"Come on, ya'll!" AJ calls out as they ran towards the noise.
Sunset was practically sprinting ahead of them, her blade at the ready in case Sora's dark form was still active. Unfortunately, it might be the case as they heard loud slams and objects breaking as they make their way there. By the time they were approaching the doors-
BOOM!
The group were blown back by a sudden blast from inside the gym, sending the doors flying off their hinges as water and ice particles blew through like a bomb went off. Once the girls recovered, they were stunned by the destruction upon entering the gym:
The party decorations were just destroyed. The tables, the streamers, even the disco ball was just fragments now. Not only that, but the bleachers were dented and smashed up, the floorboards were shredded, and even the stage was split in two.
In the middle of the gym stood Stylite, who looked a bit different from earlier. His hat was gone, likely flown off during the battle, as his hair was let down from his usual ponytail. Thankfully, he didn't have major injuries from she can tell.
Sora was back to normal now, knocked out as he was lying against the broken stage. Donald and Goofy were finally back from who-knows-where, also laying unconscious on said stage.
Back to Stylite, he was breathing heavily as his legs eventually buckle from beneath him and fell to the ground.
"Sty!" Sunset rushes in to check on him, leaving the girls to take in what might have happened.
"The decorations... they were innocent..." Pinkie sadly mutters to herself.
Spike couldn't help but notice something interesting, "I'm starting to think that this world isn't as 'magic-free' as we thought."
"Yeah." Twilight agrees, "Makes me curious on how much different this parallel world is from Equestria..."
They then heard groans belonging to Donald and Goofy, who were rubbing their heads from the dizziness they felt:
"Anybody get the number of that keyblade?" The court mage mumbles.
"We gotta find King Mickey..." The knight captain mumbled before his eyes widen at the destroyed gym, "Whoa-ah!"
"What!? Wha- Wah!? What happened in here!?"
"Wait, you two DON'T know?" Rainbow questions, "Weren't you here fighting with Stylite against Sora?"
"Fighting who!?"
"Sora! Didn't you see him transform before you two disappeared!?" Sunset shouts.
The duo look around before finding Sora nearby, still out cold from the battle, and quickly tend to him. Donald uses Cure to heal any wounds he had before going to do the same for Stylite. Despite the heals, they were likely resting at this point.
By now, the rest of the school had came to investigate as Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had entered the gym. Seeing the aftermath of the battle, the principals understandably had a lot of questions. The gym had defrosted by now as Sunset had to answer the bulk of the questions. When she mentioned Maleficent, Donald and Goofy backed up her claims from their past experiences.
"So, this sorceress is behind what's been happening..." Vice Principal Luna summarizes.
"Then that means the Heartless isn't the only threat to worry about." Principal Celestia adds.
They soon heard groans, belonging to Sora and Stylite respectively, as they woke up in a bit of a daze.
"Sty. You all right?" Sunset asked.
"Y-Yeah." Sty answered, "I just had to use more power than usual."
Sora lets out a pained groan, rubbing his left cheek that was a bit sore. "W-Why is my cheek sore?"
"Had to knock you out of that dark form. Literally."
Sora took a bit to connect the dots, "Oh... Sorry about that."
"You must have used your Drives a bit too much." Goofy mentions, "Master Yen Sid warned you about that."
"Now we know what happens, so keep it in check." Donald adds.
"Right. I'll try to remember." Sora assures them as he gets up to his feet.
The students were escorted back to class by the principals and teachers, leaving our main group to ponder on what to do next. Pinkie was mourning her ruined decorations as Rarity comforts her, only listening in on their conversation. Speaking of which, Stylite informs them on what had happened while putting his hair back in a ponytail and recovering his hat. Afterwards, they all had pretty much the same response:
"So, Maleficent is why you're being such a pain in our butts?" Rainbow summarizes in her own way.
"Pretty much." Sunset answers, "I still don't know why though..."
"Maybe she found out about Equestria?" Twilight wonders aloud.
This was enough for Stylite to come up with a possibility, "If so, then she may have found out that Sunset's from there and used her to avoid any suspicions..."
"Which lead to her spying on us and finding out about the Elements." Spike adds, "Then, she may have the crown hidden somewhere!"
"Then we better find her!" Sora exclaims, "Let's look around the school again!"
The trio were off to do just that, leaving the others as Pinkie had finished crying over her ruined decorations:
"W-Well, looks like the dance isn't happening tonight."
Twilight was shocked upon hearing that, "What!? B-But it has to!"
"Would it matter?" Sunset retorts, "You heard Spike, Maleficent has our crown. Be better to find her and get it back that way."
"Then let's go hunting!" Sty agrees, "We'll go into town to cover more ground. You guys, keep your eyes open."
As he and Sunset left to do just that, the girls weren't sure what to do now. They know getting directly involved in this fight wouldn't be helpful, but doing nothing isn't on the table either...
Twilight was starting to get a feeling that something wasn't quite right.
"That strange power is in here somewhere..."
Maleficent was searching in the vice principal's office, where she was sensing a powerful energy. With a wave of her scepter, the drawers and lids were open to reveal their contents. Most of them at least, as there was a locked box on a small table in the corner:
Where the power source was.
"Of course it's locked." She mutters in annoyance.
With another wave of her scepter, she pulls the box towards her and places it in her free hand. Now so close to it, she felt its positive force pulsing inside like that Cornerstone of Light. Yet, its power was not as 'pure'... she can work with that.
She then hears a door open nearby, seeing someone enter the room from the hallway. The room was mostly dark still, so she wasn't seen yet... then again, she didn't care for stealth. Right as the woman saw her, she casted a sleep spell to knock her out.
Placing the box on the table, she soon smacks her scepter on the lid with enough impact to break it. With all the information she's gathered upon entering this world, it now makes sense upon seeing what's inside...
"Hmm, what power inside such jewelry." She then shows a small smirk, "I wonder what secrets you hide."
And done! OK, we have a bit to unpack here:
1. It's clear that the first two chapters were built on what's happened before, but I want to try diverging into more interesting territory. Not to the point of making this 'lose the plot', I want to have these characters be in character and create scenarios on what they choose.
2. Speaking of this chapter, I wanted to show three things:
A. While Sunset may be smart, Maleficent is someone who always has her own agenda.
B. I wanted to show more of Sunset who doesn't have control over the situation.
C. As much as Sunset tries as a villain, Maleficent is just a super one with presentation to boot.
3. Stylite is more active in combat this time, showing off his dual water/ice powers established in the original story. As shown in the fight, he's had his fair share of battles in this timeline and even a few tricks up his sleeves. You can take this as a sneak peek into how the other OCs are gonna be revamped.
With all of that said, thanks for reading and see ya next chapter!