I don't own Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix and Disney. And we are back with another chapter after an even longer wait... but hey! We're back! And it's a long one so I hope it's worth the wait! Now, before we begin, let's reply to some reviews...
Nicochan11: Well, funny story about what happened between him and Maleficent... you'll see what happens at the end of the chapter! And not to mention, she did sort of help him out in her own way to defeat the original organization. Even if it was for her own gain, she still helped him.
VaderSkywalker: Unless they knew about the GummiPhone technology from a certain someone... like say like an evil fairy who has been watching them while looking for a certain Black Box... just food for thought. Speaking of... you're not too far off with the last assumption.
Guest: Who's to say it's Elsa to bring him to the light side?
Is Og Ild: Oh, yes, major improvements from Elsa thanks to the other's action. And I do have plans for our Tangled cast so I hope you enjoy that too. And don't even get me started with Pete and Vader! Oh, man... We're really be going into things coming forward. Starting with this nice and long chapter...
Okay, with that out of the way, I won't keep you waiting any longer! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Maximus went along with Princess Rapunzel to ensure her safety. Though that may have been unnecessary. The Kingdom seemed peaceful enough, and its authorities seemed to have what little crime it had pretty settled. So, he decided to take the Princess's advice and have some time off, enjoying himself with a bowl of apples.
Sure, there was a part of him that didn't trust Rider, er, Fitzherbert, but he had to admit, he had come a long way since they first met. Being with Rapunzel did help with that, considering he was willing to lay down his life for her. This did help pardon all crimes held against him back home. Plus, his so-called, "sidekicks" were actually good people. So, he was willing to give the man the Princess loves a second chance.
"Psst! Max!"
The horse frowned to himself at the sound of Fitzherbert's voice. So much for a peaceful evening. What sort of trouble did he get himself into this time?
He turned to see Eugene with Rapunzel, as the former smiled, "You'll have no idea who we ran into the Coronation..."
They stepped aside to reveal a well-dressed but very familiar spiky-haired boy. The teenager greeted him, "Hey, Maximus!"
The horse's expression brightened up as he neighed greeting Sora. He was pleasantly surprised. He certainly did not expect to see him around here of all places. Sora nodded, "Yeah, it's good to see you too."
"As it turns out, the lost princess of this Kingdom is a childhood friend of Sora's," Rapunzel smiled as she gestured to the teen, "He returned my long-lost cousin to her family."
Maximus nodded in approval. He always seemed to be in the right place to help. Captain of the Guard of Corona then turned to Flynn, "Yeah... you see... Sora... may have run into a situation here..."
The horse raised an eyebrow as if he were asking, 'what kind of situation?' Sora quickly explained, "A few days ago, someone broke into the castle and took a look at a guest list. We think someone hired a Bounty Hunter to kidnap Rapunzel, one of my best friends, and her sisters tonight!"
Maximus's eyes widened in alert! A bounty hunter? After Rapunzel and friends close to Sora's? The horse's eyes narrowed in determination...
Not on his watch...
"Think you can help us track him down?" Sora asked the Captain of the Guard of Corona.
The horse nodded in response as he gave a determined neigh. Rapunzel turned to the Keyblade Wielder, "He's in...!"
"Gee, even miles away from home you're always so serious," Eugene commented. Maximus proceeded to glare at the ex-con, as he raised his hands in defense, "Not that I'm complaining in this case!"
The lost Princess then turned to Sora, "So... where was this... Bounty Hunter spotted..."
"Follow me," The spiky hair teen gestured towards the castle as he led the way. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Maximus followed the Keyblade's Chosen inside the castle...
Meanwhile, Anna was having the best time of her life with the handsome Prince Hans. He just had to be the one. Kairi said that she one just met him and she knew she meant well...
...but she was still young and unsure of her own feelings for her true love. Anna was older and wiser though, she knew Hans and herself was just meant to be. Just like Sora was meant to be with her little sister.
It was fate! Destiny! The very reason why God put them on this Earth!
face. She then asked, "Okay wait, wait. So you have how many brothers?"
"Twelve older brothers. Three of them pretended I was invisible... literally... for two years." Hans answered.
Anna shook her head, "That's horrible."
Hans just shrugged it off, "It's what brothers do."
"...And sisters. Elsa and I were really close when we were little. But then, one day she just shut me out, and I never knew why." Anna told him, "She didn't even bothered opening up... she always shut me out... At least Kairi, memory loss or not, is trying to open up with me."
He took her hand and leaned in close, "I would never shut you out."
Anna and Hans continued to smile at each other until the former asked, "Okay, can I just say something crazy?"
"I love crazy." Hans nodded...
"This is where the murder happened..." Sora gestured to where the door was burnt off.
Maximus lightly shoved Sora to the side as he began to sniff around for clues. Eugene stroked his chin, "So... let me get this straight... this Bounty Hunter guy... breaks in without anyone noticing, burnt the door off its hinges, took a peek at the guest list, then when one of the guards spotted him: he silenced him and took off before an alarm was raised."
"That's what we gathered so far," Sora nodded to the ex-thief.
"Okay, but why me? Why Kairi?" Repunzel blinked in confusion as Pascal turned to her in concern, "My magic hair is gone... and from what you've told me Kairi has a power similar to yours..."
"It's... complicated..." The teenager admitted. As he tried his best to explain without revealing too much, "But before we met, a witch by the name of Maleficent kidnapped several Princesses. The purest of them all. She believed could use them to unlock an ancient power she could use to take over the world."
"...and you think Rapunzel is one of these Princesses?" Flynn questioned. Sora merely stared at him as he gestured to the lost Princess before ultimately agreeing, "Alright, point taken..." He then nodded, "Okay, so she and Kairi are these pure-hearted Princesses. So, why hasn't she made a move on her when we first met or beforehand?"
"Yeah, I think I'd remember being taken away from my tower before I met you guys." Rapunzel nodded to her boyfriend.
"Well, the thing is... this power you and Kairi have... it gets passed down after a Princess fulfilled her role, so before it was an entirely different group of Princesses other than Kairi," Sora answered before crossing his arms to think, "Why not when we met... I don't know... last I checked Maleficent was looking for a black box."
"Okay now I know that box is bad news, cause anything that's dark and got the opposite of color is going to bite back," Eugene stated in fear.
"Black Box?" Rapunzel glanced to Sora.
"We don't know much about it, other than it's supposed to contain hope," The Keyblade Wielder admitted, getting odd looks from the couple, and the animals, "...but considering that Maleficent is after it, no good can come from it."
Maximus then proceeded to sniff out the Bounty Hunter, as Eugene proceeded to ask, "So... that guy in the black coat? He doesn't have anything to do with this, does he?"
"No," Sora reassured him, "My friends and I dealt with him and the rest of the Organization just three months ago..."
"Whew! At least we've got that going for us," Eugene sighed in relief.
The horse then neighed loudly to get their attention, Rapunzel brightened up, "He's got something!"
"Okay, Maximus, follow the scent!" Sora declared as he turned to the others, "But stay on guard, this guy could have Heartless on his command."
"Okay, black shadow monsters, we've got," Eugene smirked as Rapunzel proudly pulled out her frying pan.
Maximus followed the scent throughout the halls, as Sora, Rapunzel, and Eugene followed cautiously from behind. Suddenly, the Keyblade Wielder could hear singing. His first thoughts came to the mysterious woman he's been seeing, but then he could hear the lyrics, "All my life has been a series of doors in my face~ And then suddenly I bump into you~"
"Uh, did anyone else hear that?" Eugene asked the others. Sora blinked. He could hear it too... guess it wasn't the woman this time. Not to mention it was a different song entirely.
That's when he heard someone else say, "I was thinking the same thing! Cause, like..." The new male voice sang, "I've been searching my whole life to find my own place~ And maybe it's the party talking or the chocolate fondue~"
"Someone's coming!" Rapunzel's eyes widened.
"Hide!" Sora exclaimed as he mimicked an actual painting of a knight. Eugene and Rapunzel mimicked a couple's painting. Maximus merely hid behind a horse statue while Pascal merely blended into the environment.
Everyone remained motionless as the singing continued, "But with you~"
"But with you~ I've found my place~"
"I see your face~"
"And it's nothing like I've ever known before~" Anna and a well-dressed man danced through the halls without their shoes on, "Love is an open door~ Love is an open-" Anna paused when she noticed the motionless people and one was a face she knew, "Wait!" She turned to the motionless Sora, "Sora?"
He blinked as he turned to her while the rest of his body remained motionless, "Oh! Hey, Anna!"
"What are you doing?" The sister of Kairi wondered.
"Just... catching up with some old friends of mine," He answered gesturing to the couple he met on Corona, "These are Rapunzel, Eugene..." Pascal turned visible, "Pascal..." Then the horse peeked out from behind a statue, "...and Maximus."
"Nice to meet you," Rapunzel offered a hand to the Princess of Arendelle.
"Oh, likewise," Anna shook her hand.
The man she was with couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"Oh, we're just... uh... playing a game," Eugene lied to avoid panic and suspicion.
"Really?" Anna tilted her head in curiosity, "What are you playing?"
"Red light / Green Light," Sora answered.
"Free tag," The former criminal stated.
"Hide and go seek!" The lost Princess replied...
...all at the same time. Glancing at each other nervously, Sora slowly nodded, "Yes... it's called: Red light-Green Light Freeze Tag... Hide and Go seek addition..."
"That's..." The Prince blinked, "...quite a long name..."
"Oh, it's a game we play back home all the time..." Sora gave out a nervous smile.
"Yeah, Sora... taught us it when he was visiting Corona with Donald and Goofy..." Rapunzel smiled, "First you have your seeker... as we try to hide and he counts to twenty."
"Then he tries to find you but if he sees you..." Eugene added on the spot, "You've got to run, and if he tags you have to freeze in place..."
"...unless they shout out "red light" then all parties must freeze in place," Sora nodded as he finished the made-up game, "...and you can only move if they say... "green light!" It's very fun..."
After a long pause, Anna brightened up, "Sounds like a blast! We should try it out sometimes!"
"Oh, definitely!" Sora mentally sighed in relief, "We should..."
"Okay... we will..." The Prince with Anna took her hand, "We'll leave you to it then..."
"Oh! Right!" Anna nodded in agreement as the duo ran off, "See ya later, Sora! It was nice meeting your friends!"
The Prince and Princesses ran off as they continued their song. Everyone then sighed in relief as Eugene gasped, "Oh, that was a close one..." Sora looked back in the direction they came, "Something up?"
"I don't know... maybe..." He admitted as he crossed his arms, "Something felt... off... about that guy..."
"Do you think he could be the one to hire that Bounty Hunter?" Rapunzel turned to him in concern.
"I don't know," Sora shook his head, "There's only one way to know for sure..."
"Right," Eugene nodded in agreement, "Catching the Bounty Hunter..."
"Maximus?" Rapunzel turned to the horse.
Captain of the Guard of Corona nodded. He returned to following the scent, and everyone followed the horse...
"You sure you can't get a hold of anyone?" Kairi asked the former Organization member.
After when noticing Kairi couldn't get a hold of anyone, Axel checked his for confirmation. Elsa was still getting used to the idea of GummiPhones being a thing, so she wasn't quite sure how this all worked. However, from Axel's expressions, she could tell he was having the same luck as she was. After another attempt, he sighed, "Yeah, something is definitely up..." He stated, "We're being jammed alright."
"So, should I alert the guard...?" Elsa asked the two in deep concern.
"No, for all we know it could just be the Bounty Hunter," Kairi stated with determination, "No one else on this world would have the technology to keep us from calling for help."
"I see..." The Queen nodded to her sister, "And... you sure Sora is capable of handling this... Mandalorian?"
"Trust me! That pull off quite an amount of feats, and with him reuniting with some old friends of his," Axel smiled like it wasn't going to be an issue, "...this should be a walk in the park for him."
"You... both seem very confident about that boy," Elsa couldn't help but observe. Did... did it have something to do with the fact Sora may have saved the entire universe... three times over? Honestly, it was still unbelievable. How could one boy accomplish such a feat? Multiple times, she might add?
"Elsa, if you know Sora as long as we have, then you would be confident too," Kairi smiled at her eldest sister, "Sure, he's not particularly the smartest or the most mature of us..."
"...and yet more mature than others..." The Queen of Arendelle muttered as she glanced at the former Nobody.
"...but he's always there when you need him," Her youngest sister reassured, "When I was in trouble, he's faced monsters, dragons, genies, titans, a literal Lord of the Underworld, even the most powerful Keyblade Master to find me..."
"Uh... what...?" Elsa blinked in disbelief, "Say that again, I wasn't quite sure I heard you right... did you say he faced a Lord of the Underworld?"
"Oh, yeah, she did," Axel confirmed as he thought about it, "Actually come to think of it, he went up against him in some form on pretty much every journey he's been on. So, I guess it's not that big of a deal now."
"NOT THAT BIG OF A-" Elsa began to exclaim before realizing everyone was staring at her, "Uh... I mean... that must have been quite a life on the islands, huh, Kairi?!"
"Oh, yes," The long-lost sister nodded in agreement loudly so as to not draw attention. Once the guests didn't seem any more interested in her outburst, she simply told her, "I'll give you the full story later."
Elsa nodded in agreement, if they kept the conversation going, everyone on the planet would likely know of their magic secret. She then cleared her throat as she stated, "Still there must be something I can do."
"Just trust Sora to handle this..." Axel smiled to the Queen, "There is literally no way, he can screw this up..."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE LOST THE SCENT?!" Eugene exclaimed in disbelief at the horse, "YOU NEVER HAD TROUBLE FINDING ME WHEN YOU WERE HUNTING ME, YOU DUMB HORSE!"
Maximus frowned in disbelief as the hunting party stood in the courtyard, Rapunzel lightly stroked the Captian of her Kingdom's Guard, "Hey, I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation for all of this. Maybe this is where the Bounty Hunter made his escape?"
"Okay, say he did, how did he do it? This is an open courtyard," Eugene stated before sarcastically stating, "What? Did he just fly on out of here?"
Sora frowned as he crossed his arms to think. With what Chip and Dale warned about this Mandalorian, was it really possible he flew out of here... without pixie dust? He supposed it could be pos-
"Psst!"
Sora blinked as he turned to his friends, still bickering of how Maximus lost the Bounty Hunter's trail. If it didn't come from them, then-
"Over here!"
He turned to the source of the voice again. It was that woman again! The one only he could see! She gestured to the window on her right, "Quickly!"
Sora rushed over to the woman, maybe he could finally get some answers about who she was. When he reached her, she once again gestured outside the castle, "Take a good long look."
Blinking in confusion, he looked outside. Everything seemed to be fine. Not a Heartless in sight... but that's when he noticed someone running towards the castle. A massive familiar cat that he went up against time and time again. He blinked in shock, "Pete?"
Pete looked every which way as if he was looking for something... or someone. Sora smirked, of course! They didn't need to find the Bounty Hunter to get answers...
"Yo, Sora!" Eugene approached him with the others, "You notice something?"
"Yeah!" Sora nodded as he gestured to the window, "Look!"
Everyone looked outside the window to see Pete sneaking around, Rapunzel blinked, "Who is that?!"
Eugene stared at the troublemaker, "I'm pretty sure that's a cat with too much junk in its trunk."
"That's Pete," Sora explained, "Wherever he goes, he causes nothing but trouble. He's been controlling the Heartless for quite some time and works for Maleficent..."
"Wait, you're saying that oversized stuffed cat works for the witch?!" Eugene gestured to the criminal from Disney Castle in disbelief.
"...and he knows every single villain who allied themselves with her," Sora smirked as he crossed his arms.
Everyone in the group's eyes widened in realization, before Rapunzel smirked, "So... we don't actually need to find the Bounty Hunter to find out who hired him..."
"Yeah... we just need this guy to spill the beans..." Eugene nodded in agreement, "...and from the look on his face... that shouldn't be too difficult..."
"Yeah... the guy's not smart enough to tie his own shoes," The Keyblade's Chosen One admitted, before warning them, "But that doesn't make him any less dangerous... he'll put up a fight if we corner him..."
"Not if we knock him out before he even sees us," Rapunzel smirked as she held up her frying pan.
"Yeah, she always was deadly with that thing," The ex-criminal nodded as he rubbed the back of his head as Maximus and Pascal gave him teasing smirks. He then nodded, "So, we knock him up, tie him up, and make him tell us what he knows!"
They then notice him running off to the other end of the castle. Sora exclaimed as he realized where he was heading, "He's heading to the Ball Room!"
"We have to get him before he gets there!" The lost Princess declared, "He could warn the bad guy we're on to him!"
"C'mon! Let's move!" Eugene exclaimed as everyone proceeded to attempt to cut Pete off.
Sora only stopped to look back at the mystery woman, he couldn't help but ask her, "Why did you help us?"
"Let's just say I was doing this sort of thing since before you were born," She smiled at him, "I can't help with much but for your next journey... I will try to help you as much as able to." Next journey? But he was on vacation! They just needed to catch Pete, the Bounty Hunter, and the guy who hired him and that would be that. Maleficent would lose again. No need for another journey. She continued to smile at him, "The next bit is up to you and your friends. Good luck and may the Force be with you."
The Force? What was that?
"Sora! Hurry up!" He heard Rapunzel call out to him, "We've got to get to him before it's too late!"
"Uh, I'm coming!" Sora called out to his friends before turning back to the woman... only to vanish again. So much for answers. At least he knew, that whoever she was, she was on their side. With one last glance at where she was, he picked up to catch up with his friends...
"..." Elsa hummed quietly as she tapped her foot nervously, "...Sora's been gone for quite a while now."
"Maybe he got a lead on the Bounty Hunter," Axel whispered to them, "Could be after him as we speak..."
"If that's the case, maybe I should check up on him," Kairi offered as she began to proceed to leave the ballroom.
"Kairi! No!" Elsa denied quietly in a panic, "Don't leave me alone..." She then gestured to Axel, "...with him."
Kairi glanced at the spiky redhead, who shrugged innocently, as she sighed, "Look... I'm Sora's not that far away, I'll just check up on him and update you on the situation. I doubt I'll be gone more than a few minutes... but if you would rather tag along..."
"Oooh, a possible first encounter with a bad guy with Blonde," The fire magic user smirked, "This I gotta see."
"Queen Blonde!" Elsa quietly scolded him before shaking her head, "I mean Elsa... Queen Elsa... Ugh!" She took a deep breath, "No... I trust you to check up on Sora, Kairi... just... take Axel with you..."
"You sure?" Kairi blinked, "If that Bounty Hunter shows up, and we're not back, you'll be on your own... you may have to reveal your Keyblade and magic if that happens..."
Elsa nervously glances at her gloves and the people around her. That was a possibility she did not consider. Thanks to her sister and her friends... mostly Sora, she had at least better control over her powers now but... was it enough to overpower a dangerous Bounty Hunter? And was she willing to risk being exposed to what she kept secret since childhood? How would everyone react?
...then again, Sora, Axel, and Kairi weren't afraid to use their own gifts to defend themselves and others from real monsters. Was there even a chance people wouldn't fear her?
No... she wasn't ready. If anything, she probably does more harm than good. She sighed as she shook her head, "That's... probably not a good idea... I suppose I will tolerate Axel at the moment."
"Okay then... I will be right back..." Kairi reassured her as she began to walk off before turning to Axel, "Axel... behave..."
She then ran off to find Sora and his friends from Corona. Elsa took a deep breath as Axel stroked his chin, "Now then... where were we?" He snapped his fingers, "...Tatoonie Blue Milk Ice Cream... nah... that one tends to get everywhere and you look like a neat and tidy woman..."
She sighed to herself. She supposed she could hand him handling Ice Cream flavors she's never heard of...
It didn't take long for Sora to catch up with the others. They raced through the castle halls before noticing a shadow around the corner, as Sora told the others, "Whoa! Whoa! Look!"
The shadow stayed just outside the doors to the ballroom. Sora's eyes narrowed, "He's right over there."
"If Pete alerts the bad guy, this party could end on a very sour note," Eugene stated before taking a deep breath, "Okay, we need a plan... I think I've got one." Everyone minus Rapunzel turned to him, "Okay, I will distract him by getting him into a deep conversation. Then while he's distracted the horse will charge in to throw the frog into the bad guy's pants. While he's freaking out you, Sora, will deal with whatever Heartless he throws at us... then Ex-Blonde will..."
CLUNK
The sudden sound was followed by someone falling to the ground hard. He then frowned, "Rapunzel already knocked him out, didn't she?"
"Yup," Sora replied as the animals nodded in agreement.
"Uh... guys..." Rapunzel called out to the others, as she smiled sheepishly as she lightly brushed her frying pan, "We may have a problem..."
Everyone ran over to her as Eugene blinked, "What's the problem? You already got the... oh..." He turned to the unconscious noncat-like human man lying on the ground, "...that was not our bad guy."
"...oops," Was all Rapunzel had to say to herself before apologizing to the unconscious male, "Sorry about that."
"I don't think he can hear you in slumber land," Sora told the lost Princess, "...I hope he wasn't important."
Just then, the doors to the ballroom opened, and Kairi exited the room as she looked around before spotting Sora, "Oh good... I was wondering where you..." Her eyes widened in horror as she noticed the man lying on the floor, "Oh my gosh! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!"
Everyone then began to smile sheepishly at her as Eugene tried to explain to the youngest Princess of Arendelle, "Uh... funny story about that... TRUE STORY... but... we were surrounded...and we fought them off. My brave sidekick took all the ones on the left while I-"
Kairi gave the former criminal a look of disbelief before turning to her best friend, "Sora, what actually happened here?"
"We were trying to catch Pete and ended up knocking out the wrong guy," Sora confessed.
"That was my fault by the way," Rapunzel added as she hid her frying pan in embarrassment.
"...I was getting to that," Eugene lied.
Kairi knelt to the unconscious man as she panicked, "Oh, no, no, no... do you have any idea who you knocked out?!" Everyone looked down at the unconscious man before turning back to Kairi and shrugged. She exclaimed, "That was Jim Cummings! He was supposed to be singing a song dedicated to the Queen! My sister!"
"Seriously? His last name is Cummings?" Eugene stated in disbelief, "What kind of a name is Cummings?"
"What's wrong with that," Sora shrugged, "At least he actually has a last name!"
"Wait, you mean to tell me that you don't have a last-" The ex-criminal turned to the spiky-haired teenager.
"Guys! What are we going to do?!" Kairi exclaimed, "He's supposed to perform in 5 minutes!"
"Not to mention, we still have a cat problem," Rapunzel reminded everyone.
"Okay, plan B," Flynn rubbed his eyebrows, "Someone needs to distract the crowd while a group of us tries to wake up Mr. Cummings here while the rest of us track down Pete!"
"Right," Sora nodded to everyone, "Who's going to distract the crowd of royals?"
Kairi glanced at her best friend, "Sora... it has to be you..."
"ME?!" Sora blinked in disbelief, "What about Pete?"
"I'll switch places with Axel and inform Elsa of the situation while he helps the rest of you find and capture him," The original and current Princess of Heart stated, "You think of something to keep everyone busy while Mr. Cummings recovers."
"But-"
Sora tried to protest. However, Rapunzel placed a hand on his shoulder, "She's right. We can handle Pete..."
"...and I'll make sure we knock out the right guy this time," Fizherbert quickly added, before giving him a reassuring smile, "You've got this!"
Sora sighed but nodded, "Okay, okay... I'll think of something..."
"I know you will..." Kairi smiled at him, "Just think fast..." With that, she turned back to the ballroom before peeking back out, "And incase you're wondering what Axel looks like... he has long red spiky hair! And if he asks you if you memorized his name... he's your guy! Okay! Bye!"
She then left the group this time.
"Maximus! Frog!" Eugene turned to the two animals, "It's up to you two to wake this man up."
The two animals nodded as the horse grabbed the man by the collar and he dragged him away. Eugene and Rapunzel ran off to find Pete leaving Sora alone to his thoughts...
"Hmm... What about Wookiee Tracks? No, no, no... it's too-"
Kairi could hear Axel continuing to guess the Ice Cream flavors before she cut him off, "Hey, Axel! Take five! We have some friends who track down an old acquaintance of ours! Go help them!"
"What? But-" He tried to argue until Kairi grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the crowd.
"You can ditch the monkey suit if he puts up a fight!" She whispered loudly.
The former Organization Member beamed, "That's all I needed to hear!" He then ran to the exit of the ballroom, "We'll finish this conversation later, your Majesty!"
"Oh thank God," Elsa sighed in relief, "I don't know how much longer I could have stood here while he guesses ice cream flavors I never heard of..." She then wondered, "What's a wookiee anyway?"
"Forget that. We've run into a problem," Kairi warned her sister.
Elsa blinked in concern, "What is it?"
"Sora and some friends he made in Corona were tracking down Pete," Kairi tried to explain to her big sister.
"Wait, isn't he working for the witch Sora warned me of?" Elsa blinked in deep concern, "He's here? In the castle?"
"Yes, but while pursuing him, one of them may have knocked out Mr. Cummings," She explained to the secret Snow Queen.
She gasped in disbelief, "They knocked out...?! Oh no! He's supposed to perform any minute! If he doesn't show, people will get suspicious!"
"Sora's going to keep everyone distracted while the others try to wake him and catch Pete," Kairi tried to reassure him, "Just... help him by approving whatever he needs to do..."
"Not like I have much of a choice..." She muttered back as turned back to the ballroom as the music stopped.
"And now... to honor our new Queen," Kai announced to the crowd, "Jim Cummings."
Everyone cheered until Sora walked into the spot where Cummings was supposed to be. Elsa whispered, "Please don't screw this up..."
Sora glanced around at the crowd as they stared at him in confusion, muttering to themselves. Sora waved to them, "Hey, everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the party..." Everyone stared at him while hearing a few coughs in the ballroom, "Anyways, Mr. Cummings is running a little bit behind schedule so consider me a little prelude to what's to come..."
Everyone turned to the Queen of Arendelle as if asking if this little change in plans was okay. She told everyone, "I'll allow it. This young man has been a close personal friend of my sister Kairi for years, he's the one who brought her home safely. I would like very much to hear what he has to say."
"Thank you, your Majesty," Sora nodded while giving a respectful bow to her. He continued as he saw Axel join Rapunzel and Flynn introducing himself to the couple before they went after Pete. He then proceeded with his speech, "Look... you don't know me, you probably saw me trying to introduce myself while coming through to the gates. You're probably thinking what's so special about this guy that he got in so early..."
"...pretty much, yes," The Duke of Weaslton muttered completely uninterested in him.
"Well, truth be told, I'm no Prince, Duke, King, or politician of any other kind, but... I am a friend," The Keyblade Wielder introduced himself, "To you, Princess Kairi was a long lost member of the royal family of Arendelle... but to me... she was just Kairi..." He turned to her with a gentle smile, "...one of my oldest and best friends I could ever have."
Kairi smiled back at him as he continued, "One of the things that helped establish our connection was we were both uncertain of where we belonged. Where we really came from. I was brought to the islands we grew up as a baby while Kairi arrived and had no memories of her life in Arendelle... which would lead us to share the same dream." He smiled at the memories of them and Riku building the raft together, "We would build a raft together and find out what was outside our islands. I guess you could say we all have that in common."
Everyone turned to the teenager, deeply interested in what he had to say, "Perhaps, you found your purpose of why you were put on this world... or perhaps like me... you're still searching... to find where you truly belong..." He then nodded to the orchestra as they started playing music as he sang, "I have often dreamed~ of a far off place~ Where a great warm welcome would be waiting for me~"
"Where the crowds will cheer~ when they see my face~ and voice keeps saying~ this is where I'm meant to be~" Sora continued to sing as some of the people nodded to the beat of the song, "I'll find my way~ I can go the distance~ I'll be there someday~ if I can be strong~" He looked to the stars outside as he sang, "I know every mile~ will be worth my while~ I would go most anywhere to feel like I~ belong~"
Elsa smiled softly as the song continued, "Down an unknown road~ to embrace my fate~ at this journey's ending are the answers I lack~" Anna and her friend entered the ballroom as well as they turned to Sora's song, "And a thousand years~ will be worth the wait~ It may take a lifetime but I'm never turning back~"
"No, I won't look back~ I can go the distance~" The Keyblade's Chosen One continued to sing, "And I'll stay on track~ No, I won't accept defeat~ It's an uphill slope~ but I won't lose hope~ 'till I go the distance~ and my journey is~ complete~"
Anna smiled at the teenage boy. Then Sora turned to see Pete trying to enter the room when Rapunzel hit him in the back of the head with a frying pan and Axel and Eugene caught his body. The lost Princess gave him a thumbs up as the music picked up, "After all the years of heartache and despair I've known~ I will finally find the answers on my own~"
"I am on my way~ I can go the distance~" Sora declared while everyone in the room was getting into the song, "I don't care how far~ somehow I'll be strong~ I know every mile~ will be worth my while~ I will go most anywhere to find where I~ belong~"
He saw Maximus peek through the door as he showed the Pascal had finally woke up Mr. Cummings up by sticking his tongue in the singer's ear, so Sora quickly concluded the song, "When I go the distance I'll be right~ where~ I~ beeeeeeeeelooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg~"
With that, the music ended as Mr. Cummings entered the room and everyone clapped and cheered for Sora... even if the Duke only did it half-heartedly. He then gestured to the now-conscious man entering the room, "Jim Cummings, everyone!"
They continued to clap as Jim Cummings took Sora's spot and the latter rushed back to where the others were holding Pete...
"Good song," Elsa smiled as she clapped for Sora, "Once again, Sora was able to help us again."
"Trust me," Her little sister smiled to her eldest sister, "You should read some of the stuff he's done on Jiminy's Journal."
"WAHOO! Way to go, Sora!" Anna cheered her totally yet-to-be brother-in-law.
"Who is he by the way?" Hans asked her.
"Oh, that's Sora," The Princess of Arendelle gestured to the teenager who ran out of the ballroom, "Kairi's best friend and true love from the islands she grew up on. You two will be in-laws someday.
"I see," Hans nodded while glancing at the boy, giving him a small glare.
She then took the Prince's hand, "Now, come on, let's go tell my sisters to good news!"
She then pulled him towards her big and little sisters...
"Did you find out anything?" Sora asked the group who had Pete tied to a chair.
"Nice to see ya too," Axel replied sarcastically.
"We were just about to wake him up," Rapunzel smiled as she and Eugene finished tying the villain up. Once they finished, Rapunzel picked up her frying pan, "Okay, Pascal... do you're thing..."
The chameleon nodded as he climbed up the automorphic cat's shoulder and onto his head. He then stuck his tongue in his ear as everyone expected him to wake him up... except nothing happened. Eugene blinked, "Strange... that usually works..."
"I didn't hit him that hard..." Rapunzel blinked in confusion.
Axel lightly smirked, "Guess he never had that great brain function in the first place. This could take a while."
"We might not have that much time, the bad guy could command Heartless or the Bounty Hunter here any moment," Eugene started to panic as Sora crossed his arms as he cracked open the door to see party guests listening to the celebrity guest as he saw Anna make way through the crowd... with the man she was with before.
He then snapped his fingers, "I've got it!" Everyone turned to him as he turned to the former Organization member, "Axel, you're with me. I have an idea who the guy is, and I think I have an idea how to expose him!"
"How?" The Flurry of Dancing Flames asked him.
"Subtly," Sora simply answered.
"Not exactly one of your strongest suits," Lea pointed out.
"Trust me," He told the other Keyblade Wielder, before turning to the others, "Keep trying to wake him up but don't bring him in until I give you the signal."
"We're on it," Rapunzel nodded as Maximus tried smacking him away with his hooves.
Sora then re-entered the ballroom with Axel right behind him as he groaned, "Aw... I thought Pete would put up more of a fight so I could ditch this suit..."
"Oops! Pardon. Sorry. Can we just get around you there? Thank you. Oh, there they are. Elsa! Kairi!"
The two sisters turned to the middle daughter of the family, as Kairi smiled at her, "Hey, Anna. How's your evening been?"
"Oh, great! The best!" Anna smiled in appreciation as she stood before her with Hans by his side. She then looked around, "So... where are the others?"
"Others?" Hans wondered.
That's when Sora and Axel joined them, as the former greeted, "Hey, guys!"
"Oh, hey, I saw your performance there..." Hans smiled at him, "Nice song."
"Thanks..." Sora glanced at him giving a very suspicious look.
"Yeah, you were great out there!" Anna smiled at the teenage boy. Before remembering why she was there, "Oh, uh..." She then gestured to the Prince, "May I present, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles."
Hans bowed to her sisters, "Your Majesty."
Elsa and Kairi glanced at each other before they both a polite but reserved curtsies. As Sora glanced between them, "...and I'm Sora... of the Destiny Islands.." He glanced at the others, "Why are we introducing ourselves like this?"
"It's a royalty thing," Elsa whispered to the teenage boy, "You can just introduce yourself by your first name if you wish." She then asked him, "By the way, did you deal with our uninvited guest."
"He's tied up in the back," He whispered back to her, "...and I have a pretty good idea of who hired the Bounty Hunter. Just leave it to me to expose him."
Queen Elsa nodded in appreciation as Axel stepped in, "Well, good to know... I was going to do that anyway." He turned to the Prince of the Southern Isles, "The name's Axel." He then lightly tapped his head, "Got it memorized?"
"Sure, Axe," Hans nodded, incorrectly pronouncing his name, which sounded a little intentional. Axel looked deeply offended by this.
Anna then cleared her throat, "Anyways," She gestured between him and Sora, "These are some of the friends of Kairi's from the islands she grew up on. Elsa was gracious enough to bring them with her when she finally returned to Arendelle after all this time."
"Ah, yes," Hans nodded as he turned to the Princess of Heart, "I can't imagine what you must have gone through... being pulled to backwater islands in the middle of nowhere far away from your true home."
Sora's eyes narrowed at that statement while Kairi took that comment better than he did, "Oh, it wasn't that bad. The people over there are wonderful and some of my closest friends are from the islands. I don't have a lot of memories of this place but to be honest, the islands feel more like home anyways..." He then told her sisters, "No offense."
"None taken," Anna reassured her.
"That makes complete sense," Elsa reassured her, "And I'm sure that the islands are a lovely place to call home."
"Right..." The Prince played along.
Sora lightly crossed his arms as if he knew something the others didn't. Anna smiled at the group, "Anyways, it's good you're all here because we have some great news."
Kairi's face turned pale, as she pleaded, "Please don't tell me it is what I think it is."
"Um... Elsa... We would like..." Anna could hardly contain her excitement.
Hans added, "... your blessing..."
"... of..." Anna started before they finished together, "... our marriage!"
Kairi proceeded face palmed herself, Axel looked like his jaw was about to hit the ground, Sora looked like his suspicions had been confirmed, and Elsa blinked as if she was worried she heard her wrong, "Marriage...?"
"Yes!" Anna squealed.
Elsa just stared at her, "I'm sorry, I'm confused."
"Didn't you just meet this morning?" Axel asked the second eldest daughter of Arendelle.
"Well, we haven't worked out all the details ourselves." Anna admitted, "We'll need a few days to plan the ceremony. Of course, we'll have soup, roast, and ice cream, and then... Wait. Would we live here?"
"Here?" Elsa asked as Sora turned to Anna in deep concern
Hans nodded, "Absolutely!"
"Anna..." Elsa tried to get her sister's attention.
Anna continued, "Oh, we can invite all twelve of your brothers to stay with us..."
"What? No, no, no, no, no." Elsa shook her head.
Anna just continued, "Of course, we have the room. I don't know. Some of them must..."
Elsa then stated firmly, "Wait. Slow down. No one's brothers are staying here. No one is getting married."
"Wait, what?!" Anna asked in shock.
Elsa then leaned toward her sister, "May I talk to you, please? Alone?"
Anna saw Hans's worried face, so she hooks arms with him, "No. Whatever you have to say, you... you can say to both of us."
Elsa was unsure what to say, before Sora took a step forward, "Anna... you can't marry that man."
"Wha...? Sora?" Anna blinked in confusion.
"Sora's right, Anna," Kairi spoke up on his behalf, "You don't know this man... you've only known him for almost nine hours at best..."
"You can't marry a man you just met," Elsa nodded in agreement.
"You can if it's true love," Anna argued.
"Except it's not true love," Sora decided to warn her, "I know you want it to be after being alone after all this time but... this man wants to kidnap Kairi on behalf of an old enemy of mine in exchange for this Kingdom."
Everyone turned to Sora in disbelief and shock as Axel muttered to himself, "That's your subtly?"
"Wait, what?" Anna blinked in disbelief.
"Okay, Sora, I know you mean well," Queen Elsa turned to the teenage boy, "But those are some pretty strong accusations. Do you have proof of this claim?"
"Earlier this evening I overheard Anna's and Han's duet," Sora began to explain, "Anna was singing about him but Hans was singing about this Kingdom. That was my first clue."
"But he could've been talking about here because I'm here," Anna defended Hans as he nodded in agreement.
"Then it occurred to me that Elsa mentioned that he was the thirteen in line for the throne back home," Sora recalled what the Queen had told him earlier, "There was no way he was ever going to be a King over there. He would have to be through marriage and if you agree to be his wife, he'd only need to kill Elsa to become King."
"Elsa?" Anna turned to her eldest sister in disbelief.
"That was only a theory I had, Sora," The Queen of Arendelle told Sora, "That's not exactly proof..."
"Don't worry, I'm getting there," He reassured the older sister of Anna and Kairi, "As you may know, I am a great judge of character. I can see the best in people even if they can't see it in themselves. It's always been a gift of mine. It's how I can make friends with almost anyone. I can always tell who would make a good friend... or who's dangerous."
"That's not proof either," Anna shook her head.
"No, Sora has a point on that one," Kairi lifted a finger, "From the time you've known him name one person in this castle he hasn't befriended."
Anna lifted a finger to make a counterpoint before really thinking, "Ummm... okay... who hasn't Sora made friends with..." She then brightened up, "Oh, what about...!" She then lowered it, "No, no... you made friends with him yesterday..." She then brightened up, "Well, how about..." She frowned, "No... you made friends with her too..." She then brightened up, "Oh! Elsa! You haven't made friends with Elsa!"
"Uh... about that..." Elsa proceeded to rub her shoulder.
Anna blinked for a moment, before frowning, "When did Sora become friends with you?"
"...I was in trouble... Sora helped..." She sheepishly answered, "...it became official... yesterday..."
"YESTERDAY?!" Anna's eyes widened in disbelief as she turned to Sora, "You meet with Elsa before TODAY?!" Sora confirmed with a nod, as Anna glanced between the two before sighing in defeat, "Okay... point taken..." She then turned to Elsa, "But I would like details later."
"Fair enough... However, it's not exactly solid evidence either," Elsa turned to Sora in concern.
"Oh, but I saved the best for last! The piece of resistance! Definitive proof that Hans is working for Maleficent!" The teenage boy declared before singing, "Dun~ Dun~ DUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN~" He blinked before wondering, "Was that last bit too much?"
"Oh, no, it makes the moment more memorable," Axel shook his head as everyone, Hans including, had to nod and mutter something similar in agreement.
"Okay, what's your proof?" Elsa declared.
Sora smirked as he declared, "I was hanging out with some old friends of mine from Corona... when we spotted Pete."
"Pete? Who's Pete?" Anna blinked in confusion.
"Pete is Maleficent's main lackey," Kairi proceeded to explain, "She sends him on errands all the time, causing trouble wherever he goes."
"We saw him sneaking into the castle not that long ago, but we were able to get the drop on him," Sora revealed as he smirked at Hans, "He told me everything!"
"WHAT?!" Hans exclaimed in disbelief and anger, "No, no, NO! I told that witch that idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut! She never should have recruited such a-" The Prince froze as he realized what he had just done, everyone in the room was looking at him as they heard everything he said. Anna blinked in horror as she took a few steps back, as Sora crossed his arms while smirking, "Oh... shit..."
"He never actually told you anything, did he?" Kairi glanced at her childhood friend with a knowing smile.
"Nope, he's currently unconscious," Sora shook his head, "But to be fair, he would have told me eventually. He never was that bright."
"Huh," Axel stared at him in disbelief, "I guess you can be subtle if you want to."
"Hans..." Anna whispered in a horrified look as she continued to back away from him.
Elsa merely glared at the Prince for trying to take advantage of her sister. Hans sighed before glaring at Sora, "Well played... Keyblade Master."
Suddenly, without a second of delay, he pulled his arm back as darkness swirled around his body and flames appeared from his hand... as he blasted Sora with dark fire knocking him back as Anna cried out, "SORA?!"
Dark armor forged around Hans, while the Duke gasped in disbelief as he hid behind his guards, "Sorcery..."
"Guards!" Elsa called out to her security, "Seize him!"
Without a moment of delay, her guard came running moving their way across the guests as many took steps back to allow the soldiers to do their jobs. However, Hans didn't seem that interested in them, "Stay out of this."
With a mere wave of his hand, darkness shot out and knocked them away. He turned to Sora who had leaped back onto his feet, "I figured I'd have to deal with you sooner than later, Keyblade Master. You and the King's fools." The two opponents circled around each other, as the Prince continued, "I admit I underestimated you, boy. You're far smarter than Maleficent claimed you to be... especially to trick me into revealing my goals in Arendelle so soon, but you are a fool to think you... can keep the Princess of Heart safe from me alone!"
"Keyblade Master? Princess of Heart?" Anna whispered to herself.
"Where's your allies?" The Prince wondered.
"Does it matter?" Sora asked the Prince while remaining on guard for Hans's next attack.
"No," The villain admitted, "I wouldn't have made a difference anyway. You may have delayed my ascension as King, but the results will be the same. The Seven Princesses of Heart will be ours, I will be King of this world one way or another, and the path to Kingdom Hearts will be ours."
"Bold claim," The Keyblade Wielder glared at the Prince, "But I'm not dead yet."
"A problem soon to be remedied," Hans glared at him before snapping his finger as shadows rose from the ground and monsters of every shape and size appeared in the ballroom much to everyone's horror.
The Duke gasped in horror, "Monsters!"
"I almost ended up marrying that man?!" Anna felt like her jaw hit the ground, "I think I might've avoided a major bad decision."
"Yeah... sorry, he's not the man you thought he was," Kairi turned to her with sympathy.
"No, no... thank you for making me see reason," Anna reassured her and everyone else who was against this engagement.
Hans pointed a finger at Sora, "Heartless! Crush him! Make him suffer!"
The monsters, now known to the people as Heartless, charged at Sora. Anna turned to Sora in immediate concern. However, Sora stood his ground as he simply raised his hand as light shined from his hand and a giant key appeared in his hand. With swift movements, he cut down every Heartless that came his way, easily avoiding every attack they attempted before striking them down. Sora aimed his weapon at some of the Heartless that took to the skies and exclaimed, "Deep freeze!"
Ice magic was launched from his key and destroyed the monsters. A large Heartless with swords for arms tried striking him down, but Sora leaped over the attack and landed from behind where he impaled the monster in the back before letting it fall to the ground where it faded away...
"That peasant has magic too?!" The Duke exclaimed in disbelief.
Sora ignored his comment as well as everyone's stares as more Heartless appeared. However, Hans raised his hand, "Back away! I will deal with this meddling brat... myself...!"
Sora smirked as he twirled his Keyblade before going into his battle stance, "Your move!"
"You fool," Hans drew out a sword made of darkness itself, "I've been trained in the art of darkness, by Maleficent!" He held his weapon in both hands, "Attack, Keyblade Master!"
Sora smirked as he switched out of his battle stance to taunt him. Hans's eyes narrowed in anger as he roared to strike him at him as the Keyblade Wielder blocked the attack. Anna blinked in disbelief as she turned to Kairi, "Did you know Sora had magic?"
Kairi smiled and nodded, "It's a long story. I promise to explain everything once this is all over."
Elsa leaned over to the two other experienced Keyblade Weilders, "Should we try to help him?"
"Nah," Axel shook his head, "He's got this loser!"
Hans roared and grunted as Sora blocked and paired all of his attacks before retaliating as he struck his Kingdom Key against his dark armor causing him a gasp in pain. He turned to Sora in anger as the teenager smirked. The Prince of the Southern Isles pressed his attack on the Keyblade Wielder as he once again blocked each strike with relative ease before kicking Hans back and aiming his weapon at him, "FIRE!"
A ball of fire was launched from his Keyblade and struck the Prince, knocking him to the ground. Hans glanced at his Heartless and discreetly ordered his Heartless to engage the hero. Heartless charged in at him but before they could even touch him, a chakram intercepted the incoming new attackers before returning to its owner. Hans turned to the owner in surprise as the chakram turned into a Keyblade. Axel smirked, "Now that's hardly sporting. I thought you Princes were supposed to be honorable in a fight."
"More of you!" The Duke gasped in disbelief.
"Axel? You have magic as well?!" Anna blinked in shock.
"Sorry, your sisters made me swear not to tell ya," The former Organization member apologized as Anna turned to her two sisters, "...well, not until afterward."
The two gave Anna an apologetic look as Sora removed the tie he wore and removed the tuxedo as well. Hans glared at the teenager, "Another Keyblade Wielder, huh? Cleaver, keeping him near your Princess, as a precaution. But it won't be enough to save her!"
Hans charged in to attack Sora, only to be met with massive and quick strikes Hans was unable to avoid. He had no idea how outmatched he was. He tried calling in for more Heartless for aid, but that's when Maximus burst into the room as Eugene and Rapunzel rode him to take out the incoming Heartless. The ex-criminal stated, "We assumed that was the signal! As wild as it was!"
Kairi turned to one of the New Seven Hearts, "Where's Pete?"
As Rapunzel used her frying pan to smack away a Heartless, she smiled at her as she held up a rope, "Don't worry! We still got him!"
More Heartless charged in as she pulled the rope as Pete was pulled in from behind as he let out a yelp and knocked the Heartless from behind. Axel aided the others in Heartless extermination as Sora continued his attack on the Prince. His armor couldn't withstand the power of the Keyblade.
With one final slash, Hans's armor completely shattered as he collapsed to the ground completely defeated. Sora and the others slowly approached him as the Prince drew out a knife before grabbing Kairi and he placed the blade by her throat. Her sisters gasped in horror, "KAIRI!"
"Alright, listen up," Hans glared at the heroes and other Princesses, "I'm taking her to Maleficent, if any of you tries to stop me, she dies!"
Everyone stayed where they were, as Sora made his Keyblade vanish before pointing out, "You're bluffing. I know what you're after and you need all seven of the Princesses to get what you want. If you kill her, even if you do somehow manage to escape us, you won't Maleficent's fury. She'll hunt you down for the rest of your life."
Hans froze at that, seeing Sora's point, as he hesitated about what to do next before Sora asked the same Princess, "So, do you want me to get you out of there, or do you got this?"
"Oh no, I've got this," Kairi smirked before raising her foot and stomping on his with her heel with all of her might. Hans yelped in pain as she then grabbed the arm with the knife and twisted it making him drop his weapon, before finally throwing him over her back and slamming him on the ground. Before could get up, he met the tip of Kairi's own Keyblade. He looked up to her in disbelief, as her smirk remained, "I don't think you've heard but I'm no one's damsel in distress anymore!"
"You too, Kairi?!" Anna blinked in shock, before asking, "Is there anyone else I know that has magic and never told me?!"
Elsa then proceeded to awkwardly look up in the air and whistle a catchy tune to herself. The Duke continued to hide under his bodyguards, "I knew there was something dubious going on here."
"Since when did you have a Keyblade?!" Hans blinked in disbelief as everyone surrounded the defeated Prince. He then shook his head, "No matter, you may have defeated me and kept her safe another day... but we have the other Princesses and you can't keep her safe forever as we-"
"Wait..." Sora blinked in confusion, feeling something was off by all of this.
"What is it?" Elsa turned to her youngest sister's childhood friend.
After a moment, Sora turned back to the Prince, "Correct me if I'm wrong here, but your other allies wouldn't have to be Hades, Jafar, Ursula, Oogie Boogie, and Captain Hook, would they?"
Hans turned to Sora in confusion, "How do you know about them?"
He then turned Kairi and Axel, who were also confused by this, as the remaining Princess of Heart looked down at the Prince, "Uh... and to further ask, the other Princesses other than me are Alice, Jasmine, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora?"
"What... how do you all know about this?" Hans was completely dumbfounded.
"Uh... is there something going on that we don't know?" Elsa couldn't help but wonder.
"Yeah... I already stopped them," Sora admitted much to Hans's shock, "They're either dead or lying low and the Princesses are all safe!"
"Wha...?" Hans blinked in disbelief, "No! No! You're lying!"
"No, it's true, Sora stopped them and rescued the others years ago," Kairi replied on Sora's behalf while her weapon was still trained on him, "In fact, most of us have passed on our power, I'm the only one who maintained that status as a Princess of Heart."
"Huh?!" Hans blinked in disbelief, "Years?!"
"Wait, you're telling us, you've been spending all this time here waiting for Kairi to come back," Axel approached the Prince, "...and you didn't think once why no one ever contacted you? Even after when they did have Kairi?"
Hans stared at him in disbelief and after a long silent pause, Axel snorted as he, Sora, and Eugene burst out laughing. Maximus and Pascal joined them soon after in their form of laughter. Eugene cracked up, "THEY FORGOT ALL ABOUT YOU! HA HA HA HA!"
"He he he! You've been waiting all this time for nothing!" Sora chuckled as he clutched his chest.
As their laughter continued, the girls tried to hold back their own laughter, as Hans looked desperate, "No, there has to be some sort of mistake! They couldn't have forgotten all about me! Maleficent personally recruited me!"
"So, is that why you hired that Bounty Hunter?" Elsa accused after she stopped giggling and went back to glaring at him, "Why you had him kill one of my guards? Because you got tired of waiting?"
Hans looked even more confused, "What Bounty Hunter?"
Everyone stopped laughing as Axel gave him a weird look, "Uh... you know that Mandalorian Bounty Hunter you hired? Broke in here a few nights back to take a sneak peek at the guest list? Ring any bells?"
"Mando what now?" The Prince of the Southern Isles blinked even further, "I never hired a Bounty Hunter of any kind..."
"Oh, what makes you think we'll ever believe you," Anna glared at her now ex-fiancé, "YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME! YOU JUST GOING TO USE ME TO SELL OUT MY FAMILY FOR YOUR OWN SELFISH-"
"Uh... Anna...?" Kairi blinked as she turned to her sister, "I think he might be telling the truth on this one."
"Wait, so if Hans didn't hire this Bounty Hunter," Elsa blinked in shock, "...then who did?"
After a long silence, they could hear Pete groan in pain, "Oh... my aching head..."
"Well, I guess we can always ask our overweight cat," Eugene gestured to the now somewhat conscious Pete.
Sora and Axel pulled the chair he was tied in on its feet as the bully shook his head as he came to, "Wha... What happened? Where am I?"
He then noticed he was surrounded by both people unfamiliar to him and some very familiar to him. Sora crossed his arms, "Pete..."
"You?!" Pete's eyes widened before sighing in relief, "Oh, thank goodness, I found ya..."
"Thank goodness?" Everyone repeated in confusion.
That was very unlike Pete, even those who just met the bully were confused by this statement. Rapunzel pulled him towards her as she threatened him with her frying pan, "Okay, Pete, listen up! We need answers and you're going to tell us everything you kno-"
Suddenly, Hans got back up and pulled Pete away from her and towards him, "Pete! What the Hell?!"
"Oh, hey, Hans! Say... Where have you been all this time?!" Pete greeted with a cheerful voice.
"Where have I been?!" The Prince blinked in disbelief, "Where the Hell have you been?! I've been here trying to find the last Princess of Heart only to find out there were more Keyblade Wielders, the plan failed, and most of the Princesses gave up their power! Why did you never inform me about what happened?!"
Pete blinked in confusion, "You don't know?" He hummed to himself, "That can't be right. I'm sure I got all of ya." He nodded, "I even made a checklist." He struggled with the ropes as he tried going for his pocket, "Uh... could you go through my pocket? I can't reach it with my arms tied up."
Hans groaned as he went through the thug's pocket, before pulling out the list, and showing it to him as the bully scanned through it, "Now, let's see... Hades... Jafar... Ursula... Scar... Barbossa... Ah! There's your name! I must have had my thumb on it the whole time." He laughed sheepishly, "My bad!"
The Prince of the Southern Isles was completely dumbfounded, "Your... bad..." He then started to strangle the villain, "I OUTTA KILL YOU!"
Before Hans could, Sora pushed him aside, as he was caught by the guards, "That's enough. You can settle your history behind bars." He then faced Pete, "We need answers. Pete. What do you know about a Bounty Hunter? And what are you even doing here if it's not to help Hans?"
"I don't know nothing about a Bounty Hunter!" Pete admitted, "I was looking for you! Listen! You've gotta help me!"
"HELP YOU?!" Everyone blinked even more confused.
"Okay," Kairi approached him in concern, "What happened? Does this have anything to do with the Black Box?"
"Well... kinda..." The bully from Disney Castle admitted, "Ya see, we found the box, but someone else got to it first. One of those Organization folk..."
"But the Organization fell with Xehanort," Axel shook his head, "It couldn't have been them."
"Well, he was dressed like one of them," The anamorphic cat answered, "And he wasn't alone either. So Maleficent figured we were going to need help getting it from them. So, we did some recruiting and we found some folk... a whole civilization dedicated to the darkness."
"Oh, come on there's no such thing," Sora shook his head in disbelief.
Pete nodded desperately, "But there is, we told them everything, but they betrayed, and well... they took her..."
"They took who?" Kairi asked in concern.
"Maleficent! She captured Maleficent!" Pete revealed much to their shock. Maleficent? Captured? What kind of civilization, a dark one for that matter, could be capable of containing the Mistress of all Evil? He continued, "I couldn't believe it. Their boss took control of the Heartless from right under us and then took her like it was no issue... I barely escaped with my own life!"
"...and you want me to save her?" Sora tilted his head in confusion, "I don't even know who you turned to..."
"Well, you can't miss them, they've been conquering worlds for ages, they had a bunch of soldiers in white armor and fancy guns..." Pete tried to explain when Axel went pale.
Kairi turned to him, "Axel, what's wrong?"
"No... you didn't..." Axel muttered in pure horror before pulling Pete towards him, "Out of all the bad guys you could have turned to! YOu guys were dumb enough to turn to the EMPIRE for help?! And you told them EVERYTHING?!"
"Well, maybe not... everything..." Pete smiled sheepishly, "It's why they needed Maleficent, you know... kinda felt bad for leaving her though... those screams coming from her sounded awful..."
The former Organization member turned even paler, as he dropped Pete on the floor causing the villain to grunt in pain, "What was that for...?"
"Axel? What's he talking about?" Sora blinked in confusion as everyone turned to the fiery Keyblade Wielder, "What is this Empire, he's talking about?"
Kairi was even more concerned when he said nothing, "Axel... tell us what's wrong..."
Axel turned to his GummiPhone and tried making a call, showing the signal was still jammed. He whispered in horror, "It's not the Bounty Hunter who's been jamming us..." He turned to the others, "We need to get to the GummiShip! Cram whoever we can onto and get out of here! NOW!"
"Axel?!" Sora and Kairi blinked in shock.
The former stated, "What about the World Order?"
"FORGET THE WORLD ORDER!" Axel began to panic, very uncharacteristic of him, "The Empire ain't going to give two shits about it! They're probably orbiting the world as we speak!"
"Wait!" Pete lifted his head, "You mean to tell me THEY'RE ALREADY HERE?!" He then tried moving away from the group as Corridor of Darkness opened up, "I'm outta here! I'll find ya if you survive!"
Sora tried going after the tied-up Pete, "Wait!" However, he was already too late as Pete already went through. Sora groaned in frustration, "He got away again!" He shook his head, "Just what is going on?"
"Well, I for one don't know and I don't care," The Duke of Weaselton exclaimed getting everyone's attention, "I know things were perfectly normal until you monsters showed up!"
"Uh, didn't they save us from the monster?" Someone commented.
"An obvious ruse," The Duke muttered in anger, "One I will not fall for!" He then ordered the guards, "Kill them all!"
The thugs were about to move in...
...only shot down within seconds, everyone blinked in shock as everyone turned towards the shooter, who descended upon the heroes using a jetpack. He was armored and armed to the teeth. Sora glared at him as he summoned his Keyblade, "The Bounty Hunter!"
"So you know about me?" The Bounty Hunter asked with a deep cold voice, "Just well, I know about all of you as well. My employer informed me all about the Guardians of Light as well as my targets..."
"Uh... targets...?" Anna blinked in concern, "Who... who are you talking about?"
The Bounty Hunter used his free hand to pull out a puck of holographic images of Kairi, Rapunzel, Elsa, and Anna appearing in that order repeatedly, "Isn't it obvious..."
"US?!" Elsa and Anna exclaimed in horror.
"Wait... does that mean... Elsa and Anna are also apart of the New Seven Hearts," Sora whispered to the original Princess of Heart.
Kairi looked also dumbfounded as she turned her Keyblade towards the Bounty Hunter. She then gave a brave face, "If you think we'll ever go with you willing then you've got another thing coming!"
Sora, Rapunzel, Eugene, Maximus, and the Arendellian Soldiers all turned their weapons on the Bounty Hunter as the Duke was dumbfounded this Bounty Hunter killed his guards with very minimum effort. Axel, however, pulled Sora and Kairi back, "I'm not saying we can't take him! But we've got bigger issues to worry about!" He turned to Kairi, "We need to get you, your sisters, and your cousin to Master Yen Sid, before they show up!"
"You mean... the Empire you and Pete keep talking about," Kairi tilted her head in confusion.
"Just what are you even talking about," Elsa muttered to the former Nobody, "I've never seen you like this. What are you so afraid of?"
"Not what..." Axel shook his head, "...who!"
Sora was about to say something as Hans got onto his feet, as he exclaimed, "Listen! I have had very bad evening but I know this! With Maleficent gone and Pete running with a tail between his legs... I control the Heartless! If Kingdom Hearts is going to belong to anyone! It should belong to me!" He snapped his fingers as even more Heartless showed up, "Heartless! Get him!"
However, the Heartless remained where they stood, he blinked, "Heartless? What are you waiting for? Consume his heart!" The Heartless didn't dare move from their spots, he blinked in confusion, "Why won't they listen?"
"You don't get it? The Heartless obey whoever's the strongest," The Mandalorian answered before turning to the Guardians, "Your firey friend had good advice... you should've run... not that it matters... he's here..."
Elsa looked like she was almost afraid to ask, "Who?"
Suddenly, everyone could hear a commotion coming just outside the larger doors, screams going through the castle. Axel's eyes widened in horror as the massive doors opened on their own and standing just outside the door room was some sort of black knight in armor unlike anyone had seen before. Everyone felt chills going down their spines as they heard the newcomer's deep breathing.
Axel whispered in realization and horror, "Darth Vader..."
Sora turned to Axel for a brief moment before back to the new villain as he marched into the ballroom with soldiers dressed in white marching just behind him. This Darth Vader looked tough, but Sora had taken on the worst of the worst and come on top! With his friends by his side, he wasn't going to back down now. He told the others, "We can take him together..."
"Yeah," Kairi nodded in agreement.
Elsa looked uncertain but she then put on a brave face as she slowly removed the gloves from her hands and summoned her own Keyblade to Anna's shock, "Elsa?"
Her eyes narrowed, "Very well then... get this Vader out of my home!"
"No! Don't!" Axel tried to warn them even as they charged in. The soldiers looked like they were ready to shoot but Vader silently ordered to keep back before raising his own hand as an invisible force pushed everyone flying back...
Oh, man! This was a long one! I almost considered stopping the chapter sooner but I just kept going! Things definitely took a turn from the Frozen plot! Sora and the others stopped Hans (who thought he was still in the KH1 plot) but then things took a turn for the worst with the appearance of Boba Fett, who killed the Duke's guards, Pete made a run for it, and now Vader's here for the Princesses and he's knocked everyone away with ease.
I bet there are so many questions going through your heads. Who is the mysterious woman helping Sora? How does Axel know Vader and the Empire? What happened to Maleficent? And how can our heroes survive the attack of the Dark Lord? Can Riku's sudden appearance turn the tide? Stay tuned!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Be sure to leave a review! Also, if you haven't already, be sure to leave a follow and fav. as well. See ya real soon!