And now, the final chapter for the Kingdom of Corona.
Enjoy!
The tower:
"There. It never happened," Gothel said as she pulled the last flower out of Rapunzel's now-unbraided hair. They were sitting on Rapunzel's bed, the girl looking downcast. Gothel's hair was once again completely black, free of gray strands, and her skin was perfect as she had made Rapunzel sing the healing incantation to restore her youth as soon as they had returned.
Gothel stood up and started to leave the bedroom. "Now, wash up for dinner. I'm making hazelnut soup," she said in a sing-song voice. She stopped when Rapunzel did not respond, still lost in her own self-pity. "I really did try, Rapunzel. I tried to warn you what was out there. The world is dark, and selfish, and cruel. If it finds even the slightest ray of sunshine, it destroys it." she said as she closed the curtains, leaving Rapunzel alone.
Rapunzel sat silently, reflecting on how all of her hopes of a wonderful world, great friends, and being with Eugene were dashed painfully. She unfolded her crumpled-up handkerchief and stared somberly at the sun design. Pascal did what he could to comfort her. She let herself fall backward onto her bed and let out a sigh.
She stared up at her paintings on the walls and ceiling. But as she gazed at her artwork, she noticed some small details that she had hardly considered beforehand. She looked at the symbol on the handkerchief again, then back at her paintings.
Hidden within many of the designs, she saw that she had painted in the exact shape of the kingdom's sun crest. And this was not just a rare coincidence; no, there were many of them in her room alone. As she recognized them, they appeared to glow in her mind's eye, as she compared the seven-pointed curved star on the handkerchief to the seven-pointed curved stars hidden all over her bedroom.
As she came to this realization, a memory bubbled to the surface.
The shape of the sun crest hanging above her head at the lowest point of a mobile that hung over an infant's crib. She looked over to her right and saw a bearded man and a woman with long brown hair.
She saw the same man and woman depicted in the mosaic in the town square.
She saw her reflection, putting the crown on her head. It fit perfectly.
Rapunzel gasped as she lost her footing. She stumbled backwards, knocking over the stool and disrupting the mirror at her vanity table. She used the table to support herself as she caught her breath. She could not believe what she had just seen. What she had just found out about herself.
Downtown:
No sooner did the group find Maximus after splitting up, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Minnie, Daisy, Max, Oswald, Ortensia, Roxas, Lea, Naminé, Xion, Isa, Terra, Aqua, Ven, and Myde walked down with said horse to the place where Sora, Donald, and Goofy had gone down earlier.
"Any sign of them?" asked Mickey.
"Not yet." said Ven.
"Wait! There they are!" called Xion as she pointed ahead.
Everyone looked and gasped when they saw what Xion was pointing at.
There, Sora, Donald, and Goofy laid unconscious on the ground after their encounter with Marluxia.
"Sora! Donald! Goofy!" cried Riku as they ran over to them.
"What happened to them?!" Kairi asked in worry as she held Sora up.
"Did someone knock them out?" asked Daisy as she held Donald up.
Isa narrowed his eyes.
"Isa? What's up?" asked Lea.
"I can sense something familiar." Isa replied. "Marluxia was here." he said, taking everyone aback.
"What was Marly doing here?" asked Myde, confused.
"No idea." said Isa.
"But how did he do this?" asked Terra.
"It's a sleeping spell." said Isa. "Though I shouldn't be too surprised. Marluxia was able to master it almost a year after he joined the first Organization."
"Then how do we wake them up?" asked Max as he and Roxas held Goofy. "They're out like a light."
Then, Riku had an idea. "I got it. Lay them down." he instructed.
"Ok…?" Roxas said in confusion as he, Kairi, Max, and Daisy set Sora, Donald, and Goofy down.
Riku turned to Maximus and smirked. "Max, give 'em a wash."
"Oh god." Kairi muttered, giggling.
Maximus nodded as he kneeled down and licked the trio across their faces, getting a few snickers from everyone. That immediately woke the three up.
"Whoa!" Sora exclaimed. "What happened?!"
"Oh thank god you're awake!" Kairi exclaimed as she hugged Sora. Sora was taken aback, but returned it with a smile.
"Did I fall asleep in my cereal again?" Donald mumbled.
"I don't think so." said Goofy, blinking.
"Actually, Marluxia knocked you out with a spell." said Lea as they helped the trio up.
"Oh yeah! I remember now!" said Sora. Then another thought occurred to him. "Oh right! We know something about-!"
"Rapunzel?" asked Aqua. "We know. Riku, Kairi, Roxas, and Naminé told us when we went to find Maximus."
"Which means we gotta save Rapunzel from that kidnapper!" Donald said determinedly.
"I'm afraid that's gonna have to wait." said Minnie, taking the trio aback.
"Why's that?" asked Goofy.
"We found out that the reason Eugene was screaming was because the guards caught him on a boat with the missing crown." said Mickey. "But it looked like Eugene was put on it intentionally."
"Makes sense." said Sora. "After everything that's happened, and given how close he and Rapunzel have gotten during this whole adventure, I don't think Eugene would trade Rapunzel for anything."
"What we do know is that he's locked up." added Ven, to the trio's horror.
"That's horrible!" exclaimed Donald. "We gotta rescue him!"
"I thought you said not all thieves are redeemable." Oswald said with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah…" Donald said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But Eugene has changed."
"And if he participated in bringing Rapunzel home, then he could have his name cleared from any previous crimes." added Goofy.
"That's what we were thinking." said Terra.
Sora then looked determined. "We gotta busy Eugene out of jail!"
"I'm with you!" said Kairi. "Whether it's breaking the law or not, this is for a good reason."
"A solid good reason." Naminé said in agreement.
"Normally, we're against jailbreaks like this," said Mickey as he gestured to himself and Minnie. "But this is an exception."
"Definitely!" nodded Minnie.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Uh, you guys seem to be missing something." said Lea.
"And what's that?" asked Ven as they faced the pyro.
"Saying that you're gonna break someone out of the slammer is one thing." said Lea. "But actually doing it is a whole other matter. I mean, this jail is in a castle. With a whole bunch of guards, I might add."
"You do have a point Lea." nodded Sora. "But I think if we plan carefully, we can pull it off. I mean, Aladdin did when he broke Cassim and Iago out of the dungeon."
"That's true." nodded Isa. "But that was because Aladdin was a street-smart thief who stole to survive. Only some of us have that kind of experience.
"He's right." nodded Lea. "Take it from two guys who've broken into the castle at Radiant Garden numerous times before we became Nobodies. It's not easy. But what am I saying? Most of us are pros at stealth and sneaking around while the rest are good at escaping. The best. I'm sure we can make it out of the castle. Of course, lest we forget, once we're out the front door, we're still in the middle of the fucking desert!" (1)
Mickey pondered what Lea and Isa said. "They do have a good point." he told his friends. "This castle is heavily guarded. And those guards do seem like professionals."
Everyone pondered on what they should do to break Eugene out. Even Maximus pondered as well, despite having to try to catch the thief for quite some time.
"We're gonna need some help for this particular jailbreak." said Ortensia.
Sora snapped his fingers as an idea flew into his head. "And I know just the people to help!" he declared. "C'mon!"
Sora then ran off as everyone watched in bewilderment.
"Sora where are you going?!" called Goofy.
"Just trust me!" Sora called back.
Shrugging, everyone ran after Sora.
The castle dungeon:
Eugene paced back and forth in a jail cell, trying to think of a plan to escape. He knew he had to find the others so they could rescue Rapunzel. He would need their help to deal with any Heartless and Nobodies that might try to stop him since they were experts at fighting them. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the cell door open.
He turned and saw the Captain of the Guards, backed up by two more.
"Let's get this over with Rider." he said.
"Where are we going?" Eugene asked.
The captain just stared, his expression unchanged. That was enough for Eugene to understand as he brought his hand to his neck. "Oh…" he said quietly.
Soon, Eugene was led down the hall in handcuffs. But as he was being led to his fate, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. There, sitting in another cell, were the Stabbington brothers sitting in a cell. Seeing them made Eugene overcome with anger. He then shoved one of the guards into a cell door and then head butted the other. He then hopped over his handcuffs so they were in front of him. He reached into the cell, grabbed Sideburns by his shirt and slammed him against the bars.
"How did you know about her?! Tell me now!" he shouted in rage.
"It wasn't us! It was the old lady!" Sideburns admitted into fear.
"Old lady…" Eugene murmured before realization hit him. But before he could do anything, the guards grabbed onto him and tried to restrain him.
"Wait! No! You don't understand! She's in trouble!" he shouted.
The tower:
"Rapunzel?" Gothel called from downstairs. She had heard a noise from Rapunzel's room and went to see what was going on. "Rapunzel, what's going on up there? Are you all right?"
Rapunzel stepped out of her room, staring at nothing. "I'm the lost princess..." she said to herself under her breath.
Gothel rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Please speak up, Rapunzel. You know how I hate the mumbling." she told her.
"I am the lost princess. Aren't I?" Rapunzel firmly asked Gothel.
Gothel could only stare in shock.
Anger bubbled inside Rapunzel. "Did I mumble, Mother? Or should I even call you that?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes.
Gothel regained her composure and tried to dismiss her claims. "Oh, Rapunzel! Do you even hear yourself? Why would you ask such a ridiculous question?" she asked as she moved in for a hug, but Rapunzel was having none of it.
"It was you! It was all you!" she snapped.
Gothel began to glare at her sternly. "Everything I did was to protect you," she claimed.
Angrily, Rapunzel shoved her way past Gothel, not believing her in the slightest. "I've spent my entire life hiding from people who would use me for my power." she muttered as she walked down the stairs.
"Rapunzel!" Gothel called.
"When I should have been hiding from YOU!" Rapunzel snapped back.
"Where will you go? He won't be there for you." Gothel sneered.
Rapunzel quickly realized that Eugene's "betrayal" was another sham. "What did you do to him?"
"That criminal is to be hanged for his crimes," Gothel declared without empathy or remorse.
Rapunzel gasped. "No…"
"Now, now. It's all right," she said in a soft voice. "Listen to me. All of this is as it should be."
She went to pat Rapunzel on the head, but Rapunzel grabbed her wrist. "No! You were wrong about the world." she snapped as her grip tightened, and Gothel struggled to try to escape. "And you were wrong about me! And I will never let you use my hair again!"
Rapunzel then shoved Gothel back, making her stumble into her mirror, knocking it over and shattering it. Rapunzel gave her one last defiant look before turning to walk away.
"You want me to be the bad guy?" Gothel muttered to herself as an aura of darkness seeped around her. "Fine. Now I'm the bad guy."
The castle:
Eugene continued to struggle against the guards, who had put all their strength into holding him still to stop him. Eugene sighed in defeat as he realized he wouldn't be able to save Rapunzel. His despair then turned into confusion when he spotted a small object sitting in an alcove in the wall. It was… a ceramic unicorn?
Suddenly, the front door slammed shut. The other doors closed, complete trapping Eugene, the Captain, and the guards. The keyhole on the door in front of them flashed a white glow, making the guard realize it had been locked.
"What's this?" the captain shouted in annoyance. He started banging on the door. "Open up!"
A slot at eye level on the door slid open and the captain saw Shorty.
"What's the password?" he asked before quickly closing the door.
"What?" the captain asked in confusion.
The slot slid open again. "Nope." said Shorty as he closed it again.
"Open this door!" the captain demanded.
"Not even close!" Shorty said as he closed the door again.
"You have three seconds!" the captain yelled. "One!"
Suddenly, a hook reached down from the ceiling and grabbed the guard on Eugene's left.
"Two!"
The side door opened and a large hand pulled the other guard inside but he gave then shut the door again.
"Three…"
The captain turned around to see what was going on, only to see just Eugene standing there, who waved with a smirk. Then, the door opened again and Attila knocked the captain unconscious with the frying pan.
"Frying pans? Who knew right?" Eugene grinned. He never thought he'd be happy to see any of the pub thugs.
Just then, the door on the opposite end of the hall was smashed open and four guards came running towards them. Vladimir then opened the side door and allowed Eugene and Attila to pass through.
The guards chased after them, but were stopped when they saw Ulf the mime performing an act right in front of them. First, he acted like he was in a box, they glanced down the hall to the right. The guards followed his gaze and saw Vladimir charging straight towards them with a battle cry. The guards screamed as the big thug plowed right through them in one go, knocking them out. Ulf gave the readers a faux-shocked Aside Glance.
Eugene and Atilla made it to the courtyard, but saw dozens of guards coming down from the other direction. Hook-Hand then picked up,Eugene and put him next to him.
"Head down." he instructed.
"Head down." Eugene nodded as he put his head down.
"Arms in." said Hook-Hand.
"Arms in." nodded Eugene as he did so.
"Knees apart." said Hook-Hand.
"Knees apart." nodded Wuegen before doing a double-take. "Knees apart?"
Eugene then saw that he was standing on a cart that was imbalanced and tiled down like a seesaw. Vladimir jumped down from the upper level on the raised section, launching Eugene into the air and over the wall.
Eugene screamed in terror as he flew, flipping 360° about his side axis. He only stopped screaming when he landed, then realized that he was sitting perfectly in Maximus' saddle.
"Max you brought them here?" Eugene asked in wonder.
Maximus just smiled.
"Thank you." Eugene said. "No really. Thank you. I feel this whole time, we've just been misunderstanding one another."
Maximus have him a deadpanned look that said, "Really? Right now?"
"Yeah. You're right. We should go." Eugene said awkwardly.
Maximus charged as three guards came through the door behind them and started firing crossbow bolts. But Maximus was able to dodge them just as more guards came by. Maximus jumped off the wall and landed on a roof, sliding down it until he landed on the streets.
There, standing amongst the two were Sora and the world-travelers.
"Good work Maximus." Sora said proudly as he petted the horse.
"You guys had a hand in this too?" asked Eugene.
"We sure did! A-hyuck!" nodded Goofy.
"We knew that sneaking into the castle wouldn't be easy. But some tough guys like those thugs would be able to pull off a jailbreak." said Lea.
"We stayed in town to keep the Heartless at bay." said Sora. "Though, actually it was originally half of us that went with Maximus to recruit the guys at the Snuggly Duckling while the rest of us kept an eye on things."
"And he did most of the work recruiting those guys." added Ven.
"Really? How'd he do that?" Eugene asked, curious.
Flashback:
At the Snuggly Duckling, the thugs were doing their own thing when Maximus burst through the doors, followed by Riku, Mickey, Terra, Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Lea, Oswald, and Ortensia.
"Euegne's in trouble!" Mickey said urgently.
"Who's Eugene?" asked Big Nose.
Riku, Terra, and Lea facepalmed.
"Right, they only know him as Flynn." grunted Riku.
"Is something going on?" asked Hook-Hand.
Ulf approached the group curiously. Maximus started at him seriously and snorted. Ulf posed as if he gasped, though he didn't make a sound. He turned around to the rest of the thugs and began to perform a series of gestures that left the ten world-travelers and horse confused.
"What on earth is he doing?" asked Terra.
"You got me." shrugged Oswald.
"What?! Flynn's been arrested?!" Hook-Hand gasped.
"Set to fall by Rapunzel's wicked kidnapper?" Big Nose continued.
"And a guy in black with pink hair?" added, of all people, Shorty.
"At this rate, he'll be hanged by noon. We have to save him." Vladimir finished.
Riku, Terra, Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Lea, Naminé, Mickey, Oswald, and Ortenisa's jaws dropped in shock.
Present:
"We'll tell you about it later." said Sora. "Right now, we gotta save Rapunzel."
"Right!" said Eugene before he realized something. "Wait, don't you guys need a lift?"
"We'll ride with ya." said Goofy as he, Donald, and Roxas hopped on board Maximus.
Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Aqua, Ven, Terra, and Lea summoned their gliders. Naminé rode with Sora, Minnie rode with Mickey, Daisy rode with Kairi, Max rode with Riku, Isa rode with Lea, Myde rode with Terra, Xion rode with Ven, and Oswald and Ortensia rode with Aqua.
"Cool rides." commented Eugene.
"Thanks." smiled Aqua. "Now let's go!"
With that said, Sora and his team flew off with Donald, Goofy, Roxas, and Eugene riding Maximus as he ran alongside them.
Soon, they made it to the outskirts of town and made their way into the forest. But no sooner did they arrive, several Heartless spawned. While they were mostly Shadows and Stealth Soldiers, one stood out from the rest. It looked like a horse Heartless attached to a two-wheeled carriage.
"Heartless!" exclaimed Sora as they all skidded to a stop.
Gliders were also dismissed as everyone summoned their signature weapons. Eugene hopped off Maximus and drew the frying pan and cut lace.
"Maximus, keep an eye out for any guards!" said Mickey.
Maximus smirked in reply as he ran to the bridge.
"I'll take the Chaos Carriage." said Sora as he stood in front of the new Heartless.
"Nice name." nodded Riku as he stood alongside Sora. "Mind if I join?"
Sora smiled. "Sure."
"The rest of us will handle these little pests." said Minnie, gripping her Keyblade.
"Right." nodded Sora.
While the rest of the world-travelers and Eugene handled the other Heartless, Sora and Riku got ready to fight the Chaos Carriage.
"Just like old times?" Sora smirked.
Riku chuckled. "Definitely."
(Mad Treant Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep plays)
Mission: Defeat the Chaos Carriage
Playable Characters:
Sora
Riku
The Chaos Carriage took to the air Sora ran towards it and fired several Firaga spells. The Heartless only took minimal damage as it flew around the two Keyblade wielders, trying to strike them. Riku leaped over it and flew towards him before he struck it with a Dark Firaga spell. As the Heartless took to the air, Sora jumped after it and slashed it several times before he fired Pulse Tracer at it. The Chaos Carriage flew into the ground, and bashed into Sora and Riku, sending them flying back. Luckily, they were able to land on their feet as Riku fired Blizzaga at the Heartless. Sora then used Zero Graviga against the Heartless, allowing Riku to strike it with a Mega Flare spell. The Chaos Carriage zoomed towards them again, prompting the two to strike it with Firaga spells each.
The Chaos Carriage took to the air again and flew at a fast pace right over Sora and Riku, knocking the two over onto their backs. They quickly got back up and Sora fired Wateraga against the Heartless. Riku then jumped toward it and spun around with Braveheart sticking out, slashing it multiple times before landing. The Chaos Carriage smelled against the ground, making Sora and Riku stagger a bit as they tried to regain their balance. But as they did, the Chaos Carriage rammed right into them, knocking them into a tree. Sora and Riku quickly recovered and charged back at the Heartless, firing orbs of light at the creature of darkness. The Chaos Carriage took to the skies again as it zoomed down towards the two, but Riku used a barrier spell to protect themselves as Sora used Transcendence to knock it away.
"Time to show this punk what we're made of." declared Riku.
"I couldn't agree more." nodded Sora, smirking.
They leaped up into the air and unleashed a flurry of slices and slashes at the Chaos Carriage.
"Is that all you got?!" taunted Riku.
"Let's go!" shouted Sora.
They rapidly stabbed it before unleashing a barrage of dark orbs from their palms at the Heartless.
"I'll take over!" shouted Riku.
They coated their Keyblades in a red and blue aura, enlarging them and slicing the Chaos Carriage and then they unleashed 13 blades, wrecking it through a spinning slash attack. They got ready for the finale.
"Give me strength!" yelled Sora.
"You'll lose it all!" Riku said to their enemies.
They tossed Kingdom Key and Braveheart in the air. The two Keyblades floated directly opposite of each other before being surrounded in large red and dark blue orbs of light that drew in the Chaos Carriage, completely obliterating it.
(Mad Treant Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep ends)
Sora and Riku landed on the ground and dismissed their weapons just as everyone else arrived.
"Any more Heartless?" asked Sora.
"They're gone." said Oswald.
"Good." nodded Riku. "C'mon, we gotta move."
Gliders were summoned again and Eugene, Donald, Goofy, and Roxas hopped on Maximus and they took off.
From a distance, Shellgoose and Felldrake were watching.
"Well that didn't work out now did it?" Shellgoose mused.
"Ya think?!" Felldrake snapped as he bashed his descendant on the forehead, much to his annoyance. "Enough if this! Come on ya moron, we'll take 'em on ourselves!"
"You really think we can handle that whole group?" asked Shellgoose, a little nervous.
"You idiot, we have backup, remember?!" Felldrake said in annoyance.
"Oh. Right…" Shellgoose nodded as he grinned maliciously.
Down in the forest, everyone continued their journey to the tower to save Rapunzel. Along the way, Eugene spoke up.
"So I know that the old lady's bad news and that she set me up, but why would she lie to Rapunzel after all these years and go to such twisted measures to get her back?"
"Because she kidnapped Rapunzel when she was a baby." answered Terra.
Eugene's eyes widened in shock. "Rapunzel's the lost princess!" he exclaimed.
"Which is why we have to get her home and away from that witch!" nodded Naminé.
"You're not going anywhere!" came a deep voice.
Suddenly, a purple blast of energy stopped them in their path.
"What was that?!" gasped Eugene.
"I think I know…" said Daisy as she narrowed her eyes.
Suddenly, Felldrake and Shellgoose teleported in.
"Who're those guys?" asked Euegene.
"A couple of dumbasses." replied Lea.
"Though, one more so than the other." Donald added, making him and the team snicker.
"Despite my hatred for that feathered nuisance, he does have a point." Felldrake snickered.
Shellgoose seethed in annoyance.
"Who's side are you on?!" he exclaimed.
"The correct side ya maron!" Felldrake said indignantly as he bonked Shellgoose on the head.
"What are you two doing here?" demanded Sora.
"Isn't it obvious? We're here to stop you from reaching the princess." Shellgoose said smugly.
"Only the two of you?" Myde scoffed.
"Don't underestimate us." warned Felldrake. "I may be trapped in a staff, but my power in any individual is pretty powerful."
"We've defeated you before!" said Donald. "All our powers have grown stronger ever since we all got them!"
"Besides, you're completely outnumbered!" Max said smugly.
Shellgoose just smirked as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, Heartless spawned. There were Shadows, Water Cores, Flame Cores, Flare Notes, and Bolt Towers.
"Oops." Max said sheepishly.
"Deal with them! I'll handle Felldrake and Shellgoose!" said Donald as he summoned Centurion and Unbound
"And I'll help you!" said Daisy as she summoned Spellbinder.
"Thanks toots!" smiled Donald.
"We'll handle these little punks!" said Ven as he summoned Wayward Wind.
Everyone else summoned their signature weapons and ran at the Heartless. Eugene and even Maximus helped too.
Donald and Daisy approached the two villains from their college days.
"So you both have Keyblades now." mused Felldrake.
"A lot has changed over the years Felldrake." said Donald. "We're more powerful than we were back then."
"Pity that you don't have your idiotic fiends and the goddess of blabity blah to help you." Felldrake snickered.
"We can handle you two bozos any day!" Daisy scoffed.
"We'd like to see you try." said Shellgoose, grinning evilly.
"For once, I agree." said Felldrake, cackling.
Donald turned to his fiancé. "You ready Daisy?" he asked.
"Always my love." Daisy replied back in determination.
Nodding, the two got into fighting stances.
(Master Xehanort and Vanitas Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep plays)
Mission: Defeat Felldrake and Shellgoose
Playable Characters:
Donald Duck
Daisy Duck
Shellgoose held Felldrake up in the air and unleashed a series of dark orbs that fired down at the ducks. Donald and Daisy were able to dodge them as they flipped out of the way. As Donald landed, the mage fired Thundaga at the two villains, striking them. No sooner did they recover from that, Daisy ran up and slashed them several times, only to get blasted back by Felldrake. Daisy regained herself as Donald jumped up and clashed weapons with the former president before he pushed him back. As Donald landed, Shellgoose tried to blast them again with a shockwave that sent them flying back. But Donald and Daisy landed on their feet as Daisy charged back and fired Firaga at the two, knocking them against the ground. Seeing an advantage, Donald flipped into the air and struck the two villains with a Wateraga spell.
Shellgoose struggled to stand as Felldrake used his powers to get him up himself. Felldrake then fired a beam of purple energy at the two ducks, who were barely able to dodge it without getting some singles on their arms. Donald charged at the two as he and Shellgoose clashed weapons. They did so again as the goose tried to bash Donald in his skull, but Donald upper kicked him in the chin before blasting Shellgoose with a Blizzaga spell. Seething, Shellgoose used Felldrake to blast Donald back with a beam of darkness, though the mage was able to use his weapons in front of him to prevent worse injuries. Daisy tried to attack next, but Shellgoose swing Felldrake against her face, bashing her in the beak, making Daisy fall to the ground. But Daisy wouldn't let a bruised beak stop her as she slowly got up and casted Deep Freeze agasint the two villains from their college years. Before Shellgoose or Felldrake could break free, a battered and bruised Donald got up and unleashed Raging Storm against the two.
Daisy helped Donald up and the two supported each other as they cured themselves.
"Let's show these two what the Duck Couple can do!" said Donald, smirking.
"I'd love to do so!" Daisy said determinedly.
The two ducks ran towards the villains. They slashed them with their Keyblades (and Donald bashed them with his staff) before they leaped into the air and used the light in their hearts to conjure up a combo of spells. First they use a Flare Force spell, conjuring up hundreds of tiny rockets and launching them right at the two. Next they unleashed a Comet spell, engulfing them in a multitude of magical explosions of small but powerful fireworks that they found difficult to stand up to. They pushed them back further with a double Pearlza spell.
"Together! Ultima!" they shouted.
Donald and Daisy summoned orbs of light and combined them. The duo thrusted their weapons unleashing a beam of light that made a direct hit and exploded against Shellgoose and Felldrake, knocking the demon-trapped-in-a-staff out of the former president's grasp as said former president laid unconscious.
(Master Xehanort and Vanitas Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep ends)
Donald and Daisy cured themselves as they landed on the ground.
"Nice job as always Daisy." Donald smiled.
"Aww! Thank you Donald!" said Daisy, feeling touched.
"The sight of you all in love makes me wanna barf!" Felldrake grumbled as he laid on the ground.
Donald and Daisy rolled their eyes as the Lady-In-Waiting picked Felldrake up.
"Then maybe you need a new sight to look at." she said cheekily as she turned Felldrake upside down.
"Hey, whaddya doin'?!" Felldrake exclaimed as Daisy jammed the top of the staff into the dirt.
Donald burst out laughing.
"Good one Daisy!" he chortled.
Daisy giggled as the others showed up.
"All the Heartless are gone!" said Roxas,
"How're you're old enemies doing?" asked Lea.
"Taken care of." said Donald as he gestured to the unconscious Shellgoose and stuck Felldrake, the latter saying, muffled, "Let me outta here! I'll see you all in Hades!"
"That's good." said Naminé. "Now come on! We gotta save Rapunzel!"
"We told Eugene and Maximus to head on after the Heartless were destroyed." said Sora.
"Then let's get moving!" said Daisy.
With that, the 20 ran off in the direction of the tower.
It wasn't long until they caught up with Eugene and Maximus. Maximus was staying in the cave entrance to keep an eye out for any trouble and Eugene was already at the base of the tower.
"Rapunzel! Rapunzel, let down your hair!" Eugene hollered to the top window.
He was about to climb up when he and the others heard the window open. Rapunzel's long golden hair then fell out and hung down at their level. Not wasting any time, Eugene grabbed into the hair and began climbing up.
While everyone else watched Eugene climb up, they looked a bit uncertain.
"Something's wrong here." said Ortensia.
"I agree with you right there." nodded Minnie.
"It's gotta be a trap." said Lea.
"We'd better split up to confront Gothel." said Sora. "Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and I will go up while the rest of you find another way in."
"How is there another way in?" asked Myde.
"I get what Sora's saying." said Naminé. "There must've been another way for Gothel to get inside after she kidnapped Rapunzel and when she discovered her missing."
"Then let's move!" Kairi said hurriedly.
As Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, and Mickey climbed the vines, Ven, Terra, Aqua, Roxas, Xion, Naminé, Lea, Isa, Myde, Minnie, Daisy, Max, Oswald, and Ortensia ran to one side and discovered the hidden door. They quickly ran up the spiral staircase.
"How many floors is this tower supposed to cover?" asked Max.
"Probably eight or nine." shrugged Xion.
As they continued running, they soon saw that the stairway ended.
"Dang it." groaned Aqua.
"Now what?" asked Ven.
Then, Minnie noticed something in the ceiling; a split in the stone.
"Everyone, I think we just found our way in!" she told them as she pointed at the the split.
Everyone looked in Minnie's direction.
"Good work Minnie." praised Aqua. "But how do we get in?"
"Leave that to me." Lea smirked as he summoned Flame Liberator.
Lea casted Mega Flare against the stone, breaking it into pieces.
"We're in!" he said trumpently.
"Let's go!" said Terra.
One by one, the group climbed the ladder that was hidden by the stone and climbed through the hole. No sooner did they all get into the tower, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy came in through the window. As they all scanned for Rapunzel and Eugene, they all gasped in horror when their eyes landed on a horrific sight.
Rapunzel was chained by the wrists to a support pillar against the wall next to them, her mouth covered by a gag. By the window, Euegene laid unresponsive, and he had a bleeding wound in his chest.
Gothel stood above him, holding a dagger. She glared at them all.
"Eugene! Rapunzel!" Sora cried in horror.
"What did you do to them?!" demanded Naminé.
"I stopped this despicable thief from stealing my flower." Gothel said coldly.
"Rapunzel doesn't belong to you!" snapped Donald.
"You stole her when she was a baby!" added Goofy.
Gothel glared as an aura of darkness surrounded her.
"Only because those wretched guards stole the flower I used to stay young just so they could heal their queen!" Gothel snapped angrily.
Everyone was horrified and outraged.
"You kidnapped Rapunzel just so you could use her hair to stay young forever?!" Lea asked in disgust.
"That is just low you evil bitch!" snarled Kairi.
"Sheesh, you have no idea what sharing is do you?" Myde huffed.
"Nothing lasts forever you know!" snapped Aqua.
"Oh but I will!" Gothel said with a wicked grin. "Once Xehanort is through, I will live forever during his reign."
"So you are working for Xehanort!" snarled Riku.
"Under Maleficent's order of course." said Gothel. "And Rapunzel will still be useful for them."
"You're not using Rapunzel for your selfish deeds anymore Gothel!" Sora said firmly.
"No one ever will again!" said Naminé.
"Get her!" shouted Xion.
But as everyone ran towards Gothel, she suddenly held up her green lantern. It glowed brightly before whips of green magic struck the world-travelers, much to their surprise before they began to scream in pain before they were violently thrown into the walls near Eugene. Rapunzel screamed in horror, but it wasn't audible due to the gag in her mouth.
"What the hell was that…?!" Isa wheezed as he clutched his side.
"A little enchantment courtesy of Maleficent. To weaken you lot if you tried to cause a scene." Gothel replied with a wicked smirk. "You Keyblade Wielders are just like the ones from all those years ago. You never learn."
"What are you talking about?" asked Sora as he rubbed his bruised arm.
"I've been around this world for a long long time, courtesy of the flower." Gothel replied. "I've known the outcomes of the Keyblade War. Luckily, this one will truly benefit everyone. And you lot won't be able to do anything about it."
Rapunzel tried to crawl over to her wounded and injured friends, but Gothel had set down her lantern and disconnected the chain from the wall.
"And as for you Rapunzel, Master Xehanort will have much use for you." Gothel said as she began to pull Rapunzel with her. "We are going where no one wil ever find you again?"
Pascal, who had been hiding out of fear but had pushed it aside, came to Rapunzel's aide by running out and began to bite and pull on Gothel's dress. When the wicked woman saw him, she kicked him away.
Rapunzel continued to struggle against Gothel's grasp.
"Rapunzel really! Enough already! Stop fighting me!" Gothel shouted.
Rapunzel's struggling managed to cause the gag to fall off her face. She then galred at Gothel. "No! I won't stop! For every minute of my life I will fight! I will never stop trying to get away from you and these villains who want me!" she shouted firmly.
Hearing Rapunzel's words managed to inspire Sora and the worldly travelers. They slowly began to regain their strength as the magic from Gothel's lantern began to war off, though they still felt the pain of being thrown across the room and the magic had weakened their own a bit.
Rapunzel's breathing steadied as she came to a decision. "But if you let me save him… I will go with you." she said.
Sora and Co. gasped in horror.
"No. No, Rapunzel…" Eugene croaked, trying to crawl towards Rapunzel but was unable to do so.
"I'll never run. I'll never try to escape. Just let me heal him and I will go with you to your master so he can use me to give you what you all want. Everything will be the way you want it to be. I promise. Just like you want."
This horrified everyone even more. They knew that Rapunzel walkways kept her promise.
Rapunzel looked at Gothel with pleading eyes. "Just let me heal him!"
"Rapunzel no!" cried Naminé,
"Don't do it!" cried Sora.
Gothel through for a moment, then, without a word, uncooked the manacle around Rapunzel's wrists. She went over to Euegene and locked the manacle around his wrist, connecting it to the wall. "In case you get any ideas about coming after us." she whispered. She then walked back and grabbed her lantern to defend herself in case Sora and his friends tried to attack her again. She was confident that she could handle them.
Rapunzel ran over to Euegene. He winced in pain. She moved his hand and opened his vest, seeing the blood-soaked wound.
"I'm so sorry. Everything is going to be ok." she assured him.
"No, Rapunzel!" Eugene wheezed.
"I promise, you have to trust me." Rapunzel told him.
"I can't let you do this." he pleaded.
"And I can't let you die." she replied, tears in her eyes.
"But if you do this, then you will die." Eugene said.
Rapunzel stroked his cheek reassuringly. "Hey, it's going to be alright." she soothed.
"She's right…"
They looked over and saw Sora and his team struggling to stand. It had been Sora who spoke.
"None of you are dying." Riku grunted as he clutched his shoulder.
"Not on our watch." muttered Naminé as she glared at Gothel.
Gothel smirked as she grasped her lantern. "I wouldn't try to attack me. Cause a scene, then you'll get blasted far worse than last time." she threatened.
"You don't scare us." Mickey grunted.
Eugene watched them struggle to stand. Despite his injuries, he was able to see what Gothel had done to them with her enchanted lantern. He wouldn't let them die for trying to save him and Rapunzel. And he wouldn't Rapunzel die after saving him. He knew what he had to do.
Rapunzel was about to sing and Sora and Co. were close to summoning their weapons when…
"Wait, Rapunzel." Eugene muttered.
Rapunzel stopped herself from signing and Sora and his team stopped in their tracks to look at them. Eugene brushed back Rapunzel's hair, then grabbed the golden locks at a spot below her neck. Before anyone could do anything, Eugene suddenly picked up a piece of glass from the broken mirror and swiped it back… cutting right through her hair!
Rapunzel was alarmed while Sora and his team gasped in shock. Eugene's arm then fell limp as he dropped to the ground, dripping the shard.
"Eugene, what...?" Rapunzel said in shock as her short hair turned brown.
"No!" Gothel cried in horror.
Rapunzel picked up a piece of her hair as she and the world-travelers watched it turn brown at a rapid speed. Gothel set her lantern down and tried grabbing her end of Rapunzel's hair begging for the magic to fade away. But it was already too late. The hair was now completely brown.
"No! What have you done?! What have you done?!" Gothel screamed as her smooth skin turned wrinkled and her black hair turned white. She ran over to the broken mirror and looked at her reflection, horrified to see that her youth was now gone forever. She pulled her hood down in agony and began to stumble around the tower, screaming.
Everyone noticed that she was stumbling towards the window. Then, Pascal, who had seen everything, pulled a lock of Rapunzel's hair like a rope. Gothel suddenly tripped over the hair and fell out the window.
Gothel screamed as she fell down. From a distance, Marluxia watched it happen.
"Fallen to darkness… We can't allow her near our pure light now." he murmured. "Her presence would only cast a pall over it."
Marluxia then waved his hand. The remains of Gothel suddenly stopped falling and were consumed in dark like energy that swirled around. Marluxia watched with a smirk.
Inside the tower, everyone just stared shell shocked at what had just happened.
"Well… at least she's gone." said Myde, shaken.
Rapunzel then remembered Eugene and crawled over to him. Sora and his team rna over to him as well.
"No, no, no, no, no, Eugene." Rapunzel pleaded, lifting up his limp body. He coughed and his eyes opened briefly. "Look at me! Look at me! I'm right here. Don't go. Stay with me, Eugene!" she begged. She grabbed his hand and pressed it against her head. "Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine…" She suddenly realized that it wasn't working.
Sora and his friends all watched in horror as this happened. Sora summoned Kingdom Key and tried to cast Curaga.
"Heal!" Sora shouted.
But nothing happened.
"No no no not again!" cried Aqua as she remembered King Kashekim's death.
"The wound must be too severe." Mickey said sadly.
Sora winced as he remembered when he and Tony were stabbed by Thanos.
"This can't be happening!" cried Ven.
Sora and his friends could only look on sadly as tears formed in their eyes. A friend was dying and there was nothing they could do about it.
Eugene weakly touched Rapunzel's face. "You were my new dream…" he shielded, his eyes barley able to focus on her.
Rapunzel grabbed his hand. "And you were mine…" she replied in despair.
Eugene slumped as the rest of his strength left him and he laid on the ground. He was dead. Rapunzel's held his lifeless body as she silently cried for her him.
Sora and his team silently cried as well. Eugene may have been a thief, but despite everything, he was a good friend. He was willing to save everyone so they could live despite the fact that we wouldn't. He really was redeemable.
Kairi, Aqua, Xion, Naminé, Minnie, Daisy, and Ortensia cried into Sora, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Mickey, Donald, and Oswald's shoulders. Goofy and Myde bawled their eyes out. Riku, Lea, Isa, and Max silently cried.
Rapunzel held Eugene tightly as she recited the healing incantation.
"Heal what has been hurt… change the Fates' design… save what has been lost… bring back what once was mine… what once was mine…"
Rapunzel finally broke down in tears. One of them fell on Eugen's cheek. It sparked into a golden glow, then faded.
Suddenly, Rapunzel heard everyone gasp. She turned to see what they were looking at. Rapunzel then noticed that Eugene's wound was glowing in a golden light. Yellow rays curled and spread around the room. Everyone watched in awe as a light image of a flower appeared over him. They suddenly realized that his wound was healing.
The waving days soon disappeared and the glow died down. Rapunzel saw that Eugene's wound was gone. Even the bloodstains were gone. Everyone looked at Eugene's face, anxious.
Eugene's eyes suddenly fluttered open and he began to breathe steadily. "Rapunzel…" he whispered.
Everyone gasped in delight.
"Eugene…" Rapunzel whispered back in happiness.
"Did I ever tell you I've got a thing for brunettes?" Eugene joked.
Everyone chuckled as Rapunzel and Eugene hugged. The two then brought their lips together and embraced in a passionate kiss. Sora and Co. smiled at the heartwarming scene. Sora then used his Keyblade to shatter the chain holding Eugene.
A little while later, everyone had used the spiral staircase to get down to the ground. They all gathered in front of the tower.
"Not to be gory, but where's Gothel's body?" asked Lea.
"I sensed a lot of darkness in her heart." said Terra before shrugging. "Perhaps when she died, she ended up fading into the darkness."
"Could be." shrugged Lea.
"You're finally gonna get to see your real home." Sora said to Rapunzel with a big smile.
"I know! I mean… I can't believe it." Rapunzel said with a bright smile. "I can finally be with my real family! I couldn't have done it without your help."
"You're welcome." smiled Donald.
"Helping others is what we do best." smiled Naminé.
"And it's something we enjoy doing." Aqua said in agreement.
Eugene approached Rapunzel. "Well, from where I'm standing, the kingdom couldn't ask for a better princess." he told her.
Rapunzel smiled, flattered.
"Happily ever after." Donald said fondly.
"I wouldn't think so." came a voice.
Everyone turned and saw Marluxia standing across from them all.
"Marluxia!" exclaimed Sora.
Rapunzel's eyes narrowed at the familiar man. "You… you were the one with those two theives that tried to kidnap me!" she exclaimed.
Marluxia smirked. "Correct, Princess." he replied. "However, it was simply a ruse."
"A what?" Myde asked in confusion.
"Gothel and I simply used the Stabbington brothers as a way to capture Rapunzel so she could get her back." the Graceful Assassin explained.
Everyone glared at the Organization member.
"You just don't stop using people, do you?" snarled Sora.
"Just like how you used Naminé for your selfish benefits the way Gothel used me for herself!" added Rapunzel.
Marluxia just smirked as he shook his head. "What you lot will never realize is that something's have to be sacrificed in order to get what you want." he told them.
"Cut the crap Marluxia, why are you here?" demanded Riku.
"Gothel failed to preserve Rapunzel for us as she fell so far into the darkness." the first Organization's Number 11 replied. "So I'm here to take Rapunzel for ourselves."
"In your dreams!" shouted Sora. "You're not getting anywhere near Rapunzel!"
Marluxia just chuckled evilly. "Oh I think I will. And if you think you lot can take me on, I already have backup covered." he replied. "If you recall moments ago Axel, you wondered where Gothel's body was after she fell from the tower. Well here's your answer."
Suddenly, from over the cliffside came the magenta swirl of darkness. Everyone was shocked.
"What the heck is that?!" exclaimed Eugene.
"What remains of Mother Gothel." Marluxia replied.
Suddenly, what looked like arms appeared out of the swirl. And then, what looked like a tail emerged from the bottom of it as well.
"What the hell Is going on?!" cried Ven.
And then, the swirl of darkness disappeared and revealed an enormous tree-like Heartless. Its face was brown and wooden, with yellow eyes and a jagged mouth, while its bottom resembled a stump with scales and green markings. The Heartless insignia was present on its forehead. It was surrounded by a "mane" of green leaves, and four arms emerged from the hair, each also green and tipped with black fingers with purple fingertips.
"What the hell is that thing?!" screamed Xion.
"Gothel's Heartless." Marluxia replied. "After falling to darkness, she was a risk of casting a pall over Rapunzel. So I turned her into a Heartless so she could still be of use in defeating you all and capturing our lights. I call it the Grim Guardianess."
Marluxia then revealed Gothel's lantern. He had snuck into the tower while eveyrone was talking and retrieved it.
"And just for extra measures…"
He then threw the lanter right at the Grim Guardianess. It exploded upon impact, making it's leaf mane engulfed in green flames similar to Maleficent's magic,
"Holy shit!" exclaimed Lea.
"Jeez, talk about a power boost." Max remarked.
Shaking off the shock from the look of Gothel's Heartless, Sora bravely Eugene stepped forward and summoned Master's Defender.
"We've fought bigger threats before Marluxia." he said boldly. "We can take on you and that floating fiend!"
Marluxia smirked as he summoned his scythe and Assassin's Scent. "I'd like to see you try."
Riku summoned End of Pain, Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace, Aqua summoned Brightcrest, Terra summoned Void Gear, Ven summoned Wayward Wind, Roxas summoned Oathkeeper and Oblivion, Xion summoned Lost Memory, Lea summoned Flame Liberator, Naminé summoned Shooting Star, Isa summoned Blue Moon, Myde summoned Mystic Water, Mickey summoned Kingdom Key W, Donald summoned Unbound and Meteor Staff, Goofy summoned Royal Radiance and Clockwork Shield, Minnie summoned Starlight, Daisy summoned Spellbinder, Max summoned Fenrir, Oswald summoned Classic Tone, and Ortensia summoned Zero/One.
"I don't think frying pans will be enough for that Heartless." said Rapunzel.
"Definitely." Eugene nodded, still a little shaken by the Grim Guardianess.
Suddenly, Rapunzel and Eugene began to feel weird in their arms.
"You two ok?" asked Ven.
"I don't know." said Rapunzel, confused and nervous by the weird feeling in their arms.
Suddenly, there were bright flashes before everyone saw that in Rapunzel and Eugene's grasps… were Keyblades!
The handle on Rapunzel's Keyblade was the magic flower whence her healing powers originated, with two curved sprigs of plant as the guard. The length of the blade was the tower, with Rapunzel's hair flowing from the window at the top, spiraling down the blade. The teeth of the Keyblade was the kingdom's golden sun crest. The Keychainwas is made up of a braided lock of her old blonde hair, and the token was her frying pan.
The handle on Eugene's Keyblade was Rapunzel's frying pan with the guard being a yellow outline of the kingdom's golden sun crest with red lining. Like Rapunzel's Keyblade, the length was the tower, only in a different shade and the teeth was Raounzel's paints with a paintbrush near it. The keychain was a golden chair and the token was a yellow lantern with the sun crest in purple. (2)
"Whoa!" gasped Rapunzel.
"Holy moly…" gasped Eugene.
"Wow!" everyone exclaimed in awe. Pascals' jaw dropped too.
"That never stops being cool." said Sora.
"How do we have Keyblades?" asked Rapunzel, shocked and confused.
"Because this world chose you to be it's chosen wielders." explained Mickey.
Rapunzel and Eugene were taken aback.
"Chosen Wielders or not, you don't stand a chance." said Marluxia as he got into a fighting position.
Minnie turned to Rapunzel and Eugene.
"You two ready?" she asked.
Rapunzel nodded. "I'm ready as I'll ever be." she said as she got into a fighting position.
"I second that." smirked Eugene as he too got into a fighting position.
"Then let's go!" shouted Sora.
(Grim Guardianess Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts III plays)
Mission: Defeat Marluxia and the Grim Guardianess
Playable Characters:
Sora
Donald Duck
Goofy
Riku
King Mickey
Kairi
Ventus
Terra
Roxas
Xion
Lea
Naminé
Isa
Myde
Queen Minnie
Daisy Duck
Max
Oswald
Ortensia
Party Members:
Rapunzel
Eugene
Sora and Marluxia ran at each other and clashed weapons. Sora ducked away as Marluxia tried to slash him with his scythe, back flipped away, and then casted Dark Firaga against him. Marluxia retaliated as he casted Deep Freeze against Sora, but was vulnerable to Lea casting Fission Firaga against him.
The Grim Guardianess floated above the heroes and tried to smash it's claws down on them. They quickly ran out of the way as Aqua blasted it back with a Blizzaga spell. Kairi, Naminé, and Xion jumped into the air and casted Flower Shoot against it each. The Grim Guardianess slashed the three of them away as it flew down towards the group. Riku casted Quake against it, followed by Terra with an Ignite spell.
Marluxia managed to send a wave of cherry blossom petals crashing into Sora and Lea, sending them flying. But Marluxia was able to get hit by Goofy beformding Goofy-Tornado against him. Growling, Marluxia casted Pulse Tracer at Goofy, knocking him back several feet, but the captain was able to recover and then blast Marluxia with a Crawling Fire spell. Marluxia then slashed Goofy with his scythe, but failed to see Mickey fire at him with a Tornado Tracer spell.
Ven used Double Firaga against the Grim Guardianess before he was knocked away by its tail. Isa jumped into the air and blasted the Grim Guardianess with a Blizzaga spell. The giant Heartless brought its front claws down. Sora quickly blasted one with a Thundaga Shot spell while Naminé used Meteor on the other.
Then out nowhere, Grim Guardianess' mouth opened and out swarmed dozens of Heartless birds heading towards them.
"Bird strike!" shouted Roxas as he used both Keyblades to unleash Double Blizzaga to destroy a group that came at him.
Seeing the incoming bird attack, Donald blasted a group of them away with both of his weapons using Double Thundaga. Minnie used her Faith magic to strike down another swarm. Myde used his water pillars to slam another part of the flocks away and into the cliff walls.
Marluxia blasted Mickey back with a Firaga spell, but was slashed in the back by Aqua before she blasted him with Icicle Mine. Marluxia retaliated as he slashed Aqua with his scythe and then sent her flying back with another wave of petals. Riku blasted Marluxia with an Ignite spell before he clashed weapons with the Graceful Assassin. Riku then sidekicked the pinkhead in the chest before blasting him with a Dark Firaga spell.
Xion unleashed Wind Tracer at the Grim Guardianess, followed by Daisy with a Perlza spell. Kairi casted Thunder Tracer at Gothel's Heartless before she cartwheeled away from it's claw trying to smash her. Max fired Thundaga at the claw as Goofy threw his shield against the Grim Guardianess' face Captain America style. Oswald unleashed Ice Barrage at the Heartless followed by Ortensia with a Mega Flare Spell.
Marluxia suddenly attacked the group with a wave of petals, knocking them away. All but Roxas and Naminé. The two former Nobodies shared a glance.
"Shall we?" Roxas asked.
"I'd love to!" Naminé replied.
The both of them kung fu flipped up and locked their arms together before spinning in the air to unleash a flurry of Ragnarok shots and Flower Shoot, stoking Marluxia multiple times.
The former Nobodies of Sora and Kairi both separated to fly around and back together to grab each other's hands after dismissing their Keyblades.
"Light!" they shouted.
Roxas and Naminé struck a pose in the air, surrounding themselves in an aura of light and out of nowhere, huge angel wings of light burst out from behind them. One wing grew from Roxas and another from Naminé and they're surrounded by feathers of the same light. They flew towards the Graceful Assassin and spun together faster than disk to ram into him and sent Marluixa spiraling into the air in pain, knocking him out in the process. They flipped up after dishing out their combined attacks, feathers of light showing all of Roxas and Namine surrounding them and gently falling from the sky.
No sooner was Marluxia knocked unconscious, the Grim Guardians unleashed another swarm of Heartless birds from its mouth. Rapunzel and Eugene jumped up and slashed at some birds before landing on the ground. Oswald flew up and spun around, slashing the birds several times. Donald used Thundaga Shot on another swarm followed by Goofy using Firaga Burst.
The Grim Guardianess then smashed against the ground, many of the heroes struggle and collide into one another. Using that distraction, the giant Heartless unleashed more Heartless birds to strike them down.
Xion saw this before she turned to Kairi.
"Kairi! Let's go!" she shouted.
"You and me, Xion!" Kairi nodded.
Kairi and Xion stood side by side holding up their Keyblades which became coated in pink and light blue blades of light. They unleashed high speed slashes left and right with their powered up Keyblades n the Heartless birds before reeling back to gather energy and deliver a powerful cross slash.
"Stay back!" yelled Kairi.
"Go!" shouted Xion.
Kairi and Xion quickly floated and spun back to back unleashing a barrage of Flower Shoot spells that destroyed multiple Heartless in explosions of light. The process repeated, first cutting the Heartless to pieces and then blasting them with Flower Shoot spells.
"Together now!" Kairi shouted.
"Let's do it!" Xion nodded.
Kairi and Xion floated side by side bringing and combining their Keyblades together to form a flower that looks like a combination of Kairi's Wayfinder and Xion's favourite shell. The girls spin the flower together at high speed.
"LIGHT!" they yelled.
They sent out a beam of pink and orange energy that engulfs the Heartless, completely obliterating them.
Kairi and Xion landed on the ground.
"That was amazing!" exclaimed Kairi.
"Let's call that one Flower Charge." suggested Xion.
"Sounds perfect." nodded Kairi.
The Grim Guardianess then began to strike it's claws down again as Sora ran at it and blasted it in the face with a Raging Storm spell. Rapunzel was at one claw and slashed it multiple times before she fired Pearl at it. Eugene slashed and bashed the other claw before using Fire on it. They ducked from the Geim Guardianess and then stuck it's tail with their Keyblades before the giant Heartless flew towards the top of the tower.
Sensing that the Heartless was gonna strike down, Sora turned to the two.
"Rapunzel! Eugene!" he shouted.
"This guy messed with the wrong handsome rogue!" said Eugene,
"Let's do it!" Rapunzel said in determination.
As the Grim Guardianess flew down towards them, Sora used Aeroga so he, Rapunzel, and Eugene could float back to back unleashing beams of pure radiant light from the tips of their Keyblades. They spun in a circle engulfing the Grim Guardianess. With a shout they raised their Keyblades and scattered pillars of light to blow away the giant Heartless. The process repeated with shooting rays of light and following it up by scattering pillars of light.
"As one!" yelled Sora.
"Let's finish this!" Rapunzel said, determined.
"Here we go!" said Euegene.
Sora, Rapunzel, and Eugene came together and planted their Keyblades into the ground. They dug in and caused a tower to rise from beneath. They stood together at the top with their palms raised up and releasing beams of light that formed a huge spear of radiant light above their heads. The ball released millions of rays of light that blast the Grim Guardianess.
"LIGHT!" they yelled.
The ball exploded and obliterated the Grim Guardianess, destroying it as a heart floated out of it.
(Grim Guardianess Boss Fight from Kingdom Hearts III ends)
With all the Heartless gone, everyone dismissed their weapons. Except for Rapunzel and Eugene.
"That was an amazing combo!" exclaimed Sora.
"What should we call it?" asked Eugene.
"How about Golden Sun?" suggested Rapunzel.
"I like it." Sora said approvingly.
"Me too." nodded Eugene.
"You guys did great using those Keyblades for the first time." congratulated Naminé.
"Thank you Naminé." smiled Rapunzel.
"Yeah, you guys are quite the fast learners." said Mickey.
"Indeed they are."
Everyone looked and saw Marluxia struggle to stand.
"You lot may have prevailed again." the Graceful Assassin said. "But remember one thing: never underestimate vessels of Xehanort. Continue to interfere with our plans, you'll meet your ends. Then the new 7 Hearts will be ours…"
Marluxia then teleported away.
"Should we be worried?" asked Eugene.
"We can handle him. Don't worry about it." Lea said with a dismissing wave.
"What are you gonna call your new Keyblades?" asked Ortensia.
Rapunzel and Eugene examined their Keyblades.
"Ever After." said Rapunzel.
"Wonder From the Sun." said Eugene.
"How unique." commented Minnie. "I like it."
Just as Rapunzel and Eugene dismissed their Keyblades, they heard a neighing sound. They looked over and saw Maximus walk up.
"Maximus?" Aqua said in surprise.
"You ok buddy?" asked Ven.
Maximus nodded.
"Did Marluxia hurt ya?" asked Goofy.
Maximus imitated a snoring sound.
"Looks like Marluxia sent Max into a knockout sleep like what he did to Sora, Goofy, and I." said Donald.
"Well Max is a tough horse." said Eugene as he patted Maximus' head, making the white horse smile.
"Come on Rapunzel. Let's get you home." Sora said with a smile.
Everyone nodded in agreement as Rapunzel and Eugene hopped onto Maximus with Pascal on Rapunzel's shoulder. They then set off back to the kingdom.
The castle:
King Frederic stood at a window, staring out into the four below while Queen Arianna sat in a chair reading a book.
Frederic was a tall, well-built man with a thick mustache and beard. He wore a blow suit with a raised collar and loose shoulder sleeves with blue and yellow stripes, and open brown vest, a wide necklace made of square and circular gold pieces inset with blue gemstones with a medallion shaped like the Corona symbol inside of a circle attached, a leather belt, and brown leather boots,
Arianna was a slender woman worth waist-length brown hair. She wore a purple dress embroidered with pale fine-like designs on the front as well as a pearl necklace with three pink, teardrop-shaped jewels attached.
Just then, a guard came in. The rulers of the kingdom looked at him intently, hoping he had the good news they waited 18 years to hear. The guard simply nodded. The king and queen looked at each other, their eyes filling with hope.
They stepped out onto the balcony. There, Rapunzel and Eugene were looking over the city, holding hands. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Aqua, Terra, Ven, Roxas, Lea, Xion, Isa, Naminé, Myde, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Daisy, Max, Oswald and Ortensia stood with them on either side. When the doors opened, the couple turned around. Frederic and Arianna stared at Rapunzel, taking in her features. Arianna approached a Rapunzel and touched her cheek. She smiled, realizing that it was indeed her long lost daughter. She happily pulled her daughter into a hug, which Rapunzel happily returned. Frederic joined in with a smile on his face. Arianna looked over at Eugene and held out her hand. He took it, but to his surprise, she yanked him into the hug.
Sora and his team could only smile warmly at the scene. Rapunzel has finally reunited with her family.
During the next few hours, Frederic and Arianna gave the group of 22 (23 including Pascal) a tour of the castle. They told the king and queen about how everything that had happened in the past two days. The rulers happily thanked them all for helping bring Rapunzel home.
While the captain didn't trust Eugene, the world-travelers and Rapunzel had convinced him that he truly wasn't a bad person and that he cared about the princess very much and participated in bringing her home. He could tell that their hearts in the right places.
While Maximus did get in some trouble for helping break Eugene out, he was immediately forgiven as well.
When the tour ended they went to the courtyard where they were greeted by Hook-Hand, Big Nose, Atilla, Vladimir, Shorty, and the other thugs from the Snuggly Duckling. They were apprehended for helping break Eugene out, but they were pardoned as well. Hook-Hand played the piano and Atilla brought out some cupcakes that he was allowed to bake in the kitchen.
Later, they all stood in the throne room.
"I would like to thank you all for bringing our daughter home." Frederic said thankfully.
"Yes. We always worried that we would never see our baby girl again after that tragic night." Arianna said in agreement.
"Hey, it's no trouble at all." Sora said modestly.
"We were just doing our job in protecting this world." added Riku.
"And we're grateful for you doing that as well." nodded Arianna. "For sometime, those weird creatures appeared all over town."
"We usually handle them on our travels across the worlds." said Mickey.
"Is there anything we can do for you?" asked Frederic.
Sora and Co. traded glances.
"Well… the thing is, we're assembling an army to stop our enemies that are targeting the worlds." said Naminé. "And in many worlds, they choose one or more person to protect it, choosing them to wield a Keyblade."
"What are you getting at?" asked Frederic, raising an eyebrow.
"I think I can show you Dad." said Rapunzel as she summoned Ever After, much to her parents' shock.
"My word…" gasped Arianna.
"What magic is this?" asked Frederic.
"Eugene and I have Keyblades just like our friends." Rapunzel explained as she dismissed Ever After. "And… I feel like we owe them for bringing me home. I know I just got back… but they want us to help them stop their enemies. If they can't stop them, then our world, along with many others, will fall to darkness."
"We can assure you right here your majesties, the last thing we want to do is take your daughter away." assured Isa. "But it was her choice."
"Eugene's as well." added Ven,.
"If Eugene and I were given these Keyblades for a reason, then we should use them to help our friends stop the villains trying to destroy the light." said Rapunzel. "Mom, Dad, I want to help them."
Arianna pondered this, though Frederic seemed hesitant.
"I'm not sure about this." he said. "I just got my daughter back after 18 years. I couldn't bear to lose her again."
"Your Majesty, if you let Rapunzel come with us to stop Xehanort, we can assure you that nothing bad will happen to her." said Sora.
"We promise that we will return her home safe and sound." added Mickey.
"You can trust these guys." Eugene told them. "They've helped save many lives."
Rapunzel looked at her parents. "I promise I will return home when this is all over." she told them seriously. "I promise… and when I make a promise, I never break it."
Arianna and Frederic traded glances. The king still seemed hesitant.
"Frederic," Arianna said softly. "I know that we just got her back. But if the Keyblade chose her, it must've been for a good reason. And I trust that team. Eugene as well. They were willing to risk their lives to save our daughter and our home, just like how she was willing to risk her life to save them."
Frederic didn't respond. Arianna held her husband's hands and gave him a warm smile. "Frederic… I think she can handle herself out there."
Frederic looked back at Rapunzel who gave her father a smile. He looked back at the two world-travelers and the former thief. Finally… he smiled.
"Very well then. As long as you return home… I'll let you help them." he told his daughter.
Rapunzel beamed as she hugged her parents.
"Thank you…" she whispered.
Frederic and Arianna warmly embraced their daughter as everyone else smiled at the scene.
"Take good care of her." Arianna said to them.
"You can count on us." said Goofy as he saluted. "Knight's honor."
Everyone chuckled.
"Is Pascal coming too?" asked Xion.
"Of course he is." Rapunzel giggled as Pascal appeared on her shoulder. "He's my best friend."
Just then, Maximus strolled up beside the group.
"Would you like to help them too Maximus?" Fredric asked his captain's horse.
Maximus nodded.
"But who will be the captain's horse?" asked Max.
Arianna smiled. "I think Cassandra will be happy to hear that Fidella is gonna be the head horse for a while." she said to Frederic.
"Indeed." Frederic chuckled.
Just then, Rapunzel's tiara began to glow and float into the air. Rapunzel, Eugene, Pascal, Maximus, Frederic, and Arianna watched in surprise.
"What's going on?" asked Eugene.
Kairi turned to Naminé.
"Care to do this one?" she asked.
Naminé beamed. "I'd love to."
Naminé stepped forwards and summoned Shooting Star. She held it out as a crown embalm appeared under her feet. Rapunzel's tiara shit a beam out light into the air near the feeling above the thrones, revealing a Keyhole. Naminé aimed Shooting Star at the Keyhole and a beam shot out into it as a locking noise was heard.
"What was that?" Rapunzel asked in awe as the tiara landed back on her head.
"This world is safe from the darkness." said Sora.
"But now it's time for us to leave." added Donald.
Rapunzel hugged her mom and dad.
"I promise I will come home." she told them.
"We know you will." said Frederic.
"We wish you all good luck on your mission in stopping your enemies." said Arianna. "And for your safe return."
"Don't worry your majestys, Rapunzel will be ok as long as she's with us." assured Eugene.
"Please, Rapunzel's the strong one." chuckled Donald.
Everyone laughed as Rapunzel, Eugene, and Maximus strolled over to Sora and his team.
"So how do we get to your home/temporary home world?" asked Rapunzel.
"Like this." said Mickey as he pulled out the Gummiship remote and pressed some buttons.
23 beams came out from the air and beamed the 24 away into the Gummiship. As they did, they all waved goodbye to Frederic and Arianna. They both knew that their daughter would return again. This time, from helping save the light.
Somewhere over the forest, Maleficent, Pete, and Mortimer stood on a mountainside. They were on their side mission of finding the Black Box.
"Another world where we got doodly-squat." groaned Pete.
"First Olympus, then San Fransokyo, and now here." muttered Mortimer. "I gotta say, this Black Box you two talk about is hidden better than we thought."
"You sure this box thingy's even real?" Pete asked, looking over at Maleficent.
"Yes." nodded Maleficent.
"Yeah, and just how do you know that?" questioned Pete.
"Ya got a hunch?" Mortimer asked.
"It is etched." Maleficent replied as she looked at her two minions, who shared confused glances.
"It's what?" asked Pete.
"Come with me." said Maleficent as she opened a corridor of darkness. "With another ally gone, we need to see how far in progress the others are doing with the resurrection spell."
"But what about the box?" asked Mortimer.
"As I mentioned, this is a small side mission." said Maleficent. "Right now, we have other things to tend to."
She then walked through the corridor as Pete and Mortimer followed suit.
To be continued...
Now the Kingdom of Corona is done! Rapunzel's reunited with her real family, Eugene's pardoned from his crimes, the two of them have their Keyblades, and they along with Pascal and Maximus have joined the Army of Light.
Special thanks to Super Saiyan 3 Odd for the Flower Charge and Golden Sun combos.
Next chapter, we go to Mysterious Tower to talk to Yen Sid and Ansem the Wise about the new Seven Hearts. And at the end when we get back at the castle, everyone's in for a surprise… especially Daisy…
I'll see you all soon!
(1) Ocean's Eleven
(2) Wonder from the Sun Keyblade by portadorX on DeviantArt